EpicCyclops

There's a static location in the Hinterlands that has fade touched obsidian, I believe. Craft something with Guard on Hit and your guard problems will disappear pretty fast

From everything I've seen, I really want this game to be well received. I really like Sean; he just seems like a super chill, humble guy who is also cleverer than he takes credit for...I really would like to just hang out and be friends with him.

Honestly, the most tragic thing about this game would be if the toxic cesspool of the internet destroyed Hello Games adventurous spirit and willingness to take big risks and be ambitious.

If you are on the fence about this game...

PLEASE do yourself a favor and finish that quest. If the story hasn't captured you yet, this is where it gets awesome.

THIS is why I keep coming back for Bioware games...no one else does those moments better.

@sterling: it's pretty easy to fill up your bar with offensive skills: grappling chain, charging bull, mighty blow, whirlwind, and the earthquake strike are all in my repertoire and I'm only level 8. Pick reaver for your spec and you'll be set.

@sessh: good to know! What do you think the most important/best-looking perks are?

I'm hesitant to address this, as it kind of reads like one of those 0/10 metacritic reviews, but the last sentence got me. You honestly think DA2's combat was better?? Your main complaint is the tac cam, but DA2 didn't even have that. You want to play it like DA2, then do that, and ignore the tac cam!

I think 2H Warriors are quite fun, actually. You can dive into the thick of the fray, take some punishment, and dish it back out in a variety of ways. None of this hit-and-run creeping around the edge of a battle like a sissy rogue!

Whew, as others have said, I'm going to have to disagree with the OP on pretty much all points. The game is not perfect, KB+M controls and removal of AI tactics are very legitimate grievances.

Uninteresting characters: Give it time. You're 8 hours into an 80 hour game. You haven't even met 75% of the characters, and the ones you have aren't going to spill all their darkest secrets or strongest emotions to someone they just met.

5 year old MMO combat: Not sure what MMO you are playing...but it must have awesome combat. The feel is so much better than an mmo...when I hit someone with my sword, I actually HIT them. I don't just wing in their general direction and watch their health tick down. There's a lot going on, especially once you're a bit higher level and have to balance things like guard or stealth with your damage output. Again, give it some time. Origins combat was pretty ass for more than 8 hours, IMO.

Conversation mode: important main quests or companion quests/conversations are still in the cinematic view, and they are better than ever in terms of people moving around and acting like real people while they talk. It's just some of the side stuff and less important "expositiory" companion dialogue that isn't. Which, honestly, is fine. It means I can walk away from Mother Giselle immediately if I get bored of her history lesson, instead of having to skip through all the rest of her lines and then say "I'll be going now"

Aimless story: ??? Your aims are pretty clear. You need to build an organization to restore order in the wake of so many important leaders being killed, and find out who is responsible, and stop the rifts. Also, most reviewers say it picks up significantly in the second act, where your Inquisition is a more established power and you have to start making some really important decisions.

Played another 7 or so hours last night, some updated impressions:

1. Removal of direct attribute leveling doesn't really bother me, because you still level particular attributes based on the passive skills you chose. If you chose a tanky sort of passive, you get +3 Constitution. If you chose a more damage focused passive, you get +3 strength. Previous games all you did was focus on 1 main stat and 1 secondary (like strength and constitution for warrior) favoring one over the other depending on you role in the party. You can still do that, they just streamlined two systems into one system, and I think it works fine. Attribute allocation was rarely interesting for me, because if you want an effective character, you're not going to touch any stats but the 2 most important ones for your class.

2. There is a SHIT TON of side quests. But I like that, because I can ignore the ones that don't capture my interest and know that I'm not going to be underleveled or missing out. I can chose to look for an elven artifact in a dungeon rather than look for a missing scout, if I want.

3. Combat has gotten better going from level 4 to 7. Now that I've got some damaging abilities that also generate guard, I actually quite like the guard/barrier mechanic. It forces you to think strategically about your use of defensive abilities, to try to avoid taking any damage to your base health.

4. I thought I would like Sera but she's actually kind of annoying. Probably going to stick with Varric as my rogue for now. Blackwall seems a bit stolid, but I'm pretty sure there are hidden depths there, looking forward to talking to him more.

@i_stay_puft: You may well be right. I started this topic more for the benefit of other people that are struggling with it...I myself suck ass at most kb+m controls and tend to use a controller. I grew up on consoles and have had a for-realsies gaming PC for a grand total of 13 months.

You're probably right about it being a natural evolution. People just don't want to accept that 2014 Bioware will never make another NWN / DA:O style "classic" CRPG. Bioware is about RPGs with great stories and characters, not about a particular take on tactical combat.