Mystiique

This is honestly the first game in the series that I've felt upgrading gear is actually worth doing.

Personally, in previous games, I've never bothered too much because if you upgrade literally anything (beyond end game gear, which by then you don't even get to use your cool powerful gear for much of the game) it was essentially out levelled within a few extra hours of story progression which was a waste of time and resources... Resources which then would have to be collected all over again (along with some rarer and harder to get material, probably) just to level up the new gear to replace the old gear you just levelled earlier.

I know I'll be told I was playing the game wrong or I just didn't spend the time getting the correct gear to level up, but as someone who doesn't have a lot of time to indulge in their gaming hobby, DA:V's gear upgrade system is a godsend. I can spend more time actually playing the game as opposed to spending the very fews hours I do have trying to specifically collect resources and upgrade gear that is soon to be obsolete anyway.

Completely agree with this. I'd understand the hardened and distrustful state more if Rook hadn't split the party between Minrathous and Treviso... If the characters sent to the opposite city Rook went to can't handle a blighted dragon without Rook being there to hold their hand, then what chance do they have against literal gods 😒

I personally chose Treviso for my playthrough mainly because I am romancing Lucanis. It was immediately obvious that if I didn't then any chance of progressing the romance would be squandered. In my case the decision was almost forced before even bringing into consideration the political and moral ramifications of a major decision. The same can be said for players romancing Neve.

Also, Lucanis did make a good point that Antivans are not fighters. They don't even have a military to defend against invasion, which normally wouldn't be an issue for the Crows if a mind controlled dragon wasn't in the picture... Whereas the Shadow Dragons are more capable as warriors. They have an entire underground network that they could easily have evacuated the city into if they needed to. They should have been far better equipped to deal with an invasion.

I'm not sure if Neve and Lucanis are going to be the only characters impacted by a major decision like this as I haven't gotten far enough in my playthrough to find out, but it almost seems to me that Bioware intentionally chose these two characters to make or break a relationship with as they are maybe the most likely of the 7 to be romanced? I could be wrong there though.

Overall a little disappointed to be locked out of personal quests for Neve. Her story could have been an interesting one... 😕

I think this system is a really good addition. I haven't personally used it yet but it's good to know it's there if needed. I don't know why save scumming is such a taboo practice, if you don't like it then don't do it? It's pretty simple. I save scum more than I should but generally it's out of habit from playing older consoles that freeze or crash and potentially cause the loss of hours of gameplay as a result. If I can avoid the headache by save scumming then I damn well will 😤

Stoked about this. My original croc game suffered from the dreaded disc skip and froze constantly so I'm super excited about this remaster. I'll finally get to finish the game after 17 years 🥲