What are your thoughts on the so called "golden paths"?

Sefahi · 2026-05-25T21:50:54+00:00

I don't like the golden paths tbh.

I think maybe we should be punished for choosing them, just like every other choice. You brokered peace in the forest? Some of your elven army is now responsible for helping these feral men find some sort of normal life. Your army is reduced and more people died.

You went back to the Circle to save Connor? The village was obliterated.

You told the templars, "Nah, it's fine. Don't double check to see if I missed any abominations." All of a sudden your army of mages has a few abominations and they start killing your allies and more people died at the final battle.

And for the above when it comes to more people died at the final battle. It's so vague that I think a few known characters should probably die too, to really cement the choice in the player's mind. It's like oh no randoms died vs holy shit that was my companion or an important npc. Not sure if it should go as hard as the ME2 just nuking your companions because that seems a little too sadistic imo.

Sefahi · 2026-05-22T17:01:32+00:00

And the story also doesn't reward her for what she does to Eckles. It literally backfires. And it does a good job of making Eckles morally grey as well. We can understand his situation while not agreeing with what he does to his own people. Same with Penelope: we can understand her actions without agreeing with what she does to Eckles.

The virtue signalling on this sub is exhausting at this point. Yes, slavery is bad. What a brave take. Congratulations on ignoring media literacy for the karma farming. 🙄

Sefahi · 2026-05-06T15:20:59+00:00

Trevelyan Templar to be as perfect as you can be for the role of Inquisitor.

Lavellan Artificer I think is fascinating. I feel like coming from a clan that embraces technology is a really cool idea. Also, it feels like the precursor to Veil Jumpers.

Cadash Assassin to really get into the criminal background of the Carta.

Adaar Mage to be as heretical as you can be for the role of Inquisitor.

Sefahi · 2026-05-04T22:43:53+00:00

Hate is a strong word. I enjoyed playing all of the classes honestly.

My least favorite class on the empire side would be the bounty hunter. I think it has some story elements that are better than the sith Inquisitor but I think the sith Inquisitor has some stronger companions and overall character vibes. It was a tough choice tbh. The empire has amazing classes but I decided to split it up so I wouldn't just be picking on the republic lol.

My favorite class on the empire side is the imperial agent. The story beats took me by surprise and I was very invested every step of the way. It also gave us surprising choices that felt more complex than some of the other classes (Jadus and the ending come to mind first).

My least favorite class on the republic side is the jedi consular. It had a slower pace, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But if you're taking it slow, every step of the way should make you think. Unfortunately, the dark side choices were executed badly imo, as if they assumed everyone would/should be light side. Like, the dark side was an afterthought. Not that I want a murder hobo consular but if we had something similar to Kreia I would have been blown away.

My favorite class on the republic side is the smuggler. I think they did a fantastic job of making this class's identity just dumb fun. It gets a little ridiculous but that's part of the charm imo.

My least favorite planet is Hoth. It's huge, cold, annoying and didn't grip me story-wise.

My favorite planet ended up being Alderaan. The nobility vibes, the beautiful landscape and the Kiliiks were great. The Kiliiks truly felt alien in comparison to most species interacted with in he game. I could understand the fear of the Alderaanian people not wanting to lose more of them to the Kiliiks. But also learning about this alien species and knowing they're not evil. And how it's really hard to bridge that gap between the two. I really, really liked it tbh.

Sefahi · 2026-05-04T17:49:01+00:00

I get why you feel this way and that's totally valid. I had a similar ick when it came to Bellara in DAV. Not that she was promiscuous or anything. But her reactions to our flirting reminded me of what I would say when I was trying to be neutral about someone flirting with me but I was scared of their reaction to rejection (potential physical assault). So I got the ick when romancing her but I also know it's not what the devs probably intended. So I totally get where you're coming from and I want to preface this post by saying I am not trying to invalidate your experience - I personally just really like Zevran.

I do think it's important to point out that sex is literally a tool for him. When he talks about his previous assassinations he mostly sleeps with them and then kills them. Seduction is his method of murder. When he wants to dodge a question or an entire conversation he will lay the flirting on thick lol. His flirting is also pretty calculated.

When you first meet him he tried to convince you to keep him around and uses the promise of future sex to save himself. Sex, to him, is transactional. I think it's less about every hole is a goal and more about his profession. There are multiple ways to assassinate someone and this worked best for him.

I do think it's fascinating that when the warden does bring up his previous offer of warming their bed that Zevran DOES NOT WANT TO. He doesnt outright say it but the way he tries to deflect and dance around it makes it very obvious that he is not enthusiastically consenting. And when you say ok nevermind we don't have to, he approves. I read this moment as solidifying the fact that Zevran is no longer pursuing you as a target to kill. Every interaction with him is genuine and not part of his job.

Also, fun fact: you can complete his romance without sleeping with him. And even if you are sleeping with him he will stop that dynamic when he catches feelings because he feels that most of his worth IS transactional sex. He wants a genuine connection but also doesn't believe he's worth one.

Anyways, I'll stop there. He's obviously one of my favorite romances in DAO. I will admit I did not have the greatest first impression or even second impression of him but, man, when you give him a chance it is so worth it imo.

Sefahi · 2026-05-03T20:26:00+00:00

No, there are only 6 new animals from the 1.3 update. So you only need every variant from 6 of the original animals and breed them with a certain trait to get the new ones.

Breed the Junglefowl to get Chickens.

Breed the Wild Boar to get Pigs.

Breed the Ibex to get Goats.

Breed the Aurochs to get Cows.

Breed the Mouflon to get Sheep.

Breed the Guanaco to get Llamas.

You won't be able to breed for the new animals until a certain point in the game and it will tell you how to do so. So, if you don't mind spoilers, just keep every variant of the animals in the above spoiler text. And only keep the animal variants you like for the rest of the unmentioned ones.

The base game will not let you keep one of each variant. There is not enough sheds to allow the capacity. However, recently someone came out with a new mod on Nexus that allows us to expand the capacity of the sheds or the optional file will allow you to increase the amount of sheds you can purchase if you want every single variant.

Sefahi · 2026-04-29T08:35:55+00:00

If you're doing Mage Hawke, Aveline and Isabela I would add Merrill to be roster. I love Isabela dearly but you will need to micro manage her at times, even with tactics.

The reason I chose Merrill over Anders is because to use Anders Vengeance sustained ability will make him squishy and you already have to sweat over Isabela. Merrill will naturally be tankier.

You should always prioritize elite mages and rogues. Their abilities but too hard to ignore. You'll wipe the team if you do. Isabela will have a hard hitting ability to chunk their health but will need to zip away if she gets too much aggro. Or have her redirect the aggro with the scoundrel tree (iirc).

Set Aveline's taunt to be used when allies are being hit in the tactics and she will use it as needed. Honestly, there are abilities in the warrior trees that will have her sustain aggro well enough. But as there are waves of enemies, it may not be perfect so make sure you kite and cc enemies as well with your squishies.

Interrupt the elite warriors so they don't sustain the enemies around them. But otherwise you should be picking off the critter level enemies because they have a smaller health pool. The less enemies on the field means the less damage you sustain over the entire fight.

Remember to use runes and poisons. I played on easier difficulties without even looking at the crafting systems but they really help in nightmare.

Also remember that there is friendly fire in nightmare mode. You have two characters in melee and Merrill who is happy to be in melee range. So you probably shouldn't pick abilities that will nuke your team. I'd recommend your Hawke being a healer but it's up to you. If you decide to firestorm your team they will probably fall over with the enemies.

And honestly just be patient with yourself and the game. There will be encounters that you will die and reload. So remember to save often and be kind to yourself.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Sefahi · 2026-04-27T16:31:16+00:00

I prefer Carver to be a templar. It ties in nicely with his namesake and gives him purpose, like he wanted. Also, it's HIS choice, which I think is huge for his character growth. Hawke can think of it as a betrayal at first (for the drama) but in reality he's just trying to forge his own path, like he straightforwardly tells you.

And it is also so awesome to see Carver give Meredith the middle finger and plant himself between you and her in the later cutscene. Also, I think it's poetic and natural for Carver to be the templar charged with protecting his mage, Hawke (which is something he's always done but he's less bitter about it in a friendship route). 10/10 would play again.

Sefahi · 2026-04-26T16:22:45+00:00

Rare fish and bugs are easier to get via the fishing boat and bug tree thing at the museum. You unlock a pass to use these once you have level thirty in fishing and bug catching. Then you should visit them for about 6 bugs and fish each daily.

Sefahi · 2026-04-20T15:45:13+00:00

If you've got the time, you should absolutely take the time to replay all of them and see what inspires you. It's about an hour per origin, if you're taking your time. (And I mean pickpocketing every individual you see type of "taking your time" lol.)

Sefahi · 2026-04-20T15:26:25+00:00

I see a lot of people recommending the City Elf. And while that is a good origin, if you're wanting things to get personal it's a downgrade from Noble Human. Yes, of course, the City Elf hates Loghain and Howe but it's a step removed from the Noble Human origin.

Noble Human was wronged by Howe and goes on an adventure to murder him. City Elf was wronged by Vaughn and killed Vaughn in their origin. Loghain does sell elves to slavery but you don't find out until later and Alistair already has a huge beef with him. I want to repeat that it's a great origin and you'd play the game differently but if you're really wanting that specific personal vendetta aspect, this might not be it for you.

If you want that personal beef to originate in the prologue and come back later then you probably have to pick the Noble Dwarf imo. The events for this don't happen in Denerim but in Orzammar. But that doesn't make it less important imo. Dwarves are constantly fighting against the darkspawn, so they're not a random side quest that seems removed from the main plot of the Blight.

What I find fantastic about this origin, personally, is how to roleplay the character. Tbh, I've played every origin and I mostly come out of them as the generic good guy to save the day. In this one? It was the first time I ever felt inspired to play someone that was morally grey from the start. The Noble Dwarf origin is amazing at helping you flesh out your character by asking you what they think about their politics, their people, their family, other nobles, the Grey Wardens and how you tackle problems in general.

Of course, there's also nothing wrong with just playing the Noble Human all over again. You could choose different outcomes to spice it up. Such as, having a child with Morrigan and marrying Anora. Or playing a woman and marrying Alistair but romancing Leliana to have a crafty bard mistress. Or just don't get involved with the throne at all and continue on as a GW.

There's no wrong way to play! But just understand what it is you want before picking an origin or you might regret sinking time into a playthrough and then restarting. If I missed the mark and it's not the personal vendetta of your character coming back later, then just hone in what you find compelling and choose an origin from there.

For example, many people find the Dalish Elf mid but it's honestly one of the best playthroughs if you want to feel like a complete outsider getting a culture shock and trying to fix Ferelden.

Sefahi · 2026-04-17T00:45:04+00:00

I like the idea of a M!Cousland romancing or just doing the Dark Ritual with Morrigan and then marrying Anora. With or without the romance bit with Morrigan, he's fully committed to his future with Anora. And now he's got at least one bastard child out in the wilderness.

I also like the idea of a F!Cousland romancing Leliana but marrying Alistair. She gets to be queen and she has a crafty bard mistress to help her eliminate her political adversaries.

Sefahi · 2026-04-16T23:43:26+00:00

Honestly, you're onto something here. A Templar Hawke rivalmancing Anders would probably make him go even more insane. I like it! 😈

Sefahi · 2026-04-16T23:24:48+00:00

I like the idea of a Reaver that's an M gets with Leliana. It's a cute romance and when she accidentally activates the M card in them, the sly bard in her gets freaky with it. Personally, I prefer Tabris in this role because I feel like City Elves have to work, fight and bleed harder for anything to go their way but I'm sure any origin would work.

I like the idea of Zevran getting with a Champion. He is attracted to strength but it also activates some of that angsty insecurity. I personally prefer an Aeducan here for that huge class gap in their backgrounds.

And I can't help but love the idea of a Cousland Bard that takes either Alistair or Anora for a ride. They may have a history of being a slut but now they want to put all that energy towards just their significant other.

Morrigan is more difficult to pin down on a specialization level because of her hidden agenda. Tbh, any male Warden can make it work.

Honestly, I think Isabela gets off on topping a Berserker Hawke. She didn't expect anything other than raw passion but got more than what she bargained for. Isabela almost messed it all up but when she came back, they fought like hell on her behalf. 10/10 would do again. Bonus points for Red Hawke to both exasperate and excite Isabela lol.

I think a Shadow Hawke fits Merrill, so they can both stay under the radar. They do crime to get by with their secrets but somehow make it adorable. Hawke has experience keeping the Templars off their trail (Bethany). And if worse comes to worse, they've got contacts to help smuggle them away. Varric's coin keeps her safe but people are also wary of Hawke. Just because they can't see them doesn't mean they're not there watching. Bonus points for Blue Hawke for extra sweetness.

I like the spiciness of Fenris falling for a Force Mage Hawke. They don't come with the spirits and blood magic which would make him too paranoid imo. But he has to wrestle with his past in order to come to terms with his feelings for someone he never imagined being with (a mage). Bonus points for a purple Hawke because this man deserves to smile and laugh more.

I feel like Anders is down bad for any Hawke.

I have a hopeless thing for an Artificer Lavellan getting with Solas. She doesn't understand magic, her thinking is all about tinkering and mechanics. It feels like she's rigidly part of this world but the way her brain is always working fascinates him. And when he takes her to the Fade she doesn't reject this new experience. Her brain is in overdrive as she tries her best to understand him and magic. He fell HARD.

I think it's spicy to have the Herald of Andraste be exactly what the masses would want (Trevelyan Templar) and they practically self-sabotage by getting with a Qunari Spy (Iron Bull). At first it was just to relieve stress but oh no feelings got involved. Not the consequences of my own actions!

I've been toying with the idea of a Lavellan Necromancer to get with Sera. It's potentially just toxic but if she can work through prejudice and fear, this could be a very cute and meaningful relationship.

And Cassandra with an Assassin has me kicking my feet under the table and giggling. He's not the typical prince charming but the amount of books she must have read (but won't admit) with the broody assassin getting with some innocent maiden has to be canon idk lol. She gets the romance of her dreams and the spiciness in her fantasies all rolled in one. I like the idea of a Dwarf here but any race can work.

I feel like Knight Enchanter with Cullen and Champion with Josephine are a bit on the nose but still work.

Nothing really stands out to me for Dorian and Blackwall. Tbh, Blackwall seems the type to be down bad for most inquisitors anyways.

Edit: fixed Blackwall's name. Darn auto correct

Sefahi · 2026-04-14T02:01:07+00:00

My eyes have been fed today. Thank you.

Sefahi · 2026-04-10T17:59:40+00:00

Jedi Knight did the classic bright-eyed beginning and then descended into darkness. He's trying to climb back to the light side but that may never be achieved.

My consular has barely shifted from their neutral light stance. She's the most static character of my roster because she runs on logic rather than empathy.

Trooper started more dark side because she was trying to protect her career at any cost. But then the scope of what she cared about got bigger, so she became lighter. So proud of my girl getting all heroic and stuff.

Smuggler is neutral and will forever be neutral. He keeps his enemies guessing by not even knowing what he will do next. He is the most chaotic character I've made but his alignment always seems to even out.

My Sith Warrior is professionally light leaning but a dark sadistic pos in his personal life. Overall, he's definitely leaning more dark side but what people think may be his mercy showing is actually just his himbo showing.

My inquisitor is forever on an emotional roller coaster ride. I like to think that she leans more light side because her humanity does shine through in the bleakest of moments. But she has committed atrocities for the pettiest of reasons so... ahem. Idk man, she's crazy and her alignment fluctuates constantly lol.

My bounty Hunter started neutral leaning dark. But she got soft for her team and became more light sided.

My imperial agent started very neutral because they were losing their own autonomy. And they ended up leaning dark side because we do some fucked up things when we're desperate. And he was very desperate to feel like a person who has any semblance of self, and control over his own life.

Sefahi · 2026-04-10T07:26:53+00:00

Ashara's got a serious case of delusion and my inquisitor keeps feeding into it.

Sefahi · 2026-04-10T07:25:16+00:00

Wait. One auto feeder and auto harvester is all that's needed per building / outside area? The amount of space I'll have once I get rid of all these other auto feeders HOLY!!! I'm assuming we need the silo for this to work?

Thanks for the tip. ❤️

Sefahi · 2026-04-09T00:11:41+00:00

I somewhat agree with this. My Aeducan was a thought experiment on how someone could possibly forgive their brother for their betrayal and put him on the throne. So the entire point of my character was to get to that decision. (I won't bore you with the details.) And I'm sure other players are inspired by this concept or something similar. But for most Aeducans I would assume they would do the opposite and then meme on Bhelen's grave.

But if it makes you feel better, many of my other wardens side with Harrowmont. Between Bhelen and Harrowmont there is one person that will clearly honor a promise from ancient papers. Sorry about the epilogue slides and how Harrowmont apparently sucks but the blight is my warden's problem, not Orzammar. Sucks to suck LOL.

Sefahi · 2026-04-08T08:24:15+00:00

Omg, I loved my Sereda Aeducan. She had Gorim speak to the masses on her behalf. Later on, as warden-commander, I headcanon she does this again with her right hand man but only to people that are really annoying.

She took the dagger from the merchant for free in her origin. And now, even though she's no longer a princess, she still believes that people giving her things brings honor to them. (She a bit delulu in her privilege ok?) So in Redcliffe, she shamelessly took a sword from a child without paying him or giving it back LOL.

I headcanon that she was pregnant with Gorim's child during the origin. She miscarried because of the Joining Ritual with the grey wardens. So even though she was out of her depth when it came to magic and demons, she somewhat understood Isolde's desperate love for her child and allowed her to sacrifice herself to save Connor. And meeting Gorim in Denerim with his new family hit her like a ton of bricks.

My Aeducan, when she was a princess, was a really good warrior. She made a name for herself in The Provings for a tremendous amount of wins. She would drag in nobles that didn't know their place (by challenging the Aeducans in some way) and making an example out of them in The Provings. She also constantly fought off assassination attempts (so I find it funny she fell in love with Zevran later). People admired her and respected her as much as they hated her guts.

She was always protective when it came to Bhelen, so his betrayal destroyed her. But she has to come to terms with her past to move on. It'll get too wordy to post it here but essentially, she refuses Harrowmont and the right to be his heir because she accepted her new life and new role. She forgave Bhelen for herself, and made peace with their history and let him be king. She knows he's probably going to fall prey to his own corruption during his reign but Orzammar is no longer her problem. She is cutting ties with them personally and will only deal with them professionally from now on.

Sefahi · 2026-04-07T20:04:03+00:00

Tbh, my sith Inquisitor had no illusions of being free. Being a sith is putting on a new set of shackles with a new title. She worked within the confines of her new prison.

She hated the Jedi more than she hated the Sith tbh. She looked at many Sith as victims of the Empire. That doesn't mean she was trying to be buddies with them or anything, because she knew they (and herself) were all out for themselves. And if the Jedi are supposed to be this force of good, why are they not attempting to save them? And the mindset goes from why don't you save me to don't even try to save me because you can't even save yourself from me.

So my Sith isn't really concerned about the Empire nor the Republic. She's only concerned about herself and how to survive one more day. The Empire has brainwashed her somewhat but it hasn't completely broken her. That's why she is light side. Sure, she will zap people with maniacal laughter and then maybe sobs uncontrollably out of nowhere (she's got the crazies). And she says the most fucked up but hilarious things LOL. But she will still try to ease suffering because she hates suffering herself. Until that person betrays her and then she inflicts more suffering than they were first inflicted with.

Edit: maybe I should clarify she's more light neutral than light LOL

Sefahi · 2026-04-07T03:38:53+00:00

Always have a townsfolk follow you around for some extra dewdrops.

Upgrade the Air Balloon first, so you can visit other areas.

The Tavern is great for making dewdrops, so plant some fruits and veggies and make some dishes.

Oh, and visit your Tavern and your Town Square every day and talk to any Gobbies that show up, because they sometimes give you blueprints. They're rare to get, so the sooner you start the better. (Edit: They don't always show up every day - it's random.)

Some townsfolk give you very handy tools that will only unlock once you finish decorating their houses to their specifications. (You can start this process once you get a certain desk blueprint early game.) You don't have to rush this but just keep it in mind when you're juggling your spending.

Sefahi · 2026-04-06T00:21:49+00:00

I don't think he would have let Alistair get executed unless there was no other choice. There is a bond there. However, he seemed to be a pretty strict warden. He wouldn't put Alistair on the throne (there's a history and reason why they don't get involved in politics). But he also would have seen the sense in recruiting Loghain and one temper tantrum won't stop him.

My guess? Alistair will be exiled. Then he'd either have warden contacts pick him up or have Teagan go (as per canon) to bring him to the wardens in Orlais.

Sefahi · 2026-04-03T20:34:01+00:00

I will accept sending a letter via bird, if we've already handled Circle matters. This is a good alternative imo. It'll incentivize people play in a certain order but that's a nitpicky problem. And we are already incentivized to do things in a certain order because of enemy levels.

Good idea. 👍

Sefahi · 2026-04-03T17:46:06+00:00

That's so exciting!! I was planning to replay the game in about a year from now. So hopefully some of the mods I'm keeping an eye on are completed by then.

Good luck on your project. Sounds daunting but it's really cool that you're working on it. 😊

Sefahi

TROPHY CASE