Three things stood out to me in IGN’s recent “22 Minutes of Gameplay With BioWare” video. The first were that lip-syncing still isn’t BioWare’s strong suit, and the second that the qunari Rook has a forehead so smooth it looks like the texture hasn’t loaded in. But the third and most surprising thing was how much it put me off playing a mage.
The mage origin was my favorite in Dragon Age: Origins, and playing a mage again in Dragon Age 2 made it seem like I was in the center of the conflict with the templars at the heart of that game’s plot. The same was true in at least the first act of Dragon Age: Inquisition—also, the staff-twirling attacks looked real cool.
But while the teleport-dashing mage seen in the latest Veilguard footage seems much more mobile, watching that smooth-headed wizard launch various ineffectual beams and balls of glowing energy then wait for mana to slowly recharge really didn’t sell me on the idea of sticking with my favorite Dragon Age class.
By contrast, the footage accompanying a recent blog about progression mechanics seems a lot more fun. It showcases a rogue who specializes as a duelist in one of the skill trees, which are themed around constellations—kind of like Skyrim’s only with a lot more stars. Saboteur and veil ranger are the other options, but the duelist looks like a blast, swapping fluidly between a bow for ranged attacks and dual-wielding blades up close, which can be powered-up with poison that causes necrotic damage. Heck even the basic warrior’s dodge roll and kick look solid.
Combat seems like it’s going to be a big part of The Veilguard, with a walk through the Fade to get to a companion quest being interrupted by multiple fights against darkspawn. And while the series has tended to center magic in a way that makes other character classes seem a bit secondary, if I’m going to be detonating combos on hurlocks for several dozen hours I’d rather have fun while I’m doing it. Time to play a rogue, I guess?
Dragon Age: The Veilguard will be out on October 31.
