Good party for rogue archer Warden?

[clansb]

I'm hoping someone is still here who can help me, although I'm totally new to these forums.

I'm coming back to DA:Origins for the love of the game, but I want to make it harder on myself, so I'm picking a rogue archer this time. (I used to play dual-wielding rogues or mages.) And I want lots of romance. I've got a bunch of mods installed now, including one that gives a romance with Leliana lots of color, and ones that give Alastair lots of lines and a "nobler" wedding. So... I'm hoping to romance Leli in camp, while taking Alastair with me. Eventually, I'll dump her for him, and (being a Teyrn's daughter) become Queen (NOT Consort). Since this plan means I'm essentially stuck with keeping Alastair in my party, to me it also means making things harder -- I used to play with Sten & Wynne, adding Morrigan if I was the rogue, or Leliana if I was the mage. And I also have the mod that lets me take my faithful Mabari along, in addition to the party of four.

So, does anyone have advice for a party with a rogue archer as Warden, plus Alastair? I can respec NPCs via a mod, if it helps, but I like keeping basic character choices like sword/shield for Alastair and Shapeshifting for Morrigan. And for anyone here who wrote the mods I've found on Nexusmods -- thank you soooo much!

[Shellbie]

Mod that gives lots of color?

[Undead Rufus]

Alistair is arguably the best tank among the vanilla companions, so I'm not sure that keeping him around all the time necessarily makes anything harder.

Honestly, just about any character combination can work, but a lot comes down to how you play and what difficulty you're on. A setup that pulverizes enemies on Casual or Normal can get you slaughtered on Nightmare.

Just off the top of my head, if you're playing as an archer and Alistair is a given, then maybe consider taking Morrigan with Entropy/Primal and Wynne with Creation/Spirit. Shale wth Rock Mastery and Stone Aura can also be useful for buffing your Warden and helping Alistair with the occasional knock-down.

[clansb]

More detail -- I expect to play on Hard. I've gotten bored with DA combat on Normal, but I'm not the type to insist on beating a game on Nightmare.

I know that Shale can be verrrrry helpful to an archer, but I don't like filling a party slot just for a buff, and I don't like her ability suite -- or that clomping noise she makes, walking.

The problem with tanks is that they're not focused on dishing out damage, and I'm going to have to learn to run Alistair properly as a tank. It's not natural for me. And Wynne is not a good damage-dealer, either, given the spells she starts with and her RP. So that leaves an archer (me), which I consider questionable in terms of dealing damage, and Morrigan -- highly capable, granted. I'm not sure that there's enough damage-dishing-out to work with this party.

What if I dump Wynne (possibly actually siding with the Templars for the first time ever), and use Sten or Oghren? In short, make it me, Alistair, Sten/Oghren, & Morrigan? On Hard? I wouldn't get a Spirit Healer until 14th level...

[Undead Rufus]

Shale can be devastating and is far more than just a buff, but if you don't enjoy her skill set, then I guess there's no point in using her. FWIW, there is (or used to be) a mod for her annoying footsteps, though I can't remember what it's called.

DA:O, for good or ill, falls somewhere within the holy trinity combat philosophy. That said, I've always found its tank builds to be far more reliable at DPS than in a lot of similar games. So, I'm not sure what to say there.

Wynne is not a good damage dealer if you leave her with a lore-friendly build, but a Creation/Spirit mage is good for the whole party with a bonus of some decent crowd killers. I don't recall any damage-dealing issues with archers in DA:O, but it's been a long time since I last played as one.

Warden archer, Alistair, Sten/Oghren, Morrigan — I see no reason why that wouldn't work, but in your shoes I would stock many healing poultices and invest heavily in Entropy for Morrigan.

[clansb]

"In your shoes I would stock many healing poultices and invest heavily in Entropy for Morrigan."
Done! Actually, I hadn't seriously looked at what spells to give Morrigan, beyond Spirit Healer at 14th, so I'm definitely taking your recommendation of Entropy to heart.

As for tanks, it's not a question of what the game permits, as of what I can build successfully. Growth as a player is good, right? :)