SPOILER Darien Gautier

Ilsabet

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

As into Darien as I am, I don't really feel compelled to rabidly defend my boy when I see people talking him down. Like I think I said in here before, people like what they like and it's not my job to change (or denigrate) anybody's opinions if they're just not that into a character I like. So I mostly shrug when I see comments like a few that have been posted in here about how he ain't no thang. But since I feel like having an excuse to talk about Darien and keep this thread going so that it can continue to entertain me, here's my take on Darien's self-aggrandizement thing:

I think he's developed this persona as a thing to present to the world that kind of covers up his uncertainties and insecurities about himself and the fact that he doesn't really know how to process the things he sees in his dreams or what he's supposed to do about them. He is a legitimately strong fighter (going by other NPCs' dialogue even if you don't find his contributions as a companion all that notable), and he obviously gets plenty of traction with the ladies, so we know his skill and attractiveness aren't all bluster. But that's an easy thing to play up as sort of a cheeky way to deflect attention from having to talk about serious stuff, and I don't think you're really supposed to take it seriously as arrogance. I mean compare his manner of speaking with some of the genuinely stuck-up Altmer you meet, or even someone like Narsis Dren. He's like that person you probably know who's the class clown and always joking around and saying dumb stuff and you're just like "oh that's just that guy being how he is" and maybe nobody ever thinks to wonder what he's like when nobody's watching. Which makes it easier for him to downplay the stuff he doesn't really want to show or talk about with other people, because it's harder and less fun than just cracking jokes about everything and making grandiose statements about how great he is.

The closer you look at the little details we get about him, the more you see what's under that persona. The journal about his dreams. Alinon's comment that "he's a better man than he pretends to be." His concern for the people of Camlorn. The way he uses his skills to protect other people or try to stop bad guys from doing bad things. He might be kind of an oaf in some ways, but he's a solid bro who will have your back no matter what. And that kind of noble, heroic essence resonates with some people, and makes it easier to take his cheeky "arrogant" comments in stride because you know that's not all he's about. Plus if you don't take him too seriously, you can imagine yourself tossing the sass right back at him and know he'd take that in stride too.

VaranisArano wrote: »

Rake wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

He was the only NPC companion I had that actually made himself useful with that Dawnbreaker synergy.

Yes, my standards are low. Compared to:
Lyris Titanborn, greatest warrior of the Empire who can't tank or DPS
Sai Sahan, failed sword saint who can DPS and won't listen when I tell him the meta is a bow back bar
And Abnur Tharn who's got the light attack weave down but only uses fear spell...

Darien actually being useful in combat was a great change and a breath of fresh air. I mean, sure, he's sacrificed himself twice now. But for a bit, he was the first NPC companion I actually enjoyed fighting alongside.

blame it on zos. All of these were made the way they are by zos.

Meh. I get it. Can't have the NPC companions overshadowing the Player.

For me, Darien in Summerset didn't overshadow. But he was markedly more helpful than the others, and the devs choice to let me choose when to use the Dawnbreaker synergy meant the tactics of the battle were in my hands. I leveled a new character doing the Summerset quest and so I though Darien - as an NPC fighting companion - was the best I've seen in the game. I hope ZOS continues that trend.

After practically one-shotting the mooks in Evergloam with my Snipes, I randomly decided to take it easy on one of them and was surprised to see that Darien makes himself useful if you give him a chance. So for the rest of the time walking up that trail, I was just light-attacking with my bow so he could use Dawnbreaker to help out. I guess it's funny to think about how different the combat experience is depending on how advanced your character is.

theskymoves

Ilsabet wrote: »

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

As into Darien as I am, I don't really feel compelled to rabidly defend my boy when I see people talking him down. Like I think I said in here before, people like what they like and it's not my job to change (or denigrate) anybody's opinions if they're just not that into a character I like. So I mostly shrug when I see comments like a few that have been posted in here about how he ain't no thang. But since I feel like having an excuse to talk about Darien and keep this thread going so that it can continue to entertain me, here's my take on Darien's self-aggrandizement thing:

I think he's developed this persona as a thing to present to the world that kind of covers up his uncertainties and insecurities about himself and the fact that he doesn't really know how to process the things he sees in his dreams or what he's supposed to do about them. He is a legitimately strong fighter (going by other NPCs' dialogue even if you don't find his contributions as a companion all that notable), and he obviously gets plenty of traction with the ladies, so we know his skill and attractiveness aren't all bluster. But that's an easy thing to play up as sort of a cheeky way to deflect attention from having to talk about serious stuff, and I don't think you're really supposed to take it seriously as arrogance. I mean compare his manner of speaking with some of the genuinely stuck-up Altmer you meet, or even someone like Narsis Dren. He's like that person you probably know who's the class clown and always joking around and saying dumb stuff and you're just like "oh that's just that guy being how he is" and maybe nobody ever thinks to wonder what he's like when nobody's watching. Which makes it easier for him to downplay the stuff he doesn't really want to show or talk about with other people, because it's harder and less fun than just cracking jokes about everything and making grandiose statements about how great he is.

The closer you look at the little details we get about him, the more you see what's under that persona. The journal about his dreams. Alinon's comment that "he's a better man than he pretends to be." His concern for the people of Camlorn. The way he uses his skills to protect other people or try to stop bad guys from doing bad things. He might be kind of an oaf in some ways, but he's a solid bro who will have your back no matter what. And that kind of noble, heroic essence resonates with some people, and makes it easier to take his cheeky "arrogant" comments in stride because you know that's not all he's about. Plus if you don't take him too seriously, you can imagine yourself tossing the sass right back at him and know he'd take that in stride too.

VaranisArano wrote: »

Rake wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

He was the only NPC companion I had that actually made himself useful with that Dawnbreaker synergy.

Yes, my standards are low. Compared to:
Lyris Titanborn, greatest warrior of the Empire who can't tank or DPS
Sai Sahan, failed sword saint who can DPS and won't listen when I tell him the meta is a bow back bar
And Abnur Tharn who's got the light attack weave down but only uses fear spell...

Darien actually being useful in combat was a great change and a breath of fresh air. I mean, sure, he's sacrificed himself twice now. But for a bit, he was the first NPC companion I actually enjoyed fighting alongside.

blame it on zos. All of these were made the way they are by zos.

Meh. I get it. Can't have the NPC companions overshadowing the Player.

For me, Darien in Summerset didn't overshadow. But he was markedly more helpful than the others, and the devs choice to let me choose when to use the Dawnbreaker synergy meant the tactics of the battle were in my hands. I leveled a new character doing the Summerset quest and so I though Darien - as an NPC fighting companion - was the best I've seen in the game. I hope ZOS continues that trend.

After practically one-shotting the mooks in Evergloam with my Snipes, I randomly decided to take it easy on one of them and was surprised to see that Darien makes himself useful if you give him a chance. So for the rest of the time walking up that trail, I was just light-attacking with my bow so he could use Dawnbreaker to help out. I guess it's funny to think about how different the combat experience is depending on how advanced your character is.

A+ analysis. *raises glass*

I hope they aren't done with Darien's story, but I'm also terrified that he'll return as an antagonist for the player character. (Stupid Meridia. *shakes fist*)

heaven13

Ilsabet wrote: »

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

As into Darien as I am, I don't really feel compelled to rabidly defend my boy when I see people talking him down. Like I think I said in here before, people like what they like and it's not my job to change (or denigrate) anybody's opinions if they're just not that into a character I like. So I mostly shrug when I see comments like a few that have been posted in here about how he ain't no thang. But since I feel like having an excuse to talk about Darien and keep this thread going so that it can continue to entertain me, here's my take on Darien's self-aggrandizement thing:

I think he's developed this persona as a thing to present to the world that kind of covers up his uncertainties and insecurities about himself and the fact that he doesn't really know how to process the things he sees in his dreams or what he's supposed to do about them. He is a legitimately strong fighter (going by other NPCs' dialogue even if you don't find his contributions as a companion all that notable), and he obviously gets plenty of traction with the ladies, so we know his skill and attractiveness aren't all bluster. But that's an easy thing to play up as sort of a cheeky way to deflect attention from having to talk about serious stuff, and I don't think you're really supposed to take it seriously as arrogance. I mean compare his manner of speaking with some of the genuinely stuck-up Altmer you meet, or even someone like Narsis Dren. He's like that person you probably know who's the class clown and always joking around and saying dumb stuff and you're just like "oh that's just that guy being how he is" and maybe nobody ever thinks to wonder what he's like when nobody's watching. Which makes it easier for him to downplay the stuff he doesn't really want to show or talk about with other people, because it's harder and less fun than just cracking jokes about everything and making grandiose statements about how great he is.

The closer you look at the little details we get about him, the more you see what's under that persona. The journal about his dreams. Alinon's comment that "he's a better man than he pretends to be." His concern for the people of Camlorn. The way he uses his skills to protect other people or try to stop bad guys from doing bad things. He might be kind of an oaf in some ways, but he's a solid bro who will have your back no matter what. And that kind of noble, heroic essence resonates with some people, and makes it easier to take his cheeky "arrogant" comments in stride because you know that's not all he's about. Plus if you don't take him too seriously, you can imagine yourself tossing the sass right back at him and know he'd take that in stride too.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. To all of this.

Which is what makes me love Darien. Typically my favorite characters in games are ones that you actually have to make an effort to get to know and look past the surface of what they present to the world whether because they don't want to burden people, or are hiding insecurities/past mistakes, or just because 'yo, who are you and why do I want to tell you my life story 3 seconds after we meet'. To me, it makes for a deeper experience.

To be fair, I was a psych major and am also a writer so...

Ilsabet

theskymoves wrote: »

Ilsabet wrote: »

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

As into Darien as I am, I don't really feel compelled to rabidly defend my boy when I see people talking him down. Like I think I said in here before, people like what they like and it's not my job to change (or denigrate) anybody's opinions if they're just not that into a character I like. So I mostly shrug when I see comments like a few that have been posted in here about how he ain't no thang. But since I feel like having an excuse to talk about Darien and keep this thread going so that it can continue to entertain me, here's my take on Darien's self-aggrandizement thing:

I think he's developed this persona as a thing to present to the world that kind of covers up his uncertainties and insecurities about himself and the fact that he doesn't really know how to process the things he sees in his dreams or what he's supposed to do about them. He is a legitimately strong fighter (going by other NPCs' dialogue even if you don't find his contributions as a companion all that notable), and he obviously gets plenty of traction with the ladies, so we know his skill and attractiveness aren't all bluster. But that's an easy thing to play up as sort of a cheeky way to deflect attention from having to talk about serious stuff, and I don't think you're really supposed to take it seriously as arrogance. I mean compare his manner of speaking with some of the genuinely stuck-up Altmer you meet, or even someone like Narsis Dren. He's like that person you probably know who's the class clown and always joking around and saying dumb stuff and you're just like "oh that's just that guy being how he is" and maybe nobody ever thinks to wonder what he's like when nobody's watching. Which makes it easier for him to downplay the stuff he doesn't really want to show or talk about with other people, because it's harder and less fun than just cracking jokes about everything and making grandiose statements about how great he is.

The closer you look at the little details we get about him, the more you see what's under that persona. The journal about his dreams. Alinon's comment that "he's a better man than he pretends to be." His concern for the people of Camlorn. The way he uses his skills to protect other people or try to stop bad guys from doing bad things. He might be kind of an oaf in some ways, but he's a solid bro who will have your back no matter what. And that kind of noble, heroic essence resonates with some people, and makes it easier to take his cheeky "arrogant" comments in stride because you know that's not all he's about. Plus if you don't take him too seriously, you can imagine yourself tossing the sass right back at him and know he'd take that in stride too.

VaranisArano wrote: »

Rake wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

AbysmalGhul wrote: »

He was just some dewd who thought he was better than he actually was! Change my mind

He was the only NPC companion I had that actually made himself useful with that Dawnbreaker synergy.

Yes, my standards are low. Compared to:
Lyris Titanborn, greatest warrior of the Empire who can't tank or DPS
Sai Sahan, failed sword saint who can DPS and won't listen when I tell him the meta is a bow back bar
And Abnur Tharn who's got the light attack weave down but only uses fear spell...

Darien actually being useful in combat was a great change and a breath of fresh air. I mean, sure, he's sacrificed himself twice now. But for a bit, he was the first NPC companion I actually enjoyed fighting alongside.

blame it on zos. All of these were made the way they are by zos.

Meh. I get it. Can't have the NPC companions overshadowing the Player.

For me, Darien in Summerset didn't overshadow. But he was markedly more helpful than the others, and the devs choice to let me choose when to use the Dawnbreaker synergy meant the tactics of the battle were in my hands. I leveled a new character doing the Summerset quest and so I though Darien - as an NPC fighting companion - was the best I've seen in the game. I hope ZOS continues that trend.

After practically one-shotting the mooks in Evergloam with my Snipes, I randomly decided to take it easy on one of them and was surprised to see that Darien makes himself useful if you give him a chance. So for the rest of the time walking up that trail, I was just light-attacking with my bow so he could use Dawnbreaker to help out. I guess it's funny to think about how different the combat experience is depending on how advanced your character is.

I hope they aren't done with Darien's story, but I'm also terrified that he'll return as an antagonist for the player character. (Stupid Meridia. *shakes fist*)

Oh geez. In one of my D&D campaigns, my character fell in love with a dude who then went crazy through no fault of his own, and we've been told we're going to have to kill him as part of a god's master plan to save the world. I'm not sure I can go through that twice.

I haven't done anything with Wrathstone yet, but I find it very interesting that Meridia is set up as an antagonist and I'll be even more interested to know if this will lead to something involving Darien. It seems like it would be quite the oversight to have Meridia story involvement without addressing the fate of the Golden Knight. I know that's the very first thing my character would be demanding if she came face to face with her again.

Margravigne

This may be reaching, but.... of all the visitations/ghosts I see when completing the "Old Life " celebration as part of the New Life Festival, isn't it strange that Darien doesn't make an appearance? I'm holding onto this as proof he isn't dead, and ZOS are playing a seriously long game with his character.

amig186

Margravigne wrote: »

This may be reaching, but.... of all the visitations/ghosts I see when completing the "Old Life " celebration as part of the New Life Festival, isn't it strange that Darien doesn't make an appearance? I'm holding onto this as proof he isn't dead, and ZOS are playing a seriously long game with his character.

Because he's not dead, just trapped in Meridia's realm of Oblivion.

TaSheen

Whoa - holy massive necro there folks!

luen79rwb17_ESO

In b4 lock
Long live Darien!
We want a new Darien class
We want a new Darien race
#BringDarienBack.

ZOS_Icy

Greetings,

We have closed this topic as it was originally created in June 2018. In many cases, it's better to create a new thread on a topic that you want to discuss as opposed to bumping one that is rather old.

Thank you for your understanding.