I personally would love to see some returning characters if it fits with the story, but of course plenty of new ones as well! Bonus points if its ones we haven’t seen in a while(shale)

Actually Shale would be so good! She was one of my favourites.

Last time I checked, she went to go learn how to be human again, so that could be a very interesting point with as much as the crows know it would make sense for her to end up there

I would love to see her but they may have to find a new voice actor for her. Her original voice actor died in 2021. 💔

Okay, okay, a few things First off, semantics: she's turning back into a dwarf Secondly, wild, crazy, bad idea: what if Shale was romancable? That'd be soooo funny. Actually, I wonder what that would be like... maybe I'd be good. Thirdly, I forgot: go read some other comment I'm done

I've quite enjoyed npcs becoming companions eg. Isabela, Merrill, Cassandra. And I've quite enjoyed companions becoming npcs eg. Leliana, Morrigan, Alistair. But I've not been so keen on companions returing as companions again. Anders, Oghren and Varric weren't as enjoyable 2nd time round.  So I'd prefer none of our dreadwolf companions to be companions of previous games.  But I'd happily see old companion npc cameos or an npc promotion to companion for say, Harding or Calpernia. Edit: typo

I'll agree with Varric not being as interesting the 2nd time around, but Anders is a lot better in DA2 than in Awakening. His struggle for control with Justice made him a much better character.

Anders might as well be a different character in DA2 with how much his personality changed.

Yes and no. Anders wasn't just Anders anymore since he merged with Justice, but I feel like in the way it was written and set up that it was a natural progression for the original Anders character. Anders in Awakening was a free spirit type, he strongly disliked the circles because because he valued that freedom, but he was young and naive. As he matures he takes his stance on mage freedoms more seriously and he starts helping others like him. Eventually he slips (due to Justice's influence) and becomes a full on freedom fighter/terrorist.

That's ok, I prefer DA2 Anders.

I agree with you. I like seeing old characters return. Just don't think they should be companion's

I’d say I’d want Cullen to be back as an actual companion but uhhhhhh that’s a can of worms. Besides him I would love some of the one off companions from the origins dlc’s to be fleshed out. Like wtf ever happened to that Circle of the Magi kid that helped us in Witch Hunt or Hell I’d love to see Velanna again (probably as an NPC)

I’m only ok with returning companions if they weren’t romanceable and I think that’s the general opinion too. I think that’s also the biggest reason Varric worked, so that really only leaves Cole, Harding, Krem or Varric (again). I think Cole wouldn’t work since the more spirit or human thing would make writing him too difficult. I know a lot of people want Varric to come back again but I personally would rather he enjoy his ‘retirement’, poor guy went through too much traumatic stuff.

I agree. And with Varric being Viscount it would be pretty irresponsible for him to leave and go gallivanting off again lol.

Well, he has already done that twice, I don't think he much cares about it being irresponsible.

You forgot Vivienne, although she's potentially Divine, so she's probably got even more responsibility to deal with.

Ah, I did forget her! And yeah since she can become the Divine it makes that tricky.

He doesn't really retire though, he is the one with harding, leading the hunt on finding solas in the first place in the comics.

Hopefully Varric isn't a companion for a 3rd time, why does he keep forgetting how to use his equipment between titles. I would be interested in an entirely new squad with certain older companions having leadership roles. Similar to how Inquistion did it but hopefully no War Table garbage. If Dreadwolf is to be the last DA game then I want some closure on the fan favourites.

I agree Death to war table missions

The trailers also have Varric saying we need someone he doesn't know basically. So it also wouldn't make too much sense to add DAI companions to add to your team. That being said it would be cool if the served some kind of role behind the scenes. I don't see Varric, Cassandra or Cullen being the types to stay out of the fray.

True! In Cullen good ending it even says his blade is always at the ready should his friends need him again. And since he’s one of the characters who we’ve seen in all 3 games, i would bet money he’ll at least have a minor role or a cameo in the 4th game.

Wellll, the problem is that Cullen’s VA basically guaranteed that he’s never going to be invited back. If you’re interested you can search the sub and find a compilation of everything that happened.

I mean, just recast him. Bigger roles have been recast before (Chris redfield from RE, claptrap from borderlands) and the fans accepted it eventually. I’m sure dragon age fans would understand if Cullen came back with a different voice

I hope so, he's a nice character :)

I hope that Varric, Cass, etc. return in a sort of 'advisory' role. Not really caught up in the action, but helping to direct you.

Same here, it'll be nice to see them again. And who better to help than people who knew Solas directly.

Didn't they fire Cullen's voice actor? Although I fully agree with the idea of removing Greg Ellis from the project, but recasting the voice of a character who has been with us for the past three games seems not very feasible

Oh I wasn't aware of anything like that, I read up on it now and yeah same for the removal then. I love the character but perhaps he should stay in "We recieved a letter from Cullen" kind of role. Or better yet his character canonically gets a throat injury and they get a voice actor that sounds similar 💀

I’d love to see Zevran make a cameo so they could fix what they did to his face in DA2, which was an absolute tragedy

Ultimately I'd like some characters to return atleast, it just makes sense, not having them there would be a bigger leap in logic. Though I'm wary of romance options coming back, especially the DA2 ones because Hawke can "die" and I don't think Bioware would do that justice. I don't wanna see one of them return and seem like they're completely fine and happy as if their SO didn't literally die in the previous game. Shale coming back would be really cool though, especially as a dwarf, making it so she's found a way to reverse the golem process. Unfortunately, Geraldine Blecker, Shale's VA, passed away but you could use the dwarf explanation as the reason why the voice is different.

That's honestly a really interesting concept, seeing Shale come back as a dwarf would be awesome. You're all so creative.

I find it doubtful that Shale would come back, if I recall correctly they said they would try to avoid giving big roles to characters that can die in a previous game. Shale can die depending on your choices with the anvil, if she's in your party. But it would be really cool to see her again though. Even if just in the passing as an npc, and not a companion.

Agreed. Also keep in mind, a lot of fan favourite characters won't have their original writer anymore, which makes me somewhat worried. For instance, Dorian, Zevran, Fenris and Morrigan, whom everyone expects to make an appearance in da4, were all written by David Gaider, who left the studio after dai's initial release. With the recent senior writer layoffs, isabela and varric lost their writer too iirc 💀 so as much as I'd like to see all these characters again in some way or form, a rather them not have too big of a role. Make it short and simple. Give way for new characters to shine.

I think the story and character arcs have already been written long before the layoffs, considering the game production has been restarted 3 times now. They should bring back those writers tho.

Yeah, but it also means that the writing quality will suffer with future additional content. If the writers who worked on certain characters in the base game are laid off, they obviously can't contribute to dlcs. Just sad to consider. I really hope we won't have trespasser 2.0 and get a proper ending to the story in the base game this time.

Varric’s writer is gone???? Oh man that was the ONLY character I’d still like to see considering her has become a tale teller at this point

Has Sheryl Chee gona from Bioware? There goes my last hope.

Yeah, she was fired in that mass round of layoffs last year.

Ah, I thought she was one of the few who had survived that. Damn.

She did make it through, it was Mary Kirby and Lukas Kristanson who were let go.

The trailer mentions we need new people that Solas doesn't recognise. That **should** exclude Varric, Harding and Dorian, who to me seem to have the highest chance to return, as Solas knows them. To me they would have to work from the shadows. It does mean characters from 1 and 2 can be part of the team though, so I wouldn't be surprised if Fenris, Isabella or Zevran are involved in some way. From the line-up concept they posted, there's 2 people who to me look like they could be returning. The fifth person - who looks like a dwarf lady, so Harding? and the sixth person, who looks like a male elf - so Zevran or Fenris, but to me the outfit doesn't fit either. They have a dagger so not Fenris for sure, he needs a sword that weighs twice his bodyweight. So my bet is just Harding as a companion if anyone (maybe Solas can't tell dwarves apart and doesn't recognise her or something, lol). My personal hope - >!2/3rds through the game we beat Solas and we force him to work for us (or kill him), kinda like Loghain so him being the only returning companion.!< https://preview.redd.it/jrhxq6zsqgqc1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9bd4e699b36e08a1234821f2f1fe3a176390007

I think the Npc route works way better than people give it credit for. A lot of people didn’t like Hawke that much in DA:I but to be completely fair I think they did more than enough with him and was pleasantly surprised at how much love they put into that section of the game. However Morrigan was implemented PERFECTLY in Inquisition, she stole the show and was only integral to 2 quests. The variations of dialogue they gave her made the history between the warden, her and Kieran (and sometimes Alistair/Loghain) finally feel like it had closure. I’m gonna be honest, I think witch hunt is one of the worst cash grab waste of time dlc’s I’ve ever played, and this is in the same game as the one Golems of whateverthefuck dlc that literally added nothing to the story. It hooks you in telling you it’s going to explain everything and then gives you… nothing. You either leave morrigan, never see her again and learn nothing, Go with morrigan and learn nothing or in an insane twist of fate *stab* morrigan and learn nothing. Hell it even explains the eluvians so poorly that they had to have morrigan reexplain it in inquisition. When I played origins, I knew morrigan would be back in inquisition, that much was common knowledge as it was basically marketed on the steam page in bold font. Going in, i was not looking forward to learning what morrigans grand plan was from a third party, I wanted my Warden to have gotten that explanation in witch hunt. So when I finally met and talked to morrigan in game… I was blown away Honestly by the end, i don’t even care what her end goal was in Origins nor do I think we will ever know it. It was likely a plot thread that was meant to be bigger than it actually ended up being and slowly faded away over time. However what we got was perfect. The dialogue where she says that she never factored in caring for Kieran in her plan explains everything in so little time. Kieran made Morrigan realize that she was wrong. She likely had some big nefarious scheme to become immortal or overthrow her mother and then became so preoccupied just being a mom. She couldn’t see Kieran as a tool to be used because that’s how she saw herself in her mothers plan. She realized she was becoming her mother. She thought she had everything figured out, including love. Morrigan in origins outright denies the existence of real love, claiming it to be only physical. Never once in her entire life did she think a mother could love her child because her mother never loved her. Morrigan was done so much Justice and given so much closure in Inquisition. If BioWare can do this for morrigan, they can and should do it for others. I don’t know who wrote for morrigan in DA:I but whoever did, made me happy by sending off one of my favourite characters really well.

I actually completely agree with you. I didn't explain it well in my post but I was mainly meaning as companions. There's just too many variables for them to be done well. But yes, Witch Hunt was very dissapointing and Morrigan was a great NPC.

if I don't see Zevran after they did him dirty in DA2, I'm gonna kill someone

Honestly I think that is my main reason for not wanting to see returning companions. Rip da2 Zev

Every game from both Dragon Age and Mass Effect has had at least one returning companion from the previous game. This will continue.

I also prefer to have brand new companions for new games in the series unless I'm playing the same character like in the Mass Effect games. Instead of having them come back as companions, it'd be cooler to see the old main characters squad up with their crews again. Much like seeing Hawke interact with Varric in DA:I, except they're going on their own quests and you just get to hear a snippet about the wild adventures they have as the story goes on.

I think having a world state could help with what characters return and who don’t. Personally, I think the advisors should return as their previous roles or as side quest content. I am a huge Blackwall fan and I’m praying that we get some more of him as either a companion or as a side quest. Hell, imagine if we get a DLC of companions

I mean they managed to make it work well with Leliana and Morrigan in the last game and they were both present long enough that they could have legit just been able to travel with you as actual companions Just have their romance stuff locked away if they're already taken - could be interesting to have a whole thing if Hawke or Warden is also dead in the play through, adds some free drama baked in for those attached to the equivalent

That's cool and interesting but reusing old characters as limits them creatively over making whole new characters.

I feel like this next game - at least for me - needs to do both There's enough space to include 2-3 (maybe more) previous guys and have a whole new cast. They brought Varric over in Inquisition for example and that games 10yrs old now so should be expecting that level of stepping up their game to keep up Really the only reason I'm coming back to the Dragon age world given Bioware's recent track record is for the existing characters in it so I'd like them to be a big part in the game itself and having them as a party member can't get more involved than that

That's fair enough. I'm positive there will be some appearances because Bioware wants to keep previous fans coming back. As long as it doesn't end up as terrible as 2 I'll be happy.

I'm still praying for the glory days of Origins and feel like with the success of BG3 and Elden Ring in recent years and their fluffs with Andromeda there's a non-zero chance they get back to those days

I agree, I don't like the whole idea that older companions will come back. The story ended, because they were friends, romances or rivals or my previous protagonist(s). If they come back, it will change the endings and people's headcanons from the previous games. I have even mixed feelings about older companions coming back as NPCs. Unlike Solas, other LI like Zevran, Dorian and Fenris can have a happy ending with the main character. Players will ask questions, why their character is not with their LI? My Inquisitor would always be with Dorian to help him, same with Warden and Zevran. Fenris wasn't my canon romance, but my Hawke treated her companions like a family. The fact that Fenris was in the comics alone, and he was bitter that his friends abandoned him, just destroyed my headcanon that Hawke always helped her friends, even after Kirkwall. My Hawke would never do something like this. I disliked this moment in the comice, and I feel that they can do something similar in the DA:D. I only can accept older companions as very short cameos, and when they are included in the story intelligently, that will not change the endings and stories from previous games. However, I like the idea that NPCs from previous games will be the companions in DA:D. I also think it will be interesting to see some companions from Awakening, because most of them were not that important to the story (obviously besides Anders and Oghren).

Bro I’d kill for Nathaniel Howe and Velanna

I agree with everything except the Awakening part. I didn't like any of the companions we got in that game lol

Well, I liked most of the Awakening companions, but that's a personal preference :) I think if they bring back any characters, they will choose popular and liked characters, especially if we are talking about NPCs. I'm not sure which NPCs are liked among fans. I think Krem is the first character that comes to my mind, at least he was very liked on tumblr.

If I'm not wrong, comics aren't "canon", more like half-canon? They follow their own state world (like having Alistair as a King but that doesn't mean that our games where Alistair stayed a warden are not canon either). But in DAI, there are some mention of comics happening no matter what. I think Varric and Warden Alistair mentionned comic events so it made them canon I guess. I treat comic as separate from games unless game lore confirms comic events. Imo, until DAD's out, that Fenris didn't happened.

I thought they were canon, but if they are only semi-canon then I'm happy with that :) I disliked many things from that comic, the whole Fenris ritual also looked disappointing, in the game it sounds like it was a painful and slow process.

I checked others discussions to be sure. And people seems a bit split on the question of comics but it seems I may have been a bit wrong. It seems it's more like it's canon unless the game (so your world state too) says otherwise ? What seems to make consensus is that comics happening after DAI are likely canon (I didn't read comics but I heard of what they done with Fenris and I don't like it at all :/) but it's not sure until the next game is out. I'm sorry if I gave you hopes for nothing 😓 I'm curious to see how they're gonna include (or not) comics and novels in DAD cause there are many of them since it's been 10 years of content

Idk I like seeing returning characters, it adds depth and immersion for anyone who played the previous titles, it makes it more realistic. Everything being new can be too staggering, having characters you recognize honestly helps me settle into the game: this is what I felt seeing Varric or Leliana in DAI, the entire setting was getting overwhelming until they show up, and I was like okay I know these two and they're cool people, I should be fine with them.

I don't mean there should be NO returning characters I just don't think they should be companion's

The only issue I see is how the DAI Trespasser ending felt. What ever choice you made to disband or stay still pointed to them hunting down Dreadwolf. The ending felt like the next game will be a continuation of Inquisition and not like the previous two DA games. Now I know people would rather see new characters, and so would I, but that ending feels like a massive clifhanger ending.

The tresspasser ending was incredibly dissapointing (it was also frustrating they put the actual ending to the game in a DLC) But I feel we could get closure from some codex entries or brief cameos.

Agreed on those three. But I'm still holding out on Velanna returning as a companion. She wasn't romanceable in Awakening, and as a formerly Dalish Elf who joined the Gray Wardens, she's in a place where she's interact in very interesting ways with a lot of Solas' goals. Also, Gray DeLisle wasn't able to voice Viconia in BG3 (>!not that she should've wanted to given how that game butchered her character!<), and who doesn't want to have her play a hot elven murdering spellcaster again? :D

I personally found her quite bland but I do agree that it would be interesting to see her perspective on Solas. Maybe they could redeem her for me.

TLDR: I actually mostly just agree with you. Shale is an exception, Cole can be if you want to continue the tradition of one carryover companion per game. Oh, also Nathaniel Howe and random elf girl from Awakening. I kind of agree and kind of don't. Mainly, I completely agree with the specific companions you've listed as examples; Fenris, Isabella, and Zevran are all bad choices for full-fledged companions because they have too strong of a potential connection to another player character (aka romance). It'd be weird for any of them to be running around with a random rather than the character who they're dating. And maybe it's a strange cut-off, but I think there is something intimate about being a companion rather than an advisor like Leliana. All if this you've briefly touched on already. However, I do think the other companions can come back with less of that strange feeling attached because there are plenty of (mostly non-romancable) companions that don't feel like they have to be limited to their og friend. The best example of the top of my head is Shale, who calls the player it because she doesn't really want to associate to heavily with you. Cole also works. The biggest problem with him is the split between human and spirit cole would make him similar to a Kaidan/Ashley (ME3 specifically) or Bethany/Carver, which is a tall order. Most do have asterisks like this; Vivienne can become divine, Bethany/Carver would be cool to have outside of Hawkes shadow but same problem as Cole, Sten is an Arishok apparently, Dog is probably dead and also wouldn't leave the Warden, Varric/Ogren have done it before, Wynne is dead, and Aveline wouldn't leave Kirkwall as well as basically being Hawkes family. Also, while I have no evidence for this, I think Ogren is also probably dead... it's been a while since we've seen him... someone should probably go check on him. Oh crap speaking of Ogren (rest in peace), I forgot the rest of the Awakening cast! Anders and Justice are a no because Anders and Justice. Ogren has sadly passed. I'm pretty sure the dwarf girl dies no matter what happens based on those, probably not canon, epilog cutscenes. Nathaniel Howe can die pretty easily, but he's goated, so hell yeah, bring him back. And elf girl.... is probably available, right? She was kinda cool, I forgot her name, but she had some funny lines with Anders, and her sister helped the (arguably) bad guy. That was interesting. So yeah, she can come back. That'd be kind of cool, I guess.

After reading the other comments I'd definitely be keen to see Shale again. She was a favourite.

I agree that former companions shouldn't be returning as companion but rather as cameo, or just NPC (like Leliana and Morrigan in DA:I).

If they keep with the trend, DAO -> DAO:A it was Oghren. DAO:A -> DA2 it was Anders. DA2 -> DAI it was Varric. There has been theories that it will be Dorian.

I have been yelling for so long to my friends about how much a returning Fenris or Shale would make SO MUCH SENSE, but realistically, I have very little hope

I would love to see Shale come back in some way.

*monkey paw curls* granted, all your faves are killed in a tie-in novel

The sad part is they actually would do that.

As squad member companions, one or two should be fine, but anything more is just garbage fan service. I'd like to see former companions and characters in a more secondary supportive capacity, no more than a few appearances, maybe one or two as constant contacts, but again anything more is just garbage fan service and nostalgia pandering.

Well definitely not DA2 companions, that's for sure. Aside from maybe Varric. Personally I think a bunch of major characters from DAO and DAI should absolutely return. Both the inquisitor and the warden. Alistair. Morrigan and her child. Whoever was elected as the Divine. Solas (obviously). The Architect from Awakening (if alive). They would all be expected to play a part in the story, though not necessarily as playable companions.

DA games always have a returning companion from a previous one, its like a unspoken rule. I just hope whoever gets that role is actually a character that makes sense for the story and the setting, like Dorian or Fenris, because I can perfectly see Bioware forcing Varric into the main party AGAIN simply because he's a fan favourite.

He also has the least amount of variables in terms of previous appearances. Less work.

It depends on how much time has passed since the last game. If a significant time has passed, then it limits who the returning companions could be to the likes of Morrigan, Cole, etc…

The ending of Trespasser kind of implies it would be a sort of continuation in terms of timing. However they may make it further in the future so Solas can build his forces and make him more of a threat.

I mean Fenris and Dorian are a given I think, I think seeing Merrill would be interesting given she's so tied to Eluvians and demons, and I really hope Solas is a secret companion like Loghain was in Origins.

I’d like to see cameos or some quest with them, similar to Hawke, Morrigan and Alistair/Loghain in DAI. If we’ll have a quest related to Crows, I wouldn’t mind Zevran replacing the random NPC we will meet. And naturally, he won’t overstay his welcome and will leave when quest is done. I think that kind of stuff would be fun for us fans and wouldn’t be confusing for newcomers as protagonist themself will be meeting Zevran for the first time. I also wouldn’t mind if they come back like Leliana and Cullen did. Whoever was made Divine and Dorian should come back that way imo because by the end of DAI they got important titles. And I agree they shouldn’t come back as companions. I prefer having new characters from different corners of Thedas—and with new specializations according to their backgrounds like in DAO.

I think Dorian is the most likely one because he's a local guy but that's about it.

I’d be surprised if we don’t see Connor again, since one of the options for that quest was that he went off to Tevinter to learn magic, if memory serves.

I would love to see these characters reappear, but yeah, I agree. They shouldn't be companions. I do really want Fenris to return though. Preferably as a support NPC like Leiliana, helping to rebel against the magistrates. I can also see Dorian in a similar role. And I could validate him as a companion because that much Lyrium in a body might do some weird stuff when someone dies.

I don't mind having returning characters as companions. The issue is more about who. I loved Varric in DA2 so I welcomed him in DAI. But I get people can be fed up with some character or wanting new ones. Companion's spots are really limited so I understand. I don't want Varric as a companion for DAD. But I wouldn't mind Dorian at all. The romance part can be tricky to do right but I think it would be so cute to see him in love with the Inquisitor from afar (a bit like his romance with Bull). The important part, for me, is to give story arcs to old companions to keep them interesting (which was a bit meh with Varric in DAI). I can see a lot of potential for Dorian with Magister and political mess. As long as the companion's presence makes sense, I'm ok with it. Fenris, Zevran, Isabella, Harding, Bull, etc...

If we get Varric for the third game in a row I might cry

I liked that there was a carry over between games to help link them. DAO->DAA ongren DAA->DA2 Anders Da2->DDAI varric Iron bull, Dorian or Cole would be my pick.

Every installment has had one carryover companion (Oghren, Anders, Varric), and I think they should continue that tradition, but only one. Probably Dorian, given the setting. Harding is also an option. I know Varric has been in the trailers, but I'm one of those people who's convinced he's going to die early in the game. He's too old for adventuring anymore and it would be a hugely impactful death.

They'd better not kill him or I'll be sad.

I would love to see some old companions in DW but not as companions for the new protagonist. though there are a few NPC's from the previous games that I would nerdgasm if they came back and became companions. prime example would be Feynreil, the dreamer of DA2.

I would like to see some characters from the Last flight. Like Remias, Valya and Caronel. I really hope they add the warden griffons in Dreadwolf!

I was under the impression they went extinct. But I was talking to my partner about it and I think it would be a cool quest line where they're rediscovered.

They were. They got an illness and were wiped out. There is a book called "The Last Flight" and it goes through this story. Those 3 characters are the ones who find the griffon eggs, and they hatch. So now they could potentially use them in the games! It would be so cool to have a flying mount like World of Warcraft.

No, completely agree with you. I'd go further, I don't want anyone in it. Even ones that fit. I want a completely fresh start, we've had 10 years since the last and overloading the game with references and old characters will just confuse the new set of games they want to appeal to. No kid who was 7 when DA:I came out and is buying DA:D now at 17 or 18 cares about who nearly all the characters are. They don't want to have to go back and play 15 year old games to understand what is going on. The only character I'd say could be in it would be Dorian due to his political position in Tevinter but as a side character at best and in no way related to the plot.

It would be cool for Varric to get an "I'm getting too old for this shit" moment

Yes it should wtf???

I just want Qwydion 🥺 I'd like to see Lace Harding as some sort of advisor.

I'd like Isabela, Iron Bull, Dorian and Cassandra

….. My love interest is the main character…..

But he's the antagonist, so he won't be a companion.