Dragon Age: 10 Hardest Choices in Inquisition
Did anyone else struggle-bus their way through every choice in Dragon Age: Inquisition? For some reason, I found the decisions more difficult in this game than they were in any previous game. Each decision was more gut-wrenchingly difficult than the last. Maybe it’s because of the unpredictability of the NPC approval system, I dunno. Here are the choices that I struggled with most in the game! Warning, spoilers ahead :)
10. Riches, Power, or Virgins?
When you’re exploring Thedas, you’ll eventually stumble across a demon named Imshael who wishes to bargain with you instead of fight. He offers you riches, power, or virgins … or a rather difficult boss fight. I chose power at first and got a bunch of goodies, but then I reloaded and chose being showered with virgins just to see what would happen … and the demon said he couldn’t deliver! More precisely, he claimed there were no virgins to be found in all of Thedas (damn!) … so then I killed him, naturally.
9. What class/race/gender to play as?
Bioware games do a great job of letting us customize our characters and if you say you spend less than 30 minutes staring at the character creation screen in any given Bioware game, you’re a dirty fucking liar.
8. Make Cole a real boy … or not.
Cole is something between a spirit and a boy … you’ll eventually get to choose whether he becomes fully a spirit or fully a boy. I don’t think there is any right choice here, which is what makes it so hard!
7. Save the Chargers?
During Iron Bull’s loyalty mission, you’re asked to decide whether to save his Chargers or save the Qunari dreadnought. If you save the Chargers, Iron Bull becomes Tal Vashoth … if you save the dreadnought, you get an alliance with the Qunari but all the Chargers die. On the one hand, I loved the Chargers, especially Krem. On the other, I felt like becoming Tal Vashoth would destroy Bull. Regardless of which path you take, Iron Bull will greatly approve, so at least that makes me feel better!
6. Cassandra or Leliana for the next Divine?
The game actually picks for you based on other decisions you make in the game, but you are given the option to support either one in dialogue. I personally picked Cassandra because I think overall, she is just a better person.
5. Who to Choose for Some Sweet Pixel Lovin’
Ok, Bioware is famous for its romances, and Dragon Age: Inquisition is no different. Usually, at least one character jumps out to me, but Inquisition has so many romance options and notable romance plots that it was hard to choose just one!
4. Celene, Gaspard, or Briala?
When you’re at the masquerade ball, you’ll have to decide who you want to rule Orlais. The choice begins with whether you decide to save Celene’s life or not. But that’s not all – you have to choose any combination of rulers for Orlais, too. Celene alone, Gaspard alone, Celene with Briala, Briala through Gaspard, or all three of them together. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, you also have to decide whether the losing parties live or die.
3. Sacrifice Alistair or Hawke?
If you left Alistair as a Grey Warden after the first Dragon Age, then you’ll have to choose between saving him or Hawke when you’re escaping the Fade in Inquisition. Thanks, Bioware – kick me right in the feels. Seriously, I romanced Alistair during the first game and I WAS Hawke during the second game, so this was pretty much an impossible choice. If you made Alistair king during the first Dragon Age, you get to choose to save Stroud or Hawke instead in Inquisition, which makes this decision pretty damn easy. No one cares about Stroud. It’s like choosing between ice cream or a kick in the junk. Anyway.
2. Who Should Drink from the Well of Sorrows?
Towards the very end of the game, you’re faced with the choice to either a) let Morrigan drink from the Well of Sorrows, b) let your Inquisitor drink, or c) let no one drink. I let Morrigan drink the first time around because I’m not ingesting any strange fluids myself, thanks very much. I knew that drinking would be a bad idea no matter who did it, but let’s just say my curiosity got the best of me here.
1. Templars or Mages?
This is probably the most hotly debated, polarizing choice on a philosophical/ethical level. Early-ish in the game, you have to choose between two missions – one lets you gain the mages for the Inquisition and the other lets you gain the Templars. I went with the mages the first time around because it meant I got to recruit Dorian as quickly as possible. However, my second time around I went with Templars, and I have to say, that mission was a lot more fun/interesting for me. It turns out, siding with the Templars gave me great disapproval from Solas, which later gave me the option in conversation to PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE. If you’ve played through to the end of game already, you know why that is so satisfying!
That’s it for the countdown – what choices did you make in the game and why? Let me know in comments!
If Loghain is a warden at this point he can show up instead of Stroud. I haven’t done this myself (yet, still haven’t finished my first plauthrough) so I can’t say how it changes. I would say it’s an easy choice but then this – is – Bioware and Loghain probably makes a good argument or something…
Sacrifice the Chargers?
1) Its a battleship, bombard the stupid beach and kill the mages before they sink you.
2) Split up, 2-3 people can storm the beach and kill the mages while the rest of your party holds your hill.
3) The other hill the Chargers are on is literally three hundred yards away from an Inquisition Camp, SEND MORE TROOPS!!
4) The battleship is pretty close to shore, so beach the accursed vessel with a giant frigging bomb in the middle of the mages!! They won’t shoot you then will they!!
It just seems like Iron Bull was the victim of writers rather than an elaborate military scenario. He had some options here to handle the situation…
Ha! Yes, I agree – Bull definitely got the short end of the Bioware forced drama stick :)
It was tough for me making almost every decision in DA:I because I was wondering what the effects of my cause would be.
It was a bit disappointing that I was unable to get both the mages and templars to ally with the inquisition. Because I know it’s never impossible to have them both as allies in the realm of infinite possibilites. I played through both scenarios and found that I liked the templars more than the mages, but I would’ve liked to help both sides. Heck you have 8 companions at that point the game, why not use them more tactfully. That was another challenge for me, the party members I selected and how rough most of them were, it was like sheez o weez Vivienne and Cassandra need a better sense of humor. They all hard their moments.
And oh my gosh Solas, what a jerk in the end of the game! Would’ve been nice if the Herald was granted foresight. I, however, valued Solas’ wisdom, but I wonder what his words and course of action was to the spirit of wisdom for his companion quest. It seems he may manipulated the spirit of wisdom for his own gain? Did you notice how he would always guide you to specific locations in Thedas?
Romance in DA:I was nice, though my first playthrough was rather lonely lol. I just wanted to finish the game asap. Cassandra was my choice, though she was tough to crack but very enjoyable to talk to after a while. I prefer a more balanced choice for my inquisitor, which the Thedas universe seems to lack, just as I think you may have wrote in your post.
The choice of the next White Divine. Made my head spin with intrigue and wonder as to why the Chantry is incapable of choosing the next White Divine without your choice. There again, the issue of balance in the DA:I. Leliana and Cassandra, really that’s it. I think Dorian or some companion stated that it shouldn’t matter if the Divine is male or female. Heck is that hard for it to be that way. As always, Bioware and it’s progressive push for more equality, which is good. Ah so much drama that relates to our world in these games.
Playing as a human gave you some benefits to the nobles of Thedas, but a lack of choice for the background of your inquisitor sucked. I felt forced as 3 of the classes were the same backgrounds, but only the mage stood out. Really? Just wish there was more diversity. But why not have an inquisitor that is a human and an elf, a mix. And the same goes for classes as well, kind of like Skyrim.
By the way, your play through seems very fun. Hope you continue to enjoy the DA universe and all it’s pleasures and secrets. I just saw your website the other day and am enamored by it. Have fun and game on in the virtual realm of pixels and imagination :)
Vivienne can become Divine.
You can punch Solas in the face? I want to do that. My first play through was with a female elf romancing Solas; poor inquisitor! Going with Cullen in the second play through.
I just wondering why wouldn’t Bioware give us the third, fourth or fifth choice. I mean, come on, the reason why Dragon Age Origins is my favorite is that it not given me only two choice, but has given me more than that (example of such situation are how to deal with connor, do we kill connor or do we use Isolde blood to enter the fade, it gives us the third option, go to circle tower, another example can be seen on how to deal with the archdemon, who to struck the blow to it, and we receive another option so that no one need to die due to ritual with Morrigan, and another example is when we need to decide what happen with dalish vs werewolf conflict, do we kill the wolf for the dalish? do we kill the dalish for werewolf revenge, how about go for the third option, go convince zathrian and saved both werewolf and dalish)
I really, really miss the third option
I was torn between mages and templars but a punch in Solas’ face convinced me.
As far as I was aware, it doesn’t actually let you have no one drink from the Well? I tried to do that with my first Inquisitor(because like. fuck Morrigan and her human arrogance, but also there’s no way I want to be bound to Mythal forever) and it made me choose between Morrigan and the Inquisitor anyway. So.