So I pre-ordered DA:I and put 85 hours in since release. I played the story through and did many side quests, but certainly not all and then it stopped. So I asked myself why. Here are my thoughts.
1) A significant factor I have to say is the release date. I also play SWTOR and I did stop playing DA:I the day before SWTOR released 3.0 to the servers. This is a factor but it still doesn't explain why I haven't touched DA:I at all since the 2nd.
2) Loading screens. This is the first issue about DA:I itself. The loading screens are significant, way too long for my liking and I am used to SWTOR loading screens. The problem lies also in the fact that you have to travel to Haven/Skyhold regularly and it is discouraging to do so.
3) Companions. I have not really gotten attached to any of the companions as I have in the previous DA games and Mass Effect as well and SWTOR. The difference is so big that it was instantly noticeable for me. Sure Varrick is pretty cool as such, but is also the only companion left from the previous installment. I found myself really focussed on my character alone and not really caring as much about the world around me that I was saving. They annoyed me more than anything and I found myself wishing I didn't have to bring certain companions. I basically ran with the companions I disliked the least. The rest I don't even consider. Romance options? Never mind. Kinda tough if you make zero connection with any of them.
4) Loot and inventory. I do not understand the decision to not have personal storage in this game. You can't keep cool things because you are constantly running out of space and since not all areas have traders at camps you are forced to travel back and forth. That brings back the issue of point 2. Also loot is fairly bland. A lot of armours don't look that bad but they also rarely look really good. The jewellery is set up very basic. It makes loot feel almost inconsequential except when you fight dragons where you need a different set of gear for each dragon pretty much. Well, that brings us back to the inventory issue. I can't save all that for myself and my companions.
5) Level ranges. Something that really irked me is that for story missions it warns you about at the last moment what the level range is for it but and that is sorta annoying but at least you can still decline, but the various areas that you can unlock don't have a level range clearly written on them. That's just plain irritating. Also things like having a beginning zone which is basically level 4-12 that has level 16 rifts in it so you can't complete lower level quests till later is just a really annoying thing.
6) Lack of a healing class. The mage class only has one option. A one size fits all concept but without the healing skills we had before and we got a boring potion system instead of it. This really was a big disappointment for me as I like to play healing classes myself. I really don't like potion systems as it is and in this way it's just a shame at least for me personally.
So my suggestions lay there. Do something about the loading screens...they really become a barrier. Add more merchants or another way to sell off crap and give us storage to store loot we are not sure what to do with. Gear progression is also silly. I mean level 18 mobs dropping level 9 gear and things like that or level 4 mobs dropping level 6 or 9 loot.
For the companions, I don't know. I suspect adding new companions or romance options are not feasible until an actual major expansion or something but it's a dimension I am missing with the current companions and I suppose companions are a big part of connecting to the game world.
I focus on the negatives here as this is about stuff I wish to convey for improvement. I loved the areas and the story lines. A lot of voice acting that is great all over. And it was a fun 85 hours to go through the whole thing and start a couple of new toons just to try other classes a bit, but then it hit me. I didn't want to deal with some of the stuff I mentioned again. These are things that are actually making it so I don't want to play through it again. I am sure that I will at some point try again but not for a while. I didn't have to tear myself away from DA:I to play SWTOR...I was just glad the new patch hit because I was done with DA:I. Even DA2 didn't have that effect on me with all of its flaws. Sure the flaws of DA2 were really taken care of here and I applaud BW for that vast improvement, but it appears we also lost some stuff along the way.
Oh and the UI is not exactly fantastic when it comes to crafting and upgrading for example but ok, I managed. Limiting the skill set to 8, having to use the basic attack a lot and having to right click on enemies to see their level without attacking them. All not ideal. So yeh there are still things that feel like the game really still seems to have a big focus on consoles than it being a PC game. Not as bad as in DA2 for somewhat different reasons but the feeling is still there when it comes to the UI.
All games have flaws and things you like less. It doesn't have to be perfect, but when you basically love the game but can't be bothered to start it up again, then I think it's time to head over to the forum and let someone know. Do with it what you will Bioware, but as much as I felt it was worth my money, I did expect to be drawn in more and have companions I could care about. In this version of the game I only cared about my character in the end and if some of the companions would've died I wouldn't really be bummed about it, except maybe Varrick a bit. Just my point of view of course, not a truth for all, but it is a shame.
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