Dragon Age

Fights in The Descent are a drag. :/ It's a pity, because the story and the lore you uncover are really nice.

Only a couple more days until I finally start this game. Since I plan to play n elf, should I brush up on elven mythology from the codexes?

I read some of it in Origins. There were elven gods and another group and whatever god Solas is was a trickster who played both sides before he sealed away the other group.

Do I need to know more than that? Because I can't for the life of me recall any names...

Your character knowing more than you do is probably fine. It's not like you have to take a written test about the pantheon to play an elf.

You'll get plenty of info during the regular game, especially once you start getting near the end. If you read the codex entries that interest you as you find them, that should be all the backstory you need to fully understand what's happening in the plot.

Patch 1.12 notes

• Increased the duration final slides in Trespasser are displayed.
• Fixed an issue that reduced the damage of Explosive Shot.
• Fixed an issue where auto-level selected certain hidden abilities.
• Fixed an issue where Cassandra was incorrectly referencing the player's romantic interest in the Winter Palace.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Horn of Valor effect to not apply when granted via an item.
• Fixed an issue with Shokra-taar and Antaam-saar armors for Iron Bull.
• Fixed an issue that prevented a quest item from dropping in Trespasser when using Spirit Mark on a specific enemy.
• Fixed an issue that reduced the frequency of the Veilfire Multiplayer event.
• Fixed an issue that could cause Single-Player portraits to be visible in Multiplayer.
• Fixed a crash with the Lunge and Slash ability.
• Fixed an issue where Gaspard was being referenced as being the ruler of Orlais when it should be Celene.
• Improved Stability.

Took them long enough.

Did they fix the Brand schematic to not suck?

Edit: No, I see they didn't. Hmph.

edited 6th Oct '15 5:43:27 PM by ABNDT

Eh, Brand looks fine to me.

Did they fix the Jaws of Hakkon armor to not look like an armored nightie?

Guess who has a PS 4.

Guess who has DA Inquisition.

Guess who will be sitting here annoyed while it takes ten years for all the DLC to be downloaded.

But fuck yes. I've waited weeks, I can wait a few hours.

Oh god I can't wait!!!!!!

Mukora. My money is definitely on Mukora.

Wait why is Mukora at your place? How strange.

edited 7th Oct '15 8:09:28 PM by Arha

Mukora is here to smack me over the head every time I try to do something "evil."

You'll find it very hard to have anything you do be called evil in Inquisition.

That depends on where you fall on the capital punishment argument.

God, I would totally let Nikkolas smack me over the head everytime I did good things if it meant I could actually play Trespasser.

I can lend you my laptop with trespasser installed if you let me put a shock collar on you.

Does giving Whatshisface to Corphish during judgement count as evil? My Lavellen generally wanted nothing to do with the Inquisition and was pretty hardcore about letting the wronged party be the one(s) to carry out punishment.

Needless to say, she was rather enthusiastic about dealing with the Avaar.

So as you all know I spent a long time waiting to get my new console and Inquisition. As such I had a lot of time to think how I wanted to play my Inquisitor.

As per recommendations I went with an Elf. I also decided on Warrior as I declared earlier on. I also put some thought into my Elfquisitor’s background prior to the game. Being fairly young and unremarkable, there had to be a reason WHY the Keeper chose her as a spy for the Conclave. The reason is that she was never particularly happy with Dalish life. Her clan traded and interacted with humans and my Inquisitor enjoyed hanging around humans as much as possible. She has not rejected her people or their gods…it’s more like she longed for a more stable life. Some people are not born to be nomads, feeling as if they don’t belong no matter where they go. So my Inquisitor’s fondness for humans and talent at being an observant spectator made her perfect for this task. It was exciting of course, such a historic event, but my Inquisitor expected to return to her humdrum existence as soon as the excitement was done.

I decided to name my Inquisitor Rhaenyra, after the Targaryen queen who was usurped by her scheming stepmother. While she's nt actually a Targaryen, I feel obliged to put some of my name sake in her. A Targaryen does not just nod and smile and bow to everyone around them. My Inquisitor is polite enough but she is much more..opinionated than I had first planned on. If she likes you, you couldn't ask for a better friend. If she's annoyed with you then fuck off. Guess what dialogue options I choose with this old jackass who keeps yelling about how we're all heretics and I have to stand trial for my "crimes."

Not that Rhaenyra is uncomfortable with politics. Politics fascinate her like everything else in the human world. She never once dreamed she could mingle and interact with people like this and it's all so exciting! The Dalish have nothing even remotely like it and it's certainly one of my Elfquisitor's favorite new things she gets to immerse herself in. I even used my first Inquisition Perk for the Nobility Knowledge.

So far I've been kinda "well this could be interesting' about being the Herald of Andraste. I mean, "I" don't have the faintest clue of it's right or not. But to say "I" dislike the attention would be false. I had a good time talking with Mother Giselle about The Chantry which I think my Inquisitor would be intrigued by. I myself am always fascinated to learn more about other religions and I don't see any reason my Inquisitor would feel differently. In short, Rhaenyra's opinion about the Chantry and her own status as Herald is pending further developments.

Speaking of my elven heritage though, I had a really cool talk with Josephine about that; about potential prejudices against me, about how if I miss my clan and what my clan would think of me. Sadly, I don't miss them and I told her as much. I said I wanted more and well...I got it. Maker or no, my prayers were answered in a sense.

So first recruit: Sera. Let's see what she's all about.

....

Please stop talking.

So you're Robin Hood with an offensive accent and even more offensive language and you killed this guy because...um... No Sera you don't win points for killing him when he was going to kill me because I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't led me here. In short, you "rescued" me from a life or death situation that I was only in because of you in the first place.

Oh god listening to her is like listening to a female Dick van Dyke from Merry Poppins. Are you going to sweep my chimney and dance?

Listen, my Inquisitor is relatively relaxed. She's not a hard-ass like my Shepard. Rhaenyra just got into this whole leader business and so she's fairly casual. Jokes, flirting, normal conversations is all fine and dandy. But what Sera did is just...that wasn't normal. Is she capable of a normal conversation? Perhaps they just went overboard on her quirks for her intro?

Vivenne: And this Marquis is why one must always be courteous to their fellow guests.

The fool had just finished both insulting me and saying we should fight. Had Vivienne not intervened he would have still died, he just would have died by being sliced to pieces.

Talk about a contrast in...well, everything. Sera wasn't quite so unbearable when I just talked to her back at Haven - friendly enough and with her obnoxiousness dialed way back - but she's still nothing on Viv. Oops, I mean ma'am. As the quote above shows, she understand what matters. Sera is not without a certain low cunning but I do like sophistication and class.

Which is why I've been flirting with Josephine every chance I get. She is my dusky goddess.

Rolling with a party of my Inquisitor, Vivienne, Sera and Iron Bull. Not using Varric because I got the measure of his character last game. Solas is...a bit too preachy for my Inquisitor. I'll touch on that in a second. Cass is cool and I will probably switch between her and Bull. And I just got Blackwall and stopped for the night so no chance to use him yet.

Now, as for my Inquisitor and Solas... My Inquisitor has never really fit in anywhere. She didn't dislike being Dalish but she never felt she belonged either. But of course she never could belong in human society either. It was a rather sad state of affairs and she was not looking forward to a life of being an outcast. But now? Well it's like I told Blackwall when he asked, "Some people worship me. I like it." It's less about being mad with power and more that people are seeing passed the pointy ears for once. I suppose you could say being the Herald of Andraste is just another superficial trait they're looking at and they still aren't really seeing her but it's not like "i" know anyway. If I am this Herald then they are seeing me for me. And if I'm not...well, my Inquisitor doesn't like to think about it. She's committed to being this savior and learning all she can about the Chantry and The Maker. If this is how she'll finally find peace and acceptance, then that is what she'll devote all her soul to.

It helps the Chantry has a tenet my Inquisitor agrees with wholeheartedly. She is not a huge fan of magic. One need only look up in the sky to understand why she feels this way. Vivienne makes some excellent points as well and Minaeve is the sweetest thing. What her people did to her was monstrous and we're lucky the Templars saved her. Rhaenyra is not all about KILL EVERY MAGE but she is not going to Redcliffe. I'll resume my game tomorrow by finishing getting the last Power I need to side with the Templars.

That's all I can offer for story right now. Onto gameplay! I'm...lost. So much crafting and upgrading and shit and I don't know what to waste resources on or what not to. I've just been using the better equipment that came with the DLC. I hate customizing stuff because it gives me so many options and I don't have the faintest clue what to do.

EDIT:

I've been informed that, in spite of what the game kind of made me think, going to Redcliffe will not make me side with the mages there. Also I should apparently go there as soon as possible or it's lost forever.

edited 8th Oct '15 8:17:26 AM by Nikkolas

I think there's a Tranquil agent you can only pick up in Redcliff before you side with the mages or templars.

That would be Clemence the Tranquil.

Just a heads-up Nikkolas, Redcliffe is way better written from a story (and music) standpoint. The climax is gorgeous. I found the Templar plotline boring aside from Orlesian nobles weaponizing their bitchiness and a certain character's entrance.

but but if you side with the templars you get free stat points!

^^Bah, I think templar route is better written, mage route is kinda cheesy in concept xD

And the Templars actually feel like they are helping the inquisition instead of slumming it on your couch in Skyhold.

Though admitedly most of that is in the goddamn war table.

I think the boss of the templar side gave me more difficulty than any other in the game and by a fairly large margin too. Granted, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to take Iron Bull with me.