So what’s this “Skyhold” place that you’ve been hearing about? Well that’s simple really. When you and your brave company return from a dangerous foray, weary and quite possibly wounded, you need a place to lay down your weapons and armour so you can rest and recover.
When you first begin your adventures, you’re gathering point will be the Village of Haven. When your inquisition is grown and ready, then you can move into Skyhold. But don’t expect to wander into an opulent castle of beautiful design.
When you first come across the Skyhold “There are holes in the roofs, it’s wrecked, you can’t even go to the entire castle because they haven’t cleared out the rubble yet,” according to the creative director from Bioware’s Edmonton Studio, Mike Laidlaw. So she requires a bit of love and repair, but all good things in due time. “Over time, as you progress through the story, you get to see it rebuilt and more areas open up. It goes from ‘kind of wrecked castle’ to ‘your castle.’ The walls are fixed. Your soldiers are patrolling. You see your support staff growing in number. Merchants come to set up station. You get that feeling of it becoming a grand, central hub.”
Similar to the War Room from the popular Mass Effect franchise (which just so happens to also be a Bioware title) the war table is where you will house the central command of the Inquisition when inside the Skyhold. This is where you will make all the important decisions that will see you grow as a leader and a commander.
The Skyhold is a truly important aspect of Dragon Age Inquisition and as we find out more about it, we get some peeks at just how deep and intricate the game is unfolding to be. Serving as both central hub and home of the victorious, Skyhold is just one more nice little addition to the already superb looking game.