Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Cornered in the Catacombs Quest Guide

“Cornered in the Catacombs” is a side quest you can unlock in Dragon Age: The Veilguard that is just like what it sounds. Tucked away in Dock Town, Cornered in the Catacombs tasks you with clearing out a horde of Dark Spawn deep inside the winding and claustrophobic rocky zone that overlooks the town docks. There are also several chests to open and notes to read across the quest’s maze-like map, which can feel especially puzzling to navigate. With so many side quests to discover, you might wonder how to start Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s Cornered in the Catacombs side quest and how to complete it.

Cornered in the Catacombs Quest Walkthrough Guide in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

How to Start Cornered in the Catacombs Side Quest

To start Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s Cornered in the Catacombs side quest, you need to speak with Warden Vesta, an injured G”ey Warden next to Glandivalis Square, the area just outside the Shadow Dragon Sanctum. Although it’s possible to pick it up earlier, you’ll probably pick up this quest on a return visit to Dock Town when completing Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s “Cobbled Swan” main story quest. Speak with Vesta to pick up the Cornered in the Catacombs quest and track it in the quest menu to get started.

The first step is to locate and reach the Catacombs. Follow the quest marker to the shipyard docks to the East, as pictured above. The Catacombs entrance is opposite the dock in an area called the Shoreline Passage, so you’ll need to head through the wooden hut on the dock and climb across the ship to reach it. There is also a marker where you can gather and change your party next to the entrance.

Find the Darkspawn

The first objective in Cornered in the Catacombs is to find the darkspawn. Head inside the Catacombs entrance and turn left. There is an inaccessible gate on the left with some collectibles in front of it. The map also points to a large chest nearby, but this appears to be inaccessible. Follow the path and destroy the Blight boil blocking the path to the left, defeating any enemies that appear, and head into the adjoining room to find more darkspawn, which is the place to be as indicated by the circle map marker. You’ll also know you’re in the right place, as there are two Blight boils on the wall and waves of seemingly neverending darkspawn. Prioritize destroying the red Blight boils to light up and clear the Blight blockade ahead, which prevents more darkspawn from spawning.

Head up the stairs to cross the bridge, defeating any darkspawn as you go. Be careful when crossing the bridge—if you remove the nearby Power Crystal, the bridge collapses. Continue left to enter the next area with more Blight boils on the walls to destroy, plus a mysterious giant glowing statue. Destroy all the darkspawn in the room and as many red Blight boils as possible to tick off the first quest objective. Remember to check the ceiling for hidden Blight boils if you’re struggling to find them all. There’s another Blight wall blocking the way forward, but there are some steps to follow to power it up.

Destroy the Blight

Firstly, check you’ve destroyed all the red Boil Blights that you can, as some are cleverly tucked away on the ceiling. Once you’ve blasted as many as possible, climb to the top of the wooden structure near the statue. Look up to spy another Blight on the ceiling above and use your Ability wheel to use Davrin’s Griffon ability called Blight Hunter, causing more Blight boils to light up on the sides of the room. Similar to previous puzzles, like breaking the Blight in the “Singing Blade” quest, destroy the boils to power up the main Blight Blockade and blast your way through. The Blights also only light up for so long, so you’ll probably repeat Assan’s ability to destroy them all. You can now destroy the blockade and reach the next area.

Before moving on to the next area, you can interact with the statue, which is called the
Evanuris Altar
. After activating it, climb to the statue and destroy the mysterious shiny objects that appear on your right and straight ahead in line with the statue. Doing so gives you
XP points
and
+100 health
.

Follow the quest marker down the steps, which leads you to an area with stone blocks surrounded by green water and another Blight blockade on the left. Use the Lyrium dagger via the Ablity wheel to move the stones, enabling you to cross the watery path forward and freeing up the beam of light so it reaches the device on the opposite side of the path.

Open the small chest and another note to read at the end, then look up to destroy another red Blight boil on the ceiling. There is also a door at the top that you can open, creating a shortcut to the bridge from earlier. Turn round and head back to the green water passage. You can now destroy the Blight blockade near the steps, which leads to an elevator.

Take the elevator to the top and exit the area to find a walkway ahead with a large chest on the right and more Blight to destroy above and ahead. Watch out for explosives Blight blobs dropping from above. In the circle marked on the map, take out the Red Blight boils and as many enemies as necessary, including the one on the right, which completes the second objective. Rook then says ‘That’s the last of them, we should tell Warden Vesta.’ You can either return to the Catacombs to search for any collectibles you might have missed or exit through the door ahead to find another large chest at the top of the nearby scaffolding, then return to Warden Vesta just around the corner.

Talk to Warden Vesta (Cornerned in the Catacombs Quest Rewards)

Once you’ve cleared the Catacombs of Darkspawn and Blight, the final mission objective appears, instructing you to speak again with Warden Vesta for the final quest objective. Return to Vesta at the same spot you first met, and speak with her to complete the Cornered in the Catacombs quest. Completing the quest rewards you with increased Faction Strength with the Wardens and Shadow Dragons, as listed below, plus a rare ring called Biting Thumb, and increases to Bond Levels with the companions that accompanied you on the quest:

• +50 Shadow Dragons Strength
• +50 Grey Wardens Strength

You can also find another large chest while exiting through the final door of the Catacombs, just around the corner from where you speak with Vesta. Look up and use your Assan ability to drop a wooden box to the ground, which you can climb up to reach the chest. If you didn’t pick up all the collectibles in Cornered in the Catacombs, you can utilize Dragon Age: The Veilguard‘s fast travel mechanics to return and mop them up.