Should I Help Treviso or Minrathous?

When It Makes Sense

This fork appears in Dragon Age: The Veilguard when the elven gods’ forces assault both cities at once and your party can only fully defend one. It makes sense whenever you want the rest of the campaign to reflect a clear faction allegiance, moral priority, or companion loyalty.

• Good fit — Treviso: Pick Treviso if you favor the Antivan Crows, want to protect a civilian merchant city, or are playing a rogue-leaning, pro-Antiva hero. This path typically rewards investment in Lucanis’s storyline and suits characters who distrust Tevinter imperial politics. Saving Treviso also aligns with a ‘protect the vulnerable’ playstyle.
• Good fit — Minrathous: Pick Minrathous if your Rook has mage sympathies, respects Tevinter’s magical heritage, or sees the imperial capital as the best hope against the elven gods. This option fits players interested in mage politics, ancient archives, and companions with Tevinter ties. Defending Minrathous supports a ‘preserve magical order’ narrative.

Both options are written as legitimate choices. Let your established roleplay and companion relationships guide you rather than guessing at a hidden correct answer.

When You Should Avoid It

Because both cities are attacked at the same time, you cannot fully save both in the moment. Some approaches make the decision harder or more regrettable than it needs to be.

• Warning sign — blind commitment: If this is your only playthrough and you want every quest tied to both Antiva and Tevinter, do not choose without a backup save. The fork locks or alters content in whichever city you abandon, so making it blindly can cost you content you wanted to see.
• Warning sign — companion conflicts: If your favorite companion is strongly tied to the city you leave behind, their approval may drop or their personal quest may branch in a direction you dislike. Avoid abandoning a companion’s homeland unless you are prepared for that narrative and mechanical cost.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• World reactivity: Your chosen city survives as a healthier hub and its faction becomes a more reliable ally, making the world feel responsive to your decisions.
• Roleplay clarity: Picking a side gives your party a sharper identity and often unlocks faction-specific dialogue and companion approval opportunities.

Cons

• Content sacrifice: The unchosen city usually suffers damage, restricting some side content, vendors, or NPC interactions there for the rest of the run.
• Companion friction: Companions who wanted the other city saved may disapprove, and you can miss gear or story beats tied to the faction you skip.

Decision Checklist

• Which faction have I already supported in earlier dialogue and quests?
• Which companions do I want to keep close, and where are their loyalties?
• Do I prefer the Antivan Crow storyline or the Tevinter mage-political storyline?
• Is this my only playthrough, or am I willing to replay for the other outcome?
• Have I saved just before the choice so I can try both without restarting the campaign?

Alternatives to Consider

The best low-risk alternative is to keep a manual save before the decision. That lets you preview the other outcome without altering your canonical run. Achievement hunters may want two dedicated playthroughs, one for each city. You can also read up-to-date, spoiler-free summaries from official patch notes or community wikis to see exactly which companions and rewards are affected in your version of the game. If neither faction excites you, pick the side that gives you the party composition you enjoy most, since companions are often the strongest long-term reason to choose a city.

Final Recommendation

Help Treviso if your character is pro-Antiva, values the Antivan Crows, or wants to shield a civilian trade hub. Help Minrathous if your character is pro-Tevinter, values magical knowledge, or wants to support Tevinter-linked companions. There is no universally superior option. On a first playthrough, choose the path that matches your roleplay and back up your save if you want to peek at the alternative. Completionists should expect to run the game twice to see the full range of outcomes. Since this is an in-game choice with no real-world legal, financial, medical, or safety implications, the decision rests entirely on narrative preference.