I honestly loved the voiced protagonist, I can get MORE sucked in with the voiced.

The Arcane Warrior specialization coming back would be nice.

The silent protagonist will never happen again in a Dragon Age game.

We need blood magic back, and i need more build diversity, dai had like 2 ways to build before u get specializations. Origins has a fuck tons of ways. U wanna be a debuffer? You can do that. You wanna be a controller? You can do that. You wanna be a mage that beats the shit out of ppl with a sword? You can do that. In Inquisition you kinda just get like oo ur an archer or u use swords for too long

There's nothing inherently wrong with the dialogue wheel per se. It's still a list, just organized around a circle which makes the UI more accessible and maneuverable for controller users. I like how the investigate options are on the left because you KNOW what options will progress the conversation to its end point and which options simply learn more details about the current topic. In DAO, it's somewhat of a minefield trying to pick all the "investigate" options first because it's not always intuitive which line or lines progress the conversation, unless you're a psycho like me who's played 60+ playthroughs and just sort of remembers most of it. The biggest problem with the wheel for BioWare is the paraphrase. Nothing makes me feel less involved with a conversation than when I have no idea what my character will say next. There's also the issue of options being more about emotion/mood than an actual choice, so it becomes less about what you say and more about how you say one particular railroaded response. I haven't played through the Mass Effect series in a long time specifically because of the paraphrased dialogue wheel, and how there's so little thought involved with choosing a line because it boils down to color points. The paraphrase is probably at its worst in ME1 because some of the options just say the same voice line anyway, and many of the voice lines are so different from the prompt that it's like BioWare went out of their way just to fuck with the player. There is a mod for DA2 that gets rid of the wheel and makes it a regular list without paraphrase, but it introduces more problems than it fixes because it has some awkward UI issues, removes tone and companion indicators, and is missing so many lines. Unfortunately it hasn't been updated in over 2 years. I lean more toward a voiced protagonist, but I could go either way. In DA2, it was complicated by the fact that the dialogue is mostly tied to emotion more than anything else. It's especially awkward when you play an aggressive Hawke. Naturally the red aggressive options often sound so angry, bitter, and spiteful, but then when you pick a neutral option it often sounds as sweet and sincere and good-natured as a diplomatic blue option. But sometimes the diplomatic options are also what you want as an aggressive Hawke, because even a primarily aggressive Hawke might not agree with what a particular aggressive option says, and it's really silly to be an angry asshole at every hour of the day to every single person. Something something nuance. As a result, I often joke about how my aggressive Hawke must be bipolar because the awkward shifts in the tone of their voice that might occur throughout even a single conversation. With all that being said, I don't think a voiced protagonist affects all that much in regard to how many dialogue options are available. The writers are probably not the same people who are casting voice actors or scheduling recording sessions, and that's something that usually happens near the end of development and is more of a budget concern.

I don’t see the developers resorting back to silent protagonists in DA:D. However, I hope the dialogue wheel offers more insight to the tone for each dialogue choice

Im with you on silent protagonist. I miss seeing the full dialogue script. I also hate that my elf sounds so posh?!

From personal experience DAO is my ultimate game of the franchise, I agree entirely with you about the worth of the origin stories really helping I have replayed DAO about 30 times, I have replayed DA2 about 9 times and DAI about 4 times.

Progressively larger maps would be nice, like not having the 1st available location be the biggest map in the game

While I agree with you on the origin stories and how they made the game feel different each time you started, I don't think they will return to the origin stories. Someone on Reddit said that most people didn't play other origin stories than the one they started with, usually the human one, so they probably won't invest resources.

Blood Mage specilization please

man save the silent protagonist for Zelda. Don’t nobody like silent protagonists this ain’t the 90s and 2000s no more

Nah I really don’t like silent protagonists, takes me right out of the immersion.

I’m kinda use to having a voiced protagonist as it gives them more of a personality instead of being a blank slate. Also, I always thought that Dragon Age was more of a high fantasy rather than a dark fantasy as some of the dark moments felt kinda there most of the time. I felt the tone of the first game was more of a Lord of the Rings esc feel with Elves and Dwarves, with some Harry Potter and Game of Thrones elements mixed in. Plus there were a lot of comedic moments too in the first game. So what made 2 and Inquisition any different in terms of comedy? Dark Fantasy implies stories such as Berserk, Attack on Titan, Diablo, Demon’s Soul, Final Fantasy 16, Legacy of Kain and Witcher. As for the whole CRPG aspect, I felt that the race and class roster wasn’t big enough as it just have Humans, Elves and Dwarves and didn’t have the traditional Halflings, Gnomes, Orcs or Beastfolk/Lizardfolk. Hell, the first game didn’t let us play as Qunari. Thank god Inquisition made up for that as the Inquisitor got to be Qunari too. The classes were just Warrior, Rogue and Mage. No Cleric, Templar, Ranger, Bard, Necromancer, Arcane Warrior, Artificer, Berserker, Reaver and Assassin to start with once you create your character as they were just specializations for both the Warriors, Rogues and Mages. If Dragon Age should have stayed as a CRPG, then they should add in more races and more classes with each new game.

Commenting for the algorithm. Subbed because you sound like you might be South African and I like to support my fellow citizens.

I may be an odd one with my opinion on the silent protag vs the voice protag but I'm just very comfortable with both. DAOrigins was my first dragon age game. I played it while my youngest was napping and I was obsessed with it. The tactics is another that I'm kinda meh about. For me, it only really matters on harder difficulties, which, DAO was by far the hardest one with Nightmare. DAI was tough but doesn't come close to the trauma I experienced with DAO lol. And I plan to play nightmare again in 2024, gearing up for hopefully, the release of Dreadwolf. But your best point that I absolutely agree 100% with is the Origins stories. While I didn't hate not having them in DA2 and DAI, those stories were the best and for the reason you mentioned - giving so much time to really connect with our character. Oh, and yes to the darker story line and choices too. That is definitely another thing missing from DAI. Playing BG3 and watching all the dark play out in that game - not to mention going back to DAO recently and replaying several characters - damn that is some good shit right there. Bring that back. And with the success of BG3, I really do hope Bioware is taking notes. Not sure if it will happen in Dreadwolf but maybe future dragon age games (if there are more coming after Dreadwolf).

A Well written video. And yea omg the origin stories....my fav was the city elf female....i always played it as i was Beatrix Kito from Kill Bill, the revengeful bride. When i played the start of the game i always stayed in the brides clothes, what was ripped and bloddy of the end of the whole sequence. I loved the origin stories, and those gave tons of layers for your roleplay.

i agree with some things mentioned in the video but something i absolutely want in the game and will refuse to play if it doesnt have it is an in game world state editor i want the choices i've made in previous games to reflect in my playthrough and the dragon age keep that they added for inquisition is an absolute wreck that i dont think even works anymore (or at the very least i cant get it to work no matter what i try) and for such a heavily choice based series, not seeing your previous choices reflected in your world just makes it feel like they didnt matter especially when i definitely dont agree with the default world state options they chose for inquisition

i would love more morally gray/evil decisions and consequences but i think we should get more morally gray and evil companions to go with it. it’d be cool to gain the respect of some more ruthless companions via more evil decisions.

The ship has definitely sailed on BW doing silent protagonists, but I agree that it's much better. It's very sad that BW is no longer interested in it.

I want a premade voiced MC for the next DA game and the choices matter like how it was done in the Witcher 3.

I love the silent protagonist in DA:O 🥺 same with BG3.

I want a voiced protagonist. I want pretty looking elves back. I want a re recruitable dog back. I want better character customization options. I want a romanceable Zevran back or something like Alistair. Yes, i want more better romance options. Currently I’m playing DA2 for the first time and the romance options for straight women are limited. A female straight Hawk has the choice between: 1) Fenris, who is a bit broken due to his past as a slave and magical test object. But it’s nice so far, as i‘m taking the friend romance route. 2) Anders, wtf Anders? Melting with Justice and using him to go on a crazy revenge thing while betraying his own partner and everyone? Not cool. 3) Sebastian, finally we have guy who treats a female Hawk nice and with respect. But then again, he wants a chaste marriage. That is just unrealistic nonsense unless you play an asexual character. I don’t know what drugs BioWare took, while writing those romances. But half of it would have been enough. I didn’t expect much and i‘m still disappointed with DA2.

the character origins stories are back! There will be 6 different factions to choose from the beginning

0:07 lol I was not expecting just 84 when you said that Looks like this was the actual video to blow up

I NEED Blood Magic back in this game. Idc if its OP. Its an AoE, a DoT and a hold. Its also risk/reward. I need that back in the game.

I think they should have it where I can learn all the ability branches to ie if I'm a mage I can learn necromancer and knight enchanter and rift mage also I feel like in we should share inventory like if I play thru and at the end use the golden nug to transfer all my money and equipment and schematic to my next play through

Since this Dragon age Dreadwolf is going to be the last with the "heart" of the original masterminds of the dragon age universe. I think most of the things in this list are not going to going back. However, the origin stories are going, indeed, to make a come back may be not as origin stories but rather as factions, So, lets hope for that. The rest is not that bad but i agree with some of them and understand others. My only wish as you is the origin system back. The rest, to be more specific the silent protagonist, I dont think is going to be back. For me, its not a big deal, i like that each game have their own "aura" or "vibe" but that doesnt try to define Dragon age as a whole but rather a chapter in the universe. Origins is more a grey scenario, 2 is like a reading a dark fantasy tale while 3 is more a holy war. Still, it does resemblance Dragon age at its core. However, seeing grey scenario or darker moments as origins really need to come back since this new DA is going to be the biggest scenario for horrible stuff.

I 100% agree with everything you said though I doubt any of it will come to fruition, it is EA and a scuffed Bioware we are dealing with nowadays, greed has corrupted their minds.

I disagree with the silent dialogue... maybe its because DA2 is my favourite and I really liked Hawke and pretty much every DA2 companions, anything other than that I'm fine. Its my favourite franchise by a long mile (i can't be disappointed with any game).... and me lets says "luckily" only played Inquisition this year so I'll have to wait less for Dreadwolf. When I was playing DA Inquisition I was like this game is amazing, so beautiful landscapes, dragons in the sky.... but my in my brain I was saying Inquisition is amazing but DA2 is still my favourite! I believe Dreadwolf will be revealed in the summer and released in November, Bioware has to drop something and I think it has to be 2024!

What I want is 3 more classes to equal Mass Effects I want Monk (Medium armor users who use brass knuckles and Wolverine like claws) Sorcerer (Medium armor users who use Magic weapons and or Spear like staff's) And Druid (Support style mage's who use enchanted Hatchets/Swords/mace's instead of staff's)

I like Dragon age Origins Take the souls to make gollums I love that darker part about that. In the tower Of magi Trading the Templar to the demon after the heroin goes bad. I love that. Lots of blood magic

They unfortunately have data saying most of the origins don't get played and making levels are expensive. will they be willing to take the chance. Even though Fortune favors the bold CEO's favor the guaranteed.

I like points about dark fantasy, tactics and origins stories. silent protagonist or not, I don't care, I'm fine with both. it would also be great if we weren’t limited in potions and skill slots like in the Inquisition

We need Dragon age: Origens 2

I don't agree about the silent protag, I was gutted when BG3 decided to scrap their voiced protag. That being said, they NEED to get a solid and GOOD VA for a voiced protag, and I simply don't trust bioware to find a GOOD voice actor. I mean "want a sandwich?" Really? I know that was a writing issue, but the VA for fem Hawke was more accidentally funny than actually delivering the lines well. It was *awful*. Getting rid of the dialogue wheel? Mmmm, Yeah I kind of agree here. The response is NEVER what I expected it to be. Tactics - HELLS YES!! This option was SO special in DA:O and I was so frustrated when they gutted the combat systems and removed this option. Origin stories - Yeah, I'd LOVE them back. They were Bioware's magic sauce, and they screwed themselves when they got rid of them AND also in SWTOR. They had the golden egg and they tossed it in the dirt. A HUGE one for me is PLEASE for the love of all holy cheeses, bring back HEALERS!! With all the retconning BW have done in this franchise, it should be NOTHING to bring back healing. It should NEVER have been removed, and the franchise is much poorer and more shallow for it. I'm a healer. It's one of the things that got me replaying DA:O TWENTY SEVEN TIMES to end credits. I want it back. All up though, I'm not hopeful. I'm looking forward to seeing the streams and reviews POST game release, but there's not a snowball's hope in hells that I'm going to pre-order or play it before a month post release. I simply don't trust BW anymore 😔

Great video. I also desperately want the origins stories back, although I'd hate a silent protagonist and like the dialogue wheel lol

Based 👍

I'm not sure I agree with any of your points beside the third one. But in the end, we both agree that we want a great Dreadwolf game o/

Wuff, completely disagree about the silent protag. I just can't immerse myself in my own voice I guess, lol. I'm playing the game to escape my internal dialog. That said, I really wish there was an option to turn off the protag voice for those who don't prefer it. I truly think both could be accommodated.

Boy this aged badly. As you no doubt now know none of these things are in the new game. We really need to stop romanticizing Dragon Age Origins. BioWare couldn't make another game like that if they tried.

Agree with you about silent protagonist, in DA2 Hawke lines was good, but in Inquisition it was awful, felt like it is some ai voice bot

Anyone else think that with improved text-to-speech and AI, we may eliminate the need for voice acting? The saved time and budgets would really elevate the possibilities for wider story choices!

Imo going back to the silent protagonist thing wouldn't be all that great for Dreadwolf, sure it gave you more options but the dialogue wheel Dragon Age 2 and inquisition have give you a better idea of the attitude your character has when speaking in the moment. Also in regards to your point about the tone of the story in DA2 and DAI I thought it was dark enough for what was given, I don't personally see how they can justify making the tone darker without bringing back origin stories which I would love to have back regardless. Anyways that was a good video

i agree, the "origins" in inquisition were pathetic

I personally don't like the idea of a silent protagonist because it makes me a lot less invested about what happens the protagonist

Whoo dreadwolf is coming

I can only agree with everything you said and maybe it is just me but I would like not to have such a big open world again like in DAI. DAO had the perfect world for me. And I have to say: My Dragon Age list from best to worst (worst just not bad but the worst of the three games) is: 1. DAO, 2. DA2 and far behind DAI.

They need to do inclusivity properly. Don't retcon the lore to suite you!

I might be wrong, but is that a South African accent I hear?

The silent protagonist should NEVER come back I will refund if my character doesn’t speak

I love silent protagonists

Your perspective is of a DA:O fan. I will offer you mine, as someone who's played DA:O and DO2 very recently for the first time (I already played inquisition a year ago). Of the three games, I enjoyed DO2 the most, which I wasn't expecting given its online reputation. And the irony is, I loved it for all the reasons you didn't (probably). I dislike mute protagonists. They always feel to me like soulless mannequins, devoid of personality. I felt this way playing Starfield, BG3, and DA:O. In all three games, I failed to connect with the protagonist, and by the end of it, I didn't really care what becomes of them. DO2 has one of the worst voice acting (protagonist), yet I still enjoyed Hawke more than the Warden (the inquisitor is my favorite, mostly because the voice acting is top notch). I also vastly prefer the dialogue wheel borrowed from Mass Effect. I like to have a choice between distinct tones, but a list is simply too exhausting to go over (especially when some answers are very similar). After a few hours, I just end up picking one of the top two answers. More is not always better (imo). Combat felt miles better in DO2 compared to Origins and Inquisition. It's Origins combat but with a lot more flare while still retaining the Tactics that we all love. Similarly, I feel that the number of people that appreciate evil playthroughs (not watching on YT but actually doing evil playthroughs) is negligible (the vast majority picks the paragon route). This certainly won't make or break Dreadwolf. I loved the backgrounds in Origins, but I wasn't missing them in the sequels. Take it for what you will. I can add more as the games are so fresh in my mind, but suffice it to say that I hold an opinion that it's the polar opposite to yours. And that's fine. We all have our preferences. But to me, as long as the game isn't a bloated mess like Inquisition (which has zero replayability value to me), and as long as the writing, characters, and gameplay are good, then I will have fun.

Woman and woman romances

You know... Some things that were listed in here are jus /+/... Ya know?

I want a silent protagonist, but doesn't really care about anything else you've mentioned. What i want is the ability to be a horny good guy, you can work around some things in DAO, but not everything. (Isabela + Leliana available only for bad guy basically) I want to date as many people as i want without breaking up with anyone. I want an ability to always keep my word and not betray anyone unwillingly. I still remember how in Deus Ex HR i promised to girl not to tell what she told me to her boss (or anyone, i don't remember) and couple of seconds later MC breaks his promise with asking me, annoying.

I want the hero of ferelden back!

Oh, I don't think I can even play another game without a protagonist voice! Plus, without one, the game feels juvenile and soulless. It doesn't make sense...I think you're nitpiking.

Silent protagonist?!?! Hell nawww!! Absolutely not!

Hell no to mute protagonist

Yeah no. The next game does not need a silent protagonist, and it does not need a origin stories. The silent protag bullshit is something everyone says when they dont like a game, and never says that about a game they do like. Confirmation bias.

Ew I hate silent protagonist my opinion I think hearing my character speak is way more immersive