Dragon Age: The Veilguard Director Has Good News for Mage Players

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

By Christine Miller

Published Jun 21, 2024

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Highlights

Mages in Dragon Age: The Veilguard will have more diverse combat choices, with some actions having elemental variations depending on the staff that's equipped.
Combat in The Veilguard will be more action-oriented, stepping away from the franchise's tactical roots.

Corinne Busche, the game director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, assures fans that Mages will continue to have plenty of complex combat choices in the upcoming BioWare title. While Dragon Age: The Veilguard revealed a rather controversial trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase, a subsequent gameplay trailer eased tensions in the community. The lingering debate about the next Dragon Age game concerns its combat. Instead of embracing its tactical roots from Dragon Age: Origins, The Veilguard is making a bold pivot into action-oriented combat, closer to Mass Effect 3 in nature.

However, there is nuance in this direction that should hopefully make the change palatable to Dragon Age veterans. Even if the presentation is flashier and players can no longer control their party members, the combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard promises to have complexity as Rook and the game's companions progress. Inspired by JRPGs such as Final Fantasy 10, Dragon Age: The Veilguard will offer a wide web of skills and abilities, allowing players to evolve their base class (Warrior, Rogue, Mage) into something unique.

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dragon age the veilguard won't have hawke

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Won't Be Bringing Back a Major Character from DA2, Inquisition

BioWare confirms that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will not be bringing back a major character from the last two games.

Busche revealed in a recent conversation on Threads that many of the spells from earlier Dragon Age games have simply been folded into core combat actions that can be accessed in real time. Whereas Rogues can dodge around the battlefield and Warriors can toss their shield, a Mage in The Veilguard will be able to conjure up a Barrier, or create an Elemental Bomb. Some of these actions and spells will result in a tactical combo with one of the seven companions in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Will Have Plenty Of Spells For Mages

Perhaps the most exciting thing about Mage combat in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is that many core actions, such as Orb Toss and Mage Beam, will have elemental variations depending on the type of staff players equip. When accounting for these core actions and layering three spells on top, as well as ultimate abilities and skills gained via equipment, the combat's potential starts to emerge – at least on paper. The demo for Dragon Age: The Veilguard focused on low-level gameplay, a decision that may have spared fans any major spoilers, but came at the expense of showcasing the full breadth of the title's combat.

That being said, Busche mentioned that fans would see more Mage gameplay before the launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and this may be the perfect opportunity for BioWare to present more high-level content. Following the failure of Anthem and Andromeda, it makes sense that BioWare has embraced its biggest strengths for The Veilguard, drawing inspiration from successful past Dragon Age games and beyond. A character-driven narrative, action-oriented combat, and a mission-based structure – these are the core ingredients of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but it remains to be seen if the result will end up greater than the sum of its parts.