60 réponses à ce sujet

[Ieldra]

I mean, here were have a story that feels incomplete, tons of fetch quests, main quests and map quests that feel too isolated from each other, some nonsensical plot elements, cuts so sizeable that you notice them.....and somehow those things that were done well still hold it together and make it work, and make it enjoyable.

 

I started yet another playthrough, with the expectation that the not-so-good elements would be more noticeable with every playthrough and having drawn attention through forum debates, and that is true, but being more noticeable doesn't mean they matter more. Those things that matter more are basically those I always found annoying, namely the Skyhold outfit (thank you, you who made the CheatEngine scripts) the design of two of the maps and the eternal problem of paraphrasing (mitigated through better knowledge of the conversations), but otherwise I'm enjoying this playthrough just the same as my first one, only with a different focus, paying more attention to the little things as the emotional impact of the story missions has decreased a little from familiarity.

 

How do others experience repeated playthroughs?

[stonerbishop]

I did several (8, 9?) And I always tried to find some new content. Every time I did it was exciting. Only on the last playthrough did I not find anything new, so that's when I stopped. Also, new romances kept it fresh for me

[Melyanna]

I went through just two playthroughs, so not much, and I must say I am enjoying the second one for different reasons than the first:

First playthorugh was done with almost no spoilers (I only looked up a little bit on the LIs because I wanted a no-drama one) and I enjoyed learning all the new stuff.

Second playthrough, since I was very familiar with the controls and enviroments, was great because I spent less time running around / failing at combat, which means more time enjoying everything else.

Also, my dwarfquisitor and elfquisitor are so different that it feelt like a different story, but with a familiar setting.

I think I the game won't start feeling "stale" until I have tried all races and a few more LIs - this will take me ages, since I don't have much time to play.

[NRieh]

I know how you feel. Some things I hated, some things I loved, but I guess complaining and whining do not match the 150+hours timer. Whatever it is - it's working. There's always some room for improvement, sure. But it's enjoyable. I'd never thought I might like all that 'explore' and 'craft', it's been something like 5 years since I've touched any MMO (TOR excluding, but it's more like a coop story-based single to me).And...well, here I am, looking forward to get an expansion. Must be something in the water.))

[nedweb]

Hard as it is to remember this sometimes, if fans of the game were not passionate about it, they would not pick it apart.  So really, it is a glass half full/empty scenario.  On some level even the snarkiest commenters clearly prefer a prime rib with a side dish or two they might not love to the sloppy joe that is the majority of games and entertainment.  We all want a game that combines the best parts of all our favorite games with a joyful discovery and sense of newness we felt when playing that first "a-ha" game, whether Baldur's Gate or Zelda or Pong.

 

For me, I'm on my third playthrough, and still loving it, though will likely skip a few quests, and not try to be completionist.  That said, I planned to do that the second PT with the shards, but ended up finding it kind of zen and enjoyable running around those environments one more time, especially once I was strong enough not to worry about running into random bears, etc.  So who knows.

 

I think it is an amazing game.  The Cassandra romance was the most rewarding of the ones I've done in any BW game, the lore was awesome, the callbacks and Easter eggs a joy, especially if you have read the books, comics, etc.  Not sure if I was hit by any of the scenes as much as say, Mordin's final scene in ME3, but who cares?  

 

In short, if I am able to buy a Corvette for the same price as a Hyundai, I'm not going to complain that the cup holder should be ergonomic and that has ruined the ride.

[phantomrachie]

I tend to enjoy my second playthrough of a BioWare game more than my first. I'm more relaxed and less worried about doing things that are out of character for my PC.

 

I haven't finished my second playthrough yet but so far DA:I is no different. Particularly since I now know which quests I can not bother with and not be as obsessed with gathering power.

[ashlover mark 2]

I'm on my fourth and I'm finding it a little difficult to press forward. I did nearly everything on my second run, so I'm anxiously awaiting some SP DLC.

[SetecAstronomy]

Its a relief ignoring the shards completely this time around.

[Nefla]

I find the gameplay (combat and shallow fetch and gather side quests) not fun at all. Then there's the lack of companions interacting with the quests most of the time or being important to the game at all (you'd expect much more out of Varric during the Hawke quests for example). There are very few choices in the game and only mages/Templars and the well of sorrows offer any replayability. Choices like who rules Orlais, the player is not given enough reason to care either way. Since there are no in depth side quests there are also very few personality defining/flavor choices which add replayability for me. I wanted to play through enough times to do all the romances but each playthrough was more tedious than the last and eventually I stopped playing altogether. The sad thing is that I think with some changes and additions it could have been amazing.

[BountyhunterGER]

I'm currently on my fifth playthrough (want to make one for every romance: Josie done, Solas done, Cullen done, Blackwall done, Cassi is next)

and I still enjoy the game (even with that "terrible" pc controls).

There is always something new that I didn't find in my previous playthroughs.

But I feel so much better now that I collected all the shards in pt 4  - I will never touch anyone of those ever again.

[Mann42]

DA:I is a perfect example of a game that is greater than the sum of its individual parts.

 

There's a lot you can nitpick about all the parts individually, but damn if it doesn't just come together into something really special as a whole.

[Fiddles dee dee]

Still playing, still enjoying. 

I don't mind MMO quests for me DAI is pretty much the perfect Elder Scrolls game minus the open world. It has a functional over arching quest with good side bits but I can wander off and do my own thing too. Just enough freedom to feel big, just enough limitations to keep me focused.

[Ieldra]

I'm currently on my fifth playthrough (want to make one for every romance: Josie done, Solas done, Cullen done, Blackwall done, Cassi is next)

and I still enjoy the game (even with that "terrible" pc controls).

There is always something new that I didn't find in my previous playthroughs.

But I feel so much better now that I collected all the shards in pt 4  - I will never touch anyone of those ever again.

Lucky you. I never manage to leave them uncollected, and this is going to be my "perfect" playthrough, now that I know the location of all but 5 Codex entries.

[Jaulen]

I'm on my third playthrough. On PC. The controls have become automatic to me now.

 

Each one has felt different. Mainly because there are things I did and didn't do in each playthrough, or keeping my conversation and other choices 'valid' to my Inquisitor, instead of meta-gaming for the best outcomes.

 

What I love the BEST about this game is this:

My husband, who originally got me into gaming, but who hasn't played much other than the Lego games with our (now) 6 year old, and Diablo III in the recent couple of years (and Destiny, he lasted about 3 days plaything that and declared it boring)....and who only ever finished one playthrough of DAO DA2 and the ME Series, is at the stage of game immersion where I was when I first played through DAO. 

He is 120 hours into his FIRST playthrough....just finished the ball, doing everything he can find to do, and every time he plays he talks about how much he loves this game (usually while he's playing with headphones on, I usually think he's talking to me...but he's not... : D)

He THINKS about the game when he's not playing.

He's asking me questions about DA lore he isn't as versed on.

We're discussing the companions and their motivations. (The Dorian personal quest was the first time he exclaimed "I F'n LOVE! theis game" and he had to put it down for a bit)

I think DAI made him love playing video games again.

 

Also, it;s my turn to listen to him go on and on about a game....he's put up enough with me obsessing about DA and ME.

 

 

Edit to add: Husband is also already planning a SECOND playthrough of DAI. This will be a first for him with a Bioware game.

[MonkeyLungs]

First playthrough (PT) was around 112 hours and I skipped quite a bit of side content because I was wrapped up in the story by late game and just couldn't see any reason to not just keep pushing the story forward. 1st Pt was a dual wield rogue Travellyan, Chantry supporter/reformer who supported the Templars. I felt it fit his character idea I had for him that was imagined to be in line with the minimal background info we were given vis a vis the codex entry for the character template.

 

My 2nd PT was 140 hours + and I completed most of the side content. I played a Lavellan mage. I had MORE fun my second time around.

 

Now I am playing a female Cadash trying for a Nightmare run and I am already really super stoked about her. I can tell she is going to be a fun character to play and much different from my other 2 Inquisitors. Then I will play a Qunari because hell yes a Tal Vashoth PC, awesome!

 

For me Bioware games get better in subsequent PT's. I tend tro focus more on what I like and the things I don't like I can mitigate in some way or ignore.

 

Even Da2, which I just replayed, has grown on me (the slowest burner of all Bioware games for me btw) ... man I had some negative feelings about DA2 when it first came out but over time that game has really done an about face in my mind. DA:I really made me appreciate DA2 so much more than I did before and did so in a way that didn't diminish DA:I either.

 

There are so many design and story choices in all Bioware games that I just don't get and some that I really don't like but overall these gals and guys at Bioware make the games that tug my heartstrings the most and I must defer to my respect and admiration as my primary reaction to their games. Yes I have criticisms. Yes I have very strong dislikes about aspects of any and all of their games but the bottom line is that those critiques and dislikes are overshadowed by all of the things I love about Bioware games.

 

As an aside and for some levity: The inquisitor pajamas are a COMPLETE TRAVESTY and I cannot even remotely imagine any reason why someone would think it was acceptable to not create several casual outfits for the inquisitor. They are such an ugly joke that I can't help but think they were designed as some kind of underhanded insult to the fans ...

[Shaftell]

I'm the guy who's terrible at doing new play throughs, I always end up doing the same things despite all the other options available. I have noticed I'm liking Vivienne a bit more. She seems oddly more compassionate. It has to do with first impressions honestly. I feel like this time I started off better with our conversations. Also, Blackwall is more interesting this time around.

[Ogillardetta]

I'm the guy who's terrible at doing new play throughs, I always end up doing the same things despite all the other options available. I have noticed I'm liking Vivienne a bit more. She seems oddly more compassionate. It has to do with first impressions honestly. I feel like this time I started off better with our conversations. Also, Blackwall is more interesting this time around.

Don't ever take her and blackwall in the same party. It made me dislike her. 

[nedweb]

Hah!  I can agree with you that what we are forced wear at Skyhold is atrocious.  Why not have what ME2 had--collectible outfits for that?  Maybe I would have done another PT after my third!

[Shaftell]

Hah! I can agree with you that what we are forced wear at Skyhold is atrocious. Why not have what ME2 had--collectible outfits for that? Maybe I would have done another PT after my third!

I can almost guarantee we'll get a skyhold additional outfits DLC.

[Ogillardetta]

I can almost guarantee we'll get a skyhold additional outfits DLC.

Sad thing is that I would buy it on day one.

[ThelLastTruePatriot]

 Think I am on playthrough seven. what keeps me playing is just seeing the variations in dialogue you get for being a different race. There is also the various companion personal quests and romances. I avoided my usual youtube gawking because there were spoilers for these things up mere hours after the game's release. Trying out different specs, even the ones that don't appeal to me, Oh and using cheat engine to mess around with the game, giving myself tier 3 items at low levels and such just for giggles and hammering through the content I've already played dozens of hours over.

[Ieldra]

Hah!  I can agree with you that what we are forced wear at Skyhold is atrocious.  Why not have what ME2 had--collectible outfits for that?  Maybe I would have done another PT after my third!

I would probably not be doing another PT without the CheatEngine script that allows me to wear my beautiful crafted outfits at Skyhold. So many scenes take place in Skyhold that the outfit becomes a major issue. I'd probably mind it less if I had that outfit only while exploring the maps.

[AutumnWitch]

On my 7th run through. Like it pretty well. The first time I played it was just overwhelming but now that I know that you don't have to do the fetch quests to a bunch of other stuff I find myself doing them more. For some reason having no pressure to do them makes me want to do them. I know that makes no sense

[Avilia]

After my first playthrough with my usual fem!quiz, I did my typical create more chars to try different things.  Those are the ones I usually never finish.  Just mess about being a douche to everyone and such.

 

I did finally do something I've never managed in a Bioware game before - I completed a playthrough with a male PC.  That was interesting.  I got really attached to him.  My current playthrough I'm trying male again and now I've finished a couple of times I:

 

1.  Don't collect shards or do join the dots

2.  Change zones frequently to do the quests I liked

3.  Hunt for quests I've missed - its surprising how many I find.

4.  Don't bother recruiting all the companions.

5.  Take groups out in mixes I don't usually (I'm terrible for finding a group of my favs and not switching it around much)

 

I don't mind the side quests but I'm probably immune to them after many years of MMOs   (Kill ten of those and bring me their livers!)

[KaiserShep]

I'm on my 5th playthrough and somehow I'm still looking forward to the next one. I do things a lot more efficiently now so side quests are not much of an issue, but the masochist in me still collects those damn shards, partly because there's a fair amount of gold in doing it too, plus the Oasis is pretty.