Romance--show of hands?

[paradoxkitty]

A cursory stroll through the S&L forums told me that the subject of romance options in the game is one oft visited here. When will same-sex romance and [flirt] options be implemented (something I myself would be incredibly pleased to see), how do I romance character A, can I romance character A and character B, I avoided the romances entirely who's with me, and so on.

 

That aside, I'm expressing my curiosity on various aspects of the romance options, and how some players reacted to them.

 

-Did you bother with the romance options at all? Who, and why?

 

-Did you avoid the romance options? Why?

 

-Did you wish you could romance somebody (any NPC or companion) but were unable?

 

Etc., etc.

 

As for myself: Thus far I've only played two characters for any lengthy span of time. My now 50 Sith Marauder, and my not-quite-40 Jedi Shadow. Both men, both light side (though my Shadow does tend to follow darker options when presented with Sith, ironically enough, because of how threatened he feels by them).

 

I'll be blunt: my Marauder is gay. There is no question in my mind. He is 100% interested in men. I never intended to make a big deal out of the fact, so the lack of a [flirt] option with the various male NPCs of the worlds didn't bother me much. I also never intended to have him romance any of his companions. My boyfriend and I created our Sith--his a Dark Side Sorcerer--with the intent of pairing the characters themselves together. We're RPers at heart. We RP, as RPers tend to do. We wove our own story within the constraints of the game and we had a wonderful time doing so.

 

If I was going to romance any companion, it'd likely be Quinn. I even teased at the notion by giving him a few courting gifts--which, amusingly enough, he rather liked. And if my Marauder was remotely interested in women? I'm not sure. He'd view a relationship with Jaesa as incredibly unprofessional, and he views Vette as his little sister.

 

When I created my Shadow I had no clear goal in mind. I just wanted to see what the Republic side of things was like, and I have a weakness for double-bladed lightsabers. I pegged my character as--not so much asexual, as willingly abstinent, as most Jedi seem to be. I still haven't given any clear thought as to his sexuality. Pansexual, I suppose?

 

Regardless, I didn't plan to romance any companions with my Shadow for the obvious reason of: he is a Jedi, he doesn't want to feel that level of attachment to anyone.

 

But--and I'll get a lot of flak for this--if I had the option, I'd romance Qyzen Fess. Yes. The trandoshan.

 

It makes sense to me. He's the first companion I got, he seems quite protective of his "Herald", and occasionally seems to lift him to a point of hero worship (which my Shadow tried rather insistently to downplay, to no avail--now he just kind of rolls with it). Since the romance option isn't there--and wouldn't be there regardless of my Shadow's gender--I just shrug my shoulders and pretend. A lot like with Quinn, depending on how you treat your companion, the dialogue seems to lend itself well to interpretation. You can see a budding relationship, or not. I don't need set-in-stone canon validation to derive satisfaction from a potential story.

 

TL;DR

 

Share you romance stories, wants, or lack thereof.

[Aerithel]

As a female Imperial Agent, I only get one romance option, Vector Hyllus. People have dubbed him Bugman, since he's a Joiner, and there are two distinct camps who either love or hate him as the only option. I wanted to see for myself (though I've found that despite having over 8,000 affection, I can't talk to him anymore and I've no idea why).

[Mutive]

I sort of like Vector, but find the romance to be very meh. He just doesn't seem all that interested in my agent - ever. (He seems mostly to be doing his thing, and she's off doing hers, and I suppose that's fine, but hardly something that brings in a lot of passion.) It's a really tepid romance in my opinion. (I honestly think that we'd be happier as friends. Vector totally feels like a bromance option.)

 

Strangely, Temple *really* seems to be coming onto my female agent. (She's...apparently training Temple in how to seduce people, and Temple *really* likes the lessons and keeps explaining how agents totally make the best partners and how no one else can understand them.) So...go figure.

 

 

Of course, I still suspect that the rivalmance with Hunter is supposed to be the main "romance" in the game. He's a sick, perverted monster - but he really does get the best lines in the game. And while all my IA can do with Vector is claim that she likes him and understands how important the Killicks are to him, she's able to tell Hunter that she'll "follow him anywhere" while he "whispers sweet nothings in her ear". And if I'd rolled a male, I could go even farther...

 

 

I haven't played the other classes, so am hoping. One of my friends loves Aric (aka "Mr. Bossypants Cat Dude" or now "Mr. Meow Mix" - although even 2,000 affection in, she hasn't been able to flirt with him at all, which pisses her off), and I've heard decent things about Quinn...so maybe I just need to change classes to get the awesomely hot romance.

[PuppetSoul]

I'm a male who only rolls female characters.

 

In other Bioware games, I roll lesbian.

 

In this one, I haven't bothered with any of the romance options. I just spam them with gifts to improve their efficiency but otherwise completely ignore them.

 

I use a female companion whenever possible, even when she's not the ideal companion for the situation or spec.

[XjediXrf]

What the hell are you?

[Wolfninjajedi]

Sith Warrior and Vette

 

Smuggler and Risha

 

Trooper working on Dorne

 

Done, and can't wait for BW to add more romance content!

[Nozybidaj]

-Did you bother with the romance options at all? Who, and why?

 

Not really, only romance I even bothered starting was my smuggler and Corso, and only halfheartedly at that.

 

-Did you avoid the romance options? Why?

 

Yes, see below.

 

-Did you wish you could romance somebody (any NPC or companion) but were unable?

 

I'm pretty much cut off from experiencing any of the romance content/flirt encounters till they finally get around to fixing the game and add in the same gender options. I'm quite surprised at how badly BW of all companies dropped the ball with the companions and romances. This is more the kind of thing I'd have expected from a company just trying to add this kind of content for the first time. BW should have known better, I really expected more/better from them.

[Meira_Arirai]

I've played with a couple of characters so far, a Jedi Sentinel and a Sith Sorcerer.

 

My Sentinel pursued and completed the romance with Doc. I knew ahead of time that she was a latecomer to Jedi training, had plenty of time to come to her own conclusions about the way the world worked before she had significant contact with the Order, and was temperamentally prone to let her heart yank the rest of her around, so the idea that she'd be a likely candidate for following through on a romance was an easy one. Doc happened to have the right combination of interest, audacity, and under all of the bluster, a set of remarkably compatible values. I will say, though, that if Lord Praven had expressed an interest, it's entirely likely that she would've been off the market before she even got to Balmorra. A handsome alien with a nice voice and interesting philosophical ideas to talk through would've made an attractive prospect.

 

My Sith Sorcerer has a hetero life partner in Khem Val but hasn't found any prospects for romance. She and Andronikos don't really have any common values and priorities, and he hasn't really evinced any interest in her personally, so she basically ignores him. She had some unresolved sexual tension going on with her master, Darth Zash, but that resolved...poorly.

[MiraSavo]

Female player, playing female JK. I was really looking forward to this aspect of the game. Bioware games are some of the few I've ever been able to play as a female character, have a romance with an enjoyable male character, and have fun playing the game. I am however disappointed with the romance for the female JK.

 

The only romance option I have is Doc. Doc, as a character, I find funny. As a LI I find him lacking. I just can't see my Knight (that grew up in the order, and is mostly light side) having any interest in him. He seems more interested in her anatomy, than her personality.

 

 

My JK tells him very diplomatically that they can't be a couple. He gets all mad and asks why did you bring me aboard then. I remember sitting there staring at the screen, thinking wait a second you asked to come with me on this venture. I have never flirted with you, why would you think I have ANY interest in you on anything other than a professional level.

 

I then told him that most women think he should take a trip into the nearest sun. (or something like that)

 

Since that point he (so far) has stopped hitting on my JK and I find him much more tolerable.

 

 

I've only found 1 flirt option, end of the bonus series on Alderaan. I loved the flirt line my Jedi says, and I can totally see my JK saying that. I just didn't really like who the flirt was directed to. While I did not expect, nor want, her to flirt with everything that moves. I'd like to be able to flirt a bit more often, or with better people. Seriously, male JKs can get busy before getting off Tython, I just would like to flirt a bit more often.

 

Seconding above poster. I'd love for there to be an option for a Praven romance. That character was awesome. My JK would have flirted with him at just about every chance, had that been an option. Sadly it wasn't.

 

Hoping for better luck with my Trooper and Smuggler. Jorgen and Corso seem like much better LIs than Doc. Haven't gotten that far with those yet. My Jedi is my main.

[Ellvaan]

Greetings everyone!

 

We just wanted to throw in a few reminders in the thread as we know that the topic of romancing companions is popular.

 

Please keep your responses constructive and on-topic to the thread's discussion. We ask that if you wish to discuss the Same Gender Romance Arc that you please discuss such aspects in the following thread:

 

Same gender relationships clarifications?

 

We have noticed that some of you have been making use of our spoiler tags which we appreciate! A quick reminder to please use the available SPOILER tags when sharing something that spoils the story! You can use them like this:

 

[noparse]

(Information here.)

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That will give you this:

 

 

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Thank you and enjoy the discussion!

[Lexster]

Ive made male and female toons and have no issue romancing either way. All that happens are a few kisses and fade to black. Not like you even see over the clothes petting, so whatever.

 

As much kissing and more that appears on television or in the movies I guess I just dont get why it is weird even if you arent straight to see it occur in a game. Maybe I just dont immerse myself enough.

[paradoxkitty]

Ive made male and female toons and have no issue romancing either way. All that happens are a few kisses and fade to black. Not like you even see over the clothes petting, so whatever.

 

As much kissing and more that appears on television or in the movies I guess I just dont get why it is weird even if you arent straight to see it occur in a game. Maybe I just dont immerse myself enough.

 

I agree and disagree, I think, but that might also be because of my tendency to want to romance characters that I can't romance for whatever reason; due to gender, or that character just being unavailable in general.

 

It is nice, in a fan-servicey way, to see something visually appealing like that. But I'm not really in this for that--I'm in this for the story potential. I could take or leave that sort of validation.

[Force_Capitalism]

I skipped Vette, and am waiting for a rumoured LS Jaesa romance patch.

 

I was all over Kira. Easily one of the hottest female companions.

 

Skipped Vector. Not into the idea of my femIA to be in the pants of an ant man. I respect him though I find it unattractive. So I just sleep around when given the chance.

 

Haven't really dabbled much in the other classes. Mako seems a little... young, but I'm not sure.

[AetherShanty]

I have 2 fem smugglers (fem irl), the first who is level 50 romanced Corso and avoided all other interactions elsewhere, the 2nd (level 37), is also romancing Corso but has chosen other options too. Will she marry Corso? Hmm probably...he is a sweetie.

 

As for companions that I want to romance but can't, my Sage desperately wants to romance Zenith. I'd love to see that option arrive later on in future updates, she wants to break down those barriers, gain the ultimate in trust and respect from him and find her soul mate there. He's aloof and mysterious, has a voice which I find ever so pleasing (understatement here), and is oh so poetic...take him to Hoth, listen to what he says, I'm such a sucker for stuff like that!

[Trisskar]

Sadly my game time is very minimum due to two kids under 2 (require alot of mommies attention instead of playing quietly in the nursery together *shakes fist* :-p )

 

With that said my lvl 36 character, female, sith assassin has only had 1 on ship conversation with Andron the pirate (The only real companion we can flirt with thus far) so I really havn't had the ability to explore that further....need to get gifts me thinks...

 

My lvl 10 female bounty hunter would be Bi though...I totally see her flirting with mako....along with any hot looking male companions we may get later. So I admit that while I hadnt planned on it before...now I really wish I had flirt options for same sex.

 

I may even roll characters far down the road simply to explore all romance options because it would be interesting to catch those stories

[Trisskar]

 

Haven't really dabbled much in the other classes. Mako seems a little... young, but I'm not sure.

 

I guess that depends on what you consider young :-p Mako strikes me as in her early 20's

[Phyreblade]

...snip...

 

-Did you bother with the romance options at all? Who, and why?

 

-Did you avoid the romance options? Why?

 

-Did you wish you could romance somebody (any NPC or companion) but were unable?

 

Etc., etc.

 

...snip...

 

Share you romance stories, wants, or lack thereof.

 

I've leveled up a couple of characters high enough they've gotten married to their companions, actually. My smuggler married Corso Riggs and my bounty hunter married Torian Cadera. I really enjoyed both romances, for differerent reasons.

 

Corso is light-hearted, funny, and just plain decent. He gives off that Alistair-vibe, a complete Paladin-type, rushing forward to protect all the women of the galaxy, and especially his captain, from any possible bad guy. But the dash of farmboy makes him even more adorable. His one-liners wonderfully compliment the smuggler he follows all over the place.

 

I like Torian even more. Consumate Mandalorian. I started talking to him and had to stop and google Mandalorian culture, just so I could figure him out, in fact. He's straightforward, honest. Brave to a fault. He holds himself to incredibly high standards and seeks to prove himself. He's defined by a strict code of honor. All of it comes off as incredibly appealing.

 

I'll be honest, I pick the characters I enjoy playing very much according to their companion list and who on that list is romanceable. I don't have real issues rolling male or female characters, although I tend to have difficulties playing a male character, only because I'm not male myself. It's hard for me to relate, shrug. I'm starting to think I'd rather create a male Sith Inq than a female but I can't really picture a romance with Ashara. That, or I just like Andronikus that much more. I'm enjoying my Sith Warrior at the moment and Quinn is absolutely scrumptious. But I know where that ends up, too (dang spoilers, why do I look at you?!). Or I may head back to Republic and figure out where my Trooper takes Aric. I just don't know.

 

I think when it comes to what I'm hoping for, I'm just hoping for "more". I'm completely dopey. I want my married characters to be married forever, complete with little babies and white picket fences. I want more conversation, more quests, more "fade to black" and more kissing, just more more more. Arbitrary divorce and the like would just bother the crap out of me. It's bad enough we have to overcome betrayal in one instance. Just let them end up happily (and adventuriously) together.

 

And, yes, I'm a complete sap, I know it and I'm good with it, thanks,

[Karaiblis]

I'd really like more options to romance non-companion NPC's (not talking about the fade-to-black and then no further character interaction kind here), I mean like you can with Watcher 2 or Darmas Pollaran. Even if they don't all end well for you, I like that they carry through the story lines for a while. The one I really want on this list is Czerka's bad boy, Gayem Leksende (he wears black manliner and black lip-liner too, so let him go both ways I say). Edited February 6, 2012 by Karaiblis

[Orlesian]

-Did you bother with the romance options at all? Who, and why?

Yes, as a female I let all of my female characters pursue their romance options as long as they interest me. So far I have completely romanced Malavai Quinn, Vector Hyllus, Doc and Torian Cadera. I'm a real sucker for romance in games and I want my characters to be able to find their soulmates and be happy. That's one of the reasons why I love BioWare games.

 

-Did you avoid the romance options? Why?

Never. Well, I might skip the romances for my Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor if I find out that BioWare plans to implement more straight romance companions in the future since those two romances doesn't quite interest me.

 

-Did you wish you could romance somebody (any NPC or companion) but were unable?

Yes! My Sith Inquisitor is pining for Talos Drellik! *Le Sigh*

[stuffystuffs]

-Did you bother with the romance options at all? Who, and why?

 

Definitely not.

 

-Did you avoid the romance options?

 

Yes.

 

Why?

 

My toons are lesbians.

 

-Did you wish you could romance somebody (any NPC or companion) but were unable?

 

At this point...any female would be nice.

 

Share you romance stories, wants, or lack thereof.

 

Lonely nights and cold showers.

[Scramasax]

The first character I leveled was a female SI and I romanced Andronikos (I tried to dump him but he kept sending me love letters, squick). I really wanted to romance Talos because he's so funny, but sadly, he is not romance-able. I even gave him a bunch of courting gifts, which he happily accepted, but that was pretty much it. I guess he's hoarding them on the ship somewhere (which is almost as creepy as Andronikos' pretending-we-never-broke-up love letters). I'm not sure what my sith is doing to get over her unrequited love...ice cream, rom-coms and shooting lightning at 2V?

 

I have a lot of alts but haven't finished any of the other romances yet. I will say that I wish my female agent could have flirted with Watcher X. But...maybe I have strange taste...

 

Edit to add: I'm not done with the agent story, so maybe you do later...

Edited February 6, 2012 by Scramasax

[ZhiesRivell]

------ Did you bother with the romance options at all? Who, and why?

 

No. I don't bother with them, and I wish I had more story options. I think most of the story line is pretty lame. That is why I spacebar through most of the story, because it is poorly written. Whenever I watch the scenes - it makes me want to leave the game and read a good book. BioWare needs to put their money where it matters - in the script not just graphics.

 

------ Did you avoid the romance options? Why?

 

It is not that I am avoiding romance options. Why would I want to romance with some pre-set responses written by who knows who? I think these options were obviously put in the game, because BioWare knows that it will attract people that can't find that affection anywhere else. Sadly, people need to realize that they could find affection elsewhere if they would develop some character and get some sun. There is also the other set of individuals that like the romance options, because their entire life revolves around sexuality. Unlike those weirdo's - my life does not revolve around that.

 

I get embarassed when I look at the SWTOR community and how they are embracing this. It makes we wonder - hmmm should I even consider playing this game? I think there are many like me - true gamers, who have been rping since the text based games, and yes we know what a true MMO is really all about:

 

Crazy PVP Scenarios and Good Storylines

 

Sadly I am totally unsatisfied with the weak 3 PVP scenarios and lame WarZone areas (with almost no missions by the way) for levels 1-49.

 

And the discussion about same-sex relationships with your companions? C'mon this is a game. With all of the things that need to be improved to include a horribly poor script people are more concerned with how they can't fulfill their perverted fantasies in the game? Not a suprise. I recommend BioWare putting some real efforts somewhere else. How long has this game been developed before it came out? Nearly a decade? I hardly believe it, because I've watched cartoons that have a better plot than this. So much for trying to entertain adults - except those that think they're adults, because they can watch adult movies. There is a big difference...

 

------ Did you wish you could romance somebody (any NPC or companion) but were unable?

 

No. I wish they would take the romance options out and replace it with more plots.

[KTheAlchemist]

No, I haven't had any interest in the romance plots whatsoever. I have no more interest in participating in a straight romance scenario than I'm sure a lot of (but not all, I know) straight people have in participating in a homosexual romance scenario. If they were going to leave it out, I honestly wish they'd have just left it all out of left me a toggle to turn it off so I'm not dodging flirt responses and having to shoot Corso down when he hits on my character for the umpteenth time.

 

I hope they do it sooner than later, and do it right. Honestly even though I've heard they've given news to the contrary, they need to just add the option into existing companions rather than only in new companions. Doing it all in new companions...to do that right, that would be a minimum of 2 characters per class for a grand total of 16 new companions? With full voice? No, I sincerely doubt that. Instead, they'll do at BEST 2 new companions per side, at worst 2 companions for everyone in the whole game, which will get very stale very fast across multiple characters.

 

It's much less work for a much better product to simply add new voice lines where necessary (and it won't even be necessary for every line of dialog) and simply add ways to opt-into the plot later in the game, which will be a nice bonus for hetero characters who made unwitting mistakes earlier on.

 

I have no stories, and my experiences / stories are "watching my male companions get pissed yet again because I don't want to boink them."

Edited February 7, 2012 by KTheAlchemist

[Space_Chicken]

 

------ Did you avoid the romance options? Why?

 

It is not that I am avoiding romance options. Why would I want to romance with some pre-set responses written by who knows who? I think these options were obviously put in the game, because BioWare knows that it will attract people that can't find that affection anywhere else. Sadly, people need to realize that they could find affection elsewhere if they would develop some character and get some sun.

 

I get embarassed when I look at the SWTOR community and how they are embracing this. It makes we wonder - hmmm should I even consider playing this game?

 

That's a bit harsh, many people enjoy romance novels & romantic movies. Do you think "hmmm should I even consider being friends with this person, as they obviously can not find any affection IRL or are obsessed with sex?" when someone goes "Ooh, I really liked [a romance novel/movie]! I liked how X was and Y developed, and I liked Z a lot too."? I'm willing to bet you don't.

 

Some people enjoy romance novels. Some enjoy romantic movies. Some enjoy romance sub-plots in video games. Some (like you) seem to want to keep romance in the real world, but that's no reason to generalize every single person who likes fictional romance.

 

 

Anyway, to the topic at hand.

 

I played through the MConsular romance on my main and liked it, although it felt sort of rushed seen as you only pick up your romantic interest after Belsavis, meaning you get a tonne of affection from dialogue choices so after 1 planet you can grind off nearly every companion quest one after another. But I'm interested to see how it develops through further content patches & expansions.

 

I played the SW Jaesa romance on my alt and liked it as well, DSJaesa seems to be pretty much the complete opposite of Nadia [MConsular romance] personality wise, and it was fun to get to see an emotional side to someone who's pretty bloodthirsty and crazy.

[Erevan_Kindelar]

My BH is getting very cosy with Mako at the moment, and while my male Sith Sorc would LOVE to get it on with Zash (only level 20, so she is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet), and my male Sith Marauder is wondering what tricks Vette can do with her Lekku, my IA is strictly a one-night stand girl and seems to be working her way through the Galaxy's eligible bachelors.

 

My female Jedi Sage is strictly a spinster (warm hearted and gentle, but you will get a glow-rod shoved somewhere if you take your pants off around her, and then you will find out why Obi-Wan will tell Luke to "Use the Force"!).

My female Smuggler and male Trooper have not got far enough to really define the romance elements yet, but I suspect the Trooper is the old-school type who puts duty above all else, and will leave the army as a battle-scarred pensioner who sets up a small cantina and finds himself a blonde 20-something girl with silicone breasts. Probably the smuggler loves her ship more than anything, and no man could compete with that for longer than one night.