Talking to Solas has always been a nightmare. If you played Inquisition, you already know the drill: he’s arrogant, he’s ancient, and he somehow makes you feel like a toddler for not knowing how the Fade worked ten thousand years ago. Now that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is finally here, that dynamic hasn't changed much. He’s stuck in a magical prison, yet he’s still trying to run the show from the sidelines.
Getting the "right" outcomes in a Dragon Age Veilguard Solas conversation guide isn't just about picking the "nice" dialogue options. It's way messier than that. Solas doesn't want a cheerleader. He wants someone who can actually challenge his logic without being a total jerk about it. If you suck up to him, he sees right through it. If you’re too aggressive, he just shuts down and treats you like a footnote in history.
You have to find the middle ground. It’s about respect, not subservience.
Why Your Early Choices With Solas Set the Tone
In the early acts of The Veilguard, your interactions with Solas take place mostly within the Lighthouse. This is his headspace. He’s literalizing his memories and his regrets there. When you first start digging into his motivations, the game gives you a few different flavors of response: the hopeful hero, the hardened pragmatist, and the skeptic.
Most players think that if they want to "save" Solas, they have to agree with his weird "destroy the world to save the Elves" plan. That’s a mistake. Solas actually appreciates it when Rook—that’s you—shows a bit of spine. In the early conversations, especially those regarding the ritual in Minrathous, being firm about the consequences of his actions actually earns more "Respect" points than just nodding along.
He’s spent centuries being the smartest person in the room. Or at least, he thinks he has. When you point out the flaws in his plan, like the fact that his ritual was literally tearing reality apart regardless of his "good intentions," he might act annoyed, but the game tracks that as meaningful engagement.
Don't be a yes-man. He hates yes-men.
The Question of the Veil
One of the big sticking points in any Dragon Age Veilguard Solas conversation guide is how you handle the topic of the Veil itself. Solas views the Veil as a tragedy—a temporary bandage that turned into a permanent scar. He’s mourning a world you’ve never seen.
If you approach these dialogues by dismissing his grief, you'll lose him early. Instead, try to ask questions. There’s a specific dialogue line early on where you can ask him what the world felt like before. Choosing this doesn't mean you agree with him destroying the current world, but it signals to the game's internal affinity system that you are trying to understand his perspective.
Understanding isn't the same as agreement. Solas knows this better than anyone.
Navigating the "Vows" and the Past
As you progress, the conversations get heavier. You’ll start talking about his past as Fen'Harel. This is where things get dicey because Solas is an unreliable narrator. He’s not necessarily lying to you, but he’s definitely omitting things.
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When he talks about the Evanuris—those "gods" he locked away—he’s terrified. He won't admit it, of course. He’ll frame it as a tactical necessity. Your job in these conversation trees is to keep him grounded in the present. If you spend too much time arguing about what happened 3,000 years ago, you aren't making progress.
Bring the conversation back to the people living in Thedas right now. Mention your companions. Mention the people in the streets of Treviso or Minrathous. Solas has a tendency to view people as "abstracts" or "shades." By forcing him to acknowledge the individual lives at stake, you’re chipping away at his justification for the ritual.
The Inquisitor Connection
If you imported a world state or customized your Inquisitor’s history, this adds a massive layer to the dialogue. If your Inquisitor was friends with Solas (or romanced him), the tone shifts. He’s more melancholic.
In these specific scenes, using the dialogue options that reference "the person he used to be" acts as a high-reward, high-risk play. If you do it too often, he gets defensive. He’ll tell you that the Solas you knew was a mask. But if you save those emotional beats for the climax of the conversation, it’s much more effective at moving his stance toward the "Redemption" path.
Managing Solas's Disapproval
You're going to piss him off. Accept it now.
BioWare designed Solas to be a polarizing figure, and the approval system reflects that. There are moments where you have to choose between the safety of your current team and Solas’s long-term goals. Always pick your team. While it might seem counterintuitive for a "guide," letting Solas "disapprove" in these moments actually builds a more authentic relationship.
He needs to see that you are a leader in your own right. He’s looking for a successor of sorts—not to his godhood, but to his responsibility for the world. If you constantly defer to him, he loses interest. He sees you as just another piece on the board.
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Key Phrases to Look Out For
Keep an eye on the icons in the dialogue wheel. While the "heart" is obviously for romance/friendship and the "fist" is for aggression, the "question mark" or "investigation" icons are your best friends when dealing with the Dread Wolf.
- "Why did you choose this?" – Always better than "You were wrong."
- "The world has changed, Solas." – Use this when he gets too nostalgic.
- "I'm not my predecessors." – This is a power move. It forces him to look at Rook as an individual, not just another mortal.
The Turning Point: The Final Lighthouse Talks
Toward the end of the game, the conversations in the Lighthouse reach a boiling point. This is where your Dragon Age Veilguard Solas conversation guide knowledge really matters. There is a specific threshold of "Understanding" you need to have reached to unlock the best possible outcomes.
If you’ve been consistently questioning his logic while respecting his history, you’ll see new options. These options usually revolve around the idea of "A New Path." It’s the middle ground between letting him do what he wants and killing him outright.
Solas is a character defined by his inability to see a third option. He thinks it’s either his way or total failure. Your goal through the entire game's dialogue is to prove to him that a third option exists.
Practical Steps for Your Playthrough
To ensure you get the most out of your interactions with Solas, follow these tactical steps during your sessions:
- Check the Lighthouse after every major mission. Solas often has "ambient" dialogue that doesn't trigger a cutscene but provides crucial context for his mood.
- Prioritize the "Elven Artifacts" side quests. Bringing these up in conversation gives you unique "Knowledge" dialogue triggers that aren't available otherwise.
- Don't ignore the Inquisitor’s input. When the game gives you the chance to decide how the Inquisitor feels about Solas in the current year, be consistent. Flipping between "I hate him" and "I love him" confuses the game's flags.
- Watch his body language. BioWare put a lot of work into Solas’s micro-expressions in The Veilguard. If he looks away or pauses for a long time, the next dialogue choice is usually a "trap" where he’s testing your resolve.
Solas isn't an enemy you beat with a sword—at least, not primarily. He’s an intellectual and emotional puzzle. If you treat him like a raid boss, you’ll miss the best parts of his arc. If you treat him like a god, he’ll treat you like a servant. Treat him like a man who made a catastrophic mistake and is too proud to admit he's scared, and you'll find the ending you're looking for.
Focus on building a rapport based on "Earned Respect" rather than "Blind Loyalty." This means choosing the "Stiff" or "Professional" dialogue options more often than the "Emotional" ones in the first half of the game. Once the stakes get higher in the final acts, you can pivot to the more emotional appeals to drive home the impact of his choices. This trajectory feels the most natural to the character's writing and yields the most nuanced responses from the voice performance.