#my wishes for da4 are: a better combat system. better writing for the plot and the main quests specifically. and a smaller scale.

[shadovvheart]

I can't decide whether the quality and scale of bg3 helps with managing my expectations for da4 or makes it worse 🤔

Like it's safe to assume da4 won't come anywhere near to bg3, which is a shame, but I'm also alright with that. It would be delusional to expect da4 to be a great game at this point, considering, but does it have to be? Nah. My optimistic hope is that it's better than dai. The bar is at dai's level. And if it's really disappointing, well, I'll still have bg3.

[greatfay]

(I'm the one who asked about Blackwall): what do you hope to see return in da4 from dai and what do you hope is changed or cut out?

Ok just to make sure I got this right, what I liked in DA:I and would like to see more of and what I didn’t like in DA:I and would prefer they cut or altered? Cuz I have a lot tbh. More under the cut.

More Please:

Crafting system. I really liked it, love how you can change your companions’ armor (unlike in DA2 or ME:A) but it still has their “look.”

Banter. Memorable characters are a staple of the Bioware games, but unlike in Dragon Age II, I rarely triggered dialogue between companions in DA:I. Hopefully that changes in DA4.

Soundtrack. Trevor Morris was amazing… too bad most players don’t know this since the devs thought the game would be “more realistic” if the music barely plays. Even combat wouldn’t trigger music for me, all you’d hear is grunting and swords clashing. Ambience just made me feel empty in this game (which doesn’t help the large empty regions).

Pretty places. This game is really bright and colorful compared to the first two. I hope that if DA4 is indeed taking place in Tevinter, we get to see variety in landscape and regions the way we did with Ferelden and Orlais. Just fill it with some damn cities/villages! I hate empty worlds.

Clear cut story. I’ve heard criticisms that Inquisition’s story is oversimplified and pretty cut and dry compared to DA2 and some hail this as a drop in narrative quality in the franchise (psh, they should aim that criticism at the damn fetch quests). However, the game has a straightforward, classic hero’s journey plot that is overall very grand and enjoyable, and that makes it actually similar to Origins. I like that the story can be summed up in 4/5 big moments, with smaller plot points and subplots in between.

Face creator. Honestly there’s a whole subreddit dedicated to the hot OCs you can make in this game and I’m here for it, I have now saved Thedas with an Angela Bassett look-alike (if she were an elf), a Rami Malek look-alike, and a much more idealized version of myself. 

Could Be Better:

Specializations. First two games let you get two specializations, DA:I only gives you one. And I’m cool with that tbh, just wish they were a little more expansive and interesting. Also, companions used to get their own unique specializations and/or abilities, and in DA:I, this led to some questionable creative choices. Giving the big healing ability to Knight-Enchanter instead of Necromancer for example, then giving the time power to Necromancer instead of Knight-Enchanter (when the rest of the abilities support the other).

Also jumping into DA:I right after finishing DA2, I was disappointed to find that this new special Rift Mage tree just recycled the abilities of the Force Mage + firestorm.

Armor/Weapons. I actually liked most of the gear in this game (except the helmets, which looked ridiculous in design for the most part). Wish there were more! I feel like it should be possible to get every armor part and weapon that you can see in-game; it used to be a staple of the genre that when you defeat a boss, you get their stuff, but not every boss in this game drops their gear; some who do don’t even drop the same thing *cough, Alexius*. I remember searching for the Venatori Mage helmet for hours before finding out it’s not in the game (though you can get the regular infantry helm for some reason, and it’s ugly soooo).

Supporting characters. In DA:O and DA2, you’d see recurring characters pop up in other quests and you could get attached to some of them. In DA:I, most of the people you get quests from are forgettable and one-offs.

Enemy encounters. In DA:O and DA2, enemies come in hordes, making crowd control pivotal to survival. In DA:I, you get small parties of enemies (3 - 6) with high health and defense, making overall DPS more important. I think they did this to be more realistic, but this is Dragon Age. Zombies dig up the corpses of dragons out of the ground to raise their gods and elves are part-spirit and a trickster god stole a piece of the sky and horned gray-skinned humanoids go to sex doctors to pop their corks under an oppressive religious order. There’s no room for heavy realism in Dragon Age, let’s be real.

Narrative-based quests. I miss when quests would start with a character actually talking to me! With actual cutscenes and dialogue! In Inquisition, quests either start with a brief chat with an unremarkable NPC, or by reading a fucking note someone left on a table. This is so lazy and boring. Maybe Bioware didn’t have the funds to do proper quests, but I’d prefer a handful of real ones than the dozens of “Oh look, I found a letter on this door that says this person left treasure somewhere” quest.

Party AI. I’d love to have more control like in past games; I want to set it like the gambit system in FFXII, where you can say “If ally uses this ability, character A will use this ability on targeted by ally.”

No Thank You:

Fetch quests! “Collect x amount of these and return for XP” is so boring. What happened to more narrative-heavy side quests?

Inventory limits. I’m so over this, lemme hoard like the junk rat I am, gdi.

War Table operations. If you don’t follow guides on the wiki, you’ll have no idea what the results of these operations will be. There’s no riddle or clue left in the descriptions that suggest that choosing a particular advisor will result in the mass genocide of your Inquisitor’s clan (yeah, fuck that, do NOT choose Josephine for the Protect Clan Lavellan operation).

Miscommunication. The devs and the writers don’t seem to be on the same page. In cutscenes and dialogue, Cassandra will say “We should give mages a chance to prove they don’t need chaperones” and then you’ll give mages some freedom and she’s like “CASSANDRA GREATLY DISAPPROVES.” Happens with a lot of other characters, too.

Requisitions. They’re a waste of resources and I never do them as they have zero effect on my gameplay experience. Don’t even need them in the beginning, just finish 4 quests to get the power needed in the Hinterlands.

Some Ideas:

Integrate side quests into the main story. They’re already sort of mandatory; getting XP in this game is impossible without doing the side quests and you end up under-leveled for the main quests, so might as well write them to be more story-related and use them as opportunities to introduce recurring minor characters. The DLC for DA:I was great tbh, all tightly made stories that didn’t pussyfoot around. I finished Prey recently and that game did a great job with side missions; all of them felt personal, and having voiced characters in your ear as you finish objectives makes them feel more active.

The character classes you can pick in the multiplayer should actually be in the game. I think some of them are mentioned by name, but you don’t otherwise see them.

Loyalty missions. Mass Effect 2 did this best and there’s something like this in Inquisition, but not all of them are equal tbh, they don’t involve scripted events and cutscenes and plot lines that reveal more about your companions. Pretty much Dorian, Solas, Sera, and Iron Bull are the only ones that get it. ME2 gave us: returning to the facility where Jack was tortured as a child so she can blow it up, Garrus hunting down the former protege who betrayed his squad, Jacob locating his presumedly dead father crash-landed on a planet whose flora fucks with everyone’s mind, Miranda relocating her little sister (and her adopted family) to keep her creepy-ass father away from her, Samara hunting down her wayward serial killer daughter (the whole investigation + seduction scenes were dope), Thane trying to rebuild his relationship with his son who is trying to follow in his father’s bloody footprints—I could go on. Those weren’t just “Pop in here and beat an enemy and then leave” kind of quests, they were involved and offered the player choices and were super emotional.