The last installment of BioWare’s fantasy RPG series Dragon Age was a pretty amazing game, winning Game of the Year awards when it was released in 2014. It was a beautiful game with a great party, and had largely only one major flaw: most of its side quests were not as engaging as those seen in previous entries. The game had far too many fetch quests which didn’t respect the player’s time, even resulting in memes like “Leave the Hinterlands.”

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For many players, this left them trying to mainline the title’s story missions. But have you ever been curious about what else there is in the game? What’s worth doing in the game, and what isn’t? Let's run down things to do after you’ve already beaten the game.

Updated August 17, 2021 by Jamie Pellikaan: In continuation of Dragon Age week, here is an extended breakdown of all the things you can do in Dragon Age Inquisition even after you have beaten the main quest. The game not only has hundreds of hours of gameplay, in-depth landscapes, and boasts a massive open-world concept, but it also spawned three DLCs with hours of extra content. There is so much this game has to offer that finishing the game can sometimes be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of content.

15 Get Some Cooler Mounts

Dragon Age Inquisitor on Mount in Skyhold

Speeding through main content can create a situation in which a player only finished the game with a simple horse. However, that’s not exactly the coolest way to travel. Dragon Age Inquisition has around three dozen different mounts that players can use in the game.

And while some of the cooler ones are locked away via obscure DLC (the Light-Torn Steed), there’s still no shortage of mounts available for the player. Of course, there are the standard horses, but there’s also giant harts (essentially stag deer), or the weirdly cute nuggalopes. Particularly dangerous adventurers can even try their hand with the dracolisks.

14 Seal All The Rifts

Dragon Age Rift Inside The Frostback Basin

Players truly seeking to immerse themselves in the role will want to seal off all the rifts around the lands. Beating the game certainly doesn’t put an end to all of them, and there are little fissures open all around the different lands which still have Fade beings pouring out from them and causing trouble for people in the area.

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While a lot of the game’s side content can be pretty dull, handling the rifts is always good for some fun. Plus, there’s a trophy/achievement in it for any player who seals all the major rifts around, getting them that much closer to the Platinum.

13 Unlock All The Astrariums

Astrarium Puzzle guide

Play the game long enough and everyone is bound to eventually come across the Astrariums. They’re Tevinter relics that allow for the viewing of constellations, but they serve a bigger purpose than that.

Each one is a puzzle that must be completed by connecting all the stars for a given constellation, but there’s one rule: no line can be drawn more than a single time. Completing all the Astrariums in a given location will eventually point to a hidden location, allowing players to access the hidden items inside. Often, these are rare materials that will make it easier to craft additional armor and weapons.

12 Craft Some Gear

Menu screen for gear and weapons

For any player that rushed their way through Inquisition to try and beat it as fast as possible, they’re going to want to craft some gear if they want to continue doing anything important in the game. Some of the side boss content will require equipment that’s a little more impressive than anything they’ll be able to find at the shops.

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Collect a few blueprints and hunt around for the proper materials, but be careful. Different materials can create a completely different look for the same blueprint, so a player could easily get caught playing Fashion Age instead of Dragon Age.

11 Visit Emprise Du Lion

Overhead view of Emprise Du Lion

One of the coolest things about Dragon Age: Inquisition’s large, open zone-based world is the ability to complete the game without even seeing all the environments the game has to offer. Though the game will take the player through almost all of them, the Emprise du Lion has absolutely no main quests demanding that they visit. The place is a beautiful, snow-covered environment filled with ancient ruins and even a coliseum.

There are several quests available for players to work through, meaning they could lose hours of spending time just in this single zone. There’s even a Keep, in the form of an elven fortress which can be claimed for the Inquisition.

10 Liberate All The Keeps

Overview of Suledin Keep

Skyhold is a pretty sweet location for the Inquisitor. It’s customizable, has all your companions, and even has a nifty little throne for the player to judge people’s fate. What’s not to like? Still, it’s a little unrealistic that the Inquisition is this massive national force with all of its forces located at only one base.

Well, it’s a tad late considering the game is over, but there are still three additional castle locations the player can unlock. Known as Keeps, each one will require being liberated from their current owners first. Afterward, however, players will have light control over how these Keeps are developed, such as whether they want to be trade locations or additional military bases.

9 Go To The Frostback Basin

Promotional Art for Dragon Age DLC Jaws of Hakkon

It seems obvious, but after beating the game, it’s absolutely worth it to play through the first DLC, the Jaws of Hakkon. Over the course of the game, the first Inquisitor is brought up a few times, so for those who are curious about that Inquisitor’s origins, this DLC is made for them.

A massive jungle wilderness overcome with a group of wild hunters known as the Avvar, playing through this chapter of DLC will fill in several gaps of information for players looking for additional lore. There’s also another dragon to slay, which should be enough to pull in most players.

8 Beat All The Dragons

Dragon Age Inquisition: Inquisitor and Companions fighting High Dragon
via Windows Central
Dragon Age Inquisition

What’s the point of playing Dragon Age if you aren’t going to fight any dragons? For all of these to be side content which isn’t really necessary to beat the game, it’s amazing just how much thought went into each of these encounters. The game has ten different dragons, and each one has different tactics they rely on, sometimes different elements they use, and even have different ways of summoning them to battle.

Most of them are higher-level encounters, and beating them leaves behind materials to craft higher-level armor and weapons for the next one. Plus, beating one with Iron Bull at the players' side provides some of the best dialogue in the game.

7 Play A Different Role

promotional art for Dragon Age inquistion

Ultimately, if you’ve exhausted most of the side content in the game, there’s a lot to be gained from a second playthrough. The obvious is that players can take on a different race and try a different specialty in combat. But you can also beat the game in Nightmare mode, a necessity to attain the Platinum.

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You will have to take on this version and beat it without ever lowering the difficulty to get the Platinum if they want it. And of course, it’s worth a second playthrough for no other reason than to try and romance a different character on subsequent playthroughs.

6 Finish Trespasser

Dragon Age: Overview look at Elven ruins in trespasser

Trespasser should be the absolute last thing the player should do in the game. Once these quests begin it shuts off all side content, permanently. That said, this DLC serves as an absolutely crucial epilogue for the majority of the characters in the game.

It finishes up the story of the Inquisition as an army and explains what happens for most of the player’s parties when the game is done. But more importantly than any of that, this also offers up an explanation for what caused the Breach, and who the next main villain is for the upcoming Dragon Age title.

5 Collect All The Shards

Landscape view of the Forbidden oasis

Throughout the game, you may have come across various skulls that highlight strange glowing shards. With a total of 114 to find, this may have been something you stopped doing all the way back in the hinterlands.

Well, with Corypheus defeated and the world saved from destruction by demons, you now have ample time to locate all the shards. You’ll want to at least consider doing this quest since once all of the shards have been collected you get access to various places inside the Temple of Pride, an old elven temple with unique loot and sigils.

4 Finish Upgrading Skyhold

Dragon Age Inquisition - Skyhold main hall as seen from the Battlements

At some point in the game, you begin seeing quests to update places in Skyhold like the garden and the courtyard. These areas take lots of items to renovate so saving it till the end may be the smart thing to do if you are short on elfroot.

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Upgrading Skyhold lets you customize the fortress to reflect the attitude and nature of your inquisitor, sending a clear message about what your priorities and beliefs are. More importantly, however, it allows you to make the place uniquely yours and updating can give you cool features like a mages’ tower or an herbal garden.

3 Find All The Landmarks

the hinterlands, crossroads area

Upon visiting a new location, you will notice that various landmarks dot the map waiting for you and your merry band of companions to find and claim them for the inquisition. If you haven’t completed any landmark sets, now is the time to change that since it not only grants you boosts in XP, but sometimes gives you cool rewards.

For instance, once you have located all the landmarks inside the Hinterlands that make up the saga of Tyrdda Bright-Axe you have the opportunity to wield her legendary weapon for your own.

2 Venture Into The Deep Roads

Deep Roads.

Probably the lesser-known of the three-story DLCs for Dragon Age Inquisition, Descent centers around mysterious earthquakes happening in the deep roads. The Inquisition is asked to investigate these disturbances.

To save you from potential spoilers, all you need to know is that Descent is a fast-paced, action-packed DLC that explores Dwarven history and culture in-depth. The story was designed for people who had finished the main quest, so be ready for challenging adversaries and hard battles.

1 Destroy All Red Lyrium

Dwarves
Dragon Age Red Lyrium, Dwarves

Red Lyrium is a major plot point for the main quest line and destroying it is central to Varric’s companion quest and earning his approval. But, even after you and Varric are best buds, there is still red lyrium to destroy all over Thedas.

Some may think it's pointless to continue the pursuit of the corrupted lyrium after Corypheus is gone, but each time you destroy it your approval with Varric increases. Moreover, after you destroy enough of it, you can unlock a hidden area where the Red Templars are hoarding their Red Lyrium and put an end to their supply.

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