You're standing in Haven. Or Skyhold. The music is swelling—that heroic Trevor Morris score that makes you feel like you could actually take on a Corypheus-sized threat. You click on that massive carved map. Suddenly, you aren't a god-slaying mage or a deadly rogue anymore. You’re a middle manager. That is the Dragon Age Inquisition war table experience in a nutshell. It’s this weird, polarizing mechanic that basically turned a high-fantasy epic into a series of timed emails. Honestly, it’s kind of brilliant, even if it makes you want to throw your controller when you realize a mission takes 20 real-time hours to finish.
A lot of people hated it. They felt it pulled them away from the action. But if you look at how the Dragon Age Inquisition war table functions within the broader narrative, it’s actually doing a lot of heavy lifting. It connects the "Inquisitor" role to the actual world of Thedas. Without it, you’re just a person wandering around the Hinterlands picking elfroot. With it? You’re a political power. You're directing spies, diplomats, and soldiers. It’s the connective tissue between your party’s adventures and the fate of nations like Ferelden and Orlais.
The Actual Mechanics of the Dragon Age Inquisition War Table
Basically, the table is divided into two types of interactions: Operations and Investigations. Operations are where you spend Power—that currency you get from closing rifts and helping people—to unlock new areas. Investigations are the timed missions where you send Cullen, Leliana, or Josephine out to do your dirty work.
Each advisor has a "style." Cullen is the hammer. If a problem can be solved by hitting it with a legion of soldiers, he’s your guy. Josephine is the velvet glove. She wants to talk, bribe, or negotiate. Leliana? She’s the dagger in the dark. She’s all about sabotage and secrets. The thing is, choosing the right advisor isn't just about flavor text. It actually changes the reward. If you send Cullen to deal with a noble, he might just scare them off, and you get some gold. If you send Josephine, she might secure a long-term alliance that nets you high-tier crafting materials.
Here’s a real tip: stop just clicking the person with the shortest timer.
Read the descriptions. Sometimes the "fast" option leads to a "failed" state for a quest chain. The Dragon Age Inquisition war table is full of multi-part missions. If you mess up the first step by choosing the wrong approach, the rest of the chain might disappear forever. For example, the "Protect Clan Lavellan" chain is notorious for this. If you’re playing an Elven Inquisitor and you make the wrong calls at the war table, your entire clan can be wiped out off-screen. It’s brutal.
Timing is Everything (Literally)
We have to talk about the timers. This was the most controversial part of the game back in 2014, and it still feels weird in 2026. Some missions take 15 minutes. Some take 24 hours. Because these are real-time hours, gamers used to—and still do—change the clock on their consoles or PCs just to bypass the wait.
It feels like a mobile game mechanic. You've probably felt that frustration. You want to see the end of a story thread, but the game tells you to come back tomorrow. BioWare wanted to simulate the "weight" of leadership, the idea that messengers have to travel across a continent. It works for immersion, but it’s a total buzzkill for pacing.
If you're playing on PC, just get the "No Waiting" mod. Honestly. It saves you hundreds of hours of idling. If you're on a console, try to time your longest missions (like the "Resources" missions or the massive 20-hour regional ones) for right before you go to bed. That way, the work happens while you sleep.
Maximizing Your Advisors and Rewards
The Dragon Age Inquisition war table isn't just a story tool; it's your primary source for Influence and some of the best gear in the game. You need Influence to buy Inquisition Perks. These perks are game-changers. They give you more dialogue options, more inventory space, and even more XP from codex entries.
- Cullen (Forces): Best for clearing physical obstacles or when the flavor text suggests "strength of arms." His missions usually reward weapons or weapon components.
- Leliana (Secrets): Use her when you need to find someone or "eliminate" a subtle threat. She often brings back leather and rogue-centric gear.
- Josephine (Connections): The go-to for anything involving nobles, money, or trade. She's the best way to farm gold and rare cloth.
There’s a subtle complexity to the rewards that the game doesn't explain well. For instance, the "Gather Resources" missions change based on which region you’ve unlocked. If you need Felandaris (a rare herb), you have to send an advisor to the Emprise du Lion mission on the table. But don't just spam these. They’re a waste of time compared to the unique story missions.
Avoiding the Biggest Pitfalls
People often forget that the war table is where you recruit certain agents. Agents are NPCs you find in the world who, once recruited, show up on your table as "perks." They reduce the time it takes for your advisors to complete missions. If you have enough agents under Leliana, a 10-hour mission might drop to 7.
The biggest mistake? Ignoring the "Judgment" aftermath. After you judge a prisoner in the main throne room, they often appear as a new operation at the war table. These are some of the most interesting bits of lore in the game. You can turn a defeated enemy into a reluctant double agent or a source of information. If you just execute everyone, your war table stays empty and boring.
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Why It Matters for the Series’ Future
With The Veilguard and the ongoing evolution of the franchise, the Dragon Age Inquisition war table remains a fascinating experiment in "macro-management" in RPGs. It tried to solve the problem of making the player feel like a leader without making them play a strategy game. It wasn't perfect. It was clunky, the menus were a bit slow, and the "real-time" aspect was polarizing.
But it gave us a sense of scale. When you look at that map and see markers from the Frostback Mountains to the Hissing Wastes, you realize the scope of the threat you're facing. It makes the world feel bigger than just the patch of grass your character is currently standing on. It’s a narrative engine disguised as a menu.
How to Master the Table Today
If you’re jumping back into Inquisition today, here is the most effective way to handle the table without losing your mind.
First, prioritize "Power" missions early on. You can't progress the story without them. Second, always keep your advisors busy. An idle advisor is a wasted resource. Third, focus on the "Inner Circle" missions. These are the ones that relate to your companions—Sera, Iron Bull, Dorian, etc. These missions often unlock special cutscenes or character developments that you can’t get anywhere else.
Don't treat it like a chore. Treat it like the "politics" phase of the game. Read the letters they send back. Some of them are hilarious. Others are heartbreaking. There’s a whole side-story about a group of Grey Wardens that plays out entirely through text on that table. If you skip the reading, you’re skipping about 30% of the game’s world-building.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough
To get the most out of your command center, follow these specific strategies:
- Unlock the "Deft Hands, Fine Tools" Perk early: This requires four points in the "Secrets" (Leliana) tree. Use the war table to recruit agents like Smuggler Tanner or Ritts to get these points without wasting your level-up perks. This allows you to open masterwork locks in the field.
- The "Scout" Strategy: Always use the war table to unlock a new region as soon as you have the Power. Even if you aren't ready to fight there, simply "unlocking" it often triggers new operations that provide better gear than what you'll find in the starting areas.
- Check the Rewards: If a mission offers "Influence," do it immediately. Influence is the only way to level up your Inquisition rank, which is the most important progression metric outside of your actual character level.
- Manage the "War Table Glitch" (If on Console): If you're stuck on a 20-hour mission, save your game, go to your console's system settings, disconnect from the internet, and move the internal clock forward 20 hours. Load the game back up, collect your rewards, save again, and then reset your clock to the current time. It’s cheating, sure, but your time is valuable.
The war table is a test of patience, but it’s also the soul of the Inquisition's power. It turns a ragtag group of survivors into a continental superpower. Master the menus, and you master Thedas. Forget the menus, and you’re just a person with a glowing hand wandering through the woods.