The newest entry in the Dragon Age franchise has caused a lot of excitement among fans, with Dragon Age: Dreadwolf already at the top of many players' most anticipated lists despite not having a release date yet. With only a handful of details revealed so far, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is still very much a mystery. However, this hasn't stopped gamers from speculating about what the game might contain, including turning to spin-off novels like Dragon Age: Last Flight to get clues about the possible inclusion of new elements like griffons.
Dragon Age is an expansive franchise that has years of lore and storytelling already under its belt. With three mainline games and a number of spinoff titles, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has a narratively rich foundation upon which to build its own story. While players know that the upcoming game will be set in the as-yet-unseen Tevinter Imperium and that Solas will be a major antagonist, other aspects of Dragon Age: Dreadwolf remain a secret. Griffons could very well make a return to the universe as winged mounts, which could open up Dragon Age: Dreadwolf's traversal in major ways.
Mounts In Previous Games
Mounts were introduced in Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third installment in the franchise, and both the playable Inquisitor and their companions could ride them around the various environments. There were many different types, including dracolisks, horses, harts, and nuggalopes, and while they all had the same speed and didn't differ in many respects, they did have varied tolerances for melee damage before they unseated their riders, with horses being the weakest in that respect and nuggalopes the strongest.
Dragon Age: Inquisition had a multitude of environments for players to explore, with some of the larger regions like The Hinterlands, The Exalted Plains, and The Emerald Graves becoming much easier to navigate with a mount. Not only were they useful and added a bit of fun to the gameplay – particularly if players were able to unlock some unique Exotic mounts – but they also helped add to the lore of the game as well. For example, the Pride of Arlathan, which is a type of hart, is linked to the potential exodus route the Elven took after the expansion of the Tevinter Imperium, tying in nicely to the probable focus of the next game given its setting and its main villain.
Griffons In Dragon Age Lore
Griffons haven't appeared in a Dragon Age game to date, but that doesn't rule them out from appearing in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Like the classic depiction of the mythical creatures in real life, Dragon Age's griffons are a combination of lions with heads, wings, and talons of eagles. Closely linked to the Grey Wardens before they became extinct, griffons were thought to be native to the Wandering Hills and the northern reaches of the Hunterhorn Mountains. However, there are also conflicting reports that they hailed from Seheron instead, showing that there are still many myths and unknowns surrounding the legendary creatures.
Grey Wardens managed to tame griffons and even rode some into battle, and there are touches of this history peppered throughout Dragon Age: Inquisition. The link between the Order of warriors and the mythical beasts can be seen in the Griffon Mail armor set available in the Trespasser DLC as well as the Griffon Wing Keep – a former Grey Warden outpost found in the Western Approach. After the Blights and various failed attempts by the Wardens to relocate the griffons' eyries, the creatures started to die out. They eventually became extinct during the Storm Age, even though reports occasionally resurfaced of griffon sightings throughout the years.
Why They Might Be In Dragon Age: Dreadwolf
Shortly before the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition at the end of 2014, Dragon Age: Last Flight was published by Tor Books. The novel, set in the expanded Dragon Age universe, takes place in 9:41 Dragon Age and follows the elven mage Valya as she is recruited by the Grey Wardens. Tasked with researching the previous Blights to try and get some answers for strange happenings and reports of resurgent darkspawn, Valya stumbles upon the diary of Isseya, one of the last fabled griffon riders. Through Isseya's secret diary, Valya learns more about the history of the Wardens and discovers a stash of griffon eggs that have been magically suspended in animation.
Valya manages to find the eggs and the griffons eventually hatch, leading to a potential new generation of winged creatures in Thedas. Although it's not yet clear when exactly Dragon Age: Dreadwolf will take place, it could be a few years after the events of Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: Last Flight, giving the hatchlings that Valya found time to mature. There may even be more secret stashes of griffon eggs, making it a possibility that players will be able to have griffon mounts in the next game. Although the mounts in Dragon Age: Inquisition were interesting additions, a winged mount like a griffon would bring a whole new dimension to gameplay.
It's clear Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is looking to shake things up when it comes to its setting and core features, with the focus on Tevinter and what appears to be some unique companions like a female qunari signaling a departure from previous games. There will be some familiar elements like returning characters and the same narrative-focused RPG gameplay, but as the next big installment in the franchise, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf needs to push the boundaries and give players something new as well. Griffon mounts could be the perfect addition, as they're much more intelligent than horses or other mounts and could forge a strong bond with the player character, as well as provide effective and entertaining ways to get around the in-game world.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is in development.