Thanks for sharing! Damn, Teia really is the only sensible one in Crow leadership tbh. And it kills me how Lucanis says “I’m done” as if anything at all has happened by this point between him and Rook.
Thank you for posting this. It's such a double standard because Neve can still be romanced if you save Treviso. Either both should be romance-locked or neither. "I don't have time for you" he says and in a couple of hours romances Neve--really, BioWare? Girl gets everything, the flirting, the dessert, a date..and she didn't even have to save Treviso to get it. Meanwhile the whole Rook x Lucanis romance feels like an afterthought with no proper buildup or reciprocity. Don't know if you've seen narrative sketches by Nick Thornborrow - all of that was supposed to be in the game but was scrapped. I guess their zero chemistry Neve x Lucanis ship was more important to flesh out than our player character romancing Lucanis. I immediately went back to play DA2 to romance Fenris to again experience what a proper slow-burn is supposed to be like.
@@asmalltalk This! And like to be a bit critical, romancing Anders with Justice feels more fleshed out than Lucanis with Spite. I didn't like how Spite's interactions with companions is reduced to being talked down like a misbehaving pet. It's hard to empathize with an abomination being downplayed. Compare that to how companions in DA2 reacted to Justice taking over Anders almost unaliving a mage during a quest, or when Justice took over during the Legacy DLC. I'm still biased for romancing Lucanis solely because of his Antivan Crow background, but I would romance Anders over him anytime--and yeah, my canon romance in DA2 is still Fenris for that rewarding slow burn romance!
@pikajulie_art hard agree on Spite being heavily underutilized! Also-from the get-go Spite is more interested in Rook than Lucanis (and even interjects himself into the last romance scene). There is so much wasted potential for drama-Lucanis afraid to touch Rook cuz Spite might act out & hurt them…anything would be better than what we get. They managed to water down a character with the coolest backstory into a bland coffee addict whom you essentially wear down into a relationship. And you aren’t even sure you’re actually IN one because of zero physical contact or conversations about his feelings up until the very end where his love declaration comes out of nowhere since the game doesn’t show us that he’s been struggling with his affections.
@@asmalltalk To be precise, there are conversations about Lucanis and Rook romance after you confirm it (me personally was taking only Lucanis and Emmerich in my party and they're talking about it), but totally agree, we're robbed with this romance. It should be much, _much_ better.
To be fair, lucanis was just released from his prison when he comes back his grandmother has been kidnapped, and he's an abomination, and his city has been blighted. He's not as pragmatic as Neve is. His romance is harder to get going anyway.
I was going to save Minrathous next playthrough because I want to romance Neve....but I don't think I can now. This hurts too much 😢 And I mean... Lucanis is right. Minrathous is built to withstand attacks, Treviso isn't. Minrathous has the powerful Shadow Dragons, war mages, and a palace that shoots lasers. It's explicitly said that Treviso doesn't have an army or anything to protect it but the Crows, who are assassins. Objectively, saving Treviso is the choice that makes more sense. Minrathous has the better chance at surviving a dragon attack. The damage would at least be reduced compared to Treviso. So I'm sorry Neve, but it'll have to be Minrathous that gets it every time. But at least that bit of conflict will add to the romance as she learns to trust me again.
Neve can still be romanced even if you save Treviso. It's just you can't encourage her to be a "hero" in her personal quest. Lucanis' points are much more valid. Minrathous has magical defenses and stronger fortifications. They've also never fallen to any enemy in history, and they have plenty of practice defending themselves due to the constant attacks by the Qunari.
@BelieveIt1051 Neve can become a hero. Also mirathos would have been taken over by the venitori because its such a powerful city that would have spell disaster for everywhere esle down the line
Thank you for choosing "I thought you'd handle it"; I have only seen people pick the first two :) Lmao immediate scowl. Yeah the math ain't mathing for me on this one...at no point did the game convince me that Rook was the leader or was supposed to turn the tide other than "because I said so" - not to mention Lucanis apparently has the heart for Treviso AND Neve - his sympathy is very selective, particularly if you are a SD Rook, that's like an extra slap in the face.
The reason why Rook would make a difference is because she had the lyrium dagger. At no point in both saving Treviso or Minrathous Rook and her team were able to reach the dragon, they can only do it when Rook shows the dagger to Ghilanain, that`s when the dragon lands and they can hurt it. In both scenarios, the shadow dragons and the crows says that the dragon only kept flying, destroying and blighting the city outside of their reach. That`s why Rook ideas and presence makes the difference.
@@AdanTamai I've seen people make that argument and my question is - how would they have any way of knowing that? It seems like the only one recognizing that is the player. In any case, why blame Rook if it was the dagger, not Rook, making the difference? Could they have thrown it to Lucanis before he left and he could have saved his city instead? In this particular case, where Viago says "You always think of something" - that seems like a really weak line to me. Who am I, Sherlock Holmes? If Rook has demonstrated their brilliant strategic thinking or spontaneous ideas that actually worked before I must have missed it.
This was my second playthrough with the same Rook, so I was curious with the reactions. I was IRL mad at Viago and Lucanis, that the red dialogue reflected my own reaction towards them haha. I'm currently on my third playthrough with a different Rook, and no one really knew what the lyrium dagger does for this Act, except it was important to Solas and the two Evanuris. The dragon only got down when Ghilan'nain commanded it to retrieve Solas's dagger. I'm likewise criticizing Viago's reasoning that my Crow Rook "always thinks of something," which is honestly baffling since I'm a junior Crow compared to the Fifth Talon and First Talon's grandson. Almost all of the Crows in the Cantori Diamond hated me throughout the game until I finish the "For the Love of Treviso" questline. Another critical point from me is, so I saved either city in different playthroughs, it is always Ghilan'nain who shows up commanding a dragon in either Treviso or Minrathous. Ghilan'nain is more obsessed with the lyrium dagger over Elgar'nan, so why is it that Ghil is exactly on the city where Rook saves it? Shouldn't it make sense that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are on either city too? What if Elgar'nan is not as reckless as Ghilan'nain to command a dragon down to the ground just to receive a lyrium dagger? Fast forward to consequences, Minrathous still gets blighted in the end, so it also doesn't make more sense why we have to choose between Treviso and Minrathous too. Choosing Minrathous means: (1) You get 1 less romance option before you meet all companions, (2) Choosing an Archon for a city you don't even affiliate with (except if you're an SD), (3) You get two blighted cities, (4) The Crows lose more essential NPCs like quest givers and a new Crow house, (5) SD don't even actively participate in the Last Gambit. Earlier guides say saving Minrathous is the "correct choice" to get the best ending, but my experience is otherwise. 🤕
@@AdanTamai That's meta knowledge based on how foolish Ghil would react to Rook and the dagger. There's no way any of the characters would know Rook could draw Ghil's attention at all, let alone get the dragon to land.
And funny enough, can't Lucanis fly and have Spite pull things from the fade like a rift mage? He's better equipped to handle that dragon than we were, or did the writers forget that too? On top of that, them conquering the seat of the magic empire should also kickstart the final act- if we're being realistic. Cuz El and Ghil could get the Venatori to use Minrathous resources to raise an army that would do most of their heavy lifting. I already said this game was full of weak writing, but even saving Minrathous makes more sense narratively. Especially with Treviso having no strategic value for this war against the Evanuris. We stop them from taking the city one time, they learn from their mistakes, pivot, rally and conspire before coming back stronger and actually succeeding in taking Minrathous in the final act while we're stuck in a fade prison.
Seriously? Being a Shadow Dragon, he won't even consider you? There's a whole double standard here in how only he gets romance locked if you don't save his city. I didn't know that as I plowed through release weekend and was pretty upset I'd shut out all other romances only to realize no matter how high our bond, he would never romance my Rook. I romanced Neve to spite him. 😂
I freaking hate that. "You ALWAYS think of something except this ONE time!" Like did they mean to write these allegedly extremely skilled and intelligent spies/assassin as completely useless shmucks who can't fend for themselves when you aren't around? Come on! I hate the writing in this game so much because it's clear that there wasn't a leading voice to guide and organize all the writers towards a single vision for the game and instead we see all these scattered ideas that lack any sort of proof-reading or editing just galavanting around like they all are the main plot! Inquisition had it's issues, sure, but at least they had more choice and meaning in all your choices in that game along with a main story that flows beautifully!
In fairness, the Crows have always been pretty trash. They did fail to kill the Hero and the Champion, and even just Alistair without the Hero, if Darkspawn Chronicles is to be taken seriously. But on their home turf? Yeah the Crows are supposed to be highly organized and deadly, which is why Antiva relies on them as its own military force. They are supposed to be able to come together and defend the country if needed. Yet in FailHard they can't even kill a few tal-vashoth.
Y’all need to think objectively though. As this makes a lot of sense. Lucanis has WAYY too many problems, more than Neve at least and the ONE person who MAYBE could do SOMETHING, To help preserve the one ounce of normalcy I have left, after being imprisoned, tortured, and made no longer human. You care deeply yet….. you didn’t come through for me? I wouldn’t…be too please either. Neve just has her whole Batman city protector thing going on, but she was a loner and human and not tortured, so it’s makes since it’s not a complete mood killer, not everything is equal in life and apparently in this game to. I let them dragons crip walk on Docktown so me and my baby boy LuLu is still together to dis day y’all. RIP Davrin and Assan 🕊️
Thank you for posting this. Hated this choice being forced on us. This made me yell at my screen on my 2nd run as my 1st run, I saved Treviso. Having Lucanis say he didn't have time for me... Then when he came back, Neve started flirting with him while he gave me the cold shoulder. Then he started bringing her coffee at night and the other teammates started commenting on them being together. Meanwhile, my Rook was like..what the hell!! I respected your boundaries saying you couldn't focus on a relationship. Yet here you are with Neve. So, what you meant to say was because I didn't let Neve suffer and come running to Treviso .... when you had the whole entire Crow squad...yet blame me because i wasn't there with some idea to save everyone, that you don't want me, but will go 'review notes' or 'make coffee' for her. Right. Got it. I'm one person. I can't be in two places. The part that sucks more is that both of them acknowledge after that it was an impossible choice they put me in....yet Lucanis still friendzones you. Neve allows you to earn her trust again and romance continues. Seriously the only choice in the game that was complete UGH for me. You literally have 6 teammates at the point you are forced to make that choice. Neve, Lucanis, Harding, Davrin, Bellara, and Rook. The game mechanics at the end require you to assign teams to different tasks for the tearstone island mission. They could have had it where if we didn't have them equipped or leveled or some other option to ensure they could hold out until we took care of one. Truthfully, the game pretty much told you to pick Treviso as they are a merchant city who relies heavily on the waterways, and no actual army. Meanwhile, Minrathous has from all accounts a powerful enough faction in the shadow dragons, an army, and a huge floating magic lazer shooting palace deal above the city that they showed off at the start of the game. So.....from my perspective....they had it handled. But nope. Because a crow rook was not there with one of their ideas, it's all our fault. Full stop. Ugh. haha.
I never really understood why you, the main character with no discernable super abilities compared to others (and especially compared to previous games), are the lynchpin that determines whether a city falls or not. Like, you bring THREE people extra people in this game (as opposed to the usual four, which also sucks). Are your organizations not powerful enough on your own?
It's the dagger that makes the difference, not Rook. Without the dagger on the field the dragon never lands. An Archdemon that stays aloft fucks up any city it attacks without fail. There is plenty of dumb writing in the game but that particular detail seemed reasonable enough in a world where a party of three can fight a landed dragon.
@@OnesieTwosBut the faction leaders don’t know what the dagger does, do they? Are they entirely sure that the dagger will make the dragon land? I played that part too and I see no dialogue nor hint that the faction leaders know about Solas’ dagger at that point. It seems like they are just blaming Rook just for not being there, which sucks. In their position, it’s entirely their responsibility that they are powerless to stop the dragon, not the absence of a junior member of their faction.
@@bismarck5537 Certainly. I don't recall either faction acknowledging the incredible, magic circumstances that lead to the BBEG sending their dragon to tangle in range of the party instead of keeping a safe distance. The sentiment is clearly "You chose them over us, now we're fucked!" I have no idea how widespread knowledge of this McGuffin is among our allies, and I don't remember if the group KNEW that the dagger could provoke the dragon. All I meant was that, regardless of contrivance or whatever, the plot dagger is the only reason our small party of Bioware weirdos affected who won just by being there.
@@OnesieTwosyeah Harding told them. Harding tells everyone everything haha. I'm now replaying the game and one of the first codex entries when you get to the lighthouse are some notes from Harding about the dagger. Here she makes the connection between the dagger and the idol and talks about the significance of it. The codex is in Micellecous.
I haven’t finished the game yet, but being locked out of this romance because of that one choice is by far the most irritating thing any game threw at me. I’m really pissed by this 😸
It doesnt make sense to save Minrathous when it gets blighted in the end anyway and at least this way if you romance lucanis or not you still have that beautiful moment in the fade where you break his inner chains. I think people are missing the point with his character and romance. Hes been tortured and betrayed and finds himself once again betrayed when you dont save his city, why would he romance you if he feels like you dont have his back anymore. Picking Treviso cuts off the quest Inner Demons and in the end he doesnt get closer to accepting Spite instead wants to find a way to seperate from one another. I get people are upset that Neve is still romancable but she hasnt gone through the same torture he has
Most people (including myself) find the consequences inequitable when Lucanis willingly commits a romance with Neve if you save Minrathous. Either Neve should not be romanceable too, or Lucanis will not romance anyone at all. Because he's the only companion with that unique romance mechanic. Shadow Dragon Rook mages are of a similar background with Neve, so it also does not make sense why Lucanis will still pick Neve if an SD Rook saves their city too. Rook is the one carrying the blame and burden of responsibility for leading the team, while Neve only tags along. It also doesn't make sense when Lucanis willingly dates Neve in her favourite fish try stand (acquired through a cutscene with Emmrich), when saving Minrathous is why Lucanis got hardened and unromanceable in the first place; shouldn't he be more spiteful that Minrathous still stand? Along those lines.
@@pikajulie_art This ! I was particularly disappointed with what they did with the Lucanis romance (not to mention Lucanis and Spite). I wanted to romance him, but my Rook is a shadow dragon elf mage. He comes from Minrathous and knows Tarquin and Viper. How was I supposed to choose Treviso over Minrathous? I told Lucanis that I had to save my people and even Viago told me he understood. After that it was over with Lucanis. The problem isn't his character or how he handles things (that's understandable), but the fact that he gets straight with Neve. I tried everything to fix things and then Lucanis comes to talk to me about Neve. I mean what??? Finally i choose Davrin and i'm happy with that but man, what the hell ?
@@Akhenas I understand you but, in my first gameplay I was an elf shadowdragon and I choose Treviso anyway, for several reasons, it's called analitic thinking, Treviso don't have an army, only have assassins, Treviso don't have walls, it's a city made like a jewel not a fortress, most of the buildings have more glass than rock in it xD, also the canals, that was what made me choose Treviso all the time, Polluted water means NO ONE will survive eventually, if you want an idea of what polluted canals mean look at Dresden, it was a German city attacked by the USA and British army in WW2 they created a storm of fire so raw that people jumped into the canals of the city to save themselves only to get boiled in the water cause of the high temperature, (in this case it would be blight). Having Dresden in mind and seeing the similarities between the two cities I chose Treviso and I never regretted the choice, because it is the most logical one whether you are ShadowDragon or Crow. Also Minratthous has an economic system based on slavery, as much as this game refuses to show it, having slaves is totally legal and well seen, so, in my personal opinion and putting my emotions in play I choose to burn the whole city in every game, I'm going for the 4th time I choose Treviso, whether I have romance with Lucanis or not.
And I will say that Neve was furious at me (understandably) for saving Treviso instead of Minrathous, but hey, Treviso doesn't have an army of mages that can shoot ice balls at the dragon or even a floating palace that can shoot magic at will, Minrathous is a goddamn fortress, so hell yeah, I expected more of them defending our city (when I was a ShadowDragon.) And I read in these comments that early guides said it was better to save Minrathous... xD what shitty early guides and how they mislead people.
Lucanis not being able to romance Rook anymore is reasonable, given his own experience from the Ossuary and then seeing his city blighted. However, Lucanis instantly romancing Neve afterwards doesn't seem reasonable, especially when he says, "I don't have the heart except saving Treviso." Whats adds salt to the wound is a cutscene with Emmrich, where Lucanis willingly has a date with Neve in her favourite fish fry stand in *Minrathous.* Which is the same city Rook saved rather than Treviso, which Lucanis should also be spiteful of because it's thriving rather than Treviso. He is also romance-locked out from a Shadow Dragon Rook who chose to save their city of Minrathous. Consequences should be equitable: Either Neve should be unromanceable too, or Lucanis will not romance anyone at all. Spite also is more in favour of Rook, rather than Lucanis--so, it's Lucanis who should be spiteful rather than the Spite demon itself. The fireplace conversation with Lucanis when Minrathous is saved shows how Lucanis detests Spite so he wants to get rid of him, to which Rook's dialogue options include "have you consulted Spite about the decision?" And when Treviso is saved, the Inner Demons quest will also let Spite say, "I like Rook."
Mary Kirby was the author of Lucanis and seeing how the studio had chop off romance scenes of Lucanis and how they fired Mary kirby several month before the release, it smells like a vendetta to me, they fucked up the character she masterfully wrote by cutting scenes they already had done so people would think it was lazy writing, but mary kirby has been with bioware since before Origins and is responsible for writing several memorable characters in the entire saga so, bioware can go F themselves with what they have done to mary kirby, pathetic.
@@martulina16 She also wrote Varric .. I do not understand vendetta .. but given how I witnessed Avellone trying to sabotage Obsidian all the time .. one can think that vendetta against Kirby led to axing entire of Act I in Veilguard, where we were supposed to work alongside Varric chasing Solas ... I just don't know who in BioWare could have had vendetta against Mary Kirby. Honestly this game could use BioWare updating over missing content, especially since we won't get dlc's apparentely ...
In my first playthrough I thought it better to save Minrathous because the I figured curb the Venatori first. But in my second I saved Treviso and I honestly like the Venatori takeover vibe. It's so sinister in a real world way that unless I play as a Shadow Dragon, I think I'll keep saving Treviso for the sinister story and vibes in Minrathous. But for the romances, seems like whoever's city you don't save should be locked out of a romance, not just Lucanis
@@aresrodriguez8800 If you choose Minrathous in general, a prompt where Lucanis will "no longer romance you" will always happen. You just have different reactivities if you're a Shadow Dragon, Crow vs other faction.
It's not a double standard. He has the embodiment of spite/determination in him. As much as they are separate they influence each other. If you're inherently spitefull you don't forgive and hold crudges. Also the romance with Lucanis is a slow burn, he's afraid he can't controll spite and hurts you, also he's super afraid that he feels so strongly about you, because if he loses you it would be unimaginable. The final romance scene is super sweet and heartfelt.
Ngl choosing minrathous instead is crazy.how can you choose to be a crow and not choose to save treviso if youre apart of another faction thats a different story
It really depends on how you want to roleplay as in the game. This is my second playthrough where I saved Treviso in the first, and saved Minrathous in the second. But do take note that, Shadow Dragon Rooks will be locked out of a romance from Lucanis if they save their city of Minrathous. And the reasoning of Viago to an Antivan Crow Rook is also unreasonable: "You always think of something." Viago is the 5th talon, and Lucanis is the grandson of the 1st talon. Teia, the 7th talon is also there. Crow Rook will also comment how much they idolize the Demon of Vyrantium with Neve, before Lucanis' recruitment quest. So in this case, the angry response from Rook is merited when she says, "You two are our best crows. Why act like one more [junior] crow could do anything?" Additionally, no one even knows what the lyrium dagger does, or if Ghilan'nain will also command the blighted dragon to get to ground just to retrieve the dagger.
Thanks for sharing! Damn, Teia really is the only sensible one in Crow leadership tbh. And it kills me how Lucanis says “I’m done” as if anything at all has happened by this point between him and Rook.
Lol exactly
Crows: "We are useless, except you, Rook, so fk you, its your fault".
😂😂😂😂
Thank you for posting this. It's such a double standard because Neve can still be romanced if you save Treviso. Either both should be romance-locked or neither. "I don't have time for you" he says and in a couple of hours romances Neve--really, BioWare? Girl gets everything, the flirting, the dessert, a date..and she didn't even have to save Treviso to get it. Meanwhile the whole Rook x Lucanis romance feels like an afterthought with no proper buildup or reciprocity. Don't know if you've seen narrative sketches by Nick Thornborrow - all of that was supposed to be in the game but was scrapped. I guess their zero chemistry Neve x Lucanis ship was more important to flesh out than our player character romancing Lucanis. I immediately went back to play DA2 to romance Fenris to again experience what a proper slow-burn is supposed to be like.
@@asmalltalk This! And like to be a bit critical, romancing Anders with Justice feels more fleshed out than Lucanis with Spite. I didn't like how Spite's interactions with companions is reduced to being talked down like a misbehaving pet. It's hard to empathize with an abomination being downplayed. Compare that to how companions in DA2 reacted to Justice taking over Anders almost unaliving a mage during a quest, or when Justice took over during the Legacy DLC. I'm still biased for romancing Lucanis solely because of his Antivan Crow background, but I would romance Anders over him anytime--and yeah, my canon romance in DA2 is still Fenris for that rewarding slow burn romance!
@pikajulie_art hard agree on Spite being heavily underutilized! Also-from the get-go Spite is more interested in Rook than Lucanis (and even interjects himself into the last romance scene). There is so much wasted potential for drama-Lucanis afraid to touch Rook cuz Spite might act out & hurt them…anything would be better than what we get. They managed to water down a character with the coolest backstory into a bland coffee addict whom you essentially wear down into a relationship. And you aren’t even sure you’re actually IN one because of zero physical contact or conversations about his feelings up until the very end where his love declaration comes out of nowhere since the game doesn’t show us that he’s been struggling with his affections.
@@asmalltalk To be precise, there are conversations about Lucanis and Rook romance after you confirm it (me personally was taking only Lucanis and Emmerich in my party and they're talking about it), but totally agree, we're robbed with this romance. It should be much, _much_ better.
Well said and he go's get with Neve
To be fair, lucanis was just released from his prison when he comes back his grandmother has been kidnapped, and he's an abomination, and his city has been blighted. He's not as pragmatic as Neve is. His romance is harder to get going anyway.
I was going to save Minrathous next playthrough because I want to romance Neve....but I don't think I can now. This hurts too much 😢
And I mean... Lucanis is right. Minrathous is built to withstand attacks, Treviso isn't. Minrathous has the powerful Shadow Dragons, war mages, and a palace that shoots lasers. It's explicitly said that Treviso doesn't have an army or anything to protect it but the Crows, who are assassins. Objectively, saving Treviso is the choice that makes more sense. Minrathous has the better chance at surviving a dragon attack. The damage would at least be reduced compared to Treviso.
So I'm sorry Neve, but it'll have to be Minrathous that gets it every time. But at least that bit of conflict will add to the romance as she learns to trust me again.
Neve can still be romanced even if you save Treviso. It's just you can't encourage her to be a "hero" in her personal quest.
Lucanis' points are much more valid. Minrathous has magical defenses and stronger fortifications. They've also never fallen to any enemy in history, and they have plenty of practice defending themselves due to the constant attacks by the Qunari.
@BelieveIt1051 Neve can become a hero.
Also mirathos would have been taken over by the venitori because its such a powerful city that would have spell disaster for everywhere esle down the line
Thank you for choosing "I thought you'd handle it"; I have only seen people pick the first two :) Lmao immediate scowl. Yeah the math ain't mathing for me on this one...at no point did the game convince me that Rook was the leader or was supposed to turn the tide other than "because I said so" - not to mention Lucanis apparently has the heart for Treviso AND Neve - his sympathy is very selective, particularly if you are a SD Rook, that's like an extra slap in the face.
The reason why Rook would make a difference is because she had the lyrium dagger. At no point in both saving Treviso or Minrathous Rook and her team were able to reach the dragon, they can only do it when Rook shows the dagger to Ghilanain, that`s when the dragon lands and they can hurt it. In both scenarios, the shadow dragons and the crows says that the dragon only kept flying, destroying and blighting the city outside of their reach. That`s why Rook ideas and presence makes the difference.
@@AdanTamai I've seen people make that argument and my question is - how would they have any way of knowing that? It seems like the only one recognizing that is the player. In any case, why blame Rook if it was the dagger, not Rook, making the difference? Could they have thrown it to Lucanis before he left and he could have saved his city instead? In this particular case, where Viago says "You always think of something" - that seems like a really weak line to me. Who am I, Sherlock Holmes? If Rook has demonstrated their brilliant strategic thinking or spontaneous ideas that actually worked before I must have missed it.
This was my second playthrough with the same Rook, so I was curious with the reactions. I was IRL mad at Viago and Lucanis, that the red dialogue reflected my own reaction towards them haha. I'm currently on my third playthrough with a different Rook, and no one really knew what the lyrium dagger does for this Act, except it was important to Solas and the two Evanuris. The dragon only got down when Ghilan'nain commanded it to retrieve Solas's dagger.
I'm likewise criticizing Viago's reasoning that my Crow Rook "always thinks of something," which is honestly baffling since I'm a junior Crow compared to the Fifth Talon and First Talon's grandson. Almost all of the Crows in the Cantori Diamond hated me throughout the game until I finish the "For the Love of Treviso" questline.
Another critical point from me is, so I saved either city in different playthroughs, it is always Ghilan'nain who shows up commanding a dragon in either Treviso or Minrathous. Ghilan'nain is more obsessed with the lyrium dagger over Elgar'nan, so why is it that Ghil is exactly on the city where Rook saves it? Shouldn't it make sense that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain are on either city too? What if Elgar'nan is not as reckless as Ghilan'nain to command a dragon down to the ground just to receive a lyrium dagger? Fast forward to consequences, Minrathous still gets blighted in the end, so it also doesn't make more sense why we have to choose between Treviso and Minrathous too.
Choosing Minrathous means: (1) You get 1 less romance option before you meet all companions, (2) Choosing an Archon for a city you don't even affiliate with (except if you're an SD), (3) You get two blighted cities, (4) The Crows lose more essential NPCs like quest givers and a new Crow house, (5) SD don't even actively participate in the Last Gambit. Earlier guides say saving Minrathous is the "correct choice" to get the best ending, but my experience is otherwise. 🤕
@@AdanTamai That's meta knowledge based on how foolish Ghil would react to Rook and the dagger. There's no way any of the characters would know Rook could draw Ghil's attention at all, let alone get the dragon to land.
And funny enough, can't Lucanis fly and have Spite pull things from the fade like a rift mage?
He's better equipped to handle that dragon than we were, or did the writers forget that too?
On top of that, them conquering the seat of the magic empire should also kickstart the final act- if we're being realistic. Cuz El and Ghil could get the Venatori to use Minrathous resources to raise an army that would do most of their heavy lifting.
I already said this game was full of weak writing, but even saving Minrathous makes more sense narratively. Especially with Treviso having no strategic value for this war against the Evanuris. We stop them from taking the city one time, they learn from their mistakes, pivot, rally and conspire before coming back stronger and actually succeeding in taking Minrathous in the final act while we're stuck in a fade prison.
I was hoping someone would post the version of saving Minranthous as a Crow
Didn't the Crows send Rook away at the start of the game? Now they want Rook to stand by them? Okay.
She accepted the contract which is a crows responsibility of their own. But as a crow she should be devoted to her faction.
@@queenvivi1236 But not the other way around? Got it. So what contract are you talking about?
@ the contract to help varric stop Solas and then it progressed to having to kill the gods
@@BelieveIt1051 I mean when I made the right choices the crows had my back.
And yet he romances Neve. If Rook is a Shadow Dragon, he won't, which is ridiculous.
Seriously? Being a Shadow Dragon, he won't even consider you?
There's a whole double standard here in how only he gets romance locked if you don't save his city. I didn't know that as I plowed through release weekend and was pretty upset I'd shut out all other romances only to realize no matter how high our bond, he would never romance my Rook. I romanced Neve to spite him. 😂
@@Kikimonsterbooks i romanced him as a Shadow Dragon. But you needed to save Treviso to be able to do it.
I’m glad someone did this, I couldn’t do it.. not as a crow. My heart hurts.
It’s interesting how you can still romance Neve if you save Treviso but you get locked out of the Lucanis romance if you save Minrathous.
Excellent dialogue! Thank you for your videos, really great stuff.
I freaking hate that. "You ALWAYS think of something except this ONE time!" Like did they mean to write these allegedly extremely skilled and intelligent spies/assassin as completely useless shmucks who can't fend for themselves when you aren't around? Come on! I hate the writing in this game so much because it's clear that there wasn't a leading voice to guide and organize all the writers towards a single vision for the game and instead we see all these scattered ideas that lack any sort of proof-reading or editing just galavanting around like they all are the main plot! Inquisition had it's issues, sure, but at least they had more choice and meaning in all your choices in that game along with a main story that flows beautifully!
The writing in this game is beyond shit
In fairness, the Crows have always been pretty trash. They did fail to kill the Hero and the Champion, and even just Alistair without the Hero, if Darkspawn Chronicles is to be taken seriously. But on their home turf? Yeah the Crows are supposed to be highly organized and deadly, which is why Antiva relies on them as its own military force. They are supposed to be able to come together and defend the country if needed. Yet in FailHard they can't even kill a few tal-vashoth.
Y’all need to think objectively though. As this makes a lot of sense.
Lucanis has WAYY too many problems, more than Neve at least and the ONE person who MAYBE could do SOMETHING, To help preserve the one ounce of normalcy I have left, after being imprisoned, tortured, and made no longer human. You care deeply yet….. you didn’t come through for me? I wouldn’t…be too please either. Neve just has her whole Batman city protector thing going on, but she was a loner and human and not tortured, so it’s makes since it’s not a complete mood killer, not everything is equal in life and apparently in this game to. I let them dragons crip walk on Docktown so me and my baby boy LuLu is still together to dis day y’all. RIP Davrin and Assan 🕊️
Thank you for posting this. Hated this choice being forced on us. This made me yell at my screen on my 2nd run as my 1st run, I saved Treviso. Having Lucanis say he didn't have time for me... Then when he came back, Neve started flirting with him while he gave me the cold shoulder. Then he started bringing her coffee at night and the other teammates started commenting on them being together. Meanwhile, my Rook was like..what the hell!! I respected your boundaries saying you couldn't focus on a relationship. Yet here you are with Neve. So, what you meant to say was because I didn't let Neve suffer and come running to Treviso .... when you had the whole entire Crow squad...yet blame me because i wasn't there with some idea to save everyone, that you don't want me, but will go 'review notes' or 'make coffee' for her. Right. Got it. I'm one person. I can't be in two places. The part that sucks more is that both of them acknowledge after that it was an impossible choice they put me in....yet Lucanis still friendzones you. Neve allows you to earn her trust again and romance continues. Seriously the only choice in the game that was complete UGH for me. You literally have 6 teammates at the point you are forced to make that choice. Neve, Lucanis, Harding, Davrin, Bellara, and Rook. The game mechanics at the end require you to assign teams to different tasks for the tearstone island mission. They could have had it where if we didn't have them equipped or leveled or some other option to ensure they could hold out until we took care of one. Truthfully, the game pretty much told you to pick Treviso as they are a merchant city who relies heavily on the waterways, and no actual army. Meanwhile, Minrathous has from all accounts a powerful enough faction in the shadow dragons, an army, and a huge floating magic lazer shooting palace deal above the city that they showed off at the start of the game. So.....from my perspective....they had it handled. But nope. Because a crow rook was not there with one of their ideas, it's all our fault. Full stop. Ugh. haha.
I never really understood why you, the main character with no discernable super abilities compared to others (and especially compared to previous games), are the lynchpin that determines whether a city falls or not. Like, you bring THREE people extra people in this game (as opposed to the usual four, which also sucks). Are your organizations not powerful enough on your own?
It's the dagger that makes the difference, not Rook. Without the dagger on the field the dragon never lands. An Archdemon that stays aloft fucks up any city it attacks without fail. There is plenty of dumb writing in the game but that particular detail seemed reasonable enough in a world where a party of three can fight a landed dragon.
@@OnesieTwosBut the faction leaders don’t know what the dagger does, do they? Are they entirely sure that the dagger will make the dragon land? I played that part too and I see no dialogue nor hint that the faction leaders know about Solas’ dagger at that point.
It seems like they are just blaming Rook just for not being there, which sucks. In their position, it’s entirely their responsibility that they are powerless to stop the dragon, not the absence of a junior member of their faction.
@@bismarck5537 Certainly. I don't recall either faction acknowledging the incredible, magic circumstances that lead to the BBEG sending their dragon to tangle in range of the party instead of keeping a safe distance.
The sentiment is clearly "You chose them over us, now we're fucked!" I have no idea how widespread knowledge of this McGuffin is among our allies, and I don't remember if the group KNEW that the dagger could provoke the dragon.
All I meant was that, regardless of contrivance or whatever, the plot dagger is the only reason our small party of Bioware weirdos affected who won just by being there.
It's the dagger. The gods know you have the dagger and send their dragons to retrieve it, which makes them more vulnerable
@@OnesieTwosyeah Harding told them. Harding tells everyone everything haha. I'm now replaying the game and one of the first codex entries when you get to the lighthouse are some notes from Harding about the dagger. Here she makes the connection between the dagger and the idol and talks about the significance of it. The codex is in Micellecous.
I haven’t finished the game yet, but being locked out of this romance because of that one choice is by far the most irritating thing any game threw at me. I’m really pissed by this 😸
the emoji choice here is sending me (i understand)
@@turquoisemaple I’m just trying to laugh it off, because it baffles me that a seemingly small thing like this causes so much emotion 😸
It doesnt make sense to save Minrathous when it gets blighted in the end anyway and at least this way if you romance lucanis or not you still have that beautiful moment in the fade where you break his inner chains.
I think people are missing the point with his character and romance. Hes been tortured and betrayed and finds himself once again betrayed when you dont save his city, why would he romance you if he feels like you dont have his back anymore.
Picking Treviso cuts off the quest Inner Demons and in the end he doesnt get closer to accepting Spite instead wants to find a way to seperate from one another.
I get people are upset that Neve is still romancable but she hasnt gone through the same torture he has
Most people (including myself) find the consequences inequitable when Lucanis willingly commits a romance with Neve if you save Minrathous. Either Neve should not be romanceable too, or Lucanis will not romance anyone at all. Because he's the only companion with that unique romance mechanic. Shadow Dragon Rook mages are of a similar background with Neve, so it also does not make sense why Lucanis will still pick Neve if an SD Rook saves their city too. Rook is the one carrying the blame and burden of responsibility for leading the team, while Neve only tags along. It also doesn't make sense when Lucanis willingly dates Neve in her favourite fish try stand (acquired through a cutscene with Emmrich), when saving Minrathous is why Lucanis got hardened and unromanceable in the first place; shouldn't he be more spiteful that Minrathous still stand? Along those lines.
@@pikajulie_art This ! I was particularly disappointed with what they did with the Lucanis romance (not to mention Lucanis and Spite). I wanted to romance him, but my Rook is a shadow dragon elf mage. He comes from Minrathous and knows Tarquin and Viper. How was I supposed to choose Treviso over Minrathous? I told Lucanis that I had to save my people and even Viago told me he understood. After that it was over with Lucanis. The problem isn't his character or how he handles things (that's understandable), but the fact that he gets straight with Neve. I tried everything to fix things and then Lucanis comes to talk to me about Neve. I mean what??? Finally i choose Davrin and i'm happy with that but man, what the hell ?
@hannahhobnob20 I agree, that's why I wasn't upset when he didn't want to romance you.
@@Akhenas I understand you but, in my first gameplay I was an elf shadowdragon and I choose Treviso anyway, for several reasons, it's called analitic thinking, Treviso don't have an army, only have assassins, Treviso don't have walls, it's a city made like a jewel not a fortress, most of the buildings have more glass than rock in it xD, also the canals, that was what made me choose Treviso all the time, Polluted water means NO ONE will survive eventually, if you want an idea of what polluted canals mean look at Dresden, it was a German city attacked by the USA and British army in WW2 they created a storm of fire so raw that people jumped into the canals of the city to save themselves only to get boiled in the water cause of the high temperature, (in this case it would be blight).
Having Dresden in mind and seeing the similarities between the two cities I chose Treviso and I never regretted the choice, because it is the most logical one whether you are ShadowDragon or Crow. Also Minratthous has an economic system based on slavery, as much as this game refuses to show it, having slaves is totally legal and well seen, so, in my personal opinion and putting my emotions in play I choose to burn the whole city in every game, I'm going for the 4th time I choose Treviso, whether I have romance with Lucanis or not.
And I will say that Neve was furious at me (understandably) for saving Treviso instead of Minrathous, but hey, Treviso doesn't have an army of mages that can shoot ice balls at the dragon or even a floating palace that can shoot magic at will, Minrathous is a goddamn fortress, so hell yeah, I expected more of them defending our city (when I was a ShadowDragon.) And I read in these comments that early guides said it was better to save Minrathous... xD what shitty early guides and how they mislead people.
People saying Lucanis is being unreasonable, but he's also possessed by a SPITE demon.
Lucanis not being able to romance Rook anymore is reasonable, given his own experience from the Ossuary and then seeing his city blighted. However, Lucanis instantly romancing Neve afterwards doesn't seem reasonable, especially when he says, "I don't have the heart except saving Treviso." Whats adds salt to the wound is a cutscene with Emmrich, where Lucanis willingly has a date with Neve in her favourite fish fry stand in *Minrathous.* Which is the same city Rook saved rather than Treviso, which Lucanis should also be spiteful of because it's thriving rather than Treviso. He is also romance-locked out from a Shadow Dragon Rook who chose to save their city of Minrathous.
Consequences should be equitable: Either Neve should be unromanceable too, or Lucanis will not romance anyone at all. Spite also is more in favour of Rook, rather than Lucanis--so, it's Lucanis who should be spiteful rather than the Spite demon itself. The fireplace conversation with Lucanis when Minrathous is saved shows how Lucanis detests Spite so he wants to get rid of him, to which Rook's dialogue options include "have you consulted Spite about the decision?" And when Treviso is saved, the Inner Demons quest will also let Spite say, "I like Rook."
It’s unfair. You can still romance Neve if you choose Treviso. Seems quite selective for the romances and just slanted one way. Whatever, writers.
Mary Kirby was the author of Lucanis and seeing how the studio had chop off romance scenes of Lucanis and how they fired Mary kirby several month before the release, it smells like a vendetta to me, they fucked up the character she masterfully wrote by cutting scenes they already had done so people would think it was lazy writing, but mary kirby has been with bioware since before Origins and is responsible for writing several memorable characters in the entire saga so, bioware can go F themselves with what they have done to mary kirby, pathetic.
@martulina16 that makes sense now
@@martulina16 She also wrote Varric .. I do not understand vendetta .. but given how I witnessed Avellone trying to sabotage Obsidian all the time .. one can think that vendetta against Kirby led to axing entire of Act I in Veilguard, where we were supposed to work alongside Varric chasing Solas ... I just don't know who in BioWare could have had vendetta against Mary Kirby. Honestly this game could use BioWare updating over missing content, especially since we won't get dlc's apparentely ...
In my first playthrough I thought it better to save Minrathous because the I figured curb the Venatori first. But in my second I saved Treviso and I honestly like the Venatori takeover vibe. It's so sinister in a real world way that unless I play as a Shadow Dragon, I think I'll keep saving Treviso for the sinister story and vibes in Minrathous.
But for the romances, seems like whoever's city you don't save should be locked out of a romance, not just Lucanis
Does this happen because Rook is an Antivan Crow and they chose Minrathous? Or If they chose Minrathous in general?
That's the conversation that you get if you help Minrathous as a crow. They are mad at you
@@aresrodriguez8800 If you choose Minrathous in general, a prompt where Lucanis will "no longer romance you" will always happen. You just have different reactivities if you're a Shadow Dragon, Crow vs other faction.
yeah this happened to me its such a double standard. i hear his romance isnt even that good either :/
It's not a double standard. He has the embodiment of spite/determination in him. As much as they are separate they influence each other. If you're inherently spitefull you don't forgive and hold crudges. Also the romance with Lucanis is a slow burn, he's afraid he can't controll spite and hurts you, also he's super afraid that he feels so strongly about you, because if he loses you it would be unimaginable. The final romance scene is super sweet and heartfelt.
Ngl choosing minrathous instead is crazy.how can you choose to be a crow and not choose to save treviso if youre apart of another faction thats a different story
It really depends on how you want to roleplay as in the game. This is my second playthrough where I saved Treviso in the first, and saved Minrathous in the second.
But do take note that, Shadow Dragon Rooks will be locked out of a romance from Lucanis if they save their city of Minrathous. And the reasoning of Viago to an Antivan Crow Rook is also unreasonable: "You always think of something." Viago is the 5th talon, and Lucanis is the grandson of the 1st talon. Teia, the 7th talon is also there. Crow Rook will also comment how much they idolize the Demon of Vyrantium with Neve, before Lucanis' recruitment quest. So in this case, the angry response from Rook is merited when she says, "You two are our best crows. Why act like one more [junior] crow could do anything?" Additionally, no one even knows what the lyrium dagger does, or if Ghilan'nain will also command the blighted dragon to get to ground just to retrieve the dagger.
There's a romance.... 😅
i feel like ppl saying its unfair neve gets to romance lucanis need to go touch grass girl its pixels 😭