BioWare is a company that has been through its fair share of ups and downs, with the company being hailed as one of the greatest developers of Western RPGs before a focus on mass appeal meant that their greatest strengths were toned down in titles that were reviled by the pubic. While Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was a step in the right direction, fans are still reserving their judgment about the trajectory this company is taking until Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is released.

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The preference for body-snatcher villains in most BioWare games is something that fans have noticed time and time again, allowing the developer to craft unique villains who aren't clear-cut evil as most people would assume. In fact, some of these characters could've actually joined the good side had things gone down a different path.

5 Saren Arterius

Indoctrination Clouded His Mind, But He Can Be Made To See Reason Near The End

Saren is one of the most fascinating villains in Mass Effect, serving as a rogue Spectre who became a huge threat to the galaxy when he controlled the Geth for his own nefarious purposes. However, it's not until players make some decent progress in the game that they realize why Saren has become such a loathsome character.

Under the effect of Sovereign, Saren's mind was slowly corrupted and indoctrinated until he became a pawn for the Reaper, forsaking his own individual motivations in the process. At the end of Mass Effect, players can appeal to his sense of reason and force him to stop so that he can finally fight back against this indoctrination once and for all.

4 Solas

An Elven Mage Interested In The Fade Who Takes On The Mantle Of Dread Wolf

Solas is certainly one of the more intriguing characters in Dragon Age, introducing himself as an elven mage who's interested in the Fade and what he represents. He's pretty powerful, and helps the Inquisitor to contain this threat while taking out Corypheus in the process.

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It's not until the end of the game that it's revealed that Solas is actually Fen'Harel, or the Dread Wolf. He has his own lofty ambitions that are explored in the DLC Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser, and the fact that the next game in the series itself is called Dreadwolf suggests that this character will return as a central antagonist and will have his motivationg and backstory expanded even further.

3 Loghain Mac Tir

Has His Heart In The Right Place, But Uses Extreme Methods To Achieve His Goals

Dragon Age: Origins was one of the most impressive role-playing games ever made at the time, with many people loving the work BioWare put into developing this amazing title with its impressive set of varying origins for the main character that enhanced its replayability quite a bit. The antagonist, who serves as the driving force for much of the game's plot, is Loghain, a power-hungry individual who decides to ensure Ferelden's safety at all costs.

Unfortunately, the manner in which he sends the Grey Wardens out to slaughter, betrays the king he was sworn to protect, and vilifies elves, makes him a hard man to sympathize with. Sure, his liege may have been as reckless as they come, but that didn't justify Loghain's overreaction, and the Landsmeet serves as a turning point where Loghain is either given the fate he deserves or ends up joining the Warden's party, much to the disgust of Alistair, who promptly leaves.

2 The Illusive Man

Looking Out For The Human Race Is Fine, But Not At The Cost Of Others

Most people assume that The Illusive Man has the interests of humanity at heart when he reconstructs Shepard's body and lets him use Cerberus' resources to stage missions, gather a group of powerful squadmates, and ensure that the universe survives against the threat of the Reapers. However, it's not until the end of this title that his true motivations come to light.

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It turns out that The Illusive Man doesn't want to annihilate the Reapers, but prefers to harness their powers to help humanity emerge as the dominant intergalactic race. It's an insane plan that backfires when he eventually ends up being indoctrinated by this invasive species, and Shepard can only try to convince him to fight back against their influence before this villain shoots himself in the head, clearing the way for Shepard to take out the Reapers once and for all.

1 Meredith Stannard

Lyrium Turned Her Into A Paranoid Maniac

Dragon Age 2 is seen by many as the black sheep of the franchise, with players finding its shorter length and dumbed-down systems to be a step back from the immense success of the first title. However, the amazing writing of the series was still on full display here, and this can be seen in the nuanced character of Meredith Stannard.

Despite her hatred for mages, Meredith was still level-headed enough to not let this prejudice govern every decision she made. However, after forging a sword out of lyrium and losing her mind to this accursed material, she ends up going off the deep end and becomes downright tyrannical, prompting even her closest allies to take a step back and admonish her for her insanity. This turns her into an outright antagonist who serves as a tough fight, and it's only after the heroes defeat her that she questions the morality of her actions before being petrified in lyrium.

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