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How To Unlock The 'Red Water' Side Quest
'Red Water' Side Quest Walkthrough
Navigating The Labyrinth
Completing The Quest
Whether you're working on a perfect file in Dragon Age: Inquisition or you're just doing the bigger side content as you come across it, there's a pretty good chance you'll eventually run afoul of some Red Lyrium caverns in the Storm Coast region that may seem like more trouble than they're worth.
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At the heart of the quests here is 'Red Water', a clash with Red Templars - one of whom holds a secret Red Templar Key that permits players to explore an additional island housing a powerful dragon. We'll guide you through it all.
How To Unlock The 'Red Water' Side Quest
It probably won't surprise you to read that before anything else can be done for this quest line, you'll need to have unlocked the Storm Coast itself. This will occur very early in the game, via a quick quest entitled 'Scout the Storm Coast' that becomes available immediately after 'Scout the Hinterlands'.
However, the next step in the sequence will take considerably more time. The war table operation 'Red Templars on the Storm Coast' will not appear until the Inquisitor has reached level 16. Via the flavor text, you'll learn that Red Templars have taken over an old Dwarven port.
Whether you use Secrets or Forces for this war table operation makes no difference, as both will complete their task instantly. Nice.
With the operation complete, we can begin 'Red Water' in earnest.
'Red Water' Side Quest Walkthrough
Fast travel to the Driftwood Margin Inquisition Camp, making your way to the Red Templar Stronghold. If you've been an especially thorough adventurer up to this point, you may have located a locked door here preventing further exploration.
The door is no longer locked, so head inside. Now, for something strange. We need an item called the Red Templar Key to progress through the entirety of this quest.
How To Find The Red Templar Key
It will be found as loot on the corpse of a Red Templar Horror; the thing is, you might find that corpse in this very first cave (which is otherwise devoid of anything noteworthy), or you may find it between the two boats outside along the shoreline connecting the first cavern with the second.
Regardless, destroy that first Red Lyrium deposit in the area. Remember to bring Varric as you hit these things since he gets an approval boost each time!
How To Claim The Daerwin's Mouth Landmark
You'll soon come upon a claimable landmark - Daerwin's Mouth. Slap that big pole in to mark it as ours, fancy as you like, and read the new codex entry (or don't, we won't force you). You won't be able to cross the water here, so turn back around and head through the cracked hole in the wall to your left.
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Navigating The Labyrinth
A short scurry through a narrow tunnel later, and you'll arrive within the stronghold's vast main hall, as seen above. Head downstairs and dispatch this next new group of enemies. Loot the small room nearby, then loot another similar room a little bit further on. Go through the door this path leads to, destroying another Red Lyrium deposit and activating the Elven Artifact.
Return upstairs now, battling the Red Templar riffraff as you make your way through additional loot-filled rooms. Cross the wooden bridge, pass through yet another small room, and take advantage of the height difference at the top of the staircase here to get the jump on the enemies below.
Destroy the third Red Lyrium deposit to your west, then double back and go further eastward instead. Check the below screenshot to ensure you're headed in the correct direction through this doorway (the one with the skull and red blindfold mural to the right of it).
Completing The Quest
The enemy lineup at the end of the Red Templar Stronghold can vary; you may be up against a few weaker units, or one to two stronger ones. No matter the case, maintain your distance if they're hitting you too hard. If the party's around level 16 - the level we needed in order to unlock this quest in the first place - Behemoths especially can be a real nuisance if they get too close.
The rowboat at the water's edge here can be used to reach Dragon Island. Here, you can face off against Vinsomer, a High Dragon you will have seen battling a Giant long ago, upon your first foray to the Storm Coast. A level 19 boss, and more importantly, a level 19 boss dragon, Vinsomer shouldn't be underestimated.
Enjoy the hunt, and loot the unique Grey Warden Medium Armor 'In Peace, Vigilance' and the unique 'Wyvern Tooth' dagger once she's felled!
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