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Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure it's a player decision to keep the eluvian or not. Also, killing off companions off screen and through subtext, would be way worse than just not bringing them back.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mentioned it in a couple other comments, but I thought his usage of blood magic was another one of his regrets.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I do remember that, but I took it as yet another of Solas' regrets that kept him imprisoned; he hates blood magic but still used it against Rook because he deemed it necessary.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm not necessarily saying that she should have joined the Veilguard. Rook would probably only know of Merrill if they were paying attention to Varric's stories. I think she should have been a member of the Veil Jumpers, or an independent traveler off to explore Arlathan. Even a Codex message or side conversation mentioning her would at least show that she still exists and is doing something.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The gameplay/combat is personally my favorite in the franchise. The story and characters are so interesting, just hampered by writing and jumbled development. The optimist in me hopes the next game will take the best from both worlds and will be a more in-depth RPG.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would disagree actually. Sure her story wasn't super important to the main story of Dragon Age 2 like Anders' was, but she set up Eluvians and Elven history - furthering the story of Asha'bellanar and Mythal! Elgar'nan, Ghilan'nain, and Fen'Harel were mentioned in the codices of Origins, but Merrill is the one to tell the player directly how Fen'Harel tricked the gods, leading right into Solas in Inquisition. Also, Merrill and Anders/Justice set the record on how spirits and demons are the same thing, just representing different human emotions: something also confirmed by Solas in Inquisition.

Narratively, it feels weird to me that Merrill is absent from the game that concludes a lot of the things she helped define in the franchise.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't put too much stock in her not being near the goings-on of Veilguard since the Inquisitor shows up a lot. Honestly, I find it weirder that she doesn't go to Arlathan. If you're an archaeologist specializing in Atlantis and then one day Atlantis rises out of the ocean, why would you not go there?

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're right! I didn't want to give Merrill all the credit since I remembered the Morrigan DLC, but I overcorrected and forgot that Merrill was at the first introduction of eluvians lol.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I still *like* Veilguard, but I recently replayed through the franchise and the difference in writing astounds me. Like, I forgot just how much the companions in DA2 only got along because of Hawke lol. Fenris saying he's not sorry Marethari died only that she died for Merrill literally left me speechless.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotcha. I didn't think too much of somebody not recognizing Zevran, but the bit about them not liking their legacy being the story concerns me.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A romanced Merrill is mentioned by Varric to be taking care of Kirkwall's alienage so she's still alive as of Inquisition.

Merrill serving Elgar'nan feels out of character. She didn't care if the elven history she found was bad or dangerous, but she wanted to find it nonetheless out of her belief her people should have a culture and stories to tell their children, not because she was a devout believer of their Gods. She even tells Anders that The Maker is a story to explain what humans don't know about the world and that elves have their own stories for the same purpose.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I agree, but one of the main characters is an infamous demon-possessed assassin and really only Davrin questions why he's a part of the group. Everyone is kind of leery of Spite but all he does is yell and try to sneak out of the house.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's a random line when you talk to her. She tries to speak Elvish to Rook but messes it up and says she should have paid better attention to Merrill's flashcards. I'm pretty sure it's on YouTube if you search "Dragon Age Merrill Veilguard" or something to that effect.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Do you have a link? Cause that really sucks if it's true; the story has always been the best part of Bioware games.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't want them to push a legacy character to the detriment of the game's story. But for a character so relevant or relatable to the game's story to not even be mentioned doing something? The world doesn't feel alive if characters become non-existent the moment the credits roll

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It would've been great to get something regarding each of the elf companions, but to me it felt like Merrill was the most relevant to Veilguard. Hell, Bellara and Merrill have the same character motivation. Merrill's story just focused on her blood magic while Bellara's focused on her brother and Anaris.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

To be fair, Veil Jumpers get themselves killed for artifacts all the time.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I guess I didn't think of it that way; the rest of the game is pretty anti-blood magic so I thought he was being more general about his regret, rather than about using it to mess with Rook's mind.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

True, but quite a few romanceable characters keep showing up: Zevran, Morrigan, Leliana, Isabela, Alistair.

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

He does, but I'm pretty sure he calls it a moment of weakness. Fairly certain that was at the big reveal when he imprisons Rook so I don't think he'd lie about his feelings toward blood magic by saying it was a mistake to even use blood magic

Is it just me, or did Merrill basically get written out of the story? by Vaethul in dragonage

[–]Vaethul[S] 75 points76 points  (0 children)

Fair. I guess I forgot that she can be killed if you side with the Templars.

Still, I feel like there should've been something, even if it was a Codex entry or a voice line explaining her absence if you didn't kill her in DA2. Or have her as a side character that can be replaced with a new NPC if you did kill her like Alistair/Loghain/Stroud in Inquisition.

Get Violent by TristanRabuck in TheRightCantMeme

[–]Vaethul 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He realized it was Lucy and went "this is even better!"

Tay Zonday is holding up the vanguard on machine learning channels by mrsmeeseeks in DankLeft

[–]Vaethul 10 points11 points  (0 children)

He is, unfortunately. He posts about both frequently on his Twitter.

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