Summary
- Legacy characters will return in The Veilguard, including Lace Harding, Varric, Morrigan, and Maevaris.
- Dragon Age fans can look forward to improved character customization with impressive hair physics and new options.
- New settings in Tevinter, pansexual romances, and enhanced combat with new specializations are just a few aspects that fans should get excited about.
The time has finally come: The next Dragon Age entry has been announced and is now coming up to its release day, ten years after the last game. It's been a long-time coming for fans, and their patience has been awarded with several trailers showcasing just some of these things the game has on offer, though BioWare is keeping several things under wraps for fans to find out for themselves.
Features from Dragon Age: Origins That Should Return In The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguard is boasting some impressive potential, but there are a few features from DA: Origins that would help push it over the top.
With the release date fast approaching and many likely already having their pre-order secured, it is time to hop on the hype train and celebrate the exciting tidbits that are sure to make Dragon Age: The Veilguard a stand-out entry in BioWare's vast catalog of creations.
6 The Return Of Legacy Characters
Iconic Series Favorites Are Returning To Reprise Their Roles
One of the first nuggets of news was the announcement of the new companions players would be fighting alongside, and though the fans received these characters well (with some already picking out their favorites), there were hopes of legacy characters returning, and BioWare did not disappoint.
Dragon Age Characters Who Could Be In Veilguard
There's no telling who could show up in the next Dragon Age game. What old characters could appear in Veilguard?
Thus far, there is confirmation of Lace Harding, Varric Tethras, Morrigan, and Maevaris Tilani returning in Veilguard. The former three are from previous games, Inquistion, 2 and Origins respectively, and Maevaris is a celebrated character from spin-off works such as Those Who Speak. It is unknown if other fan-favorite characters will return, but it is likely that there will be mentions of the previous heroes and their chosen beaus at the very least. Time will only tell if BioWare has sneaked more cameos in behind gamers' backs.
5 Improved Character Customization
The New Hair Reveal Has Characters Looking Salon-Fresh
Some lucky journalists got their hands on exclusive Dragon Age: The Veilguard demos, and what was shown were some truly impressive hair physics and a breathtakingly beautiful Rook. Dragon Age has a rather sordid past with character customization, specifically with the hair options (or rather, the lack thereof). Many can forgive Origins due to the age of the game, as customization back then was a unicorn. Dragon Age 2 showed some improvements, but most chose the default Hawke, as they looked better than what anyone could come up with outside of mods. Inquisition remains a sore spot for many fans still.
Fans' prayers have finally been answered, however, and things are finally looking up for character customization enthusiasts. Though there haven't been any in-depth reveals, fans have seen the impressive hair physics showcasing some decent hairstyles finally. Now, players can finally make a salon-fresh character in a Dragon Age game, whose perfect hair could likely only be put down to magic use. Whatever the reason, the mere possibility of decent customization options is incredibly exciting.
4 Brand-New Locations
Players Will Visit A Previously Unexplored Setting
Thus far, players have had quite a tour of Thedas, from Fereldan to Kirkwall and then to numerous different places in Inquisition, such as The Hinterlands, which fans will likely remember the most. There were wonders about where the new game would take place, with BioWare confirming the main location to be Tevinter when the game was still titled Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Though the name of the game has changed, the location has not, and the Imperium is still the main location.
There is plenty of rich lore surrounding this location, which will certainly have some interesting implications for Rook and co, as well as the plot at large. Though Tevinter has featured in other Dragon Age works, this will still be the first chance players have of walking through this region themselves, which will be a very exciting prospect for long-time fans of the franchise.
3 No Gender-Locked Romances
Rook Is Free To Woo Whoever They Please
Origins kicked the series off with a mere four romances, and two of those four were locked to the opposite gender, stealing many players' dream paramour. 2 evened the playing field, featuring only one character who was gender-locked, which fans highlighted as one of the game's strengths. Inquisition took a step back, and though it had more romance options overall, not everyone was content with the choices available to them.
RPGs With The Best Romances, Ranked
These RPGs had romantic moments so powerful they could pull at the heartstrings of the most cold-hearted gamers.
BioWare seems to have finally learned their lesson, as every single one of the possible romance choices are pansexual, assuaging the fears players had that the one they wanted was off the table. Though there are arguments to be made about the lack of representation within an all-pansexual cast, there is nothing stopping companions who are not romanced by the Rook to find love with one another or for there to be more diverse sexualities among the NPCs. But either way, this was still the best move to be made, as now, everyone can rest assured the companion of their dreams is 100% romanceable.
2 Exciting Gameplay
Players Have Been Promised More Engaging Action
Dragon Age has seen several gameplay shifts throughout the series. Origins took a more turn-based approach, 2 embraced hack-and-slash elements, and Inquisition tried to find a balance between the two, but most players would have defaulted to button-mashing. BioWare has overhauled the combat system for their next outing, reducing the party size for a more involved experience and doing away with the tactical camera to force players to think quickly and remain on their toes.
Classes are returning in the form of warrior, mage, and rogue, and players can spec into a subclass with fairly in-depth skill trees, so now, one type of character feels the same to play. There has also been the new addition of being able to boot an enemy off a ledge Baldur's Gate 3-style, which could result in some hilarious premature boss executions. Combat is rarely ever the highlight of a Dragon Age game, but from everything revealed so far, Veilguard looks like it might just be changing that.
1 New Specializations
Veilguard Introduces New Sublasses To The Series
The Dragon Age series always remains faithful to three classes: Warrior, Mage and Rogue, each with its own playstyle and specializations to choose from, encouraging gamers to consider a second playthrough so that they can experience combat from a different point of view. These traditional classes continue with Veilguard, but brand-new specializations have been introduced specific for the upcoming title, with some even involving the eponymous veil.
The confirmed specializations for each class are as follows:
- Mage - Death Caller, Spell Blade, Evoker
- Rogue - Duelist, Saboteur, Veil Ranger, Veil Jumpers
- Warrior - Champion, Grey Warden, Reaper, Slayer
With so many new specs and the return of legendary factions such as Grey Wardens, there is something here for everyone. The collection of exciting abilities are also likely to make the combat of Veilguard more fun than previous Dragon Age games.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Released
- October 31, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- RPG
