Finished the game. Sad thoughts and replays [Full spoilers]

Nonsense. The Evanuris desperately clawed their way out of the Fade because Hawke was coming for them.

Provisional Viscount Aveline: "It's a real nice town for a city."

I don't get that you guys cannot tolerate it that much that you pressed escape yet you talk about the game and grieving every day lol

Solas is a black hole of not so great writing imho.

I'm surprised. The first time I played DAO it affected me in a way no other game had. I've told this before but it does no harm to repeat my experience. When I turned down Morrigan's dark ritual I knew that was likely going to lead to my Warden's death. I guessed that Riorden wouldn't make it but it still didn't make me feel any better that I anticipated it because I knew from then on my Warden was fighting his way to his death. Then when I was about to do it, up stepped Alistair and said I should let him do it, for friendship. I'd made him King but it was clear he never wanted it. He said he would make a lousy King but he could do this one heroic thing as King and sacrifice himself for his people and his friend. In that moment, I realised if I was truly his friend I should let him, so I did. That just blew me away. I was so invested in the world that I was that Warden and all the emotions I felt at the time and in the aftermath were genuine. I was glad we had defeated the Arch-demon and saved Ferelden but I was sad for Alistair and didn't feel I deserved the Hero title they gave to me. That belonged to him.

Why I am glad I haven't played DAV is that I feel much of the emotion they create in you is very manufactured. It relies on your previous connection with characters like Varric rather than what you might feel coming to the game for the first time. I had not been happy that he was being used a third time in the setting, particularly as he had no particular reason to be suddenly the Inquisitor's second in command and had his duties in Kirkwall as Viscount to keep him in the south. Now we know why, to give that plot twist later in the game. However, would a new player feel the same way about Varric as old fans would? Wouldn't have been better to have allowed time for Rook to build a genuine rapport with Varric before going after Solas instead of just telling the player they had one? Wouldn't it have done more justice to Varric to have had Rook aware of his death when it occurred, so Varric could have been grieved for properly by the people who knew him, like Harding, and given an appropriate send off? No, instead they had to give a sort of reverse of the kid in ME3, where someone Shepard definitely hadn't been aware of before the beginning of that game suddenly haunts their subconscious. In this case, they explained it with blood magic mind control or something like that.

We knew there were going to be emotional moments because back in 2020 they hinted there could be character deaths. However, why Davrin versus Harding specifically? Why wasn't it a choice between all the characters to lead that mission? No, they deliberately chose the two companions that would likely give you the biggest kick in the gut (particularly when they make Assan die too) and all because the allegedly best assassin in Thedas failed to hit his mark again. I do think they should at least have made it possible to save Assan if you had bonded with him previously. Apparently though that made no difference to the outcome whether you had done Davrin's personal quests or not, or am I missing something there?

Something I am also curious about, does the outcome at the end with Solas depend on your choice at the end of Trespasser or does Rook make the final call? Since you are a Solasmancer I assume you would have been given every option available or were you railroaded into letting Lavellan reunite with him and go together into oblivion? (Or wherever you like to imagine they ended up) Basically, even if Lavellan (or any other Inquisitor) wanted to "redeem" him, could Rook just go nah, bye, bye Solas?

Also, did you get the secret ending and how did you feel about that? For me, whilst a lot of what was revealed in DAV actually confirmed my previous theories, I think the fact they ignored the Keep indicated they really wanted to forget everything that we had done in those games and so DAV was really meant to be a way to start afresh in a revamped setting. So, I prefer to stick with my memories of the old one.

Failing at his job so badly he not only didn't take out his target but also joined their party .

As gerva said: he wanted to fail and die. He did that on purpose unlike Lucanis.

I agree that the ending is a much better place to be than the cliffhanger of Trespasser.

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Varric.
How did I not see it??

I didn't see it either. I did have it spoiled to me though unfortunately a few hours before the reveal, but I felt played regardless lol. Very well done by BioWare.

Davrin was my love interest, and when I sent him off and lost him, I was pretty devastated. 4/4 on the tragic romance option, I guess. Lmao.

I wanted Davrin and Bellara with me in the final fights, both for elf reasons and just for having my LI with me, and it's hilarious how it paid off for my romance arc cause let me tell you I would have been devastated.

But... I feel Davrin makes more sense for a heroic sacrifice than Harding. I feel torn about future playthroughs.