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[Melchiah]

I remember solving a couple of the tomb puzzles and thinking they were quite novel, but not wanting to travel to the other tombs because I wanted to push on with the story instead. Interestingly, I remember picking up that bow above and I never tried it either!

Good to know the process for receiving it. I was planning to do that mission the same way as last time anyway.

There's a nice guide of the schematics and their locations:
http://dragonage3.wiki.fextralife.com/Schematics

I did all the sidequests, apart from the bottles and mosaics, on my playthrough, which took 182 hours according to the timer. I don't think I'll be replaying the game after that OCD marathon. I did enjoy my time with the game, but once is enough.

 

[Xevren]

You should try using that bow vs dragons, it's hilarious. Exhibit A

 

[Melchiah]

You should try using that bow vs dragons, it's hilarious. Exhibit A

Well, damn. Sera is hilariously overpowered. I wish I had tried that bow.

 

[Sagely]

You should try using that bow vs dragons, it's hilarious. Exhibit A

Well I'll be. Machine-gun glowing arrows, why not? I laughed at the end where she's all "Oh I'm glad to be alive" and she hardly broke a sweat.

Thanks for the guide Melchiah, this will be very useful! I can definitely see how once is enough if you did everything. I plan to make this a comprehensive playthrough in terms of map discovery and sidequests (including those desert tombs) but deliberately left the crystal skulls alone and am not bothering with the collectibles. I have about 30 hours to go before I catch up to your time Hopefully that's enough to kill all the dragons and return so-and-so's ring to their brother/sister/widow in each zone.

 

[Melchiah]

Thanks for the guide Melchiah, this will be very useful! I can definitely see how once is enough if you did everything. I plan to make this a comprehensive playthrough in terms of map discovery and sidequests (including those desert tombs) but deliberately left the crystal skulls alone and am not bothering with the collectibles. I have about 30 hours to go before I catch up to your time Hopefully that's enough to kill all the dragons and return so-and-so's ring to their brother/sister/widow in each zone.

I very rarily replay games, and never games that are as long as this, or RPGs in general. DA:I took me nearly 1½ months to complete, and there just isn't time for another playthrough. Hopefully there'll be some sort of downloadable addition to the story at some point though, as I'm still itching to play in the Inquisition's world.

 

[Dice]

Woooooow. My next inquisition perk will definitely be to get another potion slot for everyone. I prefer having regens as a secondary for now, but pitch grenades are CRAZY with these upgrades. 25% more damage on enemies from all sources AND 25% less damage from enemies for 90 seconds per grenade! I'll have two people carrying those and two people carrying fire grenades. It will be so sick for boss battles.

I'm struggling to find good cloths for crafting robes. I should probably push the story forward again soon...

 

[sappyday]

So I'm starting up a new game with a different character but this time I wanted to use the Keep to import the save file. I exported everything but when I start a new game and it asks me to import the save file I keep getting Default World State.

 

[Dice]

I made two very interesting discoveries.

First, if I have MSAA turned off I can run it 1080p with HBAO Full pretty decently. The detail and beauty gain is worth it.

Second, if I turn Tessellation to Ultra, my framerate and overall stability of performance goes up. This didn't make ANY sense at all until I did careful testing and looking around in Redcliffe. It seemed that when I turned tesselation off, they still tried to get most of the detail in there, but obviously using traditional polygons. I'm assuming that this was a heavy CPU burden, and my CPU is kinda crap, but my GPU is quite beastly so putting it all on that with tessellation was just fine.

 

[hateradio]

Just use SMAA unless you really hate post-AA.

 

[Deaf Spacker]

I've been playing this for a few days, I'm so overwhelmed with places to go and missions to do and I don't know how to proceed.

I'm in the Hinterlands and ideally I'd like to clear as many tasks as I can before moving on but like I said I'm overwhelmed. Not to mention that I'm only a level four and some enemies eat me for breakfast. Is there anything that I should focus on?

 

[Sagely]

I've been playing this for a few days, I'm so overwhelmed with places to go and missions to do and I don't know how to proceed.

I'm in the Hinterlands and ideally I'd like to clear as many tasks as I can before moving on but like I said I'm overwhelmed. Not to mention that I'm only a level four and some enemies eat me for breakfast. Is there anything that I should focus on?

If you reach areas in the Hinterlands where enemies are too difficult, just leave and come back to them later. You can keep returning to the Hinterlands throughout the entire game if you wish

You can use some of your Power to investigate new areas at the War Table in Haven, and they offer a nice change of scenery. Inquisitor's Path quests are the main story quests, so you could focus on those or just explore. Have fun! After a few hours somewhere else you might feel like returning to the Hinterlands; it's easy to get burned out at the start.

 

[Souldestroyer Reborn]

Just got te Dorian glitch at the 'Find the Harlequin' mission.

Fuck :/

 

[Dice]

Alright... 50 hours in... there is literally nothing else to do... I have to choose...

You know... I think I'm helping the Templars.

I really hate all this theocracy bullshit, but unfortunately that's the world my Inquisition exists in and the only reason it exists and the only reason it can sway power. I don't want to turn the mages into my personal army against the whole fucking world (which is definitely what would happen), and yet I don't want to be partners with them as they just go "Well, why can't we just play with nuclear technology blood magic?" and

Spoiler

now time-warping magic.

So I guess I'd rather kick their asses and have a greater list of reasons to show to the ignorant shits why anarchy and magic don't mix. Solas seems like a neat dude, and has his points, but he's just lucky he never came across a powerful demon in the fade because on his own he'd definitely get possessed like a number of other people in the franchise have.

However, partnering with the Templars will have to be very careful. I also don't want to mix with them too much and have people thinking I'm trying to become the new Chantry when it's obvious that respect for me goes out the window once a new Divine is appointed, legitimate or not. I also don't know what this glowing hand is, why I got it, or how long it will last, so that's another large issue to consider. Even if they are dicks about it, the Templars are at least intended for global stability, so if my Inquisition truck runs out of gas, I can hitch a ride with them, but I don't see the mages interested in stability at all. They think stability will naturally come from getting their way (absolute freedom) but that has never shown to be the case. Not all discord is a mere flare up of "rebellion" but most often is some twisted shit ruining/ending people's lives.

So yes, I think I'll go with the Templars, remain as separate of an entity as possible, as per the original plan for stability, and hope I can hold my shit together well enough to kick anyone's ass into line if need be. If I lose the power to close rifts, well that would suck, but I'll still be a dragon slayer so at the very least people should be afraid to fuck with me. Really it seems like the Inquisition has to exist. Demons do their own shit all the time, so without understanding how magic works you're defenseless and places get wiped out like the bog. And even the Templars, while being close to the activity and mean to contain it, don't understand magic enough. So those studies are necessary, but there needs to be a separate entity that can probe all matters to ensure demons aren't sliding in secretly.

Maker or not, there are evil beings we do see and touch that require no faith to affect you, and that needs to be faced realistically and practically, not in a purely political or religious way, as both are prone to slow responses ("Oh, but the duke/high priestess/commander couldn't possibly be possessed by a demon! That would be inconvenient!") and blocking what needs to be done. Becoming more of a CIA/NSA sort of agency would also get these fucking annoying chanters out of my main hall, which is probably the most important thing when it comes to keeping myself from making rash decisions.

This game is so good, and the franchise way, way more complex and rationally filled out than Mass Effect was. Anyone who doesn't like it clearly doesn't care about world-building and doesn't pay attention to NPCs or codex entries and such.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

What were people's favorite zones?

I know a lot of people seem to dislike the Hissing Wastes but I think I actually ended up liking that one of the most. Its huge but because its huge you actually have some sense of scale and openness where you can do the old open world thing of "See that mountain way off in the distance? You can go there." Having it that large kind of made it feel a little more organic in its construction too, only because you weren't necessarily stumbling over collectables and junk quest icons at every corner.

I actually sort of wish they just merged the Hissing Wastes in with the Western Approach into one huge desert zone.

 

[Ralemont]

Becoming more of a CIA/NSA sort of agency would also get these fucking annoying chanters out of my main hall, which is probably the most important thing when it comes to keeping myself from making rash decisions.

One thing I enjoyed about this game is that the epilogue is reactive to how you decide to resolve War Table missions. If you primarily use Leliana and your spy network your Inquisition becomes recognized for doing so. You can check what you use the most with Blackwall as one of his Investigate options.

Choosing the Templar path leads to a very rewarding and meaty side quest chain involving Calpernia. I actually prefer it to the mages path, story-wise.

What were people's favorite zones?

Probably Crestwood and the Emprise. I tend to favor zones that have an interesting questline that leads to a Judgment as I think it's a good integration of Inquisition's gameplay mechanics. For example in the quest about old Crestwood/the mayor of Crestwood you get taken around the zone, you can recruit an Agent, you have a long dungeon, you close the Rift and it changes the weather, and it culminates in a judgment about the story of the zone.

The Storm Coast is probably my favorite zone in terms of geographical design and aesthetics.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

I should check out the Emprise: one of the areas I skipped since I just decided to finish the game.

I tried to remain pretty neutral at the beginning but somehow ended up supporting the Templars. My Hawke was pro-mage in DA2 so it was a bit different haha.

The Calpernia sidequest was pretty cool especially

Spoiler

at the end when you can convince her not to fight you. Very Saren-esque.

 

[Sagely]

The Emerald Graves is a beautiful zone and I love the abandoned villa. To be honest, each zone feels like a nice change from the previous one if you switch up districts accordingly (like going from the Hinterlands to the Oasis, or from the Emprise to the Emerald Graves).

Agreed that the zones with heavily involved main quests were the most fun, like Crestwood and the Emprise.

Dice, it's great to see how much you're enjoying the game! The world has completely sucked me in as well; so much so that I might even pick up DA2 just to spend more time in Thedas. Not since Lord of the Rings have I gotten so invested in a fantasy world. It feels great

I also had a hard time choosing which faction to assist; in both cases I couldn't help but think "these people are powerful, unreliable and can be jerks sometimes." The first time through I helped the mages, so for the second playthrough I chose the Templars. It's interesting to see how different characters give you the cold shoulder depending on who you choose, and both missions are interesting. For what it's worth I felt better about helping the Templars.

 

[BigJonsson]

2 dragons down, barely

 

[Souldestroyer Reborn]

Morrigan is hawt.

That is all.

 

[Ralemont]

For what it's worth I felt better about helping the Templars.

It feels great as a longtime fan of the series, because there's been such a disconnect for so long between what the Templars are supposed to be and how they act in the game. For the first two games they are essentially assholes. When in the Templar mission they

Spoiler

all gather to channel their magic-suppressing abilities into the Envy demon's barrier to let you pass

you get a sense of how cool the Templars can be if steered back on the right path.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Choosing the Templar path leads to a very rewarding and meaty side quest chain involving Calpernia. I actually prefer it to the mages path, story-wise.

I'll have to try that whenever I get around to playing the game a second time. Which probably won't be until after BioWare does some of their proposed big patching for the PC version.

I'm kind of split on the whole Samson/Calpernia thing. Normally I really like when games have diverging consequences to your choices but in the case of the mages/templars choice I don't see why they couldn't have had both Calpernia and Samson show up in one playthrough. Maybe designate one as

Spoiler

the vessel

but still have the other one in the story. That way you could have had some more fleshing out of your antagonists, which I think was a huge problem in the game's story.

Probably Crestwood and the Emprise. I tend to favor zones that have an interesting questline that leads to a Judgment as I think it's a good integration of Inquisition's gameplay mechanics. For example in the quest about old Crestwood/the mayor of Crestwood you get taken around the zone, you can recruit an Agent, you have a long dungeon, you close the Rift and it changes the weather, and it culminates in a judgment about the story of the zone.

Crestwood was pretty good. Really, Crestwood should have been the model for all of the zones in terms of actually having some sort of main storyline for the zone plus the fact that the main story takes you there too as a means of introducing the zone to the player.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

Even PC Gamer is telling you to get out of the Hinterlands:
http://www.pcgamer.com/dragon-age-inquisition-why-you-need-to-get-out-of-the-hinterlands/

Don't have Inquisition, recently started on Origins. Getting started with the Grey Wardens after leaving the Circle Tower.

 

[Dice]

Well I was having a good time until the templar mission started bugging out on me. The doors kept going to a loading screen for an extremely long time then shitting me right back to where I came from, and when I went to the upper level, it shat me out on the lower level, so I couldn't get to the templar banner chest or kick down ladders, and then after the final phase it kept shitting me into the courtyard instead of letting me back in the main hall so I almost lost Barris. Now I don't know if I want to try again or just say fuck it with the banners. Fuckin bugs. This is exactly why I hate missables; if they are our allies there is no reason I shouldn't be able to go back.

 

[Souldestroyer Reborn]

Well I was having a good time until the templar mission started bugging out on me. The doors kept going to a loading screen for an extremely long time then shitting me right back to where I came from, and when I went to the upper level, it shat me out on the lower level, so I couldn't get to the templar banner chest or kick down ladders, and then after the final phase it kept shitting me into the courtyard instead of letting me back in the main hall so I almost lost Barris. Now I don't know if I want to try again or just say fuck it with the banners. Fuckin bugs. This is exactly why I hate missables; if they are our allies there is no reason I shouldn't be able to go back.

Yeah I had a glitch which was stopping me progressing earlier too on a different mission with Dorian.

Had to turn on friendly fire to be able
To kill his minions as the cutscenes wouldn't take place with the minions alive

 

[Leyasu]

My ocd is kicking in and I can't leave the hinterlands until I've done nearly all that I can. I'm enjoying it so far.

I'm having a knee op tomorrow, so I will unfortunately have to play loads when the gf is at work and the kids are at school. Such a shame.

 

[Sagely]

That's a real problem with Dorian, especially when closing the Rifts and waiting for the next wave. I know you can deactivate Spirit Mark and that drops the minions immediately, but they should automatically re-die once the battle is over. I do like his skillset otherwise though.

 

[backflip10019]

My ocd is kicking in and I can't leave the hinterlands until I've done nearly all that I can. I'm enjoying it so far.

I'm having a knee op tomorrow, so I will unfortunately have to play loads when the gf is at work and the kids are at school. Such a shame.

Don't do this. Seriously, you'll burn yourself out on the game before you get to anything good. You should leave the Hinterlands around level 6. Most of the missions in the Hinterlands are crap compared to the other missions in the game.

 

[Leyasu]

Don't do this. Seriously, you'll burn yourself out on the game before you get to anything good. You should leave the Hinterlands around level 6. Most of the missions in the Hinterlands are crap compared to the other missions in the game.

OK, but first I want to finish the star chart mini game to see what i t gives me.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Most of the missions in the Hinterlands are crap compared to the other missions in the game.

I don't know about that necessarily.

The problem with the Hinterlands is that if you exhaust all of the quests there you've pretty much seen all of the quest types for the whole game. Outside of the odd Crestwood style questline, you're pretty much going to be collecting shards, closing rifts and killing/collecting X out of X number of things for the rest of the game's non main quest content, just in different looking locales.

 

[Dice]

Don't do this. Seriously, you'll burn yourself out on the game before you get to anything good. You should leave the Hinterlands around level 6. Most of the missions in the Hinterlands are crap compared to the other missions in the game.

What burns you out is needing to travel back to Haven every fucking time you want to turn in items or craft equipment.

 

[Ralemont]

What burns you out is needing to travel back to Haven every fucking time you want to turn in items or craft equipment.

Yeah, although you can do these in the Keeps you capture in Crestwood, Emprise, and, Western Approach.

 

[Souldestroyer Reborn]

Got the bow Scematic

Now to hunt dragons to make the bow beast mode >.<

 

[luxarific]

The multiplayer stats/tracking site is finally up:

https://hq.dragonage.com/en_US/dashboard

Anyone on GAF playing DAI's mp on the PC? Everyone is so quiet in public groups. ;__;

 

[iNvid02]

cheatengined the shards so i could get into the temple in forbidden oasis, the rewards are nice but not worth the amount of effort going into collecting all those shards imo

 

[Brolic Gaoler]

Are the servers down? I can't log in. Stuck at connecting.

 

[BigJonsson]

Hmmm, need to choose a mage specialization

 

[Dice]

Oh my god.... I progressed the story more and... my perspective on everything has opened so much, especially after talking extensively to Solas and Dorian and reading several more codex entries. This world is really so complex and amazing. I must say, though, there aren't many compelling "doubt" options in conversation when matters of faith are involved. All you ever get is a blank "I don't know" rather than something like "Well, it seems reasonable to believe something major must hold back all this evil we encounter, but if the Maker is real why does he always should himself and leave us to guess? That's dumb, and if it really was/is spiteful punishment, he's a dick, and also doesn't know how to make up his mind. Besides, Solas told me some very interesting things about demons and his claims about the Fade are backed by readings from high Tevinter magisters, so I'm not sure things aren't just... spiritually natural, shall we say?"

Maybe I'm asking a bit much, but you get what I mean, especially with my character being an elf, whose people believed in the OId Gods and has to be given a reason to give the notion of The Maker consideration. It seems odd that they left the most expected conversation options for an entire race of people in the world mostly empty. Solas seems to personify the concerns/perspective, but that does nothing for the inquisitor's personal conversations with everyone and how one might want to play out the role.

That song was super cheesy BTW... in a bad way.

 

[hateradio]

Yeah, the song made me cringe a little, but it seems to be a lot of people's highlights.

It also sounds a lot like a ripoff of a song from TLotR.

 

[SPCTRE]

Yeah, the song made me cringe a little, but it seems to be a lot of people's highlights.

It also sounds a lot like a ripoff of a song from TLotR.

You're thinking of the song called "The Edge of Night" from RotK (the one Pippin is singing for Denethor), based on the poem "A Walking Song".

Some lines from the poem are part of a larger montage entitled "The Steward of Gondor", which was written by Howard Shore and arranged by Philippa Boyens. The song is called "The Edge of Night" after a phrase in the lyrics. Its melody was composed by Billy Boyd, who plays Pippin.

The melody seems incredibly close to the song from the movie, probably just different enough to not get sued? I don't know how these things work out legally.

 

[Dice]

My highlight has been reading hours of lore all evening. With any sort of media, I don't care much for dramatic reveals. I find that things that are truly good are always good, be it the first or fifth time, and in this case I actually much prefer having a clue as to what the implications of my decisions are without committing another 50-150 hours into replays. It appears they realize this too with the whole Dragon Age Keep thing and how it seems it will continue for the next game.

Having said that, and having read so much, I must say this may be the best lore/world/plot in any franchise. Anyone not noticing it is not paying attention. Bioware may not be the best at actual dramatic story direction (which admittedly is very hard with so many choose-a-paths), but they are weaving a masterwork here. I am super excited to see how some things will play out, but even do far with where things are it is very interesting not just in events of main characters, but just the state of the world and its complexities and the many perspectives of people in it.

I am particularly excited about (potential major spoilers involving deep lore/conversation analysis the story may not show)

Spoiler

Solas actually being Fen'Harel, misunderstood by all, and yet also being at once both the greatest villain and greatest hero the world has ever known in his efforts at silencing the god-infighting and its effects on the people in the past, and ambition to bring about true mastery of the fade/reality to all for the future, yet being technically responsible for all the trials between.

But then again...

Spoiler

The stuff with Mythal and their partnership is pretty strange. If she was "murdered" then by whom? And could it be the same being that is responsible for the corruption, and even the confusion that Solas explains causes wisdom spirits to become demons, and some Tevinter magisters say cause confusion/terror/despair for beings on both sides of the fade, which are not sides at all? And what if that mysterious hidden being poses as the Maker, whose servants seem to push a separation between magic and everyday living. And what of this Old God child of Morrigan's?

There is so much here. Too bad a lot of it is contained to just mystery/intrigue and people keeping to themselves or political blockades in the cinematics, leaving the most of it to codex entries and side conversations, but I guess that's just the nature of budgets and trying to make a mainstream game these days. Not everyone would appreciate the complex things, so they leave it sitting around for those willing to dive in, and everyone else can get a somewhat shallow yet enigmatic movie if they want.

 

[Sagely]

I loved the song scene but giggled like an idiot when Cullen closed his eyes! Goofy chap. The march to Skyhold was a wonderful moment. Of course, the DA series is no stranger to goofy song moments; remember Leliana's campfire song from Origins?

Regarding the Inquisition theme song, the first few notes are almost identical to Pippin's Song but the similarities end after that. Honestly I don't think it's deliberate, as certain notes and keys are very common in folk-style songs - but the similarity is unfortunate.

Did anyone else think that the bard's song Rise is an adaptation of the main theme from DA: Origins? It sounds exactly like the first few bars, before the war drums kick in.

 

[thechristoph]

Is anyone playing the multiplayer at all? I've played only about three games so far. It's a fun enough little diversion. It doesn't compel me to unlock everything like Mass Effect's MP did, at least not yet, but I think I'm going to invest some time into it.

The thing about it that irks me so far is that if you play a warrior class, you move so slowly compared to everyone else. So your Mages and Archers are running way ahead of you and blowing everything up by the time you get there. You're only useful to knock down the occasional pile of rubble to find some loot.

 

[Arjen]

Is anyone playing the multiplayer at all? I've played only about three games so far. It's a fun enough little diversion. It doesn't compel me to unlock everything like Mass Effect's MP did, at least not yet, but I think I'm going to invest some time into it.

The thing about it that irks me so far is that if you play a warrior class, you move so slowly compared to everyone else. So your Mages and Archers are running way ahead of you and blowing everything up by the time you get there. You're only useful to knock down the occasional pile of rubble to find some loot.

You know you can run by clicking left stick?

 

[thechristoph]

You know you can run by clicking left stick?

I....did not.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

Multiplayer was so laggy for me when I tried it. I was sprinting the whole time and still ended up way behind my teammates.

 

[Dice]

People who obsessively rush things is why I don't like matchmaking co-op in any game 95% of the time.

 

[Ralemont]

There is so much here. Too bad a lot of it is contained to just mystery/intrigue and people keeping to themselves or political blockades in the cinematics, leaving the most of it to codex entries and side conversations, but I guess that's just the nature of budgets and trying to make a mainstream game these days. Not everyone would appreciate the complex things, so they leave it sitting around for those willing to dive in, and everyone else can get a somewhat shallow yet enigmatic movie if they want.

Now I really want you to finish so we can talk about this. There's one revelation in particular buried deep in the lore about

Spoiler

Mythal and Solas

that Gaider just leaves you there to work out on your own, never explaining it in the game.

 

[Dice]

Now I really want you to finish so we can talk about this. There's one revelation in particular buried deep in the lore about

Spoiler

Mythal and Solas

that Gaider just leaves you there to work out on your own, never explaining it in the game.

There is also the dwarves,

Spoiler

since they don't dream and aren't affected by magic. It seems incredibly one-sided for the way Solas and mages describe reality/the fade, and since their society is so ancient and their ancient things seem incredibly advanced as well, it makes me very curious as to what went on with them. And what are the titans, which Kieran mentions to a dwarf Inquisitor? Does this have something to do with giants, that may give context to the dragon (elder god) at storm coast fighting one (near ancient dwarf stuff, mind you), beyond a mere cool beast battle? And could something about this, as he theorized about making a dwarf taller, be responsible for the confusion about the fade, the fall of Arlathan, and even the beginning of humans? Since codex entries on these things are so limited, it seems like something still being worked out.

 

[Souldestroyer Reborn]

I agree that the lore in this game is phenomenal. There's so much to read up on and think about.

I've not properly had a sit down and read of the codex yet as I'm just having too much fun playing the game, but I look forward to doing so!

I personally sided with the mages as an elf on this playthrough but I'm going to side with the Templars on my warrior playthrough. Then back to mages on my Mage playthrough >.<

I say all that without ever playing through a game more than once so that's testament to how much I'm enjoying this!

I've still got Mordor to play too :I

One thing I would love though would be if I could command my companions to mine the nearby ore/harvest Herbs while running around. The same system that Dragons Dogma has.

 

[Dice]

looooool

So I don't pay any attention to suggested levels and go to Emprise du Lion as my first outing from Skyhold. Solas says in his calm, stoic way "I do not wish to stay here" as I am picking flowers, and I'm like "Whatevs, I'm busy." Then a pack of 4 red templars come through and tear us to shit, barely getting scratched by our attacks and us using up a ton of our potions to survive, requiring 3 revivals in the process. So then I'm like "Maybe Solas is right."