Why You Should Romance Solas BEFORE Dragon Age: The Veilguard

This WHOLE VIDEO contains spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Watch at your own peril!
This is why you should romance Solas before Dragon Age: The Veilguard comes out! I hope you enjoy.
Thank you to those who have attacked me during Art Fight with pieces of my Lavellan. I hope to do a little art show case at the end of every video!
Everywhere to find me, my Discord and Twitter! ↓
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#dragonage #dragonagetheveilguard #solavellan #dragonagedreadwolf #fantheory

[@Cassidei]

Thanks for watching! This is all personal preference of course. I enjoy seeing everyone’s perspectives! Join my Discord to stay up to date and to talk with me! discord.gg/jsdkQUgrUD

[@danielshorrock8271]

I've never romanced Solas but he's one of my favourite characters in dai and I can't wait until we see him in the next game 😂😊

[@toraryoung]

The fact that without playing an elf female and romancing Solas we can not understand a very important lore of the series was bad storytelling on EAWare's part in DA:I. That being said, I also recommend playing female elf and romancing Solas before DA:V.

[@RandomWandrer]

Nah. The friendship with Solas and winning his trust is already deeply rewarding. He shows alot of love also to his good friend, and regret.

[@alegzz190]

Bold of you to assume I haven’t done it every da:I playthrough *cries in solavellan*

[@Cassidei]

*cries with you*

[@DewelynC]

Solas is my favourite romance from any game ever. I thought I was kind of over him by now but with the gameplay trailer I was dragged back into Solavellan hell immediately. Like I think of him *all the time*. It is insane.

[@Cassidei]

One of us, one of us!

[@bunniewood]

They get it

[@Phoenix_DarkMoon]

Solas fell to second when BG3 gave me Astarion. Yes, I have a type.

[@WynneL]

@@Phoenix_DarkMoon Hell yes. Emotionally damaged elves are everything. Fenris is on that list for me, too.

[@michellecorbett3323]

I think a Solas romance with a Lavellan just fully flushes out the elven lore, that alone makes it worth the effort. Sure he's a know-it-all he was there, he did it!

[@Cassidei]

Exactly!

[@virginiamurr3703]

Really well stated. I romanced him before I knew about the whole Dreadwolf thing -- because of his charm and nerdiness. :-) But, absolutely, there is so much to be gained from experiencing his deeper convos before heading into The Veilguard. (Side-note: In addition to doing a playthrough with the Solas romance, I wish the "Solas and Varric hate each other crowd" would do a playthrough taking Varric and Solas with them throughout the game. Solas deeply respects Varric and Varric (the big heart) cares about Solas. And that's before The Missing storyline ...)

[@Cassidei]

Thanks so much! And yes, I completely agree on the Solas and Varric part!

[@Anima19925]

The ending to trespasser with a Solas-romanced lavellan still gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I watch it. I find it funny I actually didn't like Solas when I first met him, but he won me over throughout the game with the unique perspective he had on spirits and the fade, I loved that he viewed it with beauty and nuance rather than a thing that should be feared and avoided. Also - when you've played trespasser and find out what * really * happened to the elves, its hard to see any of Solas's actions as evil, especially playing as an elf who has seen & experienced all the oppression and hardship the elves have faced in the Dragon Age world. Solas sees himself as responsible for all the suffering the elves have endured and he's trying to correct his mistakes.

[@florenciaurzua62]

come to solavellan's hell with us.

[@Onakita]

I love more friendship with Solas than romance. Will be very interesting how it will plays in DAV with friend Lavellan, not lover.

[@TheJStocco]

When I played with a female human I found Solas extremally charming but when I played with a female elven I felt like he looked down on her.... Anyway she ended up with Blackwall with was my first option anyway.

[@anna-friedavandyk]

You know- a couple days ago there was a poll on Reddit ranking Inquisition romances- Solas won and stayed at the the top spot for 44/48 hours the poll was run. I think his detractors are just really loud lol

[@UNCKayakfish]

This is actually more than a little misleading. He won, but it was very close throughout. But regardless, a fan community is not representative of the wider player base. BioWare’s metrics indicated the most popular romances were Cassandra, Cullen, and Josephine in that order. Solas was fairly low on the list due to being race *and* gender locked. He was designed to be divisive and BioWare acknowledges that they want to account for those who love, hate, and are indifferent. This isn’t an argument of quality, but online communities can be non representative. Either way, I do get a little uncomfortable with the idea that one must take part in a M/F romance in order to have the full experience. It’s a little off putting in implications. Not to mention the elf only implications also being… off.

[@channel45853]

@@UNCKayakfish I don't really think you have to romance Solas to get a full read on him, he was a late romance I remember hearing. Pretty sure he is well explored even if not romancing him.

[@anna-friedavandyk]

@@UNCKayakfish Oh I don't deny that- especially since I know the Solavellan community can be loud and ...dedicated. As for anyone who says you must romance him- they can choke on it. It's a good addition but by no means a requirement. I will fully admit, it definitely wasn't unbiased- but it is definitely something that happened on Reddit, on a poll. It's just fun to think about.

[@ikarikaoka]

One of the problems with dating Solas is the fact that you are forced to choose an elf to satisfy this character prerequisite. This is not an obstacle for those who want to play with elves, but it is an inconvenient for those who have other plans. Furthermore, seeing a romance being suddenly interrupted has left many players furious, confused and depressed... and rightly so. It's obvious that there is a context for this and many people are betting on a reunion with a happy ending in Veilguard (or other dramatic possibilities that nourish romantic and anxious hearts), but I consider that Inquisition already requires so many hours invested in its complete gameplay - especially if you is not objective and is not in a "rush" to complete the game - which I prefer to see a conclusive formal relationship. In practice, I prefer to irritate the character in a friendly way with Sera. Now seriously: I hope other races "shine" in Veilguard so that the elves don't steal too much prominence for themselves. I understand that this may be difficult given the essence of the story, but I would like to see a greater balance in the importance and frequency of participation of other races.

[@channel45853]

Elves never did, that is a misconception. Dragon Age always focused on humans the most.

[@ChloesDragons]

100% agree. Feel like Inqusition was made for you to be an elf. But I defo want to be a qunari in the next game so hope there's lots of content!

[@iprakaji]

I don't hate Solas at all, I love him. He's such a interesting and complex character but ummm, I just didn't find him attractive in that way. He was like a older brother,close friend and confidant. I'm sad it's come this, and i know we might loose him, varric and probably the inquisitor as well. I'm a grown a** man whos ready to be alll up in my feelings😲🥺😭. This game will be amazing ❤️

[@zsugynoktitkos7257]

Personally I Hated the romance part with him bc it felt really toxic and it was a torture for me . I'm not really fond of tragic love stories and guys who "pull and push" you constantly. BUT I have to admit Solas writing is good and I see why so many ppl love it. Plus fun fact in the new game I will make the Solas romance version Inquisitor bc it will definitely add some spice to the story and kind of make sense for me .

[@jaearnell]

I'd never date Solas IRL, but as a written character... ever time. XD

[@PosiCobra]

This is spot on! You gave me the confidence to get my heart broken again by this man. lol. I just made my new Dalish character yesterday. 😊 (And I will try to keep the points you made here in mind when I start sobbing during the Crestwood Waterfall scene.)

[@calamityrosexo]

Since the trailers for Vailguard came out, I've been playing the game again to have a recent romance with Solas and I forgot how amazing and beauitful he is and this story. Back into the Solavellan hell I go ♥

[@minashepard1255]

I am planning a Solas romance in my next playthrough.

[@kourage_wolf8442]

Okay, I really didn't like Solas but I never hated the guy, I never chose him to be in my party, then wanted to befriend all the companions then I realized he's telling you history and I just loved the guy, he was pretty cool, so ominous and cautious. And I know, no one asked but I just wanted to put it out there that I wanna try romancing Solas.

[@AnnaYV]

This was like my first play though - I didn’t like him at first. Then I got to know him and romanced him and well…was solavellaned 🫠

[@ChloesDragons]

If it weren't for Cullen then I 100% would have done a Solas romance canon... but.. I want my Inquisitor to just be happy and healthy with Cullen on their home stead with the dog and the neices and nephews 😅

[@prffandever884]

I prefer my own little saying of “May the Dread Wolf guide you”. I love Solas. He is one of my favourite characters to romance. I haven’t completed the Inquisition story yet but I do have three Lavellans, one in all three classes (mage, rouge, and warrior), romancing The Dread Wolf. One of them has already done both of the kissing scenes with Solas. And I personally can’t wait for The Veilguard to come out. Thank you for sharing this video and May The Dread Wolf guide you. ❤️🐺

[@chadraines1828]

As I continue to hunt for royal elfroot and shards beyond counting, I’m glad I stumbled upon that last video even more. I haven’t played the game since Trespasser came out, and running through the story again has been a delight. Of course, now I have to make sure I don’t choose anything that’ll make Solas frustrated with my choices… Excellent encapsulation of why a romance is appealing, and what value it has for those who don’t feel an inherent interest in Solas.

[@Cassidei]

Thanks again for your question! It inspired the whole video. Most of Solas' choices are pretty straight forward, and he gains approval easily. Don't be afraid to make him upset, you can make up for it 😀

[@LiaraGaming]

Just ask Solas lots and lots of questions - that ranks up approval fast.

[@BabyBishRemy]

I couldnt romance him. Tried for two playthroughs. I couldnt change my play choices enough to catch him.

[@tj3603]

I totally understand people, who want to kill him, but for me he is one of the best written and most intriguing characters in media, if there will be an option to join him, I'll do it in heartbeat just to see what happens 😅 Still remember my first walkthrough of the game with eerie feeling like: what is up with this guy? He was a walking contradiction constantly tripping me up, even without romance. He was obsessed with elven history, yet openly despised dalish, previously established as last keepers of elven culture. Didn't like to gamble, but apparently left Blackwall without pants in card game. He played it like he was there to serve and follow, unassumingly reading books on intersection between all of my advisors, yet subtly took charge in pivotal moments. He was rational nerdy scientist, but suddenly an artist, painting walls of the castle with beautiful impressionist murals. He was hermit and wilderness dweller, and somehow feeling more at home in imperial court, than born royals and nobles in our party. He stayed calm, politely soft-spoken or sarcastically sharp, but always collected, until he didn't, totally losing his shit to a point of burning people alive for one stupid mistake. His reactions to big decisions often didn't make sense, as if he tried to be as eccentric as possible. I thought maybe he is a demon, or spirit like Cole, or some kind of spy, or definitely ancient elf, once it was established some of them are still alive. So eventual reveal of him as Dread Wolf was both satisfying, because I knew! I freaking knew there was something off about him! but still surprising, because I did not expect to have bloody elven god in my party all this time 🤣 So I immediately started new game to romance and drag every bit of information out of him. And of course he was flirting and kissing like a god (no pun intended😆), serving raw chemistry, tension and subtle intimacy, as no explicit scene in other romances could, only to rip it off as band aid, leaving my poor girl with broken heart. Been in Solavellan hell ever since, because no other narrative creates that rollercoaster of emotions 🤩 My only hope and concern, if BW can keep up writing on the same level 🤔

[@peppermint1349]

Solavellan Hell for 10 years now and still going strong

[@tomizu5]

How are you even alive, friend?? I have finished the DLC last Friday for the first time and I'm already starving. ;_;

[@bunniewood]

Im with you. I have had a small hole in my heart for 10 years over a videogame character.

[@WynneL]

"And may the Dread Wolf take you" was the perfect way to end this. Also, goodness, is it warm in here? Whew! 😳😊

[@BookLogicEm]

It took me forever to romance all other companions in dai because i always crawled back to solas. He was the first because his personality came of as history buff and myself loving and studying history it was a given. I played dai at launch so it was a gutt punch of a time but so memorable and sweet. I hope for so much for veilgaurd. If solas does die in veilgaurd i hope lavellan will sit by his side until he goes so hus greatest fear of dying alone is not realised. I hope he can be redeemed or just get some clousure with lavellan. ❤️

[@Cassidei]

Stop you’re so right about Lavellan being there if he dies 💔😭

[@tomizu5]

Two days ago I have finished DA:I and Trespasser for the first time (I couldn't make myself play it for personal relationship bs 10 years ago), and I romanced Solas despite planning to go for Iron Bull. Well, I can't see myself ever romancing anyone else than Solas in the future unless I force myself to create a non-elven Inky. Sollavellan is JUST SO GOOD!

[@heroofkvatch5878]

My Inquisitor developed a deeply respectful friendship with Solas. I’m kind of hoping we can romance Solas in DA:V if we elected not to romance him in Inquisition.

[@MrFightmonster118]

Love the videos so far! Keep up the good work!

[@Cassidei]

Thank you!

[@SpectreSaunders]

Are you still planning on doing a follow up video to "What I Want From Solavellan in Dragon Age: The Veilguard" with our comments and your reaction & thoughts to them? I'd love to hear your views on them.

[@Cassidei]

I am! Stay tuned for that in the next week or so.

[@RPGgems]

I have tried his romance, but I got a totally different vibe from it than a lot of people do, and life's too short to play at least 50 hours of a game just to say I did it. 😅 I, personally, don't think the romance will feature heavily in Veilguard anyway. This isn't to say I have an issue with his character - he's fantastic. I do think things are being over-hyped though and people may be disappointed. (I hope they aren't!)

[@Strawberria]

If it is DA, she will be a Dalish rogue (my Hawke is my black sheep), but Cassandra (1st) was not gay and Dorian (2nd) was. So Solas was my 3rd choice runner up. And what a lucky break that was! Cass and Dorian make great romances, but SoLavellan is earth shattering in importance as well as depth. Makes my Dalish warden Alistair look like a couple fo children. 10/10.

[@scottfast7809]

I never really used or liked Solas because I play mage and liked Dorian/Vivian banter better. He just reminded me of a bald Fenris and I didn't enjoy Fenris in DA2

[@lrarchive2385]

I would be happy to romance Solas, if only it could be done as anyone but Lavellan. It feel like such a waste that they didn't allow othe races to romance him; imagine the turmoil! The drama! He's had such a tunnel vision focus on restoring his people but couldn't help but love a dwarf. or qunari. Imagine?!?

[@SquirrelHops]

My headcannon is this, but I havent done it myself. So torn if I want to use my Inquisitor, or just edit my story via their version of Keep and make this the world-state haha

[@twistedbeach2805]

Solas was my very first DA:I romance my inquisitor slapped him now my main go to romance is Iron bull

[@Ganubishorus]

Honestly it pains me so much that Solas destroys Bianca! thats a new low! he knows how much that crossbow means to Varric! thats like using magic to make Solas be able to grow hair only to shave him while he sleeps! one does not simply do that!

[@legomojo]

People don’t like Solas?!? I mean no one will ever sway me from Sera but Solas and were pals… that ending was a shocker. Haha.

[@willsword8100]

I have seen pro-solas and anti-solas fan act the fool. I am unsure where things will develop.

[@Asteel94231]

One way the eleven gods could get back at solas is by going after a romanced inquisitor

[@the-dark-side.]

🖐 Def needs to be part of my therapeutic process to body solas.

[@captply4468]

why would I romance someone who blewup the conclave stuck me with some stupid mark and then in the end cut my arm off

[@Cassidei]

Because hot?

[@Suzanne_sf]

I rage-quit DAI. It had nothing to do with Solas. I just wanted to be with Solas, & the fetch quests were off-putting, then the timed reputation quest just made me quit. It was supposed to bring my Hawke in. Bioware could've just used the pronoun 'they' for Hawke so we could change the sex of Hawke & have our Hawke in the game. It didn't work for me & for other people, so at least I wasn't the only one who had problems bringing in Hawke. I tend to love romancing elves in the dragon age series, although I really love the sweetness of Alistair. In DAO, I wished they had made a dlc about running off with Zevran. In DA2, I wished they had made a dlc about running off with Fenris. In DAI, I wished they had made a dlc about running off with Solas. For all of the talk of the DAV character creator, I hope they make it so that the character doesn't frown. I had a really bad time trying to make it so that my Inquisitor wasn't frowning, but she still looked sad all of the time.

[@fliplife67]

If anyone did hopefully BioWare will deliver.

[@yenneferofvengerberg]

That was my thouoght to do, and I find the romance so boring I can't.......... Anyway I got a double romance mod so I don't quit on it a second time around. So yeah, I'm doing the solas romance but I'm not happy about it.

[@BelieveIt1051]

OR! Or... don't romance Solas in DA:I. Then play as a female elf and romance him in Veilguard?!?!?? BioWare did say all party companions were romancable, right? Wouldn't that include Solas? I think it would be funny if a female elf Rook could romance Solas by doing all the best things in the game to the point he changes his mind and then admires the female elf Rook for it. Me personally, I thought Solas was just okay as a character. I figured he was Fen'Harel partway through the game, and I distrusted him from near the start when he mentioned the "artifact" that caused the explosion. My male human rift mage was friends with him though.

[@maiafay]

Prepare to be attacked. Anyone who suggests this with Rook and Solas are instantly smacked with a slew of “how dare yous” because he belongs to the inquisitor. I personally think it would be an interesting dynamic. I guess only fanfic will explore this.

[@BelieveIt1051]

@@maiafay I'm a glutton, don't worry. I have also suggested in the past that DA4 show Solas convincing Merrill to join him and they start a romance even if Hawke romanced Merrill and the Inquisitor romanced Solas.

[@channel45853]

@@maiafay more like informed. The likeness of Solas being a romance option in 4 is low. Admitting this is helping to not set unrealistic expectations to be disspointed because of.

[@channel45853]

@@maiafay I don't see why, Solas and Inquiz have a romance. And even if they don't, overtrumping romances is not something that I think is good to do in rpgs, or overtrumping any choices for that matter. All to romance Solas with a new character for.....whatever reason.

[@pativi6643]

I mean, Solas isn't a companion. He will be an important character in the game, connected to our protagonist it seems, but isn't a companion. But besides, there's plenty of reasons why I don't see that working. First, the developers once stated, that none of the once romanceable characters will be made romanceable again by new protagonist. Second, all of the romances are pan in the new game, but Solas was romanceable only by an elf - it would make no sense to add a new romance that would be so limited, it's a waste of resources. Then, from the perspective of his character - first, he may be deeply in love with Lavellan, and he does not seem like a person who easily moves on lol. 10 years is not a long time for a being that is like 10000 years old. He leaves her, despite not wanting to, because it is his guilt and duty that drives him. Him falling in love again, when he is so commited to his plan, eh. He killed Mythal at this point, he devoted years, and lives of many of his agents. Part of why he was able to know her feelings for him were real, was because ironically, she didn't know who he was - in the Inquisition he is a deeply distrustful person, saying many times that putting trust in others is ultimately a mistake. Now with everything happening he has even more reasons to not trust Rook, who can very easily stab him in the back. It just doesn't make sense to me. Not to mention it is likely he is going to die. If he is trapped in the Fade in the same place the released gods were, he is slowly getting mad and corrupted.

[@KoKoaKate]

I romanced Solas after my first playthrough romancing Cullen and boy am I glad I did that since I can’t go back to romancing other characters anymore. Solavellan forever ❤ I’m so ready for angst and possibly redemption in Veilguard.

[@Kleineganz]

I've watched many videos with all his romance scenes, and other details pertaining to that, however I cannot and will not romance him because I will never play a female Inquisitor. I'm a gay trans guy and I can't bring myself to play as female. That's why I greatly appreciate all the videos people make to help fill in the gaps on content I would otherwise miss out on.

[@Sithishe]

He is bald and ugly. If elves dont look like Legolas/Elrond I dont want to do nothing with them, simple as xD xD xD Cullen and Dorian are the only 2 good looking romance options among all male and female romances in inquisition. I almost went full gay when I saw Dorian, but I already was with Cassandra at a time. This is obviously my humble opinion. PS Who is Lavellan?

[@reddskair9523]

4:13 Is that Keira Mets' outfit? 😂

[@Cassidei]

Yes! 😂 It’s a mashup outfit I found on Nexus Mod called the “Solas Romance Outfit” or something like that.

[@bunniewood]

I FELL HARD FOR SOLAS. I cat understand the people that dont like him. I cant comprehend it. The people who hate him never got to know him.

[@UNCKayakfish]

Appreciate the effort but nah, a friendship path with Solas is more than meaningful and my take on the character is one in which I find him not appealing as a partner. He’s a wonderfully written character and is morally loathsome. My canon Ink is Qunari and I saw what I needed to see in terms of his views. We err as a community when we decide certain paths are necessary or right. Because that’s entirely against the entire spirit of roleplaying. That’s really my greatest issue with Solavellans: they fundamentally do not respect the preferences of other players.

[@Cassidei]

Totally understandable! However on your last point, I have not met a Solavellan who has been disrespectful of other player’s preferences- I know I can at least speak for myself in that matter. If you don’t want to romance Solas, you don’t want to. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think grouping us all up into one category like that is unfair.

[@anamimi18]

Solavellan is a canon, no one will convince me otherwise.

[@user-ld2ci6ki6l]

Cringe

[@keiyangoshin3650]

I have! Now I just need the Dragon Age Keep to accept my saved game and hope that it has an impact on DAV. DAVG? DA-VG? **sigh** why couldn’t the game just be called Dreadwolf? 🙃

[@RPGgems]

Veilguard isn't using the Keep. There will be a handful of choices we can make during character creation, so you don't even need to go through the romance, just tick a box that says you did 😊

[@keiyangoshin3650]

@@RPGgems - Oh!! Thank you very much for this information! Duly noted. 😁