A Little Dragon Age Rant.

[Gaidax]

It's Minrathous, it is an ancient city filled with magic, towers, magical lights and what not since like ever.

Not sure what's the QQ about, you're not going to be in a bumkinville of Ferelden anymore scurrying in some dirt like a rat.

[DemonHunter18]

For me, gameplay wise:

DAO > DA2 > DAI

Story wise:

DAO > DAI (Trespasser) > DA2

Companions :

DAO > DA2 > DAI (only Solas worth mentioning)

[Kuja]

Dragonpunk would be interesting to be honest. Nothing wrong with the game becoming different than what it used to be. It can still be very good. But I do enjoy DA 1 and 2 style perhaps a little bit more than Inquisition's style.

Would be nice to see new DA1 style games though. Like Pathfinder which was awesome until I noticed how Pepega the AI was, which made me uninstall. Using one ability only unless I micromanage everyone's turn.

[Orby]

The Ghouls in Inquisition look quite creepy as well, you just never see them up close or in a cutscene. But yeah, I'm not a fan of the new Hurlock design from DA2 onwards, the Alphas look cool tho.

And I perfectly understand what Gaider says, and there's a reason the Darkspawn have been a fairly irrelevant side enemy after Origins. Apart from the sheer horror factor of the Broodmothers they're not very interesting all in all.

The Darkspawn were pretty much the white walkers of Dragon Age , the approaching threat while our heroes deal with the main problem (funny since Gaider was heavily inspired by Song of Ice a Fire for Dragon Age). I kind of liked them in that focus. It worked well enough. and it joined the story together really well in origins, they kind of didn't feel overwhelming. The broodmother stuff was terrifying when I first learned about it through the story. and I like how Hurlocks, Genlocks and the Ogres are basically just humans, Dwarf and Qunari but corrupted versions of them. I did actually think they were interesting in a way, they shared very similar story to the orcs in Tolkien lore of Middle Earth too.

As individuals its true the darkspawn were nothing more than background noise to get rid of, similar to the demons of the fade in Inquisition. and I personally like that, because like in all the dragon age games the threat has always been very human. (well sort of for Inquisition I guess) :P

[Asrialol]

For me, gameplay wise:

DAO > DA2 > DAI

Story wise:

DAO > DAI (Trespasser) > DA2

Companions :

DAO > DA2 > DAI (only Solas worth mentioning)

I find DAI > DA2 for gameplay, and also companions, tbh. Other than that I agree.

I loved DAO, still play it from time to time. Been years since I played DA2, but I have played DAI recently. Whilst I find DA2 and DAI to be way below DAO, I still did dna do enjoy those games.

Looking forward to DA4, but I'm not hyped, don't intend to be, and I don't want to have high expectations..

[Saltysquidoon]

And I perfectly understand what Gaider says, and there's a reason the Darkspawn have been a fairly irrelevant side enemy after Origins. Apart from the sheer horror factor of the Broodmothers they're not very interesting all in all.

I thought the mystery was pretty interesting, you spend most of DA:O having no idea what they are or how they work at all. Even after three games it hasn't been explained exactly where they come from or what the taint even is or what exactly the old gods are or why the darkspawn are drawn to them.

It is a fair point that if they had been the primary antagonists crunching purely on the mystery would have worn out its welcome long ago.

[Gaidax]

I thought the mystery was pretty interesting, you spend most of DA:O having no idea what they are or how they work at all. Even after three games it hasn't been explained exactly where they come from or what the taint even is or what exactly the old gods are or why the darkspawn are drawn to them.

Well we do go to Tevinter Imperium in DA4, so I do expect them to expand on the whole Golden City and so on, seeing it's tied to them. Then of course there will be more Fade lore expansion too with Dread Wolf AND Imperium arcanists.

As a whole it's a big sell for me in DA4, we spent 3 games with these stories about the big bad Tevinter Imperium, their direct and indirect ties to Fade, Darkspawn, Andraste and basically a good chunk of everything that ever happened. I'm glad we finally get to go there and get some answers first hand.

If they pull it out right, it should be one of the most magnificent DAs there was and a direct sequel to both DA:O and DA:I, both of which were great games.

[Orby]

Also on the topic of darkspawn changes. The way Darkspawn moved in Dragon Age 2 was horrible, arms flailing like they were puppets on a string, over the Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn who moved more slower and more threatening and more human life, because they used to be human, not a bunch of monekys

Depiction of Darkspawn in the field circa Dragon Age 2

[Varodoc]

I hope the urban areas in this game look better than whatever Val Royeaux was. I know at this point it's already been pointed out like 1 million times, but it was so disappointing that the LARGEST city in the world was reduced to one market and a few alleys. I hope the Tevinter capital looks grander and actually FEELS like a capital, so lots of people walking around, chatting in the streets, etc.

[Dezerte]

Looking over the "punk" image again I feel like it can be totally believable. I imagine an area like Tevinter, where mages are more free, would have cities powered by magic.

Origins was the only "current" RPG that managed to do active combat with pause actually work.

That too. DA1&2 remains the only cRPGs with active combat and pause that I can enjoy. I've tried so many times to play PoE, Pathfinder and Tyranny but it doesn't work for me.

[Orby]

Looking over the "punk" image again I feel like it can be totally believable. I imagine an area like Tevinter, where mages are more free, would have cities powered by magic.

Powered by magic is fine, but does it have to be so neon :P

[Dezerte]

Powered by magic is fine, but does it have to be so neon :P

I mean it's probably not actual neon, but some form of magic sigil or whatever the correct lore term would be.

[Super Kami Dende]

The World evolves?

I mean if it takes place a few hundred years after previous events, why wouldn't it look more advanced? Just look at Human changes in Architecture in a few hundreds years.

[Orby]

The World evolves?

I mean if it takes place a few hundred years after previous events, why wouldn't it look more advanced? Just look at Human changes in Architecture in a few hundreds years.

Wait is it taking place a few 100 years after DA:I? If thats the case then I might give it some leeway :P

[Varodoc]

Wait is it taking place a few 100 years after DA:I? If thats the case then I might give it some leeway :P

I seriously doubt that. This game will most likely be a direct sequel of Inquisition. I know the main character will be someone new, but regardless the Inquisition DLC literally ended with the Inquisitor choosing to go to Tevinter. The events of the fourth game will pick up from that.

Plus Bioware will certainly not miss the opportunity to include the Inquisitor and give them one final reunion with Solas.

Therefore the game can't be set 100 years into the future, as the Inquisitor would already be dead by then (if you play a Human anyway, which is obviously the most popular race). It will most likely start a few months or maybe 1 year after the events of the Inquisition DLC.

Then again I haven't followed anything about this announcement, I'm just going off of theorycrafting

[Traveler Voltin]

Alright since we only know that its in trevinter. How about we talk about what we would like to see character customization and ability/spell wise. maybe some other changes.
i will start. Assuming we are keeping the 4 playable races.

Customization:
different hair styles for Male and Female again.
Dwarves having cool beard options again like in DA:O.
bring back the bright red hair color. (also to note. Make sure the character creator screen is brighter than DA:I)
more unique stuff for each race.

Skills/spells
Sustain spells return like Elemental weapons.
for mages go back to the schools of magic like DA2 with maybe some of the Schools from DA:O
bring back healing spells and remove Guard.
Necromancer spec did not feel like a necromancer. cool specializations (also being locked into 1 sucked in Inquisition.)
also let me pick my Stats again like DA:O and DA2. stupid preset.
Change the color of spirit damage back to purple and Lightning damage back to yellow

Weapon/armor Stats
Inquisition felt like there was too many stats.
Defense: melee resistance, Range resistance, and Magic resistance.
Offense: Armor pen, Crit chance, and crit damage.
Of course gear would have normal stats like Con, agi, wis, etc.
Expand crafting to rings, belts, and necklaces. (if they plan to keep it)
Towards the end i think named weapons and armor drops should be far stronger than crafted gear.
Make Runes less annoying to craft. Combine cleansing rune and demon slaying rune. make elemental runes slightly stronger and bring back Nature runes.
I kind of want Defense runes back.
better look 1h maces.

Gameplay
go back to the battle menu of DA:O and DA2. being forced into only using 8 skills/spells sucks.
Bring back the tactic of DA:O and DA2.
fix any AI issues.
to me combat should feel more like DA2 and Less like DA:I
gaining levels and inquisitions perks felt slow to get.


that is my list currently. i will probably think of more the more i replay the games.(i wish i had the DLC though curse my crap internet.)

[nuffisenough]

The entirety of the OP's complaint stems from the fact that they seem to know literally NOTHING about the larger world of the Dragon Age franchise and that the picture they are referencing is of the Tevinter Imperium.....a kingdom that is run by mages and whose every facet of life revolves around magic. Of course their kingdom will look the most outlandish compared to the backwater/underdeveloped kingdom of Fereldon, the no-nonsense/spartan city state of Kirkwall, and the 16th/17th century French inspired kingdom of Orlais.

[Pakheth]

The entirety of the OP's complaint stems from the fact that they seem to know literally NOTHING about the larger world of the Dragon Age franchise and that the picture they are referencing is of the Tevinter Imperium.....a kingdom that is run by mages and whose every facet of life revolves around magic. Of course their kingdom will look the most outlandish compared to the backwater/underdeveloped kingdom of Fereldon, the no-nonsense/spartan city state of Kirkwall, and the 16th/17th century French inspired kingdom of Orlais.

Pretty much. Ferelden was a dirt hole. I also like the differences the different states have, it makes the world seem very diverse and I can't wait to visit Tevinter and Nevarra's necropolis, two places that will have very distinct styles guaranteed.

[PACOX]

I want to re-download DA:I now

[Orby]

Also with DA:I in mind I hope they cut back on the French voice actors in DA:4. DA:I had waaaaaay too many french for my liking :P