Okay full disclosure I was already in the middle of Act 3 when Patch 2 dropped, so I'm not aware of whatever lines were added in Act 2 or at the start of Act 3 and can't say anything about the general 'doomer attitude' or not, but I'm not seeing any of "suddenly fine going back there" you mentioned?
Sorry! Seems like I missed your reply to me.
And apologies for being unclear: the rapid tonal shift was there from the start. What I meant was that Patch 2 made it worse and cemented it.
It added a few lines here and there that affected her outlook on the situation. Right from Act 2 she makes a remark about how her engine probably can't be fixed.
Digging through the patch 2 files, I also found voice lines such as her contemplating how your "little big lives" may be playing out differently in another realm among the stars or how she wished she could grow old with you if she had the choice. I hadn't heard these before.
As for her being fine with going back -- she just is, for some reason. Before and after the patch. That last-minute choice on the pier goes against every single time she said she'd rather die here and now than live a long life in Avernus. With Patch 2, you can now see the 180 with your own eyes. Going to the House of Hope gave her extreme anxiety. Now she's just chilling with a cigar. How did that happen?
I don't know what to tell you, but for me, not enough things happened and not enough time had passed for a change this big to occur.
That speech after killing Gortash was powerful, but also full of shit.
She was right that her vengeance was empty. She was right that it was all unfair. That her suffering was meaningless. She cries that she doesn't want to go like this. She even begs you to tell her you'll try, that you can fix her. And what can you say in return? You can either lie to her or give her a shoulder to cry on.
All of that despite not having even attempted any other option aside from Dammon. I'm sorry, but in a game where a guy with a magic time bomb in his chest gets to walk it off, that sounds like bullshit to me.
Her sorrow is heartwrenching, but it isn't believable. And that saps the meaning from it.
So while I agree with indomitnotable that we should retain the emotional punch of Karlach's story, I don't think we should be leaning into things that go against her character.
