Dragon Age The Joyguard (formerly Hype Train) [Spoilers]

Iron Man in DA4?!

Well I won't really know until I see what backgrounds are available, what class/spec options too.

But I think it would be particularly satisfying to kick Solas's ass with an elf.

A warrior with the Spirit Warrior spec and the willing aid of spirits of Justice and Valor etc? Double satisfying. Preferably after helping a Tevinter slave rebellion.

If we go similar class/spec route as previous titles, I'll most likely start with dw assassin-type rogue. It's the combo I feel most comfortable with (and I think I want to feel comfortable for my first pt, I'll torture myself later with stupid combinations) that appeared in each game of the series thus far, so I can assume it's going to appear again.

From pipe dreams, I'd love mix of Arcane Warrior/Knight Enchanter and Battlemage. I want to rule battlefield like nobody's business

No idea about the race. I'll wait till we know more about characters' origins and damn character creator. I might plan to play one race, but I admit, if I can't create character that I can look at, there's no way I'd be able to finish the game with them

Gimme *grabby hands*

Initial thoughts are some sort of Elven mage or human assassin.

Hopefully Bioware has learned from the past and will offer a "Black Emporium" option from the very beginning. 

So I've been taking a slightly more in-depth look at the new concept pieces, and I have to admit I'm liking what I'm seeing.

Admittedly, concept art always has a chance of being different from the final game, but I like what Bioware is apparently considering.

From the potential big monster fights (I can see them as an evolution of the dragon fights from DA:I) and the implied underwater gameplay (which is more likely than it seems thanks to DA4 and Anthem sharing the same codebase), to things like the red lyrium-infused darkspawn and the jolly-looking living mountain fellow.

I also enjoy the implications that we are going to visit Antiva, Nevarra, and the Anderfels, the latter of which I slightly doubted for a good long while.

Here's hoping for Rivain and Seheron or Par Vollen as well.

If we get all the same options as DAI...either elf or dwarf female dual daggers rogue.

The elf motivated by her horror at what many of her people are doing with Solas and the dwarf by "having to fix what the surfacers broke, again".

For class spec - the elf would be either an assassin or a duelist and the dwarf either assassin or artificer (although I'd like this spec to be a bit more 'tool' oriented than in DAI).

Something that would totally get me to engage with multiplayer or some other live service element would be cosmetic rewards that increase our customisation options. Special armor and weapons, wigs, skins, things of that nature.

It's something a lot of games already do. Many JRPGs (Persona and the Tales series for example) allow you to simply buy extra skins directly (usually dumb stuff like maid outfits, swimsuit skins, christmas shit, etc, but also the iconic looks of protagonists from previous games or other series).

The new Marvel Avengers game paid content will all be purely cosmetic, supposedly (I just picked up the Deluxe edition today, so I guess I'll find out): skins, emotes, nameplates, etc. Fall Guys and I believe Fortnite as well also operate in a similar model. Also, didn't participating in Inquisition multiplayer unlock decorations for Skyhold? I seem to remember people complaining about not being able to get them any other way.

I think a cosmetics-focused model strikes a good balance because, as a friend of mine said to me at work yesterday "cosmetics are not content". People who like showing off in multiplayer or just want more options for playing dressups in the single player game can engage with whatever live service model DA ends up having. People who only care about meaningful story additions can ignore it.

Well, I play a lot of JRPGS, and even before DLC was ever a thing, equipment almost never changed a character's appearance, so I'm used to it. Lol.

But I doubt BioWare would do what you're worried about. They know that equipment management is an expected part of most WRPGS, and people weren't happy when it went away for most of the party in DA2.

I would expect purely cosmetic items to have their own slots that override the appearance of current gear, for people who would even want that sort of thing in the first place.