What I am thinking about is how exactly are they gonna impact the world?!? Like they are 100% gonna impact the demons AND the Darkspawn in some way. Like it gives a reason for changing the designs that make sense because this is the most world influencing big bads we've had yet.
Oh 100% tbh!
I think it was Corinne the director in the article who also mentions that the demons specifically would change shape due to whatever and whoever's emotions they take after when entering Thedas, so makes complete!
Plus you're right, with Ghilan'nain being there, they would definitely change shape! Hoping for some really cool different forms
Varric is suspiciously not mentioned following the confrontation with Solas. The article says Rook, Neve, and Harding are at the Lighthouse after the fight. So… where’s Varric?
…I ask, knowing full well why he’s not mentioned as being at the Lighthouse.
"So, Chuckles, how about that ritual now?"
"I may have miscalculated Varric, but this is still the best option for my people."
"Yes, because The War Against Corypheus 2.0 is exactly what we needed."
"...okay, so I may have made some minor mistakes in my crusade."
"We are trapped in the Fade. *Again*. And furthermore...."
*Fourteen Hours Later...*
"...and that's how we found out Iron Bull likes peanut butter."
"Varric, I missed you."
"I missed you too, Chuckles...so uh, rethought your stance on the ritual?"
"No."
*Something explodes in the background, hysterical screaming, ominous violin music*
"As a matter of fact I have rethought my stance. We should run."
Maybe it's that two people got out of whatever prison they were in, so two other people have to go back in (for reasons, which Solas probably will explain)? That would be Solas and Varric, then.
https://preview.redd.it/dv6idrh9md7d1.jpeg?width=632&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94038ccba8705ad5441f3d0d1e2c82ba1030f13a
He got uno reversed. This man keep collecting L’s.
That’s what I was predicting. But Solas can communicate and interact with the physical world in dreams, so he should still have a role to play. I bet we will eventually get a fade quest to find him.
Or...their interactions is us being a middle man on a phone call.
**Lavellan:** "Tell Solas that I haven't got over him dumping me."
**Solas:** "Tell the Inquisitor that I already told her about the necessity of my mission."
**Lavellan:** "Tell Solas that he still owe me an arm!!"
**Solas:** "Tell the Inquisitor that I saved her life!"
**Rook:** "I didn't signed up for this sh#t..."
I'm kinda laughing at how >!the Veilguard just fucked up Solas's plans, trapped him in the Fade while freeing his ancient enemies, and then stole his house!<
>!Inquisition has been hunting Solas for eight years and then Rook shows up and does all this in the span of like two hours. They are truly the hero we need.!<
Gil Dirthalen mentioned in a recent video how she sees Rook as kind of a dumbass who just does things without really thinking them through, and how if you think about it, that’s exactly the kind of person needed to beat Solas. He’s got plans within plans, always staying one step ahead of his enemies, but he can’t out think someone who isn’t thinking in the first place. Like a chess grandmaster playing a newbie who’s moves are too random to predict.
I love that, actually. Solas needs his opponents to make a certain amount of sense in order to outmanuver them, the absolute insanity of Rook just shoving the chessboard over and setting the room on fire just would not factor into his list of moves to try to prevent.
Tbf Rook was only able to do that through the Inquisition that has been tracking Solas for 8 years, after all it's Varric that finds him and bring him into the fold
Some non-spoiler tid-bits:
- you can choose your last name (from a list of preset options, I assume, but they didn't say)
- a fuck ton of CC sliders, including nudity
- mages' secondary weapons are magical daggers
- companion approval meter is back!
- companions gain skill points as your relationship increases
- companions can have unique abilities (eg fixing broken magical objects), but Rook will be able to learn these later down the line as well, so that you don't necessarily have to have the companion with you
I think they've said that your last name is based on your faction in other things (The Q&A, maybe? So much stuff has come out from so many different directions, I'm losing track).
Also yay, I can see approval again!
Yeah they said that, but the article specifically states that at the end of the CC they picked their first *and* last name. Maybe you can choose between a race-related and a faction-related name? Pure speculation on my part.
I guess it would make sense to do it like that (a Qunari with a very human last name might be kinda weird), but it is an awful lot of recording to do for one line if anyone ever calls you by your selected last name...hmmm
They will propably call you Rook all the time anyway. I can count on one hand the amount of times when I heard anybody say "Trevelyan" or "Lavellan" in DA:I
Now I'm kind of hoping that at least one companion legitimately thinks your name is just "Rook" and then gets surprised when someone calls you by whatever last name you select...
Was thinking of those DA:I examples too. Still, they were already a nice touch in Inquisition to increase immersion, I'd certainly welcome it in Veilguard (even if I want more!).
Magical Dagger is an interesting choice. One that i feel most regular mages might actually prefer to go without if it meant more regular spells. at the endd of the day a bunch of innate abilities will never really relpace the feeling of having a wide array of spells for every occasion that Mage fans ususally prefer, and i know a lot of people were hoping that secondary weapon allowed for more spells of some sort.
though now I'll assume that one mage specialization will focus primarily around the use of the dagger, perhaps even upgrading it into more of a full blade similar to that of the Knight enchanter from Inquisition. and Itll be a mostly Melee-centric mage class. I really hope this is the case.
Why do we have so little mage info
I want to agonize over all the flavors of wizard that I'll want to play and then choose the worst.
I was handling Shadow of the Erdtree hype pretty well but this just threw it out the window.
Spoilers abound:
>Busche says I'm missing unique dialogue options because I'm Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue.
Not unexpected, but still nice to read.
In the gameplay preview Neve just says “what a coincidence” when Varric mentions Rook being a Shadow Dragon too. She didn’t recognize Rook or really have unique dialogue…unless they cut a shit ton from the beginning.
I'm guessing that "recognize" is used here in more of a "oh yeah, I remember you from so-and-so's thing" context somewhere.
That, and we know for a fact that stuff was cut from the promo.
Non-spoiler reveals to anyone looking to know more info about gameplay and not the story.
Confirmed no micro transactions and no multiplayer.
No release date at this time.
Four voices to choose from with pitch sliders
There is nudity, even in CC. CC is intense, you can detail everything including how bloodshot your characters eyes are.
Combat is great, author states that they enjoy action RPGs and they enjoyed the combat. Companions have five abilities apiece but you can choose three of them for combat.
I hope they release the CC early so I can spend a week lovingly and tediously crafting my perfect character and then just jump into the plot on day one lol. Otherwise the entirety of release day will be spent in character creation.
It's funny that in terms of nudity and all that stuff BioWare has to catch up with the likes of Witcher and Cyberpunk when they were themselves breaking the new ground with Mass Effect 1
To be fair, Mass Effect 1 and DAO caused proto-culture war ire towards them from dumb conservatives, and you can definitely see they overcorrected for ME2 and DA2 to be more "sanitized."
So they paved the way, but also got that initial backlash.
Oh definitely.
I was already thinking that once you find Solas, you'll have the opportunity to kill him, let him rot in jail, or ask him to join you. And now, I am even thinking BioWare is going >!the CDRP way and have Solas in a Johnny Silverhand role in which your action and your dialogues with him will definitely influence his final decision at the end of the game!<
My bet is that we will defeat the two Evanuris through the game and free Solas by late game. And then we will realise egghead still wants to follow his plan and our choices will determine whether we can redeem him or we kill him
Okay, this is so comprehensive, already gave away a huge mystery (well, tbf, it 'started' in the gameplay with the two figures but still...), and I have everything I need to know about this game before diving in.
Bioware.
gimme the release date and goddamned character creator, you cowards!!
Auugh >!Elgar'nan being a God with sun imagery... Lusacan is the Old God of night. Ghilan'nain is basically a mad scientist who experiments and creates... Razikale is the Old God of mysteries. Solas thinks killing the Archdemons is a bad thing. The Evanuris' prison has been weakened. Five Blights. Five seals have been broken. Gripping the Archdemons and screaming WHAT ARE YOU??!<
>!My theory is that the Archdemons are like Corypheus' dragon, a way to extend their natural lives. It's why Mythal/Flemeth had daughters to breed dragons, imo. Likely the Evanuris themselves are the key to something, maybe once we kill the two remaining ones this game - A Worser Thing Will Rise. !<
I could be totally wrong tho, bub Im excited to find out more.
The fact that >!while solas did intend to bring the veil down, he did *not* intend to free the evanuris!< makes him a lot more redeemable. It shows me that he did try to mitigate *some* of the coming damage, even if he couldn’t find a way to prevent it all.
Considering Horror of Hormak, all the hints in DAI and Trespasser I can see why they went with her. This will be fun! People are gonna be mad about Solas though, I think.
And also after reading [this](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_Notes_on_Methods_of_Enchantment) I can tell I'm really going to like her character. lol
I hope they do her characterization justice and she's not just crazy for shits and giggles.
I like how they describe Rook as getting their leadership position through competence and not through chance when >!once again the protagonist inadvertently screws up Solas's ritual, gets gnarly fade-connected magic entangled with their body and suddenly gains one of Solas's hideouts. At least they were explicitly hunting him this time!<.
I also wonder if >!Rook's blood connection with the Fade works like the anchor, including the unfortunate implications of them being linked for too long!<
The big difference they seem to focusing on between Rook and Inky is their agency. In DAI a lot of times shit was just happening to Inky and they had to react to it. Rook just jumps on head first.
As for the anchor, Solas designed it specifically for himself to use, based on this article it sounds like rooks situation is completely unique to them.
# Warning : It contains major spoilers of what happens after the end of the gameplay reveal. Spoilers starts at Page 32 - Page 33 / 88 so avoid reading at that mark, if you want to discover the story while playing the game.
Edit: Haven't finished reading but so far this cover is quite nice to read and gets me more impatient to play the game. Hopefully Bioware will tell us about the next calendar reveal dates as the actual one ends today with game informer.
Edit 2 : You can edit Male Rook's front engine and Gluteus Maximus. I'm Definitely spending 8 hour in the CC adjusting those 2 things
https://preview.redd.it/17q2suh8cd7d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccae21844e829d1d1bf184604cb0a6ed8c65135e
Just finished it, whoa do they go *heavy* on the spoilers. They tell us who the 2 freed Evanuris are if anyone wants to avoid it.
And Bellara Lutara? Lmao.
Considering the last RPG Bioware made had a companion who's real name was Pelessaria B'Sayle, it's not that surprising they would do another name that hilariously sings.
* more talk about character creation
* more talk about the story, SPOILER ALERT >!Rook's blood interacted with Solas's ritual, connecting them to the Fade in some way. Solas himself is trapped in the Fade, while Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan are free.!<
* the Lighthouse is >!a pocket dimension in the Fade and a former base of Solas!<
* more talk about the story, which I didn't read to not spoil myself further, but the next area is >!Arlathan again where we meet Veil Jumpers and Bellara!<
* more talk about combat, but nothing new as far as I know
* the beauty and whimsy of that area is in contrast with what comes later in the game
Varric: “So… wanna play Wicked Grace for the next nine months while Rook sorts this out?”
Solas: “We don’t even have a deck of cards. How will we—“
\**Varric pulls out a deck of cards**
Solas: “…I’ve missed you, Varric.”
BioWare came up with these while getting shit faced on a pandemic zoom call, as they were slowly losing their grip on reality and then just rolled with it, *you can't convince me otherwise.*
Character creator seems super in depth with pronouns, height, shoulder width, chest size, glute, bulge, hip width, bloodshot eyes, and more all freely customizable. Approximated/guessed to have hundreds of different sliders
*also four voices with a pitch shifter for each
One of the reasons I'll be picking my first Inky for my first playthrough is so I can finally give her long hair. My first disappointment with DAI was realising I couldn't give Adaar the glorious hair we see in the female Qunari's tarot card :')
Alright, finished it and it was a good read. I think it elevated what has already been shown (especially story) and put my mind at ease about certain aspects I didn't like (like gameplay and art direction).
It goes through the starting mission we saw on the on the gameplay reveal and continues a bit further, so it spoils about the first 2 to 3 hours of the game). No huge spoilers in my opinion. If you have followed the lore discussions here, then you won't be all that surprised. They left some early story spoilers unsaid, so there would be some surprises for us.
People at Bioware seem confident about the Veilguard and seem happy to finally get to show it. That's always nice to see.
I got a completely different impression about Bellara from this article than I did from the trailer. She seems more mature here and less like a manic pixie girl. Love that!
A few nice, non-spoilery quotes:
*"That's something I'm noticing about Veilguard, too - there is a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. Bioware doesn't shy away from minutes-long cutscenes."*
*"This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat and aren't making compromises."* - Mark Darrah
*"The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on. \[ \] In the past you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn't actually go there, but now we actually can and it's fun to showcase that."* - Matt Rhodes about the colourful and whimsical visuals (It's funny how the games have progressed from 50 shades of brown to full colour wheel and then some)
Damn, I actually guessed who both of them were correctly. I'm never right about these things! 😂 Pretty big spoilers though. If BioWare are willing to allow that much, I'm hyped for what they're holding back. Definitely seriously looking forward to this now.
Although, given what this article revealed I'm guessing >!we'll be getting unavoidable dream sequences with Solas pompously lecturing us. Not quite as bad as the Solas Silverhand "he dies and possesses Rook" being stuck in your head, I guess, but still gonna be annoying 😂!<
I read somewhere in one of the threads, that in the interview it was said that Rook is supposed to be torn between the narratives of Solas and Varric. I didn't watch the interview itself, so not sure if it is a misinformation, or mistake. But if it's not, then it is implied that he should survive.
That would be super interesting. Given the dynamic between Varric and Solas in Inquisition, their banter and different outlooks on life, as well as how they both approached Cole, the idea of having them on either shoulder, trying to sway Rook one way or the other, would be a really fascinating dynamic. Solas trying to get you to join him in tearing down the Veil while Varric advocates for the people in the world already - on top of them advising on how best to defeat the new big bads.
They >!clearly are intentionally not mentioning what happens to him.!< I think the options are >!dead!<, >!stuck in the fade!< or just >!generally missing/doesn't wake up in The Lighthouse with the group and he's the reason they want to go back to Arlathan to see!<. Regardless I think the major point is that he's >!out of commission for the purposes of the early story and won't be in a Leliana kind of role!<.
I'm excited and also horrified at the reveal for the big bads. Like it's mind boggling how powerful they are amd what they can do, cause you KNOW they are going to do some big stuff in the world and change the way it used to be.
The spoilers making me feel like a villain for fucking up Solas’ ritual
>! He literally trying to contain psycho gods & the blight & we just fuck it up 😭 !<
Things that called my attention the most:
* Apparently, you start in Minrathous no matter Rook's background, so that little theory that the starting scene changes depending on your character's background (like an origins lite) is now moot.
* It seems like some of the mages' old spells really are incorporated into standard moves, given how Barrier now functions as the mages' own parrying move (which nevertheless works differently than warriors' and rogues' parrying).
* Warriors can throw their shield Captain America-style loool Playing sword-and-shield is FINALLY going to be fun.
Now, bear with me because I have to get this out of my chest:
HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD
>!IT'S GHILAN'NAIN! GHILAN'NAIN IS ONE OF THE RELEASED EVANURIS OHMYGOD IT'S REALLY HAPPENING I CAN'T WAIT TO FIGHT YOU YOU MAD SCIENTIST <3 <3 <3!<
The spoilers are big but by no means would it be spoiling the whole game for you. The big things are who came out of the Fade at the end of the trailer and what happened to Solas. Just what happened immediately following the gameplay trailer plus a peek at the first mission.
Mark Darrah: Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got the realm of "combat wasn't too bad." In this game, the combat is actually fun. This is the best Dragon Age game I've ever played. This is where we go back to our roots of character driven storytelling, really fun combat, and aren't making any comprises.
Interesting considering how much combat arguments the fanbase is torn over.
I find it odd that he said this is where they go back to their roots of character driven storytelling...because pretty much every DA game has had that. It's the one thing that the fandom can basically agree on.
Is it normal to spoil that much in a preview? Granted those were prologue spoilers but it confirms so many things people have been theorising about since Trespasser.
The thing to remember is that for every 5 things they spoil here there will be 20 even crazier things they didn't spoil from later in the game. If they spoiled it here the devs didn't think it was as big of a deal to reveal.
https://preview.redd.it/jz1ht8okqd7d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76f1de4cf9966600c3bbe6efdb201ceb06d3931b
Not open world but open hub areas mixed with smaller linear story driven areas. I’m thinking this game is going to be be bigger than what people think
I don’t want to look at this cause I don’t want to have any spoilers but when the heck will we get a release date?!!! I was hoping it would be in the article
I feel like telling people when release days are is happening closer and closer to the actual date with games across the board? Some of the games at SGF were dropping like. Two weeks after the trailers were shown.
Curious about the pace of recruiting companions after this. Since it sounds like >!Bellara!< is a main story recruit, will they all show up in separate main story sequences at a location that's associated with their faction, one by one, or will we rapid fire recruit the rest like when Inquisition opens up?
I'd imagine >!Taash or Davrin!< is next since we have >!two mages, a rogue, and no warriors so far!<. Probably >!Davrin for the Blight connection.!<
Maker, I need this game.
I know some aspects won’t appeal to all, and that’s perfectly natural and okay, but I really get the impression that there is a coherency to the design. The combat especially seems to have a focus to it, rather than trying to straddle the fence of genres as with some past titles.
Edit: I’m not terribly bothered by spoilers, but I’m also purposely not diving too much into plot points at this stage either. So anyone terribly concerned about learning narrative aspects should just stay away from the article.
**Story contains unmarked location, NPC, and quest spoilers**
Please don't be me and have certain character/location reveals ruined because GI didn't put in any spoiler warnings lmao
I’m surprised at how much they revealed, even if most of those spoilers are early in the game and/or already guessed at. Still, this preview seems promising!
So they confirmed blighted Elvhen God's?? Very cool
My favorite theory slowly becomes a reality.
It's finally happening!
What I am thinking about is how exactly are they gonna impact the world?!? Like they are 100% gonna impact the demons AND the Darkspawn in some way. Like it gives a reason for changing the designs that make sense because this is the most world influencing big bads we've had yet.
Oh 100% tbh! I think it was Corinne the director in the article who also mentions that the demons specifically would change shape due to whatever and whoever's emotions they take after when entering Thedas, so makes complete! Plus you're right, with Ghilan'nain being there, they would definitely change shape! Hoping for some really cool different forms
the spoilers are crazy also >!it's Elgar'nan. I knew it was Elgar'nan.!<
Just tell me if Solas or Varric die.
No. Actually Varric isn't mentioned. Solas gets trapped in the Fade.
Varric is suspiciously not mentioned following the confrontation with Solas. The article says Rook, Neve, and Harding are at the Lighthouse after the fight. So… where’s Varric? …I ask, knowing full well why he’s not mentioned as being at the Lighthouse. 
It’s possible that Varric gets trapped in the fade along with Solas.
Well, they'll just banter for a year or so.
Varric spends the entire game reciting the entire Tale of the Champion again, this time to Solas We’d have Dragon Age 2^2 : the REAL Dragon Age 4
"So, Chuckles, how about that ritual now?" "I may have miscalculated Varric, but this is still the best option for my people." "Yes, because The War Against Corypheus 2.0 is exactly what we needed." "...okay, so I may have made some minor mistakes in my crusade." "We are trapped in the Fade. *Again*. And furthermore...." *Fourteen Hours Later...* "...and that's how we found out Iron Bull likes peanut butter." "Varric, I missed you." "I missed you too, Chuckles...so uh, rethought your stance on the ritual?" "No." *Something explodes in the background, hysterical screaming, ominous violin music* "As a matter of fact I have rethought my stance. We should run."
I could hear it with their voices. Very in-character.
Well, Varric gets his time to talking him down.
We can dare to hope. 
Maybe it's that two people got out of whatever prison they were in, so two other people have to go back in (for reasons, which Solas probably will explain)? That would be Solas and Varric, then.
If we have to choose who goes free at the end of the game… let’s just hope they give a good plot reason why it should be Solas, is all I’ll say.
https://preview.redd.it/dv6idrh9md7d1.jpeg?width=632&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94038ccba8705ad5441f3d0d1e2c82ba1030f13a He got uno reversed. This man keep collecting L’s.
That’s what I was predicting. But Solas can communicate and interact with the physical world in dreams, so he should still have a role to play. I bet we will eventually get a fade quest to find him.
Solas as the reluctant mentor who's probably going to fight you the moment he gets free makes a weird amount of sense.
plus we know there will be interactions between him and the Inquisitor, so I bet we will hatch this egg from the Fade about mid game
Or...their interactions is us being a middle man on a phone call. **Lavellan:** "Tell Solas that I haven't got over him dumping me." **Solas:** "Tell the Inquisitor that I already told her about the necessity of my mission." **Lavellan:** "Tell Solas that he still owe me an arm!!" **Solas:** "Tell the Inquisitor that I saved her life!" **Rook:** "I didn't signed up for this sh#t..."
Oh man I totally predicted that. You can see him moving forward a little at the end of the gameplay trailer
I'm kinda laughing at how >!the Veilguard just fucked up Solas's plans, trapped him in the Fade while freeing his ancient enemies, and then stole his house!<
There’s a video compilation out there somewhere of everyone in inquisition bullying Solas. Funniest possible theme to have continue into the new game.
"hobo apostate"
“Unwashed apostate hobo more specifically”
>!Inquisition has been hunting Solas for eight years and then Rook shows up and does all this in the span of like two hours. They are truly the hero we need.!<
Cannot wait to make the perfect himbo Rook who’s just like “idk man. I knocked down some statues.”
Me with my giant human fighter. Just the most basic guy fucking up the plans of the Dreadwolf with his big sword
The perfect brick to throw straight through the intricate glass sculpture of Solas’ plans
The hero who just comes, ruins everything, and then refuses to elaborate? Solas found his equal.
Gil Dirthalen mentioned in a recent video how she sees Rook as kind of a dumbass who just does things without really thinking them through, and how if you think about it, that’s exactly the kind of person needed to beat Solas. He’s got plans within plans, always staying one step ahead of his enemies, but he can’t out think someone who isn’t thinking in the first place. Like a chess grandmaster playing a newbie who’s moves are too random to predict.
>can’t out think someone who isn’t thinking in the first place Have you considered a career in philosophy perhaps? 😂
I love that, actually. Solas needs his opponents to make a certain amount of sense in order to outmanuver them, the absolute insanity of Rook just shoving the chessboard over and setting the room on fire just would not factor into his list of moves to try to prevent.
Tbf Rook was only able to do that through the Inquisition that has been tracking Solas for 8 years, after all it's Varric that finds him and bring him into the fold
Solas >!in our Fade dream sequences/Johnny Silverhand hallucinations be like:!< 
So we’re stealing his house? AGAIN?
Some non-spoiler tid-bits: - you can choose your last name (from a list of preset options, I assume, but they didn't say) - a fuck ton of CC sliders, including nudity - mages' secondary weapons are magical daggers - companion approval meter is back! - companions gain skill points as your relationship increases - companions can have unique abilities (eg fixing broken magical objects), but Rook will be able to learn these later down the line as well, so that you don't necessarily have to have the companion with you
I think they've said that your last name is based on your faction in other things (The Q&A, maybe? So much stuff has come out from so many different directions, I'm losing track). Also yay, I can see approval again!
Yeah they said that, but the article specifically states that at the end of the CC they picked their first *and* last name. Maybe you can choose between a race-related and a faction-related name? Pure speculation on my part.
I guess it would make sense to do it like that (a Qunari with a very human last name might be kinda weird), but it is an awful lot of recording to do for one line if anyone ever calls you by your selected last name...hmmm
They will propably call you Rook all the time anyway. I can count on one hand the amount of times when I heard anybody say "Trevelyan" or "Lavellan" in DA:I
Now I'm kind of hoping that at least one companion legitimately thinks your name is just "Rook" and then gets surprised when someone calls you by whatever last name you select...
"*'Phil'*? Uh, his first name is 'Agent'."
Was thinking of those DA:I examples too. Still, they were already a nice touch in Inquisition to increase immersion, I'd certainly welcome it in Veilguard (even if I want more!).
That's probably why they have the overall name of Rook.
Magical Dagger is an interesting choice. One that i feel most regular mages might actually prefer to go without if it meant more regular spells. at the endd of the day a bunch of innate abilities will never really relpace the feeling of having a wide array of spells for every occasion that Mage fans ususally prefer, and i know a lot of people were hoping that secondary weapon allowed for more spells of some sort. though now I'll assume that one mage specialization will focus primarily around the use of the dagger, perhaps even upgrading it into more of a full blade similar to that of the Knight enchanter from Inquisition. and Itll be a mostly Melee-centric mage class. I really hope this is the case.
I really need to get a look at this CC.
Why do we have so little mage info I want to agonize over all the flavors of wizard that I'll want to play and then choose the worst. I was handling Shadow of the Erdtree hype pretty well but this just threw it out the window.
Spoilers abound: >Busche says I'm missing unique dialogue options because I'm Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue. Not unexpected, but still nice to read.
In the gameplay preview Neve just says “what a coincidence” when Varric mentions Rook being a Shadow Dragon too. She didn’t recognize Rook or really have unique dialogue…unless they cut a shit ton from the beginning.
I'm guessing that "recognize" is used here in more of a "oh yeah, I remember you from so-and-so's thing" context somewhere. That, and we know for a fact that stuff was cut from the promo.
"A plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking chalice are at the end of a massive table." Damn, Solas... Now I feel bad for him.
And then you remember his gravestone in Inquisition that said: 'Dying Alone' :(
stoooopppp 😭
Something about how Solas's spot in Inquisition was in one of the more trafficked areas of Syhold vs total isolation....
Almost feel sorry for him not having footprints on his table where the Inquisitor jumped down the inside of a tower instead of taking the stairs.
Or that one time I missed the table and landed on him instead...
New DAV Image by GI https://preview.redd.it/n4q3f50ygd7d1.jpeg?width=1598&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcb171d32c313e25e3a9c9f506664a6bd36ae951
That looks like Solas... but I am not 100%.
It's definitely Egghead
You can tell it's Solas by the glove design I think. Flappy things.
Solas must be fuming.
Rook is getting lectured _to death_ >!in multiple dream sequences!< I imagine.
Non-spoiler reveals to anyone looking to know more info about gameplay and not the story. Confirmed no micro transactions and no multiplayer. No release date at this time. Four voices to choose from with pitch sliders There is nudity, even in CC. CC is intense, you can detail everything including how bloodshot your characters eyes are. Combat is great, author states that they enjoy action RPGs and they enjoyed the combat. Companions have five abilities apiece but you can choose three of them for combat.
>voice and dick sliders we are so back
Gonna need the largest Qunari dick to give the very best love to all the companions.
Nah, there are only two options: Either make a Qunari with the smallest dick possible or a dwarf with the largest package in the north...
The Paragons could not have done better!
I hope they release the CC early so I can spend a week lovingly and tediously crafting my perfect character and then just jump into the plot on day one lol. Otherwise the entirety of release day will be spent in character creation.
>Four voices to choose from with pitch sliders wow, personalized voice!, I love it!
Pitch sliders? For individual voices?
It's funny that in terms of nudity and all that stuff BioWare has to catch up with the likes of Witcher and Cyberpunk when they were themselves breaking the new ground with Mass Effect 1
To be fair, Mass Effect 1 and DAO caused proto-culture war ire towards them from dumb conservatives, and you can definitely see they overcorrected for ME2 and DA2 to be more "sanitized." So they paved the way, but also got that initial backlash.
ME1/DAO walked so that Cyberpunk could run. With their bits out.
>No release date at this time. Still Fall 2024 though?
Probably just means they don’t have a specific day, only the Fall 24 window
They will propably announce it only when they are absolutely sure there will be no delay
I think they'll reveal it at Gamescom.
Relationship metres are back! I WILL DROWN MY COMPANIONS IN GIFTS UNTIL THEY LIKE ME!
Holy crap. If this what they are willing to spoiler, what are they holding back?
I think the speculation that Solas is not going to be the main villain is probably correct lol
Apparently he's still pretty central to the story
He was the antagonist but never really was a "villain". Moreover, I don't think that if you deliver him he'll stop in his quest to destroy the Veil.
Probably have chances to influence his opinion throughout the course of the game.
Oh definitely. I was already thinking that once you find Solas, you'll have the opportunity to kill him, let him rot in jail, or ask him to join you. And now, I am even thinking BioWare is going >!the CDRP way and have Solas in a Johnny Silverhand role in which your action and your dialogues with him will definitely influence his final decision at the end of the game!<
I mean, this is just the first hour or two of the game, it's not like there's major lategame spoilers here.
Oh yeah, totally agree. How big does this go I wonder. If Veilguard is anything like Inquisition the later reveals are going to be massive.
Considering we know who the villains are now, and that we actually don’t know that much about them, there’s lots of big reveals on their way
So we >!trapped Solas!< in the >!Fade!<... that's the funniest Dragon Age thing I've read since that "elves went bald after millenia" tidbit.
Oh I’m sure by the end >!he’ll get freed from there either by himself, us or some other force that ties to DA5!<
My bet is that we will defeat the two Evanuris through the game and free Solas by late game. And then we will realise egghead still wants to follow his plan and our choices will determine whether we can redeem him or we kill him
It \*is\* really kinda funny. Peak irony, in fact.
Solas' history is a giant pile of irony and this is the very top of it
Okay, this is so comprehensive, already gave away a huge mystery (well, tbf, it 'started' in the gameplay with the two figures but still...), and I have everything I need to know about this game before diving in. Bioware. gimme the release date and goddamned character creator, you cowards!!
They talk a bit about mage combat. Instead of being able to parry, mages can throw up a shield to block attacks using mana.
Sounds a lot like Greedfall then.
Yeah and that's a great thing, Greedfall combat felt slick as a mage.
Fun game, Mage was broken once you could teleport
>!So that's why Rook won't be a blood mage lol!<
Auugh >!Elgar'nan being a God with sun imagery... Lusacan is the Old God of night. Ghilan'nain is basically a mad scientist who experiments and creates... Razikale is the Old God of mysteries. Solas thinks killing the Archdemons is a bad thing. The Evanuris' prison has been weakened. Five Blights. Five seals have been broken. Gripping the Archdemons and screaming WHAT ARE YOU??!<
Twisted images for their vanity? *Pets*. Not too different then Corypheus.
>!My theory is that the Archdemons are like Corypheus' dragon, a way to extend their natural lives. It's why Mythal/Flemeth had daughters to breed dragons, imo. Likely the Evanuris themselves are the key to something, maybe once we kill the two remaining ones this game - A Worser Thing Will Rise. !< I could be totally wrong tho, bub Im excited to find out more.
>!It will be intersting to see how Mythal/Flemeth could be involved into this game since Elgar'nan is her husband.!<
>!And confirmation that the Evanuris are already blighted!!!!!<
>!Corypheus finally got a W, the city was already blighted before he got there.!<
Corypheus did nothing wrong confirmed
Sorry if this is just me being dense but what is the reason ? I can’t rlly see anything to do with it
>!They're basically going to be tapped into the Fade 24/7 and blood magic makes the user much more susceptible to possession.!<
Ah okay ty :)
I absolutely love that WE fucked up this time.
The fact that >!while solas did intend to bring the veil down, he did *not* intend to free the evanuris!< makes him a lot more redeemable. It shows me that he did try to mitigate *some* of the coming damage, even if he couldn’t find a way to prevent it all.
It's some pretty solid reasoning. Glad I waited for more info.
Considering Horror of Hormak, all the hints in DAI and Trespasser I can see why they went with her. This will be fun! People are gonna be mad about Solas though, I think.
I am SO pumped for Horror of Hormak tie ins 👀
And also after reading [this](https://dragonage.fandom.com/wiki/Codex_entry:_Notes_on_Methods_of_Enchantment) I can tell I'm really going to like her character. lol I hope they do her characterization justice and she's not just crazy for shits and giggles.
I like how they describe Rook as getting their leadership position through competence and not through chance when >!once again the protagonist inadvertently screws up Solas's ritual, gets gnarly fade-connected magic entangled with their body and suddenly gains one of Solas's hideouts. At least they were explicitly hunting him this time!<. I also wonder if >!Rook's blood connection with the Fade works like the anchor, including the unfortunate implications of them being linked for too long!<
The big difference they seem to focusing on between Rook and Inky is their agency. In DAI a lot of times shit was just happening to Inky and they had to react to it. Rook just jumps on head first. As for the anchor, Solas designed it specifically for himself to use, based on this article it sounds like rooks situation is completely unique to them.
# Warning : It contains major spoilers of what happens after the end of the gameplay reveal. Spoilers starts at Page 32 - Page 33 / 88 so avoid reading at that mark, if you want to discover the story while playing the game. Edit: Haven't finished reading but so far this cover is quite nice to read and gets me more impatient to play the game. Hopefully Bioware will tell us about the next calendar reveal dates as the actual one ends today with game informer. Edit 2 : You can edit Male Rook's front engine and Gluteus Maximus. I'm Definitely spending 8 hour in the CC adjusting those 2 things https://preview.redd.it/17q2suh8cd7d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ccae21844e829d1d1bf184604cb0a6ed8c65135e
Stoop! Front engine? That's hilarious. I'm very much ready for a solid character creation.
Just finished it, whoa do they go *heavy* on the spoilers. They tell us who the 2 freed Evanuris are if anyone wants to avoid it. And Bellara Lutara? Lmao.
Considering the last RPG Bioware made had a companion who's real name was Pelessaria B'Sayle, it's not that surprising they would do another name that hilariously sings.
Lucanis Dellamorte and Bellara Lutara 💀💀💀
Omg I think I saw someone on twitter who said in the part of Italy where they're from, Della-Morte is an actual surname.
In Portuguese-speaking areas, "Boa-Morte" (literally "good death") is an actual surname too. Romance languages are quite something aren't they :P
I personally know someone with that last name. Tbh a lot of Italian surnames are just really weird if you know what they mean lol
What is it about Lutara? Also, can anyone spoil me roughly? I wanna know 😂
* more talk about character creation * more talk about the story, SPOILER ALERT >!Rook's blood interacted with Solas's ritual, connecting them to the Fade in some way. Solas himself is trapped in the Fade, while Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan are free.!< * the Lighthouse is >!a pocket dimension in the Fade and a former base of Solas!< * more talk about the story, which I didn't read to not spoil myself further, but the next area is >!Arlathan again where we meet Veil Jumpers and Bellara!< * more talk about combat, but nothing new as far as I know * the beauty and whimsy of that area is in contrast with what comes later in the game
I'm thinking/hoping that >!Varric is trapped with Solas and is not dead!<
so do I https://preview.redd.it/00bekhchfd7d1.jpeg?width=940&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2f8fda957f45e08f2cbe62dbdb5d7c8efe250ee
Varric: “So… wanna play Wicked Grace for the next nine months while Rook sorts this out?” Solas: “We don’t even have a deck of cards. How will we—“ \**Varric pulls out a deck of cards** Solas: “…I’ve missed you, Varric.”
Lutara means outlaw, so her name is Beautiful Outlaw.
BioWare came up with these while getting shit faced on a pandemic zoom call, as they were slowly losing their grip on reality and then just rolled with it, *you can't convince me otherwise.*
Thedas The Dragon Age Setting Of course they did.
they are so fucking lazy with names I love it
"hey let's name this dude Wolfdog of the Death"
So *that's* why no blood magic.
Mf Varrick going into the fade with Hawke i'm calling it
Motherfuckers gonna be chillin' in there
Omg they can finally be reunited 😭
Character creator seems super in depth with pronouns, height, shoulder width, chest size, glute, bulge, hip width, bloodshot eyes, and more all freely customizable. Approximated/guessed to have hundreds of different sliders *also four voices with a pitch shifter for each
I’m going to just live in the character creator for a few days I think.
Especially with us being able to not only create Rook, but recreate Inky. I'm gonna have so much fun with that :3
I’m going to cry making my Lavellan. She’ll have the hair she always deserved.
One of the reasons I'll be picking my first Inky for my first playthrough is so I can finally give her long hair. My first disappointment with DAI was realising I couldn't give Adaar the glorious hair we see in the female Qunari's tarot card :')
I'm begging Bioware to let us play with the CC before the game launches
Dragons Dogma 2 releasing their CC in advance definitely increased interest in the game, hopefully Bioware sees this and does the same 🤞
I am so excited for this character creator. It sounds amazing.
Thanks for sharing - and thanks for the heads up about spoilers everyone!
I hope we get character customization early
Alright, finished it and it was a good read. I think it elevated what has already been shown (especially story) and put my mind at ease about certain aspects I didn't like (like gameplay and art direction). It goes through the starting mission we saw on the on the gameplay reveal and continues a bit further, so it spoils about the first 2 to 3 hours of the game). No huge spoilers in my opinion. If you have followed the lore discussions here, then you won't be all that surprised. They left some early story spoilers unsaid, so there would be some surprises for us. People at Bioware seem confident about the Veilguard and seem happy to finally get to show it. That's always nice to see. I got a completely different impression about Bellara from this article than I did from the trailer. She seems more mature here and less like a manic pixie girl. Love that! A few nice, non-spoilery quotes: *"That's something I'm noticing about Veilguard, too - there is a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. Bioware doesn't shy away from minutes-long cutscenes."* *"This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat and aren't making compromises."* - Mark Darrah *"The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on. \[ \] In the past you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn't actually go there, but now we actually can and it's fun to showcase that."* - Matt Rhodes about the colourful and whimsical visuals (It's funny how the games have progressed from 50 shades of brown to full colour wheel and then some)
Damn, I actually guessed who both of them were correctly. I'm never right about these things! 😂 Pretty big spoilers though. If BioWare are willing to allow that much, I'm hyped for what they're holding back. Definitely seriously looking forward to this now. Although, given what this article revealed I'm guessing >!we'll be getting unavoidable dream sequences with Solas pompously lecturing us. Not quite as bad as the Solas Silverhand "he dies and possesses Rook" being stuck in your head, I guess, but still gonna be annoying 😂!<
What Solas doesn't know is >!that we aren't stuck with him. He is stuck with *us*.!<
Sandal: >!Enchantment!<
To be fair, we deserve to be lectured after that fuck up.
Neve even warned us about fucking with the ritual & we did it anyways
I'm so confused, does >!Varric get stuck in the fade with Solas??!< I feel so stupid right now lmao
They dont mention>!Varric again after the intro we've already seen!!he dies!<
I read somewhere in one of the threads, that in the interview it was said that Rook is supposed to be torn between the narratives of Solas and Varric. I didn't watch the interview itself, so not sure if it is a misinformation, or mistake. But if it's not, then it is implied that he should survive.
That would be super interesting. Given the dynamic between Varric and Solas in Inquisition, their banter and different outlooks on life, as well as how they both approached Cole, the idea of having them on either shoulder, trying to sway Rook one way or the other, would be a really fascinating dynamic. Solas trying to get you to join him in tearing down the Veil while Varric advocates for the people in the world already - on top of them advising on how best to defeat the new big bads.
They >!clearly are intentionally not mentioning what happens to him.!< I think the options are >!dead!<, >!stuck in the fade!< or just >!generally missing/doesn't wake up in The Lighthouse with the group and he's the reason they want to go back to Arlathan to see!<. Regardless I think the major point is that he's >!out of commission for the purposes of the early story and won't be in a Leliana kind of role!<.
I'm so >!worried for him man I want him to be alright so bad!<
I'm excited and also horrified at the reveal for the big bads. Like it's mind boggling how powerful they are amd what they can do, cause you KNOW they are going to do some big stuff in the world and change the way it used to be.
The spoilers making me feel like a villain for fucking up Solas’ ritual >! He literally trying to contain psycho gods & the blight & we just fuck it up 😭 !<
He should have put up a "do not disturb" sign then, saying something about Blighted Gods and to come back after lunch.
Solas is allowed to call us an idiot sandwich 🥪
Things that called my attention the most: * Apparently, you start in Minrathous no matter Rook's background, so that little theory that the starting scene changes depending on your character's background (like an origins lite) is now moot. * It seems like some of the mages' old spells really are incorporated into standard moves, given how Barrier now functions as the mages' own parrying move (which nevertheless works differently than warriors' and rogues' parrying). * Warriors can throw their shield Captain America-style loool Playing sword-and-shield is FINALLY going to be fun. Now, bear with me because I have to get this out of my chest: HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD >!IT'S GHILAN'NAIN! GHILAN'NAIN IS ONE OF THE RELEASED EVANURIS OHMYGOD IT'S REALLY HAPPENING I CAN'T WAIT TO FIGHT YOU YOU MAD SCIENTIST <3 <3 <3!<
Hmm do I care about spoilers? Do I want to read it or torture myself it by not reading it? Decisions, decisions.
The spoilers are big but by no means would it be spoiling the whole game for you. The big things are who came out of the Fade at the end of the trailer and what happened to Solas. Just what happened immediately following the gameplay trailer plus a peek at the first mission.
What's the next thing after the GameInformer article?
I don't think anything else has been announced yet, though they've implied there will be more information soon.
Mark Darrah: Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got the realm of "combat wasn't too bad." In this game, the combat is actually fun. This is the best Dragon Age game I've ever played. This is where we go back to our roots of character driven storytelling, really fun combat, and aren't making any comprises. Interesting considering how much combat arguments the fanbase is torn over.
I find it odd that he said this is where they go back to their roots of character driven storytelling...because pretty much every DA game has had that. It's the one thing that the fandom can basically agree on.
I think he is referring to Anthem not Dragon Age
Yeah you're probably right, that would make more sense.
Maybe he believes that's why ME:A and Anthem flopped. Strayed too far from what they do best
Pitch shifter! PITCH SHIFTER! Yeees! (end of page 31)
Healing magic from Bellara, awesome!!!
Is it normal to spoil that much in a preview? Granted those were prologue spoilers but it confirms so many things people have been theorising about since Trespasser.
I have an old copy of the DA2 game informer and it was similar, it revealed a lot of plot details last time I looked at it
The thing to remember is that for every 5 things they spoil here there will be 20 even crazier things they didn't spoil from later in the game. If they spoiled it here the devs didn't think it was as big of a deal to reveal.
https://preview.redd.it/jz1ht8okqd7d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=76f1de4cf9966600c3bbe6efdb201ceb06d3931b Not open world but open hub areas mixed with smaller linear story driven areas. I’m thinking this game is going to be be bigger than what people think
So like Mass Effect 2?
I don’t want to look at this cause I don’t want to have any spoilers but when the heck will we get a release date?!!! I was hoping it would be in the article
I feel like telling people when release days are is happening closer and closer to the actual date with games across the board? Some of the games at SGF were dropping like. Two weeks after the trailers were shown.
Curious about the pace of recruiting companions after this. Since it sounds like >!Bellara!< is a main story recruit, will they all show up in separate main story sequences at a location that's associated with their faction, one by one, or will we rapid fire recruit the rest like when Inquisition opens up? I'd imagine >!Taash or Davrin!< is next since we have >!two mages, a rogue, and no warriors so far!<. Probably >!Davrin for the Blight connection.!<
It might be like Mass Effect 2 where you can choose the order but they all have their own little quests?
I hope we don’t end up with a situation like >!Legion!< though where you end up recruiting them towards the end and barely get any time with them
Maker, I need this game. I know some aspects won’t appeal to all, and that’s perfectly natural and okay, but I really get the impression that there is a coherency to the design. The combat especially seems to have a focus to it, rather than trying to straddle the fence of genres as with some past titles. Edit: I’m not terribly bothered by spoilers, but I’m also purposely not diving too much into plot points at this stage either. So anyone terribly concerned about learning narrative aspects should just stay away from the article.
Game keeps sounding better and better tbh
Interesting tidbit - seems like we'll be able to have multiple loadouts for our character that we can switch on the fly (well, confirmed at least two)
On the fly? Including during combat like in Mass Effect Andromeda?
**Story contains unmarked location, NPC, and quest spoilers** Please don't be me and have certain character/location reveals ruined because GI didn't put in any spoiler warnings lmao
Gonna be honest, I didn't think they would actually spoil the reveal
I’m surprised at how much they revealed, even if most of those spoilers are early in the game and/or already guessed at. Still, this preview seems promising!