Everything We Know about Dragon Age 4 So Far
Dragon Age fans can rejoice, but don’t go too crazy just yet. DA4 is coming (again); however, the soonest we can expect to see it is probably around 2022 or 2023. Lovers of the incredible epic fantasy franchise have been waiting on this news for years, some since before they finished their first playthrough of DA3. Why? Well, there’s a whole lot of story yet to be explored here, but the good news is that it’s not gone or forgotten even if it will be a while before we get to play a new chapter. Here’s everything we know about Dragon Age 4 so far.
Quick Recap – SPOILER ALERT- we’re about to spoil some things about the first three games. If you haven’t played them, come out from under your rock and get gaming already. This franchise is spectacular! We tried not to give too much away, but some things are unavoidable.
Origins
Okay, when Dragon Age Origins (Aka Dragon Age 1) came out is was massive. Critics and players lost it over the stunning, unique fantasy story. The game sold millions of copies plus a ton of DLC and collected acclaim and awards like nobody’s business. Some of the awards included multiple Best PC Game, Best Game of the Year 2009, and Best Story awards. In short, DAO was everything.
You play the first story at the beginning of a Blight, which is a demonic dragon led hostile takeover of the surface world by Darkspawn. These monsters are corrupted versions of some of the primary races that live in the world. Shortly after falling from grace or otherwise fleeing your former life, depending on your highly customizable choice of race, gender, and class, you join the Wardens. This disgraced and nearly forgotten group of sacred guardians have more than a few secrets, but they will fight to keep their world from being overrun by evil.
Throughout a lengthy and beautifully rendered campaign, your warden makes choices that can impact the future of the series. You’ll fight your way up from a beginner to become the Hero of Ferelden, and possibly even a royal monarch, depending on the path you take.
Dragon Age 2
After fleeing the Darkspawn invasion with your family and losing a sibling, you begin your quest by making a deal with a witch, who might be a dragon. In exchange for a small favor, she gets you to a boat where you can return to Kirkwall, the homeland of your mother, and hopefully, once there, be accepted as a refugee by your wealthy uncle. Obviously, things don’t go according to plan, and after your long voyage, you are trapped outside the gates, no better than a beggar, and forced to earn your way inside.
Kirkwall has it’s own problems, and refugees are only one of them. In addition to everything else that’s happening, the fight between the mages and the Templars who are tasked with keeping them in check are on the verge of war. Plus, a faction of the strange horned Qunari has landed and taken up residence within the city. Mages are the only people in this world who can become demon-possessed, which lends an interesting grey area to the need to control their choices and actions. During your time working and fighting in Kirkwall, you will have to resolve many disputes and make more choices that, for good or ill, will also potentially affect the long term story of the DA world. Eventually, you battle your way from refugee scum to become the Champion of Kirkwall.
Dragon Age Inquisition
The Inquisitors are not a permanent fixture in the world of Dragon Age, but rather a force to be called together when the need is great and the challenges the world faces require a neutral body to look into serious events. Again, you begin as a nobody, this time covering much more of the map of Thedas than before in your journeys. Characters can now visit both Ferelden and Orlais, which take up the main continent in the DA world.
You, as an Inquisitor, are in the unique position of being the only one blessed or cursed with the ability to close breaches in the Veil between the substantial world and the Fade, which s a sort of magical dreamland where demons await unwary mages and their chance to become real. Because of how you accidentally came upon your powers, people soon begin to call you the “Herald of Andraste” and imbue you with religious significance whether you encourage them or not. In this third installment, you must settle not only another war between the Mages and Templars but also help resolve civil war disputes in Orlais and guide the future of that country. You will fight to save the world from a power-mad individual who desires to become a god, and you’ll be betrayed by a friend or lover no matter what choices you make.
2017
While fans waited for the announcement of when the fourth installment of DA would drop after two years in development, the good folks who brought us these brilliant games were struggling with a different problem. Anthem was flagging, and they needed to get it done. So, instead of the announcement, everyone who loves the DA franchise was hoping for, we were informed the game had been put on hold to bring in additional help for Anthem. For a long time, it seemed the franchise was stalled out and near dead. The promised game that was to take place in Tevinter, and resolve a storyline that began in the previous game, or further back if you played an elf, wasn’t coming.
Blue Wraith
The good news is that DLC and additional content from the franchise never really stopped coming. January 15th of 2020, fans of the Dragons Age universe can get the latest comic installment Blue Wraith, which heavily features Solas, a beloved and hated character from DA3, whose story we will not spoil here.
Dragon Age 4 Is Coming (Eventually)
The Tevinter Imperium is run on the backs of enslaved mages just as Ferelden is home to a near-slave class of elves who live in slums and do whatever work they’re forced to accept if they wish to survive. We know the fourth game will be set within the Tevinter Imperium, leaving only the lands of the Qun unexplored for fans who are already hoping to see the fifth installment someday. The story is likely to also revolve around the actions of Solas, and the release of Blue Wraith hints at further development of his storyline.
In all likelihood, the fourth DA will see you playing as someone who works to resolve both the concerns of the elves and the mages, though which side you take in the dispute is most likely as open as it has been in the conflicts of previous installments. You are welcome to side with the mages, elves, or others depending on each story, though inevitably, the fate of your character is to save the day, at least from one perspective or another.
Blake Jorgenson, the CEO/CFO/VP/COO at EA, has openly said that the announcement they made back at the 2018 Game Awards remains true. Dragon Age 4 is back on. Sadly, until something further leaks or gets announced through official channels, that’s about all we know. The game is expected to drop sometime around 2022-2024. In short, Bioware and EA are keeping a tight lid on everything. Even the title is still unknown at this point.
Final Thoughts
Hope. It’s all we have to offer. Well, that and the certainty that at some point another DA game is going to be ours to play. The instant preorders go online, we’ll be first in line to put in our order for the next installment in the incredible fantasy epic. Have you played through all the DA games yet? Let us know who your favorite character is and why in the comment section below.
