How Long to Beat Dragon Age: Origins? A Complete Guide – If you’re thinking about diving into Dragon Age: Origins (DAO), you might wonder just how long it’ll take to beat. Known for its engaging storyline, complex characters, and open-world RPG gameplay, Dragon Age: Origins is one of those games that offers a range of playstyles and paths, which can directly impact the time it takes to complete. In this guide, we’ll cover how long it generally takes to complete the main story, as well as the time commitment required for side quests, downloadable content (DLC), and a completionist playthrough.

Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about Dragon Age: Origins and how long it will take to experience all it has to offer.

Main Story Length: How Long is the Core Experience?

Dragon Age: Origins is known for its intricate plot, taking players on a journey through the dark fantasy world of Ferelden. As you play the hero tasked with stopping the Blight, your choices and alliances will shape the story and ending.

On average, completing just the main story of Dragon Age: Origins takes about 35 to 40 hours. This estimate focuses on the essential storyline quests, with minimal detours for side content or exploration. However, depending on your playstyle and difficulty setting, the time can vary slightly:

• Casual Playthrough: Around 35 hours.
• Intermediate/Detailed Playthrough: 40-45 hours.
• Higher Difficulty Playthrough: Up to 50 hours, as battles take longer and require more strategy.

This range allows you to experience the core storyline, enjoy the key decisions that affect your companions and the world, and conclude your journey with a sense of satisfaction. However, for players who dive into the additional content, there’s a lot more to experience.

Adding Side Quests: How Much Time for Extra Content?

The rich world of Ferelden is filled with diverse side quests, many of which provide background lore, character development, and additional rewards. These optional quests let you dive deeper into the world’s lore, interact more with your companions, and influence various factions within the game.

If you decide to take on a fair number of side quests, you can expect to spend an additional 10-15 hours beyond the main storyline. Here’s how the time breaks down based on the types of side quests available:

• Companion Quests: Each companion has unique side quests tied to their backstory. Completing these usually adds around 1-2 hours per companion.
• Faction Quests: Several factions offer quests with rewards, lore, and reputation boosts. Expect around 3-5 hours for faction-specific side quests.
• Exploration and Random Encounters: Traveling between locations in Ferelden can lead to random encounters, which add depth to the game but may add around 1-2 hours total if you engage in each one.

By doing side quests, you gain extra XP, powerful items, and unique dialogue scenes, which make the experience more fulfilling. For many players, completing these quests makes Dragon Age: Origins even more rewarding.

DLC Content: How Much Time Does It Add?

Dragon Age: Origins offers several DLCs that extend the story, introduce new characters, and add unique quests. Here’s a breakdown of each DLC and its estimated playtime:

• The Stone Prisoner: This DLC adds the powerful companion Shale and a questline that explores Shale’s backstory. Completing The Stone Prisoner can take about 2-3 hours.
• Warden’s Keep: In this DLC, players explore a haunted fortress, uncovering secrets of the Grey Wardens’ past. It generally takes 1-2 hours to complete and adds new equipment and storage options.
• Return to Ostagar: This quest revisits Ostagar, the site of a major defeat early in the story. This DLC adds about 1-2 hours of gameplay, revealing more about the history and aftermath of the battle.
• Darkspawn Chronicles: A unique perspective that lets you play as the darkspawn instead of the hero, adding around 1 hour of content.
• Leliana’s Song: This is a prequel that dives into Leliana’s past and her life before joining the Grey Wardens. It’s about 2-3 hours in length.
• The Golems of Amgarrak: A challenging DLC that focuses on exploring ancient ruins and fighting powerful golems. Due to its difficulty, it can take anywhere from 1-3 hours.
• Witch Hunt: This DLC serves as an epilogue, letting players pursue Morrigan after the events of the main story. It takes about 1-2 hours to complete.

In total, the DLC content adds around 10-15 hours of gameplay to Dragon Age: Origins. Engaging in this content provides new challenges, story insights, and unique rewards, so many fans find it worthwhile to play through each DLC.

Completionist Playthrough: Exploring Every Aspect of DAO

For players who want to experience everything Dragon Age: Origins has to offer, a completionist playthrough is the way to go. This involves completing the main storyline, all side quests, every DLC, and exploring every inch of Ferelden.

A completionist run of Dragon Age: Origins can take anywhere from 70 to 100 hours. Here’s what a completionist approach entails:

• All Main and Side Quests: Completing every possible quest, including optional objectives.
• Companion Storylines: Building relationships with each companion and unlocking their personal quests and loyalty.
• Every DLC: Playing through all DLC content, which adds significant time and story.
• Exploration and Lore: Reading every codex entry, discovering all hidden areas, and collecting items like armor sets, rare weapons, and lore-rich artifacts.
• Choices and Endings: Experimenting with different decisions and endings adds even more replay value, especially for those who want to explore the consequences of their choices.

Speedrunning Dragon Age: Origins: For Those Short on Time

For gamers who love the thrill of completing games as quickly as possible, speedrunning Dragon Age: Origins is an option. Speedrunners utilize advanced strategies, glitches, and specific character builds to minimize playtime, often skipping cutscenes and non-essential quests.

A successful speedrun can see Dragon Age: Origins completed in under 10 hours, depending on the techniques used and the chosen platform. However, this approach skips much of the game’s story and depth, focusing solely on efficiency.

Comparing Playtime: Dragon Age: Origins vs. Other Dragon Age Games

For fans of the Dragon Age series, it’s interesting to compare playtimes across the franchise:

• Dragon Age II: Shorter than DAO, the main story of Dragon Age II takes about 25-30 hours, with a completionist playthrough taking around 50-60 hours.
• Dragon Age: Inquisition: The most extensive game in the series, the main story of Inquisition takes about 50-60 hours, with a completionist playthrough reaching up to 100-150 hours due to its expansive open-world design.
• In comparison, Dragon Age: Origins offers a middle ground, providing a substantial experience without the extended open-world elements of Inquisition.

Final Thoughts

How long it takes to beat Dragon Age: Origins depends on your playstyle and interest in side content. If you stick to the main story, expect around 35-40 hours, while adding side quests and DLC can bring it up to 60+ hours. A completionist run will push you close to 100 hours.

Dragon Age: Origins is a game that rewards exploration, careful decision-making, and a love for story-rich experiences. Whether you’re in it for a quick campaign or a deep dive into Ferelden’s lore, DAO offers flexibility to enjoy it at your own pace.