Minathara romance worth over astarion ?

[Buurt]

It's my second playthrough, in my first one I didn't really use astarion or did his quest because I was good and he seemed to evil.

Now I am doing a druge playthrough which is more smart evil than murder hobo.
I saw alot of people talking about astarion etc. And I saw alot of people saying minathara seems to be bugged.

Is the whole minathara romance stuff fixed and worth to chose over astarion ? Or should I romance him first because minathara isn't worth it ?

[⎛⎝ Kupo ⎠⎞]

Minthara is great, Astarion has a better story tho.
Also Minthara was a bit disappointing as an evil character, she's too '' soft '' imo.
It really felt like they wrote her intending for you to basically redeem her.

You can still be evil and she'll just be okay with it more than other companions ( including take over the world together shenanigans ).
But yeah the way she talks is too soft imo and not what I expected, it's a little strange too considering the Drow are meant to be matriarchal and afaik she's nobility.
But she comes across as more submissive in how she speaks and acts.

Edit: On that note evil Astarion is actually pretty hilarious, I'd probably recommend him if you're going with an evil playthrough.
I think his evil storyline also makes sense for a '' smart evil character ''.

[⎛⎝ Kupo ⎠⎞]

The Shadowheart one ( the good ) is really great imo, but it also feels like it plays more into her storyline.
I haven't done any of the male ones, but I think hers is by far the best and the one that comes across like it makes the most sense and is the most genuine.

The others are definitely just more like *Commander Shepard voice*: '' lets bang okay? '' while with the Shadowheart one I think it makes a lot more sense and Tav is there as pretty real emotional support too.
For as much as people hype up Karlach ultimately her entire romance subplot essentially boils down to her being horny.
People can argue about it all they want but her entire character just comes across like '' muscle mommy fetish '' fanservice, her entire character and how she's written just revolves entirely around that even the dialogue options Tav gets comes across as a lot more childish and like it revolves around that too.
She's basically just a meme and a character trope, Shadowheart comes across more like a real character with more actual depth and it's reflected in the romance subplot too..

[LoVeSuns]

Originally posted by Lucifronz:

I've yet to see any really interesting romance options in the game at all.

Romance them early on, bang them, then you get some minor dialogue changes here and there later on if you're romancing them.

Granted, my recent Minthara romance was as a Durge with the Bhaal ending, so I wasn't exactly getting some post-game campsite discussion, but I just don't see the romance in the game to be anything worth aiming for. It's something to do at most. Pick whichever looks interesting and then forget you're even romancing them, that's what I say...

The romances in this game are terrific. Sucks for you that you have terrible taste/takes and can't enjoy them. Minthara is probably the character with the least fleshed out story, though.

[Mike Garrison]

Minthara is too smart to just be "evil, evil, evil". She is willing to gather power and influence by doing things that would generally be considered to be benign or even heroic. She would, ultimately, make a great benevolent dictator out of enlightened self-interest rather than any specific desire to be nice to people.

I could see her as Octavian Caesar -- ruthless and powerful, but also someone who builds an empire rather than someone who parasitizes one.

[wtiger27]

For myself, Minthara is a instant win over Astarion. Considering I kill Astarion when I meet him at the beach in every run I have did, with the exception of the first one. I did not know any better then. :p

[⎛⎝ Kupo ⎠⎞]

Originally posted by LoVeSuns:

Originally posted by Lucifronz:

I've yet to see any really interesting romance options in the game at all.

Romance them early on, bang them, then you get some minor dialogue changes here and there later on if you're romancing them.

Granted, my recent Minthara romance was as a Durge with the Bhaal ending, so I wasn't exactly getting some post-game campsite discussion, but I just don't see the romance in the game to be anything worth aiming for. It's something to do at most. Pick whichever looks interesting and then forget you're even romancing them, that's what I say...

Minthara is probably the character with the least fleshed out story, though.

True altho she does at least have quite a bit of dialogue and commentary now after they fixed the bugs.
She doesn't have an actual storyline like the others do tho.

Altho honestly that only really goes for Shadowheart, Astarion, Lae'zel and Gale afaik.
The others storylines kinda goes nowhere.
Wyll is a bit more arguable tho.

[Metallicus]

I would choose Minthara since she doesn't have a penis and is a really cool character.

[Occasum_Solis]

Originally posted by Buurt:

It's my second playthrough, in my first one I didn't really use astarion or did his quest because I was good and he seemed to evil.

Now I am doing a druge playthrough which is more smart evil than murder hobo.
I saw alot of people talking about astarion etc. And I saw alot of people saying minathara seems to be bugged.

Is the whole minathara romance stuff fixed and worth to chose over astarion ? Or should I romance him first because minathara isn't worth it ?

Content and deepth wise you will have more fun with Astarion, however Minthara got some (!) fixes and her Post-Credit Camp Scene is my personal favourite. Also her snarky comments in Act 3 are quite hilarious.

[Metadragon]

Originally posted by Buurt:

It's my second playthrough, in my first one I didn't really use astarion or did his quest because I was good and he seemed to evil.

Now I am doing a druge playthrough which is more smart evil than murder hobo.
I saw alot of people talking about astarion etc. And I saw alot of people saying minathara seems to be bugged.

Is the whole minathara romance stuff fixed and worth to chose over astarion ? Or should I romance him first because minathara isn't worth it ?

All the "evil" companions can be pushed toward good actions and eventually endings including romance to a good character.

Minthara is the exception. She never considers her evil actions are evil.

Its honestly the weakest romance imo.

Originally posted by ⎛⎝ Kupo ⎠⎞:

The Shadowheart one ( the good ) is really great imo, but it also feels like it plays more into her storyline.
I haven't done any of the male ones, but I think hers is by far the best and the one that comes across like it makes the most sense and is the most genuine.

The others are definitely just more like *Commander Shepard voice*: '' lets bang okay? '' while with the Shadowheart one I think it makes a lot more sense and Tav is there as pretty real emotional support too.
For as much as people hype up Karlach ultimately her entire romance subplot essentially boils down to her being horny.
People can argue about it all they want but her entire character just comes across like '' muscle mommy fetish '' fanservice, her entire character and how she's written just revolves entirely around that even the dialogue options Tav gets comes across as a lot more childish and like it revolves around that too.
She's basically just a meme and a character trope, Shadowheart comes across more like a real character with more actual depth and it's reflected in the romance subplot too..

Lae'zel is better imo. She fundamentally throws away her entire cultural identity because loving you doesn't mesh with it. (and is further reinforced when the Prince is revealed.)

But they all have the "We'll bang ok" aspect at the end of act 1. But they all become considerably more complex afterward. Not just Shadowheart. The exceptions are Halsin and Minthara who dont really have a growth arc, they are just as is when you meet them and dont change much.

[Mike Garrison]

Originally posted by Occasum_Solis:

her Post-Credit Camp Scene

I assume you mean the short scene that happens after the endgame but before the reunion camp? Because the only "post-credits" scene I have ever had is with Withers making fun of the incompetence of the Dead Three.

[Mike Garrison]

Originally posted by Metadragon:

The exceptions are Halsin and Minthara who dont really have a growth arc, they are just as is when you meet them and dont change much.

1) Minthara has *already* changed a lot by the time you pick her up as a companion.
2) She is a schemer and extremely power-hungry by nature and nurture, but you can influence what her schemes are and how she decides to attain that power.