So, I have so far captured a Keep in Crestwood and one in the Western Approach. But I never got an option to choose if its a military/spy or trade outpost.
Did Bioware remove this option or am I missing something here? Because I remember them stating that we would be able to choose what the Keep would be.
Edit: Woops Captured***
I don't think this is possible. Was probably removed as a feature or something.
yeah, its a shame, i was pretty excited about that feature
So, I have so far captured a Keep in Crestwood and one in the Western Approach. But I never got an option to choose if its a military/spy or trade outpost.
Did Bioware remove this option or am I missing something here? Because I remember them stating that we would be able to choose what the Keep would be.
Edit: Woops Captured***
They removed the option to customize it, but each keep customizes on its own, I think. The one in Crestwood becomes Leliana's (secrets-based), the one in the Western Approach becomes Cullen's (forces-based), and I'm imagining the third becomes Josephine's, but I haven't gotten there yet.
ETA: You can tell the association from listening to the dialogue and looking at the decor around each keep. The Crestwood keep has raven sculptures hanging around and the ambient dialogue refers to spies. You can also get the "Rescue the Spy" mission from there, IIRC.
I wonder if these act like acquiring an agent, adding a perk that reduces the time it takes for the respective advisor to complete an operation. I don't think they show up in the list like agents, though.
The third does indeed become Josephine's -- the person who's commanding the Keep knows Josephine personally.
Sounds disappointing. I was so excited to customize the keeps. 
When do these Keeps become available?
I think once you get Skyhold, you get to travel to these regions and claim them. I went to the Emerald Graves first, and there is no keep to claim there, though there is a cool castle with a nice quest.
When do these Keeps become available?
You take Caer Bronach in Crestwood as part of a quest there. (Not part of the main quest, I don't think, but it's the main quest within Crestwood -- Still Waters, IIRC. It's just SW of dead center.)
Griffon Wing Keep is in the Western Approach and only becomes available after doing a war table op to build a bridge across the impassable green smoke stuff that makes you cough and choke. (It's WNW of your starting camp and directly NW of Craggy Ridge Camp.)
Suledin Keep is in Emprise du Lion, but I haven't explored the area yet so I can't say where exactly.
Aw there's only three? I was hoping we could take any fort we found, looking at you merc fort in Hinterlands
Each keep gives access to resource gathering operations. That's the only real benefit other than a merchant at each one.
Each keep gives access to resource gathering operations. That's the only real benefit other than a merchant at each one.
You also get access to armor and weapon crafting/modifying in the same area as the merchant, which can be a lot more expedient than traveling to the Undercroft in Skyhold, as that involves fast travelling, navigating to the doorway, and then another area switch.
I'm really not sure when the resource gathering ops first appear. It took me awhile to unlock the Hinterlands and Fallow Mire ones, but it seems that every time I unlock a new area at the war table (e.g. Crestwood, Emprise du Lion, the Exalted Plains, etc.) the resource ops have unlocked as soon as I spend the power to scout them -- I've never even set foot in Emprise or the Plains, and yet I can do the resource ops there.
art wise they are very grand, even if all you get combat wise is a merchant. I have never had this cool a thing happen in a game
yea I think there were deeper subtleties that aren't important in this release. like the option to choose if you want the path in the Frostbacks to be mercantile, military or covert, I have yet to see a product (however real)
These defunct ideas are to Bioware's credit. They want to know the bones of game design, and play us to wits end. Good hooks in spite of down sizing. This game is a new standard. This game is an evolutionary front in the genre of fiction
You take Caer Bronach in Crestwood as part of a quest there. (Not part of the main quest, I don't think, but it's the main quest within Crestwood -- Still Waters, IIRC. It's just SW of dead center.)
Griffon Wing Keep is in the Western Approach and only becomes available after doing a war table op to build a bridge across the impassable green smoke stuff that makes you cough and choke. (It's WNW of your starting camp and directly NW of Craggy Ridge Camp.)
Suledin Keep is in Emprise du Lion, but I haven't explored the area yet so I can't say where exactly.
You don't need Griffin as a quest, kill them, and raise the flag, voila. I like to go there for log off
would have been cool to have alt HQ in the other keeps, like one or two from advisory come to post a couple to-do, and you get a bedroom
You'd think you would get a bedroom in the keeps since, you know, you run the inquisition? I guess they just kick out whatever random dignitary is there for the night and make him sleep on the floor to give me a bed...at least I like to think so. 
Each of the keeps are main parts of the zone storyline (Western Approach actually is an "offshoot" which you don't have to take, while the Crestwood and EDL keeps are central to the story line. Crestwood so much so that you cannot complete the main quest in the zone without it), but none of them are required to complete the game / main quest line.
That said, several inquisition perks require you to capture at least 1 keep to be able to get the perk, which is important. Also, the crafting crap obtainable from the missions the keep unlocks is top notch...for instance, the keep in Western Approach is providing me Everite (Tier 3 Metal) at a rate of ~6 / 15 Minutes...unreal. In about 10 - 12 hours of play, I'm sitting on 90+ Everite...which is working really well when I go to craft something.
Resource Gathering Operations unlock the moment you've unlocked a zone...so you can gather resources from EDL the moment you unlock EDL, leave the war table, and return...you'll see a War Table Mission at that point allowing you to gather resources.
Liliana provides Only Herbs, but in large quantities.(3-6)
Cullen provides Only Metal, but in large quantities (3-6)
Josephine provides both Metal and Herbs but in half quantities.
Regardless of what the text description says (like EDL's notes Silverite and Felandarus) you do not get different materials from the mission.
Hinterlands: Elfroot, Onyx and Drakestone
Fallow Mire: Blood Lotus, Dawn Lotus, Summer Stone, and Blue Vitriol
Crestwood: Embrium and Obsidian
Western Approach - Deep Mushrooms, Paragon's Luster
Emerald Graves: Embrium, Pyrophite
Exalted Plains: Rashvine and Veridium
Emprise Du Lion: Arbor's Blessing and Bloodstone
Hissing Wastes: Deathroot, Lazurite
Taking a castle in a zone opens an additional mission to gather specific resources. Black market is the most valuable, and despite the description, you don't seem to have the possibility of returning nothing. That said, Leliana is the only one that can go to the Black Market, so as with the rest of the war table, she seems to be your choke point. Cullen returns junk, Josephine returns half of what Leliana returns and half of what Cullen returns.
Regardless of what the text description says (like EDL's notes Silverite and Felandarus) you do not get different materials from the mission.
This is not entirely correct; I've had a few rare instances of Leliana bringing back something rarer. Felandaris at the very least, I got one from Emprise (?) I think, just enough for the final Hinterlands side quest left open. Sometimes you also get throne improvements, though I'm not sure about the requirements for those.
Cullen is good at getting silverite out of EDL, Lielianna gets Felandris now and then, Jossie gets only common stuff, but more of it.
So what would you estimate the chances to be? I've put Cullen on EDL Metal Farming something like 20 times and not yet seen a single silverite...
If this is the case, then, your best resource farming would seem to be:
Cullen: EDL Resource Gathering.
Josephine: Hissing Wastes Farming
Leliana: Western Approach Castle/Black Market Metal Farming
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