Dragon Age Veilguard tips and tricks for beginners

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.

Don't get bogged down in character creation

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 and change your Rook's appearance mid-game. You simply need to play through the opening sequence to unlock it.

What you cannot change, however, is your race, Faction and Class. We do have a guide to the best Faction and best Class to 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

We're all here for this - don't lie to yourself. The romance system of previous Dragon Age games and the story threads that came for them are some of the most enriching in recent RPG memory. I'm happy to report that Dragon Age Veilguard offers 7 romance options to 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.

Dragon Age Veilguard keeps to the same format as Inquisition, that being that romantic dialogue is represented by a heart symbol so it's quite hard to miss. As far as we can tell, romance and 'Approval' are two different systems, so you won't have to gruel away at earning companion ranks just to get a sweet cutscene from your crush (this pertains to unlocking skills for them instead). So flirt with them in dialogue, complete any personal quests for them and make sure you give them gifts where possible to ensure you make an impact.

Know where to sell your junk

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 special Faction 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 upgrades and more. In short, sell your junk but be mindful to whom.

You'll have to backtrack

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

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 into Dark 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 enemies before breaking the Cysts. Otherwise, you'll have all of those enemies plus the boss to deal with at once.

Learn your symbols

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 the Lighthouse and 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

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

The minimap not only shows your immediate route but also shows nearby treasure and will mark it automatically if you pass it by. Look out for the flashing blue chest symbol under the map when the treasure is near or a Solas symbol for when an altar is nearby.

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

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.

Each Class has both melee and ranged attacks and the best way to utilise your party is by kitting them out with skills that complement and synergize together. To get a combo skill one must be a Primer and the other a Detonator. Within the skill descriptions they will be marked with red/orange text with the word 'Detonates' if they are a Detonator and 'Applies' with the relevant status effect if they are a Primer (under the damage and cooldown information).

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

'Approval' is the metric in which your relationships with your party increase. At higher levels, you'll unlock more skill points for them to invest in new abilities. The biggest way to earn Approval is by simply completing quests.

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.

You can also earn approval during companion-specific quests, by giving gifts and engaging with dialogue when prompted. Each character has a gift that you can buy from the merchant affiliated with their Faction. This will be marked as a gift so you should have a problem picking them up. They cost little gold and the companions will even display the gifts in their rooms as a nice added touch.

It is and isn't open world

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 the Crossroads each time to travel. If you have already visited the place once, then you can fast travel via the main map.

Pet all the animals

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 between Neve or Harding in 'The End of the Beginning' quest or see our rundown of upgrading gear like weapons and armour in the game.