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Bibdy

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Bibdy

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About this mod

Simple mod to increase the difficulty of Hard and Nightmare mode using only the modifiers that Bioware would (likely) tweak as well as a 30s shared cooldown among health/mana potions.

Permissions and credits
Installation
------------

Simply copy the 3 files (ABI_Base_SDI.GDA, difficulty_SDI.GDA and ability_core_SDI.ncs) contained in the .zip file to your override directory. This can be found in various places (depending on your OS, although I think there are multiple places you can put the file and it will still work):

_install_directory_\packages\core\override\
My Documents\Bioware\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\















Name: Simple Difficulty Increase with Shared Potion Cooldown
Version: 2.3
Tested for DA:O Version: 1.03
Date: 12/11/2009
Author: Bibdy
Homepage:

Description
===========
Simple mod to increase the difficulty of Hard and Nightmare mode using only the modifiers that Bioware would (likely) tweak as well as a 30s shared cooldown among health/mana potions.


Details
=======
Modifies entries in difficulty.xls to increase the difficulty of the game in Hard and Nightmare.
Modifies entries in ABI_Base.xls to increase all potion cooldowns to 30s.
Modifies script in ability_core_h to impose a cooldown on all types of health or mana potion simultaneously.

I got tired of arguing with people about the utterly miniscule increase in difficulty that Hard and Nightmare modes offer in the game, so I decided I'd figure out how to modify 2DA files and edit scripts and put my money where my mouth was.

A global 30s cooldown has been added on all potions and within a type of potion e.g. if you use a Greater Health Poultice then all 5 health potions (including Shimmering Orbs) will go on cooldown for the next 30 seconds, on that character alone. Using a potion on one character doesn't affect the cooldowns on another. *NOTE: THIS AFFECTS ALL DIFFICULTY LEVELS*

The intent is spread out the usage of health potions on any given character in a fight, so a tank can't chain-chug health potions all day long. You'll need to find a way to keep him up with healing, mitigate damage through CC and defensive abilities, or avoid it altogether. Similarly with Mages. You may find you'll run out of mana much quicker, but be able to replenish as quickly, prompting the need to get some Willpower and more regeneration. This will also make the higher-tier health/mana potions much more valuable, since a simple Lesser Potion may not be anywhere near enough health or mana you're going to need for the next 30 seconds.

Additionally, this mod modifies on the following settings in Hard and Nightmare modes:

Hard
-10% player spell resistance (down from 0)
+5% enemy spell resistance (up from 2.5)
-10% player damage reduction (down from 0)
+10% enemy damage reduction (up from 5)
-15% healing modifier (no change)

Nightmare
-20% player spell resistance (down from 0)
+10% enemy spell resistance (up from 5)
-20% player damage reduction (down from -5)
+20% enemy damage reduction (up from 5)
-30% healing modifier (down from -15)

My gut instinct tells me the health potion thing alone is going to cause quite a bit of difficulty, even for Normal mode, so I drastically reduced the damage and spell resistance modifiers for Hard and Nightmare compared to version 1.0 of this mod. My advice would be to first play on Normal mode when you get this mod, because not having access to potions so readily may require a drastic shift in playstyle (if you're like me and just 'abused' the crap out of the things until now), but if you're ready for a greater challenge, by all means load up Hard or Nightmare.

I hope this improves your DA:O challenge-seeking experience and I'm always happy to receive (constructive) feedback about the mod.

Install
=======
Simply copy the 3 files (ABI_Base_SDI.GDA, difficulty_SDI.GDA and ability_core.ncs) contained in the .zip file to your override directory. This can be found in various places (depending on your OS, although I think there are multiple places you can put the file and it will still work):

_install_directory_\packages\core\override\
My Documents\Bioware\Dragon Age\packages\core\override\

Uninstall
=========
Delete the 3 files (ABI_Base_SDI.GDA, difficulty_SDI.GDA and ability_core_SDI.ncs) you placed in the override folder.

Incompatibility
===============
This mod should be fully compatible with the base game, but may not be compatible with future patches if Bioware chooses to modify the difficulty settings themselves.

It will also be incompatible with other mods which directly override potion settings, hard/nightmare difficulty settings or the ability_core_h script file.

It should be 100% compatible with non-English languages.

Known Issues or Bugs
====================
None

To-Do List
==========

History
=======
v2.3 (04/03/2010)
- Fixed a bug which caused any ability to initiate a cooldown on Mana Potions.

v2.2 (04/03/2010)
- Fixed an issue with Lesser Lyrium Potions not counting to the shared cooldown.

v2.1 (04/03/2010
- Removed "_SDI" from the ability_core.ncs file.

v2.0 (12/11/2009)
- Created the shared potion cooldown system
- Added 30s cooldown to all potions
- Reduced the damage modifiers of Hard/Nightmare compared to 1.0.

v1.0 (12/10/2009)
- Initial release.

Contact
=======
[email protected] or I'm usually roaming around this site.

Credits
=======
Credit to Bioware for being totally awesome.

Licensing/Legal
===============
Please do not upload this mod to any websites without my permission. Contact me and I'll be glad to give you permission.