As with past BioWare RPGs, Dragon Age: The Veilguardplaces a heavy emphasis on the consequences of player choices, and the game oftens put players in a situation where they have to decide one way or another. These choices are provide an opportunity to roleplay and decide the nature of a character, but they can often also have gameplay and story repercussions that come into play later on, sometimes even impacting the main story in major ways. Finally, these decisions can determine how companions feel about the player character, as they will approve or disapprove of certain choices.
One such decision in Veilguard is in the main story quest "Shadows Crossing" near the start of the game, serving as one of the first moments where Rook is asked to make a moral decision. The quest centers around the small village of D'Meta's Crossing, which has been destroyed by Blight, killing nearly all of its residents and two Veil Jumpers who were there. The party discovers that the village's mayor, Julius, is responsible for the destruction, having been tempted by the elven gods, and they find him trapped in the grasp of the Blight after making their way through.
What Happens If You Save Mayor Julius In "Shadows Crossing"
Saving Julius Gets Rook The Approval Of Neve
After the party finds Julius, he explains that he was tricked by the elven gods, who promised him gold in exchange for sacrificing the two Veil Jumpers. After a short argument, where Neve supports freeing Julius and Harding and Bellara oppose it, the player is given the choice of how to handle the mayor's situation, with the option to either free or leave him. Freeing him from the Blight is, obviously, the merciful choice, gaining the approval of Neve, but it also comes at the cost of disapproval from both Harding and Bellara, with Bellara in particular arguing against it.
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For players looking to roleplay as a more merciful Rook, or for those who might want to romance Neve later down the line, freeing Julius is a good choice — while the approval gains are fairly minor, they do add up, and there aren't any other repercussions to freeing Julius. From a min-max perspective, however, freeing Julius is technically the worst choice. Players focused on rewards or those who like Bellara or Harding will probably want to avoid this decision. Deciding to free Julius also results in a brief mention of him later on from the Veil Jumpers.
What Happens If You Leave Mayor Julius
Leaving Julius to his fate, on the other hand, has the exact opposite outcome, resulting in Rook gaining approval from Harding and Bellara and disapproval from Neve. In terms of roleplay, this is the more punitive choice, suited for players who want their Rook to more harshly punish wrongdoing. In terms of companions, it's the clear best option for those interested in Harding or Bellara, but also the best general choice for players not specifically interested in any of the three, as it gains the approval of two companions as opposed to one.
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Unlike the decision to free Julian, however, deciding to leave him does carry a long-term consequence. Later in the game, Rook will receive a sidequest, "A Growing Corruption", where they are tasked with investigating some mysterious attacks around the same area. In the course of the quest, it's discovered that Julius has turned into a powerful Darkspawn, and the party eventually has to fight him as a minor boss encounter, the Blighted Mayor, which gives some extra rewards and experience for the party. Notably, leaving Julius is the only way to get this quest.
While the rewards of the extra quest are relatively minor, it does still represent some extra experience for the party, making the choice to leave Julius the best option for completionists and players who want to min-max their campaign. Especially for players who aren't interested in Neve, leaving Julius is the clear best choice from a gameplay standpoint, as it gives more potential rewards than the other options. For players who won't end up caring about the sidequest, though, the choice isn't as impactful and still relatively even with either of the other two choices.
What Happens If You Banish Julius To The Grey Wardens
Banishing Julius Is A Unique Option For Grey Warden Rook
For players who chose to have their Rook belong to the Grey Wardens faction during character creation, there is a unique third option, which involves freeing Julius from the Blight and banishing him to the Grey Wardens. This option is notably not available to players who chose any of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's other factions, making it a unique reward for Grey Warden players. It's also functionally almost identical to saving him from the Blight, with the key difference that Neve will greatly approve of this option, making it the best choice for players who want to bond with her.
As with saving Julius, Harding and Bellara will still disapprove of banishing him, and there won't be an opportunity to do the quest "A Growing Corruption". As a result, even players who have chosen the Grey Warden faction may want to consider leaving Julius to his fate, depending on which companions they prefer.
Overall, the best generic option in "Shadows Crossing" is to leave Julius to his fate, as it gains the approval of two companions and gives slightly better long-term rewards - however, for players who want to bond with Neve, choosing to free or banish Julius is still a viable option without much opportunity cost. For players who want to more seriously roleplay their Rook in certain ways, the negative consequences of either decision aren't major, so players can feel free to choose whichever option they agree with morally without worrying too much about the gameplay side of things.
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As one of Veilguard's earliest decisions, choosing to free Julius doesn't actually carry much in the way of consequences - any approval gained or lost can easily be offset by later decisions, and the extra quest for leaving him isn't vitally important for gameplay or story purposes. The decision does, however, allow players to make a choice about how their version of Rook behaves, and sets the stage for later, similar moral choices to take place in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
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