DAA may be the buggiest game I have purchased, but it was fixed quickly enough as I recall.
FWIW - Highly recommend banter between Vivienne and any other Mage companion, but esp Solas. Almost as good as Aveline vs Isabela.
Wrong.
I lost all my armor in my last playthrough. All of it.
Gamebreaking bug for me.
EDIT: I reinforce - 'FOR ME'. Okay?
I'm holding out hope for the DLC. At least Mike Laidlaw has acknowledged that the Sidequests don't have a whole lot to them.
What I don't get is how this slipped by a guy like David Gaider who was there for BG2 and DA:O which had heaps of dialogue options. My hope/guess is that a lot of this was place holder content which became permanent as the deadline came ever closer and they simply ran out of time to dress it up a little.
I'll look forward to Fan reviews of the DLC since the XBoxers are getting it first.
You might be right. It's hard to imagine that anyone at BioWare played through Inquisition and concluded:
"Yes, fans are going to love spending fifty-plus hours bending over and completing chores!" LOL.
I'd guess that they put all of their effort into creating a magnificent backdrop for the game, but then ran out of time or resources to do anything meaningful with it. Hence the over-abundance of wafer-thin filler quests and the introduction of the new, depressingly impersonal camera.
With luck, the first DLC will go some way towards remedying the problem -- but even if it does, I'll still find it quite hard to get excited, because the combat is still -- and always will be -- a bit of a mess.
As I've said before, countless times, I just wish BioWare would pick a side. Give us good, Origins'-style tactical play, or good, Dark Souls-esque (not that I've played that game, but I've heard it's great) action mechanics. Anything has to be better than the sloppy action/"strategy" stew we have now.
You might be right. It's hard to imagine that anyone at BioWare played through Inquisition and concluded:
"Yes, fans are going to love spending fifty-plus hours bending over and completing chores!" LOL.
I'd guess that they put all of their effort into creating a magnificent backdrop for the game, but then ran out of time or resources to do anything meaningful with it. Hence the over-abundance of wafer-thin filler quests and the introduction of the new, depressingly impersonal camera.
With luck, the first DLC will go some way towards remedying the problem -- but even if it does, I'll still find it quite hard to get excited, because the combat is still -- and always will be -- a bit of a mess.
As I've said before, countless times, I just wish BioWare would pick a side. Give us good, Origins'-style tactical play, or good, Dark Souls-esque (not that I've played that game, but I've heard it's great) action mechanics. Anything has to be better than the sloppy action/"strategy" stew we have now.
Regarding the camera, I just love how even in pre-made cutscenes that don't adjust themselves to the height of my PC I sometimes see the inside of Cassandra's training dummy, or a random passer-by rather than my conversation partner. So emotionally engaging... 
As for the combat, I don't think Dark Souls' style would work for a party based rpg, that's either a solo or co-op game. Companion AI would have to be way advanced not to get in the way. Maybe something more like Dragon's Dogma would work, that was at least an entertaining style that required giving some thought to your button mashing, or you'd get mashed instead. At least until you overlevelled outrageously... and than there was still the new level of hell that was the post-game... ahh, good times.
Typical DA:I side quest (without the traveling and combat, this quest is 5 seconds long with no variation):
Typical pre-ME3 BioWare sidequest (they didn't record the traveling and combat parts):
/depressed
this is a good example... indeed....but not the only one....
i guess we can compare between to pick up the shards in dai and to pick up the holocrons in swtor too.i think that both looks like the same.
how about this...?
typical hack and slay quest from swtor with a little pick up part (without the combat and traveling this quest isn't long.well maybe 10 seconds longer then your example from the dai quest above.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs8n0EiPKxU
Regarding the camera, I just love how even in pre-made cutscenes that don't adjust themselves to the height of my PC I sometimes see the inside of Cassandra's training dummy, or a random passer-by rather than my conversation partner. So emotionally engaging...
As for the combat, I don't think Dark Souls' style would work for a party based rpg, that's either a solo or co-op game. Companion AI would have to be way advanced not to get in the way. Maybe something more like Dragon's Dogma would work, that was at least an entertaining style that required giving some thought to your button mashing, or you'd get mashed instead. At least until you overlevelled outrageously... and than there was still the new level of hell that was the post-game... ahh, good times.
You're probably right. Like I said, I haven't actually played Dark Souls so I'm not in a position to judge.
Inquisition's combat system could have worked. This is all that BioWare had to do:
1. Use the DA2 combat system as a base (it employed good AI, comprehensive tactical options, and it gave you precise control over your party members).
2. Get rid of DA2's over-the-top animations; slow the combat down a bit and give it more of Origins' weight and believability.
3. Get rid of DA2's magically materializing waves of enemies.
4. Reintroduce the tactical camera from Origins.
5. Sure, give players the option to hold down the right trigger to attack, if they'd rather play on normal difficulty and let the AI control their team-mates. But don't get rid of autoattack. Maker give me strength! When BioWare does things like that it leads me to the unhappy conclusion that they're completely out of touch with what their core fans want.
In other words, create a combat system that incorporates the best elements of Origins' and DA2's systems. Would that really have been so difficult?
No, it wouldn't. BioWare made it difficult for themselves by trying to simplify everything to appeal to casual gamers.
The result is a combat system that makes would-be tactical gamers throw their hands in the air and say, "Bugger it! We'll play this your way."
*Throws playbook and common sense out of the nearest window. Picks up/plugs in controller.*
"LEEEEEEEEEEROY, JENKINS!" lol.
P.S. I should add that non-regenerating health was also a bad idea, because, not only does it add to the tedium of an already tedious game by forcing you to fast-travel back to camp, but it makes you feel like a failure after every battle, no matter how well you did (unless you come away completely unscathed, which is rare).
In DA2, if I won a battle with only Hawke left standing on twenty percent of health, I felt like William Wallace, because a win is a win is a win ... and now all of my characters are up and kicking again. In your face, Qunari tyrants!
In DA:I, if I clear out of group of Templars with only my Inquisitor left alive, and zero potions remaining, I feel like a loser who should have done better.
Non-regenerating health could have been good if combat had been more tactical. But, in Inquisition, you often feel as though there's not very much you can do to prevent your party from getting themselves hurt, so the system is unrewarding. When your party members swig several of your potions, you often feel cheated by the poor AI instead of feeling like you could have fought better.
P.P.S. Erm ... have I mentioned lately that I love virtually everything about KOTOR, Jade Empire, ME 1 and 2, and DA: Origins? Just thought I'd remind y'all because I'm starting to sound a lot like a hater.
Also ... thank you Internet, for providing a place that an English person can say "y'all" without sounding ridiculous. lol
this is a good example... indeed....but not the only one....
i guess we can compare between to pick up the shards in dai and to pick up the holocrons in swtor too.i think that both looks like the same.
how about this...?
typical hack and slay quest from swtor with a little pick up part (without the combat and traveling this quest isn't long.well maybe 10 seconds longer then your example from the dai quest above.):
But you somehow forgot to mention that those holocrons increased your base stats (which was actually useful in SWTOR) and were in reality really good jumping puzzles, some of them quite challenging. Also your character moved and jumped smoothly, not like a cripple. And the most difficult of them required the cooperation of several people and some preparation. In DAI the shards are boring to collect, sometimes pain to collect because of your char's animations and serve absolutely no purpose - only as a timesink. They don't even offer a useful rewards besides the crafting materials for runes.
Yes, that is your standard MMO quest, but with added dialogues, because BW put some thought (and buttload of resources) in it. In DAI you have these standard MMO quests, but handed to you even in a worse way than WoW does. It is somehow sad when BW's MMO has better side quests than their flagship RPG.
@Regan_Cousland
Once again, I completely agree with you. How do you do it that your posts are always so well worded? 
I just hope the enemies in the DLCs will scale to your level and you will realize you are fighting a boss not only because he is the last enemy standing.
And about the point 3. I didn't like how DA2 did it, but it actually added some more depth to the combat. You just couldn't blow all your cooldowns whenever you wanted, you had to count with those reinforcements, had to think ahead a bit - where will they come from (which was kinda obvious, but still), what enemies will come, adjust the positioning of your party accordingly, etc. It was ofc not overly difficult, but especially during the first half of the game it was quite challenging and in the good way.
@Regan_Cousland
Once again, I completely agree with you. How do you do it that your posts are always so well worded?
I'm an aspiring novelist ...
I'm still "aspiring" because it isn't easy to focus on one's work when there are videogames like Inquisition to play and then complain about. lol
Plus, I'm British, so if I weren't using my intelligence to construct linguistically lucid sentences, I'd be trying to take over the world, naturally. 
Hollywood is right about some things.
And about the point 3. I didn't like how DA2 did it, but it actually added some more depth to the combat. You just couldn't blow all your cooldowns whenever you wanted, you had to count with those reinforcements, had to think ahead a bit - where will they come from (which was kinda obvious, but still), what enemies will come, adjust the positioning of your party accordingly, etc. It was ofc not overly difficult, but especially during the first half of the game it was quite challenging and in the good way.
I actually don't mind fighting enemy reinforcements, as long as those reinforcements don't drop out of the sky. lol
At least make them come out of a door or a tunnel. Flippin' 'eck! It's just common sense.
I'm an aspiring novelist ...
I'm still "aspiring" because it isn't easy to focus on one's work when there are videogames like Inquisition to play and then complain about. lol
Plus, I'm British, so if I weren't using my intelligence to construct linguistically lucid sentences, I'd be trying to take over the world, naturally.
I actually don't mind fighting enemy reinforcements, as long as those reinforcements don't drop out of the sky. lol
At least make them come out of a door or a tunnel. Flippin' 'eck! It's just common sense.
Ah, British, now I understand And good luck with the writing 
Yeah, exactly. Sometimes they did though and it looked quite convincing. They came through doors, ran out of dark backalleys or jumped out of a balcony (which sometimes looked like waves of enemies in a kung-fu movie). But when they spawned out of thin air it was really immersion-breaking (I had this problem with DAI as well and sometimes it was even worse - for example bears and templars in Hinterlands)
But you somehow forgot to mention that those holocrons increased your base stats (which was actually useful in SWTOR and were in reality really good jumping puzzles, some of them quite challenging.......
................................
....And the most difficult of them required the cooperation of several people and some preparation.
i forget nothing..
i got frustrated of these kind of puzzle.it was quite challenging to find them ... but nothing happens after i found them. the minor increase of my base stats wasn't the challenge worth.you can play and finish swtor without to increase your base stats .to find all holocrons was a pain .
if you must seek cooperation but can't find it because of many selfish peoples.. then this could be a pain too.
i remember all the wasted time to try to find the right people
i remember all the wasted time to try to find all holocrons.
purpose and reward if you collect all shards in dai:.
you was not able to open the tomb into the forbbiden oasis without to find the shards before.i mean the temple solasaan.some nice rewards could be found there.
like as example the vitaar of the arishok:
and also many weapons .. armor.. rings and a lot of money .
Yeah, exactly. Sometimes they did though and it looked quite convincing. They came through doors, ran out of dark backalleys or jumped out of a balcony (which sometimes looked like waves of enemies in a kung-fu movie).
Yeah, I liked that reinforcements did sometimes come through (or, rather, appear beside) doors.
But I also found it quite comical when ten or more enemies materialized beside a tiny doorway, as if they'd just piled through it at exactly the same time.
How did they do that without getting stuck or falling over one another? lol
Yeah, I liked that reinforcements did sometimes come through (or, rather, appear beside) doors.
But I also found it quite comical when ten or more enemies materialized beside a tiny doorway, as if they'd just piled through it at exactly the same time.
How did they do that without getting stuck or falling over one another? lol
Alas, that did not stop with DA2... In one small clearing - on the Storm Coast, I think? - I ran into no less than seven bears, one after the other. They just kept popping in from thin air, I honestly don't know what algorithm was at work there... They weren't a real threat at that point, but I got kinda sick of them cherry tapping at my party's health, so eventually I just ran... I wonder if they would have kept appearing indefinitely, otherwise..? 
this is a good example... indeed....but not the only one....
i guess we can compare between to pick up the shards in dai and to pick up the holocrons in swtor too.i think that both looks like the same.
how about this...?
typical hack and slay quest from swtor with a little pick up part (without the combat and traveling this quest isn't long.well maybe 10 seconds longer then your example from the dai quest above.):
As Jeffry said, each datacron permanently increases a base stat so it's definitely worth getting the ones relevant to your class. As far as dailies: they're horrible but are only really there on the later planets (not to mention doing them gives you planetary commendations which are actually useful) and the game is filled with mostly fun quests. When playing the Shadow of Revan expansion which came out in November I noticed how many shitty DA:I style "sidequests" had been added on Rishi and Yavin 4 and I couldn't help but be upset that this was now visibly tainting my favorite game. On every previous planet there had been fun, engaging side quests but suddenly it was like DA:I all over again: no fun side quests, only shallow, non-engaging fetch quests. (thankfully the main questline was fun and the characters were great). This is the future of BioWare games: shallow, lifeless, uninteresting content.
-First with DA2's fed-ex quests: find some torn pantaloons in a crate and suddenly there is a quest marker of who to bring it to with a canned response and a few gold
-Then with ME3's eavesdropping quests: stand near someone talking about how they need a new engine for their ship or something then get a mission to scan a planet and receive the ship engine.
-Then of course DA:I's shallow fetch 3 bear claws because a note told you to style quests with no fun and engaging side quests to be seen.
-Now even SWtOR has been infected with this with excessive daily style quests on Makeb, Rishi, and Yavin 4 to the extent of forcing players to do 6 dailies on Yavin to be able to continue with the main story. Sound familiar?
Sadly 99% of DA:I side quests are those horrible lowest common denominator quests and the 1% that aren't are only slightly better. The problem isn't that there are crappy, shallow fetch quests in DA:I, the problem is that there are only crappy, shallow fetch quests in DA:I. If BioWare had included several quests like the SWtOR example I posted (and ideally the power requirements were done away with) then no one would be complaining about the DA:I fetch quests.
Alas, that did not stop with DA2... In one small clearing - on the Storm Coast, I think? - I ran into no less than seven bears, one after the other. They just kept popping in from thin air, I honestly don't know what algorithm was at work there... They weren't a real threat at that point, but I got kinda sick of them cherry tapping at my party's health, so eventually I just ran... I wonder if they would have kept appearing indefinitely, otherwise..?
Are you sure that wasn't a real quest put in there by the designers? Seems like something they'd do.
"Kill Infinite Bears" for +2 Power Points ... or die of old age whilst trying. lol
You know what were some really good side quests in DA:I? The Astariums. Fun puzzles, and you got a decent reward for doing them too.
You know what were some really good side quests in DA:I? The Astariums. Fun puzzles, and you got a decent reward for doing them too.
I like the Astariums, but others on this forum simply did not like them. They did not consider them to be good side quests. (Some gamers simply hate puzzles). Some gamers said they were to simple. The good point in DAI is that the puzzles are optional, unlike DAO where they were not optional.
It boils down to subjective taste.
I'd just like to point out, for those who don't know, that I'm a console gamer.
I played KOTOR and Jade Empire on the original Xbox; ME1, 2 and 3 on the Xbox 360; Origins and DA2 on the Playstation 3; and Inquisition on the PS4.
I hope that the comments I've made here put the lie to the idea that all console gamers crave action and explosions above strategy and substance.
I never had a problem with the radial menu, or with pausing my game to select the abilities I wanted to use.
Are you sure that wasn't a real quest put in there by the designers? Seems like something they'd do.
"Kill Infinite Bears" for +2 Power Points ... or die of old age whilst trying. lol
Now that's choice and consequence in games at its finest. "11/10 ~IGN" 
I like the Astariums, but others on this forum simply did not like them. They did not consider them to be good side quests. (Some gamers simply hate puzzles). Some gamers said they were to simple. The good point in DAI is that the puzzles are optional, unlike DAO where they were not optional.
It boils down to subjective taste.
Whilst I was hoping for tougher Astrariums, I'd keep them. They were fun to do.
As Jeffry said, each datacron permanently increases a base stat so it's definitely worth getting the ones relevant to your class.
i answered to that already.
but to make it quick...
i finished the main story from swtor without to collect the holocrons.
the holocrons are not necessary to play the game.
its just a 'nice to have' feature...it's nice to have increased stats.
for everything else just look above this page.....to the post 1410
I'd just like to point out, for those who don't know, that I'm a console gamer.
I played KOTOR and Jade Empire on the original Xbox; ME1, 2 and 3 on the Xbox 360; Origins and DA2 on the Playstation 3; and Inquisition on the PS4.
I hope that the comments I've made here put the lie to the idea that all console gamers crave action and explosions above strategy and substance.
I never had a problem with the radial menu, or with pausing my game to select the abilities I wanted to use.
Psst, I'm a console gamer too... I'd actually welcome tips for Origins on the PS3, because I did have issues with that... It seemed to me I could only choose one action at a time and the game would unpause, then I'd have to pause it again lightning-quick to choose the next action, etc... was I missing something? 
DA2 played flawlessly though. Inquisition is also comfortable, controls-wise, just... well, what's been said for the previous 50-something pages.
I like the Astariums, but others on this forum simply did not like them. They did not consider them to be good side quests. (Some gamers simply hate puzzles). Some gamers said they were to simple. The good point in DAI is that the puzzles are optional, unlike DAO where they were not optional.
It boils down to subjective taste.
Yeah I agree. As an optional thing, they worked well, though. You had to use your brain a bit, and there were good rewards.
You know what were some really good side quests in DA:I? The Astariums. Fun puzzles, and you got a decent reward for doing them too.
Yeah, I kinda liked them too. They at least required some thinking and the rewards were actually pretty useful (if you didn't overlevel that zone). Much better than those stupid shards which were boring to collect, the only thing challenging about them was beating the controls and char's animations and their reward simply sucked.
i forget nothing..
i got frustrated of these kind of puzzle.it was quite challenging to find them ... but nothing happens after i found them. the minor increase of my base stats wasn't the challenge worth.you can play and finish swtor without to increase your base stats .to find all holocrons was a pain .
if you must seek cooperation but can't find it because of many selfish peoples.. then this could be a pain too.
i remember all the wasted time to try to find the right people
i remember all the wasted time to try to find all holocrons.
purpose and reward if you collect all shards in dai:.
you was not able to open the tomb into the forbbiden oasis without to find the shards before.i mean the temple solasaan.some nice rewards could be found there.
like as example the vitaar of the arishok:
and also many weapons .. armor.. rings and a lot of money .
Yes, they were challenging and quite craftly hidden. You had to put some effort into finding them and actually doing them. But believe me, the reward was worth it if you didn't play the game casually just for the story and some flashpoints only. If you planned to stick around, they were great. In DAO the shards are not worth it either way.
It is an MMO, so that occassionaly cooperation is required makes kinda sense... And it was only really required for the last one with the best reward.
There are no useful rewards in the Temple, none at all. Generic weapons are useless, generic armor is useless, generic rings as well. Money at that point in the game are also useless, because if you are collecting the shards, it also means you are visiting pretty much every place. Those materials for crafting runes are the only items of value (now more than ever without dupe glitch).
Yeah, Arishok's Vitaar is the best in slot vitaar, but it comes so late in the game, that it is useless too. You had to collect all the shards for it, which means you are pretty much done with the game. What in the game is left? Corypheus, who is laughably easy. Maybe some dragons, which by that point are easy too. Maybe some skipped content that is 5 and more levels below you... Do you see the point? The final rewards from the Temple comes so late in the game, that there is no place left to use them. Compare that to SWTOR, where you will use your increased stats every day if you keep playing it, which you, unlike in the case of DAI, can.
The shard quest was kind of lame, really. You can only spot them via those skulls. But when you are next to them they are actually pretty big, and they make sounds. It would have made more sense if you could have found them without the skulls, really. But maybe the skulls could have been used just to pinpoint them, but not be a necessity.
The shard quest was kind of lame, really. You can only spot them via those skulls. But when you are next to them they are actually pretty big, and they make sounds. It would have made more sense if you could have found them without the skulls, really. But maybe the skulls could have been used just to pinpoint them, but not be a necessity.
The shard quest was initially a good idea but the implementation failed completely. There is an excellent backstory in place. The Tevinter mages butchered the Tranquil, made magic artifacts from their skulls and then used those to find the shards all over Thedas. That right there is an excellent start... but it never goes anywhere. After you find the first shard, a mysterious collector points you towards the temple... meh. Why did they skip that step? Why can't you talk to the guy yourself? Maybe find out what all this is about?
There could have been a race between you and the Venatori to get to the inner sanctum of the temple first. The prize there should have been something both Corypheus and you could have used for the war effort. Instead it is just yet another pride demon. For all the effort and time invested into the quest I expected something like the Ark of the Covenant.
There were way too many shards and many of them could be found in places that made no sense. Even disregarding the question how they came to be scattered all over Thedas in the first place, how did so many end up on top of very recent constructions?
Another thing that doesn't make sense: The Venatori were installing the skulls everywhere but never used them to find the shards? They didn't pick up a single one. Why?
And to add insult to injury, the whole quest was completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It makes absolutely no difference if you complete it or not, it's just a timesink that accounts for ~15% of the game. There's no story, there is not much of a reward and there are no consequences whatsoever.
The shard quest is DA:I in miniature. Lots of work, lots of wasted time and potential and in the end nothing awaits you but an irrelevant reward and disappointment.
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