Dragon Age – The Veilguard

I will admit, I put off playing this game for quite a while. I was still enamoured with the original trilogy from the Dragon Age series, and had heard some concerning thoughts and feelings from the Dragon Age community about the game. Some people didn’t like the way the lore was done, or the characters, or insert X, Y, Z.

But, as a long-time fan of the series, when I finally started streaming my gaming, I decided to start with Dragon Age Origins, as the series is near and dear to my heart and I have enough of its lore stuffed into my head that…I may need someone to take a look at it at some point. But, either way, I’m deep enough into the lore that if there’s REALLY inconsistencies in it, I could probably sift them out.

So, let’s start with the lore. In Origins, we were presented with the mysterious and devastating Blight. A seemingly half magic, half physical contagion that, according to in-game sources, supposedly came from The Maker. At least, according to the Chantry. Though the dwarves say that the darkspawn were always there.

Here, I would like to establish the phenomenon of the unreliable narrator, particularly in the context of “history is written by the victor”. In this case, it isn’t too surprising that in order to consolidate power and faith, the Chantry would canonize a tale that serves their religious and political agenda. In Origins, it doesn’t matter whether this tale is true or not because as the player character, you are more concerned with stopping the Blight than where it came from.

The fact is, different peoples are going to have different stories about where the darkspawn come from, and we need to remember that everything we’re learning about the Blight is coming from in-game sources. Character sources. And people are fallible. They don’t know everything, so they omit information. Or they lie to fill in the gaps.

This is normal, I expect this.

In Dragon Age 2, we see a more story-focused narrative, one that doesn’t really add to the overall lore as much as the first game, but develops a new part of the setting, introduces new characters, and focused in on rich character and relationship development. For all of its flaws, which can be boiled down to a severely limited development time, Dragon Age 2 brought a beautiful depth of conversation, character, and interaction that was greatly improved over the first game. Also, an improvement in game mechanics, with auto-targeting, more easily triggered abilities, less frantic management, and more action-focused combat.

Inquisition would go on to take the best of both of its predecessors and throw them into a gigantic open world with mountains of lore, thrilling story beats, and deep character interactions, all while being able to choose your own tone as you move through the world and having the dialogue acknowledge and reward you for it. Like this beautiful commentary by Cassandra; “The Inquisitor was hilarious. That’s what they’ll say one day, you watch.” And yes, in that equally fond and exasperated tone we love so much from our favourite Seeker.

While the sheer scale of Inquisition, and the series as a whole, can be intimidating and put off more casual players, the landscapes were stunning, the scope of missions and decisions that you made in the world and in the previous two games had a real, tangible impact on the story and the shaping of the world. Though perhaps in some places there was a bit too much content, side content was quite optional, and you were free to engage or not engage with it at your discretion. Something that Bioware has been pretty good at doing throughout the series.

Can you speedrun the main questline? If you plan it right, absolutely. Can you run around doing a bunch of the companion quests and ignoring the main quests for a while? Certainly. Can you scour the maps and pick up every side-quest, every collection, and every stalk of elfroot the designers put into the game? Well, you can certainly try, but I’m not so sure about the elfroot.

So, where does that leave Veilguard?

With Veilguard, I decided that despite having heard good and bad things about the game, I would go in with no expectation other than… This is a Bioware game, this is Dragon Age, chances are the world is ending.

Surprise, surprise. It turns out that the world is in fact ending.

The opening scene? Beautiful. Every great adventure starts in a tavern, and in this one, we actually got to have a good old fashioned bar fight. Which leads me to my first compliments for the game. It is BEAUTIFUL. The modeling, the texturing, the asset placement. The designers made a world that feels immersive and lived in, with views I could stare at for hours. Which is good, because players spend a lot of time in these locations.

But then we come to my first pain point almost immediately after. When Varric, Harding, and Rook go out into the streets to find Neve Gallus, we’re then introduced to the combat system. Which was…a challenge to get used to, but also problematic in a lot of ways.

Combat in Veilguard is very much dependent on near-constant dodging or being the party tank…AND dodging. Tanking mechanics for companions are virtually nonexistent, which is a very clear downgrade from the party mechanics of Dragon Age Inquisition. In Inquisition, I could play as a damage-dealer while using Blackwall or Cassandra as a tank. I could focus more on actual mechanics and doing my character’s job than on constant movement.

The relative inability for other party members to taunt a creature, like Davrin, who has one of the only taunts in your companions and happens to be the only sword and shield user, means that you rely almost solely on dodging, which distracts from actual combat and prolongs combat far beyond what your damage output should allow. Without proper tanking mechanics, companions are really only there for a little extra damage output, because as per usual, the player character generally outperforms companions in damage.

Also, the change from four party members to three is nonsensical and weird, no matter how it’s argued. Traditional parties are four adventurers (a tank, a healer, two dps), especially in the Dragon Age series. To suddenly switch from Dragon Age to Mass Effect party mechanics was…certainly a choice.

Fortunately, enough of the game was narrative storytelling that combat didn’t quite overshadow the story. With lots of story beats, and a more guided narrative than Inquisition, similar to Dragon Age 2, Veilguard’s story was woven tightly and cohesively for the most part, and I personally enjoy a game with lots of cutscenes, conversations, and a strong narrative. The character introductions were fascinating, and most of the characters had strong, distinct personalities.

Obviously Varric is a fan favourite, and for good reason. We love our storytelling dwarf. And seeing him older, more wizened, but still the same sarcastic arse with a heart of gold was a balm to the soul. Which Bioware then proceeded to rip out, but I can’t be mad because that was a good way for Varric to go, but still stay part of the story.

Harding is the nostalgia trip, and her story builds well on the content of the Inquisition DLC – The Descent. We learn more about the nature of the Titans, their connection to lyrium and the Blight, which has been kept mysterious enough throughout the games that this didn’t feel like a sudden or shoehorned development. Lace Harding, once young and naive, has grown into a stronger, wiser dwarf, one who faces her insecurities. Her character development was beautiful and my heart broke seeing her fall to Ghilan’nain.

Then, we meet Neve Gallus. I have…an interesting relationship with Neve. And this has to do with flaws in how the narrative surrounding Treviso and Minrathous was handled. Yes, harden characters when something bad happens to them personally. There’s nothing wrong with that. We see this sort of thing with Alistair in Origins, with Leliana in Inquisition, and even have a friendship/rivalry system with ALL of the companions in Dragon Age 2.

So what went wrong here? What went wrong actually wasn’t with Neve at all. Neve is stubborn, headstrong, but poised and elegant at times. She’s gritty in the way you expect from a detective in an old noire. But she can also be fun, snarky, quick-witted. And I like that.

The problem is in how the choice between saving Treviso or Minrathous was handled. You, as main character, have to make a choice. Go to one city or the other. But…the city you don’t choose gets destroyed.

Why?

You go to one city with one companion, and you send the whole other half of the Veilguard to the other city. In theory, this means equal strength in both places. So why should one city get destroyed? Do your companions magically become incompetent if you’re not there to hold their hands?

Also, Minrathous is one of the most heavily defended cities on the continent, whereas Treviso has almost no defenses at all, other than the Antivan Crows and politics. But the darkspawn don’t care about politics. Just ask Antiva about what happened during the Fourth Blight when Andoral stepped all over them. But if Minrathous is so heavily defended, shouldn’t it fare better than Treviso, no matter the decision you make?

This is probably one of my biggest gripes, as a writer, with the narrative of Veilguard. Rook is not a “hero” among their peers. Rook is not one of the last two Grey Wardens in Ferelden, chasing down an archdemon to stop the Fifth Blight. Rook is not the single mage standing between the Templars and mages in Kirkwall with defectors on both sides and ended in a horrifically messy but short-lived war. And Rook is certainly not the leader of the Inquisition, with a hand infused with enough magic to force a massive tear in the sky to close.

Rook is…relatively normal compared to our previous protagonists. Or, more accurately, Rook is relatively normal in comparison to the rest of the Veilguard. Harding is an experienced scout with the Inquisition who now has Titan magic, Neve is an expert detective, Bellara is a Veil Jumper with magical expertise involving ancient elven artifacts, Davrin is a Grey Warden and expert monster hunter with a young gryphon companion, and Lucanis is an experienced Antivan Crow now possessed by a spirit of Determination/demon of Spite. Compared to the rest of that lineup, probably the closest one in ability to Rook is Neve. Objectively, Rook isn’t surrounded by incompetent people.

So why does one city burn if you divided your strength equally? Plot requirements, obviously. Rook may lack some of the “chosen one” elements of previous protagonists, but the plot still treats them as if they are the sole deciding factor in which city lives. Which…I find to be a bit lazy.

This is Dragon Age, put in all of the dire consequences you like, but at least make them make sense. In Inquisition, you lost either the mages or the Templars depending on who you picked, but it’s because you only send envoys to one side, because whoever is opposing the side you talk to then WON’T speak to you because they see you as having allied with the other side. Okay, fine, that makes some sense (though I would have liked to have had the option to send Cassandra with a squad of our companions to the Templars while I handled the mages and thus gotten both sides to join me, barring whoever was already corrupted by red lyrium or demons). But there WAS a certain logic to it. In Veilguard when you divide your forces, the other half is just guaranteed to fail.

So, there’s my first real gripe with the writing of Veilguard. It’s a small thing, but it was enough to annoy me. But, now that we’re here, let’s take a look at the character on the other side of this Minrathous-Treviso decision. Lucanis Dellamorte.

Listen, we all loved Zevran in Origins. And if you didn’t, you are a BLASPHEMER!

But truly, Zevran was a very interesting companion to have in Origins. Flirty, flowery, flamboyant in that way you could only expect from an Antivan. He was our first exposure to Antivan culture in-game, and he very much set the tone for what to expect from Antivans. Passionate, vivacious, as cutting with a word or smile as a dagger. And while Josephine, in Inquisition, showed us a gentler, more romantic, and more tactful side of Antiva, she still held the passion and energy that we’ve come to expect. And her signature shiny gold and purple silk outfit was certainly as loud as her culture.

When we meet Lucanis, the man’s entrance is certainly as loud as we would expect for an Antivan. Swooping in from the sky, shoving daggers into Venatori, popping spectral wings from his back, and breaking a man’s neck, all while dressed stylishly in an almost eye-wateringly purple outfit that screams “I am an Antivan Crow” with no subtlety whatsoever. That was our first look at Lucanis. And I will admit…it looked very promising.

Now, when I heard Antivan and “possessed by a demon”, I actually expected something halfway between Zevran and Fenris. No, not Anders, Fenris. And that’s because, of their personalities, if Anders is vengeance, then Fenris is spite. But that was my expectation. Someone charming, flirtatious, suave, but with a deadly temper that might make him seem borderline bi-polar. I’ve not yet read the books, but from some of Lucanis’s dialogue, especially about how many “fires” he has on his jobs, and the fact that he puts a great deal of importance on style and flair, this felt like a reasonable expectation.

What we got, however, was a surprisingly mild assassin. Controlled and focused, yes, but less temperamental, more workaholic. Less vivacious Antivan and more brooding assassin. Which is fine, of course, he’d just been released from a prison where he’d been tortured for over a year.

But even so, we don’t see any of the energy that Antivan’s are known for. Except in battle, where Lucanis is VERY energetic. So clearly he’s still capable of it, it’s just that outside of battle, it feels more…muted than it should. And given the trauma he underwent, it would make sense for a lot of that energy to turn to anger. Yet, he’s all about control and focus. And I think that the decision to take him in that direction really tore out a lot of what makes him Antivan.

I romanced him and hoped to see them do something with Spite, but we never really get to see Spite after the one quest through Lucanis’s mindscape, other than in the cafe with a cup of coffee. We do see Spite participating in the final major romance scene when his wings pop out, but we’re missing an entire story arc, the sort of story arc that we got with Anders and Justice/Vengeance in Dragon Age 2 where we see Justice falling further and further into Vengeance.

They had the blueprint…but didn’t use it, and that felt like a waste. While I absolutely enjoy Lucanis’s character, half of it does seem to be missing, and most of that half involves Spite. Passionate, angry, but most of all, determined and stubborn. These are the qualities that should have been better expressed in Lucanis, especially given that he MUST have had them already for Spite to have only turned as far as he did, having retained most of his senses, just grown a little darker than Determination strictly would be. Hence, Spite.

I would have liked to have seen the adventurous nature Lucanis has. The nature of the little boy who dragged his cousin out wyvern-hunting at the age of ten, only to come back covered in mud and prickleburrs with no wyvern to show for it. The assassin that, more than once, has said “Yeah…I’m not finishing this job because this person was right in what they did, so I’m changing the terms of this contract.” By his own admissions in game dialogue, Lucanis portrays himself as more than a bit rebellious, and willing to bend even the Crows’ rules if his morals speak loudly enough.

Yes, we change as we get older. And yes, a year of torture would change anyone irreparably. But Lucanis, again by his own admission, held on to his sanity out of spite for Zara Renata. He actively held on to who he was because he didn’t want to become what they wanted to turn him into.

So it does very much feel like Lucanis had a lot of content cut from his character arc, because his demonstrated personality doesn’t really line up with the laundry list of character traits that Lucanis claims implicitly, or is claimed about him, to have.

Also, the fact that they didn’t give an option for a hardened Lucanis romance is a mark against them. We got a hardened Alistair romance, plus rivalry romances for all of the romanceable companions of DA2, so a hardened Lucanis romance was certainly not out of the equation, especially not with Spite possibly getting very attached to Rook early on. This was very much a wasted opportunity, especially for character development on Lucanis’s part.

Next, we have Davrin. I found Davrin to be very well done. He’s unique and well-rounded, with quirks like woodcarving and maybe not thinking through his tea choices very well. He’s consistent, balanced, a bit serious and somber at times, but that comes with the territory of being a Grey Warden and monster hunter. He’s a good dad to Assan, and generally, Davrin is probably one of the most emotionally stable of the Veilguard. Likely because he knows his days are numbered and is trying not to whittle them down any more. Is he self-sacrificing? Yes. But is he stupid about it? No. He offers his life in a general sense, yes, but only truly puts himself on the line at moments where he knows it’s necessary. So I’ll give him this, he actually has survival instincts. Good for him.

Assan is just cute and I spend several minutes at a time just hugging and petting that gryphon. 10/10, would recommend gryphon hugging therapy.

Bellara. Cute, quirky, curious, and overall a nice companion. Not the most standout of the companions, but she’s distinct, has her own backstory, a relatively complete character arc, and one in which we get to see a good evolution of her emotions. We get to see her grow up through trials of hardship and loss, and while her boundless optimism is tempered by the end of the game, it isn’t lost entirely. Her boundless optimism evolves into a determination to see things put right again in Thedas. It turns into a willingness to sacrifice herself for the greater good. While it’s far from the most extreme character arc we’ve seen in Dragon Age, it is solid, makes sense, and sits alongside Harding as good character evolution.

Emmrich. This was actually a very interesting addition to the mix. While we’ve seen an older companion before in the form of Wynne, we haven’t had an older romance option in the Dragon Age series before. At least, not THAT much older. True, we had Iron Bull and Blackwall, but they were both in their forties, not pushing sixty. Emmrich is a fascinating character though, with the curiosity of a child, the wisdom of an old wizard, and a level of compassion that’s actually relatively unseen in Dragon Age companions, short of Cole the spirit of Compassion himself.

The only criticism I might make of Emmrich’s character is that he seems a bit…oblivious as to why the rest of Thedas tends to burn their dead. There’s a cultural disconnect there that Emmrich never seems to work his way through. And you would think, in his nearly sixty years of life, that he would at some point think to himself “Oh…perhaps they burn their dead so as not to spread the Blight around.” Because we do have evidence that the Alamarri once entombed their dead in barrows and crypts (like the one beneath Vigil’s Keep where they couldn’t seem to decide if it was an Avvar or Alamarri crypt back in Awakening). So, it means that at some point, burning the dead became widespread and standard practice in most of Thedas, likely to stop the spread of Blight infection.

Apart from that, Emmrich is a wonderful companion, and he’s such a good dad to Manfred. He and Davrin need to form a Dads of the Veilguard club.

And now we come to Taash. This character…felt half-done at best. At first, I found it extremely interesting that we were getting a dragon hunter, a Vashoth who wasn’t raised under the Qun, who had a controlling mother, a struggle with cultural identity, and who was trying to find their place in the world. Taash had the potential to be such a good commentary on identity and ethics and the journey of finding yourself.

And…then every other sentence was just about Taash being non-binary. It was this constant beating of the horse, as if we didn’t get it the first or second or third time. The constant beating cheapened the message and diminished the character as a whole to…a token meme at best.

This was disappointing. I can see where it could have gone really well, where it could have made beautiful points about the freedom of finding and establishing your own identity, about the importance of independence, and the existential journey of self-discovery.

Instead, what we get is Taash’s mother going “You act like a man”. And I heard this and thought to myself “Ma’am, do I need to introduce you to Ferelden women? Because your child acts like a Ferelden woman.” And the truth is, I think Taash would have felt much more secure growing up in Ferelden rather than Rivain, where women fighting in war is commonplace and not considered a “manly” behaviour. I’ve seen it suggested that the identity crisis stemmed from Taash being forced into a rigid binary system of belief by their mother. That may certainly be true, or they may have come to this conclusion regardless, but I certainly believe it had a huge impact on how Taash’s story played out.

Now, whether Taash is non-binary or not isn’t the issue. Though with identity, I tend to find that how you identify and how loudly is less important than what it means for you and what you do with it. If you are “insert identity of your choice here” and an asshole, chances are, people are more likely to remember emotions associated with the latter. Anyone has the potential to be good or bad, no matter how they identify.

I think that a great example of this premise is Krem. I LOVE Krem. Absolutely adore him to little bits and pieces. Do I care that he is trans? No! Why? Because in Krem, I see an awesome, thoughtful, strong, determined, brave, magnificent badass…who just happens to be transgender. I see the person first, rather than whatever labels they wear. And I found that to be a fantastic design choice on their part. Yes, it’s an important part of who Krem is. but what’s MORE important is that Krem is Krem. He’s a fighter, a leader, someone with traits and qualities to be admired, even if some of those qualities involve the questionable process of opening up casks of ale with axes.

Listen, I didn’t say he was perfect.

Krem was well done and I wish Taash had gotten the same beautiful, devoted treatment. As much as it annoys me that they retconned the qunari to include a social designation that went directly against established lore and wish they had either done away with the aqun-athlok or included it from the very beginning in Origins, I DO like that they at least gave it a lore-appropriate name for the setting.

Using the term “non-binary” in a grimdark medieval setting was lazy writing. That is a term that belongs in the 21st century, not in Thedas. And there are plenty of historical terms they could have researched and used, or they could have just made one up and based it in Latin if it came from Tevinter, or something Spanish if they wanted the term to originate in Antiva. Or they could have pulled something out of Old or Middle English to do the job. Instead, they went with the most immersion-breaking way of handling the issue and did Taash’s character absolutely dirty in ways that make me want to rage and weep. I wanted to see actual character development with Taash, but the focus was so heavily on this one issue that anything else got lost under the sea of gender identity. And that is an utter shame.

Past the companion characters, what really blew me away was finally being able to see parts of northern Thedas. Obviously, the pieces we got to see were only small glimpses of the rich cultures that dot the landscape there, but for what we got to see, I was so incredibly pleased. Treviso felt like Venice with Spain’s flair. Minrathous felt like walking the streets of the old Byzantine Empire. Rivain felt like walking the beaches of the Mediterranean. And the Necropolis truly felt like descending into the underworld, though I’m terribly sad that we didn’t really get to see any more of Nevarra. The Anderfels admittedly felt wetter than I anticipated, since I expected just dry, Blighted mountains, but…technically we didn’t get much geographical information about the Anderfels, so it’s interesting what they slotted in. And Arlathan forest was as frustrating to navigate as it was beautiful.

Between the four games, we’ve really had the chance to take a continental tour of Thedas, and that’s made me really happy. Each culture does feel unique and distinct, with the two having the most similarities being Ferelden and the Free Marches.

Beyond the characters and geography and battle mechanics of Veilguard, what I think really hit me the most was the fact that, finally, we had a resolution to the story that spanned twenty years. Both in-game and out. Finally, the sixth Blight arrives. The last two archdemons are dead, and the mystery behind them, the elven “gods” has been dragged out into the light. We learn about the Titans and lyrium and the Blight, and we finally have the chance to turn the Grey Wardens’ endless war of attrition into something that…almost feels like it could eventually be won. For someone who has played since Origins, to me, that felt very satisfying. At the end of Veilguard, it feels like the Blight might finally be in decline. Not gone. Not yet, but slowly dimming. And for my Grey Warden heart, that’s a good feeling.

I may not agree with all of the decisions they made during the making of Veilguard, and there might be some places where I think the game needs expanding, rewriting, or patching, but I’m a writer at heart, and I’m here first and foremost for the story. And that ending was…everything I could have hoped for. Hopeful but bittersweet. A winding down with a light flickering at the end of a long tunnel. A hand reaching into the darkness. A whisper that…one day, maybe everything will finally be alright.

So, there you have it. My thoughts on the entirety of Veilguard after completing my first run of it in March of 2026.

May you always catch your dragons sleeping,

Celeste, The Musing Mage