A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

John Epler, the Creative Director for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, explained why choices that players made while playing Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 will not influence The Veilguard.

A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

Epler spoke with IGN where he explained why the choices players made in those games will be ignored, “Our philosophy when it comes to integrating past player choices and world states is wherever possible we want to avoid contradicting what has happened before.”

“We never want to invalidate your choices,” he stated.

A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

He then explained it has more to do with the game’s setting than anything, “For Dragon Age: The Veilguard, among many reasons why we moved to Northern Thedas is it becomes a little bit more of a clean slate for us. There’s not as many decisions you have made up to this point that have an impact on what’s happening in Northern Thedas. And we don’t have to speak directly to things like who is the Divine? Because again, that’s happening in the South.”

Epler elaborated, “There’s never a sense of, ‘Oh, that decision doesn’t exist.’ But maybe we don’t touch on it in this particular title. Much like Inquisition didn’t touch on every decision from Origins, much like DA2 didn’t touch on every decision from Origins, it’s kind of in that same vein of we’re not going to contradict it. We just may not always reference it directly.”

He concluded, “We don’t want to ever imply that a decision is the wrong decision or the right decision. We might joke about things like, ‘Oh, you let The Chargers die? Well, that’s clearly the wrong choice.’ But again, it’s not because it’s canon. We want those stories to be personal.”

A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

These comments directly contradict what the game’s Lead Writer Patrick Weekes shared about the game and why he and the company chose not to allow players to use blood magic moving forward.

He was asked on Blue Sky, “Hi, silly hypothetical DA franchise? Are player specs like shapeshifter, bard, blood mage unlikely to return to the series? I know they’re not in DAV, but I also know they’re prob too resource intensive anyway? Zither the mage bard in DAI was cool! And I HC bard Hawke. Ty.”

Weekes responded, “Never say never. Blood magic is unlikely because we’ve shifted it from a power boost to really being the key to a lot of nasty stuff we aren’t interested in having heroes do. The other stuff just needs the right game.”

Patrick Weekes on Blue Sky

Another user then commented, “This is interesting because that means that a Blood Mage Warden and/or Hawke are really really subdued blood mages. And that Solas was both right and wrong on it being ‘not inherently evil’ and ‘just a tool.’”

Weekes replied, “I think it can be ethically neutral if you only use your own blood, but after seeing it used as a required part of mind control and demon binding in DA2 and DAI, it’s just not a road we want the hero to walk right now.”

Patrick Weekes on Blue Sky

Weekes was also questioned by another user, “Do you think we will ever turn back to being allowed to do nasty stuff again? What I always loved about Dragon Age Origins and 2 was that you were able to roleplay a complete asshole antihero. The good guy hero is such an overused trope imo.”

Weekes answered, “Hero who is not a ‘complete asshole antihero’” is not a single trope. We give you different ways to play Rook in Veilguard. But stuff we’ve set up as corrupting — red lyrium, blood magic — is mostly reserved for the villains this time for clear storytelling. Might be different in future games.”

Patrick Weekes on Blue Sky

If it was not already obvious, Weekes went on to confirm that blood magic and blood mages would still be in the game, but it is not a path or an ability that the player character can tread or use.

One user asked, “I’m wondering, does this apply only took Rook or will there not be any more morally grey/sympathetic blood mages in the game? 🙁 The series has given us several interesting blood mages like Merrill and Jowan among others and I’d love to see more of those nuanced explorations in other characters.”

Weekes said, “I was only talking about Rook.”

Patrick Weekes on Blue Sky

He did go on to indicate that BioWare is exploring options for reintroducing a similar gameplay style to blood magic.

One user posted, “Wait, you’re telling me that Corypheus was the BAD GUY because he used hundreds of slaves to get to the Golden City? I’m *SO* upset right now. /Sarcasm to the point of being a singularity Yeah, I wouldn’t want a ‘hero,’ even a nominal one, that would do stuff like that.”

Weekes responded, “Which is a shame, because ‘use your health to cast more spells’ is a fun gameplay twist for folks who like that kind of risk/reward playstyle. We might find other ways to get that. Just not blood magic for the hero for now.”

Patrick Weekes on Blue Sky

While the developers can talk about player choice all they want at the end of the day, Weekes’ comments about blood magic prove that they do not really care about player choice. This is also reflected in how the game has made all the characters pansexual.

Game Director Corinne Busche, a man pretending to be a woman, made it clear to IGN that players have no control over whether the characters in the game begin engaging in disordered relationships. He explained, “For instance, we saw Harding. I might be playing a straight male character flirting with her, but I choose not to pursue a romance. She might get together with Taash. So my perception, my identity has no bearing on their identities and that comes through really strongly.”

A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

As far as what the game will have when it comes to past decisions players have made for their Dragon Age stories, IGN’s Alex Stedman explained, “The Veilguard, meanwhile, will allow players to select a few story decisions via tarot cards in the “Adventurer’s Past” section of the character creator, where you can remake your Inquisitor.”

He added, “Those decisions are: who your Inquisitor romanced (with the options gender- and lineage-locked in the same way that they were in Inquisition), whether or not you disbanded the Inquisition, and whether you vowed to stop Solas or save him.”

A screenshot from Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024), BioWare

What do you make of Dragon: The Veilguard seemingly ignoring Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 decisions made by players?