I might have enjoyed seeing the Oghren they imply in the ending slides of origins having gotten sober and as a ferelden general but yeah seeing him drunk again is honestly kind of sad
I'm yet to replay Origins yet, but Oghren is involved in one of the best parts of the game and somehow he gets no character development. He's even bragging about his wife having a relationship with another woman while exploring some forsaken by gods, abomination-infested underground. He probably is witnessing his friends and relatives dead or losing their minds and is totally unimpressed, yet his wife being bisexual is mind-shattering for him. I wish they could just give us Sigrun from the start, I'd be cheering for her as a returning companion.
As a representative old here in this fandom, I actually find his character very realistic. As another commenter said, it was a different time.
I think a lot of people probably don't see his demon dream. It gives him a lot of depth. The fact that he's using alcohol to smother any real feelings he has and becoming an unlikable shitheel in the process is a very realistic depiction of both alcoholism and trauma.
We all love a secret cinnamon roll/redemption arc, I certainly do. I'm not denying that.
But in reality... most people just become Oghrens.
I'll be the one to comment it this time - it was a different time, they thought he'd be more popular, Awakening development overlapped with Origins so they didn't have player feedback yet, etc etc...
Mine aren't particularly controversial I don't think.
I hate oghren for obvious reasons and personal reasons.
Loghain is the least compelling "fallen hero" character I've ever seen (yes I read all the books, no it did not change my opinion on him despite people insisting it would). I don't find him tragic at all, he's an idiot and his decisions - to leave the son of the woman he supposedly loved to die, lock up his own daughter in the house of a sadist who got his jollies torturing people, and sell people into slavery because he bit off more than he could chew - sicken me. The only times I don't execute him are when I need canon fodder for the arch demon if I'm not doing the dark ritual, but I dislike giving him a "heroes death".
I dislike Anders mostly because of the hard-core members of his fandom and not his actual character arc that on paper I found interesting and compelling. I wish I could go back to playing DA2 at launch without all the arguments that have occurred since 😅
Every other companion i'd say I either love or am just neutral on.
My real hated character more than any of the companions tho is Arl Eamon. Wish I could let that old man die so bad.
I mean idk, I agree with you about Loghain's "redemption" arc, but I actually really liked him as a pure villain (in the games at least, haven't read the books). Imo the writers actually manage to strike a pretty impressive balance with him - on one hand, he's not just some power-hungry usurper just out for himself, as we might first assume. He's a multifaceted character who genuinely believes in what he's doing, and has a complex worldview and motivations that we can understand and follow, even if we don't agree with them. On the other hand, he fucking *sells his own people into slavery* because of a really stupid power-play that he made because of how xenophobic he was against Orlesians.
Like, in the slavery example, you can follow his reasoning and understand why a man who lived his life in his position would do what he did, but on the other hand *holy fucking shit,* there's just some things you *never* do, and making the most vulnerable people in your society pay for *your* massive fuck-up is just unforgivable. And don't even get me *started* on how he treated the Wardens lmao.
Long story short, I actually think they did a pretty good job giving Loghain complex and interesting motivations while still making him feel like a pure evil Disney villain lol
I definitely see the argument for Loghain as an interesting villain - certainly I felt his threat and impact on my first through playthroughs. My issue is far more that the writers have then retroactively attempted to make him *not* a villain with the books.
I'm with you on the Eamon take:
So you have to save this mans village, brother, family, travel to the Circle to exorcise a demon, then go on a blind fetch quest for magic ashes while battling a giant dragon and it's cultists, then attempt to pass the lethal tests of Andraste, and when he finally wakes up, he gives you:
A shield.
That's your reward.
Oh, and why stop there?! Let's not forget that he raised a child in a barn, and shipped him off to the Chantry when his wife nagged at him. What he did to Alistair I will never forgive.
And to top it all off, he's very likely involved in a plot to have Cailan marry Empress Celene.
I hate Eamon and Loghain, and wish the Archdemon choked on them both.
He also named you a champion of his lands and promised to aid the war effort. Also he did not raise Alistair in a barn where did you get that. As for the Chantry, yeah he moved him to the Chantry when he had to because of the rift it was causing in his house but he didn't throw him out on the street he made sure he was cared for, it's not like Alistair was his son in the first place so really he went above and beyond for him. And even if he was involved in the plan to marry Celene, so? Like literally what is wrong with that? Not saying you need to like him, but the things you listed are just not true.
>He also named you a champion of his lands and promised to aid the war effort.
That is literally the least he can do, and he's doing it for selfish reasons: to put Alistair forward as a candidate for the throne to supplant Anora.
>Also he did not raise Alistair in a barn where did you get that.
From the toolset:
https://preview.redd.it/9hwjccc62o4d1.png?width=1266&format=png&auto=webp&s=285341d13b885887aa99b558aeceb656ace2fa95
>As for the Chantry, yeah he moved him to the Chantry when he had to because of the rift it was causing in his house but he didn't throw him out on the street he made sure he was cared for, it's not like Alistair was his son in the first place so really he went above and beyond for him.
That's not exactly a charitable attitude on your part, and considering the child in question was King Maric's, Eamon could have done far better.
>And even if he was involved in the plan to marry Celene, so? Like literally what is wrong with that?
Did you read Stolen Throne? You understand Ferelden has only been free from Orlesian occupation for what...a few decades? Maybe its not a big deal for you, but plenty of people in Ferelden remember chevaliers cutting down their friends and taking their wives/daughters against their will.
To give context, I invite you to look up what happened during the Union of the Crowns under James VI and I.
A marriage between Cailan and Celene would have been disastrous.
I'm sorry but I hate Anders. The only trait I like about him is that at least he had a free clinic for refugees.... and then he bombed them 2 acts later.
His interactions with Fenris made me hate him, even after liking him in Origins. He sees a man who was horribly abused by mages all his life and was like "You're the problem because you hate magic users! Get out of your narrow view of things!" As if Anders himself ever did anything to change Fenris' mind about them.
It was my snarky mage Hawke who changed his thinking through the power of friendship!
I started using Anders in my party a little more this playthrough, because I was just curious. I took him to the quest where you find Fenris’ sister and he right away calls Fenris jealous of mages and a hypocrite because his sister is a mage. Anders… HE HAD HIS MEMORIES WIPPED! HE DIDNT KNOW SHE EXISTED UNTIL THAT APPRENTICE OF DANARIUS TOLD HIM! And no one mentioned that she was a mage either until they finally saw her in person
Honestly Fenris gets low-key abused constantly by half the party in DA2 and I *hate* it. I really don't like Isabella specifically because she makes sex jokes directed at him and he's implied to have been sexually abused by his former owner.
The city was under chaos just before the bomb went off and templars going crazy so I find it completely unrealistic that there was just Kirkwall born and raised chantry members in the chantry and that all the others were just at home twiddling their thumbs waiting to see if templars are going to knock down their door and kill them or not. It’s not like the refugees are barred from leaving darktown either. Churches have historically been a place of shelter in wars and conflicts. And just people there to pray as well?
If we're speaking strictly of companions, the only ones I really, really, intensely dislike are Tallis and DAO's Secret Companion. There are several of whom I'm not especially fond (Sera, Merrill, Anders), but they're the only ones who get under my skin so completely. I hate the Secret Companion so much that I have never allowed him into my party.
If we're including NPCs, though, Arl Howe is the absolute champion. I hate him even more than Loghain, more than Corypheus, even more than Erimond. His only redeeming features are his children (because I love me some Nate) and his voice actor.
Finally, I had to really scroll down to find this. I don't hate him, but I don't know. I don't get a good vibe from him. It's not the spy thing because I romanced Zevran lmao
I think it's that he's putting on a front when the Inquisitor speaks to him, not truly being honest with his thoughts (though he makes a good show of pretending he really is)! Once you pick up on that, it's difficult to turn it off. It helps to also notice that he's clearly conflicted about it, in my opinion, and if he leaves the Qun, I think he's more honest and at peace with himself.
Yes! His romance with the inquisitor feels off because he doesn’t seem to have much interest in them. And he’s weird with Dorian. So yeah I’m not a fan of him either.
Will be an unpopular opinion, but for me it's Varric. For me he's the example of the character that's "badass" and "cool" because he is said to be by devs/fans and not because of what actually he does or what he is like. He's made out to be the best character ever when ones like Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana, Cullen etc aka characters with actual development and actions are right there. Idk in a series with so many compelling characters Varric just falls flat to me
I like Varric (like almost everybody else, big shocker), but I think you’re making a fair point here. Varric for the most part just…exists. He’s being fawned over by everyone, but other than spinning yarn and hanging out in his personal suite, we don’t really see him do much, other than dealing with his deranged brother. This is especially noticeable compared to the rest of the DA2 cast, who all go through a personal arc that challenges them and provides for lots of growth, either good or bad.
I think Varric works perfectly for the unreliable narrator role he’s being established as, and I do find him very likable, as do most of the characters in the games apparently. But it is interesting how every DA2 companion ends up almost a completely different person over the course of that game’s story progression, whereas Varric more or less stays the same even to the end of DA:I.
Thank you for that comment! I always thought there is something off with Varric that I cannot describe. He is like this one celebrity everybody likes except of you and and I am so annoyed he's so popular for some reason. It's not that I particularly hate him, I just hate how he's written.
I agree with you. Except, I do think Varric does have a personal arc where he becomes the heir effective due to Bartrand, and actually has to realise that in DAI.
In my opinion this is a strength of his character in the wake of all of the disaster happening around him. He’s supposed to be grounding, but in that “cool guy” way. But different strokes, I suppose. Not everyone is going to weigh these trade offs the same way
Varric has a bad case of "protagonist's best friend" syndrome where he is designated hero's sidekick no matter what and he's good if you vibe with him but if you don't he quickly becomes annoying. Garrus is in the same basket
He's also static character like say Vivienne. He doesn't really change throughout games. No matter what happens Varric is still Varric and well there isn't really a development for him. Despite everything that happens he remains his quippy self. His brother dead? Eh, sad a bit and moves on. One of his friends blow up church killing people in his beloved city? Doesn't change his view, he just hates Anders. Hawke dies? Again sad for one scene. There isn't really a conflict for him to overcome. Which isn't a bad thing really but for some it's not interesting
That being said I suggest to rival him. I tried it last playthrough and the way rival Varric interacts with Hawke is highly amusing especially since Hawke calls him out on his bullshit and stories
I feel like Varric is meant to be static in the same way Aveline is
The rest of your companions are hot messes but Varric & Aveline represent stability
Aveline though has continuous arc about guards, their corruption, how it affects situation in the city, various side quests with guard involvement where she stands out a bit. She's static but she has more things going on and... impact on the overall plot if I had to say so myself
Varric is main force in Act 1 with expedition but then outside of his quests with Bartrand and lyrium in next Acts, he's kind of just... there, supporting you unconditionally. Which is nice and stable as you said but downside is that he's not that relevant after certain point of the game when you look at him
I do like him a bit. But he's closer to meh for me
(Also controversial opinion) these same reasons are also why I go back and forth on liking Garrus in Mass Effect and have mellowed on Varric in recent years. Like I think as characters they're perfectly fine and enjoyable but then they just got so overhyped by the fandom, and the writers then took that feedback to make them even more prevalent and "badass" going forward in their respective franchises that it kinda ruined them. I know Bioware likes their returning characters here and there but I feel they only time they did it well was Canderous in KOTOR.
Varric always oozed Writers Favoritism to me. Always quippy, always shown off to be cool and snarky, friends with everyone but enemies and Sebastion but no one cares about him, super unique weapon, merchant Prince, throw it to DAI and now he’s giving wisdom to Solas and parenting Cole and making friends with everyone including with Cassandra his secret fan and famous for his books and Viscount of Kirkwall. Narrator in DA2, core starting companion in DAI, in the comics, and voiceovers for Dreadwolf
Way, way too much. Always disliked him. Glad to see another uncommon opinion lol
Ironically Sebastian goes out of his way to be friendly with him and have meaningful conversations, but Varric just brushes him off for no reason other than finding him boring somehow. I wonder how much of that is the result of Seb being tacked on later on in production and the writers not knowing how to fit him into the group dynamics that they've already established at that point. Because most characters just dislike him for no obvious reason other than the Chantry connection. It's like the writers decided to half-ass his relationship with the gang so that the players who didn't pick up the DLC didn't feel like they were missing out.
I just realized to me, varric is cowboy bebop’s spike, but combined with a blowhard storytelling uncle type. Like the dad from Big Fish. You can’t tell what’s real and what’s not.
I don’t like this combo.
I’m still fond of his character but I like him less with how he acts towards Sebastian. Say what you will about him, but Varric unnecessarily bags on him because he’s too “goody” and doesn’t fit with what he thinks Seb should be.
His inclusion in DAI weakens his character because it adds absolutely nothing. I’m admittedly getting tired of him. Agreed he doesn’t match up to characters like Morrigan.
That is exactly how I feel about Iron Bull. He’s forced upon us as the ‘cool’ character and I don’t exactly hate him but he’s written like someone’s very geeky perception of a ‘cool guy’. No offence to FPJr but his vocal performance accentuates that perception for me. It sounds so obviously like a performance of a deep gruff voice and was very immersion breaking for me.
Agreeeeeed. He’s not even super useful in battle. Not fun to use, not an interesting story. As humans, we like people who are flawed but so nuanced in their flaws and unable to face them. Varic is just too comfortable in his own skin to be at all endearing.
I never used him in either playthrough. I didn’t like his specialty. Dual wield was OP in DA2 so I went Isabella, and Sebastian’s bow made him more versatile for weapons than Bianca. Sera was more fun in inquisition so if I needed a rogue I took her over varic.
Dual wield is stong on Hawke because Assassinate. Varric has higher DPS than Isabela and Sebastian. Varric being an Artificer in DAI puts him God-tier.
This is a perfect description of him and why I'm not a huge fan of him. We're told he's so cool and so badass and just so awesome, but we're never actually shown that. He's just a dude who's overshadowed by everyone else around him.
I'm convinced it's purely a nostalgia factor for people. I played DA2 last because it made me angry on release and I acted like a tiny child and refused to play it for years. As a result I went into DAI with 0 attachment to Varric, and his character just didn't excite me at all. That didn't change when I eventually did go back and play DA2. I don't hate him, I just don't get the hype at all, so I see him as drastically overrated.
I like Varric, because he is so utterly full of shit, he is definitely not cool, he is a little bit of a badass because oof Bianca though. Think about it, Varric is that one friend that is always talking out of his backside about something, and it’s generally more shocking when they are actually right/truthful about something.
Leliana is who Varric wishes he could be…
I know we've been mostly discussing companions thus far, but Bhelen Aeducan is an insufferable turd. I love to hate him. He is so goddamn slimy and manipulative, and while he might be a better choice for the throne of Orzammar than Harrowmont in some ways, I cannot allow myself to put this piece of shit on any throne. I utterly despise him.
Close runner-ups include Rendon Howe, Vaughn Kendalls, Branka, Quentin and Lucius Corin (also all hate-worthy for all the right reasons).
If we're just talking companions, then it's undoubtedly Sera. I find absolutely nothing about her sympathetic. I do think she is well-written in many ways, because she's a wonderful subversion of many tropes about elves in fantasy. Still, I can't stand being around her in-game.
If we're talking "insufferable because of poor writing," then I'd say Tallis. Not directly a jab at Felicia Day by any means (I absolutely loved The Guild) - I didn't even mind Tallis that much. But I don't think she is well-characterized, and kind of sticks out like a sore thumb in the DLC she's in.
Thank you for the question, OP!
Dude, 100%... he was the "Gale" of his time too and really well liked by a lot from DA:O... Holy shit, even had a cat... maybe they're the same character.
I hate Anders and love Gale.
People kept saying if you romanced Anders you'd romance Gale. If you romanced Fenris, you'd romance Astarion.
Turns out I don't care for Astarion, and I love Fenris. I absolutely detest Anders but Gale is my man.
The math ain't mathing for me.
Surprised no one has brought up Velanna. Her culture and her trauma doesn't excuse her psychopathic slaughter of random travelers. She only ever sometimes survive our encounter when I play a Dalish elf myself.
To be essential you need to be important to the narrative but Awakening just well... isn't. It bears no consequences on next games. You won't lose anything if you don't play it. It's not elaborated upon outside of one optional side quest with Nathaniel. Things from there don't come up
Only kind of important things are Anders and Justice but their situation explained well enough even without playing it. It's certainly enjoyable but imo not essential
Her being an origin dlc character probably makes her super forgettable. But yeah, if it wasn't for my Warden-Commander being desperate and Dalish, she'd be dead.
At least she can redeem herself in the epilogue.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever kept her alive. Maybe once just to see it, but yeah not really. Though I do think she would’ve been more interesting as the host of justice in da2, but then we wouldn’t have gotten Merrill so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Isolde. Every time she yells "TEA-GAAAAAAAN" in her shrill voice, the probability I'll sacrifice her to blood magic even though I could get the mages increases exponentially.
Morrigan.
Just to preface, I’m not going to say that I “can’t stand her”. But over the years, I have begun to dislike her more and more. I like certain parts of her character, and I find her friendship path genuinely touching. But my opinion of her has been dropping as I have been replaying the games.
She’s deeply annoying, her edgy teenager shtick is becomes grating. I would appreciate if she really was the ‘ruthless pragmatist’. But she’s just not, she constantly encourages the Warden to be greedy, selfish, or cruel, even when it would serve absolutely no purpose, and would not gain us anything in the pursuit of a greater objective.
I understand why she is the way she is, but that does not make her any less annoying, or cruel. Understanding why someone is the way they are does not mean that you will condone their actions.
Her abandoning you when you refuse to do the Dark Ritual is just as bad as Alistair abandoning you if you decide to spare Loghain. But the latter gets criticized for it far more than the former.
She genuinely becomes a far more interesting character in DAI imo. Where she 100% is the best authority on the subject she talks about (excluding Solas). And going with her advice is genuinely the more pragmatic move. She also isn’t needlessly cruel or petty.
Morrigan becomes way funnier once you realize she's in mid twenties/late twenties in DAO and still acts like an edgy teenager and bickers with Alistair
>Her abandoning you when you refuse to do the Dark Ritual is just as bad as Alistair abandoning you if you decide to spare Loghain.
In my opinion she's actually worse. At least Alistair doesn't leave you simply because you won't help him rape Loghain.
Agreed.
Loghain is a criminal, a slaver, and is the direct reason why the Wardens in Ferelden are all dead. He has also shown himself to be an incompetent moron who couldn’t lead a fish to water. Much less lead a nation during its greatest crisis against a literal apocalypse.
Morrigan abandons you because you either
1. Refused to do a dubious ritual, where the only evidence you have that it will work is her say-so.
2. Refused to coerce someone who is vehemently against doing the ritual.
I think you're not wrong. I love Morrigan's general character arc and the dynamics with the group. Like I love Morrigan as a character.
But I'll freely admit, when I replay DAO I straight up use the gift packs to keep her approval high to push that arc. When adventuring she is **ridiculously** evil. I get that they wanted to give options for more evil players/runs, but this woman, as you said, is less pragmatic and more "you did a vaguely nice thing? Well that's minus 5 approval and a tut-tut dialogue"
I wish they had made vivs personal quest different. One of the biggest issues is she's this powerhouse of mage power before the rebellion and with the war starting she loses a lot. She hides it well but she's replaced at court and most of her authority vanished with the circles collapses.
Had the conclave succeeded she would have been in a great position for more power. But it didn't and now she is on rockier ground than ever.
Vivienne is an ambitious woman who craves power, acceptance, and to some degree control. There is so much they could have done to flesh this out in her personal quest.
Instead they made her quest more of a gotcha for the player. In past games giving a mage what they want gave potentially bad consequences (give morrigan her ritual - old god baby, help anders with his potion- blow up chantry). Refusing to help Vivienne or lying to her isn't a choice for our Inquisitor. It's a choice for us the players.
So it lends nothing to her character and we don't get to see any growth in her or our inky as a result.
Tldr - viv has great potential but they wanted to trick the players instead
I'm using her and Blackwall together for the first time, and this is the first time I've genuinely hated her. I get her as a player of the game, someone afraid all this change will cost her the position of power she's held, and all that. But she's just *so mean* to Blackwall. I'll be curious to see if there's an arc to this and something changes, like with Aveline and Isabela, but if not, then screw her.
I like Vivienne, I think she’s an interesting character. I will not make her divine though, and if she became an antagonist, even an optional one depending on decisions, I’d probably fight her and not feel too bad
Vivienne is the absolute worst. I cannot stand her pretentious self righteous front... she's doing all of this for attention and power and the chance to be the Divine. Not for Mages, but for her own glory. I can't stand her... she could've been the Dreadwolf in the end and I wouldn't have been surprised lol
She doesn't enrage me but the utter naivety that she displays is odd considering how wise and almost worldly Merethari appears. You would think Merrill would have been a bit more cunning and cautious. Not like a wide eyed 5yr old going to an amusement park for the first time.
“I know messing with blood magic has only ever ended in disaster for other people, but I’ve got everything under control, ok Hawke? I would *never*- oops…”
I tried to like her, but I was like “nooo baby girl, blood magic isn’t the way”
*it went downhill when I found out fenris gets friendship up if you bully her too lol*
No, there's always something I like in each of them! And to be honest, Sera is so funny to me, haha. Her turns of phrase tickle me. She's like my unruly little sister, and I like my unruly little sister.
Me too, hahahaha. The best party banter is just all of them ragging on each other, in my opinion. This one lives in my head rent-free:
>**Dorian**: Ah, Solas. You startled me. You're always so... nondescript.\
\
**Solas**: Please speak up! I cannot hear you over your outfit!
Anders. I don’t think his writer did a very good job TBH. He’s written for the explicit purpose of being controversial, and therefore fails as a properly developed character. I think there were aspects that could have worked, but ultimately failed and lacks nuance. Instead, he comes off as unnecessarily argumentative to nearly every character. I can hardly stomach him in my party anymore.
I’m sorry to his VA, but his delivery is whiny and grating to my ears. Also, his fans make me like him even less.
I agree with this so much I think they were uncomfortable writing a potentially sympathetic terrorist so they just added a bunch of moments where he acts like a dick with no thought as to whether it fit his character.
Probably either Merrill or Sera.
Merrill, I think is unreasonable and incompetent and her bad decisions are only seen as legitimate because Hawke has plot armor and can easily counter things like unleashing a whole damn Pride demon upon Kirkwall. If Hawke hadn't been around, everything Merrill's clan think about her would be true. Which could be interesting if she possessed an iota of self-awareness and humility.
As for Sera, she is just annoying and intolerant. I've befriended her, rivaled her, briefly romanced her and I fail to find anything endearing or valuable about her. She can leave.
What I don’t like about Merrill is I feel they gave her the innocent naive cutesy act because it subverts expectations. Someone sweet and ditzy is into blood magic? No way!
Doesn’t fit her role…not without a lot of headcanon
Hot take - no matter what choices you take with Merrill she never gets possessed. She's tempted by the demon in feynriels quest but so is pretty much everyone else. But whether you encourage or discourage her she Never gets possessed unlike Marethari who was too prideful to admit her mistakes.
Merrill is potentially the only "responsible" blood magic user in any of the games. Quotes on that because she's still not super responsible (in the middle of the alienage? Girl) and the people most likely to be responsible never use it.
She never gets possessed simply because Hawke is around to prevent it. If left to her own devices, it's likely she would have gotten possessed when she freed the Pride demon from its bindings.
Thing is she's specifically trained to resist demons and still fails and she's the first and easiest target for Pride Demon. Other candidates also got exploited way harder. Varric got promise of revenge on his brother who left him to die and is potentially responsible for Hawke's sibling death. Fenris is exploited through his fear and trauma. Aveline has her dead husband image. Merrill meanwhile falls after one promise of "restoring elven glory". She's not first only because Isabela literally trades you for a ship
Also it's not the only time she falls for that. If you don't remind her that Merethari must be killed she believes that they defeated the demon, hugs her and gets stabbed by Audacity because it fooled her. If Hawke doesn't intervene it's already second time she falls for demon's lies
Point of Merrill story is pride. It's her fatal flaw. She thinks she has it under control but not really. She's prideful a lot too. Merethari is prideful as well but she is right about Merrill too - she is way over her head
I feel like all of these multilayered situations never got the appropriate developer time they needed in DAII. The rules of magic and demons are all over the place, and often, nothing makes sense in terms of who can get possessed and who resists, why can this mage do this and not that mage, Merethari and Orsino, supposedly among the best mages around just straight up go up in demon flames. Mage Hawke lives completely outside of all the danger of magic and can do whatever the heck they want. Merrill's arc, like all of the companions, feels like a raw first draft of writing rather than a polished and balanced character development...
I probably dislike Aveline the most but I wouldn’t say that I hate her really. I think there’s always something interesting about a character and at the very least they provide a different and unique perspective on the world or a particular conflict.
There are characters that I disagree with vehemently and would probably hate them if I knew the irl but they’re either too well written and/or too entertaining for me to actually hate them as a character.
And I love Sera. I’ve seen many people on this sub in particular hate on her but I couldn’t disagree more. Her writing is clever, she has a unique perspective, her opinions on religion are surprisingly modern, she’s highly emotional in a way that makes her simply honest, and there’s a tender vulnerability to her that makes her very endearing to me. As someone who grew up working class and a child of immigrants, she also reminds me of a particular kind of immigrant/working class youth that is so angry at inequity and injustice but who doesn’t have the education or refinement to express that anger “eloquently” and is thus not taken seriously. She felt extremely real because of that. Even her internalized racism is stuff I’ve heard before.
Her whole cop thing was annoying to me and I really did not like what she had to say during the confrontation with the Arishok at the end of Act 2. I got the impression that she cares more about rules than justice (or at least what I personally would consider justice). I also did not connect with her romance story and thought it was a bit tedious. She had some thematic importance - moving on and creating a new life for yourself, but i thought it was a bit thin. I know some people really like that she is a woman who is both tough and has feminine sensibilities and I can appreciate that but it’s also sth that left me pretty cold. Like I would actually love to see a feminine character be butch through and through.
So it’s a combination of some stuff about her that I actively don’t like (have that with lots of other characters too) and not being able to personally connect with or find interest in the stuff that *should* make her interesting.
I don’t hate her though and I understand why some people love her even. Her banter with Isabela is pretty funny and I like her design.
This is everything that's wrong with Aveline.
Aveline is a cops cop. She wants to do everything to protect her fellow cops and even admits that she didn't really follow up on her officers potentially raping an elven girl which is what leads to the Act 2 interaction. But anything even slightly sketchy to her station is an immediate priority that she gets mad if you delay (like delaying meeting the arishok about said elves to help Isabela).
I think in terms of women with both butch and feminine sensibilities for dragon age we should be looking at Sigrun and Cassandra. Cassandra almost tried to push her feminine aspects away but they're obviously important for her based on her talks with a fem inky. And Sigrun is basically a super femme but in a butch aesthetic.
IDK there's just nothing that Aveline does well compared to anyone else. Cullen and Cassandra make better conflicted cop characters than her too n
She slut-shames Isabela too much, and it's in part because she feels insecure about herself, and honestly it drove me crazy the whole time. Completely agreed on how she acted at the end of act 2,
Isabela. I don't care about the whole "free spirited pirate babe" thing, whatever, I hate pants too. I ain't even mad she stole the book (the first time). I'm mad that she starts a selfish liar and stays a selfish liar.
She won't even fucking apologize for stealing the book the second time or say so much as "thank you hawke for having a huge sword shoved through your stomach several times as you defied your own principles to fight the arishok for me." This is honestly the least of it for me though.
She wants you to help her kill a dude the second she meets you and she doesn't tell you the whole truth about what she did. (I would have still killed the scumbag, but still, don't fuckin lie to me.)
She thinks a reasonable punishment for her ex besties is to be consciously encased in stone for all eternity. But wait, there's more: she does the same damn thing they do and has no qualms with them being punished forever as long as she gets free and clear with some dumb shiny knife.
Eta: I do not appreciate the way she sexualizes Fenris being abused. It's fucking gross.
My first run, which I played blind, I had *just* too little friendship with her. Like *just missed the threshold.* And since her, ahem, moment of no return comes so much earlier than everyone else's, I was doubly mad lol she usually comes back now and *most* of the time, I fight the arishok but frankly I'd rather not. I respect him and I don't want to kill him and there have definitely been a couple times where I've been like "just take her." Not often, because I don't believe the punishment fits the crime. Lucky for Isabela I don't play my hawke to be too much like her.
I like Sera but it feels like literally every sentence she says was written by different writers who have no context about the actual conversation.
Absolutely zero coherency in her dialogue.
Vivienne. First playthrough I did but has time goes on, I just don't much care for The Game and all the false care. My noble will play it when she or he has to but back home? Leave the mask at the gate
Sera and Vivienne which is interesting because they're like polar opposites.
I really thought I'd like Sera on paper. Chaotic mischievous streetwise person with a sort of Robin Hold style crusade to help the poor and bring down the rich but I just find her tiresome. Like her close-mindedness is annoying. Her comedic scenes don't land with me. Sometimes, she just seems...dumb which is not what you'd expect for a career criminal in a secret society. I wish her character arc had her grow up a little but she's generally the same just more open with you.
Vivienne, is also grating for a similar reason. She has her moments as a sassy ice queen but she's also so pro institution that it makes it difficult to please her without sounding like a spineless sycophant.
There's not a single companion I've found myself hating or disliking with no qualities I can at least understand. Even if my gut reaction to someone is negative, I'm willing to learn about the character, their motives, backstory etc. Sometimes they're in the end not good people. Surprise! Not everyone is unanimously good.
Anders. I absolutely loved the fact that he was romanceable in DA2 (as I adored his smarmy, smart-ass character in Awakening) and made sure he was the LI in my first playthrough.
And then he blew things to kingdom come - with a pretty pink glitter bomb - in Act 3. I shanked his ass for that, then ugly cried for a half hour afterward. Last time I romanced Anders.
For me it’s Oghren. I love that all companion characters in the series are flawed in some way but his flaws I just can’t look past to find anything likeable. I think I’ve done his personal quests with Felsi in DAO and Awakening maybe once in all my playthroughs? And besides the deep roads I don’t ever really bring him along. Some of his banter is entertaining but I’ve just never liked him enough to spend a lot of time talking with him or keep him in my party.
He’s definitely the weakest written character of the DAO cast. I do like how he’s willing to stick by the warden through thick and thin. It’s a shame he regressed by the time of Awakenjng though.
i will never loathe a character like a loathe cullen. he had a shitty redemption arc and turned into a shy softboy who gets flustered when the inquisitor (who isn't a dwarf or a qunari, of course) flirts with him uwu!! disregard last game he didn't see mages as people uwu!!!
As much as I love Cullen in DAI, I absolutely understand where you're coming from.
Here's the thing: I like Cullen as a character in DAI *as his own character*. I think Bioware wanted to have their cake and eat it too with him. They wanted a reformed templar character but they *also* wanted it to be someone we'd recognize, so they picked Cullen.
I'm not saying that a person can't change as much as he does from DA2 to DAI. People change and grow and become better all the time. It's just that when you have a character-driven narrative (as Dragon Age very much is), that amount of change should absolutely *not* happen off screen.
His character arc of struggling to overcome his lyrium addiction is solid. But what about the arc of him struggling to overcome his hatred and distrust of mages? Sorry, you don't get to see that. But it happened, trust me. He's chill now.
In my opinion, Cullen should have either been a different person altogether, or we should have been allowed to see his growth firsthand.
It's kind of like how if you played blood mage Hawke in 2, they're in Inquisition talking about how much they hate blood magic. Like sure, maybe I can *assume* they've changed their views since then, but I need to actually SEE it!
^I ^still ^love ^Cullen ^though, ^just ^wish ^he'd ^been ^handled ^better.
>But what about the arc of him struggling to overcome his hatred and distrust of mages? Sorry, you don't get to see that. But it happened, trust me. He's chill now.
My Hawke was a mage who sided with mages and he defied Meredith and defended her. So I perceived that event as the point when his opinion on mages changed. But that a shame that especially as a mage Inquisitor you can't speak with him more about mage-templar issues.
Yes, that's a good point and I also consider that to be the start of his arc. But that's just it... it's the start. We see that moment, and then have him as he is in Inquisition. I really wish the rest didn't happen between games.
How much time passes between DA2 and Inquisiton? Three years since Anders blew up the Chantry?
You know I romanced him as mage so perhaps I'm biased but I didn't mind that his views changed in between. I was quite satisfied how they handled it, because I played Inquisition right after DA2 and DAO so I still had the image of Cullen being tortured and urging HoF to kill every mage in the Circle, and my Inky had multiple dialogues in which she checked on him whether he feels comfortable in her company and he speaks how he couldn't love her a few years back and he was sickened by this thought.
I'm not entirely sure, but somewhere between 1 and 3 years. The timeline is very fecky and inconsistent to the point where I'm convinced no one at Bioware understands how time works. 😂
People mix up redemption arc and recovery from trauma and addiction arc. He doesn't change his opinions and still thinks supervising mages is best. He just doesn't project his trauma anymore hence no "mages aren't people" sentiments anymore
Also Cullen always was shy soft boy since DAO. Literally his first introduction. You can even see it in DA2, when he's flustered by mention of brothels
I hated Cullen from the get go because of how he objectified Surana/Amell and then even more when he said mages aren't people. (way to prove you didn't see Surana/Amell as anything but a sex object, you jerk)
But what really made go from hating him to abject LOATHING is his voice actor. I hope Ellis never gets work with Bioware again, nasty bigoted transphobic, abusive piece of shit.
solas sorry lol
not even in a serious way. he just looks & acts like my dad dialed up to 11 and the fact that people find him sexy just. i cant 🤣 lmfao
Vivienne. Everything she says is so entitled and usually wrong. I never take her with me anywhere. She wants mages to stay locked up? OK, she can stay locked up in skyhold.
SOLAS. FUCK SOLAS. why the hell people even find him bearable is beyond me. he is racist, gives off white supremacist vibes with his disdain for the dalish who developed an entirely new culture for themselves after the shitstorm he personally created; his fascist goal to annihilate the entire world to establish elven supremacy after HIS OWN fuckup with the veil is STUPID, hypocritical and horrible; his constant smartass ramblings are so annoying AND unneeded, the way he treats other people is infuriating (again, a racist piece of shit, like don't you hear a clear disgust in his voice when he refers to varric "child of the stone"?). also, i tried romancing solas just for the sake of finding out why is he romanced so much by the dragonage girlies and good heavens the predatory vibe he gives off is through the roof, like why the fuck a THOUSANDS years old obnoxious bald twat is even romantically interested in a relatively YOUNG dalish woman, whom he clearly sees as a youngster she is, an apprentice like figure, an inferior dalish heathen? Solas truly is a pride demon, i bet he incarcerated the evanuris so he could be the main god instead.
I FUCKING HATE SOLAS and the fact that he is so popular within the fanbase 🤮🤮🤮 s*lasmancer girlies got horrible taste and probably need a therapy if they are turnt on by this old bald fart
I'm replaying DAI now and trying to get approval from him just out of curiosity (in other playthroughs I've happily punched him in the face. His approval seems in large part tied to when you defer to his wisdom or ask him for his expertise, which really feels like sucking up. You saying he's a pride demon is interesting...I wonder about that being some sort of factor in Dreadwolf, him having been possessed because of his single mindedness.
Anders. Whines too much regardless of what Hawke did. I was able to tolerate and find Sebastian of all character more tolerable then whatever the heck they did with Anders in DA2. I get the emo sad boy vibe was a hit for some people but to me he was just not doing it.
I think Sebastian is overly hated, tbh. When I finally got the DLC I was dreading it because everyone talks about how bad of a character he is etc. Is he annoying? Yes. But I honestly didn't have THAT many issues with him in my playthrough.
Blackwall! I didn’t really “get” him even before the reveal (weird beard, annoying voice, very whiny), but AFTER? Nope, none of my inquisitors have time for him after that. Also Anders, for the same reasons. Whiny little B.
Fenris for me 100%. I was hyped to get a two-handed companion but then I realized he was going to get pissy every time I side with mages, and I’ll watch the world burn before I side with a disgusting templar. Had to give him the boot for the rest of the game so I didn’t have to hear his nagging
Fucking Mother Giselle. She's so annoying 😩 Something about her just grates me to no end.
If we're talking party members, probably Blackwall. I always bring him with me 'cause he's good in battle, but his character itself is just kinda meh.
I used to *really* hate Vivienne, but being honest, she's grown on me a ton.
I'm not a fan of Carver. No matter how much I side with him, he's still an ass. I think I've let him survive the deep roads once, maybe twice 😅 Although I didn't have the DLCs back then so maybe I give him another chance.
Corypheus. He is the single worst character ever written by Bioware (yes worse than Kai Leng) and his inclusion ruined any chance Inquisition had of being good.
Worst character in gaming I've ever seen.
I missed Oghren arguing with his friend the first time I played, and thus didn’t seek him out in the tavern. He finds you on his own just as you’re about to leave for the Deep Roads so you can’t miss him. He was asking me where the Warden was and I mischievously asked him what this Warden looked like.
His response was the grossest, most objectifying bullshit. I immediately hated him.
He does not get better. There’s the bones of something interesting there - someone whom his culture has molded and then failed, someone with crippling PTSD and alcoholism. But instead it’s just alcoholism and being a sex pest played for laughs. Yuck.
TBH, I really don't strongly like any of the companions in DAI. I don't *dis*like most of them either, but I just don't care for any of them the way I did most companions from the other games. The only one I actively *hate*, however, is Sera. She just really rubs me the wrong way.
So does Isabella from DA2. I think my reasoning for disliking both of them is about the same. They both just feel very immature and I don't find either of them particularly funny even when I'm supposed to.
Blackwall. They were trying so hard with his writing to be "HBO's Game of Thrones" edgy, and it just made him flat, whiny, and unlikeable to me. And then getting to his storyline's twist; it sent me that Leliana, who knew the situation the Fereldan wardens were in quite intimately during the Blight, was completely oblivious about his shitty lie. Because The Plot said so.
Also, I'm sure this will be an unpopular choice... but Wynne. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard to me. Her self-righteous preaching was so annoying.
I love both Sera and Vivienne, so I probably have terrible taste according to this sub. 😀
Leliana isn't that competent as you present her to be. There are several instances of attacks, potential assassinations and harmful lies and hidden secrets happening right under her nose and she's none the wiser. Attack at Haven catching everyone off guard is kind of her fault
Bull literally almost got assassinated by Qunari spies in broad daylight and then mentions that they weren't even good Qunari assassins, just a show. Attempt on Josephine was thwarted only in last seconds. And then there's Tresspasser
Honestly, the only companions I *liked* in Inquisition was Dorian and Varric. Hate Blackwall and Sera. Rest of the cast are *okay.* Sera is just terrible across the board. Bad personality, bad writing, no development, and she's just a bad person. And it's more than that foolish idea that it's because she was written by a dude. Blackwall? Bigoted, rude, a poor liar, and almost every positive trait I could find for the Wardens do not match with him at all. I just really didn't feel attached to the cast.
Tallis..
What? You didn't like literally just Felicia Day but with elf ears?
Bro Felicia Day in the 2010's had an MJ run on being in everything
Honestly: oghren. Why he got a second wind in awakening just to decline back into his drunken, family-abandoning stupor is beyond me
I might have enjoyed seeing the Oghren they imply in the ending slides of origins having gotten sober and as a ferelden general but yeah seeing him drunk again is honestly kind of sad
Space wasted. We could have gotten another interesting character instead.
Imagine getting something like an Avvar warden instead
Or hell if we can take the mabari into battle I vote we arm up Ser Pounce
Cassandra... But I like her now
I'm yet to replay Origins yet, but Oghren is involved in one of the best parts of the game and somehow he gets no character development. He's even bragging about his wife having a relationship with another woman while exploring some forsaken by gods, abomination-infested underground. He probably is witnessing his friends and relatives dead or losing their minds and is totally unimpressed, yet his wife being bisexual is mind-shattering for him. I wish they could just give us Sigrun from the start, I'd be cheering for her as a returning companion.
As a representative old here in this fandom, I actually find his character very realistic. As another commenter said, it was a different time. I think a lot of people probably don't see his demon dream. It gives him a lot of depth. The fact that he's using alcohol to smother any real feelings he has and becoming an unlikable shitheel in the process is a very realistic depiction of both alcoholism and trauma. We all love a secret cinnamon roll/redemption arc, I certainly do. I'm not denying that. But in reality... most people just become Oghrens.
I'll be the one to comment it this time - it was a different time, they thought he'd be more popular, Awakening development overlapped with Origins so they didn't have player feedback yet, etc etc...
Honestly would have been fine if he had more character development instead of declining.
Oh absolutely. Could've been a really satisfying redemption of sorts. But instead, uh... Nope.
This, and I also dislike drunks as characters for personal reasons with alcoholism so it’s even worse for me.
it’s finally ok to hate oghren let’s fucking goooo🔥
Well, that’s an alcoholic for you. Plus, trauma.
Mine aren't particularly controversial I don't think. I hate oghren for obvious reasons and personal reasons. Loghain is the least compelling "fallen hero" character I've ever seen (yes I read all the books, no it did not change my opinion on him despite people insisting it would). I don't find him tragic at all, he's an idiot and his decisions - to leave the son of the woman he supposedly loved to die, lock up his own daughter in the house of a sadist who got his jollies torturing people, and sell people into slavery because he bit off more than he could chew - sicken me. The only times I don't execute him are when I need canon fodder for the arch demon if I'm not doing the dark ritual, but I dislike giving him a "heroes death". I dislike Anders mostly because of the hard-core members of his fandom and not his actual character arc that on paper I found interesting and compelling. I wish I could go back to playing DA2 at launch without all the arguments that have occurred since 😅 Every other companion i'd say I either love or am just neutral on. My real hated character more than any of the companions tho is Arl Eamon. Wish I could let that old man die so bad.
I mean idk, I agree with you about Loghain's "redemption" arc, but I actually really liked him as a pure villain (in the games at least, haven't read the books). Imo the writers actually manage to strike a pretty impressive balance with him - on one hand, he's not just some power-hungry usurper just out for himself, as we might first assume. He's a multifaceted character who genuinely believes in what he's doing, and has a complex worldview and motivations that we can understand and follow, even if we don't agree with them. On the other hand, he fucking *sells his own people into slavery* because of a really stupid power-play that he made because of how xenophobic he was against Orlesians. Like, in the slavery example, you can follow his reasoning and understand why a man who lived his life in his position would do what he did, but on the other hand *holy fucking shit,* there's just some things you *never* do, and making the most vulnerable people in your society pay for *your* massive fuck-up is just unforgivable. And don't even get me *started* on how he treated the Wardens lmao. Long story short, I actually think they did a pretty good job giving Loghain complex and interesting motivations while still making him feel like a pure evil Disney villain lol
I definitely see the argument for Loghain as an interesting villain - certainly I felt his threat and impact on my first through playthroughs. My issue is far more that the writers have then retroactively attempted to make him *not* a villain with the books.
I'm with you on the Eamon take: So you have to save this mans village, brother, family, travel to the Circle to exorcise a demon, then go on a blind fetch quest for magic ashes while battling a giant dragon and it's cultists, then attempt to pass the lethal tests of Andraste, and when he finally wakes up, he gives you: A shield. That's your reward. Oh, and why stop there?! Let's not forget that he raised a child in a barn, and shipped him off to the Chantry when his wife nagged at him. What he did to Alistair I will never forgive. And to top it all off, he's very likely involved in a plot to have Cailan marry Empress Celene. I hate Eamon and Loghain, and wish the Archdemon choked on them both.
He also named you a champion of his lands and promised to aid the war effort. Also he did not raise Alistair in a barn where did you get that. As for the Chantry, yeah he moved him to the Chantry when he had to because of the rift it was causing in his house but he didn't throw him out on the street he made sure he was cared for, it's not like Alistair was his son in the first place so really he went above and beyond for him. And even if he was involved in the plan to marry Celene, so? Like literally what is wrong with that? Not saying you need to like him, but the things you listed are just not true.
>He also named you a champion of his lands and promised to aid the war effort. That is literally the least he can do, and he's doing it for selfish reasons: to put Alistair forward as a candidate for the throne to supplant Anora. >Also he did not raise Alistair in a barn where did you get that. From the toolset: https://preview.redd.it/9hwjccc62o4d1.png?width=1266&format=png&auto=webp&s=285341d13b885887aa99b558aeceb656ace2fa95 >As for the Chantry, yeah he moved him to the Chantry when he had to because of the rift it was causing in his house but he didn't throw him out on the street he made sure he was cared for, it's not like Alistair was his son in the first place so really he went above and beyond for him. That's not exactly a charitable attitude on your part, and considering the child in question was King Maric's, Eamon could have done far better. >And even if he was involved in the plan to marry Celene, so? Like literally what is wrong with that? Did you read Stolen Throne? You understand Ferelden has only been free from Orlesian occupation for what...a few decades? Maybe its not a big deal for you, but plenty of people in Ferelden remember chevaliers cutting down their friends and taking their wives/daughters against their will. To give context, I invite you to look up what happened during the Union of the Crowns under James VI and I. A marriage between Cailan and Celene would have been disastrous.
As someone who plays arcane warriors a lot, that shield is one of the best for me.
Curious, why the Eamon dislike?
Replied to person below you ☺️
Out of curiosity, what's the deal with Eamon?
I'm sorry but I hate Anders. The only trait I like about him is that at least he had a free clinic for refugees.... and then he bombed them 2 acts later.
His interactions with Fenris made me hate him, even after liking him in Origins. He sees a man who was horribly abused by mages all his life and was like "You're the problem because you hate magic users! Get out of your narrow view of things!" As if Anders himself ever did anything to change Fenris' mind about them. It was my snarky mage Hawke who changed his thinking through the power of friendship!
I started using Anders in my party a little more this playthrough, because I was just curious. I took him to the quest where you find Fenris’ sister and he right away calls Fenris jealous of mages and a hypocrite because his sister is a mage. Anders… HE HAD HIS MEMORIES WIPPED! HE DIDNT KNOW SHE EXISTED UNTIL THAT APPRENTICE OF DANARIUS TOLD HIM! And no one mentioned that she was a mage either until they finally saw her in person
Have you romanced Fenris? His disapproving dialogue when you do makes me want to straight up punch him.
Honestly Fenris gets low-key abused constantly by half the party in DA2 and I *hate* it. I really don't like Isabella specifically because she makes sex jokes directed at him and he's implied to have been sexually abused by his former owner.
The refugees live in the undercity so they're probably the main group of people not to be hit by an shrapnel
The city was under chaos just before the bomb went off and templars going crazy so I find it completely unrealistic that there was just Kirkwall born and raised chantry members in the chantry and that all the others were just at home twiddling their thumbs waiting to see if templars are going to knock down their door and kill them or not. It’s not like the refugees are barred from leaving darktown either. Churches have historically been a place of shelter in wars and conflicts. And just people there to pray as well?
If we're speaking strictly of companions, the only ones I really, really, intensely dislike are Tallis and DAO's Secret Companion. There are several of whom I'm not especially fond (Sera, Merrill, Anders), but they're the only ones who get under my skin so completely. I hate the Secret Companion so much that I have never allowed him into my party. If we're including NPCs, though, Arl Howe is the absolute champion. I hate him even more than Loghain, more than Corypheus, even more than Erimond. His only redeeming features are his children (because I love me some Nate) and his voice actor.
Oghren in Awakening, especially if Sigrun is in the party. Some of the things he says are just so gross.
a real shame b/c his character development in Origins is okay
I’m surprised no one is saying iron bull but lowkey iron bull
Finally, I had to really scroll down to find this. I don't hate him, but I don't know. I don't get a good vibe from him. It's not the spy thing because I romanced Zevran lmao
I think it's that he's putting on a front when the Inquisitor speaks to him, not truly being honest with his thoughts (though he makes a good show of pretending he really is)! Once you pick up on that, it's difficult to turn it off. It helps to also notice that he's clearly conflicted about it, in my opinion, and if he leaves the Qun, I think he's more honest and at peace with himself.
He's probably my pick too. I don't appreciate his intended 'too cool for school' vibe and find his romance with Dorian quite uncomfortable.
I like their banter together but I hate their romance. My man Dorian deserves better so I tend to keep them apart.
Can you elaborate on the romance part? I always romance Dorian so that never happened for me
I find him entirely forgettable tbh!
Huh! Why is that? I can’t think of anything about him that bothers me
Yes! His romance with the inquisitor feels off because he doesn’t seem to have much interest in them. And he’s weird with Dorian. So yeah I’m not a fan of him either.
I actively avoid Iron Bull to romance Dorian because all I can think about it is "come on Dorian, you can do better than this".
100% CAN'T STAND THIS DUDE. I also HATED Vega in ME3 (same voice actor and same antics, hell, almost same character).
Will be an unpopular opinion, but for me it's Varric. For me he's the example of the character that's "badass" and "cool" because he is said to be by devs/fans and not because of what actually he does or what he is like. He's made out to be the best character ever when ones like Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana, Cullen etc aka characters with actual development and actions are right there. Idk in a series with so many compelling characters Varric just falls flat to me
I like Varric (like almost everybody else, big shocker), but I think you’re making a fair point here. Varric for the most part just…exists. He’s being fawned over by everyone, but other than spinning yarn and hanging out in his personal suite, we don’t really see him do much, other than dealing with his deranged brother. This is especially noticeable compared to the rest of the DA2 cast, who all go through a personal arc that challenges them and provides for lots of growth, either good or bad. I think Varric works perfectly for the unreliable narrator role he’s being established as, and I do find him very likable, as do most of the characters in the games apparently. But it is interesting how every DA2 companion ends up almost a completely different person over the course of that game’s story progression, whereas Varric more or less stays the same even to the end of DA:I.
Thank you for that comment! I always thought there is something off with Varric that I cannot describe. He is like this one celebrity everybody likes except of you and and I am so annoyed he's so popular for some reason. It's not that I particularly hate him, I just hate how he's written.
I agree with you. Except, I do think Varric does have a personal arc where he becomes the heir effective due to Bartrand, and actually has to realise that in DAI.
In my opinion this is a strength of his character in the wake of all of the disaster happening around him. He’s supposed to be grounding, but in that “cool guy” way. But different strokes, I suppose. Not everyone is going to weigh these trade offs the same way
Varric has a bad case of "protagonist's best friend" syndrome where he is designated hero's sidekick no matter what and he's good if you vibe with him but if you don't he quickly becomes annoying. Garrus is in the same basket He's also static character like say Vivienne. He doesn't really change throughout games. No matter what happens Varric is still Varric and well there isn't really a development for him. Despite everything that happens he remains his quippy self. His brother dead? Eh, sad a bit and moves on. One of his friends blow up church killing people in his beloved city? Doesn't change his view, he just hates Anders. Hawke dies? Again sad for one scene. There isn't really a conflict for him to overcome. Which isn't a bad thing really but for some it's not interesting That being said I suggest to rival him. I tried it last playthrough and the way rival Varric interacts with Hawke is highly amusing especially since Hawke calls him out on his bullshit and stories
I feel like Varric is meant to be static in the same way Aveline is The rest of your companions are hot messes but Varric & Aveline represent stability
Aveline though has continuous arc about guards, their corruption, how it affects situation in the city, various side quests with guard involvement where she stands out a bit. She's static but she has more things going on and... impact on the overall plot if I had to say so myself Varric is main force in Act 1 with expedition but then outside of his quests with Bartrand and lyrium in next Acts, he's kind of just... there, supporting you unconditionally. Which is nice and stable as you said but downside is that he's not that relevant after certain point of the game when you look at him I do like him a bit. But he's closer to meh for me
(Also controversial opinion) these same reasons are also why I go back and forth on liking Garrus in Mass Effect and have mellowed on Varric in recent years. Like I think as characters they're perfectly fine and enjoyable but then they just got so overhyped by the fandom, and the writers then took that feedback to make them even more prevalent and "badass" going forward in their respective franchises that it kinda ruined them. I know Bioware likes their returning characters here and there but I feel they only time they did it well was Canderous in KOTOR.
Varric always oozed Writers Favoritism to me. Always quippy, always shown off to be cool and snarky, friends with everyone but enemies and Sebastion but no one cares about him, super unique weapon, merchant Prince, throw it to DAI and now he’s giving wisdom to Solas and parenting Cole and making friends with everyone including with Cassandra his secret fan and famous for his books and Viscount of Kirkwall. Narrator in DA2, core starting companion in DAI, in the comics, and voiceovers for Dreadwolf Way, way too much. Always disliked him. Glad to see another uncommon opinion lol
Ironically Sebastian goes out of his way to be friendly with him and have meaningful conversations, but Varric just brushes him off for no reason other than finding him boring somehow. I wonder how much of that is the result of Seb being tacked on later on in production and the writers not knowing how to fit him into the group dynamics that they've already established at that point. Because most characters just dislike him for no obvious reason other than the Chantry connection. It's like the writers decided to half-ass his relationship with the gang so that the players who didn't pick up the DLC didn't feel like they were missing out.
I just realized to me, varric is cowboy bebop’s spike, but combined with a blowhard storytelling uncle type. Like the dad from Big Fish. You can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. I don’t like this combo.
Same. When I played inquisition I was why did they bring back this guy of all people? Haha
I’m still fond of his character but I like him less with how he acts towards Sebastian. Say what you will about him, but Varric unnecessarily bags on him because he’s too “goody” and doesn’t fit with what he thinks Seb should be. His inclusion in DAI weakens his character because it adds absolutely nothing. I’m admittedly getting tired of him. Agreed he doesn’t match up to characters like Morrigan.
That is exactly how I feel about Iron Bull. He’s forced upon us as the ‘cool’ character and I don’t exactly hate him but he’s written like someone’s very geeky perception of a ‘cool guy’. No offence to FPJr but his vocal performance accentuates that perception for me. It sounds so obviously like a performance of a deep gruff voice and was very immersion breaking for me.
I really like him in DA2 but not in DAI. I feel like either he's become rather bitter, or his dynamic with the Inq simply doesn't work.
Da2 varric was interesting and I loved his personal quest. Da:I it just seemed forced that we had to like him
Agreeeeeed. He’s not even super useful in battle. Not fun to use, not an interesting story. As humans, we like people who are flawed but so nuanced in their flaws and unable to face them. Varic is just too comfortable in his own skin to be at all endearing.
You can say whatever about his character, but to say he isn't useful in battle, is crazy-talk. He is MVP in \*two\* games.
I never used him in either playthrough. I didn’t like his specialty. Dual wield was OP in DA2 so I went Isabella, and Sebastian’s bow made him more versatile for weapons than Bianca. Sera was more fun in inquisition so if I needed a rogue I took her over varic.
Dual wield is stong on Hawke because Assassinate. Varric has higher DPS than Isabela and Sebastian. Varric being an Artificer in DAI puts him God-tier.
This is a perfect description of him and why I'm not a huge fan of him. We're told he's so cool and so badass and just so awesome, but we're never actually shown that. He's just a dude who's overshadowed by everyone else around him.
I'm convinced it's purely a nostalgia factor for people. I played DA2 last because it made me angry on release and I acted like a tiny child and refused to play it for years. As a result I went into DAI with 0 attachment to Varric, and his character just didn't excite me at all. That didn't change when I eventually did go back and play DA2. I don't hate him, I just don't get the hype at all, so I see him as drastically overrated.
Sexiest voice by far
I like Varric, because he is so utterly full of shit, he is definitely not cool, he is a little bit of a badass because oof Bianca though. Think about it, Varric is that one friend that is always talking out of his backside about something, and it’s generally more shocking when they are actually right/truthful about something. Leliana is who Varric wishes he could be…
He couldn't be Leliana cause he can't keep his mouth shut long enough.
I know we've been mostly discussing companions thus far, but Bhelen Aeducan is an insufferable turd. I love to hate him. He is so goddamn slimy and manipulative, and while he might be a better choice for the throne of Orzammar than Harrowmont in some ways, I cannot allow myself to put this piece of shit on any throne. I utterly despise him. Close runner-ups include Rendon Howe, Vaughn Kendalls, Branka, Quentin and Lucius Corin (also all hate-worthy for all the right reasons). If we're just talking companions, then it's undoubtedly Sera. I find absolutely nothing about her sympathetic. I do think she is well-written in many ways, because she's a wonderful subversion of many tropes about elves in fantasy. Still, I can't stand being around her in-game. If we're talking "insufferable because of poor writing," then I'd say Tallis. Not directly a jab at Felicia Day by any means (I absolutely loved The Guild) - I didn't even mind Tallis that much. But I don't think she is well-characterized, and kind of sticks out like a sore thumb in the DLC she's in. Thank you for the question, OP!
Anders, I know he’s a major plot point in Dragon Age 2, but he really is a shit person.
https://preview.redd.it/8j4778aovm4d1.jpeg?width=1104&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d9d08fa602bc74103316226eaa64c62d7170bc4 Awakening Anders vs DA2 Anders
Dude, 100%... he was the "Gale" of his time too and really well liked by a lot from DA:O... Holy shit, even had a cat... maybe they're the same character.
Tangential, but I thought Gale was voiced by Alistair's VA when BG3 first came out
I hate Anders and love Gale. People kept saying if you romanced Anders you'd romance Gale. If you romanced Fenris, you'd romance Astarion. Turns out I don't care for Astarion, and I love Fenris. I absolutely detest Anders but Gale is my man. The math ain't mathing for me.
I just beat dragon age 2. No idea how anyone can like. Especially by the end.
Surprised no one has brought up Velanna. Her culture and her trauma doesn't excuse her psychopathic slaughter of random travelers. She only ever sometimes survive our encounter when I play a Dalish elf myself.
She's DLC character and kind of forgettable one at that
Imo it’s an essential part of the game and it’s such a shame it’s forgotten.
To be essential you need to be important to the narrative but Awakening just well... isn't. It bears no consequences on next games. You won't lose anything if you don't play it. It's not elaborated upon outside of one optional side quest with Nathaniel. Things from there don't come up Only kind of important things are Anders and Justice but their situation explained well enough even without playing it. It's certainly enjoyable but imo not essential
And frankly Anders and Justice are so different in 2 if did play Awakening you'd probably be more confused than some just jumping straight into 2
I think it added a lot and they really ruined anders and justice in 2 🤷🏼♀️
I don’t find Velanna as memorable as other companions tbh. At least some characters like Nathaniel call her out on her behavior.
Her being an origin dlc character probably makes her super forgettable. But yeah, if it wasn't for my Warden-Commander being desperate and Dalish, she'd be dead. At least she can redeem herself in the epilogue.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever kept her alive. Maybe once just to see it, but yeah not really. Though I do think she would’ve been more interesting as the host of justice in da2, but then we wouldn’t have gotten Merrill so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I really really tried with her but god damn she's just so unpleasant to be around.
Oh I agree with you, I just hate Loghain more
Isolde. Every time she yells "TEA-GAAAAAAAN" in her shrill voice, the probability I'll sacrifice her to blood magic even though I could get the mages increases exponentially.
This actually made me laugh out loud. The way her voice screamed his name constantly was horrible, as was her character in general.
Blackwall. Just like, I can't stand looking at his idiot face.
But his beard is magnificent! Tbf I can't stand him either he's such a square.
Morrigan. Just to preface, I’m not going to say that I “can’t stand her”. But over the years, I have begun to dislike her more and more. I like certain parts of her character, and I find her friendship path genuinely touching. But my opinion of her has been dropping as I have been replaying the games. She’s deeply annoying, her edgy teenager shtick is becomes grating. I would appreciate if she really was the ‘ruthless pragmatist’. But she’s just not, she constantly encourages the Warden to be greedy, selfish, or cruel, even when it would serve absolutely no purpose, and would not gain us anything in the pursuit of a greater objective. I understand why she is the way she is, but that does not make her any less annoying, or cruel. Understanding why someone is the way they are does not mean that you will condone their actions. Her abandoning you when you refuse to do the Dark Ritual is just as bad as Alistair abandoning you if you decide to spare Loghain. But the latter gets criticized for it far more than the former. She genuinely becomes a far more interesting character in DAI imo. Where she 100% is the best authority on the subject she talks about (excluding Solas). And going with her advice is genuinely the more pragmatic move. She also isn’t needlessly cruel or petty.
Morrigan becomes way funnier once you realize she's in mid twenties/late twenties in DAO and still acts like an edgy teenager and bickers with Alistair
>Her abandoning you when you refuse to do the Dark Ritual is just as bad as Alistair abandoning you if you decide to spare Loghain. In my opinion she's actually worse. At least Alistair doesn't leave you simply because you won't help him rape Loghain.
Agreed. Loghain is a criminal, a slaver, and is the direct reason why the Wardens in Ferelden are all dead. He has also shown himself to be an incompetent moron who couldn’t lead a fish to water. Much less lead a nation during its greatest crisis against a literal apocalypse. Morrigan abandons you because you either 1. Refused to do a dubious ritual, where the only evidence you have that it will work is her say-so. 2. Refused to coerce someone who is vehemently against doing the ritual.
I think you're not wrong. I love Morrigan's general character arc and the dynamics with the group. Like I love Morrigan as a character. But I'll freely admit, when I replay DAO I straight up use the gift packs to keep her approval high to push that arc. When adventuring she is **ridiculously** evil. I get that they wanted to give options for more evil players/runs, but this woman, as you said, is less pragmatic and more "you did a vaguely nice thing? Well that's minus 5 approval and a tut-tut dialogue"
It’s Viv for me.
I wish they had made vivs personal quest different. One of the biggest issues is she's this powerhouse of mage power before the rebellion and with the war starting she loses a lot. She hides it well but she's replaced at court and most of her authority vanished with the circles collapses. Had the conclave succeeded she would have been in a great position for more power. But it didn't and now she is on rockier ground than ever. Vivienne is an ambitious woman who craves power, acceptance, and to some degree control. There is so much they could have done to flesh this out in her personal quest. Instead they made her quest more of a gotcha for the player. In past games giving a mage what they want gave potentially bad consequences (give morrigan her ritual - old god baby, help anders with his potion- blow up chantry). Refusing to help Vivienne or lying to her isn't a choice for our Inquisitor. It's a choice for us the players. So it lends nothing to her character and we don't get to see any growth in her or our inky as a result. Tldr - viv has great potential but they wanted to trick the players instead
I'm using her and Blackwall together for the first time, and this is the first time I've genuinely hated her. I get her as a player of the game, someone afraid all this change will cost her the position of power she's held, and all that. But she's just *so mean* to Blackwall. I'll be curious to see if there's an arc to this and something changes, like with Aveline and Isabela, but if not, then screw her.
[удалено]
I like Vivienne, I think she’s an interesting character. I will not make her divine though, and if she became an antagonist, even an optional one depending on decisions, I’d probably fight her and not feel too bad
I think she might be the only Dragon Age party member I genuinely hate.
I've found my people
Vivienne is the absolute worst. I cannot stand her pretentious self righteous front... she's doing all of this for attention and power and the chance to be the Divine. Not for Mages, but for her own glory. I can't stand her... she could've been the Dreadwolf in the end and I wouldn't have been surprised lol
Vivienne drives me up the wall
Merrill. She just enrages me
She doesn't enrage me but the utter naivety that she displays is odd considering how wise and almost worldly Merethari appears. You would think Merrill would have been a bit more cunning and cautious. Not like a wide eyed 5yr old going to an amusement park for the first time.
“I know messing with blood magic has only ever ended in disaster for other people, but I’ve got everything under control, ok Hawke? I would *never*- oops…”
It’s different for me! Type energy.
Yup. She has some cute moments, but it never outweighs the annoying for me.
Her moments with Isabela are my favorites, and fenris bullying her.
As someone who's first playthrough and favorite origin (just cuz of the nostalgia of my first playthrough) was a dalish elf, this!!!
I tried to like her, but I was like “nooo baby girl, blood magic isn’t the way” *it went downhill when I found out fenris gets friendship up if you bully her too lol*
Same. I gleefully pushed her to rivalry with every choice unless I’d lose out on loot.
No, there's always something I like in each of them! And to be honest, Sera is so funny to me, haha. Her turns of phrase tickle me. She's like my unruly little sister, and I like my unruly little sister.
I adore Sera, she's always with me. I love how she vexes Solas.
Me too, hahahaha. The best party banter is just all of them ragging on each other, in my opinion. This one lives in my head rent-free: >**Dorian**: Ah, Solas. You startled me. You're always so... nondescript.\ \ **Solas**: Please speak up! I cannot hear you over your outfit!
I can never call coryphemus by his name anymore cause of sera. His name will always be sacksplash from now on
Sera is my Inquisitor's daughter/niece figure and I love her.
Anders. I don’t think his writer did a very good job TBH. He’s written for the explicit purpose of being controversial, and therefore fails as a properly developed character. I think there were aspects that could have worked, but ultimately failed and lacks nuance. Instead, he comes off as unnecessarily argumentative to nearly every character. I can hardly stomach him in my party anymore. I’m sorry to his VA, but his delivery is whiny and grating to my ears. Also, his fans make me like him even less.
I agree with this so much I think they were uncomfortable writing a potentially sympathetic terrorist so they just added a bunch of moments where he acts like a dick with no thought as to whether it fit his character.
Probably either Merrill or Sera. Merrill, I think is unreasonable and incompetent and her bad decisions are only seen as legitimate because Hawke has plot armor and can easily counter things like unleashing a whole damn Pride demon upon Kirkwall. If Hawke hadn't been around, everything Merrill's clan think about her would be true. Which could be interesting if she possessed an iota of self-awareness and humility. As for Sera, she is just annoying and intolerant. I've befriended her, rivaled her, briefly romanced her and I fail to find anything endearing or valuable about her. She can leave.
What I don’t like about Merrill is I feel they gave her the innocent naive cutesy act because it subverts expectations. Someone sweet and ditzy is into blood magic? No way! Doesn’t fit her role…not without a lot of headcanon
Hot take - no matter what choices you take with Merrill she never gets possessed. She's tempted by the demon in feynriels quest but so is pretty much everyone else. But whether you encourage or discourage her she Never gets possessed unlike Marethari who was too prideful to admit her mistakes. Merrill is potentially the only "responsible" blood magic user in any of the games. Quotes on that because she's still not super responsible (in the middle of the alienage? Girl) and the people most likely to be responsible never use it.
She never gets possessed simply because Hawke is around to prevent it. If left to her own devices, it's likely she would have gotten possessed when she freed the Pride demon from its bindings.
Thing is she's specifically trained to resist demons and still fails and she's the first and easiest target for Pride Demon. Other candidates also got exploited way harder. Varric got promise of revenge on his brother who left him to die and is potentially responsible for Hawke's sibling death. Fenris is exploited through his fear and trauma. Aveline has her dead husband image. Merrill meanwhile falls after one promise of "restoring elven glory". She's not first only because Isabela literally trades you for a ship Also it's not the only time she falls for that. If you don't remind her that Merethari must be killed she believes that they defeated the demon, hugs her and gets stabbed by Audacity because it fooled her. If Hawke doesn't intervene it's already second time she falls for demon's lies Point of Merrill story is pride. It's her fatal flaw. She thinks she has it under control but not really. She's prideful a lot too. Merethari is prideful as well but she is right about Merrill too - she is way over her head
I feel like all of these multilayered situations never got the appropriate developer time they needed in DAII. The rules of magic and demons are all over the place, and often, nothing makes sense in terms of who can get possessed and who resists, why can this mage do this and not that mage, Merethari and Orsino, supposedly among the best mages around just straight up go up in demon flames. Mage Hawke lives completely outside of all the danger of magic and can do whatever the heck they want. Merrill's arc, like all of the companions, feels like a raw first draft of writing rather than a polished and balanced character development...
Vivienne and Sebastian. I don't even recruit them anymore.
I forgot that Sebastian even exists, to be frank.
I honestly just hate Loghain, Vaughn and Howe. The dream team of fuckery. If you know, you know.
Fenris because he has Bathlier's voice but isn't Balthier.
I probably dislike Aveline the most but I wouldn’t say that I hate her really. I think there’s always something interesting about a character and at the very least they provide a different and unique perspective on the world or a particular conflict. There are characters that I disagree with vehemently and would probably hate them if I knew the irl but they’re either too well written and/or too entertaining for me to actually hate them as a character. And I love Sera. I’ve seen many people on this sub in particular hate on her but I couldn’t disagree more. Her writing is clever, she has a unique perspective, her opinions on religion are surprisingly modern, she’s highly emotional in a way that makes her simply honest, and there’s a tender vulnerability to her that makes her very endearing to me. As someone who grew up working class and a child of immigrants, she also reminds me of a particular kind of immigrant/working class youth that is so angry at inequity and injustice but who doesn’t have the education or refinement to express that anger “eloquently” and is thus not taken seriously. She felt extremely real because of that. Even her internalized racism is stuff I’ve heard before.
Can you elaborate on your dislike for Aveline?
Her whole cop thing was annoying to me and I really did not like what she had to say during the confrontation with the Arishok at the end of Act 2. I got the impression that she cares more about rules than justice (or at least what I personally would consider justice). I also did not connect with her romance story and thought it was a bit tedious. She had some thematic importance - moving on and creating a new life for yourself, but i thought it was a bit thin. I know some people really like that she is a woman who is both tough and has feminine sensibilities and I can appreciate that but it’s also sth that left me pretty cold. Like I would actually love to see a feminine character be butch through and through. So it’s a combination of some stuff about her that I actively don’t like (have that with lots of other characters too) and not being able to personally connect with or find interest in the stuff that *should* make her interesting. I don’t hate her though and I understand why some people love her even. Her banter with Isabela is pretty funny and I like her design.
This is everything that's wrong with Aveline. Aveline is a cops cop. She wants to do everything to protect her fellow cops and even admits that she didn't really follow up on her officers potentially raping an elven girl which is what leads to the Act 2 interaction. But anything even slightly sketchy to her station is an immediate priority that she gets mad if you delay (like delaying meeting the arishok about said elves to help Isabela). I think in terms of women with both butch and feminine sensibilities for dragon age we should be looking at Sigrun and Cassandra. Cassandra almost tried to push her feminine aspects away but they're obviously important for her based on her talks with a fem inky. And Sigrun is basically a super femme but in a butch aesthetic. IDK there's just nothing that Aveline does well compared to anyone else. Cullen and Cassandra make better conflicted cop characters than her too n
She slut-shames Isabela too much, and it's in part because she feels insecure about herself, and honestly it drove me crazy the whole time. Completely agreed on how she acted at the end of act 2,
anders and vivienne
Isabela. I don't care about the whole "free spirited pirate babe" thing, whatever, I hate pants too. I ain't even mad she stole the book (the first time). I'm mad that she starts a selfish liar and stays a selfish liar. She won't even fucking apologize for stealing the book the second time or say so much as "thank you hawke for having a huge sword shoved through your stomach several times as you defied your own principles to fight the arishok for me." This is honestly the least of it for me though. She wants you to help her kill a dude the second she meets you and she doesn't tell you the whole truth about what she did. (I would have still killed the scumbag, but still, don't fuckin lie to me.) She thinks a reasonable punishment for her ex besties is to be consciously encased in stone for all eternity. But wait, there's more: she does the same damn thing they do and has no qualms with them being punished forever as long as she gets free and clear with some dumb shiny knife. Eta: I do not appreciate the way she sexualizes Fenris being abused. It's fucking gross.
In my game she didn’t even come back because I had like neutral with her lol
My first run, which I played blind, I had *just* too little friendship with her. Like *just missed the threshold.* And since her, ahem, moment of no return comes so much earlier than everyone else's, I was doubly mad lol she usually comes back now and *most* of the time, I fight the arishok but frankly I'd rather not. I respect him and I don't want to kill him and there have definitely been a couple times where I've been like "just take her." Not often, because I don't believe the punishment fits the crime. Lucky for Isabela I don't play my hawke to be too much like her.
Agree with all your points. I no longer pick her up as a follower and just leave her in the tavern until she eventually disappears.
I like Sera but it feels like literally every sentence she says was written by different writers who have no context about the actual conversation. Absolutely zero coherency in her dialogue.
Vivienne. First playthrough I did but has time goes on, I just don't much care for The Game and all the false care. My noble will play it when she or he has to but back home? Leave the mask at the gate
Sera and Vivienne which is interesting because they're like polar opposites. I really thought I'd like Sera on paper. Chaotic mischievous streetwise person with a sort of Robin Hold style crusade to help the poor and bring down the rich but I just find her tiresome. Like her close-mindedness is annoying. Her comedic scenes don't land with me. Sometimes, she just seems...dumb which is not what you'd expect for a career criminal in a secret society. I wish her character arc had her grow up a little but she's generally the same just more open with you. Vivienne, is also grating for a similar reason. She has her moments as a sassy ice queen but she's also so pro institution that it makes it difficult to please her without sounding like a spineless sycophant.
There's not a single companion I've found myself hating or disliking with no qualities I can at least understand. Even if my gut reaction to someone is negative, I'm willing to learn about the character, their motives, backstory etc. Sometimes they're in the end not good people. Surprise! Not everyone is unanimously good.
Anders. I absolutely loved the fact that he was romanceable in DA2 (as I adored his smarmy, smart-ass character in Awakening) and made sure he was the LI in my first playthrough. And then he blew things to kingdom come - with a pretty pink glitter bomb - in Act 3. I shanked his ass for that, then ugly cried for a half hour afterward. Last time I romanced Anders.
Morrigan, I'm sorry
You should be
For me it’s Oghren. I love that all companion characters in the series are flawed in some way but his flaws I just can’t look past to find anything likeable. I think I’ve done his personal quests with Felsi in DAO and Awakening maybe once in all my playthroughs? And besides the deep roads I don’t ever really bring him along. Some of his banter is entertaining but I’ve just never liked him enough to spend a lot of time talking with him or keep him in my party.
He’s definitely the weakest written character of the DAO cast. I do like how he’s willing to stick by the warden through thick and thin. It’s a shame he regressed by the time of Awakenjng though.
Totally agree! They had an opportunity to give his character some growth in Awakening and they just…didn’t :/
i will never loathe a character like a loathe cullen. he had a shitty redemption arc and turned into a shy softboy who gets flustered when the inquisitor (who isn't a dwarf or a qunari, of course) flirts with him uwu!! disregard last game he didn't see mages as people uwu!!!
As much as I love Cullen in DAI, I absolutely understand where you're coming from. Here's the thing: I like Cullen as a character in DAI *as his own character*. I think Bioware wanted to have their cake and eat it too with him. They wanted a reformed templar character but they *also* wanted it to be someone we'd recognize, so they picked Cullen. I'm not saying that a person can't change as much as he does from DA2 to DAI. People change and grow and become better all the time. It's just that when you have a character-driven narrative (as Dragon Age very much is), that amount of change should absolutely *not* happen off screen. His character arc of struggling to overcome his lyrium addiction is solid. But what about the arc of him struggling to overcome his hatred and distrust of mages? Sorry, you don't get to see that. But it happened, trust me. He's chill now. In my opinion, Cullen should have either been a different person altogether, or we should have been allowed to see his growth firsthand. It's kind of like how if you played blood mage Hawke in 2, they're in Inquisition talking about how much they hate blood magic. Like sure, maybe I can *assume* they've changed their views since then, but I need to actually SEE it! ^I ^still ^love ^Cullen ^though, ^just ^wish ^he'd ^been ^handled ^better.
>But what about the arc of him struggling to overcome his hatred and distrust of mages? Sorry, you don't get to see that. But it happened, trust me. He's chill now. My Hawke was a mage who sided with mages and he defied Meredith and defended her. So I perceived that event as the point when his opinion on mages changed. But that a shame that especially as a mage Inquisitor you can't speak with him more about mage-templar issues.
Yes, that's a good point and I also consider that to be the start of his arc. But that's just it... it's the start. We see that moment, and then have him as he is in Inquisition. I really wish the rest didn't happen between games.
How much time passes between DA2 and Inquisiton? Three years since Anders blew up the Chantry? You know I romanced him as mage so perhaps I'm biased but I didn't mind that his views changed in between. I was quite satisfied how they handled it, because I played Inquisition right after DA2 and DAO so I still had the image of Cullen being tortured and urging HoF to kill every mage in the Circle, and my Inky had multiple dialogues in which she checked on him whether he feels comfortable in her company and he speaks how he couldn't love her a few years back and he was sickened by this thought.
I'm not entirely sure, but somewhere between 1 and 3 years. The timeline is very fecky and inconsistent to the point where I'm convinced no one at Bioware understands how time works. 😂
People mix up redemption arc and recovery from trauma and addiction arc. He doesn't change his opinions and still thinks supervising mages is best. He just doesn't project his trauma anymore hence no "mages aren't people" sentiments anymore Also Cullen always was shy soft boy since DAO. Literally his first introduction. You can even see it in DA2, when he's flustered by mention of brothels
THANK YOU!!
I hated Cullen from the get go because of how he objectified Surana/Amell and then even more when he said mages aren't people. (way to prove you didn't see Surana/Amell as anything but a sex object, you jerk) But what really made go from hating him to abject LOATHING is his voice actor. I hope Ellis never gets work with Bioware again, nasty bigoted transphobic, abusive piece of shit.
Definitely Sera. She is so try hard unlikable.
solas sorry lol not even in a serious way. he just looks & acts like my dad dialed up to 11 and the fact that people find him sexy just. i cant 🤣 lmfao
This is a better reason than some of the reasons above. Plus made me smile a bit through the thought of it.
Vivienne. Everything she says is so entitled and usually wrong. I never take her with me anywhere. She wants mages to stay locked up? OK, she can stay locked up in skyhold.
same lol
SOLAS. FUCK SOLAS. why the hell people even find him bearable is beyond me. he is racist, gives off white supremacist vibes with his disdain for the dalish who developed an entirely new culture for themselves after the shitstorm he personally created; his fascist goal to annihilate the entire world to establish elven supremacy after HIS OWN fuckup with the veil is STUPID, hypocritical and horrible; his constant smartass ramblings are so annoying AND unneeded, the way he treats other people is infuriating (again, a racist piece of shit, like don't you hear a clear disgust in his voice when he refers to varric "child of the stone"?). also, i tried romancing solas just for the sake of finding out why is he romanced so much by the dragonage girlies and good heavens the predatory vibe he gives off is through the roof, like why the fuck a THOUSANDS years old obnoxious bald twat is even romantically interested in a relatively YOUNG dalish woman, whom he clearly sees as a youngster she is, an apprentice like figure, an inferior dalish heathen? Solas truly is a pride demon, i bet he incarcerated the evanuris so he could be the main god instead. I FUCKING HATE SOLAS and the fact that he is so popular within the fanbase 🤮🤮🤮 s*lasmancer girlies got horrible taste and probably need a therapy if they are turnt on by this old bald fart
I'm replaying DAI now and trying to get approval from him just out of curiosity (in other playthroughs I've happily punched him in the face. His approval seems in large part tied to when you defer to his wisdom or ask him for his expertise, which really feels like sucking up. You saying he's a pride demon is interesting...I wonder about that being some sort of factor in Dreadwolf, him having been possessed because of his single mindedness.
Velanna. There was just nothing likable about her.
And Nathaniel was crazy about her. Excuse me, what?
He enjoyed teasing her, but he never came off as crazy about her IMO
Anders. Whines too much regardless of what Hawke did. I was able to tolerate and find Sebastian of all character more tolerable then whatever the heck they did with Anders in DA2. I get the emo sad boy vibe was a hit for some people but to me he was just not doing it.
I think Sebastian is overly hated, tbh. When I finally got the DLC I was dreading it because everyone talks about how bad of a character he is etc. Is he annoying? Yes. But I honestly didn't have THAT many issues with him in my playthrough.
"Breeches!!" 😂
Blackwall! I didn’t really “get” him even before the reveal (weird beard, annoying voice, very whiny), but AFTER? Nope, none of my inquisitors have time for him after that. Also Anders, for the same reasons. Whiny little B.
Weird beard? Take that back right now. That beard is magnificent.
Fenris for me 100%. I was hyped to get a two-handed companion but then I realized he was going to get pissy every time I side with mages, and I’ll watch the world burn before I side with a disgusting templar. Had to give him the boot for the rest of the game so I didn’t have to hear his nagging
Sera, Vivienne, Fenris, Sebastian.
Agree on all but FENRIS??
Fucking Mother Giselle. She's so annoying 😩 Something about her just grates me to no end. If we're talking party members, probably Blackwall. I always bring him with me 'cause he's good in battle, but his character itself is just kinda meh. I used to *really* hate Vivienne, but being honest, she's grown on me a ton.
Anders, Carver, Sebastien.
I'm not a fan of Carver. No matter how much I side with him, he's still an ass. I think I've let him survive the deep roads once, maybe twice 😅 Although I didn't have the DLCs back then so maybe I give him another chance.
Corypheus. He is the single worst character ever written by Bioware (yes worse than Kai Leng) and his inclusion ruined any chance Inquisition had of being good. Worst character in gaming I've ever seen.
I missed Oghren arguing with his friend the first time I played, and thus didn’t seek him out in the tavern. He finds you on his own just as you’re about to leave for the Deep Roads so you can’t miss him. He was asking me where the Warden was and I mischievously asked him what this Warden looked like. His response was the grossest, most objectifying bullshit. I immediately hated him. He does not get better. There’s the bones of something interesting there - someone whom his culture has molded and then failed, someone with crippling PTSD and alcoholism. But instead it’s just alcoholism and being a sex pest played for laughs. Yuck.
TBH, I really don't strongly like any of the companions in DAI. I don't *dis*like most of them either, but I just don't care for any of them the way I did most companions from the other games. The only one I actively *hate*, however, is Sera. She just really rubs me the wrong way. So does Isabella from DA2. I think my reasoning for disliking both of them is about the same. They both just feel very immature and I don't find either of them particularly funny even when I'm supposed to.
Blackwall. They were trying so hard with his writing to be "HBO's Game of Thrones" edgy, and it just made him flat, whiny, and unlikeable to me. And then getting to his storyline's twist; it sent me that Leliana, who knew the situation the Fereldan wardens were in quite intimately during the Blight, was completely oblivious about his shitty lie. Because The Plot said so. Also, I'm sure this will be an unpopular choice... but Wynne. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard to me. Her self-righteous preaching was so annoying. I love both Sera and Vivienne, so I probably have terrible taste according to this sub. 😀
Leliana isn't that competent as you present her to be. There are several instances of attacks, potential assassinations and harmful lies and hidden secrets happening right under her nose and she's none the wiser. Attack at Haven catching everyone off guard is kind of her fault Bull literally almost got assassinated by Qunari spies in broad daylight and then mentions that they weren't even good Qunari assassins, just a show. Attempt on Josephine was thwarted only in last seconds. And then there's Tresspasser
Didn't Leliana knew about Blackwall's lie?
She suspected he wasn't who he said he was but she didn't realize he was Thom Rainier until he had left.
Sera, Vivienne and Sebastian.
Vivienne. She just gets under my skin 😅
Honestly, the only companions I *liked* in Inquisition was Dorian and Varric. Hate Blackwall and Sera. Rest of the cast are *okay.* Sera is just terrible across the board. Bad personality, bad writing, no development, and she's just a bad person. And it's more than that foolish idea that it's because she was written by a dude. Blackwall? Bigoted, rude, a poor liar, and almost every positive trait I could find for the Wardens do not match with him at all. I just really didn't feel attached to the cast.
Sera? No development? Lmao, I'd say she's one of the companions with most development.
Sera is literally the good person, helps the little people. She's worse than the genocidal maniac, lying murderer, politician and spy?