Dragon Age 4 is currently in development at BioWare, promising a new protagonist with “no magic hand” or “ancient prophecies” to rely on. All the while, Solas, the Dread Wolf, begins executing his plan to merge the material world and the realm of magic once more. A new teaser trailer was released at The Game Awards 2020, showing off a city which seems to feature heavily in the next chapter of the fantasy franchise.
It’s very likely that the city depicted in Dragon Age 4’s most recent trailer is Minrathous, the capital of the Tevinter Imperium. If so, the city could be unlike anything fans have seen in the games so far.
Minrathous isn’t just the capital of Tevinter, it’s also the largest city in the entire continent of Thedas. Built on an island off the shore of the Imperium’s northern coast, the city is connected to the land by a single bridge which can be destroyed in defense if necessary. The city has withstood assaults throughout humanity’s history, from the prophet Andraste’s campaign against the Imperium to, more recently, the Qunari occupation of the northern nation. By the Dragon Age itself, the city is packed full of refugees fleeing the Imperium’s never-ending war with the Qunari, who launch new assaults from their nearby island home of Par Vollen.
Minrathous isn’t just protected by its geographical location. The city is the only surface settlement to use golems, with two powerful “Juggernauts” ready to be deployed if the need arises. Despite its troubled history, Minrathous has always been a hugely important trade hub and the origin of the Imperial Highway which can be found stretching across the continent, albeit more dilapidated than it was during the Tevinter Imperium’s heyday.
As the capital of the Imperium, Minrathous is a top contender for Thedas’ most magical city. The Imperium allows the free practice of magic and the Imperial Chantry allows mages to enter into governance with a more liberal interpretation of the prophet Andraste’s mantra that “magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him” which suggests that mages can in fact be leaders, but must use their magic responsibly.
Assuming the city seen in the Dragon Age 4 trailer is Minrathous, which the Tevinter banners hanging by magical storefront signs suggests it is, it could be among BioWare’s most ambitious settings yet. Minrathous is huge in the lore, and much of the game could take place there as players explore new areas through the city’s winding streets. Though built from the same stone as Kirkwall, the city’s outward appearance is very different, with floating buildings, huge towers, and a more gothic feel than Hawke’s home.
Minrathous could be the setting of a very different kind of Dragon Age story, and could explore some big remaining questions from the origins of the darkspawn to the true potential of unrestrained magic. It remains to be seen just what the Dread Wolf has in store for Dragon Age’s new protagonist, but a heavily featured urban hub could inject the new game with intrigue, class tension, and more magic than players have ever seen freely performed across the series so far.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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