Also I agree DA2 had the best combat. I've always felt so.
I'm trying to figure out what's the difference between DA:I's and DA2's combat.
Technically they're the same...but there is something that feels different that I just can't put my finger on.
Chains had a more forgiving and faster paced combat without needing tanks at all, it was always a dps race. Like my first playthrough I used isabella and a rogue hawk with varric and merril, and I kicked everythings ass even the dragon.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
I forget how loot worked in ME3. This probably means it was good.
You had a bunch of guns, you had some armor suits that were a set, as well as modular armor pieces. You could wear a suit or piece something together.
The guns were ranked and you could purchase them up to higher ranks with money, and you could modify them with enhancement pieces so like, say you want an armor-piercing pistol or a SMG that has less recoil, you slot the appropriate mods. Instead of randomass Diablo loot 'el oh el it's another level 8 blue battleaxe I only have 6 of these now for my one two-handed warrior' you would find armor pieces, weapon mods, or new weapons as "loot".
That system is approximately 8,000,000 times better than what exists in DAI.
Oh yeah I remember now. And how could I forget? I played ME3 multiplayer for months.
Yeah that was a great system.
In general I am in favor of fewer, more consequential drops. There should maybe be three kinds of ordinary swords you can buy, plus one legendary magical sword that you can discover and it's an ohshit this is a big deal kind of moment. Micromanaging incrementally better or situationally useful gear is a pain in the ass.
Iron Bull: Hey, Varric, I was reading your stuff. Where did your bad guys come from?
Varric: Well, some of them come from Tevinter and some are Ben-Hassrath spies, but I like the story where the villain was the man besides you the whole time. The best villains don't see themselves as evil. They're fighting for a good cause and willing to get their hands dirty.
Iron Bull: Alright that's... really deep and all but, I meant where did the bad guys come from literally. The way you write it is like they just fall from the sky and land on top on the hero.
Varric: I like to leave some things to the reader's imaginations.
I do like for the multiplayer outside of getting lucky with an armor card you can choose to unlock characters. Hated in ME3 I could never get some classes because of RNJesus.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
Iron Bull: Hey, Varric, I was reading your stuff. Where did your bad guys come from?
Varric: Well, some of them come from Tevinter and some are Ben-Hassrath spies, but I like the story where the villain was the man besides you the whole time. The best villains don't see themselves as evil. They're fighting for a good cause and willing to get their hands dirty.
Iron Bull: Alright that's... really deep and all but, I meant where did the bad guys come from literally. The way you write it is like they just fall from the sky and land on top on the hero.
Varric: I like to leave some things to the reader's imaginations.
I mean, I'm not saying I thought enemy waves were great, they just didn't bother me like they bothered so many others.
I have to say though, I think bears in DAI are a sideways nod to the enemy waves. "Oh christ here comes another one!" BW devs rofling and drinking your tears.
Bears aren't nearly as bad as the fucking wolves in the exalted plains or the damned undead in fallow mire.
But I too didn't have a problem with enemy waved in Chains, if only because the enemies in Origins were so obnoxious and so having fun to fight enemies was a lot better.
I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
...Meh, I really don't like the whole common/rare/unique bullshit.
Because the majority of the time its always the same
Commons are almost always useless and a waste of time.
Rares are only mostly useless and a waste of time.
Uniques are great as long as you aren't overleveled then they're useless too.
I got enough of that stuff when I played TGCs.
That's why I like crafting systems, because they let me cut out the bullshit.
I keep coming to these conversations late, but I gotta jump in on this one.
What I'm about to say, I say as a guy who has put like 300+ hours into Diablo 3, and still plays it from time to time.
The DA loot system needs to go.
Instead, replace it whole hog with a fully fleshed out crafting system.
DAI's crafting is really good! So good in fact that it makes other loot obsolete. That makes the loot grind in this game completely pointless and worthless.
So, Bioware, here's what you do. Every quest, every dungeon, every chest, every corpse, every activity that rewards significant gear should instead reward rare or unique crafting materials or schematics.
You're already doing this a lot of the time. You even have a system in place for finding stuff, e.g., Veilfire and Rune Recipes. Let's go the distance with this format.
No more junk loot. No more loot quality. Just give us the basics ("normal" gear), gold, crafting mats, and schematics. Boom, done.
Inventory management adds nothing except a boring slog to the game. It's dated and bad. Or, if you absolutely MUST keep it, give us a dedicated item bank please, with infinite slots.
One thing that really bugs me about DAI is that I'll frequently run into a boss named character in a mission and the only indicator that they're a boss is they have more HP and don't die instantly to my Reaver running on their face. No unique lines or cutscenes or anything to make it feel significant.
Nothing feels significant. Everything is empty and meaningless. Release my earthly tether and enter the void.
Like a large part of the satisfaction in Origins or 2 was beating a sneering asshole into pulp like the minor functionary they are. Skipping the sneering phase just turns it into a slightly more challenging battle with no emotional buy in.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
One thing that really bugs me about DAI is that I'll frequently run into a boss named character in a mission and the only indicator that they're a boss is they have more HP and don't die instantly to my Reaver running on their face. No unique lines or cutscenes or anything to make it feel significant.
Nothing feels significant. Everything is empty and meaningless. Release my earthly tether and enter the void.
Another thing I liked about DA2 that isn't as present in DA:I is how your companions would constantly comment on quests that you brought them along too.
Like it was pretty fun to bring characters into quests to see if that might have extra lines/input.
This doesn't happen nearly as much in DA:I and it makes me kind of sad.
One thing that really bugs me about DAI is that I'll frequently run into a boss named character in a mission and the only indicator that they're a boss is they have more HP and don't die instantly to my Reaver running on their face. No unique lines or cutscenes or anything to make it feel significant.
Nothing feels significant. Everything is empty and meaningless. Release my earthly tether and enter the void.
Another thing I liked about DA2 that isn't as present in DA:I is how your companions would constantly comment on quests that you brought them along too.
Like it was pretty fun to bring characters into quests to see if that might have extra lines/input.
This doesn't happen nearly as much in DA:I and it makes me kind of sad.
"Varric, tell them who we are" was perfect every time. DAI only has companion input in major story quests (where it is completely ignored) or when said companion is required. Nothing like bringing Isabela on The Long Road here.
That scene with Solas talking in What Pride Had Wrought and being completely ignored by everybody when he had very relevant input was heartbreakingly bad.
The big thing I'd change is don't make us run around hunting deer, gathering herbs, and mining ore like it's World of Warcraft. An alternative: You can claim mines already in the game. It'd be cool if claiming mines gave you access to unlimited minerals of a particular type. For example, capturing an Iron Mine would give you access to an unlimited amount of iron. Herbs, cloth, and leather could have a similar system.
I mean even World of Warcraft has gone away from gathering in the open world. It just isn't a fun mechanic, I feel like.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
The big thing I'd change is don't make us run around hunting deer, gathering herbs, and mining ore like it's World of Warcraft. An alternative: You can claim mines already in the game. It'd be cool if claiming mines gave you access to unlimited minerals of a particular type. For example, capturing an Iron Mine would give you access to an unlimited amount of iron. Herbs, cloth, and leather could have a similar system.
I mean even World of Warcraft has gone away from gathering in the open world. It just isn't a fun mechanic, I feel like.
Here is my idea.
Okay in the next game. Keep the power system or whatever.
As you get more and more power you get troops or agents or whatever that can do random tasks on the war table.
Have the same war table stuff but have each mission have required number of agents. Like some missions you might only need one person, some you might need to sent a squad or whatever.
Also, have repeating missions that you can assign agents too. Such as mining/harvesting when you claim points on the map.
Like say you find a iron vein, you can allocate troops to mine it and every half an hour or so you'll gain a collection of iron(with a chance of getting other rarer higher quality materials).
I think with a system like that you'll A) Kill off a lot of the busywork for people who don't want it and Make the power system feel more significant and like you're actually commanding people and giving out orders.
I appreciated the crafting system in DAI more because the loot system was so random, stupid, and level-locked into always giving me shit 5-8 levels beneath me or 5+ levels above me (dragons, looking at you dragons) and less because it was some kind of special evolution in crafting design (it seriously isn't).
DA2 also introduced this wonderful concept where they design an excellent look for each companion and... that's what that companion looks like. You don't need to dress them.
Like seriously, I want to play dress up with my character, but just my character. I don't want to play dress up with my companions, especially when that means giving them better armor erases their signature look and replaces it with a bathrobe.
And then in DAI they discarded that for some unimaginable reason and I'm back to having to dress my companions.
Gear upgrades are about progression. I want visual progression. I'm fine if that means I get one look for the first third of the game, an upgraded look for the second third, and their "final form" for the last bit.
The animations in that game did a lot to make the combat feel actually fun.
DAO felt like "plink, plink, plink... chase after a guy, plink, plink, plink."
DA2 felt like "stylish SWISH of my 2 handed sword, I AM GOD HERE"
I was so bored with DA2's combat. I keep trying to go back and play it again, and I just find playing it to be a chore.
The "action" mechanics people are championing... really do nothing for me. I'd rather the game be turn based with meaningful strategy instead of this brain-numbing button mashing nonsense.
Inventory management adds nothing except a boring slog to the game. It's dated and bad. Or, if you absolutely MUST keep it, give us a dedicated item bank please, with infinite slots.
Yeah, this is the part that really kills me. I'm the Herald of Andraste, I am the leader of the Inquisition, I have a giant castle in the mountains and want for nothing. Give me a fucking storage room, please! Christ, my bedroom on the highest tower has an attic with not a goddamn thing on it, how about I use that huh?!
Inventory management adds nothing except a boring slog to the game. It's dated and bad. Or, if you absolutely MUST keep it, give us a dedicated item bank please, with infinite slots.
Yeah, this is the part that really kills me. I'm the Herald of Andraste, I am the leader of the Inquisition, I have a giant castle in the mountains and want for nothing. Give me a fucking storage room, please! Christ, my bedroom on the highest tower has an attic with not a goddamn thing on it, how about I use that huh?!
I don't even think inventory was a problem in DA:I because let's face it, most of the stuff you got was trash.
I never had trouble keeping my inventory around 30 items in DA:I because what you got was either better than what you had already or it was junk. That's my main problem with the loot system.
DA2 also introduced this wonderful concept where they design an excellent look for each companion and... that's what that companion looks like. You don't need to dress them.
Like seriously, I want to play dress up with my character, but just my character. I don't want to play dress up with my companions, especially when that means giving them better armor erases their signature look and replaces it with a bathrobe.
And then in DAI they discarded that for some unimaginable reason and I'm back to having to dress my companions.
Gear upgrades are about progression. I want visual progression. I'm fine if that means I get one look for the first third of the game, an upgraded look for the second third, and their "final form" for the last bit.
I want to play dress up. I do not ever want to play "power up dress up: you must level up to wear the pretty dress until then enjoy your potato sack, scrub".
As an addendum to that, I also don't ever want to play "Secret princess dress up: You must find the pretty dress on our satanic RNG loot list that is designed to never, ever, under any circumstances allow you to possess matching shoes and accessories ever mwahahahaha".
DA2 also introduced this wonderful concept where they design an excellent look for each companion and... that's what that companion looks like. You don't need to dress them.
Like seriously, I want to play dress up with my character, but just my character. I don't want to play dress up with my companions, especially when that means giving them better armor erases their signature look and replaces it with a bathrobe.
And then in DAI they discarded that for some unimaginable reason and I'm back to having to dress my companions.
Gear upgrades are about progression. I want visual progression. I'm fine if that means I get one look for the first third of the game, an upgraded look for the second third, and their "final form" for the last bit.
I want to play dress up. I do not ever want to play "power up dress up: you must level up to wear the pretty dress until then enjoy your potato sack, scrub".
I will fight everyone over this.
I'd love to have an RPG where you never actually have to change your gear out. It just levels up with you and becomes more awesome, eventually becoming one of those legendary items that people quest for after you're dead (unless you turn into a Lych and then haha fuck you world). Items could have a max level (i.e. a potato sack isn't gonna go nearly as far as actual clothing) to keep things sensible but yeah, if I find a cool looking sword I want to keep it around, not sell it off just because a shitty looking sword is better.
This is something I really liked about Shadow of Mordor. Your gear never changes, you just carve different runes into it to make it progressively more badass.
The big thing I'd change is don't make us run around hunting deer, gathering herbs, and mining ore like it's World of Warcraft. An alternative: You can claim mines already in the game. It'd be cool if claiming mines gave you access to unlimited minerals of a particular type. For example, capturing an Iron Mine would give you access to an unlimited amount of iron. Herbs, cloth, and leather could have a similar system.
I mean even World of Warcraft has gone away from gathering in the open world. It just isn't a fun mechanic, I feel like.
Here is my idea.
Okay in the next game. Keep the power system or whatever.
As you get more and more power you get troops or agents or whatever that can do random tasks on the war table.
Have the same war table stuff but have each mission have required number of agents. Like some missions you might only need one person, some you might need to sent a squad or whatever.
Also, have repeating missions that you can assign agents too. Such as mining/harvesting when you claim points on the map.
Like say you find a iron vein, you can allocate troops to mine it and every half an hour or so you'll gain a collection of iron(with a chance of getting other rarer higher quality materials).
I think with a system like that you'll A) Kill off a lot of the busywork for people who don't want it and Make the power system feel more significant and like you're actually commanding people and giving out orders.
So here's why I like my idea more:
I really don't like the real-world timers on missions on the table. It breaks the fantasy of the game, like what does real world time even represent? It appears to just be a way to make you feel like you're a commander, and missions shouldn't be completed instantly, so they arrived at this weird design.
I am glad that they just rely on the system clock for the time, rather than some kind of external service. This means you can easily set your clock ahead and instantly complete even long missions.
My idea is like, in the fantasy of the game, you cleared out the bad guys occupying a valuable resource, and now the Inquisition has access to that resource. No bullshit about needing to spend real world time to reap the benefit of that resource -- you just get it, as much of it as you can use. In the fantasy of the game, you'll be upgrading the arms of the entire Inquisition, and just taking a small amount of that to upgrade your own personal armory.
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DragkoniasThat Guy Who Does StuffYou Know, There. Registered Userregular
The big thing I'd change is don't make us run around hunting deer, gathering herbs, and mining ore like it's World of Warcraft. An alternative: You can claim mines already in the game. It'd be cool if claiming mines gave you access to unlimited minerals of a particular type. For example, capturing an Iron Mine would give you access to an unlimited amount of iron. Herbs, cloth, and leather could have a similar system.
I mean even World of Warcraft has gone away from gathering in the open world. It just isn't a fun mechanic, I feel like.
Here is my idea.
Okay in the next game. Keep the power system or whatever.
As you get more and more power you get troops or agents or whatever that can do random tasks on the war table.
Have the same war table stuff but have each mission have required number of agents. Like some missions you might only need one person, some you might need to sent a squad or whatever.
Also, have repeating missions that you can assign agents too. Such as mining/harvesting when you claim points on the map.
Like say you find a iron vein, you can allocate troops to mine it and every half an hour or so you'll gain a collection of iron(with a chance of getting other rarer higher quality materials).
I think with a system like that you'll A) Kill off a lot of the busywork for people who don't want it and Make the power system feel more significant and like you're actually commanding people and giving out orders.
So here's why I like my idea more:
I really don't like the real-world timers on missions on the table. It breaks the fantasy of the game, like what does real world time even represent? It appears to just be a way to make you feel like you're a commander, and missions shouldn't be completed instantly, so they arrived at this weird design.
I am glad that they just rely on the system clock for the time, rather than some kind of external service. This means you can easily set your clock ahead and instantly complete even long missions.
My idea is like, in the fantasy of the game, you cleared out the bad guys occupying a valuable resource, and now the Inquisition has access to that resource. No bullshit about needing to spend real world time to reap the benefit of that resource -- you just get it, as much of it as you can use. In the fantasy of the game, you'll be upgrading the arms of the entire Inquisition, and just taking a small amount of that to upgrade your own personal armory.
Well, problem I have with that if you're outfitting an entire army technically one store probably isn't going to be enough.
Also, the reason I like my idea is that its an ongoing thing and you can openly manipulate it adding a bit of choice to it. What you're describing I mean yeah, its super convenient but isn't really that fun, imo.
Why I think adding a mini-game type aspect to it would spice it up a bit.
And yeah, it is a way to make it appear like you're a commander...that's kind of the point. Illusion of choice and all that.
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GoodKingJayIIIThey wanna get mygold on the ceilingRegistered Userregular
DA2 also introduced this wonderful concept where they design an excellent look for each companion and... that's what that companion looks like. You don't need to dress them.
Like seriously, I want to play dress up with my character, but just my character. I don't want to play dress up with my companions, especially when that means giving them better armor erases their signature look and replaces it with a bathrobe.
And then in DAI they discarded that for some unimaginable reason and I'm back to having to dress my companions.
Gear upgrades are about progression. I want visual progression. I'm fine if that means I get one look for the first third of the game, an upgraded look for the second third, and their "final form" for the last bit.
In single-player CRPGs like DAI, where the combat is not terribly difficult, I think looks can be divorced from gear quality. I've been wearing the same shitty white battlemage cowl for almost the entire game and it hasn't effected my capability one bit. You don't have the same problem that MMOs have where the top tier of content is gated by math.
Like, early level crafting gear can start off with you generally looking capable but not fancy. As the gear quality progresses, things start getting neat looking baubles and stuff. I like that crafting material changes the look of certain gear, for instance. Maybe in a fully developed crafting system, rare or unique crafting materials add specific graphical changes to a piece of armor (rare looking stones, crests, magical runes, etc). As the story and player level progress, aesthetically beautiful or fancily crafted gear becomes more available and varied.
In that way, crafting gear becomes both a statistical progression of player power AND a visual progression of the story. As the Inquisition's power grows, so too does the character's appearance in power grow. After all, if you're playing the Game, looks are probably as important as anything else.
I also don't think crafted gear level should be tied to schematic level. Instead, make the gear's Tier tied to the materials used in the crafting.
For instance, say you want to craft a Warden Longsword. You get the plan, now you can craft it at any Tier level, full stop. Instead, Tier is based on materials. Using, for example, iron guarantees it's a T1 Warden Longsword, impacting some base stats (weapon speed, base damage, damage range, etc). Other materials might be T1, but they can create variance in base stats. Other materials add to various stats, as they currently do.
Whereas, using higher level crafting materials guarantees a higher tier of item. This way, if you want to, you can use a Warden Longsword throughout the entire game, because they have a nice cool look that you appreciate as opposed to some of the other weird schematics, or something like that.
This also has the benefit of allowing you to use whatever aesthetic schematics you like without sacrificing the use of the highest levels of crafting materials.
The big thing I'd change is don't make us run around hunting deer, gathering herbs, and mining ore like it's World of Warcraft. An alternative: You can claim mines already in the game. It'd be cool if claiming mines gave you access to unlimited minerals of a particular type. For example, capturing an Iron Mine would give you access to an unlimited amount of iron. Herbs, cloth, and leather could have a similar system.
I mean even World of Warcraft has gone away from gathering in the open world. It just isn't a fun mechanic, I feel like.
Here is my idea.
Okay in the next game. Keep the power system or whatever.
As you get more and more power you get troops or agents or whatever that can do random tasks on the war table.
Have the same war table stuff but have each mission have required number of agents. Like some missions you might only need one person, some you might need to sent a squad or whatever.
Also, have repeating missions that you can assign agents too. Such as mining/harvesting when you claim points on the map.
Like say you find a iron vein, you can allocate troops to mine it and every half an hour or so you'll gain a collection of iron(with a chance of getting other rarer higher quality materials).
I think with a system like that you'll A) Kill off a lot of the busywork for people who don't want it and Make the power system feel more significant and like you're actually commanding people and giving out orders.
Basically they need to copy Assassins Creed: Brotherhood.
DA2 also introduced this wonderful concept where they design an excellent look for each companion and... that's what that companion looks like. You don't need to dress them.
Like seriously, I want to play dress up with my character, but just my character. I don't want to play dress up with my companions, especially when that means giving them better armor erases their signature look and replaces it with a bathrobe.
And then in DAI they discarded that for some unimaginable reason and I'm back to having to dress my companions.
Gear upgrades are about progression. I want visual progression. I'm fine if that means I get one look for the first third of the game, an upgraded look for the second third, and their "final form" for the last bit.
I want to play dress up. I do not ever want to play "power up dress up: you must level up to wear the pretty dress until then enjoy your potato sack, scrub".
I will fight everyone over this.
Flip it around then: after you complete Act 1, you unlock a new outfit for each party NPC.
Because that's all I really want. If the Warden is going from elf scrub recruited to respected Grey Warden to Archdemon slayer, my wardrobe should get a few upticks along the way.
The human noble origin is where it's shown that Loghain was plotting betrayal all along. Howe holds his troops back to wipe out the Couslands, they never arrive at Ostagar. That was by pre-arrangement, not something Howe was doing on independent ops. Slaughtering the Couslands and taking the teryn was his price for supporting Loghain.
How many other little deals did Loghain have going like that that ensured Ostagar would go against Cailan? The dude was just out for himself and was always planning a betrayal. I don't buy the revisionist version of Ostagar, and I don't give any fucks if he has some sort of magical change of heart if you spare his life, because I never will.
This isn't true. Aside from no proof that Loghain was involved with Howe's betrayal of the Couslands, it presumes that Loghain was plotting to have Cailan killed from the very beginning. And if that were so, then why did he try so hard to stop him from entering the battle? This also presumes that Loghain had control over the darkspawn to take over the Tower of Ishal, which delayed the beacon from being lit, which is ridiculous.
It just doesn't add up for Loghain to plot with Howe to overthrow the Couslands, because Loghain never planned to have Cailan killed, it just turned out that way. The reason this matters is that if Cailan ever found out, he'd wreck Howe's shit. Howe's plan was completely dependent on killing everyone at Highever. If someone escaped, it's be the end of him. Since the human noble does escape, the only way for Howe to then be secured is if Cailan dies at Ostagar. And if that is true, then for the conspiracy to be complete, Loghain would have to have been working to kill Cailan, which there is zero evidence of.
And there is however evidence that Loghain never intended for Cailan to die:
Loghain: You can stop scowling at me, madam.
Wynne: Did I need your permission? I see.
Loghain: Fine. I confess: It was entirely my idea that Uldred consort with demons. I had a dastardly scheme in which the utter destruction of Ferelden's best weapon would benefit me, personally.
Loghain: Are you satisfied now?
Wynne: Do you think your deal with Uldred was where you earned my contempt? I was at Ostagar. I witnessed Cailan's murder.
Loghain: Such loyalty.
Wynne: What is that supposed to mean?
Loghain: Did you try to save him, then? My apologies.
Wynne: I was fortunate to escape with my life!
Loghain: So you didn't rush to your king's rescue? I see. Then both of us left the boy to die.
Wynne: I was no general at the head of an army! I could never have reached him!
Loghain: And I had no magic that could break those darkspawn ranks. But perhaps you think I ought to have tried, regardless. No doubt, the lives of mere soldiers are cheap in the eyes of the Circle.
Wynne: And what of all the soldiers who died with their king? Their lives were worth nothing to you.
Loghain: You think so, do you? I knew their names, mage, and where they came from. I knew their families.
Loghain: I do not know how you mages determine the value of things, but they were my men. I know exactly how much I lost that day.
Loghain never wanted Cailan to die, but Cailan's eagerness for glory led to his own demise. Loghain had a choice at Ostagar: Needlessly throw his life and the life of his Soldiers in an attempt to rescue someone who was doomed, or preserve what forced he has left.
Loghain: Let me know when you're done glaring at me, madam. My memories of this place are no fonder than your own.
Wynne: No? I remember good friends dying in this place. And a man whom I respected as my king.
Loghain: All I remember is a fool's death and a hard choice. I'd make the same again.
Wynne: Even knowing all that you know now, Loghain Mac Tir?
Loghain: Even so. Come, madam, our bitterness is better spent against the darkspawn than each other.
Wynne: Yes, Maker forbid that I might waste a whole life's bitterness just on you.
The plot from Arl Eamon for Cailan to divirce Anora and marry Celene also had nothing to do with it. Loghain didn't know:
Loghain: The cheating bastard!
Wynne: Watch your mouth, Loghain Mac Tir, unless you have forgotten the company you now keep!
Loghain: It's not my company I worry about, madam, but my former son-in-law's! Do you see the familiar tone with which the empress writes him, as if my daughter were not already his wife?
Wynne: Cailan loved Anora with every ounce of his heart. It was plain for all to see. The only thing that ever stood between them was you.
Loghain: Are you blind, old woman? The plot is plain as day within this letter! Love or no, Cailan was going to cast my daughter aside and wed himself to that bitch, Celene. In a single vow, Orlais would claim all that they could never win by war! And what would Ferelden gain? Our fool of a king could strut about and call himself an emperor.
Wynne: And what of peace? Would it not bring us that, at least?
Loghain: Peace? I would have thought your age might have granted more wisdom, madam. Peace just means fighting someone else's enemies in someone else's war for someone else's reasons.
All this boils down to Howe acting alone. His family had a grievance with the Couslands from the war with Orlais. The Couslands sided with Maric and the Howes did not, so the Couslands were granted much of the Howe's lands after Fereldan won it's independence and his father was hung as a traitor.
When Bryce sent his men to support the king at Ostagar, Howe took it as an opportunity to attack Highever, slaughtering the people there and claiming the lands and title as his own.
Which means it wasn't planned by Loghain, but an opening Howe seized upon.
And finally, the Word of God.
In my mind, Loghain did not go to Ostagar expecting to walk away from the battle. It was clear, however, that he and Cailan were already having profound disagreements -- mainly centering on Cailan's overtures to Orlais. Loghain was obviously moving to confront Cailan in some way, undercutting his access to allies and so forth. But did Loghain plan on killing Cailan? No, I don't think that. I think he was doing what Loghain does, and trying to ensure that when that moment of confrontation with Cailan came the battle was already won.
That said, he had been fighting the darkspawn for some time in the south with Cailan there, and had already seen what Cailan was capable of. I think he made preparations prior to that last battle for the possibility that he would have to walk away. He once made a promise to Maric that he would never allow one man to be more important than the Kingdom -- and in his eyes Cailan was recklessly endangering both himself and his kingdom. Whether that error in judgement condemns him right there is up to you.
There is also the matter of his association with Arl Howe, someone Loghain evidences great distaste for -- but politics makes for strange bedfellows, as they say. In my mind, Loghain always thought that Howe was an ally completely under his control and was probably never able to admit even to himself how much Howe was able to manipulate him. Howe acted on a great number of things without Loghain's involvement or approval, but by then the two were already in bed together -- Loghain was committed, as it were, and after Ostagar doubly so. For all his faults, Loghain is not a man to waver once a decision is made -- good or bad. The only reason he gives up, in the end, is because he sees that there is someone else beside himself who can save Ferelden, someone who hasn't made the mistakes he has. The burden does not rest entirely on his shoulders -- which, yes, is how he feels.
...
Yes, but this wasn't done in preparation for Ostagar. This was done in anticipation that Loghain and Cailan would have a showdown, and Arl Eamon would always solidly be in Cailan's camp. Like I said, Loghain is the sort of man that will ensure his enemies are defeated before they're engaged.
I know this isn't spelled out, but Eamon was never supposed to actually die from the poison. It would keep him sick for a long time -- certainly long enough for Isolde to try all their options and send out knights looking for remedies -- and then, once the confrontation with Cailan was done, Eamon could be given the cure. The elf was sent to Redcliffe to keep an eye on things and watch for news of Eamon getting worse, and if that happened then Loghain could send the cure immediately. Or, at least, that was the intention. If Eamon died in the name of keeping Ferelden safe from Orlais, Loghain wouldn't shed too many tears over it.
...
The darkspawn forces were getting stronger with each engagement. Loghain knew that, and knew that it wasn't going to keep being so easy. I would say that he knew what might happen the minute Cailan made his strategy clear: rely on the Grey Wardens to win the day. In my mind, Loghain still wasn't certain that he would walk away -- and if he thought that riding into the valley could have won the battle, he probably would have done so. Whether his belief that this couldn't happen was the truth or just his twisted perception of it is something you can decide for yourself. Certainly the darkspawn horde at the last battle was far bigger than anyone had anticipated.
The decision, I think, was made at the moment Loghain saw the beacon lit. He prepared for the possibility, as he prepared for everything, but I don't think he decided to go through with it until right then.
Crummy loot is like, the one constant across the Dragon Age series. I don't know what I'd do if they suddenly figured out how to make items that didn't suck.
DA2 also introduced this wonderful concept where they design an excellent look for each companion and... that's what that companion looks like. You don't need to dress them.
Like seriously, I want to play dress up with my character, but just my character. I don't want to play dress up with my companions, especially when that means giving them better armor erases their signature look and replaces it with a bathrobe.
And then in DAI they discarded that for some unimaginable reason and I'm back to having to dress my companions.
Gear upgrades are about progression. I want visual progression. I'm fine if that means I get one look for the first third of the game, an upgraded look for the second third, and their "final form" for the last bit.
I want to play dress up. I do not ever want to play "power up dress up: you must level up to wear the pretty dress until then enjoy your potato sack, scrub".
I will fight everyone over this.
Flip it around then: after you complete Act 1, you unlock a new outfit for each party NPC.
Because that's all I really want. If the Warden is going from elf scrub recruited to respected Grey Warden to Archdemon slayer, my wardrobe should get a few upticks along the way.
I'd probably be fine with that. I hate having a random appearance, and tying an RNG loot system to your appearance guarantees you either pass up good gear because the appearance is randomly awful, or you look randomly awful. It's intolerable.
It's bad enough clownsuits exist in MMOs, there is utterly no reason for having them in single player games.
Well he is the games lead writer. But its a tweet devoid of context and knowing his other tweets I can imagine it was being sarcastic.
Not to mention to Loghain himself I'm sure he does believe he's always right, he seems like the sort to always have the strength of conviction no matter what his action was.
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I would like some money because these are artisanal nuggets of wisdom philistine.
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Chains had a more forgiving and faster paced combat without needing tanks at all, it was always a dps race. Like my first playthrough I used isabella and a rogue hawk with varric and merril, and I kicked everythings ass even the dragon.
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Oh yeah I remember now. And how could I forget? I played ME3 multiplayer for months.
Yeah that was a great system.
In general I am in favor of fewer, more consequential drops. There should maybe be three kinds of ordinary swords you can buy, plus one legendary magical sword that you can discover and it's an ohshit this is a big deal kind of moment. Micromanaging incrementally better or situationally useful gear is a pain in the ass.
Iron Bull: Hey, Varric, I was reading your stuff. Where did your bad guys come from?
Varric: Well, some of them come from Tevinter and some are Ben-Hassrath spies, but I like the story where the villain was the man besides you the whole time. The best villains don't see themselves as evil. They're fighting for a good cause and willing to get their hands dirty.
Iron Bull: Alright that's... really deep and all but, I meant where did the bad guys come from literally. The way you write it is like they just fall from the sky and land on top on the hero.
Varric: I like to leave some things to the reader's imaginations.
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The animations in that game did a lot to make the combat feel actually fun.
DAO felt like "plink, plink, plink... chase after a guy, plink, plink, plink."
DA2 felt like "stylish SWISH of my 2 handed sword, I AM GOD HERE"
I mean, I'm not saying I thought enemy waves were great, they just didn't bother me like they bothered so many others.
I have to say though, I think bears in DAI are a sideways nod to the enemy waves. "Oh christ here comes another one!" BW devs rofling and drinking your tears.
But I too didn't have a problem with enemy waved in Chains, if only because the enemies in Origins were so obnoxious and so having fun to fight enemies was a lot better.
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Lot of times in DA:I its like "Oh...a conveniently placed cluster of enemies for me to destroy."
So you know I wouldn't mind encounters having multiple stages, even if it isn't literally enemies appearing out of nowhere.
I keep coming to these conversations late, but I gotta jump in on this one.
What I'm about to say, I say as a guy who has put like 300+ hours into Diablo 3, and still plays it from time to time.
The DA loot system needs to go.
Instead, replace it whole hog with a fully fleshed out crafting system.
DAI's crafting is really good! So good in fact that it makes other loot obsolete. That makes the loot grind in this game completely pointless and worthless.
So, Bioware, here's what you do. Every quest, every dungeon, every chest, every corpse, every activity that rewards significant gear should instead reward rare or unique crafting materials or schematics.
You're already doing this a lot of the time. You even have a system in place for finding stuff, e.g., Veilfire and Rune Recipes. Let's go the distance with this format.
No more junk loot. No more loot quality. Just give us the basics ("normal" gear), gold, crafting mats, and schematics. Boom, done.
Inventory management adds nothing except a boring slog to the game. It's dated and bad. Or, if you absolutely MUST keep it, give us a dedicated item bank please, with infinite slots.
Nothing feels significant. Everything is empty and meaningless. Release my earthly tether and enter the void.
Another thing I liked about DA2 that isn't as present in DA:I is how your companions would constantly comment on quests that you brought them along too.
Like it was pretty fun to bring characters into quests to see if that might have extra lines/input.
This doesn't happen nearly as much in DA:I and it makes me kind of sad.
"Varric, tell them who we are" was perfect every time. DAI only has companion input in major story quests (where it is completely ignored) or when said companion is required. Nothing like bringing Isabela on The Long Road here.
Yeah. This is kind of my problem.
Like I mean every area had an overarching quest but the cinematic quality wasn't really there.
I know it was more than likely a budget thing but I hope they have a better balance in the future.
One of the reasons I would prefer fewer areas.
The big thing I'd change is don't make us run around hunting deer, gathering herbs, and mining ore like it's World of Warcraft. An alternative: You can claim mines already in the game. It'd be cool if claiming mines gave you access to unlimited minerals of a particular type. For example, capturing an Iron Mine would give you access to an unlimited amount of iron. Herbs, cloth, and leather could have a similar system.
I mean even World of Warcraft has gone away from gathering in the open world. It just isn't a fun mechanic, I feel like.
Here is my idea.
Okay in the next game. Keep the power system or whatever.
As you get more and more power you get troops or agents or whatever that can do random tasks on the war table.
Have the same war table stuff but have each mission have required number of agents. Like some missions you might only need one person, some you might need to sent a squad or whatever.
Also, have repeating missions that you can assign agents too. Such as mining/harvesting when you claim points on the map.
Like say you find a iron vein, you can allocate troops to mine it and every half an hour or so you'll gain a collection of iron(with a chance of getting other rarer higher quality materials).
I think with a system like that you'll A) Kill off a lot of the busywork for people who don't want it and
tldr; loot system is garbage fix it
GoodKingJayIII, brilliant idea. Crafting rules anyhow.
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The "action" mechanics people are championing... really do nothing for me. I'd rather the game be turn based with meaningful strategy instead of this brain-numbing button mashing nonsense.
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Yeah, this is the part that really kills me. I'm the Herald of Andraste, I am the leader of the Inquisition, I have a giant castle in the mountains and want for nothing. Give me a fucking storage room, please! Christ, my bedroom on the highest tower has an attic with not a goddamn thing on it, how about I use that huh?!
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I don't even think inventory was a problem in DA:I because let's face it, most of the stuff you got was trash.
I never had trouble keeping my inventory around 30 items in DA:I because what you got was either better than what you had already or it was junk. That's my main problem with the loot system.
I hate appearance gear progression above all.
I want to play dress up. I do not ever want to play "power up dress up: you must level up to wear the pretty dress until then enjoy your potato sack, scrub".
I will fight everyone over this.
I will also fight everyone over this.
I'd love to have an RPG where you never actually have to change your gear out. It just levels up with you and becomes more awesome, eventually becoming one of those legendary items that people quest for after you're dead (unless you turn into a Lych and then haha fuck you world). Items could have a max level (i.e. a potato sack isn't gonna go nearly as far as actual clothing) to keep things sensible but yeah, if I find a cool looking sword I want to keep it around, not sell it off just because a shitty looking sword is better.
This is something I really liked about Shadow of Mordor. Your gear never changes, you just carve different runes into it to make it progressively more badass.
So here's why I like my idea more:
I really don't like the real-world timers on missions on the table. It breaks the fantasy of the game, like what does real world time even represent? It appears to just be a way to make you feel like you're a commander, and missions shouldn't be completed instantly, so they arrived at this weird design.
I am glad that they just rely on the system clock for the time, rather than some kind of external service. This means you can easily set your clock ahead and instantly complete even long missions.
My idea is like, in the fantasy of the game, you cleared out the bad guys occupying a valuable resource, and now the Inquisition has access to that resource. No bullshit about needing to spend real world time to reap the benefit of that resource -- you just get it, as much of it as you can use. In the fantasy of the game, you'll be upgrading the arms of the entire Inquisition, and just taking a small amount of that to upgrade your own personal armory.
Well, problem I have with that if you're outfitting an entire army technically one store probably isn't going to be enough.
Also, the reason I like my idea is that its an ongoing thing and you can openly manipulate it adding a bit of choice to it. What you're describing I mean yeah, its super convenient but isn't really that fun, imo.
Why I think adding a mini-game type aspect to it would spice it up a bit.
And yeah, it is a way to make it appear like you're a commander...that's kind of the point. Illusion of choice and all that.
In single-player CRPGs like DAI, where the combat is not terribly difficult, I think looks can be divorced from gear quality. I've been wearing the same shitty white battlemage cowl for almost the entire game and it hasn't effected my capability one bit. You don't have the same problem that MMOs have where the top tier of content is gated by math.
Like, early level crafting gear can start off with you generally looking capable but not fancy. As the gear quality progresses, things start getting neat looking baubles and stuff. I like that crafting material changes the look of certain gear, for instance. Maybe in a fully developed crafting system, rare or unique crafting materials add specific graphical changes to a piece of armor (rare looking stones, crests, magical runes, etc). As the story and player level progress, aesthetically beautiful or fancily crafted gear becomes more available and varied.
In that way, crafting gear becomes both a statistical progression of player power AND a visual progression of the story. As the Inquisition's power grows, so too does the character's appearance in power grow. After all, if you're playing the Game, looks are probably as important as anything else.
I also don't think crafted gear level should be tied to schematic level. Instead, make the gear's Tier tied to the materials used in the crafting.
For instance, say you want to craft a Warden Longsword. You get the plan, now you can craft it at any Tier level, full stop. Instead, Tier is based on materials. Using, for example, iron guarantees it's a T1 Warden Longsword, impacting some base stats (weapon speed, base damage, damage range, etc). Other materials might be T1, but they can create variance in base stats. Other materials add to various stats, as they currently do.
Whereas, using higher level crafting materials guarantees a higher tier of item. This way, if you want to, you can use a Warden Longsword throughout the entire game, because they have a nice cool look that you appreciate as opposed to some of the other weird schematics, or something like that.
This also has the benefit of allowing you to use whatever aesthetic schematics you like without sacrificing the use of the highest levels of crafting materials.
Basically they need to copy Assassins Creed: Brotherhood.
Because that's all I really want. If the Warden is going from elf scrub recruited to respected Grey Warden to Archdemon slayer, my wardrobe should get a few upticks along the way.
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@jdarksun if we wanna continue to dance.
This isn't true. Aside from no proof that Loghain was involved with Howe's betrayal of the Couslands, it presumes that Loghain was plotting to have Cailan killed from the very beginning. And if that were so, then why did he try so hard to stop him from entering the battle? This also presumes that Loghain had control over the darkspawn to take over the Tower of Ishal, which delayed the beacon from being lit, which is ridiculous.
It just doesn't add up for Loghain to plot with Howe to overthrow the Couslands, because Loghain never planned to have Cailan killed, it just turned out that way. The reason this matters is that if Cailan ever found out, he'd wreck Howe's shit. Howe's plan was completely dependent on killing everyone at Highever. If someone escaped, it's be the end of him. Since the human noble does escape, the only way for Howe to then be secured is if Cailan dies at Ostagar. And if that is true, then for the conspiracy to be complete, Loghain would have to have been working to kill Cailan, which there is zero evidence of.
And there is however evidence that Loghain never intended for Cailan to die:
Loghain never wanted Cailan to die, but Cailan's eagerness for glory led to his own demise. Loghain had a choice at Ostagar: Needlessly throw his life and the life of his Soldiers in an attempt to rescue someone who was doomed, or preserve what forced he has left.
The plot from Arl Eamon for Cailan to divirce Anora and marry Celene also had nothing to do with it. Loghain didn't know:
All this boils down to Howe acting alone. His family had a grievance with the Couslands from the war with Orlais. The Couslands sided with Maric and the Howes did not, so the Couslands were granted much of the Howe's lands after Fereldan won it's independence and his father was hung as a traitor.
Which means it wasn't planned by Loghain, but an opening Howe seized upon.
And finally, the Word of God.
HAIL HYDRA!
Battlenet ID: MildC#11186 - If I'm in the game, send me an invite at anytime and I'll play.
I'd probably be fine with that. I hate having a random appearance, and tying an RNG loot system to your appearance guarantees you either pass up good gear because the appearance is randomly awful, or you look randomly awful. It's intolerable.
It's bad enough clownsuits exist in MMOs, there is utterly no reason for having them in single player games.
David Gaider is kind of like Morrigan, though. If he approves of something, chances are it's terrible.
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Not to mention to Loghain himself I'm sure he does believe he's always right, he seems like the sort to always have the strength of conviction no matter what his action was.
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That's a debatable statement, but this forum once had a three page debate about dwarf fucking caused by this man, so
Shitty Tumblr:lighthouse1138.tumblr.com
I wish it had only been 3 pages.