Let's face it, the Dragon Age series has never exactly revolved around the gameplay. Sure, fans tend to have their preferences between the tactical style of Dragon Age: Origins or the more action-oriented mechanics of later entries. But really, you're probably there for the epic fantasy story, or perhaps the smooches.
RelatedDragon Age: 10 Most Underrated Companions In The Series
Here are the most underrated companions in the Dragon Age Series!
PostsBut story focus aside, that's not to say these games don't provide some impressive gameplay moments. Notably, this includes several impressive and tense boss fights, containing a surprising amount of variety. Even when the combat is determined by dice rolls, some of these battles can really crank the adrenaline.
10 The Archdemon
How To Maim Your Dragon
CloseDragon Age: Origins
RPG Released November 3, 2009 ESRB M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content Developer(s) BioWare Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Eclipse Franchise Dragon Age Platform(s) PS3, Xbox 360, PC How Long To Beat 40 Hours X|S Optimized No Powered by Expand CollapseAll of Dragon Age: Origins is spent leading up to a climactic final act, with the armies you've collected coming together for one final push against the invading darkspawn horde. But as exciting as that big trek through the war-torn city is, the actual last battle somehow tops it.
After a full game of suffering at the hands of the Archdemon's minions, you can take out your frustrations by calling in your armies and fighting it yourself, or perhaps whittling away with a ballista from a safe distance. Either way, emotions run high with the knowledge that the Grey Warden who kills it must die themself. Or must they?
9 The Ogre
Your First Look At A Larger, Terrifying World
CloseAs perhaps the first main boss fight you take on in Dragon Age: Origins, the ogre you find at the top of the Tower of Ishal sets the tone for the rest of the game. You find it eating the corpses of its previous victims, and now it stands between you and lighting the beacon that can save the army down below.
RelatedDragon Age: Most Heartbreaking Moments
Be prepared to cry your eyes out as the Dragon Age series destroys you emotionally with some of the biggest tearjerking moments in gaming.
PostsIt's the biggest thing you've seen up to that point, so when it starts jogging toward you, there's a real fight or flight instinct that takes hold. Not only that, it will pick up party members and attack them repeatedly unless you can stun it. But stick it out and you're likely to get one of the coolest kill animations in the game.
8 The Arishok
The Masterful Strategy Of A Prolonged Retreat
CloseDragon Age 2
RPG Released March 8, 2011 ESRB Mature // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Content, Violence Developer(s) BioWare Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Lycium Engine Franchise Dragon Age Steam Deck Compatibility Unsupported Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, macOS How Long To Beat 26.5 hours X|S Optimized No How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs) 57.5 hours Powered by Expand CollapseThe Arishok's boss fight can be memorable for several reasons, and if you're laughing, you know one of them. The second act of Dragon Age 2 involves dealing with a qunari invasion, and you just know the whole time that you'll eventually have to fight their intimidating leader.
Impress the Arishok enough during your dealings with him, and he'll offer the chance for a one-on-one duel during the act's finale. Refuse, and you fight him and his soldiers with a full squad. Accept, and your ideal strategy involves spending a good 15 minutes running for your life and occasionally being impaled. Don't worry, though. Your dog can be there too.
7 High Dragons (Inquisition)
It's Right There In The Name
CloseDragon Age: Inquisition
Action RPG Released November 18, 2014 ESRB M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language Developer(s) BioWare Publisher(s) Electronic Arts Engine Frostbite Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Franchise Dragon Age Platform(s) PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC How Long To Beat 50 Hours X|S Optimized No File Size Xbox Series 45 GB (November 2023) Metascore 89 (PS4); 85 (Xbox One & PC) Powered by Expand CollapseDespite the name "Dragon Age" just referring to the period in which the games take place, the games do include their share of dragons. But none are quite so stuffed with the scaly beasties as Dragon Age: Inquisition, which gives you over a dozen of them to fight throughout the land.
RelatedDragon Age: Creatures We Want To Pet
From cute and cuddly to big and just needing a hug, these creatures deserve snuggles and love.
PostsThese creatures, fittingly called high dragons, each pose a similar yet unique challenge. Some breathe fire, some breathe ice, others even shoot lightning. But when that epic music kicks in and you see one of those gargantuan forces of nature, you know you're in for something special. Usually immolation.
6 Corypheus
Taking Down A Narcissist Is Never Not Fun
CloseWhen you first meet Corypheus in the Dragon Age 2: Legacy DLC, you barely even know what sort of creature you're fighting. This ancient magister shoots flaming walls out in his sizeable prison as you try to banish him back from whence he came. But he pulls out all the stops in the sequel.
There's no denying that the final battle of Dragon Age: Inquisition is a truly epic set piece. After spending the whole game foiling his plans, you finally fight Corypheus across a series of ruins floating in the sky as two dragons battle above. That's not even just a boss battle anymore, that's a metal album cover.
5 Loghain Mac Tir
You Either Die A Hero...
CloseLoghain Mac Tir spends pretty much all of Dragon Age: Origins hounding you, basically dividing the people of Fereldan in his misguided attempts to lead the country against the darkspawn. His decorated military service made him a hero in his own time, but that experience makes him all the more dangerous now.
Once you gather your forces, you face him at the Landsmeet and get your chance to end his threat once and for all. You can strike him down then and there, or convince him that you can save Fereldan, recruiting him to your cause. This tense duel that decides the country's fate remains a highlight of the game.
4 Broodmother
You'll Have Fleshy Nightmares For Days
CloseThe Broodmother is such an iconic part of Dragon Age: Origins that it was already scarring people in ads for the game before it was released. Broodmothers are birth-giving people, usually dwarves, who are corrupted into huge monstrosities that create more darkspawn, and there's no good way for that to happen.
RelatedDragon Age: 8 Creepiest Locations In The Series
You wouldn't want to go into these Dragon Age locations alone.
Posts 1The battle is terrifying enough, with tentacles sprouting from the ground to ensure nowhere on the battlefield is safe, and the creature itself will give you nightmares. But the way it's built up by the decaying woman Hespith's eerie story and poem in the rooms before elevates the horror even further.
3 Hakkon Wintersbreath
As If Gods Needed More Reason To Be Arrogant
CloseDragon Age: Inquisition excels in its high dragon fights. So when a new DLC came about with a cool new area to explore, it only made sense that it had to include another, and it would have to be the best.
Hakkon Wintersbreath is a dragon that holds the soul of a berserk Avvar god because that's what dragons need: more danger. This fight is much like other high dragon battles but with a cool new icy setting and a foe who's surprisingly chatty for someone breathing ice at you.
2 Knight-Commander Meredith
Not Everyone Can Pull Off Red
CloseThroughout Dragon Age 2, Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard goes from a harsh but protective military leader to increasingly vengeful and fearful of mages. So when her lust for more power against them involves a corrupted red lyrium idol turned into a sword, things were bound to get messy.
RelatedDragon Age Inquisition: Should You Support The Mages Or Templars?
Despite their status as warring factions, here are reasons to help both the Templars vs. the Mages in Bioware's epic RPG Dragon Age: Inquisition.
PostsWhen you finally get to fight her at the end of the game, she's become twisted by her fear and the lyrium into an abomination. She brings statues to life and sics everything she can at you while you and your allies from throughout the game all come together to take her down. Family reunions can be so dramatic.
1 Saarath
The Bigger They Are, The Better They Explode
ClosePlayers learned in Dragon Age 2 that the qunari shackle their mages (saarebas) out of fear of their power. In the Trespasser DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, you see exactly why they fear that magic.
The battles against Saarath are pulse-pounding and you need to stay on your toes as this hulking qunari unleashes some of the most powerful magic you've seen from an enemy. Eventually, you realize the only way to defeat him is with your Inquisitor's own overflowing magic in a move that caps off the intense final conflict in a spectacularly satisfying fashion.
NextDragon Age: 9 Most Wholesome Romance Options
Learn all about the most wholesome romance options in the Dragon Age series!
Posts
