A Little Dragon Age Rant.

[The Council]

gameplay in origins is kind of boring and the AI is stupid when it comes to AoE spells for mage.

[Orby]

Just your opinion. It's the best gameplay of the 3, the way you can set your party how to act with tactics is perfect. 2 is pretty good as well but was not intended to be played with friendly fire. Inquisition gameplay is garbage with dumb as fuck AI, since you cannot configure tactics like the 1 and 2.

So yea, 1 top on all aspects except graphics obviously.

DA:I sucked with its controls and just its abilities.

The spells especially were gutted. There is so much wealth to DA:O skill/spell system, my favorite was spell combinations, man you could get some really cool results by mixing spells. a system that the Divinity games sort of opting but Dragon Age abandoned and that's really sad

[DemonHunter18]

Let's just appreciate the fact how darkspawn are ruined more and more in each game.

Their design is complete trash compared to DAO.

[Jastall]

RIP Templar spec.

i hope they open up more builds. Warriors being stuck with 2h or 1h+shield has been annoying. same with rogues being stuck with daggers or bow.
i like the magic in DA2 and hated it in DA:I so hopefully cooler magic will be in DA:4.

also this annoys still.
DA2 Lightning yellow. spirit purple.
DA:I Lightning purple. Spirit yellow.

whos stupid idea was it to change that? the color scheme made more sense in DA:2

Tevinter has Templars, they're just kept on a short leash by the Magisters. But nothing would stop a prospective hero unburdened by such trivialities from chugging the Lyrium and skewering sneering mages with the best of them.

[Orby]

Let's just appreciate the fact how darkspawn are ruined more and more in each game.

Their design is complete trash compared to DAO.

DA:O / DA:2


DA:I


hmm well DA:I is a step up from DA:2 but DA:O still looks way more intimidating.

So yea you are pretty right :P

I dont like what DA:2 and DA:I did with that weird chain thing around their head... or is it scales? Either way, not a fan, prefer the more fleshy look myself.

Interesting fact about the darkspawn though

The darkspawn did not exist in David Gaider's original conception of Thedas. It was the leader designer, James Ohlen, who requested that the player have an evil horde to fight - an enemy they wouldn't mind killing. Gaider was not initially pleased - writing that it "ran smack against the very theme I’d tried to establish". In response, he decided to try and "figure out if there was a version of orcs that… maybe I wouldn’t mind so much", and suggested this horde be a "living plague" instead, that would visit the world periodically, and thus the darkspawn were devised.

[DemonHunter18]

I hope the story is good, despite everything.

Trespasser set up a lot of great things.

[MakeMeLaugh]

You feel way less involved in Orgins, at least in 2 it felt more involved in combat then what Origins had. More action oriented is not a bad thing. And you can't just call something garbage and somehow think thats criticism.

It's garbage for me.

Less involved? What?! You have full control of what your party does, which is very different from the spam everything in Inquisition or how you are limited to a few spells. Not even talking about friendly fire.

More action oriented on Dragon Age IS a bad thing.

DA:I sucked with its controls and just its abilities.

The spells especially were gutted. There is so much wealth to DA:O skill/spell system, my favorite was spell combinations, man you could get some really cool results by mixing spells. a system that the Divinity games sort of opting but Dragon Age abandoned and that's really sad

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

Too bad it's in the hands of EA. Now it's just pew pew to appeal to the masses of simple gamers.

[Jastall]

DA:O / DA:2


DA:I


hmm well DA:I is a step up from DA:2 but DA:O still looks way more intimidating.

So yea you are pretty right :P

I dont like what DA:2 and DA:I did with that weird chain thing around their head... or is it scales? Either way, not a fan, prefer the more fleshy look myself.

Interesting fact about the darkspawn though

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.

[DemonHunter18]

Interesting fact about the darkspawn though

The darkspawn did not exist in David Gaider's original conception of Thedas. It was the leader designer, James Ohlen, who requested that the player have an evil horde to fight - an enemy they wouldn't mind killing. Gaider was not initially pleased - writing that it "ran smack against the very theme I’d tried to establish". In response, he decided to try and "figure out if there was a version of orcs that… maybe I wouldn’t mind so much", and suggested this horde be a "living plague" instead, that would visit the world periodically, and thus the darkspawn were devised.

Interesting.

I'm glad they went with them.

I like that "biblical" take how they came to be and that Broodmother stuff was insane.

Hopefully we find more about the other 6 Magisters.

Also, I'm tired of Templars and Mages crap.

Good thing that wasn't the main focus in DAI.

[Pakheth]

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.

Agreed. Darkspawn are not interesting as an enemy, they only exist to act as fodder. I found Red Templars and Qunari more interesting adversaries because there is a story behind them more than hivemind zombies. Also the fact that they looked similar to orcs/goblins in the first game did not help.

[Xath]

It really wasn't that bad, long sure but it wasn't a bad game. You guys should stop being so nostalgic over Origins.

The series has consistently gone down in quality you should stop defending things based on name. Origins > Awakening > 2 >>>>> DAI

[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.