One of the first locations players will explore Dragon Age: The Veil Guard is the magical kingdom known as Crossroads. Since Different sections of the Crossroads will be open for players to explore as the story progressesRook and company will spend a lot of time exploring this area throughout the game. In addition to using it to traverse Thedas, you’ll also be able to hunt down sources of corruption for unique rewards and even relive moments from Solas’ past during his rebellion against the Evanuris.
To reach the Crossroads, players will need to complete the game’s initial missions until they reach the Lighthouse. After developing a game plan with your companions, you will be tasked with a mission called “Into The Crossroads”. Completing it will open the first area inside the Crossroads for exploration and give you a taste of everything the mysterious realm has to offer.
What is the crossroads in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
A magical meeting point and transit hub
In the Dragon Age universe, the Crossroads is a magical dimension that exists somewhere outside the waking world of Thedas and the Fade: a place between kingdoms. Lore attributes its creation to the ancient elves of Arlathan, who used it as a magical method of travel and communication before their fall. The elves created enchanted mirrors, called Eluvians (Elvish: seeing glass), and connected them across the Crossroads, forming a magical network that allowed them to travel and communicate instantly over great distances.
Although many Eluvians have been destroyed, corrupted, or magically blocked, several still function. Through the use of Solas’ eluvian, the Vi’Revas, you can travel freely from the Lighthouse to the Crossroads, and then through any still-functioning eluvian found within. Several areas of the Crossroads will be unlocked during the game, including a small market where various spirits will open shops selling valuables, equipment and other items. You will also be able to easily locate Etheric Remnants in FROM THE; The Veil Guarda special type of currency that can only be found under certain circumstances.
Into The Crossroads quest walkthrough
Follow the caretaker through the Eluvian
The quest begins deep within the Lighthouse, where you’ll find Bellara hard at work repairing the giant Eluvian. Once she gets the magic mirror back into working condition, a spirit called the Caretaker will appear. Gather your group and follow the Caretaker through the Eluvian to continue the quest and enter the Crossroads.
There’s still not much you can do in this starting area, so go down the stairs and unlock Beacon Island fast travel. From there, follow the quest marker to the right. You’ll come to what appears to be a cemetery, but it also doubles as a docking area for the Caretaker’s boat, which magically appears and docks. Board the boat and the Caretaker will take you to the first main section of Crossroads island, the Converging City.
You will unlock the Converged City Fast Travel lighthouse when you disembark the boat. Head straight from there, down the hill towards the large stone gate and enter the courtyard beyond. There, you will find Venatori fighting some of the guardians protecting the Crossroads. Defeat them then talk to the Caretaker in front of the large Plague Gate in front of the courtyard where you first entered.
The elven gods used a combination of plague and blood magic to create gates (like the one in front of you) throughout the Crossroads. To open them, you will need to track down and defeat several champions and collect their essence, which is a kind of key. The first champion you will hunt is nearbyand its essence will open the way to the nearby Eluvians, allowing you to travel to Treviso and Dock Town.
Defeat the champion, claim your essence
To find the champion, go to the Caretaker’s left through the nearest archway. Unlock the fast travel beacon and go down the stairs to your left. You will find a large chest: open it to get new equipment and materials. Now, follow the quest marker back to the path. You will be taken to a small open area with a large rust cyst on the right. Destroy the cyst with regular attacks, and the champion, a Darkspawn Ogre in Dragon Age: The Veil Guard called Sirin the Twice Forged will emerge (save your skills and class features for the boss battle).
Sirin has a full bar of Blight Armor in addition to her health bar. Use your and your party’s heavy attacks and ability detonations to destroy his armor quickly. He has several attacks that he will use during the fight that you definitely want to avoid:
- Standard Attack: Sirin will attack with her weapon, which you can dodge, block or deflect, but be careful as they will cause necrosis if you are hit.
- Charge Attack: Sirin will periodically charge you remotely. You’ll know when the charge is coming whenever it steps onto the floor and starts glowing red.
- Jump Attack: Sirin can also get up close using a jump attack, starting with him glowing red as he prepares to make a huge leap. A red circle will appear on the ground just before the attack hits, so be sure to dodge.
- Impact Attack: When Sirin raises his weapon above his head, he slams it in front of him, dealing damage in a straight line. He can use this attack multiple times in a row, so be prepared to dodge a few times to avoid getting hit.
- Plague Attack: Sirin can create pools of plague, which will deal damage when you are in them. Whenever he kneels down and sticks his hand in the dirt, he will start creating little pools wherever you are. Dodge the path (a single dodge will do the trick) to avoid damage and Necrosis stacks.
Most Darkspawn I’ve encountered in the game have a vulnerability to fire damage, including several of the champions you will fight during the game. If Rook is a mage, having some fire burst abilities will significantly help in the fight against Darkspawn. Fire-based weapons are also effective if you have any.
After defeating Sirin and collecting her essence, there is a chest near where you destroyed the large Blight Cyst to begin the battle. Destroy the little pest knot to discover the chest. Go back out of the area where you fought Sirin and head left along the path.
Unlock the barrier and complete the mission
As you head up the path, you’ll see your first Fen’Harel statue on the left. Interact with the statue and he will turn to point in the direction of his treasure. Go forward to where he points (you’ll have to jump to a stone ledge), and a spectral wolf will appear, indicating that the treasure, a wolf statue, is there. Picking up the small statue will give you a bonus skill point to spend, so grab this one to power up before unlocking the barrier.
Continue back down the path and you will find yourself on a ledge overlooking the courtyard where the Plague Gate is located. To your left will be a small building with metal bars blocking the way to a chest. To lower the bars and reach the chest, you will need to activate two faulty devices and direct the energy beams to the corresponding energy nodes.
As you look into the courtyard below, the first broken device is on your right. Have Bellara fix this with her Tinker ability and direct the energy beam at the energy node ahead (on the wall, above the Plague Gate). There’s another device to repair on a ledge on the other side of the courtyard.. You’ll also need to activate this one to open the path to the chest. There is a ladder next to the device that Bellara repaired. Come down to the courtyard and IInsert Sirin’s Essence into the Plague Gate to unlock it. Proceed to the new area to complete the Into the Crossroads quest and gain access to the Eluvians of Treviso and Dock Town.
Before you recruit the Vyrantium Demon or investigate the strange relic in Dock Town, I recommend you go back and fully explore the area. There are several other Plague Gates to discover, as well as The Labs Below mission, in which you enter a memory from Solas’ past. As long as you keep playing Dragon Age: The Veil GuardReturn to this area of Encruzilhada where there will be a lively market with lots of great items for sale.