BioWare Details Patch 5, Introduces Beta Program

Published: February 13, 2015 3:59 PM /

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Dragon Age Inquisition Black Emporium

BioWare has detailed their fifth patch for Dragon Age: Inquisition, and they are looking for people to help them out.

The big news out of this massive patch is BioWare is allowing fan participation. According to a blog post by the developer team, BioWare is looking for some PC players to participate in a "beta patch" program. According to BioWare, "We want to open up our upcoming Patch 5 to a select group of PC players via signup in a closed, developer-like environment. This not only allows us to more quickly identify and respond to future issues, but gives our developers a great, new way to work directly with our players."

This is not the first time a developer has opened up the patch process to outsiders. 343 Industries had set up a similar process for the beta patching of Halo: The Master Chief Edition to test connectivity and matchmaking, but was cancelled. Independent titles such as Elite Dangerous have also opened up the doors to backers for community feedback with their goals for Patch 1.1 of the space simulation.

What is detailed in the patch includes the return of the Black Emporium from Dragon Age II, a DLC section where rare items were purchased and players could change their appearance with the mirror of transformation. The PC beta is promising access to the shop, where players can gain powerful weapons, crafting materials and the mirror of transformation for themselves.

Other additions detailed in the patch include a storage chest for Skyhold, the use of crafting materials to "tint" your armor into different colors, and many changes for the PC, including more mouse buttons, auto-attack for single player, and more graphical control and shading tools.

BioWare is being clear, however, that this is just for a select group of people. "Please note," they stated "that due to the nature of our patch infrastructure, the beta program is currently open to selected PC users only. Unfortunately we don’t have any information on this or other upcoming patches to our broader PC player community or other platforms at this time."

So what do you think? Is this a good move by BioWare to open up the fans into the patch process? Leave your comments below.

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| Staff Writer

A longtime player of games, creator of worlds, and teacher of minds. Robert has worked many positions over the years, from college professor to education… More about Robert