As part of the character creation process for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players will need to select both a class for their player-controlled top and a faction. Once you’ve customized much of your top’s body, including things like the type and material of the Qunari’s horns, for example, with the hundreds of options available in Veilguard, it’ll be time to choose said class.
There are three classes to choose from: Rogue, Mage, and Warrior. As the names suggest, each has a unique combat system and plays differently as a result. While you’ll perform things like light and heavy attacks using the same buttons, what those attacks do varies depending on your class. For example, a sword and shield warrior can shoot from the hips or aim his shield to throw it like Captain America, while a mage can use the same button to throw out magical ranged attacks – read more about Veilguard combat at Game Informer outstanding feature here. Plus, as you define these classes and unlock their individual specializations, the differences will become even more stark.
- The crook has access to three specializations. The Duelist is the fastest of the three, with two blades for quick strikes; the saboteur uses tricks and traps; and the Veil Ranger is purely ranged, taking out enemies from afar with a bow.
- The magician can use necromancy with the Death Caller specialization; Evokers wield fire, ice, and lightning; and the Spellblade uses magic-inspired melee attacks.
- The warrior can become a reaper who uses nightblades to steal life and risk death to gain unnatural abilities; an assassin, a simple but powerful expert with two-handed weapons; or the Champion, a tactical defense fighter.
While these specializations don’t matter upfront—you rank into them through the skill trees you progress through the game—it’s nice to see the potential of each class before choosing it.
For the penultimate step of the character creator, at least during the demo BioWare showed me, players choose a faction. The The Gray Wardens a return joined by other returning favorites and new additions such as Antivan crowson Mourn Watchon Shadow Dragonspirate themed Masters of Fatewhich I chose in my demo for the current one Game Informer cover story and Jumpers with a veil.
Each faction has a unique casual outfit that is worn in specific scenes when the character is not wearing armor, and three unique characteristics. Lords of Fate, for example, gain extra reputation with that particular faction, have increased damage against mercs, and take down enemies with slightly less effort. Veilguard game director Corinne Busche says that this faction choice, which ties into your character’s backstory, determines who your top was before, how they met Varric, why they travel with Varric instead of their faction, and more.
“The message of The Veilguard is that you don’t save the world alone—you need your companions, but you also need these factions, these other groups in the world,” creative director John Eppler tells me. “You help them, now they help you.”
He says that BioWare wanted to avoid the trope of having to collect 200 random resources or objects before helping you save the world. Instead, the team aimed to create factions that want to help you, but have realistic challenges and problems in front of them, so that it narratively makes sense why you’re helping them in return for their help when the time comes.
“From a gameplay perspective, each of our classes has a specialization and each of them is tied to a faction,” continues Eppler. “But other than that, every faction has [companion] as well as [people we’re calling agents, ancillarily] who exist as faces of these factions. We didn’t want to just say, “Here’s the Gray Wardens, go deal with them.” We wanted characters within that faction who were likeable, who you could see and become the face of the faction, so even if , in which the faction as a whole may be out with you, those characters are still with you; they still have your back.”
If you find you’re not happy with your lineage or class, you can change them using the Mirror of Transformation located in Veilguard’s main hub, The Lighthouse. You can also change the appearance of your top there.
For more information on the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below.
