Dragon Age The Veilguard Criticism Thread (formerly Skepticism Thread) [Spoilers]

I think it would be easier to list what isn't. I've been accused before on the boards of making posts that are too lengthy, so I'll just go with bullet points for the lore they have ruined/ignored, etc, and then suggest you go away and research it elsewhere.

The Qunari - they've been chipping away at them from DAI and continued it in subsequent novels, comics and short stories but DAV is attrocious.

The political set up in Tevinter - Where were the Archon, the Black Divine, the Magisterium? Also, what happened with the whole Antaam invading the east side of Tevinter set up in Trespasser and continued on in both multiple comic series and the Missing? Was that just reduced to a codex too? (I'm still fairly certain the original plot would have been a face off between the Imperium and the Antaam, with perhaps us taking one side or the other. Instead the focus was on the Antaam in Treviso - not even the capital of Antiva.)

Venatori - Why was this organisation that we decimated in DAI, still such a force to be reckoned with? Again, the signs were already there in the novels, comics and short stories. Why?

The Imperial Chantry - Any sign of them at all? Again, the Black Divine should have been opposed to the New Order unless he was at the head of it.   He was set up to be really interesting in Asunder and DAI (Dorian's conversation about him) either as a friend or foe but so far as I am aware there was no sign of him.

The Shadow Dragons - Originally this movement was known as the Lucerni but was confined to just reforming Magisters. Then they destroyed this off screen and replaced them with this daft group, who could have been cool but were pretty useless to be honest. Neve would seem about the only good thing about them.

The Crows - Originally they were the Thedas Mafia. Nations feared attacking Antiva because of them. Reduced to a useless bunch who can't even keep their own house in order or defeat a bunch of dumb ass Tal'Vashoth (I refuse to give that faction the honour of being called the Antaam). Also, the invasion happened way before the arrival of the gods, so why was there no Exalted March as a result of breaking the Llomerryn Accord?

The Grey Wardens - I understood the problem with the First Warden was meant to be he was too much engaged in the politics of the Anderfels and took his eye off what should have been the main focus of their existence. So far as I can tell from what I've seen, he's just an idiot.
The Mourn Watch (formerly known as the Mortalitasi) - Particularly what they did with Emmrich's personal quest and possible outcome.

The Lords of Fortune - formerly the Felicisima Armada but it is a difficult name to remember and spell, plus they were a bit dodgy on the morality front other than when they defeat the Qunari navy at Eastwatch. So let's dumb down the setting and make them twinkly treasure hunters instead.

The Veil Jumpers - Apart from it being a really stupid idea to give them a name so similar to Rook's faction (probably wasn't the case before they changed the name of the game) I'm still not clear how or why this group came into being, how long they had been knocking around in the Arlathan area, etc. I thought they might turn out to be really on Solas' team which would have been a nice twist and would explain where they disappeared to. However, the Missing had already knocked that one on the head (unless they were feigning ignorance of him back then), so they just became a random group with no real back story to explain their existence other than they were researching anomalies in Arlathan Forest. Back in DA2 we were told the Dalish didn't go anywhere near Tevinter and that included Arlathan Forest but the writers obviously forgot that. May be I've missed something.

Rivaini culture - I need to do a bit more research on this but it would seem that very human looking male Sarabaas was training to be a Rivaini seer.  Only problem with that.  Rivaini wise women (seers) are only ever female.  It's part of their culture that woman have the leadership roles because they believe woman are best suited to rule and the most senior of these are the seers.   They also have their own unique religion.   (WoT)  Did DAV show any of that?

I think that is enough to be going on with for the present. Plenty more but I've probably already outstayed my welcome.

To be honest you wouldn't have such dialogue in most games, shows etc. these days. Overall american/western entertainment has become way too afraid of offending anyone. I don't think this is a Bioware specific problem. But you can be "woke" and still deliver quality writing see BG3 or Cyberpunk 2077

Paragon option?   I think you are referencing the wrong game.   Dragon Age in the past was more along the lines of Diplomatic, Snarky or assertive/aggressive.    You could still be a diplomatic arse-hole but you could fool people that way into thinking you weren't.   At least that is how I viewed it.    Sometimes though the writers did tend to regard diplomatic as the virtuous option.   Regardless of what they intended in Trespasser, I always found the "aggressive" disband option the most satisfying and, give the writers their due, what came out of the Inquisitor's mouth was pretty much what I would have said had I written it.   The disappointing part was that I turned my back on them and left the chamber with the words: "Now I'm off to save the world again."   Sadly, that was deception on the part of the writers because from then on the Inquisitor was a bit part player who didn't really save anything, even their own reputation.

Nevertheless, whatever was the case in the past, now every dialogue option is the "paragon" one because constantly affirming everyone in what they do is the message.   Unless they are the bad guys, in which case they are just canon fodder.

Was it ever explained why the Qunari Antaam went rogue and tried to conquer northern Thedas without any support from the priesthood and craftsmen? Last time I checked the former Sten was the Arishok, so was he really bad at doing his job or was there some bizarre extenuating series of events that caused a third of Qunari society to go AWOL?

The Lords of Fortune - formerly the Felicisima Armada but it is a difficult name to remember and spell, plus they were a bit dodgy on the morality front other than when they defeat the Qunari navy at Eastwatch. So let's dumb down the setting and make them twinkly treasure hunters instead.