Quests are the foundation of any excellent RPG, and they frequently add deeper layers to the lore, characters, and overall story.
The Dragon Age franchise is no exception, awarding the Warden, Hawke, and The Inquisitor a lot to do in their spare time. Of course, not every quest would be as thrilling as saving the world of Thedas, but we can all agree that there are more than a few quests and areas that were totally unnecessary.
So here are top 5 Quests and Moments We Hate in the Dragon Age franchise.
The Fade in Origins
Without a doubt, many fans will agree that being in the Fade in Origins was confusing and draining at times.
And, while it was fun to transform into different creatures, it was also fun to break away from your character's combat vices for a while and try to make do with only what you had on hand, tackling the sections in different orders each time you went in, and so on. Some of the companion dreams are also excellent character moments.
However, it drags on far too long, the sections are designed as twisting labyrinths that can make players disoriented and anxious to leave, and after a while, the enemies become extremely static and predictable.
Furthermore, halfway through Arl of Redcliffe, doing Broken Circle feels like you're playing a game of Inception - a huge quest inside another huge quest inside another huge quest, and every time you finish one step, you remember you still have all the rest to complete before you can move forward in that one quest that started this whole chain. It's a spiraling narrative, and it's not the most elegant quest design ever.
And, of course, the map; when I realized I wasn't even halfway through the Fade, I almost gave up on Dragon Age: Origins.
Thankfully, I pulled through and finished it. But when I do my newer playthroughs, I usually use a mod...
The Hinterlands
Inquisition introduced many new gameplay mechanics and features, most notably the open-world experience. It was a welcome change from the "area" format of both Origins and Dragon Age II, allowing players to get a sense of Thedas' entire world. It also helped to emphasize The Inquisition's reach and influence among Ferelden too.
But nevertheless, there were some aspects of the open world that were less enjoyable. There were fewer quests in some areas than others, and players could easily become overwhelmed and confused by their journals and the quests themselves. The Hinterlands is the first area that players can explore, and it is also the most difficult. Time and again, one could find themselves back in the vast area, the amount of material appearing to be infinite. Many quests in The Hinterlands could have been relocated to other areas of Thedas.
Of course the joke for those "friends" or "gamers" who did not finish Inquisition is asking them "Did you get stuck in the Hinterlands?". And the funny part of it, a lot of those people I know do, that place is super big and very overwhelming for new Dragon Age players, and old.
The Hinterlands is quite funny if you get in the mood to grind a whole day on it, but isn't really a good moment, just because it is the first place the Herald sets out to.
Did you get stuck in the Hinterlands?
The Deep Roads in Origins
When you thought getting stuck in the Fade was bad, wait until you see the Deep Roads from Origins.
The Orzammar Quest is a lengthy one that cannot be completed in a single night unless you know what you're doing. The Deep Roads are larger and longer than expected from Origins.
The Deep Roads are both claustrophobic and massive. You must face hordes of enemies, and the combination of increasing dread and
You are never immune to the massive amounts of darkspawn and the occasional Ogre. However, it is difficult to separate the story quests and combat portions of Origins, and the Deep Roads simply explains that discrepancy. If you aren't good with the combat in Origins at all, you might be struggling to pass through the Deep Roads which showed a lot of fans' frustrations and even rage quits.
But of course, there is plenty of great lore and codex entries along the way, and of course some creepy moments too. It's just a shame that the Deep Roads is a pretty hard feat for a lot of fans, and I sometimes wish there was a less challenging version of it.
But we all know that's just not how BioWare games work...
The Bone Pit Quests
Though not outwardly annoying, the sheer logic behind this questline is both utterly ridiculous and amusing to consider. Many complaints could have been avoided if a certain selfish capitalist named Hubert had simply picked up his business and moved on.
In Dragon Age II, Hawke can be hired to investigate and later invest a mine called "The Bone Pit" beginning in Act I. As if the name wasn't unsettling and foreshadowing enough, the mine is not simple. Expecting pickaxes or maybe repairing some equipment, that is not the task at all. There are only dragons and murderous bandits. Dragons are reason enough to leave the mine, but Hubert was adamant that things could be handled with Hawke's assistance.
So yeah, I think what's annoying about this mine is the overuse of Dragonlings and constantly dying if you suck at combat like me... :( But apparently many fans for the game do complain about this part just cause the Dragon fight was a little too much, the wiki even has a whole guide on how to defeat the dragon after all...
And the amount of times I ignored that quest, just shows me that I wasn't fit to be a Dragon-slayer anyhow...
Fetch Quests (Shards)
While fetch quests are common in MMOs and RPGs, the amount of repetition in Dragon Age: Inquisition has left many fans annoyed and at times uninterested in these types of quests.
The problem isn't with these mechanics themselves, but in the fact that player's feel like their actions are reduced to these mechanics. A player won't even notice that their actions can be boiled down to a simple repetitive pattern if they are actually looking forward to what will happen when they complete these quests. But some fans agree that these types of quests present a lack of depth within the writing, or even the game itself.
There are a total of 126 shards in Dragon Age: Inquisition, including DLC. The shard collections are triggered independently whenever you interact with any of the oculara in each area you visit. While spotting them in the distance is entertaining, getting to them isn't always easy.
Some shards are placed in such an awkward level of the game that using abilities to reach the shard is sometimes your only hope. It honestly feels a little random and hasn't been thoroughly tested. The shards feel like filler in your hours of Inquisition, which is why many fans dislike the quest.
Inadequately, there is a literal location in Inquisition (Forbidden Oasis) that uses these shards to unlock vaults that reveal a variety of tombs with different elements for each chamber.
This gives us completionist nerds an exasperated sigh because we know we have to be committed to getting all those shards to see what's behind the main chamber.
But, unless you're into getting some good equipment for your party and love codex's like me, it's not really that rewarding - some players found the entire questline to be pointless, and I somewhat agree with them.
Of course, there are many other fetch quests in Inquisition, and most of the side quests do seem fetchy in some way (looking at you, Hinterlands), but if you are a completionist like me, you will probably enjoy it on days when you just want to explore the world of Thedas...
But with that, we are going to wrap up, 5 Quests and Moments We Hate in the Dragon Age franchise. Which on this list do you agree with, I wanna see that comment down below - go write it down, there you go! ;)
Thank you for watching, and I will see you in the next video!
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