Terror on the Coast is an Act 1 side quest in Dragon Age II.
Acquisition[]
The quest can only be obtained with a Dragon Age: Origins imported game if the Warden chose to let Sophia Dryden live during the Warden's Keep DLC.
The quest is triggered when Hawke walks along the northern path of the Wounded Coast from the northeastern end and encounters a man fleeing from giant spiders. Something seems to be making the giant spiders aggressive.
Walkthrough[]
Continue west up the slope and fight through groups of spiders, as well as a few Bandits and Bandit Archers at a nearby campsite. Hold position and let them come to you to avoid catching the attention of too many enemies at once. Up the hill and to the west you'll fight a Strange Hunter and four mabari war hounds. There may also be an apostate if they didn't join the bandits and spiders at the campsite. Mabari are vulnerable to cold spells, so an Elemental mage is highly recommended, while the spiders are vulnerable to electricity, which is available in the Primal school. Follow the path south then west to find Sophia Dryden's camp. Sophia has enthralled the local apostates as well as the giant spiders into following her. All dialogue options lead to combat with the former Warden-Commander's possessed corpse.
This can be a challenging fight, as Sophia herself is a "Commander" type enemy and will regularly regenerate the health of her subordinates, unless she is regularly suppressed with stuns, paralysis, or Dispel Magic. The battle begins with an apostate mage and three mabari. After enough kills, five giant spiders and two poisonous spiders will join the battle, along with two more apostates from the north, so prioritize the mabari. The giant spiders are Critter-ranked and can be eliminated by a two-handed warrior with ease, whereas the poisonous spiders and apostates are Normal-ranked. If you need some breathing room, consider retreating back the path you came, or clear the southern path before challenging Sophia (only half a dozen spiders to defeat). The tighter pathways make it easier to hit multiple enemies at once, if not keep the reinforcements out of the fight long enough to kill Sophia, after which they are no threat.
With Sophia's cult destroyed, the quest is complete. Loot the former Warden's remains and continue on with your adventures.
Rewards[]
- 400 XP for quest completion
- "250" XP for the battle (see Notes)
Looted from Sophia's corpse:
- 6 – 8
Notes[]
- The giant spiders and apostates who fight alongside Sophia are present in this area even if Avernus is spared during the events at Soldier's Peak. They fight Hawke all the same if this quest is unavailable, they are just simply not under Sophia's thrall and are worth roughly 234 XP by themselves. The bandits in the area to the east are intended to be fought as part of Dark Epiphany, this quest's counterpart, yet they are present as well and get in the way. Finally, there is a group of spiders on the southern slopes connecting back to the main path worth 200 XP; however, any and all of these enemies are only present in an imported save where the conditions for one of these quests were fulfilled. Under any of the game's pre-built histories, this entire section of the Wounded Coast is empty during Act 1. The only enemies that appear unique to Terror on the Coast are the Strange Hunter, the initial apostate and three mabari with Sophia, and Sophia herself.
Bugs[]
- If The Exiled Prince DLC is installed and the 'Duty' notice from the Chantry Board accepted, this creates a conflict with the loading of enemies, preventing Sophia from being encountered and fought, thus this quest cannot be completed. The simplest method of avoiding this bug is to not install 'The Exiled Prince' DLC at all or at least until after completing this quest. If installed, the bug can be avoided by not accepting 'Duty' from the Chantry board (though it is okay to watch the cutscene outside the Chantry), unlock the Wounded Coast through another quest (such as Blackpowder Promise), and complete Terror on the Coast before taking the notice.