Dragon Age 2 is a mixed bag. Sandwiched between the incredible Dragon Age: Origins and the quite good Dragon Age: Inquisition, it's undeniably the least loved entry in Bioware's fantasy franchise. While it has many problems that both critics and fans alike have been quick to point out, there are some worthwhile story elements and characters that make it deserving of at least one playthrough. And let's not forget that everyone's favorite - or least favorite - story-telling dwarf Varric made his debut in this game as well. So it's a noteworthy sequel even if it doesn't live up to what came before or after it.
Regardless, the game's writer David Gaider seems to be acutely aware of it's shortcomings. In a series of Twitter posts made about Dragon Age 2's troubled development, Gaider went into detail about what he would do if he could do a Zach Snyder-esque cut of the game.
The fact that Gaider labels Dragon Age 2 as "The Project Of Multiple Regrets" says a lot about his experience with the game. Quite a few good ideas had to be cut during its development. Many of which Gaider wishes could be restored in some way.
First, he wishes that the progressive changes that were meant to alter the city of Kirkwall could be put back in. This would have made a lot of sense to include in the game since the plot takes place over the course of a few years yet the city remains mostly unchanged. Gaider mentions that once the progressive elements were cut they should have changed the narrative's timeline to months instead of years, but that was never done.
As you might suspect, there were many stories and questlines that got left on the cutting room floor. If you played as a mage, Hawke was meant to have a quest where he almost becomes an abomination. There were many parts of the game's third act that were supposed to allow the conflict between Templars and Mages to build more naturally. Gaider mentions that he would have liked to make changes to the boss battle with Meredith and add in an option to not side with either faction at the end.
There's also one additional line of dialogue that would have been nice for us to have:
Because seriously, Anders was a crazy jerk.
There's quite a few other relevations about Dragon Age 2's development and things that Gaider wishes had made it into the game, which you can check out on his Twitter feed. It's a pretty interesting read, although his claim that EA may consider Dragon Age 2 to be "its embarrassing red-headed stepchild" doesn't seem very likely in a reality where Anthem exists. Because nothing is more embarrassing than Anthem.
Source: Twitter