Dragon Age: Inquisition (PS4, PS3, XB1, 360, PC)

[morsdraconis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh8v3Et4tGE


Claudia Black (Morrigan voice actress) is back!!! YAY!!!!!!!

[Kingpin32]

Here's some new gameplay footage:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXnA4ah7uqM

Looks amazing.

[Rudy]

I got Dragon Age Inquisition and it's pretty good. I've played about 5 or 6 hours and I feel I'm still lost lol. It's daunting with how many things you can do and upgrade. Still not quite sure what I'm doing with fighting. I can really see how people can put 100 hours into this game though. The game got great reviews although I don't see why the graphics got such high scores. They are average for next Gen imo. This is my first true RPG.

Who else has played this?

[souljahbill]

*waits impatiently for the next Mass Effect*

I played the demo for DAII many moons ago I and wasn't a fan. DAIII is suppose to be a drastic improvement but I have no interest in it.

[jaymo76]

I got Dragon Age Inquisition and it's pretty good. I've played about 5 or 6 hours and I feel I'm still lost lol. It's daunting with how many things you can do and upgrade. Still not quite sure what I'm doing with fighting. I can really see how people can put 100 hours into this game though. The game got great reviews although I don't see why the graphics got such high scores. They are average for next Gen imo. This is my first true RPG.

Who else has played this?

I love the games that have massive open worlds. Sadly though I am not much into fighting as I would much prefer to explore and go on adventures. It seems that the sole basis of this game is fighting so I don't see myself picking it up.

[Rudy]

I love the games that have massive open worlds. Sadly though I am not much into fighting as I would much prefer to explore and go on adventures. It seems that the sole basis of this game is fighting so I don't see myself picking it up.

I think you are wrong about that part Jaymo. Story, adventure and side quests are a huge part of this game. I've barely been in the Hinterlands so I can't comment completely but I haven't done much fighting so far. It is certainly a part of the game but I thought some had complained because of too many fetch quests etc. Plus when you come across areas with enemies you can go around. I think this game is geared more towards the people who like to collect and explore than fight.

[Rudy]

I kept track of some things for a newbie like myself to learn more about the game.

Read this to familiarize yourself with the background. http://kotaku.com/a-beginners-guide-to-all-things-dragon-age-1658487212

Also read this for tips. http://kotaku.com/tips-for-playing-dragon-age-inquisition-1660270767

Tips on how to play and manage inventory: http://www.idigitaltimes.com/dragon-age-inquisition-tips-and-tricks-beginners-and-fellow-newcomers-397203

PS4 user manual: https://d2ro3qwxdn69cl.cloudfront.net/manuals/dragon-age-inquisition-manuals_Sony%20Playstation%204_en.pdf

L3 - this triggers a search function to help find loot easy

Tactical strategy: most people say to set your range players (mage, archer) to Follow Themselves. It helps them to stay away from the heavy action where they get hurt badly. One guy recommends setting ALL your players to follow themselves while some recommend the tanks (heavy damage, close range guys) to Defend themselves as it puts them VERY close to the action. If you want a tough character to defend another you can use the Defend X person as well. Lots of options but I think I will try follow themselves for everyone for now.

Don't start a fight with a ranged character. Let a heavy character lead the charge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9bbmH5CYnU

R3 lets you toggle between the main enemies in tactical view (can use cursor too). The enemies will also show their level and stats.
You can select a target using "X" and then hit L1 to bring up radial menu and have everyone attack that target too. When a member dies you can actually give another member of your party a command to revive them (they can still do it automatically too).

Really good IGN video on tactical controls/commands where a lot of this info came from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ-asPRTixI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYzZvuG-aCE


Multiplayer Video - looks like you have to use different characters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EwUMJGE-nk

[jaymo76]

I think you are wrong about that part Jaymo. Story, adventure and side quests are a huge part of this game. I've barely been in the Hinterlands so I can't comment completely but I haven't done much fighting so far. It is certainly a part of the game but I thought some had complained because of too many fetch quests etc. Plus when you come across areas with enemies you can go around. I think this game is geared more towards the people who like to collect and explore than fight.

Interesting. I will have to look more into this.

[Rudy]

They do a lot to create lore and back story. There are tons of choices you make in the game that affect your path, your party and the story potentially. I don't know of how much the story changes but I heard there is a point in the game where you have to pick sides and that has a massive effect.

I personally like to fight in these games but this isn't close to Shadow of mordor. That was all action, all the time. You wander around a lot in this game collecting herbs and stuff. You also talk to a lot of people. I am choosing to play on hard because I like the challenge of tough combat. I know many choose easy because they just want to get through the fights quickly and focus on the story.

[JBHuskers]

I am on whatever the default difficulty is. Sometimes the enemies at the rifts can be challenging.

[Rudy]

I am on whatever the default difficulty is. Sometimes the enemies at the rifts can be challenging.

I'm on hard and those guys generally kick my ass.

[Rudy]

I will say this about DAI. The fast travel options are nice but it makes it feel like a slower pace Assassin's Creed and less epic open world. I'm getting tired of "reading" of lot of items to find. The worst was in this one mission (my first on the left side of the map) where I go to the Chantry place. So many things to read - child please! Instead of my companions being quiet 95% of the time why don't they read some of that stuff and discuss it in conversation. I just don't want to spend that much time on all the notes of history. And when I had to "fast travel" to get from the first floor to the second floor of the market in that location because there were no stairs I was annoyed. I don't understand that move.

About 12 hours in total and it does feel like I'm just scratching the surface on this game. I think I'm going to only do maybe half the quests in an effort to get into a little more impactful story stuff.

[JBHuskers]

I will say this about DAI. The fast travel options are nice but it makes it feel like a slower pace Assassin's Creed and less epic open world. I'm getting tired of "reading" of lot of items to find. The worst was in this one mission (my first on the left side of the map) where I go to the Chantry place. So many things to read - child please! Instead of my companions being quiet 95% of the time why don't they read some of that stuff and discuss it in conversation. I just don't want to spend that much time on all the notes of history. And when I had to "fast travel" to get from the first floor to the second floor of the market in that location because there were no stairs I was annoyed. I don't understand that move.

About 12 hours in total and it does feel like I'm just scratching the surface on this game. I think I'm going to only do maybe half the quests in an effort to get into a little more impactful story stuff.

I typically don't read much of the history stuff. Just too much to take in. If it isn't pertaining to the current time via a note or something, then I just skim over it.

[Rudy]

I saw someone comment that they wished the enemies would come to you. Rather than just traditionally clear out areas, those areas should still change over time.

Anyone tried the multilayer? JB what character are you using?

[JBHuskers]

I've tried multiplayer. Pretty fun. Basically co-op. Not sure on my character off hand.

[Marlowe]

Anyone tried the multilayer?

Yep. It is like co-op; you get grouped with 4 other players. From what I remember there is no respec option in mp so you might want to look up a few builds beforehand so you're not wasting points.

Basically a dungeon fight with 5 parts to it. You earn gold throughout and can use it afterwards to buy chest items for potions or better gear from the in game store.

You can also dismantle items you loot for crafting ingredients. I believe you need to craft an item to unlock the secondary classes iirc.


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[Marlowe]

I'm on hard and those guys generally kick my ass.

The ones by the river in hinterlands will decimate a low level group. I think those guys are lvl 12? You might try doing the Druffy mission and have the druffalo help tank those guys. I skipped that rift and came back to it after I leveled up more.


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[Rudy]

Thanks. I saw my my first dragon the other day. I got destroyed easily.

[JBHuskers]

Thanks. I saw my my first dragon the other day. I got destroyed easily.

I saw one in the distance in that sandy wasteland area (can't remember the name) and definitely kept my distance :D

[jaymo76]

So I have gotten mixed messages from some sites. Is this truly open world or is it open sections of a world? In other words, can you go anywhere at anytime ala GTA V and Assassins Creed or are you locked out of certain zones until you advance the storyline?

[JBHuskers]

You have to earn enough "power" to be able to send a scout to a new region to unlock it. However with so much to do in the Hinterlands to start, it doesn't take much to start unlocking new territories. Every area is open world though.

[jaymo76]

Just noticed that this game is in EA ACCESS. I'm not sold on it yet so maybe I will just buy ACCESS and then have "access" to it. $30 for a year membership for Access or $69.99 for the base game. Only downside would be that it would have to be on my One so no multiplayer for me as I have very few xbox friends.

[Rudy]

Or $5 for a one month membership Jaymo.

It's not truly open world Jaymo since you do unlock world's but there is a huge area to check out in each world. This is supposed to be one of the biggest games ever made. And parts of worlds are accessible but you really can't go there unless you want to die. I think you have to do this to a degree for the story. But I'm glad there are restrictions. I've played for 16 or17 hours and I am finally comfortable with things but still don't fully know exactly what I'm doing. There is so many things to keep track of that you should be glad it's not completely open. Exploration is a big part of this game.

If I had any advice it would be to not get hung up on what you don't know. Don't worry about missing out on something and just do stuff. Play. I really felt overwhelmed in the beginning because I worried about that stuff.

[JBHuskers]

Once you get the hang of the journal and knowing what to do and which parts are side quests and which are the main, you'll be fine.

[Rudy]

I haven't even used the journal. I guess I should. This is actually a good help resource too.
http://help.ea.com/ca/article/ea-help-guide-to-dragon-age-inquisition/

http://d2ro3qwxdn69cl.cloudfront.net/images/articles/annotated-battlescreen2.jpg

[jaymo76]

Or $5 for a one month membership Jaymo.

It's not truly open world Jaymo since you do unlock world's but there is a huge area to check out in each world. This is supposed to be one of the biggest games ever made. And parts of worlds are accessible but you really can't go there unless you want to die. I think you have to do this to a degree for the story. But I'm glad there are restrictions. I've played for 16 or17 hours and I am finally comfortable with things but still don't fully know exactly what I'm doing. There is so many things to keep track of that you should be glad it's not completely open. Exploration is a big part of this game.

If I had any advice it would be to not get hung up on what you don't know. Don't worry about missing out on something and just do stuff. Play. I really felt overwhelmed in the beginning because I worried about that stuff.

That's right they do have monthly subscription. If memory serves the free trial is six hours. Think that is enough time to make a decision? Also, how does this game compare with Witcher III? Seem to be some similarities for sure.

[Rudy]

6 hours will give you a taste but isn't enough I swear.

Witcher 3 is one man. You have a team of 4 in DA. Witcher 3 comes out tomorrow so wait for reviews. I think both games take a long time to complete. I think DA is less action oriented but not completely sure.

[Rudy]

A generic guide for what/when you should be doing things based on your power level. I'm going to hit Val Royeaux later. I'm level 7 and I've stayed in the Hinterlands until this morning when I checked out the Storm's Coast.

Haven: 1+ (1-4)
Hinterlands: 2+ (4-7, 8-12)
Val Royeaux: 4+ (4-6)
Storm Coast: 5+ (7-11, 13-15)
Fallow Mire: 8+ (8-10, 12-15)
Forbidden Oasis: 8+ (8-12, 5-15, 18-20)
Skyhold: 10+
Crestwood: 10+ (10-13)
Western Approach: 10+ (10-14)
Exalted Plains: 10+ (10-16)
Emerald Graves: 12+ (14-20)
Emprise du Lion: 16+ (16-22)
Hissing Wastes: 16+ (19-23)

[Rudy]

I honestly think I would like the Witcher 3 better than DAI. DAI's story hasn't sucked me in yet after 20 hours. I've largely done side missions and while fun nothing is blowing me away. Combat still feels too fast to me and I feel like I just spam different spells as a mage. I wonder if I should have taken a rogue archer instead. I still enjoy the game and look forward to playing more but I liked Shadow of Mordor better. The combat was more thrilling to me. Despite various strategies in DAI that you can set the combat doesn't feel strategic to me (but I still may be clueless). I don't use the tactical cam.

[jaymo76]

I honestly think I would like the Witcher 3 better than DAI. DAI's story hasn't sucked me in yet after 20 hours. I've largely done side missions and while fun nothing is blowing me away. Combat still feels too fast to me and I feel like I just spam different spells as a mage. I wonder if I should have taken a rogue archer instead. I still enjoy the game and look forward to playing more but I liked Shadow of Mordor better. The combat was more thrilling to me. Despite various strategies in DAI that you can set the combat doesn't feel strategic to me (but I still may be clueless). I don't use the tactical cam.

I think you will like Witcher 3. I am having a blast. Granted I am new to the series but I like exploring and questing. Plus, the graphics are spectacular and the main character is really likable.

[Rudy]

Jaymo I had something similar to your long cave campaign in Witcher 3.

Do NOT do "in your heart shall burn" until you are 100% ready. I was annoyed in that when you normally unlock a new area you can still change party members and travel back to where you were. But this board involves a major story change and you have to finish it. I didn't have many potions and was using a new member who I hadn't mapped his potions either. On hard I was getting my ass kicked for an hour. I was halfway through with almost no health and no chance. Had to load an older save file and will avoid that until I'm stronger.

[jaymo76]

Jaymo I had something similar to your long cave campaign in Witcher 3.

Do NOT do "in your heart shall burn" until you are 100% ready. I was annoyed in that when you normally unlock a new area you can still change party members and travel back to where you were. But this board involves a major story change and you have to finish it. I didn't have many potions and was using a new member who I hadn't mapped his potions either. On hard I was getting my ass kicked for an hour. I was halfway through with almost no health and no chance. Had to load an older save file and will avoid that until I'm stronger.

In Witcher 3 I am really, really bad at making potions. Does Dragon Age focus a lot on alchemy? It seems like it does from the Twitch streams I have watched.

Also, are you starting to come around on the game? One of your last posts stated you were not enjoying it as much as you hoped. Going to try Witcher in the future?

[Rudy]

I do like the game. I'm just not blown away by it. Potions in DAI are easy. You have a few different types early on. You just have to replenish them at camp when you use them. There are a lot of Potions to unlock yet. Crafting is more intensive although you can pick up a lot of loot when running around. You can buy stuff too. There is a lot but I've read Witcher 3 is far more complex and poorly organized. The fact you have to maintain weapons is also harder.

I've played almost 25 hours and I might be 20% done. I am enjoying it but I'm very curious about witcher. Sounds like your side quests are more interesting and more impact full on the game.

I always stay as my created Mage and auto level up everyone else. I think being an Archer would be cool. I need to practice fighting with my other teammates as they have a lot of different attacks and I have no clue what they do. As a Mage I have electricity/storm, fire, ice and defensive barriers.

[Rudy]

Just reached Skyhold after almost 40 hours of playing. Feels like the game is just starting because I'm still early in the story. These RPG games are long. I kind of wish they were a bit shorter but I'll see how I keep liking it. I think I would have had more fun as a rogue than Mage but enjoying it although not blown away either.

[JBHuskers]

Skyhold is a sweet place. I think I got there around 25 hours in :D

I don't mind the length at all. I put in several hundred hours on Elder Scrolls and Fallout games. I actually love it, and hell it makes it worth the price of purchase.

[Rudy]

I do think I made a mistake by being a Mage. I've stuck with him exclusively but in my last fight I was down to only Blackwell and he was fun. You can dodge-roll and have a lot of options. I don't understand Sera's moves but she has a lot too. As a Mage I have no defensive moves. I just stand from afar and cast spells. I haven't developed a good barrier spell for healing but either way it's more repetitive imo. I'm going to explore using the other characters more in fights.

[JBHuskers]

I do think I made a mistake by being a Mage. I've stuck with him exclusively but in my last fight I was down to only Blackwell and he was fun. You can dodge-roll and have a lot of options. I don't understand Sera's moves but she has a lot too. As a Mage I have no defensive moves. I just stand from afar and cast spells. I haven't developed a good barrier spell for healing but either way it's more repetitive imo. I'm going to explore using the other characters more in fights.

I am a warrior and my main team that I roll with is the warrior chick, the midget crossbow dude, and a mage.

[Rudy]

I've got almost 50 hours in now. Level 12 and the level guide in post 28 is pretty good for me on Hard. I just hope I'm done this when madden comes out. It will take over 100 hours to finish and that feels too long imo. I swear it feels like a sports game in that I'm just doing many seasons of similar things. Nothing spectacular is happening - just enjoying and going along for the ride. I try to play a bit every day but not always possible. I will have to try witcher out around Christmas.

[Rudy]

I'm almost 85 hours in. Some of the side mission stuff gets more interesting later on as you storm keeps and battle some tougher enemies. The one thing that annoys me is the way the main story line progresses. With every other mission you could abort and go back later if you are getting your butt kicked. Not the main stories as you stay locked in on autosaves. I know for an earlier one I had to go back and load an older save file. I have at least 4 save files for that reason. For this last story which was supposed to be level 12-15 I was getting my butt kicked. I have played on hard and when I'm at the top of the range the main stories are tough but doable. I was level 17 and my party members 16 and I had to drop down to normal to finish the Duchess. I may have not had the best mix of fighters but it was ridiculous.

[Rudy]

I'm over 90 hours in and I still have at least three main story missions left. I really hope to finish this before Madden releases. Quite frankly the game is too long. I still like playing it but it's largely since I have nothing else to play either. Too many fetch quests and uninspired side things to do. But you have to do most of them in order to earn power to unlock main missions and get XP to be able to finish the tougher story missions. Some side stuff is cool but too much is unnecessary. I may lower the difficulty just to finish this game out. The story itself is OK. I really don't know how this game got so many 90+ scores. Obviously I have played a lot so it's hard for me to give it less than an 80 but there isn't a lot that really excels imo.

I'd like to see less fetch quests, more side stuff and decisions that impact the world around me, maybe a city or two instead of largely rural areas, more banter from my team that even gives me background on the world instead of endless lore items I need to read. The combat is fine although I think warriors or rogues would be more interesting than my Mage.

[Rudy]

Just bumping this thread. In my initial play through I was really confused as an RPG newb for the first 10 hours. By 20 hours I got a lot more comfortable. There are a ton of fetch quests and while you don't have to do all of them you will have to do quite a few because you need to earn "power" by doing things which will unlock main story missions and other parts of your map.

I really thought I would like the Witcher 3 more than DAI based on hearing the story was better, less fetch quests and the combat was supposed to be better. After playing 15 hours of the Witcher 3 and over 100 hours of DAI I can say this: W3 still has fetch quests, the combat is a lot better in DAI and the story in DAI isn't that bad. I also find the environment in DAI to be more interesting, colourful and better to explore in. I found I missed the party system quite a bit from DAI over playing with a single character in W3.

Now the Witcher 3 had less obvious fetch quests but they are still fetch quests even if they are dressed up a little more with cut scenes. When I had to chase down a goat in that game all I could think was - this isn't a blatant fetch quest? DAI had a ton of these things leading into collecting shards and doing constellation puzzles as well. While there were too many, the maps were littered with things to do which encouraged exploration. You wanted to explore everything and that was a good thing. You were always running into loot, bad guys, caves or things to do.

The combat is certainly different but I found W3's combat limited and very repetitive. While there is strategy pre-fight (what oils or spells to use) the actual combat felt weak (strike & dodge all the time). With DAI you get a ton of cool moves to use as you level up. I did find playing with a mage boring after awhile in DAI but the true beauty is to play with more than just your character. I am re-playing this game right now and have decided to run with a 2 handed warrior. But the last hour I played with Varric. Using his crossbow and more long range attacks was fun. He can also use stealth and disappear. A dual wielding rogue is part long range but more up close assassin vs a brawling warrior. Since I was just trying to learn the game my first play through I rarely used anyone other than my own character. This time I am mixing it up and having all kinds of different moves is cool. Besides your basic attack (R2) you can map 8 different attacks for your character (using L2 to get the secondary wheel). There are so many moves and options to upgrade as you choose what type of character you want. And each of the 4 different classes (warrior, rogue dual wield, rogue archer, mage) have a lot of different specializations. My warrior is just charge in and smash. I do have a grappling hook to pull guys in close and I also have a shield break right now when going up against humans with shields. Timing that move correct is nice. At the end of the day there is SO much more variety in combat in DAI. Major advantage imo if you are willing to play with all four members in your party. That IS intimidating on an initial play through as you have to learn how to use each person properly.

There are of course tedious RPG things to do. Besides a lot of different fetch quests you do have to collect a lot of herbs and ore in order to craft potions and weapons/armour. You don't have to craft a lot of things and can buy stuff from the merchants or just loot them. At least you can fast travel quickly and quickly upgrade something if you want unlike W3 where you had to hunt down an armourer with the right level. The horribly unresponsive loot button in W3 drove me nuts compared to the easy DAI approach of picking things up if you were anywhere close to them. Having to repair weapons and armour in W3 also felt extremely tedious. My second play through in DAI is a lot more comfortable since I don't have to learn anything in DAI and that helps too.

[Rudy]

I put in roughly 140 hours on my second playthrough with DLC. Still pissed I started out on Hard and not Nightmare. Only spent the first 7-8 hours before bumping it up and that is the only trophy I need for my second platinum. I will probably do a third playthrough next year.

For those that may be interested in playing this game I had written down and copied notes from various places to help newbies to the game. There is so much to do and the game doesn't really teach you much about the game mechanics or the history of the world. I'm guessing most of you might find the endless quests too tedious but in case you wanted to give it a shot this may help.

If anybody else has any other points to add that I may have missed (if they feel like going over this) feel free to comment.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fm-OhAxx0NbJ_1sUYIpQrUwb_HIVvQqjg1fxKCONtWc/edit?usp=sharing

[Rudy]

Got my second platinum ever. Took 80 hours on my third play through. Didn't bother with shards and a lot of side quests. Could have probably done it a but faster on Nightmare but you do have to Level up more. Still have a lot of dragons I can go back and kill yet. I should add you don't need tactical cam on Nightmare like everyone claims but you do need to manage your parties potions.

I was a DW Rogue and specialized in Tempest. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the Assassin specialization more but I did like the lightning flask a lot which slowed time for you. In my three play throughs I enjoyed my two handed warrior best but the DW Rogue was close. Mage dead last. Without aiming mechanics the ranged characters don't have as much appeal to me.

The one character I would still like to try is a one handed, sword and shield warrior. If I play it again it won't be soon. Hopefully Skyrim will he fun. If not I am looking forward to For Honor.

[morsdraconis]

I haven't played a whole hell of a lot of this game, but the most fun I had while playing was the 2H Warrior as well. Back in DA Origins, Sword and Shield Warrior was the shizz. I used to tank the shit out of Flemith as a dragon like a boss super early in the game because of how incredibly overpowered the defensive stats were for the Sword and Shield Warrior in DAO.

I need to actually sit down and play this game though. I'll probably just buy the PS4 Game of the Year edition sometime down the road. I really want to play around with the DW Rogue though. Super disappointed that Mages suck so much now though. That was really the most fun I had in DAO was playing a Mage.

[Rudy]

The GOTY edition is the way to go. All the DLC which gives some nice loot as well. I think I paid $24C for the GOTY edition digitally. The dark roads dlc is a lot of action but they are hard since the enemies all level up with you. That was impossible on Nightmare. The DLC gives you Trials options where you can level up the enemies if you want along with other options to make it harder.

[souljahbill]

I just ordered the GOTY edition. Getting it for $15. It's my primer for Mass Effect: Andromeda.


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[Rudy]

Hope you have fun. Some things can be tedious. Just start on Hard difficulty for sure.

[souljahbill]

Hope you have fun. Some things can be tedious. Just start on Hard difficulty for sure.

I'm a Bioware vet. I've beaten Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 all on Insanity. I always did it on my 2nd play through through. Can you start a new game and import a character that completed the game already leveled up? You can in Mass Effect.


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[Rudy]

I don't think so.

[Rudy]

What class are you going to play with?

[souljahbill]

What class are you going to play with?

I had to research the classes as I didn't know them. I think play through 1 will be the Archer Rogue.


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[morsdraconis]

I had to research the classes as I didn't know them. I think play through 1 will be the Archer Rogue.


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I think it's interesting that you are going with that when pretty much everyone has said the most fun way to play the game is two-handed warrior.

I really need to get around to playing this game (maybe once I pick it up on PS4).

[souljahbill]

I think it's interesting that you are going with that when pretty much everyone has said the most fun way to play the game is two-handed warrior.

I really need to get around to playing this game (maybe once I pick it up on PS4).

I've never been a fan of melee classes in any game. I usually always play as the arrow guy or the mage.


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[Rudy]

I was the exact opposite. My first play through was as a Mage and it was OK. Maybe I enjoyed my next play through more because I knew what I was doing but I enjoyed the two hands warrior a lot more. A dual wielding rogue is really fun too. At least if you start as an archer you can switch to rogue and redo your stats if you want. Same with switching between one and two handed warrior. But a Mage is always a Mage. You can specialize later on with those classes but it's a pretty big decision. Without an aiming reticle I think long range fighting isn't as fun.

I made a running guide to help myself over time that you can check out.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fm-OhAxx0NbJ_1sUYIpQrUwb_HIVvQqjg1fxKCONtWc/mobilebasic

[morsdraconis]

I was the exact opposite. My first play through was as a Mage and it was OK. Maybe I enjoyed my next play through more because I knew what I was doing but I enjoyed the two hands warrior a lot more. A dual wielding rogue is really fun too. At least if you start as an archer you can switch to rogue and redo your stats if you want. Same with switching between one and two handed warrior. But a Mage is always a Mage. You can specialize later on with those classes but it's a pretty big decision. Without an aiming reticle I think long range fighting isn't as fun.

I made a running guide to help myself over time that you can check out.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fm-OhAxx0NbJ_1sUYIpQrUwb_HIVvQqjg1fxKCONtWc/mobilebasic

Wow, that's a pretty thorough guide. Damn. Nice Rudy.

[Rudy]

I should say if you are a Mage you can choose a Knight Enchanter specialization which has a magic sword. There are some cool extra moves you unlock when you specialize after you reach Skyhold. Each class has three specializations which can be quite different. There are links in that guide for more info.

Archers aren't too bad as you can have some stealth moves. I find the poison and traps ineffective relatively. Whenever I would use a party member with archery I just used the bow moves and some stealth. It would be much better if you could combine archery with dual wield rogue and switch back and forth. That would be cool.

When I was DW Rogue I chose Tempest and it had some cool potions. I really enjoyed slowing time down while attacking for one of my moves. Sometimes I wish I chose Assassin. For my two handed warrior I think I chose Champion. I was a Kinght Enchanter as a Mage but your armour is the weakest of all classes sonyounstillncant walk into battles as a bad ass. You have to use Fade Step to help avoid getting hit. Tanks are great too as they can really take a ton of damage. They just don't deal out as much but you can almost guarantee they will be the last one standing even after being in the middle of things.

[souljahbill]

Nice guide, Rudy!


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[souljahbill]

It's here!
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161222/3720c8926f7baf43a2e512cad7b47a27.jpgI've been watching class build videos by a guy named KineticGTR on YouTube. I'm gonna try to build a Tempest Archer build. Building a character in this game is definitely more complex than in the original Mass Effect trilogy. It sounds like Andromeda is going to take the DAI route in terms of classes.


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[Rudy]

Andromeda is taking a much more flexible route I believe in classes. You can grab items from many different class trees. DAI is very strict. A rogue can only upgrade within the rogue tree.

Either way the upgrades and huge variety in abilities is the strength of the game imo. It keeps the game fresh as you play since you are always upgrading and adding new things to do. It makes combat fun even if it's more arcade dungeon crawling than strategic.

[souljahbill]

Andromeda is taking a much more flexible route I believe in classes. You can grab items from many different class trees. DAI is very strict. A rogue can only upgrade within the rogue tree.

Either way the upgrades and huge variety in abilities is the strength of the game imo. It keeps the game fresh as you play since you are always upgrading and adding new things to do. It makes combat fun even if it's more arcade dungeon crawling than strategic.

Yeah, from what I've heard and read, you'll be able to essentially use whatever skills you want once they're unlocked. That's a lot different than the original trilogy where each class had a set of skills pre-set and it was up to the player how they wanted to spec those skills out. For instance, here are the Sentinel (my favorite class) skills sans bonus power. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161222/5ea53d7268db3785e8d8efc5fcc69b69.png
From what I see of DAI, it's a lot more flexible than that.


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[Rudy]

Plus with DAI you generally don't level up your powers. Once you get an ability that's it. Some of them have a toggle where they can do one of two things but they simply grow stronger as you level up. They don't have levels to abilities.

[souljahbill]

I played for about 2 1/2 hours. It's pretty fun. I'm getting the hang of combat. After I joined the Inquisition, I was suppose to meet some old lady but I went around the forest fighting, collecting, and land marking. I'm a level 4 Human Rogue archer. I need to use stealth more often. The evade roll keeps me alive. I see that I'm going to need the pincushion skill because as of right now, enemies are arrow sponges. All in all, I'm liking it so far.


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[Rudy]

Glad to hear. What difficulty did you start on? Did you try Nightmare or just keep it to Hard?

[souljahbill]

Glad to hear. What difficulty did you start on? Did you try Nightmare or just keep it to Hard?

Normal. I tend to play these types of games multiple times. I have a save file for all 6 classes in Mass Effect and I've beaten all 3 games at least twice with each class. On following playthroughs, I'll know what to do so I'll be able to step the difficulty up.


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[Rudy]

If you are a completionist you may find the game getting really easy on Normal as you level up. You have another option in that there are "trials" with the DLC that also help. You can choose to have the enemies automatically level up to you so they aren't under powered. I would definitely recommend that if you find combat too easy.

[souljahbill]

Call me the Inquisitor as I made it to Skyhold last night.


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[Rudy]

Holy crap! That was fast!

What companions do you use? I imagine you don't use Varric much as you are an archer.

Skyhold can be abut frustrating at first since it's so big. Don't worry. You will learn where things are.

[souljahbill]

Holy crap! That was fast!

What companions do you use? I imagine you don't use Varric much as you are an archer.

Skyhold can be abut frustrating at first since it's so big. Don't worry. You will learn where things are.

Cassandra, Vivienne, and Cole (who gets swapped out for 2-handed Iron Bull on occasion).

Who did you romance? I already have my sights set on Josephine. #HotAccent


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[Rudy]

I romanced Cassandra both times lol. I don't like Cope or Solas so I didn't use them. I rarely used Iron Bull either because he was too similar to me. I liked Sera a lot and almost always used her. I switched between Dorian and Viv as my mages. Cassandra was almost always my tank although I liked Blackwall too and would use him once in awhile.

When I fought dragons I often brought in Iron Bull with a dragon rune weapon.

My third play through I was a female Qunari rogue and romanced Sera who is ***.

[jaymo76]

Still haven't played this yet. This summer it's on my priority play list.

[souljahbill]

I romanced Cassandra both times lol. I don't like Cope or Solas so I didn't use them. I rarely used Iron Bull either because he was too similar to me. I liked Sera a lot and almost always used her. I switched between Dorian and Viv as my mages. Cassandra was almost always my tank although I liked Blackwall too and would use him once in awhile.

When I fought dragons I often brought in Iron Bull with a dragon rune weapon.

My third play through I was a female Qunari rogue and romanced Sera who is ***.

Funny story.

I helped Dorian deal with his daddy issues at the Redcliffe bar. He confessed to enjoying the company of men. Afterwards there's a convo back at Skyhold where we talk about what went down. Near the end of the convo, he asks what I think of him now. I selected "Good things" so quickly that I didn't notice the heart icon. Well, it caused Dorian to start making out with my character! I had to cut the PS4 off immediately before it Autosaved. :D I redid it afterwards, being careful not to make the same mistake.

[Rudy]

Lol. I never fixed his daddy issues in the one play through and he was disappointed. But he's funny in the party. Viv is a bitch but I like her and Sera interacting because Sera hates her. Leads to some funny dialogue.

[Rudy]

I just saw you earn a ton of trophies. Did you finish the story? Definitely do the Trespasser DLC story but have another save file as you can't go back and finish stuff later.

[souljahbill]

I just saw you earn a ton of trophies. Did you finish the story? Definitely do the Trespasser DLC story but have another save file as you can't go back and finish stuff later.

That's what I was about to ask you. I've recruited that final ally and can start the final mission but wanted to know if I can keep doing missions post-game or do I need to do it all before starting the endgame?


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[Rudy]

You can do the final mission of the regular game and go back and get everything else you missed. But the DLC Trespasser you can not. That's because things will happen to characters in the game. I won't say anymore.

[souljahbill]

You can do the final mission of the regular game and go back and get everything else you missed. But the DLC Trespasser you can not. That's because things will happen to characters in the game. I won't say anymore.

I don't know what missions are DLC and what isn't. What starts the Trespasser mission?


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[Rudy]

Sorry. I can't remember the exact names of the DLC. One is the Deep Descent which you have probably visited along with the other area. But I believe Trespasser doesn't open up until after you complete the main story. You have to fight Coripheus in the main game first. Once you finish that you can still do everything else and finish rifts and stuff. it will unlock The final DLC and there will be a warning that you can't go back with that save file if you start it.

Doom Upon the World is the final, main story and you can go back and do everything other than special party member side quests that may disappear. Can't remember the name of the story for Trespasser.

[souljahbill]

Sorry. I can't remember the exact names of the DLC. One is the Deep Descent which you have probably visited along with the other area. But I believe Trespasser doesn't open up until after you complete the main story. You have to fight Coripheus in the main game first. Once you finish that you can still do everything else and finish rifts and stuff. it will unlock The final DLC and there will be a warning that you can't go back with that save file if you start it.

Doom Upon the World is the final, main story and you can go back and do everything other than special party member side quests that may disappear. Can't remember the name of the story for Trespasser.

Ok. If it becomes available post-game, I'm good. I didn't want to start it accidentally.

I'm 96 hours in. I've killed 3 or 4 dragons. I've also learned that a guy in Skyhold sells influence so I've been spending my gold on that. I think I've finished all the friendship stuff for my team and I get to make out with Josephine whenever I want.

Question: Did you drink from the well or did you let Morrigan do it? That decision was tough.


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[Rudy]

There is a guy in Skyhold that sells influence? I didn't know that. Wow. That would help unlock a lot of perks. I didn't buy a ton of things from vendors. I did buy herbs at the Crossroads in Hinterlands and at Crestwood (rashvine). My favourite potions were regenerate, jar of bees, antivan fire and sticky grenade. I never tried the mighty offence potion I don't think. That's a pain to find the recipe for. I did it once.

The first time I played I let Morrison drink from the well. Second time I drank. It was a tough decision but it doesn't have a big impact on the story or events but more on your relationships with your teammates iirc. It may change the next story a bit. Can't really remember.

The dragons can be hard. I think they range from level 12 to 23. I had my own way of dealing with them.

I didn't use any ranged characters. Just two tanks and two high dps like a two hander or dw rogue. If you max out regeneration potion and use resistance potions like fire against a fire dragon they help a lot since a maxed potion helps your entire party.

There are ten dragons in the main game and I think 3 are near each other in the One board. The Storm Coast one is one of the hardest.

[souljahbill]

1) All throughout the game, I kept saying that The Iron Bull sounded like James Vega from Mass Effect 3. I was right. Same guy (Freddie Prinz Jr.)
2) I didn't know the voices of female Commander Shepard (Jennifer Hale) and Liara T'Soni (Ali Hillis) were in the game.
3) I use male Inquisitor voice 2
https://youtu.be/nhhIbiMUpm0


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[Rudy]

I've used three of those voices. A couple small characters I didn't recognize in that video.

[Rudy]

DA 4 is heading into full hiring mode. I was hoping it would be in full gaming mode already so this means a 2020 release more likely. I wonder if that would be current gen and a new next gen.

Three biggest wishes:
1) More defensive moves and strategies so combat is less button mashing
2) Aiming reticule for ranged fighters (archers/mages)
3) Allowing friends to play in your campaign with you

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/58332/bioware-hiring-tons-devs-make-new-dragon-age-game/index.html

[Rudy]

They tease DA4 but it’s still probably 2 years away. Maybe a next gen game only?

https://twitter.com/bioware/status/1070886432397418497?s=21

1070886432397418497

[Rudy]

Dragon Age 4 got delayed because of Anthem.
https://bpb.opendns.com/b/https/kotaku.com/the-past-and-present-of-dragon-age-4-1833913351

They had a cool version of DA4 called Joplin and I guess it got cancelled. An open, regenerative world with less fetch quests. The game was not based on Live, online worlds with micro transactions. The new rebooted game is called Morrison and will still likely be a single player game but perhaps with drop in/out online co-op (would be cool!).

[bdoughty]

Working link to article.

https://kotaku.com/the-past-and-present-of-dragon-age-4-1833913351