Dragon Age: The Veilguard skips fan-favorite Blood Mage class specialization because its "nasty" parts aren't where BioWare "want the hero to walk"
Jul. 12, 2024The RPG’s lead writer says blood magic is a little too evil this time around
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BioWarehasn’t delved too much into how morality works inDragon Age: The Veilguard. We’ve seen some very Dragon Age 2-esque dialogue wheels with fantasy emotes letting you know if you’re being flirty or virtuous, but my main question remains, ‘Can I be kinda evil? Can Iget it onwith another literal demon? Can I bully strangers for funsies?’ According to the game’s lead writer, The Veilguard has limits on how far our main hero can go.
When asked about whether fan favorite class specializations like Shapeshifter, Bard, and Blood Mage will ever return to the series, lead writer and narrative designer Patrick ‘Trick’ Weekes said it’s a “never say never” situation. Shapeshifters used to allow mages to transform into bears and swarms of bugs, making it maybe too ambitious to casually include this time around, but Blood Mages were supposedly skipped because of moral queries.
“Blood magic is unlikely because we’ve shifted it from a power boost to really being the key to a lot of nasty stuff we aren’t interested in having heroes do,” Weekes writes in a response onBlue Sky. “The other stuff just needs the right game.” Blood magic in the Dragon Age universe is what it sounds like - rather than using mana, mages sacrifice their own blood, or others', to cast spells that might not be feasible otherwise. And, of course, Thedas' baddest bad guys have used the power to enslave, conquer, and summon demons.
“I think it can be ethically neutral if you only use your own blood, but after seeing it used as a required part of mind control and demon binding in [Dragon Age 2] and [Dragon Age Inquisition], it’s just not a road we want the hero to walk right now,” Weekes continues, “which is a shame, because ‘use your health to cast more spells’ is a fun gameplay twist for folks who like that kind of risk/reward play style. We might find other ways to get that. Just not blood magic for the hero for now.”
Weekes' comments bring up all sorts of questions about what might be possible/impossible to do in the upcoming RPG. Dragon Age Origins lets players specialize in blood magic since we were up against a cataclysmic horde of demons, and since the Grey Wardens are a ‘By All Means Necessary’ organization, blood magic was allowed. A Grey Warden Origin is, interestingly, available to our Rook in The Veilguard, so I’m just curious to see how perceptions toward blood magic have changed when the game launches later this year on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Morality might still be a question mark in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but the RPG’s director has teased nudity and romance.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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