Shadowheart now basically pours her heart out after a few nights and you are her instant bestie. And her cottage core tradwife ( exaggerating here, but you know, what I mean) ending when romanced is just too much for me. I would have preferred her more complex personality from early access.
Astarion: same as with Shadowheart. I don't look for rising his approval, I play the way, I picture my characters and I usually have the bite scene in the third night and I hate it. In EA he was more careful and paranoid for a longer time. Granted, he doesn't do a 180 like Shadow, but I still think, his reveal comes too soon. Yes, we all can see, he is a vampire, I still loved to find the clues and him trying to come up with excuses ( for the bloodless boar for example). Same with Shadowhearts reveal, that she is Sharran: both are big things. Most people in the Forgotten Realms would not trust a vampire or a Sharran, so I would love to see both reveals a bit more of a big deal. Though at least, Astarion stays somewhat paranoid up to the drow encounter in Moonrise, which is a nice touch.
That fits with Astarion in my first playthrough. If he was able to feed off animals, it was stupid to try to feed off the party leader who had just kicked him out of the party. I can't remember about my second game, but maybe I wasn't resting as much and so missed a few night time cutscenes due to conflicts. I certainly didn't try to raise his approval, but my second character is seeking power and doesn't care about hurting people unless he can get something out of them, which chimes with Astarion's attitude.
As a player I was wrong about Shar's goals in my first game - I knew she was evil, but not "end the world" evil. Maybe I wouldn't have kept Shadowheart in the party if I knew.
Gale: in EA it was possible, that he makes a pact behind our backs with Raphael, if we don't give him magical items. That was kind of cool and it gives a sense of dread and more motivation to maybe break into the House of Hope to destroy the contract, Gale might have made on our behalf. He is ambitious and takes care, to not kill others, plus he is not opposed to dealing with Raphael, so for me, it is sad, this story element is gone.
Ooh, I like that idea. Presumably that's instead of him leaving or exploding? I've still not played with Gale, because I kicked him out of the party in the first game because my character couldn't know that he wouldn't explode at any moment; he left in the second game because we were too evil.
Yes, you are right about Gale. We didn't see the full consequences, but I think, I remember, that you can send him away, similar to Astarion after bite night.
I agree about the bite night being really stupid. In EA you had a chance in one of his cover up scenes ( I think, it was the boar) to catch him lying and address that. He then confessed to be a vampire spawn. And I think, if you make it soon enough to the Underdark, he still confesses it without the bite night. I haven't managed that yet, but I really want to try it.
The bite night is so risky from his perspective, that I don't get it from a logical POV. I would have preferred, that he just told my character after we find enough clues and his approval was raised a bit. Maybe choosing the kind option in first dialogue ( 'I sleep better for that', when he offers to stay awake and guard the camp for example or telling him about the tadpole and offer a spot in your party, even if he attacked you). If you want the bite scene playing out, you could offer afterwards. It would be more natural.
Shadowheart is complicated for me: she worships the most evil goddess in the realm ( and there is not much worse, than just end everything to have a great big nothing), she would be killed on sight by most people in the realm for that and she knows that and is a) not stupid and b) on an undercover mission and still is decked from head to toe in Shar symbols. I mean ... that makes zero sense. Then she is as bad at hiding her goddess as a 3 year old is in hiding, that they raided the cookie jar. She makes so many comments that point in less than wholesome directions, that in all reality she is not at all trustworthy. Combine that with her personality being mellowed down so much and I lost a lot of interest in her. We already have Karlach and Wyll as the friendly and outgoing ones and it fits both of their characters well, I would have preferred to have the Sharran in the group more on the guard.
I might one day play as Shadowheart to give her back a bit of her edgyness. It's funny, coming from me, because I normally don't like that trope: I totally don't care about Morrigan in DA or Yennefer in Witcher, but I think it was well done with Shadowheart in early access. I even liked her look more in EA. I still use that face for my half elf bard, that I made for a DnD campaign. It was attractive, but had more character imo.
