Inquisition multiplayer will place you and three allies against very long odds, with minimal chance of success. Fortunately, you won’t have to learn how to control your character all over again, as the basics learned in single-player mode apply to multiplayer. But there are some key differences between a party member in single player and a party member in multiplayer, such as in how weapons, equipment, and potions are earned and in how crafting materials are gathered.
- You can have only four active abilities: This is arguably the greatest change to gameplay in multiplayer. Having only half the slots available for active skills in this game mode changes how you want to level your characters and how you want to set them up for combat. You can’t be nearly as much of a generalist with any of the classes, since you can’t necessarily take everything with you that you want to use.
- Abilities cannot be changed in the field: If you feel you made a mistake with your current setup, you’re stuck with it until the mission is complete or the party falls.
- Equipment cannot be changed in the field: This is a major challenge. You go into missions not knowing initially who you are up against, so you can’t equip weapons that you know will be effective against specific types of enemies. Bring your hardest-hitting gear and the best armor you own. It will be up to your skills to make up for any deficiencies in your setup.
- Four types of potions can be carried right away: You start with only health potions, but using the store to buy loot can give you a wide variety of potions, and you can equip up to four types. Granted, you won’t be able to carry as many of each as the Inquisitor could...
- Crafting supplies are heavily limited: You can’t just farm iron from every location you fight through. Crafting supplies come only from breaking down old equipment, and you only get equipment from looting chests while on a mission or purchasing chests at the store.
- Experience is awarded after a mission succeeds or fails: This is another big change from single player. Normally, you would gain experience and could even level up in the middle of combat. Now, you’re stuck at the level you entered the mission on until you complete it or die. This means that your first attempts with a fresh party can go very poorly near the end, and even coordinated teams of players will be forced to play it very safe, or they will fall.
- You get three falls only: Running out of health in combat is not the end. Your character will be forced to crawl around, looking for allies to help them to their feet. However, on the third defeat, you immediately fall into the Fade, where you are forced to view the action as a wraith while the rest of your party struggles against a foe that has just gained a significant boost in power, a reward for killing an agent of the Inquisition!