Mass Effect 3 multiplayer was a blast, but I never stopped being annoyed at how BioWare made it almost mandatory to the single-player experience. Fortunately, Dragon Age: Inquisition is doing things a little differently: It will offer cooperative multiplayer for up to four players, but BioWare's Mark Darrah promised that the single-player game will not be dependent upon multiplayer.
As revealed by IGN , Dragon Age: Inquisition multiplayer will feature three campaigns at launch, each of which will randomly generate a large area of several individual sections to fight through. Each of these sections will have variable elements that can change with each playthrough, a system intended to give multiplayer a high degree of replayability, and combat will take place exclusively in real-time, so players who stick with the turn-based tactical mode in single-player will have to think and act a little more quickly than they're used to.
The game will include nine multiplayer heroes at launch, and "lots of DLC, lots of new heroes and levels" are planned for the future, according to Producer Scylla Costa. There's no plan to introduce subscription fees for access to additional multiplayer content, but players who don't want to grind to unlock it can purchase Platinum, an "optional time saver" currency, to get to the good stuff more quickly.
And no, singleplayer content is NOT locked behind MP. August 26, 2014
It all sounds very much like Mass Effect 3 multiplayer—kill stuff, collect gold, use it to buy "treasure chests" containing equipment, potions, recipes and that sort of thing—but one big difference is that you won't suffer any penalties if you choose to ignore it. "Singleplayer content is NOT locked behind MP," Dragon Age Executive Producer Mark Darrah tweeted . Responding to a "disappointed" follower, he added, "I get that. We didn't want to force anyone to play MP, though."
A wise choice. Dragon Age: Inquisition comes out on November 18.
