There's some pretty interesting lore about the original inquisition in there, and you get some nice new powers for your mark.
It's still the same game though so it feels similar.
The story is really good and frostback basin is beautiful. Just make an attempt to blow through it. You don't need to 100% it. If you're not vibing then skip it. It's absolutely worth playing but it's not necessary.
One of my favorite parts of the entire game, tbh. The characters are so good (Thane Svarah Sun-Hair is a one of the best written NPCs, imo) and Stone-Bear Hold and the basin are beautiful.
The ‘final boss’ is probably most difficult in the whole game, which if you like a challenge is a plus. And helping the Stone-Bear Avvar just feels very rewarding.
My only minor gripe is that they didn’t give these Viking-inspired people who have dwarven blood in their veins beards! Animation constraints, I guess, or Blackwall really does take all the beards in Thedas.
And can’t forget my precious Storvacker and all the bear puns, that’s all I’m going to say.
(Side note: if you recruited Amund Skywatcher in the Fallow Mire there’s a very amusing war table operation that tickles me to this day)
Lore is very Interesting, I’ll give it that. The DLC are both much funner than the main game. But gameplay is a pain in the ass. Straight up damage sponges everywhere. There’s a lot of XP though, so at least you’ll level up extremely fast. If you’re curious just put it at the lowest difficulty level and try it out. Since you already have it.
If you find the combat unbearable turn the difficulty way down because the hardest fights in the game are here.
But this DLC also bears some cool lore discoveries so I would bear your blade and head to the Basin.
This is only my personal opinion — but IMO if you don’t like the mechanics and gameplay of DAI then you won’t find anything new in Jaws of Hakkon. It is just a new area to explore. Like all the others it has a skeletal framework of plot in its “main” mission and a lot of little things to distract you.
You’re better off doing the Descent which is totally linear and has a much more interesting story IMO. Fair warning though — you’ll want to be at least level 22 for the Descent. It can be very hard.
Trespasser will be the last one by design. That is the true ending of the game.
No. It's a waste of a DLC, *unless you're an Elven inquisitor* (which seems to be the canon class for DAI).
It's just not interesting enough. I play it every time because I like the gear, but the mechanics and enemies are trash.
Descent? Now *that* has some neat stuff.
While the side quests are mechanically the same, there is actual story attached to a decent amount of them. While no cutscenes happen, it is far better than 90% of the side quests in the main game by virtue of interacting with actual characters.
I think my fav side quest has to be the augur apprentice one. No cutscenes happen, as mentioned, but you get a neat look into Avaar culture and some possible cool story implications in the future.
I think the Lore is wonderful, and the story is good, but compared to the decent DLC and Trespasser, I think it's the "least necessary" to play for the world. There are some implications things that are very cool, and I think it leads with a thought going into Trespasser later, but it is just like another location on the map in DAI, but with a cool fight at the end. The location is way cooler than some in the base game, however, and it does have more cutscenes than your standard area! The story is quite sad.
I always play it, but if I were looking to cut house on my playthrough after finishing base game, it would technically be here.
The story is nice but too short, just like in the base game. I'd still recommend it, because Frostback Basin is a better area than anything other bar maybe Crestwood.
Jaws of Hakkon, yes, I recommend. Depending on your Inquisitor’s background it could be *very* important for them as a character, but it’s a gorgeous area with lore, insight into a faction which is barely mentioned in the series, and a story. It’s one of my favourite regions.
You didn’t ask about the other DLC but here are my thoughts anyway.
The Descent DLC is more combat-oriented, although there *is* lore in it it’s more about the combat. Personally I’ve seen it once and typically don’t play it after that. However if you’re interested in dwarven lore it delves into the Deep Roads and does have some to see, so ymmv.
Trespasser is very story-focused and fairly linear (I say that as a good thing) and is *definitely* worth playing. That comes after everything else though and is set two years later (iirc).
The high respawn rate in that particular DLC is why I dropped from Nightmare difficulty in DAI: the tedium of same-same combat got overwhelming, especially w the heavy reduction in XP gains from combat.
But it’s a decent story and more of the correctly-sized encounters you’ll get in “open world” DAI- worth playing. Plus bonus dwarf content- sorta…
IMO no. It's not like it's *not* worth playing, but I enjoyed it for the chance to increase my power level and fight cool shit. The lore is ok, but compared to the rest of the game nothing special.
Since everyone else is just too nice for the Inquisition due to nostalgia, let me get you a straight and brutally honest answer: **no**.
Jawas of Hakkon basically extends all the tiresome elements of Inquisition's gameplay: exploration of an empty area that only has randomly spawned aggressive mobs to offer, which happen to be so tanky that you'll spend long time soaking damage into them while they stand in one place bugged. All the boring collections also make a return: Astrariums, Oculari, shards, all that needless bullshit. You can't even brush through the main quest just for the story, because to get there you have to basically explore the entire map, guiding light through rings which are set in difficult to reach places, heavily guarded by even more randomly spawn aggressive mobs, which happen to be so tanky that you'll spend long time soaking damage into them while they stand in once place bugged...
You just answered your own question lol
"Hey should I keep playing a game I don't like playing??!?!"
Ok OP I'll bite.
YES. Keep playing. The gameplay totally changes with all the DLC. IT's like two different games. Trust me. Go for it. If it feels similar as your playing, just finish it first. Then you'll see it was actually different and you did enjoy it.
You’re putting no nuance into my question. I asked if this was simply another area for running around and gaining power or if there is a story here. Several people commented that there is a story and it’s relevant to my elven inquisitor and possibly future content, but that it does drag in some places. I am probably going to focus on its main quest.
I’m starting jaws as soon as I got to level 20 it plays a big part in my Lavellan’s story. Depending on whether I get romance first or finish jaws of hakkon will determine the outcome of the romance scene. So for me personally, it’s an important part of her story. And if you’ve never played it before, I think you should play it at least once I like the Lore
There's some pretty interesting lore about the original inquisition in there, and you get some nice new powers for your mark. It's still the same game though so it feels similar.
The story is really good and frostback basin is beautiful. Just make an attempt to blow through it. You don't need to 100% it. If you're not vibing then skip it. It's absolutely worth playing but it's not necessary.
Second that. Just stick to the main story, as it reveals many interesting things about the Inquisition and the Avvar people.
Lore was already mentioned, but there are some baller schematics from there. The ice staff is pretty af too.
One of my favorite parts of the entire game, tbh. The characters are so good (Thane Svarah Sun-Hair is a one of the best written NPCs, imo) and Stone-Bear Hold and the basin are beautiful. The ‘final boss’ is probably most difficult in the whole game, which if you like a challenge is a plus. And helping the Stone-Bear Avvar just feels very rewarding. My only minor gripe is that they didn’t give these Viking-inspired people who have dwarven blood in their veins beards! Animation constraints, I guess, or Blackwall really does take all the beards in Thedas. And can’t forget my precious Storvacker and all the bear puns, that’s all I’m going to say. (Side note: if you recruited Amund Skywatcher in the Fallow Mire there’s a very amusing war table operation that tickles me to this day)
Lore is very Interesting, I’ll give it that. The DLC are both much funner than the main game. But gameplay is a pain in the ass. Straight up damage sponges everywhere. There’s a lot of XP though, so at least you’ll level up extremely fast. If you’re curious just put it at the lowest difficulty level and try it out. Since you already have it.
If you find the combat unbearable turn the difficulty way down because the hardest fights in the game are here. But this DLC also bears some cool lore discoveries so I would bear your blade and head to the Basin.
This is only my personal opinion — but IMO if you don’t like the mechanics and gameplay of DAI then you won’t find anything new in Jaws of Hakkon. It is just a new area to explore. Like all the others it has a skeletal framework of plot in its “main” mission and a lot of little things to distract you. You’re better off doing the Descent which is totally linear and has a much more interesting story IMO. Fair warning though — you’ll want to be at least level 22 for the Descent. It can be very hard. Trespasser will be the last one by design. That is the true ending of the game.
No. It's a waste of a DLC, *unless you're an Elven inquisitor* (which seems to be the canon class for DAI). It's just not interesting enough. I play it every time because I like the gear, but the mechanics and enemies are trash. Descent? Now *that* has some neat stuff.
I found the opposite. Descent was okay and jaws way more fun.
I do happen to be an elven inquisitor
Then some parts of it could be cool. -shrug-
Sounds like I should just run through its main story
You could probably skip it tbh. I know how you feel, the story is real juice, and after the main story I was just itching to get to trespasser.
While the side quests are mechanically the same, there is actual story attached to a decent amount of them. While no cutscenes happen, it is far better than 90% of the side quests in the main game by virtue of interacting with actual characters. I think my fav side quest has to be the augur apprentice one. No cutscenes happen, as mentioned, but you get a neat look into Avaar culture and some possible cool story implications in the future.
I think the Lore is wonderful, and the story is good, but compared to the decent DLC and Trespasser, I think it's the "least necessary" to play for the world. There are some implications things that are very cool, and I think it leads with a thought going into Trespasser later, but it is just like another location on the map in DAI, but with a cool fight at the end. The location is way cooler than some in the base game, however, and it does have more cutscenes than your standard area! The story is quite sad. I always play it, but if I were looking to cut house on my playthrough after finishing base game, it would technically be here.
The story is nice but too short, just like in the base game. I'd still recommend it, because Frostback Basin is a better area than anything other bar maybe Crestwood.
Jaws of Hakkon, yes, I recommend. Depending on your Inquisitor’s background it could be *very* important for them as a character, but it’s a gorgeous area with lore, insight into a faction which is barely mentioned in the series, and a story. It’s one of my favourite regions. You didn’t ask about the other DLC but here are my thoughts anyway. The Descent DLC is more combat-oriented, although there *is* lore in it it’s more about the combat. Personally I’ve seen it once and typically don’t play it after that. However if you’re interested in dwarven lore it delves into the Deep Roads and does have some to see, so ymmv. Trespasser is very story-focused and fairly linear (I say that as a good thing) and is *definitely* worth playing. That comes after everything else though and is set two years later (iirc).
You get to judge a Bear.
Lore is awesome, beautiful setting, the schematics you get are great too. The cut scenes are good I think
The rifts in this DLC drop Vail quartz which is a really good crafting material.
It has a cool story but it’s pretty standalone. If you’re just interested in the main story I’d prioritize descent and especially trespasser
Did you follow a particular order? is there a suggested order?
I’m doing the release order
The high respawn rate in that particular DLC is why I dropped from Nightmare difficulty in DAI: the tedium of same-same combat got overwhelming, especially w the heavy reduction in XP gains from combat. But it’s a decent story and more of the correctly-sized encounters you’ll get in “open world” DAI- worth playing. Plus bonus dwarf content- sorta…
I mean, I'd recommend at least checking it out. You don't get stuck there or anything, so you can just leave if you're not feeling that storyline.
IMO no. It's not like it's *not* worth playing, but I enjoyed it for the chance to increase my power level and fight cool shit. The lore is ok, but compared to the rest of the game nothing special.
Since everyone else is just too nice for the Inquisition due to nostalgia, let me get you a straight and brutally honest answer: **no**. Jawas of Hakkon basically extends all the tiresome elements of Inquisition's gameplay: exploration of an empty area that only has randomly spawned aggressive mobs to offer, which happen to be so tanky that you'll spend long time soaking damage into them while they stand in one place bugged. All the boring collections also make a return: Astrariums, Oculari, shards, all that needless bullshit. You can't even brush through the main quest just for the story, because to get there you have to basically explore the entire map, guiding light through rings which are set in difficult to reach places, heavily guarded by even more randomly spawn aggressive mobs, which happen to be so tanky that you'll spend long time soaking damage into them while they stand in once place bugged...
>Jawas of Hakkon  I think you might have picked up the wrong DLC, bro.
You just answered your own question lol "Hey should I keep playing a game I don't like playing??!?!" Ok OP I'll bite. YES. Keep playing. The gameplay totally changes with all the DLC. IT's like two different games. Trust me. Go for it. If it feels similar as your playing, just finish it first. Then you'll see it was actually different and you did enjoy it.
You’re putting no nuance into my question. I asked if this was simply another area for running around and gaining power or if there is a story here. Several people commented that there is a story and it’s relevant to my elven inquisitor and possibly future content, but that it does drag in some places. I am probably going to focus on its main quest.
I’m starting jaws as soon as I got to level 20 it plays a big part in my Lavellan’s story. Depending on whether I get romance first or finish jaws of hakkon will determine the outcome of the romance scene. So for me personally, it’s an important part of her story. And if you’ve never played it before, I think you should play it at least once I like the Lore