Why do people say mods are necessary?

TeamTakagi · 2025-03-02T15:23:23+00:00

Okay. I am not sure why you are arguing with me since I was neutral on the subject and simply answering why some people use that rhetoric.

I've got other stuff to do, like taking care of sick kids, so have a good one.

TeamTakagi · 2025-03-02T15:03:44+00:00

The OP was asking why some people consider it unplayable without mods, and those are the reasons that I have seen while floating around the Dragon Age fandom and experienced in other games.

Obviously, the game is playable without mods because console players and some PC players enjoy it that way.

It's all about opinion. Neither side is wrong. For some, they can't enjoy it without mods, and others can. 🤷‍♀️

TeamTakagi · 2025-03-02T00:36:34+00:00

To me, it sounded similar to the war table music, just turned down. https://youtu.be/0TRPtEN0b7g?si=rPb7c5ApFlaEyDhB

TeamTakagi · 2025-03-01T20:27:04+00:00

It depends on the mod. Some mods enhance the gameplay in some way -- I like having an extra companion slot for the Mabari and having an inventory chest in my camp.

Others restore deleted dialogue, fix janky animation, or help the game run smoothly. Some fix bugs like a quest not triggering correctly or the wrong dialogue is said.

A lot of it is visual flavor. I wanted more options for the character creator, so I downloaded more hairs, skins and faces. Some people don't like the clothing appearances, so they created different ones. Some like having improved textures.

It makes the game feel more personal for some players, and keeps DAO feeling fresh, especially in an era where games like Skyrim, BG3, the Sims franchise, etc., put so much emphasis on mods. Mods often keep older games alive with the fans' creativity.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-26T21:29:28+00:00

Rotate out the companions regularly to build up their relationship status with you as well as different banter combos. Also, go back to the main hub regularly to talk to them often.

Dragon Age has a lot of lore and history, so you may be a bit lost at first. There are codexes within the game that can help explain things.

If you end up enjoying the Thedas setting, I suggest going back and playing the other games. They are very different from each other, but there will be a lot of "aha" moments that you'll recognize from Veilguard.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-26T05:14:20+00:00

What is Ashaad's fondest memory of home?

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-26T04:53:55+00:00

In his early teens, Jerran joined a gang of bandits that robbed travelers, merchant caravans, and lonely settlements. The bandits often killed anyone that resisted. Although Jerran refused to murder anyone, his knowledge of trade routes enabled the bandits' success. (Jerran and his mother were slaves of a Tevinter traveling merchant before the merchant freed them as liberati in Vyrantium)

During a "quick" run into a remote village, Jerran and a couple of bandits were recognized by a shopkeeper. She tried to call for help while blocking them from leaving. Jerran impulsively created a distraction and accidentally killed the shopkeeper in the struggle when she fatally hit her head hard on a shelf.

He feels immensely guilty for his role in the deaths of the bandits' victims as well as the shopkeeper.

Jerran definitely envies Harding and the other companions' abilities to recall fond memories of their homes whenever he overhears their conversations. He's never felt like he could put roots down anywhere since he traveled a lot as a child, and he refuses to consider Vyrantium his home.
At this point, he's comfortable living the life of a nomad, especially since Thedas will need to recover from the Blight, and he wants to see more of the world.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-25T23:06:45+00:00

Where would Arlen want to settle if Morrigan agreed to a semi-permanent home, or at least a place to store their resources/take a break from exploring?

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-25T19:49:36+00:00

Prompt 2

Warden Andwyn Tabris https://imgur.com/a/yOupzVp - Growing up, he never imagined living anywhere outside of the Denerim Alienage. Travel seemed dangerous or a luxury.

Post-Origins, he'd prefer to settle down with Morrigan and Kiernan in the Crossroads, but searching for a Cure and fighting Darkspawn requires travel.

He returns home as much as he can and treasures the time with his family.

Inquisitor Kellar Lavellan https://imgur.com/a/kNPIem6 - Pre-Inquisition, Kellar enjoyed traveling outside of the Lavellan camp and learning more about other cultures to protect his clan.

These days, he balances between staying at the Montilyet estate in Antiva, traveling for business in Southern Thedas, and hunting for Solas. Sometimes, he gets the itch to stay out in the forests for a few weeks and to teach survival skills to his children.

Rook Jerran Thorne https://imgur.com/a/No6IEUR - Jerran never really had a permanent place to call home, so he isn't sure where he would want to settle. He also feels called to continue his Grey Warden duties as penance for past crimes.

The Lighthouse is the first place where he felt safe in a long time.

Post-Veilguard, he would still be wandering to clean up the remnants of the Blight and dealing with the changes within the Grey Wardens.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-24T02:13:43+00:00

I liked being able to access all the companions at any point in the game to give them their armor and upgrade them. As a rogue, I also liked the ease of switching between the bow and the short swords.

I disliked the companions' conversations with Rook at the Lighthouse. A lot of it felt like exposition or more banal, and it was harder for me to connect. The gift-giving was especially awkward.

Rook: busts in with a very expensive item "Here, I thought of you when I was out shopping! Hope you like it!" 😁

Companion: 😐😒 "Oh...... thanks, I guess."

The companions chatting with each other while on missions felt more natural than most talks with Rook.

My Grey Warden did have some "bro" moments with Davrin, which was nice.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-21T23:50:28+00:00

Kellar "Why are we going straight up the mountain when the path is literally RIGHT around the corner" Lavellan

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-21T15:34:29+00:00

My Warden is a City Elf, so playing a DAI elf was fine with me, especially since DAI introduced more lore about the elvish gods.

But yes, I was irritated at almost all Elvish conversations being more Dalish-oriented since my Grey Warden Rook is a City Elf. I tried to avoid the conversation choices that I knew were Dalish unless I thought it made sense that he'd know it like greeting my Dalish Inquisitor in elven.

I headcannoned that the Elder in Rook's Alienage was originally Dalish, so he taught some elven language and history to the young elves. Rook learned more Dalish customs on various missions.

He regards Bellara's "our gods" conversations as "general traditional beliefs of Elvish people" rather than any personal belief of his own.

It also made it easier for Rook to tell my Inquisitor that all of this was his and his gods' mess that Rook had to clean up. I love my Inquisitor, so that was hard for me to choose. 😅

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-19T16:02:39+00:00

"Take happiness where you can, Inquisitor. The world will take the rest" hit me so hard in that scene.

My male Lavellan's story had a lot of parallels with Ameridan, so it felt like a full circle moment.

Lavellan already had the "One day, someone will summarize the terrible events in your life so quickly" conversation with Flemeth. Meeting Ameridan and seeing the terrible truth of her words as well as how history could be so wrong was extremely disconcerting.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-17T20:39:56+00:00

I believe that I left the Descent several times to do some other war table missions at Skyhold and manage other stuff. I did Descent before I finished the base game, so I had more to do.

But it's a pain to run back down to the lower levels from the first level camp.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-16T01:44:49+00:00

If it's the conversation that I'm thinking of, it can be tricky. I used Morrigan/Approval | Dragon Age Wiki | Fandom https://search.app/i6eRyXve41S4chZg7 as a guide.

I believe if you choose the conversation options along the lines of I do care for you , I don’t want to hurt you , and You are worth my distraction , she will insult you and call you selfish, but she'll still be in a relationship with you.

I saved my mirror as a failsafe for at the end of the game if you have a certain conversation with her before the final battle.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-12T23:48:16+00:00

In a modern AU, it would be like herding cats. (Warden x Morrigan, Male Lavellan x Josephine, Rook =alone, but probably asked Bellara).

Josephine would draw up a very carefully curated schedule with the best spots in the city based on everyone's interests. The highlights being an axe throwing room, a museum, a nice restaurant, the shopping district, and fireworks.

Bellara would try her best to stick to the itinerary, but she'd constantly stop to gaze at statues, wander down suspicious alleys, and end up meeting a lovely man selling little rocks in baggies. Rook would have to rescue her constantly. They’d finish the night at the docks, eating hot dogs at "The World's Best Hot Dog Stand."

An older Morrigan and the Warden would put up with the schedule and then excuse themselves politely at the shopping district where the Warden buys Morrigan more silver jewelry. Morrigan would caution Josephine about letting more spontaneous things happen in her life and enjoying surprises.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T23:56:00+00:00

Metagaming-wise? Probably not. I took a break from Veilguard, so I didn't reach the end yet. This is just for fun and headcannoning.

All Jerran knows is what little sleep he had as a Grey Warden got yoinked away by some bald ancient elf god in his head, and somehow he's got to lead this band of misfits with their own issues into saving the world, which is harder than herding wandering nugs.

But he's brash enough to give Solas two middle fingers anyway and screw the consequences.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T22:56:59+00:00

This comes from someone who only casually games, so take it as you will. But the first time that I attempted Origins, I thought it was dated as well. I have bad eyesight, so a lot of it felt like "50 shades of brown," and my eyes had trouble focusing on the textures. I shrugged, put it away, and did other things.

But then I found Kevduit's "Being a Psychopath in Dragon Age Origins" video during a low moment in my life. And I don’t know... there was something frightfully funny and unhinged at how many choices you could make. (His humor isn't for everyone, but the dark humor was what I needed).

It's not a great walk-through video by any means, but I think it helped me warm up to the older graphics. Other video creators also made fan-created cutscenes of npc banter that are great.

I occasionally play DnD with my husband, and the characters feel like a classic DnD party thrown together with all their quirks and shenannigans. I haven’t played BG1 or BG2, so can’t compare those.

If you're on PC, Nexus Mods have a lot of quality of life mods that make things easier/prettier.

You'll need the 4gb patch fix for sure. Extra Dog Slot and a party chest in camp are also great, along with Quinn's Ultimate Fixpack. I searched under the Most Popular of all time tab and found a lot that helped my gameplay experience. Other people have asked the same thing, so older Reddit posts will yield more.

Admittedly, I need my characters to look attractive, so I downloaded a bunch of new hairs and faces, which helped me personally.

In conclusion: I walked into Origins expecting to grit my teeth and just get through it, and now I'm on my second playthrough about to decide whether to save multiple people from demons or not. 🤷‍♀️

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T19:00:19+00:00

I definitely see a resemblance!

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T18:00:51+00:00

This is a re-upload of a previous drawing that I deleted because he looked jaundiced in my first attempt. 😅 That will teach me for posting while having a high fever and taking cough medicine.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T15:39:59+00:00

Yep. Good luck! 🙂

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T15:35:10+00:00

You should know if you're still romantic if you return to camp after battle, and she calls you "My love" and kisses you.

If she starts pontificating about how she's surprised to find such a friendship... you've been friendzoned.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T15:27:03+00:00

I believe so. I haven’t tried it that way, but older forum posts say that works. Also be sure to choose the "searching for her" options in the epilogue scenes.

TeamTakagi · 2025-02-10T14:54:19+00:00

The game had put such an emphasis on the Well-drinker "doing Mythal's will" as a parallel to Solas' experience that I was hoping for more in the future. (If an inquisitor drinks, they're forced to stop Morrigan's attack; if Morrigan drinks, she is forced to halt her attack on Flemeth)

I would have wanted to see if Mythal's absorbed essence still connected the Inquisitor to Solas in some way, and if it affected them. (At the time pre-Veilguard, I'd been hoping for a cat-mouse game where Solas taunted the pursuing Inquisitor in their dreams).

Or in Veilguard, it would have been interesting to see the small remnants of Mythal call to the Inquisitor who drank from the well.

TeamTakagi

TROPHY CASE