Dragon Age: Origins Is On the House

We're really excited for Dragon Age: Inquisition here at Origin – so excited, that many of us have started re-playing Dragon Age: Origins in anticipation for the November 21st release. Which got us thinking... why don't we get a few million of our closest friends a copy of the game? Surely they want to to take on the blight, too!

The epic Dragon Age: Origins is On the House – just add the 2009 quest to your Origin Game Library and you’re all set to experience one of BioWare’s classic RPGs for absolutely nothing. Once you’ve added Dragon Age: Origins to your collection, you're able to download the game any time you want... even though we have a feeling that you're going to want to play it (or re-play it) in time for Inquisition.

Dragon Age: Origins introduced gamers to rich, detailed world of Thedas, a realm filled with deadly Mages and powerful dragons. You're initiated into the Grey Wardens, an elite group dedicated to destroying the evil Darkspawn that are pouring into the land. The choice-driven RPG has fantastic, strategic combat and an incredible, personalized story. Plus, playing it will give you extra reason to be excited for the upcoming release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, which delves back into Thedas for an awesome open-world adventure.

You don't need to play Origins or Dragon Age II in order to understand Inquisition, but doing so definitely gives you more background on the world, the characters, and the lore. We recently chatted with some of the fine folks at BioWare to find out specifically what gamers should pay attention to as they hunt down the Archdemon in this (free) game.

"In Dragon Age: Origins, Warden Surana (my Elven mage) uncovered the secrets of the Blight," Senior Writer Patrick Weekes explained. "When my Inquisitor Trevelyan (a human mage) sees something tied to the Blight, she might know that it's bad, but I as a player know the full extent of how much trouble she's in."

Senior Editor Karen Weekes gave even more insight on things worth paying extra close attention to while playing (or re-playing) Origins in anticipation for Inquisition. "Take note of who the Grey Wardens are, both in the current Dragon Age and in history," she hinted. "Possibly keep an eye on Morrigan – she's a wiley one." She also suggested to learn the races, and to find out where the elves and the dwarves' places are in society. "The various spiritual and religious beliefs held throughout Thedas are important."

"Also, please hug all your mabari war hounds for me."

Dragon Age: Origins is a few years old, and you might encounter some legacy error messages in the menu system. After launching the game, if you see a pop-up saying "Servers cannot be found," don't worry – simply click OK. You don’t need to log into Dragon Age: Origins to enjoy the single player quest; just skip these possible messages and you’ll be good to go!

Dragon Age: Origins is On the House until October 14th, but once you’ve added it to your library it’s all yours. Enjoy the first chapter in BioWare's fantasy epic, and pre-order the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition to experience how Thedas has changed in five years.