#but i want to talk to people about veilguard that i can't play yet bc i need a new laptop for it

[i-mybrunettelady]

I am suffering from Needy Bitch Disease with a comorbidity of I Don't Want to Annoy People w/ OCs disorder

[harlotofandraste]

yeah so. i just. experienced. some things. in Veilguard

hnnggggg so i think i got at the BIG BIG GIANT Elven Lore stuff wayy too early because I always do everything that is possible to do before advancing the story bc i am worried about missing out on stuff and. lets just say.

Now in hindsight the thought that EA wanted to make DAV "accessible to new players" and an "introduction to the series" seems absolutely ridcuous. People who have not spent YEARS obsessing over Solas and the Evanuris and DA Lore, people who have not played the previous games just could never experience these lore revelations the right way.

I was having almost the same level of "WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUKKKKKKKK" the characters were experiencing. The last few months i was OBSESSING over everything Dragon Age. I can't imagine hearing that kind of stuff and just not rly Getting How Big Of A Deal That Is.

I have not yet decided if I am cool with the lore revelations, i am sure many many people will hate it, but it seems solid so far. Will need to think about that. Am still hella overwhelmed.

And then, after learning all that stuff pre-weisshaupt, I went to talk to Solas, thinking rook was gonna be like "Hey ASSHAT I know everything about you now". But no, it seems we are not supposed to really know all that that early in the story yet or sth. Was kinda funny tho, got my blood pressure to normalize a little bit.

And then Weisshaupt. Not all THAT special at first.

But then Rook Casually says "... Davrin will kill the Archdemon" and I am tearing at my hair screaming internally only because i live in an appartment building and i can't actually scream externally at 1 am but i am. Screaming. And then they just gloss over that. And then after the cutscene they hit you with the little relic you can click at and look at and

"Joining Chalice. Recovered from Ostagar" augh ugh augghh ahg taking 10000 spirit damage over here.

Like, they did that ON PURPOSE ughgh. Evil.

Then Davrin solemly mentions, while we are slicing our way through a million darkspawn that he knows he will die killing the archdemon and he's cool with it and i am just like. NOOO BABY PLEASE NO

And I am thinking, maybe maybe that asshole first warden I knocked out (hilarious btw that all of them greatly approve except for emmrich who apparently values being polite more than saving the world), maybe he will kill the archdemon. AND THEN I WAS SCREAMING WHEN HE ACTUALLY STUMBLES IN, WANTING TO STEAL THE KILL.

I was absolutely like, yeah sure man go right ahead, idiot. lmao. that was very funny.

we survived i guess. i didn't expect that the team would actually kill Gilly that time because well that would be too early and too easy. feeling very very sorry for Lucanis and Davrin.

But man this game is taking it out on me bruh i am. unwell. thinking about everything.

AND I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN TO KISS ANYONE HELLO??????

[rosetinted-escape]

I finished the game on Sunday, so here's my thoughts. There WILL be spoilers under the cut right up to the end of the game, so don't read if you haven't finished yet!

Seriously MAJOR STORY SPOILERS for the entire plot of Veilguard including the Lucanis romance. Also LONG LONG LONG post lol.

Okay so I played a trans man rook. He was a shadow dragon mage. I used the masculine British voice.

Despite this, bc I knew I wanted to romance Lucanis, I sacrificed Minrathous. I would recommend against doing this, just bc I think you miss out on a good chunk of shadow dragon stuff if you do. In my next playthrough where I romance him, I'll probably be an Antivan Crow.

Generally though I loved the game. The way I play DA is I do the stuff I want first playthrough so I can get the main story and then go back and do the rest later. This playthrough I did Lucanis, Neve and Taash's personal quests. I sacrificed Bellara and Harding and Emmrich also died bc I didn't do his quest (oops). My favourite characters are Neve and Lucanis.

Choosing between Minrathous and Treviso was a really hard choice and I wasn't expecting it so early on in the game. Ultimately, I think in most of my playthroughs I will choose Minrathous, but this time I chose Treviso. That is a ROUGH choice if you're playing a Shadow Dragon. Both Neve and Lucanis make good points as to why you should save their city, and both have pretty devastating reactions if you don't.

Overall story

I really enjoyed the story, I felt it was a good carry-over from Inquisition that made sense and there was a good amount of characters from previous games and the characters who appeared made sense.

Weisshaupt was an absolutely BRUTAL quest. A lot of Grey Warden related stuff I found much more challenging than other parts of the game (eg. confronting the Gloom Howler). It made a lot of sense though, and I like that you don't and can't 'win' that quest. It's fucked whatever you do, whatever choice you make. The conflict between Lucanis and Davrin following as well is brilliantly done, and makes a lot of sense. Davrin's conflicted feelings about not dying when he killed the archdemon are also really nicely done, and make a lot of sense given what we know about Grey Wardens. I imagine for people who sacrificed either Alistair or the Hero of Ferelden there are also some feelings there as well!

Ice and Fire completely fucked me. I initially tried to do this quest at a level 25. This was a mistake. I was stuck for like an hour before I finally gave up and went to do some other stuff first before going back around a level 28-29 ish. It's a brilliant fight though and the almost-killing of Ghilan'nain was really frustrating! I thought we finally fucking had her!

The Endgame is honestly where this game really shines. I feel like there's a huge tone shift here where the game becomes much darker. I feel like all the end of act quests have this, but endgame is something else. I truly cannot describe the way I felt when I killed Ghilan'nain and was then thrown into the fucking fade prison! Especially seeing Lucanis dead on the floor as it happened, and then him turning into Varric. So well done. Hearing the voices of those you sacrificed ridiculing you and blaming your for their deaths is beyond brutal (and there's no way to avoid the sacrifices!). The feeling of hearing Varric in the fade as well and realising what this must mean. Finding out that VARRIC HAS BEEN DEAD THE WHOLE TIME!?!?!? I was FURIOUS at Solas.

Of course, eventually you get out and discuss next steps and this is when you get the 'proper' Lucanis romance scene. I'm going to talk about his romance properly, but this scene was so beautifully written and I absolutely adored it.

When I finally fought my way through Minrathous and met up with Solas again, I was RAGING at this bitch. 'You must trust me' be SO fucking for real. My one small issue here is that you can't choose not to trust him. You can be angry at him, but ultimately you do kind of have to do what he says (which no sane person would do).

The final fight was a little lacklustre for me. Overall I found Weisshaupt and Fire and Ice were more challenging for me than most, if not all of Endgame, but that's fine honestly, as I found similar things in Inquisition and also Zelda Breath of the Wild (Thunder blight vs Ganon was ridiculous), so it's not exactly unheard of in video games.

And then MOTHERFUCKING SOLAS comes along, and tries again to tear down the veil AGAIN. I personally chose to trick him with the other dagger. I found it to be a really satisfying end, to have finally one-upped him once and for all. My current playthrough I'm aiming to redeem him just to see what happens, but I honestly don't really think he deserves it. I do enjoy his character, and he is very complex, but ultimately he IS a villain. From what I've seen, the 'redemption' is him going to the fade willingly (and possibly taking a romanced Lavellan with him). I like both these endings for him, because he is ultimately helping save the world, which is what he claims he wants to do (which I still kind of have some doubts about), it's just about whether he goes willingly or by force.

Characters, Quests and Interactions

I really liked the characters for the most part. Some of them I couldn't get super into (personally Emmrich and Bellara), but I felt the same way about some characters in Inquisition (never really got into the Iron Bull or Solas or Vivienne, though I'm going out of my way to interact with Solas more in my current playthrough and DAMN he just lies right to your face doesn't he?).

I do wish the interaction worked more similarly to Inquisition in that you can just go up to people to say hi and then leave. I don't know why, I always just thought it was nice.

As I mentioned before, my personal favs are Lucanis and Neve. I love a character so involved in fighting oppression and not always playing by the rules to do so (hence why I love the Shadow Dragons as a concept). She's also really quite funny and sarcastic and takes you to skip stones on the docks! Very cute no notes. She's committed and dedicated and does not take shit, but we also get to see her scared and vulnerable, which is important in any character.

Lucanis was written really well imo. I'll get to his romance in a bit, but overall his character arc was really interesting. Going into the fade to fight through the mental prison he's constructed for himself and convince him he's worthy of love and care? 10/10 no notes.

Taash's quest was honestly devastating. Came out to their mother (who they already have conflict with due to not being qunari enough and not fulfilling expectations, not being careful enough with their fire), wasn't accepted. To be expected, if you meet a queer character's parents in game, this seems to be the case (LOOKING AT YOU HALWARD PAVUS!! FUCK YOU!!!). She's KIDNAPPED, you go to save her and immediately after she demonstrates the beginning of understanding and accepting her child's identity BAM she's murdered. There's then a really important conversation with Taash about grief and how it feels different when there is a big part of you that the dead person didn't know about/fully accept, which I'm sure hit home for a lot of people. One thing I've found slightly disappointing is that Taash's entire struggle is reduced down to just being non-binary by some people, when really it's about identity as a whole. Can't say I'm surprised because people did exactly the same with Dorian (he's gay, and that's a big part of his story, but it's also about combatting stereotypes/challenging expectations, dealing with family conflict, not living up to familial expectations). Again, not surprised, but I wish queer people in media weren't constantly reduced down to only their queerness.

-The convo before the final battle. Just gorgeous. 'I assumed you know my heart bc it beats for you' 'tell me this ends with me asleep in your arms and I will kill any God you ask'. I also like that he does actually say the words 'I love you' bc Dorian never does that and I think it's important for characters like them, who are not emotionally vulnerable for much of them game, or who struggle to be at least, are able to eventually. My main (and only) gripe with the Dorian romance is that, and that when you're in your room with him after the party he literally says 'you're incredibly dull and I hate you. I hope this ends soon' and OBVIOUSLY he's joking, but it was kinda sad.

Lucanis Romance

I've seen a lot of opinions about the Lucanis romance, some good some bad, so here's my thoughts as well.

Admittedly, me and a friend looked up the pacing, because I was about halfway through the game and not much had happened. Initially, I did feel disappointed and frustrated at the results. I was used to romancing Dorian; sprinting to Redcliffe at the earliest opportunity, picking all the flirting options, running to shout at his dad (once again, FUCK YOU HALWARD PAVUS!!!!) and then that's the romance started.

However, knowing what we know about Lucanis' experiences and trauma, the way his romance progresses makes a lot of sense. He's joined you STRAIGHT FROM A TORTURE PRISON and was also beaten by his grandmother. It makes total sense that it would take time for him. His romance progresses like this (roughly if I've got the order right):

-Coffee with the crows. You argue with his cousin and then you both get a little drink. You talk about last vs first kisses and what coffees suit each kind. He remembers your favourite drink. This is also where you come out to him if you play a trans character. This is the earliest of all the romances I've seen.

-Post-Weisshaupt. There will be an almost kiss. I LOVED this scene, much more than the other 'almost kisses' with other companions. It makes a lot of sense that he interrupts himself and leaves the situation. It's frustrating for the player I guess, but I think it just shows how fearful he is about allowing himself to have feelings for Rook, much less act on them.

-Post-Fire & Ice. He'll be cooking a meal, and he'll make a dessert specifically made to go well with whatever you told him your favourite drink was. At this point you'll confirm your romance, but no kiss.

-At some point (I think at the end of his personal quest) there's also a coffee date and spite is there also. I saw some people say it felt like you were third wheeling with spite but I didn't get that at all personally.

-Potentially controversial bc I know people often don't like fade quests (and fr fuck the fade quest in origins that is the bane of my existence), but the one for Lucanis HOLY SHIT incredible. I still don't really understand how it happened, but I loved the concept and the overall way it went.

-FINALLY, once you escape the fade prison, you'll get a kiss. This is an absolutely gorgeous scene; the writing is brilliant, the VOICE ACTING is incredible. The emotion in both Lucanis and Rook's voices is just... I have no words. It's so emotional and intimate. I am a Dorianmancer through and through, but this scene holds a close second. 'Would you talk to me? Your voice is a comfort.' 'I thought I'd never see you again.' So airy and despondent, like he'd truly given up hope holy SHIT.

References to previous games/returning characters

I thought there were as sufficient references to previous games as there realistically could be without the use of the Keep. I do wish there were more, and I have a few more characters it would have been nice to see/be mentioned.

Obviously I'm biased, but I'd have liked more Dorian. I also think a lot of the characters I'd have liked to see again wouldn't have worked without the keep. I'd have liked to see Zevran to perhaps offer some insight as to what happened with the crows and why they're not as bad anymore for some reason?? Was it him? Did he just kill everyone making it like that? It would have been nice for that to be addressed.

It would have been nice for the HoF and Alistair to be mentioned at ANY POINT in ANY of the grey warden quests and frankly I think it's weird it wasn't. Regardless of who was sacrificed or left in the fade or whatever, they still single handedly ended the last blight at like 20 so. Idc.

I've not played DA2 yet, but I'd have liked to seen/heard from Fenris relating to the shadow dragons.

I also (perhaps controversially bc I know lots of people hate him) would have like to see/hear from Anders.

Choices from previous games

This was/is majorly controversial that they only carried over 3 decisions. I'm not TOO bothered about it, but I wish there had been more. I think how the game played out would have worked as a default world state, but other decisions could/should have been included.

I think the main issue for me is that the choices you DO make have almost no impact on the game other than passing dialogue. For inquisition remained/disbanded its the Inquisitor talking about how they still have all their friends. Romance is literally just a letter??? Not even mentioned by name by the Inquisitor, Solas, Dorian, Varric OR Harding. The Inquisitor calling Dorian a "friend" even if he romanced him?? (Which I do kinda get cause rook is just a random kid and Dorian is a Magister with responsibilities, but come on). I will say though Dorian's letter just... perfection (and the few others I've seen where incredible too).

Where I think they REALLY could have played it better is whether you vowed to stop or save Solas. Imagine Rook trying to kill Solas, but a sympathetic Inquisitor stops them or vice versa. Not saying Rook should have to fight the Inquisitor by any means, but I'm sure there would have been a way to do it so that choice ACTUALLY mattered rather than rook just being able to completely make that choice.

Seeing people whine about Dragon Age: The Veilgard in YouTube comments sections about the fact you can give your Rook pronouns and top surgery scars.

I am about to make the GAYEST most TRANGENDER Rook ever. That mf is gonna have blue hair and pronouns. He WILL be a mage, and he WILL be romancing Lucanis.