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The first choice in Dragon Age The Veilguard asks you to decide between your words or your fists. For me, I don't even have to think about it. I follow my heart and opt for the former, always preferring to sweet talk my way out of things… or into things, as the case may be. "You might be too charming for your own good", Varric remarks, and I instantly follow this up by reliving my favorite role-playing approach from Dragon Age 2. How? Well, it's all thanks to the humorous dialogue option. Yes, the purple jokester face that lets you deliver responses with an amusing (sometimes sarcastic) tone in conversation makes a welcome return in BioWare's latest RPG, and it never disappoints.
Whether you're thrown into the middle of the tensions between the templars and mages in Kirkwall, or you're trying to save Thedas from ancient elven gods out in the North, it never hurts to bring a bit of levity to the table, right? As Hawke in Dragon Age 2, I always chose to be the charmer, spinning tales as tall as Varric's and getting out of dicey situations with my silver tongue alone – all the while dropping some seriously funny lines that cut through a story filled with tragedy and darkness. All these years later, I've been recapturing that exact same approach in The Veilguard and loving every minute of it. Not only does it continue to deliver some of the most memorable exchanges, but it also fuels Rook's personality, giving them a charming edge that can't be beat.
Humor and heart
You have to hand it to Rook and Hawke; they sure do find themselves in some pretty extreme situations in both Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age The Veilguard. If it's not Hawke dealing with blood mage rituals and giant spiders, it's Rook fighting against blight blisters, giant dragons, and ancient gods. So why not laugh in the face of danger? For me, it's the ultimate way to play a scrappy rogue who bends the rules and cracks jokes to cope with the horrors they face. Of course, in Dragon Age 2, picking the humorous response came with the added benefit of earning the approval of Varric Tethras, storyteller extraordinaire and crossbow-weidling smooth talker – aka the best friend any rogue could ever hope to have.
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Happily, The Veilguard is also home to a cast of companions who also come to appreciate my wit and charm. And just like Dragon Age 2, I love how the humorous option helps to shape Rook's personality over the course of the RPG. When I have a heart-to-heart moment with Bellara, for example, my tried and true jokester response sees Rook confess that she's not very good when it comes to serious subjects, preferring to lean on humor when things get tough. It's just one response in the grand scheme of things, but I have other conversations that highlight the same trait, and it begins to really feel like I've been building up a picture of who Rook is and how others see her through my preferred dialogue options.
"As a rogue whose actions are determining the very fate of Thedas, I like the idea that humor is like my armor"
Plus, when I'm fighting to save the world — going up against impossible odds and what can feel like insurmountable dangers all the while – making my companions laugh makes everything feel less bleak. What better reward is there than hearing Harding giggle because of something I've said, after all? They say laughter is the best medicine, but as a rogue whose actions are determining the very fate of Thedas, I like the idea that humor is like my armor, helping to shield me from the hardships I face and giving me and my companions the strength to keep moving forward.
As a big RPG fan, I enjoy the dialogue wheel option from a role-playing perspective above all, but it's also just downright fun to embody someone so charming and funny. It never gets old to raise the ire of my enemies by throwing out a sarcastic clap back, or ruffle the feathers of very serious authority figures who just can't take a joke. Varric may think I'm too charming for my own good – but, as Rook replies, "it worked, though." And at the end of the day, isn't that what matters? I get results, and I make people laugh, too. I've never been so happy to see a dialogue option make a comeback.
Dragon Age The Veilguard review: "A true return to RPG form for BioWare".
