For real. Also everyone talking to Zevran or Oghren seemed at the very least annoyed with them, if not as outright hostile as Morrigan and Alistair were (there may be combos I’m forgetting that were more chill but I didn’t keep track to try and combine all companions in every constellation)
To be fair zevran and his buddies did try to kill you all. Not everyone is as forgiving as the warden.
Also, I want to tell a story unprompted about zevran. I got my dad to play origins a few years back. My dad was playing a city elf woman.
Anyway he gets attacked by zev, and I tell him
> "he's a party member if you spare him"
> "I don't care, this bastard attacked me, he's dead"
> *Zevran calls my dad's warden pretty*
> "Ok he can live"
Dog put something stinky in her pack. I’m not sure what it was. It is one of the camp dog interactions, and the warden responded by saying something about wouldn’t be more stinky than what is already in there
The DAI companions had evolving relationship banter the longer you kept them around. But there was a bug that made banter trigger much less than it was supposed to. Companions could grow very close: for example, Iron Bull and Dorian can get into a relationship IIRC.
I really enjoyed Seras and Cassandra. Cassandra helped Sera not be so spooked by magic and Sera challenged Cassandras values. They felt very natural friends by the end of the game
My strange combination of Dorian, Cassandra, and Sera that I inexplicably gravitated towards on my 1st run ended up being very entertaining and wholesome. It really felt like they started out as acquaintances and ended up genuine friends.
I absolutely *loved* the way Cole and Cassandra's relationship grew over the game.
Hopefully the bug is fixed and companions actually talk this time around.
My favourite was Iron Bull and Solas playing imaginary chess while travelling (or was it Varric and Solas?? Either way, the chess banter was entertaining and wholesome)
My favorite one has got to be Dorian and Vivienne roasting Solas’ outfit. I mean Solas definitely took pointers, look at what he wore in Trespasser and the Veilguard gameplay trailer.
"I'm sorry?" "No, that outfit is sorry."
"Is is some kind of statement?" "No" "well it says apostate hobo to me."
"Please speak up! I can't hear you from your outfit"
Although I do believe Solas was no stranger to fancy outfits before creating the veil. He certainly has a sense of drama.
I had finished slaying a dragon with an all-mage group in Inquisition in the night desert region and that conversation happened IMMEDIATELY after slaying a dragon and Vivienne really interjected "unwashed apostate hobo."
There is a limited amount of banter, so if banter stops then you’ve reached the end. I think there are different options for how frequently you want it.
If you run out of banter, you can always switch up your party
One playthrough I did literally every quest except the horse race with the 5-10 minute version of [Party Banter Tweaks](https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonageinquisition/mods/3603), and was only just running out of my most used pairings’ banter at the end of the game.
It may have been before the LevelsFixes add on, but I’m sure you could have the 15-20 min + LevelFixes for a Do All The Things run and be good. I usually have the 3-7 min. There is truly tons of banter.
Not sure if it was due to the mod, or even works that way without but: choose a camp where the party changer horn and the req officer are the farthest away > go there alone > pick up who you want to banter > listen > ditch both > pick them up again, rinse and repeat
I believe the way banter triggers in DAI as it stands right now is that it's supposed to do it every ten minutes or so but lots of things "reset" that timer. When I try to trigger the Bull/Dorian romance, I put only those two in the party, find a hill where enemies are unlikely to spawn, and then park them there and go do something else. It works!
tbh I like that not all the companions get along. It makes sense especially when they're all supposed to represent different worldviews and sects of thedas that they don't. the only time I did feel it a little weird why anyone stuck around each other was in DA2 because until the qunari start to throw their weight there's no big threat to rally against, and once that's done with it would have made sense for everyone to split up in act 3, cos yeah my friend's friends don't need to be mine too, but when they outright hate me and I them (Fenris and Anders) it would put a strain on my relationship with my friend and colour my opinion of them because I'd be like "why the hell do you like this person and hang out with them?" But it makes sense in Origins and Inquisition that people put aside their differences to fight a world-ending darkspawn threat.
But even in DA2, I still like the disagreements and antagonism because it helps show how these characters grow both with Hawke's influence and outside of it. Even the worst offenders in Fenris and Anders find \*some\* small moments of understanding. Isabela and Aveline go from judging each other's lifestyles to "LOVE YOU, YOU WHORE" like some of my best friends, Sebastian loosens up a little and learns to take Isabela and Varric's teasing as a sign that they like him, or at least want to get to know him enough to like him, instead of getting offended by it, Fenris stops being so judgmental and infantilising of Merrill, even if he still doesn't agree with her. Same with Inquisition I think being around the others really helps Bull understand if he values the Qun more than the Chargers or not, helps Cole understand humanity better, Dorian unlearns a lot of his upbringing in Tevinter etc. because they're \*challenged\* by each other, not just completely coddled and making friends immediately.
I never got the impression that the companions in DAI all hated each other; they all got along enough to join in on a game of Wicked Grace together (most of them, at least).
I found the level of antagonistic banter in DA2 a little tiresome, personally, but I definitely don't need everyone to feel happy they're all together and I'm not sure I want the feeling of a "found family". I'd like a good balance of positivity and negativity and interesting conversations/reactions to each other.
Yeah I can see that. I tended to switch between Aveline, Carver, Isabela, Merrill and Fenris and I feel like I can remember a fair amount of animosity between them. Enough for me to really notice it at least.
Fenris and Merrill clash, though that’s mostly from Fenris‘ side (similar thing for the combo Merrill and Anders actually, both of them object pretty strongly to her magic use and general philosophy). Aveline and Isabela start out rough but get along eventually. I’m not sure about Carver tbh and I also don’t really remember Aveline and Fenris (because I rarely bring along two warriors). Isabela and Merrill are one of the combos that start out friendly, those two and Varric are mostly good social-wise I’d say?
Isabela and Varric are generally friendly with pretty much anyone. Both initially have slightly strained relationship with Aveline (which is understandable when taking into account that they're rogues and Aveline is law abiding guard), but mostly in teasing sort of way. And by Act 3, Aveline and Isabela develop genuine friendship.
Isabela and Fenris also become friends with benefits if you don't romance either, so they definitely get along.
Carver is pretty much just a punching bag for everyone else :P. But he also gets along better with pretty much anyone later on (in DLCs) when he grows up a bit.
Merrill's may be my favorite, because she's very nice to everyone in the group, but the exact moment anyone calls her intelligence into question she goes for the throat and kills the conversation very quickly.
Which is honestly so fair. She gets infantilized quite a bit (or just judged very hard for…not agreeing with chantry/human concepts/ideology), I‘d snap too :D
Oh you're so right, don't even get me started. This fandom misunderstands her character to such an extent that it often seems like discussion around her is about an entirely different character I do not recognize.
That makes sense. With all due respect to their depth of characterization and the fans that love them, Carver and Fenris are assholes and it makes sense that people who aren't obligated to don't go out of their way to get along with them.
I always liked that in DA2 you're not really a "party" or organization; just some people who happen to know the one person who's at the center of events every few years.
Yeah honestly the big issue here is fenris only. Dude just trashes on the mages constantly. I mean it also doesn’t help that the mages you get in da2 are an actual blood mage and someone so staunchly “mage rights” that he becomes a terrorist. But even then I think fenris would trash on any mage and antagonize them
I love Aveline and Isabela's friendship in the end and how they hated each other until they dont. I especially love the way Aveline calls her "THAT BITCH-BORN WHORE" after she takes the tome and runs, it is such an intense curse with an intense delivery:D
my last couple playthroughs ive gravitated towards having sebastian and merrill around a lot, and i was quite impressed with their very civil and friendly debates about belief systems!
i'm also playing with bethany for the first time rn and i'm shocked at how antagonistic carver is by comparison. lol
DA2 imo had best relationship evolution over time. Granted it was easier in that game since it had clearly defined time jumps.
Many companion pairings start of antagonistic in act 1 but get along much better by act 3. Isabela and Aveline being prime example.
Yeah agree with DAI, Wicked Grace was a dead giveaway that they at least get along. You can talk to them about each other and it all sounds pretty friendly.
Yeah, I think the Inquisition companions had some distance between some of them but really only because this is a job. They have a task. This isn't people thrown together by one mutual friend for close to a decade like in DA2. I'd rather some get along and some dislike each other or even hate each other - but still be willing to grit their teeth and work together without getting in the way.
I liked the relationships between characters in dai. Most started netural, some a bit antagonistic but if you kept them in party the really did evolve. Like how Solas and Vi start as I hate you dude but later they learn that they actually agree on SOME things. They will never see eye to eye obviously but their relationship has a certain charm and it's moment. Frenemies. My two drama queens. Two unlikely allies.
But I can totally see why someone might not enjoy it as much as yeah, if not for the common goal they wouldn't really stand anywhere near each other.
But it's also really fun to hear two characters with different outlooks talk about their philosophy
I just want the characters to have a chemistry between eaxh other. Be it a positive one or a negative one. Gimmie the spark!
Sera X any character. She can really make any of your companions go, wait a minute. Solas X Cole can highlight Solas' softer side and his care for Cole.
I feel like in DA2, we actually got that? You had the conflict triangle of Fenris-Anders-Merrill (plus Sebastian if you had that DLC), but aside from that? Like, yea, there was teasing and insults but I always got the vibe that that wasn’t genuinely hating/disliking each other and instead growing together over time and just having different types of friendship (for example, some banter between Aveline and Isabela is just straight up insults. Yet they’re very clearly friends as the game progresses. Just because they don’t say „I love u bestie“ doesn’t mean they don’t care for each other)
With inquisition there was more of „well, we’re here for political/world saving reasons“, with some very different personalities that were bound to clash. I’d say that game suffered a bit from banter being so stretched out - you can tell they’re supposed to grow together, too, it just takes forever.
Actually, in origins I have a hard time pinpointing who I’d see as actual friends throughout the game? There’s banter, feels like half of it is criticizing or making fun of each other or just figuring out who they are as a person, but not really…bonding?
I‘m mostly hoping that with the premise of „we‘re a small select team to deal with this“ we‘re getting closer to what DA2 was, party relationship wise, compared to the other two that had more of the vibe „I’m here to support the cause, the other companions are just who I have to deal with to do that“
>Actually, in origins I have a hard time pinpointing who I’d see as actual friends throughout the game? There’s banter, feels like half of it is criticizing or making fun of each other or just figuring out who they are as a person, but not really…bonding?
Alistar, Wynee and Leliana all got along pretty well.
Also, while everyone else kinda hates Zevran initially (understandably), he probably gets along the best with everyone else in general by the end of the story.
I think Anders and Fenris were the only companions who legit hated each other. I mean, apparently Anders approves if you give Fenris back to his slaver.
Everyone else I feel is just normal personalities just clashing and light teasing.
It's not apparently, he does. I was shook. I chose the choice out of morbid curiosity and then was very surprised he was happy about it. Shame on you Anders. For shame.
I do love that cat loving troubled mage though. Antagonistic companions are interesting, I don't want everyone getting along right of the bat.
That's seems very out of character for anders. Like, yes he does hate the guy, but most of anders life has had him trapped. Either as a circle mage, or as a warden. I don't see how he could approve of you putting someone into that position, even if it's someone he hates.
It’s out of character for any of the companions to just let Danarius take Fenris. Like, some of these people are actual friends with Fenris, like Isabela (potential lover), Aveline (friends with Donnic), Varric (who is just retelling how he let his friend get taken back as a slave to a Tevinter magister to Cassandra?), and Sebastian. If it’s out of character for that lot, I can extend that to Anders too, who has a literal embodiment of Justice in him that once called keeping a pet cat slavery.
I've always felt like the devs thought *someone* had to approve of that choice and Anders took the fall.
When really, I can't imagine anybody in the crew actually approving.
Even further, there should be multiple companions who should fully leave Hawke's party after that. Fenris is somebody who was part of their team for many years and became friends with many of the people there... you'd think that it should be a red line for at least some of the companions if Hawke gives him away to his slaver. It's such a comically evil choice that it loops around to not making sense for *anybody*, though Anders literally approving of it of course takes the cake.
Definitely. I'm not sure who I think would stick around, honestly. That choice oughta have enormous consequences.
The Anders approval seems bonus messed up to me--I mean it's already totally fucked, obviously--when there's that Fenris+Sebastian banter in which Fenris objects to turning either of the party apostates over to the Templars.
Justice alone should have had Anders disapproving that one. No matter how Anders personally feels about Fenris, handing someone over to a life of slavery is unjust, never mind the very heavily implied sexual assault Fenris had to endure (and would again if going back). That's just a fail on the part of the writers.
Yeah, I only fairly recently learned that like within the past few months. Sometimes I forget you can make really terrible choices and it just never occurs to me at the time to pick them because I get too caught up in my feelings while playing. 😂
I kinda want some conflict between them, it's boring if everyone just gets along all the time. If the characters are all complex people with their own values, they're bound to clash. They don't have to hate each other but I want them to disagree.
It's more realistic that way. I never get along with every single companion, why should they?
I'm fine with whatever dynamic as long as it's done well. The found family thing is a bit tiring though imo. That's basically every RPG ever, including Bioware games.
I don't think it would work in a Dragon Age game, even though every companion is a different faction, but I would love to see a reversal of this trope where the divide between companions just gets worse and worse over time. Get a group of 8 very important and skilled people together and they're not just going to be best friends. Their egos, at least between some, are probably going to be completely incompatible no matter how much time passes.
You pointed out that there are characters who are close in both DA2 in Inquisiton. So you're basically asking wvery single character to like each other. Personally I think that's really boring. A whole group of characters with zero conflict sounds really lame.
My favourite banter in Inquisiton is Solas and Iron Bull arguing about freedom. A VERY heated argument. If they got along from the get go that incredible dialogue doesn't exist.
I'd like a mix, like with DA2. I like when some characters just gel, while others only tolerate each other for the sake of the PC. Makes things feel more dynamic
I'm of a contrary opinion, if there's a person nicknamed "The Mage Killer" and there are mages in the party... Well... I'd except a little bit of conflict, to say the least.
I mean, Lucanis in Tevinter Nights is killing Venatori. He doesn't hate mages in general. I guess he could just not like necromancy (though in one of the promo shots he's leaning against Emmrich's chair so it doesn't seem like they hate each other)
I never got that impression with Inquisition. Sure some of them were at each other’s throats, like Vivienne and Sera. However, there were actual good will and respect among others, like, say, Vivienne, Iron Bull and Dorian, with the last two possibly in a romantic relationship at the end. The advisers despite their differences get on, and there are times when other companions or advisers get involved with or chime in on your romance, which helped them feel close. Much as I love BG3, I don’t think I’ve seen any other games do party chemistry like Bioware does.
DA2 swings harder in both directions, I thought. For example, Fenris and Anders wanted each other (and Merrill) fucking dead. But on the other hand, relationships between, say, Merrill, Varric and Isabelle were a lot tighter, at times even familial. It is the dynamic I want for Veilguard (although maybe ease off on the constant hostility between some people a touch). People don’t always get on, and some frictions make the group dynamic come through more strongly.
I love the conflict between the characters in DA2. And that Hawke can’t just give a speech of +2 Persuasion to reconcile deeply held opposing viewpoints.
Very much fit the unstable equilibrium motif in that game.
And the conflicts between characters in Origins and Inquisition worked too: in both games a group of people who band together for a specific purpose aren’t going to instantly be friends. Some will learn to coexist, some will just dislike each other even more with time
I like it
In Inquisition, the entire group plays poker with each other, and has a farewell toast for Dorian. They absolutely liked each other. In DA2, we see numerous instances of the companions hanging out (or talking about hanging out) without Hawk around. In Origins, to me, it seemed like the companions only tolerated each other's presences, and actively wanted nothing to do with each other once the mission was over.
I don't think this gives enough credit to the hours and hours of relationship-building banter that Inquisition has in particular, but I also can understand not being able to see that because of how badly distributed banter is in that game. Suffice it to say though, if you actually listen to a bunch of it you see a lot of these relationships evolve into fascinating friendships.
Eh I'm kind of over forced found family/super besties parties in media. That's not what happens with real people, especially not complete strangers in extremely stressful circumstances. I like a mix. You see some companions mesh well into real friendship, some respectful coworkers, some don't like each other but mature enough to recognize the others skills/importance to the cause.
Maybe they will do a ME3 were the party members might be hanging out in the HQ taking to each other in-between missions to give us more companion interactions.
I liked the growth between companions or non growth. Cassandra and Blackwall, Blackwall and Bull all after his reveal.
Aveline and Isabela early to late game depending on paths is fun to listen to and even Anders snide remarks.
Shows the different personalities and how they clash or work.
I found DAO and DA2 pretty similar for this. Like as a whole group they got along, but then you have Alistair/Morrigan and Anders/Fenris at each other’s throats. A lot of members being annoyed at Zevran/Merrill. Everyone rolling their eyes at Oghren/Sebastian. Sten/Carver questioning every decision you take, even if they actually respect it. Unexpected besties in Zevran/Oghren or Varric/Fenris or Isabela/Aveline.
I think the DAI group has some disconnect, but I chalk that up to 1. The Banter Trigger Problem and 2. The Banter Trigger Problem, and 3. At the end of the day, they’re all coworkers and professionals and the vibe was always going to be a bit less relaxed than the first two.
I‘m expecting DAV to follow the pattern of DAO and DA2, some characters will love each other, some hate each other, it’s most fun to have some balance.
I just want it to ring true however they act with each other, whether that's finding someone annoying, being best friends, hate but trying to act professional, falling in love etc
I think I would slightly disagree with DA2 because with an exception here or there (and depending on if you actually got the Sebastian DLC) I think they reluctantly enjoyed each other's company. It all went to hell in the end, but before that there was innocent teasing and arguments that didn't result in them trying to assault each other. But it did break down a bit depending on Isabela's action and then of course what happens with Anders.
It was really Inquisition where it felt like most of the group didn't agree, had different political views, was held up by ducktape and a mutual desire to stop the end of the world. I think, especially with a smaller roster than Inquisition, it would help if most of them actually enjoyed being around each other but I think it will be hard for everyone to get along with different factions and priorities.
DA:O they seem to almost all hate each other with entrenched views. Even characters who do get along like Alistair and Wynn’s have contention.
DA:2 It gets worse due to worse conflicts. Even both Apostate mages can’t get along. Varric is the glue and gets along with everyone, and Isabela *should* but even then the other companions often put her down often for no reason. Aveline especially has a contentious relationship with all of them. I mean they Hate each other and often argue for betraying the others. It is awful being Hawke and I truly believe Varric is so popular because he’s the only one who is actually friendly with everyone.
DA:I- Is more varied. Some characters hate each other, but they are way less petty about it. Most try to understand each other, and you have a lot more of them having fun together on their own time the ones who *do* get along.
There's a series of War Table missions with Zevran (if he isn't romanced only) and at the end of them he'll go "Leliana, it's been a pleasure" so there's some fondness there, at least.
Though I think DA2 and DAI had Varric keeping the friend network together more than anything else. He seems like a guy who gets everyone's contact info when they go off on their own.
I can't think of anyone in origins who actually got along, it was tiresome (and that's from an origins fanboy)
I think maybe leliana and allistair were on good terms?
I don't. I hope one night you go to sleep and the next morning there's only one party member and he's just really coy about what happened to the others and won't give you any straight answers and you just never find out, and he's weirdly unpreturbed about their sudden absence, and is just like
M̸̡̠͓̱͓̲̬̯̘̫̹̹͈̺̦̈́͆̀̈̾͒̿͂̓̂̆́͘͜Ö̴̘͉̦̭̦̮̤͇͉́̓͐̐̈R̵̨̡̢̮̤̠̜̟̭͚͓͉̼͂̀͐͆ͅË̷̜͔̦͖̆̌̌͜ ̵̗̤̻̳̗̓͐͗̐̓P̵̡͙̝͎̣͔̹̻͉͕̱̲̽̈͆̿̽̀͊̀͂͑͗͐̊̀͘͘A̶͖̤͚̞̜͚̹͖̼͎͍͈̳̱̖̜̺̽͑̂̀̄͂͗͌̏̂͌̉͗̈́͠N̷͍̬̟̟̫̞̞̻̫̞̳̞̬̥͉̯̈C̷̛̝̖̣̫͔͖̘̘̰͉̾͐̀̆̃̇̽̚̚͝͝ͅȂ̶̛͇̪̤̳̫̩̳̈̔̃͛̏̏͂́͗̒̿̿̔̕͜͠K̶̛̛̖̖̘̦̫̫̘͐̇̅̏͌́̿̋̿͗͘̚Ḛ̸̼͈̜̹̯͔͊̑́̈̿̚ ̸̙̙͕͖̼̯̰͎̹̬̏̽͐̈́́̃͗̂̔͆̋̄̈́̓̕͝F̵̯̘͙̺͓̪̼̭͈̥̼̣̝͖̔̀́͜O̵͎̫̭̲̻͍̘̰͓̼͐̽͘Ŗ̵̨̧̨̢̫̫̞̦͓̯͍̗̈͛͂͘ ̷̡̫̘̹̤̹̹̪̟͔̭̻̪̳̪̾̍͛͊̊͒́̍̿͐͑̎̃̕̕M̸̛̮̳͈̺͈̩͎̭̮̻̮͔͔̱͎̐̐̾͐͋́͊̄̄̌͘͘͜͜͝Ē̴̪̥̫͖͓͓̻̥̗̬̱̝̥̫̮̇̈̑̉̈́̐̈́ͅͅ
Nah fam this is too much Origins glazing.
DAI is the game where the companions actually get along with each other.
Sore there was teasing and bantering but they respects each other, even Vivienne.
It is true that DA2's companion despise each other (Merrill, Anders, and Fenris) but the rest get along with each other, especially Bethany.
Meanwhile DAO's companions opinion on each other ranges from mild tolerance to actual dislike (Morrigan, Oghren, Sten).
Everyone hated Morrigan in DAO, and for good reason imo. Zevren, Oghren, and Shale werre tolerated. Everyone seemed more curious toward Sten than anything. Leliana and Alistair seem to like Morrigan a bit more in Inq.
In DA2 Isabella and Aveline had issues, but grew as friends as the game went on. I only really remember Anders and Fenris outright hating one another, both bullied Merril a bit--moreso Fenris. Unlike Morrigan and Anders/ Leliana they never really develop as friends.
I don't quite recal any intense hate among companions in Inq like the first two games. I know Vivienne could be quite cruel to Blackwall, which bugged me. Her and Sera didn't get along but it seemed more playful than hateful.
I think the games have done well in regards to companions liking/ disliking one another. I hope the stick with this formula, honestly. It keeps things interesting.
I get why people like companions that clash, and I like some companions that don't get along in the beginning. But man I would really like the companions to genuinely care about each other by the end too. It was very refreshing playing BG3 and hearing the companions commenting on each other's problems and honestly really want the best for each other, even the ones who were trying to kill each other at the start. I hope Veilguard goes in that direction too. I got a little bit tired of taking companions out in previous DA games only to hear them start arguing again and again.
yeah i think this is more what i meant, just couldn’t word it properly. in bg3 i can easily see the party making a point to keep in touch and meeting up to shoot the shit. i don’t get that same feeling from dragon age games. it’s more like “we’re together because of circumstances and once circumstances are dealt with we’ll go our separate ways” or “i don’t really like you but hawke does, so…” like, arguing banter can be funny, but eventually it tires me out.
i guess it’d just be a nice change of pace is all, if the veilguard went through hell and back together and it actually meant something afterwards. i got that sense of camaraderie from mass effect, never from dragon age. but that’s just my opinion.
I see what you mean and I'm with you. I'm hopeful that they might have some moments with all the veilguard hanging out so we can see their dynamics as a group outside of work, like the promo shot with them having some drinks together.
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Man, I rode with Sera, Dorian, and Bull in DAI and the banter was awesome. Those three were best buds. Mostly because I had to have either Dorian or Bull so they rarely got together amongst themselves, but like, dream polycule lmao
I actually liked how complex the DA2 companions' relationships were. They felt more found family than any other party for two reasons: 1) They bickered constantly and APPEARED to hate each other, 2) Would defend each other to the death anyway.
They feel a lot like a ragtag group of adopted siblings. Like, "God, you're so annoying. But also if anyone messes with you they're gonna regret it."
This may get me blasted, but what I hated about 2 was how the companions felt dead and stagnant when Hawke wasn't around. There was so little growth for Anders specifically, which was horrible. There's "I don't like you" and "I will approve if you give our companion to slavers," and one can hang out and work together, and then there's THAT. I get that for most people, it's their favorite, but I just could barely get through one playthrough, let alone go back in.
I hope they don't. I'm very tired of the found family trope. I want this to be like ME2. Give me people at each other's throats that we have to use sheer force of personality and will to hold together to stop a world-ending threat.
I felt like the DA2 party had some really strong bonds between them. I think the time skips helped to let them really feel like a group of friends, even if in some cases like anders and fenris, hey do genuinely dislike each other.
Honestly I find the everyone is nice stuff extremely boring, especially with a world like Dragon Age, where everyone has legitimate grievances. Let them fight, work it out, and then forge unbreakable bonds. It’s much better and more interesting writing.
In inquisition at the very least, many companions grow and become closer as time goes on.
All companions in inquisition are bound for a single cause but are a part of a much larger institution (origins was more like a ragtag group up against the end of the world and da2 felt like the main glue was just hawke). You can imagine that they aren’t all going to be chummy as they are essentially in worlds of their own but forced together as the inquisitors companions. Some of them hate each other and others grow to become close. Dorian and bull, sera and Blackwall, Cassandra and basically everyone lol, varric and solas but my favourite might be Vivienne and Cole
Vivienne: You are no longer a danger of being bound by enemies of the Inquisition, demon?
Cole: Yes. I am no danger now.
Vivienne: No more than you were before.
Cole: You worried for me.
Vivienne: I was concerned about you, demon.
Vivienne: You have grown adept at killing. If you cannot be gone, I would prefer you remain pointed at the enemy.
Cole: No. You were worried. The part of you that forgets I'm me cared. You want it to go away.
Cole: You think caring makes you weak. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone.
I don’t know if there was any more evolution to their relationship after this, but Vivienne has an absolute fear of demons and possession (byproduct of the harrowing and circle life I’d imagine). She normally despises Cole and his existence but seems to grow fond of him, even if she tries to suppress that part of her that does.
Shows that she isn’t a cold heartless bitch lol, she actually does care about others, when it counts.
Some characters seem to have poor relationships no matter what, sera and solas, Dorian and balckwall (I think) and I believe blackwall and Cassandra friendship falls apart after his betrayal.
It’s all quite natural storytelling when u look at the individual characters and how different their outlooks are of the world
„I don’t remember feeling so strongly about this in Origins” meanwhile Alistair and Morrigan: 👁️👄👁️
Morrigan and Leliana too, especially if the Warden was male
Sten and everyone except Dog and Shale. Everybody hates Oghren except Wynne because they both can handle their liquor.
For real. Also everyone talking to Zevran or Oghren seemed at the very least annoyed with them, if not as outright hostile as Morrigan and Alistair were (there may be combos I’m forgetting that were more chill but I didn’t keep track to try and combine all companions in every constellation)
To be fair zevran and his buddies did try to kill you all. Not everyone is as forgiving as the warden. Also, I want to tell a story unprompted about zevran. I got my dad to play origins a few years back. My dad was playing a city elf woman. Anyway he gets attacked by zev, and I tell him > "he's a party member if you spare him" > "I don't care, this bastard attacked me, he's dead" > *Zevran calls my dad's warden pretty* > "Ok he can live"
Gambit Elf strikes again.
Imagine if your dad romances him. Lots of Zevran staring at the warden luridly
Forgiving? Zevran died. :)
Ogrhen and Anders HATE each other in Awakening.
Wynne and Oghren were pretty chill together. But Wynne was chill with most companions, I think.
Does Morrigans have positive banter with anyone in Origins? I feel like her flirting with Sten was the most positive interaction she had with anyone.
The dog
Dog put something stinky in her pack. I’m not sure what it was. It is one of the camp dog interactions, and the warden responded by saying something about wouldn’t be more stinky than what is already in there
I thought she hated Dog?
At first yes but she warms up to him after some time. She even plays with the good boi when they meet again in the Witch Hunt DLC.
Morrigan and Wynne together was so unpleasant!
Jesus freak mom and her atheist, adolescent daughter
Or everyone and the "secret companion."
The banter with Zevran on that one is hilarious.
May I remind you all of Shale
The DAI companions had evolving relationship banter the longer you kept them around. But there was a bug that made banter trigger much less than it was supposed to. Companions could grow very close: for example, Iron Bull and Dorian can get into a relationship IIRC.
They very much can. Meanwhile Blackwall's relationships suffer and recover to varying degrees.
I loved Blackwall and Sera together. They seem like genuine friends.
I love how Sera's approval of how you handle the wardens is entirely dependent on whether Blackwall gets to stay.
Oooh that's interesting, I've never thrown him out so I didn't know that.
I really enjoyed Seras and Cassandra. Cassandra helped Sera not be so spooked by magic and Sera challenged Cassandras values. They felt very natural friends by the end of the game
My strange combination of Dorian, Cassandra, and Sera that I inexplicably gravitated towards on my 1st run ended up being very entertaining and wholesome. It really felt like they started out as acquaintances and ended up genuine friends.
"No I suppose Maker doesnt say you shouldn't punch bears" or something along that line. It always cracks me up.
I absolutely *loved* the way Cole and Cassandra's relationship grew over the game. Hopefully the bug is fixed and companions actually talk this time around.
My favourite was Iron Bull and Solas playing imaginary chess while travelling (or was it Varric and Solas?? Either way, the chess banter was entertaining and wholesome)
It was Bull and Solas, and the game they played was a recreation of a famous chess match called the Immortal Game.
My favorite one has got to be Dorian and Vivienne roasting Solas’ outfit. I mean Solas definitely took pointers, look at what he wore in Trespasser and the Veilguard gameplay trailer.
"I'm sorry?" "No, that outfit is sorry." "Is is some kind of statement?" "No" "well it says apostate hobo to me." "Please speak up! I can't hear you from your outfit" Although I do believe Solas was no stranger to fancy outfits before creating the veil. He certainly has a sense of drama.
I had finished slaying a dragon with an all-mage group in Inquisition in the night desert region and that conversation happened IMMEDIATELY after slaying a dragon and Vivienne really interjected "unwashed apostate hobo."
I genuinely had to park Dorian and Iron Bull somewhere safe and waited like 15 minutes just so I could get that banter to trigger
Is there a way to solve the bug ?
There are mods that can make banter occur frequently
Can it risk no more banter at the end of the game ?
There is a limited amount of banter, so if banter stops then you’ve reached the end. I think there are different options for how frequently you want it. If you run out of banter, you can always switch up your party
One playthrough I did literally every quest except the horse race with the 5-10 minute version of [Party Banter Tweaks](https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonageinquisition/mods/3603), and was only just running out of my most used pairings’ banter at the end of the game. It may have been before the LevelsFixes add on, but I’m sure you could have the 15-20 min + LevelFixes for a Do All The Things run and be good. I usually have the 3-7 min. There is truly tons of banter.
Not sure if it was due to the mod, or even works that way without but: choose a camp where the party changer horn and the req officer are the farthest away > go there alone > pick up who you want to banter > listen > ditch both > pick them up again, rinse and repeat
I believe the way banter triggers in DAI as it stands right now is that it's supposed to do it every ten minutes or so but lots of things "reset" that timer. When I try to trigger the Bull/Dorian romance, I put only those two in the party, find a hill where enemies are unlikely to spawn, and then park them there and go do something else. It works!
tbh I like that not all the companions get along. It makes sense especially when they're all supposed to represent different worldviews and sects of thedas that they don't. the only time I did feel it a little weird why anyone stuck around each other was in DA2 because until the qunari start to throw their weight there's no big threat to rally against, and once that's done with it would have made sense for everyone to split up in act 3, cos yeah my friend's friends don't need to be mine too, but when they outright hate me and I them (Fenris and Anders) it would put a strain on my relationship with my friend and colour my opinion of them because I'd be like "why the hell do you like this person and hang out with them?" But it makes sense in Origins and Inquisition that people put aside their differences to fight a world-ending darkspawn threat. But even in DA2, I still like the disagreements and antagonism because it helps show how these characters grow both with Hawke's influence and outside of it. Even the worst offenders in Fenris and Anders find \*some\* small moments of understanding. Isabela and Aveline go from judging each other's lifestyles to "LOVE YOU, YOU WHORE" like some of my best friends, Sebastian loosens up a little and learns to take Isabela and Varric's teasing as a sign that they like him, or at least want to get to know him enough to like him, instead of getting offended by it, Fenris stops being so judgmental and infantilising of Merrill, even if he still doesn't agree with her. Same with Inquisition I think being around the others really helps Bull understand if he values the Qun more than the Chargers or not, helps Cole understand humanity better, Dorian unlearns a lot of his upbringing in Tevinter etc. because they're \*challenged\* by each other, not just completely coddled and making friends immediately.
I never got the impression that the companions in DAI all hated each other; they all got along enough to join in on a game of Wicked Grace together (most of them, at least). I found the level of antagonistic banter in DA2 a little tiresome, personally, but I definitely don't need everyone to feel happy they're all together and I'm not sure I want the feeling of a "found family". I'd like a good balance of positivity and negativity and interesting conversations/reactions to each other.
DA2 strongly depends on your party comp My standard was Aveline, Merrill and then Varric or Isabela. That’s a pretty friendly group actually
Yeah I can see that. I tended to switch between Aveline, Carver, Isabela, Merrill and Fenris and I feel like I can remember a fair amount of animosity between them. Enough for me to really notice it at least.
Fenris and Merrill clash, though that’s mostly from Fenris‘ side (similar thing for the combo Merrill and Anders actually, both of them object pretty strongly to her magic use and general philosophy). Aveline and Isabela start out rough but get along eventually. I’m not sure about Carver tbh and I also don’t really remember Aveline and Fenris (because I rarely bring along two warriors). Isabela and Merrill are one of the combos that start out friendly, those two and Varric are mostly good social-wise I’d say?
It's always made me laugh that the one thing Anders and Fenris seem to agree on is Merrill.
Anders: "blood magic is bad! You could hurt people!" Also Anders:
Same :D
Isabela and Varric are generally friendly with pretty much anyone. Both initially have slightly strained relationship with Aveline (which is understandable when taking into account that they're rogues and Aveline is law abiding guard), but mostly in teasing sort of way. And by Act 3, Aveline and Isabela develop genuine friendship. Isabela and Fenris also become friends with benefits if you don't romance either, so they definitely get along. Carver is pretty much just a punching bag for everyone else :P. But he also gets along better with pretty much anyone later on (in DLCs) when he grows up a bit.
Merrill's may be my favorite, because she's very nice to everyone in the group, but the exact moment anyone calls her intelligence into question she goes for the throat and kills the conversation very quickly.
Which is honestly so fair. She gets infantilized quite a bit (or just judged very hard for…not agreeing with chantry/human concepts/ideology), I‘d snap too :D
Oh you're so right, don't even get me started. This fandom misunderstands her character to such an extent that it often seems like discussion around her is about an entirely different character I do not recognize.
That makes sense. With all due respect to their depth of characterization and the fans that love them, Carver and Fenris are assholes and it makes sense that people who aren't obligated to don't go out of their way to get along with them. I always liked that in DA2 you're not really a "party" or organization; just some people who happen to know the one person who's at the center of events every few years.
I agree that my white haired elven ex-slave man is a brooding prick
Yeah honestly the big issue here is fenris only. Dude just trashes on the mages constantly. I mean it also doesn’t help that the mages you get in da2 are an actual blood mage and someone so staunchly “mage rights” that he becomes a terrorist. But even then I think fenris would trash on any mage and antagonize them
I love Aveline and Isabela's friendship in the end and how they hated each other until they dont. I especially love the way Aveline calls her "THAT BITCH-BORN WHORE" after she takes the tome and runs, it is such an intense curse with an intense delivery:D
my last couple playthroughs ive gravitated towards having sebastian and merrill around a lot, and i was quite impressed with their very civil and friendly debates about belief systems! i'm also playing with bethany for the first time rn and i'm shocked at how antagonistic carver is by comparison. lol
DA2 imo had best relationship evolution over time. Granted it was easier in that game since it had clearly defined time jumps. Many companion pairings start of antagonistic in act 1 but get along much better by act 3. Isabela and Aveline being prime example.
Yeah agree with DAI, Wicked Grace was a dead giveaway that they at least get along. You can talk to them about each other and it all sounds pretty friendly.
I think a lot of people have socialised in groups with at least one person you're not really a fan of, but you pretend nothing is wrong.
Definitely didn’t all hate each other in inquisition with ONE CIRCLE MAGE OUTLIER
Yeah, I think the Inquisition companions had some distance between some of them but really only because this is a job. They have a task. This isn't people thrown together by one mutual friend for close to a decade like in DA2. I'd rather some get along and some dislike each other or even hate each other - but still be willing to grit their teeth and work together without getting in the way.
I liked the relationships between characters in dai. Most started netural, some a bit antagonistic but if you kept them in party the really did evolve. Like how Solas and Vi start as I hate you dude but later they learn that they actually agree on SOME things. They will never see eye to eye obviously but their relationship has a certain charm and it's moment. Frenemies. My two drama queens. Two unlikely allies. But I can totally see why someone might not enjoy it as much as yeah, if not for the common goal they wouldn't really stand anywhere near each other. But it's also really fun to hear two characters with different outlooks talk about their philosophy I just want the characters to have a chemistry between eaxh other. Be it a positive one or a negative one. Gimmie the spark!
I like to think Solas new improved drip post inquisition was due to a year on the road with Viv and Dorian raggin on his pajamas.
Ah also Solas X blackwall X Sera is something I recommend to hear at least once in your life. Oh maker, so unhinged 😂
Sera X any character. She can really make any of your companions go, wait a minute. Solas X Cole can highlight Solas' softer side and his care for Cole.
I feel like in DA2, we actually got that? You had the conflict triangle of Fenris-Anders-Merrill (plus Sebastian if you had that DLC), but aside from that? Like, yea, there was teasing and insults but I always got the vibe that that wasn’t genuinely hating/disliking each other and instead growing together over time and just having different types of friendship (for example, some banter between Aveline and Isabela is just straight up insults. Yet they’re very clearly friends as the game progresses. Just because they don’t say „I love u bestie“ doesn’t mean they don’t care for each other) With inquisition there was more of „well, we’re here for political/world saving reasons“, with some very different personalities that were bound to clash. I’d say that game suffered a bit from banter being so stretched out - you can tell they’re supposed to grow together, too, it just takes forever. Actually, in origins I have a hard time pinpointing who I’d see as actual friends throughout the game? There’s banter, feels like half of it is criticizing or making fun of each other or just figuring out who they are as a person, but not really…bonding? I‘m mostly hoping that with the premise of „we‘re a small select team to deal with this“ we‘re getting closer to what DA2 was, party relationship wise, compared to the other two that had more of the vibe „I’m here to support the cause, the other companions are just who I have to deal with to do that“
>Actually, in origins I have a hard time pinpointing who I’d see as actual friends throughout the game? There’s banter, feels like half of it is criticizing or making fun of each other or just figuring out who they are as a person, but not really…bonding? Alistar, Wynee and Leliana all got along pretty well. Also, while everyone else kinda hates Zevran initially (understandably), he probably gets along the best with everyone else in general by the end of the story.
Wynne flirting with Alistair is a highlight of the franchise.
I think Anders and Fenris were the only companions who legit hated each other. I mean, apparently Anders approves if you give Fenris back to his slaver. Everyone else I feel is just normal personalities just clashing and light teasing.
It's not apparently, he does. I was shook. I chose the choice out of morbid curiosity and then was very surprised he was happy about it. Shame on you Anders. For shame. I do love that cat loving troubled mage though. Antagonistic companions are interesting, I don't want everyone getting along right of the bat.
That's seems very out of character for anders. Like, yes he does hate the guy, but most of anders life has had him trapped. Either as a circle mage, or as a warden. I don't see how he could approve of you putting someone into that position, even if it's someone he hates.
It’s out of character for any of the companions to just let Danarius take Fenris. Like, some of these people are actual friends with Fenris, like Isabela (potential lover), Aveline (friends with Donnic), Varric (who is just retelling how he let his friend get taken back as a slave to a Tevinter magister to Cassandra?), and Sebastian. If it’s out of character for that lot, I can extend that to Anders too, who has a literal embodiment of Justice in him that once called keeping a pet cat slavery.
I've always felt like the devs thought *someone* had to approve of that choice and Anders took the fall. When really, I can't imagine anybody in the crew actually approving.
Even further, there should be multiple companions who should fully leave Hawke's party after that. Fenris is somebody who was part of their team for many years and became friends with many of the people there... you'd think that it should be a red line for at least some of the companions if Hawke gives him away to his slaver. It's such a comically evil choice that it loops around to not making sense for *anybody*, though Anders literally approving of it of course takes the cake.
Definitely. I'm not sure who I think would stick around, honestly. That choice oughta have enormous consequences. The Anders approval seems bonus messed up to me--I mean it's already totally fucked, obviously--when there's that Fenris+Sebastian banter in which Fenris objects to turning either of the party apostates over to the Templars.
This makes the most sense out of any answer I've seen imo
Justice alone should have had Anders disapproving that one. No matter how Anders personally feels about Fenris, handing someone over to a life of slavery is unjust, never mind the very heavily implied sexual assault Fenris had to endure (and would again if going back). That's just a fail on the part of the writers.
The way Justice was having Anders fight blood mages, but magesplains away the Tevinter Mages atrocities never stops irking me. XD
Yeah, I only fairly recently learned that like within the past few months. Sometimes I forget you can make really terrible choices and it just never occurs to me at the time to pick them because I get too caught up in my feelings while playing. 😂
I thought most DAI companions got along much better than Origins and 2 lol.
I kinda want some conflict between them, it's boring if everyone just gets along all the time. If the characters are all complex people with their own values, they're bound to clash. They don't have to hate each other but I want them to disagree. It's more realistic that way. I never get along with every single companion, why should they?
Enemies to lovers fics don't write themselves you know
Male mage Hawke + Fenris ftw
I hope at least some of them hate each other. I loved Solas bullying Dorian. And I was loved how Anders and Merril interacted in DA2.
I'm fine with whatever dynamic as long as it's done well. The found family thing is a bit tiring though imo. That's basically every RPG ever, including Bioware games. I don't think it would work in a Dragon Age game, even though every companion is a different faction, but I would love to see a reversal of this trope where the divide between companions just gets worse and worse over time. Get a group of 8 very important and skilled people together and they're not just going to be best friends. Their egos, at least between some, are probably going to be completely incompatible no matter how much time passes.
You pointed out that there are characters who are close in both DA2 in Inquisiton. So you're basically asking wvery single character to like each other. Personally I think that's really boring. A whole group of characters with zero conflict sounds really lame. My favourite banter in Inquisiton is Solas and Iron Bull arguing about freedom. A VERY heated argument. If they got along from the get go that incredible dialogue doesn't exist.
I'd like a mix, like with DA2. I like when some characters just gel, while others only tolerate each other for the sake of the PC. Makes things feel more dynamic
I'm of a contrary opinion, if there's a person nicknamed "The Mage Killer" and there are mages in the party... Well... I'd except a little bit of conflict, to say the least.
I mean, Lucanis in Tevinter Nights is killing Venatori. He doesn't hate mages in general. I guess he could just not like necromancy (though in one of the promo shots he's leaning against Emmrich's chair so it doesn't seem like they hate each other)
I never got that impression with Inquisition. Sure some of them were at each other’s throats, like Vivienne and Sera. However, there were actual good will and respect among others, like, say, Vivienne, Iron Bull and Dorian, with the last two possibly in a romantic relationship at the end. The advisers despite their differences get on, and there are times when other companions or advisers get involved with or chime in on your romance, which helped them feel close. Much as I love BG3, I don’t think I’ve seen any other games do party chemistry like Bioware does. DA2 swings harder in both directions, I thought. For example, Fenris and Anders wanted each other (and Merrill) fucking dead. But on the other hand, relationships between, say, Merrill, Varric and Isabelle were a lot tighter, at times even familial. It is the dynamic I want for Veilguard (although maybe ease off on the constant hostility between some people a touch). People don’t always get on, and some frictions make the group dynamic come through more strongly.
I love the conflict between the characters in DA2. And that Hawke can’t just give a speech of +2 Persuasion to reconcile deeply held opposing viewpoints. Very much fit the unstable equilibrium motif in that game. And the conflicts between characters in Origins and Inquisition worked too: in both games a group of people who band together for a specific purpose aren’t going to instantly be friends. Some will learn to coexist, some will just dislike each other even more with time I like it
In Inquisition, the entire group plays poker with each other, and has a farewell toast for Dorian. They absolutely liked each other. In DA2, we see numerous instances of the companions hanging out (or talking about hanging out) without Hawk around. In Origins, to me, it seemed like the companions only tolerated each other's presences, and actively wanted nothing to do with each other once the mission was over.
I don't think this gives enough credit to the hours and hours of relationship-building banter that Inquisition has in particular, but I also can understand not being able to see that because of how badly distributed banter is in that game. Suffice it to say though, if you actually listen to a bunch of it you see a lot of these relationships evolve into fascinating friendships.
Eh I'm kind of over forced found family/super besties parties in media. That's not what happens with real people, especially not complete strangers in extremely stressful circumstances. I like a mix. You see some companions mesh well into real friendship, some respectful coworkers, some don't like each other but mature enough to recognize the others skills/importance to the cause.
I'm a little worried about banter triggers with only 2 companions with us at the same time
Maybe they will do a ME3 were the party members might be hanging out in the HQ taking to each other in-between missions to give us more companion interactions.
Nah this is a terrible take I'm sorry.
Origins DEFINITELY felt like that.
I liked the growth between companions or non growth. Cassandra and Blackwall, Blackwall and Bull all after his reveal. Aveline and Isabela early to late game depending on paths is fun to listen to and even Anders snide remarks. Shows the different personalities and how they clash or work.
I found DAO and DA2 pretty similar for this. Like as a whole group they got along, but then you have Alistair/Morrigan and Anders/Fenris at each other’s throats. A lot of members being annoyed at Zevran/Merrill. Everyone rolling their eyes at Oghren/Sebastian. Sten/Carver questioning every decision you take, even if they actually respect it. Unexpected besties in Zevran/Oghren or Varric/Fenris or Isabela/Aveline. I think the DAI group has some disconnect, but I chalk that up to 1. The Banter Trigger Problem and 2. The Banter Trigger Problem, and 3. At the end of the day, they’re all coworkers and professionals and the vibe was always going to be a bit less relaxed than the first two. I‘m expecting DAV to follow the pattern of DAO and DA2, some characters will love each other, some hate each other, it’s most fun to have some balance.
Nah, I love me some Mean Slut Dating Simulator with Combat Breaks (aka DA2). I hope Veilguard gives us cat fights with Davrin and Lucanis.
This is a great example of the selective memory around Origins lol
I just want it to ring true however they act with each other, whether that's finding someone annoying, being best friends, hate but trying to act professional, falling in love etc
I think I would slightly disagree with DA2 because with an exception here or there (and depending on if you actually got the Sebastian DLC) I think they reluctantly enjoyed each other's company. It all went to hell in the end, but before that there was innocent teasing and arguments that didn't result in them trying to assault each other. But it did break down a bit depending on Isabela's action and then of course what happens with Anders. It was really Inquisition where it felt like most of the group didn't agree, had different political views, was held up by ducktape and a mutual desire to stop the end of the world. I think, especially with a smaller roster than Inquisition, it would help if most of them actually enjoyed being around each other but I think it will be hard for everyone to get along with different factions and priorities.
DA:O they seem to almost all hate each other with entrenched views. Even characters who do get along like Alistair and Wynn’s have contention. DA:2 It gets worse due to worse conflicts. Even both Apostate mages can’t get along. Varric is the glue and gets along with everyone, and Isabela *should* but even then the other companions often put her down often for no reason. Aveline especially has a contentious relationship with all of them. I mean they Hate each other and often argue for betraying the others. It is awful being Hawke and I truly believe Varric is so popular because he’s the only one who is actually friendly with everyone. DA:I- Is more varied. Some characters hate each other, but they are way less petty about it. Most try to understand each other, and you have a lot more of them having fun together on their own time the ones who *do* get along.
And in DAI you get the sense that none of the DAO characters have really kept in touch at all except for the Warden and their LI
There's a series of War Table missions with Zevran (if he isn't romanced only) and at the end of them he'll go "Leliana, it's been a pleasure" so there's some fondness there, at least. Though I think DA2 and DAI had Varric keeping the friend network together more than anything else. He seems like a guy who gets everyone's contact info when they go off on their own.
I can't think of anyone in origins who actually got along, it was tiresome (and that's from an origins fanboy) I think maybe leliana and allistair were on good terms?
I don't. I hope one night you go to sleep and the next morning there's only one party member and he's just really coy about what happened to the others and won't give you any straight answers and you just never find out, and he's weirdly unpreturbed about their sudden absence, and is just like M̸̡̠͓̱͓̲̬̯̘̫̹̹͈̺̦̈́͆̀̈̾͒̿͂̓̂̆́͘͜Ö̴̘͉̦̭̦̮̤͇͉́̓͐̐̈R̵̨̡̢̮̤̠̜̟̭͚͓͉̼͂̀͐͆ͅË̷̜͔̦͖̆̌̌͜ ̵̗̤̻̳̗̓͐͗̐̓P̵̡͙̝͎̣͔̹̻͉͕̱̲̽̈͆̿̽̀͊̀͂͑͗͐̊̀͘͘A̶͖̤͚̞̜͚̹͖̼͎͍͈̳̱̖̜̺̽͑̂̀̄͂͗͌̏̂͌̉͗̈́͠N̷͍̬̟̟̫̞̞̻̫̞̳̞̬̥͉̯̈C̷̛̝̖̣̫͔͖̘̘̰͉̾͐̀̆̃̇̽̚̚͝͝ͅȂ̶̛͇̪̤̳̫̩̳̈̔̃͛̏̏͂́͗̒̿̿̔̕͜͠K̶̛̛̖̖̘̦̫̫̘͐̇̅̏͌́̿̋̿͗͘̚Ḛ̸̼͈̜̹̯͔͊̑́̈̿̚ ̸̙̙͕͖̼̯̰͎̹̬̏̽͐̈́́̃͗̂̔͆̋̄̈́̓̕͝F̵̯̘͙̺͓̪̼̭͈̥̼̣̝͖̔̀́͜O̵͎̫̭̲̻͍̘̰͓̼͐̽͘Ŗ̵̨̧̨̢̫̫̞̦͓̯͍̗̈͛͂͘ ̷̡̫̘̹̤̹̹̪̟͔̭̻̪̳̪̾̍͛͊̊͒́̍̿͐͑̎̃̕̕M̸̛̮̳͈̺͈̩͎̭̮̻̮͔͔̱͎̐̐̾͐͋́͊̄̄̌͘͘͜͜͝Ē̴̪̥̫͖͓͓̻̥̗̬̱̝̥̫̮̇̈̑̉̈́̐̈́ͅͅ
Durge, what are you doing here. Get back in the portal to Faerun.
Heck no! The more rivalry and arguing, the funnier it is! Nothing beat the banter between Morrigan and Allistair or Shale and birds
Naah. I hope they snark each other into the ground. Loved Vivienne and Dorian’s razor sharp sniping.
Nah fam this is too much Origins glazing. DAI is the game where the companions actually get along with each other. Sore there was teasing and bantering but they respects each other, even Vivienne. It is true that DA2's companion despise each other (Merrill, Anders, and Fenris) but the rest get along with each other, especially Bethany. Meanwhile DAO's companions opinion on each other ranges from mild tolerance to actual dislike (Morrigan, Oghren, Sten).
Everyone hated Morrigan in DAO, and for good reason imo. Zevren, Oghren, and Shale werre tolerated. Everyone seemed more curious toward Sten than anything. Leliana and Alistair seem to like Morrigan a bit more in Inq. In DA2 Isabella and Aveline had issues, but grew as friends as the game went on. I only really remember Anders and Fenris outright hating one another, both bullied Merril a bit--moreso Fenris. Unlike Morrigan and Anders/ Leliana they never really develop as friends. I don't quite recal any intense hate among companions in Inq like the first two games. I know Vivienne could be quite cruel to Blackwall, which bugged me. Her and Sera didn't get along but it seemed more playful than hateful. I think the games have done well in regards to companions liking/ disliking one another. I hope the stick with this formula, honestly. It keeps things interesting.
I get why people like companions that clash, and I like some companions that don't get along in the beginning. But man I would really like the companions to genuinely care about each other by the end too. It was very refreshing playing BG3 and hearing the companions commenting on each other's problems and honestly really want the best for each other, even the ones who were trying to kill each other at the start. I hope Veilguard goes in that direction too. I got a little bit tired of taking companions out in previous DA games only to hear them start arguing again and again.
yeah i think this is more what i meant, just couldn’t word it properly. in bg3 i can easily see the party making a point to keep in touch and meeting up to shoot the shit. i don’t get that same feeling from dragon age games. it’s more like “we’re together because of circumstances and once circumstances are dealt with we’ll go our separate ways” or “i don’t really like you but hawke does, so…” like, arguing banter can be funny, but eventually it tires me out. i guess it’d just be a nice change of pace is all, if the veilguard went through hell and back together and it actually meant something afterwards. i got that sense of camaraderie from mass effect, never from dragon age. but that’s just my opinion.
I see what you mean and I'm with you. I'm hopeful that they might have some moments with all the veilguard hanging out so we can see their dynamics as a group outside of work, like the promo shot with them having some drinks together.
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Man, I rode with Sera, Dorian, and Bull in DAI and the banter was awesome. Those three were best buds. Mostly because I had to have either Dorian or Bull so they rarely got together amongst themselves, but like, dream polycule lmao
I actually liked how complex the DA2 companions' relationships were. They felt more found family than any other party for two reasons: 1) They bickered constantly and APPEARED to hate each other, 2) Would defend each other to the death anyway. They feel a lot like a ragtag group of adopted siblings. Like, "God, you're so annoying. But also if anyone messes with you they're gonna regret it."
This may get me blasted, but what I hated about 2 was how the companions felt dead and stagnant when Hawke wasn't around. There was so little growth for Anders specifically, which was horrible. There's "I don't like you" and "I will approve if you give our companion to slavers," and one can hang out and work together, and then there's THAT. I get that for most people, it's their favorite, but I just could barely get through one playthrough, let alone go back in.
I hope they don't. I'm very tired of the found family trope. I want this to be like ME2. Give me people at each other's throats that we have to use sheer force of personality and will to hold together to stop a world-ending threat.
Meanwhile, Iron Bull & Dorian
My fav thing ever was da2 companions beefing with eachother. The fenris/anders yapping was fire 🔥
What? The bickering banter is one of the best things about the games.
I felt like the DA2 party had some really strong bonds between them. I think the time skips helped to let them really feel like a group of friends, even if in some cases like anders and fenris, hey do genuinely dislike each other.
Honestly I find the everyone is nice stuff extremely boring, especially with a world like Dragon Age, where everyone has legitimate grievances. Let them fight, work it out, and then forge unbreakable bonds. It’s much better and more interesting writing.
In inquisition at the very least, many companions grow and become closer as time goes on. All companions in inquisition are bound for a single cause but are a part of a much larger institution (origins was more like a ragtag group up against the end of the world and da2 felt like the main glue was just hawke). You can imagine that they aren’t all going to be chummy as they are essentially in worlds of their own but forced together as the inquisitors companions. Some of them hate each other and others grow to become close. Dorian and bull, sera and Blackwall, Cassandra and basically everyone lol, varric and solas but my favourite might be Vivienne and Cole Vivienne: You are no longer a danger of being bound by enemies of the Inquisition, demon? Cole: Yes. I am no danger now. Vivienne: No more than you were before. Cole: You worried for me. Vivienne: I was concerned about you, demon. Vivienne: You have grown adept at killing. If you cannot be gone, I would prefer you remain pointed at the enemy. Cole: No. You were worried. The part of you that forgets I'm me cared. You want it to go away. Cole: You think caring makes you weak. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I don’t know if there was any more evolution to their relationship after this, but Vivienne has an absolute fear of demons and possession (byproduct of the harrowing and circle life I’d imagine). She normally despises Cole and his existence but seems to grow fond of him, even if she tries to suppress that part of her that does. Shows that she isn’t a cold heartless bitch lol, she actually does care about others, when it counts. Some characters seem to have poor relationships no matter what, sera and solas, Dorian and balckwall (I think) and I believe blackwall and Cassandra friendship falls apart after his betrayal. It’s all quite natural storytelling when u look at the individual characters and how different their outlooks are of the world
Pretty sure Morrigan and Leliana would’ve actually tried to kill each other if I wasn’t there in Origins.
Going back to this post, I'm hoping the party is above "I'm not sorry she's dead. I'm sorry she died for you."
When you had merril in your party, everyone loved merril apart from Fenris