Dragon Age Veilguard companions are all mandatory team recruits in the main story of The Veilguard, with Rook hiring them at certain points across the campaign. Each one has their own skills and abilities to bring to the table, and each time you leave the hub area of the Lighthouse you can choose up to two of them to bring with you (occasionally fewer, depending on circumstances).
Below, we'll cover all the different companions in Dragon Age The Veilguard, their specific abilities, what you need to do to get them, and the best companions to have with you when you're out adventuring. Teamwork makes the deicidal dream work, after all.
All companions in Dragon Age Veilguard
There are 7 companions in Dragon Age Veilguard, all of which are listed below in rough order that they become available.
| Companion | Class | Faction | Who are they? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neve | Mage | The Shadow Dragons | A streetwise ice-magic-slinging detective. |
| Harding | Rogue | The Inquisition Agents | A driven archer and explorer. |
| Bellara | Mage | The Veil Jumpers | An enthusiastic scholar of ancient magic. |
| Lucanis | Rogue | The Antivan Crows | A master assassin possessed by a demon. |
| Davrin | Warrior | The Grey Wardens | A knight of the wilderness training a young griffon. |
| Taash | Warrior | The Lords of Fortune | A treasure hunter and tough dragon slayer |
| Emmrich | Mage | The Mourn Watch | A high-class necromancer and academic. |
None of them are inherently more powerful than any other; instead it's about finding good combinations of teammates for the enemies you're going up against, as well as teammates that pair with your own abilities as well. You'll also be pleased to read that all seven are eligble for a Dragon Age Veilguard romance, though not at the same time, as you're restricted to just one relationship per playthrough.
How to recruit all Companions in Dragon Age Veilguard
Minor spoilers ahead, but below we'll cover how to recruit all the companions in Dragon Age Veilguard. Like above, these are laid out in the order you'll encounter them across the game.
- Neve: Default companion available from the beginning.
- Harding: Default companion available from the beginning.
- Bellara: Recruited as part of the "In Entropy's Grasp" quest (1-2 hours in)
- Lucanis: Recruited as part of the "Sea of Blood" quest (3-4 hours in)
- Davrin: Recruited as part of the "A Warden's Best Friend" quest (4-6 hours in)
- Taash: Recruited as part of the "A Dragon Slayer" quest (8-12 hours in)
- Emmrich: Recruited as part of the "Where the Dead Must Go" quest (8-12 hours in)
The times laid out above are admittedly rough estimates that will vary depending on how much players do in the way of side quests (and how much trouble they have completing the game up until that point), but at the very least this is the set order - you can't recruit Lucanis before Bellara, for example.
The last two of these characters, Emmrich and Taash, have both their quests become available at the same time, though it's not important which you do first - the plot won't progress until you have them both.
We'll make it clear again; you cannot miss out on any companions or teammates in Dragon Age Veilguard - the most you can do is delay the point by which you hire them by delaying progress in the main quest. Don't worry about missing out on certain time-sensitive quests or hidden conditions; as long as you are pushing through the plot, you'll have the whole gang before long.
Best Companions in Dragon Age Veilguard
As mentioned, there's no inherent "best companion" in Veilguard who's supposed to be mechanically superior to the others, though you can focus on their skills, abilities and relationships to make them more powerful more quickly.
There are also notably strong combinations of characters as they represent different Dragon Age Veilguard classes: I'd recommend bringing Neve and Harding with you. Perhaps because they're the two default companions, they nonetheless make a powerful combo: Harding can heal and apply damage buffs as well as targeted strikes, while Neve does potent area-of-effect ice spells that damage and freeze crowds.
Likewise, the combination of Harding's Shred Power and Neve's Blizzard allows players to prime and detonate opponents - there are several combinations that can do this, as well as the player's own abilities, but it is still another reason that Neve and Harding work well together.
Companion upgrades, levels and bonds in Dragon Age Veilguard explained
All companions in DA Veilguard can be customized from the "Companions" tab of the main menu. Here you can do the following:
- Change their weapons and armor to alter their stats.
- Check your bond with them.
- Spend Skill points to upgrade their abilities.
- Assign new active skills and powers.
These systems are very interlinked - equipment for companions is found throughout the game (especially in areas and quests connected with them, such as Dock Town for Neve), but you gain skill points for companions by building your bond with them. Building a bond with a character can be done in the following ways:
- Choosing certain dialogue options to please them.
- Taking them on quests with you.
- Giving them gifts.
- Completing their personal quests.
- Avoiding the Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened condition.
Once a companion's bond goes up to the next level, you'll get some skill points to spend in their skill tree. The powers they have can also be slotted in and out from this menu - and you'll want to do that. Each character has six core powers, but can only ever have three usable in combat at a single time. To get more out of them, you'll need to swap them out to taste - try various combinations and see what works.
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