MysticSlayer said:
No, I'm talking about in Act 1. Athenril gives you a job at the docks. Once completing it, she mentioned that her journal had some extra jobs that you could do for more money, but none ever showed up.
Hm, it's been a while since I played it so I don't recall that. I've been through DAII a good many times, and never noticed a lack of side or misc quests, or particularly wanted more. I think what's there was fine.
I wasn't a fan of the 'oh look! here's an item! now I has misc quest!' design, but that's more an issue with RPG design in general, and I suppose it was a cheap and quick way to add a little extra XP reward, and 'incentive' for keeping a look out for unique loot.
But along with that, to me, Dragon Age 2 dealt a lot with showing how extreme viewpoints push each other to greater extremes. The Qunari had extreme moral viewpoints which often clashed with culture of Kirkwall, and the culture of Kirkwall saw them as invaders, and that was exacerbated by extremists in the Chantry that saw the Qunari as a threat to their religion. The Templars began taking extreme measures to deal with a perceived Blood Mage threat, and many Mages saw Blood Magic as the only solution to deal with the crackdown.
Yeah, I loved that about DAII, and feel it's design like that which makes it one of the smartest RPG's I've played. DA:I represented a bit of a lobotomy in every regard, on that count.
Most perspectives in DAII are quite easy to sympathise with, and I think all sides are challenged but also shown to have some validity. There is no right side, or wrong side, or good or evil. There is complexity and nuance. DAII was the first DA to really dig into the Qun (Mark Of The Assassin is one of my favourite BioWare DLC's), and the conversations with the Arishok are a good example of this nuance; they aren't savage brutes, and they have a point about the almost willful, hapless chaos caused by notions of 'liberty' and agency. I love that you can agree with his/their view of Kirkwall and agency, yet still also affirm that it's something worth fighting for, especially to improve the situation - even if it's doomed to failure.
Okay, Patrice is just a bit of a provocateur... Yet even she has her twisted motivations, and they have been warped by fear. She is just as stubbornly dogmatic as the Arishok.
And obviously the friction between the mages and Templars is well done, too. Freedom is a nice ideal, but what price are a people and society prepared to pay if shit goes wrong, and it invariably always will... A line needs to be drawn, but every group is so invested in their own struggle they fail to see the big picture (DA:I does have some strong scenes about the issue, obviously).
I really enjoyed how down the line you could craft Hawke, too. Generally, my favourite runs have been where she insists on moderation, never showing support for either whilst admonishing both (I think the start of Act III in the square is a good example). Hawke's and the player's choice of trying to moderate - essentially trying to do what's 'right' for all - is reasonable, but so is the response that meets quite understandable, i.e. Anders, Meredith, and Orsino insisting that unless you take a side, someone will force the issue.
While Hawke may not have succumbed to the extremes as much as Anders or Fenris (depending on dialogue choices), her reaction to the initial Templar crackdown was to seek the Deep Roads expedition to, in large part, get her family back to the position they original were. So, in a way, the Templar crackdown made Hawke more determined to seek to reclaim her family's fortune and influence, and it was the expedition that led to the discovery of the Red Lyrium that exacerbated Meredith's extreme viewpoints. (That said, the problem probably would have gone that direction regardless.)
Perhaps that's a stretch, but it was something I thought was interesting.
Did you play as a mage, then? I've never really seen the expedition as having much to do with Kirkwall's conflicts - to me it's just Hawke trying to survive, and given she's the PC of an RPG she obviously proves very capable, and so rises in status. By Act III she's both a potential threat to Meredith and Orsino, and yet they both still try to exploit her, or simply use her as a lighting rod for their own beefs. Take Hawke out of that equation, and I doubt anything would've overly changed.
Plus, if anything it's Hawke's actions at the end of
Act II that really put her on the map. Take Hawke out of that equation, and--- well, who knows...
Oh, as for the lyrium idol? Yeah, it becomes rather important by Act III, but I don't think anyone could suggest the chaos wouldn't have occurred regardless; the idol didn't influence the countless blood mages or abusive Templars, f'instance. There's also another possible cause - or serious exacerbating factor - for the bloody history and general turmoil of Kirkwall, which only comes to light if you resolve a certain arc across the three Acts, if I remember correctly.
Well, I'll see how things go then. What I saw, there were some interesting aspects surrounding the Inquisition itself and how it may play out, and some of the mystery drew me in. I just hated the way they started out presenting the protagonist.
Others might disagree, but personally whilst I found DA:I to ultimately be very well done (bar the whole SP MMO design and puddle shallow 'combat'), to me it eschews the--- well, social commentary and scab picking of human nature of DAII, and instead aims for more esoterically fantasical high-fantasy. Its end-game is frankly more abstract and lore focused, whereas DAII and even DA:O were very grounded.
Trespasser ends the story, and if you most wanted discussion and drama over what role the Inquisition should have? Well, that's addressed directly in some good scenes, but those themes only really
bookend Trespasser, as it has other fish to fry.
Despite having a very love-hate relationship with it, what kept me coming back (and I'm not done with it by a long shot. I'd like to go through it a few more times) were the characters. I mean... Varric being there doesn't
really make any sense, nor does Sera. But DA:I has some of the best character scenes across any BioWare game, I reckon.
I'd highly recommend going through as a female elf, and picking Solas as your LI. I'd say he's one of the finest creations BioWare have come up with, too, and he's a perfect example of just how damn good their casting often is. Gareth David-Lloyd's note-perfect for the role, and whilst Solas is always a fascinating character, the added complexity of a romantic entanglement (only possible with an elf female) just makes it even more satisfying.
