Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Should You Save Treviso Or Minrathous?

Bioware’s Dragon Age franchise of fantasy RPGs has long been known for its wide-ranging player choices, a feature also present in its other flagship franchise, Mass Effect. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is no different. In Veilguard, players are set on a continent-spanning quest where they will have to decide the fate of Thedas.

It’s tough out there, with gods, demons, cultists, and invading Qunari. One of the key choices players will have to make in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is whether to save the city of Minrathous (capital city of the Tevinter Empire) or Treviso (home to the Antivan Crows) from attack by blighted dragons. This isn’t an easy choice, as each decision will have lore, gameplay, and personal consequences for the player and their companions. This guide details the consequences and outcomes of each choice, breaking down which option might appeal to players, depending on their own personal Rook.

Spoiler Warning: This guide covers all outcomes and considerations regarding the choice to save Minrathous or Treviso.

Complete Available Side Quests Before Making The Choice

The choice made regarding Treviso or Minrathous has a major effect on certain side quests in the early part of the game. Progressing to this choice before completing these quests makes them unavailable. The quests affected are:

• A Slow Poison (and follow-ups from Lucanis)
• A Study of Dock Town
• Coffee with the Crows

The Choice – Mission Structure (What To Expect)

Immediately after completing the quest ‘A Warden’s Best Friend,’ an unskippable cutscene will occur, and it’s during this scene that the player is given two options: save Minrathous or Treviso. Each city provides one companion NPC to the Veilguard, and each of them will make the case for their city to be saved. Unfortunately, Rook can only choose to help one city.

• If Minrathous is chosen, Lucanis will head to Treviso anyway, along with members of the team that the player doesn’t bring to Minrathous.
• If Treviso is chosen instead, Neve does the same, bringing along available companions that the player doesn’t bring with them to Treviso.

The gameplay between each choice is identical, as the point is to quickly go to where the dragon is attacking and fight it, but the choice made here will reverberate through the rest of the game in terms of game play and character interaction.

What Happens If Players Choose To Save Minrathous

If Minrathous is chosen, Neve will head to Minrathous, and Lucanis will be unavailable. Once Minrathous is saved, Treviso will become blighted, and some NPCs will die. Other effects include:

• Antivan Crows faction receives a permanent -100 Faction Strength debuff
• Lucanis becomes Hardened and can no longer use support abilities
• Rook gains two new quests in Treviso and one in Dock Town
• Lucanis leaves the team temporarily (returning later in the main story)
• Lucanis will no longer engage in romance with the player
• Rook will need to rediscover all Beacons in Treviso
• Antivan Crow Faction merchant disappears
• +250 Shadow Dragons Faction Strength

Follow Up Quests After Saving Minrathous

• A City Blighted (Treviso)
• Missing in Action (Treviso)
• The Snake Nest Deal (Dock Town)

What Happens If Players Choose To Save Treviso

If Treviso is chosen, Neve will be unavailable, as she goes to Minrathous, while Lucanis will go to Treviso with Rook. Minrathous will become partially destroyed. Other effects include:

• Shadow Dragons receives permanent -100 debuff to Faction Strength
• Neve becomes Hardened and can no longer use support abilities
• Rook gains two new quests in Dock Town and one in Treviso
• Rook gets access to a new merchant selling Decor items in Treviso
• The Shadow Dragons’ Faction merchant disappears
• Neve leaves the team temporarily, returning later in the main story
• Progressing into a romance with Neve is much more difficult (but not impossible)
• All fast travel Beacons in Minrathous must be rediscovered
• Returning characters Dorian and Maevaris will no longer be available in the Shadow Dragon HQ
• +250 Antivan Crows Faction Strength

Follow Up Quests After Saving Treviso

• Spies Among Us (Treviso)
• Statuary, Fine Art, and Antaam (Treviso)
• Rituals for the Risen (Dock Town)

Companion Hardening Condition, Explained

Hardening is a companion condition that significantly changes how the character behaves in battle and in conversations with Rook outside of combat. A hardened companion will be much more about business and will be unwilling to talk about personal things. Hardening boosts the damage of some abilities but prevents the companion from using support abilities.

When Hardened, Lucanis will be unable to engage in romance.

Neve, when hardened, will express doubts that Rook cares about her or Dock Town’s problems and will be less inclined to talk about personal issues with Rook.

Should Players Save Treviso Or Minrathous?

The answer to this question is a difficult one. Each choice is more or less equal in terms of game play, although if Minrathous is saved, the Antivan Crow Faction does not disappear (but it will still lose the Faction merchant).

This choice mainly comes down to three factors:

1. Role-Playing & Romance – Which companion (if any) you want to romance, along with lore/roleplay considerations.
2. Combat & Gameplay – Whether you need Neve’s or Lucanis’ support abilities
3. Unique Quests – The decision leads to three distinct quests, depending on the choice made.

Romance & Role-Playing Considerations

• Rooks who belong to the Antivan Crows or Shadow Dragons factions might prefer to save their own city for role-playing reasons (or they might not for similar reasons).
• Players who want to romance Lucanis need to pick Treviso, as Lucanis will not be open to a romance if his city isn’t saved.
• Neve is more flexible, but it is much more difficult to build any kind of relationship with a Hardened Neve, as she will disappear from the game until a certain later point in the main story, and relationship progression is made slower when she returns. So, Minrathous is like the best option if a romance with Neve is the end goal.

Combat & Gameplay Considerations

• From a purely utilitarian gameplay perspective, players should save whichever city they need more. Players who rely on Shadow Dragon merchant equipment should prioritize Minrathous, for example.
• The next consideration is which companion is most useful and in what way. Players who use Neve’s healing skills often won’t want to lose them, while players who use Lucanis for his damage abilities and never use his support skills don’t need to worry about Hardening him, and so they can get away with saving Minrathous instead of Treviso.

Unique Quest Considerations

Another consideration is the unique quests that are offered after saving either city. These quests are equivalent in terms of reward, but they do play differently and offer insights into different parts of the lore.

• Players who are more interested in the Antivan Crows as a faction should save Treviso.
• Players who are more interested in Tevinter lore and information about the Venatori, along with the Shadow Dragon faction, should save Minrathous.

Certain quests such as the unmarked Candlehop quest in Minrathous are unaffected by the choice.