If you’re at all familiar with the Dragon Age series, you probably already know that BioWare has experimented a lot with its gameplay. From the real-time strategy RPG approach of Dragon Age: Origins to the mostly single-city action experience of Dragon Age II to the mix of strategy and action of Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare hasn’t completely redefined the series’ combat. However, there’s an obvious thread from Origins to Inquisition: BioWare seemingly wants the series to be action-packed, but it’s tried to push for it without abandoning its longtime fans.
With Dragon Age: The Veilguard, BioWare has completed its transition from strategy to real-time action, but with an optional pause-and-play tactical combat round that harkens back to the early days of the series, I feel like they’ve found a great (battle) )land for Dragon Age combat . Of course, it’s hard to say how Veilguard’s action will stack up against what’s sure to be a tens-of-hours long RPG, but if what I’ve seen so far is any indication, the studio is on to something.
A shift in strategy
“I think the first thing to keep in mind is the fight […] This franchise has evolved,” says Corinne Busche, game director at BioWare’s Edmonton office. “Every single entry reimagines what combat is like, and I’d say our goal was to make sure we had a system that allowed players to feel like themselves. they were actually able to enter the world of Thedas. They are not players watching from afar – they are inside this world. Because it’s this authentic world that’s been brought to life, the combat system has to support that, so you’re in control of every single action, every block, every dodge, every swing of your sword.”
Busche says players will complete each swing in real time, with special attention paid to overshooting and jamming animations. On the topic of cancellations, I’m watching Busch “bookmark” combos with a quick dash. With this mechanic, players can pause a combo by dashing to safety and continue the combo where they left off. Along with the dash, there’s knockback for some classes, the ability to charge moves, and a revamped healing system that allows players to quickly use potions by pressing the right button on the d-pad.
Busche says that every character will play the same way, regardless of class, in that you’ll perform light and heavy attacks with the same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and work the combo wheel the same way. At one point during my demo, we use the sword-and-shield Warrior Qunari, who fires sideways and aims his shield to throw it away like Captain America, while dealing heavy damage with his sword. By pressing the same buttons as a mage, he can summon ranged magical attacks instead of a shield.
Abilities like a warrior’s spartan kick or a mage’s firewall that deals continuous damage expand the player’s repertoire of combat options. Warriors can parry incoming attacks while stunning enemies. Rogues have a larger parry window and mages can’t parry at all, but instead cast a shield that blocks all incoming damage if they have the mana to maintain the shield.
“That’s just the baseline that allows us to get that level of immersion where, ‘I’m actually in this world; I’m a part of it,'” says Busche. “But again, the abilities, the strategy, linking the abilities of my companions together to perform devastating combos, that’s really where the depth and complexity comes into play.
Abilities And Skill Tree
Tower Warrior Skill Tree
This also applies to companions, who will bring three abilities (out of their five total) into battle of your choice, done either with hotkeys or the pause and replay battle wheel. Each time you level up a companion’s relationship, you’ll unlock a skill point that you can spend on that companion specifically – unlocking new combat abilities this way.
While companion skill trees pale in comparison to Rook’s extensive tree, which includes passive abilities, combat abilities, and more, as well as paths to three unique class specializations, there’s still some customization.
The turret and companion skill tree can be found in the Veilguard start or pause menu. This menu includes pages for the Veilguard map, journal, character sheets, as well as a lore library. Here you can cross-match gear and equip new gear for Rook and companions, build weapons and customize your abilities and builds through the aforementioned skill tree, which looks relatively easy to understand.
You won’t find details here, “just real numbers,” says Busche. In other words, the new unlocked trait can increase damage by 25% against armor, but that’s as deep as the numbers go. Passives unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical strike opportunities, while abilities add moves like firewall and spartan kicks to your arsenal. As you spec this skill tree, which is 100% custom for each class, you’ll work your way closer to unlocking a specialization (which doesn’t require maxing out at 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 statistical minutiae.”
Companions in battle
If you completely ignore companions in combat, they will attack targets, use abilities, and defeat enemies on their own. “[Companions] they’re their own people,” says Busche. “They have their own behavior, they have their own autonomy on the battlefield, they choose their own targets. As their plots progress, they learn how to use their abilities more competently, and it really feels like you’re fighting alongside these realized characters in battle.”
Speaking of companion synergy, Busche adds, “I see all the abilities Harding has and I see everything Bellara is capable of. And sometimes I use vulnerabilities synergistically. Maybe with Bellara I pause or slow down time so I can unleash devastating attacks with Harding, knock down enemy and then I, as Rook, rush in and capitalize on this setup they’ve created for me, it’s a game about creating an organic sense of teamwork.
Busche says there are more explicit synergies, with intentional combos where specific companions can play off each other, and you can line up their abilities to do that. This is what the pause and replay battle wheel is for in Veilguard.
On this screen, which pauses the camera and pulls up a glittering battle wheel that highlights the skills of you and your companions, you can choose abilities, queue them up, and strategize using synergies and combos that the game recognizes, all while targeting specific enemies. Select what you want and release the wheel to watch your selections unfold.
Putting it all together
During the Arlathan Forest mission after the Veilguard prologue, Busche utilizes the Veilguard’s double burden mechanic. As a Rook, you can create two weapon arsenals for quick switching mid-combat. As a mage, Rook uses magical attacks to add three stacks of Arcane Accumulations to create an arcane bomb on the Sentinel, a mechanical set of demon-possessed armor. If you hit the Sentinel’s Arcane Bomb with a heavy attack, the enemy will take devastating damage. Once the Sentinel has the Arcane Bomb on, Busche starts attacking with her magic staff, then switches to the magic daggers in Rook’s second loadout, accessed by quickly tapping down on the d-pad to unleash some quick light attacks. then back to the staff to finish the attack. He then launches a heavy attack and the Arcane Bomb explodes in a liquid vortex of green magic.
“I saw [Veilguard’s combat] refined over time [and] I love it,” BioWare General Manager Gary McKay tells me. “I love that balance of fluid real-time action, but also the ability to have depth in an RPG, not only in terms of pause and replay, but also depth in terms of how you bring your companions on the battlefield. What do you do with their skill points? What load will you use? It’s all about bringing Rook to the center of the battlefield and I like that.’
Former Dragon Age executive producer and Veilguard consultant Mark Darrah believes that Veilguard is the first game where combat is legitimately fun. “What I see in Veilguard is a game that will finally bridge the gap,” he says. “It’s not to say that the previous Dragon Age games fell into the ‘combat wasn’t that bad’ realm. The combat is actually fun in this game, but it maintains the thread that has always been there. You focus on Rook, your character, but you still have control and character entering the combat experience from other people in your party. .”
After watching Busch play Veilguard for several hours, I get the feeling that BioWare has designed a combat system that relies heavily on players mining what they want out of it. If you want to button mash and freely use abilities when their cooldown expires, you can probably do just fine (albeit on the game’s easier difficulties). But if you want to strategize your combos, take advantage of elemental vulnerabilities and minimax minions and turrets, you can do that too, and I think you’ll find Veilguard rewards more rewarding with experience.
For more information on the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below.