There are seven companions in Dragon Age: The Veil Guard and each of them offers your party different strengths and weaknesses, especially in battle. Unlike the companions in Baldur’s Gate 3, None of the companions have health, they all have simplified equipment, and they are almost completely autonomous in battle, but your party composition will still be important. You only get two companions at a time, so choosing which two you take can be tricky.
Generally speaking, you’ll want to focus on class first when choosing your two companions. There are three classes in the game, and Maintaining a balance between these three is essential to dealing the best damage. Having one of each class helps ensure you’ll be able to maintain detonations, which are an essential part of Guard of the VeilIt’s combat.
The best complementary party combos for warriors
Early damage dealers should bring Bellara and Lucanis
As a warrior, you are your team’s tank and frontline, which means it’s essential to have a mage to heal you and a rogue to work from sneakier angles. Unlike many RPGs, the classes are quite balanced, so it’s less viable to make a party with two of the same class. Lucanis is the only rogue out of all his companions, so he’s an easy choice, but choosing your wizard is a little more complicated.
Between three fellow magic users, you have a few mage options. Bellara is an exciting combination of wizard and rogue; she casts spells and heals like a wizard, but uses a bow like a rogue. She is the only one of her companions with access to electricity, and her ability, “Galvanized Tear”, is excellent for controlling crowds. This ability attracts enemies, dealing damage and leaving them vulnerable to any of your attacks. As a warrior, having all your enemies in one place allows you to hit more of them at once, killing them all faster.
At the beginning of the game, Bellara is particularly useful thanks to her healing ability that comes pre-equipped. If you, like me, take a lot of hits when learning a new battle system, Bellara is definitely the one you want to choose. As I’ve become more familiar with combat, I’ve needed Bellara’s healing less often, but I’ll never complain about some emergency HP when the chips are down.
If you’ve figured out how to increase your max HP and aren’t too worried about taking damage, you can pick up Emmrich later in the game to fill the mage slot for all your necrotic needs instead of Bellara. Emmrich and Lucanis deal necrotic damage, but Emmrich’s magic allows him to control the battlefield with his super useful skeleton. You lose some elemental diversity by getting Lucanis and Emmrich in the same group, but don’t let that discourage you from having the party you want.
Best complementary party combos for mages
Backline support players should take Lucanis and Taash
As a mage, you are the weakest on your team. Your magic works best at long range unless you choose the Spellblade specialization, and even then you won’t be a damage sponge in the same way as a warrior. Just like warriors, you should bring Lucanis to fill your rogue slot.
You can choose between Davrin, Harding, and Taash when choosing your warrior. For a few reasons, Taash is the most solid option for consistent, reliable damage. They and Davrin deal Fire damage, but Taash’s slow and steady damage over time is preferable to Davrin’s burst for mages, since most of the magic damage will explode on its own.
One thing Davrin offers that Taash cannot is his griffin, Assan. You can call this feathered friend into battle, temporarily gaining another helper on the field. Davrin is a straight and narrow do-gooder, but despite this, his skill in battle is fierce and effective. If you prefer the explosive damage that Davrin’s Fire offers, you can leave Taash at the Lighthouse.
The best companion party combos for thieves
With more options, bring Emmrich and Taash
As a rogue, you have more companion options if you want to keep a well-balanced party. You have several warriors and mages to choose from, so consider your play style before choosing. Emmrich, as mentioned above, is very good at locking down a battlefield and applying status effects to enemies. It will also prepare you for detonations, which makes it essential as a rogue.
As for the choice of warrior, Taash will be the best option. Again, their consistent fire damage output makes them a great choice to go along with a rogue’s explosive, explosive playstyle. Additionally, Taash can provoke enemies, taking their attention away from you. As a rogue, staying out of sight and out of mind is very helpful in giving you some space to work.
Taash really opens up the battlefield for a rogue to escape attacks. Coupled with Emmrich’s large-scale necrotic attacks, you should have no problem landing her attacks and abilities without taking too much damage. Make sure to use your companion abilities when they come off cooldown, since they don’t really cost anything other than the time it takes you to press RB and pick them.
Taash, Bellara, and Emmrich stand out as powerful companions, but any party composition can work if you’re creative enough. It’s cliché advice to tell players to “choose characters that speak to them,” but it’s pretty solid in practice. Dragon Age: The Veil Guardis the case. While you may find yourself struggling with the real-time combat the game offers, with enough practice you should become increasingly familiar with its battle system and your companions.
- Released
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October 31, 2024
- Developer(s)
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BioWare
- Editor(s)
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Electronic Arts