Dragon Age: The Veilguard: We now know how the combat system works

Dragon Age: The Veilguard: We now know how the combat system works


Of course, there will be a lot of fighting in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, after all, Thedas is once again in great danger!

Dragon Age fans have been asking themselves this question for ten years: What will the combat system of the next part look like? There are several camps with completely different wishes: the action fans, the tactics fans, the “I want something completely new” faction.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard will inevitably offend some fans of the series. Now we at least know who they are. Our editor-in-chief Dimi has had an exclusive preview of how the fists fly in the new role-playing game.

He saw an hour of live gameplay at Summer Game Fest (and of course there's the extra 20 minutes that Bioware just revealed), and we'll explain exactly how the battles work in this article. Feel free to share your thoughts in the poll attached below.

A little tip: If you've played Mass Effect, you'll probably find your way around pretty quickly.

A full 20 minutes of real gameplay from Dragon Age: The Veilguard - The new combat system in action
A full 20 minutes of real gameplay from Dragon Age: The Veilguard - The new combat system in action


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A full 20 minutes of real gameplay from Dragon Age: The Veilguard – The new combat system in action

Action with tactical elements

Let's rip off the Dragon Plaster right away: There is no return to the tactical combat system of Origins. Instead, The Veilguard resembles the more action-packed Inquisition, but with a few important changes.

This means that we only control our own character directly in battle. We attack by pressing a button, parry enemy attacks at the right time and hurl our special abilities such as spells or special weapon attacks across the battlefield. These can be accessed via the diamond symbol, similar to Inquisition.

We control our two companions (yes, there are now only two instead of three as before) indirectly by pausing the fight and giving them orders. For example, “Use this ability” or “Keep your distance for now.” So basically exactly like in the Mass Effect trilogy, only with magic and swords instead of firearms. However, there will probably be many special combo possibilities:



Tactical Break: Skills








The ogres have changed quite a bit. It's better to shred them directly with arrows.



Tactical Break: Combos








Here we are shown combo opportunities where we can combine the skills of our companions.

These tactical breaks are said to be “vital,” especially on higher difficulty levels, as Veilguard boss Corinne Busche told us at the Summer Game Fest. Perhaps a consolation for all those who had hoped until the very end for a return to Origin's real-time tactics.

At the demo date The fights also reminded us of Final Fantasy 7 Remakein which there is a very similar tactical break with companion commands. Whether the skills and combo options of Vanguard can keep up remains to be seen. However, our editor-in-chief Dimi had a lot of praise and optimism for The Veilguard after the exclusive presentation. You can read his detailed opinion in the preview:

Please vote in our poll to see what you think of the first look at The Veilguard's combat system. Do you think you will enjoy the battles or were you hoping for something completely different? And what features would you like to see – perhaps the return of healing spells or blood magic?