Dragon Age's best villains

What's a good hero video game story without a good villain? To be honest, it's usually either boring work or an incredibly cozy game. Fortunately, there's no shortage of quality villains in the Dragon Age games. Or, if you have high blood pressure, you may be out of luck.

While not all of them may hit your emotional guts as hard as you'd like, the villains in every Dragon Age title have left a lasting impression on players. So what is the best of the worst?

9

Rendon Howe

How can someone be this evil?

In the case of Rendon Howe, his effectiveness as a villain will depend in part on what background you choose as your protagonist in Dragon Age: Origins. Playing a human noble makes it much more personal.

Howe is a long-time friend of Bryce Cousland, the father of the noble human character. However, he betrays Bryce and the rest of his family and sends his army to slaughter everyone in the house. His thirst for power isn't all that complicated, and he's despicable regardless of his origins, but finally taking him down late in the game is much more satisfying with this backstory.

8

Calpernia

Some go to any lengths for their people.

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, you can choose whether to side with the Wizards or the Templars in a protracted war, and considering their underdog nature, it's hard not to root for them. However, if you side with the Templars, you will meet Calpernia, a sorceress from Tevinter who is working with Corypheus to free her homeland from corruption.

Of course, you only find that out after completing many quests while fighting her extremist Venatori agents. She's a passionate fighter and comes off as a cartoonish villain at times, but it's truly amazing to see her anger shift towards Corypheus once he proves he's planning to betray her. She may not be the most stable person, but her motivations are relatable and her energy is a little scary.

7

Branca

Perhaps you are no longer welcome at blacksmith meetings.

A misguided drive to help one's people is always a fascinating villain motivation. Sometimes, like Branka in Dragon Age: Origins, that drive becomes so warped that its originally benevolent core becomes almost unrecognizable. She is so focused on her end goal that she commits atrocities without a second thought to get there.

Branca is on a mission for her fellow dwarves to find the Anvil of the Void, a mythical device that can't stop an army of golems made of stone and metal. Unfortunately, to create a golem, dwarves must be sacrificed. But she doesn't care, and she's willing to take it to get to the endgame if you can't stop her.

6

Arishok

When life gives you lemons, conquer the city

Sometimes good villains start out looking good, and Dragon Age 2's Qunari leader The Arishok covered that before anyone even knew what the game was about, thanks to a surprisingly cool teaser trailer. But he also has the cunning brains and motivation to back up that perfection.

When the Qunari are stranded in Kirkwall, Arishok decides to use the opportunity to attempt to bring the people of the city under the control of his people. Despite ultimately failing (spoiler alert), his strong presence and frankly some well-made points make his time in the game very memorable.

5

architect

Strive to be a better person, but it may also mean you bleed less.

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening complements its ambitious use of punctuation with villains who may not actually be villains. The Architect was probably one of the first Magisters whose arrogance led to him becoming one of the first darkspawn. But he was not one of the mindless creatures they eventually became.

The Architect discovered a way for his fellow darkspawn to gain free will by consuming the blood of the Gray Wardens. Of course, one of his previous attempts made things worse with the human brood mother, The Mother, and knowing that's possible, you might be offended by the idea. So is The Architect really trying to do good? It's up to you. Dragon Age loves gray areas.

4

corypheus

Even death can't make the boogie rich shut up

Like The Architect, Corypheus is another ancient fallen Magister. Unlike The Architect, he decided to solve everyone's problems. First appearing in the Dragon Age 2 Legacy DLC, he returned as a surprising main villain in Dragon Age: Inquisition, putting his full focus on the drama.

Corypheus' goal is to return to the Black City, the place of the Fade that he and his fellow Magisters reached before being driven out and becoming the first darkspawn. Unfortunately, it will take a lot of violence to get there. He's a rather simple villain and you'll be overpowered at every turn, but he's got that perfect villain vibe that makes you enjoy taking him down.

3

Knight Commander Meredith Stannard

Fear leads to anger

Power corrupts, but so does Red Lyrium, and when you combine them you get Knight-Commander Meredith. As the leader of the Knights of Kirkwall, she is theoretically tasked with protecting the people and preventing wizards from controlling their powers. Along the way, the mission took a bit of a twist.

She starts Dragon Age 2 already a little too belligerent in her views on wizards. But when she came into possession of the Red Lyrium Idol, its influence further distorted her ambitions to the point that exterminating every sorcerer in the city would satisfy her. Meredith may seem reasonable at first, but she is one of the most dangerous tools of evil.

2

Solas

breaking eggs

Where were you when you found out that Solas, the humble, car-hating wizard you dragged around to your party for 100 hours in Dragon Age: Inquisition, was the ancient elven god the direwolf Fen'harel? Statistically speaking, you were probably sitting on a couch or chair somewhere, but it was really shocking, right?

Solas' status as a great villain comes from more than just surprise. He's a tragic figure. He seeks to remove the veil that separates the awakened world from the Fade (and the long story he has placed there). This will bring back the lost ancient elven world, but will effectively destroy everything as is. He still pursues this goal in Dragon Age: Veilguard, but an unfortunate accident throws his plans into disastrous disarray.

1

Rogaine Mac Tyr

Cool motive, still murder

For many people, it's really hard to see Dragon Age: Origins' antagonist Loghain as a power-hungry villain. To be honest, it's hard to blame anyone for refusing to look any further. He eventually betrayed the King and left him and the Gray Watch army to be slaughtered.

But this man truly believed he was doing the right thing for his country, Ferelden. Despite his dastardly ways, he thought he was the only one who could save his people from destruction. If he survives and allows himself to be conscripted into the Gray Wardens, his appearance in Dragon Age: Inquisition is a fitting redemption story and a great excuse to keep Hawke alive so he can return to his best friend Varric.