A love letter to Origin's combat system

This combat system is fucking garbage on console and you really want to talk about squad comprehesion? I cant count how many time duncans stupid ass let my mage get killed.

Real mages don't need a squad-they can take their foes out at range.

Apologies for the necromancy.

The primary difference between the console versions and PC version of DAO is that you can't zoom out the camera on console and get the overhead view.  You can, however, pause the game and issue orders to each party member individually.  It also has the full programmable tactics system, just like on PC.  Enemies are auto-targeted on console, and you can cycle through them with the d-pad, which I find much easier than trying to pick them out of a crowd with the mouse cursor.  Consoles also offer finer control of the camera angle and character movement via the joysticks.  The only thing consoles really lack here imho is mods.

I'm currently playing DAO on PC for the first time.  While I'm enjoying the mods, I really miss the character control I had on the PS3.

Dear Origins combat system,

You are generally pretty great, but I think you should've put a cooldown on weapon changes, 'cause there ain't no tactics that make that work.

One of the many reasons I'm so indifferent to DA:I and that I've never been able to replay that game without utterly losing all interest and feeling burned out half way through is the combat system. Frankly, DA:I's combat sucks (in my opinion). Even without the ludicrous and restrictive eight spell limit, even without the shoddy mechanics, the spells and abilities themselves basically just feel dull and uninteresting.

When a party member levels up in DA:O, and yes, also in DA:2 - I get a fantastic sense of anticipation as I plan ahead, selecting which ability to choose. I've got a long-term strategy for a specific build, and I'm thinking along these lines - selecting that particular spell, so that this particular spell can become available in the future. The decision-making process is interesting and I'm often faced with tricky choices 'I really want that cool spell, but I really want that one too... so which direction do I head? etc.' And say what you like about DA:2 as an overall game - I still think that actual selection of spells and abilities on offer is really, really fun - I personally love the combat in both Origins and DA:2 - though the latter took a long time for me to really appreciate it.

Inquisition on the other hand just feels flat. I'll select a spell or ability, but there's nothing really there that calls out to me, or feels like it might be fun to use. Everything feels so underwhelming and lacklustre. I find myself selecting new abilities, without really caring much about what I'm selecting. It's very difficult to explain why, or what's different, it's just there - that strange sense of 'something vital missing'.

And then take into account the fact that after a while learning new spells and abilities is a complete waste of time anyway, because I can't use it on my action bar, which makes learning them feel like I'm just going through the motions - and then add the sheer clunkyness of combat itself. DA:O and DAL:2 feel fluid natural and responsive. I feel absolutely in control of the fight, clicking a section of ground to move a party member into position, deftly sending my rogue to intercept a straggler, crowd controlling with my mage - it's all dynamic and involving. Once again, it's hard to explain - but Inquisition just doesn't feel like I'm fully in control of things.