aimingtolove
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Post by aimingtolove on Apr 15, 2019 13:06:38 GMT
All right, so, I used to indiscriminately slaughter all dragons you could find in-game, but I'm thinking maybe during my seventy millionth playthrough I'd like to have specific reasons for killing certain dragons and leaving others alone.
If there are specific dragons not even talked about by people from the area they're in, then is the dragon a big enough threat to track it down and kill it?
I can't remember if I'm somehow making this up, but doesn't the game chastise you in Trespasser for killing every dragon in the main game? Honestly, they make so many of your past victories feel like overstepping-mistakes that it's easy to throw the dragons in too, so I might just be wrong on this last part! Sorry if I'm misremembering!!
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Noxluxe
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Post by Noxluxe on Apr 15, 2019 13:45:37 GMT
I view it not as indiscriminately killing so much as population control. The dragons have only returned to the world over the past fifty years or so, and you run into ten of them over the course of a year or two at the most? They're clearly breeding way out of control. I've never gone hunting, as the biggest predator local to my country is the raccoon dog, but it's my understanding that in semi-populated areas with very aggressive animals recently introduced to otherwise fairly balanced ecosystems those need to be hunted to keep them from eating pretty much everything else, only to then start targeting pets and livestock and even people who aren't careful. Grizzly bears, snakes and alligators, mountain lions and certain breeds of wolves and wild dogs all tend to need to be hunted pretty aggressively, or suddenly they're the only animals around and you better keep your eyes on your chicken coop, and your kids, and keep your wits about you when going out at night. I imagine it's a bit of the same with dragons? In that sense, you could decide to only cull the dragons near populated areas. The Hinterlands dragon in its little nook only a few miles from Redcliffe? Dead. That dragon nest in Emprise du Lion right above a town and beside the Imperial Highway? Needs to go too. The one sniffing around Crestwood after you just saved it? Dead. The one only picking fights with giants and bandits and red templars on the Storm Coast? Who cares. The dragons minding their own in the desert in the Western Approach and Hissing Wastes, feeding on poisonous predators that are dangerous all by themselves? They can probably be left alive too. I like this kind of extra layer of roleplaying, it's a good idea. Maybe I'll do it too, next time around. Wish I'd thought of it before murdering and skinning nine of them for parts this round. It would have looked good on my Lavellan to be conservative about hunting predators, even dragons.
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Post by gervaise21 on Apr 15, 2019 15:10:01 GMT
I'd agree with the general premise of only going out of my way to kill them if they are near to or threatening a settlement. The one in Crestwood had definitely been eating people and livestock, the one in the Hinterlands had probably eaten the people using that dock and was close to a load of refugees/
I mostly played variations on Lavellan so really had a bit of a prejudiced view when it came to locations in the Dales. I might leave the dragon flapping around the Emerald Graves as it could scare off those pesky Orlesian nobles that have no right being there. On the other hand it might attract Chevaliers looking for a challenge. I rather shared the view about the ones in the Emprise du Lion that those dragons were keeping the Orlesians away from an area of ancient hot springs. The one in the Exalted Plains was in an area that had only recently been opened up. The Civil War had pretty much destroyed all those settlements, so the dragon was welcome to stay.
I definitely felt bad about killing those dragons out in the desert wastes, particularly the poor dragon in the Hissing Wastes that was minding its own business sleeping before I poked it. Generally the Western Approach is filled with nothing but dangerous beasts by day and darkspawn by night, so the dragon was really doing a service if it was picking them off.
I did at least one run killing all the dragons just to know that I could but I did tend to discriminate after that.
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melbella
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Post by melbella on Apr 16, 2019 1:39:19 GMT
I did at least one run killing all the dragons just to know that I could but I did tend to discriminate after that. I make up for killing all the dragons by saving the one in Trespasser and laughing as she munches on qunari. The ones I have the hardest time convincing myself to go after (and am mostly likely to leave alone) are in Emerald Graves and Exalted Plains, just because they are so pretty. I love listening to them fly around overhead.
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Post by opuspace on Apr 16, 2019 2:15:57 GMT
Usually the ones too close to settlements are the ones I don't mind eliminating. But the ones leaving everyone else alone are harder to justify. The Vinsommer to this day is the one I don't bother killing because:
1. The loot isn't worth it.
2. It's a lot of effort to go find its island.
3. I've had a fondness for it ever since I got to watch it throw down with a giant.
4. Lightning dragons always struck me as rather pretty.
5. I heard about a bit of vague Dalish lore suggesting that dragons were Mythal's creatures and that if they go extinct, the world will end. So, it seemed best to keep one alive just in case. I'm still trying to find that source.
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Post by gervaise21 on Apr 16, 2019 8:37:47 GMT
I make up for killing all the dragons by saving the one in Trespasser and laughing as she munches on qunari. I always save the dragon in Trespasser and got really upset my first run because I didn't realise I had to blow up that cart to do it, so couldn't understand what I was doing wrong, whilst my team was gradually being killed off by the Qunari. Definitely a case of assuaging guilt over all the other dragon deaths with that one. 5. I heard about a bit of vague Dalish lore suggesting that dragons were Mythal's creatures and that if they go extinct, the world will end. So, it seemed best to keep one alive just in case. I'm still trying to find that source. Actually this came from the comic series written by DG. It was Flemeth's daughter Yavana who declared that: "The blood of dragons is the blood of the world," and "In destroying what it does not understand, mankind would destroy itself." This would appear to be why Flemeth/Mythal charged her with protecting and reviving the dragons. However, I am not sure how much of that they will actually carry over into the plot of the game. After all, if any creatures could be said to carry the blood of the world it is the Titans. There were also many elements of that comic series that I felt were not properly explained. For example, if drinking dragon blood made Calanhad's DNA different from ordinary mortals, what of the ordinary Reavers, what of the Pentaghast family that both slay and have drunk dragon blood? How did the Qunari learn a totally different history of Calenhad when they hadn't even arrived on Par Vollen when he was alive? On a slight tangent, there was also the Magrallen, a strange device that was said to date from the time of the early human Dreamers. Apparently it was linking to this device, powered by dragon blood, that allowed them to enter people's dreams at will and control their minds. It allegedly had the ability to do this across the entire world. So instead of being gifted individuals, like Solas, they were probably just ordinary mages using a magical device. Presumably it was something they took from the ruins of the elven empire. Which begs the question of what it was used for then and why Solas and his followers didn't seek to destroy it, if it was capable of controlling minds across such a vast area. It could hardly have been difficult to find considering the early humans discovered it, so clearly not in the Crossroads. Then what happened to it after the time of the Dreamers? How did Aurelian find it? Why weren't Solas' agents aware that it had been found and helping to destroy it? Luckily, by the end of the series, it had been destroyed but it still begged the question of the validity of introducing such a powerful world changing device into the setting in the first place. DG did the same in the Calling with a device that, had the villains been successful, would have changed the entire population into darkspawn. I feel having such powerful, god-like devices, is unnecessary but Solas' orb was another such device so I wouldn't be surprised if we don't encounter another one as the plot progresses
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sjsharp2010
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Post by sjsharp2010 on Apr 22, 2019 0:15:37 GMT
I did at least one run killing all the dragons just to know that I could but I did tend to discriminate after that. I make up for killing all the dragons by saving the one in Trespasser and laughing as she munches on qunari. The ones I have the hardest time convincing myself to go after (and am mostly likely to leave alone) are in Emerald Graves and Exalted Plains, just because they are so pretty. I love listening to them fly around overhead. So do mos tof my Quizzies.
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Post by Iddy on Apr 22, 2019 19:01:06 GMT
I gotta say... I'm not a big fan of those dragons with long necks, flat faces and no horns. They look like turtles.
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Noxluxe
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Post by Noxluxe on Apr 23, 2019 2:58:05 GMT
I gotta say... I'm not a big fan of those dragons with long necks, flat faces and no horns. They look like turtles. I've never been a huge fan of dragons with forelegs either. It makes them look a bit too much like dogs or lizards with wings, and discredits them as flying apex predators. For the same reason, I kinda dislike that you face a dozen of them over the course of a single game. They're supposed to be majestic and awe-inspiring and almost sentient. Full of raw magical power. Unearthly. There's a reason Tevinters worshiped them as gods. The Nevarran dragon-hunting tradition even sometimes comes across as having been a holy war against them. Ameridan works from the premise that the dragon possessed by Hakkon - which isn't that much more powerful than any of the others you face - could terrorize Orlais all by itself. They're not supposed to be something you just kill for the skin or to get it out of your neighbor's backyard.
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Post by gervaise21 on Apr 30, 2019 17:29:57 GMT
Ameridan works from the premise that the dragon possessed by Hakkon - which isn't that much more powerful than any of the others you face - could terrorize Orlais all by itself. I suppose it is possible that after so long in stasis the dragon was less powerful, like Solas was after his long sleep, and needed time to recharge to full power. So the Hakkon we faced was not as awesome as it would have been back then. After all, Ameridan also seemed to have thought that killing the dragon was beyond his party which is why he trapped it in the time bubble. I cannot believe that a mage with access to that sort of magic was not capable of taking on the Hakkon we faced, particularly if he had help. However, I think the real danger was that Hakkon would act as a figurehead to unite various Avvar clans and so it was the combination of dragon and Avvar horde that would have been so devastating. Mind you, I still question why it would have been a threat to Orlais. If it came down the east side of the Frostbacks it would have attacked the Alamarri tribes there and if it came down the west side it would have had to have crossed the Dales. So Ameridan was surely protecting his own people and it is odd that they weren't more worried and kept tabs on his progress.
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Post by Iddy on Apr 30, 2019 18:38:25 GMT
I view it not as indiscriminately killing so much as population control. The dragons have only returned to the world over the past fifty years or so, and you run into ten of them over the course of a year or two at the most? They're clearly breeding way out of control. Considering that dragons nearly went extinct, it will take a long time until we actually get an overpopulation problem. It's also why I feel bad about killing them. This is a species that still is getting back on its feet, so every dragon is precious.
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Noxluxe
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Post by Noxluxe on Apr 30, 2019 20:59:55 GMT
I view it not as indiscriminately killing so much as population control. The dragons have only returned to the world over the past fifty years or so, and you run into ten of them over the course of a year or two at the most? They're clearly breeding way out of control. Considering that dragons nearly went extinct, it will take a long time until we actually get an overpopulation problem. It's also why I feel bad about killing them. This is a species that still is getting back on its feet, so every dragon is precious. It was kind of my point that letting them get back on their feet is a recipe for local fauna, hunters, livestock, wandering children and provincials to start disappearing. Not to mention a mysterious spike in the occurrence of wildfires, and unsafe travel even by main roads stifling the economy. They were a menace back when they were stable, like a lot of predators are in real life if they aren't hunted pretty mercilessly, which is likely why the Nevarrans did exactly that. Every dragon is beautiful and majestic, certainly, and also an enormous gluttonous killing machine with wings and a flamethrower for a face. Letting them run rampant is a terrible idea in my view. I feel worse about taking time away from other objectives and personally engaging in something as dangerous and potentially instantly fatal as dragon-hunting than killing them in and of itself, with so much else riding on the Inquisitor. Which is the main reason I'd spare a few if they weren't obviously liable to cause trouble for people.
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Post by xerrai on May 19, 2019 19:23:38 GMT
I view it not as indiscriminately killing so much as population control. The dragons have only returned to the world over the past fifty years or so, and you run into ten of them over the course of a year or two at the most? They're clearly breeding way out of control. Considering that dragons nearly went extinct, it will take a long time until we actually get an overpopulation problem. It's also why I feel bad about killing them. This is a species that still is getting back on its feet, so every dragon is precious. I don't know...I always found the draconid population to be rather weird in DAI. Bot not in terns of the dragon population. Given thier recent appearance, the implication that several have hidden away from humans with Yavana and that high dragons can travel for miles, thier higher population in DAI doesn't seem too bad. It's been 40ish years and only 10 high dragons of note have popped up? Not too bad of a population. If the number was doubled I would say its cause for alarm, but not right now. Especially since a few of these dragons have taken to unpopulated areas like the Hissing Wastes or Western Approach. And while some of thier broods may be large, only a select few will actually mature into high dragons from what I understand. But there is one thing I question: Where are the drakes? If several of these high dragons are forming thier own broods as implied by the appearance of dragonlings, then we should be seeing a higher drake population too. Supposedly a fully established brood should have around a dozen or so guarding the high dragon's nest. On one hand this could simply be a game design choice. The designers simply didn't feel like adding drakes to the game. But the other part of me--the one that reads too much into these things--wonders if perhaps the exclusion of drakes is a sign of something. It's probably the former, but I still think its odd.
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