I'm honestly not sure which option to pick. I despise the fact that we NEED to select someone to bite the bullet when there is Omeluum, and also that we can't convince Orpheus and the Emperor to agree to temporarily work together because the situation is too dire for petty squabbles. This whole thing in my opinion needs a total rewrite. I also dislike the fact that I need to carry Karlach in my party to be the sacrifice and can't finish the game with someone I like because of it. If we really need to keep the MF railoading in the game, I would have liked if the Astral Prism choice was done is such a way that we contacted our whole party and decided together who gets the short end of the stick. I think more people should volunteer too - for example Wyll who likes to play hero and Lae'zel could be persuaded to save her Prince. I would also like to be able to control other companions in the epilogue or just see them fighting somewhere, because it's ridiculous that the city is on fire but they are chilling at camp and you only see them at the dock once the danger has been eliminated. Thanks for nothing, lazy gits!
When it comes to the actual ending beyond that awful point in the story, I didn't see the need to change anything, only add options, for example: being able to keep Scratch, having Us stay with Tav, being able to take your LI with you and accompany Lae'zel to the Astral as a friend, as well as follow Karlach into the portal. I also want to see Astarion after battle epilogue choices be meaningful, because no matter what you decide to do, you stay in the city with AA and travel with UA if you don't go to the Underdark to be a spawn babysitter.
Overall, everyone was happy in my ending, no downer there. I was very pleased with the result.
Dragon Age Origins and real life taught me that self-sacrifice is for suckers so I'm never going for that option in a game again. What Larian did with the endings shows just that - self-sacrifice means you feel good about yourself for a moment, are branded as a saviour until people eventually forget about you and may possibly backstab you, and you have to live with bitter consequences of your decision while everyone else enjoys their life at your expense.
Originally Posted by The Red Queen
For me, the smallest possible change that would at least make me feel a little less like weeping at the end of my favourite characters' stories would be simply changing the ending animation with WIthers when a character chooses to ...
... kill themselves rather than live as an illithid so that we see them with their original appearance (ie their spirit form is no longer a mindflayer). Withers' spiel about there still being a story for the character after death could be hopeful, but in context it just feels like more punishment as after committing suicide rather than continuing as a mindflayer it now seems as though the character needs to suffer an eternity as a ghost illithid.
The next step, for a bit more work but still hopefully not much, would be if Withers could enable such a character to attend the epilogue party in spirit form. And, separately, if Withers would temporarily break a self-imprisoned mindflayer out to attend the party. That way we could at least get the satisfaction of seeing what our sacrifice has achieved for those companions whose lives we've saved.
I agree that
ghost illithid doesn't make sense. At that point the soul is salvaged and the monstrous body is left behind.
The spirit form attendance is already possible in this ending:
I don't see why they didn't make it available after the regular suicide too. I guess this path is just underdeveloped like Astarion LI epilogues. I disagree with letting self-imprisoned Tav show up - they're dangerous and starved. The fact that there's a saving throw check at the party is proof of that. This is yet another good example of realistic consequences of wanting to be a selfless goody-goody character.
For me, it's kinda all of the above when it comes to the poll.
