I enjoyed the main quest, though it is really short. The power system is worthless, not just because of the amount you get without trying, but as an intention, was sure to be used as a gating tool to prevent people from finishing the game too fast, which can definitely happen. Once you strip away the collections etc, there's really not a lot of story, there.
And their method of world-building is...certainly interesting. Making mention of various historical events or myths that have no bearing on what's going on now, or giving context to any of those events isn't really world-building at all, it's just flavor text. All of the decent world-building was done through the characters, which remains their greatest strength. Without Dorian, Tevinter would just be this magic slaver boogieman, and through context, we learn that's exactly what Tevinter is!
Ditto with Qunari. I was actually fairly down with the Qun, until Iron Bulls quest
And, namely, their attempts to assassinate him afterwards. Bull shrugs it off as "just a formality", because he's Iron-fucking-Bull, but if those are the kind of formalities they deal with, then fuck those guys
I came around on Sera and Vivienne a little bit, but I disliked them both for basically being so far on opposing sides of the same spectrum. I got the feeling the only reason Vivienne, as a Mage, was so in favor of the restoration of the Circles, is because she lucked into finding a way to transcend them, personally, and she doesn't really care about how other Mages fare. Sera, similarly, only cares about the idea of nobles and peasants. Nobles are bad, peasants are good. If a noble was good, they wouldn't want to be a noble, I'm sure she would say. Peoples actions and feelings are secondary to her perception of someone based solely on their title.
Iron Bull himself was fairly standard, and really similar to the voice actors previous character in ME3. I enjoyed the Chargers, though, and as an extension of Bull's character, were great. I really liked Krem, and a Qunari who's aware of the Qun, but not up his own ass about the whole thing was really good to see. It was good to finally get a pragmatists view of the whole thing.
Cole was an interesting character, to me, and one whom I'm actually regretting the decision I made for him.
He's a spirit of compassion, who tried to help that dying boy. I got the feeling he didn't intend to become human, and it just kind of happened, so I kind of regret now doing that instead of going with Solas. But Varric is my bro, so I usually end up going with him, anyway.
Speaking of Varric, he's basically the same character as in 2, which is fine in my book. He played the outsider very well, reminding me that every single thing that happens in this game is weird as shit, even by Dragon Age standards. In Here lies the Abyss, I made the decision mostly for Varric's sake.
Blackwall
I left him to rot in prison and never looked back. He joined my group under false pretenses, and he didn't even have a good reason for what he did. He was bought to be a hitman, and took advantage of the loyalty of others to help him do it. It was an Orlesian crime, that took place before the formation of the Inquisition, so I did not feel very good about using Inqusition resources just to save someone from my inner circle.
I honestly can't remember if there was any kind of choice with Cassandra? She's a good character, and I do mean good. A paragon of virtue, really. But for that reason, I found her to be quite boring. I think I urged her to make the Seekers "better", whatever that means.
Cullen is cool, I always like when a not-main character spans multiple games. I was gonna go for a romance with him, but ultimately went for Josephine because she's so dang adorable.
See above. Josephine is so dang adorable and dapper and lovely, my ladyquisitor just couldn't resist. Dueling for her honor might be my favorite part of the game.
Leliana was my divine! And she apparently did a good job! I was worried when she told me her platform, but I guess beating a total idealist worked in this case, cause apparently everyone in the Chantry loves each other now and Mages are totally free which is the way I tend to go anyway. I did some reading and I guess it can go the other way if your Leliana likes killing people a bunch, but I guess I hit the right chords, cause by the end of the game she had basically reverted to Origins version of herself. I was surprised, because if I had a dialogue wheel choice, I would have chosen Cassandra, and actually flat told Leliana I wasn't going to support her when she asked and I got one of those special options that signifies an actual choice. But it all worked out in the end!
So, Solas, I'm a little confused about
He's the Dread Wolf, I get it. Mythal being real kind of opened the floodgates for the whole elven gods story being real, so I kind of expected more on that. And I guess the 'beyond' that he chased the other gods into is the Fade? Or something Fade-adjacent, like the Crossroads was? Which is why he wanted to activate the orb? Which is why he gave it to Corypheus? But, he must have known what Corypheus was, and what he would try to do. Solas obviously didn't want him to succeed, so I guess his plan was to give Corypheus the orb, and then let the Inquistion kill him, so Solas could take the orb back and bring back the elven gods? Now I'm just super confused on what happened the Flemeth/Mythal, and what Solas is, now that he seemed to absorb Mythal.
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
I will probably not play this game, again. The variations in things based on different decisions or Keep configurations is not enough to suffer through the awful, awful gameplay, and I'm pretty sure using the Trainer is what caused me to have frequent hard-locks for the back half of the game, so I don't even have the option of neutralizing the gameplay, either.
It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely not built in a way that will let me enjoy multiple playthroughs. I'm also regretting paying full-price for the game. If you haven't bought it yet, I would wait until you see it on sale for cheap, somewhere.
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KwoaruConfident SmirkFlawless Golden PecsRegistered Userregular
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
Well waaaaay too many people hated DA2 for the consensus to ever be that 2 was the best
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
Well waaaaay too many people hated DA2 for the consensus to ever be that 2 was the best
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
2 is actually getting a lot of praise in hindsight. It's basically Mass Effect with swords, which isn't that bad, as it turns out!
When I started 2, I didn't really like it. It wasn't until the third act, when the story starts congealing that I started to enjoy it.
And then I started Inquisition, and I liked 2 more in hindsight.
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
Well waaaaay too many people hated DA2 for the consensus to ever be that 2 was the best
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
2 is actually getting a lot of praise in hindsight. It's basically Mass Effect with swords, which isn't that bad, as it turns out!
DA2 was great it just had even more obvious problems and the loud people who wanted something more like baldur's gate or whatever were even more disappointed than they were in DA:O
Also this game is definitely a lot like the original Mass Effect
Cumbersome inventory system
Subpar Combat
Large, sprawling areas with filled mostly with miscellaneous collectibles, complete with the ability to hilariously ascend steep cliffs via weird movement and pathing rules
An overarching villain that has a history with one or more or your characters, who plays little/no part in the actual narrative until very late in the game, the rest of which spent dealing with subordinates or ruining their plans in a very 'curse you gadget!' style'
Ends both on a celebration and a cliffhanger
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
Well waaaaay too many people hated DA2 for the consensus to ever be that 2 was the best
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
2 is actually getting a lot of praise in hindsight. It's basically Mass Effect with swords, which isn't that bad, as it turns out!
DA2 was great it just had even more obvious problems and the loud people who wanted something more like baldur's gate or whatever were even more disappointed than they were in DA:O
I'm just really finding myself wishing that 2 was the game that got 4 years of dev time, instead of Inquisition
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BaidolI will hold him offEscape while you canRegistered Userregular
Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
I'm halfway through my second play through and somewhat over leveled despite not doing nearly as much as I did the first time, it's weird
But man, Solas, post Wicked Hearts
He was all getting nostalgic about being back at court and I was like, you've been to court? Thinking he'd get chatty like he always does when you ask him questions
He freaking STAMMERED and lied so badly, it was beautiful, and I got disapproval but it was worth it
It had an awful lot of good will going into release, and won a lot of awards. That, combined with a holiday release, combined with a micro-transaction based multiplayer, I'm certain it did very, very well.
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ButtersA glass of some milksRegistered Userregular
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
Well waaaaay too many people hated DA2 for the consensus to ever be that 2 was the best
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
2 is actually getting a lot of praise in hindsight. It's basically Mass Effect with swords, which isn't that bad, as it turns out!
DA2 was great it just had even more obvious problems and the loud people who wanted something more like baldur's gate or whatever were even more disappointed than they were in DA:O
I really liked DA2 but I have never seen a game so brazenly recycle dungeons and I think that was a significant source of contemp . I think people would have taken to the game play with a more open mind if it weren't for that.
Not even more open, I think the size of the areas was fine. They just needed to be more varied, which I agree definitely caught my eye in a bad way when I first played the game
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
Well waaaaay too many people hated DA2 for the consensus to ever be that 2 was the best
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
2 is actually getting a lot of praise in hindsight. It's basically Mass Effect with swords, which isn't that bad, as it turns out!
DA2 was great it just had even more obvious problems and the loud people who wanted something more like baldur's gate or whatever were even more disappointed than they were in DA:O
I really liked DA2 but I have never seen a game so brazenly recycle dungeons and I think that was a significant source of contemp . I think people would have taken to the game play with a more open mind if it weren't for that.
Yeah. I really like about 75% of the storytelling in that game, though. If you take that stuff and fix the "lack of dev time" problems, it's pretty much the exact kind of thing I'd want ME4 to be.
I feel kind of weirdly about Inquisition. It's kind of been the main thing about the Dragon Age games where I love the story but hate/put up with/am terrible at the actual gameplay. I don't mind party-based tactical games i'm just bad at them, so the changes 2 made to it made me like it more because while the structure was almost identical it felt better to me. Then 3 went too far with the action stuff while still kind of structurally being a tactical game and it didn't mesh well. Cassandra being the best, Cullen being dreamy, and Varric being great didn't really balance it out in hindsight, and while I really like my Inquisitor that may have just been the same superficial reaction I get from any of my created characters.
Contrast with Mass Effect where the gameplay just got better and better over time, and so did the characters. Nothing will top ME1's main plot, but 3 did a good enough job with it (outside of 10 minutes at the end and 10 minutes scattered throughout) while also having the best character interactions in the series that it is comfortably in my top spot for the series. I'm not sure that kind of thing could be done again though, just because of how central Shepard was and how strong the supporting cast was, inevitably if they try that again things would get compared to ME1-3 and probably not in a favorable way.
I guess put simply I play both games for the setting, story, and characters but with Mass Effect I actually love playing it as well. As opposed to Dragon Age's gameplay, which for me is just the requirement I have to put up with to access those story elements.
It's weird, but hearing about repetitive dungeons has actually been a mark in favor of me eventually playing DA2. I tend to feel "paralyzed by choices" in a lot of these games. Revisiting areas that I'm already familiar with, that I don't feel like I have to scour for loot and clues, may make for a much more relaxing experience.
But I recognize that's coming from a pretty weird headspace.
Desert Leviathan on
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
It's weird, but hearing about repetitive dungeons has actually been a mark in favor of me eventually playing DA2. I tend to feel "paralyzed by choices" in a lot of these games. Revisiting areas that I'm already familiar with, that I don't feel like I have to scour for loot and clues, may make for a much more relaxing experience.
But I recognize that's coming from a pretty weird headspace.
It's weird, but hearing about repetitive dungeons has actually been a mark in favor of me eventually playing DA2. I tend to feel "paralyzed by choices" in a lot of these games. Revisiting areas that I'm already familiar with, that I don't feel like I have to scour for loot and clues, may make for a much more relaxing experience.
But I recognize that's coming from a pretty weird headspace.
Well, except that you go scouring the same 6 areas or so for loot every time you get to a new act.
It's weird, but hearing about repetitive dungeons has actually been a mark in favor of me eventually playing DA2. I tend to feel "paralyzed by choices" in a lot of these games. Revisiting areas that I'm already familiar with, that I don't feel like I have to scour for loot and clues, may make for a much more relaxing experience.
But I recognize that's coming from a pretty weird headspace.
Here's the thing
they are not presented as the same dungeon
you are told they are a different place
but its literally the same map with small tweaks
Eww. That's really shitty then.
Realizing lately that I don't really trust or respect basically any of the moderators here. So, good luck with life, friends! Hit me up on Twitter @DesertLeviathan
It's weird, but hearing about repetitive dungeons has actually been a mark in favor of me eventually playing DA2. I tend to feel "paralyzed by choices" in a lot of these games. Revisiting areas that I'm already familiar with, that I don't feel like I have to scour for loot and clues, may make for a much more relaxing experience.
But I recognize that's coming from a pretty weird headspace.
It's not really ' go visit this abandoned warehouse again!', it's more like 'go visit this creepy dock, that looks exactly like the abandoned warehouse you visited 20 minutes ago'
Sera, similarly, only cares about the idea of nobles and peasants. Nobles are bad, peasants are good. If a noble was good, they wouldn't want to be a noble, I'm sure she would say. Peoples actions and feelings are secondary to her perception of someone based solely on their title.
This isn't really accurate. Notably, she's much more willing to romance a human noblewoman Inquisitor than a Dalish Inquisitor. And she's very responsive to actions.
Went on a Red Jenny mission that turned out to be a trap set by a particularly slimy noble who then immediately tried to strike a deal with me. Interrogating him increasingly frustrated Sera -- "Stop talking to him!!"
Anyway I let her pummel the bastard to death, but stopped her as she got too into it. In the ensuing conversation I was like "yeah whatever, as long as you direct all that the right way you're fine." She was taken aback -- "I'm not used to this whole 'acceptance' thing you're doing" -- but very much approved.
My being an actual titled noble and leader of a castle / army had barely elicited a comment from her. She said something alluding to her hope that we don't become bad people as a result, but it hasn't been a source of drama.
Triptycho: A card-and-dice tabletop indie RPG currently in development and playtesting
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
Also, you can see the whole map, so you can see where you went last time.
So is the consensus here similar to Mass Effect? 2 was the peak? Or are we just sort of grumpy and three isn't anywhere near as big a let down as ME 3 was?
I will probably not play this game, again. The variations in things based on different decisions or Keep configurations is not enough to suffer through the awful, awful gameplay, and I'm pretty sure using the Trainer is what caused me to have frequent hard-locks for the back half of the game, so I don't even have the option of neutralizing the gameplay, either.
It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely not built in a way that will let me enjoy multiple playthroughs. I'm also regretting paying full-price for the game. If you haven't bought it yet, I would wait until you see it on sale for cheap, somewhere.
On the other hand I thought it was a great game and will probably play through at least twice and I know a lot of people here already have...so you know opinions.
Like anything you pretty much have to play if for you self, taste is subjective.
I think that, overall, DA2 was the best of the three
DA:I certainly has it beaten in terms of world design (excellent), core game concept (also excellent, though DA2 is very good there too), encounter design (it's more that DA2 had awful encounter design), and in terms of characters both are genuinely excellent, but DA2 has a better overall plot and feels more cohesive, even if DAI puts the setting in a far more interesting situation.
I have a hard time picking a winner. They are both games that have excellent characters set in a good story but both games are plagued by mediocre to poor technical execution and some questionable design decisions. DA2 suffers more in the technical department due to the rushed timeline but I admire what they did with the story more. In every other Bioware game the protagonist is an unstoppable force of pure win. In DA2, Hawke is just the right woman in the wrong place at the wrong time (with just the right amount of sarcasm) trying to make the best of an increasingly bad situation - and I really admire Bioware's decision to stray from the messianic formula (even if just a bit) that they normally use. DAI had...
the transition from Haven to Skyhold
...which is one of my favorite Bioware moments ever, but after that it reverts back to the standard issue power fantasy.
I like that in DA2 Bioware rejects the RPG protaganist as a messiah and then in DAI literalises it
DA seems to be the franchise where they are exploring the genre on a more thoughtful level and ME, which was mostly great, but very typical in that sense (outside of ME2 which did break the mould a bit and is the best bioware game ever, I think).
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Quoththe RavenMiami, FL FOR REALRegistered Userregular
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I enjoyed the main quest, though it is really short. The power system is worthless, not just because of the amount you get without trying, but as an intention, was sure to be used as a gating tool to prevent people from finishing the game too fast, which can definitely happen. Once you strip away the collections etc, there's really not a lot of story, there.
And their method of world-building is...certainly interesting. Making mention of various historical events or myths that have no bearing on what's going on now, or giving context to any of those events isn't really world-building at all, it's just flavor text. All of the decent world-building was done through the characters, which remains their greatest strength. Without Dorian, Tevinter would just be this magic slaver boogieman, and through context, we learn that's exactly what Tevinter is!
Ditto with Qunari. I was actually fairly down with the Qun, until Iron Bulls quest
I came around on Sera and Vivienne a little bit, but I disliked them both for basically being so far on opposing sides of the same spectrum. I got the feeling the only reason Vivienne, as a Mage, was so in favor of the restoration of the Circles, is because she lucked into finding a way to transcend them, personally, and she doesn't really care about how other Mages fare. Sera, similarly, only cares about the idea of nobles and peasants. Nobles are bad, peasants are good. If a noble was good, they wouldn't want to be a noble, I'm sure she would say. Peoples actions and feelings are secondary to her perception of someone based solely on their title.
Iron Bull himself was fairly standard, and really similar to the voice actors previous character in ME3. I enjoyed the Chargers, though, and as an extension of Bull's character, were great. I really liked Krem, and a Qunari who's aware of the Qun, but not up his own ass about the whole thing was really good to see. It was good to finally get a pragmatists view of the whole thing.
Cole was an interesting character, to me, and one whom I'm actually regretting the decision I made for him.
Speaking of Varric, he's basically the same character as in 2, which is fine in my book. He played the outsider very well, reminding me that every single thing that happens in this game is weird as shit, even by Dragon Age standards. In Here lies the Abyss, I made the decision mostly for Varric's sake.
Blackwall
I honestly can't remember if there was any kind of choice with Cassandra? She's a good character, and I do mean good. A paragon of virtue, really. But for that reason, I found her to be quite boring. I think I urged her to make the Seekers "better", whatever that means.
Cullen is cool, I always like when a not-main character spans multiple games. I was gonna go for a romance with him, but ultimately went for Josephine because she's so dang adorable.
See above. Josephine is so dang adorable and dapper and lovely, my ladyquisitor just couldn't resist. Dueling for her honor might be my favorite part of the game.
Leliana was my divine! And she apparently did a good job! I was worried when she told me her platform, but I guess beating a total idealist worked in this case, cause apparently everyone in the Chantry loves each other now and Mages are totally free which is the way I tend to go anyway. I did some reading and I guess it can go the other way if your Leliana likes killing people a bunch, but I guess I hit the right chords, cause by the end of the game she had basically reverted to Origins version of herself. I was surprised, because if I had a dialogue wheel choice, I would have chosen Cassandra, and actually flat told Leliana I wasn't going to support her when she asked and I got one of those special options that signifies an actual choice. But it all worked out in the end!
So, Solas, I'm a little confused about
I will probably not play this game, again. The variations in things based on different decisions or Keep configurations is not enough to suffer through the awful, awful gameplay, and I'm pretty sure using the Trainer is what caused me to have frequent hard-locks for the back half of the game, so I don't even have the option of neutralizing the gameplay, either.
It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's definitely not built in a way that will let me enjoy multiple playthroughs. I'm also regretting paying full-price for the game. If you haven't bought it yet, I would wait until you see it on sale for cheap, somewhere.
Personally I loved DA2 and I think DA:I is the best dragon age game so far
2 is actually getting a lot of praise in hindsight. It's basically Mass Effect with swords, which isn't that bad, as it turns out!
And then I started Inquisition, and I liked 2 more in hindsight.
DA2 was great it just had even more obvious problems and the loud people who wanted something more like baldur's gate or whatever were even more disappointed than they were in DA:O
Cumbersome inventory system
Subpar Combat
Large, sprawling areas with filled mostly with miscellaneous collectibles, complete with the ability to hilariously ascend steep cliffs via weird movement and pathing rules
An overarching villain that has a history with one or more or your characters, who plays little/no part in the actual narrative until very late in the game, the rest of which spent dealing with subordinates or ruining their plans in a very 'curse you gadget!' style'
Ends both on a celebration and a cliffhanger
I'm just really finding myself wishing that 2 was the game that got 4 years of dev time, instead of Inquisition
But man, Solas, post Wicked Hearts
He freaking STAMMERED and lied so badly, it was beautiful, and I got disapproval but it was worth it
No hard numbers but Bioware's earnings report called it their most successful launch ever
I really liked DA2 but I have never seen a game so brazenly recycle dungeons and I think that was a significant source of contemp . I think people would have taken to the game play with a more open mind if it weren't for that.
Yeah. I really like about 75% of the storytelling in that game, though. If you take that stuff and fix the "lack of dev time" problems, it's pretty much the exact kind of thing I'd want ME4 to be.
https://medium.com/@alascii
Contrast with Mass Effect where the gameplay just got better and better over time, and so did the characters. Nothing will top ME1's main plot, but 3 did a good enough job with it (outside of 10 minutes at the end and 10 minutes scattered throughout) while also having the best character interactions in the series that it is comfortably in my top spot for the series. I'm not sure that kind of thing could be done again though, just because of how central Shepard was and how strong the supporting cast was, inevitably if they try that again things would get compared to ME1-3 and probably not in a favorable way.
I guess put simply I play both games for the setting, story, and characters but with Mass Effect I actually love playing it as well. As opposed to Dragon Age's gameplay, which for me is just the requirement I have to put up with to access those story elements.
But I recognize that's coming from a pretty weird headspace.
Here's the thing
they are not presented as the same dungeon
you are told they are a different place
but its literally the same map with small tweaks
Well, except that you go scouring the same 6 areas or so for loot every time you get to a new act.
Eww. That's really shitty then.
It's not really ' go visit this abandoned warehouse again!', it's more like 'go visit this creepy dock, that looks exactly like the abandoned warehouse you visited 20 minutes ago'
Anyway I let her pummel the bastard to death, but stopped her as she got too into it. In the ensuing conversation I was like "yeah whatever, as long as you direct all that the right way you're fine." She was taken aback -- "I'm not used to this whole 'acceptance' thing you're doing" -- but very much approved.
My being an actual titled noble and leader of a castle / army had barely elicited a comment from her. She said something alluding to her hope that we don't become bad people as a result, but it hasn't been a source of drama.
On the other hand I thought it was a great game and will probably play through at least twice and I know a lot of people here already have...so you know opinions.
Like anything you pretty much have to play if for you self, taste is subjective.
DA:I certainly has it beaten in terms of world design (excellent), core game concept (also excellent, though DA2 is very good there too), encounter design (it's more that DA2 had awful encounter design), and in terms of characters both are genuinely excellent, but DA2 has a better overall plot and feels more cohesive, even if DAI puts the setting in a far more interesting situation.
DA:I peaks highest, though, of all three games
Yes absolutely
the first 20 hours of DAI are fantastic, especially the first time through
DA seems to be the franchise where they are exploring the genre on a more thoughtful level and ME, which was mostly great, but very typical in that sense (outside of ME2 which did break the mould a bit and is the best bioware game ever, I think).
I think you only get Carver if you're a mage. I was a rogue, and Bethany and I were BFFs
Yeah, unfortunately.