30 réponses à ce sujet

[Fuscus]

So... I hadn't played a Dragon Age before Inquisition. I bought it on the strength of the character writing and interactions (It's always awesome when a game has queer characters and they're treated matter-of-factly!) talked about in every single review and my positive experiences of the Mass Effect games. What I wasn't expecting was that it was more of a classical RPG where grinding is mandatory. In retrospect, I guess I should've realized that was the case and that it wasn't going to be the same sort of narrowly focused, you-can't-be-underleveled game as a Mass Effect. And frankly I've dreaded unlocking new areas or encountering new crafting materials or even talking to characters because the sheer number of things the game wants me to do is completely overwhelming.

The result is that I've stuck to only talking to two or three characters I really care about, ignoring every mechanic I can get away with (like upgrading the keep, collection of herbs [or shards or Borgia flags or feathers or whatever else], and even sorting through my inventory to equip any of the characters I don't take with me), and exploiting the friendly fellow who'll literally sell me infinite amounts of Power so I don't have to do any more sidequests than I want. The downside to this is that now I'm just two damage-sponge bosses from being done with the main plot and they're completely insurmountable because I only just hit level 15 and haven't been purchasing or crafting gear—mostly because so many things, particularly collecting crafting materials and then working through the interfaces to make anything, feel to me like chores at best and padding at worst.

 

It'd be phenomenal if there were some way that a "filthy casual" such as myself could still have access to the whole of the story without having to jump through the hoops by which I mean all of the non-narrative "gating" that regulates progression. I'm not saying that the design as it stands is necessarily bad or isn't totally acceptable, but it turns out that this was apparently not a game made for people like me and instead was designed to appeal to people for whom hoops and a bit of sprawl are a selling point.

 

I also suspect that there'd be no artistic integrity lost if the barriers to entry were removed. Seeing as this isn't an MMO and there's no subscription fee to milk players for, I don't really understand why there are gating mechanics like the timers on the war table or the grindiness except to slow players down and inflate the number of gameplay hours that can be claimed. That the player base has taken enthusiastically loopholes like manipulating the system clock and glitching the purchasing of Power shows that those requirements may yield fun but not enough fun for players to actually want to do them compared to the things they're required for. When playing on the lowest difficulty I assumed intent was to remove the things that prevent someone from being able to just coast through and enjoy the writing and visuals.

 

Honestly, I'd be happy if I could just do what I did with the Knights of the Old Republic games back when they were new: cheat to make everyone invincible so that combat is nothing more than a few minutes of waiting to get to the next part I wanted to experience. I think it's maybe more likely that instead of the console being enabled there could be a way to just keep enemies at the party level or even slightly below.

[Asheria]

I... I guess I just don't see the point in skipping such huge pieces of content in the game. It's one thing to want a narrative mode/story mode (a la casual difficulty), but it's another entirely to skip huge parts of what the game builds the player up on for success. It's still a game, not a movie, not an animated novel, and there are mechanics to it that are integral. There have been several threads asking for a difficulty even less than that of the game's easiest, but the posts never specifically stated they couldn't progress because they refused to craft or complete quest.

 

Did you do all of the companion quests? Story-oriented side quests? You don't need to do the 200000 fetch/escort quests, but there are side quests that can still add substance to your immersion. The game isn't "gating" you - laziness is. :x

 

If you want an animated narrative, play games like The Wolf Among Us or The Walking Dead. That seems to be the type of game you would enjoy the most, and that's not because you're a "filthy casual" like you said.

[massive_effect]

The problem that the OP is pointing out is the fact that upgrading equipment is not fun. The inventory space (60 slots) is too small. It's overwhelming to understand the value of items you collect, while trying to learn combat and enjoy the story/characters. Then, you have to upgrade everything for all characters. If that wasn't tedious enough, you will get better equipment by visiting the blacksmith in Haven and crafting new stuff.

 

In concept, this has worked in other games. In DAI, it ruins the pace of the game in a bad way.

 

Finally, I think the OP has a right to ask for a "filthy casual" setting as it would likely only increase sales. But, I would rather upgrading be fun, instead of being an obstacle to fun.

[Fuscus]

I feel like I'm in my grumpy old twilight years of gaming because I've reached a point where rather than being exciting, the expansiveness of games like the Assassin's Creeds or Dragon Age feels exhausting rather than exciting. I miss the more limited scope of games which is why I tend to shy away from most AAA titles these days. When skipping huge chunks of the game's content still yields up tens of hours of playtime, I have no regrets though! It's absolutely Bioware's prerogative to compel players to play content, I suppose, but that's not what I was expecting here given my previous experiences with their games. The disconnect is what's prompting me to wonder if there could be an inclusion of that kind of mode.

 

I definitely didn't do all of the companion quests for various reasons. I wasn't much of a fan of Solas and was disinterested in helping him because I had no emotional connection. Vivienne was nothing but condescending and then asked me to kill a top-tier and almost certainly endangered predator so that an aristocrat might live a little longer. I did some of the story-oriented sidequests, but only the ones I thought were particularly interesting. 

 

There're plenty of forms of entertainment that I want to invest actual effort in like hiking and camping, but when it comes to a game billed as a narrative experience I don't think it's really laziness to not want to do artificial work. There's no denying that there are gating mechanisms at work because otherwise there would be no Power requirements to activate missions and equally I can't say that I have any right to avoid those. I just would like to ask that they be optional because I don't understand why they're there considering the kind of game I had (wrongly!) thought I was buying.

[Asheria]

I understand what you're saying about upgrading not being fun, but... 90% of the time upgrading is never fun. At least IMO. I don't even know if there's a way to make it fun. I've yet to enjoy any crafting systems either in single player games or even MMOs, but that could just be me missing out on certain games. I've kind of come to expect crafting to be a necessary evil unfortunately.

 

 

 

I still don't understand why the game only comes with 60 inventory slots. ~It's a mystery~.

 

 

I really just don't see BW adding an even more "casual"/easy difficulty, though, considering the only change between normal and easy/casual mode is the lessened damage from enemies. They didn't change the character dmg output, didn't decrease the health, and from my understanding didn't really change much at all. Not quite sure what their plan was with that lol. People are asking for these kinds of changes because there isn't really much if a difficulty change between the modes in the sense that you aren't making combat take any less time the more you lessen the difficulty. Instead of adding a new narrative/story type mode, BW should work on fixing the current ones.

 

 

Edit: Just saw your post after I replied -____- If you haven't played the previous games, I would suggest you go back and pick them up. I know the ultimate edition of DA:O is on sale on steam for $30, which includes the large expansion and some other content, and it may be more along the lines of what you're looking for? I'm not really sure tbh. It's hailed as the best title in the series, though, and has less "gating" than Inquisition.

[Bardicain]

There's no such thing as a "filthy casual." There's people that play for fun, and people who play because they want to look better than that other guy. Completionists are somewhere in the middle. However, there's so much more to the game than just the main story. I went through on nightmare- yes, nightmare! And I didn't feel like I was grinding at all. I did the story quests at my own pace, spending time just exploring and enjoying the areas, delving into the lore and ancient areas, and really learning about the world in a more meaningful way. Don't look at it as grinding, because it really isn't. If you have to view it like that, then you insult all the hard work that the developers put into creating all of these interesting missions and areas because all you care about are the quests listed under that first journal tab.

 

How is the war table inflating the number of hours? I mean, if you want, you can basically completely ignore it other than unlocking map areas. Do you seriously want to sit there and wait for the timer to go off? No! It's something that you can do for some minor bonuses (favor, levelling the inquisition, items). In fact, the timer continues to go down while you're not even playing. There are timers that go up to 24 hours. Does that mean I sit there and wait for those 24 hours on my computer? I go to sleep (with the game off), I run some quests (story or no), study for school (again, while the game is off), whatever.

 

Many players really enjoy the crafting system, it adds a real level of control to the game. There's also (so I've heard) a duplication glitch. Not sure how it works, or if it's going to be patched, but you can use that to get whatever materials you need for that. Also, as I just use what I craft or loot, my character was sitting on a real horde of gold! Enough to make a dragon jealous. Buying equipment isn't so bad either, if you really don't want to craft. Then you can do what I do for the most part and just use what I loot. But for that, you have to go into combat, and do interesting side quests. And if you don't like combat... well, this is a game about war and conflict.

 

If you do want to get some invincibility or whatnot, then perhaps you should start looking at mods (assuming you're using PC, and the modders have been able to do anything- I haven't been keeping in touch with that community).

[Battlebloodmage]

You can get max items, invincibility, gold, instant quest completion on the PC version currently.

[massive_effect]

 

I still don't understand why the game only comes with 60 inventory slots. ~It's a mystery~.

 

 

I found an important item, but my inventory was full. So, I was about to look for some item to "discard", and I then decided I didn't care about this game anymore. I quit the game, and uninstalled it from my Xbox One. (This isn't the sole reason I quit, only the moment I decided to quit.)

[XMissWooX]

You realise you can upgrade your inventory size to 90, right? And by the time you're high level, you can pretty much ignore most of the loot you find, meaning you keep a nice, clean inventory.

[Fuscus]

I'm already exploiting the game as hard as I can: resetting my system clock so that I can get the resources and unlocks from the war table almost instantly and using the buy/sellback loop to get all the Power and Influence I could ever hope for. I am curious as to how the heck to coax invulnerability out of it though because that'd basically render most of my concerns totally moot.

Thing is, as it currently stands unless I want to invest in mechanics like crafting and upgrading or go and carry out missions I otherwise wouldn't specifically to farm XP and level, I'm at a dead end. I don't want to take any mechanics away from anyone, but I mistakenly thought that it was the kind of game where they were opt-in (like 95% of an Assassin's Creed game where they keep grafting on mechanics but there's a tiny subset that're required for play). I only was hoping that maybe a subsequent patch could make them opt-in.

 

I understand entirely the investment by the writers, artists, programmers, and actors and I commend their work generating all the content. However, I'm not obligated to dig all of it. Likewise effort invested in doesn't automatically make something enjoyable or interesting, unfortunately. A ton of their content is in fact fantastic, but I've got about 36 hours of playtime and I've pretty much only been excited about 20 hours of that; the rest was time endured to get to those 20. That's not a terrible ratio, but it'd've been even better if I hadn't been farming Power and XP to unlock the next plot quest and be around the minimum level for it. Plus, I've given them money for all of the content and they're compensated all the same whether I play every moment of it or never install the game.

 

Regardless or what kind of resentment I harbor towards parts of the game, I've gotten some fun out of it and I don't think I'm really entitled to more than that. It'd be way nifty if I could have even more fun though.

[Xhaiden]

No offence, but I don't see why companies should make RPGs for people that clearly do not like RPGs.

 

That said, there is a god mode cheat for the game out there if I recall right. And there's always Knight Enchanter too. -.-

[Asheria]

Xhaiden has the general idea. You clearly don't seem to enjoy RPGs so much as you do player influenced narratives. You dislike the combat mechanics, the necessity of putting in work to progress your story, and the crafting system.

 

Do you know what games focus on story without any of that funny business and minimal other gameplay mechanics?

- The Wolf Among Us

- The Walking Dead

- The Last of Us

- Heavy Rain

 

You could even argue Uncharted might be up there on the list of games you would enjoy, since while it does require puzzles and FPS interactions, the core of the game is still story progression. These games all lack the depth that the Dragon Age series offers, specifically DA:I, and requires for progression.

[Fuscus]

No offence, but I don't see why companies should make RPGs for people that clearly do not like RPGs.

 

That said, there is a god mode cheat for the game out there if I recall right. And there's always Knight Enchanter too. -.-

 

I suppose I could go do the knight enchanter quest then. If you happen to recall a reference as to where this god mode cheat can be located, toss it my way!

 

As for RPGs and liking them or not, I think you and I are perhaps defining them differently. I'm guessing you're taking levels and XP and numbercrunching as inherently a part of RPGs when I don't. I dig the roleplaying and decision-making parts and play RPGs in meatspace where there are no stats to refer to, just the history of your character and the discretion of the GM and group to decide what's possible and what happens. Bioware's games are generally well-written enough that even if you flatten out those numerically-based mechanics (with invulnerability cheats in Kights of the Old Republic or by their own difficulty settings in the Mass Effect games), the branching conversations and potential choices to be made still hold up as fun roleplaying experiences.

 

Like I've said above, Bioware is under no obligation to make or change their games to match my tastes! I'd just enjoy having access to the kinds of options that they've had in their previous games that accommodated my preferences. If not, the worst thing that happens is that I don't finish Inquisition and am that much wiser about what their game design might be like in the future.

[lduchek]

 Someone needs to explain to me how I can have a character that is a level 25 mage, trained in Fade magic (full skill tree), along with the usual fire, ice, and electricity magic, accompanied by three very capable warrior companions, plus as many healing and restorative potions as a character can carry, and I still can't defeat two of the dragons I need to face.

 

And this is on the so-called "casual" level so kindly provided by BioWare!

 

I have had to abandon this character because I cannot get by these beasts. Sure I can skip those parts of the game but that isn't what I paid for. I expected to be able to play the full game. Instead, I had to purchase a new mouse to replace the one I threw against the wall in frustration. (No kidding... I have a low tolerance for frustration.)

 

If BioWare wants to provide a "wimpy" level, I'll take it. I'm not proud. Or maybe I should just delete this game and go back to playing some other game that doesn't cause apoplexy.

[Teddie Sage]

The game is so easy on Casual once you learn how to craft... heck, even on nightmare, the game is a joke once you know where to find the best items. I don't think the game needs a lower difficulty, it just needs a better tactical system and more spots to purchase crafting materials as the normal item drops are weaker than what you can craft, once you reach end game.

[Ryzaki]

Dragons wouldn't be so bad if the AI wasn't stupid and standing in front of the dragon while it spews fire.

[lduchek]

I always though a 'role playing game' was a player-influenced narrative, as in the Mass Effect series. If a player's goal is to amass as many points or as much resources as possible, isn't that more in the realm of action/adventure games? I love RPG games, but my mobility and reactions are not the best so I need a true casual level. I loved Mass Effect 3 because it had a narrative level. Both Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age II had playable "casual" levels. This game does not.

[SerTabris]

The game is so easy on Casual once you learn how to craft... heck, even on nightmare, the game is a joke once you know where to find the best items. I don't think the game needs a lower difficulty, it just needs a better tactical system and more spots to purchase crafting materials as the normal item drops are weaker than what you can craft, once you reach end game.

 

I would think that quite a few players on Casual wouldn't want to bother with the nuances of the crafting system, though. (I played on Normal and I didn't really want to do much with it either.)

[Elsariel]

I would think that quite a few players on Casual wouldn't want to bother with the nuances of the crafting system, though. (I played on Normal and I didn't really want to do much with it either.)

 

That would be me.  I'm not a fan of crafting in this game (usually not a fan in most games).  I would prefer to upgrade some epic loot rather than gather schematics and craft from scratch.  Meh.

[Sylvius the Mad]

I think the crafting and upgrading is fun.

[loyallyroyal]

I just wanted to chime in that I finished the game on casual and didn't craft anything, the only weapon I upgraded was Bianca once or twice. I finished at level 20, I never felt like I was grinding, and I didn't do most the tedious side quests like the shards or the druffalo. I don't understand the crafting hate, you don't have to use it, nor upgrade anything, but it is fun for those than enjoy it.

 

In terms of weapons and armor, it's very easy to look at the numbers, one can logically conclude that a sword with 100dps is better than one with 34dps, so just switch them out and delete the old one. Can't get any simpler. Try upgrading how many health potions you can carry to twelve at the war table too. 

 

A trick I have found, you may be better at playing different kinds of characters, try using your companions to play as. For example, the poster who mentioned not being able to defeat the dragons at level 25, haul Vivienne with you, she can practically solo dragons. My dragon hunting party usually consists of my knight enchanter mage, Vivienne, Cassandra, and Solas.

 

Also, I always treat the companion side quests at part of the main story, you will miss out on getting to know the characters without them.

[Nayawk]

If you are playing on PC then cheat engine offers you a god mode. 

 

If you really can't face crafting and upgrading then this gives you full barrier/guard that doesn't fade off, yes if you are under powered the fights will be long, but they won't be painful/deadly. 

[lduchek]

I do craft, and I do upgrade every chance I get--all party members. The point is not how easy someone else finds this level, or how difficult I find it. It's about the designation of a level as casual when it really isn't. There are other games out there that their casual level is truly casual. As cited before, earlier games of Dragon Age, the Mass effect series, hell... even Kingdoms of Amalur all have a casual level that is more appropriate. I do not find the casual level in this game to be casual.

 

If someone finds the casual level too easy, they have higher levels to switch to. I have no place to go that is less difficult. The only option I have is to quit playing the game. Great solution. 

[loyallyroyal]

*shrugs* I find the casual mode meets my expectations, to each their own. At level 25 though, you should be able to just sit back and let your companions do the fighting for you, try playing with who you bring in your party. If you play as a squishy character like a mage or a rogue try bringing two tanks, like Cassandra and Blackwall, along with Vivienne.

 

Do you invest points in their specialization trees? Knight Enchanter is insanely powerful, once Vivienne has the full tree she is a one woman demo team.

 

I'm sorry you're stuck, that can be very frustrating. (maybe try exploring another zone for a little while? I've noticed ones like the hissing wastes have nice little narratives weaved in)

[DAO MAdhatter]

Someone needs to explain to me how I can have a character that is a level 25 mage, trained in Fade magic (full skill tree), along with the usual fire, ice, and electricity magic, accompanied by three very capable warrior companions, plus as many healing and restorative potions as a character can carry, and I still can't defeat two of the dragons I need to face.

And this is on the so-called "casual" level so kindly provided by BioWare!

I have had to abandon this character because I cannot get by these beasts. Sure I can skip those parts of the game but that isn't what I paid for. I expected to be able to play the full game. Instead, I had to purchase a new mouse to replace the one I threw against the wall in frustration. (No kidding... I have a low tolerance for frustration.)

If BioWare wants to provide a "wimpy" level, I'll take it. I'm not proud. Or maybe I should just delete this game and go back to playing some other game that doesn't cause apoplexy.

By the end of my play through as my female elf rogue I was level 23 & has beaten every dragon in the game. I was also playing on normal difficulty & using Cassandra, Solas & Iron Bull.

I had also crafted the best versions of every armor & weapon I could for each of my characters & had every resistance buff & potion amount buff unlocked through the inquisition perks.