37 réponses à ce sujet

[LobselVith8]

Despite the lack of consensus over some issues, I've noted more than a few people have felt that Hawke was reactive, and seemed to lack intelligence in a number of decisions. (For instance, KoP has noted that Hawke never bothered to investigate the person who aided his mother's murderer over the course of three years). The character doesn't really do anything - he doesn't use his resources or his wealth to change the plight of the many disenfranchised people in Darktown or the destitute elves in the Alienage, he doesn't do anything proactive about the fact that Meredith has become a dictator for three years, and he fails to protect the people he's supposed to be watching out for in the mines and never considers that there could be a source for all the dragons that the people encountered there originally. Hawke seems to be a failure, and I'm wondering whether the proposed DLC that is mentioned by Laidlaw and his comments about the complaints being made by fans being recognized will mean that Hawke will be proactive and demonstrate some intelligence.

[Xilizhra]

I'm not sure about that. The disenfranchised people in Darktown aren't important to the plot, and there are a heck of a lot of them; Hawke could very easily be spending her time helping them. The Alienage is trickier, given that they do have some importance to the qunari plot, but just because Hawke helps them wouldn't change the widespread corruption of the law, so it could still happen. In Meredith's case, Hawke may have helped stop the problem from getting worse; she's still weak enough for Orsino to try to incite rebellion, for instance. The Bone Pit under Hawke goes through two crises in seven years, and there's no dragon activity at all between the initial taking of the mine and the appearance of the high dragon; searching the Pit wouldn't help find the high dragon, as she'd been long gone.

[Fast Jimmy]

I would like to start by saying I think that Laidlaw gained back a ton of street cred with his post the other day. Despite the fact that many think EA pushed Bioware to release an unfinished game, I'm sure EA has also put Mike and his team's nose to the grindstone when all of the complaints and the diminished revenues began coming in. I have no doubt that Bioware will be trying to make a good follow up for the fans, but also may realize that their IP may be on the line if things aren't really shored up on the next release.


That said, please remember that Laidlaw is talking about a DLC (or, possibly later, an Expansion). Bioware DLC have been good, but the scope is never to build a whole new narrative that can truly eclipse or even correct the main story.

For instance, Lair of the Shadow Broker was an excellent DLC for Mass Effect 2. It allowed you to work with Liara and ultimately gain her as a companion. It included some great dialogue, good action and fights, a driving/flying mini game, and an answer to the identity of the illusive Shadow Broker.

But if someone had some serious gripes about the actions Shepherd took in ME2, such as what character motivation he had to be working with Cerberus, for example, this was not addressed in Lair of the Shadow Broker. A DLC or expansion cannot go back and retroactively fix a game you disliked. It will just be a few new locations, a few pieces of equipment, maybe some game mechanics getting reworked, a new mini-story and that's about it.

Great stuff to be an addition to a game you like... but it won't make any of the complaints about DA2 go away, it will just have an extra chapter to the game that probably should have been there to begin with.

To address the actual topic of the OP, Hawke will likely just have the DLC quest fall in his lap. That's the way most DLC quests work, a lost transmission, a rumor heard in town, an item a merchant sells, a letter in a mansion (my money is on this, as trite as a mechanism as it is), etc. So considering the fact that he will likely be going on this DLC quest because he is either A) on the run after the end of DA2 or the quest will be before the end of DA2 and it will just manifest itself in game... my answer is no. I don't think Hawke will become proactive in one DLC.

Because as epic as a DLC can be, it is still designed to be incredibly limited in scope. It can't and won't be a cure-all fix to things people dislike about DA2.

[Augustei]

LobselVith8 wrote...

Despite the lack of consensus over some issues, I've noted more than a few people have felt that Hawke was reactive, and seemed to lack intelligence in a number of decisions. (For instance, KoP has noted that Hawke never bothered to investigate the person who aided his mother's murderer over the course of three years). The character doesn't really do anything - he doesn't use his resources or his wealth to change the plight of the many disenfranchised people in Darktown or the destitute elves in the Alienage, he doesn't do anything proactive about the fact that Meredith has become a dictator for three years, and he fails to protect the people he's supposed to be watching out for in the mines and never considers that there could be a source for all the dragons that the people encountered there originally. Hawke seems to be a failure, and I'm wondering whether the proposed DLC that is mentioned by Laidlaw and his comments about the complaints being made by fans being recognized will mean that Hawke will be proactive and demonstrate some intelligence.

I doubt Hawke will ever be proactive tbh.. All the stuff you mentioned however my Hawke doesn't really care about, the people working in his mines, the poor in Darktown, the person involved in his mothers death (Yeah my Hawkes an ass lol)

[LobselVith8]

Xilizhra wrote...

I'm not sure about that. The disenfranchised people in Darktown aren't important to the plot, and there are a heck of a lot of them; Hawke could very easily be spending her time helping them.

Act III's "On the Looose" indicates that Hawke isn't helping the people of Darktown, as Evelina says he's doing nothing but eating fine food while his people are starving, and no one contests this.

Xilizhra wrote...

The Alienage is trickier, given that they do have some importance to the qunari plot, but just because Hawke helps them wouldn't change the widespread corruption of the law, so it could still happen.

Considering that Merrill lives in the Alienage and Hawke can potentially help kill a serial killer of elven children, I'm surprised he has no opportunity to help them further.

Xilizhra wrote...

In Meredith's case, Hawke may have helped stop the problem from getting worse; she's still weak enough for Orsino to try to incite rebellion, for instance.

It's clear that nobody in Kirkwall knows what Hawke thinks of Meredith's ascent to power for three years now. If he's been doing something about it, why would Meredith and Orsino attempt to gain his favor? He's clearly done nothing about it. Maybe people are right when they say Hawke is in a coma between Acts.

Xilizhra wrote...

The Bone Pit under Hawke goes through two crises in seven years, and there's no dragon activity at all between the initial taking of the mine and the appearance of the high dragon; searching the Pit wouldn't help find the high dragon, as she'd been long gone.

Given the numerous dragonlings and the presence of a Dragon, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that there's a High Dragon who could potentially return for her progeny?

[Xilizhra]

Act III's "On the Looose" indicates that Hawke isn't helping the people of Darktown, as Evelina says he's doing nothing but eating fine food while his people are starving, and no one contests this.

Evelina the nutty abomination? And didn't everyone have more important things to be worried about re. said nutty abomination than what Hawke was spending money on?

Considering that Merrill lives in the Alienage and Hawke can potentially help kill a serial killer of elven children, I'm surprised he has no opportunity to help them further.

None that we can see, but it could definitely be happening.

It's clear that nobody in Kirkwall knows what Hawke thinks of Meredith's ascent to power for three years now. If he's been doing something about it, why would Meredith and Orsino attempt to gain his favor? He's clearly done nothing about it. Maybe people are right when they say Hawke is in a coma between Acts.

I consider that as having the opportunity to define what your Hawke has been saying over the years. It's sort of clumsy in a narrative sense, but it was the best they could do, and quite frankly that makes more sense than the coma (I cling to as much sense-making as I can).

Given the numerous dragonlings and the presence of a Dragon, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that there's a High Dragon who could potentially return for her progeny?

There are also numerous dragonlings and a full dragon in the Deep Roads, several dragonlings in the Wounded Coast... it's a possibility, sure, but there was no activity for seven years, and considering how bloody powerful high dragons are, I don't now if any reasonable precautions could have helped.

[LobselVith8]

Xilizhra wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

Act III's "On the Looose" indicates that Hawke isn't helping the people of Darktown, as Evelina says he's doing nothing but eating fine food while his people are starving, and no one contests this.

Evelina the nutty abomination? And didn't everyone have more important things to be worried about re. said nutty abomination than what Hawke was spending money on?

Technically, Evelina has become an abomination in Act III, but we see her begging in Act II for the children, and the children themselves are evidence that things are still as bad as ever in Darktown. This part of Kirkwall is pretty much the same as it was in Act I. There's no indication Hawke is doing anything, or even helping Anders with his clinic. I'd rather see Hawke trying to make a difference in Kirkwall and failing, then seeing him doing nothing about the problems that are within his power to try and correct.

Xilizhra wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

Considering that Merrill lives in the Alienage and Hawke can potentially help kill a serial killer of elven children, I'm surprised he has no opportunity to help them further.

None that we can see, but it could definitely be happening.

If we don't see it, how can it be happening? If the Alienage is the same and no one makes any mention of the Champion doing anything to improve the lives of the elves, then it'll only happen in fan fiction. If we were going to be confined to one city-state, why not allow Hawke to have agency and change Kirkwall over the course of seven years, or at least make the attempt? All he does is run errands for people, even as a Human Noble.

Xilizhra wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

It's clear that nobody in Kirkwall knows what Hawke thinks of Meredith's ascent to power for three years now. If he's been doing something about it, why would Meredith and Orsino attempt to gain his favor? He's clearly done nothing about it. Maybe people are right when they say Hawke is in a coma between Acts.

I consider that as having the opportunity to define what your Hawke has been saying over the years. It's sort of clumsy in a narrative sense, but it was the best they could do, and quite frankly that makes more sense than the coma (I cling to as much sense-making as I can).

I think it should have been that, but it's clearly not that. No one seems to have any idea what Hawke thinks about Orsino or Meredith, and it really should have been developed to allow us to have the Champion having an opinion and being proactive about the issue for the past three years than being in a coma and suddenly doing something about it three years after the fact.

Xilizhra wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

Given the numerous dragonlings and the presence of a Dragon, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that there's a High Dragon who could potentially return for her progeny?

There are also numerous dragonlings and a full dragon in the Deep Roads, several dragonlings in the Wounded Coast... it's a possibility, sure, but there was no activity for seven years, and considering how bloody powerful high dragons are, I don't now if any reasonable precautions could have helped.

Given how many times the miners get killed, I'd imagine Hawke should have taken some precautions in case another disaster hits. He seems capable of only cleaning up the mess after the fact and never thinking about ways his people can find shelter and safety if another disaster strikes.

[Xilizhra]

Technically, Evelina has become an abomination in Act III, but we see her begging in Act II for the children, and the children themselves are evidence that things are still as bad as ever in Darktown. This part of Kirkwall is pretty much the same as it was in Act I. There's no indication Hawke is doing anything, or even helping Anders with his clinic. I'd rather see Hawke trying to make a difference in Kirkwall and failing, then seeing him doing nothing about the problems that are within his power to try and correct.

Note that all parts of Kirkwall are much bigger than what we see in-game, and Hawke's money can't be everywhere.

If we don't see it, how can it be happening? If the Alienage is the same and no one makes any mention of the Champion doing anything to improve the lives of the elves, then it'll only happen in fan fiction. If we were going to be confined to one city-state, why not allow Hawke to have agency and change Kirkwall over the course of seven years, or at least make the attempt? All he does is run errands for people, even as a Human Noble.

Game limitations, for the same reason that all the caves look alike, even though lorewise they're obviously not. It's not good presentation, but it doesn't make Hawke a bad person.

I think it should have been that, but it's clearly not that. No one seems to have any idea what Hawke thinks about Orsino or Meredith, and it really should have been developed to allow us to have the Champion having an opinion and being proactive about the issue for the past three years than being in a coma and suddenly doing something about it three years after the fact.

Another game limitation. Though maybe we'll just have to agree to disagree; I don't want to believe that my Hawke was that dumb.

Given how many times the miners get killed, I'd imagine Hawke should have taken some precautions in case another disaster hits. He seems capable of only cleaning up the mess after the fact and never thinking about ways his people can find shelter and safety if another disaster strikes.

Weren't the miners all pretty much wiped out in one shot by the high dragon? There didn't seem to be any chance to run.

[Augustei]

Where is the Mike Laidlaw post of which you speak btw?

[Nerdage]

XxDeonxX wrote...

Where is the Mike Laidlaw post of which you speak btw?

Stickied in the registered game owners forum.

[Nerdage]

Seems like "making the game better" is a fairly safe bet in all areas, going forwards, including player choices. I doubt they'll be reworking the entire game again, so that leaves more time for iteration of the systems, = profit. Here's to hoping some of them find their way into the DLC, but it seems like, for a game which received such a mediocre reception, they'd want to be making improvements even more than they would normally. So another relatively safe bet, hopefully.

[TEWR]

I just knew by the wording of the thread title when I saw somebody reply to this topic that you wrote it Lob.

And god I hope so. Although about the Darktown bit Lirene makes note of Hawke's rise to Champion status and his money actually helping many people, so I assume he did do something with his money.

Damn BSN constantly logging me out

[TEWR]

Also, about the mine bit, remember it was never Hawke's mine until the High Dragon attacked. It was Hawke's and Hubert's, and Hubert cared more about money then he did about peoples' lives.

I would imagine that every effort Hawke made to hire new guards from their savings was shot down because Hubert is a greedy, selfish, and disgusting (in both smell as Serendipity notes and just in general) Orlesian ******.

[Nerdage]

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

And god I hope so. Although about the Darktown bit Lirene makes note of Hawke's rise to Champion status and his money actually helping many people, so I assume he did do something with his money.

I took that to mean a Ferelden with rank was good for the refugees, not Hawke specifically.

[TEWR]

nerdage wrote...

The Ethereal Writer Redux wrote...

And god I hope so. Although about the Darktown bit Lirene makes note of Hawke's rise to Champion status and his money actually helping many people, so I assume he did do something with his money.

I took that to mean a Ferelden with rank was good for the refugees, not Hawke specifically.

does it matter? It's still his/her money and influence that is apparently helping Fereldans.

[Nerdage]

Well if the issue is 'what Hawke does', I'd argue that simply being doesn't really count. If you could actively do something to help them beyond giving them 5g in the first act it might be better, but you don't seem to lift a finger to actually help them, it's your own self-interest that helps them indirectly.

[BigEvil]

LobselVith8 wrote...

Xilizhra wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...

Act III's "On the Looose" indicates that Hawke isn't helping the people of Darktown, as Evelina says he's doing nothing but eating fine food while his people are starving, and no one contests this.

Evelina the nutty abomination? And didn't everyone have more important things to be worried about re. said nutty abomination than what Hawke was spending money on?

Technically, Evelina has become an abomination in Act III, but we see her begging in Act II for the children, and the children themselves are evidence that things are still as bad as ever in Darktown. This part of Kirkwall is pretty much the same as it was in Act I. There's no indication Hawke is doing anything, or even helping Anders with his clinic. I'd rather see Hawke trying to make a difference in Kirkwall and failing, then seeing him doing nothing about the problems that are within his power to try and correct.

I mostly agree with your other points but we have the opportunity to give lots of money to Evelina in Act II but no matter how often we do this it doesn't change her responses in Act III. So actually, in a way we are helping the people in Darktown, or at least Evelina's orphans, the game just doesn't recognise it. Even if the game kept track of how much you gave Evelina the most we'd realistically get is a bit of different dialogue indicating that. Probably not even that, as most abominations seem to give up on common sense and logic, they just spout a load of rubbish and half-truths at best. Nobody contests it because it would be pointless, why argue with the crazy monster?

Sure, Hawke could try to help the people in Darktown, but I don't see how it would really be done to make an actual difference. It's not in Hawke's power to correct the poverty problem in even one part of the city, at least not without beggering himself in the process. Look at the Carta and Slavers in Darktown. If Hawke just throws money at the poor, the Carta will just beat/kill them and take the money. If Hawke tries to eliminate the Carta, someone else will likely move to fill the power vacuum like the other gangs you fight over the course of the game. If solving the poverty problem of an entire area of a city by one rich person was easy there wouldn't still be so much poverty in the real world.

Would it really be fulfilling to have Hawke try and fail at this? Perhaps. But IMO I think it would certainly not be fulfilling to be successful at solving the poverty problems, as it would be unrealistic and cheapen a serious problem in both the real and fictional world.

[Xilizhra]

Probably not even that, as most abominations seem to give up on common sense and logic, they just spout a load of rubbish and half-truths at best. Nobody contests it because it would be pointless, why argue with the crazy monster?

For some reason, no one ever remembers this when it comes to Marethari. But it's totally true.

[LobselVith8]

Xilizhra wrote...

Probably not even that, as most abominations seem to give up on common sense and logic, they just spout a load of rubbish and half-truths at best. Nobody contests it because it would be pointless, why argue with the crazy monster?

For some reason, no one ever remembers this when it comes to Marethari. But it's totally true.

Because Marethari talks about what she assumed was the truth about something she had no way of knowing is accurate or not. Marethari couldn't know what Audacity planned, she could only speculate, and it seems far more likely she fell into Audacity's trap. In contrast, Evelina was actually living in Darktown when Hawke became wealthy from the Deep Roads expedition, and we see from the children that Hawke isn't being proactive in Darktown. If he's been helping people, wouldn't people say it? Wouldn't there be some change? All I see is a protagonist who does nothing unless someone else is proactive in getting his assistance.

[BigEvil]

LobselVith8 wrote...
In contrast, Evelina was actually living in Darktown when Hawke became wealthy from the Deep Roads expedition, and we see from the children that Hawke isn't being proactive in Darktown. If he's been helping people, wouldn't people say it? Wouldn't there be some change? All I see is a protagonist who does nothing unless someone else is proactive in getting his assistance.

Except the game gives us the chance to be proactive in the situation with Evelina. It gives us the chance to give her money in Act II multiple times, as much as we want. But the game does nothing further with it. The game doesn't recognise us being proactive in this instance. You can't say Hawke wasn't proactive here if he gave money to Evelina. What you should be doing is complaining that one of the few times Hawke can be proactive the game doesn't recognise it. He has been helping people, they don't say anything because nobody thought to have them say it.

If you give a large amount of money to Evelina in Act II Hawke is being proactive. It's the recognition of being proactive that isn't there, the proactive part is.

[TEWR]

BigEvil's making a lot of sense. Never thought I'd agree more with the evil guy over the good guy, but there you go. I've gone to the dark side.

[LobselVith8]

BigEvil wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...
In contrast, Evelina was actually living in Darktown when Hawke became wealthy from the Deep Roads expedition, and we see from the children that Hawke isn't being proactive in Darktown. If he's been helping people, wouldn't people say it? Wouldn't there be some change? All I see is a protagonist who does nothing unless someone else is proactive in getting his assistance.

Except the game gives us the chance to be proactive in the situation with Evelina. It gives us the chance to give her money in Act II multiple times, as much as we want. But the game does nothing further with it. The game doesn't recognise us being proactive in this instance. You can't say Hawke wasn't proactive here if he gave money to Evelina. What you should be doing is complaining that one of the few times Hawke can be proactive the game doesn't recognise it. He has been helping people, they don't say anything because nobody thought to have them say it.

If you give a large amount of money to Evelina in Act II Hawke is being proactive. It's the recognition of being proactive that isn't there, the proactive part is.

So you're addressing Hawke can be proactive with a single person in Darktown? It's a fair criticism, but I'm addressing the myraid of people in Darktown. Hawke could have pulled a Nino Brown.

[Chuvvy]

What I want to know is if Hawke will be the main character in this. Hawke seems like a side character in his own story. He has one act where he sort of shines and that's Act 2. In Act 1 you could just as easily play any of the other characters and get essentially the same experience and in Act 3 you'd be better off playing Anders or Meredeth.

[BigEvil]

LobselVith8 wrote...

BigEvil wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...
In contrast, Evelina was actually living in Darktown when Hawke became wealthy from the Deep Roads expedition, and we see from the children that Hawke isn't being proactive in Darktown. If he's been helping people, wouldn't people say it? Wouldn't there be some change? All I see is a protagonist who does nothing unless someone else is proactive in getting his assistance.

Except the game gives us the chance to be proactive in the situation with Evelina. It gives us the chance to give her money in Act II multiple times, as much as we want. But the game does nothing further with it. The game doesn't recognise us being proactive in this instance. You can't say Hawke wasn't proactive here if he gave money to Evelina. What you should be doing is complaining that one of the few times Hawke can be proactive the game doesn't recognise it. He has been helping people, they don't say anything because nobody thought to have them say it.

If you give a large amount of money to Evelina in Act II Hawke is being proactive. It's the recognition of being proactive that isn't there, the proactive part is.

So you're addressing Hawke can be proactive with a single person in Darktown? It's a fair criticism, but I'm addressing the myraid of people in Darktown. Hawke could have pulled a Nino Brown.

You want an old man to shoot Hawke at the end of the game?

You seem to be changing your arguement now. You've spent several posts saying that Hawke isn't proactive, Evelina claims Hawke isn't helping (despite the fact Hawke can help Evelina and through her the children she looks after), and that the children in Darktown show Hawke isn't proactive.

But that's not the case. Hawke can be proactive, Hawke can help Evelina by giving her money and since she is collecting money to help the children Hawke does help the children in this case. Just because the game doesn't allow any further steps or resolve the help doesn't mean Hawke cannot or does not give it. It is a problem that it isn't resolved though.

Now you want to say that you're addressing the myriad of people in Darktown and not just Evelina who you have been harping on about since almost the beginning. Ok, fine. Hawke can't be proactive in that area because we are not able to give money to every random person in Darktown. There are no quests related to this. There are no dialogue options related to this, mostly because most of the people in Darktown only say repeated lines when you click on them. You can't have an actual conversation with most of them. This is a flaw of the game, I admit that. But it's a flaw of Origins as well, and most other RPGs. I'm struggling to think of any cRPG that I've played where the poor people or refugees can be helped by the player and are in a better situation at the end of the game or resolution of the quest chain. It probably isn't done because it seems too unrealistic and unfeasable.

It might be interesting, but personally as I mentioned before I'd only think it was fulfilling if there wasn't an easy fix to the problem of poverty.

The only two ways I can see Hawke helping the people of Darktown in any way which might be significant are:

1. Giving them lots of money.
2. Getting them jobs.

Both would be likely to fail, on their own, to produce any significant change. If Hawke gives them money:

A. They become targets for criminals like the Carta or even other poor people desperate enough.
B. Will buying food and clothing with the money do much in the long run beyond allow them to survive? They might still be in Darktown, they'll just be better fed or clothed.
C. They might make it to Lowtown for a while with the money and then end up back in Darktown when the money is gone if they cannot get work.
D. Hawke only has access to a certain amount of gold in the game, to help large numbers of people in Darktown significantly would result in the player having no money left, not enough money to help in the first place, or some sort of handwave that didn't result in the player losing money.

If Hawke gets them jobs:

A. How would you create a quest where you get jobs for dozens or perhaps hundreds of different people, of differing ages, genders, species (since there are some elves in Darktown too and prejudice will either need to be overcome or will simply prevent them from getting some jobs), and abilities. The obvious choice for Hawke (if Hawke is partner in the mine) is hiring them as miners. But not all of them can do that job and it would be detrimental for Hawke to foolishly hire anyone from Darktown as a miner. Also, sending them to the mines, given what happens in Act III would be a death sentence.
B. Will they automatically keep those jobs into Act III if Hawke secures them for the people?
C. Depending on their wages, they might not be able to get out of Darktown anyway.

Last solution would be for Hawke to give large amounts of money to the people of Darktown, and secure jobs for as many of them as possible. I do not think this is realistic or feasable for Hawke to do. Perhaps Hawke could convince a group of nobles to help in this project, but even then would we see a lot of change in Act III if this was started in Act II? I'd imagine the most we'd see is less or different people in Darktown with some people in Darktown and possibly Lowtown (for those managing to move there) saying positive things about the Champion helping them, their family, etc. And maybe Evelina would acknowledge that Hawke helped and didn't sit around eating sweet-meats while the poor Ferelden refugees starve. Or she could still be a batty abomination who gives Hawke some attitude before he shoves his sword somewhere painful.

All in all, what would you prefer? An addition to the game which kept track of what money you give Evelina which changes things in Act III (she says something different acknowledging your help, the children are in Lowtown and some of them have jobs to support them all (which would mean you'd have to talk to Walter and Cricket in Lowtown instead of Darktown during On the Loose) and some NPCs mentioning you helped the kids).

Or being proactive in helping the majority of the people in Darktown. Something which would require at minimum several quests and all the dialogue, journal entries, rewards, etc to go with them, including dialogue in a following act commenting on these quests and the outcome of them. This is not something I can see being in a DLC, maybe an expansion. And even then, would a lot of players want to spend a lot of time on such a series of quests when the only real outcome for the player would be exp and people saying positive things about it. There would be no way to do these quests and have more money at the end of them.

I think this is one area where Hawke should get a pass on not being proactive. And this post ended up a lot longer than I initially planned.

[RangerSG]

LobselVith8 wrote...

BigEvil wrote...

LobselVith8 wrote...
In contrast, Evelina was actually living in Darktown when Hawke became wealthy from the Deep Roads expedition, and we see from the children that Hawke isn't being proactive in Darktown. If he's been helping people, wouldn't people say it? Wouldn't there be some change? All I see is a protagonist who does nothing unless someone else is proactive in getting his assistance.

Except the game gives us the chance to be proactive in the situation with Evelina. It gives us the chance to give her money in Act II multiple times, as much as we want. But the game does nothing further with it. The game doesn't recognise us being proactive in this instance. You can't say Hawke wasn't proactive here if he gave money to Evelina. What you should be doing is complaining that one of the few times Hawke can be proactive the game doesn't recognise it. He has been helping people, they don't say anything because nobody thought to have them say it.

If you give a large amount of money to Evelina in Act II Hawke is being proactive. It's the recognition of being proactive that isn't there, the proactive part is.

So you're addressing Hawke can be proactive with a single person in Darktown? It's a fair criticism, but I'm addressing the myraid of people in Darktown. Hawke could have pulled a Nino Brown.

1) I don't take the word of Evelina to mean anything. My Hawke's always donated to the Ferelden Refugees at the box, anonymously. She doesn't know what you do or don't do with your money. And it's a proven economic reality that if you simply hand everyone money, they will, by and large, squander it. So by providing jobs and donating to the truly needy, he's doing more than she does.

2) The murder investigation is the instance that really gets me. You 'saw' a guy run away at the beginning. You know there's a loose end, and tell Emeric as much. Avelline could have BEEN there with you, even. But still she doesn't believe it's legitimate? I like her as a character, but she's not a good investigator (and this isn't the only time she falls short in that regard).