Dragon Age Inquisition

[Hellraiser]

1. I made a typo there. I wanted to say that ignoring my descision played a big part in why i didn't enjoy the ending.

2. If you enjoyed the ending that's fine. I'm happy that at least someone got any joy out of it because I sure as hell didn't and most of my circle of friends didn't either.

3. I just felt Benjirino~!'s posting was patronizing. Just assuming that anyone who thinks the ending was bad is wrong and that they only didn't like it because x. Seriously?

[Benji]

I didn't say anyone who didn't agree was wrong, and I'm not patronising anyone.

Two years on I couldn't give a shit what peoples opinions are, we all like what we like. I was just trying to put perspective on what peoples opinions were/may have been.

[apsham]

What Benji said was perfectly fine, it came down to essentially him stating that the game itself was fine and it still played out like a Mass Effect game but the ending section didn't leave as much to be desired in that particular aspect of the game. Perfectly reasonable. There's a lot of room for discussion on what the makers were trying to say with all of this, and I'm more inclined to agree that the ending was perfectly fine but either way.

[Hellraiser]

I wasn't talking about the part where he stated how he felt about the ending. What irked me was the part where he said that people who didn't like the ending didn't actually dislike the ending itself but were merely upset that the descisions we made throughout the game didn't have any impact. Which felt patronizing to me. Yes, my descisions not having any consequences played a huge part into why I don't like the ending but in my opinion there is much more to it than that.

And if Bioware wanted to tell their own story that is perfectly fine. But then don't tell me that my descisions will matter when they really don't.

[apsham]

I still don't buy that. I don't know what idea people who say these kind of things had in their heads when it came down to it, but "my decisions don't matter" misses the picture of choice in games like these. It's not about 'at the very end' and a hell of a lot more about 'during'.

All throughout Mass Effects 1-3 there were numerous choices that changed the way that you handled situations, saw things or didn't see things, etc - and we all started the same and we all end up finishing relatively the same. Just because the story is bookended like this, it doesn't mean for a second that decisions didn't matter or things didn't change. It's going to be the same with absolutely any game that implies or sells us choice. There's always a design and storytelling choice that needs to be universal for the narrative to make sense... it's just common storytelling. Without trying to sound over complicated or anything, it's the choices that we make on the way to that subject that matter far more than the end result if you ask me.

For me it boils down to playing the game one way, then playing it another and seeing that this is how things were going to turn out no matter what. I like that. Not everyone has to like that, but saying that choices 'didn't matter' is a bit out of there if you ask me. Whether I saw the result of something that I did or not, I still thought hard about making those decisions and wondered what implications would come out of them. Sometimes I got to see and sometimes I didn't.. I really didn't have an expectation either way. It still affected me the same.

[Ruki]

You can fast travel to camps?! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Also! Finished the first major mission! The one in Red Cliff!

Choosing between the Templars and the Mages. I chose the mages.

I also kept them as free people. Apparently a lot of people in my party didn't like that. Ooops. Still! Time travel was neat! And seeing Liliana fight off the demons was badass.

I wonder what happens if you choose the Templars. Guess I just have to play through again.

[Lint]

Oh Varrick, I'm so sorry

[TKz]

Jesus, 20 hours in and I've still only just scratched the surface really. I've assembled nearly all possible party members but one. Running with my Warrior, Iron Bull, Dorian and Varric so far. Not keen on Varric as a party member, but you can't really get away with playing without a Rogue, too many doors need opening. And I really don't like Serah as a character.

Just finished the Mages/Templars mission, went with Mages. Awesome mission, awesome scene, awesome cameo...

Alistair! Though he wasn't half as fun as he was in Origins. I hope he shows up again. It sucks that Leliana is the only one from Origins that shows up so far. I've seen Morrigan in trailers and stuff, really hoping she'll turn up somewhere down the line.

Feel like I need to chill and play some actual story missions more, I've gone heavy on the side quests. Though my next mission is to apparently storm the breach? Feels a little early for that... I'm assuming more will happen than I expect, but it feels like we're jumping to the end fight already! Curious as to what mission you get if you choose the Templars and if you can still do it somewhere down the line.

It's nuts that there's so much in this game before you even account for the branching paths that lead to different missions.

[Benji]

Is there any way to reset the skills for characters? I want to use Dorian because I prefer him as a character, but I went down what seems like the shittiest skill tree.

[tenaciousg]

I'm pretty sure the blacksmith has a shop area where you can buy equippable amulets that essentially reward you with the ability to re-spec. The first one's free, then they're like 300 gold per thing.

[Lint]

I killed a dragon!

[Ruki]

I killed a dragon!

What level were you? I want to go back and find/fight the dragon in the Hinterlands.

[TKz]

I killed a dragon!

What level were you? I want to go back and find/fight the dragon in the Hinterlands.

I've seen a few tricks to beating it at any level (be an archer, shoot for 10 hours), but with my party and general "let's hit it and hope it dies" tactic, I was only able to get it to like 1/2 health at Level 11.

Not sure if he's the first one you're supposed to try, though. I've only run into one another, so it's possible there's a lower level dragon to start on. If not, I'm guessing you'd need to be 13 for a doable challenge, probably 15-16 for an average difficulty fight.

[Lint]

Yea, the one in the Hinterlands kicks my ass everytime

There another in Crestwood, that was the one I beat. I found a spot that me and Varrick could sit back and take shot at it with arrows and it wouldn't advance on us. Blackwall and Dorian were the cannonfodder to fight it closer and take the deaths

I think I was around lvl 11 or 12, but not sure

[Benji]

Wait, I thought dragons were essentially one of a kind in Dragon Age lore? Wasn't the first one from the first game one that flew down and caused the name of the age because it was so rare, and the second game was one awakened from an ancient slumber by miners? Why are there suddenly multiple ones floating about?

[Lint]

Because they realized they wrote themselves into a corner calling the series Dragon Age but having the lore be that dragons are rare, so they said fuck it?

[TKz]

Are they? I always thought it was just a case of the Arch-Demon Dragon being rare?

Checked the wiki, the time we play through in these games is named the Dragon Age because of their reappearance and frequency. I can't recall the smaller details of Origins, but apparently you fight at least 3-4 in the first game.

I quite like how they've been handled in DA: I so far, they're big fucking scary bosses that make me want to avoid fighting them straight away. Which is cool. In Skyrim, after the first encounter (which you can easily win), they're just a mild annoyance. We should be scared of fighting them and they should feel like a big deal.

[Ruki]

Are they? I always thought it was just a case of the Arch-Demon Dragon being rare?

Checked the wiki, the time we play through in these games is named the Dragon Age because of their reappearance and frequency. I can't recall the smaller details of Origins, but apparently you fight at least 3-4 in the first game.

I quite like how they've been handled in DA: I so far, they're big fucking scary bosses that make me want to avoid fighting them straight away. Which is cool. In Skyrim, after the first encounter (which you can easily win), they're just a mild annoyance. We should be scared of fighting them and they should feel like a big deal.

This is how I feel about dragons.

[Benji]

Are they? I always thought it was just a case of the Arch-Demon Dragon being rare?

Checked the wiki, the time we play through in these games is named the Dragon Age because of their reappearance and frequency. I can't recall the smaller details of Origins, but apparently you fight at least 3-4 in the first game.

I quite like how they've been handled in DA: I so far, they're big fucking scary bosses that make me want to avoid fighting them straight away. Which is cool. In Skyrim, after the first encounter (which you can easily win), they're just a mild annoyance. We should be scared of fighting them and they should feel like a big deal.

Ah fair play, I must be confusing the arch-demon.

[Your Mom]

Finally digging into this. It is so great! I have a question and I am afraid of spoilers so I'm asking you guys. If I choose the Templars will I not be able to have Dorian join my party? He seems fun but I never side with the Templars and I'm not a mage so I kinda want to try it