The Dread Wolf Rises is the final main quest of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Acquisition[]
This quest is received after completing One Last Breath.
Walkthrough[]
The team faces Elgar'nan in a final battle… but the Dread Wolf has his own plan in mind.
Defense of the Divine's Manor[]
At the start of the mission, Rook must assign a companion to help defend the Divine's Manor, while Rook and the other companions climb the blight tendril.
Whether the assigned companion will survive depends on two factors: whether that companion has attained Hero of the Veilguard status, and the strength of the forces defending the Divine's Manor. The strength of the forces depends on the allied strength of all factions and whether Strife and/or Viper is still currently alive.
The strength of the forces defending the manor is classified into one of the following categories:
- Excellent - If force strength is excellent, the game will display the message: "The forces defending the Divine's Manor are in excellent shape and will be fighting hard." Excellent force strength can be attained if all factions are at two stars on average. However, if either Strife or Viper has died, then additional strength is required.
- Moderate - If Strife and Viper are both alive, moderate force strength requires at least 4 factions at two stars. If either Strife or Viper has died, additional faction strength is required to achieve moderate force strength. If force strength is moderate, the game will display one of the following messages:
- "The forces defending the Divine’s Manor are at moderate strength and will fight to the best of their ability."
- "The forces defending the Divine’s Manor have lost key leaders but will still fight to the best of their ability.” (If either Strife or Viper has died)
- Weak - If the combined faction strength is very low, the game will display one of the following messages:
- "The forces defending the Divine’s Manor are weak. Any companion helping here is greatly at risk."
- "The forces defending the Divine’s Manor have lost key leaders. Any companion helping here is greatly at risk." (If either Strife or Viper has died)
Davrin and Taash are the most suitable companions for this task. Harding and Lucanis are also suitable if conditions are sufficiently favorable. In the table below, "✔" indicates that the companion is suitable regardless of Hero of Veilguard Status, "✓Hero" indicates that the companion is suitable if Hero status has been obtained (but not suitable without Hero status). "—" indicates that the companion is not suitable.
| Condition of Forces |
Companion | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellara | Davrin | Emmrich | Harding | Lucanis | Neve | Taash | |
| Weak | — | ✓Hero | — | — | — | — | ✓Hero |
| Moderate | — | ✔ | — | ✓Hero | ✓Hero | — | ✔ |
| Excellent | — | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ |
After the selection has been made, a cutscene will play in which the selected companion will defend the Divine's Manor along with Morrigan, the Inquisitor, and other leaders of the forces, while Rook and the rest of the companions climb the blight tendril.
If the selected companion is not suitable, they will be killed by the Antaam commander, who is either a generic Antaam warlord or the Dragon King (if the quest Lair of the Dragon King was not completed). Whether the opponent is the generic warlord or the Dragon King does not affect the outcome summarized in the table above, after accounting for the fact that the Dragon King does not appear if Taash has attained Hero status.
Stop Elgar'nan[]
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This section is incomplete and requires expansion. |
Endings[]
There are several different endings available depending on Rook's level of preparedness, whether they completed Regrets of the Dread Wolf and acquired Mythal's essence, and whether the Inquisitor romanced Solas and what dialogue option was chosen during Rook and the Inquisitor's second meeting.
Trick Solas[]
- Choose "Let's try this your way." (Trick Solas with the fake dagger)
Rook successfully tricks Solas into using the fake dagger. Solas states that he is a fool who has finally met his match as he is pulled into the Fade.
Fight Solas[]
- Choose "But I want to fight you." (Fight Solas and bind him to the Veil)
Rook and their companions will successfully stab Solas and push him into the Fade as he angrily states that he is a god compared to them.
Convince Solas[]
- Choose "You don't have to do this." (Use Mythal's essence and convince Solas to stop)
If Rook acquired Mythal's essence, they can convince Solas to abandon his plan and voluntarily bind himself to maintain the Veil. Regardless of which dialogue option Rook picks after this first choice, Solas will initially refuse, stating that doing so would dishonor those he has wronged to get to this point. If the Inquisitor vowed to redeem Solas, they will appear at this point, asking Solas to stop once again. Solas will refuse one more time. At this point, Morrigan appears, Rook hands her the statuette and she brings forth Mythal's essence from it. Mythal tells Solas that he alone should not bear the burden of their decisions, and that she releases him from her service. At this point, Solas agrees to bind himself to maintain the Veil, slicing his hand open with the dagger, and walks into the Fade.
Worst ending (all companions die and Rook is sacrified)[]
If all non-party companions up to this point have died, the option to choose the ending will not be given. Instead, Rook and the party companions will directly proceed to fight Solas, but Solas will kill both party companions by turning them to stone and then stab Rook with the lyrium dagger. Rook manages to get some of Solas' blood on the dagger, and both of them are dragged into the fade.
Attaining this ending requires all of the following:
- The companion who was blighted (Neve or Bellara) lacks Hero of the Veilguard status
- During The Last Gambit, the companions who were assigned to handle the war mage and the construct both die in performing their respective tasks
- The companion who was assigned to defend the Divine's Manor at the beginning of this mission dies in performing that task
Results[]
As Elgar'nan's ritual nears completion, the team sneaks onto the Archon's Palace in a desperate attempt to preven the blight from ravaging the world. To make matters worse, Solas is still at large, bent on stopping Elgar'nan his way and allowing the Veil to collapse, which would drown the world in demons and raw magic. Whatever the team does to save the world, they'll need to do it quickly.
If the person you chose to unbound the wards and become blighted (Either Bellara or Neve) is not a Hero of the Veilguard then she will die after exerting herself from commanding the blight tendrils. Should the blighted companion have Hero of the Veilguard status, the blighted tendrils die and become brittle and petrified, allowing the blighted companion to break out of its hold and reveal her taint has somehow become less severe.
If your party members are not Hero of the Veilguard then they may also die as Solas turns them to stone.
If the entire Veilguard is not a Hero of the Veilguard then the team is wiped out and Rook sacrifices themselves.
Solas is trapped in the fade regardless of the ending, and Elgar'nan is killed.
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This section is incomplete and requires expansion. |
Notable loot[]
There are two chests in this mission, respectively located in the Tower and Rooftops areas. The chests do not have fixed loot, but instead will provide a weapon that has not yet been upgraded to legendary rarity in the player's inventory.
Approval[]
Codex entries[]
Notes[]
Trivia[]
- "The Dread Wolf Rises" was the hashtag used at the end of the first ever teaser trailer for the game that would eventually become Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Gallery[]