This might as well be an option because I have no shame.
3 Likes
Hey guys here’s an idea: talk to said RO and if you like them, flirt with them. If you don’t, platonically talk to them.
@rinari said that some RO will not appreciate not being flirted with and will lose points because of it. =/
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… should I keep flirting with Blade then…? xD
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Really? So even if I don’t like them but want to be friends, I have to flirt with them?
Well that’s good at least.
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Let me see if I can clear things up… 
So in the game, you will need to max out your relationships/friendships with recruitable characters in order to unlock achievements, gain bonuses, and find endings for each character that’s different from their default path. Romance is completely optional aside from these relationships but will give you different scenes, interactions, and relationships with the characters (obviously).
Maxing out relationships/friendships: Takes however many approval or affection points that will get you to 100%. You gain approval with characters by spending time with them, making decisions in the story that they agree with or approve of, getting them the right gift, being a good friend to them, and choosing dialogue options that they would like when interacting with them. For example, Trouble responds more to honest and blunt dialogue than, say, sympathetic or gushy exchanges.
Example–
Trouble: Hey MC, I found a puppy outside!
- Let’s adopt it! (Trouble +3)
- Let’s kick it! (Trouble -900000)
Romance: In order to successfully romance a character, you must 1) have a certain amount of approval/affection with them and 2) you must trigger their romance flags. The romance flag system works differently for each character so I won’t bother describing it in full here, but needless to say, you could max out a relationship with a character without ever hitting a romance flag with them and diverging the relationship into a romantic one. For some characters you just need to hit a certain amount of romance flags before they get clued in to the idea that you want something more. With some others you just need to hit specific romance flags in their storyline (for example a flag in chapter 3, when you’re having a conversation with Y about X thing). Romance flags are not always tied to the most-explicitly flirtatious options and, again, those options may even result in a loss of approval for certain characters (depending on their personalities).
Example–
Tallys: What are you thinking about, MC?
- How luscious your breasts are! (Tallys -1)
- How great puppies are! (Tallys +2)
- How we could help the Elves out of their predicament! (Tallys +5) (Romance flag #1 triggered)
As you can see, romance flags are about saying or doing things that would make that character fall in love with you, not necessarily just picking flirty options until they’re ready to bang. They’re all looking for different things because they’re different people, so they’ll fall in love with different personalities and choices.
The game will always ask you if you want to proceed with a romance or reject it, as well, so if you do happen to inadvertently cause a character to fall in love with you, you’re not automatically locked into anything with them.
Happy endings: These are achievable with all characters whether they’re friends or lovers (though the endings will be different depending on if you’re romantic or platonic, along with a myriad of other things)–but you won’t automatically have a happy ending with a character just because you romance them. Your ending with every character will depend on the choices you make in the main story, your interactions and decisions with the character in question, and whether they’re alive and recruited by the end of the game. (No pressure!)
I hope that all makes sense! There are even more functions and variables to factor in, too, but I described it in the most streamlined terms I could. 
26 Likes
[takes detailed notes] 
- Kick puppy = bad
- Help elves = Tallys romance?
- Recruit everyone
Man.
Man, oh man.
I’m going to spend entire months replaying this game, I can feel it!
15 Likes
I now fully expect puppy kicking to be the Blade romance flag
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I hope not. 
But I got the feeling he’s not the type though.
@rinari
In terms of the mechanics, if I understand it correctly, our MC have to act a certain way in order gain their ROs happy ending? I’m just a bit worried that our MC have to compromise their personalities in order to appease the RO.
Didn’t Blade say he want to protect the weak and the innocent with his life though? I’m sure he’d like to protect animals too
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Except geese.
Geese don’t need his protection.
They need to be eradicated, the evil beings that they are.
Whoa, hey. Freudian slip there, my bad.
4 Likes
I’m like 95% sure geese count as endarkened, so I think we’re in the clear
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MC: Hey, Blade, look over here! strangles a goose while kicking a puppy
Blade: (swoons) Well done, recruit…
@resuri08 Yes, happy endings are not automatic, so getting them depends on your choices. About your concern, there are a few different happy endings, a few different sad endings, a few different neutral endings for each character, so there’s no one right way to play it–and it will be less about appeasing the RO and making them happy and more about how your decisions guide them, their development, and the story at large. Will so-and-so end up a happy and stable person because this or that happened to them in the story, or because you told them this or that? It’s more like that rather than just making them happy. In fact, some ROs may not be too happy with you or have conflict with you at points, but it will ultimately lead to a better ending for them. But as I said, I don’t think there’s one set way to do any of it! I don’t want to railroad and hope to give the players plenty of choice and let them see how those choices unfold organically.
17 Likes
Thank you for the info. This is good to hear and I look forward to exploring the world and characters. =)
1 Like
[takes more notes]
- puppy kick + kill goose = marry blade
Interesting… 
Anyway.
What I’m wondering now is if, considering how different all the Shepherd’s viewpoints are, would it even be possible to actually get 100% with all the possible companions?
One of my favorite aspects of Dragon Age: Origins was being able to max out everyone’s friendship (thank you Feast Day Gifts! without you I would have been stuck faking my opinions to Sten just to get his gatdang approval!), aka being the heart and soul and commander of my ragtag group of outcasts, and the savior of Ferelden.
It made me feel like a hyper-competent dark fantasy Jesus, lol.
4 Likes
with DA it was kind of like “what they don’t know wont hurt them”. Right? Basically if you didn’t bring them along to every mission you didn’t have to worry about your decisions affecting that relationship. Which is a bit unrealistic.
Yeah I like to be friends with everyone (let’s face it everyone is awesome so far) but I would understand if rinari doesn’t do that in this game.
6 Likes
I remember I tried to get a good relationship with Fenris but I supported mages so every time I brought him to the party the approval suffered a big hit so eventually I had to just leave him most of the time.
2 Likes
@Frogs
The moment I recruited Wynne, Morrigan was almost constantly left behind in camp because she did not appreciate my altruism, lol.
That said–
the moment Morrigan called my Chantry-thumping human noble rogue a sister...
TOP TEN MOST HEARTWARMING ANIME MOMENTS
For the most part you could avoid almost all relationship drops if you don’t take certain companions with you for certain quests or decisions.
And Sten…has, was, and always will be the most difficult person for me to try to raise his opinion of me, so thank the Maker for all those paintings and portraits.
I should clarify my above post then, about how I don’t expect the game to follow DA to a T, I’m only using DA as an example because…well, I can’t think of any other CoG that comes as close to this game in having such deep and detailed companion interactions, only the DA series (to my knowledge) is comparable (which really puts it into perspective what @rinari is trying to accomplish).
But I do still think it’s worth asking whether or not there’ll be an achievement for being Beloved, lol.
5 Likes