Former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah left BioWare in 2020, commenting that “I know that Dragon Age will not just survive without me, but thrive.” We’ll never fully know the truth of that claim, because Darrah has now joined BioWare to work as a consultant on the recently revealed Dragon Age: The Veilguard. He thinks he’s thriving. Specifically, he thinks this is the most enjoyable Dragon Age combat ever. Shhh, no one tells the Inquisition.
“What I see in Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” Darrah told online magazine Game Informer in a new preview that digs a little deeper into the game’s new tactical punches. “Unfortunately, the previous Dragon Age games reached the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat is actually fun, but it keeps that thread that’s always been there. .”
The piece also includes some commentary from game director Corinne Busche, who notes that Dragon Age’s combat has long been in a state of flux and justifies the shift to real-time by making it feel like you’re actually there. “Every single entry reimagines what war is like, and I would say our goal was to make sure we had a system that allowed players to feel like they were able to step into the world of Thedas,” Busche told the site. “They’re not a player watching from afar – they’re inside this world. Being this authentic world that’s brought to life, the combat system has to support it, so you’re in control of every single action, every block, every dodge, every swing of your sword.”
I’m always a bit squeamish about arguments that real-time combat is more immersive, authentic, or what have you than, say, turn-based. Dragon Age is a game in which I float in the air outside of my character’s body as they fire purple bolts at demonic incarnations of pride. I’ll never feel like I’m “into this world,” even if I press the button that turns on that specific lightning bolt. I’m more convinced by Busche’s remarks below that she wants Veilguard combat and upgrades to depend on “real numbers” – that is, chunky numbers like +25% whose impact can actually be understood at a glance.
In general, Veilguard’s upgrades are about “changing how you play, not the stat details,” Busche explains, with passive abilities including guaranteed critical hits and jump attacks. I’d say that Inquisition’s harder percentages change the way you play, but Veilguard’s system definitely sounds like it will involve less time in menus to do sums. The transition here reminds me of the transition from Darkest Dungeon 1 to Darkest Dungeon 2, which also simplifies the stats to multiples of 12.5, and is none the worse for it.
There are also some details about companions, who get smaller upgrade trees than the main character Rook (in Inquisition, every character has access to generally the same amount of options). They are leveled up by ranking your relationship with them, which earns you a skill point; it looks like they don’t rack up XP the old-fashioned way, though the picture is blurry.
“[Companions] are their own people,” Busche said of how companions act in combat. “They have their own behaviors, they have their own autonomy on the battlefield, they’ll choose their own targets. As their plots progress, they’ll learn how to use their abilities more competently, and it really feels like you’re fighting alongside these fleshed-out characters in battle.” However, it’s still important that the characters’ abilities to be used together. Busche gave the example of one character slowing down time so that another can unleash a heavy knockdown attack, allowing the player to land a finishing blow “It’s a game about creating this organic feeling of working in the group.”
In my first look at Dragon Age: The Veilguard I wrote that “I’m definitely mourning the less kinetic, more strategic Dragon Age that could have been, but I’m more excited for Veilguard than I thought I’d be after. coping with the first trailer”. Since then, we’ve learned that the game will limit you to a few companions in battle, a step away from the party-based tactics of Inquisition. So, I’m still a little sad, but I remain hopeful that The Veilguard will be a fun action-RPG if not the Dragon Age quad I wanted. The main thing, for me, will be the plot. I don’t mind this being a bare-bones party, if one is included awesome dark fantasy melodrama Fingers crossed I’m able to play again before release and get a feel for the events beyond the prologue.