Game Basics

Dragon Age Inquisition - The Inquisitor character is in the center, surrounded by his 12 companions
The Inquisition – The Inquisitor is in the center, surrounded by his 12 companions.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third installment of the Dragon Age series of role-playing video games by Bioware, set to be released on November 18, 2014 in North America and November 21,2014 in Europe on PC, Xbox, and Playstation. Inquisition is the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins (2009) and Dragon Age 2 (2011), and takes place in the same fictional world of Thedas. One major change in the game is that the world will be much more open than previous DA games, featuring an expansive open world environment similar to games like Skyrim.

The developers have stated that the game world will also be much larger than previous games; Mike Laidlaw, the lead designer of the Dragon Age series, noted that “The open world is larger than all of Dragon Age: Origins…and you can go anywhere that you see.”

Story

The plot focuses on events immediately following Dragon Age 2: The Mages are in open war with the Templars, and the Orlesian Civil War is in full swing. Many characters from previous games, such as Morrigan, Cassandra, Leliana, and Varric, will continue their story in ‘Inquisition.’

Meanwhile, the so-called “Breach” is forming in the Veil – the barrier that separates the world of Thedas and the Fade realm. Demons and other dark creatures are spilling out of the Fade into the mortal world, wreaking havoc. The player will enter the game as the Inquisitor –  leader of the Inquisition formed to close the Breach and bring peace to the land. More on the story here.

Note: you will be able to import your Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 story decisions by using Dragon Age Keep.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Inquisition will be similar to its predecessors. The player will control the protagonist (called the Inquisitor) with a fully customizable race, gender, background story and class.

The 3 basic classes are warrior, mage, and rogue, which are further broken down into 3 specializations each.  One key difference in ‘Inquisition’ is that the Qunari race is finally available to play, along with Elf, Human, and Dwarf.

You can then choose out of 9 possible companions to join your party (plus 3 adviser companions). Players will be able to build complex relationships, including romances with their companions just like in DA: Origins and DA: 2. You will also have access to 30 different mounts.

Combat mechanics will reportedly be a mix of the more strategic combat of Dragon Age: Origins and the more fast-paced combat of Dragon Age: 2. Players will issue commands to their characters either in real-time, or by pausing the game first to better plan out your strategy. One new addition to combat in ‘Inquisition’ is the Focus mechanic. Focus accumulates as  your characters deal damage, and when a threshold is reached, the player can choose to use a powerful ability on one of his characters.

All characters will have health, mana, and stamina bars as in previous games, as well as the typical attributes to level – Strength, Dexterity, Willpower, Magic, Cunning, and Constitution.

Skyhold

One new exciting feature of Inquisition is that you will have a home base that you can return to – Skyhold Castle. This castle will be customizable and become bigger and better as you play through the game and improve it.

Multiplayer

Announced on August 26, Inquisition will also have a co-op multiplayer. Players will be able to create a group of 4 to tackle three co-op campaigns. These campaigns will take place in various unique locations like Elven Ruins, the Tevinter Imperium, and an Orlesian Palace. Co-op will give players a fun way to get rewards and experience fast-paced combat in a multiplayer setting. Rewards will range from gold and items to new character skins. See more info about multiplayer at IGN.