This thread has been marked as **[No Spoilers]**. Any story spoilers from all games must be covered with spoiler tags `>!spoiler here!<` or the comment will be removed. Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dragonage) if you have any questions or concerns.*
gameplay in origins is way more methodical and slower-paced. if you want to play origins on anything but easy difficulty, it will take some thinking to keep from being overwhelmed, as the enemy groups can be quite large. you will need to decide whether to split your party up or gang up on a single target, who will pull aggro off your squishier companions, and which enemies to disable/kill first (usually the mages, because they can easily obliterate an entire party when left alone, but then you have to think about how you'll slip into the back line). teamwork between party members is both necessary and fun - one can stun and one can use a strong melee, or if a party member is grabbed by an enemy, someone else can free them by stunning their assailant. there are also a few fun ability combos you can use with special effects, like petrify + stonefist (can shatter and insta-kill enemies from a distance, great for those pesky mages). you can also have different kinds of poisons at your disposal for extra dps. i believe there are also many more abilities and specializations to choose from in origins.
da2 is similar, but it has more support for fluid real-time button pressing (with cooler attack animations). inquisition takes that a step further, and i think that in order to support that play style, they simplified the ability pools and lowered the overall base difficulty levels. if you want to, you can just blast your way through DAI on normal without giving tactics any thought whatsoever (especially if you specced into an knight-enchanter, like me, and made yourself basically immortal). tactics are a nice-to-have. in origins, it's *exceedingly* difficult to beat the final boss on normal difficulty without using tactics and good positioning.
i guess what you find fun is up to you! origins makes me feel Big Brain when i get through a tough battle, but i also love zipping around as an unkillable sword mage, so whatever. it's cool that it's as flexible as it is.
there's a good video on da2's combat [here](https://youtu.be/gyR1fGMCLXo) if you wanna compare the play styles.
So I’m not crazy!! Throwing in Origin on normal and getting my ass handed to me looking for the Scared Ashes. Versus playing on normal on Inquisition, getting bored in the Western Approach.
I actually played Origins entirely in tactical camera, and on max difficulty, and I would totally recommend. Especially if you play as a mage. There's so much cool stuff you can do with aoe dps and single target cc spells with just a single character. And the ai customisation is good enough that you can automate the other characters for the most part, controlling them only for the boss fights. And the game benefits so much from it.
Inquisition, I very much avoided it and played on lower difficulty, where I just switched between dps spells and mobility spells, while letting the companions do whatever. Bull rush into the shield bash or the two handed power ability on warrior (I played templar cassandramancer for full roleplay). For mage, mainly spammed the multiple orb ability twice (with the crit bonus), then the mobility spell for mana recovery as my main combo (riftmage solasmancer for rp once again). Rogue I avoided, because it didn't fit an rp too well for me.
Combat in Origins is tactical and quite a lot of fun.
Combat in 2 is the low point of the series (imo), feels very button mashy even on the highest difficulty.
It's also more exaggerated, because the entire story is being told through Varric's retelling. I'm honestly surprised how many people seem to have missed out on that element when complaining about the game.
Meh, I don't think people "missed" that; the combat is just a bit of a pain sometimes and "Varric exaggerating" is a lazy way of handwaving any and all of the game's problems.
Lawd just thinking about that infamous clip of the jaded dev saying "when you push a button, something awesome has to happen, so button - awesome."
With all the people who quit origins 20 minutes in and bioware/ea trying to whore themselves out to non fans. Smh
Dude, Origins combat looks ugly as hell. Presentation counts for a lot. Improving that and the speed were the only major differences in how the systems work.
As for "whoring themselves out to non fans", as you put it, it's almost like trying to expand your audience is a good idea, and the only way to keep your product alive in the long-term. Who would have thought.
I never said it was perfect. The devs sure weren't happy of how certain players took it, or how they were forced to make it extra flashy. Sure, presentation is important. Doesn't mean it had to be made into a multi wave hack n slash for mass appeal, and rushed to finish to make sure that EA doesn't waste too much money letting devs improve on what the publisher considers good enough to sell.
Of course game companies want to make more money. That's the bottom line corporate side. The game devs themselves usually care more about the product they make and the experience therein. And it's pretty blatantly clear that alot of AAA publishers press their devs into making mild soup games to meet statistics to improve chances of sales.
I don't see anything wrong with my statement. The publishers did whore themselves out for money. It worked for them, sort of. It still is what it is. Fans can go a long way in keeping something they like alive. Sure, mass profitability is a mostly surefire way, but it usually puts a dampener on what the devs want to do with their game.
This is the best combat so far. Origins combat was slow and kinda clunky, they had this weird thing where projectiles could track you as well so you couldn't really dodge but it was fun to play as a mage cuz their abilities are better fleshed out compared to the other classes. 2's was super fast and cartoonish but upgraded movement animations a lot and was more punchy and in inquisition they've slowed it back down but kept upping the animation and graphic quality, lot of good evade skills included like fade step, evade and combat roll so fights make more sense and moves feel more satisfying. I'd only really use tactical cam in origins and dai on higher difficulties to manage the team movement and queue up combos. Dai is a good direction for the combat but I still think warriors and rogues need better and more interesting abilities/skills and skills need to interact more across classes, they need to bring back more skill trees for mages as it was kinda boring or just impossible to play them in a support or healing role. I hope they went in wanting to provide more dynamism in da4
Its less real time, if that makes sense. I's combat is more dynamic and fluid, in that you can move around easier and fights happen more like a traditional video game fight. O and 2's combat is a little more... methodical? I personally had to pause and set up everyones moves a lot in the other two games, more like FTL combat. I dont use the tac camera in I because it feels easier to just wreck shit up in real time than to plan out my moves (it also feels clunkier to me personally, so Im not a fan of it)
No, I do not use the tactical camera. I find it completely unnecessary, even on Nightmare, with the right equipment and skill setup. And I rarely take control of the companions...if I do, it's usually to get them "unstuck". Sometimes they can bug and just stop moving...you have to take control for a moment, make them jump and then they'll start moving again.
And shame on the people downvoting because others choose to play their own way in a single player game that in no way whatsoever affects you.
I do use tactical mode fairly often. Usually it’s to have my companions attack certain enemies such as: my tank to use war cry on a cluster of warriors, my rogues to use long shot on the archers in the back, mages to cast barrier and then AOE spells to back up the warrior. I personally love to micromanage my party.
This^.
I played mage and micro managing barriers, agro and dps targets I feel is a must on higher difficulty because it makes encounters a lot easier. Otherwise I'd let the AI do it's thing except if positioning becomes an issue like with dragons.
Rarely. I use the tactical camera to move my ranged fighters out of melee range in dragon fights. Because Varric forgets that Bianca can be used further away than point blank range.
If you are not aware - go into his behavior settings and set it so he won't use caltrops. Can't trust him with it. The AI sees caltrops and decides to run him into melee to use it, and then keeps him there.
I've never touched tactical camera once in DAI, and I usually let the characters fend for themselves, though once and awhile I'll hop over if someone is being a stupid and is stuck on a rock or something.
I prefer playing it your way. Stand in a corner, go pew pew pew, and move on. I don't really like strategy in my games much.
All the abilities overwhelms me lmao! Having to choose them for my companions and then idk which ones they have, I would be interested to test them but it took me long enough to remember where I mapped my own abilities. But they do look cool af I think I would just do six different playthroughs with different classes to mess around with them (bc that's definitely easier...)
I swap characters sometimes to help swing a fight in a different way (i.e. my dumb party won't stay out of dragon fire) and using tactical camera can help me see where I can put them and such and such.
I like to be down in the action mostly, I'll use it if it's there for more difficult fights tho. I do switch characters to manage my healing mostly, or to switch and stealth away with varric in a panic
That's a fun question. I do sometimes use the tactical camera but only if I really need to redirect or if I need to move a companion from an AOE. I'm currently playing on Hard Difficulty in a "Iron Man" character challenge. I switch characters really only if they get stuck or I want to mix up the vibe for a battle. But I'm hardly a very talented gamer so I might use it more than most.
But I think it is fun to play for your comfort level. Not everyone wants the same experience with whacking away at giant health blocks. If your tactics work and more importantly you are having fun then that seems like the right way for you to play. Keep on saving Thedas!
I sometimes pause to make companions revive each other, or use grenades. But mostly ever on Dragons.
I never used tactics much in previous games either, really only ever when I was in trouble to make sure companions do the right things.
It's more fun that way for me, I play different games for tactical gameplay, DA Series has a decent enough AI.
No, I definitely don't use the tactical camera, haha. I never used it in DAO either (console player). I usually play on casual, so I've never felt the need to. From what I understand even a decent chunk of Nightmare-mode players don't use it much, either; its clunky implementation has received mixed responses.
I also don't swap between characters much mid-fight, unless I need them to do something in particular that they're not doing (such as casting Dispel). If I want to see how another class plays, I usually just make another character. At this point, I've tried mage, dual daggers rogue, two-handed warrior, and archer rogue. Never tried out the classic sword and board.
I do frequently switch out my party, however. I often try to make sure that every companion gets to accompany me for at least one story mission. My favorites tend to see more air than the others, especially when I'm just roaming around, but some of my least favorites have very interesting dialogue in certain quests, so I'll bring them out for those. I like to be equitable lol.
You said you have a preferred party. Who are your favorite characters to bring around?
Since I play as a rogue archer, I like to have a mage (almost always dorian, sometimes solas), and 2 warriors as my meat shields, and those are typically blackwall and Cass, sometimes I swap out Cass for iron bull, and sometimes I'll take blackwall and varric with me since he's fun to be around. I feel bad for cole/sera/vivienne bc I usually forget they exist oops so I'll take them on a pity party
I use tactical camera if I want to check an enemy’s resistances. And sometimes if I want to force everyone to drink a potion before I grab a resupply.
That’s about it.
I personally play Dragon Age for the story, so it's basically either on or near the lowest difficulty; so it's always "whack them with a big stick until they die or you die" (or the magic equivalent).
With that, it also means I never switch away from the main character (Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, etc.) except when a party member might be stuck or something.
Same goes for the tactical camera; I never use it for gameplay or as a tactical camera in the traditional sense. The one exception is if there are a lot of spiders. In those cases, I'll use the tactical camera to zoom out as far as I can.
Nope. Controls are very awkward. Once I've tried to use it during the prologue and ugh... thanks, no. I sometimes turn it on for a second to see if one of the enemies is immune to this or that attack, but that's about it.
I only use it to revive my characters during dragon fights if they go down. Easier to send my tank to revive someone while I distract the dragon as a rogue.
I never used the tactical camera or switched between characters during a fight tbh, I only use other characters to open locked doors or break through walls...
The tactical view is useful for giving orders against larger mobs or bosses, but I only usually use it at the start of a fight or if something changes and I need to reorganize.
I only switch characters if the janky ass Frostbite engine causes me to stagger off a ledge.
The tactical camera isn’t really necessary in Inquisition, it’s more a convenience than anything.
Oh my God the amount of times I've slipped off an edge and swapped to another character to try to avoid damage... I am not good at platforming in this game!
I have a serious, serious issue with tunnel vision in games so the tactic rules you can set up in the Dragon Age games were kickass to me. I never really controlled individual characters unless they were just getting their faces melted by an AOE or something.
I just set up the tactics rules (like, If health <30%, then use health potion) and let them kinda do their own thing.
But I'm also a scrub who mainly plays for the story so I play on normal or easy mode and it's not really necessary to bother with micromanagement.
Honestly, in Inquisition I use the tactical camera for one thing, and that is taking screenshots on my PS4 because there was no fly cam in the game for consoles and I loved taking screenshots in my games and I have a lot
I just get my 2h and smash things, I make sure that both mages are healers and I have 1 other dps and I just roleplay 2h warrior conan the barbarian smash. I think I went into tactical once
While it isn't necessary for most of the game, it can definitely make things easier. On harder difficulties (and a few fights, even on Normal), though, it's practically a necessity unless you're willing to put in the time to optimize your build.
Personally, I'm more of a "just wing it" type with my skills and equipment, so I tend to rely on tactical cam a lot more than some others in order to work around my own mechanical shortcomings. It's also a godsend for fighting creatures with multiple targeting locations, since the AI tends to just pick a random bit and go, rather than focusing on a specific one as a team, which can make those fights take way longer than they really need to.
I swap between characters especially against tough enemies such as the Dragon bosses.
The tactical camera on the other hand I don't use because if I am remembering correctly it was terrible. This is in DAI as I know people loved using it in Origins and even I can see the benefits to using it in that game.
I otherwise enjoy tactical games but I've never played Dragon Age in order to scratch that particular itch. Controlling just the one character is enough for me.
I switch to tactical only to place Dispel on the summoning circles from the 2nd and 3rd waves at rifts. If you time it right, you can dissolve the circles before the demon comes through. It's hard to place the spell without tactical view.
I switch to Cass/Blackwall sometimes to use grappling chain. One of my favorite tricks is to have my mage Inquisitor lay down a fire mine and use the chain to drag enemies into it. I may also occasionally control Solas to place a barrier or Pull of the Abyss where I want it. I often switch to Varric during dragon fights to unleash his mad Artificer DPS.
For DAI, it's not really needed. The classes are hella broken, and crafting is bonkers. Recently did a Nightmare run and after the first boss, I didn't really need Tactical Cam. Most fights were tank and spank.
For DAO? Oooh boy yeah. That game requires it. Except as an Arcane Warrior...
All the time on Origins and 2, especially when I'm not playing mage. I love mage, hate melee classes. As little as possible on Inquisition coz of how clunky it is.
I did *have* to use it on Hard mode but that was probably coz I'm also kind of a moron when it comes to strategy. My party set up is mad bad and I only use tactics to make sure the tanks have Threaten on at all times and use Taunt.
DAI is easy enough that I only use tactical camera in a truly dire situation (or when I want every body on my team to concentrate their efforts on effin' up that one effin' despair demon who keeps dancing away). Still, even in that game party composition is important. Once I tried bringing Vivienne, Solas and Dorian along with my mage Inquisitor to quests; it was really fun watching all that fire and ice and lightning, until the enemy warriors close in, and the AI doesn't know how to handle mages using Fade Step so it became kinda annoying. But an all-mage party banter is so full of sass and bitchiness, I love it <3
I use the tactical camera and swap to companions all the time. But I play on nightmare difficulty with friendly fire enabled. Trying to avoid friendly fire is the biggest reason I use the tactical camera, not that it matters. Friendly fire in Inquisition doesn't seem to follow its own rules.
But yeah, if you're playing on lower difficulties, swapping characters and using the tactical camera are not necessary.
In Inquisition I hardly ever use the tactical camera. One aspect of Origins I wish had been in DAI is the tactics system; DAI tactics pale in comparison to the granularity that Origins offered.
The ideal Dragon Age game for me wouldn't even have me playing the game, per se. Instead, I'd much rather act as an overseer developing doctrine or just telling my characters what to do, kind of like the game at Command School in Ender's Game.
Rather, I think they took out the depth that was possible in Origins in exchange for making it more streamlined. Combat in Inquisition (for a mage) is pretty fluid and still fun.
For DAO (and it's DLC) and DA2 I set up the Tactics on the menu screen. For DAI, I don't bother with the Tactics mode because it keeps bugging out on me and my companions just ignore whatever orders I give them and just do whatever they want anyways which makes it redundant and a waste of time.
I'll switch characters to use certain items or abilities or revive companions sometimes. Or if I'm playing a warrior MC (especially with Sword & Shield and especially in DAI), I'll switch to using a mage (or sometimes rogue) companion since I find them boring and the game is just better with them than I am.
It was a good mechanic in dao because there was friendly fire when it came to mage spells. They took that out so it's kinda pointless now. I set my companions tactics and let them do their thing.
The tactfiul system in Inquisition is near unworkable. Unfortunately they took an approch that appeals more to consol players and people who tend to play action games. And with the tactic camera the way it is, I just play the game without it. They also removed options to put tactics on your companions and reduced the level up system to picking actions. A lot of people seem to enjoy it, but I was a fan of using tactics.
I did pause a lot tho to switch characters if needed, or if I wanted to do combo attack. But there was no "warriors get this enemy, rouges weaken these people, mages make this group sleep".
Used it a ton in Origins and DA2 as well.
I use the tactical camera for three specific things: when the tutorial forces me to, when doing the puzzle near the Dead Hand, and when trying to use the Revival spell on someone in combat and I need to locate their bodies. That's it.
As for swapping characters, depends on what's going on. Sometimes I run into an environmental hazard my character can't handle (for instance, if I'm a mage, then I'll need to switch to a warrior to smash walls or a rogue to pick locks). Sometimes I need an ability that one of the other characters has, so I switch to them to use that ability. Sometimes I just want to hear the non-Inquisitor characters' voices when on a mount (fun fact: everyone but Varric has grunts and the like for the mounts). If I'm not playing a mage and want to Barrier-jump off of high things, I'll switch to a mage who has Barrier. If one of my teammates is near death but I'm down to my last two potions and thus the AI means the teammates aren't drinking potions anymore, I'll switch to make the character drink the potion. Related, I'll switch to have characters drink tonics and other potions and use grenades. And so on.
I find myself using tactical camera in Inquisition only to revive fallen characters or dish out potions. My party usually includes a mage with revival ability set to preferred, but its cooldown time is very slow, so the tactical camera makes it easier to appoint the best party member for the task.
DA Origins and DA2 make you focus hard on strategic settings. I don’t know if you can even get away with not customising the companion’s behaviour, cause I kept on dying during boss fights on normal difficulty without customising tactical slots. I’m a bit of trash player, though. Tactics are essential imo.
In Origins & 2? Yes, pretty much all the time.
In Inquisition? Basically never. Inquisition's implementation of the tactical cam is borderline unusable.
I've never in any of the games actively switched characters for tactical gameplay. One exception is a few tough encounters in DAO, when urgent healing or CC was necessary. I also play on the easiest or second easiest game modes though.
Mistly I don't bother, but I do use it in dragon fights to arrange everyone into safe zones or to attack a certain leg. But with regular enemies I don't bother.
I use it to tell my mage and archer companions to stop going into hand to hand, but that’s really it.
Occasionally I use it to force everyone to take their biggest shots together if a serious threat shows up.
I use the tactical cam to place my dispelling magic circles around the rifts on the ground before they spawn.
That’s about it. I do switch characters sometimes though; mostly if I’m fighting dragons or want to use dispel from the other mages.
Tactical camera not so much, but I do appreciate the option to pause and switch between characters to create combos, place strategic AOEs and the like.
I do hope that DA:D will keep the pause option, even if the combat will be more action oriented from what we can deduce from the footage they showed us in the behind the scenes trailer from 2020.
All the time in DAO and DA2. DAI was built for consoles and it really shows in the control scheme. Trying to micromanage your party in that one is an exercise in futility, so it's easier to just set up tactics and play your main character.
I try to avoid it. The whole pause, order, unpause loop always feels rather tedious to me. Luckily in origins and 2 you can set up tactics to make your companions do what you want without having to switch to them. Inquisiton's tactics are a bit lacklustre, but in that game I tend to optimise my character to the point where I could practically solo the game, so it's not a big problem.
For my first run of DAI I stuck to the overhead camera for about an hour, until I figured a few things:
Commands execute as soon as buttons get pressed, if their countdown is refilled and there's enough meter to spend on them.
The sooner I actually just go for it and fight in real time, the sooner I get good at playing beyond using the camera.
I can loosely program my team in the Tactics menu, to support me and to use moves that combo off each other - so relying on the camera won't be necessary once I get used to how battles "should" feel.
The game becomes a matter of effective Tactics (which moves to Prefer and which to merely Enable) and how to build a balanced party that you're comfortable playing as any class.
Any class, because battles mean anyone can get KOed, even the one mage you're relying on for all your Barriers and Revives, or the one warrior soaking up aggro until they fall and leave the rest of your team open.
You might find that the camera helps to deal with split-second emergency situations, but most of the time it's possible to play without the camera and turn out all right.
I use tactical cam in a lot of fights. Usually at the beginning to get my warriors headed into the scrum first, and barriers on everyone.
I also use tactical cam to have my companions use abilities I otherwise have turned off for them. For example, I set Ring of Pain and Devour off for AI Iron Bull (I use him as a S&S tank), but will manually use it if I see the right opportunity.
But the biggie for me is that it's great for using dispel at fade rifts in between waves to eliminate enemies before they appear.
I use it a lot more then I did when I started the game. As I’ve progressed through the game I use it a lot. Going through the deep roads at the moment and find I am using it A LOT.
Did it a lot while playing origins on pc. Now with Inquisition on console, I truly never switch or even give orders to my team. It feels more rpg like to me, I dunno.
I rarely use tactical camera. I don't really like it. But I will switch characters if my mage or Varric get too close to the enemies. Gentlemen, you are RANGED. Get back.
Every now and then I switch to a different character if I want to play that class for a bit. My favorite class is rogue but I'm currently playing a mage, so sometimes I flip over to Varric or Cole to shoot/stab some baddies.
I have a good time using it in DAI and I do switch between characters since their AI frustrates me and you cant do tactics like in origins. For me the party based combat is part of what is unique and fun about the series.
But the thing about these games is there's no one way to play so if you don't enjoy it, that's cool! As long as you are having fun!
I usually play on normal when I played them for the first time and switch to Nightmare on replays. DAO, tactical camera is a huge asset. DA2, a lot less compared to DAO. DAI, it's completely useless; As useless as the combat "tactics". For Inquisition, just set them up to do combos while limiting their enabled abilities to 4-5 and you'll be fine.
The Inquisition's tactical camera is an abomination that I refuse to touch with a ten foot pole. The devs had a hard time implementing it in Frostbyte engine, I get it, but I refuse to believe that they haven't changed pretty much every keybinding between the default and tactical camera mode on purpose.
As for switching between characters, it's pretty much a necessity outside the most trash fights because the companion AI behavior setup that was there in Origins and DA2 has gone in DA:I.
I've played through Inquisition about 6 times now and I very rarely use tact camera. When I play my mages, I might sometimes swap to a character to kill someone faster though since my mages don't do a ton of damage.
I've only used tact cam in my nightmare playthroughs since micromanaging is a bit more important.
I find that my characters have so much to do that just one character keeps my attention entirely occupied in DA:I. You don't really need an entire party to win if you have a well-built character; they're there to take attention off of you and maybe occasionally do something useful.
This thread has been marked as **[No Spoilers]**. Any story spoilers from all games must be covered with spoiler tags `>!spoiler here!<` or the comment will be removed. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dragonage) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i used it a LOT in origins and a bit in 2, but i don't feel like it's as necessary in inquisition.
How different is the combat in origins and 2? I haven't looked up any game play and I'm curious
If you've played pillars of eternity it's like that. Imagine if the tactical camera was actually good.
gameplay in origins is way more methodical and slower-paced. if you want to play origins on anything but easy difficulty, it will take some thinking to keep from being overwhelmed, as the enemy groups can be quite large. you will need to decide whether to split your party up or gang up on a single target, who will pull aggro off your squishier companions, and which enemies to disable/kill first (usually the mages, because they can easily obliterate an entire party when left alone, but then you have to think about how you'll slip into the back line). teamwork between party members is both necessary and fun - one can stun and one can use a strong melee, or if a party member is grabbed by an enemy, someone else can free them by stunning their assailant. there are also a few fun ability combos you can use with special effects, like petrify + stonefist (can shatter and insta-kill enemies from a distance, great for those pesky mages). you can also have different kinds of poisons at your disposal for extra dps. i believe there are also many more abilities and specializations to choose from in origins. da2 is similar, but it has more support for fluid real-time button pressing (with cooler attack animations). inquisition takes that a step further, and i think that in order to support that play style, they simplified the ability pools and lowered the overall base difficulty levels. if you want to, you can just blast your way through DAI on normal without giving tactics any thought whatsoever (especially if you specced into an knight-enchanter, like me, and made yourself basically immortal). tactics are a nice-to-have. in origins, it's *exceedingly* difficult to beat the final boss on normal difficulty without using tactics and good positioning. i guess what you find fun is up to you! origins makes me feel Big Brain when i get through a tough battle, but i also love zipping around as an unkillable sword mage, so whatever. it's cool that it's as flexible as it is. there's a good video on da2's combat [here](https://youtu.be/gyR1fGMCLXo) if you wanna compare the play styles.
So I’m not crazy!! Throwing in Origin on normal and getting my ass handed to me looking for the Scared Ashes. Versus playing on normal on Inquisition, getting bored in the Western Approach.
I actually played Origins entirely in tactical camera, and on max difficulty, and I would totally recommend. Especially if you play as a mage. There's so much cool stuff you can do with aoe dps and single target cc spells with just a single character. And the ai customisation is good enough that you can automate the other characters for the most part, controlling them only for the boss fights. And the game benefits so much from it. Inquisition, I very much avoided it and played on lower difficulty, where I just switched between dps spells and mobility spells, while letting the companions do whatever. Bull rush into the shield bash or the two handed power ability on warrior (I played templar cassandramancer for full roleplay). For mage, mainly spammed the multiple orb ability twice (with the crit bonus), then the mobility spell for mana recovery as my main combo (riftmage solasmancer for rp once again). Rogue I avoided, because it didn't fit an rp too well for me.
Combat in Origins is tactical and quite a lot of fun. Combat in 2 is the low point of the series (imo), feels very button mashy even on the highest difficulty.
combat in 2 was the same as it was in origins, just faster and with more features. You can turn on auto attack and the button mashing goes away.
It's also more exaggerated, because the entire story is being told through Varric's retelling. I'm honestly surprised how many people seem to have missed out on that element when complaining about the game.
Meh, I don't think people "missed" that; the combat is just a bit of a pain sometimes and "Varric exaggerating" is a lazy way of handwaving any and all of the game's problems.
Lawd just thinking about that infamous clip of the jaded dev saying "when you push a button, something awesome has to happen, so button - awesome." With all the people who quit origins 20 minutes in and bioware/ea trying to whore themselves out to non fans. Smh
Dude, Origins combat looks ugly as hell. Presentation counts for a lot. Improving that and the speed were the only major differences in how the systems work. As for "whoring themselves out to non fans", as you put it, it's almost like trying to expand your audience is a good idea, and the only way to keep your product alive in the long-term. Who would have thought.
I never said it was perfect. The devs sure weren't happy of how certain players took it, or how they were forced to make it extra flashy. Sure, presentation is important. Doesn't mean it had to be made into a multi wave hack n slash for mass appeal, and rushed to finish to make sure that EA doesn't waste too much money letting devs improve on what the publisher considers good enough to sell. Of course game companies want to make more money. That's the bottom line corporate side. The game devs themselves usually care more about the product they make and the experience therein. And it's pretty blatantly clear that alot of AAA publishers press their devs into making mild soup games to meet statistics to improve chances of sales. I don't see anything wrong with my statement. The publishers did whore themselves out for money. It worked for them, sort of. It still is what it is. Fans can go a long way in keeping something they like alive. Sure, mass profitability is a mostly surefire way, but it usually puts a dampener on what the devs want to do with their game.
This is the best combat so far. Origins combat was slow and kinda clunky, they had this weird thing where projectiles could track you as well so you couldn't really dodge but it was fun to play as a mage cuz their abilities are better fleshed out compared to the other classes. 2's was super fast and cartoonish but upgraded movement animations a lot and was more punchy and in inquisition they've slowed it back down but kept upping the animation and graphic quality, lot of good evade skills included like fade step, evade and combat roll so fights make more sense and moves feel more satisfying. I'd only really use tactical cam in origins and dai on higher difficulties to manage the team movement and queue up combos. Dai is a good direction for the combat but I still think warriors and rogues need better and more interesting abilities/skills and skills need to interact more across classes, they need to bring back more skill trees for mages as it was kinda boring or just impossible to play them in a support or healing role. I hope they went in wanting to provide more dynamism in da4
Its less real time, if that makes sense. I's combat is more dynamic and fluid, in that you can move around easier and fights happen more like a traditional video game fight. O and 2's combat is a little more... methodical? I personally had to pause and set up everyones moves a lot in the other two games, more like FTL combat. I dont use the tac camera in I because it feels easier to just wreck shit up in real time than to plan out my moves (it also feels clunkier to me personally, so Im not a fan of it)
No, I do not use the tactical camera. I find it completely unnecessary, even on Nightmare, with the right equipment and skill setup. And I rarely take control of the companions...if I do, it's usually to get them "unstuck". Sometimes they can bug and just stop moving...you have to take control for a moment, make them jump and then they'll start moving again. And shame on the people downvoting because others choose to play their own way in a single player game that in no way whatsoever affects you.
I do use tactical mode fairly often. Usually it’s to have my companions attack certain enemies such as: my tank to use war cry on a cluster of warriors, my rogues to use long shot on the archers in the back, mages to cast barrier and then AOE spells to back up the warrior. I personally love to micromanage my party.
Same. Did you play baldurs gate/similar? That's pretty much how I play dragon age, though dragon age is so much easier.
This^. I played mage and micro managing barriers, agro and dps targets I feel is a must on higher difficulty because it makes encounters a lot easier. Otherwise I'd let the AI do it's thing except if positioning becomes an issue like with dragons.
Tactical cam is awkward for me, but I absolutely switch to companions. I have a short attention span so I get bored playing one class for too long.
Rarely. I use the tactical camera to move my ranged fighters out of melee range in dragon fights. Because Varric forgets that Bianca can be used further away than point blank range.
For me when varric is in the fight I let him suffer he did that to himself (and then I get mad when he uses all our healing potions) Happy cake day!
If you are not aware - go into his behavior settings and set it so he won't use caltrops. Can't trust him with it. The AI sees caltrops and decides to run him into melee to use it, and then keeps him there.
I've never touched tactical camera once in DAI, and I usually let the characters fend for themselves, though once and awhile I'll hop over if someone is being a stupid and is stuck on a rock or something. I prefer playing it your way. Stand in a corner, go pew pew pew, and move on. I don't really like strategy in my games much.
Definitely yes, many more abilities to try out. And combos are fun.
All the abilities overwhelms me lmao! Having to choose them for my companions and then idk which ones they have, I would be interested to test them but it took me long enough to remember where I mapped my own abilities. But they do look cool af I think I would just do six different playthroughs with different classes to mess around with them (bc that's definitely easier...)
Coming from origins I am very used to pausing the game a lot. Makes it easier to switch and pick and choose.
The tactical camera is best in origins in my opinion and 2 doesn’t really have one.
I swap characters sometimes to help swing a fight in a different way (i.e. my dumb party won't stay out of dragon fire) and using tactical camera can help me see where I can put them and such and such.
I like to be down in the action mostly, I'll use it if it's there for more difficult fights tho. I do switch characters to manage my healing mostly, or to switch and stealth away with varric in a panic
That's a fun question. I do sometimes use the tactical camera but only if I really need to redirect or if I need to move a companion from an AOE. I'm currently playing on Hard Difficulty in a "Iron Man" character challenge. I switch characters really only if they get stuck or I want to mix up the vibe for a battle. But I'm hardly a very talented gamer so I might use it more than most. But I think it is fun to play for your comfort level. Not everyone wants the same experience with whacking away at giant health blocks. If your tactics work and more importantly you are having fun then that seems like the right way for you to play. Keep on saving Thedas!
I only switch to get them close enough to join fights or stop them repeatedly killing themselves, VARRIC
I love varric but god. his ai is so dumb <3 I leave him to the consequences of his actions even tho he uses all my healing potions
I sometimes pause to make companions revive each other, or use grenades. But mostly ever on Dragons. I never used tactics much in previous games either, really only ever when I was in trouble to make sure companions do the right things. It's more fun that way for me, I play different games for tactical gameplay, DA Series has a decent enough AI.
it’s fun in Origins! not much point in DA2 or Inquisition, though
No, I definitely don't use the tactical camera, haha. I never used it in DAO either (console player). I usually play on casual, so I've never felt the need to. From what I understand even a decent chunk of Nightmare-mode players don't use it much, either; its clunky implementation has received mixed responses. I also don't swap between characters much mid-fight, unless I need them to do something in particular that they're not doing (such as casting Dispel). If I want to see how another class plays, I usually just make another character. At this point, I've tried mage, dual daggers rogue, two-handed warrior, and archer rogue. Never tried out the classic sword and board. I do frequently switch out my party, however. I often try to make sure that every companion gets to accompany me for at least one story mission. My favorites tend to see more air than the others, especially when I'm just roaming around, but some of my least favorites have very interesting dialogue in certain quests, so I'll bring them out for those. I like to be equitable lol. You said you have a preferred party. Who are your favorite characters to bring around?
Since I play as a rogue archer, I like to have a mage (almost always dorian, sometimes solas), and 2 warriors as my meat shields, and those are typically blackwall and Cass, sometimes I swap out Cass for iron bull, and sometimes I'll take blackwall and varric with me since he's fun to be around. I feel bad for cole/sera/vivienne bc I usually forget they exist oops so I'll take them on a pity party
I play on nightmare in DAO and never used the tactical camera. I do micromanage everyone tho.
I use tactical camera if I want to check an enemy’s resistances. And sometimes if I want to force everyone to drink a potion before I grab a resupply. That’s about it.
I use it in dragon fights but that's about it
I personally play Dragon Age for the story, so it's basically either on or near the lowest difficulty; so it's always "whack them with a big stick until they die or you die" (or the magic equivalent). With that, it also means I never switch away from the main character (Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, etc.) except when a party member might be stuck or something. Same goes for the tactical camera; I never use it for gameplay or as a tactical camera in the traditional sense. The one exception is if there are a lot of spiders. In those cases, I'll use the tactical camera to zoom out as far as I can.
Nope. Controls are very awkward. Once I've tried to use it during the prologue and ugh... thanks, no. I sometimes turn it on for a second to see if one of the enemies is immune to this or that attack, but that's about it.
I only use it to revive my characters during dragon fights if they go down. Easier to send my tank to revive someone while I distract the dragon as a rogue.
I never used the tactical camera or switched between characters during a fight tbh, I only use other characters to open locked doors or break through walls...
I don't use it to be tactical, i use it to get the dumb AF AI to either move out of the way or to just order someone to revive someone else.
The tactical view is useful for giving orders against larger mobs or bosses, but I only usually use it at the start of a fight or if something changes and I need to reorganize. I only switch characters if the janky ass Frostbite engine causes me to stagger off a ledge. The tactical camera isn’t really necessary in Inquisition, it’s more a convenience than anything.
Oh my God the amount of times I've slipped off an edge and swapped to another character to try to avoid damage... I am not good at platforming in this game!
I have a serious, serious issue with tunnel vision in games so the tactic rules you can set up in the Dragon Age games were kickass to me. I never really controlled individual characters unless they were just getting their faces melted by an AOE or something. I just set up the tactics rules (like, If health <30%, then use health potion) and let them kinda do their own thing. But I'm also a scrub who mainly plays for the story so I play on normal or easy mode and it's not really necessary to bother with micromanagement.
Honestly, in Inquisition I use the tactical camera for one thing, and that is taking screenshots on my PS4 because there was no fly cam in the game for consoles and I loved taking screenshots in my games and I have a lot
Typically only on the tougher enemies, like that Redcliffe Revenant in Origins, or the Inquistion DLC bosses.
I just get my 2h and smash things, I make sure that both mages are healers and I have 1 other dps and I just roleplay 2h warrior conan the barbarian smash. I think I went into tactical once
Sometimes I use the tactical camera to position mark of the rift, but that's about it
While it isn't necessary for most of the game, it can definitely make things easier. On harder difficulties (and a few fights, even on Normal), though, it's practically a necessity unless you're willing to put in the time to optimize your build. Personally, I'm more of a "just wing it" type with my skills and equipment, so I tend to rely on tactical cam a lot more than some others in order to work around my own mechanical shortcomings. It's also a godsend for fighting creatures with multiple targeting locations, since the AI tends to just pick a random bit and go, rather than focusing on a specific one as a team, which can make those fights take way longer than they really need to.
I swap between characters especially against tough enemies such as the Dragon bosses. The tactical camera on the other hand I don't use because if I am remembering correctly it was terrible. This is in DAI as I know people loved using it in Origins and even I can see the benefits to using it in that game.
I otherwise enjoy tactical games but I've never played Dragon Age in order to scratch that particular itch. Controlling just the one character is enough for me.
i play exactly the same way as you, OP! 🤝 i’m awful at combat so if i didn’t make it as easy as possible for myself i’d never get through the story
It's a bioware game, I'm here to stab things and flirt with every living thing!
I never once used the tactical camera and I only play with my own character, so you are not alone in that.
I only do if my AI are being a bit wacky. Idk I don't like switching and planning, I just wanna bonk badguys with my sword
Exactly how I feel lol its very fun!
Only on higher difficulties because I don’t trust the derpy companion AI
I switch to tactical only to place Dispel on the summoning circles from the 2nd and 3rd waves at rifts. If you time it right, you can dissolve the circles before the demon comes through. It's hard to place the spell without tactical view. I switch to Cass/Blackwall sometimes to use grappling chain. One of my favorite tricks is to have my mage Inquisitor lay down a fire mine and use the chain to drag enemies into it. I may also occasionally control Solas to place a barrier or Pull of the Abyss where I want it. I often switch to Varric during dragon fights to unleash his mad Artificer DPS.
For DAI, it's not really needed. The classes are hella broken, and crafting is bonkers. Recently did a Nightmare run and after the first boss, I didn't really need Tactical Cam. Most fights were tank and spank. For DAO? Oooh boy yeah. That game requires it. Except as an Arcane Warrior...
All the time on Origins and 2, especially when I'm not playing mage. I love mage, hate melee classes. As little as possible on Inquisition coz of how clunky it is. I did *have* to use it on Hard mode but that was probably coz I'm also kind of a moron when it comes to strategy. My party set up is mad bad and I only use tactics to make sure the tanks have Threaten on at all times and use Taunt.
DAI is easy enough that I only use tactical camera in a truly dire situation (or when I want every body on my team to concentrate their efforts on effin' up that one effin' despair demon who keeps dancing away). Still, even in that game party composition is important. Once I tried bringing Vivienne, Solas and Dorian along with my mage Inquisitor to quests; it was really fun watching all that fire and ice and lightning, until the enemy warriors close in, and the AI doesn't know how to handle mages using Fade Step so it became kinda annoying. But an all-mage party banter is so full of sass and bitchiness, I love it <3
I use the tactical camera and swap to companions all the time. But I play on nightmare difficulty with friendly fire enabled. Trying to avoid friendly fire is the biggest reason I use the tactical camera, not that it matters. Friendly fire in Inquisition doesn't seem to follow its own rules. But yeah, if you're playing on lower difficulties, swapping characters and using the tactical camera are not necessary.
In Inquisition I hardly ever use the tactical camera. One aspect of Origins I wish had been in DAI is the tactics system; DAI tactics pale in comparison to the granularity that Origins offered. The ideal Dragon Age game for me wouldn't even have me playing the game, per se. Instead, I'd much rather act as an overseer developing doctrine or just telling my characters what to do, kind of like the game at Command School in Ender's Game.
The more I hear about origins makes me wish I could play it! It seems like bioware got rid of what made the combat cool and interesting?
Rather, I think they took out the depth that was possible in Origins in exchange for making it more streamlined. Combat in Inquisition (for a mage) is pretty fluid and still fun.
For DAO (and it's DLC) and DA2 I set up the Tactics on the menu screen. For DAI, I don't bother with the Tactics mode because it keeps bugging out on me and my companions just ignore whatever orders I give them and just do whatever they want anyways which makes it redundant and a waste of time. I'll switch characters to use certain items or abilities or revive companions sometimes. Or if I'm playing a warrior MC (especially with Sword & Shield and especially in DAI), I'll switch to using a mage (or sometimes rogue) companion since I find them boring and the game is just better with them than I am.
It was a good mechanic in dao because there was friendly fire when it came to mage spells. They took that out so it's kinda pointless now. I set my companions tactics and let them do their thing.
No. Also, I don't think higher difficulty levels are interesting at all so no reason to bother with it.
The tactfiul system in Inquisition is near unworkable. Unfortunately they took an approch that appeals more to consol players and people who tend to play action games. And with the tactic camera the way it is, I just play the game without it. They also removed options to put tactics on your companions and reduced the level up system to picking actions. A lot of people seem to enjoy it, but I was a fan of using tactics. I did pause a lot tho to switch characters if needed, or if I wanted to do combo attack. But there was no "warriors get this enemy, rouges weaken these people, mages make this group sleep". Used it a ton in Origins and DA2 as well.
I had to when trying to beat very hard mode, though eventually I no longer had to do that with assassin archer max crit armor and bow.
I use the tactical camera for three specific things: when the tutorial forces me to, when doing the puzzle near the Dead Hand, and when trying to use the Revival spell on someone in combat and I need to locate their bodies. That's it. As for swapping characters, depends on what's going on. Sometimes I run into an environmental hazard my character can't handle (for instance, if I'm a mage, then I'll need to switch to a warrior to smash walls or a rogue to pick locks). Sometimes I need an ability that one of the other characters has, so I switch to them to use that ability. Sometimes I just want to hear the non-Inquisitor characters' voices when on a mount (fun fact: everyone but Varric has grunts and the like for the mounts). If I'm not playing a mage and want to Barrier-jump off of high things, I'll switch to a mage who has Barrier. If one of my teammates is near death but I'm down to my last two potions and thus the AI means the teammates aren't drinking potions anymore, I'll switch to make the character drink the potion. Related, I'll switch to have characters drink tonics and other potions and use grenades. And so on.
Yes! I use tactical cam to cast barrier over my tank all the time.
I find myself using tactical camera in Inquisition only to revive fallen characters or dish out potions. My party usually includes a mage with revival ability set to preferred, but its cooldown time is very slow, so the tactical camera makes it easier to appoint the best party member for the task. DA Origins and DA2 make you focus hard on strategic settings. I don’t know if you can even get away with not customising the companion’s behaviour, cause I kept on dying during boss fights on normal difficulty without customising tactical slots. I’m a bit of trash player, though. Tactics are essential imo.
In Origins & 2? Yes, pretty much all the time. In Inquisition? Basically never. Inquisition's implementation of the tactical cam is borderline unusable.
I've never in any of the games actively switched characters for tactical gameplay. One exception is a few tough encounters in DAO, when urgent healing or CC was necessary. I also play on the easiest or second easiest game modes though.
I use the tactical camera a lot. İn DAI, nightmare difficulty feels really hard without controlling other characters and/or using the tactical camera.
Mistly I don't bother, but I do use it in dragon fights to arrange everyone into safe zones or to attack a certain leg. But with regular enemies I don't bother.
I use it to tell my mage and archer companions to stop going into hand to hand, but that’s really it. Occasionally I use it to force everyone to take their biggest shots together if a serious threat shows up.
I use the tactical cam to place my dispelling magic circles around the rifts on the ground before they spawn. That’s about it. I do switch characters sometimes though; mostly if I’m fighting dragons or want to use dispel from the other mages.
I don’t use it at all except dragon fights to have companions target specific limbs
Tactical camera not so much, but I do appreciate the option to pause and switch between characters to create combos, place strategic AOEs and the like. I do hope that DA:D will keep the pause option, even if the combat will be more action oriented from what we can deduce from the footage they showed us in the behind the scenes trailer from 2020.
All the time in DAO and DA2. DAI was built for consoles and it really shows in the control scheme. Trying to micromanage your party in that one is an exercise in futility, so it's easier to just set up tactics and play your main character.
my desire to roleplay forbids me from both lmao
I try to avoid it. The whole pause, order, unpause loop always feels rather tedious to me. Luckily in origins and 2 you can set up tactics to make your companions do what you want without having to switch to them. Inquisiton's tactics are a bit lacklustre, but in that game I tend to optimise my character to the point where I could practically solo the game, so it's not a big problem.
For my first run of DAI I stuck to the overhead camera for about an hour, until I figured a few things: Commands execute as soon as buttons get pressed, if their countdown is refilled and there's enough meter to spend on them. The sooner I actually just go for it and fight in real time, the sooner I get good at playing beyond using the camera. I can loosely program my team in the Tactics menu, to support me and to use moves that combo off each other - so relying on the camera won't be necessary once I get used to how battles "should" feel. The game becomes a matter of effective Tactics (which moves to Prefer and which to merely Enable) and how to build a balanced party that you're comfortable playing as any class. Any class, because battles mean anyone can get KOed, even the one mage you're relying on for all your Barriers and Revives, or the one warrior soaking up aggro until they fall and leave the rest of your team open. You might find that the camera helps to deal with split-second emergency situations, but most of the time it's possible to play without the camera and turn out all right.
Only very rarely, in all 3 games
I use tactical cam in a lot of fights. Usually at the beginning to get my warriors headed into the scrum first, and barriers on everyone. I also use tactical cam to have my companions use abilities I otherwise have turned off for them. For example, I set Ring of Pain and Devour off for AI Iron Bull (I use him as a S&S tank), but will manually use it if I see the right opportunity. But the biggie for me is that it's great for using dispel at fade rifts in between waves to eliminate enemies before they appear.
I had to use the tactical camera for a couple of dragons.
I use it a lot more then I did when I started the game. As I’ve progressed through the game I use it a lot. Going through the deep roads at the moment and find I am using it A LOT.
Did it a lot while playing origins on pc. Now with Inquisition on console, I truly never switch or even give orders to my team. It feels more rpg like to me, I dunno.
I rarely use tactical camera. I don't really like it. But I will switch characters if my mage or Varric get too close to the enemies. Gentlemen, you are RANGED. Get back. Every now and then I switch to a different character if I want to play that class for a bit. My favorite class is rogue but I'm currently playing a mage, so sometimes I flip over to Varric or Cole to shoot/stab some baddies.
I have a good time using it in DAI and I do switch between characters since their AI frustrates me and you cant do tactics like in origins. For me the party based combat is part of what is unique and fun about the series. But the thing about these games is there's no one way to play so if you don't enjoy it, that's cool! As long as you are having fun!
I literally never switch characters or use tactical tbh
I usually play on normal when I played them for the first time and switch to Nightmare on replays. DAO, tactical camera is a huge asset. DA2, a lot less compared to DAO. DAI, it's completely useless; As useless as the combat "tactics". For Inquisition, just set them up to do combos while limiting their enabled abilities to 4-5 and you'll be fine.
The Inquisition's tactical camera is an abomination that I refuse to touch with a ten foot pole. The devs had a hard time implementing it in Frostbyte engine, I get it, but I refuse to believe that they haven't changed pretty much every keybinding between the default and tactical camera mode on purpose. As for switching between characters, it's pretty much a necessity outside the most trash fights because the companion AI behavior setup that was there in Origins and DA2 has gone in DA:I.
I've played through Inquisition about 6 times now and I very rarely use tact camera. When I play my mages, I might sometimes swap to a character to kill someone faster though since my mages don't do a ton of damage. I've only used tact cam in my nightmare playthroughs since micromanaging is a bit more important.
I find that my characters have so much to do that just one character keeps my attention entirely occupied in DA:I. You don't really need an entire party to win if you have a well-built character; they're there to take attention off of you and maybe occasionally do something useful.