The Eluvian Crossroads & Smuggling in Dock Town | Dragon Age: The Veilguard [Part 4]

[@MediumChungus223]

The biggest lore revelation in Veilguard is that Solas had the powers of a god, but made the deliberate choice to become an egg.

[@jamesmccarthy962]

@@MediumChungus223 the true crime of the evanuris was not killing mythal but killing solas' hair

[@emperman]

This is a bald ally community. Be nice lol

[@moysoyjoy]

@@jamesmccarthy962😂 I prefer the egg head

[@nightfrost1891]

he didn't make the choice, devs literally said ancient elves lose their hair over time inb4 elg, apparently he uses a hair piece lol

[@jorgecardoso5863]

Dang Mapo, after I watched your first video on Veilguard I tried to watch other let's plays of it, but none had the passion, patience and happiness that you put into these. Its really really nice and refreshing to see you playing, noticing the things that could be better, but also just having a good time. A lot of people seem to be hyped for hating this game, and maybe they're right, I don't know, but I just wanted to have a chill time watching it, and your take on this game is amazing. Thanks a lot dude, you're the GOAT!

[@mcz_13]

I a little bit scream laughed at the cut to the megamind meme

[@thatguycaz]

I just finished my first playthrough this morning! Played a Grey Warden Rogue Dwarf. I had a lot of fun. I can understand some people's complaints about the game but I had a blast.

[@BySpartan]

Same here i wrote a review about it on steam, took me nearly an hour :D But Overall its a great game despite its flaws. I also hope we get to use dragon keep in the future.

[@cthulhucrews6602]

I think I'm nearing the end, and I truly want to like this game, but man, I can't get over the terrible dialogue.

[@BySpartan]

@@cthulhucrews6602 the last few hours are peak DA

[@luisz222]

@@BySpartanI think because of all the changes this game went through they got rid of previous decisions and make this more standalone but for the next one they will probably be back. I mean there’s at least 2 different versions of the game that got scrapped. First it was dreadwolf which they started storyboarding and making concept art from straight after inquisition. Some early concepts of that version definitely had previous decisions in mind a lot more than the final version. Then EA mandated live service which was another version of the game that was a live service game which would have failed as badly as suicide squad kill the justice which single handedly flushed rocksteady’s reputation down the drain and in turn forcing them to make another safe batman game in the future in order to regain trust. Then Andromeda and Anthem happened and failed miserably which made bioware scrap the live service version and go back to the drawing board which led to this version. There’s definitely some remnants of the live service elements left like the different currencies, faction strength, caretaker power. I’m positive the live service version would have also had loot boxes. I think the next games’ development cycle will probably be more straight forward. If they do decide to make another dragon age I hope that it won’t take another 10 years to make but for now all eyes are on Mass Effect 5 with bioware which is why we won’t get dlc for this game which is a damn shame if you ask me cause the dragon age DLC’s have always been great, not Blood and Wine or Phantom Liberty great but still good extensions of the original game and important set ups and teases for the future of Dragon Age.

[@BySpartan]

@@luisz222 thank you for your comment yeah it could have been much worse if it was a live service game but thankfully its not

[@09spidy]

The egg had hair, this is not a drill, THE EGG HAD HAIR!

[@MrEvilside]

Matt Mercer really working his pay cheque - voicing 4 diff characters in one game

[@idlevillager3763]

I mean he's used to doing all the NPCs in Critical Role, so just 4 must be a breeze

[@Angarl]

I'd love to see your exploration Mapo, it's a really fun aspect of the game.

[@elissa-fae]

Finished my playthrough today. I still have a lot of reservations and didn´t appreciate how many of my theories were confirmed lol but I warmed up to the game slowly. It´s not what I imagined but I also don´t hate it. On the contrary, there were moments that will stay with me.

[@deanospimoniful]

I liked it when you dropkicked that darkspawn into a door and it flew open.

[@emmathecrocodile]

58:50 i appreciate how you note that she was blighted and there literally is no cure from that, killing her was the only thing to be done. it's bizarre to me how the game made it seem like he could've cured her and the characters judge him for this decision

[@brzendaa]

Apart from Solas’ memories which are very good, the game really picked up for me after recruiting Lucanis and his first 1:1 mission. I really appreciate that you’re approaching this game with an open mind, Mapo! Keep up the good work, can’t wait for more! :)

[@lauradawson7964]

I love Varric’s voice too. He’s so good-natured and supportive: hearing his voice is like getting a nice warm hug from a best buddy!

[@Ragd0ll1337]

23:55 convinced the Caretaker is just a hanar in a trench coat

[@MarieS610]

I like this reference 🤣

[@luoing]

Our Inquisitors should be the ones seeing Solas with hair!! *shakes fist*

[@RealmRex]

I already liked Solas but this story makes me appreciate him so much more

[@Hailedmercury]

1:47:38 It’s Empress Celene! That specific painting is the cover art of the book The Masked Empire. A lot of the other paintings in game are from a pre-Inquisition text based browser game. (It’s called The Last Court, but is no longer playable)

[@WineAndGames]

Yeah I was also a bit disappointed that we couldn't just chat with our companions whenever we wanted but I understand that this way feels a bit more natural and "organic" I guess? It's a fine line to walk with giving your companions a bit more agency vs. giving your character that agency. In the end I think it's just different, and different isn't necessarily bad but it can take a while to get used to. Also that letter from Dorian ;_; that's my boy!

[@Mascifin]

I didn't mind not having to go through multiple dialogue wheel looking for new content, occasionally forgetting I'd asked that already and then skipping through their response in annoyance.

[@thesunisup_]

⁠@@Mascifin Actually Mass Effect Adnromeda dealt with it in a proper way - the dialogues that you already went through are greyed out, but you can pick them still

[@nightfrost1891]

it's very da2/mass effect 2/3 mass effect 2 is the industry's darling so i'm sure it was encouraged to more so take that direction i personally like what they did better than da2/me2/3 because they have TONS and TONS of cutscenes in comparison to make up for no dialogue like that and i didn't like the far away camera i do get the want to talk to them all the time after having it but i'm not bothered by it with the amount of cutscenes we get

[@abracadaverous]

I do appreciate not being forced into dialogue when one of my party members decides to run in front of a chest just as I try to click on it.

[@MarieS610]

I was actually glad. I always hated having to to go click on everyone everytime to see if there was anything new, especially having played through ME.

[@duran-yt]

I will say while conversations with companions are short, you get a lot of one liners when you approach them where they often comment on events, and they will talk to each other at the lighthouse, often conversations that they'd have put on the world. And also getting to actively spent time with them is cool. This all compared to exhausting all dialogue as soon as it opens up I think it's well paced.

[@natalieannex]

Solas with hair is gorgeous!!! But bald Solas is 🧑‍🍳💋🤌🏼

[@alechappito8765]

45:40 in the concept art of Solas back in inquisition he did kinda have the same hairstyle Past Solas currently have in DAV but it was long dreads instead

[@jamesmccarthy962]

Aye yes the map is opening up well now though still so many places left. The kirkwall vibes are strong in dockwall it looks well designed though my least favourite location. I did miss talking to companion in an open conversation wheel especially at first but the sheer volume of conversations and dialogue they have with eachother and commenting on events certainly made up for it once it got going. Be sure to check back into the lighthouse reguarly (:

[@stephanied1024]

Happy you're uploading this playthrough so often! This is definitely one of my favorite playthroughs; love how into all the lore you are. I will say there's a massive amount of companion dialog both out in the world and just in the lighthouse. You won't get an indication over their icon unless it's something important but they do have a lot of dialog about current events, you can see then talking to each other often, etc. So still worth checking in often! Also, you've probably already heard this by now, but there are definitely quests you can miss if you don't do them before certain main story quests. (Both character quests and quests tied to regions.) Just putting it out there as sometimes those areas blocked off open up after the quest you're currently in, but sometimes it takes a bit too. Looking forward to you picking up more companions! IMO the game gets a lot more enjoyable once you've got a couple more companions and the maps start opening up more.

[@stephanied1024]

BTW, I don't think you're going to miss quests anytime soon or anything, and this isn't necessarily spoilery, just wanted to mention it because I've seen people skip things accidentally.

[@AnnMegFair]

Your reaction to Solas' lush mane of hair was my favourite :DDD

[@Safiyahalishah]

This isn't really my genre of game anymore (I'm not really an action RPG player, and Inquisition was on the cusp as it was), so I have been very happy to experience it vicariously through this playthrough! Mapo's Rook is damn fine, it must be said.

[@kieralovesjoxer123]

Solas with hair jump scare 😂

[@skycloud5695]

SPOILERS - MAPO DO NOT READ (Only for viewers who have already played game) . . . Guys I just realized this lucky bastard made all the right choices with romance 🤣 He's gonna end up having all his past flings, Morrigan, Isabela AND Solas in this game. Even without World States, this guy still gets the win most of us didn't lol!

[@GratuaCuun]

The point about talking to companions at 2:16:00 its very much like what they did in DA2/Exodus. You went and talked to Fenris at the mantion then once you finished talking to him you couldnt speak to him about anything else. Theres a lot of inspiration from DA2/Exodus here in Veilguard when you stop and think about it. Personally I love it.

[@thesunisup_]

46:42 This person tried to unlock your phone ahh angle

[@magicdog9523]

I liked getting to explore Minrathous at long last. Certainly an improvement over Val Royeaux in DA:I!

[@Jovian999]

It's still worth checking in with companions without icons over them because they still almost always have comments to make.

[@acfan1988]

Watching you play is making me want to do a whole new playthrough of the game again ahhhhhh

[@Mascifin]

I like that there is a bit of a perspective shift from Inquisition to Veilguard, personally: Nobody's talking about the politics of the southern nations because why would they? The whole templar vs. mage thing was handled ages ago in the North, so there's no drama there. Why would they care about the new False Divine in Orlais? Hell, Tevinter sent Dorian Pavus to the huge political summit in Trespasser as their emissary as a way to thumb their noses at both the South and him personally, because they weren't invested. I played through as a Tevinter mage my first time, a Shadow Dragon very concerned with Minrathous and Tevinter politics. The fact my character never thought about what's happening in Redcliff makes sense; every time we met someone from Tevinter or Rivain or Antiva in the first games, they made sure to tell us how quaint they thought Ferelden or Kirkwall or even Orlais seem to them. I think it's a good case of "show, don't tell."

[@magicdog9523]

What you just said only applies to Tevinter. All the other kingdoms follow the Southern Chantry and the White Divine, and were involved in the mage rebellion. No one thinks Orlais is quaint - it's the wealthiest and most powerful nation on Thedas.

[@operatic4794]

my brain is empty, but good episode

[@AsheQuinn]

When you read the missive by Dorian Pavus, I was playing veilguard with this in the background (2nd playthrough) and I was like. "HUH?!" when I heard you say Dorian. Because I named myself after him and wasn't quite listening, so I thought you said my Name lmao

[@grymmoire]

Mild spoilers for something you only find out if you go digging through the codex - - - - - - - - - You actually meet the black divine in DAV. He is not introduced as such, but it's strongly implied (if not outright spelled out) in a couple of notes that it's him. But you can get through the whole game without knowing lol.

[@tiffanywithers9298]

Mapo I have a fan of Bioware games since the first Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic games

[@Tassarinan96]

There is a huge difference between the north and the south Thedas. Just keep that in mind when thinking about politics we have seen the last 2 or 3 games.

[@annina134]

It's fun to watch Mapo's playthrough and reactions to all that's gonna happen. I played this game through in a week maybe and even though I love the origins the most, this was a fun play. I tried to take it as a game of its own, not thinking too much about the previous games. It has its flaws but so do many games. I still think it is an entertaning game.

[@stotbot9968]

Had the same reaction to his hair when I first saw it.

[@mrsknoweverything]

46:42 im laughing so hard what a jumpscare 😂😂

[@Philmaster07]

About the mages: don't forget... this plays in the northern territories which are all less strict with mages. And in tevinter i mean.... you know, they rule it.

[@Vulpix298]

I'm eating up this playthrough from you~ I love hearing your thoughts and feelings on the game, because you are actually coming to meet the game half way! People expect the game to be terrible, so everything that happens is already slanted in that negative light, and feeds into itself as they refuse to acknowledge the good this game does do. I love this game so far, but I also know it isn't perfect, and I am still quite sad about past choices being thrown away too.

[@PadreMarceloR]

Please, try to do the companions quest as soon as they appear or at least before you proceed in the main quest. You can be locked out of some. And the side quests too. Thanks for your videos, your gameplay is the best. People play running through everything. They dont appreciate. I finished with 115 hours. Fantastic. Lets go !!!

[@violetbliss4399]

Photo mode + cat petting... might be guilty as well. :D

[@zhivik]

So ... I have just finished the game, and I have mixed feelings. I will refrain from a review here, as I don't want to affect Mapo's playthrough - there will be time for a recap later. My character was a female Shadow Dragon mage, and apparently I got the best ending possible. One thing I would recommend though - you should eventually accept that this is no longer an RPG, but an action adventure game. There is nothing wrong with the genre, I just mention it because of the expectations this game brings. It is simply a very different game from any of the three preceding it. I have thoughts about it, but I would much rather leave everyone to draw their own conclusions. Other than that, I hope Mapo enjoys his playthrough. There are some very good lore drops, and we get to learn a lot about the world of Thedas. There are also some nice throwbacks to Inquisition, which I enjoyed a lot.

[@unsealednardo9965]

I think you're going to still want to explore.

[@DijiEva]

Solas (with hair) feels like he’d be an SSR gacha pull.

[@RevanTheRebel]

OK but in some lights Solas does look like a ginger. Which he is. So I am satisfied LOL 😂

[@Vulpix298]

He's a brunette and always has been

[@RevanTheRebel]

@ this isn’t about you, friend

[@Vulpix298]

@@RevanTheRebel I... know? I'm talking about Solas, not me...

[@RevanTheRebel]

@@Vulpix298 I know he’s a brunette in the concept art but look at his ginger-ass eyebrows and freckles in dai and leave me to my ginger Solas headcanon of 10 years ok.

[@Vulpix298]

@@RevanTheRebel his brows have never looked ginger to me!

[@LooneyLolita]

Not the Megamind meme😭

[@NovelistAnne]

The whole mage vs templar narrative was specific to Southern Thedas and didnt really play a part in Tevinter, so it makes sense for it to not play a large role in this game I think. Same goes for who's Divine in the south at the moment.

[@Mapocolops]

Who's Divine only matters if the people who are not the Divine could show up to assist in the fight, or be helping our Inquisitor but none of them can show up now! :(

[@NovelistAnne]

@Mapocolops yeah the lack of choices mattering does work as some kind of nullification spoiler which is a shame.

[@magicdog9523]

But... What about the places we visit outside of Tevinter?

[@FreakDaMIghet]

​@magicdog9523 Their proximity to Tevinter makes them a little more... liberal when it comes to magic. It would not make much sense for them to have strict Circle Towers just across the boarder from a country ruled by mages. Nevara, for example, is famous for necromancy, and the Mortalitasi "death mages" hold a great deal of sway there. Rivain has Seers, wise women the locals look to for guidance. Antiva's government is a puppet regime, controlled by guild lords and influential merchants, so nobody is really putting much effort into caging the mages. And the Anderfels is a wasteland. Nobody lives there except poor villagers and Grey Wardens, so any mages that are born there would probably be sent over the boarder to Nevara or be conscripted into the Wardens.

[@magicdog9523]

@@FreakDaMIghet Well, regarding the Anderfels, we know for a fact there is a Circle of Magi in Hossberg; we meet one of its members among the rebel mages in Redcliffe, in DA:I. The Wardens are also only allowed to recruit one mage per Circle.

[@ellyrhae9092]

I had a mod for the exact same hair for Solas in Inquisition, only shorter (don't at me pls, I was mourning his amazing concept art and didn't know they'd actually incorporate it in the future). The only question is - was the egg style a choice or is it the eventual result of ascending to godhood

[@alechappito8765]

probably sacrificed it to put up the Veil, or they shaved it because of the break-up with M😂

[@nightfrost1891]

so the devs did answer this before the game even came out so i can answer it here ancient elves lose their hair apparently (they are immortal but the longer they live they lose the hair) which is why solas is bald this is his original hair which looks like his concept art minus dreads/black hair (since he was originally not white but now he is) ghil is bald too and elg wears a hair piece LOL devs didn't say this but you could tell in inquisition at the well all those ancient elves were bald too so yeah, it's just a thing if they live long enough they all had hair earlier on

[@16Vagabond]

Oh you'll just love how wholesome the Antivan Crows are now Zevran was such a drama queen for fearing them, honestly /s

[@b.c.5555]

maybe they're only wholesome now because of how Zevran was constantly targeting them lol

[@JeraldLee]

Yey Part 3!

[@Sir-pop-tart]

Belara feels like a cheap knockoff of merrill

[@tiffanywithers9298]

you should try Jade Empire also a Bioware game

[@09spidy]

Just a quick note, **minor out of context spoilers** . . . Whenever it comes up, do the Necropolis first.

[@SamiR-id9ss]

When they understand how awful that dialoque wheel is.. 😅 Pls. somebody inform bioware that people (usually) can read suprisingly long sentences

[@auskaesq]

Zevran is like 80 years old by this time. Which, you know, advantage on initiative.

[@megasauruss]

I know you’re exaggerating but come on now, 40-50 is hardly 80 lol

[@JeraldLee]

Reall enjoying your playthrough Mapo but I got really tired of the constant venting of no import of the past decisions. In Rook's perspective, he wouldn't really care so much about the details and history of places he has no connection to--Ferelden, Free Marches, Orlais, basically what happened in the South 10 years ago. Northern Thedas has their own history. In universe, it made perfect sense. But Keep playing the game some questions willl be answered.

[@im_azraelle]

yeah, the north is very disconnected from the south. and we know the south has its own problems going on during this game, they can’t just drop everything and travel up north to help. the devs said they didn’t want to shoehorn in a bunch of meaningless cameos of past characters either, and i’m glad they kept it to just a couple of cameos. it would’ve started feeling really forced and way too convenient. and it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for most of the past characters to show up anyway.

[@Mapocolops]

I am just airing out my grievances, y'all had months to apparently swallow the tough pill but I am still getting over it lmao. It's cool though, it's not ruining it for me, and I'll probably mention it a couple more times but I am having a good time regardless. David Gaider did some really good posts about writing diverging paths and it's challenges which I read recently, and it definitely gave me a good perspective

[@auskaesq]

@@Mapocolops With a steadier release cadence it'd definitely be possible to kind of skip and hop so that DA4 could be in the North where that stuff doesn't matter, and DA5 could return to the South where suddenly all sorts of things are relevant again! I obsessively avoided any pre-release info and am blessed with the ability to consciously ignore anything Rook wouldn't know or care about - a luxury much harder to do when you have to actually talk to an audience, I imagine :)

[@milktoasting]

@@Mapocolops I had months to process it and I still grieved it in game. This release has been so polarizing it's nice to see someone whose experience is more aligned with mine: chill, having a lot of fun, but still with reasonable critiques/frustrations.

[@littlemouse7066]

progressing in the game you have the map of the world and you can go where you want. go to Treviso it's beautiful.

[@auskaesq]

1:47:44 That's some Southern backwater ruler, Celene or Celeste or some such name.

[@deanospimoniful]

Mullet Solas sure is something.

[@Vulpix298]

it's not a mullet, mullets are short in the front. it's a long mohawk!

[@deanospimoniful]

​@@Vulpix298My mistake.

[@nightfrost1891]

see, this is why i liked playing lords or fortune and you will see once you meet them i like it because it's kind of connecting how varric knows you a lot better than some other origins in my opinion i can't say more because it's a spoiler though i mean it's not a spoiler when you get your first note for lords lol

[@pelorFox]

Replace Neve with Fenris and her arc will make more sense. I think this part was written for Fenris and Neve is a replacement. And for whatever reason they changed things.

[@IronForce-ff2qx]

From what I seen, Neve also carries some leftovers from when her role in the story was supposed to be filled by Calpernia(Venatori leader from DAI) which gives more reasons why she hates the current form of Venatori than just “They’re evil!”

[@im_azraelle]

Neve was introduced in a book or comic a while back, but maybe they did that after they scrapped the idea of Fenris coming back and they wanted to set up Neve beforehand to make it less obvious 😭

[@nightfrost1891]

yeah calpernia was originally supposed to be in this game, don't know why they changed it other than most took the mage path but even then, it could be a new character for some who didn't know so it works well both ways. lots of people wanted to romance her too. i also see a lot of merrill in bellara just switch things around, can't get too into it because of spoilers but i can see how it would have fit perfectly. but that would be one less romance option because she could be romanced before etc. so if they did go with da2 companions returning that could be romanced they'd have to maybe even add more romanced companions.