Hey folks! This video gained way more traction than most of my others, and I'm having difficulty keeping up with all the comments. I may end up pausing them for a while for my sanity. If comments are still open when you drop by, then remember the comment rules (most of you are fine, but some of you are not understanding the assignment): Comments should be resectful and constructive. Disagreement is allowed. Insults, bullying, meanness toward anyone in the comments is not.
How does Rook’s blood magic connection with Solas established in the first part of the game, not them uniquely suited to lead the team against the Evanuris? I don’t see much between that as a plot device and the anchor for the inquisitor.
@rlr26659 I already answered this in another comment, so I'll just reiterate. I do think that's what the game was trying to use as justification for Rook, and I could almost get on board with it. It could potentially justify them being the protagonist, but NOT the leader of the team. First, Rook is treated as a leader even before getting this connection. But more importantly, using Rook's blood magic connection to Solas to justify them being the leader of the team requires the player to ignore three games' worth of world building regarding blood magic. Blood magic is not trusted in Thedas. In most of Thedas, it is very feared. Rook's blood magic connection to Solas is the very reason no one would want them as leader. Rook is, to put it mildly, compromised. Everyone knows it. Rook even admits it near the beginning of the game. Especially since Rook doesn't have a blood magic connection with just any mage, but specifically with the guy they're trying to stop, who happens to be one of the most powerful mages in the world. For them to all know Rook could be being manipulated by Solas, to follow Rook's orders anyway with little question, only to find that, surprise! Solas was manipulating Rook after all, makes them seem very, very foolish. I could see the team using Rook as an advisor, but realistically, they'd be likely to keep Rook out of any group planning sessions and only share with Rook the bare minimum they needed to have Rook get the information from Solas they wanted. The difference between the blood magic connection and the anchor is huge when you consider world building. No one that I recall in Inquisition, except Solas himself in a scene alone with the Inquisitor, thinks the anchor could be manipulating the Inquisitor's mind. Many think the Inquisitor is holy, not compromised. I'm going by memory here, but I believe in the Trespasser DLC there's a note or some other mention of the Inquisitor, especially if they romanced Solas, losing the trust of the people simply because of the Inquisitor's friendship or romance with Solas. If the Inquisitor had had a blood magic connection with Solas and people had known about it, the Inquisitor would have become public enemy #1. If they'd wanted Rook as leader to make sense, there needed to be way more distrust from companion characters until Rook had earned their trust, say, through completing companion quests. Rook shouldn't have become leader until a critical point later in the game where Rook had earned the companions' trust despite the blood magic, and where they'd decided following Rook's judgement outweighed the risks that blood magic and Solas's manipulations posed. Or conversely, if Rook's blood magic connection to Solas has also given them another special ability that was critical to defeating the gods, it is possible the companions might have decided the benefits outweighed the risks. There are ways they could have made the blood magic connection work really well, but just ignoring several games' worth of world building and lore surrounding blood magic without valid in-game explanation raises a lot of eyebrows.
In the original game that got scrapped apparently Rook was appointed by the Inquisitor to man a team of spies to covertly stop and work against Solas, because the Inquisitor had too many ties to the Chantry/Divine Justinia and them going personally to where Solas was (bouncing between Tevinter/Seheron/Par Vollen, who were now on the verge to be in a TRUE all out war from Solas' meddling from the shadows because he was gonna use a mass blood ritual of vints and qunari at war to rip open the fade) could've triggered an all out Holy War & Exalted March across Thedas. Rook was gonna have Dorian, Morrigan and Isabela as advisors, have a submarine instead of the lighthouse, and was gonna get saved by whoever we left in the fade in DAI when Solas/Rook get trapped there together after Rook stops the Blood Ritual. The HOF was gonna turn up too (in some capacity) after Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan got released during the failed ritual, because like the war table said in DAI they had been searching for a way to prevent the calling and succeeded, which Ghilan'nain/Elgar'nan were going to use/were using to control the Wardens. I'm so mad Dreadwolf got scrapped and we got Veilguard. EDIT: There's a lot of stuff I've left out, but you can find out more yourselves. Source: Official Veilguard artbook story or "beat" boards. Under the "Joplin" section.
@@Silvio_Nightwind EA put them in development hell, the first draft of the game didn't make it too far before most of the team was called away to work on another game which most of them didn't want to do, then EA said to scrap the original game and make it an Online only game (you know, typical loot box crap.) So most of the OG devs left, then the single player star wars game came out and EA changed their mind again to turn it back into a single player game, at which point most of the original writers and devs were gone so we ended up with Veilguard.
The reveal of Varric being dead was the last straw that made me laugh and go "WHY TF DOES ANYONE LISTEN TO ROOK?!" Not only was Varric not there to formally appoint Rook as the leader, apparently she's been actually delusional and talking to herself the entire time. And NOBODY questioned it!
I mean considering that most the team are emotionally wrecked.. Yeah. Taash? Yeah, gender confused bully. Lucanis? Possesed by a childish demon Who doesn't allow him to sleep. Emerich? Absolutely terrified of death ( and potentially necrophilia) Scout Hardin? Too overwhelmed with her Magic ( a d socially awkward. That asian elf girl ( forgot her name) socially awkward, nerdy and plagued by survivor's guild. Only Neive and Dawrin seem mature. So yeah... They be like " Damn... He must be effed Up by the loss of Varrick"
@@JoeMartinez18 Right, but Rook helps them through these issues. No one is there to tell Rook "hey clearly Varrics death took a toll on you, let me help you work through this." That's want makes it feel so odd, the companions seemingly don't care about Rooks feelings/problems at all.
This point became really obvious when I encountered the First Warden. He was all like "Who the hell are you and why should I listen to you?" That felt like the most believable reaction to Rook of anyone. Why is Rook leading anything? Why does Rook have influence? Why does Rook get taken seriously? Veilguard never justifies it. Rook is just the protagonist because. It's one the many areas where the writing lacks thought and reason. Too much of Veilguard just feels contrived to keep the plot moving.
@@Icipher353 That's such a good point. I forgot about the First Warden's reaction. And I feel like there should have been more pushback toward Rook from some of the factions, especially the Veil Jumpers. I'm pretty sure there's a line that indicates the Veil Jumpers knew Rook was confronting Solas. Which suggests they should know Rook's interference somehow resulted in the gods getting loose. I would expect at least a few Veil Jumpers would be very, very pissed about that when they realize how cruel the gods are.
@@raelynteaguewrites that's another big story issue for me - why are all the elves immediately unanimously accept that their gods are evil? They've been out for one day and all the Veil Jumpers are immediately "we must stop them!". Especially given how bad the racism towards elves is shown in Origins and DA2, I would expect plenty of elves initially would be more than happy to help their gods conquer human empires.
@@Pax_ire I feel like that's a symptom of the game being so... sanitized. The elven gods taking advantage of the faith people have in them, conscripting many elves just like Solas did, elves who just want to serve their gods and perhaps achieve a better life, is just too morally grey. You might feel bad if you have to kill a guy with two kids and a dog who was only serving the gods because he wanted them to have a world the gods promised would be beautiful and made for the elves! So instead they only recruit "power hungry bullies." They made it super black and white. Takes away a lot of the realism and moral dilemmas that so many people including myself really love about this series.
@@Pax_ire - it kind of goes to the writers sense of morality, they simply wont allow the portrayed victim of systemic racism ever appear as the villain. the down trodden elves of both the alienage's and the wild Dailish flocking to a returned Elven god that promises salvation? but really delivers damnation? that's too nuanced of a narrative. lets just make every bad guy a cis white person that needs to be defeated or replaced with a good LGBT character or a person of colour. bonus points for a LGBT person of colour. im also very puzzled with the qunari in the crows city, they have apparently aligned them selves with the elven gods because they were promised power, but i find that very weird because even if this occupation army isn't sanctioned by the qun, they still operate by the same traditions and superstitions, which one of the big ones is that they really, really REALLY do not abide mages. a qunari that is born a mage is named "dangerous thing" and must stay with their minder who is named "one who holds back evil" and is tasked to kill the mage if they become a danger. ive ended up in a fight with the arashock during dragon age 2 because he found out i was a mage and would not abide the words of a free mage when trying to negotiate peace. so i cant imagine them turning to a giant tentacle demon mage like one of the elven gods for the promise of power...
@shodank in almost every Metroid game, you play as Samus, a super powerful warrior with a world ending suit. But, in those same games, all that suit power is destroyed very early into the game, because being OP from the start would be boring in a Metroid game. In short...how would you address a fully leveled Inquisitor being the MC for Veilguard?
I know there have been some fan theories that the original Gaider plan for Dragon Age: Dread Wolf had the release of the elven gods happen very late in the game (literally). As in it would be the third-act twist, with most of the game being the hunt for Solas (who would have a lot of Eleven agents you'd be combatting). It also probably explains why the main quest content is so much better written - because it survives in some form from early drafts, while much of the sidequest/companion quest content only came about later. I feel like this would solve a lot of the issues with Rook, as it would allow for the time for an introduction of their character. You could have also had Rook start the game as a side character, with a big disaster in the first act which wiped the board/separated you from most of the survivors, providing some rationale as why you're here and not someone more qualified. But no, at some point it was decided it must "start with a bang" like Inquisition. Only it worked in Inquisition because that game - despite continuity with the two previous Dragon Age games - was still semi-standalone. This game is set up as a direct sequel of the events of Inquisition, so it could never have begun with a big action piece without skipping a lot of necessary setup.
@@Karl.Zimmerman I would have loved to see a version like that! And you're right, a slower introduction to Rook and the problems they were solving could have helped.
this would have made for an objectively far more compelling story in my opinion. setting solas up as the actual villain, giving him all the glory of a true antagonist, while seasoned players know that there's something more going on, and then the big reveal? jesus fucking christ, the gods are out, Oh Fuck We Are Screwed.
I actually kind of thought that would've been a great idea for Baldur's Gate 3 - have the protagonist be a minor player at first. Since you can't really have the Bhaalspawn return for BG3 because that character's story is told, BG3 should've had the story center around some villainous figure trying to manipulate Imoen, so Imoen is kind of the central figure for the plot of BG3 (which should've been BG4 really, because Throne of Bhaal was more BG3 than BG2). She honestly wasn't as fleshed out, I think, as some of the better character like Minsc or Jaheira, Viconia... even Aerie, who is arguably, on paper, a very trope-y character, felt like a 3-dimensional character more so than Imoen... which is a good thing, because then it gives you the chance to develop her character in interesting ways. Similarly, bringing back great characters like Minsc or Jaheira would be stupid because the bar is set so high; you have to nail their characterization. Whereas you'd've been much better served bringing back characters who had unfulfilled potential, like Anomen, Mazzy... Nalia and Valygar too, I think, could've been great. (Edwin might actually work in spite of him being pretty well-developed in BG1 and even more so BG2, but I'd probably make him a definitive villain in BG3. Maybe even THE villain? Something from the Nether Scroll requires him to sacrifice Imoen, or use her in some way?) Have the MC in BG3... if you could, have a cool DA:O-style multiple choice origin that trains you into being a suitable candidate for a mercenary band - I'd lean towards the training being class training, where you could be a squire (Paladin), scholar (Mage), growing up in a church or something spiritual (Cleric), orphan in a thieves' guild (Rogue), receiving training from a sword master would work for any kind of fighter type (fighter, of course, but Ranger too, perhaps, a martial-leaning Paladin)... I don't necessarily want it as rigid as a specific background for each class, I like how DA:O had some play there (not every Warrior had the same background, you could be Human Noble but also Dwarf - common or noble - or Elf - Wild or Alienage-born) but something like that - then Chapter 1 has you join a mercenary group whose mission is to protect Imoen? Things go wrong and you're the highest ranking surviving member (so, like, everybody is wiped out except you and one or two other characters, for whom it was also their first mission but you joined like a month prior to them?) I haven't played BG3 yet... I can't help but feel offended, though, that it clearly isn't Baldur's Gate. They just used the name to get the cache to put their game in beta-testing for 2 years (?) and released something they wanted to make that had no relation to Baldur's Gate beyond a few legacy characters thrown in lazily, whom they butchered, especially Viconia whom they turned evil. (I know people will say she was evil because her alignment was "Neutral Evil", but nothing she ever did - in the game or even prior to the game based on background information you were given - was *remotely* evil; I don't want to hear it.) I haven't played it. I plan on it, eventually... I expect that I'll enjoy it well enough, once I get past the name being a lie. (And if I can avoid ever having to interact with "Minsc", "Jaheira", or "Viconia"... any other legacy characters that Larian might've butchered.) And I'm all for long beta-testing to get a game from good to great, if you can pull it off. And if people go back and discover maybe the greatest game of all-time because BG3 stole its name, I'm happy for that too (similar to how Legendary Edition of Mass Effect was a massive failure, but it introduced so many new people to one of the greatest games of all-time, and that's great and I'm happy for that, even if I wish we'd've gotten an actual upgraded ME instead of... that) (although I doubt that'll happen with BG2 in the same way; it's maybe the greatest game of all-time - between BG2 and MGS3 - but it's not particularly accessible. Eventually I'm gonna make some youtube videos to try to help introduce people to BG1 and BG2 so that they can appreciate its nuance, because you've gotta be willing to dig a bit to get the most out of it). So, like, I don't want to hate on the game. Just that I hate that they called it Baldur's Gate 3. Fuck, if you want to slap the name Baldur's Gate on your game for (unearned) cache and name recognition, I'm not even against that; just do the "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance" thing and give it a subtitle rather than a series number.
That's a twist of irony I hadn't thought of before: Previous DA games were standalone, but maintained continuity. The Veilguard is a direct sequel, but goes out of its way to ignores (or sometimes outright break) continuity. It's a weird choice.
When Bellara asks you why you’re trying to save the world, one of my literal options was “I don’t know” and if THAT doesn’t sum up this game, I don’t know what does.
@@steveng6721 that doesnt even make any sense be so fr. she's not one of the writers, why would you even blame a voice actor for anything other than their voice performance
It didn't really feel like Rook was in charge. He always got his leads and pointers from other people (most often Harding). Rook felt like the cheerleader/glue that kept the others motivated. Probably because he was so (frustratingly) positive and nice. Then I assumed Rook took point because he was by far the most competent/confident fighter, and the only one who wasn't messed up by personal problems. Basically, he's a super nice children's book protagonist. I think the main issue with the writing was the lack of conflict. Everyone was too nice; even the pirates and paid assassins! None of the companions challenged Rook, or each other. DA2 has i think the best comoanion writing of the series specifically because of Fenris and Anders. Fenris especially is a total jerk, who (if you bother to invest a little patience in him) has an incredible character arc. Anders behaves like a saint then betrays you and destroys everything. Hawke also really suffers and overcomes that suffering. DA2 is full of juicy character conflict. Veilguard lacks it. Rook never struggles with anything or pays a high price for his decisions. There is no darkest moment. When a companion died to Ghilanain, that should have been SO MUCH EARLIER in the story, so the weight of that death had time to be felt. So Rook could have had a crisis of confidence in his judgement. When Rook was stuck in the Fade, it should have been for much longer, and harder to escape. Escaping should have cost something. And the revalation that Rook was an unreliable narrator should have been really leaned into! Rook has been imagining Verric this whole time?! Even imagining other people interacting with Verric?! What else wasnt real? How can Rook trust himself after that? By the time Rook was recovered from the fade, either Harding or Davren (survivor) should have taken over as leader. Rook should be a mess, with a crisis of confidence. Rooks friends should then slowly bring Rook back, supporting him like he has supported every one of them throughout the story. Then something has to happen to take either Davrin or Harding out of the lead, perhaps a red herring that draws them to a trap or false goal, that then leaves Rook forced to take up lead again and finish the fight. Something like that.
@@RandomWandrer The lack of conflict is absolutely an issue in the game. I think especially given how they're trying to push the "We're a solid team, so we're gonna win where Solas couldn't" narrative, it would have been nice to have to work hard to have that solid team. Have the team dysfunctional at first, truly dysfunctional, and let gamers feel a sense of achievement by bringing the team together through some interesting, team-building quests rather than a single, gentle nudge in conversation. Could have been an option, anyway.
You are SO wrong about lack of conflict.... you remember that time Harding didn't want Emmerich to take BOOKS on their vacation? Or that time Taash's mom wanted VEGETABLES? It was a nailbiter.
Well, that's the same problem with the Inquisitor. His/her advisors do most of the work for him/her. Only the Warden and Hawke are the ones who really struggle on their own.
Once I learned about how this game was developed, I am surprised it was finished at all. It was pieced together from other dead games. This was a salvage project.
@@draco949 I agree, and I think in a lot of ways we were lucky to have gotten what we did. It does make me sad, though. Wish we could have gotten a game that had been given more support during its development.
The Inquisitor was clearly the best protagonist for this particular story from a dramatic and emotional standpoint and it's baffling why they still refused to just have a repeat protagonist despite Rook not only not making sense but actively tanking the potential emotional weight of finishing off Solas' story. The emotional stakes are immediate and obvious with the Inquisitor - they were friends and companions in arms with Solas, were maimed by him, and could potentially even have been romantically involved with him. There is absolutely no good narrative reason why they wouldn't be heavily involved in facing him and the results of his actions and, as it stands, the best the game writers could come up with is 'oh, he's busy'. Rook is literally some random and I'm still mad about it.
In a way I am ok with the Inquisitor not being the protag of Veilguard, because of the way they butchered the writing. The Inquisitor would have felt like a husk of who they were in Inquisition... If the writing was decent, it would have been great
The Inquisitor CANNOT be main in Veilguard for some really important reasons. 1. The Inquisitor is not extraordinarily personally powerful. They led the Inquisition because they could seal rifts. The anchor is gone. They were quite literally just an anonymous nobody before the conclave, it’s why they were sent to observe the discussions discreetly. 2. The inquisition is now either disbanded or under the control of the Divine. The Inquisitor is now no longer a major power player in Thedas. Respected, sure. But not in charge. 3. The Inquisitor and Inquisition are already compromised, assuming the Inquisition still exists. It is Qunari and Solas’s spies stumbling over each other that kicks off the Qunari plot in Trespasser. Solas understands the Inquisitor well too, allowing for the ability to outplay them. The Inquisitor still has a small role to play in the story, but their personal story closed with Trespasser. As did the Hero of Ferelden in Awakening. And the Champion of Kirkwall in Birthright.
Rook is the protagonist because after more than 2 decades, Bioware finally managed to make good looking and great hair physics. And they forgot (or ran out of budget) to write a compelling backstory for the character 😝
@@raelynteaguewrites I'll have to admit, sometimes I click on videos about the game just to see how people made their Rook 😅😆 and hoping the topic is interesting like in yours
@@ZrodyApo I have curly hair, so I was thrilled Veilguard had nice-looking curly options. The first Rook I made had curly hair, and I loved watching her hair bounce ridiculously the way curly hair would when traipsing the countryside. Haha
I'm sorry, but why is everyone complimenting on Veilguard's hair physics? I mean, don't get me wrong, compaired to the rest of the game, they are great and the hair also looks really nice indeed ... But have you ever watched a long haired character move around fast? I swear, their hair looks like it's glitching all over the place.
The Strand-based hair rendering is from the Frostbite engine team, developed mainly for the FIFA/FC games. Bioware only decided to use it, I mean they can't even animate their models properly, they don't have the talents needed. The hairstyles on the other hand are most likely from Bioware, too avant-garde for a sports game.
Asking this question after 20 hours in the game got me kicked from the biggest DA group on facebook. Biggest point for me was when i had to choose which city to save from a dragon attack. Why? Who is Rook to a dragon? What is she going to do that an army in the city cannot do? She's the sidekick to a dwarven pulp-novelist.
I bet I know what group you're talking about. They blocked me years ago when I posted about a backstory for a character I had and mentioned offhandedly that I have a mod that made Dorian straight (apparently a mod that makes a heterosexual character homosexual is fine, but one that makes a homosexual character heterosexual is "gay erasure") I know, a truly terrible crime 🙄 They are surprisingly toxic for a group that prides itself on its non-toxicity.
@@NinjaFlibbleTell you what… when straight people start getting bullied, assaulted, and even killed for something they can’t control… your opinion might actually mean something. Dorian is probably the least developed characters in the game. He only talks about being gay what… ONCE? During his companion quest. The fact you need a mod to wipe out 1 line of dialogue and 30 seconds of game time says all anyone needs to know about you
Yup, one of the mayor issues with this game is not that it is the worst game ever. It is just that for a dragon age game it is severely lacking. The writing just doesn't work. And in a dragon age game, writing is everything. Making that you simply don't CARE. Which is bad for a game.
@@MasticinaAkicta Yeah, I realized toward the end of the game that I only mildly cared about Rook and the companion characters, and the vast majority of what I enjoyed about the game probably came down to nostalgia for Inquisition. It's good that Veilguard was able to to tie up some of Inquisition's loose ends satisfyingly, at least for me, but sometimes it's hard to know how much credit should go to Veilguard for handling the parts I enjoyed well, or how much credit should go to Inquisition for setting those moments up well and getting me invested inthose characters. I do think Veilguard deserves some credit, but it doesn't say much about Rook or the companion characters when I spend the whole game with them and am still way more invested in a couple of characters from Inquisition.
I feel like the opening scene from dragon age 5 is going to be varric closing a book and saying “thank god, it was just fiction” then the “dragon age: dreadwolf” pans across the screen and we all collective say “ohhh THIS is the sequel to inquisition”
Another interesting way to make Rook the leader, would be to let Rook be the sole survivor of the first mission. Let's imagine: You aren't the leader of the group at the beginning, because Varrick choose someone from your fraction to be the perfect due to some skill. You are technical, just a companion at this point. So instead of Rook, Varrick, Harding and Neve it's just Varrick, Rook, the guy from your fraction and some random "important" character. So the mission to stop Solas goes horribly wrong, and everyone dies except you. You are the only survivor, and you also directly saw Varrick dying, instead of getting that information later. You know something horrible had happened, but you are alone and for some reason you can't contact the Inquisition in the south or your fraction. That would create a nice feeling of isolation and hopelessness at the beginning. Just like in Origins. So you're a nobody and must find a way to set up a team somehow. It would make an interesting character arc for Rook to be really becoming a leader this way. And it would be interesting to recruit your teammates, because you need them to convince you to help you somehow.
One of the things that really bugs me about Rook is how the backgrounds are just the backgrounds they picked for the companions. They feel like an afterthought, totally superfluous, like a middle manager working above the grunts. Rook is in charge because their position in the Veilguard corporate ladder was higher than Harding and Neve when Varric died, that makes them the unquestionable boss I guess. They had a great CV.
THIS!!!! I just thought *I* was having a hard time coming up with Justification for my Rook being In Charge/trying to tie my origin to the larger story (Basically doing the writers job). You’re RIGHT, it’s the lack of integration of backstory that could have made a difference! Like What if the two Veil Jumpers at D’Metas Crossing w were apart of the team I saved?? What if I could actually _Go find_ the Map I lost and it helped us find where the Venatori took the Dalish? WHAT IF IT WAS CLAN ALDWIR!!? (And this is just one person idly brainstorming…Imagine if THOUGHT was put into the interaction!)
I think you made a great point in your argument for Rook connection and feeling responsible for unleashing the Elven Gods would be a fine reason my issue is anyone could of been in that situation so it doesn't make Rook part in that event substantial enough to make them the protagonist and the fact they don't let you have that by say nan it's Solas feels strange? Origins depending on your background for why Duncan choose you the main thing you and Alister have in common are you're the only ones who can kill the Arch Demon even when the capture warden joins you even though he should have way more experience he lets you take point. Hawke is kind of thrown into the deep end and doesn't get the title of protagonist till the Qunari attack or Mage/Templar conflict reaches it boiling point. I have issue with inquisition but since there is no other character who can close tears you're the only one who can close the tears and save the world. From what I've seen from Rook they just felt forced instead of importing your Inquisitor who not only could have had an emotion connect with Solas (as a friend or lover) they did this which felt lazy and since they seem to ignore a lot of past choices I lean toward lazy?
Rook isnt really forced, it just the 10 year gap. And us missing their and varrics relationship. Basically Varric was the lead not rook, but rook is a natural leader according to what we are told. With that said also Solas also guided us. So Rook kinda assumed responsibility.
@@CyrusIsnt oh rook is in fact very forced. A 10 year timegap makes the inquisitor an even more obvious choice, because not only did they mature more, they also should have build the necessary connections to deal with this problem. This is like Duncan just putting your character in charge in origins for absolutely no reason. And what a game tells you is irrelevant when its contradicted by what is shown. Rook is NOT a natural leader, the only thing they could lead would be a kindergarten group - Because a leader must be able to offend people, especially those who who put their personal feelings over the mission. And Solas guiding us should be a massive red flag for anyone involved. If anything, Rook should be chained like the inquisitor in the beginning, not put in charge.
@@laju6398 Varric was the leader of the group The inqusitors role is too big to spend years chasing solas. Imagine your governor just leaving office a few years. And i am starting to question if you played the game. Solas guided you 2 ways Through the illusion of varric, to get rook to assume the role of leading the team. And giving you advice as himself. Everyone else were scared, and to be a good leader you do not need to offend anyone 😂, nor did anyone on the team let their feelings get in the way of the mission. At times leaders may offend or displease others, which you literally do at the start of the game. And you let a city get blighted. Now the big issue i have regarding this idk if varric even believed rook to be the leader. I am lost to what varric actually told rook. To were solas was just manipulating. There should have been an [there was] act before where we started
@@laju6398 Having Rook arrested at first would have been a much better start to this, but since that was the way Inquisition started it would have made this game too samey. Even though DA allows you to always make your own character, I feel like this game would have been better being the Inquisitor again. No one knows them in northern Thedas, so it could have worked. Either the Chantry takes over the Inquisition or it gets disbanded is an easy way to relieve them of the responsibility and since 8 years past, people could forget what she looked like. But Veilguard felt like it was trying to make people forget everything that came before because the new hack writers wanted it to be all about their abominable ideas because of egos.
@@mihmo2663 I don't think there's a good answer to the Rook issue in all honesty. The creator of this video had a decent set up for why Rook would be the only option but in my opinion what they needed to do is give an origin story. A short 30 min prologue to establish your character and get a general idea for who or what kind of person you are and to set the stage would do wonders for world and build out any future choices that could be made cause if it's all done via text or Varric telling us who we are isn't enough in my opinion.
Rook's origin being reduced to a paragraph of text was absurd. The game had SO much pointless filler that could easily have been chopped out to make room. Get rid of the Lords of Fortune and the Mourn Watch because they didn't affect the main plot at all. The elves left Thedas to follow Solas so make the Veil Jumpers (with a better name) maybe a rebel faction of elves or something, instead of whatever stupidity they ended up as. Get rid of Bellara because her class was redundant. Make the companions recruited other random refugees instead of people we had military type dossiers on, and give us opportunities to talk to them in more than predetermined cutscenes. The campfire/base conversations with companions were some of the highlights of DA/Mass Effect Games. It took me 75 hours (of misery) to platinum Veilguard and I didn't feel like I really knew any of the companions. I remember Wynn in Origins and Dorian in Inquisition had like an hour each of dialogue just talking like people. I could go on and on....
Wynn even rebelled against you if you brought in blood magic or Morrigan from the getgo!... These people weren't going to trust you from the start. Same as Zevran, a Crowe who 'failed', but wants to live and knows well the Crows will continue, and you don't know if he wont backstab you... Iron Bull even goes against you if you reaffirmed his faith in the Qun! Isabella LITERALLY stole from the Qunari, sparking the events of Act 2! And she would leave you if you didn't have good standing!
Personally, I always thought the Inquisitor was already bland and boring compared to the Warden and Hawke. I never thought that it could get worse, but Rook shattered my expectations, for worse.
my main complaint of this game is why is a hero as huge as the inquisitor taking a back seat to some unknown 'rook' person? the main character should've been either the warden, hawke, or the inquisitor. would've been a cool plot twist to have the original warden as the main character, it would've been close to the time they'd start hearing the calling and that could be used in part of the story, especially with the blight changing. i just feel that for a storyline where everything kinda ties together, it seems like the original warden and hawke are mere afterthoughts, would have been cool to have them directly in the story. but the only character from the original is morrigan
@@Thenineoh I haven't gotten my hands on the art book quite yet, but apparently, in the iteration of the game from before when they were trying to make it live service, they had been considering having Hawke in the game. At least seriously enough that there is concept art of Hawke. Could have been very cool!
At the end of Trespasser, Leliana remarks that Solas knows all of them too well, then the Inquisitor says that they'll find people Solas doesn't know. The plan was to have a new team from the beginning, with Varric doing the recruiting.
@@damned0wl - could be, but Veilguard didn't really care about past choices either. and i think there is a chance hawk can die in inquisition as well. the only 'canonically' alive hero is the inquisitor, which should have come back as a returning role as player character. this was the capstone to their story to finish things with Solas, Rook was the only 'new' face when varric confronted solas in what was their show down, every other member was a returning face from inquisition (at least i think neve is an ambassador in inquisition... i remember that hat...) so they didn't spend too much time recruiting new blood, 10 years of effort and recruited on person...
Exactly. A lot of the time people suggest drastic changes to the completed product to "fix" it without realising that their ideas would create problems elsewhere. The suggestion in this video to fix Rook works because it actually achieves what the existing product fails at. It makes the themes of pride tighter while also maintaining Rook's underdog status, and it would provide a stronger narrative reason for your character to do side content for the factions because you need to win their support.
@Chris270693 That's definitely the goal whenever I offer tips to "fix" something: to help the story become what it was trying to be in the first place. It's not constructive for me to just...completely change it into my own story.
I wish we got introductions to Varric and Rook’s relationship in a similar way Duncan meets the Warden. For the Antivan Crow background, you have a conversation with Varric where he recalls he was one of the Antaam prisoners that Rook freed. They could’ve shown that (maybe not in its entirety) to establish what circumstances led Varric and Rook to be crossing paths, and then go from there.
It's never explained WHY we had to pick between Minrathous and Treviso, we split our forces so there was still capable people going to both. There was no use of the dagger cause we pretty just scared the dragon off, so why did Rook not being at the other mean the other gets decimated? When I saw Minrathous afterwards I was shocked, this mage city just took it hard and got the Black Divine blighted and never explained how it went THAT wrong. Whereas Treviso is barely effected if you don't choose them, you know, the civilian city.
It doesn't help that regardless of which city you pick, the mission is the same. Fight some mobs, Ghilan'nain does her evil speech, fight dragon, your other companion gets disappointed. You also don't lose out on the faction of that city. It's possible to get them to excellent relationship with you by end game. So really the choice only actually matters if you want to romance Neve or Lucanis.
There most definitely is a good reason why Minrathous gets wrecked without you. The whole Venatori thing. The political and social structure of Tevinter is infested with them. A few good spies can take out defenders and unlock doors before you even know you’re in danger. Treviso needs help because it’s weak. It doesn’t have an army capable of defending itself from any sort of serious attack. These aren’t difficult concepts to understand.
I think the faction system is a huge reason Rook fails as a protagonist. My first playthrough was as a warden, and it actually made a lot a more sense. Pre-Davrin, I was the only warden on the team, and had to step up to deal with this new and changed blight because the First Warden wouldn’t. Every Rook should have been a warden, in my opinion, with your race and class defining the rest of your background (similar to the light character history elements in Inquisition). To your point of guilt over releasing the blight as a possible deeper motivator-this would hit hardest as a warden.
Got to agree. Even Ryder in Mass Effect Andromeda had better protagonist story compared to Rook. Ryder started as a nobody, found out that their planned new home in Andromeda had gone wrong, then became a Pathfinder because his/her dad, the previous Pathfinder, made him/her so to save his kid's life at the expense of his own, putting the responsibility upon Ryder as a result. So not only Ryder got the Human Pathfinder killed on a mission, he/she had seen the problem and stakes that needed to be resolved for their survival in Andromeda, and was also promoted by the late Pathfinder father to do so. Rook also started as a nobody, was in Tevinter with Varric to find Solas in order stop him from tearing the Veil, but there was no explanation to why Rook was chosen for this mission or to even lead it after Varric died. Sure, Rook was responsible for releasing the two villainous Elven gods, but that was the consequence of trying to stop Solas in the middle of the Veil-tearing, not the stake of the mission or the reason to lead (if anything, something like this would more likely lead to demotion, probation, or reassignment). No one of authority made Rook the leader to deal with the new threat. Rook just became one straight up, no promotion or reason.
I *really* enjoyed Andromeda. It's not a perfect game, I'm very aware of that, but I really do believe that people hated on it in large part because... I don't know, because they wanted it to be something else. Meet it on its own terms and I think it's a very good game. (Also, being released so buggy and broken was unforgivable, of course; I bought it not quite a year ago and benefited - autocorrect tells me that's the right spelling but I'm pretty sure autocorrect is wrong again, it's "benefitted", right? - from years of patches.) It might've been over-stuffed with too many similar sidequests, but if you ignore some redundancy, there were still a TON of great sidequests, a really fun main story, lots of cool innovations... especially if you grade it on a curve, since it was given to an all-new team, I think it's really impressive how they made it different from the Mass Effect trilogy but still *feel* like Mass Effect. I'd've LOVED a sequel; with the experience from making the first game, I think a sequel could've built on a lot of what was great about Andromeda and been a huge success (assuming no EA interference, of course, which wouldn't have happened... but in a world where Bioware stayed Bioware, Andromeda could've given us another legendary ME trilogy). The combat was cool, the equipment creation was awesome, character customization rocked, the idea of having a twin was loaded with potential (mostly wasted... I'd've loved to have seen your twin have a much larger role late in the game; then, on replay, if you play as the twin, having that character be level 1 - but with all your credits and items? barring items actually equipped on your initial Ryder - so that when you get to the part where you're the twin, then you get to be OP... that would've made replaying the game so much more fun. Instead, when I loaded as female Ryder the 2nd time around, she was just given all of male Ryder's levels and skills, so... what was the point of being the twin the 2nd time around when she was just the same character?), seeing a new galaxy and how the Reapers did similar stuff but not the same (the Remnant vaults rather than the Citadel) really intrigued me, I'd've loved to have seen that explored in a sequel... Also, I don't know if I love Cora Harper more than Miranda, but she's in that tier; she's not just top tier Mass Effect squadmate, she's a top tier companion across any RPG ever. Cora's the fucking best, man. Andromeda wasn't as good as ME1 or ME2, for sure, but it was still a damn fine game (once it got patched) (honestly... I think maybe better than ME3? I loved some things about ME3 - the loadout mechanic allowing you to strip down weapons to get faster power cooldowns was fucking GENIUS - but making Cerberus the main antagonists of ME3 instead of the fucking REAPERS??? What the fuck was that???) Also, speaking of Mass Effect... they should make a prequel duology: 1 - The Rachni Wars (you can be a Krogan... or Turian?) 2 - The Krogan Genophage (Salarian... maybe Turian? Perhaps even Krogan?) if it's less of an RPG - action/adventure with RPG elements? - then it would make sense to just be a Krogan in The Rachni Wars (1st person shooter with RPG elements?) then Salarian in The Genophage (action/adventure/spy thriller with RPG elements). But if it's a full-on RPG, then I could see being able to be Krogan or Turian in The Rachni Wars, perhaps Salarian (maybe even Asari too?), and Turian or Salarian in The Genophage (so you could be Turian in 1, then import into 2, or be a different character in each one, depending on your approach). (Possibly even Krogan in 1 then import your Krogan and fight a doomed battle in 2? Which would require 2 be essentially 2 games - a winning side but also an entirely different 2nd game where you're a Krogan fighting an ultimately doomed war? Which is why I think it might work as less of an RPG, more RPG-lite; you could make a Krogan and a Turian campaign for 1, then for 2 you could have a doomed Krogan campaign, a Turian campaign where there's more actual fighting, and a Salarian campaign that isn't as combat-driven, is more about developing the genophage.)
tbh I think it could've been as simple as actually telling us when Varric died. I really don't think hiding it added anything to the story, especially since it comes at the cost of anyone at all reacting to it, even Harding, but I do agree with your added prologue making Rook even stronger
Heck, I knew Varric died from the beginning. So it wasn't a surprise later. I love Varric and I hated the way he was used in Veilguard. If a big side character dies, it should be epic/sad/grandiose- something! The trailing out his death seemed almost a mockery of sorts. And the lack of grief was also disappointing.
I think it was just a lazy decision so they wouldn’t have to deal with anything from the previous games. They pretty much ignored everything else, so it doesn’t surprise me why they started with a new blank slate.
The writing in Veilguard is so disappointing. It really hurts me, also being a very avid Dragon Age fan. It is disheartening to see the writers at BioWare being so ignorant of the essense of what made previous Dragon Age special - the writing! Veilguard's moment-to-moment writing is completely void of any talent or understanding of the previous events and lore.
Ever since I finished Trespasser aaaall those years ago, it was clear to me that the protagonist of DA4 should be the Inquisitor. I know that we have had different protagonists every single game, but it just makes SO MUCH SENSE! The Inquisitor fulfills all the criteria and it could be such an epic ending for their journey, which I feel was lacking in the end of Inquisition. Unfortunately, it seems Bioware was not remotely interested in previous choices, this is a clear reboot of the series.
I agree, i played this too. I rushed my game to the ending because i didnt care. One shouldn't be asking themselves " why is this person the protagonist " several times in a game 😂
I felt disconnected from Rook. I also believed that Rook did not connect well with Varric to justify the drama. I liked Varric from previous games. I wasn't happy with the game twist because it made no sense. I think that they could have done more with the redemption arc of Solas. A prideful man should be helped see his error of thinking and not conversed with. I think the plot was rushed. It was a good animation, true, but not good storytelling. Rook could have stumbled on the whole thing. A nobody Rook makes sense because it adds to the struggle of making people believe in you. I would have loved if factions rejected Rook as well. It felt too easy. Just sell them your inventory, and you're good to go. I would have found it interesting if the fade partly opened. I think Ghilanain was not interesting at all. Elgerna'an could have had more depth. The blighted gods were a stupid boring idea. If they were powerful, they didn't need the blight. It was the easy way out for the story to help explain why Solas felt cornered to close everything in the veil. Plus, Solas is so powerful to have created the veil. I would have played more with what Solas really is. He was far from ordinary mage. Yet, he gets trapped in his own prison. In inquisition, they almost present him as Moriarty acting from the shadows, too smart and far knowledgeable. If the mgisters in Minrathos know about this powerful elf, wouldn't a manhunt make sense. There are so many ways to tackle this story, and veilguard failed to build, reach a climax, and surprise.
@@rajasammour6400 With the Varric twist, it did and didn't work for me. It didn't work because I figured Varric was dead as soon as I saw Solas's reaction the first time Rook meets him in the fade and says Varric is hurt. So, I wasn't necessarily expecting the reveal to happen the way it did, but I did expect it to happen somehow. And there are a lot of people who've pointed out so many different plot holes or poorly-explained aspects to the plot twist. Which are valid, and I completely understand why it doesn't resonate well with people. But for me...I kind of chose to let it resonate with me because I liked the concept in theory. And really just because I WANT to enjoy this game as much as I can and feel all the feels. I shouldn't really have to convince myself to do that, but I dunno.
"Why am I here?" was my mantra for all 38 hours I played it. I finally uninstalled it. Booting it up after work felt like an obligation and a chore. Rook felt like an assistant manager in a startup company. Everyone is here because they need connections and paychecks-- art imitates life something something long enough to become the villain. Missing that $70 rn.
Rook being so irrelevant to their own game was very... Noticable. I kept asking "why is Rook existing" throughout this game. I was constantly reminded of Corrine Busche's statement about how Veilguard is different from past games because the older ones had companions join in on *your* journey, but "Veilguard is you being on their journey"... And she was right. In a way that I don't think is good, narratively speaking. It also doesn't help things with Rook being so.... Rigidly undefined. Rook has a personality. An unchanging, bland and banal personality. "A hero designed by an HR committee" is what I would describe Rook's personality as.
@@FaeQueenCory That's interesting what Busche said. I hadn't heard that, and while I definitely think there are good, interesting ways to write from the perspective of a character who is on someone else's journey, I'd agree that I don't think it works well in this instance. And I've been referring to Rook as Generic Hero™, so I guess we agree on that too. 😂
One of the problems with the disruption of the ritual being the basis for Rook's guilt is in the fact that not disrupting it meant certain annihilation. So even IF Rook felt responsible for unleashing the evanuris, this is negated by the fact that doing so spared the world total destruction. Better to have it only mostly destroyed in a way it could eventually recover. Veilguard is an illogical conclusion desperately searching for a logical plot. Finding people Solas didn't know was contradicted by Solas knowing about Rook anyway. Rook's involvement with disrupting the ritual is contradicted by Solas' own failure to plan ahead for contingencies. Rook's regret that the evanuris destroyed so much is contradicted by Solas' regret in starting all this. Rook's special status is relegated to the dagger, which is passed off to Lucanis a few times during the game, and the dagger itself is eventually replicated anyway, thus belittling its importance. This simply isn't the type of game that fits the Dragon Age universe.
Yeah I know people keep saying this game has good bones, but I feel like it doesn’t even have that. It certainly has good parts, but the game struggles to its very core. Some of the issues I think also stem from the fact that trespasser set da4 up to be a direct equal, and that’s not typical for dragon age. Because trespasser sets up a direct sequel, the usual “each game is different” is extremely jarring and simply doesn’t work. DAV isn’t a standalone game but they still tried to treat it as one.
@@sarawawa8984 Yeah, and not only was Veilguard not a direct sequel, but Trespasser itself wasn't a direct sequel to Inquisition. The two year time-skip ended a few of Inquisition's plot points that should have been explored more, such as who was left behind in the Fade, the Warden schism, the possible Qunari alliance, some things with Orzammar and Kal-Sharok, the Hero's quest, etc. Then Veilguard wedges even more time between Trespasser and itself with ten years, effectively ending any plots that were ongoing at the time. It also negated anything the Hero and Champion were doing.
@@BelieveIt1051actually a lot of those plot threads were discussed in interviews after Trespasser was released DA4 was NEVER originally meant to be a direct sequel. The companion trapped in the fade, the return of the HoF, a major role for the Inquisitor, and even Solas having a major role outside of lurking menacingly just off stage are specific points that were mentioned as being on the shelf for the time, but that there was in fact a plan for all of these loose threads to be tied up. The ONLY thing Trespasser promised was Tevinter being in the next game, and it is. BioWare could certainly have tried to be a little more open and tamp down on the increasing player expectations, but at the end of they day this particular issue of what people decided DA4 would be with no reference to reality isn’t their fault.
@@mattphoenix4702 Those recent interviews are historical revisionism, or just the writer's pride talking. The art-book shows that early concepts floated the idea of the Hero making a cameo somehow (but as a mangled ghoul). And Laidlaw, before he left, squawked from the rooftops about how "the Hero's story is over". The art-book also showed cut content involving who was left in the Fade. Also, the Divine was depicted sending ships to stop Solas. So the project changed in scope and in basis multiple times. As for what Trespasser alluded to, it was definitely setting up DA4 as a direct sequel. The Inquisitor storms off to save the world... AGAIN. The Inquisitor, possible love interest, and the others immediately start planning to save or stop Solas and find people he doesn't know. That is what Trespasser hinted at, not what we got in FailHard, with Varric being the one tracking Solas, finding a person Solas knew about anyway, and then disrupting his ritual in the most haphazard way possible TEN YEARS AFTER Solas made his initial threat to destroy the world. Face it, BioWare changed the story to be more basic so they wouldn't have to put the work in. Solas was supposed to have agents helping him. Where are they in FailHard? Epler gives the excuse that Solas felt he wasn't a good leader, and dismissed them all from his service. Complete BS. Same case with all the stuff about the Wardens. The time-skip ensures Rainer and the potential Hawke sibling wouldn't be there, as the schism would have been resolved by then. Same case with the one left in the Fade. After ten years, no one would believe that person was alive anymore, and would stop looking. Trespasser promised the Inquisitor would be involved, that we would find people Solas doesn't know, and that we would save Solas from himself or stop him by any means necessary, and we would either have the Inquisition's help or not. And if so, we would run the risk of Solas' spies compromising us. Let's also not forget the Dragon Age Keep, which had choices from Inquisition and the DLCs represented within it. That too gave the impression that choices from the previous game and DLCs would be referenced, reflected, or otherwise carried over. The time-skip was specifically designed to nullify all those things.
When you asked "what do you think of Rook", I wasnt thinking about THE Rook the game wanted to force on me. I was thinking of the Rook that I made in my head, en elvhen girl, dalish, taken by tevinter enslavers, saved from them thanks to a Warden that conscripted her. My Rook was more serious,, stern, and was not afraid to antagonize people, she was a forgemaster mage, made her own weapons, fought in close combat, always charging and hitting, using a spear as a conduit for her magic. The kind of Rook that the game actually didn't allow you. So far removed was my concept from what the game try to force me to be that I just ignored some things and made my own canon. And My Rook is not Rook, I named her Knight. I overwrote the canon of the game with my own, I basically made what the previous three games let me do, just in my head, writtings and drawings. I dont think of Rook as my own character, as I don't really care for Rook, but I care for the version I crafted, Knight (Sticking with the chess pieces names)
I had the same idea before i played. 😢 Human girl, sold to the Crows as a child. I thought of her as quiet and mistrustful, kind of bitter. Also Andrastian, which i thought was an interesting personal conflict with her being an assassin, therefore believing she's bound for the void because of some of the sh-t she's had to do. Actually now that I've written it out, it sounds somewhat like lelliana in Inquisition lmao. Not as smart though, she'd be young and more stupid about people.
Agree, it bugged me too why Rook was left in charge of campaign with apocalyptic stakes, when they aren't skilled enough to face with gods, circumstances aren't restrictive enough to make them the only person to do the job, and they are compromised by having one of the enemies hanging around in their head. They also don't have personal reasons to be there beyond being stereotypical good guy ready to save the world because it's a right thing to do. It does not make sense.
@@tj3603 I would have been more forgiving if they'd just let my Rook blame herself for releasing the gods. I chose every option I could for her to express guilt, and the game always immediately walked it back. Would have been cool if the regret prison in the fade could have shown something related to releasing the gods when Rook was in there.
@raelynteaguewrites Yes, that too. Trying to fix their own mistake would be a good motivation, but they choose to double down on "Solas is evil now" message.
I’m sorry but… well, I’m way more of a nobody than Rook is. If something big and bad was happening, or about too, and it was DEFINITELY going to kill me… you have nothing to lose by fighting as hard as you can, as long as you can, anywhere you can. It’s not “good guy” logic. What WOULDNT make sense is if Rook did nothing. Survival is the BEST motivating force
@@mattphoenix4702 it would be legit argument if nobody believed Rook about gods existing and they would be the only one to understand the danger. But somehow everyone in this universe aware that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain is out and want to destroy the world and happy to leave this random dude in charge of world saving. We literally have conversation with Inquisitor (much more experienced and qualified person for the job) where Rook kinda insecurely asking if they came to take over, but they go like "Nah, you got this, kiddo". Seriously?
When I heard about them adding Origins back I already wanted to make my character some lawfully evil guy somehow related to Tevinter magisters and use blood magic "for the greater good" What I got was buddy to everyone who could only be member of anti-slavery group because Maker (ofc you don´t exist it was all elven doing) forbids to have our character with some bad world view
You can't fix Rook because the ONLY protagonist that makes sense here is the Inquisitor. 'Bioware''s stupid obsession with "every game a new main character" completely robbed this storyline of its drive. The only logical way this story played out is: You are the Inquisitor, you gave up that title to avoid conflict with Tevinter for being an agent of the Chantry. You go undercover to track down and stop Solas, with whom you have a HUGE history. Along the way, you end up disrupting his ritual and two elven gods are freed from the Black City. This is where the final blight begins and The Warden from the first game takes up the plight alongside you to stem the tide while you try to work out how to fight back. Hawke can be in there too somewhere, either retrieved from the Fade or alongside the Warden at Weisshaupt. Rook shouldn't exist.
It should’ve just been the inquisitor. Or like, the inquisitor’s apprentice or something like that. Or a fade spirit connected to solas who possessed Rook’s body.
So true, every protagonist has a story DAO - Grey Warden does something that forces them to get recruited by Duncan and do what needs to be done to save the world DA2 - Hawke loses their home and their family and is forced to extreme actions in order to stop things from going downhill DAI - Protagonist is in the wrong place at the wrong time, gets the anchor and becomes the Inquisitior, supposedly gods sent even DAV - just Dragon Age out of context 😂
this is true. in a group of hypercompetent leaders in their field, rook is just a person without a niche. in dao the hof was the leader because Alistair abicated the role and you're the only one who can end the blight. in da2 you're the leader because you're able to mesh with otherwise conflicting extreme personalities. in dai you have the mark and to legitimize and consolidate political power you have the lead the inquisition. in datv, i see bw tried to reproduce hawke but a lot of the companions dont have real conflict, and if they do a line of two solves it, or it gets solved off screen. if you can solve a problem that trivially from a 3rd party the issue was nearly solved
Especially after Cyberpunk 2077's origin stories, which really helped set up that game's protagonist, the lack of playable origins for Rook was very noticeable in Veilguard to me. They probably would have needed to cut some factions to make it work (as six bespoke origin prologues would have been out of scope), but given that the factions are rather imbalanced in terms of what they get, I think that would have ended up better off for the game I was pretty happy with the Solas stuff, too, though, which probably saved the game for me on the whole even if it couldn't propel it to the heights of the other games all on its own
With their backstory it would made more sense for Harding to be the second in command after Varric. Especially bc as a lieutenant for the Inquisition she has leading experience. She knows people everywhere. She could easily have been in charge after Varric's passing. But even with blood magic!Varric telling Rook to take over we still never get an explanation for why she wasn't evens second in command.
Funny enough, my friend and I just recently joked that it's odd how in BG3, our player character is just appointed to be the leader. Sure, you could play a great wizard, paladin, cleric on a mission, and whatnot. But you can also play just some average dude who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's more or less my player character and while the same goal unites the gang, it makes at a first glance no sense why that guy is the leader. Here's the thing (that I wished that game spelt out a bit more). They're the only character on the team that has no stakes in the adventure aside from the shared goal. Sure, later, there are potentially more goals and the true adventure is the friends we make yadda yadda. However, not having any big stakes removes bias and allows the character to look at the happenings and choices in front of them with a clearer head. Sure, we can develop a bias if we favour some companions over others, or make only self-serving choices, or turn evil, etc. But at the beginning, it makes sense to say, hey, while we have a smarter person here, and a stronger one over there, but we're all too wrapped up in our own flaws that got us in deep trouble even before the one mission that unites us. Someone more detached might be the better choice (also, it's an old PS2 game, but if you like story-heavy jrpgs with many characters, many of them great, and interesting villains that range from morally light grey to pitch black, consider this a recommendation). Suikoden II does a similar thing with its protagonists but okay, that's been a niche game even when it was fresh. But the hero is also not chosen because he's super strong or the smartest, wisest, most experienced. He's appointed by smarter, stronger, more experienced characters because he's not jaded or bitter, and because his young, idealistic outlook and perspective help bring people back to earth and unite those who are bitter and jaded and too caught up in their own, old ways. So, yeah, sometimes, the best chosen one is the best choice because they aren't chosen one material from the get-go, but because they stumbled into a situation with too many characters that already have too much going on to bring all threads together to attempt the best outcome. I think Rook might have been an attempt to create a protagonist with low personal stakes but with a fresh outlook and unbiased approach that is meant to pick up all those threads that are the other character's arcs and bring them together. Leading by unifying. But they also kinda wanted a bit of a chosen one vibe, but not really because they were supposed to be relatable to the player (which is bs because the whole leading by unifying worked wonderfully with Shepard in Mass Effect, who starts as a respected, qualified, experienced character. Qualities that help them to bring everyone together by solving their conflicts first). It feels undecided. And it doesn't help that the scenes that are meant to work on the conflicts of the companions have too much modern therapy speech (the conflicts are fine, but the way the writing presents and works on them makes it bad) and in many of those scenes Rook talks and sounds like a mediator or therapist, not like either a not-chosen-one who grows into the leader role or someone who already is good at the job of leading teams under pressure with the world at stakes.
@@lasmirandadennsiewillja9435 It's been a while since I last played BG3, so I might be forgetting a lot, but doesn't the githyanki artifact sort of "choose" you at one point? I'd say at that point your character is justified in leading to a degree. Though I don't remember if it's ever explained why the artifact chose you...maybe just because you developed a relationship with the dream guardian to a point where they thought you were the one they could more easily get to agree with them/do what they wanted? Maybe? I would point to the other companions and say they're all a hot mess, so obviously you should be the leader, but I tended to play Dark Urge, so that kinda ruins that point. Lol
I really like your ideas on how Rook could fit into the protagonist role! They feel appropriate when facing against a guy who is all about pride. On a side note, I am also a big Solavellan fan and felt similar about what we got for them. I just wish Varric hadn't died by Solas' hands. It leaves the player, and I would assume the Inquisitor with conflicting feelings about him. I was happy with the happy ending between them and was riding high from those emotions, but when I came down, I was like, "Wait, he killed one of her good friends. I'm less happy now....". I think something that would have hit Rook harder and would have made them feel more regret in order to trap them in the prison is if Rook's actions lead to Varric's death. By Solas keeping up the appearance of Varric being alive and not revealing it until the moment he traps Rook in the prison, that would have magnified the regret they feel and feels like something the god of trickery would do. After all, he has nothing but time in the prison to come up with a clever plan to escape.
@@emilemilee That was part of why I liked the good ending. I wanted Solas to have a happy ending, but especially after Varric's death, even if it was accidental, I felt like Solas couldn't be left /completely/ off the hook. Another commenter had another idea that could have been cool, though. They thought it should have been the Inquisitor there instead of Varric, and rather than being killed by Solas with the lyri dagger, they could have been sent somewhere in the fade. I thought that could have been a great idea, and that they could have made finding the Inquisitor and getting them out of the fade an optional quest that was necessary to complete for the best ending. An idea, anyway!
@raelynteaguewrites Yea, that is a cool idea! It would also be a good time to find out how the person the Inquisitor had to leave in the Fade is fairing, especially if it was Hawke (the person left in the Fade was originally planned to show up in this game). Maybe they find the Inquisitor and help them survive in the Fade until Rook can show up and help them escape. It would be a good opportunity for the majority of the player's characters to have a team up and be a real Avengers-type moment, which is funny because that's the vibe the developers seemed to be aiming for with Rook's squad. It is weird how only Varric and Harding continued the mission to stop Solas when stopping or saving Solas was the Inquisitor's decision in Inquisition. I get they put the Inquisitor on the back burner to make way for Rook to be the protagonist this game, but I feel they should have had a bigger role in this game. Dorian, too, since this game takes place in his home country. While I did have fun with the game, I am saddened when I think about what it could have been.
@@emilemilee Yes, I heard they'd been planning on having the person left behind in the fade show up! I haven't seen the art book myself yet. My family bought it for me for Christmas, so I have to wait until then. 😭 But having Hawke or whoever else was left in the fade could have been a cool experience. Especially since I felt this game, done right, could have been a nice conclusion to the series. Obviously they planted seeds for another game, which is cool too, but it felt like Veilguard tied up a lot of loose ends and explained most of my burning questions. It closed an arc that had been hinted at since origins, and this felt like a natural place to end. It could have been cool to pull out all the stops, bring back all the heroes from past games (if they're still alive), and go out with a bang. But I also get them not doing all that extra work if they're still planning more games. Just would have been so cool to have everyone back. Haha.
Fantastic exposition, thank you. I really enjoyed it and am now thinking of giving the game a try to make up my own mind on where it sits for me. Have a subscription, look forward to your future content.
@@namrepmek Thank you! You very well may love the game. My best recommendation is to try to set aside any expectations you may already have for the game. It'll make it easier to love (or hate, I suppose) the game on its own merits.
DA4/Veilguard should have been a duology for the inquisitior! Many people will say no because it's tradition for each dragon age to have a new protagonist but the thing is that tradition with broken in Awakening. The inquisitior having only one hand/arm can be fix very easily. Ash Williams made a prosthetic hand with a box of scraps in an age with the same tech level as Thedas. The inquisitior has the master crafters of Thedas at her disposal. It doesn't make sense that the inquisitior isn't the one to stop solas. It's like imagine if harry potter disappeared after the fourth book and left the defeat of voldemort to a random first year. It wouldn't make sense!
Rook it a horrible main character by him being nice even when other people being asswhole like my hero of ferelden, my hawk and inquisition was all badass and took no shit from other and those games let you choice what type character you want to be, you can be asswhole, or a joker or a serious person but in Veilguard you just a nice person and can't even do evil stuff and accept all your character, that why I will never get Veilguard
@@SoldierSpiderx Yeah, my characters are usually sassy, so I definitely noticed times when there was a lack of sass from Rook. Talking to Solas in the fade worked well, because he'd sass back, but there was only one other time I can remember in the entire game where a character reacted to me making jokes where it was inappropriate. It was Emmrich, and I believe he was opening up about his fear of death when I made a joke. He lightly chastised Rook, and without giving me a choice, Rook immediately walked back her joke and apologized. I was sitting there, thinking, "Hey, put the joke back where I left it, Rook. We said what we said!" But aside from the Solas scenes and that one Emmrich scene, there really wasn't any reaction from other characters.
I really didn't understand why I was being treated as the boss when I never made any decisions until the very end. Like I'm not the one deciding who to recruit or how to proceed the plan or anything. Rook is just the person who can talk to Solas for everyone lol
Your video gives some great food for thought and narrows down one of the reasons why I couldn't connect with my Rook. It took a lot of headcanon and overriding existing dialogues/scenes in the game to somewhat connect with the protagonist. They really did Rook guilty not allowing them to react to the events they put in motion in a deeper, more meaningful way. Their overall writing is so clumsy I just stopped caring which dialogues options I was choosing as there were just a few consequences to those. I'm looking forward to more content from you on the game.
Watching this, I realize just how much of Rook's story is my headcannon and my interpretation of Rook's words through said headcannon. My Rook kept all her emotions and fears in check, often using humor to mask her worries outside of battle or being stoic when she donned her armor. Thinking back on it, so much of what I liked about the game I made up myself.
@@j.vanblarcum2563 And that's not a bad thing for an RPG where you design your own character. There are a LOT of people who adore their Inquisitors because of how they imagined them in their head, and there's so much to be said about RPGs engaging their players' imaginations as a way to tell the story. I feel Veilguard put itself in a bit of a sticky middle, though, where Rook isn't solid enough to stand alongside more fully developed characters (not that most Dragon Age players are looking for Rook to already be fully developed for them), but neither does the game offer enough choice and variation to facilitate the player in making Rook their own. The Rook Veilguard has will work for some people, and clearly does work for some people, but will get in the way of other gamers having a good experience. I don't think Rook is quite as horrible a character as some say, but a little tweaking of Rook perhaps could have aided players in using their imaginations a bit more like you were able to.
while i don't think bioware will ever do origins type openings again and we should all stop asking.....i completely agree that rook made NO sense. the entire time i was playing DAV i felt like i was in the middle of the story and almost not part of it - everyone knew things i didn't, knew ppl i didn't, were friends and allies with ppl i had never met, been to the places we were going to....etc etc etc. i had no business being there
i think the issues with rook extend beyond their justification as a protagonist, but also how every other character is written to accept that rook is the leader. i could not stop laughing when i realized that there is an active magic mirror in the base of the crows that the player use's very early in the game, long before you can get established as a credible force to fight the gods (which i have a hard time believing they had established them selves in the qunari army occupying the city already when you get there) and right after you picked up the magic dagger to operate the cross roads. the crows should have assasinated my team right there in the first meeting, taken the dagger and made the cross roads part of their network, maybe giveing rook one chance to hand over the light house if im a former member before my swift assassination. (begs the question how an assassin rook left to join varric when leaving the crows is a death sentence according to a hansom elf from DA:O) i mean at that point, the team was my character and 3 girls, after killing the away team, the last girl would have been trapped in the light house waiting for death. also had a similar reaction to the grey warden leader who's first thought was to lock the players ass up for unleashing something that changed the blight, and they needed answers and i was like "yes! that is an appropriate answer! why cant i agree to that? exactly what power does my faction wield? i have 2 mages, a scout, a broken dwarf and a bi-polar assasin, im not a leader of anything that should be trying to get grey wardens to fight at my side"
@@failtrolls8386 Yes, the Crows definitely felt more like golden retrievers than anything dangerous to me. Zevran often acted silly or flippant too, but a lot of his humor came across more as deflection, not as an accurate representation of typical Crow behaviour or threat levels. I would have liked to see more pushback, at least from some of the factions. I can't remember if I mentioned this in another comment, but I believe it's implied, at least, that the Veil Jumpers know you attempted to stop Solas's ritual. It wouldn't be too much of a leap for them to figure out you set the gods free. And I'd think at least a few of their number would really be angry at you for that once they realized how bad their gods were (and that the elves might face terrible repercussions, even if they succeed in stopping the gods).
Noooo, you don´t understand Crows were always good guys who valued freedom and love for everyone but Zevran was taken by special right-wing part of Crows who were evil
Awesome video. I also kept wondering why in the world we were the leader of this group when we are the only person on the team without a special talent. It really felt like the team was the actual powerhouse and we were riding on their coattails.
What got to me through the whole game, is that Varric makes it clear in the opening segment that if we confront Solas head on, we are just dead. It's not even a question... So once Gill and Elga show up show up and Solas explains that they were already magnitudes above him in power, which was the entire reason he had to use trickery to trap them, i spent the WHOLE game looking for the trigger that would make us able to confront gods on equal footing. We got the dagger pretty much immediatly, which was able to kill them once we got rid of their dragons to make them mortal, but even then, we shouldn't have been able to even get close to them, let alone just have a slap fight with Elga at the end, since Solas was nearly depleted, and he only managed to kill his dragon. So the game never presents you with a compelling argument for why we couldn't fight the gods in the first hour after getting the dagger, but suddenly after 60 hours of not really getting anything outside of more allies we can?! Using the very same dagger we had from the beginning!
I get that Rook is picked up by Varric on the way because of a noble act done in their previous faction and Rook being a hero type character obviously wants to help Varric save the world. How do we solve that? An easily missed opportunity for Bioware. The game tells us ancient elves were once spirits and we so happen to have Solas stuck in our head and Solas is word for pride,. Q: what other creatures share this in Dragon age? A: Demons Make Rook being possessed by Solas instead of Lucanis being possessed by Spite(it doesnt make sense anyways?) If rook actually did get possessed by Solas, his whole taking point would actually make sense since he is stuck with an ancient demon/spirit in his head with the only known knowledge of how to fight 2 elven gods. Boom problem solved...
I really appreciate you making this video. The first 2 minutes identified really strongly who I was in my relationship to dragon age and why I spent the first 10 hours of the game narrating out loud to my partner how this was functionally and technically a decent game, but not at all the sort of game that I would have bought if it weren't Dragon Age. They spoon fed us exposition so much that it felt like "Baby's first Dragon Age; Star Wars edition"... Which is to say big-box-bullshit-gloss-over of complex fandom stitc- work that made the whole thing enjoyable to fans who got in when we were starved for things like NWN. While it was a fun game, I had to aggressively wrestle down my expectations for a nuanced and interesting story in order to enjoy a game that does well at being enjoyable from a purely gameplay perspective.
@@savvykat9506 Thanks. I played Veilguard twice, and the second playthrough was much more enjoyable precisely because I deliberately chose to do my best to love the game for what it was rather than be bitter about what it wasn't. That doesn't mean I'm not still disappointed, though. Ideally, the core audience for a game shouldn't have to put effort into being able to enjoy a direct sequel.
Dang 😭😭 I completely forgot that Rook was the one who freed the gods. The game almost completely ignores that fact. we still blame solas for everything, but it would’ve been very interesting to see how Rook coped with the fact that much of the world gets even more destroyed because they accidentally unleashed Elgar’nan and Ghilan’Nain.
So, the impression that I got while playing the game on the "why Rook?" question: Rook felt much more like a Mass Effect protagonist than a Dragon Age protagonist in a way. Shepard was kind of special in that they had terrible knowledge that very few believed, but they didn't have some kind of special powers that made them uniquely capable of fighting the threat. What was special about them was just their tenacity and ability to gain allies, and "a certain set of skills." Kind of a John Connor (Terminator) situation. Rook is more or less the same, just not done as well as Shepard, of course. But the impression still came through for me, muddled as it was.
I admit, would be interesting to hear your observations on how the companions were handled in veilguard, an exploration on Harding would be nice to listen to, cause from what i have seen of veilguard, im unsure on her being too gungho about the titans, since she was a surface dwarf, imagine the consequences or reaction from other dwarves that a surface dweller re awoke their titantic aspect. other than that, good observations on rook, the previous protags of DA are essentially people who were in the wrong place at the right time, and have to repair or salvage the messes theyre in as much as they can. rook lacks this introduction, something i didnt realise was a consequence on not having a proper intro to establish this version of the character.
Couldn’t agree more spent the first 20 odd hours, before just accepting it and moving on, of the game thinking “hey varric old buddy are you sure this is the guy? Of all the people you know this is the one you want in charge?”. Actually come to think of it did varric even want them in charge? We only get varric’s “you can do this kid” pep talks after he’s dead.
@@steeleofman9483 I don't know that it's ever confirmed, though I think we're supposed to believe Varric wanted you. But considering the pep talks are all in Rook's imagination, who knows? Maybe they just really wanted Varric's approval, and so they imagined him giving it to them. 😂
4:28. Geralt Of Rivia. As a Witcher. He is the man for the job because he is skilled. That's litterally his job. As Ciri's foster father, he is concerbed personnaly. And destiny as a thing for Geralt, even if he just want to be left in peace in sunland.
A thing that always bothered me was that nobody was talking about Varric death. I mean Harding knew him well, Neve had a good relation with him. They could have morn him a little. Talk about him with Rook, who had a good relationship with him too. But no. For the plot, everybody ignore the best character's death.
I feel like the clean slate aspect of rpg player character narrative design could address the "Why is rook here?" part of this video. If the player has a set of characters they normally draw from, particularly if those characters have developed lore pre-existing in the players mind... The writers might have intentionally left that aspect of things ambiguous for the player to imprint their imagination on.
In a perfect world, Veilguard should’ve played like gta5 where you could switch between your previous three protagonists. Or had them as companions, imagine a party of your HofF, Hawke, Inquisitor and Rook all together. Now that’s a power house! I like Rook, they’re not the worst protagonist ever. Even if I don’t agree entirely, I get why they’re the protagonist in Veilguard. One of the few people left, has Solas in their head, etc. They do have some cute moments. But, I do wish they could have more mean moments too. Some of the companions and NPCs really need to be knocked down a few pegs. They can be nasty to Rook but not the other way around? HOWEVER, if ever there was a game to be a direct sequel. This was the one, the Inquisitor had absolutely every right to be there and wasn’t. I get in the later part of the game that they try to say that the inquisitor and presumably the HofF and Hawke (if they’re still alive) are fighting the blight that’s destroying the entirety of south Thedas, (worst piece of new lore, like come on! Way to go scorched earth and tell us all our previous decisions and legacy don’t matter. 😡) But that still doesn’t make sense! Where are they in the beginning! You’d think as a friend or especially a lover , that the inquisitor would’ve been there to stop solas’s ritual. All hands on deck! What was so important that they didn’t go and only sent three people!? Honestly, if they’re hellbent on having Rook as the protagonist. As long as it was made known that Rook would be the main protagonist before hand. A simple role switch would actually help a lot. Switch Varric’s role for the inquisitor. I’m not saying to send the inquisitor to the shadow realm permanently (because I personally hate that kinda trope, ki lling of previous protagonists/legacy characters. Always feels cheap). Just explain that Solas’s dagger pulled a Titan dream snatcher on them. Locking their spirit in the fade/fade prison and body in a deep sleep. Rook is either legitimately hallucinating due to guilt or it’s caused something similar to Solas’s situation. Where the inquisitor can’t escape or really interact with anyone else but guides Rook the best they can. Solas’s regret at accidentally harming his friend/lover. Making him feel like he absolutely has to pull down the veil now. Giving more justification to his later betrayal and insistence. If only to reunite with his friend/lover. A nice Rook could remind him of a friendly inquisitor, making his regret and feeling he has to right his wrongs, all the more stronger. Make the forgiveness or good endings easier to get. Or perhaps he could’ve done it intentionally if him and the inquisitor had a poor relationship. And this along with his betrayal could signal how far lost he has become. A demon of pride. A meaner Rook could again remind him of a tough Inquisitor and further Solas’s distrust and resentment of the new world. Making the trick or bad endings easier to get. Imagine the drama! Secondly, make it so Rook was officially apart of the inquisition after they left their previous faction. An unknown face to us then, to Solas but known to us now. Some dialogue mentioning that they were apart of the scouting/war table teams or fought in the inquisition’s main battles. Build up the personal relationship with Harding and the inquisitor. Enough to make it believable that they would trust Rook’s judgement, skills and leadership wholeheartedly. A few missions or even the first act entirely, where we travel with the Inquisitor and Rook in search of Solas would’ve been great. Maybe start in Ferelden (where we could interact with previous protagonists) and move to Tevinter, after learning about the ancient ritual site. Endear us to Rook and make the Inquisitor’s loss all the more emotional. Give more insight into why exactly our Rook is in the position they are and why companions/npcs should actually trust Rook’s word. Third I would have had more inquisition agents there. But pull a conclave disaster like the opening of DAI. Inquisition forces vs Solas’s followers. All are lost due to the failed ritual. Unintentional blood magic happens. Due to fighting near such a thin veil and wild magic, allowing for the gods to escape their prison. It could’ve been Rook’s blood specifically, adding that connect to the god’s directly and Rook’s motivations more personal. Either way, it leaves only Rook and Harding alive. Harding can explain she is not a leader. Or maybe even explain that she was a leader in charge during the ritual and now her team is dead. Thus she feels inadequate and leadership falls to Rook. Sorta a Alistair and Warden situation. Further explaining WHY it has to be Rook. Raises the stakes and could add to Rook’s character. Do they regret what happened? Is it a guilt that eats them or a hate that fuels them?
@@emismpunk I did like the part about Solas being in Rook's head. Kind of put him in the advisory role again, like in Inquisition, but forced him even more to rely on manipulation because that was the only real tool he had available to him, the devious elf! I do like a lot of your ideas, particularly about having the Inquisitor try to stop Solas instead of Varric. And I agree about not killing the Inquisitor, but if Solas thought they were dead, it could really make him double down on his goals, as you say. And I've seen a lot of people complain about how the Inquisitor was mostly in Veilguard for a couple of coffee dates, so your suggestion could have really given the Inquisitor a real reason to be there. And added an emotional punch, too! Sort of like how Hawke could be left behind in the fade. They could have had a quest where you tried to get the Inquisitor out of a hidden part of the fade, and you could only get the good ending if you followed all the right clues and succeeded in getting them out. The game could have expanded the regret prison sequence, for example, and had Rook find a way out into the regular fade, then found the Inquisitor there somehow. But your ideas really go to show that there isn't just one right way to fix Rook. There were options! And yeah, a lot of people don't seem to like what happened with Southern Thedas. It does make me wonder, though. Not to pull a "Thanos was right" and suggest Solas's plan was okie dokie artichokie, but I do have to wonder if his plan would possibly have been any worse than setting Elgarnan and Ghilan'nain free, especially where so much of Southern Thedas has been casually wiped out. Like, most in Thedas don't have any experience in fighting godlike beings. But mages and templars have at least some capability to deal with demons... If Solas was at full power and helping, if he had spirits to minimize the damage, AND the people of Thedas were united to deal with the issue, I have to wonder if Thedas would have been better off if Solas had succeeded in his ritual. I could be totally wrong or missing something vital, of course, but if my only two options are "set Elgarnan, Ghilan'nain, a couple archdemons, and the blight free" and "let Solas set loose a bunch of demons," I dunno, but my instincts are telling me the world would have been more prepared to handle demons.
@@raelynteaguewrites That’s what I’m thinking. The game really does try to push you into putting ALL the blame solely on Solas. Of course Rook and co. didn’t know what the consequences would be. But, a sprinkle of demons seems like a cake walk compared to the alternative. South Thedas does seem especially suited for it. It’s practically their hobby! My main issue with the whole south Theda’s thing (besides player choices) is I’m left scratching my head and wondering why. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of narrative sense to me. Not saying that they shouldn’t be fighting the blight but in no way should Denerim (seat of the throne/Ferelden capital) be over run or Kirkwall fallen. It’s basically south Theda’s god given duty to send arch demons and darkspawn to the shadow realm. Like why is Northern thedas, the place where the gods escaped, where their arch demons are and is their main base of operations…seems to be in a near perfect state in comparison? If the ritual had taken place in say Ferelden and the gods escaped there. I could understand, as it would be ground zero and has had more time to face consequences. While, Treviso/Minrathus and Lavendal seem to be (visually) what they’re claiming Ferelden and Orlais are currently going through. And I know it’s explained in game that this blight is ‘different’. Yet it rackles me, that the northern people are still living near the blight and more often than not, treat it like it’s some generic rot/corruption. Instead of a scorched earth, salting the land, one drop and you’ll turn into a ghoul terror. Honestly, I’m convinced that Veilguard takes place in a timeline where HofF and Hawke are dead or failed their duties. Best timeline, you could have one or more of the royalty of Ferelden be a warden who has fought in a major blight. You could have a queen consort/prince consort who is the warden commander of Ferelden. It’s only been 20 years in the timeline from the events of origin to Veilguard. It’s baffling if Alistair and the HofF are still alive, that they wouldn’t take the first sign of blights seriously. Nip it in the bud or have some kind of plan in place to limit losses. Hawke has themselves fought darkspawn and corypheus. Even if they’re not the viscount anymore, they would be friends with them (who is apparently Aveline now). Who also has experience with such things. Plus you add on the fact that Hawke would be friends with Prince Sebastian, if not married to the guy. Forging an easy alliance between Kirkwall and starkhaven. Potential you could have two of your protagonists in high positions of influence and authority. Enough that they can make decisions to protect their people without jumping through hoops, raise armies and forge alliances much easier than what the game is instead implying . Then there is the inquisitor themselves, who holds power and influence in their own right. I’m sure empress of Orlais would be indebted to the inquisitor for stopping a coup and potentially getting her lover spat solved. Even in origins, while tensions were still high between Orlais and Ferelden. Orlais sent some of their wardens to help with the blight. I just can’t see any sensible reason why the two countries wouldn’t band together if the blight was as bad as the inquisitor’s letters imply. I get that they can’t accommodate every player choice. But this was not the way to do it. Either don’t say anything at all. Keep the north’s problems to the north. Maybe making Rook’s goal focused on stopping the gods before their influence can spread. Or at the very least, a simple ‘we’re holding our own’ would suffice. Instead of going into great detail about how our previous protagonists homes are destroyed and basically saying our sacrifices amount to nothing. Dozens of ways they could’ve gone about it. Just feels either lazy or malicious from a narrative standpoint.
I like the idea of it being a nobody with guts. I would've also liked the idea of a Rook who had something and was taken by Solas and that drives it either to seek justice or vengeance or even something in between like Origins did. That wouldn't mean that Rook would be someone with power from the start but someone who has something but either doesn't care or is careless like the Cousland Origin
Wish Rook came at least if a recommendation from the factions. There was so little background. Such a distance from Rook to the world, to their fight. Even to Varric. Wish we interacted with him longer. They were an year together and there's basically nothing to tell. Harding isn't even our friend. Wish it had a pre time. Other pieces of chess that was defeated. Made it personal. Varric of all people knew they couldn't fight a threat like Solas with 3 people.
Frankley, instead of the factions that rook currently are connected to, I would have liked to have a backstory of Venatori. Even if you are a elf or qunari. Say you are in a family that was raise on its ideals. (You being adopted or over wise, especially as a mage.) Say you have been doing missions for the Venatori for six months, and then one fateful mission goes terrible. You are told to do something unforgivable, or it turns out your boss sold you out to save her skin, you and your group were unknowingly sent on a suicide mission, and you are the last one alive. Or even the idea that the Venatori thought you were too weak of faith or body and so decide to us you as a blood sacrifice in some ritual. And then out of know where Varric comes in and saves you. And so, you decide since you have nothing to lose and nowhere to go, you join Varric's group and become his apprentice or something.
While I was playing this game one night my 6 year old saw it and asked "Paw Patrol?" I was dying laughing.......and then I started to cry. Yes my son, this is paw patrol.
I played Veilguard first and I'm now playing through Inquisition, so I'm a new fan of DA. I like Veilguard for my own reasons, but I wanted to say THANKS for pointing out that Harding as a protagonist makes sense. I couldn't put my finger on it during gameplay but I felt like she was missing something from her characterization. I realized what was missing is the game acknowledging and respecting her enough to involve her in more plotlines. Varric's fate was also shocking to me because they did not hint at it at all until then, so it felt cheap. Well-written dialogue with double meanings that could be misinterpreted peppered here and there would have made it more meaningful. I talked to all the companions constantly and NOTHING hinted in that direction, which is crazy. I know the game has been compared with BG3 to death already, but I can't help but notice this massive difference - bg3 never hides the "plot twist" from you, it's in plain sight quite often, but it does a good job at storytelling to obfuscate it from first-time players. I'm sad that DA: The Veilguard didn't realize all of its potential. I love the scenery, armors, world design, character design, music and emotions portrayed, but it would have been 10 times better with just 20% more effort put into writing & dialogue.
@@dopaminedrought395 I understand why they can't use Harding as the player character, but man, in another universe I would have loved to watch her at the centre of this game, growing from someone who's that "people pleaser" into the woman who takes charge. The tension between her and Solas would have been delicious.
Prior to this game release I read so much about how the devs wanted DA: The Veilguard protagonist to be someone who rises to the occasion on his own merits and don't feel like a chosen one. There was even some slanders to the Inquisitor, I remember commenting this and people say they're mostly right. And by the end of things I think they make Rook TOO normal to a point he's literally the less impressive thing about the whole veilguard thing. He's a bland protagonist with nothing to add to the history and he's only there because...I don't know, Ghost Varric keeping telling him inspirational quotes about being a leader or something? One thing is making your main protagonist someone relatable and who don't follow the "chosen one" trope, the other is making him so bland his presence is not justifiable as someone who matters in the plot. This game writing so infuriating to me...
One thing, FOUND MY PEOPLE! If I hadn’t romanced Solas, life would’ve been easier 😂❤ Second, thank you for diving into this. I was saying to my husband about this the other day - “If Inquisition was a masterful fantasy novel, Veilgaurd feels more like Young Adult.’ Or Disney-fied. Couldn’t put my finger on it, but I’m with you. It’s not like the game I fell in love with 10 years ago.
@@damedeviant1388 I've sort of described it the same way. I read YA sometimes, and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not what I'm looking for when I pick up an adult dark fantasy series. I had to accept I was "reading YA" to enjoy Veilguard on its level.
I havnt played veilguard and i cant find a clear answer online so can someone tell me does the game mention Morrigans child? That seeks like it should be a major plot point if the other gods are running around
@@jollyredgiant203 As far as I know, Morrigan's child is never mentioned. It isn't one of the choices the game allows you to carry over, and I've seen people who romanced Morrigan complain that it wasn't brought up.
I feel like the real reason Rook is a nobody that the writers was because this was meant to be a spin off phone game or something so the main character you create is a nobody that can be easily written around in a major game (Dreadwolf) to just have a brief mention like “one of our agents handled that, unfortunately we don’t have any information on who they were, it was decided like that so none of Solas’ spies or the Qun could ever find out who they are.”. So by the time Dreadwolf was scrapped they couldn’t come up with a very good backstory to tie things together and had merged parts of Dreadwolf into Veilguard which they had to rewrite to make a main title
I thought it would’ve been interesting if you chose Veil Jumper, and the backstory is that you’re a Dalish or city elf that decided to follow Solas but after some time left, and that’s why Varric needs them. They know enough about Solas but Solas doesn’t know about them.
Weird, my game of Veilguard said my Rook was hired because they put down an undead rebellion. I also thought my Rook was dorced into the position after thr team leader, Varic, was forced was pushed out of commission and neither Harding or Neve didn't want to take up leader position. Harding is also a lot like Alistair from Origins, who followed the Gray Warden rather than taking charge. Also, my Rook ended up with a comnection to Solas, like the Inquisitor got their power. The First Warden even brought up my Rook's history of the undead rebellion.
They could have had some thing where because rooks connection with solas they are one of the only ones able to activate the eluvians and teleport to the lighthouse. That could have been a plot point that is considering and the team is a lot of confidants that make decisions with you instead of you being the main one. I would also have liked to see some aspect of being able to use the eluvians to thwart the antagonist of the game just by means of instantanious travel and safekeeping. Like when minrathos or traviso get attacked have either the crows or shadow dragons post up in the fade as support and become somewhat of a spy force now that their main city is destroyed or taken over
@@joefloyd5766 Rook's connection to Solas giving them some sort of power only he had, like with the eluvians or the lighthouse, could have been cool. I think Rook having Solas in their head was what Bioware was /trying/ to make the reason Rook had to be in charge anyway. I could almost get behind it except Rook was already basically in charge before that happened, and because blood magic is supposed to be very distrusted in most parts of the world. The companions know Rook has had blood magic done to them, they know Rook is being influenced by the tricksy guy they're trying to stop (and who they know killed Varric), and they acknowledge the possibility Solas may be able to mess with Rook more than they realize. They may recognize they need Solas's help, but it makes them seem very foolish to put the compromised member of their team in the leadership role and just...roll with that. Especially since Rook does end up getting used by Solas. There either should have been a lot more tension with team members constantly questioning Rook's decisions ("Is that your decision, or is that what HE wants?" kind of thing) or else Rook should have been used as an advisor and not the leader. But if there was some kind of added layer to the connection with Solas, as you say, it makes the decision to have Rook lead make more sense.
I think the idea about rook being special is shown through her rebellious nature that is exhibited in each of the faction background stories we see such as a determination to disobey direct orders of the higher ups in chain of command when the order with cause lives to be killed or worse as we see if our Rook is a grey warden or the determination to be rebellious and free slaves from an invading force without remorse for the number of invaders you kill if your rook is an antivan crow and so on
I played veilguard once and my faction was shadow dragons and my character was hidden away by my faction because she disregarded a plan of a sh adow dragon higher up by leading a dignitary who wanted to free slaves from deep in venitori controlled area and so you snuck the dognatary both in and out on your own against orders and got the slaves out too which caused the venitori to try desperately to attack the shadow dragons to get revenge which is why your character was hidden away till tempers calmed down
Rook is the worst protagonist of the DA series IMO for this reason. They are an empty character. In previous games, you wanted to be the Warden, the Hawke, the Inquisitor, cause they were heroes and they had understandable and compelling stories behind them. Playing as them, you've always understood why your are here, why your companions are here, what are you doing, and why only you can do it. Also, all of them had personalities and personal connections to most of companions. Rook is literally nothing. When I played, I was constantly asking myself "Why the f* am i I here? What I'm bringing to the table, that others can't do? Why should I care?". It's a very alienating feeling, almost like your character interrupting the plot, not driving it. Also, I find the personality of Rook nonexistent at best, and awfully cringy at worst, no matter what you are choosing. "Peaceful" Rook is just a yes-man to everyone around them, "Sarcastic" Rook is just constantly telling terrible, if not offensive jokes, often not at the right place. "Evil" Rook is not evil, not skeptical, they are just dull. And I noticed that there's often no difference between these three dialog options. No matter what you're choosing, Rook will always be boring, blunt or downright irritating.
The last Grey Warden with a spine in the middle of a blight, We also have the only one that can seal the rifts. And no one listen to Hawk until he was the last land lord standing (honestly i still don't see what made Hawk that important then be far away from him/her) Rook unlike Hawk doesn't even have the everyman charm
I don't agree with some of the points raised here. I think you can make an argument for any of these protagonist traits. a) Rook has been tracking Solas for a year and once Varric gets taken out, why wouldn't they continue the mission? Perhaps they don't demonstrate a lot of guilt or remorse, but that's not the only way to have a stake. b) After the ritual, Rook has a direct connection with Solas, which no one else has. Solas is the best source of information on the Evanuris, so that's an important asset. c) Well, simply, who else is stepping up? The Inquisitor is tied up in the South and no one else seems willing or qualified to lead the charge.
I guess part of what makes Rook special is that Solas is in their head. When the ritual went wrong and Solas got trapped, I guess it makes some sense that he connects with Rook - considering that (at the time) Harding had no connection to the fade, and Neve is potentially injured (and also a Tevinter mage). It would make more sense too if Rook is an elf, Solas' elitism strikes again. The others in your team know about and talk about your mind connection to Solas, though it could easily be a companion relaying messages from Solas to you, having that on the protagonist means we as players get to see and talk to him directly.
@@FalconCritical I already answered this in another comment, so I'll just copy/paste what I posted there. Sorry if it's a little long! I do think that's what the game was trying to use as justification for Rook, and I could almost get on board with it. It could potentially justify them being the protagonist, but not without restructuring the narrative, because it does NOT justify Rook being the leader. In fact, it's a point against Rook being the leader. First, Rook is treated as a leader even before getting this connection. But more importantly, using Rook's blood magic connection to Solas to justify them being the leader of the team requires the player to ignore three games' worth of world building regarding blood magic. Blood magic is not trusted in Thedas. In most of Thedas, it is very feared. Rook's blood magic connection to Solas is the very reason no one would want them as leader. Rook is, to put it mildly, compromised. Everyone knows it. Rook even admits it near the beginning of the game. Especially since Rook doesn't have a blood magic connection with just any mage, but specifically with the guy they're trying to stop, who happens to be one of the most powerful mages in the world. For them to all know Rook could be being manipulated by Solas, to follow Rook's orders anyway with little question, only to find that, surprise! Solas was manipulating Rook after all, makes them seem very, very foolish. I could see the team using Rook as an advisor, but realistically, they'd be likely to keep Rook out of any group planning sessions and only share with Rook the bare minimum they needed to have Rook get the information from Solas they wanted. I'm going by memory here, but I believe in the Trespasser DLC there's a note or some other mention of the Inquisitor, especially if they romanced Solas, losing the trust of the people simply because of the Inquisitor's friendship or romance with Solas. If the Inquisitor had had a blood magic connection with Solas and people had known about it, the Inquisitor would have become public enemy #1. If they'd wanted Rook as leader to make sense, there needed to be way more distrust from companion characters until Rook had earned their trust, say, through completing companion quests. Rook shouldn't have become leader until a critical point later in the game where Rook had earned the companions' trust despite the blood magic, and where they'd decided following Rook's judgement outweighed the risks that blood magic and Solas's manipulations posed. Or conversely, if Rook's blood magic connection to Solas has also given them another special ability that was critical to defeating the gods, it is possible the companions might have decided the benefits outweighed the risks. Or, Rook could have kept the connection secret from the team, knowing the others wouldn't trust it. There would still have to be another reason Rook was put in charge, but this could have been a fascinating way to handle it, with a lot of added tension. The companions would be very upset when Rook's connection was revealed, and that could have provided more of that tension, and overcoming it would have felt satisfying. There are lots of different ways they could have gone about it and made the blood magic connection work really well, but just ignoring several games' worth of world building and lore surrounding blood magic without a valid, solid in-game explanation raises a lot of eyebrows.
@@raelynteaguewrites I must have missed the other comment, sorry! All great points, and it makes me think how interesting it might have been to have Solas inside a companion's head - so that all the information from Solas could be Solas lying, the companion lying, or the companion misinterpreting Solas' advice. That of course brings us back to Rook having no particular reason to be in charge ;D
@FalconCritical There are so many fun things that could be done with it! I really liked the idea of Rook having Solas in their head. Good fun for me, if not for Rook. 😂
You didn't mention also that scene where Rook first meets Strife and he scolds Rook for botching the Solas job: Strife: "You all were supposed to STOP him." Rook options: "We tried", "We did, sort of", "Don't blame us"... (Not a single "I'm sorry" or "I know... but we're going to put this right!") Rook: "We did, sort of": "We did stop him. The sky's not pulling itself apart anymore, is it?" (Zero guilt.) Strife: "But?" Rook: "But it didn't go as cleanly as we hoped..." (Excuses instead of guilt.) Veil Jumpy-Jumprope Rook: Strife: "I thought you were SUPPOSED to stop him. Or did unforeseen complications lead to unforeseen consequences... again?" Rook: "Will you let it go? Yes, the map was destroyed, but everyone walked out of there alive." In both cases Rook is immediately OK w the consequences, and despite that the gods were only just unleashed in the sequence prior, a VJ Rook is already insisting on "letting it go" and making excuses. It's one of many reasons Rook is an unlikable protagonist who, despite gobs of hours w "their" Rook, the player would otherwise say, "Hey, we're not friends, ok? I'm just here for the ride..." Note as well that in every one of the fake "origins" that get grafted onto Rook's story there's a similar narrative of having disobeyed orders, screwed things up, but nevertheless things had a silver lining of sorts, so Rook is peachy keen w nothing on their conscience. So there's not even a sort of proxy guilt that Rook can feel from the origin that the player never plays- no leaving behind Rica and Leske, no leaving behind their Cousland parents, no leaving behind their Dalish clan or Alienage friends... just, "Meh, that's life. So what's next?" The origin could've been the other way that a Rook could feel responsible for fixing the world they've oopsed in... but instead they just sorta do so just "cuz brash hero". I agree w the "high and mighty overlooking the society of servants" and "unknown/unpredictable variable" themes though- would've been a great avenue to explore... if these writers were capable or inclined... I mean, the end sequence about "Execs" having orchestrated the events of the previous games are overreachingly portrayed as if having anticipated some Alienage girl or Dust Town Duster becoming a Gray Warden and defeating the Archdemon or becoming the Inquisitor and defeating Corfishystix which is just... stupid...
@@bhryaen3743 Someone else mentioned there was another dialogue option with Morrigan I somehow missed in my 70 hours of gameplay. You can admit blame, and Morrigan doesn't necessarily disagree but, from how it was described, still somewhat downplays it by suggesting there are more important things to focus on. I don't know what was said word for word, as I somehow didn't notice that option and picked another one. The biggest thing for me is the absence of the gods from the regret prison when Rook is there. There's mention of stopping them, of course, but especially if the player has been picking guilt options in dialogue, they should have had releasing the gods be one of the regrets Rook had to face down and overcome in the regret prison. Could have been cool.
Someone explain to me how the Inquisitor's freaking arm grew back?!? It's very clear in the end of Trespasser that everything at/under the elbow was disintegrated off by Solas.
A very rich set of augments, thanks for your video. I'm yet to decide if I will buy it or not, so I'm watching a lot of comments from people who did and I'm quite disheartened. Thanks for your insights.
They could have easily put in the backstories as quick origins as a callback to the first game, but no. They want the player to always feel good so Rook must be the big hero who knows best and never be allowed to blame themselves for anything. As if these games didn't fluff the player characters enough already.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey folks! This video gained way more traction than most of my others, and I'm having difficulty keeping up with all the comments. I may end up pausing them for a while for my sanity.
If comments are still open when you drop by, then remember the comment rules (most of you are fine, but some of you are not understanding the assignment):
Comments should be resectful and constructive. Disagreement is allowed. Insults, bullying, meanness toward anyone in the comments is not.
How does Rook’s blood magic connection with Solas established in the first part of the game, not them uniquely suited to lead the team against the Evanuris? I don’t see much between that as a plot device and the anchor for the inquisitor.
@rlr26659 I already answered this in another comment, so I'll just reiterate. I do think that's what the game was trying to use as justification for Rook, and I could almost get on board with it. It could potentially justify them being the protagonist, but NOT the leader of the team.
First, Rook is treated as a leader even before getting this connection. But more importantly, using Rook's blood magic connection to Solas to justify them being the leader of the team requires the player to ignore three games' worth of world building regarding blood magic.
Blood magic is not trusted in Thedas. In most of Thedas, it is very feared. Rook's blood magic connection to Solas is the very reason no one would want them as leader. Rook is, to put it mildly, compromised. Everyone knows it. Rook even admits it near the beginning of the game. Especially since Rook doesn't have a blood magic connection with just any mage, but specifically with the guy they're trying to stop, who happens to be one of the most powerful mages in the world. For them to all know Rook could be being manipulated by Solas, to follow Rook's orders anyway with little question, only to find that, surprise! Solas was manipulating Rook after all, makes them seem very, very foolish.
I could see the team using Rook as an advisor, but realistically, they'd be likely to keep Rook out of any group planning sessions and only share with Rook the bare minimum they needed to have Rook get the information from Solas they wanted.
The difference between the blood magic connection and the anchor is huge when you consider world building. No one that I recall in Inquisition, except Solas himself in a scene alone with the Inquisitor, thinks the anchor could be manipulating the Inquisitor's mind. Many think the Inquisitor is holy, not compromised. I'm going by memory here, but I believe in the Trespasser DLC there's a note or some other mention of the Inquisitor, especially if they romanced Solas, losing the trust of the people simply because of the Inquisitor's friendship or romance with Solas. If the Inquisitor had had a blood magic connection with Solas and people had known about it, the Inquisitor would have become public enemy #1.
If they'd wanted Rook as leader to make sense, there needed to be way more distrust from companion characters until Rook had earned their trust, say, through completing companion quests. Rook shouldn't have become leader until a critical point later in the game where Rook had earned the companions' trust despite the blood magic, and where they'd decided following Rook's judgement outweighed the risks that blood magic and Solas's manipulations posed.
Or conversely, if Rook's blood magic connection to Solas has also given them another special ability that was critical to defeating the gods, it is possible the companions might have decided the benefits outweighed the risks.
There are ways they could have made the blood magic connection work really well, but just ignoring several games' worth of world building and lore surrounding blood magic without valid in-game explanation raises a lot of eyebrows.
If this game accomplished nothing else, it sure got people talking.
In the original game that got scrapped apparently Rook was appointed by the Inquisitor to man a team of spies to covertly stop and work against Solas, because the Inquisitor had too many ties to the Chantry/Divine Justinia and them going personally to where Solas was (bouncing between Tevinter/Seheron/Par Vollen, who were now on the verge to be in a TRUE all out war from Solas' meddling from the shadows because he was gonna use a mass blood ritual of vints and qunari at war to rip open the fade) could've triggered an all out Holy War & Exalted March across Thedas.
Rook was gonna have Dorian, Morrigan and Isabela as advisors, have a submarine instead of the lighthouse, and was gonna get saved by whoever we left in the fade in DAI when Solas/Rook get trapped there together after Rook stops the Blood Ritual. The HOF was gonna turn up too (in some capacity) after Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan got released during the failed ritual, because like the war table said in DAI they had been searching for a way to prevent the calling and succeeded, which Ghilan'nain/Elgar'nan were going to use/were using to control the Wardens.
I'm so mad Dreadwolf got scrapped and we got Veilguard.
EDIT: There's a lot of stuff I've left out, but you can find out more yourselves. Source: Official Veilguard artbook story or "beat" boards. Under the "Joplin" section.
We were robbed
BRO ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS????
Why didn’t we get THAT???? That would’ve been the perfect way to wrap this all up!
That would have been good but it was picked because EA didn't like it (what do they know?). That is what I would have said lol
@@Silvio_Nightwind EA put them in development hell, the first draft of the game didn't make it too far before most of the team was called away to work on another game which most of them didn't want to do, then EA said to scrap the original game and make it an Online only game (you know, typical loot box crap.)
So most of the OG devs left, then the single player star wars game came out and EA changed their mind again to turn it back into a single player game, at which point most of the original writers and devs were gone so we ended up with Veilguard.
@@puddin4884Every day I wake up hating EA execs.
The reveal of Varric being dead was the last straw that made me laugh and go "WHY TF DOES ANYONE LISTEN TO ROOK?!"
Not only was Varric not there to formally appoint Rook as the leader, apparently she's been actually delusional and talking to herself the entire time. And NOBODY questioned it!
@@damned0wl That's a fair point too!
I mean considering that most the team are emotionally wrecked..
Yeah.
Taash? Yeah, gender confused bully.
Lucanis? Possesed by a childish demon Who doesn't allow him to sleep.
Emerich? Absolutely terrified of death ( and potentially necrophilia)
Scout Hardin? Too overwhelmed with her Magic ( a d socially awkward.
That asian elf girl ( forgot her name) socially awkward, nerdy and plagued by survivor's guild.
Only Neive and Dawrin seem mature.
So yeah... They be like " Damn... He must be effed Up by the loss of Varrick"
I agree, delusional isn't a great leadership quality
@@JoeMartinez18 Right, but Rook helps them through these issues. No one is there to tell Rook "hey clearly Varrics death took a toll on you, let me help you work through this."
That's want makes it feel so odd, the companions seemingly don't care about Rooks feelings/problems at all.
When Davrin/Harding die at the end: everyone talks about it.
When Varric dies at the beginning: no one cares.
This point became really obvious when I encountered the First Warden. He was all like "Who the hell are you and why should I listen to you?" That felt like the most believable reaction to Rook of anyone. Why is Rook leading anything? Why does Rook have influence? Why does Rook get taken seriously? Veilguard never justifies it. Rook is just the protagonist because. It's one the many areas where the writing lacks thought and reason. Too much of Veilguard just feels contrived to keep the plot moving.
@@Icipher353 That's such a good point. I forgot about the First Warden's reaction. And I feel like there should have been more pushback toward Rook from some of the factions, especially the Veil Jumpers. I'm pretty sure there's a line that indicates the Veil Jumpers knew Rook was confronting Solas. Which suggests they should know Rook's interference somehow resulted in the gods getting loose. I would expect at least a few Veil Jumpers would be very, very pissed about that when they realize how cruel the gods are.
@@raelynteaguewrites that's another big story issue for me - why are all the elves immediately unanimously accept that their gods are evil? They've been out for one day and all the Veil Jumpers are immediately "we must stop them!". Especially given how bad the racism towards elves is shown in Origins and DA2, I would expect plenty of elves initially would be more than happy to help their gods conquer human empires.
@@Pax_ire I feel like that's a symptom of the game being so... sanitized. The elven gods taking advantage of the faith people have in them, conscripting many elves just like Solas did, elves who just want to serve their gods and perhaps achieve a better life, is just too morally grey. You might feel bad if you have to kill a guy with two kids and a dog who was only serving the gods because he wanted them to have a world the gods promised would be beautiful and made for the elves! So instead they only recruit "power hungry bullies." They made it super black and white. Takes away a lot of the realism and moral dilemmas that so many people including myself really love about this series.
@@Pax_ire - it kind of goes to the writers sense of morality, they simply wont allow the portrayed victim of systemic racism ever appear as the villain.
the down trodden elves of both the alienage's and the wild Dailish flocking to a returned Elven god that promises salvation? but really delivers damnation? that's too nuanced of a narrative.
lets just make every bad guy a cis white person that needs to be defeated or replaced with a good LGBT character or a person of colour. bonus points for a LGBT person of colour.
im also very puzzled with the qunari in the crows city, they have apparently aligned them selves with the elven gods because they were promised power, but i find that very weird because even if this occupation army isn't sanctioned by the qun, they still operate by the same traditions and superstitions, which one of the big ones is that they really, really REALLY do not abide mages. a qunari that is born a mage is named "dangerous thing" and must stay with their minder who is named "one who holds back evil" and is tasked to kill the mage if they become a danger. ive ended up in a fight with the arashock during dragon age 2 because he found out i was a mage and would not abide the words of a free mage when trying to negotiate peace.
so i cant imagine them turning to a giant tentacle demon mage like one of the elven gods for the promise of power...
because this game was written by insane activists that cant do shit.
It really feels like the inquisitor should have been the mc for this game. Veilguard is basically a direct sequel to dai.
But then we have a new problem for the game...we encounter the Metroid issue.
A pratogonist without a one arm? How people gonna use two hand weapons?
@shodank well, we could easily use a prosthetic, but there's the Metroid problem that's the real issue.
@@colvamoon6962 Please excuse me but i really don't know what you mean by "metroid". Can you pls explain?
@shodank in almost every Metroid game, you play as Samus, a super powerful warrior with a world ending suit. But, in those same games, all that suit power is destroyed very early into the game, because being OP from the start would be boring in a Metroid game.
In short...how would you address a fully leveled Inquisitor being the MC for Veilguard?
I know there have been some fan theories that the original Gaider plan for Dragon Age: Dread Wolf had the release of the elven gods happen very late in the game (literally). As in it would be the third-act twist, with most of the game being the hunt for Solas (who would have a lot of Eleven agents you'd be combatting). It also probably explains why the main quest content is so much better written - because it survives in some form from early drafts, while much of the sidequest/companion quest content only came about later.
I feel like this would solve a lot of the issues with Rook, as it would allow for the time for an introduction of their character. You could have also had Rook start the game as a side character, with a big disaster in the first act which wiped the board/separated you from most of the survivors, providing some rationale as why you're here and not someone more qualified.
But no, at some point it was decided it must "start with a bang" like Inquisition. Only it worked in Inquisition because that game - despite continuity with the two previous Dragon Age games - was still semi-standalone. This game is set up as a direct sequel of the events of Inquisition, so it could never have begun with a big action piece without skipping a lot of necessary setup.
@@Karl.Zimmerman I would have loved to see a version like that! And you're right, a slower introduction to Rook and the problems they were solving could have helped.
this would have made for an objectively far more compelling story in my opinion. setting solas up as the actual villain, giving him all the glory of a true antagonist, while seasoned players know that there's something more going on, and then the big reveal? jesus fucking christ, the gods are out, Oh Fuck We Are Screwed.
Extremely true
I actually kind of thought that would've been a great idea for Baldur's Gate 3 - have the protagonist be a minor player at first.
Since you can't really have the Bhaalspawn return for BG3 because that character's story is told, BG3 should've had the story center around some villainous figure trying to manipulate Imoen, so Imoen is kind of the central figure for the plot of BG3 (which should've been BG4 really, because Throne of Bhaal was more BG3 than BG2). She honestly wasn't as fleshed out, I think, as some of the better character like Minsc or Jaheira, Viconia... even Aerie, who is arguably, on paper, a very trope-y character, felt like a 3-dimensional character more so than Imoen... which is a good thing, because then it gives you the chance to develop her character in interesting ways.
Similarly, bringing back great characters like Minsc or Jaheira would be stupid because the bar is set so high; you have to nail their characterization. Whereas you'd've been much better served bringing back characters who had unfulfilled potential, like Anomen, Mazzy... Nalia and Valygar too, I think, could've been great. (Edwin might actually work in spite of him being pretty well-developed in BG1 and even more so BG2, but I'd probably make him a definitive villain in BG3. Maybe even THE villain? Something from the Nether Scroll requires him to sacrifice Imoen, or use her in some way?)
Have the MC in BG3... if you could, have a cool DA:O-style multiple choice origin that trains you into being a suitable candidate for a mercenary band -
I'd lean towards the training being class training, where you could be a squire (Paladin), scholar (Mage), growing up in a church or something spiritual (Cleric), orphan in a thieves' guild (Rogue), receiving training from a sword master would work for any kind of fighter type (fighter, of course, but Ranger too, perhaps, a martial-leaning Paladin)... I don't necessarily want it as rigid as a specific background for each class, I like how DA:O had some play there (not every Warrior had the same background, you could be Human Noble but also Dwarf - common or noble - or Elf - Wild or Alienage-born) but something like that
- then Chapter 1 has you join a mercenary group whose mission is to protect Imoen? Things go wrong and you're the highest ranking surviving member (so, like, everybody is wiped out except you and one or two other characters, for whom it was also their first mission but you joined like a month prior to them?)
I haven't played BG3 yet... I can't help but feel offended, though, that it clearly isn't Baldur's Gate. They just used the name to get the cache to put their game in beta-testing for 2 years (?) and released something they wanted to make that had no relation to Baldur's Gate beyond a few legacy characters thrown in lazily, whom they butchered, especially Viconia whom they turned evil.
(I know people will say she was evil because her alignment was "Neutral Evil", but nothing she ever did - in the game or even prior to the game based on background information you were given - was *remotely* evil; I don't want to hear it.)
I haven't played it. I plan on it, eventually... I expect that I'll enjoy it well enough, once I get past the name being a lie. (And if I can avoid ever having to interact with "Minsc", "Jaheira", or "Viconia"... any other legacy characters that Larian might've butchered.) And I'm all for long beta-testing to get a game from good to great, if you can pull it off. And if people go back and discover maybe the greatest game of all-time because BG3 stole its name, I'm happy for that too (similar to how Legendary Edition of Mass Effect was a massive failure, but it introduced so many new people to one of the greatest games of all-time, and that's great and I'm happy for that, even if I wish we'd've gotten an actual upgraded ME instead of... that) (although I doubt that'll happen with BG2 in the same way; it's maybe the greatest game of all-time - between BG2 and MGS3 - but it's not particularly accessible. Eventually I'm gonna make some youtube videos to try to help introduce people to BG1 and BG2 so that they can appreciate its nuance, because you've gotta be willing to dig a bit to get the most out of it).
So, like, I don't want to hate on the game. Just that I hate that they called it Baldur's Gate 3. Fuck, if you want to slap the name Baldur's Gate on your game for (unearned) cache and name recognition, I'm not even against that; just do the "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance" thing and give it a subtitle rather than a series number.
That's a twist of irony I hadn't thought of before: Previous DA games were standalone, but maintained continuity. The Veilguard is a direct sequel, but goes out of its way to ignores (or sometimes outright break) continuity. It's a weird choice.
When Bellara asks you why you’re trying to save the world, one of my literal options was “I don’t know” and if THAT doesn’t sum up this game, I don’t know what does.
Anytime Erika ishii is in a project you know it's going to be a dumpster fire lol
@@steveng6721 that doesnt even make any sense be so fr. she's not one of the writers, why would you even blame a voice actor for anything other than their voice performance
@@steveng6721 erika ishii is goated what are you on about lmfao. and its not like she wrote the game, are you stupid?
Why the hell would that ever be an option?? “Girl why are YOU wanting to save the world? Yeah, see how dumb that question sounds???”
It didn't really feel like Rook was in charge. He always got his leads and pointers from other people (most often Harding). Rook felt like the cheerleader/glue that kept the others motivated. Probably because he was so (frustratingly) positive and nice.
Then I assumed Rook took point because he was by far the most competent/confident fighter, and the only one who wasn't messed up by personal problems.
Basically, he's a super nice children's book protagonist.
I think the main issue with the writing was the lack of conflict. Everyone was too nice; even the pirates and paid assassins! None of the companions challenged Rook, or each other.
DA2 has i think the best comoanion writing of the series specifically because of Fenris and Anders. Fenris especially is a total jerk, who (if you bother to invest a little patience in him) has an incredible character arc. Anders behaves like a saint then betrays you and destroys everything. Hawke also really suffers and overcomes that suffering. DA2 is full of juicy character conflict.
Veilguard lacks it.
Rook never struggles with anything or pays a high price for his decisions. There is no darkest moment. When a companion died to Ghilanain, that should have been SO MUCH EARLIER in the story, so the weight of that death had time to be felt. So Rook could have had a crisis of confidence in his judgement.
When Rook was stuck in the Fade, it should have been for much longer, and harder to escape. Escaping should have cost something. And the revalation that Rook was an unreliable narrator should have been really leaned into! Rook has been imagining Verric this whole time?! Even imagining other people interacting with Verric?! What else wasnt real? How can Rook trust himself after that?
By the time Rook was recovered from the fade, either Harding or Davren (survivor) should have taken over as leader. Rook should be a mess, with a crisis of confidence. Rooks friends should then slowly bring Rook back, supporting him like he has supported every one of them throughout the story. Then something has to happen to take either Davrin or Harding out of the lead, perhaps a red herring that draws them to a trap or false goal, that then leaves Rook forced to take up lead again and finish the fight.
Something like that.
@@RandomWandrer The lack of conflict is absolutely an issue in the game. I think especially given how they're trying to push the "We're a solid team, so we're gonna win where Solas couldn't" narrative, it would have been nice to have to work hard to have that solid team. Have the team dysfunctional at first, truly dysfunctional, and let gamers feel a sense of achievement by bringing the team together through some interesting, team-building quests rather than a single, gentle nudge in conversation. Could have been an option, anyway.
You are SO wrong about lack of conflict.... you remember that time Harding didn't want Emmerich to take BOOKS on their vacation? Or that time Taash's mom wanted VEGETABLES? It was a nailbiter.
Well, that's the same problem with the Inquisitor.
His/her advisors do most of the work for him/her.
Only the Warden and Hawke are the ones who really struggle on their own.
@@mihmo2663 I'm still scarred by Lucanis's reaction to me telling him I preferred tea over coffee. 😬
You fixed some of my main complaints and actually described amazingly what I didn't like with the story!!
Once I learned about how this game was developed, I am surprised it was finished at all. It was pieced together from other dead games. This was a salvage project.
@@draco949 I agree, and I think in a lot of ways we were lucky to have gotten what we did. It does make me sad, though. Wish we could have gotten a game that had been given more support during its development.
@@draco949 it's Final Fantasy XV all over again...
The Inquisitor was clearly the best protagonist for this particular story from a dramatic and emotional standpoint and it's baffling why they still refused to just have a repeat protagonist despite Rook not only not making sense but actively tanking the potential emotional weight of finishing off Solas' story. The emotional stakes are immediate and obvious with the Inquisitor - they were friends and companions in arms with Solas, were maimed by him, and could potentially even have been romantically involved with him. There is absolutely no good narrative reason why they wouldn't be heavily involved in facing him and the results of his actions and, as it stands, the best the game writers could come up with is 'oh, he's busy'.
Rook is literally some random and I'm still mad about it.
In a way I am ok with the Inquisitor not being the protag of Veilguard, because of the way they butchered the writing. The Inquisitor would have felt like a husk of who they were in Inquisition... If the writing was decent, it would have been great
The Inquisitor CANNOT be main in Veilguard for some really important reasons.
1. The Inquisitor is not extraordinarily personally powerful. They led the Inquisition because they could seal rifts. The anchor is gone. They were quite literally just an anonymous nobody before the conclave, it’s why they were sent to observe the discussions discreetly.
2. The inquisition is now either disbanded or under the control of the Divine. The Inquisitor is now no longer a major power player in Thedas. Respected, sure. But not in charge.
3. The Inquisitor and Inquisition are already compromised, assuming the Inquisition still exists. It is Qunari and Solas’s spies stumbling over each other that kicks off the Qunari plot in Trespasser. Solas understands the Inquisitor well too, allowing for the ability to outplay them.
The Inquisitor still has a small role to play in the story, but their personal story closed with Trespasser. As did the Hero of Ferelden in Awakening. And the Champion of Kirkwall in Birthright.
Rook is the protagonist because after more than 2 decades, Bioware finally managed to make good looking and great hair physics. And they forgot (or ran out of budget) to write a compelling backstory for the character 😝
@@ZrodyApo My Rook's hair IS fabulous!
@@raelynteaguewrites I'll have to admit, sometimes I click on videos about the game just to see how people made their Rook 😅😆 and hoping the topic is interesting like in yours
@@ZrodyApo I have curly hair, so I was thrilled Veilguard had nice-looking curly options. The first Rook I made had curly hair, and I loved watching her hair bounce ridiculously the way curly hair would when traipsing the countryside. Haha
I'm sorry, but why is everyone complimenting on Veilguard's hair physics? I mean, don't get me wrong, compaired to the rest of the game, they are great and the hair also looks really nice indeed ... But have you ever watched a long haired character move around fast? I swear, their hair looks like it's glitching all over the place.
The Strand-based hair rendering is from the Frostbite engine team, developed mainly for the FIFA/FC games. Bioware only decided to use it, I mean they can't even animate their models properly, they don't have the talents needed. The hairstyles on the other hand are most likely from Bioware, too avant-garde for a sports game.
Asking this question after 20 hours in the game got me kicked from the biggest DA group on facebook. Biggest point for me was when i had to choose which city to save from a dragon attack. Why? Who is Rook to a dragon? What is she going to do that an army in the city cannot do? She's the sidekick to a dwarven pulp-novelist.
I bet I know what group you're talking about. They blocked me years ago when I posted about a backstory for a character I had and mentioned offhandedly that I have a mod that made Dorian straight (apparently a mod that makes a heterosexual character homosexual is fine, but one that makes a homosexual character heterosexual is "gay erasure") I know, a truly terrible crime 🙄
They are surprisingly toxic for a group that prides itself on its non-toxicity.
@@NinjaFlibbleI mean, Dorian’s story is heavily influenced by his sexuality so… like, ya, a bit weird to mod him into being straight, but whatever lol
My posts and comments have been deleted because I have criticized the game. What a shame
@@NinjaFlibbleTell you what… when straight people start getting bullied, assaulted, and even killed for something they can’t control… your opinion might actually mean something.
Dorian is probably the least developed characters in the game. He only talks about being gay what… ONCE? During his companion quest.
The fact you need a mod to wipe out 1 line of dialogue and 30 seconds of game time says all anyone needs to know about you
Yup, one of the mayor issues with this game is not that it is the worst game ever.
It is just that for a dragon age game it is severely lacking. The writing just doesn't work. And in a dragon age game, writing is everything.
Making that you simply don't CARE. Which is bad for a game.
@@MasticinaAkicta Yeah, I realized toward the end of the game that I only mildly cared about Rook and the companion characters, and the vast majority of what I enjoyed about the game probably came down to nostalgia for Inquisition. It's good that Veilguard was able to to tie up some of Inquisition's loose ends satisfyingly, at least for me, but sometimes it's hard to know how much credit should go to Veilguard for handling the parts I enjoyed well, or how much credit should go to Inquisition for setting those moments up well and getting me invested inthose characters.
I do think Veilguard deserves some credit, but it doesn't say much about Rook or the companion characters when I spend the whole game with them and am still way more invested in a couple of characters from Inquisition.
Worst game ever is so disingenuous how can anyone take your opinion seriously?
@@yodaphobic96 read their comment again.
paraphrased:
I feel like the opening scene from dragon age 5 is going to be varric closing a book and saying “thank god, it was just fiction” then the “dragon age: dreadwolf” pans across the screen and we all collective say “ohhh THIS is the sequel to inquisition”
Another interesting way to make Rook the leader, would be to let Rook be the sole survivor of the first mission. Let's imagine: You aren't the leader of the group at the beginning, because Varrick choose someone from your fraction to be the perfect due to some skill. You are technical, just a companion at this point. So instead of Rook, Varrick, Harding and Neve it's just Varrick, Rook, the guy from your fraction and some random "important" character.
So the mission to stop Solas goes horribly wrong, and everyone dies except you. You are the only survivor, and you also directly saw Varrick dying, instead of getting that information later. You know something horrible had happened, but you are alone and for some reason you can't contact the Inquisition in the south or your fraction. That would create a nice feeling of isolation and hopelessness at the beginning. Just like in Origins.
So you're a nobody and must find a way to set up a team somehow. It would make an interesting character arc for Rook to be really becoming a leader this way. And it would be interesting to recruit your teammates, because you need them to convince you to help you somehow.
One of the things that really bugs me about Rook is how the backgrounds are just the backgrounds they picked for the companions. They feel like an afterthought, totally superfluous, like a middle manager working above the grunts. Rook is in charge because their position in the Veilguard corporate ladder was higher than Harding and Neve when Varric died, that makes them the unquestionable boss I guess. They had a great CV.
THIS!!!! I just thought *I* was having a hard time coming up with Justification for my Rook being In Charge/trying to tie my origin to the larger story (Basically doing the writers job). You’re RIGHT, it’s the lack of integration of backstory that could have made a difference! Like What if the two Veil Jumpers at D’Metas Crossing w were apart of the team I saved?? What if I could actually _Go find_ the Map I lost and it helped us find where the Venatori took the Dalish? WHAT IF IT WAS CLAN ALDWIR!!? (And this is just one person idly brainstorming…Imagine if THOUGHT was put into the interaction!)
I think you made a great point in your argument for Rook connection and feeling responsible for unleashing the Elven Gods would be a fine reason my issue is anyone could of been in that situation so it doesn't make Rook part in that event substantial enough to make them the protagonist and the fact they don't let you have that by say nan it's Solas feels strange? Origins depending on your background for why Duncan choose you the main thing you and Alister have in common are you're the only ones who can kill the Arch Demon even when the capture warden joins you even though he should have way more experience he lets you take point. Hawke is kind of thrown into the deep end and doesn't get the title of protagonist till the Qunari attack or Mage/Templar conflict reaches it boiling point. I have issue with inquisition but since there is no other character who can close tears you're the only one who can close the tears and save the world. From what I've seen from Rook they just felt forced instead of importing your Inquisitor who not only could have had an emotion connect with Solas (as a friend or lover) they did this which felt lazy and since they seem to ignore a lot of past choices I lean toward lazy?
Rook isnt really forced, it just the 10 year gap. And us missing their and varrics relationship.
Basically Varric was the lead not rook, but rook is a natural leader according to what we are told.
With that said also Solas also guided us. So Rook kinda assumed responsibility.
@@CyrusIsnt oh rook is in fact very forced. A 10 year timegap makes the inquisitor an even more obvious choice, because not only did they mature more, they also should have build the necessary connections to deal with this problem. This is like Duncan just putting your character in charge in origins for absolutely no reason.
And what a game tells you is irrelevant when its contradicted by what is shown. Rook is NOT a natural leader, the only thing they could lead would be a kindergarten group - Because a leader must be able to offend people, especially those who who put their personal feelings over the mission.
And Solas guiding us should be a massive red flag for anyone involved. If anything, Rook should be chained like the inquisitor in the beginning, not put in charge.
@@laju6398 Varric was the leader of the group
The inqusitors role is too big to spend years chasing solas. Imagine your governor just leaving office a few years.
And i am starting to question if you played the game. Solas guided you 2 ways
Through the illusion of varric, to get rook to assume the role of leading the team.
And giving you advice as himself.
Everyone else were scared, and to be a good leader you do not need to offend anyone 😂, nor did anyone on the team let their feelings get in the way of the mission.
At times leaders may offend or displease others, which you literally do at the start of the game. And you let a city get blighted.
Now the big issue i have regarding this idk if varric even believed rook to be the leader. I am lost to what varric actually told rook. To were solas was just manipulating.
There should have been an [there was] act before where we started
@@laju6398 Having Rook arrested at first would have been a much better start to this, but since that was the way Inquisition started it would have made this game too samey. Even though DA allows you to always make your own character, I feel like this game would have been better being the Inquisitor again. No one knows them in northern Thedas, so it could have worked. Either the Chantry takes over the Inquisition or it gets disbanded is an easy way to relieve them of the responsibility and since 8 years past, people could forget what she looked like. But Veilguard felt like it was trying to make people forget everything that came before because the new hack writers wanted it to be all about their abominable ideas because of egos.
@@mihmo2663 I don't think there's a good answer to the Rook issue in all honesty. The creator of this video had a decent set up for why Rook would be the only option but in my opinion what they needed to do is give an origin story. A short 30 min prologue to establish your character and get a general idea for who or what kind of person you are and to set the stage would do wonders for world and build out any future choices that could be made cause if it's all done via text or Varric telling us who we are isn't enough in my opinion.
Rook's origin being reduced to a paragraph of text was absurd. The game had SO much pointless filler that could easily have been chopped out to make room. Get rid of the Lords of Fortune and the Mourn Watch because they didn't affect the main plot at all. The elves left Thedas to follow Solas so make the Veil Jumpers (with a better name) maybe a rebel faction of elves or something, instead of whatever stupidity they ended up as. Get rid of Bellara because her class was redundant. Make the companions recruited other random refugees instead of people we had military type dossiers on, and give us opportunities to talk to them in more than predetermined cutscenes. The campfire/base conversations with companions were some of the highlights of DA/Mass Effect Games. It took me 75 hours (of misery) to platinum Veilguard and I didn't feel like I really knew any of the companions. I remember Wynn in Origins and Dorian in Inquisition had like an hour each of dialogue just talking like people. I could go on and on....
@@mihmo2663 Yeah, I definitely felt the lack of being able to talk through a whole dialogue tree with companions.
Wynn even rebelled against you if you brought in blood magic or Morrigan from the getgo!... These people weren't going to trust you from the start.
Same as Zevran, a Crowe who 'failed', but wants to live and knows well the Crows will continue, and you don't know if he wont backstab you...
Iron Bull even goes against you if you reaffirmed his faith in the Qun!
Isabella LITERALLY stole from the Qunari, sparking the events of Act 2! And she would leave you if you didn't have good standing!
I had the very same question, why is Rook here.
Personally, I always thought the Inquisitor was already bland and boring compared to the Warden and Hawke.
I never thought that it could get worse, but Rook shattered my expectations, for worse.
my main complaint of this game is why is a hero as huge as the inquisitor taking a back seat to some unknown 'rook' person? the main character should've been either the warden, hawke, or the inquisitor. would've been a cool plot twist to have the original warden as the main character, it would've been close to the time they'd start hearing the calling and that could be used in part of the story, especially with the blight changing.
i just feel that for a storyline where everything kinda ties together, it seems like the original warden and hawke are mere afterthoughts, would have been cool to have them directly in the story. but the only character from the original is morrigan
@@Thenineoh I haven't gotten my hands on the art book quite yet, but apparently, in the iteration of the game from before when they were trying to make it live service, they had been considering having Hawke in the game. At least seriously enough that there is concept art of Hawke. Could have been very cool!
Tbf, the Warden could be long dead, depending on your choices at the end of Origins
At the end of Trespasser, Leliana remarks that Solas knows all of them too well, then the Inquisitor says that they'll find people Solas doesn't know. The plan was to have a new team from the beginning, with Varric doing the recruiting.
@@damned0wl - could be, but Veilguard didn't really care about past choices either. and i think there is a chance hawk can die in inquisition as well. the only 'canonically' alive hero is the inquisitor, which should have come back as a returning role as player character. this was the capstone to their story to finish things with Solas, Rook was the only 'new' face when varric confronted solas in what was their show down, every other member was a returning face from inquisition (at least i think neve is an ambassador in inquisition... i remember that hat...)
so they didn't spend too much time recruiting new blood, 10 years of effort and recruited on person...
This was an awesome analysis, I thought your suggestions for how Rook could be characteried were spot on.
@@Rotatebilly Thanks!
Exactly. A lot of the time people suggest drastic changes to the completed product to "fix" it without realising that their ideas would create problems elsewhere. The suggestion in this video to fix Rook works because it actually achieves what the existing product fails at. It makes the themes of pride tighter while also maintaining Rook's underdog status, and it would provide a stronger narrative reason for your character to do side content for the factions because you need to win their support.
@Chris270693 That's definitely the goal whenever I offer tips to "fix" something: to help the story become what it was trying to be in the first place. It's not constructive for me to just...completely change it into my own story.
I wish we got introductions to Varric and Rook’s relationship in a similar way Duncan meets the Warden. For the Antivan Crow background, you have a conversation with Varric where he recalls he was one of the Antaam prisoners that Rook freed. They could’ve shown that (maybe not in its entirety) to establish what circumstances led Varric and Rook to be crossing paths, and then go from there.
It's never explained WHY we had to pick between Minrathous and Treviso, we split our forces so there was still capable people going to both. There was no use of the dagger cause we pretty just scared the dragon off, so why did Rook not being at the other mean the other gets decimated? When I saw Minrathous afterwards I was shocked, this mage city just took it hard and got the Black Divine blighted and never explained how it went THAT wrong. Whereas Treviso is barely effected if you don't choose them, you know, the civilian city.
It doesn't help that regardless of which city you pick, the mission is the same. Fight some mobs, Ghilan'nain does her evil speech, fight dragon, your other companion gets disappointed. You also don't lose out on the faction of that city. It's possible to get them to excellent relationship with you by end game. So really the choice only actually matters if you want to romance Neve or Lucanis.
@@sojinnn i romanced neve and saved teviso. its still possible just harder.
There most definitely is a good reason why Minrathous gets wrecked without you. The whole Venatori thing. The political and social structure of Tevinter is infested with them. A few good spies can take out defenders and unlock doors before you even know you’re in danger.
Treviso needs help because it’s weak. It doesn’t have an army capable of defending itself from any sort of serious attack.
These aren’t difficult concepts to understand.
I think the faction system is a huge reason Rook fails as a protagonist. My first playthrough was as a warden, and it actually made a lot a more sense. Pre-Davrin, I was the only warden on the team, and had to step up to deal with this new and changed blight because the First Warden wouldn’t. Every Rook should have been a warden, in my opinion, with your race and class defining the rest of your background (similar to the light character history elements in Inquisition). To your point of guilt over releasing the blight as a possible deeper motivator-this would hit hardest as a warden.
@@RileyLite I have heard that playing as a warden is the best!
Got to agree. Even Ryder in Mass Effect Andromeda had better protagonist story compared to Rook.
Ryder started as a nobody, found out that their planned new home in Andromeda had gone wrong, then became a Pathfinder because his/her dad, the previous Pathfinder, made him/her so to save his kid's life at the expense of his own, putting the responsibility upon Ryder as a result. So not only Ryder got the Human Pathfinder killed on a mission, he/she had seen the problem and stakes that needed to be resolved for their survival in Andromeda, and was also promoted by the late Pathfinder father to do so.
Rook also started as a nobody, was in Tevinter with Varric to find Solas in order stop him from tearing the Veil, but there was no explanation to why Rook was chosen for this mission or to even lead it after Varric died. Sure, Rook was responsible for releasing the two villainous Elven gods, but that was the consequence of trying to stop Solas in the middle of the Veil-tearing, not the stake of the mission or the reason to lead (if anything, something like this would more likely lead to demotion, probation, or reassignment). No one of authority made Rook the leader to deal with the new threat. Rook just became one straight up, no promotion or reason.
@@BornSurvivor4life Yes, good explanation!
I *really* enjoyed Andromeda.
It's not a perfect game, I'm very aware of that, but I really do believe that people hated on it in large part because... I don't know, because they wanted it to be something else. Meet it on its own terms and I think it's a very good game.
(Also, being released so buggy and broken was unforgivable, of course; I bought it not quite a year ago and benefited - autocorrect tells me that's the right spelling but I'm pretty sure autocorrect is wrong again, it's "benefitted", right? - from years of patches.)
It might've been over-stuffed with too many similar sidequests, but if you ignore some redundancy, there were still a TON of great sidequests, a really fun main story, lots of cool innovations... especially if you grade it on a curve, since it was given to an all-new team, I think it's really impressive how they made it different from the Mass Effect trilogy but still *feel* like Mass Effect.
I'd've LOVED a sequel; with the experience from making the first game, I think a sequel could've built on a lot of what was great about Andromeda and been a huge success (assuming no EA interference, of course, which wouldn't have happened... but in a world where Bioware stayed Bioware, Andromeda could've given us another legendary ME trilogy).
The combat was cool, the equipment creation was awesome, character customization rocked, the idea of having a twin was loaded with potential (mostly wasted... I'd've loved to have seen your twin have a much larger role late in the game; then, on replay, if you play as the twin, having that character be level 1 - but with all your credits and items? barring items actually equipped on your initial Ryder - so that when you get to the part where you're the twin, then you get to be OP... that would've made replaying the game so much more fun. Instead, when I loaded as female Ryder the 2nd time around, she was just given all of male Ryder's levels and skills, so... what was the point of being the twin the 2nd time around when she was just the same character?), seeing a new galaxy and how the Reapers did similar stuff but not the same (the Remnant vaults rather than the Citadel) really intrigued me, I'd've loved to have seen that explored in a sequel...
Also, I don't know if I love Cora Harper more than Miranda, but she's in that tier; she's not just top tier Mass Effect squadmate, she's a top tier companion across any RPG ever. Cora's the fucking best, man.
Andromeda wasn't as good as ME1 or ME2, for sure, but it was still a damn fine game (once it got patched) (honestly... I think maybe better than ME3? I loved some things about ME3 - the loadout mechanic allowing you to strip down weapons to get faster power cooldowns was fucking GENIUS - but making Cerberus the main antagonists of ME3 instead of the fucking REAPERS??? What the fuck was that???)
Also, speaking of Mass Effect... they should make a prequel duology:
1 - The Rachni Wars (you can be a Krogan... or Turian?)
2 - The Krogan Genophage (Salarian... maybe Turian? Perhaps even Krogan?)
if it's less of an RPG - action/adventure with RPG elements? - then it would make sense to just be a Krogan in The Rachni Wars (1st person shooter with RPG elements?) then Salarian in The Genophage (action/adventure/spy thriller with RPG elements). But if it's a full-on RPG, then I could see being able to be Krogan or Turian in The Rachni Wars, perhaps Salarian (maybe even Asari too?), and Turian or Salarian in The Genophage (so you could be Turian in 1, then import into 2, or be a different character in each one, depending on your approach).
(Possibly even Krogan in 1 then import your Krogan and fight a doomed battle in 2? Which would require 2 be essentially 2 games - a winning side but also an entirely different 2nd game where you're a Krogan fighting an ultimately doomed war? Which is why I think it might work as less of an RPG, more RPG-lite; you could make a Krogan and a Turian campaign for 1, then for 2 you could have a doomed Krogan campaign, a Turian campaign where there's more actual fighting, and a Salarian campaign that isn't as combat-driven, is more about developing the genophage.)
tbh I think it could've been as simple as actually telling us when Varric died. I really don't think hiding it added anything to the story, especially since it comes at the cost of anyone at all reacting to it, even Harding, but I do agree with your added prologue making Rook even stronger
Heck, I knew Varric died from the beginning. So it wasn't a surprise later. I love Varric and I hated the way he was used in Veilguard. If a big side character dies, it should be epic/sad/grandiose- something! The trailing out his death seemed almost a mockery of sorts. And the lack of grief was also disappointing.
I think it was just a lazy decision so they wouldn’t have to deal with anything from the previous games. They pretty much ignored everything else, so it doesn’t surprise me why they started with a new blank slate.
The writing in Veilguard is so disappointing. It really hurts me, also being a very avid Dragon Age fan. It is disheartening to see the writers at BioWare being so ignorant of the essense of what made previous Dragon Age special - the writing! Veilguard's moment-to-moment writing is completely void of any talent or understanding of the previous events and lore.
Ever since I finished Trespasser aaaall those years ago, it was clear to me that the protagonist of DA4 should be the Inquisitor. I know that we have had different protagonists every single game, but it just makes SO MUCH SENSE! The Inquisitor fulfills all the criteria and it could be such an epic ending for their journey, which I feel was lacking in the end of Inquisition.
Unfortunately, it seems Bioware was not remotely interested in previous choices, this is a clear reboot of the series.
I agree, i played this too. I rushed my game to the ending because i didnt care. One shouldn't be asking themselves " why is this person the protagonist " several times in a game 😂
I felt disconnected from Rook. I also believed that Rook did not connect well with Varric to justify the drama. I liked Varric from previous games. I wasn't happy with the game twist because it made no sense. I think that they could have done more with the redemption arc of Solas. A prideful man should be helped see his error of thinking and not conversed with. I think the plot was rushed. It was a good animation, true, but not good storytelling. Rook could have stumbled on the whole thing. A nobody Rook makes sense because it adds to the struggle of making people believe in you. I would have loved if factions rejected Rook as well. It felt too easy. Just sell them your inventory, and you're good to go. I would have found it interesting if the fade partly opened. I think Ghilanain was not interesting at all. Elgerna'an could have had more depth. The blighted gods were a stupid boring idea. If they were powerful, they didn't need the blight. It was the easy way out for the story to help explain why Solas felt cornered to close everything in the veil. Plus, Solas is so powerful to have created the veil. I would have played more with what Solas really is. He was far from ordinary mage. Yet, he gets trapped in his own prison. In inquisition, they almost present him as Moriarty acting from the shadows, too smart and far knowledgeable. If the mgisters in Minrathos know about this powerful elf, wouldn't a manhunt make sense. There are so many ways to tackle this story, and veilguard failed to build, reach a climax, and surprise.
@@rajasammour6400 With the Varric twist, it did and didn't work for me.
It didn't work because I figured Varric was dead as soon as I saw Solas's reaction the first time Rook meets him in the fade and says Varric is hurt. So, I wasn't necessarily expecting the reveal to happen the way it did, but I did expect it to happen somehow.
And there are a lot of people who've pointed out so many different plot holes or poorly-explained aspects to the plot twist. Which are valid, and I completely understand why it doesn't resonate well with people. But for me...I kind of chose to let it resonate with me because I liked the concept in theory. And really just because I WANT to enjoy this game as much as I can and feel all the feels. I shouldn't really have to convince myself to do that, but I dunno.
"Why am I here?" was my mantra for all 38 hours I played it. I finally uninstalled it. Booting it up after work felt like an obligation and a chore. Rook felt like an assistant manager in a startup company. Everyone is here because they need connections and paychecks-- art imitates life something something long enough to become the villain. Missing that $70 rn.
Rook being so irrelevant to their own game was very... Noticable.
I kept asking "why is Rook existing" throughout this game.
I was constantly reminded of Corrine Busche's statement about how Veilguard is different from past games because the older ones had companions join in on *your* journey, but "Veilguard is you being on their journey"...
And she was right. In a way that I don't think is good, narratively speaking.
It also doesn't help things with Rook being so.... Rigidly undefined.
Rook has a personality.
An unchanging, bland and banal personality.
"A hero designed by an HR committee" is what I would describe Rook's personality as.
@@FaeQueenCory That's interesting what Busche said. I hadn't heard that, and while I definitely think there are good, interesting ways to write from the perspective of a character who is on someone else's journey, I'd agree that I don't think it works well in this instance.
And I've been referring to Rook as Generic Hero™, so I guess we agree on that too. 😂
One of the problems with the disruption of the ritual being the basis for Rook's guilt is in the fact that not disrupting it meant certain annihilation. So even IF Rook felt responsible for unleashing the evanuris, this is negated by the fact that doing so spared the world total destruction. Better to have it only mostly destroyed in a way it could eventually recover.
Veilguard is an illogical conclusion desperately searching for a logical plot. Finding people Solas didn't know was contradicted by Solas knowing about Rook anyway. Rook's involvement with disrupting the ritual is contradicted by Solas' own failure to plan ahead for contingencies. Rook's regret that the evanuris destroyed so much is contradicted by Solas' regret in starting all this. Rook's special status is relegated to the dagger, which is passed off to Lucanis a few times during the game, and the dagger itself is eventually replicated anyway, thus belittling its importance. This simply isn't the type of game that fits the Dragon Age universe.
Yeah I know people keep saying this game has good bones, but I feel like it doesn’t even have that. It certainly has good parts, but the game struggles to its very core.
Some of the issues I think also stem from the fact that trespasser set da4 up to be a direct equal, and that’s not typical for dragon age. Because trespasser sets up a direct sequel, the usual “each game is different” is extremely jarring and simply doesn’t work. DAV isn’t a standalone game but they still tried to treat it as one.
@@sarawawa8984 Yeah, and not only was Veilguard not a direct sequel, but Trespasser itself wasn't a direct sequel to Inquisition. The two year time-skip ended a few of Inquisition's plot points that should have been explored more, such as who was left behind in the Fade, the Warden schism, the possible Qunari alliance, some things with Orzammar and Kal-Sharok, the Hero's quest, etc. Then Veilguard wedges even more time between Trespasser and itself with ten years, effectively ending any plots that were ongoing at the time. It also negated anything the Hero and Champion were doing.
@@BelieveIt1051actually a lot of those plot threads were discussed in interviews after Trespasser was released
DA4 was NEVER originally meant to be a direct sequel. The companion trapped in the fade, the return of the HoF, a major role for the Inquisitor, and even Solas having a major role outside of lurking menacingly just off stage are specific points that were mentioned as being on the shelf for the time, but that there was in fact a plan for all of these loose threads to be tied up.
The ONLY thing Trespasser promised was Tevinter being in the next game, and it is.
BioWare could certainly have tried to be a little more open and tamp down on the increasing player expectations, but at the end of they day this particular issue of what people decided DA4 would be with no reference to reality isn’t their fault.
@@mattphoenix4702 Those recent interviews are historical revisionism, or just the writer's pride talking. The art-book shows that early concepts floated the idea of the Hero making a cameo somehow (but as a mangled ghoul). And Laidlaw, before he left, squawked from the rooftops about how "the Hero's story is over". The art-book also showed cut content involving who was left in the Fade. Also, the Divine was depicted sending ships to stop Solas. So the project changed in scope and in basis multiple times. As for what Trespasser alluded to, it was definitely setting up DA4 as a direct sequel. The Inquisitor storms off to save the world... AGAIN. The Inquisitor, possible love interest, and the others immediately start planning to save or stop Solas and find people he doesn't know. That is what Trespasser hinted at, not what we got in FailHard, with Varric being the one tracking Solas, finding a person Solas knew about anyway, and then disrupting his ritual in the most haphazard way possible TEN YEARS AFTER Solas made his initial threat to destroy the world.
Face it, BioWare changed the story to be more basic so they wouldn't have to put the work in. Solas was supposed to have agents helping him. Where are they in FailHard? Epler gives the excuse that Solas felt he wasn't a good leader, and dismissed them all from his service. Complete BS. Same case with all the stuff about the Wardens. The time-skip ensures Rainer and the potential Hawke sibling wouldn't be there, as the schism would have been resolved by then. Same case with the one left in the Fade. After ten years, no one would believe that person was alive anymore, and would stop looking.
Trespasser promised the Inquisitor would be involved, that we would find people Solas doesn't know, and that we would save Solas from himself or stop him by any means necessary, and we would either have the Inquisition's help or not. And if so, we would run the risk of Solas' spies compromising us.
Let's also not forget the Dragon Age Keep, which had choices from Inquisition and the DLCs represented within it. That too gave the impression that choices from the previous game and DLCs would be referenced, reflected, or otherwise carried over. The time-skip was specifically designed to nullify all those things.
When you asked "what do you think of Rook", I wasnt thinking about THE Rook the game wanted to force on me. I was thinking of the Rook that I made in my head, en elvhen girl, dalish, taken by tevinter enslavers, saved from them thanks to a Warden that conscripted her. My Rook was more serious,, stern, and was not afraid to antagonize people, she was a forgemaster mage, made her own weapons, fought in close combat, always charging and hitting, using a spear as a conduit for her magic. The kind of Rook that the game actually didn't allow you. So far removed was my concept from what the game try to force me to be that I just ignored some things and made my own canon. And My Rook is not Rook, I named her Knight. I overwrote the canon of the game with my own, I basically made what the previous three games let me do, just in my head, writtings and drawings.
I dont think of Rook as my own character, as I don't really care for Rook, but I care for the version I crafted, Knight (Sticking with the chess pieces names)
I had the same idea before i played. 😢 Human girl, sold to the Crows as a child. I thought of her as quiet and mistrustful, kind of bitter. Also Andrastian, which i thought was an interesting personal conflict with her being an assassin, therefore believing she's bound for the void because of some of the sh-t she's had to do. Actually now that I've written it out, it sounds somewhat like lelliana in Inquisition lmao. Not as smart though, she'd be young and more stupid about people.
I think just creating your own story where you are actually able to roleplay is a great response
Agree, it bugged me too why Rook was left in charge of campaign with apocalyptic stakes, when they aren't skilled enough to face with gods, circumstances aren't restrictive enough to make them the only person to do the job, and they are compromised by having one of the enemies hanging around in their head. They also don't have personal reasons to be there beyond being stereotypical good guy ready to save the world because it's a right thing to do. It does not make sense.
@@tj3603 I would have been more forgiving if they'd just let my Rook blame herself for releasing the gods. I chose every option I could for her to express guilt, and the game always immediately walked it back. Would have been cool if the regret prison in the fade could have shown something related to releasing the gods when Rook was in there.
@raelynteaguewrites Yes, that too. Trying to fix their own mistake would be a good motivation, but they choose to double down on "Solas is evil now" message.
I’m sorry but… well, I’m way more of a nobody than Rook is. If something big and bad was happening, or about too, and it was DEFINITELY going to kill me… you have nothing to lose by fighting as hard as you can, as long as you can, anywhere you can.
It’s not “good guy” logic.
What WOULDNT make sense is if Rook did nothing.
Survival is the BEST motivating force
@@mattphoenix4702 it would be legit argument if nobody believed Rook about gods existing and they would be the only one to understand the danger. But somehow everyone in this universe aware that Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain is out and want to destroy the world and happy to leave this random dude in charge of world saving. We literally have conversation with Inquisitor (much more experienced and qualified person for the job) where Rook kinda insecurely asking if they came to take over, but they go like "Nah, you got this, kiddo". Seriously?
When I heard about them adding Origins back I already wanted to make my character some lawfully evil guy somehow related to Tevinter magisters and use blood magic "for the greater good"
What I got was buddy to everyone who could only be member of anti-slavery group because Maker (ofc you don´t exist it was all elven doing) forbids to have our character with some bad world view
Excellent breakdown. I found myself wishing for that factional prologue many times.
You can't fix Rook because the ONLY protagonist that makes sense here is the Inquisitor.
'Bioware''s stupid obsession with "every game a new main character" completely robbed this storyline of its drive.
The only logical way this story played out is: You are the Inquisitor, you gave up that title to avoid conflict with Tevinter for being an agent of the Chantry. You go undercover to track down and stop Solas, with whom you have a HUGE history. Along the way, you end up disrupting his ritual and two elven gods are freed from the Black City. This is where the final blight begins and The Warden from the first game takes up the plight alongside you to stem the tide while you try to work out how to fight back. Hawke can be in there too somewhere, either retrieved from the Fade or alongside the Warden at Weisshaupt.
Rook shouldn't exist.
The protagonist choice in this game should be similar to BG3 Dark Urge.
Pick Rook or Inquisitor again, and yeah
Rook needs to be fixed
It should’ve just been the inquisitor. Or like, the inquisitor’s apprentice or something like that. Or a fade spirit connected to solas who possessed Rook’s body.
So true, every protagonist has a story
DAO - Grey Warden does something that forces them to get recruited by Duncan and do what needs to be done to save the world
DA2 - Hawke loses their home and their family and is forced to extreme actions in order to stop things from going downhill
DAI - Protagonist is in the wrong place at the wrong time, gets the anchor and becomes the Inquisitior, supposedly gods sent even
DAV - just Dragon Age out of context 😂
this is true. in a group of hypercompetent leaders in their
field, rook is just a person without
a niche. in dao the hof was the leader because Alistair abicated the role and you're the only one who can end the blight.
in da2 you're the leader because you're able to mesh with otherwise conflicting extreme personalities.
in dai you have the mark and to legitimize and consolidate political power you have the lead the inquisition.
in datv, i see bw tried to reproduce hawke but a lot of the companions dont have real conflict, and if they do a line of two solves it, or it gets solved off screen. if you can solve a problem that trivially from a 3rd party the issue was nearly solved
Especially after Cyberpunk 2077's origin stories, which really helped set up that game's protagonist, the lack of playable origins for Rook was very noticeable in Veilguard to me. They probably would have needed to cut some factions to make it work (as six bespoke origin prologues would have been out of scope), but given that the factions are rather imbalanced in terms of what they get, I think that would have ended up better off for the game
I was pretty happy with the Solas stuff, too, though, which probably saved the game for me on the whole even if it couldn't propel it to the heights of the other games all on its own
With their backstory it would made more sense for Harding to be the second in command after Varric.
Especially bc as a lieutenant for the Inquisition she has leading experience. She knows people everywhere. She could easily have been in charge after Varric's passing. But even with blood magic!Varric telling Rook to take over we still never get an explanation for why she wasn't evens second in command.
Funny enough, my friend and I just recently joked that it's odd how in BG3, our player character is just appointed to be the leader. Sure, you could play a great wizard, paladin, cleric on a mission, and whatnot. But you can also play just some average dude who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's more or less my player character and while the same goal unites the gang, it makes at a first glance no sense why that guy is the leader.
Here's the thing (that I wished that game spelt out a bit more). They're the only character on the team that has no stakes in the adventure aside from the shared goal. Sure, later, there are potentially more goals and the true adventure is the friends we make yadda yadda.
However, not having any big stakes removes bias and allows the character to look at the happenings and choices in front of them with a clearer head. Sure, we can develop a bias if we favour some companions over others, or make only self-serving choices, or turn evil, etc. But at the beginning, it makes sense to say, hey, while we have a smarter person here, and a stronger one over there, but we're all too wrapped up in our own flaws that got us in deep trouble even before the one mission that unites us. Someone more detached might be the better choice (also, it's an old PS2 game, but if you like story-heavy jrpgs with many characters, many of them great, and interesting villains that range from morally light grey to pitch black, consider this a recommendation).
Suikoden II does a similar thing with its protagonists but okay, that's been a niche game even when it was fresh. But the hero is also not chosen because he's super strong or the smartest, wisest, most experienced. He's appointed by smarter, stronger, more experienced characters because he's not jaded or bitter, and because his young, idealistic outlook and perspective help bring people back to earth and unite those who are bitter and jaded and too caught up in their own, old ways.
So, yeah, sometimes, the best chosen one is the best choice because they aren't chosen one material from the get-go, but because they stumbled into a situation with too many characters that already have too much going on to bring all threads together to attempt the best outcome.
I think Rook might have been an attempt to create a protagonist with low personal stakes but with a fresh outlook and unbiased approach that is meant to pick up all those threads that are the other character's arcs and bring them together. Leading by unifying. But they also kinda wanted a bit of a chosen one vibe, but not really because they were supposed to be relatable to the player (which is bs because the whole leading by unifying worked wonderfully with Shepard in Mass Effect, who starts as a respected, qualified, experienced character. Qualities that help them to bring everyone together by solving their conflicts first). It feels undecided. And it doesn't help that the scenes that are meant to work on the conflicts of the companions have too much modern therapy speech (the conflicts are fine, but the way the writing presents and works on them makes it bad) and in many of those scenes Rook talks and sounds like a mediator or therapist, not like either a not-chosen-one who grows into the leader role or someone who already is good at the job of leading teams under pressure with the world at stakes.
@@lasmirandadennsiewillja9435 It's been a while since I last played BG3, so I might be forgetting a lot, but doesn't the githyanki artifact sort of "choose" you at one point? I'd say at that point your character is justified in leading to a degree. Though I don't remember if it's ever explained why the artifact chose you...maybe just because you developed a relationship with the dream guardian to a point where they thought you were the one they could more easily get to agree with them/do what they wanted? Maybe?
I would point to the other companions and say they're all a hot mess, so obviously you should be the leader, but I tended to play Dark Urge, so that kinda ruins that point. Lol
This is a terrific analysis!
@@PseronWyrd Thank you!
I really like your ideas on how Rook could fit into the protagonist role! They feel appropriate when facing against a guy who is all about pride.
On a side note, I am also a big Solavellan fan and felt similar about what we got for them. I just wish Varric hadn't died by Solas' hands. It leaves the player, and I would assume the Inquisitor with conflicting feelings about him. I was happy with the happy ending between them and was riding high from those emotions, but when I came down, I was like, "Wait, he killed one of her good friends. I'm less happy now....". I think something that would have hit Rook harder and would have made them feel more regret in order to trap them in the prison is if Rook's actions lead to Varric's death. By Solas keeping up the appearance of Varric being alive and not revealing it until the moment he traps Rook in the prison, that would have magnified the regret they feel and feels like something the god of trickery would do. After all, he has nothing but time in the prison to come up with a clever plan to escape.
@@emilemilee That was part of why I liked the good ending. I wanted Solas to have a happy ending, but especially after Varric's death, even if it was accidental, I felt like Solas couldn't be left /completely/ off the hook.
Another commenter had another idea that could have been cool, though. They thought it should have been the Inquisitor there instead of Varric, and rather than being killed by Solas with the lyri dagger, they could have been sent somewhere in the fade. I thought that could have been a great idea, and that they could have made finding the Inquisitor and getting them out of the fade an optional quest that was necessary to complete for the best ending. An idea, anyway!
@raelynteaguewrites Yea, that is a cool idea! It would also be a good time to find out how the person the Inquisitor had to leave in the Fade is fairing, especially if it was Hawke (the person left in the Fade was originally planned to show up in this game). Maybe they find the Inquisitor and help them survive in the Fade until Rook can show up and help them escape. It would be a good opportunity for the majority of the player's characters to have a team up and be a real Avengers-type moment, which is funny because that's the vibe the developers seemed to be aiming for with Rook's squad.
It is weird how only Varric and Harding continued the mission to stop Solas when stopping or saving Solas was the Inquisitor's decision in Inquisition. I get they put the Inquisitor on the back burner to make way for Rook to be the protagonist this game, but I feel they should have had a bigger role in this game. Dorian, too, since this game takes place in his home country. While I did have fun with the game, I am saddened when I think about what it could have been.
@@emilemilee Yes, I heard they'd been planning on having the person left behind in the fade show up! I haven't seen the art book myself yet. My family bought it for me for Christmas, so I have to wait until then. 😭 But having Hawke or whoever else was left in the fade could have been a cool experience.
Especially since I felt this game, done right, could have been a nice conclusion to the series. Obviously they planted seeds for another game, which is cool too, but it felt like Veilguard tied up a lot of loose ends and explained most of my burning questions. It closed an arc that had been hinted at since origins, and this felt like a natural place to end. It could have been cool to pull out all the stops, bring back all the heroes from past games (if they're still alive), and go out with a bang.
But I also get them not doing all that extra work if they're still planning more games. Just would have been so cool to have everyone back. Haha.
Fantastic exposition, thank you. I really enjoyed it and am now thinking of giving the game a try to make up my own mind on where it sits for me. Have a subscription, look forward to your future content.
@@namrepmek Thank you! You very well may love the game. My best recommendation is to try to set aside any expectations you may already have for the game. It'll make it easier to love (or hate, I suppose) the game on its own merits.
DA4/Veilguard should have been a duology for the inquisitior!
Many people will say no because it's tradition for each dragon age to have a new protagonist but the thing is that tradition with broken in Awakening.
The inquisitior having only one hand/arm can be fix very easily. Ash Williams made a prosthetic hand with a box of scraps in an age with the same tech level as Thedas.
The inquisitior has the master crafters of Thedas at her disposal.
It doesn't make sense that the inquisitior isn't the one to stop solas.
It's like imagine if harry potter disappeared after the fourth book and left the defeat of voldemort to a random first year. It wouldn't make sense!
Rook it a horrible main character by him being nice even when other people being asswhole like my hero of ferelden, my hawk and inquisition was all badass and took no shit from other and those games let you choice what type character you want to be, you can be asswhole, or a joker or a serious person but in Veilguard you just a nice person and can't even do evil stuff and accept all your character, that why I will never get Veilguard
@@SoldierSpiderx Yeah, my characters are usually sassy, so I definitely noticed times when there was a lack of sass from Rook. Talking to Solas in the fade worked well, because he'd sass back, but there was only one other time I can remember in the entire game where a character reacted to me making jokes where it was inappropriate. It was Emmrich, and I believe he was opening up about his fear of death when I made a joke. He lightly chastised Rook, and without giving me a choice, Rook immediately walked back her joke and apologized.
I was sitting there, thinking, "Hey, put the joke back where I left it, Rook. We said what we said!"
But aside from the Solas scenes and that one Emmrich scene, there really wasn't any reaction from other characters.
@@raelynteaguewrites yea that the reason why alot people love the pass hero you can choice what type person you want to be but here you can't choose
I really didn't understand why I was being treated as the boss when I never made any decisions until the very end. Like I'm not the one deciding who to recruit or how to proceed the plan or anything. Rook is just the person who can talk to Solas for everyone lol
Your video gives some great food for thought and narrows down one of the reasons why I couldn't connect with my Rook. It took a lot of headcanon and overriding existing dialogues/scenes in the game to somewhat connect with the protagonist. They really did Rook guilty not allowing them to react to the events they put in motion in a deeper, more meaningful way. Their overall writing is so clumsy I just stopped caring which dialogues options I was choosing as there were just a few consequences to those. I'm looking forward to more content from you on the game.
Rook gave snoozefest. After the Inquisitor’s epic journey and how special they were, I’m shocked they made Rook so dang basic and boring 😢
Definitely keep up these game reviews! Great video 💕
Watching this, I realize just how much of Rook's story is my headcannon and my interpretation of Rook's words through said headcannon. My Rook kept all her emotions and fears in check, often using humor to mask her worries outside of battle or being stoic when she donned her armor. Thinking back on it, so much of what I liked about the game I made up myself.
@@j.vanblarcum2563 And that's not a bad thing for an RPG where you design your own character. There are a LOT of people who adore their Inquisitors because of how they imagined them in their head, and there's so much to be said about RPGs engaging their players' imaginations as a way to tell the story.
I feel Veilguard put itself in a bit of a sticky middle, though, where Rook isn't solid enough to stand alongside more fully developed characters (not that most Dragon Age players are looking for Rook to already be fully developed for them), but neither does the game offer enough choice and variation to facilitate the player in making Rook their own. The Rook Veilguard has will work for some people, and clearly does work for some people, but will get in the way of other gamers having a good experience.
I don't think Rook is quite as horrible a character as some say, but a little tweaking of Rook perhaps could have aided players in using their imaginations a bit more like you were able to.
while i don't think bioware will ever do origins type openings again and we should all stop asking.....i completely agree that rook made NO sense. the entire time i was playing DAV i felt like i was in the middle of the story and almost not part of it - everyone knew things i didn't, knew ppl i didn't, were friends and allies with ppl i had never met, been to the places we were going to....etc etc etc. i had no business being there
i think the issues with rook extend beyond their justification as a protagonist, but also how every other character is written to accept that rook is the leader.
i could not stop laughing when i realized that there is an active magic mirror in the base of the crows that the player use's very early in the game, long before you can get established as a credible force to fight the gods (which i have a hard time believing they had established them selves in the qunari army occupying the city already when you get there) and right after you picked up the magic dagger to operate the cross roads.
the crows should have assasinated my team right there in the first meeting, taken the dagger and made the cross roads part of their network, maybe giveing rook one chance to hand over the light house if im a former member before my swift assassination. (begs the question how an assassin rook left to join varric when leaving the crows is a death sentence according to a hansom elf from DA:O) i mean at that point, the team was my character and 3 girls, after killing the away team, the last girl would have been trapped in the light house waiting for death.
also had a similar reaction to the grey warden leader who's first thought was to lock the players ass up for unleashing something that changed the blight, and they needed answers and i was like "yes! that is an appropriate answer! why cant i agree to that? exactly what power does my faction wield? i have 2 mages, a scout, a broken dwarf and a bi-polar assasin, im not a leader of anything that should be trying to get grey wardens to fight at my side"
@@failtrolls8386 Yes, the Crows definitely felt more like golden retrievers than anything dangerous to me. Zevran often acted silly or flippant too, but a lot of his humor came across more as deflection, not as an accurate representation of typical Crow behaviour or threat levels.
I would have liked to see more pushback, at least from some of the factions. I can't remember if I mentioned this in another comment, but I believe it's implied, at least, that the Veil Jumpers know you attempted to stop Solas's ritual. It wouldn't be too much of a leap for them to figure out you set the gods free. And I'd think at least a few of their number would really be angry at you for that once they realized how bad their gods were (and that the elves might face terrible repercussions, even if they succeed in stopping the gods).
Noooo, you don´t understand Crows were always good guys who valued freedom and love for everyone but Zevran was taken by special right-wing part of Crows who were evil
Awesome video. I also kept wondering why in the world we were the leader of this group when we are the only person on the team without a special talent. It really felt like the team was the actual powerhouse and we were riding on their coattails.
What got to me through the whole game, is that Varric makes it clear in the opening segment that if we confront Solas head on, we are just dead. It's not even a question...
So once Gill and Elga show up show up and Solas explains that they were already magnitudes above him in power, which was the entire reason he had to use trickery to trap them, i spent the WHOLE game looking for the trigger that would make us able to confront gods on equal footing. We got the dagger pretty much immediatly, which was able to kill them once we got rid of their dragons to make them mortal, but even then, we shouldn't have been able to even get close to them, let alone just have a slap fight with Elga at the end, since Solas was nearly depleted, and he only managed to kill his dragon.
So the game never presents you with a compelling argument for why we couldn't fight the gods in the first hour after getting the dagger, but suddenly after 60 hours of not really getting anything outside of more allies we can?! Using the very same dagger we had from the beginning!
I get that Rook is picked up by Varric on the way because of a noble act done in their previous faction and Rook being a hero type character obviously wants to help Varric save the world.
How do we solve that?
An easily missed opportunity for Bioware. The game tells us ancient elves were once spirits and we so happen to have Solas stuck in our head and Solas is word for pride,.
Q: what other creatures share this in Dragon age?
A: Demons
Make Rook being possessed by Solas instead of Lucanis being possessed by Spite(it doesnt make sense anyways?)
If rook actually did get possessed by Solas, his whole taking point would actually make sense since he is stuck with an ancient demon/spirit in his head with the only known knowledge of how to fight 2 elven gods.
Boom problem solved...
I really appreciate you making this video. The first 2 minutes identified really strongly who I was in my relationship to dragon age and why I spent the first 10 hours of the game narrating out loud to my partner how this was functionally and technically a decent game, but not at all the sort of game that I would have bought if it weren't Dragon Age. They spoon fed us exposition so much that it felt like "Baby's first Dragon Age; Star Wars edition"... Which is to say big-box-bullshit-gloss-over of complex fandom stitc- work that made the whole thing enjoyable to fans who got in when we were starved for things like NWN. While it was a fun game, I had to aggressively wrestle down my expectations for a nuanced and interesting story in order to enjoy a game that does well at being enjoyable from a purely gameplay perspective.
@@savvykat9506 Thanks. I played Veilguard twice, and the second playthrough was much more enjoyable precisely because I deliberately chose to do my best to love the game for what it was rather than be bitter about what it wasn't. That doesn't mean I'm not still disappointed, though. Ideally, the core audience for a game shouldn't have to put effort into being able to enjoy a direct sequel.
Dang 😭😭 I completely forgot that Rook was the one who freed the gods. The game almost completely ignores that fact. we still blame solas for everything, but it would’ve been very interesting to see how Rook coped with the fact that much of the world gets even more destroyed because they accidentally unleashed Elgar’nan and Ghilan’Nain.
So, the impression that I got while playing the game on the "why Rook?" question:
Rook felt much more like a Mass Effect protagonist than a Dragon Age protagonist in a way. Shepard was kind of special in that they had terrible knowledge that very few believed, but they didn't have some kind of special powers that made them uniquely capable of fighting the threat. What was special about them was just their tenacity and ability to gain allies, and "a certain set of skills." Kind of a John Connor (Terminator) situation.
Rook is more or less the same, just not done as well as Shepard, of course. But the impression still came through for me, muddled as it was.
I admit, would be interesting to hear your observations on how the companions were handled in veilguard, an exploration on Harding would be nice to listen to, cause from what i have seen of veilguard, im unsure on her being too gungho about the titans, since she was a surface dwarf, imagine the consequences or reaction from other dwarves that a surface dweller re awoke their titantic aspect.
other than that, good observations on rook, the previous protags of DA are essentially people who were in the wrong place at the right time, and have to repair or salvage the messes theyre in as much as they can. rook lacks this introduction, something i didnt realise was a consequence on not having a proper intro to establish this version of the character.
@@jonathandear4914 Exploring all of the dwarven politics in regard to a surface dwarf regaining titan powers could be SO interesting.
Couldn’t agree more spent the first 20 odd hours, before just accepting it and moving on, of the game thinking “hey varric old buddy are you sure this is the guy? Of all the people you know this is the one you want in charge?”. Actually come to think of it did varric even want them in charge? We only get varric’s “you can do this kid” pep talks after he’s dead.
@@steeleofman9483 I don't know that it's ever confirmed, though I think we're supposed to believe Varric wanted you.
But considering the pep talks are all in Rook's imagination, who knows? Maybe they just really wanted Varric's approval, and so they imagined him giving it to them. 😂
4:28.
Geralt Of Rivia.
As a Witcher. He is the man for the job because he is skilled. That's litterally his job.
As Ciri's foster father, he is concerbed personnaly.
And destiny as a thing for Geralt, even if he just want to be left in peace in sunland.
4:28 The funny thing is that the Inquisitor has ALL three characteristics, Rook has none.
A thing that always bothered me was that nobody was talking about Varric death.
I mean Harding knew him well, Neve had a good relation with him. They could have morn him a little. Talk about him with Rook, who had a good relationship with him too.
But no. For the plot, everybody ignore the best character's death.
I feel like the clean slate aspect of rpg player character narrative design could address the "Why is rook here?" part of this video. If the player has a set of characters they normally draw from, particularly if those characters have developed lore pre-existing in the players mind... The writers might have intentionally left that aspect of things ambiguous for the player to imprint their imagination on.
I liked my rook well enough but I felt it should have just been the inquisitor again
In a perfect world, Veilguard should’ve played like gta5 where you could switch between your previous three protagonists. Or had them as companions, imagine a party of your HofF, Hawke, Inquisitor and Rook all together. Now that’s a power house!
I like Rook, they’re not the worst protagonist ever. Even if I don’t agree entirely, I get why they’re the protagonist in Veilguard. One of the few people left, has Solas in their head, etc.
They do have some cute moments. But, I do wish they could have more mean moments too. Some of the companions and NPCs really need to be knocked down a few pegs. They can be nasty to Rook but not the other way around?
HOWEVER, if ever there was a game to be a direct sequel. This was the one, the Inquisitor had absolutely every right to be there and wasn’t.
I get in the later part of the game that they try to say that the inquisitor and presumably the HofF and Hawke (if they’re still alive) are fighting the blight that’s destroying the entirety of south Thedas, (worst piece of new lore, like come on! Way to go scorched earth and tell us all our previous decisions and legacy don’t matter. 😡)
But that still doesn’t make sense! Where are they in the beginning! You’d think as a friend or especially a lover , that the inquisitor would’ve been there to stop solas’s ritual. All hands on deck! What was so important that they didn’t go and only sent three people!?
Honestly, if they’re hellbent on having Rook as the protagonist. As long as it was made known that Rook would be the main protagonist before hand. A simple role switch would actually help a lot.
Switch Varric’s role for the inquisitor.
I’m not saying to send the inquisitor to the shadow realm permanently (because I personally hate that kinda trope, ki lling of previous protagonists/legacy characters. Always feels cheap).
Just explain that Solas’s dagger pulled a Titan dream snatcher on them. Locking their spirit in the fade/fade prison and body in a deep sleep. Rook is either legitimately hallucinating due to guilt or it’s caused something similar to Solas’s situation. Where the inquisitor can’t escape or really interact with anyone else but guides Rook the best they can.
Solas’s regret at accidentally harming his friend/lover. Making him feel like he absolutely has to pull down the veil now. Giving more justification to his later betrayal and insistence. If only to reunite with his friend/lover.
A nice Rook could remind him of a friendly inquisitor, making his regret and feeling he has to right his wrongs, all the more stronger. Make the forgiveness or good endings easier to get.
Or perhaps he could’ve done it intentionally if him and the inquisitor had a poor relationship. And this along with his betrayal could signal how far lost he has become. A demon of pride.
A meaner Rook could again remind him of a tough Inquisitor and further Solas’s distrust and resentment of the new world. Making the trick or bad endings easier to get.
Imagine the drama!
Secondly, make it so Rook was officially apart of the inquisition after they left their previous faction. An unknown face to us then, to Solas but known to us now. Some dialogue mentioning that they were apart of the scouting/war table teams or fought in the inquisition’s main battles.
Build up the personal relationship with Harding and the inquisitor. Enough to make it believable that they would trust Rook’s judgement, skills and leadership wholeheartedly.
A few missions or even the first act entirely, where we travel with the Inquisitor and Rook in search of Solas would’ve been great. Maybe start in Ferelden (where we could interact with previous protagonists) and move to Tevinter, after learning about the ancient ritual site. Endear us to Rook and make the Inquisitor’s loss all the more emotional.
Give more insight into why exactly our Rook is in the position they are and why companions/npcs should actually trust Rook’s word.
Third I would have had more inquisition agents there. But pull a conclave disaster like the opening of DAI. Inquisition forces vs Solas’s followers.
All are lost due to the failed ritual. Unintentional blood magic happens. Due to fighting near such a thin veil and wild magic, allowing for the gods to escape their prison. It could’ve been Rook’s blood specifically, adding that connect to the god’s directly and Rook’s motivations more personal.
Either way, it leaves only Rook and Harding alive. Harding can explain she is not a leader. Or maybe even explain that she was a leader in charge during the ritual and now her team is dead. Thus she feels inadequate and leadership falls to Rook. Sorta a Alistair and Warden situation.
Further explaining WHY it has to be Rook.
Raises the stakes and could add to Rook’s character. Do they regret what happened? Is it a guilt that eats them or a hate that fuels them?
@@emismpunk I did like the part about Solas being in Rook's head. Kind of put him in the advisory role again, like in Inquisition, but forced him even more to rely on manipulation because that was the only real tool he had available to him, the devious elf!
I do like a lot of your ideas, particularly about having the Inquisitor try to stop Solas instead of Varric. And I agree about not killing the Inquisitor, but if Solas thought they were dead, it could really make him double down on his goals, as you say. And I've seen a lot of people complain about how the Inquisitor was mostly in Veilguard for a couple of coffee dates, so your suggestion could have really given the Inquisitor a real reason to be there. And added an emotional punch, too! Sort of like how Hawke could be left behind in the fade.
They could have had a quest where you tried to get the Inquisitor out of a hidden part of the fade, and you could only get the good ending if you followed all the right clues and succeeded in getting them out. The game could have expanded the regret prison sequence, for example, and had Rook find a way out into the regular fade, then found the Inquisitor there somehow.
But your ideas really go to show that there isn't just one right way to fix Rook. There were options!
And yeah, a lot of people don't seem to like what happened with Southern Thedas. It does make me wonder, though. Not to pull a "Thanos was right" and suggest Solas's plan was okie dokie artichokie, but I do have to wonder if his plan would possibly have been any worse than setting Elgarnan and Ghilan'nain free, especially where so much of Southern Thedas has been casually wiped out. Like, most in Thedas don't have any experience in fighting godlike beings. But mages and templars have at least some capability to deal with demons... If Solas was at full power and helping, if he had spirits to minimize the damage, AND the people of Thedas were united to deal with the issue, I have to wonder if Thedas would have been better off if Solas had succeeded in his ritual.
I could be totally wrong or missing something vital, of course, but if my only two options are "set Elgarnan, Ghilan'nain, a couple archdemons, and the blight free" and "let Solas set loose a bunch of demons," I dunno, but my instincts are telling me the world would have been more prepared to handle demons.
@@raelynteaguewrites That’s what I’m thinking. The game really does try to push you into putting ALL the blame solely on Solas. Of course Rook and co. didn’t know what the consequences would be. But, a sprinkle of demons seems like a cake walk compared to the alternative. South Thedas does seem especially suited for it. It’s practically their hobby!
My main issue with the whole south Theda’s thing (besides player choices) is I’m left scratching my head and wondering why. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of narrative sense to me.
Not saying that they shouldn’t be fighting the blight but in no way should Denerim (seat of the throne/Ferelden capital) be over run or Kirkwall fallen. It’s basically south Theda’s god given duty to send arch demons and darkspawn to the shadow realm.
Like why is Northern thedas, the place where the gods escaped, where their arch demons are and is their main base of operations…seems to be in a near perfect state in comparison?
If the ritual had taken place in say Ferelden and the gods escaped there. I could understand, as it would be ground zero and has had more time to face consequences.
While, Treviso/Minrathus and Lavendal seem to be (visually) what they’re claiming Ferelden and Orlais are currently going through. And I know it’s explained in game that this blight is ‘different’.
Yet it rackles me, that the northern people are still living near the blight and more often than not, treat it like it’s some generic rot/corruption. Instead of a scorched earth, salting the land, one drop and you’ll turn into a ghoul terror.
Honestly, I’m convinced that Veilguard takes place in a timeline where HofF and Hawke are dead or failed their duties.
Best timeline, you could have one or more of the royalty of Ferelden be a warden who has fought in a major blight. You could have a queen consort/prince consort who is the warden commander of Ferelden.
It’s only been 20 years in the timeline from the events of origin to Veilguard. It’s baffling if Alistair and the HofF are still alive, that they wouldn’t take the first sign of blights seriously. Nip it in the bud or have some kind of plan in place to limit losses.
Hawke has themselves fought darkspawn and corypheus. Even if they’re not the viscount anymore, they would be friends with them (who is apparently Aveline now). Who also has experience with such things. Plus you add on the fact that Hawke would be friends with Prince Sebastian, if not married to the guy. Forging an easy alliance between Kirkwall and starkhaven.
Potential you could have two of your protagonists in high positions of influence and authority. Enough that they can make decisions to protect their people without jumping through hoops, raise armies and forge alliances much easier than what the game is instead implying .
Then there is the inquisitor themselves, who holds power and influence in their own right. I’m sure empress of Orlais would be indebted to the inquisitor for stopping a coup and potentially getting her lover spat solved.
Even in origins, while tensions were still high between Orlais and Ferelden. Orlais sent some of their wardens to help with the blight. I just can’t see any sensible reason why the two countries wouldn’t band together if the blight was as bad as the inquisitor’s letters imply.
I get that they can’t accommodate every player choice. But this was not the way to do it.
Either don’t say anything at all. Keep the north’s problems to the north. Maybe making Rook’s goal focused on stopping the gods before their influence can spread.
Or at the very least, a simple ‘we’re holding our own’ would suffice. Instead of going into great detail about how our previous protagonists homes are destroyed and basically saying our sacrifices amount to nothing.
Dozens of ways they could’ve gone about it.
Just feels either lazy or malicious from a narrative standpoint.
what faction and playstyle of rook do you think is the closest to your version of what rook should be?
I like the idea of it being a nobody with guts. I would've also liked the idea of a Rook who had something and was taken by Solas and that drives it either to seek justice or vengeance or even something in between like Origins did. That wouldn't mean that Rook would be someone with power from the start but someone who has something but either doesn't care or is careless like the Cousland Origin
I live the videos that compare this games writing to balders gate 3 it lets you see exactly how important good writing is to any story
Wish Rook came at least if a recommendation from the factions. There was so little background. Such a distance from Rook to the world, to their fight. Even to Varric.
Wish we interacted with him longer. They were an year together and there's basically nothing to tell. Harding isn't even our friend.
Wish it had a pre time. Other pieces of chess that was defeated. Made it personal.
Varric of all people knew they couldn't fight a threat like Solas with 3 people.
Frankley, instead of the factions that rook currently are connected to, I would have liked to have a backstory of Venatori. Even if you are a elf or qunari. Say you are in a family that was raise on its ideals. (You being adopted or over wise, especially as a mage.) Say you have been doing missions for the Venatori for six months, and then one fateful mission goes terrible. You are told to do something unforgivable, or it turns out your boss sold you out to save her skin, you and your group were unknowingly sent on a suicide mission, and you are the last one alive. Or even the idea that the Venatori thought you were too weak of faith or body and so decide to us you as a blood sacrifice in some ritual. And then out of know where Varric comes in and saves you. And so, you decide since you have nothing to lose and nowhere to go, you join Varric's group and become his apprentice or something.
While I was playing this game one night my 6 year old saw it and asked "Paw Patrol?" I was dying laughing.......and then I started to cry. Yes my son, this is paw patrol.
What you described is the Rook and beginning I wish we had.
I played Veilguard first and I'm now playing through Inquisition, so I'm a new fan of DA. I like Veilguard for my own reasons, but I wanted to say THANKS for pointing out that Harding as a protagonist makes sense. I couldn't put my finger on it during gameplay but I felt like she was missing something from her characterization. I realized what was missing is the game acknowledging and respecting her enough to involve her in more plotlines.
Varric's fate was also shocking to me because they did not hint at it at all until then, so it felt cheap. Well-written dialogue with double meanings that could be misinterpreted peppered here and there would have made it more meaningful. I talked to all the companions constantly and NOTHING hinted in that direction, which is crazy.
I know the game has been compared with BG3 to death already, but I can't help but notice this massive difference - bg3 never hides the "plot twist" from you, it's in plain sight quite often, but it does a good job at storytelling to obfuscate it from first-time players.
I'm sad that DA: The Veilguard didn't realize all of its potential. I love the scenery, armors, world design, character design, music and emotions portrayed, but it would have been 10 times better with just 20% more effort put into writing & dialogue.
@@dopaminedrought395 I understand why they can't use Harding as the player character, but man, in another universe I would have loved to watch her at the centre of this game, growing from someone who's that "people pleaser" into the woman who takes charge. The tension between her and Solas would have been delicious.
Prior to this game release I read so much about how the devs wanted DA: The Veilguard protagonist to be someone who rises to the occasion on his own merits and don't feel like a chosen one. There was even some slanders to the Inquisitor, I remember commenting this and people say they're mostly right.
And by the end of things I think they make Rook TOO normal to a point he's literally the less impressive thing about the whole veilguard thing. He's a bland protagonist with nothing to add to the history and he's only there because...I don't know, Ghost Varric keeping telling him inspirational quotes about being a leader or something? One thing is making your main protagonist someone relatable and who don't follow the "chosen one" trope, the other is making him so bland his presence is not justifiable as someone who matters in the plot.
This game writing so infuriating to me...
One thing, FOUND MY PEOPLE! If I hadn’t romanced Solas, life would’ve been easier 😂❤
Second, thank you for diving into this. I was saying to my husband about this the other day - “If Inquisition was a masterful fantasy novel, Veilgaurd feels more like Young Adult.’ Or Disney-fied. Couldn’t put my finger on it, but I’m with you. It’s not like the game I fell in love with 10 years ago.
@@damedeviant1388 I've sort of described it the same way. I read YA sometimes, and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not what I'm looking for when I pick up an adult dark fantasy series. I had to accept I was "reading YA" to enjoy Veilguard on its level.
@ Exactly, and I still enjoy Veilguard for what it is. Even if there’s a bit of depth, grittiness, cinematography and impactful choices missing 😅
I havnt played veilguard and i cant find a clear answer online so can someone tell me does the game mention Morrigans child? That seeks like it should be a major plot point if the other gods are running around
@@jollyredgiant203 As far as I know, Morrigan's child is never mentioned. It isn't one of the choices the game allows you to carry over, and I've seen people who romanced Morrigan complain that it wasn't brought up.
It's never mentioned
I feel like the real reason Rook is a nobody that the writers was because this was meant to be a spin off phone game or something so the main character you create is a nobody that can be easily written around in a major game (Dreadwolf) to just have a brief mention like “one of our agents handled that, unfortunately we don’t have any information on who they were, it was decided like that so none of Solas’ spies or the Qun could ever find out who they are.”. So by the time Dreadwolf was scrapped they couldn’t come up with a very good backstory to tie things together and had merged parts of Dreadwolf into Veilguard which they had to rewrite to make a main title
I thought it would’ve been interesting if you chose Veil Jumper, and the backstory is that you’re a Dalish or city elf that decided to follow Solas but after some time left, and that’s why Varric needs them. They know enough about Solas but Solas doesn’t know about them.
Weird, my game of Veilguard said my Rook was hired because they put down an undead rebellion. I also thought my Rook was dorced into the position after thr team leader, Varic, was forced was pushed out of commission and neither Harding or Neve didn't want to take up leader position. Harding is also a lot like Alistair from Origins, who followed the Gray Warden rather than taking charge. Also, my Rook ended up with a comnection to Solas, like the Inquisitor got their power.
The First Warden even brought up my Rook's history of the undead rebellion.
Absolutely love content like this. Subscribing now.
These points were spot on.
@@robertthornton7900 Thank you! ♥️
They could have had some thing where because rooks connection with solas they are one of the only ones able to activate the eluvians and teleport to the lighthouse. That could have been a plot point that is considering and the team is a lot of confidants that make decisions with you instead of you being the main one.
I would also have liked to see some aspect of being able to use the eluvians to thwart the antagonist of the game just by means of instantanious travel and safekeeping. Like when minrathos or traviso get attacked have either the crows or shadow dragons post up in the fade as support and become somewhat of a spy force now that their main city is destroyed or taken over
@@joefloyd5766 Rook's connection to Solas giving them some sort of power only he had, like with the eluvians or the lighthouse, could have been cool.
I think Rook having Solas in their head was what Bioware was /trying/ to make the reason Rook had to be in charge anyway. I could almost get behind it except Rook was already basically in charge before that happened, and because blood magic is supposed to be very distrusted in most parts of the world. The companions know Rook has had blood magic done to them, they know Rook is being influenced by the tricksy guy they're trying to stop (and who they know killed Varric), and they acknowledge the possibility Solas may be able to mess with Rook more than they realize. They may recognize they need Solas's help, but it makes them seem very foolish to put the compromised member of their team in the leadership role and just...roll with that. Especially since Rook does end up getting used by Solas. There either should have been a lot more tension with team members constantly questioning Rook's decisions ("Is that your decision, or is that what HE wants?" kind of thing) or else Rook should have been used as an advisor and not the leader.
But if there was some kind of added layer to the connection with Solas, as you say, it makes the decision to have Rook lead make more sense.
Rook is a self insert for the fanfic writer they have as a storyboarder
I think the idea about rook being special is shown through her rebellious nature that is exhibited in each of the faction background stories we see such as a determination to disobey direct orders of the higher ups in chain of command when the order with cause lives to be killed or worse as we see if our Rook is a grey warden or the determination to be rebellious and free slaves from an invading force without remorse for the number of invaders you kill if your rook is an antivan crow and so on
I played veilguard once and my faction was shadow dragons and my character was hidden away by my faction because she disregarded a plan of a sh adow dragon higher up by leading a dignitary who wanted to free slaves from deep in venitori controlled area and so you snuck the dognatary both in and out on your own against orders and got the slaves out too which caused the venitori to try desperately to attack the shadow dragons to get revenge which is why your character was hidden away till tempers calmed down
Rook is the worst protagonist of the DA series IMO for this reason. They are an empty character. In previous games, you wanted to be the Warden, the Hawke, the Inquisitor, cause they were heroes and they had understandable and compelling stories behind them. Playing as them, you've always understood why your are here, why your companions are here, what are you doing, and why only you can do it. Also, all of them had personalities and personal connections to most of companions.
Rook is literally nothing. When I played, I was constantly asking myself "Why the f* am i
I here? What I'm bringing to the table, that others can't do? Why should I care?". It's a very alienating feeling, almost like your character interrupting the plot, not driving it. Also, I find the personality of Rook nonexistent at best, and awfully cringy at worst, no matter what you are choosing. "Peaceful" Rook is just a yes-man to everyone around them, "Sarcastic" Rook is just constantly telling terrible, if not offensive jokes, often not at the right place. "Evil" Rook is not evil, not skeptical, they are just dull. And I noticed that there's often no difference between these three dialog options. No matter what you're choosing, Rook will always be boring, blunt or downright irritating.
The last Grey Warden with a spine in the middle of a blight, We also have the only one that can seal the rifts.
And no one listen to Hawk until he was the last land lord standing (honestly i still don't see what made Hawk that important then be far away from him/her)
Rook unlike Hawk doesn't even have the everyman charm
I don't agree with some of the points raised here. I think you can make an argument for any of these protagonist traits.
a) Rook has been tracking Solas for a year and once Varric gets taken out, why wouldn't they continue the mission? Perhaps they don't demonstrate a lot of guilt or remorse, but that's not the only way to have a stake.
b) After the ritual, Rook has a direct connection with Solas, which no one else has. Solas is the best source of information on the Evanuris, so that's an important asset.
c) Well, simply, who else is stepping up? The Inquisitor is tied up in the South and no one else seems willing or qualified to lead the charge.
I guess part of what makes Rook special is that Solas is in their head. When the ritual went wrong and Solas got trapped, I guess it makes some sense that he connects with Rook - considering that (at the time) Harding had no connection to the fade, and Neve is potentially injured (and also a Tevinter mage). It would make more sense too if Rook is an elf, Solas' elitism strikes again.
The others in your team know about and talk about your mind connection to Solas, though it could easily be a companion relaying messages from Solas to you, having that on the protagonist means we as players get to see and talk to him directly.
@@FalconCritical I already answered this in another comment, so I'll just copy/paste what I posted there. Sorry if it's a little long!
I do think that's what the game was trying to use as justification for Rook, and I could almost get on board with it. It could potentially justify them being the protagonist, but not without restructuring the narrative, because it does NOT justify Rook being the leader. In fact, it's a point against Rook being the leader.
First, Rook is treated as a leader even before getting this connection. But more importantly, using Rook's blood magic connection to Solas to justify them being the leader of the team requires the player to ignore three games' worth of world building regarding blood magic.
Blood magic is not trusted in Thedas. In most of Thedas, it is very feared. Rook's blood magic connection to Solas is the very reason no one would want them as leader. Rook is, to put it mildly, compromised. Everyone knows it. Rook even admits it near the beginning of the game. Especially since Rook doesn't have a blood magic connection with just any mage, but specifically with the guy they're trying to stop, who happens to be one of the most powerful mages in the world. For them to all know Rook could be being manipulated by Solas, to follow Rook's orders anyway with little question, only to find that, surprise! Solas was manipulating Rook after all, makes them seem very, very foolish.
I could see the team using Rook as an advisor, but realistically, they'd be likely to keep Rook out of any group planning sessions and only share with Rook the bare minimum they needed to have Rook get the information from Solas they wanted.
I'm going by memory here, but I believe in the Trespasser DLC there's a note or some other mention of the Inquisitor, especially if they romanced Solas, losing the trust of the people simply because of the Inquisitor's friendship or romance with Solas. If the Inquisitor had had a blood magic connection with Solas and people had known about it, the Inquisitor would have become public enemy #1.
If they'd wanted Rook as leader to make sense, there needed to be way more distrust from companion characters until Rook had earned their trust, say, through completing companion quests. Rook shouldn't have become leader until a critical point later in the game where Rook had earned the companions' trust despite the blood magic, and where they'd decided following Rook's judgement outweighed the risks that blood magic and Solas's manipulations posed.
Or conversely, if Rook's blood magic connection to Solas has also given them another special ability that was critical to defeating the gods, it is possible the companions might have decided the benefits outweighed the risks.
Or, Rook could have kept the connection secret from the team, knowing the others wouldn't trust it. There would still have to be another reason Rook was put in charge, but this could have been a fascinating way to handle it, with a lot of added tension. The companions would be very upset when Rook's connection was revealed, and that could have provided more of that tension, and overcoming it would have felt satisfying.
There are lots of different ways they could have gone about it and made the blood magic connection work really well, but just ignoring several games' worth of world building and lore surrounding blood magic without a valid, solid in-game explanation raises a lot of eyebrows.
@@raelynteaguewrites I must have missed the other comment, sorry! All great points, and it makes me think how interesting it might have been to have Solas inside a companion's head - so that all the information from Solas could be Solas lying, the companion lying, or the companion misinterpreting Solas' advice.
That of course brings us back to Rook having no particular reason to be in charge ;D
@FalconCritical There are so many fun things that could be done with it! I really liked the idea of Rook having Solas in their head. Good fun for me, if not for Rook. 😂
You didn't mention also that scene where Rook first meets Strife and he scolds Rook for botching the Solas job:
Strife: "You all were supposed to STOP him."
Rook options: "We tried", "We did, sort of", "Don't blame us"... (Not a single "I'm sorry" or "I know... but we're going to put this right!")
Rook: "We did, sort of": "We did stop him. The sky's not pulling itself apart anymore, is it?" (Zero guilt.)
Strife: "But?"
Rook: "But it didn't go as cleanly as we hoped..." (Excuses instead of guilt.)
Veil Jumpy-Jumprope Rook:
Strife: "I thought you were SUPPOSED to stop him. Or did unforeseen complications lead to unforeseen consequences... again?"
Rook: "Will you let it go? Yes, the map was destroyed, but everyone walked out of there alive."
In both cases Rook is immediately OK w the consequences, and despite that the gods were only just unleashed in the sequence prior, a VJ Rook is already insisting on "letting it go" and making excuses. It's one of many reasons Rook is an unlikable protagonist who, despite gobs of hours w "their" Rook, the player would otherwise say, "Hey, we're not friends, ok? I'm just here for the ride..."
Note as well that in every one of the fake "origins" that get grafted onto Rook's story there's a similar narrative of having disobeyed orders, screwed things up, but nevertheless things had a silver lining of sorts, so Rook is peachy keen w nothing on their conscience. So there's not even a sort of proxy guilt that Rook can feel from the origin that the player never plays- no leaving behind Rica and Leske, no leaving behind their Cousland parents, no leaving behind their Dalish clan or Alienage friends... just, "Meh, that's life. So what's next?" The origin could've been the other way that a Rook could feel responsible for fixing the world they've oopsed in... but instead they just sorta do so just "cuz brash hero".
I agree w the "high and mighty overlooking the society of servants" and "unknown/unpredictable variable" themes though- would've been a great avenue to explore... if these writers were capable or inclined... I mean, the end sequence about "Execs" having orchestrated the events of the previous games are overreachingly portrayed as if having anticipated some Alienage girl or Dust Town Duster becoming a Gray Warden and defeating the Archdemon or becoming the Inquisitor and defeating Corfishystix which is just... stupid...
@@bhryaen3743 Someone else mentioned there was another dialogue option with Morrigan I somehow missed in my 70 hours of gameplay. You can admit blame, and Morrigan doesn't necessarily disagree but, from how it was described, still somewhat downplays it by suggesting there are more important things to focus on. I don't know what was said word for word, as I somehow didn't notice that option and picked another one.
The biggest thing for me is the absence of the gods from the regret prison when Rook is there. There's mention of stopping them, of course, but especially if the player has been picking guilt options in dialogue, they should have had releasing the gods be one of the regrets Rook had to face down and overcome in the regret prison. Could have been cool.
Someone explain to me how the Inquisitor's freaking arm grew back?!? It's very clear in the end of Trespasser that everything at/under the elbow was disintegrated off by Solas.
I believe it's a prosthetic - if you look closely it looks like its made of metal.
@sierradotcom
Thank you
A very rich set of augments, thanks for your video. I'm yet to decide if I will buy it or not, so I'm watching a lot of comments from people who did and I'm quite disheartened.
Thanks for your insights.
They could have easily put in the backstories as quick origins as a callback to the first game, but no. They want the player to always feel good so Rook must be the big hero who knows best and never be allowed to blame themselves for anything. As if these games didn't fluff the player characters enough already.