The 13 Hardest Decisions You Have To Make In The Games (& What Comes Next)

The choices are part of what makes the Dragon Age series so popular and fun. Every player has a different experience depending on what they choose from what race and gender their character is to who they decide to rule an entire nation.

With three games and a lot of DLC, the series has given its players hundreds of choices. But what were the most difficult ones to make? Here are ten of the choices that caused many players to put their controller down and thinks. We will also talk about the consequences of the decision.

Updated on November 26, 2024, by Alfredo Robelo: With the release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, we now have four games filled with choices and moral dilemmas to wrap our heads around. We’ve updated this article to include some choices from the latest game so you can remember the hardships of being Rook as well as the ones from prior games.

13 Should Your Sibling Join You In The Deep Roads?

Their Fate Might Be Sealed If They Do

Dragon Age 2 had a lot of shortcomings, but it also made a great story with them. For example, a lot of fans criticize that the game doesn’t let you choose your race, and they are right to do so, but having a set origin made Hawke a more well-defined character, as well as making their relationship with their family far more heartwarming.

Hawke has two siblings, Carver and Bethany, and one of them dies at the game’s intro, depending on your chosen class. Later on in the game, you are planning an expedition to the Deep Roads, and your surviving sibling wants to join you, although your mother is firmly against it.

You know the road is perilous, but what is the worst that could happen? Well, the next act of the game will remove your sibling as an acting companion, but if they go with you to the Deep Roads, their options are becoming a Grey Warden (and having their life span significantly reduced), or a gruesome death.

12 Save Minrathous Or Treviso?

Dragons Attack Everywhere

One of the major choices in Dragon Age: The Veilguard comes when the dragons controlled by the ancient elves start attacking several cities. You know that they are attacking both Minrathous and Treviso, but you can only go to one of these places, with Neve and Lucanis asking for your help in their respective hometowns.

You send three companions to protect one city while the other two join you to protect the other, but one of the two always falls. Since you are the protagonist, the one you went to is saved, but the other is ravaged by destruction, with either Neve or Lucanis resenting you for your choice.

11 Where Should You Send Your Companions In The Fight Against Elgar’nan?

We Have Mass Effect 2 At Home

The final fight of Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the highlight of the game, both in mechanics and in the story. Your companions no longer sit idly at the Lighthouse; they will all join the battle in one way or the other, with you choosing where they go and what task they should fill.

The first order of business is to choose a task that your companion can do; Taash is all about brute force, while Neve is knowledgeable in the arcane arts, so send them to their matching tasks. However, if you fail to complete their personal questlines, your companions die anyway, even if they are experts on the task, likely due to them being distracted by their personal woes.

Whoever you send to scout will always die, specifically either Harding or Davrin.

10 Should Cole Be Spirit Or Human?

It’s Up To You To Decide His Fate

It is not every day you get a choice like this one, so a lot of players struggled with deciding what Cole should be. Varric voted human while Solas, of course, voted spirit. The player gets the final say-so and Cole does not seem to care either way.

Like most decisions in the series, there is no right or wrong answer. Just different consequences. If made more human, Cole becomes more complex. He understands concepts that he used to be ignorant about. Also, he romances the bard in the epilogue. If made into more of a spirit, he becomes more distant. Not in a bad way though, as he just settles more into his powers. He also hooks up Krem with the bard in the epilogue.

9 Make Harrowmont Or Bhelen King?

Morals Or Leadership?

In Origins, a lot of players struggled with the decisions of Orzammar. The biggest of them is between Harrowmont or Bhelen as king. The morally correct choice is obviously Harrowmont, however, Bhelen is actually the better leader.

In the epilogue it is revealed that Orzammar becomes a place of revolts and unrest if Harrowmont is chosen. Under Bhelen, the city thrives.

8 Leave Alistair Or Hawke In The Fade?

Without Alistar, This Isn’t A Choice

No matter what your choices are in previous games, Hawke is in the Fade with you. Depending on your Origins decisions though, you have either Alistair, Loghain, or Stroud.

The hardest decision was if Alistair was in the mix. You have to choose between the lives of the protagonist from the second game or a fan favorite from the first. If you leave Hawke behind, whoever she or he romanced will be heartbroken and Varric will be as well. If you leave Alistair, then the wardens have lost a major leader. It is especially hard if you romanced Alistair in Origins.

7 Do Morrigan’s Dark Ritual?

Kieran Deserves To Be Born

To this day, we do not know the full consequences of this decision. In Origins, either you or Alistair have to sacrifice yourselves to defeat the Archdemon. Morrigan offers a sketchy way around that though. One of you need to impregnate her and the soul of the Archdemon go into her when it dies and make a weird old-god baby.

Morrigan is quite sketchy about this and plans to disappear with this baby. If you agree, you and Alistair live. You meet the baby as a kid in Inquisition and he is a little strange. If you don’t agree, one of you sacrifice yourselves. You still meet a kid in Inquisition, but he is quite average.

6 Who Is The Next Divine?

The Circles Of Mages Will Forever Change Either Way

A major decision in Inquisition is to figure out who will replaced the deceased Divine. Your choices are between Leliana, Cassandra, and Vivienne.

Dragon Age fans are very fractured in their opinions as to who is best. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Cassandra’s strength is stability but her weakness is that little changes. Leliana strength is change but she divides people. Vivienne is complicated, as she keeps the Circle like Cassandra but gives it a political voice while keeping it on a tight leash.

5 Who To Romance?

The Fundamental Question

This choice is less specific than all the others, but it had to on on here because it is often a decision that players struggle with the most. Who you romance can also influence every other decision. If you romanced Alistair, then its way more likely that you will leave Hawke in the Fade.

What gender and race you are often influences who is available to you. Sometimes they are major consequences that you won’t see coming. For example, romancing Solas. Who knew that guy was going to be an ancient elf god?

4 Should You Drink From The Well Of Sorrows?

It Surely Pays Off In Veilguard

Mysterious power, yes or no? It is a hard decision, because you are given very little details. Either you or Morrigan have to drink, and Morrigan really wants to drink. However, should you let her have the power? On the other hand, the well is quite ominous and seems to require some kind of sacrifice.

If you drink, you hear voices in your head. Unfortunately, you don’t understand them as well as Morrigan could have. However, you can tame dragons with the power. The bad part is that Mythal can control you like a puppet. With Morrigan drinking, she can turn into a dragon and also becomes a Mythal puppet.

3 Who Should Rule Ferelden?

Logain Is Out Of The Question

Whatever you pick, Loghain cannot continue to rule Ferelden. So you get to choose between his daughter and Alistair. Note that if you play as a human noble, you can marry one of them to become King or Queen as well.

Alistair has blood rights to the throne, but he does not have a rulers ambition. To some people though, that could be a good thing. Anora, on the other hand, is quite ambitious and has more of a cruel streak. You can also get Alistair and Anora into an arranged marriage. Whichever you choose, Ferelden will be okay. However, as usual, not everyone will be happy.

2 Kill Or Spare Anders?

You Have A Spare Healer, Right?

At the end of the second game, Anders blows up the Chantry and begins the Mage Rebellion. He lied to you, no matter what your relationship is like. So, what do you do? Some party members, most notably Sebastian, want Anders dead for his act of terrorism.

A lot of players struggled with this, even those who romanced Anders. If you kill him, he won’t be there for the final battle. If you spare him, he will be on the mages’ side and Sebastian will abandon you.

1 Mages Or Templars?

Wild Freedom Or Harsh Control?

Also at the end of the second game, you are left with siding with either the mages and templars. Neither of them blew up the Chantry, but Knight Commander Meredith has lost her mind because of Anders and the mages are fighting back with blood magic.

Whatever you choose will mostly be on consequence to your companions. If you are not close to them, they might abandon you and may may even have to kill them.