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Dragon Age: Inquisition |OT2| Leave the damn Hinterlands!

Bladenic

Member
I think so, at least I used it more. Ice will freeze enemies which you can then Shatter Combo with Twin Fangs or Deathblow. I could be wrong, but although the description says enemies who attack you get frozen, I was pretty sure it's just enemies that touch you, so I'd use Ice Flask and wade into a group of enemies, then shatter them with Deathblow. Fire Flask is your #1 stunna though. For big enemies, whittle them down until you get them under 1/2 health, then Fire Flask > Deathblow spam and they're gone.

Some Tempest gifs I made of my second playthrough last year below. Absolutely loved the class/spec.

DWpwn1.gif

DWpwn2.gif

I run all three now, loving this specialization for sure, very happy. Even dragons go down quickly once I whittle them past 50% and unleash Fire Flask + Deathblow.

However, I've encountered some nasty bug or horrendous slowdown when using Lightning Flask. Only has happened on large enemies like Giants, bears, and dragons, but the game slows to a crawl, including my character. Very annoying.

I'm thinking I'm just about ready to finish up the game. Only got the snow area left, some companion quests, then I can just finish the game, hooray. Still didn't get the trophy for Pathfinder, piece of shit. Better pop on a new game.

I gotta say, Hissing Wastes may have been a tad too large, but I LOVED finding the tombs and completing the key for the main tomb. And having the dragon stand between me and the main tomb was awesome.

Edit: I hate Focus. It just doesn't make sense, there have been times when I build all three focus bars to fill in no time, then there are times when I can't seem to build one for the life of me. I fought the last dragon and didn't build a single bar during the entire fight. Also hate how it seemingly resets to 0 when fast traveling, it's super annoying.

Edit 2: just read up on amulets of power, holy shit why did they remove so many? That really sucks :/
 

Xevren

Member
Yay tempest love! Was my favorite thing ever to pop lightning flask then just switch to another character and just watch them go nuts.
 

Bladenic

Member
Is this a bug? Every time when I change areas, my potions drop by 1. Not the healing potions, but the other 2 I have. So I have jar of bees and regenerative potion, and I'll stock them fully. But then, when I check, I always have one less for both. And thus have to stock them again and use more materials.
 

JeffG

Member
Is this a bug? Every time when I change areas, my potions drop by 1. Not the healing potions, but the other 2 I have. So I have jar of bees and regenerative potion, and I'll stock them fully. But then, when I check, I always have one less for both. And thus have to stock them again and use more materials.

Console or PC? If PC, do you have Mods? I have never seen this on my XBox One. So if it is a bug maybe due to unintended consequences from a mod. (This is just a guess)
 

Bladenic

Member
Console or PC? If PC, do you have Mods? I have never seen this on my XBox One. So if it is a bug maybe due to unintended consequences from a mod. (This is just a guess)

Nope, PS4! Really weird. Are there any sort of equipment related things that lower potion count? That would be weird, but I'll need to check.
 

Bladenic

Member
nothing to lower count. are you wearing a grenade belt?

Nope. Nothing like that. I'm guessing it's just some glitch but it only recently started. Oh well, no biggie.

What do most people use for the potions? I tried a fully upgraded Jar of Bees on dragons and um it's amazing. Other than that I use the regenerative potion, but I've yet to try a few of the others. I used to use the potion that slows and weakens (forgot the name right now) but it didn't seem to do that much good IMO.
 

jonjonaug

Member
Nope. Nothing like that. I'm guessing it's just some glitch but it only recently started. Oh well, no biggie.

What do most people use for the potions? I tried a fully upgraded Jar of Bees on dragons and um it's amazing. Other than that I use the regenerative potion, but I've yet to try a few of the others. I used to use the potion that slows and weakens (forgot the name right now) but it didn't seem to do that much good IMO.

Poisons and the like are only really necessary on Nightmare mode, but a fully upgraded Jar of Bees and the Attack/Magic up potions are all great.
 

Bladenic

Member
Finished the last story mission, doing Jaws of Hakkon now.

Gotta say, the final battle was so anticlimactic. The main villain seriously becomes such a joke and a punching bag. You foil every single one of his plans, and the final battle is piss easy (although I'm horribly over leveled too). I thought the battle between the two you know whats was lame, rushed, and lamely concluded too. Oh well.

Excited for Tresspasser.
Kind of sucks if Flemeth is dead. Feel like there was much more to be done there, particularly with Morrigan.
 
Yeah, it really was. (spoilers for base game)

Sealing the breach and the lead-up to doing so felt much more climatic. As did Adamant, the Winter Palace and the Temple of Mythal. And then the ending just sort of happens. Show up, dragon stuff, boss fight, and that's it. Felt rushed and not appropriate for the journey the player just went on.

re: Flemeth - I think they were just trying to clean up loose ends from previous games where she also has a presence. Inquisition alone, yeah, it feels lacking.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
I've stayed away from this game because of all the negativity I hear, but part of me still wants to see the main story through to the end. I didn't even think the main quest in DAII was bad. After playing the free PC trial for Inquisition though, I don't think I really want anything to do with the combat, the interface (on both controller and mouse) is just baffling.

Anyway, the real thing I'm worried about is the power system and fetch quests I keep hearing about. What I'm asking is if there's a way to pretty much just bolt through the main quest or at least bolt through all the good/important story stuff. Is there a mod that speeds up the whole process on PC?
 

LightInfa

Member
I've stayed away from this game because of all the negativity I hear, but part of me still wants to see the main story through to the end. I didn't even think the main quest in DAII was bad. After playing the free PC trial for Inquisition though, I don't think I really want anything to do with the combat, the interface (on both controller and mouse) is just baffling.

Anyway, the real thing I'm worried about is the power system and fetch quests I keep hearing about. What I'm asking is if there's a way to pretty much just bolt through the main quest or at least bolt through all the good/important story stuff. Is there a mod that speeds up the whole process on PC?

Fetch quests can be completely ignored- while the power system does slow down your ability to just power through main quest as quickly as possible once you get to skyhold you can simply buy power from a merchant instead of having to run sidequests. That being said there are plenty of good sidequests- each area has a central quest that's not necessarily part of the main story and following those quests will get you gobs of power.
 

JeffG

Member
I've stayed away from this game because of all the negativity I hear, but part of me still wants to see the main story through to the end. I didn't even think the main quest in DAII was bad. After playing the free PC trial for Inquisition though, I don't think I really want anything to do with the combat, the interface (on both controller and mouse) is just baffling.

Anyway, the real thing I'm worried about is the power system and fetch quests I keep hearing about. What I'm asking is if there's a way to pretty much just bolt through the main quest or at least bolt through all the good/important story stuff. Is there a mod that speeds up the whole process on PC?

Ignore Shards (ie...don't use Skulls on poles) and ignore the Requisition Table.

For the PC, get the Quick Loot Mod and Cut scene Camera Zoom Mod. (and any Graphically mods you want.)

If you take the shortest path, there will be a short grind to open one story path, but if you go out and explore a bit you will never have to grind.

The only time you end up having to "grind" is if you spend all your power points in opening areas, but don't explore the area's.
 
Hit level 12 and decided to re-spec from a Rogue dual dagger to Archer. Are there any penalties I'll incur from doing so? And also, at the beginning of the game when it asked to pick a class, did I lose any bonuses by not picking Archer from the start?
 

JeffG

Member
Hit level 12 and decided to re-spec from a Rogue dual dagger to Archer. Are there any penalties I'll incur from doing so? And also, at the beginning of the game when it asked to pick a class, did I lose any bonuses by not picking Archer from the start?

nope
 

Thanks.

Having a lot of fun with the archer build now. Maybe I'll switch back to dual dagger when I can actually do some decent damage. It seems my bow and arrows are much more effective at this point in the game. Plus it's been really fun, just Sera and I, lobbing arrows from the outskirts of battles while Vivienne and Cassandra go in for the spells and melee.
 

Bladenic

Member
Bumping this again cuz I forgot to post about finishing Trespasser. Loved it, though still so many questions and ugh DA4 needs to hurry up. Also a question related to DA:I and Trespasser:

So why did Solas seemingly kill Flemeth/Mythal? Especially since apparently Mythal was the only one he actually liked and what he did he did for her. Was it killing or more like power absorption since he was still seemingly weakened?

Feel like I need to pay attention to a replay regarding Solas stuff too.

Loved the tempest specialization. I think for nightmare I'm going to go mage, probably knight enchanter though I do like Necromancer quite a bit when I played as Dorian. Rift Mage seems the most boring. I can't say I regret switching to dual daggers from bows, though Sera was fun to play as with a bow. Oh well.

This seems like the best thread to ask this (although best is perhaps not the right word). I had DA:O on PS3 for a while just never played it past the intro. Should I go ahead and get the Ultimate Edition, considering all the extra content? And while it's no big deal considering I'm not very far at all, can you transfer over your save to Ultimate DA:O or nah?
 

diaspora

Member
So why did Solas seemingly kill Flemeth/Mythal? Especially since apparently Mythal was the only one he actually liked and what he did he did for her. Was it killing or more like power absorption since he was still seemingly weakened?
Yes.

Feel like I need to pay attention to a replay regarding Solas stuff too.

Loved the tempest specialization. I think for nightmare I'm going to go mage, probably knight enchanter though I do like Necromancer quite a bit when I played as Dorian. Rift Mage seems the most boring. I can't say I regret switching to dual daggers from bows, though Sera was fun to play as with a bow. Oh well.

This seems like the best thread to ask this (although best is perhaps not the right word). I had DA:O on PS3 for a while just never played it past the intro. Should I go ahead and get the Ultimate Edition, considering all the extra content? And while it's no big deal considering I'm not very far at all, can you transfer over your save to Ultimate DA:O or nah?

Yes. Also, dunno about PS3 to PC save transfer though.
 

Yeul

Member
So why did Solas seemingly kill Flemeth/Mythal? Especially since apparently Mythal was the only one he actually liked and what he did he did for her. Was it killing or more like power absorption since he was still seemingly weakened?

This was data-mined in the dev notes in case you need more explanation.
Designer's Notes: "This is Flemeth from the previous two games. In this game, Flemeth's story comes to a head -- she knew that Solas would summon her, and that he would need to steal her power to further his plans. She knew that because they are both elven gods...yet Solas has slept for a thousand years and his power dwindled, while she was killed long ago and a spark escaped from her into the body she now holds. She has nurtured that spark, and knew that Solas would need it. He was once her oldest friend, but she knows in his drive to save the elven people he will kill anyone -- even her. She intends to let him have the power, so long as she can pass the essence of her god-hood onto Morrigan, a gift Flemeth had always planned for her daughter yet one Morrigan misunderstood as hostile possession."
 

Bladenic

Member
This was data-mined in the dev notes in case you need more explanation.
Designer's Notes: "This is Flemeth from the previous two games. In this game, Flemeth's story comes to a head -- she knew that Solas would summon her, and that he would need to steal her power to further his plans. She knew that because they are both elven gods...yet Solas has slept for a thousand years and his power dwindled, while she was killed long ago and a spark escaped from her into the body she now holds. She has nurtured that spark, and knew that Solas would need it. He was once her oldest friend, but she knows in his drive to save the elven people he will kill anyone -- even her. She intends to let him have the power, so long as she can pass the essence of her god-hood onto Morrigan, a gift Flemeth had always planned for her daughter yet one Morrigan misunderstood as hostile possession."

Thanks! I hope this means more Morrigan in the future, and now I'm excited to see how she'll be.

I'm gonna order the Ultimate Edition now. I may go gay in DA:O if there's a good male choice, but I also think I want to bang Morrigan
Morrigan Disapproves
 

Yeul

Member
Thanks! I hope this means more Morrigan in the future, and now I'm excited to see how she'll be.

I'm gonna order the Ultimate Edition now. I may go gay in DA:O if there's a good male choice, but I also think I want to bang Morrigan
Morrigan Disapproves

You're welcome! Things are definitely picking up story-wise. DA4 is going to be exciting :)
 

Bladenic

Member
You're welcome! Things are definitely picking up story-wise. DA4 is going to be exciting :)

I'm kinda wanting ME:A to hurry up and release so we can move on to DA4. At least I have Origins and 2 to play meanwhile. I know that's sacrilegious but I got DA:I on sale and started playing and it was just too damn good to put down. Plus I'm more interested in seeing the continuing narrative of DA as opposed to the reboot of ME (probably alone or in the minority on that one).
 

Yeul

Member
I'm kinda wanting ME:A to hurry up and release so we can move on to DA4. At least I have Origins and 2 to play meanwhile. I know that's sacrilegious but I got DA:I on sale and started playing and it was just too damn good to put down. Plus I'm more interested in seeing the continuing narrative of DA as opposed to the reboot of ME (probably alone or in the minority on that one).

I got into ME before I did DA, but ever since Trespasser when things got really intense in the story I go through phases where I'm really itching for the DA cycle to start back up again - as in I won't think about it for a while then all of a sudden it'll hit me like, "Wow that was intense". It's already been a year since Trespasser and almost 2 since DA:I released and that's so crazy?? It seems like yesterday. I'm definitely excited for ME:A, but yeah, now it's just holding out until (I assume) late-2018 or early 2019 to get DA4. I definitely need to go back and do a full replay of Origins though. Also, I wouldn't worry, I know a lot of people where DA appeals a lot more than ME. Who knows, if you play ME:A you might like it and it might make the wait more bearable.
 

Bladenic

Member
I got into ME before I did DA, but ever since Trespasser when things got really intense in the story I go through phases where I'm really itching for the DA cycle to start back up again - as in I won't think about it for a while then all of a sudden it'll hit me like, "Wow that was intense". It's already been a year since Trespasser and almost 2 since DA:I released and that's so crazy?? It seems like yesterday. I'm definitely excited for ME:A, but yeah, now it's just holding out until (I assume) late-2018 or early 2019 to get DA4. I definitely need to go back and do a full replay of Origins though. Also, I wouldn't worry, I know a lot of people where DA appeals a lot more than ME. Who knows, if you play ME:A you might like it and it might make the wait more bearable.

Oh no, I started with ME first too and I'm super excited for ME:A. But from a story perspective I'm more excited for DA4. How big is Bioware these days? I'm assuming there's already work being done on DA4, they just won't reveal anything until after ME:A. I'm guessing next E3 for a reveal with a late 2018 release. That would be 4 years since DA:I, wow!

Any hopes for DA4? Personally I'd love to continue playing as my badass Inquisitior, stay with Dorian, and for the setting to at least partially move to Tevinter. Though considering they haven't yet featured a playable hero twice in a row that seems unlikely. But I'm still hoping for Tevinter.
 

Yeul

Member
Oh no, I started with ME first too and I'm super excited for ME:A. But from a story perspective I'm more excited for DA4. How big is Bioware these days? I'm assuming there's already work being done on DA4, they just won't reveal anything until after ME:A. I'm guessing next E3 for a reveal with a late 2018 release. That would be 4 years since DA:I, wow!

Any hopes for DA4? Personally I'd love to continue playing as my badass Inquisitior, stay with Dorian, and for the setting to at least partially move to Tevinter. Though considering they haven't yet featured a playable hero twice in a row that seems unlikely. But I'm still hoping for Tevinter.

Yeah BioWare's pretty big, my guess would be they announce that they are working on/have been working on DA4 for a while once ME:A is out (post on their BioWare Blog/Dragon Age website or on Twitter), E3 2017 has maybe a short launch trailer with just a title screen and a year or a "Coming Soon", E3 2018 has a "blowout" trailer, and then the game is released either Holiday 2018 or is pushed to Q1 or Q2 2019. That's just my guess though lol, they've also got that new IP in there somewhere so who even knows.

Dorian will definitely be back, he's such a great character. As for me, I think if it'd be cool if they went dual-protag for certain scenes (a Geralt-Ciri route most likely) that way you have some ties to the story as well as some "agency", for lack of a better word, with regards to your interactions as Inquisitor. Obviously the majority would be playing the new protag due to the nature of that Trespasser post-credits scene. Tevinter is pretty much a given, it would be silly to trounce on that idea given that scene as well. I'd also love for blood magic to be back in some capacity, it just seems appropriate if we go to Tevinter. The funny part is I never played a mage before Inquisition (my Inquisitor was a KE), so I'd like to get in on that spec for DA4. Other than that it's things like a close-up camera for NPC interactions (including non-essential NPCs), and the obvious hair/eyebrows selection, etc. etc. I could go on. I felt bad for guys playing this game in a way because they got 9000 different variations of balding for the most part (well, actually everyone had it pretty rough) lol. I play on PC so thankfully there were mods involved where I was able to salvage her hair so she looked cute.
 

diaspora

Member
While I think the Inquisitor appearing is possible I strongly doubt they're going to be the protagonist of the new game. Personally, I like starting fresh with a new cast in every game, it makes the world feel bigger and more interesting and let's me see Thedas from so many more points of view.
 

Ralemont

not me
All DAI's DLC is on sale on US PSN this week for $5 each. They are all worth it for that price, but Trespasser goes from "mandatory" to "double secret mandatory" for $5.
 

diaspora

Member
All DAI's DLC is on sale on US PSN this week for $5 each. They are all worth it for that price, but Trespasser goes from "mandatory" to "double secret mandatory" for $5.
Honestly, IMO people should try all 3 DLCs with Trespasser being last if only because you can't play Descent and Hakkon after Trespasser.
Descent and Hakkon are also pretty good.

Hakkon being a refinement of DAI's open design with better quest structure, design and narrative. Descent because it's a big-ass dungeon crawl.
 

Ralemont

not me
Honestly, IMO people should try all 3 DLCs with Trespasser being last if only because you can't play Descent and Hakkon after Trespasser.
Descent and Hakkon are also pretty good.

Hakkon being a refinement of DAI's open design with better quest structure, design and narrative. Descent because it's a big-ass dungeon crawl.

Agreed. Also because for those not particularly interested in some of the more empty Inquisition zones, Descent and Jaws are more fun ways to get Power for main quests.
 

diaspora

Member
Agreed. Also because for those not particularly interested in some of the more empty Inquisition zones, Descent and Jaws are more fun ways to get Power for main quests.
True. They're a good way to skip the Hissing Wastes; though I appreciate the lore that's there I didn't click with the ridiculous empty night desert. Hopefully DA4 has day-night cycles.
 

LightInfa

Member
All DAI's DLC is on sale on US PSN this week for $5 each. They are all worth it for that price, but Trespasser goes from "mandatory" to "double secret mandatory" for $5.

YESSS

thanks for the heads up - just got back into this and didn't have Descent or Hakkon!
 

UberLevi

Member
Just bought Trespasser. Feels like a steal at $5. If I can only get one other, should I snag Descent or Jaws of Hakkon? General consensus seems to be JoH over Descent, but I wanna make sure.
 

diaspora

Member
Just bought Trespasser. Feels like a steal at $5. If I can only get one other, should I snag Descent or Jaws of Hakkon? General consensus seems to be JoH over Descent, but I wanna make sure.

Buy both. Don't play Trespasser until you've beaten JoH and Descent. If you start Trespasser you're locked out of any other quests since it takes place 2 years later.
 

LightInfa

Member
Just bought Trespasser. Feels like a steal at $5. If I can only get one other, should I snag Descent or Jaws of Hakkon? General consensus seems to be JoH over Descent, but I wanna make sure.

Just finished Descent and it's really fun - scratched that DAO Deep Roads itch very well. As someone really into the lore I thought the story was extremely interesting, but if you aren't invested in that kind of stuff it may fall flat cause there's not much else too it beyond slicing through mobs of darkspawn and other things..
 

Dunkelgrau

Member
Bought it for PC on day one, but stopped to play it after I had reach the skyhold, because of the terrible performance on my rig.

Now, after nearly two years, I bought it again for PS4 and rushed through it to reach the skyhold again as fast as possible.

GAF, I don't know what to do.

When I play on "normal" all I have to do is to hold the attack button in most of the battles. When I play on "hard" I have to spend more time doing boring sidequests to get enough power points for the next storyquest. I'm in no laughing mood.

So I played it for round about 50 hours on both plattforms, never fought a dragon, bought Dungeon Defenders today, and have big doubts to play further. Again. :-(
 

Ralemont

not me
Impromptu ranking of DAI companions:

1. Solas - Obviously ties in very well with important events, interesting exploration of the concept of the Fade through his dialogues, dialogues themselves extremely well-written

2. Blackwall - Never saw his plot twist coming. Like Solas in that the second time through you pick up on sooo much foreshadowing you missed. Some of the most well-written scenes in the game, in particular this one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHzpRVlXZm4

3. Sera - Explained this more in-depth in another thread, but I find her contradictions add a great deal of complexity to her character that makes her feel like a real person. Also find her hilariously funny.

4. Cassandra - Probably the most well-written religious character in games. Self-aware and flawed. She's only fourth because I'm honestly not a huge fan of how much they focus on her romanticism in a quirky way.

5. Dorian - Perfect character to explore Tevinter culture. Good companion quest that ties personal problems perfectly into Tevinter problems. Our last Gaider snark character. :(

6. Cole - More interesting if you've read Asunder probably, but hands down the best companion quest in the game with a truly morally ambiguous outcome.

7. Iron Bull - Would be last if it wasn't for Trespasser. Don't really think he ever comes across as a character that fits in well with the Qunari/Dragon Age. Almost a joke character for half his dialogues. His heel turn in Trespasser is great but only affects one decision path.

8. Varric - Never felt like he belonged in the Inquisition. Once Hawke leaves he just kind of hangs around and doesn't contribute much.

9. Vivienne - Not even sure what the point of her character is. She would have functioned better as another advisor, probably. Kind of bizarre character quest.
 

Elven_Star

Member
Guys, this game looks like shit and runs horribly on my PC. I finished it on PS4 back in 2014, and was looking forward to a superior experience, but what I'm getting is simply unacceptable. The fps drops even below 30 at times. What is the deal with those 1+ minute loading times? Is this a general thing on PC or is it my rig?

i3 6100, 8GB DDR4, RX 470 4GB, SSD

I get 60 fps with ultra settings (except for high quality shadows and high foliage view distance) on Witcher 3 at 2560x1080!
 

diaspora

Member
Guys, this game looks like shit and runs horribly on my PC. I finished it on PS4 back in 2014, and was looking forward to a superior experience, but what I'm getting is simply unacceptable. The fps drops even below 30 at times. What is the deal with those 1+ minute loading times? Is this a general thing on PC or is it my rig?

i3 6100, 8GB DDR4, RX 470 4GB, SSD

I get 60 fps with ultra settings (except for high quality shadows and high foliage view distance) on Witcher 3 at 2560x1080!
Your CPU kinda stinks. Frostbite is very much a CPU dependent engine. Not sure what's causing the loading problems as that's not something I can replicate.
 

Elven_Star

Member
Your CPU kinda stinks. Frostbite is very much a CPU dependent engine. Not sure what's causing the loading problems as that's not something I can replicate.

I dunno. My CPU seems to be fine with pretty much every other game out there, including some of the most demanding ones (Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3, etc). Don't you think it's fairer to say their engine stinks?
 

diaspora

Member
I dunno. My CPU seems to be fine with pretty much every other game out there, including some of the most demanding ones (Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3, etc). Don't you think it's fairer to say their engine stinks?

Not really no. Frostbite is generally considered an incredible engine for good reason.
 

Elven_Star

Member
Not really no. Frostbite is generally considered an incredible engine for good reason.

So, we're gonna assume it's a great engine because it is considered so. The fact that it performs poorly in practice compared to other engines is of no consequence at all. Nice logic.
 

diaspora

Member
So, we're gonna assume it's a great engine because it is considered so. The fact that it performs poorly in practice compared to other engines is of no consequence at all. Nice logic.

It's considered a great engine because the games that run it look beautifully while also running quite well on PC hardware with strong benchmarks. There's a reason you're generally alone in thinking that Frostbite's a problem.

edit: yep, performs well with older AMD CPUs too.

 
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