[PC - DEVS] Feedback and my Experience

[PC - Windows 10. AMD CPU + AMD MSI card + Xbox Series S|X Controller]

*CONTAINS SPOILER*

INTRODUCTION
Dragon Age: Inquisition was my favourite game the moment I played it, and it took me 200 or so hours to complete on my first playthrough because I absolutely loved it. Then, a decade later came Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Before all of this, my favourite game was always Neverwinter Nights.

In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I played as a Mourn Watcher. And oh my God, this is the MOST interesting class/group EVER to have emerged from Dragon Age. The lore, your friendship with Emmrich, the possibility of using a necrotic magic (akin to poison), and leeching HP from enemies? All of this and more made that playthrough much better than if I had started with a human warrior or something.

Do I think that it deserves ALL the hate it gets? Partially.

FEEDBACK
Pros:
- The Mourn Watchers. They are THE best addition to the franchise EVER. Point. Blank. Period.
- Better graphics than DAI.
- Better mechanics than DAI (i.e. jumping, dodging now).
- And personally, the BEST surprise ever: Harding. I love Harding.
- And for those which it's important to their own identity: Gender fluidity.
- The Dread Wolf himself. Wow. I mean, I did not give a **bleep** about him in DAI, but in DATV? A MUCH more fleshed out character, and you get to understand someone we didn't really understand in DAI.
- Thank you! I can use the D-Pad for the menus, which I could not do in DAI.
- You character has an actual backstory instead of simply choosing a race and class.

Cons:
- God have mercy! PLEASE fix the characters changing genders (game/menu), becoming bald (game), changing faces altogether (game). This made everyone's experience so bad. Either the QA department did not test the game, didn't bother reporting these issues, OR the devs didn't care. Which is it?

- Why the hell did you kill Varric? Who will narrate other DA games in the future?

- Treviso? You removed the main merchant (to sell you things for) after the attack. That's not acceptable as a decision, as that forces the player to ONLY focus on that city.

- The Mage's basic attack is painful. Clearly, it IS a bug. How was the DAI 5-6 hit windup NOT used here? For a "weak" attack, the current windup is atrociously slow and ineffective. So much so that I had to resort to a "backup" type of attack.

- Bosses and several enemies ALWAYS charge at you, throw stuff your way, or simply jump on you. As a Mage, how am I suppose to enjoy playing if I need to recharge my mana and/or use a non-mana based attack which is VERY slow and ineffective? If the battles were better, I think my experience would have been better. The battles reminded me of how I felt playing certain NES games back in the day. This was the same type of BS

- Despite my love for Harding, she looks nothing like the real Harding from DAI. That was VERY bittersweet for me. You know how Varric is a "fatter" Dwarf? Harding isn't at all in DAI, but I felt like the devs took Varric as a model, and then modified the face to make Harding. Also, Harding does NOT have freckles in DAI, but somehow has a bunch of them in DATV.

- The story itself is fine. But... The fact that there is no real substance to the story, is extremely disappointing. The entire TRUE arc is ALL about your companions. It's not a story, but a bunch of side quests woven into a very, very small story. When I played DAI, I could explore terrains, find ruins and landmarks, use horses, kill bears and so forth. Here? You definitely do NOT have any of this. It's like you took everything that made DAI successful and decided to create a VERY condensed world.

- Davrin. I found that he has a monotonous voice, and seems to hate everyone somehow, always arguing on the road (this was painful to listen to the negative banter). He lacks true Warden values, aside his desire to rid the world of the blight. Representation matters 100%. But for that to be relevant for the player, that representation needs to be someone they can relate to and appreciate. This is why someone like Bellara was relevant for players because she has a real story, real pain, real loss, and felt like you could connect with her. At first, yes she comes off strong, but you eventually get to understand and connect to her as she opens up. I spoke with others, and they felt the exact same way.

Concerns:
- The way you make money etc. just makes no sense. There's no real way to make money in the game, aside from the scarce valuable items you buy/find and sell. I am sure others have the same concern here. Once I actually finally understood the concept of buying things, ONLY to turn around and sell them, made no sense. Furthermore, the idea that selling X items to a main merchant would increase their Ally Strength makes no sense. If I explained the system to my sister for example, she would be SO confused. For good reason. And, the idea that you can "buy" gold is not only problematic as a concept in a game, but I'd like to know why someone approved this decision. That's not how this works, unless you have an actual barter system. Or, unless you're a merchant yourself, somehow... And selling your stuff for gold? What? Yeah, very confusing.

- DAI had horses and was an actual adventure, but DATV has completely gone to the far right with this.

- I am SO concerned about the fact that the next DA game would be similar to DATV instead of DAI. The only positive changes are the ones I listed above in the Pros. DAI felt like a REAL adventure where I WANTED to do the sidequests. I know, right? Wild! Whereas in DATV, it's bland. So bland. Do THESE sidequests because you have NO choice, otherwise you'll get a **bleep** ending. What type of logic is this? I think everyone can agree that the next DA game should be FAR more similar to DAI, with the improvements of DATV. DATV, graphics, attacks and dodging aside, was a massive downgrade in comparison to DAI. When we knew there was a sequel to DAI, we were uber excited, as DAI is one of the best games of all times. But the changes made for DATV were so radical, which is THE reason why most people do NOT like the game. If there is anything you did well was introducing the Mourn Watchers as they are fantastic! I genuinely love them. Of course, stuff like dodging, jump and then attacking as well as climbing properly (in comparison to DAI) were truly welcomed additions!

- As a gamer of nearly 4 decades, I would love a game where the ending or the possible deaths of characters are NOT based on stupid sidequests because they feel "distracted". A Hero, a Grey Warden or even a member of the Inquisition would NOT feel so distracted to the point that they couldn't handle the pressure. Varric's death itself says a lot about a God **bleep** author (of all things) having the courage of his convictions without worrying about Bianca (the Dwarf, not the crossbow). When it came to Solas, he did what he had to do, despite the fact that Solas was his friend. THAT is what a hero is. If you worry so much about something to the point where you're not capable of handling the end of the world type of stuff, you probably shouldn't be riding with Rook, because you're a liability. Just saying.