Maybe you noticed how a character mves when you press up against a wall in the game. They move like they are sneaking along or something. Makes me wonder if cover without a cover button but jut a contextual element (they already have excellent contextual animaton when sliding or walking on a slope in different ways with the characters hands interacting with the environment in different ways.
WHen you think medieval, fantasy RPG you don't normally think abut coordinated assasinations or archer takedowns while stealthily moving into an enemy stronghold to attack under darkness with the element of surprise. Or the choice to gather a force of men and simly charge the strong hold or send in a lone assassin to take the Vicount/Magister/Lord's head and put it on display while murdering as many elite guards as possible before leaving. In fact that's like 2 or 3 different games in one. Whata terrible idea.... lol I just see peple talking about how bored they are getting and its not the lack of things to do cuz theire is so much to do and to explore and eve in other games there are so many things to do and explore but the reason they get boring are the lack of ways to play the game besides wielding a choice class preference or ability choices, etc. Those don't stand out or offer much more of an experience then playng a mission/quest with either 3 different choices like with the operations a the war table or havng a sandbox that is cohesive enough to offer the ability to , for example attack a stronghold at a certain time, with certain tactics, or simply wait and maybe a dragon swoops in out of nowhere, OR YOU provoke the dragon and lead it back to the stronghold
Perhaps with something this deep, some missions would have to be activated (not by reaching a certain area on the map or really even activating but the quest you choose as your main quest would sometimes, depending on its complexity or the possibility of its complexity, it would load up once you are within a certain distance. Then you'd be in a instantly generated HUB world with plenty of space around the main area to work with. Idkt that may sound dumb.
A cover system would of been nice or atleast a "Seek Cover Option/order" for you characters so they atleast find smething to stand behind between them and dragons fire. Its a bit frustrating (any tip are appreciated) to manage that Hintelands Dragon (or any big bad monsters unless im fighting purely in Tac CAM mode managing every single swing of a sword, staff, dagger or shot of a bow, a block, a dodge, etc) When im 5 to 7 hitting the dragnlings before they die and dodging fire but my characters aren't very good or the A.I isn't good enough at dodging area of a effect attacks although they use the dodge mechanic quite well in some other scenrios. I just want to get my mages and rogues in positon to snipe dragonlings while me and another rogue kill dragonlings up front or shoot the dragon to draw it attention but Hold position seems to work on its own terms sometimes characers will be chilling a mile away from a rrift i just opened after forgot they where on hold position and they are till holding while other times they keep inching away from the very specific spot in which i placed them. Sometimes they have to because of enemies attacking closely but if they get to far from that spot the order goes null..
Maybe if I had them focused on the dragon like "attack dragon" thy might fare better OR turn on DFEND themselves in behaviors (Once again im reminded about the failure to capitalize on the tactics wheel by placing as many as the available tactics, from DA2 tactics to the circle menu when pulling up the TAC cam. That way orders could be issued on the fly, and while action Is paused, by group, single units: pre battle, etc..
Using stealth could actually be something that takes skill and not stamina points where you have to remain unseen. Imagine your warrior rushing towards a squad of Templars while the rest of your party sneaks around, flanking them right as You strike the first enemy. Flanking damage could be based on how long an enemy saw you before you attacked and whether you attacked from the side or behind and how aware the enemy was. Complete unawareness in the enemy while using a rogue cold result in a 50/50 chance of throat cutting or instea base it on enemies reaction time (of course some under the hood attributes, A.I. behavior and mechanics would ned to e changed or added) or ability to counter an attack.
TACTICAL COMBAT SYSTEM 2.0
I would have it set up where orders are given in either Single simple orders to group or unit, 2 part orders for unit or groups, or a 3 part orders that could all be separate or add up to 9 specific actions for precise tactical control.. After that it would just be a second set or, in DA2 speak, a second slot. Feel me?.
Example: Order/Slot 1: (don't hav to pick target or current condition cuz its already in effect and i pick the targets by click on them anyway) Take cover here (where my cursor is, perhaps it changes into a cover symbol when the area is good for cover like in XCOM sshowing the shields and half shields and red shields) AND (second part of the order) hold position (meaning don't attack UNLESS engaged by RANGED Units or ARea of Affect attacks. Just hold.) THEN (third part of order. This would be what to do in he case of a scenario you might foresee, or a fallback, failsafe plan or preparation for something smple action.) i could issue an order to scan area or keep watch or i could switch to that character and assign her roles based on her/his class each role wth a specific ability attached to that role. the effectiveness of that ability would have to do with that character and the morale amongst companions (morale would be the battlefield version of Approval system)
Rogues could be Scouts, Archer Support, Silent Killers, etc. Warriors could be the Front line (they'd constantly use abilities that kncock down any enemy hat gets past them within a certain radius) Controllers or Finishers that only step in when allies health get too low or when enemies health gets low they strike with a killing blow (special ability perhaps wih 50/50 chance of doing enough damage or atleast enough to kil them with a second strike from the flank or if the enemy is injured enough it woudnt matter)
Also some orders may come with the option to tag a "On my signal" at the end o the order or even between the availabl three parts of that single order.
Basically im trying to describe a tactics system where you could give orders out during a big mission and then exit the tac cam and engage without having to do much micromanaging aside from switching things up when something goes wrong or unexpected OR a scout see an opurtunity if assigned that role. And if allies didn't break away from orders unless you specifically order them to disengage or risregard and then choose specifics, you could still swtich between characters and have them do other things and then they would return to their duties once you've switched to another character even if their duties involved a specific area they'd get back to that area quickly without fuly engaging enemies and only using quick defensive attacks while running back to the objective youe set.
Instead of missions going about as objectives pop up, you have to make your own objectives and decide if you've taken the keep or not. If you failed to discover that an escaped magister or maestro has sent a raven or sprintd to a nearby outpost that you didn't know was there then you could claim the keep only to be counterattacked thus undermining you. Or you could station sentinels at the keep and ride back to skyhold, the sentinals job to uphold defese from bandits and small groups until a full vanguard or calavary or platoon of troops arrive two or three days later.
Perhaps you would master battelfeld tactics in the moment but the big picture is always something you miss and so troops get slaughtered and a keep you once owned is now under control of whoever retook it and you loose power or influence.
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