What lessons learned can Bioware apply to DA4?

That exploration isn't fun when the player is dragged around a zone by a map full of markers

Please no

One thing that really gets on my nerves is about dlc from Bioware games is that I think they are missing story chunks that should of been included within the confines of the main game.I think what Bioware needs to learn across all of there titles is that the story needs to be told with in the main part of the game and to quit adding dlc to explain or reinforce the ending as an after thought.

Inquisition was guilty of this on two occasions where the main antagonist was introduced into the game which originated from DA II dlc Legacy. Which doesn't sound that bad until you realize that you had to of bought that dlc in order to grasp what the main story line of DAI was about.Strike two for Inquisitor was the DLC Trespasser while being a good dlc follows in the same steps as Legacy did for DAII except that playing Trespasser really felt like the proper ending to the game.

ME 3 is the prime example of what not to do in terms of DLC. From Ashes and Leviathan should of been included with in the confines of the main story. Not only would the ending of made more sense,but it would of reinforced the ending that they were trying to tell in the first place.It just seems that all the negativity from that game could of been avoided had they done that in the first place.

Agree with all said.  I would love a DA2 style approach in combat, companion quests, and dialog options.  I would also love to see the Tactics brought back from DA2, though I fear they can't be done like they were before using the Frostbite engine.  Please leave consumables out.

İ think it has something to do with how DLCs are being seen in modern day community. Back in the day DLCs were a luxury and were not considered necessary. But nowadays people start expecting a DLC as soon as the base game comes out. We have gotten used to paying extra.
CDPR is an exception though, everything they have done is right on point.

~ that WEWH was real fun, politicking is fun in general and we want to smother our faces in the serpent bosom of intrigue when we visit Tevinter.
~ that bigger does not equal better except when we're talking about dragons. And also penises.
~ that the time has come for a pet cat or possibly a corvid.
~ that a high magic attribute should make your fire spells turn blue
~ that people can be captivated by your villains if you make them go beyond MUAHAHAHAHAHA
~ that meaningful side missions are bae
~ that you should keep doing what you're doing with companions
~ that my heart would personally break if Tevinter is as disappointing as Val Royeaux
~ don't go suuuper light on the tone
~ you can have a funny/witty MC without taking away player agency (Hawke I miiiiissssss yooooouuuuu)
~ smashing hearts makes for good love stories

Different strokes and all that. I genuinely liked the DAI dlc, the main problem with it and the rest of Inquisition is that the evil decisions are absent. Yes you can be a jerk, but you cannot play as a selfish, powerhungry individual who makes decisions for their own benefit like you could do in the previous two titles.

BUT Tresspasser has the most impactful outcome of any decision you've made in all of Inquisition. That being depending on your choice for the Demands of the Qun quest, your companion can betray and you're forced to kill him.

There's no other choice more meaningful in the whole game.

How do you feel about cut scenes giving a multi-viewpoint experience? Like in DAO when you see Loghain and Howe interacting with Zevran or at the end of DAI when you see Flemeth's meeting with Solas. In other words giving you as a player knowledge that your character in game cannot possibly have. I ask because I recall PW saying something about wanting to do more cut scenes like that in the future.

Personally I don't like them because it spoils the role playing immersion if I know things in advance of my character. There is no surprise element or need to figure things out/make a decision in the dark. With Zevran it wasn't so bad as he admits straight off he is connected with Loghain but the fact is you knew he was telling the truth because you'd seen the cut scene. Whereas without that you could have had a degree more scepticism about his story.

I know one of the reviewers of Trespasser felt the same as me, what could have been a steady gathering of clues about Solas' identity that allowed you to genuinely guess who he was, instead it was merely a case of bringing your character up to date with what you knew already. Plus the PC still doesn't know that titbit about Solas absorbing Mythal's power - I'm guessing they are saving that as a surprise for later so far as the PC is concerned.

Whilst I am on the subject of advanced warning, perhaps they could leave certain spoilers out of their trailers for the game, like the whole confrontation with Corypheus that takes place at the end, particularly the dragon interrupt. Any residual suspense that could have been in that final confrontation was removed because you knew what was coming.

I agree about DLC that should be part of the main game though. You should not have to buy DLC to get information that is relevant to the main plot of the game. They were guilty of it in DAO with Return to Ostagar, with ME3 and DAI. What made it worse is that people on old consoles could not play the final act of DAI. I actually had to "loan" one of my characters on my PC to a friend so they could experience the ending and make the relevant decisions for themselves rather than just read about it.

Some good points, but one thing to mention: Make up your mind on what type of gameplay you're going for.

Actually something like Dragon's Dogma, minus the monster climbing but with more command over companions, would work great here.

Also: Clean up the visual effects, often you could not even tell what is going on the screen.

I think part of the problem at the end of DAI is that after the Temple of Mythal everyone seems to be making plans for the future as though defeating Corypheus was a done deal. Okay, so may be he had lost his army but that is not what made him dangerous in the first place. In Legacy he left with nothing but the body he was in and see what he did with that. Even after we met Flemeth there should still have been a hint of uncertainty but everyone seemed utterly confident of the outcome. Then they tried to inject a sense of jeopardy by having Morrigan make dire predictions in a deep voice after he opened the Breach again but it just didn't work for me. As you say, nothing seemed to match that moment when he arrives with his army at Haven and you really felt the urgency and desperation after the dragon appears and you are trying to save people.

Now I actually found the climax to DAO really moving on a lot of levels. I may not necessarily have felt a sense of dread about finally facing the archdemon but first run I had turned down Morrigan and sort of guessed that I had signed my death warrant as a result. So as we fought our way across the city, each step was bringing me closer to my doom. When they had the cut scene after Riorden dies that shows the Warden slumping their shoulders and hanging their head, I really felt it because that is when I thought for definite that my PC was going to die. Then at the last gasp Alistair persuaded me to let him do it out of friendship and I found it really moving. So it was a bitter sweet ending that really blew me away.   I also think it helped keep up the suspense that companions didn't start discussing what they were going to do in the future until after the archdemon was dead.

The ending to ME2 is the other game where I think they got it just about perfect because of the way in which every decision you had made up until then and then every decision you were asked to make on the spur of the moment as you fought your way through actually made a difference as to whether you and your companions made it out the other end alive, even though the mission itself could not fail. There were moments of horror thrown in there as well rather than dread. First run when I made it through and we all survived (without any metagaming) I felt I real sense of elation - the epic music helped too.

That is the sort of thing I was hoping for at the end of DAI. I really thought the upgrades to Skyhold were going to make a difference in terms of survival rates in the final battle (that I was convinced was going to take place there and not back at the Temple of Sacred Ashes) and working hard on my relationship with my team would be important too. Instead nothing really mattered and you got the same outcome regardless. Having been kicked in the gut by Solas on my first run, where I romanced him, I didn't even feel any sense of celebration at the party and seeing my Inquisitor standing alone on the balcony was just depressing. It is to the credit of Dorian that I went back, immediately did a 2nd run with him as my romance and did feel a sense of euphoria at the end because we had both survived (even though I knew it couldn't have ended any other way).

So I'm holding out for an ending in the next game that is a cross between DAO and ME2 in the emotional impact it has on me and the relevance our choices in the game have on the outcome.

Keep at least three distinct replies always as an option, with appropriate reactions from the companions.

MEA mostly only gave you two distinct choices (I've half way through it right now), which is probably a habit about what they can handle after a Trilogy of Renegade vs Paragon.

Indeed, I have Jaws and Trespasser DLC's, I think both are great and add good content to the game.  Cosmetic upgrades tho are so so.  Several of DAI's DLC's highlight Mounts which basically are the worst perk to have in game as hardly anyone uses them for travel but whateva, to each their own