199 réponses à ce sujet

[Lady Artifice]

Varric wasn't exactly the most complex, multi-faceted character in the series by any means, but the way I see it, he didn't need to be. What drew me to him is the fact that he's just fun. He's excellently written, he has some great dynamics with many party members like Merrill and Isabela, and the player too, particularly sarcastic Hawke, where the back and forth banter had me smiling more than once. He really just felt like the group's anchor among all the crazies, and the guy who kind of held this dysfunctional little family together. And I appreciate him for that. 

 

Well said. 

[Sifr]

There is something Varric says while talking to Cassandra that always bothered me. 

 

Cassandra: "So the witch sent someone with them?"

Varric:  "Something like that."

 

There's a lot more - but that made me sit up and pay attention.

 

=====

 

Something in DA 2 always gives me the nagging feeling that Varric is somehow actually working for Flemeth.

 

I never fully trusted him because I felt like he was helping her manipulate the situation.

 

I honestly don't think that Varric is working for Flemeth.

 

I think that conversation was phrased that way because Varric was thinking;

 

"Okay, Cassandra just held a knife to my throat and then nearly stabbed me in the balls... and she's already called me out on blatantly lying once... how do I explain to her that Hawke was given a locket that contained part of the soul of a legendary Witch, as part of a complicated plan to allow her to cheat death, in a way that'll make her believe me?"

[Chanda]

Note: NOT A HATE THREAD

 

I swear it seems like I'm the only one who finds Varric to be lack luster. I kept him at the hanged man for most of my DA2 playthroughs and intend to keep him at Skyhold for DA:I. I don't understand why I dislike him so much (maybe it's cuz he and Carver were responsible for all of my deaths in DA2 >.>). Every time he talks I just roll my eyes, and not in the "oh you" way. I guess I want to see what peoples reasons are for liking/disliking him.

 

Maybe he'll have changed in such a way from DA2 to now, that you'll find him more interesting. I do kind of find it slightly annoying that his banter with Cassandra is so negative, but I guess I can't blame him too much, considering how she treated him. I kind of figure that as time progresses in the game, they'll start warming up to each other, a little.

[Hazegurl]

His rivalry was barely visible and boring. It doesn't spark anything cause he's meant to be inoffensive no matter what. Does it matter that he doesn't like that you turned down some money?  Oh yeah, he told some bad stories about you.  Big deal. And no he doesn't have to whine in my face (especially considering that most of the stuff he rivals you about means nothing) but if he'd actually done more he wouldn't have been such a bland companion.

[SomeoneStoleMyName]

"Thin-skinned"  

 

Glass skinned, lol, how did you even come up with that?

Guess not being a native english speaker makes for some weird words ^^

[Lady Artifice]

His rivalry was barely visible. Oh yeah, he told some bad stories about you.  Big deal. And no he doesn't have to whine in my face but if he'd actually done more he wouldn't have been such a bland companion.

 

Opinion. I found him rather aggressive and resentful.

 

Fact: It was there. "Yes man" is not an applicable term unless you stretch it's meaning past recognition.

[ZombiePenguinLeader]

I wanted to weigh in as another Inquisitor who is sipping on some hater-aide for Varric.  I think for me it was that Varric came across as too much of an expectation in Dragon Age II to be my best friend in the game.  Did not seem like much of a choice, and while I did enjoy some of the witty Dwarf's one-liners and clever word play, I too kept him on the bench as I went through the storyline without him.  

 

At times it also seemed like he was stepping on my rogue's toes as the ranged archer of the group, so there was a phase where I even attempted to convert Varric into a melee fighter but it just did not work out.  I imagine I will give him another attempt at being BFFs with my inquisitor, but I foresee him sharpening his metaphorical knives back in Skyhold where he can practice articulating my no doubt legendary story.  

[Hazegurl]

He's a "yes man" cause he's meant to be neutral about almost everything, so as to not tick off the player for any choice they make. Even him rivaling you about money is done during act 1 while Hawke needs to raise enough money for the expedition. It's natural he would think you were an idiot for turning down paid work.  I found the other companions had deeper opinions and beliefs that made you really clash with them on rival, even Anders, and I hate his guts.

 

IMO, I found Varric to be too passive-aggressive on Rival which actually made me lose the little respect I had for him before trying out a rivalry on him. And his dialogue with Cassendra doesn't change, you're still the greatest ever! lol! It's like the writers never even bothered to think that anyone would bother performing the leaps and bounds needed to get a rivaled Varric. *sigh*

[Lady Artifice]

 

 And his dialogue with Cassendra doesn't change, you're still the greatest ever! lol! It's like the writers never even bothered to think that anyone would bother performing the leaps and bounds needed to get a rivaled Varric. *sigh*

 

All of the rivalries have the implication that the bond is supposed to be as strong as a friendship when all is said and done. Isabela returns, Merrill smashes Eluvian, Anders tries so hard to give his mission up that Justice forcibly takes him over. They all care about you just as much in a rivalry despite all the animosity. Sometimes they even can come off as more impactful, such as Fenris' deciding you have been his friend after all and that he should rethink his worldview and Isabela elaborating on how much she wants to change for you if romanced. If rivalry was actually supposed to mean they simply detest you, then you wouldn't be able to romance someone in a rivalry. This isn't something exclusive to Varric.

[Onecrazymonkey1]

I wouldn't say I like or dislike Varric, for me he's just there.... Probably because I never found him funny, so I guess he was just a little boring for my tastes. I have nothing against the guy and for sure he makes one loyal bro but I always put him in the same category as Bethany which is another companion who I found a tad bland. I was also probably in the minority of preferring Carver over her as well but I digress. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love when companions don't bow down before me like I'm the second coming of Andraste, or just seem a little too agreeable.

[Ryzaki]

If you consider "Yes men" to be fully evolved people...

 

Varric is not a yes man. Garrus you could argue was a yes man. Varric? No. Rivalry pretty much squashes that.

 

And no working with someone despite disliking them does not turn you into a yes man.

[veeia]

Yes Men kiss ass and flatter and say "oh, what a great idea!". Varric is none of that, except maybe the last one, sarcastically. 

 

He's not a sycophant and he doesn't blow smoke up Hawke's butt. Varric doesn't use false flattery or desperation or whatever to get what he wants, he uses his wit and charm. 

 

He doesn't vocalize his dissent or antagonize Hawke often, but that's not because he's afraid Hawke will give him the boot if he does. I just don't think he's good at conflict nor does he find it productive. He'd rather smile and meet in the middle/compromise than argue with someone. Which can be an irritating quality, and I can understand not liking him for all that...but "yes man" is definitely not the right way to describe it, imo. 

[Aurok]

Not that I'm ragging on Isabela, but isn't the sassy persona a common trope for covering up flaws and insecurities?

IRL and more mature mediums, sure. However, I was firmly expecting Isabela to be like that simply because 'Girl Power!' or whatever.

[Lady Artifice]

This is beginning to simply come down to the definition of "Yes man" more than any finite distinction between different analyses of Varric's character.

 

Hazegurl doesn't like that the game makes you work to be on unfriendly terms with him because of a dislike of his character. That's defining a "Yes man" as a character who's more agreeable than you want them to be.

 

Everyone else commenting on this is defining "Yes man" as someone who is intentionally trying to butter you up whether it means telling you the truth as they see it or not.

 

We should keep perspective on how each of us intend a phrase before we try to get deeper into the debate over it.

[Aurok]

It will be pretty interesting to see if Varric's character changes at all when it isn't Varric telling the story. It will probably only be subtle changes, but they could have a lot of fun and really Keyser Soze him up if they wanted to. Maybe the greatest lie the devil ever told was convincing everybody that Anders did it.

[Xilizhra]

I liked him well enough, but I did find him strangely unknowable, as some others have said, and it felt like he was holding a lot of himself back. I do hope we get to learn more of him in Inquisition.

[darkmanifest]

Sometimes I'm not sure if I dislike him or I just dislike what he represents in the game.  It's like others have said, he's quite deliberately calculated to be your bro, he wasn't even inoffensively pleasant like Bethany, but was pushed too far into trying to be oh-so-very awesome in every way, and it falls completely flat for me.  His jokes in particular take on an annoyingly condescending note because of how much less flawed he is than everyone else, so even though I'm already rolling my eyes at the drama and stupidity of the other characters, I still resent him doing it, too.  Aveline, for example, was able to be a breath of fresh sanity without coming across as insufferably superior - she could be petty, stubborn, short-sighted and a bit of bully.  She felt very human.  Varric, in contrast, felt very...forced.  Like the group comedian in a sitcom with canned laughter switched on after every oh-so-clever quip.  I left him on the bench.

 

I suppose the only reason Varric comes off so well in DA2 is because he's telling the story, so he gets to control the nuances - or lack of the same - of his own portrayal.  He might be an actual person in DA:I, but I'm already irritated with him taking up a companion slot that could have gone to another dwarf who hadn't been king of a whole game already (like Sigrun), so I'll be about six or seven playthroughs deep before I pay him any mind, if I ever do.

[Tevinter Soldier]

I'm the opposite, I loathed him when i first played DAII and many times after.

and yet this playthrough I'm liking him.

 

guess he just wore me down overtime and i accept his annoyingness.

[BraveVesperia]

Varric is just sort of there, for me. Similar to Sebastian. I don't hate them, but I don't find them particularly interesting or connect to them or anything. Varric also doesn't come across as funny as I thought he'd be, except for the occasional witty comment (I think there's one about the Kirkwall statues I like). It's actually entertaining to rival him and watch as he becomes steadily more passive-aggressive.

 

Still salty that he took a role in the comics that would've been perfect for Zevran.

 

Edit: He also didn't see, to have any strong opinion on anything. And I'm not talking in an Anders/Fenris way. Even Bethany, who's about as inoffensive as you can get had some firm opinions.

[boissiere]

I disliked Sebastian a lot because he is clearly boring. He only cares for Chantry and if you say you want him to take back the throne he will fire up... For Varric, I only liked the sarcastic one because he is clearly a guy that prefers using jokes in order to carry important informations. Remember the first discussion with Bethany: she asked him about safety and so one and he replies that there is at least 30 persons in Kirkwall that would be ready to hire assassins to kill his familly only for business.

[GDog89]

I like Varric overall not sure if hated any companion tbh

[DaryAlexV]

OP, yes you are.
In Dragon Age world, he is my number one forever.

[Sylentmana]

The idea that someone doesn't like Varric seems like and abstract concept to me and I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. Varric is the best companion ever.  I still find him hilarious and witty.

[Celtic Latino]

I'm sure you're not the only one.

 

I'll admit that I don't exactly dislike Varric but I'm not his fan either. The way I see Varric is the same way I see the likes of Garrus and Tali. They are good characters and party members, and they're cool when they're there, but I don't have an obsessive love for them nor do I feel the need for them to become romance options. I also wouldn't really feel lost without their presence (I've had runs w/o Garrus and Tali and never really felt attached to them). Especially Varric in particular, considering the DA universe has always been more of a saga concerning a world as opposed to a more personal story. I hope after DAI Varric, among all other 'returning' and cameo characters, do not appear in DA4 and there can be a focus on an entirely new cast. Varric is slowly becoming the 'token dwarf' of Dragon Age, given he's been the only dwarven party member in DA2 and DAI. While I'd take him over the likes of Oghren (ugh) any day, I want to give other dwarven characters their chance to shine too.