Valmy's ADHD Dragon Age playthrough

[Valmy]

Yeah I expect my choices to not matter much BETWEEN games. My understanding is this is basically true between Witcher titles as well. It is just not practical to account for radically different versions of a game based on the previous ones in the series.

But my choices need to matter WITHIN the game. I think I noted that the game should be totally and dramatically different if you choose the mages vs. the Templars but that does not seem to be true. Granted I have only played the game once but all the Red Templars around was weird since I thought I stopped them already.

And yeah now that you mention it conscripting or allying with the various factions mostly just seems to impact companion opinion

I'm never buying a Bioware game at full price again.

Huh. Now that you mention it I have not done that since the original Dragon Age Origins

But I bought it again when I got the super duper version to avoid having to buy all the DLC.

[viper37]

Yeah I expect my choices to not matter much BETWEEN games. My understanding is this is basically true between Witcher titles as well. It is just not practical to account for radically different versions of a game based on the previous ones in the series.

With the DA Keep, it should be a little easier for them.

[Valmy]

With the DA Keep, it should be a little easier for them.

They just did that so they could get people to play DAI on consoles and not have to worry about their save files

But the basic issue, you cannot say make a whole game centered around the Warden and then another without the Warden based on how DAO ended. Just not practically possible. So we get small dialogue differences for the most part.

[Valmy]

Ok so that is that for Dragon Age Inquisition and the Dragon Age series up to this point. So overall what did I think of DAI? Well I detailed the problems the game had in my whine and bitch post but despite those problems I never stopped playing the game. Sure I might stop for a bit but I always came back and kept playing and kept posting this AAR. The game had a lot of strengths that kept me coming back.

FANBOYING PART ONE

First and foremost are the characters. The characters in this game are marvelous. You really care about them and their fates and you enjoy adventuring with them and hearing what they have to say. I think I spent enough time discussing each one for you guys to see what I mean. I had some complaints about how the characters were done in DA2 and DAI completely addressed all of them. Even though my criticisms were made six months after the game was released. Amazing.

My favorite was Solas, his voice actor was great and he always had interesting and surprising opinions on comments on most things in the world. When he wasn't in the party I usually regretted it. And I generally loathe elves so good job Bioware. The fact that, as it turned out, he is the ultimate villain of the game was a shocker and a very cool surprise. Or heck the entire series if my grand conspiracy theory between he and Mythal/Flemeth is true. But of course it is.

I did enjoy the Cassandra romance but it was a bit too um...realistic to be a really good arc story. You have an attraction subtext, then it becomes text, and then you get together and everybody is happy. Pretty much how my actual relationship went except my wife is not a religious fanatic who could never settle down. So, you know, it was a nice surprise to see something go in an unexpected direction.

However a romance arc has a certain format. They get together so you get invested in the relationship, then a conflict splits them apart leading to the grand reconciliation at the end. Both Morrigan and Isabela followed this format. Granted I did Zevran and Leliana and I don't recall anything as traumatic as Morrigan admitting she just wanted to make an Old God baby or Isabela inadvertantly causing a Qunari war and abandoning you (temporarily) to deal with it. I think Zev had to process having feelings get in the way of his never ending orgies and Leliana had to trust again after her last lover turned out to be evil but it was no big deal. So maybe that was just luck on my part and in these games there are romances that are just nice little love stories and a few that actually qualify as a romance arc. So if I ever play this game again I will be a lady elf (Dalish though :blech:) and see how a romance with an ancient mage trying to destroy the world will go. Because that is fantastic. That should be a young adult fiction book series.

FANBOYING PART TWO

Then the first part of the game was really great. The whole rush to the Temple of Sacred Ashes, the declaration of the Inquisition, and the first few campaigns as you seem to build something that represents the hope of the world in desperate times. Then moving in on the Templars, in my case, and that was a very dramatic and exciting. It was really hard as well, that was the only section I kind of fucked up. After that came the surprising success at the breach and then the amazing battle at Haven. That whole section, from when your character wakes up in the prison in Haven until you reach Skyhold, is excellent and one of the best sequences in the series. But then it runs into the problems I discussed before.

After that you had the excellent, if a bit contrived, Grey Warden section with Hawke and Loghain (or, presumably, some other Warden if Loghain is dead) which ended with my favorite boss fight in the main game. This is also the last section with really great challenging combat before the scaling problems began to kick in. Man that was such a great feeling to win that part. It was also cool to see the Grey Wardens as a focus again.

The Winter Palace section with its intrigue and mystery solving focus was great. Especially as you could not open every single door in the place so how you resolve the conflict differs based on what places you decide to go and what clues you find (even if it is just random choice as you have no idea what is behind each door). It did get a bit bogged down by lots of that side content I discussed earlier. And of course: Morrigan coming back!

Then the Arbor Wilds had that great battle in the woods leading up to the ancient elf temple which had some amazing lore revelations and fun little floor puzzles.

The DLC had the ruined ice temple with the battle against Gurd Harofsen that was pretty great. Then most the Crossroads sections in Trespasser, especially the Darvaarad and the final section. Give me a bunch of enemies to fight through in a dramatic chase section any day.

FANBOYING PART THE LAST

Damn Skyhold is pretty awesome. So many characters hanging out and secret places to explore. Best player stronghold ever.
So I obviously had a lot of bitching to do and less praising but I feel like the good still make it fun and worth playing.

So a very flawed game with some excellent sequences and great characters. Is it better than DA2? Um...I don't know. DA2 was probably more fun overall. DAO is obviously a classic and the other two are very flawed but still enjoyable experiences.

THOUGHTS ON DA4

So we have a very dramatic confrontation being set up in DA4. Or what I presume will be DA4. After all I think most of us thought DAI was going to be about the Mage/Templar war but that was only a small sideshow. But we have Solas now probably the single most powerful being in the world collecting the elven people around him ready to restore the glory days and destroy the world as we know it. It will probably take place in Tevinter, and probably involve the former Inquisitor as a NPC just like Hawke was in DAI.

I cannot help but feel like the current plot with then Grey Wardens involves Solas somehow, he obviously hated them for a reason. The Grey Wardens might be the key to stopping him. Or Solas might have just been angry because they were the source of Corypheus' immortality which screwed up his first plan. Either way this is a very intriguing plot point. You also have the Hero of Ferelden out trying to cure the taint. Maybe Hawke's plot in Weisshaupt and the Hero of Ferelden's quest all tie together with the Solas part. Damn you know what would be awesome? For the new PC in DA4, Hawke, The Inquisitor, and the Hero of Ferelden all come together to stop Solas. That should happen. Bioware would be stupid to NOT have that happen. So it probably won't happen.

I have some things that are bugging me to. First of all did Solas creating the Veil somehow create humans? How long did the elf empire lay in pieces before Tevinter rose to take over? Were the dwarves somehow created by the Titans after the veil was created? Were they created by the Titans after Mythal destroyed one? You just get the feeling that before the Veil there only existed elves and other magical creatures. Then dwarves and humans came along later, the Veil being essential for their existance. The message is pretty clear that once the Veil is ripped down the elves will return to power and humans will go poof. But how? Why? Or am I totally wrong about this?

Oh and how about the mysterious return and population explosion of the dragons? Is that connected to Mythal/Flemeth/Solas? Might Flemeth have been responsible for that? Is this like 'A Song of Ice and Fire' or Skyrim where the return of the dragons heralds an end of an era?

And of course where does the Black City and the Darkspawn and all the business fit into this? Is the Golden/Black City where the Evanuris are trapped?

Yeah I think that is enough speculating.

Also I guess you have to wonder what the departure of the creator of this world, David Gaider, will mean for Dragon Age. Sometimes that can be an enormously good thing to get some fresh eyes on a setting and have it be transferred into fresh hands. Or it could mean a real loss. We will see, but it was not like Gaider was writing everything himself anyway.

So that is that. Once I get my hands on DA4 I will continue our story then.

Final stats for his grace, Lord Lothar Bernard Anthony Ferdinand Aurelian Tythas Trevelyan, Compte of Kirkwall former Inquisitor and former protector of the Templar Order.



Attack 8%

Guard Damage Bonus 53%

Armor Penetration 0%

Barrier Damage Bonus 2%

Critical Damage Bonus 148%

Critical Chance 59%

Main Hand Damage 137

Off Hand Damage 137

Sunder on Hit 0%

Stagger on Hit 0%

Heal on Kill 0%

Flanking Damage Bonus 225%

Magic Defense 13%

Melee Defense 25%

Ranged Defense 36%

Cold Resistance 35%

Electrical Resistance 20%

Fire Resistance 20%

Spirit Resistance 20%

Guard 0

Armor Rating 307

Armor Rating: Front 307

Maximum Health 936

Sunder When Hit 0%

Stagger on Being Hit 0%

Maximum Focus 300

Focus Gain Bonus 0%

Maximum Stamina 100

Combat Experience Points 917,573

Cooldown Modifier 0%

Gear:



Edit: Oh right I forgot my play time. Um....lots...like 200+ hours.

[viper37]

Bioware would be stupid to NOT have that happen. So it probably won't happen.

Exactly my thoughts!

I have some things that are bugging me to. First of all did Solas creating the Veil somehow create humans? How long did the elf empire lay in pieces before Tevinter rose to take over? Were the dwarves somehow created by the Titans after the veil was created? Were they created by the Titans after Mythal destroyed one? You just get the feeling that before the Veil there only existed elves and other magical creatures. Then dwarves and humans came along later, the Veil being essential for their existance. The message is pretty clear that once the Veil is ripped down the elves will return to power and humans will go poof. But how? Why? Or am I totally wrong about this?

Not much is known on humans:
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Human

What we know is they probably came from Par Vollen (Qunari lands), migrated to Tevinter, then waged war against the Elves.

I think creating the Veil pretty much screwed the Elves by stripping them of most of their magical powers and rendering them equal to humans, thus making it easier for Tevinter to counter-attack the arrogant sons of bitches

But I think Solas hinted their demise started before that.  So maybe creating the Veil, and having those Elven masters "disapear" sorta created chaos in the Elven empire, which allowed Tevinter to attack.

I'm also wondering about the Maker.  Is he an Evanuris too?  Could Solas be the Maker who created the Fade?
See here:
It is said that long ago, the Maker created the Fade as His first world. His first children were the spirits of the Fade, made in His own image. However, the Maker turned away from His first children, because while the spirits could alter their world at will, they lacked a soul and could only imitate what they saw, being unable to create or imagine anything new for themselves. Dissatisfied with the result, the Maker left the Fade behind, creating the world of Thedas instead and its inhabitants. He separated it from the first world by putting the Veil in between them, not realizing that His first children would be able to observe His new children and grow envious of them. [/b]

It is a twisted version of what we know, but Solas said HE created the Veil, didn't he?  Could he have been assimilated as the Maker?  That would have been such a twist.

As for the Dwarves, they were contemporaries of the Old Elves, so it was some sort of parallel evolution going on in Thedas.

[Valmy]

Ok final playtime was: 293 hours and 22 minutes   

[Norgy]

Is this when I share my hours spent with Skyrim? 

[Valmy]

Well E3 had no Dragon Age announcement and no Elder Scrolls announcement. Ah well. Torment is coming out soon.

[viper37]

Actually, Bethesda said they were working on Elder Scrolls VI, but they had 2 other games to release first.

But if you long for another good RPG, The Witcher 3 awaits you

[Valmy]

But if you long for another good RPG, The Witcher 3 awaits you

Indeed. I will play it eventually.

[viper37]

An AAR will be requested at that point

[Valmy]

An AAR will be requested at that point

Naturally

[Grallon]

I really enjoyed your AAR Valmy - you do have a way with incisive snarky comments - which were often hilarious. 


As for your evaluation of the game I share most of them.  It's quite obvious BW was leaning towards a MMO format during the development cycle of Inquisition - thankfully they refrained themselves.  They haven't published the numbers but it seems this was their best selling game of all time so there shouldn't be a problem to produce DA4 (Dragon Age Imperium?).  What remains to be seen is if they've learned from their mistakes. 

As you noted the first Act was fantastic - the balance between tension and progression was pretty much perfect.  Sadly they went overboard afterwards and the game derailed.  It's said Gaider left in a huff before launch, took a month off then returned to wrap things up before resigning.  I wonder if he wasn't opposed to the 'editorial changes' planned?  In any case Solas and Cole were written by Weeks, the new lead writer.  So hopefully this bodes well.

I've played that game almost as much as Skyrim - you can see all my inquisitors here : http://forum.bioware.com/topic/519261-post-pictures-of-your-inquisitor-here/?p=20314468 - and I adore it, despite all the flaws. 

If only Witcher 3 wasn't about Geralt.  I mean it's a great game but it's not your story - it's his.  Hopefully BW will get a copy of it and study how it's done.  I want Minrathous to be something as large and sprawling and alive as Novigrad dammit!  The debates on the Bioware Network about which of the 2 is the best game go on unabated since the beginning.



G.

[Valmy]

I know it has been awhile Grallon but thanks for the kind words. I am glad you enjoyed it.

I saw this video on Youtube with a party banter I didn't see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmJ2_xj_KDA

Funny since both Solas and the Iron Bull turned out to be villains in my playthrough.

If Weeks wrote Solas then I am much more optimistic about DA4. He might be one of my favorite video game characters ever, though his voice actor also did a great job.

[viper37]

Funny since both Solas and the Iron Bull turned out to be villains in my playthrough.

Solas is always a villain...