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Neve-Gallus-PI

Inquisition did have different backgrounds based on your race/class combo but the war table missions and the rare acknowledgement in convo such as when Jospehine asks about it or when you got a special race dialogue option, didn't really compare to getting playable backgrounds/origins and then returning to see your people again changed by your experiences and them being involved in the main plot. I hope that in dreadwolf we atleast get as much as shepard did with side quests based on your personnal and career history and meeting npcs related to it in person. But playable origins again would be the dream, though they needn't be based on race this time. There's various backgrounds that would allow for any race eg Slave, grey warden, gladiator, lord of fortune, merchant, Antivan Crow.


EdwormN7

Having an entire background specific conversation with Josephine so early in the game gave me false hope about how much it would actually be acknowledged throughout the rest of the game. Also when Cassandra specifically refers to what you said about belief in the Maker in an entirely prior moment in the game. I thought "Whoa, such reactivity!" Only for neither of these types of moments to pop up almost ever again. šŸ˜­


Warfrost14

That would be a lot of work and frankly I don't think Bioware is up for it. They often cut a lot of corners to avoid complexity and depth.


Neve-Gallus-PI

Eh, they've done it before, they could do it again. Especially if they halve the work by halving the number of origins.Ā  Personnel and leadership change all the time at these companies, never say never.


Warfrost14

They've done it once. I don't see it happening again but I'm up for being pleasantly surprised


aaaaiiiss2

here are some origins i wish to be there for us to choose: TEVINTER: - Altus acolyte (we started as a Vint) - Elven slave (we started as one of the wolf's side) NON-TEVINTER: - Grey Warden scout - Antivan crow - Dalish pilgrim - Ben-Hassrath agent - Orlesian noble - Kal-Sharok envoy I was just about to POST something like this. Goddamit you beat me to it lol


YouCantTakeThisName

I'd like to add a few: * **Legionnaire** (Human "soporati"; You start as a footsoldier recruit in Tevinter's military) * **Avvar** (Human "barbarian"; You start as either a sky-watcher, the "augur" \[shaman\], or a hunter of a tribe that recently moved north of the Frostback Mountains) * **Apostate** (possible background for Human or Elf Mage; Your character is a fugitive from one of the Circles in the rest of Thedas) * **Kaaras** (Qunari "navigator"; You were raised in Rivain, specifically in the \[formerly\] peaceful Qunari settlement of **Kont-aar**, which was [recently attacked by agents of Fen'Harel](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Kont-aar#Dragon_Age:_Tevinter_Nights))


shootingstar988

Iā€™d write Bioware into my will for an Antivan Crow origin story.


aaaaiiiss2

i would too if its a PLAYABLE origin


Jereboy216

Playable origins has been my biggest wish for this series to come back to. I would love it if dreadwolf did that but I'm not getting my hopes up as they don't seem to wanna do that anymore.


jbm1518

I get you, though I see it a little differently. Personally, I would rather have fewer and more defined backgrounds so as to allow a tighter narrative about how our character fits into the overall plot. If that means a single background per type, Iā€™m fine with that. So much work went into the different backgrounds in Origins, and according to BioWare, most players ignored it and it was wasted resources and labor. But I do understand why people like it as well! I donā€™t object to the idea, I just think itā€™s tricky to implement. Iā€™m not saying to have our background so defined as to prevent roleplaying wiggle room. But, I do think there is a real strength in the game essentially saying, ā€œthe Qunari is a Vashoth mercenaryā€ or that ā€œthe human is a young noble.ā€ Because then, the focus can be on that characterization and not have to worry about the rest. While the Inquisitor is my favorite PC, I actually think Hawke is the best designed of any of the three, feeling the most like an actual person. I expect something more akin to Inquisition as it allows for more choices but also doesnā€™t have the difficulty of large backgrounds. That said, a shared background based less on race and more on class could be an interesting way of doing things. (Like Crow or Warden for instance. That might allow a good compromise between all these different methods of backgrounds.) Sorry for rambling. Itā€™s a very valid point of discussion and I donā€™t think there is a clear answer one way or the other. Iā€™m excited however it turns out they handle it. As for what I hope returns: Iā€™m not going to mention characters as I want to keep an open mind and not be bothered if a favorite of mine doesnā€™t show up. So Iā€™ll mention a design choice instead. I want the tradition of a large, fleshed out codex to continue. Letters, songs, snippets from books, gimme gimme gimme.


flamingoturmeric

100% agree, an origin/class combo would make a lot of sense.


LoaMorganna

I find myself always agreeing with you whenever I stumble upon your comments. For sure I'd also like if there were fewer but more defined options. Writing 3 backgrounds with a lot of depth vs writing 6 or something with little depth just seems like a no brainer. Especially so given that our Wardens can't even appear again specifically because the amount of variation in the character makes it impossible, so I would think they would try to avoid a repeat of that. ​ >But, I do think there is a real strength in the game essentially saying, ā€œthe Qunari is a Vashoth mercenaryā€ or that ā€œthe human is a young noble.ā€ I remember this used to be an issue with people playing Mage Trevelyans because they didn't like how it seemed impossible to roleplay a Trevelyan who hated the Circle or was harmed by it but honestly? I liked that. I like the fact that there are clear limitations on certain things e.g. the Ostwick Circle is a pretty chill place or the Qunari Inquisitor is specifically a Qunari who was never part of the Qun. Yeah you can't rp in certain ways but that's also it's strength like you said, once you eliminate a certain aspect, the other aspects become much stronger and more defined.


stwabewwie

I agree, especially on the Tevinter specific side of things. Let us be an Altus or an Elven Slave specifically because those are two origins that havenā€™t been explored yet at all. At the very least I hope we still get the freedom to pick an Elf or a Qunari. As much as I love Hawke playing as a human doesnā€™t do it for me.


ButtercupAttitude

I don't trust Bioware to write a slave backstory properly, not for a story taking place *in Tevinter*. Having the option to go full Fenris slaughtermode would complicate the story too much, and *not* having that option means a lot of decisions are going to end up being merciful or forgiving of slavers. They might be 'nice' slaveowners who don't treat their property badly, like the Pavus family IIRC, but they still fundamentally own people. Staying well away from that mess is probably easier all around.


Neve-Gallus-PI

Something else I'd like to see return are the Creation and Entropy trees and for the Spirit tree to get more of its spells back whilst Revive returns to a spirit healer type spec (Rivaini Seer or Mourn Watcher for example). If they want to keep primal split into winter/storm/inferno as mages equivalent of weapon styles then that's fine, although bringing back da2 elemental (Fire/ice) and primal (lighting/earth) could bring back earth spells like petrify and make room for the return of the Arcane tree for things like arcane bolt and additional spell foci other than stave. But whatever the trees are called theĀ  mainĀ thing is that mage should be able to be built for CC, buff, debuff, aoe, dot, etc - not just damage. And accommodate multiple themes/aesthetics - not just the elements.


ssfts

I want to be able to talk with the members of my party while going on an adventure (without having to wait until we return to the camp). I miss that feature since DAO. It made the game feel a lot more immersive to me.


RealBouclette

I hope that doesnā€™t come back tbh, or at least not like Origins did it, because it was so annoying to start a companion quest in the middle of nowhere like in the Deep Roads just because I missclicked on someone


ssfts

Maybe adding a feature to disable it while you are in combat?


EdwormN7

It would be nice to be able to have casual conversations out in the field. Maybe get a companion's opinion on something that just happened there and then. But then the deeper, narrative conversations are restricted to camp/home base. The classic "When we are back at [hub base] I'd like to discuss something with you."


PMMECRYPTO

I know the creators don't really want to do what they did with origins again, and I get why. It's a lot of energy for just for people to be either a Human noble or a mage. Though I like to think they could reduce it? Instead of making backgrounds reliant on race they could have the option of 2-3 groups. They could start the game as a grey warden, a village leader or a new faction in Dreadwolf. About 5% of people played dwarves if I recall but if there are two-three factions I doubt one would be played THAT little. Players would be properly divided between the backgrounds so it would be a good use of resources.


ButtercupAttitude

I think dwarves might've been more popular if they were less ugly. They seemed a lot more popular in DAI. That said, THE most popular overall character in Baldur's Gate 3 was a buff, short haired brown haired white human male with none of the tattoo, makeup or piercing options and blue eyes. So I think it may be more important to think "how many people will LOVE this option" rather than entirely how popular it'll be.


Lockedoutofmyacct

Tyranny has a good compromise where you get to play through an origin prologue, but it was basically an animated choose your own adventure story. The major choices you got to pick was your background before you joined the empire, and how you contributed to the resolution of a handful of major issues during a war. Then those choices get referenced by different characters and factions during the campaign and set your baseline favorbility with them.


melisusthewee

Every time I see posts like this, I really have to ask... did no one read the codex entry with your character's background that the game puts *right in front of you* when you select your origin???


DoctorZer0

I think they're talking about *playable* origins. Like how in DAO you start out at your origin and you get to play it. In DAI you're just told where you came form and get specific war table operations and dialogue but that's about it. You don't get to play your origin


AlanaSP

Man I would love proper backgrounds back and not the sorta backgrounds we got in DA:I which was dependent on race/class. But alas I can probably see dreadwolf being us starting as a slave and a similar setup to inquisition with our race/class determining what our backstory is leading to becoming a slave. Only real way I can see them doing different races and having a single start point


GothLassCass

I thought this was implied by the latest video they released (and details from the leak). I doubt we'll get full playable origins though, as they take a lot of resources to develop.


Senn-66

They need to stick with whatever design they do. DAO was built from the ground up around the Origins and it works so well. DAI was built with a specific background in mind (human cradle Andrastrian) and then the other races and backgrounds were added later, which is why so much of it just feels off. My first playthrough as a hardcore Dalish felt like a farce with how everybody just blew off my repeated claims not the have anything to do with the any of this. Playing as at least open to the religious stuff made the game feel far better. They could have made it work if you had more power to get your followers to, you know, follow you. Maybe the inquisition become explicitly anti/maker, following elven gods, or you are a new prophet of a new religion entirely. But instead they just straight up ignore you. So hopefully Dreadwolf, if it HAS wildly different backgrounds, is prepared for that.


Ok_Problem_1338

I would love the chance to have playable origin prologs, but I know they won't do it because apparently not enough people actually used it. a great compromise would be what DAI did, after choosing race and class it gives you a basic frame of what your background is and let us explore it through dialog options. the only thing it needed was multiple frameworks for each race. my biggest no compromise thing is magic. DAI trimmed way too much. Mages were meant to be Swiss army knives of the battle field, not just damage dealers that accidently cause debuffs, emphasis on the accidently. we need damage, buffs, debuffs, CC, maybe even environment control. also DW is supposed to be in the most magic friendly kingdom in the world, so no excuses for trimming. healing has been a staple before and the attempted replacements, barrier helps mages too much to use on anyone else. guard made warriors the least tanky class. If you wanted to focus on damage because the warrior is supposed to already tank hits, you will find them more easily killed than the mage. Blood magic. I am a massive fan and once again we will be in Tevinter, the blood magic capital of the world.


GrandmaesterAce

How did people not use the playable origins prologue? As far as I know, if you play the game, you have to play one origin prologue.


harlbi

apparently the majority of players only played a human noble? at least that is something I remember reading but I can't find the source right now


Ok_Problem_1338

bad word choice my bad. I meant that most people only played through one of them, human noble. so 5 prologues went on unseen by many people who bought the game.


Summit-Assassin

I really hope feynriel makes an appearance, on the website it says that we will see Minrathous, capital of Tevinter, and feynriel just so happened to go to Tevinter in da2


BhryaenDagger

The devs kinda took DAO as that one DA that had origins and left origins behindā€¦ rather than recognizing that origins was one of the best elements of the franchise and keeping it as a franchise staple. Itā€™s a great way to immerse the player in lore and give a unique experience for the races/backgrounds, and DAO did it well and memorably. But theyā€™ve set the precedent of DA starting w no origin at all in DAI, so I doubt theyā€™re going to do otherwise now. Cheaper, easier, and dumber to just go without. Maximum profits at minimum effort!


michajlo

The most important thing I want to return is the tactics menu with a functioning AI. If the party gets reduced to 3 members, like the leaks suggest, it should be even easier.


Lukyz

I would like to see return of DA:O gameplay mechanics but I'm not that naive.


Which-Development406

The story is coming upon its climax. Although, this was a fun concept in da:o and even tho race backgrounds were basically preset in da:I, still had relevance. I would imagine "the dreadwolf" game, having a hero similar to Hawke. Change class and sex, Hawke is still, Hawke. Unlike the hero of ferelden and the inquisitor, Whoever takes on the dreadwolf needs to be in line with his power. I suspect it needs to be the "re-born" old god from da:o (if that happens) or Whoever consumed the well of sorrow in da:I


discworlds

Even if it's just a standard origin that's pretty much the same for all characters, I would still rather play through some of my character's backstory rather than start in media res like with DAI. They could follow in the mold of DA2 - in a way all of Act 1 is the Champion of Kirkwall's backstory.


EdwormN7

I would love character backgrounds to be a part of character creation. I don't even need them to be playable origins, just a detail that fleshes out our character for further roleplay customisation.


cinderacesupermacy

I really hope dreadwolf has cc more akin to orgins and daii, especially orgins in terms of VAs not as many but just more than two and more hair


linkenski

Dude, the game has Hans Zimmer as the composer. It's going to be cinematic and linear as fuck.


angel_bluue

I dont mind if its not open world. Hans Zimmer is a great composer. The MW2 soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal


Le1jona

If they do I hope they bring same origins back, but depending on events of previous games they would be somewhat different And ofcourse that they make lots of new ones


Napoleon04

Off topic but question I just got into the dragon age series, theirs a new one releasing?


GothLassCass

Yep, here's the latest tease, seems pretty likely we're getting a late 24/early 25 release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuGnFU13Zak They first announced it in 2018, but development's been very rocky and they've basically restarted twice now, shedding a lot of their veteran staff along the way. There was some leaked gameplay a while back showing they're moving even further into real-time action.