Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas a whole host of regions to explore, and each has their own personality and aesthetic. Rather than wide open spaces full of collectibles, these are regions with precise purpose, and that leads to more intricate designs and more interesting characters to meet.
After thorough exploration of Thedas, we’ve come up with a ranking of each major map in the game, based on how easy and enjoyable it is to get around them, how they look, how unique they are, and what sorts of stories they hold within them. Though each place has its charm, some stand out more than others
Here, we’re taking a look at the main locations in Dragon Age: The Veilguard that you can visit at any time, not the smaller quest-based maps or the individual regions of maps - for that, check our Best Locations in Dragon Age: The Veilguard list.
8Dock Town, Minrathous
The major problem with Minrathous is what it promises over what it delivers. Tevinter has been built up across threeDragon Agegames as a major metropolitan hub, with blood magic aplenty, sophisticated fantasypunk floating buildings, and ominous towers full of political intrigue. And what the game delivers is some docks.
While it’s interesting to see the narrative focus on the downtrodden classes of Thedas, the decision to stick entirely to the poorest, least interesting district means we never get a feel for Minrathous. It’s like if all the King’s Landing scenes inGame of Throneswere set in Fleabottom. It’s just any other place now, not really Minrathous.
Add in that it also promises some detective action that never truly develops, is a nightmare to navigate, and has a 50/50 chance of being destroyed and becoming even less interesting, and it’s easy to place it as The Veilguard’s lowest ranked location.
7The Crossroads
The Crossroads is similar to Minrathous, in a way. Promising a spiritual realm of godliness and all the majesty and darkness of the Fade, it instead is a series of bland islands you can float between on a magical boat. By design, there’s not a lot here - it’s a Crossroads. But that also means it’s not particularly appealing.
While exploring Solas' memories add some extra dimensions to his character, the fact the game throws the spotlight off him in favour of two new, much more shallow gods means that’s all for nought. They say it’s the journey, not the destination, and this land of journeys is not a destination you want to be in.
6Treviso
Treviso is also similar to Minrathous (all the entries don’t start with that, we promise), in that it’s the other cosmopolitan city in The Veilguard, and is similarly restricted to fairly narrow streets and specific directed pathways rather than giving you the freedom to roam. It’s also the other side of that 50/50 coin on whether Minrathous gets destroyed.
What it has going for it is that the Antivan Crows have a bit more depth than the more cliched Shadow Dragons, and there are ziplines that move you around the city’s rooftops. Though wandering around can occasionally be frustrating, Treviso is still a beautiful city and heading to these urban dwellings where the citizens of Thedas go about their day is an important part of understanding the stakes.
5The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is similar to… just kidding. It’s your hub, which means there’s not a lot to do here. But there’s also everything to do here. It’s where you get all your companion quests, start most of the main quests, customise your outfit, runes, and enchantments, and learn more about those on this journey with you.
It’s not without its secrets, either. However, it does suffer from issues of isolation - aside from minor visits by specific, plot-relevant characters, it’s just you and your crew, and it’s much smaller thanInquisition’sSkyhold, with less impetus to explore.
4Arlathan Forest
The first major region you visit (Minrathous in the prologue is so linear it doesn’t count), Arlathan Forest is a lush red wilderness that is packed with fascinating characters, puzzling constructs, and deep lore about the elves. Beautiful to look at and interesting to explore, it feels like BioWare perfecting the overly large scope of Inquisition here.
The only thing holding it back is it’s so based around puzzles and technology that progress is often stopped in its tracks, and you’re never sure if you simply need to come back later in the story or if there’s something obvious your missing. When an important quest takes place on the other side of a magical barrier that seemingly doesn’t need to be there, the charm of Arlathan Forest is diluted somewhat.
3Hossberg Wetlands
The final region you unlock, Hossberg Wetlands, is perfect for all theDragon Age: Originsfans out there. Dominated by the Grey Warden defences against the Blight, this dark and swampy region is about the farmers caught in the clutches of the Darkspawn and the frontline of soldiers fighting them back.
Though its grimy look won’t be for everyone, it’s where the side quest writing is able to let loose the most, and is full of tragic tales to discover beneath its muddy veneer. Offering decent exploration, completely unique visuals, and a vital role in The Veilguard’s overall narrative, Hossberg Wetlands is a quintessential Dragon Age region.
2Rivain Coast
The Rivain Coast offers sunny shores, ruined castles, buried treasure, and lots of qunari to fight. Its vibrant, summery tones clash with the more dour, wartorn feel of the rest of the game, and it’s a blast to explore. It has plenty of mysteries to discover, including a completely secret area that houses an underground lava cave like something Bowser might live in.
Home of Taash’s storyline, a key cameo, and essential to the dragon plot of the game, Rivain delivers on its billing as an exotic realm of wonders far more than Minrathous does on its own reputation. Though the Hall of Valor is technically a separate region on the map, it’s essentially all part of the Rivain territory too, so it gets points for that.
1Necropolis Halls
This charmingly gothic hall of death is a fresh look for Dragon Age. While necromancy and the Fade have always scratched at the wall between life and death in Thedas, the Necropolis Halls feel like it is letting us peek behind the curtain. Death is not used to conjure fear or highlight evil deeds here, but is respected as but a part of life.
Though less open than other regions at first glance - it’s basically a belfry with a few corridors coming off it - there are so many hidden passages and caverns that it feels much bigger than it is. Like Arlathan Forest, you’re able to see the lessons learned from Inquisition by making this region play like a larger map in a tight space, rather than stretching it out until it was bland and lost all character.
Mix in Emmrich’s fascinating personal narrative, his humble assistant Manfred, and the various spirit hunting combat challenges the Necropolis throws at you, and this experiment of Tim Burton meets Thedas is a rousing success.
