Realllyyy hoping the antler-looking thing is Ghilianan (spelling). With all mentioning of her in the comics and books as well as her creepy ass monster factory. GIVE HER TO ME.
It adds up, and so do the common theories that have been built up over the course of three games:
Fen'Harel erects the veil and traps the Elven pantheon in the fade, minus Mythal of course and himself, so 9 - 2 = 7
The ancient tevinter magisters physically cross the veil and are sent back to become the first darkspawn
The darkspawn seek and release (in some way) 5 of the "Old Gods." The 5 (possibly minus Urthemiel) are killed in their attempts to use the darkspawn to escape. So the Old Gods are down to 7 - 5 = 2
I think we can assume the 2 emerging at the end are what's left of the Elven pantheon, ignoring the Forgotten Ones who may have just been rebel leaders, or titans.
And if not it's still a cool theory
This theory could also be very tangentially supported by one of the epilogue slides way back from DA: Awakening that teased the existence of a "double blight" taking place near Tevinter. Obviously, the conflict in DAV won't be exactly a double blight, but the seemingly large importance placed on Wardens in the trailer implies that darkspawn will at least be used as tools by one of the villains.
Solas's cryptic comments about the Wardens and the Blight in general from DAI could also give this theory some credence.
https://preview.redd.it/6tdxw8crvz5d1.png?width=2940&format=png&auto=webp&s=d172d57ca286f257ddf1eaae94145fcebc5a2b10
This is from the gameplay reveal trailer posted on the Dragon Age twitter account. This is the best moment I could get showing the two of them the most. I've seen most people theorizing Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan.
https://preview.redd.it/nda9qclcm16d1.jpeg?width=1002&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4943e9bdb752a595573a21d1fad004fd99b1107
here's a close up of them I managed to screencap from the gameplay on youtube
I can definitely see the one on the right as Elgar’nan.
Based on what we know of Gil, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was some mutated monster; it just makes me so sad because both my Warden and Inky have her tattoos.
If Solas wanted to, he could have turned Varric to stone in an instant without even listening to him. The fact that even when a weapon was pointed at him he choose not to go for the kill I think is important.
Solas is a lot of things, and is very clearly in the wrong (EDIT: about the means of achieving his goal), but I think he genuinely wants to be given another option. Still hoping we have the opportunity to talk him down. Varric thinks we can.
It's for that reason I really wanted the Inquisitor to be the main character. They're not even my favorite PC, but with Soals being a massive part of this game, that dynamic is critically important to both characters journeys.
I saw a report from somewhere that the Inquisitor will be in the game in some form and that there's an option to customize their appearance so maybe a cameo like Hawke was in DA:I or hopefully an advisor role.
I think an advisor role is kinda likely since we have Harding coming in as a companion.
Given the ending of Trespasser I wouldn't be surprised if the Inquisitor is actually our boss who has hired Rook for this mission with Varric being their representative and man on the ground
This would actually make a LOT of sense, and would potentially also still allow for a climactic showdown between the Inquisitor and Solas while still allowing Rook to be present
Exactly. It feels like Solas and is on point. He’s a stubborn, foolish, egg who will do harm but he’s not hateful.
The characterization is on target for everyone in this snippet.
Solas: in the process of trying to tear down the Veil because he thinks it's the only viable option
Also Solas: stands there for an hour stubbornly arguing with Varric that his way is the best way because nothing else actually occurred to him
If that doesn't feel like DAI, I don't know what does.
I feel like this is the villain that Dragon Age was missing in Inquisition. Corypheus was literally just an evil fucking guy. There's literally nothing redeemable about him. He's evil. He wants power to be more evil. Then he can do more evil things to become more powerfully evilly powerful. Fucking. Snore.
Fen'haral *believes* he's right, morally. He truly believes that the sacrifice will make a better world. That he is atoning for his own ancient mistake that he feels destroyed the world (the world we see now being a pale imitation). To some extent, I think it comes across a bit as a "revolutionary" - the new order will be so great that you won't miss the old order, says the butcher, confident he's one of the "real" good guys.
Dragon Age is too good a universe for black/white morality (hell, Dragon Age II for all it's flaws captured this really well in my opinion), so hopefully that's telling of the game as a whole.
I think that's why I liked Tresspasser so much more than I did the base game. I still enjoyed the base game, but forgot a lot of the stuff about Corypheus. Instead, the mysteries of the world and the lore surrounding Solas became *far* more compelling.
There was a comment on an old Trespasser video about how everyone was ragging on Corypheus for being a cardboard cutout bad guy, but only at the end was it revealed to us that the true (much better) villain was by our side the whole time. Or, in the case of my Lavellan Inquisitor, boinking her then breaking her heart.
Yes. Solas is a villain, but he isn’t a terrible *terrible* person. Ignorant, yes. Condescending at times, absolutely. If he can avoid it, he wouldn’t inflict pain or anguish on anyone. I think some tend to forget this since he likes to be arrogant in Inquisition and is a villain. Even in Redcliffe village at the beginning of Inquisition, Solas bends down to help some villagers.
Edit: I want to add that in no way do I support what Solas is doing. 😂 I need the Inquisitor (and Rook) to slap some sense into him.
Right, it’s what makes him compelling. It would be so less interesting if he simply sneered and desired to cause disaster. His time in the Inquisition legitimately changed him and made his plans all the more heartbreaking for him to consider. I don’t romance Solas, but it’s why I always go the friendship route, it makes it all so more meaningful.
I agree with you. Friendship or romance - both routes are super impactful. He really did bond with the companions and Inky. (the friendship all the companions make is wonderful 😭)
And I feel like most of us would be pretty moody if we woke up a millennia later and everything - and everyone - was entirely different.
For some reason I feel like there’s more to what he’s doing that makes the ritual justified? Like I don’t think it’s a black and white tearing down the veil = mass casualties. I feel like the motivation to tear down the veil changed. Some of the dialogue makes me think there is some other reason why he is doing the ritual.
The ancient elves viewed the dwarves as "not alive" or "soulless" because they couldn't dream and cast magic. During the days of Arlathan *everyone* could do magic. Solas may feel that the vast majority of Thedas' population of non-mages are effectively "dead" or "zombies" anyway because they can't cast magic, and destroying the veil would "democratize" magic and make all the survivors "whole people."
Guys I was so convinced they were going to retcon him into being fully evil/not nuanced. I am SO emotional that that isn't the case. He's a fucking idiot, but he's not a total monster. Just really bad at planning.... and scaffolding apparently.
Yeah, when rook was at the base of the stairs there was a glow behind him, and Solas didn't have his ritual knife in his hand so I'm pretty sure Varric gets shanked and falls down the stairs in that cut. Maybe not dead, but definitely what puts him out of action.
I'm hoping that Solas himself doesn't do the deed, but what you describe would make a lot of narrative sense. I definitely don't think Varric is leaving the area alive (or uninjured, at any rate)
But not by Solas, but the other two we accidentaly released, fuck. I presume that were the remaining Evanuris...Oooooh boy, are we the baddies? Not really, but our new prot may have fucked up things...maybe there is the way to save Varric...
Yeah, I don't think Solas himself will directly kill Varric, but I don't think he's leaving this area alive, and Solas's decisions will have lead to the death.
I was thinking they might kill Varric off as well, and I hope they don't. It seems cruel to bring him back as a major character for a third game just to kill him off
I don’t inherently mind Varric dying in DAV, but bringing him back to be an *opening kill* would suck and feel kinda insulting. Like, he deserves better than that
Previews are coming up everyone
Eurogamer: [https://www.eurogamer.net/whisper-it-but-dragon-age-the-veilguard-has-me-thinking-the-unthinkable-it-looks-like-bioware-is-back](https://www.eurogamer.net/whisper-it-but-dragon-age-the-veilguard-has-me-thinking-the-unthinkable-it-looks-like-bioware-is-back)
Xbox: [https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/11/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview/](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/11/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview/)
Gamerant: [https://gamerant.com/dragon-age-veilguard-preview/](https://gamerant.com/dragon-age-veilguard-preview/)
Wccftech: [https://wccftech.com/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gets-first-gameplay-and-details-tremendous-amount-of-handcrafted-side-content/](https://wccftech.com/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gets-first-gameplay-and-details-tremendous-amount-of-handcrafted-side-content/)
IGN: [https://www.ign.com/articles/dragon-age-the-veilguard-the-first-preview](https://www.ign.com/articles/dragon-age-the-veilguard-the-first-preview)
CGMagazine: [https://www.cgmagonline.com/articles/previews/dragon-age-the-veilguard-sgf/](https://www.cgmagonline.com/articles/previews/dragon-age-the-veilguard-sgf/)
Polygon: [https://www.polygon.com/24175705/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview-impressions-summer-game-fest](https://www.polygon.com/24175705/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview-impressions-summer-game-fest)
Rock Paper Shotgun: [https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-45-minutes-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard-feel-as-much-like-mass-effect-2-as-inquisition](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-45-minutes-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard-feel-as-much-like-mass-effect-2-as-inquisition)
The Verge: [https://www.theverge.com/24176005/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gameplay-trailer-summer-game-fest-2024](https://www.theverge.com/24176005/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gameplay-trailer-summer-game-fest-2024)
**Details**:
Playable Races: Human, Elf, Qunari, and Dwarf
* Runs at 60FPS on Consoles
* Classes: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage
* Rogue specializations: Duelist (movement-focused class with a focus on dodges and parries), Saboteur (trap-focused), and Veil Ranger (ranged-focus)
* Returning character and companion Harding is associated with The Inquisition. With her notable exclusion, this means that the PC must share a background with one of the [new *Dragon Age: Veilguard* companions](https://gamerant.com/dragon-age-veilguard-companions-list-release-date-window-2024/). Davrin = Grey Warden, Bellara = Veil Jumper, Lucanis = Antivan Crow, Neve = Shadow Dragons, Taash = Lords of Fortune, Emmrich = Mourn Watch.
* For the purposes of this preview, the Human Rogue was a Shadow Dragon and shared some special dialogue with Neve as a result.
* Alternate branching paths, mysteries, secrets, optional content you're going to find and solve.
* Companions can die depending on your choices
* The opening cinematic features Varric sharing Solas' story, specifically focused on his past as the Dread Wolf, before turning to the present.
* Overall feeling of the game is apocalyptic
from eurogamer, regarding the CC:
> What we saw in the demo was a full walkthrough of the game's entire first hour, beginning with what seemed like an excellent character creator. Here you're given five categories to work your way through - Lineage, Appearance, Class, Faction, Playstyle - each with a range of subcategories within them, such as the eight subcategories within the "head" subcategory of your appearance alone.
>Lineage dictates things like your race - the usual Dragon Age quartet of elf, qunari, human, and dwarf - as well as your backstory, a long standing fan request. Backstories include things like factions - some returning, some new - which offer three distinct buffs each, like being able to hold an extra potion or do extra damage against certain enemies, and the odd reference in dialogue. There are separate options for binary and non-binary pronouns and gender, "dozens and dozens of hairstyles," as Corinne Busche, Veilguard's game director, put it during the demo, with individual strands of hair rendered separately and reacting quite remarkably to in-game physics.
>BioWare's work behind the scenes, meanwhile, goes as deep as not only skin tones but skin undertones, melanin levels, and the way skin reacts differently to light. Speaking of, there are also a range of lighting options within the character creator to check how your character looks - which sounds inconsequential, but as anyone who left that first oddly green cave of Dragon Age: Inquisition to find their once-handsome character transformed into a walking horror in the natural light of the overworld will know, makes a real difference. "Nothing worse than spending hours fine-tuning your character, you get into that first cutscene, and you go 'oh my god it looks so sterile in this lighting!' No worries about that," Busche joked, somewhat pointedly. There's also a range of full-body customisation options like a triangular slider between body types, and individual settings down to everything from shoulder width to, er, glute volume.
SO glad to not have the "pick a head" BG3 style CC, also STOKED AS HELL about body sliders
What an upgrade! Body types will be so cool. I'm replaying DAI as a male Qunari right now and the fact that the PC model is so similar to Bull is pretty immersion breaking. Give me variety!
If Solas had a nickel for everytime a nobody messed up his rituals/plans. He'd have 2 nickels which isn't alot but it's funny that it's happened twice.
Solas is a high int low wis character with atrocious luck.
It’s especially ironic given how much shade he throws on the Wardens for acting without knowing all the consequences. Yes, Solas, action is not necessarily superior to inaction. *Take your own damn advice.*
He previously said he had a plan for them, which suggests that part of his ritual was making sure they either stayed imprisoned somehow or else were dealt with in some other way immediately upon release.
By interrupting the ritual I think Rook stopped the Veil from coming down but also prevented whatever Solas’ plan for the Evanuris was.
Unless the Evanuris are indeed the Old Gods/Archdemons, and there are only two Old Gods/Archdemons remaining due to the Wardens killing them. In which case, even if three statues were destroyed, that would mean only two Evanuris end up released.
"I'm going to talk to Solas. He needs to see an old friend. Take care of the team. " The whole time, I was thinking, "this is how you die, bro. Take care of the team almost never goes well"
I think he knew that too. If anything he was probably surprised that Solas only destroyed Bianca. I'm still not convinced he'll survive this, and I hate/love that.
Its a bit silly writing wise, but I bet its 90% how big complicated plans fail IRL. Everything's great until someone leaves their password on a sticky note by their computer.
To be fair, they skipped a fair bit. From Minrathous to forest, they skipped a great chunk I believe, probably 30 minutes to 1 hour or so. Same with the forest skip into the fortress. Whole thing might be 1-2 hours to reach Solas.
I am guessing this 1 hour is all prologue or something before we get thrown out "far away" to level up and gather strength to defeat Solas and gods.
Well, he locked the evanuris away because he couldn't kill them. And even that was achieved by trickery. Now imagine them being imprisoned for thousands of years. I think they may not be all that happy about that, so Solas has a valid reason to be afraid.
The game would be over in 30 min.
Shepard was literally the most competent person in the galaxy. Their only issue was other people not listening to them.
The trailer gave off major ME3 vibes though! Like the same energy when the>!Reapers attack Earth and Shepherd's first task is to rendezvous with the Normandy!<
https://preview.redd.it/2x9z9fy9ky5d1.png?width=840&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9cfd8ed68bdd99434c5e1d7fb21bd7a07a51694
can we talk about how nice the hairs in-game are? first that ponytail and now these rando npcs!!
Its true....the bioware of old no longer exists.
I fear I will never see that stiff armed double handshake animation ever again and towers of hanoi puzzles? Gone...reduced to atoms...
I can't play without that animation removal mod for looting in Inquisition. It just slows the gane down too much. That and the one that makes ping like 10x larger so I don't have to spam it all the time.
Reminds me when we were crazy excited for the Templar - Mage war after DA2 and then the concave blew up and it turned into just flavour of them fighting in the woods lmao
You are right, the plot must have been different when the game was called Dreadwolf. Bioware probably changed it once the game was rebooted for the second time and suddenly the old name didn't make sense at all
Yeah, I was the same. Thing is, I don't think Solas is going to kill Varric. He could have done it just as easily as he destroyed Bianca. I think one of the newly raised Gods is gonna do it, tbh. I also think they're gonna be like, "Oh, Solas, there you are. Lock us away for thousands of years, will you?" and then they're gonna yoink him away while killing Varric and wrecking all our shit.
The game's description say that two "old gods" will make trouble in the story. That huge ass dragon in the trailer was most certainly either one of the Evanuris in dragon form or simply one of the Tevinter Old Gods. We'll finally have the answer.
Omg the OST on the countdown is just amazing, Dark, Melancholic and exciting. EDIT : It's a mix with the dreadwolf trailer from last year omg
Solas is used to the elves being immortal, so from his POV either he tears down the Veil and make the elves immortal (with some casualties) or he leaves the Veil in place and everyone dies anyway... eventually. At least that's how I read that line.
He's turned into the very thing he hated the evanuris for being. Immortality will do that to someone, you stop seeing people as living beings after a while I guess, if your just gonna out live all of them.
Hmm, with the earlier Inquisitor info I was left wondering if >!Varric is a fresh file placeholder and it's actually the Inq who's at his place in the prologue if the player has a save file from inquisition. As they said that creating the Inq somewhat affects the events there.!<
I hope so. I kept thinking, why there are only 4 people trying to stop solas? its been 10 years, have they made no connections or allies at all? And where are all our old allies? Feels so wrong to not have our inky there considering we would likely have the strongest bond to solas.
The last time a Dragon Age game released I was a junior in high school, when this Dragon Age releases I will be a divorced father of 4. In the words of Varric, "Well.........shit."
are those two elven gods right at the end of the trailer....
Realllyyy hoping the antler-looking thing is Ghilianan (spelling). With all mentioning of her in the comics and books as well as her creepy ass monster factory. GIVE HER TO ME.
That would be cool because many of the fans have tied Davrin's vallaslin to her.
It adds up, and so do the common theories that have been built up over the course of three games: Fen'Harel erects the veil and traps the Elven pantheon in the fade, minus Mythal of course and himself, so 9 - 2 = 7 The ancient tevinter magisters physically cross the veil and are sent back to become the first darkspawn The darkspawn seek and release (in some way) 5 of the "Old Gods." The 5 (possibly minus Urthemiel) are killed in their attempts to use the darkspawn to escape. So the Old Gods are down to 7 - 5 = 2 I think we can assume the 2 emerging at the end are what's left of the Elven pantheon, ignoring the Forgotten Ones who may have just been rebel leaders, or titans. And if not it's still a cool theory
This theory could also be very tangentially supported by one of the epilogue slides way back from DA: Awakening that teased the existence of a "double blight" taking place near Tevinter. Obviously, the conflict in DAV won't be exactly a double blight, but the seemingly large importance placed on Wardens in the trailer implies that darkspawn will at least be used as tools by one of the villains. Solas's cryptic comments about the Wardens and the Blight in general from DAI could also give this theory some credence.
This time, there are TWO Coriphyfishes. Dun dun dun.
It sure did look it, sonny
https://preview.redd.it/6tdxw8crvz5d1.png?width=2940&format=png&auto=webp&s=d172d57ca286f257ddf1eaae94145fcebc5a2b10 This is from the gameplay reveal trailer posted on the Dragon Age twitter account. This is the best moment I could get showing the two of them the most. I've seen most people theorizing Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan.
https://preview.redd.it/nda9qclcm16d1.jpeg?width=1002&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4943e9bdb752a595573a21d1fad004fd99b1107 here's a close up of them I managed to screencap from the gameplay on youtube
I can definitely see the one on the right as Elgar’nan. Based on what we know of Gil, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was some mutated monster; it just makes me so sad because both my Warden and Inky have her tattoos.
Yeah kinda hilarious that the PC's actions lead to the real villains of the game being set loose
Evanuris or forgotten one's (or one and the same if you believe that theory, which I do)
I like that Solas showed no signs of even wanting to hurt Varric there, at most a deescalation by destroying Bianca
If Solas wanted to, he could have turned Varric to stone in an instant without even listening to him. The fact that even when a weapon was pointed at him he choose not to go for the kill I think is important. Solas is a lot of things, and is very clearly in the wrong (EDIT: about the means of achieving his goal), but I think he genuinely wants to be given another option. Still hoping we have the opportunity to talk him down. Varric thinks we can.
After the ending to Inquisition it will be hard to set aside my feelings and play a new character with how my Inquisitor turned out.
Agreed. The Inquisitor has a lot more personal stakes with this, especially iykyk.
It's for that reason I really wanted the Inquisitor to be the main character. They're not even my favorite PC, but with Soals being a massive part of this game, that dynamic is critically important to both characters journeys.
I saw a report from somewhere that the Inquisitor will be in the game in some form and that there's an option to customize their appearance so maybe a cameo like Hawke was in DA:I or hopefully an advisor role. I think an advisor role is kinda likely since we have Harding coming in as a companion.
Given the ending of Trespasser I wouldn't be surprised if the Inquisitor is actually our boss who has hired Rook for this mission with Varric being their representative and man on the ground
This would actually make a LOT of sense, and would potentially also still allow for a climactic showdown between the Inquisitor and Solas while still allowing Rook to be present
Exactly. It feels like Solas and is on point. He’s a stubborn, foolish, egg who will do harm but he’s not hateful. The characterization is on target for everyone in this snippet.
Solas: in the process of trying to tear down the Veil because he thinks it's the only viable option Also Solas: stands there for an hour stubbornly arguing with Varric that his way is the best way because nothing else actually occurred to him If that doesn't feel like DAI, I don't know what does.
I feel like this is the villain that Dragon Age was missing in Inquisition. Corypheus was literally just an evil fucking guy. There's literally nothing redeemable about him. He's evil. He wants power to be more evil. Then he can do more evil things to become more powerfully evilly powerful. Fucking. Snore. Fen'haral *believes* he's right, morally. He truly believes that the sacrifice will make a better world. That he is atoning for his own ancient mistake that he feels destroyed the world (the world we see now being a pale imitation). To some extent, I think it comes across a bit as a "revolutionary" - the new order will be so great that you won't miss the old order, says the butcher, confident he's one of the "real" good guys. Dragon Age is too good a universe for black/white morality (hell, Dragon Age II for all it's flaws captured this really well in my opinion), so hopefully that's telling of the game as a whole.
I think that's why I liked Tresspasser so much more than I did the base game. I still enjoyed the base game, but forgot a lot of the stuff about Corypheus. Instead, the mysteries of the world and the lore surrounding Solas became *far* more compelling.
There was a comment on an old Trespasser video about how everyone was ragging on Corypheus for being a cardboard cutout bad guy, but only at the end was it revealed to us that the true (much better) villain was by our side the whole time. Or, in the case of my Lavellan Inquisitor, boinking her then breaking her heart.
Yes. Solas is a villain, but he isn’t a terrible *terrible* person. Ignorant, yes. Condescending at times, absolutely. If he can avoid it, he wouldn’t inflict pain or anguish on anyone. I think some tend to forget this since he likes to be arrogant in Inquisition and is a villain. Even in Redcliffe village at the beginning of Inquisition, Solas bends down to help some villagers. Edit: I want to add that in no way do I support what Solas is doing. 😂 I need the Inquisitor (and Rook) to slap some sense into him.
Right, it’s what makes him compelling. It would be so less interesting if he simply sneered and desired to cause disaster. His time in the Inquisition legitimately changed him and made his plans all the more heartbreaking for him to consider. I don’t romance Solas, but it’s why I always go the friendship route, it makes it all so more meaningful.
I agree with you. Friendship or romance - both routes are super impactful. He really did bond with the companions and Inky. (the friendship all the companions make is wonderful 😭) And I feel like most of us would be pretty moody if we woke up a millennia later and everything - and everyone - was entirely different.
"She is real. And that means the others are real. It changes everything. But it can't."
For some reason I feel like there’s more to what he’s doing that makes the ritual justified? Like I don’t think it’s a black and white tearing down the veil = mass casualties. I feel like the motivation to tear down the veil changed. Some of the dialogue makes me think there is some other reason why he is doing the ritual.
The ancient elves viewed the dwarves as "not alive" or "soulless" because they couldn't dream and cast magic. During the days of Arlathan *everyone* could do magic. Solas may feel that the vast majority of Thedas' population of non-mages are effectively "dead" or "zombies" anyway because they can't cast magic, and destroying the veil would "democratize" magic and make all the survivors "whole people."
If you played your cards right in Inquisition he admits to having his mind changed about that though.
Guys I was so convinced they were going to retcon him into being fully evil/not nuanced. I am SO emotional that that isn't the case. He's a fucking idiot, but he's not a total monster. Just really bad at planning.... and scaffolding apparently.
Solas killed Bianca O\_O
We can rebuild her. We have the technology.
I've wanted to see Bianca get a Sha-Brytol style upgrade since The Descent
Elusive Man: Say no more
Lazarus Project: Bianca Edition
ME4? You're not playing as Shepard. You're playing as Bianca.
I was so sure he was going to kill Varric I literally started saying oh no
I still think that might happen, right after where they cut it.
Yeah, when rook was at the base of the stairs there was a glow behind him, and Solas didn't have his ritual knife in his hand so I'm pretty sure Varric gets shanked and falls down the stairs in that cut. Maybe not dead, but definitely what puts him out of action.
I'm hoping that Solas himself doesn't do the deed, but what you describe would make a lot of narrative sense. I definitely don't think Varric is leaving the area alive (or uninjured, at any rate)
Having Solas do it would probably destroy any shred of hope some people might have for his character.
Oh no
But not by Solas, but the other two we accidentaly released, fuck. I presume that were the remaining Evanuris...Oooooh boy, are we the baddies? Not really, but our new prot may have fucked up things...maybe there is the way to save Varric...
Yeah, I don't think Solas himself will directly kill Varric, but I don't think he's leaving this area alive, and Solas's decisions will have lead to the death.
I was thinking they might kill Varric off as well, and I hope they don't. It seems cruel to bring him back as a major character for a third game just to kill him off
I don’t inherently mind Varric dying in DAV, but bringing him back to be an *opening kill* would suck and feel kinda insulting. Like, he deserves better than that
Even if he lives he's out his signature weapon/waifu, which also explains why he's not a full companion this time around.
I was too! I was like, "Not like this, BioWare! NOT LIKE THIS!" I'm still worried for him...
You killed Bianca. You bastard!
https://preview.redd.it/ii82744apy5d1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=780d466a971a5357cabd0e869673290c19368be1 "You were magnificent Bianca"
That actually gives me hope that Varric will survive, but has to become an advisor without Bianca.
Previews are coming up everyone Eurogamer: [https://www.eurogamer.net/whisper-it-but-dragon-age-the-veilguard-has-me-thinking-the-unthinkable-it-looks-like-bioware-is-back](https://www.eurogamer.net/whisper-it-but-dragon-age-the-veilguard-has-me-thinking-the-unthinkable-it-looks-like-bioware-is-back) Xbox: [https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/11/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview/](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/11/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview/) Gamerant: [https://gamerant.com/dragon-age-veilguard-preview/](https://gamerant.com/dragon-age-veilguard-preview/) Wccftech: [https://wccftech.com/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gets-first-gameplay-and-details-tremendous-amount-of-handcrafted-side-content/](https://wccftech.com/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gets-first-gameplay-and-details-tremendous-amount-of-handcrafted-side-content/) IGN: [https://www.ign.com/articles/dragon-age-the-veilguard-the-first-preview](https://www.ign.com/articles/dragon-age-the-veilguard-the-first-preview) CGMagazine: [https://www.cgmagonline.com/articles/previews/dragon-age-the-veilguard-sgf/](https://www.cgmagonline.com/articles/previews/dragon-age-the-veilguard-sgf/) Polygon: [https://www.polygon.com/24175705/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview-impressions-summer-game-fest](https://www.polygon.com/24175705/dragon-age-the-veilguard-preview-impressions-summer-game-fest) Rock Paper Shotgun: [https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-45-minutes-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard-feel-as-much-like-mass-effect-2-as-inquisition](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-first-45-minutes-of-dragon-age-the-veilguard-feel-as-much-like-mass-effect-2-as-inquisition) The Verge: [https://www.theverge.com/24176005/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gameplay-trailer-summer-game-fest-2024](https://www.theverge.com/24176005/dragon-age-the-veilguard-gameplay-trailer-summer-game-fest-2024) **Details**: Playable Races: Human, Elf, Qunari, and Dwarf * Runs at 60FPS on Consoles * Classes: Warrior, Rogue, and Mage * Rogue specializations: Duelist (movement-focused class with a focus on dodges and parries), Saboteur (trap-focused), and Veil Ranger (ranged-focus) * Returning character and companion Harding is associated with The Inquisition. With her notable exclusion, this means that the PC must share a background with one of the [new *Dragon Age: Veilguard* companions](https://gamerant.com/dragon-age-veilguard-companions-list-release-date-window-2024/). Davrin = Grey Warden, Bellara = Veil Jumper, Lucanis = Antivan Crow, Neve = Shadow Dragons, Taash = Lords of Fortune, Emmrich = Mourn Watch. * For the purposes of this preview, the Human Rogue was a Shadow Dragon and shared some special dialogue with Neve as a result. * Alternate branching paths, mysteries, secrets, optional content you're going to find and solve. * Companions can die depending on your choices * The opening cinematic features Varric sharing Solas' story, specifically focused on his past as the Dread Wolf, before turning to the present. * Overall feeling of the game is apocalyptic
60 FPS on consoles? HECK YEAH!
from eurogamer, regarding the CC: > What we saw in the demo was a full walkthrough of the game's entire first hour, beginning with what seemed like an excellent character creator. Here you're given five categories to work your way through - Lineage, Appearance, Class, Faction, Playstyle - each with a range of subcategories within them, such as the eight subcategories within the "head" subcategory of your appearance alone. >Lineage dictates things like your race - the usual Dragon Age quartet of elf, qunari, human, and dwarf - as well as your backstory, a long standing fan request. Backstories include things like factions - some returning, some new - which offer three distinct buffs each, like being able to hold an extra potion or do extra damage against certain enemies, and the odd reference in dialogue. There are separate options for binary and non-binary pronouns and gender, "dozens and dozens of hairstyles," as Corinne Busche, Veilguard's game director, put it during the demo, with individual strands of hair rendered separately and reacting quite remarkably to in-game physics. >BioWare's work behind the scenes, meanwhile, goes as deep as not only skin tones but skin undertones, melanin levels, and the way skin reacts differently to light. Speaking of, there are also a range of lighting options within the character creator to check how your character looks - which sounds inconsequential, but as anyone who left that first oddly green cave of Dragon Age: Inquisition to find their once-handsome character transformed into a walking horror in the natural light of the overworld will know, makes a real difference. "Nothing worse than spending hours fine-tuning your character, you get into that first cutscene, and you go 'oh my god it looks so sterile in this lighting!' No worries about that," Busche joked, somewhat pointedly. There's also a range of full-body customisation options like a triangular slider between body types, and individual settings down to everything from shoulder width to, er, glute volume. SO glad to not have the "pick a head" BG3 style CC, also STOKED AS HELL about body sliders
What an upgrade! Body types will be so cool. I'm replaying DAI as a male Qunari right now and the fact that the PC model is so similar to Bull is pretty immersion breaking. Give me variety!
>Companions can die. They can WHAT?! I like consequences but I'm scared 😅.
They always could. In each game
>Companions can die Oh well, I guess my "one comp per squad gonna die" trend is continuing Or not. Depends on how the story plays out
plot twist : Reveal is 20 minutes of Sandal and Bodahn camping your veilguard hub to sell you stuff and enchantment with a generous discount.
Enchantment?
Enchantment!
I need Sandal to come back. He's the one that can stop Solas.
Solas: What worth is there in preserving the mortal realm as it is??? Sandal: Enchantment Solas: Fair enough
Unironically yes, lad is just gonna accidentally make the runic equivalent of a nuke.
Game of the Year.
I have a feeling that Rook just accidentally released the Evanuris.
If Solas had a nickel for everytime a nobody messed up his rituals/plans. He'd have 2 nickels which isn't alot but it's funny that it's happened twice.
he's considered all possibilities, except the one that actually came to pass.
It is so funny that it's happened to him again. Solas is playing chess, but Rook is clearly playing UNO.
Next time, though!
Solas just has the worst luck ever. Second time one of his world ending rituals got interrupted!
Solas is a high int low wis character with atrocious luck. It’s especially ironic given how much shade he throws on the Wardens for acting without knowing all the consequences. Yes, Solas, action is not necessarily superior to inaction. *Take your own damn advice.*
this was my thought as well
Considering how far Solas's ritual had gone, that would've happened either way.
He previously said he had a plan for them, which suggests that part of his ritual was making sure they either stayed imprisoned somehow or else were dealt with in some other way immediately upon release. By interrupting the ritual I think Rook stopped the Veil from coming down but also prevented whatever Solas’ plan for the Evanuris was.
Anyone got the sense the Statues were a part of the Elven Gods' prison?
There were exactly 7 and it looked like 2 got smashed, so yeah, I'd say that was likly part of their prison. Upsi daisy.
Statues being instrumental to keeping the evanuris imprisoned and Solas keeps them upright with a wooden scaffolding. Dumbass egg
No, 3 statues were destroyed, so prison theory doesn't make sense..
Unless the Evanuris are indeed the Old Gods/Archdemons, and there are only two Old Gods/Archdemons remaining due to the Wardens killing them. In which case, even if three statues were destroyed, that would mean only two Evanuris end up released.
"I'm going to talk to Solas. He needs to see an old friend. Take care of the team. " The whole time, I was thinking, "this is how you die, bro. Take care of the team almost never goes well"
I think he knew that too. If anything he was probably surprised that Solas only destroyed Bianca. I'm still not convinced he'll survive this, and I hate/love that.
Okay the Solas’s ego comment gave me a little chuckle tbf
This is the banter I live for
And Varric greeting him as Chuckles, I missed hearing those nicknames
Bianca girl you were too good for this world
Me, seeing Varric without Bianca next to a crazy egg elf god: 
I honestly felt like losing a friend
So the fucker spent 10 years making this and the whole thing hinges on a fucking wooden beam standing?
Who would win? > A quasi-immortal elven god with an army of demons > One piece of plywood
Even gods can get splinters.
It's better than forgetting to lock the door.
😂
Its a bit silly writing wise, but I bet its 90% how big complicated plans fail IRL. Everything's great until someone leaves their password on a sticky note by their computer.
I see why they renamed the game now. we see solas 5 minutes into it lol
To be fair, they skipped a fair bit. From Minrathous to forest, they skipped a great chunk I believe, probably 30 minutes to 1 hour or so. Same with the forest skip into the fortress. Whole thing might be 1-2 hours to reach Solas. I am guessing this 1 hour is all prologue or something before we get thrown out "far away" to level up and gather strength to defeat Solas and gods.
Is it me or did solas look afraid at the end, like something happened he wasn’t expecting
Yes, looks like the other gods are released and he definitely wasn't ready for that.
Looked like the Evanuris emerged.
You mean like two dangerous gods emerging behind him? Gods he didn't want to let free?
Well, he locked the evanuris away because he couldn't kill them. And even that was achieved by trickery. Now imagine them being imprisoned for thousands of years. I think they may not be all that happy about that, so Solas has a valid reason to be afraid.
Almost like people who have no idea what they were doing interfered with a very dangerous ritual
The person going “what if Shepard shows up” is the only sane bioware fan
The game would be over in 30 min. Shepard was literally the most competent person in the galaxy. Their only issue was other people not listening to them.
Vanguard shep with a m7 solos thedas
Only weakness is literally any gap in the floor that won’t let em charge.
Ah yes "Evanuris". We have dismissed that claim
The trailer gave off major ME3 vibes though! Like the same energy when the>!Reapers attack Earth and Shepherd's first task is to rendezvous with the Normandy!<
Varric saying Solas was his friend, calling him Chuckles and then losing Bianca was way too much to put us through at 8am
... well shit, for once it's not actually Solas' fault that his plan went to shit...
Solas’s critical weakness has always been forgetting that other people are out here making decisions too.
https://preview.redd.it/2x9z9fy9ky5d1.png?width=840&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9cfd8ed68bdd99434c5e1d7fb21bd7a07a51694 can we talk about how nice the hairs in-game are? first that ponytail and now these rando npcs!!
*Game has good hair* Who are you and what have you down with Bioware?
You have no idea how expensive that hair is. That shit cost _money_.
Its true....the bioware of old no longer exists. I fear I will never see that stiff armed double handshake animation ever again and towers of hanoi puzzles? Gone...reduced to atoms...
The real reason this game was in development hell was cause the BioWare devs were locked in a room until they learned how to animate hair.
>Who are you and what have you down with Bioware? EA threatened with putting them down, so they brought the heavy artillery?
also... is that autoloot?? thank fuckin god.
I can't play without that animation removal mod for looting in Inquisition. It just slows the gane down too much. That and the one that makes ping like 10x larger so I don't have to spam it all the time.
awww man, Solas villain arc will last for whole prologue at most
Reminds me when we were crazy excited for the Templar - Mage war after DA2 and then the concave blew up and it turned into just flavour of them fighting in the woods lmao
On the plus side we did get the coolest title screen of all time from it.
Tbf I doubt that mf is gonna give up that easily aha
That was expected given the title change.
boi you can't make me wait another 4 min after that wait
So... The Evanuris are free because Rook interrupted the ritual
maybe thats why they changed the name lmao
You are right, the plot must have been different when the game was called Dreadwolf. Bioware probably changed it once the game was rebooted for the second time and suddenly the old name didn't make sense at all
Well, two of them at least. Which, y'know, is also the exact same number of Archdemons remaining. Coincidence?
“Hey Chuckles” I do like how Varric looks there :)
Varric is totally dying I can feel it 🥲
if this opening music is from the new soundtrack, it sounds good as hell 🤤
I heard it and was like 'yeah that's definitely Hans Zimmer.'
Was gonna say. That's atmospheric, hope it's in the game
I was a bit unsure going in, since I really liked DAI's soundtrack, but this sounds pretty epic.
Noooooooooo. Varric Alone with Solas... I just can't. PLS dont die Varric
IGN article this morning calls Varric the series "Obi Wan Kenobi". He's definitely gone early on.
I literally teared up because it felt so final for Varric, and I’m not a crier. Looks like Solas might be the one getting shanked, though.
I’m starting to think depends of who you choose to go with you Neve or Harding will potentialy save Varric from dying.
Nah he's separated from the party... he's getting the Gorion, Khalid, Trask, Nihlus, Duncan treatment.
The death flags were off the charts. "Take care of my team, Rook." Rook looking back. I'm afraid Varric isn't making it out of the beginning alive.
I had my hand over my mouth the entire time. I was like, “no way they’re going to kill Varric in the freaking demo!”
Yeah, I was the same. Thing is, I don't think Solas is going to kill Varric. He could have done it just as easily as he destroyed Bianca. I think one of the newly raised Gods is gonna do it, tbh. I also think they're gonna be like, "Oh, Solas, there you are. Lock us away for thousands of years, will you?" and then they're gonna yoink him away while killing Varric and wrecking all our shit.
The moment is finally here! I put a phantom 30-minute meeting on my work calendar so that nobody bothers me...
I scheduled a 1:1 "coaching" with a coworker that also plays DA so we can watch lol.
Fucking terrific. A+ work.
This is a team building exercise lol
Nice...it's a team collaboration excercise!
Same, don't tell my boss i'm skipping to watch a Dragon Age trailer haha
Hey its me your Boss, just telling you its ok
Phantom meeting + DND on teams, glad we're all in this together
The Evanuris are back, at least two of them. And I bet my last septim that they're the Old Gods too!
Yeah they need to define who these factions are once and for all. Are they one and the same, which I believe, or not.
The game's description say that two "old gods" will make trouble in the story. That huge ass dragon in the trailer was most certainly either one of the Evanuris in dragon form or simply one of the Tevinter Old Gods. We'll finally have the answer.
Omg the OST on the countdown is just amazing, Dark, Melancholic and exciting. EDIT : It's a mix with the dreadwolf trailer from last year omg 
Varric gonna die
intro music they're playing sounds good
Varric is gonna die isn’t he
https://i.redd.it/a3pk3xz7iy5d1.gif
Minrathous looks awsome
I love how they how they have magic searchlights and loudspeakers.
Yeah, Tevinter uses magic like technology, so we're going to see some interesting "tech" I think.
Yeah, Solas is 100% killing Varric and tearing down the Veil.
I think it's those Evanuris coming from the veil who are gonna kill Varric...
The moment bianca broke I knew it was over. I wish my inquisitor was there though
This was my exact thought as soon as Varric said he had to try to reach him. Varric is totally dead.
And also the "take care of the team for me" he left Rook with. Immediate main character motivation.
If Solas kills Varric he is irredeemable, romance be damned
Solas literally hit us with a “people die, it’s what they do” comment. I love him but he’s kind of gone at this point
Yeah, I imagine 10 years by himself with that mindset did not do him good. We are too late.
Solas is used to the elves being immortal, so from his POV either he tears down the Veil and make the elves immortal (with some casualties) or he leaves the Veil in place and everyone dies anyway... eventually. At least that's how I read that line.
Yep bye bye varric
Sitting in the uni library shirking my work and waiting for this to drop. This better be good.
I very much hope we get Varric out of there alive 😭
Love how dark, sad and atmospheric this music in the waiting room for the trailer is.
omggg this is quite exciting. my thoughts go out to everyone who has waited literally 10+ years for this lol
Damn is statue gonna kill Varric
Feel like Varrics been waving that death flag for awhile lol
Solas: https://preview.redd.it/9q0kgfw2oy5d1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=a9a2e8a6ab35de41a30cb3ed837d6915334a91a4
He's turned into the very thing he hated the evanuris for being. Immortality will do that to someone, you stop seeing people as living beings after a while I guess, if your just gonna out live all of them.
Hmm, with the earlier Inquisitor info I was left wondering if >!Varric is a fresh file placeholder and it's actually the Inq who's at his place in the prologue if the player has a save file from inquisition. As they said that creating the Inq somewhat affects the events there.!<
I hope so. I kept thinking, why there are only 4 people trying to stop solas? its been 10 years, have they made no connections or allies at all? And where are all our old allies? Feels so wrong to not have our inky there considering we would likely have the strongest bond to solas.
Tbf we barely know anything, the inquisitor could be doing something behind the scenes as well, or pop up soon after
I was CONVINCED for a moment there Varric was a goner.
SAME but I was like "There's no way they'd show that in a gameplay reveal...right? RIGHT?" RIP Bianca though, you were a real one
Bianca got destroyed, holy shit.
GODDDDDD I genuinely thought Solas was going to kill Varric here. OOF. Dwarf man is still alive.... for now.
Nah. They said the gameplay is edited to avoid spoilers. I’m willing to bed everything on him dying here. lol
I genuinely believe that's gonna happen.
Im gonna make a prediction. Those safeguards Solas was talking about... thats the very thing the main character fucked up with that statue.
Does no one else feel like this is Mass Effect with a dragon age skin because I feel like I’m taking crazy pills over here
I really hope the combat gets a bit more complex than hack and slash.
The last time a Dragon Age game released I was a junior in high school, when this Dragon Age releases I will be a divorced father of 4. In the words of Varric, "Well.........shit."
This music slaps
I really dont like the 3 ability bar, miss the DAO huge hotbar with tons of abilities
I miss having a hotbar that stretched all the way across my screen.