116 réponses à ce sujet

[Applepie_Svk]

Maybe Origins was full of fetch quests too, but there were plenty of sidequests where I had a choice. I can help Dagna to study at the Circle or try to convince her to stay in Orzammar. I can kill Ruck or not and tell Filda that he's crazy or dead or that I didn't find him. I can tell Zerlinda to go the surface or abandon the child or whatever. I remember all these sidequests. I don't remember any sidequest from Inquisition that way. It's ridiculous how many sidequests don't even have any dialogue and are picked up by finding random letters and documents lying around apparently everwhere.

 

The story feels nowhere near as dense as it did in previous games.

 

A joke was that DA:O made u care even for those little characters, they told you their story and thru that they gave you little sneak peak into something of a lore. Even those side or fetchquests, they had an impact on you, there were stories to be told, not like with DA:I where the most npc tell you - bring me or kill for me !  Just remember scene of Ser Otto in Alienage, pure gold in comparison with DA:I main plot.

 

And I can continue, even main protagonist seems totally disconected from its origin by game itself, as a dalish I had a war table missions with my clan, one of my advisors screwed and it killed my clan, and noone of my entire inner circle doesn´t acknowlendge that my entire family is dead... like ? Rly ?  Back in DA:O some of your companions bump into these waters, even story itself went there, reminder of your past at Gauntlet, revisiting your home or meeting with people that you knew, that all was there, but in DA:I you can be happy if your conversation wheel recognize your origin... lol

[Arl Raylen]

Origins was special, no doubt. Bioware has failed to match it with both sequels, though Inquisition came very close. Origins is practically ingrained in my memory, and it's little stuff like killing the prisoner in Ostagar or "making a killing" in Lothering that did it for me. Inquisition had none of that in favor of a massive world.

 

I think Inquisition was a bit of Bioware seeing if they could meld the MMO expertise they have with SWTOR with their traditional RPG talents. Not bad for a first try. Though still not as good as their pure experiences like Origins or KOTOR.

[Storvacker]

I liked how the side quests mostly felt like they were serving the main plot and the Inquisition's main goal.

[Aoba]

So. Many. Sidequests. I normally love 'em to bits, but there are so many of them! I'm a completionist and until I finish each one of those buggers, I can't leave an area (unless the quest can only be completed by going elsewhere). Hinterlands was first and that took about 8 hours, now it's the Exalted Plains. I keep getting distracted from my main goal; it's maddening!

 

First, I start looking for shards, then get distracted by a quest to find a halla; OH WAIT, gotta find missing letters from dead soldiers, soon followed by one to burn bodies in corpse-infested encampments... IT NEVER ENDS.

 

I'm not actually mad as I'm having a blast with the game. I just wish I could say, "Alright, that's enough sidies; on to the main story!" Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that or else I'd have Solas' companion quest done with by now. I've spent about 4 hours in the Plains and haven't been to the area where his quest begins!

 

I'm also trying to juggle three additional playthroughs. Maker, it'll be 2022 before I get to the bloody Orlesian ball!

 

Still, don't think I'd have it any other way. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.

[Linkenski]

I completely agree. I felt like at first I was like "Ooooh! 80.000 lines of dialogue, there's gonna be so much depth to companions now!" but honestly some of them ended their arcs as abruptly as in Mass Effect 2, except this game is twice as long as ME2 by artificially stretching out its content with time-sink crap.

I really like the game, but they should've cut so much out and put more effort into individual side quests and character interaction.

[SirGladiator]

I loved the tremendous amount of side quests, but if there were a way to take some of them and sort of weave them into the Main Quest some way, that'd be great, because while I'm not even done with the Main Quest yet, and it's not remotely 'short' by any means, it still sort of got to a point, eventually, where the side quests started feeling like 'man I wish these meant more, I wish they were tied into the main story somehow' .  At the very least, if power meant more, and thus doing the side-quests became more important from that standpoint, that would be an improvement.  I love it just the way it is, but I do think that could make it even better.

[The Night Haunter]

Had the zones in DAI been about half the size they were then DAI would be twice the game it is. Quality over quantity for DA4 Bioware, please!

[taranoire]

I was disappointed by companion side quests. 

Even in DA2 characters got their own arcs. In DA:I it's literally "kill x number of enemy" crap, or occasionally a war table operation, which are just glorified time sinks. Okay??? They ended abruptly too. Sometimes I wasn't even aware I'd done a companion's entire quest pool because it was so hastily resolved and easy to do. 

[Arijharn]

It makes me wonder if they're planning to add more main quests via an expansion or two? I certainly hope so.

 

Well expansionist dlc would just be that surely? The storyline itself closed it self out rather well I thought.

[Angel Mercury]

Man, I sure hope they're reading these posts, so many good points here. I'm loving DA:I, the openness of the world while still being quest driven has been nice, but I'm not done with my first play through and already I'm feeling like, are these side quests having any impact on my Inquisition?

 

Kind of a bummer to hear that they don't so much. I love side quest, but it's better when they're Sub plots. I can do a few fetch quests and such, I'll complete as much as I can, but like a lot of folks have said, I'd enjoy them more if I knew they meant something to my inquisition. The idea that as you expand there's a real difference is pretty important. Even just the illusion of connection. I too miss having the choices on the side quests. If I help someone I want to know that it amounts to something aside from some power. Mostly I'm driven to do them so I can gain inquisition perks, but I've always loved DA for the story and dialogue. 

 

I keep thinking of the mines quests in DA2. It's probably not the best example, but didn't that span 2 acts (My recollection of it probably isn't perfect)? The first act you help the merchant get to the mine and help the workers. When you do he makes you a partner in the mines, then in the following act you have to go back because a dragon is attacking the place and killing your miners (Or something to that effect). It's not important and I'm pretty sure it wasn't something you had to do all of, but I felt invested in it cause it was after all, My mine. I was sure something like that was going to happen in the Oasis mines. Instead I was running around a maze map looking for shards. The maze bit was kinda cool, but at a certain point it became a bit daunting. At least the temple gives you a good reason for wanting more shards.

 

I also feel really uncertain about progressing the main quests too fast as it feels like once you start one you don't have much time to break from it and come back. Though maybe I'm wrong there and only the ones that are like 'Are you sure you're ready' are like that. It took me a long time to get to 'In your heart' which in retrospect is probably silly since it opens up a few more things to you. I loved getting into the hinterlands, it was well developed and the bit with the farmers and horse trainer and all did feel like I was doing it for my inquisition, but I agree maybe the first area we go should be a bit smaller so we're encouraged to move forward until we're more comfortable with jumping between areas.

 

In short, I don't expect every side quest to matter, but I'd like to care about some of them and see that my Inquisition really is making a difference in the world. More sub plots that matter tied to the main plot, less side quests. 

[nt95]

I agree with just about everyone.  The main story felt like a dwarf - short and wide. There's a lot to do but not much of it means much.  

 

I wish they would put time into making optional parts of the main story.  For example, your in the starting area and have a dramatic either/or decision.  One choice takes you to one area while the other choice takes you to another area.  You'll never go to the other area unless you make the other decision.  For example, what if in DAO when you left Lothering you had the choice of going to Redcliff or the Dales ... but not both.  You put a few of these types of decisions in the game and suddenly the replay value shoots through the roof with meaning areas, not simply side quests. 

[Zorlagius]

I think the game doesn`t mesh together well enough and has some pacing issues. There are really high quality parts in between too, so it`s not like its bad or anything. But when you first go through the game, it is not really apparent which of the quests are actually worth the effort.

 

When sidequests are made, you should never just make them in checkmark style. No "kill 14 lambs and bring the carcasses to me", followed maybe by "thanks!". Also found some of the shard hunting obnoxious, despite the very good rewards offered. Body burning in Exalted plains is about minimum I`d expect from a sidequest, you actually change the landscape a bit when you complete those quests. Or when Crestwood rift is finally closed and you clamber up to a bright sunlight? That was a nice touch.

 

So sidequests should involve at least 2 of the following:

 

1. Good puzzles and exploration (no "go to this checkmark to pick up your delivery" but actual searching and pondering)

2. Good rewards

3. Gameworld changes and cutscenes with impact

4. Companion commentary and new scenes back at the base

 

Then we have problems with Skyhold itself. Did you notice that doing the big upgrades was almost entirely cosmetic and even that part was not very impressive? I was also missing more stuff where you could actually see more of the Inquisition forces doing stuff. You just mostly run into small patrols, which makes the whole organization feel more like a militia without borders. By the games end, you get the impression that you are supposedly very powerful, but you see more of your soldiers in Haven at the start of the game. Of course this could just be because BW decided to steer the story away from the Skyhold. Maybe they did first envison some kind of defensive mission at first, but then decided to go with the rift angle instead for the "climax".

 

War table was a nice idea and it works as a storytelling device, but the actual system of doing things is rather bizarre. You have power, but you actually don`t need it that much. Instead game makes you wait (or advance computer clock...). It`s like they just decided mid-development to make some changes to the system. Also some quests have outcomes that should have the Inquisitor or one of the advisors burst in rage or tears (like that dalish stuff). Maybe more over the table arguing too when something bad or controversial happens.

 

I think we need a list of good sidequests so that people can avoid wasting their time.

[Knight of Dane]

I'm with you.

 

I love the game, but it's a bad thing for it when I finish it and feel DA2 did some things better.

[Arijharn]

Origins was special, no doubt. Bioware has failed to match it with both sequels, though Inquisition came very close. Origins is practically ingrained in my memory, and it's little stuff like killing the prisoner in Ostagar or "making a killing" in Lothering that did it for me. Inquisition had none of that in favor of a massive world.

 

I think Inquisition was a bit of Bioware seeing if they could meld the MMO expertise they have with SWTOR with their traditional RPG talents. Not bad for a first try. Though still not as good as their pure experiences like Origins or KOTOR.

 

I'll agree with that. I think a massive world experience has merit, but with something like an RPG I'm not a fan. As you might imagine then, I have never gelled with the Elder Scrolls series (bar Morrowind I suppose) or Witcher either (although I didn't really think Witcher one was very open world, maybe that's a recent development aim for CD Projekt too).

 

I think with more side quest experiences you try and stuff into your game, then the less focus the main story becomes, so I wholeheartedly agree with the OP

[Monochrome Wench]

I ended up finishing the game with nearly 250 power remaining. If the game gave out significantly less power making doing a quite a few number of side quests non optional, it may have worked a bit better. In addition there really should have been one non optional quest in each region related to the overall plot. Most of the regions already have quests that would qualify too

[Kulyok]

I quite agree with the original point.

 

Maybe the sidequests just weren't good enough. For example, Crestwood was really-really good, and Fallow Mire had some balance, but Western Approach? Exalted Plains? It was such stark contrast to interesting and engaging quests like Redcliffe and the Wardens, well. I wish we were given a mystery each time, or a character to associate with. For example, Sacred Ashes quest was a long boring hacking dungeon, but it didn't feel that way, because we had the hall of riddles and the meeting with a loved one from the past, AND there was story sense and urgency.

[Virgulec]

I agree with the OP. I hope the infatuation with open world begins and ends with DAI. I far prefer the storytelling and game design of DAO and DA2. I hope future Dragon Age games will return to more focused main story, and less rambling and utterly forgettable sidequests that do little but eat time, while adding nothing of value to the tale.

 

I'm sorry, but if they ever go back to invisible walls and no jumping environment, just linear storytelling the backlash from DA2 will be nothing compared to the backlash from this one. Sheesh, the mounts are already so stiff... the game is still fun though(Killing dragons is fun).