Inquisition: Kinda pissed with it

If you have a controller you can use, try that. Unfortunately the keyboard and mouse controls are a hobbled mess, one that I believe Bioware plans to fix...whenever they can find the time to, I guess. Only problem with using a controller is the lack of a quick save, since only the screenshot button works, I believe.

The choices get tougher later on. Some become almost painful depending on your world state. I usually go with the mages, even if Fiona is a colossal fuck-up with her choices. Some of them are worth saving. In fact, the ones not worth saving are the ones you keep slaughtering in the Hinterlands until you destroy their stronghold. Unfortunately, I can't think of many Templars in the past game worth siding with who live through the whole thing.

Plus I personally like the mission to ally the mages. It seems to add a good amount of foreshadowing to future events in game. I don't know if the Templar mission has the same foreshadowing, but I plan on giving it a try eventually.

That's exactly my point, in the previous games I sided with the mages, always, and kinda despised the Templars for being twats and racist and fascist and so no (with exceptions of course, Greagoir wasn't so bad, nor Emeric or other templars in DA2). Also, I take that Vivienne is speaking about her own experience and the Montsimmard Circle sounds as kinda permissive where others we know were worse (Kirkwall being the worst in my opinion, and Ferelden one was kinda meh until Uldred's party).

I've always thought mages needed and deserved more freedom and to be treated like normal people, but I also thought that they should be somewhat watched... maybe something in the middle ground was what Justinia V was trying to accomplish, and I know pleasing both sides would be a hard job but come on... I haven't seen anything in Inquisition so far that makes me go 'omg gotta save mages cause they're so awesome'. What I see is that they've become terrorists, they've thrown out the Guerrin family from Redcliffe (seriously? aren't there abandoned fortresses or anyhing like that that you have to go to an inhabited place to squat? a place that belongs to the family that raised the King?). There are 'free' mages that left the Circles and joined the Inquisition (lots of mage robes in Haven and Skyhold), so why the terrorism against the peasants? I'd understand they attacked the Chantry and the templars, but common folk? That says they don't want to be free or equals, that says they want to be in charge, Tevinter style, evil Magister or not.

Siding with the Templars (SPOILERS HERE) you learn the low rank soldiers and officers are all arguing their superiors orders and are not okay with being there and not out, protecting people. Actually, Barris says his duty should be protecting mages and not otherwise. And after you join with them, the side quests you get from them are all about rescuing mages, protecting mages, taking mages to safety, and so on.

It makes me kinda sad because I always sided with mages and I always was a supporter of mage freedom (until fucking Anders fucked verything).

Also, about the controller, I have controllers for the Playstation, but I have a laptop so I don't have to play on a console, so nope. I hate console controllers. I'm clumsy.

Also, ORLESIAN FASHION. GAH.

I can totally confirm - when you side with the mages, you learn that pretty much all of them are NOT okay with what's happening. They expected rebellion and freedom and, without giving much away, they didn't sign on for what ended up actually happening. The game makes it fairly clear early on that the mages and Templars in the Hinterlands are all extremists, not respected or supported by the actual Mage rebels and Templar rebels. Most mages and Templars look down on the rebels in the Hinterlands as mad animals who are just hurting people, and doing nothing to support their actual respective causes.

Vivienne is an interesting note - I actually question a lot of the decisions for why the writers put her in the game. As one of your companions, she's one of the only personal, friendly voices the Inquisitor has on the way that Circles are run . . . and yet, she's had a COMPLETELY irregular Circle experience. She would have you think that most mages who complain about Circles are exaggerating, that they get many more freedoms than most let on, and yet, that's not at ALL the experience that we've seen through the Warden or Hawke's eyes. I understand that her experience has been more free (largely in part because she fought very hard to make it that way), but it's hard to respect her as the only voice about remaking the Circle when she's saying "oh yeah, we should definitely remake the Circles they're fine."

[Generally, my own opinions on circles are that they are awful. Pretty cut and dry there. Mages shouldn't be locked up and guarded every moment of their lives, separated from their families and loved ones, discouraged from ever having loving relationships, swords hanging over their neck for every misstep. It's kind of like the magic/sword analogy. Should someone who's an accomplished swordsmaster get locked up? Or worse, someone with a sword with no idea how to use it? If they do something bad or evil, they should get arrested or contained, but otherwise, why bother them? Seems the same for mages. Free to do what they will, and arrest or contain them if they do something evil. And for the mages who aren't comfortable in the real world, keep Circles but make them more like colleges or universities — places with rules, to learn and live at for as long as they like if they so choose. Maybe magical education would be compulsory, to make sure that the mages in the world aren't accidentally blowing things up left and right, but other than that, why keep them in a cage their whole lives?]

As for Anders, well, I think we all know my opinions there [/laughs and cries]. I'm pretty much 100% behind him. Elthina was repeatedly begged to do something to stop Meredith and Orsino, and she refused, saying it wasn't her place. She completely misread the situation, and hundreds of people suffered for it. Meredith running around unchecked allowed dozens or hundreds of mages to suffer every kind of abuse at the hands of perhaps the worst Circle in Thedas. When you're suffering that much and no one is listening or doing anything, then I think something drastic has to be done. Blowing up hundreds of people? Maybe not a good idea. But I agree that something had to happen. How is it any different from the Warden slaughtering an entire innocent Dalish clan just to gain the support of some werewolves in Origins, for example? ANYWAY it's definitely a topic that I LOVE to explore, and I'm going to have a LOT of fun playing Anders, especially since so many people here have different opinions on how right or wrong he was!

I hate having to play with Low quality. Scout Harding doesn't have freckles in my game. I lost the scars in character creation too -sigh-

Also, you THINK Sera is great? Seriously? Must be my game then, because she looks fugly in mine. Omg and do I hate her too. I am a strange person. I haven't kicked her from Haven for I don't know why yet.

OMG the Arishok, how sexy he was. I wonder why they came up with a cool design for Qunari and then threw it away in Inquisition. At least they got rid of the weird elf nose thing.

As for people's appearances...it's realistic. Some people are going to be look great, others not so much. You can make your character look like a model...or make them look like Sandal...or Nigel Thornberry. It's much better than the many shades of ugly that base-game Oblivion had. And unfortunately for you, Calliara, the low quality really lives up to that name. You're pretty much playing the game with graphics designed for PS3 and 360, probably with shiny hair and no extra details.

To be fair to Sera, she didn't grow up in an environment that was pro elf. She's elven in body only, with none of the history or culture to tie her to the rest of the elves. It still pisses me off, but every weird elf girl can't be Merrill.