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Dragon Age: Inquisition is the longest, largest Dragon Age installment to date. That means that some of the quests are agonizingly long to finish and need to be completed over multiple playthroughs. To help you get through the main quest, "Here Lies The Abyss," as painlessly as possible, we've assembled this nifty guide.
Acquiring The Quest
When you first reach Skyhold, you'll be loaded up with brand new tasks like decorating, exploring, meeting new recruits to the cause, and more. To continue to progress through the main story, however, just follow the pointers in the quest "From The Ashes." It indicates you should talk to Josephine and Varric and tells you where to find them (since you probably haven't memorized the layout of your new castle yet).
To start "Here Lies The Abyss," find and speak to Varric.
Skyhold
When you manage to track down Varric, you'll be treated with a surprise - he knew where Hawke was all this time and has invited them to meet the Inquisition. You'll get a chance to customize your Hawke's face to match the character you had in Dragon Age 2 (or do something new - totally up to you) before entering the conversation with them.
Hawke goes on to tell you about a connection they have in the Grey Wardens that will be able to give you information about Corypheus' next move and why the Grey Wardens have all gone missing, mysteriously.
Crestwood
To reach Hawke's connection, you'll need to unlock the map called "Crestwood." It's on your war table as an operation called "Find the Warden" and costs 8 Power.
Once you enter the map, you have a long trek southeast to look forward to. You'll pass Crestwood Village and Caer Bronach. You can choose to ignore them and prioritize the main quest or get sidetracked.
The Village of Crestwood (Optional)
While nothing in Caer Bronach has an impact on this quest, your decisions in the Village of Crestwood might. When you enter the village it's being attacked by Undead and you'll be able to help save the townspeople. Among the people fighting is a pair of Grey Wardens protecting a little elven girl. The girl is named Jana.
If you look for her again after the fight, she'll be in a quaint little house further up the road from the Village. Jana tells you that she was amazed by the Grey Wardens and wants to become one herself. You can either support her (result: she becomes a Grey Warden) or dissuade her (result: she becomes an agent of the Inquisition).
The Smuggler's Den
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Continue to push on to the eastern edge of the map - there, you'll find a cave where Hawke's Warden friend is hiding.
The identity of the Warden depends on the player's choices in Dragon Age: Origins:
- The Warden Is Alistair: if Alistair didn't die or become King.
- The Warden Is Loghain: if Alistair died or became King and Loghain was spared and wasn't killed by capturing the Archdemon's soul.
- The Warden Is Stroud: if Alistair died or became King and Loghain was killed, one way or the other.
Your new Warden pal reveals that the Grey Wardens think they can use blood magic to end the Blights once and for all, but that your Warden friend thinks that Corypheus has a hand in this plan. When he protested, he was kicked out and called a traitor. He also reveals that he thinks that Corypheus has survived the attack at Haven.
The Western Approach
The Warden ally reveals that the Grey Wardens are all gathering at a tower in the Western Approach, so you'll need to return to Skyhold and complete another war table operation - "Investigate the Western Approach," costing 8 Power - to unlock the new map.
Like Father Like Son (Optional)
When you return to Skyhold after talking to the Warden in Crestwood but before journeying out to The Western Approach, your Warden buddy will hang out around Skyhold. This is so that you can ask them extra questions but it's especially significant if you performed Morrigan's Dark Ritual at the end of Dragon Age: Origins.
There's a chance that Loghain or Alistair, whoever fathered Morrigan's son, Kieran, will go to the Skyhold Garden and talk to them. For this to occur, you must have completed Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts (it's unclear whether you must have completed it before meeting the Warden at all or simply before you go off to the Western Approach).
Getting the timing right will earn you a unique interaction between Morrigan, Kieran, and Loghain or Alistair that will stick in your memory for all times.
Finding The Ritual Tower
This time, upon entering the new map, you'll want to head southwest. You're in for another long walk. At the end of it, though, is the Ritual Tower, where Hawke and your Warden pal are waiting.
When you go inside, you'll find the Wardens being led by a Venatori magister from Tevinter, named Livius Erimond. He doesn't work hard to hide the fact that he's working for Corypheus and explains that the Grey Wardens have been manipulated - through the artificial "Calling" and blood magic - to willingly perform the ritual.
The actual ritual is designed to bind demons to Wardens, creating a massive army for Corypheus. The final big piece of news revealed in this conversation is that the Inquisitor's mark is a way to cross the Veil and enter the Fade physically and safely. After a confrontation, Erimond will flee and the Inquisitor will be left to deal with the demons and Wardens still on the scene.
Adamant Fortress
Your Warden buddy tells you that he thinks Erimond would have gone to a nearby abandoned Grey Warden station called Adamant Fortress. Return to your war table in Skyhold to activate the main section of this quest: "Here Lies the Abyss," which costs 20 Power.
Note that, if you haven't done the quest to recruit Blackwall yet, you won't be able to complete it after this.
Due to the nature of this quest, you may want to take one or more of the following characters, since they have extra dialogue:
- Solas
- Cole
- Blackwall
- Cassandra
Lower Bailey and Main Bailey
Upon reaching Adamant Fortress, you're immediately thrown into a massive battle. Defeat the Shades and Warden Spellbinder, then talk to Cullen. He'll tell you that your forces on the battlements need support. You'll have to confront several demons and Grey Wardens as you push onwards.
When you reach the Main Bailey, you'll see that a few Grey Wardens are fighting amongst themselves because some of them have refused to be sacrificed. After helping them out, you can tell them what they should do:
- If you tell them to retreat to safety, they'll leave the battle.
- If you tell them to surrender to you, they'll fight you.
- If you stay silent and Blackwall is in your party, he'll convince them to help out the Inquisition.
After that's done, pass through the door to the south and up the stairs onto the battlements. When you get up to the Battlements, an optional objective is added to the quest: Clear 3 Siege Points. Completing it has no impact on the quest but will return extra experience, power, and influence.
Siege Point 1
The first siege point is to your right after arriving on the battlements, guarded by a Rage Demon. Either kill it or push past it. Either way, the path forward is clear (since it's the only option other than leaving the Battlements by the way you came).
Siege Point 2
At the second Siege Point, Hawke will help you out. Your enemies include a Despair Demon, a Pride Demon, and a few Warden Spellbinders. If you choose to take this Siege Point, you'll be able to talk to Hawke and let them know where they should help out - either by securing the battlements or fighting by your side.
If you don't care about securing the last Siege Point, take the nearby stairs here instead of continuing along the battlements.
Siege Pont 3
If you choose to take the last Siege Point, you'll just need to fight off some Shades and a Pride Demon. Once done, turn around and go back to the second Siege Point.
Confronting Erimond
The stairs by Siege Point 2 will take you down to ground level. Head west, back into the Main Bailey. Here, Inquisition soldiers will be fighting a Rage Demon. If you didn't ask Hawke to stay with the party, they'll be leading the soldiers.
You'll get a cutscene after the fight, in which you'll finally be able to confront Clareel and Erimond. Erimond is binding a demon to Clareel using a third person as a sacrifice. If you told Jana to join the Grey Wardens (way back when), she'll be the sacrifice. Just after the sacrifice is killed, the Inquisitor bursts through the doors.
Here, you get a chance to talk sense into the Grey Wardens. You can try to explain that they're being manipulated by Corypheus. The following qualifications unlock special dialogue options that may convince at least some of the Grey Wardens to doubt Erimond and change sides:
- If you didn't kill the Wardens you encountered earlier (just before the battlements) and instead told them to retreat (this seems to be the most convincing option).
- If Blackwall is in your party.
- If you have the History Knowledge Perk.
Your words are enough to sway Clarel, at least. When Erimond attacks you with Corypheus' dragon, Clarel's suspicions are confirmed and she orders the Wardens to help you.
Regardless of how successful you were at convincing them, you'll always fight at least a few Wardens - the Spellbinders, who (as Erimond mentioned previously) are not as in control of themselves due to their connection to the Fade.
Chasing Erimond
Once the battle is over, push forward (west) across the battlements - being wary of attacks from the Dragon who is still flying around above your head. When you reach Clarel and Erimond, they are dueling. Right when Clarel is about to succeed, she's attacked by the dragon.
In an attempt to do one last good thing with her life, Clarel casts a spell in an attempt to take out the dragon (and herself, with it). However, the structure she's on is decimated in the blast and you and your party begin to fall. You save everyone in the nick of time by using your new knowledge about the Anchor to open a gateway to the Fade.
The Fade
When you and your party, plus the Warden ally and Hawke, all wake up in the Fade, your number one goal is to figure a way out. However, as you progress forwards and up the stairs ahead, you'll meet a Spirit. It seems to be the spirit of Divine Justinia V, the woman who was killed in Dragon Age: Inquisition's opening moments.
It's revealed that you've fallen into the domain of the Nightmare, a demon who is one of Corypheus' generals. The Nightmare is actually the reason that you can't remember what happened at the Temple of Sacred Ashes before the explosion.
Memory Wraiths
Push forward and fight four Wraiths that appear and attack you. After they die, they release one of your memories that you can now collect. Once you have all four, you'll know the truth of things: the Inquisitor walked in on Corypheus' ritual and tried to save the Divine. However, when they touched Corypheus' orb in the process, they got their mark - the Anchor - that Corypheus was trying to give himself.
When you push forward, at the spirit/Divine Justinia's request, you and your party begin to be taunted by the Nightmare. You'll need to fight "Fearlings" - demons that take the form of your greatest fear (for the Inquisitor, that's spiders). There's a path east and a path north - while the path north will provide loot, it's a dead end. Go east to encounter the Spirit again.
You'll repeat the process of fighting Wraiths and getting your memories back, which reveals that the Divine, not Andraste, saved you in the Breach. She died so that you could escape.
The Fade branches off in two directions going forward. Both paths lead to the same place, they simply have different loot. Circle back and travel down both sides if you're looking to get everything or complete the side quests for this area.
Nightmare's Lair
Whichever path you take, you'll reach the Divine and need to fight off several waves of demons. Once that's over, she tells you to go back to the physical world and close the rift behind you. When you try to do that, however, you're opposed by the Nightmare, taking a creepy, spider-like form. To give you a chance of getting by, the Divine weakens it for you.
She sacrifices herself for your safety yet again, only asking that you bring a message to Leliana in return. Not able to confront you itself, the Nightmare calls an Aspect of the Nightmare to fight you, instead. This can be a tough boss fight, so here are a few tips to make it easier on yourself:
- Because it is hovering, blades occasionally aren't effective weapons against it.
- It'll activate a magical shield for itself quite often so keep an eye out for that.
- It is vulnerable to electric and spirit attacks, but is immune to all other effects.
- Twice during the fight (when you've taken out 30 percent of its health, then 60 percent of its health) the Aspect summons demons to help it and becomes invisible - you may spot it teleporting around the arena but it's useless to go after it; it'll become material again when all the demons have been killed.
Who To Leave Behind
Having killed the Aspect, you rush to escape through the Rift - and are blocked by the Nightmare spider one more time. Both Hawke and your Warden ally will volunteer to stay behind and keep it busy while you leave. You must choose who stays and who escapes. Though unconfirmed, it's assumed that whoever stays will die.
Return To Adamant Fortress
At long last, you escape the Fade and return to Adamant Fortress, where the Inquisition has dealt with the remaining demons, Grey Warden opponents, and Erimond.
There's one last critical choice to make. The Grey Wardens must leave Orlais due to the horrible things that have happened, but what will they do? You can tell the Orlesian Wardens that they are exiled, or that they should join the Inquisition and rebuild.
Outcomes
Crestwood
- 160 Influence
- 256 XP
Western Approach
- 242 XP
- 80 Influence
Adamant Fortress
- 150 Influence
- 2 Power
Clearing The Siege Points
- 200 Influence
- 967 XP
- 2 Power
The Fade
- 200 Influence
- 2 Power
Return To Adamant Fortress
If you exiled the Grey Wardens:
- Orlais is left without Warden presence.
- Where the Wardens go is unknown.
- War Table Operation called "Investigate Val Gamord" is unlocked.
- Blackwall will ask to stay with the Inquisition - you can allow him to stay or exile him too.
- If Loghain or Alistair is alive and fathered Kieran, he asks the Inquisitor to pass on a message.
- Blackwall, Dorian, Iron Bull, Varric (if you left the Warden behind), and Sera all disapprove to some degree.
- Cassandra, Cole, Solas, Varric (if you left Hawke behind), and Vivienne all approve to some degree.
If the Grey Wardens join the Inquisition:
- The Grey Wardens join your forces at Skyhold.
- The Grey Wardens work to rebuild their order.
- War Table Operation called "Protect Val Gamord from Darkspawn" is unlocked.
- Warden ally or Hawke chooses to go to Weisshaupt to tell the Wardens there about what was happened.
- Blackwall, Varric (if you left the Warden behind), Dorian, Iron Bull, and Sera all approve to some degree.
- Cassandra, Cole, Solas, Varric (if you left Hawke behind), and Vivienne all disapprove to some degree.
Return To Skyhold
- 3,2000 Influence
- 9,875 XP
- 4 Power
- Bloodwake (Staff)