Dragon Age: Inquisition

Inquisition was the first Dragon Age game where I was invested in the franchise prior to release and was a part of the pre-release hype train, and it was definitely a unique experience! We all had so many hopes for the game, and while the hard work of the devs definitely shines through, the game was a buggy fucking mess on release (spoilers, it's still the same kind of buggy almost a decade later) and still managed to win game of the year. We got some information about the development process for DAI after which explained a lot of things that fell flat (like the main villain/ending to the main game feeling anti-climactic), but the game widely amounted to a lot of mixed feelings, completely fair criticisms, and a fair bit of disappointment.

Personally, I really like the gameplay loop for Inquisition because (and I know this is awful) I really like the satisfaction of clearing the map of every single stupid fetch quest and icon and being smugly pleased with myself. It has really wonderful character moments with music that tugs at your heart and I did in fact shed tears over this game, but it feels like there is so much distance between those points in gameplay sometimes and without mods you miss out on huge chunks of them.

At this point you're probably asking why I have a shrine to a game I can complain about this much, and honestly, I'm pretty sure that's how the whole fandom copes because I know I'm not the only one who has a love hate relationship here. I love revisiting the game every so often partially because of all the little details in the game, because of all of the time and investment I have in my inquisitors and their relationships with the NPCs, romantice and otherwise.

mod recs

• Bi Cassandra Redux: I am GAY and I was pining after ONE npc before Inquisition came out, and my little gay heart needs HELP.
• More Banter: When Inquisition came out, the banter was either triggering too much or not enough because of bugs. Bugs got squashed, but I feel like the banter got toned back too much.
• Multiple Romance Mod: Once again, I am here to remind you I am poly.
• Neutral Expression: You mean my girls don't have to look grumpy all the time?
• No More Grave Desecration: BLESS
• Open All Halla Doors: Because I am bad at resource management.
• Party at the Winter Palace: Let ALL THE COMPANIONS come party with you, get all the banter, and all the benefits!
• Promo Material Unlock: Mounts and thrones and decor, oh my.
• Solas Halamshiral Hat and Neck Clipping Fix
• War Table - No Waiting: Because if I clear every map and DLC with 100 hours of play time and I haven't finished all the war table missions again, I'm gonna lose it.

character creator mods

• Enhanced Character Creation
• Modded hair in Black Emporium JoH Trespasser and Descent
• Ponytail Twisted Curls [f!human, f!dwarf, f!elf compatible]
• Shantia's Eyebrow Mods for Qunari and Eyebrow Mod for Everyone Else
• SK Mini Qunari Hari Pack [m!qunari, f!qunari compatible; I like the mohawk braid personally]

mods being tested/not yet added

• Ardent Blossom: Because flower crowns?
• Halla-Back Girl: WHEN I CAN RUN ULTRAMESH SETTINGS
• OriginAlistair: Why does Bioware keep making everyone crazy pale? Would need to figure out Frosty.
• Mod Wishlist: Hairs that work with non-Ultra mesh settings and DAI Mod Manager for my poor laptop =(, solas concept art retex?