KotFE, KotET and Romance

[BlueShiftRecall]

I'm not against the idea, though for myself I'm not particularly interested in romancing any of the old companions.

And yeah I wish Charles would post more too!

 

I'm still holding out for Talos, oh that first [flirt] how you tease me.

[Eshvara]

I'm still holding out for Talos, oh that first [flirt] how you tease me.

 

Aric !!

 

Id never romance anyone else ever again if Aric became avail for all..

 

I can't say I share these feelings. I only have eyes for Arcann, until then, all my toons will remain single! Should it never happen, then I don't need anyone.

 

But hey you never know! Maybe scourge romance is the key to all that used to be impossible.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Eshvara

[notanjelika]

Add Zenith to the "love boat", pretty please? :)

[Ylliarus]

I can't say I share these feelings. I only have eyes for Arcann, until then, all my toons will remain single! Should it never happen, then I don't need anyone.

 

But hey you never know! Maybe scourge romance is the key to all that used to be impossible.

 

Oh I definitely think that the story team is working on already or at least is in the later stages of brainstorming this idea as in the thread about the lack of a male force user romance for a female character he says he is aware it is being heavily requested. I'd also think it could be a narrative with a lot of intriguing dynamic so I'd definitely want to try it out on a toon! I do however get the apprehensions some get that state Arcann is after all a person who committed mass genocide more than once... so they'd have to be very careful to not sweeten it up or downplay it.

 

I'm still holding out for Talos, oh that first [flirt] how you tease me.

 

Oh that would be very interesting indeed! It would add an additional romance to the Sith Inquisitor definitely as they have very few options, so far only Ashara and Andronikos. But I would definitely like to see Talos being available to more than only the Inquisitor.

 

Add Zenith to the "love boat", pretty please? :)

 

That would be a cool idea! I always was surprised he couldn't be romanced by the Jedi Consular. He is a very loved character and I could see the potential in a romance with him. Still, I'd hope for him to be available to all classes in the end because I really really would want the story team to consider opening up Vette, Torian, Jorgan, Kaliyo, Malavai, Dorne and so on for all classes to romance. It really would broaden the currently limited romance horizon of KotFE and KotET.

[Eshvara]

Oh I definitely think that the story team is working on already or at least is in the later stages of brainstorming this idea as in the thread about the lack of a male force user romance for a female character he says he is aware it is being heavily requested. I'd also think it could be a narrative with a lot of intriguing dynamic so I'd definitely want to try it out on a toon! I do however get the apprehensions some get that state Arcann is after all a person who committed mass genocide more than once... so they'd have to be very careful to not sweeten it up or downplay it.

 

I'm pretty confident in Arcann romance happening. And there will be those that are unhappy with it, hopefully they'll get someone they like at some point!

[Ellisande]

The romances are completely devoid of chemistry and center on characters with absolute no growth or development. Neither I nor my paramor have any reason to love each other.

 

The only SWTOR I really liked was Malavi Quinn.

 

The best Bioware romance was with Alistair in Dragon Age: Origins.

 

The best Black Isle romance was with Aerie in Baldur's Gate 2 if you also romance Viconia on the side to get the Aerie-Viconia bickering even though Viconia makes me wretch. Interestingly that is also the only romance between all Black Isle-Bioware games that lead to one of the partners being impregnated and then giving birth.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Ellisande

[Eshvara]

The best BW romance for me was Garrus, Solas a second. But his betrayal still hurts my poor little heart today!😥

[Ellisande]

The best BW romance for me was Garrus, Solas a second. But his betrayal still hurts my poor little heart today!😥

 

No Tali love!?

 

[Eshvara]

No Tali love!?

 

 

Lol! But no, not really. Tali always dies in my story as she can't have my Garrus.

[Ylliarus]

No Tali love!?

 

 

I really like Tali! She is so innocent and sweet, I really identify with her I will admit and I think that is why I like her so much because I recognise myself in her

 

The romances are completely devoid of chemistry and center on characters with absolute no growth or development. Neither I nor my paramor have any reason to love each other.

 

But regarding romances in SWTOR I do agree with this statement, too often it indeed lacks passion and depth. Like in Mass Effect 3 at the end when Shepard has to make that run to the beam and prior to that their LI gets hurt, that is what a romance scene should look like, that gave me the real feels. I really hope to see that kind of quality with romances in the future narratives of the game. I think the romances in the original Mass Effect trilogy are truly the best that are out there and they're written by Bioware so that only proves they are more than capable of doing it, they just don't apply that to SWTOR for some reason

[Ellisande]

I really like Tali! She is so innocent and sweet, I really identify with her I will admit and I think that is why I like her so much because I recognise myself in her

 

 

 

But regarding romances in SWTOR I do agree with this statement, too often it indeed lacks passion and depth. Like in Mass Effect 3 at the end when Shepard has to make that run to the beam and prior to that their LI gets hurt, that is what a romance scene should look like, that gave me the real feels. I really hope to see that kind of quality with romances in the future narratives of the game. I think the romances in the original Mass Effect trilogy are truly the best that are out there and they're written by Bioware so that only proves they are more than capable of doing it, they just don't apply that to SWTOR for some reason

 

I don't think all of the SWTOR romances are devoid of chemistry though. Some of the vanilla romances DID give me the feels. The problem I have is with the current characters, Lana and Theron et al. You don't have any real shared moments with the characters. You don't grow with the characters. All those moments happened back in Vanilla. These new characters constantly pop into and out of existence. You don't spend 4 planets chasing after Lana, beating down her master and convincing her to join you because you actually have a good heart and only pretend to be evil to fit in while her master actually has an evil heart and only pretends to be good to fit in with the other Jedi. Lana is simply there to give you information and then effectively disappears once she has given you the information. The information she gives you isn't even that interesting or useful. She doesn't tell jokes, she doesn't open up her heart to you and weep over how hard it is to try convincing all the other Sith in the Empire to stop being so bloody and pointlessly evil. She is never constantly being afraid of being stabbed in the back by someone gunning for her position. She gives you no reason to care about her and asks for no reason to care about you. She simply suddenly cares about you because Chapter 2 requires her to suddenly care about you. If she were to suddenly die of a heart attack I'd feel nothing.

 

Lana is a character written by a person who is more interested in the things going on than in the characters and their motivations. Theron is the same.

Edited August 15, 2017 by Ellisande

[Suzsi]

I don't think all of the SWTOR romances are devoid of chemistry though. Some of the vanilla romances DID give me the feels. The problem I have is with the current characters, Lana and Theron et al. You don't have any real shared moments with the characters. You don't grow with the characters. All those moments happened back in Vanilla. These new characters constantly pop into and out of existence. You don't spend 4 planets chasing after Lana, beating down her master and convincing her to join you because you actually have a good heart and only pretend to be evil to fit in while her master actually has an evil heart and only pretends to be good to fit in with the other Jedi. Lana is simply there to give you information and then effectively disappears once she has given you the information. The information she gives you isn't even that interesting or useful. She doesn't tell jokes, she doesn't open up her heart to you and weep over how hard it is to try convincing all the other Sith in the Empire to stop being so bloody and pointlessly evil. She is never constantly being afraid of being stabbed in the back by someone gunning for her position. She gives you no reason to care about her and asks for no reason to care about you. She simply suddenly cares about you because Chapter 2 requires her to suddenly care about you. If she were to suddenly die of a heart attack I'd feel nothing.

 

Lana is a character written by a person who is more interested in the things going on than in the characters and their motivations. Theron is the same.

 

Arics romance does but its all in the voices on that one, accept for their reunion which jad that great hug animation.

The fact is for the most part romances have been given zero new animations.. its been the exact same kiss on all chars and romances since day 1. Doesnt matter if its a happy kiss, sad kiss, desperate kiss its still the same, move in, kiss, smile. Often does not suit the scene. New kiss animations have been badly needed for a long while. And other things to really. Cheek brushed with fingers, foreheads touching, eye expressions all needed but absent.

[Ylliarus]

So the Devs have been rather very silent lately, but in a PM to Keith I asked if he could have a look at this thread or have someone from the Dev team do that. In his response to me Keith said he'd send it over to Charles to have a look at it, so I'm hoping we'll receive a reaction from the Dev team in this thread sometime soon!

[IoNonSoEVero]

I don't think all of the SWTOR romances are devoid of chemistry though. Some of the vanilla romances DID give me the feels. The problem I have is with the current characters, Lana and Theron et al. You don't have any real shared moments with the characters. You don't grow with the characters. All those moments happened back in Vanilla. These new characters constantly pop into and out of existence. You don't spend 4 planets chasing after Lana, beating down her master and convincing her to join you because you actually have a good heart and only pretend to be evil to fit in while her master actually has an evil heart and only pretends to be good to fit in with the other Jedi. Lana is simply there to give you information and then effectively disappears once she has given you the information. The information she gives you isn't even that interesting or useful. She doesn't tell jokes, she doesn't open up her heart to you and weep over how hard it is to try convincing all the other Sith in the Empire to stop being so bloody and pointlessly evil. She is never constantly being afraid of being stabbed in the back by someone gunning for her position. She gives you no reason to care about her and asks for no reason to care about you. She simply suddenly cares about you because Chapter 2 requires her to suddenly care about you. If she were to suddenly die of a heart attack I'd feel nothing.

 

Lana is a character written by a person who is more interested in the things going on than in the characters and their motivations. Theron is the same.

 

I haven't romanced Theron, but I disagree in terms of Lana. In the Forged Alliances storylines it's a very slow burn with her where she won't even hold your hand at first, and very gradually learns to take her guard down, and IMHO it's sweet to see the trust between the characters unfold, especially if you're both Sith. And on Ziost you get this whole conflict where she's way in over her head, doesn't want to break down and admit she cares, and then finally does. In KOTFE and KOTET she does have a lot of exposition, but if you romance her you also get these moments where she's completely stressed and worrying about you and sends you these really heartfelt emails, and the veneer chips away even more. She does joke around occasionally, as well. It's not a traditional romance but I think it's a very genuine one.

 

I do wish there were more - if they did the equivalent of the companion quests in the vanilla stories and added more with all the love interests interacting with the players, IMHO it would have been much better.

[Suzsi]

I haven't romanced Theron, but I disagree in terms of Lana. In the Forged Alliances storylines it's a very slow burn with her where she won't even hold your hand at first, and very gradually learns to take her guard down, and IMHO it's sweet to see the trust between the characters unfold, especially if you're both Sith. And on Ziost you get this whole conflict where she's way in over her head, doesn't want to break down and admit she cares, and then finally does. In KOTFE and KOTET she does have a lot of exposition, but if you romance her you also get these moments where she's completely stressed and worrying about you and sends you these really heartfelt emails, and the veneer chips away even more. She does joke around occasionally, as well. It's not a traditional romance but I think it's a very genuine one.

 

I do wish there were more - if they did the equivalent of the companion quests in the vanilla stories and added more with all the love interests interacting with the players, IMHO it would have been much better.

 

This to me is a lot like how Theron's romance unfolds also.

 

He is a loner and used to working alone.. but his slow burn also slow burns into KoTFE / KoTET.

 

He has had flings before, but never anything serious is the impression I got and at first in SoR it was mostly just a fling but one he found himself wanting more from. Then in KoTFE you find that out when you realize he waited for 5 years for your char to come out of carbinite.. but even then he is still 'shy' about PDA ( public displays of affection ) so all flirts with him in the beginning are quiet, on the side ones until slowly over time he opens up more no matter who else is around. It takes him a very long time to say the L word, that doesn't happen until KoTET. He doesn't trust easily.... it felt like a very natural progression for his character and his VA work is very good.

 

Aric's is another slow burn and his VA is amazing. It's always been telling in his voice right from the start, when he was first jealous of the flirting with Jonas ( not obviously so like Corso, more subtle in like we should be focused on work not personal pleasure and what not - the tell was in his voice tone ).

 

He was / is quite professional and also a little gruff around the edges so I think for him it wasn't just a breaking down his own personal barriers but also his professional ones ( to allow anything with his CO ). The underneath the gruff exterior is a very soft, caring personality.

 

He by far had one of the best reunions, not only in the hug animation they were given ( the -im want to hold you and never let you go again hug- ) but also in the voices, you had 2 amazing VA's in the one scene there and the voices say everything. In this game, with very few 'new' animations ever being added for romances, voice is everything because the animations show so little its reliant on the voices to do it. They really do need some new stock kisses and such for romances, its really got to the point now where i cringe if I know a kiss is coming because that exact same kiss since day 1 for all romances, rarely fits the moment.

[IoNonSoEVero]

This to me is a lot like how Theron's romance unfolds also.

 

He is a loner and used to working alone.. but his slow burn also slow burns into KoTFE / KoTET.

 

He has had flings before, but never anything serious is the impression I got and at first in SoR it was mostly just a fling but one he found himself wanting more from. Then in KoTFE you find that out when you realize he waited for 5 years for your char to come out of carbinite.. but even then he is still 'shy' about PDA ( public displays of affection ) so all flirts with him in the beginning are quiet, on the side ones until slowly over time he opens up more no matter who else is around. It takes him a very long time to say the L word, that doesn't happen until KoTET. He doesn't trust easily.... it felt like a very natural progression for his character and his VA work is very good.

 

Aric's is another slow burn and his VA is amazing. It's always been telling in his voice right from the start, when he was first jealous of the flirting with Jonas ( not obviously so like Corso, more subtle in like we should be focused on work not personal pleasure and what not - the tell was in his voice tone ).

 

He was / is quite professional and also a little gruff around the edges so I think for him it wasn't just a breaking down his own personal barriers but also his professional ones ( to allow anything with his CO ). The underneath the gruff exterior is a very soft, caring personality.

 

He by far had one of the best reunions, not only in the hug animation they were given ( the -im want to hold you and never let you go again hug- ) but also in the voices, you had 2 amazing VA's in the one scene there and the voices say everything. In this game, with very few 'new' animations ever being added for romances, voice is everything because the animations show so little its reliant on the voices to do it. They really do need some new stock kisses and such for romances, its really got to the point now where i cringe if I know a kiss is coming because that exact same kiss since day 1 for all romances, rarely fits the moment.

 

Theron and Lana both have trust issues in their way, don't they? Even if one doesn't romance him, it takes a while for Theron to warm up to the player, especially if they are Imperial. In the first interactions he's almost confrontational (there's a line where the SW comments that he's from the Republic - not in a hostile way, just asking - and he's all "yeah? You got a problem with that?" But by the time he comes back in KOTFE he's very sweet and you can tell he actually considers the player as a friend. It's really authentic.

 

With Lana, she's saying "my love" all the way back on Ziost, but she doesn't actually say "I love you" straight up to the player until the events of KOTET are over and done with - but she shows it in all sorts of ways. There's one scene with her that I love in Chapter 5 of KOTET, where she discovers she can feel the player through the Force more, and she's so thrilled that she has this ear to ear smile that she's never had before.

 

Those slow burns are really genuine, IMHO - the characters get to know each other over time and develop trust.

 

Aric's actually the only male companion I'd ever consider romancing in the vanilla stories (but I don't want to play the Trooper, LOL). He's pretty cool. I've watched the reunion on YouTube, and it's incredibly well done, that hug and that line where he says "I've been a widower for five years..." and needs a moment to process it all.

 

The voiceover artists in SWTOR really are phenomenal, I agree. The voices they cast for each character really seem to fit perfectly.

[Ulzare]

Are ladies really that desperate for a male force user romance, you'll go for the man that locked their characters away for 5 years, tried to kill them numerous times, nearly destroyed the galaxy and everything they worked for?

 

Yet Quinn 'betrays' them once, and he ends up dying violently for it over 1/2 a decade after the fact?

 

Surely there are better options out there.

 

actualy a really good point i just realised that the only vanilla male force user companion is actually guss and pretty sure no one wants him tho on the quinn subject yes its been 5 years after the fact but thats 5 years of me waiting for the option to slowly and painfully slay him

[Ardrossan]

Exactly! Acina would have been a very interesting romance option especially if you'd be able to marry her. That would truly make the alliance you set up with the Sith Empire feel more worthwhile, or with Jace Malcom if you pick the Republic as your ally. Adding [Flirt] to a dialogue option is not the same as actually having a romance narrative. That is something I feel Bioware has forgotten sadly.

 

Didn't you find Acina's character a bit jarring? I get that they had to go pretty far down the list of eligible Sith to find one competent enough to rule the Empire, but this one is way too nice and accommodating. Even playing through that chapter with imperial characters I kept waiting for the inevitable double-cross. I decided not to make an alliance with her simply because she was just too diplomatic to be convincing. Even Grandpappy Sith would have taken the <force choke> option after one too many snarky comments from the PC while hiking through DK's rainforest.

 

I disliked Lana for the same reason. She's a DS Sith, supposed to be smart-evil [hmmm...] but instead she just lacks passion.