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[aravuus]

You're committing one of Gaf's capital sins. Almost as bad as enjoying TW 3's combat.

Yeah, pretty sure I'm on a couple of hundred ignore lists right now!

Finally got my LG B7 set up, though it looks like I'm gonna have to tinker with the settings a bit - game's looking mighty dark right now. Either way, I'm excited to experience the singing scene on a 55" TV soon!

e: ah, it was the deep colors thing. Man, tinkering with all these settings whenever I change between SDR and HDR is gonna be great lol.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Inquisition has its share of issues but I think it's a good game and enjoyed it as well.

 

[KyanMehwulfe]

Yeah! It's a really neat system. I'm not at home right now so I can't check, but I'm pretty sure I've got the one that gives enemies new abilities and makes them use em more aggressively, the one the drains your focus when you rest, the one that scales enemies levels to match yours and the one that supposedly makes bears a real killers on.

I've been pretty reliant on potions and the supply caches, so I haven't activated those. Wouldn't have survived the

Spoiler

timejump to the future

area in the 'recruit mages' quest without those caches.

The one that makes enemies use abilities more is great, and it changes the game quite dramatically.

I'd go as far to say that anyone who is thinking about playing DA Inquisition should basically ignore anyone that only played it at release And only listen to reviews that have been updated for the new Trials options.

At least if you care about a challenge or tactics.

I mean, you don't need them and they do significantly slow down an already slow game, so they could be annoying if you just want to enjoy the story.

But if you wanna real enjoy the tactics of the game, they're a must. The 'enemies use abilities' more Trial option makes enemies shield block and backstab like crazy. You basically have to counter now on higher difficulties, e.g. you can't spam Attack Attack Attack - it'll take you like 4 minutes to kill a basic Hinterlands tank lol. You have to backstab shield blockers; AOE spells can nearly insta-gib you if you're not watching positioning; etc.

Sadly the Tactical camera is still shit, but the new Trials do get the most out of a good combo/counter system that was in the original game but the original game poorly utilized or otherwise diminished.

 

[Humdinger]

But I took this weird "fuck off I hate you video game" roleplaying approach, and it seems to work. I'm playing as a big, bald black dude with a deep voice who really just doesn't give a shit about any of this, so basically myself, except that I'm a scrawny white kid with a dumb voice.

lol

Awful fetch quests? Just skip 'em! I've been skipping quests left and right. I'm not going to get you ram meat, and I'm not going to fucking escort your runaway cow-thing home,

lol. It helps if I imagine Bill Burr writing this post.

Annoying or uninteresting characters who have dumb tendencies or are just desperately trying to come across as witty or clever (writing witty or clever dialogue, by the way, is not one of the writers' strengths, my god)? Just choose the blunt and/or rude answers! Like 80% of the time they are just perfect. The responses my character has given have a lot of the time reflected my own feelings on the dot - let's just get this shit over with. I never do the 'investigate' thing either. I don't care about your family history, I don't want to know or be part of your past or present or future, unfunny video game character.

That's a great approach, I love it.

Books and books worth of poems and songs and history texts and lore snippets to read? SKIP EM. It's one of the dullest fantasy worlds ever. I DON'T CARE. SKIP EVERY SINGLE ONE.

lol

The only problem I see is that this only works on your second playthrough. You have to know in advance that all of this is sh*t, so you can blow it off without wondering if you are missing something.

 

[Olengie]

I really liked using Fade Step. I totally thought that was cool

 

[Staf]

I actually liked the combat. I played primarily in the tactical camera on harder difficulty on PS4. I hope they don't change it up too much in the next game. I'd be satisfied with the same combat but more flexibility in setting up the AI, such as DA:O. I also hope they bring back being able to play multiple races, or just let you play as a dwarf lol.

 

[DukeLongfellow]

One of my first PS4 games and I enjoyed it a bunch. Haven't heard of Dragon Age before that point.

Then when I saw it on sale I looked it up a bit and noticed it was basically a fantasy Mass Effect. I jumped in just for that reason and it turned out to be exactly what signed up for.

The whole sequence of

Spoiler

moving to Skyhold is one of my favorite gaming moments in the last few years.

 

[Staf]

One of my first PS4 games and I enjoyed it a bunch. Haven't heard of Dragon Age before that point.

Then when I saw it on sale I looked it up a bit and noticed it was basically a fantasy Mass Effect. I jumped in just for that reason and it turned out to be exactly what signed up for.

The whole sequence of

Spoiler

moving to Skyhold is one of my favorite gaming moments in the last few years.

It's great. But the game, in my opinion, takes a nose-dive after that.

 

[aravuus]

Sadly the Tactical camera is still shit, [...]

Yeah, it really is a goddamn shame! I'd love to bump up the difficulty and play the majority of the game in the tactical view, but I just can't get used to it. It's just so bad.

Currently I use the tactical view maybe 5-10% of the time, mainly to fix AI fuck ups lol.

The only problem I see is that this only works on your second playthrough. You have to know in advance that all of this is sh*t, so you can blow it off without wondering if you are missing something.

Yeah, no doubt I'm missing a bunch of stuff, lore-wise especially. I did try to really focus and read the books and whatnot but man, I just can't get into them. I know it's a bit of a lazy word to use as a criticism, but after reading a good amount of fantasy books, I find the DA world just too... Generic for me to care about it.

But it works for my big black guy. He doesn't care about the world or its inhabitants or history either. He cares just enough to save the world, which is obviously just another day at the office for him.

e: Not sure if I'm understanding the active skills 100%. All of them have 2 passive upgrades you can buy, but can you only have one of them active at a time? I thought the "toggle upgrade" button prompt was weirdly worded, but now I see that the other upgrade is greyed out when the other one is selected, so I guess you can only have one of them active? If so... I've wasted a ton of skill points lmao.

e2: also goddamn the main villain looks dumb haha. Can't quite tell if they were going for the edgy, cool look, but the color choices would certainly support that theory. He has a great voice though. Very menacing.

 

[DemWalls]

e2: also goddamn the main villain looks dumb haha. Can't quite tell if they were going for the edgy, cool look, but the color choices would certainly support that theory. He has a great voice though. Very menacing.

Whatever they were going for, they failed miserably, no doubt. And the fact that he's such a bland character all around certainly doesn't help.

 

[aravuus]

Been seeing a lot of "*** greatly disapproves" lately lmao. Literally everyone greatly disapproved when I was more or less forced to become the inquisitor, and since you couldn't actually refuse, I just said "well fuck it whatever, but we're doing this for me! In my name!"

I expect I'll be completely alone when I finish the game

 

[black070]

I loved the game, GAF be damned.

 

[bananafactory]

The only real issue I had with it was the way the points were handled for main quests which basically gate them behind doing a certain amount of side content. I didn't need to grind out a ton but it just sucks it happened at all

I thought the game was very pretty, fun to play, had some great and memorable characters, and the story was fine. Solid 8/10 on more for me

 

[aravuus]

https://twitter.com/loistojannu/status/893861285233909760

Desperately trying to avoid the responsibilities of the inquisitor

I loved the game, GAF be damned.

Damn, banned for loving DA:I. What a harsh world.

 

[DOWN]

The landscapes and production values are quite good. It beats Witcher 3 on those.

 

[JeffZero]

I'm on my third playthrough. I honestly like the game more each time. Partly because the Trespasser DLC is absolutely fantastic for anyone who's remotely invested in the series, but partly because I'm at-peace with the game's faults and I can enjoy a story I like, characters who have grown on me, and some rather gorgeous open regions.

It was a 7.5 in November 2014. It's almost a 9 now. It took time, and deliberations on which type of character I want (I roll a female Dalish elf now, because... reasons) but I've come to love it.

 

[aravuus]

The landscapes and production values are quite good. It beats Witcher 3 on those.

I wouldn't go that far, personally. Climbing a hill thick with trees in a massive thunderstorm to reach one of those totem things that gave you skill points or something in TW3 is still one of the most jaw-dropping moments I've ever experienced in gaming.

That said, the areas do look damn good in DA:I.

e: man, maybe I should replay TW3 after this. Or wait for the Pro patch, since my PC can't run it in 4k.

 

[mcfrank]

I played through the campaign on PS4 (Liked it a lot), but got the goty edition on xbone when it was on sale a few months back. Can I jump straight into the dlc, or do I need to play through the campaign again? I can't check myself without downloading it to my Xbox. Thanks.

 

[Humdinger]

I wonder if this approach would work for Mass Effect Andromeda? I haven't played it yet, but I wonder if going in with a "f*ck it" attitude would make it more enjoyable.

 

[aravuus]

I played through the campaign on PS4 (Liked it a lot), but got the goty edition on xbone when it was on sale a few months back. Can I jump straight into the dlc, or do I need to play through the campaign again? I can't check myself without downloading it to my Xbox. Thanks.

The supposedly best one of the DLC, The Trespasser, is an epilogue, so you'd have to play through the whole game again. Other DLC content you'll unlock when you reach Skyhold as far as I can tell.

I wonder if this approach would work for Mass Effect Andromeda? I haven't played it yet, but I wonder if going in with a "f*ck it" attitude would make it more enjoyable.

I was actually thinking about this before myself! I really have no idea since I haven't even bought the game myself, but I'll probably give it a try when I can get it for 10 euros or something.

 

[Lady Gaia]

I wonder if this approach would work for Mass Effect Andromeda? I haven't played it yet, but I wonder if going in with a "f*ck it" attitude would make it more enjoyable.

That's what I resorted to in order to make it through the game. Did it make it more enjoyable? Almost certainly yes. It still didn't rescue it from bad writing and characters that felt like they should have been interesting but managed somehow not to be.

I enjoyed DA:I dramatically more than ME:A. All the companion side quests were very much worthwhile, and their banter was almost universally interesting.

 

[olag]

I tried the "Oh fuck all this" approach to playing this game during my third play through but the completionist within me almost gave me an anuerysm when I tried to get out of the hinterlands without completing all the available quests.

As someone pointed out, the first 10 hours are always kinda enjoyable but when hit 20 you start to question whether you are having fun. By 40 you have an existential crisis.

 

[toasty479]

I tried so hard to like inquisition but after 30 hours or so I was just done with it. Didn't enjoy the combat, quests, characters, story, or lore. That being said, maybe I was trying to take things a bit too seriously, perhaps the OP's idgaf approach would help

 

[loganclaws]

I absolutely hate this game and got suckered into buying it full price... Now I'm debating whether I should spend 15$ to get the Trespasser DLC for these Trials options! Dammit GAF don't make me spend my money and find out it's still a shitty game.

 

[aravuus]

I tried the "Oh fuck all this" approach to playing this game during my third play through but the completionist within me almost gave me an anuerysm when I tried to get out of the hinterlands without completing all the available quests.

As someone pointed out, the first 10 hours are always kinda enjoyable but when hit 20 you start to question whether you are having fun. By 40 you have an existential crisis.

I'm actually enjoying it now, at 15 hours, more than I did earlier! But that's probably mainly because it's seems like a lot of high level areas opened when I got to the Skyhold, and the combat is definitely the most fun when you're fighting enemies 2-4 levels higher than you.

Speaking of Skyhold, where the hell is that table where you drop off enemy valuables to learn about them? The one that was in Josephine's room in Haven?

 

[halfbeast]

Spoiler

(she's bi)

 

[norm9]

Books and books worth of poems and songs and history texts and lore snippets to read? SKIP EM. It's one of the dullest fantasy worlds ever. I DON'T CARE. SKIP EVERY SINGLE ONE. Of course I go around activating them for the EXP, but you know. You gotta do that when the enemies give such pitiful EXP.

Game got a lot more fun for me once I stoopped bothering with the lore. And most of my enjoyment was from exploring the very dstinct lands.

eta- crafting didn't make sense to me because I was finding ok weapons fine and the crafting wasn't making anything significantly better.

 

[aravuus]

Ah, shit. Just found out about a duplication glitch and it's easy as hell to do too.

I kinda love it when games have stuff like this, but now I can't stop until I'm a millionaire lol. Might try crafting some of the Black Emporium stuff and raise the difficulty level to hard or whatever the hardest was.

I wish BB's dupe glitch still worked.

What's a good way to go about gaining more influence? Just doing side quests and such? Lots of Inquisition perks I'd love to have.

e: dat damage

Managed to pump my crit chance to 61%. Crits all day. Still need two level ups to get the passive that replenishes your stamina every time you hit a crit attack though.

 

[Tony Redgrave]

I liked it ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

Had a blast playing a female elf mage and romancing Solas, Trespasser was so deliciously melodramatic.

 

[aravuus]

Is there a merchant anywhere that sells tier 1 and possibly 2 plants (did plants even have tiers?) in infinite numbers? Since the Black Emporium merchant has all (?) tier 1 and 2 metals, leathers and cloths for sale, I've stopped compulsively gathering those materials. Looting is kind of annoying in this game due to the slow and unnecessary animations, but I can't not leave stuff just lying around lol.

 

[DemWalls]

Looting is kind of annoying in this game due to the slow and unnecessary animations, but I can't not leave stuff just lying around lol.

Agreed. Fortunately on PC there's a mod that removes the animation. You press the button, you get the loot. Particularly useful since you can do it while running, no need to stop every few seconds.

 

[aravuus]

30-ish hours in, two (I believe) missions left. Plus The Trespasser, of course.

I really want to finish the game, but I need fucking 40 power for the next mission. This is goddamn ridiculous.

 

[Brandon F]

30-ish hours in, two (I believe) missions left. Plus The Trespasser, of course.

I really want to finish the game, but I need fucking 40 power for the next mission. This is goddamn ridiculous.

So strange. I did have the patience to do a lot of the side activities, so Power was rendered utterly meaningless in my game.

I can't imagine it is that difficult to get enough from even a couple companion missions or doing the major zone storylines(clear a haunted ruin or dungeon) from areas you are breezing through? (Not talking about the general gathering nonsense stuff, the more designed ones)

 

[aravuus]

So strange. I did have the patience to do a lot of the side activities, so Power was rendered utterly meaningless in my game.

I can't imagine it is that difficult to get enough from even a couple companion missions or doing the major zone storylines(clear a haunted ruin or dungeon) from areas you are breezing through? (Not talking about the general gathering nonsense stuff, the more designed ones)

I've actually done a good amount of them here and there, it's just that apparently I've also been spending power whenever possible.

I found enough rifts in the hinterlands to probably bring me up to 40 power, thankfully. If the next mission requires even more, though, I might not have the patience to gather it.

 

[Ralemont]

30-ish hours in, two (I believe) missions left. Plus The Trespasser, of course.

I really want to finish the game, but I need fucking 40 power for the next mission. This is goddamn ridiculous.

You can do a war table mission that puts an NPC in Skyhold that lets you buy power for gold. Considering how unnecessary money is in DAI, it's definitely a good bet for people trying to beeline the main story.

 

[DemWalls]

I've actually done a good amount of them here and there, it's just that apparently I've also been spending power whenever possible.

I found enough rifts in the hinterlands to probably bring me up to 40 power, thankfully. If the next mission requires even more, though, I might not have the patience to gather it.

I may be mistaken, but I think the last mission requires 70 Power or so.


Just kidding, that was my original response. I was indeed mistaken. Giving a quick look at the DA Wiki, it seems like the last two missions don't have any requirements.

 

[Mozendo]

Fuck the difficulty spike in Jaws of Hakkon what a way to ruin my mood after that ending

 

[Mossybrew]

Inquisition has its share of issues but I think it's a good game and enjoyed it as well.

Yeah, same, played through twice, have to say I enjoyed my time with the game quite a bit, where some folks saw big problems I simply found minor annoyances that didn't really hinder my enjoyment.

 

[JumpJeff84]

I enjoyed this game. Finished it even.

I found playing as an archer was the most fun, as it lets you move continuously while attacking. Made the combat morr interesting

 

[Afro Thunder]

Started to play it some weeks ago. Will play some more 10 hours to see if I like it or not.

 

[ST2K]

I get this weird feeling from some of the cut scenes that I honestly can't really put into words.. Like the game thinks it's better or more profound or more clever or more epic and cool than it really is? Like it's trying so damn hard and, because it doesn't recognize its weaknesses, it falls on its face even harder? It's weird. But it's tolerable. Can't wait for the fucking singing scene, though.

This perfectly encapsulates the feelings I got from the singing scene. It wasn't really bad, but it felt so unearned it became bad, somehow.

 

[aravuus]

You can do a war table mission that puts an NPC in Skyhold that lets you buy power for gold. Considering how unnecessary money is in DAI, it's definitely a good bet for people trying to beeline the main story.

Good tip, thanks! I've stopped for today, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for that tomorrow.

I may be mistaken, but I think the last mission requires 70 Power or so.


Just kidding, that was my original response. I was indeed mistaken. Giving a quick look at the DA Wiki, it seems like the last two missions don't have any requirements.

My heart skipped a beat, thanks!!

Might be able to finish the main story tomorrow, unless the final missions are REALLY long.

 

[DemWalls]

My heart skipped a beat, thanks!!

Might be able to finish the main story tomorrow, unless the final missions are REALLY long.

If it's The Final Piece you're about to do, that one isn't short, but also not particularly long.
The one after it is just the boss fight, basically.

EDIT: My bad, you have to do What Pride Had Wrought first, right? Yeah, that one's pretty long.

 

[Lister]

The PC mods that make looting immediate and increases the search radius were the only reasons I attempted to replay the game severla times.

Just those two things cut down onthe aggrevation by a good 50%.

If you're on PC, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend them. If you're on consoles... you have my pity. ;p

Still, ven with those mods, I could never manage to get past the mid game in my replay attempts. Such a down turn from DA:O and even DA2 in so manya reas, but so pretty too.

::sigh::

 

[Sai]

Said this in my LTTP post in the official Trespasser thread, but I really had a good time with Inquisition despite its flaws. All the negativity may have helped to temper my expectations a bit, but I thought that, from a combat and story angle, it was pretty solid.

So many things about the game seemed to be held back by it being a cross-generation title. Unfortunate.

 

[Z3M0G]

I need to return to this game... I just hate how this game flows...

DON'T leave the Hinterlands... That was my biggest mistake...

I left the first chance I got (because that's what I assumed people were suggesting) and I fully explored multiple other areas before even really starting the main quest... and it drove me to boredom before I even started the story.

 

[aravuus]

I need to return to this game... I just hate how this game flows...

DON'T leave the Hinterlands... That was my biggest mistake...

I left the first chance I got (because that's what I assumed people were suggesting) and I fully explored multiple other areas before even really starting the main quest... and it drove me to boredom before I even started the story.

You gotta find that perfect balance between leave the Hinterlands and don't leave the Hinterlands. Don't go out hunting the star puzzles and shards, at least, and maybe don't go out of your way to do random side quests. Do the ones you happen to run across. I've found it to be a good balance.

The PC mods that make looting immediate and increases the search radius were the only reasons I attempted to replay the game severla times.

Just those two things cut down onthe aggrevation by a good 50%.

If you're on PC, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend them. If you're on consoles... you have my pity. ;p

Still, ven with those mods, I could never manage to get past the mid game in my replay attempts. Such a down turn from DA:O and even DA2 in so manya reas, but so pretty too.

::sigh::

PS4 here, unfortunately! On the other hand I have my PC and TV next to each other, so I could sort of half browse the internet while going through the duller side quests.

 

[Z3M0G]

You gotta find that perfect balance between leave the Hinterlands and don't leave the Hinterlands. Don't go out hunting the star puzzles and shards, at least, and maybe don't go out of your way to do random side quests. Do the ones you happen to run across. I've found it to be a good balance.

This is good advice!

 

[Sai]

I can understand it from a completionist's perspective, but why did so many people feel forced to linger in the Hinterlands, and the other explorable areas? You get more than enough power from fade rifts 'n such along the war to the primary objectives. So many people talk about the power system as such a drag, but the game gives you far more than you know what to do with even if you generally stick to the main questline.

 

[CecilRousso]

I can understand it from a completionist's perspective, but why did so many people feel forced to linger in the Hinterlands, and the other explorable areas? You get more than enough power from fade rifts 'n such along the war to the primary objectives. So many people talk about the power system as such a drag, but the game gives you far more than you know what to do with even if you generally stick to the main questline.

You didn't have to linger in The Hinterlands or the other areas for that long, to start get bored, and even annoyed, by the low quality of the quests and tasks.

"Leave the Hinterlands" was never an especially good advice for the game, when so many other areas turned out to be much worse.