One of the first big decisions you face in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is whether or not to support Varric’s plan. He’s determined to try and reason with Solas, but it’s up to you whether you want to back him or try and stop him from doing so.
This decision occurs during The End of the Beginning quest as your team tries to stop Solas from completing the ritual. The decision you make has some instant ramifications, so you need to know whether you should choose to tell Varric this is a mistake or you can do it in Dragon Age The Veilguard.
What happens if you tell Varric “This is a mistake” in Dragon Age The Veilguard?
If you choose to tell Varric, “This is a mistake,” he attempts to stop Solas anyway and Neve disapproves of your choice while Harding approves of your decision. This means you lose a bit of relationship with Neve but gain a bit with Harding.
When the group ends up at the Lighthouse after failing to stop the ritual, Varric will feel sorry that he didn’t listen to you and that you were right to tell him not to fight Solas. He realizes he underestimated how set in his decisions Solas was. This is purely a dialogue difference and has no effects beyond changing what Varric says to you when you wake up at the Lighthouse.
What happens if you tell Varric “You can do it” in Dragon Age The Veilguard?
If you tell Varric, “You can do it,” he moves ahead as planned to try and stop Solas while Neve approves of your decision and Harding disapproves. In this case, you increase your relationship with Neve slightly while lowering it with Harding.
When you wake up at the Lighthouse after making this choice, Varric feels like he let you down after you put your faith in him and his relationship with Solas. Just like with the last choice, this is just a slight tweak in the dialogue you hear from him and has no gameplay or relationship effects.
Is it better to tell Varric “This is a mistake” or “You can do it” during The End of the Beginning quest in Dragon Age The Veilguard?
Neither choice is better and it ultimately just comes down to whether you want to gain some approval with Neve or Harding. The choice you make here does not impact the outcome of the story events that follow since no matter what choice you make here, Varric will end up getting hurt while facing Solas. His trusty crossbow, Bianca, also gets destroyed by Solas.
| Choice | Result |
|---|---|
| This is a mistake. | Neve disapproves. Harding approves. Varric tries to stop Solas and gets hurt. Bianca is destroyed. |
| You can do it. | Harding disapproves. Neve approves. Varric tries to stop Solas and gets hurt. Bianca is destroyed. |
I ultimately went with telling Varric, “You can do it,” since I felt like supporting him was the right way to go after playing Dragon Age: Inquisition, considering Solas was one of his friends and mine too when playing as the Inquisitor. There’s also no way to stop Varric from trying to sway Solas even if you don’t want him to, so I wanted to support him and the team overall rather than shake his confidence.
I also took the relationship approvals and disapprovals into account when making this choice. I decided it was more important to gain some relationship with Neve over Harding since she had only joined the party recently whereas Harding had been around for a little bit longer at this point.
Neither choice will make or break your relationship with either companion, but if you are interested in romancing one of them, it’s best to choose the option that will bolster your relationship with them here to make the process easier. There are still plenty of other opportunities to build your bond with Neve and Harding after this, though, so you can absolutely overlook the approvals and disapprovals in favor of making the choice that feels right for your character if that’s more important to you.
This one really just comes down to personal preference, so make whatever decision feels right for you.
