Super Lots of Skill Upgrades for Dragon Age 2
v0.94

*** IMPORTANT NOTE: values for vanilla skills/upgrades included here are based on DA2 v1.0/1.01/1.02 ***
*** Patch v1.03 introduces a large number of balance changes that I haven't had time to merge or playtest ***

QUICK INSTALL: Drop "SLSU" folder into your \override.

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New in this version:

-Fixes:
-> Assail no longer murders own party.
-> Blood Slave no longer does whatever it was doing (related to Assail bug).
-> Varric's cooldowns now cycle properly for Miasmic Flask, Confusion, Fatiguing Fog, Chameleon's Breath, Armistice, and Goad when using Optional8.
-> AoE upgrades for Dispel Magic (missed in 0.93) 5m/8m/10m/12m.

-Other tweaks:
-> Walking Bomb: AoE upgrades 5m/6m/7m (hidden).
-> Entropic Cloud: AoE upgrades 8m/9m/10m/12m (hidden).
-> Speed 3, Accuracy 3, Power 3: cooldown->0 for fast mode switching and cost reduced to encourage use as supplement to the NPC modals.
-> Minor name changes for some rogue upgrades.


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1] Overview

This mod includes upgrades for all Active and Sustained talents and spells normally available to Hawke and companions. Sustained modes are also dropped to 10% reserved each (base). Vanilla upgrades and Passives are not modified.

-Four available upgrades per skill for nearly every non-passive skill.

-Damage upgrades for direct damage skills are based on a rule of +25% of base damage each, to help even out scaling between disciplines.

-Exceptions to the above 25% rule are made for cases in which original base skill damage is very low (increased), or in which damage is not the primary effect of the base skill(increased), or for upgrades in which damage is not the primary upgrade feature (decreased).

-The fourth upgrades for common skills are Cross-Tree ("XTUs", see 4] below), requiring a Hawke specialization.

-New upgrades have level and point investment requirements chosen to maximize availability while still providing an interesting reveal as your character advances. There are customizable alternate versions with reduced/no requirements available in a separate download.

-Each upgrade's description should allow you to decipher what it will do. To verify effect, check tooltip of the base skill before hitting Confirm.

-The naming convention for SLSU upgrades is 1:"Upgrade", 2:"Strength", 3:"Magic"(mage) or "Advanced"(rogue/warrior), 4:as XTU tree or parent tree. There are a handful of exceptions.

To get the most out of this mod, higher difficulty settings are recommended.


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2] Area of Effect (AoE) upgrades

Since v0.93, nearly all AoE skills receive multiple upgrades.

Upgrades that affect AoE have size numbers shown in the description, e.g. "Size: 8m". This will be the AoE size if only that upgrade is applied.

If multiple upgrades are selected, each will increase the AoE by a certain additional amount specified by table. The upgraded base skill will show how by how much, but the upgrade itself will always show "8m" or whatever it was. This is a limitation of the description text. Check the base skill's tootip before you hit confirm!

Vanilla AoE values are left alone. Where vanilla has an AoE upgrade, its size is matched by the first SLSU upgrade. Vanilla upgrades do count for increasing AoE when selecting multiple upgrades, so they aren't obsolete.

AoE Upgrades Schedule (normal):
-Whirlwind: 6m/8m/9m/10m
-Taunt: 10m/16m/18m/20m/22m
-Tremor: 6m/10m/11m/12m
-Bravery: 10m/11m/12m
-Battle Synergy: 10m/15m/20m
-Smite: 8m/11m/12m
-Cleanse: 6m/10m/12m/14m
-Aura of Pain: 6m/7m/8m
-Spirit Pulse: 8m/9m/10m/12m
-Bursting Arrow: 5m/6m/7m
-Hail of Arrows: 10m/15m/16m/18m/20m
-Miasmic Flask: 5m/6m/7m/8m
-Confusion: 4m/5m/6m/7m
-Goad: 6m/10m/12m/14m/16m
-Armistice: 6m/12m/14m/16m
-Evade: 5.4m/6m/7m/8m
-Chameleon's Breath: 5m/8m/10m/12m/14m
-Inconspicuous: 20m/22m/24m
-All Hands on Deck: 8m/9m/10m/11m
-Savvy: 10m/11m/12m/13m
-Cone of Cold: 12m/14m/16m/18m
-Fireball: 5m/10m/11m/12m/14m
-Tempest: 15m/16m/18m/20m
-Dispel Magic 5m/8m/10m/12m
-Mind Blast: 5m/8m/10m/12m/14m
-Sleep: 6m/8m/10m/12m
-Glyph of Paralysis: 6m/7m/8m/10m
-Glyph of Repulsion: 6m/7m/8m/10m
-Pull of the Abyss: 10m/15m/16m/18m/20m
-Telekinetic Burst: 6m/7m/8m/10m
-Fist of the Maker: 6m/10m/11m/12m
-Healing Aura/Panacea: 6m/8m-12m/14m/16m/18m (8m first vanilla, 12m first SLSU)
-Hemorrhage: 10m/11m/12m/13m
-Grave Robber: 6m/7m/8m/9m
-Ensnare: 8m/10m/12m/14m/16m
-Wrath of the Elvhen: 6m/8m/9m/10m
-Walking Bomb: 5m/6m/7m (hidden)
-Entropic Cloud: 8m/9m/10m/12m (hidden)

Not AoE upgraded:
-Death Syphon, so when running multiple mages they won't suck each others corpses as much.
-Firestorm, because it has additional zones of effect and the explosions are already annoying at 15m.
-Gravitic Ring, because it has zones and is buggy enough as is.

There are two optional AoE variations:
1) "larger" - A version with more greatly upgraded sizes for everything, basically the "0.92X Experimental Version" values.
2) "plain" - A version which behaves as vanilla, for those who wish to do without or as a base for customization.


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3] Optional8 "Go for the face!" (included by default since 0.90 - remove from \add_on if not wanted)

Eight rogue talents have hidden upgrade slots already used by the game for Varric: Pinning Shot, Hail of Arrows, Miasmic Flask, Confusion, Fatiguing Fog, Chameleon's Breath, Armistice, and Goad. Those talents therefore only have three upgrade slots available normally instead of the maximum four. To recover these Varric slots as general upgrades, SLSU uses the file "abi_base_slsu_rogue_optional8.gda" which replaces them with visible, normal upgrades available to everyone. But! Using this file introduces graphic changes for rogue projectiles: flasks missing during normal rogue "kick" animation, glued to the front of Bianca, and so on. If this bothers you simply remove the above file to disable this feature.

Note that if you have been using the Optional8 and later decide to remove this feature, you'll need to follow the usual removal warning guidance, insofar as if you have points invested in any of these eight specific upgrades and reload DA2 with abi_base_slsu_rogue_optional8.gda no longer present, you will lose those ability points and have to add them back. See note under 5] at Uninstallation.


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4] Cross-Tree Upgrades (XTUs)

XTUs are upgrades found throughout the normal ability trees that require a single Specialization Point in the root of one corresponding specialization out of the nine (three per class) available. XTUs are only available to Hawke, unless you are also running another mod to allow NPCs access to the specialization trees.
The trees match up as follows:

Force Mage: unlocks XTUs in Elemental and Arcane
Spirit Healer: unlocks XTUs in Creation and Primal
Blood Mage: unlocks XTUs in Entropy and Spirit

Templar: unlocks XTUs in Weapon+Shield and Defender
Reaver: unlocks XTUs in Two-Handed and Vanguard
Berserker: unlocks XTUs in Warmonger and Battlemaster

Assassin: unlocks XTUs in Sabotage and Specialist->Precision
Duelist: unlocks XTUs in Scoundrel and Specialist->Power
Shadow: unlocks XTUs in Subterfuge and Specialist->Speed

Rogue Archery and Dual Weapon don't have XTUs; neither do the specialization trees themselves.

The name and text of the XTU will display in game which specialization is needed. XTUs have no further restrictions on purchase in a normal game, in that they each only require 1 point in the tree (already present by having whatever skill is being upgraded) and level 7 (required to have a specialization).


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5] Installation:
* if you are upgrading please remove all files from earlier version *

Basic Installation:
Unrar and copy the "SLSU" folder into your documents BioWare\Dragon Age 2\packages\core\override folder.

Options:
- Optional8 Rogue upgrades: To disable, remove "abi_base_slsu_rogue_optional8.gda" from override\SLSU\add_on

- Glowing Eyes: To enable, copy either the "Male" or "Female" folder as appropriate from "compatibility for Glowing Eyes for Hawke v1.0c" into override\SLSU\add_on. **!!Remember to endorse kurniallah2412's original mod!!** if you haven't already for allowing it to be included here.

- Custom Limited: You may remove any of the .gda files you wish in order to limit the mod to certain skill trees.

- Alternate AoEs: To change AoE upgrade behavior, overwrite "persistent_slsu.gda" in \SLSU with the version of your choice from "AoE variations\larger" or "AoE variations\plain".

You should not need to start a new game.


Uninstallation:
1) If you have invested any points in the new upgrades, respec your character with a Maker's Sigh and save.
2) Remove the SLSU folder from override.
3) Replace your original version of Glowing Eyes for Hawke, if using.

Failure/inability to perform step 1) will result in lost ability points upon reloading into a non-SLSU environment. If this happens you will need to add the points back via console or alternate method.


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6] Troubleshooting:

6.a] Upon loading/continuing from save, the icons for SLSU's added upgrades are not displayed at all:
1) Check and doublecheck your \override for anything out of place -- ESPECIALLY abi_base*.gda FILES -- but also any mod .erf files that pack their own abi_base inside, old versions of SLSU, forgotten mods tucked away in subfolders, etc.
2) Try restarting the game *entirely*.
3) See if everything is working okay if you start a new game or load a different save; if it is, afterward try loading your old game again.
4) Try removing everything from \override except SLSU, then restart; if it is working (it should be), add back your old mods one at a time until you find which is conflicting.


6.b] Your abilities do not appear to be actually upgraded in the tooltip text even though the upgrade icons display and you are able to invest points in them:
A: Another ability mod is partly conflicting with SLSU. All base skills need their upgrade reference ID fields to be properly filled in with the IDs of SLSU upgrades in order for those to actually have any effect. Once you've determined which other mod is conflicting, you can resolve the conflict by one of the following methods:
1) Remove either that mod or SLSU.
2) Remove the part of SLSU that the other mod uses (see 5] Installation -> Optional -> Custom Limited).
3) Change the load order of the mods so that SLSU is loaded last; you may be able to do this by manipulating the name of the file (alphabetic order) and/or by making subfolders (deepest subfolder gets loaded LAST - thanks NeoSeether for pointing this out). This will likely break the other mod however.
4) Edit the other mod to be SLSU compatible, either by hand or with the SLSU pyGFF compatibility scripts. The necessary changes to be made are covered in the compatibility script readme. Once performed, arrange the newly compatible mod last in load order.


6.c] Glowing Eyes
1) Not glowing: Make sure the compatible abi_base_glowingeyes.gda is placed deep enough to be loaded after other SLSU files. The path to it should typically look like "override\SLSU\add_on\Female\abi_base_glowingeyes.gda".
2) Not glowing: If you have another version of abi_base_glowingeyes.gda or anything else modifying those six skills, remove it or modify it.
3) Incense, Berserk, Parry, Pinpoint Strikes, Healing Aura, Blood Magic upgrades not working, similar to 6.b]: Be sure you are using the SLSU-compatible version.

6.d] You have upgraded from an old version of SLSU and Upgrades are not working for NPC sustained skills (Lyrium Ghost, Vengeance, etc.):
1) If you had 0.81 or 0.82 of this mod previously installed, you should remove abi_base_slsu_NPC_sustainedcosts.gda as it is now deprecated.

6.e] You are suddenly doing meager damage:
A: Remember to re-equip your weapon after using a Maker's Sigh! It will pop out into inventory when your stats reset. Happens to me all the time! don't laugh

6.f] After an SLSU upgrade, AoE skill ceases to work:
A: SLSU versions 0.93 and up require persistent_slsu.gda must be present, else AoE skills will start referencing empty values. If you don't want AoE upgrades, use the "plain" version of "persistent_slsu.gda" (or revert to 0.92).

6.g] Varric's Miasmic, Confusion, etc. not going through cooldown (ready again immediately) when using Optional8 and another "SLSU-pyGFF-compatified" mod simultaneously:
A: Varric seems to require his "projectile" be = 0. As of version 0.94, "abi_base_slsu_rogue_optional8.gda" has the field "projectile" in 203020 stun, 203030 slow, 203040 confusion, 205010 hate, 205030 repulsion, and 206030 smoke zeroed out. This workaround unfortunately had to be applied to the base skills, meaning all other rogues will have projectile=0 as well (even though they weren't exhibiting this cooldown bug) but it does not appear to impact them negatively. I haven't updated the SLSU pyGFF compatibility scripts to modify these because I am still seeking a more elegant solution. Meanwhile if necessary you can edit these in your other mod by hand (they say 200009, 200010, 200011, 200012, 200019, 200013) or just leave Varric spamming grenades.


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7] Compatibility:

This will conflict with mods that change any of the player skills, as all base abilities had to be modified to have their upgrade fields filled. In theory something that just modifies the vanilla upgrades and nothing else would be okay. Mods that don't touch abi_base at all should be fine. You may be able to resolve many conflicts anyway, see 6] Troubleshooting.

There is a SLSU compatibility script available for pyGFF editor for those who wish to try it, see Files->Miscellaneous at http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2555.

Reported compatible:
Enhanced Points and Tactics - http://dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2383


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8] Known Issues:

-Display format, AoE upgrades: e.g. "Size: 8m" means with one upgrade the new AoE will be 8m. With two "Size: 8m" upgrades, the new AoE may be 9m, 10m, or more - it depends the skill. Check the base skill toolip before hitting Confirm.

-Display format, Damage Over Time: - e.g. "Fire Damage: 12 every -0 seconds" means it is adding 12 damage at the normal ability's interval.

-Display format, +/- and %: "Duration: 10" means plus 10 in an upgrade, "Cost:-5" means -5% in a sustained, and so on

-Display format, Rounding for fractions: most 3% in the descriptions are actually 2.5%, and 13% are 12.5%, etc.

-Bolster upgrades display cooldown 1s each but are actually 0.5s each.

-Sebastian's Wounding Arrow shows e.g. "--3%" per shot, which would imply +3%. Despite the text, this is really -3%.

-Aveline's Immovable shows e.g. "Stacking --2% per hit", which really is +2% (reduces penalty).

-Stealth's vanilla upgrade "Silent Running" counts as a +40% movement speed (bringing vanilla Stealth to 100% normal movement speed from its base of 60%). The speed increases from SLSU stack with these values so movement will be faster than normal while stealthed. This is intended behavior.

-The GUI sometimes highlights upgrades oddly while selecting/deselecting abilities multiple points at a time.

-Still a few remaining limitations on what types of effects can be upgraded.