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Dragon Age: Inquisition |OT| As the Blight fades, BioWare returns
- Thread starter shinobi602
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Like Inquisition it's all the little character moments that make it worthwhile, but where DA:I excels in its main-story quests and cinematics, DA2 tends to get quite padded and boring in its main quest. Hawke's story felt largely inconsequential and the way the main area of the game Kirkwall is split up into several different maps that all are lacking in design with long loading screens (console versions) in between each of them and an artificial day/night cycle, then that's really where I felt DA2 became "bad".
But yeah, it is worth experiencing at least once. The story certainly has its moments but in the end it doesn't really boil down to anything other than a series of meandering to showcase some core themes within the Dragon Age universe.
That's exactly the story of Inquisition, lol.
The Fade stuff and the Blight are connected, as is the main villain. Inquisition's story goes DEEP into the lore.
I find Origins' main story to be very weak, honestly.
You really need to leave the hinterlands and explore the rest of the world. You can always come back to it later
Scrooge McDuck
Member
Sera and Solas, on the other hand, just couldn't shut up during that mission.
CrichtonKicks
Member
While I wish that companions would interject more in DA:I there is a reason that it was so much more prevalent in DA:O- because you didn't have a voiced main character the companions had to take up a fair bit more of the "drama" load. Lines that are delivered by the Inquisitor in DA:I (or Hawke in DA2) would instead be offloaded to a companion in DA:O. As a result I often felt like the Hero of Fereldan was too passive of a character in most proceedings.
Cyber Caesar
Member
You still need to play that Mass Effect 3 MP. DAMP is just pretty good as of right now . It has potential to be a true successor to ME3 MP. I have faith the team will iron out the wrinkles and polish it into a great product.
Hah, too true...well, who knows, I just don't find it as interesting whenever the fade is involved. Something about demons coming from the ground just gets me a lot more interested. Going to the underdark, exploring these ancient dwarven cities and uncovering the mystery of the Darkspawn was just much more compelling...instead of just..."magic" I guess?
I dunno, I agree in some cases but not all. Character inerjections in DA:O was often them shoehorning their opinion in. Like Morrigan for example, she just couldn't keep her mouth shut.
Either way, I'd have liked the best of both worlds. Kind of expect that from a sequel.
darkwing-buck
Member
Anyone know where I can get quarries for the courtyard and tower upgrades?
Gully State
Member
Oh..I didn't realize I can leave the area. I thought I was supposed to grind through until I triggered something (like close all the rifts or something).
BananasWithGuns
Member
I've had a relatively bug-free playthrough. Outside of a couple instances where the conversations hung for a minute or so I haven't had any real issues.
For whatever reason though, entering the Hissing Wastes has just set off my game. Went there for the first time and my Inquisitor got stuck in place, with only a teleport back to Skyhold fixing it. Went back and within a minute or so he got frozen in place again. Decided to reset the game and that seemed to fix that issue but now there are random enemies that just aren't rendering correctly.
Not sure if it's a Hissing Wastes only issue but I thought it was very strange considering how smooth the game has been for me thus far.
For whatever reason though, entering the Hissing Wastes has just set off my game. Went there for the first time and my Inquisitor got stuck in place, with only a teleport back to Skyhold fixing it. Went back and within a minute or so he got frozen in place again. Decided to reset the game and that seemed to fix that issue but now there are random enemies that just aren't rendering correctly.
Not sure if it's a Hissing Wastes only issue but I thought it was very strange considering how smooth the game has been for me thus far.
Ivory Samoan
Gold Member
I've found this too - Solus/Bull/Sera pipe up the most in my parties.
I like (aka don't like) how paranoid the mere existence of the Banter Bug has made me... If I don't hear party chatter for a few minutes, I start to get a sweat on.
lol... thanks Banter Bug, you're giving me anxiety and shit
The Alistair-Morrigan combo was pretty good.. but Morrigan grated on me after a while, always hating on my good deeds... and Wynne was boring as shit (but was always in for heals, which I resented doing), and don't get me started on how much Oghren and Zevvy sucked... haha
Each to their own, but I would trade them all (except of course Alistair and Barkspawn) for even 1/2 an Iron Bull... that's how much I'm 'Backing the Bull.
super-famicom
Member
If you do all the quests in the Hinterlands, you'll be overpowered for the rest of the game.
i'm going to need to renew my sub to playstation plus and try it out
CrichtonKicks
Member
Right but a lot of that just helps maintain consistent dialogue flow so that every scene in DA:O wasn't a cadence of voiced line followed by non-spoken line selected by the player. Regular character interjections were required to maintain a good flow of conversation.
DA:I has 4 different voices for the main character- considering the amount of dialogue given to the Inquisitor that would be huge amount of voiced dialogue they could have handed off to other party members if they had done it DA:O style. I guess it just depends on which you value more.
Plus DA:I has a lot of ambient dialogue that is context dependent that you here walking though areas with NPCs that DA:O didn't have. I suspect that Bioware would tell you that the size of the script and voice acting budget is much bigger compared to DA:O even if it doesn't seem like some players feel like it is.
Honestly, if mod tools were available someone would probably go into the game and change the camera to make every single conversation "cinematic" and people would like the sidequests more.
I also kind of wonder if the lack of cinematic conversations isn't a memory limitation based on the cross-generational nature of the game. With rare exception the cinematic scenes take place in areas completely separate (and smaller) than the exploration zones. I wonder if they didn't have the memory space for the needed animations without compromising the size of the zones.
Smushroomed
Banned
This game play so dramatically different with a kb+m that I almost stopped playing altogether because of how using a controller felt
why did i even use a controller to begin with
why did i even use a controller to begin with
Escape Goat
Member
I've got to level 12 twice now and I end up starting a new character. I'll never finish the game at this rate.
Felt like many people liked Oghren alot, but I really disliked him, he was by far my least favorite character. Really like Sten, but 2-h warriors were so bad, I just couldn't bring him along.
I've actually really enjoyed Solas...he is kinda generic, but he's not annoying and he's even keel for an NPC mage. Most of the mages are either ra ra circle/chantry (Wynne and it appears Vivienne is similar) or extreme anti-circle/chantry (Anders and Morrigan). Merrill was an oddball, a loving and caring blood mage. Solas to this point in my playthrough is a nice change of pace from the usual extremes.
EDIT: And as Kem0sabe says, he brings a lot of insight into most of the situations that involve the fade/rifts and magic in general.
Bring Blackwell too, cause, Grey Warden and Varric to round out my party. Will have to try others on subsequent playthroughs though, looking forward to it.
Yeah that's fair. I'm hesitant to say more because I don't know how far you are but if you are interested in the mystery of the darkspawn (like how the Blights came to be, etc) then Inquisition really delves into it more than Origins. Origins is more about the how of Blights and Grey Wardens and Inquisition goes into the why, if that makes sense.
I've heard the Solas romance is incredible for spoilery reasons. I don't doubt it since Patrick Weekes wrote him and the guy made me choke up on a regular basis with Tali's romance.
I'm 90% sure they said they wanted to make a conversation system that you could easily jump into and out of easily. This is there solution. Probably a plus for them that they save money animating it cinematically.
It's a must. The MP is so god damn addicting. Love being an Elementalist and watching everything freeze or burn while I zip around the map with Fade Step.
anexanhume
Member
Just got the greatsword the Revenant drops at the entrance to the Elven temple in the Exalted Plains. Holy shit best drop so far.
I don't know if anyone mentioned this in the 300+ pages here but...
Anyone else like me who didn't play the other Dragon Age games and is now severely overwhelmed by the story?
I am not saying this like it's a bad thing, I actually love being overwhelmed by the story, but I am constantly bothered by me wanting to immediately stop and play the other ones first...
Anyone have any advise on whether or not I should stop Inquisition now (10 hours in) and beat the first two games before coming back to this one?
Anyone else like me who didn't play the other Dragon Age games and is now severely overwhelmed by the story?
I am not saying this like it's a bad thing, I actually love being overwhelmed by the story, but I am constantly bothered by me wanting to immediately stop and play the other ones first...
Anyone have any advise on whether or not I should stop Inquisition now (10 hours in) and beat the first two games before coming back to this one?
You'll get a lot more out of it. Almost all of the major plot threads involve characters from previous games.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Eh, just making you able to exit out of cinematic conversations with a single button would have accomplished the same thing.
But it does kind of seem like they made an intentional design decision that mandates
Exploration= story/dialogue to a minimum and always, always player controlled
Non-exploration (Skyhold and Main Story)= conventional Bioware storytelling.
www.youtube.com
joking aside, sure pick up the original two, put them on easy and blow through them for the story
ShoddyCast on YT has a great series on DA lore. That's all I watched leading into this game.
Well, I love the world created by Dragon Age, so I would suggest playing through them, but someone who hasn't played the first two either might just advise wiki's to catch yourself up. Though I can't image a lot of the events and revelations that are to come in DA:I having as much weight if you just read a wiki as opposed to seeing the events played out and having some personal investment into the previous stories.
SJRB
Gold Member
S about the trailers: can/should I do all three or just pick one? I'm kind of confused.
Never played a DA game before and had [and still have] a pretty hard time understanding the overarching narrative. Mages, Templars, Chantry, Circle of Magi, a lot is going way over my head, especially at the start. There are dialogue options to ask for clarification in a lot of cases, but still. I regret not reading an [extensive] summary before playing.
Never played a DA game before and had [and still have] a pretty hard time understanding the overarching narrative. Mages, Templars, Chantry, Circle of Magi, a lot is going way over my head, especially at the start. There are dialogue options to ask for clarification in a lot of cases, but still. I regret not reading an [extensive] summary before playing.
Ok, cool, I'm only about 20% in, looking forward to it! I remember that one quest in DA:O where you find out how DarkSpawn are born...man, that was chilling!
Oh, sorry about that, should have been the first thing I did.
Either way, I am a little worried about just watching a Youtube video or reading the wiki, so I shouldn't even have asked since I'll probably go back and play the other two games for sure.
I was just wondering if I should stop Inquisition immediately or finish it and then fill in the blanks. Thanks guys for the help!
SoapNickTavish
Member
I have everyone in my main squad decked out with matching crafted Warden armor. My numbers took a slight hit, but you know, sometimes sacrifices have to be made to look so badass. Flash > stats ;x
Hit level 20 with everyone last night, creeping up on the 80 hour mark. Does this game ever end?
Hit level 20 with everyone last night, creeping up on the 80 hour mark. Does this game ever end?
Any news regarding a patch? Finished my first playthrough, but I'm going to wait for a patch to start experimenting with other classes and world states.
90 hours in total and I did almost everything. There are a bunch of missions left at the war table and some collections, but that's it.
90 hours in total and I did almost everything. There are a bunch of missions left at the war table and some collections, but that's it.
No. I got to the end of that mission with 98 approval and it still popped.
I'd wait until the eventual DLC or expansion, even. If it adds another character and zone to main campaign... nice.
How many of the DLCs to Mass Effect or DA:O&2 added new companions?
I'm getting along well enough. The Codex and dialogue is pretty comprehensive. The tl;dr of references from characters:
Hero of Ferelden - DA:O main character.
Fifth Blight - DA:O Plot
Champion of Kirkwall / Hawke - DA2 main character
Uprising in Kirkwall - DA2 main plot
Leliana - DA:O companion
Varric - DA2 companion
Knowing that will help you piece things together more easily.
Fuck. Well now I don't know what to do. I don't have a save file from before playing it either.
Well, with no transitions whatsoever, this is certainly the most effective way of doing it.
Think it boils down to that and budget stuff realistically.
Two for ME2 (Zaeed e Kasumi), one for ME3 (Javik), one for Origins (Shale) and one for DAII (Sebastian). Here's hoping for a meaty expansion like Awakening.
If I'm gonna replay the game I'm definitely not going for 100% again, just the most important stuff.
CrichtonKicks
Member
Post-release? Just ME2 and Kasumi. All other DLC characters were present at release. And Bioware has already stated that they didn't do a DLC character in DA:I because it's too much work to make it hook into the main game so I can't imagine they will do it as post-release content.
First patch is in QA now and they are already working on the second patch.
If you are digging Inquisition so far and feel like you'd be digging it even more with the proper background, then I'd say go for it.
I have to say that knowing the lore of the series REALLY improves your experience with the main story.
Also, if you buy DA2, the Legacy DLC is a must-buy in regards to Inquisition.
to be fair all of those where at launch DLC (ie buy the game new instead of pre-owned and get the game as it was intended without people missing)
Bioware specifically stated they were moving away from that and wanted everyone to have the full compliment of companions.
Did they write any patch notes for it?
Oh yes I know. I'm fine with no new characters personally. I'd rather have more Keep references and maybe some returning characters (even if non playable) for the DLCs/expansion, personally.
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