Dragon Age VI: Siege Harder

[Giggling Ghast]

Sorry for the double post, but if you want to hear a little bit more about the cancelled DA2 expansion, creative director Mike Laidlaw unloaded in a tweet thread that begins here (https://twitter.com/Mike_Laidlaw/sta...68281052213248). I'll post some excerpts, leaving out some stuff where he talks about T-shirts and marketing.

Okay, folks have some questions about the Exalted March cancelled expansion for DA2. So ...

First off? Why did we cancel it? Easy to assume it was "the reaction" to DA2, but not so! It was the move to Frostbite.

We had an opportunity to do so at the same time, but knew as it would be the first time that engine did "RPG stuff" we knew it would be hard.

As most everything in making games, it certainly was challenging. Great engine, but took tons of time. Had we tried to do both Exalted March and the Frostbite transition, both would have suffered a lot, especially from lack of engineering folks.

So Mark Darrah made the call to stop development on EM and go all in on what would become DAI.

So anyway! Exalted March didn't make it too far past concept. The idea, however, was that it followed the red lyrium chicanery of DA2 with the Chantry becoming VERY UPSET while various aspects of the qunari started to make moves on the turbulent Free Marches.

And it fell to Hawke to stop things from going to hell (again) while working with Starkhaven and the pirates of the Felicisima Armada. (The Armada missions would be based at the island of Estwatch.)

Beyond that, there were some really interesting stories to tell, and a chance to learn more about Sebastian's family.

But as it stood, I think shutting it down was the right call to focus on the engine change.

Me, I'm just sad I never got to kill Varric. *wistful sigh*

[Morty]

I've never actually heard about the cancelled expansion. It sounds like the kind of thing that happens all the time in game development.

[Inarius]

Interesting to know more about that expansion. I had always assumed it was mostly due to sales, but it being cancelled because of an engine change makes sense as well. Also it sounds like it wasn't very far along in development anyway, though I do have to say dealing with the Armada and going to Estwatch sounds like it could of been fun.

[Metahuman1]

Ok, so, I'm playing through with a new inquisitor, and I'm trying to romance Sera.


I say trying cause for the life of me I can NOT seem to get it to actually let me make headway.


Anyway, last night I did Through the Abyss or whatever the quest is called. The one were you get dropped into the fade for the last leg and then decide the fate of the Grey Wardens.

And I notice for some reason it wasn't giving me a physical indication of what Sera's Approval improvements were, and I KNOW some of those choices should have brought them. And when I came back to talk to her, I did get a cut scene, but once again, no improvement in her approval, and she is STILL freaking telling me she wants to travel around more and get to know me better when I try to get a relationship actually going.

Which is starting to drive me a bit crazy.


Is it possible the game is bugging and not tallying her approval, and if so, how do I fix it? I'm on PS4 if it helps.

[Keltest]

Ok, so, I'm playing through with a new inquisitor, and I'm trying to romance Sera.


I say trying cause for the life of me I can NOT seem to get it to actually let me make headway.


Anyway, last night I did Through the Abyss or whatever the quest is called. The one were you get dropped into the fade for the last leg and then decide the fate of the Grey Wardens.

And I notice for some reason it wasn't giving me a physical indication of what Sera's Approval improvements were, and I KNOW some of those choices should have brought them. And when I came back to talk to her, I did get a cut scene, but once again, no improvement in her approval, and she is STILL freaking telling me she wants to travel around more and get to know me better when I try to get a relationship actually going.

Which is starting to drive me a bit crazy.


Is it possible the game is bugging and not tallying her approval, and if so, how do I fix it? I'm on PS4 if it helps.

No, that's normal. Are you an elf, by chance? Elves actually get less approval from sera, while qunari get more.

I think killing dragons gets lots of Sera approval. Theres one in the hinterlands that you can cheese to death with a mage or archer, even if you aren't well equipped to attack it yet.

[Dienekes]

Ok, so, I'm playing through with a new inquisitor, and I'm trying to romance Sera.


I say trying cause for the life of me I can NOT seem to get it to actually let me make headway.


Anyway, last night I did Through the Abyss or whatever the quest is called. The one were you get dropped into the fade for the last leg and then decide the fate of the Grey Wardens.

And I notice for some reason it wasn't giving me a physical indication of what Sera's Approval improvements were, and I KNOW some of those choices should have brought them. And when I came back to talk to her, I did get a cut scene, but once again, no improvement in her approval, and she is STILL freaking telling me she wants to travel around more and get to know me better when I try to get a relationship actually going.

Which is starting to drive me a bit crazy.


Is it possible the game is bugging and not tallying her approval, and if so, how do I fix it? I'm on PS4 if it helps.

I think I see the problem. You're trying to romance Sera.

[Rynjin]

I'm unclear how anyone can even stand holding a conversation with Sera, much less trying to start a relationship with her.

[Keltest]

I'm unclear how anyone can even stand holding a conversation with Sera, much less trying to start a relationship with her.

I think she's funny, and the amount of random nonsense you can do while romancing her is completely worth having to try and understand her words.

[Rodin]

I think she's funny, and the amount of random nonsense you can do while romancing her is completely worth having to try and understand her words.

I also found that being an elf adds a lot to her romance, since you have to balance loyalty to elven culture with her hatred of it. Fortunately my character wasn't particularly pious but it did lead to some serious arguments when I wouldn't back down on elven culture being a part of my heritage. It adds a lot of depth to Sera that you don't normally see.

[Anteros]

Ok, so, I'm playing through with a new inquisitor, and I'm trying to romance Sera.


I say trying cause for the life of me I can NOT seem to get it to actually let me make headway.


Anyway, last night I did Through the Abyss or whatever the quest is called. The one were you get dropped into the fade for the last leg and then decide the fate of the Grey Wardens.

And I notice for some reason it wasn't giving me a physical indication of what Sera's Approval improvements were, and I KNOW some of those choices should have brought them. And when I came back to talk to her, I did get a cut scene, but once again, no improvement in her approval, and she is STILL freaking telling me she wants to travel around more and get to know me better when I try to get a relationship actually going.

Which is starting to drive me a bit crazy.


Is it possible the game is bugging and not tallying her approval, and if so, how do I fix it? I'm on PS4 if it helps.

In fairness, I imagine that trying to date Sera would be incredibly frustrating and go nowhere anyway, so you're probably getting the most realistic depiction possible.

[Giggling Ghast]

If you need to raise Sera's approval, there's actually a hidden way of doing that. Throughout the world, there are Red Jenny caches that can only be found if Sera's in your party. Locating them gives an Approval boost and I think you net a little loot. I've found them in Crestwood and the Emerald Graves, but there are apparently several caches in the Hinterlands.

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Jenny_Cache

[Metahuman1]

Keltest : Playing a Quinari this time around.

Do you happen to know if she needs to be in the party for that dragon trick? Or can I just drop them, tell her about it after the fact and get the approval even if she wasn't involved in that particular fight?


Also, it's normal to do the Into The Abyss quest and make decisions that are listed in the Wiki as getting approval, have every other character get there listed approval except her, and then after the quest have the same problem in the post mission conversation AND have it happen when doing the 2 post quest judgment's even thought I made rulings that the wiki says she'll approve of (Sent the venatori mage to the Grey Wardens so they might pass judgment on him in the matter, and refused to sentence the knight lady on the grounds of refusing to judge a Grey Warden under the circumstance's.), and visited 3 Locals I hadn't checked out yet with Sera in the part after that quest, flirted with scout Harding every time, and got no further approval from that either?

Cause, that's what happened to me.


Dienekes : Funny.


Rynjin: She actually can be funny at times. Granted, not everything with her works, but some of it does work well. And the more I've seen of her, particularly when she's not funny, says to me "This is a severly emotionally damaged person that is in DESPRATE need of someone to throw her a metaphorical life preserver." Which I was interested in trying to explore. Assuming the game will freaking let me.


Keltest and Rodin: I think were on a similar page if not the same one. Also I liked her coming up in party banter with the idea of her standing on Iron Bulls horns to shoot things from high ground with mobility and a line of melee defense in party banter. I'm sorry, that was right out of a D&D party.


Anteros: Yeah, but if I wanted real life, I wouldn't be playing a game full of mages and dragons, would I?


Candle Jack: Ok, that also sounds helpful.

But again, just to clarify, as I have described it above, is this a bug, or does she just not display approval during that leg of the game and right afterword's?

[Giggling Ghast]

I can't say if it's a bug, though I have heard it is somewhat difficult to trigger Sera's romance. And I'm on the XBone, so I can't offer PS4-related advice. Sorry.

EDIT: Posing your question at the unofficial fan forum, their advice is to exhaust every possible dialogue option except the "You don't fit the Inquisition" option.

[Keltest]

Keltest : Playing a Quinari this time around.

Do you happen to know if she needs to be in the party for that dragon trick? Or can I just drop them, tell her about it after the fact and get the approval even if she wasn't involved in that particular fight?

Hmm. Google says I was mistaken about the dragon thing. It only works for Iron Bull. Strange, because it update her journal entry even if she isn't in the party.

[Douglas]

Also, it's normal to do the Into The Abyss quest and make decisions that are listed in the Wiki as getting approval, have every other character get there listed approval except her, and then after the quest have the same problem in the post mission conversation AND have it happen when doing the 2 post quest judgment's even thought I made rulings that the wiki says she'll approve of (Sent the venatori mage to the Grey Wardens so they might pass judgment on him in the matter, and refused to sentence the knight lady on the grounds of refusing to judge a Grey Warden under the circumstance's.), and visited 3 Locals I hadn't checked out yet with Sera in the part after that quest, flirted with scout Harding every time, and got no further approval from that either?

Cause, that's what happened to me.

Maybe you already have maximum approval with her, and there's some unrelated prerequisite you haven't met yet for the relationship?

[Driderman]

Ok, so, I'm playing through with a new inquisitor, and I'm trying to romance Sera.


I say trying cause for the life of me I can NOT seem to get it to actually let me make headway.


Anyway, last night I did Through the Abyss or whatever the quest is called. The one were you get dropped into the fade for the last leg and then decide the fate of the Grey Wardens.

And I notice for some reason it wasn't giving me a physical indication of what Sera's Approval improvements were, and I KNOW some of those choices should have brought them. And when I came back to talk to her, I did get a cut scene, but once again, no improvement in her approval, and she is STILL freaking telling me she wants to travel around more and get to know me better when I try to get a relationship actually going.

Which is starting to drive me a bit crazy.


Is it possible the game is bugging and not tallying her approval, and if so, how do I fix it? I'm on PS4 if it helps.

Just to get the obvious out of the way, you know Sera's into ladies, right?

[Keltest]

Just to get the obvious out of the way, you know Sera's into ladies, right?

If you try to romance Sera as a dude, she will tell you straight up its not going to happen because shes into ladies. There isn't any room for ambiguity there, to the point where the game just doesn't let you try it past the very light flirting stages.

[Metahuman1]

Candle Jack : Alright, I'll try that. Thought I was under the impression even if approval was high she didn't care to talk about that stuff much.


Keltest: Noted. And yes, I'm playing a Lady Inquisitor.

Driderman : See above.

Douglas: Ok, what other prerequisites are there? I've done every Red Jenny operation and her personal quest with that one noble that wanted to wipe out Red Jenny, to her satisfaction, and all the cut scenes (Cookies on the roof, after the Abyss, Pranks, the post naming of the inquisitor one.) That I can that I'm aware of with out doing the one mission about saving the empress at the winter palace.

Ideally, I'd like to have the relationship far enough under way that it's not in danger of termination if I don't do what she'd approve of, but I'd settle for just getting the Dance Scene, but I have to BE in a relationship with her for that to happen.

Is there something I've missed that isn't approval? Some Item I have to find or some quest I need to do first or something?

[Keltest]

Candle Jack : Alright, I'll try that. Thought I was under the impression even if approval was high she didn't care to talk about that stuff much.


Keltest: Noted. And yes, I'm playing a Lady Inquisitor.

Driderman : See above.

Douglas: Ok, what other prerequisites are there? I've done every Red Jenny operation and her personal quest with that one noble that wanted to wipe out Red Jenny, to her satisfaction, and all the cut scenes (Cookies on the roof, after the Abyss, Pranks, the post naming of the inquisitor one.) That I can that I'm aware of with out doing the one mission about saving the empress at the winter palace.

Ideally, I'd like to have the relationship far enough under way that it's not in danger of termination if I don't do what she'd approve of, but I'd settle for just getting the Dance Scene, but I have to BE in a relationship with her for that to happen.

Is there something I've missed that isn't approval? Some Item I have to find or some quest I need to do first or something?

I think you may need to do the political crap one too. Bring Sera along, she's a hoot, and unlocks some special content in that quest.

[Metahuman1]

Do I get the dance scene with her at least if I do even if I haven't started a relationship with her yet?

[Giggling Ghast]

Going by my experience with other LIs, you only get the dance if you're in the romance.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I apologize for repeating myself, but I'm still struggling with getting the 1.05 patch installed so I can reinstall my DLC for Origins/Awakening. If I port it to Origin like it's been suggested, will I lose my existing achievements from previous playthroughs? Will I have to start over in terms of repurchasing the DLC?

[Metahuman1]

Well, I at least go the romance to start finally. I did have to redo her chat options thought.


Anyway. Question: Reguarding The Winter Palace. If I force all three parties to accept public truce, do I still get to have the empress and the elf hook back up while I'm at it? If so, how?

[Cozzer]

I don't think you can. The only way to make them get back together is by sacrificing Gaspard. (Which might seem like a jerk move if you haven't read the prequel book that explains how the whole thing got started, which IS a jerk move on Bioware's part).

[Keltest]

I don't think you can. The only way to make them get back together is by sacrificing Gaspard. (Which might seem like a jerk move if you haven't read the prequel book that explains how the whole thing got started, which IS a jerk move on Bioware's part).

Also, it doesn't seem like it at the time, but come the epilogue, forcing them all to work together doesn't actually cause them all to be friends and work together, they just fake it to get you off their backs. I prefer reuniting Briala and Celene, because that actually does have a happy ending.

Unrelated, its possible to skip the final boss battle, but I encourage going through with it, both for the loot and the absolutely glorious judgment that you get afterward.

[Kish]

While there are many things it's fair to blame Bioware for, I'm puzzled by the existence of a nonzero number of people who needed a prequel book to get that Gaspard is rotten.

(And I say this without ever reading the book in question; I just read that and went "huh, what?")

[Landis963]

While there are many things it's fair to blame Bioware for, I'm puzzled by the existence of a nonzero number of people who needed a prequel book to get that Gaspard is rotten.

(And I say this without ever reading the book in question; I just read that and went "huh, what?")

I think it's less a question of Gaspard being rotten, and more a question of Celene being rotten. (Which if one only takes the quest into account is not entirely obvious)

[Keltest]

I think it's less a question of Gaspard being rotten, and more a question of Celene being rotten. (Which if one only takes the quest into account is not entirely obvious)

its Orlais. Theyre all rotten practically by definition. But just from the game, Gaspard comes off as being more reasonable than he otherwise actually is.

[Landis963]

its Orlais. Theyre all rotten practically by definition. But just from the game, Gaspard comes off as being more reasonable than he otherwise actually is.

That's true, but (for example) we are never shown in-game why Celene and Briala broke up. But if you read the prequel book you are shown in detail why they broke up, and why it would be a bad idea to give Celene a magic meal ticket away from all her problems. (Let's just say that Sera's angry bit of target practice afterwards is surprisingly on-point) That plus the dichotomy between Gaspard's game face and Gaspard's book face, and you see that there's a lot of subtext that the Inquisitor is missing, and hence why players might get the wrong idea about the three major players.

[Giggling Ghast]

Your options are:

1) Let Celene rule alone.
2) Re-unite Celene and Briala.
3) Let Gaspard rule alone.
4) Let Gaspard rule with Briala blackmailing him.
5) Force all three to work together.

I think the Winter Palace quest does a decent enough job of letting you interview all three potential rulers and decide which combination bests suits you.