In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, both you and your Companions are defined by your Abilities, Traits, Ultimates, and Passives. But, to acquire any of those — and even your Class and Specializations — you will need to navigate your characters’ Skill Trees, which ultimately lead to your Rook’s Specializations as well.
These Skill Trees can seem daunting at first, but this guide should tell you everything you need to know about them, including how to read them, how to respec, and what each Skill Tree contains.
Rook Skill Tree in Dragon Age: The Veilguard
In the “Skills” tab of the menu, you will be able to see your Rook’s Skill Tree. While the Skill Trees for Warriors, Rogues, and Mages differ in what is available for each, the layout of the skill trees are the same: There is a core selection of Skills, surrounded by 6 Sections, with 3 of those Sections leading into 3 possible Specializations, of which you will be able to select 1 at any given time.
Within the Core, each Section, and the Specializations, there are a number of “Skills,” which encapsulate several possible improvements for your character: Abilities, Traits, Passives, Ultimates, and Ability Upgrades. These each serve a different function, contributing to your Rook’s overall “Build” in the Skill Tree, which can be further improved or amplified with a good selection of Gear and the right Companions.
In total, there are 154 Skills in each Skill Tree in Dragon Age: The Veilguard (with “Class” Skills not counting, as they don’t require Skill Points to unlock). Since you can only select a single Specialization at a time, however, only 122 of those Skills will be available at any given time.
You get Skill Points as you level up, with each level giving you an additional Skill Point that can be spent, starting at the center of your Skill Tree and extending outward along connecting Skills. The max level in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is 50, so even at max level you will need to be smart about where you invest your Skill Points.
For each class, here is the list of how the Skill Tree is broken down, what each symbol means, and what each Skill type actually does:
4 Classes ()
1 in Core + 1 for Each Specialization (3)
Core Class Features. Unlocks Classes and Specializations.
1 in Core + 1 or 2 Per Section (9) + 1 Per Specialization (3)
Abilities that can damage enemies, applies debuffs, buff allies, or activate other effects.
36 Ability Upgrades ()
4 or 6 Per Section (30) + 2 Per Specialization (6)
Improves Abilities that possess tags related to the Upgrade.
39 Major Passives ()
3 Core + 2 Per Section (12) + 2 Per Section Border (12) + 4 Per Specialization (12)
Large boosts to your stats. Can add utility to other Skills as well.
49 Minor Passives & Stat Boosts (): 6 or 9 Per Section + 4 Per Specialization
Relatively small boosts to your stats.
While the same slew of Skills are available for each Class, the actual contents of those Skills and what they activate differs. Each Section and Specialization for each Class focuses on a different aspect of the Class, and tends towards improvements related to those aspects.
While some of the names for Sections (but not Specializations) are the same between classes, most of the actual makeup for each is unique for the Class. Similarly, while some Sections share names with Factions in the game, you do not need to be that Faction to access that Section of the Skill Tree.
The Warrior, being the front-lines bruiser that is best in the fray, has Skill Tree sections and Specializations that each focus on a different aspect of that primary role.
In the Warrior Core, you unlock your first Ability, Driving Kick, which kicks your opponent for massive damage and knock back, making it possible to launch enemies into environmental hazards or off ledges. You also can unlock your first Ultimate in the Warrior Core: Flashing Fists, which essentially “ground pounds” an area several times in a row for massive AoE (area of effect) damage.
Outside the core, you’ll find 6 Sections, each with 1 or 2 Abilities and a number of other Skills themselves (depending on if they do or don’t lead toward a Specialization). For Warrior, these 6 Sections, from the top and in clockwise order, are:
Survival
Focuses on crowd control abilities, health upgrades, and general survivability.
Contains the Titan Stomp and Groundbreaker abilities.
Focuses on defense, blocking, parrying, and shield strikes (Warrior’s ranged attacks)
Contains the Grappling Spear Ability.
Warrior Specializations
By tracking along your Skill Tree, you can eventually acquire one of the three Specializations for Warrior: Reaper, Champion, or Slayer. These are mutually exclusive, so even if you build toward two, you will still only have access to one. For Warrior, the details of the Specializations are as follows:
Reapers are the best as sustainability, with several lifesteal effects and a focus on magical abilities, bringing them closest to a mage. They favor more hit-and-run tactics than the other two Specializations. They also enable the use of a wider array of gear, as suits the player.
Contains the Spirit Storm Ultimate and the Reaper Ability.
Slayers are the heaviest hitters in the game, most often wielding two-handed weapons and charging into the fray to deal massive damage, often to entire areas. This makes them a riskier specialization, but high reward.
Contains the For Gold and Glory Ultimate and the Heroic Leap Ability.
Champions most often wield a one-handed weapon with a shield, and they focus on making the most of that shield, turning defense into offense (while still maintaining defense). Acting as a tank, the Champion is harder to kill than other Specializations, giving you time for tactics.
Contains the Warden’s Fire Ultimate and the Blight Bane Ability.
Mage Specializations & Skill Tree
The Mage can be built in several ways, but always focuses on using spells to devastate enemies with high damage and status-effects. As such, the Mage’s Skill Tree sections and Specializations each focus on a different aspect of that primary role.
In the Mage Core, you unlock your first Ability, Arcane Shot, which creates several fireballs that you launch at a target and those nearby, and which applies Burning. You can also unlock your first Ultimate in the Mage Core: Destructive Light, which fires a beam of fire energy forward to deal massive damage and apply Burning to those in the beam.
Outside the core, you’ll find 6 Sections, each with 1 or 2 Abilities and a number of other Skills themselves (depending on if they do or don’t lead toward a Specialization). For Mage, these 6 Sections, from the top and in clockwise order, are:
Control
Focuses on crowd control, area of effect damage, and Cold damage.
Focuses on lifesteal, terrain effects, and Necrotic damage.
Contains the Corrupted Ground Ability.
Mage Specializations
By tracking along your Skill Tree, you can eventually acquire one of the three Specializations for Mage: Evoker, Spellblade, and Deathcaller. These are mutually exclusive, so even if you build toward two, you will still only have access to one. For Mage, the details of the Specializations are as follows:
The most “classic” Mage Specialization, the Evoker is especially good at maintaining control of the battlefield at range. With a focus on Cold damage and the Frozen status effect, as well as a black-hole Ultimate, the Evoker can keep enemies in place to deal massive AoE damage from a distance.
Contains the Vortex of Shadow Ultimate and the Entropic Sphere Ability.
A close-quarters fighter, the Spellblade stays in Melee range of enemies while casting magic in a radius around them to deal enemies they are in the fray with. Chaining Lightning damage ensures that the middle of the fight is where a Spellblade wants to be.
Contains the Thunderous End Ultimate and the Void Blade Ability.
With a focus on Necrotic damage, the Death Caller is the most versatile Mage Specialization, being able to do massive amounts of lifesteal both up close and at a distance, making you incredibly hardy while dealing huge damage.
Contains the The Crypt’s Herald Ultimate and the Spirit Bomb Ability.
Rogue Specializations & Skill Tree
The Rogue is the most dextrous and agile of the three classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, preferring a mixture of fast duel-wielding and ranged bow attacks in order to keep the enemy off their balance. As such, the Rouge’s Skill Tree sections and Specializations each focus on a different aspect of that primary role.
In the Rogue Core, you unlock your first Ability, Static Strikes, which fires lightning bolts at a target to apply the Weakened effect. You can also unlock your first Ultimate in the Rogue Core: Concussive Barrage, which unleashes bombs onto your opponent to build Stagger and keep the enemies who are staggered like that for longer.
Outside the core, you’ll find 6 Sections, each with 1 or 2 Abilities and a number of other Skills themselves (depending on if they do or don’t lead toward a Specialization). For Rogue, these 6 Sections, from the top and in clockwise order, are:
Sustain
Focuses on lifesteal, healing, and knockback to keep enemies off of you.
Contains the Pilfer and Lightning Flask abilities.
Focuses on melee damage, parrying, and positioning.
Contains the Toxic Dash Ability.
Rogue Specializations
By tracking along your Skill Tree, you can eventually acquire one of the three Specializations for Rogue: Saboteur, Veil Ranger, and Duelist. These are mutually exclusive, so even if you build toward two, you will still only have access to one. For Rogue, the details of the Specializations are as follows:
The Saboteur uses large amounts of explosives and traps in order to take control of the field itself, wrangling enemies with hit-and-run tactics. Between turrets, traps, and general explosives, you sway the battle to your side by using contraptions and versatility.
Contains the Fortune’s Fury Ultimate and the Fortune’s Turret Ability.
The Veil Ranger is the ultimate ranged fighter, focusing on devastating shots from their bow that apply effects if they don’t take out enemies in a single strike. The Veil Ranger has abilities that combine movement to stay at range with powerful shots at that range, disrupting enemies.
Contains the Twin Gifts of Arlathan Ultimate and the Storm’s Path Ability.
The Duelist is a dangerous, Necrotic-focused melee fighter that focuses on dodging and parrying in order to create openings by staggering opponents or applying effects. Focusing on duel-wielding weapons, the Duelist does fast strikes that often do critical damage or stagger enemies.
Contains the Murder of Crows Ultimate and the A Thousand Cuts Ability.
Companion Skill Trees
In addition to your Rook having a large Skill Tree, with over a hundred Skills available across several sections and three specializations, your Companions all have their own skill trees. These skill trees are much simpler, with each Companion having 5 completely separate branches that start with an ability before branching off with a mixture of Passives and Ability Upgrades (the amount of these differ for each Companion).
Four of these five “branches” of a Companion‘s Skill Tree contains 9 Skills in total, including the ability, while the bottom ability contains 10 Skills, for a total of 46 Skills each. Companions gain Bond Levels at a much slower rate than Rook gains regular Levels, but gain 2 Skill Points every time their Bond Level increases.
The seven Companions, each with 46 Skills branching from 5 Abilities, are as follows:
It is possible to respec your character by refunding any Skill points that you put into either Rook’s Skill Tree, or any of your Companions‘ Skill Trees. This costs no in-game resources and can be done for free at any time, making it possible to really alter your build whenever you see fit.
If you want to refund single points at a time, hover over the latest Skill you have unlocked in a Skill Tree, and then you will be prompted to Refund the Skill. However, you cannot Refund skills that were required to get to Skills later in the tree; you’ll need to refund from the end of the tree back to those.
Alternatively, if you want to completely reset a Skill Tree, you can do so while zoomed out and overlooking the entire tree. Simply press and hold the appropriate button, shown below the “Points Available” graphic in the bottom left of the screen. Once you do this, all of your points will be refunded, and you can start fresh, newly assigning all of your accumulated points.
So, there you have it: the basics of the Skill Trees & Specializations in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Using this, you should be able to fully navigate the Skill menus in the game, empowering and specializing your Rook and their Companions while making full use of the system.
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Graves is an avid writer, web designer, and gamer, with more ideas than he could hope to achieve in a lifetime. But, armed with a mug of coffee and an overactive imagination, he'll try. When he isn't working on a creative project, he is painting miniatures, reading cheesy sci-fi novels, or making music.
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): 6 or 9 Per Section + 4 Per Specialization
