Key Takeaways
- The next Mass Effect game isn’t expected to arrive anytime soon, but it may come sooner after BioWare’s focus shifts to it after Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- The Blood Dragon Armor tradition dates back to Dragon Age: Origins in 2009 and was featured in Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age 2, and more.
- To connect with Mass Effect and BioWare fans, the next Mass Effect game should feature the Blood Dragon Armor set reintroduced by Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
The next Mass Effect game couldn’t come any sooner, but the wait will nonetheless continue on into 2025 at least. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone, BioWare confirmed that it would be putting all of its attention on the next Mass Effect once Dragon Age: The Veilguard is all patched up, so it could arrive sooner than expected.
Whenever the next Mass Effect does arrive, it shouldn’t come empty-handed, and should instead consider bringing along a BioWare tradition recently revived by Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The tradition in question is none other than the Blood Dragon Armor set, which has been featured in several Dragon Age and Mass Effect games throughout each franchise’s history.
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The Next Mass Effect Needs to Continue the Blood Dragon Armor Tradition
Blood Dragon Armor Was a Tradition From the First Dragon Age Game
BioWare’s Blood Dragon Armor tradition dates back to the days of the first Dragon Age game, Dragon Age: Origins, in 2009. The armor set was properly introduced in Dragon Age: Origins on account of being reminiscent of the game’s logo, and while that logo changed somewhat in Dragon Age 2, the armor itself retained its appearance and was featured once again in the sequel. Before that, however, the Blood Dragon Armor was featured in an optional crossover DLC pack for Mass Effect 2, which saw Commander Shepard donning a science fiction version of the high fantasy armor set and firmly establishing its inclusion in both Dragon Age and Mass Effect from then on.
DA: Inquisition and ME: Andromeda Broke That Tradition Until DA: The Veilguard Revived It
That being said, despite the Blood Dragon Armor set appearing in Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age 2, and Mass Effect 3, the tradition abruptly ended with the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, when the armor set was not featured in any way. Mass Effect: Andromeda, which came a few years after Dragon Age: Inquisition, chose to double down on the latter’s decision to exclude the Blood Dragon Armor set, seemingly setting a new, rather disappointing trend in stone for BioWare. Seven years later, Dragon Age: The Veilguard had something to say about the travesty and chose to bring the Blood Dragon Armor set back once more and pull on the nostalgia of longtime fans.
The Blood Dragon Armor set in
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
looks much different than it ever did before, with three unique looks for each class.
Now that the Blood Dragon Armor has been revived by Dragon Age: The Veilguard, it should, without hesitation, be included in the next Mass Effect game, just as it was in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 before it. It would be an opportunity to link new and returning Mass Effect fans with the series’ past, in addition to featuring one of BioWare’s most recognizable armor designs. It would be especially nice to see the next game’s presumed new protagonist wearing an armor set that used to be worn by Commander Shepard himself, even if it was just an optional DLC addition.
It’s possible to have a love-hate relationship with the Blood Dragon Armor set, as it’s one of those things that players might take for granted, not wear it, but still miss it when it’s gone. This might actually have been the reason why Dragon Age: The Veilguard chose to bring back the iconic armor set. Regardless, if the next Mass Effect game were to feature the Blood Dragon Armor set, perhaps it might signal a return to BioWare’s glory days. Of course, that all depends on the direction the next Mass Effect chooses to go in, which can only be told by time at this point.
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