539 réponses à ce sujet

[Frusciante31]

FieryDove wrote...

I don't know. My mage Hawke had so much plot armor she was passing it out to all the residents in darktown. That and a few coins since the *chantry* couldn't be bothered.

Haha, well played! That still doesn't make sense to me to this day....and I have two mage playthroughs! 

Still, the fact that bad things can, and do, happen to Hawke and those around him serves to flesh him out to me as compared to other similar MCs.

[Addai]

Rogue Unit wrote...

The Darkspawn Chronicles showed that - in a world without the Warden - Alistair was more than capable of uniting the lands against the Blight on his own.

A- Don't ever use the DSC to prove any point except "how not to make a DLC."

B- Alistair proved the Warden wasn't needed by... being defeated by the archdemon?

Modifié par Addai67, 04 août 2011 - 04:22 .

[Addai]

Frusciante31 wrote...

1.  Hawke is trying to protect his mother and siblings by getting them to Kirkwall where they are safe from the Blight.

So she gets them to Gwaren, puts them on a ship and waves goodbye.  Did you see those schmucks in Redcliffe leaving their families behind to go fight?  Why couldn't we have played one of them?

2.  Did you see Anders' doing *SPOILER* ?  If not, you can hardly blame Hawke...

I don't know what you're talking about.  I saw plenty in Anders' act 1 quest that could justify cleanup.  Hawke took out other rogue mages for less reason.

3.  And relative to Hawke's mother, he did everything he could, it just wasn't enough...that is what makes Hawke intriguing to me:  as powerful as a fighter as he is, the tragedy of his story is that (up to this point...) that isn't all that beneficial to him as there were still circumstances wildly beyond his control that he was forced to deal withl. 
I think that makes him much more of a powerful character than a typical main character who is shielded by plot armor.

Tragedy is if you try and fail.  Hawke is not tragic, as we're pointing out.  She's maybe careless and inept, if not totally irresponsible.

Modifié par Addai67, 04 août 2011 - 04:26 .

[erynnar]

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

[erynnar]

Realmzmaster wrote...

Addai67 wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Like I said, Legacy giving me more time with family and family history made Hawke a little better, but otherwise, Hawke can die a quiet death off stage.

Edited to say, and going comatose, staying in Kirkwall when they had no real reason to, and sitting around with their thumbs up their behind changing or stopping nothing of note, really didnt' help.

Now we have Hawke's family being tied to "an ancient evil"- I figure in the expansion Hawke will be saving the world.

For me it's too little too late for this PC.  Hawke starts off on a bad note.  What compelling reason does she have to leave Ferelden to the Blight?  Besides being a coward, the only reason I can come up with is that Smirky just doesn't care.  She doesn't want to save the world, and as it turns out, it's a good thing!   Does not endear me to the character.  I have the same problem with Aveline.

Secondly, she doesn't even try to do anything about Anders.  If at a certain point when he suggests leaving, she had said "I can't let you do that," that would have made a big difference even if he escaped.  No DLC can change these two things about the character.

I always thought saving one's family is a compelling reason. Maybe Hawke should have stayed in Lothering with his family and watch them all get wiped out.

The human and dwarf noble warden have no family or the family has backstabbed them. The Dalish elf becomes a warden to save his/her life. The city elf becomes a warden because he/she would end up dangling at the end of a rope. The mage warden has no family we know of. The only origin that has family ties it the dwarf commoner who is trying to make things better for his family like Hawke. The other origins have no family to worry about.
The warden basically has nothing to lose but his/her life as far as they know.

Hawke can lose all of his/her family by staying in Lothering. I find it quite understandable that he/she would leave.  I really have no problem with sensible characters.

And do what about Anders? Kill him with for no reason and have every Feledren refugee hating you ? Turn him in to be killed by the Templars which means that those being heal and helped by Anders now have no help or hope.
In my opinion there is no reason to change the character based on those things. And you are correct no DLC will change that. But, YMMV.

I didn't have a problem with Hawke leaving Lothering, myself. I had a problem with Hawke staying in bat**** crazy Kirkwall. Sorry, the "it's home now" is bull. Hawke and family moved around to keep from being found out as mages. As someone who did that, I don't have a home town, ties to a city. I also  object to  Hawke's lame excuse for waiting until night fall to rescuse someone important, you know that family that was so important to flee Lothering for?

[Cutlass Jack]

erynnar wrote...

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

Yours may have waited til night but mine didn't. He tracked down Gascard DuPuis and forced him to do blood magic to track her down. He was still too late but Maker help anyone or anything that got in his way that day.

Compare that to my Cousland Warden who left his perfectly healthy mother to die when he could have done something about it. I'm still bitter about that one. At least Hawke tried.

[Zjarcal]

Cutlass Jack wrote...
Compare that to my Cousland Warden who left his perfectly healthy mother to die when he could have done something about it. I'm still bitter about that one. At least Hawke tried.

I was about to bring this up.

All the complaints about cowardness or ineptitude from Hawke could be made about the Warden too (in some Origins more than in others).

But of course, Hawke sucks so let's beat her with sticks.

Modifié par Zjarcal, 04 août 2011 - 04:37 .

[erynnar]

Cutlass Jack wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

Yours may have waited til night but mine didn't. He tracked down Gascard DuPuis and forced him to do blood magic to track her down. He was still too late but Maker help anyone or anything that got in his way that day.

Compare that to my Cousland Warden who left his perfectly healthy mother to die when he could have done something about it. I'm still bitter about that one. At least Hawke tried.

Hm, I admit, I didn't know you could make DuPuis do that. I hated having to wait. But I hate that I didn't get a choice to save her or not, more. 

As for my Cousland, what was she suppsed to to, knock out Eleanor and carry her forcefully along? She decided to stay with Bryce. I know my mother would not thank me, or put up with my **** if I tried to take her away if she made up her mind. Eleanor made that decision. And while I hated it, I understood it. If my beloved were going to die, and I could buy my child more time, Hell would run cold before I'd stop fighting to do just that.

[erynnar]

Zjarcal wrote...

Cutlass Jack wrote...
Compare that to my Cousland Warden who left his perfectly healthy mother to die when he could have done something about it. I'm still bitter about that one. At least Hawke tried.

I was about to bring this up.

All the complaints about cowardness or ineptitude from Hawke could be made about the Warden too (in some Origins more than in others).

But of course, Hawke sucks so let's beat her with sticks.

Again, Eleanor made the choice to stay with her husband and buy her child more time. That is hardly waiting until nightfall or getting spending time forcing some mage to do blood magic to do it.

If I had been Eleanor and you tried to make me leave, I would have stuck an arrow in you myself. Only enough so that you could still escape of course.

[Realmzmaster]

Frusciante31 wrote...

FieryDove wrote...

I don't know. My mage Hawke had so much plot armor she was passing it out to all the residents in darktown. That and a few coins since the *chantry* couldn't be bothered.

Haha, well played! That still doesn't make sense to me to this day....and I have two mage playthroughs! 

Still, the fact that bad things can, and do, happen to Hawke and those around him serves to flesh him out to me as compared to other similar MCs.

The mage got plot shield because gamers want to play a mage which should be extremely difficult in Kirkwall. I stated in earlier threads that there should be either no mage option for the PC or that the mage PC would have to hid their mageness extremely well like not using magic in the open or carrying a staff. or carry a staff like Little John in Robin Hood. It looks like a fighting staff used by peasants to ward off wolves and use it to attack with like a regular weapon..

The Baldur's Gate 2 game did that in a city where the mages basically ruled. No magic was allowed to be used without consent from the mage's Guild. But that would not work in the DA world where the Chantry rules over magic.

Also unfortuantely would not go over well with people who want to play a mage. A whole story parallel to the Warrior and Rogue stories would have to be created to take mageness into account. Given the development cycle that would be almost impossible. So mage PC or Bethany get plot shield until the mage PC or Bethany by story device no longer need it.

[Ryzaki]

erynnar wrote...

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

Not to mention. 

"Hey mom. There's this serial killer sending women white lillies. If you get some give me a heads up and don't go anywhere alone!" 

Yes that was apparently too difficult for poor widdle Hawke. 

[Cutlass Jack]

erynnar wrote...

Hm, I admit, I didn't know you could make DuPuis do that. I hated having to wait. But I hate that I didn't get a choice to save her or not, more. 

As for my Cousland, what was she suppsed to to, knock out Eleanor and carry her forcefully along? She decided to stay with Bryce. I know my mother would not thank me, or put up with my **** if I tried to take her away if she made up her mind. Eleanor made that decision. And while I hated it, I understood it. If my beloved were going to die, and I could buy my child more time, Hell would run cold before I'd stop fighting to do just that.

Well the DuPuis thing is a little conditional. You need to have believed him earlier, and told the Templar that he wasn't responsible, so they call off the manhunt. If you do that, he'll be in Darktown and you can make him use blood magic to track her.

I'll avoid spoilers, but if you ever try this route, take Varric! You'll get one of the best bits in the game period. It makes a tragic scene play out so much better.

On the Cousland front, the missing option was to stand your ground and say you wouldn't leave without her. Ideally, (to make the plot move forward) you should have been able to say to Duncan "Help me save her, and I'm yours without hesitation." I'd be perfectly fine if despised me for it, but I'd never in a million years leave my mother there to die.

[Aeowyn]

Addai67 wrote...

Frusciante31 wrote...

1.  Hawke is trying to protect his mother and siblings by getting them to Kirkwall where they are safe from the Blight.

So she gets them to Gwaren, puts them on a ship and waves goodbye.  Did you see those schmucks in Redcliffe leaving their families behind to go fight?  Why couldn't we have played one of them?

You obviously are not an elder sibling, or have never been forced to be responsible of a family member or you wouldn't even have made that suggestion.

And yes, where exactly would Hawke leave to fight? Since they flee Lothering shortly after Ostagar, there is no army to join against the Blight.

[erynnar]

Ryzaki wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

Not to mention. 

"Hey mom. There's this serial killer sending women white lillies. If you get some give me a heads up and don't go anywhere alone!" 

Yes that was apparently too difficult for poor widdle Hawke. 

I was just about to bring that up. Mentions were made by Eleanor that she's dating, no "hey mom lets have him over for dinner?"  No, "oh yeah mom, there's this dude sending lillies to women and then they disappear, so if you get any, tell Bohdan and have him find me, and don't leave the house?" No, none of that. But my Warden is incompetent because mom tells you she's staying to buy you more time, and to get the frak out? Not really the same thing.

[Zjarcal]

erynnar wrote...

Again, Eleanor made the choice to stay with her husband and buy her child more time. That is hardly waiting until nightfall or getting spending time forcing some mage to do blood magic to do it.

If I had been Eleanor and you tried to make me leave, I would have stuck an arrow in you myself. Only enough so that you could still escape of course.

And I actually agree with Eleanor's decision. I would've done the same myself. Hell, if the game had given me the choice my PC would've stayed and died with her (shortest game ever but whatever).

Nonetheless, the warden still abandons her and the whole place (even if you as the player didn't want to do that), so it's basically the same as Hawke abandoning Ferelden and the blight (which is the point I was actually trying to compare, the whole "coward" factor, not the death of Leandra).

[Frusciante31]

Addai67 wrote...

So she gets them to Gwaren, puts them on a ship and waves goodbye.  Did you see those schmucks in Redcliffe leaving their families behind to go fight?  Why couldn't we have played one of them?

Tragedy is if you try and fail.  Hawke is not tragic, as we're pointing out.  She's maybe careless and inept, if not totally irresponsible.

1.  This is just being argumentative.  You can disagree with the decision, but from an objective viewpoint you should at least be able to understand that he had a perfectly valid rationale.

2.  Hawke tried to save his mother, Hawke tried to support either the mages/templars, Hawke tried to save *spoiler* and *spoiler*.  He tried to do alot of things - I guess you can quibble with how he went about some of it (?)  but to say he didn't at least try is just silly.

[erynnar]

Cutlass Jack wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Hm, I admit, I didn't know you could make DuPuis do that. I hated having to wait. But I hate that I didn't get a choice to save her or not, more. 

As for my Cousland, what was she suppsed to to, knock out Eleanor and carry her forcefully along? She decided to stay with Bryce. I know my mother would not thank me, or put up with my **** if I tried to take her away if she made up her mind. Eleanor made that decision. And while I hated it, I understood it. If my beloved were going to die, and I could buy my child more time, Hell would run cold before I'd stop fighting to do just that.

Well the DuPuis thing is a little conditional. You need to have believed him earlier, and told the Templar that he wasn't responsible, so they call off the manhunt. If you do that, he'll be in Darktown and you can make him use blood magic to track her.

I'll avoid spoilers, but if you ever try this route, take Varric! You'll get one of the best bits in the game period. It makes a tragic scene play out so much better.

On the Cousland front, the missing option was to stand your ground and say you wouldn't leave without her. Ideally, (to make the plot move forward) you should have been able to say to Duncan "Help me save her, and I'm yours without hesitation." I'd be perfectly fine if despised me for it, but I'd never in a million years leave my mother there to die.

Oh thanks for the tip! I will try that route I think. I hated the other, wait until dark...GAH!

I could have seen the option you talk about. But Eleanor was a battle maid, she would not have let you do it. I know I wouldn't have. My child would have my arrows to defend them until my death. Because that is what a mom doees. You don't frak with my kid. And that includes telling my kid to beat it. It's lovely that you would feel that way Jack, but if you were my son, I would make you go with Duncan and leave me behind.

Modifié par erynnar, 04 août 2011 - 04:54 .

[Realmzmaster]

erynnar wrote...

Cutlass Jack wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

Yours may have waited til night but mine didn't. He tracked down Gascard DuPuis and forced him to do blood magic to track her down. He was still too late but Maker help anyone or anything that got in his way that day.

Compare that to my Cousland Warden who left his perfectly healthy mother to die when he could have done something about it. I'm still bitter about that one. At least Hawke tried.

Hm, I admit, I didn't know you could make DuPuis do that. I hated having to wait. But I hate that I didn't get a choice to save her or not, more. 

As for my Cousland, what was she suppsed to to, knock out Eleanor and carry her forcefully along? She decided to stay with Bryce. I know my mother would not thank me, or put up with my **** if I tried to take her away if she made up her mind. Eleanor made that decision. And while I hated it, I understood it. If my beloved were going to die, and I could buy my child more time, Hell would run cold before I'd stop fighting to do just that.

You can have Du Puis find your mother through Blood magic  if you followed up on all the clues Emeric gave you. You will meet Du Puis in the mansion. If you kill him then the option is not available.

In the conversation with Gamlen Hawke mentions that Du Puis may be able to help. if you go to Darktown you will find him. He can then use blood magic to find the women who escaped from the mansion because she has come up missing. You do not have to wait until dark.

[Morroian]

Ryzaki wrote...

Not to mention. 

"Hey mom. There's this serial killer sending women white lillies. If you get some give me a heads up and don't go anywhere alone!" 

Yes that was apparently too difficult for poor widdle Hawke. 

It wouldn't occur to me that she might be a target, especially 3 years later. 

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Not all decisions need to change the world state or narrative, nor should they.

While this is a slight off topic tangent to the character of Hawke, I'm seeing a misconception that choices = changing world state. To be fair, most of BioWare's choices have always been about changing world state, usually through the use of slides.

But here's the thing. I find Hawke's role to be utterly pitiful in Dragon Age 2 because his/her decisions don't matter.

Does that mean I want a Hawke who can fix all the world's problems? Do I want a character WHO CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE POWER OF BELIEF? No. But what I do want and expect from RPGs nowadays is for choices to have consequences. Otherwise, it's imaginary.

What do I mean by that? When Hawke and co. are given the opportunity to impact their will on a questline, I want that to be honored. Changing world states and branching narratives are nice and ultimately preferred, but there are many, many ways to make a decision feel important.

Plot-related specialisations and talents are one way. For example, the Blood Mage talent tree was literally screaming for plot involvement. Then, have the game react to that through prompts in the dialog (Mage option becomes Blood Mage option), comments from companions, NPCs, etc and you've got a hold of something there.

Ambient NPCs are another. Have them change clothes, discuss events, move around according to what you did in certain quests. Tipped the balance of power towards the Mages? Make the player feel like it means something, let the NPCs in the streets talk more positively about Mages. Have one dress in a robe with mocking ambient dialog. Or the opposite.

There was a little of this already, but far too little.

Taking a hammer to Act 3 would've been nice as well. The basic world state for Kirkwall is similar regardless of what you choose, and I don't care to change that. But what could've been done to make your decisions more important is obvious. A "but thou must!" moment followed by railroading. Not fun.

The side quests too, were just begging for depth. Magistrate's Son? Changes how you interact with the nobility, opening up new dialog options and alternative ways to resolve future quests. Also, Assassins in Darktown replace thugs. Have ambient NPCs comment on the situation.

The Bone Pit? Oh man, if you're roleplaying a Hawke who's remotely interested in Ferelden and the refugees at all, this was the quest to really give you a chance to roleplay. A group of ambient NPCs discussing the refugees, discounts in certain stores, comments from your companions or other NPCs, a couple of cutscenes after the quest(s) where you "run into" some Fereldens and deal with them according to your character and the decisions you made. Maybe it affects the shop in Lowtown? Helping the Fereldens reduces the amount of NPCs, people are thankful and the shop gets a facelift with new items for you to buy (at a discount).

Also, Act 1 should've really had branching narrative based on who helps you get into the city. Smugglers v Red Iron. Well, Act 1 and Act 3, really. Not necessarily in the sense of Witcher 2, but have a handful of main quests to define the story of Act 1 where the narrative is the same, but you're playing it from a different angle. So, a Smuggler quest will have you trying to sneak into Hightown at night to smuggle weapons (or not, if you so choose) while the Red Irons will have you being hired by the City Guards to hunt and find the smugglers (or not, if you so choose). That way, you can use most of the same assets, levels and characters without making it feel too much like it's lazy, since the content is different.

Things like that.

You don't need to move mountains or solve everyone's problems, you don't even need to have a branching narrative (though it's obviously the ideal solution). You just need to make your decisions have impact and make them matter.

Dragon Age 2 overwhelmingly failed to do that. Now, they had a rushed development cycle, which is likely the main cause of the lack of consequences. So, there's at least that.

Regardless of the rushed development time, there are many many people who love the game despite it. The characters, the writing, the story, Hawke, there are plenty of reasons to love the game. That's fine. Nothing's wrong with that.

However, I am a little tired of people defending the lack of consequences and meaningful choices as a result of some esoteric brilliance on the part of the game, or that it's somehow a "slice of life" narrative. It's not, I don't think Hawke's story is an everyday, mundane story. Even if it was, it still doesn't change the fact that the game has far too little consequences for your choices, if it even acknowledges them at all.

Now, regarding Mummy dearest, I would still have the end play out the same. But adjust it so that a proactive Hawke can investigate, warn Leandra, take action, etc. Just have Hawke needing the resources of the Circle Mages/Templars to lure Gascard and/or Quentin out into the open while asking them to protect Leandra at home. Orsino "promises" aid, Meredith stonewalls you. You go it alone, rest happens as planned. In the manor, if the situation warrants.

Still railroading but if you add a bunch of consequences like unique dialog when going back to Orsino/Meredith, maybe it's enough.

Modifié par mrcrusty, 04 août 2011 - 04:58 .

[erynnar]

Realmzmaster wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Cutlass Jack wrote...

erynnar wrote...

Hawke failed to <spoiler> her mother not because she's tragic, but because of some lame ass excuse of waiting until nightfall. Hawke kills people in broad daylight (my mage Hawke casts spells) in front of witnesses, but I am expected to believe that she had to "wait until nightfall" when it mattered most?

Yeah, that's tragic all right. Tragically inept.

Yours may have waited til night but mine didn't. He tracked down Gascard DuPuis and forced him to do blood magic to track her down. He was still too late but Maker help anyone or anything that got in his way that day.

Compare that to my Cousland Warden who left his perfectly healthy mother to die when he could have done something about it. I'm still bitter about that one. At least Hawke tried.

Hm, I admit, I didn't know you could make DuPuis do that. I hated having to wait. But I hate that I didn't get a choice to save her or not, more. 

As for my Cousland, what was she suppsed to to, knock out Eleanor and carry her forcefully along? She decided to stay with Bryce. I know my mother would not thank me, or put up with my **** if I tried to take her away if she made up her mind. Eleanor made that decision. And while I hated it, I understood it. If my beloved were going to die, and I could buy my child more time, Hell would run cold before I'd stop fighting to do just that.

You can have Du Puis find your mother through Blood magic  if you followed up on all the clues Emeric gave you. You will meet Du Puis in the mansion. If you kill him then the option is not available.

In the conversation with Gamlen Hawke mentions that Du Puis may be able to help. if you go to Darktown you will find him. He can then use blood magic to find the women who escaped from the mansion because she has come up missing. You do not have to wait until dark.

Thank you Realz and Jack! My heros! :wub::wub:

[Ryzaki]

Morroian wrote...
It wouldn't occur to me that she might be a target, especially 3 years later. 

Except of course you hear about the white lillies in Act 2 (where it's not 3 years later) by listening to DuPuis as well and if Hawke had a smidge of sense would've started putting the fact that the flowers were sent to OLDER wealthy women together and thought "hey...maybe just maybe I should warn my mom and have some extra patrols around the house. Just in case." :innocent: Especially after Emeric's "What if one of the victims was someone you loved?" remark. 

Modifié par Ryzaki, 04 août 2011 - 04:56 .

[Cutlass Jack]

erynnar wrote...

I could have seen the option you talk about. But Eleanor was a battle maid, she would not have let you do it. I know I wouldn't have. My child would have my arrows to defend them until my death. Because that is what a mom doees. You don't frak with my kid. And that includes telling my kid to beat it. It's lovely that you would feel that way Jack, but if you were my son, I would make you go with Duncan and leave me behind.

You've clearly never witnessed a battle of stubborness between myself and my mother.

Lets just say if she wanted me to go with Duncan she'd have to drag me out personally. That would be the only way she could make me do it.

[jlb524]

Wait, Hawke is a coward cuz s/he leaves the Blight? Wut?

I think Hawke was a bit outnumbered, plus s/he had a family to watch out for. Plus, s/he lacks the 'cool Warden powahs' that the Warden had. The Warden didn't even face the full force of the Darkspawn army until s/he had a big ass army...until then, the Warden avoided the main Darkspawn forces. If Hawke stayed in Lothering any longer, s/he would have faced the the strongest part of the horde.

[erynnar]

mrcrusty wrote...

Not all decisions need to change the world state or narrative, nor should they.

While this is a slight off topic tangent to the character of Hawke, I'm seeing a misconception that choices = changing world state. To be fair, most of BioWare's choices have always been about changing world state, usually through the use of slides.

But here's the thing. I find Hawke's role to be utterly pitiful in Dragon Age 2 because his/her decisions don't matter.

Does that mean I want a Hawke who can fix all the world's problems? Do I want a character WHO CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE POWER OF BELIEF? No. But what I do want and expect from RPGs nowadays is for choices to have consequences.

What do I mean by that? When Hawke and co. are given the opportunity to impact their will on a questline, I want that to be honored. Changing world states and branching narratives are nice and ultimately preferred, but there are many, many ways to make a decision feel important.

Plot-related specialisations and talents are one way. For example, the Blood Mage talent tree was literally screaming for plot involvement. Then, have the game react to that through prompts in the dialog (Mage option becomes Blood Mage option), comments from companions, NPCs, etc and you've got a hold of something there.

Ambient NPCs are another. Have them change clothes, discuss events, move around according to what you did in certain quests. Tipped the balance of power towards the Mages? Make the player feel like it means something, let the NPCs in the streets talk more positively about Mages. Have one dress in a robe with mocking ambient dialog. Or the opposite.

There was a little of this already, but far too little.

Taking a hammer to Act 3 would've been nice as well. The basic world state for Kirkwall is similar regardless of what you choose, and I don't care to change that. But what could've been done to make your decisions more important is obvious. A "but thou must!" moment followed by railroading. Not fun.

The side quests too, were just begging for depth. Magistrate's Son? Changes how you interact with the nobility, opening up new dialog options and alternative ways to resolve future quests. Also, Assassins in Darktown replace thugs. Have ambient NPCs comment on the situation.

The Bone Pit? Oh man, if you're roleplaying a Hawke who's remotely interested in Ferelden and the refugees at all, this was the quest to really give you a chance to roleplay. A group of ambient NPCs discussing the refugees, discounts in certain stores, comments from your companions or other NPCs, a couple of cutscenes after the quest(s) where you "run into" some Fereldens and deal with them according to your character and the decisions you made. Maybe it affects the shop in Lowtown? Helping the Fereldens reduces the amount of NPCs, people are thankful and the shop gets a facelift with new items for you to buy (at a discount).

Also, Act 1 should've really had branching narrative based on who helps you get into the city. Smugglers v Red Iron. Well, Act 1 and Act 3, really. Not necessarily in the sense of Witcher 2, but have a handful of main quests to define the story of Act 1 where the narrative is the same, but you're playing it from a different angle. So, a Smuggler quest will have you trying to sneak into Hightown at night to smuggle weapons (or not, if you so choose) while the Red Irons will have you being hired by the City Guards to hunt and find the smugglers (or not, if you so choose). That way, you can use most of the same assets, levels and characters without making it feel too much like it's lazy, since the content is different.

Things like that.

You don't need to move mountains or solve everyone's problems, you don't even need to have a branching narrative (though it's obviously the ideal solution). You just need to make your decisions have impact and make them matter.

Dragon Age 2 overwhelmingly failed to do that. Now, they had a rushed development cycle, which is likely the main cause of the lack of consequences. So, there's at least that.

Regardless of the rushed development time, there are many many people who love the game despite it. The characters, the writing, the story, Hawke, there are plenty of reasons to love the game. That's fine. Nothing's wrong with that.

However, I am a little tired of people defending the lack of consequences and meaningful choices as a result of some esoteric brilliance on the part of the game, or that it's somehow a "slice of life" narrative. It's not, I don't think Hawke's story is an everyday, mundane story. Even if it was, it still doesn't change the fact that the game has far too little consequences for your choices, if it even acknowledges them at all.

Now, regarding Mummy dearest, I would still have the end play out the same. But adjust it so that a proactive Hawke can investigate, warn Leandra, take action, etc. Just have Hawke needing the resources of the Circle Mages/Templars to lure Gascard and/or Quentin out into the open while asking them to protect Leandra at home. Orsino "promises" aid, Meredith stonewalls you. You go it alone, rest happens as planned. In the manor, if the situation warrants.

Still railroading but if you add a bunch of consequences like unique dialog when going back to Orsino/Meredith, maybe it's enough.

And of course mrcrusty has to be all eloquent and better spoken than me.