Combat Guide – Dragon Age: The Veilguard

It is no secret that Dragon Age: The Veilguard has changed up combat a lot when compared with previous entries in the series. Old players will need to familiarize themselves with the more action-focused system that Bioware has crafted, and newcomers to the franchise will need to come to grips with the many systems of The Veilguard’s combat.

Despite some familiar touches, there are a lot of new and easy-to-miss systems at play that can make or break your combat abilities in The Veilguard. The guide should help you get acquainted with the basics of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s combat, ensure you understand the many systems that synergize with it, and make Rook and their Companions a true force to be reckoned with.

Combat Basics in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

At it’s core, combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is an action-focused hack-and-slash game with tactical elements and synergies informed by your companions and their abilities. Unlike in previous titles, the player character (Rook) is the sole focal point, who you will control for most of the action, while your two Companions fight their own battles and can be commanded to focus on specific foes or use their abilities at specific times.

During these battles, you’ll be pitched against enemies that will have several notable features. All enemies in Dragon Age: The Veilguard have a red Health Bar, as well as a purple Stagger Bar above that.

Some enemies are also armored or shielded; indicated by their Health Bar being Yellow or Blue at first (respectively), indicating that you will need to destroy their Armor or Shield first.

As for the Stagger Bar, it is notable in that you can fill it up with consistent attacks, parries, and many abilities in order to Stagger the enemy, stunning them and opening them up for increased damage and Takedowns.

For most enemies, either draining their Health Bar or filling their Stagger Bar will be the most efficient way to finish them off. Both are impacted by enemies’ resistances and vulnerabilities, which you can see in the Ability Wheel by hovering over any enemy. Dealing damage of the type that is effective against the enemy will both damage and stagger them more.

Lastly, it should be noted that all Classes have two sets of weapons. These vary depending on the Class, but regardless of which Class you pick, you can swap between either set of equipped weapons on the fly during Combat, changing your fighting style. For Warriors, you can swap between a sword-and-shield combo or a single Two-Handed Weapon. For Rogues, you can swap between duel-wielded blades or a bow and arrow. And for Mages, you can swap between a dagger-and-orb combo or a single staff.

Controlling Rook

Your primary task in combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be to control Rook and focus on your bread-and-butter combat abilities. Depending on whether you are playing Rook as a Warrior, a Rogue, or a Mage, your specific role in combat with differ, but there will be some similarities regardless of what class your Rook is. All Rooks are able to perform Light Attacks, Heavy Attacks, Dodges, and Defends.

Light Attacks are excellent for dealing moment-to-moment damage and keeping light enemies staggered, whereas Heavy Attacks are ideal for dealing heavy damage (especially to enemy Armor). The amount of damage or stagger you deal depends on the weapon you are using and its specific properties.

On the defensive side of things, all Rooks have the ability to Dodge and to Defend. When an enemy is about to attack you, a yellow indicator will appear above your head. Provided you can’t attack the enemy in time to make them flinch out of the attack, you’ll need to either Dodge or Defend to avoid being hit by the attack. A Dodge will see Rook roll out of the way of danger, whereas a riskier Defend will deflect their blade, dealing Stagger damage. Warrior Rooks with shields and Mage Rooks with Staaves can be used to hold Defend to block enemy attacks without needing to time those blocks as precisely.

In addition, you can also equip Runes from the Inventory screen, each of which have active effects that can be activated when you press the corresponding button. These effects are often less impactful by themselves compared to Abilities (which will we touch on next), but frequently provide small buffs or status effects onto enemies that can synergize well with those abilities.

Finally, before we get into Companions and the Ability Wheel, it is worth mentioning that there are various environmental factors that come into play during combat. Health pots are strewn around combat arenas to give you a chance to heal, and environmental obstacles like cliffs and exploding barrels can also be used to devastating effect against enemies who get too close to them.

Companions & Abilities

Beyond simple attacks and dodges, the real complexity of Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s combat lies in its Abilities, and how the different abilities in the game synergize with each other and the game’s other combat mechanics.

But first, how do you access abilities in Dragon Age: The Veilguard? Well, that’s simple, you just need to bring up the Ability Wheel. As long as you hold the button, time around you will pause, giving you the chance to assess the situation.

By aligning enemies in the middle of your screen, you can see their names, vulnerabilities, and resistances. Once here, you can also use the three icons at the top of the screen to order either (or both) of your companions to attack the target in question, letting you use your Companions to manage the deadliest threats. Unlike in previous Dragon Age games, your Companions do not have health bars, and so can fight indefinitely against whatever enemies you pit them against.

But the more important function of the Ability Wheel is to — you might’ve guessed — use the Abilities of your Rook and their two allies. These Abilities, and the combos they can perform, make for some of the most devastating moves in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

You and your allies can each select 3 Abilities that you have unlocked from within the Character tab of the menu, and you can also select a unique Ultimate Attack for yourself. In this menu, as well as in the Ability Wheel, you can see the name and effect of the attack, as well as its relevant status effects, buff, damage, stagger, and other attributes.

Some Abilities cost your Class resource (Mana for Mages, Momentum for Rogues, and Rage for Warriors), which accrues over time as you do actions relating to your class, while other abilities have a Cooldown — a set amount of time that you will need to wait before using the Ability again. For more information on this, see our Abilities and Ultimates guide.

Using the Ability Wheel, you can then select any of these powers while selecting an enemy to use it, using one power per character, so long as they are not otherwise busy, and the Ability is not on cooldown. While on the Ability Wheel, you can also activate your Ultimate Attack or any Runes you possess.

Primers & Detonators in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Abilities, Runes, Ultimate Attacks, and some other effects can inflict Status Effects onto your enemies (and some enemies can inflict Status Effects onto you). In addition, many Abilities “Detonate” Status Effects. Abilities that inflict Status Effects that can be Detonated by any of your currently-selected Abilities are called “Primers”, and Abilities that Detonate those Status Effects are appropriately called “Detonators.”

You can see Primers at a glance when you open your Ability Wheel, as they will be outlined with green and have a label demonstrating a “Combo Opportunity.” Once you have selected the Primer, or if you are highlighting any enemy that already has a Status Effect that can be Detonated, then the Detonator will be similarly highlighted, with the note that it “Combos With [Status Effect].”

Once you activate a Detonator Ability on an enemy with the correct Status Effect, they will get hit with the attack and then explode, dealing AoE Damage and Stagger to themselves and any enemies nearby.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Status Effects

There are numerous Status Effects in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Below is the full list of Status Effects in the game.

Of course, this is just a basic guide to combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. There are dozens of small details and more specific tips relevant to all the different systems of combat, and depending on everything from your class, to your companions, to your selected abilities.