If you have played the game you know that everyone has their own distinct way of playing it. How do you play dragon age?

Specializations

Primary 

Rogue- Dual Blade, Subterfuge and Sabotage specialization (Invisibility and rear attacks with poison buffs)

Warrior- Two handed weapon Battlemaster (tank through distration and overpowered frontal attacks with AOE damage)

Mage - Spirit & Inferno specializations (AOE damage)

Rogue -Archer, and sabotage specialization (Poison bow buff)

My secondary would include some variations of anything else that is allowed, but that is for a second playthrough.

With a controller?

Just getting ready to start it. I'm almost always a warrior in any game that i play.

With gusto.


... if I get the topic, first play throughs of any DA game (or any RPG of similar ilk) is Rogue, female, elf/non-human option.

Yeah, why? Thought only a mouse and keyboard could control the battlefield properly?

Just finished my first playthrough as a dual wielding Qunari female rogue, Assassin specialisation. Playing on PS4. I really like the idea of the tactical view for battles, but the execution on consoles is not so great, so I pretty much used action mode most of the time and only used tactical mode when I wanted to instruct multiple characters. Or right at the beginning of an engagement to set up each character's first actions and targets. I also used tactical mode to select the spawning points at rifts to hit with dispel. So it definitely has its uses on console, just not as much as I was hoping. I might have to use it more often with my nightmare playthrough.

I am about 80 hours in.

I play with a Mage...mostly lightning and fire spells.

My party generally consists of Dorian, Blackwell and Varric - I substitute Varric out for Vivienne when I face a dragon.

The mages have a mix of spells, but I change the entire party's staffs and armour out - again depending on the next dragon.

I am not completely 100%-ing it, but I am getting damn close.

Warrior (Sword & Shield)

I'm trying to play through the first 2 first. Currently playing Origins off and on, but I'm such a completionist whore, I'm not enjoying it. So at this rate, maybe by the summer I'll be on Inquisition.

I'm playing on Xbox One. Its funny, but I use action only for smaller enemies who arent in groups and I use tactical view to beak apart groups of three or four.

Ie:

Rogue to enemy archers and rear attack while invisible for crit
Archer to main warrior enemy with poisoned arrows and specials before cool down
Mage with AOE every round before cooldown and protection spells
Warrior to main warrior as tank with special attacks

I control almost every move they do after everyones cooldown. I also place where they are on the battlefield. 

If I need to take out a specific limb of a Giant or Dragon, I make distance warriors spread out around the specific limbs and have the warrior to crit damage to the limb while the dragon  or giant is focused on him. Everyone else can raise hell. The whole point is to distract.

It will definitely help on nightmare. This is why I am trying to master it early. Works well thus far. I don't really die or lose much life because of it. Jar of bees is amazing as well.