Lol, he looks like an early 2000s boyband singer with his original haircut, no idea why they had that haircut in the game to begin with, like it's not fantasy at all
I have to stand up for Sten because the nuance in his character is very easy to miss. : 1. His outburst and murder of the family was not because of his mental state but because he had lost his whole reason for being, his sword. Without it, he's nothing in the eyes of the Quun and killed on sight. It's worse than losing a limb, It's losing his whole identity. 2. His comment toward female warriors are not sexist. In the Quun no matter your sex, if you are a warrior, you must also present in a masculine manner full stop. He's expressing shock not that a woman is a warrior but that she also present as such. Something that would be confirmed later with Ironbull if you discuss Krem. 3. I can't think of another game where a follower decides to fight you for leadership. He's still want's to fight the darkspawn he just doesn't think you are the person for the job and that, paired with the Quun gives him a lot of depth in my opinion. His character is jarring in the moment, but if you trace back all of his actions, they fall perfectly in line with the Quun. A truly neutrally aligned character. Also I think it's ok for him not to change his opinions whether he likes you or not. Life in Parvolan as worked so far and the events in Feraldan aren't enough to shake a whole systematic propagandist agenda like the Quun. I still liked the video tho :D
I too like Morrigan. What I especially like about her is that, despite all her "sass" & "bluster" she DOES get (can be) flustered or even "lose" an argument with party members sometimes! AKA "not ALWAYS right" (not a "Mary Sue"). Which makes her feel from "real" and three dimensional.
@@sharkdentures3247 yeah, that's another aspect of Morrigan that's great that I didn't mention in the video. As much as she tries to seem like she's above the others, she still loses her cool and "loses" arguments, which is both funny and highlights the fact that she's not really used to interacting with people enough for her to be an expert in sass. She had to trade barbs with Flemeth, sure, but not everyone is going to reply like Flemeth.
Congratulations on the 1k! May you have many more, and I'm looking forward to the next subscriber suggested videos 😍 Also hehe my girl Shale made top 3 nice 🤩😻💕
As for Loghain, I do feel like there are so many inconsistencies in what is said about Ostagar that what you suggested would have been better could actually be read into the game. Like, Alistair and the warden DID get delayed by the darkspawn and we also hear before the battle from random NPCs in camp about how there have been battles with darkspawn already at Ostagar and there's more of them than expected, so it's conceivable to me that Loghain was going along with Cailan's wishes for as long as he could but was regretfully prepared to pull his men out when the darkspawn proved to be too many. It's just that in this case he realised that before the final battle and couldn't convince Cailan to retreat or to not be on the front lines with the grey wardens, which he did try to do. As for the elf slavery though... yeah. That's inexcusable. But it also felt so out of left field and out of character for the leader of the night elves that I've just elected to ignore it. Lol can you tell I'm a huge Loghain fangirl yet xD
@@KuningannaSansa I really enjoy Loghain's character and loved the early novels by David Gaider. I just feel like in the game, Loghain doesn't get enough space to present his point of view, does all sorts of weird stereotypically villain stuff that would've been best left to Howe, and yeah suddenly elf slavery out of nowhere 🤔
@btiermutineer actually some of the stuff he does like sending the blood mage to eamon also doesn't make sense time wise, cause we are told by this knight in redcliffe that eamon fell ill just before ostagar so somehow jowan escaped the circle, was captured and taken to denerim and met loghain and made it back to redcliffe in the time it took for the mage warden and Duncan to get to ostagar where loghain was before them and had already won several battles against the darkspawn? That doesn't make any sense. So I headcanon that the person jowan met that he thought was loghain was actually howe, jowan says he recognised him by portrait but medieval portraits are ofc famously reliable lol and loghain just couldn't have been there unless he had a teleporter.
@KuningannaSansa yeah lol, the whole timeline with Jowan doesn't make sense. It would make way more sense it was Howe, since Howe also clearly keeps random mages in his employ (there's one during the human noble origin, and then of course the one keeping the barrier on Anora's door later).
I never understood why people concider Morrigan to be a difficult person to talk to. By that I mean the approval and romance parts. Morrigan is an extremely practical individual that sees little use in things she or the party cannot benefit from. She's headstrong and upfront for the most part so it benefits you as the mc to also see things from her perspective while also challenging her in a way that not 'you are wrong' but rather in a 'you can also think about it this way' As long as you can give a concrete reason for something she will accept it.
@@kitsune0012 I know, I honestly don't understand it either. She makes perfect sense to me, and while yes sometimes she can be a bit "too practical", she still understands if you explain to her why you're doing something.
Say what you want about Wynne, but the fact the she is a sheltered Circle mage who lived her life in a system where people get promoted based on seniority, her character makes a shitload of sense, and I personally really like her lmao.
Just some thoughts on the opinions presented in the video (and considering I fully agree on Alistair's assessment). Nice to see a weighed opinion, but (to me, at least), Oghren's assessment seems a bit too harsh. I can understand all of the "disgusting" remarks -- which are true, but one has to also note that he owns his world-view and subsequent character reactions ("ah, the stench of human depravity... no wait, that's just me!"). Even with his personal quest -- in Origins it doesn't really do much, that's for sure, but in Awakening the outcome is actually more meaningful, as it actually makes him consider the possibility of caring for someone. Also, baring all the belching / farting, there are rather decent joke banter moments with him (the "pike-twirler" thing with Alistair, or "no one touches Oghren's junk and lives" and "mabari chariots" in Awakening, to name a few), so I wouldn't call him a complete waste of a companion as well. I do agree that more could have been done with his tragic background; but it does make him pretty much an "outcast" character, so it's not really surprising that he doesn't have strong political opinions and things like that. Considering that the dwarves don't leave Orzammar in order to avoid losing their caste, he can't really add to the mage / elven debate, and during the Branka questline he voices an important note -- that neither Bhelen nor Harrowmont really care about her as a person; instead they only seek the things she represent. As for comparing Shale to Oghren -- while I do love Shale, I must note that, while she does mention fighting darkspawn being a "worthy goal", she also "finds (helsefl) at a bit of a loss" in the beginning, and doesn't really care about anything. She is a bit of a misanthrope, considering that the villagers would be better off if killed by darkspawn. Her best interactions, in my opinion, are during the elf questline, when she says "somebody, please kill somebody", and "I imagine squeezing the elven leader's head like a lemon... squish!", but, again, she doesn't offer much perspective as a mage does (even though she could, being a golem, e.g. a different type of being). What I mean to say here is there's really no point comparing Shale and Oghren specifically, since they have very different stories and character setups to merit that kind of comparison. I can also see the same pattern of judgement for Sten's character. The thing to note about him is that, while he does make misogynistic and racist statements, that's something that's integral to a society he lives in. If anything, in DA:I Iron Bull subverts that and makes Qunari "just another quirky race", who don't have a strict code of ethics, but rather bend the rules whenever possible. In Sten's case, he is a strong adherent of his people's creed, and, if we consider the comparison to communism, a very "by-the-book" character. That explains his murderous rage, as he found himself in a situation that's outside of the Qunari creed. He said himself that without his sword he's considered "soul-less", so he acted the part. That, of course, doesn't explain how he copes with lacking his sword until you recover it as part of the companion quest (and later sell it, since it's not that good), so, of course, this part isn't that well-written. Still, his rather xenophobic and condescending behaviour to me seems consistent. He begrudgingly decides to learn about Ferelden and their customs, and he eagerly shares the Qun's viewpoints on everything -- the "can we discuss something you mentioned" part of his dialogue. So, the thing you covered earlier, when companions have strong opinions about various aspects of Thedas -- Sten actually is the best representation of that, as he has something to contribute to every decision, from Haven to Denerim. The Qunari culture, at least from his perspective, is rather dogmatic, but that's what makes it different. As for Wynne, one can only note that, considering the harrowing experience of her youth (being locked in a barn before the Templars took her in), the stressful nature of being a mage (considering they are constantly reminded of the danger of possession), it might not be surprising that she went gray at the age of 49 (or earlier). It's true that "old people" (sorry for the term) don't stress their self-being that much, but one thing that's consistent with the tone of this character, in my opinion, is her rigidness. Indeed, the older a person is, the more difficult it is for them to accept change. In terms of the personal quest -- it's true that she doesn't learn from it, but she does get closure. Indeed, her arc is more about "getting ready for death", and the ruminations about the value of actions one does when alive. Considering that she lives on borrowed time, being a spirit vessel, and the quantity of times she talks about dying, death, and duty (which is important), she can be seen as someone who tries to find peace with her life. That aligns with one of the aspects of being a Gray Warden -- one's limited lifespan due to the darkspawn taint. So she isn't that irrelevant to the main character.
I loved Origins Oghren and hated him in Awakening because writers went too much into "rude drunkard" personality which he stopped being in Origins epilogue
@@Keram-io8hv Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. But look at it this way -- it's like your school / college friend, whom you used to hang out with, but then they got married, and you don't see each other that often anymore, and no longer do any wild parties or whatnot. He has grown as a person, and that's a plus for him as a character :)
I think what people forget about Wynne being only 49 is that she is 49 in a medieval setting, where people would not live as long on average as they would in a modern setting, so they would become old at a younger age
@@charlesmitchell8982 lol, how old are you? That's not how that works. The average lifespan of people was much lower due to the fact that there were lots of early deaths (of infants and children). People died of disease because they didn't have access to medicine, used various poisonous substances that they didn't know were poisonous, and didn't have good hygiene. People didn't "get older faster". Lol, this comment gave me a good laugh 😂
@@btiermutineer There's early death's now in case you haven't noticed, and I am talking about average lifespan, which was 45 in medieval times compared to the present day of 82, not early death
@@charlesmitchell8982 yes, the average lifespan is calculated by taking all the infant and child mortality into consideration. I didn't even mention the fact that healing magic exists in Thedas, as we don't need to open that can of worms in order to debunk your idea. Stop embarrassing yourself.
@@btiermutineer You're not debunking anything as healing magic does not reverse the aging process, slow it down yes, but not reverse it, or Flemeth would have done so
@@btiermutineer And by the way, average lifespan is based on how old on average people in a population group will be when they come to the end of life, not on how many of the sprogs they spurted out snuffed it before adulthood
Hey love the videos man! So in detail and interesting to hear how the game is absorbed by someone who is autistic. I recently am playing doa again after its first release and it’s still better than 90% of the games out there today!
Are you going to rank all of the companions of both Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition? And when Veilguard comes out, are you going to rank the companions of that game too?
OKAY FIRST OF ALL BARKSPAWN IS 12/10!! Secondly, omg finally someone else who doesn't worship Alistair. I dont even hate him or dislike him or anything, his humour can be really charming and his heart's in the right place, but I dont get the overwhelming love fandom has for him. He forces you to take the lead and make all the difficult choices despite being the senior warden technically and then bitches at you when he doesnt like the choices you make. Not to mention abandons you in the middle of a blight if you spare Loghain to... you know... have more wardens... cause it's a BLIGHT!! It doesnt bother me from a lore perspective though, cause it feels quite natural and realistic that there are always different rules for nobles than for everyone else. And while I do actually agree with you that Alistair should not be hardened and be given that "unearned confidence", I still do it so that he will agree to marry Anora if I spare Loghain cause otherwise he becomes a drunk and I don't want that for him. Also, I just gotta complain that, as a cullenmancer in Inquisition, I get really annoyed when people say I should like Alistair instead because he's basically the same as Cullen without having been an abusive cop, but like no?? Cause yeah Cullen did some fucked up stuff but it's a game not real life and what makes him appealing as a romance option in Inquisition is that he works hard and is supportive of you, whereas Alistair is often the opposite of that. Like it's probably not fair to compare Alistair at 20 to Cullen at 30, but that's the age he is when I have the option to romance him in Origins and I don't want that child. He can't even cook lol how did he even survive this far.
@@KuningannaSansa lol, I don't mean to be like super rude about Alistair because sure he's young, didn't really get to grow up since he was just sheltered in a Chantry and pushed in the corner before that as a bastard child, and yet... Some of the things he says and does just don't make sense. He had such love and admiration for Duncan, who historically has been making shady choices the entire time. Alistair doesn't bat an eye at Duncan killing Jory, but then if you decide to kill someone who seems like a danger, he's like "no don't do it that's evil it'll make me mad 😩". Says he loves being a Grey Warden because all Wardens are honorable and whatnot, but so many Wardens, Duncan (and possibly the HoF) included, were criminals before they were conscripted, and most certainly don't care much about "honor". Yeah, I also do harden Alistair sometimes in playthroughs where I spare Loghain so that he can at least rule with Anora. But other times I'm like "okay you want to leave the Wardens, go ahead and... Become a drunk who is doing nothing to improve the world?". Like I guess if that's what he wants to do with his life instead of, I dunno, joining the Chantry as a templar, or becoming a city guard, or working as an assistant at a healer clinic, literally anything... Then I guess that's what he wants? I assume Bioware was like "the correct choice is putting Alistair on the throne or having him be a Warden. If you chose wrong, then we'll punish you by showing you Alistair becoming a drunkard". Otherwise I really can't understand his fate in DA2 - just like how you get disapproval from Varric if you ask him about Orsino's fate not making sense in Inquisition.
@btiermutineer I'm such a softie, I always try to get the best possible ending for everyone, but I have been thinking of trying drunk Alistair I just never have the heart to in the end. But yeah that disapproval from varick annoys me too, writers telling you off for questioning them 🙄
If you're best defense of a character is "well this media isn't real life", that isn't a good defense. A good defense would be saying that his trauma was manipulated and he was put into a situation that brought out the worst in him but he goes on a path toward change at the end of Dragon Age 2. That's way better than "Don't take it seriously, it's just a game" type defense you tried.
@@channel45853 .... ummm? I wasn't trying any defence? My literal whole point is that one doesn't NEED to defend fictional characters really cause they're fictional? You're allowed to like characters for subjective reasons without needing to find excuses for the messed up shit they do. And Cullen, despite his trauma, is still responsible for the stuff he did. That doesn't actually excuse anything and isn't a defence of anything either. An explanation, sure. But nothing more.
@channel45853 the need to "defend" fictional characters comes from the extremely morally focused "purity culture" going on in society in general. Fictional characters aren't real people, fictional stories aren't real events, and you can enjoy reading/interacting with media even if it depicts things that are considered "morally wrong" in our society.
@@mauricewilks1974 i talk about all sorts of things in the combat mechanics guide, as well as in each of the companions' build guides! Alistair and Morrigan's guides are a bit less clear because they were among the first videos I made, but all the other ones discuss the general approach to tactics for each companion. And of course the combat mechanics guide goes into detail about all the aspects that go into combat so you can make your own decisions on how you want to use your companions and set up tactics!
As a completionist I always feel bad for saving Sten or talking with Ogrhren, I can ignore Wynn's motherhen stick, but I hate the drunken looser and the murderous psycho giving me there thoughts on anything, it just feels wrong. Like way would anyone care what they have to say about anything?
To be fair to Sten, if you do his personal quest it's revealed he suffered from a flashback and has some form of PTSD, causing him an inability to truly go out of fight or flight, and his genuine remorse makes him a fantastic character in my eyes. But yeah, Oghren is terrible, no arguments there
I also disagree that hardened Alistair isn’t more mature. He is more keen to take on responsiblity like being king, which is definitively mature. He also doesn’t throw a tantrum if you decide to spare Loghain.
I do not want to be the one to tell the Dragon Age fans that you put their precious Golden Retriever husband Alistair so low. Goth Swamp Witch wife Morgan is too high in comparison. Personally, both Alistair and Morgan are fools and dumbasses. But Alistair is aware of his shortcomings and Morgan believes she is wise when she is not.
@@DarkKing009 I explained my *personal* rankings of these companions. It is very much my subjective opinion, and you don't have to agree. I'm a Dragon Age fan, too, so I don't know what you're saying when you mean you don't want to tell "Dragon Age fans" about how I ranked companions, lol. Everyone is free to rank these characters and feel about them however they want.
I can't believe you gave that ugly haircut to Alister.
Lol, he looks like an early 2000s boyband singer with his original haircut, no idea why they had that haircut in the game to begin with, like it's not fantasy at all
@@btiermutineershort hair is anti-fantasy?
@@OutragedVirus66 nope, just that specific haircut. People wouldn't make their hair spiky
I have to stand up for Sten because the nuance in his character is very easy to miss. :
1. His outburst and murder of the family was not because of his mental state but because he had lost his whole reason for being, his sword. Without it, he's nothing in the eyes of the Quun and killed on sight. It's worse than losing a limb, It's losing his whole identity.
2. His comment toward female warriors are not sexist. In the Quun no matter your sex, if you are a warrior, you must also present in a masculine manner full stop. He's expressing shock not that a woman is a warrior but that she also present as such. Something that would be confirmed later with Ironbull if you discuss Krem.
3. I can't think of another game where a follower decides to fight you for leadership. He's still want's to fight the darkspawn he just doesn't think you are the person for the job and that, paired with the Quun gives him a lot of depth in my opinion.
His character is jarring in the moment, but if you trace back all of his actions, they fall perfectly in line with the Quun. A truly neutrally aligned character. Also I think it's ok for him not to change his opinions whether he likes you or not. Life in Parvolan as worked so far and the events in Feraldan aren't enough to shake a whole systematic propagandist agenda like the Quun. I still liked the video tho :D
I too like Morrigan. What I especially like about her is that, despite all her "sass" & "bluster" she DOES get (can be) flustered or even "lose" an argument with party members sometimes!
AKA "not ALWAYS right" (not a "Mary Sue"). Which makes her feel from "real" and three dimensional.
@@sharkdentures3247 yeah, that's another aspect of Morrigan that's great that I didn't mention in the video. As much as she tries to seem like she's above the others, she still loses her cool and "loses" arguments, which is both funny and highlights the fact that she's not really used to interacting with people enough for her to be an expert in sass. She had to trade barbs with Flemeth, sure, but not everyone is going to reply like Flemeth.
Her banter with Sten tho 😂
Can’t believe Wynn is supposed to be 50 at oldest. That’s bonkers!
Magic takes its toll. Especially when you’re a teacher at the same time.
По лору в ДАО Винн только 49 лет, а не порядка 60, как нам показали.
She looks about 60 in the game in my opinion.
@@mauricewilks1974 looks 60, talks like she’s 80
As someone who has not watched the video yet but has the perfect and only correct opinion, Dog is the best companion.
@@FriendofFantasy lol
1. Morrigan.
2. Alistair.
That's it. I've never been a big fan of any of the others.
Congratulations on the 1k! May you have many more, and I'm looking forward to the next subscriber suggested videos 😍
Also hehe my girl Shale made top 3 nice 🤩😻💕
Thank you!! Can't wait to make all the subscriber suggestions, they were all amazing ideas :D
As for Loghain, I do feel like there are so many inconsistencies in what is said about Ostagar that what you suggested would have been better could actually be read into the game. Like, Alistair and the warden DID get delayed by the darkspawn and we also hear before the battle from random NPCs in camp about how there have been battles with darkspawn already at Ostagar and there's more of them than expected, so it's conceivable to me that Loghain was going along with Cailan's wishes for as long as he could but was regretfully prepared to pull his men out when the darkspawn proved to be too many. It's just that in this case he realised that before the final battle and couldn't convince Cailan to retreat or to not be on the front lines with the grey wardens, which he did try to do. As for the elf slavery though... yeah. That's inexcusable. But it also felt so out of left field and out of character for the leader of the night elves that I've just elected to ignore it. Lol can you tell I'm a huge Loghain fangirl yet xD
@@KuningannaSansa I really enjoy Loghain's character and loved the early novels by David Gaider. I just feel like in the game, Loghain doesn't get enough space to present his point of view, does all sorts of weird stereotypically villain stuff that would've been best left to Howe, and yeah suddenly elf slavery out of nowhere 🤔
@btiermutineer actually some of the stuff he does like sending the blood mage to eamon also doesn't make sense time wise, cause we are told by this knight in redcliffe that eamon fell ill just before ostagar so somehow jowan escaped the circle, was captured and taken to denerim and met loghain and made it back to redcliffe in the time it took for the mage warden and Duncan to get to ostagar where loghain was before them and had already won several battles against the darkspawn? That doesn't make any sense. So I headcanon that the person jowan met that he thought was loghain was actually howe, jowan says he recognised him by portrait but medieval portraits are ofc famously reliable lol and loghain just couldn't have been there unless he had a teleporter.
@KuningannaSansa yeah lol, the whole timeline with Jowan doesn't make sense. It would make way more sense it was Howe, since Howe also clearly keeps random mages in his employ (there's one during the human noble origin, and then of course the one keeping the barrier on Anora's door later).
I never understood why people concider Morrigan to be a difficult person to talk to. By that I mean the approval and romance parts.
Morrigan is an extremely practical individual that sees little use in things she or the party cannot benefit from.
She's headstrong and upfront for the most part so it benefits you as the mc to also see things from her perspective while also challenging her in a way that not 'you are wrong' but rather in a 'you can also think about it this way'
As long as you can give a concrete reason for something she will accept it.
@@kitsune0012 I know, I honestly don't understand it either. She makes perfect sense to me, and while yes sometimes she can be a bit "too practical", she still understands if you explain to her why you're doing something.
Say what you want about Wynne, but the fact the she is a sheltered Circle mage who lived her life in a system where people get promoted based on seniority, her character makes a shitload of sense, and I personally really like her lmao.
Oh yeah, no, her character existing in the world makes 100% sense, I just don't find her compelling lol
Just few hours ago i was looking for this type of video
Just some thoughts on the opinions presented in the video (and considering I fully agree on Alistair's assessment).
Nice to see a weighed opinion, but (to me, at least), Oghren's assessment seems a bit too harsh. I can understand all of the "disgusting" remarks -- which are true, but one has to also note that he owns his world-view and subsequent character reactions ("ah, the stench of human depravity... no wait, that's just me!"). Even with his personal quest -- in Origins it doesn't really do much, that's for sure, but in Awakening the outcome is actually more meaningful, as it actually makes him consider the possibility of caring for someone. Also, baring all the belching / farting, there are rather decent joke banter moments with him (the "pike-twirler" thing with Alistair, or "no one touches Oghren's junk and lives" and "mabari chariots" in Awakening, to name a few), so I wouldn't call him a complete waste of a companion as well. I do agree that more could have been done with his tragic background; but it does make him pretty much an "outcast" character, so it's not really surprising that he doesn't have strong political opinions and things like that. Considering that the dwarves don't leave Orzammar in order to avoid losing their caste, he can't really add to the mage / elven debate, and during the Branka questline he voices an important note -- that neither Bhelen nor Harrowmont really care about her as a person; instead they only seek the things she represent.
As for comparing Shale to Oghren -- while I do love Shale, I must note that, while she does mention fighting darkspawn being a "worthy goal", she also "finds (helsefl) at a bit of a loss" in the beginning, and doesn't really care about anything. She is a bit of a misanthrope, considering that the villagers would be better off if killed by darkspawn. Her best interactions, in my opinion, are during the elf questline, when she says "somebody, please kill somebody", and "I imagine squeezing the elven leader's head like a lemon... squish!", but, again, she doesn't offer much perspective as a mage does (even though she could, being a golem, e.g. a different type of being). What I mean to say here is there's really no point comparing Shale and Oghren specifically, since they have very different stories and character setups to merit that kind of comparison.
I can also see the same pattern of judgement for Sten's character. The thing to note about him is that, while he does make misogynistic and racist statements, that's something that's integral to a society he lives in. If anything, in DA:I Iron Bull subverts that and makes Qunari "just another quirky race", who don't have a strict code of ethics, but rather bend the rules whenever possible. In Sten's case, he is a strong adherent of his people's creed, and, if we consider the comparison to communism, a very "by-the-book" character. That explains his murderous rage, as he found himself in a situation that's outside of the Qunari creed. He said himself that without his sword he's considered "soul-less", so he acted the part. That, of course, doesn't explain how he copes with lacking his sword until you recover it as part of the companion quest (and later sell it, since it's not that good), so, of course, this part isn't that well-written. Still, his rather xenophobic and condescending behaviour to me seems consistent. He begrudgingly decides to learn about Ferelden and their customs, and he eagerly shares the Qun's viewpoints on everything -- the "can we discuss something you mentioned" part of his dialogue. So, the thing you covered earlier, when companions have strong opinions about various aspects of Thedas -- Sten actually is the best representation of that, as he has something to contribute to every decision, from Haven to Denerim. The Qunari culture, at least from his perspective, is rather dogmatic, but that's what makes it different.
As for Wynne, one can only note that, considering the harrowing experience of her youth (being locked in a barn before the Templars took her in), the stressful nature of being a mage (considering they are constantly reminded of the danger of possession), it might not be surprising that she went gray at the age of 49 (or earlier). It's true that "old people" (sorry for the term) don't stress their self-being that much, but one thing that's consistent with the tone of this character, in my opinion, is her rigidness. Indeed, the older a person is, the more difficult it is for them to accept change. In terms of the personal quest -- it's true that she doesn't learn from it, but she does get closure. Indeed, her arc is more about "getting ready for death", and the ruminations about the value of actions one does when alive. Considering that she lives on borrowed time, being a spirit vessel, and the quantity of times she talks about dying, death, and duty (which is important), she can be seen as someone who tries to find peace with her life. That aligns with one of the aspects of being a Gray Warden -- one's limited lifespan due to the darkspawn taint. So she isn't that irrelevant to the main character.
I loved Origins Oghren and hated him in Awakening because writers went too much into "rude drunkard" personality which he stopped being in Origins epilogue
@@Keram-io8hv Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. But look at it this way -- it's like your school / college friend, whom you used to hang out with, but then they got married, and you don't see each other that often anymore, and no longer do any wild parties or whatnot. He has grown as a person, and that's a plus for him as a character :)
@@oleh_lunin They totally redone any of his development in Awakening not developed him further
Morrigan: Autistic
Oghren: Depressed
Sten: Psychopath
Shale: Aspy
Zevran: Sociopath
Leliana: Psychotic
Wynne and Alistair: Surrounded by insane people
Dog: Good boi
@@simonhansen5038 lol
I think what people forget about Wynne being only 49 is that she is 49 in a medieval setting, where people would not live as long on average as they would in a modern setting, so they would become old at a younger age
@@charlesmitchell8982 lol, how old are you? That's not how that works. The average lifespan of people was much lower due to the fact that there were lots of early deaths (of infants and children). People died of disease because they didn't have access to medicine, used various poisonous substances that they didn't know were poisonous, and didn't have good hygiene. People didn't "get older faster". Lol, this comment gave me a good laugh 😂
@@btiermutineer There's early death's now in case you haven't noticed, and I am talking about average lifespan, which was 45 in medieval times compared to the present day of 82, not early death
@@charlesmitchell8982 yes, the average lifespan is calculated by taking all the infant and child mortality into consideration. I didn't even mention the fact that healing magic exists in Thedas, as we don't need to open that can of worms in order to debunk your idea. Stop embarrassing yourself.
@@btiermutineer You're not debunking anything as healing magic does not reverse the aging process, slow it down yes, but not reverse it, or Flemeth would have done so
@@btiermutineer And by the way, average lifespan is based on how old on average people in a population group will be when they come to the end of life, not on how many of the sprogs they spurted out snuffed it before adulthood
Hey love the videos man! So in detail and interesting to hear how the game is absorbed by someone who is autistic. I recently am playing doa again after its first release and it’s still better than 90% of the games out there today!
Thank you! Glad to hear you're enjoying my videos 😊
Morrigan is awesome ❤
Are you going to rank all of the companions of both Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition? And when Veilguard comes out, are you going to rank the companions of that game too?
@@samflood5631 I will rank the companions in DA2 and Inquisition. Veilguard, no.
Doggy is not 10 its heresy 🧐😡 !! Give Doggy Barkspawn 10 now 😢😭😭.
@@BlazingTiger5000 lol
Hype!
OKAY FIRST OF ALL BARKSPAWN IS 12/10!!
Secondly, omg finally someone else who doesn't worship Alistair. I dont even hate him or dislike him or anything, his humour can be really charming and his heart's in the right place, but I dont get the overwhelming love fandom has for him. He forces you to take the lead and make all the difficult choices despite being the senior warden technically and then bitches at you when he doesnt like the choices you make. Not to mention abandons you in the middle of a blight if you spare Loghain to... you know... have more wardens... cause it's a BLIGHT!! It doesnt bother me from a lore perspective though, cause it feels quite natural and realistic that there are always different rules for nobles than for everyone else. And while I do actually agree with you that Alistair should not be hardened and be given that "unearned confidence", I still do it so that he will agree to marry Anora if I spare Loghain cause otherwise he becomes a drunk and I don't want that for him.
Also, I just gotta complain that, as a cullenmancer in Inquisition, I get really annoyed when people say I should like Alistair instead because he's basically the same as Cullen without having been an abusive cop, but like no?? Cause yeah Cullen did some fucked up stuff but it's a game not real life and what makes him appealing as a romance option in Inquisition is that he works hard and is supportive of you, whereas Alistair is often the opposite of that. Like it's probably not fair to compare Alistair at 20 to Cullen at 30, but that's the age he is when I have the option to romance him in Origins and I don't want that child. He can't even cook lol how did he even survive this far.
@@KuningannaSansa lol, I don't mean to be like super rude about Alistair because sure he's young, didn't really get to grow up since he was just sheltered in a Chantry and pushed in the corner before that as a bastard child, and yet... Some of the things he says and does just don't make sense. He had such love and admiration for Duncan, who historically has been making shady choices the entire time. Alistair doesn't bat an eye at Duncan killing Jory, but then if you decide to kill someone who seems like a danger, he's like "no don't do it that's evil it'll make me mad 😩". Says he loves being a Grey Warden because all Wardens are honorable and whatnot, but so many Wardens, Duncan (and possibly the HoF) included, were criminals before they were conscripted, and most certainly don't care much about "honor".
Yeah, I also do harden Alistair sometimes in playthroughs where I spare Loghain so that he can at least rule with Anora. But other times I'm like "okay you want to leave the Wardens, go ahead and... Become a drunk who is doing nothing to improve the world?". Like I guess if that's what he wants to do with his life instead of, I dunno, joining the Chantry as a templar, or becoming a city guard, or working as an assistant at a healer clinic, literally anything... Then I guess that's what he wants? I assume Bioware was like "the correct choice is putting Alistair on the throne or having him be a Warden. If you chose wrong, then we'll punish you by showing you Alistair becoming a drunkard". Otherwise I really can't understand his fate in DA2 - just like how you get disapproval from Varric if you ask him about Orsino's fate not making sense in Inquisition.
@btiermutineer I'm such a softie, I always try to get the best possible ending for everyone, but I have been thinking of trying drunk Alistair I just never have the heart to in the end. But yeah that disapproval from varick annoys me too, writers telling you off for questioning them 🙄
If you're best defense of a character is "well this media isn't real life", that isn't a good defense.
A good defense would be saying that his trauma was manipulated and he was put into a situation that brought out the worst in him but he goes on a path toward change at the end of Dragon Age 2. That's way better than "Don't take it seriously, it's just a game" type defense you tried.
@@channel45853 .... ummm? I wasn't trying any defence? My literal whole point is that one doesn't NEED to defend fictional characters really cause they're fictional? You're allowed to like characters for subjective reasons without needing to find excuses for the messed up shit they do. And Cullen, despite his trauma, is still responsible for the stuff he did. That doesn't actually excuse anything and isn't a defence of anything either. An explanation, sure. But nothing more.
@channel45853 the need to "defend" fictional characters comes from the extremely morally focused "purity culture" going on in society in general. Fictional characters aren't real people, fictional stories aren't real events, and you can enjoy reading/interacting with media even if it depicts things that are considered "morally wrong" in our society.
Please can you do a video explaining the games tactics settings and best tactics settings for the companions ?
@@mauricewilks1974 i talk about all sorts of things in the combat mechanics guide, as well as in each of the companions' build guides! Alistair and Morrigan's guides are a bit less clear because they were among the first videos I made, but all the other ones discuss the general approach to tactics for each companion. And of course the combat mechanics guide goes into detail about all the aspects that go into combat so you can make your own decisions on how you want to use your companions and set up tactics!
As a completionist I always feel bad for saving Sten or talking with Ogrhren, I can ignore Wynn's motherhen stick, but I hate the drunken looser and the murderous psycho giving me there thoughts on anything, it just feels wrong. Like way would anyone care what they have to say about anything?
To be fair to Sten, if you do his personal quest it's revealed he suffered from a flashback and has some form of PTSD, causing him an inability to truly go out of fight or flight, and his genuine remorse makes him a fantastic character in my eyes.
But yeah, Oghren is terrible, no arguments there
I respect your opinion but I do not agree on Alistair
Fair enough!
I also disagree that hardened Alistair isn’t more mature. He is more keen to take on responsiblity like being king, which is definitively mature. He also doesn’t throw a tantrum if you decide to spare Loghain.
I do not want to be the one to tell the Dragon Age fans that you put their precious Golden Retriever husband Alistair so low. Goth Swamp Witch wife Morgan is too high in comparison.
Personally, both Alistair and Morgan are fools and dumbasses. But Alistair is aware of his shortcomings and Morgan believes she is wise when she is not.
@@DarkKing009 I explained my *personal* rankings of these companions. It is very much my subjective opinion, and you don't have to agree. I'm a Dragon Age fan, too, so I don't know what you're saying when you mean you don't want to tell "Dragon Age fans" about how I ranked companions, lol. Everyone is free to rank these characters and feel about them however they want.
@@btiermutineer 100%