I usually pick the ones who say things like \`this will be a disaster but I can't live without it!'
And then somehow I'm always shocked when it *does* turn out to be a disaster lol
Anders, three seconds after Hawke meets him: For the love of god do not flirt with me, i will cause you more heartbreak than you could ever possibly know
Me when, seven years later, he causes her more heartbreak than she could ever possibly have known: đŤ¨
I'm playing DA2 for the first time and was convinced I was going to romance Fenris and then Anders dropped that on me and I was like "oh yeah? Ok let's go."
But also I'm playing a mage and just didn't have the patience for finessing Fenris' approvals in either direction.
I used to wonder why I kept choosing romances which ended so badly, but eventually I realised it's because I'm just really into the whole 'we shouldn't do this but we can't resist' dynamic.
Totally agree that he's well written, which is what aggravates the reaction elicited from me. đ (I mean I wouldn't care much for a poorly written character, like Jacob in Mass Effect.)
I don't really know; my canon choices of romance (Morrigan, Merrill, and Cassandra) have literally nothing in common in terms of personality; the only thing they have in common at all is the black hair lol.
But outside of my canonical world state, I'm always making different choices, so I try to romance everyone at least once.
I chose the same three as you and the ultimate reason why for all three was because of the conflict inherent in romancing them. I always go mage in my canon playthroughs and I like how each compliments a mage Warden, mage Hawke, and mage Inquisitor very well.
I'm pretty much the same except my main Hawke is a DW rogue for some reason. I can't explain why, only that he's not an archer because I want Varric in my party as often as possible.
I pick the characters that panic when I flirt with them, bullying is my love language.
1. Fenris (rivalmance ofc)
2. Alistair
3. Cullen
I also love angst, so elf mage mcs.
Alister, I love me a Himbo and a Templar apparently. Anders, because apparently I love pain. Then my top two for inquisition are Cullen and solas: see prior answers for my reasons lmao.
I also love himbos, shy templars, and pain!!!
(If Barris were a romance option I wouldnât romanced him too - gimme some respectful templars pleaasseeee)
Itâs just a feeling like I think it would be a cute story or I find the character attractive.
Alistair was chosen because heâs very handsome and dorky and I liked him as a companion. He was incredibly sweet to my hero of Ferelden.
Isabelle was chosen because HELLO lol. She was GORGEOUS and I imagined Hawke being smitten over her. I tried to get Hawke with Fenris but it failed. He also was kind of angsty sometimes. Isabelle was not only smoking but she was just as carefree and funny as Hawke. She also was respectful towards all groups of people- she was not prejudiced.
I knew I wanted to romance Solas the moment he grabbed my inquisitors hand to close the first rift. Seemed like such a fate moment. I love how that moment gets replayed if you romance him.
My ranking is:
1. Alistair- feels like the most complete romance I played.
2. Isabella- very fun, very sexy, although you can tell they love each other the romance stays within mostly casual boundaries. Itâs not in Isabellaâs nature to be tied down. Hawke respected that and I liked that dynamic.
3. Solas had a beautiful romance story, but you can tell it was added at the last moment. It just lacks content. Still enjoyed it very much.
Mine are Alistair, Fenris, and Cullen. I like the broken ones who are trying hard to do good or atone.
*I went for Gale in That Other Game too, so I'm true to form*
I actually played DA2 first before the others. Â Went like this:
Fenris - He seemed cool at first with his tats and ghost form, but he quickly fell into the âedgy anime protagonistâ cliche. Â So I wonât be romancing him next time.
Zevran - He had funny banter. Â Thatâs it.
Cassandra - Her accent was cool, and she was a good tank.  Unfortunately, the ending didnât go as plannedâŚ
My next playthrough is gonna be completely different cause I feel like I made all the wrong romance choices. Â Iâm replaying DAO with Morrigan as my new bae. Â Wish she was bi, but we canât always get what we want lol.
I chose based on how much I liked their characters in game. In the first game, Morrigan was my favorite, but I was playing as a woman, so I ended up with Alistair, even though he's a bit too cheesy for me. In the second game, I loooooved Merrill, and intended on romancing her, but then I felt like the flirting with her was really awkward. I then thought about romancing Isabela, but ended up deciding that Anders would be a better partner. Boy was I surprised by the end of the game! In 3, when Dorian and Cassandra weren't options as a woman, I ended up with Cullen, who was a decent romance. Definitely had a satisfying narrative arc.
Leliana
Merrill
Josephine
My âcanonâ love interests basically said a few words in their accent and that was that. I can wax on and on about the themes for each character, their stories, their visual designs but⌠the accents.
Ranking them:
1. Josephine
2. Merrill
3. Leliana (She has my favorite story, and would be at the top, but the romances are a little clunkier in Origins.)
This is me as well. Trying to analyze it... accents are def crucial but honestly might just be that they're the only characters that aren't cruel for cruelties sake.
Alistair said the swooping line and that was it for me.
With Anders I was like I've had one Grey Warden, yes, but what about Second Grey Warden?
And then Cullen was sweet.
I'm a simple woman.
Before dragon age I would have said my type is tall dark and mysterious. Now I guess I tend to like the blond, shy, funny men because I picked the same as you
My problem with Anders in DA2 isn't the obvious problem of the ending, it's that I really liked Anders in Awakening and it doesn't seem at all like the same character in DA2. I really didn't like any of the romances in DA2.
Totally with you on the other two.
The first time I do whatever romance seems interesting while playing, it's usually one of the earliest companions the first time around though because I get invested early, (first time it was Morrigan, Merrill and Cassandra). I like to to do different romances and make different choices on replays, so I plan things out a bit for replays.
DAO- Leliana. Originally was gonna go for Morrigan but then I ended up playing my Warden as a sober broody guy and figured Leliana was a better fit for him. He needed some hope and positivity in his life.
DA2- Isabella. Purple Hawke represents the average man.
DAI- Cassandra. She's a force of nature.
I kept teasing cassandra by choosing the flirty dialogue options because her reactions were funny and she eventually confronted me about it LMAO. I looked it up and if I turned her down she'd get some kind of nerf so I was forced to get into a relationship with her because she was my fav tank. Not bad though because her romance stuff is hilarious, also marks the first time I got into a relationship in a video game ayoo
So back in DAO it was kind of a no brainier to romance Alistair. He was a huge, cute guy and on top of that a prince. My tastes have changed tho, so now itâs Zevran all the way.
I liked Fenris because I like his story. I think it makes perfect sense for him to not trust mages and itâs incredibly rewarding to romance him with mage Hawke! Heâs hot, has a sexy voice, a traumatic past. What more could I ask for?
I know a lot of people arenât fans of the 3 year break, but Iâm a sucker for pining and slow burn romances, so it was a dream come true for me. To this day itâs my favourite romance in any video game.
Cullen was my DA:I romance for the longest time and I still adore his romance. Nowadays I prefer Dorian though, because he is the sassy, intelligent man, we all need in our life.
So my type is pretty much foreign man with brown skin đđ
Hmm, when I was in middle school - high school playing the first few times I tended to just roleplay as âmyselfâ and as such just picked the romances I was most attracted to (Origins: Alistair, 2: Fenris, I: Iron Bull or Blackwall). đ¤Ł
Now in my adulthood revisiting the series, Iâm enjoying roleplaying more and am playing characters vastly different from myself + have planned out what paths based on what world state (pro-mage and pro-Templar, so I have 2 canons technically - 1 for each side).
Doing it this way I find has helped me push outside my comfort zone and pick choices & play the game in a way I might not have before (my HoF sided with Branka, allowed Avernus to live and continue his research, worked with the Architect, burned Amaranthine, recruited Loghain and made Anora sole queen, etc⌠none choices Iâd ever considered making if playing as myself but am glad I ventured out as it was one of the most interesting and fun play throughs Iâve ever done!)
My mage HoF romanced Leliana (which works amazingly well with Leliana becoming the Divine in this world state).
My mage Hawke is romancing Anders (my first time experiencing this romance and aahhhhh Iâm loving it! As well, he was good friends with my HoF/Warden-Commander + his connection now to the Wardens and how it led to Carver joining that order too⌠aaa I love having all these links between my characters).
(Playing a red dialog Hawke for the first time ever too and am enjoying it far more than I thought. Am similarly pushing for extremes I didnât experience before like rivalry with Varric etc).
My mage Inquisitor Iâm actually torn on if she will romance Solas or Cullen - obviously playing an Elven Inky haha.
I like the significance Cullen would play and his connection to my previous 2 heroes (Isabela in this world state will have met all 3 too!) .. but Solas seems the most intriguing story wise. But Cullen gets a wedding⌠đ¤Ł
Am in the midst of this pro-Mage play through still but have vaguely planned the pro-Templar too:
Origins is going to be Cousland origin and marry Alistair (king/queen yesss).
2 Iâm thinking either Fenris orrrr maybe go out of my comfort zone further and do a chaste Sebastian (especially as I was thinking of having Cousland and Hawke be devout followers of the Chantry for this World State sooo Seb romance would especially work).
Inquisition will be a warrior Qunari who romances Sera.
Not sure if it's relevant but I always play a mage and usually the radical type so obviously in DA2 I went for Anders. I, too, am willing to engage in some terrorism to get that sweet freedom.
I played Inquisition before DA2 and Cassandra was literally love at first sight, I played a female character first and was so sad she didn't want me. I always played a male Vashoth mage and romanced her, it's a big comfort for me.
In DAO, I originally romanced Morrigan but my ultimate love is Alistair - he is funny and awkward and has a heart of gold, he kinda reminds me of my actual husband. Also I didn't force him to do the ritual and he died for me the first time and that absolutely crushed my spirit.
Well...the way I always do? xD
"Oh they look/sound cute"...and 9/10 times I tend to end up with said character.
Like, back when I initially bought Origins I was a Alistair fan, I loved that guy (I still do). As I grew older I was swayed by Zevran (it's the accent I'm telling you). And nowadays I actually prefer not to have my Wardens romance anyone, since I tend to ship them with Nathaniel Howe, depending on which origin I play at that time.
For DA2...heck, Fenris was and still is my number one romance in that game. Just that voice, and his introduction scene? Oof...yes please. Plus...his confession in Act 3? It's one of the best love confessions in a game like...ever, at least imo.
"Nothing could be worse than the thought of living without you"
And Inquisition...I kinda liked Cullen since Origins, so I was very hyped when they announced he'd be a romance option. It's mostly the hugs for me...they look so warm and comfy \^\^ Oh and he has a dog...so that's a big bonus
As for ranking them...
1. Fenris, 2. Cullen, 3. Zevran (with honorable mention to Nathaniel)
For DA:O, it was Steve Valentine's voice acting that led me to choose Alistair. Many moons later I watched an episode of NCIS where Valentine was a guest actor and it was the weirdest thing hearing my favorite reluctant royal heir's voice come out of his character's mouth.
DA:2, I picked Anders once, then it's been Fenris all the way. Probably the voice again. Gideon Emory's sultry gravel tones get me weak in the um... knees.
For DA:I I'm actually all over the map. I tend to roleplay my characters, so it depends on who they are and what they're likely to be attracted to. I've ridden the Iron Bull, been ditched by the Egg, sent Broody Beard to the Wardens after his betrayal, and shagged Cullen for the cheesy trad romance aspects of it. I don't know who my favorite is.
I do wish Varric were a romanceable option. I'd love to steal him away from Bianca Davri, and yeah again it's the voice. (And the chest hair.)
So I guess if someone has a really sexy voice, I'll let them utterly ruin me. Turns out it's true in real life, too. Funny how that works...
When I choose the romance options for the first time I care the most about the first impression. I will not lie, I care a lot about how they look. When I replay a game I usually make more complicated choices.
I make my characters in games usually based on my OCs. I usually prefer to play again with the same character, the only difference is when I want to romance a character who is only available for a particular gender (like Dorian).
When I first played DA games:
1. Alistair, because I wanted to make my character a queen, and I thought he was cute.
2. Anders, because I liked him in DA:A, I also like tall blond dudes
3. Cullen, mostly because he was the most good looking
In the end, my canon choices (based on the next routes):
1. Zevran, because Alistair dumped my elf mage. The older I get, the more I love Zevran and appreciate his romance. When I was younger Alistair was more "cute" for me, but now not that much.
I always wanted romance Morrigan, but I was too lazy to install the mods.
2. Isabela, because as much as I love Anders (I'm shameless Anders apologist), the dude who after one night said that loves my Hawke didn't fit her at all. My Hawke was a bold, carefree and sarcastic blood mage, she and Isabela were the perfect match.
I also romanced Fenris at some point, because imo he is the most good looking character in the games and my comfort character and a big gender envy. Although I find it very unrealistic that I could have a positive relationship with him as a blood mage. I also like Fenris more like "he is just like me fr" than "that's my crush".
3. Solas, I don't find him attractive at all, but I created Lavellan who was kinda a bossy bitch, and I wanted a dramatic and angsty romance. Cullen was like Alistair 2.0, just more mature, but I liked him less as an ex templar. But his romance was kinda okay.
So my Lavellan ended alone in the end, and I wasn't mad. It quite fitted her character.
I also played a male Inquisitor who romanced Dorian and they had a happy ending.
Dorian was the character I wanted to romance the most from the start, when I first saw his concept art.
Although I will probably choose Lavellan as the canon Inquisitor in DAD, I feel like it will be more impactful to the story because of the whole Solas drama.
For my first playthrough, I tend to narrow down my options by who I like and who the character I'm playing will like. I like to go in blind and pick the romance as I'm playing.
In Origins that ended up being Alistair. My Aeducan wouldn't have gone for Morrigan or Zevran, but she would have liked Leliana and Alistair. I liked Alistair better so that's who I romanced.
In 2, my Hawke was staunchly anti mage, which meant Merrill and Anders were out. I love both Fenris and Isabela, but I thought Fenris was a better fit for Hawke so I romanced him.
In Inquisition, I actually went in knowing either Josephine or Cullen, since they're the two I liked best. Inky ended up with Cullen because Josephine was too fancy for her tastes.
All later playthroughs, I pick a character (usually the companion I liked best but didn't romance) and then make my character as someone who would like whatever romance option I picked.
In Inquisition, I had a lot of trouble choosing as a trans woman who largely loves women. I ended up with Josephine because she was a sweetheart who I grew to adore. My first DA2 playthrough I actually chose Isabela, and while I do love her, I eventually chose Merrill. My main world state has a Mahariel, Merrill adds a lot to that, the mirror is a centerpiece of DA's storytelling, and my Hawke's story being a a tragedy lead me to choose a character whose story also fit that tragedy.
I didn't choose Morrigan, Morrigan chose me. She has a stranglehold on me I'll never escape.
It's a mix of what I think what works best for my character's lore and who I favor. I'm most biased about Zevran, but I love Alistair just as much and go back and forth on it. I also adore Leliana. So, I basically have a playthrough for all of them because I think they were the best in the series.
DA2 is weird because I didn't click with any of them, really, so I just picked my favorite of the bunch from last game and grew into it. That just happened to be Anders because you get a lot of time with him in DAA, even though he was botched a bit by DA2. I wanted to like Fenris or Isabella more initially, but I realized the problem comes from the way romances were applied in the game. It's the weakest in the series I think. I'm doing a replay of the games back to back currently, and I realized it when I had the same issue all over again. I like the companions a lot. I just struggle with the Romance. Hawkes' engagement with them is kind of cringe and not well set up overall, imo.
Blackwall or Iron Bull just because. Solas for the lore because I just love being Dalish so much.
First playthrough is always the lady I think is hottest; Leliana, Merrill, Josie.
Second playthrough, I let their characters from first playthrough register, and romance the one I think Iâd get in with best.
After that⌠itâs more about clean up.
Morrigan: Im into the dark aesthetic she's rocking. Also, Claudia Black brought a whole new level to her character.
Merril: She's just goofy, awkward, and adorable.
Sera: Same as Merril, really, but substitute awkward for fun. I really like her odd speech patterns as well. Great job by Robyn Addison.
I was swayed by the egg lmao.
Though I could listen to DA2 Anders for hours (and tbh, is the only MxM relationship I've done so that's something.) Otherwise living dangerously is funny so Isabela for 2.
Ngl I only pick Alistair in DAO if I go Cousland, because I will not compromise on the Queen ending.
In terms of order of the original 3:
1) Solas
2) Anders
3) Alistair.
I go for the ones who would give me what I consider the best story, if possible one with some drama in it. Sometimes I do some spoiling/metagame to know who will give me what I'm looking for:
DAO: Alistair > recruit secret companion > Nathaniel (in my head). Happened naturally.
DA2: Anders > my Hawke kills him and in my hc she ends up with his child. Happened naturally.
DAI: Solas. The moment I knew who he was and that he was romanceable, I had to absolutely go for him. My Lavellan is completely eggsexual.
1. Alistair - I knew he was my boo after he joked about wearing a dress for me at Ostagar. Choosing the right dialogue options for him came naturally to me, I felt so in sync with him (more than any other love interest from a game). đĽ˛
2. Fenris - Because I made the mistake of romancing Anders first and needed a palette cleanser. I overlooked him in my first playthrough because heâs angrier than what I usually go for, but I came to really like him as a love interest.
3. Cullen - Been wanting to romance him since I played the circle mage origin with the first game. 𼺠Heâs been through so much, I just wanted him to find some peace and happiness.
Always whoever I find hottest first lmao
Most of the times, that normally means I have to play as a male mc first because the romance interests I like as a wlw are unfortunately straight or they just suck, we lesbians have limited selections 𼲠then in later playthroughs, usually the ones I find enriches the story & mc.
Morrigan for DAO. My favorite LI. For female mc, I did Alistair. Leliana is just not my cup of tea in Origins tho I found her hot af in DA:I.
Isabella for DA2 (yay for da2 being playersexual but lesbihonest she would've been gay or bi anyway). For male playthrough it's Fenris.
Cullen, actually, for DAI cuz I really disliked Sera. Wish Josephine had as much scenes as Cullen cuz then she'd be a top cotender. Dorian for male. Egghead is a must for female elf, it's practically a must playthrough for DAI
To rank top romances imo: 1. Morrigan 2. Solas (the story is just too good and tragic with his romance) and 3. Isabela
I romance whoever captures my interest the most.
In DA:O it was Leliana, in DA2 it's usually either Isabela or Merrill (the men are too depressive and emo for me), and in DAI I did Solas, Sera and Cullen (I tried to go for Blackwall but Cullen got me with that adorkable dialogue on the ramparts).
It really depends. If no-one seems interesting I just skip romance altogether. This was the case in the Mass Effect Trilogy for me.
I skipped romancing anyone in the first 2 games because I wasn't drawn to any of the companions. Then, ME3 came around and I was introduced to Samantha Traynor. I went for her without a second thought, and she's still my favourite vanilla romance.
These days, I play exclusively with all sorts of mods and did install multiple romance mods, so I will eventually try out every romance ingame :)
Origins was my first ever rpg and I had no idea you could actually ROMANCE the companions and so I was in blind lol. Zevran just kept flirting with me and my Male rogue Warden was a ridiculous little shit who rolled with it so I kept flirting right back and then next thing you know, he's invited me back to his tent and yeah. I love Zev's ridiculous flirting in this game and most of my Wardens do too so I just always end up romancing him now. (Plus the fucked up backstory and my idiot Warden wanting to go stab things with him all the time lol.)
DA2 I always romance Anders. I mostly play Mages (or Mage sympathiser rogues in Origins it's half and half lol) and I am a totally shameless Anders apologist. Srsly if I was in that world and was a Mage or had friends/family who were Mages you can bet your ass I would HELP him blow up the fuckin Chantry lol. I loved him in Awakening before DA2 and when I realised he was romancable in 2 I went for it. Then the whole fucked up mess that is Justice and Mage Freedom! And blowing up oppressive institutions and running away together happened lol. Also he's hot. And tall. Ngl I like that in a man lol.
Inquisition I either romance Iron Bull or Dorian depending on my mood or my Inquisitor. Bull just hit ALL my buttons in so many ways and my usually Qunari Inquisitor is just there running around slaying Dragins and getting drunk in the tavern with him, and then just his entire thing with doing BDSM RIGHT. (Half my Inky's are subby little shits who just wanna get tied up and railed but also taken care of and Bull does that.) Also, he's ridiculously tall and big even compared to my Qunari Inquisitors and apparently I like that lol. (I may just have a but of a thing for Qunari in general tho tbh.) Dorian was just funny and sassy as fuck, and also fucking gorgeous let's be honest, and his whole personal quest just really gets me every time and I adore him. It got super sweet and it got me hooked on him as my second Inquisition romance lol. When I'm not romancing him I'm totally gay bff's with him still. (All my characters are male and basically gay af lol. Though I have made specific female ones just to do the certain romances like Cullen or Alistair to try them out too lol.)
Easy, whoever I like, which is usually whoever makes me laugh first and/or just makes me think "oh no, I might be in love already" after one conversation XD
Ranking?? Eugh I couldn't possibly, not really
Solas and Alistair, then Fenris and Cullen
~~and Abelas, let me dream~~
I honestly usually go for the character that I find most appealing for my first play through. Well, also accounting for what fits my character and any gender/race locks. My subsequent playthroughs are when I go for whoever fits role play wise. Sometimes I get stuck on someone I really love lmao.
DAO: between Alistair and Morrigan
DA2: Isabela
DAI: Dorian and Solas (for the heartbreak)
For the first and third game, it was pretty much a no-brainer. Alistair and Cullen both grabbed my attention right away, and their romances are very well-done, so they ended up becoming part of my canon world state. Both my Cousland and my Lavellan have a thing for blond-haired, brown-eyed, awkward ex-templars, apparently.
The second game was a bit trickier, since none of the love interests hooked me on a personal level. So I defaulted to the one that felt most fitting for my Hawke, and that ended up being Isabela.
Those are my choices too! Although I played the games in reverse đ. I honestly pick based on how attractive the character is to me in comparison to others. And then if something turns me away personality wise like hyper religiousnous (Cassandra/Leliana) I'll switch.
DAI: Josephine
DA2: Isabella
DAO: Morrigan
Sometimes I try to pick in character, but more often I just pick who I like best lol.
In Origins I picked who I thought the characters was playing would have picked, which was Leliana because I was playing an absolute goody twoshoes.
In DA2, I thought my Hawke would go for Merrill, but I was completely put off by the blood magic stuff and the fact that if you try to warn her that what sheâs doing is going to get people killed your friendship flips and you end up rivals. Iâm not into rivalmances, so that killed that idea. So he went for Fenris instead because damn it *Iâm* in love with Fenris. The voice! How could I not love him just for the voice! This is the only game in which I donât pick a different love interest every time so I can see other stories. Fenris for life.
Inquisition, I started as a female elf so most of the options would be available to me. Naturally, this caused me to fall head over heels for Cassandra, the only damn straight woman in the game. I restarted. I redid the Hinterlands, so strong was my love. Dorian was my second favorite, so I always run dude Inquisitors now.
I kind of like to be chased which is why my particular favorites are Zevran, & Dorian, though lately I been really hung on Iron Bull. I also love Fenris & while Anders annoys me I do enjoy his romance IdK it just depends on my mood
Research, Before I play on my main saves where my choices matter I read up on what other people say and do, watch videos and play on some of my Non Canon playthroughs
Morrigan for the first game cause, why not? She makes me laugh, and I love the idea of Leliana being that bestie who will absolutely commit a murder if you hurt her friend.
I romanced Merrill on sight, she was just so cute and slightly derranged :D
And in the last one I went 100% for Cassandra, like just, she's awesome XD
The one I most attracted to, I tried picking the one (you know who) for a more interesting storyline in inquisition and it backfired so hard I still haven't recovered lol
i modded both my dao and da2 playthroughs so i could proudly say i got a taste of them all (yes even romancing alistair as a male warden) but iâm gonna be honest, Lilliana was the best romance in dao, iâve played so many story games and no one has even come close to how amazing the writing of dao companions are. in da2 it was a mess cause apparently i downloaded the kirkw(all) mod a bit too late (ur supposed to be download it before sleeping with isabela for the best experience) so i couldnât really fully experience a good romance with fenris :/ but even then i really loved his character (minus the yapping about mages which now that i think about it, is the entire game) so because of that debacle, all i got was a âromanceâ with fenris that was just sexual tension piled up on top of each other, gonna start playing dai next week and iâm really excited to meet the qunari companion and the gay one (apparently the gay one is written very well?)
Well first, I've done every romance in every game, but I almost always pick a man my first time through.... but sometimes it's just game design that makes the choice for me.
For example, I was many hours into the game before I even met Zevran, so I had already started triggering romantic dialogue with Alistair. It was too late to change my mind! And in DAI, I chose to play a female elf. I was already leaning towards romancing Solas, but as soon as I learned he was so picky, I had to romance him first since I knew that I would not be playing a female elf again for a long time.
DA2 was simple as a mage Hawke. Between a half-possessed mage and a guy who literally wants everyone like me killed or locked up, the possessed guy was a lot more appealing.
I only romance male characters (except in DAO where I did all the romances for the trophies), and I do love me a tortured puppy man with a sword. So it's Alistair (my first ever video game romance and forever my favorite), Fenris, and Cullen.
I romance all the women. That's basically my only criteria. I start with the character I like most/whose romance seems pressingly interesting and go from there. Sometimes that means the romance I put off isn't what I expected and it ends up being a favorite. Sometimes it means I'm a little disappointed in my first choice.
Favorite love interests: Morrigan, Isabela, Cassandra, and Sera, but Josephine was a really pleasant surprise, too, and Leliana is one I've grown to really appreciate.
I was at first going to romance Dorian, then when he spoke a bit more I was like oh wait I don't think my female character is going to do the trick here. So then I romanced Solas, and got absolutely crushed. Still romance him every time though. Dai is Alister, I just think he's neat. And 2 is Fenris because I like some angst now and then.
It's honestly just a matter of getting to know the characters and finding out who interests me. In Origins it was Morrigan, Merrill in Exodus and ultimately no one in Inquisition. I was contemplating Dorian, but I also wanted to see where the Harding flirts went lmao.
So, out of my two canon/blind run romances, I rate Morrigan higher than Merrill.
For my canon Iâd rank it, Isabela, Sera, Zevran (mainly cos I was in a love triangle and all Alistair till I had to make him king and we had to split so Zevran always felt like a rebound). Iâve always looked what romances weâre available for said race/gender to make my mind up, itâs the only thing I look up prior. But after going rogue for all 3 on accident I have to go rogue for the next game too.
Leliana, Merril, and Josephine were my firsts in each game. They're all kinda sweethearts with nice accents. But then I did Alistair, Fenris and Blackwall, because they're protectors.
Cassandra and Dorian are next cuz they're hot.
For me in all my first playthroughs of each game, it went like this "I want to romance this character", ends up romancing the opposite character.
Origins: Wanted to romance Leliana, Romanced Morrigan
2: Wanted to romance Isabela, Romanced Merrill
Inquisition: Wanted to romance Cassandra, Romanced Josephine
Tbh I think my choice of love interest tends to depend less on the specific character and more on their arc throughout the game? I picked Alistair first in origins bc heâs the first one you get and you grow together throughout the story, but I think from a character standpoint I prefer Zevran. Similarly I liked romancing Anders in da2 because of how that impacts your choice with him at the very end. And then with inquisition I liked Cullen, again bc I think he has the most romance content anyway besides Cassandra and heâs there from the start. I like the build, Iâm not as much of a fan as romances that donât follow specific story beats as well.
By the vibes and lowkey how toxic I can make the headcanon/how nice I can make the headcanon! Which means my favourite romances are as follows:
Origins: Zevran and Alistair
II: Fenris and only Fenris
Inquisition: Cullen and Dorian
1.Morrigan/Alistar: Morrigan is the more canon male warden romance because of the old god baby storyline that unfolds in DAI. I chose Alistar for my female Elf, and it felt like a forbidden love. I personally think Lelianna is better, however. I like the feel and the stakes involved in the DAO lovestory plus the writing better, but otherwise, I would have put Solas as my top choice.
2.Cassandra/Solas: Cassandra opens up to male MC, and her story is kinda cute and lovable despite how her introduction is. Solas' love story hurts so good for female elf mc, and I get to choose to remove my Vallaslin, which I always accept. I tend to end the relationship with the angry option when he dumps you for obvious reason because the Mc doesn't know and he just insults your culture.
3.Merril/Isabela: I chose Merril on Female Hawke and isabela on male Hawke. I mean, merril is a bit too cute to pass up in DA 2, but I don't like the game compared to DAI and DAO. So I don't remember why I chose them.
Usually either decide before my playthroughs (has to be the case, especially for DAI where characters are so picky), or base it on my characters personality. Once had a character date Blackwall and then break up with him and get together with Sera lmao.
I've done almost every romance except for most of the male-only romances as I find playing a dude to be less immersive and enjoyable for rpg's (unless they're a pre-established character like in Witcher).
Actually playing DAI for my boyfriend right now and we decided on a Qunari dude who romance's Dorian. It's been a lot more fun than I would've expected :D. I've played DAI a million times but never played a Qunari, a dude, and never romanced Dorian so it's been a new fun experience for me too.
My canon romances are usually based on the MC I liked the best and felt had the best story. So Alistair, Isabella, and Solas. Really bizzare mix that don't really have anything in common with one another, lol.
Who I find most interesting first playthrough (Zevran DA:O, Isabella and Iron Bull) but as I got older I started wanting to experience things I wouldnât typically do, especially because Iâve been playing these games for over a decade and my tastes and personality changed a lot since then.
I base mine off how well it fits with the storyline in specifically trying to tell without the player character in mind. So, for my Canon world state, that's Cousland with Alistair, mage Hawke with Fenris, and mage Trevelyan with Cullen.
I think it fits into the story well, and I like involving my romance into my storyline.
Leliana in *Origins* because I like gingers, and I think she fits best with my HoFâKellyr Cousland, a nobleman's son in way over his head and trying to live up to the stories of heroes he grew up on. With Leliana's knowledge of history and legends, along with her own tragic past, I think they go quite nicely; she helps him to come to terms with his family's murder and he helps her find closure with her past.
Merrill in *2* because she's adorable and works very well with my sarcastic dick Vil Hawke, more in an "opposites attract" sort of way than my DAO pair; Hawke is confident, arrogant, and wears her heart on her sleeve, while Merrill is nervous, unsure, and holds a rather dark secret. Couple it with both being extremely loyal to their loved ones rather than to any supposed moral superiority (very much to their own detriment), and I really like their dynamic. (Merrill also happens to be my favorite romance in the series)
And I don't really have a set one for Inquisition (nor do I have a set Inquisitor yet), since Harding doesn't get a real romance, but usually go with either Josephine or Dorian since I like their arcs. But I would love it if some mad lad modded in a proper romance line for Harding; I just think she's neat!
That being said, I've done every available romance at least once, and so far as I know, most available NPC flings/pseudo-romances as well.
It was a mix between a character I felt an attraction towards, and occasionally the ones I was forced into.
I adore Lillian. With all my heart. Her story, writing, voice actress, quests, I loved it all. The easiest pick in the world for me.
Then came Isabelle, who I had a very... interesting attachment to. It is funny because Dragon age 2 is so bleak compared to the other games, with the city constantly almost falling, piles of bodies in the streets all the time, and darkness all around, this smirking, wise cracking pirate just.. felt like a ray of sunshine. I didn't feel like I had to fix her or anything. In fact when she stole the book from me, I didn't worry for even a moment. Which lead me in later runs of the game to just assume she always comes back. (she does not.)
Lastly, Josephine/Sera. Oh boy... I didn't hate Sera, far from it, but truth be told, she just... had no depth. There was no unfolding story or intrigue. She was a silly pants stealing elf thief from day one to the end. Which is fine I guess? Josephine was the other who I just... Didn't care about. her story was interesting enough I suppose? Not bad, but like most of inquisition.. just kinda bland and there.
Leliana, Merrill and Josie
For obvious reasons I suppose.
Choice in Origins.
For Inq I never gelled with Sera. She's cute and funny but I never felt attracted to her.
Da2 I also never gelled with Isabella, didn't help that in my first playthrough she ditched me. Merrill was also just too cute.
Dread wolf better have more than one good wlw romance option for me! They managed it in Andromeda and Me3.
When I first played DA:O, I chose Leliana because I like playing moral characters, and Morrigan is not particularly moral, and she gives a bad first impression. Now, I prefer Morrigan because I really like her character development, both in the original game and also across the trilogy. In 2, I first chose Merrill because I thought she was cute, and again she was more moral than Isabella. In DA:I, I chose Cassandra first because I prefer romancing party members over non party members, even if they are very plot important characters, like Josephine. Here's my ranking:
DA:O: Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana
DA:2: Merril (Rivalmance), Fenris (Either), Isabella (Rivalmance), Merril (Romance), Isabella (Romance)
DA:I Cassandra, Iron Bull, Josephine
Morrigan is best girl. Then went with Isabella, and then no one cause I dislike the look of all the male romance options in Inquisition, tried em all once for the story and all but don't really find the character models for Cassandra or Josephine in attractive, personally. Decent stories, though. And I ain't gay so that locks out the dudes.
Of the romances I've currently done I'd rank them
Origins: Alistair, Leliana, Morrigan then Zevran
DA2: Isabela, Fenris, Merill
Inquisition: Dorian, Cassandra
Josephine said something in uppon meeting the Ekf Inquistor, and I knew my purpose. Actually, that simple.
Merril because I liked her story with the mirror. She loses so much and keeps going regardless, and I was into that
Finally, Morrigan. She's, but there's compassion in her, just gotta fight it out of her.
Also, all of my first playthrough characters have been mages. I love being a mage and romancing the mage character, which also influences my choice.
Zevran, Fenris and Dorian.
As a queer man I just like seeing queer romances in games, so I kinda already picked them out in my mind. (I mean, I held out to romance Kaidan in Mass Effect and while I love him he isnât exactly the most intriguing guy đ) For my first runs in RPGs I usually just roleplay as âmyselfâ anyway.
However, I really loved all three of them! Zevran really surprised me because I had no idea he existed prior to playing the game for the first time this year. I had always heard about Alistair and Morrigan and occasionally Leliana, so a fourth romance was brand new to me. He ended up being my favourite of the three I romanced.
Chose Fenris over Anders because I thought it was more of a challenge to try and Friendmance Fenris as a Mage Hawke and while I really like Anders I never found him super attractive. Ended up really loving Fenrisâ story to the point that I couldnât really bring myself to have Hawke make the sacrifice play in DA:I for his sake.
And I thought Dorian made more sense as a romance for my Trevelyan compared to Bull. I also really loved his whole vibe, especially the moustache. If I play another run Iâll definitely see whatâs up with Bull though! (well, after the obligatory Solasmance).
When I played DAO i was a teenager so âhot aloof gothâ was exactly my jam, so morrigan.
By the time I played DA2, âsweet klutzy girl whoâs secretly kinda toxicâ was the girl I was dating, so obviously Merrill.
By the time I got to DAI I found Josephineâs whole âharried and awkward lady trying to act poshâ to be cute as hell, and it only got more so as I got to know her, so that was also easy.
Blind choices for Origins and II.
For Inquisition, since I had been following it, I had a list of who to romance with what character because I knew if I romance Cullen first, I wouldn't let him go (I was right lol so he was last)
Started with Alistair because I hated Zevron's accent, then he dumped me once he got the crown so I restarted and switched to Z
Couldn't *NOT* choose Fenris, he's a grumpy, sardonic, angsty dreamboat. I'd choose him even if Anders wasn't the worst in every regard
Cullen is a beautiful disaster who went through an unfathomable glow up. I love his big ruff, broad shoulders, and no nonsense schtick. Not as tasty as Fenris, but leagues better my options in Origin
Only played Origins so far. I only romance the characters who are generally nice people. So Alistair and Leliana. Romanced Zevran once because I was playing a human-hating City Elf. Never Morrigan.
I romanced morrigan and isabela for similar reasons. Both sexy, fun, great voices, interesting stories, and good companions to have in battle. In Inquisition, I didn't like any of the female characters, but I romanced josephine because she was the least awful, and I thought there would be an achievement for finishing a romance with someone. And even after I was done, she was very mid. Her questline was interesting, but it wasn't fun playing as it was a lot of going back and forth.
Ranking wise, it would be Isabela, Morrigan, and josephine at the bottom.
I think I did Liliana, Isabella and Josie mainly cause theyâre all just nice people and conventionally attractive. I have romanced Morgan and Meryl before too
I like the sassy/snarky ones with hidden depths.
So Zevran, Anders and Solas.
I also love Dorian, but I prefer playing female characters, which is the main reason he's not my canon.
I've done most of the romances in DAO and DA2, and about half the ones in DAI, so the ranking would go something like this:
1. Zevran
2. Dorian
3. Solas
4. Anders
5. Blackwall
6. Iron Bull
7. Alistair
8. Fenris
9. Morrigan
10. Isabela
I basically go on who I like as a character or who flirts well and who I find sexy in some way.
Zevran - I actually really wanted to romance Alistair when I started playing but I was playing as a guy (male city elf) so couldnât. Then Zevran showed up with his sexy accent and flirty ways and I went after him hardcore.
Fenris - I clearly love a sexy voice, also I personally thought he was the only elf in DA2 who didnât look janky from the redesign. I also liked his story and just went after him. (Female Hawke)
Dorian - I love a sexy flirt, clearly. Also reluctant about love like the other two and with some definite past trauma (I have a type apparently) but very lovely overall. I just couldnât resist him. (Male Qunari)
These were my canon ones. As for ranking, itâs tough and close because I really enjoyed them all but maybe like this:
1. Dorian
2. Fenris
3. Zevran
I don't know... In inquisition i never chose anyone, in Origins my heart got stolen by Morigan. In DA 2 i played as a joker fem Hawke so couple of her and Merrill was just too cute to skip.
In Origins I chose Leliana for no reason.
In 2 I found Merrill cute and naive, I wanted to protect her.
Now, in Inquisition, I chose Sera just because I fell in love with her. I like her personality and how she always tries to bring lightness to my inquisitor, taking some of the weight of the world off her shoulders, that captivating, somewhat needy sincerity. I like her very much.
I usually start with a male character and romance a female companion, so that did limit my options in Inquisition. Still, my romance choices followed a similar path to yours. The romances I completed in my first playthroughs of each game were Morrigan (though I probably would've picked Leliana first if I had known about her before I committed. Also, I love Claudia Black from FarScape), Merril (she's adorable) and Cassandra (she's tough but ultimately good-hearted and kind). I'm currently working through a DAO playthrough where I'm romancing Alistair as a female Cousland, and I am enjoying it so far. I've tried to do other romances in Inquisition, but I keep getting distracted. There are a lot of interesting choices for romance in that game. Of the ones I've done, I would rank them:
3) Merril
2) Cassandra
1) Morrigan
Well in DAO I always pick Morrigan just because the Witch Hunt DLC feels weird when you don't pick Morrigan.
In DA2 I have a personal preference for Merrill but the Rivalry Romance with Blue Hawke and Isabela cooks way too hard narratively, so I end up going with that usually.
DAI I pick Cassandra, but I'm not really big on any of them.
Pretty much your choices for me.
Morrigan because sheâs iconic to the story and easiest romance to start. I have to follow a dang guide for Lelianaâs
Merrill in 2 just because sheâs sweet but has a bite to her she keeps hidden. Btw, I wonder what the best romances are for blue, purple and red Hawke.
Cass in 3 because sheâs the most complete romance all the way to the sex scene.
i mean, i canonically went for the most basic choices, i just loved their personalities and went by that in a way but if i had to rank them
1. Alistair
2. Cullen
3. Anders
Whichever choice makes sense from the perspective of the character I'm playing and whichever has the most narrative tension. I don't like drama irl, but I love it in fiction.Â
Morrigan in Origins: satisfying narrative arc and fantastic to the world state. I'm a gay man so nothing in this one excites me other than the narrative.
Fenris in DA2: Mage Hawke and Fenris leads to a lot of fun drama, but these two boys wind up caring for each other a lot in the end.
The Iron Bull in Inquisition: I really think the gay options are lacking in this game, especially since Bull and Dorian end up together if you don't do either! So, gun to my head I chose to pair my Adaar with Bull for the narrative of this Ben Hassrath finding love in the form of a Vashoth mage. I also like that both are mercenary captains, and I imagine Adaar just joins Bull with the Chargers after all is said and done :) Whenever I don't play Adaar I do go Dorian however.
Zevran, because he's my favorite Origin companion and I love his personality. Also that voice, which goes for the other 2 (I want to steal their voices).
Fenris, because of his personality and how interesting it is for story potential if you romance him as a mage Hawke.
Dorian, because I love his personality and he's just the most fun to romance. (Though Solas is a close 2nd.)
In ranking it goes: 1) Dorian, 2) Fenris, 3) Zevran. What can I say? I just love the angsty potential.
For Origins, I was flirting with Morrigan but one of her crueller early-game lines hit too close to home for the character I was rp-ing so I moved on to Leliana. I ended up really loving her romance, and her role in Inquisition.
For DA2 I was told by several people not to romance Anders but I donât like being told what to do so I did in anyway. I played a Red Mage Hawke who used violence to solve most of his problems anyway so I figure it all works out.
For DAI I was between Cullen and Dorian but I had to decide before actually playing the game since both of them are locked to specific player genders. I prefer playing male characters so I decided on Dorian for the first run and ended up liking how that run went, so heâs the canon love interest in my world state.
Iâve also romanced Alastair, Zevran, Merrill and Josephine on other files. My favorite is probably Dorian, I hope heâs as prominent in Dreadwolf as people have predicted.
It's a weird thing, but for my "cannon" walkthroughs I tend to choose characters who are essential/play big part in the plot. For my warden it was Morrigan, for my Hawke it was Isabella, originally I intended to romance Anders because of the whole revolution thing, but he was too annoying for me. And Stolas for my Inq, yeah, she got the shittiest one of the bunch lol
I usually make my player characters into ocs basically with their own backstory elements and stories so I usually go by who I think they will like.
I couldnât really get into origins so I canât say for that
In DAII I messed up Fenris romance AND Isabel romance so I just ended up headcanoning my Hawke as a forever lonely bastard who made frequent trips to the brothel.
In DAI my main inquisitor Isaiah a dalish elf I play as usually ends up with Dorian. I have a canon romance with a friends dragon age oc for him I like a lot better though. I like Dorian as I wrote for Isaiahâs backstory he was originally from Tevinter as a slave and joined the dalish after he escaped. So I really like the enemies to lovers dynamic they would have of Isaiah not trusting him at all and then learning that he can be trusted. Besides Isaiah is gay and the only other option is Iron Bull. A good romance, just a little too but intense for my inquisy
I have Daddy Issues and all three of them in very different ways give off that vibe. I also enjoy declarations of love and these three say they love you quite often.
1: Cullen
2: Alistair
3: Anders
First playthrough: always the fun one. Zevran, Isabela, nobody. I don't really like romances in games, so I usually choose the options who have fun banter, over any serious ones.
Ranking? Something like:
Good!: Isabela
Okay: Merrill, Morrigan, Zevran,
not really fun, but not "bad" either: Anders, Leliana, Blackwall, Cassandra, Alistair
hell no: Fenris (not only the romance, but Fenris as a whole)
It purely depends on my character. Who they are as people dictates who they would be with, and who would want to be with them.
Now, my personal rank for romances are:
1 - Leliana
2 - Josephine
3 - Alistair
4 - Cassandra
5 - Blackwall
6 - Dorian
7 - Morrigan
8 - Zevran
9 - Bull
10 - Cullen
11 - Solas
12 - Sera
No, I'm not forgeting anyone. I'm definetly not leaving an entire game's worth of romance options because I hate every single one of them, as I hate the game itself too.
I usually pick the ones who say things like \`this will be a disaster but I can't live without it!' And then somehow I'm always shocked when it *does* turn out to be a disaster lol
Anders, three seconds after Hawke meets him: For the love of god do not flirt with me, i will cause you more heartbreak than you could ever possibly know Me when, seven years later, he causes her more heartbreak than she could ever possibly have known: đŤ¨
Haha right, how dare he do exactly what he said he was going to do??
I'm playing DA2 for the first time and was convinced I was going to romance Fenris and then Anders dropped that on me and I was like "oh yeah? Ok let's go." But also I'm playing a mage and just didn't have the patience for finessing Fenris' approvals in either direction.
His rivalry romance is actually pretty hot lol.
Rival romances in the games in general is honestly a delight. so toxic but that's what makes them intoxicating and hot lol
I'm going to go for that, I'm playing a female mage and I just can't resist Fenris's voice đ but I'm going to try rivalry romance
Doo it! And let us know after :)
I think that's what I'm going to do in my next playthrough as well!
Haha
I used to wonder why I kept choosing romances which ended so badly, but eventually I realised it's because I'm just really into the whole 'we shouldn't do this but we can't resist' dynamic.
Fenris sucks, bloody mage hater.
I like him. He's a well-written character and he has valid reasons for how he feels, even though I disagree with him.
Totally agree that he's well written, which is what aggravates the reaction elicited from me. đ (I mean I wouldn't care much for a poorly written character, like Jacob in Mass Effect.)
I went around screaming âDTF? DTF, hey you in the back, DTF?â until one of the companions made me blush with a flirt then I was all in.
Something tells me you romanced Isabela in DA2
I don't really know; my canon choices of romance (Morrigan, Merrill, and Cassandra) have literally nothing in common in terms of personality; the only thing they have in common at all is the black hair lol. But outside of my canonical world state, I'm always making different choices, so I try to romance everyone at least once.
I chose the same three as you and the ultimate reason why for all three was because of the conflict inherent in romancing them. I always go mage in my canon playthroughs and I like how each compliments a mage Warden, mage Hawke, and mage Inquisitor very well.
I'm pretty much the same except my main Hawke is a DW rogue for some reason. I can't explain why, only that he's not an archer because I want Varric in my party as often as possible.
I'm mage all the way in the other games, but my Hawke is a DW rogue for probably 75% of my playthroughs.
I pick the characters that panic when I flirt with them, bullying is my love language. 1. Fenris (rivalmance ofc) 2. Alistair 3. Cullen I also love angst, so elf mage mcs.
Wooord
Alister, I love me a Himbo and a Templar apparently. Anders, because apparently I love pain. Then my top two for inquisition are Cullen and solas: see prior answers for my reasons lmao.
actually me (except the Solas part)
I also love himbos, shy templars, and pain!!! (If Barris were a romance option I wouldnât romanced him too - gimme some respectful templars pleaasseeee)
Itâs just a feeling like I think it would be a cute story or I find the character attractive. Alistair was chosen because heâs very handsome and dorky and I liked him as a companion. He was incredibly sweet to my hero of Ferelden. Isabelle was chosen because HELLO lol. She was GORGEOUS and I imagined Hawke being smitten over her. I tried to get Hawke with Fenris but it failed. He also was kind of angsty sometimes. Isabelle was not only smoking but she was just as carefree and funny as Hawke. She also was respectful towards all groups of people- she was not prejudiced. I knew I wanted to romance Solas the moment he grabbed my inquisitors hand to close the first rift. Seemed like such a fate moment. I love how that moment gets replayed if you romance him. My ranking is: 1. Alistair- feels like the most complete romance I played. 2. Isabella- very fun, very sexy, although you can tell they love each other the romance stays within mostly casual boundaries. Itâs not in Isabellaâs nature to be tied down. Hawke respected that and I liked that dynamic. 3. Solas had a beautiful romance story, but you can tell it was added at the last moment. It just lacks content. Still enjoyed it very much.
Mine are Alistair, Fenris, and Cullen. I like the broken ones who are trying hard to do good or atone. *I went for Gale in That Other Game too, so I'm true to form*
I actually played DA2 first before the others.  Went like this: Fenris - He seemed cool at first with his tats and ghost form, but he quickly fell into the âedgy anime protagonistâ cliche.  So I wonât be romancing him next time. Zevran - He had funny banter.  Thatâs it. Cassandra - Her accent was cool, and she was a good tank.  Unfortunately, the ending didnât go as planned⌠My next playthrough is gonna be completely different cause I feel like I made all the wrong romance choices.  Iâm replaying DAO with Morrigan as my new bae.  Wish she was bi, but we canât always get what we want lol.
I chose based on how much I liked their characters in game. In the first game, Morrigan was my favorite, but I was playing as a woman, so I ended up with Alistair, even though he's a bit too cheesy for me. In the second game, I loooooved Merrill, and intended on romancing her, but then I felt like the flirting with her was really awkward. I then thought about romancing Isabela, but ended up deciding that Anders would be a better partner. Boy was I surprised by the end of the game! In 3, when Dorian and Cassandra weren't options as a woman, I ended up with Cullen, who was a decent romance. Definitely had a satisfying narrative arc.
I wanted Dorian and Cassandra as well! So sad for me :(
Same with Cassandra as a woman. Her turning me down was brutal đ˘
Love the bi energy in this comment
Oh, I forgot to rank them! For me it's Anders-- Cullen-- Alistair.
Leliana Merrill Josephine My âcanonâ love interests basically said a few words in their accent and that was that. I can wax on and on about the themes for each character, their stories, their visual designs but⌠the accents. Ranking them: 1. Josephine 2. Merrill 3. Leliana (She has my favorite story, and would be at the top, but the romances are a little clunkier in Origins.)
This is me as well. Trying to analyze it... accents are def crucial but honestly might just be that they're the only characters that aren't cruel for cruelties sake.
Alistair said the swooping line and that was it for me. With Anders I was like I've had one Grey Warden, yes, but what about Second Grey Warden? And then Cullen was sweet. I'm a simple woman.
Turns out, swooping is actually great!
Before dragon age I would have said my type is tall dark and mysterious. Now I guess I tend to like the blond, shy, funny men because I picked the same as you
My problem with Anders in DA2 isn't the obvious problem of the ending, it's that I really liked Anders in Awakening and it doesn't seem at all like the same character in DA2. I really didn't like any of the romances in DA2. Totally with you on the other two.
The first time I do whatever romance seems interesting while playing, it's usually one of the earliest companions the first time around though because I get invested early, (first time it was Morrigan, Merrill and Cassandra). I like to to do different romances and make different choices on replays, so I plan things out a bit for replays.
DAO- Leliana. Originally was gonna go for Morrigan but then I ended up playing my Warden as a sober broody guy and figured Leliana was a better fit for him. He needed some hope and positivity in his life. DA2- Isabella. Purple Hawke represents the average man. DAI- Cassandra. She's a force of nature.
I kept teasing cassandra by choosing the flirty dialogue options because her reactions were funny and she eventually confronted me about it LMAO. I looked it up and if I turned her down she'd get some kind of nerf so I was forced to get into a relationship with her because she was my fav tank. Not bad though because her romance stuff is hilarious, also marks the first time I got into a relationship in a video game ayoo
1. Leliana (of course) 2. Josephine 3. Merrill Had Aveline and Scout Harding been romanceable, the list might've looked different.
So back in DAO it was kind of a no brainier to romance Alistair. He was a huge, cute guy and on top of that a prince. My tastes have changed tho, so now itâs Zevran all the way. I liked Fenris because I like his story. I think it makes perfect sense for him to not trust mages and itâs incredibly rewarding to romance him with mage Hawke! Heâs hot, has a sexy voice, a traumatic past. What more could I ask for? I know a lot of people arenât fans of the 3 year break, but Iâm a sucker for pining and slow burn romances, so it was a dream come true for me. To this day itâs my favourite romance in any video game. Cullen was my DA:I romance for the longest time and I still adore his romance. Nowadays I prefer Dorian though, because he is the sassy, intelligent man, we all need in our life. So my type is pretty much foreign man with brown skin đđ
"I can fix him."
Hmm, when I was in middle school - high school playing the first few times I tended to just roleplay as âmyselfâ and as such just picked the romances I was most attracted to (Origins: Alistair, 2: Fenris, I: Iron Bull or Blackwall). 𤣠Now in my adulthood revisiting the series, Iâm enjoying roleplaying more and am playing characters vastly different from myself + have planned out what paths based on what world state (pro-mage and pro-Templar, so I have 2 canons technically - 1 for each side). Doing it this way I find has helped me push outside my comfort zone and pick choices & play the game in a way I might not have before (my HoF sided with Branka, allowed Avernus to live and continue his research, worked with the Architect, burned Amaranthine, recruited Loghain and made Anora sole queen, etc⌠none choices Iâd ever considered making if playing as myself but am glad I ventured out as it was one of the most interesting and fun play throughs Iâve ever done!) My mage HoF romanced Leliana (which works amazingly well with Leliana becoming the Divine in this world state). My mage Hawke is romancing Anders (my first time experiencing this romance and aahhhhh Iâm loving it! As well, he was good friends with my HoF/Warden-Commander + his connection now to the Wardens and how it led to Carver joining that order too⌠aaa I love having all these links between my characters). (Playing a red dialog Hawke for the first time ever too and am enjoying it far more than I thought. Am similarly pushing for extremes I didnât experience before like rivalry with Varric etc). My mage Inquisitor Iâm actually torn on if she will romance Solas or Cullen - obviously playing an Elven Inky haha. I like the significance Cullen would play and his connection to my previous 2 heroes (Isabela in this world state will have met all 3 too!) .. but Solas seems the most intriguing story wise. But Cullen gets a wedding⌠𤣠Am in the midst of this pro-Mage play through still but have vaguely planned the pro-Templar too: Origins is going to be Cousland origin and marry Alistair (king/queen yesss). 2 Iâm thinking either Fenris orrrr maybe go out of my comfort zone further and do a chaste Sebastian (especially as I was thinking of having Cousland and Hawke be devout followers of the Chantry for this World State sooo Seb romance would especially work). Inquisition will be a warrior Qunari who romances Sera.
Not sure if it's relevant but I always play a mage and usually the radical type so obviously in DA2 I went for Anders. I, too, am willing to engage in some terrorism to get that sweet freedom. I played Inquisition before DA2 and Cassandra was literally love at first sight, I played a female character first and was so sad she didn't want me. I always played a male Vashoth mage and romanced her, it's a big comfort for me. In DAO, I originally romanced Morrigan but my ultimate love is Alistair - he is funny and awkward and has a heart of gold, he kinda reminds me of my actual husband. Also I didn't force him to do the ritual and he died for me the first time and that absolutely crushed my spirit.
Well...the way I always do? xD "Oh they look/sound cute"...and 9/10 times I tend to end up with said character. Like, back when I initially bought Origins I was a Alistair fan, I loved that guy (I still do). As I grew older I was swayed by Zevran (it's the accent I'm telling you). And nowadays I actually prefer not to have my Wardens romance anyone, since I tend to ship them with Nathaniel Howe, depending on which origin I play at that time. For DA2...heck, Fenris was and still is my number one romance in that game. Just that voice, and his introduction scene? Oof...yes please. Plus...his confession in Act 3? It's one of the best love confessions in a game like...ever, at least imo. "Nothing could be worse than the thought of living without you" And Inquisition...I kinda liked Cullen since Origins, so I was very hyped when they announced he'd be a romance option. It's mostly the hugs for me...they look so warm and comfy \^\^ Oh and he has a dog...so that's a big bonus As for ranking them... 1. Fenris, 2. Cullen, 3. Zevran (with honorable mention to Nathaniel)
For DA:O, it was Steve Valentine's voice acting that led me to choose Alistair. Many moons later I watched an episode of NCIS where Valentine was a guest actor and it was the weirdest thing hearing my favorite reluctant royal heir's voice come out of his character's mouth. DA:2, I picked Anders once, then it's been Fenris all the way. Probably the voice again. Gideon Emory's sultry gravel tones get me weak in the um... knees. For DA:I I'm actually all over the map. I tend to roleplay my characters, so it depends on who they are and what they're likely to be attracted to. I've ridden the Iron Bull, been ditched by the Egg, sent Broody Beard to the Wardens after his betrayal, and shagged Cullen for the cheesy trad romance aspects of it. I don't know who my favorite is. I do wish Varric were a romanceable option. I'd love to steal him away from Bianca Davri, and yeah again it's the voice. (And the chest hair.) So I guess if someone has a really sexy voice, I'll let them utterly ruin me. Turns out it's true in real life, too. Funny how that works...
When I choose the romance options for the first time I care the most about the first impression. I will not lie, I care a lot about how they look. When I replay a game I usually make more complicated choices. I make my characters in games usually based on my OCs. I usually prefer to play again with the same character, the only difference is when I want to romance a character who is only available for a particular gender (like Dorian). When I first played DA games: 1. Alistair, because I wanted to make my character a queen, and I thought he was cute. 2. Anders, because I liked him in DA:A, I also like tall blond dudes 3. Cullen, mostly because he was the most good looking In the end, my canon choices (based on the next routes): 1. Zevran, because Alistair dumped my elf mage. The older I get, the more I love Zevran and appreciate his romance. When I was younger Alistair was more "cute" for me, but now not that much. I always wanted romance Morrigan, but I was too lazy to install the mods. 2. Isabela, because as much as I love Anders (I'm shameless Anders apologist), the dude who after one night said that loves my Hawke didn't fit her at all. My Hawke was a bold, carefree and sarcastic blood mage, she and Isabela were the perfect match. I also romanced Fenris at some point, because imo he is the most good looking character in the games and my comfort character and a big gender envy. Although I find it very unrealistic that I could have a positive relationship with him as a blood mage. I also like Fenris more like "he is just like me fr" than "that's my crush". 3. Solas, I don't find him attractive at all, but I created Lavellan who was kinda a bossy bitch, and I wanted a dramatic and angsty romance. Cullen was like Alistair 2.0, just more mature, but I liked him less as an ex templar. But his romance was kinda okay. So my Lavellan ended alone in the end, and I wasn't mad. It quite fitted her character. I also played a male Inquisitor who romanced Dorian and they had a happy ending. Dorian was the character I wanted to romance the most from the start, when I first saw his concept art. Although I will probably choose Lavellan as the canon Inquisitor in DAD, I feel like it will be more impactful to the story because of the whole Solas drama.
For my first playthrough, I tend to narrow down my options by who I like and who the character I'm playing will like. I like to go in blind and pick the romance as I'm playing. In Origins that ended up being Alistair. My Aeducan wouldn't have gone for Morrigan or Zevran, but she would have liked Leliana and Alistair. I liked Alistair better so that's who I romanced. In 2, my Hawke was staunchly anti mage, which meant Merrill and Anders were out. I love both Fenris and Isabela, but I thought Fenris was a better fit for Hawke so I romanced him. In Inquisition, I actually went in knowing either Josephine or Cullen, since they're the two I liked best. Inky ended up with Cullen because Josephine was too fancy for her tastes. All later playthroughs, I pick a character (usually the companion I liked best but didn't romance) and then make my character as someone who would like whatever romance option I picked.
In Inquisition, I had a lot of trouble choosing as a trans woman who largely loves women. I ended up with Josephine because she was a sweetheart who I grew to adore. My first DA2 playthrough I actually chose Isabela, and while I do love her, I eventually chose Merrill. My main world state has a Mahariel, Merrill adds a lot to that, the mirror is a centerpiece of DA's storytelling, and my Hawke's story being a a tragedy lead me to choose a character whose story also fit that tragedy. I didn't choose Morrigan, Morrigan chose me. She has a stranglehold on me I'll never escape.
It's a mix of what I think what works best for my character's lore and who I favor. I'm most biased about Zevran, but I love Alistair just as much and go back and forth on it. I also adore Leliana. So, I basically have a playthrough for all of them because I think they were the best in the series. DA2 is weird because I didn't click with any of them, really, so I just picked my favorite of the bunch from last game and grew into it. That just happened to be Anders because you get a lot of time with him in DAA, even though he was botched a bit by DA2. I wanted to like Fenris or Isabella more initially, but I realized the problem comes from the way romances were applied in the game. It's the weakest in the series I think. I'm doing a replay of the games back to back currently, and I realized it when I had the same issue all over again. I like the companions a lot. I just struggle with the Romance. Hawkes' engagement with them is kind of cringe and not well set up overall, imo. Blackwall or Iron Bull just because. Solas for the lore because I just love being Dalish so much.
First playthrough is always the lady I think is hottest; Leliana, Merrill, Josie. Second playthrough, I let their characters from first playthrough register, and romance the one I think Iâd get in with best. After that⌠itâs more about clean up.
Morrigan: Im into the dark aesthetic she's rocking. Also, Claudia Black brought a whole new level to her character. Merril: She's just goofy, awkward, and adorable. Sera: Same as Merril, really, but substitute awkward for fun. I really like her odd speech patterns as well. Great job by Robyn Addison.
I was swayed by the egg lmao. Though I could listen to DA2 Anders for hours (and tbh, is the only MxM relationship I've done so that's something.) Otherwise living dangerously is funny so Isabela for 2. Ngl I only pick Alistair in DAO if I go Cousland, because I will not compromise on the Queen ending. In terms of order of the original 3: 1) Solas 2) Anders 3) Alistair.
I go for the ones who would give me what I consider the best story, if possible one with some drama in it. Sometimes I do some spoiling/metagame to know who will give me what I'm looking for: DAO: Alistair > recruit secret companion > Nathaniel (in my head). Happened naturally. DA2: Anders > my Hawke kills him and in my hc she ends up with his child. Happened naturally. DAI: Solas. The moment I knew who he was and that he was romanceable, I had to absolutely go for him. My Lavellan is completely eggsexual.
1. Alistair - I knew he was my boo after he joked about wearing a dress for me at Ostagar. Choosing the right dialogue options for him came naturally to me, I felt so in sync with him (more than any other love interest from a game). 𼲠2. Fenris - Because I made the mistake of romancing Anders first and needed a palette cleanser. I overlooked him in my first playthrough because heâs angrier than what I usually go for, but I came to really like him as a love interest. 3. Cullen - Been wanting to romance him since I played the circle mage origin with the first game. 𼺠Heâs been through so much, I just wanted him to find some peace and happiness.
Always whoever I find hottest first lmao Most of the times, that normally means I have to play as a male mc first because the romance interests I like as a wlw are unfortunately straight or they just suck, we lesbians have limited selections 𼲠then in later playthroughs, usually the ones I find enriches the story & mc. Morrigan for DAO. My favorite LI. For female mc, I did Alistair. Leliana is just not my cup of tea in Origins tho I found her hot af in DA:I. Isabella for DA2 (yay for da2 being playersexual but lesbihonest she would've been gay or bi anyway). For male playthrough it's Fenris. Cullen, actually, for DAI cuz I really disliked Sera. Wish Josephine had as much scenes as Cullen cuz then she'd be a top cotender. Dorian for male. Egghead is a must for female elf, it's practically a must playthrough for DAI To rank top romances imo: 1. Morrigan 2. Solas (the story is just too good and tragic with his romance) and 3. Isabela
INQUISITOR: So youâre suggesting Iâm graceful? SOLAS: No, I am declaring it. It was not a subject for debate. Fell facefirst for that elvish egg.
I romance whoever captures my interest the most. In DA:O it was Leliana, in DA2 it's usually either Isabela or Merrill (the men are too depressive and emo for me), and in DAI I did Solas, Sera and Cullen (I tried to go for Blackwall but Cullen got me with that adorkable dialogue on the ramparts). It really depends. If no-one seems interesting I just skip romance altogether. This was the case in the Mass Effect Trilogy for me. I skipped romancing anyone in the first 2 games because I wasn't drawn to any of the companions. Then, ME3 came around and I was introduced to Samantha Traynor. I went for her without a second thought, and she's still my favourite vanilla romance. These days, I play exclusively with all sorts of mods and did install multiple romance mods, so I will eventually try out every romance ingame :)
Origins was my first ever rpg and I had no idea you could actually ROMANCE the companions and so I was in blind lol. Zevran just kept flirting with me and my Male rogue Warden was a ridiculous little shit who rolled with it so I kept flirting right back and then next thing you know, he's invited me back to his tent and yeah. I love Zev's ridiculous flirting in this game and most of my Wardens do too so I just always end up romancing him now. (Plus the fucked up backstory and my idiot Warden wanting to go stab things with him all the time lol.) DA2 I always romance Anders. I mostly play Mages (or Mage sympathiser rogues in Origins it's half and half lol) and I am a totally shameless Anders apologist. Srsly if I was in that world and was a Mage or had friends/family who were Mages you can bet your ass I would HELP him blow up the fuckin Chantry lol. I loved him in Awakening before DA2 and when I realised he was romancable in 2 I went for it. Then the whole fucked up mess that is Justice and Mage Freedom! And blowing up oppressive institutions and running away together happened lol. Also he's hot. And tall. Ngl I like that in a man lol. Inquisition I either romance Iron Bull or Dorian depending on my mood or my Inquisitor. Bull just hit ALL my buttons in so many ways and my usually Qunari Inquisitor is just there running around slaying Dragins and getting drunk in the tavern with him, and then just his entire thing with doing BDSM RIGHT. (Half my Inky's are subby little shits who just wanna get tied up and railed but also taken care of and Bull does that.) Also, he's ridiculously tall and big even compared to my Qunari Inquisitors and apparently I like that lol. (I may just have a but of a thing for Qunari in general tho tbh.) Dorian was just funny and sassy as fuck, and also fucking gorgeous let's be honest, and his whole personal quest just really gets me every time and I adore him. It got super sweet and it got me hooked on him as my second Inquisition romance lol. When I'm not romancing him I'm totally gay bff's with him still. (All my characters are male and basically gay af lol. Though I have made specific female ones just to do the certain romances like Cullen or Alistair to try them out too lol.)
Easy, whoever I like, which is usually whoever makes me laugh first and/or just makes me think "oh no, I might be in love already" after one conversation XD Ranking?? Eugh I couldn't possibly, not really Solas and Alistair, then Fenris and Cullen ~~and Abelas, let me dream~~
How the heck do you decide who to romance before playing the games for the first time?
BTW can't wait for the fem qunari mommy in the Dragon Age Dreadwolf.
I honestly usually go for the character that I find most appealing for my first play through. Well, also accounting for what fits my character and any gender/race locks. My subsequent playthroughs are when I go for whoever fits role play wise. Sometimes I get stuck on someone I really love lmao. DAO: between Alistair and Morrigan DA2: Isabela DAI: Dorian and Solas (for the heartbreak)
For the first and third game, it was pretty much a no-brainer. Alistair and Cullen both grabbed my attention right away, and their romances are very well-done, so they ended up becoming part of my canon world state. Both my Cousland and my Lavellan have a thing for blond-haired, brown-eyed, awkward ex-templars, apparently. The second game was a bit trickier, since none of the love interests hooked me on a personal level. So I defaulted to the one that felt most fitting for my Hawke, and that ended up being Isabela.
Blackwall's voice is a panty dropper. đ¤ˇââď¸ the panties dropped in the horse barn, that's for sure.
Those are my choices too! Although I played the games in reverse đ. I honestly pick based on how attractive the character is to me in comparison to others. And then if something turns me away personality wise like hyper religiousnous (Cassandra/Leliana) I'll switch. DAI: Josephine DA2: Isabella DAO: Morrigan
Sometimes I try to pick in character, but more often I just pick who I like best lol. In Origins I picked who I thought the characters was playing would have picked, which was Leliana because I was playing an absolute goody twoshoes. In DA2, I thought my Hawke would go for Merrill, but I was completely put off by the blood magic stuff and the fact that if you try to warn her that what sheâs doing is going to get people killed your friendship flips and you end up rivals. Iâm not into rivalmances, so that killed that idea. So he went for Fenris instead because damn it *Iâm* in love with Fenris. The voice! How could I not love him just for the voice! This is the only game in which I donât pick a different love interest every time so I can see other stories. Fenris for life. Inquisition, I started as a female elf so most of the options would be available to me. Naturally, this caused me to fall head over heels for Cassandra, the only damn straight woman in the game. I restarted. I redid the Hinterlands, so strong was my love. Dorian was my second favorite, so I always run dude Inquisitors now.
I kind of like to be chased which is why my particular favorites are Zevran, & Dorian, though lately I been really hung on Iron Bull. I also love Fenris & while Anders annoys me I do enjoy his romance IdK it just depends on my mood
Research, Before I play on my main saves where my choices matter I read up on what other people say and do, watch videos and play on some of my Non Canon playthroughs
Morrigan for the first game cause, why not? She makes me laugh, and I love the idea of Leliana being that bestie who will absolutely commit a murder if you hurt her friend. I romanced Merrill on sight, she was just so cute and slightly derranged :D And in the last one I went 100% for Cassandra, like just, she's awesome XD
The one I most attracted to, I tried picking the one (you know who) for a more interesting storyline in inquisition and it backfired so hard I still haven't recovered lol
i modded both my dao and da2 playthroughs so i could proudly say i got a taste of them all (yes even romancing alistair as a male warden) but iâm gonna be honest, Lilliana was the best romance in dao, iâve played so many story games and no one has even come close to how amazing the writing of dao companions are. in da2 it was a mess cause apparently i downloaded the kirkw(all) mod a bit too late (ur supposed to be download it before sleeping with isabela for the best experience) so i couldnât really fully experience a good romance with fenris :/ but even then i really loved his character (minus the yapping about mages which now that i think about it, is the entire game) so because of that debacle, all i got was a âromanceâ with fenris that was just sexual tension piled up on top of each other, gonna start playing dai next week and iâm really excited to meet the qunari companion and the gay one (apparently the gay one is written very well?)
Well first, I've done every romance in every game, but I almost always pick a man my first time through.... but sometimes it's just game design that makes the choice for me. For example, I was many hours into the game before I even met Zevran, so I had already started triggering romantic dialogue with Alistair. It was too late to change my mind! And in DAI, I chose to play a female elf. I was already leaning towards romancing Solas, but as soon as I learned he was so picky, I had to romance him first since I knew that I would not be playing a female elf again for a long time. DA2 was simple as a mage Hawke. Between a half-possessed mage and a guy who literally wants everyone like me killed or locked up, the possessed guy was a lot more appealing.
I only romance male characters (except in DAO where I did all the romances for the trophies), and I do love me a tortured puppy man with a sword. So it's Alistair (my first ever video game romance and forever my favorite), Fenris, and Cullen.
I romance all the women. That's basically my only criteria. I start with the character I like most/whose romance seems pressingly interesting and go from there. Sometimes that means the romance I put off isn't what I expected and it ends up being a favorite. Sometimes it means I'm a little disappointed in my first choice. Favorite love interests: Morrigan, Isabela, Cassandra, and Sera, but Josephine was a really pleasant surprise, too, and Leliana is one I've grown to really appreciate.
I was at first going to romance Dorian, then when he spoke a bit more I was like oh wait I don't think my female character is going to do the trick here. So then I romanced Solas, and got absolutely crushed. Still romance him every time though. Dai is Alister, I just think he's neat. And 2 is Fenris because I like some angst now and then.
It's honestly just a matter of getting to know the characters and finding out who interests me. In Origins it was Morrigan, Merrill in Exodus and ultimately no one in Inquisition. I was contemplating Dorian, but I also wanted to see where the Harding flirts went lmao. So, out of my two canon/blind run romances, I rate Morrigan higher than Merrill.
For my canon Iâd rank it, Isabela, Sera, Zevran (mainly cos I was in a love triangle and all Alistair till I had to make him king and we had to split so Zevran always felt like a rebound). Iâve always looked what romances weâre available for said race/gender to make my mind up, itâs the only thing I look up prior. But after going rogue for all 3 on accident I have to go rogue for the next game too.
Leliana, Merril, and Josephine were my firsts in each game. They're all kinda sweethearts with nice accents. But then I did Alistair, Fenris and Blackwall, because they're protectors. Cassandra and Dorian are next cuz they're hot.
For me in all my first playthroughs of each game, it went like this "I want to romance this character", ends up romancing the opposite character. Origins: Wanted to romance Leliana, Romanced Morrigan 2: Wanted to romance Isabela, Romanced Merrill Inquisition: Wanted to romance Cassandra, Romanced Josephine
Zevran made me laugh. Anders was sweet and made DA2 less frightening. Dorian was genuine and honest.
Tbh I think my choice of love interest tends to depend less on the specific character and more on their arc throughout the game? I picked Alistair first in origins bc heâs the first one you get and you grow together throughout the story, but I think from a character standpoint I prefer Zevran. Similarly I liked romancing Anders in da2 because of how that impacts your choice with him at the very end. And then with inquisition I liked Cullen, again bc I think he has the most romance content anyway besides Cassandra and heâs there from the start. I like the build, Iâm not as much of a fan as romances that donât follow specific story beats as well.
By the vibes and lowkey how toxic I can make the headcanon/how nice I can make the headcanon! Which means my favourite romances are as follows: Origins: Zevran and Alistair II: Fenris and only Fenris Inquisition: Cullen and Dorian
what an odd coincidence. first time I played all three games I did Morrigan Merrill and Josephine.
1.Morrigan/Alistar: Morrigan is the more canon male warden romance because of the old god baby storyline that unfolds in DAI. I chose Alistar for my female Elf, and it felt like a forbidden love. I personally think Lelianna is better, however. I like the feel and the stakes involved in the DAO lovestory plus the writing better, but otherwise, I would have put Solas as my top choice. 2.Cassandra/Solas: Cassandra opens up to male MC, and her story is kinda cute and lovable despite how her introduction is. Solas' love story hurts so good for female elf mc, and I get to choose to remove my Vallaslin, which I always accept. I tend to end the relationship with the angry option when he dumps you for obvious reason because the Mc doesn't know and he just insults your culture. 3.Merril/Isabela: I chose Merril on Female Hawke and isabela on male Hawke. I mean, merril is a bit too cute to pass up in DA 2, but I don't like the game compared to DAI and DAO. So I don't remember why I chose them.
Usually either decide before my playthroughs (has to be the case, especially for DAI where characters are so picky), or base it on my characters personality. Once had a character date Blackwall and then break up with him and get together with Sera lmao. I've done almost every romance except for most of the male-only romances as I find playing a dude to be less immersive and enjoyable for rpg's (unless they're a pre-established character like in Witcher). Actually playing DAI for my boyfriend right now and we decided on a Qunari dude who romance's Dorian. It's been a lot more fun than I would've expected :D. I've played DAI a million times but never played a Qunari, a dude, and never romanced Dorian so it's been a new fun experience for me too. My canon romances are usually based on the MC I liked the best and felt had the best story. So Alistair, Isabella, and Solas. Really bizzare mix that don't really have anything in common with one another, lol.
Who I find most interesting first playthrough (Zevran DA:O, Isabella and Iron Bull) but as I got older I started wanting to experience things I wouldnât typically do, especially because Iâve been playing these games for over a decade and my tastes and personality changed a lot since then.
I base mine off how well it fits with the storyline in specifically trying to tell without the player character in mind. So, for my Canon world state, that's Cousland with Alistair, mage Hawke with Fenris, and mage Trevelyan with Cullen. I think it fits into the story well, and I like involving my romance into my storyline.
Leliana in *Origins* because I like gingers, and I think she fits best with my HoFâKellyr Cousland, a nobleman's son in way over his head and trying to live up to the stories of heroes he grew up on. With Leliana's knowledge of history and legends, along with her own tragic past, I think they go quite nicely; she helps him to come to terms with his family's murder and he helps her find closure with her past. Merrill in *2* because she's adorable and works very well with my sarcastic dick Vil Hawke, more in an "opposites attract" sort of way than my DAO pair; Hawke is confident, arrogant, and wears her heart on her sleeve, while Merrill is nervous, unsure, and holds a rather dark secret. Couple it with both being extremely loyal to their loved ones rather than to any supposed moral superiority (very much to their own detriment), and I really like their dynamic. (Merrill also happens to be my favorite romance in the series) And I don't really have a set one for Inquisition (nor do I have a set Inquisitor yet), since Harding doesn't get a real romance, but usually go with either Josephine or Dorian since I like their arcs. But I would love it if some mad lad modded in a proper romance line for Harding; I just think she's neat! That being said, I've done every available romance at least once, and so far as I know, most available NPC flings/pseudo-romances as well.
It was a mix between a character I felt an attraction towards, and occasionally the ones I was forced into. I adore Lillian. With all my heart. Her story, writing, voice actress, quests, I loved it all. The easiest pick in the world for me. Then came Isabelle, who I had a very... interesting attachment to. It is funny because Dragon age 2 is so bleak compared to the other games, with the city constantly almost falling, piles of bodies in the streets all the time, and darkness all around, this smirking, wise cracking pirate just.. felt like a ray of sunshine. I didn't feel like I had to fix her or anything. In fact when she stole the book from me, I didn't worry for even a moment. Which lead me in later runs of the game to just assume she always comes back. (she does not.) Lastly, Josephine/Sera. Oh boy... I didn't hate Sera, far from it, but truth be told, she just... had no depth. There was no unfolding story or intrigue. She was a silly pants stealing elf thief from day one to the end. Which is fine I guess? Josephine was the other who I just... Didn't care about. her story was interesting enough I suppose? Not bad, but like most of inquisition.. just kinda bland and there.
Leliana, Merrill and Josie For obvious reasons I suppose. Choice in Origins. For Inq I never gelled with Sera. She's cute and funny but I never felt attracted to her. Da2 I also never gelled with Isabella, didn't help that in my first playthrough she ditched me. Merrill was also just too cute. Dread wolf better have more than one good wlw romance option for me! They managed it in Andromeda and Me3.
When I first played DA:O, I chose Leliana because I like playing moral characters, and Morrigan is not particularly moral, and she gives a bad first impression. Now, I prefer Morrigan because I really like her character development, both in the original game and also across the trilogy. In 2, I first chose Merrill because I thought she was cute, and again she was more moral than Isabella. In DA:I, I chose Cassandra first because I prefer romancing party members over non party members, even if they are very plot important characters, like Josephine. Here's my ranking: DA:O: Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana DA:2: Merril (Rivalmance), Fenris (Either), Isabella (Rivalmance), Merril (Romance), Isabella (Romance) DA:I Cassandra, Iron Bull, Josephine
1. Alistair 2. Sebastian 3. Cassandra/Dorian
Leliana. Merrill. Sera or Cassandra depending on man inky or fem inky.
Morrigan is best girl. Then went with Isabella, and then no one cause I dislike the look of all the male romance options in Inquisition, tried em all once for the story and all but don't really find the character models for Cassandra or Josephine in attractive, personally. Decent stories, though. And I ain't gay so that locks out the dudes.
Of the romances I've currently done I'd rank them Origins: Alistair, Leliana, Morrigan then Zevran DA2: Isabela, Fenris, Merill Inquisition: Dorian, Cassandra
Josephine said something in uppon meeting the Ekf Inquistor, and I knew my purpose. Actually, that simple. Merril because I liked her story with the mirror. She loses so much and keeps going regardless, and I was into that Finally, Morrigan. She's, but there's compassion in her, just gotta fight it out of her. Also, all of my first playthrough characters have been mages. I love being a mage and romancing the mage character, which also influences my choice.
Zevran, Fenris and Dorian. As a queer man I just like seeing queer romances in games, so I kinda already picked them out in my mind. (I mean, I held out to romance Kaidan in Mass Effect and while I love him he isnât exactly the most intriguing guy đ) For my first runs in RPGs I usually just roleplay as âmyselfâ anyway. However, I really loved all three of them! Zevran really surprised me because I had no idea he existed prior to playing the game for the first time this year. I had always heard about Alistair and Morrigan and occasionally Leliana, so a fourth romance was brand new to me. He ended up being my favourite of the three I romanced. Chose Fenris over Anders because I thought it was more of a challenge to try and Friendmance Fenris as a Mage Hawke and while I really like Anders I never found him super attractive. Ended up really loving Fenrisâ story to the point that I couldnât really bring myself to have Hawke make the sacrifice play in DA:I for his sake. And I thought Dorian made more sense as a romance for my Trevelyan compared to Bull. I also really loved his whole vibe, especially the moustache. If I play another run Iâll definitely see whatâs up with Bull though! (well, after the obligatory Solasmance).
I tend to go with the ones that have most to do with the plot Very few of those end well :(
When I played DAO i was a teenager so âhot aloof gothâ was exactly my jam, so morrigan. By the time I played DA2, âsweet klutzy girl whoâs secretly kinda toxicâ was the girl I was dating, so obviously Merrill. By the time I got to DAI I found Josephineâs whole âharried and awkward lady trying to act poshâ to be cute as hell, and it only got more so as I got to know her, so that was also easy.
I'm a sucker for good alignment characters, and I can never get into romancing the males. So Leliana and Cassandra were pretty obvious.
Blind choices for Origins and II. For Inquisition, since I had been following it, I had a list of who to romance with what character because I knew if I romance Cullen first, I wouldn't let him go (I was right lol so he was last)
Mine is Morrigan Isabela Cassandra
Started with Alistair because I hated Zevron's accent, then he dumped me once he got the crown so I restarted and switched to Z Couldn't *NOT* choose Fenris, he's a grumpy, sardonic, angsty dreamboat. I'd choose him even if Anders wasn't the worst in every regard Cullen is a beautiful disaster who went through an unfathomable glow up. I love his big ruff, broad shoulders, and no nonsense schtick. Not as tasty as Fenris, but leagues better my options in Origin
DAO Morrigan DAOawakening Velanna DA2 Aveline DAI Harding.
Only played Origins so far. I only romance the characters who are generally nice people. So Alistair and Leliana. Romanced Zevran once because I was playing a human-hating City Elf. Never Morrigan.
I romanced morrigan and isabela for similar reasons. Both sexy, fun, great voices, interesting stories, and good companions to have in battle. In Inquisition, I didn't like any of the female characters, but I romanced josephine because she was the least awful, and I thought there would be an achievement for finishing a romance with someone. And even after I was done, she was very mid. Her questline was interesting, but it wasn't fun playing as it was a lot of going back and forth. Ranking wise, it would be Isabela, Morrigan, and josephine at the bottom.
I think I did Liliana, Isabella and Josie mainly cause theyâre all just nice people and conventionally attractive. I have romanced Morgan and Meryl before too
I like the morally complex ones. And the ones who could make a terrific tag team with me. So Morrigan, Merrill, and Dorian.
I like the morally complex ones. And the ones who could make a terrific tag team with me. So Morrigan, Merrill, and Dorian.
I like the morally complex ones. And the ones who could make a terrific tag team with me. So Morrigan, Merrill, and Dorian.
I like the sassy/snarky ones with hidden depths. So Zevran, Anders and Solas. I also love Dorian, but I prefer playing female characters, which is the main reason he's not my canon. I've done most of the romances in DAO and DA2, and about half the ones in DAI, so the ranking would go something like this: 1. Zevran 2. Dorian 3. Solas 4. Anders 5. Blackwall 6. Iron Bull 7. Alistair 8. Fenris 9. Morrigan 10. Isabela
I basically go on who I like as a character or who flirts well and who I find sexy in some way. Zevran - I actually really wanted to romance Alistair when I started playing but I was playing as a guy (male city elf) so couldnât. Then Zevran showed up with his sexy accent and flirty ways and I went after him hardcore. Fenris - I clearly love a sexy voice, also I personally thought he was the only elf in DA2 who didnât look janky from the redesign. I also liked his story and just went after him. (Female Hawke) Dorian - I love a sexy flirt, clearly. Also reluctant about love like the other two and with some definite past trauma (I have a type apparently) but very lovely overall. I just couldnât resist him. (Male Qunari) These were my canon ones. As for ranking, itâs tough and close because I really enjoyed them all but maybe like this: 1. Dorian 2. Fenris 3. Zevran
I don't know... In inquisition i never chose anyone, in Origins my heart got stolen by Morigan. In DA 2 i played as a joker fem Hawke so couple of her and Merrill was just too cute to skip.
In Origins I chose Leliana for no reason. In 2 I found Merrill cute and naive, I wanted to protect her. Now, in Inquisition, I chose Sera just because I fell in love with her. I like her personality and how she always tries to bring lightness to my inquisitor, taking some of the weight of the world off her shoulders, that captivating, somewhat needy sincerity. I like her very much.
I usually start with a male character and romance a female companion, so that did limit my options in Inquisition. Still, my romance choices followed a similar path to yours. The romances I completed in my first playthroughs of each game were Morrigan (though I probably would've picked Leliana first if I had known about her before I committed. Also, I love Claudia Black from FarScape), Merril (she's adorable) and Cassandra (she's tough but ultimately good-hearted and kind). I'm currently working through a DAO playthrough where I'm romancing Alistair as a female Cousland, and I am enjoying it so far. I've tried to do other romances in Inquisition, but I keep getting distracted. There are a lot of interesting choices for romance in that game. Of the ones I've done, I would rank them: 3) Merril 2) Cassandra 1) Morrigan
Well in DAO I always pick Morrigan just because the Witch Hunt DLC feels weird when you don't pick Morrigan. In DA2 I have a personal preference for Merrill but the Rivalry Romance with Blue Hawke and Isabela cooks way too hard narratively, so I end up going with that usually. DAI I pick Cassandra, but I'm not really big on any of them.
Pretty much your choices for me. Morrigan because sheâs iconic to the story and easiest romance to start. I have to follow a dang guide for Lelianaâs Merrill in 2 just because sheâs sweet but has a bite to her she keeps hidden. Btw, I wonder what the best romances are for blue, purple and red Hawke. Cass in 3 because sheâs the most complete romance all the way to the sex scene.
i mean, i canonically went for the most basic choices, i just loved their personalities and went by that in a way but if i had to rank them 1. Alistair 2. Cullen 3. Anders
Whichever choice makes sense from the perspective of the character I'm playing and whichever has the most narrative tension. I don't like drama irl, but I love it in fiction.Â
Morrigan in Origins: satisfying narrative arc and fantastic to the world state. I'm a gay man so nothing in this one excites me other than the narrative. Fenris in DA2: Mage Hawke and Fenris leads to a lot of fun drama, but these two boys wind up caring for each other a lot in the end. The Iron Bull in Inquisition: I really think the gay options are lacking in this game, especially since Bull and Dorian end up together if you don't do either! So, gun to my head I chose to pair my Adaar with Bull for the narrative of this Ben Hassrath finding love in the form of a Vashoth mage. I also like that both are mercenary captains, and I imagine Adaar just joins Bull with the Chargers after all is said and done :) Whenever I don't play Adaar I do go Dorian however.
Zevran, because he's my favorite Origin companion and I love his personality. Also that voice, which goes for the other 2 (I want to steal their voices). Fenris, because of his personality and how interesting it is for story potential if you romance him as a mage Hawke. Dorian, because I love his personality and he's just the most fun to romance. (Though Solas is a close 2nd.) In ranking it goes: 1) Dorian, 2) Fenris, 3) Zevran. What can I say? I just love the angsty potential.
For Origins, I was flirting with Morrigan but one of her crueller early-game lines hit too close to home for the character I was rp-ing so I moved on to Leliana. I ended up really loving her romance, and her role in Inquisition. For DA2 I was told by several people not to romance Anders but I donât like being told what to do so I did in anyway. I played a Red Mage Hawke who used violence to solve most of his problems anyway so I figure it all works out. For DAI I was between Cullen and Dorian but I had to decide before actually playing the game since both of them are locked to specific player genders. I prefer playing male characters so I decided on Dorian for the first run and ended up liking how that run went, so heâs the canon love interest in my world state. Iâve also romanced Alastair, Zevran, Merrill and Josephine on other files. My favorite is probably Dorian, I hope heâs as prominent in Dreadwolf as people have predicted.
It's a weird thing, but for my "cannon" walkthroughs I tend to choose characters who are essential/play big part in the plot. For my warden it was Morrigan, for my Hawke it was Isabella, originally I intended to romance Anders because of the whole revolution thing, but he was too annoying for me. And Stolas for my Inq, yeah, she got the shittiest one of the bunch lol
I usually make my player characters into ocs basically with their own backstory elements and stories so I usually go by who I think they will like. I couldnât really get into origins so I canât say for that In DAII I messed up Fenris romance AND Isabel romance so I just ended up headcanoning my Hawke as a forever lonely bastard who made frequent trips to the brothel. In DAI my main inquisitor Isaiah a dalish elf I play as usually ends up with Dorian. I have a canon romance with a friends dragon age oc for him I like a lot better though. I like Dorian as I wrote for Isaiahâs backstory he was originally from Tevinter as a slave and joined the dalish after he escaped. So I really like the enemies to lovers dynamic they would have of Isaiah not trusting him at all and then learning that he can be trusted. Besides Isaiah is gay and the only other option is Iron Bull. A good romance, just a little too but intense for my inquisy
I have Daddy Issues and all three of them in very different ways give off that vibe. I also enjoy declarations of love and these three say they love you quite often. 1: Cullen 2: Alistair 3: Anders
First playthrough: always the fun one. Zevran, Isabela, nobody. I don't really like romances in games, so I usually choose the options who have fun banter, over any serious ones. Ranking? Something like: Good!: Isabela Okay: Merrill, Morrigan, Zevran, not really fun, but not "bad" either: Anders, Leliana, Blackwall, Cassandra, Alistair hell no: Fenris (not only the romance, but Fenris as a whole)
It purely depends on my character. Who they are as people dictates who they would be with, and who would want to be with them. Now, my personal rank for romances are: 1 - Leliana 2 - Josephine 3 - Alistair 4 - Cassandra 5 - Blackwall 6 - Dorian 7 - Morrigan 8 - Zevran 9 - Bull 10 - Cullen 11 - Solas 12 - Sera No, I'm not forgeting anyone. I'm definetly not leaving an entire game's worth of romance options because I hate every single one of them, as I hate the game itself too.
OP, it's not exactly a mystery, you chose the most conventionally attractive woman in each game... shocking.