Dragon Age Inquisition: The Frostback Basin - Basic information Dragon Age: Inquisition Guide
Last update: 06 June 2024
The Frostback Basin is the location provided by the DLC entitled Jaws of Hakkon. It is a medium-large coastal area where you will find plants, minerals, and monsters that you mostly already know. The location contains few hidden codex entries or chests, but these scarce treasures are often highly valuable. You will also find many legendary weapons and armor here. That's why you should make sure to visit this location early to continue your journey with the best possible equipment. You will spend a lot of time here, because in spite of its moderate size this location offers a variety of side quests.
How to unlock this area: when you install the expansion Jaws of Hakkon at any point in the game (provided you have Skyhold) the task "Jaws of Hakkon" will activate and you will gain access to the operation Investigate Frostback Basin. Once it's completed, go to the location.
Suggested experience level: it's best if you have level 25. However, you won't have any problems at level 20 either. You can easily gain a lot of experience in this location. Tasks are highly rewarded with experience points. Therefore, if you skip a task that you initially find too difficult, soon it will no longer present a great challenge.
Important information:
- In this location you will find astrariums and oculara. Both elements are associated with two caves containing valuable legendary items. If you already have the right number of shards (12), you can immediately move north to open the door to a secret chamber.
- During your journeys you'll see veilfire lanterns located on the map. Unlike the ones situated in other locations, these are not used to help read runes. Thanks to them, you will be able to collect a crafting material called Veil Quartz, of Tier 4. In total, you can collect several dozen pieces of this material, which will allow you to craft really good equipment.
- Before you start one of the final tasks - Ameridan's End - make sure that you have finished all the tasks in the location, and that you won't be coming back here, especially to "explore" it. Once this task is completed, darkness will fall over the entire area, brightened only by northern lights. This will make the exploration of the site less enjoyable and somewhat inconvenient. The light will be rather dim, making you wander mostly in the darkness.