Dragon Age 3: Inquisition announced

[zinfamous]

Aaaa
Your right, that was him... i thought he's a companion...

Man, i find it hard to get into the story/stuff in game.... i feel alittle lost...

That guy is probably an "agent" ...which is yet another thing that I don't get. What do they do? I can't find a listing for agents anywhere in the codex. Maybe it's buried in some other codex. Can I return to them and get little mini quests? Does each agent just factor into the total influence pool or something?

Format c:

I really should try this.

 

[zinfamous]

Keep playing. The story really starts to pick up when you get a little further into the game. I think the beginning zones are there to get you familiar with the game mechanics and how many different things there are to do. I have about 20 hours into the game, and the story didn't really start getting interesting until a couple of hours ago. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the story does get better as you move along.

The story arch is arranged around some rather epic movements. The first, I dunno, Act, plays out like 3 or 4 different prologues. You hit one major beat and you feel the game has started, then boom! here comes another.

I just hit 34 hours (still have several open quests in the first map areas) and I think I'm only now past the "final prologue," though I'm probably wrong.

 

[Carfax83]

I stopped playing. I think I'm going to wait for the patch, that will hopefully fix the atrocious K&M controls. Playing with an Xbox controller is fine, but it doesn't compare to how K&M was implemented in previous DA titles..

 

[frozentundra123456]

I stopped playing. I think I'm going to wait for the patch, that will hopefully fix the atrocious K&M controls. Playing with an Xbox controller is fine, but it doesn't compare to how K&M was implemented in previous DA titles..

I have gotten used to rhem. The only thing that still bothers e a lot is the picking up loot, in that you hmve to get close enough for that little circle to appear before you can actually pick it up or interact. Also wish you could zoom out more. The thing that bothers me most is the long loading times when starting the game or transitioning between areas.

Overall I like the game, but it hasn't really drawn me in like kotor or skyrim. Also not sure I like or completely understand the war table, power points, mission assignments thing. A complex game like this is where a printed manual would be nice.

 

[ControlD]

I stopped playing. I think I'm going to wait for the patch, that will hopefully fix the atrocious K&M controls. Playing with an Xbox controller is fine, but it doesn't compare to how K&M was implemented in previous DA titles..

I hate to admit this, but I am really enjoying playing this game with an Xbox controller. I generally only use controllers for games like Spelunky or Super Meat Boy and at first I felt lost using a controller for something this complicated. Now that I am used to it I don't think I'll go back to K&M even if they patch the controls. I can understand your frustration though.

 

[ControlD]

The story arch is arranged around some rather epic movements. The first, I dunno, Act, plays out like 3 or 4 different prologues. You hit one major beat and you feel the game has started, then boom! here comes another.

I just hit 34 hours (still have several open quests in the first map areas) and I think I'm only now past the "final prologue," though I'm probably wrong.

Indeed. I think I hit that first really epic moment last night and it was awesome. I said I was going to finish DA2 before getting into this one but that battle has been lost.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Long load times? I thought everyone had an SSD these days. I barely have time to read the first paragraph of the cards during load screens before it loads me in.

The war room is pretty simple. As you gain power through influence you can use it to do quests on the table. Each takes a different amount of power. The inquisition perks can be spent to give bonuses to your agents. You will acquire various materials and items as you unlock these perks. Some of them also give your party bonuses like the ability to pick locks with rogues and the like.


The only thing that bothers me about this game is how characters do not tell you their thoughts before you make a decision and then suddenly you have half of them disapprove of your choice with no warning. I mean there was no conversation with them about it, no commentary from them, and no indication that they had an opinion. I remember in KOTOR you would generally get the idea of how a character feels about a certain person or situation. This game doesn't seem to do that very often. So it is harder to build a good standing with party members.

 

[ControlD]

I have gotten used to rhem. The only thing that still bothers e a lot is the picking up loot, in that you hmve to get close enough for that little circle to appear before you can actually pick it up or interact. Also wish you could zoom out more. The thing that bothers me most is the long loading times when starting the game or transitioning between areas.

Overall I like the game, but it hasn't really drawn me in like kotor or skyrim. Also not sure I like or completely understand the war table, power points, mission assignments thing. A complex game like this is where a printed manual would be nice.

I agree with both of those. They really need to increase the target radius of things like loot. I find myself jumping a lot because I moved a step too far towards something. If they would just allow you to select an item and have your character auto move that would be enough for me. I also feel like the camera in normal mode is a little too zoomed in. I can live with it but I wish we could change the FOV.

 

[Bateluer]

Long load times? I thought everyone had an SSD these days. I barely have time to read the first paragraph of the cards during load screens before it loads me in.

I installed the game on my mechanical drive.

 

[zinfamous]

Long load times? I thought everyone had an SSD these days. I barely have time to read the first paragraph of the cards during load screens before it loads me in.

The war room is pretty simple. As you gain power through influence you can use it to do quests on the table. Each takes a different amount of power. The inquisition perks can be spent to give bonuses to your agents. You will acquire various materials and items as you unlock these perks. Some of them also give your party bonuses like the ability to pick locks with rogues and the like.


The only thing that bothers me about this game is how characters do not tell you their thoughts before you make a decision and then suddenly you have half of them disapprove of your choice with no warning. I mean there was no conversation with them about it, no commentary from them, and no indication that they had an opinion. I remember in KOTOR you would generally get the idea of how a character feels about a certain person or situation. This game doesn't seem to do that very often. So it is harder to build a good standing with party members.

My SSD doesn't have enough space left for this

Still, the cards disappear pretty quickly on the load screen, goes to black, and then it's another ~20+ seconds of black screen for the load. I don't quite understand why the load works like that, if the cards aren't up for the entire load.

 

[bystander36]

My SSD doesn't have enough space left for this

Still, the cards disappear pretty quickly on the load screen, goes to black, and then it's another ~20+ seconds of black screen for the load. I don't quite understand why the load works like that, if the cards aren't up for the entire load.

I'm in the same position and also notice similar load times, though I think it's more like ~10 seconds, with an occasional longer one.

Just in case anyone hasn't figure this out, if you are interested in something you are reading, all those cards you see are codex entries you've found throughout your play through, so you can go back and read them.

 

[exar333]

Name one req mission that requests valuables outside of the mission:

Spoiler

Artifact Requisition in the Wastes

.

I've done all of the requisitions and that was the only one. Unless you consider the initial req missions in the Hinterlands for

Spoiler

Ferelden locks and decorative gems

to be valuables. Then there would be only three.

Well, you answered it for me. Three missions require them. Or don't they count for some reason? You make little sense...

 

[poohbear]

wow....so i've been playing with SLI despite all the flickering and stuttering, but when one cutscene was constantly crashing (the first Sera encounter), i turned off SLI to see what would happen....to my surprise no stuttering, no flickering, AND there was no discernible difference in FPS! How can it be that SLI doesn't even provide any noticeable FPS increase? Are you guys getting the same? i've been playing it with a single card since and i'm shocked that it's smoother and plays better with a single card! Never gonna do SLI again, this is pathetic. With lates 344.75 drivers.

 

[Rhezuss]

wow....so i've been playing with SLI despite all the flickering and stuttering, but when one cutscene was constantly crashing (the first Sera encounter), i turned off SLI to see what would happen....to my surprise no stuttering, no flickering, AND there was no discernible difference in FPS! How can it be that SLI doesn't even provide any noticeable FPS increase? Are you guys getting the same? i've been playing it with a single card since and i'm shocked that it's smoother and plays better with a single card! Never gonna do SLI again, this is pathetic.

Do you run the latest drivers 344.75?
They're optimized for DA:I and other recent releases.

 

[bystander36]

wow....so i've been playing with SLI despite all the flickering and stuttering, but when one cutscene was constantly crashing (the first Sera encounter), i turned off SLI to see what would happen....to my surprise no stuttering, no flickering, AND there was no discernible difference in FPS! How can it be that SLI doesn't even provide any noticeable FPS increase? Are you guys getting the same? i've been playing it with a single card since and i'm shocked that it's smoother and plays better with a single card! Never gonna do SLI again, this is pathetic.

I had a massive improvement with SLI enabled (680's). When I first played the game, I had done a driver update, and it was disabled (don't know why their drivers always default to disabled). I didn't realize it, and had to set settings to near medium for good FPS. After seeing I had it disabled and my 120hz monitor was set to 60hz, I enabled them and my FPS sky-rocked and I can play with high+ settings.

If you are judging the cutscenes, realize they are capped to 30 FPS unless you disable the cap. It may be those look better with 1 card, but if you disable the cap, I get much better results with SLI.

 

[escrow4]

I have gotten used to rhem. The only thing that still bothers e a lot is the picking up loot, in that you hmve to get close enough for that little circle to appear before you can actually pick it up or interact. Also wish you could zoom out more. The thing that bothers me most is the long loading times when starting the game or transitioning between areas.

Overall I like the game, but it hasn't really drawn me in like kotor or skyrim. Also not sure I like or completely understand the war table, power points, mission assignments thing. A complex game like this is where a printed manual would be nice.

This has been pretty dumbed down for consoles. If it was complicated the war room would be a mini-RTS where you build and maintain keeps and supply routes etc. THAT would be epic but will never happen.

War table: This is where you unlock main missions (have a green mist above them) with power points as well as side missions and organize resource missions. You can choose 3 routes - diplomacy, muscle, or spies. You get different stuff for different options and no you can't wrong. Some advisors might take longer but no real difference.

Power points: Quests give you these. You need a pile to unlock more quests. Camp missions to get resources basically give you unlimited power points.

Perks: Give you perks (like Fallout) which you get by completing stuff. As far as I can see, when you get points this also fills. I strongly recommend getting the perks for creature damage, potion increases, and dispelling fog of war plus discounts for purchasing stuff. You can buy perk points in Skyhold - the smallest boost is 200 or so, the mid boost is 1200 or so, the big fat boost is around 7000.

Plus in Val Royeax on Level 2 there is a mysterious box for $10K. No I won't spoil it . . . . . .

 

[poohbear]

Do you run the latest drivers 344.75?
They're optimized for DA:I and other recent releases.

Yep latest drivers. Im not saying its more fps with SLI disabled, but with all the stuttering with SLI enabled, the game feels much smoother with SLI disabled for me, & not just the cutscenes. Maybe microstutter is big in this game & any increase in fps with sli enabled is offset by all the stuttering. Never gonna do SLI again, just a big headache & a disappointment for new games.

Anyways SLI issues aside, this is the best RPG ive played in forever! And its so damn huge!!

 

[PenguinPower]

Well, you answered it for me. Three missions require them. Or don't they count for some reason? You make little sense...

I don't consider the Hinterlands reqs to be valuables because they are enemy specific drops to fulfill the req requirements. So the only req requiring valuables looted from somewhere is one end-game, optional area req. There's no reason to worry about hording valuables because you are afraid you won't be able to complete a req request.

 

[PenguinPower]

That guy is probably an "agent" ...which is yet another thing that I don't get. What do they do? I can't find a listing for agents anywhere in the codex. Maybe it's buried in some other codex. Can I return to them and get little mini quests? Does each agent just factor into the total influence pool or something?

Agents shorten the war table mission time by 5% per agent for the specific counselor they "work for." The also count as a "perk" to open up additional perks that have some minimum before they open. For example, three agents for Leiliana would count towards opening up the Deft Hands perk and you would only have to spend one perk point instead of the normal four.

 

[Carfax83]

Is anyone playing a Templar or a Reaver? I figure that when I eventually specialize, I will choose one or the other at opposite ends of the spectrum..

I'm hearing that Reaver is a DPS machine, but the reliance on low health is kind of a turn off. Templar looks like it's more of a support role, but I guess it depends on how you configure it.

They do massive amounts of damage against demons and mages though..

 

[datalink7]

I'm playing a Reaver with 2 handed weapon. I'm having fun. Just make sure that your mage has a barrier up on your going in because your health can get deleted really quick.

I love smacking things for 1k+ damage though.

 

[bystander36]

Is anyone playing a Templar or a Reaver? I figure that when I eventually specialize, I will choose one or the other at opposite ends of the spectrum..

I'm hearing that Reaver is a DPS machine, but the reliance on low health is kind of a turn off. Templar looks like it's more of a support role, but I guess it depends on how you configure it.

They do massive amounts of damage against demons and mages though..

Cassandra is a Templar. Vivianna (sp?) is a Knight Enchanter. War Bull (not sure on name, haven't used him much) is a Reaver. You can test our your ideas on them with your current character.

If you are concerned about low health, you could pair the Reaver with a Knight Enchanter who will always be near you to cast barriers, have the Knight Enchanter take on the barrier spec to improve it.

 

[Carfax83]

Thanks for the advice. Right now I have a level 8 warrior thats using a two handed weapon, but I'm thinking about redoing him into a sword and board fighter, and eventually a templar.

I've noticed that demons are by far the toughest enemies in the game, at least so far. There is an area I'm struggling in the Hinterlands called Favanna Ravine, where there is a rift I have to close.

I think I must not be a high enough level, because I keep dying repeatedly. In fact, my entire party gets wiped out. If I survive the first wave, I die in the second one before I can destroy the rift. This is the first area in the entire game where I've been faced with real difficulty.

So if I respec, does that mean I will lose my current digital deluxe weapons? Since my character was a two handed weapon user, I was given a great maul and a two handed sword. By switching to S&B, I should get the sword and shield weapons that are part of the flames of the inquisition package.

Only one way to find out I guess

 

[bystander36]

Thanks for the advice. Right now I have a level 8 warrior thats using a two handed weapon, but I'm thinking about redoing him into a sword and board fighter, and eventually a templar.

I've noticed that demons are by far the toughest enemies in the game, at least so far. There is an area I'm struggling in the Hinterlands called Favanna Ravine, where there is a rift I have to close.

I think I must not be a high enough level, because I keep dying repeatedly. In fact, my entire party gets wiped out. If I survive the first wave, I die in the second one before I can destroy the rift. This is the first area in the entire game where I've been faced with real difficulty.

So if I respec, does that mean I will lose my current digital deluxe weapons? Since my character was a two handed weapon user, I was given a great maul and a two handed sword. By switching to S&B, I should get the sword and shield weapons that are part of the flames of the inquisition package.

Only one way to find out I guess

Go into tactical mode, and move your mouse over a target. If it is more than 3 levels above your level, you pretty much have no chance. There is one area in the Hinterlands which is level 14, and I had one rift quest, after doing a few before, that sent me after a level 12 rift. I had to come back at a later date to deal with those.

 

[zinfamous]

^ yeah, dude, just leave the Hinterlands.

seriously, do it. You don't have to close that Rift. come back to it later. It's always a good idea to go into tactical mode and check the level/color of the mobs you are fighting. There are certain spots in the Hinterlands that really aren't designed to be completed on your first run through that map.

Hinterlands really is a training area for this game. I'd say get to level 7 or 8 and gtfo and move on. As everyone has mentioned before--this game explodes once you start following the quest line that takes you out of the Hinterlands.