Ah, Dragon Age. You came and conquered, with your dragon slaying, templar defiling, open-world, giant nug-riding immensity. So why, after 100 hours of my lazing-on-the-sofa-doing-nothing devotion, ending my journey in the deadly peaks of Emprise du Lion with ruins to spare, do I feel a little less than loved? Don’t panic, I still worship you, but that’s not going to stop me from dissecting you. Sorry!

Because, in spite of our admiration for Varric’s chest hair and Iron Bull’s mighty breasts, in the end, BioWare could still do something to improve you. Or eight somethings, actually. So here are the improvements I dare to suggest, nestled within the heart of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s crucial RPG components. Beware, mild spoilers ahead!

Upon first seeing the colossal Skyhold, the Sims-obsessed part of me trembled with glee. My very own castle. A dungeon! Even a wine cellar! Mine … all mine! The possibilities of personalisation seemed endless.

Endlessly functionless, that is. Most of Skyhold’s customisable faucets are void of purpose, aside from being a visual feast. The biggest nuisance is the lack of an inventory chest in the unnecessarily enormous, private quarters, rendering repeated visits to sell unwanted loot a continuous annoyance. Such simple, functioning aspects would be a welcome addition to our personalised castles; taking post dragon slaying naps in my inquisitor-sized bed for example. That’d be just lovely.

Undeniably, BioWare delivers fantastic, non-human companions, with Iron Bull’s irresistible voice, Solas’ unhealthy relationship with demons, Varric’s wit and… we won’t talk about Sera. So, Dragon Age: Inquisition isn’t just about humans, right?

Wrong. In conversation and lore, BioWare tells us about the turbulent political status of the dwarfs, elves and the qunari. The key word being ‘tells’, given that, besides the companions, rarely do we interact with other races. There’s a pathetically small Dalish camp, some token ancient elves and rebel dwarfs, but that’s it. It leaves a huge qunari-less hole in the game. So, perhaps in future DLC, BioWare could integrate volvement with the other races, because humans are, well, really boring.

Especially prevalent in the second half of the game, the strong bond between Inquisitor and companion seems to become slack. If, like me, you develop a relationship with your companions early (they’re just so damn lovable), conversation options dry out quickly. It’s not quite as bad as listening to Garrus’ obsession with finishing his calibrations, but it’s getting there.

Consequently, it’d be great to see some additional loyalty quests, to bolster character development and to strengthen relationships between us and our favourite companions. While I revel in making imperative decisions for my friends, the aftermath of stale chit-chat leaves me feeling a little cheated.

Everyone loves dogs, with their floppy ears, wet noses and unshaken loyalty. Unless you don’t… then maybe you should move to the next slide. Nonetheless, considering BioWare provides your inquisitor with a castle and boyfriend/girlfriend/godfriend, it seems rather cruel that man’s best buddy doesn’t make an appearance.

A mabari war-hound would be a valuable companion on the battlefield. Instead of the search feature, we could make use of a Fable-esque mabari nose-radar, on top of an extra pair of teeth in battle. The beloved mabari companion was a hit in Dragon Age: Origins, so why isn’t it here?

BioWare delivers an engrossing story, with edge-of-your-seat twists married with badass inquisitor moments. However, for all the completionists out there, main quests are too few and far between, in consideration of the vastness of Inquisition’s thirteen areas.

Truthfully, there are only so many fade rifts, fetch quests and who-put-what-invaluable-treasure-where mysteries a player can do before the pace simply loses momentum. Dragon Age: Inquisition could certainly learn a thing or two from games like Divinty: Original Sin or Skyrim when it comes to a much needed injection of engrossing fillers, preventing our minds evaporating through repetition.

The sheer thrill of executing a final blow at the end of difficult battles in Dragon Age: Origins is unforgettable. Especially after being bludgeoned way too many times by an extraordinary foe like Flemmeth, swinging around the beast’s head and performing a finishing mid-air strike, Final Fantasy style, makes me cackle with vicious pleasure.

So, why isn’t this mechanic included in Dragon Age: Inquisition? Without this final gratification for our gruesome efforts, the aftermath of epics battles falls a little flat. We could say that removing cinematic kills endorses a sense of realism, but we’re talking about dragons and giant nugs here. Besides, who doesn’t need more slow-mo action shots in their lives?

Shards. Shards everywhere. I hate shards. But using them to open the Temple of Solasaan proffers just rewards, so as much as I hate to say it; they’re worth searching for. This mind-bogglingly boring quest is easy; find the Ocularum, spy the shards, go fetch.

But we are deceived! See that reachable shard peaking at you on the hill? It’s not reachable. Instead, you have to jump, scramble, and fall to find a passable route to the golden ticket (50% of the time anyway). Please BioWare, if you’re going persecute us like this, at least incorporate fun ways to interact with the environment. Far Cry 4 and Divinity: Original Sin put you to shame in this respect.

If you explore every area before completing Dragon Age: Inquisition’s finale, you may find yourself finishing the ultimate stages of the controller-gripping story arc more rapidly than you’d hoped, as a consequence of your over-powered party. But you’re not to blame!

The desolate Hissing Wastes and red lyrium-infested Emprise Du Lion have a plethora of extra side quests and striking landscapes to discover at higher levels. Sadly, we’re punished for that extra gameplay, since Doom Upon All the World is recommended for levels 16-19, rendering our death match with Corpyheus, after extra adventures, easy. Raised difficulty levels would be advantageous here, or dare I say, adding an extra main quest?

So that's my current list of things that could quickly improve Dragon Age's latest and greatest. But how about you? Any particular tweaks you'd like, or do you think it's already perfect as-is? Let me know in the comments.

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