Dragon Age Community Preserves a Key Feature of the Series

Fans of the Dragon Age series have successfully preserved one of the franchise's most cherished elements: the capacity to import world states from one game to the next. In the Mass Effect trilogy, this process was straightforward; players could seamlessly transition through the games on the same console, automatically carrying their save data. A similar approach was taken when moving from Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age 2. However, with the arrival of Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014 and the new console generation, BioWare had to find an innovative solution. This led to the creation of the Dragon Age Keep, a web-based service that links to your EA account and tracks all decisions made in previous installments. Players also have the option to manually input their choices. This crafted world state can then be imported into Dragon Age: Inquisition, allowing players to see their past decisions reflected in the gameplay. However, the system does have its drawbacks. Being an online service, it requires ongoing maintenance, and users often experience outages. During such times, players cannot start a new run of Inquisition with their decisions carried over. With EA now having shut down BioWare, concerns arise about the future of the Keep, especially if it experiences another outage. Fortunately, PC gamers have a workaround. A couple of modders have developed user-friendly methods to modify game files, ensuring that players can still carry over their choices even if the Dragon Age Keep goes offline. One notable option is Thedas World State Studio - Dragon Age Keep Utility, created by Nexus Mods user anshela. This tool offers an offline alternative to the Keep, allowing players to input their choices in a similar tapestry format as the online version. This new approach is significantly more user-friendly compared to previous methods for editing world states on PC. Modding Inquisition has been notoriously challenging due to the Frostbite engine, but this utility aims to simplify the process. The modder noted that development had begun prior to the BioWare news, and its timely release is seen as both fortunate and unfortunate. The potential for future outages makes this tool especially valuable. Currently, the mod files are undergoing “quarantine” for approval by Nexus, meaning they can't be downloaded yet. However, user feedback has been positive, suggesting that once it's available, it will function effectively. In addition to this utility, players will need another mod if the servers go offline. Inquisition offers a feature akin to New Game Plus, which allows players to carry over most unlocks into new playthroughs, but requires the Keep to be operational despite only involving content from Inquisition. To address this, Thedas Chronicle - World State and Golden Nug Fix by TP1231 provides a solution. This mod allows access to the Golden Nug statue for item transfers even when the servers are down. It also enables players to utilize their imported world state during offline periods, though the world state must have been created while the servers were operational. While it's commendable that fans have proactively developed these solutions ahead of any potential shutdown by EA, it’s not surprising that BioWare sought to avoid this kind of situation in the future. For instance, Dragon Age: The Veilguard included an option to input previous choices directly within the game itself, allowing for offline play. Although this resulted in fewer transferable options, it alleviated the risk of similar issues occurring again. Meanwhile, BioWare supporters are rallying to preserve the studio's intellectual properties. The Save Mass Effect movement, in particular, has garnered significant backing as fans urge EA to take action regarding the franchise instead of allowing it to fade into obscurity.