Hi after the patch, I reloaded my primary party/save and went back and played the ending again.
My primary party was Shadowheart (Main romance partner), Lae'zel (did some romance, but after getting called out by Shadowheart stayed the course with her), and Astarian.
Not sure I like the changes. Prior it felt like no matter what your choices were they were hard choices and you couldn't make everyone happy. Now it feels much more flat with 'nicer' resolutions.
In my first playthrough I had decided my number one goal was not turn into a mindflayer. I didn't have Karlach in my party, so after rescuing Orpheus, when it came to choose who was going to be come a mindflayer, I choose the weaker one of letting Orpheus do it. I loved this difficult choice.
At the end of the game OG ending, Lae'zel was pissed at me for letting Orpheus do that (which felt very appropriate) and helped add to the whole, "CHOICES MATTER". Now she also complained about how she was going to be hunted down by Vlaakith and that felt a little weak to me but it did make the resolution with her very bitter and I think it was stronger for it.
Now in the new ending, I like that Lae'zel is not so docile to be succumbed to being hunted. That she's going to bring the fight to Vlaakith but she doesn't seem to acknowledge what you did to Orpheus and how that screws over her people. It's way more, "Everyone is happy" and I think that really weakens the ending and makes it feel much more flat.
Choices that matter means not everyone is happy. Endings are better if not every resolution is good.
