Question with Slinks Ravage Mod (issue - one hit vanilla enemies)

[Mist of Majora]

I've been trying to track down the answer to this myself on google for days, but after picking the game back up last week the bulk of the enemies are dying in one hit (the friggin' Ostagar boss (I'll refrain from naming him just in case first timers are reading this) died in one hit too....

After reading the posts below, I realized I had a conflicting mod (unlock all specials) and got rid of it, but the problem is still there, even with a new character. I've also tried Slink's Fix pack, uninstalling/reinstalling this mod, and loading different save locations to 'refresh' the mod.

Any ideas on a way to fix this? This game is infinitely more fun with this mod, but not with this issue :/

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1406/?tab=posts

[Fictus22]

Hi, Mist of Majora, this is ZDuke17, and I will try my best to help you.

Is there any of the following in your C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\packages\core\override folder?

unlock_specs_dao_daa
engineevents_unlock_specs.GDA
eventmanager_unlock_specs.GDA
unlock_specs.ncs
unlock_specs.nss

If such files aren't present, try moving the Character folder in your Bioware dragon age folder somewhere away from the game, and see if any change occurs making a new character. Rarely at times save games, even if not being used, merely existing in your dragon age folder, might cause strange issues if there were ever any modding issues or compatibility issues linked to those saves. As to why, I genuinely have not an idea to be completely honest with you, but it does occur in strange circumstances.

If the above yields no favorable results, please provide other mods you have installed to see if there may be any possible issues with those too.

If in need of further assistance, let me know, and I will reply as soon as I am able.

[Mist of Majora]

Hey thanks for trying - I checked and I no longer have those 5 files (I had the unlock specialization mod as stated above a few days ago, but I removed that).

Moving the character folder was an interesting idea, but alas, that did not work either.

I shoudln't have any conflicting mods at this point, but here they are:

Advanced Party
Advanced Tactics
Alley of Murders
Character Respec Addon
Dog Class Modifier
Extended Dog Talents
Extended Shale Talents
Lancelot - School Divine
Large Backpacks
Lock Bash
No Helmet Hack 1.6
Skip the Fade
Slink's Ravage (Obviously haha)
Storage Chest
Two Spec Sten

Got any other ideas for me to try?

[Fictus22]

Sometimes when uninstalling a mod, some files are left behind, but gladly doesn't seem to be the case here.

As mentioned before, the character folder issue is rare, so I am not shocked to hear the results.

After looking through your list of mods, I have two things we can try, although both may be unappealing.

I'll be upfront and inform you I lack experience with the following mods:

Advanced Party
Advanced Tactics
Alley of Murders
Character Respec Addon
Lancelot - School Divine
Large Backpacks
Storage Chest
Two Spec Sten

Note: Perhaps one of those may be the issue. In my first idea, feel free to keep any files I didn't mention in that list above in the locations mentioned below.

First idea involves moving everything except for "slinks_s3, xatmos, no_helmet_hack" from your Addins folder, "xls" from your override folder, and move only all .erf files except for "slinks_s3_package, no_helmet_hack, xatmos" from Documents/Bioware/Packages/Core/Data to a separate location away from the game. Run the game and see if any change occurs with a new character. If it appears to have solved the issue, this would mean something is conflicting with it. To find out which, one at a time, move the files back into their respected locations, and run the game to see which is the issue.

For example, if you were to place the no helmet hack files back, you'd run the game afterward seeing if it were the issue or not.

Second - Do a fresh install of the game, install slinks mod, test it to see if it works with a new character, install and test other mods one by one to see which one is the issue. To do a fresh install:

1. Uninstall the game just by right-clicking the game in your steam library, click "Uninstall," and confirm the prompt given.

2. Go to: C:\Users\[Your User Name]\Documents\BioWare and delete the "Dragon Age" folder.

Note: If you want to keep your saves, move the Character folder somewhere safe.

3. Go to: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common and delete the "Dragon Age Ultimate Edition" folder.

Note: if you install games on a different drive, go to the location you have your games on, and delete the "Dragon Age Ultimate Edition" folder.

Optional: Restart your computer after following steps 1, 2, and 3.

4. Install the game as you usually would.

I know the second method sucks, but sometimes it needs to be done. I would be more precise in telling which mod is the issue, but due to my inexperience with some of the mods, I am unable to do so.

I thank you for complying thus far despite the situation being a difficult and irritating one at that. I hope for our continued cooperation in solving this issue. If in need of further assistance, let me know, and I will reply as soon as I am able.

[Fictus22]

Also, if you experience any stability issues with your game after doing a fresh install, such as crashing, then follow along with the following:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1667889371

1. Skim the guide to the section dubbed "Tweaks for Best Stability."

2. Follow along with Prentices Tweaks/Fixes: excluding DLC and Party Members.

3. Watch youtube video provided on the guide about Memory Fixes and Qwinn's Fixpack.

Optional: Apply the Compatibility Windows XP by following the instructions on the guide.

[Mist of Majora]

You rock ZDuke! I think I'm just going to spring for a fresh install since I'll need to start a new character anyways.

And as a side note, that's great advice wiping my Bioware/Dragon Age folder too - I don't think I did that last install and it had my edited Settings file for Ravage and Lockbash in it.

Good call man - I'll report back (with hopefully some good news) tomorrow night :)

[Fictus22]

Alright, I'll be here to assist you further in this matter as soon as I am able. Till then, thank you for the compliment, as well as further cooperation in this matter, and I hope the results will turn up favorably for you.

[Mist of Majora]

Yep it worked! With slinks ravage mod being the ONLY mod in my game, there's no more one shotting goin on.

Now I just need to put one mod back at a time to find the culprit, but that'll be more complicated than it sounds. Ravage mod works by only initiating its settings on the start of a new instance (for example, every floor of the Ostagar tower).

Oh well, time to get to work on that, thanks again :)

[Fictus22]

I am glad to hear the results thus far. I apologize though of the inconvenience of having to find the culprit, but in situations like this, it must be done to ensure the issue a comprehensive solution.

I'd be interested in your findings in this matter; they'd both offer an opportunity to learn, and to assist others. You are, of course, under no obligation to share such if you resolve the issue soundly on your own with no need for further cooperation, but it would prove to be an asset to the community.

At any rate, thank you for the report and your gratitude for my assistance. I wish you favorable results in your attempt to find the culprit of your issue.

[Mist of Majora]

Thank you :)

I'll let you know if I do find the culprit, but it won't be easy to track down. This definitely seems to be a case where once the mod is corrupted, it cannot be UNcorrupted without a total purge of both game, saves, all mods in question (obviously), and possibly the entire Bioware folder in Documents (possibly not needed, but it was great advice to make sure).

I have learned one thing though - reloading the mod list above did not cause any issues so far (though I'll be able to 100% confirm that after moving on a few more levels). So my best guess so far is Unlock all Specials mod corrupted it, and even though I deleted the mod and entire game once and reloaded a fresh character/mod list without it, there was an extra file somewhere that still kept the corruption in my game (my best guess right now is it was integrated into a character's save file and remained even while starting a new character).

And for those reading this with similar issues, know that the Improved Atmosphere (listed in unconfirmed comment posts) mod and Unlock all Specials (confirmed multiple times across different sites) will easily corrupt this mod. And since this mod affects an entire instance at a time (unclear if that means an entire map like Ostagar, or a floor of Ostagar), you may not notice the fact your mod is corrupted until after you leave that area, which makes it very difficult to track down the guilty mod.

[Fictus22]

You are quite welcome Mist of Majora.

Thank you for the information gathered thus far, I'll keep a record of such, as well as further findings. Due to the experience I possess, what you have learned seems accurate. When issues like what happened here occur, there is some form of remanent entry of the corruption/incompatibility lying somewhere within the game or its files. The course of action of a total purge of the game and game files would be needed to ensure no remanent of the issue resides in later installs.

In regards to your claim of Improved Atmosphere posing a threat as well, I will say with my game having both Slinks and IA (Improved Atmosphere) installed; there has been no indication of the issue or other being present in-game. Perhaps in the comments you and I both found, It may be likely there were other mods involved, lack of exclusive compatibility files for those possible other mods requiring it to work with IA, or improper installation. Slinks mod requires no such unique compatibility files regarding IA. The only refinements I made to Slinks was disabling the Autoloot feature included with the mod via Dragon Age ini file edit and increasing the difficulty due to me desiring a better, perhaps to some, an insane challenge.

[Jquist47]

Originally posted by ZDuke17:

Hi, Mist of Majora, this is ZDuke17, and I will try my best to help you.

Is there any of the following in your C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\packages\core\override folder?

If such files aren't present, try moving the Character folder in your Bioware dragon age folder somewhere away from the game, and see if any change occurs making a new character. Rarely at times save games, even if not being used, merely existing in your dragon age folder, might cause strange issues if there were ever any modding issues or compatibility issues linked to those saves.

I can't thank you enough ZDuke17, this advice solved the issue for me and I would never have known otherwise. Reinstalling the game did nothing for me, removing all mods from the override folder did nothing as well, but when I deleted all my character folder (I saved them elsewhere) and installed the mod it finally worked. I have added back most of them ods from my old override folder and everything now works as intended, I cant thank you enough for this and hope this post will help more in the future.

[Grone]

I have this issue and I'm deep into a playthrough, so restarting is pretty much impossible. I'm sure the issue is related to the Unlock All Specializations mod, but I've removed any trace of it and the problem persists. Was a solution ever found? I'd really hate to lose this playthrough :(