Players can create a custom World State that reflects their major decisions across the Dragon Age games through the Dragon Age Keep. Like other BioWare franchises, Dragon Age fans can create a single, continuous canon across games that will affect what happens in each subsequent installment. Throughout the series, players have taken the role of a Grey Warden fighting the Blight and an Archdemon, a Ferelden refugee named Hawke who becomes the Champion of the city of Kirkwall, and the Herald of Andraste and Inquisitor looking to restore peace to Southern Thedas. These characters and their companions make appearances and play roles in other stories in the series, and decisions a player made in Origins can cause trouble in Inquisition, or in the upcoming Dragon Age 4 game, if the player wants them to.
For a player’s decisions from Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 to appear and alter the plot of Inquisition, players will need to sign into the Keep and input their decisions from those games. Players can save up to ten new World States in the Keep for future use. What players may not know, however, is that they do not need to start a new run of Dragon Age: Inquisition to update their World State and play using this new one. Instead, PC players can use a mod to download their updated World State to their most recent save, and the game will reflect their changes. This makes it convenient for players who want to try different options without replaying the full series, or who want to prepare several different canon options for Dragon Age 4. Here’s how to change the World State from the Keep without starting over in Dragon Age: Inquisition.
How to Change the Default World State in Dragon Age: Inquisition
YouTuber Alya Cousland demonstrated a simple way to change the World State in Dragon Age: Inquisition on PC without starting a brand new game. To do this, players will need to download and install the DAI Save Game Editor mod by Shuls. Then, the player will need to determine what they want to change about their World State and enter the Keep. They can make as many adjustments as they want. Then, when they are happy with their changes, they should navigate to the panel on the right side of the screen and choose Export to DA: Inquisition. Alternatively, the player could create and save an entirely different World State if they want to keep their current options for later use. No matter which way they do it, they need to remember to select Export to DA: Inquisition.
Next, players will need to launch Dragon Age: Inquisition and start a new game. They should begin by creating a character of the same gender, race, and class as the existing character. It is unlikely choosing a different set of specifications would cause issues, but to be safe, it is easiest to keep the same choices. Then, when the game asks if the player wants to import a World State, they should say Yes. Their most recent exported World State will be downloaded into the game. Players can use preset options in the Character Creator and start the game.
Players will need to sit through the opening scenes. Then, as soon as the option becomes available, they will need to create a new Save for their game. It is imperative they write down the time code for the save, as this is the only way to figure out which one is the correct one when using the Save Game Editor. Then, players can exit out of the game.
After that, players can return to their files and launch the Save Game Editor. With the tool open, they can choose Open and browse their game files until they find the game they want to modify. Then, they will need to choose Open again and select their newly created save file that includes the updated World State.
A new window will pop up showing players all the changes that will be applied. Players should choose Save, then select the save game they want to modify to overwrite it. In the resulting warning that pops up, players should simply select Continue.
There will now be two files saved in the same location with the same name. Players will need to load both and determine which one incorporates their new World State. The easiest way to do this, especially when modifying companions from previous games, is to check the various Codex entries related to their changes. Once they determine which save is the modified one, they can continue their game right where they left off with an altered World State.
Alya Cousland used this method to change one decision from Dragon Age: Origins and make Alistair a king rather than a Grey Warden. This was to prevent her from having to make the heartbreaking choice between sacrificing him or sacrificing Hawke to the Nightmare in the Fade during Here Lies the Abyss. Players can see the process outlined in more detail in her video below.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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