A fine plot to make money if you ask me.
She's missing a toe. Is it deliberate, to make this fanart more :incloosive
Also, she's not that fat, in the actual game. Fucking casuals.
She's missing a toe. Is it deliberate, to make this fanart more :incloosive
Also, she's not that fat, in the actual game. Fucking casuals.
She actually has 5 toes if you look closely, the toe right next to the big one is just somewhat obscured by the one next to it...
Let me just preface the actual post by saying that, while this is going to be my first message here, I've been reading this reddit for quite some time now, and I'm pretty impressed by the level of discussion here, both its politeness and content, a nice change from many other discussion boards. Having said that, I would like to share some thoughts on the side quests in Inquisition. Obviously they've been one of the main objects of criticism of the game, and though I do feel like Bioware could've done more with side content, I think much of the flak is not really deserved.
Many people argue that basically most of the game is just filler content. I'm not going to refute the "filler" part since its definition is very arbitrary; however, we should keep in mind that in pretty much all RPGs (Western ones anyway), side content comprises the majority of the quests, if not the actual playing time. Inquisition is in no way unique in this regard.
It also bothers me when some people define all side quests in the game as "fetch quests". Either their definition of "fetch quests" is stretched beyond imagining, or they don't quite understand what it is. Admittedly I haven't counted all the side quests in Inquisition, but I'm pretty sure that there isn't more than a dozen "proper" fetch quests in this 100+ hours game, and most of them are given in the Hinterlands, an area specifically designed to quickly level you up, and the Exalted Plains. The majority of side quests, while perhaps not especially meaningful, cannot be categorised as fetch quests.
Also, I get the impression that many of those who criticise Inquisition's side content often look at previous DA (and generally Bioware) games through rose-tinted glasses, forgetting about the quality of side quests there. While Origins had a few interesting, challenging side quests (Zerlinda in Orzammar, Tevinter slavers in the Alienage, etc.), most of them were arguably even less meaningful that in Inquisition and included either going to some remote location and killing darkspawn/bandits or simply procuring ingredients or valuables. Plus, the rationale for the Warden to do all these menial talks was pretty questionable unlike in Inquisition (I will touch on that later). Mass Effect 2 was a bit of an exception since it had very few side quests to being with (I'm not counting loyalty missions), but IIRC most of them were of the "find the owner of stolen documents/locket/package" variety. As for Mass Effect 3, while there were quite a few interesting quests on the Citadel, there were even more classic fetch quests which involved planet scanning, probe launching and nothing more.
With that said, let's take a look at how side quests are implemented in Inquisition. I think an important part of how well side content works is whether the game gives you enough motivation to do it, and there are very few problems, if any, with motivation in the game. When you go to the Hinterlands, your main goal is bringing order to this war-ravaged region and heralding (no pun intended) the Inquisition as a new power. Needless to say, it entails doing various insignificant tasks for the locals and providing the refugees with what they require, all in a bid to raise the Inquisition's profile in these lands. Contrast it with Origins, where you were racing against time to stop the Archdemon, with Blight spreading rapidly across Ferelden... but apparently you still had enough time to paint some doors, fetch some scrolls, deliver some notices or find some garnets. Those are the very definition of fetch quests, and yet the game doesn't really give the player any rationale to do it (other than money). At least you hunt rams in order to feed the starving refugees who will then spread the word about the Inquisition.
Some people might say, "fine, forget about the Hinterlands, why am I supposed to do side quests in order to get enough power to do main missions?!" Well I think there are good reasons for that as well. Before you do "Champions of the Just", you need to elevate the Inquisition to a certain level of recognition and support. Before assaulting Adamant, you have to organise your forces and prepare for the siege. Before "What Pride Had Wrought", you need to mobilise your army and agents and send word to your allies. In gameplay terms, it all translates to acquiring more power and yes, doing side content. And I think this mechanic is really clever - side quests are a means to getting power and influence which in turn are commodities you use to do operations, unlock regions and generally spread your organisation's reach beyond Skyhold. That you end up having much more power than you actually need, is another question.
Another arguments is, "OK, I'm only the Herald in the beginning of the game, but why the hell am I supposed to run errands for nobodies when I become the Inquisitor?", which brings me to the question of how side quests are integrated into the game. Sure, when you lead an incredibly powerful military and religious order, you'd have to have a pretty low self-esteem to stoop to finding random things for random people. But the fact of the matter is, there are very few quest givers in the game, and most side quests are initiated simply by stumbling upon a place of interest or finding an unsent letter, or someone's body. You aren't approached by needy NPCs who spout a couple of lines of exposition before begging you to fetch something for them, you just happen to find interesting things while exploring. And it makes sense because most places you go to are uninhabited, there aren't supposed to be any people there who would provide you with a side quest. Of course that also means that side quests aren't based on dialogue and lack any sort of choice at the end, and I do wish that the game featured at least a few of those, but the existing pattern is really well integrated into the whole "exploring the wilderness" concept.
Finally - and I realise it's just my personal opinion - I think Inquisition side quests really breathe life into the world, make it look real. Paradoxically, I think the system whereby information is given to you through various codices, journals and letters is more realistic than random NPCs whose sole purpose is to give you an errand to run. Thus I believe that, while side content in DA:I is by no means ideal, it is well implemented, gives you a sound motivation to complete them, and hardly features more pointless fetch quests than other games of the franchise. Anyway, I felt like sharing my thoughts on the subject and would like to hear yours.
UPD: I think Bioware have taken notice of the "lack of choice" complaint about the side quests considering "Jaws of Hakkon" already has some of the best side content in the game, and quite a few quests ending with challenging choices (Grandin, Siegried, Finn).
There's an interesting Reddit thread going on about Inquisition's side quests. Feel like posting it here to get some opinions... I haven't played the game yet and I probably won't in the near future if ever, but the topic of fetch quests or bland gameplay in general is something I'm thinking about a lot lately.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/...ers_allinquisition_side_quests_apologia_sort/
Let me just preface the actual post by saying that, while this is going to be my first message here, I've been reading this reddit for quite some time now, and I'm pretty impressed by the level of discussion here, both its politeness and content, a nice change from many other discussion boards. Having said that, I would like to share some thoughts on the side quests in Inquisition. Obviously they've been one of the main objects of criticism of the game, and though I do feel like Bioware could've done more with side content, I think much of the flak is not really deserved.
Many people argue that basically most of the game is just filler content. I'm not going to refute the "filler" part since its definition is very arbitrary; however, we should keep in mind that in pretty much all RPGs (Western ones anyway), side content comprises the majority of the quests, if not the actual playing time. Inquisition is in no way unique in this regard.
It also bothers me when some people define all side quests in the game as "fetch quests". Either their definition of "fetch quests" is stretched beyond imagining, or they don't quite understand what it is. Admittedly I haven't counted all the side quests in Inquisition, but I'm pretty sure that there isn't more than a dozen "proper" fetch quests in this 100+ hours game, and most of them are given in the Hinterlands, an area specifically designed to quickly level you up, and the Exalted Plains. The majority of side quests, while perhaps not especially meaningful, cannot be categorised as fetch quests.
Also, I get the impression that many of those who criticise Inquisition's side content often look at previous DA (and generally Bioware) games through rose-tinted glasses, forgetting about the quality of side quests there. While Origins had a few interesting, challenging side quests (Zerlinda in Orzammar, Tevinter slavers in the Alienage, etc.), most of them were arguably even less meaningful that in Inquisition and included either going to some remote location and killing darkspawn/bandits or simply procuring ingredients or valuables. Plus, the rationale for the Warden to do all these menial talks was pretty questionable unlike in Inquisition (I will touch on that later). Mass Effect 2 was a bit of an exception since it had very few side quests to being with (I'm not counting loyalty missions), but IIRC most of them were of the "find the owner of stolen documents/locket/package" variety. As for Mass Effect 3, while there were quite a few interesting quests on the Citadel, there were even more classic fetch quests which involved planet scanning, probe launching and nothing more.
With that said, let's take a look at how side quests are implemented in Inquisition. I think an important part of how well side content works is whether the game gives you enough motivation to do it, and there are very few problems, if any, with motivation in the game. When you go to the Hinterlands, your main goal is bringing order to this war-ravaged region and heralding (no pun intended) the Inquisition as a new power. Needless to say, it entails doing various insignificant tasks for the locals and providing the refugees with what they require, all in a bid to raise the Inquisition's profile in these lands. Contrast it with Origins, where you were racing against time to stop the Archdemon, with Blight spreading rapidly across Ferelden... but apparently you still had enough time to paint some doors, fetch some scrolls, deliver some notices or find some garnets. Those are the very definition of fetch quests, and yet the game doesn't really give the player any rationale to do it (other than money). At least you hunt rams in order to feed the starving refugees who will then spread the word about the Inquisition.
Some people might say, "fine, forget about the Hinterlands, why am I supposed to do side quests in order to get enough power to do main missions?!" Well I think there are good reasons for that as well. Before you do "Champions of the Just", you need to elevate the Inquisition to a certain level of recognition and support. Before assaulting Adamant, you have to organise your forces and prepare for the siege. Before "What Pride Had Wrought", you need to mobilise your army and agents and send word to your allies. In gameplay terms, it all translates to acquiring more power and yes, doing side content. And I think this mechanic is really clever - side quests are a means to getting power and influence which in turn are commodities you use to do operations, unlock regions and generally spread your organisation's reach beyond Skyhold. That you end up having much more power than you actually need, is another question.
Another arguments is, "OK, I'm only the Herald in the beginning of the game, but why the hell am I supposed to run errands for nobodies when I become the Inquisitor?", which brings me to the question of how side quests are integrated into the game. Sure, when you lead an incredibly powerful military and religious order, you'd have to have a pretty low self-esteem to stoop to finding random things for random people. But the fact of the matter is, there are very few quest givers in the game, and most side quests are initiated simply by stumbling upon a place of interest or finding an unsent letter, or someone's body. You aren't approached by needy NPCs who spout a couple of lines of exposition before begging you to fetch something for them, you just happen to find interesting things while exploring. And it makes sense because most places you go to are uninhabited, there aren't supposed to be any people there who would provide you with a side quest. Of course that also means that side quests aren't based on dialogue and lack any sort of choice at the end, and I do wish that the game featured at least a few of those, but the existing pattern is really well integrated into the whole "exploring the wilderness" concept.
Finally - and I realise it's just my personal opinion - I think Inquisition side quests really breathe life into the world, make it look real. Paradoxically, I think the system whereby information is given to you through various codices, journals and letters is more realistic than random NPCs whose sole purpose is to give you an errand to run. Thus I believe that, while side content in DA:I is by no means ideal, it is well implemented, gives you a sound motivation to complete them, and hardly features more pointless fetch quests than other games of the franchise. Anyway, I felt like sharing my thoughts on the subject and would like to hear yours.
My fanboy detector exploded, now I need to buy a new one. Basically that guy's wall of text can be tl;dr'd to: "Other games including previous installments of DA had crappy filler sidequests, so there's nothing wrong with DA:I taking it to a wholly new level by being one huge mindless MMO-like grindfest."
Fixed how? If it's just more zoom, you could get unlimited zoom with Cheat Engine anyway. Tactical mode is fundamentally broken because grappling with terrible design takes more time than actually fighting enemies. First, it has serious terrain/pathfinding issues. Second, attacking or using any ability negates Hold Position so you need to babysit your companions constantly. Third, some abilities like Fade Cloak and Whirlwind are designed only for action mode.
He sounds like a guy LARPING really hard, there are even some of those types here on the codex from time to time, fanboying really hard, especially for Bioware and Obsidian. "It's not a fetch quest if I LARP it isn't." He is right that fetch quests work if you place them on some context so they aren't just random bullshit but the LARPING comes when he says the Inquisition power points justify everything. If you were just some lowly douchebag on the inquisition, it would make sense they sending you to do those menial tasks (someone could argue rightly that if that shit is boring, why should be in the game in the first place?) but you being a lowly douchebag on a Bioware game? That isn't going to happen.There's an interesting Reddit thread going on about Inquisition's side quests. Feel like posting it here to get some opinions... I haven't played the game yet and I probably won't in the near future if ever, but the topic of fetch quests or bland gameplay in general is something I'm thinking about a lot lately.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/...ers_allinquisition_side_quests_apologia_sort/
Let me just preface the actual post by saying that, while this is going to be my first message here, I've been reading this reddit for quite some time now, and I'm pretty impressed by the level of discussion here, both its politeness and content, a nice change from many other discussion boards. Having said that, I would like to share some thoughts on the side quests in Inquisition. Obviously they've been one of the main objects of criticism of the game, and though I do feel like Bioware could've done more with side content, I think much of the flak is not really deserved.
Many people argue that basically most of the game is just filler content. I'm not going to refute the "filler" part since its definition is very arbitrary; however, we should keep in mind that in pretty much all RPGs (Western ones anyway), side content comprises the majority of the quests, if not the actual playing time. Inquisition is in no way unique in this regard.
It also bothers me when some people define all side quests in the game as "fetch quests". Either their definition of "fetch quests" is stretched beyond imagining, or they don't quite understand what it is. Admittedly I haven't counted all the side quests in Inquisition, but I'm pretty sure that there isn't more than a dozen "proper" fetch quests in this 100+ hours game, and most of them are given in the Hinterlands, an area specifically designed to quickly level you up, and the Exalted Plains. The majority of side quests, while perhaps not especially meaningful, cannot be categorised as fetch quests.
Also, I get the impression that many of those who criticise Inquisition's side content often look at previous DA (and generally Bioware) games through rose-tinted glasses, forgetting about the quality of side quests there. While Origins had a few interesting, challenging side quests (Zerlinda in Orzammar, Tevinter slavers in the Alienage, etc.), most of them were arguably even less meaningful that in Inquisition and included either going to some remote location and killing darkspawn/bandits or simply procuring ingredients or valuables. Plus, the rationale for the Warden to do all these menial talks was pretty questionable unlike in Inquisition (I will touch on that later). Mass Effect 2 was a bit of an exception since it had very few side quests to being with (I'm not counting loyalty missions), but IIRC most of them were of the "find the owner of stolen documents/locket/package" variety. As for Mass Effect 3, while there were quite a few interesting quests on the Citadel, there were even more classic fetch quests which involved planet scanning, probe launching and nothing more.
With that said, let's take a look at how side quests are implemented in Inquisition. I think an important part of how well side content works is whether the game gives you enough motivation to do it, and there are very few problems, if any, with motivation in the game. When you go to the Hinterlands, your main goal is bringing order to this war-ravaged region and heralding (no pun intended) the Inquisition as a new power. Needless to say, it entails doing various insignificant tasks for the locals and providing the refugees with what they require, all in a bid to raise the Inquisition's profile in these lands. Contrast it with Origins, where you were racing against time to stop the Archdemon, with Blight spreading rapidly across Ferelden... but apparently you still had enough time to paint some doors, fetch some scrolls, deliver some notices or find some garnets. Those are the very definition of fetch quests, and yet the game doesn't really give the player any rationale to do it (other than money). At least you hunt rams in order to feed the starving refugees who will then spread the word about the Inquisition.
Some people might say, "fine, forget about the Hinterlands, why am I supposed to do side quests in order to get enough power to do main missions?!" Well I think there are good reasons for that as well. Before you do "Champions of the Just", you need to elevate the Inquisition to a certain level of recognition and support. Before assaulting Adamant, you have to organise your forces and prepare for the siege. Before "What Pride Had Wrought", you need to mobilise your army and agents and send word to your allies. In gameplay terms, it all translates to acquiring more power and yes, doing side content. And I think this mechanic is really clever - side quests are a means to getting power and influence which in turn are commodities you use to do operations, unlock regions and generally spread your organisation's reach beyond Skyhold. That you end up having much more power than you actually need, is another question.
Another arguments is, "OK, I'm only the Herald in the beginning of the game, but why the hell am I supposed to run errands for nobodies when I become the Inquisitor?", which brings me to the question of how side quests are integrated into the game. Sure, when you lead an incredibly powerful military and religious order, you'd have to have a pretty low self-esteem to stoop to finding random things for random people. But the fact of the matter is, there are very few quest givers in the game, and most side quests are initiated simply by stumbling upon a place of interest or finding an unsent letter, or someone's body. You aren't approached by needy NPCs who spout a couple of lines of exposition before begging you to fetch something for them, you just happen to find interesting things while exploring. And it makes sense because most places you go to are uninhabited, there aren't supposed to be any people there who would provide you with a side quest. Of course that also means that side quests aren't based on dialogue and lack any sort of choice at the end, and I do wish that the game featured at least a few of those, but the existing pattern is really well integrated into the whole "exploring the wilderness" concept.
Finally - and I realise it's just my personal opinion - I think Inquisition side quests really breathe life into the world, make it look real. Paradoxically, I think the system whereby information is given to you through various codices, journals and letters is more realistic than random NPCs whose sole purpose is to give you an errand to run. Thus I believe that, while side content in DA:I is by no means ideal, it is well implemented, gives you a sound motivation to complete them, and hardly features more pointless fetch quests than other games of the franchise. Anyway, I felt like sharing my thoughts on the subject and would like to hear yours.
UPD: I think Bioware have taken notice of the "lack of choice" complaint about the side quests considering "Jaws of Hakkon" already has some of the best side content in the game, and quite a few quests ending with challenging choices (Grandin, Siegried, Finn).
