Frank Jaeger
Member
The crossbow is called Bianca! They make a big deal of the player knowing that in DA2!
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Dragon Age: Inquisition | E3 2014 Coverage
- Thread starter Enduin
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Pound_lb003
Member
There we go then!
Did I need to make it more obvious I'll be coming to the series pretty fresh faced?
Did I need to make it more obvious I'll be coming to the series pretty fresh faced?
hemtae
Member
I couldn't remember which name was the sister and which was the crossbow. I only played through DA2 once and that was enough for me.
Frank Jaeger
Member
Yeah! I ended up rushing act 3... and to think I was so annoyed I couldn't find cheap bioware points to buy the DLCs! Dodged bullet!
But how or why is it bad? What sensibility did it offend? Is it especially bad compared to other AAA games in the industry?
(edit: I don't read Sonic OC)
To be fair, it doesn't look like the crossbows I've seen at my local armoury museum ...
That's why she's named Bianca, she's a one of a kind.
Today will probably be a Solas character profile with just a blurb and some screenshots, but I would much rather get a VA video, primarily for Dorian, but any of them would be great. Vivienne or Sera or Blackwall would all be really cool. Cole especially will be important because the acting will greatly determine if he comes off as an emo twit or a real and serious character you can believe and empathize with.
Dunno what you mean by "type" but I'll be staying far away from Cole and possibly treating him like shit due to his actions in Asunder. I have a strict "never trust a Fade Demon" policy.
New Writer Interview/Character Profile for Solas this time:
Patrick is writing a lot of companions for DAI. Iron Bull, Cole and Solas now. Also they altered Solas's face a bit from what we saw of him originally, especially his eyes. Now he reminds me of Billy Zane instead of Finn from Misfits.
[DRAGON AGE]: What can you tell us about Solas?
[PATRICK WEEKES]: He’s pretty straightforward, honestly. Just your average elven apostate who voluntarily joins the Inquisition in the middle of the mage rebellion to lend his expertise with the Fade.
[DA]: “Average,” huh?
[PW]: I like to keep it simple.
[DA]: There’s a lot of ground to cover with Solas, so let’s start with him as an apostate—meaning he practices magic outside the Circle of Magi. Did he escape with the rest of the rebel mages?
[PW]: Actually, he was never in one of the Circles to begin with.
[DA]: Interesting.
[PW]: Thedas is a pretty big place, and unless you go around burninating the peasants, you may never come to the attention of the templars.
[DA]: Without the Circle to provide training, how did he learn to control his power?
[PW]: Solas is largely self-taught; while he can comfortably defend himself, he cares more about exploring the Fade than he does about hurling fireballs.
[DA]: What makes the Fade so interesting?
[PW]: Okay, so, the Fade—bear with me, this gets a little weird—the Fade is the spirit side of the Dragon Age universe. It’s this incredible place full of dreams and memories, imprints left behind by powerful emotions or events in our world. Solas has trained himself to do something a lot like lucid-dreaming. He goes to ancient ruins where the Veil is thin, goes to sleep, and actually experiences the history of places no one else has seen in centuries.
[DA]: Is that sort of vision accurate?
[PW]: Absolutely not. It’s based off people’s memories, right? Ask ten different witnesses at a crime scene to describe what happened, and you’ll get all kinds of conflicting information. Solas knows that everything he sees in the Fade is subjective and imperfect. It’s like a gigantic Wikipedia entry full of “[citation needed]” notes, but still, Solas has found some amazing things.
[DA]: In past games, the Fade has been a dangerous place, full of demons.
[PW]: Yes. Most people in Thedas think of the Fade as demon-land… and Solas believes this is part of the problem. If you go into a realm that by its very nature reflects the thoughts and fears of living people, and if all you’re ever taught in the Chantry is that the Fade is this terrible place that wants to kill or possess you, then when you get there, of course it’s like that.
[DA]: Solas doesn’t fear the Fade?
[PW]: I’d say he respects it. It’s still dangerous, but because Solas found the Fade on his own, he went in without preconceptions, letting him explore the area and befriend spirits without the black-and-white mentality that holds back mages trained in the Circle. While everyone else guards themselves, assuming everything in the Fade is a threat, Solas will find a brilliant unimaginable light, smile delightedly, and move in for a closer look.
[DA]: Does that extensive knowledge aid him in combat?
[PW]: On the battlefield, Solas’s expertise with the Fade lets him manipulate magic in ways that would never occur to most mages.
Off the battlefield, when Solas sees a giant hole open up in the sky with demons pouring out of it, he knows that he can help where Circle mages cannot. As a result, although there is no guarantee they won’t locked him up as just another apostate, Solas comes voluntarily to the Inquisition.
[DA]: Did you find his character challenging to write?
[PW]: Writing Solas had its moments, yes. I personally love characters who are intelligent, characters who don’t necessarily break the universe they’re in, but who make players reexamine their own assumptions and look at that world in a new way. It’ll be interesting to see who thinks he’s fascinating and who thinks he’s out of his ever-Fade-loving mind.
[DA]: One would assume that opinions vary among his fellow companions as well.
[PW]: Absolutely. Vivienne is as loyal a Circle mage as you’ll find, so having this scruffy little hedge mage pop in and say, “You’re all close-minded, you should be making friends with spirits,” causes her to get icily disdainful as only Vivienne can. Solas and the Iron Bull also spar over Qunari beliefs, as Solas believes in freedom of thought more than anything else, and the Qunari tend to be pretty rigid there. On the other hand, Solas and Cole get along rather wonderfully.
[DA]: Because Cole is a spirit?
[PW]: Yes; Cole is trying to figure out what that means, and Solas can answer a lot of Cole’s questions. The two of them have fascinating talks about what it means to be a spirit, usually with the rest of the party watching the two with these narrow-eyed “What the what?” looks.
[DA]: In addition to dealing with the world’s perception of mages, he’s also elven. How does he deal with that much adversity?
[PW]: Honestly, Solas hates people who look at him and just see an elf. He considers that kind of attitude part of the black-and-white dichotomy that has led to so much tragedy in the Dragon Age world. Templars versus mages, demons versus spirits, elves versus humans… it’s more complicated than that. Come to think of it, “It’s more complicated than that,” may actually be Solas’s battle cry.
Patrick is writing a lot of companions for DAI. Iron Bull, Cole and Solas now. Also they altered Solas's face a bit from what we saw of him originally, especially his eyes. Now he reminds me of Billy Zane instead of Finn from Misfits.
What if we're the Judas...
tringworldso
Member
No, Bioware already did that with KotOR. Also it would anger all the crazy-shippers!
That's what makes it so genius. Plus they've done the Judas companion before too.
Honestly I'd rather no one be a Judas and they just hint at it and make it seem like there is but end up with no one actually being one.
Also new screens of Solas:
BabyFaceKillah
Member
i like his outfit and the fact that he isnt your typical long haired elf.
BananasWithGuns
Member
They put up his character page and blurg along with everyone's favorite Image w/ quote as well.
Character Page
It looks like he is mid catching a whiff of some really foul smelling shit.
Character Page
It looks like he is mid catching a whiff of some really foul smelling shit.
His outfit is a bit Han Solo-ish with the vest and tight pants / boots, and it's not something I thought I'd see on a mage, but I'll keep an open mind with him.
By the way, is there info on how they're handling skill trees this time around? From the few character features I've seen they've brought up mentions of characters having "unique" takes on magic or skill-sets - so maybe it'll be like DA2, where there are a common set of skills (e.g. elemental magic, healing magic, warrior) and then character-specific skills?
By the way, is there info on how they're handling skill trees this time around? From the few character features I've seen they've brought up mentions of characters having "unique" takes on magic or skill-sets - so maybe it'll be like DA2, where there are a common set of skills (e.g. elemental magic, healing magic, warrior) and then character-specific skills?
The leaked Dwarf demo from E3 shows a few slides of the Skill trees and unfortunately the one we see in full is Iron Bulls and there is no sign of a unique specialization like there was in DA2. He only had one specialization and that was Reaver. So most people are assuming each companion will be one of the 9 specializations that are all open to the player. Which to me is a big letdown.
As for the skill trees themselves, they're similar to DA2 in content, but their layout is a little different, they're all shaped more like ladders now to allow for changing direction mid tree easier.
More here.
The characer design in this game is just awful. Not a single thing about this game, aside from dragons, is appealing to me. Bioware has just gone down hill with hits like Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2. It's easy to tell the core staff has left.
I was somewhat looking forward to this game, until they started showing of all the characters and how they are bringing dead characters back because they feel like their decisions are better than player choices. I cannot support it. The Witcher 3 will destroy this game for sure.
I was somewhat looking forward to this game, until they started showing of all the characters and how they are bringing dead characters back because they feel like their decisions are better than player choices. I cannot support it. The Witcher 3 will destroy this game for sure.
MMBosstones86
Member
after DA2? um, yup. Shouldn't come as a huge surprise either.
Of all the reasons to bash this saga, the Leliana case must be the most stupid and overblown one. More so when there are so few developers that even try to implement something like the save import.
I think it's going to be a last minute thing. It probably has some fucked up season pass plan or an almost FTP scheme with random packs (FIFA/MassEffect style), so I guess they didn't make any announcement about it to keep people's attention on the single player, the graphics and the story. I'd be surprised if they won't release a demo a month beforehand like they did with ME3.
Deified Data
Banned
Solas sounds pretty cool - if I don't play as a mage myself he'll probably be the party's mage.
tringworldso
Member
Second idea sounds more intriguing for nothing more than keeping the players on their toes about who to trust/not trust!
Good to see they tweaked Solas' pamper pants.
anexanhume
Member
I don't see it as a let down given how much more depth the skill trees have this time around.
More depth is nice, but I just like how the companion specific specializations were crafted for them and highlighted their specific characteristics. It just makes sense, especially now in DAI with characters like Solas and Cole who have these wildly unique backgrounds that it would just make sense that they would have abilities no one else does.
Don't read the blurb, read the writer interview. It leaves an infinitely better impression of the character.
I think fans generally give Witcher series a free pass on criticism. It doesn't get nearly the same level of scrutiny that Bioware stuff receives.
Black-Wind
Member
wolfhowwl
Banned
Some Nobody
Junior Member
The Witcher 3 has also revealed far less than Dragon Age has, too.
Witcher 2 got a free pass from criticism, and I think so will Witcher 3.
(edit: or at least I don't think they get the same amount of scrutiny as Bioware RPGs)
nelsonroyale
Member
I have played the first Dragon Age and both Witcher games. In many ways I think DA Origins was better than the Witcher 1. But Witcher 2 blew both away. Better narrative, better characters, more enjoyable combat, far better art visuals, and world design. So far, Inquisition is looking pretty promsing to me, but Witcher 3 looks like it will be incredible. Never seen an open world rpg with such an attractive looking world.
tringworldso
Member
I really love the somber and melancholic tone of the Lead them or Fall trailer. The more I watch it, the more I fall in love with how they juxtapose the quieter moments with the action sequences.
Admiral Woofington
Member
My biggest complaint about character design is that none of the ladies are waifu material outside of What's her face from the first one. So if I can't waifu her is there a point to anything?
I might consider maleficent if she removes the helmet.
I might consider maleficent if she removes the helmet.
Some Nobody
Junior Member
Lol, not sure if srs. But they have so far not introduced a lady character I find interesting enough to romance. May just skip that bit.
Admiral Woofington
Member
I'm semi serious. The romance aspect is something I highly enjoy out of Bioware games and each game I always knew "gonna target her with my fedora tipping charms"
But this game so far I just eh. Like I said the maleficent lady might be passable but she's a mage and that helmet isn't doing it for me. I'm gonna be a mage so I can't bring her on my party. If I can't go for what's her face Christian girl I might end up going for the elf.
If not then screw it just give me a party full of those do you even lift dogs and I can kick ass with those dudes. Who needs romance when you have an army of barkspawns.
The Last Wizard
Member
Look! The Pie!
Member
Blackwall had better be a romance option. Dorian, Solas, and Freddie Prinze Jr just ain't doing it for me.
As for the game itself, I love everything I've seen so far. I'm replaying DA:O right now and had forgotten how much I loved it the first time around. I really liked DA2 as well, despite it being a step backwards in many areas, so here's hoping DA:I delivers on its promises.
As for the game itself, I love everything I've seen so far. I'm replaying DA:O right now and had forgotten how much I loved it the first time around. I really liked DA2 as well, despite it being a step backwards in many areas, so here's hoping DA:I delivers on its promises.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Haven't really "clicked" with any of the romance options we've seen thus far, but that might change come release. I really like the overall look of the game, though. What specialization are you guys thinking of playing (assuming that you're thinking of, well, playing at all)? I'm leaning Knight Enchanter. Love me some Arcane Warrior brokenness.
Winter John
Member
I hope that pirate chick with the sexy voice is in it, otherwise no sale. She was the only good thing about DA2
Can't agree on characters or combat, but obviously tastes will vary. I think rather the point was the witcher's pros are glorified while dragon age's flaws are magnified (or invented). For someone who is a fan of both series its pretty laughable.
Anyway, both games will be great.