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Dragon Age Veilguard tips and tricks for beginnersHere’s everything I wish I knew before starting Dragon Age Veilguard
Here’s everything I wish I knew before starting Dragon Age Veilguard
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Electronic Arts
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Electronic Arts
Looking for a list of Dragon Age Veilguard top tips?Dragon Age Veilguard is the fourth instalment of the franchise and diversifies quite a few gameplay mechanics.
Whether you’re a seasoned player or coming in fresh to the franchise, we have a list of top tips to help save you some time, headache and heartache in the opening sections of the game.
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Don’t get bogged down in character creation
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Okay, so I’m a big culprit of this one. I can take hours at a time perfecting my main character, agonising over hairstyles and whether I’ll inevitably get bored 20 hours into the game. Try not to stress - there is a very easy way to re-enter the character creator andchange your Rook’s appearancemid-game. You simply need to play through the opening sequence to unlock it.
What you cannot change, however, is your race, Faction andClass. We do have a guide to thebest Factionandbest Classto pick in Dragon Age Veilguard if you’re stuck. Of course, it’s all really down to opinion though and I suggest going for the options with the best roleplay value for you.
Romance everyone
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We’re all here for this - don’t lie to yourself. The romance system of previousDragon Agegames and the story threads that came for them are some of the most enriching in recentRPGmemory. I’m happy to report that Dragon Age Veilguard offers7 romance optionsto choose from, each with an interesting backstory and personality.
With choice comes decision, but don’t worry about it too much. Feel free to flirt with everyone to get a feel for the relationship. When it comes to committing to just one special someone that game will make this obvious.
Know where to sell your junk
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I spent an ashamedly long time trying and failing to flog my junk at the nearest merchant only to give up. It turns out that the only merchants you can sell to are specialFaction merchants(located within Faction bases).
Selling your items to Factions earns you points which go towards the ‘Shop Rank’. In turn, the more Shop Ranks you have with each Faction the better the gear upgrades and Mementos they sell. This is a key part of upgrading your relationship with the Factions,gear upgradesand more. In short, sell your junk but be mindful to whom.
You’ll have to backtrack
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Some areas will only be accessible until you recruit a certain companion. Each companion has a different ability which can change terrain and unlock new areas. You might see a prompt that tells you you’re missing a companion’s ability to access an area. This simply means you need to progress through the main questline more and pick up a certain party member.
Thanks to the combat wheel shortcut, once you have the companion recruited, they don’t need to be part of your active party to access their unique skill.
Sometimes it’s okay to run away
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As you’re expected to backtrack a bit in the game, sometimes you’ll encounter enemy bosses that are 10 or even 20 levels above your own. Don’t worry - you haven’t stumbled intoDark Souls, you simply need to walk away and revisit the fight at a later date.
Of course, it is possible to fight the bosses early but you’ll save yourself hours of time in the long run if you pick your battles wisely.
As a caveat to this point, sometimes you’ll encounter ‘Blight Cysts’. Once broken a boss will usually emerge from them. Make sure you clear the battlefield of enemiesbeforebreaking the Cysts. Otherwise, you’ll have all of those enemies plus the boss to deal with at once.
Learn your symbols
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As with previous Dragon Age games, there is a hub area where you can rest between quests and check in on your companions. This hub is called theLighthouseand each party member will have their own space here.
It’s good to get into the practice of opening your map whenever you’re here as any new quests or dialogue will be marked. If a character has an exclamation mark it means they have a quest for you, often this is a companion quest which you’ll want to prioritise for a better relationship with them.
If they have a speech bubble near them it means there is a cutscene or dialogue available with them. Make sure to prioritise these as they are often timed and can be missed once you progress through more main quests.
Don’t waste time with vases
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Okay this is a simple one and maybe a bit obvious but make sure you roll into green barrels for health potions. Smashing them with your weapon takes about 2 seconds longer, which can be life or death in a fight.
The minimap can actually be useful
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Funnily enough, I found the map most useful for pointing out ladders. Too many times I would get lost in alleyways and wonder how to get to an area, only to discover that the way forward is actually above via a ladder.
Prioritize combo skills
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Thankfully combat is much better in Veilguard than previous titles and the skill point system is very forgiving. You can even refund points and relocate them to try out new skills if you wish and it’s completely free.
What this essentially means is that you can do a combo between two character’s skills for a bigger and more impactful effect. You ‘Prime’ a target and then unleash the detonation. To change out your character’s skills, go to the ‘Companions’ menu, select the character who you wish to change and hover over their currently applied skills at the bottom of the screen. Select the one you wish to change and it will bring up a menu of the skills they have currently have unlocked and available.
It’s also worth noting that red bubbles may appear around enemies. This indicates they are about to perform a move you cannot parry and you need to dodge out of the way. If the bubble is yellow, then it is parryable and if it’s blue then it means a parryable move is about to be set up.
Always seek Approval
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However, you’ll only get Approval upon completion with the companions you had with you at the time. As such, make sure you’re diversifying your party often and taking different people out with you. It’s also fun to switch it up and hear the party banter amongst different combinations of people as you travel.
It is and isn’t open world
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Given how huge Dragon Age Inquisition was it may be jarring at first but Dragon Age Veilguard isn’t completely open world. Rather, there are open-world sections that are connected to a hub map.
You’ll often have to complete a main quest within a new area before it is open to exploration. Afterwards, you’ll be free to pick up sidequests and treasure chests. Just make sure you check back on your main map and zoom out to get a view of all the different maps on one screen. Hover over previously explored regions and they’ll tell you if there are new quests to pick up. It’s worth doing this after every main quest you’ve completed.
It’s worth also noting that you don’t need to go through theCrossroadseach time to travel. If you have already visited the place once, then you can fast travel via the main map.
Pet all the animals
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Don’t be a monster. Pet all the animals.
That rounds up our top tips for Dragon Age Veilguard. For more Dragon Age Veilguard tips and tricks, check out our guide to choosing betweenNeve or Hardingin ‘The End of the Beginning’ quest or see our rundown ofupgrading gearlike weapons and armour in the game.
