#datv interview

[anextravagantliar]

epler opening his mouth and having a point

"It's interesting, because in some of our earliest versions of what we wanted to do for Dragon Age 4, Varric was not actually involved. Varric was doing his own thing as the Viscount of Kirkwall," Epler says. "But I think especially as we got to the version of Dragon Age: The Veilguard that shipped, it felt very strange to have a story about Solas not also include Varric. For us, having them [Solas and Varric] exist in contrast throughout the story - obviously, with Varric being something existing entirely in Rook's mind - provides different ways of looking at the core theme, which is regret."

As Epler explains, Varric is "not someone who does a good job of confronting his regret", whether that be in Inquisition when it comes to his love interest and crossbow namesake, Bianca, or with his brother in DA2.

the largest sigh about my batting average I GET IT I SUPPORT IT man I need to PLAY THE LOTTO

[miyku]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | ▶ dev. Bioware

[loredrinker]

The Inquisitor - The Thread and Key - and Something Else?

A thread runs from Inquisition to Veilguard that makes it hard to believe the Inquisitor walked away from the Anchor unchanged. The evidence suggests a transformation - not just symbolic or emotional, but something metaphysical. Possibly even physiological.

One of the clearest insights into the nature of the Anchor comes during Here Lies the Abyss, from the Justinia spirit/entity: “It is the needle that passes through the Veil, as little else can. You are the thread. And it is the key that locks or unlocks a door to the Fade. It lets you walk in the Fade physically and survive. Without it, Corypheus must find another way to the Black City. It is part of you now, and cannot be removed without your death.”

There are some interesting implications here. The Inquisitor doesn’t just use the Anchor - they are the thread. And threads don’t just pass through - they bind, they weave, implying the Inquisitor is stitched into the Veil itself.

But it’s the spirit’s warning that carries the most interest for me: “It is part of you now, and cannot be removed without your death.” This reads as though the Anchor is too woven into the Inquisitor's being to be severed without fatal consequences. According to this denizen of the Fade, the removal should be impossible.

And while it’s not framed as a prophecy in the traditional sense, the spirit’s words seem to carry truth as only a being of the Fade can speak it. It's a statement of what is - yet, what is doesn't come to pass.

Because the Inquisitor does live after its removal. 

That act of Solas removing the Anchor points to an extraordinary understanding and mastery of magic. If the Inquisitor is the thread, then Solas would have had to have found a way to unstitch and restitch them back together.

Which leads to a lingering question: How has this affected the Inquisitor?

The Thread in Veilguard

In Veilguard, the “thread and key” metaphor returns - but now it’s a statuette, not the Anchor.

When Harding asks where they found it, the Inquisitor responds: “I found it right around the time Solas’ ritual failed, when he was pulled into the Fade. We’ve examined the magic. And it’s tied to the Veil. To him. Somehow.”

That “somehow” feels like something is still there. The Anchor is gone, but how do they know the tie is there? Is the Inquisitor still threaded into the Veil - still connected to the Fade?

And the statuette is significant. No matter how many of them Rook finds, the sequence can’t be completed without the Inquisitor’s, implying they are still the thread that completes the weave, the key that opens the door to Solas.

Morrigan says, “The Inquisitor brought something no one else could.” And it’s not just that they had the final piece - it’s that no one else could have had it. The magic inside it feels personal, like it’s bound to something only the Inquisitor possesses. Maybe it’s the lingering imprint of the Anchor.

Solas’ Unique Magic

Morrigan says: “Solas is ancient, and his magic is part of him in a way far beyond that of mortals.” Solas doesn’t wield magic like a mortal mage. He is magic.

The Anchor was born of Solas’ magic - so when his Orb exploded and marked the Inquisitor, like the statuette infused with his essence, the Anchor forged a connection between Solas and the Inquisitor. Which means the Inquisitor potentially carries a trace of Solas' essence.

Which brings us back to the wolf statuette - why was it meant for the Inquisitor? Perhaps it was reacting to that lingering essence of Solas. Drawn to it. Resonating with it.

The Inquisitor - the Key to Solas

Throughout the games and extended stories, the Inquisitor is consistently positioned as the thread and key - bridging Southern and Northern Thedas, the Fade and the waking world, Solas and those who are looking for him.

And that may not be purely symbolic. The Inquisitor carried the Anchor, manipulated the Fade, physically walked through it more than once, and survived an act that should have killed them. They now stand apart from ordinary mortal experience - threaded into the Fade, impacted by ancient magic. Perhaps even transformed into something new - a liminal being. That may be why a romanced Lavellan shows no fear in following Solas into the Fade at the end: they alone are equipped - physically, metaphysically - to walk that path beside him.

It’s narratively fitting, then, that their story with Solas begins in front of a tear in the Veil, where he says, “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.” Everything that follows gives the line a deeper, almost prophetic meaning because by the end of Veilguard, they stand before another rift. And while this time it's Solas who closes the rift - the Inquisitor’s presence remains essential.

Without the Inquisitor, you can’t access Solas’ regrets. You can’t uncover what haunts him. You can’t walk the path to gain Mythal’s essence - and without Mythal’s essence you can’t unlock the final choice: atonement. The game makes it clear - Solas’ path to redemption is unlocked through the Inquisitor.

He said they were the key.

And they were.

[lizzybeeee]

THE ENTIRE DRAGON AGE AMA IS A DUMPSTER FIRE

They avoided all the high-rated questions with genuine criticism (not blind hate!) and went for questions that were safer and allowed them more leeway. After that awful IGN article and that treatment of Davrin...God, just put it down. I have no faith that BioWare will be able to continue Dragon Age or Mass Effect with the respect it deserves.

Edit - They had an opportunity for genuine discussion with fans who were concerned/unhappy with the way Veilguard was -> people unhappy with the story, the marketing, the lack of 'RP' options in an RPG, etc... Instead they just doubled-down even more, avoiding those critical questions, with no real acknowledgement that fans have very reasonable problems with this game.

Some Highlights & My Initial Ramblings Below:

The Executors

"They attempt to manipulate events in the most subtle way they can manage."

So, very clear that they're not simply observers of what is happening in Thedas: they're manipulators...

"Magical Illuminati Confirmed! Lizard People Did 9:30 Dragon!!!!"

All that complexity of character -> his hatred of Orlais, his experience as a general, his relationship with Cailain, and the influence of Howe...all diminished. Any influence from a shadow cabal is too much influence - all the humanity of Loghain's choices/consequences...God, what a waste.

Not to mention what this does to other events/characters in the series -> they imply they've been intervening as far back as the magisters breaking into the golden city. I do not find this compelling! At all!

2. Solas and the Executors

Oh my god, he sounds like such a fucking Mary-Sue I'm so sick of Solas at this point -> "Actually, I know more about the Executors than anyone alive - not even the rest of the Gods know as much as me."

("I'm also, like, an Ancient Elven God, I'm responsible for the Blight and the Veil, and I kind of locked the Gods away cause they were evil - but, like, I'm really sad about it. Also the Herald of Andraste thinks I'm cute <3")

<- Previous comments: massive oversimplification, obviously

But I miss the days when not everything was about Solas. It removes so much interest and wonder in this world when the fucking egg is behind it all. I loved him as a character in DAI and now I just feel this bone deep tiredness when I see his stupid face.

Don't you dare threaten to bring Gareth David-Lloyd back -> keep him away from this mess!

3. The Fate of the Rest of the Evanuris

Yay. I'm so looking forwards to "The Return of the Elves: Electric Boogaloo 2" - it was done so well the first time!

"It was the elves all along!"

The only character with any potential to be interesting is Andruil*, but how they handled all this lore was done so shallowly and so poorly that I find it hard to give a damn anymore. Not to mention that the game literally mentions Ghilan'nain mourning Andruil - so is this a retcon/redirection/or have you confirmed that one of the most interesting members of the Evanuris' is dead?

*interesting in that she's established in lore to potentially have a tonne of really cool things attached to her (the void armour, the great weapon she has etc...). The rest of the evanuris are nowhere near as well established as she is.

4. Southern Thedas, Sociopolitical Issues, and Future Games

NOW YOU WANT TO INCORPORATE GEO-POLITCAL EXPLORATION?? You avoided any meaningful discussion like the plague in DATV but now you're acknowledging it?? OkaY. okAy.

They couldn't even give us the long-term ramifications of the mage/templar war how the hell am I supposed to believe that they will be able to pull off 'elven gods are real' etc...? For a game series that totes : your choices matter -> they have not proven that they have been able to show that in a meaningful way. They literally cleaned the slate with this game to avoid doing that.

So, what, does that mean that the Veil is never going to come down now? Or are you going to have the entirety of Thedas build themselves up again just to have the Veil fall and send things into chaos once more?

What a fatalistic, miserable outcome for Thedas -> why the fuck would anyone bother to live in Thedas if you're going to keep throwing meteorites at them? By all means, change/conflict has to happen for the series to move forwards...but this is just so miserable at this point.

(The Elder Scrolls, at least, gives people room to breathe between crisis' or sets them up in different areas of the world! Bethesda treats past installments/your decisions with greater respect than DATV does.)

Even, then, if the Veil remains up, that means that the spirits are just trapped in the Fade being miserable for the rest of existence. The entire series has been humanizing spirits, from Justice to Cole, and now they're just throwing in the towel? I guess they can stay in the fade now! Problem solved!

What do you mean the Evanuris are not a threat anymore? IN A PREVIOUS QUESTION YOU LITERALLY SAID SOME ARE STILL POTENTIALLY KICKING AROUND THE BLACK CITY?

Weakened, sure, but Solas was 'weak' in DAI. You're giving yourself an out if you decide to go back to the elves again. Please do, I'd love more content on how the elves alone fuck everything up!

5. More Southern Thedas, the Chantry, and Tevinter

Thanks for the confirmation that things in the South are so fucked up that they have to work alongside the 'Slave Capital' of the known world to rebuild!

Slavery was one of the biggest things that caused a rift between the north/south chantry system -> one of the reasons why there were exalted marches -> a uniting belief in the south is that slavery is fucked. They didn't address slavery in DATV - what hopes are there that they will do so effectively in a future game?

Don't tell me that Dorian fixes everything off screen either -> either he solves slavery off-screen or the south is being forced to work the slaver-capitol because their land is nuked and they have no ground to stand on.

I'm so thrilled.

6. Solas and the Idol / The Blight

I will never get over Solas fucking curing the Blight off-screen and no one asking questions/giving a shit. Hello?? The Hero of Ferelden would like a word with you???

So the Blight is calcified in Minrathous, at least, but everywhere further away is still fucked! Once more, the South is doomed to suffer from the long-term effects that regular blights have -> not to mention the red lyrium (which still exists according to the AMA) across the south.

I don't care; it's lame. It's a lame way to conclude the blight and I hate it. This game did not earn 'cure the blight from thedas' at all. You could have had us learn how to soothe a titan and see how that can diminish the blight but you did it this way.

Another 'magical ritual' because Solas has such a good track record with them lmao.

7. The Agents of Fen'Harel / The War with the Qun / The Crows

Turned him against the idea of being a leader???!!

Fen'harel's Call to the Elven People After the events at the Winter Palace, elves left the Inquisition under mysterious circumstances, as did elven servants across Thedas. None could say where they went, but those who believed the Inquisitor's story about Fen'Harel wondered just how large the Dread Wolf's forces were... and what the ancient elven rebel had planned. This is from the Trespasser Epilogue, Epler!

Your concept art for Joplin literally had him as a leader of a faction of elves. Just be honest that it's a retcon and you changed course - don't try to save face with this reasoning.

About the Antaam: "We needed some big mindless bad guys to fight and so we did this because we didn't want to address the Qunari War/Invasion we set up in Trespasser".

You had to canonize Sten as being alive and Arishok in order for this reasoning to work -> you didn't even come up with an alternative Arishok to take Sten's place.

Yeah, the exchange that set up the Crows we see in the game as "idealists" did not make the game. I can confirm that!

I'm sorry, "Caterina kept Illario in check?" as in, 'kept him an idealist and not the usual Crow'? The woman that beat him with a cane and starved him and his cousin to train them as Crows. Fuck off.

lmao -> tell me you're coming up with this on the spot without telling me that you're coming up with this on the spot.

8. World State Discrepancies - Isabela

Outright ignores the very real criticism about the marketing from this game and World States.

"there are absolutely places where we unintentionally suggested there was a hard canon (...that Isabela is always assumed to have joined Hawke's party.)"

Unintentional?

Excuse me, you have her talk about Merrill and the Kirkwall Crew as family - that was not unintentional in the slightest. Not to mention Sten, Blackwall, Sera, and Cole are canonized as being part of your world state no matter what.

You had a story you wanted to tell - one that only fit a few world states - and you went ahead with it and disregarded those choices. Don't try and lie about this all being a big misunderstanding.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit - They could have taken the opportunity to address the very reasonable criticisms that people had with this game but they cherry-picked questions and avoided/minimized anything remotely critical.

They could have provided us some insight into the game development time but each time they approached the topic they settled for "we're happy with what we delivered and it was well optimized."

They had an opportunity to acknowledge that people were bothered by the handling of the lore/stories (to potentially mention they could course-correct/ rethink their plans) but instead they doubled down on everything that they did and even 'justified' some decisions. They doubled down on the Executors, Solas's changing motivations, the destruction of Southern Thedas, and the elves/Solas being at the heart of everything etc...

This AMA basically confirmed that the only reason they did what they did to the south was for a reset -> It's not a compelling or fulfilling narrative to have everything we've done reset back to ground zero off-screen. BioWare games differentiate themselves from other RPG's by their import system from previous games - it was compelling and exciting! With DATV they set the expectation that BioWare can outright throw out entire games worth of choices/build up, not solely retcon them.

Justifying your choice to water down the lore/world of your story by saying you'll address it in the 'next game' does not instill me with confidence, BioWare! It doesn't explain that lack of it in this game either!

They avoided every question that, rightfully so, pointed out the misleading comments made by devs in the pre-order period of the game:

the fact that there were only 3 imported choices from previous games was leaked by a reviewer -> BioWare was vague from the start about choices

that this game was the most 'romantic' in the series

that world states/ headcanons wouldn't be disrespected

that there are 'lore' reasons for bad darkspawn design

that there are lasting, impactful choices/consequences to be made in this game

that the lore/world was not watered or toned down

that companions are deep and you can disagree with them etc...

BioWare's behavior towards their customers in the lead up period to this games release was downright scummy. I absolutely felt misled after playing the game for myself and recalling what I read in interviews put out. While EA is undoubtedly poison, you can't hold them solely accountable for this.

I feel for the individual developers who worked on this in what was undoubtedly a toxic environment from EA - but I feel that it's pretty clear that BioWare itself has a lot of problems within and in their leadership/executives. Working for EA does not give them an excuse to mislead their customers.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I already had a very grim outlook on the franchise from the end of DATV but this literally look my interest out the back and sent it to God. What a disaster.

[gingerdusk]

Okay but is it just me. Please say it isn't just me.

[divorcedwife]

reading the veilguard writers explain their writing decisions makes me feel like a lawyer watching my client giving unprompted confessions, like stopppppp you’re only making this worse 😭

[cadaveerie]

it's unlisted at the time of posting this, but it seems like they finally posted the official recording of the DATV cast and devs panel from SDCC'24! It starts at around 7:31 :]

edit: cause i was actually busy and hadn't watched the video, i just realized that in the parts in which they showed something in the screen, the video doesn't show the screen :( that footage can be seen here and here. the second one can be found on youtube (it's neve's intro), but the first one wasn't posted officially :/ that's why i'm linking this. at some specific points they also show a collage of the companions' tarot-esque art (like here.)

[lornaka]

Very DATV negative rant under the cut

The more I play (or try to..) and learn about Veilguard and the behind-the-scenes process of making it, the more I come to accept that the real da4 was project Joplin and it's long buried. Whatever this thing they are parading as da4 just ain't it, whichever way I try to approach it from. It's just nothing. It's an empty husk of a beloved series being presented as if it's supposed to make sense and be this grand revelation and resolution, but it's nothing more than an impostor. Much like Varric in this travesty of a game.

[dragonagegayz]

NFSW WARNING

Emmrich has a professor thing and here’s my totally unbiased evidence from my own fanfiction 😁

Imaginary Oz goes wild alright what can I say

[for-lovely-things]

I: Tonight we're welcoming the cast of the 4th season of the famous Dragon Age show! Tell us, Klytus, how does it feel to be the lead actor of such highly anticipated season? Fans have been waiting for almost 10 years!

K: Hey, thank you for having me here. To answer your question- that's a lot of pressure. But also- I'm really happy. I never thought I'd be chosen for such a big role considering my career was relatively tame, and I'm very grateful. It was also amazing to work with such seasoned actors like Dorian and David, they shared a lot of their wisdom.

D: Oh yeah, we've been like mother hens for Klytus. He's a quick learner though, our young star will totally overshadow us in this season.

I: I see rings. So, is Davidorian canon in real life too?

D: Pfft, my dear, thought it was obvious. But yeah, we're engaged. You're invited to our wedding, Klytus too.

Merry Christmas, @tessa1972 ! Love you, and here's some food for thought for the Actors AU for you❤️

[amaryllis-sagitta]

So what you mean is a teleological approach to motive where a person's vice "ripens" in the right circumstances created outside them, and individuals with esoteric insight and the right persuasion abilities (such as the Executors) can still create circumstances to bring these vices out if they wish so? And once someone already "wills what they will", after facing this knowing and powerful adversary, they will do as expected because "it was already inside them"? Is that what you're trying to say? That The Executors' long game is to make an external locus of choice feel like it's internal because it strengthens existing predispositions?

Show me someone resisting these "enhanced" judgments and desires because they used another source of motivation and I'll believe you. For now, the implication that someone sees the end of the long game changes the veneer, but not the pessimism at the heart of this reveal. The enemy still remains a level above cause and effect when others are subjects to them.

[simpforsolas]

i actually think that bioware has lost the right to write solas. i'm taking him and he is now mine. sorry.

[shadowglens]

i got a job!! 🎉🤸

[bossuary]

[invinciblerodent]

Hm.

This looks like a thought I should scoop up and run far, far away with, don't you think?

[themumblingmouse]

Every time datv ignores player choice from previous games another angel has their wings blighted