As part of the character creation process in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players will need to select both a class for the player-controlled Tower and a faction. Once you have customized much of your turret’s body, including the Qunari horn type and material, thanks to the hundreds of options available in Veilguard, it will be time to choose your 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 delicate and ponderous attacks using the same buttons, how these attacks work differs depending on your class. For example, a Sword and Shield Warrior can fire from the hip or aim his shield to throw it like Captain America, while a Mage can utilize the same button to unleash magical ranged attacks – read more about Veilguard’s combat in Game guide exclusive feature here. Additionally, as you define these classes and unlock their individual specializations, the differences become even more pronounced.
- Villain has access to three specializations. Duelist is the fastest of the three, equipped with two blades for quick strikes; The saboteur uses tricks and traps; and the Veil Guardian is ranged only and shoots enemies from afar with a bow.
- Mag can utilize necromancy with the Death Whisperer specialization; Summoners wield fire, ice, and lightning; and Spellblade uses magical melee attacks.
- Warrior can become a Reaper who uses night blades to steal lives and risks death to gain unnatural abilities; Slayer, a elementary but robust two-handed weapon expert; or Master, a tactical defense warrior.
While these specializations don’t matter up front – you rank them through the skill trees you develop in the game – it’s nice to see the potential of each class before you choose it.
In the penultimate step of character creation, at least in the demo BioWare shows me, players choose a faction. The Gray Wardens return, joined by other returning favorites and fresh additions such as Antivan Crows, Mourn the watch, Shadow Dragonspirate-themed Lords of Fortunewhat I chose in my demo for electricity Game guide cover story i Sweaters with a veil.
Each faction has a unique casual outfit, which is worn in specific cutscenes when the character is not wearing armor, and three unique perks. For example, Lords of Fortune gain additional reputation in that particular faction, raise damage to mercenaries, and kill enemies with slightly less effort. Veilguard game director Corinne Busche says that your faction choice, which is tied to your character’s history, determines who your tower was before, how they met Varric, why they travel with Varric rather than 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,” artistic director John Epler tells me. “Help them and now they will help you.”
He says 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 lend a hand you, but have realistic challenges and problems ahead of them, so that it narratively makes sense why you lend a hand them in return when the time comes.
If you wish to make changes to your character’s physical appearance, you can do so using the Transformation Mirror, located in Veilguard’s main hub, the Lighthouse. However, class, background and identity are locked and cannot be changed once selected in the game’s character creator.
To learn more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, videos and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard button below.
