Dragon Age: The Veilguard drops a 10-minute combat deep dive video, and it might just have sold me on giving BioWare's latest RPG a whirl

GamesRPGDragon AgeDragon Age: The VeilguardDragon Age: The Veilguard drops a 10-minute combat deep dive video, and it might just have sold me on giving BioWare’s latest RPG a whirlWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: EA)

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Now though, EA and BioWare have provided a proper look at how the game plays, or at least a part of it, via a 10-minute combat deep-dive that really gets between the knuckles of its fantasy fisticuffs. And although I still have some reservations, it did convince me that I’d like to at least try getting hands on with BioWare’s latest RPG.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | High-Level Combat Parts 1-4 - YouTubeWatch On

Dragon Age: The Veilguard | High-Level Combat Parts 1-4 - YouTube

The deep-dive starts with a quick tour through The Veilguard’s character-building elements, which look to be pretty involved. While the video focuses on a warrior build to showcase the combat, an accompanyingblog postnotes that players can also experience the game as a Mage or a Rogue. Moreover, each of these classes has three specialisations, some of which sound fairly out there. The warrior, for example, can specialise as a reaper, which lets you “steal life and risk death to gain incredible unnatural abilities.” Rogues, meanwhile, can specialise as a saboteur, letting them “deploy explosives and turrets that devastate enemies, then pick them off with arrows.”

Each specialisation can be further refined through its respective skill tree, with you able to select three special abilities and one Ultimate ability to take into battle with you. Naturally, your choice of weapon and equipment also affects how your Rook plays, with swords, armour, and other items adding various effects to your character.

The video then proceeds to combat basics, which quickly shows The Veilguard to be the most hack ‘n’ slashy game in the series so far, moreso even than Dragon Age 2. An inevitable dodge-roll suggests at least a sprinkling of Souls DNA to the combat, while you also get a hefty-looking kick ability to boot enemies off ledges. That said, The Veilguard hasn’t completely forgotten the series' tactical heritage. You can pause the action at any time during combat, letting you select abilities and issue orders to the two companions you bring with you.

The third part of the video focuses on crowd control, showing Rook dashing between several groups of Darkspawn in a large open area, using abilities like a shield bash and a big AoE attack called ‘Titan Stomp’ to batter whole clusters of foes around the map. This was the point where I began to think “Oh, this looks pretty tasty actually”. The way Rook flits between fights looks incredibly fluid and stylish, although the addition of exploding barrels to the combat area is a bit naff.

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You can watch the full video above. I’m still not convinced that Dragon Age: The Veilguard will bring back the BioWare good times, but I am interested in giving some Darkspawn a battering now, whereas I wasn’t before. Hopefully the upcoming character deep dives ofCompanions weekwill sell me on the other side of The Veilguard too.

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is my third-favorite game of the year, and I don’t care who knows

Morrigan, the Witch of the Wilds in the Dragon Age serries, shown wielding magic in front of a Darkspawn.

After years of holding out hope, 2024 was the year I finally gave up on BioWare

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