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Census Survey Results, Pt. 11 - Opinions, Inquisition

With all the main responses posted, these last few posts are on the optional page at the survey where you were invited to give your opinion on each game and its companions, as well as giving you some text boxes to provide your views!

These ones are going to be long, so there's your advance warning. Believe me, this is me having cut it down as much as I could.

Most of these questions got hundreds of text responses (again, thank you so much - these were fascinating to read through, even if it took a long time!), so I've gone through and selected some that I think:

cover a range of opinions

make good or interesting points I don't commonly see

or sometimes they were just entertaining!

Please note that opinions being showcased here do not mean I personally agree with them - I did my best to give attention to a spread of perspectives, though obviously keep in mind I can only work with what I have; if a character got overwhelmingly positive or negative text responses, the discrepancy will probably show. There will likely be opinions here that you passionately agree with and passionately disagree with, so keep in mind that these are just video games and pixel people, while the survey respondents aren't. Responding to/commenting on results and points made is fine, but be civil.

Age range and gender signifier is included at the end of each response just for the sake of differentiating and giving people an easier way to spot their own responses if they were included. :) Onto the third game and its companions -

I love it (41.1%), I like it (29.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (21.3%), I dislike it (4.7%), I hate it (1.3%), I haven't played it (1.3%), I'm indifferent (0.5%)

Baseline: A remarkable number of people have spent hundreds or thousands of hours playing a game they can also criticise for hours

Recurring points of praise:

The companions and romances (especially Solas, Dorian, Blackwall, Sera, Vivienne, Josephine, Iron Bull, and Cole)

The environments

Music and major cinematic sequences

Individual main quests are substantially stronger than the surrounding material

Building the Inquisition and Skyhold (recruiting agents; passing judgments; deploying advisors; watching Skyhold change; decorating the fortress; developing an organisation with international influence; being treated as a political/military leader; seeing the Inquisition grow from a desperate group into a major power)

Continuity and accumulated history (returning characters; imported world states; codex references; dialogue acknowledging previous choices; Hawke's appearance; the Grey Warden contact potentially being Alistair or Loghain; Leliana, Morrigan, Varric, and Cullen continuing their stories; small details changing based on earlier decisions)

Lavellan, Ameridan, and the horror of religious appropriation

Solas and Solavellan

The game being formative for players

Recurring criticisms

Open-world bloat (maps that are much larger than their meaningful content; fetch quests; requisitions; repeatedly establishing camps; closing numerous rifts; material harvesting; shard collecting; astrariums; long journeys without narrative events; platforming with controls unsuited to platforming; environments that feel beautiful but lifeless; becoming overlevelled by attempting to complete available content; replays being too daunting to finish)

The design being punishing for completionists

The Power system

The war table (real-world timers in a single-player game; missions taking hours or days; important political and character material being reduced to text; interesting operations receiving less attention than minor open-world errands; results sometimes being unclear or unexpectedly punitive; the player having little emotional connection to events described only in reports)

Roleplaying being more restricted than in earlier games (dialogue choices offering polite, humorous, or blunt versions of a fundamentally decent hero; little ability to play someone cruel, selfish, radical, or openly hostile to the Inquisition; the protagonist's background having little effect; race and class producing flavour dialogue rather than meaningful differences; no playable prologue establishing the Inquisitor's former life; the player having to create most of the protagonist internally; the Inquisitor lacking Hawke's defined personality and the Warden's breadth of dialogue; limited ability to oppose the institution one is forced to lead)

Poor integration of non-human Inquisitors (a Dalish Inquisitor apparently not understanding basic Dalish beliefs; racial prejudice affecting only small approval or court-influence values; Adaar and Cadash receiving little connection to the central story)

Mage-Templar false equivalence and political centrism (treats the mage rebellion and templars as morally equivalent; quickly sidelines the conflict established by DA2; reduces institutional oppression to a choice between two recruitable factions; avoids examining the Chantry's role; turns systemic problems into the actions of individual extremists; pushes the player toward restoring a modified version of the old order)

Cullen's past being whitewashed

Treatment of elves and Dalsih lore (the claim that Dalish clans expel excess mages; Dalish culture being treated with scorn; Lavellan being denied basic cultural knowledge; elven religious traditions repeatedly being exposed as false or corrupt; the Evanuris reveal; ancient elves becoming responsible for an increasing proportion of the setting's history; Morrigan being positioned as an authority over an elven protagonist; earlier lore and tie-in material being contradicted; elven resistance being judged more harshly than Chantry expansion)

The shift to heroic high fantasy

Corypheus beginning strongly and then collapsing as a villain

Limited companion intimacy

Trespasser containing the real ending

Character design (shiny or sweaty skin; green character-creator lighting; limited hairstyles; thin or poorly proportioned body models; strange fabric patterns; inaccurate returning characters; reused clothing; awkward facial animations; characters looking unlike descriptions in books)

Recurring division points:

Its enormous open world is both relaxing and oppressively bloated

The Inquisition's scale creates an appealing leadership fantasy while weakening the protagonist's personal identity

Its companions inspire repeated returns even when respondents dislike the central writing

Text response selection:

“I think it blows and I have six hundred hours in it.” - 23-27

“it would be so good if it was good” - 23-27F

“The Dragon Age games are heavily framed around choices, choices made with an awareness that "history has its eyes on you". Inquisition is where it pays off, in small and big ways. The hours you spent running around bear fruit here. Admittedly, it is real long and sometimes tedious but there is a richness and complexity to this game that I really really love” - 28-35F

“This was the first game I played in the series, and obviously it hooked me - but as I learned more about the world and played other games in it the cracks started to show. It has multiple character origins, but none of the care that Origins took to make each one feel unique. It has a huge map with an abundance of different locations across Thedas, but most of each area is empty of anything real to do. It offers choices, but so few actually impact the course of the plot or character development. I still really enjoy playing it, but I've written the most fic about DAI because the game itself often doesn't let me roleplay the way I want to.” - 28-35NB

“INQUISITION MY BELOVED FAVORITE DRAGON AGE GAME EVER. It is not technically the best Dragon Age game, and it does have its issues (many of them), but NOTHING tops the creeping horror of playing a Dalish elf forced to take on this role as a prophet come again, a religious figure, a herald of a god you don't even believe in. And then to find out that you aren't the first? That Ameridan was Dalish, just like you, and was erased, just like the Inquisition as a whole is going to do to you? Incredible. The fact that it doesn't MATTER how much you protest, because you cannot escape being the Herald or being the Inquisitor. Other origins exist too ig but nothing hits nearly as hard as Lavellan sorry. Also, Solas is there, and he is the greatest character in dragon age. I am obsessed with him and obsessed with his dynamic with a romanced Lavellan. I will never get tired of playing it.” - 23-27NB

“For a game ostensibly about politics, it sure does hate getting political. At this point, I like to lean into the existential horror of the inquisitor losing their personhood to uphold a status quo they abhor, but it's very obvious that wasn't the intent.” - 36-45F

“why is each area so biiiggggg. why is cullen here. why are yall making hawke be mean about anders thats my husband :-(“ - 28-35NB

“My biggest issue with Inquisition was the jarring shift from dark to high fantasy. The moral grayness established in the first two games was abandoned in favor of grand swelling music to reinforce that you are the true and good hero of this world.” - 28-35F

“I loved the DA series before, but Inquisition really captured my imagination. There was so much lore to dive deeper into, and look back at the earlier games. I loved the open world spaces with tiny fun things that were just interesting to look at. I even loved the Hissing Wastes. The story did a great job of tantalizing mystery that kept me wanting to know more, even 10 years later. Also, wow, I am still not over the Solas romance a decade later. There is something epic and tragic about Solavellan that captured my imagination and has held me there ever since. Also, music! The soundtrack remains my favorite, and I often play it while I work or write. The addition of tavern songs was amazing too, especially as you progressed in the game. The whole sequence from the first meeting with Corypheus, the destruction of Haven, shivering in the snow to wolves calling, The Dawn Will Come, and then the epic discovery of Skyhold remains one of my favorite, most emotionally impactful game sequences ever. Music was just used so well in this game. It was such a treat.” - 36-45F

“This game was a lot more telling based than showing based and it suffered for it. I wish the interesting plot and lore enhancing war table quests were in the actual game not the war table. At the same time I love the concept of the war table but wish that had been more of the optional fetch quests and things. The ghost or the horror origins of Dragon age is in the background of this game but wildly underutilized. Also the entire game would have been better if the Inquisitor had a faction based prologue like the Warden did.” - 36-45F

“i never dread anything more than replaying dragon age inquisition. the gameplay is deliberately slowed down to a slog, the open world is forced on you and for someone who feels like they Need to be a completionist about things like quests or collectibles it drives me nuts. there is barely any companion content aside from hours of banter that you barely hear because of a bug that was never fixed, the combat on the easiest difficulty makes you feel like youre barely doing any damage and all tougher enemies are damage sponges slowing everything down even more. playing this game is thoroughly, thoroughly unpleasant and the plot barely makes up for all the shit you have to do to feel justified in getting back to it. genuinely exhausting.” - 18-22NB

“I enjoyed this game enough to play it far too many times, but it's bloated and suffers for it. It's trying to do too much. There are so many fascinating bits of lore that get relegated to war table missions, and meanwhile I'm fetching druffalo. I think it did a good job of making Thedas feel big, and I'm insane about so many of the characters. It shone whenever it narrowed in scope. But it didn't really make the stakes feel high enough, and being thorough in exploring meant that I was vastly overleveled by the end. The endgame itself was deeply anticlimactic. I really enjoyed the DLC though.” - 28-35M

“The Dragon Age game I've spent most time in, because I love wandering round all the huge pretty areas doing a million side quests :D I also enjoy the sense of the Inquisition building up as an organisation, and the way Skyhold changes as you progress the game. And the companions are really fun too.” - 28-35F

“Combat was still pretty fun, but this game glossed over most of the interesting lore and companion development I would have liked to have seen developed more extensively. I really wish that the mage/templar conflict hadn't been treated as background set dressing that they didn't want to get too deep into, and was instead the central focus of the game, as it had seemed like it ought to be in the lead-up to its release. The companion characters felt strangely shallow, like you couldn't get to know most of them as intimately as in previous installments.” - 36-45NB

“There are many characters that I love in it, just not the one's I'm supposed to as I couldn't care less about Cassandra and Varric but I will protect Sera and Vivienne with my life. I think the plot is incredibly mid and this game has the most egregious Bioware Gray Morality writing in the series. Corypheus could be an interesting villain but they do absolutely nothing with him. The Gray Wardens have to be turned into absolute idiots for the Here Lies the Abyss questline to work and they basically have to turn Hawke into their own character for them to even show up. I have to basically cut that quest out of my canon for me to be even able to play the game, which is quite easy as that's not the Champion of Kirkwall I created a game prior.” - 28-35NB

“my favorite installment by far, but mostly because of blackwall. it's also just very easy for me to sort of... turn on and then mindlessly grind sidequests, which i do enjoy. i'm not gonna get into my larger feelings on the writing of the game because we don't have time for that, except to say that i think blackwall's writing is far and away the best writing in the whole game & i wish so badly that every other companion got the same care and attention and honesty that blackwall had. also the banters in dai were unfortunately superior to pretty much every other game. i say unfortunately because the quality is soooo hit and miss imo? but blackwall's banters make everyone better and more interesting, thank the lord for blackwall” - 23-27M

“All things considered, a masterpiece. The plot is overall compelling even though Corypheus was wasted potential. ALL of the environments still look top tier almost 12 years after release. The music and sound are mostly excellent (although spoken voices are curiously muffled on all sound mix options due to pinched EQ design, a frustrating aspect considering the captions are microscopic and therefore not the most helpful). Combat mechanics are easier to learn and game difficulty is more suitable to my play ability. Dragon fights can be horrendous but yield meaningful crafting materials and most dragons are mercifully easy to avoid on the maps if you want to skip that part of the game. And talking of maps, they were hugely improved here. I rely on the optional green beacon a lot simply to keep focused on a task since the zones are so pretty and it's easy to get distracted. Companion banter is great. Companion convos are good but a little limited. Sera is difficult to like, both because of the gravelly VA that physically gives me a headache and the various dialog options that make it hard to be nice to her. The romances are generally good but a little stressful to acquire since they build so gradually and it's generally not feasible to switch to another romance late in the game. The "sit in judgment" stuff is a nice little reward or follow-up. The DLCs were punishing but superlative. However, in light of Veilguard, I still wonder if it would have been better for the devs to just finish the series on Trespasser and let everyone come to their own conclusions beyond that. I give the game (with DLCs) 9/10.” - 36-45F

“I have played Inquisition for more cumulative hours than Liz Truss was Prime Minister. I have 100%-ed the game more than once.” - 28-35M

“I hate how it handles unpopular decisions. Just imagine, no matter if you'd rivaled or friended Varric, your dialogues won't change! And same with many things: where popular options get scenes or dialogue, unpopular usually get short notes. I don't care about development process and how hard it was for bioware to make this game, I care that I was left on a side” - 23-27F

“Inquisition is a very strange creature where I could rant for virtually hours about all of the facets of this game I genuinely dislike with a passion, and yet when it comes to it, I still enjoyed it. There's so much to be annoyed by: 1) Typical empty open-world RPG that gives me awful Ubisoft vibes and where "our map is so big and expansive!" really just means you'll be walking for 20 minutes through hills. 2) Filler quests upon filler quests. I do not want objectives like "Collect 20 deer hides" in my Dragon Age games, particularly not as almost every single side quest. 3) Say what you will about DA2, but it had genuinely original, creative ideas, and Inquisition throws them all out of the window. No more inventive, subversive plot; we're back to the generic Chosen One fantasy storyline. No more complex and nuanced politics and grey morality; we're back to clear-cut good guys and bad guys. 4) The companions are good, some of them I even got genuinely attached to, but unlike DA2 I can never quite forget they're just characters on rails. DA2's companions felt like complicated people, people with emotions and conflict, a real core friend group that sticks around through the plot because they care about each other and that's what you do for your friends. Inquisition's companions, by comparison, feel like co-workers who are just there to pull the plot along. The fact that you can just skip recruiting multiple companions, or tell them to leave at any time, and have the story not feel different at all is very telling. 5) I don't care about Solas, and the game hinges on you caring about Solas. In fact, it hinges on you caring about Solas so much that the entire sequel is also hinged on you caring about Solas. This is not a good sign for me continuing to enjoy the series. 6) They sold you the real ending of the game as paid DLC. Come on. 7) Your race/background/class changes absolutely nothing about the game except for what essentially boils down to flavour text. I can think of a very scant handful of dialogue options you get, mostly in one conversation where Josephine asks you about your history and where what you tell her affects absolutely nothing ever again, and there's the one Winter Ball quest where being a Qunari, elf, or mage docks you a very small number of points at the beginning (which you can effortlessly make up for regardless). Comparing this to Origins, which was constantly reacting to and acknowledging your character, is disappointing. 8) It's nigh impossible to roleplay in this game. You could be an evil bastard in Origins and DA2. In Inquisition, your dialogue options boil down to "Good Guy", "Good Guy who jokes around", and "Good Guy who's blunt". You have absolutely no room to play around with any other motivations or personalities. 9) There's so much grinding. So much. Plenty of people have compared this to MMO gameplay, and I concur; you have to put off the story quests all the time to run around doing your "Collect 20 deer hides", "Close 50 rifts", "Kill 10 darkspawn" type beats to gather enough Power points to progress with the next actually interesting thing. If it wasn't for the fact that I can mod that out on replays, I likely wouldn't have been able to force myself to get through the game more than once. 10) The war table. Not the quests themselves, mind; a lot of the quests on there should have been full-fledged cutscenes with dialogue vs. text on a screen, and were clearly just relegated there due to a lack of effort, but they weren't unenjoyable to do. However, why are there arbitrary time limits in my single-player RPG? Why do I have to wait 12 real-life hours to progress with this war table mission in my single-player RPG?

11) I could never put my finger on my issue with the English VA's voice for the female Inquisitor, but someone else compared her to a text-to-speech program in their review, and that's exactly it. She sounds flat and artificial. 12) The animations are... questionable. The Inquisitor's "sad" and "scared" expressions just look like they're sucking on a lemon. 13) Combat feels clunky and clumsy. It's not as tactical as Origins, not as fast-paced and sharp as DA2, just... you firing arrow after arrow at someone, or very slowly swinging around a giant sword until something dies. 14) Mounts are useless. They clearly know their open world is a pain to trudge through, hence their inclusion, and yet all they accomplish is ensuring you never hear party banter (because for some reason your party just vanishes if you're using a mount and doesn't speak at all), and they don't even function properly. A dev straight-up confirmed on Twitter that galloping on a mount doesn't even make it go faster, they just added speed lines and a blur effect to the screen to make it seem like it did. 15) Speaking of party banter, bugs, such as banter simply not triggering, have still never been fixed ten years after release. I find it interesting that Inquisition was generally beloved upon release vs. Mass Effect: Andromeda being widely panned, because honestly I'd put them near enough in the same category when it comes to how they feel to play and the general quality. 16) Removing healing was an absolutely absurd and nonsensical decision. AND YET. After all that, I still like Inquisition. A disappointing Dragon Age game is still a good game. I've replayed it several times and enjoyed it, the soundtrack is beautiful, it has some of my favourite characters in fiction (Cole, Dorian, Josephine, and though I'm not quite as invested in him I found Blackwall's story arc genuinely fascinating and refreshing), and I cared about where everyone ended up and what ending I got. Like I said, a strange creature.” - 23-27M

“Dorian and The Iron Bull honestly redeem this game. Not even as a pairing per se they're just my favorite characters. I always struggle with Inquisition because like. Ok so I hate open world games and already struggle with them a lot. But then Inquisition is also where the writing starts abandoning well-established lore and completely switches up the vibe of the gameplay. And tries to make it more suitable for a general audience or whatever. A lot of player agency is taken away and it also feels like you lose sooo much character in the Inquisitor compared to Hawke or even the Warden. I still have gotten through Inquisition multiple times so obviously it's not that bad. I've also had to defend the game from a friend who hated it just to hate it and therefore started being unreasonable and I'm just like. Don't make me defend DAI. Please. She's okay is what I'm saying.” - 23-27F

“I was SO excited for inquisition to come out. The world was so incredibly reactive to choices from the first two games and the characters and story were all compelling to me and added to the world in a grand way. Trespasser should have been free DLC- I don't think it should have been included in the game because the break between the ending and Trespasser was some of the most amazing, theory driven, active and creating that I've ever seen the DA fandom be. It was amazing to finish the game and go online to buzz around with everyone, then naturally feel like the time skip for Trespasser had happened. For me, it really paid off. It's a shame it couldn't come out on the 360 but that entire game was held back by needing to be on both old gen and next gen” - 23-27F

Blackwall

I like him (39.6%), I love him (33.2%), I'm indifferent (12.9%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (8.9%), I dislike him (4.3%), I hate him (1.2%)

Baseline: Respondents value him as a genuine redemption story, though some can't forgive either his crimes or the intimacy he builds through deception

Recurring points of praise:

His sustained effort to atone makes his redemption compelling

His false identity creates an effective and rewarding twist

His romance is dramatic, painful, and unusually tied to his central conflict

His awkward lies and understated humour make him funnier than expected

His rugged appearance has substantial appeal

His status as a morally compromised man makes him more interesting than a conventional hero

Recurring criticisms:

His role in murdering a family, including children, remains unforgiveable to some respondents

His deception creates a profound personal betrayal

He can seem bland before or even after the revelation

His romance contains uncomfortable or underdeveloped elements (being locked into the romance unusually early; his sexual relationship with the Inquisitor occurring under false pretenses; the Inquisitor being left along in the barn afterward; the disturbing story involving the dog; romantic content feeling comparatively light outside the revelation; his idealisation of the Inquisitor preventing genuine intimacy; his willingness to assume she could only love the fabricated Warden identity)

His heterosexual romance restriction frustrates respondents

Text response selections:

“I romanced him not because he was my favorite, but because he fit best with the character I was playing. No regrets. After how much of a disaster my romance with Alistair and Anders were in the previous two games it was hilarious to me that I ended up romancing the guy that was lying to me all the time 10/10 would have terrible taste in men again” - 36-45F

“VERY flawed, acknowledges that, and lives to deal with his past. 5/5” - 36-45NB

“Very interesting foreshadowing for Solas, in a way. If we're okay with Blackwall's betrayal, how can we condemn Solas? If we condemn Blackwall, how can we be okay with Solas? Also, he's just a big lumberjack guy with a beard - that immediately spoke to me when I first played xD” - 36-45F

“One of my favorite romances too. The way he comes up to your throne in shackles to kiss you? SHUT UP.” - 28-35NB

“The Blackwall romance with an unbelieving Cadash Inquisitor is effervescent. He idolises her and thinks the Maker's Light shines out of her arsehole, thus making him unworthy to bask in her presence because he knows he's a fraud. She is openly involved in the dwarf mafia, and has never claimed to be the Herald of anything but had that shit thrust on her regardless. When he faces up to his past sins and accepts the consequences of his actions, the Inquisitor Cadash uses her corruption to save him and he is disgusted that she would reduce herself to being the person she has always been. When the Inquisitor Cadash offers him radical forgiveness, and he is forced to reckon with the fact that it was always Thom she was attracted to, not the person he was pretending to be, and that by placing her on a pedestal (the Inquisitor Cadash must stand on a fucking box to kiss him) that he was turning her into someone just as false as the Warden Blackwall, and that this was hurting both of them. Literally my Thedas Gonchorov, why the fuck has the fandom been sleeping on this particular dynamic I'll never know. There's so many things wrong with him, but the unbelieving Cadash Inquisitor romances really fucking underlines what those things are in my opinion.” - 36-45M

“Everyone deserves a second chance and he's doing really well with it. He makes toys for kids!” - 23-27F

“I like your funny little lies french man” - 23-27M

“MY FAVORITE FOREVER AND EVER. it would be embarrassing just how high blackwall is on my ranking above the #2 contender if i gave a singular shit about what anyone else thought about me. show me a criminal who did unforgivable shit but is trying so badly to atone for his crimes and i will literally open my heart and welcome them in with loving arms. i will never defend them but i will love them forever. and ever. and ever and ever and ever. i would not give a shit about blackwall if he hadn't killed those damn kids” - 23-27M

“Eh very boring straight human guy whose only interesting thing is that he’s lying about being more interesting.” - 28-35NB

“I love this character, and the ONLY reason I marked the Solas romance as my favorite is because it's so narratively important. Blackwall's romance has my personal favorite arc and epilogue (following Trespasser). I love him and I wish he had a more central role, because I would have loved to see some of the ideas in his character unspooled and explored more thoroughly.” - 36-45F

“Blackwall was my first romance, and I found him to be pretty underwhelming. He rubs me the wrong way. Dragon Age is full of characters who have done truly heinous things but then redeemed themselves (Zevran, Isabela, Anders, Morrigan, etc.) I find all of them easier to like/forgive than Blackwall, though. However, I do love the way his twist was written. It was obvious from the beginning that he was hiding something. But everyone who has played the previous games knows that Grey Wardens often have dark pasts. What I wasn't expecting was that he wasn't even really a warden. All the clues were there, though. Well done.” - 36-45F

“I genuinely cannot comprehend why Solas is so popular while Blackwall is so disliked or ignored. Either you love a good liar plot twist or you don’t. At least my beautiful friend Blackwall has spent his entire life since his crimes trying to make reparations for what he’s done and do as much good as possible.” - 23-27M

“Why is everyone doting on the other war criminals in this game when they could be romancing THOM RAINIER. His romance was so dramatic, had a blast. Way better redemption arc than Cullen imo.” - 28-35F

Cassandra Pentaghast

I love her (50.1%), I like her (32%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (10.8%), I'm indifferent (3.6%), I dislike her (3.2%), I hate her (0.3%)

Baseline: Respondents admire her strength and willingness to change, but remain frustrated by her Chantry politics and heterosexual romance lock

Recurring points of praise:

Her convictions and willingness to reconsider them make her feel genuinely complex

Her intimidating exterior and romantic softness create an appealing contrast

Her competence makes her reassuring to have in the party

Her progression from interrogator to trusted friend feels natural

Her bluntness, sincerity, and humour make her highly likeable

Her relationship with Varric is one of her most entertaining dynamics

Recurring criticisms:

Her heterosexual romance restriction is overwhelmingly unpopular

The game doesn't allow enough meaningful disagreement with her faith or politics

The narrative often treats her as a moral authority without examining her failures enough (her institutional loyalty is framed as reasonable centrism; her participation in the Seekers receives limited scrutiny; her failure to act earlier on mage and Tranquil abuses is understated; rebuilding the Seekers can be presented as an obviously constructive choice; her intentions are sometimes used to excuse the consequences of her beliefs; the player receives fewer opportunities to expose her hypocrisy than to reassure her)

Her institutional storyline lacks sufficient follow-through

Her approval responses can contradict her stated beliefs

The "tough woman with secretly feminine interests" archetype feels repetitive

Text response selection:

“This isn't the question but my favorite thing is when her VA does this weird inexplicable accent that doesn't sound like anything and then in Dawn of the Seeker the new VA fails to imitate it making a second inexplicable accent that doesn't sound like anything and then in DAV we go to Nevarra and no one sounds anything like that” - 28-35NB

“Didn't think much of her on my first play through, but by now Inquisition itself is full of so much nostalgia that talking to her in Haven on a new playthrough feels like coming home. I really liked her struggling with her faith in the seekers, and I think she would've made a good divine if she wasn't so moored in tradition. Her dynamic with varric was top notch” - 23-27NB

“I like that she’s complicated and horrible, but the game doesn’t really see her that way.” - 28-35NB

“Would like her more if the game allowed you to disagree with her more. It feels like the game wants you to think that her position is usually right, just a more traditional viewpoint. She represents the Chantry but you can't argue against the Chantry with her.” - 23-27NB

“I think she's very well written, I just don't like her principles, you know? I have no faith she'll ever come through with helping the Tranquil be cured, and I just feel Cassandra is a warrior, and she's not great at leading, let alone being a diplomat.” - 23-27M

“I don't like her views on magic and necromancy, and I'm very tired of Bioware's girl characters who are tough but like feminine coded things, but don't worry, they're straight.” - 28-35NB

“A bit pushy with her religion, but I like her, she’s cute when she reads Varric’s books, does something about the tranquility cure, she was gonna be my first romance, but then Dorian walked in and I realized my first character was gay.” - 28-35F

“Would've liked more spirited attempts to debate her for characters/origins that DO NOT align with Chantry desires. But that's just as much a narrative railroading issue. Can't help but wish she was romanceable by Lady Inky's, if only to open up more F/F options.” - 28-35NB

“She is so driven!!! So driven!!!! And good at what she does!! And at the same time not always that great at critical thinking, which I love as a combination in a character, especially when paired with her willingness to change once she does realise there's something going on that she didn't notice earlier.” - 28-35NB

“Game's been out since 2014 but they still havent fixed the cassandra straight bug” - 28-35NB

“I love that Adaar’s mercenary band leader calls her ‘the little sharp human’.” - 23-27M

“One of the most realistic characters in the franchise in that she will recognize when she's wrong but still like you a little bit less for it.” - 36-45NB

Cole

I love him (55.7%), I like him (27.2%), I'm indifferent (8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (5.2%), I dislike him (3.1%), I hate him (0.8%)

Baseline: Respondents love his compassion and unusual perspective, but often feel Inquisition infantilises him and underuses the darker potential of his character

Recurring points of praise:

His compassion makes him intensely loveable and inspires fierce protectiveness (side note: I found it especially nice that several respondents said his behaviour has influenced how they think about showing compassion in their own lives)

His nature as a spirit of compassion offers one of the series' most fascinating companion concepts

His combination of empathy and violence makes compassion morally complicated

His autistic-coded traits create a powerful sense of recognition (his unusual use of language and metaphor; his intense awareness of other people's emotions; his difficulty understanding implicit boundaries; his physical mannerisms and withdrawn posture; his tendency to observe before participating; his literal but unconventional understanding of the world; the gap between how much he perceives and how difficult it is to communicate that perception)

His unusual speech and companion banter are memorable

Both outcomes of his personal quest can support meaningful interpretations

Recurring criticisms:

Inquisition strips away much of the darker complexity he had in Asunder

Too much of his story depends upon reading supplementary material

He's often used to explain other characters instead of being developed for himself

His cryptic dialogue can feel confusing, twee, or excessively writerly

His personal quest gives him too little agency

Pairing human Cole with Maryden is widely criticised as reductive and aphobic (romantic attraction proves he's now properly human; allosexuality is a developmental milestone; his earlier lack of romantic interest reflects incompleteness; a heterosexual pairing is treated as evidence of healthy socialisation; becoming human matters more than retaining his previous way of relating; Maryden is reduced to a reward or symbol within his development)

Some respondents find him boring, irritating, or emotionally difficult to connect with

Recurring division points:

Making him human or spirit is considered both a genuinely balanced choice and an impossible violation either way

Protecting him as a child expresses affection while risking the infantilisation respondents criticise

Text response selection:

“Varric takes him in the divorce with Solas.” - 36-45F

“Spirit companions are such a cool idea, honestly kind of underutilised in this series” - 18-22M

“Empathic murder spirit with unambiguous autistic traits make my brain go brrrr. A lot of people infantalise him to be a precious baby boy (Varric and Solas included), but I think he should've gone weirder with it. Let him be an eldritch pseudo-abomination who feels so very much but understands so little!” - 36-45M

“Again, an interesting concept, a spirit that embodied himself to help. I love that compassion is also sometimes killing.” - 36-45F

“wish we'd seen him in Veilguard. Morrigan was cool, but Cole would have (in my opinion) been more impactful as a foil for Solas” - 46-55F

“i wish his cryptic statements hadn’t been twee pop culture references and he wasn’t used as a mouthpiece to express the writers’ perceived morally correct position so often. the concept of his character is cool but i think it could have been deeper if they incorporated more of asunder’s darker aspects into what appears in the game.” - 36-45M

“I wish he'd have been utilized a bit more than for fourth-wall breaking easter eggs. He's so very relevant to the issues of Spirits & the state of the Fade it's a waste that wasn't capitalized on more.” - 28-35NB

“Son boy allowed” - 28-35F

“I love my spirit Son. Don’t quite agree with him getting a romantic partner after making him more human. Have conflicted feelings about making him more human or staying a spirit. I believe I tried to do what’s best for him. In taking Cole’s form the spirit chose to become physical, more like a human, so he could help. And while he can still help once made more human. It kinda breaks my heart he had to become something else instead of more of what he already was. He was special.” - 23-27F

“Cole is so important to me as a character - potentially the most relatable character in all of fiction. As an autistic person, I immediately felt seen in his speech patterns, his mannerisms, his way of looking at the world and interpreting things - even just that one scene where he’s sitting on top of a wall, swinging his legs and picking at his fingers, head down, listening. When I came out as trans, I changed my name to Cole legally because it just felt right - I haven’t regretted it for a decade now.” - 23-27M

“I'm furious that he was paired up with Maryden in the human route. Romantic relationships do not define your humanity, and it's gross that he's made to be in a hetero relationship to show him becoming "a real person". Should have made him try hobbies and interests instead, maybe cooking or baking. As it is, it feels like a lazy and uninspired ending for him, and it ruined both characters for me” - 28-35NB

“My issues with the DAI characters are largely about the writing. Cole’s personal quest makes me SO INCREDIBLY uncomfortable, and not in a way I think the writers intended. I’m queer, trans and autistic. I’ve spent my life having the world try to make me be not what I am. The fact that you can do that with Cole- and it’s treated as valid as the alternative- horrifies me. The fact that the only way to preserve who he fundamentally is is by erasing the choices he’s made for himself also horrifies me.” - 36-45NB

“I remember being absolutely blown away by Coles character concept when I first met him. Loved seeing another positive spirit and how they interact in the world, and the absolute purity of his little tasks around skyhold warm my heart and honestly shaped a lot of the ways I show compassion to the people around me now. Also some of the best banter lines in the game. So well written and cool” - 23-27F

“I like Cole, but sometimes his writing is grating (very Trick Weekes) and I don't like how the game presents him as a nonbiased authority on other characters' motivations-- like saying that Cullen is one of the good ones who knows that mages are people.” - 23-27NB

Cullen Rutherford

I have mixed/conflicted feelings (20.4%), I love him (20.4%), I like him (18.4%), I hate him (16.4%), I dislike him (16.2%), I'm indifferent (8.2%)

Baseline: Respondents find his potential redemption compelling, but most feel the games skip the accountability and ideological change required to make it convincing

Recurring points of praise:

His progression across three games gives him unusually rich potential

His trauma and lyrium withdrawal give him a vulnerable, human storyline

His romance is widely regarded as sweet, comforting, and emotionally satisfying

His position as both victim and perpetrator makes him fascinating to analyse

Recurring criticisms:

His redemption occurs largely off-screen and therefore feels unearned

His role in Kirkwall's abuses is minimised (supporting the confinement and dehumanisation of mages; saying that mages aren't "people like you and me"; remaining loyal while Meredith's rule became increasingly violent; failing to intervene against abuses at the Gallows; supporting the annulment of a Circle uninvolved in Anders' attack; turning against Meredith only when she directly opposed Hawke; continuing to defend aspects of her leadership afterward; either knowing about the abuses or being wilfully ignorant of them)

His views on mages don't appear to have changed enough (his preference for recruiting the templars; his suspicion of an independent mage alliance; "you're not like other mages" implications in the romance; his defense of Meredith's methods as having kept people safe; his belief that the Order should continue in some form; his tendency to treat mage freedom as a security problem; his lack of explicit remorse for earlier statements and policies)

The player can't confront him properly about his past

Inquisition sanitises him into a conventional romantic hero

His characterisation feels inconsistent across the three games

His qualifications to command the Inquisitor's army are unclear

The handling of addiction can feel ethically uneven (addiction becomes the mechanism through which the player can punish him; Samson's addiction receives a less sympathetic framing; Cullen's physical presentation understates the severity of withdrawal)

His voice actor and surrounding controversy have become inseparable from the character for many respondents

Both his fans and his detractors make nuanced discussion difficult (overprotective fans who deny his wrongdoing; detractors who treat any affection for him as suspicious; exhaustion with debates that have continued for years; fandom bias toward attractive white male characters; romantic fandom overshadowing his political role; people liking him in private because discussion feels hostile)

Comparisons with Samson and Blackwall expose differing standards of accountability

Text response selection:

“CULLEN!! GOD I love this man!! He has what I think is the absolute BEST growth arc in the games!! He realized that he had harmful beliefs and he took the initiative to step back and unlearn those things and made the effort to be better!! he went through so much trauma and was taught a lot of anti-mage rhetoric and had an irrational fear of magic instilled into him by paranoid superiors, but he overcomes that and grows as a person and learns that he shouldn't fear or distrust mages just because they have magic, and part of what i love about romancing him as a mage is that ten, or even five years ago, that learned bias was still at a point where he would never have even thought about being in a relationship with a mage, but by the time of Inquisition, he's made enough personal growth in that area that he's in a place where if you romance him as a mage, he not only thinks about a relationship with the inquisitor, he falls so deeply in love that nothing in the entire world, not demons, not angry eldritch wannabe gods, not Andraste herself can tear him away from this woman and it's BEAUTIFUL!!! He starts off as a scared, traumatized kid with a learned bias that was practically forced onto him when he didn't know any better, and he grows into a much more confident man who realizes that what he was taught was wrong and actively works to better himself and unlearn that harmful rhetoric. And with an elf inquisitor, he's SO respectful of her being Dalish, and he doesn't make it into A Thing, she's still just the woman he loves, she just happens to have pointed ears and vallaslin, and that's a huge part of why i have a whole thing about him actively asking my Lavellan to teach him about her culture and wanting to learn the language so he can speak to her in her own tongue and making sure that their kids are able to embrace the elf part of themselves as much as the human and being proud of it” - 28-35F

“Huge Veilguard W: Cullen was not there 💪💪💪” - 23-27F

“I have so many mixed feelings about this guy. I felt bad for him in Origins even though I felt his change in stance against mages was terrible, although it made sense in a way (Tortured having seen his companions die), and really hated how he just demands they kill the mages (Even though they suffered as much as the templars in Ulred's attack). Then I hated him in DAII sooooo much, he literally tells you mages aren't people to your face, and he just follows Meredith’s orders and only gets against her because she goes against the champion, nevermind the whole let's slaughter all the circle mages even though an apostate was the one who blew up the chantry. And then he's in Inquisition and I still disagree with several of his opinions but he also seems to feel bad about what happened with the mages and his views have softened and he has this kind of sad and awkward wet cat vibe. He feels redeemed but at the same time it feels unearned. I wish they had put more conversations about the mages and what happened in Kirkwall and they had made a more fleshed redemption for him. I want to like the version they give in Inquisition but at the same time I feel like I need more to forgive him. Sometimes I like him sometimes I hate him.” - 18-22F

“He's an important character who means a lot to many people - he's just not the character for ME. His struggle with addiction and trauma is 100% interesting and I appreciate him for it - I just wish DAI went deeper into him dealing with the injustice and oppression he helped prop up for so long. I'm too much pro mages to have a lot of sympathy with a Templar, even a former one.” - 36-45F

“BOOOOOO TOMATOES 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅 YOU DONT DESERVE A ROOF 🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅. worst guy ever 💞” - 18-22M (who clicked “I like him”)

“Favourite character to dissect in the series bc he's horrible. I love him, but like. You must understand. It's because he's a villain who is unaware of that fact and actively pretending it's not true. It's like if Count Frollo had an identity crisis at 30.” - 28-35F

“I don't like how his redemption in DAI was done, or how despite his own regrettable past, Cullen "mages can't be treated like people" Rutherford has the gall to get on a high horse regarding Blackwall, who by that point is taking more accountability than he ever has.” - 36-45F

“All his character development happened off screen and it feels like they erased things. There was enough of a gap between me playing origins and 2 that I didn't realize he was a character in the previous games so I romanced him with a Trevelyan mage and got hit with "you're not like the other mages" as I was siding with the mages. And it's weird that they wrote him as supporting Gaspard as emperor when Gaspard talks about trying to take over Ferelden, Cullen's home country” - 23-27NB

“I love Cullen but I don't agree with how he was written or that some of his characterisation can only be found in WoT Vol 2. He is a really good example of how someone can be a victim & a perpetrator. As well as how good people can end up serving bad people through fear & indoctrination and how trauma can make people hateful. People often forget that the average person in Thedas fears magic and magic can be dangerous so those thoughts are not going to disappear overnight. He does his best, and that includes if the Inquisitor decides to choose troops for missions where troops are clearly the worst option at the war table. There is nothing wrong with Cullen but he should've been a companion and he was let down by the writers not wanting to be critical of the Chantry and taking away the nuance. People want complex characters but they can't even handle Cullen.” - 28-35F

“I know people hate that he got character development, but I love redeemed characters. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially Solasmancers.” - 23-27F

“minimizing the systemic violence he has done and refusing to acknowledge that he has taken part in countless injustices against mages to make him a cute shy uwu romanceable knightly straight boy is not the same as a redemption arc. i hate that no one is allowed to call him on his bullshit. he never actually makes any effort to recognize where he did wrong and do better toward mages or make reparations. also his addiction storyline is extremely poorly-handled” - 23-27M

“i would hate him less if bioware hadn’t made him into a fluffy love interest after his “mages aren’t people” and being complicit in genocide until changing his mind at the last minute storyline in da2.” - 36-45M

“wow this man am I right, fucking dogging us thru multiple games, hated him then loved him then hated him for a really long time and arrived at neutral, I think he should be beat with a hammer and forced to read Trotsky and Fanon and many many others” - 23-27NB

“i liked the lyrium addiction storyline a lot actually. and like i loathe him as a person but i delight in him as a character that exists in the way he exists. i just also never ever want to see or hear from anyone who wants to fuck him ever again literally only solasfuckers are worse straight girls are terrifying”- 28-35M

“Y’know, I can never figure out what my thoughts on Cullen are. When I’m playing Inquisition, I like him just fine. He’s sweet, awkward, brave, loving. Then I open Origins, and he’s creepy and off-putting, and I find him revolting. I open DA2, and he’s complicit in atrocities, and I find him friendly but cowardly and overly passive and willfully blind. I see posts analysing all the way he sucks and how badly his ‘redemption arc’ failed and I find myself agreeing entirely and getting mad about him. Then I open Inquisition and I like him again because hey it’s that nice dude! It’s just so hard for me to reconcile the different versions of him because we never saw any of those changes happen, just snapshots of him acting completely different in different games. So I guess I like Inquisition Cullen just fine! But only Inquisition Cullen in a vacuum.” - 23-27M

“Great character, terrible person. He didn't see mages as people in DA2, and in Inquisition he still blatantly says "Meredith's methods kept people safe" - what people? As her second in command, he either callously ignored the abuses at the Gallows, or he was so incompetent and deliberately ignorant he didn't know the extent of it. Neither makes a good person, but it does make him a solid & realistic character that I love to hate. Inquisition glossed over a lot of his flaws.” - 28-35NB

“The narrative does a disservice to him by failing to reckon with his role as a Templar in 1 and especially 2. I hate that the player is not able to confront him really about it, and just don’t buy the reasoning for him being there. Quartermaster Threnn is more compelling to me as a potential character that the player may have had an ideological divide with or agreed with despite the narrative.” - 28-35NB

“I love that we've seen a character go through a huge trauma arc in origins & 2 and then come out better on the other side. I think he should have had more on screen redemption and changes, because of course he's said and done problematic things. His romance is very sweet and I love how wholesome it is. Also juicy between a religious icon and her general," Maker, I must send you to him". The good version of andraste/maferath” - 23-27F

Dorian Pavus

I love him (75.4%), I like him (18.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (3.6%), I'm indifferent (1.4%), I dislike him (0.5%), I hate him (0.3%)

Baseline: Respondents love his humour, vulnerability, and capacity for growth, while repeatedly objecting to how weakly the game challenges his views on slavery

Recurring points of praise:

His wit, charisma, and voice acting make him immediately enjoyable

His queer storyline is deeply personal and meaningful

His love for Tevinter gives his reformism emotional weight

His willingness to learn and revise his beliefs is central to his appeal

His friendship with the Inquisitor feels unusually explicit and affectionate

His romance combines confidence with fear of genuine intimacy

His earnestness gives substance to the flamboyant persona

He had a formative effect on several respondents' sexuality or gender

Recurring criticisms:

His defense of slavery is disturbing and inadequately challenged (he treats slavery as an unfortunate social arrangement rather than a fundamental violation; the Inquisitor can't forcefully reject his reasoning; his privilege leaves him naïve about the reality experienced by enslaved people; the conversation allows him to retain the final word; his later abolitionism develops primarily outside the game; his inheritance from Halward raises unanswered questions about enslaved people on the estate; the writing doesn't clearly signal whether the argument is Dorian's flaw or an idea the narrative considers reasonable)

The "gay best friend" framing can flatten him into a stereotype

His personal quest can pressure the player toward reconciliation

His storyline imports very direct real-world homophobia into the setting

Recurring division points:

His relationship with Iron Bull attracts both affection and discomfort

Text response selection:

“Reconciling him with his dad was healing for me and I don't care if that makes me problematic.” - 36-45F

“Dorian is so earnest, which no one would expect from a Tevinter noble, and it's lovely.” - 28-35F

“I do have issues with Dorian, but they’re mainly with the overall writing in Inquisition than his character. Ie not being able to contradict certain things — like him getting the final word on “slaverys fine actually” reads less ‘oh this is a character who’s not ready to change his worldview yet’ (as one would hope its intended to) and more ‘I am somewhat concerned the writers believe this?’” - 28-35NB

“His problems are very realistic. I love that he can love his homeland, think it should be fixed, but still be ostracized. I wish he and Fenris OR Krem spoke.” - 23-27F

“if i start talking about dorian i won’t stop. none of you get him like i do. he’s not a catty sassy mean best friend who talks to your inquisitor about fashion and boys, and if you see him like that i don’t trust that you actually like him. just call him a faggot and go. anyway um i’m madly in love with him and his nuance and his determination to always learn and improve that shows itself even before he commits to trying to fix tevinter (good luck buddy). i love how he can be stubborn but is willing to recognize when he’s been wrong, apologize, change his thinking, and make things right. he pushes people away out of self-defense and minimizes his issues and is scared of being taken care of because he inherently views association with him as negative and doesn’t want the inquisitor or anyone else to have their reputation tarnished by being seen with him. he is annoying on purpose but genuine when he wants to be. he’s passionate about his studies and loves to learn. and i love watching him come into his own and grow more confident and motivated over the course of the story. it’s easy to complain when things are overall bad, but it’s important to keep pushing forward and do your part to fix them. which is a lesson he learns and embodies. um don’t worry about how he has accomplished absolutely nothing by veilguard that’s not important” - 23-27M

“I like him but i dont understand his blanket based fashion” - 28-35F

“He’s fine. I don’t like that he introduced what felt like such exact real-world homophobia into the setting but I also don’t want to begrudge a gay man writing a gay narrative that was authentic for him” - 28-35NB

“I love Dorian but I do sometimes feel like The Last Resort of Good Men pushes a bit more toward Dorian reconciling/speaking with his father as the 'better' option, which I don't love. Sometimes you can tell your homophobic and abusive family members to kick rocks and it's fine and will not leave you with regrets, actually.” - 23-27NB

“A beautiful and flawed queer man who feels like he’s at the beginning of his journey in many ways. I feel like so much love was put into his writing and it shines through.” - 23-27M

I love him (43.3%), I like him (33.6%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (9.7%), I'm indifferent (8.6%), I hate him (2.7%), I dislike him (2.1%)

Baseline: Respondents love him as an intelligent spy and devoted leader, but many feel his romance and Tal-Vashoth arc deny him the depth and agency his concept deserved

Recurring points of praise:

His apparent brute persona conceals an exceptionally sharp and observant mind

His devotion to the Chargers gives him warmth and emotional substance

His humour and enthusiasm make him an entertaining companion

His conflict between the Qun and his chosen family has powerful potential

His possible betrayal is bold, devastating, and narratively effective

His emotional intelligence and positive masculinity appeal to many respondents

Recurring criticisms:

His BDSM romance doesn't provide adequate choice or consent (he tells the player what they "need"; the player can't choose to dominate him despite him having submitted to other partners; submission is framed as necessary because the Inquisitor needs to relinquish control; some flirtation feels closer to sexual harassment; the relationship begins without sufficient negotiation of roles; the game restricts the player's ability to refuse particular elements while continuing the romance)

His sexuality and BDSM role draw upon racialised stereotypes (animalistic stereotypes about men of colour; racialised assumptions about physical size and sexual aggression; the "dangerous but desirable" exotic man archetype; Qunari being visually and culturally coded as an alien racial other; his intelligence being overshadowed by sex and physicality; the only Qunari romance being built around a pushy dominant role; kink becoming part of presenting him as unusually primal)

His personal quest gives the Inquisitor too much control over his identity

Becoming Tal-Vashoth doesn't lead to enough subsequent development

The sexual persona can crowd out his more interesting spy and identity material

Some respondents find his design physically unappealing or awkward

Recurring division points:

His relationship with Dorian attracts both affection and discomfort

Text response selection:

“Such a cool character, especially all the ways his sharp mind comes through when he's talking to Solas. I wish they could have interacted more honestly without both of them playing 5D double cross chess all the time. They could have been friends if they only recognized that their situations were really similar, actually >_<” - 36-45F

“Bull's arc is disappointing. He doesn't actually have any real character development, just transfers his need for a leader from the Ben Hassrath to the Inquisitor” - 36-45NB

“He is just LOOKING for an excuse to let himself become Tal Vashoth but also desperately trying to pretend he isnt.” - 36-45F

“Great insight into Qunari culture and I love his relationships with the Chargers. I think it was a big move for the writers to allow a companion to remain loyal to his original faction and betray the Inquisitor; especially since early on the Inquisitor is warned a couple times about the dangers of allying so closely with a Qunari / Ben Hassrath (including by The Iron Bull himself!). That they followed through on that if you choose to preserve the relationship with that faction is just fantastic (if devestating)” - 23-27NB

“i like him a lot but feel like the bdsm thing and his sexuality are implemented in ways that are influenced by racist perceptions around the sexuality of men of color and that’s not great.” - 36-45M

“Would have loved for his romance to be something more about his view of himself as a tool even/especially in a sexual situation and how that might evolve and change with a partner he actually loves (and who loves him!) but instead we get a lot of bdsm and sex jokes.” - 36-45F

“where to begin.. 1. why can't I build my qunari character like that. 2. he doesn't even give you an option of subbing in the bdsm dynamic he pushes, just says you specifically "need" to be submissive regardless of what dynamic you want and to make matters worse openly talks about letting other women domme him, but not you. creep. 3. the dreadnaught vs chargers thing shouldve been a hidden meter like who becomes divine or hardening/softening Leliana. why the FUCK is this guy asking me if he should follow his religions orders or save his friends life, its literally not my decision. And instead of retconning Qunari culture to be SO chill and especially in the trans-positive way, they couldve talked about how qunari culture ISN'T, but reinforced how much he loves Krem & the Chargers and made it an actual idea vs reality conflict for Bull from the get-go, and then conversations with the Inquisitor about friends, possibility of role changes. Qunari philosophy is inherently SICKENINGLY misogynistic and mage-phobic, and decides your roles for you. Every woman or mage would be aqun-atlok if they actually lived in that society and could. It doesn't make sense. They don't even think its possible for you to change your identity by doing different things. Qunari philosophy says that a farmer who buys a store is not a merchant, but will always be a farmer-turned-merchant, and goes against asit tal-eb. They think doing that amount of change is akin to your soul disintegrating. Inquisition retconning which groups have what opinions kinda killed me and the Chargers specifically seemed to exist to do just that. Iron bull had so much potential for how they couldve implemented choosing what you experience to be true (friends, changing roles) over what you've been taught (Qun) but instead its just 'click a button and make the choice for him but if you choose tevinter he sulks and gets mad at you the rest of the game!'” - 23-27F

“Love Bull, but the early romance dialogue where he says if you don’t want bdsm you’re lying to yourself really put me off” - 36-45F

“I just don’t like to look at his tiny head” - 28-35F

“I do wish we’d gotten the option to dom in his romance - I find it odd and a bit uncomfortable that the game pushes (and I won’t even say it’s Bull pushing it, because it really does feel like the game not giving you the option, not part of his character) you being a sub because it’s what you “need” and you need to “let go of control”, it’s so off-putting as something you’re not choosing yourself, especially because he does say he’s subbed for other people and seems to enjoy it just fine. I don’t mind the BDSM part of the romance in itself, I actually think it’s a pretty fun and refreshing thing to incorporate into a video game romance in something that isn’t just a porn game focused on it, but IMO it’s not something you bring in without allowing players to choose what role to engage in it with. Aside from that, I love that Bull is both the brawn and the brains, it’s such a fun character contrast. The combination of someone so genuinely intelligent and someone who’d throw himself at a dragon to fight it with no hesitation just because he thinks it’s awesome is great.” - 23-27M

“One of the funniest characters in the entire series. Also, a good example of positive masculinity. I'd love to see more of that in gaming.” - 28-35F

Josephine Montilyet

Baseline: Respondents love her as the kind, formidable diplomat holding the Inquisition together, but many wish the game gave her more room to be complicated

Recurring points of praise:

Her diplomacy demonstrates that words can wield as much power as weapons

Her kindness remains convincing without making her naive

She performs indispensable work behind the Inquisition's public success

Her intelligence and competence coexist with emotional warmth

Her presence offers a welcome alternative to the cast's cynicism

Her romance is considered exceptionally sweet, and especially meaningful as a fairytale queer option

Her design and voice acting strongly contribute to her appeal

Recurring criticisms:

The game gives her too little content to explore her fully

Her privilege and class assumptions receive insufficient scrutiny

Text response selection:

“Gold heart, steel tongue.” - 36-45NB

“Josie's a pacifist character done right, I think. Satine Kryze fucking wishes she had Josephine's integrity, pragmatism, and people skills.” - 28-35NB

“HOT TAKE: The Inquisitor was just a figurehead of minimal power in comparison to Josephine who was the loadbearing diplomat who ensured the actual organisation wasn't just a rabble of malcontents with good intentions. It's also very interesting to see the Joseblackwall courtly love thing happen outside of an Inquisitor romance. In my opinion it frizzles out because Jose didn't challenge his preconceived inferiority complex about women he's into, and he drove his own self away like an idiot.” - 36-45M

“Literally made me realise I was a lesbian. Such is her power. Thank you for everything josephine” - 23-27NB

“i love josie so much i love how she’s blinded by her high-society problems and it makes her kind of suck i love how she is so determined to please everyone all the time to the point that she’s terrified of looking imperfect for even a second i love how excited she is when someone takes care of her or when she gets to indulge in what she loves. also she’s trans” - 23-27M

“imo Josephine feels a little bit one-note in her execution, but honestly that's fine? She feels very solidly realized as a person, as a vehicle through which the player can glean more exposition on the political worldstate of Thedas. There's no hard-hitting surprises or revelations about who she is, but that's okay. She's comfortable and safe and I like that.” - 28-36F

“The high-society, noble, courtly, fairytale, duel-for-her-hand romance being a WLW option is so, so special to me. Also, I feel like people find it very easy to water her down into ‘sweet bubbly idealist’. She’s not even particularly an idealist, she’s very realistic - she wants good to happen, but she definitely strikes me as a ‘hope for the best, plan for the worst’ type of person. She seems like an accurate judge of character and situations, not someone who’d be blind to flaws in something or someone because of idealism. She’s also not even really a pacifist - yes, she hates being directly involved in physical violence like when she was a bard, and she doesn’t approve of unnecessary violence, but I also think people forget that a) she is perfectly capable of enabling violence where needed even if she makes it look like she’s keeping her hands clean and b) she still wanted to be a bard at one point, knowing what it entailed, even if she realised the reality of it wasn't for her. She is truly lovely, but she’s a lovely person who can hold her own in a war.” - 23-27M

“I’ve actually never done her romance because her character seems a little bland to me. I think she deserved to have more story since she didn’t have prior game lore like Cullen and Leli.” - 23-27NB

“Josie is so interesting because she's one of the most powerful characters in the whole franchise - but never wields a weapon ever- really reminding us that power comes in many forms” - 28-35F

“I love that Adaar’s mercenary band leader calls her “the tiny gold human”.” - 23-27M

“If she was your lawyer you'd never be charged with anything ever again. She could very well charm the pants off your father and then take his house. She really does prove that words and diplomacy can be just as powerful and effective as swords and warfare, and she handles everything she's handed with unmatched grace. And for that, she's allowed to spiral a couple of times here and there and have a bit of a meltdown. She's carrying the Inquisition on her shoulders.” - 18-22NB

“I love Josephine! She's an interesting perspective of nobility that we've never really seen in previous companions.” - 23-27NB

Leliana

I love her (48.3%), I like her (38.1%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (6.6%), I'm indifferent (4.8%), I dislike her (1.8%), I hate her (0.4%)

Baseline: Respondents find her struggle between compassion and ruthlessness compelling, but disagree over whether Inquisition completes her earlier arc or replaces too much of the person she used to be

Recurring points of praise:

Her ruthlessness makes her frightening, entertaining, and memorable

Her compassion and idealism remain visible beneath the hardened exterior

Inspiring her to embrace mercy again is emotionally satisfying

Her faith can embody love, acceptance, and radical reform

Her design, voice acting, and intimidating presence inspire substantial attraction

Recurring criticisms:

Her writing can feel excessively edgy and heavy-handed

Her closed-off advisor role makes her harder to connect with personally

The game gives too little attention to her most important relationships (especially Divine Justinia, Morrigan, Alistair, and a romanced Warden)

Earlier world-state choices are reflected too weakly

Recurring division points:

Her transformation from Origins is considered either exceptional long-term development or an implausible rupture

Steeled Leliana is either a fascinating tragic outcome or a state respondents desperately want to prevent

Text response selection:

“My dearest girl. She’s so hot in inquisition, good god. Girl snapped a guys neck with her thighs. Girl pinned a nun to a statue of andraste and said “keep that pretty mouth shut if you must dear” while holding a knife to her throat. I need her so bad.” - 18-22F

“Leliana is honestly at her most interesting to me in Inquisition. Her questioning of faith parallels Cassandra's, but the flavour is different because while Cassandra is a romantic she's a realistic, and while Leliana claims to be objective, she's an idealist. Hardened lyrium ghost divine Victoria is one of the most quietly horrifying things Dragon Age has ever done.” - 36-45M

“The ten years between origins and Inquisition have changed leliana, but I love her anyway. Seeing bits of her past self slip out sometimes is always a treat, and reminding her of love and mercy is nice. She has such love for people in her, and a steel against injustice and oppression, and I love that.” - 23-27F

“I think Leliana from Leliana's Song through DAI has the most complete character arc in the series. She's trapped in a cycle where she's always becoming whatever the person she's following needs her to be and losing more and more of herself in the process, which is very compelling. Also her edgelord phase is just deeply funny and endearing.” - 28-35F

“Her Divine speech about ‘No matter who you are or what you’ve done, you are loved. In your heart shall burn an unquenchable flame.’ genuinely hit different for me. I feel like it kind of opened my eyes a bit about what faith could be and could mean for me, that it didn’t have to fit into rules other people wanted it to or be exclusionary or intolerant, that it could be something full of love and hope and acceptance in whatever way my heart felt it should be. Probably my favourite quote from the entire franchise.” - 23-27M

“Babe where did your smile go :( it's hard to go from playing as a characters best friend/lover to coworker. Leliana is definitely much colder in inquisition, but she's so badass too. The "In Hushed Whispers" timeline is top tier moment of hers. I wish we could get more answers on what she is, because she is absolutely the Makers chosen. Lyrium ghost Pope” - 23-27F

Sera

I love her (41.4%), I like her (25.1%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (18.3%), I dislike her (8.6%), I'm indifferent (3.7%), I hate her (2.8%)

Baseline: Respondents are deeply divided on her, but broadly agree that Inquisition undermines her by treating her as less coherent, less worthy of respect, and more disposable than its other companions

Recurring points of praise:

Her focus on ordinary people provides a vital alternative to the Inquisition's elite perspective

Her speech and thought patterns create powerful neurodivergent recognition (rapid shifts between related ideas; use of compressed or sideways language; frustration when other people demand that she explain herself differently; difficulty expressing fear directly; impulsivity and emotional intensity; sensitivity to being mocked or dismissed; tendency to conceal vulnerability beneath jokes and aggression; focus on practical impressions rather than formal theory)

Her messiness makes her feel unusually alive

Her friendships and quieter scenes reveal considerable warmth

Recurring criticisms:

The dialogue system repeatedly forces the Inquisitor to patronise or insult her

The narrative treats her as a joke rather than taking her perspective seriously (other characters routinely frame her as stupid or irrational; her class politics receive less intellectual respect than elite ideologies; her personal quest feels aimless and unserious; the Inquisitor is encouraged to manage her rather than engage with her; her ideas often require fan analysis to become visible; she's the only companion who can be dismissed at almost any time; her romance itself can generate her disapproval)

Her treatment of Dalish identity can become cruel, particularly in a Lavellan romance (derides Lavellan for participating in their own culture; treats Dalish religion as foolish or frightening; disapproves when Lavellan behaves "too elfy"; expects an elven partner to tolerate repeated insults; laughs at or dismisses Lavellan during vulnerable moments; demands that a romanced Lavellan abandon their religion after the Temple of Mythal and ends the relationship if Lavellan refuses; receives little meaningful challenge over any of this)

Her political ideas receive too little development

Her personal development is too limited and arrives too late, predominantly within DLC

Recurring division points:

Her humour is either a source of essential joy or almost impossible to tolerate

Her internalised anti-elven prejudice is either compelling character conflict or fatally mishandled harm

Her Red Jenny politics are considered either genuinely radical or frustratingly incoherent

Her romance is either a cherished lesbian love story or one of the clearest examples of the writing failing her

Text response selection:

“I can tolerate her outside of a Lavellan. I absolutely hate her with a fem!Lavellan though, because all her internalized racism makes her lash out and genuinely emotionally abuse her fucking girlfriend if you romance her. Horrific. Another character done dirty by a writer who didn't even like her. I think her character explores worthwhile ideas of someone internalizing their mistreatment so much they end up repeating it towards others, hello Vivienne and The Iron Bull, but just because she's interesting that doesn't make her behavior any better. I get it, but I don't like her.” - 28-35NB

“I'm friends with autistic lesbian foster kids (adults now of course) and Sera is just like so many of my friends. She's figuring her shit out in an ugly, defensive manner that is easy to misunderstand, but I get her. She also provides a valuable perspective to the Inquisitor because she's completely disinterested in bootlicking. “ - 36-45M

“Easily have the most opinions on her. I truly believe that the writers mischaracterized Sera from the jump. She is someone that values freedom of choice and being true to who you are above all else EXCEPT for if you don't believe in what she believes in. I feel we could still have her be distrustful of the Dalish ideology and mages without it immediately contradicting everything she stands for. She’s a very conflicting character and theres nothing wrong with that, it just feels like she had two different people writing her.” - 23-27NB

“I loved Sera when I first met her in game. I thought, "Oh hey, she talks like how my brain works sometimes." And then I went back to Haven, went to talk to her, fully understood what she was saying and thought it was funny, and every option for a response was to insult her.” - 23-27NB

“SHE’S NOT ANNOYING YOU JUST HATE LESBIANS AND POOR PEOPLE. solas being rude to lavellan for being dalish gets a pass but it makes sera a bad person? i wonder why that is. sera is the only companion you can kick out at any time? i wonder why that is. it’s impossible to be kind to sera when she’s emotional even in romance scenes and you can only ever tell her that she’s irrational? i wonder why that is. she’s so charming and passionate and so so so so so scared. she’s scared of things she doesn’t understand and things she can’t shoot. fucking with rich assholes is easy, it’s rewarding, it’s entertaining. the fade is incomprehensible. you can shoot an evil politician but you can’t shoot a nightmare. learning to live with discomfort and the idea of Not Knowing is extremely fucking hard and i really love seeing sera grapple with it in real time. her insights are so valuable when your only advisors are a rich lady and former high-ranking chantry officials. she provides a different perspective that is extremely worth hearing. she’s silly and carefree on the surface but it masks so much uncertainty and i care about her so much” - 23-27M

“SO. I DON'T LIKE HER. But I am shaking my head while selecting that so people who are Weird about hating her know I am not with them. She is a WELL WRITTEN CHARACTER. She is internally consistent. Her banters with other party members (especially Blackwall) can be genuinely funny. I have just known too many 'Sera's IRL and have gotten along with none of them so I am destined to not jam with her. (Always recruiting her though because Jar of Bees)” - 36-45NB

“I understand that Sera has a lot of internalized racism and other baggage from her backstory but she has some of the worst takes in the series and she is NEVER challenged or called out for any of it. She's profoundly immature in a time of serious crisis and can't seem to recognize the need for big picture thinking, making her feel out of place and generally unpleasant to interact with.” - 28-35F

“Why do so many elven companions hate elves??” - 28-35NB

“My second least favorite companion. She spends the entire game an annoying asshole and only shows growth in the Trespasser dlc and it comes out of nowhere. For Sera, slavery is bad, except for the slavery she likes. Elves are good. Except for the elves she hates. She never takes the time to examine her beliefs and just stubbornly and uncritically regurgitates garbage. My Inquisitor was her friend and Sera laughed in her face when my Inquisitor made the mistake of being open with her. (After she JUST got dumped by Solas). Not to mention she will break up with the Inquisitor if they don't abandon their religion and culture if you romance her as an elf. Because she's a piece of shit. The Sera we meet in Trespasser is the Sera I WISH we got more of. Still her, mostly believes in the same things, but treats the people around her better.” - 28-35F

“I like her, but I think I struggle to understand her as much as others do. So her adoptive mother bought cookies from a baker and didn’t want to tell Sera she couldn’t make them herself, so in order for Sera to never find out the truth she told her to avoid the baker because he didn’t like elves. That’s shitty, yes. I could totally understand Sera growing to hate this baker because of his perceived racism toward her. But that made her… hate elves? To the point where as a grown woman she’s still enacting racism towards them herself, including potentially to the woman she’s supposed to love, so badly that she will demand emotionally harmful things of them or break up with them because they won’t join her in her racism? It’s just so confusing to me. Like… that’s your tragic excuse? That your mother lied about cookies? I just don’t get it. I feel like there’s some huge element to her that just isn’t sinking in for me, because everyone seems to think this is a super tragic and huge backstory. I also think it’s hypocritical that she’s all about the little people but a ton of her pranks are actively inconveniencing those people and aimed at people who’ve done absolutely nothing to her or anyone she claims to stand for. Like, she repeatedly starts food fights and throws stuff around that those ‘little people’ she values will have to spend their time and labour cleaning up after her? Still, I think it’s lame that dialogue forces you to be rude to her and that she’s the one companion you can dismiss any time - it makes talking to her stressful because I’m convinced I’ll accidentally hit the option to kick her out. She’s not even that weird! Her dialogue makes sense just fine! I also really love that banter she has with Solas where he suggests helping her organise the Red Jennies properly and she points out that giving them a hierarchy and a leader would defeat the entire point and just create another Big Person to misuse their power.” - 23-27M

“You can just tell her writer didn't like her :/ Her political theories are actually really cool - it doesn't matter who is in charge because you have to change the culture around leadership (ie you have to make people realize leaders are human and therefore not all powerful) but you would never realize that from the game” - 28-35F

“My absolute favourite DA character! I was rooting for her to win the Best Character tournament, even though I knew she wouldn’t. She fared better than I expected, at any rate! Sera took a little getting used to, but she won me over with her jars of bees. I love her personality, her motivations, her style, her banter, and how deadly she is with a bow. Her, Blackwall, and Vivienne are the dream team where combat capabilities are concerned. I don’t know how to properly convey how much I like Sera and why, but suffice to say, she’s my favourite and she always will be. I can’t believe my Inquisitor got to marry her! :D” - 28-35NB

Solas

I love him (28.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (23.9%), I like him (19%), I dislike him (11.6%), I hate him (11.3%), I'm indifferent (5.3%)

Baseline: Respondents find him extraordinarily compelling as a flawed friend, lover, and antagonist, but many resent the narrative treating his perspective and personal tragedy as the centre of Dragon Age

Recurring points of praise:

His contradictions make him an exceptionally rich character to analyse (principled while committing atrocities; wise in conversation and catastrophically foolish in practice; gentle toward Cole and spirits while dehumanising contemporary people; honest about some beliefs while concealing his entire identity; committed to freedom while denying others agency; profoundly guilty while continuing the behaviour that creates more guilt; capable of recognising present-day people as individuals while still pursuing a plan that sacrifices them; self-aware enough to suffer but not flexible enough to stop)

His knowledge of spirits, dreams, and the Fade makes his conversations rewarding

The Fen'Harel reveal recontextualises him and makes repeat playthroughs more rewarding

His failures make him more compelling than an infallible ancient mastermind would be

His friendship with the Inquisitor can feel unusually intimate and meaningful

His romance delivers a powerful tragic premise

Recurring criticisms:

He's condescending and prejudiced toward the people around him (his dismissal of Dalish culture and religion; his "you're unlike the others" attitude toward high-approval Inquisitors; his contempt for Qunari and Vashoth people; his treatment of Sera; his tendency to present his interpretations as objective truth; his approval of curiosity largely when it centres his expertise; his resistance to being meaningfully challenged; the game's limited opportunities to confront his prejudices)

His elevation to the centre of the franchise overwhelms other characters and storylines

The ancient elven revelations damage Dalish religion and indigenous-coded world-building

His supposed wisdom is protected too often by the writing (other characters rarely challenge him effectively; later revelations prove him correct about subjects where ambiguity would have been richer; his repeated failures don't reduce the deference he receives; the player is pushed toward understanding or redeeming him; his emotional pain receives more narrative emphasis than the damage he causes; his account of history dominates over living cultures' interpretations; opposition to him can be framed as ignorance rather than a legitimate moral position)

His romance is too sparse to support the enormous significance later assigned to it

His romance can feel patronising and controlling (his condescending tone; his tendency to reward agreement and curiosity directed toward him; his judgment of Lavellan's Dalish identity; the vallaslin scene placing him in authority over her culture and body; his unilateral decision to end the relationship; his refusal to trust her with the truth; the limited ability to reject his interpretation while remaining emotionally close; the narrative presenting his secrecy as romantic tragedy rather than a denial of her agency)

His romance restriction feels arbitrary (male Lavellans can have equally meaningful cultural stakes; his age and origin make modern gender restrictions feel especially arbitrary; the female-elf limitation contributes to one relationship being treated as uniquely canonical; queer players wanted access to a major piece of narrative content)

Some respondents find him boring, overhyped, or unpleasant to interact with

Fandom behaviour substantially lowers how many respondents feel about him (Solavellan being treated as canonical; pressure to find him attractive; defences that minimise his prejudices or intended destruction; hostility toward players who choose punishment; endless focus on his emotional suffering; the ubiquity of Solas content after Veilguard)

Recurring division points:

Respondents repeatedly love him as a character while hating him as a person

His villain reveal makes him either vastly more compelling or less interesting than the ordinary apostate he appeared to be

His role as the central antagonist is either the culmination of an exceptional setup or the point where Dragon Age became "the Solas show"

Veilguard either deepens him through context or flattens the ambiguity that made him compelling

Solavellan is either one of the series' greatest tragic romances (many find it uniquely devastating; its cultural, mythological, and emotional stakes are unmatched; several respondents say it brought them into the franchise; shaped many players' canonical world states; remained emotionally affecting for a decade) or an overpromoted, underwritten relationship (contains too little in-game material; dominates discussion despite being highly restricted; later games treat it as more important than other romances; fandom discussions can make it feel like the canonical route)

Text response selection:

“He did many things wrong, and he was either right to do them or it made the story more interesting.” - 28-35F

“If they had gone with the concept art of him with the darker skin and locs I would have an easier time excusing his crimes.” - 23-27NB

“He's just so stupid. He has never succeeded at anything and keeps being like NO I CAN FIX IT and he can't. You just can't man. I support people who like him despite/because of these flaws and I do find him compelling, but tbh in Veilguard I kinda did want to trap him against his will! I just wasn't convinced that would be a viable long term solution. So redemption it is” - 28-35NB

“You know how writers will have a favorite character who is super special and cool and so smart and the best at everything and you're clearly supposed to be so impressed and compelled, and despite all the that, he still fucking sucks? That's Solas. I'm so sick of his shit.” - 23-27NB

“He’s well written. Annoying as shit. I couldn’t stand trying to romance him for lore reasons. Felt condescending and like he was treating my character more like a little pet to stroke his ego. He doesn’t like your character having autonomy in the relationship. I’m not sure how people find him romantic in the least.” - 23-27

“Solas is so complex. He has this deep history that he is trying to atone for, yet you make him see (or don't) that current people are people too. He gets to be the gentle, wise, nerd he always wanted to be, to be himself, in Inquisition. His character is flattened quite a bit in Veilguard, which I don't love, but being able to see his past life scenes and how he grew to be Fen'Harel also gives so much more context.” - 36-45F

“Lying bastard. Didn’t trust him in Inquisition in the slightest and felt so vindicated when he was revealed as Fen’Harel. He’s just so hoity-toity and he thinks he’s better than everyone while also spouting adoration for life. Like shit dude you fucked up thousands of years ago, life moved on and you’re stuck making your regrets literally all of Thedas’ problem. Grow tf up” - 23-27NB

“UGH. I get it, I get why people like him, I do too, but UGH talk about somebody else man!” - 36-45NB

“"The Dawn Will Come" scene was genuinely terrifying for my Inquisitor, because being surrounded by religious fanatics whose religion declares you sub-human is scary as hell. When Solas came to the rescue and took Trevelyan away from the crowd, both Trevelyan and me wept in joy and immediately declared Solas to be the best person ever. Solas is Trevelyan's best friend/mentor figure, and Trevelyan would gladly trade his remaining arm for the chance to have Solas back with him/to help Solas in his quest.” - 28-35F

“His fandom and veilguard (which tried to make you like/feel bad for him) have ruined him for me and now I just get mad when I see him.” - 18-22F

“I waited 10 years but there was no apology for taking my best gear with him when he left. The teary eyes during the reunion cutscene made up for it.” - 28-35NB

“a likeable and interesting character in a vacuum its just a shame they tried to force everything to be about him at the expense of more interesting characters” - 23-27F

“Was going to put Mixed but went with Like, bc at the end of the day even if I'm mixed on his methods and values, I'm still utterly fascinated by him as a character and on a meta level think he was written incredibly well. I may not agree with him on everything, but he's a character I always love talking to, and would be so down to debate and discuss with him irl.” - 36-45NB

“I do like Solas in Inquisition. He's got so much to chew on, and even though he's often treated as infallibly correct by the writing, there's enough ambiguity to see he might just have a very skewed worldview. He had a lot of promise as a character going forward in the series, though I have to say it's kind of annoying to have people act like he's the canon romance and stuff. Almost puts me off him.” - 23-27M

“He's every "arrogant postgraduate student who only dates undergrads" that I've ever met. Condescending as shit. I bet he smells like laundry that's been left in the machine too long.” - 36-45NB

“should never have been a character. the whole “the elven gods are real and evil” lore drop that started in trespasser is one of the most anti-indigenous things bioware has done in dragon age and that’s saying a lot. i don’t find solas compelling enough to justify that narrative in any way (not that it could ever be justifiable) and the fact that he is a cishet white man makes it even less forgivable. i simply do not care about him and i begrudge him for existing and for becoming the main guy of the entire franchise as veilguard dropped a bunch of plots that would’ve been far more interesting. and trick weekes is still a bad writer” - 23-27M

“I liked Solas in a bland, indifferent kind of way when he was just a companion. Then I played Trespasser and I LOVED the thought of Solas as a villain. The way he plays the role of advisor to subtly manipulate you, the little half-lies, the moments where he feels too indignant to keep his mouth shut and only keeps his cover by virtue of the truth being an insane reach. There's so many interesting things about him and his perspective, to have a character who is so intelligent yet has such big blind spots. So principled and yet willing to do such terrible things. It makes his dialogue interesting as foreshadowing, if nothing else. DA4 didn't really deliver on what I thought we'd get from him, so.” - 28-35F

“He is—without a doubt—my favorite character of all time. Solas is so incredibly nuanced and interesting. He’s intelligent, principled, funny, wise, and fundamentally curious about the world. He’s all stubborn and has immense difficulty changing course. He’s a bad liar, which is hilarious, and he can be so incredibly sweet. Every route with him shows a different facet of his character. I could write a literal novel about this, I love him so much.” - 23-27F

“so so bald” - 36-45

“I like interacting with him and asking all of these questions about spirits and the Fade and magic and getting his input on them, but I have gone from indifferent to resenting him because of how much one of my favourite franchises has become completely swallowed up by and obsessed with him and is now all About Solas. I did not care enough about Solas in one game, let alone him becoming The Guy Of The Series. If I see one more gushy post trying to convince me this old bald man is attractive, I may go bananas. It is very interesting in concept to have Fen’harel be romanceable, though - I just wish he’d come in a form other than Solas. (Sidenote: in no world does it make sense for Solas to be straight. That man should’ve been bi. First of all, he’s immortal. I don’t believe any immortal is hanging around for thousands of years without getting up to some gay shit. Second, he seems like someone who would value someone’s intelligence and mind and perspectives more than he would Ever give a fuck about the shape of someone's body.)” - 23-27M

“YOU FUCKING WET RAT, GIVE ME BACK MY ARM” - 23-27NB

“First playthrough I thought he was such a cool character with such vast knowledge and as someone who loves lore I was immediately invested in him and would always exhaust every dialogue option, it was easy to fall into a romance with him…..nOW IMAGINE MY SURPRISE” - 28-35NB

“When I said yes to “did he do anything wrong” I meant being extremely unlikeable, personality wise, and being Fenharel, which ruined everything good about religion in these games” - 23-27NB

“Nothing really captivated me about Solas until he up and left at the end of Inquisition. He's shifty and boasts a little too much and then talks endlessly. He tries to play the part of the wise, introverted hedge mage but I think he missed the "wise" part and just decided to talk about the shit he liked instead.” - 18-22NB

“He's just a bald man, I never found him hot and at this point I'm too scared to say anything. He was homies with my inquisitors and honestly that betrayal hurt more than the breakup one. I think he's an amazingly written character and fantastic twist villain” - 23-27F

Varric Tethras

Baseline: Respondents retain enormous affection for him, but many feel Inquisition flattens him into a familiar, politically moderate mascot without giving him a strong enough reason to be there

Recurring points of praise:

His loyalty to Hawke remains one of his most emotionally powerful qualities

His weariness and vulnerability give him a moving sense of age and consequence

His friendships with Cassandra and Cole are warmly received

His humour, dishonesty, and approachable presence remain comforting staples

Recurring criticisms:

The game gives him too little purpose to justify making him a full companion again

His morally flexible Kirkwall persona is flattened into a harmless voice of reason

His political neutrality becomes more irritating when the narrative treats it as wisdom

His continuity with DA2 is selective and sometimes contradictory (describing Anders as having destroyed far more than the Chantry; reducing the mage rebellion to the consequence of one man's attack; changes in how Hawke is characterised; limited response to whether Hawke supported mages or templars; his opinions failing to reflect the respondent's specific DA2 world state; the lack of substantial variation based on his earlier friendship or rivalry)

His Bianca storyline is widely regarded as an unsatisfying use of his personal quest

His continuing lack of a romance frustrates a substantial group

Text response selection:

“he's fine but i think if hawke dies in the fade he shouldve said fuck this and left the inquisition” - 23-27NB

“A friendly, not-from-this-neighborhood anchor, although he is (in line with DA2) also an anchor for the game's studied "neutrality."” - 28-35M

“I really don’t like Varric here. He lacks any of what I considered his redeeming qualities in II - connection to plot, reason to be there, reason the player/PC is “supposed” to like him. And the fact that the fandom treats him like such a perfect guy/character only makes me dislike him more (I know it’s irrational) because it makes me feel like I’m the weird one for it. He doesn’t belong in the story, and he certainly doesn’t belong in Cole’s story. If we needed to bring a II character for the Hawke/Corypheus angle, I think Sebastian (if recruited) would have been better. If we needed a dwarf, Sandal or a completely new character would have been better.” - 23-27M

“Varric to me is hawke's friend first and foremost. My canon is hawke sacrificed in the Fade because thats how him chasing solas for years makes sense to me.” - 28-35NB

“He should have had different responses to the Inquisitor's mage/templar allyship/conscription depending on what Hawke's deal was in DA2!!” - 36-45F

“I feel like Varric was made slightly blander in Inquisition--the whole "kinda mob boss" feel of him is gone, more focus is put on the slightly more harmless occupation of being a writer, he still has the same lukewarm "my politics are my friends' politics" positions but because Hawke isn't around much it's less obvious that he has no morals and so is positioned to be the "voice of reason" more often--BUT. I still liked him. He's a comforting guy, he's funny, and he's perpetually grumpy. This makes him great in my book.” - 28-35F

“Buddy I love you to death but sometimes it feels so silly that you’re here. Might have made more sense as an advisor.” - 23-27M

“I love Varric, I really do, but he's also the most liberal to ever liberal and I think some people suffer from "I love this character because he's nice to me" blindness, the exact opposite of "I hate this character because he was mean to me once" blindness. Varric stands on nothing, the switchup to becoming a hero and a somewhat leader pre veilguard just doesn't make sense” - 23-27NB

Vivienne

I love her (47.2%), I like her (30%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (12.6%), I'm indifferent (4.4%), I dislike her (3.6%), I hate her (2.2%)

Baseline: Respondents consider her one of Inquisition's most compelling and underdeveloped characters, even when they regard her politics as profoundly harmful

Recurring points of praise:

Her political intelligence and self-possession make her formidable

Her controlled exterior conceals loyalty, compassion, and vulnerability

Her perspective expands the series' portrayal of Circle mages

Her confidence, style, and voice acting make her exceptionally charismatic

She feels real because she doesn't require the Inquisitor's approval

Recurring criticisms:

She generalises from an exceptionally privileged Circle experience (she was permitted to live outside her Circle; her relationship with Bastien offered wealth and protection unavailable to most mages; she gained influence within the Orlesian court; she was insulated from many routine abuses; her magical ability and social skill gave her exceptional leverage; she dismisses rebels who faced conditions unlike her own; she treats individual advancement as an answer to structural oppression; she expects other mages to succeed with a system designed to constrain them)

Her complexity is badly underwritten

The first major Black female companion is burdened with a particularly fraught political role (casting the only Black woman as the pro-Circle voice; framing her as a suspicious, cold, or power-hungry "evil witch"; giving her less development than white companions; inviting the player to deceive her during her personal quest; writing dialogue that assumes mistrust despite limited evidence she's betrayed the Inquisition; relying upon stereotypes of an ambitious Black woman as uniquely threatening; fandom applying standards to her that aren't applied to male or white characters; defenders feeling pressured to deny her actual political flaws in response to racist hostility)

Fandom responses flatten her into either an evil elitist or a flawless queen (she receives disproportionate and prejudiced hatred; her politics are still regressive and harmful; she genuinely loves and supports some people; she can be classist, hypocritical, and dismissive; understanding her beliefs doesn't require agreeing with them; criticising her doesn't require depicting her as evil; defending her humanity doesn't require pretending she's politically flawless)

No ability to genuinely argue against her points without the game giving her the last word

Recurring division points:

Making her Divine is considered either pragmatic protection (a mage becoming the highest Andrastian authority; her political competence; her ability to control hostile institutions; her preference for structured reform over chaos; her understanding of how to make change survive elite opposition; her potential to improve Circles from within) or a dangerous restoration of oppressive power (restores the Circle system; preserves templar dependence upon lyrium; consolidates enormous personal power; recreates institutions whose historical abuses remain unresolved; treats stability as more important than freedom; creates structures that a less competent future Divine could easily misuse)

Text response selection:

“I again like that she isn't super loveable to the Inquisitor. I played as my elf Inq looking up to her and having lessons to play The Game better and understand the world of humans where either she won't be looked down on or she will be overlooked for her own purposes. She also was a great mouthpiece for what a Circle could be, when we didnt see anything like that in previous games.” - 36-45F

“Even with the issues in her writing she's still one of the best characters in DA:I. She just has such a well-balanced personality. So graceful, poised and calculated, yet she shows her mischievous side when she pranks Sera back. Deeply compassionate, but strategic and ruthless when the occasion calls for it, which is my favourite type of character. Not to mention the incredible voice acting. And her gorgeous outfits were a breath of fresh air in a sea of ugly armour 😭” - 23-27F

“I don't agree with all her stances on mages but when you are injured she is the first one to ask if you're alright, and when you're stressed she takes you for a spa treatment. Vivienne is a fiercely loyal friend” - 28-35M

“She's a mage that has suffered the life of a mage but because she succeeded the system isn't that bad. When she talks about the rebel mages it feels so dismissive of the causes behind it ( what happened with the mages in Kirkwall is never discussed with her I think I would have liked to) and when they join she talks about them like they can't be trusted at all. I like her sass many times, I like her design (she is equal with Dorian in style) and when you get her friendship she does seem to care about the inquisitor. I don't like several of her interactions with the party, I love many with Bull and Dorian. I don't know. I don't like her in several parts but sometimes I do like her.” - 18-22F

“deserves better than the Dragon Age fandom, and her centrism makes sense for her as a character, idc what anyone else says about it. that is a position informed by her deeply buried Circle trauma! of course she thinks the Circles are flawed but need to be fixed! she's so fucking terrified of being possessed, of losing ANY control, that that's the only position that makes sense for her to take!” - 23-27NB

“Super super over hated. The worst she did was have some piss poor takes, meanwhile we have Mr genocide one and two, and nobody shits on them nearly as much.” - 18-22F

“Vivienne demands high standards for mages not because she hates other mages but because she can't afford to be seen slipping. She knows perfectly well what world she lives in. Her only leverage is optics, and on the Maker she's going to be a vision not a spectacle. Romantically? WOULD. Such a pity Bastien was her only love. (._.)” - 36-45M

“As a character I do really like her--it's nice to have a mage with a different take on things, even though I disagree with her fervently and her party banter makes me want to start throwing things. That comment that's something like "why don't you ask the mages from Kinloch Hold" or something really had me stopping mid game like,...the AUDACITY.” - 28-35NB

“I really like Viviene. I wish her complexity and backstory was more evident in the game, but then again, she'd never show you anything to your face, so it wouldn't make sense. You have to read between the lines and the implications. Her big problem is that she's made the system work for her, so she expects others to do the same instead of acknowledging how fucked it is. But I still really like her.” - 23-27F

“To quote Sera, 'She's a bitch, and she knows it.' Vivienne does everything to survive, and then try to protect the survival of her people, in a system that is very hostile towards mages. She wears a complex mask of personality for that, where I'm not sure if she even knows where the mask ends.” - 36-45F

“I get that she was brainwashed, but she's still a Circle apologist, and I don't like that. Also, her decisions as the Divine aren't exactly smart or ethical. Keep the templars on a tight leash? Sure, let's make more people addicted to chantry-controlled substance! Grab as much personal power as possible? Sure, because the next Divine totally won't abuse it!” - 28-35F

“I really liked her immediately on meeting her my first playthrough and now I love her almost as much to spite the writers for wanting me to hate her, as I love her because she's a fascinating character. The evil witch motif is exhausting and unfounded and Vivienne is another example of a character where in dialogue the Inquisitor can't just. Be kind? And that irritates me. But as a character -- grand enchanter who worked her way up in the ranks of Orlesian society enough that she can openly freeze or even kill a nobleman at her party (indicating she as a mage has higher status than this noble?!) and who is flattered by Inquisitor flirting but remains forever loyal and faithful to her partner the Duke? God she's great.” - 23-27NB

“It's hard to relate to Vivienne sometimes, given her position as an Orlesian playing the Game (even if the quest where she opens up to you, it's hard to get a feel for how she really feels about you), but she's still a really enjoyable party member to have around. Her dialogue and voice acting are wonderful. Actually there's something kind of pleasantly nerdy about her Game obsession, and seeing her go toe to toe with the other companions is always great (I love her putting Blackwall in his place, as well as the barbs she exchanges with Dorian).” - 28-35F

“She's hard to get along with because the conversation options don't leave room to push back against 'mages in circles' other than being hostile. Wish we'd had more reasoned ways to approach it, and to dig into things like 'okay, but what are you proposing to do about the historical problems, like people being made tranquil, senior enchanters abusing their power *(irving, jowan, blood magic), templars committing abuses and rapes on mages and tranquil (aldrik, cullen's creepy 'flirt' in mage origin, dialogue from anders in da2/daa)? What happens if someone calls for an annulment again? ' I know bioware had stopped being dark fantasy, but for the proposition of returning to the circle to feel real, it needed to be grounded in what went wrong and what we can do about it.” - 28-35NB

“Sometimes I feel like the only person left in the world who sees Vivienne as the character she actually canonically is and not either as Yasss Omg Queen Girlboss or Ugh Bitch. Both her passionate detractors and passionate fans completely flatten her into things she just isn’t. Sometimes it’s misogyny meaning they can’t handle a woman with flaws or who disagrees with them, sometimes it’s racism meaning they can’t handle a black character with nuance who isn’t either Awful or Flawless, and sometimes it’s just people who with good intentions try to push back on the hate she received back in the early years and have gone so far that they can no longer handle her having bad traits without losing their minds about how calling her politics regressive or disliking her is racism and misunderstanding her. Like, guys. Are we serious. This is the pro Chantry boom Anders was right fandom and you’re telling me now that saying the pro-Circle “I could do it so everyone else can if they just try [Kim K voice] People don't want to work anymore” character has regressive politics/beliefs is Offensive Actually? Let us all hold hands and realise that Vivienne is a bit of a shitty person with harmful politics while also acknowledging she is human with moments of genuine loyalty and love and thoughtfulness and that these can all coexist in a character at once. The world will not explode, I promise.” - 23-27M

“Vivienne is a character with a lot of interesting hidden depths - I wish we explored that more as a fandom. I do think she is badly served in the game as her quest is kind of nonsense and the game doesn't really give a good justification for why the player char would specifically mistrust her and not take her at her word.” - 36-45F

“I think she's a very well-written character and I admire her but I cannot get past her wholehearted dedication to a fundamentally abusive system and her disdain for people who take issue with that system. I think that dedication is written well! I think they did a good job! She's a fascinating character! I just can't stand her.” - 36-45NB

“Interpersonally, I would hate her, but she is a great character. I do not appreciate that BioWare's voice for the privileged mage, the one who upholds their continued subjugation because she has never been on the worst end of it, is also the only Black woman in the games (at least in the first 3. Maybe there's someone else in Veilguard, but I doubt it).” - 28-35NB

“I love Vivienne. I love her dialogue, I love that her response to institutional oppression is to manipulate the system to her advantage, and I love her cool disdain for templars while she recognizes their necessity in creating a system that non-mages will accept. I wish she was romanceable!!! :(“ - 23-27NB

The final post will focus on Veilguard's write-in responses!

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