Welcome back to my next community-led discussion-based series where I compose my own topical, heavily opinionated video and then throw the conversation at the community for a follow-up video featuring at least 30 of your unique, funny and amazing ideas as possible.
Last time I delved into my personal wishlist for the next hero, it’s only apt that today I explore many things I’d like to see regarding the next villain of Dragon Age. As I share my own desires, have a ponder about what you’d like for the next villain and let me know in the comments down below - you can be as silly or serious as you’d like. I’ll gather the most unique comments and feature them in a sequel video soon.
Before we get carried away, let’s explore what do we know so far about the next main threat of the Dragon Age.
As confirmed in the 2020 Game Awards Trailer, the next hero will find themselves against many of Thedas's evil forces. Demons, dragons, darkspawn, even the Dread Wolf himself, affirming that Solas will be antagonistic in some regard in the next game, and our hero will cross his path.
Following that, concept art that was revealed in BioWare’s secrets book last year shared a small, intriguing synopsis for the next Dragon Age game, it stated: “The Evil Gods have Thedas in their sights and only heroes can stop them. The shadows of the past stir, and new heroes must rise to fight them.”
So, we can confirm the next game will centre itself on evil gods with ties to the past, as well as the Dread Wolf rising to fulfil his scheme - that’s at least the general consensus I’m getting from both teases. Whatever the case, it’s certainly painting quite a cataclysmic plot.
With that quickly explored, let’s delve into my own desires for the next main threats of Dragon Age. For this one, I’ve got fewer wishes than before, but way more depth and content in each. Let’s kick this off with a big one - without a second thought, I'd like Solas to not be the main villain.
Solas To Not Be The Main Villain
So, I spoke about this in great detail in my recent Solas’s Fate video. We know for a fact that Solas will be antagonistic in some regard, obviously, he’s on a journey to destroy the Veil, deal with the Evanuris and restore the time of the elvhen. But even with his genocidal plans, I don’t think he’ll actually be the big bad at the end of the game.
Essentially, I'd like Solas to be the main antagonist for at least a third of the next game, exactly like how the Mage/Templar war was pivotal at the start of Inquisition, but quickly wrapped up in the first act with a solid conclusion.
For Dragon Age 4, I'd like Solas to be our new hero's rival in a huge capacity for the first act, then towards the middle, I'd like the tables to turn with the reveal of a new threat. Perhaps from that moment, Solas joins our new hero, or perhaps he’s on board with the new villain. In any event, this is Dragon Age and an antagonist flip is almost always guaranteed.
More to the point though, I don’t actually see Solas as the main threat, he’s reckless and prideful for sure, but he does care for Thedas and its people as proven with the Inquisitor, especially with a romanced Lavellan. Solas is a deeply complex and misunderstood character, for him to be seen as either a hero or a villain feels misconceived.
I think Solas will certainly attempt to destroy the Veil and that may become a new reality for Thedas, but with so many other threats foreshadowed like the Blight, the Evanuris, the Titans, and Mythal, I really don't think Solas will be the main antagonist of Dragon Age 4.
Again, that early plot synopsis mentioned evil gods and the shadows of the past stirring, and so, I’m somewhat expecting a huge reveal of an ancient threat like the Evanuris who may rival Solas in an epic god versus god battle that could destroy Thedas in the process. I also mentioned this before, but I think if that were the scenario, then perhaps the new hero could actually help Solas deal with the Evanuris, and maybe after the Evanuris are dealt with, the two can then decide Thedas’s fate and if Solas continues his scheme.
But yeah, I really don’t think Solas will be the main villain, this is Dragon Age, after all, a twist is almost guaranteed. Moving on, the next thing I'd like is for the next villain to have major improvements than Corypheus.
Major Improvements Than Corypheus
Okay, so this is what I meant when I said my points in this video will have more depth. In my opinion, Inquisition’s biggest gripe is its villain, good ol' Corypheus. To be honest, throughout the entire game, Corypheus was a weak and underwhelming rival - very much a dastardly, twirly-moustache antagonist with little involvement in the narrative which I'll explore more at another point.
Having said that, regardless of Corypheus's weak involvement, his build-up as Inquisition’s main threat was absolutely fantastic. He was a complete enigma for the first act of the game which made both the main characters and the player ponder who the identity of the Elder One was, and when it was revealed that Corypheus was the antagonist, it was a great surprise in my opinion.
That reveal was in fact Corypheus's best moment in Inquisition. At a point of triumph and victory, Corypheus arrived with his pet dragon and an army of mages/templars depending on our previous choice, then he destroyed the entirety of Haven, proving that he was a force to be reckoned with. Assuming that Solas isn’t the main threat of the next Dragon Age, I’d love to see more twists like this for the actual threat of the next game.
Now, I have a lot to say about Corypheus, I’ve created numerous videos critiquing him as a villain. I find that one of the best things about his development in Inquisition is how he sets up Solas and his scheme as a major threat to Thedas. While that was some fantastic progression for Solas, unfortunately, it was at Corypheus’s detriment.
Once you put the pieces together - the fact that Solas set Corypheus’s path forward by giving him the orb and what-not, it feels like Corypheus was just serving as a plot point instead of actually having agency and goals to rival our Inquisitor and become a god.
And therefore, he became a very weak, underwhelming threat that was used to springboard Solas’s ambition. Unfortunately, the best thing about Corypheus is that he sets up a better antagonist which is a great shame.
I think what's most upsetting is the fact that conceptually Corypheus is an incredible villain, think about it: he’s one of the seven magisters who breached the very heavens, he’s seen the throne of the Maker, he was a devout follower of the old gods, he knows very much about the nature of Thedas like the origin of the Qunari.
I’ve been writing a lot of fan fiction lately and exploring how to write a compelling villain, and I’ve learned that all a villain really is - is a victim whose story hadn't been shared. For Corypheus, his outrage at Dumat’s abandonment fueled him to become an extremist.
Once he had his beliefs challenged about Dumat’s existence having witnessed the Black City, he returned to the world with the understanding that no god’s existed. And therefore decided he’d become a god himself, henceforth his scheme. It’s a beautiful set-up, Corypheus has fantastic exposition, but it was just poorly executed for the betterment of Solas’s twist.
In the future, I’d like BioWare to create villains’ that have agency, to exist regardless of our character’s plan against them. I’d like them to have a story about why they are the way they are, what’s caused them to become a tyrant or a threat. I’d like them to be more compelling.
And honestly, I’m not asking for too much because, with characters like Solas and Mythal, BioWare has already created these sorts of villains. So, I suppose we’re just going to have to see who the real rival is in the next Dragon Age. Anyways, I’m not done critiquing Corypheus, let’s move on to my next wish, the next thing I'd like is for more interaction with the next villain.
More Interaction With The Villain
Another downfall of Corypheus was his lack of involvement in the main narrative, he destroyed Haven in a grand reveal. But after that, he withered away and waited for the Inquisitor until the final act. While it was great dealing with Corypheus’s many agents like Erimond, Florianne and the Nightmare Demon, the battle against Corypheus himself throughout the overall narrative felt stagnant.
For the next game, I’d like a villain who shows up in more pivotal scenes to remind you why you’re supposed to be against them in the first place. Sometimes, I forgot why I was supposed to hate Corypheus, like yeah, he destroyed Haven, but I’ve got Skyhold now, why do we need to kill him again? Oh, yeah, I suppose he is trying to destroy Thedas, but like still, I’m not really that bothered. Essentially, I didn’t feel like my Inquisitor had that much motivation towards chasing after and defeating Corypheus - and I think that boils down to Corypheus being quite lacklustre.
A great way to fulfil the next hero’s motivation is to have a villain who’s more involved. Solas for example is perfect because he witnessed everything our Inquisitor did. He was a Judas, always there, always watching, and always silently judging as I drank my tea.
For the next hero, assuming Solas is one of the villains, or we have someone who can equal Solas’s power, I’d love a Star Wars: The Last Jedi dynamic with the antagonist. By that, I mean what if Solas or whomever, spoke to us in the Fade at pivotal points, maybe in dreams, as they try to persuade our character to stop or just offer a full-on lore drop monologue. Now you may say, “But Jackdaw, dwarves can’t dream, that would allineate a large part of people’s playstyles.” To that, I’d say, well if Solas is the one speaking to us in the Fade, he can give dwarves dreams so he could fix that right there.
With this Fade dynamic, we’d get to have proper interesting and enthralling conversations with Solas again, in the context that he’s our rival. Think more Trespasser moments but the ante is up, he’s speaking about his plan more plainly, thinking that we wouldn’t have any chance to stop him. He could show the new hero memories from the Fade, explaining to us what happened in the ancient days of Arlathan or even if Solas wasn’t our rival he could do this to explain the Evanuris, or Mythal’s betrayal, etc.
I think this dynamic would be a major aspect that could help showcase Solas’s story and what really happened in the pre-veil times. It would be a very interesting and involved narrative, but I think it makes sense given that currently Solas as the Dread Wolf has taken the Fade as his natural residence.
Moving ahead, a surprising thing I'd like is a villain that wins at times.
A Villain That Wins At Times
Sorry to mention Corypheus again, but when he destroyed Haven, it was a beautiful victory for him that paved the way for our hero to become the Inquisitor. But after that pivotal moment, Corypheus just fell into the background and didn’t have any more wins. There was no tension, no stakes, no rising action. For the next villain. I want them to win at key moments. I want to be defeated and feel the stakes of what we’re up against.
A lot of people share this sentiment too, they’d like a sort of Infinity War-style to the next Dragon Age, the idea that the next hero will be defeated, and the Veil will come down at the end of this game, leading to a hypothetical Dragon Age 5. Very similar to Game Of Thrones’ season 7 finale when the Wall came down and hell broke loose.
I’d like to see if BioWare would actually commit to bringing down the Veil because I’d love to see what that could mean for Thedas’s reality. But that’s a very extreme example. I’d like the villain to succeed at points other than just the first act, it’s becoming typical of BioWare now where the villain will crush the hero in the first act, but then the hero rises in the second and third acts and destroys the villain. KOTOR, Dragon Age, Anthem, and Mass Effect are pretty good examples of this.
I’d like the villain to win at multiple points in the narrative, not just the start. In some sense, I wouldn’t mind if they won at the end. I’d like the journey surrounding the hero and the villain to be less structured and typical. I want my choices to play into certain victories and defeats, but I also want a villain who feels unstoppable, where we can feel the stakes, and therefore, the narrative has pressure and we feel that more attached to the story and succeeding it.
As a great example, I thoroughly enjoy Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission where you feel the intensity and anxiety of what you’re about to pull off. It’s surreal, especially when playing that mission for the first time without the knowledge that if you didn’t do a specific thing, then certain crew members will die. You have to plan ahead, you have to think tactically, all while feeling that intense anxiety. It was bloody epic, and I’d love to feel stakes like that in Dragon Age, especially when the tensions are rising and the fate of Thedas hangs in the balance.
Moving on, I'd like multiple choices to deal with the main villain.
Multiple Choices To Deal With The Villain
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it wouldn’t be Dragon Age if there weren’t multiple choices on how to deal with a key situation. Choices and consequences surround these games and it’s certainly a huge reason why we each love them.
For the next villain, if we reach a climax with them, I’d like to have multiple choices to deal with them. For example, going ahead with Solas, we assume some sort of closure, redemption or reckoning is going to go down with him and our Inquisitor. I would like to have more than just one avenue when dealing with the main threat in Dragon Age.
Moving on, before I get to my rapid-fire wishes, I’d like to see more side-villains.
More Side-Villians
Scattered throughout Thedas, I’d love to come across smaller villains throughout the narrative depending on our choices. A few examples of some great smaller villains I’d like to see are the Qunari Tamassran Rassan, the other five ancient Magisters, remaining Venatori cultists, agents of Fen’Harel, intelligent darkspawn, and so on. So, I can feel the pressure of the next story, I want even more conflict on top of the current dilemma that Thedas is facing, stuff like the Qunari war having such an impact that Tevinter is already scrambled before Solas has even started his scheme.
Anyhow, moving on to a few rapid-fire wishes.
Rapid-Fire Wishes
I would like to choose a side in the war between the Qunari and Tevinter Imperium.
I would like Agents of Fen’Harel mini-bosses.
I would like more crazy red lyrium shit.
I would like new monsters and evil beasties to defeat in the world.
I would like a villain or side villain we could at least kiss at one point?
Ultimately, an evil threat that isn't Solas.
So, now it is your turn, let me know down below what you’d like to see for the next villain and you may be featured in the follow-up video.
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