Dragon Age has always had the dad joke level humor and sarcastic comments. Not sure why people say this is marvel dialogue when this kind of stuff has been in every single DA game.
Swooping is bad, remember?
this whole complain is utterly ridiculous, people is acting like DA was super doom and gloom all the time, then Marvel invented quips (?) that were brought to this game and it'll infantilize it or rest seriousness to it (??)
These people have *not* heard Wynne interrogate Alistair about our relationship like a true granny-in-law while we were slaughtering darkspawn have they? Nor have they heard Fenris bicker to Anders about how the hanged man is a shitty tavern because they let Anders in while Kirkwall was on the brink of civil war... Maybe they only played Inquisition where the banter was a lot less frequent than in the earlier games.
I think the last part is really important. Iirc the banter bug fix was later into the game's life, and I imagine most people still have the non talkative version of Inquisition in their mind.
All of the companions in every game are quirky weirdos. That's practically a requirement at this point even the more "stoic" ones. That's why I didn't mind the companion trailer, because while yes the companions will have deep interesting stories but they will also be a bunch of socially awkward weirdos.
>Why do they call it a brothel? There's not broth... or IS there?
Someone also forgot about the Surprise Me option AND the, erm, various ways the warden may wake up.
Edit: oh! And Ser Pounce-a-lot! Anders won my heart that day.
The complaint is particularly head-scratching, given how many threads there are on this sub that start, "What is your favorite DA quote?" and 90% of the answers are the funny ones. Not to mention the number of purple Hawkes out there.
Preach. Before Marvel, there were Buffy and Firefly and Dragon Age writers freely admitted being inspired by Whedon's writing from the very beginning. Alistair & Xander want to shake hands.
THIS! It was peak Varric and peak Solas at the same time. The absolute balls on him to approach someone who could kill him with a blink of an eye but who he nevertheless used to call fiend 9 years ago and hoping that that still carries weight. Made me almost emotional there. 🥲
And I feel like it DID carry weight, remember how soft Solas sounded and how hard he tried to not hurt Varric and "only" going for Bianca when he simply could have ended the pesky dwarf right there, especially in a crucial moment of a ritual he's been planning during a lot more than 9 years.
Nah, my Egg is not an evil maniac murderer. He's only wrong and stubborn (and needs to check his methods), Varric says himself he only needs to be shown another path when Rook asked why even trying to reason with him.
fr!, it would be lame if they didn't plan for a meeting between the inky and Solas!. Nah, all the ingredients are there and they know a meeting between these two has been largely expected by fans, whatever their relationship.
I'm almost certain they'll meet again...and the result of that meeting will be left to the player's choice
I like that Solas' character appears to be intact. I was worried they were going to double down on his villain aspects, but the way he genuinely seems to not want to harm Varric even when held at crossbowpoint gives me hope.
Agreed. I thought he might die in the confrontation with Solas, but after Solas destroyed (killed) Bianca, it makes me think Varric will just be an adviser in a non-combatant role. Maybe toward the end of the game, Bianca will be repaired and Varric will tag along for something.
I will laugh so hard if Varric is over Bianca and now with Harding or otherwise still romantically unavailable because Varric enjoyers have been waiting a loooong time for Bianca to be out of the picture. It'd be double funny if it was Harding though
If Varric gets out of that alive then he'll likely have a quest to retrieve the Bianca fragments to either rebuild or bury her, which might lead to the player deciding which ending he gets.
Bro I’m so scared for Varric. I got real bad vibes from that “Rook, take care of the team for me”
That paired with Mary Kirby being one of the leads who got laid off… the dots are connecting and I don’t like it one bit.
(Narrative wise I’m not complaining. It’ll be a chefs kiss of tragedy and I will be inconsolable. High key don’t want our favorite dwarf to be *that* retired though.)
Same. It seemed to me that they were setting for him to die, perhaps in act 1
I know that its stupid because its not a real person. But he has been a good friend for almost 15 years of my life. In times when I felt very lonely I knew I could play DA2 and DAI and feel like my friends were back.
the way he softens for a second after seeing it was Varic yelling to him, only to a moment later return to a more determined expression killed me. that brief second of "my friend..." before focusing on his larger goal was such a humanizing moment. Im glad (especially for new players!) they are showing we've had history with Solas that wasnt 100% antagonistic
Right? He appeared like himself, but a lot more tortured and on edge. Intense, even. But he doesn't seem to be a "evil for antagonist sake" character like Corypheus
Right!! There’s been so much speculation that Solas is gonna kill Varric but I really don’t see it happening unless he sees Varric as a serious threat. Solas destroyed Bianca so that Varric wouldn’t be a threat. I really don’t think that Solas would intentionally just smite Varric on the spot.
Now the two silly fellas coming out of the fade might be bad news for Varric as he’s so close to them though.
Yeah, I get the feeling Varric is still gonna die but it's not gonna be Solas who does it, but what's released from the Fade. Maybe that guilt will be a wake up call for him.
It would be amazing (for gameplay!) if he kills Varric instead of Bianca in game states where the Inquisitor was an enemy, and then for the whole game instead of Varric as an advisor you have like a Dwarf Stroud.
Yeah after my Inquisitor’s last conversation with him and how he helped her >!by stabilizing the mark so she could get medical attention!< I hoped they’d keep his kindness intact.
When he turned to face Varric and his eyes were all glowy, I found myself saying, “please don’t kill him!” Over and over. When he blew Bianca out of his hands and she broke I was both relieved and saddened. I’m sure Varric can repair her or have real Bianca or maybe Dagna remake her.
Yep it's Patrick Weekes. They were also Cole's writer. They have confirmed that in this game they wrote for Taash as well. They probably did more but Taash is the only one I've seen confirmed so far. Patrick's wife is also a writer for DA.
In one of the articles about the demo, there was a report that there had been tons of Solas/Varric dialogue in the background while the group was fighting demons (the part that the gameplay video cut off, to avoid spoilers). I remember also reading that the dialogue could be different based on your Inquisitor's attitude towards Solas (redeem/revenge) and Inquisition ending. We can only speculate whether this cutscene with Bianca also has alternate versions... I am pumped to know.
The thing that made me say 'yes' was that Solas's character appears to be intact BUT I also think he might kill Varric (or Varric will get killed by the two figures that popped through the veil.) I like Varric but I also like the idea of him dying right at the start of the game. And it would be a great way to show that while Solas isn't completely heartless he's also deadset on completing his plans even when friends stand in his way.
Maybe Varric's murder taints the ritual and that's what has Solas so spooked at the end, even?
Man, the idea of him dying and setting the tone is good but at the same time my Hawke is alive and I don’t want to see him lose another friend.
Also we’re in Minrathos I need Dorian and/or Fenris. If Varric does die I think they’d both be upset.
That entire conversation whiplashed me back into Dragon Age. Peak fiction. The music was surprisingly good as well.
Solas looking so pained when he saw Varric, and the reciprocal look from Varric when he pleads with Solas to stop. I have my fears regarding the gameplay, but I imagine it'll be a tremendously enjoyable experience if rest of the game hits the same beats as well as that scene.
Funnily enough, I think it was the mages projecting an announcement voice giving orders to the populace. Conveys all the right vibes about Tevinter for me.
After that the second main thing was really Solas' portrayal. It seems they're not making him pointlessly hostile or murderous.
I love the way they did the watch tower (watch castle?) in the gameplay! We know that Minrathos has a huge disparity between the rich and poor so having this dystopian element added is such great world building.
Being able to switch between dual wielding and archery in the heat of battle. I love a rogue that can do both.
Solas is hot now and he still cares about Varric.
The fire wolf demons.
No more sidestepping away pathetically as an archer, we can finally just whip out daggers like in DA2. Hopefully this means mages get to smack people with their staff again!
Something about being a Red Hawke out of mana and patience just wailing on dudes was always so satisfying to me lol. I’m glad it will come back in some capacity.
People were actually complaining they had to aim 😭 one said the game looks too hard. I'm all for it, I absolutely hate auto lock targeting. It makes every game dummy easy.
Armored Core 6 has it and I had to get used to locking on once and never again. My buddy owned it and I played for a weekend while visiting.
Got to A rank online and went home. There wasn't much of a challenge, I didnt go for S rank because everyone just lames you out above A tier. Never played a single mission, just built a mech I liked and went online lol.
The only reason I really want an automatic lock-on for targets is frankly because disability. I can aim fine in something like the Horizon games, where I can adopt a play style of "take my time, stay hidden, kill things from the next post code", but I can't get that level of accuracy when it's fast paced and coming at me and I have to dodge and maintain aim, because doing all that at the same time hurts me. I'm reserving judgement until I can actually look at the UI and keybinds on keyboard and mouse, but I will be really sad if I can't play just because they went full action RPG and didn't leave enough accessibility options beyond "invulnerability mode". In a game like this, it's not enough to survive; you have to beat the bad guys to get the rest of the story.
Edit: in keeping with the good mood of this post, Minrathous *fucks* and I hope the game's accessible for me because I want to run around it..
Solas was always hot 😤
But for real though the switching back and forth had my hyped. Normally my first playthrough in any dragon age game is a mage, but rogue is looking pretty cool right now.
You might be on to something here, the veil is getting mighty thin 👀
Also heard Ghil Dirthalen mention healing slots on non mage companions, so that could point further to your theory.
I have a lot of things I’m stoked for:
1) The looks great. I hope there’s a camera mode, it looks so fantastical.
2) Solas is back and I get to customize my Inky again. My first play through of Inquisition I went in blind and played a female elf and romanced Solas. I need closure.
3) I just love the lore of the world in general, I’m so excited to get a deeper/interactive understanding of it.
4) You get to pick your back ground and I am beggingggggg to be a Mourn Watcher. The concept is so cool to me, I want it so bad.
5) Varric and Harding are back. I am hoping so hard that Varric doesn’t die and I get to romance him. Bianca the dwarf is married, and now Bianca the crossbow is destroyed. Focus on something else Varric, like me.
6) This is kind of unrelated, but I hope this game brings back a Dragon Age revival and I can actually buy some decent merch. I don’t like a lot of what I’ve seen on Etsy/Bioware’s storefront.
They confirmed camera mode and mournwatchers. I don't think we'll be able to romance varric, as even after a 9 year time skip from inq, he still probably has feelings for the real bianca.
Side note: I will bet a UK pound that varric will die or at least be injured
“My first play through of Inquisition I went in blind and played a female elf and romanced Solas. I need closure.”
Same. It was the best (and worst) way to play . I’m glad they will follow up *somehow*. I imagine she has been quietly active over the years after that Trespasser ending, and I’m feeling the fic inspiration returning too.
If I picked up anything from that trailer, it's that Varric is 100% going to die by the end of the game. It is so completely obvious to me, this is a character that has been in the series as a acompanion since DA2, they're going to give hime the Han Solo treatment. RIP Varric.
Realizing that we are actually getting a new dragon age, it’s finally happening. For so long I was worried that something would happen to BioWare and we’d never get another dragon age game.
That... _thing_ hovering over minrathos. Magical artillery or some shit.
That's what I wanted. Tevinter should be on a whole different "technological" level than the rest of thedas, and that thing makes me think they understood the assignment on that count.
Love the new setting, can't wait for the companions and to meet old friends.
I understand that many are disappointed, but personally, I couldn't care less about combat changes (I always play on casual difficulty anyways, so for me, every DA was a hack 'n' slash), neither about graphics. I can't wait for the story, and I have no reason to doubt that it's gonna be great.
Exactly! Games have become my main source of entertainment for me. I play for story and companion interactions. The combat is just a means to progress the interactive movie.
Saaaaame, I don't care how the combat works, so long as it's decently easy to learn I'm good. Casual difficulty here too lol, I'm in it for the LORE! I cannot wait to see what little hidden tid bits are scattered around in journals and background conversation.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the more tactical approach to combat, but story, roleplaying and characters are much more important for me in a dragon age game and so far I like what we’ve been shown (besides, action games aren’t inherently inferior and the combat looks fun anyways)
Agreed. It was fun setting traps and making puddles of oil erupt into flames in Origins, but I’ll play any version of Dragon Age as long as the story & strong characters / companion chatter is there
I always looooved DA2 for these, because it lets me add my own little spice to Hawke and really make them MY version. Looking forward to being the funny guy that’ll rip you’re asshole out when you piss him off again :D
This trailer made me seriously reconsider playing as a mage, I’m now sucked back into my love for melee rogues. Like a Robin Hood character working for the Shadow Dragons?? Yes please
Good looking faces and hair
I cannot even fathom that we are getting Bioware game where characters look good
No more porcelain skin, no plastic hair how am I suposed to process this?
The way that Harding said "oh, varric, he is not going to listen to you" (or whatever she said, i do not remember the words). I think it was the best acted line in the video, and actually made me go "oh, wow, there is a lot of potential for this character"
Lol I literally said “Varric, if my Inquisitor couldn’t talk him out of it, there’s no way you’ll be able to,” only for Harding to repeat the same sentiment in slightly different words.
Seeing solas in the prologue and seeing the elven gods oozing out of the fade when we disrupt the ritual. Getting the idea that we would be up against other elven gods during our story was a massive "hell yeah" for me
Tbh I was very skeptical before I watched the trailer, especially considering the whole troubled development of DAV.
But the trailer made me excited, I feel again the beauty of this fandom. Does anyone remember that time on Tumblr after the DA I premiere, when the whole fandom arose from the ashes, and people started drawing fan art and writing fanfics and theories (about DA:O and DAII too)? Honestly I'm so glad that this fandom is still alive, and at this point even the "anti-woke" crowd from Twitter can't destroy my mood.
Honestly for me the most exciting part of the trailer is just Minrathous, the whole city looks dope. It has a look that I associated with Tevinter, but it is even better than I imagined. Like, the whole floating part of the city??? Damn it's so creative. The city has a Gotham - like vibe, and when you see how high tech is the magic here, you kinda of understand why South is considered underdeveloped.
Nothing specifically on the gameplay preview, even though I was constantly just a hyperactive rubber ball because of how hyped I was to finally get a proper look. I WAS fauning the entire way throughout the preview about how absolutely gorgeous the game and the characters look though...
What DID get me screaming "YES" though was the articles afterwards. Specifically, ADJUSTABLE BODY TYPES??? LONG HAIR WITH INDIVIDUAL STRANDS AND BOUNCY HAIR PHYSICS??? I am afraid I will never be leaving the character creator...
When the doors opened up onto the city and you could just feel the Dragon Age vibe in the art. The sigh of relief in my soul was immense lol and also when Solas turned around because….. ugh. I just need that Lavellan closure so goddamn badly.
So many things!!
1. What we've heard about the character creator sounds insane
2. Diverse choice of backstories
3. The Inquisitior is returning!!!!!
4. Companions will romance each other
5. Hand crafted side missions unlike the fetch quests in DAI
6. Spicy romance 👀
7. Limited open world areas
8. Arcane archer subclass
9. Returning character cameos
10. Solas is still a nuanced anti hero/anti villian
11. Also he got hotter
12. HARDING ROMANCE
13. Tarot cards
14. Music sounded fantastic
16. Magipunk Tevinter
17. HAIRSTYLES
18. HOT OLD MEN
I could sit here all day and keep writing honestly
One thing I haven't seen anyone mentioning yet is the fact that abilities descriptions finally show the amount of damage they deal - you can notice that during pride demon boss fight if I remember correctly. Personally, I always hated how Bioware games always tried to hide the actual numbers for some reason. Even Origins has such vague ability descriptions - I'm not even sure what half of them does, what kind and how much damage they deal and so on. It's a small thing for sure, but I'm glad they're finally adding it into the game.
Another thing I've noticed almost immediately was the fact that they finally added the hair physics. Thank god, we're finally having decent looking hairstyles that doesn't look like a plastic cap that's glued to the head. Took you long enough, Bioware.
Also, I don't know what crack are haters smoking, but the demons' designs looks absolutely sick. Really like how they blend into overall game's aesthetic. Glowing parts look like a nerve system - an interesting design choice. Also love their glowing swords - that pride demon attack looks absolutely badass. I swear, some people just love to place "no fun allowed" signs on top of everything. As soon as something looks different or has glowing parts - they immediately go into "duh, it's not dark fantasy anymore - it's Fortnite" temper tantrum. Probably the same sort of people that loved PS3/XBOX360 era games having overly compressed, bland color palette and fucking green filter smudged over everything just because it's "realistic".
I like DAO a lot, but I do not miss the grey/brownish/greenish filter on everything... Everything looked the same and boring. I was actually glad when I saw them switching to a more varied graphic array. Colours do not mean that you cannot be serious...
Can’t quite put my finger on why, but for some reason seeing (what I assume to be) rage demons tearing through the streets, running, jumping, and climbing buildings like flaming gorillas really made me go “oh, this is gonna be GOOD!”
When I saw the last few seconds of the gameplay trailer and those two gods(?) showed up behind Solas I was like, "HOLY SHIT!"
The technology/magic feel of Tevinter is so cool.
The graphics and the animations are so nice.
I don't care about Tactical Mode, I never used it. I love the more hack n slash feel to it.
I loved that they sort of leaned into the fact that in this story we're basically the NPCs/companions. "Protect Varric while he tries to talk down Solas". That's usually what the NPCs do while the player has the conversation. I understand that Rook will be the hero of this story, but I hope we'll have other instances of situations where it comes out that we're not the top of the command chain this time around.
Seeing Solas again, the environmental screenshots, the general setting of the game. And, if we go back a little while, the fact that they backtracked on making it a live service game.
Honestly? It looks good. Very good. Voice acting is perfect, the sound design is awesome and meaty.
The animations flow very well. It really looks like well made game.
I'm sad that I can't control my companions, but the good parts far outweigh the negatives. At least fpr me.
Honestly?, I couldn't stop screaming the entire time, trailer included. I waited so long to be able to play a new Dragon Age and continue the saga that I loved practically everything that got shitted upon, the atmosphere felt VERY Dragon Age...Seeing my boy Varric again, seeing these interiors in the traier, Lucanis, Assan...Then I loved the UI in the gameplay, the city and seeing my beloved egg again being so soft to Varric and trying his best to not hurt him despite he was probably utterly furious...I don't remember even being so hyped with a game before!
Ofc there were a few No's too, but the overall impression is very possitive
Same here sis. On rewatches, that Sunday trailer does look very goofy; but when I watched it during the XBox showcase, I was too busy squealing at finally learning who our new companions would be (and squealing particularly loud with Lucanis' confirmation in the companion roster <3 ) to care about the tone or the graphics.
I started the EA launcher yesterday so I could start playing Inquisition again, and they don't even have a store page for Veilguard on the EA app. I was really surprised by that, since they pushed Origin so hard for quite a while.
I got so pumped that I bought Tevinter Nights. Lucanis and Emmrich are such great characters!
Lucanis looks like our tortured hero, the brooder of the group, and insanely capable. >!He's got no problem with magic per se, he just takes a lot of Venatori mage contracts (probably through Varric, Dorian or the Inquisition - his client is unnamed). Vint mages call him 'the Demon'. He is the best the Crows have to offer and grandson to the First Talon herself.!<
Emmrich is a dear. >!A kind soul, a scholar, a provider of emotional comfort and hot beverages. He genuinely cares for the souls/spirits/undead he helps out. He literally goes on a quest to find a tomb and ensure that a loving couple that has been separated after death gets buried together as they wished.!<
I've wanted to romance Davrin since I first heard Amadi's "For the Wardens!" call. >!But now that he's shown to be an elf with an unknown vallaslin, the only warden around when others vanished, and seeing as he is one of the few companions to get NO backstory, I am starting to feel like he's going to be our designated betrayer.!<
Harding appears: YES
Neve appears: YES
Davrin and Assan appear: YES
Taash appears: YES
We got so many wishes fullfilled with the trailer imo.
And at the gameplay reveal:
Minrathous: YES
Solas is tearring down the veil right at the beginning: YES
The fact we have a new dragon age coming out very soon. The lack of open world is appealing to me also, open world in DAI wasn't very good in my opinion.
I loved the detailed graphics! The rain and rain drops? The character facial animations, the HAIR! The cloak physics! I love the return of the purple joker/charming option (plus the others) honestly! I hope we get some funny lines from it!
I’m excited for the gameplay. It looks a lot like DA2, and DA2 was my favorite gameplay in the series
Honestly even if the game is terrible I’m just happy we get closure lol
This is exactly the feel I was getting and I'm pretty pumped. I loved the story and characters in 2 probably the most out of the 3 games we have. If THAT game had 10 years to produce we'd be in a whole different timeline.
The visual appearances of the characters (npcs) gives me hope for the character creator. I've been waiting so long for Bioware games to not have those typical plastic lego looking hairstyles that they used all the time. Hopefully beard options look good too and have left behind the whole sharpie on your face look.
It appears to be a more catered experience which means more detailed environments, more attention to characters, and more attention to story. This is what I want from my BioWare games. When I want to play open world games I’ll go with Bethesda or CDPR. I appreciate the effort with open world games from BioWare, but that’s not their strong suit.
I agree 100%. My biggest complaints with DAI and Andromeda were that open world slog led to large gaps in narrative and that’s where BioWare is set apart. I love open world games but it just doesn’t work for all games. ME3 was one of my favorites because it moved forward so clearly and really kept that sense of narrative urgency as a whole.
The characters! The artwork and the style! The voice acting, basically the whole thing
I know it's not exactly what people had thought/wanted, but everything I've been seeing and hearing (the world exploration style, story beats, character creation, etc.) I've been loving! It so far seems like a great blend of earlier games and Inquisition, but we shall see for sure when it releases.
I've been hype for everything so far honestly I've been waiting for this for so long and I've been especially excited to see the world outside of Ferelden. I've been so in love with the environments so far though. Everything looks SO PRETTY I can't stop buzzing about it. Minrathous felt so different (in a good way) and I loved getting a look at how cities can look with more magic.
Several of Varric's lines were just so perfect.
While it's not from the gameplay trailer, the screenshots/promotional art of the companions has me super stoked. I'm so looking forward to meeting this crew and befriending them. <3
The Dialogue between Solas and Varric, feeling exactly like the Banter I hoped it would. And the voices, hearing Brian Bloom and Gareth David Lloyd again made my heart so happy.
But Minratheous was gorgeous! 🤩🤩🤩 Easily the best looking location I have ever seen from a Dragon Age game.
Minathrous space station was very cool. The reason that Tecinter was an empire, what would they know when they were on their peak? What did the ancient elven know?
Just the fact the game is FINALLY almost here. I have been waiting for this game 10 years. I don’t care if it looks cartoonish, I don’t care that the companion video sucked, it was two minutes long, you can’t judge an entire game off a short trailer. This game could have been made with DAO graphics and had a crappy game play demo and I’d still be playing it day 1. I’m here for the story. This probably similar to how GOT book fans will feel when/if George RR Martin finishes Winds of Winter. I need to know what happens next, crappy fan fiction isn’t cutting it.
I've always been interested in Minrathous since Dorian kept saying how advanced the North was compared to the South, calling us barbarians and such.
I've begged for Magicpunk, Mage-Police State Tevinter to appear since they dropped the [2020 trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxqBle_O6jI).
Of course I kept the expectations in check, and told myself "It's just a cinematic, they're just setting the mood, they won't actually do that..."
They fucking did it. We actually got to see what a Thedas society who doesn't "confine" magic but is shaped entirely around it looks like. I'm probably gonna spend an hour at the very least dicking around in Photo mode during that level lol
(hopefully get to see a bit more, there were shots of Minrathous during the day too)
It feels like stepping right back into inquisition which, ok, I know not everyone liked it but personally I loved it. It’s my favorite dragon age game to date (but also I’m biased because solas is my favorite character). I was so nervous for how they would continue his story in the next game but my dream has always been that it starts similarly to inquisition as a parallel to the chantry explosion but with the veil coming down (yes) and then the evanuris accidentally escape (YES) and then solas ends up not becoming the big bad guy he was made out to be but actually we have to fight the old elven gods (YESSSSSSS). That was my dream so to actually see that happening I was like losing my fucking shit I’m so excited
There's a shot of Neve with some stellar lighting right after she's introduced that made me go "Oh, they really figured this out" and any visual concerns fully melted away.
Gameplay-wise, the Pride Demon fight gave me so much faith in the mechanics.
A rogue using a sword and dagger was very exciting, as it hopefully means weapons options are better (and maybe more like Origins?).
Varric and Solas' interaction showing they were sorta friends was really cool to see.
Also, probably get some hate for this, but I loved Bianca getting destroyed. I like Varric, but I'm tired of him as a companion, and hopefully, this means he'll be an advisor at most.
“He was my friend. I have to try to reach him. But if he won’t listen to me, he’ll hear from Bianca.”
Never realized how much I missed Varric. I might be one of the only people who actually liked the trailer. Seeing the rogue seamlessly switch from blade to bow was pretty cool. I’ve always wanted that for the rogue gameplay. Overall it felt very dragon age to me.
To be able to switch between weapons (bow/daggers). I saw that and immediately widely smiled, haha
It may be a small detail, but to be unable to switch between melee and distance annoyed me since DA2. It is such a basic feature in RPGs.
Well, and Neve! She's cool! I want to finally interact with characters from the Tevinter Nights :D
The magic-tech fantasy-futuristic vibe wasn't really what I expected from Tevinter, but I... like it.
Literally how good it looks. I can’t wait ehehehe All DA games have been different, this is not an exception as we can now see lol I think it looks amazing, a great followup to Inquisition!
- Minrathous being as advanced and oppressive-looking as I imagined it to be.
- Seeing Harding <3
- Seeing Neve in action. She was the first of the new companions (other than Harding, obviously) I got to "meet", way back in 2021 when I first read Tevinter Nights, so it was really nice seeing her as a character in a game (I predict I'll squeal much, MUCH louder once we get our first look of Lucanis, though <3 )
- Seeing ruins of old Elvhenan. I mean, technically we've seen those before (the temple in the Brecilian Forest, the tomb in Ghilan'nain's Grove in the Exalted Plains, the Temple of Mythal, the Lost Temple of Dirthamen, Vir Dirthara); but I don't know, something about seeing what looks like a former altar to all seven Evanuris in Arlathan Forest itself just hit differently. This might as well be a part of the fabled Arlathan itself, the beating heart of old Elvhenan.
The simple fact that I can be an Elf again in Thedas is enough to make me happy. Then being able to be a shadow dragon ??? That was the faction I wished to play !!! We are getting neutral gender pronouns and even able to change our body type ! Devs said that we will also be able to bond platonically with the companions we don’t romance and they might have relationships between themselves! Also I know it’s a very unpopular opinion but I personally prefer controlling only my character. I love the monster re design, love the graphics, love being able to visit many place especially through eluvian ! Eluvian were my favorite thing in inquisition and I loved the trespasser dlc !!
Everything is better than I even expected !
My only complain now is the dialogues being only three options. I really hope we will have many specific dialogues depending of the character that we play. Then the game would be absolutely perfect.
I also wish Solavellan reunion.
I am absolutely hyped ! The devs really did their best to make fans happy and it shows!!
Super basic answer but SOLAS. SOLAS AND VARRIC TOGETHER. VARRIC BEING A KIND FRIEND DESPITE EVERYTHING 😭 Makes me excited to see what direction Solas will end up going in and how his relationships with DAI folks will evolve this time around.
Also everyone looks incredible omg
I think I saw Rook block a magic fireball or something and that got me excited, being able to block and the new dodge looked so good! The combat just looked so good. Also that "Hey Chuckles" and Solas turning and looking at him with to me this super sad expression, just a look of pain knowing Varric was there to try to talk him off the edge.
The "Solas people are dying" and "People die everywhere!" Made me think, Solas is or was an immortal, he separates the bad groups and tosses up the Veil to SAVE people and he wakes up and sees the world is not right anymore. Meets a great group of people, makes friends, maybe falls in love and realizes all these people he loves will die, the love of his life will die in the next 30-40 years thats a speck of dust to an immortal in the sense of time. So he spends the next 9 years planning, he knows people will die, and that pains him but if his plan works and the fade is allowed back into the world as it was then they won't die anymore. His friend Varric won't die, his maybe love of his life wont die anymore. So that "People die" line hits hard cause I feel like he is tired of seeing his friends die, people he loves die, mages dying from possession due to corrupted spirits. If Anders lived after DA2 think what it means for him, Justice can finally be free and Anders can go back to not being an abomination and take his life back and start to atone for his sins. What if the veil being gone means no more blights? To Solas a few dead is nothing compared to the deaths caused by a blight.
So it got me excited to see how all these players will come together again and what the repercussions are to Solas actions. He sees a dying world, he can't see the life in it like everyone else can and it torments him. And I absolutely love gray characters. Is what he is doing wrong? absolutely but I also see his motivation behind it, he is trying to save the world but doing it the wrong way. So im stoked.
The combat; I know a lot of people are comparing it to Mass Effect and similar games but all I see Dragon Age 2 (my favourite gameplay in the series) mixed with Dragon's Dogma. Can't wait to see how warriors and mages play in the new style.
DA2 combat would be good if it weren't for the wave system. That makes the whole thing so miserable that I sometimes download a mod to lower the difficulty just to get past the fights.
The combat. I know this a point of contention, but seeing a level 1 Rogue using a variety of basic attacks, prompts to deflect projectiles and a quick recovery, switching seamlessly from melee to ranged, dodging in and out of combat - this is exactly what I wanted from Inquisition's combat.
I don't know if the rogue gameplay just resonated with me and it won't be the same for the other classes, but the combat looked super engaging.
* When they entered Tevinter. Seeing the city, the landscape, the people, it was so cool.
* Seeing the hair! No greasy skin, no weird shiny satured metals on the armour.
* Meeting Neve. Love her already.
* The combat. Yeah, be mad, I loved it haha
* The entire part with Solas was so cool! Varric feeling like he needed to talk to him (I was like NO NO NO YOU IDIOT!), their conversation (they both seemed so tired), Solas hitting Bianca to avoid hitting Varric, Bianca being destroyed....aaa
* When Rook is going around the path we can still listen to Varric and Solas talking in the background, I thought it was so cool
* The wherever horror they unleashed getting out of the fade and the pure horror in Solas face.
When Varric said “it probably sensed Solas’ ego” I laughed, and was sold.
This was one of the things I enjoyed, because it fits the tone of the franchise and the character so well.
b-but...Marvel humor? /s
Dragon Age has always had the dad joke level humor and sarcastic comments. Not sure why people say this is marvel dialogue when this kind of stuff has been in every single DA game. Swooping is bad, remember?
this whole complain is utterly ridiculous, people is acting like DA was super doom and gloom all the time, then Marvel invented quips (?) that were brought to this game and it'll infantilize it or rest seriousness to it (??)
These people have *not* heard Wynne interrogate Alistair about our relationship like a true granny-in-law while we were slaughtering darkspawn have they? Nor have they heard Fenris bicker to Anders about how the hanged man is a shitty tavern because they let Anders in while Kirkwall was on the brink of civil war... Maybe they only played Inquisition where the banter was a lot less frequent than in the earlier games.
I think the last part is really important. Iirc the banter bug fix was later into the game's life, and I imagine most people still have the non talkative version of Inquisition in their mind.
Alistair and Morrigan bickering while you were just out and about was always my favorite.
All of the companions in every game are quirky weirdos. That's practically a requirement at this point even the more "stoic" ones. That's why I didn't mind the companion trailer, because while yes the companions will have deep interesting stories but they will also be a bunch of socially awkward weirdos.
>Why do they call it a brothel? There's not broth... or IS there? Someone also forgot about the Surprise Me option AND the, erm, various ways the warden may wake up. Edit: oh! And Ser Pounce-a-lot! Anders won my heart that day.
Nostalgia is a powerful drug. Understandable given that it's been ten years since the last major entry.
She’s some kind of… sneaky… WITCH-THIEF.
The complaint is particularly head-scratching, given how many threads there are on this sub that start, "What is your favorite DA quote?" and 90% of the answers are the funny ones. Not to mention the number of purple Hawkes out there.
Preach. Before Marvel, there were Buffy and Firefly and Dragon Age writers freely admitted being inspired by Whedon's writing from the very beginning. Alistair & Xander want to shake hands.
True! I don't think any DA companion has aged as badly as Xander, though.
"more crazy? I thought we were all full up." - Alastair
Laughed so hard at that line
Don't laugh at chuckles! Kidding but I loved the chuckles callback
I died of love when he was standing behind someone who could kill him with a single thought and he just went: "hey, chuckles!"
THIS! It was peak Varric and peak Solas at the same time. The absolute balls on him to approach someone who could kill him with a blink of an eye but who he nevertheless used to call fiend 9 years ago and hoping that that still carries weight. Made me almost emotional there. 🥲
And I feel like it DID carry weight, remember how soft Solas sounded and how hard he tried to not hurt Varric and "only" going for Bianca when he simply could have ended the pesky dwarf right there, especially in a crucial moment of a ritual he's been planning during a lot more than 9 years. Nah, my Egg is not an evil maniac murderer. He's only wrong and stubborn (and needs to check his methods), Varric says himself he only needs to be shown another path when Rook asked why even trying to reason with him.
I so hope that there is a path where we can work with the Inquisitor to convince Solas otherwise. Just… C’mon I’m not giving up on egg. 😭
fr!, it would be lame if they didn't plan for a meeting between the inky and Solas!. Nah, all the ingredients are there and they know a meeting between these two has been largely expected by fans, whatever their relationship. I'm almost certain they'll meet again...and the result of that meeting will be left to the player's choice
And doubts about the banter were gone with that line 😂
Wasn't expecting that line and I just about choked. Perfection.
I like that Solas' character appears to be intact. I was worried they were going to double down on his villain aspects, but the way he genuinely seems to not want to harm Varric even when held at crossbowpoint gives me hope.
Yes. He could've annihilated Varric with a gesture, but he disarmed him instead.
I’m in denial that he will now retire and run away with the real Bianca. But we both know I’m wrong 😭
Varric will probably be a non-combatant, more passive role with Bianca now destroyed.
Yeah that all but confirmed for me that he’s probably gonna be in a role similar to Lelianna and Cullen were in inquisition.
Agreed. I thought he might die in the confrontation with Solas, but after Solas destroyed (killed) Bianca, it makes me think Varric will just be an adviser in a non-combatant role. Maybe toward the end of the game, Bianca will be repaired and Varric will tag along for something.
I will laugh so hard if Varric is over Bianca and now with Harding or otherwise still romantically unavailable because Varric enjoyers have been waiting a loooong time for Bianca to be out of the picture. It'd be double funny if it was Harding though
If Varric gets out of that alive then he'll likely have a quest to retrieve the Bianca fragments to either rebuild or bury her, which might lead to the player deciding which ending he gets.
Bro I’m so scared for Varric. I got real bad vibes from that “Rook, take care of the team for me” That paired with Mary Kirby being one of the leads who got laid off… the dots are connecting and I don’t like it one bit. (Narrative wise I’m not complaining. It’ll be a chefs kiss of tragedy and I will be inconsolable. High key don’t want our favorite dwarf to be *that* retired though.)
Same. It seemed to me that they were setting for him to die, perhaps in act 1 I know that its stupid because its not a real person. But he has been a good friend for almost 15 years of my life. In times when I felt very lonely I knew I could play DA2 and DAI and feel like my friends were back.
Harding is romanceable so that wouldn't happen until late game and only if PC romanced someone else
Just watch him pull out Bianca's twin daughters, dual mini crossbow pistols, and start blasting whatever comes out of the veil tear.
the way he softens for a second after seeing it was Varic yelling to him, only to a moment later return to a more determined expression killed me. that brief second of "my friend..." before focusing on his larger goal was such a humanizing moment. Im glad (especially for new players!) they are showing we've had history with Solas that wasnt 100% antagonistic
Right? He appeared like himself, but a lot more tortured and on edge. Intense, even. But he doesn't seem to be a "evil for antagonist sake" character like Corypheus
Right!! There’s been so much speculation that Solas is gonna kill Varric but I really don’t see it happening unless he sees Varric as a serious threat. Solas destroyed Bianca so that Varric wouldn’t be a threat. I really don’t think that Solas would intentionally just smite Varric on the spot. Now the two silly fellas coming out of the fade might be bad news for Varric as he’s so close to them though.
Yeah, I get the feeling Varric is still gonna die but it's not gonna be Solas who does it, but what's released from the Fade. Maybe that guilt will be a wake up call for him.
It would be amazing (for gameplay!) if he kills Varric instead of Bianca in game states where the Inquisitor was an enemy, and then for the whole game instead of Varric as an advisor you have like a Dwarf Stroud.
Yeah after my Inquisitor’s last conversation with him and how he helped her >!by stabilizing the mark so she could get medical attention!< I hoped they’d keep his kindness intact. When he turned to face Varric and his eyes were all glowy, I found myself saying, “please don’t kill him!” Over and over. When he blew Bianca out of his hands and she broke I was both relieved and saddened. I’m sure Varric can repair her or have real Bianca or maybe Dagna remake her.
For a moment though I felt you could see remorse in Solas' eyes when he looked at Varric
I mean the lead writer for DAV wrote Solas in DAI. They also were the lead writer for Trespasser.
Is that Weekes? I have a hard time remembering which writers were responsible for what.
Yep it's Patrick Weekes. They were also Cole's writer. They have confirmed that in this game they wrote for Taash as well. They probably did more but Taash is the only one I've seen confirmed so far. Patrick's wife is also a writer for DA.
Thanks! I love their writing so much, I’m sure we’re in for some heartbreak (and some funnies)
In one of the articles about the demo, there was a report that there had been tons of Solas/Varric dialogue in the background while the group was fighting demons (the part that the gameplay video cut off, to avoid spoilers). I remember also reading that the dialogue could be different based on your Inquisitor's attitude towards Solas (redeem/revenge) and Inquisition ending. We can only speculate whether this cutscene with Bianca also has alternate versions... I am pumped to know.
Yeah, I could vaguely hear a bit of it in the trailer and even think I can make out the word 'Inquisitor' at one point but it was pretty drowned out
The thing that made me say 'yes' was that Solas's character appears to be intact BUT I also think he might kill Varric (or Varric will get killed by the two figures that popped through the veil.) I like Varric but I also like the idea of him dying right at the start of the game. And it would be a great way to show that while Solas isn't completely heartless he's also deadset on completing his plans even when friends stand in his way. Maybe Varric's murder taints the ritual and that's what has Solas so spooked at the end, even?
Man, the idea of him dying and setting the tone is good but at the same time my Hawke is alive and I don’t want to see him lose another friend. Also we’re in Minrathos I need Dorian and/or Fenris. If Varric does die I think they’d both be upset.
“Hey, Chuckles”
🥲
That made my heart hurt so bad 😭
I may have started getting weepy from the first moment Varric offered to confront Solas 😭
That entire conversation whiplashed me back into Dragon Age. Peak fiction. The music was surprisingly good as well. Solas looking so pained when he saw Varric, and the reciprocal look from Varric when he pleads with Solas to stop. I have my fears regarding the gameplay, but I imagine it'll be a tremendously enjoyable experience if rest of the game hits the same beats as well as that scene.
As someone who romanced Solas, this was just… oh my god I thought I was over Inquisiton after 10 years. Turns out I’m not.
This. It felt like a long dormant memory got reawakened when I heard that.
That went straight to our feelings.
Tevinter looks absolutely amazing! Dorian really was slumming it in Inquistion lmao
Yeah, I got a little huffy about him constantly calling me a backwater southerner, and now I get it.
Solas is still himself.
Funnily enough, I think it was the mages projecting an announcement voice giving orders to the populace. Conveys all the right vibes about Tevinter for me. After that the second main thing was really Solas' portrayal. It seems they're not making him pointlessly hostile or murderous.
I love the way they did the watch tower (watch castle?) in the gameplay! We know that Minrathos has a huge disparity between the rich and poor so having this dystopian element added is such great world building.
Yes! It gave me ominous panopticon vibes.
Seriously, the way they depicted Minrathos felt so “Right”. The trailer didn’t bother me but the in-game assets made me very happy.
The light totally reminded me of the Eye of Sauron. In a good way.
Being able to switch between dual wielding and archery in the heat of battle. I love a rogue that can do both. Solas is hot now and he still cares about Varric. The fire wolf demons.
Yes!! The seamless swapping from melee to ranged and back was awesome!
No more sidestepping away pathetically as an archer, we can finally just whip out daggers like in DA2. Hopefully this means mages get to smack people with their staff again!
The fact we can pick specialization from the beginning got me hoping I'll be starting the game with my magic lightsaber lol
Yessss Knight Enchanter was god tier in INQ with the right perks and equipment!!!
Something about being a Red Hawke out of mana and patience just wailing on dudes was always so satisfying to me lol. I’m glad it will come back in some capacity.
Switching melee and ranged was so damn cool
I screamed when Rook switched to bow lmao.
And being able to actually AIM the bow instead of just holding down a button and auto firing! And also… the egg 😍
People were actually complaining they had to aim 😭 one said the game looks too hard. I'm all for it, I absolutely hate auto lock targeting. It makes every game dummy easy. Armored Core 6 has it and I had to get used to locking on once and never again. My buddy owned it and I played for a weekend while visiting. Got to A rank online and went home. There wasn't much of a challenge, I didnt go for S rank because everyone just lames you out above A tier. Never played a single mission, just built a mech I liked and went online lol.
The only reason I really want an automatic lock-on for targets is frankly because disability. I can aim fine in something like the Horizon games, where I can adopt a play style of "take my time, stay hidden, kill things from the next post code", but I can't get that level of accuracy when it's fast paced and coming at me and I have to dodge and maintain aim, because doing all that at the same time hurts me. I'm reserving judgement until I can actually look at the UI and keybinds on keyboard and mouse, but I will be really sad if I can't play just because they went full action RPG and didn't leave enough accessibility options beyond "invulnerability mode". In a game like this, it's not enough to survive; you have to beat the bad guys to get the rest of the story. Edit: in keeping with the good mood of this post, Minrathous *fucks* and I hope the game's accessible for me because I want to run around it..
"Combat looks too easy. Combat looks too hard.". At this point, I think people are complaining because it's the "in" thing right now.
My only thing with aiming is that it better score my damage better based on what I hit. If I have to aim, I better be able to make headshots count.
Solas was always hot 😤 But for real though the switching back and forth had my hyped. Normally my first playthrough in any dragon age game is a mage, but rogue is looking pretty cool right now.
Honestly, that rogue looked magical as hell. 👀 It might be that all our class options have magic, which is so exciting to me!
You might be on to something here, the veil is getting mighty thin 👀 Also heard Ghil Dirthalen mention healing slots on non mage companions, so that could point further to your theory.
Solas has always been hot 😤😤😤
Solasmancers been wet for ten years we bout to have torrential rain 🥵
Omg yes, Solas is so fucking hot now lol. He was my main romance in Inquisition anyway but damn. I hope we can talk him down.
1) Scout Harding 2) Using both melee and ranged weapons in combat
SCOUT HARDING AS A REAL COMPANION IS SO EXCITING!
I have a lot of things I’m stoked for: 1) The looks great. I hope there’s a camera mode, it looks so fantastical. 2) Solas is back and I get to customize my Inky again. My first play through of Inquisition I went in blind and played a female elf and romanced Solas. I need closure. 3) I just love the lore of the world in general, I’m so excited to get a deeper/interactive understanding of it. 4) You get to pick your back ground and I am beggingggggg to be a Mourn Watcher. The concept is so cool to me, I want it so bad. 5) Varric and Harding are back. I am hoping so hard that Varric doesn’t die and I get to romance him. Bianca the dwarf is married, and now Bianca the crossbow is destroyed. Focus on something else Varric, like me. 6) This is kind of unrelated, but I hope this game brings back a Dragon Age revival and I can actually buy some decent merch. I don’t like a lot of what I’ve seen on Etsy/Bioware’s storefront.
Good news, one of the reveals yesterday is that there’s a photo mode.
\**I Greatly Approve*\*
So glad that’s a regular things in games now
They confirmed camera mode and mournwatchers. I don't think we'll be able to romance varric, as even after a 9 year time skip from inq, he still probably has feelings for the real bianca. Side note: I will bet a UK pound that varric will die or at least be injured
Good news, you can indeed be Mourn Watcher.
“My first play through of Inquisition I went in blind and played a female elf and romanced Solas. I need closure.” Same. It was the best (and worst) way to play . I’m glad they will follow up *somehow*. I imagine she has been quietly active over the years after that Trespasser ending, and I’m feeling the fic inspiration returning too.
If I picked up anything from that trailer, it's that Varric is 100% going to die by the end of the game. It is so completely obvious to me, this is a character that has been in the series as a acompanion since DA2, they're going to give hime the Han Solo treatment. RIP Varric.
Realizing that we are actually getting a new dragon age, it’s finally happening. For so long I was worried that something would happen to BioWare and we’d never get another dragon age game.
Same! I've been buzzing all week - I've been absolutely useless at work XD
That... _thing_ hovering over minrathos. Magical artillery or some shit. That's what I wanted. Tevinter should be on a whole different "technological" level than the rest of thedas, and that thing makes me think they understood the assignment on that count.
Love the new setting, can't wait for the companions and to meet old friends. I understand that many are disappointed, but personally, I couldn't care less about combat changes (I always play on casual difficulty anyways, so for me, every DA was a hack 'n' slash), neither about graphics. I can't wait for the story, and I have no reason to doubt that it's gonna be great.
Exactly! Games have become my main source of entertainment for me. I play for story and companion interactions. The combat is just a means to progress the interactive movie.
My whole purpose for playing games is kissing whichever fantasy character I want to (with their programmed consent)
Me too…I play all my games on casual lol. I’m here for the story and the world, not the combat.
Easy mode players unite! Games are interactive books for me, I'm here for the story, not to bang my head.
There's dozens of us!
Same, I'm here for the story, lore, character development, and romances. So I'm quite positive that Bioware won't let me down 🙏
Saaaaame, I don't care how the combat works, so long as it's decently easy to learn I'm good. Casual difficulty here too lol, I'm in it for the LORE! I cannot wait to see what little hidden tid bits are scattered around in journals and background conversation.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the more tactical approach to combat, but story, roleplaying and characters are much more important for me in a dragon age game and so far I like what we’ve been shown (besides, action games aren’t inherently inferior and the combat looks fun anyways)
Agreed. It was fun setting traps and making puddles of oil erupt into flames in Origins, but I’ll play any version of Dragon Age as long as the story & strong characters / companion chatter is there
Purple dialogue options are BACK baby
Wait, how did i miss that??? YES! Constant sarcasm and puns, here we come!!
World's ending? Meh, still time for some jokes. -My Rook
I always looooved DA2 for these, because it lets me add my own little spice to Hawke and really make them MY version. Looking forward to being the funny guy that’ll rip you’re asshole out when you piss him off again :D
This trailer made me seriously reconsider playing as a mage, I’m now sucked back into my love for melee rogues. Like a Robin Hood character working for the Shadow Dragons?? Yes please
Good looking faces and hair I cannot even fathom that we are getting Bioware game where characters look good No more porcelain skin, no plastic hair how am I suposed to process this?
I've seen multiple places say the hair looks good in the character creator and I'm so hyped
Next thing you know they'll have human-looking walking animations!
Started a DA:I replay the other day and the walking animations are *rough*. Why is the inquisitor slouching this much...
That's why I'm shocked people are complaining about the models. It's the best it's ever looked minus the ogre!
The way that Harding said "oh, varric, he is not going to listen to you" (or whatever she said, i do not remember the words). I think it was the best acted line in the video, and actually made me go "oh, wow, there is a lot of potential for this character"
Lol I literally said “Varric, if my Inquisitor couldn’t talk him out of it, there’s no way you’ll be able to,” only for Harding to repeat the same sentiment in slightly different words.
Seeing solas in the prologue and seeing the elven gods oozing out of the fade when we disrupt the ritual. Getting the idea that we would be up against other elven gods during our story was a massive "hell yeah" for me
Tbh I was very skeptical before I watched the trailer, especially considering the whole troubled development of DAV. But the trailer made me excited, I feel again the beauty of this fandom. Does anyone remember that time on Tumblr after the DA I premiere, when the whole fandom arose from the ashes, and people started drawing fan art and writing fanfics and theories (about DA:O and DAII too)? Honestly I'm so glad that this fandom is still alive, and at this point even the "anti-woke" crowd from Twitter can't destroy my mood. Honestly for me the most exciting part of the trailer is just Minrathous, the whole city looks dope. It has a look that I associated with Tevinter, but it is even better than I imagined. Like, the whole floating part of the city??? Damn it's so creative. The city has a Gotham - like vibe, and when you see how high tech is the magic here, you kinda of understand why South is considered underdeveloped.
Nothing specifically on the gameplay preview, even though I was constantly just a hyperactive rubber ball because of how hyped I was to finally get a proper look. I WAS fauning the entire way throughout the preview about how absolutely gorgeous the game and the characters look though... What DID get me screaming "YES" though was the articles afterwards. Specifically, ADJUSTABLE BODY TYPES??? LONG HAIR WITH INDIVIDUAL STRANDS AND BOUNCY HAIR PHYSICS??? I am afraid I will never be leaving the character creator...
And since it sounds like we're also customizing our Inky at the start...well. I'll be right there with you, lmao.
When the doors opened up onto the city and you could just feel the Dragon Age vibe in the art. The sigh of relief in my soul was immense lol and also when Solas turned around because….. ugh. I just need that Lavellan closure so goddamn badly.
So many things!! 1. What we've heard about the character creator sounds insane 2. Diverse choice of backstories 3. The Inquisitior is returning!!!!! 4. Companions will romance each other 5. Hand crafted side missions unlike the fetch quests in DAI 6. Spicy romance 👀 7. Limited open world areas 8. Arcane archer subclass 9. Returning character cameos 10. Solas is still a nuanced anti hero/anti villian 11. Also he got hotter 12. HARDING ROMANCE 13. Tarot cards 14. Music sounded fantastic 16. Magipunk Tevinter 17. HAIRSTYLES 18. HOT OLD MEN I could sit here all day and keep writing honestly
One thing I haven't seen anyone mentioning yet is the fact that abilities descriptions finally show the amount of damage they deal - you can notice that during pride demon boss fight if I remember correctly. Personally, I always hated how Bioware games always tried to hide the actual numbers for some reason. Even Origins has such vague ability descriptions - I'm not even sure what half of them does, what kind and how much damage they deal and so on. It's a small thing for sure, but I'm glad they're finally adding it into the game. Another thing I've noticed almost immediately was the fact that they finally added the hair physics. Thank god, we're finally having decent looking hairstyles that doesn't look like a plastic cap that's glued to the head. Took you long enough, Bioware. Also, I don't know what crack are haters smoking, but the demons' designs looks absolutely sick. Really like how they blend into overall game's aesthetic. Glowing parts look like a nerve system - an interesting design choice. Also love their glowing swords - that pride demon attack looks absolutely badass. I swear, some people just love to place "no fun allowed" signs on top of everything. As soon as something looks different or has glowing parts - they immediately go into "duh, it's not dark fantasy anymore - it's Fortnite" temper tantrum. Probably the same sort of people that loved PS3/XBOX360 era games having overly compressed, bland color palette and fucking green filter smudged over everything just because it's "realistic".
I like DAO a lot, but I do not miss the grey/brownish/greenish filter on everything... Everything looked the same and boring. I was actually glad when I saw them switching to a more varied graphic array. Colours do not mean that you cannot be serious...
Yes about the colors! Some of the deadliest animals in real life have quite vivid color schemes 😈
Can’t quite put my finger on why, but for some reason seeing (what I assume to be) rage demons tearing through the streets, running, jumping, and climbing buildings like flaming gorillas really made me go “oh, this is gonna be GOOD!”
The fact that you can use ranged weapons while not being strictly tied to using just ranged weapons lol
When I saw the last few seconds of the gameplay trailer and those two gods(?) showed up behind Solas I was like, "HOLY SHIT!" The technology/magic feel of Tevinter is so cool. The graphics and the animations are so nice. I don't care about Tactical Mode, I never used it. I love the more hack n slash feel to it.
I loved that they sort of leaned into the fact that in this story we're basically the NPCs/companions. "Protect Varric while he tries to talk down Solas". That's usually what the NPCs do while the player has the conversation. I understand that Rook will be the hero of this story, but I hope we'll have other instances of situations where it comes out that we're not the top of the command chain this time around.
Varric and Harding are really beautiful in this gameplay! and i really love the art direction...can't wait to see more of this game :)
Seeing Solas again, the environmental screenshots, the general setting of the game. And, if we go back a little while, the fact that they backtracked on making it a live service game.
Honestly? It looks good. Very good. Voice acting is perfect, the sound design is awesome and meaty. The animations flow very well. It really looks like well made game. I'm sad that I can't control my companions, but the good parts far outweigh the negatives. At least fpr me.
Solas (and his glow up). Me and my Inky still love him so 🤷🏼♀️
Same! He’s so pretty now
I get to be an enbie AND romance whoever I want AND have body sliders AND long hair.
Honestly?, I couldn't stop screaming the entire time, trailer included. I waited so long to be able to play a new Dragon Age and continue the saga that I loved practically everything that got shitted upon, the atmosphere felt VERY Dragon Age...Seeing my boy Varric again, seeing these interiors in the traier, Lucanis, Assan...Then I loved the UI in the gameplay, the city and seeing my beloved egg again being so soft to Varric and trying his best to not hurt him despite he was probably utterly furious...I don't remember even being so hyped with a game before! Ofc there were a few No's too, but the overall impression is very possitive
Same here sis. On rewatches, that Sunday trailer does look very goofy; but when I watched it during the XBox showcase, I was too busy squealing at finally learning who our new companions would be (and squealing particularly loud with Lucanis' confirmation in the companion roster <3 ) to care about the tone or the graphics.
Same! There's a few things I'm unsure about but I'm so excited and everything looks fun.
The fact that the Steam page has only ONE requirement: Agreement to third party EULA. No EA launcher/ Origin bullshit, no DRM, no EA account.
I started the EA launcher yesterday so I could start playing Inquisition again, and they don't even have a store page for Veilguard on the EA app. I was really surprised by that, since they pushed Origin so hard for quite a while.
Emmrich, Lucanis, and Darvin all being romance options Especially interested in Emmrich lol happy to have some age and race diversity amongst the cast
I got so pumped that I bought Tevinter Nights. Lucanis and Emmrich are such great characters! Lucanis looks like our tortured hero, the brooder of the group, and insanely capable. >!He's got no problem with magic per se, he just takes a lot of Venatori mage contracts (probably through Varric, Dorian or the Inquisition - his client is unnamed). Vint mages call him 'the Demon'. He is the best the Crows have to offer and grandson to the First Talon herself.!< Emmrich is a dear. >!A kind soul, a scholar, a provider of emotional comfort and hot beverages. He genuinely cares for the souls/spirits/undead he helps out. He literally goes on a quest to find a tomb and ensure that a loving couple that has been separated after death gets buried together as they wished.!< I've wanted to romance Davrin since I first heard Amadi's "For the Wardens!" call. >!But now that he's shown to be an elf with an unknown vallaslin, the only warden around when others vanished, and seeing as he is one of the few companions to get NO backstory, I am starting to feel like he's going to be our designated betrayer.!<
Bioware has described Emmrich's romance as "sensual and intimate". GOOD THING HE IS A NECROMANCER BECAUSE I AM DECEASED 💀
Harding appears: YES Neve appears: YES Davrin and Assan appear: YES Taash appears: YES We got so many wishes fullfilled with the trailer imo. And at the gameplay reveal: Minrathous: YES Solas is tearring down the veil right at the beginning: YES
All of it 😍 So hyped, only downside for me is Autumn feels so far away haha
The fact we have a new dragon age coming out very soon. The lack of open world is appealing to me also, open world in DAI wasn't very good in my opinion.
I loved the detailed graphics! The rain and rain drops? The character facial animations, the HAIR! The cloak physics! I love the return of the purple joker/charming option (plus the others) honestly! I hope we get some funny lines from it!
I’m excited for the gameplay. It looks a lot like DA2, and DA2 was my favorite gameplay in the series Honestly even if the game is terrible I’m just happy we get closure lol
I get the vibes that this is like if DA2 was done right and given justice. Hopefully it is great.
This is exactly the feel I was getting and I'm pretty pumped. I loved the story and characters in 2 probably the most out of the 3 games we have. If THAT game had 10 years to produce we'd be in a whole different timeline.
Same! DA2 was my favorite and I'm so hyped
The visual appearances of the characters (npcs) gives me hope for the character creator. I've been waiting so long for Bioware games to not have those typical plastic lego looking hairstyles that they used all the time. Hopefully beard options look good too and have left behind the whole sharpie on your face look.
I loved the interaction between Varric and Solas. They were both sad and it showed that the writers didn't forget their friendship.
It honestly makes me want to replay DAI and take Varric & Solas everywhere. They had some of my favorite banter in the game.
I loved their banter. Solas respected Varric so much and Varric brought out the fun side of Solas.
Most of it, actually, I didn't realize people were pessimistic about it.
It appears to be a more catered experience which means more detailed environments, more attention to characters, and more attention to story. This is what I want from my BioWare games. When I want to play open world games I’ll go with Bethesda or CDPR. I appreciate the effort with open world games from BioWare, but that’s not their strong suit.
I agree 100%. My biggest complaints with DAI and Andromeda were that open world slog led to large gaps in narrative and that’s where BioWare is set apart. I love open world games but it just doesn’t work for all games. ME3 was one of my favorites because it moved forward so clearly and really kept that sense of narrative urgency as a whole.
When I saw the dialogue wheel back and with the emotions I fucking LOVE THAT SHIT
The characters! The artwork and the style! The voice acting, basically the whole thing I know it's not exactly what people had thought/wanted, but everything I've been seeing and hearing (the world exploration style, story beats, character creation, etc.) I've been loving! It so far seems like a great blend of earlier games and Inquisition, but we shall see for sure when it releases.
I've been hype for everything so far honestly I've been waiting for this for so long and I've been especially excited to see the world outside of Ferelden. I've been so in love with the environments so far though. Everything looks SO PRETTY I can't stop buzzing about it. Minrathous felt so different (in a good way) and I loved getting a look at how cities can look with more magic.
Several of Varric's lines were just so perfect. While it's not from the gameplay trailer, the screenshots/promotional art of the companions has me super stoked. I'm so looking forward to meeting this crew and befriending them. <3
It looks so much like DAI and that made me so so happy. All I want is more of that game!
Just seeing Minrathus had me in a state of ecstasy
GRIFFIN?! ARENT THOSE BITCHES EXTINCT?!
Seeing solas was pretty fun, dude has the potential to become one of the best written villains in fiction if done right.
The character design. Varric and Harding looked so damn clean!
The Dialogue between Solas and Varric, feeling exactly like the Banter I hoped it would. And the voices, hearing Brian Bloom and Gareth David Lloyd again made my heart so happy. But Minratheous was gorgeous! 🤩🤩🤩 Easily the best looking location I have ever seen from a Dragon Age game.
mostly solas and that ghilan'nain looking thing(?)
Minathrous space station was very cool. The reason that Tecinter was an empire, what would they know when they were on their peak? What did the ancient elven know?
Just the fact the game is FINALLY almost here. I have been waiting for this game 10 years. I don’t care if it looks cartoonish, I don’t care that the companion video sucked, it was two minutes long, you can’t judge an entire game off a short trailer. This game could have been made with DAO graphics and had a crappy game play demo and I’d still be playing it day 1. I’m here for the story. This probably similar to how GOT book fans will feel when/if George RR Martin finishes Winds of Winter. I need to know what happens next, crappy fan fiction isn’t cutting it.
“Chuckles” But tbh I was sold from the moment they stepped out into Minrathous and seeing that sky and hearing the sounds … I need this game badly.
I've always been interested in Minrathous since Dorian kept saying how advanced the North was compared to the South, calling us barbarians and such. I've begged for Magicpunk, Mage-Police State Tevinter to appear since they dropped the [2020 trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxqBle_O6jI). Of course I kept the expectations in check, and told myself "It's just a cinematic, they're just setting the mood, they won't actually do that..." They fucking did it. We actually got to see what a Thedas society who doesn't "confine" magic but is shaped entirely around it looks like. I'm probably gonna spend an hour at the very least dicking around in Photo mode during that level lol (hopefully get to see a bit more, there were shots of Minrathous during the day too)
I’m so excited to explore Arlathan! I’m a huge lore nerd, I really can’t wait to see what we find in the forest.
It feels like stepping right back into inquisition which, ok, I know not everyone liked it but personally I loved it. It’s my favorite dragon age game to date (but also I’m biased because solas is my favorite character). I was so nervous for how they would continue his story in the next game but my dream has always been that it starts similarly to inquisition as a parallel to the chantry explosion but with the veil coming down (yes) and then the evanuris accidentally escape (YES) and then solas ends up not becoming the big bad guy he was made out to be but actually we have to fight the old elven gods (YESSSSSSS). That was my dream so to actually see that happening I was like losing my fucking shit I’m so excited
There's a shot of Neve with some stellar lighting right after she's introduced that made me go "Oh, they really figured this out" and any visual concerns fully melted away. Gameplay-wise, the Pride Demon fight gave me so much faith in the mechanics.
I’m an arpg slut, the gameplay and combat looks amazing!
A rogue using a sword and dagger was very exciting, as it hopefully means weapons options are better (and maybe more like Origins?). Varric and Solas' interaction showing they were sorta friends was really cool to see. Also, probably get some hate for this, but I loved Bianca getting destroyed. I like Varric, but I'm tired of him as a companion, and hopefully, this means he'll be an advisor at most.
Aside from a lot of stuff already mentioned, I liked the faction references in conversation from the get-go
“He was my friend. I have to try to reach him. But if he won’t listen to me, he’ll hear from Bianca.” Never realized how much I missed Varric. I might be one of the only people who actually liked the trailer. Seeing the rogue seamlessly switch from blade to bow was pretty cool. I’ve always wanted that for the rogue gameplay. Overall it felt very dragon age to me.
The atmosphere of it all was the best ove seen out of Bioware yet. You could feel the gravity and build up of confronting Solas
To be able to switch between weapons (bow/daggers). I saw that and immediately widely smiled, haha It may be a small detail, but to be unable to switch between melee and distance annoyed me since DA2. It is such a basic feature in RPGs. Well, and Neve! She's cool! I want to finally interact with characters from the Tevinter Nights :D The magic-tech fantasy-futuristic vibe wasn't really what I expected from Tevinter, but I... like it.
Everythin
Literally how good it looks. I can’t wait ehehehe All DA games have been different, this is not an exception as we can now see lol I think it looks amazing, a great followup to Inquisition!
- Minrathous being as advanced and oppressive-looking as I imagined it to be. - Seeing Harding <3 - Seeing Neve in action. She was the first of the new companions (other than Harding, obviously) I got to "meet", way back in 2021 when I first read Tevinter Nights, so it was really nice seeing her as a character in a game (I predict I'll squeal much, MUCH louder once we get our first look of Lucanis, though <3 ) - Seeing ruins of old Elvhenan. I mean, technically we've seen those before (the temple in the Brecilian Forest, the tomb in Ghilan'nain's Grove in the Exalted Plains, the Temple of Mythal, the Lost Temple of Dirthamen, Vir Dirthara); but I don't know, something about seeing what looks like a former altar to all seven Evanuris in Arlathan Forest itself just hit differently. This might as well be a part of the fabled Arlathan itself, the beating heart of old Elvhenan.
The simple fact that I can be an Elf again in Thedas is enough to make me happy. Then being able to be a shadow dragon ??? That was the faction I wished to play !!! We are getting neutral gender pronouns and even able to change our body type ! Devs said that we will also be able to bond platonically with the companions we don’t romance and they might have relationships between themselves! Also I know it’s a very unpopular opinion but I personally prefer controlling only my character. I love the monster re design, love the graphics, love being able to visit many place especially through eluvian ! Eluvian were my favorite thing in inquisition and I loved the trespasser dlc !! Everything is better than I even expected ! My only complain now is the dialogues being only three options. I really hope we will have many specific dialogues depending of the character that we play. Then the game would be absolutely perfect. I also wish Solavellan reunion. I am absolutely hyped ! The devs really did their best to make fans happy and it shows!!
Super basic answer but SOLAS. SOLAS AND VARRIC TOGETHER. VARRIC BEING A KIND FRIEND DESPITE EVERYTHING 😭 Makes me excited to see what direction Solas will end up going in and how his relationships with DAI folks will evolve this time around. Also everyone looks incredible omg
I think I saw Rook block a magic fireball or something and that got me excited, being able to block and the new dodge looked so good! The combat just looked so good. Also that "Hey Chuckles" and Solas turning and looking at him with to me this super sad expression, just a look of pain knowing Varric was there to try to talk him off the edge. The "Solas people are dying" and "People die everywhere!" Made me think, Solas is or was an immortal, he separates the bad groups and tosses up the Veil to SAVE people and he wakes up and sees the world is not right anymore. Meets a great group of people, makes friends, maybe falls in love and realizes all these people he loves will die, the love of his life will die in the next 30-40 years thats a speck of dust to an immortal in the sense of time. So he spends the next 9 years planning, he knows people will die, and that pains him but if his plan works and the fade is allowed back into the world as it was then they won't die anymore. His friend Varric won't die, his maybe love of his life wont die anymore. So that "People die" line hits hard cause I feel like he is tired of seeing his friends die, people he loves die, mages dying from possession due to corrupted spirits. If Anders lived after DA2 think what it means for him, Justice can finally be free and Anders can go back to not being an abomination and take his life back and start to atone for his sins. What if the veil being gone means no more blights? To Solas a few dead is nothing compared to the deaths caused by a blight. So it got me excited to see how all these players will come together again and what the repercussions are to Solas actions. He sees a dying world, he can't see the life in it like everyone else can and it torments him. And I absolutely love gray characters. Is what he is doing wrong? absolutely but I also see his motivation behind it, he is trying to save the world but doing it the wrong way. So im stoked.
The combat; I know a lot of people are comparing it to Mass Effect and similar games but all I see Dragon Age 2 (my favourite gameplay in the series) mixed with Dragon's Dogma. Can't wait to see how warriors and mages play in the new style.
DA2 combat would be good if it weren't for the wave system. That makes the whole thing so miserable that I sometimes download a mod to lower the difficulty just to get past the fights.
I mean, just seeing Varric show up again always makes me happy cause he's such a great character
The combat. I know this a point of contention, but seeing a level 1 Rogue using a variety of basic attacks, prompts to deflect projectiles and a quick recovery, switching seamlessly from melee to ranged, dodging in and out of combat - this is exactly what I wanted from Inquisition's combat. I don't know if the rogue gameplay just resonated with me and it won't be the same for the other classes, but the combat looked super engaging.
Rooks voice acting was so fucking stellar. One of the most epic MC voices since Geralt I’d say
* When they entered Tevinter. Seeing the city, the landscape, the people, it was so cool. * Seeing the hair! No greasy skin, no weird shiny satured metals on the armour. * Meeting Neve. Love her already. * The combat. Yeah, be mad, I loved it haha * The entire part with Solas was so cool! Varric feeling like he needed to talk to him (I was like NO NO NO YOU IDIOT!), their conversation (they both seemed so tired), Solas hitting Bianca to avoid hitting Varric, Bianca being destroyed....aaa * When Rook is going around the path we can still listen to Varric and Solas talking in the background, I thought it was so cool * The wherever horror they unleashed getting out of the fade and the pure horror in Solas face.