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[Ieldra]

It's almost one year after DAI came out. There have been DLC and gameplay patches, and in story as well as gameplay it feels quite different from November 2014. The story of the Inquisition, if not the Inquisitor, is now complete, and I take that as an opportunity to revisit the game and comment on it.

 

 

Game setup:

 

I am playing this game with my Dalish Rogue, Ki'ina Lavellan. I already finished a playthrough with her, including DLC addons, but that was one I started several months ago, and in this one I'll attempt to make one ongoing story and see how it feels. I play with her because after Trespasser, a Lavellan Inquisitor is the most interesting to play, and also because my main Inquisitor, Maelyn Trevelyan, was designed from the start to be heavily invested in the Fade-related abilities conveyed by the Anchor in my mind, so that losing it was extremely painful while I played her, while Ki'ina has so such problem. Thus, I can start this game with pleasant anticipation, which wouldn't be possible if I played Maelyn.

 

I'm playing this mostly on the "hard" difficulty setting, since that's the one where combat, at my skill level, is reasonably fluid but still presents an obstacle that I feel, though I'll probably reduce the difficulty at certain fights in Trespasser and Jaws of Hakkon (spirit rogues and Hakkonite spies, respectively). I'm playing with friendly fire off since I feel that the AOE combat abilities aren't decisive enough to bother with in a FF environment, and I am not motivated to micromanage my fights accordingly. 

 

I'm also playing with a mod, which should be regarded as my first comment: I'm using the mod "More Fade-Touched", which lets me adjust the probability of finding fade-touched crafting materials. That was one aspect I found unbearably tedious in the original game, and as opposed to some other things that were tedious, this has not been patched to be more bearable.

 

Part I: Prologue and Haven.

 

Coming out of my cell, Cassandra and I set out along the valley, and knowing the end, I feel a vague premonition at the scenes where the Anchor is acting up. I'm finding that I like the way the story is enclosed by the Anchor, and revisiting the start of the game mitigates somewhat  the feeling of powerlessness I got from the end of Trespasser. In the end, the Inquisitor will have come a long way, with a lot of story between the beginning and the end, as much as we tend to forget that at times in the middle of things, especially when dealing with those open-world maps with less connection to the story.

 

Further down along the path, we meet Solas and Varric. A good enough introduction, and armed with foreknowledge from Trespasser, I find the scene perhaps even more appealing. I know where things will go between me and Solas but the encounter feels natural nonetheless, always an indication that the writers did something right. I also notice I can insta-kill wraiths with a long shot, I don't recall being able to do that...odd.  

 

The encounter with Chancellor Roderick reminds me of two things: the interactive cutscenes in DAI, including their voice acting, are generally the best Bioware has done so far, the odd misfitting tone here and there notwithstanding. The only persistent flaw - I'll mention this here lest I forget it - are times when one character interrupts another one, where there's always a very artificial stop rather than one character talking over the other like it would be in RL. There's also a tendency to overact here and here, and overly precise pronounciation. I'm not sure if that's needed in order to convey the information, and it's not a critical flaw, but it's noticeable. In spite of that, the characters involved come across as natural almost all of the time, in a marked contrast to DA2 where too many scenes felt like a parody. I wish, however, that the density of companion comments in the prologue would be more of an indication of things to come. Too bad that interactive cutscenes as well as in-mission comments feel almost scarce compared to the length of the game, or of certain missions. In this scene specifically, one of the little flaws, as I see it, is that my character talks too decisively for someone who's just got out of a prison cell - "hero talk" at a time when it doesn't feel right.

 

Along the path we go until we arrive at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. As a Dalish elf, I find it strange to be mired in Andrastian culture all this time. Do I believe in the gods of my people? Well, yes and no. I've always thought the gods of the stories were real, but in the end no more than immensely powerful elves. My people tell stories about them in order to teach wisdom, and that's why I value them, but worship was never an attitude I could understand. No more can I understand these Andrastians and their Maker, who doesn't even have stories told about him convincing enough to make his existence plausible. 

 

The fight at the rift reminds me how much easier this was with my mage. My rogue does about 1-3 points of the damage to the demon per attack. No matter, it's not as if I had to save healing potions here. A little later I awake, again in the presence of that disgustingly subservient elf girl, and make my way out of the hut into Haven. Too much kneeling here. I don't want to be the Herald of anything. If anything, I want to get the job done and go home, but it appears this will take a while. I listen to the debate between Roderick and Cassandra for a bit, then decide they can wait for a minute longer and explore the rest of the building before I enter the council room. 

 

The "Founding of the Inquisition" scene...flows nicely. The wardrobe inconsistency in the scene in front of the Chantry door - doesn't exist anymore because they've given me a scout coat while I was not looking. Also, the question: why did the Divine authorize the Inquisition? It can't be because of the Breach... All right, now's the time for exploring the area before I head off into the Hinterlands.

 

The talk with Solas - it really appears that Lavellan *is* the default protagonist here, since she's the only one with an appropriate response in the talk about Solas being an apostate if you want to be reassuring but can't estimate Cassandra's reaction, which should be true for anyone at this point. Ki'ina is fascinated by Solas and his stories - here at last, an elf who isn't as hidebound as most Dalish, and with some knowledge of the past on top of it. Little does she know.....but even with a repeating player's foreknowledge, this scene plays nicely.     

 

I walk down to the smithy.....ahhhh.....there is the Golden Nug. I was afraid the first one would be at Skyhold. Now I am free from the chore of collecting schematics for the whole game. Thanks for that, DA team! Granted, things might get a little unbalanced with L3 schematics being available early, but then, I guess those who do the trials will need every help they can get, and combat will flow more smoothly for me. If I don't like it, I can alway set the difficulty higher. It takes about 12 minutes for the list of schematics to scroll through, and I use that time for exploration.

 

Hmm....has a patch removed the wildlife in Haven? In earlier games, the valley was full of rams and druffalo, now all I get are some nugs. Just as well, one more nugskin is all I need to multiply my armor rating by 3.5, and I also make a bow and triple my dps. Nice to have all those schematics early. I guess I'll experiment with different styles more now. Talking with Harrit - these little background stories connect the world just as much, in my opininion, as the bigger plot elements.

 

With all the mini-quests here done, and after having talked to Varric and visiting the tavern to listen for Maryden for a while, I head back to the Chantry building. The introduction of my advisors - very nice, and I should mention that I think Cassandra may be Bioware's best-realized character. The advisors and most of the companions are all well-realized, but over time Cassandra stands out, not the least because she's the only whose lines can change based on what you said in earlier conversations, rather than just based on race or class and the background associated with it. Anyway, Ki'ina is unsettled by being called Herald of Andraste and doesn't believe it for a second, but that's how things are. The scene skips me over to war table, and I allocate the perk I got from getting all the collections from the Golden Nug. I also open the Hinterlands, and.....ah, to think that I thought we'd get such a nice introductory scene for every other map when I played my first game. That was a minor disappointment.

 

I back out of the war table in order to speak with Josephine - and run into Marquis DuRellion and his silly mask. For a member of Orlais' nobility, his fashion sense is rather lacking - or it just that the mask design was given to a newbie at Bioware? I also speak with Minaeve, who earns points by calling me "the one they call the Herald". I also like her. Too bad she'll be replaced. I wonder how she lost her vallaslin... In this scene as in the earlier one with Cassandra, Ki'ina has her usual ugly walk, as if cutscenes were singled out for extra-unpleasant walking aesthetics. Really, Bioware, that was a major failing. Please don't do that again in your games.

 

So much for the introductory session. I'm heading off into the Hinterlands. More commentary forthcoming. Please feel free to comment or debate, I'll place a link to the next post here once I'm ready.

 

Here's a picture of Ki'ina Lavellan - I don't recall where I had taken it:

[LightningPoodle]

Holy sh*t that's one sexy lady! 

[Ieldra]

Part 2: From the Hinterlands to Val Royeaux

 

The Hinterlands

 

Entering the Hinterlands, DAI's main problem becomes apparent in fairly short order. The first "main plot mission" really doesn't deserve the name, since it consists of three mínutes of fighting and three minutes of talking with Mother Giselle. It does basically nothing except to forward me to Val Royeaux to talk with Chantry officials. I can't go there immediately, but collecting enough power to continue takes barely 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the Hinterlands have enough content for five hours of playing. 

 

Don't take this the wrong way, the Hinterlands are quite enjoyable and one of the better open-world maps. The reason for that: plenty of character interaction. You talk to a lot of people and perhaps help them with their problems, or simply talk to them for information. Also one of the bigger conflicts - the mage/templar war - is almost permanently on-screen for a time. So in the end, there's almost exclusively optional content here but you never feel as lost in the world as on some other maps. It also helps that the landscape is well realized. It's perhaps not the most interesting sort of terrain, but the quality of the visuals is as impressive as elsewhere if you pay attention to such details and aren't put off by the normality of it all, so it's convincing enough to make you feel you're there and easy on the eyes as well. 

 

"Leave the ******* Hinterlands" was almost a meme for a time. I disagree. If you want to play a reasonably complete game, there isn't any better time to do the side quests in the Hinterlands than now. At this time, all the low-level legwork makes some sense as you build up the influence of your organization. Helping war refugees, getting some horses, securing some low-level allies like that cult, all that comes naturally at this time as it wouldn't at any later time, and if you're not motivated to do it now, you certainly won't be motivated to do it later.

 

As for how I go through this area, it's almost an established routine - after meeting Mother Giselle, a somewhat counterclockwise way around the map, starting with the area around Lornan's Exile to the SW (the L8 rift never poses a real problem even with a L5 party), then moving north, avoiding Shayna's Valley for now, exploring the road to Redcliffe, then dealing with the apostate stronghold, moving down past the Crossroads towards the farms to deal with the templar encampment, taking the horsemaster's family's quests, exploring the area around the dark dungeon in the far NW, and finally Hafter's wood and the Mercenary Fortress. Head back to the Crossroads to talk to Corporal Vale and see he doesn't have anything new to say with one of this quests (the healer I'll find in Redcliffe) still unfinished, then a short visit to Valammar to get Mosaic pieces....no. 10 and 11? Ugh.....which one did I miss this time? It's always one... Finally, I enter Shayna's valley and run forward until the dragon retreats to its lair, then use the ocularium and collect the remaining shards. BTW, jumping puzzles are annoying. It bears repeating.

 

Haven:

 

Back in Haven, I go around to talk to people before I move on to Val Royeaux. Josephine asks me about my life in my clan, I've always liked this opportunity to flesh out my backstory somewhat, then Cassandra asks me if I believe in the Maker. I don't - I take inspiration from the elven gods, even if "worship" isn't exaclty the word to describe my attitude. Leliana has a crisis of faith - and I wish there was an option to counsel her that didn't imply supporting any specific faith. The lowermost options are awkward or rude, the top one I won't use. Grrr.....give me some in-character options, please! Not the last time I'll have this problem with Leliana - I wonder who wrote her. I talk to Varric about Hawke - this worldstate had a rogue sarcastic Hawke who sided with the mages and came to love Merrill - and to Solas about....you guessed it, the Fade. Also, some flirting. Romancing Solas feels natural, oddly enough, even more so since I know how things will go in the end. More about that when I get to Trespasser.

 

Val Royeaux:

 

Val Royeaux....one of DAI's bigger disappointments, and one I really don't understand. Instead of city of grandeur and sophistication, crowned with the spiritual centre of Orlesian Andrastianism - the Great Cathedral - we have a grouping of houses that look like a toy village, and a single market square as a meeting place, devoid of all grandeur. Only the lakeside looks somewhat impressive, but we're limited to viewing it from afar. The meeting with the Chantry? Well, when I played this first, I expected a mission full of intrigue and politics, instead we get a single encounter, with the sisters speaking from something that looks like an itinerant acting troupe's hastily erected travelling stage. Yet again, after three minutes everything's done, the templars have made their opinion known and....apparently this little insignficant encounter is enough to destroy the Chantry's cohesion. The scope of on-screen events is all out of proportion to the political ramifications. A very disappointing "mission".

 

I explore the place thoroughly before I leave again, collecting another agent and accepting two invitations from people I don't know yet - Sera and Vivienne. There is quite a bit of lore to find in the Codex entries you can collect here, which I very much appreciate. These mostly inconsequential little things like the lover's alcove and the story behind a mounted dragon's head do quite a bit to illustrate aspects of Orlesian culture - although this also includes the biggest collection of texts I don't understand. I mean, yes, I read the words, but the significance of this stuff in the "Not of Heroes" sequence escapes me completely.

 

I also meet the Grand Enchanter and leader of the mage rebellion, Fiona - who distinguishes herself by a complete lack of presence. Really, I would've expected something more from the leader of the mage rebellion, but then, the meeting feels as much like an adhoc replacement for something bigger as the other encounter here. One wonders what happened to make it so. I can't imagine the DA team planned it this way from the start.

[Krypplingz]

Minor nitpick: Minaeve didn't loose her Vallaslin, since she was kicked out when she was seven and the dalish don't get their Vallaslin until they are about 18 years old and can do the ritual without flinching and/or crying out in pain. 

As for leaving the Hinterlands, you might also view it as Bioware trying to have a more varied version of Ostagar. One playthrough you can help the refugees, the next one you can kill the warring factions in the Hinterlands and the third one you can go hunting bandits. Or mix and match from all of those.

 

Otherwise, interesting points. Will be a fun read once it finished. 

[Statare]

Yeah the flow of the game get's pretty messed up starting at Val Royeaux.... Which does not help how disjointed the "city" feels in general, similarly, the little disconnected arcs that happen in short bursts there all at once (the Chantry, the Templars, to Fiona or not to Fiona, Vivienne, and Sera), and then those little loading screen hops to the balconies all kind of ruin the feeling of the place. There's ways to do the isolated quest hub pretend city well enough to not be a drag, but Val Royeaux was not done that well enough to not feel like a stick in the mud. Which is a shame, because the overall flow/momentum/grandeur of the game would be so good leading up o Skyhold, in my opinion, if Val Royeayx had been seen as a chance for some cinematic moments setting up the political intrigues of Orlais and the Chantry and even introduced the Civil War in Orlais as a thing with noticeable consequences. 

[Ieldra]

Part 3: From Val Royeaux to Skyhold

 

Companion acquisition

 

Leaving Val Royeaux, I make my way to the place I was led to by the red glove messages to pick up Sera and to Duke Bastien's estate to meet with Vivienne, scenes made all too noticeably as minimalistic pick-up scenes. Vivienne - I recall someone posting about evidence she orchestrated her entrance, which I'd like to know (is there such evidence?) - I immediately suspected that was the case when I played this scene first. Her casual use of magic against a noble, however rude, is rather odd though. One would think she'd have to be more circumspect with things like that, court enchanter or not. As for the woman herself, she's not my favorite, but - based on her scenes and comments throughout the game - they made her convincing enough that I appreciate her presence. 

 

Again, I can't fail to notice that the DA team has come a long way from the unsubtle and extreme characterization of DA2's companions. I wonder, though, what changed between DAO and DA2, since I found DAO's companions significantly better-written than DA2's. I suspect the difference may be that they started to use screenwriter's rules and standards in DA2, after having used adapted literature standards in their earlier games with non-voiced protagonists and simple dialogue instead of the newer interactive cutscenes. Screenwriting tends to require some simplification, and I guess they didn't have the experience to make less simple characters that worked in interactive cutscenes when they made DA2. Whatever the reasons, in DAI the writers are back into form - and then some. Sera is another example - again, she's not my favorite, but she's convincing enough that I appreciate her presence, and I suspect that writing her has been quite a challenge. Anyway, she has the kind of presence that almost makes her jump out of the screen. Not that this general improvement prevents things from being unsubtle to the point of parody at other times - for instance with the lines of the nobleman in the scene where you encounter Sera.

 

The same with Iron Bull, whom I pick up at the Storm Coast after getting Krem's message in Haven. The encounter goes as usual, since I really hate the Qun, to the point that I can't play a character who doesn't view the qunari with extreme distrust. Still, the man himself is, yet again, another of my non-favorites but generally written and acted very well. His lieutenant, Krem, also stands out for good voice-acting, if maybe a little overacted at times. Now a short trip back to the Hinterlands to pick up my missing mosaic piece from the locked farmhouse in the farms region, and to pick up Blackwall. Hmm...again, he's not my type and he's built around a simpler concept than the other two and that shows. He's also rather intrusive with his lines about heroism and has a seriously blind spot when it comes to the Wardens. Maybe it's just my dislike for typical heroism tropes but I don't connect to him. Even the reveal about his past can't change that. 

 

Redcliffe

 

In this game, I'll eventually ally with the Templars. The problem is, I don't want to avoid Redcliffe and the encounter with Alexius, but if I go to meet them, it's not quite plausible that I just ignore the Tevinter presence here and the threat that poses. My rationalization of that is that Ki'na thinks she has time enough to deal with both and save at least some of the mages, and some templars would be very useful in dealing with Tevinter mages. So I go to Redcliffe on Fiona's invitation, find that nobody appears to know about it - very odd - but before I go to meet this Alexius, I walk around, pick up a few minor quests and talk with people. Considering what follows after I leave here, it is remarkable how alive this town feels. DAI is not nearly up to the TES implementation of towns in an open-world environment, where people have their schedules and move between locations based on the time of day, and where there are about a hundred times the number of interactive objects, but it works well enough. I think the DA team should develop and implement more standard methods for making people move around if they're going to make another game with open-world elements. 

 

One of the more remarkable mini-quests is "The Ballad of Lord Woolsley". The ambivalence of spirits has never been a big topic in a DA game before, and I like how things are going in that regard. As for the main quests, I'm finding the meeting with Alexius well-orchestrated, but I immediately suspect that Fiona is under a mental influence. I don't think that was how it was supposed to come across, rather than as a mental confusion caused by the time magic, but that's my impression, even after several replays. The possible reason is that we never get to see the supposed effects of the time magic. There was nothing unusual in the rift at the gates of Redcliffe, in spite of what people said about it later.

 

On to the Chantry building and to Dorian. He *is* one of my favorites, but his flamboyant showoff is a little overdone at times. Maybe that's the point - the difference to the stereotypical magisters we've seen so far, as well as to the rather dour Alexius, couldn't be more striking - still it's jarring here and there. more about him when I get to the companion quests. For now, I know that Alexius is up to something, and I can return to Haven, where I immediately set out to talk to all of my companions in order to get to know them better. Along comes a great deal of exposition, about Nevarra, the Qun and Kirkwall, among other things, and some more or less interesting backstories. Having heard all that several times now, I skip some of the dialogue, but all in all it's still enjoyable to talk to these people. Everything you hear in these scenes, as opposed to the things you only read about in the Codex, has a tendency to stick in your mind and isn't easily forgotten. it also creates connections. As a player, I'm rather less character-centred than most others, and more world-centred, so the characters' backstories do quite a bit more in making me connect to them than their personalities. Dorian - which I haven't recruited yet - is a primary example. His personality is not one I could easily tolerate in RL - it's his background as a mage from Tevinter and his personal story that make him interesting, with his personality an adornment that makes him an individual rather than just a representation of a type.  

 

Storm Coast, Fallow Mire and Forbidden Oases - nothing but scenery

 

All right....I am now running into a pacing problem. I feel as if I should immediately follow up with the next main plot quest, but after that it would be even less plausible to not follow up immediately with "In Your Heart Shall Burn". There are two reasons to delay that as much as possible: First, I like to be slightly overleveled for "In Your Heart Shall Burn", which means I'll have to explore all maps available at this point, and second, there isn't any better time to explore the three remaining maps. In fact, there actually isn't any good time to do that at all, because if I do it now, it slows story pacing, and if I do it later at a time when that isn't quite so noticeable, I'm so overleveled that it's no fun.

 

So I'm off to explore the Storm Coast, the Fallow Mire and the Forbidden Oasis. Unfortunately, this part of the game is something of a slog. I really like the scenery, the Storm Coast most of all, but that can't balance that things just aren't very interesting in terms of story content - even minor story content - here. Why? Well, I mentioned how there are a lot of people to talk to in the Hinterlands, which makes the Hinterlands one of the better open-world maps. Meanwhile, the people I can talk to at the Storm Coast are....the Blade of Hessarian leader and his replacement after I defeat the former, both not exactly compelling types. The people I can talk to in the Fallow Mire is the Sky Watcher and a nameless soldier at the fortress, and the people...oops, the one person I can talk to in the Forbidden Oasis is the nameless miner. So, this is nothing but scenery for about 5.5 hours. Fantastic visuals, great mood or not, there is no way this isn't getting old in a repeat playthrough. I only do it for the collection quests, the Codex entries and for companion banter. I have taken Sera, Blackwall and Vivienne to these maps, mostly because I won't take them with me a lot after I get to Skyhold. 

 

Champions of the Just

 

I am not Andrastian. I am not affiliated with the Chantry or the Templars, I just need them, and so I see no reason to take part in the ritual at Therinfal Redoubt. It helps that I know Abernache will survive that way, of course. I have taken Cassandra, Vivienne and Varric with me, and since we are now level 11-12, the fights here are completely easy - which actually suits me fine since I first went through at level 8 and found things difficult at the same setting. I make my way to the "Lord Seeker" upstairs and get sucked into a representation of my own mind. I like the idea of this sequence, except that the scenes shown me by the envy demon fail to touch me because they're completely out of character for almost any character I make in games like these. The thing is, I can play power-hungry characters, but they tend to be characters hungry for personal power (like the mages), never those hungry for institutional power. The kind of power I've always found tempting is the kind that gives you personal autonomy, to use against strictures imposed on you, while I've never had much interest in imposing any strictures of my own on others, beyond "leave me alone". That's why "In Hushed Whispers" is a more meaningful mission for me - Corypheus' kind of power, that's one I could desire, and to come to abuse it over time, that I can imagine even as the implied message that nobody should have it is completely unacceptable. What the envy demon shows me leaves me cold. Still, I appreciate the intention, the sequence has a creepy mood of its own, and it's a much appreciated break from the ubiquitous fighting.

 

Forward to the fight in the Chantry building. I dislike time limits, but it appears the limit may have been relaxed in a patch since I played this sequence last, or I'm just much better at fighting now. It may also be my class - I've always found a ranged rogue is the most efficient class in terms of fighting. Anyway, I get away with one excursion on each side, and that includes exploring the dungeons and opening all the gates therein. I think the limits have been relaxed. Before the actual confrontation with the demon, we see the templars taking lyrium - I'll mention this here since lyrium addiction comes up later in Cullen's quest, where I don't think it's handled well. These templars don't appear to have a problem with it - nobody mentions it even if you ally with them and have Barris around for the whole game.

 

The actual fight against the demon is more of an afterthought. After it's dead, I choose to accept the templars as allies, which nets me some disapproval but as I see it, willing allies are more valuable than reluctant servants. It's not that we couldn't keep a watch on them regardless, and the inquisition controls their lyrium supplies.

 

In Your Heart Shall Burn

 

Before I start this quest, I walk around and talk with my companions and advisors a bit more. Even though I already know most of what they have to say, it's always a rather necessary break from fighting and exploring. DAI is like a favorite book in that, in that you re-read it again and again and it never becomes boring. Well, some parts are a slog, but worth going through to get the others. This playthrough in particular has a special appeal: I can refine my "second main" Inquisitor's playthrough - I have one for the mage path and one for the templar path. So this is really like a favorite book I re-read since I have done all of this before in almost exactly the same way.

 

Except for the difficulty setting. I've kept the setting on "hard" so far, which made the game easier than my first game on "normal" almost a year ago, partly because I've learned and partly because of the Golden Nug. In "In Your Heart Shall Burn", I experience signfiicant resistance for the first time, but not enough to kill my party, which is exactly as I want it.

 

But first things first: the closing of the Breach. I always experience a narrative dissonance when I consider that I actually manage to close the Breach. Shouldn't the rifts vanish? Should the sky not be completely clear? The story is lacking an explanation, and I think there was a major story overhaul somewhen in the development process that resulted in this event being moved forward. 

 

Onward to Corypheus' appearance and the fight against his army. One thing I liked was the avalanche. Someone actually put a little thought into how one could make the best of a bad situation and came up with this rather inventive solution - Bioware has a tendency to be very bad at things like this, so it was a welcome surprise. Of course it couldn't be decisive, though, and I find myself fleeing the dragon into the Chantry building with others. While trying to save as many people as I could, I managed to get killed twice - killed in one attack from full health by a Venatori mage, very surprisingly. I didn't know they could do that, and it hadn't happened before. The only enemies to one-hit a party-member before had been dagger rogues - red templar shadows being among the most annoying before the Hakkonite spies came along.

 

The Chantry sequence has the game's most noticeable instance of "But Thou Must" (confront your enemy with a high chance of getting killed). You get no choice about how to act now, only about how you think about it. The way this is orchestrated is as good as such things can be - meaning mostly silent, without making a big issue of the fact that the game makes you act. There is no way this is palatable in a roleplaying game, but if it's necessary - and sometimes it can't be avoided in a story told through a video game - then any more attention would only make it more annoying. You can be mostly silent about it, and that's good enough for me to go on, but I'd like to be on the record with the statement that I find this fundamentally problematic, and would find it so even if I played more typically heroic characters. 

 

Anyway, while Ki'ina isn't motivated by anything typically heroic, she knows Corypheus has been after her personally, and this is a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, albeit small. She's also curious enough to confront her enemy in person. The plan is desperate but again makes the best of a bad situation, though it depends on a kind of timing that comes across as extremely chancy. Her statements, unfortunately, are not at all what I'd envision. Really, *begging* for information - and that's how it sounds - does nothing for your own stature. Corypheus, meanwhile, should've read the Evil Overlord List - it seems "Just Kill Her" hasn't gone into fashion yet, wise as it would've been. Instead, we get the typical exposition wherein he reveals his Evil Plan, with the foreseeable outcome of the villain being thwarted. I can't imagine how everything we now get to know about him could've been conveyed in a similarly dramatic fashion while avoiding these stereotypical tropes - maybe that's why they are so common - but one never fails to notice.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, I love this sequence. It has the most intense scenes in the story before Trespasser. Nonetheless, it is far from perfect and there is signficant room for improvement. Also, being aware of Trespasser, I'm much more at peace with the whole setup. I've always thought Corypheus didn't have the stature for a world-changing plot, and it's highly satisfying to see him reduced to Fen'Harel's pawn, even though things didn't go exactly as that one wanted either. Solas/Fen'Harel, now he *does* have that stature, and goals significant enough and most notably with not a hint of pettiness, to trigger something like Sandal's prophecy. I wonder - would we've had Solas as antagonist in the third DA game had DA2's Exalted March DLC not been cancelled? More thoughts about that when I get to Trespasser.

 

Waking up after Corypheus narrowly escaped being buried by an avalanche, I make my way through the snow and up the mountain. The intensity of the mood doesn't let up, sometimes I can almost feel the cold. After a time I stumble onto the camp of the Inquisition refugees and...I'm saved. I've played this half a dozen times, it still works. As does the following sequence, where I can say what I think about the whole obsession with the "next world", when actually the Fade is anything but (I'd like to add that whenever it comes up - not that I ever get the chance). I'd rather like a more in-depth discussion of the topic of faith but it's nice enough and I can convey what I want to say. Then the song....well...I still like it. It fits perfectly into the scene and the scenery, and.....it serves to make Ki'ina very uncomfortable as all attention is centered on her again. She's not a saviour, damn it.... but as Mother Giselle once said, way back in the Hinterlands at our first meeting, we don't have much control over what people see in us.

 

Another key scene in this sequence - the talk with Solas. For a Lavellan, it's rather more significant than before, and to me as a player, even more in the light of Trespasser's events. Odd how such foreknowledge adds to the scene's impact. Ki'ina feels close to him at this point, and this scene is very significant in cementing her attitude to him at the goals he reveals very much later. 

 

Arriving at Skyhold, the sequence finally comes to an end when Ki'ina is named Inquisitor. I say that I'm an elf but the Inquisition works for everyone - there is general rejoicing where even Josephine manages to forget her reserve for a moment (nice touch, that). Unfortunately, there's also another narrative dissonance. I'm not quite sure if the writers were aware of just how much cultural ballast is associated with the terms "Inquisition" and "Inquisitor" here in western Europe. I like the scene, so I can choose to get carried away by the mood, and I do that usually, but it always makes me feel very uncomfortable. I hope that should this character appear again in a future DA game, she'll have a title that carries less association with atrocities.

 

Thus ends the most significant and intense sequence in the story of DAI. I may have a few things to criticize, but I'd like to say that as a whole, "In Your Heart Shall Burn" works perfectly as the central piece of the story. It's like they concentrated a significant part of what's good in DAI into one quest of about one hour. Even writing about it puts me back into the mood. DA team, I want more of that in future DA games, if it's at all possible to reconcile it with roleplaying.

 

(Before anyone asks: yes, I actually did play this part in one 11-hour session. I had to distract myself from some unpleasantness)

[renfrees]

Gameplay-wise, there is a flaw in that sequence: one of the "Envy's Dogma" inscriptions is behind a locked door, and you need a rogue to open it, which means that only a rogue PC can get all three entries. I am a rogue and so this doesn't affect me, but....it sucks for everyone else.

You don't. There's a key in previous room which can be seen with the veil torch.

[berelinde]

Regarding Envy's Dogma, the obstacle changes based on the PC's class. If you're a rogue, it's a locked door. If you're a warrior, it's a bashable wall. If you're a mage, it's an energy barrier.

[Ieldra]

I have removed the incorrect paragraph about Envy's Dogma from my previous post.

 

Part 4: From Skyhold to Crestwood

 

The War Table

 

This feature deserves some extra comments. I love the war table. Here are the reasons:

 

(1) It adds a strategic aspect to the game. You feel you're affecting the world more than just by your personal presence. In a large-scale plot like this one, I find that desirable, and in any plot where you're a believable leader, it's essential.

(2) It adds dozens of little stories that would otherwise not exist, fleshing out the world considerably. It also adds decisions and consequences here and there, which makes for a more varied experience.

(3) Since you can decide who's responsible for the operations, the war table is also a roleplaying tool. It's the primary way how you make the Inquisition yours, put your Inquisitor's personal stamp on it.

 

Having said that, it also causes some problems. The war table as such is a well-realized feature, but it lacks integration with the other aspects of the game and the story here and there. The most glaring instance of this is when you're playing Lavellan and kill your clan - accidentally or not - in a war table operation chain, and there is no way to talk about this. There is some interaction with maps - most notably in the Exalted Plains and the Emprise du Lion - but nothing on the war table has ever any affect on dialogue.

 

The other problem it causes doesn't lie in itself: it heightens what I consider DAI's most important flaw, conveying the impression that our spies, diplomats and soldiers do all the interesting things while we're off collecting shards and bottles. Some players have come to hate the war table because of it, but this isn't the war table's fault. By itself, it is a fantastic new feature. The problem is rather that so much of what we do on the open-world maps isn't very interesting. I think with less collection quests and more stories on the open-world maps, nobody would begrudge our nameless spies, diplomats and soldiers their moments of glory.

 

Lastly, there's also the plainly miscalculated time required to finish the set of war table missions available. In my estimation, in order for things to work better the time would have to be reduced by 25% across all missions. Also, mission times of more than 10 real-time hours should've been scrapped completely. It helps that the war table uses the system timer rather then the in-game-timer, so on systems where you can set the time you can cheat, but you shouldn't need to do that. You also shouldn't need to consider real-world playing time when you plan your missions, such as, say, always starting the lengthier missions at the end of a playing session, because then they're done when you start up the game on the next day.   

 

Skyhold

 

Exploring Skyhold and talking with people is always the first order of business when I arrive here. In order to not convey a false impression: generally the talks and scenes with my advisors and companions are well-made. Better than in DA2, and worlds better than almost anything in the ME trilogy, a few highlights notwithstanding. That's not to say there isn't considerable room for improvement apart from the paraphrasing problems. I would rather like more explicit characterization options in more conversations. I am aware of the limitations of video game roleplaying, but that doesn't keep me from wishing there would be more. Unlike some other players, though, I'm perfectly fine with the Inquisitor's tone most of the time. Some find her voice too neutral, but for me it was important that while it always conveyed an appropriate *quality* of emotion (at least where the paraphrases were a close fit), it toned down the intensity compared to DA2. This is good, because a less intense tone has wider applications, and a more intense tone is more likely to result in out-of-character moments, making it impossible for me as a player to find an appropriate option as long as there aren't options with the same tone but different intensities. Anyway, on with the talking.

 

Talking with Vivienne in the courtyard makes me curse the paraphrasing to hell again (not for the first time, but I've memorized so much other stuff that selecting a fitting option has ceased to be a major problem). I want to reject her *POLITELY*, damn it, and all the dialogue wheel gives me is "mind your own business". Well, what I actually get to say is rather less rude than that, but WHY THE HECK DOESN'T THE WHEEL TELL ME?" I've grown increasingly sensitive to such things because it's COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!!!!!!!! And it makes me feel like not knowing my own mind. Btw, I am shouting intentionally. IT IS UNNECESSARY, THRICE DAMN IT!

 

I also talk with Iron Bull. The little scene with the two soldiers - that was what made my other Inquisitor think "Hey, why not" when the woman said I'm going to create a new empire. Putting imperial aspirations into my Inquisitor's head and then crushing them mercilessly in Trespasser, that I found very annoying. This time it doesn't matter since Ki'ina isn't so inclined. Sera, Cullen and Blackwall are next. Sera and Cullen are fine but Blackwall is a minefield for much the same reason Vivienne is, only less drastic.

 

Cassandra, on the other hand, is a delight. Really, I've never seen a character come alive so well on a game screen. After I went to go to talk with Hawke, I intervene in an argument between Cassandra and Varric. The following talk.....well, it's quite noticeable that she was written by the most experienced writer on the team. She struggles with the situation, admits to some mistakes, we get to see why she felt so strongly, and it all comes across perfectly naturally. Excellent writing and voice-acting, and not just here.

 

Another well-realized character is Cole. I get to take part in a debate between Vivienne, Solas and Cassandra. Predictably, Vivienne says Cole's a demon. Well, as I see it, demon is as demon does, and Cole didn't do anything to deserve the term. So I keep him around. Nice how his lines and voice-acting make him understandable without ever hiding that he's different from humans.  Cassandra, Dorian, Cole, Solas. That's my core team, those I'll spend most time with.

 

As for minor NPCS, there is Dagna. It is always a delight to see my favorite minor NPC from DAO making a return, but I get the impression her writer didn't know what he was writing about. I don't think any other scene in the game features such an impressive set of wrongly-used adjectives. Whoever wrote this certainly didn't have a background in philosophy or science.

 

From the characters to the place itself. I've walked around here about half a dozen times in other playthroughs, so this time I only go where I like the view (my quarters) or where I can find people or Codex entries. Skyhold makes me smile. As a player home, it beats everything else I know except for some mods of TES games, and I've been playing games for 35 years. I never use fast-travel in Skyhold because it feels more natural to walk around, and I don't mind the time spent walking around this place (unlike one or the other open-world map). It is time to leave though. I'll comment more on characters and their scenes when they come up, but for now it's time to go to Crestwood.

 

Crestwood

 

More scenery. It may not have sounded like it earlier, but like beautiful scenery, and unlike in some other places, there's enough story and things to do in Crestwood to make it enjoyable. Not much to say, though. I make my way to the town in a roundabout route that lets me cover most of the terrain between the town and the lake on this side of the castle, and then go to talk to some people and the mayor. Then onwards to Hawke's meeting place, killing some Venatori and wyverns on the way. I meet "the" Alistair (LOL), who's his usual self, we talk about the Wardens and the probably fake Calling that makes them desperate. Hawke's not so well realized, though. At this point I just miss her trademark snark, but I'm not looking forward to the Western Approach. Also, I would've preferred if this map's story would've been integrated with the main plot better. Sure, they have a rift causing problems, but that's only peripherally related to what I'm doing here.

 

I make my way clockwise around the map, taking the opportunity to pick up loot and claim the landmark while the dragon's not yet here - I do not wish to fight it yet - and finally claim the Keep. Two small scenes make the place come alive: a scene with Leliana's spies playing cards behind a locked door. A little scene with no story impact, yet perfectly realized, from my Inquitor's dry tone when she says just don't lock me out of my own keep, and the irreverent banter of the spies. I love it. And....two young people having a date in an abandoned tavern. They have my sympathy, and since they had the sense to find a place without monsters I don't see a reason to reprimand them.  Young love...

 

Now onward to opening the dam. There's a major logic blunder here: opening the dam makes the water recede fast. Fine. However, that means that the flooded caves are *behind* the dam, and thus, back when the mayor flooded them, it wouldn't have been possible to flood them fast enough to make it impossible for people to escape. Filling up an artificial lake takes a lot of time. Anyway, now I make my way to th Flats and explore the remaining part of the map. Another nice touch in Old Crestwood: the spirit of command. The encounter is most enjoyable with a Knight Enchanter (it asks you if you have something in common), but works very well for me with any Inquisitor. It's rare that important aspects of the lore tie together so well in a minor quest. I explore the rest of the old town and then make my way into the flooded cavern, but that's for another session.

 

Crestwood - another good open-world map. It is disappointing that they cut one of the originally planned subplots away completely - it would be nice to know why, btw, after having had such a prominent place in pre-release publications - but what's there works well enough.

[Ieldra]

Part 5: Crestwood to Western Approach

 

Crestwood, part 2

 

This will be a short account since there wasn't much of significance. Coming out of the Flooded Caverns, I appreciate the change in weather - and it appears a patch has removed the "wet" effect from the party that had be retained in earlier versions and made them look as if they'd been walking through rain, in spite of the now dry weather. Crestwood is another map that looks beautiful, it is a delight to just walk around. However, just walking around is fun for only so much time, after which it's time to wrap up the remaining quests and move on. The dragon will have to wait until I'm sufficiently overleveled.

 

I now have some tier 2 crafting materials and a few pieces of fade-touched obsidian, which I use to make a new staff for Solas, who has a tendency to end up in the middle of things. I already had a tier 2 bow for myself but without the fade-touched obsidian, I'll wait with making another one until I get to tier 3 materials. Almost everybody has crafted armor made from tier 3 schematics but most of it is still made from tier 1 materials. Even so, the effect on the fighting is noticeable. I had to be much more careful with my first ranged rogue at the same difficulty setting.

 

Western Approach, part 1

 

A word on pacing again. As I said, I like to be slightly overleveled for the main plot missions, except for the final one, where I like to be as overleveled as possible. That means I won't start with Here Lies the Abyss until I've level 16 (recommended is 12-15). I'm almost level 14 now, but some parts of the Western Approach have an enemy level cap of 15, and I don't like to go there now because lower enemy levels mean fewer XP. I know there are enough XP in the game to put me at L27 before I even start Trespasser, but I have a habit of maximizing if it doesn't get in the way of the story. Actually, I would prefer if the story content was dense enough to make that possibility a consideration, but plainly, it doesn't really matter where I go now. So I go and explore the Western Approach, excepting the part beyond Coracavus and the Still Ruins.

 

The scenery is nice as usual, but desert landscapes don't come across as quite as impressive as most of the other terrain types. Most noticeable is the very clear air which sharpens the contours of hills and buildings very far away. It's not so much the landscape that's noticeable but the abandoned old fortresses you can see in the distance, beyond the border of the explorable area, and the canyons that mark the map border with air glimmering from heat. Together with the various Tevinter ruins, that gives this map a mood of lost power and glory, an indication of what was lost in the Blights. I wonder, though, how things can get so hot so far in the south. 

 

As I said, there's not much to talk about here as to what I actually do. I explore the area, fight some wildlife (I'm tempted to include the local bandits in "wildlife") go back to Skyhold to open up the sulfur pits and the way up to Coracavus after having claimed Griffon Wing Keep. That keep is noticeably different from Caer Bronach in Crestwood - I like it that the keeps have their own individual layout and their own mood - but unfortunately free of little extras like the card-playing spies, so there's nothing to do here except to pick up the mosaic piece from the keep's well, make some armor for Cassandra from the tier 2 metals I've collected here and move on. There's also an elven artifact around which I've never managed to find again after my first game. Apart from that, I speak with Frederic the dragon researcher and do some tasks for him, but I can't go on with his quests until I have the book of old dragon lore from the Still Ruins. 

 

The infamous banter bug appears to have been fixed by some patch, as far as this playthrough indicates so far, but the Western Approach still stands out: most of the companions don't appear to have any banter here. That, together with the long distances, makes walking around here disappointingly silent for all too long stretched of time. I recall the DA team said that this map was bigger than the whole of DAO, but that doesn't say much since it's much more thinly populated by interesting places and people. Anyway, I'll get back here soon to explore those more interesting places - the Tevinter Ruins - and to continue the main story, but for now I'll do some - slow - leveling up in the Exalted Plains. Snoufleurs, yay! I like killing those, don't ask me why.         

[Ieldra]

Part 6: Exalted Plains, Western Approach part 2

 

Exalted Plains

 

It is just too bad. The Exalted Plains have such potential. An interesting set of landscapes - in part very beautiful, too, a number of people to talk to who give you quests, quests that combine to an in-map storyline of its own and is somewhat linked to the main plot, lots of lore about the Dalish and the Exalted March against them, quite a few things to do and a number of old ruins to explore....it could've been one of my favorite maps, if it wasn't such a giant pain to actually play through.

 

What I'm dealing with here is a number of Orlesian battlements and fortresses under siege and partly conquered by undead conjured by the leader of the local Freemen of the Dales, Gordian. Recapturing and securing those fits well within the greater story arc of Orlais and its civil war, but...

 

...nowhere else do I have such an abundance of chest-high rocks that look as if I should be able to climb them, and also want to climb them in order to get to something, nowhere else are the roundabout ways I *can* climb in order to get up instead so roundabout, nowhere else do I have trenches I can climb in - aren't they there to keep people out - but once I'm in, I can't get out again - so much for escape routes. Nowhere else are the shards placed deliberately to maximize walking distances, and nowhere else do I have such a number of collection quests, and to top it all off, two of those collection quests don't use markers on the minimap, but also not the search function. Playing the northern part of the Exalted Plains is a giant PITA, and that's without taking the enemies here into account, an overabundance of the most boring enemy type there is in fantasy games - undead.

 

The southern part is rather more pleasant, a wide expanse of scenery occupied by a Dalish clan, where I can help with some small tasks in order to recruit one of their members for the Inquisition. As I play as a Dalish, I am reminded of the lost war by many ruins, and the lost glory of Elvhenan is apparent in some of the architecture and the still-working magical defenses of Citadelle du Corbeau in the north. Very much later, these images will go through my mind as I confront Solas and his plans to restore the world of old, but even now I am thinking that whatever the future brings, all that shouldn't be lost forever to the mists of time. I go around and explore some old ruins, collect some runes that open an old temple of Dirthamen, Keeper of Secrets, and in the far north-east I find statues of some of the gods with inscriptions. Another set of old ruins contains an ancient magical doorway, and behind that more old inscriptions.    

 

I've also taken Solas with me, in order to save his old friend the spirit of wisdom. These mages who have corrupted it are complete dumbasses, but stupidity isn't punishable by death, however tempting that may be, and so I prevent Solas from killing them. Before I leave, I spend a few minutes just walking along Enavuris River - the area is that beautiful. In the end, I spend six hours on this map, but a significant part of it isn't enjoyable - it's just that I can't remove my completionist hat. I think I may have missed a mosaic piece, too. 

 

Western Approach, part 2

 

Back in the Western Approach, more old ruins with more old lore are awaiting me - the Still Ruins and Coracavus, an old Tevinter prison. I just got out of an area with old Elven architecture, now I'm in an area with old Tevinter architecture - and both sets are beautiful and have very distinctive styles. Visual design is the one area where I'd say DAI is almost flawless - Bioware's artists did a first-class job. I just wish it wasn't all old ruins but also some intact urban architecture. Perhaps next time? Anyway, I go through both ruins in fairly short order. Also next time, Bioware, I'd rather find some old Tevinter magical achievement that's untainted by blood magic. It was my impression that some of the magisters did human sacrifice, but even those not usually as casually as here. 

 

Before I leave this map in order to prepare for Here Lies the Abyss (I still haven't contacted Hawke in the Approach - I want to talk to my people at Skyhold first) I return to Frederic with the tome of dragon lore, go back to Skyhold for a translation, return and kill the dragon. I am level 16, the dragon is level 14, and things work out better than I expected. I won't try the Exalted Plains dragon at this point, though - the last time I did that I died rather too fast. Water and lightning are a dangerous combination.

 

Now, after all that exploration of two of the bigger open-world maps, back to Skyhold for a round of talks and to continue the main plot.

[Heimdall]

Amen on the Exalted Plains, easily the most annoying area to play through despite some interesting ideas

[Ieldra]

Part 7: Here Lies the Abyss

 

Skyhold: A round of talking

 

As usual, I am making my rounds in Skyhold to talk with people before I start the next main plot mission. I have gotten used to Bioware's new storytelling voice, with less overacted drama and a generally more mature tone, so it's just normal. That, however, is remarkable. I experience these talks as normal, believeable, lifelike, something I can accept at face value, rather than filled with overacted theatrics and contrived drama for its own sake. My Inquisitor acts in a more mature way, too. Some people have said they don't like the more neutral-ish tone of the Inquisitor, but for me that's a huge, huge plus. At the time I am writing this, the talk with Cassandra after her character mission is fresh in my mind, that's why I mention it now lest I forget. I don't think I *ever* had an encounter that was so convincing, in any game Bioware ever made. And DAI is full of that kind. It's the first game of Bioware's games with cinematic interactive scenes where I can say "This is how things should work", a few mistakes and a little need of refinement here and there notwithstanding.

 

This is not to say character definition in conversations is perfect. The tone of the options that do exist is very good, and as long as we're limited to a standard of three or four responses, it's likely the best possible mix, but roleplaying is still limited. In particular, there may be *some* situations where one wants a more extreme response, and it usually doesn't exist.

 

Another problem is that NPC responses are sometimes annoyingly generic, and often even generic BS, as if the writer wanted to have a certain tone or attitude in there but had no idea what the character should actually talk *about*, and the result is some generic phrase that sounds like taken straight out of some ideology's bible. One example is Dorian when you talk with him about what happened in Here Lies the Abyss after that mission. You discuss the meaning of your ability to enter the Fade physically and how he feels about it, and he avoids the topic and starts talking about how some people think throwing enough blood magic at a problem will solve it. Well, dear writer, if you can't come up with a convincing reason why Dorian would need to "resist temptation" in this case, linking the Inquisitor's Fade-walking to something more plausibly rejected won't help your case. It just makes Dorian look stupid.

 

Another remarkable scene. Solas and the kiss on Skyhold's balcony. Remarkable because, very oddly, this scene comes across as more natural since I know about Trespasser, more a part of a bigger story. Solas' romance is more part of the story than any other. It's gotten to the point that I may end up considering this elven rogue my main Inquisitor.   

Talking about Solas, he shows the same symptoms as Dorian after Here Lies the Abyss. His answers about why he's so adamantly opposed to the Wardens' plans are complete generic BS, totally non-convincing to the point of coming across as evasive. I keep wondering if he knows something he doesn't want to tell me, or if this was just another case of the writer being unable to come up with something convincing, and letting characterization suffer for it. As a rule, whether you end up agreeing with an NPC or not, the player should be able to at least understand an NPC's point on an intellectual level, I get the impression that rather often, in an attempt to get the emotional tone right, writers forget that what characters say has to make sense. The problem is, if such things happen often - and they still do with Bioware, in spite of improvements - that makes you question those instances like this where it may be plausible in-world. 

 

Adamant Fortress

 

I remember this place mostly because of the impressive siege cutscene. it's the only time before the endgame where the fact that the Inquisition has an army is brought on-screen. There is considerable artistic license in that scene - I won't get into it - but it works very well, so I don't mind. We fight our way through the fortress, where I convince Clarel to consider my points using my history knowledge. Really nice, that option, to the point that I don't vary my responses between my Inquisitor's here - I just dislike leaders who aren't educated enough to know the context of the events they shape. Happens often enough in RL, I don't need it in my roleplaying games. 

 

Erimond....may be the most "villainous" antagonist in the game. I don't know if anyone would actually talk the way he does when he tells you about how he duped the Wardens by dangling a bit of power in their faces. BTW, that was not the point,  so this comes across as another of these "generic BS" lines. The (thematic) point was rather that even good intentions can lead you astray. Personally, I don't think it comes across very well, both because of Corypheus' manipulations and because I see the Wardens' plan as basically a good one. To me, anyone who opposes it "because of risks" comes across as strategically ignorant. Killing the archdemons has always ended the Blights with no more side effects, there is no reason to think killing the Old Gods beforehand would have any more bad side effects than killing them after they've been corrupted. Really, the DA team needs to come up with better reasons for people to think a certain way - and if they can't, maybe it's better for those people to ditch that attitude. The other way lies contrived drama. 

 

Also, damn you Hawke, for your generalized BS attitude towards blood magic. You helped Merrill with her mirror, you came to love her without ever doing more than mildly questioning her use of blood magic. You were never a blood mage, but you had a rather relaxed attitude towards it as long as it didn't involve human sacrifice.  What the hell happened to you? Well, I guess I can take this as a hint that I should leave Hawke in the Fade this time, which I never did before. I hate let out-of-world considerations determine a decision like this, but hearing this Hawke hurts. Bah. Knowing Bioware, that decision will come back to haunt me, but at this point I care more about this impostor not endangering the integrity of my world-state.

 

After the encounter with Clarel, we run up the fortress after her - I'm actually not quite sure why, but ok. We have a not quite-plausible scene of cutscene-awesome when Clarel scores a critical hit on the dragon after being crushed in its mouth for a second or two. And then we fall down, I can open a rift and we fall into the Fade. Poof. I love this scene, both for its in-world unexpectedness and for giving me a new and impressive ability, no matter that I can't use it unless the plot calls for it. It is marred by foreknowledge of Trespasser where it's taken away again....grrr.

 

The Fade - the Nightmare's Realm

 

Someone put some thought into the scene where we land in the Fade. A quite impressive way to show some of the oddities of the place, to end up there with an individually different sense of up and down that adjusts itself eventually. I have taken Solas, Cassandra and Vivienne to this place but sadly, Vivienne doesn't contribute as much as I expected. I should've stuck with Dorian as my second mage. Anyway, the Fade is well-realized and I start explore the place in order to collect various bits of information. Everyone should know how this goes by now so I won't go into details unless I have some observations about them.

 

I recover my memories of Haven, and we encounter a spirit in the form of the dead divine. At least, that's the explanation that makes the most sense. I can express how I feel about the revelation of how I got the Anchor. My problem: if I reaffirm my position that no divine providence was involved (the lower right option), I come across as if I attempted to take credit. There is no option to express that getting the Anchor was a fortuitous accident orchestrated by no one. I just was at the right place at the right time. You know, DA team, people who reject divine providence aren't condescending assh*les as a rule, except to those who try to convert them, and then it's usually justified. 

 

The fearlings are another nice touch. Hey, there's the Maker, and you can kill it, LOL. Well, it's fear of the Maker you can kill, strictly spoken, but that's almost as good. I wonder whose mind conjured that thing, it certainly wasn't me. Continuing towards the Nightmare, I always take the time to pick up the notes and Codex entries here. A little look into other times and places. Another nice touch. These little things add a lot to make the world come alive. The sidequest "Fears of the Dreamers" belongs in the same category. I always do it, not mainly because of the reward, but because I like the little stories told in the documents I pick up.

 

At last, the Nightmare...I recall my reaction from my first playthrough: "Wow, *that*s a demon worth the name "Nightmare". If you've never been an arachnophobic, this thing comes across intensely enough to make you one. However, the sheer power of it makes fighting it a losing proposition. It would be complete BS were we able to kill the representation of a primeval fear. The spirit who helped us manages to confuse it for a while, so that we only have fight a minor manifestation, but it still comes across as contrived. There shouldn't be an actual fight here, just an escape by the skin of your teeth. Anyway, I can make a decision about who will cover our escape, and this time it's Hawke. In spite of my annoyance about her out-of-character attitude it's not an easy decision. Ki'ina doesn't have any particular preference here, so it really doesn't matter much in in-world terms. I make this decision mainly because I didn't in any other playthrough, and this Hawke is the most out-of-character, that makes it bearable.

 

And back at Adamant we are, in the middle of a fight, where the Inquisitor has a moment of cutscene awesomeness by casually killing some demons with the Anchor. I do like this scene, but the fact that it doesn't work that way in actual gameplay creates a narrative dissonance that I don't find easy to shake off. After the fighting is done, I must decide what to do about the Wardens. I think it would be plausible for Ki'ina to think that the Wardens still pose a danger and banish them until the conflict is resolved, but what actually happens is rather out of character. *Permanently* banishing them makes no sense at all. What will the people of Orlais do if there is another Blight? Stupid, stupid. I stick with the decision, but yet again, the DA team has to come up with better reasons to do certain things. I'm quite glad I never took this path with another Inquisitor, and I only stick with it this time because I want one game where I did this.

 

In the end, in spite of some criticism, I can confirm my impression of my first playthrough that "Here Lies the Abyss" is a rather impressive story mission, almost on the same level as "In Your Heart Shall Burn", and even surpassing it in some aspects, mostly because of how it visualized the Fade and used Fade-related lore for things that matter personally for the Inquisitor. Very neat. I suspect had the game two more main plot quests of that intensity, there would've been way fewer complaints about DAI's low story density. 

[Ieldra]

Part 8: Emerald Graves

 

Skyhold talks and companion quests

 

At this point, I'm doing a few companion quests. Cassandra's, Cole's and Dorian's, to be precise. I've talked about Cassandra in the previous post. Her mission is unimpressive, but the talks around it are very good. "The world needs to know the truth this time, no more legends lost to the ages". I support that statement wholeheartedly. I don't agree with her about the Chantry and the Seekers, but really, there isn't any reason to be intrusive with my unbelief at this point. It's her decision and I won't interfere one way or the other. Cole....an utterly fascinating character, and written really well, too. He comes across as understandable but alien enough to make you feel he's a different kind of entity. There are four interactive scenes in this short quest (including the epilogue scene), more than with most other characters. The odd thing about this quest is that I have no preference at all for my decision, and no value system that I could refer to to help me. I don't believe in a fixed nature (not in this case, anyway) and I don't value a spirit any more or less than a human, but I also think being human isn't all that great. So...blue or orange? My other main Inquisitor chose "more human" because she's more invested in the idea that you should be able to change your nature if you want, so I choose "spirit" this time. Too bad....I like Cole/Maryden better than Krem/Maryden, but we can't have everything in one playthrough.

 

Dorian, hmm...I understand him and I don't. I mean, arranged marriages are the norm in Thedas' upper classes, and it's generally understood that you don't need to interact more with your spouse more than your duty demands. So he wouldn't have lost much had he agreed and lived 80% of his life on the side, and I agree with the idea that privilege comes with some duty. On the other hand, he and his father might have still come to an agreement had it not been for that attempt to change Dorian. Thoroughly despicable. The most interesting part to see was Dorian's father. He came across as a basically decent person who loved his son in spite of everything, which makes the fact he came to plan that ritual all the more indicative of the climate in Tevinter's upper class. Him, too, I understand and I don't. In the end, I always end up having Dorian talk with his father, because there is no reason not to. There is a possibility for forgiveness on one side and and acceptance on the other, and that's not only good for them.

 

Emerald Graves

 

This may be my favorite map. The most beautiful terrain, a decent on-map story even if the link to the bigger picture is tenuous, lots of variation in the things you do and really nice sidequest locations. I've played this map about half a dozen times and never in exactly the same way. Explore some, walk up to Fairbanks, explore a little more and free the captives from the Veridium mine. Then I spontaneously turn north an explore the rest of the area this side of the river that separates the nothern region with the giants from the south, go round to kill chevalier Auguste and then onwards to Villa Maurel. Lots of interesting Codex entries there, apart from some other things. I resent the Freemen there almost more for despoiling the house than for fighting me. I had taken Vivienne with me, and laughed at her comment when I said "This place has seen better times".

 

Now back to the camp where I need to sell my very full inventory. At this point, btw, everyone has crafted tier 3 equipment made with tier 2 materials. I could make one or two items from tier 3 materials, but things have gone smoothly so far so that I don't bother for now. With the southern part of the map done, except for Chateau d'Onterre, I spontaneously decide to not delay with the dragon but kill it now. I'm level 19 and that does unexpectedly smoothly, even on "hard". I explore this part thoroughly - I don't want to miss any of the four bottles on this map, talk with Tavin at Elghar'Nan's Bastion, kill the rogue mage from Cassandra's second quest, collect some rare plants - Rashvine Nettle and Prophet's Laurel and finally turn my attention to Chateau d'Onterre.

 

This may be my favorite sidequest of DAI. A nice creepy atmosphere, a sad story immersed in Thedas' lore, a nice location, a puzzle of a kind I like - though things go faster in a replay of course - and some nice rewards at the end. One of those quests that leaves me touched by its atmosphere and sad about what happened here even in the sixth replay.

 

That was the Emerald Graves. I wrap up a few small sidequests and leave. It was a quite enjoyable map, in spite of the fact that I could talk to.....exactly three people. Before I go back to Skyhold, I make a visit to Dirthamen's Temple. *Shudder* One wonders why the ancient elves did this to one of their priests. No wonder he attracted a despair demon and became an abomination. 

[Cobra's_back]

"Also, damn you Hawke, for your generalized BS attitude towards blood magic. You helped Merrill with her mirror, you came to love her without ever doing more than mildly questioning her use of blood magic. You were never a blood mage, but you had a rather relaxed attitude towards it as long as it didn't involve human sacrifice. "

 

-----------------------------------------------------------

 

I'm pretty sure Hawk would have been sick of Blood magic by the end of the DA2. Remember what blood mages were doing. Not to mention the wardens were using human sacrifices. I remember Snarky Hawke stated they wanted to go just one week without dealing with an insane mage.

 

[Cobra's_back]

"Dorian, hmm...I understand him and I don't. I mean, arranged marriages are the norm in Thedas' upper classes, and it's generally understood that you don't need to interact more with your spouse more than your duty demands. So he wouldn't have lost much had he agreed and lived 80% of his life on the side, and I agree with the idea that privilege comes with some duty. "

 

Dorian could be an ultra-sensitive individual. He watched his mom and dad hate each other all his life. That had a lasting impression on him. He can't go with the flow, and he is at odds with his country. I think he hides sadness with sarcastic humor. 

[Cantina]

Really enjoying this, hun.

[Ieldra]

Part 9: Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

 

Winter Palace, Halamshiral

 

Off we go to see the better dressed demons and horrors of the Orlesian court. This Inquisitor has become quite adept at politics and can exchange semi-meaningful smalltalk with the best of them, but at times she regrets that she can't turn one of her political opponents into a pincushion. "Hail of Arrows" would be a rather more appropriate solution to some of the problems she's facing here.

 

As an introductory observation, I guess I should be glad English isn't my native language. I don't know if I could stand my own language being mangled like that, just to indicate that Orlesians speak their own. Possibly English native speakers are more tolerant towards this sort of thing, it being more of a cosmopolitan language, but in my own language it would be very hard for these conversations to not come across as comedy.

 

I meet the "handsome and charming" Duke Gaspard. Ugh. That man has an absolutely dreadful self-perception. Also, people are talking about the "savage" Dalish elf who's surely not the Inquisitor, this must be a joke, right? The game's reactivity isn't always everything you could wish for, to say it carefully, but this is nice. I'll have them eat out of my hands before the evening is over, har har. I walk around to pick up a number of things - a halla statuette, a key, a document with an embarrassing secret - blackmail material, yay! I love it - and a ring I return to Comtesse Montbelliard. Then we enter the palace proper.

 

One would think you'd have a lot of opportunities for characterization through roleplaying in an environment like this, but unfortunately, that's not at all the case. The reason is that circumstances almost force you to play along. Any reasonably smart Inquisitor would not just be able to play along, but also recognize the value and prudence in doing so, even if it would normally be not at all her style. Those responses that don't reveal your hand while being liable to draw the others' out are clearly recognizeable as objectively the best. So in that regard this mission is a disppointment. The mood works well though. Even the very modest threat of court disapproval, together with the evidence of assassinations you get to find, makes this event feel credibly dangerous.

 

I have brought Cassandra, Solas and Dorian. Cassandra and Dorian, because of my most trusted companions, these are the ones who'd be most familiar with events like this, and Solas because I want to have every scene with him in my game that indicates he's not what he appears. The reasons he gives for his familiarity with events like these are rather obviously a smokescreen. Ki'ina begins to suspect him of *something*, and together with Cole's occasional comment and the unfortunately incomprehensible statement of the Nightmare in Here Lies the Abyss, she has a definite feeling he's got some really big secrets. Of course in terms of romance, that only serves to make him more intriguing.

 

For the introduction, I almost regret not having brought Varric. He has the funniest comment "This guy writes better fiction than I do". Cassandra's "Get on with it" is nice, too, though. LOL @Nevarra, the land of convoluted bloodlines. I take the topmost responses with Celene as a matter of course and I'm annoyed how the second one has been voice-acted as obviously fake. Really, dear VA team, that was uncalled for. If I fake, I do it well, else there is no point to it.

 

Next order of business. exploration and .....stuff. I talk with two members of the Council of Heralds (eh, can I become a member? they call me herald, too) for a total of +20 court approval and walk into the garden. Nice fountain. As usual, I manage to explore the Grand Library and get my first piece of evidence of strange goings-on in the palace without losing a point of court approval. Not that it matters, there's enough of that to cover a few mistakes, but it's a matter of pride. On the way back - "fashionably late" +10 Approval, a really nice touch, I must say - I meet Morrigan. Well, I'm glad to see she's her usual self - and she has a very nice dress, may I have one of that kind, too? - though I get the impression that Claudia Black is still practicing at this point. Some of her lines are dreadfully overacted. She gives me the key to the Servants' quarters, and after another round of exploration, we go there. I should mention that the Palace's elves treat you differently if you're Dalish. Another nice touch.

 

At this point, I think a little rant about the halla statuettes is in order. There are eleven of them available, but you need 12 to open all the plot-relevant doors and those you need opened for the local mini-quests. Furthermore, if you're roleplaying and not metagaming and follow the normal quest and exploration progression, you'll lock yourself out of two outcomes without having any idea that this is happening. Very bad design. Since I know what I want to open and what I can leave closed in advance, I refrained from opening the halla door in front of the palace and I refrained from opening the door to the lower level (why is this closed in the first place, btw? - there are guests there), saving four statuettes for the evidence door and the place where Celene's locket is kept in the servants' quarters. Oh, and...why is this to be found in the servants' quarters? This is a personal item of Celene's that she kept and didn't lose! I can only say the level designer really f***** this up.  

 

Anyway, progress through the Servants' Quarters is fluid since I know where I must go. Climb up on the torchholder in the kitchen to pick up the halla statuette on the beam, walk outside and turn left to pick up another one from the floor. Jump down, examine the corpse, witness a murder, kill some Venatori, then turn North, walk until you hit a wall, and walk up the stairs to the right up to the balcony for a caprice coin and another halla statuette, back down again, kill some more Venatori and enter the building on the far left where the harlequin went. Search around for some Codex entries and two more caprice coins, kill some more Venatori in a very nice library room - not so nice after the spilling of some blood unfortunately - and walk up the stairs. Turn right to the North, pick up the Codex entry for Mad Emperor Reville from the table there, turn around and walk back in order to not miss the locket room before you meet Briala, kill the Venatori guarding that room, pick up two more Codex entries and open the door and pick up the locket. Turn around, follow the corridors counterclockwise until you see the harlequin and his goons, kill them. Talk with Briala - well, I must say I've always liked her but I like her best with this Dalish inquisitor - and before you leave, don't forget to pick up yet another halla statuette on a statue pedestal near the window where you'll leave. And yes, I wrote all this up without a map and without going into the game. I did say I know where I'm going, right?

 

So....back to the party. And another +10 court approval for being fashionably late. This is almost too easy. Then...Grand Duchess Florianne de Chalons. What a dreadful hairstyle, my dear. Ugh....actually I'm pulled out of the game by that abomination. I don't think I've ever seen a hairstyle in a fantasy game that came across as so inappropriate for the setting. And while I'm at it, I could cry about the loss of DAO's braided hairstyles. They were graphically primitive compared to DAI's, but aesthetically worlds more appealing. Considering how beautiful everything else in DAI looks, the sheer ugliness of most hair and hairstyles is extremely jarring. It bears repeating. DAI's hair is ugly. Don't do this ever again in one of your games, Bioware. 

 

Where was I? Ah yes, Florianne. A nice little dance, and a "dance". Nice metaphor for the game. This Inquisitor is smart and uses all the appropriate lines. Like every other of my Inquisitors. I don't do stupid. Oops....+100 court approval. Didn't even need the blackmail hunt. I can now go to speak with Briala, then with Celene's ladies-in-waiting, where the locket gets me Her Imperial Majesty in person. Well....I can't say I like her exactly, but at least she sounds as if she cares about her nation instead of only about her position like Gaspard. I also find an expansionist Orlais is exactly what southern Thedas does *not* need. So when I get back to Leliana for a council of war, I'm set for an attempt at keeping Celene on the throne and reconciliation with Briala. We discuss it and I put off a final decision until we know more.

 

Now for another exploration tour for more embarrassing secrets to uncover. I can't get all the caprice coins because I need five halla statuettes for Celene's bedroom, and opening the door to the lower levels would leave me with four in the end. A little later I have 27 secrets which together with the three in the royal wing will get me the 30 I need. I also talk with that dowager, her title escapes me, opening a sequence of war table missions.

 

Up into the Royal Wing to explore everything. I save an elven spy from a harlequin, but I don't know what's so bad about Briala sending her here. You're a spy, girl, you didn't happen to think this wouldn't be dangerous, did you? Ugh. Contrived drama. Things have improved drastically since ME3, but why the heck is the DA team still using this type of contrived drama at all. It serves no purpose other than to make people look stupid. Yes, I know, there needs to be a reason to act against Briala rather than only for her, but if you can't find something convincing, just drop it. Yeah, writers aren't fond of doing that, I know, I've spent my time arguing about this as a beta reader, but character integrity is more important than drama.

 

Celene's bedroom. LOL. "I wish it was what it looks like" - man, I can imagine. Poor guy. Odd, though, that Celene chooses to do such stuff in person. I'd have thought she has her people for it. Well, I can't leave this man here and he'll do as I ask if I free him so I do so. I pick up another secret and a caprice coin and leave. Down the hallway there's another halla statuette downstairs, a secret in a neighbouring room, and a halla statuette and another caprice coin in a room across the balcony. A short trip back to the ballroom to give Leliana the package of 30 pieces of blackmail material - too bad it never amounts to anything, I thought this would result in some influence - and then back to confront Florianne.

 

Ugh...I'm used to the stupidity of villains, but really, does it need to be this obvious? Please give her *some* kind of believable excuse that she leaves her goons and demons to deal with me instead of making sure it all goes to her satisfaction in person. This woman is in desperate need of the Evil Overlord list. Anyway, I deal with the goons and demons in short order - at level 19 to their 15 it's really easy - and leave this place. A few dead Venatori later and I can enter the ballroom again. Confronting Florianne is the most satisfying option here, so I tend to always do that in games where I save Celene. I'll deal with her later in Skyhold. Speaking with Celene, Gaspard and Briala, I choose to make Briala look good and make Gaspard look the traitor he is. I have some respect for the man, but he did try to usurp the throne and he's not the kind of ruler I want there either. Celene keeps her throne, and Briala is elevated to become a member of the court. One does hope it all goes well for her. I really like her. Unreservedly, unlike most others in this place. Ki'ina thinks she's quite a bit like her, and I headcanon that they remain in contact. 

 

Before we leave, I can dance with Solas. I must say, he looks rather dashing in that outfit so I'm quite delighted to have this dance with him. Morrigan has announced she'll accompany me, too, and that's good since Ki'ina has the impression she'll need her magical expertise before this is over. Also, I've always liked her.

 

Skyhold

 

Back at Skyhold, we have another council of war where we make plans to defeat Corypheus, who apparently plans to bring an eluvian into his possession. That can't be allowed. Morrigan takes me on a tour. Ki'Ina is...enthralled. *This* is a part of what was lost when Elvhenan fell? It is a loss for the world, not just for the elves. What if it could be restored? Why can't it be, anyway? She doesn't know anything of Solas' plans at this point, but she's set to sympathize with him. She doesn't know how high the price would be, though. 

 

Before I go on to the Arbor Wilds, there are other things to do. At this point, the wartable becomes annoying. I like it as a strategic tool with some roleplaying aspects, but as of now the timing of too many operations becomes ludicrous. Up to this point, I've managed to do all operations in their regular time with no problem, but the operations unlocked now.....6 hours? 20 hours? another 13 hours? WTF? If I can't do all the operations without cheating with the timer, even if I diligently go back to Skyhold whenever an operation is finished, then something is wrong with the design. It's probably common knowledge, I'm repeating it because it doesn't cease to be annoying.

 

So, how was this replay of Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts? Quite enjoyable actually, not very much diminished from my first one, I'm glad to say, but it never lived up to its full potential because of the lack of practical roleplaying options. There also should've been some intrigue-type sidequests with character interaction instead of another three collection quests. As if we needed even more of those.   

[Ieldra]

Interlude: Considering Solas

 

I've not had time to play for a few days, so I might as well put this here. I've said that being aware of Trespasser makes the game feel very different, and at no time is that more true then when considering Solas. He's always represented quite a few things that made me connect to him, but Trespasser has elevated him up to be my most favorite NPC of Dragon Age, displacing Morrigan from that position.

 

So here's the man who values autonomy and indepedence, who sees the world in more shades than simply black and white, considers blood magic a tool while deploring human sacrifice, and who sees spirits as deserving of equal consideration as other intelligent beings. The man who actually has some of that godlike power the Seven were after, but didn't use it to create an empire of his own but to champion the cause of freedom.

 

What about destroying the current civilization, you may ask? Well, consider things from his point of view. He created the Veil to bring down the Evanuris, but this removed from all elves an essential part of themselves. He said it was like waking up into a world of Tranquil. If you had made all of humanity Tranquil as a side effect of bringing down "evil gods", wouldn't you want to do everything to eventually undo that? Solas believes bringing down the Veil is the only way to regain what was lost, and so he's caught between two unpleasant alternatives: do nothing, and let the elves stay incomplete forever, or bring down the Veil and restore them, but destroy human civilization instead. He's a being with godlike power who tries to act responsibly with that power - he even says he'd do things differently if he saw another way. He made a mistake with Corypheus and he doesn't think of himself as infallible. In many ways, Solas is what my two main Inquisitors aspire to be. One would hope that having attained that level of power, you'd never need to face a situation like this, but nobody - not even someone with god-like power - has complete control over that sort of thing. 

 

One interesting aspect of Solas' situation - both in the past when he fought the Evanuris and in the present - is that inaction has dire consequences. He created the Veil because he thought doing nothing was not acceptable, and destroying Elven civilization an acceptable price for preventing...whatever it was the Evanuris were doing. In the present, letting elves stay incomplete - remember that for him, this equals Tranquility - is not acceptable, and destroying human civilization an acceptable price. You may agree with him or not, but the gains and losses on both sides are big enough that we can't just say he's insane or evil and treat him as a villain. If you consider the ethics of his decisions, there is no clear right and wrong. There is a school of moral reasoning that says we should always start from the present and that what those alive *now* gain and lose by our decisions should be the primary consideration. By that school of thought, Solas would be wrong, but are we really justified in dismissing what the elves have lost that way? There's another school of thought that says that which is untouched by human artifice (the "natural") has some fundamental value, and from that point of view we should support Solas in restoring the old order of the world, but can we dismiss everything Thedas' civilizations have wrought since then as worthless? I don't think any Bioware game ever presented us with a situation that philosophically complex. I am very curious about how this will continue.

 

And for these reasons, Solas is now my most favorite NPC of Dragon Age. His story also makes the romance with him the most meaningful of DAI. In that, too, he's quite similar to Morrigan.

 

It took me some time to get to this point, oddly enough. The reason is likely Solas' unassuming presence. This playthrough, which I play with this commentary in mind, makes me pay much more attention to unassuming details than in my other playthroughs. I can only recommend an attempt to do the same. You may find more little flaws that way, but you'll also gain much more appreciation for the many small things the DA team did right with this game.   

 

You'll find the next post of this commentary here.

[Medhia_Nox]

I'm not sure if you're inviting dialogue in this thread - but I disagree completely with your view on Solas.  I also think Mythal put Morrigan in place to stop him (with the help of whatever PC character stumbles along assisting Morrigan).  

 

I can also tell you that there's no way Bioware is going to write a story where Solas gets what he wants.  

[Ieldra]

I'm not sure if you're inviting dialogue in this thread - but I disagree completely with your view on Solas.  I also think Mythal put Morrigan in place to stop him (with the help of whatever PC character stumbles along assisting Morrigan).  

 

I can also tell you that there's no way Bioware is going to write a story where Solas gets what he wants.  

Probably not, yes - their stories have always been human-centric lately and they've never given us a choice to wriggle out of that aspect - and while I don't like that, in this specific case I wouldn't want Elvhenan restored either. The Veil is about more than that though, and if they won't let us play a character who can see both sides then I don't see how roleplaying can still be meaningful in this story. In that case, I might as well go and read a book telling the same story - well, I probably wouldn't read it because it would have too much heavy-handed moralizing in it. 

 

As for disagreeing, that doesn't surprise me. Your position has been orthogonal, if not always opposed exactly, to mine in similar things pretty consistently. What exactly is it, though, that you see differently? Yes, I am inviting dialogue. If there are too many posts between my commentary entries for a continuous read, I'll insert links between them.

[Medhia_Nox]

Okay, I just didn't want to hijack this thread with my opinions when you had other intentions for it.

 

-  My first question would be one of facts.  We are aware that Solas lies to us throughout the entirety of DA:I.  One part of this was, for me, a bad storytelling trope of the "enigmatic omniscient" - a character who knows everything, but is being purposefully obtuse for no other reason than to serve the plot.  The other, he's a master manipulator, liar and thinks nothing of mortals.  They're beneath his concern and he admits this much in his last dialogue with the Inquisitor (I will visit this later). 

 

   What reason do we have to believe the story he feeds us at the end of Inquisition?  Here are things I would question about Solas.  

 

1)  Were the Evanuris "evil"?  Were they tyrants?  "How" were they going to destroy the world?  Solas DID destroy the world.  So, I'm not sure what he really achieved. 

 

2)  How did he create the Veil?  What means did he use?  Kill millions of elves?  Complete the "Veil Algorithm"?  Enchantment?!  

 

3)  He claims he was a liberator of his people, but then also that he did what he did out of vengeance to Mythal.  

 

4)  What are his plans when he tears down the Veil to take care of the Evanuris?  He claims "I have plans."  Yes, Solas... your plan to save your people failed.  Your plan to get your magical orb working failed.  And... as you claim.. you were wrong, again, about modern people. 

 

- The next problem comes with growth.  Solas tells us that he was wrong about seeing mortals as less than people.  He does nothing to show this.  He is caught in an endless loop of mistake and correction.  Actually, this is my entire issue with scientists and how they blunder through the world screwing it up and then screwing it up trying to correct their mistakes.  It happens in an endless loop.  There is nothing that shows me Solas is anything more than an egomaniac. 

 

1)  Solas recognizes that his intentions led to disaster.  He recognizes that his lack of consideration of consequences brought about the most dire of consequences.  Yet his assertion that "this time" things will work... while recognizing that he's going to bring abot disaster... shows, to me, a degeneration of his character.  Not growth. 

 

2)  Solas claims to see mortals as people because of the Inquisitor.  Yet, he never shows.  He still has no real issue wiping out humanity.  He is going through the motions of sadness, because he knows he "should" be sad about what he's saying - but he's rationalizing it with "I have to." because he doesn't actually feel what he's saying.  He's showing the same compassion for mortal-kind that an exterminator shows for insects.  There is no empathy regardless of his assertion. 

 

- My biggest issue is authority.  Solas claims he did what he did to liberate his people.  What gave him the authority to create the Veil?  What makes him morally superior to the other Evanuris?  What gives him the right to decide the elves need a second chance (can't help but think of Jurassic Park here)?  

 

1) He claims to appreciate spirits.  Yet, he decides what's best for Cole during Cole's personal mission.  I know this is a story construct to present an opposing view to Varrics, but it comes off as him being an authority on spirits.  He might be, but this does not suggest at all that he believes spirits are "equals" in any sense.  (Let's us forget the Avina console in the Elvhen library that suggests spirits were enslaved in their ancient kingdom).  

 

Knowledge might equip someone to action, but without empathy his actions have proven time and time again to bring only disaster.  Not only does an appeal to authority fail with Solas, I believe it should cause the opposite reaction.  He is everything that is wrong about the Cult of Personality.  

 

2)  What difference is there between him and the other Evanuris (Let's not pretend he wasn't.  He states clearly he missed courtly intrigues.)?   He decided what was best for not only the ancient elves, but for all of Thedas.  It seems clear that humans and dwarves existed at the time.  This isn't an independent man.  This is a demagogue and tyrant who shows no consideration for anything than his own myopic vision.  

 

Lastly... I would look to his "Approval" "Disapprovals" for an insight.  I believe he disapproves of anything that can potentially stop his plans.  The Templars... the Wardens... drinking from the Well.  

 

NOTE:  In hindsight I now actually regret NOT drinking from the Well... though I believe Morrigan will be the force that brings Solas to his knees (if not her, then several other factors I believe Mythal manipulated into place).  

 

I believe stopping Solas is the best thing Bioware could do with Thedas.  If Solas got what he proposed we will be dealing with a Mass Effect: Andromeda all over again.  The story we've known for three or more games will be wiped away for... a jump into Thedas' distant future and a re-write.  

 

To me - Solas represents knowledge without empathy - and, for me, that IS an evil I do not sympathize with.  He is a man not looking to come to grips with his failures, but to abolish them by committing to even more diabolical acts.  It won't work, because it doesn't work.  

 

If this being were either wise... or superior... in any way, he would be looking to transition not only "his people" (a racist and deplorable mentality derived from his sense of racial superiority and utter lack of conscience) but all people of Thedas... slowly, into a new age where the Veil could be let down slowly (if we MUST let it down) and a golden age of Thedas could begin.  

 

Would there be violence there too?  Yes, of course... the Qunari in particular would oppose it.  

 

But I draw a massive distinction between a being who takes the long, slow path... and a supervillain who wants to change the world all at once with quick solutions.  

 

Anyway, sorry for the ridiculous length... I tried to fit my thoughts here so I didn't take up more post space. 

[Aeratus]

I'm not sure if you're inviting dialogue in this thread - but I disagree completely with your view on Solas.  I also think Mythal put Morrigan in place to stop him (with the help of whatever PC character stumbles along assisting Morrigan).  

 

I can also tell you that there's no way Bioware is going to write a story where Solas gets what he wants.  

 

I think Mythal is the one in control, not Solas. Mythal had it planned way before Solas's doings in DAI ("We stand upon the precipice of change," remember?). Even in Trespasser, it is hinted that Mythal is in control, shown by how Solas wears a dragon tooth instead of his wolf bone necklace. For now, Mythal and Solas are aligned, but Mythal is just using Solas so she can eventually get her vengeance on the Evanuris. 

 

I agree with OP's general remark about the depth given to Solas. Solas is not the villain. 

[Heimdall]

I think Mythal is the one in control, not Solas. Mythal had it planned way before Solas's doings in DAI ("We stand upon the precipice of change," remember?). Even in Trespasser, it is hinted that Mythal is in control, shown by how Solas wears a dragon tooth instead of his wolf bone necklace. For now, Mythal and Solas are aligned, but Mythal is just using Solas so she can eventually get her vengeance on the Evanuris. 

 

I agree with OP's general remark about the depth given to Solas. Solas is not the villain. 

That would be a very disappointing direction.  I agree with Ielda on Solas' conflicted character and for that reason I think making it all just mind control would seriously weaken the character and the plot.  Besides, why would she take over Solas' body?  She has all the power, that was why he drained her.

 

I think Solas drained her power but Mythal escaped.  We'll find in DA4 that it escaped to Morrigan, who will have rallied Flemeth's other daughters to Tevinter where they are working against Solas... Or not.

[Cobra's_back]

I think Mythal is the one in control, not Solas. Mythal had it planned way before Solas's doings in DAI ("We stand upon the precipice of change," remember?). Even in Trespasser, it is hinted that Mythal is in control, shown by how Solas wears a dragon tooth instead of his wolf bone necklace. For now, Mythal and Solas are aligned, but Mythal is just using Solas so she can eventually get her vengeance on the Evanuris. 

 

I agree with OP's general remark about the depth given to Solas. Solas is not the villain. 

Just because you see the future doesn't mean you planned it. Flemeth also saw the Fifth Blight happening. She is not the cause of the fifth Blight.

 

Solas was planning genocide even before the game started if you read "The Masked Empire". Solas is the person who kills Slow Arrow. He also clearly stated that Cory messed up his plan. If everything went as planned everyone would have been dead, and the veil would have been taken down as he planned.

 

Flemeth clearly places something on the mirror. I don't the Morrigan/Flemeth's story is over. Morrigan can think for herself and doesn't follow anyone's lead. She can very much be a person who helps destroy Solas' plan.