Dragon Age: The Veilguard Transmog Confirmed, Side Quests All Handcrafted & Story Focused, Level Cap & More Revealed

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard getting a 20-minute gameplay reveal and is set to be released later this year, it looks like developer BioWare is ready to crack the game wide open in terms of information after being silent for years. Case in point: we now know the player level cap for the game is set at 50, there will be a transmog system, and a ton of info regarding the game’s world, side quests, character customization, the RPG system and more!

Read on for the boatload of info shared by BioWare during a recent Discord Q&A! We’ve separated the info to different categories to make it an easier read.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard World and Story Info:

• Takes place 10 years after Dragon Age: Inquisition
• The Inquisitor will definitely be part of the story
• You can go back to previous locations you visited, do side content, etc.
• Side quests are all “handcrafted and story focused”
• Everything is handcrafted, curated, “not fetch quests”
• There is no progression block in Veilguard (unlike Inquisition, which had the power mechanic)
• Locations can fundamentally change based on decisions you make
• Rook’s last name in-game is defined by their lineage and backstory
• Your origin story will come into play a lot during the course of the game, giving you opportunities to define who your Rook was and is; lots of dialogue options

Character Creator and Customization:

• “Very, very deep,” heavy focus on hair, skin tones, full body customization, customize horns if you’re Qunari
• You can improve and customize your gear, though it’s different than Inquisition
• The team teased a “mysterious entity” that assists players with that (spoilers)
• Transmog system confirmed

Companions and Party Info:

• The team felt it made for a “much more intimate experience,” two companions gives them more visibility and focus, more spotlight
• Gameplay: Timing and positioning matter a lot, felt like the right balance with Rook’s abilities, actively engages your companions more in combat
• Most banter we’ve ever done”
• There’s new interruptible and resumable banter so you don’t miss anything
• Lots of moments where all the companions are interacting with each other
• You can change companion outfits, “wider range of appearances”
• The team is very proud of the companions, ‘deepest companion arcs they’ve ever done’, with ‘heavy’ decisions to make throughout the game
• You can do things that anger your companions to where they could disappear for a time

Combat, Tactics and Abilities:

• The game is “very tactical, increasingly important on higher difficulties”
• Cycle between targets both in and out of combat
• Pause also gives information on enemies (weaknesses, resistances)
• Helps a lot to build your party to have ‘detonation synergies’, queue up combo detonations
• Companions can be specc’ed to revive you if you get KO’d
• Three-face button abilities each for Rook and each companion
• The team emphasized “there’s so much more,” like an ultimate ability, multiple runes that you acquire that can do things like buffs and other things that act like abilities, etc.

Mages:

• Healing spells return for mages
• Mages: “Successors” to Fireball and Cone of Cold attacks are in the game
• Mage Specializations: Necromancer, elemental, and a combat mage
• On using blood magic: “This is spoilery, but let me just say Rook has some real good reasons to avoid blood magic”

General Game Info:

1. Many accessibility features, will share closer to launch
2. On DLCs: 100% focused on finishing the full game and make it the most ‘complete’ single player game they possibly can
3. You can pet and hug Assan (the baby griffin)
4. Tavern songs return. Tavern in Minrathous is called “The Swan”

In case you didn’t know, players will also have a base in the game called “The Lighthouse.” According to BioWare, the base will change and evolve over time, and players will be able to personalize it somewhat.

In addition to the info above, info about the skill trees, RPG systems have surfaced as well.

Skill Tree, RPG Systems:

• Player cap at Level 50
• Confirmed: Bellara is a mage
• “Enormous” skill tree web that is bespoke for each class
• Skill tree web is a bit similar to FFX’s Sphere Grid, players start in the center of it, and work outwards towards specializations they want
• Example: Warriors can pump skill points into something more defense oriented, weapons oriented or abilities
• Warrior Specializations: Reaper (can lifesteal, “freaky” powers), Slayer (“wield the biggest blades”), Champion (tank)
• The origin you select at the start can net you bonuses like extra dialogue options or stat boosts (ex: Shadow Dragons deal extra damage to Venatori blood cultists)
• Skills are unique per class, every level nets a skill point + other activities to get points
• Each companion has 5 core abilities, each with their own skill trees that players can customize (lower cooldowns, add additional effects, etc)
• Each companion also has unique abilities that are tied specifically to them (Neve has ice powers for example)
• Elemental mechanics are very important (ice, fire, electricity, etc)
• Where other RPGs might see players invest all their skill points to reach a specialization, the team wanted players here to reach specializations about mid-game, and “then you can really branch out”

BioWare’s Game Director Corinne Busche even compared The Veilguard to Mass Effect stating they view Mass Effect as an ARPG (action-RPG), big-action, minor RPG, and how The Veilguard is the “total inverse of that.”

In another info blowout, BioWare confirmed that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a linear experience alongside other combat details, which you can read about here.

It looks like Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be a jam-packed RPG experience, and the wait won’t be that long now, as the game is set to be released this fall o PS5, Xbox Series X|S  and PC.

[Sources: shinobi602 (1, 2), Ghil Dirthalen, RPGSite, RockPaperShotgun]

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