Census Survey Results, Pt. 12 - Opinions, Veilguard
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 final game and its companions -
I have mixed/conflicted feelings (29.4%), I love it (18.3%), I like it (15.1%), I haven't played it (13.3%), I dislike it (11.7%), I hate it (10.1%), I'm indifferent (2%)
Baseline: People often find Veilguard enjoyable to play mechanically while finding it disappointing as a Dragon Age sequel
Recurring points of praise:
Combat and general gameplay
Visuals, environments, and the character creator
The companions (especially Emmrich, Davrin, and Neve)
Explicit trans and nonbinary roleplaying
The final act and some major quests
Recurring criticisms:
Writing and dialogue
Sanitised/flattened setting (Tevinter's slavery receiving little meaningful attention; the Antivan Crows being presented without sufficiently confronting their abuse and recruitment of children; religion and the Chantry having much less presence; political conflicts being reduced to straightforward good and evil factions; the Antaam and Venatori being treated as uncomplicated enemies; racism, oppression, and cultural conflict being softened or sidelined; elven religious revelations receiving insufficient cultural fallout)
Previous decisions and world states barely mattering
A feeling of disconnection from Dragon Age
Choices and roleplaying feeling restricted (Rook having a largely predetermined personality; dialogue options often producing similar deliveries; Rook speaking extensively without player input; players cannot be cruel, selfish, hostile, or even meaningfully abrasive; faction and racial backgrounds providing flavour but limited structural differences; major choices feeling binary or insufficiently consequential; companions cannot permanently reject Rook over ideological differences; replays produce Rooks who feel too similar)
The party lacking lasting conflict
Underdeveloped companion and romance writing
Painfully visible development problems
Recurring division points:
Its combat is praised as the series' most enjoyable while criticised for abandoning Dragon Age's party-based identity
It's repeatedly described as a good game but a poor continuation of Dragon Age
Its major lore conclusions provide long-awaited answers while diminishing the mysteries for some respondents
Text response selection:
“These are four incredibly different games, and I understand why strong fans of one might struggle with the rest. However, I genuinely enjoyed all four for what they were, and I'm really pleased with the overall narrative they create across the continent!” - 36-45F
“It's a fantastic game, but a bad Dragon Age game.” - 18-22M
“i waited ten goddamn years to scramble that egg with an eggbeater and i finally got my chance, that's all i really needed out of this game” - 28-35F
“There are moments of real joy to be found in Veilguard, but the writing is so disrespectful to the setting that it left a bad taste in my mouth that no amount of "it's a miracle this game exists at all" will ever wash out. Condescending, mismanaged, and ultimately spineless. Will I ever stop grieving? (no, lol).” - 36-45NB
“I like Veilguard a lot mostly because of Emmrich and Neve and the insights into some places like Treviso and Nevarra we had only heard of before. The main complaints of other people are so true though, undoing the storytelling from previous games is a huge downside. Showing Tevinter without slaves and the Crows without them abusing kids to shape them into assassins, why? Don't defang this messy world. And it really did ignore previous game choices aside from like, Dorian. Isabella shouldn't have been in it IMO” - 36-45F
“I would take veilguard over no ending at all. It's fine, it has the best combat in the entire series and rather mediocre writing. I can see the dragon age game it wanted to be under all the wraps and I'm content after over 10 years of waiting to make do with an alright finale. Could it be better? Yeah. I wish it had more to it honestly. If it had the same runtime as inquisition I wouldn't complain. It's a game that desperately wants to be like its older siblings but because of corporate bullshit it wasn't able to reach its full potential but for what it is it could've been a lot worse. I will defend this game because I like this game. I'm so fucking sick of the detractors.” - 23-27NB
“idk what to say here except that I just hate Veilguard. I think it's a betrayal of the series. It's a continuation of everything I hated about Inquisition. It runs roughshod over the worldbuilding that was established in the canon, it is preachy as hell, and it has a completely unsuitable tone for not only the series but for the dark themes that are touched on in the game itself. It feels carelessly made, patched together out of spare parts, and you can see the strings everywhere you look. And I understand this is because that's literally what happened, because the dev cycle was that nightmarish. But I still paid 70+ dollars for it and it was not worth that much and they knew it wasn't but they still lied that it was the best work they'd ever done. Even on top of the HUGE tonal changes and disrespect to prior worldbuilding, the game is just horribly written. The dialogue is SO repetitive and SO shallow that you get the sense a lot of it is leftover takes and placeholder dialogue from stages of development where they didn't actually know what the plot was going to be. The roleplaying is abysmal. Rook has one personality, and the dialogue options afforded to you all come from that one personality. Frequently what options you pick had no bearing on the tone that Rook actually used, and they speak constantly without your input in ways that make their personality clear. Only on spare, one-off occurrences are you allowed to define anything about your Rook--and those instances have no bearing on anything beyond that single moment. The disrespect to the tie-in material is so high in this one too... Last Flight, they did you dirty...I will say that the graphics did look nice, though. And there were a scant few parts that I did enjoy on my first playthrough, even if they had diminishing returns. The character creator was nice, too, even if the light colors for tattoos felt actually broken. The main story cutscenes, the ones that weren't the characters standing around gently swinging side to side as they talked to each other, those were very nice. And the actual writing for the roleplaying may have sucked, but seeing Rook's animations play out on your VERY differently designed characters and hearing the different VA's reinterpret their lines gives you a small illusion of rp, at least. The companions.... I was very excited for them pre-release, and I enjoyed them all in the Vows and Vengeance podcast. I just think they should all be in a better written work (Emmrich preferably should be transplanted into a D&D game.) I'm just very bitter about it and I'm bitter to have to incorporate it into the canon. It makes it hard to enjoy even the things I might have liked otherwise.” - 28-35F
“its a shame but this game just doesnt have the same spark, it doesnt even feel like thedas at point, just generic fantasy game. i did have fun playing tho and being able to see isabela and dorian again was a treat. also as a person who cant stand solas, having a game so centered around him is really annoying, like the devs need to keep reminding you who their favorite character is” - 18-22M
“I love it unreservedly; it's beautiful, the gameplay is actually fun, and I adore the writing and the characters. This is the first game where I actually love ALL of the companions and don't just tolerate a couple of them!” - 28-35NB
“A good enough game, but I deeply miss feeling like the work put into previous games mattered. I feel like the choices made don't have the ramifications they should and some of the dialogue is just plain bad. It is nowhere near the disaster piece that critics claimed though.” - 28-35F
“It's... fine. Its gameplay is by far the smoothest and most fun for me - a combat system that's a delight for every class, gorgeous visuals and character creation and outfits, well-telegraphed choices and interestingly-designed areas. But when it comes to story and character, it feels watered down and weak compared to previous games in the series. Nobody can truly disagree, conflict can never linger, even "hardened" characters barely change.” - 28-35NB
“Ah, Veilguard. The ten-year wait was a long one, and I knew long before it came out that people might be building up unrealistic expectations for it. I was determined to be excited about it, no matter what it ended up being. For a month, I didn’t look at any DA spoilers, reviews, reactions, nothing. I played the game the whole way through without knowing any of the twists. I’m glad I did. First, the good. It’s a very playable game! The combat is fun, and the maps are beautiful with enough room to explore without letting the player get too lost. If I weren’t judging it as a Dragon Age game, then it’s very good! I enjoy replaying it. However, even as a non-DA game, the writing made me cringe several times. The tone felt too modern and casual, and honestly the writing was just mediocre. I also felt very railroaded throughout the game. The companions’ stories felt predictable too. Another thing I disliked was that my PC barely had any dialogue with their companions. The companions spoke to each other all the time, but rarely to Rook. Banter during exploration is great! But not being able to have proper conversations at the Lighthouse? That sucked. It felt like my PC was on the sidelines. Did any of the companions ever really get to know Rook? As a DA game, there is good and bad. I was thrilled to have a romanceable dwarf companion at last, and to get to explore Kal-Sharok. I loved Harding’s whole quest and what we learned about the Titans. It felt very natural to have Harding choose anger, because my dwarf Rook felt very angry! It felt personal and visceral. I also loved finding and experiencing Solas’s regrets. The mechanics and the story were well done. My biggest complaint about Veilguard has got to be the lack of continuity between games. What was the point of all my previous decisions if the game didn’t even care? For over a decade I had insisted that I wouldn’t do Morrigan’s ritual until I knew all the consequences, but… there weren’t any? Was the Hero of Ferelden still alive? Hawke? Basically any of their companions? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows? Not only did it make the game very vague, but the developers also swept all those decisions (like who ruled Ferelden, who ruled Orlais, who was Divine) under the rug by setting the South ablaze. All the places I knew and loved were summarized as being overrun and all but destroyed. It was bleak and heartbreaking. Not to mention that the couple of decisions you could make didn’t account for the variety of player experiences. My Inquisitor was a great friend of Solas’s. They got on like a house on fire. He approved of everything she did. But in the end, she still thought that he should be stopped at all costs because she disagreed with his plans. Trespasser had very moving dialogue to that effect. Veilguard? Had nothing. Solas has a line in Veilguard that changes based on whether your world state says “stop” or “redeem”. If it’s “redeem”, then Solas and the Inquisitor were friends, once. If it’s “stop”, then they were never friends at all. It just doesn’t do justice to the relationship they had. The only way to get more nuance is for the Inquisitor to have romanced Solas, which ignores the importance of platonic relationships and makes everything feel sort of flat. My final complaint is how much of the worldbuilding of Thedas that they retconned or ignored. Where was the Chantry? Or Andrastianism in general? Where was the slavery in Tevinter? Where was the prejudice, against elves, against mages? How could it suddenly not matter? Sometimes it felt like as a DA fan I was hallucinating. Was this the same world I knew from the other three games?” - 28-35NB
“being able to be trans in a way that the game responds to and gives roleplaying opportunities for is genuinely revolutionary for the genre. other games give such options but they don't matter beyond a change of words. I remember my awe when Rook was able to talk about their gender identity with their partner. cried and cried and cried” - ?
“After Andromeda came I resigned myself that DA4 was never going to be a fandom darling, and was probably going to be buggy and incomplete (no dlc but the spaces where dlc were planned clearly visible to see). Then 4-5 years passed (I played Inquisition like 15 times), and I was thankful because I swore to myself when Trespasser came out that I was going to be on T by the time I sat down and played DA4. (The development hell was MY BAD I'm afraid, medical conditions and RL circumstances meant I had to wait 9 years before I was allowed to start and Bioware was doing me a solid, sorry about that everyone) But it got a point where I gave up clowning and became a very cynical "I'll believe it when I see it" kind of fan. I saw the direction AAAs were going and then fucking Covid hit, so when the game dropped I entered it with extremely realistic expectations and was pleasantly surprised. It was never going to be like the others, because none of the others were like the others (that's kind of the appeal for me, fresh takes on gameplay/tone in the same setting is fascinating to see) but the CC is one of the best I've used recently (BG3 is dogshit outside of playersheet, don't @ me, I WILL die on this hill, mods don't count, they don't get points for you holding their hands), you can be textually transgender/nonbinary if you want, there's a nonbinary companion (two things even the progressive BFNs in the fandom were saying would NEVER happen because the cishets are the only target audience that matters), I like all the companions, and somehow... the elaborate headcanons I composed for my next PC during the decade of dev hell tie in weirdly perfectly for an Elven Shadow Dragon Rook, and the personality is weirdly perfect for him too? And for the end of a series the ending and loose ends are just unsatisfying enough I could be writing fanfiction for YEARS digging into the hypotheticals and playing out my theories about what's happening with the Executors and what lies beyond the Veil. My expectations weren't high, frankly they were on the floor, but it wasn't a repeat of the miserable experience I had with Origins, nor was it the mechanically designed timesink that Inquistion was, so Inquisition is still my favourite for sentimental reasons, but Veilguard is my literal miracle of "holy fuck this could've been so much worse you guys, and I'm had the time of my life with Varric's replacement son he sought out after he lost Cole in the divorce" I am medically incapable of not writing fanfiction about this now. The wordcount is currently 190000s and rising every other day??????” - 36-45M
“listen a lot of people have very valid and real criticisms of it but i simply have never picked it up and not had a banging time. simply put this game fucks” - 28-35NB
“listen. is the dialogue good? no. are the choices unsatisfying? yes. but undeniably i have the most fun on a day to day basis with combat (everyone try champion warrior NOW), quest design (siege of weisshaupt one of my favourite quests ever), and beautiful environments. i also think for all its writing flaws it’s thematically very tight, even if this gets bogged down in dialogue (imo inquisition has the opposite problem, great dialogue covers up for deeper writing problems lol).” - 18-22F
“As a dirty solavellan, my first reaction to this game was "oh thank fuck, we have resolution, it's been 10 years, I can forgive EVERYTHING just for this aspect of the game." I also really liked the added backstory for solas (fuck Mythal). THAT SAID, with time and less laser focus on the solavellan of it all, I can't escape the game's substantial flaws. The whitewashing of places like Tevinter and the Crows is kinda unforgivable. If you aren't a solasmancer, the options you have for handling solas are really hypocritical and sad (you have to basically re-enslave him for the greater good). I wish the veil came down, everything in the series was saying the veil was coming down, and I hate that they backtrack on that. Taash's story is handled so WEIRD, like sure you can escape the gender binary but maker forbid if you identify as a fantasy-TCK. The lack of nuance for the solas situation (flood the world in demons) is really annoying. So yeah. I will always love the game for the resolution it gave lavellan and solas, but it has a LOT of flaws.” - 23-27F
“Veilguard is a fun game. I love replaying it. I love trying out different romances and factions. I don't love knowing the awful conditions devs were put into for this. I really don't like how all of the crunchy, dark issues that make Thedas what it is were filed away, like slavery in Tevinter, or the horrificness of Crow training, the racist way Qunari were treated, or generally flattening the Antaam and Venetori into evil for evil's sake. There was so little complexity, where the whole world and series set us up for that complexity. I also am furious that Taash, a nonbinary character, was forced to make a binary choice about their cultural trajectory. As a multi-cultural person myself, I was so excited to have a multicultural companion, only to be slapped in the face with that choice. Twice. The choices of Inquisition should have had more effects on the game, if just on the reports that the Inquisitor sends of how the Blight is advancing there. On the other side of things, I love the companions. They all have such interesting trajectories, even if the binary choices at the end of characters' story felt like binary for the sake of binary. I love the ability to be nonbinary and trans in the game, and how the game handles that. I found myself moved to tears by some of those conversations with my second Rook, who was nonbinary, realizing that I still had some gender feelings to work out. I do love that the story gives satisfying endings for whatever your relationship with Solas is. As a hopeless solavellan, I was satisfied with that ending, but my second Rook really enjoyed tricking Solas. On the other hand, I didn't like how Solas was flattened into a Villain, when he didn't have to be. There were the other Evanuris and the Blight to deal with.” - 36-45F
“I understand the troubled production. I understand that it was never going to be what everyone wanted and expected after a 10 year wait. And yet it didn’t just fail to meet those expectations, it seemed to fail to meet any of them. It wasn’t a terrible game - I enjoyed playing it - but it just felt at no point like an actual Dragon Age game. It lacked the depth, the choice, the gritty feeling that sometimes things go wrong - sometimes you make what seems like a good choice that turns out poorly (e.g. Harrowmont). It took previously established lore and threw it out the window (the Crows), and added weird generic stuff that doesn’t feel DA (niches).” - 23-27M
“They shouldn't have done that.” - 28-35F
“It’s so complicated. Qunari depiction is the most racist it’s ever been (WILD given the history of the series). The politics are scrubbed. It barely feels like Thedas a lot of the time. But also it feels very much like a farewell love letter from the devs with “we did what we could” underlining it all, especially when you peel back all the layers of cut content. I’m glad we got the game at all.” - 28-36NB
“This game is gorgeous and genuinely fun. As a contained story it is pretty cool and decent. Unfortunately it is the fourth in a series and doesn't necessarily care about carrying that legacy. I can see that it is not the game the devs wanted to make or ship. It invalidates a lot of lore and world building from previous games and almost all of the previous gameplay unless you played as a Solas romancing Lavellan (and even then its only just the one choice of stop or redeem him that is relevant and thats frustrating). As fun as the gameplay is it feels substantially physically harder to play than all the previous ones. For some people this extra challenge was probably exciting but from a disabled gamer standpoint it is more exhausting to play than any of the previous games. Its very hard for me to explain but I feel like people who know get it, if that makes sense. Wish we'd had a faction prologue that introduced Rook better. Their relationship to Varric feels so unbelievably flat and it takes a lot of the sting from the emotional hearts of the game.” - 36-45F
“Veilguard is a good action game. Unfortunately, I found myself missing the things that had brought me to Dragon Age in the first place. They dropped meaningful choices, dialogue and roleplay, and interesting non-romantic relationships, in favor of focusing solely on romance, allowing companions to bond with each other but not your character, and including two choices from previous games and including only a handful of meaningful choices in this game. I recognize development was troubled, and of course no game could live up to a decade of hype, but when you try to have simultaneously a grand finale and a soft reboot, you get the least of both worlds.” - 23-27M
“Bioware learned a lot of lessons from Inquisition and in implementing them made a lot of new mistakes. I don't think the writing is nearly as weak as its critics claim, but there are still a lot of avenues for improvement, particularly in the Antiva plotlines. That said. The game is a joy to play. The characters are delightful, the stakes feel appropriately high, the visuals are stunning, and the gameplay mechanics are such a vast step up from anything the previous games did. Combat went from something I tolerated to being a genuine joy. You can definitely see the seams where they worked around the consequences of truly abysmal management, and their lack of trust in their audience is at times grating (though understandable), but it's so fun to play.” - 28-35M
“I loved some of the improvements of character design, like being able to be non-binary, and appreciated the small amount of character background we could have, even if unique origins weren’t implemented. I liked having a nb companion whose gender wasn’t ignorable, and who was treated better than Krem. That said, the racism issues got way worse in this one. The treatment of Taash’s gender vs their multicultural background was a good example of that. Again, sensitivity is given when it’s something the writer can identify with somehow but otherwise they are unable or unwilling to apply the same understanding to struggles they don’t personally experience. The further monstrous and less human depictions of the qunari were even more racist for literally no reason, the venatori wearing niquabs, the only meaningful depiction of slavery being people comedically used as chairs, all of that felt like a refusal to engage with the issues of racism that the games have incorporated since origins. Lucanis’s character felt like diet Anders and the writing of his story where he gets to be a noble good hearted character whose possession by a demon is treated with nuance and compassion despite Lucanis being an assassin who has no moral issues with killing innocent people etc, came across as a particularly funny juxtaposition. it was really glaring that the non-politically motivated guy who kills people for money and never stops doing that doesn’t get condemned as harshly by the narrative as the dude who does free healthcare for refugees in the sewers because he’s too scary and radical. The crows’ depiction felt weirdly sanitized too. We learned from Zevran that they essentially practice mass child trafficking for recruits and that a lot of these children die. We learn they pick elven kids specifically because they’re sexually appealing and that torture is part of the crow training process even before they get to take contracts, and that individual recruits have very little power within the organization even if the crows are very politically influential. and then in veilguard we just don’t deal with any of that even though we can play a crow character who has presumably gone through those things and the antivan crows being a tremendous part of the storyline for the game and one of the companions. The elven gods being the source of evil and their entire religion being fake and made up by tyrants when andraste and the maker continue to be treated differently was not surprising but still pretty gross. Having Bellara apologize for the crimes of the ancient elves when we have multiple human characters in previous games bitching about not being to blame for the crimes of all humans against elves felt especially ironic and shitty on the part of the writing staff. The total lack of attention to how this information is impacting elves across thedas, and the lack of attention to human reactions to learning these things re: elves actually being to blame for the blight feel lazy when this is the main storyline of the game. again, I didn’t hate it but it was really shallow and unsatisfying and the unwillingness to engage with their own lore made it very disappointing after the long wait.” - 36-45M
“If you separate Veilguard from the previous titles entirely, lore and all, it's a tidy, clean game good for casual play and a light laugh. As a nonbinary person, I did like being able to have a nonbinary protagonist, and that there were other nonbinary characters. I think VG definitely needed more polish in the story and dialogue department, particularly in letting the companions fully flesh themselves out through conflict(s). As the fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise, I was left quite disappointed with VG. I did not care for the lack of ability to play an anti-hero, I did not care for the lack of inter-companion conflict, and I did not care for the forced tonal shift of the dialogue as a whole.” - 28-35NB
“There's a lot to love about Veilguard, truly. I played this game three consecutive times on release and found something I liked even more each time. However, I do feel that it lost some of the magic. It seems to me that the writers here wanted to present a morally uncomplicated story, and that's just sort of... wrong for the franchise. Although I like the end product, I do mourn some of what we could have gotten instead.” - 36-45F
“A craven game if I've ever seen one. No true choices the player can make to impact the story, nothing you did in previous games matters, nothing that would make party members leave, no possibility to be straight-up evil or even really decide what kind of personality Rook is. I don't even like being mean in video games but I'd like to be given the option! Also, Rook is less part of the group and more its manager, with the party members having conversations and relationships amongst themselves where Rook is never invited or involved in. The fact that that feeling comes through stronger in Veilguard than in Inquisition, where you are literally the boss of the entire organisation says a lot and none of it positive. That being said, I did have a lot of fun playing (I've only played it once), because the Rook I concocted in my head months before the game was even published and that I continued to cultivate and even write backstory and reasoning to in my phone's notes app throughout the game just so happened to fit very well into the preset personality that Bioware had given Rook. My conversations with my friends helped reveal how samey Rook was despite very different roleplay decisions.” - 28-35NB
“In truth the game absolutely has its flaws but as long as people are going to be dicks about it I'm going to loudly proclaim how it's perfect actually!!!!! I can't wait until haters settle down so I can have reasonable discussions about where things went wrong with it. That said, I think it's a perfectly acceptable game. Most of the lore doesn't conflict as much as people claim, they're just forgetting how much of the lore is from biased sources / how much THE CHARACTERS THEMSELVES are biased ("Only mages can be possessed??" yes we know that's not true, but there's no reason to believe that the chantry let THAT info get out that it is very much not, so it's entirely reasonable that these people DO NOT KNOW THAT.)” - 36-45NB
“I dont care what people say, this game is so stupidly overhated. Does it have issues? Yeah. Is it a miracle its still this good despite the decade of bullshit development hell? Even more yes. I had a wonderful time playing it. I adore the companions, and their personal stories. And i love the ever-present theme of grief. Playing it really touched me, and it was an extra help for when I lost my terminally ill father few weeks after playing. Especially Emmrichs views on death were very affecting” - 28-35
“They let Ferelden fall off-screen after we spent three full games and two decades saving it. Bruh.” - 23-27M
“I want to like it, and I've played it multiple times, but what they did to the lore is criminal, and everyone is just too nice and polite. Life isn't like that. Playing a good character when you have no other choice is useless. Playing a good character when you have the option to be evil is very satisfying. (or sometimes just being evil)” - 46-55F
“I think the Veilguard haters have just hallucinated a different series cause Alistair and Bellara have almost identical dialogue sometimes. You could throw Ali in Veilguard and no one would be able to tell he's not from there. Also this fandom needs to get better about the characters that aren't white men. I like the white boys but if I see one more Cullen Tradwife or Solasmancer say Davrin is "boring" I'm going to kill a hostage” - 23-27F
“I first played DAI maybe around 2 years before DATV came out, so I was really excited to experience this game along with the fandom. I had fun the 1st time I played it, but every time I replay it, it loses a little bit more of my interest. Earlier, when asked who my favorite companion was, it took awhile to give an answer because I decently liked all the characters, but I didn't Love them so no one stood out to me. I think Veilguard had a lot of potential that it lost the moment that it limited imported choices to just 3. Even though I don't love it, its creation and release really brought the fandom back to life and gave me the chance to connect and share my excitement with people who felt the same, so even if I don't love it, I'm deeply grateful for what it gave me.” - 23-27F
“Like DA2, it's fun as a standalone game. It's a fever dream when played with the others. A dreamland where prejudice is a thing of the past, everyone has whimsy, and everything is black and white and simple. Everyone has the same sense of humour, no one has any real conflict with one another that might actually interfere with working together, and you get to passively stand by and exclusively exist as a emotional support stuffie to bounce NPCs character arcs off of. Rook exists to support and smile and occasionally make a joke. LOVE the combat system though, 10/10.” - 18-22NB
“I had fun while playing it but it was by far the weakest regarding story and non-combat mechanics. There's barely any choice that feels impactful, the companions are interesting but its like the game only hints at depth in them, and ends up feeling very shallow at times. I take a lot of issue with what feels like a sanitisation of the major themes and political conflicts of the previous games (mostly DAO and DA2) and that, unfortunately, discouraged me from interacting a lot with it after I was done with my first playthrough. Lucanis' romance was... disappointing -- and many times, so was the relationship between Rook and the companions. I do have to give it a lot of credit for the fact that I got to play Rook as a canon trans man, and despite feeling a bit conflicted about Taash's quest, it's also undeniable that their presence means a lot in the current climate.” - 28-35M
“If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. I guess that's not entirely true, the game is very pretty and the combat is fun to play. But that's not why I play dragon age.” - 28-35M
“I am very disappointed in this being the final game for 3 main things: 1) the gameplay swapping to 2 teammates with no control, only combos (I like my mass effect in mass effect, not dragon age). 2) The lack of choice carry over. This is a direct sequel and cumulation of 15 years of games and world building, they could have used the keep and added in different codex entries and it would have made the world feel more connected. Very disappointed in only bringing 3 choices over. Adding to that, the scorched earth of Fereldan is such a pissoff without bringing any choices over. It's all codex entries off screen, they could just add a "queen, king, or queen and king" version like come on. 3) The romances suck! They are good characters, but the romances are cookie cutter template nothing burgers without a connection. Flirt, flirt, fake out kiss, flirt, real kiss, end scene. No passion! Cullen threw me on his desk! The advisors walked in on us with Iron Bulls schlong out! Anders pushed me into a wall and made out with me (i think)! 4) Also fourth thing the writing is weaker than it's been before, in conversation and exposition. Overall, the music, the pacing, the romances; it all felt like mass effect. I LOVE mass effect. But I love Dragon Age more, and it wasn't a dragon age- and I know dragon age is hard to define because each one kinda reinvents itself, but in hindsight the first three feel like dragon age and it felt connected and Veilguard doesn't feel like either. It had its moments; the character customization/ gameplay quality was great. No glitches or crashes, - ok one glitch of achievements not popping (I would have had it platinumed in one playthrough smh). The development cycle of this game is a horror story beyond comprehension and I can't wait to hear about it when the workers NDAs expire in like 10 years or something. I'm sorry to rant” - 23-27F
Bellara Lutare
I love her (41.4%), I like her (32.7%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (10.3%), I'm indifferent (9%), I dislike her (5.6%), I hate her (1%)
Baseline: Respondents see considerable warmth, intelligence, and emotional potential in her, but feel Veilguard repeatedly buries those qualities beneath shallow dialogue, repetitive guilt, and an uncomfortable treatment of elven history
Recurring points of praise:
Her neurodivergent traits create a strong sense of recognition (rapid, scattered style of speaking; tendency to infodump about specialised interests; enthusiasm when meeting new people; difficulty containing several linked thoughts at once; anxiety over how other people perceive her; intense focus on artifacts, theory, and creative projects; combination of excitement and self-consciousness; the way her thoughts appear to run faster than her speech can organise them)
Her sweetness, curiosity, and enthusiasm make her immediately loveable
Her grief over Cyrian gives her storyline genuine emotional weight
Her intellectual and creative interests make her more than a conventional magical researcher
Her mage-archer concept is inventive and appealing
Recurring criticisms:
Her dialogue is considered overly modern, "Marvel-coded", and mechanically quirky
Her storyline assigns inappropriate guilt to modern elves for the Evanuris (she treats the Evanuris as evidence of collective elven culpability; modern elves have already faced centuries of oppression; the game pays little attention to their status as victims of ancient rulers; her position validates human prejudice instead of challenging it; the storyline asks whether elven culture should be preserved or abandoned; Dalish perspectives are compressed into a single reaction; the game appears to forget that the Evanuris harmed elves first)
Her character becomes too narrowly centered on Cyrian
Her romance is severely underdeveloped
Her background and cultural identity are insufficiently developed
Many see her as sanitised compared to her previous characterisation in Vows & Vengeance
Her personal and faction conflicts sometimes operate on nonsensical premises (being regarded as excessively strict for insistence upon safety protocols while working with lethal ancient artifacts; her ability to repair ancient machinery extraordinarily quickly; considering the destruction of irreplaceable knowledge without enough examination; the unclear circumstances of Cyrian's survival or return; her limited practical response while he's dying; the Archive storyline introducing major ethical questions and then abandoning them)
Recurring division points:
Her neurodivergent representation feels either deeply authentic or infantilisingly stereotypical
Her resemblance to Merrill is either part of her appeal or evidence that she's an inferior replacement
Her cheerfulness is either refreshing or exhausting
Her magical technology concept is either excitingly distinctive or tonally disconnected from Dragon Age
Text response selection:
“She’s a breath of fresh air in a game series littered with people who don’t go to therapy about their grief.” - 18-22M
“Bioware needs to cool it on the young, excitable female scientist archetype (Liara, Peebee, Merrill, Bellara) but she's my favourite of them” - 36-45F
“Some of her scattered speaking and being naive feels like Merril 2. She's most fun when she is a new character, excited about serials and interested in theory, writing to people like Emmrich, getting over a messy breakup etc” - 36-45F
“My type in RL is so much like Bellara, It's interesting to me how Bellara internalised so much of ancient elven history that it created distance between the Dalish parts of her culture. Veilguard probably could've done a little more with that, but it's there if you look into it. It also wasn't lost on me the two other companions she idolises are humans and mages. Also the theory that Veilguard was written by Bellara is a lot of fun. I'm unsure what the Varric narration is about though, no one's really come up with a good reason why she'd do that.” - 36-45M
“I want to love Bells but I feel like at the end of the day the dialogue writing and VA direction did her injustice. Her happy-go-lucky bubbliness overshadows the depths of emotion and intelligence of her character (not just for me but I believe this is why she's generally overlooked by a lot of the fandom) and the impact of her personal quests is really nerfed by this as well. She's the main vehicle for lore in the group but just kind of written off as an over-excited nerd in the story 🫠 Justice for Bellara ✊” - 36-45NB
“Bellara was the character I met and instantly thought was candidate number one to say something like "well, THAT happened" or "he's right behind me, isn't he?" The narrative attempts to make her biggest flaw be her guilt complex, but it plays it in nonsensical ways. The Veil Jumpers treat her as too strict for establishing safety protocols and the narrative somehow agrees??? We see the vault of lethal artifacts but Bellara is too strict for emphasizing safety protocols? And then somehow she's acting like elves are at fault for the gods in almost Catholic guilt over it and it just ends up making her seem foolish? I want to like her, and I enjoy her character, I just find her writing so jarring.” - 23-27M
“she's sooo cute and I love the concept of her character. but truly some of the worst writing she's very Marvel-coded. Also don't love her feeling guilty about something that happened thousands of years ago and the way DAV forgets that modern elves are a very oppressed people and have been for centuries.” - 28-35NB
“One of my Hawkes was an archer in-game but in my headcanon was a mage who used a bow in combat in order to hide her magic, because I never understood why an apostate would just be flinging spells around openly in public. I always thought that using another weapon or double-classing should be a thing in-universe, because there’s no reason a mage wouldn’t also be able to learn archery or sword-fighting, so I was happy to see a canon character who was a mage that used archery as well!” - 23-27M
“I think Bellara would've been fine in isolation, but with Harding's complete character change in Veilguard to make her more unsure of herself, it does contextualize Bellara's constant anxiety and naivety in a gendered way that I don't particularly like.” - 23-27NB
Davrin
I love him (56%), I like him (33.6%), I'm indifferent (5.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (3.8%), I dislike him (0.4%), I hate him (0.3%)
Baseline: Respondents see him as one of Veilguard's most compelling companions, but feel the game repeatedly treats him as Assan's handler rather than the protagonist of his own arc
Recurring points of praise:
His struggle to imagine a life beyond heroic death gives him genuine thematic depth
His combination of disciplined warrior and gentle caretaker makes him deeply appealing
His romance is considered one of the game's most convincing and actively romantic
His grounded competence makes him feel connected to earlier Dragon Age
His personality contains more humour and friction than the "boring hero" label suggests
His appearance and voice acting inspire considerable enthusiasm
His rivalry with Lucanis gives the party some welcome friction
Recurring criticisms:
Assan dominates nearly every part of his storyline
His personal history is badly underexplored
His Dalish identity has too little bearing on his character or the wider crisis
His possible death undermines the arc about learning to survive
The game and fandom undervalue him in racialised ways (pre-release assumptions that he would be boring; the writers apparently believing players would only save him because Assan was attached to him; his exclusion from an independent background romance; his ending focusing on the griffons rather than his own future)
Text response selection:
“Liked the party member, thought he was the least insufferable of the companions, hated how him being Dalish had almost no bearing on his characterization and that his questline completely butchered the material from Last Flight and focused so much on Assan, whom I found incredibly annoying (more so from Rook being forced to like Assan even at Davrin's expense.)” - 28-35F
“Convinced this man has had clinical depression since puberty was under the impression the feelings he had were dissatisfaction over the Dalish lifestyle which was why he left and then ended up backing himself into a sunk cost fallacy leading him to join the Wardens instead of admitting to himself that maybe there was Some Other Reason that could've caused that. I've not done his romance yet but I'm gonna.” - 36-45M
“First most glaring issue is that almost every conversation with him is about Assan instead of himself. And then when the issue of Isseya is finally resolved, even then he doesn't get to relax and spend some quest time actually talking about himself. And he's the only companion excluded from having a non-rook romance.... Honestly just feels like they wanted him to be assan's sidekick instead of vice versa.” - 23-27NB
“He literally almost solo carried this game on his back but his stupid fucking dog kept getting in the way. Unfortunate.” - 36-45NB
“Get the griffin out of my face, I want the Davrin. The writing of Davrin and centering of Assan over him is frankly unforgivable. His own epilogue slide is about the griffons. His choice is about the griffons. His backstory is brought up solely as a metaphor to help him relate to Assan. I love Davrin, and his bits of story and personal aspects are so cool, and I wish we had gotten more of him without Assan.” - 23-27M
“I feel like he is done a disservice by the game in having to share his story with the griffons but this cannot stop me from loving him. I'm such a sucker for a survivor's guilt story. And his romance is so good. Bioware characters are not often successful flirts, particularly when they're intended to be, but Davrin delivers. Absolutely swoonworthy. I love how he brings a more secular approach to being Dalish, for lack of a better term, and I love that his steadfast nature and strong convictions are both a great strength and a recurring weakness, and that despite this he is still able to adapt and re-evaluate. Perhaps the only Bioware romance option I personally would want to date if he were real.” - 28-35M
“My special favourite baby boy <333 I did NOT expect just how much I'd end up liking him, but I absolutely couldn't resist as I got to know him in the game. There's just so much baked into his personality! He's charming and funny, but also headstrong, incredibly pedantic when it comes to monsters and also so argumentative (which I love in a character. his rivalry with Lucanis is very special to me). His inability to view himself beyond the use his death can provide is incredibly compelling to me. I wish his outlook was explored more by talking directly about him rather than using Assan as a storytelling device, though.” - 23-27F
“It's sometimes hard to get a true sense for his character, because so much of his storyline is wrapped up with the griffons. I absolutely hate that he's one of the two characters who can perma-die towards the end of the game. You spend all this time teaching him that being a Warden doesn't have to come with personal sacrifice and him dying, and then the mission orchestrates it so that Davrin is the one most likely to die in that mission. Dunno, that seems a little off to me, and a bit like a forced 'Virmire 2.0' situation from Mass Effect.” - 28-35F
“If you had Davrin and Solas side by side and told me one of them was an Elvhen god I would think it was Davrin. How can he be perfect in so many ways?” - 28-35F
Emmrich Volkarin
I love him (47.3%), I like him (32%), I'm indifferent (9.4%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (6%), I dislike him (3.2%), I hate him (1.9%)
Baseline: Respondents find him unusually charming and emotionally compelling, but feel the game avoids the moral and cultural complications that should accompany a necromancer seeking immortality
Recurring points of praise:
His gentleness and courtesy make his macabre presentation especially charming
His scholarly enthusiasm gives him a distinctive and appealing personality
His design and aesthetic are among the cast's most consistently praised
Hezenkoss and the theatrical portions of his quest are widely enjoyed
His romance is seen as the game's most mature and attentive relationship
Older romance representation is appreciated by many, with older players appreciating an option closer to their own age and younger respondents celebrating the opportunity to romance an older man
Recurring criticisms:
The ethics of binding spirits and using the dead as labour are barely examined
The game gives him too little involvement in the central story
The game refuses to recognise that Rook may be close to his age and forces an age-gap narrative
Many positive responses to his interests are locked behind a Mourn Watch background
Text response selection:
“He would probably smell like embalming fluid and werthers originals and I love that for him.” - 23-27NB
“Have been fascinated by Nevarra since learning about it so getting to recruit a proper Nevarran necromancer was a delight. Love his storyline about his fear of dying. Really wish there was less emphasis on 'but I'm so much older than you' when I headcanoned and designed my Rook to be in their forties.” - 23-27NB
“His romance… very sweet. Up until the last scene where the bed is a coffin” - 28-35NB
“He feels very out of place in the franchise, but the tone of DAV was all over the place anyway. Sure, there's cartoon necromancers here now, whatever. I guess he's nice to look at. “ - 36-45NB
“God he’s so fascinating and having the trans talk with him brought me to tears. Being a MW elf mage is the best way to play VG and he’s the best romance. Ugh and Manfred!!!!!” - 28-35NB
“I never thought I'd run into a video game character with a crippling fear of death. What an interesting personal struggle! It's also good to finally learn more about mortalitasi.” - 36-45F
“My favourite romance of the DATV bunch. I like his vibes, and I like that he seems legitimately interested in talking to Rook when they come around.” - 28-35F
“He’s fun. His main quest felt like a Scooby Doo episode in the best way. Wish his arc had more consistent lore with what we knew of Nevarra before his game.” - 28-35F
“A lot of his comments make more sense after realising the twist with Varric and how he (and all the companions) are trying to help Rook cope with grief. He's probably the best character and romance” - 23-27F
Lace Harding
I love her (30.6%), I like her (28%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (17.2%), I'm indifferent (13.8%), I dislike her (8.7%), I hate her (1.7%)
Baseline: Respondents miss Scout Harding - they find the Titan storyline potentially fascinating, but feel Veilguard changes her personality so drastically that she often reads as Dagna or an entirely new character carrying Harding's name
Recurring points of praise:
Her Titan connection finally gives dwarven history major narrative importance
Her anger and ruthless streak provide glimpses of a stronger character
Finally making a dwarf romanceable carries considerable significance
Her kindness and adventurousness still inspire affection
Her relationship with Taash is warmly received
Recurring criticisms:
She feels like a different and substantially younger character than Scout Harding
Her voice direction and dialogue intensify the sense of infantilisation
Her romance is difficult to separate from the personality rewrite (responders wanted to romance Scout Harding rather than this altered version; her flirting sounds unusually juvenile; she can't discuss sexual desire like an adult; the apparent regression creates discomfort; a prior flirtation with the Inquisitor receives little meaningful acknowledgment; she can begin a relationship with Taash despite players imagining an ongoing Inquisitor romance; the long-awaited route doesn't resolve the characterisation they'd loved)
The Titan storyline appears better suited to Dagna, Valta, Sandal, or another dwarf
The game assumes a degree of attachment and importance that Inquisition didn't necessarily establish
Her response to elven history and Solas feels disproportionately personal (framing the Titan revelations through Harding's personal betrayal; treating modern elves as responsible for ancient rulers' crimes; acting as though she and Solas had been intimate friends; allowing her religious assumptions greater protection than Dalish beliefs receive; the narrative positioning her judgment of Solas as unquestionably correct; her becoming the primary arbiter of a conflict affecting every dwarf; a surface Andrastian dwarf speaking for cultures with much closer relationships to the Stone)
Rook has travelled with her before the opening, yet receives introductory conversations as though meeting her for the first time
Her visual redesign is criticised as her being "yassified" and remodelled into someone more conventionally marketable
Her presence relies too much on players already knowing and loving her, when many respondents weren't attached to her in Inquisition
Recurring division points:
Her return is either the fulfilment of a decade-long wish or obvious fanservice casting
Text response selection:
“It should've been Dagna” - 23-27NB
“Thought she was okay in Inquisition, in Veilguard she was INSUFFERABLE. Talked like a children's show host, was turned from an easygoing hardened scout with a mischievous streak into a shy people-pleasing horsegirl who can't even talk about being horny like an adult in her romance. I couldn't stand her even on my first run, her voice acting was so annoying. It makes it even worse that I know her voice actress can do her better…” - 28-35F
“I love her whole reconnecting with the stone arc in Veilguard, it's extremely cool going so deep into dwarf lore and how it's connected to the elven lore. But I'm a bit annoyed that a) she can't accept that her religion was disproved when she does expect the elves to accept that THEIR religion wasn't real, and b) she acts as if she personally was betrayed by Solas, as if they were friends or something. But my dislike is more on the meta level, I guess.” - 36-45F
“She is stalwart, adventurous, and doesn't seem to have a reasonable sense of fear of anything. I love that she just kind of volunteered one day and never stopped volunteering. I also get the whole fawning thing to make oneself less of a target. That was me.” - 36-45F
“This is not the Lace Harding we meet in Inquisition and learn about in Jaws of Hakkon. I don't know who it is, but it’s not her. This should have been Dagna or Sandal, but instead we got this abomination.” - 23-27M
“I genuinely didn't like how Harding was written in DATV. It felt like she was making everything about her, specifically?.. Not even her people in general, but her.” - 28-35F
“I never cared much for Harding in Inquisition. She was there, and familiar, but I never like, wanted her as a romance option or a party member. Which is really funny because Veilguard banks on you having known and really liked Harding, to the point of acting like she was in the Inner Circle, when I feel like my Inquisitor wouldn't have recalled her. In any case, Harding does very little for me apart from giving more lore about the Titans. Her personal quest aggravates me because she has no real lasting personality changes due to absorbing/accepting the Titan's compassion or grief.” - 23-27M
“I just don't vibe with her as much. Similar to Cullen, I know she's likely only there because she was a fan-favourite and that makes her feel sort of shoe-horned in comparison to everyone else. All other companions represent their own factions, have a stake in the fight against the gods and the enemy faction they have a particularly hostile relationship with, and Harding is just... there? Inquisition is barely present in the game, so her role as an Inquisition agent is barely important. The Kal-Sharok dwarves are just so contained to those story locations you can access only during Harding's quest that I don't feel they really connect Harding to the world of the game in a meaningful way. I also don't think that an Andrastian character living on the surface her entire life is the best candidate for exploring the Dwarven history. It all feels forced to me.” - 23-27F
“They yassified my girl!! And also gave her such an insanely dissatisfying conclusion with the Titan stuff after some actually compelling primal rage. And ALSO didn't lean into the fact that she's been traveling with Rook for a year at ALL—all of the early conversations with her is as Character 101 as anyone you're meeting for the first time.” - 36-45F
“I love Harding in Inquisition, but the DATV companion version doesn't really feel like her. I like the character, but I don't really view her as Scout Harding, but as a separate character with the same name/background.” - 36-45F
“I… don’t get it. I don’t get it! She was an absolute nothing character in Inquisition - she was just there to introduce locations, and it could’ve been done by virtually any other Scout NPC. I would not have given her a second thought upon finishing the game if not for the fact that the fandom proceeded to spend years demanding she return as a romance option. While I haven’t played Veilguard yet (I plan to soon), its existence has led me to resent her character a bit because I don’t believe she would have returned if not for the fandom demand, and I think another character would have served the role she got much better. She returned with a personality not at all the same as Inquisition, with a story focused on Titans and lyrium and magic that should have gone to the several other Dwarf characters like Dagna, Sandal, or Valta that were actually connected to those things rather than a random surface Dwarf that had never been involved with any of it. She just felt shoehorned in because she’s popular. I was actually one of the people who believed there should be a dwarf romance in Veilguard - not particularly because I even love dwarves that much, but just because it was a noticeable absence when the series has always had playable dwarves, dwarf companions, and every other race as a romance option already - but I really wish the first dwarf romance had gone to someone other than her.” - 23-27M
“I like her but they cursed her VA by giving her all the tutorialish lines which makes me feel like she thinks I'm 12” - 28-35F
“I really like Harding in DAI, and she still has some of that at the start of DATV. But something is lost part way through DATV for me. Perhaps it's because I played an elf in my first playthrough (which saw her blaming elves for the issues with the dwarves, despite it not being at all their fault as modern elves), and then as a dwarf in the next playthrough (where I'm left standing there like, 'So... She's the most special dwarf, huh?')” - 28-35F
“I didn't enjoy the voice performance. I also think Harding would be a more interesting character if she was allowed to have a flaw.” - 36-45F
“Her writing in Veilguard isn't very good. I prefer her in Inquisiton: while still cute, she acts more mature. Veilguard makes her so awkward. If anything, she should act more mature, no? She has been through a lot and has spent many years doing important work and having many many people work under her. She would have made a very good main character for Veilguard instead of Rook, I think. If you disregard the fact that the whole series is about creating your own mc to roleplay, I think almost every part of the story would have been more interesting if she was the one who we played as.” - 23-27NB
Lucanis Dellamorte
I love him (38.8%), I like him (27.6%), I'm indifferent (12.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (11.7%), I dislike him (6.9%), I hate him (2.2%)
Baseline: Respondents consider him one of the game's greatest wastes of potential - an appealing and unusually dense concept flattened into a pleasant, coffee-loving assassin with an unfinished romance
Recurring points of praise:
His socially awkward assassin persona provides an appealing reversal of expectations
His domestic care reveals a gentle person beneath the Crow identity
His family dynamics contain compelling abuse and succession material
His ace-spectrum writing is personally meaningful to some respondents
Spite is frequently considered funny, memorable, and independently loveable
His accent and appearance generate straightforward attraction
Recurring criticisms:
His many dramatic premises receive almost no sustained exploration
Coffee becomes a substitute for personality
The game sanitises the Antivan Crows and avoids questioning his profession
His imprisonment and trauma have surprisingly little effect on him
Spite barely matters despite being central to the premise
His personal quest doesn't resolve his central conflicts (whether he remains a Crow; whether he wants to become First Talon; how he and Spite will share their life; what recovery after the Ossuary looks like; whether Caterina's treatment is confronted; whether the Crows themselves must change; what Lucanis wants when family duty is removed)
He's denied meaningful agency over becoming First Talon
Saving Minrathous removes too much of his content without creating a developed rivalry route
His relationship with Neve is damaging to his romance with Rook
Recurring division points:
His romance is either a meaningful ace-spectrum slow burn or an unfinished route in which he barely likes Rook
Text response selection:
“Unfortunate proximity to the sanitization of the Crows, needed just any interrogation of morality and his relationship with his grandmother.” - 28-35F
“Love that they basically did a bait / switch with Lucanis and Emmrich xD Lucanis looked like the edgy, dommy shadow daddy assassin in the promo material - but then he's just this tiny Mediterranean man with a coffee addiction, who's too shy to function, while Emmrich is actually the dark horse when it comes to eroticism xD Also love what they did with the family dynamics between Catherina, Illario and Lucanis - classic golden child verses scape goat abuse dynamic.” - 36-45F
“I really wanted to like Lucanis and thought he'd be my favourite but he ended up being very boring. He had so much potential - he is an assassin, he is the only non mage possessed by a demon, and yet all he seems to talk about is coffee.” - 28-35F
“He could've been really good if he wasn't just written to be Antiva's Gino D'Acampo.” - 28-35F
“Everybody was thirsting over him and I was sort of like, okay? It feels simultaneously like a misstep and a good thing that Lucanis all but vanishes if you save Minrathous over Treviso. A good thing because yay, a choice that has consequences, but I wish there was maybe something with him. Like a rival path. Or actual conflict. Also it's really weird that his personal quest isn't even about Spite, or about staying a Crow, but whether or not Illario is imprisoned offscreen or keeping him onscreen. And that's impressively bad - for so many reasons. It removes stakes, it's not a big or hugely impactful decision, and since it isn't either, it doesn't say much about Lucanis' character. Also Sprite is like, there for a bit and in banter and one cutscene and then, like, never matters again. I like Lucanis well enough, but there was so much of him that was a huge disappointment.” - 23-27M
“I like the Lucanis you can imagine based on what we got in the Wigmaker Job/extrapolate from the available game content, but the one actually in the game is just so ass 💔 I feel like they tried to fit way too much into his character. An abomination, imprisoned for a year, a contract killer and an heir to the First Talon, and it's like none of it gets properly explored. The fact that both Coffee in the Crows and Inner Demons bring up that he wants to be able to make his own choices now and grow as a person and then the title of the First Talon is shoved on him without any agency is such a fucking joke. I'd feel better about it if the game had viewed it as a horror story it actually is, but it just refuses to. They fumbled him, and they fumbled him badly. The romance also kind of sucks. I'm a demisexual person myself, and the way people try to use the argument that he's demi as a defence against the fact that he seems barely interested in Rook (or insist that demisexuals are just incapable of flirting) pisses me off sooo much. It's not the first time that we have a companion that's not initially responsive to the PC's advances; Iron Bull was like that, too, but that was later compensated with sufficient content and very clear expressions of interest and love. And the DAI romance pacing wasn't quite as bad, so the Veilguard is really at a big disadvantage here.” - 23-27F
“Lucanis’ character also completely surprised me. I did not expect a socially awkward veteran assassin. And I LOVE IT. I love that because he is a socially awkward veteran assassin, most of his thoughts and feelings are written in codex notes and explored during group discussions in field dialogue. I know people dislike it, but I really liked that implementation of his character.” - 28-35F
“I love Lucanis from "The Wigmaker Job." Illario too! Would have been nice if the quality of that writing had been carried over into the game; would have been nice if any of the complexity of the Crows in general had been carried over from past games and supplementary media... Lucanis as written in the game is fine, but knowing how much more depth there could have been, especially when in "Wigmaker" he's presented as someone who ISN'T particularly eager to be more deeply enmeshed in the politics of the Crows, the fact that the game ends with him in the position he's in and that there's no real discussion of how he never wanted that is... odd.” - 36-45NB
“He could have been so much. From what I hear about the books, he is a very interesting character! I wish it showed in the game tho. I don't mean to sound too negative about Veilguard but from the Crows being super sanitised to his lines largely revolving around coffee to his romance scene with Rook being his Neve romance scene recycled to how he seems to not be invested in the relationship in the romance route at all is just.... wow.” - 28-35M
“Mid. The most boring man alive was possessed by a spirit of Spite and he's still the most boring man alive. I'm being mean he has cool parts too but like… Also does he even like Rook. He seems happier romancing Neve, who he flirts with if you romance him. It just all feels weird. His whole personality is coffee” - 23-27F
“I like Lucanis! I hate Spite. He's not a spirit as we've seen them in Dragon Age before, he's a Disney sidekick played for laughs.” - 23-27NB
Neve Gallus
I love her (53.4%), I like her (28.3%), I'm indifferent (8.4%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (6.3%), I dislike her (2.7%), I hate her (0.9%)
Baseline: Respondents consider her one of the strongest characters in Veilguard, but feel the game lacks the political and narrative sharpness needed to realise her hard-boiled Tevinter detective premise fully
Recurring points of praise:
Her fantasy-noir detective concept is immediately appealing
Her love for Dock Town gives her a clear emotional centre
Her emotional restraint makes her friendship and romance rewarding
Her competence and independence make her feel unusually grounded
Her prosthetic is praised as stylish and understated disability representation
Her design and presentation inspire considerable attraction
Her friendship with Bellara is warmly received
Recurring criticisms:
The game barely examines Tevinter's slavery through her
Her noir storyline is too clean and toothless (mysteries resolved by following markers and examining highlighted objects; villains who feel generic or obvious; dialogue that announces cynicism without demonstrating it; insufficient corruption within the institutions around her; too little moral compromise; few cases from her past receiving meaningful exploration; a lack of danger or consequences associated with investigating powerful people)
Her background remains surprisingly vague
Her final choice lacks a clear connection to her established conflict
Some early dialogue and line readings weaken her emotional presence
She needs stronger flaws and sharper interpersonal conflict
Her relationship with Lucanis feels too prominent beside Rook's romance
Recurring division points:
Her noir framing feels either like an inspired genre experiment or something imported from another setting
Her romance is considered either exceptional or emotionally flat
Her reaction to saving Treviso is either meaningful consequence or disproportionate resentment
Her centrality makes her either the ideal face of the game or someone who overshadows Rook
Her fashion is either a brilliant professional mask or implausibly extravagant for her social position
Text response selection:
“Big bestie vibes. I like the idea of a lower middle class Tevinter citizen as a companion, a way to make sure she doesn't have any slaves but keeps that part of society intact. I understand we only saw very poor areas but let's not ignore that part of the society? We should have taken slaves into consideration for what city to save, maybe imply lots of slaves would die, or that we should not save it bc slaves could escape in the chaos” - 36-45F
“She's just cool. A gumshoe detective in a medieval-ish world is fun <3” - 36-45F
“She cares so much and yet tries so hard to not show it. I love her for that. Also, what classy disability representation. I love how fashionable she is, but also that it is 100% a mask to get people to see her the way she needs to be seen to do her work.” - 36-45F
“If you write a hard-boiled noir detective story, don't make it toothless.” - 28-35F
“I loved the detail that her prosthetic leg made a clunk when she walked on stone.” - 28-35NB
“Neve is my favorite, and I love the noir vibes she's written with. I feel like her personal choice was good but needed refining. Basically she has to choose between being Spider-Man or Batman, and it doesn't feel particularly appropriate. She's not a member of law enforcement nor even operating inside the law as a private detective - not to mention, Tevinter's laws are totally corrupt anyway - so why does it matter whether she does things by the book or not? It would make more sense if she was a templar or an altus, but being neither, it's hard to see the relevance of her choice.” - 23-27M
“we love a woman who struggles with emotional connection because she has always had to go it alone!! we love a woman who loves her home despite everything awful about it because of the people that make it home and she knows that it looks hopeless to an outsider but she refuses to just give up and write it off!! we love a woman who pushes through how laughably badly tevinter is written and how ineffective and nonsensical the shadow dragons are to still manage to be a good character!!” - 23-27M
“Neve is probably the biggest disappointment of the game. I like detective stories. I like glamorous lady detectives (which Neve looks like) and I like down on their luck hardboiled detectives (which Neve's storyline purports to be). She is neither of these things. She is a collection of platitudes and generic dialogue. The mystery story that makes up her side quest is incoherent. She's too nice. She's not a cynic at all (and no, saying "I'm a cynic" doesn't count as being cynical). I cannot ignore the gap between what she's promised to be and what she is. It's unbearable. Also her line reads are often putting emphasis on the wrong thing in the sentence which is not actually a big deal but it really really bothers me.” - 28-35F
“A small detail, but I like that we occasionally see her relaxing without the leg on. Feels more realistic to the amputee experience.” - 28-35M
“You can tell where the writers actually cared about the game and it is neve gallus. her plot and her romance are perfect” - 28-35F
Taash
I love them (31.1%), I like them (30.2%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (18.8%), I'm indifferent (8.7%), I dislike them (7.1%), I hate them (4.1%)
Baseline: Even many of their greatest supporters despise the cultural resolution of their quest - a character learning that identity doesn't have to be binary is ultimately forced by Rook to choose one side of their multicultural heritage
Recurring points of praise:
Their blunt, autistic-coded personality feels unusually specific and recognisable (says exactly what they mean; responds to overwhelming disclosures with simple statemtents such as "that's messed up"; has dragons as an intense and practical special interest; struggles with social conventions that appear arbitrary; expresses care through action rather than elaborate emotional language; can be protective and kind without sounding conventionally gentle; feels more comfortable discussing physical or technical subjects than personal uncertainty; often sounds more like a real person than companions using carefully therapeutic dialogue)
Their on-screen gender discovery gives many trans and nonbinary players direct recognition (initially assuming everyone dislikes being perceived as a woman; the gradual realisation that their discomfort isn't universal; difficulty finding language for an experience they've always had; a coming-out conversation that becomes clumsy because they're still uncertain; the possibility of a trans or nonbinary Rook sharing their own experiences; seeing another nonbinary person exist as a major companion rather than only as an optional player identity; playing a nonbinary Qunari Rook and no longer feeling solitary within the setting; the straightforward use of they/them pronouns throughout the group)
Their physicality and dragon expertise make them a memorable presence
Recurring criticisms:
Forcing Taash to choose between Qunari and Rivaini culture is overwhelmingly rejected
The story gives Rook too much authority over Taash's identity
Modern terminology feels jarring within the established setting (vs. Dorian saying he prefers men, or Iron Bull describing Krem through the Qunari concept of aqun-athlok)
The story ignores or contradicts previous Qunari gender lore (Taash apparently needs to reach Tevinter to encounter nonbinary identity; aqun-athlok receives little or no meaningful application; Shathann's scholarly knowledge of the Qun doesn't produce a more culturally specific discussion; the wider Qun is once again depicted as restrictive and culturally deficient; Tevinter becomes the source of progressive gender understanding despite Krem's backstory suggesting otherwise; the possibility that the Qun might accept Taash's gender while restricting other aspects of their life goes unexplored)
They're frequently infantilised
The conflict with Shathann sometimes punishes imperfect understanding as though it were rejection
Recurring division points:
The explicit Nonbinary 101 approach is either essential accessibility or painfully condescending
Their immaturity feels either authentically youthful or like a damaging caricature
Explicitly flawed representation feels either liberating or dangerously exposed
Text response selection:
“Taash deserved a better character arc that wasn't centered on some teen coming of age esque painful cringey written coming out self discovery thing that was even more poorly written to Also be a multicultural thing where the entire arc revolved around....picking one? When the whole gender thing was about how neither/both was how they felt???? Whatever. I adore them. They're so cringe /pos and they made me very happy.” - 23-27NB
“I love them and I'm also extremely aware of how many people hate how heavy, heavy handed their storyline was. It was a storyline for others, not for Taash or even Rook. Rook has far more agency than Taash does in their own story. I wish Taash's storyline had informed and influenced Rook's and allowed the player to explore their own gender.” - 28-35
“Flat-affect autistic nonbinary baddie who loves helping people and taking care of animals and hearing their friends tell the most gutwrenching story of trauma and and pain and saying "that's messed up". Taash, you are the absolute realest and my best friend and I love you so so so much.” - 28-35NB
“I was so so happy to finally get a non-binary companion, although I really wish they didn't straight up call it that in-universe. I wish there was more questioning, and debating what an identity in between man and woman could be, instead of just being handed the term non-binary from irl modern times.” - 23-27NB
“Their personal questline was a fucking mess. They're essentially a mixed kid, and the message of their questline was you gotta pick one heritage over the other?? After you have MULTIPLE conversations about how no, you don't actually? You make me pick a BINARY choice for this NON BINARY character? AND fill their questline with the most cringe-ass baby's first queer identity language instead of just treating it like a normal-ass thing people sometimes are? This character would've been ten times better if they had just been non-binary from the start, treated like it was a regular-ass thing people can be, and focused on the fraught relationship they had with their mom because of the MIXED CULTURES thing. (Seriously, the resolution of that questline - which the character work with Taash and their mom I actually really loved - pissed me off so bad, making ME choose one for them to honor more is racist as fuck! Argh!)” - 46-55F, cis
“You know that one tweet that’s like “I might be nonbinary but I have a job so idc about that right now?” Taash is bringing the exact opposite energy and I love that for them so much” - 36-45
“I loved that Taash was a bit of a meathead, didn't think things through, got irrational when mad, etc. I really enjoyed the blunt way they talked and the things they talked about with the player. Most of the things I disliked about Taash came down to how their storyline was handled, the poor decision-making regarding series lore, etc. I wish there was more of a potential to be adversarial with them, also--not even in a sense of being able to rival them (though ALL the companions could have used a disapproval path) but that the game seemed terrified of you not getting along, and so railroaded you into only cordial interactions the whole way through. Really dull and boring.” - 28-35F, cis
“HOT TAKE: TAASH WAS WRITTEN JUST FUCKING FINE. The clumsiness about their identity was because QUEER TUMBLR NERDS ARE SADLY NOT THE MAIN AUDIENCE FOR THESE GAMES. The main audience is a bunch of cishet gamers for whom this might be their first actual run-in with needing to learn they/them pronouns. It HAD to be written in kindergarten baby mode because 90% of the people who play this game??? NEED THAT. I would LOVE to see a version of it where Trick was able to write specifically FOR QUEERS who didn't need Nonbinary 101 baked in, but all the little nods felt like it was clear to ME that this was BY us, even if it couldn't be made exclusively FOR us. Also, god, that pull up scene with Davrin. I'm too bisexual to survive that.” - 36-45NB
“The scene where Rook, Neve, and Taash first talk about Taash’s gender made me cry the first time I saw it because what Rook said about being non-binary resonated with me so much.” - 28-35NB
“Despite how badly they blundered their own coming out (honestly, relatable tho some of us do be tripping over our words), and how much I disliked BioWare using such modern terminology in their dialogue, Taash is just a fun and compelling character. Their conversation with Neve where they said "everyone hates being a woman" pretty much exactly mirrors my lived experience (not of hating women, obvs, but of being so profoundly uncomfortable in my skin and thinking everyone lived that way, then finding out this wasn't a universal attitude among women), and it was truly wonderful to see a character grappling with those issues in game.” - 28-35M, trans
“I love them and I wish people were capable of being normal about them. Some of the writing around their identity is clunky, but i do applaud them for at least trying something new. Their relationship with their mom made me cry bcs it felt so real, esp as a biracial immigrant who lost their mom myself. Idk ill always fight for you Taash” - 28-35
“I know some people don't like the way Taash was handled, but there are a lot of games where the only NB character is the player if you chose it. And it never feels like I am actually playing in a world where people like me exist. Taash may be a little tropey but sometimes that is just life. Playing an NB qunari though was fun because we outnumbered everyone else. I almost wish I could have done even more with that, but it was still actually a nice story and I hope it made cis people mad.” - 28-35NB
“I don't understand why people criticised their arc. I come from a multi-racial family and it felt...maybe not perfectly accurate, but deeply understandable.” - 28-35NB
“Taash's gender discovery arc felt very juvenile to me, but it might have been meaningful to younger fans so like. its fine. someone somewhere was probably validated by it.” - 28-35M, trans
With all the main responses posted, these last few posts will be 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 first game and its companions -
Dragon Age: Origins
I love it (68.4%), I like it (20.6%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (7%), I haven't played it (2.2%), I dislike it (1%), I'm indifferent (0.8%), I hate it (0%)
Baseline: People love Origins substantially more than they enjoy playing Origins.
Recurring points of praise:
Playable origins and roleplaying freedom (the Warden having a concrete place in the world rather than being a blank slate; the same location/quest feeling different depending on origin; personal stakes such as Cousland's relationship to Howe, Brosca/Aeducan returning to Orzammar, and Tabris returning to the alienage, the range of dialogue personalities available to the Warden; being permitted to play someone kind, cruel, cynical, selfish, dishonest, prejudiced, or heroic; the origins increasing replayability and making people create multiple Wardens)
Story, writing, and world-building (strong political and moral conflicts; choices without an uncomplicated "correct" solution; extensive codex material and environmental detail; minor NPCs receiving proper conversations and personalities; the introduction to Ferelden's cultures, religions, and social divisions; a coherent main narrative with a satisfying climax; the balance of humour, horror, and sincerity)
Replayability and choice
Personal and emotional importance
Companions and character writing (especially Loghain, Morrigan, Zevran, and Alistair)
Dark-fantasy atmosphere
Recurring criticisms:
Combat, controls, and the general act of playing (too many repetitive encounters; long corridors and maps; slow movement; having to retrace routes to leave areas; confusing navigation; difficulty spikes; console controls; lack of controller support on PC; classes or builds that feel much less playable than others)
Specific areas dragging on (especially the Fade, the Deep Roads, the Circle Tower more broadly, Orzammar, the Brecilian Forest, and Ostagar/Lothering on repeated starts)
Technical age and accessibility (crashes on modern PCs, especially in Denerim; needing fan patches or extensive modding; poor performance; dated graphics and animation; tiny dialogue text; clumsy interfaces; difficulty obtaining or running the game; console players lacking access to the mods that make replaying easier)
Misogyny and reliance on sexual violence (sexual assault or threatened sexual violence appearing disproportionately in stories concerning women; elven women in particular repeatedly receiving sexualised violence in their backgrounds; female Wardens being harassed or treated as anomalies; the Broodmother concept and execution; Oghren and related humour aging badly; in-world sexism feeling inconsistent with a society whose dominant religious institution is led by women; the game claiming comparatively little gender discrimination while repeatedly writing misogynistic interactions)
It has been placed on an unreasonable pedestal
The story structure can feel generic or repetitive (insufficient urgency despite the Blight; the Warden solving disputes with which they have little personal connection; a conventional chosen-hero structure; the protagonist succeeding without being forced to process the sort of unavoidable failure central to DA2; some ostensibly complex decisions ultimately resolving through visibly game-like logic)
The consequences may be overstated (much of the variation appears in epilogue slides; later games ignore, retcon, or contradict some outcomes; evil actions sometimes have surprisingly little consequence; the broad destination of the story changes less than fans remember)
The voiceless Warden
Recurring division points:
Its tactical combat is considered both one of its greatest strengths and its largest barrier
Its dark tone creates both compelling moral weight and badly aged edginess
Nostalgia deepens its appeal while making consensus about its present quality difficult
Text response selection:
“The combat can be awful but it gave us the Shapeshifter specialization and boy do I miss becoming a giant-ass spider.” - 18-22M
“i like it overall, but one thing that's always bothered me is getting Alistair to sleep with Morrigan for the ritual. like it feels weird without the romance, but it feels even weirder when romancing him. he's CLEARLY not comfortable with it and it just feels icky, and i wish there was an option to get someone else to do it, like there are other Wardens around by that point, like let's just fuckin talk to Riordan and convince him to do it, dude was ready to die fighting the archdemon anyway and i feel like he'd be down for it if it meant that nobody would have to die to kill it, and plus since he dies in the fight anyway, it works out for Morrigan who prefers that single mom life” - 28-35F
“Literally my favourite game of all time, it rewired my brain chemistry 😭 I have A LOT of criticism for this game (mainly the writing, not so much the gameplay since I'm one of the three and a half people who adore DA:O's combat lol) but it's still 9/10 for me. My comfort game that carried me through very dark times in my life and helped me come to terms with my bisexuality. Dragon Age Origins they could never make me hate you!!!!!!!!” - 23-27F
“Probably the best written game in the series, the most cerebral, and a very strong introduction to the diverse cultures in the series via the origins and chosen questlines. It isn't without flaws--even putting aside the terrible graphics, it shows its age and starved development time in some of the writing, not all of the lore completely makes sense, and there's bugs galore. But those flaws aren't enough to break my immersion in the story. There is so much there to invest you in the world. So many minor characters you can have full conversations with; codex entries that change according to your origin to match what sources your character might have access to; so many interactables in the environment that don't necessarily tie into the main quest, but are there to reward exploration; SO many long conversations you can have with your companions. It's just such a good game to sink your teeth into and spend hundreds of hours on. Most important of all I think this is the only game where the roleplaying element felt like a PRIORITY in the writing. Quests were designed with a philosophy of allowing your character to have opinions on what is happening and define their beliefs and moral stances through their dialogue and actions. There is an expectation that you might be playing someone who is cruel, materialistic, or biased by their upbringing just as much as you could be playing someone who is kind, heroic, or generous. You're allowed to be rude and cynical. You're allowed to be a liar when it benefits you. And while its execution is limited, the world responds to this behavior. You can resolve to solve a questline one way, and then change your mind once you learn more information. You can pick a solution to some questlines, and then pick what your character's reasoning was for doing it. I'unno. It blew my mind coming from Fable where most of the time the only personality options were "good" or "evil".” - 28-35F
“The way the different origins actually affect the story, and the fact that all six of them canonically exist but the ones you don't play as DIE - like, that is genuinely fascinating. Plus it has all these really horrifying moments like the broodmother, finding out what the golems WERE, the werewolves… it's so great.” - 23-27NB
“The story is amazing and the choice mechanic is so thorough, but nearly every female NPC and player character backgrounds are centered around themes of sexual assault and abuse, something that I feel people are far too forgiving of.” - 23-27F
“The misogyny in this game is STAGGERING despite pretending that it's not and really shows a lack of imagination on the writers. The church is literally run by women; this brand of sexism just doesn't even make sense.” - 36-45F
“theres this text post thats like '*plays dragon age origins* god i hate this part. god i hate this part. god i hate this part. *finishes* game of the year' or smth. feel it in my soul” - 28-35NB
“I can definitely tell it's objectively the best written dragon age game, and it was my first DA game alongside being the first game I played on my own as an adult. I didn't notice it on my first playthrough, but the more I replay the more it bothers me that the Warden isn't voiced and barely has facial expressions, although I've probably just been spoiled by modern games since then. I love playing through the warden's origin, and having it affect so much of the story compared to the later games. My first warden was Aeducan who did the ultimate sacrifice, and it was such an epic way to experience RPGs for the first time. I loved that there are many choices that affect the story in major ways, while I enjoy flavour text choices too, it was really gratifying to watch the reactivity. Denerim was one of my favourite places, and I wish they had the resources to make the map even bigger back then. My biggest gripe is having to walk all the way back to the entrance of most maps to leave, I think some "waypoints" would've made all the difference. Other than the animations being dated I really have no complaints, the writing is almost 10/10 for me. I do wish npcs of different races had some varying body types, but I understand the limitations of the time.” - 23-27NB
“I started with DA2 and loved its intimate setting and the unavoidable tragedy. Going backwards to DAO, the fairly generic "you're the only one who can save the world" main quest and a main character who never has to come to terms with failure was a letdown, and the worldbuilding was already familiar to me, so didn't wow me either. I didn't really connect with the companions, either, and didn't like the combat system. Adding to all that, the extremely 2006 energy the game has hasn't aged well for me, so my opinion isn't getting any better as time goes on.” - 36-45F
“I love Origins except for when I’m playing it” - 28-35NB
“I've played Origins more than any other Dragon Age game, upwards of 12 times. Most of these were as the same origin and the same character. It's what made me fall in love with the series. The characters are incredibly well done, and Loghain especially is part of what makes it stand out to me. I love a character whose convictions and genuinely largely good intentions are what make them a villain.” - 28-35F
“the way the different origins interact with different quests/enemies is just so juicy. orzammar to a brosca is different than to a tabris. a mahariel doesnt hold a grudge against arl howe, while cousland goes ballistic. the replay value is HIGH.” - 28-35NB
“Honestly I'd probably rank it higher but I'm really tired/burned out over everyone acting like it's the best game when in my opinion it's actually the worst one! Mind, it's still good, but the choices do NOT affect the story as much as people seem to remember they do. There's very little difference in outcomes aside from the final title cards, half of which became jossed with future games anyway (ex, cullen the serial killer!) it's fine as a game but overrated and I DO NOT FUCKING CARE ABOUT THE WARDEN.” - 36-45NB
“I do think it is overrated, and the story isn’t anything particularly special - the whole vague sketch of it is definitely the kind of thing I came up with when I was a kid writing stories, complete with the whole “go to this location and recruit a character, then go to this other location and recruit a character, then go to this other location-” rhythm (though I could never have achieved this kind of worldbuilding and detail back then). The romances are clunky and easily bugged, the combat is frustrating enough that I usually elect to cheat past it on replays, and it’s dated in terms of its themes and graphics. That said, the roleplay potential is something I took for granted at first - the amount of dialogue and the playable origins and the way they can influence your choices is fantastic and not something I appreciated until I played the later games where you don’t have any of that. I love that I can play The Kindest Warden Ever or The Evilest Bastard Ever and have them both make sense and be consistently allowed.” - 23-27M
“I think it's the best game objectively out of them all which is funny because the entire time I play it, I just go "God I hate the Brecilian Forest. God I hate The Circle and the Fade. God I HATE the Deep Roads." And then, without fail, at the end I go "Wow I really loved that :3"” - 23-27F
“I think Origins is the most complete package; nuanced, lovable characters, interesting and memorable story beats, lots of freedom of choice, a good balance between map size and filling and everything, gameplay that stays fun and has a nice learning curve, graphics that are pretty decent for its age. I love her. I love her! It's so hard to get new players involved in Origins though.” - 23-27F
Alistair Theirin
I love him (60.7%), I like him (27.9%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (5.1%), I'm indifferent (3.5%), I dislike him (2.5%), I hate him (0.4%)
Baseline: Alistair is loved for being funny, kind, and emotionally vulnerable, but many respondents think the fandom flattens a much more intelligent, selfish, grieving, and complicated character into an innocent golden retriever prince
Recurring points of praise:
He's funny, goofy, and endearing
He was formative as a romance or fictional crush
He's kinder and more principled than his cynicism suggests
He's more intelligent and competent than his presentation suggests
His flaws and contradictions make him compelling
His youth and grief make his behaviour understandable
Recurring criticisms:
He avoids responsibility and places too much on the Warden
His moral convictions can become rigid or punitive
The fandom flattens or overexposes him
He's generic, boring, or overhyped
His romance restrictions are frustrating
Later appearances are disappointing (his model becoming paler or blonder; his resemblance shifting toward Cullen; his Inquisition appearance lacking the personality he had in Origins; Warden Alistair appearing bitter regardless of choices respondents thought should have left him content; his later appearances relying on familiar jokes rather than developing him; missed opportunities involving Fiona or his comics storyline)
Recurring division points:
His humour is considered both endearing and increasingly dated
His reluctance to accept responsibility makes him either sympathetic or exhausting
Making him king is viewed as either necessary growth or a violation of what he wants
Text response selection:
“This fucker is the reason I thought I was bisexual for way longer than I should have bc I loved him so much I thought that meant I was attracted to him and therefore men.” - 28-35NB
“Milk toast boy, he's fine. Very stereotypical guy to romance in video game” - 28-35F
“Alistair was exactly what I was into when I first played DAO in 2009 at 19 years old - now that I'm older, I find his very of-the-time self-deprecating humor and Whedon-esque quips a little grating. But overall, I think he holds up really well, he has a good depth to him.” - 36-45F
“Where Leliana and Morrigan have grown as characters as the games have gone on, Alistair is mostly doing the Mass Effect 3 Mordin thing of trying to remind you of why you liked him in Origins. Problem being I didn't like him that much in Origins.” - 36-45F
“He is literally 20 and has been a Grey Warden for 6 months. Like. No shit he immediately abdicates responsibility to the PC when the PC steps up to the plate! His mentor and all his colleagues and also his half-brother just DIED, he really holds together quite well under the circumstances! He is a sweet young man who deserves better than having to be a king, but unfortunately that won't stop me from shoving him and Anora together for political reasons.” - 28-35NB
“He is the coolest subversion of so many expected fantasy tropes. I love how strongly he rejects the demand that he be the protagonist. I love that he is young and petty and naive and lonely and love starved. I love that he is goofy and sweet but also very competent (and excellent at hiding that and dumbing himself down).” - 36-45F
“Class clown who became important at work.” - 28-35F
“I think Alistair is an especially great character because he hits that sweet spot of being really loveable to the player but with the simultaneous possibility of having Warden think differently. He really throws Warden under the bus after the Ostagar massacre, refusing the role of the leader despite having seniority, and can later turn around and even abandon the party if he doesn't like what Warden as the leader decides. Asshole moves, but with extremely understandable reasons, that the game takes time to explore.” - 28-35NB
“my first romance for every other background I did, until i played a tabris and could think a lot more critically about his role as someone both part of and separate from the nobility and how his wardenhood and birth are opposite circumstances that can make for a character with an interesting role on the world.” - 23-27NB
“See, I say I dislike him, but I do like him when I’m actually playing. He’s inoffensive. Frustrating and flawed and sometimes selfish (namely the fact that he refuses to take responsibility and makes you do it, doesn’t matter whether you want to or not, I guess your desires aren't as important as his, but then gets mad when you don’t make the decisions he would), but friendly and easy-going and moral. It’s just that when I close the game and am hit by an absolute neverending tsunami of constant praise and love for this completely Fine guy, I get so fed up that I start hating any mention of him. I really don’t understand why he’s so beloved. I see why he’s popular, sure - he’s a very generic Romance For Straight Girls, which is a thing for a reason - but to this degree? He’s not a unique character at all. I could find a thousand characters just like Alistair in media, he’s literally just a blend of the most cliche stereotypes in the book - the adorkable Funny Guy who isn’t that funny, the secret prince (because of course he is), the bumbling kid who grows into A True Leader. At this point I’m starting to think people praising how Different and Special he is have just not interacted with much fiction. Like… sure, whatever. I like him, his romance was cute, I’m moving on.” - 23-27M
“The Alistair that fandom loves is one they made up. He's not this golden retriever boyfriend that is pro-mage that everyone flattens him to be. He can be spiteful (abandons you to deal with the blight if you recruit loghain, yells at you if he disagrees with how you save connor from possession), ignores responsibilities that even if the warden is a circle mage who has never been outside they have to take the lead, makes sexist comments, agrees that the Circle should be annulled, calls Morrigan a bitch, etc. It frustrates that the fandom woobifies him and made him into a different character than he is in the game. For the sake sometimes of finding an alternative to Cullen because it's seen as "wrong" to romance him.” - 28-35F
“he's a templar and a bastard and a sad, sad man. love that he's an intelligent person who acts dumb so no one thinks he's important. love that he's incredibly critical of the institution he was raised in but still holds those beliefs. he's grieving for a good chunk of the game and rightfully so, and I'm glad that affects the way he acts. he's a complicated character beyond "comic relief tank" and I enjoy his writing and hearing him say snarky things when hitting people in the face” - 23-27NB
Leliana
I love her (49%), I like her (40.1%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (5%), I'm indifferent (4.4%), I dislike her (1.2%), I hate her (0.4%)
Baseline: Players are often drawn to the contrast between her softness, faith, and whimsy, and her history of violence, manipulation, and espionage.
Recurring points of praise:
Her apparent sweetness conceals a much more dangerous and complicated person
Her development across games is widely complimented
Her faith is compelling (her faith encourages kindness and hope rather than simple obedience; she remains religious after betrayal, imprisonment, and violence; her beliefs are deeply personal rather than merely institutional; she questions the Chantry while retaining belief in the Maker; she can try to reform the institution from within; faith gives her a framework through which to rebuild herself; her certainty, doubt, and loss of faith all affect her development; she changed how some respondents thought about God, religion, or religious people; many respondents valued seeing a bisexual woman of faith)
She was an important bisexual/sapphic character
Her romance and friendship inspire strong attachment
The Warden can challenge her prejudice and see her reconsider it
Recurring criticisms:
Her religiosity alienates a significant group of respondents (finding fantasy Christianity irritating; being uncomfortable because of personal religious trauma; finding her preachy, zealous, or overly invested in the Chantry; disliking the amount of religious dialogue; having difficulty connecting with a devout character; finding her naive religious certainty grating in Origins)
Many prefer her in Inquisition to Origins
Some respondents simply don't connect with her
Her romance can trigger too easily
She's overfavoured by the series
Recurring division points:
Her faith is experienced as both compassionate spirituality and intrusive Chantry framing
Her transformation across the games is considered either compelling growth or a loss of her original warmth
Her relationship with Marjolaine provides rich character context while reproducing troubling queer tropes
Text response selection:
“Too French” - 36-45F
“bisexual, female, bard, religious trauma, evil ex gf. she's just like me” - 23-27NB
“I love her so much, she uses religion to spread kindness, which I wish is what all religious people would do. Her romance was so sweet. Always choose her as Divine, love that she can just be with her lover if she romanced the warden and no one can say anything about it.” - 18-22F
“Found her a little weird when I played for the first time (the religion stuff grated against my edgy atheist sensibilities xD), but with age, I've come to appreciate her nuance. Also LOVE her voice actress and the accent she does. Also, it was really cool seeing her come back in DAI and getting even more insight into her character. She fits DAI's narrative of "personhood versus duty/title" really well.” - 36-45F
“She's so fun. I love playing an elf and getting to actually change her opinions and realize her bigotry, and I ADORE the theory that she's elf-blooded herself - there's so many little pieces of evidence that just all add up. She's got a fascinating perspective and her devotion to the Maker after being a bard for so long is soooo interesting.” - 23-27NB
“I want to like her but she accidentally shadowmanced me when I was just trying to be nice?” - 38-45M
“My favorite character overall, but DAI is doing a lot of work here. I think her backstory with Marjolaine is genuinely interesting, but in the context of the whole game and knowing her romance was written with a male warden in mind, it's also kind of gross (woman is taken advantage of by older lesbian and then rescued by the church and a romance with a man). But also I only romance her as a woman, so I'm able to sort of overlook that.” - 28-35F
“i didn’t click with her at first, but her backstory is genuinely fascinating and informs the way she is. play her quest. play her dlc. stop writing her off as boring. people love chantry boys but draw the line at a religious woman” - 23-27M
“Genuinely guided my views on God” - 23-27F
“The only reason I give the Maker's existence the benefit of the doubt.” - 28-35F
“I love Leliana bc I started by seeing the end of her story, which just made me like seeing her origin more. She tells you stories, which my lorehound brain was all over, and has one of the only instances throughout the whole franchise where you can push back on a well-intentioned but racist remark, and then have the companion later come back and apologize, which feels very human.” - 23-27M
Loghain Mac Tir
I like him (25.7%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (20.9%), I love him (16.2%), I'm indifferent (15.4%), I dislike him (12.3%), I hate him (9.4%)
Baseline: Great character, terrible man.
Recurring points of praise:
He's considered one of Dragon Age's strongest antagonists
His motivations are understandable without excusing his actions
He represents what happens to a revolution after victory
Recruiting him reveals a more compelling side of him
His possible Warden arc is seen as a fitting conclusion
His relationship with Anora adds depth
Recurring criticisms:
Selling the alienage elves into slavery is the central dealbreaker
His actions after Ostagar are harder to defend than the retreat itself
Too much of his depth exists outside the game
The game undermines its own attempt at moral complexity by giving him such extreme actions
Most respondents have never recruited him (loyalty to Alistair; making Alistair king; playing a city elf; refusing to forgive the slavery; considering the Joining too uncertain to justify replacing an established Warden; feeling that sparing him is out of character for their Warden)
Recurring division points:
Recruiting him is considered either the fullest version of his story or an impossible betrayal of the Warden's loyalties
Text response selection:
“I feel like a lot of his really interesting stuff comes from supplemental material but that's certainly not a him-exclusive phenomenon. I think he's an excellent villain and Alistair demanding he be killed instead of recruited to the Wardens is one of the things that makes me lose respect for him” - 28-35NB
“I am SO insane about Loghain Mac Tir it's not even funny. he's my favorite character in DAO. everything is wrong with him. he's insane about Maric even though Maric's been presumed dead for years. he doesn't try to excuse his horrible actions. you get approval for debating how to kill him after you recruit him, and he gives you suggestions. who is doing it like him. also reading The Stolen Throne unfortunately fundamentally altered my view of him forever, which for a book that kind of sucks is really unfortunate because now i have to recommend everyone read TST and it's just not very good. except when it's really good. i don't understand people who don't like him because picking a favorite war criminal is the whole point of dragon age, i think.” - 23-27NB
“grandpa warcrimes” - 28-35NB
“Much like the character of Robert Baratheon from A Song of Ice and Fire, Loghain was a fascinating look at what happens to a character after the fairy tale ends? When the war against an evil oppressive regime is over and freedom for you people achieved, how do the survivors deal with peacetime?” - 28-35F
“That guy is FULL of CRUNCHY.” - 36-45NB
“He's an interesting character, but he interests me primarily through his relationship to Anora, which says more about my love for her than for him.” - 28-35F
“I like him as an antagonist, but I've never recruited him because of the whole selling elves into slavery bit and it doesn't make sense to me to trade a guaranteed ally for someone who might potentially survive the Joining.” - 28-35NB
“One of the best written characters of the series. He’s a villain, I don’t agree with him, but man is he compelling. One of the best part of origins is recruiting him just to chat and have your warden finally ask him all those “Why”s. He’s a human being, full of flaws.” - 23-27M
“I almost always include him in my Inquisition world state because I feel making him the Warden sacrifice in Here Lies the Abyss to be the most compelling choice. It really wraps up his arc, it lets him sit in his failures for a decade and come to terms with where he went wrong, and then make the most selfless choice he can.” - 28-35M
“I read the stolen throne. I still don’t like him. What he went through obviously sucks but he did betray Maric like Flemeth said he would. He was a very flawed man but wasn’t a bad person. He let fear and his need to control get to him and did things that I could never condone. I don’t like him but I’ve considered the nuances” - 23-27F
“He was so set on not letting Orlais gain a foothold in Fereldan again that he lost everything else.” - 36-45F
“as a villain? fantastic. love that he's doing awful things in the name of protecting his country and doing it completely wrong. was pulling out of ostagar the right choice? maybe! was taking the throne away from his daughter the competent queen, declaring the wardens traitors, selling his own people into slavery, collaborating with a blood mage, trusting rendon howe, poisoning arl eamon, and fighting a civil war the right choice? probably not! as a companion I don't have a lot of experience with him. I know he's aware he fucked up and that he seems actually fond of the warden in awakening and that seems very fun to me, but i have yet to play that route myself.” - 23-27NB
“Here's the thing about Loghain: he is the veteran of an anticolonialist revolutionary struggle, and he's willing to do literally anything to maintain the independence he earned, including assassination, murder, and slavery. His dialogue is so well-written-- I think he's some of Mary Kirby's best work. I do not love him as a person, but I love his character writing, particularly his descriptions of Orlesian occupation.” - 23-27NB
Morrigan
I love her (68.4%), I like her (20.3%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (7.2%), I dislike her (1.7%), I'm indifferent (1.4%), I hate her (1%)
Baseline: People love the gap between the person Morrigan tries to present (cold, worldly, self-sufficient, and moral) and the frightened, isolated young woman underneath
Recurring points of praise:
She's one of the series' most iconic and beloved characters
Her cruel/abrasive exterior conceals intense vulnerability
Her friendship with the Warden is deeply valued
Her relationship with Flemeth resonates strongly
Many respondents love seeing her relationship with Kieran and breaking the cycle of abuse
Recurring criticisms:
Many wish she were romanceable by women
Veilguard's treatment of her is overwhelmingly disliked
Her role as an authority on elven culture in Inquisition is widely criticised
Her hostility can become exhausting
Her visual design is frequently criticised as sexualised
Recurring division points:
Her later emotional growth is admired while her softening remains divisive
Her recurring importance is either rewarding continuity or excessive narrative favouritism
Her cruelty is both part of her appeal and a serious obstacle to affection
Text response selection:
“Befriending Morrigan, and the final conversation with her before fighting the archdemon, is one of the most satisfying things I've done in a game.” - 28-35F
“I like her later when she figures out who she is. The insecure teenager who tries to put others down to feel good about herself is not necessarily a bad archetype, but it doesn't work for me.” - 36-45F
“morrigan is awesome 90% of the time until they made her act like an expert on elven culture in front of my dalish mage inquisitor. thats not your culture girl…” - 23-27NB
“I dont really care about her and I have my criticisms re why a human was made the face of the elves but more importantly I hate how much she was always pushed by bioware” - 28-35
“Girl why are you leaving the party because I couldn't convince Alistar to fuck you? You knew you needed to fuck him this whole time and decided to antagonize him! Don't blame me for your choices.” - 28-35F
Oghren
I have mixed/conflicted feelings (25.4%), I dislike him (18.9%), I like him (18.7%), I'm indifferent (15.1%), I hate him (12.7%), I love him (9.2%)
Baseline: There's an interesting man buried underneath a comic relief character that many respondents can't tolerate long enough to uncover
Recurring points of praise:
Respondents repeatedly see substantial potential (alcoholism and addiction; depression; trauma and possible PTSD; toxic masculinity; domestic abuse; Orzammar's rigid caste expectations; being trained for violence and then punished for displaying it; social ostracism; the collapse of status and identity; being abandoned by one's spouse and community; fear of becoming a harmful husband or father; trying to rebuild oneself through the Grey Wardens)
His sincere moments affect people much more than his comedy (his gratitude when the Warden treats him respectfully; his speech before the final battle; thanking the Warden for reminding him what honour means; his loyalty once he considers the Warden a friend; crying if the Warden sacrifices themselves; naming his child after the Warden; his belief that becoming a Grey Warden might fix him or give him somewhere safe to belong; his insecurity about being a father; his continued complicated attachment to Branka; his astonishment when the Warden listens to him or gives him something meaningful)
His history illustrates the damage caused by Orzammar
Some respondents appreciate having an unpleasant/non-admirable companion
His humour genuinely works for a minority
Recurring criticisms:
The sexual harassment and misogyny are the overwhelming problem
His alcoholism is treated as a punchline
The game doesn't appear to know when it wants him taken seriously
His comedy feels badly dated
His behaviour overwhelms whatever depth he has
Awakening regresses his development
Late recruitment works against him
Recurring division points:
His humour occasionally works while frequently destroying the more serious character underneath it
His trauma and addiction create compelling material that the games treat as a punchline
His return in Awakening offers possible growth while also repeating his worst traits
Text response selection:
“Literally awful. Like actually genuinely objectively one of the worst characters. He's so gross and sexist and racist and all around bad. Unfortunately I like him. I like what he could have been. Like a pathetic kind of shit washed up warrior who was (canonically!) abused and mistreated by his entire family and wife, whom EVERYONE put on a pedestal and used as more of a reason to punch down on him. And yet he never ever gave up on her. Even if he agrees with you in Branka's confrontation, he still disapproves of you yelling at Branka and killing her! And I love his arc in Awakening. He's so scared of fucking up again (rightfully so) that he runs away to the one place he feels is safe or can fix him because he believed in the HoF and their order that much. Also he names his baby after the Hof 🥺” - 23-27NB
“I like him more as in universe societal commentary than a character in his own right.” - 28-35F
“Awful guy, but when he's being sincere, oh man does he get to me. I keep thinking "aw man, he's just a bit abrasive, he's really a great character" and then the fucker opens his mouth Once Again.” - 23-27M
“Quoting my own post from 3 years ago: He’s my best friend, he’s my pal, he’s my homeboy, he’s my rotten soldier, he’s my sweet cheese, he’s my good time boy. He’s my comrade-in-arms who thanks me for reminding him what honor is and vows to be the warrior I taught him to be (I am a rogue). He’s my sad-sack uncle who drinks to cope with being socially pressured into becoming a Berserker, reliant upon blinding rage in battle, and then being ostracized and practically stripped of his caste for accidentally killing an opponent in a Proving when he has literally no way to put the brakes on the killing rage he was made to cultivate. He makes misogynistic comments because that’s how he was taught to treat women but he still speaks fondly of Branka—who despised him, cheated on him, and then left him in Orzammar while stealing the rest of their House and killing them in the Deep Roads—and respects her lover Hespith, his own lover Felsi, Wynne, Morrigan, Sigrun, Velanna, and a female Warden. He makes homophobic comments but holds nothing against queer people and is open to non-traditional sex acts if his partner is interested in them. He’s bisexual and has no fucking idea. He thanks the Warden for being his friend and treating him with respect even though he feels he doesn’t deserve it and is used to being casually degraded and disrespected by his own people. He dropped his baby twice (I dropped both my nieces more than that lol) and fled his family to become a Grey Warden because he was terrified of genuinely hurting his child with his inexperience and ineptitude and is deeply insecure about it. He drunkenly asks the Warden for a pony because Branka used to collect figurines and he still loves her in some way. He considers insulting banter a form of bonding, both with friends and lovers, and also blushes and stutters and is pleased when the Warden is openly friendly and complimentary. He’s doing his best with the shitty tools he’s been given, and knows that he needs to improve, but he doesn’t know how to do that himself. He genuinely loves drinking and booze of all kinds as a hobby and is so fucking pleased when Wynne takes his offer of taste-testing his brew seriously and professionally breaks down its composition and flavors. He respects Tranquil mages when even other mages don’t because he may not understand what Tranquility means but he damn well knows that they’re people. When boisterous and over-the-top when you first give him specialized gifts and then when you’re actual friends he switches to being genuinely touched and grateful. He wants to drive a war-chariot pulled by mabari and tries multiple times to convince Dog that it’s a good idea. He hates the Fade, and dreaming, and the first time he’s in the Fade he politely asks you if it’s okay if he throws up, and the second time he panickedly asks you why you keep bringing him there and is best calmed down when you promise that he’s allowed to kill stuff as a grounding technique. He’s ride-or-die, genuinely and without hesitation. He loves you. And I’m like the only person who genuinely loves him back.” - 28-35NB
“Oghren's humor and personality bring a fun vibe to the party, complementing the more serious tones of the narrative.” - 28-35M
“They played up the grosser aspects of his character for comedic effect but the person he is under that is so sad. Married to a crazy successful woman who lost her mind and drove her whole family into the deep roads, trying to get ANYONE to help him find them, still has some bitter attachment to her even after all this time, only to find its so much worse than he thought. Id drink too, the fuck.” - 36-45F
“Oghren is gross and pathetic and upsetting, but that is wholly on purpose. He is also tragic and sad and a stark mirror of what the Warden (or honestly Hawke or the Inquisitor or Rook) could be in the future if public opinion shifts the wrong way. He had everything and lost it because he made stupid choices and it feels like he makes himself gross and pathetic to justify it so people feel disgust or maybe anger instead of pity.” - 36-45F
“This is the only companion I will not engage with. I don't care how good his character arc is (though I'm not sure I believe it's that good), I am not sitting through hours of casual misogyny and homophobia to get to it.” - 28-35F
“You'd think I'd hate him but actually i love Oghren bc he's exactly who he says he is. No subterfuge or fuckery, not even trying to social climb or leverage relationships. He's just a drunk who is really willing to help out.” - 36-45NB
“does he suck? objectively yes. he says a lot of very insensitive things. but he suffers from dragon age’s extremely insensitive handling of alcoholism. bioware’s attempt at making the most unsavory guy possible required that they make him an alcoholic, which is used as a punchline, and everything about that decision deserves to be scrutinized. also, his story is very interesting, especially his relationship with branka and how he moves forward in awakening. i understand why people don’t want to give him the time of day, but when all’s said and done i do really enjoy him as a character” - 23-27M
“he sucks but i like that in a dude. people hated oghren too loud and then by the time we got veilguard no one sucked anymore and that was worse. we love an awful little freak who sucks” - 28-35M
“Sometimes he's funny, but my god, at what cost?” - 28-35NB
“listen. what can I say about oghren. he's a gross misogynist who will hit on women who tell him to stop, then burp and pass out so he can do it all over again in the morning. he's also a fascinating look at dwarven culture, and a very, very sad man who was abandoned by his wife and his community. his conversation about being taught to be a berserker and then being outcast for actually doing what he's been expected since birth to do hits me some kind of way. I wish we didn't need so much sexual harassment along the way but it is admittedly a trait of his that says something about him as a character. it's an upsetting character trait but if I can step away from it enough to look at it as part of the whole, he's just a very sad man who blames everyone else for his problems. sometimes he's right.” - 23-27NB
“omg. i wasnt joking when i said i wish he had a romance route. i have a warden planned for it and everything. i think hes just so interesting as someone shunned from his society and yes he sucks and it took me playing the game 7 times but im endeared.. the cutscene where he sees the sun for the first time 18-22NB
“I know lots of people who hate him. I don't have strong feelings, he feels real, even if he's not always agreeable or even likeable. I don't particularly need every companion to be likeable and I can appreciate those that aren't for what they bring.” - 28-35M
Shale
I love her (51.6%), I like her (32.9%), I'm indifferent (12.7%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (1.7%), I dislike her (0.8%), I hate her (0.3%)
Baseline: Shale stands out because the violent, misanthropic comedy works alongside a genuinely horrific story about bodily autonomy, lost identity, and dwarven history
Recurring points of praise:
Respondents repeatedly compliment her humour and personality
Her concept and backstory make her one of the game's most unique companions
Her exploration of gender and identity resonate with trans and nonbinary respondents
Recurring criticisms:
People wish the series had done more with her
Making her DLC limited her reach
Some respondents find her underdeveloped or one-note
Her attitude can be off-putting
Recurring division points:
Her violent, abrasive humour is considered either perfect for her or too dependent upon edgy repetition
Her relationship with gender is fascinating while the writing around it can feel incomplete or play into non-human stereotypes
Text response selection:
“A lot of the Origins characters have edgy dialogue for the sake of having edgy dialogue. This is true of Shale but Shale makes it work. I have 100% faith that Shale would happily stomp everyone in that party flat and keep on trucking.” - 28-35M
“SHALE IS EVERYTHING TO ME. her backstory!!! her determination!!! the lore of golems is deeply horrific and her story is so fascinating. i forgot to recruit her the first time around and i’m so happy i went to get her on every further replay, she’s become a staple of my party. i adore everything she has to say. she’s so funny and witty and not afraid to say what she means and i find her so endlessly charming” - 23-27M
“Very important gender moments. I played this game before realising I was a man, so it really was wonderful to meet a female character who was just a lump of rocks and didn’t care about being feminine. Having her strip your warden of gender was relieving. I love her very dearly.” - 23-27M
“I do think Shale would be non binary if they were written now and I always read them as non binary then and loved them. I know, as well, that it's like an overdone trope to make non-binary/aro-ace/autistic characters other but as someone who is all of those things and has been othered my whole life I loved Shale.” - 28-35NB
“After her high approval dialogue where she talks about how she’s interested in reclaiming her old dwarven identity and body as Shayle, I really wonder what she’s up to nowadays! Since it’s unlikely we’ll ever see her again, I like to think she’s achieved it and is out there living her best life. Hopefully no longer killing pigeons as often.” - 23-27M
Sten
I love him (41.6%), I like him (39.1%), I'm indifferent (12%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (5.4%), I dislike him (1.6%), I hate him (0.3%)
Baseline: Respondents value Sten because friendship with him doesn't require ideological agreement - he questions the Warden, expects them to defend their choices, and can respect them without changing his own convictions
Recurring points of praise:
Earning his respect feels unusually satisfying
He provides a compelling view of the Qun
His friendship remains meaningful despite its limits
His dry humour and unexpected softness are endearing
Many wanted to romance him
Recurring criticisms:
Respondents wanted more of him after Origins
His sexism is a persistent barrier
Some find him flat or insufficiently developed
Recruiting him can be difficult to justify in character
His loyalty to the Qun never disappears
Recurring division points:
His rigid worldview makes friendship feel earned while also making his beliefs difficult to tolerate
He's considered both the series' strongest Qunari portrayal and part of its troubling foundations
His sparse characterisation rewards attention but leaves some players with almost nothing
Text response selection:
“I find his love for his culture despite all its flaws engaging and his begrudging appreciation for non-qunari culture is funny” - 23-27NB
“My favourite origins companion. Made me fall in love with the Qunari. Sten really made qunari culture sound like a place of belonging, and while he was probably biased in the same ways as Iron Bull, the way he spoke about it all with so much conviction made me really want to see Par Vollen. Sad that veilguard totally seemed to vilify the qunari.” - 23-27NB
“He has a hilarious dry sense of humor and yet. The FUCKING QUN. Fuuuuccckkk the Qun. Oh sure a mage Warden can be called kadan just like anybody else, but does this man ever actually reconsider his general view of mages? Not really!” - 28-35NB
“Look this man was out here picking fights about my every choice while actively respecting all of them if I respected/didn't back down from his challenges and questions and the whole time calling me his soulmate. They don’t write characters like this anymore and I do not understand why.” - 36-45F
“Sten as a character confused me until I realized he was also a bewildered and traumatized teenager, or at the very least extremely young adult, furiously clinging to the few things he can be certain of. And despite that! He likes it when you meet him on an intellectual level. He's more self-aware than almost anyone else in the party. He has by far the most rewarding friendship arc of the game.” - 28-35M
“I free him but never recruit him. I bring a sort of “I think a man murdering children and other innocents over his own macho bullshit is bad” vibe to dragon age that dragon age fans really don’t like” - 28-35F
“I think this is my favourite dragon age character. I talk about how I love all the origins guys, but Sten is the one I want to get a tattoo about (specifically Asala). I couldn’t figure out how to talk to him in my first playthrough, I kept getting disapproval and couldn’t figure out WHY. So I remember starting a run with the sole goal of understanding him. It was my first time trying to get a character from different angles and taught my teenage self how to analyse speech. My wardens have never fully agreed with him, but debating the disagreement lets them understand each other. I think that’s a part of RPGs I find missing in other places. Finding friendship through not seeing eye to eye. Other games you’re often friends or not friends. Sten’s a weird nuanced grey. You love each other very much, but if you ever meet again, he’ll have to kill you. You know he cares because he’ll fire a warning shot.” - 23-27M
“i like him now but one time i got the challenge scene and i didn't have a previous save and he beat my tiny elf girl to death repeatedly before i could beat him and I've never quite been able to unsee it” - 36-45
“That's my best friend. That's my best friend!!!!!!!!! When my Warden got taken to jail Sten was one of the ones to come bust me out and I'll never forget his unimpressed deadpan, "The irony of this moment is not lost on me" as he opens the door to your cell.” - 28-35F
Wynne
I like her (39.6%), I love her (24.5%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (17.4%), I'm indifferent (11.4%), I dislike her (6.3%), I hate her (0.8%)
Baseline: Respondents often find Wynne more interesting than likeable - they value the complexity created by her Circle conditioning, maternal instincts, and contradictions, while frequently finding her preachy, politically frustrating, strangely underdeveloped, or simply less engaging than the ideas behind her
Recurring points of praise:
Respondents find her Circle-shaped psychology complex and compelling
Her maternal presence can be comforting and emotionally valuable
Having an older woman in the party is appreciated
Her relationship with a mage Warden creates strong roleplaying opportunities
Her spirit possession adds fascinating lore and thematic depth
Her judgmental and stubborn qualities make her more interesting than her fanon image
Recurring criticisms:
Her advice often feels preachy and intrusive
Her support for the Circle frustrates many respondents
Her age is portrayed absurdly inconsistently
She can feel boring, generic, or underdeveloped
Too much of her important character material exists outside Origins
Her grandmotherly portrayal flattens her complexity
Recurring division points:
Her mentorship is considered both comforting and intrusive
Her support for the Circle is either valuable ideological context or infuriating accommodation
Her attempt to embody an elderly mentor feels realistic to some and absurdly caricatured to others
Text response selection:
“I think she gets “grandma’d” by the fandom too much. She’s a pretty complex character outside of her just being an older lady.” - 18-22M
“She gets a little too preachy about the Warden's romance choices, but otherwise, she acts true to character in game. Where I really object to her is in the novels, when she has all this freedom to travel and do what she wants because of her past with the Hero of Ferelden, yet keeps voting to keep things as they are with the Mage Towers for everyone else. It feels slimy.” - 36-45F
“i really like her kind of twisted views of things shaped by a lifetime in the circle that you can predominantly see surfacing when she tries giving you advice, i like how kind of horrifying it all is. i hate her fandom perception of just being a nice mellow old lady who does the chores for her found family <3 because shes anything but that.” - 18-22NB
“I'm glad we were exposed to her perspective as players. I also love having an older woman as a companion option, although her actual stated age iirc was merely in her 50's, and she was depicted in appearance and behavior as being in perhaps her 70's. They ought to just have made her canonically older so the rest would make sense.” - 36-45NB
“wynne is a character of all time to me. yes yes she spouts chantry propaganda but there is a REASON for that!!! they took her child! she stepped out of line once and got punished for it forever! everything she says to the warden is because of her regrets, for the child she couldn’t raise and the apprentice she failed. she always wants to do better, be the perfect caretaker, the perfect mentor, and not be punished. she operates out of love and out of fear. faith saved her because it believed in her—she has faith in those she cares for and in the world to improve. but all she has ever known is the circle and chantry teachings. duty is what’s most important to her, because that’s what she’s been told to believe. she warns the warden against love, because love led to the greatest tragedy in her life. wynne is a mage who is afraid to think beyond the status quo because she knows what happens to those who act out, and she wants to protect herself and others. more than anything she CARES. and she isn’t always doing it in the most perfect way, because she’s imperfect! she is traumatized! a lot of the reason she tries to be so polite and motherly is because she is a woman as well as a mage and has been forced into being demure by the system she is trapped in. i’m not saying she’s never been wrong, but i AM saying she is a FANTASTIC character and i will defend her to the ends of the earth” - 23-27M
“I like the different perspective she brings to a circle mage, especially when playing a mage origin! It's an interesting mixture of power dynamics, with Warden being the group's de facto leader but also Wynne still treating them as if they were still part of the circle hierarchy, aka someone she has authority over.” - 28-35NB
“Wynne would be AMAZING if she was written how she is on purpose. Wanting to be a wise elder (despite not being that old!), she’s still showing the same flaws she claims to have grown past, still being preachy, judgemental and unable to see where others need patience instead of a lecture. That’s great!- except from all I’ve heard it was AN ACCIDENT.” - 36-45NB
“She's 48 going on 70 going on one foot in the grave. She does add a perspective to the circle of magi that's good to know, especially when considering SOME acts of revolution carried out by SOME mages in SOME game. She is essentially dead and it's just taking a while to set in, and it gives an interesting view of mortality if you think about it.” - 18-22NB
“Wynne to me is a tragedy and she's so well written but I get sad every time I think about how she's resigned herself to this constant unceasing oppression and encourages mage wardens to resign themselves to the same system because she views it as inevitable. I like how she perpetuates the system because it's broken her and the way she keeps going, the way she literally comes back from the dead, is her faith that if she complies with the system she will be spared from further suffering.” - 23-27NB
Zevran Arainai
I love him (72.1%), I like him (22%), I'm indifferent (3%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (1.9%), I dislike him (0.8%), I hate him (0.3%)
Baseline: Respondents overwhelmingly love him for the tenderness and pain beneath his flirtatious persona, while a smaller group struggles to see beyond (or enjoy) the constant sexual presentation
Recurring points of praise:
His humour and flirtation make him highly entertaining
His romance is one of the most beloved in Origins
His friendship is meaningful even without romance
His bisexuality was meaningful representation for many respondents
His Crow background gives him compelling themes of exploitation and escape
The pain beneath his flirtatious persona gives him emotional depth
Earning his loyalty makes the relationship feel consequential
Recurring criticisms:
His late recruitment and limited content leave many respondents wanting more
His sexual presentation alienates a smaller group
Some respondents find him overhyped or fail to connect with him
His later appearances in sequels feel poorly handled
Some respondents perceive a double standard between Zevran and Oghren
His approval and betrayal mechanics can be frustrating
His accent and sexualised archetype feel dated to some respondents
Recurring division points:
His sexual confidence is interpreted as either liberating performance or relentless harassment
His limited content makes his hidden depth rewarding but easy to miss
Text response selection:
“Assassin that you adopt and ends up being your bestie or your lover, love that trope so much. His interactions are some of the funniest and his loyalty is so meaningful. I didn't recover from his romance route. I also didn't recover from learning that his automatic tactic is attacking those who attack the warden.” - 18-22F
“he’s been trapped and traumatized and it’s hard to break out of the mindset he’s developed. self-preservation, cutting himself off from love and friendship because when he finally chased that it was ripped away from him in the worst way. he blames himself for it, but it’s the crows’ fault. he wants to keep himself alive, but he also takes the job to kill the warden because it seems like a job that’s doomed to fail and he thinks death is a worthy punishment for what he did. and yet he still bargains for his life. he Wants, he wants freedom and love and connection and the ability to become his own person and not the property of the crows, but the idea of Wanting scares him. so he bottles it up and uses jokes and sex to pretend he’s perfectly content and none of his Wanting comes up until the very end. he’s flippant about others’ lives because he’s never been able to care, and when he did care, it fucked him over. but zevran is younger than wynne, and while she still thinks the circles work, zevran knows the crows don’t. he wants out. and he’s so afraid. and i would do anythjng for him” - 23-27M
“MY GUY!!! He's touch starved, he's not used to kindness, he has a natural light and joy to him that the Crows couldn't stamp out. He's suicidal, he's given a second chance by the warden .... he sees that he can be more than what the Crows expect of him, made him to be” - 28-35NB
Anders (Awakening)
I love him (46.5%), I like him (35.4%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (7.4%), I'm indifferent (6.9%), I dislike him (3.1%), I hate him (0.7%)
Baseline: Respondents enjoy his humour and yearning for freedom, while sharply disagreeing over whether his lighter personality is more appealing or less compelling than his DA2 self
Recurring points of praise:
His humour and irreverence make him an entertaining companion
His desire for freedom makes his conflict with the Circle sympathetic
His love of cats is endearing
His lighter personality makes his later fate feel tragic
Many respondents wish that he had been romanceable
His relationship with Justice provides valuable context for both characters
Recurring criticisms:
His personality feels like an imitation of Alistair's
His flirtation can feel sexist, intrusive, or unpleasant
His voice performance is highly distracting
Some respondents find him shallow or underdeveloped
The transition into DA2 feels inadequately shown
His humour can become annoying or overly performed
Recurring division points:
His lighter personality is considered either delightful or comparatively shallow
His flirtation is experienced as either charming bisexual chaos or unwanted persistence
His contrast with DA2 inspires disagreement over whether he was improved or ruined
Text response selection:
“For me, getting to know what anders was like before da2 adds a lot of interest to his character and makes me go insane thinking about how he's changed and why. Awakening anders is fun and is interesting in his own right but i think hes elevated knowing the context of da2” - 18-22M
“honey, you've got a big storm coming” - 23-27NB
“He is so funny I hope nothing bad happens to him” - 23-27NB
“just told greg ellis to be his smarmy self” - 18-22NB
“I remember playing the dlc and thinking wow, i wish I could kiss this guy hehe hes so funny. Truly a monkeys paw moment” - 28-35
“he means well bless his heart” - 28-35F
Justice
I like him (37.1%), I love him (36.2%), I'm indifferent (13.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (10.6%), I dislike him (1.7%), I hate him (0.7%)
Baseline: Respondents value him as a unique window into spirits and morality, while often wishing the games had developed him more fully and treated him better after Awakening
Recurring points of praise:
His nonhuman perspective makes him a distinctive companion
He enriches the lore surrounding spirits and possession
Watching an ideal confront an imperfect world is compelling
His fascination with mortal beauty and love makes him endearing
His relationship with Anders gains significance through DA2
His body and identity create intriguing questions (whether Justice remains entirely himself; how Kristoff's memories and emotions affect him; his responsibility toward Aura; the boundary between possession and identity; the contrast between an immortal concept and a decaying physical body; the horror and absurdity of casually travelling with a walking corpse)
Recurring criticisms:
Awakening doesn't develop him enough
His conceptual appeal doesn't always translate into personal attachment
His rigid understanding of justice can be frustrating
DA2 is widely seen as reducing or mistreating him (reduces him from a person to a source of Anders' anger; treats him as an evil or corrupting force; gives him little independent voice; fails to provide closure for what happens to him; loses the curiosity, nuance, and love of mortal life established in Awakening)
A smaller group blames him for what happens to Anders
Recurring division points:
His uncompromising morality is considered both fascinatingly alien and frustratingly rigid
His merge with Anders is either the culmination of his story or the destruction of both characters
Text response selection:
“Justice is my best fucking friend and I will hear no bad words against him. Go talk to him about the unexpected beauty of the mortal world and how the idea of love is something beautiful and worth experiencing and protecting and maybe you'll calm down.” - 28-35NB
“He didn't do much for me when I first played Awakening but on a recent playthrough I noticed that he gives SO MUCH information on the Fade and spirits, and looking back from Veilguard and DAI, that's all extremely interesting. I also wonder how Solas would interact with him.” - 36-45F
“really good character. in the fade he was just a concept, a pure ideal, and now he suddenly has to deal with the real world. its great watching him grapple with justice as an action instead of as an idea. his distaste for anders makes what eventually happens between them incredibly funny.” - 18-22M
“The pure personification of Justice was fascinating to have along, as he was puzzled by things, thereby pointing out what was nonsensical in society.” - 36-45F
“Ehhnnn leave Anders alone about Ser Pounce, come on. It's not slavery or imprisonment, it's a mutually beneficial companionship agreement. But it is super cool to have a spirit as a party member.” - 28-35NB
“JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he’s so in love with how much the mortal world has to offer, and it’s so beautiful and inspiring. there’s so much to learn in every corner of life. kirkwall makes it hard to cling to his outlook but he still pushes through, he still always believes that things can be better. i refuse to believe that he ever fully becomes vengeance (i have thoughts on spirits/demons but that’s its own thing). i know this is the awakening section but i adore him when you meet him in the fade in night terrors. a lot of the way he’s written in da2 is because hepler saw him as an expression of anders’s Evil Bad Anger And Bipolar Disorder and not as a character in his own right. he deserved better. he’s written with so much nuance and care in awakening and it just makes me smile every time i talk to him” - 23-27M
“This isn't meant to be its circus but it supposes since it's stuck here, these may as well be its monkeys, provided they act justly and valiantly, else it must start culling them.” - 18-22NB
Nathaniel Howe
I love him (39.2%), I like him (39.2%), I'm indifferent (16.1%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (3.5%), I dislike him (1.7%), I hate him (0.3%)
Baseline: Respondents like his growth and family drama, particularly with Cousland, but often feel he deserved far more content
Recurring points of praise:
His relationship with Cousland creates an especially compelling dynamic (both lose their homes and families through the actions of the other's father; Nathaniel initially sees the Warden as the person who destroyed his family; Cousland knows firsthand how monstrous Rendon Howe was; their inherited hostility can gradually become trust and friendship; Nathaniel provides a continuing consequence of the Cousland origin rather than leaving the Howe conflict entirely in the base game)
His struggle to accept his father's crimes gives him a satisfying arc
His changing relationship with the Warden is rewarding
Many respondents wish that he'd been romanceable
His honour and capacity for change make him sympathetic
His interactions with other companions are enjoyable (especially Oghren and Velanna)
Recurring criticisms:
Awakening doesn't give him enough development
He can feel dull, forgettable, or insubstantial
Too much of his appeal depends upon playing Cousland
His later appearances are far too limited
Recurring division points:
His hostility toward the Warden is considered either understandable family loyalty or misplaced resentment
His understated growth is satisfying while his limited presence keeps it from reaching its full potential
Tone response selection:
“My first warden was a cousland and the way their stories parallel each other is my favorite thing so I still have a very big soft spot for him” - 28-35NB
“unforchy he died protecting the keep 💔 rip nathy. his friendship with oghren is really sweet and i love their interactions. watching him come to terms with his father being terrible is great. i wonder what would happen if i told him that oghren dealt the killing blow” - 18-22M
“You just kind of watch him work through 30 years of daddy issues. In the sense that he matures from a bitter son idolising his father to a principled leader that acknowledges and accepts the atrocities committed by his father, and attempts to make good for it and rebuild his family's legacy. He finds a new home and purpose within the Grey Wardens that he never really had within his family. And also, his bard song scream will never cease to be the funniest thing on this earth.” - 18-22NB
Sigrun
I love her (53.8%), I like her (31.4%), I'm indifferent (13.8%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (0.9%), I dislike her (0.1%), I hate her (0%)
Baseline: Respondents find her delightful and distinctive, but overwhelmingly wish Awakening and the wider series had given her more content
Recurring points of praise:
Her cheerful personality makes her immediately loveable
Her brightness contrasts compellingly with her status as one of the dead
Her perspective expands the Legion of the Dead and dwarven culture
Her combination of cuteness and violence is entertaining
Many respondents consider her one of Awakening's strongest companions
Many respondents wish that she'd been romanceable
Recurring criticisms:
Awakening doesn't give her enough time or development
Her limited material can leave her feeling forgettable or bland
The wider series wastes her by never bringing her back
Recurring division points:
Her concise appearance makes her refreshing while leaving major parts of her unexplored
Text response selection:
“Perky, curious Legion of the Dead. She's a delight. It's also another view on how one could take on the banner of "already dead" rather than just serious and morose.” - 36-45F
“She's so cheerful in a whimsical, suicidal way. The type of girl to say "whoops better go die!" when she stubs her toe. She's so ready for it the Warden-Commander has to actively keep her from running to her death. You can't say she's not dedicated to the cause.” - 18-22NB
“Our only Duster companion!! She's scrappy and funny and gives an insight into dwarven culture that non-dwarf origins never see. I wish she had more interactivity with Brosca!” - 23-27NB
Velanna
I love her (39%), I like her (33.3%), I'm indifferent (16.7%), I have mixed/conflicted feelings (7.5%), I dislike her (3%), I hate her (0.4%)
Baseline: Respondents largely sympathise with her anger and wish the series had given her more room to develop
Recurring points of praise:
Her anger toward humans is considered understandable and justified
Her prickly and uncompromising personality appeals to many respondents
Her devotion to her sister gives her emotional weight
Her development across Awakening feels meaningful
Her Dalish perspective enriches the expansion
The original concept of her merging with Justice fascinates respondents
Recurring criticisms:
Her abrasiveness makes her difficult to befriend or enjoy
Awakening doesn't develop her enough
Her treatment of innocent deaths is morally alienating
Her writing can feel like a familiar fantasy-elf archetype
The series wastes her by never bringing her back
Recurring division points:
Her anger is considered both justified and difficult to live with
Her lack of content makes her feel either full of possibility or too unfinished to love
Text response selection:
“I thought her anger was totally justified, and I think people judge her too harshly for being "mean". One of those characters where if she were a guy, she would be a fan favourite like fenris.” - 23-27NB
“I like that she and Mahariel know and recognise each other.” - 28-35F
“Sometimes I think of how differently the series would have had to unfold had the devs had HER bond with Justice instead of Anders. The conflict of the abuses of the elves might have been more coherent than the abuses of mages.” - 36-45F
“Her development throughout the DLC feels very earned. She's genuinely learning from her previous mistakes, and admits them, and then she works on them. She embodies the consequence of what she went through and witnessed, and she has to unlearn the deep-seated hatred it left her with. She goes from being a vengeful murderer in the woods to protecting any and all who need it.” - 18-22NB
Census Survey Results, Pt. 1 - Intro & General Demographics
We're finally here! Because of how lengthy these posts will be, I'm going to have to split them over multiple posts. The plan is to have this intro, posts focused on each game and its main responses, and then a further few posts dedicated to each game's responses on the optional opinion section along with a selection of the free-response text box answers. They'll all be tagged with '#census survey', and once they're all out, I'll link them all in the pinned post so they're easy to find :)
Here is a list of pretty interesting patterns and findings I got from the results before we dive into the answers themselves!
When it comes to the free-response section, Veilguard inspired far more writing than any other game, with the highest comment count, response rate, average word count, and total word count
Solas inspired the largest number of people to say something, with the highest raw comment count and highest response rate. Cullen, Loghain, Anders, and Oghren also all broke 200+ optional text responses.
Sigrun had the least text responses (though she was rated positively by 85.2% of respondents and negatively by virtually nobody), with all the Awakening companions getting between 80-100. The non-DLC character with the fewest responses was Inquisition Leliana
Josephine inspired relatively few and relatively short responses, but 94.7% of respondents rated her positively
Taash generated the most intense free-response engagement, with the most total words and average words per response
Anders was the character who inspired the least indifference - only 1% of respondents selected "I'm indifferent" for him
Cullen was the most polarising, with his ratings fairly evenly distributed. He also had the highest negative percentage, narrowly ahead of Oghren
Oghren had the highest percentage of "mixed/conflicted feelings"
Tallis inspired the most indifference, with 43.5% of respondents selecting "I'm indifferent" for her. The next highest result was Sebastian at 25.4%
The top five characters with the most "I love them" responses were Dorian (75.4%), Zevran, Morrigan, Merrill, and DA2 Varric. Dorian was the most overwhelmingly positively rated, with 94.2% positive answers, 0.8% negative, and 1.4% indifferent
Vivienne, Sera, Taash, Harding, and Lucanis all had very positive ratings as characters, but their free-response text boxes were generally criticism-heavy, with people citing issues with their writing and storylines
Opinions on Oghren don't differ by gender - men were slightly more likely to be mixed rather than negative, but otherwise percentages were broadly the same across the board
Opinions on Taash differ pretty clearly between cis and trans/nonbinary respondents. Trans and nonbinary results are almost identical, but cis people were broadly less positive on Taash. 6.4% of trans and 5.6% nonbinary respondents rated Taash negatively ("dislike" or "hate") compared to 16.8% of cis respondents. 38.5% of trans and 38.6% of nonbinary people specifically selected "I love them" for Taash, compared to only 22.8% of cis respondents.
Men were substantially more likely to love Anders - 41.2% of women loved him vs. 61.5% of men.
Women were substantially more likely to love Cullen - 28.9% of women vs. 13.1% of men - and men were substantially more likely to hate Cullen (10.1% of women vs. 25.3% of men).
Sera was loved by 52.6% of men vs. only 35.3% of women
Some other interesting patterns: Neve was more positively rated by nonbinary people and men than she was by women, and Iron Bull was much more positively rated by nonbinary people than by either men or women
People who like Solas are almost twice as likely than others to also like Blackwall
Anders and Fenris fans aren't generally opposing camps, though Fenris fans are more likely to dislike Anders than Anders fans are likely to dislike Fenris. Among people positive about Anders, 97.2% were also positive about Fenris.
Ace-spec respondents lean slightly more positively toward Lucanis, but the difference isn't statistically significant
Older respondents (for this purpose 36+) like Cullen more than younger respondents do, while they like Loghain significantly less. Older respondents are also notably more likely to like Lucanis, Emmrich, and Aveline. Velanna, for some reason, peaks significantly for 23-27 year olds
Bellara was rated positively by every single person who said Veilguard was their favourite game
People who romanced Alistair in Origins tended to romance Fenris in DA2 and Cullen in Inquisition. People who romanced Leliana in Origins heavily favoured Josephine in Inquisition. Merrill romancers strongly gravitate toward Josephine and Bellara. Isabela romancers overwhelmingly favour Neve in Veilguard. Zevran romancers favour Dorian and Lucanis. Blackwall romancers divide strongly between Emmrich and Davrin.
The most common favourite romance pipelines were Zevran > Fenris > Dorian > Lucanis and Zevran > Fenris > Dorian > Emmrich
The fandom is very consistently pro mage, with 97.8% siding with the mages in Origins, 95.6% in DA2, and 89.7% in Inquisition. Only 1 respondent out of the 760 who answered the question for all three games chose the Templar option in every game.
To back up the common complaint in the free-response boxes about Veilguard forcing a harmonious team with no ability to disagree with companions, Rook was dramatically more likely to get along with everyone. The percentage of people who said their protagonist genuinely got along with every companion was 28.9% for the Warden, 22.1% for Hawke, 28.3% for the Inquisitor, and 72.2% for Rook. The most common sources of friction: For the Warden, Oghren, then Wynne; for Hawke, Sebastian, then Aveline and Carver; for the Inquisitor, Vivienne and Cullen, then Sera and Solas; and for Rook, Lucanis and Taash, but at much lower rates than any previous game's conflicts.
Certain pairings of characters were very often loved by the same people; some examples were Aveline and Cassandra, Morrigan and Isabela, Velanna and Merrill, Isabela and Neve, Isabela and Sera, Zevran and Fenris, and Nathaniel and Carver.
Cullen fans were more likely than other players to dislike Velanna, Merrill, Sera, Vivienne, and Isabela.
Inquisition players who chose the mages usually allied with them, but players who chose the Templars usually conscripted them.
How old are you?: 28-35 (48.3%), 23-27 (24.6%), 36-45 (18.4%), 18-22 (6.3%), 46-55 (1.9%), 13-17 (0.3%), 56+ (0.1%)
What's your gender identity?: Cis woman (48.2%), nonbinary (31.5%), trans man (10%), cis man (2.3%), trans woman (1.9%)
Write-in responses were mostly more specific nonbinary labels, people who didn't know their identity, and those who weren't comfortable disclosing gender identity but chose not to skip the question.
Where do you live?: North America (61%), Europe (31.5%), Australia/New Zealand (4.5%), Asia (1.3%), South America (1.3%), Africa (0.5%)
Which Dragon Age games have you played?: Inquisition (98.5%), Origins (96.9%), DA2 (95.8%), Veilguard (84.2%)
Which is your favourite Dragon Age game?: DA2 (40.6%), Origins (29%), Inquisition (24.1%), Veilguard (6.3%)
Which was your first Dragon Age game?: Origins (62.9%), Inquisition (26.5%), DA2 (8.8%), Veilguard (1.8%)
Which difficulty do you generally play on?: Normal (49.7%), Casual (37.4%), Hard (9.4%), Nightmare (3.5%)
Which platform do you generally play on?: PC (69.4%), PlayStation (17.1%), XBOX (13.5%)
Which of the spin-off games have you played, if any?: None of the above (66.1%), Dragon Age: The Last Court (25.8%), Heroes of Dragon Age (15%), Dragon Age Legends (6%), Dragon Age Journeys (3.8%)
Which of the animated/live action screen media pieces have you watched, if any?: Absolution (53.6%), none of the above (37.9%), Dawn of the Seeker (31.7%), Redemption (16.5%), Warden's Fall (8.3%)
Which of the tie-in books have you read, if any?: Tevinter Nights (43.4%), The Stolen Throne (40.6%), The World of Thedas Vol. 1 (40.5%), The World of Thedas Vol. 2 (39.7%), Asundder (37.8%), The Masked Empire (36.3%), The Calling (34.7%), none of the above (28.5%), Last Flight (26.7%), Hard in Hightown (17.6%)
Which of the tie-in comics have you read, if any?: None of the above (52%), The Silent Grove (32.7%), Those Who Speak (30.4%), Magekiller (30%), Blue Wraith (28.3%), Until We Sleep (28.3%), Knight Errant (25.9%), The Missing (22.9%), Deception (20%), Dark Fortress (18.8%)
Which additional spin-off media have you engaged in, if any?: None of the above (56.6%), the Vows & Vengeance podcast (32.4%), the Dragon Age tabletop RPG (21.7%)
