Dragon Age: The Veilguard Nearly Featured an Additional Ending Choice That Was Ultimately Removed

Dragon Age: The Veilguard offers players a rich tapestry of choices, allowing them to not only make pivotal decisions but also to articulate their reasoning to other characters. These choices can range from high-stakes dilemmas, like deciding which city to save from a dragon, to more personal moments that reflect the character’s backstory crafted during character creation. However, one significant decision lacks an in-game reflection: how to deal with Solas, the former ally turned antagonist. At one point during development, there was a plan to include a moment for players to contemplate this crucial choice.

I recently spoke with Trick Weekes, a writer known for their work on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. During our conversation about the complexities of representing a protagonist’s diverse backgrounds in The Veilguard, Weekes shared insights about a key decision that was ultimately cut from the final game.

In the completed version, players bind Solas, the elven trickster god, to the Veil, the boundary between the physical and spirit worlds. This can be achieved through one of three methods: brute force, clever tactics, or attempting to redeem him through knowledge gained from an optional quest line. Regardless of the approach, the outcome is the same: Solas is bound, and your character, Rook, can choose to part ways as allies or adversaries based on your decision. The game then wraps up with a celebratory montage and the credits roll.

In earlier drafts, Morrigan, a fan-favorite character from Dragon Age: Origins, and the Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition would have engaged you in a conversation about your choices. BioWare aimed to capture the nuances of each decision, including the possibility that the Inquisitor might leave for the Fade as Solas’ lover if the player made the right choices to reunite them.

“One of the things I was most disappointed to lose was an early version of Veilguard where, after defeating the elven gods, you had a final chat with the Inquisitor,” Weekes explained. “In that conversation, we had the opportunity to do something I love: have the Inquisitor and Morrigan ask, ‘Why did you choose that ending?’ without breaking the fourth wall. It could have been Morrigan alone questioning, ‘I can’t believe the Inquisitor left; why did you think he was worth it?’ or the two of them discussing your choice to fight, outsmart, or redeem Solas, noting that you weren’t romancing him and didn’t go into the Fade with him.”

Weekes emphasized that crafting choice-driven RPGs is a balancing act between allowing players to express themselves and ensuring they role-play a character who isn’t merely a self-insert. Moments like this, along with an earlier scene where Rook reflects on personal items in their room based on their class, race, and background, provide players a chance to vocalize their motivations rather than just internalize them.

“I think a small percentage of players, maybe those on their fourth or fifth playthrough, will experiment with different mindsets, but most just want to see themselves as the hero,” Weekes noted. “‘What’s it like to have me in this world?’ The conversation would have been a way to explore ‘Why did you make this choice?’ Those are some of my favorite moments to write because they allow players to add depth and say, ‘Here’s why my Rook did this.’ For instance, ‘My Rook didn’t see Solas as misunderstood; they despised him but did this for the Inquisitor’s sake.’”

While the Solas debrief was ultimately scrapped, Weekes highlighted the importance of the earlier scene in Rook’s room, led by Veilguard director Corrine Busche. This moment was designed to prompt players to reflect on their character choices, ensuring it wasn’t an optional interaction.

“That conversation in Rook’s room was a chance to say, ‘Here are the choices you made, and let’s talk about how you feel about them now that you’ve progressed a bit,’” Weekes explained. “It was about exploring what it means to be a dwarf, non-binary, or a Grey Warden, and allowing players to express their feelings about those identities. Players enjoy reacting and saying, ‘Here’s how my character feels about this,’ so any extra time spent on that is valuable.”

Weekes acknowledged the challenge BioWare faced with both Dragon Age and Mass Effect: catering to players who might skip dialogue and role-playing elements while ensuring that key moments, like the one in Rook’s room, were mandatory. This was crucial for prompting players to reflect on their character just before making significant choices.

“Finding that balance is essential because players fall into different categories, with most somewhere in between,” Weekes said. “We made that scene non-optional because it was important to remind players who their Rook was before they faced one of the first major choices in the game—deciding which city to save. We wanted to ground players and reconnect them with their character.”

Weekes departed BioWare in 2025, while the team continues to work on the next installment of the Mass Effect series.