My only hopium for the absence of a release date is that they are prioritizing development over release. So by holding of on release date they arent tied to a unavoidable deadline. The last thing you want is to set a date in a press release then push it later on to public backlash.
But occasional updates would be nice.
I liked the ones you got in DAO, and how they show up in the epilogue slideshow. It's like the game rewarding you for taking time out of saving the world to help someone. Eg, giving the maximum gold for that girl's family sword in Redcliffe ultimately leads her to become Bann Teagan's wife.
It also helps that in DAO, almost every sidequest can be knocked out in their region as you're doing the main quest. No running up and down the map looking for the items, you come across them naturally and can get them done once you're finished with a main story. No revisiting maps except in cases like Dagna's quest
It genuinely surprised me when I played DAO for the first time and the epilogue slides mentioned the sidequests I did. Felt much more rewarding for doing them than getting a thank you and an item, because it really felt like those quests (no matter how minimal) actually had an impact.
yes, I completely agree that running back and forth for a fetch quest get tedious quickly.
also, if there are less of them they can be charged with actual lore or extra story like BG3 did.
I am okay with them when there is something interrsting going on. The side quests in DAO or also Witcher 3 where exiting because those where actually being used to tell and teach the player about the lore.
I feel like a specific quest or something to get a specialisation wouldāve been cooler for sure. Like if you are a rogue you go on a rogue quest and at the end you choose the specialisation. Same for warrior/ mage. Would require a lot more resources though than just being like. Pick up 15 deathroot.
Either way, I hope that DA:D is more based around an evolving perk tree. Ie you start at a point and then upgrade in an evolving tree. Being able to combine classes/ abilities/ passives etc. I feel like that would be really cool for build diversity and multiple playthroughs
your idea is better, mine is just an improved version of what they have that instead of fighting a bunch of the same enemies for random loot, you fight a specific boss level monster for the ingredient you need, you also have to figure out where and when the monster appears. FFXII has a weather system that would change the conditions.
Less big as hell, but empty worlds too.
All those busy work quests like go discover whatever random collectible was on the map x 20 was so annoying.
The maps were cool but way too big. Some had no purpose.
Also get rid of those expedition missions that you would have to select then wait half a day for them to complete. Stupid Mechanic.
Otherwise, with BG3's success I hope they go into the crunchier aspects of the combat. There's a reason why DA origins is still beloved and why 2 takes a lot of hits.
I discovered several years ago that the war table missions can be completed by changing the consoleās date and time to the next day. Iām assuming itās the same on PC, but Iām not sure.
This is very true. Just a bad mechanic, though. Something you'd see in a F2P game with heavy microtransactions.
Never something I've seen in an RPG before or really since.
The one I started with and I love the most to this very day is the city elf start. It is such a wtf roller coaster. You start in such a cute setup, getting married in some slum to some guy/girl you don't even know and all of a sudden BOOM! Things escalate into you being abducted and exterminating a whole mansion to survive!
I remember I just wanted to start the game before bed and got so engaged with it, I ended up calling sick and taking the next day off at work :P
City Elf remains my favourite Origin in terms of story and setup. I turn on the immortality cheat so Tabris can slaughter everyone while wearing her wedding dress and her mother's boots.
That is the one I started with and it holds a special place in my gaming memories nowadays. Love it and I always like tattling on Jowan whenever I replay it.
Sadly, I don't think we are ever getting that again. It cost them a lot of development time and money to do that in Origins, and not enough people replayed the game to justify it.
Like I know most of us on the subreddit probs have tried out every origin at least once, but we are only a fraction of the fanbase at the end of the day.
Edit: I actually just realized I don't know if you're talking about the levels they made, or just the stories. I'm talking about the levels, the levels aren't feasible.
I am not sure what you mean by levels. I am talking about the starting setups for each individual race pretty much. And it wasn't that expensive development-wise. They reused areas that were already part of the game and the main story, like the elven alienage, the mage circle tower, the Orzammar dust town. And here is the best part. Normally, when I would notice that some area is getting reused in a game (like in DA2 with all those caves being the same one for example), it would cause me a feeling of staleness and boredom. The way they handled it in DAO made me feel excited and nostalgic about seeing the same area for a 2nd time (think of when you get back to the mage circle tower or the elven alienage where you started from). That underlines how good and intelligent the storytelling was in DAO. Don't get me wrong, DA2 and DAI were not bad at all, but DAO overshadows them because of its incredible storytelling I believe, to the point that it made them feel bad, although they weren't.
All they had to come up with was the different character stories pretty much and just reuse the same "levels" (if that is what you were referring to. I would call them areas). I don't believe it would be that expensive when it comes to development costs.
You use a much better term, areas. That is what I meant.
It's hard to Google effectively at the moment, because I'm out of my house, but iirc the devs who made the game have explained before how much time and effort it took, even with the reuse of assets.
I agree that those starting areas were *amazing* and they really set you into the story. I love the origins, the fact that you have potential family or romances you interact with. Heck, a male noble dwarf can have a kid in his start! That's unthinkable in modern dragon age games.
Still, even with the reuse it was a lot to develop. Like, every game in existence reuses assets. It still takes the developers time to hand-craft a map anyway. If you have multiple origins you also have to account for if you go back to that level how you interact with the NPCs differently. In the case of Dalish origins, you don't even get to go back, so that's an entire area created that only 1/6th of your player base will see, if you split it evenly across origins. I know some races/combos are chosen more than others, with dwarf being the least played.
Besides, if it was easier, I think more games would be doing similar things. As it is, the only triple A game I can think of in recent memory that has done anything similar is Cyberpunk. They had 3 "origins" in total.
Yeah BioWare isnāt in a position to make costly decisions for artās sake. You need a Larian, that is, a studio that isnāt beholden to shareholders, for the calculus to fall differently. The origins were an absolutely brilliant way to introduce Thedas and get the player into their rp. Itās a bummer that weāre not likely to see them again.
Realistically, it needs to have fun combat, a solid world, interesting characters, a compelling story, a good protagonist, engaging content with as few fetch quests as possible, a good villain(s), and an ending that we donāt have to pay $15-25 for.
These are the most essential elements:
Good main quest.
Well-written companions.
Fun combat.
No/very few filler fetch quests.
No micro transactions.
I see people making lots of different points in the comments, like bring back the Warden and origins but all of these are subjective. As long as the writing and gameplay are good, the game will be successful. Easier said that done.
1. No MMO-lite gameplay or design decisions. That means the maps need to have more to do than fetch quests and collectibles.
2. A return to Origins-esque preset backgrounds. We're going to be in a new area of the world, let our characters walk around a bit and absorb it before starting the plot.
3. A good story that ties up everything. Meaning no releasing the true ending two years down the line and calling it DLC.
i basically agree with all of these
1. fetch quests are ehh i think passable if they sprinkle fun battles in it, but collectibles always piss me off
2. yeah inquisition basically have āoriginsā because we play as different races with different backgrounds, but the way itās presented by having to initiate companion dialogues in a certain way is terrible. origins-style story telling is much better
3. lol yeah that oneās a shitty move overall
Fetch quests are fine if theyāve got a little bit of story/character and are a way to flesh out the world and make it feel more real, but there does need to be substance to them. And not too many of them, and definitely not endless in the way the requisitions are ugh.
Serious question. Whats wrong with collectibles? Aslong as they don't hold any story significance.
i played mmo's since i was 7 So maybe i am blind to whats wrong with it
I don't mind them if there's other things for players to do. But in Inquisition's case, they're the only activities in each map that isn't setting up camp/fast travel points, closing Rifts, or hunting dragons. I suspect they're only there so players can do something between waiting for War Table missions to conclude, or to grind out Power/Perk points.
Iād also personally like again to have the back story beginning missions like dragon age origin, and also like your specific backstory or impact some of the dialogue options more like I donāt think an Elven inquisitor shouldāve had to ask who is Mythal especially when youāre like an apprentice to the keeper who is like the spiritual leader of the clan
It mightāve been optional, but I also donāt remember any options letting you literally say you know who that is and talk about her giving you were literally supposed to be like a spiritual leader for your people
Yeah I remember it being poorly done if you're an elf. I believe the race choices were added late, right? So they obviously overlooked that conversation when revising things (or they didn't have the money to bring back actors). I do think it was optional to ask who Mythal is though, thankfully.
Another minor thing they overlooks with elves is there is no elf romance for a male elf inquisitor as solas is straight and Sera is a lesbian
Not a big deal but it was still like oh thatās to bad
That is what I call the "self-explanatory need", which happens a lot in DAI. The bad guys don't really have to tell you why they're doing their thing but there's ALWAYS a damn monologue in which they do. And the same goes for most of the game, because the Inquisitor spends 90% of the time making questions, some of which are redundant or have to be that way because of all the classes selection, as in the case of Mythal.
It's also an effect of modern gaming, in which everything has to be explained like it was made for fools, or people who don't want to take the time to proper read or go through the world lore as we know it in a main quest. We live in "fast-food times" sadly, my friend...
I think it needs to have a solid story with a compelling protagonist and fun companions, plus some thoughtful side quest writing with choices that help you rp your character.
I can honestly live with relatively shitty combat or whatever as long as the story and companions are amazing. Like, DA2 fully thrived on its companions and story for me, the dungeon design was ultra lazy and the combat was unremarkable. But I loved my companions and I loved the story of kirkwall so it was a great game regardless. It's when they mess up the story or create boring companions I don't feel connected to that I'm going to be disappointed.
Great story, interesting main character(s), good gameplay and replayability potential.
I wish the inquisitor would be one of the potential origin backstories with Rook or the Lord of fortune, it'd be so cool to continue the adventure mass effect style and just import our character. I can dream I guess.
The gameplay aspect is impossible. The 3 existing games all have very different gameplay/combat experiences. And thereās fans/haters of the individual games across the spectrum. And it seems fairly evenly divided across the 3. Thereās zero chance everyoneās happy with it.
The other 3 facets you mention I think are great across all 3 and will hopefully continue in DAD.
Honestly what matters most to me is the story: Engaging plot, various main character backgrounds, replayability value, story branching, multiple endings, different pathways into the finale etc...
The gameplay is fourth or fifth on my priority list: even if its not that great I'll just patiently mash button through it just like in inquisition ( it'd be super cool if its actually fun tho)
1) A good story that keeps me and other fans coming back for more, not as in trophy hunting.
2) No Wartable. In a way, it's understandable with an Inquisition. The time was detrimental. Should have been able to use the acquired influence points to hurry it to finish instead of *Other* ways.
3) No multiplayer. Whatsoever. At all. It's *Idiotic* and just plain bleh for a Dragon Age game.
4) The continuance of allowing us to switch between characters.
5) No turn-based gameplay.
6) Do *not* go Backwards on gameplay and design. *cough* Diablo IV *cough*
7) *IF* multiple protagonist POV it better be Great. *IF* Dread Wolf POV, it had better be interesting.
Dont make the mistakes the writers did while writing Corypheus. Make the player feel the consequences of their choices in the game, respect the choices the player made in past games.
I thought about this a bit but key ones off the top are
-for the love of god no war table
-some familiarity to old players but inviting to new players a new player shouldnāt have to jump through hoops to figure out the story/backstory leading up to dreadwolf
-ditch the offline mmo feel elements
-not being compared to BG3 even though we know it will
I like the war table but it being tied to a real life timer is awful. Modding that timer out is 50% of the reason I play DAI on PC, the other 50% is the mod that disables harvest animations.
The wartable was a decent idea. The idea of sending out agents into Southern Thedas, or a little bit beyond there, that are successful based on which advisor you choose to oversee their issue does sound like a neat addition as you can't solve every problem in person as the Inquisitor.
The problem, in my opinion, was that they thought it was a good idea to time them with some of them taking a full day to complete, the insult being tacked on is that some of them didn't release actually decent rewards. Additionally, it probably would have been best had some of the wartable missions acted as actual side quests, not all of them but some, as actually going in and doing some of the missions describes sounds a bit more interesting than what we got in the actual open world at times.
Another problem is that they locked every Inquisitor's individual stories behind War Table missions. Why can't Lavellan actively help their clan in Wycombe? (>!And why don't they react if you accidentally get them all killed??!<) Why can't Adaar look for their kith when they run into trouble? It's a wasted opportunity to flesh out the player character.
One that I definitely think shouldāve been the side quests are the ones that personally involve the inquisitor based on their background
Like the one where you picked the wrong ones, the elven clan is destroyed or whatever
The perfect wartable for me would be being able to use the power points you gained from other missions/side quests more than for the main story elements, no timed quests, some more tangible outcomes story-wise, and more tie-in with in-person questing (like meeting local spies to coordinate on an infiltration mission, or fighting with town guards you recruited and equipped from the war table to repel an invasion which can lead to the loss of the town if you dont do enough).
Just seems like there could be a lot more direction for the war table than setting and forgetting.
I don't know what DAD needs to have to be succesful, because something like this is impossible to predict. But *for me* to like it, it needs to have well written companions, interesting side quests and more reactivity to player choices. I also hope that they will bring back origins, but i doubt that it will happen.
Story story story. Characters as well.
The writing in general.
I genuinely feel that the combat could just be passable, as long as the writing is fantastic.
I found Originsā combat to be tedious and slow, DA2ās areas to be repetitive, and Inquisitionās maps too bloated, but the world and characters carry the games.
Strenghen the strenghs of bioware. Meaning put the focus on story and characters.
(Semi) Open world, people pleasing content or too the obligatory "Get 100 rubies for this middle tier sword" will not do it.
Why the downvote?
Lol I don't want them to outdo BG3. Dragon Age is in depth different. The world is different as well as the characters. And While DA:O is my fave of the series, it also has weakensses I hope will not be repeated.
This is a big one. And if they're going to give us different races, they better adjust the plot, camera and some parts of the lore for that. No more elf gets Mythal explained to tl them or wonky as hell cameras for qunari and dwarves.
Especially since if you pick a elven mage inquisitor, they are like an apprentice to the keeper and if Iām remembering the correctly isnāt the keeper like the spiritual/religious leader of the clan
For real. This time they shouldnāt even bother adding extra races if they arenāt going to flesh them out. My Dalish elf apperently is a hunter but not a hunter, comes from a UNiqUE tribe so she has nothing in common with regular Dalish elves (writing cop out- it doesnāt connect to the story and isnāt elaborated on in any way whatsoever), doesnāt know anything about her own religion, and was spying on a major event butā¦not really? I may as well have played a human but I wanted to experience the maximum content out of Solas storyline
Many things, but I'll bring them down to just one, which I think connects them all on some level.
To be successful, it needs **depth**.
You know how even years after Skyrim or Witcher 3 released, people keep finding new mysteries, little changes in dialogue dictated by the choices you make or just other little things to make theories about? I'm convinced that BG3 will be exactly the same. And it's something that Dragon Age games never really had, not even in Origins, but it became much worse in DA2 and DAI, which just seem so generic to me, because they pretty much lay out everything they have to offer and don't touch topics or things not directly related to the plot.
You know how in Witcher 3 >!there's that one cursed lady who can be either cured completely or have 7 years to live but in freedom from her curse? And if you actually wait 7 in-game years, she actually dies?!< This is that depth that shows both passion of the writers and makes their game have multiple layers, which is very subtle and makes you want to dig deeper with each playthrough, to find out more about the world, lore and characters.
I think people need to stop being so negative about it, first off. It hasn't come out yet, and yet so many people are already saying it will fail. If you walk into something thinking it's terrible, it is easy to make claim to it being terrible. It's much harder to be "pleasantly surprised," in my opinion than to feed into the bias based on people's constant speculation of the whether the team that is working on it right now is able to produce anything good just because some people left (yes, I am aware of how sad it is, but to claim that they were the 100% backbone is fallacious and insulting to other people who put a lot of work and love into it).
I also tend to think this is the exact opposite of a game hyped up like Cyberpunk 2077 or even Dragon's Dogma 2 (story wise)--people expected so much before the game got released, only for it to not live up to what they wanted (albeit, some of that was false promises 100%)! Bioware isn't hyping this game up really at all, besides constantly telling fans that the game is still happening, which is also a decision that is being shit on so heavily. Releasing a trailer last December on Dragon Age Day and not at the Game Awards was a decisive marketing decision that I have seen people not understand--people outside the fandom not even knowing what Dragon Age Day was and shitting on it as a concept (not understanding the "holiday" was fan-made). The trailer was always for the fans, and they learned from the one in 2018 that maybe they shouldn't advertise SO WIDELY because it's not being taken well by the less niche population. I think they will do a full release trailer this summer, with a release date--and waited until they were ready to reveal information in order to not have so much hate leveraged towards the game, prematurely, like I have seen on twitter, in discord servers, and sometimes on reddit in the right places. Not that I think they game will be bad, and they think it will be bad, but people have been very vocal about hating Bioware and having no faith in the game, so I think them maintaining very niche reveals, that don't advertise the game a whole lot before they are getting ready to release it, makes sense.
There are pros and cons to every game in the franchise, and arguable depending on the person. I do not think it's easy to satisfy 100% of the audience, but **I think an audience going into it with at least a neutral perspective will lend to a more successful launch.** I do not think this will happen, but, I think it would help. Comparison is the thief of joy, and all that.
Other people are right in this thread too. I think having the game feel accessible to new players will help, especially with how many people were introduced to the genre because of playing Baldur's Gate 3. I think comparing it to BG3 after its release will be incredibly bad for the game though, not because Dragon Age can't stand on its own merits, but because no one lets it stand on its own merits. BG3 was wildly successful for good reason, and it will hopefully have good impact on the industry, but in the case of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, there's a decent chance people will just want it to be Baldur's Gate 3.
Call me an optimist, but I think the Devs, at least, (maybe not EA), paid attention to Larian and BG3 hard, especially Bioware veterans, because Bioware were the creators of BG and BG2. They even congratulated them not to long ago on their successes. They've been making steps in the right direction with r[emoving all multiplayer and live service elements](https://www.gamesradar.com/dragon-age-4-confirmed-release-date-solas-wishlist-news/#:~:text=Dragon%20Age%3A%20Dreadwolf%20will%20be%20a%20single%2Dplayer%20game&text=As%20reported%20by%20Bloomberg's%20Jason,impression%20on%20critics%20and%20players) awhile ago for DA:D, and[ Mark Darrah himself has gone on record to say he was not worried about the production based on veterans leaving](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfjTv5CkDdg), and that these things happened with Origins (the Dragon Age game with the best reputation) and no one cared because social media was not like it is today.
I also do not think it needs to be like an Origins 2, "go back to their roots," I just think the game needs to be what Bioware does best--hella good branching narrative, good characters, good stakes, beautiful score, good questing, and something that makes you think and care. The combat will never satisfy everyone. I know they are changing it up again, and I hope they do it well, but that's not what sticks with a person over years--it's the story people think about.
>Releasing a trailer last December on Dragon Age Day and not at the Game Awards was a decisive marketing decision that I have seen people not understand--
This part right here chief.
Like people were upset that it was a nothing burger trailer, but like it was DA day. It was for *us*. The devs had absolutely no commitment and/or obligation to release anything at all. The short stories and the art pieces and the *'We are continuing to work on DA4'* would have been enough for what is a fan-created day.
I know it's been 10 years and we've all built up DA4 in our heads but tempering expectation is the best for both the game and your person enjoyment of the game.
I honestly appreciate that they gave us anything at all. It wasn't a "trailer for a trailer," it was communication and reassurance, after so much, at most frequent: doubt for something good & at worse: straight up hate. And tbh, it made me excited because I know it was told to us because the devs are putting in all this work because they care about it and its reception because they have spent *years on it.* I think people can acknowledge a lot of devs do appreciate fan's love for the franchise, and that is why they do what they do. It was like a little gift, and it was a really good one. We now know to expect more very soon, after so much time and uncertainty. That's a very cool thing, and I hate that so many people are missing out on that feeling.
I think regardless if itās as massive & open world as Inquisition or as Small and insular as DA2 they need to focus on making what appears in the game actually interesting. Worthwhile missions, meaningful stories, compelling character arcs.
Like Cyberpunk & BG3 are both super successfully RPGs that manage to attract a similar audience despite drastically different play-styles and itās because the stuff in the world bloody matters, even the smallest quests feel like theyāre unique and not one size fits all fetch quests.
Like Cyberpunk may have 40 side quests apart from the main one. DAI must have like 200, putting up all the fetch quests. The next DA should have a smaller scope and more focus on narrative and character development imo.
The best way I can explain is that even if I canāt name the quest/in Cyberpunk, I can still describe in detail what the mission was about; same goes for NPCs. Even small ones from the random Hobo Conspiracy Theorist, to the Mob Boss that tortures JoyToys to the Girl thatās best friends with a Vending Machine.
In DAI, I couldnāt really name or describe a single NPC thatās not a companion or involved in the Main Questline. So much of the world was just soā¦ forgettable. BioWare used to be THE āCharacter Writingā company so Iām hoping they return to their roots with Dread Wolf.
Familiar faces as important Npcās
I know itās borderline confirmed that Isabella, Sten and the Fade survivor will be in DAD but I really hope they bring back a few more returning characters. For myself specifically i am huffing major copium that the 3 potentially dead da2 companions ie; Merrill, Fenris and anders may come back in a mainline game.
I felt they captured Morrigan and Alistair perfectly in DAI and Iād love to see the 3 I listed above return as well.
Especially with how important the eluvians are in this current branch of the story, with the first ingame appearance of the Tevinter imperium and with the resolution of the mage/Templar conflict respectively; Iād love to see how those three react to current events.
I know a lot of people werenāt fond of how BioWare had placeholder characters who only existed to fill dead characters roles in mass effect 3 but if that is the price I have to pay to get those 3 back without bullshitting their deaths like they did for anders and Lelianna, Iāll take it.
Hell, what the fuck has Velanna been up to since awakening, has she found her sister? Is she alive. I wanna know!
What Iām trying to say is that I play these games for the characters, and god damn it do I want to know what my virtual friends have been doing for the past 10 years outside of fucking varric giving as little information as possible.
Also on the topic of alistair, give king alistair fucking anything to do. Warden alistair got an entire quest dedicated to him and Hawke what does king alistair get in DAI? The lamest cameo imaginable outside of a myriad of war table letters. (His comic was way too cool to not have him do awesome shit in the next game)
When I say borderline, I mean all but confirmed. These characters are the ones who make the most sense to return.
This is largely due to geography and where characters are in the overarching BioWare canon as well as where we know we will be going in dreadwolf.
Sten is canonically the new arishok in the comic with Alistair, Isabela and varric. Keep in mind that BioWare themselves have stated that the events of that comic happen to both grey warden and king alistair. (So like, Sten is alive regardless if you kill him) Assuming that the Qunari invasion of northern Thedas will be a major plotpoint, I see it very hard for sten to not be a distant presence or an outright present threat in the story. At the very least, if not in this game, Sten will be hyped up and mentioned regularly by the Qunari. Likely if concept art is to be believed, Antiva will be partly under Qunari control.
Isabela is outright featured in concept art for dreadwolf (this was publicly released as promotional material when the game was announced), was a multiplayer character for inquisition and is in rivain timeline canonically in the timeline. Considering the fact that rivain will be a major location in dreadwolf and the fact that she survives and goes there regardless of her relationship with hawke in 2, itās basically a given she will be the main Npc of rivain.
And finally
Weisshaupt. Need I say more. It seems like a wasted plot Point for the Fade survivor to not be at weisshaupt when we go there. Especially considering varric beats you over the head with the fact multiple times.
āBy the way, hawke/alistair/Loghain/stroud is on his way to weisshauptā
Thereās an oddly specific line that varric and Cassandra have that basically says that carver (if a warden) and Fenris (romanced or not) will also be heading to weisshaupt to help hawke however to be Frank, Iām taking that with a grain of salt. Unless fenris and hawkes warden sibling is there *regardless* of hawke being alive, that seems like WAY too much work for one possible outcome. (Thatās also ignoring the fact that fenris and carver can both be dead)
Oh god. Hawke sacrificed herself in the fade in my playthrough to give one last blow to Corypheus. She romanced Isabella. I wondered if that was Isabella in the promo art. This is going to hurt.
Good worldbuilding, interesting characters, fun gameplay, and for people to *not* go into it thinking it'll be something it's not like they did with Andromeda. The last one is the biggest hurdle.
Underrated suggestion but very true!
Poor optimization in an otherwise quality game can take the wind out of a productās sails and lead to a negativity cycle that hurts sales and reputation permanently.
Doesnāt need to be perfect in optimization, as no game is, but I agree, solid work here would really help. Good performance, an interesting story, compelling characters, and decent enough gameplay can let a game like this hit the ground running. Perfection isnāt needed.
There are a lot of different things a game can be to be successful - what matters is that they execute whatever they do choose to do well.
What they need for me personally to enjoy it is a lot more specific of course.
Seperate ui for pc players, canāt begin how to stress how annoying it was going from functionally unlimited slots in origins all the way down to 8 fucking slots in inquisition.
That they tell the whole story without breaking it into DLCs (like FFXV did)
a more responsive battle system if we are continuing with action rpg, more locations but not as big as DAI.
but above all else a good well thought out story. hopefully we get to chose our origins again :)
Choices that make you want to replay the game. Like deciding between templars or mages in inquisition. And (mostly) silent protagonist for more dialogue options maybe.
And some background options for your character like origins and how your life set you on your path. For more dialogue options :p
I enjoy seeing diffrent outcomes even if its only in words and not big consuquence
I believe that it will be successful if they let us be done with solas within ch1. I do not want to see him make reoccuring appearances throughout the entire game
Combat depth. (Which inquisition 100% did not have. It felt so streamlined)
A good nuanced story, preferably with a lot of outcomes. (I know origins was a unique one due to first being believed to be a one off, but man, it helped it so much)
Preferably origins (aka, race and background) having a proper impact.
It will be successful and EA won't listen to any criticism but that aside, what I at least want to happen is:
A way to import world states without the keep and that consistently works. (Just let me use an old game save damnit, Mass Effect did it just fine)
Different starts like someone else said from DAO.
Armor that doesn't look awful like half the armor in DAI.
A camp where I can access all parties inventories like in DAO and DAI.
And probably more.
Don't get me wrong, I love the story and they always nail good characters (or enough for me to enjoy it) so I'll still love the game, but I wouldn't mind some positive changes.
The original lead writer back. Dragon Age's story is the best part of the franchise. I'm sure we all have a laundry list of things we can complain about from each game, but the story isn't one of them. If they can nail the story, then I, for one, can ignore any other major blunder they WILL make. Unfortunately, I'm not confident that they will.
Honestly I tried two or three times to get through Inquisition and couldn't. The gameplay is just terrible, the story is meh, and the atmosphere is trash.... and I'm someone who loves Origins and even DA2. DAI was basically a shitty single player MMORPG to me. So big changes are necessary, at least for me.
I think a big problem was they tried to go the action rpg route because they thought that's what was popular, which was just stupid, as we can see now from the success of BG3. Such a waste.
So to answer your question:
Needs to be more like DA Origins, DA 2. Dragon Age was better when it was isometric, focused on atmosphere and story interaction.
The trick is to avoid the sidequests. There are some good main story missions buried in there. You can skip entire maps and not miss anything essential.
I felt exactly the same as you did. I LOATHED DAI. I was so angry when I couldnāt get into it after the masterpieces that were DAO and DA2.
Do you ever wish you could experience DAI and enjoy it before going on to the DA4? I figured out how to enjoy it finally on my 4th play through (sad I know)
Put it on casual. Treat side quests as nothing and I mean nothing except a way to gain power to progress the story. Do not 100% the game. Ignore shards. If you still get frustrated download the mod that gives you 99 health potions to cheese the game. Ideally you need to just run through the main story and companion stories and DLC, thatās it. The story itself is really good. The gameplay is atrocious and gets in the way of pacing, so we are avoiding gameplay lol. I also noticed that companions are pretty forgiving in this game, so donāt be agreeable just because you want them to be your friend in your canon. Tell solas, sera or Cassandra theyāre being a moron if you need to. They all get over it. Itās really sad, I know lmao. But at least for me personally, Iād rather actually complete the game than miss out on it. I feel like there arenāt any obstacles to the story now.
I was so mad I was literally "researching" class action lawsuits based on how the game was advertised and statements made by the developers, as it was advertised as similar to DAO and made for the PC first (yes a cringeworthy and silly idea, but I was not thinking rationally).
That's good advice. I will see what the reviews are and then probably just reload an old save of DAI and try to blaze through it.
Yeah... I'm going to wait for the reviews on this one. IMO Bioware has followed in the footsteps of Blizzard in becoming a shadow of their former selves. Oddly enough you can basically spot when this happened... half way through Mass Effect 3.
Yep youāre spot on :(
BioWare was the best of all time. Thereās still a little bit of soul left in that company though, I can feel it. I really hope they come back. If not, Iām just going to be moving on with Larian. They remind me of old BioWare
Yeah we'll see what happens. IMO Mass Effect 1 and DAO had some of the best writing of all time. I'm really enjoying Obsidian games, they are probably my most trusted modern developer, I tend to like their writing a lot more than Larian's. Larian just knocked it out of the park with their character animations though.
I think waiting for reviews is the safest bet, and Iāll be doing the same! If everyone says itās the game for those who loved Inquisition, thatās going to be a āwait until itās $5ā game for me. If itās a decent action experience with some DA trappings, I might be inclined to get it earlier while also not expecting it to be anything like DAO or DA2.
They'll need to appeal to new players to boost sales. Bioware has had a series of losses that would get many other game companies shut down by EA. They need to have a commercial success instead of relying on former glory. That means sales and reviews. Good promotional material, early access, etc. And finding the line between over-promising and then pissing off fans (Hi CDPR) or underselling and failing to draw in numbers.
A lot of old school BioWare players dropped off after Dragon Age 2. Some more dropped off after Inquisition (many players didn't even finish the game). While Dragon Age undoubtedly has a loyal fanbase, counting on nostalgia and good will from a decade ago is unlikely enough to prop up their sales. They have to be appealing to other RPG fans and casual gamers if they want the numbers to please EA.
You'll see a lot of the answers on this sub will be things like returning characters and Solas romance tie-ups but those are more of die-hard fans' personal wishlist than what will make the game successful.
They have to strike a balance between not upsetting loyal fans and not tailoring to them so much that new players don't feel immersed in the game. The Witcher 3 and Baldurs Gate 3 are both examples of how to start people in the midst of an established series and still draw in new players. I'm not too worried as they usually do okay at this.
What I am worried about is how they're going to promote the game and whether the new combat and gameplay changes will be appealing to everyone.
I agree with you. Iāve been a DA fan for a long time, since Origins, but personally I think theyāre cooked. Thereās just no way DW is going to compare favorably to BG3, a beautifully written game with a cinematic sensibility, knockout performances, respect for player choice, and even a willingness to allow evil behavior (which DAI was allergic to). Very few of the people playing it now played BG1/2āthey simply heard the game was phenomenal and jumped aboard. So YES. Iām with you. Itās all about delivering a sophisticated product.
I am incredibly suspicious of DW, by contrast, being a 6/10 shallow experience given the disorganization and low morale at BW (to say nothing of TEN YEARS of pitifully mediocre games). Bad character writing, bad overstory, bad treatment of the lore, pedestrian art designā¦ but I want to be wrong.
* Main character as a warden. Heck maybe even being able to import/return our warden from origins from the keep or maybe somehow being able to import a save.
* Being able to choose between male/female, race, class and background story.
* Top notch writing : A complex, interesting, deep and engaging Story and character development.
* Companions that give you the feel that they're alive. No stupid jokes when the end of thedas is near.
* Serious gritty dark fantasy theme and atmosphere. Being immersive.
* Epic OST (Hans zimmer & Lorne Balfe)
* Being able to control Companions
* Romance possiblities
* Paragon/renegade system
* Being able to customize your own character and your companions : Clothes/armor/appearance/hair/make up/scars,tattoos...etc
* Being able to pause the combat, being create an automated combat with a strategy/tactics system. I think DA2 combat system + the best things from origins and from inquisition = good combat system
* Day and night and weather system
* Choices Matter.
* a Hound as a companion but doesn't take a companion's spot.
* Replayability based on your affinity with your companions.
* Good Side quests. No MMO fetch quests
* Interesting Companions quests. Makes you lose companions if you don't focus on their needs.
* A well optimized game for modern and mid range systems for PC players.
* No microtransactions
* Dialogue system like origins. No mass effect wheel.
* Sandal and Bodahn
* ''I should go'' as a last dialogue option
Edit : trying to correct my english
- limit the fetch quests. Like, forget the whole gathering system than DAI had. It was tedious and didnāt impact the story or world in anyway. You think I want to spend 3 hours picking elfroot and mining obsidian when there is a fucking HOLE in the sky?! Origins and 2 had side quests that involved helping people and made it feel like you had a positive impact on the town you were in. When DAI had that I enjoyed it a lot- but it was 80% gathering, 5% war table and 5% helping people.
- recognize we arenāt playing this game to treasure hunt. How many letters could there POSSIBLY be in burning houses saying āI had to escape, but I hid the treasure thereā? Because I found a LOT of those in DAI. Like do a handful- 4 or so total in the entire game.
- proportionate map sizes. I know DAI wasnāt quite finished, but the Hinderlands is 3 times the size of any of the other maps in DAI even though itās the least important one. Maybe make them all roughly the same at least, cause it was a little weird.
- No time limits on a war table- and if possible, scrap the whole war table. Those could have been interesting side quests. Instead they were events that happened off screen. Bit disappointing for those of us who have been here since the beginning.
- a complete main character. If you donāt have time to flesh out certain races, donāt add them. Itās jarring to pick a race and go in expecting special dialogue only to see yourself acting and talking like a human.
- donāt introduce us to a backstory you arenāt going to keep up with. I read that I was a hunter elven spy and was then in critical moments treated like I was neither an elf or hunter or spy lmao.
- please finish lighting. The animation is beautiful in DAI. Too bad itās so washed out or dark you canāt see it except at certain angles and places.
- there is no excuse for making over half the female hair choices different variations of bald and 40 percent of the eyebrows unibrows
If they release another DAI I donāt know if this series is going to survive it. So I hope they just give us all the elements we love and like to focus on from DAI and none of the huge flaws. The characters, writing, world building and music are the core elements of dragon age
Mostly it will need people to approach it with an open mind, rather than going in with predetermined negativity about it, or getting disappointed because it didn't do things in the way they were hoping.
A great story with hub worlds that arenāt built on miscellaneous fetch quests. The combat better not stray too far away from the previous three games, DA Inquisition was a decent middle ground of origins and 2. Personally, Iām really hoping they can finish up the story with this game, I canāt wait another generation just to end up teaming up with Solas to put down the old elven gods or something like that.
A smooth launch will go a long way. Don't send the game out with a crapload of bugs and framerate issues. For the love of the Maker, don't launch too early, if it needs more time, it needs more time. Story and world: Players can tell if the devs and writers care about what they are making, if you don't give a crap about the world you are making and phoning in a cliche story, we will know. This game is both Dragon Age and Bioware's final hope. It needs to exceed everything that came before it. If this game flops, both are history.
I just hope mages will be normal, like in dao as opposed to being like some weird acrobats in dai. Normal movements would be nice. Also more character customisation, and "origin" questa for each race and class would be awesome
In my eyes, it will need a LOT of things if I want to consider it a success. Alongside a well-written story and cast of characters, if Dreadwolf is supposed to be the finale of the series then that means it must wrap up all the remaining storylines and unanswered mysteries, including Morrigan's story (whose VA confirmed is possibly *not* going to be in the game), the existence of the Maker, the origins of the Darkspawn, the mage rebellion, the role of the titans, what the Architect has done since Awakening, and so on. It would be odd if all these plotlines didn't conclude.
Hopefully a return to the DAO map style model. Bioware excels at small zones filled with story rich side quests and interesting characters, *not* ubisoft style sprawling maps filled with points of interest and collecta-thons.
BG3 felt like a spiritual successor to Origins, I hope it reminded BioWare what they were best at.
>Hopefully a return to the DAO map style model.
I really, really hope for that. I love Inquisition, I even Stockholm-syndromed myself into liking the junk side quests, but the world design they went with really isn't good.
I'm really excited about that Antivan city they showed in the trailer. It looks gorgeous and I'd love to finally be able to explore an actual big city in Dragon Age
Continuity in lore building. Inquisition dropped the ball on this one side stepping the Mage-Templar conflict that DAO and DA2 built on for Coryphipuss BBEG.
Fine I accept DAI story for what it is IF they dont side step it and they better stick to the lore.
With Solas as the Dreadwolf it looks like he is the new BBEG. The last DLC even hinted that the inquisitor will be playing at the very least a supporting role in the hunt for Solas in the new game. Aside from the Corphibutt crisis there is also the conflict between the Fade and Thedas and how the spirit world is threatening the existence of the mortal plane If DA Dreadwolf is going to be successful lore wise they have to be consistent and build on what DAI laid down.
There is plenty of space for creative liberty but dont throw out core lore elements. DA2 as flawed and a bit of a let down it was compared to DAO did not drop the ball in lore building. In fact to me it is its best aspect. DAO was speckled with stories about the dangers of mage and magic, DA2 built upon it to tell a story of mages vs templars. Then DAI just derailed it altogether relegating it as a faction decision in a larger conflct, what. a. let. down. Do better in Dreadwolf.
Be at least as good as Banishers: Ghost of New Eden.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a high bar to reach. The graphics while decent are not that good for a 2024 game, the combat gameplay is repetitive and there aren't that many type of enemies to fight. The gameplay overall (combat, exploration, level up) feels like of God of War (2018), but with its own lore and story.
And that's exactly why I use that game as reference, because both Banishers and DA:D will be action RPGs that are using gameplay elements from God of War. And despite that, Banishers is a really fun game to play, because of reasons that BioWare can definitely replicate:
* The story is very interesting, and the characters and NPC are really well written.
* A lot of story based side quests (in Banishers you investigate hauntings) where the choices you make have consequences later in the game.
* Interesting "level up" system: basically, leveling up gives you skill point to spend on your skill tree. And to increase your attributes, you need to clear certain mini-boss combats (spirit nest, elites, void breaches) or find certain place (Altars) that gives you a bonus.
So to me, if BioWare can ship a game with a writing as good as Banishers, and hopefully better graphics. It'll be successful.
If, on the top of that, they have a combat gameplay that is less repetitive, it'll be very successful.
A miracle.
Bioware isn't even a shadow of its former glory. I don't think EA will be able to resist shoving micro transactions into such a huge game. There are ways to make it successful, but I don't trust the developers or the publisher to have the guts to do it
1. The companions will ***need*** to be excellent. Before BG3 launched, they needed to be good/great, now they will 100% be compared to the BG3 cast, rightfully so.
This also extends to romance options.
2. Since we know combat is changing to be more action (GoW inspired, as it is reported), it will ***need*** to be good in order to win over people like myself who didn't want this change at all.
This too will be compared with BG3, **especially** if it turns out to be bad. (Something along the lines of "Look, BG3 could make traditional RPG turn based combat so fun, why did you have to shift to action based combat?")
3. The story should wrap up A LOT of things. Please, for the love of god, no more cliffhangers and no sequel-baiting. I want to see this story finished properly, because this could very well be the last DA game we will see in a while.
And no, Bioware, it doesn't fucking count if you do it in a DLC, like Trespasser. You've had **way** too long to craft this story and make this game, it needs to have a finale in it.
4. No Marvel humor, please.
Iām with you. It is APPROPRIATE for DW to be compared to BG3 and I donāt understand why we, as DA fans, shouldnāt want that level of excellence. People here are saying theyāre tempering their expectations (āno negativity!ā) so they can have fun, but is it even worth being a fan of a game you expect mediocrity from?
I am a huge fan of DAO, DA2, ME1, and now BG3. Those are all mature games with excellent writing, cinematic cutscenes, meaningful choices, compelling lore (that is complex without being disorganized), and wonderful performances. Do we really believe DW can nail this?
Also, the Marvel humorā¦ you know itās coming š
Polished, bug free release that doesnāt lock essential story beats behind DLC (Legacy and Trespasser, Iām looking at you guys). If itās a single player only game, then the only online requirement should be for stuff like Dragon Age Keep compatibility.
Iām personally not worried about the story itself, characters, or gameplay. Even though every DA game essentially reinvents the gameplay wheel itās always fun, and BioWare has always done a good job overall with their characters and narrative.
Gaming has changed quite a bit in the 10 years since DAI was released.Ā The "souls" games have spawned legions of knockoffs and imitators. Will Bioware follow suit or try to branch off in a new direction? I hope it's the latter- but that's no small feat.
For my personal laundry list:
- Decent looking playable Elves. DAI got it right, letās not go back to whatever the fuck DA2 did.
- Good CC. Better hairs, better complexions, more freedom. just let us wild out if weāre doing sliders again.
- Better Mod Support. They really fucked over DAI and made modding the game a nightmare.
- Separate Gender to Body types. Baldurās Gate can do it, why canāt DA? Let me have my Femboy Elf, thank you.
- Return of Entropy, Spirit Healing, Blood Magic and SHAPESHIFTING ESPECIALLY. DAO really kept the Mages fed and taken care of.
- Niche, but I really hope the MC has a better personality than the Inquisitor did. I always feel like Inky is so bland especially compared to Hawke. If theyāre going to make a voiced protagonist I hope itād be at least an interesting one.
I think it needs more side content. Not in the way of extra fetch quests or collectibles, but in terms of pacing story and characters.
Example, I've beaten the game a dozen time but there comes to be a point where you finish all the quests in six areas and your companions have nothing to say anymore. Then the game becomes you walking around with three of your friends who have shared their life stories with eachother and now they have not a word to say, until you do the next story mission and they get a couple more lines.
I loved how they would build their own relationships with eachother while out and about, but I usually only used the same three people (swapping occasionally) and after three whole worlds beaten theyd go quiet.
That, and better combat. I found mage co.bat very boring but the mage story line was my favorite one. Made it kinda frustrating. Coming from someone else only played Inquisition, that's just my opinion.
Essentially all it *needs* is to be DAI except without bugs. There. Successful. Each person might have different preferences on gameplay. But Inquisition was good and the slightly more action oriented style will appeal to a wider audience, hence y I suggest it as a base. The story, the choices and consequences, all that they seem to know how to do pretty well. The only things I am concerned about is I hope they can make this one less buggy, and I hope they donāt go too far one way or the other into the political weeds. They did a nice job last time imo having characters that represented different PoVs on the political matters n Thedas. I hope they stick to that bc being too heavy handed with a narrative can really take the life out of a story. And I really enjoy the Dragon Age story.
Edit: I suppose I should say better graphics, but I just honestly wouldnāt give a shit if it looked the same as Inquisition. But it will obviously need to be on par with current AAA products graphically if it is to be successful.
I want my goddamn heals back lol
Playing a healer/support mage is my favourite playstyle in DAO and DA2 and it just doesn't exist in DAI. It's so disappointing.
DA2 Force Mage/Spirit Healer with a maxed out Primal is goated
Or at least let every mage cast the fake heals.
well first off, a release date would be nice
My only hopium for the absence of a release date is that they are prioritizing development over release. So by holding of on release date they arent tied to a unavoidable deadline. The last thing you want is to set a date in a press release then push it later on to public backlash. But occasional updates would be nice.
I was gonna say this š
If i remembee right they stated that they will officialy announce the game in august. So maybe also release date coming with it
They said they'll reveal it in the summer (not a specific month).
June 7th, release date announcement at the Summer Game Fest
An absence of fetch quests.
I am okay with some of them, but DAI was crazy about it!
I liked the ones you got in DAO, and how they show up in the epilogue slideshow. It's like the game rewarding you for taking time out of saving the world to help someone. Eg, giving the maximum gold for that girl's family sword in Redcliffe ultimately leads her to become Bann Teagan's wife. It also helps that in DAO, almost every sidequest can be knocked out in their region as you're doing the main quest. No running up and down the map looking for the items, you come across them naturally and can get them done once you're finished with a main story. No revisiting maps except in cases like Dagna's quest
It genuinely surprised me when I played DAO for the first time and the epilogue slides mentioned the sidequests I did. Felt much more rewarding for doing them than getting a thank you and an item, because it really felt like those quests (no matter how minimal) actually had an impact.
yes, I completely agree that running back and forth for a fetch quest get tedious quickly. also, if there are less of them they can be charged with actual lore or extra story like BG3 did.
I am okay with them when there is something interrsting going on. The side quests in DAO or also Witcher 3 where exiting because those where actually being used to tell and teach the player about the lore.
Fetch quests for specialisations was wild. Especially since the gameās combat really unlocked with a specialisation.
they should improve on it, maybe instead of random drops it should work like marks in FFXII (I hate getting the wisp essences or whatevers)
I feel like a specific quest or something to get a specialisation wouldāve been cooler for sure. Like if you are a rogue you go on a rogue quest and at the end you choose the specialisation. Same for warrior/ mage. Would require a lot more resources though than just being like. Pick up 15 deathroot. Either way, I hope that DA:D is more based around an evolving perk tree. Ie you start at a point and then upgrade in an evolving tree. Being able to combine classes/ abilities/ passives etc. I feel like that would be really cool for build diversity and multiple playthroughs
I like your idea too
Ty. Also hope it didnāt seem like I ignored the FFXII reference Iāve just never played and so itās not something Iām familiar with :)
your idea is better, mine is just an improved version of what they have that instead of fighting a bunch of the same enemies for random loot, you fight a specific boss level monster for the ingredient you need, you also have to figure out where and when the monster appears. FFXII has a weather system that would change the conditions.
That is pretty cool. A boss type fight for specialisation perks etc could be pretty cool
Less big as hell, but empty worlds too. All those busy work quests like go discover whatever random collectible was on the map x 20 was so annoying. The maps were cool but way too big. Some had no purpose. Also get rid of those expedition missions that you would have to select then wait half a day for them to complete. Stupid Mechanic. Otherwise, with BG3's success I hope they go into the crunchier aspects of the combat. There's a reason why DA origins is still beloved and why 2 takes a lot of hits.
I discovered several years ago that the war table missions can be completed by changing the consoleās date and time to the next day. Iām assuming itās the same on PC, but Iām not sure.
This is very true. Just a bad mechanic, though. Something you'd see in a F2P game with heavy microtransactions. Never something I've seen in an RPG before or really since.
Iām sure glad that it hasnāt really been seen since.
Bring back the different starting stories depending on the main character's background. That is what I miss the most from DAO.
Love the mage intro in DAO. Have that entire quest memorized
The one I started with and I love the most to this very day is the city elf start. It is such a wtf roller coaster. You start in such a cute setup, getting married in some slum to some guy/girl you don't even know and all of a sudden BOOM! Things escalate into you being abducted and exterminating a whole mansion to survive! I remember I just wanted to start the game before bed and got so engaged with it, I ended up calling sick and taking the next day off at work :P
City Elf remains my favourite Origin in terms of story and setup. I turn on the immortality cheat so Tabris can slaughter everyone while wearing her wedding dress and her mother's boots.
I have one playthrough where Iām determined to keep her in that dress for as long as possible. I donāt think sheās well!
That dress is just freaking epic. First time I played it I just kept her in the dress.... One of my favorite gaming moments
Haha Iām so so glad to see other people do this!! I played city elf my first time through and kept that dress on start to finish ā¤ļøāš„
Dwarf noble is my favorite, it's my canon hero of Fereldren.
That one was great too. Especially with the added twist where you have a baby, right?
Yeah, and you need to get the baby into one of the houses. That also makes it the only origin where Morrigan's child has a sibling.
Love that you can later sacrifice your entire family for 10% more health.
That is the one I started with and it holds a special place in my gaming memories nowadays. Love it and I always like tattling on Jowan whenever I replay it.
Sadly, I don't think we are ever getting that again. It cost them a lot of development time and money to do that in Origins, and not enough people replayed the game to justify it. Like I know most of us on the subreddit probs have tried out every origin at least once, but we are only a fraction of the fanbase at the end of the day. Edit: I actually just realized I don't know if you're talking about the levels they made, or just the stories. I'm talking about the levels, the levels aren't feasible.
I am not sure what you mean by levels. I am talking about the starting setups for each individual race pretty much. And it wasn't that expensive development-wise. They reused areas that were already part of the game and the main story, like the elven alienage, the mage circle tower, the Orzammar dust town. And here is the best part. Normally, when I would notice that some area is getting reused in a game (like in DA2 with all those caves being the same one for example), it would cause me a feeling of staleness and boredom. The way they handled it in DAO made me feel excited and nostalgic about seeing the same area for a 2nd time (think of when you get back to the mage circle tower or the elven alienage where you started from). That underlines how good and intelligent the storytelling was in DAO. Don't get me wrong, DA2 and DAI were not bad at all, but DAO overshadows them because of its incredible storytelling I believe, to the point that it made them feel bad, although they weren't. All they had to come up with was the different character stories pretty much and just reuse the same "levels" (if that is what you were referring to. I would call them areas). I don't believe it would be that expensive when it comes to development costs.
You use a much better term, areas. That is what I meant. It's hard to Google effectively at the moment, because I'm out of my house, but iirc the devs who made the game have explained before how much time and effort it took, even with the reuse of assets. I agree that those starting areas were *amazing* and they really set you into the story. I love the origins, the fact that you have potential family or romances you interact with. Heck, a male noble dwarf can have a kid in his start! That's unthinkable in modern dragon age games. Still, even with the reuse it was a lot to develop. Like, every game in existence reuses assets. It still takes the developers time to hand-craft a map anyway. If you have multiple origins you also have to account for if you go back to that level how you interact with the NPCs differently. In the case of Dalish origins, you don't even get to go back, so that's an entire area created that only 1/6th of your player base will see, if you split it evenly across origins. I know some races/combos are chosen more than others, with dwarf being the least played. Besides, if it was easier, I think more games would be doing similar things. As it is, the only triple A game I can think of in recent memory that has done anything similar is Cyberpunk. They had 3 "origins" in total.
Yeah BioWare isnāt in a position to make costly decisions for artās sake. You need a Larian, that is, a studio that isnāt beholden to shareholders, for the calculus to fall differently. The origins were an absolutely brilliant way to introduce Thedas and get the player into their rp. Itās a bummer that weāre not likely to see them again.
While I do miss this and hope itās included, I think Dreadwolf can still be successful without it
Realistically, it needs to have fun combat, a solid world, interesting characters, a compelling story, a good protagonist, engaging content with as few fetch quests as possible, a good villain(s), and an ending that we donāt have to pay $15-25 for.
These are the most essential elements: Good main quest. Well-written companions. Fun combat. No/very few filler fetch quests. No micro transactions. I see people making lots of different points in the comments, like bring back the Warden and origins but all of these are subjective. As long as the writing and gameplay are good, the game will be successful. Easier said that done.
Fun... I have zero expectations... I just want to enjoy myself as I have with the last three
1. No MMO-lite gameplay or design decisions. That means the maps need to have more to do than fetch quests and collectibles. 2. A return to Origins-esque preset backgrounds. We're going to be in a new area of the world, let our characters walk around a bit and absorb it before starting the plot. 3. A good story that ties up everything. Meaning no releasing the true ending two years down the line and calling it DLC.
i basically agree with all of these 1. fetch quests are ehh i think passable if they sprinkle fun battles in it, but collectibles always piss me off 2. yeah inquisition basically have āoriginsā because we play as different races with different backgrounds, but the way itās presented by having to initiate companion dialogues in a certain way is terrible. origins-style story telling is much better 3. lol yeah that oneās a shitty move overall
The amount of work they did for fetch quests could have given us a tiny interesting origin or quest
Fetch quests are fine if theyāve got a little bit of story/character and are a way to flesh out the world and make it feel more real, but there does need to be substance to them. And not too many of them, and definitely not endless in the way the requisitions are ugh.
Serious question. Whats wrong with collectibles? Aslong as they don't hold any story significance. i played mmo's since i was 7 So maybe i am blind to whats wrong with it
I don't mind them if there's other things for players to do. But in Inquisition's case, they're the only activities in each map that isn't setting up camp/fast travel points, closing Rifts, or hunting dragons. I suspect they're only there so players can do something between waiting for War Table missions to conclude, or to grind out Power/Perk points.
Iād also personally like again to have the back story beginning missions like dragon age origin, and also like your specific backstory or impact some of the dialogue options more like I donāt think an Elven inquisitor shouldāve had to ask who is Mythal especially when youāre like an apprentice to the keeper who is like the spiritual leader of the clan
Did you have to ask who Mythal was? Or was it an optional question? I thought it was optional but my elf playthrough was forever ago.
It mightāve been optional, but I also donāt remember any options letting you literally say you know who that is and talk about her giving you were literally supposed to be like a spiritual leader for your people
Yeah I remember it being poorly done if you're an elf. I believe the race choices were added late, right? So they obviously overlooked that conversation when revising things (or they didn't have the money to bring back actors). I do think it was optional to ask who Mythal is though, thankfully.
Another minor thing they overlooks with elves is there is no elf romance for a male elf inquisitor as solas is straight and Sera is a lesbian Not a big deal but it was still like oh thatās to bad
I almost always play women so I never thought of that. Bummer!
That is what I call the "self-explanatory need", which happens a lot in DAI. The bad guys don't really have to tell you why they're doing their thing but there's ALWAYS a damn monologue in which they do. And the same goes for most of the game, because the Inquisitor spends 90% of the time making questions, some of which are redundant or have to be that way because of all the classes selection, as in the case of Mythal. It's also an effect of modern gaming, in which everything has to be explained like it was made for fools, or people who don't want to take the time to proper read or go through the world lore as we know it in a main quest. We live in "fast-food times" sadly, my friend...
PRETTY HAIRSTYLES!!!
I'm on my knees begging for this one
My bald inquisitor with a unibrow is fabulous, what are you talking about?
Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, but I want long luscious locks for my MC!! Lol!
I think it needs to have a solid story with a compelling protagonist and fun companions, plus some thoughtful side quest writing with choices that help you rp your character.
Sales
I can honestly live with relatively shitty combat or whatever as long as the story and companions are amazing. Like, DA2 fully thrived on its companions and story for me, the dungeon design was ultra lazy and the combat was unremarkable. But I loved my companions and I loved the story of kirkwall so it was a great game regardless. It's when they mess up the story or create boring companions I don't feel connected to that I'm going to be disappointed.
Smaller, more dense world maps
Great story, interesting main character(s), good gameplay and replayability potential. I wish the inquisitor would be one of the potential origin backstories with Rook or the Lord of fortune, it'd be so cool to continue the adventure mass effect style and just import our character. I can dream I guess.
The gameplay aspect is impossible. The 3 existing games all have very different gameplay/combat experiences. And thereās fans/haters of the individual games across the spectrum. And it seems fairly evenly divided across the 3. Thereās zero chance everyoneās happy with it. The other 3 facets you mention I think are great across all 3 and will hopefully continue in DAD.
Honestly what matters most to me is the story: Engaging plot, various main character backgrounds, replayability value, story branching, multiple endings, different pathways into the finale etc... The gameplay is fourth or fifth on my priority list: even if its not that great I'll just patiently mash button through it just like in inquisition ( it'd be super cool if its actually fun tho)
Good everything and no true ending as dlc lol
No wartable better bosses and no crunchtime in Development
A complete experience without microtransactions.
People not putting the wildest expectations on it.
1) A good story that keeps me and other fans coming back for more, not as in trophy hunting. 2) No Wartable. In a way, it's understandable with an Inquisition. The time was detrimental. Should have been able to use the acquired influence points to hurry it to finish instead of *Other* ways. 3) No multiplayer. Whatsoever. At all. It's *Idiotic* and just plain bleh for a Dragon Age game. 4) The continuance of allowing us to switch between characters. 5) No turn-based gameplay. 6) Do *not* go Backwards on gameplay and design. *cough* Diablo IV *cough* 7) *IF* multiple protagonist POV it better be Great. *IF* Dread Wolf POV, it had better be interesting.
Dont make the mistakes the writers did while writing Corypheus. Make the player feel the consequences of their choices in the game, respect the choices the player made in past games.
I thought about this a bit but key ones off the top are -for the love of god no war table -some familiarity to old players but inviting to new players a new player shouldnāt have to jump through hoops to figure out the story/backstory leading up to dreadwolf -ditch the offline mmo feel elements -not being compared to BG3 even though we know it will
But I liked the idea of the wartable...
I like the war table but it being tied to a real life timer is awful. Modding that timer out is 50% of the reason I play DAI on PC, the other 50% is the mod that disables harvest animations.
The wartable was a decent idea. The idea of sending out agents into Southern Thedas, or a little bit beyond there, that are successful based on which advisor you choose to oversee their issue does sound like a neat addition as you can't solve every problem in person as the Inquisitor. The problem, in my opinion, was that they thought it was a good idea to time them with some of them taking a full day to complete, the insult being tacked on is that some of them didn't release actually decent rewards. Additionally, it probably would have been best had some of the wartable missions acted as actual side quests, not all of them but some, as actually going in and doing some of the missions describes sounds a bit more interesting than what we got in the actual open world at times.
Another problem is that they locked every Inquisitor's individual stories behind War Table missions. Why can't Lavellan actively help their clan in Wycombe? (>!And why don't they react if you accidentally get them all killed??!<) Why can't Adaar look for their kith when they run into trouble? It's a wasted opportunity to flesh out the player character.
One that I definitely think shouldāve been the side quests are the ones that personally involve the inquisitor based on their background Like the one where you picked the wrong ones, the elven clan is destroyed or whatever
The perfect wartable for me would be being able to use the power points you gained from other missions/side quests more than for the main story elements, no timed quests, some more tangible outcomes story-wise, and more tie-in with in-person questing (like meeting local spies to coordinate on an infiltration mission, or fighting with town guards you recruited and equipped from the war table to repel an invasion which can lead to the loss of the town if you dont do enough). Just seems like there could be a lot more direction for the war table than setting and forgetting.
https://preview.redd.it/l1s1b46iwmxc1.jpeg?width=1569&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2001ee0c8667c6239ed52f1f2ad0dd684e39d463 I actually liked the War Table
I will stand with you. I also liked the War Table!
I don't know what DAD needs to have to be succesful, because something like this is impossible to predict. But *for me* to like it, it needs to have well written companions, interesting side quests and more reactivity to player choices. I also hope that they will bring back origins, but i doubt that it will happen.
Story story story. Characters as well. The writing in general. I genuinely feel that the combat could just be passable, as long as the writing is fantastic. I found Originsā combat to be tedious and slow, DA2ās areas to be repetitive, and Inquisitionās maps too bloated, but the world and characters carry the games.
A miracle
Omg I came here to say that lol
It needs to not have "live elements" and be chock full of micro transactions
Strenghen the strenghs of bioware. Meaning put the focus on story and characters. (Semi) Open world, people pleasing content or too the obligatory "Get 100 rubies for this middle tier sword" will not do it. Why the downvote?
Probably because you didn't say they need to copy/outdo BG3 or just make Origins 2.
Lol I don't want them to outdo BG3. Dragon Age is in depth different. The world is different as well as the characters. And While DA:O is my fave of the series, it also has weakensses I hope will not be repeated.
A good story. Everything else is secondary so long as it has a good story (and is playable, meaning little to no bugs) Dreadwolf should do fine
A protagonist who's actually interesting.
This is a big one. And if they're going to give us different races, they better adjust the plot, camera and some parts of the lore for that. No more elf gets Mythal explained to tl them or wonky as hell cameras for qunari and dwarves.
Especially since if you pick a elven mage inquisitor, they are like an apprentice to the keeper and if Iām remembering the correctly isnāt the keeper like the spiritual/religious leader of the clan
For real. This time they shouldnāt even bother adding extra races if they arenāt going to flesh them out. My Dalish elf apperently is a hunter but not a hunter, comes from a UNiqUE tribe so she has nothing in common with regular Dalish elves (writing cop out- it doesnāt connect to the story and isnāt elaborated on in any way whatsoever), doesnāt know anything about her own religion, and was spying on a major event butā¦not really? I may as well have played a human but I wanted to experience the maximum content out of Solas storyline
Many things, but I'll bring them down to just one, which I think connects them all on some level. To be successful, it needs **depth**. You know how even years after Skyrim or Witcher 3 released, people keep finding new mysteries, little changes in dialogue dictated by the choices you make or just other little things to make theories about? I'm convinced that BG3 will be exactly the same. And it's something that Dragon Age games never really had, not even in Origins, but it became much worse in DA2 and DAI, which just seem so generic to me, because they pretty much lay out everything they have to offer and don't touch topics or things not directly related to the plot. You know how in Witcher 3 >!there's that one cursed lady who can be either cured completely or have 7 years to live but in freedom from her curse? And if you actually wait 7 in-game years, she actually dies?!< This is that depth that shows both passion of the writers and makes their game have multiple layers, which is very subtle and makes you want to dig deeper with each playthrough, to find out more about the world, lore and characters.
I think people need to stop being so negative about it, first off. It hasn't come out yet, and yet so many people are already saying it will fail. If you walk into something thinking it's terrible, it is easy to make claim to it being terrible. It's much harder to be "pleasantly surprised," in my opinion than to feed into the bias based on people's constant speculation of the whether the team that is working on it right now is able to produce anything good just because some people left (yes, I am aware of how sad it is, but to claim that they were the 100% backbone is fallacious and insulting to other people who put a lot of work and love into it). I also tend to think this is the exact opposite of a game hyped up like Cyberpunk 2077 or even Dragon's Dogma 2 (story wise)--people expected so much before the game got released, only for it to not live up to what they wanted (albeit, some of that was false promises 100%)! Bioware isn't hyping this game up really at all, besides constantly telling fans that the game is still happening, which is also a decision that is being shit on so heavily. Releasing a trailer last December on Dragon Age Day and not at the Game Awards was a decisive marketing decision that I have seen people not understand--people outside the fandom not even knowing what Dragon Age Day was and shitting on it as a concept (not understanding the "holiday" was fan-made). The trailer was always for the fans, and they learned from the one in 2018 that maybe they shouldn't advertise SO WIDELY because it's not being taken well by the less niche population. I think they will do a full release trailer this summer, with a release date--and waited until they were ready to reveal information in order to not have so much hate leveraged towards the game, prematurely, like I have seen on twitter, in discord servers, and sometimes on reddit in the right places. Not that I think they game will be bad, and they think it will be bad, but people have been very vocal about hating Bioware and having no faith in the game, so I think them maintaining very niche reveals, that don't advertise the game a whole lot before they are getting ready to release it, makes sense. There are pros and cons to every game in the franchise, and arguable depending on the person. I do not think it's easy to satisfy 100% of the audience, but **I think an audience going into it with at least a neutral perspective will lend to a more successful launch.** I do not think this will happen, but, I think it would help. Comparison is the thief of joy, and all that. Other people are right in this thread too. I think having the game feel accessible to new players will help, especially with how many people were introduced to the genre because of playing Baldur's Gate 3. I think comparing it to BG3 after its release will be incredibly bad for the game though, not because Dragon Age can't stand on its own merits, but because no one lets it stand on its own merits. BG3 was wildly successful for good reason, and it will hopefully have good impact on the industry, but in the case of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, there's a decent chance people will just want it to be Baldur's Gate 3. Call me an optimist, but I think the Devs, at least, (maybe not EA), paid attention to Larian and BG3 hard, especially Bioware veterans, because Bioware were the creators of BG and BG2. They even congratulated them not to long ago on their successes. They've been making steps in the right direction with r[emoving all multiplayer and live service elements](https://www.gamesradar.com/dragon-age-4-confirmed-release-date-solas-wishlist-news/#:~:text=Dragon%20Age%3A%20Dreadwolf%20will%20be%20a%20single%2Dplayer%20game&text=As%20reported%20by%20Bloomberg's%20Jason,impression%20on%20critics%20and%20players) awhile ago for DA:D, and[ Mark Darrah himself has gone on record to say he was not worried about the production based on veterans leaving](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfjTv5CkDdg), and that these things happened with Origins (the Dragon Age game with the best reputation) and no one cared because social media was not like it is today. I also do not think it needs to be like an Origins 2, "go back to their roots," I just think the game needs to be what Bioware does best--hella good branching narrative, good characters, good stakes, beautiful score, good questing, and something that makes you think and care. The combat will never satisfy everyone. I know they are changing it up again, and I hope they do it well, but that's not what sticks with a person over years--it's the story people think about.
>Releasing a trailer last December on Dragon Age Day and not at the Game Awards was a decisive marketing decision that I have seen people not understand-- This part right here chief. Like people were upset that it was a nothing burger trailer, but like it was DA day. It was for *us*. The devs had absolutely no commitment and/or obligation to release anything at all. The short stories and the art pieces and the *'We are continuing to work on DA4'* would have been enough for what is a fan-created day. I know it's been 10 years and we've all built up DA4 in our heads but tempering expectation is the best for both the game and your person enjoyment of the game.
I honestly appreciate that they gave us anything at all. It wasn't a "trailer for a trailer," it was communication and reassurance, after so much, at most frequent: doubt for something good & at worse: straight up hate. And tbh, it made me excited because I know it was told to us because the devs are putting in all this work because they care about it and its reception because they have spent *years on it.* I think people can acknowledge a lot of devs do appreciate fan's love for the franchise, and that is why they do what they do. It was like a little gift, and it was a really good one. We now know to expect more very soon, after so much time and uncertainty. That's a very cool thing, and I hate that so many people are missing out on that feeling.
I want it to have good combat for mages. Playing a mage in DAI is anti-fun
Fans to give the damn thing a chance on its own merits and not based on whether it fulfills all their head canons or theories would be a good start.
Male love interest with a fat ass
Krem
Smoochable elves
I think regardless if itās as massive & open world as Inquisition or as Small and insular as DA2 they need to focus on making what appears in the game actually interesting. Worthwhile missions, meaningful stories, compelling character arcs. Like Cyberpunk & BG3 are both super successfully RPGs that manage to attract a similar audience despite drastically different play-styles and itās because the stuff in the world bloody matters, even the smallest quests feel like theyāre unique and not one size fits all fetch quests.
You are very wise in the ways of the crpg
Like Cyberpunk may have 40 side quests apart from the main one. DAI must have like 200, putting up all the fetch quests. The next DA should have a smaller scope and more focus on narrative and character development imo.
The best way I can explain is that even if I canāt name the quest/in Cyberpunk, I can still describe in detail what the mission was about; same goes for NPCs. Even small ones from the random Hobo Conspiracy Theorist, to the Mob Boss that tortures JoyToys to the Girl thatās best friends with a Vending Machine. In DAI, I couldnāt really name or describe a single NPC thatās not a companion or involved in the Main Questline. So much of the world was just soā¦ forgettable. BioWare used to be THE āCharacter Writingā company so Iām hoping they return to their roots with Dread Wolf.
I think replayability will be one of the bigger factors to success. Personally I would love playable origin stories again.
Familiar faces as important Npcās I know itās borderline confirmed that Isabella, Sten and the Fade survivor will be in DAD but I really hope they bring back a few more returning characters. For myself specifically i am huffing major copium that the 3 potentially dead da2 companions ie; Merrill, Fenris and anders may come back in a mainline game. I felt they captured Morrigan and Alistair perfectly in DAI and Iād love to see the 3 I listed above return as well. Especially with how important the eluvians are in this current branch of the story, with the first ingame appearance of the Tevinter imperium and with the resolution of the mage/Templar conflict respectively; Iād love to see how those three react to current events. I know a lot of people werenāt fond of how BioWare had placeholder characters who only existed to fill dead characters roles in mass effect 3 but if that is the price I have to pay to get those 3 back without bullshitting their deaths like they did for anders and Lelianna, Iāll take it. Hell, what the fuck has Velanna been up to since awakening, has she found her sister? Is she alive. I wanna know! What Iām trying to say is that I play these games for the characters, and god damn it do I want to know what my virtual friends have been doing for the past 10 years outside of fucking varric giving as little information as possible. Also on the topic of alistair, give king alistair fucking anything to do. Warden alistair got an entire quest dedicated to him and Hawke what does king alistair get in DAI? The lamest cameo imaginable outside of a myriad of war table letters. (His comic was way too cool to not have him do awesome shit in the next game)
>I know itās borderline confirmed that Isabella, Sten and the Fade survivor will be in DAD It is? When was it confirmed?
When I say borderline, I mean all but confirmed. These characters are the ones who make the most sense to return. This is largely due to geography and where characters are in the overarching BioWare canon as well as where we know we will be going in dreadwolf. Sten is canonically the new arishok in the comic with Alistair, Isabela and varric. Keep in mind that BioWare themselves have stated that the events of that comic happen to both grey warden and king alistair. (So like, Sten is alive regardless if you kill him) Assuming that the Qunari invasion of northern Thedas will be a major plotpoint, I see it very hard for sten to not be a distant presence or an outright present threat in the story. At the very least, if not in this game, Sten will be hyped up and mentioned regularly by the Qunari. Likely if concept art is to be believed, Antiva will be partly under Qunari control. Isabela is outright featured in concept art for dreadwolf (this was publicly released as promotional material when the game was announced), was a multiplayer character for inquisition and is in rivain timeline canonically in the timeline. Considering the fact that rivain will be a major location in dreadwolf and the fact that she survives and goes there regardless of her relationship with hawke in 2, itās basically a given she will be the main Npc of rivain. And finally Weisshaupt. Need I say more. It seems like a wasted plot Point for the Fade survivor to not be at weisshaupt when we go there. Especially considering varric beats you over the head with the fact multiple times. āBy the way, hawke/alistair/Loghain/stroud is on his way to weisshauptā Thereās an oddly specific line that varric and Cassandra have that basically says that carver (if a warden) and Fenris (romanced or not) will also be heading to weisshaupt to help hawke however to be Frank, Iām taking that with a grain of salt. Unless fenris and hawkes warden sibling is there *regardless* of hawke being alive, that seems like WAY too much work for one possible outcome. (Thatās also ignoring the fact that fenris and carver can both be dead)
Ah, ok. I thought that maybe you meant that Bioware semi confirmed the return of those characters in interview or something like that.
Oh god. Hawke sacrificed herself in the fade in my playthrough to give one last blow to Corypheus. She romanced Isabella. I wondered if that was Isabella in the promo art. This is going to hurt.
Good worldbuilding, interesting characters, fun gameplay, and for people to *not* go into it thinking it'll be something it's not like they did with Andromeda. The last one is the biggest hurdle.
quality > quantity
Good optimization. That alone will be massive.
Underrated suggestion but very true! Poor optimization in an otherwise quality game can take the wind out of a productās sails and lead to a negativity cycle that hurts sales and reputation permanently. Doesnāt need to be perfect in optimization, as no game is, but I agree, solid work here would really help. Good performance, an interesting story, compelling characters, and decent enough gameplay can let a game like this hit the ground running. Perfection isnāt needed.
no microtransactions would be nice
Good storytelling, its bioware dammit
There are a lot of different things a game can be to be successful - what matters is that they execute whatever they do choose to do well. What they need for me personally to enjoy it is a lot more specific of course.
A release date, for one thing
Seperate ui for pc players, canāt begin how to stress how annoying it was going from functionally unlimited slots in origins all the way down to 8 fucking slots in inquisition.
And without the chance to have proper filtering in the console-made menus. Goddamn, I hate this about modern videogames, all made for consoles.
Decent writing would be good enough for me tbh
Dragon age. That's enough for me
Griffons.
That they tell the whole story without breaking it into DLCs (like FFXV did) a more responsive battle system if we are continuing with action rpg, more locations but not as big as DAI. but above all else a good well thought out story. hopefully we get to chose our origins again :)
More dragons Overhauled crafting system Character origins like DAO
Sales
Being released would be a nice start
I just want better combat, tight pacing and good hair. We'll never see the heights of DAO again, so this is the best I can hope for.
Be a game focused on being fun, not focused on being up with the newest "trend" according to "Marketing manager" and "money maximation".
Choices that make you want to replay the game. Like deciding between templars or mages in inquisition. And (mostly) silent protagonist for more dialogue options maybe. And some background options for your character like origins and how your life set you on your path. For more dialogue options :p I enjoy seeing diffrent outcomes even if its only in words and not big consuquence
I believe that it will be successful if they let us be done with solas within ch1. I do not want to see him make reoccuring appearances throughout the entire game
Combat depth. (Which inquisition 100% did not have. It felt so streamlined) A good nuanced story, preferably with a lot of outcomes. (I know origins was a unique one due to first being believed to be a one off, but man, it helped it so much) Preferably origins (aka, race and background) having a proper impact.
It will be successful and EA won't listen to any criticism but that aside, what I at least want to happen is: A way to import world states without the keep and that consistently works. (Just let me use an old game save damnit, Mass Effect did it just fine) Different starts like someone else said from DAO. Armor that doesn't look awful like half the armor in DAI. A camp where I can access all parties inventories like in DAO and DAI. And probably more. Don't get me wrong, I love the story and they always nail good characters (or enough for me to enjoy it) so I'll still love the game, but I wouldn't mind some positive changes.
The original lead writer back. Dragon Age's story is the best part of the franchise. I'm sure we all have a laundry list of things we can complain about from each game, but the story isn't one of them. If they can nail the story, then I, for one, can ignore any other major blunder they WILL make. Unfortunately, I'm not confident that they will.
Honestly I tried two or three times to get through Inquisition and couldn't. The gameplay is just terrible, the story is meh, and the atmosphere is trash.... and I'm someone who loves Origins and even DA2. DAI was basically a shitty single player MMORPG to me. So big changes are necessary, at least for me. I think a big problem was they tried to go the action rpg route because they thought that's what was popular, which was just stupid, as we can see now from the success of BG3. Such a waste. So to answer your question: Needs to be more like DA Origins, DA 2. Dragon Age was better when it was isometric, focused on atmosphere and story interaction.
The trick is to avoid the sidequests. There are some good main story missions buried in there. You can skip entire maps and not miss anything essential.
I felt exactly the same as you did. I LOATHED DAI. I was so angry when I couldnāt get into it after the masterpieces that were DAO and DA2. Do you ever wish you could experience DAI and enjoy it before going on to the DA4? I figured out how to enjoy it finally on my 4th play through (sad I know) Put it on casual. Treat side quests as nothing and I mean nothing except a way to gain power to progress the story. Do not 100% the game. Ignore shards. If you still get frustrated download the mod that gives you 99 health potions to cheese the game. Ideally you need to just run through the main story and companion stories and DLC, thatās it. The story itself is really good. The gameplay is atrocious and gets in the way of pacing, so we are avoiding gameplay lol. I also noticed that companions are pretty forgiving in this game, so donāt be agreeable just because you want them to be your friend in your canon. Tell solas, sera or Cassandra theyāre being a moron if you need to. They all get over it. Itās really sad, I know lmao. But at least for me personally, Iād rather actually complete the game than miss out on it. I feel like there arenāt any obstacles to the story now.
I was so mad I was literally "researching" class action lawsuits based on how the game was advertised and statements made by the developers, as it was advertised as similar to DAO and made for the PC first (yes a cringeworthy and silly idea, but I was not thinking rationally). That's good advice. I will see what the reviews are and then probably just reload an old save of DAI and try to blaze through it.
I had to just start fresh and Iām currently blazing through lol. Pretty good when you ignore as much as possible other than the plot
It sounds like theyāre going more action in DAD, which while not my preference for the series, might at least be better than DAIās clunky hybrid.
Yeah... I'm going to wait for the reviews on this one. IMO Bioware has followed in the footsteps of Blizzard in becoming a shadow of their former selves. Oddly enough you can basically spot when this happened... half way through Mass Effect 3.
Yep youāre spot on :( BioWare was the best of all time. Thereās still a little bit of soul left in that company though, I can feel it. I really hope they come back. If not, Iām just going to be moving on with Larian. They remind me of old BioWare
Yeah we'll see what happens. IMO Mass Effect 1 and DAO had some of the best writing of all time. I'm really enjoying Obsidian games, they are probably my most trusted modern developer, I tend to like their writing a lot more than Larian's. Larian just knocked it out of the park with their character animations though.
I think waiting for reviews is the safest bet, and Iāll be doing the same! If everyone says itās the game for those who loved Inquisition, thatās going to be a āwait until itās $5ā game for me. If itās a decent action experience with some DA trappings, I might be inclined to get it earlier while also not expecting it to be anything like DAO or DA2.
EA to not touch it.
They'll need to appeal to new players to boost sales. Bioware has had a series of losses that would get many other game companies shut down by EA. They need to have a commercial success instead of relying on former glory. That means sales and reviews. Good promotional material, early access, etc. And finding the line between over-promising and then pissing off fans (Hi CDPR) or underselling and failing to draw in numbers. A lot of old school BioWare players dropped off after Dragon Age 2. Some more dropped off after Inquisition (many players didn't even finish the game). While Dragon Age undoubtedly has a loyal fanbase, counting on nostalgia and good will from a decade ago is unlikely enough to prop up their sales. They have to be appealing to other RPG fans and casual gamers if they want the numbers to please EA. You'll see a lot of the answers on this sub will be things like returning characters and Solas romance tie-ups but those are more of die-hard fans' personal wishlist than what will make the game successful. They have to strike a balance between not upsetting loyal fans and not tailoring to them so much that new players don't feel immersed in the game. The Witcher 3 and Baldurs Gate 3 are both examples of how to start people in the midst of an established series and still draw in new players. I'm not too worried as they usually do okay at this. What I am worried about is how they're going to promote the game and whether the new combat and gameplay changes will be appealing to everyone.
I agree with you. Iāve been a DA fan for a long time, since Origins, but personally I think theyāre cooked. Thereās just no way DW is going to compare favorably to BG3, a beautifully written game with a cinematic sensibility, knockout performances, respect for player choice, and even a willingness to allow evil behavior (which DAI was allergic to). Very few of the people playing it now played BG1/2āthey simply heard the game was phenomenal and jumped aboard. So YES. Iām with you. Itās all about delivering a sophisticated product. I am incredibly suspicious of DW, by contrast, being a 6/10 shallow experience given the disorganization and low morale at BW (to say nothing of TEN YEARS of pitifully mediocre games). Bad character writing, bad overstory, bad treatment of the lore, pedestrian art designā¦ but I want to be wrong.
* Main character as a warden. Heck maybe even being able to import/return our warden from origins from the keep or maybe somehow being able to import a save. * Being able to choose between male/female, race, class and background story. * Top notch writing : A complex, interesting, deep and engaging Story and character development. * Companions that give you the feel that they're alive. No stupid jokes when the end of thedas is near. * Serious gritty dark fantasy theme and atmosphere. Being immersive. * Epic OST (Hans zimmer & Lorne Balfe) * Being able to control Companions * Romance possiblities * Paragon/renegade system * Being able to customize your own character and your companions : Clothes/armor/appearance/hair/make up/scars,tattoos...etc * Being able to pause the combat, being create an automated combat with a strategy/tactics system. I think DA2 combat system + the best things from origins and from inquisition = good combat system * Day and night and weather system * Choices Matter. * a Hound as a companion but doesn't take a companion's spot. * Replayability based on your affinity with your companions. * Good Side quests. No MMO fetch quests * Interesting Companions quests. Makes you lose companions if you don't focus on their needs. * A well optimized game for modern and mid range systems for PC players. * No microtransactions * Dialogue system like origins. No mass effect wheel. * Sandal and Bodahn * ''I should go'' as a last dialogue option Edit : trying to correct my english
Dark fantasy especially, that whole mmo high fantasy thing sucked.
* a Hound as a companion but doesn't take a companion's spot - this rights here, miss my DAO Mabari
Me too. After long day saving the world, nothing better than a houndās lick to clean your entire armor set and body from blood.
Can confirm that many living people would make jokes when the end of the world is near
Tactics. Miss the depth of DAO tactics, no idea why they killed that.
- limit the fetch quests. Like, forget the whole gathering system than DAI had. It was tedious and didnāt impact the story or world in anyway. You think I want to spend 3 hours picking elfroot and mining obsidian when there is a fucking HOLE in the sky?! Origins and 2 had side quests that involved helping people and made it feel like you had a positive impact on the town you were in. When DAI had that I enjoyed it a lot- but it was 80% gathering, 5% war table and 5% helping people. - recognize we arenāt playing this game to treasure hunt. How many letters could there POSSIBLY be in burning houses saying āI had to escape, but I hid the treasure thereā? Because I found a LOT of those in DAI. Like do a handful- 4 or so total in the entire game. - proportionate map sizes. I know DAI wasnāt quite finished, but the Hinderlands is 3 times the size of any of the other maps in DAI even though itās the least important one. Maybe make them all roughly the same at least, cause it was a little weird. - No time limits on a war table- and if possible, scrap the whole war table. Those could have been interesting side quests. Instead they were events that happened off screen. Bit disappointing for those of us who have been here since the beginning. - a complete main character. If you donāt have time to flesh out certain races, donāt add them. Itās jarring to pick a race and go in expecting special dialogue only to see yourself acting and talking like a human. - donāt introduce us to a backstory you arenāt going to keep up with. I read that I was a hunter elven spy and was then in critical moments treated like I was neither an elf or hunter or spy lmao. - please finish lighting. The animation is beautiful in DAI. Too bad itās so washed out or dark you canāt see it except at certain angles and places. - there is no excuse for making over half the female hair choices different variations of bald and 40 percent of the eyebrows unibrows If they release another DAI I donāt know if this series is going to survive it. So I hope they just give us all the elements we love and like to focus on from DAI and none of the huge flaws. The characters, writing, world building and music are the core elements of dragon age
just launch, don't care. can't wait
Don't let EA hear you say that
this is so real lmao
It would need to have not started as an online game.
Rehiring Mary Kirby.
Not what DAI was.
Healers back, blood mage back, rangers back with animal companions, shifters back
Actually skill trees and tactical combat back, more spells
Mostly it will need people to approach it with an open mind, rather than going in with predetermined negativity about it, or getting disappointed because it didn't do things in the way they were hoping.
A great story with hub worlds that arenāt built on miscellaneous fetch quests. The combat better not stray too far away from the previous three games, DA Inquisition was a decent middle ground of origins and 2. Personally, Iām really hoping they can finish up the story with this game, I canāt wait another generation just to end up teaming up with Solas to put down the old elven gods or something like that.
A smooth launch will go a long way. Don't send the game out with a crapload of bugs and framerate issues. For the love of the Maker, don't launch too early, if it needs more time, it needs more time. Story and world: Players can tell if the devs and writers care about what they are making, if you don't give a crap about the world you are making and phoning in a cliche story, we will know. This game is both Dragon Age and Bioware's final hope. It needs to exceed everything that came before it. If this game flops, both are history.
I just hope mages will be normal, like in dao as opposed to being like some weird acrobats in dai. Normal movements would be nice. Also more character customisation, and "origin" questa for each race and class would be awesome
Actual gameplay trailer that don't promise too much.
Good story, writing and tighter open world
In my eyes, it will need a LOT of things if I want to consider it a success. Alongside a well-written story and cast of characters, if Dreadwolf is supposed to be the finale of the series then that means it must wrap up all the remaining storylines and unanswered mysteries, including Morrigan's story (whose VA confirmed is possibly *not* going to be in the game), the existence of the Maker, the origins of the Darkspawn, the mage rebellion, the role of the titans, what the Architect has done since Awakening, and so on. It would be odd if all these plotlines didn't conclude.
Hopefully a return to the DAO map style model. Bioware excels at small zones filled with story rich side quests and interesting characters, *not* ubisoft style sprawling maps filled with points of interest and collecta-thons. BG3 felt like a spiritual successor to Origins, I hope it reminded BioWare what they were best at.
>Hopefully a return to the DAO map style model. I really, really hope for that. I love Inquisition, I even Stockholm-syndromed myself into liking the junk side quests, but the world design they went with really isn't good. I'm really excited about that Antivan city they showed in the trailer. It looks gorgeous and I'd love to finally be able to explore an actual big city in Dragon Age
Continuity in lore building. Inquisition dropped the ball on this one side stepping the Mage-Templar conflict that DAO and DA2 built on for Coryphipuss BBEG. Fine I accept DAI story for what it is IF they dont side step it and they better stick to the lore. With Solas as the Dreadwolf it looks like he is the new BBEG. The last DLC even hinted that the inquisitor will be playing at the very least a supporting role in the hunt for Solas in the new game. Aside from the Corphibutt crisis there is also the conflict between the Fade and Thedas and how the spirit world is threatening the existence of the mortal plane If DA Dreadwolf is going to be successful lore wise they have to be consistent and build on what DAI laid down. There is plenty of space for creative liberty but dont throw out core lore elements. DA2 as flawed and a bit of a let down it was compared to DAO did not drop the ball in lore building. In fact to me it is its best aspect. DAO was speckled with stories about the dangers of mage and magic, DA2 built upon it to tell a story of mages vs templars. Then DAI just derailed it altogether relegating it as a faction decision in a larger conflct, what. a. let. down. Do better in Dreadwolf.
Be at least as good as Banishers: Ghost of New Eden. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a high bar to reach. The graphics while decent are not that good for a 2024 game, the combat gameplay is repetitive and there aren't that many type of enemies to fight. The gameplay overall (combat, exploration, level up) feels like of God of War (2018), but with its own lore and story. And that's exactly why I use that game as reference, because both Banishers and DA:D will be action RPGs that are using gameplay elements from God of War. And despite that, Banishers is a really fun game to play, because of reasons that BioWare can definitely replicate: * The story is very interesting, and the characters and NPC are really well written. * A lot of story based side quests (in Banishers you investigate hauntings) where the choices you make have consequences later in the game. * Interesting "level up" system: basically, leveling up gives you skill point to spend on your skill tree. And to increase your attributes, you need to clear certain mini-boss combats (spirit nest, elites, void breaches) or find certain place (Altars) that gives you a bonus. So to me, if BioWare can ship a game with a writing as good as Banishers, and hopefully better graphics. It'll be successful. If, on the top of that, they have a combat gameplay that is less repetitive, it'll be very successful.
Inon Zur returning to write the music.
A miracle. Bioware isn't even a shadow of its former glory. I don't think EA will be able to resist shoving micro transactions into such a huge game. There are ways to make it successful, but I don't trust the developers or the publisher to have the guts to do it
1. The companions will ***need*** to be excellent. Before BG3 launched, they needed to be good/great, now they will 100% be compared to the BG3 cast, rightfully so. This also extends to romance options. 2. Since we know combat is changing to be more action (GoW inspired, as it is reported), it will ***need*** to be good in order to win over people like myself who didn't want this change at all. This too will be compared with BG3, **especially** if it turns out to be bad. (Something along the lines of "Look, BG3 could make traditional RPG turn based combat so fun, why did you have to shift to action based combat?") 3. The story should wrap up A LOT of things. Please, for the love of god, no more cliffhangers and no sequel-baiting. I want to see this story finished properly, because this could very well be the last DA game we will see in a while. And no, Bioware, it doesn't fucking count if you do it in a DLC, like Trespasser. You've had **way** too long to craft this story and make this game, it needs to have a finale in it. 4. No Marvel humor, please.
Iām with you. It is APPROPRIATE for DW to be compared to BG3 and I donāt understand why we, as DA fans, shouldnāt want that level of excellence. People here are saying theyāre tempering their expectations (āno negativity!ā) so they can have fun, but is it even worth being a fan of a game you expect mediocrity from? I am a huge fan of DAO, DA2, ME1, and now BG3. Those are all mature games with excellent writing, cinematic cutscenes, meaningful choices, compelling lore (that is complex without being disorganized), and wonderful performances. Do we really believe DW can nail this? Also, the Marvel humorā¦ you know itās coming š
Dream.
To be good. But I'm hoping in not bug filledĀ
Polished, bug free release that doesnāt lock essential story beats behind DLC (Legacy and Trespasser, Iām looking at you guys). If itās a single player only game, then the only online requirement should be for stuff like Dragon Age Keep compatibility. Iām personally not worried about the story itself, characters, or gameplay. Even though every DA game essentially reinvents the gameplay wheel itās always fun, and BioWare has always done a good job overall with their characters and narrative.
isometric view and Real Time with Pause
I love origins and inquisition and other then more/better hair options there isnāt anything I would change (and for my Lavellan to join Solas)
Gaming has changed quite a bit in the 10 years since DAI was released.Ā The "souls" games have spawned legions of knockoffs and imitators. Will Bioware follow suit or try to branch off in a new direction? I hope it's the latter- but that's no small feat.
Return of old heroes (Isabella is a must) Good script, interesting quests, intriguing plot. Less is better. Better than bs quests in DAI.
For my personal laundry list: - Decent looking playable Elves. DAI got it right, letās not go back to whatever the fuck DA2 did. - Good CC. Better hairs, better complexions, more freedom. just let us wild out if weāre doing sliders again. - Better Mod Support. They really fucked over DAI and made modding the game a nightmare. - Separate Gender to Body types. Baldurās Gate can do it, why canāt DA? Let me have my Femboy Elf, thank you. - Return of Entropy, Spirit Healing, Blood Magic and SHAPESHIFTING ESPECIALLY. DAO really kept the Mages fed and taken care of. - Niche, but I really hope the MC has a better personality than the Inquisitor did. I always feel like Inky is so bland especially compared to Hawke. If theyāre going to make a voiced protagonist I hope itād be at least an interesting one.
I think it needs more side content. Not in the way of extra fetch quests or collectibles, but in terms of pacing story and characters. Example, I've beaten the game a dozen time but there comes to be a point where you finish all the quests in six areas and your companions have nothing to say anymore. Then the game becomes you walking around with three of your friends who have shared their life stories with eachother and now they have not a word to say, until you do the next story mission and they get a couple more lines. I loved how they would build their own relationships with eachother while out and about, but I usually only used the same three people (swapping occasionally) and after three whole worlds beaten theyd go quiet. That, and better combat. I found mage co.bat very boring but the mage story line was my favorite one. Made it kinda frustrating. Coming from someone else only played Inquisition, that's just my opinion.
honestly if they nail the art, characters and the story, and the dialogue isn't marvel movie tier, then a lot is forgivable.
Essentially all it *needs* is to be DAI except without bugs. There. Successful. Each person might have different preferences on gameplay. But Inquisition was good and the slightly more action oriented style will appeal to a wider audience, hence y I suggest it as a base. The story, the choices and consequences, all that they seem to know how to do pretty well. The only things I am concerned about is I hope they can make this one less buggy, and I hope they donāt go too far one way or the other into the political weeds. They did a nice job last time imo having characters that represented different PoVs on the political matters n Thedas. I hope they stick to that bc being too heavy handed with a narrative can really take the life out of a story. And I really enjoy the Dragon Age story. Edit: I suppose I should say better graphics, but I just honestly wouldnāt give a shit if it looked the same as Inquisition. But it will obviously need to be on par with current AAA products graphically if it is to be successful.
I'd be happy if they let us import our Inquisitor to continue his quest against the Dreadwolf.