An early plan for Dragon Age: Inquisition‘s climactic Trespasser expansion would have seen players forced to blow up their beloved base, Skyhold.
Skyhold is where the bulk of Inquisition is set – a towering, upgradable and expandable castle that fills up with your close companions and other followers, and acts as a hub for the Inquisitor in their fight back against Corypheus. It’s the game’s equivalent to Mass Effect‘s Normandy, and is a big reason why many fans love the game.
Newly-posted concept art from Trespasser’s early days shows Skyhold was once set to be sacrificed during the events of the expansion in dramatic style – something that would have fitted the add-on’s narrative arc, perhaps, though would also have been heart-wrenching for players after 100 hours building it up.
Writing on social media, Dragon Age veteran Matt Rhodes revealed that Skyhold was due to be blown up in “an earlier version of the story”.
“Sten would arrive to arrest you for meddling with magic, but Dagna has reverse engineering their explosives,” Rhodes wrote. “You leave a trap for when they return, sacrificing Skyhold in the process.”
Long-term Dragon Age fans will remember Qunari warrior Sten from earlier games. Ultimately, he did not appear in Inquisition or Trespasser at all.
At a guess, it sounds like this might have happened at the start of Trespasser, which ultimately still does not feature Skyhold. Instead, it begins with the action moved elsewhere from the off.
The launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard has brought back a wave of nostalgia from developers who worked on the series previously, with insight from franchise creator David Gaider recently shining a light on the characters of Dorian and Cassandra.
Rhodes, meanwhile, previously shared concept art showing BioWare had the look of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Minrathous nailed down a decade ago.
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