Dragon Age Inquisition: Worth Buying?

[babinro]

- How do I know how tough an enemy is? I'm getting party wiped for attacking a stationary ram. I also got insta wiped by a dragon but that at least warned me it was out of my league.

You can tell what an enemy's level and name is if you press Tab, which locks onto whichever enemy is in your line of sight. Press Tab again and you'll cycle through them. Also, as silly as it is to say, finding the particular ram you're referring to is part of a side quest, and it's overpowered for a reason that you find out if and when you complete that quest. I thought it was funny, to be honest.

Thanks for the tip!

I'll figure out what the tab equivalent on controller is but that should help out. I clearly missed the ram quest giver but it makes me feel better that my hero doesn't simply suck that bad against standard wildlife

 

[Sarusas]

- How do I know how tough an enemy is? I'm getting party wiped for attacking a stationary ram. I also got insta wiped by a dragon but that at least warned me it was out of my league.

You can tell what an enemy's level and name is if you press Tab, which locks onto whichever enemy is in your line of sight. Press Tab again and you'll cycle through them. Also, as silly as it is to say, finding the particular ram you're referring to is part of a side quest, and it's overpowered for a reason that you find out if and when you complete that quest. I thought it was funny, to be honest.

Thanks for the tip!

I'll figure out what the tab equivalent on controller is but that should help out. I clearly missed the ram quest giver but it makes me feel better that my hero doesn't simply suck that bad against standard wildlife

Click the right stick in

 

[zinho73]

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in DA:Origins, and utterly despised the combat in DA2. Based on that, does anyone think I would enjoy DA:I's combat? Or should I just stay away?

I think that this is the worst iteration of combat of the series (as I explain better here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865886-The-weird-combat-of-Dragon-Age-Inquisition )

There are several subsystems in customization that are very cool, as you can upgrade weapons and armor and make smart use of bombs and potions, but the interface to temper with those subsystems is terrible.

Combat CAN be fun, but requires some good will and you must understand that it works best when you are controlling just one character. Any attempt to fight as a coordinated group will be resisted by the game. It is possible, but requires patience and sense of humor.

To understand what I am talking about, go fight a bear in a small cave recess (there are some in the coastal area). To add to the challenge, use the tactical camera and keyboard and mouse controls.

 

[Ferisar]

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in DA:Origins, and utterly despised the combat in DA2. Based on that, does anyone think I would enjoy DA:I's combat? Or should I just stay away?

I think that this is the worst iteration of combat of the series (as I explain better here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865886-The-weird-combat-of-Dragon-Age-Inquisition )

There are several subsystems in customization that are very cool, as you can upgrade weapons and armor and make smart use of bombs and potions, but the interface to temper with those subsystems is terrible.

Combat CAN be fun, but requires some good will and you must understand that it works best when you are controlling just one character. Any attempt to fight as a coordinated group will be resisted by the game. It is possible, but requires patience and sense of humor.

To understand what I am talking about, go fight a bear in a small cave recess (there are some in the coastal area). To add to the challenge, use the tactical camera and keyboard and mouse controls.

I think it's worth adding a * to the one character bit and say that it's probably worthwhile for both fun and difficulty handling to switch characters in combat with pausing and ability placement. The actual pause as a function still works fine, it's when you try to use it for anything complex when it starts breaking. I'm guessing they figured this since the game auto-pauses on AoE ability usage.

But yeah, that first Dragon in the Hinterlands man. If you're trying to play full-action, get ready to get fucked on Hard if you're its level. And if you're trying to play tactical, get ready to get fucked because it doesn't work a lot of the time. Just a lot of fucking going on, honestly. Diverse, tactical, real-time fucking. -KILL THE WHELPS, TARGET THE WHELPS, NO NOT YOU CASSANDRA, NO, FUCK IT'S SHOOTING FIRE AT YOU NOW GOD DAMN IT TANK DOWN EVERYONE RUN DAMN IT SHIT-

>_>

 

[Don Incognito]

I wouldn't even consider tangling with the Hinterlands dragon until my party was all at least level 12 and I had at least one mage with a powerful ice staff and fully kitted out ice magic.

Even then, it was a hell of a fight; probably wouldn't have made it if some Red Templars hadn't stumbled into it and diverted the dragon's attention for a while.

 

[ecoho]

I didn't love the first one but sort of enjoyed it. The combat killed it for me.
Second one had way better combat but the story was horrible.

Thinking about picking up #3 but have heard some bad things about it.

- Denovo DRM killing SSDs, potentially in weeks.
- Performance issues even on high level computers.
- Crashes and bugs galore.

That said, I don't know if this is just a vocal minority or what.

So - buy or don't buy?

watch this and then make your choice of weather or not to buy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0XRSTRayo&list=UUy1Ms_5qBTawC-k7PVjHXKQ

that's total biscuit's port report on how it runs.

as to crashes, crashes can happen but they usually happen after you've been playing for 8 hours straight so usually not too bad.


I however whole heartedly recommend this game to everyone.

 

[ecoho]

No . Why would me owning the game effect the general feeling I'm picking up from people online?

You stated the general feeling of the game with the community was that "its a mix and match of combat is terrible, graphics are ugly, writing/dialogue is corny/bad, quests are boring or its buggy". I thought you must have been speaking of your own experiences since the majority of people online express satisfaction with the game. Granted I don't really participate in the Escapist forums very much so perhaps that is the feeling more so on this forum?

If it is, I'm perfectly fine with that being the dominant opinion of the Escapist. However, to say the majority of players believe so as well would be an incorrect statement.

It has a metacritic score of 5.5.
Thats as close to a mediocre, average as you can get. Pretty sure the majority of the internet thinks its "meh".

in the words of every videogame reviewer I currently care about ahm, FUCK METACRITIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

that site is so misused and its system is just idiotic the way it takes reviews into its collective score.
I mean I can go on it right now and just make like 300 reviews at 0 and bomb the score of any game on there and that's what people are doing with DA:I.

 

[zinho73]

I didn't love the first one but sort of enjoyed it. The combat killed it for me.
Second one had way better combat but the story was horrible.

Thinking about picking up #3 but have heard some bad things about it.

- Denovo DRM killing SSDs, potentially in weeks.
- Performance issues even on high level computers.
- Crashes and bugs galore.

That said, I don't know if this is just a vocal minority or what.

So - buy or don't buy?

watch this and then make your choice of weather or not to buy it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0XRSTRayo&list=UUy1Ms_5qBTawC-k7PVjHXKQ

that's total biscuit's port report on how it runs.

as to crashes, crashes can happen but they usually happen after you've been playing for 8 hours straight so usually not too bad.


I however whole heartedly recommend this game to everyone.

Two caveats:
1. Total Biscuit is not really an RPG player and likes MMO combat and controls.
2. He is running the game on a beast computer. One of the main reasons of the crashes is that the game is not very well optimized, so if you have spare power you are less prone to run into trouble.

The game is absorbing but I cannot recommend to everyone.
People that like a more in depth combat experience will be disappointed;
PC gamers that likes the mouse navigation and usability might be disappointed with the controls and the menus;
There are other minor quibbles like "The first act can drag" or "The main story is not that great" but they do not detract too much from the experience.

Characters, dialogue, graphics and scope are the game strengths;
It stumbles on combat mechanisms, controls for mouse and keyboard and the repetition of menial tasks (like collecting herbs);

In the middle ground are bugs, crashes, uninspired skill trees and the terrible designed menus (you can live with all of that without being too upset I think).

The game is greater than the sum of its parts though, and it is very rewarding to watch the Inquisition progress, but I can easily see someone dismissing it or waiting for a sale.

For old style PC gaming, the new Divinity game, for example, is much more interesting. I would be in heaven if someone managed to make a game with the dialogue, voice overs and character progression of Inqusition with the more thought out systems of Divinity.

 

[Danbo Jambo]

Sounds shocking to be honest. Game length is by the by, I'd sooner play a great, tight knit 10 hour game than slog through 100+ hours worth of dross.

my question is simple, I LOVED DA:O, I DETESTED DA:2, and I found combat in DA:O superb fun, whilst I found combat in DA:2 dull as hell.

With this in mind, would it ever be worth me buying this? (I've no intention of considering a purchase until it's bargain price anyway)

 

[Las7]

Sounds shocking to be honest. Game length is by the by, I'd sooner play a great, tight knit 10 hour game than slog through 100+ hours worth of dross.

my question is simple, I LOVED DA:O, I DETESTED DA:2, and I found combat in DA:O superb fun, whilst I found combat in DA:2 dull as hell.

With this in mind, would it ever be worth me buying this? (I've no intention of considering a purchase until it's bargain price anyway)

From what I gather, there is no real tactics for your companions - thus you need to pause and micromanage everything.
There is little customization for companions.
Tactical camera isn't working as intenteded.
You need to press specific buttons during combat, running etc - controls weren't optimized for M+K

If you have a console, all the points above would point to it being a good RPG for Console.
If you played DA:O on PC and you enjoyed the tactical options within DA:O and don't want to micromanage everything for 50+ hours than you just wait till they patch more options into the game before buying.

I'm waiting to see if Bioware fix the PC port, before even considering buying it.

 

[infohippie]

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in DA:Origins, and utterly despised the combat in DA2. Based on that, does anyone think I would enjoy DA:I's combat? Or should I just stay away?

Overall, the game is closer to DA:O than DA2. If you liked the first, I'd encourage you to check it out. I'm about 2/3s of the way through the game and really enjoying it. The story and the attention to detail just keep me moving. Some of the side quests feel like WoW fetches, but others are more rewarding and a couple have brought tears to my eyes.

I see. That sounds mildly encouraging, though I am still hesitant to trust Bioware any more.

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in DA:Origins, and utterly despised the combat in DA2. Based on that, does anyone think I would enjoy DA:I's combat? Or should I just stay away?

I think that this is the worst iteration of combat of the series (as I explain better here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865886-The-weird-combat-of-Dragon-Age-Inquisition )

There are several subsystems in customization that are very cool, as you can upgrade weapons and armor and make smart use of bombs and potions, but the interface to temper with those subsystems is terrible.

Combat CAN be fun, but requires some good will and you must understand that it works best when you are controlling just one character. Any attempt to fight as a coordinated group will be resisted by the game. It is possible, but requires patience and sense of humor.

To understand what I am talking about, go fight a bear in a small cave recess (there are some in the coastal area). To add to the challenge, use the tactical camera and keyboard and mouse controls.

I just read your description of the combat, and I think it is a warning that it is not for me. The best part about DA:O's combat mechanics was working as a party, positioning everyone to their best advantage and carefully controlling the combat. I spent more time paused and giving detailed orders than actually watching the combat play out. If DA:I concentrates on just one character while you let the rest of your party do their own thing I think that is the final nail in the coffin.

 

[zinho73]

Sounds shocking to be honest. Game length is by the by, I'd sooner play a great, tight knit 10 hour game than slog through 100+ hours worth of dross.

my question is simple, I LOVED DA:O, I DETESTED DA:2, and I found combat in DA:O superb fun, whilst I found combat in DA:2 dull as hell.

With this in mind, would it ever be worth me buying this? (I've no intention of considering a purchase until it's bargain price anyway)

For that reason, no.
Even if the controls were superb (and they are very, very far from it), the concept of the combat here is DA2 with even less control.

In DAO and DA2, although execution were different, the concept behind the combat was the same: a rough simulation of simultaneous turn-based.
The combat in Inquisition is a barebones action RPG, MMO style, with some tentative tactical options that sometimes work but never excel.

It can still be fun because there some things that survived from previous iterations (like animations and spell effects - and sound), but everything new it introduces is badly done.

 

[zinho73]

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in DA:Origins, and utterly despised the combat in DA2. Based on that, does anyone think I would enjoy DA:I's combat? Or should I just stay away?

Overall, the game is closer to DA:O than DA2. If you liked the first, I'd encourage you to check it out. I'm about 2/3s of the way through the game and really enjoying it. The story and the attention to detail just keep me moving. Some of the side quests feel like WoW fetches, but others are more rewarding and a couple have brought tears to my eyes.

I see. That sounds mildly encouraging, though I am still hesitant to trust Bioware any more.

I genuinely enjoyed the combat in DA:Origins, and utterly despised the combat in DA2. Based on that, does anyone think I would enjoy DA:I's combat? Or should I just stay away?

I think that this is the worst iteration of combat of the series (as I explain better here: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.865886-The-weird-combat-of-Dragon-Age-Inquisition )

There are several subsystems in customization that are very cool, as you can upgrade weapons and armor and make smart use of bombs and potions, but the interface to temper with those subsystems is terrible.

Combat CAN be fun, but requires some good will and you must understand that it works best when you are controlling just one character. Any attempt to fight as a coordinated group will be resisted by the game. It is possible, but requires patience and sense of humor.

To understand what I am talking about, go fight a bear in a small cave recess (there are some in the coastal area). To add to the challenge, use the tactical camera and keyboard and mouse controls.

I just read your description of the combat, and I think it is a warning that it is not for me. The best part about DA:O's combat mechanics was working as a party, positioning everyone to their best advantage and carefully controlling the combat. I spent more time paused and giving detailed orders than actually watching the combat play out. If DA:I concentrates on just one character while you let the rest of your party do their own thing I think that is the final nail in the coffin.

Just to be thorough and clear: Apart from changing characters for the fun of it, it is possible to make some good use of your group and sometimes it is necessary to coordinate actions in the tougher fights (because you will need their skills), but you are going to fight the interface all the way through it.

That said, what really kills it to me is the presentation. There are some cool and bad ass animations but overall the combat is not very cool to watch with the scenery getting in the way, characters misaligned trying to beat each other and characters too far apart to even appear in the screen. If you are going to take away control at least let me see what´s happening!

In reality, and to be perfectly honest, you will adapt and will get the most of the system (i use my ranged guys to bring the combat to the more open areas, for example). It really is quite possible to have fun, but that's on you - the combat system is simply not very good.

 

[Kahani]

I didn't love the first one but sort of enjoyed it. The combat killed it for me.
Second one had way better combat but the story was horrible.

The combat is much more similar to the DA2 - the tactical view is essentially unplayable (on PC at least), so it's entirely third person action-type combat, but with pausing to allow for more control. The story is mostly well written, but does feel somewhat disjointed at times - the individual good bits sometimes just don't fit together, and the nature of the more open world means you can find people happily talking about events or objects that you shouldn't actually know about yet.

- Denovo DRM killing SSDs, potentially in weeks.

This appears to be a baseless rumour started by a single anonymous blog. There's no evidence the DRM even exists with the game, let alone kills anything.

- Performance issues even on high level computers.

I'm playing it at higher than 1080p resolution with almost everything set to high (I turned down AA a bit since I find it rarely makes much difference to the look but tends to kill performance; most settings require restarting the game so I haven't actually done much testing on this game) on a pair of GTX470s, and easily getting 45-50fps (I really don't give a fuck about hitting 60, it makes no difference). If people with much more up to date gear are having issues, it's either due to problems with specific bits of kit rather than a general problem with the game, or they simply have unrealistic expectations about what "good performance" is.

- Crashes and bugs galore.

I've had one unexplained crash (and one due to my GPU running out of memory; the game mostly runs fine on a 470, but it is technically below the minimum specs for required GPU RAM) and noticed one bug that was fixed by saving and reloading. That's after maybe 20 hours of play so far. Obviously I can't say that no-one else has had any problems, but it certainly doesn't appear to be as bad as some people are claiming.

That said, I don't know if this is just a vocal minority or what.

Pretty much. As always people who have problems are the ones who actually make a fuss; those who don't have problems generally just keep quiet so you never notice the majority who are just playing the game rather than complaining about. There will no doubt be patches to improve things, but as it stands the game was released in an entirely playable state. If there were never any patches, it would still be a lot more stable and less buggy than plenty of other games.

So - buy or don't buy?

Buy it. It's not perfect, but it's still pretty damn good.

 

[GongdaiPro]

For me, i think this game is worth buying as i heard and saw articles about this game. hahaha do consider about it!

 

[Nohvarr]

No . Why would me owning the game effect the general feeling I'm picking up from people online?

You stated the general feeling of the game with the community was that "its a mix and match of combat is terrible, graphics are ugly, writing/dialogue is corny/bad, quests are boring or its buggy". I thought you must have been speaking of your own experiences since the majority of people online express satisfaction with the game. Granted I don't really participate in the Escapist forums very much so perhaps that is the feeling more so on this forum?

If it is, I'm perfectly fine with that being the dominant opinion of the Escapist. However, to say the majority of players believe so as well would be an incorrect statement.

It has a metacritic score of 5.5.
Thats as close to a mediocre, average as you can get. Pretty sure the majority of the internet thinks its "meh".

I wouldn't trust Metacritic on this one. I noticed a lot of those reviews were out by the first day....and there's no way anyone played this game to completion in 24 hours. The fact that this DENVO DRM thing maybe false also suggest to me that some people are looking for a reason to hate on this game.

I've also seen more positive reviews in other forums, on Amazon, etc.

But here, a review that I think covers the good and bad well:

I finished the game on Friday, and just finished Act 1 on my Nightmare playthrough. Thought I'd stop by and share some bullet points on what I thought of the game. Before I get into it, just an fyi I skipped half the side content on my first playthrough, and my time was around 45 hours. So I didn't experience everything yet. With that in mind, here's what I thought:


The Good

I loved all the wide open areas I could explore, and how much variety there was in their environment.

Crafting system was very well done, and I love how it changed the look of your weapons/armor.

Story for the most part was good. Plenty of jawdropping and touching moments.

Characters were awesome. Cass, Varric, Iron Bull, Sera, and Dorian being my favorites.

The music is easily the best in the series. Trevor Morris did a brilliant job.

Managing the Inquisition yourself added so much depth to the game. Upgrading Skyhold, passing Judgements, and coordinating at the War Table fall under this category.

Combat was enjoyable and challenging at times. Granted I didn't play on the PC, which I hear the Tactical Camera is difficult to manage.

The Dragon Fights were epic as hell. Bioware really nailed the whole "Super Optional Bosses" thing with this game. Each Dragon felt different fighting, which is how it should be.

Great character customization.

There's no narrative landmine towards the end.



The Bad

There is an absurd amount of bugs, some of which pretty damn major, still in the game. As torturous as it was waiting for this game, it clearly wasn't ready for release yet.

There's no background ambient music when exploring different hubs. You'll get a 5-10 sec music sting every few minutes before it fades away and that's it. This is a big deal to me, as it helps me immerse myself into the world I'm spending hours exploring.

The final mission in the game is very underwhelming and short. The Battle of Denerim wipes it's ass with this game's finale.

Main story could've used more missions. I was very surprised when I found out I was nearly the end of the story.

The "No Healing" system just doesn't work. It's very frustrating on the harder difficulties as enemies chew through your guard like paper. I've found myself backtracking to camp to refill my potions one too many times.

Not a big negative, but the game really could've used an approval meter for the party members.


As of right now, I personally find this to be Bioware's best game since Mass Effect 2. It is NOT in my opinion better than Dragon Age: Origins, but it is leagues better than DA2. I personally do not think we'll ever get a new Bioware game on the same level of storytelling quality as the days of Kotor, ME1 and DA:O. Mostly because they're owned by a company who won't give them the luxury to take their time and really flesh out their vision. But if we can at least get future games with a quality as good as this, then I'm happy. It's currently my favorite game this year, and I can't wait for the DLC, and I'm hoping the game sells well enough to warrant the next entry.

....

The first time I beat the game it was on Hard, and with that difficulty the "No Healing" system was manageable. I only had a couple of times where I had to leave a dungeon to restock on potions. THere was one main mission I really struggled on (End of Act 1), but that was it. For the most part though I had to be very careful with my potion consumption. Right now on Nightmare it's an absolute ***** not being able to heal up. That said it does help that I know what I'm getting into with each mission so it does help me prepare. My advice if you're gonna play the harder difficulties next, is BEEEEES. Make lots and lots of Jars of Bees. It helps so damn much when you're getting overwhelmed by a mob.

I will note that I disagree about the healing system, and that Bioware is currently working to fix the bugs mentioned. So I have no problem recommending this game, but see no problem with giving them a month to shake out some of the bugs that've cropped up in some people's games.

And so you can see some of the games interations for yourselves, a scene from around the games midpoint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIDFmtzr98

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

Buy it on a console than the PC, there are a lot of issues on the PC port, the constant instability and troubleshooting isn't worth the price of admission.

Some people don't have the PC issues while many do. There needs to be serious patching.

 

[Fredvdp]

- Denovo DRM killing SSDs, potentially in weeks.

Denovo constantly rewrites the executable to make cheating in multiplayer more difficult.

According to a BioWare dev, the rewriting is done in the RAM, not on the drive. As far as I'm aware, Windows can't rewrite executables while they are running anyway.

My recommendation is 'buy'. The game has some issues with mouse and keyboard controls, but I've gotten used to it. I still welcome a patch, though. I haven't had any crashes on my system, but apparently most issues are with Nvidia graphics and DirectX, while I use an AMD GPU with Mantle.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Sounds shocking to be honest. Game length is by the by, I'd sooner play a great, tight knit 10 hour game than slog through 100+ hours worth of dross.

my question is simple, I LOVED DA:O, I DETESTED DA:2, and I found combat in DA:O superb fun, whilst I found combat in DA:2 dull as hell.

With this in mind, would it ever be worth me buying this? (I've no intention of considering a purchase until it's bargain price anyway)

The combat in this game is pretty bad. They should have just turned it into an action RPG, in all honesty. It is stuck somewhere between an action game and combat in Origins and it isn't any fun.

 

[Nohvarr]

Sounds shocking to be honest. Game length is by the by, I'd sooner play a great, tight knit 10 hour game than slog through 100+ hours worth of dross.

my question is simple, I LOVED DA:O, I DETESTED DA:2, and I found combat in DA:O superb fun, whilst I found combat in DA:2 dull as hell.

With this in mind, would it ever be worth me buying this? (I've no intention of considering a purchase until it's bargain price anyway)

The combat in this game is pretty bad. They should have just turned it into an action RPG, in all honesty. It is stuck somewhere between an action game and combat in Origins and it isn't any fun.

If you're looking for Origins style combat, this might not be for you, that said I loved DA:I's combat more than DA:O or DA2 so I am forced to disagree with the above poster.

edit:

Admittedly I fell in love with Mage, Knight-Enchanter Spec so I am biased. Having a Beamsaber while calling down lightening, and fadestepping out of trouble is a blast for me personally, especially since the Fadeblade chews through guard and armor so quickly.