@shandyr yeah you did. I was just warning you because I also got lucky with getting it to trigger first time but on this second playthrough I may just have to skip it didn't want you to do the wrong thing next time around and break his quest
and yeah, I realized that too in what little I played of the MP. that would definitely need a controller. the MP just wasn't as much fun as ME though, so I haven't played as much. also I have mods now so I would have to uninstall them in order to play MP, although I think that is as simple as removing the folder they are in
nice discount on green man gaming for DAI at the price of $32 using the code PSNEDD-9OF0Q-P4S1MY for anybody who has been on edge. that is about half off for a 2 month old game
25 Hours in so far, done the prelude and until you leave Haven, about 10% of the total game in. I feel i'm a bit slow >.>
Anyway, i have to say i'm impressed, and i'm not easily impressed. Physics are believable, animations are on a whole different level from anything else i've seen so far, and the story/interactions are really nice. First time i saw inverse kinematics on that level. (changing of stance and animations depending on terrain, and what you step on).
It was a long time since some quests made me pumped for actually playing the game.
A very solid game.
P.S. After trying out both controller and mouse/keyboard, i have to say that the controls are good, and the tactical camera actually helps, but i have some gripes.
1) I prefer controller because you can walk, jog and run, with the analog stick, different speed depending on hard you push, makes it more immersive for me. I would like a system where you can use the mouse wheel, to adjust your speed with mouse and keyboard (they are working on this).
2) Tactical camera is cool, but i would like to adjust the height and the angle separately. Depending on the room, viewing angles can be a bit weird.
I can also say that there is tactic involved in fights, but a different kind of tactic than Baldur's Gate. Instead of worrying how to dispel magical protections, you worry about positioning and battlefield control of various forms. It's basically the a low fantasy Baldur's Gate. Also, healing being replaced(except Knight Enchanter heal) by barriers means you have to be proactive and tactical in your approach.
@mornmagor Just read the update 3 notes. There is now an official keybinding for walking on keyboard! You could already achieve it through cheatengine, but it is good to have that sort of thing officially in the game. Also my earlier problem with Dorian has been fixed and hopefully it will work automatically. I took a break from the game, though, so that if I redo the storm coast I don't feel too bad about having just done it.
I got the game and played maybe 4 hours. I got to the point where I was just beginning to figure out how to upgrade equipment. It wasn't as intuitive (to me) as I would have liked, but then again I didn't give it as much of a chance as I should have. I liked the 'more or less' open world and see why it keeps on getting compared to Skyrim over something like DA:O.
I liked what I played, but was still obsessing about Dark Souls at the time. Looking forward to a new obsession. Any suggestions for a vet RPGer, but new to this game?
I liked what I played, but was still obsessing about Dark Souls at the time. Looking forward to a new obsession. Any suggestions for a vet RPGer, but new to this game?
1- worry about avoiding damage due to the removal of healing:
warrior- get abilities that generate guard. these are generally in the vanguard tree. guard acts as temporary health over your temp health, and having many abilities to generate it can save your life
rogue- i would get the only two abilities in the stealth tree that are worth it- stealth and easy to miss. most of the time easy to miss will do you good because it reduces your aggro, while your tank would be doing taunts and gaining all the aggro. for an archer you don't need to worry as much tbh. if an archer gets in trouble just move them, hopefully after using an ability like explosive shot to knock them down.
mage- absolutely get everything in the spirit tree. it is all worthwhile for the most part, and even what isn't worthwhile (mindblast in most cases is worthless) is worthwhile just to get something further down the tree. you want barriers often and you want them to be strong. dispel can even be used to increase barrier strength with it's passive and it can also kill rift demons before they even spawn. i would only put focus on damage abilities if you have multiple mages, though the damage mage could still have barrier in case the other mage can't cast it when you need it. when you are good with barriers you should get abilities to make it so you can reliably have it ready to cast. there is a passive in fire to make your next spell have no cooldown after a critical hit, and an electric passive to make basic attacks reduce cooldowns by .5 second.
2- normal difficulty may be much too easy if you are looking for even the slightest challenge. i play on nightmare with no problems after I learned the systems, but I play pretty hardcore myself in games so it may not be for you. i at least recommend hard, though. however, if you ignore side stuff as much as possible I imagine normal could be a better choice as you would miss out on lots of exp by not doing side quests.
3- the game truly begins after the mage/templar decision. it literally feels like the first 24 hours (for me) is a prologue. after this choice you will have the entire game open to you
4- think hard about your perks. you only get so many throughout the game, and they became harder and harder to get another. early on I like to get all the dialogue perks so I get the extra options, and there are so many codex entried the exp bonus is actually worth it. from there the next 2 that you really want is the one for lockpicking and the one for 4 more healings pots. i can't think of any more off the top of my head, but there are a few other good ones.
5- have a look at each specialization before choosing one for your main character. you can look them up online, but it may be better to get out the different companions, put your points into those skills, then try them out to see which you like best. you cannot change your spec later, so when this becomes available you want to make the right choice
6- although tac cam is not good for use all the time, it is still good for targeting AOEs. other than that I mostly ignore it
7- positioning is key. get your rogues behind, your archers at elevations, your tank in front facing the opponents. these kind of things can provide bonuses in some way, sometimes depending on if you have a specific passive however.
8- have fun
oh, and related to that last one, remember this is a single player and you can play how you want. so far not many mods have come out, and most of them are just textures, but you may possibly like to take a look. i myself got tired of being given a variety of trench coats as armor so I've been wearing Inquisition armor the entire game by upping it's stats to stay at least in line with the basic white gear I am finding at the time. i seriously hope somebody makes a mod that just makes different armors look more unqiue...
Any challenges that you can think of in having the main as a Wizard?
the classes are generally balanced in these games, so a wizard won't be ridiculously OP like in Baldur's Gate. in fact, I find them the least powerful, though I've heard of a spec they can use they is absolutely ridiculous and makes them unkillable. other than that, however, they are not the most powerful. they succeed in crowd control and keeping the team alive with barriers, but the other classes also have some decent crowd control and much more damage if you ask me, especially because barrier is so important to me that I constantly save my mana for my next use of it rather than throwing an offensive spell. if you have a second mage you could play one more offensively, but i personally prefer two rogues. the damage model is generally mage<warrior<rogue. my own personal favorites are a dual wield rogue and a sword and board warrior, as they require a fair bit of management, can do damage, and have some fun stuff to do. luckily, Dragon Age has always allowed us to switch between the characters, and so even if you like a specific class best and your character is not that class you can just control a character who is that class more. I've spent a lot of time controlling Cassandra just as I have my main, and I like both of the gameplay styles. Even if mage doesn't turn out to be your favorite, you still need one so it is ok for the main to be one and control companions in combat. it matters even less on lower difficulties as it just becomes so carefree you generally can let your characters do whatever without using your own tactics.
luckily, Dragon Age has always allowed us to switch between the characters, and so even if you like a specific class best and your character is not that class you can just control a character who is that class more. I've spent a lot of time controlling Cassandra just as I have my main, and I like both of the gameplay styles.
Thanks again. "for me", it's less about "wanting to play a mage" so much as wanting to play a specific character 'That happens to be a mage'. Still, some stuff to think about.
luckily, Dragon Age has always allowed us to switch between the characters, and so even if you like a specific class best and your character is not that class you can just control a character who is that class more. I've spent a lot of time controlling Cassandra just as I have my main, and I like both of the gameplay styles.
Thanks again. "for me", it's less about "wanting to play a mage" so much as wanting to play a specific character 'That happens to be a mage'. Still, some stuff to think about.
that's the way I think it should be. even in BG where mages do everything after BG1 I have yet to make a mage main because it isn't the character I want to play. in DAI despite my original second playthrough plan being two handed warrior I thought another rogue fit more as the type of character I want, but I have Iron Bull with me so I can try the two handed combat a little. having a party in these games is the best for me because I don't need to worry so much about who is the most powerful as much as who I want my PC to be. if it is underpowered I get some power from companions
how lucky for me now. the update fixed the Dorian bug without me having to lose 10 hours of gameplay of course that is nothing in the scope of Inquisition's total play time, but I still didn't want to lose 10 hours just to make sure I could do his quest. I am going to get back into this now
although I must say I am sad my mods won't work with the update. i hate the pajama things you wear in
skyhold
and couldn't bear them until I got a mod to change them up. also the new walking feature is much too slow. and i thought the cheatengine walking feature was slow...
I've wanted to make this post to give one more opinion on this game, so that it may help other people to decide on whether they should acquire Dragon Age: Inquisition, or not (such as @BelgarathMTH and @FinneousPJ ) .
I have to admit. The first 10 hours into the game were very hard for me to go through. I didn't like anything at all.
The camera seemed to be VERY inconvenient. It's the camera that was destined for those players on the consoles who control only the main character and let the AI to control other party members. It's the camera that is comfortable only for those who play this game as not an RPG but an action hack&slash.
It bugges me so much that WE CAN'T GIVE ORDERS TO GO TO A CERTAIN PLACE OR TO SIMPLY ATTACK THE ENEMY with the standard camera.
The tactical camera is really far from being convenient as well. The problem is that the height of the camera is too low and it's really a pain to use it because of trees and different objects that block the view. The problem is even bigger in dungeons.
The number of abilities you can invest your points to is not enough. I think about Baldur's Gate when we have 15+ spells of only one level. I think even about Dragon Age: Origins. Meanwhile, in DAI, for example, there're only 3 types of magic: cold, fire and electricity. The number of spells you can use is even smaller: for example, there're only 4-5 spells in each category.
The UI is not convenient as well. To tell the truth, every time I open it, I do it without great pleasure. It's not the game where I like to open my inventory and look at the items I got. It was made for the consoles and it's felt.
It bugges me that to loot a container or an enemy you have to come close to your destination and then use a certain key on your keybord.
It bugges me that I can't use my mouse to select all the party and to give them an order to move where I want to.
The respawn rate is ridiculous. More often than not you get the same pack of enemies spawned again a minute or so after you defeat them... Only to get the same pack spawned another time...
...
But then... A magic has happened. The more I got used to still inconvenient controls, the more I fell into the game. Literally. It takes you and drags you... The characters are very well-written. If you speak with you companions and become knowing them better, you feel yourself more and more attached to them. The more companions you meet, the better the feeling becomes: so many personalities, and different ones.
The main questline becomes wonderful the more you go into it. All I can say without spoilering is that I will never forget my feelings when I went to the Redcliffe castle and saw what had happened there.
I now feel myself one year older after that
The side quests are fine. Yes, there're some not interesting fetch jobs there, but there're also quite nice quest as well.
Also, I like the politics management in the game. The whole system of interacting with your advisers and checking the map with new tasks from around the world is fresh and interesting.
The scenery from many places in the game is breath-taking. The locations are vivid and beautiful. The designs of the armour and other items are top-notch. They're really beautiful.
The character creation tool is superb. It's the best one I've ever seen in terms of how detailed you can go with creating a face for your character. The possibilies are nearly endless.
...
The main thing for me, after about 60+ hours into the game is that Dragon Age: Inquisition, while being VERY inconvenient to play (I've got used to it but still it's true) gives very solid experience in terms of characters, personalities, interactions (the party interactions are many and they're very hilarious), quests and locations.
I really, really advice to get used to the tactical camera and - use it. I advice to turn the AI of your companions off and manage everything yourself. I advice to use pause a lot to give commands. And, most importantly, turn the friendly fire on. These things will make Dragon Age: Inquisition a much better tactical game for you.
At least I, as a fan of Baldur's Gate and IE games, could only play DAI this way. If you don't like something about this game when you start playing it, give the game a chance. I was very close to ending playing it in the first hours but then... the true magic happened.
@ChildofBhaal599 I agree completely about the awful pajamas. I didn’t know they were figuring out how to mod the game already. Nice! I will be looking into that mod. Thanks for the tip.
@bengoshi i am sorry for trying to comment on everything, but here you go. and in no specific order
i think you had a very similar experience to mine. i didn't enjoy my first session much until around the end of it. it didn't take me too long to understand the basic controls because, tbh, it is similar to DAO in that you hold right click to look around. i did, however, do a bit of key rebinding. with BG space bar is pause, so I was constantly forgetting that and would end up jumping when I need to make a tactical decision. i just moved jump to e and space is my pause. btw, if you want to use the mouse to open containers then do a simple right click on them. edit: i also moved the strafe buttons to a and d. it felt weird considering that is how every other game works and then in DAI they made it q and e.
i also still sometimes fool myself into thinking I could give move orders without going into tactical camera. that seems like a console thing, where the only way they could move the camera to give an order is in the tactical view, while we have a mouse that should be able to do it anytime.
i am alright with the lack of multiple character select. you don't need it while moving around because they will automatically follow, and if you want everyone to focus on one target there is an attack target command you can use. unfortunately if you want 2 or 3 doing one thing then you do need to give each the same order individually, but it is better after the last patch now that tactical camera doesn't center on a character when you switch.
for the inventory I wish it just used the same ui as the buy/sell menu. it is a lot better there I think. at least it's a lot neater.
the respawn rate is, indeed, ridiculous. i am sure by now you've had a moment where you quicksaved in an open map and when you loaded it enemies spawned on top of you. that was one of my first hinterlands experiences, unfortunately.
the tactical camera takes some getting used to, but at least I know a mod/hack exists to extend it's height. if it still bothers you I suggest it. i've gotten used to it enough that I haven't bothered myself
i also found myself constantly getting mad at the party members until I disabled their ai, or at least most of their AI. my tanks I still allow to use abilities such as taunts, and I let archers have some stuff because I often find myself forgetting about them a little unless I have something like a wraith that they can single shot. absolutely do not allow mages or dual rogues to use just about anything, though. dual wield rogues almost always get more out of a skill under certain conditions, and mages you need to make sure have enough magic and a barrier ready when you need it.
btw, I tried friendly fire before. it may be because I was still new to the game and didn't do things like remove the tactics yet but I remember it being much too hard to manage. now that I am more experienced I could probably actually handle it, tbh. at least I won't have Cassandra do a charging bull directly into me now that I disabled all that...
the companions are definitely hate them or like them, but that makes them good. so far my main group that is always with me on main quests has been the first 3, but I now bring Iron Bull and Dorian with me quite often into open world areas (partly because I want Dorian and Bull together, but I've grown to like having a bit of variety with them) as well as taking blackwall for the warden related stuff. i don't like Sera and Vivienne, but at least I don't hate Sera either, and Cole... his character is just too much for me. i want someone more normal. the worst part about them I think is that they don't really have enough content for such a long game to keep them talking. you'll get everything out of them and they keep quiet until you complete another main quest, then they get another dialogue. you could easily have a day of game time before main quests, however.
the entire middle of the main quest is indeed quite good. i'd say I like at from the templar/mage quest to the first 2 missions after skyhold, though I also like the next mission after those just not as much.
the side quests are often boring, but at least they don't often feel contrived. many of them have to do with growing the Inquisition, and so you are working toward your ultimate goal as you do them. something like taking flowers to a wife's grave isn't exactly helping the Inquisition, however...
if you like the politics you'll love the winter palace it is easily the best mission in the entire game. if you intend to romance then get in one before you go there also.
the scenery is indeed very beautiful. i always want to explore the worlds, and the game encourages that too. fool around in the crestwood area a bit and you might find a very special shield (i mentioned it some time ago in this thread, too)
the character creation is also very powerful, but that can also lead to me stressing over minor details both of my games so far I've ended up constantly distracted at details I could've done better, and it led to a screenshot habit. i really hope they make a mirror or something to edit the character mid game, because I really need it so I can ease my mind on that. i do think I do good overall, it is just the minor details. for my feminquis I really want to move the eyes a little bit closer and mess with the cheek and jaw. also I should've just turned the makeup all the way off as I usually would, but for some reason I left it on a very low option instead and it still shows more than I would ever want it to, especially in good lighting.
be sure to share your thoughts a bit as you go. it was interesting to see shandyr's perspective on events and I would like to know how you make some decisions. i already miss that first playthrough feeling as I go through the game knowing the next decision I have to make, so of course I like to see what other people think the first time through to relive it a bit
Anyway, if anyone of you ever feels like trying out the multiplayer, give me a call.
Though it's rather poor yet I think during the course of this year they will add many more maps,items and fix things.
Well... now I feel stupid, lol. Thx for correcting me there. Insightful for you.
I don't play the mp much at all but you can add xBLEVxGAMING on origin if you wish to go sometimes. I need to get myself 1 more leather to get the assassin that is eluding me...
@ChildofBhaal599 I agree completely about the awful pajamas. I didn’t know they were figuring out how to mod the game already. Nice! I will be looking into that mod. Thanks for the tip.
I really love the kindness and respect I repeatedly see in this forum.
your welcome btw, I think this was actually the first mod to release after the creation kit. so far I think it can still only do textures, but I am ok with that considering so far this hasn't turned into the elder scrolls nexus which will always be featuring some nude mod out of 100s on the front page -.- i guess those people are waiting on the mesh editor...
and yeah, it is nice that BG is so far removed from any of the most hostile communities around. it has really made this forum a good place to talk even about non BG related subjects. considering what the bioware community turned into following ME3 I would much rather talk about Inquisition here, but then I haven't been around there for a long time so it could be settled down. still, I am among those holding them responsible for what happened to ME3, but I am right now just glad DAI at least partially redeemed Dragon Age after DA2 and I didn't allow the ME3 incident to stop me from just having fun.
edit: btw, the dirt on the pants feature really shows on that retexture unfortunately. don't worry if they start changing color, it was just a stupid feature they put in that wasn't very noticable on the default PJs. if you ever want to clean them off just quick save and reload.
another edit: mods and multiplayer don't mix well. if you want to play MP after modding, you must remove the merged folder you made during that session. you can then place it back in the updates folder when you are done
So playing it now. Haven't reached Skyhold but here are a few of my observations (playing console xbox 360).
1. The story telling and the characters are amazing. That should always be a given in a bioware game. That is enough for it to be saved and continued but the game has many flaws.
2. Combat is boring. I haven't really had to use the Tactical camera yet and when I did in the tutorial, I found it bulky and pointless. It was still hard to keep track of the battle and the AI would kick in before I could issue other commands. The AI is great though and makes the game easy. I generally do not have to worry about my party doing something that I don't want it to do. But it is pretty much holding down the trigger button while once and awhile clicking X, B, Y, or RB. Mobs are not challenging in anyway. Granted I only fought one boss so far (The tevinter mage) and he was a cake walk, so I am hoping other bosses or fights will be more challenging.
3. Even though combat is boring, there isn't enough of it. The wide open areas can seem deserted and you are basically just running around foraging and frolicking in the wilderness. Caves or sub terrain areas hold only a handful of enemies that offer no challenge. The game rewards exploration but I shouldn't be able to find most of this stuff lying around.
4. I do like the crafting aspect of the game HOWEVER the UI for it is brutal, even on console. The writing is too small and I usually have to grab a chair and sit up close to the television to figure out what exactly I am crafting. Like its predecessor, choosing what to equip on who is confusing. You tend to have to memorize what abilities each person uses more often before deciding and it can be a back and forth venture that takes up time. There are too many generic magical items floating around. I prefer more unique items obtainment such as what BG has.
5. Choices you are given are black and white. For example: Are you for mage freedom or for mages locked in the circle. Your character and you yourself, know that there are flaws to both sides of the argument but you must choose one of them instead of attempting to come up with a better solution. Origins had the black/white/grey solution to many of its main quests and I am saddened to see it not here (unless I completely missed it)
6. Character progression. Give me my stat control back! If I want to make a diplomatic fighter with a high cunning, that is what I want to make. If I want to make a sneaky maul wielding brute, let me! Don't pigeon whole me into min maxing!
7. Too much reading. Too much reading little tiny font. I should check out the codex and see if it is like Mass Effect and reads the entries to me. That'd be sweet.
8. Shiny hair is annoying.
I am getting bored with it already, which may have to do with me playing through Origins and DA2 straight since before November. But it is completely different game play from those two games I don't think that has anything to do with it. The story is keeping me going and I may just end up doing to main quest only but we'll see.
@deltago what difficulty are you playing? unfortunately the only way you are ever going to challenge yourself to learn the tactics is by playing on harder than normal. i would say to anybody complaining about combat to go nightmare, and if that is too much then downgrade to hard. if you go nightmare you will notice that you can't allow the AI to do what it wants, and you need to know your abilities and when to use them (use twin fangs from behind, use shadow strike from stealth or after not taken damage in a while, manage what abilities you use twice with the fire passive for no cooldown after crits, etc) also keep in mind you can disable tactics altogether or per ability to give yourself better control.
also I think we look at black, white and grey differently. for me grey decision making is where there is no obvious good side, while black and white there is. in this they seem to do well enough, and I would call the mage and templar thing grey. magic is dangerous, but should it really be so controlled? could the mages be trusted with their power? then you also have the option with whichever you choose to make them allies or conscript them, so you could decide how much freedom they deserve.
i personally don't like the crafting much as it can be a bit unbalancing. it is just really hard to balance such a thing, as I already witnessed in skyrim.
other than that I really agree with you. in open areas you are never properly challenged. even if you do get beat up all you need to do is return to camp. it is annoying to be forced into specific stats, but for the most part they are now made so some stats would be worthless anyway (though cunning would definitely be worthwhile for everyone), and it can be a little annoying how much there is to read, but it doesn't detract either. still, overall i am still having fun on my second playthrough. just finished up one of the two main missions directly after skyhold, and I think I can make it to the end without losing interest.
I actually find myself wanting to turn the difficulty down to Casual, not because the fights are hard but because they tend to go on a lot longer than is enjoyable. I don't feel like my attacks have any real "impact".
i am surprised by "lack of impact", but I guess we all have our different parties so I am not sure what your setup is. the general DPS balancing is rogue>fighter>mage, so if someone plays BG style with a mage centric party then they'll find they don't do much damage. i always make sure i have a sword and board, rogue of some type, and mage, and my forth being either two handed fighter or the other type of rogue for more DPS. only bosses tend to feel a little dragged on at times, but they are bosses after all. at least it is not like the time where I spent an entire day non stop playing to beat the first chapter boss in DA2 on nightmare...
For me it's more a question of: Is this fight endangering my party at all?
If the answer is no, then anything longer than a few hits per enemy is excessive. If I'm in no danger from a particular foe, I don't want to be sitting there using my abilities and waiting for them to go down. A lot of encounters have played out like that for me, and (especially when time is somewhat limited for playing) I start to get weary of it very quickly.
In contrast, the more difficult encounters feel like they play out more quickly, which is likely because I'm having to think more deeply about my strategy. So on one end of the challenge spectrum it works very well; it's just that on the other end, it could stand to be sped up a bit.
(My character is a rogue, incidentally, so it's not like I'm not dealing a lot of damage; I just would expect my enemies to be falling more quickly than they are.)
@dee ah, ok. the only time I really feel this way is when I am around a camp so the damage I take in some random battle is kind of pointless and can be instantly restored along with potions. most of the time I feels like it all plays out best on story missions or major dungeons in the free roam areas, where potions are controlled so losing a bit of health in any encounter can be dangerous in the long run. i mean... the worst fight I can think of with this is the great bear side quest in the hinterlands. the spawn for them is just outside a camp and they have a ton of health, but with the nearby camp there is pretty much no threat. it just takes forever while you heal whenever you need to...
@deltago what difficulty are you playing? unfortunately the only way you are ever going to challenge yourself to learn the tactics is by playing on harder than normal.
And turn on the friendly fire. Seriously, this feature (it's a pity it's turned off by default) alone changes everything.
Comments
and yeah, I realized that too in what little I played of the MP. that would definitely need a controller. the MP just wasn't as much fun as ME though, so I haven't played as much. also I have mods now so I would have to uninstall them in order to play MP, although I think that is as simple as removing the folder they are in
Anyway, i have to say i'm impressed, and i'm not easily impressed. Physics are believable, animations are on a whole different level from anything else i've seen so far, and the story/interactions are really nice. First time i saw inverse kinematics on that level. (changing of stance and animations depending on terrain, and what you step on).
It was a long time since some quests made me pumped for actually playing the game.
A very solid game.
P.S. After trying out both controller and mouse/keyboard, i have to say that the controls are good, and the tactical camera actually helps, but i have some gripes.
1) I prefer controller because you can walk, jog and run, with the analog stick, different speed depending on hard you push, makes it more immersive for me. I would like a system where you can use the mouse wheel, to adjust your speed with mouse and keyboard (they are working on this).
2) Tactical camera is cool, but i would like to adjust the height and the angle separately. Depending on the room, viewing angles can be a bit weird.
I can also say that there is tactic involved in fights, but a different kind of tactic than Baldur's Gate. Instead of worrying how to dispel magical protections, you worry about positioning and battlefield control of various forms. It's basically the a low fantasy Baldur's Gate. Also, healing being replaced(except Knight Enchanter heal) by barriers means you have to be proactive and tactical in your approach.
I like it.
I liked what I played, but was still obsessing about Dark Souls at the time. Looking forward to a new obsession. Any suggestions for a vet RPGer, but new to this game?
warrior- get abilities that generate guard. these are generally in the vanguard tree. guard acts as temporary health over your temp health, and having many abilities to generate it can save your life
rogue- i would get the only two abilities in the stealth tree that are worth it- stealth and easy to miss. most of the time easy to miss will do you good because it reduces your aggro, while your tank would be doing taunts and gaining all the aggro. for an archer you don't need to worry as much tbh. if an archer gets in trouble just move them, hopefully after using an ability like explosive shot to knock them down.
mage- absolutely get everything in the spirit tree. it is all worthwhile for the most part, and even what isn't worthwhile (mindblast in most cases is worthless) is worthwhile just to get something further down the tree. you want barriers often and you want them to be strong. dispel can even be used to increase barrier strength with it's passive and it can also kill rift demons before they even spawn. i would only put focus on damage abilities if you have multiple mages, though the damage mage could still have barrier in case the other mage can't cast it when you need it. when you are good with barriers you should get abilities to make it so you can reliably have it ready to cast. there is a passive in fire to make your next spell have no cooldown after a critical hit, and an electric passive to make basic attacks reduce cooldowns by .5 second.
2- normal difficulty may be much too easy if you are looking for even the slightest challenge. i play on nightmare with no problems after I learned the systems, but I play pretty hardcore myself in games so it may not be for you. i at least recommend hard, though. however, if you ignore side stuff as much as possible I imagine normal could be a better choice as you would miss out on lots of exp by not doing side quests.
3- the game truly begins after the mage/templar decision. it literally feels like the first 24 hours (for me) is a prologue. after this choice you will have the entire game open to you
4- think hard about your perks. you only get so many throughout the game, and they became harder and harder to get another. early on I like to get all the dialogue perks so I get the extra options, and there are so many codex entried the exp bonus is actually worth it. from there the next 2 that you really want is the one for lockpicking and the one for 4 more healings pots. i can't think of any more off the top of my head, but there are a few other good ones.
5- have a look at each specialization before choosing one for your main character. you can look them up online, but it may be better to get out the different companions, put your points into those skills, then try them out to see which you like best. you cannot change your spec later, so when this becomes available you want to make the right choice
6- although tac cam is not good for use all the time, it is still good for targeting AOEs. other than that I mostly ignore it
7- positioning is key. get your rogues behind, your archers at elevations, your tank in front facing the opponents. these kind of things can provide bonuses in some way, sometimes depending on if you have a specific passive however.
8- have fun
oh, and related to that last one, remember this is a single player and you can play how you want. so far not many mods have come out, and most of them are just textures, but you may possibly like to take a look. i myself got tired of being given a variety of trench coats as armor so I've been wearing Inquisition armor the entire game by upping it's stats to stay at least in line with the basic white gear I am finding at the time. i seriously hope somebody makes a mod that just makes different armors look more unqiue...
Any challenges that you can think of in having the main as a Wizard?
although I must say I am sad my mods won't work with the update. i hate the pajama things you wear in
I've wanted to make this post to give one more opinion on this game, so that it may help other people to decide on whether they should acquire Dragon Age: Inquisition, or not (such as @BelgarathMTH and @FinneousPJ ) .
I have to admit. The first 10 hours into the game were very hard for me to go through. I didn't like anything at all.
The camera seemed to be VERY inconvenient. It's the camera that was destined for those players on the consoles who control only the main character and let the AI to control other party members. It's the camera that is comfortable only for those who play this game as not an RPG but an action hack&slash.
It bugges me so much that WE CAN'T GIVE ORDERS TO GO TO A CERTAIN PLACE OR TO SIMPLY ATTACK THE ENEMY with the standard camera.
The tactical camera is really far from being convenient as well. The problem is that the height of the camera is too low and it's really a pain to use it because of trees and different objects that block the view. The problem is even bigger in dungeons.
The number of abilities you can invest your points to is not enough. I think about Baldur's Gate when we have 15+ spells of only one level. I think even about Dragon Age: Origins. Meanwhile, in DAI, for example, there're only 3 types of magic: cold, fire and electricity. The number of spells you can use is even smaller: for example, there're only 4-5 spells in each category.
The UI is not convenient as well. To tell the truth, every time I open it, I do it without great pleasure. It's not the game where I like to open my inventory and look at the items I got. It was made for the consoles and it's felt.
It bugges me that to loot a container or an enemy you have to come close to your destination and then use a certain key on your keybord.
It bugges me that I can't use my mouse to select all the party and to give them an order to move where I want to.
The respawn rate is ridiculous. More often than not you get the same pack of enemies spawned again a minute or so after you defeat them... Only to get the same pack spawned another time...
...
But then... A magic has happened. The more I got used to still inconvenient controls, the more I fell into the game. Literally. It takes you and drags you... The characters are very well-written. If you speak with you companions and become knowing them better, you feel yourself more and more attached to them. The more companions you meet, the better the feeling becomes: so many personalities, and different ones.
The main questline becomes wonderful the more you go into it. All I can say without spoilering is that I will never forget my feelings when I went to the Redcliffe castle and saw what had happened there.
I now feel myself one year older after that
The side quests are fine. Yes, there're some not interesting fetch jobs there, but there're also quite nice quest as well.
Also, I like the politics management in the game. The whole system of interacting with your advisers and checking the map with new tasks from around the world is fresh and interesting.
The scenery from many places in the game is breath-taking. The locations are vivid and beautiful. The designs of the armour and other items are top-notch. They're really beautiful.
The character creation tool is superb. It's the best one I've ever seen in terms of how detailed you can go with creating a face for your character. The possibilies are nearly endless.
...
The main thing for me, after about 60+ hours into the game is that Dragon Age: Inquisition, while being VERY inconvenient to play (I've got used to it but still it's true) gives very solid experience in terms of characters, personalities, interactions (the party interactions are many and they're very hilarious), quests and locations.
I really, really advice to get used to the tactical camera and - use it. I advice to turn the AI of your companions off and manage everything yourself. I advice to use pause a lot to give commands. And, most importantly, turn the friendly fire on. These things will make Dragon Age: Inquisition a much better tactical game for you.
At least I, as a fan of Baldur's Gate and IE games, could only play DAI this way. If you don't like something about this game when you start playing it, give the game a chance. I was very close to ending playing it in the first hours but then... the true magic happened.
EDIT: typos
Unfortunately, yes. Dragon Age: Inquisition is Origin exclusive. So, no Steam version, for example.
I agree completely about the awful pajamas. I didn’t know they were figuring out how to mod the game already. Nice! I will be looking into that mod. Thanks for the tip.
I'm also a little disappointed by the lack of a demo. More games should release demos. Remember when every game had a demo? Those were good days.
i think you had a very similar experience to mine. i didn't enjoy my first session much until around the end of it. it didn't take me too long to understand the basic controls because, tbh, it is similar to DAO in that you hold right click to look around. i did, however, do a bit of key rebinding. with BG space bar is pause, so I was constantly forgetting that and would end up jumping when I need to make a tactical decision. i just moved jump to e and space is my pause. btw, if you want to use the mouse to open containers then do a simple right click on them. edit: i also moved the strafe buttons to a and d. it felt weird considering that is how every other game works and then in DAI they made it q and e.
i also still sometimes fool myself into thinking I could give move orders without going into tactical camera. that seems like a console thing, where the only way they could move the camera to give an order is in the tactical view, while we have a mouse that should be able to do it anytime.
i am alright with the lack of multiple character select. you don't need it while moving around because they will automatically follow, and if you want everyone to focus on one target there is an attack target command you can use. unfortunately if you want 2 or 3 doing one thing then you do need to give each the same order individually, but it is better after the last patch now that tactical camera doesn't center on a character when you switch.
for the inventory I wish it just used the same ui as the buy/sell menu. it is a lot better there I think. at least it's a lot neater.
the respawn rate is, indeed, ridiculous. i am sure by now you've had a moment where you quicksaved in an open map and when you loaded it enemies spawned on top of you. that was one of my first hinterlands experiences, unfortunately.
the tactical camera takes some getting used to, but at least I know a mod/hack exists to extend it's height. if it still bothers you I suggest it. i've gotten used to it enough that I haven't bothered myself
i also found myself constantly getting mad at the party members until I disabled their ai, or at least most of their AI. my tanks I still allow to use abilities such as taunts, and I let archers have some stuff because I often find myself forgetting about them a little unless I have something like a wraith that they can single shot. absolutely do not allow mages or dual rogues to use just about anything, though. dual wield rogues almost always get more out of a skill under certain conditions, and mages you need to make sure have enough magic and a barrier ready when you need it.
btw, I tried friendly fire before. it may be because I was still new to the game and didn't do things like remove the tactics yet but I remember it being much too hard to manage. now that I am more experienced I could probably actually handle it, tbh. at least I won't have Cassandra do a charging bull directly into me now that I disabled all that...
the companions are definitely hate them or like them, but that makes them good. so far my main group that is always with me on main quests has been the first 3, but I now bring Iron Bull and Dorian with me quite often into open world areas (partly because I want Dorian and Bull together, but I've grown to like having a bit of variety with them) as well as taking blackwall for the warden related stuff. i don't like Sera and Vivienne, but at least I don't hate Sera either, and Cole... his character is just too much for me. i want someone more normal. the worst part about them I think is that they don't really have enough content for such a long game to keep them talking. you'll get everything out of them and they keep quiet until you complete another main quest, then they get another dialogue. you could easily have a day of game time before main quests, however.
the entire middle of the main quest is indeed quite good. i'd say I like at from the templar/mage quest to the first 2 missions after skyhold, though I also like the next mission after those just not as much.
the side quests are often boring, but at least they don't often feel contrived. many of them have to do with growing the Inquisition, and so you are working toward your ultimate goal as you do them. something like taking flowers to a wife's grave isn't exactly helping the Inquisition, however...
if you like the politics you'll love the winter palace
the scenery is indeed very beautiful. i always want to explore the worlds, and the game encourages that too. fool around in the crestwood area a bit and you might find a very special shield
the character creation is also very powerful, but that can also lead to me stressing over minor details
be sure to share your thoughts a bit as you go. it was interesting to see shandyr's perspective on events and I would like to know how you make some decisions. i already miss that first playthrough feeling as I go through the game knowing the next decision I have to make, so of course I like to see what other people think the first time through to relive it a bit
I don't play the mp much at all but you can add xBLEVxGAMING on origin if you wish to go sometimes. I need to get myself 1 more leather to get the assassin that is eluding me...
also, there is now a community patch available. this fixes such things as the final mosaic piece in the hinterlands that was stuck in a rock. if you've been bashing your head on your desk trying to find the last piece just download this: http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonageinquisition/mods/272/?tab=2&navtag=http://www.nexusmods.com/dragonageinquisition/ajax/modfiles/?id=272&pUp=1
I really love the kindness and respect I repeatedly see in this forum.
and yeah, it is nice that BG is so far removed from any of the most hostile communities around. it has really made this forum a good place to talk even about non BG related subjects. considering what the bioware community turned into following ME3 I would much rather talk about Inquisition here, but then I haven't been around there for a long time so it could be settled down. still, I am among those holding them responsible for what happened to ME3, but I am right now just glad DAI at least partially redeemed Dragon Age after DA2 and I didn't allow the ME3 incident to stop me from just having fun.
edit: btw, the dirt on the pants feature really shows on that retexture unfortunately. don't worry if they start changing color, it was just a stupid feature they put in that wasn't very noticable on the default PJs. if you ever want to clean them off just quick save and reload.
another edit: mods and multiplayer don't mix well. if you want to play MP after modding, you must remove the merged folder you made during that session. you can then place it back in the updates folder when you are done
1. The story telling and the characters are amazing. That should always be a given in a bioware game. That is enough for it to be saved and continued but the game has many flaws.
2. Combat is boring. I haven't really had to use the Tactical camera yet and when I did in the tutorial, I found it bulky and pointless. It was still hard to keep track of the battle and the AI would kick in before I could issue other commands. The AI is great though and makes the game easy. I generally do not have to worry about my party doing something that I don't want it to do. But it is pretty much holding down the trigger button while once and awhile clicking X, B, Y, or RB. Mobs are not challenging in anyway. Granted I only fought one boss so far (The tevinter mage) and he was a cake walk, so I am hoping other bosses or fights will be more challenging.
3. Even though combat is boring, there isn't enough of it. The wide open areas can seem deserted and you are basically just running around foraging and frolicking in the wilderness. Caves or sub terrain areas hold only a handful of enemies that offer no challenge. The game rewards exploration but I shouldn't be able to find most of this stuff lying around.
4. I do like the crafting aspect of the game HOWEVER the UI for it is brutal, even on console. The writing is too small and I usually have to grab a chair and sit up close to the television to figure out what exactly I am crafting. Like its predecessor, choosing what to equip on who is confusing. You tend to have to memorize what abilities each person uses more often before deciding and it can be a back and forth venture that takes up time. There are too many generic magical items floating around. I prefer more unique items obtainment such as what BG has.
5. Choices you are given are black and white. For example: Are you for mage freedom or for mages locked in the circle. Your character and you yourself, know that there are flaws to both sides of the argument but you must choose one of them instead of attempting to come up with a better solution. Origins had the black/white/grey solution to many of its main quests and I am saddened to see it not here (unless I completely missed it)
6. Character progression. Give me my stat control back! If I want to make a diplomatic fighter with a high cunning, that is what I want to make. If I want to make a sneaky maul wielding brute, let me! Don't pigeon whole me into min maxing!
7. Too much reading. Too much reading little tiny font. I should check out the codex and see if it is like Mass Effect and reads the entries to me. That'd be sweet.
8. Shiny hair is annoying.
I am getting bored with it already, which may have to do with me playing through Origins and DA2 straight since before November. But it is completely different game play from those two games I don't think that has anything to do with it. The story is keeping me going and I may just end up doing to main quest only but we'll see.
also I think we look at black, white and grey differently. for me grey decision making is where there is no obvious good side, while black and white there is. in this they seem to do well enough, and I would call the mage and templar thing grey. magic is dangerous, but should it really be so controlled? could the mages be trusted with their power? then you also have the option with whichever you choose to make them allies or conscript them, so you could decide how much freedom they deserve.
i personally don't like the crafting much as it can be a bit unbalancing. it is just really hard to balance such a thing, as I already witnessed in skyrim.
other than that I really agree with you. in open areas you are never properly challenged. even if you do get beat up all you need to do is return to camp. it is annoying to be forced into specific stats, but for the most part they are now made so some stats would be worthless anyway (though cunning would definitely be worthwhile for everyone), and it can be a little annoying how much there is to read, but it doesn't detract either. still, overall i am still having fun on my second playthrough. just finished up one of the two main missions directly after skyhold, and I think I can make it to the end without losing interest.
If the answer is no, then anything longer than a few hits per enemy is excessive. If I'm in no danger from a particular foe, I don't want to be sitting there using my abilities and waiting for them to go down. A lot of encounters have played out like that for me, and (especially when time is somewhat limited for playing) I start to get weary of it very quickly.
In contrast, the more difficult encounters feel like they play out more quickly, which is likely because I'm having to think more deeply about my strategy. So on one end of the challenge spectrum it works very well; it's just that on the other end, it could stand to be sped up a bit.
(My character is a rogue, incidentally, so it's not like I'm not dealing a lot of damage; I just would expect my enemies to be falling more quickly than they are.)