The huge success ofDragon Age: The Veilguardhas brought back a host of longtime fans eager to explore this new dimension to Thedas some ten years after the release ofInquisition, while also giving new players the perfect opportunity to test this game out and fall in love with the world that BioWare has created. The main draw to this game, besides the great combat, is its story and world-building, with so much for people to explore the main quest.
While technically beyond the main quest’s scope, there are many smaller quests in this game are vital to the overall story. Players are told several times over about the importance of completing these, and the game doesn’t shy away from having long-term consequences for those who go to the final battlewith a partystill hung up on their own personal issues, or a world still burdened by blight. It’s in these companion quests or in smaller sections of the main quest thatVeilguardintroduces some truly fascinating characters, but unfortunately, some of these characters didn’t get the attention they deserved.
8The Butcher
An Excellent, Terrifying Qunari
The Butcher of Treviso is present mostly in name for a good deal ofVeilguard’s story, even during some importantTreviso specific quests. It would have been very easy to make a grim, stoic Qunari warlord, the likes of which have been seen many times over in the game.
Instead, the Butcher, when players finally do meet him, is courteous and polite, and waxes poetic about how much they love Treviso as a city. They are clearly mad, but that madness has imbued them with a passion for the land they control. The Butcher isn’t even slavishly devoted to the risen gods, and, in his own way, is essential to progressing the main quest. This is such a fascinating villain, and it’s a shame that there’s really only one scene where the player talks to him.
7Governor Ivenci
A Ruthless, Pragmatic Ruler
Continuing the trend of those that areTreviso-specific villains, Governor Ivenci has a particularly contentious relationship with Rook, especially if Treviso was blighted. Unfortunately, Governor Ivenci isn’t given time to really establish themselves as a threat.
They have a scene to make the same arguments almost every villain has made towards aDragon Ageprotagonist - that the protagonist has the luxury of killing pure evil creatures and doesn’t have the weight of proper moral dilemmas - but their desperation to save Treviso (and how this would condemn their city) is never really expanded upon.
6Shathann
Taash’s Mother Has An Interesting Past
Shathann has some presence in the initial parts of the main quest thanks to the role Taash plays in the Veilguard, but after this point it’s clear to see she drops off from focus. Even to people who complete Taash’s questline, she never really has the same presence again.
As one of the only non-combat oriented Qunari players will ever meet, and with a wealth of lore on what her people were like before the Qun, this is a bit of a missed opportunity for her to do with Qunari what Harding’s quest with the Titans does for dwarves and really expand on one ofDragon Age’s most fascinating lineages.
5Vorgoth
Mourn Watch Needs More Love
Famed among the Mortalitasiis Vorgoth, not quite a lich, not quite a spirit, but something else entirely. He’s one of the main members of the Mourn Watch faction and the shopkeeper for this faction to boot, but never really sees much screen time.
This is a shame, as Vorgoth could have been one of the most interesting additions to the game’s lore about spirits and the fade. Mourn Watch is already one of the best and most unique factions. It would be great if some of the faction quests gave more attention to this interesting, anomalous character.
4Hezenkos
A Fantastic Villain With An Excellent Aesthetic
Another Nevarra dwelling character is Hezenkos, mostly seenin Emmrich’s storyline. She’s a classic and fantastic interpretation of the mad scientist archetype and has a great driving philosophy of seeing spirits as little more than tools.
It would have been great to see her expound on these views more. We understand this view is evil and Emmrich shows us inherently misguided, but learning more about why she feels this way would have been a great boon to the story.
3Zara
A Brutal Venatori Witch
A mainstay in Lucanis' personal quest is Zara, a vile blood mage who is personally responsible for much of the hardships and pain in Lucanis' life, especially where his connection to Spite is concerned.
She’s such an interesting concept for a character and a great opportunity to show how Tevinter blood mages operate in society, but instead she’s unfortunately one of the most one note NPCs of the game. She bathes in blood because she’s evil. She tortured Lucanis because she’s evil. That’s all players need to know. She responds to Rook’s single line towards her with ‘spoken like a true peasant’, then dies, and Lucanis' story shifts to Spite and coffee.
2Aelia
A Huge Threat To Dock Town
A continuation in sometruly greatVeilguardvillains, Aelia feels almost like a direct upgrade to Zara. Another blood mage with a central role in a companion’s questline, Aelia is a classic human supremacist Venatori trying to recapture Tevinter’s lost glory.
She’s only seen twice, and spends most of this time taunting Nev. Similar to Hezenkos it’s no secret that she is evil, but a chance for that evil to be better defined beyond “I want to become the lord of an evil empire” would have been nice to see.
1The Inquisitor
A Missed Opportunity To Give More Insight Into The Inquisition
Callbacks to previous games inDragon Age 2andInquisitionwere usually relegated to the occasional dialogue reference or codex entries. BioWare seems to have fallen into the trap of thinking that because past game references were insubstantial, players did not absolutely love seeing their choices referenced in subsequent games.
The Inquisitor should have been a foundational part of the Veilguard, with changes based on the ending to theTrespasserDLC. Instead, they really have nothing to do unless they are one specific lineage with one specific romance. Whether the player’s Inquisitor was ruthless and callous, punching Solas and turning Cassandra to drinking, or a loving and benevolent avatar of Andraste, they act the exact same way inVeilguard. This was not the game to soft reboot the franchise. The Inquisitor should have at least had enough depth to reward longtime fans for ten years of waiting.
