Leaks about game direction and pre-alpha (combat and design spoilers)

Could be. We only know that leaker had two companions "another knight dude and a female dwarf rogue"

After looking at the screen shot, I'm hoping that shield stays in game I kind of like the enchantment it has by the Mournwatch granting additional resistance against Spirits.

I wonder who the Mournwatch is?

MP features as in classes/skills/UI created for the MP version of the game they haven't replaced yet in that build, not that his plays session was multiplayer.

Like the "Elven Knight/Grey Warden" that sound like the DAIMP character/class titles and the leaker said his character class was Knight not Grey Warden anyway.

If that is true I can understand why they would move away from it. Makes me sad though, I enjoyed DAO combat the most and would have enjoyed DAI's more if the camera had been a real tactical camera instead of that thing that got stuck on land or obscured by enviroment... 




I have to agree

I'm open to what they are trying to do with the gameplay, but I'm REALLY hoping they keep the UI clean and aesthetically pleasing. It looks like they are. Very happy to see a nice font chosen and actual lowercase letters. The DA Inquisition UI was AWFUL with it's clunky sharp angles and all bold letters for every text in the game. DAI just looked unfinished.

This footage looks very early, so hopefully now that this leak is out, they can come forward with a more updated sneak peak at the gameplay.

Also, is it just me, or does the player character and NPCs/enemies look miniature? Maybe the character shown in the video is a dwarf? Hope that's not a human. Cautiously optimistic Dragon Age fan here, hoping for the best.

Some takeaways I have from this image, assuming it'll be somewhat translated into the final product:

1) Weapons look like they can be upgraded several times. If you look at the Templar Shield, it says it's at Rank 4, but there's also text underneath that says "Level 0". I'm unsure as to whether rank is describing the rarity of the weapon or not, but it seems as though every item piece in the game will allow for upgrades to some extent. This could be analogous to AC: Valhalla, where you can upgrade each piece of gear to level 10, increasing its base stats (possibly unlocking additional rune slots).

2) The use of the term "Guard" in the lower-left corner may indicate the mechanic returning. This could work similarly to DAI, and the "Guard" value indicates how much the maximum can be for your character (while building it up).

3) The portion on the left that says "Hero" makes me wonder if this is tied to your morality.

Varric trailer line: "The kind of person they'll never see coming" made me think. It doesn´t make that much sense if they are playing a Grey Warden. But be fair a normal low ranking Grey Warden isn´t that special but a complete nobody which no one see coming? Well i have doubts with statement but maybe Varric is lying here?

I've never played Bioware games for the combat, so I'm not concerned about this change in gameplay direction (except for not being able to control your companions during combat, but I'll survive) but I really hope we get more ability slots. Holy shit, that limit annoyed the crap out of me, especially when I was playing a mage. There were times where I just snailed my way through a fight because I refused to teleport back to a horn, get the right-spec companion, and then run all the way back to where I was or refused to use a respec because I liked my ability set-up and didn't want to have to go through the task of losing it and then changing it back for the sake of one measly fight.

They can do whatever they want with the combat - just don't limit the ability slots. It's not challenging, it's not fun, it's not rewarding - it's just tedious and takes the joy out of leveling up. 

Ah yes, the Crestwood demo.

This has been discussed on BSN at length over the years.

My impressions:
1) That the character screen says Grey Warden:
This implies that Grey Warden is one choice among many. I suspect that your character's organizational affiliation is part of character creation, or a choice that you make early on. I assume other affiliations will be LoF, Crows, Tevinter Templars, some group within the Tevinter Mage hierarchy, etc

2) Rook:
Seems to be the PC's name, a la Hawke. Funny they keep picking bird names.

3) Weisshaupt:
I guess it's not all about Tevinter, but it's hard to say if this visit to the GW HQ is due to the PC having the Grey Warden affiliation, or if perhaps
the PC will visit there regardless of affiliation, and being a GW gives you a unique play experience there. Maybe you will visit locations associated with many affiliations. Like, Antiva.

4) Davrin:
The two lines of dialog indicate that Rook and Davrin are on the same page, and I assume that since they are at Weisshaupt saying these things, they are
trying to alert the GW leadership of the coming threat.

5) Combat:
It's never been my highest concern. I am much more interested in the story and the characters.

6) The baddy:
Is this some kind of Red Lyrium-infused dark spawn? In Weisshaupt? Goodness, things are going to hell around Thedas.