The Unwritten Rules of Dragon Age: Inquisition Explained

The Unwritten Rules of Dragon Age: Inquisition Explained

• Leave the Hinterlands to maintain pacing in Dragon Age: Inquisition and focus on the main story.
• Read the codex for important background information on the lore and characters of the game.
• The Trespasser DLC is essential for a complete experience and provides closure to the Inquisitor’s story.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is a massive game with dozens of hours of content, large areas to explore, and a cast of colorful companions to get to know. Starting out can be overwhelming, especially with the removal of some core RPG mechanics such as healing, while the vastness of the open-world with a multitude of fetch quests can slow the game’s plot down to a crawl. There are some things all players, whether new or veteran, can do to mitigate this when playing Dragon Age: Inquisition.

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Exploring Thedas in Dragon Age: Inquisition

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Leave the Hinterlands

The Hinterlands is the first starting area, and it’s so big with so many things to do that players can spend dozens of hours in it before moving on to anything else. This is where the plot can grind to a halt and pacing issues can begin. These pacing issues can be solved by paying attention to the amount of Power the Inquisition has, and leaving the Hinterlands once enough Power has been acquired. The Hinterlands can be revisited to complete side quests, but shouldn’t be explored at the expense of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s main story.

Read the Codex

There’s a lot of lost context that is written in the codex, such as background information on companions, factions, and the different factions that appear. Reading the codex is especially important for players who haven’t played Dragon Age: Origins or Dragon Age 2 and need to get updated on the lore and recent events of Thedas. Players who want to speculate about what Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will hold will also find a trove of information hidden in it, including the possible truth behind Mythal and her connection to Andraste, and the elven gods.

Trespasser is Mandatory

The Trespasser DLC is the true ending for the Inquisitor and is required for anyone who wants to play Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. It brings closure to the Inquisitor and their companions while offering insight into the past elvhen empire, as well as Solas’ motivations and true identity. Along with changing the lore of Dragon Age forever, Trespasser also brings with it some great gear and mechanics for Dragon Age: Inquisition’s main game and isn’t a DLC to be missed.

Playing Dragon Age: Inquisition

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Craft Equipment and Weapons

Tapping into crafting is one of the best ways to equip the Inquisition companions. Much of the equipment the Inquisitor crafts is better than any of the loot found in-game, and it’s worth investing in rare schematics and materials. Special rare crafting materials even remove class restrictions from armor, meaning the Inquisitor can wear any armor from any class. Materials that remove class restrictions in Dragon Age: Inquisition:

• Light armor: Dales Laden Wool
• Medium armor: Snoufleur Skin
• Heavy armor: Silverite

Read the War Table Assignments

The War Table is where the Inquisitor’s background story plays out, along with many other events caused by the actions of the Inquisition. These are handled by the Inquisition’s advisors. While it may be tempting to just choose an advisor to handle them at random, or whoever takes the least time to complete the task, doing so can lead to dire consequences in some circumstances. Choosing well on the War Table is also an easy path to gaining Power and Influence, leading to perks and other rewards for the Inquisitor.

Choose Guard

Guard is an effect that essentially adds a second health bar to companions and, unlike Barrier, doesn’t deteriorate with time. Warriors have abilities that build Guard, especially if they’re built as tanks, but some of their abilities also grant Guard to their team. Some Fade-touched crafting material has the effect of adding Guard to the wearer on hit. Guard is incredibly useful and is a game-changer at higher difficulties, and every party member should be able to add it to their defenses, either through a Warrior’s talents or through equipment.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition marks the third title in the long-running Bioware series. This title took the upgraded combat from Dragon Age 2 and enveloped it in an engaging story that felt much closer to the title’s RPG roots than the sequel. The end result was a great and lengthy adventure where players were free to create their own unique builds.

Franchise Dragon Age Platform(s) PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, PC, Xbox One Released 2014-11-18 Developer(s) BioWare Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Genre(s) Action RPG ESRB M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language How Long To Beat 50 Hours X|S Enhanced No File Size Xbox Series 45 GB (November 2023)