Unpopular opinion: I’ve always found Blackwall to be pretty one-dimensional compared to other companions in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Sure, he has the whole stoic and honorable thing going on, but it doesn’t hit as hard as the depth you get from characters like Iron Bull or Cassandra. Even with the twist in his backstory, his arc just doesn’t have the same emotional impact for me. And as a tank, he’s solid, but there’s nothing that really makes him stand out gameplay-wise.
I liked Bellara. It was cute that she was writing a romance Novel inspired by Rook 😂 But she was also pretty forgettable. I dont think many of the Veilguard characters are memorable enough to stick in our minds a decade later. Because they were all kinda "generic nice guy" companions. Now Alistair I remember because he was an idiot that drove me mad. Morrigan was memorable because the ONLY way to make her like me was to be a selfish jerk. Anders and Fenris were memorable because they were such exaggerated polar opposites who were both beyond sensible reason (and had epic banter). Great characters often stick with us because of their flaws. Not for being "vanilla"
Sten looked the way he did due to budgeting issues, they couldn't afford to make all the helmets with custom meshes and models for his model if he had horns
Man, Solas from the Dread Wolf concept art was such a top tier villain that I still feel angry at BioWare for abandoning almost everything about this preview art concept after the stories they had leaked, There is a channel here on TH-cam that talks in detail about what the story would be
12:33 Actually in DA2 there was a mission where templars were getting possessed by demons and in that Cullen did explain that blood mages or demons can force other demons into host regardless if their a mage or not.
Fenris. Especially with Anders. Fenris was the first companion to really challenge me. He's such a mess and over the top with his hatred of magic, which is great when Hawke is a blood mage. Gaining Fenris' trust, to the extent that he actually defends mages from templars... that was one of the most rewarding character arcs in any Dragon Age game.
The Butcher was AWESOME. And his voice was epic. Butcher needed more screen time. I wish there was an option for Rook to fight him and his crew solo at that meeting. It would have been a great boss battle. I would have preferred it to smacking another demon with the team.
Lucanis had so much potential and was such a letdown. The visual design and the voice acting were absolutely awesome, but how they basically turned the Antivan Crows from fierce assassins into friendly Spanish foodies and coffee snobs...damn! That somehow annoyed me way more than any other wonky narrative/lore decisions in the game.
The pirates not being pirates irked me too! The game would have been so much better if Evil factions existing, and Rook had to recruit them anyway and compromise Rooks morals for victory against the bigger bad. That would have added juicy conflict to the story.
@@RandomWandrer They didn't even have to be evil pirates, they just had to be you know...pirates. Like Isabella was in DA2. Instead, the employ an advisor so they don't accidentally deal in elven goods, because that would be inappropiate...like...WHAT? Generally, the lack or moral grey areas and the lack of any serious conflict within the group annoyed me the most about Veilguard. It was Mass Effect: Andromeda all over agian.
@@SlanderedGaming While I completely respect your independent opinions, if Garrus and Liara are not on the top of that list, I will scoff so scornfully.
Varric being #1 is all I needed to know, great video as always, slandered 👏👏 I cried when I found out the twist at the end of veilguard. But I definitely agree, especially on my second playthrough, there should’ve been more mourning for the #1 homie
@SlanderedGaming I want to point out one thing. When Rook is trapped in the Fade, and discovers that Solas killed Verric, there's an option to ask Solas why Harding and Neve didn't act like Verric died, and even seemed to interact with Verric (you gotta press down for more dialogue options). Solas said that he distorted Rooks perception to keep Rook deceived about Verrics death. So that would mean that characters could have been acknowledging Verrics death all game, and Rook was an unreliable narrator for the player! I actually really enjoyed that twist.
You know I totally agreed what you said about Varric. While watching your video I just realized that scene between Varric/Solas feels like it was always meant to be the ending of Veilguard and not the beginning. They moved it to the beginning instead. When it was Joplin. Because it all made more sense when it was Dreadwolf!
Harding dies. Darvin can't die because I'll never let Assan die. Also dog is way too low on the list. Plenty of companions I'd kill or drop way before giving my pup up.
Leliana doesn't improve the circles, that's Cassandra. Leliana disbands them altogether! Not a bad list, a few I would shuffle around but not massively. The only one I think you really did dirty here is Sigrun. Her Legion of the Dead background made here one of the more interesting Awakening characters, IMO. I'd probably have her near the middle of the list. Her quest can be a bit buggy so maybe that didn't help your impression of her!
Top five: 1. Dorian 2. Solas 3. Morigan 4. Cassandra 5. Alistair Special note given to Leliana, who I liked as a companion in Origins but LOVED in Inquisition. If she was her Inquisition iteration as a companion she would be number one.
His death was handled well, but his and rooks relationship was handled poorly. If you can see rook as yourself and played all the games the death really conects. I dont see rook as myself so while i was a bit surprised. I was thinking when did rook and varric become close? 😂😂 you hear very little and see very little
@@SlanderedGaming They sold you on him being alive, yet provided so much to show he was dead. They really made Solas backup the god of lies title. But varric should have got more time, and shown more impactful moments with rook. It should have been harder for us to choose to spare solas or not.
I actually think the reveal of Varric's death was one of the better story moments in the game. I honestly thought all game that Varric being hurt and having to rest all day was kind of a lame reason not to have him in your party. I attributed this to bad writing so I was really pleasantly surprised by the well executed plos twist. I will agree though that the impact may very because Rook and Varric had very little on screen time together and everthing we learn about their relationship, which isn't much, we learn through small bits of dialogue during the course of the game.
@CyrusIsnt Agree. Veilguard REALLY needed a bit of prologue, where Verric choses Rook and Rook bonds with Verric. They could have shoved it in after Rook is knocked out at the ritual. Like reliving a memory. Then it could have doubled as a passage of time where the rest of the character's mourned verric while thinking Rook wouldn't wake up.
Fun video! agree with a lot of it - one piece of advice, if you are making a remark about a characteristic that isn't obvious, show it - like with Oghren, you say he has a very distinct voice - he does, but its been decades and people might not be familiar- just have a 1 -2 second clip of him talking, would change a good video to a higher class video! There was a couple of others i think one needed too like the iron bull, or a visual but im too lazy to go find it :D
Dog not being #1 breaks my heart. He really is the best boy😭😂 In all seriousness this video is really great. I love your dedication to detail and how you find something positive to say about even your least favorite companions.
Vivienne as Divine is the hero Thedas really needs. Plus I never get tired of my spa treatments with cheese wheels on my eyes. So comforting... I do like Emmerich but they kinda retconned the lore around spirits with the Mourn Watch in Veilguard, since - we learn this via Cole if we become Necromancers - what the Mournwatch does with wisps etc. basically prevents them from ever becoming a higher spirit. I thought they'd address that paradox of Nevarrans revering the dead while also essentially hobbling them but they didn't. Never letting Davrin die in most of my playthroughs. Making him a sacrificial lamb for the Wardens would be cheap, overdone for Black characters, and especially hollow considering how eager he is to do it "for the cause".
I think the other major problem with Morrigan now is that her character arc just isn't finished, what plans Mythal have had is still unknown, and there's again a chance we never get another DA game. The way she acts in The Veilguard could be interpreted in so many ways... to the point her further presence could change the whole context of her presence in DATV. And people already found in game files that Executors know about her, and the way Executors sounded in the "secret ending" and how Mythal was talking about her involvement with pushing history, I get a feeling that they are somehow connected.
I love Carver and Sebastian (Also Blackwall, lol). As for Velanna and Sigrun, there are mods I use to complete their questlines: Awakening Fixes and Tweaks, Awakening Encounters Renovation, and Sigrun's Roguish Past and Law and Order fix. Also, theres this issue on PC where the colors, shaders and NPCs all lack depth (an example being that their eyes are black and their skin is washed out) and enabling frame-buffer effects in the Visuals tab fixes this (I just noticed that my game never looked as good as it did on console if this isnt enabled). My favorite companions have to be Fenris, Zevran, Leliana, Solas, Alistair, Varric, Blackwall, Dorian, Cassandra, Vivienne, and Morrigan (not in order). Also, as for Fenris' tattoos being a hindrance, someone with experience in that field said that its not that hard to do and that Gaider maybe was being lied to (which would add up considering former bioware employees have said the writers were mistreated). I also wonder who Alistair's original mother was supposed to be. Gaider said that Fiona was not his first choice and iirc also said he kind of regrets making Fiona his mother.
Solid list. I haven't played some of the older games in a while so many of the past characters have a hazy feel to me, but I remember the true greats vividly. Morrigan is still solidly my number 1. I would have ranked Neve higher, though. Personally, I think her romance arc was great if she gets captured towards the end of the game. The profound absence of someone you felt would be by your side in one of Bioware's signature romance scenes right before the end run was palpable and added even more gravity to the veilguard ending, which was phenomenal.
I found taash the most poorly written character I've come across in any game. When she's not about her identity, she's being hypocritical, attacking others for theirs. The dialogue is cringe and doesn't fit DA in any way.
@@SlanderedGaming In top 10 for sure. My second favorite character in Origins after Morrigan. He is so unique. And his attempt at ousting you is one of the most memorable RPG encounters I ever had - I was totally shocked!
It's really hard to say which ones I like the very most, but some top ones are Leliana, Shale, Morrigan, Varric and basically the entire DAI cast except for Vivienne. I feel so bad because I know he's popular but Ohgren is one of my least favourites. Now, I don't mean how he's designed, but just really rubs me the wrong way. I really agree about Bellara too, she goes from 1 to 10, I wish we got way more of the 10! I think some characters are pretty undercooked so it's hard to tell entirely, like Sebastian or basically the entire Awakening cast minus Anders/Ohgren. I forgot to add, my best romance is Isabela. I think Fem-Hawke that's sarcastic and Isabela are a pairing completely made for one another. I didn't really expect the writing to be as nice as it was with her, I guess with her general easyoing attitude you don't really expect otherwise. But I really liked it. Runner-up is Cassandra's! I'm actually not a huge Solasmancer, I like it a lot more as friends.
Missing characters: Blackwall, Tallis, Valta, Renn, Ariane, Finn, Sketch, Tug, Brogan and Jerrick Dace. Plus a ton of temporary companions and dark spawn (but those can rightfully be ignored)
First, welcome back from your holiday! Hope you and your family had a great time! I'm going to spare everyone from ranking them all, but here's where I differ from you: I'm sorry, but I've got to put Taash at the bottom: The messaging with that story arc was just so heavy handed that it wiped out any redeeming qualities it might have had for me. I agree with Varric and Leiliana for the top two with Morrigan clocking in at third and Alistair fourth. I also put Dorian, Isabella, Zevran, Solas, Cassandra, and Merrill in my top ten. Of the DAV characters, I put Davrin and Neve in my top twenty along with Sera, Oghren, Sten, and Bethany with the other characters all falling into the mid-lower and lower tiers. Just my opinion of course. :)
Maaannnnn. I came into this video determined in my stance that, regardless of your arguments to the contrary, Morrigan is #1 Varric is 2 and Leliana is 3. I was determined my mind would not be changed. Well done sir.
I think its always been possible for non-mages and even objects to be possessed by demons, its just easier to possess mages because they're always pulling from and interacting with the Fade.
Slandered I purged a few memberships /subscriptions I had. If you notice it, don't take it personally! Still my favorite content creator. (This is also Treemosher on Twitch, been chatting with you there lately)
Man, this series has some really strong characters! Kinda sad that in my every dao playthrough I end up having Morrigan, Alistair and Leliana as team A - with Shale as an occasional guest.
Bellara's quest ending & the funeral was great. Maybe she's supposed to be the type that's all happy & such to disguise the grief that she really feels. That's how i see it. Probably why she seems so Disney, initially, as some say. People cope with sorrow differently
Bellara also did not seem Dalish at all to me. She explains elven lore at times when the plot requires someone to do it, but you never get a sense from her banters or dialogues with Rook that she is all that interested in elven lore or history. There are no sequences like, for example, the Temple of Mythal in Inquistion where you really get the sense that both Solas and Morrigan both knew and cared deeply about elven history and culture.
For me, the list is largely topped by the DA2 cast. Even Sebastian who would boring on his own, but the way the rest of the group keeps calling that out makes him hilarious in his own way. Yet, man, there is nothing beating Aveline, Fenris and Varric. Like they are all such great characters with the first two having really touching arcs that fit perfectly with the general themes of the game. My least favorite of that game is actually Merrill because I do think with her the rush hurt the worst and there are just certain elements that never come together as well, but even then the concept is brilliant. My two least favorite DA companions are actually both from Inquisition, being Sera and Vivienne. The issue, again for me, isn't so much the concepts, I actually do like what both represent, but rather that they feel like characters that needed a DA2 kind of approval system. They both have really strict views on matters, which is fine, but it is essentially forces the character to just yes them if you want to get more discussions with them instead of allowing that debate and discussion exist with the character. Thus they both feel really preachy and off-putting, and not in a fun way because you can't genuinely engage with it. Also, because of the way they are recruited, they are kind of irrelevant to the game story itself. Finally, because why be brief, it's kind of funny to me because when I now think on the DAO cast, I'm really indifferent about them. Which isn't a slam on them specifically, but reflects more on how Bioware wrote companions at that time as their interactions feel more like info dumps on whatever faction of the world they represent rather than organic takes on characters. This same applies by the way completely on ME1.
Wow, I agree with all your takes on these characters! It never happens in this fandom 😂 I usually rank Anders much higher, top 3 for me. He is awkward and standoffish and often unlikeable in DA2, but his story grips me so hard! I just wish there was a follow up on it in Inquisition. He should've been there, probably in Redcliffe with the rebel mages. My #1 is Dorian though. He got me obsessed with Tevinter! If only his writing in Veilguard was half as good as in Inquisition... Great video!
Great list sir. I dont disagree with your top 5. One minor change for me after playing all of the games, is Merrill would be in the top 10. The story, voice acting and game play for Merrill is top tier. She is arguably the most powerful companion in DA2, which is right inline with the lore of how dangerous blood mages are. No companion in that game comes close to her level of power.
you don't think that BioWare did belara the way they did because of how she was transformed had a dark ending the happy and shiny was completely on purpose that's what it seems to me but well this is your ranking
Taash should be so much lower. I'm nonbinary myself and I hate how they were written in regards to their identity and their coming out story. I just want some nonbinary characters where their gender is just one small part of a complex character
I'm not any minority or remotely interesting myself. But I agree with you. I wish they would include loads of diverse characters without making their whole story about whatever small detail makes them diverse. Like damn, even the most XYZ-minority person on earth is 99% the same as everyone else and way more interesting than sexuality or colour or whatever. That said, I think Taash was more an accurate depiction of self centered teenage attitude and the "who am i" obsession which plagues many teens. More than representing all non binary people.
Being cis/heterosexual is neither a discovery nor a struggle. But a lot of people outside the cis spectrum have struggled with gender identity however, so it isn't that far fetched for it to occupy a bigger place than for other characters. I'm not saying that it should always be the case, but it isn't out of place either.
Alistair Oghren Merrill Ironbull Leliana People really need to stop trying to blame everything on DA:V. Veilguard didn't change the lore, inquisition changed everything and veilguard was stuck trying to rebuild a new half-assed established lore. Demons and spirits were shown possessing non-mages since origins. Chantry marches, old gods, Andraste, the Qun, Elven society has all changed drastically between origins and inquisition.
I blame Veilguard only for the things it is responsible for . Yes there are lore changes that happen earlier. The way those changes are displayed in the game is deeply problematic.
Did i fall asleep during the video or was Tallis not even mentioned? I liked how she had her unique way of being a rogue with a ranged dagger attack. I also like how they attempted to give her Felicia Days Face, as she is played by her in the Webseries.
Solas.....was.....not....right. His attentions are sort of good and his original act was but honestly .....throwing everyone else under the coaches just to restore the elves to their former glory is wrong and however much he tries to rationalise and mitigate that and however bad he feels about it - doesn't change that. Great character though even if I want to slap him at times.
@@SlanderedGaming I think you see the real life dangers of that with Israel. The holocaust doesn't justify Palestinian genocide - same thing here. The mistreatment of one group doesn't justify throwing another under the bus - same here only with lots of different groups. In world we see this with Zatharian in the Dalish elf quest in Origin - the suffering of the werewolves isn't justified by what the origin humans he cursed did to his family however much bad, and it was awful, that was.
Since Veilguard completely ignores established lore and continuity from the previous 3 games, the world of Thedas source-books, and the novels, the companions from that game don't qualify. Their can'r possibly take place in the Dragon Age universe.
What happened to your man hawke character with neck? Wynne and andra, leanna I didn't like cos chanrty this and that and mages and temple and Wynne nagging all time
I downloaded a mod that let me make character creation changes included scars around his neck as if somebody had garroted him. I thought it was pretty cool. :)
How on earth you put Bellara, Lucanis and Neeve before Taash? Taash is not just the worst character in Veilguard, she's the worst character in any videogame. She's a disgusting hypocrite with mommy issues who's worried about pronouns.
I think you forgot Blackwall. I guess many people do.
Yup I screwed that up unfortunately.
@@SlanderedGaming Where would you rank him?
Oh no🤣🤣 His reveal through the romance was so good!😢
Unpopular opinion: I’ve always found Blackwall to be pretty one-dimensional compared to other companions in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Sure, he has the whole stoic and honorable thing going on, but it doesn’t hit as hard as the depth you get from characters like Iron Bull or Cassandra. Even with the twist in his backstory, his arc just doesn’t have the same emotional impact for me. And as a tank, he’s solid, but there’s nothing that really makes him stand out gameplay-wise.
The fact bellara is only above some obscure dlc characters but below dog is a violation lool. Great list though!
It's too bad she doesn't get her Vows and Vengeance characterization where she threatens that templar.
I just couldn't place her any higher. LOL
A big violation
I liked Bellara. It was cute that she was writing a romance Novel inspired by Rook 😂 But she was also pretty forgettable. I dont think many of the Veilguard characters are memorable enough to stick in our minds a decade later. Because they were all kinda "generic nice guy" companions.
Now Alistair I remember because he was an idiot that drove me mad. Morrigan was memorable because the ONLY way to make her like me was to be a selfish jerk. Anders and Fenris were memorable because they were such exaggerated polar opposites who were both beyond sensible reason (and had epic banter). Great characters often stick with us because of their flaws. Not for being "vanilla"
Sten looked the way he did due to budgeting issues, they couldn't afford to make all the helmets with custom meshes and models for his model if he had horns
Poor Blackwall
Somehow I still missed one of them. So annoying.
Man, Solas from the Dread Wolf concept art was such a top tier villain that I still feel angry at BioWare for abandoning almost everything about this preview art concept after the stories they had leaked, There is a channel here on TH-cam that talks in detail about what the story would be
I would've loved to see that fleshed out.
12:33 Actually in DA2 there was a mission where templars were getting possessed by demons and in that Cullen did explain that blood mages or demons can force other demons into host regardless if their a mage or not.
Really? I don't remember that conversation at all thanks.
@@SlanderedGaming I just did that one 30 minutes ago. Blood magic is involved, and some tevinter wannabes, which match Lucanis' story quite well.
@@SlanderedGamingnot a conversation, a whole quest.
My favourite hands down is Merrill, loved everything about her. Great video once again Slandered
Fenris. Especially with Anders.
Fenris was the first companion to really challenge me. He's such a mess and over the top with his hatred of magic, which is great when Hawke is a blood mage. Gaining Fenris' trust, to the extent that he actually defends mages from templars... that was one of the most rewarding character arcs in any Dragon Age game.
Fenris is such an awesome character.
Another funny thing is that the Butcher was much more intimidating than the Dragon King, which makes no sense at all. 😂
NONE. 😂
The Butcher was AWESOME. And his voice was epic. Butcher needed more screen time.
I wish there was an option for Rook to fight him and his crew solo at that meeting. It would have been a great boss battle. I would have preferred it to smacking another demon with the team.
You mentioned it briefly in your Harding section, but now I gotta see you do this for the Mass Effect companions
Lucanis had so much potential and was such a letdown. The visual design and the voice acting were absolutely awesome, but how they basically turned the Antivan Crows from fierce assassins into friendly Spanish foodies and coffee snobs...damn! That somehow annoyed me way more than any other wonky narrative/lore decisions in the game.
Agreed I feel like he should've been so much more.
The pirates not being pirates irked me too!
The game would have been so much better if Evil factions existing, and Rook had to recruit them anyway and compromise Rooks morals for victory against the bigger bad.
That would have added juicy conflict to the story.
@@RandomWandrer They didn't even have to be evil pirates, they just had to be you know...pirates. Like Isabella was in DA2. Instead, the employ an advisor so they don't accidentally deal in elven goods, because that would be inappropiate...like...WHAT? Generally, the lack or moral grey areas and the lack of any serious conflict within the group annoyed me the most about Veilguard. It was Mass Effect: Andromeda all over agian.
He and his romance suffered fr9m so much cut content, and it sad cause the ending last part is the best out of all the romances to me 😢
@@Keeli129 I went with Neve and I believe that was one of the most lackluster romances I have ever witnessed in a Bioware game (and other rpg).
This is awesome slandered. Could you do one for mass effect?
Yup that's definitely the plan when we play through the series.
@@SlanderedGaming While I completely respect your independent opinions, if Garrus and Liara are not on the top of that list, I will scoff so scornfully.
I discovered your channel during your Pathfinder WOTR coverage and you’re easily becoming my favorite creator right now, love these vids man
Thank yhou!
Solas no. 1 !! He has amazing dialogue in a time where there was still a lot of speculation about the lore. Really really good writing!
Solas is an exceptionally well written character.
Varric being #1 is all I needed to know, great video as always, slandered 👏👏 I cried when I found out the twist at the end of veilguard. But I definitely agree, especially on my second playthrough, there should’ve been more mourning for the #1 homie
Thanks glad you enjoyed it!
Leliana, Morrigan, and Dorian are my top three. After that it’s Cassandra and Sten.
That's a strong top five.
@SlanderedGaming I want to point out one thing. When Rook is trapped in the Fade, and discovers that Solas killed Verric, there's an option to ask Solas why Harding and Neve didn't act like Verric died, and even seemed to interact with Verric (you gotta press down for more dialogue options). Solas said that he distorted Rooks perception to keep Rook deceived about Verrics death.
So that would mean that characters could have been acknowledging Verrics death all game, and Rook was an unreliable narrator for the player! I actually really enjoyed that twist.
I enjoyed the twist but they should've added some additional scenes after that to mourn varric properly.
Watched this ranking from start to finish and was really looking forward to it ever since you first mentioned it. Spicy rankings and well-argued!
Thank you!
Great list, great descriptions and reasoning! Absolutely agree with your top 5!
I admire your dedication! After DATV I would not have managed this.
You know I totally agreed what you said about Varric. While watching your video I just realized that scene between Varric/Solas feels like it was always meant to be the ending of Veilguard and not the beginning. They moved it to the beginning instead. When it was Joplin. Because it all made more sense when it was Dreadwolf!
Yeah I think the game would've been served much better by focusing more on Solas.
Harding dies. Darvin can't die because I'll never let Assan die. Also dog is way too low on the list. Plenty of companions I'd kill or drop way before giving my pup up.
Leliana doesn't improve the circles, that's Cassandra. Leliana disbands them altogether!
Not a bad list, a few I would shuffle around but not massively. The only one I think you really did dirty here is Sigrun. Her Legion of the Dead background made here one of the more interesting Awakening characters, IMO. I'd probably have her near the middle of the list. Her quest can be a bit buggy so maybe that didn't help your impression of her!
In my opinion disbanding them is the only way they can be improved. 😂
@ haha fair enough
Top five:
1. Dorian
2. Solas
3. Morigan
4. Cassandra
5. Alistair
Special note given to Leliana, who I liked as a companion in Origins but LOVED in Inquisition. If she was her Inquisition iteration as a companion she would be number one.
Over an hour! I can't wait! Anders is my No. 1 His story between Awakening and DA2 was tragic and epic.
Nice! I hope you enjoyh it!
Cassandra is my Wife
Cassandra is awesome.
our wife
The handling of Varric's death is just one example how little the developers/writers understood the series before working on Veilguard.
His death was handled well, but his and rooks relationship was handled poorly.
If you can see rook as yourself and played all the games the death really conects.
I dont see rook as myself so while i was a bit surprised. I was thinking when did rook and varric become close? 😂😂 you hear very little and see very little
I thought the reveal of it in the fade was pretty amazing.
@@SlanderedGaming They sold you on him being alive, yet provided so much to show he was dead.
They really made Solas backup the god of lies title. But varric should have got more time, and shown more impactful moments with rook. It should have been harder for us to choose to spare solas or not.
I actually think the reveal of Varric's death was one of the better story moments in the game. I honestly thought all game that Varric being hurt and having to rest all day was kind of a lame reason not to have him in your party. I attributed this to bad writing so I was really pleasantly surprised by the well executed plos twist. I will agree though that the impact may very because Rook and Varric had very little on screen time together and everthing we learn about their relationship, which isn't much, we learn through small bits of dialogue during the course of the game.
@CyrusIsnt Agree. Veilguard REALLY needed a bit of prologue, where Verric choses Rook and Rook bonds with Verric.
They could have shoved it in after Rook is knocked out at the ritual. Like reliving a memory. Then it could have doubled as a passage of time where the rest of the character's mourned verric while thinking Rook wouldn't wake up.
I've never need anyone make that point about Fenris re: his sister. That's such a good point!
Fun video! agree with a lot of it - one piece of advice, if you are making a remark about a characteristic that isn't obvious, show it - like with Oghren, you say he has a very distinct voice - he does, but its been decades and people might not be familiar- just have a 1 -2 second clip of him talking, would change a good video to a higher class video! There was a couple of others i think one needed too like the iron bull, or a visual but im too lazy to go find it :D
Dog not being #1 breaks my heart. He really is the best boy😭😂
In all seriousness this video is really great. I love your dedication to detail and how you find something positive to say about even your least favorite companions.
Vivienne as Divine is the hero Thedas really needs. Plus I never get tired of my spa treatments with cheese wheels on my eyes. So comforting...
I do like Emmerich but they kinda retconned the lore around spirits with the Mourn Watch in Veilguard, since - we learn this via Cole if we become Necromancers - what the Mournwatch does with wisps etc. basically prevents them from ever becoming a higher spirit. I thought they'd address that paradox of Nevarrans revering the dead while also essentially hobbling them but they didn't.
Never letting Davrin die in most of my playthroughs. Making him a sacrificial lamb for the Wardens would be cheap, overdone for Black characters, and especially hollow considering how eager he is to do it "for the cause".
I think the other major problem with Morrigan now is that her character arc just isn't finished, what plans Mythal have had is still unknown, and there's again a chance we never get another DA game.
The way she acts in The Veilguard could be interpreted in so many ways... to the point her further presence could change the whole context of her presence in DATV. And people already found in game files that Executors know about her, and the way Executors sounded in the "secret ending" and how Mythal was talking about her involvement with pushing history, I get a feeling that they are somehow connected.
Yup so basically after three games we still don't have a satisfactory conclusion for her.
@@SlanderedGaming Yeah, only words from the Old God Soul so far, that she's "inheritor that awaits the new age".
I love Carver and Sebastian (Also Blackwall, lol). As for Velanna and Sigrun, there are mods I use to complete their questlines: Awakening Fixes and Tweaks, Awakening Encounters Renovation, and Sigrun's Roguish Past and Law and Order fix. Also, theres this issue on PC where the colors, shaders and NPCs all lack depth (an example being that their eyes are black and their skin is washed out) and enabling frame-buffer effects in the Visuals tab fixes this (I just noticed that my game never looked as good as it did on console if this isnt enabled). My favorite companions have to be Fenris, Zevran, Leliana, Solas, Alistair, Varric, Blackwall, Dorian, Cassandra, Vivienne, and Morrigan (not in order). Also, as for Fenris' tattoos being a hindrance, someone with experience in that field said that its not that hard to do and that Gaider maybe was being lied to (which would add up considering former bioware employees have said the writers were mistreated). I also wonder who Alistair's original mother was supposed to be. Gaider said that Fiona was not his first choice and iirc also said he kind of regrets making Fiona his mother.
Solid list. I haven't played some of the older games in a while so many of the past characters have a hazy feel to me, but I remember the true greats vividly. Morrigan is still solidly my number 1.
I would have ranked Neve higher, though. Personally, I think her romance arc was great if she gets captured towards the end of the game. The profound absence of someone you felt would be by your side in one of Bioware's signature romance scenes right before the end run was palpable and added even more gravity to the veilguard ending, which was phenomenal.
Impressive work!
Thank you!
Sera below Taash? 🤯 Sera would be down for that 🧐 but ... really? Really fun video! ... DUDE ... her tongue tells tales of rebellion🙀
Thank you! 😂
There’s a plot point in act 1 of Dragon Age 2 where Templars get possessed. So Lucanis possession doesn’t break the lore at all.
I found taash the most poorly written character I've come across in any game. When she's not about her identity, she's being hypocritical, attacking others for theirs. The dialogue is cringe and doesn't fit DA in any way.
I couldn't stand their quest dialogue but when exploring the world their banter with party members is fantastic.
I laughed far too much when you got to the part about the dorian romance lol
😂😂
You did Stan dirty.
Where do you have him ranked?
@@SlanderedGaming In top 10 for sure. My second favorite character in Origins after Morrigan. He is so unique. And his attempt at ousting you is one of the most memorable RPG encounters I ever had - I was totally shocked!
It's really hard to say which ones I like the very most, but some top ones are Leliana, Shale, Morrigan, Varric and basically the entire DAI cast except for Vivienne.
I feel so bad because I know he's popular but Ohgren is one of my least favourites. Now, I don't mean how he's designed, but just really rubs me the wrong way. I really agree about Bellara too, she goes from 1 to 10, I wish we got way more of the 10!
I think some characters are pretty undercooked so it's hard to tell entirely, like Sebastian or basically the entire Awakening cast minus Anders/Ohgren.
I forgot to add, my best romance is Isabela. I think Fem-Hawke that's sarcastic and Isabela are a pairing completely made for one another. I didn't really expect the writing to be as nice as it was with her, I guess with her general easyoing attitude you don't really expect otherwise. But I really liked it. Runner-up is Cassandra's! I'm actually not a huge Solasmancer, I like it a lot more as friends.
Isabela and Morrigan are definitely my favorite romances.
Missing characters: Blackwall, Tallis, Valta, Renn, Ariane, Finn, Sketch, Tug, Brogan and Jerrick Dace. Plus a ton of temporary companions and dark spawn (but those can rightfully be ignored)
🤣Aye man, Kudos to your for trying Dorians romance out LOL.
It's a crime against humanity Isabella didn't rank higher. That woman always made me laugh.
She is pretty awesome.
First, welcome back from your holiday! Hope you and your family had a great time! I'm going to spare everyone from ranking them all, but here's where I differ from you: I'm sorry, but I've got to put Taash at the bottom: The messaging with that story arc was just so heavy handed that it wiped out any redeeming qualities it might have had for me. I agree with Varric and Leiliana for the top two with Morrigan clocking in at third and Alistair fourth. I also put Dorian, Isabella, Zevran, Solas, Cassandra, and Merrill in my top ten. Of the DAV characters, I put Davrin and Neve in my top twenty along with Sera, Oghren, Sten, and Bethany with the other characters all falling into the mid-lower and lower tiers.
Just my opinion of course. :)
Nice that list makes sense to me. I definitely get that Taash isn't everybody's cup of tea. LOL
Maaannnnn. I came into this video determined in my stance that, regardless of your arguments to the contrary, Morrigan is #1 Varric is 2 and Leliana is 3. I was determined my mind would not be changed.
Well done sir.
Awesome thank you!
I think its always been possible for non-mages and even objects to be possessed by demons, its just easier to possess mages because they're always pulling from and interacting with the Fade.
Supposedly Cullen has a convo about this in DA2 but I have no memory of that at all.
Slandered I purged a few memberships /subscriptions I had. If you notice it, don't take it personally! Still my favorite content creator. (This is also Treemosher on Twitch, been chatting with you there lately)
All good dude do whatever you need to do!
Man, this series has some really strong characters!
Kinda sad that in my every dao playthrough I end up having Morrigan, Alistair and Leliana as team A - with Shale as an occasional guest.
That's not sad at all they are usually who I use during a playthrough.
I have 2 BIG reasons to move Wynne up the tier list.
Ya'll keep saying that and they aren't even that big. 😂😂
Bellara's quest ending & the funeral was great.
Maybe she's supposed to be the type that's all happy & such to disguise the grief that she really feels. That's how i see it. Probably why she seems so Disney, initially, as some say.
People cope with sorrow differently
Yup I think her grieving scenes were amazing.
@SlanderedGaming yeah, those scenes, especially going thru the funeral sequence really got me
Iron bull is my bro
Iron Bull is definitely one of my favs.
Currently at #24, and I'm starting to get seriously concerned at not having seen Oghren yet.
Oh Maker, he's putting Oghren above Sten...
based
I know he's not everybody's cup of tea but I do find Oghren to be hilarious. 😂😂
Also I don't think we'll be seeing Shale again as her voice actress passed away back in 2021. Though I could always be wrong!
I think her voice would be different as a human.
Bellara also did not seem Dalish at all to me. She explains elven lore at times when the plot requires someone to do it, but you never get a sense from her banters or dialogues with Rook that she is all that interested in elven lore or history. There are no sequences like, for example, the Temple of Mythal in Inquistion where you really get the sense that both Solas and Morrigan both knew and cared deeply about elven history and culture.
Yup it's very unfortunate.
Great video! I'll probably watch in full tonight with dinner but I thought I'd feed the algorithm and 👍 the video. 💪✌
Thank you!
For me, the list is largely topped by the DA2 cast. Even Sebastian who would boring on his own, but the way the rest of the group keeps calling that out makes him hilarious in his own way. Yet, man, there is nothing beating Aveline, Fenris and Varric. Like they are all such great characters with the first two having really touching arcs that fit perfectly with the general themes of the game. My least favorite of that game is actually Merrill because I do think with her the rush hurt the worst and there are just certain elements that never come together as well, but even then the concept is brilliant.
My two least favorite DA companions are actually both from Inquisition, being Sera and Vivienne. The issue, again for me, isn't so much the concepts, I actually do like what both represent, but rather that they feel like characters that needed a DA2 kind of approval system. They both have really strict views on matters, which is fine, but it is essentially forces the character to just yes them if you want to get more discussions with them instead of allowing that debate and discussion exist with the character. Thus they both feel really preachy and off-putting, and not in a fun way because you can't genuinely engage with it. Also, because of the way they are recruited, they are kind of irrelevant to the game story itself.
Finally, because why be brief, it's kind of funny to me because when I now think on the DAO cast, I'm really indifferent about them. Which isn't a slam on them specifically, but reflects more on how Bioware wrote companions at that time as their interactions feel more like info dumps on whatever faction of the world they represent rather than organic takes on characters. This same applies by the way completely on ME1.
I also feel like some of the other DA games would've benefited GREATLY from DA 2's Rival system. Super cool stuff.
Blackwall is number 0. That beard. That voice.
Somehow I freaking missed him. He would be somewhere in the middle for me.
Wow, I agree with all your takes on these characters! It never happens in this fandom 😂
I usually rank Anders much higher, top 3 for me. He is awkward and standoffish and often unlikeable in DA2, but his story grips me so hard! I just wish there was a follow up on it in Inquisition. He should've been there, probably in Redcliffe with the rebel mages.
My #1 is Dorian though. He got me obsessed with Tevinter! If only his writing in Veilguard was half as good as in Inquisition...
Great video!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Oghren is just the best overall imo. The funniest lines and a very endearing character.
Oghren is a great time for sure.
I miss Leliana so much.
Great list sir. I dont disagree with your top 5. One minor change for me after playing all of the games, is Merrill would be in the top 10. The story, voice acting and game play for Merrill is top tier. She is arguably the most powerful companion in DA2, which is right inline with the lore of how dangerous blood mages are. No companion in that game comes close to her level of power.
Honestly there's a great case to move her up.
Abahahahhah slander you made me crack 😂😂😂😂😂 ... 2 broken companions , Bellara and then the dawg(dog ) ahahah , thank you to keep company man .
you don't think that BioWare did belara the way they did because of how she was transformed had a dark ending
the happy and shiny was completely on purpose that's what it seems to me but well this is your ranking
I do think that but she was shiny for too long.
Taash should be so much lower. I'm nonbinary myself and I hate how they were written in regards to their identity and their coming out story. I just want some nonbinary characters where their gender is just one small part of a complex character
I'm not any minority or remotely interesting myself. But I agree with you. I wish they would include loads of diverse characters without making their whole story about whatever small detail makes them diverse. Like damn, even the most XYZ-minority person on earth is 99% the same as everyone else and way more interesting than sexuality or colour or whatever.
That said, I think Taash was more an accurate depiction of self centered teenage attitude and the "who am i" obsession which plagues many teens. More than representing all non binary people.
Being cis/heterosexual is neither a discovery nor a struggle. But a lot of people outside the cis spectrum have struggled with gender identity however, so it isn't that far fetched for it to occupy a bigger place than for other characters. I'm not saying that it should always be the case, but it isn't out of place either.
Ohgren is S-tier
He definitely has a large fanbase. LOL
Paraphrased:
“Oh no Templar coming what’s he gonna do with that sword?”
Don’t play with fire if you’re not ready to get burned.
Total savage
His character regression in awakening is not endearing
@@kmel3588oghren was always a filthy savage dwarf
Heeh.. heeh.. heeh
No shot Taash isn’t the worst 😂 this is comedy
The roast on vivianne LOL
😂
Dog is always no.1🥳
Alistair
Oghren
Merrill
Ironbull
Leliana
People really need to stop trying to blame everything on DA:V. Veilguard didn't change the lore, inquisition changed everything and veilguard was stuck trying to rebuild a new half-assed established lore.
Demons and spirits were shown possessing non-mages since origins.
Chantry marches, old gods, Andraste, the Qun, Elven society has all changed drastically between origins and inquisition.
I blame Veilguard only for the things it is responsible for . Yes there are lore changes that happen earlier. The way those changes are displayed in the game is deeply problematic.
Leliana e Morrigan are the best for me
Yup they are both in my top 5.
I enjoy Bellara over Taash.
Curious about this list though
Look, this is your list and I respect that, but ... don't disrespect Dog like that
He is a good darkspawn killing boy! ❤
😂
Tallis❤ nr.1 cassandra 2 sera 3
Tallis number 1? Wow she made very strong impact. lOL
Did i fall asleep during the video or was Tallis not even mentioned?
I liked how she had her unique way of being a rogue with a ranged dagger attack.
I also like how they attempted to give her Felicia Days Face, as she is played by her in the Webseries.
Vivian is amazing
Yup I am a big fan of her.
Solas.....was.....not....right. His attentions are sort of good and his original act was but honestly .....throwing everyone else under the coaches just to restore the elves to their former glory is wrong and however much he tries to rationalise and mitigate that and however bad he feels about it - doesn't change that. Great character though even if I want to slap him at times.
Considering what other races are doing to the elves, Solas is justified in his decision, even if their circumstances aren't his real motivation.
@@SlanderedGaming I think you see the real life dangers of that with Israel. The holocaust doesn't justify Palestinian genocide - same thing here. The mistreatment of one group doesn't justify throwing another under the bus - same here only with lots of different groups. In world we see this with Zatharian in the Dalish elf quest in Origin - the suffering of the werewolves isn't justified by what the origin humans he cursed did to his family however much bad, and it was awful, that was.
Can't watch all played Veilguard yet, doggo is best tho
The Dog is fantastic.
Dog has to be #1
😂
Since Veilguard completely ignores established lore and continuity from the previous 3 games, the world of Thedas source-books, and the novels, the companions from that game don't qualify. Their can'r possibly take place in the Dragon Age universe.
Most of the lore changes was stuff Gaider obviously planned to do. The changes are not the issues it's the execution that is lacking.
What happened to your man hawke character with neck? Wynne and andra, leanna I didn't like cos chanrty this and that and mages and temple and Wynne nagging all time
I downloaded a mod that let me make character creation changes included scars around his neck as if somebody had garroted him. I thought it was pretty cool. :)
When you said Bellana (from awakenings) I thought you meant Bellara (From DAV)😂 Show you how memorable Bellana was!
Velanna*
😂
Traash isn’t #1? Invalid tier list 🙃
😂😂
If Taash isn't last place this rating is rigged.
Nah they are actually hilarious while exploring.
How on earth you put Bellara, Lucanis and Neeve before Taash? Taash is not just the worst character in Veilguard, she's the worst character in any videogame. She's a disgusting hypocrite with mommy issues who's worried about pronouns.
Taash is hilarious when you bring them out during exploration. I cannot say that about any of the other characters you mentioned.