Summary
Dragon Age: Originsis an absolute classic of the RPG genre, and set the stage forBioWare to make some of the most beloved RPG seriesin Dragon Age and Mass Effect. However, the game launched in 2009, and has not aged the best in some areas.
That’s where mods can save the day. Modding and RPGs go together like peanut butter and jelly, and Dragon Age: Origins is no stranger to this. There are many mods that have been released over the decade plus that the game has been out, ranging from gameplay overhauls to minor quality of life tweaks.
8More Hairstyles - kzelsama
This is a simple mod that does what it says on the tin. The character creator for Dragon Age: Origins,being a pretty old game, is limited in the options you have. This mod allows you to choose between a number of new hairstyles.
These aren’t any wild anime-style hair choices that would break the lore and immersion of the game. It simply gives you more options to choose from in creating your personalized Warden. It even allows you to choose the male human hairstyle that The Warden has in the trailers for the game, so you can do a playthrough as the canon Warden.
7Extra Dog Slot - Dheuster
The Mabari Hound is the best boy. If you choose the human noble option for your character, he isn’t just a dog you find left behind, he’syourdog, which makes it even harder when you have to leave him behind in camp in favor of other party members.
Well, with this mod, you won’t have to. You will still have the option of having the hound take up one of your party member slots, if you wish, but you will also receive a dog whistle item. This will let you summon him or send him away at will (as long as you aren’t in combat). This can help give you the edge in some tough encounters, while also not feeling like you are cheating by adding a whole extra regular party member. Plus, you can’t just leave him behind in camp. He will be lonely.
6Skip The Fade - hdhd
The Fade is one of the most notorious sections in RPG history, infamous for its tediousness. For new players, this may very well be an intimidating reason to put off starting the game, and for veterans, this could be the reason you stay away from a new playthrough. That’s why the Skip The Fade mod is so great.
With this mod, you’ll have the option of skipping the companions Fade sections of this part of the game, skipping right to the boss battles. It’s also optional, so if you get to that point in the game and change your mind, you can still go through the normal routes. This is great as it gives you the best of both worlds, and you can decide whether you wish to do this tedious quest depending on your mood.
5Madd Gift Guide - maddbomber83
One mechanic of Dragon Age: Origins is the ability toromance party members, and even if you don’t wish to romance them, increasing their affection towards you will give them bonus stats and abilities. Besides making in-game choices and having conversations with them, another way to improve your relations with your party members is to give them gifts.
However, you don’t know which gift items go to which party members for maximum affection gained. With the Madd Gift Guide, this simple mod will add the intended character’s name to the front of the gift. This makes it easy to know which gifts to give to which party members, as giving the right gift to the right member, especially if it is a specific high-tier gift, will massively boost the affection gained from them.
4Dragon Age Redesigned - Dracomies
This mod is basically an all-around improvement to the game’s character designs and textures, with different options to suit each player’s needs. Across the board, it will improve the details and designs of NPC’s and companions, but you may choose between being more lore-accurate, prettier, or a balance of both.
We (as well as the author) recommend the balanced package, which will be a combination of ‘prettier’ designs, and more lore-accurate designs that are closer to the game’s original vision.
3Lock Bash - xatmos
Ever run into a locked door or chest, but had no rogue in your party? Don’t lie, it happens to the best of us. With this mod, you won’t have to worry about that any longer, as it allows any character to attempt to bash-open a lock with their weapon. However, it is not just a cheat mode.
Bashing opening a lock has different requirements and RNG. It’s based on your character’s class and stats, so strength for a warrior or dexterity for a rogue, and you also have the possibility of losing items inside should you roll a low score. So not only does it get rid of the inconvenience of having to have a lock-picking rogue with you at all times, but you have to weigh the risk and reward of attempting to bash the chest or door.
2Character Respecialization - weriKK
Dragon Age: Origins is a difficult game, especially for players who may not have played this genre of tactical, real-time with pause combat. Because of this, it will be easy to make mistakes regarding character building as you level up. Or maybe you are a veteran player who wishes to change a party member’s intended path to suit your needs more.
That’s where this mod comes into play. With Character Respecialization, you will be able to completely reset and re-allocate the skill points, attribute points, and specializations of everyone in your party. This is perfect for if you made a mistake when leveling that you wish to revert, or even completely reset a character’s starting spells and abilities if you disagree with the game’s choice.
1FtG UI Mod - More Readable Fonts And UI - FollowTheGourd
This mod is essential for anyone playing at a higher resolution, or who has an ultrawide monitor. What this mod does is make the UI bigger, to allow you to read abilities, dialogue choices, inventory items, etc. on higher resolutions and bigger monitors than were around when the game launched.
It’s also useful for just making the font and UI higher quality even if you are playing on a normal 16:9 monitor. By default, the UI is a bit unclear and messy, so it will crisp it up for you. But again, playing on a bigger monitor or much higher resolution, the mod is pretty much essential, as otherwise the text will be incredibly small.
