I agree; if shapeshifting makes a comeback it needs to be improved by a lot. It was the first specialization I took because it seemed so awesome, and it turned out to be a huge disappointment.
If shapeshifting returns, and I hope it does, one fix should be that DPS isn't determined by a strength stat but rather the amount of points you have poured into magic.
My main warden was a shapeshifter, loved it....I just never used it for combat 
....I think I loved it more for the RPG, fantasy mage thing, then a combat strategy. Would have liked it, or actually used it in combat if we could choose from better forms, agree that a dragon would be amazing.
But if that happened so we could change into a dragon, I would probably make a female shapeshifter...called Daenerys.
I don't think Morrigan is playable, and i don't think Shapeshifting will return
I don't think it have any purpose in game play, but Morrigan will turn into animal in cut scenes
Shhhhh don't spoil the dream of Daenerys Trevelyan! healer of the Veil, Inquisitor of the...thingys!
OK yea I don't see it popping up again in DA:I, I'm just hoping we get a good choice of specialisations this time around (didn't really like the mage choices in DA:2) Morrigan has been confirmed not to be a companion (but I do believe she has a big role in DA:I) however theres no reason why other people couldn't teach the Inquisitor to be a shapeshifter, Flemeth and Morrigan aren't the only shapeshifters in Thedas (I'm pretty sure Morrigan says so herself, that its not unheard of in remote places in Thedas)
As cool as it would be to shift into a dragon, gameplay wise I have to imagine it would be tricky to pull off. A dragon model is obviously much larger than a human, elf, or qunari. What would happen if you tried activating the ability in close quarters? I guess the devs could put restrictions on when players could use the power, but a spec that only works some of the time isn't too great.
If shapeshifting were to return, I do agree that it would need some love. Linking DPS to magic instead of strength would be key, and improving the forms is also important. It never made sense to me that the stronger forms were the corrupted versions. The taint was supposed to leave people weaker and sicker (see Wesley for instance). Shapeshifting could be an interesting spec, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Preferably without the insect forms though.
That would be brilliant!I wanted to shapeshift into a dragon since the first time I fought Flemeth in origins. But I doubt it will ever happen since it's would be quite tricky to pull off...Unless it's a cutscene.
I'd prefer we shapeshifted into animals in inquisition, instead of insects(particularly spiders)!Definitely not arachnophobia-friendly...
oh man I agree with you 800000%, especially about the spider part. Ugh. I'm cringing at just the thought.
But yeah, I think that would really cool, I've always wanted to be a dragon lol -- even in real life, ha.
Shhhhh don't spoil the dream of Daenerys Trevelyan! healer of the Veil, Inquisitor of the...thingys!
OK yea I don't see it popping up again in DA:I, I'm just hoping we get a good choice of specialisations this time around (didn't really like the mage choices in DA:2) Morrigan has been confirmed not to be a companion (but I do believe she has a big role in DA:I) however theres no reason why other people couldn't teach the Inquisitor to be a shapeshifter, Flemeth and Morrigan aren't the only shapeshifters in Thedas (I'm pretty sure Morrigan says so herself, that its not unheard of in remote places in Thedas)
IIRC a dalish Warden has a dialogue option saying such a power exists within the clans. A Keeper might be more willing to teach shapeshifting than Keeper powers to the pc.
Shape shifting was fine (and fun imo), you just couldn't allocate stats the same way you would with a pure caster. Which is fine, stats exist for a reason beyond "All builds of X class mindlessly dump points in stat Y". The only real problem with it was the cast time associated with shifting.
If they do bring it back (which I'm hoping they are) I hope Bioware will see sense and have the damage output linked with the Mage's magic stat's instead of strength. I always thought that was mistake in DAO when the game was coded, because no Mage has any reason to sink points into strength. But I enjoyed making my mage a shapeshifter for the role play aspect. Plus, it was pretty handy in the beginning when you weren't ready for close combat and the overwhelming numbers of enemies sally past the three meat shields you set up.
There's nothing quite like mauling a soldier who got uppity to put them back in their place.
Edit: Reading the other comments makes me a sad panda.
Shapeshifting into a dragon would not be feasible. The size and shape would dwarf the landscape and there would be too many issues to deal with. The dragon form would also be overpowered. Then there is the question of flight. If you are a dragon surely you would need to fly, which would open up a whole other can of worms. They'd have to program a whole new set of controls, obstacles and enemies just to even the playing field.
There are actually a few Mods you can download at nexus to change the shape shifting specialization in DAO. In doing so you can turn into all sorts of demons including Darkspawn and even a high dragon.
That made playing a shape shifter a lot more fun 
I liked shapeshifting even though I didn't use it very often. Actually the corrupted version of the swarm was fun, such as being able to divide and attack different enemies. I do agree that if it makes a return it needs to be revamped. Not only does something have to be done about magic v. strength stats but also incorporating it into tactics. Say you have a shapeshifting tree, like one of the trees in DA2. From there you can select certain shapes and then abilities within those shapes. Spiders could throw poison spit and cast webs. Just as a warrior can activate and deactivate berserker and those abilities are only useable when berserker is activated so too would the spider form be activated and deactivated. You would be able to choose whether to invest in more types of shapes or more abilities for a specific shape.
I do agree that it did take too long to change shape. I even thought it took too long for a rogue to summon one of the animals that were part of the ranger specialty.
you're right; shape shifting, comparatively speaking, was garbage in origins.
taking the form precludes all normal spell casting, going into it takes time and may get interrupted, and it's no match for arcane warrior mode. in any way.
however, what if assuming the shape of an animal allows you to retain all spells compatible with arcane warrior spell casting and all sustained modes?
there are many considerations to make, and if the developers could create something viable and competitive, that would certainly add flavor to the game.
I love the idea of shapeshifting, I mean who wouldn't love the ability to change their form and soar with the eagles or run with the wolves? That said I don't think the Shapeshifting spec should return, while there is huge potential for shapeshifters in tactical rpgs the Dragon Age series is tactical only in name and I highly doubt the Dragon Age gameplay designers are competent enough to do the spec justice.
In order to make a shapeshifting spec work I imagine that the Dragon Age ruleset would need a complete overhaul, the shapeshifting spec would almost need to be a separate class within itself as the playstyle of this class would be far different to that of any of the other classes (and their specs) currently available in the Dragon Age games, concerns like pure AC and raw DPS would have to take a back seat to things like weighing up certain form's abilities, resistances and weaknesses against those of the enemies you are currently facing, adaptability should be the primary focus here.
I never used it, so I'm just guessing, but it sounds like a 'magic converts to strength when shapeshifted' talent would help alleviate the issue. Wasn't there a similar skill for Arcane Warriors?
There was. You needed strength to increase damage, say you turned into a bear. But the higher your magic was, the more powerful your forms were.
Actually, I was an Arcane Warrior AND a shapeshifter. Wearing the armor and then turning into a bear, I actually got increased armor and damage from my melee weapon as a bear. When you take those two specs together, shapeshifting was no longer useless and dang useful in certain situations. Turn into a giant spider when fighting werewolves, poisoning and webbing them as crowd control and damage at the same time. Facing a lot of archers, say in Denerim while rescuing the queen, turn into a swarm of flies and you're practically immune to ranged attacks that aren't magical. Fully upgraded and you're regaining health just by standing next to people in that form while causing nature damage.
I did like the Arcane warrior spec, it wasn't that powerful but I still liked it.
It seemed like a good thing for an adventuring mage. Rather than fighting Orcs, trolls and Ogres wearing a bathrobe and slippers.
I did like the Arcane warrior spec, it wasn't that powerful but I still liked it.
It seemed like a good thing for an adventuring mage. Rather than fighting Orcs, trolls and Ogres wearing a bathrobe and slippers.
You know, if you develop your mage in such a way, you can be near invulnerable. Don't focus on damaging spells, but on passives to boost your stats. Rock Armor, enchanting your weapons with spells, increasing your defense (I can't remember the name of that spell) and quite a few of the school of spirit spells.
I never used the shapeshift ability but it seemed so cool. It was very disappointing when I realized how useless it was D:
My issue wi shapeshifter was that it took so long to shift most fights were over. The big problem was that I am a Mage...casting spells is what I do. If I shift I become a moderately melee unit that can't cast spells. I never saw anywhere where a shifted Mage was an advantage over an unshifted one.
Yeah the execution was poor. Now, if instead of a spider being your top end creature you could become a Bereskarn or Dragon Thrall or Werewolf or ogre or rockwraith or revenant or golem or varterral or wyvern or such would be cool provided your stats weren't character based after the transfomation.
Sure some of these would be over powered or would have serious lore issues-a mage changing into a demon possession for would be a little bit of a stretch. It would work great if you had a mage in a solo mission setup, or there was a cool down on the transformation, meaning if you turned into a Bereskarn you can't do so again for 30 minutes or so, I mean come on, being a Bereskarn would be pretty dang op.
It would be awesome to be able to shapeshift into someone that you have killed, whether it be a generic mook or a unique NPC (with some limitations, of course).
I'd like shapeshifting to have more non-combat utility.
I'm not sure how Morrigan playing a part = Shapeshifting in a spec we can choose from.
Morrigan will have that spec, even if we don't. We play our companions in combat. So even if we can't use shapeshifting, Morrigan will, assuming she's a companion.
I'd like shapeshifting to have more non-combat utility.
Instead of having mounts, we could become one? 
Morrigan will have that spec, even if we don't. We play our companions in combat. So even if we can't use shapeshifting, Morrigan will, assuming she's a companion.
Pretty certain the Devs have said morrigan will not be a companion.
Instead of having mounts, we could become one?
Stealth. Exploration. Resource collection. All of these could potentially be affected by shapeshifting. Become a dog to track a scent. Become a snake to sneak under doors.
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