There are dozens of hours of content in Dragon Age: Inquisition but few things are quite as breath-taking as battling the 10 dragons currently roaming the various corners of Thedas. To say that Dragon Age: Inquisition delivered enjoyable gameplay for this aspect of the game feels like the understatement of the century. So we want to do our part to make sure you don't miss out on any of the fire/ice/electricity-breathing action.
Having just finished the Dragon Age: Inquisition campaign, I figured now would be the perfect time to round up some basic information on the various dragons that can be battled in Inquisition including maps to each of their locations and information on which types of magic you can/can't expect to work against each. Given the similarity between most of the dragon encounters there's no reason to break down the same battle strategy ten different times, but we did note any additional tasks that must be completed before gaining access to certain dragons. There's also a warning for one, the Vinsomer, after my battle against the creature yielded two of the least-enjoyable hours of gameplay I've encountered during my 70-plus hours with Dragon Age: Inquisition.
While I generally try to avoid including spoilers of any kind, I will make a small exception for this article in hopes of improving your own gameplay experience. While it’s never directly stated, at least not until after the event(s) in question take place, it turns out that taking Iron Bull into battle against one or more dragons will greatly improve your friendship (and/or romance) with the Qunari warrior. Not only will you see an immediate approval bonus after dropping each creature, those who take a few minutes to visit Iron Bull in the tavern back at Skyhold will find that he’s all too ready to recount your adventures over a few drinks.
Those who’ve yet to face-off against a dragon in Dragon Age: Inquisition should know that many of the encounters aren’t nearly as eventful as your first, the battle against the Fereldan Frostback. In most cases, you’ll track down a dragon and then make slight adjustments to your position as the beast hops around whatever clearing where it was discovered. Occasionally, they’ll take flight for a few seconds and try to bombard your party with fire/ice/etc but the action generally returns to the same area where it began after the creature lands.
Here’s where you can find the ten dragons terrorizing the land of Thedas in Dragon Age: Inquisition:
1. The Hinterlands - Fereldan Frostback (Level 12)
- HP: ~105,000
- Resistance: Fire
- Weakness: Cold
2. Crestwood – Northern Hunter (Level 13)
- HP: ~118,000
- Resistance: Electricity
- Weakness: Spirit
Must complete “Still Waters” quest chain first
3. Western Approach – Abyssal High Dragon (Level 14)
- HP: ~135,000
- Resistance: Fire
- Weakness: Cold
Must complete quest chain that begins with “Draconology” first
4. Exalted Plains – Gamordan Stormrider (Level 15)
- HP: ~150,000
- Resistance: Electricity
- Weakness: Spirit
The fight against the Gamordan Stormrider is one of the least-eventful dragon encounters in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Unlike the Frostback, the Northern Hunter doesn’t move around all that much, and its infrequent movement makes it easy for players to line-up characters’ most-powerful attacks.
Just be sure to tell your archers/mages to keep running outside his melee range and make sure no one in the party is standing in the water while it’s electrified. The amplified electric damage will make quick work of your party, even if you’ve got some decent gear and a few levels on the beast.
5. Emerald Graves – Greater Mistral (Level 17)
- HP: ~188,000
- Resistance: Cold
- Weakness: Fire
6. Storm Coast – Vinsomer (Level 19)
- HP: ~226,000
- Resistance: Electricity
- Weakness: Spirit
This was easily the most patience-testing dragon encounter in Inquisition and I’m still not really sure how that ended up being the case.
Despite everyone in my party being two levels higher than Vinsomer, I failed (quite miserably) to keep anyone other than Cassandra alive for more than a couple of minutes. Even that felt like more of a formality, to make me feel better about the fact that three-quarters of my party would remain unconscious for 90 percent of the fight, than any sort of situation I could have actually altered.
I proceeded to spend the next two hours – yes, dropping Vinsomer took two of the most fucking tedious, boring hours I’ve ever spent doing anything in a video game – smashing down his multi-thousand hit point Guard meter, dealing about 5K damage to him and then being forced to smash through another full Guard meter.
Not once did Cassandra’s health or Guard drop below 50 percent. Not once did it ever seem like the dragon might actually emerge from the fight. With the exception of my two-minute scramble to keep the whole party alive, my entire fight against the Vinsomer was just two hours of me holding down the right trigger and occasionally repositioning myself on the battlefield.
There are many things to love about Dragon Age: Inquisition but this fight isn’t one of them. Then again, maybe I just found a weird, one-off situation that others won’t be able to repeat. That’s sort of the point of games like Dragon Age: Inquisition, right?
UPDATE: In my haste to complain about my own troubles fighting Vinsomer, I forgot to mention that you won't actually be fighting this particular dragon the first time you see him. As several people in the comments mentioned, the first time you spot Vinsomer he'll be busy fighting a giant on a beach in the Storm Coast. To challenge the dragon yourself, you'll need to clear out the camp marked on the map and then use an abandoned boat to reach the nearby island that Vinsomer calls home.
My apologies, fellow Dragon Age: Inquisition players!
7. Hissing Wastes – Sandy Howler (Level 20)
- HP: ~246,000
- Resistance: Fire
- Weakness: Cold
8. Emprise du Lion – Hivernal (Level 19)
- HP: ~226,000
- Resistance: Cold
- Weakness: Fire
Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first
9. Emprise du Lion – The Kaltenzahn (Level 21)
- HP: ~267,000
- Resistance: Cold
- Weakness: Fire
Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first
10. Emprise du Lion – The Highland Ravager (Level 23)
- HP: ~311,000
- Resistance: Fire
- Weakness: Cold
Must finish “Restore Judicael’s Crossing” operation first
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Congratulations, you’ve taken down all 10 of the dragons currently tormenting the people of Thedas and earned the Dragon's Bane achievement/trophy!
Now, let’s just hope that there’s some sort of Dragon Age: Inquisition expansion in the works over at Bioware, and that the next round of content for the game includes both more and more-diverse dragon encounters for those of us who’ve grown fond of hunting the game’s largest enemies.
Maybe come up with a replacement for that cyclone attack, though?
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Dragon Age: Inquisition coverage, including our review of the game, for however long Bioware continues to produce new Dragon Age: Inquisition content in the months ahead.
What did you think of the various dragon battles that can be completed in Dragon Age: Inquisition? Disappointed that all of the fights weren’t as eventful as the battle against the Fereldan Frostback? Have an idea that you think would improve dragon encounters in Dragon Age: Inquisition?
Let us know in the comments section!
