The Dragon Age: Inquisition Thread

[Mrowak]

I must hesitate confess, that I enjoyed my daily run today. When politics enters the stage the game shines.

Spoiler

that ball main quest was quite unique thing in gaming in general with some actual C&C and satisfying resolution if you solved it perfectly

Also, is it just me or are the companion characters more likeable and generally human this time around (at least as far as D&D pulp allows)? I mean, I even started respecting the gay mage, which at the beginning annoyed me to no end.

Funny, they really stress the commraderie aspect of your team. Any they are doing, much, much, much better job than in ME3 for example. Can Bioware into learning?

 

[RK47]

No, because Gay Inquisitor always takes it up in the ass.

 

[RK47]

80 hours in, I'm surprised he doesn't have much sunk cost bias.

It just keeps getting better(tm)

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Just watched gameplay of the PS3/4 versions. OMG those textures

Spoiler

The thumbnail implies the PS4 is amazing but not really

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Finished the game, 68 or 69 hours on the clock and a couple of those may have been AFK. So I'd say at least 65 hours which was enough to complete the story, all character missions that I could find, the romance stuff for Josephine, all the war room table things, a few of the regions completed outright and a good deal of the others explored.

Best companions: Varric, Solas, Blackwall, Dorian, Cassandra

Varric and Solas are absolute bros. They don't really say or do anything annoying and they are really well written. Dorian is ok, quite funny at times, and Cassandra is an example of a BioWare whinger who is actually working to get herself out of her own mess. Usually in BioWare games, the characters that complain do so out of some kind of resentment or angst.

Blackwall's storyline is genuinely surprising. Something happens at its conclusion that I did not see coming, and you have many choices on how to resolve it.

Worst: Sera, Cole

Sera is one of the worst characters I've ever seen in a BioWare game. She talks and acts like a five year old, and this isn't even commented on by any other character. Adults just don't act this way, the ones who do are considered to have "learning difficulties" and they don't go tearing off on adventures armed with a bow (well, unless they go into a school in America...)

Cole is just... dull. It isn't like BioWare can't write spirit characters - they can. They put one in Jade Empire and it was one of the best characters they've ever done. Here, Cole is... wet. He's dripping with wetness. He's pathetic to tell the truth, and his ridiculous scarecrow appearance with the big hat didn't help. I didn't find anything interesting about him.

Main story was good in parts, shit in others. Final quest was a let down, but the one just before it was really interesting from an overall DA lore perspective. It would be interesting to see how that thing played out with different choices from DA1.

Overall though the main story was pretty decent. Better than DA2, a bit more similar to DA1 - it is still STOP THE DEMON!!!11 but you can also take decisions to shape the world, just like you could in DA1 with who rules Ferelden, who rules Orzammar etc. Companion stories also very good for some (Varric, Blackwall, Dorian, Leliana).

Every single 'sidequest' is shit. No exceptions. They take place on the maps, which look pretty good from a graphical perspective but are populated with simple MMO collect/kill quests and Assassin's Creed-style collectables. No epic C&C heavy sidequests. DA2 was way better in this regard, there were loads of quests unrelated to the main plot which had different conclusions. No idea why BioWare decided to forgo those and go the Skyrim route. At least Skyrim had good world design.

EDIT: I better throw this in here - the combat is truly terrible. It is the worst thing about the game by far (although the crafting isn't very good either). I started on hard but had to put it down to normal, then easy by the end of the game because of how tedious and boring it was. Just click the mouse (or hold the mouse button down) until the enemies die. All enemies seem to have extremely bloated HP. They really went the MMO route here. Like all the other bad things in this game, it just doesn't make sense.

In terms of tactics, there are none. The tactical camera is so bad you'll want to avoid it and just put up with the normal third person view. When BioWare said they were going to make it more like DA1 they lied. The combat is worse than DA2.

 

[DalekFlay]

Every single 'sidequest' is shit. No exceptions. They take place on the maps, which look pretty good from a graphical perspective but are populated with simple MMO collect/kill quests and Assassin's Creed-style collectables. No epic C&C heavy sidequests. DA2 was way better in this regard, there were loads of quests unrelated to the main plot which had different conclusions. No idea why BioWare decided to forgo those and go the Skyrim route. At least Skyrim had good world design.

There are a few... a rare few... that are decent. Mostly ones that involve dungeons. Overall though it's very much the game's biggest disappointing factor for me.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

There's a few story-related spoilery things I want to talk about, thought I'd leave them separate from my 'review'. Only read if you've completed the game and actually give a shit about DA lore (I find it is actually very interesting and makes playing these games worthwhile).

Spoiler

The elven temple quest may well be my favourite one in the game. It is where the game decides that actually, it may decide to go the dark route after all (after playing it fairly light and generic fantasy). I could have done a deal with the elves, but the Dragon Age playthrough I'm going for is one where my Warden, Hawke and Inquisitor all basically want to get power to remake the world (pretty much the Morrigan route), so I declined their offer and drained the well.

The Flemeth/Morrigan/God Child/Solas thing was my favourite plot point, but it was a shame that I couldn't talk to Morrigan at the end to discuss a few things. She wasn't at the celebration party at all. Is she meant to appear?

It would also be interesting to know what happens with Flemeth if a) the Well is not drained, b) the Inquisitor drains the well or c) the child does not have the soul of an Old God. Normally I'd look at Dragon Age Wiki but it is extremely slow on updates.

Leliana became Divine. I wanted Cassandra because I thought Leliana was a bit too much of a psycho, and Cassandra had well formed opinions. I guess I had been a bit too "The Circle is bad!" in my playthrough. I noticed Vivienne has gone, I can select her as a party member but she isn't in Skyhold.

I was rather pleased to see Corypheus was the main bad guy, I thought they could do interesting things with the Tevinter magisters who entered the Golden City and I'm glad they brought him back. I was hoping the Architect would make an appearance too, but with the Warden going off to investigate the Calling, maybe they'll use him in the next Dragon Age game.

There was no way I was letting my female Hawke die. I was glad to see her personality was accurate to how she was before, and I kept hoping she'd actually join the party. Loghain was a bro, redeeming himself like I always hoped he would. I mainly kept him alive in DAO so my Warden could marry his daughter. I hope he's still alive in the Fade and will appear again - his voice actor is pretty good too.

 

[RK47]

 

[Malpercio]

YES, THE GRAPHIX ON PS3 ARE THAT BAD

Wow, this area was miles ahead in term of design compared to the others. Not too big, actually well-designed and neat looking with interesting spots. The end part involves you storming a castle filled with enemies and giants and even 1 DIALOG CHOICE AT THE END!?

What is this wizardry!?

 

[Bleed the Man]

Best companions: Varric, Solas, Blackwall, Dorian, Cassandra

Worst: Sera, Cole

Although I haven't seen any companion arc except Cassandra's, I agree with your choice here, with the exception of Solas (I found it quite boring, to be honest. Feels more an info dump type than a character by itself. It reminds me of how the Tali and Liara in the first Mass Effect where written. But it's still early to judge), and the romance arc with Cassandra kinda ruins the character quite a bit, but before bangging here she was more than decent.

Personally I would add Iron Bull in the list of worst characters. Although the concept of the character isn't bad, there's some serious cringworthy moments with sexual inuendos and SJW crap extracted from modern day world and adapted to fantasy land almost 1:1, which is ludricrous.
Sera is a Minsc like character, relying basically in it's entirety in their gimmick, and she's absolutely horrendus and unbearable to listen, while Cole manage to be bland and uninteresting while having the most unique backstory and characteristic, and also an extremely annoying way to talk(not quite reaching Sera levels, but still). Vivienne is just kind of there. She's not remarkable, but not annoying.

I have to say I'm really surprised with Dorian. For now, I can say plenty of things about his personality, but I don't know his sexual preference yet. Considering he was announced as "this is our gay character", is refreshing (especially for Bioware) to have a bit of restraint in this matter. Also, he's a very opinionated character and not just a Tevinter lore dispenser, which I like very much.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Yeah, Dorian is not a stereotypically gay man. Early judgments on his character from people here and elsewhere were just completely wrong.

If Solas seems boring I would argue it is because he takes everything seriously and doesn't seek the lulz. Lots of others do this too (like Cullen, Cassandra, Leliana) but Solas has his own reasons for getting involved which have nothing to do with the Inquisition. He is an info dump in Haven, but spreads his wings in Skyhold and has some great interactions with other characters.

Iron Bull was ok, I liked his loyalty to his crew but it was a struggle to gain rep with him. In the end I had to suffer dragon combat, something I can't quite face doing again.

One thing I forgot to mention - judgments. They are really good! Somehow BioWare looked into my mind and I managed to do exactly what I wanted in each case (except maybe Samson). Some of these were linked to the MMO side quests, making them actually worth doing. Would be nice if there are any actual consequences to these decisions.

 

[Malpercio]

Best companions: Varric, Solas, Blackwall, Dorian, Cassandra

Worst: Sera, Cole

Although I haven't seen any companion arc except Cassandra's, I agree with your choice here, with the exception of Solas (I found it quite boring, to be honest. Feels more an info dump type than a character by itself. It reminds me of how the Tali and Liara in the first Mass Effect where written. But it's still early to judge), and the romance arc with Cassandra kinda ruins the character quite a bit, but before bangging here she was more than decent.

Personally I would add Iron Bull in the list of worst characters. Although the concept of the character isn't bad, there's some serious cringworthy moments with sexual inuendos and SJW crap extracted from modern day world and adapted to fantasy land almost 1:1, which is ludricrous.
Sera is a Minsc like character, relying basically in it's entirety in their gimmick, and she's absolutely horrendus and unbearable to listen, while Cole manage to be bland and uninteresting while having the most unique backstory and characteristic, and also an extremely annoying way to talk(not quite reaching Sera levels, but still). Vivienne is just kind of there. She's not remarkable, but not annoying.

I have to say I'm really surprised with Dorian. For now, I can say plenty of things about his personality, but I don't know his sexual preference yet. Considering he was announced as "this is our gay character", is refreshing (especially for Bioware) to have a bit of restraint in this matter. Also, he's a very opinionated character and not just a Tevinter lore dispenser, which I like very much.

Agree more of less. I was surprised by Blackwall, his character arc is pretty solid stuff.

Did you get Solas dream stories? They are only available after a certain level of loyalty and you may miss them if it's too low.

I really dislike the Bull, they tried to create a "badass" character, but he fails miserably. Plus the horns look awfuuul.


Also, this remind me the choices for Thief in this game sucks! Either you get Varric (cool, but stuck with Bianca so tons of shit gets wasted) or you have to suffer Sera or Cole.

 

[Zewp]

Sometimes it just feels a bit like "Diversity: The Sitcom". Coming from two games in which most companions were white, it's annoying how forced the non-white characters feel.

 

[RPGMaster]

Yeah, Dorian is not a stereotypically gay man. Early judgments on his character from people here and elsewhere were just completely wrong.

Obviously you haven't seen his "my parents tried to turn to me straight" scene. Cliche-o-rama. What is this a '90s made for TV truelife drama Gaider?

 

[RK47]

 

[Zewp]

Certain things in this game are just so fucking stupid.

So Dorian got a new spell that allows him to reanimate enemies. Unfortunately, him doing so means they don't drop loot until the spell wears off or if you're busy closing a rift and he resurrects a demon, the fade rift doesn't recognise that all the demons are dead. Then you have to wait for the spell to wear off before you can close the rift. It's not very long so maybe no a big deal, but it's fucking annoying. Especially when you're hunting for crafting materials and your spirit bear suddenly runs off after a nug and you have to follow it to ensure you see where the loot drops.

Also, due to a bug I can't recruit Vivienne. No big loss, but still lol.

 

[RK47]

 

[dryan]

Just watched gameplay of the PS3/4 versions. OMG those textures

Spoiler

The thumbnail implies the PS4 is amazing but not really

I find it pretty weird that the exact same game is released for two different generations of consoles. Is that common practice nowadays?

What if Donkey Kong Country had been ported to the 8-bit NES? That would've been atrocious.

 

[Volourn]

"I find it pretty weird that the exact same game is released for two different generations of consoles. Is that common practice nowadays?"

It's happened for years.

 

[Zed]

question:

if I dislike a character (off the bat), can I outright dismiss or even kill them?
I know that I could kill or somehow get rid of the homo elf in DA:O, after his assassination attempt.

 

[Bleed the Man]

question:

if I dislike a character (off the bat), can I outright dismiss or even kill them?
I know that I could kill or somehow get rid of the homo elf in DA:O, after his assassination attempt.

I think the only mandatory companions are Cassandra, Varric and Solas. The rest you can prevent to enter the Inquisition, but not kill them.

 

[A horse of course]

I guess it would be morally wrong to be able to generate your own party, since some of them might be cis scum.

 

[Garryydde]

This is kinda off topic but I'd just like to point out how awful Bioware's forums are

 

[RK47]

 

[Mrowak]

question:

if I dislike a character (off the bat), can I outright dismiss or even kill them?
I know that I could kill or somehow get rid of the homo elf in DA:O, after his assassination attempt.

I think the only mandatory companions are Cassandra, Varric and Solas. The rest you can prevent to enter the Inquisition, but not kill them.

Additionally with some of them you can order them to leave the inquisition at any time (e.g. Sera) or at specific plot points (e.g. Blackwall)