Honestly? All they had to do was make it so that when Shepard collapses at that console and the elevator brings them up to the Catalyst, instead that Prothean VI from Thessia appears in the console and tells Shepard that the Catalyst is ready to either destroy or control the Reapers, then Shepard picks one.

They could keep everything else identical and it would have worked quite well.

The big issue with ME3's ending is that it took a thematic point that had already been resolved on Rannoch and, apropos of nothing, declared "see?! This is what the main conflict is really about!". And it was idiotic.

Literally all they had to do to salvage the ending there was not spontaneously insert a synthetic vs organic dichotomy to the Realers that had never before existed.

As for DA4, what I'd really like to see is pretty simple:
1) DA:I combat mechanics and encounter design
2) Better tactics capabilities so I don't have to babysit my NPCs constantly
3) A narrative focus on the Grey Wardens and/or Deep Roads
4) Less silly Fade bullshit
5) Less silly Chantry bullshit
6) No fucking mission table

I don't think I'm gonna see any of these except #1 and maybe #2 though.

 

Uh hit me up wit dat sauce bruh

 

I will duel you at dawn. You shut your whore mouth.
--- Post automerged ---

Ugh, it was a while ago, but if I dig it up, I'll PM you.

 

I agree with most of what you say, but the Fade features intrinsically into what I want, since the separation between Thedas and The Fade is what Solas wants to destroy, and I'm 100% all in on Solas being the Antagonist. The Wardens and the Deep Roads + Darkspawn are hopefully going to be prominently featured - it' be SO FUCKING INTERESTING if the Old Gods (read, Archdemons - Dumat the first, Urthemiel in Dragon Age Origins) are somehow playing spoiler versus Solas and the ancient Elvhenan. There has to be a reason why Solas hated the Grey Wardens beyond "they know not what the do"

 

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE how dare you

Should happen, won't happen. It's not DA without sultry French chicks trying to convert you to their weird religion.

 

DA2 was a soggy biscuit made of disappointment and failure. With the exception of Varric, everything about the game was bad, from the writing to the combat to the maps and layouts to the actual code and everything in between.

There are a few neat ideas, like I really liked the narrative device they used, where the game was Varric telling a story, and I liked what they were going for with the combat, but none of them were actually executed well. The narrative device wasn't used anywhere near its potential, with the only real time they toyed with it being in Varric's personal mission, and the combat mechanics, which were honestly pretty good, were totally ruined by the encounter design, since every encounter was mooks spawning in waves from every direction, which made the best strat to huddle up in the middle of the designated combat arena and spam AOE attacks.

It was just a bad game, through and through. Which is just depressing, because there's the seed of a really good game in there, it just wasn't given nearly enough time to grow.

The Fade is quite literally the least interesting part of Thedas. It's bog standard fantasy dream realm #47. There are no redeeming qualities to it, and Inquisition's hyper-focus on it just made it even more dull.

Fite me bro.

 

@Agayek combat was imo one of the things DA2 got not just right, but better than DA:O.

 

I actually agree there. The core combat mechanics were a huge step up and I really liked them. I wasn't a huge fan of the lack of an isometric view at first, but once I figured out it wasn't meant to be an isometric RPG, I got pretty into it.

The problem with DA2's combat has nothing to do with the mechanics and everything to do with the encounter design. Literally every fight was "here is a big open space, we're gonna spawn 3-5 mooks with minimal health from 4 of the 6ish designated spawn points in this arena who will either mindlessly rush the party or stand at the spawn and launch ranged attacks". This includes the big climactic boss fights, with the only addition there being one enemy that you can't kill in 1-2 hits, and that includes the fight against an actual dragon.

The combat mechanics were great, but when every single fight devolved into "stand all your dudes in a clump and fire off your AOE abilities once the latest wave comes into range, then shoot a fireball at the ranged mobs", it got dull quickly. I'd be much more positive on the games combat if there was any kind of meaningful variation in the encounters, but there wasn't.

 

Seriously though I loved playing through the wacked out fade zone at the end. Sue me, it was fun and visually sumptuous.

 

to begin, fuck spoilers it's been a long ass time.

@KHAAAAAAAN!! @Agayek

The Inquisition sequence where the Inquisitor + Allies along with Alistair, Loghain or random french Orlesian Warden guy go into The Fade at Adamant Fortress to combat a horrifically powerful demon of fear; a complete summation of the collective fear of the Grey Wardens' insight into the blight and a corrupted spirit of awe and yes, valor, towards the corrupted Old Gods. A demon who grows stronger feeding on the Grey Wardens' pain, a demon who grows stronger feasting on Warden Commander Clarel's corrupted purpose and seduction from the Elder One. Clarel's fantasies that maybe THEY COULD use blood magic on a horrific scale to control Razakal or Lusacan were they found. A drunk spirit of Warden Clarel's dreams and the Faith of her Grey Wardens corrupted to a monstrous demon of Nightmare, then, Despair.

It was perfect. And the sacrifice at the end, whether it was Hawke or Alistair so the Inquisitor could escape was well played. My canon anyawy

 

Dragon Age is a series I've always felt that I probably should enjoy, more than anything; I played through about half to two third of Origins, and did enjoy it, but never finished for some reason, didn't play 2 at all, and I've actually got Inquisition but it's way down on my list of priorities atm. So I'm OK with waiting a few years, as by then I might have got round to Inquisition.

Also, put me in the 'Andromeda is a good game with flaws, not a broken abomination' camp.

 

I am Jack's complete lack of interest. I'll just be off in the corner, waiting for Cyberpunk.

 

I'm going to buy and play this. I expect to be frustrated by design choices, enraged by elfwank, and disappointed by the waifu selection.

Just like the last two!

 

Well, for what it's worth I'm still of the opinion Origins was the greatest game in the series. The combat and dialogue and NPC interaction reminded me of Baldur's Gate 2, and I for one still love the hell out of the game.

DA2 was ok, though it did have flaws. (Notably the dungeons that re-used graphics, etc.) Storyline also felt rushed, like it should have been more fleshed out.

DA:I I'm still not very far into honestly. It's an ok game, but there's something about playing as the Inquisitor that just doesn't grab my attention.

Honestly, part of the love of Origins too was that it was just so bad-ass to be a Grey Warden. You weren't some suddenly-important!Champion, or convenient!Plot!-handed dude.
You were a somewhat skilled (in some form or other) recruit. Admittedly with plot-armor to a degree, in that because it's a game of course you'll succeed.

Also, it had the best heavy armor designs imo.
If Grey Warden's feature at all in the new game I will be cautiously hopeful.

 

While I'm excited for a new Dragon Age, I can't call myself hyped.

I fucking loved Origins. It's in my top 10 games of all time, it was the first game I got on multiple platforms (started with PS3, heard it was better on PC, and it was multiple times better!), first game I got all trophies and started my mild obsession with those, the first game where I genuinely enjoyed the hardest difficulty... I had like 9 complete playthroughs. Sick game. 10/10.

DA2 was a mistake. They changed everything that made Origins a charming rpg and made it into an action rpg with Mass Effect conversation wheel. I still had 3 playthroughs. 8/10.

Inquisition was garbage. Shit combat, checklist romance options with 'realistic' women, some SJW outrage... I don't even remember anymore. I only managed one playthrough, and had zero interest in the dlc. 7/10.

So whatever Bioware is producing today is probably going to be mediocre shit. I can always hope DA4 will be good and a return to the roots, but I'm not expecting anything.

 

I have zero faith in Bioware to make this good. All the old talent has gone on to new things

 

EA mentally exhausted me. I frankly don't know if I will buy it. I'm just tired of disappointment after disappointment since ME3. I don't hate DAII much, it was a neat game with interesting characters and a fun if flawed combat system with a really repetitive scenario and fake ass claim of being 'build your own story'. BUT, in my view? It was a terrible sequel to DA:O, it did not build up on DA:O wonderful world and interesting things. Instead we get a very weake and unecessarily personal story line where the Mages x Templars/Chantry war is shown as a war of egos by hypocritical assholes and where the 'arguments' are based entirely on personal choices (read blackmails, from your siblings situation to your mother's death).

DA:I adds very little of interesting on the world, and outside the main story, it felt like an old WoW like system of 'fetch 20 dragon asses' ruled. The Witcher series and ME2 revolutionized how RPGs work, instead or trying to either build on the more DnD inspired system (like DAO) or those new hot IPs (understandable after DAII being a fucking mess, even if it was the execution and not the idea that sucked), we get... a weird attempt at Skyrim+WoW Dragon Age flavored game that isnt bad but also not what I want.

But my biggest problem is EA. EA is deeply dishonest and way, way too fucking shitty at everything it does. I play gacha games and they are way less scummy and about taking my money. I just can't keep giving money to that company.

 

In my teenage years, I used to not care much for publishers’ shenanigans, EA or otherwise, but ever since about 2012 or so, when ME3 happened and EA cancelled by favourite series of Football Manager games (yes, I’m still angry about that), my trust in them has slowly, but surely eroded, culminating in the rushed development, publication and death of Andromeda.

I never finished Origins on PS3, skipped DAII altogether, yet found myself very interest in DA:I when it came out in 2014. Despite my initial excitement, I soon came to the realisation that it was a game I could only play in smaller doses, it would get tiresome after two or three hours. Over the course of roughly a year, I did two playthroughs, mainly because I wanted to make the opposite decisions I had made in my original one. I never “truly” finished the second after completing the main storyline (meaning no Trespasser DLC or wrapping up of other side plots), and haven’t touched the game disc in about three years. Despite some positives – I really liked the art design, the different environments, the crafting system and some of the smaller, more character-driven plots were actually interesting – its mission design and largely empty world got on my nerve after a while, and I never found the motivation to come back.

Hence we have arrived at DA4. Considering the impending disaster that bears the name of Anthem, I am not actually sure whether EA will let BioWare live long enough for the game to actually hit store shelves, but if it does, I predict its game and mission design as being in the same ballpark as DA:I, but amped up to eleven and with a horrible grind towards the endgame (live services, anyone?).

I’d love for EA to give BioWare the freedom to create a truly great Dragon Age game, with engaging gameplay, missions, plots and characters, but sadly,to quote Jim Sterling, that probably wouldn’t make them all the money in the world.

Suffice to say, I’m not holding my breath.

 

EA’s model doesn’t allow for good single player games anymore. They don’t see the financial benefit.

In contrast, we’ve seen single player games do amazingly well this year. God of War, Spider-Man, RDR2...

Amazing games by companies that are passionate about gaming.

I hope EA dies soon. But people keep buying their crap.

 

Not every game should be a Witcher game. I played all the witcher games and read most of the books (couldn't handle Ciri in the end), but I also put a lot of hours into Skyrim and DAI. Witcher has the most movie-like quality of them all. You play for an established character, with rather intimate-feeling lore.

In the Elder scrolls and DA lore is more epic and history-like, which makes it feel a lot more sparse and you play for a "new guy". In those games you will always have to RP a bit, imo. And I know some people hate it, but I don't.

I think the scale of the story in DAII is the best of all DAs. If anything it's most similar to witcher scale. One (somewhat) established character living his life instead of an epic battle against the evil. The choice between templars and the mages is the same exact choice as between elves and humans in Witcher 1 and 2, imo. Witcher 2 took way more care with execution and choice impact of course.

DAO's main plot is a straight as plank, with main choices clearly having a "correct" answer. The charm of the game come from the "origin" backstories imo, which were excellent. DAI had a more nuanced main plot and tried to own "chosen one" thing which I thought was different.

I loved all DA games, but I would rank them backwards from most people here: DAI, DAII, DAO.

Also this might be an unpopular opinion, but Witcher 3 sidestepped fetch quests rather than removed them. It still had a buttload of map markers with generic loot and generic enemies guarding it. Yes, no one told me to fetch them, but I always know they are still there on the map waiting for me. I got overwhelmed by them and quit playing many times.

As for EA, I hope someone makes another game like sims. It's a cash grab, but there is nothing like it.