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[Dean_the_Young]

This is Dean's first impressions of DAI, to be used as an ongoing first look and first thoughts on the game. This will be a log of sorts, with various thoughts, considerations, impressions, and so on. This will be my BSN fix until I complete the game and otherwise feel comfortable talking about spoilers on the BSN proper.

 

This is going to have notes on what I think was good, what was not, and other things that stood out in my playthrough.

 

 

Bit of history and context:

 

This is my first Dragon Age on a console. Normally I play computer for DA games, but I had concerns about the graphic support and otherwise wanted to justify my XB1 purchase.

 

I've had multiple playthroughs of DAO and DA2, with a variety of different character RPs. Though I, personally, tend to favor security/greater good justifications over do-gooder 'classical' heroism play throughs, I can role play different attitudes and viewpoints.

 

The Keep import for the background setting focused on two militaristic/authoritarian male figures.

 

M!Couseland was basically an ambitious militaristic nationalist for Ferelden- diplomatic and nice enough enough, but basically trying to emulate the military heroism of Loghain and having ambitions (and delusions) of Ferelden as a mighty kingdom. Major choices were to recruit the mages, saved Connor and Redcliffe, sided with Bhelen, and (as a modest anti-Dalish racist) sided with the werewolves to weaken the 'blight' of the Dalish. Arranged to marry Anora, and to avoid a future succession issue he had Loghain sire the OGB.

 

M!Hawke was a tragic hero, and also something of an authoritarian ******* with anti-social/sociopathic tendencies. Struggled to make friends and emotional connections, and extremely aggressive in nature. Once Bethany died, he came to view compromising out of emotions as a weakness and the cause of her death in the Deep Roads when he agreed to let her come despite misgivings, and afterwards became even more uncompromising and pro-Templar. He ultimately believes that he killed her not by taking her to the Deep Roads, but by trying to keep her out of the Circle where she should have been safe. Rivaled pretty much everyone except Fenris and Sebastian, but kept Anders alive to make him fight against the mage rebellion.

 

 

 

In contrast to them, the first playthrough of DAI will be as a female mage. Since 'creepy good' isn't a supported RP route, I'll be going for 'bookish and reluctant/passive' fem!Inquisitor to contrast the aggressive/overly-masculine prior PCs. She'll be, to the best of my ability, a pro-Circle mage who was a reluctant rebel and even more reluctant Inquisitor. A bit of a fop socially, trying to be nice/diplomatic in hopes that everyone gets along well enough, and well meaning and sympathetic.

 

Basically, Paragon style, without the moral pretensions or outstanding heroism confidence.

 

 

 

Now, all that aside...

 

 

Log 1: Intro to Scouting the Hinterlands

 

Got DAI in the mail this afternoon. Only home to receive it because weather closed down work and ended a week long camping trip on day 1. Played up until the first war council, after becoming the Herald of Andraste.

 

The initial narrative of the game is... very sudden. I had finished and watched my Keep summary before playing the game, and that made a fine prologue- but the game itself had almost nothing. There is 'sudden,' and then there is 'entering half-way in.'

 

The game and story so far truly do seem to be framed with the assumption that the player already knows what is going on. This is, for better and for worse, a game that assumes I'm familiar with the franchise and the lore around it. The recap/summaries provided so far have been very broad and generalized, and I recognize that it's still early and the real development will come later, but the biggest issue so far is the nature of the Conclave. Or rather, the lack of any gameplay before the cataclysm.

 

It's hard to articulate, but the political nuance and entry into the setting was lost when they chose to go from the character card (which talks about why you're going to the conclave) to the Breach with nothing in between. I think I was expecting a sequence like the DAO origins, where there was a moment of calm and exposition before **** goes down. That the player would be introduced to the Conclave, talk to people to get personalities or hear whispers of the looming plots, and otherwise be slipped into small fights before the cataclysm occured regardless.

 

Instead we get a minor amnesia trope, with conveniently forgotten memories of the Conclave, and start with a Fade/Dream sequence leading to a jail cell to a demonic invasion in the space of five minutes. Just a tad fast.

 

What's also fast is the introduction of characters. Leliana and Cassandra at least get a good cop/bad cop routine for introduction... but Solas's is already grabbing my hand in thrusting it into tears in reality before so much as a 'hello' or any other introduction. Varric's introduction isn't much more. Both of them are discussing things that have no context or meaning to me, the unaware PC who lacks meta-knowledge. More than once I wondered if I had accidentally skipped past some cut scenes of some sort that would have slowed down the pacing a bit.

 

After an eyebrow raised at beating a Pride Demon as the first boss (sorry Hawke, Wardens, you were chumps for struggling at FemInquisitors tutorial boss fight), we get the obligatory useless jerkish Chantry flak who unreasonably wants to kill us for no good reason to justify forming the Inquisition. Points for grievances for people who want to hate the irrationality of organized religion, to be countered/assisted by the only slightly more rational fanworship of the entire community taking to knees and bowing as exit the door in our shiny Delux Edition DLC armor (which actually does look nice).

 

I exaggerate, but only so much. I do like the Herald of Andraste set-up at this point, though. When you factor the location, the glowing female figure, the miraculous survival, the one-of-a-kind savior device tool, and the fact that everyone around is already very pious and religious true-believer sorts already, and becoming a religious rock star doesn't seem so outrageous. Plus, and this is important, we get plenty of chances immediately after to either embrace or dislike it. I personally am going with the 'I'm not really a chosen one' for my humble mage.

 

After the Inquisition started, there was the war council (though I accidentally wandered and learned from Varric that Leliana was my spy master before I went and learned that Leliana was my spy master), in which not much happened beside introducing the advisors. I appreciate the initial set up of main quest objectives: the Breach is stable, but not fixed, and I need to compensate for power. Mages to boost power, or Templars to suppress the Breach and make my own power sufficient. Both seem reasonable enough justifications for the factions, and certainly better than 'I need an army, any will do.'

 

That's pretty much where my progress ended. Did some exploration, and talking with people around the keep. Thoughts below.

 

 

-Varric was a sympathetic person, and is rapdily starting to be the Inquisitor's first friend here. Down to earth, all that good confidence master, and of course having experience in all this 'change the world' ****. This Varric had a very rivalistic relationship with Hawke, but I suspect he and the Inquisitor will be good friends by contrast.

 

-Cassandra's character arc starts with questions and doubts about the wisdom of her actions. A strong start about recognizing her own brashness, and how close it holds to conviction and a desire to act when an answer seems obvious. A good mix of character strength and character flaw, reasonable and appealing to know more of.

 

-Leliana's crisis of faith, however, struck me as far more odd. The whole 'rage against the Maker for not caring for the most virtuous' strikes me as immature- that's religious disillusionment befiting a teenager, not a thirty-something year old woman with Leliana's past. My Inquisitor (to be referred to now as Myinq) felt awkward, and not particularly sympathetic. Leliana probably didn't feel any closer after that one.

 

-Cullen is... glamorous. And shiney. I turned down the glare on my TV after talking to him. Nothing really stands out yet, except I was wondering if he was really the same character as before. Voice acting isn't distinctive enough for me to go 'yeah, that's him.' Nothing bad, but nothing great either. Myinq didn't flirt with the nice templar, but was appropriately out of place in a group of lots of people swinging blades around.

 

-Solas had an interesting viewpoint on spirits. There was disagreement on their nature of free will and how much they could truly be friends, but it was definitely a well thought out, reasonable, and respectful conversation, and I am interested to know him more. So is Myinq- though there's certainly going to be some heart break in that direction in the future.

 

 

On other NPCs of note

 

-In the ambassador's office is a NPC who seems to be a 'take that' to some Dalish/Mage elements of BSN. It turns out that Dalish clans aren't mage utopias, and that seven year old girls get thrown out to starve in the woods if the Clan mage quota was filled. While my eyebrow raised at the obvious sympathy ploy, it was nice to see it be used against rather than for the plucky underdog faction. Moderately pro-Circle/pro-Templar attitudes, as well as some interesting notes of the Tranquil (and insinuations of both mage and Templar exploitation of the Tranquil). We'll see if her story goes anywhere soon.

 

-The logistics NPC is an unrepentant supporter/fangirl of Loghain. What is with Loghain and his military fangirls? Regardless, a useful choice of backstory: it gives some reach-back to the previous games, as well as a reasonably flexible backstory for reactivity purposes of import world states.

 

-The Chantry bureacrat was so obviously a made-to-hate character I can't bother to hate him. Religious unreasonable obstructionist passive-aggressive impotent blah blah blah. The most interesting/amusing point of all of it was the point he tried to order the ex-Templar guards to arrest me... not because of the display of impotency, but because I thought to myself 'hey, why can't Cassandra have that high-level armor right now if the Inquisition has some of it around?'

[Dean_the_Young]

Day 2 in retrospect on Day 3.

 

Day 2 (and early day 3) were mostly grinding my way through the hintertlands and stormy coast, with a bit of character recruitment and plot progression at the end.

 

Mechanically, this seems to be the bread and butter of DAI's gameplay, and initial first impressions are good. Though I suspect the Hinterlands is above average for the game (as most early-game segments are the most developed to hook players), what I have seen in it and the coast are good: semi-random encounters, areas with distinct themes and topography, and a good deal of diversity. A bit too many steep hills for my taste, but I'm not blind to how they help partition the areas into distinct zones and help partition the areas for design/hardware implementation considerations.

 

Foraging and crafting seem to be well done- helped in no small part by the fact that crafting resources will replenish over time. No absurd hunting for every last specimen, and such. I'm not sure how useful it is, yet- I haven't really been able to craft weapons or upgrades significantly better than what I find as loot- but it helps reward those who explore and take their time (and helps my piece of mind to not try and find every single thing in a radar ding).

 

Area themes  and set piece events are recognizable and appreciated. The mage vs. templar fighting in the hinterland is an excellent set dressing to emphasize the mutual destruction both sides are inflicting on the weak and powerless, while the occassional dragon sighting sends me running as a sign that I may be a bit over my head at that point. The diversity of topography and architecture has helped things from getting too repetitive, and helps keep my bearing when I get turned around. Of the first three areas I went too (Val Royeax, the Hinterlands, and the Storm Coast), all three were distinct and flavorful in their own right.

 

Quests and reactivity are applaudable. Quests are hardly intricate, but they more or less fit the setting. Even the 'kill ten rams for meat' was supported by other ambient dialogue, which is a step many games forget to use to reinforce the need for their quests. Aside from main story quests and what I suspect will be a quest chain per region, the exploration quests with steadily accruing benefits are good as well. Claiming terrain with banners and tents not only encourage the exploration, they progressively reward it and give as much rewards as you put effort. Which is good.

 

Overall, from the mechanics I've seen Bioware is really hitting the 'exploration' virtue that so many have complained was lost in recent games. In many respects this seems like a touched up, better glimpse into the world of Thedas and its environs, which is much appreciated. Once I got used to various mechanics (such as XB1 combat, and so on) I am finding it enjoyable enough in its own right. Currently a bit light on the story... but that's my own damn fault for trying to explore all the areas fully before investing into the story quests.

 

This will probably tie up my final take aways of the mechanics. Next post will focus more on the story and character interactions of the experience.

 

exploration: 'better view'

[Dean_the_Young]

Recruited Viviene- amusing dressing down of the nobleman, but not overwhelmed on a personal level. The difference between self-respect and self-esteem: she clearly has the former, but her attacks rely on destroying the later. I tear into myself far harder and brutally on a semi-regular basis, so if her wit was aimed towards me I would probably roll my eyes and maybe blow a kiss. (Why isn't she romanceable, Bioware?!)

 

Recruited Sera- definitely not the sort of person I would normally choose to or enjoy hanging out with. Part of it is the immaturity (deliberate choice of the writers, I know), part of it is how she speaks, and part of it is just dislike of irresponsible and undisciplined people in general. She doesn't strike me as particularly insightful or intelligent, which aren't flaws in and of themselves but the lack of them doesn't help redeem what I see as character flaws.

 

Recruited Iron Bull- not what I expected, at least in terms of voice. I knew from the old character introduction that he'd admit to his connections, but I wasn't sure what to expect on his views of other people in and out of the qun. Still don't have enough to figure, but I'll be watching his character interactions with people who press the issue.

 

 

For story progression and major quests...

 

Did the hinterlands. Overall, I think it was a good example of what the Inquisition was sold to be- a force of order by beating up the fighting sides and anyone who gets in the way. The mage and templar skirmishing was well done, while the whole carta quest line of mining red lyrium was a nice series of connect-the-dots that tied well with the exploration focus. The hinterlands had good themes of the suffering of the mage-templar war, and of not-quite intended consequences for deliberate actions, and on the whole I thought it was good and generally balanced in its depiction of both sides. Which is to say, the mutual insanity was less outrageous than I feared, and not simply senseless atrocities one after the other after the other in the name of 'balance.' (On a personal note, I did like the difference between the disciplined, neat, and orderly Templar camps versus the chaotic mage hide outs.)

 

On the Coasts, the only real narrative post-recruitment of IB was on the missing Wardens. Did that with Blackwall, and I enjoyed the codex entries as a scavenger hunt. I'm hazarding a guess that the hunted Warden that they were searching for was related to what's-his-face from DA2 DLC, but they're playing the Grey Wardens well enough for now.

 

Went to Roy Valeaux for the showdown with the Chantry. Was... not impressed or pleased with how the introduction of the Templars was of them beating a priestess and being pointlessly antagonistic with the Inquisitor. Just a tad bit of leaning on the players to be amiable to slightly-too-coy Fiona, don't you think Bioware? Still, the city was charming, and colorful, and as far as first impressions of Orlais go it's finally something more than silly and french. I laughed heartily at the one shop with the one ware: you aren't buying a product, you're buying a price. Wonderful, and I wonder if you can actually buy it.

 

After Orlais, finally went to Redcliffe to see the Enchanter, since my RP is pushing to be respond to the less antagonistic faction. My earlier displeasure with the Templars was turned to mirth when I heard that Fiona was apparently ousted in a palace coup... and a bit incredulous when I heard a Tevinter Magister was involved.

 

And that's where I am for now. Just wanted to catch up on this log before I went too much further.

[Dean_the_Young]

Well, it appears I spoke to soon. Fiona wasn't so incompetent that she lost control to an internal faction within the mages- Fiona was so incompetent that she sold the Circle into slavery to a Tevinter magister!

 

There is going to be so much hay made out of this in the months and years to come. I'm sure this falls right around somewhere with willingly making deals with demons... possibly literally, depending on what the Elder One turns out to be. Not the best proof of the trustworthiness and judgement of the mages, especially since Fiona justifies it as being because she had no political allies to support the mage rebellion. (That would have been a nice thing to realize before the mage rebellion, dontcha know.)

 

I've caught the insinuations that both Fiona and the Commander of the Templars in Val Royeaux may not have been themselves- or that may not have been either of them we met. Trope consideration of the zero-sum choice of mages or Templars also suggests that whoever I didn't select here will fall to the influence of the Elder One: certainly without me removing the Magister, he'd have obvious opportunity to do as he will. I can only assume the same applies with the Templars (though maybe the Knight Commander really is that much of a jerk- Cassandra doubts it, though).

 

Touching on the Mage-Templar delimma, though... I need to say something for future record.

 

I really, really appreciate how they've done framed the choice. Or rather, how the question of who to recruit has been disassociated from the question of the Circles, and in many respects from any notion of 'siding' with the two in a dispute.

 

First, the context of the decision makes no reference or allusion to any end to the Circle system or not. While the Inquisitor has been allowed to role play various positions up to this point, at the choice decision the question of the Circle system itself is absent. The focus of the conversations and the narrative for the Mages and Templars is that there is a need for one or the other to resolve the breach- and nothing about what will occur afterwards.

 

Moreover, there are sufficient motivations and reasons to pick either side to support even a pro-mage or a pro-Templar player to select the other on the grounds of valid role playing purposes. The investigation into the death of the Divine, the question of why the Knight Commander was so out-of-character to Cassandra, the question about the mysterious Fiona at Val Royeaux, and even the Tevinter involvement in Redcliffe... While the meta-description makes clear that Mages or Templars are mutually exclusive, the in-game context doesn't even make that distinction, so a role player could justify going to one first by claiming they intended to seek both.

 

Considering what the Mage/Templar delimma easily could have been cast as, such as DA2's finale, I am very, very satisfied for how this choice has been framed so far.

 

 

(Also, I appreciate that the Tevinter Magister, while so obviously a villain-ish figure not to trust, is both humanized via his sick son who he genuinely cares about as a motivation, and is amiable if you don't pick fighting words or try any direct confrontation with him. That's much better than, say, DA2's Petrice where it was almost impossible not to be fighting with her.)

[Dean_the_Young]

So. Time travel. Wasn't expecting that. I'm wondering how it will be justified in a Templar playthrough, since it seems rather important.

 

General bad future. Elder One is now the New God, going by the codex prayer. Doesn't seem to care about maintenance and upkeep, though. And like most Bad Futures, would-be time travelers don't ask important questions that could help them by the time they return.

 

Or, wait, apparently it does get asked... but Leliana shoots Dorian down.

 

Just notied now that the statues in the hallways have been twisted and made grotesque. Nice touch. Also noticed that a weird roundish-skull shape I had noticed elsewhere is prominent in the temple. Elder One icon?

 

So. Ended the mage recruitment- or conscription, rather. After the series of what can kindly be called 'Fiona's series of poor decisions,' rewarding the mages with a full alliance would have been something only for a die-hard mage liberationist. As it was, this direct forcefulness was a bit of good character development for my Inquisitor, who to this point has still been more of a Circle mage over her head instead of The Inquisitor.

 

I want to point out that I appreciated how I didn't have to cheesily fight the Magister twice. His surrender, and his humanizing connection with his son, was more than I dared hope. Heck, they didn't even kill his son (in the past)! And the various justifications available, ideological and otherwise, are appreciated considering Bioware's traditional binary justification system.

 

Also- reputation for the choice. It seems the Big Decisions get reputation impacts from everyone. That's good. Not sure how Sera's approval of conscription will be received by some on these boards, but Solas's great disapproval was the worst part. (Also, Leliana's time skip difference on mages between sympathetic and harsh was a nice on a few levels for shaping player perceptions leading up to and after the choice.)

 

Immediate trope seems to suggest the incoming assault on the Breach will be one that will be fared (likely by the appearance of the Elder One), hence entering the Orlais Civil War questline for allies and power. Cool beans, and fair enough.

 

Also, looking for where my last recruit will be. Where is Cole?

[Dean_the_Young]

Woke up absurdly early and decided to close the breach. Very glad I had the time to spare to do it all in one go.

 

The battle of Haven was dramatic, to say the least. And what followed was impressive, on a number of levels, and my respect for the Bioware writers to iterate and improve upon themselves grows. But where to start?

 

Well, for one, the closing of the Breach itself was anticlimatic- not even a boss fight back up there. Just a  cut scene of the mages standing by and watching/helping, a dramatic explosion... and it was gone. Truly gone. Game over, man, game over. All that was left was the celebration and victory party. And thus ended my 20-something hours of gameplay of DAI, a short but charming game of a new model.

 

Not.

 

What followed next was the attack of the Red Templars- sure to be replaced by the Venitori or evil mages had I recruited/rescued them, I'm sure. Or maybe not. Regardless, I felt this was a good example of how Bioware framing a 'forced to lose' scenario- a situation in which victory is not possible, even if you are beating the individual enemies infront of you. By having scenery and assets destroyed (especially the trebuches), the impression of being driven back is maintained even as the player beats waves of enemies. Rather than cutscene incompetence, it's the destruction of what we were told were our keys to resistance- and with the Dragon's involvement, there's no feeling of being to blame for it.

 

Haven falls with the arrival of the Elder One... who turns out to be Corypheus from DA2. I am mighty glad I missed that spoiler, if it was ever leaked. My personal speculation had been that the Elder One would be an ancient demon from the Fade- not a Magister with even more dreams of godhood. Corypheus's motive rant amounts to revaunchism to restore Tevinter to glory (which means that, even if the South is doomed in the bad future, the dystopian hellhole won't reach omnicidal levels), and anger that there was no god in the Golden City and an intent to fill the void personally. I don't feel let down by this, per see, but I admit I was hoping that the Elder One would be an ancient being from the deep lore. As it is, I'm curious as to how Corypheus factors into the Warden sub-plot, and how he was connected to Falleseran in the Masked Empire.

 

After triggering an avalanche on herself to cover the retreat, and all of Haven, the Inquisitor has a miraculous survival (again) and what follows is... well, a spiritual sequence of events I'm not articulate enough to describe. I can recognize the intent- a desolate landscape and slow, aimless struggle to move forward without clear direction (literal and metaphorical), a reunion with the Inquisition refugees who are divided and directionless. A talk with the Mother about faith, a chance to roleplay motivations and perspectives (including that I, my character, had lost faith with the defeat), and then a very well applied use of a hymn (The Dawn Will Come) that unites the disparate survivors in a chorus of hope and unity that their trials will be rewarded.

 

A very poignant, spiritual, and effective piece that ties well into a character arc that culminates with the Inquisitor leading the survivors north, and ultimately finding Skyhold. A magnificent and mighty fortress in the mountains, Skyhold becomes the new base of the Inquisition (pending repairs), and the Herald of Andraste officially becomes the Inquisitor and leader of the Inquisition. And then you get to explore your new home. (Which is where I stopped.)

 

 

Overall, I thought this sequence of events worked very well on a number of levels. First, the introduction of the Red Templars and the Elder One being a strategic defeat (the fall of Haven) was an effective means of establishing them as credible enemies- a force that succeeded on its own merits, rather than a nominal threat that never loses in the face of the PC. I've heard whispers that the Red Templars more or less get Cerberus treatment going forward, but at least they've proven themselves capable enough to be a credible nemisis.

 

For roleplaying purposes, though, the sequence also works well as a culmination and development point. The Inquisitor's role and rhetoric in leading the defense, in addressing Corypheus, in the potential crisis of faith moment before the hymn, and upon becoming the Inquisitor... you could have embraced it from the start, or resisted it, but either makes a credible case of a character coming to their own resolve. I've played a fop of a Circle Mage, and even she is learning to display resolve and determination worthy of a leader, and she's been denying the Herald status every chance she gets. (From a humble Andrastian perspective, not 'I hate the religion' perspective.)

 

But what impresses me most of all? How mature, and even handed, the narrative has been treating the religion angle of this so far. Oh, I'm sure it won't be enough for some- some people really, really hate Andrastianism/religion in general, and the game doesn't let you go to the extremes some people fantasize about. But I think this is a good thing- and more importantly, a more mature outlook by the writers. Faith isn't romanticized or deconstructed with an intent to invalidate it: it simply is shown in many different ways. Faith that benefits you, faith that opposes you, faith that could be blamed for making the problems and making them worse, faith that proves instrumental in helping people come together and resolve the problems. Some people see faith as a tool- others a virtue- others don't care and don't let it dominate. None are intended or presented as being 'correct.'

 

What Bioware has done here, something I've long wanted but never really expected, is make a balanced story with a strong religious theme that you can role play on. I not only appreciate the effort, I am admiring the result.