Dragon Age: The Veilguard: Best Character Builds

Looking for the best character builds in Dragon Age: The Veilguard? BioWare's latest RPG gives you quite a lot of freedom in terms of building your ideal Rook, playing on the strengths of your playstyle with unique abilities, specialisations, and passive perks.

In this Dragon Age: The Veilguard guide, we've crafted character builds for all three classes — Warrior, Rogue, and Mage — which will hopefully help you decide on an effective fighting style.

What Are the Best Character Builds in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

So in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you're given access to a huge skill tree that's unique to your chosen class. However, these skill trees are not linear — they're designed like spider webs, and you'll need to work your way across them in order to reach the abilities, perks, and specialisations that you desire.

As such, you may need to plan ahead before diving straight in. You only get a limited number of skill points throughout the game, and so you're forced to think about how you're actually spending them.

Before we go in-depth on specific builds, let's go over all of the stuff that you need to know.

What's the Max Level in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

The max level is 50, meaning that you get a total of 52 skill points from levelling up (you get three skill points the first time you level up).

How Do You Get Extra Skill Points in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

There are actually additional skill points to collect throughout your adventure. As you journey across Thedas, you'll likely stumble upon Fen'Harel altars — statues dedicated to the Dread Wolf himself.

By interacting with these altars and completing a basic puzzle, you'll be awarded one skill point that can be spent immediately.

There are a total of 15 altars in the game, meaning that you can get an extra 15 skill points to spend if you manage to track down every altar.

We've got a guide on All Fen'Harel Wolf Altar Locations if you want to maximise your skill points for the sake of your character build:

All in all, you get a grand total of 67 skill points to spend, if you reach the max level and find all the Fen'Harel altars. With 67 skill points, you can unlock roughly 45% of the full skill tree.

Can You Reset Your Skill Points in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

The good news is that yes, you can reset and subsequently respec your skill points at any time. Simply head to the skill tree, and you'll be able to refund individual skill points by deselecting purchased skills, or you can refund all skill points at once.

There's no cost to resetting your skill points, and you can do it as many times as you like — so feel free to experiment!

Character Build Concepts

With the fundamentals out of the way, let's talk character build concepts. This section of the guide should give you an idea of what makes an effective character build.

In essence, character builds focus on bolstering a specific area, or areas, of a class, to make it as powerful as possible. Warriors, Rogues, and Mages play much differently from one another, and so defined characters builds tend to emphasise the inherent strengths of Rook's class.

For much more information on choosing the right class at the start of the game, check out our Dragon Age: The Veilguard: Best Character Class and Faction guide:

But even though the three classes offer different weapons, attack patterns, stats, abilities, and specialisations, there are key character build concepts that we can apply across the board.

These key concepts are:

• Ability Spammer - Basically being able to unleash your best abilities as often as possible, for maximum damage output
• Defensive Master - Enhancing Rook's defensive capabilities so that you're much harder to kill, especially in drawn-out combat scenarios
• Buffs and Stuff - Activating buffs as often as possible, greatly enhancing Rook's stats for the duration of a fight
  
• Affliction Addict - Inflicting Afflictions — or status effects — on enemies as often as possible, crippling their capabilities or dealing damage over time
  

Generally speaking, if your character build adheres to one (or more!) of these concepts, you're on the right track. Creating an effective build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is really just about identifying something that works and doing what you can to maximise its potential.

Because this is an action combat system, which rewards good timing, reactions, and overall skill, you can definitely get away with character builds that aren't 'perfect' — this isn't an RPG where you're going to need to rely purely on stats and damage calculations.

Ultimately, your character build should be about what you find fun, in terms of playstyle — and then you can build on that with some forward thinking.

Warrior Character Builds

These builds draw out the inherent strengths of the Warrior class and its three Specialisations: Champion, Slayer, and Reaper.

The Burning Heart

The Burning Heart character build is all about surviving even the toughest battles thanks to the Warrior's strong defensive options. The goal is to block or parry just about anything that enemies throw your way, which, in turn, allows you to deliver devastating counterattacks and ignite your weapons for more damage.

Specialisation: Champion

The Champion Specialisation is a perfect fit for this build, providing key enhancements to your parries and fire-based attacks.

Key Abilities:

For this build, you're looking for abilities that increase survivability, either through stopping enemies in their tracks, or bolstering your own defences. Fire-based skills are your damage dealers.

• Titan Stomp

Titan Stomp sees Rook smash the ground, knocking most enemies down around you. This is a great ability to use when you're surrounded, or when you need a breather. It also applies Overwhelm to all of the enemies it hits, increasing the stagger damage that they take.

• Spectral Bulwark

Spectral Bulwark is the Warriors' most defensive ability. It raises a magical barrier around Rook, deflecting damage back at your foes. It's obviously a great choice for more defensive builds.

• Groundbreaker

Groundbreaker costs two bars of Rage, but it deals huge fire damage. This is your go-to ability for dishing out pain, to be used when you've got enough Rage to burn.

Key Perks:

For this build, you want passive perks that enhance your parries and your overall survivability. Any fire-boosting perks are obviously worth picking up as well.

• Counterblow - Lets you counterattack after parrying an incoming attack
  
• Focused Retaliation - Grants the Precision buff when you parry, which makes your next charged or final combo attack an automatic critical hit
• Return to Sender - Lets you send parried projectiles back at enemies
• Masochism - You generate some Rage every time you take damage
  
• Ready Guard - You gain Deflect upon entering battle; on stack of Deflect completely negates one attack
• Fiery Resolve - Sets your weapons on fire whenever you parry, letting you deal increased damage with all of your attacks
  
• Reinforcement - Increases your damage for every active buff; synergises incredibly well with Focused Retaliation and Fiery Resolve
• Heavy Armour Mastery - Gives you a huge 20% defence bonus when you're wearing all heavy armour (head and torso)
  
• Explosive Anger - Spending any Rage unleashes a blast of fire damage around Rook
  
• Reverb (Champion Perk) - Unleashes a highly damaging shockwave of fire whenever you parry
• Enflamed (Champion Perk) - Increases Burning damage based on your current Rage
  
• Inspiring Guard (Champion Perk) - Lets you parry unblockable attacks (which completely changes the way you can deal with some enemies), and doing so grants Rally Party, which buffs the damage of your party members
  
• The Best Defence (Champion Perk) - 50% of your overall defence stat is now added to the damage of your shield attacks
  

Sword of the Dead

The Sword of the Dead character build is all about making the most of necrotic damage, which steadily drains enemies of their health. It also has a focus on generating as much Rage as possible, so that you can spam your abilities for maximum damage. This build is basically the closest you're going to get to playing as a magic-based Warrior.

Specialisation: Reaper

Reaper is the obvious choice for this character build, further bolstering your necrotic abilities.

Key Abilities:

For this build, damage-dealing necrotic abilities are the only focus.

• Deadly Ground

Summons a necrotic field at your location, which deals constant damage to any enemy who happens to enter it. It also enhances your own damage, so the idea is to put this down whenever you can, and then stay within it as you battle your foes.

• Bloody Advance

Carves out a necrotic projectile with your spectral scythe, which deals damage and applies Sundered, which drops the enemy's defence. What's more, it makes the enemy bleed, and you can throw your shield at the afflicted enemy for an extra burst of damage. A very versatile ability that's great for both dealing damage over time, and setting the enemy up for yet more punishment.

• Reaper

Reaper deals big damage with a powerful scythe strike, and applies Siphon to the enemy, letting your leech health from the enemy and add it to your own. It costs two bars of Rage, so it's not something you can spam — but time it correctly, and it can really increase your survivability.

Key Perks:

For this build, you want any perks that enhance your necrotic damage and help you generate Rage at a quicker pace.

• Rancor - Your Rage takes 50% longer to decay
• Incite Violence - This perk is a little out of the way on the skill tree, but it's hard to ignore a 15% increase to Rage generation from weapon attacks, and you get even more if you're hitting an enemy that's afflicted (with necrosis, in this instance)
  
• Enduring Rage - Rage no longer decays below one bar, even when you're out of combat
  
• Salt in the Wound - Hitting an afflicted enemy with a Duration ability (Deadly Ground and Bloody Advance) adds an extra stack of that affliction
  
• Seething Pitch - Throwing your shield now generates more Rage on hit
  
• Lingering Decay - Your Duration abilities (Deadly Ground and Bloody Advance) automatically apply Necrosis
  
• Death's Touch (Reaper Perk) - Whenever a Duration ability is active, your charged attacks inflict Necrosis
  
• Death's Throw (Reaper Perk) - Shield throws now deal Necrotic damage
  
• Living Decay (Reaper Perk) - Necrotic damage now penetrates enemy defences and restores your own HP

Berserker

The Berserker character build is exactly what it sounds like. You want damage and nothing but damage, preferably with two-handed weapons. This build is about dishing out extreme amounts of pain, while also devastating any defences that your opponents dare to put up.

Specialisation: Slayer

An easy choice for this build, Slayer is a damage-first specialisation.

Key Abilities:

For this build, you want abilities that take no prisoners. Out-and-out damage, pure and simple.

• Cleaving Strike

Cleaving Strike deals big damage over a wide area, and can hit multiple enemies with ease. It also applies Bleeding, letting you rack up yet more damage in time.

• Whirlwind

Whirlwind is one of the Warrior's most damaging abilities, assuming all of the swings land. It costs two bars of Rage which means it's difficult to spam, but as alluded, the damage output can be immense, and it deals huge amounts of stagger.

• Heroic Leap

Heroic Leap is a fast-acting smash that deals solid damage and heavy stagger damage. At the cost of just one bar of Rage, it's a go-to attack for this build.

Key Perks:

For this build, you're looking for any perks that increase the damage of your weapon attacks, or enhance your overall stagger damage.

• Downfall - Jumping attacks are always critical hits if they hit a downed enemy
• Determined Death - The final attack in your combo can now be charged, leading to a large damage increase, especially if you let loose as soon as the charge is complete
  
• Bloody Vengeance - This perk synergises well with your Cleaving Strike ability, letting you deal more damage to Bleeding foes
  
• Wear and Tear - Area abilities (Cleaving Strike and Whirlwind) gain additional penetration, ignoring your opponent's defence
  
• Dazzle - If you hit more than one enemy with an Area ability, you gain Quickened, which shortens your cooldowns
  
• Critical Leverage - This takes a little getting used to, but if you can hit enemies who are more than 10 metres away with your Area abilities, you get guaranteed critical hits
  
• Overhand Smash - Your Smash abilities (Whirlwind and Heroic Leap) deal yet more damage to armoured enemies, while also dealing much more stagger
• Quick Strikes - Defeating an enemy with your Strike abilities (Cleaving Strike or Heroic Leap) gives you half a bar of Rage
  
• Concussive Smash - Your Smash abilities (Whirlwind and Heroic Leap) now permanently lowers the enemy's defence on hit
  
• Rolling Thunder - After a charged attack, you can combo into another light or heavy attack to unleash another devastating blow
  
• Two-Handed Wind Up (Slayer Perk) - You can charge your charged attacks even further, for more damage and stagger
  
• Furor (Slayer Perk) - Charged attacks generate more Rage, especially if they're fully charged
  
• Blindside (Slayer Perk) - Charged attacks now inflict an additional chunk of damage after hitting a foe
  
• Striking Precision (Slayer Perk) - Strike abilities (Cleaving Strike and Heroic Leap) now grant Precision on hit, turning your charged and final combo attacks into guaranteed critical hits
  
• Art of Destruction (Slayer Perk) - Unlocks brutal follow-up attacks to your sprint attack
  
• Double-Edged (Slayer Perk) - Gives you a significant damage bonus to both abilities and weapon damage
  
• Violent Catharsis (Slayer Perk) - Spending Rage heals you for 100% of the Rage spent
  

Rogue Character Builds

This part of the guide is currently under construction. Check back soon for Rogue Character Builds!

Mage Character Builds

This part of the guide is currently under construction. Check back soon for Mage Character Builds!

Did you find this Dragon Age: The Veilguard best character builds guide useful? Check back soon for more builds, be sure to give our Dragon Age: The Veilguard guide a look for more help with the game, and then show off your own build in the comments section below.