Every Dragon Age Veilguard guide you'll ever need to master Thedas

Dragon Age: The Veilguard
(Image credit: BioWare)

Every Dragon Age Veilguard guide you might need is right here, as we've covered all the essentials from companions and romances, to vital choices and character creation tips. Want to know which faction is best for Rook to join in character creation? Need help wooing Harding, Neve, Lucanis and the others? Unsure of how your decision in a crucial conversation will play out? To help you get answers, we've collated all our guides for Dragon Age 4 (what was once known as Dreadwolf, now The Veilguard) into a convenient hub.

Basics and getting started

Dragon Age Veilguard classes

(Image credit: EA)

If you're yet to start playing Dragon Age Veilguard, or are still early on, here's a smorgasbord of grounding guides to get you started properly with the strong footing.

  • Looking for all your Dragon Age Veilguard Deluxe Edition and Pre-Order bonuses? Assuming you have them as part of your edition of the game, you'll find them in a specific chest not long after completing the prologue - and we can show you where. Furthermore, look out for a different chest containing some Mass Effect-themed Dragon Age Veilguard N7 Day armor too.
  • Wondering how long is Dragon Age Veilguard? Well, that's a pretty elastic question, with so many side quests and optional content, but whether you're in it casually or out for 100% completion, we can lay out how many hours it'll take to beat the game.
  • Want some Dragon Age Veilguard tips and tricks to help you along? We've played the game and compared notes to find all the things we wish we knew before we started, with secrets, gameplay nuances, and more besides.

Companions and romance

Dragon Age Veilguard romance Taash pinning Rook against a wall

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We know that for many of you, Dragon Age Veilguard is more of a complex dating sim than a fantasy game. Well, so be it - let's talk about the other members of the Veilguard, and what you need to understand about them.

  • Firstly, let's start with all the Dragon Age Veilguard companions - how do you get them, what are their individual strengths and abilities, and what do you need to know? All that info is waiting at the linked page…
  • The Dragon Age Veilguard romance options and relationships are practically the end goal for many players, so we'll explain how romances work and how you can win the affection of your teammates accordingly.
  • The Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened condition is one that comes up as a consequence of a certain choice, causing companions to get a little more jaded as a result of what you choose to do. It's a condition with real gameplay effects and worth understanding, hence why we've put together a guide on it.
  • Companion quests are a vital part of building your bonds and potential romances with each member of the Veilguard team. Early on in the game, you might take on Bellara's Dragon Age Veilguard Echoes of the Past quest which features some slightly confusing puzzles.

Character creation and Rook

Dragon Age Veilguard Lineages

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Creating the perfect Rook? Want to know what makes for the best leader of the Veilguard and counterpart to the Dreadwolf? We've got all the details on character creation below.

  • With three different Dragon Age Veilguard classes to choose from - or two if you're playing as a Dwarf - what's the best class, and what are the advantages and niches of all three? We've got all the details on what it means to be a Warrior, Rogue or Mage.
  • There are four Dragon Age Veilguard lineages to pick between, aka Rook's species. Human, Dwarf, Elf or Qunari, there are certain tweaks in the experience that we've laid out.
  • More important than who you are is who you align yourself with. There's half a dozen Dragon Age Veilguard factions that Rook can be a former member of when the game starts, each of which you'll encounter along your journey. Assassins, treasure hunters, knights, explorers - there are plenty of organizations around Thedas.
  • You'll get to choose Rook's face and body as part of character creation, but don't worry - you're not locked into that look once you’re done. If you want to know how to change appearance in Dragon Age Veilguard after the fact, we've explained how it works in our guide.

Gameplay and exploration

Dragon Age Veilguard tips

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Once you're into the world of Dragon Age 4, there's plenty to experience. We'll get into the meatier choices down below, but here are some basics for gameplay you should know once boots are on the ground!

  • The Dragon Age Veilguard fast travel system is an essential system to understand - with multiple cities, nations and even dimensions for the team to travel around, knowing how to move speedily is fundamental.
  • Want to know how to upgrade weapons in Dragon Age Veilguard? Your swords, bows, staves, shields and more besides will need to be constantly swapped out, upgraded and improved to keep pace with the evil forces out there, and we'll explain how you go about doing that.
  • Bolstering the Caretaker's Workshop is one of the main ways you can improve your gear, but you'll need to find plenty of Dragon Age Veilguard mementos on your adventures to appease the mystical spirit.
  • As you explore the realms of Thedas, you'll be filling your backpack with plenty of Dragon Age Veilguard valuables, which can be sold to faction merchants for gold and reputation.

Quests and puzzles

Dragon Age Veilguard Heart of Corruption walkthrough

(Image credit: EA)

Once you're into the world of Dragon Age 4, there's plenty to experience. We'll get into the meatier choices down below, but here are some basics for gameplay you should know once boots are on the ground!

  • The Dragon Age Veilguard lighthouse statue puzzle is a puzzle set up in the team's hub area about rotating statues. While optional, it's a great one to solve to get a little accumulated reward of early resources that can better set you up for the quests to come.
  • You might stumble upon the Dragon Age Veilguard Heart of Corruption quest when you first explore the Crossroads, but this is actually an endgame quest that requires you to beat some high-level bosses for a bunch of rewards.
  • Opening the Dragon Age Veilguard Warden vault isn't the easiest job as you've got to find and solve three different puzzles around a rather large castle in Rivain.
  • After recruiting Emmrich to your adventuring party, you can come across the Dragon Age Veilguard Pinnacle of its Kind quest which, like Heart of Corruption, sees you taking on some tough foes, this time of the demonic variety.

Choices and consequences

Dragon Age Veilguard tips

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What would a BioWare game be without lingering choices? Veilguard is no different, with plenty of nail-biting moments where Rook will have to deliberate over several options, each of which might come back to haunt you later. It goes without saying that there are spoilers in the guides to follow, so read at your own risk!

  • Early on at the town of D'Meta's Crossing you'll have the Dragon Age Veilguard save or leave the mayor choice, about choosing whether to relocate a local politician or leave him there for… reasons. We can help explain the whys and wherefores of that.
  • Not long afterwards when recruiting team members, you have to make the Dragon Age Veilguard Dock Town or Treviso choice, where you pick which of the two towns you want to visit first in your hunt for allies and discussions with their various factions. We can lay out the true lasting impact of that choice for you above.
  • Maybe the first really big choice of the game, when peril strikes two locations at once, you need to make the major Dragon Age Veilguard Minrathous or Treviso choice - about which of the two locations you'll run to the aid of. Needless to say, this is a big one, and if you want to know what lies on both paths, we wouldn't blame you.
  • Later, you'll butt heads with the First Warden of the Grey Wardens, whose refusal to acknowledge the true dangers of the Evanuris proves to be a serious problem, which leads you to making the Dragon Age Veilguard First Warden choice.

Review

Dragon Age Veilguard tips

(Image credit: EA)

Want to know what we thought of the game itself in our Dragon Age The Veilguard review? With a decade since the last entry in Inquisition, there's a lot riding on Veilguard's shoulders, and you can find our many thoughts of it in the page above!

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.