22 réponses à ce sujet

[Natashina]

So, this is a topic that I've tried to start in the main forums, but it usually is ignored. Probably not enough drama.

Anyhow, I think that the friendships that BioWare has written is overall even better than the romances. I enjoy the romances quite a bit, but it was the friendships that pulled me into the company. I know this is full of YMMV, but this is all about perspective.

So for me:

ME1: Ashley. Even though she doesn't always live through Virmire, I liked her honesty and bluntness. I felt like her character development over the series was pretty good, but after the third "You used to work for Cerberus" conversation in ME3, I felt the connection fade.

ME2: A tie between Garrus and Mordin. I've read that some players aren't happy about the way Garrus was written to always be Shepard's BFF. I respect that, but I guess Garrus' sense of humor and conflict of honor reminds me of friends of mine in real life.

Mordin had a wonderful sense of humor, a sense of honor, loved art and had a spritual side. No matter how many times I play ME3, the Tunchunka finale always brings a tear to my eye.

ME3: Garrus, again, but with Tali as a close second. I really liked her growth as a character, and she was by far one of the most emotionally honest members of the Normandy crew. She was willing to grow and change, depending upon how the player dealt with the geth. I really liked that.

DA:O: Surprising myself, I found myself pretty close to Morrigan by the end of the game. I enjoyed getting to know her as a female Warden, and having her call my character a sister was a sweet moment. Shale was my other favorite as well.

DA2: Varric and Isabela. I could relate to Varric to an extent, only with my younger brother. Isabela has the best attitude in the series in my opinon. She's not always a great or honorable person, but she's always 100% unapologetically herself. I love that.

DA:I. Cassandra. Even as a player when I talked to her, I could see a lot of her point of view. She also surprised me by being open minded about my dwarf's atheism and my elf's worship of the creators. I admire the character, and I hope we can see her in some minor way in future DA games.

What are your favorites?

[HuldraDancer]

Hmm the only one off the top of my head that sticks out to me was Alistair. I wasn't too crazy on his romance but I did really enjoy his friendship (even more so if I had a warden that was with Morrigan or Zevran at the time) Oh I also really enjoyed the friendship path with Morrigan as a female warden a lot. Might need to replay to see if I enjoyed Shale as much as I remember or it was just hype of having a golem in my party.

[daveliam]

Good question. 

 

ME:  No one, really.

ME2:  Samara and Mordin

ME3:  Liara (I know, I know, but her friendship really ended up in a nice place, I think) and the Vega/Cortez friendship

 

DA:O:  Wynne

DA2:  Isabella, Varric, and Aveline (and "rival" version of Carver -- I know he's not really a friend, but the relationship was a really great one, especially once he comes around and matures a bit by Act 3)

DA:I:  Vivienne and Cassandra

[Undead Han]

DA:O: The dog, obviously. Alistair would be the runner up. I loved the banter between the Warden and Alistair, particularly if you took some of the humorous dialogue options with him. 

 

DA2: Varric. I think Isabela had a great friendship arc as well, but in my playthrough I had Hawke get involved with her romantically. I'd list Bethany as well, but since she's related to Hawke she probably shouldn't count.

 

DA:I: Dorian. He was probably my favorite character in DA:I, and I loved the interaction between him and the Inquisitor. Vivienne also by the end, surprisingly, though with her it depends entirely on the choices your Inquisitor makes. My Inquisitor was a fairly devout Andrastian that chose the Templars over the rebel Mages, so they got along great.

 

ME1: Kaidan. I let him die on Virmire though, partly because I thought it gave the story more impact if Shepard lost a close friend in trying to stop Saren. No victory without cost, and all that.

 

ME2: Garrus, Mordin, and Tali. Tali's a little bit complicated though in that she's overt about wanting to get in bed with male Shep, so perhaps she shouldn't count. 

 

ME3: Garrus and Vega. That said I think the best bromance in the game doesn't involve Shepard. Cortez and Vega FTW! Going down to the engineering deck after missions was always entertaining because of the banter between those two. I think Liara has a great friendship arc as well, though in my canon playthrough she's the LI. I thought the gift scene at the end was somehow more touching on the friendship arc than it was when the two were romantically involved.

[Duelist]

I always liked Isabela and Aveline's friendship. They start out antagonistic toward one another but develop more mutual respect over the course of the game while still taking any opportunity to talk **** to one another when it arises.

 

On the ME side, nothing really sticks out since but if I had to pick one, I would say Wrex. He has the best quips in the series IMO and is calm most of the time.

If anything, I would say it was because he became more like Wrex as the series went on that I started to like Garrus.

[Evamitchelle]

DAO: Morrigan. Fairly standard 'person who has never had friends discovers the meaning of friendship' arc, but I think it's very well executed with her. 

 

DA2: Aveline, though I think the whole Kirkwall crew feels like a believable group of friends. With the other DA games, I get the impression that the companions don't particularly like each other, and are only spending time together because they've got a world to save. Aveline gets a special mention because of 'The Captain's Condolences' (when she talks about her father after Leandra's death), which is one of my favorite scenes in the series. 

 

DAI: Cassandra. I started to love Cassandra really quickly. Like, before the 'Dragon Age: Inquisition' title popped up on the screen. The rest of the friendship more than held up. I really like that an Inquisitor who chooses to keep the Inquisition will quote back Cassandra's words from the beginning of the game, and her smile at hearing those words. 

 

ME1: Ashley. Died on Virmire because I was planning on romancing Kaidan, but I liked her conversations with Shepard before that a lot. 

 

ME2: Mordin. Garrus and Tali also feel like actual friends rather than colleagues this time around, but there's not a whole lot of content if you don't romance them (Garrus especially). Mordin doesn't have that problem. The fact that he blows you off with several different lines rather than the same one every time ("I'm in the middle of some calibrations") really helps. 

 

ME3: After three games I feel like Shepard has a great friendship with all the returning ME1 companions (Garrus, Tali, Wrex, Liara), but I was also surprised by how well Vega fit in. 

[Steelcan]

DA:O Alistair, particularly if you have the conflict with saving Loghain

 

DA2: Varric, partly for want of a better option, and partly cause he's kinda just carrying a lot of the game on him

 

DA:I Dorian, maybe Cassandra

 

ME1 Garrus/Wrex

 

ME2 Mordin

 

ME3 Javik/Garrus

[DomeWing333]

I actually really liked my human mage Inquisitor's friendship with Solas in DAI. We weren't drinking buddies or BFFs or anything like that. It was a more understated sort of friendship, founded on a great deal of mutual respect and understanding of each other's mindsets. Despite our disparate backgrounds, we were peers--equals--constantly challenging each other's ideologies with honest inquiry, without any semblance of euphemism or platitude.

 

It made the ending confrontation with him in Trespasser really poignant to me. We met, had one last round of philosophical Q&A, then I calmly told him that I would stop him by any means necessary, and he replied that he knew. That's it. No extraneous sentimentality or hesitation. The battle lines were drawn and we both knew where the other one stood. I know they're going to need to elevate the importance of the next protagonist in the struggle, but I really hope they'll keep my Inquisitor relevant enough to maintain that dynamic with Solas.

[nightscrawl]

DAO: Shale. Winning her approval and friendship felt really awesome; the transition from "it" to "you" felt real and genuine.

 

Nathaniel Howe. As abbreviated as the follower content in DAA is, I quite liked his friendship arc as well, particularly for a Cousland Warden. I like that he never cuts you any slack, but eventually comes to trust you over time as a result of your words and deeds, and also that he does admit he had blinders on regarding his father.

 

DA2: Fenris. Mage or non-mage, either is fine. Outside of the romance, it seems important that he has someone he knows he can trust.

 

DAI: Dorian. I'm sure people knew I'd say this one. Like Fenris, he has trust issues, and his cynicism makes him wary of other people's motivations. Him seeing that you genuinely care about him, and accept all aspects of him, has a huge impact on him and contributes to his growth. I incorporate this into my romance head-canon, since it seems like he'd have the friendship feelings regardless. For me, they are friends first, and then lovers. I can't think of anything better than to fall in love with your best friend, and have them reciprocate. He also appears to respect and admire the Inquisitor, and I feel that those mutual feelings are important to any relationship.

 

Cassandra. I really like the friendship arc as you see it develop, from the first shots of the game to the final follower cinematics. Even she finds the development surprising! I think the book quest is my favorite quest in the entire DA series.

 

 

 

And... dammit I realized most of my favorite characters were written by David Gaider. *Sigh.*

[vertigomez]

Ohhh, I love this topic so, so much.

Between NPCs, my favorite friendships have been:

Isabela and Merrill
Sebastian and Fenris
Aveline and Isabela
Varric and Merrill
Fenris and Donnic
Felix and Dorian
Dorian and Sera
Sera and Blackwall
Sera and Bull
Bull and Krem
Cole and Everyone

Favorite friendships with the Warden were Zevran, Sten, Dog, and Morrigan.
Favorite friendships with Hawke were Varric, Aveline, Isabela, and Carver.
Favorite friendships with the Inquisitor were Sera, Dorian, Iron Bull, and Cole.

[nightscrawl]

Ooh friendship between NPCs is not something I had considered!

 

Poor Felix... I always get bummed out when I think of him.

[wright1978]

I adore the Isabela - Aveline that builds over time. Feels extremely real and so fantastically completely unpolitically correct too.

[Lady Artifice]

In DAO, it was Morrigan. Morrigan was a source of some frustration for me as a character, but then came her friendship scene. It was so worth it. Claudia Black's magnificent delivery certainly didn't hurt. She said we were friends, maybe even sisters, and something in my heart basically melted with affection for her. Being able to find her mirror and assure her that I would always be there for her was one of my favorite dialogues, and then came the dark ritual offer.

 

I loved the complexity of her trying to convince me to convince Alistair, while knowing that part of the reason for her efforts were for my character's own sake. I felt the significance of that, the intrigue and the bond involved. Morrigan was trying to manipulate my character, and yet my character knew it and loved her for it, in spite of how much she hated the situation. 

 

In DA2, it was Varric all the way. I know that he was basically designed to be the ideal best friend for the "average" DA player, so it may not mean much, but I sometimes felt like he was particularly designed for me. His style and my style synchronized so well that I basically never wanted to do anything in the game without him along. Varric was originally intended to be a really shady and untrustworthy character, and I don't think I've ever been more thankful for something Bioware chose to alter for the finished product.

 

In DAI, Definitely Dorian. He's one of my all time favorite DA characters. His brilliance, his repartee, the way he manages to be conceited and charming all at once. He even hangs out in my favorite place in Skyhold. I loved discussing ethics and redemption with him, and I loved the Mother Gisele scene. 

 

---

 

In ME1, I'm not sure I had one, but probably Wrex. I really enjoyed his dialogue, and the quest involving getting back that armor for him. 

 

In ME2, Mordin, with Garrus in a close second. I love Mordin more than almost any other ME character, because he's awesome, but I do think Garrus' dynamic with Shepard was already one of the best at this point. 

 

In ME3, Garrus and Wrex, and Mordin is still high. 

 

It's really hard to pick just one in the final game. I love Vega, too. Garrus is the character who seems most prepared to be a listening ear for Shepard as well as share with him, but during Tuchanka Wrex called my Shepard his "sister." Clearly, I'm a bit of  sucker for claims like that. 

[SardaukarElite]

The Sten, I think, is my favorite BioWare friendship, even if he is a bit of twit. If you get along there's this understated mutual respect thing I really like, well up until he gets all sappy at the ending ceremony anyway.

 

In DA2 I liked Aveline, because the friendship didn't overwrite who she was. I do like all of them however. Anders is an idiot, but he feels like the kind of idiot who would be in a dysfunctional circle of friends like that.

 

Dorian is the main character in Inquisition who I think feels like a friend. Though I find his dialogue sometimes a little odd to navigate.

 

---

 

I'm less fond of the ME friendships because of the lack of reactivity in them, I don't really count them because of it. That said I do really like Mordin. 

[nightscrawl]

Dorian is the main character in Inquisition who I think feels like a friend. Though I find his dialogue sometimes a little odd to navigate.

What do you mean by this? o.o


Also, was anyone else perturbed by the changes in Varric? I suppose I can understand the reason for them, especially since he had the same writer, but at the same time the difference was jarring. Obviously we weren't meant to have the same sort of closeness with our Inquisitor as with Hawke, but his existence in the game just feels unnecessary.

 

To be honest, if we hadn't had the DA2 Legacy content with the Corypheus tie in, I think it would have better enabled DAI to stand on its own. Varric brought in Hawke who brought in a warden connection. It all felt a bit forced.

[SardaukarElite]

What do you mean by this? o.o

 

By dialogue being difficult to navigate?

 

Generally I have a relative idea where the three right hand wheel options will lead but I didn't get that sense in conversations with Dorian. I also felt there was a bit of disconnect between how he reacted as a character and which approval flag appeared - which makes a certain kind of sense I guess but makes me wonder what information the flags are providing.

 

It might just be a quirk of how I comprehend the wheel, or I'm being unreasonable. It's not really an issue.

[nightscrawl]

No biggie, I was just curious XD. My characters are usually goody-goody types. Also in the romance I typically pick the sappy, touchy-feely remarks, so I don't have too much variation. An example would be interesting! For the most part, even though DAI is not set up that way, I did notice the same DA2 style of top (nice), middle (sarcastic/humorous), bottom (aggressive).

[SardaukarElite]

No biggie, I was just curious XD. My characters are usually goody-goody types. Also in the romance I typically pick the sappy, touchy-feely remarks, so I don't have too much variation. An example would be interesting! For the most part, even though DAI is not set up that way, I did notice the same DA2 style of top (nice), middle (sarcastic/humorous), bottom (aggressive).

 

All the DA games use a sort of broad compassion, clever, aggressive/direct, pattern as their base three responses, even Origins (though it stuck to it the least). 2 was the only one that conveniently flagged them, part of why I like 2 so much but I digress.

 

I tend to favor the middle, clever, snarky, humor responses, which sometimes causes problems because it's not always clear whether they'll come out as supportive or aggressive. ...A bit like real life I guess. 

[SporkFu]

Mass Effect: Wrex. Finding his family armor and the showdown on Virmire ...uh, where no one dies of course. His happy and sincere reaction to seeing shep on Tuchanka after thinking she was dead. Calling Shep a hero of the krogan people and a sister to him. And then of course his rescue at the skycar lot during the Citadel DLC.

In Origins ...hmm, tough one. For female wardens: Morrigan. For male wardens, Alistair. Or Shale for either warden, heh.

In DA2: Varric would be the too easy choice, but I'll go with Aveline because she still had my sarcastic Hawke's back even though the cavalier attitude really seemed to get under her skin.

In Inquisition: Cassandra, especially if playing a non-faithful Inquisitor. I just really enjoyed the portrayal of two people who didn't let their differing beliefs get between them in their struggle to defeat Corypheus and forge the Inquisition.

[Jorji Costava]

No love for KOTOR? My PC's friendship with Jolee Bindo was probably my favorite out of any Bioware game, as I loved his blend of humor, cynicism and charm. Here's one of my favorite bits with him.

 

Beyond that, I would go with Mordin & Legion from ME2, Ashley in ME1, and Morrigan, & Shale from DAO. Also, I always liked that Sten would give you approval for being a bit of a jerk to him; it was an economical way of using the approval mechanic to tell us something interesting about this strange character and his value system.

[Biotic Apostate]

Forgot to post here.

 

ME: if I had to point to anyone, it would be Wrex. There's this sort of mutual respect and support I liked.

 

ME2: Garrus and Samara. Plus Shep's number one fan, Legion. Getting to know Geth and the missions in 3 with him were really neatly done.

 

ME3: Liara. Her gift scene felt really nice as a friend. And if I don't romance him, Steve. He's cute and I enjoyed consoling him, talking with him and his banter with James.

 

DAO: Morrigan. As mentioned, her friendship path story is nothing new, but it was really well done, and felt genuine. And yes, Claudia Black really nailed it.

 

DA2: hard to choose, because they were all friends unlike in other games. The friendships between them were great. Merrill and Isabela and their adorable conversations, Aveline and Isabela going from foes to really caring about each other, Varric taking care of everyone etc. My favourite friendships with Hawke were with Isabella (I love her, really missed her in DAI), and Aveline, because she really felt like Hawke's sister. The marigolds mission remains my favourite.

"This is not funny!"

"I beg to differ."

 

DAI: Cassandra, no doubt. She's respectful about my views, values the IQs opinion, and taking everything into account, including the book scene, there's a sort of closeness that I felt was missing in the other friendships. Also, Josephine, because making fun of nobles with her is a lot of fun. Also this dialogue:

"If I told you the port was a little dry, would you burst into flame" 

"You're joking, right? Please tell me you are joking"

And Sera and Blackwall had a really nice friendship. Because of their conversations, I really warmed up to him.

[Panda]

Not necessary my favorite characters nor romances though they do overlap a bit:

 

ME1: Eh.. You just got to know everyone in this one and none really had good friendship arc in my opinion.

ME2: In terms of friendship I think Jacob's and Kasumi's were quite good in this one, Legion, Garrus and Tali as well I guess, but they were just lot better in ME3 so..

ME3: Pretty much everyone had their best friendship arcs in this one, likely cause the relationships had evolved and maybe Bioware took extra-care on those as well. Garrus is probably my favorite, I felt like he really cares about you and I feel like you are in same boat together: both suddenly promoted in this big leadership role, tried to warn your race of the Reapers, but none listened until it was too late, having to worry about your home planet. And I love how he keeps checking on you and doesn't only complain and angst about his own situation.

 

I also love EDI's and Miranda's friendship arcs here as well. EDI looks up to you and you get to help her out in her quest of figuring out what being person means and Miranda is lot more open ME3. She isn't friendliest person around so her considering you her friend is achievement in itself

DA:O: Zevran. If you are his friend you can count on him always having your back.

DA2: Isabela and Merrill. Merrill is like kitten that loves you unconditionally- how can you not be her friend.. And Isabela is the fun friend- though you need certain type of Hawke to be friends with her. She just ended up betraying my pacifist one.

DA:I. Varric- the hug after Hawke's death got me ;__; Dorian and Cassandra have pretty strong friendship arcs as well.
 

[BraveVesperia]

DAO: Wynne, without a doubt. She's such a wonderful mother/grandmother figure. Particularly when you're bothering her about griffons.   My main Warden was a Surana, so she really looked up to Wynne and valued her advice. I even liked her 'nagging', and she had such interesting stories to tell. Alistair would be the runner-up, since he's like a goofy little brother. It creates a dramatic conflict for the Landsmeet, since I recruit Loghain 50% of the time.

 

DA2: Carver. My salty lil bro. Even though he isn't even in most of the game, I love his relationship with Hawke. My favourite is with Sarcastic or Aggressive Hawke. There's such tension and vitriol between them in Act 1, but he always has your back. If you work to get his friendship up and he becomes a Grey Warden, the transformation in their relationship is just wonderful. Runner up is Aveline, who is practically family. The conversation about her father's death (after All That Remains) is my favourite in the game.

 

DAI: Cassandra. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I didn't really like her in DA2. During the game though, I quickly gained a lot of respect for her. She's so level-headed, open-minded and wise. I felt like my Inquisitor would really look up to her despite their differences.

Spoiler

I'm not sure whether to spoiler tag this since it's a group rather than the forum?

 

I was rather disappointed she didn't become Divine on that playthrough, since it was the one thing that would've kept my Inquisitor from disbanding. My heart melted during Trespasser, when the Inquisitor quoted her "find those responsible and restore order" line and Cass gave that approving smile.

 

ME1: Ashley. I just really liked the relaxed, friendly dynamic between her and Shep. They didn't really talk about the Tragic Backstory or whatnot. Just chats about family and work. It's one of the most natural friendships in the games I think, just two characters' personalities clicking. Unfortunately, it didn't carry through well to ME3. Even setting aside all the distrust, half of her conversations seemed to be about getting drunk rather than just talking.

 

ME2: Mordin, and not just because he's my favourite ME character. I really love the conversations he has with Shep, and the awkward moment when he sings and Shepard is just staring at him like "is this really happening." He's just such an amicable fellow. Shepard doesn't have to agree with him 100% either. The genophage conversations play out really differently depending on your opinion, and it's interesting to see how Shep behaves towards him. Seeing him again in ME3 was marvellous.  Runners up here would be Joker and Tali. Tali didn't get much ship-board dialogue, but defending her against the Admiralty Board was a wonderful friendship moment, as was helping her deal with her father.

 

ME3: Garrus, Joker and Tali. Since they're the old faces, Shep has a special connection with them. I wasn't really feeling the Garrus friendship in ME2, but I really liked it in ME3. That bottle-shooting scene is one of the best friendship moments, and I liked their little chats between missions. It probably helped Shep relieve a lot of stress. I love Shep's dynamic with Joker too. Especially a 'renegon' Shep. They're such different people, but it works. For non-crew members, it'd be Wrex and Mordin. I loved the entire curing-the-genophage arc. Particularly if Maelon's data was saved in ME2 (if it doesn't, Wrex's pretty hostile until the final battle against the Tuchanka Reaper). I also really liked Bakara's brief friendship with Shepard (and Mordin). We don't see her for long, but I loved talking with her.