During the final chapters of Dragon Age: The Veil GuardRook and his allies will finally reach the furious elven goddess Ghilan’nain and prepare to end her reign of terror over Thedas once and for all. Before they can do so, however, they will have to destroy the entire array of Elgar’nan blood-magical wards that shield the elven goddess from their advance. Rook can choose who will dismantle the protections of two of his friends, companions, and romance options in The Veil Guard: the elf mage Bellara or the human mage Neve.
[Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.]
This is the second important decision players make during the end-game mission”Island of the Gods“, after choosing whether Harding or Davrin should lead the distraction party. The results of this choice are not as devastating, but they are still important to the player’s strategy in the final hours of the game and certainly should not be overlooked. Here’s what to choose Neve or Bellara to dismantle the effects of magical protections at this crucial moment in history.
What will happen if you let Bellara dismantle the magical wards?
Pros and cons of choosing Bellara
Whom the player chooses to dismantle the magical protections during “Island of the Gods“will be captured during the effortthus making it unavailable for the rest of the game. If it is Bellara, then she will attempt to disable the wards using her own knowledge of ancient elven magic. She will succeed, clearing the way for the rest of the party to continue their quest, but as a result she will be caught in Elgar’nan’s trap.
Choosing Neve or Bellara also causes a slight decrease in approval on any companion that Rook did not select. They are interpreting Rook’s choice against them as an innate distrust of his magical abilities; although this may not necessarily be true, they still feel the pain. This can harm the player’s chances of dating the Dragon Age character they don’t choose, though perhaps not as much as allowing them to be kidnapped.
Bellara will be immediately unavailable as a party member for most of what remains of the game. Players will not be able to add her to their party or speak to her between missions. The impact of this depends on the player’s particular style, as well as how they developed Bellara’s abilities throughout the campaign. Bellara is an excellent support character and could easily have become the group’s favorite healer in this late stage of the game. Harding and Lucanis are also decent healers, especially if Lucanis is not hardened (i.e. if the player chose to save Treviso), so Bellara is not irreplaceable.
Bellara has a powerful healing ability called Contingency that causes her to automatically cast a healing spell whenever she or a party member drops below 30% health. This spell does not inflict an ability cooldown.
This also means that if the player has not yet completed Bellara’s story in her final personal quest, “The Forest of Spirits”, they may no longer have the opportunity. This includes romantic endeavors: If Bellara is kidnapped, the player will not be able to see her final romance scene after “Island of the Gods.”
Of course, if the player has already completed Bellara’s personal quest satisfactorily but doesn’t plan on romancing her, then there’s no harm in sending her to dismantle the ward. Bellara will end up surviving and Rook will rescue her. as part of a later story mission. From an RPG perspective, this can be a great motivator for a Tower that truly cares about its companions; a good-hearted Rook will certainly want to save Bellara, creating an emotionally tense climax.
What happens if you let Neve dismantle the magical wards?
Pros and cons of choosing Neve
In a similar way, letting Neve dismantle the wards”Island of the Gods“will also result in your capture by Elgar’nan. She will survive and Rook can rescue her later, but she will no longer be a playable character for the rest of the game. This means romancing Neve and finishing her personal quest (via “The Case of the Returned Cultist“) will no longer be available. Bellara will slightly disapprove of Rook’s implicit distrust of her wards-dismantling abilities, but the affinity is salvageable.
Like Bellara, Neve can be a healer or a damage dealer. However, Bellara’s support skills are better overall, so It’s often better to keep Snow as DPS. Neve specializes in ice elemental damage, which is hard to find in most other companions. The game isn’t unbeatable without her, but if the player has come to trust Neve, they may want to think twice about sending her away.
Another important consideration is the choice of which companions will participate “The Last Gambit.” During this crucial mission, Rook will need to choose which companions will support which faction, and he will need a companion with a wealth of magical knowledge to help the Veil Jumpers. Neve is one of the best choices for this missionbut having her unavailable could force players to send Bellara.
You should let Bellara dismantle the magical wards
Unless you’re dating her
Ultimately, Players had better send Bellara to dismantle the magical protections during “Island of the Gods.” This way, players can still have Neve available to “The Last Gambit“, or keep her in the group if they so desire. The decrease in affinity is negligible and is unlikely to destroy the player’s chances of romancing Neve this late in the game.
Bellara can be easily swapped for another healeralthough the final battles may be a little more difficult as a result (Harding, an unhardened Lucanis, or even Neve are excellent candidates). She is not needed for “The Last Gambit“, and it plays no role in any other crucial choices, so the player can certainly live without it. That said, If the player chose to romance Bellara, they will certainly want to send Neve to dismantle the magical wards.. Remember, this is the only way to see the final scene of Bellara’s novel.
While Bellara is the better choice in most cases, both options are viable. Ultimately, players must choose the companion they are least attached to during this crucial period. Dragon Age: The Veil Guard mission, keeping in mind that they won’t be able to see them again until just before they finish the game.