Dragon Age is back in a big way, and fans are close to getting answers to some of their most burning questions. Stories set in Thedas are fascinating because of their comprehensive lore, while giving each new story a unique tone. With a fresh installment of this excellent dark fantasy on its way, some familiar subplots and enemies have been revealed or suggested to play a significant part in the events to come.
There's great potential for Dragon Age: The Veilguard to raise the stakes based on established lore. What starts as an obscure side quest in Origins and grows into an ancient conspiracy by Inquisition could end up as the biggest bombshell reveal yet. Or it could just be a garden variety demonic influence with one surprise act left. There are plenty of pressing questions: Is Mythal really dead? Will players be able to sway Solas with sweet words? With a new gameplay trailer, fans have their first confirmations and clues.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reveals First-Ever Look at Gameplay
Dragon Age: The Veilguard shares the first-ever glimpse of actual in-engine gameplay from the highly-anticipated BioWare sequel RPG.
9 Demons, The Veil, & The Fade
If The Tell-Tale “Veil Tear” Ambient Sounds Aren’t Hint Enough
Evidence:
- In the Veilguard trailer, demons pop up all over the streets as Solas begins his ritual.
- The rifts in the sky are familiar to anyone who has played Inquisition.
- Varric confirms what players suspect.
Veilguard will undoubtedly feature new problems regarding the Veil separating the Fade from the mortal realm. This time, players won’t have the Inquisitor’s Anchor to sew up the world at its splitting seams, but they might have other talents at their disposal.
It seems Veilguard picks up where Inquisition's Trespasser DLC left off. The new game hints at how the titular Veilguard will handle the Veil, with new classes like Veil Jumpers coming about in response to rifts in the Arlathan Forest.
8 The True Origins Of The Dwarves
“A Hole Leading Into The Fade. I Wouldn’t Touch It.”
Evidence:
- Lyrium is suspected to be the blood of Titans, and the dwarves can hear its song in the Stone.
- The song the dwarves describe is eerily similar to the Song that Archdemons use to call darkspawn and old Wardens to them.
- Inquisition's Descent DLC reveals details about the Titans and their relationship to dwarves.
The dwarves are the only species known not to dream or have innate magical abilities. Yet, they’re the only ones who can safely mine and handle lyrium, which is essential to magical practice and reaching into the Fade. This curious fact has few explanations.
Events in Inquisition and its DLCs indicate dwarves may not be incapable of magic after all, and there’s a bigger mystery behind this question. One thing that hints that this might be a core subject for Veilguard is that the Veil might be part of the reason dwarves can’t dream or wield magic.
7 The Antivan Crows
Slaying Like Zevran In A Murder Of Crows
Evidence:
- All heroes of Dragon Age games have dealings with Antivan Crows.
- Players can choose to make Rook a bona fide Crow in Veilguard. The companion Lucanis also hails from their organization.
- Antivan intrigue might put Orlais to shame with far-reaching consequences.
The Antivan Crows have been a fan favorite and occasional nemesis organization since players first encountered them as the Hero of Ferelden. Their popularit has a lot to do with the charming assassin and Origins companion, Zevran, but this secretive guild has a dark appeal all its own.
Dragon Age 4: Everything We Know About the Antivan Crows So Far
The Antivan Crows are Thedas' very own ancient order of assassins, and it looks like they're set to have a big role inside Dragon Age 4.
If Zevran’s experience is any guide, even if players choose to make Rook one of them, the Antivan Crows might still be hired against the Veilguard. The only way around that is to secure a guarantee that the Crows will refuse all contracts on them. With Lucanis in the team, there may be other reasons why the Crows could be antagonists.
6 The Darkspawn
Thedas Might Not Be Ready To Face A Sixth Blight
- Origins begins with the darkspawn almost wiping out the entire Ferelden Grey Warden contingent.
- The Hero of Ferelden and Alistair use treaties and the Right of Conscription to ensure the Archdemon and the darkspawn are defeated.
- The Architect confirms in Origins' Awakening DLC that his experiments might have woken Urthemiel.
The original ghastly nemesis players face in Origins returns. However, the darkspawn in Veilguard are nothing like what players have seen before. For one, they have eyes that glow red. The presence of darkspawn in Veilguard makes sense considering the return of the Order of the Grey Wardens. How many Rook will encounter might differ depending on whether the Grey Warden background was chosen.
5 Red Lyrium
Glowing Red Eyes Never Mean Anything Good
Evidence:
- The red lyrium idol from Dragon Age 2 caused distinctive physical changes in anyone exposed to it for long enough.
- Corypheus and his Red Templars in Inquisition are only the latest connection between red lyrium, the darkspawn Taint, Tevinter Magisters, Grey Wardens, and the Fade.
- The Darkspawn in Veilguard and their glowing red eyes are familiar to anyone who fought red lyrium-tainted foes.
Dragon Age canon keeps circling back to the subject of lyrium and its tainted red variety. In Dragon Age 2, players might have passed it off as a dangerous curiosity, but by Inquisition, its powers spread well beyond those infected by the lyrium idol.
There’s still a lot to learn about the origins and nature of any variety of lyrium. It’s easy to imagine the Evanuris knowing more about this, and there's also the link to Titans that the Inquisitor discovers in The Descent DLC.
4 The Grey Wardens
“In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice.”
Evidence:
- Origins’ Hero of Ferelden can rise to the role of Warden-Commander in the Awakening DLC and rebuild Order in Ferelden.
- Dragon Age 2's Legacy DLC delves into Hawke’s family connection to the Order. Depending on player choices, Carver/Bethany may Join in Dragon Age 2.
- The Inquisition companion Blackwall is a Grey Warden.
- The Veilguard companion Davrin is a Grey Warden, and it’s an available background for Rook.
To say the Grey Wardens are central to Dragon Age is an understatement. Much to fans' delight, Veilguard includes Davrin as a new Warden companion, and players can take up the Griffon mantle of the Order once more as Rook. With such strong ties to the Grey Wardens, it’s conceivable that Veilguard might offer some significant advances in learning more about the true origins of the Taint, Archdemons, Blights, and other mysteries that this organization deals with.
3 The Venatori
The Inquisitor Crushed Them, But The Imperium Is Home
- The Venatori worship Corypheus, the ancient darkspawn and Magister.
- They feature heavily in the Tevinter Nights anthology.
- The organization is a primary enemy in Inquisition.
The Inquisitor’s work is never done with the Venatori. Seeing as Veilguard is set in Tevinter, it’s hardly surprising that players will encounter them in their homeland. It’s clear that Corypheus' death hasn’t deterred these xenophobic nationalists from trying to bring back the glory days of their magocracy.
Although they no longer have Corypheus at their helm, their goals and political schemes seem far from over. The Venatori are also at the heart of events in Tevinter Nights investigated by Neve, another new companion in Veilguard.
2 Ancient Gods & Archdemons
Questions Have Been Eating Away At Fans
Evidence:
- As early as Origins, a line is drawn between the Old Gods of Tevinter and the Archdemons.
- The Old Gods were dragons worshipped in the Tevinter Imperium.
- The elven pantheon, the Evanuris, may have something to do with the corruption in the Fade.
- A shred of Mythal may have escaped through an Eluvian.
According to Corypheus’ ramblings in the Legacy DLC and in Inquisition, the Old God Dumat promised the Tevinter Magisters the Golden City in the Fade. Instead, they found the Black City. They were cast out and transformed into the first darkspawn, if the semi-lucid Magister’s timeline is to be believed.
Hawke proves Corypheus unkillable, and Corypheus goes on to become the main villain of Inquisition. He's a mere distraction from the real showdown, however. There may be more to the infamous Dread Wolf and Mythal encounter than first meets the eye.
1 The Dread Wolf
Players Have A Lot Of Questions
Evidence:
- Solas features heavily in Veilguard’s gameplay trailer.
- Inquisition’s main campaign ends with Solas dramatically revealing himself as Fen’Harel.
- The Trespasser DLC focuses on key pieces of lore directly related to Fen’Harel.
The highlight of the recent Veilguard gameplay trailer is the long-anticipated return of Solas. Regardless of whether players want to save him with a kiss or punish him with a blade, he is the architect of the Veil, and therefore at the epicenter of events.
Why Solas' Real Villainy Needs to Come Out in Dragon Age 4
If Solas is going to be the big bad of Dragon Age 4, BioWare needs to tease out the villainy that's always been under the surface of his backstory.
Although the “Dreadwolf” working title has been scrapped in favor of The Veilguard, it’s obvious that BioWare has no intention of leaving fans hanging when it comes to this most epic and tragic of elvish plotlines. Whether this crafty elf is redeemable, and whether players have a choice in the matter, remains to be seen.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 71%
- Released
- October 31, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Frostbite
- Franchise
- Dragon Age
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- RPG
