Like many Dragon Age fans, I’m playing a replay before the new game releases later in October. I’m on my third playthrough of Dragon Age: Inquisitionand even though I’m finally running the game on a computer that supports mods for nice long hair and nicer clothes, something is missing from the ideal version of my Inquisitor. So I took it upon myself to track down one of the game’s most elusive items: the Fiery blossoma flower crown helmet that you only get after completing a series of unintuitive quests.
I only found out this item existed during this most recent playthrough, and I discovered it by searching the Dragon Age wiki. It made me want to get my hands on it, especially since I spent money on it years drawing and commissioning art of my character wearing a similar flower crown, despite being completely unaware that I could get one in the game. Since I had already played this game twice, this time I decided to ignore any logical plot progression just to get my hands on the damn flower crown.
And finally, after hours of sinking and traversing different areas, my character can now spin around with her beautiful (and actually quite powerful) flower crown, both in-game and in the background of my phone. All it took was…well…
I mainly used the guide on the Dragon Age wiki (and some helpful Reddit threads) to find this helmet. First I traveled to an unmarked spot in the Emerald Graves region. Since the quest only activates when you perform a very specific action (more on that later), I estimated where to land based on a map I found on the website. Dragon Age Wiki to find the exact spot. And so, as predicted, I found it under an elf mural and behind a bush. There was a small, tiny cave (the quest is aptly called ‘The Smallest Cave’), which looked more like a small rock formation.
And then I jumped on it 50 times.
The directions I followed said “about 50” times and I must have lost count about 15 times, so for my journalistic integrity I should note that it was really “about 50” times. I spammed the jump button until a voice line was activated. Finally the quest appeared in my log.
Then came part two: finding 10 Crystal Grace flowers.
These flowers are quite rare in the game. I vaguely knew which cards they were on, but I had to consult the internet to find exactly where they were so I didn’t sink at spent a lot of time wandering around the hinterland. Unfortunately, they were concentrated in a bear-infested area of the map, which meant that while my character went off to pick flowers, her party was busy killing bears. We do what we have to do for the aesthetics.
Once all ten flowers were in hand, I went back to the cave to place them. Then the cave spit out another cryptic line: “The stairs! The stairs going down. Very, very down. I’ll be there. You will be there.”
The clue is So vague, but according to the wiki it refers to a hidden cave in Emprise Du Lion, a completely separate region. It’s also one of the most confusing maps in the game, as there are a lot of tunnels and varied topography in the mountainous landscape. Anyway, I made my way to that area and scrolled through the main quest lines so I could reach that specific point deep in the map. I might as well thwart Red Lyrium’s mining operation while I’m there, but… Real I walked to the lower part of Suledin Keep.
Note: you do not Basically, you have to defeat the enemies in the Keep and claim it to reach this area. I didn’t realize that, so I wasted some time on that side mission.
I’ve played this game twice before, and to be honest, up until my new and self-imposed mission I got a little tired of exploring the huge maps I’d seen before and checking off the quests I already had done. finished. I still love Dragon Age: Inquisitionso this isn’t the game’s fault, but rather my own desire for something new. The Fiery Blossom gave my journey through Thedas a new perspective. I’m right more excited for The Veil Guard now, because my love for this world has been completely rekindled.
That said, it was still a hassle and a half to find the way to the lower part of the fortress, as even on my third playthrough, the mountainous areas of the game are still difficult to read on the map. And from there, I had to find a specific point of fallen wood, jump onto a platform and enter an imaginary wall to get into a strange tunnel.
Now I could follow the instructions of the mysterious voice in a creepy dungeon. Namely to go “down, very, very down.”
I went downstairs So many creepy, dark stairs of which I lost count. Until I finally reached a small room that was really just a single platform of stone tiles, in complete and utter darkness…
And there it was! My coveted flower crown!
But I wasn’t leveled enough to actually equip it. Fortunately, that problem resolved itself after another main mission and several (probably more relevant to the main story) side missions. And now, Finallymy inquisitor is truly in top form.
That is, until I can make her in the Veil Guard character creator…
Dragon Age: The Veil Guard will be released on October 31 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series