#& im sure some of those banters are location/mission specific too which is even more limited

[fadetouchedsilk]

i don't have any real negative opinions on the decision to cut the party size from 4 to 3, but i will say that something i've noticed after completing the game & watching other people go through it is that a lot of the companion's character development seems to be tied to the party banters in a way it wasn't necessarily done before?

which is, in theory, fine--i think we're being encouraged to try as many party combinations as possible since worrying about balance isn't inherently as much of a thing. plus, we've always had some information that could only be uncovered via banters, so it's not entirely a new thing either.

but then we run into this interesting situation where it's really easy to miss information about them if we don't do that. previously, i didn't feel like i was potentially missing out on character information if i didn't constantly switch up my party & you would also just naturally get more variety by having 3 of them out with you instead of 2 anyway.

like i didn't realize i had never taken bellara & davrin out at the same time, but because of that i missed their entire exchange about his past and his clan. previously i feel like we could at least uncover some of this information via dialogue wheels at our home base (the ones at skyhold were pretty comprehensive & would give you more branches after completing main story quests or companion quests), but now that mechanic just doesn't seem to exist anymore.

it's like an extension of the way we get to eavesdrop of their conversations between each other at the lighthouse, but we're not allowed to participate. like yes, i do enjoy that they get to speak with each other & aren't locked in one location just waiting for us to engage with them, but i don't love the fact that my character--who is supposed to be the leader & forming bonds with everyone--effectively has to learn about people through the metaphorical grapevine (for lack of a better phrase)

the cutscenes we get are nice, but idk. it would be nice to feel like i'm allowed to participate with the social aspects of the team beyond seeing the occasional '!' over their icon on the map.