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The Rook Blame Game

Why is Rook being blamed for the dragon attacking Minrathous????

I just had Tarquin say 'this is all you!' to the fact that the Viper is blighted and the dragons attacked and god I wish the game just let me smack people upside the head.

In WHAT WORLD does it make sense that Minrathous falling is Rook's fault? You're saying that Rook was SO IMPORTANT to the world that all of you would have won if Rook had just come. That Rook made the choice to make the dragon attack.

It's just....so stupid.

I feel similarlly though with everyone blaming Rook for 'unleashing the blight'. Uh yeah - no. That's not what happened. What happened is that Rook STOPPED THE END OF THE FRICKEN WORLD and during that two individuals popped out and then released the blight. I wish so badly Rook could actually call people out on this stupidity and kick them in the a$$.

Like 'yeah sure, how about I did nothing and the world ended that day? Sure, sounds great. Perfect.'

What it would have been like if Rook could ACTUALLY push back against people and call them out for their stupidity and not just constantly have an almost sad face response to everything and just accepting the blame for everything.

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The Blighted Dragons

There is something that bugs me about the scene when you learn two dragons are attacking both Treviso and Mintrathous.

Namely that you get cut off for...getting information. They just want to run in and go. Which like I get, sure - but not sharing the majority of the information or getting ANY information (or just admitting you don't have any) is the peak of stupidity.

If these dragons are that dangerous that they're just tearing through everything, knowing something is better than just running in there and hoping for the best. This is absolutely the moment we should try to consolidate any information we have not cut off your leader when they try getting more information with a 'Damn it there's no time! I need to go home. I need to be in Minrathous.' Uh, no you don't. You need to take a breath and do what your character always says you want to do: to not just run in there but make sure you know SOMETHING about what you're up against.

That and the two never really felt equal to me. I can't justify choosing Minrathous over Treviso? Minrathous has the big thing in the sky shooting things, has a whole bunch of magister mages, mages in general, templars and various others and you can kiss my a$$ if you want to say 'oh but the Venatori got into all those groups and made them useless' because if that's true then they didn't need a dragon to help them make a push they've already won.

Oh all Minrathous has is the Shadow Dragons - no. This is absolutely false. Minrathous has SO MUCH MORE and I call bull.

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Who Is Your Rook?

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Veilguard doesn't work with Mass Effect 2's Strategy

I mean the 'lets get our heads on straight before we go into the 'suicide mission'' concept.

In Mass Effect 2, Shepard and the gang know full well that they are going to undertake a mission that will most likely result in their deaths but there is no real ticking clock over their heads. They are the ones making the choice to go there, the only point in time in the game that there's a potential for a ticking clock is after your crew is stolen but that is still a very personal timebomb and not a galaxy wide one.

So everyone wanting to tie up loose ends, make sure family is safe and cared for, get the answers to questions they desperately needed are all okay; because there's no 'The Reapers are literally here, right outside the window and what the hell why would you ask us to waste time to go chase down a random lead that might be nothing or just something that only affects you when billions are dying?'. No, there's 'we're going to take the fight to the Collectors so everyone be ready'. It works, the stakes allow that time to be used.

Veilguard does not allow this and yet still tries to give it. The Blight is here. It is killing people right now. Whole groups have been massacred and whole cities and fortresses destroyed. It is literally the end of the world TODAY...so what the hell? How am I supposed to care that someone wants to go 'finish a last case' or 'we're all distracted because what does this new magic mean?' Um - it means NOTHING, none of this has any weight or value up against THE END OF THE WORLD HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!?!?!?!

The whole 'we went and got professionals, the best of the best' does not then work with 'oh but they're distracted from SAVING THE WORLD because of personal trifles. Because in the end that's what ALL of their personal questlines boil down to. TRIFLES. While people are actively dying, while the end is rapidly approaching.

It's the absolute worst attempt at trying to create the same layout of ME2, and it makes me just sigh because its ridiculous. When you're literally part of the what, 8 person team that's going to STOP THE END OF THE WORLD you don't get to be 'oh but I'm distracted because of personal things but I swear I'm a professional but I'm going to be semi-useless and potentially die and get others killed if you don't hold my hand and pat my head on this thing that holds no value whatsoever'.

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Rook is not the main character of their own story

This might sound silly but I opened up Mass Effect Legendary and upon the first loading screen you get a quick zoom through some of the characters from the franchise and then it ends zoomed up on Shepard. Shepard is the final piece, the leader, the one who gets the full and final center focus.

This is directly contrasted with that same kind of quick zoom through the characters from Veilguard where not only is there ZERO evidence of Rook's existence, but it zooms in on NEVE?!?!!! More than just the center zooming and focus, she even gets an extra huff/chuckle? animation that just cements that not only is Rook non-existent but holy hell be aware who their favorite companion character is about to be.

It seems like such a minor thing but really, it does show such a significant problem with Veilguard. There is no space for the player or the player character in Veilguard.

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Veilguard Review and Final Thoughts

All in all, I enjoyed myself well enough while playing this game and I've replayed it a few times all the way through and haven't had a drop in enjoyment while playing. Its a fun little popcorn playthrough.

I will say I think that a lot of balls were dropped. There were choices made that absolutely were at odds with previous games (ie: Crows are just fun and family led freedom fighters) and the absolute lack of the right tone or atmosphere for a Dragon Age game.

I also have a major issue with Rook. Namely that Rook is not the main character of their own story. They're the water guy on the sidelines of the team just there to shout praises and prop up the actual players. This was something that did irritate me early on, that lack of being anything but The Nice Guy with no real ability to push back/challenge/disagree or do anything really. You are just...a nice guy (or gal). But Rook to me had zero substance and never rose up out of that situation. Why is Rook in charge? Why isn't Harding? What about Rook is special enough to make everyone divert to their leadership? In my opinion, absolutely nothing. Rook has no real meat to them at any point in the game. Rook is overshadowed in their own faction by whatever companion comes from it. Rook has nothing special other than I guess Solas being trapped in their head which is absolutely not enough to hold a game's main character. Not to mention, I have no ability to make Rook stand for anything, make a statement on anything or various other options.

Now that's not to say that I don't enjoy more solid 'this is who they are' RPG characters because Commander Shepard of Mass Effect absolutely is Shepard, regardless of what I do. But even in that I feel more in control and more like this character has a viewpoint, has beliefs and has the ability to not be liked by everyone and make bad choices and refuse to be sorry for them.

Not to mention the companions....were not it. All of this 'they're going to be the most flushed out companions! It's all about the companions!'....no? Baldur's Gate did it a thousand times better. I was allowed to disagree with my companions, dislike them, hate them even, argue with them, have them 1000% disagree with me and hate me. Veilguard? If you talk to them they like you at the end of the conversation. If you bring them with you, they like you more regardless of what you're doing. To do a side quest is to make them love you. It's not good and it absolutely is not great character writing.

Also some choices were just....why? Why is Bellara falling over herself every other conversation to be depressed and sad and feel guilt for everything? In my mind I'm guessing that its meant to be sort of unresolved trauma from blaming herself for her brother but I'm not going to lie it started to get too much too quickly. Her needing to 'feel guilty over the gods, over the elves, over Solas and the Titans, etc.' was just more than I could take at certain points. Taash? Taash was not well handled in my opinion and there was SUCH a story to be had there. So much opportunity for nuance and raw emotion. As a mixed child of two completely different cultures? Heck yes I can identify and understand the story of struggling with the parent figure and learning to find yourself in a world that demands you pick one or the other and doesn't allow anything else. That was an AMAZING opportunity even without all of the extra options Taash had going for her and yet...it falls so flat. We don't get to tell her who she is...but actually no we will tell her who she is...multiple times.

Neve? Holy shit Neve had so much POTENTIAL!!! I'm literally foaming at the mouth at all the things she could have been!?! A literal Sherlock Holmes/Noir Detective going around and solving cases? I love mysteries and I loved Neve's baseline character design...in honest playing though it just...was meh. And at times almost...stupid? Which should never be something attributed to a character design like Neve's? (Her pretending to be a venatori will forever be the most eye rolling and pathetic dialogue scene ever). But also Minrathous? So many opportunities?!? Slavery, mages abusing power, politics, etc - and instead we get...none of that? No issues with elves or QUNARI?!?

Don't even get me started about the lack of Andraste and all that? We get a scene 'did we just disprove all of Andrastrianism?' and then immediately get 'oh but we should keep this to ourselves because you know they might hate on elves' like what the actual hell?

Davrin and Emmerich were perfect. No comments there. Just kidding, would have loved to delve more into their own situations and belief systems and just more? Emmerich's fears regarding death, Davrin's belief system and his need to have a cause and his connection and distance from his own roots. So many options!!!

And Lucanis...Lucanis. The guy I thought I'd love the most and I really can't tell him apart from a piece of soggy bread. His romance option was so painful, you're throwing everything at him and he's just ignoring you. Past that he's just...silly? Even not as a romance option he's a CROW, he's THE CROW...but oh its more important to know how he loves coffee...and how he cooks I guess? And Spite....WHY DID THEY MAKE SPITE THAT WAY?!!?? Spite had so much potential to be a threat, to be dangerous, to be something. Instead he's a joke. Lucanis is a joke. The whole thing with his pathway is an obvious joke. I'm still salty.

Also, I would have loved more Solas. More interactions with Solas. More engagement with Solas. And I might be a minority but less 'Solavellan' because there's something that irritates me that a strong, powerful, secure woman like the Inquisitor spent what ten years moping about a crush? They were never in a real relationship, he cut it off before that. TEN YEARS?!?! And she's still simping after this guy and willing to give up her own world to help hold his hand and pat him on the head? No. That needed to have been handled so much better. Plus Mythal. You tell me Mythal is this wise, ultimate judge and then you give me....none of that. Why was Solas so loyal to her? We needed more, we needed SO MUCH MORE to make it work.

And Harding? It's hard for me to say something bad about Harding but also hard to say something good. Harding is just...there? I don't know why she fell so flat for me when back in Inquisition I literally looked forward to seeing her at the opening of each new area and even had my Inquisitor romance her a time or two? But DATV Harding is just...meh?

So for a game so concerned with the companions and so hyped up about them - absolutely none of them really held up to the hype? Is there plenty of space for fanfiction? Yes. Is there any real volume to it without it? Not really.

Also, Elgar'nan and Ghil? The most bland bad guys to bad guy. That Solas spends so long warning you about them, Elgar'nan in particular, and then that's the final battle - that's the dude...I'm staring into the distance with an absolutely unimpressed look.