105 réponses à ce sujet

[Al Foley]

It's in one of the caves in the SE quarter of the Hinterlands. Unfortunately, there are five caves there, and I don't recall exactly which one it was. I think it was in one of the two you reach if you go SSE from the astrarium, either in the one a short distance away or the one in the far SE corner with the lyrium vein.

You know I thought you were making reference to some special reference to a place in the Hinterlands and I am like...well crap I haven't played the game yet, hope I can find it...then I realized you were referencing map coordinates.

[Ieldra]

You haven't played the game yet? Then what are you doing posting here? You have things to do

[Silcron]

Very nice read. I really enjoyed that diary like style. I finished the game with a qunari but I had to restart, I don't know, she just didn't click but when I decided to make a new character I was able to start the Temple of Mythal mission, so I finished it (mainly because now there's no tension about spoilers).

I gotta say that they should include the option to have different lightings in the character creator, I get the whole it's the lighting of the fade but I had to restart three times to make male human that looked good (and kind of close to me, I know it could be better, but after 3 or so hours I wanted to have dinner.)

Btw, the horse racing quest is fun, if you can go through every checkpoint while sprinting you should have around the quarter of the timer left (10 seconds more or less?) so it's just there for the fun. Ah, if only I could strap swoop engines to the horse, though that might be me getting nostalgic.

[Ieldra]

More observations in my second run:

 

My second playthrough is going at a more sedate pace. Did everything in the Hinterlands since yesterday (except the L12 rifts and the dragon) and leveled up to 8 before I go to Val Royeaux. The guideline to be overleved by one level for the story missions had resulted in a very good pacing for a completionist run as well as an acceptable difficulty in the story missions, so I'm doing it again.

 

I also have a memorable fight. I'm about to approach a camp, with the party at L6 and not really injured but somewhat depleted in healing potions, when we notice there is a large bear sitting on the ramp up to the camp. Well, I think, ok, it's one large bear, we can do that. And attack. It isn't 10 seconds into the fight when another large bear joins the fray, and we have the first one down to 50% health when.....a third one appears. Now things are getting hectic. Fortunately the terrain is with us since the bears get in each others' way, nonetheless the fighting is hard and I must revive Solas two times - damn you, Solas, when someone attacks you in melee, you retreat, you dumb*ss. We're getting close to killing the first one when....two lyrium smugger lurkers appear, and one insta-kills Solas with a backstab. That takes the rest of my healing potions, and when the lyrium smugglers are down we also have the first bear down, but we're all at 20-50% health and there are still two large bears alive. The fight drags on since I'm now very careful not to lose any more health, and we have the second bear killed and the third one at 50% when....three L8 mabari appear. The fight gets even slower. Cassandra continues with the bear while the rest of us deals with the dogs. Fortunately I have two mages with upgraded barriers so we can survive this fight with one party member down who I can revive, and then we can concentrate on the bear at last and after we've killed it, we stumble into the camp. I have no healing potions left and everyone is below 25% health.

 

The result: three large bears, two lyrium smugglers and three mabari, all L8, killed by my L6 party in a single fight, using four healing potions. Difficulty was normal. That was intense. And I....feel moderately competent. Also, we don't have to look for any more large bears for the Bergrit's Claws quest.

 

BTW I think the XP reward for bears is much too low. You get just as much as for a L8 outlaw, who is about ten times easier.

 

@Silcron:

I haven't got the hang of riding yet, but I'll try that at some time.

[Ieldra]

Another observation I'll post before I forget it:

 

After the encounter with the Lord Seeker in Val Royeaux, I had a conversation with a minor NPC named "Vierre", who complained that he "broke the Chant", meaning more or less that he lost his faith. I could answer him, saying either he should trust in the Maker, trust the Inquisition to bring order or that it's right to question. I chose the latter, and then he started to talk about how "we can't be alone, we've never been." Given how I think about these things - this elf Inquisitor does believe in the elven gods but thinks the people should stand on their own - this was a perfect moment. I imagine Lilaeya to continue to talk to him for a moment, saying, not without compassion: "Maybe we're all the Maker's children, or Mythal's, I don't know, but I know this: we can't stay children forever."

 

An odd way to have a conversation though. I wonder if this Vierre is a remnant of cut questline. I also don't recall meeting him in my first playthrough.

[DeLaatsteGeitenneuker]

Another observation I'll post before I forget it:

 

After the encounter with the Lord Seeker in Val Royeaux, I had a conversation with a minor NPC named "Vierre", who complained that he "broke the Chant", meaning more or less that he lost his faith. I could answer him, saying either he should trust in the Maker, trust the Inquisition to bring order or that it's right to question. I chose the latter, and then he started to talk about how "we can't be alone, we've never been." Given how I think about these things - this elf Inquisitor does believe in the elven gods but thinks the people should stand on their own - this was a perfect moment. I imagine Lilaeya to continue to talk to him for a moment, saying, not without compassion: "Maybe we're all the Maker's children, or Mythal's, I don't know, but I know this: we can't stay children forever."

 

An odd way to have a conversation though. I wonder if this Vierre is a remnant of cut questline. I also don't recall meeting him in my first playthrough.

You always play mage? Seems like it. Nothing wrong with that, just curious as to why though.

[Ieldra]

You always play mage? Seems like it. Nothing wrong with that, just curious as to why though.

Not always, but most of the time. It's an old, old preference. The reasons are both gameplay-related and philosophical.

(1) I don't care much for combat as a rule, so I tend to use characters I can imagine to be more versatile - or characters that are more versatile, in game systems that don't reduce the talent system to combat-related things. In most game systems, mage-like and rogue-like types tend to have the most non-combat utility, so I tend to prefer them. I most often play mages, sometimes play rogues, but warriors are extremely rare. Basically, this can be summarized as "mages and rogues are more interesting".

(2) I've always been attracted by classes that use innate abilities and don't depend on gear because that gives you great autonomy. This is expressed nicely at the start of DAI where you can say to Cassandra "I don't need a staff to be dangerous". In some game systems, mages can even create their own food. This autonomy I find to be an extremely desirable state. It's also at the heart of the mage/templar conflict in DA: mages are feared because they can be independent and immune to social control. The risk in this is that the same autonomy makes it possible for mages to isolate themselves, and isolation breeds disregard and callousness. Templars embody the reestablishment of control where normal social interaction fails because mages are naturally more autonomous. Now for me personally, individual autonomy, especially from strictures communities desire to establish over you against your will, has always been among the fundamentals of my value hierarchy. Thus, I'm naturally pro-mage, and those characters I can connect to most easily are those who do want power, not in order to rule anything, but to keep others from controlling them. They're also not just selfish in that - they'll help anyone to escape systems of control (prisons where criminals are kept excepted, most of the time) and may in fact go out of their way to destroy those systems without being asked. They're likely to tell people who are comfortable within such systems to "grow up and stand on their own feet". The mage situation in DA is a little more complicated because of possession so they won't tell that to mages in DA, but others are still likely to hear this at some point.

So that's why I like playing mages, in DA and elsewhere.

[Ieldra]

Meanwhile, in my second playthrough, nothing exciting is happening as I explore the Storm Coast and Fallow Mire. Set the difficulty down to Casual since fighting undead is a chore. Also, I have 9 of 12 Hinterlands mosaic pieces, before opening all the masterwork locks and before dealing with the dragon. Might be I'll complete one this time.

I've also been at Redcliffe to talk with the mages, but not followed up on that yet. I'm level 11 and I want to be 12 to do the mission, so off to the Oasis I go.

Also, the Storm Coast. Bioware's artists did exceptional work here. I've seen it before but I'm still impressed, and I still stop to stare at the water.

[Lynx]

Now L12 and with nothing more to do, I start the next story mission, "In Your Heart Shall Burn". I have no idea what the title alludes to, if anyone knows, please tell.

 

Look at codex, History section, last entry. It`s about the break into the Golden City by the Tevinter Magisters.

 

Also of note is the part where it says that the Old Gods were the ones who gave magic to mankind, "in hushed whispers" of power.

[Lynx]

Not always, but most of the time. It's an old, old preference. The reasons are both gameplay-related and philosophical.

(1) I don't care much for combat as a rule, so I tend to use characters I can imagine to be more versatile - or characters that are more versatile, in game systems that don't reduce the talent system to combat-related things. In most game systems, mage-like and rogue-like types tend to have the most non-combat utility, so I tend to prefer them. I most often play mages, sometimes play rogues, but warriors are extremely rare. Basically, this can be summarized as "mages and rogues are more interesting".

 

 

I also prefer mages and rogues as well. I started as a Qunari mage, but I didnt feel ok with him being too large. My dalish elf ranger is way more like me (small and quite thin) and I feel more at ease playing him. Also a plus that the Skyhold vestments don't feel as much like pajamas on him as they did on my Qunari.

 

Do make a playthrough of Rogue archer sometime.... I love the rogue armors (although the basic kinds of armors all look kinda the same, they`re very stylish and feel real-like).

 

Also I hear you can buy a Dalish Ranger Scout Armor in the Hissing wastes later on (elf restricted), Im looking forward to see how that is.

 

Also a tip: on the Exalted Plains, did you check all the runes the Dalish Leader asks you to? Because that opens another area (The Lost Temple of Dirthaman) which gives you some nice rewards. Plus I was able to get a very good mage armor (elf-restricted) that looks awesome on Solas... but I think it was on the plains themselves, more likely in the Elven temple that you can enter after despoiling elven tombs (but be sure to get max favor with the dalish before that, or he`ll admonish you for breaking them).

 

 

P.s: look at http://segmentnext.c...ow-to-unlock/2/

[Lynx]

Day 6, part 2: More exploration and Here Lies the Abyss, part 1

 

Also, I found an old, half-sunken palace occupied by Venatori. There was a Fade rift affected by a time-stopping spell that I had to dispel in order to close the rift. So far so unremarkable but the architecture stands out as extremely beautiful. I have to check my Codex in order to see if any of the notes I collected said anything about its origin.  

 

 

Actually, that`s quite remarkable, If you take time to read through all the notes scattered here and there, turns out this place is FROZEN IN TIME SINCE BEFORE THE FIRST BLIGHT.

 

The architecture is Ancient Tevinter, before Darkspawn and all that happened afterwards. There are several scriptures here dating from that time, which is incredible in and by itself. If you remember, Dorian tell us that EVERYTHING recorded from before the First Blight was destroyed. That`s why they never heard of Corypheus or even the name of the other magisters who entered the Golden City. In fact, due to the absence of records, many in Tevinter claim such events are a myth.

 

Particular of note is one entry that describes the "responsible use of blood magic' by an ancient Tevinter Magister, where he instructs his apprentice of the inherent dangers of using it and that even on the best cases, it is a big risk to take. It`s quite interesting how some Magisters held such point of view on that time.

 

Plus, the whole thing means they were experimenting with Time-based magic since before the First Blight - considering only after 5 blights we have someone researching again (Alexius), it proves how advanced they were.

 

Man, I really regret not having Dorian in my party here... Viv says nothing =/

[Ieldra]

Yeah, I'll definitely have Dorian with me next time I'm going to the Still Ruins. I also found the temple of Dirthamen - see later in the account - and that elven armor my human mage couldn't use. I'm already curious how the elf-restricted armors will look on my current character.

As for "In Your Heart Shall Burn", in the meantime I found it's from the Chant, IIRC it was from where the Maker creates the spirits. It's quoted several times.

Just finished the Oasis (minus the shard doors, naturally). Knowing what to do does a lot to reduce the frustration here. Do all the Ocularia first, then you won't need to repeat "go up that slope, turn left, jump down" half a dozen times.

[Steelcan]

Yeah, I'll definitely have Dorian with me next time I'm going to the Still Ruins. I also found the temple of Dirthamen - see later in the account - and that elven armor my human mage couldn't use. I'm already curious how the elf-restricted armors will look on my current character.

ridiculous for the most part

[Lynx]

Yeah, I'll definitely have Dorian with me next time I'm going to the Still Ruins. I also found the temple of Dirthamen - see later in the account - and that elven armor my human mage couldn't use. I'm already curious how the elf-restricted armors will look on my current character.

As for "In Your Heart Shall Burn", in the meantime I found it's from the Chant, IIRC it was from where the Maker creates the spirits. It's quoted several times.

Just finished the Oasis (minus the shard doors, naturally). Knowing what to do does a lot to reduce the frustration here. Do all the Ocularia first, then you won't need to repeat "go up that slope, turn left, jump down" half a dozen times.

 

Yea, but I had some fun in that labirinth thing. I like convoluted places, they make me think more. Also I went back in the save and brought Dorian, Solas and Cole. Solas is completely silent for the most part. Dorian and Cole, however, offer some remarks that are interesting as always.

 

Also, Im finding that the integration between what you find in the field and War Table operation is astounding. It all feels connected. After uncovering the Still Ruins I had 2 war table quests about recovering ancient artefacts/texts from there and about translating that text about dragons written on ancient "tevene" (how tevinter language is called). The text was sent to Minrathous (heart of the Imperium) to a college of scholars researching antiquities, and Josephine tells me the academic community there was quite intrigued and asked if more texts recovered could be shared in a coordinated effort.

 

These both are effects that were logical upon finding such an important place of lore and I was quite happy at the how well the results were handled. It does feel like you`re shaping this world in many different diplomatic levels.

 

I can only feel that the later games will delve deeper on Tevinter and/or Qunari story, as they are (as of the moment) not as awesomely portrayed as the rest of Thedas in this game. We had Ferelden, Free Marches and now we see a lot of Orlais and tons of places outside of Tevinter and Qunari regions. Damn, I wish to know more of them!

 

ridiculous for the most part

 

We all have our opinions. The elf-restricted mage robes I used on Solas and I found quite beautiful, detailed and matching his personality.

 

Some people just might not like elven clothing, that`s normal.

[Lynx]

On an unrelated note, I loved the fact that I read your playthrough before mine, since it made me aware of which regions to go first

 

So I did Hinterlands > Storm Coast > Oasis > Fallow Mire > Greywood > Exalted Plains (a bit high lv) > Western Approach (fine) > planning on Emprise du Lion

 

Also since I was a bit high level on the Exalted Plains I changed to Nightmare and it scales up quite a bit, allowing me to have a little more fun. I have been on Nightmare ever since.

 

My favorite party as a Ranger is me + Blackwall + Iron Bull + Dorian (fire) or Solas (spirit). I like Dorian more since I made him a fire-based mage and it sinergizes quite well with his own specialization, and panicking enemies are very nice for Rangers to pick on, specially if you have that Subterfuge Passive that makes you auto-crit sleeping or panicked enemies.

 

Plus LEAPING SHOT IS AWESOME! Specially if you built 10% Hidden Blades and 10% chain lightning on your stuff.

 

Blackwall and Iron Bull do an amazing job of holding agro and dishing damage. Make blackwall not use "Line of Sand" since the wall will also block your ranged arrows from behind from passing, and that can be quite annoying at times.

 

Bull has a ton of purple stuff and his specialization + a part of two-handed + a part of another aggressive tree that lets him have War Horn or something. Lots of CC.

 

I like making things matching each person, so my Solas has that Tyr Bright-axe staff (that he appears on the cutscene to skyhold with), my Viviene has a purple "Grand Enchanter Staff" I found and now my Dorian has that Tempest Staff I found on the Ancient Tevinter Ruins. All matching! ;D

 

Plus Iron Bull has Corrupting Rune (since he likes to kill things, but will make it Dragonslaying later), Blackwall has Cleansing Rune (darkspawn/red templars), my own character has Demonslaying Rune (for Rift-cleaning) and my mages tend to have Spirit Runes or Corrupting Runes. Spirit for Solas definitely. Not sure of what Vivi or Dorian should get so Im sticking with the default Corrupt runes on their staves for now.

[Ieldra]

Yet another memorable line from my Inquisitor:

"I've never fought a god before. That should be memorable."

[Ieldra]

I made this thread to comment on notable events. This one is, unfortunately, most notable.

 

I installed the patch #2. And after I restarted my game......I cried. Literally. That hasn't happened before. Ever. The game looked so utterly fantastic before and now the graphics quality is stuck somewhere low and my Inquisitor looks almost unrecognizable. *PLEASE* fix this, Bioware! I...I...just can't play anymore.

[Lukas Trevelyan]

I made this thread to comment on notable events. This one is, unfortunately, most notable.

 

I installed the patch #2. And after I restarted my game......I cried. Literally. That hasn't happened before. Ever. The game looked so utterly fantastic before and now the graphics quality is stuck somewhere low and my Inquisitor looks almost unrecognizable. *PLEASE* fix this, Bioware! I...I...just can't play anymore.

 

I quit the update and saved myself  

Isn't there a way to cancel these updates? Like uninstall the game and stop the update.. or something.. I really do hope Bioware hotfixes this. 

[Ieldra]

I quit the update and saved myself  

Isn't there a way to cancel these updates? Like uninstall the game and stop the update.. or something.. I really do hope Bioware hotfixes this. 

Well, I do have an imported physical copy of the Deluxe Edition. I hate to think that someone will actually profit from this insurance policy I keep using for games I really care about, but I'll try and see if I can re-install without the patch if there's no announcement for a fix within 24 hours.

[Ieldra]

Some more observations from my second playthrough:

 

(1) I have now spent around 180 hours with this game, and I'm still not comfortable with its title, the name of the organization I lead or even with my character's title. The term "Inquisition" carries too much memetic ballast. Mentioning it has already earned me some odd looks from people who aren't gamers, and it takes some mental effort to switch into a "Thedas mindset" and cut off the real-world memetic conditioning to some degree. This makes me think the title may not have been the best choice.

 

(2) The second patch - now hotfixed - adds greatly to immersion by giving me the option to completely hide the UI. I'm limited to keyboard controls for ability use and party orders if I do but that's ok. I'm not going to use that mode in higher difficulties. The patch also adds to usability by highlighting loot on the radar after searching. Picking up loot after a battle is no longer a problem and I don't miss the rare crafting ingredients from rift demon drops any more, just because they happened to land in grass and are almost invisible. The "take all" key, another addition I've always wondered why it wasn't in the original release. Not to have one is unintuitive. Small things, but they do a lot to make playing more fluid.

 

(3) I've finished "Wicked Hearts and Wicked Minds" in my second playthrough - ended up with Briala as the shadow ruler behind Gaspard - and its atmosphere is every bit as great as in the first one. I love the many permutations of the outcomes you can get here, the palpable tension of the court, the approval system, the intrigue, collecting of secrets. I even appreciate the timer because it adds to the atmosphere. The mission wouldn't be the same without it. You notice a lot of thought went into making this a mission where you feel you're part of the Orlesian Game whether you want it or not, and that makes you feel as a competent player in that Game if you so choose. This is my favorite mission of DAI, and may be one of my favorite crpg missions in my personal gaming history (which is 30+ years long, so that's saying something).

Having said that, there appear to be a few design oversights in it. The fact that there aren't enough halla statuettes to open all the doors (I confirmed this with a guide before I triggered the encounter with the duchess in the royal wing), plus the fact that the player gets no hint that this is the case, means that you have to metagame in order to get certain outcomes. It also means that completing the secrets and caprice collections will lock you out of one outcome. I don't exactly mind that there aren't enough statuettes, but the player shouldn't have to metagame to get a desired result if you can actually plan for it in-world and it's possible to get it non-randomly.

Also, there is one supply cache in the entire mission. That would be quite enough, except that it's placed exactly where you don't need it, namely before the first serious fight, when you're unlikely to have taken much damage. More to the point, there is no supply cache in the royal wing, which means that you have no way to resupply before you enter the chapter boss fight, should your Game play out that way. That the fight is somewhat difficult - archers are bad news in this game, to say nothing of elite or boss archers - does not help.  

 

(4) It appears I'm getting somewhat used to dragon fights. While they do get less difficult, I'm glad to say that the atmosphere does not suffer from that fact. That I - who usually detests boss-type fights - love the dragon fights should say enough.

 

(5) I've also completed my first mosaic - thanks to the cave that opened after I killed the Abyssal High Dragon. Hmm....I should say the payoff is a little disappointing after all the effort that took. I can't even see what's on the completed mosaic. Some place in Skyhold to see them would be nice. There's Gatso's place in the main hall, but you don't see the completed mosaics there. You only get a Codex entry if you speak to him after having completed one. Maybe there's something when you've completed all of them? That I won't know until another patch at least, because it appears the placement of some of the Hinterlands mosaic pieces is bugged and you can't get them.

 

All in all, this continues to be the most enjoyable game I've played in some time, and after ME3, it's such a relief to have agency over my character's, well, character once more. The "faith and doubt" theme is certainly handled in a way much more appropriate to a roleplaying game compared to the "sacrifice" theme in ME3. Storytelling feels more confident and mature, and while the game's responsiveness to my character-defining statements could use some improvement here and there, I recognize the intent of giving the player more opportunties for character expression, while also avoiding the impression that only one path is valid. Imperfections I can forgive, deliberate character railroading with the potential to destroy my character's soul, not so much. The way DAI does these things, I would like to see developed further. DAI does a lot to make a game with a voiced protagonist function as a roleplaying game. Paraphrasing, of course, is still the devil...

[NugHugs]

Do you post little adventures from your Inquisitor's perspective? I really enjoyed reading the profile you created for her, it felt like I was reading a codex from Origins. Your character reminds me of Morrigan, if she grew up in a mage tower, that is. I see that you have over 20 000 posts, I'm sure you'll understand if I don't go through all of them to find the answer.

[Ieldra]

Do you post little adventures from your Inquisitor's perspective? I really enjoyed reading the profile you created for her, it felt like I was reading a codex from Origins. Your character reminds me of Morrigan, if she grew up in a mage tower, that is. I see that you have over 20 000 posts, I'm sure you'll understand if I don't go through all of them to find the answer.

The first two pages of this thread, approximately, are about my first attempt at creating Maelyn's story. I may go into some more detail when I replay her, which I'll certainly do at some time in order to refine her story, but first I have to play a few other characters. Currently playing a Dalish mage, and a Cadash rogue and a qunari are in the plans. It'll be a while.

 

Also, well, perhaps some similarity to Morrigan is not surprising, since Morrigan is my favorite NPC in all of Bioware's games. I think Maelyn would be closer to her DAI version than her DAO version though. 

[segurissima]

There is a supply cache in the rolyal wing, door on opposite side to where you trigger duchess fight(with the rift) go around, jump into an open window-there it is, together with a halla statute.

[Ieldra]

There is a supply cache in the rolyal wing, door on opposite side to where you trigger duchess fight(with the rift) go around, jump into an open window-there it is, together with a halla statute.

That was selective perception at its best. I got the statue but overlooked the supply cache *shakes head*. Thanks.

[Ieldra]

I just got a scene with Cassandra and Cullen taölking about his lyrium addiction, and two follow-up scenes for both. I missed those in my first playthrough. More observations:

 

First. these are excellent scenes, an example of the way the interactive scenes have improved since Bioware's earlier games, with the visuals and the voice-acting feeling perfectly natural and the characters coming across as real.

 

A minor problem exists in many scenes where characters interrupt each other. There is usually a noticeable pause, which is completely artificial since in reality, the attempt to interrupt someone would result in a second or two of both characters talking at the same time.

 

Cullen's lyrium story is compelling and acted out excellently, but showing the toolset takes the real-world analogy too far. It's too heavy-handed. You might as well have the character shout "THIS IS AN ANALOGY" at the top of his voice, as if it wasn't obvious enough already. Also, I'm not sure of the lore but that lyrium was instrumental in countering magic was never mentioned in this story. I recall that the possibility that it had always been nothing more than a leash was raised at some point, but how did the templars counter magic then? I think including that aspect in Cullen's story would have added greatly to it.

 

In general, I get the impression that the companions' stories (I'll include the advisors here) are well-written and well-presented, but they're also short in comparison with DA2's, where we had character arcs spanning all three acts. Instead, we have one collection quest and one real companion quest per character in DAI. On the other hand, it appears there is more and more meaningful banter, and characters comment more often on the last main plot mission. It's hard to judge the overall effect, but I think I may not be getting as close to my Inner Circle in DAI as I did to my friends in DA2. 

 

And I'm wondering why I didn't get the Wicked Grace scene in my second playthrough so far. Does it only appear after "Here Lies the Abyss"?