Hawke’s performance in conversations is almost as important as his or her prowess in battle. In this section, we look at what each conversational option entails and how you can shape Hawke’s personality. You can find advice on key quest conversations (and the branching story paths that you can negotiate) throughout the mighty Quests chapter.
Dialogue Options
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Icon |
Description |
Notes |
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Diplomatic |
Core dialogue choice for the Diplomatic personality type. Very rarely causes offense, likely to engender friendship increases. |
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Helpful |
Part of the Diplomatic personality type. Generally appears when Hawke is poised to volunteer his services to help someone or if sympathy or understanding is called for. |
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Humorous |
Core dialogue choice for the Humorous personality type. Rarely causes offense, tends to be a fairly “neutral” option where companions are concerned, though Isabela and Varric sometimes respond favorably. |
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Charming |
Secondary dialogue choice for the Humorous personality type. |
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Aggressive |
Core dialogue choice for the Aggressive personality type. Most likely to cause rivalry increases with companions. |
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Direct |
Secondary dialogue choice for the Aggressive personality type. |
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Combat |
Used to initiate combat immediately. The actual result (and effect on companion rivalry and friendship) depends on the context. Cutting short a conversation with a demon or brutal slavers to attack without compunction could be viewed favorably by those present; executing a misguided yet hapless pawn in a larger scheme might invite ire. |
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Call on companion |
Invites the specified companion to intervene in a conversation. These often lead to a unique (and, usually, non-violent or profitable) solution to a given situation. May also lead to a friendship increase. |
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Flirt |
Engage with a companion in an amorous or suggestive manner. Flirting is the only way to instigate a potential romance. |
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End romance |
Used to reject a romantic proposition from a companion or end an existing romance. Will often lead to a rivalry increase. |
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Yes |
Accept a proposal or offer as put forward by another character. Usually leads to new quests. |
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No |
Reject a proposal or offer as put forward by another character. Be very wary when rejecting potential quest opportunities: you may not get another chance. |
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Choice |
Appears when Hawke can choose from multiple responses that all address the situation in different ways. May lead to rivalry or friendship, your guide should be your knowledge of the person in question. |
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Special Choice |
This rare dialogue option represents a “unique” choice that may lead to a special outcome. These appear in accordance with Hawke’s personality, with Diplomatic, Humorous and Aggressive types all having their own opportunities appear at set points in the story. |
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Pay/Extort |
Used to pay or bribe people or to enquire about a possible quest’s rewards. May also be used to press for further payment at the conclusion of a quest or even blackmail or extortion in certain instances. |
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Lie |
Attempt to lie in order to extricate Hawke from a difficult situation. A rare option, this may not always lead to the desired result. |
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Investigate |
Choose this option to open a sub-menu where you can ask questions to learn more about a given topic. These may in turn offer further queries and even unlock otherwise unavailable dialogue options in other conversations. |
Hawke’s Personality
Though it may not be apparent at first, Hawke can exhibit one of three personalities based on the dialogue choices that you favor.
- Diplomatic/Helpful: Light blue or green highlight
- Humorous/Charming: Purple highlight
- Aggressive/Direct: Red highlight
The first dialogue choice you make sets Hawke’s personality. If your first pick is a Diplomatic option, for example, Hawke’s voice will adopt the Diplomatic tone in the next dialogue line that follows. As you keep choosing similar options at the dialogue wheel, they “stack”. If you were to decide to change your personality later on, it would take more than twice the amount of (either Humorous or Aggressive) dialog lines to activate that version of Hawke’s voice. The idea behind this system is to ensure a consistency in Hawke’s delivery throughout each Act. After a certain number of specific dialogue choices, Hawke’s personality is effectively crystallized.
At the start of each Act, Hawke retains his or her established personality, but the "stack" of previous personality choices is reduced. This gives you a window of opportunity to change your dominant tone.