Throw me in a fire and call me Andraste! We got another behind the scenes trailer on Dragon Age 4, and honestly this was everything I wanted from a Dragon Age 4 teaser at this current point in development. Concept Art, In-engine shots, gameplay snippets, and so so much to dissect!
I have spent ages gathering my own thoughts and findings through this behind the scenes trailer, be sure to let me know your thoughts down below. As a preface, I am dealing with conceptual work here, so everything in this video is my own speculation, nothing is confirmed unless I state otherwise.
In the first conceptual shot, this serene location bears many similarities to Antiva, a coastal nation close to the Rialto Bay, east of Tevinter, north of Starkhaven. The most prominent place to visit in Antiva would be Antiva City.
We saw Antiva in Dragon Age Silent Grove, and there are many similarities that relate to this shot, like the mountainous structures, winding rivers and vivid colours.
"The culture of Antiva is famous for its wine, sailing, and rich merchant history." - WoT Vol. 1
Currently, the people of Antiva await an imminent Qunari invasion, as the Antivan Crows prepare to face the horned beasts in an all-out war for their nation. As we can tell, in this shot, that war hasn’t happened just yet.
However, the leaders of the Antivan Crows known as Talons have moved to Antiva City in preparation to inform the royals of Antiva about the Qunari war and to recruit more Talons for their ranks.
“They are going to regret this, Nonna.” A faint smile graced Caterina’s lips. She patted Teia on the shoulder, then continued toward the dock. A breeze rustled through the trees overhead. The sun peeked through the clouds to warm the back of Viago’s collar. “We should go with her,” he said, trudging forward. Teia snatched his walking stick and twirled it in the air. “Are you going straight home to Salle?” He sighed and shook his head. “Antiva City.” “To brief His Royal Fatherliness?” She balanced the stick on the tip of her boot. He reached for it. “Why are you asking?” With a kick, she flung the stick onto her other foot. “To see if you had a place to stay.” — Tevinter Nights.
The general atmosphere of this shot is very calming and picturesque, it would make for a lovely location for nice, romantic walks when there isn’t a mass-fear of invasion in the air.
Out of all the possibilities of this shot’s location, while Tevinter has many docks, and coastal cities, I feel Antiva is our best bet when compared to similar shots in the teaser trailer.
Next shot, we see what looks like a very pristine Dwarven Thaig. There’s a huge, glowing door, with stone carvings and a single dwarf stood among it all, showcasing the size of this thaig.
Could this be an inner sanctum of an ancient lost thaig, like the Horror of Hormak short story revealed? Or does this shot resemble one of the many dwarven kingdoms, like perhaps Kal Sharok, which is the old capital of the dwarven empire, close to Tevinter and the Anderfels.
We discovered that there are eleven more ancient dwarven thaig’s built into mountains. Inside one of the thaig’s revealed truly horrific monsters, an elven structure and different colours of lyrium with symbols of the Elven Goddess Ghilan'nain.
“The mountain he’d brought down, the one that buried that nightmare under thousands of tons of rock, was not the only one to which the aravels brought their prey. There had been, before the images repeated, eleven others.” - Tevinter Nights
With almost a dozen more thaigs, what other horrors linger within them? Do we want to find out what’s truly behind that door?
The hallway is very clean with small rocks and rubble on the side. Perhaps this dwarf is stumbling upon this door for the first time, with no previous signs of life appearing in this area.
With the door’s size, I can imagine it may have something to do with the Titans? Perhaps even lead to one? If not leading to a corrupt dwarven thaig.
“The dwarves of Kal-Sharok have been slow to let outsiders in. Scholars are only now beginning to understand what they had to do to survive so many ages in isolation.” - WoT Vol. 1
On the next shot, we can clearly see that this looks exactly like Antiva, posed at a different angle.. Everything hear just screams more of Antiva. Ships, Mountains, and a compact dock.
The castle we saw in the background in the first shot is now in the center.
Perhaps we are seeing the outskirts of Antiva City, with their palace in the distance. It all looks rather beautiful! Imagine walking down the streets of this city, looking at the glistening water and enjoying a sip of wine!
In the next shot we have an amazing action underwater scene with two recognisable characters it seem!
Isabela is clearly shown on the right, in her Inquisition Pirate Captain outfit, and Dorian Pavus on the left who is seemingly wearing Antivan Crow armour! Two amazing characters, both in the midst of danger and chaos!
The character in the middle has many of us concluding that she’s the same roguish woman from the cover of Tevinter Nights, closely resembled by her armour. hairstyle and hair colour.
We also have what looks like a….Skeleton companion in the back, swimming away, however, I'll explain more about them later on.
To the upper left and middle of the shot, it looks like the characters have fallen off of a ship into the water after being attacked? Unless they’re exploring an underwater location while on pursuit? With Isabela at the centre of this shot, I can assume plenty of mayhem ensued. We know Isabela went on to sail her own ship and became a pirate captain, perhaps her ship was destroyed just before this shot, and explains why the crew are escaping underwater, and also the wreckage on the water’s bed?
I wonder who is attacking the crew from the sea’s surface, it could literally be anyone, especially with Isabela involved.
Regarding Isabela’s ship, I would love to see a more mobile hub in the next game, perhaps a ship, or at least having one for the start of the game, until mayhem ensues. The majority of Northern Thedas can easily be explored via a ship, and we know BioWare can make amazing ship hubs, like Mass Effect’s Normandy.
In the next shot, we can clearly see many new faces and a very mysterious one looming behind the corner.
This location is most-likely Tevinter, due to the architecture of Tevinter’s buildings and walls. Perhaps a Tevinter chamber, stronghold or ruin?
The two male and female figures look to be discussing a plan, or eavesdropping on a high elite from Tevinter. It looks like the handsome, dark haired human man has raised his fist to stop the team before they make their approach.
He looks very dapper, wearing silver armour with a green coat, whose probably from Tevinter? if we look at his chest plate, we can see small insignias of an ominous symbol, it could be the sun of the chantry’s logo, or it could be a Grey Warden griffon? Or even a new symbol within Thedas’s many factions.
The human woman he’s locked eyes with, looks very pretty, she has long, braided brown hair with a crossbow at the ready.
The macabre figure in the corner of the shot has a build that looks like Archon Radonis from Mage Killer, while sharing similarities to an ancient Magister. Maybe Corypheus just inspired a new sense of fashion in the Imperium? Or is he really another Magister of old? I'll talk more about him in another shot.
The female figure next to the two companions in the purple-ish robes looks to be a Tevinter mage with a resemblance to Calpurnia, she is also taking the fire from the torches at the entrance to darken the sanctum. Stealth mission time?
Of course, the last figure in the left looks to be a huge hornless Qunari who is putting on their helmet identical to the scene from Trespasser’s Qunari ending.
Could these characters potentially be listening to an undercover plot in Tevinter, maybe the hostile figures are the Venatori Remnants mentioned in Tevinter Nights? Another cult? Could they be the Tevinter Siccari, the Imperium’s own intelligence network, or could they straight up be something like the Black Divine or an Altus dreamer mage?
As clear as day, this shot has got to be the Grey Warden’s headquarters, Fortress Weisshaupt in the Anderfels.
The Anderfels are bleak and blighted lands, west of Tevinter and north of Orlais. The lands consist of large deserts, hot summers and many uninhabited territories.
Fortress Weisshaupt was built on the edge of a jagged butte called Broken Tooth, made of stone, on a mountain surface.
“The fabled great fortress of Weisshaupt is built on the edge of a jagged butte called Broken Tooth in the southern Anderfels. During the height of the Wardens' power, the stone compound housed thousands alongside a thriving stable of griffons.” - Last Flight.
This description of Weisshaupt certainly correlates to the concept shot, not to mention the Griffon statue towering over the fort, resembling the Warden’s territory.
The World of Thedas depiction of Weisshaupt is also fairly similar to the concept shot. The tower stands on a mountain, with a bridge connecting to the main fortress.
Currently, the Grey Warden’s of Weisshaupt have severed their communication with the Warden’s in the south, for reasons unknown.
“Rumors abound that they severed ties with their leaders at Weisshaupt, and that a bitter war now rages between them. What becomes of Hawke/Loghain/Stroud/Alistair is unknown – save that all news out of Weisshaupt soon ends. Does the sudden silence indicate a battle within... or something far worse?” - Morrigan.
Griffon eggs were recently found in the Anderfels, by a new Warden recruit, perhaps the Warden’s fear for the supposed extinct birds lives, and will protect that secret with their lives.
"I don't trust them to place the griffons' well-being over power or politics." - Last Flight.
The next shot is certainly another shot of Fortress Weisshaupt in the Anderfels. We can see a Griffon statue that all but confirms the Warden’s presence here.
The next shot shows a completely new concept of defence in Dragon Age, we can see heavily armoured people wielding unrecognisable armour, using a new type of magic.
One of the armoured defenders is conjuring a massive defence bubbles of golden triangles to protect against some form of tendrils, or absurd magic.
While the other defender has a conjured bow of golden triangles, shooting what looks to be shock arrows at their opposer.
Perhaps a new faction, hopefully not against our new protagonist? They have very vivid, golden colours, while covered head-to-toe in armour. Their helmet has somewhat of an owl look to it, but honestly, this could mean anything.
I wonder if the aim of this concept is to show a new type of magic, being conjuration, it would certainly make for epic combat sequences!
In the next shot we can see mountains, waterfalls, floating rocks and elven flying boats known as aravels. Was this place once elvhen, henceforth, has plenty of magics tied to it? Is it a memory in the Fade of what once was, regarding the Elven Kingdom pre-veil?
We can see in the very top left corner of what looks to be the same colour of an eluvian mirror. Perhaps this is a location for Solas and his rebellion, the elvhen location that Solas told Abelas? Hidden deep within Thedas. Or is this locale in crossroads, like the Vir Dirthara which houses many floating objects that once intrinsically tied to the Fade?
‘There is a place, lethallen, if you seek it’ — Solas.
To the left, we see aravels, the elvhen ships that float upon the lands. The elves are preparing to set sail by untying ropes and assorting goods onto the ships.
And on the right we can see the mountainous region with old floating elvhen structures that are long loss. Perhaps these Elvhen are part of the Dalish or the Cult of Fen’Harel, preparing for battle on the other side of this mountain surrounded by clouds.
"The Dalish, who band together in small groups of blood relatives, travel in ornately carved wagons known as aravel, drawn by large white stags called halla. The aravel are a unique sight, beautiful in their swooping curvature, and adorned with broad hoods and bright silken cloths that flap in the wind, often displaying the noble banners that once flew over that family's house. Most humans refer to the aravel as "landships," —Aravel, DA:O
This place could be the sanctuary where the elves have since gathered and travelled together to since Trespasser’s events, joining Fen’Harel’s ranks.
Or perhaps the Dalish are joining together for the annual Arthlathvhen, which is where all the elven clans meet every 10 years to discuss their ongoing events and plans.
This shot resembles Nevarra City, as far as we’re aware. Nevarra City is sat right in the middle of Thedas. The nation is known for its art, wealth and trade.
While, we’ve only seen a few art pieces of Nevarra in World of Thedas, we know the nation resembles a lot of middle-eastern cultures, taken influences from countries like Egypt, as Nevarra is known to have great pyramids and ancient crypts.
The mixture of browns and maroons across the colour palette, while the bauble roofs, and rigid architecture definitely place this city as something brand-new.
We know Tevinter has very angular and pointy structures, that shows the aggression of the nation, whereas the designs here are very posh and expressive. I don’t think we’d have so much curved designs in Tevinter buildings, but that’s just our opinion.
Nevarra City, in particular, is very close to the Grand Necropolis, which is the Mortalitasi’s crypt. The Mortalitasi are Nevarra’s infamous death mages who take care of the dead, they were recently attacked by the Dread Wolf himself.
“But before the Tevinter mage could complete his ritual, the Dread Wolf arrived. It was no elf, no mortal mage. It was a beast unlike any I had ever seen. Lupine in appearance, but the size of a high dragon, with shaggy spiked hide and six burning eyes like a pride demon, and it came to us on wings of fire that resolved themselves into a horde of lesser demons as the Dread Wolf landed before us.” - Tevinter Nights.
Within the actual city, internal politics over Nevarra’s next heir to the throne arise throughout the land, as two families clash over their claim.
“The current king is Markus Pentaghast. The old man, of waning health and sanity, has come under fire from many political opponents who believe his Mortalitasi advisers are ruling the country through him. Members of the Pentaghast and Van Markham clans are lining up to replace Markus upon his inevitable death.” — WoT Vol. 1
Being in the middle of Thedas, Nevarra would most certainly a unique location to explore!
We begin to see actual in-engine shots, that showcase more of Frostbite’s next gen capabilities, this game truly looks beautiful, even in early-production stages!
This looks like the outside shot of a snowy dwarven thaig, we know that Kal-Sharok is close to Tevinter and the Anderfels.
This locale has snow, as we know, it can snow on the equator, meaning that this could possibly be a shot of the surface of Kal-Sharok, or any other thaig towards Southern Tevinter.
"Relations between the two thaigs have since been tense at best, with Kal-Sharok's leadership yet to publicly forgive Orzammar for its actions." - WoT Vol. 1
The next shot popped in the EA Play tease, which I fully dissected in a seperate video. While this shot could be Tevinter, probably southern Tevinter closer to the equator, it could be also Northern Ferelden because we can see plenty of tidbits relating to Ferelden culture. For instance, I can see recognisable Ferelden totems and elven urns resembling their burial rites.
We have a shot of a new conceptual monster design, this creature looks like a dragon hybrid. Maybe a dragon mated with a Phoenix and this is the outcome?
I believe the next shot is another thaig or Kal-Sharok, we can see the winter bloom through the windows, proving that in connects to the previous snowy location. Of course, we can see dwarven iconography, and banners that mark this place as civilised and dwarven territory.
“When the Blight struck, they were among the hardest hit. A robust people, they survived only to be eventually abandoned by Orzammar, whose leaders saw it in their best interest to abandon Kal-Sharok in the interest of self-preservation.” - WoT Vol. 1
If this is Kal-Sharok, many inhabitants of dwarves will have lived here before Orzammar’s creation, the thaig is ancient. However, their relations from Orzammar are very different, as Kal-Sharok have different Paragons, Kings, Caste-system, and their language has an older manner of speech, less influenced by the surface, so they basically do not recognize any of Orzammar’s influence in their thaig.
Valta explains in a codex from the Descent DLC that the dwarven race split into two, explaining the differences between two capital Thaigs who do not recognize each other as allies ever since the threat of the Blight.
"Its blood now flows through me, and its song fills the gaps in our history. I close my eyes and see glimpses of the world that was, before everything changed and the dwarven race broke in two. Something caused the Titans to fall, and the fate of my people fell with them." — Codex Entry: Titans.
Kal-Sharok barely lets anyone in without high regard or connections in their own thaig. Therefore if we are entering this thaig it would be for a significantly important role or reason in Dragon Age 4.
"The dwarves of Kal-Sharok have been slow to let outsiders in. Scholars are only now beginning to understand what they had to do to survive so many ages in isolation." — WoT Vol. 1
This shot is another continuation of the dwarven thaig or Kal-Sharok, it’s outside, in the snowy mountains, proving that it could be either locale. I have to say the weather effects look amazing with this next generation of fidelity and quality.
Kal-Sharok is in the Hunterhorn mountains, thus explaining why this thaig is so far up from the rest of the surface.
“Nestled beneath the Hunterhorn Mountains, the kingdom of Kal-Sharok was once the capital of the dwarven empire. Its close proximity to the Tevinter capital of Minrathous led to a strong bond with the Imperium.” - WoT. V.1.
This shot looks like our recognizable companions dressed up as Crows to seize the hand-held carriage holding a rather large elite passenger, who’s probably some noble.
“Over the years, a fragile understanding between the neighboring settlements gave way to a single, unified nation where the merchants ruled, and the royals grew fat” — WoT Vol. 1
We can see the female Qunari intimidating the servant, in an attempt to take over the carriage, while the male dressed as a Crow has taken over the frontal side of the carriage. Maybe they’re taking this elite somewhere hidden to question her alliances with the Qunari...
We know from Jason Schreier’s article, that Project Joplin was about heists around major cities, so maybe Project Joplin’s former idea wasn’t canned after all! At least from the concepts, it seems heists in Dragon Age may remain.
The next shot is one of my favourite environmental art pieces in this trailer, this shot is most certainly showcasing the most beautiful, yet eerie capital of Tevinter, Minrathous, home to the Magisterium.
We know that this is Minrathous straight away, because the city was built on an island of rock not far from the shore of Tevinter’s land. Exactly like this shot, with the waterfalls and surrounding water that spreads across the borders of the city.
Because of this design, the city has never faced an invasion, which probably means the people who live there won’t care as much as the rest of the nation about the ongoing Qunari invasion. The city is accessed through only one magical drawbridge that can be pulled up at will, and the bridge is also defended by golems who fend off anyone who dare attempt to assault.
So, while the rest of Eastern Tevinter burns and gets re-educated to the Qun, the city of Minrathous will most certainly pay a blind eye to it. While I’m sure some Magister’s oppose the threat, the debates in the Magisterium probably ensue boasting one’s eager, than actually discussing political matters.
What differentiates Tevinter’s constructions from the other nations, is that they frequently incorporate magic into their structures, hence the drawbridge, and golems. Foundations of important buildings may be raised directly out of the earth by mages.
You see Tevinter has direct ties to the elven world, which means it once belonged to the people of the elvhen, and has that power invested into the soil.
With the upcoming war, Solas and his elves will be retaking their land, while the Magisters in the Magisterium may pay a blind eye to any invasion, two mass onslaughts are coming for Tevinter. A “peaceful” Qunari invasion, and the rebellion of an ancient elven God.
Will Minrathous truly be safe? Perhaps Tevinter’s hubris will be their downfall, once more. History forever repeating itself.
Here we can see what looks like someone wearing Antivan Crow gear, perhaps one of our new party members pointing up at a Qunari Antaam, pausing them for a minute, asking for a breathe from the fight so they can regain some stamina and continue.
It’s very humorous and shows the bold characteristics of this new character. With the person dressed as an Antivan Crow, and a Qunari Antaam, I immediately think that this shot is showcasing the Qunari invasion of Antiva. Foreshadowing that this invasion will be brutal for Antiva and its people.
The Qun is a implacable force that will not be denied.
"You all know that the Antaam invaded without permission of the other branches of Qunari government? We had assumed this would hobble them, but it appears the priests and workers were a moderating influence. Without them, the Antaam have crushed the Tevinter opposition in the east, and I fear everything east of Vyrantium will be under their control within a year, and northern Antiva as well." - Tevinter Nights.
Here is a shot that is clearly depicting a Tevinter marketplace, bustling with action. I can tell it’s Tevinter because of the snake-like architecture, as the snake is the nation’s flag.
The marketplace is filled to the brim with life, we can see snakes being sold, (and eaten?), someone has caged a small Ghast, and there’s a bunch of wonderful magical anomalies like the robot controlled device, as a man rides on it.
We can see slaves at work, merchants selling unique magical items and tiny little stick dudes transferring scrolls.
The creepy, magister-like figure is present again in this shot. But what exactly is he doing in the middle of all this hustle? Is he watching over his slaves? Taking a trip to eat some snakes? What gives with this bald looking fellow. And what is in his mouth? Is he making snakes dance by playing an instrument? Is he smoking some elfroot? Why is no one else in the shot scared of his presence? I certainly would be!
There’s a lot to talk about with this shot which is my favourite, as of which, I'm going to create a separate analysis video just on the characters.
However, we have an epic shot of new characters, some companions, some maybe not? I can’t really tell given the timeframe of development and BioWare may (and will) make drastic changes to them, however each look badass as the sun sets.
From left to right we have
an ominous human female with red hair wearing a purple-ish dress, perhaps she’s a mage? Fans have speculated that she could be Francesca from the comics, however, the comic writers have dismissed that claim.
A female Qunari who looks sexy as hell,, and most certainly is a rogue, which I'll explain more in the next shot. I've been asking for a Qunari wife for ages, Tamassran Rasaan was my hope and dreams, however, this wife here is so much better. I love Qunari Wife.
A human male, could be a resemblance to a Warden/Anderfel/Lord of Fortune character, could be a warrior class, they seem to be bald too.
A tall robed male (human, elf?) with not much distinction in the face, which alludes to the fact that they could be the main protagonist.
A female with a freaking huge GLOCK! Wearing a massive cowl covering her figure.
Antivan Crow robed figure, possibly male or female, or they could be a Tevinter Magister. They have a sword, so maybe a warrior or rogue? They could be Lucanis Delamorte? Or Vadis, an Altus Thief in Tevinter Nights?
A tall Kossith, or the tall elf called “Strife” from Tevinter Nights, who is a warrior.
Last, an undead skeleton who most likely is bound with a spirit, they were seen in the underwater shot previously. Our undead friend most likely comes from Nevarra’s Grand Necropolis, as they bind spirits to the undead,. With them being an undead, they could be a previous character that has died in Dragon Age. Perhaps Fellassan?
Of course, we have to give them nicknames too, for now I am calling the female Qunari either “wife” or “Harley Qun”. And the Mortalitasi skeleton is called “Spirit-Boy” for now, because they literally could be anyone back from the dead.
We have a following shot of four characters, we can see “Harley Qun” holding two daggers, looking fine, LIKE damn fine. Please BioWare let us protect wife, and don’t let her betray us for the Qun. Her armour is very Qun-like, with the red-body piece, and armoured legs. Could she be apart of the Qun? Maybe Ben-Hassrath? Or is she Tal-Vashoth? Also, I am loving her blondish, platinum hair, and her horns are amazing, I want to hold them like handles.
Following Harley, we have a female human warrior with blonde hair ready for battle, she has a hood and cape, with silver armoured pauldrons and legs. Her clothes have a teal colour, with shades of green and blue.
Then we have an elf warrior with a huge sword, ready to cleave someone’s head off. He’s wearing a white Tevinter style coat, with light armour covering his torso. The belt below expands to a bottom cape. He has short hair and looks badass. He could be the tall elf in the previous shot, but it’s hard to tell…
And finally we have a human rogue getting ready to stab your heart out with his two daggers. He bears similarities to an Antivan Crow, he has long black hair, nice stubble, and a smooth face. His outfit resembles somewhat of a suit, with armour strapped on. Honestly, he looks quite dashing.
While we can’t confirm any of these to be actual companions because they’re all concept pieces, and we shouldn’t get too attached even though Harley Qun has already captivated my heart...
When it does come around to the actual companions, we may not have as many returning characters as one would like, because of course, the Inquisition declared it would look for new people to deal with Solas. As, Solas could exploit the weaknesses of someone who he already knows.
So, prepare to fall in love with new characters, we are going to the North anyways. Let’s leave Oghren in the south guys.
The next shot is a Grey Warden rescuing a woman who bears a child in her arms from a flaming dragon. Of course, it wouldn’t be Dragon Age without any dragons, I’m wondering if this is just a simple dragon, however, the Grey Warden makes me think blight, and therefore archdemon? But there’s no indicator towards identifying this dragon.
Although that’s a stretch, we can certainly assume more dragon conflict in the next game, whether or not that refers to a blight, I'm unsure.
This shot looks like concept art for a potential companion in Dragon Age 4, she could be the woman who was on the far-left wearing the dress, with red hair, or she could be someone brand-new, either way, there’s a lot of attention to detail for her in particular.
She most certainly looks like an Antivan Crow, the dark armour, the raven-like mask, she even has a couple of crows surrounding her, showcasing the theme of the art piece, which seems to be death.
She has her sword ready, as if she’s about to attack someone, perhaps she’s ambushed her target to an alleyway given the surrounding environment.
For all I know, she could be a character masquerading a crow, hidden behind a mask? The dark tones in the artwork present her as somewhat antagonistic though, so she could pose as a threat against us. Perhaps an enemy crow with a contract to fulfil.
We know that Antivan Crows are not just assassins, but a guild of also thieves and spies. What better guild to be in when hunting for the Dread Wolf and the Qunari threat?
Subjectively the best shot in the entire trailer, we can see our sexy, big bad wolf, Solas, Fen’Harel, coming in full force with a wolf to his side.
His armour has a completely new design from his previous wardrobe. He has somewhat of a Dorian style cape, that’s wrapped around his chest And his armour beneath the cape looks like heavy armour similar to Fenris’s gear.
He has a broach on his armour too, we discovered in Tevinter Nights that agents of Fen’Harel wear a badge to identify that they work on behalf of the Wolf. Perhaps this is the same badge, that Solas now wears too.
“She emerged from deeper into the ship. A lone elf. My client. She’d traded her thick winter clothing for a simple robe, embroidered with an unknown symbol, her hair brushed back, away from her pointed ears.” - Tevinter Nights.
The glowing eyes and hands may just show how powerful Solas is, since Tevinter Night’s events, however, he almost looks lyrium infused here. In Kolg’s journal from the Decent DLC, the dwarf describes the same depiction of what Solas looks like in this shot when overdosing lyrium:
"Liquid fire spills from my eyes, mouth, and ears. I give her everything and become a verse in her chorus. I am finally complete. It was never about the words, only the song." - Kolg’s Journal.
Solas has a wolf next to him in this shot, of course, he is the Dread Wolf himself. Does he have wolves as scouts now? Is that someone else shapeshifting? Or is it merely concept art to show off Solas’s internal compass, and the journey he has going forward - either being Solas, a redeemable elf, or the Dread Wolf, a formidable and evil creature.
The ice-y background behind him looks unrecognisable, this location looks freezing, painting this picture that Solas is like a storm. This artwork looks very much like a norse god depiction.
And last but not least, Solas is still wearing his stupid Wolf Jawbone...
An amazing surprise is seeing actual in-engine footage of Solas, and his facial animations. I can see just how beautiful is bald head looks in next gen scenes.
The attention to detail is amazing! His pearly white teeth, facial structure and animations looks superb. He looks slightly older and more tired too, which makes sense given his last description of him in Tevinter Nights.
“I am prideful, hotheaded, and foolish, and I am doing what I must. When you report back to the Inquisitor . . .” His voice faltered. “Say that I am sorry.” - Tevinter Nights.
Gareth David Lloyd, of course the voice actor of Solas, delivered this line of dialogue: “They call me the Dread Wolf, what will they call you when this is over.”
And oh sweet maker, that just gives me goosebumps. Clearly he’s opposing our new protagonist, and he’s taken the mantle of the Dread Wolf, which we know is a name given to him by his enemies.
I imagine he’s in his Dread Wolf form when saying this. Honestly, just hearing this line of dialogue makes us scream for what is to come, I am so ready to fight, or attempt to redeem Solas.
It was confirmed that BioWare are using full motion capture for Dragon Age 4, so they can create the best, most realistic animations possible.
Even more to our surprise, we see actual gameplay prototyping, and even though it’s just a concept, the camera placement looks amazing, I love the zoomed in approach. We can see a warrior wielding a sword and shield as they evade a spell of barricade of spikes that pop up from the ground.
And then we see a player dressed as a Grey Warden. The fencing style to sword combat looks incredible, the way they hold the shield while posing the sword forward looks so realistic. It looks as if the Warden has just used the champion ability called “Line in the Sand” that holds your position, stopping enemies from moving past you, enabling you to block choke points.
The Grey Warden armour looks super detailed and amazing.
In the next shots we have a voice actor reveal, we’ve known for around a year now that voice-work has been going on behind the scenes. Jee Young Han is playing a character called “Bellara”
Considering she has an American voice, and says: “No no no, it’s okay, that’s the good kind of rumble.”
She’s most likely playing as a female dwarf, while we haven’t seen her in the concept art, that doesn’t exclude her as a companion. The line of dialogue sounds like it has something to do with Titan hunting, as we know, Titans shape Thedas with their earthquakes and trembles. Calling it a good rumble, maybe there’s a good Titan we’re after?
It’s actually amazing to see a voice cast already being revealed for Dragon Age 4, with a confirmed name for a mysterious character too.
This looks like a monstrous beast from the waters of northern Thedas like the creatures we witnessed in Tevinter Nights, and the new map of Thedas that came with the book.
It seems that these beasts are the creations of Ghilan’nain, as she didn’t destroy them all because ‘Pride stopped her hand’. Ghilan'nain's creations seemingly will pose a huge threat. And as I can see, they’re rising from the waters to wreak havoc on the people of Thedas.
"I was going round a turn when a thrashing mass of tentacles shot out of the cracks and water. I yelled and slashed, lopping off a dozen grasping, roiling feelers. The thing’s wormy bulk swung, and milky flesh peeled back to reveal." — Tevinter Nights.
This shot shows what I'm calling a Red Lyrium Darkspawn Reaper, most likely in the same location as the tree with the midnight snow, where red lyrium had affected everything living in the area. Explaining how this Darkspawn has red lyrium infected into their body. Red Lyrium is rapidly infecting everything in its path, but I’d sooner deal with red lyrium than fight this Reaper!
BioWare, I personally thought we were DONE with SPIDERS but I guess not! This shot shows some prototype of the spider doing animations, but if you look closely this spider has HANDS!
Melissa Janowicz is the creature designer for the next Dragon Age and has been working closely with the concept art and their transfer to animation. And already, Melissa is making some crazy monsters that could potentially interact with the items around their environment, like the barrel. I really hope that barrel isn’t going to be used against us in combat!
We see more gameplay, again with a sword and shield warrior, this time they deflect an array of spells using their shield, which is certainly going to make playing as a warrior more advantageous, blocking spells and evading attacks.
The next shots reveal another voice actor reveal. Ike Amadi is playing “Davrin”.
He shouts: “nobody dies on my watch, for the Wardens!”
I can assume Davrin is a Grey Warden, potentially a companion, or just a new character introduced into the world.
Considering Tevinter Night’s cover has new characters that seemingly didn’t appear in the book, could “Davrin” be the Grey Warden on the cover?
In this shot we can see Red Lyrium tendrils moving along with this gross sack, showing off how Red Lyrium is further becoming more chaotic, it’s moving now!
This next shot looks to be from the same location from the EA Play tease in June.
We got the deep infested red lyrium mushrooms and a snowy atmosphere all around. The growth of red lyrium looks to be infecting all plant life in this region, it’s rotting the formation of the cave around it. Red Lyrium is proving to be even more dangerous this time around.
We have another gameplay shot of the player in the Warden armour exploring a red lyrium infested cave. The Warden shield enters their blocking stance, as they prepare to attack a most gruesome gooey creature, coming from the red lyrium as it slimes forward towards the player. Rancid, but I love seeing so many disgusting creatures!
This snowy mountain shot again reminds us of Kal-Sharok or a dwarven thaig region, connecting from those shots, into this rocky area.
In this shot we see a mountainous creature with a happy face and two hands on each side. It reminds me of the Grand Oak from Dragon Age Origins.
With its lyrium glowing eyes and smile, and face as big as a mountain, is this the same depiction of a Titan like Cole described?
"Their ancient shapers were mountains drawn of all their wills, walking their memories into valleys of the world” -Cole
We know that Valta described that the tremors of the Breach awoke the Titan, so since there is an awoken Titan, are we going to connect to this being? Will they be like what they once were Pre-Veil? Or will they be Tranquil like in texts from the Vir Dirthara and Cole’s statement:
"They made bodies from the earth, and the earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget." -Cole
This Titan might seem smaller compared to the size of being inside one like in the Descent DLC, but we know Titans can constantly change the shape of the land to their image.
However, it could also be a spirit who possessed this mountain range, surely if a spirit can possess animals and trees, they could also do the same to mountains and rocks too:
“It shapes the Stone. It is the Stone. It sculpts the world within and without.” ―Primeval dwarven carvings.
Despite the curiosities of what this is, the surrounding atmosphere is similar to the broody tree shots.
This scenery once more resembles the broody tree’s location, with the midnight snow and haunting forest. We can see an Andraste statue, again resembling Ferelden to some degree, considering Tevinter have a different take on Andraste and the Chantry.
There’s a red lyrium blob glowing right below the statue, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but we can also see something else glowing with red lyrium. Like a massive red lyrium Scorpion tail, moving? I hope that’s just me, and it’s like a tainted bush, because that would truly be terrifying.
The next shot continues with the dwarven thaig from before, we can see this place is being lit with fire. Again, it looks pretty hospitable for the dwarves, it’s clean, no blood, infection or death, so this is probably a dwarven kingdom like I mentioned before, Kal-Sharok.
I think it’s notable to say that Kal-Sharok’s history with the elves is very hostile ever since the fall of Arlathan.
In the codices from Witch Hunt, the Shaperate reveal tomes that could show the very location of Arlathan, but instead, located a safe-place that the ancient elves fled to after the Veil’s creation.
Got the carvings. These two depict elves forming an alliance with the Cad'halash dwarves, after the destruction of Arlathan. Scholars say it's proof that they took refuge here to escape the Imperium. Should get a great price for this from collectors and historians. — Codex entry: Letters from the Past
The ancient elves fled to the Cad’halash thaig due to the threat of the now powerful Tevinter Imperium. The old belief was that the Imperium uncovered their safe place and chained them up in Minrathous, but that was not the case.
It was actually Kal-Sharok, who learned that they were sheltering elves, and knowing it would jeopardize their alliance with the Tevinter Imperium, they took steps to cover it up, thus giving the ancient elves away to the Imperium, and making them into slaves.
"We uncovered shields (among other things) bearing the heraldry of old Kal Sharok houses. We destroyed Cad'halash--our own people. The only remaining conclusion is that Kal Sharok learned that they were sheltering elves and, knowing it would jeopardize their alliance with the Tevinter Imperium, took steps to cover it up." — From the notes of Shaper Warrek
So if we going to ally with a thaig, Kal-Sharok would be our best alliance against Solas since they had a bloody history dealing with the ancient elvhen.
Another gameplay scene shows the player using a Grey Warden shield, as they test the ability “Shield Bash” and damn, does it look satisfying to use. We can see the ripple effects of this attack, I can only imagine the incoming fallout for our opposing foes!
Sticking to the theme of the Grey Wardens, we have a concept shot of inside Fortress Weisshaupt. We can see the Grey Warden Griffon flags hanging above, with a Grey Warden sanctioned at a stone table, looking across at a green splash of colours, that looks like a rift in the Fade?
There is another person with a sword, as if attacking something or someone.
It certainly seems we’re not finished with rifts? Perhaps Solas’s ritual has something to do with causing more rifts throughout all of Thedas, however, with the Inquisitor not in the field, maybe we’ll be completely powerless against these rifts?
Or has the Veil been completely torn down? I don’t think so, just yet.
In this shot, we see undead who most likely reside in the Grand Necropolis, a big crypt in Nevarra City which houses important Nevarran noble’s undead.
The Mortalitasi are mages who willingly fulfil the tasks of maintaining the halls of the dead, binding spirits to corpses as they preserve their fallen people.
As the Mortalitasi run the crypts, they have undead skeleton servants who do their bidding. Only the weaker undead who don’t have their own will are servants…
"The lift went past another level. Audric stepped back as he saw skeletons in armor trudging sightlessly between rows of crypts. Their rotting clothing had the Watchers’ stamp on it. Some sort of undead guard? “Powerful magic, madam.” — Tevinter Nights.
The undead skeletons in this shot are harvesting a dragon corpse, who’s eye has been held to a pike, as the top skeleton pulls the dragon’s flesh. The other two undead are seemingly transferring the dragon’s flesh onto a plate.
Imagine walking in on this sight as a stranger… It’s a very bold art piece, and I love the style of it all.
The skeleton on the top certainly looks like the undead seen in the character roster and swimming underwater, I'm very intrigued to see what mysteries and identity this skeleton has. Perhaps, they have their own will, and are not a servant, but instead a bound spirit. And the other two undead are the servants to them.
This shot showcases pure chaos. We can see a sea creature that I would identify as a Cetus:
"Cetus is a rare marine animal inhabiting the warm waters of the Boeric Ocean, occasionally migrating south to the Waking Sea." - Dragon Age TTRPG.
Cetuses are longer than most sailing ships and are known to coil around both people and boats. The largest of cetuses dwell on the ocean floor. The tales say that they are attracted to the surface during lightning storms.
The Cetus here is shown to be surrounded by a lightning storm by the edge of water. Opposing those figures of a Qunari male with a long stave, a mage, a smaller figure with purple magic, and a figure with a long sword raising towards the Cetus, with their back depicting wings to take flight!
We are seeing a lot of sea creatures that Ghilan’nain never destroyed when she ascended to Godhood. And now they are showing up in the next Dragon Age to wreak havoc upon Thedas.
For this particular Cetus, it depicts its torse to be of a cockroach, with its sticky legs and glowing eyes. It’s just like the combined animal creature from Tevinter Nights: Horror of Hormak where a hurlock had the tail of a scorpion and other darkspawn just like it.
‘One hurlock had the tail of a scorpion—another, a genlock, but with a longer, thinner skull, more avian.’ — Tevinter Nights.
The final shot in this trailer showcases a Lord of Fortune, which is a Riviani Treasure Hunter seeking wealth and opportunity wherever they can find it. There’s a huge, blown-up ship as this buff man moves on having looted and raided the ship.
His design is amazing, and unique. And what is exactly described in Tevinter Nights: Luck in the Gardens, they wear gold jewellery, colourful sashes, belts, pants, and dangling charms.
"I was wearing the colorful sashes, capes, pants, shirt, belts, scarves, charms, and gold jewelry that are the right and privilege of any Lord of Fortune that lasts a year or two. Yes, like I’m wearing now. Noise wouldn’t be a problem that night. I gave Mizzy a bangle, and her eyes went wide." — Tevinter Nights.
We know that Lords of Fortune tend to be in a neutral political stance in Thedas, their only goal is to seek artifacts and lost items around the lands. Perhaps the perfect role for our next protagonist? Maybe as hint for it being the last shot? Or am I just too excited?
“Their wine is decent,” I allowed. “A Lord of Fortune doesn’t take Antiva and Rivain’s rivalries so seriously. Where’s the glory in it?” “How does one make a living as a treasure hunter?” He paused. “Wait,that answers my own question. Allow me to rephrase: How does one survive a living as a treasure hunter?” — Tevinter Nights.
I feel so spoiled that they spent the time to show us so many shots in their early-production project of Dragon Age and I can say that us feral clowns can finally take off our clown makeup and actually be excited for the NEXT DRAGON AGE!
Seeing these concepts in early production has been a saving grace in 2020, while that is very hyperbolic, BioWare didn’t need to show us anything this year, at the current stage they’re at.
However, they did. And this trailer was made for the hardcore fans, not for the casual gamers who will play the game once and complain about not understanding the lore, but for the fans who deeply care for everything in Thedas. Advancements in the lore, new locations, characters, setting, factions, etc. This trailer was made for you and me, and I’m so glad we have this as our first proper reveal of the next Dragon Age.
Also, It was very nice to see a few of the developers that we love and support as they make us feel apart of this community. After all, the story about Dragon Age 4’s development is all about the people creating it, and I am so glad that BioWare have an amazing, tremendously talented bunch of people who know what Dragon Age is.
Although these are just moods, concepts, prototypes and early production work, I’m very very excited for the future of the next Dragon Age, the sense of scope, choices and consequences, reactivity, new areas, characters, romances, etc. I am very eager, and honestly pumped to be in this community right now. I've got plenty more videos to bring you all too, I'm not done talking about this trailer for at all.