As any fan of Dragon Age Inquisition can attest, the fact that weeks have passed since the game's release doesn't mean players have left its sprawling world behind. With endless quests and a core storyline lasting anywhere between 40-60 hours, it's a good bet that plenty of RPG fans will be immersed in Thedas for the foreseeable future - especially when the temptation to restart the journey with a new hero, of a new gender and race is always present.
When considering just how difficult some of Inquisition's content truly is - or the many hero characters players can construct - it's tempting to wonder about the choices (and dedication) of the overall community. As it happens, the developers at BioWare are apparently just as interested, releasing a few new infographics showing players' gender preference and proficiency in dragon slaying.
First off, it's impossible to release a game with the word 'dragon' in the title these days without offering several challenging combat encounters centered on the winged beasts (Skyrim changed everything, after all). In Inquisition, there are 10 in total, boasting attacks and vulnerabilities as varied as their locations across the game's landscape. And to this point, the game's community has waged all-out war on them, with the game's official Twitter account releasing a tally of 2,602,377 dragons (and counting) so far dispatched.
Take a look at which dragons have proven the most frequently battled, along with a few pointers in the image below:
As for the heroes who are actually leading the charge against these dragons, well, the numbers might surprise. According to another image released by the developer, it seems that 32% of Inquisitors created were female. The highest number of female characters can be found on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, with the Xbox One and PS4 versions of the game sticking closer to 75% male.
The numbers don't offer any information on the races or classes selcted, nor do they reveal statistics concerned with players who have created multiple Inquisitors. Even so, the temptation to craft a doppelganger of Game of Thrones' 'Mother of Dragons' is likely responsible for some of the heroines. Of course, the sex appeal of Inquisition's cast can't be overlooked, either.
With Inquisition, the developers took another step in fleshing out their romance options, including a number of party members only romance-able by certain genders or races. It's hard to say what effect the desire to romance a particular follower may have on the final tally, but the dedication and investment of Dragon Age fans shouldn't be underestimated.
The writers and developers at BioWare have made their position on diversity - ethnic, gender, and sexuality - well known in the past, working to tailor their game to every possible facet of their player base. The fact that 1 in 3 people who have played Inquisition may have done so with a female character is an intriguing thought - if only due to the fact that many players might not stop to wonder. Hopefully more details on the race selections and decisions made throughout the story's many acts will be released soon as well.
Where do you land in these statistics? Are you one of the few who have managed to bring down the most dangerous dragons scattered across the game's environments, or is this the first you're hearing of their existence?
Have you played through the campaign as a female Inquisitor, a male, or both? Do any of these statistics take you particularly by surprise? Sound off in the comments below.