#varicent

[technology098]

Top Sales Performance Management Tools: Steering Your Business Towards Success

Sales performance management Market Share plays a pivotal role in the success of any organization by ensuring that sales teams are achieving their targets and contributing to the overall business goals. However, overseeing and measuring sales performance can be a daunting and time-intensive endeavor for sales managers. 

This is where the utility of sales performance management tools becomes evident. These tools are   engineered to aid sales managers in refining their SPM processes, enhancing sales analytics, motivating sales teams, and streamlining sales administration.

In this blog post, we're going to examine the leading sales performance management tools for 2023. We will delve into the functionalities and pricing of each tool to assist you in identifying the most suitable option for your organization's requirements.

What is Sales Performance Management?

Sales Performance Management encompasses the processes, methodologies, and software used to monitor, guide, and enhance the performance of sales activities and teams. It focuses on optimizing sales strategies, managing commissions, setting quotas, providing training, and deploying sales plans. SPM tools offer insights into sales trends, individual performance metrics, and overall efficiency, making them indispensable for sales leaders.

What are sales performance management tools?

Sales performance management Market Forecast tools are essential for guiding sales leaders in ensuring their teams are on the right path to achieve their objectives. These tools typically encompass a variety of features, including:

Sales and Quota Planning: This feature enables sales leaders to establish sales targets and quotas for their teams, ensuring clear goals are set.

Incentive and Compensation Management: With these functionalities, you can craft and execute incentive schemes and commission models that drive your team towards meeting their sales goals.

Sales Analytics and Forecasting: These tools provide sales managers with up-to-the-minute insights into their team's sales activity, empowering them to make well-informed choices regarding sales tactics, future sales projections, and the distribution of resources.

Sales Training, Coaching, and Gamification: These aspects offer avenues for training and mentoring your team to enhance their sales competencies and motivate them to reach their quotas.

Having outlined what sales performance management tools entail, let's proceed to explore the top selections for this year.

Top Sales Performance Management Tools

Several SPM tools have made their mark in the industry, each with its unique features tailored to different business needs. Here's a look at some of the most prominent ones:

Xactly

Xactly is renowned for its comprehensive suite of SPM solutions, including incentive compensation management, sales planning, and performance analytics. It's designed to provide real-time insights into sales performance, helping managers make informed decisions and drive sales growth.

Oracle Sales Performance Management 

Oracle's SPM tool offers a robust platform for managing sales strategies and compensation plans. It integrates seamlessly with CRM systems, providing a unified view of sales activities and performance metrics. Oracle SPM is known for its scalability, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

SAP Sales Cloud

SAP Sales Cloud is part of the SAP Customer Experience suite, focusing on sales force automation and performance management. It offers features such as sales forecasting, territory management, and incentive administration, aimed at improving sales efficiency and productivity.

Anaplan

Anaplan stands out for its connected planning platform, which extends beyond traditional SPM functions. It allows for real-time collaboration and planning across various business functions, including sales, finance, and HR, fostering a more integrated approach to performance management.

Varicent

Varicent specializes in SPM solutions that emphasize sales performance analytics and incentive compensation management. It's designed to help businesses optimize sales territories, manage quotas, and automate commission calculations, thereby enhancing sales effectiveness. 

For More Info Click Here

Role of Market Intelligence Reports in Growth and Platform Selection

In choosing the right SPM tool, businesses often face the challenge of navigating through a multitude of options, each claiming to offer the best features. This is where the market intelligence report of Quadrant Knowledge Solutions becomes incredibly valuable. Their comprehensive analysis provides insights into the market landscape, including the "Market Share: Sales Performance Management, 2022, Worldwide" and "Market Forecast: Sales Performance Management, 2022-2027, Worldwide."

These reports not only present a detailed overview of the current market share held by leading SPM tools but also forecast future trends and growth opportunities in the SPM market. By analyzing factors such as technological advancements, evolving sales strategies, and market demand, Quadrant Knowledge Solutions offers a strategic perspective that can guide businesses in making informed decisions about which SPM platform best aligns with their goals and requirements.

Conclusion 

Implementing an effective Sales Performance Management tool is a strategic investment that can lead to enhanced sales productivity, better sales strategies, and ultimately, significant business growth. The tools mentioned above represent just a fraction of what's available in the market, each with its strengths and specialized features. However, the ultimate choice should be informed by a thorough understanding of your business needs, sales processes, and the insights provided by market intelligence reports like those from Quadrant Knowledge Solutions. Their analysis on market share and forecasts equips businesses with the knowledge to choose a platform that not only meets their current requirements but also supports their growth trajectory over the coming years.

[spacefae]

Unromanceable characters in Dragon Age Veilguard I find extremely attractive:

Elek Tavor (i think he looks better than Illario. And Illarios gives sleazy vibes.)

The Viper (i believe this is obvious. Picturing a grey warden with him after *that* quest choice is *chefs kiss*)

Vorgoth (no I'm not explaining this)

Cyrian (HES SUCH A CUTIE PATOOTIE LIKE BALLORA UGH)

Holden (Let me be Mila's mom and we will terrorize Holden together)

The Butcher (*bites lip and tucks hair behind ear shyly* I said what I said)

Varric (for the love of God. I've loved this man for 3 games.)

EDIT: Tarquin! How did I forget Tarquin! Honestly, all Shadow Dragons can get it.

[walk-the-fade]

The Epilogue card that says "Varic ignored all incoming letters from The Prince of Starkhaven" Is FUNNY ASF when Hawke is left in the fade and romanced Sebastian. Mans is DESPERATELY searching for answers on what happened to his wife and the queen of his country and Varic is like "lmao not my problem choir-boy"

[fortheloveofsolas]

Pretty sure this has been done but it's the way that Solas looks at Lavellan when Varic questions Solas about changing one's nature if you so wish to.

[spider-gets-artsy]

Got some customs from @deepseaspriteblog so I'm trying to give them icons as I upload them to TH :3

Varice Morbus | Rags (Ragela) Muffin | Parion Lugeos

[herearedragons]

.👀

(if you Want To Explain)

okay so.

Adina: See the scar on the back of my head? Got that from a templar.

Cassandra: A templar who was attempting to subdue an apostate, I'm sure.

Adina: Yeah, that's it.

Cole (if in party): Down on the ground, beaten, bleeding. Iron in my mouth. The shield comes down from above — this is it — I call lightning to take him with me.

Adina: He, uh. He didn't make it. The templar.

Vivienne (if in party): Cassandra, dear, do I understand correctly that she is confessing to murder?

Cassandra: Why... are you telling me this?

Adina: Don't know. I just say whatever's on my mind. Seeing you fight reminded me, and — you know what, just forget about this.

Cole (if in party): She won't.

...the thing is, in my mind they already had this pretty crunchy dynamic where they start off extremely wary of each other. People like Cassandra have tried and failed to kill Adina. People like Adina have tried and failed to kill Cassandra. By all accounts, they should be at each other's throats, but they've found themselves bound, by duty or loyalty, to the same cause and the same person (this is happening in the Aqunverse), and they have to figure out a way to live with that.

and eventually they become kind of desensitized to each other. Cassandra slowly comes to see Adina as more than A Threat. Adina figures that if Cassandra wanted to do something to her, she'd have tried already. And they do have things in common, like a preference to fight in the fray and a tendency to act before they think and, weirdly, being spirit-touched, though in different ways, and. against all odds. they get along. they become friends

....which I already like a Lot as a friendship dynamic, but also it WOULD be kind of funny to give Cassandra a bi awakening about it. what if you met a womam who was the antithesis to everything that YOU are and she was??? happy??? and kind of cool??? and then there's the thing about Cassandra being all about Duty and Order and Following Orders (but also she can't help but rebel when she feels like the orders are wrong) and Adina being as close as a mortal can get to Freedom Incarnate and, really, the metaphor kind of writes itself. also I could do something fun with Adina's arc of finding herself bound by duty for the first time in her ENTIRE LIFE because she wouldn't leave her best friend behind and so it meant she had to join the Inquisition and the Inquisition has Rules and Limitations the Valo-Kas didn't really have. and I think her and Cassandra could have some fun banter about this also. all in all, I think they both learn things from each other, so maaaaaybe they also kiss about it. as an AU if nothing else. I don't know if it would develop past a situationship, but I think that, if played right, it could be cute

ALSO dragon-coded character x dragon hunter-coded character

[lyssq]

Stupid Willverse text posts… part one?

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Ok, I was relistening to the Emperor Mage audiobook the other day, and holy cow can we talk about Varice Kingsford for a second. Our girl is immensely consistent from Tempests and Slaughter to Emperor Mage that all she wants is to use her gift to make things pretty and use that to smooth diplomatic paths, and there are the seeds of her being...I don't even know how to describe it properly, under Ozorne's power? Ozorne's lackey? In Ozorne's corner? But when it came to the part in Emperor Mage where Daine is wrecking the palace and runs into Varice, the absolute soul-baring honesty of responding to "Did you betray Numair to Ozorne?" with "No, but I might have if I'd been specifically asked to" just hits so hard.

Varice just wanted to plan parties and play house, and literally none of the men in her life accepted that. They kept pushing and pushing and so she ended up in Ozorne's court, watching one childhood friend murder their mutual childhood friend and her lover. That situation will never not be hideously messed up, but the tragedy is how clearly Varice can see the dynamics in her own relationships.

Just let the kitchen witch do kitchen witchy things that make her happy!!!

[publicite-francaise]

Bagnoles de l'Orne, varices, phlébites, par Paul Colin, 1937.

[anti-eluvians]

First Veilguard playthrough thoughts! Spoilers obviously. I started writing things down about 24 hours in, most of which was exploring the maps and avoiding plot (as is tradition).

Overall I loved it. Obviously. One doesn't cry for twenty minutes over a world they don't care about. Or write however many words this post ends up about events that didn't affect them.

Post introduction- I'm really worried about Lace. She's taking everything too hard and I don't know if I can save her without romance.

Bellara is so cute and so smart, but basically Merrill if Merrill had been supported. That romance may appeal to me later but not on this run

So they really put something to steal on the very first aravel we can ever board. Really? Really???

After D'Meta's Crossing- the chat with Varric where he comforts us about the hardship of leading and says he met us during our faction's catalyst event. Doesn't that make him this game's Duncan? So all Rooks happened but only the one he was WITH got recruited? I love and hate that because we know what happened to Duncan.

Solas said the Blight we've dealt with since Origins is a tiny fraction, and that his rebellion drove the Evanuris to turn to it as a weapon. That sounds a LOT like the time Andruil went too deep "into the Void" and Mythal had to beat her ass to cleanse her. So WHO or WHAT is in the Void that actually created the Blight? Is it Titans?

If the lyrium ritual dagger is such pure lyrium dwarves wouldn't work it... is Rook gonna be okay carrying it around??? Clothing is not enough to protect someone from lyrium poisoning! Are we gonna start hearing the song and hallucinating like Origins Templars?? Honestly I would love that lol

I'm quite pleased that my pre-game take on Rook has panned out! My Rook chose to join Varric & Lace on their mission so she's not nearly as weighed down as my other three leads. Warden was forced to Join or die. Hawke was forced to flee and stumbled into infamy trying to protect their family. Inquisitor picked up the wrong rock and was shunted into their role as Herald/Inquisitor. Rook could have said no, but chose this path. Having had a choice is so freeing!

Reading that Lorelei (the Shadow Dragon vendor) was from Denerim is the second time I cried. Loghain sold her into slavery before the Warden could rescue her and I feel, weirdly, personally responsible for failing her.

I can't believe Lucanis is so charming and doesn't even try. I can take him out with anyone and they get along. Not sure yet if that's a HIM thing or Bioware avoiding the friction of Anders/Fenris and Vivienne/Blackwall.

So the Dalish and Veil Jumpers know that the Evanuris sucked actually. That is AMAZING for me because I've wanted my Lavellan to shout what she learned (from the Well of Sorrows and in Trespasser) from the rooftops. That it is now common knowledge means SOMEONE shared what the Inquisition knew! And I have no reason to think it can't be my girl at an Arlathvhen. Which is what I always wanted for her; spread the word, brace the world against whatever Solas did next.

My clever brilliant snarky sister pointed out that maybe there are seven Old Gods for Tevinter but nine Evanuris because Mythal and Solas weren't sealed and don't count. I had to stare at a wall for a while. And if they really are the same entities, which Archdemon was which Evanuris?? And also, we're out of dragons so what happens after? A question Solas snarked at Blackwall in 9:41, the ass.

They really got to built the Kirkwall they WANTED with Minrathous. Twisting winding streets so easy to get lost in. I wish DA2 had gotten the development time it deserved.

Griffons made me cry happy tears and jump up and down. Losing the griffons immediately had me in stunned silence. And now.... it's Amaranthine all over again. Virmire. This sucks haha

I looked up the consequences of "Minrathous or Treviso" because I had to stop and go to work in the morning & cannot wait another 10 hours having simply CHOSEN. Mostly I feel like I made the right choice but Neve may never forgive me and that hurts. Reddit is also saying that the faction shop in the abandoned city is GONE. Does that mean I failed Lorelei again?? That she's dead??? Or just won't sell to me anymore? I have to wait until I get home from work and I really don't want to know!

Update: they fucking executed her. By burning. I have never sought out fights with a Dragon Age faction before but I scoured Minrathous for Venatori. It felt like hunting Cerebus after the ME3 coup. I wanted blood and by god I took it.

In Arlathan forest after Davrin's mission I think I found the trail of the fourth Forbidden One. I had forgotten I even hoped they would be in the game!

The book club throughline is very cute and very sweet. I may even use it as the DAV group tag somehow. The cooking and domestic life stuff is heartwarming. Healing. I hope someone has written lovely canon-compliant fanfic for me to find after I finish the game.

The devs really went all out with the set dressing stories. Finding the corpse clutching an Evanuris relic made me put the controller down for a sec. And finding Keeper Hawen's skeleton made me outright cry.

I can't remember if Varric narrated in DA2, but I know he didn't narrate as much as they have him doing in this game. While it is fun listening to him write our story while we're still in it, it's also kind of disheartening to know how many people are stacked against us! Shut the fuck up Varric!

Gotta love the devs leaving little treats for players by key locations. Loot bags, ore, small chests-- like tempting a dog into a car with snacks lol

Tell me why the map that feels most "Dragon Age" is the worn down, miserable, dark, decrepit farm swamp. It feels like Lothering and I hated that place

I take it back I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVE THE ECHOING WELL

After the Cobbled Swan meeting:

Wow okay wow okay so the South is OVERRUN with the new Blight and that's why Inquisitor isn't involved. That makes sense and I appreciate Bioware acknowledging there would need to be a Good Reason. that said I am still annoyed she has a prosthetic at all but also started shaking and crying immediately.

Still thinking about this. everywhere we've ever loved is burning. And despite trying to rally the South again the Inquisitor made time to save Lace's Ma? Shut up I'm emotional again. though I wonder how "evil inquisitor" players feel about that move... Also glad to see that APPARENTLY non-Well Morrigan and Well-Drinker-Inquisitors reached a truce in the last 10 years. I hated having any PC who distrusted Morrigan.

Regrets of the Dread Wolf:

Wow. There was so so SO much information stored in the Regret murals. So many theories confirmed. Solas was a wisdom spirit, ALL elves were spirits, the elves waged war and killed the Titans, Solas and Mythal were Very Close, the Black City was elven/the Chant is incorrect. I should be reeling but really I am just. Vibrating out of my skin. Seven years of wondering, vindicated. What I did NOT expect is for Solas's dagger to have caused the Blight by sundering Titans and their dreams/lyrium. We thought lyrium and blight could be connected but never quite to this extent. THAT has me reeling.

So like. The Evanuris used Solas' dagger to end the Titan war, which also created the blight. They then went mad with that corrupted force (including Andruil and her Void swim) (Void = the emptiness left behind by the death of Titans?) and killed Mythal. Solas locked them, and all knowledge of the blight, away in slumber using their life force to power the prison. However the prison/veil also split magic and spirits from the material world, destroying the world order. Then the magisters siderial (one per locked-away Evanuris) accidentally let a pinprick of that power out, starting the First Blight. Do I... do I have it right.

Hold on (reviewing footage) the FIRST MEMORY we can view says Solas and Mythal met in secret because he had already split from the group. So is his rebellion NOT rooted in her murder?? Which is what he said in Trespasser??

the Regrets questline is destroying me. Morrigan ended up carrying Mythal anyway, after seeing her mother's ghost regret dying? After all I did to keep her as herself! Then that final word from Mythal that the elves of today can and will surpass Arlathan-- I started crying again. Leave me alone!!

Weisshaupt. Very emotional and too immersive for me to remember any thoughts. But I swear to god if Cabin In The Blight is Anders I will SCREAM.

Genuinely worried that Varric is a fade ghost and that's why no one ever visits him. That he died at the ritual and Rook is hallucinating.

You know the longer I think about it the more upset I am that Morrigan inherited Mythal. I spent the last 3 games trying to prevent what was, apparently, her inevitable fate. Why even give us the choice of the Well? Why offer the Dark Ritual at all? I'm used to going against canon (Warden Alistair) but this feels like a slap in the face to all my choices. All this along with essentially wiping southern Thedas off the map. So what was the point of our hero's effort? Just to, as Solas said in Trespasser, buy a few more years of peace?

Lace's fight with the Shade was such a great scene. I can't help but remember that she was present for the DAI Corypheus finale and saw him split the earth, lifting the Inquisitor's party into the sky. When she turned around to split Rook & Co from her own platform I gasped.

Emmrich wants to be a what

~~~

Took a 3 week break for the holidays, came back and started the loyalty missions. Sad I don't expect to see Cole or Sandal in the last act. This game broke Sandal's perfect score!

I also realized while gone that Lace was so angry at the start but seemed to settle down suddenly because the Shade split off. Her anger LITERALLY LEFT her body. And now she has dwarven/Titan magic. If we get another DA game I NEED it to be about the dwarves.

Poor Taash. Shathann (Sumalee Montano) knocked that final scene out of the park and I wept.

Loved the treasure hunt! And a new Compassion who talks like Cole and wants a big hat!! Cuuute

All these Chasind/Alamaari references got me emotional too. Makes me miss Jaws of Hakkon and Ferelden.

Wow the Warden puzzle in Sharksmouth is both so satisfying and so annoying! I love all the nods but hate that none of these statues are people from Last Flight. You know. The book about the Fourth Blight. That one.

On the other hand I got the Meredith unique item (mage flavor) so I can't stay mad loll

Okay! So! Wow! I would never guess that Taash's plot would be the one to highlight What Lies Across The Sea. frankly, I thought the executors would be on the same level as the snake men: namely, a joke that Bioware would never follow through on. And WHAT is all this NOISE about a STORM! Green clouds like Fade magic? The original Kossith settlers fled across the sea only to fall to the First Blight. The tablet says those blessed with dragon fire "see the unseen" so what is it about dragons (and archdemons) that means they can fight back? Is the Qun a sign that the Kossith left behind failed? So the Executors founded or inspired the Qun? This quest left with so many more questions I worry we'll never have answered.

Lost and Profane left me so upset I didn't write anything down. Seeing what became of Isseya was too terrible to feel good about saving the griffon babies. And then having to choose what happens to the griffons left me actually out loud sobbing for 15~ minutes. My sister sat with me until I calmed down. Yes I chose Arlathan but I feel like a traitor to my Warden and everyone who ever hoped to see a griffon again. And not being able to show Isseya Revas' feather because I decked the First Warden does not make me want to load an old save, it makes me angrier at the writing.

Bellara's mission hit less hard. I thought we would have to choose Cyrian's fate not... that. She really is Merrill The Second. So just like with Merrill I encouraged her to keep the item with lore of her ancestors. Also Anaris was looking for shelter from a storm. Bioware what are you up to

Still worried about fade ghost Varric. Are we keeping his soul from peace? IS there an afterlife for dwarves? Only if the Maker is real! Or is it all bad/slipshod writing because Mary Kirby was sacked before writing ACTUALLY wrapped???

I feel the need to point out that with the new rules introduced with Corypheus and enforced by Isseya, The Architect COULD TOTALLY COME BACK. UTHA WAS RIGHT THERE HE COULD ABSOLUTELY BODY HOP AND JUST BE CHILLING IN THE DEEP ROADS COME ON

Emmrich saved Manfred. My personal distaste for undead was less important than saving Emmrich's son (though we couldn't ask Fred's permission and that does bother me a bit).

~~~

Okay it is January 2025. My sister says I will likely finish the game this weekend. So here are my 'pre end of act 2 and/or third act' thoughts:

If Solas really killed Varric I may just take any chance to break the egg. I've had Varric way longer and he's been too important to too many of my heroes to go out like this.

IDK how to feel about the option to encourage my Inquisitor to actually get back with Solas. I had thought before playing DAV that she might DIE with him so if that's on the table I'm prepared for it. But they had her mention "give it all up for him" and uhh was that an option? Yes she loves him enough to die with him but does she love him enough to LIVE WITH him, and accept allllll his bullshit? I don't know. It'll depend how they present the choice, I guess.

I also said pre-release that if I could sacrifice Rook like we could sacrifice Warden in DAO that I would. That WAS before I romanced anyone so I don't know if I would go through with it given the chance. That's what save files are for I suppose?

My sister is being SO OMINOUS about act 3. She gives me the saddest looks but also says she loved the ending, I don't know what to think!!

I also built my Rook playlist on the idea of playing a Lawful Evil/Renegade Rook but the game has not allowed or led me in that direction. So now I'm considering going full renegade in act 3 as like a character breaking point... but my girl Mercar has held up far better than any of the other three did this far into their plots.

Knowing who writes the Randy Dowager has me in stitches and also agony

~~~

Well. Finished the game January 12. So much happened in the last four hours of gameplay that I really haven't processed it yet. Let's start with: I hate being right about Varric. Loved the prison quest, hated everything that happened. And how long were we gone? Days at least, weeks more likely, but the damage to Minrathous could happen in moments if Elgar'nan wanted it to. Viper is so strong and noble and definitely dying soon. Take the Joining you ass!

The Juggernaut(s) looked so much like Meredith's final form I got angry at her all over again.

So the Evanuris are gone and there will be no more blights. That's.... huge. The Evanuris were real and also the Tevene dragon gods. So the only religion left with a leg to stand on is Andrastianism. I do noooot want to meet the Maker. If the Maker is real then Varric can be with my Hawke. Don't turn that into another spirit thing.

And the void that sucked up Lusacan's body. Was that The Void where Andruil found the blight? Where does it go? Why did it take the dragon? He would have been a good source for more Joining materials, which are now a finite resource. The end of Grey Wardens, Dragon Age's staple faction, is in sight. That plus only having 50 years left to the "dragon" age really worries me for the future of this franchise. We cannot keep skipping a decade ahead.

Absolution ending Solas is just... wandering free? That is the OPPOSITE of what I want but having seen the other options, it is certainly the one I prefer. Finding out he CAN call himself a god (fight end) did fuck me up. And hearing DAI music followed by Lost Elf made me cry again. My Lavellan going with him feels less terrible if they can still visit her family and friends. And help people. However she IS still mortal so there's still a tragic end coming. This also means every headcannon and drabble I have are entirely plausible...! ...?

And what was with that stinger?? The Veilguard Remains Vigilant. Sure but do we get DLC? A book? Comics? A DLC?? The thought also occurs that a "storm that drinks the sky" sounds like the black hole that ate Lusacan. So are we veering into space metaphors/magic now? And is the consistent mention of Andruil hinting that she or the Void WILL return?

Wait was that slide about Arlathan saying the Golden City had returned? I read it as the Elves had a chance to make their own nation again, but the phrasing is actually very different isn't it... oh my. That would be cause for an Exalted March when word gets out.

That the Well of Sorrows song (any Inquisition song really) made me gasp every time it played highlights how flat this score is. I can mentally listen to Lost Elf or Dawn Will Come at will. But the only noteworthy DAV song was the menu theme and that's disappointing. Lorne Balfe and Hanz Zimmer have both done AMAZING work: what happened? I want to want to listen to this album, but I can't think of any specific song. Sometimes Arlathan sounded Mass Effect. Sometimes Minrathous sounded Anthem. I hope data miners will find and share the unreleased tracks, but I WISH the score had more emotion.

As much as this game hurt me, and as much as the world state choices let me down, it DID give me more Fade missions than all other games combined. I would love it for that alone.

And finally, quality of life improvements I wanted:

Beacons labeled on the map (so I know where the hell I'm going)

Previewing clothing & weapons (so I know what I want or don't)

Any explanation of the Valuables/faction points system (so I know not to sell everything to Veil Jumpers!!)

Enemies as red dots on the mini map. This seems self explanatory. I had to check with my party if there was another enemy nearby.

And an interrupt system. There were several cutscenes I would have liked to interact with via interrupt, especially at the end. This is less QoL and more something I said out loud several times.

[somerunner]

Gotta say I love Varic Vallenar's tendency to correct misconceptions about magic, except it's unclear how his explanation is meaningfully different from whatever he's correcting.

Clueless character: "Oh so water manifestation magic turns Aetheric energy into water?"

Varic, internally: you...this is why no one my age is a competent Archmage

Varic: "Water manifestation magic calls upon the Aether to bring water into reality. The more energy you can wrangle, the more water you can create, but it's funneling, not becoming, the water that you summon. That distinction is subtle but important."

Me, reading: ok I think I got it for this hypothetical example but not the other ones in the actual text of TLH

[theposhperyton]

Sometimes a family is just a silly and whimsical guy and the group of traumatized randoms he's collected who would kill or die or continue living despite it all for him. And I think that's beautiful

[pebsterino]

bruh, im so close from having my Hawke straight up murdering my Rook LMAO

[thewardenisonthecase]

i do wonder if a possible side effect of the red lyrium idol is thinking you're strong enough to not be fucked

[walk-the-fade]

SOMEONE TALK TO ME ABOUT DRAGON AGE OCS BEFORE I SCREAMMMM

[messiahofslams]

So I beat Dragons Age Origins the other day and it was great! It holds up though not as well as I had hoped. I was excited to play DA2 again since it's been over a decade and I didn't remember it very well.

Dragons Age 2 is awful. Character are the best part and they are just 7/10's at best. The whiplash of Anders suddenly being a pansexual terrorist after using him in Awakenings where he was a mildly douchey womanizer is wild. Fenris is fine I guess, not a fan of the visual design but he's okay. Merrill is okay too I kind of appreciate the Dalish alot more these days. Isabella is a boring slut which is fine but I wish she was an interesting slut instead.

I'm actually thinking about not romancing anyone (gasp) but I feel like a mage Hawke and Fenris might be mildly interesting.

Varic is here though so that's a plus. Why can't I romance the cool dwarf I don't understand...

Gameplay is awful though wow. I started on Hard expecting a challenge and all you do is spam one or two skills and everything dies. There is no CRPG left in the game, DA:O was kind of barebones but DA2 is at some awful mid point where it's both a shallow CRPG and a shallow ARPG and my heart sinks anytime a new wave of enemies spawn.

I'm gonna beat it because I have to beat every game I play but I hope Inquisition is better when I get there.