Will you be okay if Dragon Age 4 ditches party control?

[BossAttack]

We're likely going to get our first real look at the combat of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf at TGA, which leads to a big question, will they retain the direct party based combat of past titles? I'm thinking direct-control party combat is going to get ditched. When you think about, Dragon Age is unique in AAA RPGs that still allow it. Pretty much every other AAA RPG does not allow for it. While parties might exist, like in say FFXV, you cannot directly control those party members but only issue limited orders or decide when to use their specials. I'm thinking that such control of party members, along with tactical camera, are due for the axe. After all, most players only switch to party members because the Ally AI is fucking up.

Would you be alright with such a change?

 

[Mediking]

That's chill. At this point, I just want some BioWare magic again.

 

[Antrax]

Not a chance. There's basically no way to beat Nightmare difficulty without micromanaging your party, and that's what people like about those settings.

 

[AImalexia]

imagine if it's souls like lel

 

[StrappingYoungLance]

Why does Dragon Age have to play like every other game exactly?

 

[Uzzy]

Holy shitballs no. It'll be fucking dead on arrival if it does that. Fuck that. FUCK THAT.

Full party control or bust.

 

[bitcloudrzr]

Not a chance. There's basically no way to beat Nightmare difficulty without micromanaging your party, and that's what people like about those settings.

Click to shrink...

imagine if it's souls like lel

Click to shrink...

 

[Phellps]

The bottomline for me is that it needs to be fun. If I have fun, then I don't care.

To be honest, I rarely controlled other characters in the other games anyway. Only at higher difficulties where I had to pause and strategize.

 

[jdmc13]

I would assume they would pull from the Mass Effect model. Your teammates act on their own, but you select when they use their powers.

 

[Lucreto]

I would be happy with a refined Inquisition gameplay. Also bring back the Inquisition board.

 

[SofNascimento]

I think ever since DA2 Dragon Age was torn between trying to be more action oriented but also keeping the party system. I found Inquisition achieved an interesting balance and I would rather DA4 build on that then go full Dark Souls.

That said, I would prefer a great Souls like combat rather than an ok party based combat.

 

[SevKnight]

Does the combat really need to be simplified for it to succeed?

 

[shimon]

Fuck NO.

 

[Phoenix Splash]

No, fuck that. If they wanted that, just don't call it Dragon Age 4. It worked for the Final Fantasy franchise but I dislike it.

 

[DarkFlame92]

I dont mind if it is optional,I just want a good AI as well

 

[somerandomweirdguy]

Yeah I don't really approve of streamlining for the sake of it. I only rarely switched party mates in my playthroughs of DA1 and 2, but why get rid of it? More options is good for everyone

 

[ClearMetal]

I mean if it's fun, it's fun.

But I do think these games are more fun with party control. Just make it so that there's good default party behavior for people that don't care about it and for example move the incentive to use it to other difficulty levels.

Other games have stepped away from it, but that doesn't mean the market isn't there anymore.

 

[Loanshark]

I think ditching it would be okay, by itself. It really depends on how much further they take "streamlining" overall. If its still an RPG with meaningful choices upon leveling up with varied builds and itemization, then its perfectly fine to streamline certain elements, in my opinion. If on the other hand they ditch or strip other crpg systems as well, then suddenly each individual substraction becomes a much bigger deal. I was already kind of disappointed in DA:I's ability trees and lack of other progression systems, so Im hoping it doesnt go futher in that direction.

 

[Metroidvania]

What was the example some leaker brought, god of war 2018-esque combat?

I could see them ditching party combat IF that was the case, though unlike ME, Dragon Age has been styled in the 'swap to party member XYZ' as a possibility since its inception.

I could maaaaaybe see them ditching the tactical pause/command screen, but ditching the party control altogether? No way.

 

[logash]

I don't really care since I tend to stick with playing the player character

 

[Secret Bambino]

I honestly don't care, just make it fun. Inquisition's combat was a total slog, imo.

Heck, make it more like Mass Effect if you need to.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Fuck that.

Aside from being an awful idea, it would be a silly one that adds nothing. The party aren't some complicated unique AI with their own moves. They are all specs the player can use, so tabbing over to control one for specific aoe or crowd control as needed isn't some gargantuan task design wise to implement, so removing that depth would be incredibly silly. Especially on higher difficulties where that management is crucial outside of very specific broken builds. Being able to restrict AI from using specific skills unless you manually control them is huge, especially when it comes to syncing up bursts.

 

[Kratos2013]

As long as it's fun and worth the changes, I will play it. I hope they revisit the original and the second one via a remake.

 

[RPGam3r]

I don't think I've ever done party control in DA so I would t care if they cut it.

 

[The Silver]

What about keep going in the opposite direction, instant party switching mid combo during fast paced combat.

Block and launch an enemy with the warrior, switch to air combos with the rogue and then blow them up with an AoE mage attack. The whole party ends up acting as one unit, one long combo strong. Sounds like a lot to work out though.

 

[Xe4]

Not a chance. There's basically no way to beat Nightmare difficulty without micromanaging your party, and that's what people like about those settings.

Click to shrink...

That isn't the case in Inquisition. There were a number of classes that would easily let you solo nightmare with all trials on if you had the right equipment and ability combos. The game removed a ton of party management options that were present in Origins & 2, so your ability to micro was already drastically reduced.

 

[Kevers]

I hope they retain it, I love setting up specific combos by switching around and using each unique ability.

I played Origins in tactics mode almost exclusively. Bring back some more of the CRPG stuff to the series please.

 

[Anno]

I hope they don't - they should in fact go more back towards it than whatever Inquisition was - but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[nDesh]

I would assume they would pull from the Mass Effect model. Your teammates act on their own, but you select when they use their powers.

Click to shrink...

That's what I think.

They have to nail the gameplay, aren't the rumors that the combat is inspired by GoW 2018?

 

[Moff]

I could not play inquisition as a party at all, I really tried for like 2 hours and then just played it like mass effect.

I loved the combat in the first two games, I wish theyd go back two that but I would be very surprised if they did.

 

[SaidTheTickTockMan]

Absolutely not. If they want Dragon Age's gameplay to be even more accessible, they can do it through the difficulty settings. I don't want to play a Dragon Age where I die over and over again to build up the muscle memory to hit the dodge button every time they attack. I don't want to play a Dragon Age where I have to learn button press based combos. I want to play a Dragon Age where I pause and micromanage for twenty minutes to take down a high dragon on nightmare.


Also didn't Final Fantasy 7 remake have party switching/real time with pause (or slow time with pause)? It's not like no other developer is doing it.

 

[Khanimus]

Nope. It could be totally fine and functional, but the strategic appeal of Dragon Age is in that micromanaged combat. The entire time, I would be thinking about what we lost.

 

[Crossing Eden]

That would genuinely fucking suck. The pausing and que tactical action system makes Dragon Age combat shine.

 

[ConVito]

Yep. I'm here for a BioWare time, not a strategy RPG time.

 

[Shepherd]

It already went to shit after the first one, so might as well make it a dark souls lite. It's the objective of every big company nowadays.

 

[medyej]

Party control or gtfo.

 

[Dolce]

not sure why they would need to give up party control. are they also going to get rid of classes and everything else too?

like if its an entirely different game ok i mean it is what it is

 

[Dervius]

How did people rate the combat in Inquisition?

It was my first Dragon Age game and I wasn't sure how to approach it as a newcomer. I've seen drastically different takes on whether or was excellent or 'MMO-like Trash".

 

[Drachen]

I love party control. It lets me mess around with all the other classes in a single playthrough.

 

[StereoVSN]

I won't play the game if they do that (maybe will try it EA Pass / GamePass whenever it hits it), but it's their IP/product so they can do what they feel is needed.

 

[Artdayne]

Dragon Age Origins is at its best when you can setup tactics well enough that most of it is automated. I don't play RPGs for the thrill of pausing the game and issuing commands with different characters. I created a character, I want to play my character, and I want my character to be enjoyable to play on their own. Now, if I can issue commands to my party in real time that's not so bad. I'm thinking something like Mount and Blade where you can position your group in different areas and issue commands all in real time. So what I'm saying is it doesn't matter to me if they ditch party control as long as the combat is good and engaging.

 

[Cheesetriangles]

6 person party, isometric perspective. Then we got something.

 

[Violet Wren]

Considering I've absolutely hated every Dragon Age after Origins because it dropped the CRPG style combat, please no. But it is very possible because all AAA games these days have to be homogenous for a bigger audience so if I had to guess it will be a simplified version of Inquisition with probably slightly less party control.

 

[Pankratous]

I can't recall controlling the party in Inquisition. Was there an option to let the AI do what they want? Fairly certain I'd have used that.

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

How did people rate the combat in Inquisition?

It was my first Dragon Age game and I wasn't sure how to approach it as a newcomer. I've seen drastically different takes on whether or was excellent or 'MMO-like Trash".

Click to shrink...

Pretty bland imho.
Not tactical enough to be engaging on that level but also not "action -y" enough to be fun on that level.
Not the worst combat out there by any stretch but overall it just led to a forgettable experience

 

[lorddarkflare]

I prefer they kept it, but if keeping it means we get the blandness of DA:I, then off with its head.

The important thing is they pick a lane. Either go back to the tactical combat of Origins, or sprint ahead into Mass Effect land.

The half-measure they went with in Inquisition was the worst of all worlds.

 

[Vareon]

As long as we have a party and their banter I'm fine. FWIW Mark Darrah doesn't believe Tactical View will return as it saw very little usage in DAI.

 

[Uzzy]

Yep. I'm here for a BioWare time, not a strategy RPG time.

Click to shrink...

I remember when you could have both with Bioware games, and how Dragon Age: Origins was a deliberate harkening back to that time.

6 person party, isometric perspective. Then we got something.

Click to shrink...

 

[SinnyIndonesian]

DA:I was one of my favorite RPG combat systems, so I'd like a refinement of that. Having different combat styles also lend more variety to the game.

 

[Lyng]

Well I would be okay with it if the combat is fun and rewarding. (Secretly I wish they would go back to Origin combat)