Dragon Age: Trespasser DLC - Reveal and Reaction
Click to viewI am basically screaming everywhere right now. Everything about this trailer excites me beyond belief. From the time jump to the political turmoil to the enemies to the characters and just everything.
More screaming and flailing under the cut, along with a heavy dose of barely-restrained excited speculating.
This DLC takes place TWO YEARS after Inquisition, which I'm SO EXCITED about. So much can happen in two years, so much can change. Obviously, not too much has changed, given the position the Inquisition is finding itself in ("the world doesn't need saving anymore"), but people can change, nations can change. Thedas is settling down from the chaos of the Mage-Templar War and Corypheus.
Think about it: In Inquisition, we made MAJOR decisions. We supported the Mages or the Templars, then we put a ruler on the throne of Orlais, and we decided the fate of the Grey Wardens in southern Thedas. One of the members of the Inquistion BECOMES THE DIVINE.
And what about our companions? Dorian's probably returned to Tevinter, Varric to Kirkwall, Vivienne to Orlais; Iron Bull (and his Chargers, if that's how his quest ended) probably returned to mercenary work; Sera might've returned to working full-time as a Friend of Red Jenny, in Val Royeaux or other places; Depending on your judgment, Blackwall could be serving punishment from the Wardens or still serving the Inquisition, if he doesn't leave. The only other people I can see staying are Cassandra (if she's not Divine) and Cole (who may have left anyway to find his own way, who knows). Though, we see in the trailer that Josephine and Cullen are still with the Inquistion, which is nice.
Which brings up one of the things I'm looking forward to the most: our romances.
The devs said that we get to catch up with our companions (YAY! MORE DIALOGUE! FINALLY!), and that includes our romances. With all the different types of romances, there are a lot of different ways it could go. Personally, I want tons of fluffy bullshit. Like Dorian and the Inquisitor exchange sappy love letters between Tevinter and Skyhold that Leliana giggles at incessantly every time she reads through them (for safety, of course); the Iron Bull stops by Skyhold often, living there when he's not out on a job, cuddling with his Inquisitor and calling them kadan with the ease of two years; Cullen's office is now purely his office, the loft above just for late nights, as he and the Inquisitor share her quarters; etc.. (I'd say more, but, besides Solas, those are the only romances I'm familiar with.)
Just as long as the romances are HAPPY, I'll be fine. Seriously, I don't want my Inquisitor to see Dorian and run to him only for Dorian to be pissed because my Inquisitor is terrible at keeping up a correspondence, or for condolences to be given by Inquisition members because my relationship with the Iron Bull didn't work out. Seriously. I'm crossing my fingers, though, because the DA team are generally pretty good about keeping the PC romances pretty happy. I mean, besides a few cases (like Isabela or maybe Morrigan), our PC and the LIs are still happily dating, even the Warden and their LI and they've been together for ten years at this point.
Which, of course, brings up the issue with THE RETURN OF SOLAS. My first Inquisitor romanced Solas, so you can imagine how big of a moment this is for us. Good lord, if I don't get the option to smack him across his bald face, I'll be disappointed. I mean, he called me "vhenan," took away my vallaslin, told me he loved me, then broke up with me, only to later say that "what we had was real" and disappearing into thin air for two years. I'm the Inquisitor for fuck's sake, I deserve better than that.
Will he still have feelings for a romanced!Inquisitor, though? Or will he have moved on, being a millenniums-old elven god? Time works differently for him, I'm sure, as does his perception of people - all just cogs in a machine, little ripples in the water, slightly meaningful, but still so small. (I hope he doesn't write off my Inquisitor. I hope he doesn't see her as a passing fancy, a moment of weakness for a mere mortal. If he does, I seriously hope she gets the option to punch him.)
(Also: I don't want our companions to be wearing the same outfits. Or the same hairstyles, but if those aren't different, I'll live, but after two years, you'd think they'd at least change clothes. Especially Dorian and Vivienne - what's in fashion in 9:41 is not going to be in fashion in 9:43, just saying.)
AND THEN THERE'S THE PLOT!!!!
"The world doesn't need saving anymore" - so by the end of the main game, the Inquisition has established itself as a major power, a force to be reckoned with. Such a power is fine during a crisis, much like the Grey Wardens during the Blight, but unlike the Wardens, the Inquisition doesn't return to their base and hide out until the enemy shows up. The Inquisition was founded to restore order to the chaos that was southern Thedas. There were mages and templars killing each other, the Orlesian Civil War needed an end, the Grey Wardens were turning to blood magic, and a crazy Tevinter cult headed by an ancient Tevinter magister-turned darkspawn were trying to take over Thedas - Thedas needed help. Only, all that's been solved now and the Inquisition has all this power and nowhere to use it. I'm sure the Inquisition is fine doing its thing, probably mediating disputes between different nations and factions, helping to keep the peace in Thedas, but the rest of Thedas probably doesn't see them that way. No, the Inquisition is a looming menace, just waiting for the moment to abuse its authority. Better to just cut off the threat at the source, right? And so the Inquisition is being attacked politically...
...and physically, because the Qunari actually seem to agree with the rest of Thedas ("you're duty is done, it's time to end your magic") and think that you've outstayed your welcome - only "it's time to end your magic" sounds like they're threatened by the anchor that you still possess, which, quick aside-
The anchor is now starting to get worse, if "my own hand wants to kill me" implies anything. Maybe that's why Solas shows up? It was his orb (foci) after all.
Or maybe it's the FREAKING ELUVIANS! Bringing us back to the Qunari, they apparently have control of the Eluvians? Which makes no sense because how? The Eluvians are ancient elven magic. I'm not saying the Qunari couldn't have learned, I'm just saying, how many keys are there? (For those that haven't read The Masked Empire, the Spirit of Choice, Imshael, gave Celene and her companions a key that could open any Eluvian. Given that Imshael was just a spirit, it stands to reason that the Qunari could've done the same thing, but I don't know how beings of the Fade and the Eluvians are connected. Which, of course, brings up the question about the key Imshael gave to Celene and was taken by Briala, giving her the ability to travel through Eluvians at will, especially as only she knows the password to use said key. So many questions.)
Then, there's the whole "leave your legacy" thing. I get what a legacy is, I just wonder what that will entail with the Inquisitor (especially since, you know, we closed the Breach and killed Corypheus and restored order to Thedas, which is pretty monumental in and of itself). Like, is it how you handle this crisis? Do you die and it is dependent on the manner of your death -like did you sacrifice yourself, how many people did you save, etc.?
Mostly, though, I'm just SUPER EXCITED.
Of course, it's the middle of the freaking school year, so I need to get everything done weeks ahead of time so I have nothing but free-time to play the DLC with all of my Inquisitors.
September 8th, man, write it on your calendars and make a schedule.