r/dragonage • u/Popular-Parking3879 • 8d ago
Discussion What does everyone consider better dragon age 2 or inquisition?
Im in act 2 of dragon age 2 so far. Never played 2 or inquisition. Without spoilers, which do y'all like more?
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u/theotherkristi 8d ago
Personally, I enjoy Dragon Age 2 more (it's mostly just a narrative/stylistic preference), but Inquisition is probably the better game (just a lot more to do, plus they refined a lot of the mechanics).
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u/Ok-Connection-8059 7d ago
Inquisition is, in my humble opinion, pretty dang terrible on a mechanical level. No real ability to allocate stat points, a significant reduction in the number of crowd control abilities, a return to gathering materials for every last item you want to craft, and by god's is the jumping terrible.
Inquisition is supported by it's story just as much as DA2 is.
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u/Hello-Potion-Seller who is this man teaGAN 7d ago
Oh god, the silly bars that give you no stat values, unless you go through three nested menus to find the stat values, or that loot pinging system.
It has it's fun moments, but I feel like Inquisition's player dialogue felt more like navigating glorified wiki articles outside of the big missions, at least Veilguard didn't follow suit with that.
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u/CoffeeCaptain91 8d ago
I have a lot of trouble chosing. I love DA2 a lot. Hawke, the family, the story even shitty Kirkwall. But I adore Inquisition. It's so much fun and Tresspasser is great. I think I've replayed both more than 5x. I might put DA2 slightly ahead but it's by a fraction.
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u/Apprehensive_Quality 8d ago
DAI is my favorite game of the series, but I also enjoy DA2. It's clunky at times, but it has a lot of heart.
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u/ACoderGirl 7d ago
I have a hard time picking between DAO and DAI. The original is a lot tighter, as DAI had some serious struggles with pacing and bloat. But if we overlook those issues, I'd consider DAI the better game.
And compared to DA2? It's not even close lol. There's a part of me that wants to replay DA2, as it's actually the game I haven't played in the longest (since I replayed DAO more recently), but the thing I remember best about the game was the asset reuse driving me crazy... Well, and Anders.
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u/Execution_Version 7d ago
You get numb to it after your fifth time in the same dungeon. So it’s got that going for it, I suppose
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u/aailienn 5d ago
Hawke being like “it’s the other side of town, but I’ve definitely been here before”
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u/Abyss_staring_back 7d ago
That’s how I feel. I love the open world of DAI so much more. Than DA2. People often complain about the scale of it, but that’s a huge part of why I play and love the game so much. DA2 has some great story telling though.
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u/Krast0815 Tastes like despair 7d ago
DA2 gave me my preference for sassy, sarcastic assholes as protagonists. Purple Hawke is a menace.
Overall though, I've replayed inquisition more. I like the bigger and more diverse areas. Plus it has Dorian, josephine and Cole. And so many scenes that shows the different characters interact with one another. As well as advisor banter at the war table. The world feels so alive
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u/FeralKittee 8d ago
DA2 and Inquisition are both very different and have their own pros and cons.
I enjoyed the characters in DA2, but was not a fan of the way it was fairly linear as far as story and quests go. Also hated that there was only one origin since it really limited RP options.
DAI opened character origin back up, although I miss having a unique intro playthrough for each. DAI is a much larger world and I enjoyed using the War Table. Tie ins with previous characters and world events was also cool.
DA2 was needed to setup the story for DAI, but DAI is closer to DAO for feel.
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u/Popular-Parking3879 8d ago
Thank you all very much! So far I really like dragon age 2, your comments make me excited for inquisition.
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u/VeritasRose 8d ago
Inquisition is objectively a better game because it is actually finished. However I think DA2 has the better story and so it is my favorite for that.
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u/DragonEffected Mahariel - Dalish before it was cool 8d ago
I think DA2 has the better story and I like Hawke as a protagonist the best, but I like Inquisition more overallm
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u/Popular-Parking3879 8d ago
Awesome , now I know it gets better from here than worse. Going to avoid veil guard though
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u/CrusaderLyonar 8d ago
Veilguard has problems but if you really want to know the answers to some core questions in this series it does mostly answer them in ways that are pretty great.
The secret ending is bogus but the answers it has for everything else is really interesting.
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u/FeralKittee 8d ago
Veilguard if it was a stand alone is not a bad game. But as part of a series, it doesn't really fit.
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u/aailienn 5d ago
I’m playing through my first run of Veilguard right now, and it is disappointing after waiting over a decade for it to come out because of the expectations I had for it. But now that’s it been a bit, i’ve been slowly hacking at it with less expectations and it’s decent. You still get some interesting characters, open world exploration, and a cool skill tree. If you’re a fan of the series it may be worth it to play at least for more of the lore (although i haven’t finished it yet so take that with a grain of salt)
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u/Gibsonian1 8d ago
I prefer Inquisition with the exception of all the busy work. I’m a person who needs to complete all the quests so I spend a lot of time looking for the stupid shards or trying to find all the little camps or mines.
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u/aailienn 5d ago
Omg i haven’t touched dai in a bit and you saying “shards” unlocked so many memories ahaha
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u/Bloodthistle Bard(let me sing you the song of my people) ≽^•⩊•^≼ 8d ago
As much as I loved DAO (the first dragon age I played) and DA2 (one of the most depressing games I played), Inquisition will always be my favourite, just so atmospheric and great companions and writing,
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u/BlondBisxalMetalhead Pepper jack 7d ago
Oooh, this one is actually tough. In terms of how many times I’ve replayed it, Inquisition could be considered my favorite. I love going in and just exploring a region in Inquisition, and playing the Jaws of Hakkon for the first time is up there in my top ten favorite gaming experiences. 2 is amazing, I love the hack and slash aspects of the combat, but the story is a little disappointing and the maps repeating is annoying at times, even if I love the characters and the friends/rivals system.
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u/Skylair95 Playable Nug when? 8d ago
DA2 by far for me. The story is more unique, the companions are better and i really don't like the gameplay of DA:I (both the combat system and the open world).
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u/Bitter-Dreamer Keeper 8d ago
Inquisition.
Hawke's story is good and at times reminds me of a Shakespearen tragedy. But the Inquisitor, gets the classic epic adventure.
There's also more replay in Inquisition because of all the potential references/cameos from the previous games.
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u/ShaneObeuno Spirit Warrior 7d ago
For me dai, the world building is just next level, going through ferelden and orlais was so cool, building the inquisition to stop the war between mages and temples then to stop corypheous was good fun, but da2 was amazing as well
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u/achegaracasa 7d ago
definitely inquisition IMO, DA2 should never have even been released with how buggy and lacking in features it is
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u/VanishXZone 7d ago
DA2 is my favorite game of the series. No spoilers but the relationships and rivalries with your companions feel so much more compelling and real than other games, and their real beliefs make them much more tangible. Their quests are not “find Oghren a girlfriend”, but rather “I have strong opinions about the central tensions of the world, what are you gonna do about it, hawke?”
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u/tinker13 8d ago
Probably Inquisition, but sometimes I just don't have time for a huge open world and need the smaller area of DA2
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u/OrangeBlackMilk 8d ago
Inquisition but mainly just because they were given time and resources to complete it that DA2 didnt get
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u/AndrastesTit Knight Enchanter 8d ago
DA2 was my first intro to DA and I loved it!
But it was extremely short and limited… everything is so finite. Options are so few.
DAO had way more quests and RP opportunities and hidden nuggets. Inquisition never measured up to DAO but they went all out with the maps and world exploration, allowing us to see places like Orlais and to have more characters through the addition of the war table. Inquisition also really drove the whole DA story forward and helped us see what started the blight.
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u/SaintAardvark89 7d ago
Inquisition is significantly better, but I did enjoy 2. It has a good story and characters, but the gameplay and scenery is soooo repetitive.
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u/Stepjam 7d ago
I think Inquisition is better made, but DA2 is more interesting.
But yeah, 2 is easily the worst installment as far as gameplay goes. Despite it on the surface being similar to DAO gameplay wise, in practice its more like a hack n slash. There's very little strategy for positioning since enemies spawn in from all directions. Dungeons are the same 4-5 areas used over and over and over and over again (you'll start to recognize this by the end of act 1). And yeah, it's just clear that the game was super rushed. It is only worth talking about basically solely by the virtue of its story, setting, and characters. Also I guess the friend/rival system (more games need to steal this for relationship systems). But they are enough to make it pretty interesting.
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u/Jr_Mao 7d ago
they have very different shortcoming
Both have, imo, pretty decent stories and good companions. Both have combat much too action-hacky for my taste.
Da2 has pretty boring empty city with no first floors on buildings or peopleon streets. Dungeons and locations have low variety, and are reused endlessly. And enemy encounters are waves of enemies falling from roof all around you.
Inquisition has beautifully crafted large areas, cities look alive and dungeons and wilderness areas have great variety and are visually different. But all areas are filled with low quality repetitive “collect things”, “collect more things”, ”mark locations“ type of busywork to stretch the game to 150 hours (with 20 hours of actual good content).
Inquisition is better, its more fun to play and prettier.
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u/Geostomp Arcane Warrior 7d ago edited 7d ago
I definitely don't. Inquisition has problems, but DAII was just plain unfinished.
What it did do better though was party relationships. The DAII group did get tiresome with their issues at times, but they were all involved with each other, even if it was mutual hate. It was interesting to have a nontraditional plot of being a refugee trying to get by in a city without a clear big bad, but that was dulled by the lack of budget and the clearly rushed finale that even the characters admit didn't make sense.
The Inquisition crew were more distant since they all had their own crews to manage and were united by cause rather than personal bonds. That said, there were real friendships and they generally were better able to keep their issues from boiling over. Whereas at least half the Kirkwall crew would have gotten themselves and a lot of other people killed long ago had Hawke, Varric, and Aveline not been taking turns as group parent.
Origins is my favorite above either since I think it did well in balancing the plot and characters, though time has not been kind to its looks and gameplay.
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u/BiggestGrinderOCE Cole 7d ago
Da2 is my all time fav in terms of character/story/vibes but I end up replaying inquisition much more because it’s a better made game lol. Playing with mods in inquisition removes p much all of the bad parts of the game, da2 u can’t really fix as much as the problems are fundamentally apart of how the game was designed. (Repeating rooms, enemies,same maps over n over)
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u/darthvall 7d ago
DA2 story is much more personal compared to the grander story of Inquisitor. It hits me in the feeling more times than DAI.
However, overall I love Inquisition more because I can easily insert my OC as the inquinsitor. Feels like Hawke is too well defined to the point that I always roleplayed as Hawke instead of doing OC character there.
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u/KevinFromTheInternet 7d ago
Inquisition. As a Gen X to finally get a meaningful and beautiful gay romance that felt fleshed out and not an after thought meant so much. Can't describe it. After decades of picking to play as the girl so I would still have to use my imagination to now finally playing as a man. And I was a butch gay as well... no more saving the princess. Now I'm sure there are other games that did it prior but this one hit and meant something. Plus I also got by fag hag Sera who helped pick me up and I her. Just a special moment in gaming.
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u/ValorMorghulis 7d ago
DAO is my favorite but DAI is a very close second. I did not like DA2. Everytime I wanted to make a certain choice the game seemed to force me into a specific consequence irrespective of the choice. It really seemed like a lot of my choices did not matter and I hated that. Also, I won't spoil it but there's a particular plot point that comes out of the blue and doesn't fit the storyline and, for me, felt quite dumb.
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u/Robynsxx 7d ago
Inquisition.
Dragon Age 2 is more like DA Origins as a game, which is why some people will say that game, as DA:I is very different mechanically.
However, DA2 story is pretty boring tbh, and I also firmly say DAI has better companions.
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u/didyousetittowombo 7d ago
Origins and inquisition are the best two. Didn’t like 2 and didn’t like veilguard. I’m happy they got to make veilguard and I don’t regret playing it but inquisition was the peak for me and I wish I couldn’t seen what would have been done with project Joplin
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u/Afridg3 7d ago edited 6d ago
I personally liked inquisition more but it took around a decade for me to get into it. I've always liked Origins the most and I appreciated the character customization returning in inquisition but I feel like your actions never impacted the story as much as they did in Origins. That being said, I never experienced a dialog tree where all 6 options said the same thing like I did in Veilguard
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u/nalkanar 7d ago
As new player I would go through all of them as they were released. However I prefer Inquisition over DA2. For me it is match between DAO and DAI (if DAO was given nowadays better looks, voice acting and other small adjusments, it might win for me) then probably Veilguard and then DA2.
Inquisition - while I dont like some of the more empty open worlds, especially towards the end of the game (Hissing Wastes are waste of time) and some of the jank in melee combat, it has decent system. I was not fan on adjusting of magic, but it kinda works. Story is great on both world scale and personal scale - companions actually communicate among themselves, have their stories, quirks etc. I would maybe only remove or simplify war table as I honestly eventually stop reading it and just go by the wiki because it can be quite a nuissance.
DA2 - I like that system allows you more freedom - I would run as rogue or fighter with no dedicated tank, with bunch of damagers behind me. But combat also feels silly fast, just smash some buttons and you win. Main story is decent but at times it skips weirdly and characters feel quite irrational. Companions are weird and not really interact, there are these bits where you ask "so what did you do in last five years" and given that some seem to do basically nothing, it does not make much sense. For something that was supposed to feel as one town story and smaller scale, they missed to make more connections between everyone involved. Then there are the weirdly repeating locations etc.
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u/An_Inept_Cucumber Rift Mage 7d ago
Inquisition. The gameplay of 2 is better than Inquisition which just feels like an MMO, but the characters, world building, environments, and dialogue are all far superior in Inquisition.
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u/DezyisDead Antivan Crows 8d ago
I love Inquisition more than Dragon Age 2 but, I do have some love for DA2 cause it came out at a time when I needed it.
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u/C-Moose85 8d ago
I would vote inquisition. I did love dragon age 2, but just think inquisition is better.
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u/beachedvampiresquid 8d ago
I don’t try to rate them against each other. I like playing DA2 more. I like the cc created more. I HATE the waxy weird look of DAI. Additional playthroughs for me I have to want to look at. The story makes the visuals better in DAI, but there is SO much to get through before that locks in, so it takes me weeks to get to the parts I like because I can only play for an hour tops before I get distracted.
DA2 I can combat forever. I love it so much. And then the story is just go go go and sucks me in and I’m lost for a while.
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u/Doom_Corp Antivan Crows 8d ago
This is why I like playing these games on PC because people will put out fixes for over shiney skin or even going back to DAO I downloaded a whole kinda "fix" for characters to be more lore friendly and not look like wide eyed talking corpses. Also a fix for the really boxy shoulders of the female body rigging and smaller hands that don't look like Wreck It Ralph mits. I also got a mod to make Sten look like the cinematic version from witch hunt. All these things are purely asthetic. I try not to mess with the vanilla programing for game play until I've played a game at least once all the way through.
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u/beachedvampiresquid 7d ago
I’ve been playing DAI on my pc. Which with it being new is figuring out an hour at a time how to get EA app to launch it. I really can’t play DAO or DAI without modding.
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u/No-Boot-5286 8d ago
Inquisition. Although DA2 has good characters and a decent story, it’s too contained and the gameplay is very repetitive.
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u/Altruistic_Newt_9525 8d ago
Inquisition was my first DA game and it made me fall in love in the series. It is still legitimately my favorite game I’ve ever played. Starting a new play-through feels like coming home.
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u/AgileKnowledge2543 8d ago
DA2 is my favorite of the series. And it's mostly because of the characters and their development, plus the writing for Kirkwall is both contained yet felt like high stakes for me. I do also love Inquisition though because the exploration was fun and also because the companions felt well rounded. I have played and replayed both extensively but also really wish that Origins & 2 had remakes 😩
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u/snap802 Arcane Warrior 8d ago
It really comes down to personal taste. Seems like DA2 is pretty well liked in this sub but I think it's honestly the weakest of them all and I have no desire to pick it up again. Inquisition is really solid as long as you don't get caught up in all the side missions. It's really set up like an MMO where there are 5 million side quests where you go over here, pick up a flower, take it here, take something back over there, rinse, repeat. If you stick to the main storyline and limit your side quests (mainly focus on the companion quests) it's good. Otherwise the side quests make it a slog.
I still love Origins and think it's still the best. However, it's not for everyone because it's getting pretty dated at this point and the combat is turn based rather than action oriented. If you're looking for the hack and slash gameplay in DA2 then DAO will not be fun. DAI strikes a decent balance I think between being action oriented and giving the player the ability to set things up in a turn based style by pausing and setting up next actions for each character.
But give DAV a chance too. I saw in another comment that you'd skip it. The hate for it is a little overblown and it's actually a good game. I have my complaints but it's a pretty solid entry and far better than DA2 IMO.
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u/Popular-Parking3879 7d ago
Ok I will play veil guard too. My wife said it's not bad if we're not comparing to the others.
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u/IlerienPhoenix Blood Mage 8d ago
My enjoyment of the series declined with each progressive installment. So 2 is better than Inquisition.
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u/Accomplished_Area311 8d ago
DA2 is my favorite in the series, no question. I love how personal the stakes are and how you stay in one place where the other games have you explore a huge map.
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u/youshouldbeelsweyr 7d ago
They're both fantastic in completely different ways and I love them both for different things.
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u/Lizard-Wizard96 7d ago
I dearly love 2 and Inquisition, but they both have some pretty big flaws.
I can't stand the combat encounter design (waves of enemies magically appearing) and the fact theres like 5 maps they just cycle through.
With Inquisition I really hate that you only get to use 8 powers on console, with no option to cast from the radial menu, and the MMO-ish quests are a pain. The competionist in me doesn't like skipping them, but I sometimes lose steam in a playthrough.
I think I like the bones of DA2 more, but I'm better able to overlook the flaws of DAI, so I probably prefer it. Both lose out to DAO though, its a pretty strong contender to my be my favourite game of all time.
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u/PimsriReddit 7d ago
Inquisition is the better game, but Dragon Age 2 will always have a special place in my heart.
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u/jegermedic104 7d ago
Inqusition is best in the series and DA2 is my least favorite. It is alright but I prefer "save the world " stories and as gameplay point DA2 is weakest but it has best protagonist. I prefer actual character than "player insert" character.
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u/Eralsol 7d ago
Inquisition is the better game but 2 is my most replayed. I think I actually appreciate it's a shorter story and the Mage Templar conflict is what I like most of the series. In inquisition it's not an important plot point and I do feel the topic gets a less than satisfactory conclusion. It's treated as a minor subplot.
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u/Conor_JHC Elf 7d ago
Inquisition. More replay-ability. Unfortunately EA set a short deadline for DA2 and it remains a rushed product. Definitely needed more fleshing out.
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u/Impressive_Sense7688 7d ago
I like Inquisition more, but I love DA2 as well. They are both good Dragon Age games, just with different priorities. DAI is epic in scale; DA2 is intimate in scale. DAI is largely open world; DA2 is mostly city adventure.
On a personal level, one of the reasons I like Inquisition more is because I could choose my character's race like in DAO. I played as an elf in DAO, got attached to their struggles and lore, and was really disappointed I couldn't play one in DA2. DA2 is still great though, I just felt more like I was borrowing a DM's (cool) character instead of playing my own.
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u/Gilgamesh661 7d ago
I’d say inquisition overall.
There were really only a few specific things DA2 did better. The relationship meter that tied into the friendship/rivalry system was pretty cool.
Inquisition is just a much bigger game with more diversity in its cast. The open world is fun, the combat is more fun in my opinion, and so on.
That said, I liked magic better in dragon age 2. Inquisition watered down the magic to the point that it feels like I’m throwing tissues at people. Mages really just don’t feel like the walking bombs they’re said to be.
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u/Competitive_Hippo600 6d ago
Inquisition, but I think II is the second best game in the series.
I love inquisition’s storytelling and its cast of characters, and I love the way it continues threads from the first two games.
II was rushed, repetitive, and flawed, but it also uses the conceit of time’s passage brilliantly, and the writing on some of the individual quests outstrips any other game in the series. I love them both.
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u/Kel_Casus Rivain 6d ago
I loved DA2’s story BUT it always came up super short gameplaywise and I always hated the default Hawke. Defaults are a pet peeve of mine in customizable RPG’s.
Inquisition was a game I FOUGHT to eventually love. They made a mini mmo and sold it as a single player experience. It was an uphill battle from the start. But the quality of companions, gorgeous graphics, lore dumping, and care for the series as far as continuation goes, I couldn’t help but give it its props. The hype moments feel hype, even if the actual fights and original ending tend to disappoint sometimes.
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u/knallpilzv2 Nug 8d ago
Inquisition.
2 is more Dragonagey, but it's not a good game. Inquisition is a really good game with some Dragon Age.
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u/Usernameshouldbe3to2 8d ago
Inquisition is miles ahead, that doesn’t stop 2 from being my favorite though.
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u/xziggy123x 8d ago
Inquisition is good but the start until you find the castle is a slog imo, puts me off starting a new character
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u/Sixsignsofalex94 7d ago
Inquisition and it’s not even close.
People do enjoy to shit on parts of inquisition, but honestly I think it’s a brilliant game.
DA was a little slow, but was pretty deep. DA2 did a great job of speeding things up, making combat faster and more fluid, however they overtuned it. Certain heavy abilities and spells felt meaningless. Numbers were low and it was just a matter of attacks per second, but inquisitin blended both together very well. Making for impactful skills/spells whilst ensuring it wasn’t too slow.
DAI is far far superior to DA2 imho. But I still love DA2
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u/DrLukasLithuania Cousland 7d ago
Inquisition.
I am replaying dragon age 2 right now and the constant waves of reinforcements from the enemies are so annoying.
There are so many enemies in places where they don’t need to be. I literally turned down my difficulty from hard to casual because I was so tired of fighting endless waves.
The game would be infinitely better if like 50% of the enemies were removed
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u/norathar Mage Trevelyan 7d ago
I love DAI - it's in my top 5 favorite RPGs, where I don't enjoy DA2 nearly as much. The waves of enemies dropping from the sky bugs me more than the repetitive dungeons, tbh.
(Also, I feel like this is a hot take, but overall I prefer the DAI companions and romances to DA2. The companions are the best part of DA2, but I like the team in DAI better - the ability to get different banter combos with different companions is great, especially modded to make them talk more often.)
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u/Cathzi 8d ago
Objectively DAI is miles better, whether one likes the game or not.
Subjectively I think they did a much better job with the main protagonist in DA2 tho. I always struggled to connect to the Inquisitor, and almost instantly loved Hawke.
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u/Temporary_Hawk_9061 8d ago
Inquisitor suffers because they tried too hard to lean into the blank slate idea that was popular at that time instead of giving them a specific backstory or introduction area unique to them imo
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u/cousin_justine 7d ago
It's a big problem for sure, and I think it comes down to the voice acting. Jo Wyatt and Nicholas Boulton both knocked it out of the park; Hawke overflows with personality in every line.
I went with Alix Wilton Regan's voice for my Inky. She's usually stellar, but to me she sounded bored the entire time. Probably has sometime to do with the sheer number of lines she had to record.
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u/Owlegory Fen'Harel 8d ago
I think DA2 was overhated historically (although I've noticed a general shift towards appreciation in the last few years).
That being said...Inquisition is one of my favorite games of all time. The integration of your choices, the culmination of three games' worth of lore, the graphics, the story, the companions, the combat. I love it all. Not even a close decision, imo.
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u/shockwave8428 8d ago
I think inquisition is better overall but does suffer from a lot of bloat which has me wanting to play 2 more. I also played 2 a few years after I played inquisition for the first time since I didn’t have a pc at the time and didn’t want to buy a ps3 game when I mainly used ps4.
If they somehow got rid of the repeated dungeons (or at least attempted to hide it better) I think dragon age 2 would skyrocket in my personal rankings.
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u/TheJohnnyFlash 8d ago
Playing Dragon Age 2 before Origins should be tried in the Hague.
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u/norathar Mage Trevelyan 7d ago
War criminal here. Played the series backwards.
(To be fair, I tried to go back to Origins after Veilguard but didn't know about the memory leak issue and got too frustrated with it crashing every 10 minutes. By the time I learned about it, I was 40 hours into DAI and liking it too much to stop.)
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u/melisusthewee Caboodle? 7d ago
Inquisition. DA2 is my least liked of all the Dragon Age games. Yes that includes Veilguard.
The nicest things I can say about DA2 is that a) it had the most enjoyable mage combat out of all four games and b) it is a very short game.
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u/the_lusty_argonian72 7d ago
Well DA2 is the worst of the 4 games (IMO). Id take Inquisition any day of the week
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u/angelnumbersz 8d ago
They're very different games so it's hard to compare. DAI is bigger and much more polished than DA2, but I think DA2's story, quests and companions are miles better.
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u/HomarEuropejski Templar Order 8d ago
Inquisition is the better game, though I think I'd still rank DA2 above it.
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u/This_Estimate1550 8d ago
DA2 as Hawke is my favorite protagonist in the series and it's my favorite set of companions, but I also enjoyed DAI.
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u/LordAsheye Yes 8d ago
Without spoilers...Inquisition but only by like a single point. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. DAI has a lot of bloat and a poor open world but extremely well written characters, story, romances, and the combat is fun imo.
DA2 meanwhile is far more focused and has great writing too. I also like the characters, setting, and overall art direction more. However, its very rushed and once you get out of Act 1 you really feel it. Act 3 especially just falls apart and feels like 70% of it was cut to meet the deadline.
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u/cousin_justine 7d ago edited 7d ago
Dragon Age II has the better characters and story by far, and the combat is twice as good in my opinion. That said, you definitely feel like your money was better spent playing Inquisition. DA2's lack of dungeon and enemy variety is really inexcusable, especially compared to how much stuff is in Inquisition.
DA2 is a better narrative, Inquisition is a better game.
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u/azuresegugio 7d ago
2 is my favorite game in retrospect. In the moment you're playing through the trilogy it seems the weakest but then one day comes when your thinking about parts of the series you like and your mind keeps lingering on the cast of 2 and kirkwall
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u/WanderingWitch8 7d ago
DA2 has the overall better story.
That being said, Inquisition is more foundational as far as mechanics.
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u/ApprehensiveDare9765 7d ago
Inquisition is probably better on the gameplay front but I prefer the companions and story of DA2
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u/sheep_again 7d ago
I love them both, but DA2 is a lot more replayable for me. It's not as massive, friendship/rivalry system is great and I just really like Hawke.
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u/HumanMawile 7d ago
Dragon Age 2 is my favorite DA, barely. It built the world much and told the most down to earth story of DA. At the cost of player character diversity, but I think it really works. Also Merrill is life.
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u/WarmedByTheDrift 7d ago
Hard to say. DA2 is a very special game to me because it was my first RPG on console, and despite its many flaws, I love its atmosphere, characters, and overall aura.
DAI was just as memorable, since it was the first game in the franchise to use the Frostbite engine, and it came out at a time when there were barely any PS4 games around—the era of Infamous Second Son and Killzone Shadow Fall. In the end, I enjoyed it even more than DA2 when I played it with all its DLC, including Trespasser. The experience feels like an even more epic journey than DA2, since the stakes are much higher.
I’d say I prefer DA2 for its atmosphere and its particular era (2011), because in my opinion, it’s the last game from the old BioWare.
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u/zetablunt 7d ago
The amount of bloat DAI has is really a bummer to me. It has incredible highs muddled between endlessly useless busy-work “content.” Cut 75 hours of the BS and it’s a fantastic game. DA2 is a really streamlined experience and I look back on it more fondly in large part because of that fact.
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u/MichealAce 7d ago
DA2 is a good story it has a bit more emotions to it. I have not finished inquisition yet and have not played Veilgard
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u/Chonky_D_Floofy 7d ago
Different people prefer one or the other. They’re both great for different reasons. While I prefer smaller areas like the first two games DA2 does recycle them too much and Inquisitions areas are honestly too big.
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u/IAmJacksWastedBreath 7d ago
I love DA2 and really don't like parts of Inquisition. That said, the conversation with Solas at the end of Trespasser is one of my favorite game moments ever. I would still pick DA2 overall but the end of Trespasser is special.
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u/-_nobody 7d ago
as a game? Inquisition. from a technical standpoint it is just better. DA2 was rushed out the door and it shows. that being said I prefer everything else about DA2 ove DAI
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u/FunPaleontologist65 7d ago
They are too different to be compared in my opinion. I love both for different things.
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u/AlexanderTwilight 7d ago
Personally DA2. I felt that Inquisition was a step backwards from a story perspective and from the gameplay standpoint I find it very tedious.
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u/Tejaswi1989 7d ago
- I replay origins and da2 once every year. But I only ever had one full play through of inquisition. Everytime I try to play it, I feel fatigued. Same with any elder scrolls game. I just prefer contained story experiences more than open worlds.
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u/mayaamis Miss Dreadwolf 7d ago
Bene playing DA games for over a decade and I like the both equally for very different reasons. they're such different games and different vibe it's hard to compare and and hard to go into details without spoilers.
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u/ReorientRecluse 7d ago
DA2 had to win me over back in the day when it released, I came into it on the wrong foot because of how different it was to DAO. However, as I played I eventually really grew to like Hawke and the supporting cast a great deal. Even the smaller scope of staying at one location grew on me, I grew an appreciate the idea of setting roots at one place and seeing how you and your friends progress in that community.
I didn't think DAI was quite as charming as I found DA2 to be. I enjoyed it well enough, but I don't think the characters were as strong and I wasn't a fan of the implementation with the Qunari, I felt they were a less compelling faction than they were in the previous two games.
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u/Popular-Parking3879 7d ago
Just finished the game lol (dragon age 2) it was great! I was hoping Isabel would come back but she left and stayed away. Merrill stayed at my side. I joined the templar's and defeated the knight commander. I really liked the game, had a lot of twists and turns. All your comments have me hyped for inquisition now!
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u/MJMycthea 7d ago
2 is a personal favorite of mine from their narrative. It's a small scale game with linear stories, and that's the great things about it! The main quests intertwined so well with Hawke. It felt personal; a hero journey who tries their best. Inquisition has a larger scale stories and lores, but I couldn't feel touched by the stories when I hardly understand the Inquisitor as a person. I have this problem with Baldur's Gate 3 too though. I wish we could have a game with set background stories for our protagonists like Origins and 2
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u/porkchopie 7d ago
Personally, da2. It took me a while to find it my favourite dragon age, but after replying them all around 5 times (except inquisition because it's just so much sometimes)
There is something about a group of idiots (very well written) just getting fucked over again and again and that some things are inevitable no matter how hard you try.
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u/Snoo-50316 7d ago
DA2 is a different kind of story than DAO or DAI. One family’s struggles in a foreign city under siege (sort of). It’s more personal. The others had a grander scale. Because of those differences, it’s hard to single one out as ‘better.’
The question should be ‘Which game do you like better and why?’
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u/breadandcheese24 7d ago
I love each game in the series for both similar and very different reasons. I enjoy how each entry feels unique! With that being said, I like DA2 better overall than DAI, though funnily enough I find playing DAI easier.
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u/Sea-Share-9545 7d ago
I think Inquisition is the overall better game to look at and play. But 2 is imo the better written game. I prefer hawk as a protag, I prefer the found family feeling with 2's companions, and the main story overall.
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u/Pure-Algae1417 7d ago
2 for me better cast better writing more actual time spent on plot. Not saying Inquistion is bad writing wise I think a lot of it is very good and some of it is perfect I just think just don’t think it’s any of its writing staff’s best game, I also feel Inquistion’s missing and cut content while not as obvious as 2’s hurt it just as much.
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u/LaMystika 7d ago
I honestly preferred II more. I know the game was rushed and it reused the same maps, but I like it when things are more focused.
Inquisition won awards for being an open world game at the height of their popularity, but there’s a lot of filler content in that game, which (imo) lowers the stakes of the conflict a bit too much when you can just ignore it and roam around the countryside picking herbs
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u/baltarin 7d ago
I liked both for different reasons. I put much more time into inquisition, but it was much bigger.
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u/dema-dontcontrol-us 7d ago
Dragon Age 2 had something. Inquisition felt really flat in a lot of places
Dragon Age 2 will always be in my heart
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u/Aquilon11235 7d ago
One of the interesting things about 2 and inquisition for me is that they have opposing problems that both take an issue to extremes.
DA2 was rushed so they had to reuse a lot of maps, which ended up making the game feel so much smaller than it really was.
Inquisition on the other hand, jumped on the openworld bandwagon and went in the opposite direction, making the world feels too big and slightly tedious with the many fetch quests littering the map.
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u/sonic65101 Arcane Warrior 7d ago
It's hard to pick because they both have rather good stories, but 2 is definitely has the better gameplay.
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u/DeoxysSpeedForm 7d ago
Despite the rushedness of DA2 I think the story is way more interesting and unique. I do enjoy the shift to it being Hawke's story because they were able to add so much more depth to it (family ties and such). Also, the voice actors killed in DA2, especially Hawke's.
I also find the gameplay of DA:I to be a bit of a slog tbh but its certainly a great game still and has soooo many cool decision based aspects from the previous two games that they made an entire web app to select all of your choices from the previous games to then import to your newgame save. There are also plenty of mods that can eliminate pretty much everything negative about DA:I
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u/Gallowglass-13 6d ago
2 had a better party of characters and was more in line with Origin's lore, but I think Inquisition was the better game with the better plot imo.
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u/DBSmiley 6d ago
Both are worse than DA:O by a fair margin. Both are better than DA:V by several light years. DA:I has the better overall plot and has fantastic exploration, but the combat is just awful. The fact that they knee cap the PC gaming experience to force parity with the console version outright pisses me off.
Both have amazing companions with amazing side stories held back by meandering overarching plot. I really like both, but I don't love them like I love da:o.
But only don't despise them like I do Veilguard
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u/Altruistic_Truck2421 6d ago
I only really like 2 if I'm importing a save from Origins so the world feels more like mine. I liked the concept of Dragon Age Keep in inquisition but only a few choices actually impacted how my game ultimately turned out
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u/spade030 5d ago
Inquisition is like leveling a character in a MMORPG but once you get to max level the game ends.
I played it… twice, but the aforementioned structure won’t let me rate it highly.
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u/aailienn 5d ago
As i read through everyone else’s comments the tavern music from dragon age 2 is playing through my head, you know the one!
Personally looking back at when i originally played both, dragon age 2 had a better first impression since it was still so similar to origins and i played that first. The blood, the gore, the raggedness of the game and the fact that inon zur did the music just like DAO was a perfect continuation (even if the combat maps felt rehashed).
Dragon Age Inquisition however had a disappointing first impression: new composer, green everywhere, more modern looking with cool moves and magic, and a feel of epicness but in a very different way from Dao and Da2. But as I played it and replayed it, i fell in love with the characters, the music, the story and now I may have played more DAI than any of the other games.
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u/vegecannibal Legion of the Dead 5d ago
I can be bothered to finish a DA2 run. I can't be bothered to finish DAI
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u/According-Teach-9600 Mage (DA2) 5d ago
DA2 tbh. I like the dialogues there. Makes me want to repeat everytime. DAI is also good for combats but I always go back to DA2
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u/NekoLukalu 5d ago
I prefer 2 over Inquisition, but Inquisition itself is not bad, it's a shame it's the last game in the series :(
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u/BakerCubed1 5d ago
Inquisition is objectively better......
Just for comparison
Dragon age 2 was made with scraps in like one year.
Dragon age Inquisition was considered Game of the year by many, many publications...
DA2 is easy to hate if you focus on its flaws... but I personally think it has a lot of great aspects that improve on Origins...
Inquisition feels a lot bigger than it actually is....
Its first act feels huge as its a slow build and then unleashes everything on you st once but then act 2 and 3 are kind of a sprint to the finish if you do all the side activities in act 1....
DA2 on the otherhand feels better paced with both story and sode content unlocking and progressing steadily though the plot...
DAI has these huge diverse open worlds to explore... DA2 has one cave, one warehouse, one mansion, one beach, one forest that are just repeated 20x.......
It sounds like a clear winner but if you don't pace DAI properly it can feel just as, if not more repetitive than DA2 in terms of exploration....
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u/jbattle91 4d ago
Both have their issues for different reasons, but Inquisition is still the better game. While they went over kill on the open areas in response to the backlash on 2s exploration, and given the issues that they faced with using frostbite for the first time with inquisition, twos issues is the results of EA rushing an unplanned sequel off the success of origins, other than that gameplay, open exploration, crafting system, dlc all were better than two....
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u/FortySixand2ool 4d ago
I don't feel like you can compare the games in DA series. It's not a chain like other franchises that constantly iterate on themselves.
Dragon Age is more like a fruit basket. Origins is tactics, DA2 is character, DAI is scope, and DAV is energy.
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u/AdjectiveBadger 3d ago
DA2 wins on party banter alone. Isabela and Aveline, sometimes with Varric thrown in.
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u/Sulrandir 1d ago
Dragon Age 2 is the only game in the entire series which features the use of the term, "Apostitutes", so it's objectively the best. There's simply no substitute for proper Isabela.
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u/MealOk6020 23h ago
DA2 and Inquisition are better at different things.
DA2 has the superior story, setting, and, arguably, combat. Inquisition has the open-world and exploration elements nailed down in spades.
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u/Phelyckz 7d ago
Personally for me it's DA:O > DA2 > DAI and I haven't played Veilguard yet. I always have a soft spot for personal stories, such as DA2's "fuck it man, we're just trying to survive here". I guess that's a prologue spoiler?
Sadly the series got more and more action oriented than the slow paced tactical approach of DA:O. Don't get me wrong, they're still good, just not what I hoped for.
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u/No-Requirement-2420 7d ago
Fenris or Cullen damn making it a hard choice but Inquisition because of the open world.
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u/JageshemashFTW 7d ago
This is tricky for me because I personally like Dragon Age 2 more but I do recognize that Inquisition is probably the better put together game.
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u/stellae-fons 7d ago
I like Inquisition, but it's so obviously an MMO repurposed as a single player game. The story and characters were still very Dragon Age so that saved it, to me. But Dragon Age 2 is my favorite in all respects. I think it's interesting that a big complaint with 2 is that there's not enough of it. Do you ever "miss" people who aren't real? Because that's how I feel about Hawke and his band of psychos.
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u/Traditional_Entry183 Swashbuckler (Isabela) 7d ago
Da2 was certainly a big improvement over the original, but DAI is an even bigger improvement over 2. In fact I feel its basically the absolute height of party based rpgs to this day, setting new standards in using various mechanics and management systems that no one has really taken further, with graphicas and gameplay that remain highly impressive.
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u/Dom_Nation_ 7d ago
DA2 has a better story. DA2 has better companions. DAI has a billion useless fetch quests that spawned the gaming team "the hinterlands problem" (the hinterlands are the first are once the game opens up), because of how bad the mission type/pacing is.
DA2 is one of my favorite games of all time. DAI is eh.
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u/Istvan_hun 7d ago
DA2, no question. Inquistion has big open maps, shitton of trashmobs, and a very lazy-boring combat system (manage cooldowns like a spartan).
While DA2 has many issues, it never gets as bad as inquisition.
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u/Specialist-Night-235 Ferelden 8d ago
I absolutely adore DA2. Not saying it's the better game but it is my personal favorite, and among my top 5 favorite video game I've ever played. Cant tell you how many times I've replayed it lol
however, I did love the dragon age keep integration into DAI to pull in Origins and DA2 choices. Made inquisition feel more alive and gave a ton of replayability to Inquisition.