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Hello everyone, my name is Ashe and welcome to a dissection of Game Informer's new information
on Dragon Age: Inquisition. Bioware and Game Informer teamed up to do an entire month of
coverage for the new game. Links to their site, hub and articles are in the description.
But let me break it down for you here, with more insight into Thedas as we go along.
The third installment Inquisition will be released next year 2014 for five platforms:
PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, and Playstation 4. There's no support for Nintendo
consoles presently due to Frostbite 3's engine incapable of working on their devices.
What we've seen so far between Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition lies in the three years
since Anders blew up the Chantry. Orlais is still torn by Civil War, Ferelden is still
recovering from the fifth blight, and Mages and Templars are fighting with each other,
against each other, and against the Chantry. Lord Seeker Lambert is presumed dead from
Cole's doing, the demonic spirit mentioned in DA: Asunder. But before the Lord Seeker
died, he cancelled the Nevarran Accord, which severed the Seekers and Templars from their
duty. The Circle of Magi was no more, due to Rhys and many other mages from the White
Spire uprising choosing to fight against the Chantry.
But admist all this chaos, a huge tear in the veil has opened up and demons from the
Fade invade the land, with no need to attach themselves to a physical host. Demons and
abominations are plaguing the land, but everyone is self-absorbed with their own problems as
it is. There is only one antagonist controlling the tides. While you'll be fighting many enemies,
there is only one entity that is causing all the destruction. Unlike Origins where you
were deliberately fighting Loghain, you must actively search and discover your unknown
enemy throughout the story.
And that's where you come in, the Inquisitor. You have the option of either working with
people, or literally calling a brigade against a location and forcing people to bend to your
will. You'll be managing as the head of the Inquisition, where you either gain respect
or demand it (which gives undertones similar to the Paragon/Renegade styles from Mass Effect.
As a hero and sole survivor of a previous tragedy, it's your responsibility to figure
out who is causing all the mayhem and get everyone to band under your power.
As far as the protagonist goes: in a shocking turn of events, the player-character can now
be either Human, Elf, or Dwarf. Similarly to Origins where the player character had
its own Origins story depending on race. The character is voiced and without a preset name.
You're not an Amell, and most likely not a Cousland or Aeducan. The way that you build
and represent your character in game will not only build the persona of your character,
but build the Inquisition to power.
You will of course be accompanied by companions in your long journey across Thedas. The three
companions confirmed are two returning characters: Cassandra Pentaghast and Varric Tethras, and
a new character named Vivienne. Cassandra and Varric teamed up post-DA2 after, in the
canon, Varric traveled and fought for King Alistair and Isabela. The details are long,
where you can read it in the comic series The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak, and Until
We Sleep.
Vivienne is a new character, a circle mage of Orlesian heritage. She was originally to
be in line for First Enchanter at Montsimmard Circle, the same Circle where the Orlesian
Grey Wardens had their base of operations in Orlais. With the Civil War in Orlais and
the Chantry at arms with the mages, she joined up with the Inquisitor.
Characters making appearances as non-companions are little-known, but we do know Morrigan
(and to another extent, Flemeth) will have a great influence in Inquisition. Morrigan
is definitely in Orlais, as pictured by her attire and, in the art, the hall is donned
with Empress Celene's portrait, the same portrait that is illustrated on the front of the next
book The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes, which will come out April next year. But this also
leads to question - is she in Orlais, or is she in Halamshiral looking for the missing
Empress? Who we know has left Val Royeaux because of the elven rebellion. We won't know
just yet.
Beyond dealings with Orlais, Cullen and Leliana were quietly mentioned in Game Informer's
article, regarding a red-haired Orlesian and special Knight-Captain. We already know Cullen's
involvement with the game and Leliana's appearance considering her role as a hand of the Divine.
Another reoccuring character is the unnamed Qunari that we have not only seen in the E3
reveal trailer, but also in this latest trailer and in two of the screenshots. The scars are
the same. Same with the horns. Whether this Qunari is a friendly or an antagonist is to
be determined. The banner that he dons in the trailer is also noted in the second trailer,
in a field next to a lake. The Qunari have a great role in the next game, as illustrated
during the Mark of the Assassin DLC for DA2. We'll see his future most definitely in the
next game.
As far as Thedas is concerned, players will get to play more controlled open areas. Repeated
dungeons are no-more, as the story will extend from West Orlais to East Ferelden. Orlais,
Ferelden, and quite possibly the Free Marches are accounted for. The only destinations that
I can say for sure are available are the Frostback Mountains, as listed on the locale entry in
the trailer, and the Deep Roads as shown in the screenshots Game Informer provided.
A spot I'd also point out is in a small picture in the second trailer: something that looks
similar to the first trailer's scene where Cassandra stabs a map. In this shot, the spot
now exists within the Waking Sea between the Free Marches and Ferelden. One marker is right
below Cumberland, south of Nevarra. While the sword points to the sea and between Highever
and Amaranthine. Whether that comes into play or not is speculative. Or there could be a
lot of stabbing maps. That'd be an interesting way of choosing locations to travel to.
Some of the locations will have unique properties to them. Quoted, "restoring a ruined desert
outpost will allow the player to transform it into an Inquisition stronghold. We know
about the Castle the Hero can manage - but different properties expanding across Thedas
makes the Inquisition a visibly more powerful entity in the game.
Switching gears, Bioware and Game Informer offered more detail into the gameplay. A leveling
system with specializations, such as spirit healer or blood mage, are back in the game.
The actual specializations aren't listed yet, but the two have been deeply involved throughout
the game and lore. Many of the demons and enemies you fought in previous games are back.
You'll also have the chance to fight against normal factions as well, like the Qunari and
elves. Enemies will no longer individually attack you - they will attack in groups, where
you will have to fight different types. The prowler-type enemies will devote their time
flanking you, while archers may attack you from a distance. Players will have the options
of using specific abilities to counter these foes - warriors will have a pulling mechanism
to force the enemy close, while your mages will always have advantage from a distance.
The game is still heavy on tactics ; whether you decide to put your companions on auto-pilot
is up to you. You'll have the choice again to use companions at your will or let them
roam free.
Enemies do not level with you - you might be level 12 when you see a level 99 dragon.
You can come back to these foes later on; expect hard enemies to be scattered across
Thedas that you can't fight from the start.
Speaking of Dragons, Bioware has now implemented a mounting system. Its confirmed that the
player can ride horses in the game, but that is not the only mount the player is restricted
to. Dragons are on people's minds, as well as the possible return of Griffons. Sure,
people say they don't exist. But that's what they said about a cure for tranquility. But
for now, anything beyond horses is purely speculative.
As far as specific mage gameplay goes, Game Informer noted on the destructability of some
environments. Mages can use their spells to reconstruct broken bridges at their leisure.
Or, you can just simply destroy one. It's up to you.
Pushing away from gameplay, the interface is still in pre-alpha. However, it looks like
players will be able to use a compass feature, similar to the Elder Scrolls compass at the
top middle of the screen. The compass indicates friendlies and enemies, as well. Standard
controls for Xbox seem to be X Y and B buttons for spells/combat options, while A is for
activating interactions. The PC version will be as intuitive as it was in Origins - Bioware
does not plan to scale back to represent the same interface that Xbox and Playstation will
have.
Health isn't represented on screen - you'll have a sort of stamina quality, or mana if
you're a mage, for each action that you take.
Oh, and funny story, the clunky and huge greatsword on the player's back with no holster is back.
But I'm sure Bioware will address that down the production line.
As far as customization goes, the developers have said customization is very much in the
game. Crafting will become a key for customization, though the armour will represent the individual
character's style.
As far as other tidbits of information, I thought it'd be interesting to note on a tweet
that was made by Mark Darrah, Bioware's Executive Producer for DA. He noted on the original
canon that the devs adhere to for their lore in the books and comics. Although the player
has the option of following their own story, the canon that the devs follow specifically
is: a Dalish Elf Warden, who makes Alistair King and then dies by killing the Archdemon.
In DA2, Hawke is a mage and should have sided with the mages as well.
Personally, I think the reason why the Dalish Elf Origin is canon is because of the Eluvian
back drop that we see in Origins. In the original Origin story, the player goes along with another
elf named Tamlen to discover a strange artifact, which is an Eluvian. A mirror that acts as
a portal, which in the old days was used as a means of teleportation and communication.
Also, delivering the taint, as made known by Tamlen who, in the Dalish Elf Origins story,
contracts the Darkspawn taint after touching it.
The Eluvians will be a huge device in Dragon Age, especially with Morrigan's use of it
in the Witch Hunt DLC and Merrill in DA2.
On another note, this also calls into question the Old God baby, the child that Morrigan
can have with either Alistair or a male Warden. Bioware notes on their responsibility to uphold
these lingering questions - the question here is how much impact will a child with the soul
of an Old God matter in a world literally torn?
In any case, that is all the information that I have thus far that is of note with Dragon
Age. The Game Informer hub is listed in the description, I highly suggest looking into
it and new footage from Game Informer in the coming month. Thank you all for watching,
liking or favoriting if I was informative, or if not please state in the comment section
below.
Take care everyone - it's going to be a long wait til next Fall.