Lost Souls¶

Quest Giver : War Table

Requirement : Venture to the Hinterlands once.

Reward : 1,025 Experience, 400 Influence, 3 Power

While you will do this main quest, it is ideal to go ahead and head towards the nearby town of Fisher’s End. In the houses around this area (including up to the northwest) you can find several codices, including Before Andrastianism: Forgotten Faiths , Bottles of Thedas (this is an updated codex entry and hidden in the northwest house by the bed), and the “Place” codex Rivain (down in the village). You can also find “The Light of Andastre” landmark nearby.

Corpses will likely come and greet you here. Lovely. Take some time to explore the bog and get used to the corpses. Many of them are ranged, so you will want your warriors to set up defenses and close in quickly. They are also ice-resistant, so Solus is likely a poor option here. Consider knocking them down and/or stunning and sleeping them.

Head to the central landmass to the southeast to find a beacon. You can energize this for the “Beacons in the Dark” quest, which you should do now. After that, stock up if you have to and press further south to the second beacon of that quest chain.

Once you reach that point, it is a short journey south again to the unclaimed camp, which should be your next objective. From there you can regroup as you claim the “Old Thoroughfare Camp”.

From here it is wise to mop up every side quest you have. Rifts, beacons, and anything else you get along the way. You will really need the level (or levels) that come. Plus, this main quest is the last thing on the map.

Once you are ready, head south and you’ll come to a castle in the distance. Here you will have dozens of undead pop up. Your party encourages you to run, which is honestly the smart thing to do. If you are capable though, you can put everything here to the sword. Fire AoE attacks (Earthshaking Strike) are godly here. Despite the “They are endless!” screams from your companions, these undead are indeed limited. Watch any range fighter’s back as more come up and kill until you are content. Only do this if you are comfortable fighting them, but feel free to use up as many health potions as you wish.

Once you enter the castle, kill the Avvar and go up the ramp. You will find a Chest x2 up here as well as a potion cache (the reason you could use so many potions earlier). Hit the gate lever to open the way forward. You’ll have to battle a few Avvar warriors, but soon you’ll be in a ruined keep where the leader, the “Hand of Korth” will face you.

BOSS - Hand of Korth¶

The Avvar leader is not alone. In the middle of the area will be a Defender unit while up the steps in the very back are three archers. Let Cassandra challenge the “Hand” to keep him busy. From there, either stun or run by the defender and take out the three archers first. The last thing you need is them raining fire from their advantageous position. This is where your archers should be, once it is clear.

After that, take out the defender and focus on the leader. Ranged units should have no problem providing support as there are no reinforcements after you take out his allies. The Hand of Korth is a two-handed fighter, and as such he has large, sweeping blows that will hit any melee fighters. He can also re-apply his armor in the middle of the fight and will occasionally (and stupidly) stand and cheer at times.

With him challenged, he will focus solely on Cassandra, which lets you lay down AoE traps and effects to great effect. If you are melee, keep your guard up and/or use your excellent Block and Slash ability to avoid damage and hurt him as well. Ranged characters have it easy here as long as the tank can stay up-right.

Once you fell this beast of a man, claim his treasure (likely a two-handed rare weapon) and his cell key. Your allies are close by. Open the door and let them out, gaining +200 Influence and a Chest . Near the entrance is the Sky Warrior who helped you out on your first rift. Talk to him and ask him to join your efforts to gain the Sky Warrior Agent and some power. It is extremely good to have this barbarian on your side.

Rifts in the Mire¶

There are two rifts to worry about here. The first can be tackled after setting up the second camp. It is similar to your last rift at the Storm Coast. Remember, the one by the waterfall? Expect normal enemies (Wraiths) at first, but on the second wave there will be a Despair Demon. If you can, light it on fire (which is tough without a fire-specialized mage). You can always thin out the lesser enemies and disrupt it, which helps. As an added bonus, an Avvar warrior will be helping you out here. Feel free to talk to him beforehand to learn that at least he is honorable. He is a beast of a warrior, so no need to worry about him at all as he will help greatly.

The second rift is the hardest one yet. It is to the north of the last one. Be sure to bring regen potions for everyone. The first wave isn’t bad, to be honest; Wraiths and a single Despair Demon. Take them out, as you’ve had some practice. The second wave will be tough. Here you face two Despair Demons and a Revenant. Everything here is weak to fire, so use it if you can and have everyone drink a regen potion at the first scratch. Put the fire on the Revenant as he is not likely to zoom away like the Despair Demons. Don’t bother with the disrupt this time as it only effects the Revenant for about a second. Slay them all and seal the rift. With any luck you got some good drops from these enemies.

With that the rifts in the mire are clear. Good job!

Holding the Mire¶

Quest Giver : Scout Harding

Requirement : Enter the Fallow Mire

Reward : 50 Influence and 1 Power per camp.

This isn’t much of a challenge as there is only one other camp in the Mire. It is located south of the second beacon area, past a small set of stone archways. Be sure to search nearby for loot and the remains of a scout. This is a good location to take on the challenges that lie to the east and further to the south.

Beacons in the Dark¶

Quest Giver : Find a Beacon in the Fallow Mire

Requirement : Enter the Fallow Mire

Reward : 967 Experience, 200 Influence, 2 Power

This quest is a four-part quest to light beacons on the way to the “Lost Souls” main quest. You may as well do something on your long march! It also goes hand in hand with the “Beneath the Mire” quest.

The first beacon is a taste of what this is about; have a mage energize the beacon and get ready to defend it. You will always have the high ground on every beacon, and there will always be an elite Lesser Terror that acts as the mini-boss. He will usually come in first, followed by corpses. This is the same set-up as every other beacon.

On the first one, knock down the terror as it appears from the ramp and get ready for two sets of corpses to come up two different hills. Set traps for them and use fire if you can (Earthshaking Strike is a beautiful thing here). Take out the corpses and then the terror. Once you are done, light the veilfire nearby and examine the runes on the pillar for the “Beneath the Mire” quest, then continue on.

At the second beacon, be sure you grab the Apostate Widris’s Journal item laying on the ground. This gives you the “These Demons are Clever” quest, which you will want to do later. Now, here the set-up is the same as the first beacon. Defend the high ground, set traps when you can and take out the elite terror enemy. The numbers are the same as the first beacon, so take them out like before. Kill it with fire! Don’t forget the “Beneath the Mire” quest!

The third beacon will likely come after you play around with the last rift and Widris. It is a bit harder than the last one, but the set-up is the same. You will be facing two Terror enemies here. Have Cassandra taunt them both so you have a good chance of setting them on fire. There will be more corpse enemies coming in as long as the Terror enemies show up, so kill them as you wish and slay the Terrors to end the third round. Don’t forget the “Beneath the Mire” quest!

The fourth and last beacon is likely your last objective before the Lost Souls quest. It is similar to the third beacon, with two Terror enemies and ramps up to the middle area. Trap the ramps, use some regen potions and fire, and take out those enemies! It should be a good time.

Once they are dead, you can bask in the knowledge that you made the path south safer. That and the +200 Influence doesn’t hurt. You will also be able to complete the “Beneath the Mire” quest!

Beneath the Mire¶

Quest Giver : Rune in Stone Beacons

Requirement : Enter the Fallow Mire

Reward : 512 Experience, 200 Influence, 2 Power

This quest really goes hand in hand with the “Beacons in the Dark” quest. Completing it is all about remembering it is there! Do the “Beacons in the Dark” quest and every time you defend a beacon, light a torch with the Veil Fire that remains and examine the rune on the pillar. This tells a bit of story about what the crazed apostate Widris is up to. After the fourth beacon, his work will be made clear and you will get his research as a reward, which nets you the Tears of the Dead Recipe . Very nice!

These Demons Are Clever¶

Quest Giver : Journal near Veilfire Beacon

Requirement : Enter the Fallow Mire

Reward : 967 Experience, 200 Influence, 2 Power

This quest should be yours after reading the journal near the second beacon in the mire. Sounds like an Apostate is going mad out here. Best to deal with him now. This quest will be on hold until you finish the Rift quests, as the apostate is protected by his location. Once you do finish the rift sealing in this area, go and heal up (rest!) and re-visit “The Den”. From there, take the west exit out and head northeast. This leads to the “Hidden Apostate Camp”, where Widris is hiding.

He isn’t happy to see you and will summon 4 level 12 Wraiths. He himself is a level 12 Elite Mage. Have Cassandra get his focus and Solas should barrier her up to ensure she lives. Varric and you should then focus on taking out the wraiths as fast as possible. Their ranged support can wipe you out if you don’t hurry.

Without the wraiths, Widris is doomed. He hits hard, but it is nothing Solas’s barrier can’t handle. Keep him knocked down or stunned if you can and back him into the walls here. Once you finish him ( +200 Influence ), be sure to loot his body for some rare gear, then open the Chest x2 in the area and turn on the elven ward for +40 Influence .

Also note that there is a rare Dawn Lotus just to the northwest of his camp, past the log and surrounded by Blood Lotus.

Cabin Fever¶

Quest Giver : Lost Cabin Key

Requirement : Enter the Fallow Mire

Reward : 128 Experience, 80 Influence

South of the third beacon in the area, past the Avvar Archer checkpoints you will find a cabin. A locked cabin. Being the curious sort, you must get in! To do that, you have to find the key. This starts a hot/cold hunt with your investigation button. The key can be found to the northeast, on the edge of the bog water. Kill whatever pops up and grab it, then head back to the cabin.

Just opening this nets you +80 Influence . Search the Chest here, loot what you can, and claim the Waterlogged Diary on the table.