nausicaa83 | " Dot on the palm of your hand, I can help you to stand, saved it up for this dance."

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" Dot on the palm of your hand, I can help you to stand, saved it up for this dance."

So, news from the last few days!

First, I had another attack of migraine which compromised my sight a bit. So with that and the other problems I've been having recently with my eyes, using a keyboard is a bit harder and very annoying, and that's the reason for the hiatus this week. Sorry for that. I'm getting used to it and powering through it, though, so cheers for me!

I've finished my first playthrough of Dragon Age Inquisition, playing as a female elf warrior romancing Solas. Obviously I won't post any spoilers here, so here's the quick review: at the end of the day, I loved this game. But it has its problems. Mainly two: choices do not affect the story at all, and the ending is very rushed and disappointing. The after-credits scene blew my mind and I loved it to pieces, but it did make me feel like I'd just been playing a long prequel to the real story. Other than that, I loved everything. The open world was amazing, and the characters were so well-done and realistic I wish I could have spent the entire game just talking with them and playing Wicked Grace. They managed to merge the political storyline with the fantasy story in a way that felt natural and realistic. I love DA2 to pieces, I do, but the political story always felt little and claustrophobic to me, especially after the Blight. This time, they managed to do both storylines perfectly, in a way that made it feel like they belonged to the same world.

Next, I'll be playing as a male Inquisitor just to romance Dorian. I want to shower him with love. But I also want to romance Bull at the same time. I wish there was a happy polyamory option. *wishful sigh*

Yesterday I had another anxiety attack, but I recovered from that one quite quickly. In fact, today I was feeling so much better that I went downtown and did all my xmas shopping! The weather was sunny and crisp, a wonderful winter day, and I found myself humming along to the xmas carols in the shops. I'm so proud of my stupid brain today. ^^

I also finished a Bob's Burgers marathon I started on Netflix a while back. I loved it. It's got a weird sort of humor that's never mean or offensive, and all the characters love each other and take care of each other. It's a very positive show while being really funny, and the social commentary is very sharp without it being depressive. Definitely recommended!

And I just finished watching the Supernatural midseason finale, which I loved to pieces. Really amazing, every single scene. And so many beautiful dialogues! Plus, it is now official, every Supernatural episode this season has passed the Bechdel's Test. I'm so proud of them! I hope they'll keep doing it next year too! \o/

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Your thoughts are pretty much mine concerning Inquisition (though I didn't romance Solas so I missed out on all the little pieces of his story you get - I remember being sad that his card didn't change at all when everyone else's did something interesting and beautiful.) But, absolutely agree that choices really make no difference at all. That seemed to be a big complaint from people about the fun of playing it again and making different choices. The story apparently plays out the same way no matter what you do. Even the war table decisions play out almost exactly the same way.

I did appreciate all the places we visited, The Emerald Graves and The Storm Coast! But I never felt that stress from other games I get sometimes, where I might do something wrong, or someone would leave my party.

The problem is, it was all cosmetic. Fixing Skyhold, conquering keeps, doing quests, nothing had any kind of impact on the story. I think the most astonishing one is that even if one sides with the templars, the Red Templars are still the main enemies in all regions of the world. I sided with the Mages (and I'm so glad I did, because the Redcliffe quest is one of the best things Bioware has ever done), so I didn't think anything was wrong when I saw mad templars popping out everywhere like daisies. And then I found out it would have been exactly the same the other way around. Not to mention theoretically I could have just minded my own business, not sided with anyone, and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference, since I didn't need an army against Corypheus after all.

Funny enough, in DA2, where the story was so much smaller in the way it inflicted the world, Hawke's choices had way more of an impact, even if it still ended with a confrontation with both Orsino and Meredith. I played a whole playthrough always siding with the Templars, because I wanted the trophy, and it truly felt like I was playing a very different story than my first, canon one. It was a weird step back they took here.

Plus I would have liked more sidequests with a story to them. It was all fetch this, kill that. But in DA2 the sidequests and companion quests were so alive and rich that most of the time it didn't feel like I was putting the main plot on hold at all. It was just part of the story Hawke was living. Here it felt a lot like "two hours of story and then I'm going to level up for the next ten hours", which is a shame.

I want to start a new playthrough and see if I get the banter this time, but I'm worried I won't and then I'll have to put it on hold. I'll just wait for the next patch. *gotta be patient, gotta be patient*

Oh, and I killed a Dragon and got the dialogue with Bull at the tavern next! I loved it, and I was in stitches the whole time! God, Bull is my favourite! *____*

Yeah, I was agonising over some decisions and I was pretty sad to realise that literally none of them mattered. I'm glad I picked the mages first time around (though they seemed to really want you to do that, what with all the lady-priest punching, and obvious notes about how they were cheerfully slaughtering everyone.) But I fully expected it to be all about the mages infected with red lyrium next time, and I was willing to be super impressed.

You're right that the companion quests felt much more involved in DA2, I felt more like I was getting to know the characters and the way they related to each other - even playing with much more banter the second time around it doesn't feel quite so natural as DA2's adventuring did, for all its small repeated areas.

"two hours of story and then I'm going to level up for the next ten hours"

Yes, this is exactly how it felt sometimes, sad but true. And much of it felt like busywork - god I spent so long trying to find all the crafting stuff for the requisition and the potion levelling up.

Bull is a lot of fun, and I love how he just randomly approves when I get fed up and do something slightly dickish. I still don't know who my favourite banter companion is though. Cole probably has my favourite observations the second time around. When he's not being hilarious and adorable, he's making me sad by what he finds out about other people.

I've just arrived at Skyhold, and I'm romancing Dorian. It's so different from Solas' romance! With Solas you get two kisses, in two specific cutscenes, and that's it. With Dorian, you can just walk up to him whenever you like and ask for a kiss. :D This is like the tent from DAO, it's awesome! I'm gonna shower you with love and affection, baby! \o/

And when I accompanied him to meet his father, I acted just like the first time around. I just can't find it in myself to convince him to talk to his father. I always drag him out of the tavern and slam the door on our way out. It's like with Bull and the Chargers, as if I'm going to do anything different. There's some choices that are absolutely compulsive to me.

I like the way they went back to the DAO style where you could just go up and be all 'hey lets go do something fun/lets go off and be indecent while no one's looking.' But, yes, I did Dorian first and I was just going with my gut reaction for dialogue - but on the next I've been listening to a bunch of the dialogue options. You should at least hear the 'if you leave it like this you'll never forgive yourself' option play out, when you go and meet his father. Ugh. Dead.

But, yeah, I couldn't sacrifice the Chargers, I just couldn't.

Edited 2014-12-13 20:49 (UTC)

I'm already past that part, but I'm definitely going to follow your advice next time around. On my first playthrough he was my first friend in the group, unsurprisingly. I loved him so much, I had to do all his quests first!

Next time I'd love to play as a Qunary lady mage. It's a shame Cullen has that stupid race barrier, because I'd love to see how his romance pans out.

This morning I checked the autosaves, and I was incredibly lucky because there was one from right before entering the tavern and confronting Dorian's father. So I chose the dialogue options you suggested and it was heartbreakingly amazing. Thanks a billion for the advice!

Then the game did something funny because it skipped the One Less Venatori quest and activated the romance quest straight away. I'm waiting for Leliana to finish her war operation and then it's Smooch Town, population: us! :D

Hurrah! I'm having a lot of fun listening to more dialogue options this time around.

Honestly I was going to try and romance someone else on my second playthrough but I accidentally-on-purpose went with Dorian again. But then I couldn't bring myself to pick the Templars either...they just made them so awful. I fail at options.

Weird note though, the first time I played I got barely any 'Dorian approves' pop-ups, which was making me sad. Until I got to near the end and he randomly 'slightly disapproved' of something. Apparently I'd maxed it out fairly early in the game, and had no idea (I was keeping track on a pad using little lines for approval and crosses for disapproval. lol.)

I had no idea one could max it up!!! So that's why he hasn't approved a choice I made earlier that the guide said he would approve of! I thought it was a bug!

I've already decided that this time around I'm going to drink from the Well of Sorrows, he's going to be so pissed... first time I let Morrigan do it because I didn't want Solas to disapprove. The funny thing about that choice is one ends up getting the whole party angry anyway. I think maybe Varric didn't give a shit?

I definitely got to the stage where people should have been giving approval but didn't, and then instances where I'd get a 'slight disapproval' which would let them approve again after (so I'm assuming there is a max but it doesn't stick there like in DA2?)

I let Morrigan do it last time, and I think I had Blackwall, Cassandra and Solas in my party. So disapproval!town. I think everyone comments on it if you ask for opinions. But I think it's weird how non-party members who might approve/disapprove of what you did when you get back to Skyhold seem strangely random?

Did you take screenshots of your characters? I'm abusing the option, and then sharing the pictures as if I were an annoying new parent on public transport. :D

This is Narsil, I created him just for Dorian. :D

This is Nimrais, my first Inquisitor.

And this is my Hawke from my first playthrough, looking the spitting image of my Hawke from my first DA2 playthrough. And it's incredible, because I made her at 11 pm, drowsy with sleep, from memory.

My warden was named Nausicaa, because I had such a vivid imagination at the time, and now I'm trying to keep giving them names starting with a N. That I randomly pick from my Middle Earth Atlas. :D

Screenshots! It's always fun to see other people's characters. I like Nimrais, she looks like someone who gets things done! Also, scars on your male inquisitor, ugh, I'm so sad we don't get them on last gen consoles.

Sadly my computer isn't really good enough to do Inquisition justice, so for the moment I'm playing it on Xbox360 and saving the fancy PC version for when I can run it as well as possible.

My first Inquisitor was, to be honest, the first generic manly face that didn't look too bad. Then I made an elf, and originally I thought the neck/face was too thin, but he's grown on me. For my third I tried really hard to make an albino character, but none of the eyes were quite right :(

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" Dot on the palm of your hand, I can help you to stand, saved it up for this dance."

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