Dragon Age: The Veilguard just got a brand-new gameplay demo exploring several new locations and the mage class.
As part of IGN’s month-long coverage of The Veilguard, which was teased last month through BioWare’s roadmap, fans were treated to 22 minutes of gameplay guided by the game’s director Corinne Busche, and creative director John Epler.
After sharing a series of screenshots last week, the demo started by giving us our first in-game look at the player’s base of operations in the Fade, The Lighthouse, which is owned by Solas.
As Rook, the playable protagonist, walks around the base the area looks huge and you can see there are many places you can explore, for instance, the seven companion bedrooms.
Each has their personal space in The Lighthouse, and from what the developers teased, these places can be upgraded as you progress through the story to fit the respective character’s personality.
BioWare also confirmed that the game will feature visual, glowing alerts that will let players know when a companion is ready to speak with them, so there’s no worry about missing optional dialogue.
As for the rest of the demo, the directors guide us through the beginning of a quest for one of your companions, and Grey Warden, Davrin; along with his adorable griffon Assan.
After accepting the quest, the player heads to the Crossroads – an important place in Solas’ history where he originally began his plans against the Elven Gods, and a place the developers said players can spend more time exploring and learn about moments in Solas’ history.
Although this is Davrin’s personal quest, he has proceeded to the quest location on his own because, as the developers put it, it gives the companions more autonomy in the story.
We also got a decent look at a new party combat, specifically with the mage class and the orb and dagger weapon duo. The developers compared this class to Dragon Age: Inquisition‘s Knight Enchanter specialization, which allows the player to stack elemental damage on an enemy, and then use the dagger to detonate the magic.
BioWare also demonstrated the new skill combinations that can be used alongside your companions, which can deal greater damage to enemies. Since there are several classes in the game, players will be able to experiment by combining mage abilities with Harding’s rogue skills, for example.
The developer also confirmed that when players are knocked down in battle, companions will be able to revive them with the click of a button.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard launches on October 31 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.
