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Dragon Age: The Veilguard,[1] previously referred to as Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, The Dread Wolf Rises or Dragon Age 4, is the fourth installment of the Dragon Age video game series. It was released on October 31, 2024 for PC and current generation platforms.[2]

Announcement and release[]

On December 6, 2018, at the 2018 Game Awards, BioWare released a teaser trailer.[3] The video mostly shows a close-up view of the lyrium idol, a dwarven artifact uncovered by the Champion of Kirkwall during the events of Dragon Age II. The image shown at the end of the trailer depicts the idol in the center, an unnamed character to the left, and what is likely a wolf to the right. The idol is surrounded by seven circles, two of which have not been greyed out, and the ground appears to be on fire.


This section contains spoilers for:
Trespasser.


At the end of the trailer, Solas's voice can be heard, saying, "So... you've found me at last. I suspect you have questions," echoing his remarks at the end of Trespasser.[4]


In late 2018, the game was said to have been in development "for quite a while."[4] Sources within BioWare stated that the game would be released no earlier than 2021, and that, as of late 2018, the game was without an official name.[5]

In a company earnings call, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen stated that the game would probably be released post-fiscal year 2022.[6]

On June 2, 2022, the game’s title was officially announced to be Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

In a blog post published on Dragon Age Day 2023, BioWare published a teaser and announced that more information about the game would be released during the summer of 2024.[7]

On June 6, 2024, BioWare announced that the game's title had been changed from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to Dragon Age: The Veilguard.[1] On June 9, 2024, they announced that the game would release in the Fall of 2024.

Development[]

An April 9, 2019 article by Jason Schreier of Kotaku stated that the game was originally intended to be a heist-heavy, smaller-scope adventure revolving around a group of spies in the Tevinter Imperium. Players would have the opportunity to influence other characters, enjoy a rich companion roster, and watch the land and scenario change over time with their choices and–potentially, with multiplayer–the choices of thousands of other players. However, in February 2021 it was confirmed that the game would be exclusively single-player.[8] There was no mention of the Inquisition in the Kotaku summary, and the protagonist was clearly not The Inquisitor.

In the early stages of development, the Veilguard project was code-named "Joplin," and thematically centered around heists. This working title changed after much of BioWare's staff were routed from the project to work on other BioWare titles, with a small team remaining to start the Veilguard project anew. Now code-named "Morrison," this second evolution was built on Anthem's tools and codebase, featuring a multiplayer live service component[9] akin to Destiny. The decision to use multiplayer was later reversed.[10] The decision to make it multiplayer originally was not a mandate from Electronic Arts, but rather undertaken at BioWare's own volition.[11]

With the transition back to singleplayer, the game's systems had to be reworked, including its companion system. In the game's final version, players can take two companions at a time. Originally, the game had a four party setup from previous games, but rather than AI-controlled companions, all four would be player-controlled.[11]

The game was renamed "Veilguard" after a change in the story's direction.[2] With the shift to singleplayer, the game's protagonist (Rook) and companions were given more focus. A system of three (Rook, two companions) were chosen as it felt like the "right number" for the game. Ergo, the game's banter system is based around trios being present at any given moment.[11]

Veilguard scaled back on the open world elements in Inquisition. The decision was in part a reaction to the trend BioWare and the games industry had been taking in the mid to late 2010s with a shift towards open world games. In BioWare's case, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Inquisition, and Anthem were examples of BioWare pursuing open world sensibilities. An early version of Veilguard was more open, but was scaled back by the time of its singleplayer reboot, as while the developers still wanted players to have a sense of discovery, they didn't want an open world they couldn't fill.[11]

The game's companion system took inspiration from BioWare's Mass Effect franchise. Its talent system was inspired by JRPG titles such as Final Fantasy X.[12]

In July 2020, Mark Darrah reiterated that BioWare was continuing to work on the game, but that progress had been slow due to the amount of staff required to work from home (due to the Covid pandemic).[13]

The game reached its alpha milestone in October 2022, meaning that the game was playable from start to finish.[14]

After the game's release, BioWare shifted its staff to focus on its as of yet untitled fifth Mass Effect game.[15]

Reception[]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard received "generally favorable" reviews on Metacritic, getting a Metascore of 84/100 on PS5 based on 51 critic reviews,[16] 79/100 on PC based on 24 critic reviews,[17] and 93/100 on Xbox Series X based on 5 critic reviews.[18]

One of the game's most common criticisms was its shift in art style from previous games.[19]

Plot[]

The protagonist of the game is known as Rook. The game starts around 9:52 Dragon, 9-10 years after Dragon Age: Inquisition and Trespasser.[note 1] Solas has begun his ritual to tear down the Veil, causing demons to slip into the world. Members of the Inquisition, having recruited a new ally that Solas would never see coming, attempt to stop him before he can finish his ritual.

Data transfer and world-states[]

Only three choices from Dragon Age: Inquisition can be imported into Veilguard. These choices are: who your Inquisitor romanced, whether or not you disbanded the Inquisition, and whether you vowed to stop or save Solas.[20] The ability to import these choices is fully integrated into the character creator. Players that need a refresher on the previous games' story can see context for these decisions through tarot card art.[21]

The Dragon Age Keep will not be used to import past choices, and decisions made in Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II cannot be imported into the game.[20]

Characters[]

For information about recruitable companions, see Companions (The Veilguard).
Veilguard promotional 7

The core members of the Veilguard

Major characters[]

Companions[]

Others[]

Quests[]

Main article: Quests (The Veilguard)

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Veilguard.


The quest "The End of the Beginning" was revealed in the Official Gameplay Reveal on YouTube on June 11, 2024. It involves Rook, Varric, and Harding tracking down Neve Gallus in Minrathous for assistance in finding and stopping Solas as he attempts to tear down the Veil. Rook and their allies manage to interrupt Solas's ritual, but accidentally trap Solas in the Fade and free Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan from their prison in the process.

A later quest, "In Entropy's Grasp," was revealed in Game Informer on June 18, 2024. It involves Rook and their allies returning to Arlathan Forest after stopping Solas's ritual where they encounter Veil Jumpers Strife, Irelin, and Bellara Lutare. Bellara helps the group escape from a Veil Bubble using an artifact called the Nadas Dirthalen.


Gameplay[]

The Veilguard will not be open world, but will instead be "mission based," with the characters operating from a hub area called the Lighthouse.[2] Compared to prior games, Veilguard features more limited control over companions, and only two companions may be taken to the field at any one time.[12]

The game will feature a complex skill system, crafting, and transmogrification, with three active combat abilities and unique gear-based abilities. The level cap is 50.[12]

Locations[]

System requirements[]

System PC
Recommended Minimum
OS Windows 10/11 64-bit Windows 10/11 64-bit
CPU Intel Core i9-9900K
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Intel Core i5-8400
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
System RAM 16 GB 16 GB
Graphics Card NVIDIA RTX 2070
AMD Radeon RX 5700XT
NVIDIA GTX 970/1650
AMD Radeon R9 290X
Hard Drive 100GB SSD 100GB SSD Preferred, HDD Supported (AMD CPUs on Windows 11 require AGESA V2 1.2.0.7
Miscellaneous DirectX 12 DirectX 12

Notes[]

  • There is some contradiction on when Dragon Age: The Veilguard takes place, whether the time passage is from Dragon Age: Inquisition or from the events of Trespasser. In an interview, John Epler states that it starts 9 years after Inquisition.[22] However, in the official BioWare discord QnA, John Epler states that since the start of development they placed The Veilguard at 10 years since Trespasser.[23] Where as it is recalled by Trick Weekes that they had it set at 9:52 Dragon.[24] This is echoed by short story The Flame Eternal, which places the current time period at 9:52. These contradictions place the range somewhere between 9:51-9:54 for possible start dates for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
  • The game will not have post-launch DLC.[15]

Trivia[]

  • Dragon Age: The Veilguard has 140,000 lines of voiced dialogue (80,000 without all the Rooks).[25]
  • There are some references to other games created by Bioware throughout, such as Mass Effect.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Gary McKay (June 6, 2024). "The Next Dragon Age Has a New Title" BioWare.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dominik Bošnjak (June 12, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is Not Open World, and Here's Why" Game Rant.
  3. Steve Watts (December 10, 2018). "Dragon Age 4 Teased With First Trailer" GameSpot.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mark Darrah (December 6, 2018). "A Message From Mark Darrah & Matthew Goldman – The Dread Wolf Rises" BioWare.
  5. Imran Khan (December 4, 2018). "Report: Dragon Age 4 Will Be Revealed At The Game Awards, But Is Several Years From Release" (archive) Game Informer.
  6. Alex Walker (October 30, 2019). "Don’t Expect Dragon Age 4 Until 2022 Sometime" Kotaku.
  7. Mark Darrah and Corinne Busche (December 4, 2023). "Dragon Age Day 2023" BioWare.
  8. Wesley L. (February 25, 2021). "Dragon Age 4 Will Reportedly Be a Single-Player RPG With No Multiplayer" IGN.
  9. Jason Schreier (April 9, 2019). "The Past And Present Of Dragon Age 4" Kotaku.
  10. David Smith (June 3, 2022). "Dragon Age: Dreadwolf Is Coming, And The Great Thedas Egg Hunt Is On" Kotaku.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 George Yang (October 31, 2024). "‘Dragon Age: The Veilguard’ Is Bioware’s Best Game in Ages. Here’s How They Got There" Rolling Stone. Retrieved on November 5, 2024.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Christine Miller (June 16, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard Reveals Details About Combat and Character Features" Game Rant.
  13. James Carr (July 23, 2020). "BioWare Confirms New Dragon Age Game Is Still In Development" GameSpot.
  14. Gary McKay (October 26, 2022). "A New Milestone for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf" Electronic Arts.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Gabriel Machado Pureza (November 2, 2024). "BioWare Has Disappointing News for Dragon Age: The Veilguard Fans" Game Rant. Retrieved on November 5, 2024.
  16. "Metascore for Dragon Age: The Veilguard on PS5" Metacritic. Retrieved on October 29, 2024.
  17. "Metascore for Dragon Age: The Veilguard on PC" Metacritic. Retrieved on October 29, 2024.
  18. "Metascore for Dragon Age: The Veilguard on Xbox X" Metacritic. Retrieved on October 29, 2024.
  19. Nick Rodriguez. "Mass Effect 4 Not Adopting Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Art Style is a Double-Edged Sword" Game Rant. Retrieved on November 5, 2024.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Alex Stedman (September 25, 2024). "How Dragon Age: The Veilguard Grapples With the Series’ Wildly Expansive Lore (and Your Choices in It)" IGN.
  21. Alex Stedman (June 11, 2024). "BioWare Details How Previous Choices Will be Imported Into Dragon Age: The Veilguard" IGN.
  22. Danny Peña (June 11, 2024). "Dragon Age: Veilguard - A Conversation with Creative Director John Epler" YouTube. Retrieved on June 11, 2024.
  23. BioWare (June 14, 2024). "DA: The Veilguard: Discord Q&A with Developers!" YouTube. Retrieved on June 14, 2024.
  24. Bluesky Icon Trick Weekes (June 21, 2024). "I thought we said 9:52..." . Bluesky.
  25. Anna Koselke (July 27, 2024). "Dragon Age: The Veilguard took 'so long' as BioWare 'wanted to make sure we got this one right'" GamesRadar.

External links[]

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