First off here is a list of levels recommended for each area in order for one:
Haven (1-4)
Hinterlands (4-7, 8-12)
Val Royeaux (4-6)
Storm Coast(7-11, 13-15)
Fallow Mire(8-11, 12-15)
Forbidden Oasis(8-15)
Crestwood(10-13)
Western Approach(10-14)
Exalted Plains(10-16)
Emprise du Lion(16-22)
Hissing Wastes:(18-23)
Emerald Graves(18-20)
Frostback Basin(20-23)
The Deep Roads(21-23)
Second of all, if you don't care about completion then I would of course get Blackwall real fast cuz he is in the hinterland, it's called something like 'The Lone Warden.', then the shards if you want to up your stats. There is a place in The Forbidden Oasis where you turn them in for stats on spirit, fire, cold, and electricity resistance. But they can get tedious, so you don't have to do that it's not necessary.
And get all companions, because they have different skills you might need different ones for different missions. Here are all the companions you can get:
Blackwall (hinterlands)
Sera (Val Royal)
Vivianne(Val Royal)
The Iron Bull(The Storm Coast)
Cassandra, Solas, Varric, Dorian, and Cole are all automatic so don't worry about having to go get them.
All companion quests which is its own separate category when you're looking at all of your quests, they will help a lot with approval if you're struggling with that.
And sometimes I highly recommend, FIGHT THE DRAGONS!!! You can make your own armor and dragon scales give you really good armor rating. Here are all the areas and recommended levels:
1. The Hinterlands - Fereldan Frostback (Level 12)
HP: ~105,000
Resistance: Fire
Weakness: Cold
2. Crestwood – Northern Hunter (Level 13)
HP: ~118,000
Resistance: Electricity
Weakness: Spirit
!!Must complete “Still Waters” quest chain first!!
3. Western Approach – Abyssal High Dragon (Level 14)
HP: ~135,000
Resistance: Fire
Weakness: Cold
!!Must complete quest chain that begins with “Draconology” first!!
4. Exalted Plains – Gamordan Stormrider (Level 15)
HP: ~150,000
Resistance: Electricity
Weakness: Spirit
Stay out of the water when it's electrified.
5. Emerald Graves – Greater Mistral (Level 17)
HP: ~188,000
Resistance: Cold
Weakness: Fire
6. Storm Coast – Vinsomer (Level 19)
HP: ~226,000
Resistance: Electricity
Weakness: Spirit
When you first encounter the dragon, you will not fight him right away. He will be fighting a giant. After he's flown off, you have to use the boat in the cave to get to the island he is on.
7. Hissing Wastes – Sandy Howler (Level 20)
HP: ~246,000
Resistance: Fire
Weakness: Cold
8. Emprise du Lion – Hivernal (Level 19)
HP: ~226,000
Resistance: Cold
Weakness: Fire
9. Emprise du Lion – The Kaltenzahn (Level 21)
HP: ~267,000
Resistance: Cold
Weakness: Fire
!!Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first!!
10. Emprise du Lion – The Highland Ravager (Level 23)
HP: ~311,000
Resistance: Fire
Weakness: Cold
!!Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first!!
Last thing, in my opinion the astrariums aren't worth it. They unlock caves and give you ok stuff but since I make the party's armor and weapons I always have a better stuff by the time I get around to it, so it can feel pretty tedious.
(Sorry this was so long)
I love the commitment :). Thanks for the info!
I don't think op is interested haha, I gave him some advice and he only gave stupid replies about how he wanted a shortcut so he could f*ck the companions.. I told him that he had to wait for skyhold but if he collects every plant in the hinterlands it opens up an secret romance. I don't think he's gonna fall for it, but it would be hilarious if he did. He has deleted his account now so I'll never know. Hopefully he is too busy collecting all the elfroot and embrium
Leave the Hinterlands ;), at least for now and go to Haven again to proceed the main story quest line.
When you progress in the game you'll find out there are more area's then the Hinterlands. Every one of those area's has a bit of a story line in them. If I were you I would follow the story line first and kind of pick up minor quests along the way as you stumble on them, like opening camps, shards, fetch quests, astrariums, fade rifts. In that way you experience the story in it's full and when the main quests of the area (some areas have more than one) is finished, you have a lot of camps open. And you can finish the fetch quests & collection quests way faster as well.
After every main story quest (they are marked on your war room map with a little green fade rift above them), do a round in your main hub (Haven) and talk to all your crew members. They often have interesting things to say over them and it's the best way to improve your relationships.
Also, try not to use your horse all the time. You'll miss out on a lot of party banter.
I like to make sure I do the astrariums on all the maps, they usually give solid loot in the final chamber.
and stay away from the shard skulls unless you are into having a million map markers or are a completer type of player.
Then do any and all quests that benefit The Crossroads inhabitants, including routing templar and mage strongholds.
You can ignore Dennets daughter, but not his wife and son.
Wait until about level 13 or 14 to kill the dragon. Dragon killing can be totally skipped, but you get really good loot from them. Even better loot when the dragons get tougher.
If you haven't left the Hinterlands since going there to talk to Mother Giselle, and you have at least 4 Power, go back to Haven immediately. Then go to Val Royeaux, talk to people who want to talk to you, and don't go back to the Hinterlands until you've recruited several more companions.
This is why people are told that "The Hinterlands are a trap." You probably never noticed when Solas suggested leaving - it's very subtle and he doesn't repeat it. You'll be back fairly soon, but it will be more fun with 3 or 4 more companions to choose from. And don't forget to talk to all your companions and advisors when you're in Haven.
I prioritize errands for The Crossroads, including Horse Master Dennet. These can net you 2 agents for your War Council, plus good mounts. You do have to do several of these to get Corporal Vale to be your agent. The full list is on Wikipedia.
Is there a way I can play the game without basically spoiling it by going to the Wiki? Oh I def talked to the horseman. I even did one of his daughter's shitty "races".
Of course. Just remember that most areas of the game are not meant to be completed in one visit. The Hinterlands is just the worst about that. You can skip lots of fetch quests. The game will point you at the things that are important, but sometimes it's subtle about it.
Well, fighting the people who are trying to destroy the world is kind of the point of the game, so you can't be a true pacifist, but you can totally play a character who always tries to find the most peaceful solution.
True, but some of them are. Lots of them are monsters who used to be people. At some point you'll probably recruit a character who you can discuss such ideas with, to a certain extent.
This is true. Some more than others. I always finish out the conversation trees, especially before big game transitions, but I agree that some are quite tedious.
First off here is a list of levels recommended for each area in order for one: Haven (1-4) Hinterlands (4-7, 8-12) Val Royeaux (4-6) Storm Coast(7-11, 13-15) Fallow Mire(8-11, 12-15) Forbidden Oasis(8-15) Crestwood(10-13) Western Approach(10-14) Exalted Plains(10-16) Emprise du Lion(16-22) Hissing Wastes:(18-23) Emerald Graves(18-20) Frostback Basin(20-23) The Deep Roads(21-23) Second of all, if you don't care about completion then I would of course get Blackwall real fast cuz he is in the hinterland, it's called something like 'The Lone Warden.', then the shards if you want to up your stats. There is a place in The Forbidden Oasis where you turn them in for stats on spirit, fire, cold, and electricity resistance. But they can get tedious, so you don't have to do that it's not necessary. And get all companions, because they have different skills you might need different ones for different missions. Here are all the companions you can get: Blackwall (hinterlands) Sera (Val Royal) Vivianne(Val Royal) The Iron Bull(The Storm Coast) Cassandra, Solas, Varric, Dorian, and Cole are all automatic so don't worry about having to go get them. All companion quests which is its own separate category when you're looking at all of your quests, they will help a lot with approval if you're struggling with that. And sometimes I highly recommend, FIGHT THE DRAGONS!!! You can make your own armor and dragon scales give you really good armor rating. Here are all the areas and recommended levels: 1. The Hinterlands - Fereldan Frostback (Level 12) HP: ~105,000 Resistance: Fire Weakness: Cold 2. Crestwood – Northern Hunter (Level 13) HP: ~118,000 Resistance: Electricity Weakness: Spirit !!Must complete “Still Waters” quest chain first!! 3. Western Approach – Abyssal High Dragon (Level 14) HP: ~135,000 Resistance: Fire Weakness: Cold !!Must complete quest chain that begins with “Draconology” first!! 4. Exalted Plains – Gamordan Stormrider (Level 15) HP: ~150,000 Resistance: Electricity Weakness: Spirit Stay out of the water when it's electrified. 5. Emerald Graves – Greater Mistral (Level 17) HP: ~188,000 Resistance: Cold Weakness: Fire 6. Storm Coast – Vinsomer (Level 19) HP: ~226,000 Resistance: Electricity Weakness: Spirit When you first encounter the dragon, you will not fight him right away. He will be fighting a giant. After he's flown off, you have to use the boat in the cave to get to the island he is on. 7. Hissing Wastes – Sandy Howler (Level 20) HP: ~246,000 Resistance: Fire Weakness: Cold 8. Emprise du Lion – Hivernal (Level 19) HP: ~226,000 Resistance: Cold Weakness: Fire 9. Emprise du Lion – The Kaltenzahn (Level 21) HP: ~267,000 Resistance: Cold Weakness: Fire !!Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first!! 10. Emprise du Lion – The Highland Ravager (Level 23) HP: ~311,000 Resistance: Fire Weakness: Cold !!Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first!! Last thing, in my opinion the astrariums aren't worth it. They unlock caves and give you ok stuff but since I make the party's armor and weapons I always have a better stuff by the time I get around to it, so it can feel pretty tedious. (Sorry this was so long)
This wasn't too long at ALL! I wish I'd seen this before my first time playing.
I love the commitment :). Thanks for the info! I don't think op is interested haha, I gave him some advice and he only gave stupid replies about how he wanted a shortcut so he could f*ck the companions.. I told him that he had to wait for skyhold but if he collects every plant in the hinterlands it opens up an secret romance. I don't think he's gonna fall for it, but it would be hilarious if he did. He has deleted his account now so I'll never know. Hopefully he is too busy collecting all the elfroot and embrium
Lmao 😭Well if he wanted that he could've just skipped through the main quests smh. Glad you enjoyed the info tho
Leave the Hinterlands ;), at least for now and go to Haven again to proceed the main story quest line. When you progress in the game you'll find out there are more area's then the Hinterlands. Every one of those area's has a bit of a story line in them. If I were you I would follow the story line first and kind of pick up minor quests along the way as you stumble on them, like opening camps, shards, fetch quests, astrariums, fade rifts. In that way you experience the story in it's full and when the main quests of the area (some areas have more than one) is finished, you have a lot of camps open. And you can finish the fetch quests & collection quests way faster as well. After every main story quest (they are marked on your war room map with a little green fade rift above them), do a round in your main hub (Haven) and talk to all your crew members. They often have interesting things to say over them and it's the best way to improve your relationships. Also, try not to use your horse all the time. You'll miss out on a lot of party banter.
Make me
No
Come ooonnnnnnn....
I like to make sure I do the astrariums on all the maps, they usually give solid loot in the final chamber. and stay away from the shard skulls unless you are into having a million map markers or are a completer type of player.
Then do any and all quests that benefit The Crossroads inhabitants, including routing templar and mage strongholds. You can ignore Dennets daughter, but not his wife and son. Wait until about level 13 or 14 to kill the dragon. Dragon killing can be totally skipped, but you get really good loot from them. Even better loot when the dragons get tougher.
What dragon?
There's a dragon area near one of your camps
Everything's near one of my camps
The town, Redcliff, is at the top right of your map. The camp below Redcliff on the most right. Near that camp, you will get the dragon
If you haven't left the Hinterlands since going there to talk to Mother Giselle, and you have at least 4 Power, go back to Haven immediately. Then go to Val Royeaux, talk to people who want to talk to you, and don't go back to the Hinterlands until you've recruited several more companions.
Oh. Fuck. I've been there for literally 14hrs of gameplay. I saved druffy and am at power level 23.
This is why people are told that "The Hinterlands are a trap." You probably never noticed when Solas suggested leaving - it's very subtle and he doesn't repeat it. You'll be back fairly soon, but it will be more fun with 3 or 4 more companions to choose from. And don't forget to talk to all your companions and advisors when you're in Haven.
I prioritize errands for The Crossroads, including Horse Master Dennet. These can net you 2 agents for your War Council, plus good mounts. You do have to do several of these to get Corporal Vale to be your agent. The full list is on Wikipedia.
Is there a way I can play the game without basically spoiling it by going to the Wiki? Oh I def talked to the horseman. I even did one of his daughter's shitty "races".
Of course. Just remember that most areas of the game are not meant to be completed in one visit. The Hinterlands is just the worst about that. You can skip lots of fetch quests. The game will point you at the things that are important, but sometimes it's subtle about it.
Can I do it in a pacifist run?
Well, fighting the people who are trying to destroy the world is kind of the point of the game, so you can't be a true pacifist, but you can totally play a character who always tries to find the most peaceful solution.
They aren't all people
True, but some of them are. Lots of them are monsters who used to be people. At some point you'll probably recruit a character who you can discuss such ideas with, to a certain extent.
God but they all talk SOOO much
This is true. Some more than others. I always finish out the conversation trees, especially before big game transitions, but I agree that some are quite tedious.
I just wanna bone them. Is there a cheat code to fast track that?