Mimic said:
The AI of the pawns was.. reasonable but you lacked commands that would be useful such as getting them to infuse weapons with elemental powers or specifically to heal you or a member of your part, even to send them ahead of youin to combat would have been handy at times.
Tho you couldn't issue specific commands like that, the behaviour is quite doable. I think it's part of the gameplay (and not a bad part) that you specifically cannot directly control the pawns. We do however have the opportunity to pick any class we wish for the main character and picking the pawns' classes to complement that.
As for the inclinations, the best setup for the pawn you want (I believe) is something like Utilitarian primary, Medicant Secondary and whatever you like tertiary (I like acquisitor tertiary since then they pick up loot after combat). In your case, you could have Pioneer tertiary so that the pawn ranges ahead outside of combat. Saying that, pioneer secondary/tertiary is a better behaviour for a pawn with more survival skills than a mage, such as a tank or ranger type. (I don't think I ever used it personally, since I preferred having the pawns nearby. I also would wonder what they got up to off-screen and unsupervised...)
If you don't want the job for your Arisen or for your main pawn, you can try to hire one. A Mage with 2-3 of the Affinities (eg. Fire, Holy, Dark), Anodine, Halidom and 1-2 attacks (or debuffs/CC) of whatever you can find. The reason for the inclinations is that a medicant primary will focus on healing to the exclusion of all else and rarely use any other abilities. Utilitarian primary will do what's best for the team first, like buffs, then heal after that. Medicant primaries are like Sheva in RE5, using up all your herbs for even the tiniest boo-boo.
Mimic said:
And wtf was with that shoehorned in romance at the end of the game or even the Duke's wife for that matter?
It was a bit odd, but quite fun in a whimsical way I thought. I found out after (when I wondered why the Duke's wife became my romance) that the NPC who is your love is the one you most recently got to max affection after reaching a certain point in the game (I forget which). Some players would max out affection with whomever the wished to be their love just before that point, else deliberately lower and re-raise it in case it was already maxed.
It's quite cool as it's an unknown element and quite often can be a surprise. Some players ended up with Mathias ("Come, come, don't be shy!"), the Jester (seriously! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUbLL3J0__o]) and other bizarre ones. I got Aelinor first time, Mercedes second (I think she's a tough one since she disappears from the game) and the busty, blonde shopkeep third time round (which was weird, having to go to our shared bedroom to shop with her). (I think the witch is a popular option to, but I think she's supposed to be like 14, so ewwwww...Apparently some ended up with Symone...major-ewww!). Strangely, I never considered Quina. (Wouldn't mind some Mathias-love tho, now I think about it. "Come, come, don't be shy!" is just the right thing to say before stripping nekkid and getting some northern, bearded shopkeep lovin').
I remember reading one post from a player who, despite spending effort and gifts on NPCs he liked, somehow ended up with the blacksmith, enjoying some thick, burly man love. He could accept that tho, but what annoyed him was that he had to travel back to the starting village post-you-know to get upgrades from his stay-at-home hubby. I think this element is funny, charming, interesting (insofar as the effects it can have post-stuff, positive or negative) and unique to Dragon's Dogma. It adds another unique role-play element to our Arisen. Tho if it were me, the Gran Soren innkeep would be the worst choice imaginable. Would render the game almost unplayable, surely?
In the context of the game, I think it was meant to evoke an emotional response by endangering a character you cared about, showing that they're fragile and that they aren't an Arisen. As though the powers at play are greater than the Arisen can comprehend, let alone challenge, especially when they can strike at his/her most vulnerable spot (the romance). It wasn't the most fleshed out system of any game (particularly considering that anyone could end up the romance option) but I'll give it this: it was more than Skyrim "romances" offered. I thought it was a nice touch that made every playthru unique, made us think more about the NPCs and remember them. They're not BioWare level, but they aren't bad.
