Today I’m breaking down the newly-revealed story of Dragon Age 2’s cancelled expansion that would’ve acted as a precursor to Dragon Age: Inquisition, planning the events of Dragon Age II’s sequel more accordingly, whilst giving our player-protagonist Hawke a good farewell.
The DLC was called “The Exalted March” and was canned because of Inquisition’s scope, and the team’s shift to the Frostbite engine. Thanks to BioWare’s Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development book, we have an in-depth look at this cancelled Dragon Age II DLC with concept art and detailed plotlines to follow.
I’ve already broken down the Dragon Age 4 related-secrets discovered in this book in my last news update, so I recommend you checking that video out for the latest on the next Dragon Age’s current project.
With that said, let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at Dragon Age II’s planned, and unfortunately cancelled final-DLC.
“The Exalted March was a cancelled expansion to Dragon Age II meant to bridge the gap between the events of DA II and the planned sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition. The expansion focused on the fallout from Kirkwall’s explosive finale, with Corypheus serving as the villain.”
“After the end of Dragon Age II, when Meredith turns into the big red lyrium statue, she basically infests Kirkwall and you end up with what actually ended up being the red templars taking over Kirkwall and being essentially Corypheus’s army, Dragon Age II cinematic designer John Epler says.”
“To stop him, Hawke recruited various factions, having to choose between groups like Isabela’s Felicisima Armada and the Qunari at Estwatch, forcing the hero to split loyalties and risk relationships in the process.”
“It was supposed to bring Dragon Age II’s story to an end,” lead writer David Gaider says. “And it was supposed to end with Varric’s death. I was very happy with that, because all of DA II was his tale. The expansion was supposed to start at the moment Cassandra’s interrogation of him ended in the present. And we finished off the story with Varric having this heroic death.”
“it tied things up and would have broken so many fan hearts, something the writers on Dragon Age notoriously enjoy. But between a transition to the new Frostbite engine and the scope of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the decision was made to cancel the expansion, work any hard-to-lose concepts into Inquisition, and in the process, save Varric’s life.”
“Concept art for The Exalted March explored new areas previously not depicted in the Dragon Age universe, with costumes that reflected next steps for familiar characters. Varric was going to war. What would he wear? With Anders (if he survived Dragon Age II), the plan was to present a redeemed Warden.”
“A character that vaguely resembled Sera in Dragon Age: Inquisition was first concepted for Dragon Age II’s expansion content.”
“The writers sketched out plans to end the cancelled Exalted March DLC with Hawke having the option to marry their love interest. This included alternate ceremonies for party members like Bethany and Sebastian if players opted not to wed. There was even a wedding dress made for Hawke. The assets found its way into Inquisition, donned by Sera If she marries the Inquisitor, or the Inquisitor if they marry Cullen. The dress can also be seen in an ambient NPC wedding after a chain of war table missions.”
“The destruction of a Chantry was explored in concept art as it might have happened in Exalted March. This idea would carry to the beginning of Inquisition.”
While its bittersweet uncovering the story of this canned DLC, especially with the planned send-off having Hawke potentially marrying their love interest, and witnessing the explosion of the Conclave first hand as a cliff-hanger leading into the next game. I’m very grateful that BioWare revealed the development secrets of this cancelled DLC to the public.
I respect Dragon Age II a lot, it’s a title that was given way too much flack by the mainstream considering it was created within 9 months of production, and had one of EA’s lowest budgets for its creation. Yet despite that, the game stands on its own two feet with a 40+ hour story, new protagonist and a roster of remarkable characters that join the journey.
“Dragon Age: Origins had the longest development period in BioWare’s history. Dragon Age II’s was the shortest. Production of Dragon Age II officially lasted just nine months, while the team was still supporting live content for Origins.”
One of the biggest reasons behind Dragon Age II’s “different” narrative was the fact that the developers were working insane hours, with zero time for rewrites and revisions, meaning that the first drafts conceived for stories and characters were often the final outcome.
In light of that, David Gaider felt that the cast of Dragon Age II were some of his favourite Dragon Age characters to date, he believed that the game had some of the best writing throughout the series.
“As we were writing, I realized there was going to be no oversight – that everything was going to be a first draft. Because nobody had time”. David Gaider says. “I sat down with the writers and I said: ‘Look here’s the conditions we’re working under. A lot of what we’re putting out is going to be raw. We’re not going to get the editing we need. We’re not going to get the kind of iteration we need. So I’m going to trust you all to do your best work.’”
In summary, Dragon Age II is a remarkable feat, and doesn’t deserve the harsh criticism in my opinion. I adore the characters, narrative beats, and lore introduced in Dragon Age II that have been fundamental to my personal enjoyment of Dragon Age.
While, it would’ve been nice to have this DLC finalised for Dragon Age II. There are many fundamental aspects of Inquisition that would be completely different if this DLC wasn’t canned. For example, Varric would be dead, having no appearance as a companion in Inquisition... Just thinking about that as a reality - that’s not a world I want to live in at the moment.
So, while it’s sad that this DLC never came to be, there are (at least) a couple things, like Varric’s life, that we can be happy about, regarding “Exalted March’s” cancellation.
In any regard, I love delving into these Dragon Age development secrets, and this one has been very juicy. This book provides many more insights into BioWare’s game design, that I may save in the future for a rainy day.
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