The Ossuary & Demon of Vyrantium | Dragon Age: The Veilguard [Part 5]

[@tardisfeathers]

@Mapocolops I wouldn’t mind you leaving the “filler” stuff in your videos. One thing I feel this game did get absolutely right was side quests and exploration: none of it feels boring or repetitive, and no silly fetch quests. So having slightly longer videos might actually work here (and be less editing for you) - idk how others feel though, will be watching either way!! 💜

[@jenniferatterton1587]

I agree with TARDIS . I would welcome longer videos with you Mapo. Have been with you from the beginning of Origin. I think you can press "C" to compare items I think you will find.

[@acfan1988]

@@tardisfeathers I absolutely agree. All the side content is what makes this game so enjoyable

[@ems7448]

Yes, please leave the exploration in if you can, one of the best things about this game is the level and environmental design and the smaller side quests.

[@Kal853_]

Just found your channel and subbed and I totally agree with this

[@AndHerLeeches]

Me too!

[@MediumChungus223]

It took me too long to realize, but different valuables are worth more reputation when traded to specific factions. For example, the Veil Jumpers give you more reputation if you give them elven-artifact themed valuables. A lot of the valuables like food and random junk are worth the same everywhere. If it is worth 3 reputation, that means it has no special value with that merchant. Also, if you do miss important items like gear or momentos in locations you can't return to, there is a store later in the game that will sell those things, so you can't permanently miss most stuff.

[@ErisedDawn]

I'm on my third playthrough currently and I had NO idea! Thanks for this!

[@tardisfeathers]

Ahhh I had no idea 😮

[@exz2005]

Absolutely clutch tip, I'm halfway into my second playthrough and had no idea. Now it makes sense why so many vendors sell valuables, they're valuables meant for specific factions.

[@KiddDaPhoenix]

The items are sorted by faction strength gain too, so no need to scroll through all items. If it sells for more than 3, this is the shop to sell it at, and once you start seeing 3, pack up and leave. Not all items have a faction specific bonus though.

[@imladrad2584]

Lucanis was one of two companions I basically always had in my party unless the quest needed someone else. The other was my romanced companion, since dragging my love interest around literally everywhere is how I always play rpgs.

[@DarkElfPaladin]

That's interesting. I can't do that. I have to switch it up all the time to have different combinations for all the banter.

[@annina134]

Lucanis was my romance so I had him with me everywhere. 😄🖤💜🖤

[@imladrad2584]

@@DarkElfPaladin It’s a big reason why I felt so restricted by the two party member limit. I really think three is a perfect number.

[@DarkElfPaladin]

@imladrad2584 yeah me too. Though also as a spell blade I could detonate sundered and apply overwhelm but not weakened which meant no matter who I picked there were abilities without a pair. Having one more would have shared that up a bit as well

[@imladrad2584]

@ Poor Lucanis was third-wheeling Emmrich and my Rook everywhere 😅

[@Jovian999]

The Hawen who wrote the note you found at 1:51:15 was Keeper of the Dalish clan you met on the Exalted Plains in Inquisition. (Mapolas desecrated the graves of his ancestors!) If you whack a green health vase while your potions are full, it will heal you instead of being wasted.

[@Farfalla_vendetta]

I had the same criticisms as you early on. I do feel the game picks up the more you play. You do get a lot of unique lines for the faction you picked (at least i did for the shadow dragons) so im looking forward to see you meet your fellow mourn watchers. I'm not finished but i think I'll like it better than inquisition by the end. The side quests are so much better than the mindless fetch quests of inquisition. Also, watching the warrior combat makes me regret playing as a mage. The warrior hits and finishers look so satisfying lol.

[@sleepfilledsim]

I chose the veil jumpers on my first play through and I’m replaying as a grey warden and my god veil jumper rooks got nothing in comparison 😔

[@ems7448]

I'm playing a Mourn Watcher now and I feel I'm getting a lot of special dialogue options for it, not only with my own faction but in general throughout the game. From what I understand from a general consensus of other people, the amount of reactivity and plot relevance for the factions goes something like: Grey Wardens, Mourn Watch, Antivan Crows, Shadow Dragons, Veil Jumpers, Lords of Fortune.

[@luisz222]

@@ems7448playing as a mourn watcher now after finishing my grey warden playthrough and after about 20 hours I did notice that Grey Wardens just have a lot more unique faction dialogue. It’s integrated into basically any interaction involving the blights which is also part of the main plot so it’s brought up a lot. Davrin’s dialogue especially changes a lot when you’re a warden yourself. For me I have just started to get mourn watch dialogues cause Emmrich joined my party.

[@CyberBlastoise]

1:19:50 It also happened to you in Origins. Specifically, when you were convincing the tavern owner at Redcliffe to join in, you chose the dialogue option "You will die" meaning it to be "The Darkspawn will break in here and kill you. We need all the help we can get" but instead it was Humble Dwarf threatening to kill him.

[@umno7745]

I am not at all ashamed of the involuntary squeal I let out the moment I saw this was posted 😂

[@tardisfeathers]

I played as an elf veil jumper, and I did get quite a lot of content regarding my faction, I think yours will just take longer as you haven’t met the mourn watchers yet! There were quite a lot of responses I could give as an elf, and some of my elf party members did bring up elfy specific things (eg: asking “did your clan do xyz etc”?) so maybe you will get more qunari specific stuff laterrr. But general npcs didn’t make many references to my Rook being an elf 😅 was kinda weird, especially in Tevinter.

[@twiggy934]

Is there a bug where you have no music in this episode? I feel like there should have been a lot more of it. Edit_ Yes there is definately a music bug happening, I remember for example in Hardings quest having super nice music in the background.

[@Sir-pop-tart]

Poor mapo just wants a good convo with an npc

[@sambishop9856]

Harding's the only companion that isn't associated with a faction that's playable, being the Inquisition. According to dataminers former Inquisition agent was a background available for Rook alongside Ben-Hassrath

[@ismena3635]

I always enjoy watching your playthroughs so much, there's just so much genuine joy and engagement you have with the story and characters, it just makes it really nice to watch.

[@LooneyLolita]

The beginning is definitely the weakest part, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Only going up from here

[@adrianbrodin1319]

Agreed. Imo the ending is one of the best they've ever done at BioWare.

[@thesunisup_]

Idk, I felt like the beginning was good and so was the ending but everything in between is just ehh...

[@NovelistAnne]

It definitely seems like the devs mostly focused on giving you faction-specific dialogue instead of race specific. As an elf Rook I expected people in tevinter to treat me like crap, but that didn't happen either. All important npc's in Treviso did cater to my Crow background though. I'll be curious to see how the Mournwatchers respond to your Rook!

[@nightfrost1891]

lots of elf specific but it's also kind of the basis for the game so it would be weird

[@supergirlvideoclips894]

The N7 armor is addressed to Scout Harding because her voice actress is same as Liara TSoni from Mass Effect series

[@Sushinelucile]

The accents on Lucanis weapon are missing haha, should be ‘épée’

[@zhivik]

Yep, it is French, a thrusting weapon, most typically used in duels around the early 19th century, and currently a fencing weapon. An épée [eh-PEH] was popular hyst before duels got outlawed entirely, and authorities at that time typically allowed duels to continue until "first blood", hence the focus on thrusting rather than cutting weapons. Rapiers, a cut-and-thrust weapon, were more of a 16th-17th century thing, and they were mostly a civilian weapon, i.e. used in urban environments for self-defence or duels, rather than on the battlefield. I would agree that a rapier would be a more suitable weapon for an assassin who is active mostly in urban environments. On the other hand, daggers, or stilettos in particular, would be even better suited as they can be hidden much easier. It is no surprise that Zevran uses daggers when you meet him first.

[@LilithPectus-ob5ci]

I can recommend to travel to the locations via the crossroads on foot because of the banter that will trigger and to frequently return to the lighthouse and Go to the companions who haven't got iccons above their heads. They will have one line of new dialog or sometimes they just say rook hi, hey or something like that but i think there is a Lot of extra dialogue hidden there, that will explain the characters and their personality more (Not a native english speaker i hope my comment is not to worse with the grammarxD)

[@zhivik]

Treviso brings a strong Venice vibe (speaking from personal experience), and makes it one of my favourite locations in the game. I must say, there is no ugly location, you will see more beautiful stuff. However, I do feel that the tone of this game, in both art and music, tends sometimes to mismatch what we have seen thus far in the series. I am not saying it needs to be the same. However, I get the feeling that these environments would much better fit a game that is not part of the Dragon Age series. As far as random inconsistencies in Dragon Age lore - get used to it, there are plenty of those around. For example, all elves you meet appear to know that Elven gods are not really gods, which I find really weird, as I don't believe the Inquisition made that a known fact, especially if it gets disbanded.

[@nightfrost1891]

harding knew them specifically and so did morrigan so i assume they let them know, that's my guess anyway i mean, dude just called up morrigan

[@grymmoire]

It’s been eight years since Trespasser, and you only really meet elves when they are a member of one of the major factions. Why wouldn’t they know? Imo it would be weirder if we had to waste our time explaining it to them lol.

[@violetbliss4399]

Think the main thing is that they made several big changes all at once in this game, compounded by the years. Art style, northern Thedas, new combat style again, new social gameplay style, new explorative style (sort of), etc. Having all of these at once meant that it would be inevitable not to be jarred at first imo.

[@dietrichenstein]

Yeah, this is one of those instances where the supplementary materials - short stories/novels/comics - are doing a lot of heavy lifting and are not directly referenced in the game at all, similarly to The Masked Empire in Inquisition. Tevinter Nights, at the least, is basically required reading for this game lol. The Veil Jumpers (regardless of the issues I have with the portrayal of the 'faction') have been researching the ancient elves and working with Varric and Harding (and likely Morrigan) for years at this point. This isn't 'explained' in the game at all. It's not an inconsistency, things have just developed and moved on over the years.

[@ashleyashes7498]

Lucanis is my absolute favorite. I have been waiting for you to meet him

[@SaltedFishero]

You should try destroying everything (but honestly it makes no sense where you get valuables, and sometimes you can't destroy something you destroyed before) and these things respawn pretty much immediately. Also flirt with everyone (and everything) because there's no jealousy scene and no one cares anyway :(

[@ErisedDawn]

My favorite of the companions! Looking forward to seeing your interactions with him! And as others have said, we love the filler!

[@RevanTheRebel]

CROW BOYFRIEND

[@eklipsing]

taking your time and exploring every location in depth is one of the best parts of the game (especially arlathan and anderfel). there's a LOT to do in each place, some things you can do earlier on, some things later, but there is a wealth of content and lore every time that i really, really liked. this is a game best enjoyed slowly IMO.

[@nickrubin7312]

Yes, Puss in Boots! Not how I imagined Lucanis would be, but he turned out a very cool companion. I wish there was more of a moral dilemma in working with Crows in general, because they are certainly more than a family-run org that is contracted to kill only bad guys and look sexy while doing it. But hey, I'm down for any complex lore, and gray areas, and moral dilemmas/uncomfortable alliances, even when "doing the right thing" is obvious, so probably on me.

[@Kiara777777]

Hey Mapo, here are some tips about companions (no spoilers): You won't be able to "grill" companions with questions in this game (as in previous DA). Instead, you’ll learn more about them through their banter with each other. There’s a massive amount of banter in the game. Banter occurs at specific spots on the maps and usually has about a 6-minute cooldown (though sometimes I’ve had only a 3-minute cooldown). Because of this, I recommend avoiding fast travel and shortcuts, as you might miss these spots. I didn’t like some of the companions when I first recruited them, but the banter made me like them a lot more. One small tip: it can be a bit annoying, but it’s a good idea to return to the Lighthouse after each quest. Companions have a different type of banter there, and it resets after each quest, load game, or return to the Lighthouse. Lastly, after certain quests (main quests, companion-specific quests, etc.), some companions may have new voice lines, even if it’s not marked on the map.

[@AsheQuinn]

As for the "filler" stuff, I don't mind keeping it in! It just means I have more Mapo to watch!! Which is always good

[@sweZACK]

I knew you'd have the same reaction as me to not being able to talk to Morrigan at will while she just stands there :( possibly my biggest issue with the game in general honestly

[@09spidy]

To be fair, you do get to talk to her later.

[@AsheQuinn]

Also i love how i wasnt the only one to think of Puss in Boots when hearing lucanis for the first time. Zach Mendez, his VA, wasnt in Puss in Boots, but he was in Horizon Forbidden West, i think

[@Angarl]

40:24 Neve: Never heard of an abomination who wasn't a mage. So Tevinter has never heard of Sylvans or of some of the possession of cats or a number of other things. I think the lore in DAO and DA2 made it clear it was very possible for non mages to get possessed, it's just easier for a mage to become possessed because they have a deeper connection to the fade and can be tempted more easily.

[@MediumChungus223]

Just because those things exist, doesn't mean Neve knows they exist. Sylvans have only appeared in the Becilian Forest, and are only mentioned sparingly in the books and comics. Id assume most people in Tevinter have never even heard of Sylvans. Neve is just a private detective, and not a member of a formal, scholarly organization.

[@teamg9]

I believe the codex in DAO and DA2 use the term "abomination" only when referring to mages being possessed. Other creatures and corpses can be possessed but those aren't referred to as abominations, and I don't recall any examples of living non-mages being possessed which would make Lucanis the first known example.

[@Sheechiibii]

​@@teamg9 There were the templars in DA2 who had demons forced into them by mages, just like what happened to Lucanis. The mission when we first meet Cullen.

[@teamg9]

@@Sheechiibii The Templars were possessed but I don't think they were technically abominations. Abominations seem to be a very specific case of possession. (It's been a while since I played DA2 so I may be misremembering the specifics of that quest. If the DA2 example specifically refers to them then it may just be inconsistent with the wider lore since the DAO codex refers to abominations as possessed mages, or possibly down to characters in DA2 using incorrect terminology.) There's a post from David Gaider that discusses what exactly an abomination is: "Regular people can be possessed by demons, and are still dangerous, but they are not abominations. Abominations have access to a mage's full power -- even a weak mage turned into an abomination is dangerous -- while a possessed human (or possessed anything) is only as dangerous as the demon that did the possessing." (This post of his was from after DA2, so it is possible it may have been something of a retcon.) It seems to me that Lucanis gaining abilities from his possession qualifies him as an abomination, with the assumption that Spite wasn't originally able to do the things they can do together. (I think it's reasonable to assume that Spite was unable to 'pull' things out of the fade on its own.) (Or maybe I'm just completely wrong and it's all just a retcon or something else I didn't think of.)

[@Sheechiibii]

@teamg9 They are specifically referred to as Abominations in DA2 (that is above their heads when we fight them), and they do use magic. Though according to the codexes in DAO-DAI an abomination's strength always comes from the strength of the demon, not the mage they are possessing. In DA2 the characters acknowledge that it is usually mages who are possessed, but in that mission we find out that mages can force demons into non mages and create abominations that way too.

[@BySpartan]

34:35 letsss keep him out of any chantry he might walk in just in case

[@AsheQuinn]

LMAOOO nahhh it's finnneee

[@annina134]

Lucanis.. He was my first (and only) choise for the romance. 😄 My Rook was a Antivan Crow as well as a rogue.

[@andrewbowen2837]

After these two series are over, have you thought about what to play next? You must have a large list of options. I was wondering if you would be willing to play the Pillars of Eternity games prior to the release of Avowed, or perhaps Kingdom Come: Deliverance prior to its sequel. Both are perfect for your style

[@Kolket1389]

Kinda brutal to post this alongside BG3. Really highlights the difference in quality 😅

[@Kaimito_]

I do feel I get more mentions/options regarding my faction rather than my race, interestingly enough? I'm playing as a Mourn Watch Elf mage, and while I do get a few "our gods" lines when talking with Bellara or my Rook immediately clocking that Lucanis is an abomination due to being a mage, but I hear MUCH more dialogue about being a Mourn Watcher. I'm really enjoying the reactivity of being one so far, and I'm glad you picked it because I'm interested to see how you react to it as well! And yeah, the beginning takes a bit to pick up... Luckily the side quests here have actual merit and none of the fetch quest filler that was in DAI. I haven't finished the game yet, but it definitely picked up once I started recruiting more companions

[@09spidy]

I still can't believe that Harding is voiced by the same actress as Liara, they sound nothing alike.

[@joyful]

Flemeth has a bunch of witch daughters all over the place.... Are we going to get to meet any of them?

[@jenniferatterton1587]

I think you can press C to see coparisons between items Mapo. I agree with Tardis. Love to see longer videos from you. Ive been with you from Origins onwards and really enjoy your attention to exploration and codexes and that is why I love your videos so much.

[@russety]

CROW ACQUAINTANCE

[@RevanTheRebel]

😂 Love you russ

[@russety]

@@RevanTheRebel Love you toooooo

[@Kal853_]

Just discovered your channel and am really enjoying your videos. But why aren't you smashing all the containers for loot?

[@lolmosse7276]

Some valuables can be sold for more strength at specific shop, so don't just mass sell, read the description😂

[@deanospimoniful]

You can? I never knew that.

[@cthulhucrews6602]

​@deanospimoniful Some rare items sell for 75 strength for one particular factions. Others for 15, and most for 3. If you go to the store the first items on the list will be the ones that give you the most strength.

[@acfan1988]

I’m actually kinda surprised you aren’t getting much response from NPCs as a mourn watch Qunari. I’m a Grey Warden and I get tons of response from everyone about it.

[@marissarae3882]

Honestly I picked warden for my first playthrough and I'm so happy I did. I get tons of unique dialogue as a warden. Especially about the blight. It's awesome. I like the immersion it's giving me. It just feels right.

[@twiggy934]

I feel like Warden has the most of them all, since wardens are pretty universal with the blight being a main story and all of that, while Mournwatch is pretty limited to Nevarra and their story.

[@acfan1988]

agreed! I feel like warden gets such good interactions. I’m on my second playthrough and I just couldn’t resist being a warden again.

[@nightfrost1891]

i heard mourn watch and lords of fortune get less i'm lords of fortune and i feel i've gotten a bit so idk i feel like a lot is later on most of my stuff is elf though, i feel like because of the basis of the game you get the most elf specific out of everything i'd assume

[@dietrichenstein]

I can't help but feel a Qunari Mourn Watcher is...weird, it's definitely not a combo I'd ever pick personally, but that's just me. I'm nearing the end of my second playthrough as a human Mourn Watcher and the majority of reactivity comes from the faction itself and topics related to spirits, the fade, death and undeath. And of course my beloved Emmrich. I've absolutely loved this background it honestly may even top Grey Warden for me personally, purely on the basis of vibes. I LOVE the watchers, just absolutely based goths. 😌

[@Shadowpack95]

So Keeper Hawen was/Is the Dalish Keeper for the clan that is encountered in the Exalted Plains in Inquisition.

[@luoing]

One of the Larian devs who played a pre-release copy of DATV compared the game to a Netflix season and after almost 2 playthroughs, I have to agree with that. It looks amazing and the main plot has the best moments in the game, but some of the world and characters feel flat/hollow compared to what we had before. I've been enjoying watching you play bc you point out what we no longer have (questions for NPCs, callbacks to previous games). Still, I enjoy the game for what it is and I'm looking forward to more videos.

[@nickrubin7312]

Director of Publishing, not really a dev-dev/designer, but he does play a crap ton of games (all the new releases), it is kind of his job partially. It was a clever preemptive response to any comparisons that said "From me, you may be wondering “is this a game compatible with my experience during BG3” so I’ll tackle it from that perspective. The answer is yes. It is to a heavy, 9 season long show what a well-made, character driven, bingeworthy Netflix series is". Full response and analysis is overall very positive, he really liked the game, which, to be fair, he was hyping and fanboying as if he is a Bioware employee lol. I think you gotta treat each art piece or product, however you see videogames, for what they are trying to do and what they are made for, it certainly freshens the perspective.

[@SapphireAngelBunny]

I'm so happy that you'll be meeting my fave companion and romance

[@deanospimoniful]

I assume, just like Thane in Mass Effect, the ladies love Lucanis, the troubled assassin. Can you fix him, I wonder?

[@annina134]

Why would you wanna fix him.. 😄 He got everything a woman needs, the love of coffee and he cooks too. 😄 And he likes knives. 🖤💜🖤

[@dietrichenstein]

On the subreddit at least there has been WAY more positivity for Emmrich and Davrin and some veeery mixed feedback on Lucanis as a romance specifically. Which is interesting. I totally thought he'd be my pick based on his archetype but I was surprised by how completely indifferent I felt towards him tbh. Then Davrin showed up and I was TOAST, like instantly folded at the first flirt 😂 I'm interested to see how playing as a Crow might effect the dynamic (bc it's been HUGE for the Wardens and Watchers) but that won't for quite some time lol.

[@DeolisN7]

22:09 his sheep was stacked 🐑

[@operatic4794]

my brain still empty, but yknow

[@09spidy]

Ah! The good ol' Bioware dialogue wheel - Dialogue option: Hello - actual dialogue: Hello... F**KER! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!

[@09spidy]

@@Northern_Silverbird Yeah, that's what I was referencing, I though it was obvious.

[@victheterror]

i’m not sure how far ahead you are in recording these mapo but just a small warning regarding spoilers in a codex entry! being as vague as possible, there’s a level 50 enemy that if by some miracle you manage to take out before doing the quest titled “fire and ice” do not read the codex entry that killing that enemy gives you because i think the game expects you to be further in the story when you do it and references something that happens in that quest! i only figured this out because i’m currently doing a (third) run on storyteller difficulty and turned off being able to die so i just took out the enemy no sweat and was like :0 “good job i have played this game before” when i read the codex 😭 would hate it to be spoiled for you!

[@bronsonrasmussen1462]

I gotta say I didn’t think much of Lucanis at first but he turned into my favorite character in this game.

[@violetbliss4399]

Had much of the same feelings as you at this point, though it definitely changed some for me on multiple occasions. Hard to say more about what comes next without potentially speaking too much. I will however say that I tink that blurb that came up by the eluvians are a bit endemic to SOME designs in this part of the early game. Like... why would you call unlocking a new rpg map a "level". It's small but to me it took me out a bit.

[@elleten6785]

So you know, you have to upgrade individual items with the caretaker! Upgrading the workshop just unlocks better uogrades

[@Mapocolops]

I have done so :)

[@dietrichenstein]

Dude idk how far ahead you are but like ..do not cut anything out of the crossroads exploration. 😭 That's crazy talk. 😂

[@YellowBirdOfParadise]

The lack of NPC interactions feels especially lacking after BG3, really.

[@thesunisup_]

Or any RPG game for that matter

[@acfan1988]

My husband Lucanis 😍😍

[@Blueschist13]

Dash through destructibles instead of climbing over them and you'll auto loot gold and contents. The game is stingy with gold if your not smashing everything in sight.

[@Salazenia]

Can Mapo please be involved in the creation of the next Dragon Age game? So many good ideas in just this video

[@awkad]

Why is there no music?

[@Mapocolops]

You can ask Bioware to make sure music plays when it should

[@Amy-j5b]

@mapoclops please read the new berserk chapters! I loved your read-alomg series.

[@josh.00000]

The puzzles taken from 90s video games really do remind you that you're playing a video game. The wrestling moves for the warrior do as well.

[@zhivik]

Unfortunately, this game takes the "tell, not show" approach very literally. The environmental puzzles are hardly anything that can challenge you, but just in case, the game makes sure it tells you what you need to do and where you need to go. Mapo should get used to it, it doesn't improve until the end. I managed to ignore the game's instructions, eventually, though it led to a side effect, as I wasn't listening very carefully to what my companions were saying, either. Not that it mattered most of the time, but still - listening to your companions banter used to be a stable in Dragon Age games ...

[@tardisfeathers]

Anyone else who’s played as a warrior: watching this, the finishing moves seem really simple compared to the mage ones 😅 like, when I’ve staggered an enemy and do a takedown, camera zooms in and I get a special animation and everything, it’s really cool! I was wondering if the warrior ones are more meh (seems like it here tbh), or if Mapo’s game is glitched?

[@zhivik]

However, it is all the same takedown animation, which gets old really fast, unfortunately. At some point, I wished I could skip said animation because I had enough of it. I apologise for the negativity, but the repetitiveness of combat started really bugging me at about a third of the game. Even Inquisition combat feels more interesting in comparison - which I realise is an illusion because in essence, Inquisition combat is as dull. However, being able to control your other companions brought some diversity, which is absent here.

[@Vulpix298]

The special zoom-in tends to be when you kill the enemy. If you do a takedown but the enemy doesn't die, you don't get the really special animation, just a more generic one.

[@chickenwn7]

Best companion in Veilguard just arrived 😌💜

[@littlemouse7066]

It's normal you can't talk to NPCs unless they are part of the story in some way there is nothing strange about it. you can eavesdrop though which is more than other games allow you to do.