Dragon Age 4is still a big mystery to fans who have been waiting for years already to get their hands on it, but that hasn’t stopped the rampant speculation on what, exactly, the game will involve. After all, with the vast and richly complexDragon Ageuniverse that BioWare has built over the last decade, pretty much anything is possible.
There’s already been some inferences and guesses aboutDragon Age 4, from the identity ofits true villain(s)to the meaning behind several recent screenshots of the game shown during EA Play. So now it’s time to talk about one piece of theDragon Ageuniverse that took a starring role at the very start: the Grey Wardens.
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History of the Grey Wardens
Grey Wardens are legendary warriors who drink the blood of darkspawn in order to slay them, and according to thelong canon timeline of Thedas, they’ve been around for literal ages. The Grey Wardens were an integral part ofDragon Age Origins, as the player character was one. It became players' missions to end the fifth Blight, gathering together dwarves, elves, mages, and humankind to fight off the horde of darkspawn. Grey Wardens were the heroes of the firstDragon Agestory, but that didn’t remain the case.
However,DAOalso imparted some importantDragon Agelore about the Grey Wardens, lore that not only became pertinent in later games, but may well be important inDragon Age 4.Grey Wardens can only live for perhaps 30 years (give or take) after they imbibe the darkspawn taint, because of its potency. Eventually, it’ll drive the person who drinks it mad with the Calling, and turn them into something akin to a ghoul - albeit sentient. This was demonstrated inDragon Age 2’sLegacyDLC with the corrupted Warden Larius, andinDragon Age: Inquisitionin the Wardens' fear over suddenly hearing the Calling regardless of seniority.
While Grey Wardens are barely involved withDragon Age 2, they make something of a resurgence inInquisition. A mass fear grips the Wardens as they all begin to hear the Calling (something that has been induced by Corypheus, though they aren’t aware of that fact), and they turn to a rogue Tevinter magister who has aligned himself with Corypheus for help. This very nearly leads to an army of demons being unleashed upon Thedas, a disaster that was only averted by the intervention of the Inquisition.
Thus, whenDragon Age 4begins, the Grey Wardens will be in the precarious position of having endangered all of Thedas. Will they get a redemption arc? Will their plight have something to do with the plot of the game, either the main plot or a secondary one? With alltheDragon Agelorethat has been established, there’s clearly a lot to go through - and a lot of connections that can be made to the Grey Wardens from other sources. Let’s talk about the ways in whichDA4might incorporate the Grey Wardens.
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Grey Wardens in DA4
First, let’s cover the obvious way that Grey Wardens might redeem themselves and prove to Thedas once again that they’re not so bad. There’s been some speculation that one or more Old Gods (who may even be one and the same as the elven gods, the evanuris) will be the “big bad” ofDragon Age 4. If players remember, there are at least two Old Gods still out there, waiting to be found in the Deep Roads, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re uncovered. Thus, anewDragon Agegameis the perfect time for players to solve that pesky Old God problem just waiting to plague Thedas as the worst possible moment.
Furthermore, BioWare has never offered players a straight answer about the consequences of either killing or sparingThe Architect inDragon Age Origins: Awakening.If players left him alive, that means there’s a darkspawn out there (and probably a former magister like Corypheus, though the Architect was never definitively established as such) actively working to bring free thought to the darkspawn - and if he’s dead, well, that could be either very bad or very good for the world.DA4could very well contain the answer to questions about the Architect and its plans.
Then,there’s Red Lyrium. Red Lyrium is almost certainly going to be a big part ofDragon Age 4,and as Bianca discovered inDragon Age Inqisition, Red Lyrium is both alive and definitively corrupted by the Blight. In retrospect, it seems obvious: both carry an addicting “song” that can only be heard by those infected by them, and madness is the end result of spending too much time either around Red Lyrium or having been infected by the Blight. Screenshots from EA Play have already confirmed the presence of Red Lyrium, and that means the taint will have some sort of role inDA4, whether or not an actual Blight is triggered.
So, even if themain character ofDragon Age 4and the majority of those around them aren’t Grey Wardens, there should still be plenty of ways for the Wardens to make a contribution to the game’s plot. Perhaps the resurgence of the Old Gods will be the overlying problem for players to handle, or perhaps Solas (who stole the Red Lyrium Idol that drove Knight-Commander Meredit insane inDA2and likely plans to use it to further his plans) will unlock more problems related to Red Lyrium and therefore the Blight.
TheDragon Agegames have left enough plot threads waiting to be picked up; only time will tell which ones will be resolved inDragon Age 4and how.
Dragon Age 4is confirmed to be in development for the PS5.
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