For those that have issues with starting the game due to configuration utility crashes:

1. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification or replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

2. Go to your game install folder's redist folder to run DXSetup (In the DirectX folder), physx and vcredist exes to install the software on them.

Reason: Sometimes steam misses these or doesn't run them properly during setup. The software is needed in order for the game to function properly.

Note: If your curious on how to get to your game's install folder, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

3. Make sure a service like OneDrive isn't constantly syncing or backing up your documents folder.

Reason: This can disturb or prevent the game from read/detect/write files in the Dragon Age folder located in your documents that are needed to run the game properly.

4. Try going to your documents > BioWare > Dragon Age folder and create a blank txt file. Next open this new text file in notepad or other text editor and go to "File" and "Save As" and select "All Files" in "Save as Type" box and give it the file name "systeminformation.xml" without the quotes.

Reason: Sometimes there is a odd glitch where this file has problems generating properly or at all when you click play/config. This causes the game to crash due to not being able to read/detect/write info the game needs to before starting.

Note: If there the same file is already there, just delete that one and make it yourself. May need to be redone after upgrading your PC.

If none of these seemed to fix your issue, try this last one so you can bypass the config utility completely:

5. Go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

Once there you'd want to open the data folder and then open DAOriginsLauncher.xml with notepad or a similar program/app. After that you'd want to find a entry that has condition name="CheckInstall1". To do this you'd either have scroll through till you find it or use the Find/Search feature of whatever program/app your using for CheckInstall1.

Once you find it, you should see something like:

<condition name="CheckInstall1" type="FileExist" file="${BINARIES_DIR}\DAOrigins.exe">
<true action="update" updatetype="path" root="HKLM" path="SOFTWARE\BioWare\Dragon Age\" key="Path" />
<false action="actionqueue" value="disableButtons" />
</condition>

If you found it, replace it or change it with this:

<condition name="CheckInstall1" type="FileExist" file="${BINARIES_DIR}\DAOrigins.exe">
<true action="execute" file="${BINARIES_DIR}\DAOrigins.exe" path="${BINARIES_DIR}" autoquit="true" arguments="-enabledeveloperconsole" />
<true action="update" updatetype="path" root="HKLM" path="SOFTWARE\BioWare\Dragon Age\" key="Path" />
<false action="actionqueue" value="disableButtons" />
</condition>

Once you do that, just save it and you should now be able to play the game without launching the config utility.

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "Nothing works at all" section.

Some of you may experience issues when trying to get the game to launch or your graphics card isn't detected. Here are a few things you can do to fix this:

1. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification and replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

2. Go to your game install folder's redist folder to run DXSetup (In the DirectX folder), physx and vcredist exes to install the software on them. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes steam misses these or doesn't run them properly during setup. The software is needed in order for the game to function properly.

Note: If your curious on how to get to your game's install folder, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

3. Make sure a service like OneDrive isn't constantly syncing or backing up your documents folder. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: This can disturb or prevent the game from read/detect/write files in the Dragon Age folder located in your documents that are needed to run the game properly.

4. Try going to your documents > BioWare > Dragon Age folder and create a blank txt file. Next open this new text file in notepad or other text editor and go to "File" and "Save As" and select "All Files" in "Save as Type" box and give it the file name "systeminformation.xml" without the quotes. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes there is a odd glitch where this file has problems generating properly or at all when you first click play/config. This causes the game to crash due to not being able to read/detect/write info the game needs to before starting. This can also effect your graphics card being detected if information regarding your graphics card wasn't detected at the time of the file being generated.

Note: If there the same file is already there, just delete that one and make it yourself. May need to be redone after upgrading your PC.

5. Use the Config Utility to disable fullscreen and later enable it in the in-game options.

Reason: The game can have a rare chance refusing to launch for the first time in fullscreen. It also seems to prevent the graphics card from being detected properly.

6. Go into your start menu, and click "Settings". Once the window for "Settings" appears, type "Graphic Settings" if on windows 10 or "Graphics" if on windows 11 in the "Find a setting" text box, and click the result "Graphic Settings" or "Graphics". Once you are in the window of "Graphic Settings", click the "Browse" if the drop box above "Browse" is labeled "Desktop app", and locate "DAOrigins.exe" in your game install folder/bin_ship. You will see the game now listed below "Browse" where you can also find and click "Options" alongside it. Once the pop-up called "Graphics preference" appears, click on "High performance" and click "Save".

Reason: Despite having your graphics card detected by the game, it may not actually use it. When it does that, it ends up making the game not be able to run properly or at all due to it using your cpu to make up for the difference.

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "Nothing works at all" section.

Some of you may experience issues with your audio. If that is the case, here are some things you can try:

1. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification and replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

2. Go to your game install folder's redist folder to run DXSetup (In the DirectX folder), physx and vcredist exes to install the software on them. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes steam misses these or doesn't run them properly during setup. The software is needed in order for the game to function properly.

Note: If your curious on how to get to your game's install folder, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

3. Make sure a service like OneDrive isn't constantly syncing or backing up your documents folder. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: This can disturb or prevent the game from read/detect/write files in the Dragon Age folder located in your documents that are needed to run the game properly.

4. Look at your in-game sound/audio settings to make sure they are in loud enough settings.

Reason: Could be the settings are too low for you to hear.

5. Try going to your documents > BioWare > Dragon Age folder and create a blank txt file. Next open this new text file in notepad or other text editor and go to "File" and "Save As" and select "All Files" in "Save as Type" box and give it the file name "systeminformation.xml" without the quotes. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes there is a odd glitch where this file has problems generating properly or at all when you first click play/config. This causes the game to crash due to not being able to read/detect/write info the game needs to before starting. Sometimes it can effect your sound as well depending on the state of your audio setup at the time of generating the file or if it wasn't detected for whatever reason.

Note: If there the same file is already there, just delete that one and make it yourself. May need to be redone after upgrading your PC.

6. Check your audio mixer or volume/audio settings for your device to make sure the game specifically itself isn't muted.

Reason: For whatever reason it can be muted on it's own depending on what the state of your audio setup was at the time or might of accidentally muted without noticing.

7. Open your DragonAge.ini file with notepad or a similar text editor and change "SoundDisabled=1' to "SoundDisabled=0". The file should be located in your Documents/BioWare/Dragon Age/Settings folder.

Reason: Happens depending on the state of your audio setup at the time of installation or if the game didn't detect your audio at the time of installation.

8. Go into the game's config utility in the launcher menu or in your game's install folder's binship folder. Once there, make sure to check under "Audio" that all the check boxes are unchecked that have the beginning word "Disable". If they are checked, you need to uncheck them, then click "Dragon Age: Origins" and click "Save Settings."

Reason: Same as in 4.

9. Do what you do in 5 but check all the boxes and then save the settings. After you do that, uncheck them all and then save settings.

Reason: Sometimes even if it shows for the first time that the audio settings were unchecked, they might actually be registered as checked.

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "Nothing works at all" section.

Some might have issues with their cursors not showing up in-game. Try these if you have this issue:

1. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification and replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

2. Go to your game install folder's redist folder to run DXSetup (In the DirectX folder), physx and vcredist exes to install the software on them. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes steam misses these or doesn't run them properly during setup. The software is needed in order for the game to function properly.

Note: If your curious on how to get to your game's install folder, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

3. Make sure a service like OneDrive isn't constantly syncing or backing up your documents folder. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: This can disturb or prevent the game from read/detect/write files in the Dragon Age folder located in your documents that are needed to run the game properly.

Note: If there the same file is already there, just delete that one and make it yourself.

4. Disable mouse trails in the windows mouse settings

Reason: The game simply just doesn't like mouse trails enabled and can cause the mouse to disappear.

5. Try going to your documents > BioWare > Dragon Age folder and create a blank txt file. Next open this new text file in notepad or other text editor and go to "File" and "Save As" and select "All Files" in "Save as Type" box and give it the file name "systeminformation.xml" without the quotes. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes there is a odd glitch where this file has problems generating properly or at all when you first click play/config. This causes the game to crash due to not being able to read/detect/write info the game needs to before starting. This can also effect your cursor if for whatever reason info about your mouse wasn't detected at the time of the file being generated.

Note: If there the same file is already there, just delete that one and make it yourself. May need to be redone after upgrading your PC.

If for none of the above solutions fix the issue, try this or what's mentioned in the "Nothing works at all" section of the guide:

6. Go to the same location mentioned in 3 and once there go to packages > core > override > cursors and copy the Standard.cur. When you do that rename the hidden_cursor.cur to hidden_cursor.cur.bak or just move it to a different location to make a backup of it before you
paste the copied Standard.cur and rename it to hidden_cursor.cur

Note: The cursor may disappear when you hold right-click to adjust the camera but as soon as you move the mouse afterward it reappear again. It'll be grayed out, but will still function normally.

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "Nothing works at all" section.

Some may have issues getting DLC that comes with the game. Here are a couple of things to try to fix this issue.

1. Go to the main menu, click "Downloadable Content", click the "Installed Content" tab and see if you have your DLC there as well as enabled. If they are but are not enabled then just enable them. If DLC is missing though, then try the other solutions below.

Reason: Sometimes the DLC is just not enabled by default or very rarely the DLC may disable itself suddenly after starting it up after tinkering with the game.

2. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification and replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

3. Go to your Dragon Age install folder's redist folder and run "DAUServiceSetup_Steam.exe" and "DAOU_UpdateAddinsXML_Steam.exe".

Reason: Sometimes Steam misses these or improperly runs them. This will cause your DLC to not be installed. DAUServiceSetup_Steam.exe installs a service that will run on your computer to retrieve the DLC and DAOU_UpdateAddinsXML_Steam.exe will allow the DLC to be used in-game.

4. Go to Documents > Bioware > Dragon Age > Settings and open the file called "Addins.xml" in notepad or a similar text editor. Once the file is opened in notepad or a similar text editor, press Ctrl + F on your keyboard and search for RequiresAuthorization="1". When you are now at where it says RequiresAuthorization="1", change the "1" to "0".

Reason: Despite doing what is mentioned in 2, the game may still not install and detect the DLC due to issues authorizing retrieving the DLC. Doing this fixes that issue making it where authorization is not required.

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "Nothing works at all" section.

There are also a variety of DLC that wasn't included with the Ultimate Edition of the game or is missing. If you'd like to have such DLC, follow along with the guide below!

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3276542551

Some might have issues with saving, loading or even seeing their game saves in-game. If this is the case, here are some things you can try:

1. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification and replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

2. Go to your game install folder's redist folder to run DXSetup (In the DirectX folder), physx and vcredist exes to install the software on them. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes steam misses these or doesn't run them properly during setup. The software is needed in order for the game to function properly.

Note: If your curious on how to get to your game's install folder, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

3. Make sure a service like OneDrive isn't constantly syncing or backing up your documents folder. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: This can disturb or prevent the game from read/detect/write files in the Dragon Age folder located in your documents that are needed to run the game properly.

4. Go to Documents > Bioware > Dragon Age > Characters folder, back up any folders named after your characters (if any) found inside somewhere safe, delete the entire Characters folder and make your own Characters folder to replace it. After doing that do a test using a new character to see if your issue has been fixed. If it has been fixed, you have the option to try to see if you can load your backed up saves will work by placing them in the new Characters folder you made or just continue on with the test character instead.

Reason: The game has a rare chance of suddenly not recognizing the previous Characters folder and losing most if not all access to it. This could be due to a crash, the game didn't stop properly when quitting it, power outage, directory corruption or when messing with the game files.

Note: Although you can try to load your backed up saves from the previous Characters folder, they may not work right or fail to load. It's possible the saves might of been damaged.

If you are still experiencing issues specifically loading your saves, there could be two reasons for it. One your save is no longer usable similarly due to what's mentioned above or two your experiencing performance issues. If you suspect it has something to do with performance issues, check out the "General crashes & graphical defects" section of the guide (If you haven't already). All the solutions there should help improve said performance issues.

Some of you may have issues with crashes or graphical defects in-game. If that is the case, here are a few things you can do to fix it:

1. Verify integrity of game files.

Reason: There could of been a problem during the downloading and installation of the game. This would cause some files to be missing or corrupted making the game unstable as a result.

Note: If your curious on how to do so, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" in the little drop menu, click "Installed Files" in the pop up window and click "Verify integrity of game files". Also, you may need to redo any modification and replacement of the game files that came from the installation of the game. Mods should be ok unless they replace or change the game files that came with the game.

2. Go to your game install folder's redist folder to run DXSetup (In the DirectX folder), physx and vcredist exes to install the software on them. (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

Reason: Sometimes steam misses these or doesn't run them properly during setup. Not having these installed can cause the game to be unstable.

Note: If your curious on how to get to your game's install folder, go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", hover over "Manage" in the little drop menu and click "Browse Local Files".

3. Make sure a service like OneDrive isn't constantly syncing or backing up your documents folder.

Reason: This can disturb or prevent the game from making and editing files in the Dragon Age folder located in your documents that are needed to run the game.

4. Go into your start menu, and click "Settings". Once the window for "Settings" appears, type "Graphic Settings" if on windows 10 or "Graphics" if on windows 11 in the "Find a setting" text box, and click the result "Graphic Settings" or "Graphics". Once you are in the window of "Graphic Settings", click the "Browse" if the drop box above "Browse" is labeled "Desktop app", and locate "DAOrigins.exe" in your game install folder/bin_ship. You will see the game now listed below "Browse" where you can also find and click "Options" alongside it. Once the pop-up called "Graphics preference" appears, click on "High performance" and click "Save". (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide but is good to check to make sure)

Reason: Despite having your GPU (Graphics Card/Graphics Processing Unit) detected by the game, it may not actually use it. When it does that, it ends up making the game not be able to run properly or at all due to it using your CPU (Central Processing Unit) to make up for the difference.

5. Try lowering your graphics/texture setting to Medium or lower. Try and see if this corrects your issue before continuing on down.

Reason: The game was originally designed for the max settings to be Medium and was not optimized properly for anything beyond that found in the present version.

6. Apply the 4GB patch to the game. For the Steam copy of the game, here are 3 options to choose from.

6a. Follow along with this other Steam guide below with how to apply the 4GB patch to a Steam copy of the game. I recommend doing what is mentioned in the pre-patch section of the guide.

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=233222451

6b. Go to site in the link below and follow along with it's "modding video step-by-step tutorial for DA:O" from the beginning to the 4GB Patch. The tutorial gives visual instructions that some people may appreciate.

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5989

6c. Go to the site in the link below and follow along with it's tutorial video regarding memory fixes though you only need to replace the game's exe with the one included in the mod.

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5368

Reason: The game still is limited to using 1 - 2 GB of RAM since it was originally released. Due to newer graphical settings, DLC and various tweaks found in the present version the game requires more RAM than it was designed. The methods shown in the tutorials are the correct ways to apply the 4GB patch on Steam yourself.

Note: The reason either of these methods of applying the 4GB patch to game has to be done in the Steam copy of the game can be explained in the post linked below. If you end up doing this, you can change your graphics/textures settings to whatever you wish. Reapply the same way if ever verifying the integrity of the game files after patching.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Other-Dragon-Age-Games/DAOrigins-exe-Large-Address-Awareness-for-Steam-and-other/td-p/491020

7. Go to the site in the link below and follow along with it's "How to install" instructions in order to install Qwinn's Ultimate DAO Fixpack.

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4689/

Reason: There are certain bugs for the game that can cause crashes to occur. The mod can fix these bugs.

Note: For any Non-English players, this mod can potentially lock all responses to dialogue in the game to English text. If this is the case for you, download the mod from the link below and install it like you would with the original.

https://github.com/humhue/DAOTools/releases/

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "General crashes & graphical defects 2" section.

There are a few tweaks you can do as a last effort to fix things. Though these are very cross your fingers and hope for the best kind of solutions as they aren't always effective. Just keep that in mind before attempting them:

1. Set the affinity core count to 1 by doing one of the three options below.

1a. While the game is running, go into task manager, right-click the game's exe listed there and choose select "Set Affinity". Once a pop up comes up showing a checkbox list of CPUs, select/toggle/check mark one of CPUs and click "OK".

Note: You'll have to repeat this every time you launch the game. Also, If you are on Windows 8 and up, you can do the affinity core adjustment in the "Details" tab of Task Manager. Otherwise you can just do it while in the "Processes" tab in Task Manager. If your curious on how to get into Task Manager, just press Ctrl Alt Delete at the same time.

1b. Open the DAOriginsLauncher.xml mentioned earlier in the Config Utility Crashes section of the guide and

Find this text: <true action="execute" file="${BINARIES_DIR}\DAOrigins.exe" path="${BINARIES_DIR}" autoquit="true"/>

Replace it with this: <true action="execute" file="C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" path="${BINARIES_DIR}" autoquit="true" arguments="/C start /affinity 1 DAOrigins.exe"/>

Note: Doing it this method will allow you to apply the affinity core count automatically whenever the game launches.

1c. Go to the binship folder in your game's install folder and right-click the daorigins.exe / daorigins and select the send to Desktop option to create a shortcut on your Desktop. Once you are at your Desktop, right-click the shortcut and select "Properties". Once the Properties window pops up, replace the "Target" text box with C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start /affinity 1 DAOrigins.exe and click "Apply" and click "Ok"

Note: This is another method to apply the affinity core count automatically. Do not use both methods at the same time.

Reason: The game is theorized to perform better with lower core count CPUs vs higher core count CPUs. So adjusting the affinity core count should in theory allow the game to perform better. Feel free to experiment adding a 2nd core into the mix for possibly better results. You can do so by select/toggle/check mark a 2nd core if doing the 1a method or change the /affinity 1 to /affinity 2 instead in methods 1b and 1c. Adjusting the affinity core count has history of making the game perform better but also some history of not.

2. Go to the binship folder mentioned earlier in the guide and right-click the daorigins.exe / daorigins and select "Properties". Once there go to the "Compatibility" tab and click/toggle/checkmark "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" and select any of the Windows Vista or XP options if available and click "Apply" and "OK"

Reason: The game is theorized to perform better this way due to the fact Windows XP or Windows Vista were used around the same time while the game was in most of it's development. Like adjusting the affinity core count, it has some history of working but also some history of not.

3. Go to your steam library, right-click "Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition", click "Properties" and type "-dx9" without the quotes in the text box under "Launch Options".

Reason: It's believed to force the game to use DirectX 9 that is installed after running DXSetup in the DirectX folder mentioned earlier throughout the guide.

4. Have the game render in Vulkan instead of DirectX by doing one of the two below.

4a. By going to the site below to download and install the mod to do so. Experiment with either versions that are available to see which works out for you.

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/79299

Note: The mod was originally intended for Fallout New Vegas but does work for this game. To install the mod you need to put the d3d9.dll and dxvk.conf files into the binship folder.

4b. By going to the site below to download and install the mod to do so.

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/6435

Note: This is the same as 4a but with only one version and is implied to be a mod for the game. Unlike 4a though it might not work for some people at all due to being limited to only one version. The potential memory improvement and performance claims it makes are also present in 4a. You can install it the same way as 4a.

Reason: Some CPUs or GPUs simply perform better with Vulkan instead of DirectX with this game. It also has possibility of doing the opposite.

If none of the above seemed to fix your issue, proceed to the "Nothing works at all" section.

There may be a issues with your mod setup for the game. These issues can be either mod compatibility conflicts or wrong installation of certain mods. Luckily, I have created a guide that covers everything you need to know about installing mods for the game. The guide is also open to requests if you want to know how to install specific mods and if there are any compatibility concerns. Feel free to check out the guide and post any requests you may have there.
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1667889371
Reason: Certain mods require different methods of installation and sometimes order of installation depending on the mod or combination of mods. If not done correctly, the game will have a variety of issues functioning properly regardless of any of the previous tweaks before this section of the guide.

There is also another guide that goes over a large variety of mods, recommendations and their proper installation instructions depending on your mod set up. It might include mods you might be using or offer a good place to start with enhancing your experience past the regular. Here is the guide.

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3279785773

Sadly for some it ends up being the case where the Steam copy of the game just won't work right no matter what is done. In this case one would have three options:

1. Install the game on a different drive or different location other than in "Program Files (x86)" on your main drive and start over where you began in the guide if necessary.

Reason: It can be possible that in your case the game may run better in a location outside of "Program Files (x86)" on your main drive. This is usually due to Windows User Account Control issues the game files may have that can interfere with the game's stability.

Note: You should also install the game like this for the below options as well.

2. Get the game through the EA App or repair the Steam copy through the EA App.

Note: Although repairing the game through the EA App is a option, some people report it doesn't work to solve the issue and getting the game through the EA App does.

3. Get the game through GOG.

Regardless if you choose EA App or GOG, it's recommended to apply the 4GB patch to the game using just the 4GB patch tool mentioned in the tutorials found on the sites linked in the general crashes & graphic defects section of the guide.

There are a great variety of bugs that are in the game regardless of it being from Steam or not. These bugs can effect quests, combat gameplay, plot, items, scripting, and dialogue. All of which can result in you missing out on content and can get in the way of your play-through. The mods below aim to fix all of them.

Note: Be sure to follow installation instructions on the mod sites or in the mod files.

Essentials

Qwinn's Ultimate DAO Fixpack - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4689/ (Not necessary if you had already did so earlier in the guide)

The mod fixes most bugs other than combat gameplay in the game excluding DLC.

Note: For any Non-English players, this mod can potentially lock all responses to dialogue in the game to English text. If this is the case for you, download the mod from the link below and install it like you would with the original.

https://github.com/humhue/DAOTools/releases/

Awakening endgame cutscene fixes - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/3009/

This mod fixes specific bugs regarding the endgame cut-scenes for the Awakening DLC.

Awakening Silverite Mines Bugfix - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1762/

This mod fixes specific bugs that occur in the Silverite Mines location found in the Awakening DLC.

Law and Order Fixes - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/3046/

This mod fixes all issues with the Law and Order quest in the Awakening DLC.

Note: This will only work before you accept the quest. If you have already accepted the quest, use this mod instead: https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4494

Optional

Dain's Fixes - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4384/

This mod fixes a variety of gameplay mechanics mostly regarding combat for the game.

Armor rune drop fixes - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/954/

This mod fixes specific bugs regarding armor rune drops for the game.

Awakening runes fixes - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1020/

This mod fixes specific bugs regarding runes found in the Awakening DLC.

Baroness reward fix - http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/3050/?

This mod fixes a specific bug with a quest reward in the Awakening DLC.

Joining Ritual fix for Awakening companions - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/2997/

This mod fixes specific bugs that occur when trying to perform the Joining Ritual on companions found in the Awakening DLC.

DLC Transfer to the Awakening Patch (UPDATED) - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5354/

This mod fixes a issue regarding having items from other DLC for game into Awakening.

Note: It's recommended from the mod author themselves to do the 4GB patch first BEFORE applying this mod. You can confirm this fact by going to the posts section of the mod page. Though not mentioned specifically by the mod author, the reason is the same as why the Steam version has to be 4GB patched a certain way. The reason is mentioned in this post in the link below.

https://answers.ea.com/t5/Other-Dragon-Age-Games/DAOrigins-exe-Large-Address-Awareness-for-Steam-and-other/td-p/491020

Yuriah's third store upgrade - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4495/

This mod fixes issues getting the third store upgrade for Yuriah's store in the Awakening DLC.

Some of you may be experiencing issues with scaling when trying to play the game at either 4K or 2K resolutions. If this is the case for you, here are three methods that aim to fix these issues:

1. FTG UI Mod - More Readable Fonts and UI - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/73

This mod increases the clarity and readability of text in conversation, menus and cutscenes.

Note: The author of this mod has stated that some people may experience issues with the mod's config exe being too small. If this is the case for you, try following doing this:

Download and install FTG Quickbar, its a different mod you'll need.

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/2784?tab=description

Install the .dazip file with daupdater / daupdater.exe found in the binship in the game install folder. In the config folder of the mod right click the "FtG_UIMod_Config.exe." and click on "Properties". Once the pop up appears for "Properties", go to the "Compatability" tab, find "Change high DPI settings" and check mark/click/ toggle "high dpi scaling override" and click "System". Once that is done, just click "Apply" and close. Be sure to make use of the FtG_UIMod_Config.exe and experiment. Character portraits and abilities in game do not scale and remain tiny regardless, but the inventory and any other menu should be ok.

2. Nathanael's 4K Resolution Mod - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/6332/?tab=description

This mod scales the size of all the in-game UI, icons, and text to better suit 4k or 2K resolutions.

Note: Download and install the file in the link below instead If you have issues with minimap not appearing correctly or at all.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZDZcIvlOafvXRhkhbDjrorXyo4r6_DGK/view?usp=sharing

Proceed to 3 if for whatever reason 2 isn't a solution for you. Don't try to run both 2 and 3 together.

3. Tempoz's Guide to 4K DAO - https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/6205?tab=description

Is a guide that explains how to make use of the FTG UI Mod mentioned in 1 and a program called dgVoodoo2 to scale the game for 4K resolutions.

Some people would prefer to play the game using a controller. If this is the case for you, follow along with the video below on how to set up any controller for any game you have on Steam. You can also use what you learn from the video to play any non-Steam games you have added into your Steam library or while you have Steam running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkgCATlxZoQ&t

Note: This will not fully recreate the console experience for the game in terms of gameplay and interface/Ui. This will simply allow you to map the keys of your mouse and keyboard to your controller. To get a good idea of what your experience will be like compared to console experience, here are two videos that show it off best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc7KI2Sjs28

Although this shows Steam Deck gameplay, it still gives a good idea of what using a controller would be like for the PC version of the game. The only real difference would be the track pads used for mouse control the Steam Deck has since usually controllers don't have those. You'll probably have mouse control put on one of the sticks or the D-Pad of the controller.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AogckRiH3Mo

This will show what the console experience would be like more or less.

Some people would like to keep backups of their game saves. This could be in case of data corruption, like to have copies or when testing mods. If your one of those people, here is how you'd do that:

Go to your Documents > BioWare > Dragon Age folder and copy the Characters folder to where ever you'd like to store your save backups. This could be simply a different folder on your device, a flash drive, network storage or cloud storage.

Reason: Steam Cloud Save feature isn't available for the game.

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=329608684
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1667889371
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1398086999
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1540229561