Combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard focuses on both the basic and advanced combat mechanic of the game and its associated actions you can use. The game can be paused as orders are issued, and it follows more typical rpg mechanics than other more action-oriented games. The player's party members will automatically draw their weapons when engaged in comabt, and sheathe them once the encounter is over. This page will indicate the usage of various weapons, abilities, skills, enemy details, and more. This page provides information regarding combat in general as well as individual mechanics for the game.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Combat
The Basics of Combat in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Dragon Age The Veilguard released a brand new gameplay reveal which highlighted not only its possible character progression, exploration, and overall graphic fidelity, but also shed light on its combat. There are a lot of elements to dissect and look into so that we can have a good look at its overall combat mechanics. So far it is shaping up to be a better version of Dragon Age Inquision's combat but of course with added flares and a touch of modern techniques. Despite many similarities with previous Dragon Age games, The Veilguard stands out with its emphasis on movement and versatility in combat. All characters, including Rook, can perform acrobatic maneuvers like somersaults, which are used to dodge attacks or close gaps with enemies. A tactical pause is now available when selecting skills during combat. So far, we've only seen one offensive skill demonstrated
ARPG Approach Will Be Retained
In Dragon Age Inquisition, players can switch control to other party members, with the AI taking over the Inquisitor and the remaining team. This dynamic system is experienced through an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, offering an action-oriented gameplay style. The Tactics menu allows players to modify AI companions' behavior during battles. Additionally, the Tactical View feature enables players to pause the game, assign specific locations and commands to party members, and then resume to see their strategies unfold. In this mode, the camera shifts to a top-down perspective, giving a comprehensive view of the battlefield.
Although there were a lot of similarities when it came to Dragon Age The Veilguard, however, we can notice that Bioware emphasized movement and versatility in combat. This can be observed as all characters including Rook have access to different styles of acrobatics like somersaults and the like and often perform when dodging enemy attacks or when closing their gap to enemies. Tactical pause can also now be performed when selecting a skill in combat. So far we only managed to see one offensive skill so far.
Further versatility can be observed when talking about weapon loadouts. Players will have the freedom to switch weapons in combat. In the recent gameplay Reveal, Rook is equipped with a bow and dual swords. It is likely that players will have the freedom to customize the said loadout when the game hits its full release. Other staple ARPG elements can be observed such as normal attack combos, dodging enemy attacks, AOE visual hazards when dealing with enemy attacks, and the list goes on.
Character Loadouts in Dragon Age Veilguard
As mentioned previously, Rook is equipped with a bow and a dualsword and he can switch between this weapon on the fly in combat. So we can expect that a lot of exciting loadouts will be introduced in the future by experimenting with different kinds of weapons. It is confirmed that players will have a plethora of weapons to explore.
Party Composition in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Fans in the series were disappointed when the initial combat sequence was presented in the gameplay reveal. For this reason of, party composition seems absent and players will be playing as Rook only. In the past titles, players could switch between party members. However, likely, players will still be able to switch between party members as the developers limited the amount of content they presented.
Bosses in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Bosses in Dragon Age The Veilguard typically perform like other bosses in an ARPG title. Bosses behave uniquely compared to regular enemies and and capable of performing unique attacks. Bosses in The Veilguard also have multiple stacks of HP bars that players need to burn in order for them to take the said boss down. As expected, as the bosses can perform multiple unique attacks, players can avoid the said dangers with the guide of visual AOE hazards just like in other ARPG titles.
Regular Enemies in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Regular enemies in Dragon Age The Veilguard show no intricacy so far and usually come in groups. Players can easily clear waves or groups of enemies by chipping them one by one or juggling through them. Of course, this may change when the player progresses in the game, and rest assured that a lot of enemy types will be introduced in the full release.
Level Progression & Enemy Encounters
In the entirety of the gameplay reveal, players can observe that level progression is somehow linear. This linear progression is accompanied by cinematic sequences where simple and hard choices are being made. We can't help but feel its linearity as the player is being guided with a quest marker and enemies start to appear in key sections.
We can compare it to a regular dungeon experience of Final Fantasy XIV where players will have a linear path, leading to the boss. It is likely that this will change in the full release and the ones shown in the reveal are just minor sidequests.
Basic Combat Parameters in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Just like in other ARPG titles, players are required to manage their Health Bar or HP in combat. Health can be replenished by using Health Potions which can be obtained from greenish pots that are placed around the map. Aside from this, no Mana Points have been shown as Rook played as a Rogue so he was dependent on Skill Cooldowns.
Character Progression in Dragon Age The Veilguard
In this game, players can choose from three unique classes: warrior, mage, and rogue. Warriors excel in close combat with their swords and heavy weapons, capable of withstanding significant damage from enemies. Rogues, on the other hand, specialize in agility and precision, using daggers or bows and arrows to strike from the shadows. Mages wield the power of magic, casting spells to devastate their foes. Each class boasts distinct stats and attributes; for example, rogues rely on dexterity to land critical hits, while warriors prioritize strength to deliver powerful blows.
The use of active abilities is governed by either stamina or mana. During battles, as the player character engages enemies, the entire team accumulates Focus, which can be spent to activate special abilities. Successful combat hinges on the player's ability to create a well-coordinated team with their party members. In Dragon Age, The Veilguard seems to follow the same character progression formula.
In the recent gameplay reveal, fans noticed that it will be the same character progression as players can still customize Rook when it comes to his class, character appearance, load-outs, and more. The Rook portrayed in the gameplay reveal was a rouge, equipped with a dual sword and a bow.
Ammunitions in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Aside from Skill Cooldowns and flashy skills, since players will have access to ranged weapons such as bows and the like, Ammunition comes into play. What we can observe is, that ammunition recovers over time by replenishing its stock. In the recent gameplay reveal, Rook used his bow multiple times and arrows had some sort of a cooldown where when it finished, it restores arrows. This gave the impression that players would have access to an infinite supply of arrows or ammunition in the game.
Skills in Dragon Age The Veilguard
As previously mentioned, when a player is accessing their skills, the entire combat system will pause and this feature is known as Tactical Pause. As expected, skills will be one of the major tools or avenues where players can deal a lot of damage to enemies. In the recent reveal, we can also observe that players can a lot and use multiple skills in combat.
This will allow players to further customize their load-outs and experience freedom in combat. Although it's not yet clear how the future skill tree will work, players are expecting exciting skills to pull off in the future.
