Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is one of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s most complex main story quests, featuring multiple endings with lasting consequences for the rest of the game and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Instead of battling Demons and Darkspawn, the Inquisitor and their allies are forced to participate in The Game: the bloodthirsty infighting of the Orlesian Imperial Court, where secrets can be lethal and appearances are deceptive.
By discovering secrets and snooping around the Winter Palace, players can side with three potential allies: Empress Celene, the ruler of Orlais, her ambitious cousin Duke Gaspard, and Briala, Celene’s former advisor and jilted Elven lover. Unlike the decision to side with the Mages or Templars, the choice of who gets the Inquisition’s backing and, ultimately, the throne is rather nuanced. There is no clear “right” answer: all three figures are deeply complex and stand to gain and lose much. Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts can end in one of five ways; here’s how to access them all.
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All Endings To Wicked Eyes And Wicked Hearts In Dragon Age: Inquisition
All Possible Endings In Brief
The ending to Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is largely determined by the Inquisitor’s choices throughout the quest, the kind of blackmail they can find while exploring the unauthorized areas of the castle, and the number of Halla Statues they manage to find.
Additionally, the ending depends on whether players choose to allow Duchess Florianne to attack Celene, speak to Florianne themselves, or order Cullen to have her detained, as well as how much Court Approval the Inquisitor has.
Players earn Court Approval by turning in secrets from eavesdropping and blackmail they find to Leliana, tossing Caprice Coins into the fountain in the garden, and giving the correct responses to NPCs. Court Approval can similarly be lost by committing faux pas in dialogue and can be lost rapidly by exploring unauthorized areas of the castle.
To publicly out Florianne as a traitor and avoid the boss battle and further bloodshed, Court Approval must be at 85 or higher. Players who choose to execute Florianne themselves will not be able to save the Empress’ life.
As such, the Inquisitor needs to find the perfect balance between winning the approval of the Orlesian Court with exploring the Palace and finding secrets and blackmail. As such, despite a relative lack of combat, Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is arguably one of the toughest main missions in Dragon Age: Inquisition. There are five main endings:
- Celene rules alone
- Celene and Briala rule together.
- Gaspard rules alone.
- Briala rules through Gaspard.
- Public truce between all three figures.
Mage Inquisitors, Elven, Dwarven, and Qunari Inquisitors start the mission with lower Court Approval, reflecting the discriminatory nature of Orlesian high society. Additionally, if Court Approval hits zero, the Inquisition is thrown out of the Palace, and the mission fails.
How To Get Celene To Survive And Rule Alone
Support The Ruling Empress Of Orlais
To ensure that Celene survives and rules Orlais alone, players must:
- Tell Cullen to “Detain the Duchess” to prevent Duchess Florianne from assassinating Celene. This results in more bloodshed and a boss battle against Florianne. Depending on which Dragon Age: Inquisition class is chosen for the Inquisitor, this boss battle may prove challenging.
- Alternatively, if Court Approval is high enough, choose “I’ll talk to Florianne.” to expose her as a traitor to the Court. The boss battle is skipped.
- Gather evidence that Gaspard was sneaking mercenaries into the Palace, and reveal the evidence of his treachery to Celene by picking “Gaspard was planning a coup.”
Players can then decide to allow Celene to have Gaspard executed or ask her to spare his life by sending him into exile. Briala’s relationship with Celene can also be exposed, discrediting her in the eyes of other elves and quelling Briala’s elven rebellion.
Players should aim to get Court Approval as high as possible, which will allow them to skip Florianne’s boss battle and prove the Inquisitor’s mastery of The Game.
How To Get Celene And Briala To Rule Together
Side Against The Grand Duke
This ending can be difficult to get, as it requires players to explore the Winter Palace (potentially uncovering a few Mass Effect easter eggs), open a specific Halla Door in the Palace, and complete a few optional tasks in the main ballroom. This cuts off access to at least two other side quests during the ball. To reconcile Celene and Briala and get them to rule together, players must take the following actions:
- Use three Halla Statues to open the door to Celene’s vault in the Servant’s Quarters/Grand Apartments upper level and retrieve the Elven locket.
- Speak to the Empress’s Ladies in Waiting in the ballroom about the locket. This will trigger a cutscene where the Inquisitor can speak to Celene about the locket.
- Speak to Briala about the locket.
- Choose “Detain the Duchess” or, with high enough court approval, “I’ll talk to Florianne.” This will thwart Florianne’s attempt on Empress Celene’s life.
- Choose to give Briala credit for rooting out the assassins by choosing “Briala helped stop Florianne.”
- Gather and use evidence against Gaspard to accuse him of treason.
- Choose “What about Briala’s reward?”
This will reconcile the couple. Celene will remain on the throne and make Briala the Marquise of the Dales. However, by reconciling the couple, players lose the option to spare Gaspard. Rather than requesting Briala receive a reward, doing so will result in Celene ruling alone.
How To Get Gaspard To Rule Alone
Crown A New Emperor Of Orlais
The Inquisitor can also decide Gaspard would be a better ruler than Celene. To get Gaspard to rule alone, players must take the following actions:
- Choose “Wait for Florianne to attack,” and allow Celene to be assassinated.
- Defeat Florianne in the boss fight.
- Choose “Gaspard will be emperor.”
- Use blackmail to implicate Briala.
This places Gaspard on the throne of Orlais.
How To Get Briala To Rule Through Gaspard
Allow The Elven Spymaster To Rule From The Shadows
Players can put Briala in power without reconciling her relationship with Celene. In this ending, Celene is assassinated, and Gaspard rules her place. However, he remains Briala’s puppet, having been threatened with blackmail. To get this ending, players must take the following actions:
- Choose “Wait for Florianne to attack” and allow Celene to be assassinated.
- Defeat Florianne in the boss fight.
- Choose “Briala can take over.”
- Use blackmail material against Gaspard.
This way, Gaspard gains the throne of Orlais, but Briala and her network of elven spies hold the real power behind the scenes. This is an uneasy arrangement, as Briala forces Gaspard to grant new rights to the elves, prompting an alliance of nobles to consider taking up arms against him.
How To Establish A Truce In Wicked Eyes And Wicked Hearts
Establish An Uneasy Peace For Orlais
This outcome requires completing similar tasks to the reconciliation ending. Players must obtain enough Halla Statues to enter the Empress’s Private Quarters, obtain blackmail about Celene, Gaspard, and Briala, and have at least 85 Court Approval. To get this ending, players must take the following actions:
- Collect blackmail material against Gaspard, Celene, and Briala.
- Use five Halla Statues to enter the Empress’s Private Quarters, free the tied-up soldier, and ask him to testify against Celene.
- Choose “Detain the Duchess” or, with high enough Court Approval, “I’ll talk to Florianne.”
- Use blackmail to publicly accuse all three characters before the court.
- Choose “You work for me now.”
As with the reconciliation outcome, The Inquisitor should save their Halla Statues. However, this means they may not be able to enter Celene’s vault and other locked areas in the Winter Palace.
All Consequences Of Wicked Eyes And Wicked Hearts
The Aftermath Of Each Ending
Each ending has its own exclusive War Table operation players can complete:
|
Ending |
War Table Operation |
|---|---|
|
Celene rules alone |
A Favor Returned and Reconciliation for Celene and Michel |
|
Celene and Briala rule together |
A Gift from the Imperial Palace and Reconciliation for Celene and Michel |
|
Gaspard rules alone |
An Invitation from the Emperor and Restoring Michel de Chevin’s Honor |
|
Briala rules through Gaspard |
A Whisper from Behind the Throne and Restoring Michel de Chevin’s Honor |
The Inquisitor will also be able to Sit In Judgement of Duchess Florianne or her remains if she is killed. Certain judgment options allow players to recruit her as an Inquisition Agent.
Additionally, each ending also affects the Divine election and adds or removes points for each of the three candidates:
|
Ending |
Divine Election Effects |
|---|---|
|
Gaspard and Briala rule together |
+5 points to Leliana, -5 to Cassandra, – 10 to Vivienne |
|
Gaspard rules alone |
+10 points to Cassandra, -1 to Vivienne |
|
Public truce |
+1 to Cassandra, -5 to Vivienne |
|
Celene rules, Gaspard is executed |
+1 to Vivienne |
|
Celene rules, Gaspard is exiled |
-1 to Leliana, +5 to Vivienne |
Players should also consider the story consequences for each ending in Dragon Age: Inquisition’s epilogue slideshows, as shown above in the video from FluffyNinjaLlama on YouTube.
|
Ending |
Consequences |
|---|---|
|
Celene and Briala reconcile |
The epilogue suggests that Orlais is stronger than ever but hints at a potential future breakdown in Celene and Briala’s reunion. |
|
Celene rules alone, Gaspard is executed and Briala exiled. |
Celene is besieged by Briala’s elven spies and forced to fight a war in the shadows. |
|
Celene rules alone, Gaspard is exiled, and Briala is executed |
Gaspard plots against Celene, preparing to raise banners against her again. |
|
Public truce |
Gaspard and Briala’s rebellions continue to affect Orlais despite the public truce. |
|
Gaspard rules alone |
Gaspard crushes his rivals, settles his disputes with Ferelden, and restores Orlais’s strength and stability. |
|
Briala rules through Gaspard |
Briala rules, forcing Gaspard to grant her titles and land, to grant elves new rights, and to tear down alienage walls. This prompts an alliance of nobles to consider rebelling against the Emperor. |
This has further consequences, particularly in Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC. However, the choice of which ending players get to Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts is likely to have lasting consequences in future games, including Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Source: FluffyNinjaLlama/YouTube, FluffyNinjaLlama/YouTube
Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Released
-
November 18, 2014
- Developer(s)
-
BioWare
- Genre(s)
-
Action RPG
- How Long To Beat
-
50 Hours
