BioWare put out a 10-minute showcase video breaking down Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s action-based combat. Most of what we’ve seen of the RPG thus far has been in the early game, so we still didn’t have a strong grasp of what high-level encounters look like. There have been a lot of questions surrounding the sequel, as we’d been hearing the studio talk a fair bit about how some long-held mechanics for the series, such as controlling your party members and having access to all your abilities, wouldn’t be returning in The Veilguard.
So now’s the time to see what those things were replaced with in this more action-focused RPG. If you don’t have time to watch the full breakdown, here are some of the big takeaways. A lot of The Veilguard’s systems seem to draw heavily from Mass Effect, and that includes a spin on Andromeda’s ability loadouts.
Since you can’t access all your abilities on a wheel like you used to, The Veilguard has you decide on what attacks you’ll have at your disposal on a given quest and assign them. The showcase had a warrior version of protagonist Rook kitted out with a “ This Is Sparta” -style kick, a grappling spear used to draw enemies in close, and a shield-like aura to protect her from damage. They definitely seem to be going for a tanky, brawler build, and picking the abilities best for whatever approach you’re going for will be key to defining your playstyle.
Also in the loadout is an Ultimate ability called Warden’s Fire, wh.