I have to stand up for Sten because the nuance in his character is very easy to miss. : 1. His outburst and murder of the family was not because of his mental state but because he had lost his whole reason for being, his sword. Without it, he's nothing in the eyes of the Quun and killed on sight. It's worse than losing a limb, It's losing his whole identity. 2. His comment toward female warriors are not sexist. In the Quun no matter your sex, if you are a warrior, you must also present in a masculine manner full stop. He's expressing shock not that a woman is a warrior but that she also present as such. Something that would be confirmed later with Ironbull if you discuss Krem. 3. I can't think of another game where a follower decides to fight you for leadership. He's still want's to fight the darkspawn he just doesn't think you are the person for the job and that, paired with the Quun gives him a lot of depth in my opinion. His character is jarring in the moment, but if you trace back all of his actions, they fall perfectly in line with the Quun. A truly neutrally aligned character. Also I think it's ok for him not to change his opinions whether he likes you or not. Life in Parvolan as worked so far and the events in Feraldan aren't enough to shake a whole systematic propagandist agenda like the Quun. I still liked the video tho :D
Lol, he looks like an early 2000s boyband singer with his original haircut, no idea why they had that haircut in the game to begin with, like it's not fantasy at all
Alistair being insecure and not able to make decisions makes sense when you take into account his background and the way he was raised. He is the bastard of the King of Ferelden but was raised more like a servant, constantly put down by the people around him, to make sure he wouldn't rise up against his father/brother or get ideas above his station. It would take him a lifetime to unlearn the lessons in his youth. And the only time he felt he truly belonged was when he got conscripted to be among the Grey Wardens, so of course he sees them through rose-colored lenses. He mourns for them throughout the entire game, because they were his family, and remember it wasn't just Duncan as a father-figure whom he lost, he lost possible brothers, sisters, etc. If you allow Alistair to duel Loghain at the end he even says "Forget about Maric, this is for Duncan." From a role-playing perspective, your own character can mourn their family, their former life throughout the entire game. As for him throwing a temper tantrum when the player chooses to conscript Loghain, I found that childish too when I was younger, but now when I'm older I find his reaction very human and understandable. It would be like if Alistair proposed that Vaughan Kendells be recruited as a companion if playing an Elf Origins, or Arl Howe for a Cousland. I think if something like that happened I would have had even back then as visceral a reaction as Alistair did against Loghain. And as fascinating as Loghain is as a character, by the time you reach the Landsmeet he has grown so paranoid he led his beloved country into a civil war, sold Ferelden's people into slavery, etc. You have more reasons to believe he wouldn't be worth recruiting in comparison to Alistair who has your back throughout the entire game from beginning to end, is possibly your most steadfast friend/romance/etc. So I completely disagree with your take about him 😜Now I'm going to watch the rest of the video.
Yeah, I do get why he’s a bit polarizing personality-wise, but to me it makes perfect sense why he is the way he is. Along with being canonically only 20, he kind of shows the dark side of having zero self-confidence despite being in a position of authority. I honestly prefer that to the stereotype of the shy, self-deprecating character that exists to be cute and get coddled by everyone around them.
I too like Morrigan. What I especially like about her is that, despite all her "sass" & "bluster" she DOES get (can be) flustered or even "lose" an argument with party members sometimes! AKA "not ALWAYS right" (not a "Mary Sue"). Which makes her feel from "real" and three dimensional.
@@sharkdentures3247 yeah, that's another aspect of Morrigan that's great that I didn't mention in the video. As much as she tries to seem like she's above the others, she still loses her cool and "loses" arguments, which is both funny and highlights the fact that she's not really used to interacting with people enough for her to be an expert in sass. She had to trade barbs with Flemeth, sure, but not everyone is going to reply like Flemeth.
I actually like the way Sten is in the game, as it showed just how alien the Qunari are. They are terrible and oppressive and they want to conquer the world and "convert" everyone into the Qun, a philosophy in which a person has no free will and cannot do anything other than what they were assigned to do: are you a warrior? you can just fight. A farmer? You can just farm. It's showcased just how limiting that can be in DA2 where the Arishok came to Kirkwall to get back their book, but because he's a soldier leading soldiers he cannot engage in diplomacy, so he just fights and kills until you figure out yourself what he wants. So yeah, he was horrible because the Qunari are horrible, and I think that's just fine in a fantasy game. Especially for me, as it shared some really interesting lore bits
That's fair - I do think Sten portrays the Qunari quite well, but I personally just don't find him a compelling character (separate from him serving as a representative of the Qunari). For example, I think the Iron Bull in Inquisition is a better developed character who still very much portrays the Qunari society well, while being able to be more of his own person and grow due to his experiences outside of the Qun more directly. And this is kind of interesting considering the fact that I generally find most of the Inquisition companions far less developed than the ones from Origins (but I'll obviously talk more about that when I rank the DAI companions)
I completely understand why a lot of people dislike Oghren, but he is a character that has stuck with me since the game released. He's so gross and crude, but I just think he's so funny and genuine. I think he's also a good example of how badly things can turn out as someone living in the very restrictive structure of upper dwarven society. He doesn't have an outlet for his strong emotions except drinking and violence, and even then he's still looked down upon for using those methods as outlets. He's also a good character to show that despite things "working out" his deep seated trauma doesn't go away. Without appropriate work to deal with his past, it's always going to pop up and hinder his life. Despite all of this, if he considers the warden his friend, he will always come through for them. That's why I will always love this disgusting man 😂
Hmm, I never really thought of Oghren as showing the dark side of dwarven society through his personality and addiction, but it makes sense! Not sure how much of that is intentional, though - would've liked to see just a few more deep conversations or hints at this theme for Oghren to feel like he really works as that kind of character for me!
I'll give Oghren a few things. He does mention something interesting in Origins in regards to the Urn of Sacred ashes. He notes the mountain is lyrium heavy and that it is at it's strongest near the Urn. Does foreshadow a potential fate for Lelianna in inquisition as well as foreshadowing the presence of red lyrium in the same game. Another thing of note is this line when being confronted by the ghost. He just cuts to the chase. "Why don't I save you some time? Yes, I wish I could have saved my family from Branka. I wish I'd been a better mate; maybe she'd have stayed home with a bellyful of baby Oghren and never gone for the anvil. Maybe I failed her. And yes, I came to the surface because I'm barely a dwarf anymore. My family is dead, my honor as a warrior is long gone, I've lost my cast and my house and I have nothing else to lose." The fact he was capable of that level of self reflection in spite of his nature as the drunken dwarf joke character earned him my respect. At least until Awakening when he went back on any and all character development he had in Origins. Really flanderized him there.
Yeah, I just wish he had more interesting or deep things to say than just these very few scenes. In Awakening they just removed any of this nuance, though, you're right, which is even more disappointing.
Despite Ogrhen reverting back to his old habits, I think it does a good job showing that not every character is going to have their good ending. It doesn't matter if he finds a new love, has kids, or gets a new job, those things aren't going to improve his life if his underlying issues aren't tackled appropriately. I do like that despite being very flawed and gross, he will ultimately do right by your warden, even if he can't do right for himself.
Zevran is my fav in this game. I too hide my problems with crappy humor and jokes. I don't take life/things too seriously. I enjoy laughing and having fun. I also just find his romance endearing and how he learns to trust you and let his guard down a bit. This being the first game I had really played that let me romance a male companion as a male character made me so happy too. I love Zevran and miss him and wish he was in the newest game b/c we get to be in Antiva with some of the Crows. Of course, in some world states he could be dead if the player chose that route :(
I never understood why people concider Morrigan to be a difficult person to talk to. By that I mean the approval and romance parts. Morrigan is an extremely practical individual that sees little use in things she or the party cannot benefit from. She's headstrong and upfront for the most part so it benefits you as the mc to also see things from her perspective while also challenging her in a way that not 'you are wrong' but rather in a 'you can also think about it this way' As long as you can give a concrete reason for something she will accept it.
@@kitsune0012 I know, I honestly don't understand it either. She makes perfect sense to me, and while yes sometimes she can be a bit "too practical", she still understands if you explain to her why you're doing something.
The answer is really simple: She's a strong-willed and independent minded woman who cares more for personal safety and fulfillment over everything else. She has no interest in pleasing you, and is only there because it makes sense for her goals and obligations. Its apparently endearing on men like Sten, but intimidating on women like Morrigan.
Love Leliana, she’s definitely my favorite character across the franchise. I do think her personality in the beginning is definitely a cope considering what she’s been through. She doesn’t really want anybody to know the truth so she puts on a I’m super nice cute UwU. In reality she’s just a naive (in a good way) and genuine person who’s been through a lot and is figuring it out like the rest of us. She definitely changes in DAI, you can tell she’s just tired. Very mature, but still as genuine to her friends as ever. She’s lost the sparkle in her eye and definitely is ready to jump off the next cliff at any given moment but she’s the same old Leliana. She still has the mechanics to shift her personality too. She never is quite sure who she wants to be and you help her mold into that person depending on your choices. I also think she is the best divine candidate when I think about my personal political beliefs even if I took out my bias towards her. I just think she’s neat!
Just some thoughts on the opinions presented in the video (and considering I fully agree on Alistair's assessment). Nice to see a weighed opinion, but (to me, at least), Oghren's assessment seems a bit too harsh. I can understand all of the "disgusting" remarks -- which are true, but one has to also note that he owns his world-view and subsequent character reactions ("ah, the stench of human depravity... no wait, that's just me!"). Even with his personal quest -- in Origins it doesn't really do much, that's for sure, but in Awakening the outcome is actually more meaningful, as it actually makes him consider the possibility of caring for someone. Also, baring all the belching / farting, there are rather decent joke banter moments with him (the "pike-twirler" thing with Alistair, or "no one touches Oghren's junk and lives" and "mabari chariots" in Awakening, to name a few), so I wouldn't call him a complete waste of a companion as well. I do agree that more could have been done with his tragic background; but it does make him pretty much an "outcast" character, so it's not really surprising that he doesn't have strong political opinions and things like that. Considering that the dwarves don't leave Orzammar in order to avoid losing their caste, he can't really add to the mage / elven debate, and during the Branka questline he voices an important note -- that neither Bhelen nor Harrowmont really care about her as a person; instead they only seek the things she represent. As for comparing Shale to Oghren -- while I do love Shale, I must note that, while she does mention fighting darkspawn being a "worthy goal", she also "finds (helsefl) at a bit of a loss" in the beginning, and doesn't really care about anything. She is a bit of a misanthrope, considering that the villagers would be better off if killed by darkspawn. Her best interactions, in my opinion, are during the elf questline, when she says "somebody, please kill somebody", and "I imagine squeezing the elven leader's head like a lemon... squish!", but, again, she doesn't offer much perspective as a mage does (even though she could, being a golem, e.g. a different type of being). What I mean to say here is there's really no point comparing Shale and Oghren specifically, since they have very different stories and character setups to merit that kind of comparison. I can also see the same pattern of judgement for Sten's character. The thing to note about him is that, while he does make misogynistic and racist statements, that's something that's integral to a society he lives in. If anything, in DA:I Iron Bull subverts that and makes Qunari "just another quirky race", who don't have a strict code of ethics, but rather bend the rules whenever possible. In Sten's case, he is a strong adherent of his people's creed, and, if we consider the comparison to communism, a very "by-the-book" character. That explains his murderous rage, as he found himself in a situation that's outside of the Qunari creed. He said himself that without his sword he's considered "soul-less", so he acted the part. That, of course, doesn't explain how he copes with lacking his sword until you recover it as part of the companion quest (and later sell it, since it's not that good), so, of course, this part isn't that well-written. Still, his rather xenophobic and condescending behaviour to me seems consistent. He begrudgingly decides to learn about Ferelden and their customs, and he eagerly shares the Qun's viewpoints on everything -- the "can we discuss something you mentioned" part of his dialogue. So, the thing you covered earlier, when companions have strong opinions about various aspects of Thedas -- Sten actually is the best representation of that, as he has something to contribute to every decision, from Haven to Denerim. The Qunari culture, at least from his perspective, is rather dogmatic, but that's what makes it different. As for Wynne, one can only note that, considering the harrowing experience of her youth (being locked in a barn before the Templars took her in), the stressful nature of being a mage (considering they are constantly reminded of the danger of possession), it might not be surprising that she went gray at the age of 49 (or earlier). It's true that "old people" (sorry for the term) don't stress their self-being that much, but one thing that's consistent with the tone of this character, in my opinion, is her rigidness. Indeed, the older a person is, the more difficult it is for them to accept change. In terms of the personal quest -- it's true that she doesn't learn from it, but she does get closure. Indeed, her arc is more about "getting ready for death", and the ruminations about the value of actions one does when alive. Considering that she lives on borrowed time, being a spirit vessel, and the quantity of times she talks about dying, death, and duty (which is important), she can be seen as someone who tries to find peace with her life. That aligns with one of the aspects of being a Gray Warden -- one's limited lifespan due to the darkspawn taint. So she isn't that irrelevant to the main character.
I loved Origins Oghren and hated him in Awakening because writers went too much into "rude drunkard" personality which he stopped being in Origins epilogue
@@Keram-io8hv Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. But look at it this way -- it's like your school / college friend, whom you used to hang out with, but then they got married, and you don't see each other that often anymore, and no longer do any wild parties or whatnot. He has grown as a person, and that's a plus for him as a character :)
As for Loghain, I do feel like there are so many inconsistencies in what is said about Ostagar that what you suggested would have been better could actually be read into the game. Like, Alistair and the warden DID get delayed by the darkspawn and we also hear before the battle from random NPCs in camp about how there have been battles with darkspawn already at Ostagar and there's more of them than expected, so it's conceivable to me that Loghain was going along with Cailan's wishes for as long as he could but was regretfully prepared to pull his men out when the darkspawn proved to be too many. It's just that in this case he realised that before the final battle and couldn't convince Cailan to retreat or to not be on the front lines with the grey wardens, which he did try to do. As for the elf slavery though... yeah. That's inexcusable. But it also felt so out of left field and out of character for the leader of the night elves that I've just elected to ignore it. Lol can you tell I'm a huge Loghain fangirl yet xD
@@KuningannaSansa I really enjoy Loghain's character and loved the early novels by David Gaider. I just feel like in the game, Loghain doesn't get enough space to present his point of view, does all sorts of weird stereotypically villain stuff that would've been best left to Howe, and yeah suddenly elf slavery out of nowhere 🤔
@btiermutineer actually some of the stuff he does like sending the blood mage to eamon also doesn't make sense time wise, cause we are told by this knight in redcliffe that eamon fell ill just before ostagar so somehow jowan escaped the circle, was captured and taken to denerim and met loghain and made it back to redcliffe in the time it took for the mage warden and Duncan to get to ostagar where loghain was before them and had already won several battles against the darkspawn? That doesn't make any sense. So I headcanon that the person jowan met that he thought was loghain was actually howe, jowan says he recognised him by portrait but medieval portraits are ofc famously reliable lol and loghain just couldn't have been there unless he had a teleporter.
@KuningannaSansa yeah lol, the whole timeline with Jowan doesn't make sense. It would make way more sense it was Howe, since Howe also clearly keeps random mages in his employ (there's one during the human noble origin, and then of course the one keeping the barrier on Anora's door later).
Say what you want about Wynne, but the fact the she is a sheltered Circle mage who lived her life in a system where people get promoted based on seniority, her character makes a shitload of sense, and I personally really like her lmao.
Congratulations on the 1k! May you have many more, and I'm looking forward to the next subscriber suggested videos 😍 Also hehe my girl Shale made top 3 nice 🤩😻💕
In regards to Shale being a DLC companion, while yes that is technically true. I do believe that one of the main reasons for this was actually due to time / circumstance. If I'm remembering correctly, Shale was going to be released with the base game, but she was originally going to be the same size as the other golems in the game, and thus Bioware had problems getting her to fit through doors. So they ended up scrapping her as they didn't believe they had enough time to fix this. However the game ended up getting slightly delayed, and with this extra time they brought her back and resized her. There is actually a reference to this in game where she says her last master sized her down "With a chisel, and a lot of nerve!" But even with this extra time, they still weren't able to get it completely finished before the release, so had to release it as a DLC, where EA then made the decision to make it a DLC for new owners to discourage second hand purchase. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened with Shale.
The Dog is a surprising powerhouse, able to completely lockdown mages between Overwhelm and Charge, he has one of the only non-magic aoe stuns. Listening to your first experience with Leliana, I am the complete opposite, I took her everywhere, I found her bard abilities so useful (although, I admit I mostly used her Song of Valor and didn't use Song of Courage until much later), but in every playthrough, I have to almost force myself to NOT use her, the biggest reason I always used her during my first couple playthroughs is how she comes stock with 2 ranks of Deft Hands for lockpicking. Oghren does bring some interesting dialogue if you bring him to the Gaunlet when going after the Urn of Sacred Ashes, he brings up how there are traces of lyrium in the walls and is the only character to notice it. He also has dialogue with Master Varathorn about their crafting methods versus Dwarven techniques. There are many copies of Origins that had Shale come for free, while others gave Soldier's Peak. Shale mentions it herself, she has 2 options; "go with it, or go elsewhere". Best part about Shale is how, as a golem, she cannot be targeted by Overwhelm, however, she is the easiest companion to get knocked down by any knockdown ability.
I'm so with you on Oghren - he is obnoxious. I'm not a fan of the two fan favourites Morrigan and Alistair. Morrigan is the tiresome bitchywitch trope and her constant complaining is grating, Claudia Blacks voice is the only redeeming quality for me. Alistair I don't like mostly for what you listed. For me, both of them didn't really develope as characters and Alistair I want to actively kick for not taking any responsibility. I mostly make him king with Anora, because I think, she is actually better, but he is the more approachable of the two. I think, that works out pretty well in later games and is my preferred fate for him in the world state.They also seem to get along quite well. I don't agree about Sten: Qunari aren't sexist, there are roles, men can't fulfill either - they are just very strict people in general. His rage another person explained already pretty well imo. I never thought, he would do that again. And really like, how he devlopes along the way. I actually like Wynne a lot, never found her very preachy. And she really softens up a lot later on. I actually use her more often than Morrigan nowadays. I like Zevran and Leliana, they are always good to have along and Shale is great. Zevran is a bit like Astarion from BG3 in so far, that he puts on a facade to hide a trauma and Leliana is very open minded imo. When I played a Dalish and she started talking about elves as servants in Orlais and I called her out, she was pretty graceful in accepting her fauxpas. And Shale became a favourite of mine, after I learned about her past. Loghain I just can't recruit very often, I don't really like Alistair, but Loghain is worse, especially the slave business is something, I really hate. That said, it's worth recruiting him once and taking him and Wynne to Return to Ostagar, since both have quite the insight about the background of everything that happened. Wynne is edging Loghain along in telling his story and it is quite eerie.
Totally agree about Sten. The whole point of that character is he's a product of his environment. He's by far one of the more interesting characters to me. I wish they kept future Qunari characters stoic and closed off like he was as it makes sense due to their culture. Instead they just made them big humans with horns.
It might've been said already, but Loghain becoming paranoid and afraid of "nonexistent" enemies makes perfect sense. He clearly suffers from severe PTSD or some other kind of mental trauma from the war with Orlais (seen when he almost psychotically yells "WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE ORLAISIAN EMPEROR WAS BURNING YOUR FIELDS AND R**ING YOUR WIVES?!" at the nobles if he loses the Landsmeet) and by the time the Landsmeet happens he's clearly lost the plot, believing everyone who opposes him, for whatever reason, wants to sell out Ferelden. That's why I always kill him - by then it's almost a mercy, since he's a mentally unstable wreck whose sanity is debatable at best. In addition, though, his fear of inviting the Chevaliers is perfectly valid - once such a large elite force spreads around the country, can Ferelden really expect them to just pack up, say "you're welcome" and leave once the Blight is defeated? Especially since Orlais is still considered an enemy, with the diplomatic relations still being ice cold at best, and this opportunity would seem almost too good to be true by any military leader.
I don't get how people can blame Alistar for having the reaction he does at you wanting to recruit Loghain at the landsmeet. Lol, It's like working at a company and the new possible hire is the guy who poisoned your dad (Arl Eamon) , got your father figure dad (Duncan) and new family (The Grey Wardens) killed in a an "Accident" (only one survivor the warden), Demonized you to the public saying that it was your own fault they all died and if anyone knows your whereabouts authorities should be informed, actively put a hit out on you to a known gang (The crows). The cherry on top is his daughter saying "Look that's all in the past, my father is a great xyz, sure he had his moments but he can be a great asset to your team!" Worst part is if Alistar isn't made to be king with her, she has him executed or exiled along with Arl Eamon's family afterwards, but hey like father like daughter I guess they're both pretty horrible imo.
Are you going to rank all of the companions of both Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition? And when Veilguard comes out, are you going to rank the companions of that game too?
It is also okay for some companions for not having major developments. Not everybody has and should have capability to change their views in short notice. Entirety of DA:O timeline is less then a year or so? I wouldn't hold it against them(especially Oghren and Wynne) to not be able to change their views.. considering they are old and coming with a lot of baggage. Also evaluating Sten's morals(how they see women etc.) in a human centric way made zero sense.
Yeah, fair enough. I guess their characters didn't personally resonate for me enough, and I of course have a preference for character development. I can see why other people like these companions, of course!
I think I would rate the companions in about the same way. Morrigan is my favourite character, and I absolute adore Shale. Shale is so snarky in her banter. Would it surprise you to know that Jan Jansen is one of my favourites from Baldur's Gate 2?
I also disagree that hardened Alistair isn’t more mature. He is more keen to take on responsiblity like being king, which is definitively mature. He also doesn’t throw a tantrum if you decide to spare Loghain.
I heard people say that Alistair is one of the best romances in gaming, and... man, i just couldn't agree less. I don't mind him as a companion, but as a boyfriend... just the worst. Reminded me of my bad teen relationships
Lol, I think "teen" encapsulates the way Alistair feels to me perfectly. He's just a young man who's barely gotten out of the Chantry, has no idea what he wants to do or what life is about, was (unhealthily) dependent on Duncan and completely fell apart when he died... not really a great base there for a romantic relationship. I'm sure that when he's older such as during Inquisition, he's a much more mature character and I'd love to see a romance with THAT Alistair. Personally, I'm not into the whole "pure virgin/golden retriever" romance, but I'm sure that exactly this aspect is part of the appeal for the people who enjoy Alistair's romance.
@@mauricewilks1974 i talk about all sorts of things in the combat mechanics guide, as well as in each of the companions' build guides! Alistair and Morrigan's guides are a bit less clear because they were among the first videos I made, but all the other ones discuss the general approach to tactics for each companion. And of course the combat mechanics guide goes into detail about all the aspects that go into combat so you can make your own decisions on how you want to use your companions and set up tactics!
I do not want to be the one to tell the Dragon Age fans that you put their precious Golden Retriever husband Alistair so low. Goth Swamp Witch wife Morgan is too high in comparison. Personally, both Alistair and Morgan are fools and dumbasses. But Alistair is aware of his shortcomings and Morgan believes she is wise when she is not.
@@DarkKing009 I explained my *personal* rankings of these companions. It is very much my subjective opinion, and you don't have to agree. I'm a Dragon Age fan, too, so I don't know what you're saying when you mean you don't want to tell "Dragon Age fans" about how I ranked companions, lol. Everyone is free to rank these characters and feel about them however they want.
As a completionist I always feel bad for saving Sten or talking with Ogrhren, I can ignore Wynn's motherhen stick, but I hate the drunken looser and the murderous psycho giving me there thoughts on anything, it just feels wrong. Like way would anyone care what they have to say about anything?
To be fair to Sten, if you do his personal quest it's revealed he suffered from a flashback and has some form of PTSD, causing him an inability to truly go out of fight or flight, and his genuine remorse makes him a fantastic character in my eyes. But yeah, Oghren is terrible, no arguments there
Hey love the videos man! So in detail and interesting to hear how the game is absorbed by someone who is autistic. I recently am playing doa again after its first release and it’s still better than 90% of the games out there today!
OKAY FIRST OF ALL BARKSPAWN IS 12/10!! Secondly, omg finally someone else who doesn't worship Alistair. I dont even hate him or dislike him or anything, his humour can be really charming and his heart's in the right place, but I dont get the overwhelming love fandom has for him. He forces you to take the lead and make all the difficult choices despite being the senior warden technically and then bitches at you when he doesnt like the choices you make. Not to mention abandons you in the middle of a blight if you spare Loghain to... you know... have more wardens... cause it's a BLIGHT!! It doesnt bother me from a lore perspective though, cause it feels quite natural and realistic that there are always different rules for nobles than for everyone else. And while I do actually agree with you that Alistair should not be hardened and be given that "unearned confidence", I still do it so that he will agree to marry Anora if I spare Loghain cause otherwise he becomes a drunk and I don't want that for him. Also, I just gotta complain that, as a cullenmancer in Inquisition, I get really annoyed when people say I should like Alistair instead because he's basically the same as Cullen without having been an abusive cop, but like no?? Cause yeah Cullen did some fucked up stuff but it's a game not real life and what makes him appealing as a romance option in Inquisition is that he works hard and is supportive of you, whereas Alistair is often the opposite of that. Like it's probably not fair to compare Alistair at 20 to Cullen at 30, but that's the age he is when I have the option to romance him in Origins and I don't want that child. He can't even cook lol how did he even survive this far.
@@KuningannaSansa lol, I don't mean to be like super rude about Alistair because sure he's young, didn't really get to grow up since he was just sheltered in a Chantry and pushed in the corner before that as a bastard child, and yet... Some of the things he says and does just don't make sense. He had such love and admiration for Duncan, who historically has been making shady choices the entire time. Alistair doesn't bat an eye at Duncan killing Jory, but then if you decide to kill someone who seems like a danger, he's like "no don't do it that's evil it'll make me mad 😩". Says he loves being a Grey Warden because all Wardens are honorable and whatnot, but so many Wardens, Duncan (and possibly the HoF) included, were criminals before they were conscripted, and most certainly don't care much about "honor". Yeah, I also do harden Alistair sometimes in playthroughs where I spare Loghain so that he can at least rule with Anora. But other times I'm like "okay you want to leave the Wardens, go ahead and... Become a drunk who is doing nothing to improve the world?". Like I guess if that's what he wants to do with his life instead of, I dunno, joining the Chantry as a templar, or becoming a city guard, or working as an assistant at a healer clinic, literally anything... Then I guess that's what he wants? I assume Bioware was like "the correct choice is putting Alistair on the throne or having him be a Warden. If you chose wrong, then we'll punish you by showing you Alistair becoming a drunkard". Otherwise I really can't understand his fate in DA2 - just like how you get disapproval from Varric if you ask him about Orsino's fate not making sense in Inquisition.
@btiermutineer I'm such a softie, I always try to get the best possible ending for everyone, but I have been thinking of trying drunk Alistair I just never have the heart to in the end. But yeah that disapproval from varick annoys me too, writers telling you off for questioning them 🙄
If you're best defense of a character is "well this media isn't real life", that isn't a good defense. A good defense would be saying that his trauma was manipulated and he was put into a situation that brought out the worst in him but he goes on a path toward change at the end of Dragon Age 2. That's way better than "Don't take it seriously, it's just a game" type defense you tried.
@@channel45853 .... ummm? I wasn't trying any defence? My literal whole point is that one doesn't NEED to defend fictional characters really cause they're fictional? You're allowed to like characters for subjective reasons without needing to find excuses for the messed up shit they do. And Cullen, despite his trauma, is still responsible for the stuff he did. That doesn't actually excuse anything and isn't a defence of anything either. An explanation, sure. But nothing more.
@channel45853 the need to "defend" fictional characters comes from the extremely morally focused "purity culture" going on in society in general. Fictional characters aren't real people, fictional stories aren't real events, and you can enjoy reading/interacting with media even if it depicts things that are considered "morally wrong" in our society.
I think what people forget about Wynne being only 49 is that she is 49 in a medieval setting, where people would not live as long on average as they would in a modern setting, so they would become old at a younger age
@@charlesmitchell8982 lol, how old are you? That's not how that works. The average lifespan of people was much lower due to the fact that there were lots of early deaths (of infants and children). People died of disease because they didn't have access to medicine, used various poisonous substances that they didn't know were poisonous, and didn't have good hygiene. People didn't "get older faster". Lol, this comment gave me a good laugh 😂
@@btiermutineer There's early death's now in case you haven't noticed, and I am talking about average lifespan, which was 45 in medieval times compared to the present day of 82, not early death
@@charlesmitchell8982 yes, the average lifespan is calculated by taking all the infant and child mortality into consideration. I didn't even mention the fact that healing magic exists in Thedas, as we don't need to open that can of worms in order to debunk your idea. Stop embarrassing yourself.
@@btiermutineer You're not debunking anything as healing magic does not reverse the aging process, slow it down yes, but not reverse it, or Flemeth would have done so
@@btiermutineer And by the way, average lifespan is based on how old on average people in a population group will be when they come to the end of life, not on how many of the sprogs they spurted out snuffed it before adulthood
I have to stand up for Sten because the nuance in his character is very easy to miss. :
1. His outburst and murder of the family was not because of his mental state but because he had lost his whole reason for being, his sword. Without it, he's nothing in the eyes of the Quun and killed on sight. It's worse than losing a limb, It's losing his whole identity.
2. His comment toward female warriors are not sexist. In the Quun no matter your sex, if you are a warrior, you must also present in a masculine manner full stop. He's expressing shock not that a woman is a warrior but that she also present as such. Something that would be confirmed later with Ironbull if you discuss Krem.
3. I can't think of another game where a follower decides to fight you for leadership. He's still want's to fight the darkspawn he just doesn't think you are the person for the job and that, paired with the Quun gives him a lot of depth in my opinion.
His character is jarring in the moment, but if you trace back all of his actions, they fall perfectly in line with the Quun. A truly neutrally aligned character. Also I think it's ok for him not to change his opinions whether he likes you or not. Life in Parvolan as worked so far and the events in Feraldan aren't enough to shake a whole systematic propagandist agenda like the Quun. I still liked the video tho :D
I can't believe you gave that ugly haircut to Alister.
Lol, he looks like an early 2000s boyband singer with his original haircut, no idea why they had that haircut in the game to begin with, like it's not fantasy at all
@@btiermutineershort hair is anti-fantasy?
@@OutragedVirus66 nope, just that specific haircut. People wouldn't make their hair spiky
@@btiermutineerI think you can do it with beer IRL? Not sure, but def agree that this cut belongs on top of Nathan Drake
I like this look much more, actually, and Alistair is my favorite companion
Alistair being insecure and not able to make decisions makes sense when you take into account his background and the way he was raised. He is the bastard of the King of Ferelden but was raised more like a servant, constantly put down by the people around him, to make sure he wouldn't rise up against his father/brother or get ideas above his station. It would take him a lifetime to unlearn the lessons in his youth.
And the only time he felt he truly belonged was when he got conscripted to be among the Grey Wardens, so of course he sees them through rose-colored lenses. He mourns for them throughout the entire game, because they were his family, and remember it wasn't just Duncan as a father-figure whom he lost, he lost possible brothers, sisters, etc. If you allow Alistair to duel Loghain at the end he even says "Forget about Maric, this is for Duncan." From a role-playing perspective, your own character can mourn their family, their former life throughout the entire game.
As for him throwing a temper tantrum when the player chooses to conscript Loghain, I found that childish too when I was younger, but now when I'm older I find his reaction very human and understandable. It would be like if Alistair proposed that Vaughan Kendells be recruited as a companion if playing an Elf Origins, or Arl Howe for a Cousland. I think if something like that happened I would have had even back then as visceral a reaction as Alistair did against Loghain. And as fascinating as Loghain is as a character, by the time you reach the Landsmeet he has grown so paranoid he led his beloved country into a civil war, sold Ferelden's people into slavery, etc. You have more reasons to believe he wouldn't be worth recruiting in comparison to Alistair who has your back throughout the entire game from beginning to end, is possibly your most steadfast friend/romance/etc.
So I completely disagree with your take about him 😜Now I'm going to watch the rest of the video.
Yeah, I do get why he’s a bit polarizing personality-wise, but to me it makes perfect sense why he is the way he is. Along with being canonically only 20, he kind of shows the dark side of having zero self-confidence despite being in a position of authority. I honestly prefer that to the stereotype of the shy, self-deprecating character that exists to be cute and get coddled by everyone around them.
I too like Morrigan. What I especially like about her is that, despite all her "sass" & "bluster" she DOES get (can be) flustered or even "lose" an argument with party members sometimes!
AKA "not ALWAYS right" (not a "Mary Sue"). Which makes her feel from "real" and three dimensional.
@@sharkdentures3247 yeah, that's another aspect of Morrigan that's great that I didn't mention in the video. As much as she tries to seem like she's above the others, she still loses her cool and "loses" arguments, which is both funny and highlights the fact that she's not really used to interacting with people enough for her to be an expert in sass. She had to trade barbs with Flemeth, sure, but not everyone is going to reply like Flemeth.
Her banter with Sten tho 😂
I actually like the way Sten is in the game, as it showed just how alien the Qunari are. They are terrible and oppressive and they want to conquer the world and "convert" everyone into the Qun, a philosophy in which a person has no free will and cannot do anything other than what they were assigned to do: are you a warrior? you can just fight. A farmer? You can just farm. It's showcased just how limiting that can be in DA2 where the Arishok came to Kirkwall to get back their book, but because he's a soldier leading soldiers he cannot engage in diplomacy, so he just fights and kills until you figure out yourself what he wants. So yeah, he was horrible because the Qunari are horrible, and I think that's just fine in a fantasy game. Especially for me, as it shared some really interesting lore bits
That's fair - I do think Sten portrays the Qunari quite well, but I personally just don't find him a compelling character (separate from him serving as a representative of the Qunari). For example, I think the Iron Bull in Inquisition is a better developed character who still very much portrays the Qunari society well, while being able to be more of his own person and grow due to his experiences outside of the Qun more directly. And this is kind of interesting considering the fact that I generally find most of the Inquisition companions far less developed than the ones from Origins (but I'll obviously talk more about that when I rank the DAI companions)
I completely understand why a lot of people dislike Oghren, but he is a character that has stuck with me since the game released. He's so gross and crude, but I just think he's so funny and genuine. I think he's also a good example of how badly things can turn out as someone living in the very restrictive structure of upper dwarven society. He doesn't have an outlet for his strong emotions except drinking and violence, and even then he's still looked down upon for using those methods as outlets. He's also a good character to show that despite things "working out" his deep seated trauma doesn't go away. Without appropriate work to deal with his past, it's always going to pop up and hinder his life. Despite all of this, if he considers the warden his friend, he will always come through for them. That's why I will always love this disgusting man 😂
Hmm, I never really thought of Oghren as showing the dark side of dwarven society through his personality and addiction, but it makes sense! Not sure how much of that is intentional, though - would've liked to see just a few more deep conversations or hints at this theme for Oghren to feel like he really works as that kind of character for me!
I'll give Oghren a few things. He does mention something interesting in Origins in regards to the Urn of Sacred ashes. He notes the mountain is lyrium heavy and that it is at it's strongest near the Urn. Does foreshadow a potential fate for Lelianna in inquisition as well as foreshadowing the presence of red lyrium in the same game.
Another thing of note is this line when being confronted by the ghost. He just cuts to the chase. "Why don't I save you some time? Yes, I wish I could have saved my family from Branka. I wish I'd been a better mate; maybe she'd have stayed home with a bellyful of baby Oghren and never gone for the anvil. Maybe I failed her. And yes, I came to the surface because I'm barely a dwarf anymore. My family is dead, my honor as a warrior is long gone, I've lost my cast and my house and I have nothing else to lose."
The fact he was capable of that level of self reflection in spite of his nature as the drunken dwarf joke character earned him my respect. At least until Awakening when he went back on any and all character development he had in Origins. Really flanderized him there.
Yeah, I just wish he had more interesting or deep things to say than just these very few scenes. In Awakening they just removed any of this nuance, though, you're right, which is even more disappointing.
Despite Ogrhen reverting back to his old habits, I think it does a good job showing that not every character is going to have their good ending. It doesn't matter if he finds a new love, has kids, or gets a new job, those things aren't going to improve his life if his underlying issues aren't tackled appropriately. I do like that despite being very flawed and gross, he will ultimately do right by your warden, even if he can't do right for himself.
Can’t believe Wynn is supposed to be 50 at oldest. That’s bonkers!
Magic takes its toll. Especially when you’re a teacher at the same time.
По лору в ДАО Винн только 49 лет, а не порядка 60, как нам показали.
She looks about 60 in the game in my opinion.
@@mauricewilks1974 looks 60, talks like she’s 80
Zevran is my fav in this game. I too hide my problems with crappy humor and jokes. I don't take life/things too seriously. I enjoy laughing and having fun. I also just find his romance endearing and how he learns to trust you and let his guard down a bit. This being the first game I had really played that let me romance a male companion as a male character made me so happy too. I love Zevran and miss him and wish he was in the newest game b/c we get to be in Antiva with some of the Crows. Of course, in some world states he could be dead if the player chose that route :(
This
I never understood why people concider Morrigan to be a difficult person to talk to. By that I mean the approval and romance parts.
Morrigan is an extremely practical individual that sees little use in things she or the party cannot benefit from.
She's headstrong and upfront for the most part so it benefits you as the mc to also see things from her perspective while also challenging her in a way that not 'you are wrong' but rather in a 'you can also think about it this way'
As long as you can give a concrete reason for something she will accept it.
@@kitsune0012 I know, I honestly don't understand it either. She makes perfect sense to me, and while yes sometimes she can be a bit "too practical", she still understands if you explain to her why you're doing something.
The answer is really simple: She's a strong-willed and independent minded woman who cares more for personal safety and fulfillment over everything else. She has no interest in pleasing you, and is only there because it makes sense for her goals and obligations. Its apparently endearing on men like Sten, but intimidating on women like Morrigan.
Love Leliana, she’s definitely my favorite character across the franchise. I do think her personality in the beginning is definitely a cope considering what she’s been through. She doesn’t really want anybody to know the truth so she puts on a I’m super nice cute UwU. In reality she’s just a naive (in a good way) and genuine person who’s been through a lot and is figuring it out like the rest of us. She definitely changes in DAI, you can tell she’s just tired. Very mature, but still as genuine to her friends as ever. She’s lost the sparkle in her eye and definitely is ready to jump off the next cliff at any given moment but she’s the same old Leliana. She still has the mechanics to shift her personality too. She never is quite sure who she wants to be and you help her mold into that person depending on your choices. I also think she is the best divine candidate when I think about my personal political beliefs even if I took out my bias towards her. I just think she’s neat!
Just some thoughts on the opinions presented in the video (and considering I fully agree on Alistair's assessment).
Nice to see a weighed opinion, but (to me, at least), Oghren's assessment seems a bit too harsh. I can understand all of the "disgusting" remarks -- which are true, but one has to also note that he owns his world-view and subsequent character reactions ("ah, the stench of human depravity... no wait, that's just me!"). Even with his personal quest -- in Origins it doesn't really do much, that's for sure, but in Awakening the outcome is actually more meaningful, as it actually makes him consider the possibility of caring for someone. Also, baring all the belching / farting, there are rather decent joke banter moments with him (the "pike-twirler" thing with Alistair, or "no one touches Oghren's junk and lives" and "mabari chariots" in Awakening, to name a few), so I wouldn't call him a complete waste of a companion as well. I do agree that more could have been done with his tragic background; but it does make him pretty much an "outcast" character, so it's not really surprising that he doesn't have strong political opinions and things like that. Considering that the dwarves don't leave Orzammar in order to avoid losing their caste, he can't really add to the mage / elven debate, and during the Branka questline he voices an important note -- that neither Bhelen nor Harrowmont really care about her as a person; instead they only seek the things she represent.
As for comparing Shale to Oghren -- while I do love Shale, I must note that, while she does mention fighting darkspawn being a "worthy goal", she also "finds (helsefl) at a bit of a loss" in the beginning, and doesn't really care about anything. She is a bit of a misanthrope, considering that the villagers would be better off if killed by darkspawn. Her best interactions, in my opinion, are during the elf questline, when she says "somebody, please kill somebody", and "I imagine squeezing the elven leader's head like a lemon... squish!", but, again, she doesn't offer much perspective as a mage does (even though she could, being a golem, e.g. a different type of being). What I mean to say here is there's really no point comparing Shale and Oghren specifically, since they have very different stories and character setups to merit that kind of comparison.
I can also see the same pattern of judgement for Sten's character. The thing to note about him is that, while he does make misogynistic and racist statements, that's something that's integral to a society he lives in. If anything, in DA:I Iron Bull subverts that and makes Qunari "just another quirky race", who don't have a strict code of ethics, but rather bend the rules whenever possible. In Sten's case, he is a strong adherent of his people's creed, and, if we consider the comparison to communism, a very "by-the-book" character. That explains his murderous rage, as he found himself in a situation that's outside of the Qunari creed. He said himself that without his sword he's considered "soul-less", so he acted the part. That, of course, doesn't explain how he copes with lacking his sword until you recover it as part of the companion quest (and later sell it, since it's not that good), so, of course, this part isn't that well-written. Still, his rather xenophobic and condescending behaviour to me seems consistent. He begrudgingly decides to learn about Ferelden and their customs, and he eagerly shares the Qun's viewpoints on everything -- the "can we discuss something you mentioned" part of his dialogue. So, the thing you covered earlier, when companions have strong opinions about various aspects of Thedas -- Sten actually is the best representation of that, as he has something to contribute to every decision, from Haven to Denerim. The Qunari culture, at least from his perspective, is rather dogmatic, but that's what makes it different.
As for Wynne, one can only note that, considering the harrowing experience of her youth (being locked in a barn before the Templars took her in), the stressful nature of being a mage (considering they are constantly reminded of the danger of possession), it might not be surprising that she went gray at the age of 49 (or earlier). It's true that "old people" (sorry for the term) don't stress their self-being that much, but one thing that's consistent with the tone of this character, in my opinion, is her rigidness. Indeed, the older a person is, the more difficult it is for them to accept change. In terms of the personal quest -- it's true that she doesn't learn from it, but she does get closure. Indeed, her arc is more about "getting ready for death", and the ruminations about the value of actions one does when alive. Considering that she lives on borrowed time, being a spirit vessel, and the quantity of times she talks about dying, death, and duty (which is important), she can be seen as someone who tries to find peace with her life. That aligns with one of the aspects of being a Gray Warden -- one's limited lifespan due to the darkspawn taint. So she isn't that irrelevant to the main character.
I loved Origins Oghren and hated him in Awakening because writers went too much into "rude drunkard" personality which he stopped being in Origins epilogue
@@Keram-io8hv Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. But look at it this way -- it's like your school / college friend, whom you used to hang out with, but then they got married, and you don't see each other that often anymore, and no longer do any wild parties or whatnot. He has grown as a person, and that's a plus for him as a character :)
@@oleh_lunin They totally redone any of his development in Awakening not developed him further
As for Loghain, I do feel like there are so many inconsistencies in what is said about Ostagar that what you suggested would have been better could actually be read into the game. Like, Alistair and the warden DID get delayed by the darkspawn and we also hear before the battle from random NPCs in camp about how there have been battles with darkspawn already at Ostagar and there's more of them than expected, so it's conceivable to me that Loghain was going along with Cailan's wishes for as long as he could but was regretfully prepared to pull his men out when the darkspawn proved to be too many. It's just that in this case he realised that before the final battle and couldn't convince Cailan to retreat or to not be on the front lines with the grey wardens, which he did try to do. As for the elf slavery though... yeah. That's inexcusable. But it also felt so out of left field and out of character for the leader of the night elves that I've just elected to ignore it. Lol can you tell I'm a huge Loghain fangirl yet xD
@@KuningannaSansa I really enjoy Loghain's character and loved the early novels by David Gaider. I just feel like in the game, Loghain doesn't get enough space to present his point of view, does all sorts of weird stereotypically villain stuff that would've been best left to Howe, and yeah suddenly elf slavery out of nowhere 🤔
@btiermutineer actually some of the stuff he does like sending the blood mage to eamon also doesn't make sense time wise, cause we are told by this knight in redcliffe that eamon fell ill just before ostagar so somehow jowan escaped the circle, was captured and taken to denerim and met loghain and made it back to redcliffe in the time it took for the mage warden and Duncan to get to ostagar where loghain was before them and had already won several battles against the darkspawn? That doesn't make any sense. So I headcanon that the person jowan met that he thought was loghain was actually howe, jowan says he recognised him by portrait but medieval portraits are ofc famously reliable lol and loghain just couldn't have been there unless he had a teleporter.
@KuningannaSansa yeah lol, the whole timeline with Jowan doesn't make sense. It would make way more sense it was Howe, since Howe also clearly keeps random mages in his employ (there's one during the human noble origin, and then of course the one keeping the barrier on Anora's door later).
As someone who has not watched the video yet but has the perfect and only correct opinion, Dog is the best companion.
@@FriendofFantasy lol
Say what you want about Wynne, but the fact the she is a sheltered Circle mage who lived her life in a system where people get promoted based on seniority, her character makes a shitload of sense, and I personally really like her lmao.
Oh yeah, no, her character existing in the world makes 100% sense, I just don't find her compelling lol
Morrigan: Autistic
Oghren: Depressed
Sten: Psychopath
Shale: Aspy
Zevran: Sociopath
Leliana: Psychotic
Wynne and Alistair: Surrounded by insane people
Dog: Good boi
@@simonhansen5038 lol
The Warden: Multiple personality disorder.
Congratulations on the 1k! May you have many more, and I'm looking forward to the next subscriber suggested videos 😍
Also hehe my girl Shale made top 3 nice 🤩😻💕
Thank you!! Can't wait to make all the subscriber suggestions, they were all amazing ideas :D
In regards to Shale being a DLC companion, while yes that is technically true. I do believe that one of the main reasons for this was actually due to time / circumstance. If I'm remembering correctly, Shale was going to be released with the base game, but she was originally going to be the same size as the other golems in the game, and thus Bioware had problems getting her to fit through doors. So they ended up scrapping her as they didn't believe they had enough time to fix this. However the game ended up getting slightly delayed, and with this extra time they brought her back and resized her.
There is actually a reference to this in game where she says her last master sized her down "With a chisel, and a lot of nerve!"
But even with this extra time, they still weren't able to get it completely finished before the release, so had to release it as a DLC, where EA then made the decision to make it a DLC for new owners to discourage second hand purchase. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened with Shale.
The Dog is a surprising powerhouse, able to completely lockdown mages between Overwhelm and Charge, he has one of the only non-magic aoe stuns.
Listening to your first experience with Leliana, I am the complete opposite, I took her everywhere, I found her bard abilities so useful (although, I admit I mostly used her Song of Valor and didn't use Song of Courage until much later), but in every playthrough, I have to almost force myself to NOT use her, the biggest reason I always used her during my first couple playthroughs is how she comes stock with 2 ranks of Deft Hands for lockpicking.
Oghren does bring some interesting dialogue if you bring him to the Gaunlet when going after the Urn of Sacred Ashes, he brings up how there are traces of lyrium in the walls and is the only character to notice it. He also has dialogue with Master Varathorn about their crafting methods versus Dwarven techniques.
There are many copies of Origins that had Shale come for free, while others gave Soldier's Peak. Shale mentions it herself, she has 2 options; "go with it, or go elsewhere". Best part about Shale is how, as a golem, she cannot be targeted by Overwhelm, however, she is the easiest companion to get knocked down by any knockdown ability.
I'm so with you on Oghren - he is obnoxious.
I'm not a fan of the two fan favourites Morrigan and Alistair. Morrigan is the tiresome bitchywitch trope and her constant complaining is grating, Claudia Blacks voice is the only redeeming quality for me. Alistair I don't like mostly for what you listed. For me, both of them didn't really develope as characters and Alistair I want to actively kick for not taking any responsibility. I mostly make him king with Anora, because I think, she is actually better, but he is the more approachable of the two. I think, that works out pretty well in later games and is my preferred fate for him in the world state.They also seem to get along quite well.
I don't agree about Sten: Qunari aren't sexist, there are roles, men can't fulfill either - they are just very strict people in general. His rage another person explained already pretty well imo. I never thought, he would do that again. And really like, how he devlopes along the way.
I actually like Wynne a lot, never found her very preachy. And she really softens up a lot later on. I actually use her more often than Morrigan nowadays.
I like Zevran and Leliana, they are always good to have along and Shale is great. Zevran is a bit like Astarion from BG3 in so far, that he puts on a facade to hide a trauma and Leliana is very open minded imo. When I played a Dalish and she started talking about elves as servants in Orlais and I called her out, she was pretty graceful in accepting her fauxpas. And Shale became a favourite of mine, after I learned about her past.
Loghain I just can't recruit very often, I don't really like Alistair, but Loghain is worse, especially the slave business is something, I really hate. That said, it's worth recruiting him once and taking him and Wynne to Return to Ostagar, since both have quite the insight about the background of everything that happened. Wynne is edging Loghain along in telling his story and it is quite eerie.
Totally agree about Sten. The whole point of that character is he's a product of his environment. He's by far one of the more interesting characters to me. I wish they kept future Qunari characters stoic and closed off like he was as it makes sense due to their culture. Instead they just made them big humans with horns.
It might've been said already, but Loghain becoming paranoid and afraid of "nonexistent" enemies makes perfect sense.
He clearly suffers from severe PTSD or some other kind of mental trauma from the war with Orlais (seen when he almost psychotically yells "WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE ORLAISIAN EMPEROR WAS BURNING YOUR FIELDS AND R**ING YOUR WIVES?!" at the nobles if he loses the Landsmeet) and by the time the Landsmeet happens he's clearly lost the plot, believing everyone who opposes him, for whatever reason, wants to sell out Ferelden. That's why I always kill him - by then it's almost a mercy, since he's a mentally unstable wreck whose sanity is debatable at best.
In addition, though, his fear of inviting the Chevaliers is perfectly valid - once such a large elite force spreads around the country, can Ferelden really expect them to just pack up, say "you're welcome" and leave once the Blight is defeated?
Especially since Orlais is still considered an enemy, with the diplomatic relations still being ice cold at best, and this opportunity would seem almost too good to be true by any military leader.
I don't get how people can blame Alistar for having the reaction he does at you wanting to recruit Loghain at the landsmeet.
Lol, It's like working at a company and the new possible hire is the guy who poisoned your dad (Arl Eamon) , got your father figure dad (Duncan) and new family (The Grey Wardens) killed in a an "Accident" (only one survivor the warden), Demonized you to the public saying that it was your own fault they all died and if anyone knows your whereabouts authorities should be informed, actively put a hit out on you to a known gang (The crows).
The cherry on top is his daughter saying "Look that's all in the past, my father is a great xyz, sure he had his moments but he can be a great asset to your team!"
Worst part is if Alistar isn't made to be king with her, she has him executed or exiled along with Arl Eamon's family afterwards, but hey like father like daughter I guess they're both pretty horrible imo.
Just few hours ago i was looking for this type of video
Hype!
Are you going to rank all of the companions of both Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition? And when Veilguard comes out, are you going to rank the companions of that game too?
@@samflood5631 I will rank the companions in DA2 and Inquisition. Veilguard, no.
It is also okay for some companions for not having major developments. Not everybody has and should have capability to change their views in short notice. Entirety of DA:O timeline is less then a year or so? I wouldn't hold it against them(especially Oghren and Wynne) to not be able to change their views.. considering they are old and coming with a lot of baggage. Also evaluating Sten's morals(how they see women etc.) in a human centric way made zero sense.
Yeah, fair enough. I guess their characters didn't personally resonate for me enough, and I of course have a preference for character development. I can see why other people like these companions, of course!
I think I would rate the companions in about the same way. Morrigan is my favourite character, and I absolute adore Shale. Shale is so snarky in her banter. Would it surprise you to know that Jan Jansen is one of my favourites from Baldur's Gate 2?
I respect your opinion but I do not agree on Alistair
Fair enough!
I also disagree that hardened Alistair isn’t more mature. He is more keen to take on responsiblity like being king, which is definitively mature. He also doesn’t throw a tantrum if you decide to spare Loghain.
am i allowed to see you create your male human warden? he looks so cool and i would love to use him
I heard people say that Alistair is one of the best romances in gaming, and... man, i just couldn't agree less. I don't mind him as a companion, but as a boyfriend... just the worst. Reminded me of my bad teen relationships
Lol, I think "teen" encapsulates the way Alistair feels to me perfectly. He's just a young man who's barely gotten out of the Chantry, has no idea what he wants to do or what life is about, was (unhealthily) dependent on Duncan and completely fell apart when he died... not really a great base there for a romantic relationship. I'm sure that when he's older such as during Inquisition, he's a much more mature character and I'd love to see a romance with THAT Alistair. Personally, I'm not into the whole "pure virgin/golden retriever" romance, but I'm sure that exactly this aspect is part of the appeal for the people who enjoy Alistair's romance.
Doggy is not 10 its heresy 🧐😡 !! Give Doggy Barkspawn 10 now 😢😭😭.
@@BlazingTiger5000 lol
Always keep Loghain alive, because of Kain.
Please can you do a video explaining the games tactics settings and best tactics settings for the companions ?
@@mauricewilks1974 i talk about all sorts of things in the combat mechanics guide, as well as in each of the companions' build guides! Alistair and Morrigan's guides are a bit less clear because they were among the first videos I made, but all the other ones discuss the general approach to tactics for each companion. And of course the combat mechanics guide goes into detail about all the aspects that go into combat so you can make your own decisions on how you want to use your companions and set up tactics!
I do not want to be the one to tell the Dragon Age fans that you put their precious Golden Retriever husband Alistair so low. Goth Swamp Witch wife Morgan is too high in comparison.
Personally, both Alistair and Morgan are fools and dumbasses. But Alistair is aware of his shortcomings and Morgan believes she is wise when she is not.
@@DarkKing009 I explained my *personal* rankings of these companions. It is very much my subjective opinion, and you don't have to agree. I'm a Dragon Age fan, too, so I don't know what you're saying when you mean you don't want to tell "Dragon Age fans" about how I ranked companions, lol. Everyone is free to rank these characters and feel about them however they want.
@@btiermutineer 100%
I keep forgetting Oghren is a charachter who exists. I always refused him joining :D
As a completionist I always feel bad for saving Sten or talking with Ogrhren, I can ignore Wynn's motherhen stick, but I hate the drunken looser and the murderous psycho giving me there thoughts on anything, it just feels wrong. Like way would anyone care what they have to say about anything?
To be fair to Sten, if you do his personal quest it's revealed he suffered from a flashback and has some form of PTSD, causing him an inability to truly go out of fight or flight, and his genuine remorse makes him a fantastic character in my eyes.
But yeah, Oghren is terrible, no arguments there
Morrigan is awesome ❤
hmmm you don't like Wynne as much as me. that means you hate old people and probably babies and puppies too😤
Lol, Wynne isn't old is the thing. She's in her late 40s, early 50s. That's not how she should be acting and speaking 😂
Hey love the videos man! So in detail and interesting to hear how the game is absorbed by someone who is autistic. I recently am playing doa again after its first release and it’s still better than 90% of the games out there today!
Thank you! Glad to hear you're enjoying my videos 😊
OKAY FIRST OF ALL BARKSPAWN IS 12/10!!
Secondly, omg finally someone else who doesn't worship Alistair. I dont even hate him or dislike him or anything, his humour can be really charming and his heart's in the right place, but I dont get the overwhelming love fandom has for him. He forces you to take the lead and make all the difficult choices despite being the senior warden technically and then bitches at you when he doesnt like the choices you make. Not to mention abandons you in the middle of a blight if you spare Loghain to... you know... have more wardens... cause it's a BLIGHT!! It doesnt bother me from a lore perspective though, cause it feels quite natural and realistic that there are always different rules for nobles than for everyone else. And while I do actually agree with you that Alistair should not be hardened and be given that "unearned confidence", I still do it so that he will agree to marry Anora if I spare Loghain cause otherwise he becomes a drunk and I don't want that for him.
Also, I just gotta complain that, as a cullenmancer in Inquisition, I get really annoyed when people say I should like Alistair instead because he's basically the same as Cullen without having been an abusive cop, but like no?? Cause yeah Cullen did some fucked up stuff but it's a game not real life and what makes him appealing as a romance option in Inquisition is that he works hard and is supportive of you, whereas Alistair is often the opposite of that. Like it's probably not fair to compare Alistair at 20 to Cullen at 30, but that's the age he is when I have the option to romance him in Origins and I don't want that child. He can't even cook lol how did he even survive this far.
@@KuningannaSansa lol, I don't mean to be like super rude about Alistair because sure he's young, didn't really get to grow up since he was just sheltered in a Chantry and pushed in the corner before that as a bastard child, and yet... Some of the things he says and does just don't make sense. He had such love and admiration for Duncan, who historically has been making shady choices the entire time. Alistair doesn't bat an eye at Duncan killing Jory, but then if you decide to kill someone who seems like a danger, he's like "no don't do it that's evil it'll make me mad 😩". Says he loves being a Grey Warden because all Wardens are honorable and whatnot, but so many Wardens, Duncan (and possibly the HoF) included, were criminals before they were conscripted, and most certainly don't care much about "honor".
Yeah, I also do harden Alistair sometimes in playthroughs where I spare Loghain so that he can at least rule with Anora. But other times I'm like "okay you want to leave the Wardens, go ahead and... Become a drunk who is doing nothing to improve the world?". Like I guess if that's what he wants to do with his life instead of, I dunno, joining the Chantry as a templar, or becoming a city guard, or working as an assistant at a healer clinic, literally anything... Then I guess that's what he wants? I assume Bioware was like "the correct choice is putting Alistair on the throne or having him be a Warden. If you chose wrong, then we'll punish you by showing you Alistair becoming a drunkard". Otherwise I really can't understand his fate in DA2 - just like how you get disapproval from Varric if you ask him about Orsino's fate not making sense in Inquisition.
@btiermutineer I'm such a softie, I always try to get the best possible ending for everyone, but I have been thinking of trying drunk Alistair I just never have the heart to in the end. But yeah that disapproval from varick annoys me too, writers telling you off for questioning them 🙄
If you're best defense of a character is "well this media isn't real life", that isn't a good defense.
A good defense would be saying that his trauma was manipulated and he was put into a situation that brought out the worst in him but he goes on a path toward change at the end of Dragon Age 2. That's way better than "Don't take it seriously, it's just a game" type defense you tried.
@@channel45853 .... ummm? I wasn't trying any defence? My literal whole point is that one doesn't NEED to defend fictional characters really cause they're fictional? You're allowed to like characters for subjective reasons without needing to find excuses for the messed up shit they do. And Cullen, despite his trauma, is still responsible for the stuff he did. That doesn't actually excuse anything and isn't a defence of anything either. An explanation, sure. But nothing more.
@channel45853 the need to "defend" fictional characters comes from the extremely morally focused "purity culture" going on in society in general. Fictional characters aren't real people, fictional stories aren't real events, and you can enjoy reading/interacting with media even if it depicts things that are considered "morally wrong" in our society.
1. Morrigan.
2. Alistair.
That's it. I've never been a big fan of any of the others.
I think what people forget about Wynne being only 49 is that she is 49 in a medieval setting, where people would not live as long on average as they would in a modern setting, so they would become old at a younger age
@@charlesmitchell8982 lol, how old are you? That's not how that works. The average lifespan of people was much lower due to the fact that there were lots of early deaths (of infants and children). People died of disease because they didn't have access to medicine, used various poisonous substances that they didn't know were poisonous, and didn't have good hygiene. People didn't "get older faster". Lol, this comment gave me a good laugh 😂
@@btiermutineer There's early death's now in case you haven't noticed, and I am talking about average lifespan, which was 45 in medieval times compared to the present day of 82, not early death
@@charlesmitchell8982 yes, the average lifespan is calculated by taking all the infant and child mortality into consideration. I didn't even mention the fact that healing magic exists in Thedas, as we don't need to open that can of worms in order to debunk your idea. Stop embarrassing yourself.
@@btiermutineer You're not debunking anything as healing magic does not reverse the aging process, slow it down yes, but not reverse it, or Flemeth would have done so
@@btiermutineer And by the way, average lifespan is based on how old on average people in a population group will be when they come to the end of life, not on how many of the sprogs they spurted out snuffed it before adulthood