The biggest pro tips for Dragon Age: Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a lot for players to discover, from an entirely new combat system to new companions and their abilities, to puzzles scattered across every map to explore and discover. However, there are some things the game doesn't explain clearly, or at all.

From combat techniques to exploration secrets to information about the faction system that the game doesn't tell you, there are quite a few things about Veilguard that only professional gamers know.

9

Selling specific items to specific factions

There are different factions in the game, and they sell a variety of weapons, armor, appearance modifications, and more. However, to access the full selection, you'll need to gradually level up through gold, materials, and faction reputation.

The way to obtain a faction representative is by completing side quests in the area or selling valuable items to a merchant. What was hidden from the original UI, however, is that some valuables you find in the world give you significantly more reputation, depending on which faction buys them. With the game's first major patch, you can now see how much reputation you can earn from valuables, but you can still easily miss this if you only use the “sell all” option from the vendor. To get the best reputation in your trade, sell specific items to the right suppliers!

8

Destroy Everything, Link Style

In the game's open world, you'll find numerous resources scattered across the map, including ore, heartwood, and other materials. This is needed to upgrade your equipment and, more importantly, upgrade your faction merchants to sell you better equipment.

But most players probably haven't noticed that this isn't the only way to find resources in the world. The map is dotted with various barrels and chests, almost all of which can be broken by running, rolling, or attacking, and will always drop resources such as wood, ore, and even small amounts of gold. So channel your inner link and break that pot.

7

Button Shortcuts for Companion Abilities

It was made clear in the tutorial section that you don't need to have the entire ability wheel open to use abilities and cast spells. There's a shortcut button, which is the left trigger on the controller, which you can use by pressing one of the face buttons on the controller. This makes it much easier to use abilities on the fly during combat without disrupting the flow of combat.

What you may not have noticed is that your companion's abilities are also part of this shortcut! The tutorial doesn't mention this, and since it's small and far from your character's abilities, it can be hard to spot, but it's there.

6

Wisp Merchant in the Ruined City

When you recruit Davrin to your party early in the game, Dock Town and Treviso will be attacked by dragons sent by the Elven gods. You must choose which city to aid first, and as a result, not only will the other city suffer severe damage from the attack, but you will also lose the power merchants in that area.

However, the developers have provided a backup that is easy to miss. In Crossroads, after a certain point you can rescue some of the wisps from enemy attacks, and the central area becomes filled with friendly shadows and spirits. There will be various vendors where you can purchase items using soul essence. However, to the south of the market there is a shadow that represents an unsaved city encampment. Here you can purchase items you missed or sell items to wisps to increase your faction's reputation, which is still important later in the game.

5

lighthouse hidden exploration

The Lighthouse is the party hub while in Valegarde. It's a safe space in The Fade, and each party member gets their own little area, including your own room. But the lighthouse hides even more secrets.

I won't spoil the whole puzzle here because it's fun and not that difficult to figure out. But first, you start by exploring the lighthouse plaza and finding a statue that can rotate. If you rotate correctly, you'll unlock a secret room in the lighthouse's main hall and the puzzle will continue from there. This will unlock new areas, equipment, resources, and codex items for the Lighthouse, so have fun exploring your home base.

4

Talk to your party members after each adventure

The game doesn't explain this clearly, as there are no notifications or things to tell you after completing the quest. Of course, this doesn't have to be the case. However, because it's not obvious, many players may not realize that they can talk to their companions at the lighthouse after almost any outing on the various maps.

It's important to check in with all your colleagues after every outing. This will strengthen their bond, provide new scenes and side quests, and give you more opportunities to romance them if you wish. You'll have plenty of time throughout the game to do these things, but if you don't check in frequently, you may not be able to complete the questline and get the ultimate gear.

3

Purchasing items permanently increases your stats

There are a surprising number of merchants across the various maps and locations you'll explore in the game. These merchants sell a variety of items, including new armor, weapons, materials, and gifts for your allies. But what players may not have noticed are permanent stat boost items.

You'll need to check out every vendor you come across, but some will sell items that give you a permanent 1% health boost or armor boost. This may seem like a small increase, but building it up over time can give you a significant amount of bonus properties for a relatively cheap price.

2

Combat is more open than you might think

The combat in Veilguard is some of the most impressive in the Dragon Age series. You have complete freedom of movement, various combinations of abilities to destroy armor or barriers, and the ability to parry and perform melee combos. However, some players may still not reach their full potential.

Don't forget that you have complete freedom to jump and sprint even during combat. These options allow you to perform sprint attacks, jump attacks, and give you new ways to utilize the Triangle/Y button functions. For example, a wizard can build up charges in his staff and then release them by pressing Triangle/Y and making a frontal cone elemental attack. But that's not all. You can sprint to make this ability even more effective, or even jump to make a big ground attack that sends the attack to all sides rather than the front. Experiment with your entire toolkit in battle, not just traditional abilities!

1

Upgrade your manager

Most players will have discovered the Caretaker vendor in the lighthouse. This allows you to upgrade your equipment and eventually enchant it to add bonus effects. Of course, this is useful, but there's another reason to upgrade your Caretaker whenever possible.

Upgrading your custodian not only allows you to upgrade your gear to a higher level, but also increases the level at which you can find loot in the open world. That said, even if you're not interested in upgrading through your ranger and prefer to find new gear through exploration, it's still important to upgrade your ranger. Because this means everything you find in the wild will be of a higher level. So it has higher stats.