Why is it that hetero female force-attuned player characters can only romance male non-force attuned companions, whilst the majority of hetero male force-attuned player characters can romance female force-attuned companions?

Why can’t our female Jedi Knights/Consulars hook up with male Jedi or Sith – or our female Sith Warriors/Inquisitors hook up with male Jedi or sith?

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Sith Warrior – female - Malavai Quinn - non-force attuned

Sith Inquisitor – female - Andronikos Revel – non-force attuned

Sith Warrior – male - Jaesa Willsaam – force-attuned

Sith Inquisitor – male - Ashara Zavros – force-attuned

Jedi Knight – female – Doc – non-force attuned

Jedi Consular – female – Felix Iresso – non-force attuned

Jedi Knight – male - Kira Carsen – force attuned

Jedi Consular – male - Nadia Grell – force attuned

Female – hetro – Theron Shan (non-force attuned)

Male – hetro – Lana Beniko (force attuned)

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Does BioWare think that we force-wielding ladies can’t handle a force-attuned significant other?

This enquiring mind would like to know why.

Yeah, I'm not sure if this was design or just happened to have turned out that way. There was that thing recently from a former BW dev where it was noted that many of the vanilla stories had a single person responsible for them. You'd think there'd be someone in overall control to check things, but this makes it, imo, not entirely implausible that separate writers simply arrived at the same conclusions on certain fronts.

I would've liked more variety, but it seems extremely unlikely to me that they will ever touch the vanilla stories in this manner.

Yeah, right now the only male Force user available is Arcann. That obviously isn't going to work for everyone, and it isn't even until after the bulk of the story content currently available.

I've always figured someone involved with the writing assumed all guys were really into taking advantage of young naive girls who call them 'master' which to be honest has always creeped me out.

There are some reeeeaaaaalllly problematic things with the uneven power balance with most of the female love interests, for sure. With only a few exceptions they're all really young and in some sort of subservient position to the male character.

In a similar vein, it's perplexing that Jorgan is the only alien women can romance. Oh sure, they tempt us with other sexy aliens, but we don't get to romance them

I know right?! Men get Twi'lek, Zabrak, Togruta, Rattataki, and "Sarkhai" in addition to regular humans and women only get a lone Thundercat. I mean I guess you can kind of count Vector but he's still human. It would have been cool if we could at least get some kind of species customization for the companions that's visual only.

I've always figured someone involved with the writing assumed all guys were really into taking advantage of young naive girls who call them 'master' which to be honest has always creeped me out.

There are some reeeeaaaaalllly problematic things with the uneven power balance with most of the female love interests, for sure. With only a few exceptions they're all really young and in some sort of subservient position to the male character.

And this is why i only have 3 male character over 8 total mains, because while i like some of the female companions as companions, i really can't stant their romance options.

It's why my Si and my JC are singles as (though i can't stand her), you can start abusing Ashara the minute you meet her, and well Nadia goes both ways, either you're a jerk while rejecting her, or you're taking advantage of her or she's forcing herself on you...

I'll probably try the Akaavi romance on the smuggler though as the smuggler does not really have any kind of power over her, and i don't think she's the kind of woman who'll not kick your bottom if you try to abuse her.

But yeah the fact that there are only Lana or Arcann as FU for female characters while there are Kira, Nadia, Ashara, Jaesa, Lana, Arcann (and to some extent Cytharat too) for male characters is a bit upsetting...

It's a little funny that male characters are always romancing their students, but personally I don't see the fuss about not getting romance options that happeen to use the Force. I don't feel it affects the romance in any way, the personality of the character is what matters.

But hey, I hope they add more Force using options for you gals because that's more options for me too. and aliens! Especially aliens. Especially blue aliens with titles like "Aristocra".

Female – hetro – Theron Shan (non-force attuned)

Actually Theron is force attuned and was in Jedi training in his youth. He just didn't make it very far.

Raina is also force attuned but without any kind of training.

Yeah, I'm not sure if this was design or just happened to have turned out that way.

Since they had different people writing each class story, I wouldn't be surprised it just turned out that way and writers just had similar ideas going into designing their stories. Only Smuggler and Knight were written by the same person.

In a similar vein, it's perplexing that Jorgan is the only alien women can romance. Oh sure, they tempt us with other sexy aliens, but we don't get to romance them

This always made me sad too. We have a galaxy full of amazing alien species, but majority of what we got were humans. Whyy!?

Why is it that hetero female force-attuned player characters can only romance male non-force attuned companions, whilst the majority of hetero male force-attuned player characters can romance female force-attuned companions?

 

Why can’t our female Jedi Knights/Consulars hook up with male Jedi or Sith – or our female Sith Warriors/Inquisitors hook up with male Jedi or sith?

 

----------------

Sith Warrior – female - Malavai Quinn - non-force attuned

Sith Inquisitor – female - Andronikos Revel – non-force attuned

Sith Warrior – male - Jaesa Willsaam – force-attuned

Sith Inquisitor – male - Ashara Zavros – force-attuned

 

Jedi Knight – female – Doc – non-force attuned

Jedi Consular – female – Felix Iresso – non-force attuned

Jedi Knight – male - Kira Carsen – force attuned

Jedi Consular – male - Nadia Grell – force attuned

 

Female – hetro – Theron Shan (non-force attuned)

Male – hetro – Lana Beniko (force attuned)

-----------------

Does BioWare think that we force-wielding ladies can’t handle a force-attuned significant other?

This enquiring mind would like to know why.

I completely agree! The amount of male Force User romance options for female Force Users is preposterously low. The only male Force Users female Jedi or Sith can romance is Arcann, but that's too little, we need more! Scourge should be a romance option in my opinion. But it doesn't need to be old companions only, why not make new ones as well?

A few proposals for male Force Users romance companions that I have:

- Darth Marr's son, who tries to live up to his father's name and dreams of a Sith Empire as strong under his father's rule.

- The Force Sensitive Chiss from the Copero flashpoint who, according to Charles Boyd, may not be as dead as we think.

- Shigar Konshi, the Kiffu Jedi from the Fatal Alliances novel, he was an interesting character and why not romance a Quinlan Vos look-alike?

There are some reeeeaaaaalllly problematic things with the uneven power balance with most of the female love interests, for sure. With only a few exceptions they're all really young and in some sort of subservient position to the male character.

You're right. I can't tell what's more problematic--that a lot of gamers get off on it (especially the abhorrent abuse they brag about heaping on Ashara) or that the writers thought this was the best way to put romances into the game, when there are plenty of same-age, non-teacher/student comps already that they could have worked with or added (or how about don't make them look and sound like teenagers. Just because the lore index makes it semi-legal (depending on your country) doesn't make it less creepy when the look and sound says otherwise)

You're right. I can't tell what's more problematic--that a lot of gamers get off on it (especially the abhorrent abuse they brag about heaping on Ashara) or that the writers thought this was the best way to put romances into the game, when there are plenty of same-age, non-teacher/student comps already that they could have worked with or added (or how about don't make them look and sound like teenagers. Just because the lore index makes it semi-legal (depending on your country) doesn't make it less creepy when the look and sound says otherwise)

Some players really creep me out with the way they treat female characters, yes.

I really have to wonder what was happening at Bioware in this respect. And I agree, I feel like they really could have made some of the romanceable companions older in both looks and actual ages. Mako might be 19 (and it's problematic that most of the female LIs are 19-21 years old IMHO) on paper but she looks about 13. Yes, I know some people look young for their age but *that* young?!

It's another reason I feel the Lana, Theron and Koth romances are so important. Not only are they LGBT+ friendly, they're all adults who look like adults, and you're all professional peers more or less. While you might be the Commander, they all have agency in their own right and they're not your padawans or your 19 year old apprentices.

Some players really creep me out with the way they treat female characters, yes.

 

I really have to wonder what was happening at Bioware in this respect. And I agree, I feel like they really could have made some of the romanceable companions older in both looks and actual ages. Mako might be 19 (and it's problematic that most of the female LIs are 19-21 years old IMHO) on paper but she looks about 13. Yes, I know some people look young for their age but *that* young?!

 

It's another reason I feel the Lana, Theron and Koth romances are so important. Not only are they LGBT+ friendly, they're all adults who look like adults, and you're all professional peers more or less. While you might be the Commander, they all have agency in their own right and they're not your padawans or your 19 year old apprentices.

Maybe you just touched on some of the intense and sometimes irrational hate those three get

I've always figured someone involved with the writing assumed all guys were really into taking advantage of young naive girls who call them 'master' which to be honest has always creeped me out.

All four Jedi girls and their romances are very different from eachother, though.

Maybe you just touched on some of the intense and sometimes irrational hate those three get

You have a point I'd never thought of. And it's very valid. None of them is a giggling 19 year old padawan.

Maybe you just touched on some of the intense and sometimes irrational hate those three get

The hate that some of the KOTFE/KOTET characters has nothing to do with that.

It has to do with the fact that the vast majority of the original 40 companions of the 8 classes had an interesting backstory, an incentive to join their character in their adventures, and a complete personality with many lines and side quests that you actually kind of had to complete.

I love Lana Beniko, and I definitely think the main characters of the Valkorion Blues are very interesting (Vaylin, Arcann, Senya) but I can't stand Koth or Theron Shan. They are flat, boring, without depth and even an annoying cliche attitude. I guess they somewhat managed to make Theron more interesting, after giving him a storyline for 3 Flashpoints and a daily area. But Koth? Most definitely the least used companion for me.

Apologies for the off topic. On topic, I totally see what the issue is. I generally don't notice those things because I really don't care about the romance options in this game, but this is just me. I think I only cared about Kira.

Some players really creep me out with the way they treat female characters, yes.

Why? The point is to play a fictional character that can be literally anything or anyone. Majority of players do not RP themselves in these games. If all my character's decisions would directly reflect myself I'd have a serious split personality disorder, because all my characters are vastly different from each-others

I love Lana Beniko, and I definitely think the main characters of the Valkorion Blues are very interesting (Vaylin, Arcann, Senya) but I can't stand Koth or Theron Shan. They are flat, boring, without depth and even an annoying cliche attitude. I guess they somewhat managed to make Theron more interesting, after giving him a storyline for 3 Flashpoints and a daily area. But Koth? Most definitely the least used companion for me.

I liked Koth at the beginning, I always root for characters who have their own mind dont follow the PCs every whim like a proper pet. But, Koth really almost seized to exist at the middle of the story immediately after his make-or-break moment, which just made the writing look like a cheap way to throw away a character. When this whole drama was still going on I was really hoping there would be character-developing moments going forward with him in a form of allies having conflicting ideals and having to sort those out... But it was too much to hope for any and Koth just got thrown out of the script immediately for disagreeing with PC and the only conflict once-again shifted to the very black-and-white good vs evil scenario.

Personally I enjoyed Theron even though he was kinda one-dimensional which i I don't disagree on. But I also don't think every character in the universe needs to be multi-layered, not everyone in RL are either so I saw this as a non-issue.

The hate that some of the KOTFE/KOTET characters has nothing to do with that.

 

It has to do with the fact that the vast majority of the original 40 companions of the 8 classes had an interesting backstory, an incentive to join their character in their adventures, and a complete personality with many lines and side quests that you actually kind of had to complete.

 

I love Lana Beniko, and I definitely think the main characters of the Valkorion Blues are very interesting (Vaylin, Arcann, Senya) but I can't stand Koth or Theron Shan. They are flat, boring, without depth and even an annoying cliche attitude. I guess they somewhat managed to make Theron more interesting, after giving him a storyline for 3 Flashpoints and a daily area. But Koth? Most definitely the least used companion for me.

 

Apologies for the off topic. On topic, I totally see what the issue is. I generally don't notice those things because I really don't care about the romance options in this game, but this is just me. I think I only cared about Kira.

I think there are probably various reasons, all valid, but IMHO when I think about it, the ages/agency probably does play a role for some people. I think Lana is very awesome and I love her, and I especially love that she's an actual adult woman with a brain and some agency who doesn't dress like a Barbie. But those things probably rub some players the wrong way if they want one of those 19 year old apprentices who is in a very subordinate position to them.

I personally hate Theron more than any other character in the game and I'm lukewarm on Koth, but I do think their romances are well done. They are not rude and pushy in trying to get with the player character (as opposed to some of the class story male LIs who come on very strong and don't seem to understand what 'no' means), and they're super sweet and respectful to the romanced player.

But back on topic, the game sorely needs both a male Force user LI for women, and more F/F romances.

I've always figured someone involved with the writing assumed all guys were really into taking advantage of young naive girls who call them 'master' which to be honest has always creeped me out.

LOL very strange

I definitely feel like the companions in general were mostly made with a male player in mind, at least at first. For example every single vanilla female character with the exception of SCORPIO who's a robot and doesn't actually have a sex is a romance option for a male character while there are many, many male characters that are just platonic crewmates, rivals, friends, or cute mascot types. Most crews only have one female companion (Knight, Consular, Trooper, Inquisitor, and Bounty Hunter) and those who have more than one just have extra options for the male character to bang.

I really liked Koth and the fact that he had a backbone and his own ideals, the other characters will just go along with whatever the player says even if they hate it. I feel like Koth is a casualty of the part of the playerbase who hates any character standing up to them and not licking their boots at every turn so he was given a kill option and erased from the story. I wish more companions would stand up to us for their own beliefs whether they be good or evil.

Mako might be 19 (and it's problematic that most of the female LIs are 19-21 years old IMHO) on paper but she looks about 13. Yes, I know some people look young for their age but *that* young?!

As an Asian person, I can verify that Mako does indeed look like her age, and could pass for an Asian woman up to at least 30.

Why is it that hetero female force-attuned player characters can only romance male non-force attuned companions, whilst the majority of hetero male force-attuned player characters can romance female force-attuned companions?

 

Why can’t our female Jedi Knights/Consulars hook up with male Jedi or Sith – or our female Sith Warriors/Inquisitors hook up with male Jedi or sith?

 

----------------

Sith Warrior – female - Malavai Quinn - non-force attuned

Sith Inquisitor – female - Andronikos Revel – non-force attuned

Sith Warrior – male - Jaesa Willsaam – force-attuned

Sith Inquisitor – male - Ashara Zavros – force-attuned

 

Jedi Knight – female – Doc – non-force attuned

Jedi Consular – female – Felix Iresso – non-force attuned

Jedi Knight – male - Kira Carsen – force attuned

Jedi Consular – male - Nadia Grell – force attuned

 

Female – hetro – Theron Shan (non-force attuned)

Male – hetro – Lana Beniko (force attuned)

-----------------

Does BioWare think that we force-wielding ladies can’t handle a force-attuned significant other?

This enquiring mind would like to know why.

The Devs sort of acknowledged this a little while back and asked in a thread what we wanted in a force using companion. I think. Did I dream that? No I didn't: one search later in this thread I think this is why we now have Arcann as a romance option and quite likely Scourge will return as a romance (maybe for all, maybe only for knights). I think they owe us at least one more force-user male for women characters as a only romanceable companion, to even things up based on your post above. Who could it be I wonder? I like to see a new Twi'lek force user and a human too. It would be great if they could re-do the class stories to balance them out with more force males to romance but that's probably a huge & expensive job. If they do add someone I hope it's not a 2 minute romance with no build up - the Arcann romance is disappointing from that aspect. If they had realised they were going to make him romanceable earlier there could have been more reference to it throughout kotfe/kotet.

The Devs sort of acknowledged this a little while back and asked in a thread what we wanted in a force using companion. I think. Did I dream that? No I didn't: one search later in this thread I think this is why we now have Arcann as a romance option and quite likely Scourge will return as a romance (maybe for all, maybe only for knights). I think they owe us at least one more force-user male for women characters as a only romanceable companion, to even things up based on your post above. Who could it be I wonder? I like to see a new Twi'lek force user and a human too. It would be great if they could re-do the class stories to balance them out with more force males to romance but that's probably a huge & expensive job. If they do add someone I hope it's not a 2 minute romance with no build up - the Arcann romance is disappointing from that aspect. If they had realised they were going to make him romanceable earlier there could have been more reference to it throughout kotfe/kotet.

I don't think any of my full-light aligned force users would go for Arcann - they'd redeem him because that is what they do, but bed him, nope. His genocidal past would prevent that from ever happening.

Sul, my Sith Warrior has eyes only for Major Quinn - however, as a thought experiment it would be interesting if Quinn (as an example) was found to possess latent force affinity that under the Warrior's training, began to manifest. Ditto for Theron (who I plan to hook up with my Sith Inquisitor). My Jedi Knight was romanced by Doc but refused to wed him - so I'm holding out that in the future someone force sensitive (and who is not 300 years old) will be available for her too. Preferably a fellow Jedi. As for Ael, my BH is not force-sensitive and is very happy with her choice of young Torian, she's the youngest of my four sisters so he is a good match for her.

As a new inclusion it would be great if at the beginning of the game before you even load in your brand new character you as a player could custom-design your main love interest just as you custom design your own character. You could choose species, gender, whether they were force-sensitive or not, and if they were from the same faction or opposing faction. Then based on your final choices, the game would slot your main interest into one of several pre-written storylines which would appear somewhere in your character's story arc. That level of customisation would be so cool, but I think sadly beyond the limits of the game engine as it currently exists.

As an Asian person, I can verify that Mako does indeed look like her age, and could pass for an Asian woman up to at least 30.

Agreed, and the idea that someone must be a child if they’re slim or slightly shorter never made sense to me. Mako doesn’t look 13 or even 19 IMO. She looks and sounds and acts like she’s in her 20’s

Agreed, and the idea that someone must be a child if they’re slim or slightly shorter never made sense to me. Mako doesn’t look 13 or even 19 IMO. She looks and sounds and acts like she’s in her 20’s

It's more the face to me. I don't automatically assume all body-type 1's are young, but some of the faces with that body type do bring the age down. I certainly don't think Tora looks or sounds young with that body-type.

These are the comps I think look and sound too young:

Mako, Ashara, Nadia

Borderline:

Jaesa, Vette, Temple

Looks and sound appropriate:

Risha, Akaavi, Elara, Kira, Kaliyo, Lana, Senya, Shae

Keep in mind these things can be cultural and geographical, but to me that's how I feel about the female comps, and though I've never made a male toon, I'd probably avoid any romances with the first three (the romance with Mako and Torian is pretty cute, but Torian strikes me as on the much younger side as well, so that doesn't bother me)