Best Mods for a first run

[OltreBradipo]

Well... It's not really a first run because I already started and left unfinished this game many times in the last years. Now I want to finally finish it and I'd like to use a few mods to enhance the graphics and make the gameplay better. Do you have any suggestion?

(For example I remember a Nexus mod which gave you a third party slot for the dog.)

[red255]

how is that an example?

No. bad. none.

[Undead Rufus]

Extra Dog Slot is required equipment when I play DA:O.

My last run also included....

-Arcane Warrior Plus
-Lock Bash
-Dragon Age Redesigned
-Bidelle's Cosmetics
-Pineapple Tree's Vibrant Colors
-More Hair Styles
-No Helmet Hack
-CC Extra Tints and Tones
-Circles Be Gone

Note that using multiple character appearance mods (like Bidelle's + PT's) will likely require the use of CharGenMorph Compiler[www.nexusmods.com] to make everything work together.

I haven't used them recently, but Skip the Fade, Character Respecialization, and Expanded Inventory, back in the day, were useful quality-of-life mods.

Edit:
(If you've never finished the game, I recommend not using "Skip the Fade," even though the modded quest is utterly tedious.)

[OltreBradipo]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Undead Rufus:

Extra Dog Slot is required equipment when I play DA:O.

My last run also included....

-Arcane Warrior Plus
-Lock Bash
-Dragon Age Redesigned
-Bidelle's Cosmetics
-Pineapple Tree's Vibrant Colors
-More Hair Styles
-No Helmet Hack
-CC Extra Tints and Tones
-Circles Be Gone

Note that using multiple character appearance mods (like Bidelle's + PT's) will likely require the use of CharGenMorph Compiler[www.nexusmods.com] to make everything work together.

I haven't used them recently, but Skip the Fade, Character Respecialization, and Expanded Inventory, back in the day, were useful quality-of-life mods.

Edit:
(If you've never finished the game, I recommend not using "Skip the Fade," even though the modded quest is utterly tedious.)

Thanks! The Fade can be really boring but I think I'll play it anyway. I'll look at the mods you wrote. Is "Circles Be Gone" the one who removed the buff visual effects during cutscenes? Those were really bad looking!

[Undead Rufus]

Oprindeligt skrevet af HerrDoktor:

Thanks! The Fade can be really boring but I think I'll play it anyway. I'll look at the mods you wrote. Is "Circles Be Gone" the one who removed the buff visual effects during cutscenes? Those were really bad looking! :Doug:

Circles Be Gone removes the selection circles on the ground. For removing buff effects, you'll want "Dragon Age Mutator," which lets you tweak a number of little things from a single interface, or the single mod called "Personal Annoyance Remover."

[Ilja]

You will likely also want these. Both mods are modular. You can install what you want. They are also compatible together, as far as you are using compatibility file from Dain's Fixes.

• Dragon Age Rules Fixpack by gastank
  http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1601/?
  
  Bug fixes in DARF are solid and working. Sadly, tweaks are not working equally well. I can recommend bug fixes, but adding some of the tweaks can cause glitches in game.
  
  
• Dain's Fixes by dainbramage
  http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4384/?
  
  This pack fixes plenty of bugs that were not fixed in DARF. It is a newer mod. There are cases where mods have overlapping bug fixes. I would recommend using solutions from Dain's Fixes in those cases.

[OltreBradipo]

Thanks!

[red255]

why not just skip the entire game, and why just skip the fade?

how is the fade more tedious than the forest?

[OltreBradipo]

Oprindeligt skrevet af red255:

why not just skip the entire game, and why just skip the fade?

how is the fade more tedious than the forest?

[kane]

On top of ones listed i would say.
-Improved Atmosphere is a must for me.
-Grey Wardens of Ferelden & Templars of Ferelden mod because the only armour i liked in DA 2 was the armour they wore.
-Armor of the Devout a good set for leliana
-Noble Couslands of Ferelden because i normal play human male or female
-Armored Ogres of Ferelden This mod will change all Ogres in the game into their Armored Variant from Awakening i pick the one that just changes Leutenant and Boss ranked Ogres.
-Bug fixes for Awakening.

[OltreBradipo]

Oprindeligt skrevet af kane:

On top of ones listed i would say.
-Improved Atmosphere is a must for me.
-Grey Wardens of Ferelden & Templars of Ferelden mod because the only armour i liked in DA 2 was the armour they wore.
-Armor of the Devout a good set for leliana
-Noble Couslands of Ferelden because i normal play human male or female
-Armored Ogres of Ferelden This mod will change all Ogres in the game into their Armored Variant from Awakening i pick the one that just changes Leutenant and Boss ranked Ogres.
-Bug fixes for Awakening.

Thanks I'll give them a look

[Peculiar_Shenanigans]

For a first run? NO MODS.
My latest run:
4GB patch (no more crashes!). Nobody mentioned this?? Needed if you mod your game!
Dragon Age Redesigned (not recommended on a first run)
Improved Atmosphere (not recommended on a first run)
PT's Vibrant Colors
More Hairstyles
Tucked Hair (Was needed for Dragon Age Redesigned if "aestethics version" is chosen).
No Helmet Hack (because they are ugly. especially mage caps, light armors and the winged helmets)
Golden Egg (many moneys!! (not recommended on first run)
Hsli Sexy Robes (Not lore friendly but a few nice mage robes/rogue clothing) (when you get later in the game and are bored of the looks).

Extra dog slot. some people had weird bugs if installed before actually meeting dog so, beware.

[OltreBradipo]

Oprindeligt skrevet af Pg:

For a first run? NO MODS.
My latest run:
4GB patch (no more crashes!). Nobody mentioned this?? Needed if you mod your game!
Dragon Age Redesigned (not recommended on a first run)
Improved Atmosphere (not recommended on a first run)
PT's Vibrant Colors
More Hairstyles
Tucked Hair (Was needed for Dragon Age Redesigned if "aestethics version" is chosen).
No Helmet Hack (because they are ugly. especially mage caps, light armors and the winged helmets)
Golden Egg (many moneys!! (not recommended on first run)
Hsli Sexy Robes (Not lore friendly but a few nice mage robes/rogue clothing) (when you get later in the game and are bored of the looks).

Extra dog slot. some people had weird bugs if installed before actually meeting dog so, beware.

Thanks!

[Nova]

I'd recommend not going crazy with mods if it's your first playthrough, but there are several that can definitely be considered essential depending on what you're looking for. As far as graphics and gameplay go, here are some that haven't been listed yet:

• JB3 Textures[www.nexusmods.com]
  This is a must-have if you have no other texture mods. Origins is an amazing game, but the vanilla textures are horribly outdated. This replaces all of the low-res textures with high-res versions and is probably the most popular texture mod out there.
  
  
• Advanced Tactics[www.nexusmods.com]
  This one really expands the tactics system and follower/AI behavior. It's really useful if you're playing on a harder difficulty and need to strategize.
  
  
• Combat Tweaks[www.nexusmods.com]
  The creator of this mod tries not to stray too much from vanilla gameplay, but they've adjusted quite a few things to make combat more enjoyable while still maintaining a good overall balance.
  
  
• Dialogue Tweaks[www.nexusmods.com]
  This fixes a lot of bugs and adds a few minor dialogue options. There's an optional file that restores some unused dialogue from the game files as well.

And here are some smaller mods that are less essential but still nice to have:

• Two Specializations Sten[www.nexusmods.com]
  For some reason, Sten is the only character that doesn't get two specialization points. This fixes that.
  
  
• Detailed Tooltips[www.nexusmods.com]
  This modifies some item and ability descriptions by giving more detailed information on their effects.
  
  
• The Icons Project[www.nexusmods.com]
  This is a really well-done equipment icon overhaul if you get tired of some of the more overused icons in the game.
  
  
• Weapon Drawn Casting[www.nexusmods.com]
  This is useful if you're playing an Arcane Warrior, though I can't remember if there were any compatibility issues with Combat Tweaks. Just make sure to read through the descriptions of any mods you install, and check for compatibility fixes if they're listed.
  
  
• White Teeth[www.nexusmods.com]
  I'm all for immersion and medieval era realism in Origins, but I find the vanilla teeth textures to be distracting. There are a couple of different teeth mods out there, so you'll have to use your own judgement here.
  
  
• Forced Deathblows[www.nexusmods.com]
  This one makes the list simply because I'm a fan of the badass deathblow animations. There are four different files you can choose from, ranging from having all melee kills forced into deathblows to having deathblow animations on just boss mobs.

It's far from my full mod list, but I tried to pick out a few good ones that hadn't been mentioned yet. There are a lot of other small bug fixes that are worth checking out but would be too tedious to list here. If you're interested in looking at more, I'd recommend just going through the top files on Nexus Mods or reading through this big thread on Reddit. Good luck with your modding!

[Quirrel]

Skip the fade

[Ilja]

Am I only one who likes the Fade? I think it is a fun part of the game and I have never considered it tedious. It like to mess around with different character builds and powers there. :)