[Megathread] Dragon Age 4

[Jastall]

Indeed. As much as I enjoyed my Qunari Knight Enchanter (best combo, fight me) I just can’t see them working, in a Tevinter setting.

And yeah... until you pointed it out, I didn’t notice their appearance changes... they definitely need to revert that, for DA4.

True story, the Arishok is the baddest motherfucker in DA2. You cannot disagree.

Knight Enchanter anything is the best combination, no arguments there. I also enjoy Tempests a lot, and Reaver is pretty cool if a bit underpowered in the grand scheme of things. But KE is the best spec in the game.

The Arishok is one of Bioware's best villains, up there with Jon Irenicus, Sun Li and now Solas. I was sad that you disposed of him in Act 2 and Act 3 is spent around the insufferable Orsino, Meredith and Anders trio.

@lettersandpunctuation It is not weird, and in fact seems very deliberate. One thing I enjoy about Dragon Age is that the story is very clearly planned in advance (unlike Mass Effect which sure as fuck wasn't), the Idol depicts Solas and Flemythal a full game before they show up together, and also in DA2 Hawke revives Flemeth at an Altar of Mythal which indicates that plot point was also accounted for. There are theories around what the Idol really is; mine is that it's a kind of trophy made by the Evanuris, or Mythal herself, after she killed a Titan and thus had access to loads and loads of their blood- Lyrium. Somehow it got corrupted by the Blight and thus spawned Red Lyrium.

[derpkitteh]

Is it weird that the idol kinda looks like the scene where solas drained flemeth's power?

kind of, but it also looks like meredith. i think it's just the head crown thing. either way, that's the exact look of the idol from da2, which meredith forged into a sword somehow, which exploded yet somehow wound up in the hands of samson in inquisition.

the head crown probably shows that it's related to andraste in some way.

honestly, if it were up to me, the maker himself would show up and sit solas' ass down. shit on the elves in the largest way possible, even their gods are weaker than the human god.

[Deleted]

I've been playing through Inquisition again and I'ts making me want to step foot in the multiplayer again. Does anyone still play the multiplayer mode?

I never even tried it. I was really tempted to when they added Isabella to it but I kind of just forgot over time. I heard it was surprisingly good.

The Arishok is one of Bioware's best villains, up there with Jon Irenicus, Sun Li and now Solas. I was sad that you disposed of him in Act 2 and Act 3 is spent around the insufferable Orsino, Meredith and Anders trio.

I agree and he should have been the main villian of Dragon Age 2. I found the whole Quan* (*spelling), storyline the best part of the game. They should have switched act 2 and 3

The Arishok was good because he was in the background all the time and you never knew what was going on, the whole first chapter was basically being intrigued by this guy with getting introduced by him and why he is even staying in Kirkwall, I am just a sucker for the whole villain in the shadows while having some form of dark mystery to him, which The Arishok was.

But I agree he really is up there with some of the best video game villains, just a shame he was in what was regarded as the worst DA title. so he kind of gets forgotten. So more me he's the most underrated video game villain for sure.

[derpkitteh]

The Arishok is one of Bioware's best villains, up there with Jon Irenicus, Sun Li and now Solas. I was sad that you disposed of him in Act 2 and Act 3 is spent around the insufferable Orsino, Meredith and Anders trio.

i actually loved meredith.

she felt incredibly strong. in her will, i mean. which is something that the "strong female characters" usually lack, strength of will and a domineering presence. she felt like she was in control every time you crossed paths with her.

part of that is the voice actress herself, that woman is godly and highly underused. she was elenwyn in skyrim, too, who also had strong presence in the very few times she appeared.

[Nazrark]

i actually loved meredith.

she felt incredibly strong. in her will, i mean. which is something that the "strong female characters" usually lack, strength of will and a domineering presence. she felt like she was in control every time you crossed paths with her.

part of that is the voice actress herself, that woman is godly and highly underused. she was elenwyn in skyrim, too, who also had strong presence in the very few times she appeared.

Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has a commanding presence in her voice. Female characters that have that sense of always in control are rare in Dragon Age. Morrigan, Flemeth, Cassandra, Leliana (DA:I) and Vivienne. I thought about including Aveline. But she doesn't seem to meet the criteria of the others. That would seem to be an issue of Hawke in DA2. Hawke is the center figure of the bunch and the entirety of his crew are followers. Not necessarily leaders.

The Hero of Ferelden is an adventurer. Stumbling his way through Ferelden looking for a way to defeat the Blight. Hawke is essentially a gang leader. The Inquisitor is a political power due to happenstance. So leaders of Thedas try to influence them. So it would make sense the characters are a bit more composed than the others.

[Jastall]

I never even tried it. I was really tempted to when they added Isabella to it but I kind of just forgot over time. I heard it was surprisingly good.



I agree and he should have been the main villian of Dragon Age 2. I found the whole Quan* (*spelling), storyline the best part of the game. They should have switched act 2 and 3

The Arishok was good because he was in the background all the time and you never knew what was going on, the whole first chapter was basically being intrigued by this guy with getting introduced by him and why he is even staying in Kirkwall, I am just a sucker for the whole villain in the shadows while having some form of dark mystery to him, which The Arishok was.

But I agree he really is up there with some of the best video game villains, just a shame he was in what was regarded as the worst DA title. so he kind of gets forgotten. So more me he's the most underrated video game villain for sure.

You also have a lot of agency in regards to how you deal with him. You can despise the guy and barely ever give him the time of the day, or if you are respectful and bring Fenris with you to serve as a translator, you can earn his respect back and he'll agree to duel you at the end of Act 2, and you're really only his enemy because of the situation. You can even let him go alive, albeit that requires you to be a two-faced bastard towards Isabela. Also his character design is cool. I'm a sucker for dual-wielding, intimidating barbarian types and few do it better than this guy.

By contrast you have basically no agency in Act 3, everything goes to shit regardless of what you do, Meredith goes cray-cray no matter what you do, Orsino turns into a Harvester out of nowhere no matter what you do against all logic, and the Chantry blows up no matter what you do. At best you can make Anders regret being a cunt if you take a particular path. But that's a small consolation, and why I think DA2's Act 3 is the worst part in any Bioware game.

[Gallahadd]

Knight Enchanter anything is the best combination, no arguments there. I also enjoy Tempests a lot, and Reaver is pretty cool if a bit underpowered in the grand scheme of things. But KE is the best spec in the game.

Yup, Knight Enchanters were broken AF, and Qunari KE’s were the pinnacle of broken, due to Vitaar increasing their insane damage even further.

But while KE were hilarious broken, I like that each class did have one stupidly strong spec. Made had KE, Rogue had Tempest (Focus move spam HYPE) and Warrior had Champion (you literally have to TRY and die, and even then, you’ve got to do it twice). Always thought it was a bit odd, that KE was the only one that got the nerfbat.

[derpkitteh]

Yup, Knight Enchanters were broken AF, and Qunari KE’s were the pinnacle of broken, due to Vitaar increasing their insane damage even further.

But while KE were hilarious broken, I like that each class did have one stupidly strong spec. Made had KE, Rogue had Tempest (Focus move spam HYPE) and Warrior had Champion (you literally have to TRY and die, and even then, you’ve got to do it twice). Always thought it was a bit odd, that KE was the only one that got the nerfbat.

i miss the original KE, i hated how they nerfed it. idk why they even nerfed a spec in a fucking singleplayer game.

it was still pretty strong, of course. but not nearly as good as it was.

[Jastall]

Yup, Knight Enchanters were broken AF, and Qunari KE’s were the pinnacle of broken, due to Vitaar increasing their insane damage even further.

But while KE were hilarious broken, I like that each class did have one stupidly strong spec. Made had KE, Rogue had Tempest (Focus move spam HYPE) and Warrior had Champion (you literally have to TRY and die, and even then, you’ve got to do it twice). Always thought it was a bit odd, that KE was the only one that got the nerfbat.

Yeah I never got why they nerfed Spirit Blade, it's not like it did that much damage, KE was god tier because of how unkillable they were and that was barely nerfed, and meanwhile they kept Tempest's sky-high damage output, Assassin's ability to damage stack so highly you can burst for 100 000K+ Marks of Death, and Artificer's broken passives that allow you to slaughter a dragon in 10 seconds with Varric.

In all, Rogues are just broken in Inquisition if you know what you're doing. Funny thing is, Mages were famously broken in Origins, and Warriors were broken in DA2. So I guess it's a natural rotation and Mages will be broken again in DA4?

[Gallahadd]

it was still pretty strong, of course. but not nearly as good as it was.

Yeah... I don’t mind that they felt the need to “balance” a spec in a single player game... but the WAY they did it was so lame. They said that they nerfed spirit blade, because it was never meant to be spammed... Then why the Fuck did they give it a low/borderline negligible mana cost, and no CD?

I mean, they said that they didn’t want people spamming Spirit Blade... but no one did that! I don’t know anyone that still spammed Blade, once they got Clean Burn... all the nerf did was ruin the feel of the spec, without altering playstyle in the slightest.

In all, Rogues are just broken in Inquisition if you know what you're doing. Funny thing is, Mages were famously broken in Origins, and Warriors were broken in DA2. So I guess it's a natural rotation and Mages will be broken again in DA4?

Apparently, they nerfed spirit Blade because they didn’t like people spamming it, and still dealing decent damage... which tbh, isn’t a huge problem in a single player game... so I’m not sure what their problem was. Rogues OPPRESSIVE Damage, and Champions inability to die seem like far more pressing issues, to me.

And I’m actually leaning on Warriors to be the broken ones, on DA4. Even though they weren’t ACTUALLY broken, the general consensus is that mages were OP in Inquisition. They’re not going to repeat that.

Then, everyone was apparently fine with rogues, so they’ll stay about the same...

But a few people complained that Warriors felt underwhelming, compared to the other two classes. So I have a feeling they’ll get a crazy spec, this time around.

[lettersandpunctuation]

I found templar only useful at all against mages.... I mean, that makes lore sense but still

[Karrotlord]

Apparently, they nerfed spirit Blade because they didn’t like people spamming it, and still dealing decent damage... which tbh, isn’t a huge problem in a single player game... so I’m not sure what their problem was. Rogues OPPRESSIVE Damage, and Champions inability to die seem like far more pressing issues, to me.

And I’m actually leaning on Warriors to be the broken ones, on DA4. Even though they weren’t ACTUALLY broken, the general consensus is that mages were OP in Inquisition. They’re not going to repeat that.

Then, everyone was apparently fine with rogues, so they’ll stay about the same...

But a few people complained that Warriors felt underwhelming, compared to the other two classes. So I have a feeling they’ll get a crazy spec, this time around.

How were Mages were OP in inquisition? Honest question. The only reason I brought any with me was for Barrier. Granted I loved my KE before the nerf, with that exception, Mages never felt good enough for me to consider them too good.

I agree that the Warriors seemed underwhelming at first glance. Champion was immortal if built right but Templar was not great outside the combo and Reaver had great damage but was always close to death for me so that seemed fair.

Rogues though? My Assassin archer could burst almost anything. My duel dagger Artificer turned into a human (er, dwarven) blender that justcouldn't stop attacking. I never tried the bugged Tempest with the focus spam, so while it was fun, didn't seem as good as the others but still... Yeah, the Rogues were busted.

[Faldric]

How were Mages were OP in inquisition? Honest question. The only reason I brought any with me was for Barrier. Granted I loved my KE before the nerf, with that exception, Mages never felt good enough for me to consider them too good.

They are/were not. Other than KE who was OP because he was immortal and could solo everything, mages are pretty much a support in DAI. It's funny that the barrier mechanic was designed to get rid of every mage speccing into healing and it just resulted in every mage speccing barrier. Their damage output besides some AOE can't compete with rogues.

[derpkitteh]

They are/were not. Other than KE who was OP because he was immortal and could solo everything, mages are pretty much a support in DAI. It's funny that the barrier mechanic was designed to get rid of every mage speccing into healing and it just resulted in every mage speccing barrier. Their damage output besides some AOE can't compete with rogues.

this is another thing that is needed, the return of the healing spec.

i don't care if every mage specs into it, dragon age is literally the only game i can be a healer in a group situation without having an anxiety attack. i love being a healer more than dps or tank.

[Jastall]

How were Mages were OP in inquisition? Honest question. The only reason I brought any with me was for Barrier. Granted I loved my KE before the nerf, with that exception, Mages never felt good enough for me to consider them too good.

I agree that the Warriors seemed underwhelming at first glance. Champion was immortal if built right but Templar was not great outside the combo and Reaver had great damage but was always close to death for me so that seemed fair.

Rogues though? My Assassin archer could burst almost anything. My duel dagger Artificer turned into a human (er, dwarven) blender that justcouldn't stop attacking. I never tried the bugged Tempest with the focus spam, so while it was fun, didn't seem as good as the others but still... Yeah, the Rogues were busted.

Mages really weren't OP apart from KEs who had mediocre damage spells for all their vaunted invincibility. Rift Mage is a decent debuff and CC spec but doesn't do anything spectacular, and its ultimate is uniquely underwhelming. Necromancer is perhaps worse, its damage output is pitiful, its CC mediocre when it even works because on Nightmare half the game immune to Fear, and its AoE uncontrollable if you use Walking Bomb which is not good at all, especially with FF turned on. The spec's one redeeming factor is Haste which is a nice Focus ability.

Their damage was also meh. Winter especially never found a use for me, and Inferno was similarly mediocre. Storm was nice when you could Cage a bunch of enemies and used the upgrade which dealt damage to them in the Cage to rip groups to shreds. But all in all, especially on single target, Mages aren't good at dealing damage. They mostly serve as support.

Reaver's big problem is that it doesn't do anything Rogues don't do better. Yeah, Dragon Rage has decent damage output... at the cost of your health, and you're a stationary target while performing its animation. By contrast, a dual dagger Rogue can sneak around, pick a target, and either Mark of Death or Flask of Lightning up before unleashing their combo and delete any non-boss target in seconds, with usually enough stamina to restealth and avoid retaliation. And if you abuse Mark of Death's upgrade or the Tempest Focus bug then the Reaver can't even begin to compete. I love Iron Bull but always felt like I was gimping my party whenever I brought him, apart from the one playthrough I made him use sword and shield.

[Karrotlord]

That's what I did with Iron Bull too, in fact any Warrior. My party was almost always 1 tank, 1 support Mage, and 2 Rogues. The exception being the time I tried 2-handed Champion and had 2 Mages to keep me alive early game.

I hope BW has the wherewithal to balance the DPS specs so I'm not stuck with the same party or just use homogenized builds if I like a particular character. I loved Bull and Dorian but I just made them generic builds rather than their specs since that's what worked best. :/

Also certain specs were just broken for the AI. Like Assassin or Tempest, good luck getting the AI to use them properly. I really missed the tactics from Origins.

[Deleted]

this is another thing that is needed, the return of the healing spec.

i don't care if every mage specs into it, dragon age is literally the only game i can be a healer in a group situation without having an anxiety attack. i love being a healer more than dps or tank.

I agree, the first dragon age really had some good hybrid utility with healing and damage. My mage could survive on his own really well when I specced him right. Those sort of class designs I love.

Now days everything is always too regulated when it comes to classes in video games, you have a damage spec and you have a healing spec and you got to choose one.

You only have to look at WoW to see this. Back in vanilla there used to be many hybrid specs for leveling that were great for survivability both healing and damage (Paladins and priests for example). Dragon Age: Origins also did this well. Dragon Age 2 to a lesser extent but even that felt regulated slightly that by Inquisition they kind of done away with it completely.

[Stormwolf64]

As long as my allegiance dont change from game to game then im fine with whatever

[lettersandpunctuation]

I want the chance to play an utterly evil, self-serving bastard again. There were some opportunities to do this in Inquisition, but much less than in Origins.

[Tenjen]

we need a Qunari centric game where we wipe out the evil (all those who dont believe in their ways).