Dragon Age Origins Companion Approval Guide: Gifts and Dialogue Choices
How companion approval works in Dragon Age: Origins, covering gift pairings, dialogue picks, and how to unlock every personal quest.
Origins is a game about collecting people. There are ten full companions, four of them romance options, and every single one keeps score. Each has an approval meter that runs from -100 all the way to +100, and it moves when you hand over gifts, pick dialogue lines, and make the big story calls the whole party is standing around watching. Push it up and you get stat bonuses, new conversations, romances, and personal quests. Tank it and people will walk out on you mid-Blight. Here's how the whole system fits together, from who joins where to which trinket belongs in whose hands.
Recruiting Every Companion
Two of them cost you nothing. Alistair signs on at Ostagar as the junior Grey Warden assigned to your Joining, and Morrigan gets handed to you by Flemeth in the Korcari Wilds right after the battle goes sideways. You don't get a say in either one.
The mabari hound is nearly free but easy to miss. Human Nobles start the game with their own dog. Everyone else has to do The Mabari Hound side quest at Ostagar: muzzle the poisoned hound for the Kennel Master, pick a Wilds Flower off the mossy logs in the Korcari Wilds, and hand it back before the Joining wraps up. Do that and the hound catches up with you on the road near Lothering. Skip it at Ostagar and there's no dog for the rest of the campaign (short of the Return to Ostagar DLC).
Lothering is a one-shot deal
Lothering holds two party members, and the village gets wiped off the map once you finish your first major treaty quest. So handle both before you leave for good.
- Leliana: walk into Dane's Refuge, get jumped by Loghain's hired blades, and win. She takes your side in the fight, then offers to join. Turn her down and that's permanent, she stays behind in a town that's about to be destroyed.
- Sten: The Qunari Prisoner. He's locked in a cage outside the Chantry for killing a farm family. Persuade or intimidate the Revered Mother into handing over the key, or bring a rogue and just pick the lock. If Leliana's already with you she'll vouch for him, which skips the coercion check.
The mid-game recruits
Wynne joins automatically in the Circle Tower foyer when you start Broken Circle. She's a spirit healer, which your party will badly want by then.
Zevran is tied to a scripted road ambush called The Long Road. It fires after the cutscene where Arl Howe and Loghain hire him, which happens once you've completed any one of the main questlines. Beat the ambush, then choose to spare him. He offers to serve the Warden who beat him. Taking him in annoys Alistair (-5, though you can talk him down to -3), bugs Morrigan (-3), and makes Leliana happy (+2). Weird quirk: a rogue hugging the far right edge can skip the ambush scene, and then Zevran never happens.
Oghren accosts you near the Deep Roads entrance in Orzammar once the king-to-be sends you down after Branka during A Paragon of Her Kind. He's her ex-husband and he knows the tunnels.
The two special cases
Shale comes from The Stone Prisoner DLC. Do The Golem in Honnleath, fight through Wilhelm's cellar under the village, and a stone killing machine joins the crew. She's a warrior who tanks with crystal upgrades instead of armor.
Loghain is the secret tenth companion. Win the duel at the Landsmeet, then take Riordan up on conscripting him into the Grey Wardens instead of executing him. The price is fixed: Alistair leaves the party forever and will never come back. You cannot have both men, no matter how much approval you've stacked on Alistair.
(For the Recruiter achievement, you need the full base-game roster across all your playthroughs. Shale doesn't count since she's DLC.)
How Approval Changes
Every full companion except Dog starts at exactly 0, and the meter runs from -100 to +100. Dog is pinned at 100 forever because dogs are better than people. Loghain's meter is special too, his never climbs above Warm no matter what you do.
| Rating | What the game calls it | | --- | --- | | -100 | Crisis | | -99 to -26 | Hostile | | -25 to 25 | Neutral | | 26 to 50 | Warm | | 51 to 70 | Care | | 71 to 75 | Adore | | 76 to 90 | Friendly | | 91 to 100 | Love |
Those bands matter because romances can't actually hit Love until that character's personal quest is done, and most non-romanced companions can't reach Friendly until theirs is done either. The number can be there; the game just holds the label back.
Dialogue nudges
Talking to your party at camp moves the meter in small steps, usually 1 to 5 points at a time. Alistair gives +2 if you tell him you know exactly what he means at your first Ostagar chat, and -5 if you pull rank with "and what if I ordered you to do it?" when he refuses to share templar secrets. The single worst line you can feed him is "he got what he deserved" about Duncan, which costs a brutal -20.
Morrigan swings harder in both directions. Thank her after she nurses you back to health and that's +4. Threaten her with "tell us at once, or face the consequences" during the first meeting in the Wilds and it's -10 on the spot.
The pattern is pretty consistent across the cast: supportive or funny lines gain ground, threats and orders lose it. Sten is the odd one out. He starts respecting you more if you ask how he's holding up after the cage (+6), and flat-out telling him "I'm not here to impress you" during his Blight lecture earns +4, because he likes bluntness more than politeness.
Plot choices, witnessed
Big story decisions hit whoever's in the party with you. The camps are predictable once you know them: Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne like helping people and sparing innocents. Morrigan, Zevran, and Shale favor the ruthless route. Oghren and Sten sit in the middle with their own pet causes (booze and killing things for Oghren, purpose and strength for Sten).
High approval pays actual combat stats, too. At 25 on the meter a companion gets +1 to their signature attribute, +2 at 50, +4 at 75, and +6 at 90. Alistair and Oghren get constitution, Leliana cunning, Morrigan magic, Wynne willpower, Zevran dexterity, and Sten, Shale, and Loghain strength. Those aren't cumulative, +6 is the ceiling, and it's free for just being liked.
When it all goes wrong
If a companion's approval crashes to -100, they hit Crisis and try to walk out. You get exactly one chance to talk them into staying. Hit Crisis a second time and they're gone, no save. Alistair is the exception, the game won't let him leave before the Landsmeet because the story needs him.
Gifts still work on someone who's angry with you, at half value, which makes them your main apology tool. More on that below.
Matching Gifts to Companions
Gifts are the fast lane, and the math is simple once you see it. Any generic gift starts at +5 approval. Every gift you've already given that person knocks a point off the next one, down to a floor of +1. So the first four generics give +5, +4, +3, +2, and everything after that is +1 apiece.
Favored gifts, the ones matched to that character's taste, run double: +10 base, sliding down to a minimum of +6 no matter how many you've handed over. One flower, Andraste's Grace, is the champion of the whole system at +15 with Leliana. Plot gifts also trigger a real conversation instead of a thank-you grunt. Nothing can push anyone past 100, and past that point the game stops taking your presents entirely.
Worked example: Alistair sitting at 0. Give him a runestone and that's +10. A statuette next is +9, then +8, sliding toward +6. Burn those same items on someone with no matching taste and you'd see +5, +4, +3, +2, then +1 a pop. Same loot, roughly half the payoff, so match before you hand anything over.
Who wants what
| Companion | Favored gifts | Standouts | | --- | --- | --- | | Alistair | Runestones, statuettes | Alistair's Mother's Amulet (Redcliffe Castle), Duncan's Shield (Grey Warden vault, Denerim) | | Morrigan | Jewelry | Black Grimoire (Irving's office, Circle Tower), Flemeth's Grimoire, Golden Mirror | | Leliana | Andraste symbols, shoes | Andraste's Grace (+15!), Cute Nug from the idle dwarf in Dust Town | | Sten | Paintings | Sten's Sword (plot gift, see personal quests) | | Wynne | Books, scrolls, wine | The Rose of Orlais (Circle Tower) | | Zevran | Leather gear, gold and silver bars | Dalish Gloves, Antivan Leather Boots | | Oghren | Alcohol | Ale from any bartender, Chasind Sack Mead | | Shale | "Remarkable" gemstones | Sold by gem dealers Figor and Legnar in Orzammar | | Loghain | Maps of Thedas | Map of the Anderfels (Grey Warden vault) | | Dog | Food and bones | Anything, he's maxed anyway |
A few of those standouts are plot gifts: the amulet and shield, the grimoires and mirror, Andraste's Grace and the nug, the boots and gloves, and Sten's sword. They trigger real cutscenes, so don't sell them.
The wandering merchant Old Tegrin, who pops up as a random encounter, stocks paintings for Sten and the Blue Satin Shoes for Leliana. Keep an eye out for him on the roads.
Trickery and quirks
Since Dog is permanently at 100, gifts meant for him are free real estate. Hand his bones and food to whoever needs a mood boost, they work as generics. Two items cross over in fun ways: the Found Cake (dug up by Dog) goes down well with Sten, who secretly likes sweets, and the Tangled Ball of Yarn goes to Wynne, who wants to knit Alistair something.
Watch the auto-equip gotchas. Duncan's Shield becomes a real item and Alistair puts it on instantly, so check his weapon set if he was swinging something two-handed. Zevran is one of only two companions who equip gifted gear, and the Dalish Gloves and Antivan Leather Boots can silently break an armor set bonus he had going.
On consoles a bug keeps Shale's gems from paying full favored value, so her meter climbs slower than the numbers suggest. And a few listed gifts, like the Remarkable Garnet, are unobtainable without console commands, so don't tear Orzammar apart looking for them.
Handling Major Disagreements
You can't make everyone happy at once. Some calls split the party down the middle, and knowing the numbers lets you decide who eats the loss.
The Anvil of the Void is the big one. Back Caridin and destroy the anvil and Shale gains +23 or more (she was a dwarf woman turned golem by that thing, long story). Side with Branka and keep it and Shale drops a crushing -33, and if she's in the active party she turns on you and fights for Caridin right there. The rest of the crew lines up predictably: Morrigan, Oghren, and Zevran lean Branka, Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne lean Caridin.
The Urn of Sacred Ashes has the hardest failure state in the game. Pour dragon blood into the ashes and both Leliana and Wynne turn hostile on the spot if they're in your party. That's a fight to the death, not a disapproval hit. A hardened Leliana (more on hardening below) will shrug it off instead of drawing steel. If you only listen to Kolgrim's whole pitch and then refuse anyway, Sten docks you -3 for the waffle.
Small admissions cost small change. Recruiting Zevran is Alistair -5 and Morrigan -3 against Leliana's +2. During Morrigan's personal quest, letting Flemeth simply fly away costs Leliana -3 and Wynne -5 while Zevran approves +2, and killing her (a high dragon fight, bring fire resist) earns Oghren +2. Oghren's own Felsi conversation can swing +4 for promising help or -11 for telling him to forget it.
And the Landsmeet is the hard either/or: Loghain or Alistair, one in, one out, permanent.
Damage control
Three tools keep a party functional when you keep picking the ruthless option. First, party selection, only the people traveling with you witness most decisions, so leave the sensitive ones at camp before you do something awful. Second, gifts, which patch over shortfalls at any time (half value while they're below zero, full value once they're back in positive territory). Third, the Crisis rule itself, a companion has to hit -100 to actually leave, and you get one persuasive save even then. A stack of favored gifts in reserve means nobody you like is ever really gone.
Unlocking Personal Quests
Personal quests are where the cast opens up. Most triggers are an approval threshold plus a nudge from you.
Alistair's Family needs his approval at Warm (26+) and for him to have told you who his father is. That reveal happens on your first walk into Redcliffe Village with him along, or after The Urn of Sacred Ashes if you missed it. Then he mentions his sister Goldanna, and you visit her house in Denerim's Market District, just west of Wade's Emporium. The quest is short and whether you give Goldanna money changes nothing. The real prize is the hardening conversation afterward: say "everyone is out for themselves," then in a later talk pick anything except "that's not what I meant, don't do that," and Alistair learns to stand up for himself, which rewires his endings.
Flemeth's Real Grimoire starts once Morrigan's approval is high enough for her to ask, or early if you find the Black Grimoire yourself in First Enchanter Irving's office in the Circle Tower's Senior Mage Quarters. Give it to her, leave camp and come back, and she explains that Flemeth extends her life by stealing her daughters' bodies. She wants help. Refuse and Morrigan quits the party on the spot (she comes back before the final battle, but still). Accept and you have to travel to Flemeth's Hut without Morrigan in the group, or Flemeth simply won't be home. Then you either let the old witch leave or fight her as a high dragon. Morrigan gets her robe upgrade either way.
Leliana's Past is a chain, so start early. Above 25 approval, ask why she joined the Chantry. Around 30 or better, ask about "minstrels and spies in Orlais" to hear about bards. Next time you're at camp she brings up Marjolaine, and after that a road encounter with hired assassins kicks the quest off proper, leading to Marjolaine's house in Denerim. One bug to dodge: if you rocket her to 71+ with gifts before the bard conversation, the topic can lock out entirely, the fix is dropping her back to 70 or lower and asking again. Loot the bedroom chest before you leave the building, since it holds Marjolaine's Recurve, a longbow only Leliana can use, and the door locks behind you forever. Her hardening talk happens here too.
The Sword of the Beresaad unlocks at 25 approval with Sten, when he finally explains the sword-losing story that got him caged. The trail runs from a scavenger at the Lake Calenhad Docks, to the looter Faryn in the Frostback Mountain Pass, to the mercenary Dwyn in Redcliffe Village. You can intimidate Dwyn, pay him (6 silver, haggled down to 2), rob his strongbox, or kill him. Bring Sten along for the Faryn chat and back his play for +2. Give Sten the sword and note that he won't auto-equip it, the game expects you to put Asala in his hands yourself.
Wynne's Regret starts with patience at camp. Talk with her until she asks about your run-ins with abominations, then the Hillside Path world-map encounter happens where she collapses. Back at camp, keep talking until you can ask about her regrets (+3). That sends you to Sarel at the Dalish Camp, then into the East Brecilian Forest just north of the Mad Hermit's clearing, where her old apprentice Aneirin gives you Aneirin's Token (+4), an amulet that powers up her Vessel of the Spirit spell.
A Golem's Memories follows A Paragon of Her Kind. Bring Shale to the Anvil of the Void and Caridin explains what she is; afterward she remembers Cadash Thaig and marks it on your Deep Roads map. If she missed the trip, she'll ask at camp instead (admitting you killed Caridin still starts the quest, it just costs you a big approval chunk). Clear the thaig with her in the party and touch the golem monument, up to +21 approval, 1500 XP, a pile of upgrade crystals, and the Stone's Lament achievement.
Oghren's Old Flame triggers above 30 approval. He fumbles through asking you to help him find Felsi, an old flame working at the Spoiled Princess on Lake Calenhad. Play along nicely, the -11 "forget it" line is the worst single thing you can say to him all game.
Zevran has no formal quest, but his loyalty test is the Taliesen ambush in a Denerim back alley once you arrive for the Landsmeet. His old Crow partner offers to smuggle him home if he finishes the contract on you. Below roughly +33 approval (or without a romance at "Interested"), Zevran takes the deal, attacks, and gets killed for it, permanently. Keep him past that line and he turns Taliesen down; welcome him back afterward for +6. A dead Zevran is the one mistake on this list no gift can fix, so if you've been ignoring the Antivan, fix that meter before the endgame.