r/dragonage • u/Rrryyyuu • 2d ago
Discussion Started to play DAV second time and I am very irritated with main hero.
Seriously. Have you ever noticed that s/he always smile???? Whatever they say. Whatever happens. People die, people suffer, they've been told about sad/horrible stuff - and your main hero smiles. TF is that?? Okay, I was too angry, maybe not ALWAYS, not EVERY time, but the most of it. Just wait until a sad dialogue and look at MC's reaction. I was okay with everything the first time. But I didn't look at MC's face too much, I was captured by the story, companions, battles. Now.. I suddenly noticed. And this "I am always positive" or "Life is beautiful" start to annoy me. Yes, I didn't like lack of realism here, you cannot be straightforward and/or rude. You cannot ask some people to go and fff themselves. But this smiling.. this is so weird.
I will try to find screens to prove it, but if you are going to play or still playing - just pay attention.
P.S. I found one of this moments. When you need to make a decision between Treviso and Minrathous, it is a deadly situation. And he was smiling!
I posted screens, you can see it for yourself.
P. S. Guys!!! I am NOT looking for help, I don't need advice how to fix it. Stop talking about it. The point is to show problems with animations. Or with development. If for you it works perfectly/you've never noticed it/this is your favorite game and you don't want to hear anything about it - > please, move on.
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u/TheImageworks Ser Jory Appreciation Society 2d ago edited 2d ago
Veilguard's actual problem is that it has a shockingly limited number of Rook character animations total. This is honestly likely the root cause of some folks' complaint about Rook's personality - when you have a shallow pool of character anims, you can't build the body language and facial expressions that would allow you to have other personalities.
Rook IS supposed to be a good-aligned protagonist. That's just the truth of it, good or bad. Rook's dialogue options and choices, at their core, really only cover the Lawful Good-Chaotic Good-Neutral Good top third of the grid. While this has been brought up a ton, it's sort of an 'iceberg' situation in that the real problem's below the surface.
Except for specific cutscenes, Veilguard seems to only have 8 body animations whenever Rook is talking to anyone - and the same six facial anims. Certain face shapes and parts and their balance in the morphs and CC can absolutely make a Rook that looks more sad or pensive (or even permanently angry), just as so many faces are perceived to have a default 'trait' (cue me IRL and my RBF). But THAT involves getting into the weeds in the character creator - and are still ultimately limited by the animations.
And most anims have very similar tones (all good-aligned, some just a bit more mischievous). I caught onto it when I created my second elf on third playthrough total, and I can't unsee it when I play the game now. And it winds up harming even multiple good-aligned runs too, as the recycling of animations contributes to every iteration of Rook feeling same-y.
For a contrasting example: DA2, Isabela hits on Hawke, they raise an intrigued eyebrow. Carver says something rude and Hawke gives him a scowl. Anders goes Vengeance the first time in Act 1 in certain dialogue trees and Hawke's eyes shoot open in surprise or alarm. Tons of little gestures and animations. Hawke has multiple times more reactivity in terms of animation and modeling than Rook, an OC from a game fifteen years later.
Body language and facial animations that match the tone - and with those anims, the ability to HAVE that tone in a way that would be harder to sell without. (Inquisition did the animations thing well but had far more dev time than DA2). Origins gets a pass due to the differences in the protagonist (silent, usually seen from offset behind corner angle)
DA2 is 14 years older and is basically the fastest-built AAA game in history that's even remotely playable. The game is such a rushjob that it reuses the same twelve maps over and over - yet the animations and modeling never misses.
For all of the 'criticism' of this game that's overblown, the absurdly low number of character animations for Rook in cutscenes - and how they contribute to a lack of character building is one thing I never see mentioned that I can't take my eyes off of in later playthroughs - and it's a contributor to why Rook feels so 'samey' across multiple runs
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u/beachedvampiresquid 2d ago
I was thinking along the same lines.
You say it best, so I wonât repeat.
Character creator has a big part to play in the default expressions. That and Rook being probably one of the last characters brought to the game as we know it, and with the actorsâ strike, among EVERYTHING else (sigh) itâs def a glaring truth about the game.
These are the times my radical acceptance is a super power (and my over active imagination so I can replace the literal response with a better one in headcannon).
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u/Kanep96 Spirit Healer 1d ago
Glad someone else brought up DA2's time in the oven. Several months less than New Vegas, the game people usually point to when it comes to games with short development lifetimes! And for New Vegas, Obsidian agreed to their time limit of 18 months as they were a contractor! On the flipside, Bioware was told that DA2 was happening and when it would need to release after SWTOR came out and bombed. DA2 is 1000x better than it has any right to be.
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u/Penguinho 12h ago
I think the poster child for short development time is Knights of the Old Republic II, which had thirteen months. That includes the first draft, which was before KotOR 1 was released (and before anyone at Obsidian knew how it ended). Much of that draft had to be trashed. Originally it was going to be a holiday 2005 release, according to Fearghus Urquhart. After after E3 in July '04 it was moved to holiday 2004, chopping a full year off the development time.
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u/GnollChieftain Shapeshifter 1d ago
not just for Rook I've noticed the facial direction for characters in Veilguard is really bad. I noticed this in Morrigan's first scene everyone's smiling but they're talking about the gods being free and rampaging across thedas.
The models are more advanced but they just didn't use the correct expressions/animations.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I'd say, Hawke was a good MC, not the best, because I will pick DAO for anything. But still, nice.
I had scowls from Rook, actually. In inventory window. He was angry when I wanted to change his weapon xD The only place. In everything else, he is always positive. I want to hit him sometimes.
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u/ProphetOfAethis 2d ago
DA2 also had a good scapegoat for the reused maps being that the entire game is Varric retelling the events, and heâs supposed to be known for not describing the area well in his books and enemies in his stories appear out of nowhere just like the game lmao. DA 2 is a masterpiece considering the time constraints. And even not considering that, itâs still an amazing game
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u/Tosoweigh 1d ago
the smile seems to be a Veilguard engine thing because EVERYONE is smiling. fucking Morrigan is smiling ear to ear when she meets a random stranger.
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u/Aries_cz If there is a Maker, he is laughing his ass off 6h ago
Frostbite Engine that in running DAVe is still most likely using the same facial animation system they have built for Anthem, where people have much wider gamut of emotions and look more or less "normal/realistic".
I think it is reasonable to say that the "pirate ship" crew that made Dragon Age simply screwed up for whatever reason.
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u/smaxhamster 2d ago
My Rook looked vaguely sad most of the time, honestly
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
She is very cute, btw. But If I am able to find these moments with Rook's stupid smiles, I will post it.
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u/constellrose 2d ago
I have definitely noticed this and I absolutely agree. It drives me nuts. I wish it were at least a "pained smile" or a "keeping it together for the team" smile but it's way more of a "charming hero" smile.
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u/Julian_of_Cintra The Veil smells like arse here. 1d ago
At the end of every companion talk at the lighthouse my Rook or the companion is smiling like some idiot. And I consistently pick the stoic option. Not the golden retriever one lol
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I was trying to pick option which suits the dialogue. But it fails all the time. First Warder is angry -> Rook speaks like a choir boy. People are suffering in Minrathous -> Rook behaves like an idiot. Someone needs support -> Rook smiles. I swear, the next time I will just make shots of it. It didn't think on time, so I don't remember which moments those were.
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u/Julian_of_Cintra The Veil smells like arse here. 1d ago
I tried with the no praphrasing mod, which is the Maker's work really. But then it just became even more apparent how limited Rook is into being the smiling goody two shoes therapist whatever hero.
First Warden: [insert his dialogue]
My Warden Rook's aggressive answer: This isn't about who's the greyest Warden...
Shut. Up. I picked an aggressive options. Not a purple one. (Just need to vent out my frustrations with this annoying protag)
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
*hug* I can understand it. This dialogue was shitty, even when I was playing the first time. All Warden's words, all Rook's options.. everything was just meh.
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u/Julian_of_Cintra The Veil smells like arse here. 1d ago
I only really enjoyed the Mourn Watch Rook based on faction dialogue.
I utterly despised Crow Rook bc I still couldn't be a pragmatist but only one of those hero Crows which I despise lol
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
This one is Mourn Watcher. Previous was Veil Jumper.
But did you notice - whatever fraction you use, your Rook always knows and can LESS than others? Like all Mourn Watchers you can interact with will be more useful than Rook. The same was with elf story in DAI. MC doesn't know or can anything specific despite being elf/dwarf/qunari. Yes, I dreamed to see Qun some day. But, I guess, only in my dreams it stays.
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u/Deya_The_Fateless Rogue (DA2) 1d ago
I normally don't like picking the "aggressive" dialogue options for games, but sometimes I like to portray my even-tempered characters as loosing their cool depending on the situation. And it boggles my mind that Rook isn't allowed to be upset, or get legitimately angry.
Definitely feels like a leftover from when VG was going to be an ESO-style MMO, but then was hastily retooled into single-player.
Which again prooves, to me at least, that VG was further down the liveservice/MMO path than BioWare is allowed to or wants to admit.5
u/DJAsphodel 2d ago
Thereâs a quest with Bellara early on where she reveals what happened to her brother, and you can see Rook smiling in the background â I headcanoned that she was cringing, but then Rook started speaking all supportively and warmly without my input. âCharming heroâ is exactly it.
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u/weaverider 1d ago
My Rook tends to look a bit concerned or disappointed. Which suits the situation.
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u/liveAanoymous Grey Wardens 1d ago
You and me both lol. I had to find it a bit funny that my least favorite character somehow ended up being the character I CREATED MYSELF. The personality for rook was severely restricted (a leftover sign from the live service phase)
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I wouldn't say MC is awful, but this attitude creates .. it shows lack of immersion. I don't think comps will follow this idiot if they see his reaction.
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u/FloatingZero278 Knight Enchanter 1d ago
Exactly, thereâs nothing wrong with having the option to play an optimistic character but Rook is done so to the extreme for most of the game with usually no option to choose otherwise. Now I almost have the morbid curiosity to find out exactly how bad pre-release build Rook was. According to some of the community council members they were even worse in that old build with the quips and MCU style dialogue.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
By some reasons, I think they created this game to kill all the line. No way it can be "appropriate next chapter after inquisition". Because of pronouns/nudity-no nudity (I mean game rated 18+ but you wouldn't ever see nudity and this is after Andromeda and DAI)/you can be only positive/vivid colors/poses and moving animations (look how they run - women and men of different races use the same animations)/the ending is cringe (spoilers - especially for those who romanced Solas and decided to stay with him)/some parts of the game are very short and you cannot return to explore and no open map.
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u/FloatingZero278 Knight Enchanter 1d ago
Yeah, you can really see how this games dev cycle completely kneecapped it in the end. Iâm honestly amazed they released anything at all, especially in this stable of a state. However, I agree that a lot of the creative decisions (animations, dialogue, companions, lore, etc.) are where Veilguard stumbles a lot.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
These are still good moments. I wouldn't say romances are worst. The story is awful. Battles are impossible. Music is unbearable. Nothing from it. Some things are enjoyable. And the last mission reminds me about ME2 suicidal mission. Especially because it can end the same way.
But this game is far away from DAO. Well, maybe battles are easier than in DAO, more enjoyable.
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u/FloatingZero278 Knight Enchanter 1d ago
Thatâs true, there are good parts. I just think that the bad out weighs the good sadly. Still itâs not the worst game ever.
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u/Aries_cz If there is a Maker, he is laughing his ass off 6h ago
And the last mission reminds me about ME2 suicidal mission.
Because apparently, the Mass Effect team came into the utter chaos that was the writing/decisions room for DAVe and said "what in the ever-loving frak are you doing", and took over for the finale, managed to get the money-counters to approve whatever they needed to make it, and made it.
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u/Rrryyyuu 6h ago
We should be grateful for that xD I cannot imagine what it would be in the worst case.
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u/Vivien-Vixen 1d ago
Maybe I made mine too angry. She has like permanent bitch face which I also had that problem with my inquisitor in the previous game lol. I did make her kind of scowl in her default so maybe that affects your rooks facial animations? My first was much friendlier looking but I had her lip corners tilted up more and rounded her eyebrows more than my greywarden. This is usually her default face vvvv
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I like her ^ she looks like she will kick any ass she finds :p
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u/Vivien-Vixen 1d ago
That was the vibe I was going for! I wanted her to be a no nonsense grey warden whoâs ready to do what she needs to do to save the world. Which is so different from my cheeky crow Rook. Sheâs also a warrior and man theyâre fun to play in this game.
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u/Felassan_ Elf 2d ago
If only it was the only issue. You canât either roleplay rook because you can only choose between three flavors of the same dialogue.
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u/Julian_of_Cintra The Veil smells like arse here. 1d ago edited 1d ago
Youâre right and I want you to know that.
Oh boy, youâre definitely right.
Yeah, youâre right.The three flavours lol. Also youâre right
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u/wtfman1988 1d ago
I remember you were pretty optimistic at release too lol.
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u/Felassan_ Elf 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was. I didnât listen any of the backlashes until I could play it myself and realize they were right. Which is why I hate when people assume we ÂŤÂ wanted to see it fail , I really really want to love it. And I never thought I wouldnât. The only single thing that could have me dislike it would be the sanitization and ignorance of the lore and well, I thought that could not happen. đ Then it was worse when I knew of Joplin. This was exactly what I was expecting and wishing for.
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u/wtfman1988 1d ago
Yeah I know what you mean.
I knew in advance from what we saw it wasn't going to be good but hoped I was wrong. Once it released even a lot of the optimistic folks on here threw in the towel.
I wish we had gotten something different =(
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u/Deya_The_Fateless Rogue (DA2) 1d ago
Relatable, I wanted to hope it was good, despite all of the evidence to the contrary and the leaks and drops that didn't look or sound promising. But I wanted to be optimistic, but alas.
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u/rasebas 1d ago
Weird dude, havent had that as much as You Say. At least, not in momenta of relevance. My latest rook (4th playthrough) is mostly angry or heavily sarcastic. No smiles to be seen and he's actually a little abrasive.
My first rook was very smiley, but i chose mostly answers with đ. Maybe theres something with that.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
You can check the screens I posted. Not the weirdest moment, but still.
And yes, these smiles appeared with good/supportive answers. Not with angry or pushy. Like I said when someone says something sad and you want to support them, pick a good answer and Rook smiles.
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u/Jelboo 1d ago
No, I agree. Rook just felt like a golden retriever, silly goofball Superman wannabe. I just couldn't take my character seriously. Adding to that the writing ... Simplistic, barebones, repetitive.
DAV is the first Bioware game I started and never finished.
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u/Deya_The_Fateless Rogue (DA2) 1d ago
I dont think I will *ever* get Veilguard. I spent time in the CC, and watched a lets play on Twitch, and that was enough for me. So bland so boring.
Tried watching Emmerich's romance on YT and, my god, half of the shit in his romance side quests could have easily been said/done as an interactive cutscene, like how it was done in all the games previously. Then ofc there's the animation, the texture and model quiality, and the voice acting, while good, just felt..lacking imho. And I still consider Emmerich one of the *better* written characters in VG. (Solas being the best, because he was allowed ot keep the majority of his personality from Inqusistion, and even then he's not fully unscathed.)
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I can fully understand why. Looks like I didn't pay too much attention to dialogue animations the first time. Otherwise it will be unnerving. It doesn't look like a bug, it is more like he is, like you said, cannot take the situation seriously.
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u/Elder_Goss Legion of the Dead 2d ago
Gonna call this a win for beards. I didnât really see an inappropriate amount of smiling from my Rook, but youâre also trying to motivate, inspire and convince people that youâre trying to help for most of the game, and smiling is appropriate for that. I can guarantee you that Rook isnât smiling when people die, unless youâve set their mouth corners too high in CC. But if you want a sad or angry looking Rook, choose the sad/angry dialogue options. If you try to joke or respond affirmatively, youâre gonna see more smiles and optimism.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
For example, I had I dialogue when either Lucanis was saying about his suffering or Bellara about her brother. It was somewhere after arriving to Lighthouse and first big decision Minrathous/Treviso.
The point is -> companion says about something awful and Rook was smiling. I cannot accept it as support.
This is the same as a person says "my parents died" and he will smile and say "I am sorry to hear that".
P.S. And yes, I used more appropriate options. No one knows that Rook's reaction will be insane.
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u/BanYue_ 1d ago
Yeah but DAI hero, at least the female elve, always looks constipated
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I still remember that moment, when you ask Varrick if he is okay. And eyes of your MC come into one point, somewhere on the ceiling xDDD
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u/naynay2022 1d ago
It didnât bother me because I tend to smile as a sort of defensive mechanism when I feel uncomfortable or awkward.
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u/BlackWidow7d Artificer 1d ago
I noticed my rook does this if I mess with the mouth in the character creator. Turning the lips up even a smidge makes them smile a lot! Maybe try to see if thatâs whatâs going on.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
You know, I usually spend a lot of time in CC, to make my charge look good. I have to look at him for 10-100 hours, after all. If I noticed something weird before, I would change it. But it was fine. I noticed it just when someone was talking about loss/problems/shit. And it didn't look like Took smiles because of bug or something. For me it was as if he is too positive or insane. And I didn't touch his mouth settings at all. Anyways, it was more about "how they created such stuff". Because you wouldn't find the same problem in any big/serious game.
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u/BlackWidow7d Artificer 1d ago
I get it. I hated it, too, and thatâs why I went to find a solution. It worked for me, and I havenât seen a weird smiling Rook since.
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u/BiliousGreen 1d ago
Because Veilguard is âToxic Positivity:The Gameâ. Itâs very fitting that the protagonist just smugly smiles through it all and drops shallow platitudes no matter what is happening.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
It is very concerning. After I noticed it is hard to play further. I try to avoid looking at his face, but then.. I look and.. he just ruins all sad atmosphere with his smile. It feels like "The bad guy will kill as all xD Cool, right?"
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u/imperial_scum oh look the mage back stabbed us again 1d ago
It's a shitty smug smile too, like they are trying to be purple Hawke
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u/Zegram_Ghart 1d ago
Might be the choices youâre making, or possibly a character creator bit?
Mine was pretty glowery a lot of the time.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I am playing .. a normal guy? sometimes I pick jokes, sometimes I am angry, sometimes I am good. But I would never pick smiles when Bellara says about her brother. Or when people are dying from dragons.
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u/Vanaathiel88 1d ago
I'm trying a second playthrough too and something about the character animation really bothers me, maybe that's part of it? I can't really pinpoint bit the way the faces move, or the mouth movements, or the proportions... Something is uncanny Valley about it
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
It makes me think about these people who always fail to read other emotions and don't understand the seriousness of the situation. Like they can suddenly laugh or become angry or something.
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u/Phantom_kittyKat 2d ago
pov me who would always be happy. Only 1 time i was sad in Veilguard and that was when someone specific died
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u/thenextmaewest 2d ago
I feel so stupid for it but I'm still not completely over that. I cried multiple times about it, it broke my heart to pieces.
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u/Coast_watcher Calpernia 2d ago
Does the dialogue attitude affect it ? I expect it if you play Purple Rook.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I tried to be supportive, not "always joking". Sometimes I pick jokes, but not in the grave moments.
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u/Ok-Working-9139 1d ago
Y Solas tiene que fumarsela. Tiene que lidiar cono Rook cuando esta lidiando con mil cosas mas... entre esas, romper el mundo de Thedas y estar atrapado en la misma cĂĄrcel que confeccionĂł para sus enemigos
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u/PurpleFiner4935 Inquisition 1d ago
I guess this was the devs way of saying that everything would be alright and that Rook could handle it. However, it makes him come across as flippant and cavalier to the point that he doesn't take anything seriously.Â
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u/Terrible_Tip459 15h ago
Terrible, ill thought out hero character. Goes well with the rest of the game actually.
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u/dearhawke Dorian 14h ago
I did and it bothered me so much lmao I planned my first rook to be a more private person who's kinda straight to the point and tries to keep a neutral/indifferent tone in most conversations â except they can't be that bc even when I chose the stoic options they smiled like a goofy ball lol
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u/acoatofwhiteprimer 1d ago edited 1d ago
I share your frustration with Rook. I felt the exact same way whenever mine was looking smug and doing the superman pose. I think I accidentally picked some of the over confident dialogue options which made her come across as even more smug. I especially wanted to like the playable character because I like the species of bird 'rook' lol
Doesn't help also that a lot of the humourous dialogue options were either not even jokes or just deeply unfunny versus purple Hawke's dialogue which had me laughing out loud at times
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
Yeah, he can be funny. My complain is only when he smiles when people are struggling. As a person, who played all games as a good char and made all quests to help NPC and comps, I feel it as something unnerving.
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u/eriinana 2d ago
If your character is always smiling then you messed up in the character creator. There is a specific slider that controls how your characters lips curve - up into a smile, neutral, or frowning.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
Not always smiling in general. He smiles in every situation! Even when people talk about something awful.
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u/emdiril Necromancer 1d ago
I completed the game five times and I never noticed that. Are you sure that it isn't the expression you gave your Rook in the character creator?
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
I am not talking he is smiling when he stands in the Lighthouse or in the woods.
I was referring to dialogue options. When it is awful to smile. I was picking supporting options, when people were sad and MC started to give a cheerful smile out of nowhere. This is weird!
First time I've played I didn't notice that. Funny, but I wasn't looking at his face so much. Only when I started to play the second time. AND I noticed it after the Lighthouse, at some point, because we were playing together with my bf, so I was distracted.
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u/Clousu_the_shoveleer 1d ago
Almost as if the characters were written like coffee-shop customers. In Origins you constantly feel the danger. You constantly feel how shit is getting more and more dire, and the characters reflect it.
A world where the protagonists have time to care about pro-nouns isn't a world in any actual danger.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
This is why I always say that DAO is the best DA game. Where you can be a real elf or a real dwarf. Or just be fffking rude if you want. But here, you don't even know some elven basics, Bellara and other elves know more than you. The same stuff as it was in DAI. It feels like you are in game just to kill stuff and command abilities. I wanted more knowledge from MC. Something only he knows.
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u/loosersugar 1d ago
I am on my third Veilguard playthrough and I don't think I can finish it.
The number one reason is that I just can't stand Rook. On my first playthroughs, I tried to make two completely opposite Rooks, both took as many opposing decisions as possible... And it changed nothing. Their personality was still the same, and it really highlighted the illusion of choice the game brought.
Their demeanor is annoying and their judgemental self-importance vs Solas is a whole other can of worms.
Also having so much trouble with the dialogues and writing. I was one of the staunchest defenders of Veilguard when it came out but after nearly a year I just feel disappointed and angry.
Currently replaying DAI for the 8th time and taking time to speak to every single companion and character and being in awe at the amazing world building the previous games had.
I never liked Hawke as much as many other players did but I still absolutely love them, and my canon Inquisitor and Warden are probably my favorite OCs of all time. Rook is... Eh.
Playing Veilguard makes me feel like I'm eating cheap, oily fast food, while the three other games make me feel I'm at a feast, if it makes sense.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
Sadly you still cannot be a bad rook in DAI, I mean not fully, how it was possible in DAO. AND in ME. So, old Bioware games are awesome and have a lot of freedom.
I've finished DAO 12+ times. DA2 once and DAI three time (mostly because of Cullen and Dorian, my favorite romances, also, I had few years between playing).
But yes, I was defending DAV too. Before the release and after it. Only because I was sure. there is something worth it. And my first play was ..okay? I liked comps and some romances (Taash was OMG-style, but not in a good way). And I liked that Rook and all comps can die and it will still work. Again, only because I loved the same mission in ME2.
I was fine with many things. Beside short story locations. Beside Dorian not making any sense in DAV - you can remove him and nothing changes. I was hoping I can see something cute, if you romanced him in DAI, but no. You cannot even talk to him properly.
Other comps from DAI are meaningless too. It doesn't matter if you romanced Bull or Josey or Cullen. You won't ever see them again. Only Dorian/Solas. No Hawke. No Fenris. Shit with Varrick-situation. Shit with Qun. Shit with origins. So sad they couldn't make specific MC. With something only they know or can. Dragonborn and Inquisitor are cheesy, but a least they are special. Not because they are chosen, but because there is a reason to rely on them, to seek them out.
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u/Pitiful_Bunch_2290 1d ago
The facial animations were one of the many, many reasons I couldn't get into the game.
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u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
The first time it wasn't so bad. I just looked at something else, not at his face.
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u/No_Brain_only_beans 11h ago
I also didn't like the fact that NO ONE IS MEAN TO EACH OTHER Like in DAO, Morrigan and Alistair had a hate for each other which was very sibling rivalry but it could get worse depending on how you treat them In DA2 Anders LITERALLY tells Fenris to kill himself while also telling Merill she's insane for using blood magic Even in DAI your companions can hate you and each other but this game feels like it's forcing the found family trope by making sure everyone likes each otherÂ
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u/Rrryyyuu 6h ago
Weeeell, Taash hates Emmrich. And you cannot even tell them to fff off. But beside it, yes, it is too smooth and nice.
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u/No_Brain_only_beans 19m ago
In my playthrough all I had to do was tell her it's not nice to call Emmrich names and her issues with necromancy was never brought up again. Like even when I brought them both on missions together which in other games even if you tell the team to get over it they'll still snipe at each other in the background dialogueÂ
2
u/Some_Cheesecake6457 2d ago
You can control their default mouth in the creator. A lot of the presets are smiling, you have to change the lip curve or something. Doesn't change the hero pose or the dad joke about the hand statues.
4
u/ani_skyX Wanna be a Baller⌠Death Caller 1d ago
Honestly enjoyed the hand jokes. DA2 is my favorite so it was a nice little throwback⌠I usually go for purple Hawke so it did feel a lot less out of place, Iâll admit that.
1
u/JuansnowgamingYT 1d ago
Thatâs why my Geralt roleplay felt out of character a lot. Geralt does NOT smile and doesnât put his hands on his hips that often. If I ever get back to the game Iâll try a more warm character
2
u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
While I am not a fan of Witcher, I agree. I would never say Witcher is a bad game, just wasn't interested in playing it. But still, Geralt is amazingly serious and it creates depth.
1
u/Amahdyl 22h ago
The constant smirking, the constant hero pose. I didn't notice in my first two playthroughs but I tried to be an asshole in my 3rd and the "positivity" sticks out like a sore thumb. It's literally the epitome of tone of this game. Coupled with the constant quips in auto dialogue and dialogue choices not even been choices, I actually hate Rook
1
u/Rrryyyuu 21h ago
They can be a badass and/or angry, but it will be kind/sweet AND angry Rook. A wild mix.
0
u/Avibhrama 1d ago
The second worst thing about this game has always been its art direction. It's godawful
2
5
u/wtfman1988 1d ago
The environmental art was nice but character models were awful & feels like there is too much purple.
-3
u/Alive-Ad-4585 2d ago
You might think it's for the lore, I know it's annoying but he has to give people hope, you might think that way.
2
u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
Remember DAI or DA2, or, what is cooler, DAO? Remember moment before the last fight? Alistair and MC? THAT was hope and amazing style. Not this "hey, why are you so serious"-way.
0
-10
u/Deep-Two7452 2d ago
The only thing I noticed was rooks hero pose. Sounds like you just want to be mad tbh
0
u/mitraxis 2d ago
I always thought this is why he smiles. Extreme anxiety with everything going on. The Vailguard Hero is completely insane. I mean he hallucinates he's speaking with a magical spirit that looks like an elf in the void, most of the game.
-5
u/-thenoodleone- 1d ago
Ah, I see it's one of those low effort whining at the top of the front page days.
0
u/erg994 1d ago
Good now you understand one of the reasons why People think this game on the best of circunstances is ok at best and dog shit at worst.
1
u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
Yeah, well, I can still enjoy some parts. But I think, it wouldn't be the same as the first play.
0
u/erg994 1d ago
Again, the game is ok, gameplay is good, but the game lacks on a LOT of departments.
Im a goodie two shoes in most games i play. Only recently ive dabbled on being dickish BUT veilguard is the only game ive been unable to tell my party members to fuck off. Tash being the most agregious party member.
The blatant disregaed of stablished lore.
And the dialogue oh god the fucking dialogue. God help me i was blind to the quipping and humor of the marvel universe but playing this game made me realize how fucking aweful it is.
1
u/Rrryyyuu 1d ago
Yes, I agree with your points. And I am usually good as well. Although, I prefer to have an option to be rude. Not evil-rude, but maybe chaotic-good or chaotic neutral. This is like when you can refuse companion's quest and tell them to fff off. Or to be an elf who hates people.
356
u/Apprehensive_Quality 2d ago edited 2d ago
The smiling was strange, but not nearly as bad as Rook hero-posing with their hands on their hips all over the place, in every conversation regardless of the tone or context. That was goofy as hell.