BioWare took a massive swing back in 2014. They wanted to move away from the recycled, claustrophobic corridors of Kirkwall and give us the world. Or, at least, massive chunks of it. Looking at game maps Dragon Age Inquisition today, you can see the ambition bleeding through every pixel of the Frostbite engine. It’s gorgeous. It's also, if we’re being honest, kind of a mess of icons and verticality that makes your horse feel useless.
The Hinterlands is the elephant in the room. Everybody talks about it because everybody got stuck there. You’ve probably heard the advice: "Leave the Hinterlands." It’s basically a mantra at this point. BioWare built a map so dense with power-leveling fluff that players forgot there was a high-stakes political thriller happening elsewhere. This isn’t just about size; it’s about how the game lures you into a loop of picking elfroot when you should be closing rifts in the sky.
The Vertical Nightmare of the Western Approach and Forbidden Oasis
Navigation in Thedas isn't a straight line. It's rarely even a curved one. It’s a zigzagging, "how do I get up there" nightmare that makes the mini-map feel like a liar. Take the Forbidden Oasis. On paper, it’s a cool desert canyon centered around a mysterious temple. In practice? You’ll spend forty minutes staring at a shard that is ten feet above your head, but requires you to find a specific rock ramp half a mile away.
The map doesn't tell you about elevation. It just shows a circle. You get there, jump against a jagged cliff face for five minutes—because the jumping mechanics are floaty and imprecise—and eventually realize the path started back at the entrance. It's a classic design friction.
The Western Approach handles scale better, but it’s still a gauntlet of "gating." You see a landmark, you head toward it, and—boom—gas clouds. You need to go back to the War Table, spend Power, and wait for a bridge to be built. This back-and-forth rhythm defines the exploration. It’s not seamless. It’s a series of chores disguised as a grand adventure, though the sheer visual variety of the Canyons vs. the Hissing Wastes keeps it from feeling completely stale.
👉 See also: Why Your Choice of Cards on Clash Royale Actually Matters in 2026
Why the Hissing Wastes Is Actually a Masterpiece (and Why People Hate It)
Most players loathe the Hissing Wastes. It’s too big. It’s empty. It’s dark. But if you look at the game maps Dragon Age Inquisition offers, the Hastes is the only one that actually feels like a place rather than a theme park.
In the Exalted Plains, you can't walk ten feet without tripping over a corpse or a side quest. It feels crowded. The Hissing Wastes, conversely, uses negative space. The moon hangs low, the sand ripples, and the silence is heavy. It captures that "lonely wanderer" vibe better than any other zone. Is it a pain to traverse on foot? Absolutely. Is the horse still weirdly slow? Yes. But it provides a sense of scale that makes the discovery of the Dwarven tombs feel significant. You actually had to travel to find them.
Comparing the "Power" Economy to Map Design
Everything in these maps serves the Power mechanic. You don't explore because you're curious; you explore because you need 30 Power to unlock the next story beat. This changes how we look at the topography.
- The Storm Coast: Tight, rainy, and full of hidden coves. Great for farming iron, terrible for seeing more than twenty yards ahead of you.
- Crestwood: It changes. This is the coolest part of the map design. You drain a lake, and the map literally evolves. New areas open up. Old areas are gone. It's the most "living" the world ever feels.
- The Emerald Graves: A vertical forest that’s arguably the most beautiful zone in the game, but also a labyrinth of giant trees that block your line of sight to objectives.
The Ocularum Problem and the Map Icon Bloat
Go to any map. Open the legend. Look at the icons. It’s enough to give anyone a headache. The Ocularums—those skull-on-a-stick telescopes—are the worst offenders. They turn the beautiful landscapes of Orlais and Ferelden into a game of "connect the dots" with glowing shards.
This is the "Ubisoft-ification" of Dragon Age. Instead of organic discovery, the map tells you exactly where the fun is, which paradoxically makes it feel less like fun and more like a checklist. Expert players usually suggest turning off the HUD or ignoring the shards entirely unless you're desperate for elemental resistances in the late game. The game is much better when you're looking at the mountains, not the little white diamond on your compass.
Dealing With the "Inaccessible" Quest Markers
We’ve all been there. You’re in the Exalted Plains. You see a quest marker for a rampart. You walk to it. You’re standing right on top of it, but there’s nothing there. Then you realize there’s a basement. Or a roof.
✨ Don't miss: Tony Hawk 3 and 4 Release: Why the Remake Timeline Is So Messy
The game's 2D map overlay is its biggest weakness. It lacks the topographical layers seen in more modern RPGs. When dealing with the multi-level ruins of Emprise du Lion, you basically have to ignore the map and use your eyes. Look for ladders. Look for broken stone stairs. The map will only lead you into a wall.
Emprise du Lion is actually a great example of "corridor" map design masked as an open world. It’s essentially a giant "U" shape. You start at the bottom, work your way through the villages, cross the bridge, and end up at the coliseum. It’s linear, but the scale makes it feel massive. It’s a clever trick, but once you see the "U," the illusion of total freedom breaks down.
The DLC Maps: Jaws of Hakkon and Trespasser
The Frostback Basin from the Jaws of Hakkon DLC is arguably the best-designed map in the entire game. BioWare clearly listened to the feedback about the base game's maps being a bit "flat" in terms of engagement. The Basin has layers, but they are connected logically. There are treehouse villages that feel integrated into the environment, not just plopped on top.
Then there is Trespasser. Trespasser does away with the "open map" concept entirely, returning to a more directed, linear experience. Most fans agree this was the right move for the story. It proves that while the big, sprawling game maps Dragon Age Inquisition provided were impressive, the game’s heart beat strongest when the path was clear.
Maximize Your Exploration Without Losing Your Mind
If you're jumping back into Thedas, or maybe playing for the first time before the next entry, you have to approach these maps with a strategy. If you try to 100% every zone as you enter it, you will burn out before you even meet the Duke in Orlais.
💡 You might also like: Klondike Solitaire Free No Download No Ads: The Simple Way to Play
- Prioritize Campsites: These are your fast travel points and health refills. Don't worry about the quests yet; just unlock the tents.
- Ignore the Shards: Unless you really want that specific gear in the Temple of Pride, the shards are a time-sink that adds very little to the narrative experience.
- Read the Letters: The maps are filled with "Notes on a Corpse." These often trigger small, local stories that give the landscape context. Without them, you're just walking through a pretty screensaver.
- The "Leave Early" Rule: Once you have enough Power to progress the main quest (In Your Heart Shall Burn), get out of the Hinterlands. You can always come back when you're over-leveled and can one-shot the dragons.
The maps are a testament to a specific era of gaming—the "bigger is better" era. They are flawed, gorgeous, frustrating, and iconic. They represent a transition for BioWare that we're still seeing the effects of today. Navigate them with purpose, and don't let the icons win.
Actionable Next Steps for Navigation
- Install the "More Visible Map" mods: If you're on PC, there are several community mods that clean up the fog of war and make icons more distinct.
- Use the "Ping" Constantly: The search pulse (V on PC, L3 on consoles) is your best friend. It highlights loot through walls, which is often the only way to find items in cluttered maps like the Fallow Mire.
- Fast Travel Often: Don't feel guilty about skipping the walk. The maps are designed for fast travel; the space between points is often just there for flavor and crafting materials.
- Focus on the Rifts: Closing Rifts is the fastest way to "clear" a map's difficulty and earn the Power needed to get back to the actual story.