@bengoshi I think it is best to get used to the tactical camera and controlling the characters before using friendly fire, actually. I feel like I should actually be using now on my 2nd playthrough, but I already sub consciously keep my party out of what little AOE I do and I don't want to change it halfway through, so I guess that'll be 3rd playthrough I'll likely take a break after this playthrough, though. I already have my next character in mind, however, just not when I will play him.
After 20 hours or so I'm kind of disappointed My best friend was hyping the game hardcore and she said it was the best Bioware game ever made.
I'm like eh, the story is really good and I love Sera and Scout Harding (I'd romance her definitely if I could). The actual game part though is kind of boring for me.
I think I'm going to try and turn the difficulty all the way up and put on friendly fire like you guys seem to be suggesting.
I'm also super bummed out that they removed the schools of magic they had in origins.
Why do I have 3 different trees for the Primal school of magic?
Also, I just got the Necromancer specialization so hopefully that makes things more fun despite the summon AI being really buggy.
@vallmyr yeah. i'll certainly never call this the best game Bioware ever made, but it is more than competant enough for me to play and recommend. i went in with low expectations, however, so that helped.
for combat it is going to depend what you don't like about it. if you are finding it lacks any real thought and you can let everybody do whatever they want, then that will help. if you don't like the overall feel then turning up the difficulty really won't matter.
@vallmyr yeah. i'll certainly never call this the best game Bioware ever made, but it is more than competant enough for me to play and recommend. i went in with low expectations, however, so that helped.
for combat it is going to depend what you don't like about it. if you are finding it lacks any real thought and you can let everybody do whatever they want, then that will help. if you don't like the overall feel then turning up the difficulty really won't matter.
As for the combat I love Micromanaging and I feel DA:I tries its best to go against you micromanaging the party such as them seemingly to ignore orders and do their own thing >_>
I now just turned the AI off and turned the difficulty up.
Also question: Does the Necromancer's fear ability do friendly fire? I used it on Cassandra and she didn't get panicked. Not sure if this is because she's immune to fear from something or if it's because it doesn't affect friendly targets at all.
everyone here is advising nightmare with friendly fire I certainly won't go another playthrough without the friendly fire, but I don't like to switch settings mid playthrough and then reteach myself in the middle of the game. i still feel like we need something above nightmare, though. nightmare is the best way to encourage micromanaging, but I still find me often steamrolling through as though this were hard on Origins. i think the one part that still gets me killed multiple times is the end of the haven battle because I run out of resupplies and have to get through the rest without ever taking damage.
So I restarted, upped the difficulty to hard and changed my race, class and gender to a female dalish wielding a bow.
I think I will enjoy the combat more by having my main character being the one flanking from range than the one being the meat shield. That and the game does remind me a lot of Skyrim, and my archer in that game was my favorite to play, so hopefully that feeling carries over to this one.
I also know the mechanics of the game better so I don't have to waste my time collecting every single elfroot leaf I come across like an OCD cub scout and keeping better track of my inventory and planning out both my main and the NPCs for certain roles in the game.
I probably won't restart this playthrough, but it'll also take me awhile to finish.
In later years, companions who knew the Herald of Andraste wrote of her eccentricities and little-known quirks.
"Terrible sense of direction," one said, under condition of anonymity. "Always getting lost in her own castle. I'd see her swearing to herself as she went in and out of the same door six times in a row, trying to find the war room. I tried to draw her a map but my skills are in tale-telling, not cartography. Took her longer to get the damn thing out and figure out where she was than to just keep trying doors. Half the time she'd just jump off a wall or landing to get to the courtyard cause she couldn't find the stairs."
"She had a real thing about climbing," another reported. "There we were, out in the wilderness, looking for dragons (have you ever SEEN a dragon? Those things are amazing to look at it, and even better to fight) and she'd be trying to get on top of a rock. Climb, fall, climb, fall. I'd sit down, break out some maraas-lok, and rest my back while she jumped around like an idiot. 'Boss, let me give you a boost,' I'd say. 'At least let's start carrying a ladder around. You can't climb for crap.' But she'd insist on doing it herself, getting all dusty and grim and kicking at pebbles when she thought we weren't looking. Ah, those were the days."
In later years, companions who knew the Herald of Andraste wrote of her eccentricities and little-known quirks.
"Terrible sense of direction," one said, under condition of anonymity. "Always getting lost in her own castle. I'd see her swearing to herself as she went in and out of the same door six times in a row, trying to find the war room. I tried to draw her a map but my skills are in tale-telling, not cartography. Took her longer to get the damn thing out and figure out where she was than to just keep trying doors. Half the time she'd just jump off a wall or landing to get to the courtyard cause she couldn't find the stairs."
"She had a real thing about climbing," another reported. "There we were, out in the wilderness, looking for dragons (have you ever SEEN a dragon? Those things are amazing to look at it, and even better to fight) and she'd be trying to get on top of a rock. Climb, fall, climb, fall. I'd sit down, break out some maraas-lok, and rest my back while she jumped around like an idiot. 'Boss, let me give you a boost,' I'd say. 'At least let's start carrying a ladder around. You can't climb for crap.' But she'd insist on doing it herself, getting all dusty and grim and kicking at pebbles when she thought we weren't looking. Ah, those were the days."
It's Skyrim disease. There you can climb almost any peak by jumping up the slopes in a diagonal pattern. Here on Thedas, gravity is a little less forgiving. If it isnt green it isnt for climbing.
soon PC players will be able to sign up to test out update 5, which they say is the biggest update yet. one of these features includes the black emporium, which many may recognize as that pre order bonus from DA2. it is being added as part of patch 5 and will be in the beta, with many of those same features such as special, unique items to buy, and the ability to customize appearance (I may finally be able to fix my characters just a little!) other features include a party storage and even armor tinting. the armor tinting I am sure to love because if anyone tried crafting they will have noticed that sometimes the best stuff look terrible. some people may like it but I don't want pink metal armor. i wonder if special armors can be customized such as the Inquisition armors?
anyway, just a heads up. if you want to take part you should pay attention for the sign up on Dragon Age Keep, as this will be a closed beta. it is actually pretty nice that they seem to be making up for their initial blunders with the PC version and are giving us first access to the patches and fixing many of the original issues with the PC version, such as no walk binding. i think I'll just put my playthrough on hold again until I either can participate in this or the patch releases.
BY THE DARK POWERS OF THE MOST UNHOLY UNDEAD! I raise thee! Arise thread! Arise and serve your master!
So I'm necro-ing this thread (if that's alright with you all) to see if opinions have changed on DA:I. I beat it and can thoroughly say I'm probably never going to play it again. It simply isn't my sort of game at all. I love Sera to (un)death but the actual game itself bores me to tears. Nightmare just seems to make boss fights reallllyyy long as the enemy becomes damage sponges. They released this trailer today and it looks HYPE. Unfortunately I won't be buying the DLC because I don't like the game 'Tis sad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_L4qyvxAFI&feature=youtu.be&sf39671802=1
I was a big fan of Origins when it came out. I played DA2 and wish I hadn't. I bought Inquisition a few months back and have loaded it up 3 times already but just have failed to get into it. It might be that I got it for my PS4 (horrors....), but it just wasn't so fun that I HAD to keep playing. And it wasn't 'Necessarily' because it was a bad or boring game, it just wasn't a NEED to play (for me).
I too had a friend who hyped it up as the best thing since sliced bread. Maybe it was for him. Maybe it was just so much better than DA2 that he thought it was 'All that'? Or maybe he just likes different kinds of games than I do. I'd rather do another BG run, or go back and play Dark Souls than play Inquisition, at least for the moment. Maybe I will get my second wind and go back in a few months.
@vallmyr - as far as the 'micro-management' thing, I suspect that the scaling back of micro-management was in deference to making it 'Console friendly'. Not that they consoles couldn't handle a lot of micro-management, but that the community who play on consoles is less focused on micro-management style of play (generally speaking). So not quite as bad as DA:O on the console or DA2 in entirety, but moreso than hard core PC gamers might like. (humble opinion).
Inquisition was meh for me. I found it very slow at times and I didn't complete the entire game. At some point I was just, |lets get the story over with" and that is what I did. There was some good parts to it and I tried replaying a couple of times after that, but I was still bored with it. I think it needs to sit on my shelf for a bit before I attempt to pick it up again. (however I said the same thing about ME3, and I still haven't replayed it).
It was hyped as being an amazing game in 2014 because there wasn't that many good games released for the xbox one and ps4. And all those gamers who dished out hundreds of dollars on those systems needed something to grasp onto to say they weren't a waste of money. Bigger titles were a let down as metacritic proves. Titanfall, DA:I, and Shadows of Modar were the only new IP games that received 85 or higher in 2014 for the Xbox One. Compared to everything else released then, Inquisition was pure gold and justification for purchasing the latest consoles.
That trailer looks interesting, but I am probably going to wait for a sale to buy it. I am currently rerunning through the entire trilogy making different choices through out the first two games (I enjoy DA2) to see how Inquisition changes. Hopefully, by the time I run through Origins and 2 again, I'll be fresh to replay Inquisition and explore some of the areas I didn't when I first ran through the game.
I've been waiting for this. Was half way through my second playthrough when the news was leaked and then I just stopped. I'm keen on starting up again, I just wish the updates didn't break half my mods. Wait just watched the trailer I thought the next DLC would be the fighting Qunari hordes DLC, but I can get behind some dungeon crawling in the deep roads.
I've been pondering if this game is really worth it. I dislike the arcade feel the combat has based on a few youtube videos I've watched. It's not really even about the money, it's just that I feel my time is better spent playing some other similar game like Skyrim which I haven't played either (I really liked Oblivion and Morrowind so there's that).
Skyrim is a terrible game unless extremely heavily modded, "Like seriously, I have to spent a day or two modding the damn thing before it's even worth starting up." I for one love DAI. It's classic Bioware in the terms of story and characters, so well rounded and well written. The combat is somewhat lacking compared to the two previous games, but I still think it's a worthwhile pickup.
If you liked DA2 gameplay, then you with probably be ok with DAI, If your expecting the tactical control of DAO, then you're going to be disappointed.
But I like running around in my pajamas. Makes me feel like a real ruler who lost a couple of marbles, yet everyone is afraid to mention it due to my enthusiasm for taking off people's heads when passing judgement.
If you liked DA2 gameplay, then you with probably be ok with DAI, If your expecting the tactical control of DAO, then you're going to be disappointed.
I had not seen it put this way before. That is probably one of the reasons I thought it was Meh. There is absolutely more depth to DAI combat than DA2, but I can definitely see (now) the similarities between DA2 and DAI.
My latest game I tried Sera as a romance. Probably should have played as a human instead of a Dalish Elf. I find her to be a self centered child who doesn't seem to give a damn about your feelings in regards to your culture, heritage and beliefs in regards to being an elf. She has some hatred against her own people to be in such denial.
Hey @CoM_Solaufein yeah Sera is a horrible little thing, but she can be funny at some points and the song about her is cool. At least you can just tell her to bugger off if she annoys you too much, pity that option wasn't added for Vivienne.
My first game I played I kicked her out of my party for good. One dialog option lead to another and I told her to take a walk. This is my third game and the first time I tried a romance with her and take her along in my adventures. The previous two games I didn't. She's good with a bow I found out. My parties usually consist of three melee and one ranged players. My ranged player was always a mage, never leave home without a mage. And since my character was always a thief that specializes in daggers, I had no use for another thief in my party. So this third game is a break away from my usual play style. I have two melee, myself and Cassandra/Bull/Blackwall and two ranged, Sera and Solas/Dorian. I even killed a dragon with this changed play style.
Yeah dragon hunting is super fun, the best strat I've come up with is don't take a mage on dragon hunting trips. Their damage output is abysmal compared to rogues and dragon have really high resistances to disables and the like. In my first playthrough, when hunting dragons, It went Inquisitor/Cass/Varric/Sera. Inquisitor was a melee rogue. I killed the higher level dragons this way, I took a mage for the lower level ones, before I figured out they do jack squat to dragons. Now on my second playthrough, this time running on insane instead of hard, I have found I need two tanks to deal with dragons, so I take Cass/Blackwall or Ironbull, Inquisitor who is a ranged rogue this time and Sera. The nice thing about only ever using Sera for Dragon hunting is you can specially kit her out for it. Those super dragon runes or whatever they called are actually useful for once.
Also jar of bees, that bomb is insanely good. I drop one as soon as they armour up, if it's decently upgraded it will eat through their armour in seconds.
One caveat mages can be useful for shield or barrier, but if everybody is popping regen potions and one of your tanks has heal bombs, they are really not needed.
Comments
My best friend was hyping the game hardcore and she said it was the best Bioware game ever made.
I'm like eh, the story is really good and I love Sera and Scout Harding (I'd romance her definitely if I could). The actual game part though is kind of boring for me.
I think I'm going to try and turn the difficulty all the way up and put on friendly fire like you guys seem to be suggesting.
I'm also super bummed out that they removed the schools of magic they had in origins.
Why do I have 3 different trees for the Primal school of magic?
Also, I just got the Necromancer specialization so hopefully that makes things more fun despite the summon AI being really buggy.
for combat it is going to depend what you don't like about it. if you are finding it lacks any real thought and you can let everybody do whatever they want, then that will help. if you don't like the overall feel then turning up the difficulty really won't matter.
She's played every Bioware RPG other than BG I/II and Neverwinter Nights I believe. As for the combat I love Micromanaging and I feel DA:I tries its best to go against you micromanaging the party such as them seemingly to ignore orders and do their own thing >_>
I now just turned the AI off and turned the difficulty up.
Also question: Does the Necromancer's fear ability do friendly fire? I used it on Cassandra and she didn't get panicked. Not sure if this is because she's immune to fear from something or if it's because it doesn't affect friendly targets at all.
I think I will enjoy the combat more by having my main character being the one flanking from range than the one being the meat shield. That and the game does remind me a lot of Skyrim, and my archer in that game was my favorite to play, so hopefully that feeling carries over to this one.
I also know the mechanics of the game better so I don't have to waste my time collecting every single elfroot leaf I come across like an OCD cub scout and keeping better track of my inventory and planning out both my main and the NPCs for certain roles in the game.
I probably won't restart this playthrough, but it'll also take me awhile to finish.
In later years, companions who knew the Herald of Andraste wrote of her eccentricities and little-known quirks.
"Terrible sense of direction," one said, under condition of anonymity. "Always getting lost in her own castle. I'd see her swearing to herself as she went in and out of the same door six times in a row, trying to find the war room. I tried to draw her a map but my skills are in tale-telling, not cartography. Took her longer to get the damn thing out and figure out where she was than to just keep trying doors. Half the time she'd just jump off a wall or landing to get to the courtyard cause she couldn't find the stairs."
"She had a real thing about climbing," another reported. "There we were, out in the wilderness, looking for dragons (have you ever SEEN a dragon? Those things are amazing to look at it, and even better to fight) and she'd be trying to get on top of a rock. Climb, fall, climb, fall. I'd sit down, break out some maraas-lok, and rest my back while she jumped around like an idiot. 'Boss, let me give you a boost,' I'd say. 'At least let's start carrying a ladder around. You can't climb for crap.' But she'd insist on doing it herself, getting all dusty and grim and kicking at pebbles when she thought we weren't looking. Ah, those were the days."
soon PC players will be able to sign up to test out update 5, which they say is the biggest update yet. one of these features includes the black emporium, which many may recognize as that pre order bonus from DA2. it is being added as part of patch 5 and will be in the beta, with many of those same features such as special, unique items to buy, and the ability to customize appearance (I may finally be able to fix my characters just a little!) other features include a party storage and even armor tinting. the armor tinting I am sure to love because if anyone tried crafting they will have noticed that sometimes the best stuff look terrible. some people may like it but I don't want pink metal armor. i wonder if special armors can be customized such as the Inquisition armors?
anyway, just a heads up. if you want to take part you should pay attention for the sign up on Dragon Age Keep, as this will be a closed beta. it is actually pretty nice that they seem to be making up for their initial blunders with the PC version and are giving us first access to the patches and fixing many of the original issues with the PC version, such as no walk binding. i think I'll just put my playthrough on hold again until I either can participate in this or the patch releases.
It's actually very good by turning the difficulty to nightmare and turning on friendly fire.
Like, MUCH better.
10/10 for the suggestion!
So I'm necro-ing this thread (if that's alright with you all) to see if opinions have changed on DA:I. I beat it and can thoroughly say I'm probably never going to play it again. It simply isn't my sort of game at all. I love Sera to (un)death but the actual game itself bores me to tears. Nightmare just seems to make boss fights reallllyyy long as the enemy becomes damage sponges. They released this trailer today and it looks HYPE. Unfortunately I won't be buying the DLC because I don't like the game
'Tis sad.
I too had a friend who hyped it up as the best thing since sliced bread. Maybe it was for him. Maybe it was just so much better than DA2 that he thought it was 'All that'? Or maybe he just likes different kinds of games than I do. I'd rather do another BG run, or go back and play Dark Souls than play Inquisition, at least for the moment. Maybe I will get my second wind and go back in a few months.
@vallmyr - as far as the 'micro-management' thing, I suspect that the scaling back of micro-management was in deference to making it 'Console friendly'. Not that they consoles couldn't handle a lot of micro-management, but that the community who play on consoles is less focused on micro-management style of play (generally speaking). So not quite as bad as DA:O on the console or DA2 in entirety, but moreso than hard core PC gamers might like. (humble opinion).
It was hyped as being an amazing game in 2014 because there wasn't that many good games released for the xbox one and ps4. And all those gamers who dished out hundreds of dollars on those systems needed something to grasp onto to say they weren't a waste of money. Bigger titles were a let down as metacritic proves. Titanfall, DA:I, and Shadows of Modar were the only new IP games that received 85 or higher in 2014 for the Xbox One. Compared to everything else released then, Inquisition was pure gold and justification for purchasing the latest consoles.
That trailer looks interesting, but I am probably going to wait for a sale to buy it. I am currently rerunning through the entire trilogy making different choices through out the first two games (I enjoy DA2) to see how Inquisition changes. Hopefully, by the time I run through Origins and 2 again, I'll be fresh to replay Inquisition and explore some of the areas I didn't when I first ran through the game.
leaked stuff, http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-23-survey-leaks-last-adventure-dragon-age-inquisition-story-dlc
If you liked DA2 gameplay, then you with probably be ok with DAI, If your expecting the tactical control of DAO, then you're going to be disappointed.
Really the best mod/cheat out there
Also jar of bees, that bomb is insanely good. I drop one as soon as they armour up, if it's decently upgraded it will eat through their armour in seconds.
One caveat mages can be useful for shield or barrier, but if everybody is popping regen potions and one of your tanks has heal bombs, they are really not needed.
Just when I think I will be done playing DAI for a while...