
To proceed in the romance, the player will need to complete Solas' second personal quest, All New, Faded For Her. Following the move to Skyhold, the Inquisitor can soft lock the romance during the cutscene in the Fade, if she chooses to kiss him. The Inquisitor can flirt with Solas starting in Haven. He will be most impressed with an Inquisitor who proves herself curious, shrewd, and open-minded, and who helps others. He believes in personal freedom of choice and in Mage rights. Solas is an Elven apostate who arrives to the service of the Inquisition under somewhat suspicious circumstances. Varric will reveal that Solas kept the Inquisitor alive in Haven, and he seems to know a lot about the mark on the Inquisitor's hand.

Solas is one of the first companions a player will encounter in the game during The Wrath of Heaven. The romance hard locks during Sera's final personal quest, A Woman Who Wants for Nothing. The romance will soft lock when the player speaks to Sera again following the scene on the rooftop when she bakes the Inquisitor cookies. The Inquisitor can flirt with Sera from the moment she meets her in Val Royeaux, but her romance is difficult to maintain and, depending on the dialogue options a player selects, she may dump the Inquisitor, especially if the Inquisitor is proudly Dalish. Sera is most impressed by an Inquisitor with a sense of humor and a penchant for troublemaking, who maintains the status quo and fights for the vulnerable. Though not explicitly part of her preference, she seems to like dwarves and Qunari women best. She renounces her Elven heritage, fears magic, and is a devout Andrastian. She is part of a group of "little people" called the Friends of Red Jenny who help take down unpleasant nobles. Players can recruit Sera to the Inquisition following the events at Val Royeaux during The Threat Remains. If they miss this one, they can instead have their first kiss and begin the romance following the confrontation by Mother Giselle. Following this quest, male Inquisitors can soft lock the romance with a kiss by choosing the "Good things," dialogue option during the conversation.

Inquisitors of both genders can flirt with Dorian as soon as they reach Skyhold, but following his first personal quest, female Inquisitors will find out about his preference for men and will no longer be able to flirt with him. He also enjoys witty banter and flattery. Dorian is a firm believer in Mage rights, and while his disposition can be hard to pin down, he generally prefers an Inquisitor who helps others and makes decisions based on justice. He is the son of a Magister in the Tevinter Imperium, and it is made clear during his first personal quest, The Last Resort of Good Men his sexual preferences make him somewhat of a pariah in his family and among his people. Players meet Dorian in Redcliffe village if they choose the Mages or outside the gates of Haven if they choose to work with the Templars.
