If you’re at all familiar with the Dragon Age series, you probably already know that BioWare has experimented quite a bit with the gameplay. From the real-time strategy RPG approach of Dragon Age: Origins to the largely single-city action experience of Dragon Age II to the strategy-action mix of Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare hasn’t quite nailed the franchise’s combat. defined. However, there is a through line visible from Origins to Inquisition: BioWare seemingly wants this franchise to be action-packed, but has tried to get there without abandoning its long-time fans.
With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare has completed the transition from strategy to real-time action, but thanks to an optional tactical pause-and-play battle wheel that harkens back to the series’ roots, I feel like it’s going to be a great (battle ) has found ) ground for Dragon Age battles. Of course, it’s hard to say how Veilguard’s action will hold up in what’s sure to be a dozens-hour RPG, but if what I’ve seen so far is any indication, the studio is onto something.
A change in strategy
“I think the first thing you have to keep in mind is the battle […] there’s been an evolution in the franchise,” said game director Corinne Busche in BioWare’s Edmonton office. “Each entry reimagines what combat is like and I would say our goal was to make sure we had a system which gave players the feeling that they could actually step into the world of Thedas. They are not players who watch from a distance; they are in this world. Because it’s an authentic world brought to life, the combat system has to support that, so you’re in control of every single action, every block, every dodge and every swing of your sword.”
Busche says players complete each swing in real time, paying particular attention to cycle and cancel animations. Speaking of canceling, I’m taking a quick dash at Busche’s “bookmark” combos. This mechanic allows players to pause the status of a combo with a flight to safety and then continue the combo where they left off. In addition to the dashboard, there’s a parry for some classes, the ability to charge moves, and a revamped healing system that allows players to quickly use potions by pressing right on the d-pad.
Busche says that in a sense, every character will play the same regardless of class, in that you’ll perform light and heavy attacks with the same buttons, use skills with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way. At one point during my demo we use a sword-and-shield Warrior Qunari who fires with his hip and aims his shield to throw it like Captain America, while wreaking havoc with a sword. By pressing the same buttons as a mage, ranged magical attacks can be performed in place of a shield.
Abilities such as a warrior’s Spartan-like kick or a mage’s firewall that deals persistent damage add to the player’s repertoire of combat options. Warriors can deflect incoming attacks and stagger enemies in the process. Rogues have a larger parry window, and mages cannot parry at all, instead throwing up a shield that blocks all incoming damage, as long as they have the mana to support the shield.
“That’s just the baseline that allows us to achieve that level of immersion of, ‘I’m actually in this world; I’m part of it,'” Busche says. “But again, the skills, the strategy, linking my companions’ skills to perform devastating combos, that’s really where the depth and complexity comes into play.”
Skills and the skill tree
Skill Tree Warrior Rook
This extends to companions, who, at their option, bring three skills (out of five total) into battle, performed using quick-dial buttons or the pause-and-play battle wheel. Each time you increase a companion’s relationship level, you unlock a skill point that you can spend specifically on that companion. This is how you unlock new combat skills.
While the companion skill trees pale in comparison to Rook’s expansive tree, which offers passive skills, combat skills and more, as well as paths to three unique class specializations, there’s still some customization here.
You can find the skill tree for Rook and companions in the start or pause menu of Veilguard. This menu contains pages for Veilguard’s map, journal, character sheets, and a library of lore information. Here you can compare gear and equip new gear for Rook and companions, build weapon loadouts, and customize your skills and builds via the aforementioned skill tree, which seems relatively easy to understand.
You won’t find any details here, “just real numbers,” says Busche. In other words, a new unlocked trait can increase damage against armor by 25%, but that’s as deep as the numbers can get. Passive skills unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit chances, while skills add attacks like Firewall and Spartan Kicks to your arsenal. As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100% customized for each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a specialization (which doesn’t require you to reach the max level of 50). Each class has three specializations, each with a unique ultimate ability. Busche says BioWare’s philosophy with the skill tree is “about changing the way you play, not the statistical details.”
Companions in battle
If you completely ignore your companions during battle, they will attack targets, use skills, and defeat enemies, all on their own. “[Companions] They are their own people,” says Busche. ‘They have their own behavior, they have their own autonomy on the battlefield, they choose their own goals. As their plans progress, they learn how to use their skills more competently, and it really feels like you’re fighting into battle alongside these realized characters.
Speaking about partner synergy, Busche adds: “I see all the abilities that Harding has, and I see all the things Bellara is capable of. And sometimes I use vulnerabilities synergistically. Maybe I pause or slow down time with Bellara so I can unleash devastating attacks with Harding, where I take down the enemy, and then, as Rook, I rush in and take advantage of the setup they’ve created for me. It’s a game about creating this organic sense of teamwork.
Busche says there are more explicit synergies, with deliberate combos where specific companions can play against each other, and you can queue up their abilities to do just that. That’s what the pause-and-play battle wheel is for in Veilguard.
This screen, which pauses the camera and brings up a flashy battle wheel that highlights the skills of you and your companions, allows you to choose, queue and strategize skills with synergies and combos that the game recognizes, while focusing on specific targets enemies. Select what you want and release the wheel to see how your selections are made.
Putting everything together
During a mission in Arlathan Forest after Veilguard’s prologue, Busche makes use of Veilguard’s dual-loadout mechanic. As Rook, you can create two sets of armor so you can quickly switch between them during battle. As mage Rook, she uses magical attacks to add three stacks of arcane buildup to create an Arcane Bomb on a Sentinel, a mechanical armor possessed by a demon. Hitting the Sentinel’s Arcane Bomb with a heavy attack will deal devastating damage to the enemy. Once the Sentinel has an Arcane Bomb, Busche starts doing a heavy attack on her magic staff, then switches to magic daggers in Rook’s second gear, accessed with a quick tap on the d-pad to unleash some quick, light attacks feed. then back to the staff to complete the attack. She then unleashes the heavy attack, and the Arcane Bomb explodes in a liquid swirl of green magic.
“I have seen [Veilguard’s combat] refined over time [and] I love it,” says Gary McKay, CEO of BioWare. “I love the balance between fluid real-time action, but also the ability to have depth in the RPG, not just in terms of pausing and playing, but also in terms of depth in terms of how you bring your companions to the battlefield. What are you going to do with their skill points? What is the equipment you will use? It’s all about bringing Rook to the center of the battlefield, and I love that.”
Former Dragon Age executive producer and Veilguard consultant Mark Darrah believes Veilguard is the first game where combat is actually fun. “What I see in Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” he says. “It’s a shame that previous Dragon Age games reached the level of ‘the combat wasn’t that bad.’ In this game the combat is actually fun, but it does maintain the thread that was always there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and that character that feeds into the combat experience of the other people in your party. .”
Watching Busche play Veilguard for several hours gives me the feeling that BioWare has designed a combat system that relies heavily on players getting what they want out of it. If you want to mash buttons and use skills freely as their cooldowns expire, you can probably progress just fine (albeit on the game’s easier difficulties). But if you want to strategize your combos, take advantage of elemental vulnerabilities, and min-max companions and Rook gear, you can do that too, and I think you’ll find Veilguard rewards that with a more enriching experience.
For more information about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below.