199 réponses à ce sujet

[Krothar]

What did make me laugh about the whole "He IS your best friend" is the playthroughs I had where I never used him. Like, always benched, but then whenever you saw him in the tavern, he'd still act like your best friend. I know this can be explained away as the events of DA2 happening over several years, so they were likely seeing one another behind the scenes and everything, but it really creates a strange narrative.

[Hazegurl]

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.

I know what the rivalry relationship is. I romance Fenris on it all the time. And I find Varric's rivalry to be a lackluster experience because he's still designed to not tick you off no matter what. At least for me it was that way. While the other characters spoke their mind openly and honestly whether you loved or hated them for it, Varric pulls the passive-aggressive bs move. Mind you, I can say that in itself defines his character, as their are people in the world who do that. But I found nothing profound about his rivalry, just as I wasn't impacted by his friendship. Giving him different dialogue to suggests that you two weren't Bffs to Cassendra or something could have helped, especially since you can flat out state that you aren't Fenris's friend.  I'm glad Varric does something for you but I found both paths with him dull. He had some good moments here and there but I didn't love him or hate him overall.

[GrayTimber]

I adore Varric for being the one bright light in DA II which was otherwise dark and grimy.

For me, the connection between Hawke and Varric was solidified after the whole bit with Bartrand.

Before that, I liked him for being the funny guy and being really open-arms with the more pariah characters. (Anders, Merrill, ect)

But it was that scene that just set it into place that he and Hawke were friends 'til the end.

And, really, that's what my Hawke needed.

[Hazegurl]

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.

That would be pretty much it, it's all about perspective. I do find him a little more agreeable than the rest and I think it stems from the writers trying hard to make him your best friend whether you like or not, as someone else pointed it, you don't really have a choice in the matter. If I were to give an example of him buttering Hawke up it would probably be on the friend path more than anything. At one point I half expected to walk into the bar and hear "Hawke has an 18ft penis that he uses to f**k dragons with!"

[CuriousArtemis]

What did make me laugh about the whole "He IS your best friend" is the playthroughs I had where I never used him. Like, always benched, but then whenever you saw him in the tavern, he'd still act like your best friend. I know this can be explained away as the events of DA2 happening over several years, so they were likely seeing one another behind the scenes and everything, but it really creates a strange narrative.

 

Yeah and the Keep tile says he was your best friend, too. That irks me because in my first canon playthrough I'm creating for DAI, that just wasn't the case. Isabela was Hawke's best friend, but there's no Keep tile to solidify THAT relationship. And Hawke in that playthrough did not feel close to Varric at all.

 

Perhaps that's the problem I have (personally) with the character; he was designed to be my best friend whether I wanted him to or not. There just is no strife with the character, which makes for a very dull story.

[Magdalena11]

Varric is a bit of a Mary Sue, I guess, but he's also the one telling the story.  If he can't be the hero of his own story, he can at least be awesome in it.  I like the way the comics touch on the unreliable narrator point.  The story of Arthur is a perfect illustration of the way something can be prettied up for the public.  The grime and guts, as well as the unfortunate miscalculations, are glossed over quickly to get to the good part.

 

Frankly, the only thing I find even slightly annoying is the way his stupid bursting arrows do more harm to the party than they do to the bad guys, half of whom are either immune to fire attacks or knockback.  (Note to self:  Disable bursting arrow in Varric's tactics.  Find fire protection for Isabela, Aveline, and Fenris.  Craft more elfroot potions.)

 

I do love Varric to bits, especially the way he tailors his personality a bit to suit who he's with.  He's paternal with Daisy, lets the seams show with the Rivaini, gives Blondie some time when he can forget about the sewers for a while, and teases the broody elf and Aveline just for the fun of needling them.  I have rivaled him, but my heart just isn't in it.  I don't think I even finished that playthrough.  I think that's my angry, emo Hawke.  She did manage to achieve 100% rivalry with everyone, except Bethany, who she took to the Deep Roads instead of Anders.

[Dr. Rush]

Varric is a pretty safe character. Aside from being the narrator, he doesn't take any particularly controversial stances in the game. He introduces himself to the player in DA2 as a friendly guy looking to do you a favor. Generally, Varric is designed to be a likable character, so if you don't like him, then you must have some personal reasons for doing so, because the game doesn't go out of its way to give you many. 

[veeia]

Some people resent feeling like they are "supposed" to feel a certain way about a certain character. I get this, and often feel it, but Varric is charming enough and I've done enough digging into his flaws that it works for me.

[Lady Artifice]

Some people resent feeling like they are "supposed" to feel a certain way about a certain character. I get this, and often feel it, but Varric is charming enough and I've done enough digging into his flaws that it works for me.

 

I understand resentment for feeling shoehorned into a mindset.

 

I felt that way about Wynne, during the "What does being a Grey Warden mean to you" talk.

 

All our possible answers (as usual) still give her the perfect opening to lecture us about something we know a lot more about than she does...She just decides she can teach us about it, because that's what she does. My character didn't want to be rude to her, but it became more difficult in those moments. 

 

If you don't care for him, then I can see why you wouldn't want it assumed that he's your darlingest friend in universe.

[Rahavan]

Yeah and the Keep tile says he was your best friend, too. That irks me because in my first canon playthrough I'm creating for DAI, that just wasn't the case. Isabela was Hawke's best friend, but there's no Keep tile to solidify THAT relationship. And Hawke in that playthrough did not feel close to Varric at all.

 

Perhaps that's the problem I have (personally) with the character; he was designed to be my best friend whether I wanted him to or not. There just is no strife with the character, which makes for a very dull story.

 

Oh my god. You are right! that's totally how I feel THANK YOU. hopefully though in DA:I I'll feel more "buddy buddy" with him.

[veeia]

Doesn't the Keep tile say Varric considers Hawke his best friend? It doesn't say Hawke reciprocates, lmao, although that's sad.

Edit: I'm assuming the choice is there to ensure Varric reacts appropriately to you. Isabela probably won't show up and of she does, will mention Hawke as a friend or lover...if she stayed through to act 3.

[Doominike]

My opinion of Varric can be summed up as "eh he's ok"

 

I don't dislike him but if he died I'd just shrug. Sometimes he says funny things, sometimes he falls flat. He's not a jerk but he's not that cool either. 

[Hazegurl]

I understand resentment for feeling shoehorned into a mindset.

 

I felt that way about Wynne, during the "What does being a Grey Warden mean to you" talk.

 

All our possible answers (as usual) still give her the perfect opening to lecture us about something we know a lot more about than she does...She just decides she can teach us about it, because that's what she does. My character didn't want to be rude to her, but it became more difficult in those moments. 

 

If you don't care for him, then I can see why you wouldn't want it assumed that he's your darlingest friend in universe.

You're right about that Wynne interaction. She's supposed to be the wise old lady mother figure who teaches you about life, love, and being a Grey Warden. I just wanted her to take her pee stained cat lady hobble stick and get out of my business.

[pablosplinter]

Varric is about the only companion from DA2 I find palatable tbh.

[LOLandStuff]

Yes, you're the only one. Which is abnormal and it boggles the mind.

 

Maybe some more chest hair should fix that.

[CuriousArtemis]

Doesn't the Keep tile say Varric considers Hawke his best friend? It doesn't say Hawke reciprocates, lmao, although that's sad.

 

LOL That's right. "Varric went through life thinking Hawke liked him as much as he liked him/her, but in fact Hawke secretly hated the little guy." So wrong lol

 

My opinion of Varric can be summed up as "eh he's ok"

 

I don't dislike him but if he died I'd just shrug. Sometimes he says funny things, sometimes he falls flat. He's not a jerk but he's not that cool either. 

 

omg I'm not a huge fan but I think I might tear up a bit if the poor guy died lol

[Doominike]

I'm pretty heartless, shrugging would be my reaction to most characters dying. Though there would be a few "Yes!!" and "Nuuuuuu" here and there too

[baconluigi]

Yes.

[eyezonlyii]

Uneducated HEATHENS!  The old rogue with a heart of gold, bro character and you don't like him?  I suppose you philistines all hate Garrus too!

I was actually going to write that I think of Varric as DA's Garrus and how that to me is not a positive association. 

[Doominike]

I like Garrus

[Nukekitten]

Oh, Varric; Mr Walking Defence Mechanism. It... tires after a bit. I like a joke as well as the next girl, but there's this guy hanging around, who I don't really know, and I'm not sure what's he's there for.

It's a bit odd; like an itch you can't scratch. Like I said, tires after a bit.

[Decepticon Leader Sully]

Doesn't the Keep tile say Varric considers Hawke his best friend? It doesn't say Hawke reciprocates, lmao, although that's sad.

Edit: I'm assuming the choice is there to ensure Varric reacts appropriately to you. Isabela probably won't show up and of she does, will mention Hawke as a friend or lover...if she stayed through to act 3.

I rememder that dialog from Witch hunt about Isabela, the Warden and two greased nugs in the Perl.

[MouseHopper]

Thanks for the help AlexiaRaven and for the compliment.  But it still does not seem to be working. 

[noxpanda]

You're right about that Wynne interaction. She's supposed to be the wise old lady mother figure who teaches you about life, love, and being a Grey Warden. I just wanted her to take her pee stained cat lady hobble stick and get out of my business.

Heh thats easy to arrange, recruit loghain, drag loghain and wynne around everywhere, cackle madly at loghain repeatedly putting wynne in her place. I used to really like wynne, then she got grating, then i tried recruiting loghain, then i took too really appreciating loghains sense of humour

 

Anyhow as to varric, i never minded him, he made me laugh, which was a lot better than anders and fenris (urgh act 3 dragging those 2 around felt like a parent driving a car 'i swear if you two dont stop fighting i am gonna turn this adventure around'). My fav duo for tolerating the shoehorning of quests is izzy and varric. Though if you wanna watch varric grimace just drag him round with seb