Dragon Age's Greatest Missed Storytelling Opportunities
Dragon Age's Greatest Missed Storytelling Opportunities
The Dragon Age series has some of the richest lore in RPG history, but many fans feel that several major story threads were either abandoned, rushed, or never fully explored. Here are some of the biggest missed opportunities across the franchise.
1. The Qunari and the Saarebas
One of the most fascinating aspects of Dragon Age lore is the treatment of mages under the Qun.
Qunari society views magic as extraordinarily dangerous. Saarebas are often chained, supervised, and denied personal freedom.
The games tell us about this system, but rarely let players truly experience it firsthand.
Missed opportunities:
Playable Saarebas companion.
A full Qunari-focused campaign.
Experiencing life from a Saarebas perspective.
Moral debates between Circle mages, apostates, and Saarebas.
Exploring whether the Qun protects mages or enslaves them.
Instead, Saarebas often feel like background lore despite being one of the setting's most unique concepts.
2. Sandal's True Nature
Sandal Feddic remains one of the biggest mysteries in the franchise.
Throughout the series, Sandal demonstrates impossible abilities:
Advanced enchantment skills.
Strange prophetic statements.
Surviving impossible situations.
Knowledge he should not possess.
Many fans expected a major revelation involving:
Titans.
Ancient dwarven magic.
The Fade.
The fate of the dwarves.
Instead, he largely disappeared from the story.
This is perhaps the single biggest unresolved mystery in Dragon Age.
3. The Architect and Intelligent Darkspawn
The events of Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening introduced the possibility that Darkspawn could become self-aware and free from the Old Gods' influence.
The implications were enormous.
Imagine:
Darkspawn civilizations.
Peace treaties.
Religious reform.
Civil wars among Darkspawn.
Instead, the concept was mostly sidelined.
The idea that one of fantasy's most iconic monster races could evolve beyond mindless evil was revolutionary and deserved far more exploration.
4. The Grey Wardens Beyond Blights
Grey Wardens are arguably the most iconic faction in Dragon Age.
Yet after Origins, players rarely get to experience life as an active Warden.
Missed opportunities:
Rebuilding the order.
Investigating ancient Warden secrets.
Warden politics across nations.
Internal corruption.
Discovering the true origin of the Taint.
Many fans wanted a sequel centered entirely around the Wardens.
5. The Forgotten Dwarven Empire
The dwarves may possess the deepest lore in Dragon Age.
We learned about:
Titans.
Lyrium.
Ancient underground civilizations.
Lost kingdoms.
Yet players spend surprisingly little time exploring these revelations.
The discoveries in The Descent could have formed the foundation for an entire game.
Questions still needing answers:
What were the Titans?
Why did dwarves lose magic?
How large was the ancient empire?
What other civilizations exist beneath Thedas?
6. Justice and Anders
Anders and Justice represent one of the franchise's most compelling concepts.
A spirit merging with a mortal should have transformed our understanding of:
Possession.
The Fade.
Spirits.
Identity.
Instead, much of the transformation occurs off-screen between games.
Players never truly witness the gradual breakdown of their relationship.
A dedicated storyline showing Anders' descent would have been significantly more powerful.
7. Shale and the Fate of the Golems
Shale became one of the most beloved companions in the series.
The idea of restoring dwarves trapped within golem bodies was fascinating.
Potential storylines:
A golem rebellion.
Lost golem armies.
Ancient dwarven technology.
Shale's search for a cure.
Instead, this storyline largely vanished.
8. The Mage-Templar War
The ending of Dragon Age II set up what appeared to be the defining conflict of the next game.
Mages and templars across Thedas erupted into open war.
Fans expected:
Massive battles.
Political alliances.
Regional consequences.
Difficult moral choices.
Instead, by the time players reach Inquisition, much of the war has already happened off-screen.
What could have been Dragon Age's equivalent of a continent-wide civil war becomes background context.
9. Flemeth and the Ancient Gods
Flemeth is arguably the most important character in the franchise.
For years she was connected to:
Ancient elves.
Dragons.
Gods.
Prophecy.
The fate of the world.
Many expected her storyline to culminate in a major multi-game payoff.
While later games provided answers, many fans felt the resolution came too quickly compared to the mystery built over nearly two decades.
10. Solas and the Elven Apocalypse
Solas may be the most ambitious villain BioWare ever created.
The setup at the end of Inquisition promised:
A world-changing conflict.
Ancient elven history.
Moral complexity.
Former companions choosing sides.
Many fans envisioned an entire trilogy centered around the consequences of Solas' plans.
The concept of deciding whether to save, redeem, or stop Solas remains one of the franchise's strongest ideas.
11. The Black City
Few mysteries are larger than the Black City.
Questions include:
Was it always black?
Are the Chantry stories true?
What caused the Blight?
Who sits upon the Golden Throne?
The Black City has been teased since the first game.
Yet players have never truly explored it.
Many fans consider it the ultimate Dragon Age mystery.
12. Letting Previous Heroes Matter
Perhaps the biggest missed opportunity of all.
Players created:
The Hero of Ferelden.
Hawke.
The Inquisitor.
Yet each protagonist is largely moved aside for the next game.
Dragon Age could have built a legendary saga where past heroes remained major figures throughout the series.
Imagine:
Hawke advising the Inquisitor.
The Hero of Ferelden leading Grey Wardens.
Multiple protagonists interacting regularly.
Decisions from prior games having larger visible consequences.
Instead, each hero often feels disconnected from the next chapter.
The Biggest Missed Opportunity
If one storyline stands above all others, it is probably the combination of Sandal, the Titans, ancient dwarves, lyrium, and the origins of magic.
Those mysteries connect nearly every major question in Dragon Age:
Why dwarves cannot dream.
The nature of lyrium.
The Titans.
The Blight.
Ancient civilizations.
The fate of Thedas itself.
BioWare created a mystery that may be even larger than the Maker, yet it has never received the attention that many fans hoped it would.
For a future Dragon Age game, a deep dive into the ancient dwarven world, Titans, Sandal, Shale, and the origins of the Blight would likely be one of the most exciting stories the franchise could tell.
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