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** It should be said that they've definitely taken this one to heart and gone to the most logical place with it as there's now a [[https://masseffectarchives.com '''Mass Effect Archive''']] that (albeit superfluously as there isn't currently a game that utilizes it) serves the same purpose as the '''Keep'''.
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** It should be said that they've definitely taken this one to heart and gone to the most logical place with it as there's now a [[https://masseffectarchives.com '''Mass Mass Effect Archive''']] Archive]] that (albeit superfluously as there isn't currently a game that utilizes it) serves the same purpose as the '''Keep'''.
Keep.
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** It should be said that they've definitely taken this one to heart and gone to the most logical place with it as there's now a [[https://masseffectarchives.com '''Mass Effect Archive''']] that (albeit superfluously as there isn't currently a game that utilizes it) serves the same purpose as the '''Keep'''.
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!!''Inquisition'' DLC as a panorama of WesternRPG subgenres
As Mike Laidlaw said in the [[http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/08/29/dragon-age-inquisition-pax-2015.aspx interview]], each one of ''Inquisition'' [=DLCs=] represents one of the distinct subgenres of WesternRPG:
* ''The Jaws of Hakkon'' is a [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox RPG]], with its huge open world area, side quests, and non-linear exploration.
* ''The Descent'' is very much a DungeonCrawler, with its classic top-down dungeon, increasingly deadly enemies, and generous loot.
* ''Trespasser'' is a "narrative RPG", focusing on the companions and providing closure to the Inquisition story arc.
As an aside, most attempts to have a single game belong to all three subgenres at once have resulted in watered-down and indecisive gaming experiences in the past, but ''Inquisition'' devs seem to have been aware of what they were getting into and handled it better than most.
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* '''Social main quest.''' The Winter Palace mission is essentially an evolution of Samara's loyalty mission in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and revolves mostly around your actions and words. It is [[RPGsEqualCombat unusually]] light on combat (even the last BossFight can be avoided if you have enough court approval), and its outcome is decided in dialogue that largely depends on what the player managed to learn throughout the mission.[[note]]''Skyrim'' had something similar with the civil war truce negotiations, but while comparable in complexity, they was not nearly as engaging as the Winter Palace.[[/note]]
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* '''Social main quest.''' The Winter Palace mission is essentially an evolution of Samara's loyalty mission in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and revolves mostly around your actions and words. It is [[RPGsEqualCombat unusually]] light on combat (even the last BossFight can be avoided if you have enough court approval), and its outcome is decided in dialogue that largely depends on what the player managed to learn throughout the mission.[[note]]''Skyrim'' had something similar with the civil war truce negotiations, but while comparable in complexity, they was it is not nearly as engaging as the Winter Palace.[[/note]]
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* '''No auto-heal.''' The lack of RegeneratingHealth adds a strategic element to exploration, where the player must repeatedly decide whether to push ahead or to return to safety. A limit on {{Healing Potion}}s makes prolonged boss battles (such as high dragons) more thrilling.
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* '''No auto-heal.''' The lack of RegeneratingHealth adds a strategic element to exploration, where the player must repeatedly decide whether to push ahead or to return to safety. A limit on {{Healing Potion}}s makes prolonged boss battles (such as high dragons) more thrilling.
thrilling. Reliance on renewable defensive layers like [[MightyGlacier Guard]] for warriors or [[BarrierWarrior barriers]] for Mages becomes of critical importance.
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!!!Greatest innovation of them all
* '''Dragon Age Keep.''' If nothing else, Creator/BioWare deserves credit for being the first company in 25 years to innovate on the concept of OldSaveBonus in narrative games.
* '''Dragon Age Keep.''' If nothing else, Creator/BioWare deserves credit for being the first company in 25 years to innovate on the concept of OldSaveBonus in narrative games.
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!!Things to learn from ''Dragon Age: Inquisition''
''DAI'' is not a perfect game by any measure, but more AAA [=RPGs=] would profit from picking up on some of the features it pioneered (at least, as far as modern AAA [=RPGs=] are concerned).
!!!Social interaction gameplay
* '''Social main quest.''' The Winter Palace mission is essentially an evolution of Samara's loyalty mission in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and revolves mostly around your actions and words. It is [[RPGsEqualCombat unusually]] light on combat (even the last BossFight can be avoided if you have enough court approval), and its outcome is decided in dialogue that largely depends on what the player managed to learn throughout the mission.[[note]]''Skyrim'' had something similar with the civil war truce negotiations, but while comparable in complexity, they was not nearly as engaging as the Winter Palace.[[/note]]
* '''Persuasion through knowledge.''' The persuade dialogue options are no longer tied to a SkillScore (like in ''Origins'') or the KarmaMeter (like in ''II''). Instead, the best dialogue outcomes are attained by picking special dialogue options unlocked (or not) by previous exploration (PC origins, Inquisition Perks, {{Event Flag}}s, etc.), which also makes a lot more narrative sense.
* '''Hidden approval ratings.''' Hiding RelationshipValues makes the companion interaction less game-y and more personal by forcing the player to think about things the character would or would not like to hear, rather than about maxing out their approval "thermometers".
One possible way to build upon the Winter Palace mission would be to add "social boss battles" in the vein of the PersuasionMinigame in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' to it, wherein gaining cooperation of a few key [=NPCs=] would be secured or forfeited through several consecutive dialogue choices, tailored to each character.
!!!Class system
* '''Prestige class sidequests.''' A SideQuest required to gain a specific PrestigeClass is a great idea--as long as it isn't a generic {{Fetch|Quest}}/CollectionSidequest that ''Inquisition'' offers. Instead, such sidequests should be mini-plots revolving around specifics of the specializations they unlock (e.g. the Assassin specialization may be unlocked via a solo mission to assassinate a bad guy without being spotted).
* '''Class-specific context actions.''' Warriors breaking things down and mages restoring {{Broken Bridge}}s is a great addition to rogues' traditional lockpicking, which encourages class representation within the active party and gives every party member a function outside of combat and, occasionally, dialogue.
!!!Combat
* '''Stealthy mooks.''' An evolution of Geth Hunters from ''Franchise/MassEffect'', these bring additional variety into the combat gameplay.
* '''No auto-heal.''' The lack of RegeneratingHealth adds a strategic element to exploration, where the player must repeatedly decide whether to push ahead or to return to safety. A limit on {{Healing Potion}}s makes prolonged boss battles (such as high dragons) more thrilling.
!!!Miscellaneous
* '''Convert money to influence.''' Like many [=RPGs=], ''Inquisition'' suffers from MoneyForNothing problem, but it is offset by the ability to convert money into "XP" for the Inquisition (at least until it reaches the level cap).
* '''Search function.''' The 3D successor to the "highlight all" button in isometric [=RPGs=], it makes sure you don't miss any loot.
!!!...and the sting
You'd think that Creator/BioWare learned from the ''Mass Effect'' series that not everyone equally enjoys the manual collection of ItemCrafting resources. Collecting a resource in ''Inquisition'' is always a chore because the game plays the same animation for every single plant and ore nugget you come across. Manual harvesting only works in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' because it happens instantaneously, and even in that game, mining gets boring quickly despite requiring you to press a single button to extract all ore in the vicinity.
Why can't the Inquisition agents collect those resources for you? Instead of the Inquisitor [[ItsUpToYou doing everything]], you could "mark" the collectible resources with the search function and have them automatically claimed when you return to a camp or leave the location. Not only would this reduce the tedium, but it would also enhance the feeling of leading a massive organization with an army of agents at your disposal.
----
''DAI'' is not a perfect game by any measure, but more AAA [=RPGs=] would profit from picking up on some of the features it pioneered (at least, as far as modern AAA [=RPGs=] are concerned).
!!!Social interaction gameplay
* '''Social main quest.''' The Winter Palace mission is essentially an evolution of Samara's loyalty mission in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and revolves mostly around your actions and words. It is [[RPGsEqualCombat unusually]] light on combat (even the last BossFight can be avoided if you have enough court approval), and its outcome is decided in dialogue that largely depends on what the player managed to learn throughout the mission.[[note]]''Skyrim'' had something similar with the civil war truce negotiations, but while comparable in complexity, they was not nearly as engaging as the Winter Palace.[[/note]]
* '''Persuasion through knowledge.''' The persuade dialogue options are no longer tied to a SkillScore (like in ''Origins'') or the KarmaMeter (like in ''II''). Instead, the best dialogue outcomes are attained by picking special dialogue options unlocked (or not) by previous exploration (PC origins, Inquisition Perks, {{Event Flag}}s, etc.), which also makes a lot more narrative sense.
* '''Hidden approval ratings.''' Hiding RelationshipValues makes the companion interaction less game-y and more personal by forcing the player to think about things the character would or would not like to hear, rather than about maxing out their approval "thermometers".
One possible way to build upon the Winter Palace mission would be to add "social boss battles" in the vein of the PersuasionMinigame in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' to it, wherein gaining cooperation of a few key [=NPCs=] would be secured or forfeited through several consecutive dialogue choices, tailored to each character.
!!!Class system
* '''Prestige class sidequests.''' A SideQuest required to gain a specific PrestigeClass is a great idea--as long as it isn't a generic {{Fetch|Quest}}/CollectionSidequest that ''Inquisition'' offers. Instead, such sidequests should be mini-plots revolving around specifics of the specializations they unlock (e.g. the Assassin specialization may be unlocked via a solo mission to assassinate a bad guy without being spotted).
* '''Class-specific context actions.''' Warriors breaking things down and mages restoring {{Broken Bridge}}s is a great addition to rogues' traditional lockpicking, which encourages class representation within the active party and gives every party member a function outside of combat and, occasionally, dialogue.
!!!Combat
* '''Stealthy mooks.''' An evolution of Geth Hunters from ''Franchise/MassEffect'', these bring additional variety into the combat gameplay.
* '''No auto-heal.''' The lack of RegeneratingHealth adds a strategic element to exploration, where the player must repeatedly decide whether to push ahead or to return to safety. A limit on {{Healing Potion}}s makes prolonged boss battles (such as high dragons) more thrilling.
!!!Miscellaneous
* '''Convert money to influence.''' Like many [=RPGs=], ''Inquisition'' suffers from MoneyForNothing problem, but it is offset by the ability to convert money into "XP" for the Inquisition (at least until it reaches the level cap).
* '''Search function.''' The 3D successor to the "highlight all" button in isometric [=RPGs=], it makes sure you don't miss any loot.
!!!...and the sting
You'd think that Creator/BioWare learned from the ''Mass Effect'' series that not everyone equally enjoys the manual collection of ItemCrafting resources. Collecting a resource in ''Inquisition'' is always a chore because the game plays the same animation for every single plant and ore nugget you come across. Manual harvesting only works in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' because it happens instantaneously, and even in that game, mining gets boring quickly despite requiring you to press a single button to extract all ore in the vicinity.
Why can't the Inquisition agents collect those resources for you? Instead of the Inquisitor [[ItsUpToYou doing everything]], you could "mark" the collectible resources with the search function and have them automatically claimed when you return to a camp or leave the location. Not only would this reduce the tedium, but it would also enhance the feeling of leading a massive organization with an army of agents at your disposal.
----
