You’re stuck in the Hinterlands. It’s been six hours. You’ve killed approximately four thousand rams, collected enough iron to build a second Skyhold, and you’re starting to wonder if the Breach even matters anymore.
Don't feel bad. We've all been there.
The biggest mistake people make with Dragon Age Inquisition quests is treating the game like a checklist. BioWare filled this massive world with an overwhelming amount of "fluff," and if you try to 100% every map before moving the story forward, you’ll burn out before you even meet Hawke. Honestly, the game is designed to be played with a sense of urgency, even if the quest log suggests otherwise. Understanding which missions actually impact the world of Thedas—and which ones are just busywork for Requisitions—is the difference between an 80-hour masterpiece and a 150-hour slog.
Why the Hinterlands is a Trap
Most players assume they need to clear the first map. They don't. The Hinterlands is a beautiful, sprawling nightmare of fetch quests. "Blood Brothers," "Shallow Breath," and "A Mother’s Hope" are small, narrative vignettes, but they don't change the political landscape. They're meant to give you Power—the currency used to unlock main story beats—but you can get that elsewhere.
Basically, as soon as you have enough Power to head to Val Royeaux, leave.
The game really opens up once you hit Skyhold. That's when the "real" Dragon Age Inquisition quests begin. This is where your decisions start to carry weight. Before that point, you're mostly just a survivor trying not to get blown up by rogue mages or templars. After Skyhold, you're the Inquisitor. You have a throne. You have a judge’s gavel. You have the power to decide who lives and who dies in the name of "order."
The Power of Choice in Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts
Take the Winter Palace. "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts" is arguably the best-designed quest in the game because it isn't about combat. It’s about social standing. You have a "Court Approval" meter that fluctuates based on how you talk to nobles and how long you stay out of the ballroom.
Most people think you just have to find the assassin. That’s the bare minimum. The real depth comes from the blackmail material you find for Leliana. Do you reconcile Empress Celene with her lover Briala? Do you let Celene die so Gaspard can take the throne? Or do you force all three of them into a shaky, hateful truce?
Specific details matter here. If you’re playing an Elf or a Qunari, you start with lower approval. The court is racist. You have to work harder. You have to find the Caprice coins and toss them into the fountain. It’s these mechanical reflections of the lore that make the questing system work when it's firing on all cylinders.
Inner Circle Missions: More Than Just Talking
If you ignore your companions, you're missing half the game. Dragon Age Inquisition quests involving your inner circle are where the emotional core of the series lives. Take Varric’s quest, "Well, Shit." It’s short, punchy, and deals with the fallout of the red lyrium trade. Or Dorian’s "Last Resort of Good Men," which tackles his complicated relationship with his father and the Tevinter Imperium’s social pressures.
These aren't just for flavor. Completing these missions unlocks "High Approval" versions of their endings. If you neglect Blackwall’s "Revelations," you’ll never know who he actually is. You’ll just have a stoic Grey Warden in your party who eventually disappears. The game doesn't force these on you, which is a bold move by BioWare. You have to earn the right to know these people.
Dealing with the Dragon Problems
Let's talk about the High Dragons. There are ten of them. They are technically "Side Quests," but they feel more like boss fights from an entirely different game. Each dragon has a specific elemental weakness and a unique arena.
The Abyssal High Dragon in the Western Approach requires a multi-step questline just to lure it out. You have to work with Frederic, a researcher who is obsessed with dragon biology. This isn't just "go here, kill that." It’s "go here, find these specific entrails, set a trap, and then try not to get incinerated." Pro tip: Bring a Mage with the Knight-Enchanter spec if you want to cheese these fights. Or don't, if you actually like a challenge.
The Misunderstood War Table
The War Table is technically a quest hub, but it functions like a real-time strategy game. A lot of players find it annoying because of the real-world timers. (Seriously, some missions take 24 hours). But the narrative consequences are huge.
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If you send the wrong advisor to deal with the Clan Lavellan situation, you can literally get your protagonist’s entire family wiped out. It happens off-screen, in text, but it stays in your codex. It affects how you view your character’s place in the world. Using Cullen for everything usually leads to a "smash and grab" solution, while Josephine prefers diplomacy and Leliana likes... well, murder.
Choosing the right advisor for these Dragon Age Inquisition quests at the War Table is a meta-game that rewards players who actually read the mission descriptions instead of just clicking the one with the shortest timer.
Environmental Storytelling in the Hissing Wastes
The Hissing Wastes is a polarizing map. It’s huge. It’s empty. It’s dark. But for lore nerds, it’s a goldmine. The "Tomb of Fairel" quest takes you through the history of the Dwarven Paragons. You’re tracking the burial sites of a family that fled the Deep Roads.
It’s quiet. There are no screaming NPCs or immediate threats. Just you, your horse, and the sand. It’s one of the few times the game allows for a sense of scale and loneliness. Not every quest needs to be a world-ending event. Sometimes, finding a thousand-year-old diary in a ruined tomb is enough.
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How to Actually Prioritize Your Quest Log
If you want to see the "true" version of the story without losing your mind, follow this hierarchy:
- Inquisitor’s Path (Gold Icons): These are the main story. Do them when you feel the pace slowing down.
- Inner Circle (Person Icons): These are essential for companion loyalty and the best dialogue.
- Regional Story Quests: Every map has one "major" problem (like the flooding in Crestwood or the undead in the Exalted Plains). Do these to feel like you actually helped the region.
- Everything Else: Only do these if you need Power or Influence. Collecting shards? Skip it unless you really want that elemental resistance in the Temple of Solasan. Requisitions? Ignore them entirely. They are a resource sink that offers almost zero narrative reward.
The game is a massive political drama masked as an action RPG. When you focus on the Dragon Age Inquisition quests that involve diplomacy, companion growth, and major territorial shifts, the pacing feels tight. When you start hunting for 10 pieces of Ram Meat, you're not playing a hero; you're playing a delivery driver.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Playthrough
- Get to Skyhold by Level 8-10. Don't over-level in the early zones. The game scales, but the story loses momentum if you’re too powerful too early.
- Talk to everyone after every major mission. New dialogue trees and companion quests trigger specifically after "In Your Heart Shall Burn" and "Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts."
- Read the War Table reports. The rewards are often mediocre, but the world-building is where the writers hid the best stuff.
- Capture the Keeps. Caer Bronach, Griffin Wing Keep, and Suledin Keep provide fast travel points, vendors, and a sense of progression that random camps don't.
- Ignore the Shards. Unless you are a completionist who needs every achievement, the Shard questline is the single most tedious part of the game. Save your sanity.
The beauty of Thedas isn't in its map markers. It’s in the way the world reacts to you. Kill the dragons, save the Empress, and let the small stuff go. Your Inquisitor has a world to save, and those ram skins aren't going to stop Corypheus.