Bianca

This article is about the crossbow. For the dwarf, see Bianca Davri.

Bianca
Type	Crossbow
Material	Red Cedar
Damage	5 + 5.38 * LVL physical damage
Requires	Varric Tethras
Runes	1 or 4
Stats	Improves with level-up
Item ID	gen_im_flw_arc_varric_01 (1 rune slot) gen_im_flw_arc_varric_04 (4 rune slots)
Appearances	Dragon Age II Dragon Age: The Silent Grove Dragon Age: Those Who Speak Dragon Age: Until We Sleep Dragon Age: Inquisition

Bianca is Varric's signature crossbow. It is made by carved-wood stock and adorned with brass embellishments. During melee combat, a retractable bayonet slides out of a slot under the bolt.

Background

Varric's crossbow is a marvel of dwarven craftsmanship, clearly the work of a master. However, she bears no smith's mark.

When asked how he procured the weapon, Varric has a few claims. He could have won it in a game of Wicked Grace against Paragon Branka, it could've been a gift from a mysterious old beggar who disappeared into thin air, and it's possible he bought it off a crooked merchant in Lowtown with the previous owner's hand still wrapped around the trigger.

None of those explanations is very likely and continued questioning simply results in Varric grinning and walking away.

—From Codex entry: Bianca

When asked about the story behind how Bianca got her name, he replies that it involves a girl and a promise, and that it is the one story that he can never tell. Bianca is the name of Varric's unseen and mentioned dwarven lover. He has put the story to song, but will not sing it, instead humming the tune during battle.

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Until We Sleep.

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During Varric's nightmare when trapped in the Fade as a result of the Magrallen,, Bianca is revealed to be named after Varric's former lover, Bianca Davri, who designed his signature crossbow, which at the time was unnamed.

Upgrades

While Bianca is the only weapon Varric can use ingame, it is nothing to laugh at — it is one of the few weapons that level up with its owner. So, the higher level Varric is, the stronger this crossbow becomes.

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age II.

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During Haunted in Act 3, Bianca can be upgraded up to three additional rune slots if you allow Varric to keep the shard from the lyrium idol. }}

Notes

Dragon Age II

• Bianca cannot be unequipped.
• Bianca does not change colour and texture when Elemental Weapons is activated. However, the spell still works on her.

Dragon Age Inquisition

• Bianca can be unequipped and replaced with either a bow or two daggers. Despite this, however, Varric is still the only one the weapon can be equipped to and cannot be sold.

• Bianca is able to be physically and visually upgraded like most weapons. Unlike in Dragon Age II, the weapon does not improve with level, but can be upgraded far more than any other weapon with three types of upgrade pieces unique to it.

Trivia

• Bianca is called as such "because Mirabelle was taken". This is a reference to BioWare's Jade Empire, in which a powerful musket called Mirabelle can be acquired.
• From a real-world perspective, Bianca is named after a young woman looking for true love in "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare.
• There is a longbow with the Absolution model named Bianca in game files (item code gen_im_wep_rog_arc_lore_03).
• Bianca is the only usable crossbow in Dragon Age II and Dragon Age Inquisition.
• It was built by Gerav who tried to design a repeating crossbow. Bianca is the only one that worked.
• Using console commands to add another Bianca to the game for any other companion besides Varric results in a non-appearing weapon for its user.