Initiating combat isn't something new, but giving reactivity to it, is.
One of my favourite thing in Wasteland 3 happens in the very beginning of the game. One of your friend held hostage, you have two options within the dialogue: a) save your friend but allowing their captor flee (who right after will set up an ambush), b) Try to kill the captor, but ensuring your friend got executed, but no ambush later ------ however there is 3rd options and the game doesn't tell you but logical mechanic within the world: You can snipe the captor from afar, making these choices moot, and you get *the best* result, or at least, the result you want.
DAO-DAI did nothing like this (one can argue DA franchise is more like a theatrical storytelling not RPG storytelling). Infinity Engines games allows you to "initiate" the combat first (meaning you probably sneaking up to them for sneak attack, quest usually borked if you kill quest giver).
In Larian games? It's standard procedure. We are so used to it we demand more options atop of already wide selection of options which most games doesn't even give you.
But wide options making it less focused, story can easily feel incoherent, some feels like disjointed.
I believe Larian can make more narrative/storytelling focus game, akin to DAO, but it requires to sacrifice the RPG aspect of the game, it's an exchange, I personally wouldn't want them to take.
