![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
DA:I - Trespasser
I started on Thursday and finished on Friday. So it wasn't very long -- certainly not a post-game expansion on par with Awakening -- but as a coda to the main storyline I thought it worked very well. Lots of questions answered, and the way is cleared for DA4 (which hasn't been announced yet, but, yeah. It's clearly coming).
Some thoughts and points to ponder (reposted and expanded from Tumblr):
It was nice to have all the moments with the party members, even if some were more in character for Malika than others. Although the tone was sometimes odd, in comparison to the seriousness of the event, I’m still glad they did it. And I’m glad they did it first, because if any of that had happened during the struggle with the Qunari, it would’ve been even more jarring. The feel is similar to things I've heard about the Mass Effect 3 Citadel DLC (which I haven't played). I didn't take the "maybe I will be married" conversation option when talking with Cassandra -- I figure that Malika is happy with how things are and isn't particularly fussed with making things official -- so she and Blackwall didn't get a marriage or proposal scene, although I've heard that you can't get one with Blackwall regardless? Which seems odd. But anyway, I was overall happy with how their relationship played out. Interesting that he's gone back to being Rainer. And I was rather pleased when she called him Thom. :)
History is written by the victors. Are we really meant to take everything that Solas said about the Elven “gods” and the revolution he led against them at face value? Or is he spinning everything to make himself look good? I can't believe its quite as cut-and-dried as he makes it out to be, both in his conversation with the Inquisitor and in the stories and histories that were left behind. Would the elves of his day agree with his take? Or is the truth, as usual, somewhere in between? If nothing else, I’d like Mythal’s take on what really happened.
We are clearly setting the stage for DA4 here, with Solas as the main villain. Which is exactly what I was expecting. I don't remember when I first started becoming suspicious of Solas, but it was fairly early on, and his shady I did enjoy having it confirmed just how completely he was pulling everyone’s strings. (Malika called him out on that. She was Not Happy with him. I suspect Kendra’s going to be even more pissed.) All the fans who wanted an elven revolution are getting their wish, if not, I expect, at all how they imagined it… And the action will almost certainly be in Tevinter, given how the final scene played out. I do have to wonder if the elves who are going to Solas's side really know what they're getting into. Has he lured them in with promises of a paradise, only to spring the truth on them? Or maybe there really are enough elves out there who are angry enough to burn it all down. I'll be interested to see how it plays out. And a little afraid of the drama that will surely ensue. And we thought Anders was controversial.
Speaking of that final scene…. I went back and forth a bit on Malika’s final choice, but she disbanded the Inquisition, with the strong-arm dialogue option. I was unsure, because I’d been playing on the assumption that she wanted to keep the Inquisition together, but there is no way she would become the puppet of the Chantry, especially not Vivienne’s Chantry. I was therefore pleased to see that the Inquisition still exists as an underground organization, with many of the players still in place (I saw Leliana, Cassandra, Blackwall, Harding, and Cole in the final scene -- is it possible to get more of them there?). Which suggests to me that the epilogue cards aren't straight facts, but rather rumors, public-facing cover stories, perhaps even outright lies, even more than is usual for a DA epilogue.
Although I agree with the complaints about having to pay extra for DLC, and especially feel for the people who bought the game on a previous gen console and are now shut out, I think releasing this quest separately from the main game makes sense. Whatever you think of Bioware’s choice of a story to tell, the plot of DA:I was the fight to take down Corypheus. Once he was defeated, that story was over, and it was appropriate to draw a line beneath it. Trespasser functions as a coda to that tale and a bridge to the next one, and I prefer keeping it a bit separate to tacking it on as another mission at the end. (I was not a fan of the Scouring of the Shire, and got into arguments with people about it having been left out of the Lord of the Rings movies, with similar logic.) If Trespasser had been free to everyone who owns the game, and available on all its platforms, I'd be entirely for it.
What did everyone else think of it? I'd be curious to discuss it, and also the other DLCs, now that the story is done.
Some thoughts and points to ponder (reposted and expanded from Tumblr):
It was nice to have all the moments with the party members, even if some were more in character for Malika than others. Although the tone was sometimes odd, in comparison to the seriousness of the event, I’m still glad they did it. And I’m glad they did it first, because if any of that had happened during the struggle with the Qunari, it would’ve been even more jarring. The feel is similar to things I've heard about the Mass Effect 3 Citadel DLC (which I haven't played). I didn't take the "maybe I will be married" conversation option when talking with Cassandra -- I figure that Malika is happy with how things are and isn't particularly fussed with making things official -- so she and Blackwall didn't get a marriage or proposal scene, although I've heard that you can't get one with Blackwall regardless? Which seems odd. But anyway, I was overall happy with how their relationship played out. Interesting that he's gone back to being Rainer. And I was rather pleased when she called him Thom. :)
History is written by the victors. Are we really meant to take everything that Solas said about the Elven “gods” and the revolution he led against them at face value? Or is he spinning everything to make himself look good? I can't believe its quite as cut-and-dried as he makes it out to be, both in his conversation with the Inquisitor and in the stories and histories that were left behind. Would the elves of his day agree with his take? Or is the truth, as usual, somewhere in between? If nothing else, I’d like Mythal’s take on what really happened.
We are clearly setting the stage for DA4 here, with Solas as the main villain. Which is exactly what I was expecting. I don't remember when I first started becoming suspicious of Solas, but it was fairly early on, and his shady I did enjoy having it confirmed just how completely he was pulling everyone’s strings. (Malika called him out on that. She was Not Happy with him. I suspect Kendra’s going to be even more pissed.) All the fans who wanted an elven revolution are getting their wish, if not, I expect, at all how they imagined it… And the action will almost certainly be in Tevinter, given how the final scene played out. I do have to wonder if the elves who are going to Solas's side really know what they're getting into. Has he lured them in with promises of a paradise, only to spring the truth on them? Or maybe there really are enough elves out there who are angry enough to burn it all down. I'll be interested to see how it plays out. And a little afraid of the drama that will surely ensue. And we thought Anders was controversial.
Speaking of that final scene…. I went back and forth a bit on Malika’s final choice, but she disbanded the Inquisition, with the strong-arm dialogue option. I was unsure, because I’d been playing on the assumption that she wanted to keep the Inquisition together, but there is no way she would become the puppet of the Chantry, especially not Vivienne’s Chantry. I was therefore pleased to see that the Inquisition still exists as an underground organization, with many of the players still in place (I saw Leliana, Cassandra, Blackwall, Harding, and Cole in the final scene -- is it possible to get more of them there?). Which suggests to me that the epilogue cards aren't straight facts, but rather rumors, public-facing cover stories, perhaps even outright lies, even more than is usual for a DA epilogue.
Although I agree with the complaints about having to pay extra for DLC, and especially feel for the people who bought the game on a previous gen console and are now shut out, I think releasing this quest separately from the main game makes sense. Whatever you think of Bioware’s choice of a story to tell, the plot of DA:I was the fight to take down Corypheus. Once he was defeated, that story was over, and it was appropriate to draw a line beneath it. Trespasser functions as a coda to that tale and a bridge to the next one, and I prefer keeping it a bit separate to tacking it on as another mission at the end. (I was not a fan of the Scouring of the Shire, and got into arguments with people about it having been left out of the Lord of the Rings movies, with similar logic.) If Trespasser had been free to everyone who owns the game, and available on all its platforms, I'd be entirely for it.
What did everyone else think of it? I'd be curious to discuss it, and also the other DLCs, now that the story is done.
no subject
And I am VERY curious to see where things go next.
no subject
Were you the one who pointed out that, for a reluctant leader, the Dread Wolf is awfully fond of painting murals of himself as a messiah figure? That made me literally laugh out loud. Sure, Solas, tell us more about how you're only doing what you have to do.
no subject
I was, haha. He is going to make such a fantastic villain.
no subject
What was surprising to me was hearing from him that he had agents prior to the start of DAI. He mentions specifically that he didn't give his orb directly to Cory, but rather had his agents lead the Venatori to it. How tf did he get agents? How did he recruit them exactly? What the end slides mention is that the elves in the Inquisition and servants across Thedas end up leaving their employ under mysterious circumstances. So he somehow managed to recruit City Elves without anyone uttering a word about it.
And exactly what was his recruitment slogan? Is he explicit in his plans, or is he playing on their desire for rebellion?
I also noticed in the endgame slider that describes the elves leaving that a Dalish elf was featured in the artwork. Was that just art being art, or is it significant in that Solas was actually able to recruit some Dalish?
DA4 intrigues me because if it's centered around the elven rebellion, we may end up visiting an Alienage or other elven ruins, perhaps hang out with a Dalish clan. Maybe we'll even see Merrill again given her efforts in the alienage in Kirkwall. Maybe she's come across info on Solas or something.... and that it's implied DA4 may be set in Tevinter, we might end up seeing Fenris again.
It's probably more likely that we'll end up seeing characters from that magekiller comic, which I haven't read (Idk if it's even out yet, haha).
no subject
I didn't catch that, with the Dalish elf in the end cards. Interesting, if it was indeed meaningful! It seems like City and Circle Elves would be more likely targets for him. I wonder that, too, about Solas's agents. Of all the things he tells the Inquisitor that I don't buy, his claim to have only been awake for about a year is the one I buy the least.
no subject
I also have the suspicion that they're gonna find some way to incorporate the characters from that Magekiller comic, given how much we've seen of characters from previous novels.
Someone mentioned on the dragon age kinkmeme that after the Well of Sorrows quest, some of the sentinels at Skyhold shush each other when you approach, saying something like "Someone could be listening." I remember that myself and thought it was odd on my earlier playthroughs, but now I think those might've been his agents.
If so, it's possible that they were the ones recruiting the elves in the Inquisition.