I'm not too worried about the open world ruining the narrative strengths of the brand.
You look at stuff like the redcliffe dungeon and skyhold convos which are pure bioware, it doesn't particularly look like the main quest is going to suffer for it in any case.
Thats probably just the hype machine and relentless optimism I've built up for this one talking though. You can't trust anything I'm saying until a week after the game releases.
Honestly, I'm actually hoping the main quest doesn't impede my exploration too much.
I'll probably do a mad rush to unlock all the characters then just bullshit around.
Thats my motto aswell.
I always complete all side content before moving on with the story.
I'm sure all the strengths will be intact, especially since it's not an open-world but much bigger areas. The size does make it sound like there will be lots of minor, MMO-esque quests, though. 5:50 to 7 minute marks here:
The way I understand it is that this is how it works: Do quests and explore, get xp/power. Power can be spent to unlock new areas, and so you unlock the ability to explore and do new quests.
I just forgot how much I loved the idea of accidentally coming upon a dungeon that you're way underleveled for and trying to tackle it anyway.
Something you really don't see that often from more narrative-based RPGs these days(especially with level scaling) and I actually kind of missed it.
This is something I really miss from games such as FO2.
Gives you a sense of purpose and how far you've come.
That super mutant won't go down to your pistol packing party.
Got a Bozar? mmmmmmmmmh!
I think skyrim and fallout nv did an excellent job of that. Having level ranges for things is less of a giant "fuck you for not knowing better" to players.
OK, just finished going through the Keep so I should be all set on the 19th. A couple of things that I think would have enhanced the experience: First, in DA2, it would've been nice if the completed quest logs gave a little more information about exactly how you completed the quests. Second, in the Keep itself, it would've been nice if the choices referenced the actual quest name/journal entry (where appropriate) from the original game. Oh, well, I got it about as close as it's ever likely to be without doing a full replay with the Keep open next to me, and I can't wait for the new game to unlock on my PC.
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BRIAN BLESSEDMaybe you aren't SPEAKING LOUDLY ENOUGHHHRegistered Userregular
Maybe I'll get used to it when I'm actually playing the game, but Iron Bull's voice just doesn't seem fit him. I would've preferred a much deeper voice like Sten or the Arishok, I think.
Maybe I'll get used to it when I'm actually playing the game, but Iron Bull's voice just doesn't seem fit him. I would've preferred a much deeper voice like Sten or the Arishok, I think.
Agreed.
It sounds very out of place and cartoonish, not in a good way.
Probably would sound a lot better if Freddie dropped the fake accent.
Eh, sounds fine to me in that short clip. Need to hear more to really say, though. And since I may put him in the ground real fast it may have to rely on that short snippet.
+2
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
Eh, sounds fine to me in that short clip. Need to hear more to really say, though. And since I may put him in the ground real fast it may have to rely on that short snippet.
Yeah, as fun as he may look, he still reports back to his countrymen on the Inquisition's activities so I'm still worried theres a fair chance he might end up becoming a rather frustrating qun apologist like Talis.
Damn communist ox men. Not in my Fereldemerica, dammit!
Tallis wasn't so bad. She didnt try to push the Qun on you or anything.
Not on Hawke, but she's doing the dirty work of the Qun... Assassinating anyone who the Qunari leadership deem an enemy. Tallis plays a supporting role in some heinous shit.
I'm certainly not saying that the Qunari are the only organization that use assassins to get what they want, but it's a pretty shitty practice on the whole.
To be fair, she's hardly the first assassin you've ever worked with in a DA game. I mean, Zevran, Leiliana, hell, I guess even Fenris counts. I mean, look at who Hawke hangs out with and what he does, he really doesn't have a moral foot to stand on.
DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
edited November 2014
Honestly, I really don't care too much about Bull's allegiance
Because between the Qun, Tevinter, Orzammar, and the other surface kingdoms its pretty much a contest to choose the least shitty governing party. Because they're all pretty shit.
Honestly, I really don't care to much about Bull's allegiance
Because between the Qun, Tevinter, Orzammar, and the other surface kingdoms its pretty much a contest to choice the least shitty governing party.
I would argue the Qun is the biggest threat to all the others though.
Even Sten and the Arishok believed the qun would demand they invade and "educate" people. They saw it as an inevitability, not a possibility.
Religious fanatics/drones who will gladly throw their lives away for a righteous cause. Its a pretty scary prospect. Especially considering the qunari are already considerably more physically powerful than the other races. Channel that into a massive army and a pretty disastrous war could be on the horizon.
Except the one time the Qunari tried that they were stopped. Hard. See, there's a huge gap between the Qunari and the rest of Thedas in terms of magic and magical weapons. The Qunari have cannons and bombs, true, but a mage against gunpowder is a mage victory. This is why the Qunari and the Tevinter have been stuck at a stalemate for a very, very long time.
Honestly, I really don't care to much about Bull's allegiance
Because between the Qun, Tevinter, Orzammar, and the other surface kingdoms its pretty much a contest to choice the least shitty governing party.
I would argue the Qun is the biggest threat to all the others though.
Even Sten and the Arishok believed the qun would demand they invade and "educate" people. They saw it as an inevitability, not a possibility.
Religious fanatics/drones who will gladly throw their lives away for a righteous cause. Its a pretty scary prospect. Especially considering the qunari are already considerably more physically powerful than the other races. Channel that into a massive army and a pretty disastrous war could be on the horizon.
I'm not sure how I feel about geth awesoming that post
But yeah, the Qunari don't really have any Templar equivalents, so while an invasion sucks, the mages of Thedas will always give them a huge tactical advantage, to say nothing of the Chantry declaring Exalted Marches against them, which are basically the DA version of Crusades.
Except the one time the Qunari tried that they were stopped. Hard. See, there's a huge gap between the Qunari and the rest of Thedas in terms of magic and magical weapons. The Qunari have cannons and bombs, true, but a mage against gunpowder is a mage victory. This is why the Qunari and the Tevinter have been stuck at a stalemate for a very, very long time.
Uh, it took the entire continent of Thedas 150 years of continual warfare, along with the decimation of the population of Rivain to stop the Qunari. That doesn't sound like put down hard at all. I do wonder why they haven't tried again though.
do the qunari have firearms? or just artillery cannons? even then, its a matter of production and scale.
You could pull equivalents from when we first started using crude muskets from bowmen.
A mage or bowman takes years to train to use their weapon properly.
making cannons/muskets and training the soldiers to use that is on the scale of weeks.
I think that if I've learned one thing about the world of Thedas, it's that Ferelden is somehow the best place in the world to live.
The land is relatively fertile. They're well away from the conflicts between the Qun and the Tevinter Imperium. They don't have to deal with chronic warfare like the Free Marches. They've got relatively decent leadership in the short term, and the beginnings of a parliamentary structure that'll probably result in a horrific civil war or two in a few centuries, but which will probably benefit the citizens overall in the long run. They're free to trade with just about everyone. Life for common citizens is about as good as can be expected in a feudal society.
It's not perfect. It's a shit-hole by the standards of most fantasy series IMO. But for Thedas? It's pretty nice, all things considered.
Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
150 years of continual warfare and no land remains in Qunari hands, except an island to the north. That's pretty impressive against an opponent with better numbers, soldiers, and technology.
Dr. ChaosPost nuclear nuisanceRegistered Userregular
edited November 2014
do the qunari have firearms? or just artillery cannons? even then, its a matter of production and scale.
You could pull equivalents from when we first started using crude muskets from bowmen.
They have explosives that are more powerful than anything made in Thedas apparently. The gaatlok.
Some quests in DA2 centered around people trying to get ahold of it. They also have some pretty poisonous gas chemical weapons so they're definitely packing some nasty stuff.
Posts
I always complete all side content before moving on with the story.
But, at least that's just extra side stuff that doesn't interfere with the rest.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Something you really don't see that often from more narrative-based RPGs these days(especially with level scaling) and I actually kind of missed it.
That was another reason why I liked DAO so much. I accidentally did orzammar and denerim first, which were the 2 hardest areas in the game
This is something I really miss from games such as FO2.
Gives you a sense of purpose and how far you've come.
That super mutant won't go down to your pistol packing party.
Got a Bozar? mmmmmmmmmh!
The opposite effect, overlevelling for an area, can completely strip it of narrative tension and weight, which can be a pretty big problem.
I mean, everyone likes feeling like a badass, but still.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
The Iron Bull is my new best friend.
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
Also, anyone else thing the Bull and Varric are gonna have a lot of issues after Kirkwall?
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
He was probably just sick of all the fighting.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
It sounds very out of place and cartoonish, not in a good way.
Probably would sound a lot better if Freddie dropped the fake accent.
Well, Varric seems like an all around nice guy so its hard for me to imagine him holding grudges.
That said he does look a little more worn than he did in DA2.
Damn communist ox men. Not in my Fereldemerica, dammit!
What negative trait? Racism against qunari?
Because that's a positive.
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
She knows its nug crap and Hawke can even call her on it by telling her she's trying to convince herself more.
I'm certainly not saying that the Qunari are the only organization that use assassins to get what they want, but it's a pretty shitty practice on the whole.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Because between the Qun, Tevinter, Orzammar, and the other surface kingdoms its pretty much a contest to choose the least shitty governing party. Because they're all pretty shit.
I never bothered to talk to Sten though, and the qunari in DA2 are all assholes or dumb.
Even Sten and the Arishok believed the qun would demand they invade and "educate" people. They saw it as an inevitability, not a possibility.
Religious fanatics/drones who will gladly throw their lives away for a righteous cause. Its a pretty scary prospect. Especially considering the qunari are already considerably more physically powerful than the other races. Channel that into a massive army and a pretty disastrous war could be on the horizon.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
Like this?
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
It's the only way to be sure.
Just doing the Maker's work.
But yeah, the Qunari don't really have any Templar equivalents, so while an invasion sucks, the mages of Thedas will always give them a huge tactical advantage, to say nothing of the Chantry declaring Exalted Marches against them, which are basically the DA version of Crusades.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Uh, it took the entire continent of Thedas 150 years of continual warfare, along with the decimation of the population of Rivain to stop the Qunari. That doesn't sound like put down hard at all. I do wonder why they haven't tried again though.
You could pull equivalents from when we first started using crude muskets from bowmen.
A mage or bowman takes years to train to use their weapon properly.
making cannons/muskets and training the soldiers to use that is on the scale of weeks.
Steam - NotoriusBEN | Uplay - notoriusben | Xbox,Windows Live - ThatBEN
I think that if I've learned one thing about the world of Thedas, it's that Ferelden is somehow the best place in the world to live.
The land is relatively fertile. They're well away from the conflicts between the Qun and the Tevinter Imperium. They don't have to deal with chronic warfare like the Free Marches. They've got relatively decent leadership in the short term, and the beginnings of a parliamentary structure that'll probably result in a horrific civil war or two in a few centuries, but which will probably benefit the citizens overall in the long run. They're free to trade with just about everyone. Life for common citizens is about as good as can be expected in a feudal society.
It's not perfect. It's a shit-hole by the standards of most fantasy series IMO. But for Thedas? It's pretty nice, all things considered.
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
Some quests in DA2 centered around people trying to get ahold of it. They also have some pretty poisonous gas chemical weapons so they're definitely packing some nasty stuff.