100% Dwarfier

Lately I've been occupied with playing my way through 2014's Dragon Age:  Inquisition and it's DLC.  I have only made it to the point where I have played through almost all of The Descent, but haven't levelled up enough to reach the starting levels for the other DLC.  It's a work in progress and one that I am mostly enjoying.

It's a bit odd going back and playing Inquisition after other fantasy RPG's like The Witcher 3.  At the time that Inquisition came out it boasted one of the largest total world map areas in gaming.  For some weird reason, it just doesn't feel as big as The Witcher 3.  After riding Roach in TW3 the riding in Inquisition feels oddly stiff and hard to control.  I try to avoid riding.

This Inquisition go-round I decided to play a race and class combo that I hadn't tried before--a Qunari warrior with a tanking setup.  I am sure that most people jumped all over then chance to build a hulking blue beauty when Inquisition first came out.  I decided to stick with a decidedly more elfy and dwarfy path (still haven't played a human).  Playing as a Qunari is way more fun!  I also decided that my Qunari should be a bit of a jokester.  My favorite line from Cassandra after a wisecrack was "the Inquisitor was a funny Qunari" in reference to how the Inquisitor would be remembered.  The entire aspect of a Qunari becoming the Herald of Andraste puts the story into conflict and that awkwardness is acknowledged fairly often.  I will admit that playing as a tank isn't the most exciting class option.

One of my big complaints about Inquisition was the lack of dwarves.  In the first two Dragon Age games dwarves play a key role in the story and I felt their absence from Inquisition was a disappointment.  I can somewhat understand the decision--you can only really do the Deep Roads so many times before it gets really stale, but even the number of dwarves in the story was small.  I was excited that the DLC  The Descent introduced more dwarves and saw my party returning to the Deep Roads to investigate a series of mysterious earthquakes.

A major mistake I made was starting the DLC too early.  There isn't a a recommended level listed so I hopped in at around level 14.  Most of the enemies you encounter are around level 15 so it's doable, but a lot of the really good loot I got was for levels 18+.  I would recommend waiting until around level 20.

Once your party reaches the Deep Roads you meet two new dwarven characters who are investigating the source of the earthquakes.  Valta is a shaper who is trying to gather historical sources to explain what is happening and Renn is one of the Legion of the Dead who is protecting her.  They are an interesting duo and it's obvious that they have a close relationship.  Valta and Renn join you on your explorations as NPC's which is interesting...but can be annoying as you try to navigate narrow tunnels filled with spiders and darkspawn.

After you establish your main camp and spend power to upgrade it you can add a new operations table and a full complement of crafting items as well as a merchant.  As you progress through the Deep Roads you find many locations for possible operations that will unlock new areas to explore.  There are also new collections--one that involves collecting dwarven mugs and another that involves finding ancient gears, some of which are vital for unlocking doors to reveal more loot and more gears.

The Descent features some new Deep Roads landscapes.

I enjoyed the version of the Deep Roads that is portrayed in The Descent.  It manages to capture the former grandiosity of this vast dwarven treasure without feeling too...cave-ey.  There are gaping chasms and ledges that all seem to lead deeper and deeper into the earth.

As you venture deeper you encounter new, tougher enemies that can really wail on your party.  The loot is plentiful and has a unique dwarven-inspired look that is lacking from other objects in the game.  Eventually your party finds itself at the source of the earthquakes (not going to spoil it) and faces off with a final boss.  Sadly, I have not finished this boss fight--it is difficult!  It's another one of those bosses that relies on a large amount of party movement (something that I have always felt was a weakness in the series, but for some reason they add into the bigger boss battles) and can be very frustrating.  I plan to finish it once my party has levelled up to level 20.

Overall, I think The Descent is a decent DLC addition to Inquisition.  It adds the dwarves that were lacking from the core game and introduces new areas and enemies to spice things up.  The story is so-so and has its interesting bits.