Dragon Age: Origins - Expansion announced! (details Pg.7)

[Ploid]

Only mages can be a shape shifter. So if you were a mage, or if you get another mage that person can have the shape shifter sub. Btw when you unlock subs it's unlocked for good. If you start the game over and level mage you don't have to unlock shape shifter again.

Edit: And lol on being a reaver so soon. I'm not even able to be one yet. Darn my choices in my first two plays.

[ItsSeflol]

I just want a job under Warrior, it's lame to not have one.

[Ploid]

Berserker Specific Talents
Berserk

* Required Level: 7
* Stamina Cost: 0
* Upkeep: 20
* Fatigue: 5
* Cooldown (sec):30

The stench of blood and death drives the berserker into a willing fury, providing a bonus to damage. Rages incur a penalty to stamina regeneration, however, which Constraint reduces. Resilience adds a bonus to health regeneration in this mode.

Gives +8 to damage, and an unmentioned +10 to mental resistance. Stamina penalty is -2, which means that without stamina regeneration bonuses, you will lose stamina in combat at the rate you would normally gain it.

Resilience
* Required Level: 8
* Stamina Cost: 0
* Upkeep: 0
* Fatigue: 0
* Cooldown (sec):0

Rages no longer wear so heavily on the berserker’s body. The stamina regeneration penalty applied by Berserk is reduced, and the berserker gains a bonus to nature resistance.

The in-game description is completely inaccurate, it actually gives the bonuses as described by the Berserk talent: +1.5 health regeneration.

Constraint
* Required Level: 10
* Stamina Cost: 0
* Upkeep: 0
* Fatigue: 0
* Cooldown (sec):0

The berserker has learned to retain control during rages, reducing Berserk’s penalty to stamina regeneration.

Gives +2 to stamina regeneration while berserk, which completely off-sets the Berserk penalty.

Final Blow
* Required Level: 12
* Stamina Cost: Variable
* Upkeep: 0
* Fatigue: 0
* Cooldown (sec): 60

All the berserker’s stamina goes into a single swing. If the blow connects, the attack inflicts extra damage proportional to the amount of stamina lost.

Rate of conversion is +1 point of damage for every 2 stamina lost.

How to unlock:
Oghren will teach you if your approval is high enough. Alternatively, the manual is available from Gorim in the Denerim market place.

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Reaver Specific Talents

Devour
* Required Level: 7
* Stamina Cost: 25
* Upkeep: 0
* Fatigue: 0
* Cooldown (sec): 30
* Area of Effect (ft): 5
* Heals for (100.0 + Spellpower) * 0.4 per corpse

The reaver revels in death, absorbing the lingering energy of all nearby corpses, each of which partially restores the reaver’s own health.

Frightening Appearance

* Required Level: 12
* Stamina Cost: 25
* Upkeep: 0
* Fatigue: 0
* Cooldown (sec): 20
* Area of Effect (ft): 0
* Fears target that fail mental resistance check against Reaver's Strength for 10.0 *(Target Rank Duration Modifier) sec.

This talent focuses the Reaver’s unsettling countenance into a weapon, making a target cower in fear unless it passes a mental resistance check. Frightening Appearance also increases the effectiveness of Taunt and Threaten by 100 and 1 respectively.

Aura of Pain

* Required Level: 14
* Stamina Cost: 0
* Upkeep: 60
* Fatigue: 5
* Cooldown (sec): 45
* Area of Effect (ft): 4
* Spirit Damage (over time): 20 to self and hostile targets in range every 4 sec
o Over Duration (s): 4.0
* Health regeneration penalty 5.0

Radiating an aura of psychic pain, the reaver takes constant spirit damage while this mode is active, as do all enemies nearby.

Blood Frenzy

* Required Level: 16
* Stamina Cost: 0
* Upkeep: 60
* Fatigue: 5
* Cooldown (sec): 60
* Area of Effect (ft): 0
* Adds to Reaver's damage from 0 when Reaver is at full health up to 9.9 when his health is zero.
* Health regeneration penalty (both combat and exploration): 5.0

Driven by pain, the reaver gains larger bonuses to damage whenever health decreases. Because this mode also incurs a penalty to health regeneration, the reaver flirts with death the longer the frenzy persists.

Unlocking

At the end of the Urn of Andraste quest, pour the blood into the urn and speak with Kolgrim outside. He will teach you the Reaver specialization.

Its is recommended that you do not have Wynne or Leliana in the party when fouling the ashes as they will automatically attack you, as the guardian also attacks you it can be an incredibly hard fight, especially as you will only have yourself and one party member remaining. So other party members should be taken rather than them.

If you do not wish to suffer the repercussions of fouling Andraste's ashes, such as losing Wynne permanently (regardless of whether or not she was in the party when you completed the quest in that fashion) you can save after you take some of the ashes from the Urn, pour the blood in the Urn to complete the quest with Kolgrim and receive the Reaver specialization, then load the saved game and the specialization will be still unlocked in your profile.

Fouling Andraste's ashes with the blood will not automatically cause Leliana to leave the party. You will need to persuade/lie to her, which will work if she wasn't in the party when you completed the quest. She will just take an approval hit which is easily countered by gifts and more pious or charitable actions later.

[ItsSeflol]

I rode a horsie.

[Ploid]

? I don't remember that part. Which race you pick?

[ItsSeflol]

I think I was referencing Anchorman.

[Ploid]

Never seen it.

[Mrdude]

Never seen it.

[Bodycount]

Tom Burgandy represent
Will Ferrell is annoying.

[ItsSeflol]

Tom? Wooooooowwwwwwww. l2p

Plois, why don't I ever learn skills, it's always just 3 skill points and 1 talent when I level, I never get to learns skills, tis homo.

[Ploid]

Certain people get skills at a different rate. Like every 2 levels you get one skill. You can also earn them from quests, or buy them from a shop if you want them faster.

By the way, the survival skill is pretty neat. Seeing enemies on the radar and map was pretty useful for me. If you're a thief poison, and trap making is perfect and hax. Mages and herbal is a very nice mix. Make potions for the party.

[ItsSeflol]

My main guy hasn't gotten a skill in quite a while.
I'm also only doing the Elf quest to get help thing.
The monsters are hard and I have no flasks. >:

[Ploid]

Should have bought a lot of flasks at that first town. The town that you killed that merchant in! Mwahahaha! Oh and I hope you got Liliana (rogue/bard) before you left that town.

Edit: You can buy flasks at the Elf camp area. There's a merchant there, and he sell cheap elf root which is used with a flask to make lesser potions.

[Yorke]

Sef, does this game rawk?

[Ploid]

Oh also give your tank STR upgrades when he level. It's better to be able to equip the heavy armor than to pump up his constitution(hp), or willpower(stamina). I think a patch is out soon or something.

Dragon Age: Origins 1.02
Patch details:

Many of the fixes affecting balance, gameplay, or plot scripting are already included in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3 versions of Dragon Age: Origins.

You do not need to download patches prior to Patch 1.02. Downloading Patch 1.02 contains all previous patches. Downloading Patch 1.02 will provide you with all patch data available.
Balance

* Daggers now apply 0.5 points of damage per additional point in dexterity and 0.5 points of damage per additional point in strength, as originally intended. This increases dagger damage for high-dexterity characters.
* During combat, mana or stamina reserves now correctly regenerate more quickly when reserves are low. This allows players to occasionally use an talent or spell in the later stages of lengthy fights.
* When exploring, mana and stamina now regenerate more quickly at higher character levels. This reduces downtime between fights.
* The spells Force Field, Crushing Prison, Cone of Cold, and Blizzard now have shorter durations and/or longer cooldowns. This ensures that combatants can no longer stun-lock each other by repeatedly casting the same spell.
* The cooldowns for several low-level sustained abilities are now shorter. This ensures that players are not penalized for accidentally deactivating them.
* Certain battles were not scaling properly, resulting in excessively difficult fights. They now scale as intended.
* Enemy corpses now drop health poultices and money more appropriately, resulting in less clutter in the player's inventory.

Gameplay

* In rare cases, enemy corpses were selectable when they contained no loot. This no longer occurs.
* Party members whose combat tactics were set to defensive behavior no longer stop attacking after using a spell or talent.
* In rare cases, combat tactics conditions could fail to determine whether a character had enough mana or stamina to use an ability. This no longer occurs.
* The Rally talent no longer repeats its audio effect if it is active during certain conversations.
* The Rally talent no longer deactivates upon area transitions or conversations.
* The Shimmering Shield spell now deactivates when the character is out of mana.

Plot *Spoiler Warning*

* Promotional downloadable content items now remain in the player's inventory when standard items are removed at the end of the dwarf noble origin.
* Repeatedly talking to Duncan after gathering the vials in the Korcari Wilds but not the treaties no longer provides duplicate experience.
* Leliana's personal plot can now be completed if the player substantially increased her approval (through gifts) before talking to her.
* During the siege of Redcliffe, enemies are no longer able to spawn in locations that would break the plot.
* Bann Teagan no longer disappears when he is supposed to be accessible during Urn of Sacred Ashes.

[ItsSeflol]

Tis good Vednig, cinda hard when you think you'll get a cure spell at some point soon but you do not.

[Dhiloda]

FUUUUUUCK!

Fuck the patch. Shimmering Shield not deactivating when I'm out of mana was so key... cause I'm always out of mana. Also, Cone of Cold spam was my go to move on this play through. Two mages spamming that shit and then spamming shattering moves...
Might have to do another Rogue next with that dagger fix.

Gdi... fixing Leliana's plot too, after I had to break her heart just to drop her approval to get that activated.


Also, ploid... have you Storm of the Century 'd yet?! Its so baller. (Tossing all 3 storms at once looks cool too, but no extra dmg).

[Ploid]

How to do it Dil? I'm doing a mage now so I can pick the spells.

[Dhiloda]

Tempest + Blizzard with Spell Might.. so you need 3 spells. Took me awhile to figure out cause I never unlocked spell might my first go around but since I've got more mages this time with a Mage main, I've been unlocking new stuff to experiment. I've only found 3 combos so far.

[ItsSeflol]

So Alistair gave me the Templar thing, I dunno how to like set that up now or w/e.
Also, game is so much friggin' easier when you get Heal and set up your tank, along with can make basic potions hf.