There are a few encounters that you might find to require some planning and tactics but on the other hand mages are growing more powerful with every level, more so than the other classes, especially if you make good choices with spells and specializations. I would not compare it to ME2 as it is basically a cover shooter with some RPG mechanics tucked on. DA:O is, in my book, definitely more challenging than ME2.

Good to know! I guess I will have to see for myself if I can handle the difficulty. If not i´ll just lower it.

got the ultimate edition for my PS3

It's a nice game with a huge ammount of content, I like it

The mage origin is pretty easy in terms of combat, although you won't ever really see the difficulty of standard encounters ramp up, just the occasional large battle that can really test your party and tactics (usually it requires the enemy force to have one or more mages, as mages can really ruin your day if you don't handle them appropriately). Although if you develop your mage well and use him to control the battlefield then there are really only a few battles that can be particularly challenging.

Crowd control is the key to this game. Having three mages in the party is considered easy mode, even on the highest difficulty because of how powerful they are late game. However for me the fun was having a balanced party and learning just how to use them the most effectively. Never underestimate the usefulness of a Templar/Champion for crowd crontrol as well and if you are into micro then Assassin/Duelist with backstab is crazy lethal.

My tips:

Save a lot coz sometimes you may feel like changing decisions. Also, save files do take up a lot of space.

You may want to check a guide sometimes coz sometimes you may let people die or kill them yourself who might have been very useful.

Enemy mages (usually with the suffix 'Emissary' without spoiling the game for you) are very difficult. If you have a Templar in party, make him learn the Cleanse Area spell. Very useful.

Buy backpacks wherever you find especially when its cheap.

A few mods I'd like to suggest: (nothing game changing, just some convenience, but should have been in the game in the first place) http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=664

http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1433

Also CAUTION: If you didn't know yet, there is friendly fire in DA: O. So, be careful.

Good luck and happy gaming.

Or you could just Mana Clash them. If you pimp it with Spell Might and Elemental Mastery (Awakening spell) even bosses lose a huge chunk of their HP. I had the highest attacks with Mana Clash. There is one hidden boss-type enemy who is a reference to BG2, and you can easily one-hit him with Mana Clash while he might pose a serious threat to warriors and rogues.

Just tried Advanced tactics and it makes the combat 100x more manageable. Should have checked for more mods before I ripped it a new one on the previous page. Still not an amazing game but having intelligent AI makes playing a rogue much more desirable thats for sure.

Funny thing about that mod is it only unlocks tactics that already existed in the game. Why they were omitted is baffling as it uncludes no brainer stuff like the dead condition so you can have party member revive a fallen party memeber.