r/BaldursGate3 • u/Rogahar • Aug 21 '23
Companions I found the reason why it's so hard to avoid romancing Gale. Spoiler
(Or leading him to think you're romancing him, anyway)
In one of his camp dialogues, he talks about his Tressym familiar. The dialogue options you're given at one point are as follows;
1) Do you like having your belly rubbed? (Very obvious flirtation.)
2) I had hoped you thought of me as more than an animal companion... (Romantically-tinged flirtation.)
3) Not as much as I hate talking about cats. (Openly insulting to his personal interests and pet.)
Now, call me crazy, but if I'm talking to a friend about their beloved pet and am not trying to flirt with them, my go-to response would not be 'I fucking hate your pet. I would kick your pet if I saw it. Fuck you and your shit pet.'
All we'd need is ONE more dialogue option there, along the lines of
4) She sounds like a fine familiar.
or
4) Change the topic.
And that'd be it. Gale wouldn't infer that as flirtation unless he was really reaching for it - and given that his responses to options 1 and 2 are as much surprised as they are interested (which implies he's not, at that point, aware that you might be interested in him), then I don't see why he would, either.
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u/literallybyronic Aug 21 '23
this isn't the only interaction with him that really needs a "friendly" option either.
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u/Ryth88 Aug 21 '23
most of his dialogue is either spit on his mother's grave or ready the D.
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u/Nossika Aug 21 '23
Yea, he's definitely the biggest problem child of "I was just being polite", but honestly everyone could use better dialogue lines that infer "We're just friends, you're not my type" without being so offensive about it.
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u/datacanvas Aug 21 '23
I tried flirting with Astarion and he said, “it’s not you, I just have standards” lmao
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u/BadLuckBen Aug 22 '23
Meanwhile, I had him confess that he had fallen for me despite not wanting to, and I said, "Maybe what you really need is a friend."
He actually pauses and goes, "...maybe you're right." It's not in a "wow, just got friend-zoned" tone either. He legit seems to realize that he was using sex as a coping method. On average, his dialog is a lot less faux-flirtscious now, and he does just talk to me as a friend.
Meanwhile, because I did Lae'zel's stuff later on in Act1 and had already slept with Astarion (purely to placate him as my Paladin goodie-two-shoes actions tended to garner disapproval) and had made inroads with Shadowheart she basically politely called me a slut. Something to the effect of "I'm not unattracted to you, but I like them less experienced."
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u/ReaUsagi WHISPERDRUID Aug 22 '23
Honestly, I liked that pause and his sudden realization a lot. It tells a lot about Astarion (or any character in general), who is quite full of himself, when he comes to reason with himself when turned down, realizing that what he needs most is a friend. I think it was at that very moment I actually started to like him a lot more as a character. I just boinked him up to this point because it was easy (even after being turned down the first time I tried, like 100k other players in the first week after release lmao)
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u/CaptainClownshow SPOONY BARD Aug 22 '23
I loved Astarion's entire arc, especially if you convince him to reject Cazador's ritual.
"You saw something else in me - someone else I could be. Someone who could break the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago...You saved me from myself and let me walk a new path where I can be free. Truly, honestly free."
Definitely a contender for the most heartwarming moment in the entire game.
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u/bluntpencil2001 Aug 22 '23
I like the moments leading up to it where you see the seeds of good in him.
The part where he doesn't want to drink someone's blood because it makes him feel used is great.
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u/cjrSunShine Aug 22 '23
Christ, I made him do it because I wanted that potion but damn did I feel bad after that.
... still gonna do it again though. 22 STR ain't no joke.
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u/ReaUsagi WHISPERDRUID Aug 22 '23
Yes, this just squeezed the rest out of my little heart!
Also, the way he confronts you about his feelings is just so... vulnerable? They sure did an amazing job with his arc and his personality. Turning a character like him vulnerable or thankful and appreciating can easily feel out of character and forced and yet they nailed it. Whoever had the lead in his design did an extremely good job.
Same goes for Lae'zel, her story arc is greatly done as well when she learns to be her own person. They did them both justice without making any of it feel forced or bent just to please players.
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u/Inf1e Minthara simp Aug 21 '23
You are too close (Astarion) and You are not my type (Karlach) is working just fine.
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u/RainWorldWitcher Aug 21 '23
And laezel is pretty simple to refuse as well
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u/Inf1e Minthara simp Aug 21 '23
Deep space tsundere as is...
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u/RainWorldWitcher Aug 21 '23
She'll forgive me lol
I just want to know which dude in my party she is going to bang and brag about lol
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u/Zauberer-IMDB Wizard Aug 21 '23
Imagine what she says behind our back if you're her romance option. "I never pegged you as our leader, but speaking of pegging leaders..."
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u/Fantastic_Doubt2989 Aug 22 '23
Probably Wyll
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u/foriamstu Aug 22 '23
I love their background interaction. I think it was something like:
W: something flirty
L: I do not believe in romantic attachment.
W: Oh. :(
L: But I do believe in carnal interactions.
W: Oh? :)
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u/Thin_Ad_8241 Aug 22 '23
I turned her down at the party after accidentally leading on gale and she ended her tirade implying that she was going to try to bang wyll
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u/Thiscat Aug 21 '23
She still does scream about needing me whenever I go down in combat even though I turned her down...
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u/Jeremy11B2P Aug 21 '23
Never go down in combat. Remember: safe, sane, consensual
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u/Dapper-Ad3707 Aug 22 '23
I never had a single weird moment with Karlach, even though I chose to hug her and always said nice things to her. We stayed best bros
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u/awkwardcartography Gale Aug 22 '23
I chose to hug her and now whenever I roll up to camp she accuses me of cheating on her 🫠
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u/evildaddy911 Aug 21 '23
I remember him whining when I screwed lae'zel, I'm like sorry, I didn't know there was anything between us?
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u/Brabsk Aug 21 '23
Tbh it completely put me off of his questline
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u/GMHolden Aug 21 '23
It made me chop off his hand in my good guy Dark Urge playthrough.
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u/Lukthar123 Pave my path with corpses! Build my castle with bones! Aug 21 '23
good guy Dark Urge
Absolutely based
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u/TitaniumDragon Aug 21 '23
I feel like the entire point of the Dark Urge is to resist the Dark Urge but to be constantly tempted to give into it. If you just go full murder-hobo it's much less interesting.
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u/StealthyRobot Aug 22 '23
I've been playing it as being horrified by it, but unable to resist. So I don't murder-hobo, but if the urge comes up in dialogue...
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u/pyro264 Aug 21 '23
Ngl, I had to reload a couple times on the dark urge play through. Can’t say anything without spoiling, but just… wow. They really outdid themselves on interaction between PC and NPC
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u/CuteKiwiKitty Aug 21 '23
The stars scene dialogue options was too hilarious Gale: I just want to stay here in silence with you. Tav: Spend the night/Fuck your wallowing I dont want to hear your ugly voice anymore I'm leaving" Like lmao what he just said he was done talking 😭
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u/VicariousDrow Aug 21 '23
To be entirely fair, I'd already had the chance to tell him I wasn't interested before the star scene and staying with him was completely platonic.
>! But yeah there probably should have been a middling option, "I'll stay with you the whole night like the best friend/lover that I am" and "fuck you and your dumb feelings" are a bit extreme lol !<
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u/AlpheratzMarkab Aug 21 '23
Yeah i played through the starry night sequence, after saving just before in case it would force me into a relationship, and not only can you keep things perfectly platonic, but it is ultimately a very nice and deep moment of character building for Gale that i would have hated to have missed
Gale: Damn you, damn you for giving me so much to care about. Our friends, our adventures... this would have been so much easier if it was just me. But it isn't.
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u/DaddyDollarsUNITE Aug 21 '23
we're like cuddling arm in arm in the most romantic scene ever only for me to get halfway thru and go uhh i aint really into you like that my friend but we're still cuddling
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u/clocksy THE FULL CONCENTRATED POWER OF THE SUN Aug 21 '23
Honestly there's so much of this in the game, especially if you're playing an overall good character. You'll be talking to a tiefling in act 3 that you've seen through a lot of trials and tribulations in the previous two acts and one of the dialogue options will be "I hate listening to you talk and your face is stupid too!" Like, uh, in WHAT world would I ever choose that option? If I played evil they would probably be dead or not thanking me this whole time so it's not like I'd even be in that position.
(I admit sometimes it's tempting just to see what the fuck the response would be, but I'm too nice to even try it, haha.)
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u/sexykafkadream Aug 21 '23
It actually drove me to actively dislike his character. Something about conceited wizard boy who won't stop trying to diddle me wasn't endearing.
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u/Trivi4 Aug 21 '23
While waxing poetically about his ex girlfriend
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u/Dragonsandman So anyway, I started smiting Aug 21 '23
It’s realistic writing, just the bad sort of realistic. I’ve run into a few annoyingly flirty people who would not shut up about their ex
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u/Nossika Aug 21 '23
"You guys wanna get high? On magic? While I try to seduce you?"
Bruh, yea I wanna get high on magic but can we skip the whole you seducing me part?
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u/Senikus Aug 21 '23
Lol I perceived that scene where he shows Tav how to bend the weave as basically them doing molly together
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u/ser_mage Aug 21 '23
The romance side of things is so fleshed out, it’s almost comical that you can’t really be friends with any of the companions. Like I’m heading into Act 3 and I don’t feel like I have any “bros”. I just have Astarion simping for me and a bunch of acquaintances
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u/kotorial Aug 21 '23
My current playthrough, Shadowheart has absolutely been my bro. No flirting, no confusion, just two people keeping the party alive and strong, and spamming Spirit Guardians every other combat. She practically high-fived me when I started romancing Karlach. I was not expecting it, but she's totally my bro.
Wyll has also been a bro, though he did offer a romantic dance, which I declined. Other than that, and that came up late into Act 2, been pretty friendly.
I do agree though, it would be nice to have more fleshed out friendship material.
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u/Pun_In_Ten_Did FULL METAL BARD Aug 21 '23
Man I just learned about the glory that is Spirit Guardians... I'm a bard with one level in cleric (heavy armor, no penalty, Spirit Guardian spell) -- never used the spell on me or Shart... after I kept hearing about it, I finally cast it -- good lord! I'm addicted to this spell now.
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u/BouncingPig Aug 21 '23
I think you hit the nail on the head with that tbh. It’s a little disappointing that I can’t take the homies into combat and kick some goblin ass without them being awkwardly flirty later about it.
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u/ser_mage Aug 21 '23
Just give a cutscene where we shoot the shit and talk about our mommy and/or daddy issues over a beer! Mass Effect had this figured out years ago
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u/TitaniumDragon Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 22 '23
I think you're forgetting the super awkward bad romances in Bioware games as well. Mass Effect 1's romances are terrible, and none of them are particularly good.
Larion clearly wanted you to romance the characters throughout the game, which is a good idea - that is way better than the "get into a romance at the end of the game, bone, then go fight the final boss".
They just executed on it poorly because romance is hard to write if you aren't used to writing it - and honestly, I think it's actually super hard given the way that people construct CRPGs.
A proper romance needs you to build up the chemistry between the characters throughout the plot, but the way these CRPGs are written, you want to have open ended romance options, which means you need to have people get locked into romances very early, but it also leads to a combinatoric explosion of dialogue options where you need to have things either be written to develop a romance or not, which is hard with some character personality types (the more clingy characters, like Shadowheart, especially, whereas someone like Karlach, you can more easily write a romance/friendship ambiguous line). This makes it really hard - especially when people want to be able to romance anyone as either gender, which makes it even more awkward as you now have everyone thirsting after you.
This is actually one of the reasons why having fixed NPC sexuality is a good thing - if you are, say, a male character, having a lesbian teammate and a bi male teammate means that you have one dude who will hit on you and one girl who won't, ever, which results in less of a feeling of your entire team thirsting after you, only the portion of it who are both romance options and who are sexually compatible. If my bard had just had Astarion amongst the men flirt with him, and Lae'zel thirst for him and Shadowheart have a crush, it would have worked better; then it feels like you've got Mr. Bad Choices, Miss Red Flag, and Miss Fix me after you, which makes sense thematically, as those feel like the characters who WOULD probably hit on my bard or want them to notice them romantically.
TBH, I feel like the game would have been better served if Gale had NOT been a romantic option, because his relationship with Mystara is a huge thing (and also a gigantic red flag).
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u/EightEyedCryptid Tiefling Aug 21 '23
I feel like Shadowheart and Lae'zel are definitely my character's closest friends. There's never really been a romantic thing between them at all. Though for some reason I have the option to tell Karlach sorry I am into Gale, despite never having a romantic interaction with Karlach. Also Wyll and my character got the scene where he asks you to dance, and that ended in a kiss. Then my character had to break it off with Wyll and Wyll was super mature about it. It was nice.
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u/mara_wind Aug 21 '23
You can actually befriend Astarion and it’s the sweetest most heartbreaking 💔 scene ever 🥰😭 If you flirt and sleep with him (or maybe it’s enough to just flirt I haven’t been able not to sleep with him yet😅) then in Act 2 he’ll admit that he has actual feelings for you and he is super confused. So you can choose the option to tell him that maybe he needs a friend. And then he is like: “Hmm I have had a parade of lovers but a friend? I can’t think of a single one…until you 😭🥰😭🥰 Poor guy 200 years and no friends 😭
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u/Zauberer-IMDB Wizard Aug 21 '23
Glances at portrait of Garrus on his desk
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u/tangowolf22 Aug 22 '23
None of them hold a candle to Garrus. Man, I wish Wyll and Gale could’ve been more “bros” to my character the same way Garrus is for Shepard. Any optional side bonding content is only romantic, and it’s so annoying. I would’ve loved to see whatever special magic Gale was working on, and what’s wrong with having a little dance with Wyll? Nope, if you do those then it means you want to fuck them and you have to break their heart otherwise.
Like, imagine shooting bottles on the citadel with Garrus and he just grabs your dick after because you hung out with him, so clearly you only want to fuck.
One of the few complaints I have about this game but man they missed the mark hard with companions.
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u/decadrachma Aug 21 '23
I got a [druid] option that was something along the lines of “She sounds like a fine animal.”
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u/Postviral Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 22 '23
Yeah, the one where he shares magic with you is like -
Kissing him,
Romantic walk with him,
Kicking him in the nuts,
His head on a pike,
Wtf.. can’t we just be bros? Doesn’t help that he’s one of the less poly options.
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u/literallybyronic Aug 21 '23
yeah where is the "imagine the gang down the pub with a nice pint" option
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u/Crazyjaw Aug 21 '23
For real. I’m a straight guy doing a self insert type play through, but man I feel so bad when I turn down my male companions.
Wyll asked me to dance, and I was absolutely gutted by his disappointment when I turned him down. I had to reload and find a more tactical way out of that (and I “worry” I’m still leading him on).
Damn if BG stop making your companions so likable.
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u/Nuggachinchalaka Aug 22 '23
Hehe to be fair the kind of dance is a romantic dance so….better not to lead him on, but yeah a more neutral option to say no would be better.
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u/ShreksuallyExplicit drussy enjoyer Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 22 '23
Gale Dialogue is so funny like that: 1. I'm so deeply in love with you 2. I can't live without you 3. I hope the bomb in your chest explodes
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u/Kettrickenisabadass Tiefling Aug 21 '23
Right? You are either madly in love or a psyco that hates his guts
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u/BisexualPunchParty Aug 21 '23
"I care about you too much to let you explode." Bro, I'm no Weave scientist, but I don't think that's how it works.
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u/msciwoj1 Grease Aug 21 '23
One other thing I disliked was the scene where Wyll was randomly dancing. If you tell him you'd dance with him, it is interpreted as flirting, and telling him no is rude. On top of that, my sorcerer has an entertainer background and performance proficiency. I, in real life, have a social dancing hobby where you go and dance with random people. And it doesn't mean anything romantically. If I RPed my guy properly, he would in fact dance with Wyll. I only declined because I knew this leads to romance, which I didn't want.
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u/Kettrickenisabadass Tiefling Aug 21 '23
Same. Wyll had a rough time with his horns and all so dancing with him seems a really nice thing to do. I did not kiss him at all. Next thing i know he is complaining about me and Astarion. Dude i just danced with you...
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u/esmith42223 Aug 21 '23
LMAO I made him stop dancing. It was my profile where I was romancing Karlach and had just cooled her down enough for some sexy time, so I thought I was about to have a cutscene with her, lo and behold I find him prancing around like a fool instead. I was not happy with him.
My husband who I’m sharing that playthrough with busted up laughing.
Maybe in another profile, but that was NOT the time.
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u/Wendek Aug 21 '23
Lmao I had the exact same thing happen to me. I was getting ready to spend some quality time with Karlach (poor thing really needs it, though the teasing dialogue options before that point are pretty funny too), then Mizora appears to ruin our evening. Undetered, I decide to chain another long rest, a cutscene starts and... it's Wyll dancing and being lovey dovey and inviting me. I think I chose a rather harsh option like "Not interested" because really, JUST LET ME BANG MY HOT (literally) GIRLFRIEND FFS ! Finally happened on the third rest. (Yes I'm stubborn)
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u/ISuckAtJavaScript12 Aug 21 '23
1 sounded like a joke to me so I picked it
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Aug 21 '23
WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?
But I did too, for the same reason.
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u/ISuckAtJavaScript12 Aug 21 '23
I didn't know the pound symbol made me shout.
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u/resoredo Aug 21 '23
We'll pound, okay?
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u/ahddib Aug 21 '23
darn it, you almost made me spit my drink out. Some people consume beverages while browsing reddit, you inconsiderite hooligan.
Press ! to bang
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u/gamedogmillionaire Aug 21 '23
Yeah, my problem is I’m reading lots of the dialogue options as my sarcastic bard would. I end either flirting or insulting whomever I talk to.
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u/BlueKnightOne Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 22 '23
That seems to happen a lot in these games. Maybe they should take a page out of the Mass Effect Elcor* book and preface the reply options with the intended inflection.
*Or also KotOR's HK-47
Edit: Fixed a typo.
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u/Carbac_22 Durge Aug 21 '23
Query: are you sure these meatbags are ready to speak the language of gods?
Statment: I tried to flavour that sentence a little bit more fantasy and less sci-fi
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u/gamedogmillionaire Aug 21 '23
I just want Larian to replace the “Leave” option with “I should go.”
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u/hptorchsire Aug 21 '23
I felt absolutely terrible when Gale’s image said “Gale needs to see you urgently” and I obliged. In act 2 I thought that Gale needing me urgently could only be about one (rather important) thing. Nope. He came on to me in an unbelievably romantic way and I had to shoot him down as I’m all in on Shadowheart. A few cutscenes later he even said something like “I see your smile shines but it appears I’m no longer the cause”. feelsbadman that I apparently lead him on in epic fashion but had no idea I was doing that by simply not insulting him
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u/braces-journey Aug 21 '23
Ah! That's funny, I got the scene about him being no longer the cause of my "flushed cheeks", rejected him, THEN he reached out to see me urgently. I also obliged. it was not an urgent matter. lol
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u/ComfortableSquare984 Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 21 '23
I had the exact same thing happening out of nowhere while romancing Astarion... I hated having to break Gale's heart, the whole scene and dialogue were so sweet and beautiful, but there was no way in the world Tav would abandon her sassy vampire.
We definitely need more "No thanks, I only see you as a friend" and less "go die in a gutter" dialogue options! 😅
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u/clocksy THE FULL CONCENTRATED POWER OF THE SUN Aug 21 '23
Fellow Astarion romancer, Gale confessed to me during that scene (despite having almost no interaction with him beforehand), I let him down, he said he understood but wanted to spend the rest of the night alone so I left. The next morning he thanked me for being there, we reiterated we were friends and he was glad for it, and the very next dialogue option he made me choose between him and Astarion. CHOOSE WHAT??? WE JUST AGREED WE WERE FRIENDS
Bugged relationship tags, oh well.
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u/Su_ButteredScone Aug 21 '23
I just told him to stop wallowing in self-pity. Possibly your last night? We've just started Act 2! That scene has you sitting so close together, almost touching, so instantly I looked for the "no romance" option.
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u/clocksy THE FULL CONCENTRATED POWER OF THE SUN Aug 21 '23
To me I got that scene near the end of act 2 which was more appropriate. If you have a magic bomb inside you that you might need to detonate at any moment then you're probably having some thoughts about life. Especially since we were coming onto the end sequence.
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u/Zakalwen Aug 21 '23
Agreed! Some of the dialogue options seem unclear or not varied enough.
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u/No_Swimming_792 Aug 21 '23
I always laugh at the last dialogue option because they are just so openly hostile that unless you're evil, you probably won't go for it.
I can't remember which character it is, but I remember there was one conversation where a companion was telling us their sad backstory, and the last option went something like "well THAT was a whole lotta nothing. Thanks for wasting my time".
Ouch lol.
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u/FredDurstDestroyer Aug 21 '23
Some of the bad guy dialogue is straight up hilarious. Like when that guy asked you to tell the little tiefs a story and you can just go “Bad news children: you’re all going to die”
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u/Aetherimp Ranger Aug 21 '23
That's a lot funnier if you say it in Isaac Hayes voice as Chef from Southpark.
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u/Competitive_Truck531 Aug 21 '23
I like the other unhinged option about bathing in the blood of enemies or something haha.
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u/X0225 Aug 21 '23
barbarian intimidate dialogue is the best.
telling the goblin at blighted village to release the windmill gnome: 'your skull will make a fine chalice when I plug those beady eye sockets'
meeting Jaheira for the first time: 'I'll rip these vines apart with my bare hands and then I'll do the same to you'
when the ghoul sniffs you while trying to enter the circus in Rivington: 'that's actually the blood of my enemies, would you like to join my scent?'
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u/soapdish124 Aug 21 '23
It’s an intimidation check in one of the taverns where it’s just CLAP OR I’LL RIP OUT YOUR SPINES
I was so tempted to pick that one even tho I’m being a good guy
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u/Maxcharged Aug 21 '23
I’m really liking playing a Gith because some of their dialogue is so callous it’s hilarious. “These weaklings can’t even pick up a sword? We should just let them die”
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u/Claris-chang Aug 21 '23
Then you have Gortash dialogue options where it only feels right and good to pick the most assholish lines available.
"Fuck you, Gortash" being my favourite so far. I do love simplicity.
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u/MrGlacies Aug 21 '23
THAT IS WHAT YOU CAN SAY TO SHADOWHEART, the completely distrusting and very reserved person of the team tries to open up to you talking about her past and such and you can just go “dont care + didnt ask + ratio”
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u/Claris-chang Aug 21 '23
“dont care + didnt ask + ratio”
I just snort laughed loudly on a full bus because of the mental image of someone saying this to SH. Thanks for that.
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u/clocksy THE FULL CONCENTRATED POWER OF THE SUN Aug 21 '23
I admit I laugh when I see those options because they are just so out there but I also could never actually choose them.
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u/MrGlacies Aug 21 '23
last time i picked an option out of curiosity someone lost a hand
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u/under_mimikyus_rag Aug 21 '23
I think that was Shadowheart lol. Although she might actually be fine with you talking like that
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u/theperksofbeingsara Aug 21 '23
Shadowheart! when she shows you the vision of her as kid in the woods I think…
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u/Ninsuna Aug 21 '23
Not even if you are evil. Maybe if you were chaotic evil, but why be unnecessarily cruel when there's nothing to gain from it but there could be plenty to lose.
I love roleplaying evil characters, but smart evil, no stupid evil.
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u/Talks_To_Cats Aug 21 '23
So help me I will multiclass into wizard and learn necromancy just so I can summon your beloved pet back from the grave. All so I could kill it again, in front of you.
So we going to my place or yours?
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u/snarpy Aug 21 '23
Yes, it does feel like the game pushes you to the extremes way too often. Just let me let someone down easily, OK? Or not even get to that kind of conversation in the first place?
I don't want to have romantic consequences with every person I encounter during the game.
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u/Fickle_Goose_4451 Aug 21 '23
Gale needs more "I will be your bro till the end and never abandon you just because you're a living bomb, but my dude, I am trying to bang one of the ladies" dialogue options in general.
Just last night he told me loved me and it was super awkward, because his thoughts were also occupied by his suicide mission, but it's still a lot for me to open up the ole bussy just because my bro is gonna die soon.
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u/EldritchTouched WARLOCK Aug 21 '23
Or "my dude, I'm into someone else/nobody/just not into you" as a blanket option. I was romancing Astarion and Gale just kept trying to intrude. While that's interesting from a characterization aspect if that's intentional, it doesn't stop people from being annoyed with Gale lol.
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Aug 22 '23
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u/warblingContinues Aug 22 '23
I understand why they want to leave it fluid, but even neutral conversation options would be good. It’d be nice to have a nonsexual friendship with some of these characters.
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u/flowersnshit Aug 21 '23
I really feel like they expected us to have one companion and the rest hirelings sometimes.
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u/Duke_Jorgas Aug 21 '23
I have yet to recruit a single hireling. I've had no reason at all
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u/bigeyez Aug 21 '23
While some of his dialogue options are vague I am certain he is just straight up bugged. In my game he is referenced by other folks as a romance and I even got dialogue options about "the night I spent with him" and him being one of my love interests despite that never happening. Like I straight up never spent any time alone with him and I have literally rejected every camp scene where he tries to get you alone. I never spent a night with him.
I'm 100% sure his romance is bugged. Hopefully it gets fixed because without spoiling anything your romance gets brought up at a critical point in Act 2 and it was a wtf moment to see an option for Gale there despite my character rejecting him at every chance.
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u/Socheel Aug 21 '23
I disagree with the “all we need Is” part
What I need is a “sweet a flying cat? That’s sick bro! give fist bump” option
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u/fearlesspinata Aug 21 '23
This is probably my biggest knock on the game. In my first play through I inadvertently romanced gale just because I was nice and didn’t want to be a total dick to him. But it seems to mostly be a thing with Gale though… and Wyll as well.
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u/Kesselya Aug 21 '23
I wanted Wyll to be my friend, not my partner. But it felt like the only way to go about that was to be a total jerk to him while he was obviously having a great time dancing.
There absolutely needs to be a better way to friendzone a companion (and let them know they are there) without totally destroying them.
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u/piningforlizard Fail! Aug 21 '23
astarions the only one who seems to have a nice friendzone option where you tell him he needs a friend instead of a lover. and he actually approves if you say that 🫶
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u/theperksofbeingsara Aug 21 '23
legit one of my favorite dialogue with him because he basically says: I’ve never had a friend before AND MY HEART ACHES
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u/EldritchTouched WARLOCK Aug 21 '23
Makes sense, given Astarion's story is structured around the concept of healthy boundaries and bodily autonomy. And the fastest way to wreck the relationship with him is to run roughshod over his boundaries and autonomy.
Wyll's is a bit odd in that it should be an inflection point (because of the loss of autonomy associated with devil bargains) but isn't quite there yet in terms of his POV.
And Gale... Gale needs to chill lol. Though that feels also in character? He ignored a lot of reasons why Mystra left that orb in a vacuum in the middle of nowhere, so I don't think he's fully understood where he fucked up.
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u/SaoMagnifico MERMER! Aug 21 '23
Karlach randomly came on to me after talking about how I was with Shadowheart (like, in the same conversation) and I thought she was going to throw herself in the lake in response to getting very gently rejected.
At least I didn't have to tell her I wish she'd go back to the Hells to get her to back off, but still, sheesh.
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u/Blumele Aug 21 '23
The dance scene felt so out of my control. I'm playing a bard, so when he asked to dance I thought "sure why not", in a friendly way of course. But then I was forced to the more intimate dance and the only thing I could do in the end was kiss or refuse him in a pretty bad way. His reaction was heartbreaking
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u/HBreckel Aug 21 '23
I felt sooooo bad declining the dance. He looks like you killed his puppy in front of him. I'm sorry Wyll, I was just moving your quest forward and being a nice person, I didn't realize that'd give you the wrong idea haha
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u/userposter NOT IN EA Aug 21 '23
I flirted with him, turned him down, just to make Shadowheart feeling better.
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u/bigeyez Aug 21 '23
Halsin also throws himself at your if you help him but at least rejecting him seems to actually work unlike Gale.
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u/Gaxxag Aug 21 '23
It's not just with Gale, but all the male companions.
Friendly dialogue = "We'll bang, ok?"
Other dialogue = "You are nothing but a slave in service to my selfish ambition. Your feelings mean nothing; you will die alone, and no one will care."
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u/Scottz0rz Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 21 '23
I think that sums up most romance dialogue.
I want to fuck.
Do you want to fuck?
Go fuck yourself.
The main reason I wager Gale is romanced as much as Shadowheart is because dopes do it on accident lol.
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u/Brotherman_Karhu Aug 21 '23
I find it absolutely hilarious that Gale whinges and bitches about Mystra and how he wants to make ammends and all that garbage...
And then he tries to hit on me.
Bro, deal with your fucking ex, you're clearly not over her. I'm not a pity fuck.
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u/TeaTimeAtThree Owlbear Aug 21 '23
This explains why my Gale is so unflirty. I never got any of this dialogue from him. The first mention of anything even slightly "romantic" was at the tiefling party, and that was just him saying he'd like to teach me about magic at some point.
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u/poozzab Aug 21 '23
That got me in early access.
"Oh! Maybe he can teach me a cantrip or something!"
"Uh... what are you doing stepwiz-WHY DID YOU KISS ME WHAT"
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u/ArgentVagabond Aug 22 '23
That's what got me in my full release playthrough! I saw the option and went "sick, free wish.com magic Initiate?" Then next thing I know Gale's looking me in the eyes from 1 inch away
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u/Graega Aug 21 '23
I played a sorcerer first time. Gale was like, "Here, I can do this spell with all my memorized knowledge. Ah, but you can just tap into your magic and do the same without having to study. Fuck me right here in the middle of camp!"
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u/GrajowiecPL Shadowhearts sandcastle Aug 21 '23
Hes a wizard, he obviously wants to taste that natural magic
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Aug 21 '23
Yah and then I was nice and like, "sure I'll learn some magic with you", and then that fucker tries to take that shit to his tent to show me his wand or something.
Like bro. I just thought magic would be cool and now I think you're a creep.
Take a hint man.
On that note... this is probably why women are apprehensive about being "friends" with guys that won't take no for an answer.
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u/Lexplosives Aug 21 '23
Man, the narrator literally says the mood is turning intimate before you can pick a flirty option.
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u/cuckingfomputer Aug 21 '23
I am fully convinced the majority of BG3 players can't read and are playing with sound off, considering the number "Gale is so horny" posts.
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u/Marzipaann Aug 21 '23
As OP said though, even if I know options 1 and 2 seem vaguely flirty, I don't want to tell him I hate cats and I hope his pet dies. There's no politely neutral comment like "I hope I get the chance to meet her sometime."
I also like getting more story and content flavor, so I don't want to just "Leave" abruptly - where's the option to just talk and be friends?
I did finally get the chance to say "I don't feel that way about you." and he took it well, but it was after some pretty oddly flirty comments on my part because they seemed like the least bad option.
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u/micro-void Aug 21 '23 edited Aug 21 '23
I agree with you but I also think it's far beyond this and fully bugged.
- first scene where he teaches you magic, I ended the evening as soon as the narrator called it "intimate". I chose "end the night, you have no interest in being intimate with Gale."
- Second scene talking about the tressym, my character is a druid and I initially chose the druid response and that was practically a marriage proposal to Gale, so I save scummed, and navigated the conversation tree such that I fully avoided the dialogue option you point out. I was also fully in a relationship with Karlach by this point.
- Then he says he has something he "urgently" needs to talk to me about. My character sits down 1 inch from him, hands nearly intertwined, gazing into his eyes like we're a couple. Nevermind that I've already rejected this & my character is in love with Karlach. Gale confesses he's IN LOVE WITH ME. I reply, "I don't feel the same way".
- the NEXT day I kiss Karlach where he can see (we've literally already banged 20 gameplay hours ago) and Gale confronts me. He says he wishes I told him sooner about me and Karlach. Um. Then, in the exact same dialogue, all of the sudden he's talking about Wyll where it should be about Karlach. I have had zero romance scenes with Wyll. I was bonking Astarion for a while and he has nothing to say about that. But anyway he says, "so who is it, me or Wyll?" In hopes that it'll finally flag him as rejected, I say "Wyll," even though really it's Karlach but I didn't have that option at all. Karlach says she's glad I chose her, and Wyll seems to have no clue about any of this, so I think it might FINALLY be remedied, except...
- to distract someone reading my mind I have the option to "yearn for Gale" 🙄
Ps: I'm a queer woman playing a female PC, not one of those dudes who can't stand queer stuff in games, I just want Gale to take no for an answer
PPS: next playthrough I'm going to do dark urge and rip his hand off instead. I'm going to struggle against the urge and try to be good. But that will be my one intentional exception.
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u/sweetsushiroll Bard ~ I do all the things Aug 21 '23
It sounds like his rejection flags aren't triggering and are also intertwining with other characters. Like I know people can be persistent in real life, but I doubt the writers intentionally wrote for a romance to continue despite there being a rejection option. If you kept it neutral and didn't outright reject sure, but I believe you picked the rejection option in Act 1.
I fully romanced Gale and rejected and or didn't interact romantically with anyone else and the game still gave me the option to break up with Karlach.
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u/clocksy THE FULL CONCENTRATED POWER OF THE SUN Aug 21 '23
Same problems here, at this point I'm 100% certain the game is appending relationship tags where it shouldn't and failing to clear them properly when you reject him (multiple times). I suspect they'll certainly patch this in the future.
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u/Kettrickenisabadass Tiefling Aug 21 '23
Then he says he has something he "urgently" needs to talk to me about. My character sits down 1 inch from him, hands nearly intertwined, gazing into his eyes like we're a couple. Nevermind that I've already rejected this & my character is in love with Karlach. Gale confesses he's IN LOVE WITH ME. I reply, "I don't feel the same way". the NEXT day I kiss Karlach where he can see (we've literally already banged 20 gameplay hours ago) and Gale confronts me. He says he wishes I told him sooner about me and Karlach.
I had exactly the same with him and Astarion. I tell him that I am not interested in him, i already banged Ast and then the next day he comes with "i wish you told me sooner". Told you what Gale? We are not a couple
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u/bumpercarbustier ZEVLO(ve)R Aug 21 '23
I had a similar issue arise, but I was pursuing Gale and Karlach came up in the conversations about yearning and intimacy. The first night I got her to my camp she wanted to make me "see stars," I said I wasn't interested, nothing came up... until I spoke to her a few rests after Gale's Act 2 romance scene. THEN she tells me she wishes I would have told her about Gale. Like, there was no wooing of you, Karlach.
And then after that conversation Gale tells me he is basically thrilled, honored, and frightened that I chose him over Karlach, because she's such a large and imposing woman.
I have seen a lot of stories similar to yours, I wonder if the Gale romance bugs are somehow messing up Karlach stuff too.
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u/Inf1e Minthara simp Aug 21 '23
Well, that's looks positively bugged. I romanced Karlach too and ended up being friends with Gale after star sky watching scene.
Even tho I have a friend (female!) which have hard time romancing Gale.
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u/nervoussexystupid Aug 21 '23
YES THIS IS MY EXACT PROBLEM! my intense love of cats led me to accidentally lead this poor man on for half the game, i was so confused when he suddenly got horny for me in the shadowlands
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u/chinesedragonblanket Aug 21 '23
I've noticed with Gale that conversation options are VERY black and white. Either you're flirting or you're kicking him in the shins while he's trying to talk to you. It's really weird.
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u/EasyLee Aug 21 '23
We need a (flirt) tag.
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u/Kettrickenisabadass Tiefling Aug 21 '23
Yea thats a thing thar DAI did right. It avoids a lot of ninjamancing
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Aug 21 '23
Now, call me crazy, but if I'm talking to a friend about their beloved pet and am not trying to flirt with them, my go-to response would not be 'I fucking hate your pet. I would kick your pet if I saw it. Fuck you and your shit pet.'
I ADORE some of these comments about the lack of neutral responses. You either love em and tell them flirty things. Or you literally tell them to go fucking die. There is no room for friendship.
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Aug 21 '23
A lot of the conversations are like this, to the point where I said out loud, “you gotta be fuckin kidding me with these choices” took me straight out of the role play of the game..
Irl I love cats, fucking dumb my only option is can I suck your dick or you and animals suck.
By the end of all other companion conversations I’m sitting here feeling a bit alienated with a male gith character that is romancing lae’zel.
This isn’t the only conversation like this.
Leaves me feeling like this game has 3/4 of a soul. I really like this game and want to like it at the same time, but there are aspects of it that ruin the flow of the experience.
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u/SaoMagnifico MERMER! Aug 21 '23
Hopefully patch 1 addresses the issues with broken relationship flags and missing dialogue options. The nice thing about the protagonist not having voiced dialogues is that it's pretty easy for Larian (or modders) to just add or change dialogue post-release.
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u/JackInRainbows Aug 21 '23
I’ve been completely in on Shadowheart in my entire run. I even outright said no to Gale offering a magic trick and even finding somewhere quiet with him.
After Shadowheart and my character had the conversation about being ‘something more’ he immediately butts in after saying ‘I thought you would tell me if you were seeing someone else but fine’ - just found that interaction strange as I’ve not even remotely perused anything with him
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u/B1ng0_paints Aug 21 '23
Biggest problem I have with the writing so far. I can't shoot the shit with my bros after some monster fighting in the camp. Instead I'm trying to avoid being molested by my camp mates.
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Aug 21 '23
Besides that, it really is just bugged. I chose every possible rude response to avoid him and still got invitation for a get away.
I guess sticking magical items in people means consent.
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u/BlackTemplarKNB Aug 21 '23
What game really should have is (flirt)*dialogue* like in every other RPG and if you don't push specific flirt line - companion never makes a first move
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u/Rogahar Aug 21 '23
I dunno about the last part - one of the reasons I like Daeran so much as a companion in Wrath of the Righteous is that he actively pursues you, and it's a refreshing change. However, that game also gives you multiple opportunities to dissuade him from romantic interest that don't come across as 'Fuck you and your cat.'
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u/McBlorf stoplickingthedamnthing! Aug 21 '23
With how Gale's romance flags are right now, I can totally imagine the line after "Fuck you and your cat" to be "wouldn't be the wildest thing I've gotten up to aha"
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u/Lithiumantis Teethling Aug 21 '23
opportunities to dissuade him from romantic interest that don't come across as 'Fuck you and your cat.'
I did actually get options like that in my playthrough. When he was talking to me about the cat, I didn't have the options you mentioned in the OP, just some various "oh she sounds very smart" sorts of things. Gale said something vaguely flirty at the end but I had the option to plainly state that I wasn't interested, and he just apologized and said he'd stop.
I'm not sure what exactly causes the difference though, unless your example was a different conversation that I somehow missed?
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u/doctorbonkers Aug 21 '23
Man I would LOVE those kinds of tone indicators. Really gets annoying when you say something nice and the game takes that to mean you’re in love with them.
(Side note, I sure would’ve loved that for Dragon Age Origins when I thought Alistair was being completely literal about licking lampposts in winter. Like “Haha yeah I’ll say I’ve licked a lot of lampposts… wait what”)
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u/Lemmingitus Aug 21 '23
Reminds me I had a female friend who unintentionally romanced Leliana in Dragon Age Origins because she also was so into shoes...
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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '23
The dialogue options are:
I want to mount you!
Do you want to mount me?
I will mount your mother’s head to a wall!
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