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Honestly? There's no correct way to play, pick whatever appeals to you, it's better if it's your choice, it makes it more your character and helps get you in the game more. At least, that's how I've always played the Dragon Age games and I think you are better connected to your character that way.
It's got some issues that's for sure. Issues that may have been fixed or at least improved if the team had more than 16 months to work on the game, but still.
Reusing assets isn't necessarily a bad thing, and running around the same location time and time again can lead to some really good storytelling and gameplay. Think RE1's Spencer Mansion compared to RE6's globe trotting adventure. Spencer Mansion's practically a character all of it's own, and you're rewarded for knowing the nooks and crannies, the best way of moving around the mansion. Kirkwall doesn't come close to that, you never get a feeling of it being a real location, a place people live in. It's just there, and it's dull, and you spend all your time there. It's pretty miserable really.
I wasn't personally a fan of the characters, except maybe for Aveline. The romances all being bisexual was an interesting choice, but having played all the games now, I vastly prefer characters having sexualities that aren't player centric. Dorian from Inquisition would be a very different character if he wasn't gay, for instance, and losing the possibilities for storytelling there to appease player choice isn't something I'm a fan of either.
What really annoyed me the most about the game though is this
The entire game is about living under the rule of a tyrannical military dictatorship, led by a woman who sees blood mage conspiracies everywhere, and brutally executes anyone even suspected of blood magic.
And then you unlock the Blood Magic specialisation. And have lengthy conversations with her. Alongside Merrill, a Blood Mage. And Anders, a magical terrorist who spends the third act asking you to help him get ingredients for his grand finale. And she'll just stand there not reacting at all to you being, you know, the source of all that is evil and horrific and worthy of purging in her world view. It's just nonsense.
I think of that and think back to what happens if you get the Reaver specialisation in Dragon Age Origins and lament the level of gameplay and story segregation.
And then you unlock the Blood Magic specialisation. And have lengthy conversations with her. Alongside Merrill, a Blood Mage. And Anders, a magical terrorist who spends the third act asking you to help him get ingredients for his grand finale. And she'll just stand there not reacting at all to you being, you know, the source of all that is evil and horrific and worthy of purging in her world view. It's just nonsense.
I think of that and think back to what happens if you get the Reaver specialisation in Dragon Age Origins and lament the level of gameplay and story segregation.
IMO, rogue for DA:O, Mage of any gender for DA2 and Mage for DAI. For Origins and Inquisition it's worth figuring out who you want to romance since that's the biggest hurdle gender creates.
For Inquisition, I say just wing it. If you think about it or research it too much, I think it can end up feeling more artificial. And you can get majorly spoiled.
Avoid anybody who sounds like they have heart emojis where their eyes should be!
Avoid anybody who sounds like they have heart emojis where their eyes should be!
Not sure about Origins, but I'd say mage for 2 and Inquisition. In terms of gender...hmm, it's really up to you.
For my money?
- Human Noble in DA:O, gender doesn't really matter. Gives you a closer relationship to the nobility of Fereldan who are obviously central to the plot.
- Mage in DA2, gender doesn't really matter. Main conflict is chantry vs. mages, so naturally that's an interesting place to be. (Though you get Bethany as your sister if you're a non-mage, who also ropes you in; no bad choice there.)
- Elf in DA:I, gender and class doesn't really matter. The game is really heavy on elf-lore and it just adds some more dimension to stuff if you're Dalish. Female gives more romance options, so I'd lean in that direction.
I've heard that elf/mage makes the most sense for DA1, but honestly, it really doesn't matter. I've played human/woman/rogue throughout all three games and never felt like I was missing anything.
I've heard that romancing Solas adds an extra layer to the story, but that's only possible as a female Elf I believe. Otherwise, as long as you talk to him after major story quests and do his side quest, you should be fine.
Yes.
Given the development circumstances, you gotta give them props for what they were able to accomplish. And they did add color to the world DAO established. But I cannot understand the people who say DA2 is their favorite or better than DAO or DAI.
DA2 is very painful, very painful to play.
You might have to remember, while on PC I know DAO is superior, DAO is awful to play on Controller - its a mess
Dragon Age 2 is way more fun to play on controller. I mean for a start, it's cleaner and less cluttered. I find DAO the Worst.
Also, for a lot of queer people, Dragon Age 2 is genuinely important as a game. Especially In comparison to Origins. The relationships and themes resonate hard. It is for me too, still after all this time. There are very few AAA games like it; it's why it's still my favourite
DA1 (Origins) - Anything, but I would recommend Female City elf (I used rogue ..mage is not allowed for this) because it starts on a vey serious heavy tone
DA2 - Mage would make the most sense story wise, but if you like different play styles, it is not a biggie (My favorite is playing Female Hawk (playing sarcastically)
DAI - Again, story wise playing a mage makes the most sense, but same with Da2. If you prefer different play styles its not a big deal.
I would recommend thinking about playing it twice.
Once as a Male, who is a bible thumper for the maker (and romance Cassandra) and another time as a Female Elf and romance Solas
Stay away from the requisition table (excluding 2 reasons...a badge and a specialty)
Also, you do not have to do every area to finish. Leave some untouched for the second play through
YMMV
(Edit: Do not forget Dragon Age Keep for your DAI run)
Not much? I don't have any problems with Solas, I think he's a good character, I just preferred to travel with others in my "main" party over him. I mean... if he were a dwarf, sure. Let's go, man!
Just started Inquisition again. Should have picked a mage... oh well. However, I was wondering if anyone is playing it on PS5? I noticed that there seems to be a lot of graphical glitches and the resolution looks bad. Haven't played in a long time. So I am not sure if this is a BC issue or how the game always looked.
I don't know why but I have the urge to try and get into this series again. I was originally just thinking about replaying Inquisition - I think it's probably because of the fact that there's a character creator; not a lot of single player AAA games where I get to play as someone who looks like me. Anyway, while I was playing around with the world state options (when I first played Inquisition, I think I just did a default world state), it made realize there's a lot I'm missing with this series. I stopped at the deep roads in Origins (I hated that place and the fade) and never played DA2. Upgrading my sub of game pass to ultimate was a dollar so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give these games a go.
I always use the fade skip mod these days so I definitely understand you on that haha. I think there's also a skip mod for the deep roads too if your on PC.
I played the entire game on PS5 and thought it looked fine. Looked like a product of its time.
I re downloaded Dragon Age inquisition and wanted to try some new mods. I have not installed any mods yet and this game is taking forever to load, anyone know why or had this issue? I have tried other games and they run perfectly fine just this game is.
I was having the same issue where it would take several minutes to get to the title screen then several more to load the save. Before you launch Origin right click and Run as administrator then do the same with the Dragon Age: Inquisition executable, this fixed the issue for me and everything loads in <15 seconds for me now..
Make sure you are using DX11 not the Mantle API in the display options and also try disabling cloud saves/Origin overlay, these can supposedly cause issues on some systems according to the EA support forums.
Fade is not that bad in replay, it's pretty straightforward once you have idea on how stuff works. The most annoying part of Fade is finding all the extra stat points tbh.
Deep Road can go fk itself tho. So many playthrough over the years, only a handful managed to reach completion, thanks to Deep Road.
I ended up making my own LTTP thread to post my thoughts as I play through the games if anyone here is interested.
Unfortunately, I'm playing the game on console right now. I do have it on PC though; I just currently don't have the means to play it right now. I would really like to try out the Dragon Age (and Mass Effect) games with mods though. I've seen some really cool mods over the years.
Yeah....it was a slog(tm). I'll make it through this time though!
Finished my replay of Inquisition! I still really, really like it. Onto the DLC!
Also played it on Nightmare and managed to nab the platinum! It was quite rough. I had no idea Knight Enchanters were nerfed (or changed) as much as they were. It kinda shocked me!
Also played it on Nightmare and managed to nab the platinum! It was quite rough. I had no idea Knight Enchanters were nerfed (or changed) as much as they were. It kinda shocked me!
Finished my replay of Inquisition! I still really, really like it. Onto the DLC!
Also played it on Nightmare and managed to nab the platinum! It was quite rough. I had no idea Knight Enchanters were nerfed (or changed) as much as they were. It kinda shocked me!
For Knight Enchanters, you want to be using the Sword Greatstaff (Blade of Tydarion or something) it makes Energy Barrage do twice the hits, that all count as staff strikes, turbocharging a number of your abilities. It can also have two elemental types simultaneously!
Last month I suddenly had a hitch to scratch and I decided to replay DA:I.
Had never played the DLC before so I got to experience those and I was so happy to see Trespasser doing what so many DLCs don't: advance the plot.
Playing on hard this time was a good choice.
As a person not really involved in DA stuff (never played the first two, just Inquisition when it came out) I really, really enjoy Inquisition.
I 100% understand why people dislike it and I do see the flaws the game has. And probably me non being into DA lore and previous games helped me enjoy the game even more. I think some old fans feel like how I feel about Dark Souls 3.
Game didn't really age well graphics wise (on PS5).
I think I'm going to start a Nightmare playthrough and slowly platinum the game. I only have the Orlais court (bs) trophy left.
Maybe an archer this time
Had never played the DLC before so I got to experience those and I was so happy to see Trespasser doing what so many DLCs don't: advance the plot.
Playing on hard this time was a good choice.
As a person not really involved in DA stuff (never played the first two, just Inquisition when it came out) I really, really enjoy Inquisition.
I 100% understand why people dislike it and I do see the flaws the game has. And probably me non being into DA lore and previous games helped me enjoy the game even more. I think some old fans feel like how I feel about Dark Souls 3.
Game didn't really age well graphics wise (on PS5).
I think I'm going to start a Nightmare playthrough and slowly platinum the game. I only have the Orlais court (bs) trophy left.
Maybe an archer this time
Dragon Age: Origins
A human Noble is the most connected to the main plot & is the only one who can become a noble-consort at the end of the game (Alistair for women & Anora for men). Outside of human nobles, the Dalish origin has some neat plot-stuff that comes up later on in the series.
Dragon Age II
Depends on if you want your involvement in the plot to be more personal as a mage or be more of an outsider with a mage family.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Human makes the most sense and is what was clearly intended, but a lot of people also like playing as an elf for all the elven lore that shows up and romancing Solas if a female elf.
Congrats!Finished my replay of Inquisition! I still really, really like it. Onto the DLC!
Also played it on Nightmare and managed to nab the platinum! It was quite rough. I had no idea Knight Enchanters were nerfed (or changed) as much as they were. It kinda shocked me!
This reminds me of when I got the platinum and the trophy popped right when I defeated Corypheus on Nightmare difficulty. It's a cool image that I saved.
I feel the opposite: as someone deep into Dragon Age lore, Inquisition is the first game to really reward you for doing so. The entire back half of the story is a barrage of lore bombs.
I beat Trespasser today (first ever playthough of it) and I genuinely think it's easily the best Dragon Age content we've ever gotten. So, so good.
Thank you!
I'll admit that it's been a minute but wasn't how Inquisition treats lore, characters and gameplay compared to previous games one of the main criticisms of the game from long time fans?
I might be completely misremembering.
I'm really tempted to go back and read some of the reviews and commentary about the game from 6 years ago.
Some criticisms were it could be less dark in some parts and they didn't use the open world that well but DAI's lore and characters are generally very well received by fans and ir actually adds a lot to stuff that was only hinted at in DAO and DA2, especially the DLC's
Gameplay is one thing. I have heard more divisive comments about that.
But the lore, no, that one I think is generally well received.
And I think I agree, they did a great job in expanding, filling in lore and handling long time characters like Leliana and Morrigan.
But the lore, no, that one I think is generally well received.
And I think I agree, they did a great job in expanding, filling in lore and handling long time characters like Leliana and Morrigan.
Gameplay yes,
But Lore and Character wise it was praised.
Lore unanimously so from what I remember
Each DLC that was strengthened
Honestly Leliana is one of the few characters in fiction were they brought back a character that can be "dead" and it actually feels like it fits. Cole and his lore/story helps alot with that though
My Nightmare run was really fun. I thought it started really hard, indeed, but once you get access to better schematics and materials, crafting gear that is several levels above you and your enemies quickly start to make things trivial. Eventually I would just go through most combat encounters without managing the party.Finished my replay of Inquisition! I still really, really like it. Onto the DLC!
Also played it on Nightmare and managed to nab the platinum! It was quite rough. I had no idea Knight Enchanters were nerfed (or changed) as much as they were. It kinda shocked me!
I'd say the hardest part of Nightmare difficulty for me was everything pre-Skyhold. Once you're able to make really good armor and weapons and get a specialization for your class, it got a lot more manageable.
Finally, a complete and high quality version of this artwork!
Where mah boi Loghain at
Finally, a complete and high quality version of this artwork!
Gorgeous
Yeah, I don't think the art-style gets enough love; I actually like the art-style from, say, Origins at the beginning when one of the Wardens (I forgot his name because it has been years) is talking about the Tevinter Imperium and the origins of the Darkspawn.
I finished DA:I recently. Despite being a huge fantasy literature fan, it was my first DA game. I am assuming you guys have heard this several times over the years, but the game absolutely nails the side stories with the companions. I even got extremely invested in the setting and the lore despite my general disdain for Tolkein-esque high fantasy these days. The central plot line was a let down however and clearly felt rushed with several prior choices playing no role in the final fight. (For fantasy fans, I am coming to this game after reading the latest Stormlight Archive novel so maybe my bar for the ending was a tad unrealistic).
Also the after credits reveal is framed as of huge significance but I really fail to see it. Is this something explored in the DLC or the earlier games? I am definitely going to play DA:O although when I have no idea.
Finally, I am with Solas. xD
Also the after credits reveal is framed as of huge significance but I really fail to see it. Is this something explored in the DLC or the earlier games? I am definitely going to play DA:O although when I have no idea.
Finally, I am with Solas. xD
I'm so happy you enjoyed DA:I as a base game, the lore is indeed so great!
But yeah, you really REALLY need to play (at the very least) the Trespasser DLC. Everything will be explained and revealed, and you'll be in for a R I D E my friend! It's one of those DLCs that manage to push the entire game on a higher plane of existence.
The other 2 DLC are pretty cool too, especially lore-wise. I'd argue that Jaws of Hakkon is also a must if you happen to be a Solasmancer/fan of Solas.
Haha, looking forward to the reveals and thanks! I am definitely going to play all the DLCs but having played only this game recently (for 90+ hours) I need a break before going for those.
Are there any interviews or commentary with the dev team out there that you recommend? I usually like a behind the scenes look at games but a casual search did not yield much beyond a few interesting GDC talks.
Received this lovely pin, pretty happy about it. I initially wanted to buy the one on the Bioware Store but somehow the green shade wasn't working for me, I quite didn't like it in the end. This one is easier to wear, more subtle too.
I'm also quite interested in this Solas one, just waiting for the seller to come out of hiatus in order to get it.
And also lowkey want this Agend of Fen'Harel just for the fun of it, but I'm not really sure I'd wear it anyway. And y'all would judge me for it anyway 🤭
I'm also quite interested in this Solas one, just waiting for the seller to come out of hiatus in order to get it.
And also lowkey want this Agend of Fen'Harel just for the fun of it, but I'm not really sure I'd wear it anyway. And y'all would judge me for it anyway 🤭