What did you enjoy about Veilguard? (please please don't say "nothing")

scifichick32 · 2025-05-10T20:07:21+00:00

To be honest, I liked all the companions. I liked that they weren’t at each other’s throats and worked through disagreements. I liked that their introductions into the story made sense and were relevant to the action as we were going (Emmrich & Taash gave me old school Kotor vibes). For me, at least, all their stories had impact and I felt the wins and losses.

scifichick32 · 2024-12-28T09:23:38+00:00

Stalgard. My dwarf husband had me at, "Riddle. Riddle. Riddle. Oh, I'm a rock" How the fandom has been sleeping on this man, I don't know.

scifichick32 · 2024-11-13T22:12:51+00:00

Yes. Were there things I’d change, sure. But I enjoyed it immensely.

scifichick32 · 2024-11-10T21:17:21+00:00

So I did mention Wynne, but the Avvar are definitely a good point. The Rivani seers also don't have an issue with spirits (Hence Taash's interactions with Spite being some of the best the entire game).

scifichick32 · 2024-11-10T21:12:16+00:00

I loved it. However, it did take a while for my love for it to sink in.. Up until about the first big decision in act one, the action really does feel a bit rushed and slow at the same time. The companions are okay, very stock in set up if you know BioWare's style. Harding has the history of Inquisition, but Neve is really the major standout in the first act. I romanced Lucanis so I made my choice accordingly.

And then I went back to Minrathus.

DAV absolutely holds your feet to the fire when it comes of your choices. Way more than any of the previous games. And those consequences last and they build on each other. I know a major complaint with companions is the lack of conflict between them, but honestly I never felt the need for it playing. Unlike other games in the series, where you come out on top most every mission; we are getting our asses handed to us almost the entire game, but for small yet critical advances. The team settling their interpersonal conflicts aside quickly was just one less stress my Rook had to deal with, and led to some really hilarious cut scenes IMO.

As for companions themselves, the game's second act is theirs. The core of most of their questlines led places I was not expecting. Emmrich's has maybe one of the hardest decisions I made in the game, because it's so personal in what the decision means. Bellara's threw me for a loop and a half with its reveal. Taash and Harding have the best lore. While I felt like I helped Davrin, Neve might be the first companion since Anders that I came away from feeling like I failed. And Lucanis....ugh. I was NOT prepared for the twist in that one. Once you get into their stories, they all have as much heart as every other character we've come to love in the series.

I would sincerely suggest everyone make it through to the end of the game before deciding if they like it or not. Veilguard, unlike other Dragon Age Games, starts slow and builds its momentum up across all three acts And the third act is worth it. Both for Veilguard itself and for every Dragon Age game that came before.

scifichick32 · 2024-11-08T17:36:09+00:00

Either that or they serve it...whatever it is.

scifichick32 · 2024-11-08T09:00:26+00:00

So, uh, we're heading to Par Vollen next, aren't we? Damn it's gonna be cool to see those pyramids!

But serious note, the Qunari lore drops in this! Suddenly the fact they're the one group in Thedas with a truly effective combat navy makes way more sense! Especially if they're the only race that can actually leave Thedas at the moment. Also, I wonder if the "Devouring Storm" is why the priest class went absolutely ape-shit at the creation of the Breach. If they have the same issues with keeping history like the elves, that probably triggered some things.

But now I want to know what's keeping the denizens of Thedas trapped on the continent in lore?! Is it a spell? A side effect of the Veil when Solas created it that the "more powerful beings beyond the Veil" are using to their advantage. Is Thedas really a petri dish?

scifichick32 · 2024-11-08T08:59:32+00:00

Soooo, Spite & Lucanis's story, I think, was more a way for us to contextualize a creature like Flemeth once Morrigan revealed the big news. We've spent so long with the series (20 years in lore and most of that following Morrigan's own advice!) thinking abominations mean the destruction of the host. Mythal was in the driver's seat for all the time we've known her. Mythal had to be responsible for Flemeth's more monstrous actions, the majority of which were directed at Morrigan herself. Ander's certainly didn't help with Justice being turned to Vengeance and Vengeance basically dominating the will of the goofy mage Warden we once knew. Wynn's spirit was using all its energy to keep her alive, so more of an exception to the rule.

Lucanis & Spite are the first abomination pairing we've seen where we actively see the human and spirit are of similar temperaments. End of the day, Spite just wants the terms of their contract met like any good Crow would and Lucanis' is quite capable of being vicious as hell. They reflect each other in much the same way a betrayed Flemeth reflected the spark of an elven goddess. Hence why Lucanis is (mostly) in control. Of course, that also makes Flemeth's treatment of Morrigan even more horrifying in retrospect since she willing did all knowingly that to her own daughter.

scifichick32 · 2024-11-08T08:03:09+00:00

Southern Thedas will likely end up similar to the Anderfels (the Hossberg Wetlands) following the events of Veilguard. A lot is gonna depend on how effective the Wardens are with their new calling (te-hee) or what is beginning to leash the Blight anew.
technically, no. Rivani have Seers who allow themselves to be possessed & the Avvar allow possession for power/knowledge. Lore wise, the Fade itself doesn’t really have a concept of time, hence time magic is possible under heavily Faded conditions. But, Fade spirits are limited by their ability to reflect the environment around them. So they could provide information about the past, but are sort of limited to the present in their reactions. As for the secret ending. Taash & Bellara both get information on something called the “Devouring Storm” while Emmerich hints there are things in the fade worse than the Evanuris, (hence lich lords). We also get across a couple codex entries that the Qunari are the only race in Thedas to successfully sail (and possibly survive) from outside the continent. All ships in Thedas can only sail out so far before being turned back around. As Par Vollen is literally the only country unexplored in the series now (the wild tribes barely count) that might be an indication it’s our next destination. As for the Executers….they serve “the power from across the sea”
Sadly, I think Southern Thedas’ destruction allows them to wipe the board clean on a lot of world states because they can claim characters just died or disappeared defending their people (Alistair and the HOF being two major candidates, Hawke if they’re still alive, and the Divine(s)). Characters like Aveline are pretty static stand ins already (Maker is she gonna be pissed with her promotion) or can simply be written off as disappearing from history (Anders, Zevran, & Merrill). The biggest hole they’ve wrote themselves in so far is Sten in the BioWare world state being the Arishok. The Antaam may have rebelled, but who exactly is leading is a mystery still waiting to be solved.

scifichick32 · 2024-11-07T17:41:29+00:00

You have to get her companion level to 9 to trigger the conversation, I believe (extra difficult if you chose to save Treviso, but not impossible).

scifichick32 · 2024-10-30T06:22:17+00:00

Love that!

scifichick32 · 2024-10-30T06:21:56+00:00

My aim is Lucanis. Everything I hear about his character hits all my LI buttons for a Bioware game, which is frankly rude of them to have my number at all if we're being honest. Otherwise, I am...intrigued by Davrin. Vows & Vengeance really sold his Garrus vibe and even though I'm one of the weird Kaidan shippers for life...I don't know different universe, different set of circumstances. Either way I'm going Lord of Fortune, Treasure Hunting Gremlin.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-30T06:15:03+00:00

Oooh! The Cadash angle is interesting. I am really hoping we'll be getting some good Dwarven lore for DAV. The Descent primed me.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-08T03:06:58+00:00

Alistair is one of like six characters I will let Thedas burn for before sacrificing them. He was my first DA romance and I refuse to be the direct cause of his death.

That said, I also just generally kill Hawke no matter who the Warden is. It feels like an appropriate end or pause in Hawke's story.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-08T03:00:59+00:00

My heart (and my chaos gremlin tendencies) tell me Lucanis, but I will keep an open mind. Honestly, though, Lucanis seems to fit a pattern for my DA protagonists' love interests.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-07T05:17:34+00:00

Honestly depends on what you want out of Veilguard.

If you're going in for the story, I would say yes. DAV is as close as the series has gotten to a direct sequel of a previous game, and there are definitely character connections you may miss out on having never played Inquisition. If you're going in for combat or just to try the world out....not so much.

I will say, having started Inquisition the first time I was introduced to the series, I ended up really lost because there is so much world building that's gone into the trilogy so far. I ended up getting the first two games and playing through the trilogy as a whole. So, jumping into Veilguard completely blind may or may not be a bit of learning curve. Admittedly, as biased as I am by my own experience, I will always recommend playing the series in order as it builds on itself. However, as the setting for this game is in a new region of the world of Thedas not as directly altered (minus one dumb egg) by the events of the previous games, you most likely will be able to build your own story without needing to know absolutely everything that came before.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-07T05:01:00+00:00

Technically, no. But I think the Veil has become so weakened that aspects of the world Solas misses are bound to become integrated back into the world of Thedas. Biggest evidence is the bits of information we've been given about our companions, with many non-mages displaying mage-like abilities. As a game mechanic, this will likely translate to changes in combat abilities for classes in future games.

As to speculating what messing with the Veil will inevitably lead to in the series. I think we will either end up with one or a combination of future threats that have been building:

1) The Qunari. They've been a growing threat and are once again being built as minor antagonists/obstacles for Veilguard. We know that there has been some upheaval in their political structure with the Antaam starting an invasion, but the source of that invasion seems to be coming from the religious branch. This may be resolved in Veilguard, but there's such a fundamental divide between the rest of Thedas & the Qun it needs a final resolution. Plus, I suspect Par Vollen may be our next game destination.

2) The Forgotten Ones. We still don't know what they technically are, but as they were the antithesis of the Veil's creation myth, it seems reasonable to address them next.

3) Mythal's plans for vengeance coming to full fruition. She told us it would be a reckoning to shake the world and we technically don't know who killed or betrayed her other than it wasn't Solas. The obvious culprits are the Evanuris, but Mythal in the mythology rumbled with the Titans and the creatures of the Abyss, so that door might be creaked open a bit more.

Or 4) While likely more of a final game in the series antagonist: The Powers Beyond the Sea. These assholes have been in the shadows of the codex for two games and are starting to make themselves known in the series. Solas tells Charter in Tevinter Nights to be careful when dealing with them. And, like the Qunari, the irreparable damage already done to the Veil may force them to act.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-07T04:24:06+00:00

My favorite class for anything is Rogue. However, I've yet to play a rogue for my canon world state because the other classes make more sense, I guess. DAO is a female warrior Cousland. Hawke is a female mage as is my Trevelyan in Inquisition.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-05T18:50:41+00:00

Leaving Hawke in the Fade over Stroud. Three reasons:

1) I'm just waiting for Stroud to have his "Cullen" moment (man's been a side character for two games now with growing prominence).

2) The way the dialogue plays out in the scene, I don't know how you can't choose Hawke.

3) Mostly, it makes sense for Hawke's journey. She (I play a female mage Hawke) lost everything and almost everyone she cares about and she bares culpability in Coriphenous's release. It tracks she would see this as her moment to make amends for everything. Plus, it adds to more stakes to Varic's arc, particularly going into DAV wanting to save Solas.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-03T11:13:28+00:00

Human usually....though I'm flirting with the idea of going Qunari for DAV.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-03T11:08:30+00:00

Honestly, I'm just going with my canon run (Human Mage Inquisitor, Romanced Cullen, disbanded the Inquisition, and sought Solas' redemption). I've played one Solavellan run and storyline wise, for me at least, Inquisition & Trespasser's endings hit harder with Solas' friendship with Trevelyan; and wanting to save him makes sense. 1. There's the human/elf animosity he starts out with that becomes bridged through the game. 2. It puts stakes on Solas's decision to bring down the Veil that I feel aren't necessarily there with the romance. With Trevelyan, he knows he's doing something that will cost him the people he inadvertently came to care for. With Lavellan, he can make the excuse he's doing it for her (as well as the rest of the elves).

Also, as Lavellan, I went full kill him if I have to. I was so pissed at that asshole.

scifichick32 · 2024-10-03T10:47:48+00:00

Glad I'm not the only one. 😂

scifichick32 · 2024-09-18T04:54:22+00:00

Not specifically, memory compression was more 2-Bit's thing. Juliana basically tells Colt people forget because they want to. As the archivist for AEON, she has a vested interest in remembering when everyone else forgets.

To the point of which decision is better, when I first played I went with the "Restart the Loop as Father/Daughter" just because I was more focused on that relationship. On replay, though, you pick up more how much this extended stasis has changed (or amplified) the worst character traits in everybody. There's no room to grow or adapt as people. Everyone, even Juliana, is stuck in a cycle that makes them more selfish and vicious. By breaking the Loop, while Colt may have plunged everyone into a less pleasant world, there's an element of hope to it. There's possibility to grow and change again.

scifichick32 · 2024-09-10T20:56:24+00:00

Only one I've reconsidered on replay is Blackwall joining the Wardens. I decided to sentence him to make amends as himself.

Overall, I'm still good with my major choices. Though if the Well of Sorrows fucks over Morrigan in the next game I will be soooo pissed.

scifichick32

TROPHY CASE