Dragon Age 2 Companion Approval Guide

Dragon Age 2 has an approval system that stands out within the franchise. Rather than simply rewarding the player for becoming friends with all of the companions, the game rewards players for either friendship or rivalry.

This friendship/rivalry system encouraged players to feel more freedom with their role-playing decisions. Rather than striving to please all the characters, they can strive for just maxing out a type of relationship with that character. Even rivaled characters can be romanced.

What players do not want is to be stuck in the middle between friendship and rivalry, as that can make the character far less loyal and more likely to not be around at the end game. Also, unlike in Origins, a player cannot solely rely on gifts to form a relationship with that character.

Luckily, most of the characters in Dragon Age 2 like to make their opinions and feelings known to the player.

Updated on August 16, 2021, by Allison Stalberg: Happy Dragon Age Week! Dragon Age 4 may not be here yet, but there is plenty of lore, characters, and content for players to explore for the first time or see at a different angle. That is the best part of RPGs, getting to make different choices and see different sides of the characters you know and love.

Dragon Age 2, in particular, has a unique system of friendship and rivalry. The best part of the system is that characters that are highly friended or rivaled stay loyal to Hawke. This means they develop differently, rather than just leave. There are even rival romances (and some players argue that those are the best kind).

Anders

Character: Anders (nicknamed Blondie by Varric), Darktown medic, mage, and possible romantic interest.

How & When You First Meet: Regardless of what happens in Dragon Age: Awakening, Anders is a required Dragon Age 2 companion. He is required to get to the Deep Roads main quest. He can be found during Act One in Darktown.

Tips To Gain Friendship

Anders is easy to get friendly with if the player is pro-mage. Choose wisely when it comes to what missions to take him on, as many of them are mage, Chantry, and Templar related.

Make pro-mage choices.
Be anti-Chantry.
Fight/confront blood mages and demons.
Be agreeable when talking to him.

Tips To Gain Rivalry

Anders is the most anti-Templar companion of them all. It is easy to rival him in a pro-Templar playthrough. Those that want to rival him and be pro-mage should avoid taking him on Templar vs. Mages missions.

Make pro-Templar choices.
Be pro-Chantry.
Do not aid the oppressed.
Be friendly and make deals with blood mages and/or demons.

Gifts

Remember that these gifts will gain either Rivalry or Friendship depending on which direction Anders' relationship with Hawke is already leaning towards. All gifts add 15 points to either path.

Tevinter Chantry Amulet: Can be obtained during the questline for Fenris, "A Bitter Pill" in Act Two. It is in an abandoned slaver den.

Fenris

Character: Fenris, nicknamed "Elf" by Varric, ex-slave, lyrium ghost, two-handed warrior, and possible love interest.

How & When You First Meet: Met in the Bait and Switch quest in Act One. The quest is given out by Anso the dwarf in Lowtown.

Tips To Gain Friendship:

Fenris has strong opinions due to his difficult life. Gaining his friendship as a mage and/or pro-mage Hawke can be quite difficult. Players often get the friendship of Anders or Fenris while rivaling the other since they have such opposite opinions. However, rivaling or being friends with both of them is doable as long as you take them on the right quests.

Be kind to innocents, notably elves and slaves.
Make anti-mage choices.
Don't coddle him when he talks about his problems, just be understanding.
Be merciless to slavers.

Tips To Gain Fenris' rivalry:

Mage players usually find Fenris' rivalry path to be easier, as there are a ton of pro-mage choices available in quests.

Make pro-mage choices.
Do not kill slavers.
Be a mage class and tell him you "seek power" during his recruitment quest.
Support Merrill's blood magic.

Gifts

Remember that these gifts will gain either Rivalry or Friendship depending on which path Fenris' relationship with Hawke is already leaning towards. All gifts add 15 points to either path.

The Book of Shartan: During Act Two, this gift can be found within a sack in Lowtown at night in the Elven Alienage.
Blade of Mercy: During Act Three, this item can be found during the Best Served Cold questline. It is in the warehouse at the docks.

Isabela

Character: Isabela, smuggler, self-proclaimed Queen of the Eastern Seas, nicknamed "Rivaini" by Varric, rogue, and possible love interest.

How & When You First Meet: During Act One, you can encounter Isabella in the Hanged Man, witness her brawl, and then talk to her. Hawke can get Isabella as a companion by accompanying her to her night duel in Hightown.

Tips To Gain Isabela's friendship:

Isabela is all about fun and living in the moment. She does not mind Hawke being a little selfish. In fact, being too selfless will definitely get rivalry points from her.

Put freedom above all else (this means not giving mages to the Circle).
Demand payment for work.
Make sarcastic choices.
Value other people's privacy and choices.

Tips To Gain Isabela's Rivalry:

Isabela is a particularly tricky character because if her rivalry or friendship is not high enough at the end of Act Two, then she will leave and never return. So players who want her to stick around need to make sure either her friendship or rivalry points are in the blue or red by the end of Act Two. Remember, having a rivalry with a character is not a bad thing in Dragon Age 2. In fact, high enough rivalry can make them more loyal. This includes Isabela.

Doing good acts for free.
Snoop into other people's business.
Give mages to the Circle.
Enforce the law on her and others.
Tell her to give the stolen relic back to the Qunari.

Gifts

Any gifts given before the end of Act Two are very important in getting Isabela to not leave Hawke.

Ship in a Bottle: During the Act Two quest, Blackpowder Courtesy, this gift can be found in a chest in Smuggler's Cut Cave.
Rivaini Talisman: In Act Three, this gift can be found in the Docks at night. It is a little hidden, located in a disused passage and inside a storage container.

Merrill

Character: Merrill, First to the Keeper of the Sabrae clan, Dalish mage, nicknamed "Daisy" by Varric, and possible love interest.

How & When You First Meet: In Act One, Merrill is encountered when Hawke does the Long Way Home quest. After the quest is complete, Merrill joins Hawke's companions.

Tips To Gain Merrill's friendship:

Merrill is a unique character due to her Dalish origin as well as her rebellious position of being a Blood Mage. She is the only companion in the game that approves of making deals with demons and the practice of blood magic.

Support her in her quest to fix the mirror.
Make pro-mage choices.
Be open-minded about demons and blood magic.
Be kind and helpful to others.

Easiest ways to gain Merrill's rivalry:

While Merrill is not as loud about mage rights as Anders, she will also disapprove of anti-mage freedom choices.

Make pro-Templar and pro-Circle choices.
Dissuade her about fixing the mirror at every chance.
Be anti-blood magic and against consorting with demons.

Gifts

There are two gifts for Merrill in the whole game, adding a total of 30 friendship or rivalry points depending on the path she is leaning with Hawke.

Wooden Halla Statue: This gift is purchasable in Act Two. Hawke can buy it at Master Ilen's Shop in Sundermount. It costs 40 silver.
Sylvanwood Ring: There are two of these, but only one can be a gift. Both are in Act Three. One is on the body of a Thief Leader in Sundermount and the other can be found in the A Murder of Crows quest.

Varric

Character: Varric Tethras, surface dwarf, storyteller, rogue, and Marksman.

How & When You First Meet: Varric is encountered the year after Hawke arrived in Kirkwall, at the beginning of Act One. He immediately joins Hawke's party.

Tips To Gain Varric's Friendship:

Varric tends to be a character all players want to be friends with, which is good because getting his friendship is pretty easy. He loves wit and solving issues through any kind of talk, from regular old diplomacy to trickery.

Pick sarcastic and diplomatic options.
Solve issues with talking more often than fighting.
Be the hero he would want to write and talk to others about.

Tips To Gain Varric's Rivalry:

To rival Varric, players need to be bloodthirsty, making their Hawke value brute strength and having zero interest in stories.

Choose aggressive dialogue options.
Be cruel to others.
Show little interest in others or in Kirkwall.

Gifts

There is only one gift for Varric in Dragon Age 2.

Tethras Signet Ring: Purchasable only during Act Two in Lowtown at the Trinkets Emporium. The ring costs eight gold, 77 silver, and 30 copper.

Aveline

Character: Aveline Vallen, human warrior, soldier, guardswoman, and nicknamed "Red" by Varric.

How & When You First Meet: Aveline is the first non-family member companion that Hawke meets. She joins up with the Hawke family as they are fleeing the Blight and is part of the party from then on.

Tips To Gain Aveline's Friendship:

Being a guardsman, Aveline values a Hawke that is diplomatic and lawful, and rivals one that commits crimes. However, in terms of the mages and Templars, Aveline is not as clear-cut as other characters. She is more complex, believing mages should be watched, but that the Gallows of Kirkwall do sometimes take things too far.

Choosing diplomatic and lawful good options.
Only disobeying the law to protect personal loved ones (like family or other companions).
Not hurting Templars or mages when they can.
Being kind to others.

Tips To Gain Aveline's Rivalry:

Aveline is a woman that values duty, law, and human dignity. Anything that opposes those values will gain her rivalry.

Doing unlawful actions (this includes blackmail, approving of blood magic, murder of non-hostiles, framing others for murder, and letting other companions do the same).
Ignoring certain quests, notably the ones that would help other people.
Letting Templars be cruel to mages and vice versa.

Gifts

Like Varric, Aveline only has one gift in the whole game.

Shield of the Knight Herself: Obtained in Act Two during the Offered and Lost quest. It can be found in Ser Varnell's Refuge.

Carver

Character: Carver Hawke, soldier, two-handed warrior, younger brother of Hawke, twin of Bethany, nicknamed "Junior" by Varric.

How & When You First Meet: Carver is with Hawke from the beginning. If Hawke is a mage, Carver survives fleeing the Blight. If Hawke is either a rogue or warrior though, Carver dies in the prologue.

Tips To Gain Carver's Friendship:

Carver likes it when Hawke does not attract a lot of attention. He also has a lot of Ferelden pride, so he loves helping others that are refugees like the Hawke family.

Avoid attracting Templar attention.
Give him chances to prove his worth.
Help other Fereldans.
When given the chance, side with Templars and the Chantry.
Take him with you on the Deep Roads (bring Anders to make him a Grey Warden, or else he will die).

Tips To Gain Carver's Rivalry:

Hawke's little brother is one of the easiest characters to rival in the game. He is insecure about his role in the family and despises being in Hawke's shadow.

Be a troublemaker and attract a lot of attention.
Challenge the Chantry.
Make Carver feel inferior (jokes and aggressive dialogue choices can do this).
Always side with mages.
Do not take him to the Deep Roads (this will make him become a Templar).

*Note: since Carver is not always around after the games' first act, it is recommended to take him in the Legacy DLC content to rank up his friendship or rivalry.

Gifts

Carver has one gift in the game.

Tobrius's Documents: During Act One, this can be found in the Amell Estate Cellar while completing the Birthright quest.

Bethany

Character: Bethany Hawke, little sister to Hawke, twin of Carver, mage, nicknamed "Sunshine" by Varric.

How & When You First Meet: Bethany is part of Hawke's party in the prologue and will remain so as long as Hawke is either a warrior or rogue. If Hawke is a mage, she will die instead of Carver.

Tips To Gain Bethany's Friendship:

A major part of her that makes her different from her twin brother is that she is a mage. She also is far less argumentative with her older siblings, as she does not have Carver's insecurity.

Show general kindness to others.
Make pro-mage choices.
Make any efforts to support the family.
Fight against and renounce demons and blood magic.

Tips To Gain Bethany's Rivalry:

Bethany is one of the more compassionate companions, and thus dislikes aggression and the exploitation of others.

Make aggressive choices.
Be anti-mage.
Exploit other Fereldans.

*Note: Like Carver, Bethany is not always around after the games' first act, it is recommended to take her in the Legacy DLC content to rank up her friendship or rivalry.

Gifts

Bethany's gift is exactly like Carver's but will be a different object.

Portrait of Your Mother: Discovered during Act One in the Amell Estate during the quest, Birthright.

Sebastian

Character: Sebastian Vael, human archer, a contender for Prince of Starkhaven, possible love interest for female Hawke, nicknamed "Choir Boy" by Varric, and DLC character.

How & When You First Meet: Sebastian is a DLC character that can be met in Act One but is not available as a companion until Act Two.

Tips To Gain Sebastian's Friendship:

Varric calls Sebastian "Choir Boy" for good reason. He is his best self in the Chantry and loves to help those in need. He believes in the Maker's teaching, and that means magic is to serve man rather than rule over him. Thus, he believes deeply in the mission of Templars.