Dragon Age 2 DLC seems to exacerbate the worst elements of the game

Git gud

I know it’s not good but it’s on sale for like $2 on steam so might buy it

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I know it’s not good but it’s on sale for like $2 on steam so might buy it

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I re-purchased the entire DA franchise on Steam for like $15 a couple weeks ago due to the sale

Not sure I advise anyone actually buy EA games on Steam as I've had all sorts of problems with the games just randomly deciding not to recognize that they are installed. It has to do with the games needing to launch Origin before they can be played. I already own the games on my Origin account, so I think the launchers get confused.

It also took me a day and a half to figure out how to redeem all the DLC for DA2.

Weirdly, DA2 is the only DA I have ever managed to finish. Inquisition bored the hell out of me.

I have always wanted to play through Origins. I have finished the prologue about 50 times, but I never get very far after that.

Something about the relative simplicity of DA2 keeps me playing. It's a lot like an MMO. Pick up quest in city, port to dungeon, kill mobs, return to NPC for reward, repeat

I also find the combat a lot of fun.

The cast of characters are all entertaining. They all of Mass Effect 2-like loyalty missions to play through. Hawke is a great protagonist. I like how it takes your previous responses into account when determining his personality.

I also find the visual design much more appealing than bland, drab Origins.

I kind of enjoy the low-stakes personal story that's about a dude and his family's life in Kirkwall spread out over a number of years. I just wish there was more variety to the environments and that the city changed more in between acts.

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Not sure I advise anyone actually buy EA games on Steam as I've had all sorts of problems with the games just randomly deciding not to recognize that they are installed. It has to do with the games needing to launch Origin before they can be played. I already own the games on my Origin account, so I think the launchers get confused.

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I had a similar problem with some Ubisoft games at first

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DA2 is not a bad game - the story is good and it contains some of the best voice acting in the series.

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Meh. It's not bad, but it certainly was not good. They took an incredible controlled open world game and confined it to a forced sequence system. The gameplay was different as well. I do applaud them trying to do something different with the game so that it's not the same exact thing on repeat, but they neutered the playing experience as a result. I admit that once I figured out the primary function of the new system I did enjoy it for what it was.

DA3 fixed that and created an exceptional gaming experience.

Just finished the second playthrough of DA2. It was a toss up between Origins and Inquisition as to what to start next.

Both games have been on my to do list for years.

I choose Inquisition first since the events of DA2 lead directly into Inquisition.

Granted, I have played Inquisition a few times. I will usually get to Skyhold then get bored.

My first thought coming directly from DA2 and not having played Inquisition in about 5 years is holy hell this game feels clunky.

I hate the UI. It's way too big and feels designed for consoles. I wish there was a mod to make it more mouse/keyboard friendly like the older games.

I might be coming around a bit more to the combat though. At first, it felt slow and imprecise (and still kinda feels that way). My rogue just kinda stabs at the enemy repeatedly unlike Hawk in DA2 who looked like he was a Jedi jumping all over the place swinging his dual swords around. It does seem that party member AI is improved overall, and they're more likely to trigger combos.

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Have you not played Origins yet? Or is this just 2nd play throughs? Because I would play it first

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I have played Origins, but I haven't played it all the way through. I usually get through the Prologue then quit

I don't necessarily disagree that it probably would have been better to start with Origins

Ok I have gotten further in Inquisition than I did the last time I tried to play it.

I don't hate it as much as I once did, but it reaffirms just how much BioWare lost the plot with the franchise (and with their reputation as a whole).

I am reminded just how bad the open world aspects are. It's almost like Fallout 76 in a lot of ways in that there are virtually no NPCs. It's basically finding random notes, letters, and other trinkets scattered throughout the map which somehow trigger a quest that requires you to go do a thing.

Why are their so many maps? Within these maps, why are the level ranges so inconsistent. You get to a certain point and you have like 10 maps unlocked and you're constantly ping ponging back and forth finishing up activities that were too high level the first time you were there. Nevermind the fact that there's virtually no way to know if your party is to low level to complete a quest until you actually start fighting the mobs and get to see their levels.

I am reminded at how The Witcher 3 was so much of what I had hoped for when I first played Inquisition. It does the open world element so much better with much more interesting side activities (many of which that feed into the main quest), while the main quest is still engaging and of significant length.