Those strengths are, and have almost always been
1. The ability to tell a great story. Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect 1, these games cemented Bioware's reputation for the ability to tell a great story.
2. Loveable characters. From Black Whirlwind and Henpecked Hou to HK-47 seeking to eliminate organic meatbags, Carth Onasi in his ever present quest for vengeance, Silk Fox seeking to restore the Empire to its former glory, Ashley Williams wanting to restore her family's reputation, Kaiden Alenko being cool-minded and also open-minded with alien species, Liara the archeologist becoming Liara the Shadow Broker-bioware games have a long history of great characters that we can learn to love, or just love to have with us because they make such hilarious comments.
and 3. Serious themes portrayed through implications and scenery. Jade Empire had the ruins of Old Tien's landing, showing an entire town abandoning many people to death, from the orphanage to the Quarry. The abuse of power from the Emperor and his family, and even the possibility of what happens after death. Betrayal from a loved and respected person, and even philosophical ideas that are compelling...if the gameplay followed through on them. *shrug* Mass Effect dealt with racism...er, speciesism, exploring new possibilities, politics, and the fact that no matter what you (or the character in the game) want to do, there is no way to win 100%. Sacrifice must be made.
I think Bioware's biggest problems lately have been trying to include as many kinds of gamers in their games, and have been forgetting their strengths by trying to do too much.
They have time to improve this. Their games aren't open-world like Skyrim, but the stories and characters by themselves usually made up for it. I believe if they go back to focus on stories and characters, everything else can fall into place.
After the graphic designs, script writing, and voice acting occurs of course.
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