Dragon Age: The Veilguard – 8 Reasons To Save Minrathous

Summary

• Save Minrathous to keep key characters like Dorian, explore new quests, and maintain Neve’s abilities.
• Minrathous speaks to political implications and faction loyalty, while Treviso’s destruction offers a visually significant change.
• Shadow Dragon players find unique dialogue and deeper connections by saving Minrathous, benefiting storyline and quests.

WARNING: This list contains spoilers involving the story of Dragon Age: The Veilguard; especially discussing the aftermath of saving Minrathous and the differences between them.Dragon Age: The Veilguard, like many other RPGs in the franchise, has the player making major decisions. However, unlike other games in the franchise, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is one of the first where these decisions matter within the current game instead of making a difference in the future.

One of these important choices is choosing to either save Minrathous or Treviso from being attacked by a Blighted Dragon. Whichever city the player doesn’t help ends up being somewhat destroyed, with the majority of players picking to save Treviso over Minrathous.

8 Both Factions Remain

The Crows Take Hits But Don’t Leave

When deciding to save Treviso, the player will return to Minrathous to find the hideout of the Shadow Dragons has been completely ransacked, with the majority of the Shadow Dragons murdered and the rest gone into hiding.

If a player instead decides to save Minrathous, the Shadow Dragons are no longer attacked by the Venatori and, by some miracle, the majority of the Antivan Crows are also left alive. There are still some losses to the Crows, but the player is still able to return to the Candori Diamond, where they will see many members of the Crows.

7 Cameo Characters Don’t Disappear

Dorian And Maevaris Play A Key Role

While going through the story of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players will be reintroduced to the Tevinter Mage, Dorian Pavus, a character that was previously a companion in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Players are also introduced to Maevaris, a character from the Dragon Age comics.

However, if a player chooses to save Treviso, this will be the last they see of either of these characters until the end of the game. Instead, if Rook saves Minrathous, Dorian and Maevaris will not only remain in the Shadow Dragon hideout but will also play a key role in the quest lines around Minrathous that the player wouldn’t get otherwise.

6 Players Can Spend More Time With Neve

Neve’s Romance Is A Lot Easier When Not Hardened

Unlike Lucanis, who becomes unromanceable if the player decides to save Minrathous, Neve can still be romanced even if Minrathous falls. However, a player will have a much easier time getting to know Neve and winning her over if they decide to side with her by saving Minrathous.

Players will have plenty more chances to flirt with Neve, which they wouldn’t be able to if they sided with the Antivan Crows, as Neve would leave the Veilguard for a short time. Even if a player doesn’t want to romance Neve, this also allows them to see Neve become an inspiration as they become her close friend.

5 There Are Political Implications To Leaving Minrathous

The Vanatori Cannot Own A Whole City

If a player doesn’t save Minrathous, then they end up leaving it to be taken over by the Venatori. This cult that hopes to bring Tevinter back to its former glory of slavery and domination is not a group that should have control over an entire city, and just allowing them to get their foot in the door shows that the city of Minrathous is only going to be the beginning of their control if the events of the game went differently.

To avoid this entirely, players should be sure to save Minrathous so that the Venatori don’t even have a chance at taking over the entire city, especially if players can remember facing the Venatori in the past of the franchise.

4 Brand New Interesting Quests

Players Learn About Tevinter History And Much More

As mentioned, Dorian and Maevaris play an important role later in the quest lines involving Minrathous if the city is saved. Players don’t have access to these quests if they choose to save Treviso. These quests are interesting for any fans of the franchise who have been looking forward to visiting Tevinter, as these quests allow the player to interact more deeply with the city and make some interesting decisions.

Players take part in a quest that allows them to pick the Archon of Minrathous between Dorian and Maevaris, who both make valid points on why they should be the Archon. If a player instead picks Treviso, then Dorian automatically becomes the Archon, though this doesn’t happen on screen. This is only one of the quests that changes.

3 Players Don’t Lose Important Neve Abilities

She Has Some Of The Best Healing In Veilguard

One of the vital differences between saving Minrathous or Treviso is which companion the players don’t mind being Hardened. Whichever companion is from the city that wasn’t saved, joins the team with the Hardened status, which remains for the entire rest of the game.

When Hardened, this character can no longer use abilities that assist the player, such as healing, but their attack abilities do more damage. Neve has one of the best healing abilities in Veilguard and, therefore, a player may wish to save Minrathous so they can keep using her heals, while Lucanis is far more beneficial with buffs to his damage.

2 Treviso Looks Visually Better Destroyed

It Feels Like Far More Of A Significant Difference

From an appearance point of view, allowing Minrathous to be taken over by the Venatori doesn’t look too different from what it does normally. While players will spot the occasional lynching of Shadow Dragons or Vanatori guards instead of the usual Minrathous ones, the vibe of Minrathous as a whole doesn’t feel as different.

Meanwhile, visiting Treviso for the first time after allowing it to be destroyed, it’s hard to ignore the destruction that has happened to the city. Treviso has been completely taken over by the Blight, with tendrils of its corruption towering from the canals. Players that are looking for the most angst should be sure to allow this to happen.

1 Shadow Dragon Rooks Have A Deeper Connection

A Shadow Dragon Should Stick With Their Faction

Players that have chosen the Shadow Dragon faction at the start of Dragon Age: The Veilguard may feel inclined to pick Minrathous as the city to save anyway. However, to give an extra push in this direction, a player will find many more unique lines when playing as a Shadow Dragon as they do the various Shadow Dragon-based quests.

Players would miss out on this content if they then selected to save Treviso instead. Although there is also an interesting angle to take here of a Shadow Dragon letting down their faction, as this could also be an interesting storyline, a player could still do this by playing as an Antivan Crow that saves Minrathous.