Dragon Age - Why so much hate for Anora?

[thejboy88]

Title says it all. One of the things concerning the first DA game that I never really understood was people's general dislike of the character of Queen Anora. Personally, I liekd her, even though she did oppose my group at times.

However, I would like to hear from all of you why it is that most speak of her so negatively.

 

[Mikejames]

Her willingness to sell out and/or execute the people who saved her in hopes of gaining political power probably doesn't help.

 

[Ren_Li]

She was only interested in keeping her throne. If that means siding with her father, who killed her husband, started a civil war, allowed slavery to be brought into the capital city, and let everyone who could end the blight perish... She's okay with that, as long as she gets her throne back.
She's a cold, ruthless aristocrat who puts her own desire for power over anything- over the memory of her husband, over her father's name, over the only people capable of saving "her" country from the darkspawn, over the good of the people she'd be ruling over.

And that's a pretty compelling reason not to like someone, in my opinion.

:EDIT: Also, as I recall (it's been a while), she acts like a ***** towards Alistair, even if he doesn't want the throne, because his blood alone makes him a threat. And then assumes his brother/sister Warden, and possible best friend or even lover, will be okay with her attitude and help her keep power.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Well, this probably had a lot to do with it.

Voice acting so grating it makes the syntax challenged narrator from Soulstorm sound like Shakespeare.

 

[Hugh Wright]

While I don't hate her, I can see why people do.

Spoiler

She will abandon you to the guards after rescue her, betray you at the landsmeet to Logahin if certain conditions aren't met, she want to kill Alistar

and she is often rude

 

[BrotherRool]

I wouldn't trust her with anything. She's efficient but completely amoral. So she can lead, but she's got nowhere to lead people except towards more personal power for her. It's possible that having another moral person in a position of strong responsibility will help her, but you have to be fighting her schemes for power all the time.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I don't know. She is obviously more suited to rule than Alistair and she has effectively ruled the kingdom since she married Calian (who was an idiot who I wouldn't trust to manage a lemonade stand). I like her. I always make her queen on my playthroughs.

 

[DementedSheep]

I think a lot of people told what?s-her-face that they were rescuing Anora even though she specifically tells you not to and if you do that she sells you out. Not the best first impression and she can betray you at the landsmeet aswell. I didn't have either of those things happen so I didn't mind her. She may be a ***** but I think I?d rather have her rule than Alistair.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I don't know. She is obviously more suited to rule than Alistair and she has effectively ruled the kingdom since she married Calian (who was an idiot who I wouldn't just to manage a lemonade stand). I like her. I always make her queen on my playthroughs.

I'm not terribly certain. She forges alliances of convenience of the moment and discards them the moment that alliance is a burden - hardly the position to take when your nation is currently crubling to civil war, blight, and ripe for foreign invasion. She also actively undermines any attempt to resolve a series of tremendous threats to her people and her nation to help secure her throne.

She is, in a nutshell, an excellent politician but a tremendously poor leader.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I don't know. She is obviously more suited to rule than Alistair and she has effectively ruled the kingdom since she married Calian (who was an idiot who I wouldn't just to manage a lemonade stand). I like her. I always make her queen on my playthroughs.

I'm not terribly certain. She forges alliances of convenience of the moment and discards them the moment that alliance is a burden - hardly the position to take when your nation is currently crubling to civil war, blight, and ripe for foreign invasion. She also actively undermines any attempt to resolve a series of tremendous threats to her people and her nation to help secure her throne.

She is, in a nutshell, an excellent politician but a tremendously poor leader.

The Return to Ostagar DLC shows that Cailian was planning on ditching Anora for Celene, the Empress of Orlais. Alistair fully admits that he knows fuck all about being a king or being a leader (it is why you are the head of the party in the first place). I guess she just looks good when compared to the alternatives.

 

[The_Lost_King]

I don't hate her. Alistair is just 1,000,000 times better. I never have and probably never will pick her over Alistair.

 

[Lieju]

I don't really hate her (even if her voice annoyed me), definitely not as a character, I liked the choice between him and Alistair. I might not have liked her as a person, but I understood where she was coming from. She had been a queen, that was her job, and then someone who knows nothing about being a king (and doesn't want the job)is suggested as a replacement?

I don't know. She is obviously more suited to rule than Alistair and she has effectively ruled the kingdom since she married Calian (who was an idiot who I wouldn't just to manage a lemonade stand). I like her. I always make her queen on my playthroughs.

I'm not terribly certain. She forges alliances of convenience of the moment and discards them the moment that alliance is a burden - hardly the position to take when your nation is currently crubling to civil war, blight, and ripe for foreign invasion. She also actively undermines any attempt to resolve a series of tremendous threats to her people and her nation to help secure her throne.

She is, in a nutshell, an excellent politician but a tremendously poor leader.

The Return to Ostagar DLC shows that Cailian was planning on ditching Anora for Celene, the Empress of Orlais. Alistair fully admits that he knows fuck all about being a king or being a leader (it is why you are the head of the party in the first place). I guess she just looks good when compared to the alternatives.

And don't forget Alistair is a Grey warden, who are supposed to stay neutral. Plus he will die young and it's uncertain if he can have children to continue his lineage.
(Of course you can become the Queen as well, if you're human female noble and marry Alistair, so there's that possibility.)

And Alistair would have people supporting him and taking care of the practical side of things, if you don't convince him to marry Anora. Like his uncle(?) earl of Redcliff.

 

[Miyenne]

I'll take a ruler who doesn't want to rule over someone who does any day. Alistair was scared of being King and screwing up, and that's a good thing. She just wanted power. He cared about the people, she cared about herself.

That and I always played as a human noble and could never resist his clumsy charm so I wanted to marry him, and the only way I could do that was to put him on the throne. And I never hardened him so I knew he'd try his best to be a good King.

And everything else already said.

 

[In Search of Username]

I feel like she's a fairly realistic character by the game's standards, and one who would ensure a lot more stability as ruler than Alistair. But hell, she's definitely not likable. All the selling you out, being cold and ruthless and evil and such, doesn't make for a very likable character generally.

That said I prefer her to characters that are not only unlikable, but also boring and unconvincing like Leliana.

godifuckinghateleliana

 

[alphamalet]

She is conniving and manipulative, but she is a good leader. She was obviously the one calling the shots when she was married to that idiot Cailan, and would be a far better leader than the idiot Alistair who doesn't even want to lead a four-person party. Not only that, but the people of Ferelden like her. It seems like a pretty easy choice to put her on the throne to me...

And don't even act like Allistar is above the political bullshit that Anora pulls! If you aren't a female human noble, and you've had a relationship with him, he dumps you after he becomes king. At least that's what I remember...

 

[Ren_Li]

That and I always played as a human noble and could never resist his clumsy charm so I wanted to marry him, and the only way I could do that was to put him on the throne. And I never hardened him so I knew he'd try his best to be a good King.

He makes a better ruler when hardened, and is more determined to become king because he feels Anora is amoral and can't be trusted to be ruler. So... It's better for everyone if he's hardened, including him, as he's clearly more determined to take responsibility for his own life and refuse to let his life be dictated by others, fate, or circumstance.

Seriously... If you're ever going to re-play it, try hardening him, if only for the experience.

 

[Miyenne]

That and I always played as a human noble and could never resist his clumsy charm so I wanted to marry him, and the only way I could do that was to put him on the throne. And I never hardened him so I knew he'd try his best to be a good King.

He makes a better ruler when hardened, and is more determined to become king because he feels Anora is amoral and can't be trusted to be ruler. So... It's better for everyone if he's hardened, including him, as he's clearly more determined to take responsibility for his own life and refuse to let his life be dictated by others, fate, or circumstance.

Seriously... If you're ever going to re-play it, try hardening him, if only for the experience.

I'm always tempted, but it feels wrong to do that to him. Or as my sister just said: "But I like him happy and stupid."

Maybe because I always play a bit of a hardened, cynical character as that's what I'm really like, I like a man even in my video game fantasies to balance me out.

 

[giantgemclips]

hmmm, I actually liked her. I thought she was flawed, a person who wants to do the right thing but realizes that she is surrounded by people who have no problem doing the wrong thing and winning because of it so she opts to play them at her own game.

she's a flawd characters and essentially "a politician".