How To Complete Where The Dead Must Go In Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Where the Dead Must Go is a main quest in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which is needed to recruit Professor Emmrich Volkarin, a Fade expert. Before you can do that, however, you must help him banish the Despair Demons (and to no one’s surprise, the Venatori) infesting the Shrouded Halls in the Grand Necropolis.

Throughout the quest, you will deal with the Frenzied Undead and Venatori. Neve, Taash, and Bellara are all excellent options when it comes to companions, so choose whomever you prefer the most. Here is everything you need to know about helping Emmrich fend off the Undead, freeing the bell, and saving the Grand Necropolis.

The Disturbance In The Shrouded Halls

You will meet Professor Emmrich Volkarin in the Grand Necropolis — via the Crossroads. After the introductions, Emmrich will ask you to accompany him deeper into the Shrouded Halls to investigate some sort of disturbance.

Follow him outside, but after the first set of stairs, turn left for some Pure Ore and a Jeweled Brooch. Before heading down to the Despair Demon, collect some more Pure Ore, Imperial Weave, and Mineral Dust.

The Despair Demon can temporarily isolate you from your party, forcing you to fight it alone. Aside from being able to teleport around the area, it can also hurl homing orbs at you. These orbs travel pretty slowly, so it should not be hard to bait them to hit a pillar or any other piece of available cover.

Kill the Despair Demon to get Demonic Bezoar, Fade-Touched Ore, and the Abyssal Helm.

Before following Emmrich down the bridge, collect some Gold, Flawless Crystal, a Misplaced Skull, and Shatter (Common Rune) from the left side after exiting the door. Continue down the bridge to find the Sunken Star (the bell) chained. You will need to defeat a few Undead in the area — they should not pose much of a threat at this point.

There are a few Healing Potions in this area if you need to replenish your HP.

Find The Wisp To Unlock The Door

Once you have defeated the Undead, head over to Emmrich near a locked door. To unlock it, you will need to find a Wisp near the other side of the room, and bring it back. Before leaving the area, be sure to collect some Flawless Crystals, Fade-Touched Crystal, and Necropolis Defender (Warrior playthrough) from the left side.

In the next area, you will need to deal with some more Undead, including the ranged ones, which can be slightly annoying. Once you have defeated them, search the area for some Healing Potions, Flawless Crystals, Pure Ore, Heartwood, and a few valuable items.

A little ahead, you will find multiple Despair Demons in the long hallway. These, however, are not active, and will remain like that unless you step inside the mist surrounding them. Try to avoid them the best you can, and search the top of the stairs (on both sides) to find Ancient Illustration Memento, Flawless Crystals, Fade-Touched Crystals, Pure Ore, Fade-Touched Ore, Gold, and some other valuable items.

You will soon see another locked door on the right, which needs three Wisps to unlock. Emmrich will summon these Wisps in the hallway — simply follow the objective markers on your screen to find them. While the first two are simple enough, the one near the door at the end of the path can be a little tricky. You can get that one using the wooden beams near the right side.

You cannot hold onto these Wisps indefinitely. Try to rush to the door before they disappear.

In the next area, you will need to defeat a small army of Undead including a few Despair Demons (who can be left alone) as well as some Deathchill Mages. Deal with them however you see fit, loot the area, and head outside.

Once you are outside, stay on the left side, and walk over a small wooden beam to reach the other side. Collect an Etheric Remnant, some Fade-Touched Crystals, and Flawless Crystals. You will also find the Necrotic Jade ring and the Voluminous Notes Memento on the nearby platform with a green brazier. You will need to jump on a narrow wooden beam to reach the said platform.

After you are ready, go to the door.

Defeat The Venatori

Inside the room, you will need to light four braziers. Once done, interact with the skeleton in the middle of the room to learn that the Venatori are responsible for everything.

Use the Wisp to unlock the door, and battle a few Venatori.

Remember to charge your attacks to deal with the shields wielded by Graverobber Captains, since your regular attacks will not be enough.

Once done, loot the area, and head to the left side for some more Venatori accompanied by a Despair Demon. At the end of the path, you will find a Venatori Slave whom you have just saved — you will also find a Vhenadahl’s Tear near him.

Destroy The Venatori Siphoning Crystals

Continue through the hallways to find the Sunken Star chained by the Venatori. You simply need to destroy the Siphoning Crystals to break the chains — four in total.

These crystals also heal nearby enemies.

After destroying the chains, drop down into the chamber where Emmrich is, and begin the ritual. You will need to survive for around three minutes. During this time, you will need to deal with the Venatori, a Rage Demon, and even some Despair Demons.

We recommend not activating the Despair Demons to make it a bit more manageable.

Do note that the Rage Demon in the area will leap towards you, which deals quite a lot of damage. Whenever you see a red circle underneath your feet, run away from the area. Furthermore, its attacks can easily be blocked, so if you want to stall things out until the bell tolls, it is certainly an option that you can use.

There are also a bunch of green pots scattered in the area that you can break if you need some Healing Potions.

Once the bell tolls, all remaining enemies in the area will disappear. Search the area for any loot, open the nearby chest to learn that the VenatorI had the Hand of Glory in their possession, and speak with Emmrich to leave the area.

Where The Dead Must Go Rewards

At the end, you will meet up with Vorgoth and Myrna once more, Emmrich will agree to join you, and the quest will be completed. As a reward, you will receive +100 to The Mourn Watch Strength, Guardian of the Abyss (a rare Arcane Staff that Emmrich can use), and an increased bond with the companion that you decided to bring with you.

Also, be sure to visit Emmrich at the Lighthouse if you wish to begin his questline. You should also have some unspent Passive Points for him.