Dragon Age 3: Inquisition announced

[exar333]

I didn't find that to be a problem at all. Granted, there were some party members that I just didn't use enough to make custom gear for, but I played with most of the available companions and had way more than enough good to great materials to make custom equipment for all companions. In every case that gear was better than anything I was picking up (maybe with the exception of daggers). I guess I couldn't make the absolute "best" for everyone, but I still crafted at least 90% of the gear for my party.

I still ended up having top tier materials unused at the completion of the game. However, I did wait to use top materials like Dragonbone until I had Tier 3 schematics.

If anything I found the crafting system to take away from the excitement of loot drops. I got to the point where I didn't even inspect picked up weapons and armor, just sold everything because it was so much worse than what could be crafted.

If I craft, I want it to be really good. Dragon bone, etc. was very tough to get (even with killing all the dragons).

Totally agree on the drops though. I prefer crafting to 'fill the holes' between the great gear I pick-up. Found gear was a whole class/step below what you can make via crafting. Some had some decent abilities, but the stats were just so bad. Games need to get away from crafting providing 100% of your gear. I like to have more optional bosses/quests/etc to find the good stuff.

I didn't really craft much at all until I got T3 schematics. The drops were OK early-game, but definitely not as exciting as it could have been.

 

[facetman]

BY the end of the game I found I could not craft better gear than I had picked up - even if the "Mastercrafting" worked. I finished at level 23 I think. The biggest thing that "erked" me about the game was the fact that if you did not micromanage the mages in combat or myself (Elf bow inquisitor ) they seems to move in close to enemies and could therefore take heavy melee damage form enemies = stupid. NO mage would do that. It was like they did not create different AI personalities for the different companions = pure lazy.

 

[exar333]

BY the end of the game I found I could not craft better gear than I had picked up - even if the "Mastercrafting" worked. I finished at level 23 I think. The biggest thing that "erked" me about the game was the fact that if you did not micromanage the mages in combat or myself (Elf bow inquisitor ) they seems to move in close to enemies and could therefore take heavy melee damage form enemies = stupid. NO mage would do that. It was like they did not create different AI personalities for the different companions = pure lazy.

Really? Most mastercraft items are 20%+ better than the best drops. And that is assuming you find the drops for the party you have...Armor drops are a lot worse, although I did find some arms/legs that were pretty good.

If you are using the best materials, and a mastercraft item, the items are generally a lot better than what you find. Also, a lot of the best drops require decent gear anyway, so it is often easier to craft first IMHO. It is a little chicken-egg scenario though, as the tougher battles give the best mats to beat the next tough battles.

I used drops and crafted my daggers with rare mats first, then 1H sword, then staffs, and then armor pieces. The weapon crafting made a HUGE difference.

 

[ControlD]

BY the end of the game I found I could not craft better gear than I had picked up - even if the "Mastercrafting" worked. I finished at level 23 I think. The biggest thing that "erked" me about the game was the fact that if you did not micromanage the mages in combat or myself (Elf bow inquisitor ) they seems to move in close to enemies and could therefore take heavy melee damage form enemies = stupid. NO mage would do that. It was like they did not create different AI personalities for the different companions = pure lazy.

Did you purchase all of the Tier 3 schematics? I didn't find anything through drops that were even in the same ballpark of what I could craft once I got the best schematics, especially when I could craft my own "add-on" items (arms and legs for armor, staff blades and grips, etc.).

I agree with the combat complaints however. I would set up a battle just how I wanted with my ranged characters in back and my melee people up front. Go into battle and next thing I know my ranged fighters are popping health potions like mad because they had run into melee range. The tactics options for your party are somewhat lacking to say the least. I have to say this also happens to me in DA:O, but the combat is so much more chaotic in DA:I that it becomes much harder to manage.

 

[bystander36]

If I craft, I want it to be really good. Dragon bone, etc. was very tough to get (even with killing all the dragons).

Totally agree on the drops though. I prefer crafting to 'fill the holes' between the great gear I pick-up. Found gear was a whole class/step below what you can make via crafting. Some had some decent abilities, but the stats were just so bad. Games need to get away from crafting providing 100% of your gear. I like to have more optional bosses/quests/etc to find the good stuff.

I didn't really craft much at all until I got T3 schematics. The drops were OK early-game, but definitely not as exciting as it could have been.

The way I see it, only your Inquisitor needs to have the absolute best gear, and gets first crack at the dragon materials, and the rest get normal tier 3 armor and weapons. There isn't even much difference between dragon materials and normal tier 3. It's like it is tier 3.25 or 3.5.

That isn't to say you can't make great gear for everyone, as tier 3 is still great gear. And I typically don't even make dragon armor, because it turns out orange, which is kind of ugly and mages don't get dragon weapons either, as it is only fire damage, and I normally walk around with anything but fire staves, with one crafted just in case.

If I ever play this game again, which might be a while after I finish my current nightmare level completionist type of game. I will try to no crafting game, or at least only craft item slots. I can see right now that I'm becoming way OP.

 

[Red Hawk]

That's very interesting.

The only issue that I have with the way this game portrays homosexuality is that for all characters, you can woo them regardless of gender. Even in a society where people can have open preferences, some people just won't be open to same sex relations and some won't be open to opposite sex relations. Why are all of these characters bi-sexual then? It isn't realistic, even in the fictitious world.

I don't see why some characters, when you hit on them, can't just be like "oh sorry, don't swing that way but you're cool and stuff" instead of "where's the bed? let's get at it!"

Being straight does not mean you don't support an open and fair society. But protraying a world in a way where bi-sexuality is ubiquitous arguably does harm to the movement to support an open and fair society because it rejects the notion that individuals can have individual tastes. In doing this, and replacing this idea with the idea that everyone has the same sexuality, it's like saying "I don't see gender" similar to "I don't see race."

EDIT: I do think it is awesome that the player controlled character can have whatever sexuality they want though.

They did what you're talking about with the characters in Dragon Age 2, but they actually didn't do it in Inquisition. Cassandra, Cullen, Solas, and Blackwall are all straight romance interests. Dorian and Sera are exclusively gay/lesbian. Only Josephine and Iron Bull are bisexual.

 

[bystander36]

They did what you're talking about with the characters in Dragon Age 2, but they actually didn't do it in Inquisition. Cassandra, Cullen, Solas, and Blackwall are all straight romance interests. Dorian and Sera are exclusively gay/lesbian. Only Josephine and Iron Bull are bisexual.

The part of this that annoys me is there are 3 straight males, and only 1 straight female. I wouldn't care if they made up for that with more bisexual females, but as it stands, a straight man only has 2 options. A straight female has 4. Don't they know that these games are played by men far more than women?

 

[cbrunny]

They did what you're talking about with the characters in Dragon Age 2, but they actually didn't do it in Inquisition. Cassandra, Cullen, Solas, and Blackwall are all straight romance interests. Dorian and Sera are exclusively gay/lesbian. Only Josephine and Iron Bull are bisexual.

Ah, my bad. Thanks for the fix.

 

[Red Hawk]

The part of this that annoys me is there are 3 straight males, and only 1 straight female. I wouldn't care if they made up for that with more bisexual females, but as it stands, a straight man only has 2 options. A straight female has 4. Don't they know that these games are played by men far more than women?

Well it's not like there's a lack of romance interests for straight guys compared to other games. Previous BioWare games usually have only 2 romance interests per gender, with Mass Effect 2 as an exception with 3 per gender. They just decided to go a little overboard with options for the ladies this time. ^_^ There are limitations to those female romance options, though. Cullen is only "romanceable" by humans or elves, while Solas is exclusive to elves.

And honestly, the Dragon Age games have a lot of appeal to female gamers. There's likely more of them than you think.

 

[bystander36]

I know women play games, and all, but traditionally, RPG's are had a lot more men than women. Though MMORPG's have been known to have more women than most gaming genres. In any case, men still out number women by a lot.

 

[cytoSiN]

Case in point, the Inquisitor can be an elf, a race that is supposedly suppressed and discriminated against in Thedas. How can an elf be the leader of a powerful institution like the Inquisition and command such authority when he or she is a "knife ear?"

Not taking sides here (just think the discussion is interesting), but to be fair, you're the Inquisitor because you have the mark. I'm playing an elf, and I've still been called "knife ear," but I have abilities no one else does, so I command power/respect/whatever. There's plenty of unbelievable crap in DA:I (and every other similar game), but I didn't find the race of the Inquisitor to be one of those things.

 

[Mem]

Each to his own. If you like the witcher better, I can understand that. Admittedly, the first game, I played maybe a couple of hours and quit. The combat just drove me nuts.

I did try really hard to like the second game and put maybe 10 or 20 hours into it, but still couldn't get into it.

I agree with DA:I though. I though the story was much better developed in DA:O than DA:I. I played through DA:O three times I think, but DA:I may be one and done.

Combat in DA:I and controls(K&M) were in many ways worst then Witcher 1,at least with Witcher I did not feel like they stripped away the skill options or dumbed it down to console level.
Main problem is getting through first part(chapter) of Witcher 1,once you get to first main town it picks up on storyline etc,some could not get part the first boss fight just before then so gave up.

However you also have to consider the size of EA/Bioware to CD Projekt,Witcher 2 obviously improved controls compared to Witcher 1,unlike DA:I which went backwards in so many ways to the other two DA games.

FYI I played Witcher 1(three times right through),Witcher 2 (twice right through,working on my third at the moment).

DA:I to me felt like a wannabe Skyrim clone not done as good.
EA/Bioware seem to have this habbit of making things worst with next game in the series ,unlike CD Projekt which actually listen to feedback and try to improve the next Witcher game.
CD Projekt also are fast at getting patches out the door compared EA/Bioware.

I could go on but I think you see my point and each to their own as they say.
I really want DA4 to go back towards the original formula of DAO and not continue the DA:I route as a template,if they combine best of DAO and DA2 they will not be far off for DA4.



frozentundra123456 it's a bit ironic you mention combat,how many have complained about mouse and keyboard controls for DA:I in the Bioware forums or switched to game pad for the PC ,too many to name,I guess we both have different view points .

It'll be interesting to see how the improved mouse and keyboard controls pan out on next patch for DA:I.

 

[Red Hawk]

I know women play games, and all, but traditionally, RPG's are had a lot more men than women. Though MMORPG's have been known to have more women than most gaming genres. In any case, men still out number women by a lot.

And how does that make a difference? If you're saying that the game should cater to (straight) men because they currently make up a large majority of the audience, I disagree. If anything, the developer should try their best to draw in female players while maintaining the game's core appeal. Past that, they should write the characters that they want, as long as it's within the realm of plausibility. If it turns out they write more straight male characters than straight female characters, then so be it!

Edit: Regarding this:

DA:I to me felt like a wannabe Skyrim clone not done as good.

It's...really not. I mean, there are some obvious influences from Skyrim with regard to open exploration and crafting. But combat is much different, level progression is different, the game world is different (several large "zones" rather than one unified "overworld),the party member system is different, and there's focus on plot progression, character development, dialogue, and cinematography that is virtually absent from Skyrim. Inquisition wants to appeal to the Skyrim audience, for sure, but it's still Dragon Age, not an Elder Scrolls clone.

 

[KeithTalent]

So if I'm reading correctly, it seems I can completely avoid crafting and not be hindered at the end of the game? That would be great; crafting is just a boring grind to me.

KT

 

[bystander36]

Yes, you can, but you definitely lose some power. I'd personally recommend crafting the slots though. It can really change how your character plays.

 

[Mem]

So if I'm reading correctly, it seems I can completely avoid crafting and not be hindered at the end of the game? That would be great; crafting is just a boring grind to me.

KT

You can go all purple on your gear if you hate crafting,but personally crafting is the way to go if you want the best gear and it's very easy to do in DA:I and does not take long.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I didn't find that to be a problem at all. Granted, there were some party members that I just didn't use enough to make custom gear for, but I played with most of the available companions and had way more than enough good to great materials to make custom equipment for all companions. In every case that gear was better than anything I was picking up (maybe with the exception of daggers). I guess I couldn't make the absolute "best" for everyone, but I still crafted at least 90% of the gear for my party.

I still ended up having top tier materials unused at the completion of the game. However, I did wait to use top materials like Dragonbone until I had Tier 3 schematics.

If anything I found the crafting system to take away from the excitement of loot drops. I got to the point where I didn't even inspect picked up weapons and armor, just sold everything because it was so much worse than what could be crafted.

I must be doing it wrong. The stuff I craft always seems weaker that what my group already has. Granted though, I am not spending time looking for crafting stuff.

 

[Carfax83]

Serious question because I have just started playing the first Witcher game. Does the Witcher really take itself seriously? I mean, the dialogue in the first couple of hours is like watching a B movie. I sort of thought that's what the developers were going for honestly. A sort of SyFy channel take on RPGs. Maybe it gets better as the game progresses, but it's hard to get through the opening parts to find out.

Yes, the first chapter is typically the hardest to get over, but then after that, it really takes off once you get to Vizima and the game starts to open up.

The Witcher storyline is filled with lots of action and consequence. You might do something in the first chapter, to find that it impacted whether or not a quest or sub-quest became available or was prematurely ended in the second chapter.

Witcher 2 is similar but even more complex. Your choices determine the future course of the game in a big way.

 

[KeithTalent]

What does "crafting" the slots mean? Also, if I were to start crafting, is there a particular time I should start, or do I have to start early so I can level it up like in MMOs?

KT

 

[bystander36]

I must be doing it wrong. The stuff I craft always seems weaker that what my group already has. Granted though, I am not spending time looking for crafting stuff.

If you want the absolute best stuff, you have to actively go where the best materials are. For random leather crafting and Dex, kill the nugs in Exalted Plains. For Crit chance, kill great bears in Emerald Graves. For Cunning, go to Hissing Wastes and kill lurkers, and farm ore there as well. Not to mention, most the best schematics are sold and found there.

You just have to know where to go.

 

[ControlD]

What does "crafting" the slots mean? Also, if I were to start crafting, is there a particular time I should start, or do I have to start early so I can level it up like in MMOs?

KT

You don't need to level anything up. It isn't like Skyrim for example where the more you craft the better you get at it. The only things that determine how good your crafted item will be are (1) the schematic and (2) the materials used.

What I usually do is head to the crafting area every so often and simply start making an item to see what the end stats will look like. If I can see I will be ending up with something decently better than what I am currently using, I go ahead and make the item. If the results are less than what I was hoping for I just cancel out and keep using what I already have. You obviously want to keep super rare materials like dragon bone saved for when you get really good schematics, but the rest of the materials are fair game.

Another thing to keep in mind is that crafted items have no level restrictions. That means you can use, for example, the best weapon schematic you currently have right now without having to meet a particular level requirement. I think this is why my crafted items always were better than anything I could equip on my party characters. I can see this being a little bit game breaking in future runs since I now know where the best schematics are located.

** Edit **

Make sure you also craft the add-on areas like the arms and legs for armor or the various grips, blades and runes for weapons. You get lots and lots of on-hit effects (triggering immolate for example) and/or stat bonuses by using those upgrades. This is what makes crafted items so powerful over looted items. You get to control what bonuses are added.

 

[Carfax83]

Not taking sides here (just think the discussion is interesting), but to be fair, you're the Inquisitor because you have the mark. I'm playing an elf, and I've still been called "knife ear," but I have abilities no one else does, so I command power/respect/whatever. There's plenty of unbelievable crap in DA:I (and every other similar game), but I didn't find the race of the Inquisitor to be one of those things.

I did. Originally Bioware never intended to make the Inquisitor role available to other races I believe. It was only after the massive backlash that they did, and they ended up delaying the game to implement other races as playable.

Source

From a plotline perspective, the Inquisitor being a human makes the most sense. What would a Qunari, dwarf or dalish elf be doing at the conclave? I'm sure Bioware concocted some explanation (as spies or some such), but when you consider the entire religious overtone then it becomes less credible..

 

[KeithTalent]

Ah ok, thanks. The levelling thing actually makes me feel better about trying crafting. I absolutely hate having to tan 50,000 hides so I can move up one level in crafting to make a fancier hide with a metal stud on it. Crap like that drives me nuts.

Since this is just find it and craft sort of thing, it seems it may be more worth my time

KT

 

[Kev]

So if I'm reading correctly, it seems I can completely avoid crafting and not be hindered at the end of the game? That would be great; crafting is just a boring grind to me.

KT

Just play the game on easy or normal. As a grown ass man, I have neither the time nor the inclination to worry about collecting junk in video games. I mainly play for the story. The combat in this game isn't that interesting anyway, and from what I understand, if you spend enough time you can upgrade yourself to the point where nightmare mode is a cakewalk anyway. So why bother?

 

[KeithTalent]

Just play the game on easy or normal. As a grown ass man, I have neither the time nor the inclination to worry about collecting junk in video games. I mainly play for the story. The combat in this game isn't that interesting anyway, and from what I understand, if you spend enough time you can upgrade yourself to the point where nightmare mode is a cakewalk anyway. So why bother?

Pretty much how I was approaching it.

Figured it was worth asking though because it way be worth checking out at some point. It also seems far less annoying than I originally thought which is cool.

KT