Today Electronic Arts and BioWare released an extensive gameplay video showcasing high-level combat in the upcoming RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Specifically, we get to see Rook (the playable protagonist) set up with a Warrior class and Champion specialization, fighting at level 30.
If you’re wondering about the available classes and specializations, BioWare spells them in its official post.
Warrior Rook Specialization Areas:
- Reaper – Become night’s blade. Steal life and risk death to gain incredible, unnatural abilities
- Slayer – Leap into the fray. Wield massive, punishing weapons while rushing enemies to deal devastating blows.
- Champion – Be the shield. Shrug off damage while summoning righteous fire down on enemies.
Rogue Rook Specialization Areas:
- Duelist – Draw your steel. Parry and dodge past enemies to gain strength with every strike.
- Saboteur – Set the stage. Deploy explosives and turrets that devastate enemies, then pick them off with arrows.
- Veil Ranger – Hunt the enemy. Snipe enemies from afar using artifacts that charge arrows with dangerous, powerful magic.
Mage Rook Specialization Areas:
- Death Caller – Embrace the dark. Drain life from enemies and cast spells that writhe with the essence of death itself
- Evoker – Call the void. Freeze enemies in their tracks, then summon the deepest cold to tear them apart.
- Spellblade – Be the storm. Channel potent spells for close-quarters combat infused with lightning’s wrath.
Do keep in mind that specializations aren’t picked immediately, but are part of the game’s progression system. At the beginning, you’ll just pick one of the three classes.
The video is split into four parts. The first focuses on the pre-battle preparations, including setting up skills, ultimate attacks, runes, and more.
The second part showcases the basics of combat, including light and heavy attacks (both of which can be charged), ranged attacks, and blocks and parries.
You can set up two weapon sets that can be swapped in battle, and dealing with powerful enemies also means taking care of depleting their armor and shield barriers. Heavy attacks are more effective against armor and ranged ones against shields.
Another relevant element is the stagger meter. When you deplete an enemy’s, they’ll be staggered receiving bonus damage and opening themselves up for a deadly finisher.
Of course, there are also plenty of buffs and debuffs to apply to your companions and to deal to your enemies. Crowd Control abilities will allow you to control the battlefield when you’re surrounded by many enemies, which certainly appears to be a common occurrence in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Interestingly, some abilities also have a primer effect that can be triggered with another ability’s detonator effect, increasing the potential for powerful combos.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard releases on October 31, 2024, for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. If you want to see more, you can also check out some of the tech you’ll be able to enjoy on PC if you have an Nvidia video card.