13 réponses à ce sujet

[Black Jimmy]

I tend to go full friendship route, but I'm aware that some companions get a better outcome to there stories if you go the Rivalry route.

So what I'm asking is, what is the best route to go for each of your companions?

[Lulupab]

Fenris, Isabela and Merril respond well to rivalry.

[Elite Midget]

Best seems to be...

 

Friendship Aveline

Friendship Anders

Friendship Varric

 

Doesn't matter for Sibling though I tend to go for Friendship, even with Carver. Bethany is much happier in the Circle but she's far more important and personally stronger as a Grey Warden. Carver is happier as a Grey Warden and is finally important while as a Templar he still chooses to stand for his sibling when Meredith tries to kill Hawke.

 

Rivalry Isabela

Rivalry Fenris

Rivalry Merrill

Rivalry Sebastian

 

Those 3 will change their views and admit they made mistakes if you Rival them. Varric is too much a bro to Rival and Avenline is much happier and a better friend if Friendship.

 

Anders, well. He goes all kinds of crazy as Rival since he loses more and more of himself to the spirit and doesn't even take responsibility for his actions if he's Rival while he admits to what he did in Friendship and takes full responsibility for setting in motion a Templar/Mage war in the near future once word spreads about what happened at Kirkwall.

 

Rival Sebastian will go to lead his people as their Prince, you can even talk sense into him, though it's up in the air if it stick or not, about the Mages even if you side with the Templars at the end.

[Lazarillo]

Is Fenris really better with rivalry?  I've only done his story as a rival so far, but it honestly fell very flat to me.  Merrill and Isabela at least grow a bit from theirs, but Fenris seemed even more bitter and broody in the end.  I was hoping to friend him on the next go through and hopefully get around that.

[teh DRUMPf!!]

 Aveline: Rival. No matter how noble you try to RP your Hawke, they are canonically troublemakers that step on authority's shoes time and again, which is what Aveline is opposed to. Earning her ire actually proves to be pretty amusing, especially the 100% Rivalry conversation if you choose the right dialogue options. Seriously, rival this woman. It just fits.

 

Anders: Friendship. I dislike him the man and strongly disagree with his views, but I'd say it's much easier to justify his existence in the story if you are a concerned friend who is trying to help him rather than an opponent who sees him as the dangerous loose-cannon he is. His actions at the end of the game kind of become an honest mistake on your part. If you rival him, it just makes you look stupid for not killing him much sooner.

 

Bethany: Friendship. She starts at +50 Friendship so it's awfully hard to rival her. Tried it with a bizzaro, "for science" Hawke and still couldn't get all the way to 100, based on the predetermined nature of the decision-making in that play. I did not notice any real shift in dialogue/personality if she's on the rival side, anyway, so it's probably not even worth the effort. If you want her to be bitter/standoffish towards you, take her to the Deep Roads with Anders. If not, don't bother.

 

Carver: Friendship. Surprised? Well, I tried it once myself and found it very satisfying (with Legacy DLC). It's tough, but getting his full friendship (or close) *is* doable. Dunno, but it felt good to me, because I imagine (mage-)Hawke and Carver not being very close at all while growing up, what with Hawke having more in common with his mage father and sister ... but after their deaths and fleeing Fereldan together, these siblings are forced to spend more time together and learn to get along. You have to be a bit pro-Order to get his approval, which seems weird as a mage, but I liked proving to Carver that I wasn't the kind of bleeding-heart mage he thought (and I do largely agree with that stance anyway).

 

Fenris: Push. Honestly I don't think it really matters. It all goes back to helping him overcome his past and move on from it. Your standing with him doesn't change an awful lot.

 

Isabela: Friendship. Her Rivalry doesn't make a lot of sense. It kind of revolves around Hawke being too nice and Isabela as too selfish, but the things you do to get her rivalry don't always play to that, like letting Keldar go to please the magistrate. And, as I said above, Hawke is canonically corrupt, so him/her getting preachy with Isabela is truly hypocritcal. They should be canon friends, I think.

 

Merrill: Rivalry. Friendship is kind of treated like, "Oh, you agree with her? Fine, watch her recklessly run amok now!" I actually dislike her rivalry on a thematic level, though I hate her the person, so I go friendship myself. If you don't have the problem I have, though, the Rivalry is written much better than the Friendship.

 

SeaBass: Rivalry. Only through the Rivalry path does he wise up and go to reclaim Starkhaven. I just found it a bit difficult to pull off since I tend to get his Friendship and Rivalry at an even ratio if I'm not meta-gaming it out.

 

Varric: Push. As with Fenris, it does not really change much. It's easier to get his Friendship, and since most folks like him anyway, it makes sense to do that. However, I did get his Rivalry one time with my bizzarro Hawke and thought their relationship took on an interesting dynamic. It's not as simple as Hawke simply being some friend of Varric's. It's like he's dealing with you because you're an important person in the city, though he does not much care for the way you do things or get along with you real well.

[Jaison1986]

I would go with following:

 

Friendship with Aveline, Varric and the simbling (though, Carver is hard to friend) 

 

Rivalry with Fenris, Merrill and Isabela.

 

As for Sebastian and Anders:

 

With Anders, it depends of wich path you prefer. If you dislike the chantry and the templars, and support fighting against them, then I would suggest friendship, but if you dislike Anders, is pro templar, or just plan to kill him after the last straw, then just roll with rivalry

 

While with Sebastian, it all boils down to what you think it's best for him. Him staying at the chantry (friendship) or taking back his lands (rivalry).

[riverbanks]

I much prefer rivalry with Anders. The friendship path makes me feel like an enabler, like I'm actually encouraging him to get worse and worse, to the point where at the end he's gone completely off the rails and takes pride in it. He claims the credit for his actions all for himself, allowing no room for you to suggest Vengeance's influence. Through the rivalry path you show concern for him and try to help him regain control of himself and snap out of Vengeance's grasp, until in the end he admits it was a losing battle all along. He doesn't even properly remember doing what he did, as Vengeance has mostly taken over and there's very little of Anders left in him. You feel terrible for him, but don't become an accessory to his madness. Taking his rivalry path makes you surprisingly more of a real friend to him than the friendship one.

 

Similarly with Merrill, I find her rivalry path more friend-like than the friendship one too. The friendship path again makes me feel like an enabler, agreeing with whatever she says and doing whatever she wants until she basically ruins her own life and refuses to acknowlege her own part in it. Through the rivalry path you worry about her, voice your concers, you fight and argue with her, and in the end she owns up to the things she's done, learns from her mistakes and turns into a much more mature person.

 

Fenris' rivalry path works better if you're romancing him. Rivalling him without the romance feels very.... dodgy. Really weird implications.

 

Sebastian's rivalry or friendship paths depends more on a metagame decision of where you want him to end up, both are pretty equal otherwise.

 

Everyone else works better through the friendship path, specially Carver and Bethany.

[Lulupab]

I much prefer rivalry with Anders. The friendship path makes me feel like an enabler, like I'm actually encouraging him to get worse and worse, to the point where at the end he's gone completely off the rails and takes pride in it. He claims the credit for his actions all for himself, allowing no room for you to suggest Vengeance's influence. Through the rivalry path you show concern for him and try to help him regain control of himself and snap out of Vengeance's grasp, until in the end he admits it was a losing battle all along. He doesn't even properly remember doing what he did, as Vengeance has mostly taken over and there's very little of Anders left in him. You feel terrible for him, but don't become an accessory to his madness. Taking his rivalry path makes you surprisingly more of a real friend to him than the friendship one.
 
Similarly with Merrill, I find her rivalry path more friend-like than the friendship one too. The friendship path again makes me feel like an enabler, agreeing with whatever she says and doing whatever she wants until she basically ruins her own life and refuses to acknowlege her own part in it. Through the rivalry path you worry about her, voice your concers, you fight and argue with her, and in the end she owns up to the things she's done, learns from her mistakes and turns into a much more mature person.
 
Fenris' rivalry path works better if you're romancing him. Rivalling him without the romance feels very.... dodgy. Really weird implications.
 
Sebastian's rivalry or friendship paths depends more on a metagame decision of where you want him to end up, both are pretty equal otherwise.
 
Everyone else works better through the friendship path, specially Carver and Bethany.

Then you never read the codex while rivaling Anders. In rival path the codex mentions getting help from nowhere not even Hawke Anders starts to fully lose himself to the spirit and nothing is left of him...

However in friendship route the codex clearly mentions having a friend (or lover) really helps Anders maintain focus to the point that he only seems to lose control when fighting Templars, otherwise he is fine. Actually he glows (when justice takes over) on much less occasions when in friendship route.

Him doing it all with his own conscious is so much better written and justified than not having memory of doing it and being a puppet, because it strengthens his grey morality and it usually makes it harder (at least to some) to kill him because you are not killing a psychopath who has lost himself to spirit within, you are killing a person as human as yourself just with different ideas.

[Willowhugger]

Is Fenris really better with rivalry?  I've only done his story as a rival so far, but it honestly fell very flat to me.  Merrill and Isabela at least grow a bit from theirs, but Fenris seemed even more bitter and broody in the end.  I was hoping to friend him on the next go through and hopefully get around that.

 

Friendship with Fenris is very sweet.

 

Rivalry Fenris is kind of troubling in many ways but also I think helps him work out a lot of his anger issues. It challenges him for personal growth.

I think both end up well for him. Friendship has Fenris meeting his first true friend. Rivalry has Fenris realizing that his closest friend does not really have time for his bull**** and, very likely, doesn't agree with any of his opinions.
 

I love rivalry with Aveline as, amusingly, that's the only time I think she's attracted to Hawke. It makes it all the more funny.

 

I also Friendship Anders and stab him.

 

I think that's the most dramatic, most interesting ending (barring romance).

[TheMadHarridan]

Well, I've done both friendmances and rivalmances with Fenris, Anders, Merrill, and Isabela, as well as just plain friendship and rivalry with everyone. Here are my opinions on what best suits each character:

 

Varric: Friendship. He is built to be your best bud. I rivaled him once with a surly character just to see what it was like, and while it had some funny moments (his commentary on the romances varies, he tells you that you have the charm of a surly bronto, etc.), it just didn't feel right. Varric has the same ending either way. Friendship just suits him better.

 

Aveline: Friendship. Even though her beating the crap out of Hawke in Act 3 on the rivalry path was delightful, I think friendship suits her more. Like Varric, her ending is the same either way (assuming you marry her to Donnic). She's a better friend than a rival, and to me, sort of becomes an extra member of Hawke's family... a surrogate sister to fill the sibling void after Act 1, so to speak.

 

Sebastian: Rivalry. I much prefer encouraging him to man-up and take back Starkhaven than for him to stay in the Chantry and preach and sing hymns. Besides, even if you choose friendship with him, if you choose not to kill Anders, he goes back to Starkhaven anyway to raise an army to hunt down Anders.

 

Bethany: Friendship. I've honestly never done rivalry with her (she's the only character I haven't done rivalry with), but it just seems pointless. She's a sweet girl who loves her sibling. Why ruin that? Besides, if I want her to treat Hawke like dirt, I'll make her a Grey Warden. No rivalry required.

 

Carver: Friendship. I used to always rival him, but once I gave friendship with him a try, I vastly preferred it. He actually becomes rather sweet and has a healthier relationship with Hawke.

 

Anders: Depends. It really depends on your play-style as to which way is the better option for Anders. If you are pro-mage, I think the friendship path works better. If you're pro-Templar, definitely rivalry. As with other characters though, the problem with Anders is even if you are pro-mage, if you are opposed to his intimate relationship with Justice or dislike other things he does, Anders will act like you hate the mages. The same applies to being pro-Templar. If you completely support the Templars, but you support Anders' Justice merging and other things he does, he'll act like you support mage freedom. It's frustrating. 

 

Fenris: Friendship. This was a tough one as I do like rivalry for him as well (the scene in Act 3 where he's pacing in front of the fire and snarling at Hawke in the Tevinter language (at least I assume it's Tevinter) is delightful and one of my favorites). However, I think the friendship path finally gives Fenris the one thing he's never had: a real, true friend who accepts him for who he is, faults and all. The guy has had a rough life, and I think he does better with having a friend than another rival.

 

Merrill: Rivalry. She's a sweet girl; she really is. But when you take the friendship path with her, the way it's written makes it seem like you agree with all of her blood magic and demon-dealing. Rivalry causes her to eventually see that what she has done was a huge mistake, and she ends up destroying the Eluvian.

 

Isabela: Friendship. As others have said, rivaling her seems like Hawke is perfect, while Isabela is a horrible person. It just seems really unhealthy and kind of mean. She can still become a better person, and if you friendmance her, she'll still say she'll try to become a better person for Hawke. If you have her friendship maxed out before her quest in Act 3, you can still kill Castilion and deny her the ship. She's annoyed at first, but she admits that she's glad they did it because it was a good thing.

[Melbella]

Is Fenris really better with rivalry?  I've only done his story as a rival so far, but it honestly fell very flat to me.  Merrill and Isabela at least grow a bit from theirs, but Fenris seemed even more bitter and broody in the end.  I was hoping to friend him on the next go through and hopefully get around that.

I felt the same way about rival Fenris. He never really changed or if he did, it certainly wasn't for the better. He takes everything Hawke says as an insult, or worse. I like him much better as a friend, since an actual friend doesn't seem to be something he ever had. I think he ends up really appreciating Hawke and everything s/he helped him with. He's still going to have some skepticism over mages and magic but the bitterness and hatred is much less.

[Roses]

I would be very much interested in this topic, as I am going to replay the game as pro-Templar (first go was pro-Mage) and guestimating to make my relationships as follows.

Rival - Merill, Sebastian, Isabela. Friendship with Merill ended up not very good. Sebastian - simply because I don't like the guy. I heard Rivalry helps Isabela to become a better person.

 

Friend - Carver, Varric. Can't hate that fellow. Carver will probably agree with me because we'll go pro-Templar.

 

Not yet sure about Aveline and Fenris. Is it really worth irking that woman? O___o she seems pretty nice to me most of the time. Last time I didn't even recruit Fenris because of the voice and attitude, but I'm willing to give him a chance.
 

And, Anders. First time I played, I went friendly with him so in the end I got someone who was like "I'm sorry this had to be done, now please kill me so I can become a bloody icon to all the mages" but I've heard that Rivalry actually interferes his merging with the spirit, making Anders more Anders than Janders. Plus I'm interested in the bonus kiss at the end

Spoiler

even though it's speculated to be their last as some believe Anders will fight for Templars for Hawke to prove his love and to redeem himself but will end his life either by getting captured by Templars or killing himself because of internal conflicts of going against Mage rights. Blame FemHawke for showing up, seducing him and ruining his purpose.

I don't want to feel like a complete ***hole in the end. I think this is the first time I'm so concerned about game characters' feelings serious business.

[Jedi Master of Orion]

Friendship with Carver is one of the most satisfying relationships in the game for me.

[Dabrikishaw]

Ultimately, because who you think is better off being a friend or rival comes down to a subjective liking of their character and opinions, I stay away from that and only choose base on what friend/rival buff is better for battle.

 

Bethany and Carver - Irrelevant.

 

Aveline - Either way works. Serve and Protect can help squishier Hawkes, but  Watchful Eye is always a good idea.

 

Varric - Authorized Biographer is better, no question.

 

Anders - Odd as it is to someone geared towards healing, Eye to Eye is superior to No Compromises dus to the latter being useless as a buff.

 

Merril - Solidarity is my favored buff for Merril because I use her blood magic all the time.

 

Isabela - Thumbs Up  gives a good buff to Isabela and Hawke, so I consider it more useful.

 

Fenris - Honestly, neither is necessarily superior to the other. 

 

Sebastian - Man of the Cloth  for giving  Sebastian and Hawke a buff.