Ex-Dragon Age Boss Reveals What He'd Change in Every Game

Ever wonder what a Dragon Age game would look like if its creators could hit rewind and fix their biggest regrets? Former executive producer Mark Darrah just gave us a peek. After more than 20 years at BioWare, he's spilling the beans on what he'd change across the series.

Darrah, who worked on all four Dragon Age games and returned as a consultant on The Veilguard in 2023, took to TikTok for a Q&A. First up: Dragon Age: Origins. He'd cut or dramatically reduce the dream sequence in the Mage Tower—the long trip into the Fade. He called it "filler" and admitted it "was definitely done pretty fast in the end." Instead, he'd add more character options, like another human origin and potentially the Avvar.

For Dragon Age 2, Darrah would tackle the controversial ending. If you sided with the mages, you'd no longer fight Orsino. Why? Because that fight makes Meredith seem right no matter what. As Darrah put it, "My feeling is Dragon Age 2 ends with, no what you choose, Meredith is right because the mages lose control."

Moving to Dragon Age: Inquisition, Darrah has a list. He'd speed up the critical path, reduce time in the Hinterlands, and probably cut the Hissing Wastes or another big zone entirely. "It's too big," he said. He'd also slash the power needed for crit path missions by 40-60% to improve pacing, and ensure the game shipped with the later-added prompt telling you to leave the first area.

Finally, Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Darrah's one addition? The Keep—BioWare's old cloud-based choice tracker. "I told them to," he said, though he admitted it would take some work. As for what he'd remove from Veilguard, he didn't have an answer.

So what's next for the series? Not much. BioWare is now a single-project studio focused entirely on the next Mass Effect, which is still years away. That means Dragon Age is on ice for the foreseeable future.

What do you think of Darrah's changes? Would you want to see any of them happen? Let us know in the comments!