So I've tried to play through DA:O a lot of times over the past few years, but I never managed to get past the first few hours. Skip forward a few months, "Oh, I don't know anything about this story/my character anymore, let's just start from the beginning". This, several times. And it just happened again. Thing is: I would really(!) like to play the whole trilogy (I own the games already anyway) from start to finish. I'm not(!) looking for a challenge at this point. I come for the story beats and of course I don't want the gameplay to be miserably boring, but the combat shouldn't be too challenging, it would just lead to me stopping playing at some point.

So I turn to you, Giant Bomb Community, to ask the following hard-hitting questions which I'm sure have never(!) been asked before:

• Is there an "agreed upon" "best" origin story (with regard to the impact it might have on the trilogy as a whole)
• Which class would you recommend? (I'd normally go for Rogue, but I heard that mages are pretty good/overpowered in this game, so... maybe?)
• Is playing on "easy" too easy after having spent a few hours with the game or actually a viable option?

Thanks for your answers in advance. By the way: You should be fully aware that your advice might lead to me starting the game from the beginning again, then playing a few hours again and then repeating my mistakes of the past and stopping to play for some reason until I have no clue what's what anymore.

But maybe... just maybe... your answers will lead to me finally finishing DA:O and getting rid of it on my hard drive. That would be nice!

As far as the overall storyline I believe human fighter or rogue makes the most sense plot-wise for the main character. That being said I do really enjoy the mage class in terms of gameplay. They have a lot of options and you can't really go wrong with having 2 mages on your team if you want to use Morrigan or Wynn as well. It really doesn't matter though. The game is easy enough on normal difficulty that all 3 classes are viable. Mages just happen to be stupidly broken with the right spells. Play whatever character you'd rather roleplay and whatever class you like the gameplay for. It's a long game so don't feel like you should pick something you might get tired of halfway through just cause the internet says it's good.

My favorite origin (and I have no idea what it was actually called, been ages since I played through that game) was either to poor dwarf, or the rich human. Tried all the classes, but I remember liking rouge the best

Dwarf Noble is easily my favorite in terms of story, it's so good. In terms of class I would say either can be fun. I'm terrible at this game despite loving it and generally play on easy. It can still be difficult occasionally even on easy so I wouldn't worry about it.

Human noble was really good.

I haven't played DA:O for a while, but if I'm not mistaken:

• Your choices in DA:O would have an impact on the trilogy as a whole, but I don't think your character/origin story really plays much into it. I think they're all great but my favorite origin story is the human noble one
• I might go with a mage or healer, because if I remember correctly the best mage and healer you get as party members are really hard to keep happy if they're both always in your party
• My suggestion if you don't want to have too much challenge with the combat is to play the second easiest difficulty, that way if you somehow do hit a difficulty wall you can temporarily lower it down another notch

I liked the Mage class and the Circle of Magi origin story. I chose to play as a human noble for my first playthrough, and I remember the origin story being a little cliched.

I liked Dwarf Noble the most. Pretty sure I played the warrior class, but it's been several years.

Dwarf and Human Noble are both great, I remember liking the city elf story as well. All very tragic.

I played through as a city elf warrior and loved it. I think you'll be okay with whatever you choose, so just pick whichever appeals to you the most.

Mage class. Good control spells to make combat easier.

Human Noble, Dwarf Noble or Circle of Magi are my personal favourite origins in which I play warrior or mage.

My GB profile pic is my DA: O mage character.

There are plenty of party members that specialize in different classes so whatever you choose there is always someone to fill in the missing link in your posse. Personally I played a mage because they're always OP in these games.

Dwarf or Human Noble are the best origins IMO. Classes you can do mostly whatever you want.

I had a lot of fun playing as an Elf Mage. I wanted to make him power hungry and willing to do anything to gain more magical abilities, willing to fuck over anyone who stood in my way, but the game gave me the great oppurtunity to turn it into a redemption story where at a certain point in the game your previous choices come back to stare you in the face and well, I felt goddamn guilty about what I'd done and from that moment on I decided to play the character as someone trying to do the right thing and find some forgiveness for their past mistakes.

Narratively, I couldn't believe how well the game allowed this character arc to progress, I've never really experienced anything like it in a game before, it just felt like the way it was supposedto happen. The romance option even informed this decision, where by the end of the game this once thirsty for unlimited power Elf Mage now simply wanted to walk into the sunset with his love. What a great game, haha.

Go with what you think is cool, I don't remember any of the classes being bad/not fun. Especially considering you have a full party to run around with. Your initial choice of origin/class doesn't matter in the context of the trilogy.

I recommend playing on normal or higher. If you just want to burst through it while keeping the combat interesting, normal is probably the best option. Easy would a little too easy and boring.

Personally I liked the Dalish Elf and Dwarvish Noble origins for the stories. I thought the Mage origin was kinda boring.

As far as classes go, Mages do get stupidly overpowered in the end-game, but you have to know which spells to pick, which you might not unless you're using a guide to play through the game. I tend to play as a rogue because then I can get into everything.

I would also ask what system you're playing on? There are a couple of subtle differences between the PC and XBOX versions that make the PC version just a little bit more difficult. The big one is that on the XBOX there's no cool down on your healing potions, while you need to wait like something like 5-10 seconds between them on the PC. Since the end-game magic healing doesn't scale particularly well, I tended to find it was better on the XBOX to just kinda forget about mage healing and craft my own potions, but your mileage may vary.

Dwarf Commoner is the most interesting as far as I'm concerned. It's a fun start and it also sets up interesting perspective to what's going on with the Dwarves when you get there later. Human Noble is also good, and gives you a more personal connection to one of the villains, and lets you make some more dramatic choices in the endgame. While any of the classes are totally viable, I like the Rogue because you can pick locks and your need for cunning means you also unlock all the dialogue options. Of course, the Mage *IS* the most powerful class, it's just plain unbalanced in Origins, but don't feel that you have to do that. Everyone can win, and when you get to Awakening, pretty much everyone are walking gods.

It always felt to me like the Human Noble had the most hooks in the main story. I played sword and shield, but it really doesn't matter. It's not a hard game.

Yeah I think this was the main reason I liked the human noble origin.

You should play them all! And then pick which one you like the most and continue the game. They each have a couple hour origin intro game play. But after that, the game is the same for them all. Minus each ones story hooks moving forward.

Someone told me that bioware considers that Male Dalish Elf is the cannon story as far as there can be one in a game like this. No idea if this is true, I like the city elf the best

They bang on about the Mage / Templar situation for the whole trilogy, so playing a mage probably makes most sense in that regard. Human noble probably fits the story better if you look at Origins in isolation.

Please know before you get into this that DA2 and Inquisition are not good games.

I played Dwarf Noble, that was a pretty cool story

Dwarf Noble is also my favorite. I freaking loved dwarves in Origins.

Has anybody suggested Dwarf Noble yet?

This. It makes for a very interesting story situation later in the game. Probably the most interesting overall, although the Dalish Elf line has major ties to an overall important story arc (I just think it turns out to be more of a nod than anything of substance, but then - like all origin stories - there are still some heavy ties to certain other plots in the Origins main story).

My first character was a rogue, and while I think playing a mage ultimately turned out to be more fun, rogues are also totally viable beasts at dealing damage in melee. Not as boring to play as a sword-and-board while you're trying to get around to the backside of an enemy for maximum potency

They're great games!

Mage is your best bet if you're thinking of this in a roleplay sense, as being a mage throughout the entire trilogy is pretty much being front and center at all of the reasons behind conflict in the Dragon Age universe. For added bonus, play as an Elf Mage so you can really be hated by the entirety of the world. For added, added bonus, play as a chaotic evil Elf Mage and side with Morrigan.

However, no Origin story from DA:O matters in either DA2 or DA:I, because you are playing different characters in each, and outside of a brief cameo in DA:I you never hear from your DA:O character again.

Dwarf Noble is the best one I think hands down. Like you say, because of how it ties back into the main plot. Human noble does in a pretty cool way too but not as well.

Also @knurrunkulus, are you on PC? Because if you are, there are mods available that allow you to tweak some of the origin system, for example allowing you to be a mage in any other origin. So you could be a Dwarf Noble Origin but of the mage class. I get why people want to be mage's in Dragon Age (especially Origins, which is thin on mages for your party).

I liked Dwarf Noble the most

So if you want to have a pretty easy time, I'd say go mage, but god damn is the mage origin story just the most dull thing I've subjected myself to in that game. It may be because I've played a couple mage characters now, but it just doesn't have a whole lot going for it, and the fact that it's the same for both Elf and Human mages just makes it brutal for replaying. But mage is also kind of the most powerful class in the game, and can out warrior any of your warriors with ease.

The Human Noble backstory had some good political intrigue stuff that the game was known for, and honestly it is probably the most relevant to the overall plot. Like, every backstory has its main plot call backs, but I feel that Human Noble is the only one that hooks directly into the main plot. Or at least it can, it depends on other factors.

If you don't go mage, then you can't go wrong with rogue, but I mostly say that because I almost never wanted to actually bring any of the rogues with me, and you need at least one rogue to open stuff. If you remember liking any of the other rogues and really like bringing them along, then go ahead with warrior.