Dragon Age Inquisition: Mages or Templars?

[Contrabardus]

Mages or Templars? It's my first time through and I'm wondering which is the better questline to play through first?

I'm a Rogue, so I can easily go either way.

I'll be doing both of course, but I'm wondering if one is particularly more interesting and impressive than the other?

I haven't reached the point where I have to choose yet, but it's become apparent that I will need to pick one or the other at some point. Both are equally made up of crazy asshole extremists so I'm having trouble deciding which one I want to support.

I'm being a nice guy this time if that makes a difference. The fact that they both seem equally dickish in different ways isn't helping matters. Plus, from what little I've seen in reviews this is the big decision in the game and each choice follows a completely different plot thread. Everything else is relatively minor in comparison and largely relates to how much the people in your group like you.

Which did you pick and why?

For those who have done both, which is better?

Try to avoid spoilers if you don't mind. I'm avoiding guides and not looking for a walkthrough of the quest or anything. I just want some outside opinions on which is more rewarding and what lead other people to choose one or the other to help me figure out which of the two asshole brigades to support on my first time through.

 

[Chuckg]

It's a choice between well-meaning idiots and slightly more intelligent fascists, with outside parties meddling with both. There really isn't much to choose between them on a 'who is more right' level unless you have an ethical opinion about the start of the war to begin with, and that's a separate issue.

But the mages' questline is way more interesting than the templar one.

It's just a branching fork, anyway. (A branch that's a couple hours long, mind.) Whichever side you don't help gets co-opted by the enemy and attacks you, and then the main quest resumes. There's not really a huge continuity lockout on the main quest path that I know about, that depends on this choice. Its two branches that eventually rejoin.

But the scenery on those branches...? So not the same.

 

[Ordo]

Honestly, it's a coin flip with me. I am currently replaying the game as a Human Rift Mage and a Qunari Knight Enchanter. As the Human, I intend to go for the mages since it makes sense for a former human Circle mage to seek the aid of the rebel mages even if it's only to save them from themselves. As a Qunari, I intend to form an Alliance with the Templar's since I have no sympathy for the mages, and trust people trained to fight to at least be able to fight.

 

[OniGanon]

I'm playing as a Mage, so I figured it'd be natural to sympathise with the Mages. Besides, the situation in Redcliffe seemed like it warranted further investigation, whereas I didn't really get any hint that the Templars needed immediate attention beyond Cassandra's puzzlement over the Lord Seeker suddenly being a total dickbag.

By the time the game slapped me in the face with the knowledge that there was something VERY wrong with the Templars, it was quite obviously too late to do anything about it.

I'm satisfied with my choice anyway. The Mage path gave seemingly very important information and motivation for the following parts of the story.

 

[mario_zx]

The mage path, it has much more interesting stuff than the Templar path.