"Manfred, No Contest" - Veilguard Tangents With BioFan | The Landsmeet Podcast

[@Joshuaraymalan]

It's so pleasant to here a conversation around this game that acknowledges shortcomings, but isn't full of vitriol and bile. I love this game, but I'm aware it is an imperfect game. Honestly its amazing a functional game came from the absolutely crazy development cycle. Also, sorry I can't let it go, but the mayor sent to the wardens ends up saving group of wardens in Hossberg, lol.

[@lynnledger5880]

A note on Lucanis and Spite, after they start to embrace their connection, a member of the Lords of Fortune wish the spirit of Determination luck, and Spite responds to it as well as Lucanis saying not to encourage him. I think Spite remains CALLED Spite by the team simply because people like to learn a name of someone/something, and thats what we call it. Rivani people see spirits from more the spirit's perspective. As Spite has changed in the agreement with Lucanis, he has actually morphed to a spirit of Determination and is thus called such by this member of the Lords of Fortune.

[@jcksparrowfan]

Note that if you save Minrathous, you are locked out of Lucanis' romance and never recieve his Inner Demons quest and you're not given the option to pardon Illario.

[@ElaraDreamstar]

The Varric thing still has me sobbing. I started a second playthrough and now I'm seeing the little signs and it just hurts.

[@Carblesnarky]

Something you both hit on is that people need to keep in mind how troubled the development cycle for veilguard was. It was likely worse than DA2's. So I agree it's a miracle that Veilguard is as good as it is.

[@frosty7292]

And saying its good is a strech

[@Carblesnarky]

@@frosty7292 Depends on what you thought of it of course. Opinions vary and there's nothing wrong with that. There's really nothing especially in video games that everyone thinks is good.

[@bluemoon1716]

DA2 was made in less than 12 months and it's still leagues above veilguard. They had more time and resources than DA2. Let's not let them off the hook

[@Carblesnarky]

@@bluemoon1716 Veilguard was in development hell for 10 years. The version we got was what their 3rd or 4th version of the game? DA2 had more like 14 to 16 months of development time from what I have seen. That's not to take away from the achievement that DA2 was. However, I think Veilguard is better DA2 & that's not an odd opinion in the fanbase. I can't think of one area where DA2 actually outclasses Veilguard. However, I had a blast with both games. The final team for Veilguard had to deal with long term staff being gone and trying to make a solid single player out the bones of a MMO. In some ways that's actually worse. The development team for both games did an amazing job for they were given. EA & the Bioware higher ups are too blame for the issues with both. Mark Darrah has talked about how they were pushed into rushing development on DA2 to literally save jobs. The Veilguard team had a mess dropped in their collective lap and had to make the best of it. I don't think anyone is letting the execs off the hook. However, I do think it is a testament to quality of the devs, Veilguard is as good as it is.

[@frosty7292]

The only issue was sweet baby inc ever beiny allowed near video games

[@tamarak.8800]

As for Haeding/Davrin, they go out of their way to say no one found a body. First rule of stories, if there is no body and characters make a point out of there being no body, "death" is a only question of how the plot develops.

[@Joshuaraymalan]

I got the slave background option as LoF talking to Taash during their bird watching quest.

[@HeroOfTime223]

THANK YOU!! It was so nice to hear your pleasant and thoughtful feelings about this game! 💕

[@stepankatlapakova3718]

Oh God, those memories with BioFan (and others) with Inquisition and Andromeda from years years years ago resurfacing… 😍 Love it ❤️

[@tamarak.8800]

I really liked the game but the writings refusal to touch anything deep or more complicated than good and bad is so obvious. Solas is the exception so those parts feel very good but otherwise? You can't challenge anything because there is literally nothing to challenge.

[@domincklalicata1186]

My best description of Veilguard is, if Inquisition was an epic movie, Veilguard is a great sitcom. I love both, but they are different.

[@jessicab5525]

I would be happy with some remastered versions of DA 1-3 and a DLC for DA4 while DA5 is slowly being written and made but I guess we shall see 🥲🩷

[@nichellehodge473]

Noooo romance a Emmrich with Manfred, theres literally a convo about Manfred being our son.

[@ebonyPM]

With Davrin/Harding choice I agree with everything you say but in both of my playthrougs Harding dies because I can watch Asan die.

[@marissarae3882]

If you send the mayor to the wardens he actually saves a whole group of wardens from darkspawn he doesnt turn into one. Thats my favorite outcome for him. He thanks you for a second chance to make up for things that happen in D'metas crossing

[@jcksparrowfan]

Emmrich is literally Regis. Same man, different font. Ciri, if she jumped into the DA universe with Regis and he met Emmrich, immediate besties.

[@gamernextdoor23]

Emrichs character was so stromg & it eas done well because probably it was left untouched since joplin

[@VillianousKitty]

Was planning to listen to this whilst drifting off to sleep but you kept me awake instead 😂

[@megamike15]

i felt davrin was a better chracter when i was playing as a wardan my first run. dude was a bro. it helps he is the first time we had a seasonedd grey wardan in the party. not a recent recruit like alistar or anders. or blackwell who was not really one in the first place.

[@MsRedNebulaPlays]

Agree overall with everything you two were talking about (except sorry Harding, I love Davrin and Assan too much), but this whole podcast hits different now that Sylvia, too, has departed Bioware. :( Really feeling the whole Ship of Theseus problem already with Veilguard, and it makes me worry about future titles. We'll see, I suppose.

[@Melanie0604]

Question - what do you mean we can only have three rooks? I have like 6 saves ready to go lol

[@liraelgirl8]

Me nodding along to all the companion talk. I wish it had been more fine tuned and more reactive once the romance is locked in.

[@Lawbrary]

Yasssssssssss

[@tamarak.8800]

I played a shadow dragon blind but then saw one spoiler about having to pick Treviso for Lucanis so I did that. That playthrough just felt so much worse than my second as warden. I understand why they made the choice but it just doesn't work. Plus, going with the number shadow dragon and Lucanis were very popular so lots of people just got a lot less and thus a worse impression of the game.

[@ozsky482]

My first play-through was a solid 8/10 just because I’m such a Solas lover but I’m finding on my second play-through… it’s tedious. There are only a few differences with the major decisions and the companion quests, like y’all said, just are too much. Love you Davvy, but why are we in Arlathan on walks all of the time?? Only thing making this one fun is Emmrich- his romance is so much better than Lucanis’, which hurt my feelings with how boring it was until the last scene and then sudden blackness, no epilogue 😖

[@JazzyBunny]

Yeah with the character creator, I was disappointed that we didn't get more thick long braids for the qunari like in the comics. Omg I didn't know that if you don't romance Lucanis or Neve they get together. I do not want that at all. That seems like such a weird coupling. Just no.

[@angryvaultguy]

Man the qunari themselves just look bad because the overall design was just not good, smooth gameplay and combat sure but man the qunari just lost everything that made them cool I feel like

[@JazzyBunny]

@angryvaultguy I kind of agree. I liked the way my qunari rook looked more than my inquisitor but really wished we had more variety.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@JazzyBunnyyeah honestly hating on Veilguard Qunari is kinda a joke after the atrocious ones from inquisition. I think dragon age 2 had the best version of Qunari and Veilguard so far has come the closest to achieving it again.

[@JazzyBunny]

@BBS-dl1lt ooof yeah, the Inquisition qunari were really rough. I just wish they had a variety in general. Maybe mix in some different types. Also, I don't know if there were any female qunari in the antaam. But I wish they weren't always carbon copies.

[@BBS-dl1lt]

@@JazzyBunny idk if they’re gonna be lazy about anything, I’m ok with them being lazy about that. The antam is an army, so all wearing the same armor is fine for me. If anything I wish they added diversity to the venatori. Though I did love their look in this game more than inquisition.

[@caseysmith8655]

You have a creative writing degree...and have nothing to say about the absolutely terrible writing in the game? Like, the conversations are dull and feel like a toddler with no conversational skills wrote it.

[@AmbigousInfluence]

Possibly because the writing is actually good.

[@caseysmith8655]

@AmbigousInfluence But it's not...my horse could write a better dialogue with his facial expressions

[@sonnenblumefrau2048]

​@@caseysmith8655 I didn't like some of the writing, specifically Taash. But Emmrich? Love him, plus his writer happens to be the same woman who wrote Josephine from Inquisition. While I was never interested in romancing Josephine and she wasn't high on my list of favorite characters, I absolutely love Emmrich.

[@TakeABiteEve]

​@sonnenblumefrau2048 I did not know that but it explains why he's my favorite. Josephine was my girl...