[Discussion] Potential Updates For Romancing?
Given the responses here and on Reddit, I don’t think it’s controversial to say the romances are not living up to what we were advertised. “The most romantic Dragon Age” this is most certainly not. The entirety of each romance arc is roughly twenty minutes, with characters like Lucanis spending most of that not responding to flirts at all. Not “responding awkwardly”, like Cullen rubbing his neck or shuffling before continuing to speak, I mean not responding AT ALL. Is there any chance patches could come in and save this? BG3 and Cyberpunk both had multiple patches that fleshed out their romantic interactions. It’s already been said we’re not getting DLC, but what kind of patches can we expect going forward? On the off chance the patches will be more substantial than bug fixes, I’d like to offer a few that could help turn the game aroundfor me, at least. I’ll be upfront that I’m mostly talking from the perspective of someone who has only gone through Lucanis’ romance and has been jaded by the time sink required for a really lackluster experience. The “missives” system is right there for some low-effort lore drops. Maybe an interactive love note to carry through the game? Lucanis’ commitment scene is genuinely awful. It felt like the equivalent of putting on the marriage amulet in Skyrim. It was literally just hitting the “committed—on” switch. It is the least satisfying “romance” scene I have ever experienced. They don’t touch. They hardly even gesture. They just stand there staring at each other and cycling through what looks to be idle animations. Was there cut content meant to be here, or is this genuinely the effort put into the “most romantic game ever”? Is it possible to fiddle with some scenes to make them the smallest bit dynamic? And finally, could we get a patch to allow the players to turn off the flirting between companions? It’s a real kick in the head to hear the effort put into two companions getting together, knowing how little romantic content Rook gets to experience themselves. Especially in the case of Neve and Lucanis, where Lucanis is seemingly the one companion that can be locked out of a romance entirely—and then he immediately hooks up with the person who made the exact. same. call. There’s even a line in his Inner Demons quest about being into Neve, it’s relentless and it’s insulting. I’d rather just not even hear it. Obviously there’s bigger gripes about the romances—why only twenty minutes of content? why can’t we talk to them between missions? why no kiss button?—but I feel like this is a few relatively small adjustments that could help ease some of the ick. Maybe others have more, better ideas, I don’t want to write a whole book and a half. Additional: Adding an option to object to Rook being referred to as “young” in Emmerich’s romance to allow for more RP potential.[feedback] Romances and Companion Interactions Feel Shallow
So far, I have about 100 hours in this game, I have completed the primary and side questlines, and have found that even when your Rook does engage in a locked in romance, you can completely forget about it. This is an opinion, but I do feel like Veilguard has the weakest romance aspect in any of the DA games, and that even some of the romances in Mass Effect: Andromeda seem more thought out than these, which is something I'd never thought I would say. I have heard of people being incredibly disappointed with how little thought is apparently put into the companions interactions with Rook, and not just the romantic ones, but how Rook feels like a Fly on the Wall for a lot of the game. And I hate that I somewhat have to agree. I like that the companions seek each other out and have unique conversations and dialogue, I find that very enjoyable, but what it lacks for me, is any depth or proper emotion given to the romances, or even to companion interactions with individual Rooks. I romanced Davrin, and have seen on forums that a lot of people think he has one of the better romances, and after watching the Lucanis and other romances, I would have to agree. I think this is because he tends to offer and at least somewhat reciprocate your advances through a lot of the interactions Rook and he have together, whereas with some of the others, you completely forget that you started romancing them. I was glad to see how romance could happen organically outside of Rook's choices, the Lucanis/Neve, Taash/Harding and Emmerich/Strife pairings I feel all progressed well. However, they feel as if they were given more time and effort than a single one of Rook's pairings, as they have more depth than Rook's. One of the things that I found most damaging to the romance in this game, is that you can't really interact with your romance outside of the missions that they give, like at all. In other Dragon Age games and Mass Effect games, you could typically walk up to a companion and talk to them, enter into dialogue trees, learn more about their characters and backstories and their thoughts and feelings in regards to you, other companions, or the present circumstances, and that is almost entirely missing from Veilguard. Not only this, but the reactions that the romanced character would have to certain things, such as Rook being in extreme danger, are nearly completely missing. The dialogue, and the way the romanced companion regards you outside of their missions where you can occasionally pick the Heart option, is incredibly lacking. It feels as if there is a massive chunk of the game missing just from that alone, that Rook can barely talk or interact with the companions outside of the missions they give you, and I feel like that is one of the main problems this game has. If feels like they kind of slapped and wrote a lot of the dialogue and romances together 3 months before the game release, and that is detracting from romance as a whole. Rook could romance no one, and there wouldn't really be a remarkable change or shift in hardly any of the dialogue or scenes that are given, which is a travesty for a game series that engages in player choices, both big and small. I remember in Inquisition, that I could literally just spend an hour of my time going through a couple of character's dialogue trees in Haven or Skyhold, and learn so much about them and what their experiences and thoughts were. This is not present at all in Veilguard, and has, in my opinion, done the game a great disservice.Lucanis Romance Super Disappointing
I had to stop bringing Neve with me because he flirts so obviously with her and gives me scraps. Being one of the clear forefront winners for romance before the release, wtf were the writers thinking? It's honestly bumming me out so hardcore how I get literally nothing from this man and I was so excited to try out enemies to lover, tortured spirit, anything but man... If the writers just wanted him to date the other characters instead of Rook then why even make him romancable? I'm more than 20 hours in and beyond the coffee date scene (and picking the right choice since Im also playing a crow) I've gotten BARELY ANYTHING. I truly hope this gets fixed in the future because I think there is enough commotion on reddit and elsewhere to bring it to attention. I get this isn't any Larian but c'mon, romances are one of the biggest things in DA. PLEASE GIVE US A REAL LUCANIS ROMANCE. UPDATE: After finishing the game yesterday I just wanted to share my thoughts. I see what angle they were trying to go down with Lucanis, like an absence makes the heart grow fonder type thing and I don’t actually hate the romance once you get towards later in the game. It truly is the first act into beginning of second act that needs work and too much Neve connection that was clearly more priority then whatever was happening with Rook dialogue. Playing as a Crow Mage I think gave me better options and just never ever putting Neve and him together period is how I was able to get through it. I truly think there needs to be some sort of blocker between Neve and Lucanis where whatever flirty banter stops the moment you choose to romance one of them however and I hope that gets patched in because it really does ruin the dynamic, more interest needs to actually be shown to Rook, you know, the **bleep** main character. Because everyone’s right, you just feel like a third wheel if you want to include Neve in your party with him and it sucks I had to basically bench her (and clearly volunteered her for certain choices but also think that works for her hardened character tbh). I hope they actually listen to their players for once because this game could be great, I liked the main story, graphics are gorgeous, but character development is so important and I think they dropped the ball hard on that with Rook and her connections to her team in general on top of the romance.
A Call to Bioware: Please Unlock Hardened Lucanis' Romance (ACT 1 SPOILERS)
I've been trawling through the various forum and reddit threads on this topic for the past week or so, so I know at least a good few people who want to romance Lucanis feel similarly. And to be clear, this is not a post complaining about Lucasnis' romance generally - the incredible slow-burn seems to culminate in a tamer romance than many were expecting, and that hasclearly rubbed some people the wrong way. I don't have many thoughts on that - I can understand why people would want something more substantial from Lucanis, but that's beyond the scope of what I'm asking for here. What I'm looking for is the bare minimum:Bioware, please unlock Hardened Lucanis' romance. I've seen a lot of good points already posted by others aboutwhy this should be the case, so I thought I'd compile the points I've seen here. I might be screaming into the void with this one, and if Bioware ignores us, then I can rest assured that the modding community might have my back. However, it's nice to imagine a company with time to respond to constructive feedback. Reason 1: It's Inconsistent. Lucanis locking Rook out of a romance after Rook saves Minrathous is inconsistent writing. I would understand if Rook was a Crow who abandoned their city during a time of need. It would make sense if Rook levied the full forces of the Veilguard against only one of the dragons. It would make sense if Rook was known to be better at killing dragons, so where Rook chooses to go makes all the difference. It would make sense if Rook had a magic Dragon-Killing Veil Hand that could only go to one location at a time. As it is, however, Rook is not especially more skilled at dragon-killing than any of the other Veilguard members, and Rook delegates half of the Veilguard to protect the city that Rook themselves does not go to. More to the point, the game claims that Lucanis does not have time for a romance with you while he's picking up the remains of the city. Now, on the face of it, this would be fine. I'm not morally opposed to an RPG character making romance decisions based on player role play, even if it hurts my feelings. That's just the price of art. However, as many before me have pointed out, Lucanisdoes have time for a romance with Neve after the destruction of his city. This stings especially badly for anyone playing a Shadow Dragon Rook, as they are in the exact same boat as Neve, but they are being rejected for making the same call as she did. And that's not even mentioning how the romance on the other side of this particular coin works... Reason 2: It's Inequitable Locking off Lucanis' romance is inequitable, in more ways than one. On the most basic level, it's not equal with any of the other romances in the game. Lucanis' is (I believe) the only romance that can get locked off in such a way. Again - I'm notopposedto roleplay locking off a romance. If Neve could not forgive you for forsaking Minrathous, then at least Lucanis would have parity with another romanceable NPC. It might have been neat to seeevery character havesomething that precludes them from further romance. I'm very aware of how much Dragon Age fans enjoy having NPCs that function as their own fully-fleshed characters that make decisions regardless of what the player character wants. As it is, however, having onlyone NPC romance get easily locked off is surprising and disappointing. However, and more importantly than comparing fictional characters, it's inequitable towards players. If my journeys on other Dragon Age forums are any indication, I might be unpopular in my opinion that Pansexual/"Playersexual" characters are my preferred Bioware companion writing style. It leaves romantic roleplay open for all types of people. It opens up nonbinary roleplay, as we've seen in this game. It makes me focus on seeing the NPC as a person with goals and hang-ups that need to be honored, as opposed to a list of Canon Sexualities that need to be built around first. As a queer person myeslf, I prefer this, and having it come back in Veilguard feels refreshing after Inquisition. Locking off one of the masculine-coded romances (especially the one that seems to, at least initially, be pulling the Zevran and Fenris girlies out of the woodwork) feels unintentionally cruel, especially in a game that otherwise seems to have worked so hard to be more open, inclusive, and representative than any other entry in the series. Now, again, if Lucanis' reaction was on par with the other NPC companions, then the equity question would be less of a concern. If there was an opportunity to mess up every romance, then it would be hitting everyone equally. As it is, this choice removes one masculine-coded romance from the table, leaving those of us craving one with fewer options. Reason 3:Industry standard I hate to be the person stammering "bu-bu-Baldur's Gate" in a Dragon Age thread, but when Baldur's Gate III launched, I knew it would be coming for Bioware's lunch. It succeeded in a major way. Now, I'm happy to see that Veilguard hasn't necessarily stumbled in the face of a huge new title in the CRPG space that offers alot of what old-school Dragon Age used to. However, this challenge presents an opportunity to Bioware. Using upcoming game patches to do more than just bare-minimum bug-fixes would be an amazing response to seeing Larian Studios do the same. They used the patching system to add narrative and character content in a way that I haven'tever seen out of major studios. Seeing the number of people coming out against Lucanis' romance being locked off in this way, it would certainly warm my heart to see Bioware at least conscientiously engage with these criticisms. Just my thoughts. Again - I know this might be preaching to the choir, but...a girl can hope.More Character Slots for Consoles
Hi been playing Dragon Age since Origins but whole I have been loving playing Veilguard, I am disappointed that on the PS5 you can only have 3 character slots. This highly restricts players on creating characters considering there are 4 races, 6 factions, 7 romances and 9 specialisations. I hope down the line you make more character slots. I have no idea if this is the same on pc, but it would be good if we could have more then 3 character slots as I don't want to delete my other rooks that I have already created.The new EA Sims Forum
I am a member of the soon to be Sims Forum. I have also raised my concern in the Forum and will repeat it here. Perhaps this debate has already started somewhere else, but forgive me for not seeing where. That is exactly the problem. I think everything new requires getting used to and I will probably spend some time getting to know the new EA Forum. However, there is one thing that immediately catches my eye and surprises me. How is it that almost everything is sorted by 'The most' such as Most Recent, Most Viewed, Most Replies, Most Likes. It is of course very nice for those who already have a lot of followers and likes, but for someone else it seems like a killer. On a forum like X, you're practically invisible and dead if you don't have a whole bunch of followers. I'm afraid the same thing is going to happen here. As I said, it may be because I can't find my way around yet, but I need to voice my concern out loud and hopefully become wiser. The best thing about the old Sims Forum is that it didn't try to look like a social media like any other social media where it's about scoring the highest rank and number of followers to get benefits. This applies in particular to the right to costume a personal avatar. I really hope the idea of earning enough rank to get a personal avatar is rethought. The existing Forum has been a sanctuary where you have been able to cultivate the special interest you have in the game with other Simmers regardless of their rank and general popularity. The entire structure of the forum has made it easy to navigate. I don't know how to navigate the EA Forum when it focuses on highlighting the most popular lore at the moment. This cultivation of elitism leaves me with a feeling of loneliness. For me it's a killer because I don't want to be in a Forum where I have to be confirmed daily that I'm invisible and therefore unimportant.
Feedback: Heartbroken as a Long Time Fan of Series
Dear Developers, I want to start by saying that I intend to give this feedback as respectfully as possible. I mean no offense to the developers who worked hard on this title, but I want to give my honest feedback as a longtime fan of the series. It breaks my heart to say I am putting down Dragon Age: The Veilguard. I tried to make myself enjoy this game for 32 hours, but I just couldn't. If I could demand a refund, I would. I purchased what I thought was a Dragon Age game. Veilguard isnot the same Dragon Age that made me love the series. Perhaps I am no longer the target demographic for the game, but as someone who's played Dragon Age since 2009, Veilguard makes me feel alienated as a fan. Writing, storytelling, and dialogue are the most important factors that determine whether I'll reach the end of a game. I can look past boring gameplay and outdated graphics. Even game-breaking bugs failed to destroy my love of games like Fallout New Vegas and Skyrim. But mediocre writing kills my enthusiasm for a game, no matter how good everything else is. I came into Veilguard after just finishing Baldur's Gate 3. One of the things that always excited me about the Dragon Age series was immersing myself in the universe by role-playing the MC. I still cherish my first Warden after 15 years-- she was a human noble warrior who chose to live as a man to join her father and brother in fighting the Darkspawn. I role-played the entire game through this lens and ended the game with her I had already had an idea of who I wanted Rook to be. I chose the Antivan Crow background, intending for them to be a surly, reluctant antihero. This made sense to me, given the Crows are infamous as the most deadly assassins in Thedas. I also assumed this would be possible in Veilguard, as there were several ways to role-play the Inquisitor in Veilguard's immediate predecessor. Having options to play a new MC every playthrough is one reason why I've replayed both Origins and Inquisition multiple times. But I was shocked that Rook appears to have a predetermined backstory and personality. No matter what dialogue options I chose, they always fit the archetype of the "rogue with a heart of gold" and feel like they belong in a Disney movie rather than in a Dragon Age game. For example, when I picked a justifiably angry dialogue option directed at one of the game's antagonists, he said, "Please don't do this," with a pleading inflection. This bridges into the overall tone of the game. I am concerned that this game fits the definition of toxic positivity. I expected the tone of Veilguard to be bleak given the game's circumstances: But the game injects a pathological amount of happiness and optimism into moments thatshould be anything but. I felt extremely uncomfortable during the questOn Blighted Wings / On Deadly Wings. Veilguard made me miss the companions of the previous games, especially characters like Sera, whom I hated at first playing as a Dalish elf. She's childish, bigoted, shortsighted, and vulgar. But I eventually came to love Sera because a well-written character provokes strong emotional responses. Plus, most of her dialogue is comedy gold, such as when she tells Blackwall she saw the Empress's bottom, only to immediately follow up with: "Well, I didn't. I drew it and someone said it was a good likeness. That's a story about trust." On the other hand, Veilguard's companions are yes-folks who constantly sing your praises and never have any meaningful conflict with one another. I grew irritated during combat that whenever I defeated a standard enemy, it was "Nice one, Rook!" or "That one goes to Rook!" Or that Rook was complimented for solving a simple puzzle after the game tells you exactly how to solve it. Imagine a scrub tech repeatedly interrupting a surgeon while performing an emergency life-saving surgery to give platitudes like, "Great job getting that bleeder, doctor! You're doing great!" Talk about one of the fastest ways to get thrown out of an operating room. The never-ending barrage of praise led me to perceive that the developers of Veilguard believe that constant validation, no matter how menial the accomplishment is, makes an effective team. However, the team that truly deserves praise isthe team of wildly opposing personalities putting aside their personal vendettas to accomplish a goal greater than themselves and still manage to succeed. I cannot say that any of the Veilguard companions elicit the strong emotional response I had to characters like Sera. I have always loved the romance in the Dragon Age series, especially Alistair and Fenris. While I originally went for Cullen during my first Inquisition play-through, Solas' romance caught me by surprise, taking my breath away with his pensive disposition, unique speech pattern, and vague melancholy surrounding his interactions. I looked forward to discovering how Veilguard would conclude his relationship with a romanced Lavellan (only to be disappointed not by the final outcome but rather by how the scene played out). No adult scene was ever needed for this couple, as their cutscenes together in Inquisition painted the most beautiful picture of their tragic love and left the question of their intimacy up to interpretation. Showing, not telling. But I found no such connection with any of the companions in Veilguard. The personalities all feel the same--like I'm choosing between Cheerios, Rice Chex, or Bran Flakes when I really want Fruity Pebbles. I chose a "flirty" dialogue option for Harding early on, and I did a double take as Rook says she looks "adorable" when she's focused in a very patronizing manner. If this is how adults flirt, my partner and I have been doing it wrong for the last decade. In fact, most of the flirtatious dialogue sounds like something you would say platonically to a friend. I left those conversations feeling like Rook had no intimate connection with that character. Veilguard makes a few interesting choices when it comes to dialogue. The use of modern words breaks the immersion within the well-established universe. One positive thing I have to say about Veilguard is that it does an outstanding job with diversity and inclusion. Nonbinary folks have long existed throughout history, and they deserve media representation. But what hasn't existed for as long is the actualword nonbinary. Given that Dragon Age takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, I would have loved to see the writing team create their own word that blends into the Dragon Age universe. There was an opportunity for "The Scene" to be a powerful and inspiring lesson on gender identity and pronoun usage, but the downright negligent execution of the scene's writing and acting draws a direct comparison to Solas giving Corypheus his orb; the weapon served to the trolls on silver platter hurt those whom this scene tries to defend. What did Josephine say about the Game? Never show your cards to the enemy. This game is rated M/17+, but the language used makes it feel like the primary audience is 10-12-year-olds. I believe the phrase "doing it" was used at least three times in one cutscene describing Solas' relationship with Mythal. Even if we consider that Taash is supposed to be young and immature, aren't they and Sera close in age? Sera's language is colorful at best and downright vulgar at worst. I'm not saying that swearing necessarily makes dialogue inherently better, but the only situation in which I've ever heard "doing it" used is parents talking around their very young children. Even kids don't talk like that. So tell me, which character better portrays the edgy behavior of youth? There are many instances where the text shown on the dialogue wheel does not match the character's spoken words. When speaking with the First Warden, the text of the dialogue selection I made was, "You're an idiot." But what Rook actually said was, "You need to listen to me!" Those are twocompletely different sentences. And once again, with Rook's tone, no wonder the First Warden doesn't take them seriously. Finally, I'd like to touch base again on Veilguard's fatal flaw-- the dialogue relies way too heavily on telling rather than showing. Regrets of the Wolfis possibly one of the biggest let downs in the game next to the ending. I spent countless hours devouring fan theories on the Evanuris, the Titans, the Blight, Andraste, and the Old Gods. Dragon Age has always drip-fed us morsels of lore, enough to sway but not seduce. At this point, I had already stopped playing the game, so I watched the quest on YouTube. After every memory, the Scooby-Doo gang gathers around a table and straight up tells players the answers to the questions we've waited 10 years for. As an Orlesian noble would say: where's the subtlety? Where's the intrigue? And worst of all, the characters tell us how we're supposed to feel about the revelation. This is the most fundamental plot history that the entire series is founded upon, with a conclusion so anticlimactic that it hurts. If you read this far, thank you for your patience. While I will not be finishing Veilguard, I will be replaying the first three games and their DLC. After this experience, I think I am unlikely to pick up another Dragon Age title in the future, but I hope this feedback can help improve the next game.[Discussion] Dragon Age The Veilguard - Share Your Rooks!
Hey Rooks, Now that Dragon Age The Veilguard is out 🐲 I’m curious about what unique and fun characters everyone has made (if you're not stuck perfecting them in character creator!) Once you've finished creating them, let everyone else see them below!
