Dragon Age: The Veilguard Preview – Blending Action and Strategy in A New Dragon Age Chapter

After an extensive 6-hour preview session with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, spanning multiple save files and decision paths, we’ve gained valuable insights into BioWare’s latest RPG offering. This preview, based on hands-on PC gameplay with footage captured directly from the platform, aims to provide a spoiler-free overview of the game’s key features and improvements.

A New Dragon Age

Dragon Age: The Veilguard marks the long-awaited return of the beloved fantasy RPG series, arriving nearly a decade after Dragon Age: Inquisition. As the fourth main entry, The Veilguard continues the saga’s tradition of rich storytelling and complex character relationships. The game preserves the essence of what makes Dragon Age special: deep connections with companions, world exploration, and choices that carry significant weight.

The narrative structure remains true to the series’ roots, with dialogue options that shape your character’s personality and relationships. These choices impact your standing with companions, potentially leading to a huge negative impact on their story.

The game presents morally complex scenarios where decisions often result in mixed reactions from your party, adding depth to character interactions and encouraging players to consider the consequences of their actions carefully.

The Veilguard also expands on the series’ lore, offering new insights into the world of Thedas and its complex political and magical systems. Players can expect to uncover hidden histories, engage with various factions, and navigate the intricate web of alliances and conflicts that define the Dragon Age universe.

Character

The Veilguard boasts an impressively robust character creation system that allows for large levels of customization. Players can choose from four distinct races: Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves, each with their unique cultural backgrounds and societies.

The range of customization options is extensive, covering everything from body types to intricate facial features. The Qunari, in particular, benefit from an array of creative horn designs, including options crafted from precious gemstones like opal and ruby, adding a touch of luxury to their appearance.

One of the most notable improvements is the implementation of advanced hair physics and dynamics. Character hairstyles move and react realistically to movement and environmental factors, enhancing the overall visual fidelity of the game.

And perhaps the most impressive aspect of character creation is how seamlessly custom characters integrate into cutscenes and dialogue.

Unlike many RPGs where custom characters can appear stiff or unnatural during important story moments, The Veilguard manages to maintain consistently natural facial expressions and appropriate emotional responses, regardless of the player’s design choices. It feels as though your unique character was always meant to be the protagonist, adding depth to the story and a personal flair to every interaction.

BioWare has clearly invested considerable effort into ensuring that player-created characters feel like an organic part of the game world. The facial animation system appears to adapt dynamically to various facial structures, ensuring that emotions are conveyed convincingly across a wide range of possible character designs. This extends beyond just facial expressions to include subtle body language and gestures that match the tone and content of conversations.

The overall visual quality of the game is impressive, with custom characters contributing to, rather than detracting from, the cinematic experience. This leap in character integration technology represents a significant advancement for the series and the RPG genre as a whole, setting a new standard for how player-created protagonists can enhance storytelling in video games.

Classes

The Veilguard presents three primary classes – Rogue, Warrior, and Mage – each offering distinct playstyles and tactical advantages. A significant change from previous games is the inability to control companion characters during combat, placing greater emphasis on the player’s class choice and specialization.

Each class features three specializations, but players are limited to choosing only one, adding weight to this decision. The level cap has been dramatically increased to 50, allowing for more comprehensive character progression compared to earlier titles. To balance this, the game introduces a free respec system, enabling players to experiment with different builds without penalty.

Rogues in Dragon Age: The Veilguard excel in agility and precision, offering a fast-paced and dynamic playstyle. They can seamlessly switch between melee combat with dual swords and ranged attacks using bows. The Rogue’s combos are notably fast and fluid, making dodging a safer and more effective tactic. In terms of defense, it is weaker than the Warrior but because of how quick the Rogue’s attacks are, you could generate resources fairly quickly.

Key features of the Rogue class include:

• A resource bar called “Momentum” that builds up through movement but depletes when hit.
• The ability to use a bow, allowing for precise ranged attacks, including targeting weak spots like the head for increased damage.
• The ability to steal and consume enemy potions, adding a strategic layer to their survivability.

Rogues have three specializations:

1. Duelist: Focuses on parrying and dodging past enemies, becoming stronger with each attack.
2. Saboteur: Deploys explosives and turrets for area control and sustained damage.
3. Veil Ranger: Specializes in long-range combat with magical arrows.

   

Warriors serve as the frontline tanks of the party, capable of withstanding significant damage while dealing powerful blows. They can switch between one-handed weapons with shields and two-handed weapons, offering versatility in combat situations. Out of all the classes, the warrior is the tankiest, and able to take quite a lot of damage while dealing a lot of damage at the same time.

Key features of the Warrior class include:

• A resource bar that regenerates by dealing or taking damage.
• The ability to throw their shield, which ricochets between enemies.
• The ability to switch between defensive (sword and shield) and offensive (two-handed) stances.

Warriors have three specializations:

1. Reaper: Focuses on life-stealing abilities, taking risks for greater power.
2. Slayer: Wields massive weapons to rush down and damage groups of enemies.
3. Champion: Acts as the team’s primary defender, excelling at damage mitigation.

   

Mages offer unparalleled magical prowess, alternating between staffs for long-range spells and orbs for medium-range attacks. Their gameplay revolves around mana management, with powerful spells consuming this resource.

Mages so far are probably the hardest class to play. Like the Warrior class you are able to swap between your weapons, you can either equip a staff, or an orb, along with a dagger. Staff have very long range attacks, while Orb have a medium range attack. Both weapons are rather slow, and projectiles take awhile to reach your enemy. They start as the most fragile and challenging class to play, but become one of the strongest classes after acquiring equipment and progressing through the skill tree.

Key features of the Mage class include:

• A Mana resource bar that regenerates slowly over time or through dealing damage.
• The ability to modify their spells for different effects.
• The versatility to cast both long-range and short-range spells.

Mages have three specializations:

1. Death Caller: Harnesses the essence of death, draining life from enemies.
2. Evoker: Manipulates void energies to control crowds of enemies.
3. Spellblade: Focuses on close-quarters combat, blending magic with melee attacks.

   

Additionally, all classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard benefit from a massive skill tree that offers a wide array of talents, passive abilities, and active skills to unlock. Alongside this is the ability to freely respec talents without penalties and at any time, which encourages experimentation with different builds.

With a level cap of 50, players can expect extensive character progression, and the choice of one out of three specializations per class allows for further definition of their playstyle. The combat system fosters creativity by allowing for unique combinations of abilities both within individual classes and between party members.

Due to the inability to directly control companions during combat, there’s a heightened emphasis on the player’s class choice and specialization, making each decision more impactful. Ultimately, the new action RPG combat style, in conjunction with these diverse class options, results in a dynamic and engaging gameplay experience that successfully balances fast-paced action with strategic depth.

Combat

The Veilguard represents a significant evolution in the series’ combat system, fully embracing action RPG mechanics while retaining strategic elements. The shift from turn-based or hybrid systems to a more dynamic, real-time combat experience marks a bold new direction for the franchise.

The overall feel of combat is remarkably smooth, with responsive controls and minimal delay between input and action. This fluidity contributes to a more immersive and engaging battle experience.

The new combat system introduces a range of active abilities that enhance player engagement. Dodging allows for quick evasion of enemy attacks, with a generous time frame that makes it accessible without compromising challenge. A well-timed parry can turn the tide of battle, while the addition of a guard mechanic provides defensive options.

Moreover, one of the most notable additions is the ability to jump, a first for the Dragon Age series. This vertical element adds a new dimension to combat, allowing players to perform aerial attacks and maneuvers. The inclusion of jump attacks, both light and heavy, creates exciting combinations and tactical possibilities.

Despite the faster pace, the game still allows for tactical play. Players can pause the action to issue commands, allowing for strategic positioning and ability use. The combat system also incorporates a variety of status effects and debuffs that can be exploited for maximum damage.

For instance, staggering an enemy opens them up to a powerful “takedown” move, encouraging players to look for these opportunities during fights.

Resource management remains a crucial aspect of combat. However, in terms of using items during battle, other than potions, there do not seem to be any options for otheritems. The overall result is a combat system that feels more immediate and visceral than in previous Dragon Age games, while still retaining the strategic depth that fans of the series expect.

Conclusion

Dragon Age: The Veilguard stands as a bold evolution of the beloved franchise, seamlessly blending familiar elements with innovative gameplay mechanics. The game’s transition to a more dynamic, action-oriented combat system marks a significant departure from its predecessors, yet it retains the strategic depth and character-driven narrative that fans have come to expect.

Furthermore, the revamped class system, featuring Rogues, Warriors, and Mages, each with three distinct specializations, offers players unprecedented flexibility in shaping their character’s abilities and playstyle. This depth of customization extends beyond skill trees to encompass equipment, enchantments, and even companion development, allowing for highly personalized party compositions and combat strategies.

Visually, The Veilguard pushes boundaries with its impressively detailed character creation system and advanced hair physics, ensuring that custom characters seamlessly integrate into the game’s rich, cinematic storytelling. The introduction of new areas like Tervinter, alongside the return of familiar faces, strikes a balance between nostalgia and fresh exploration.

While it’s too early to make definitive judgments, Dragon Age: The Veilguard shows immense promise in its attempt to modernize the series without sacrificing its core identity. It appears poised to offer both longtime fans and newcomers a rich, immersive RPG experience that could set a new standard for the genre in the current console generation. As players prepare to return to the world of Thedas, they can anticipate a game that honors its roots while boldly charting a new course for the future of the Dragon Age series.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Publisher: EA

Developer: BioWare

Release Date: 2024-10-31

Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox Series X|S

Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in conflict and secret magics. Now, a pair of corrupt ancient gods have broken free from centuries of darkness and are hellbent on destroying the world.

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