Best Side Quests In Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Key Takeaways

• Completing side quests in Dragon Age: The Veilguard unlocks legendary loot and secret content.
• Missing quests like “Dead Men Tell Some Tales” and “Warden Grey’s Final Repose” means missing out on powerful items and lore.
• Undertaking quests like “The Warden Vault” and “Something Wicked” leads to unique weapons, achievements, and special endings.

In Dragon Age: The Veilguardthere’s plenty of hidden content and a lot of Secondary Quests to complete. However, players, especially those who want to follow the main quest line, do not always pay attention to everything they can do in the game. In some cases, this leads to missing opportunities such as Legendary Loot, Secret Cutscenes, and Lore which will never be found.

The following examples are side quests players should not skip if they want to have all that precious loot and unlock a lot of secret content, including one of the special endings in the game.

1 Dead Men Tell Some Tales

Missing This Quest Would Mean Missing The Best Utility Belt In The Game

• Location: Rivain Coast
• Reward: Unique Belt and Treasure

Players will unlock this sub-quest as a follow-up after Taash’s personal quest “In The Lair Of The Dragon King,” and it will send Rook and their party to a meeting with the Spirit of Adventure. The spirit will tell the tale of a certain eager pirate who tried to loot a chest mid-combat and met his demise. Not before preparing a hoard of gold for whoever could find his lair.

So, it’s basically that: a Treasure hunt, and fighting against undead pirates through the Rivaini Coasts. The best part? It’s an easy quest that ends up with one of the best items in the game: Glorious Ultimatum. Equipping it turns the healing pots into Ultimate Pots, and using the Ultimate now heals players to maximum health. Players shouldn’t miss this chance to get this Unique Item.

2 Warden Grey’s Final Repose

Triggers An Important Quest For Loot

• Location: Rivain Coast
• Reward: Treasure Chests

This quest starts way earlier during the first encounter with Taash. Rook and his party will be sent on a wild chase through the old Grey Warden ruins on the Rivain Coast, and when going through the fortress, they might stumble across several Lore Objects that trigger this quest. It will send players to investigate various signs left by the First Qunari Grey Warden: Grey.

After a while, the quest will come to a halt, but it will be re-triggered later when players unlock the Sharksmouth Mount area, after the “In The Lair Of The Dragon King” Companion Quest. Track down the remaining lore pieces, and this will also trigger another quest called The Warden Vault. Following up Warden Grey’s Final Repose will reward players with exp, invaluable lore pieces, and Mementos that are needed to level up Caretaker’s Workshop.

3 The Warden Vault

There’s A Lot Of Loot To Be Found Here, Including The Elusive Unique Two-Handed Weapon From Dragon Age 2

• Location: Rivain Coast
• Reward: Unique Stave/Two-Handed Weapon/Bow

The Warden Vault tasks the players with solving yet another Statue Puzzle, which consists of investigating a series of clues about ancient Grey Wardens from the Second Blight. The Vault Itself lies hidden in plain sight in one of the towers inside Sharksmouth Mount ruins.

The puzzle itself is easy to solve, but the solution is detailed in the images above. The important thing is the Reward at the end of the road, which is several treasure chests, Memento Items, Lore Items, and a Unique Weapon, which can be a Greatsword, a Stave, or a Bow. Players may even receive Meredith’s Legacy (from Dragon Age 2) and the Arcane Stave, which causes Necrotic damage and has an overpowered Self-Heal perk.

4 In Memoriam

The First Of A Series Of Important Quests In Dock Town

• Location: Dock Town – The Market
• Rewards: New Area Open, Triggers Quest Chain, and Unique Rewards

This Quest will be automatically available from the moment players unlock the Dock Town area as an explorable zone, and if they go to the Market, they will notice a quest marker nearby. Following it will trigger the first in a long chain of quests that will ultimately lead to a Unique Piece of Armor.

A Spirit of Compassion will appear before Rook and beg the team to investigate a series of murders occurring all across Dock Town. Simply follow the marker, search for the clues, and discover what’s going on with the murder cases. Having Neve with the team helps a lot. After helping Compassion, this Spirit will leave with a warning. Something wicked is feeding on Dock Town’s suffering. That means there’s still a long way to go before completing a series of quests that will periodically appear in this area.

5 Cornered In The Catacombs

Will Unlock Access To Dock Town’s Undergrounds

• Location: Dock Town – Shadow Dragons Hideout
• Rewards: New Area Open: Treasure, Evanuris Statue, A Hidden Hoard follow-up quest

This quest will send Rook and friends on a goose chase down the sewers of Dock Town, to rid them of remaining Darkspawn after the Blight Dragon attack. If players choose to help Dock Town instead of Treviso, they will be able to complete this quest. In case they don’t, they will be blocked from the follow-up quest “A Hidden Hoard” quest, and the quest chain will break there.

After investigating a series of disappearances in Dock Town, Rook will be able to clear a Darkspawn nest right beneath the Shadow Dragon base, which will lead to open a new area: The Catacombs. After defeating the Blighted monsters and destroying some Cysts, players will be able to explore further in and detect some mysterious traces of demonic influence.

6 A Hidden Hoard

Grants A Lot Of Treasure

• Location: Dock Town
• Reward: Mementos, Random Treasure, new Area Unlock, “Desperate In Dock Town” Follow Up

Shortly after completing the “Cornered In The Catacombs” quest, Rook notices a strange billboard while browsing through the Dock Town Market that speaks about a Treasure Hunt. Following the clues, the players will soon discover it was all a trap, and some mercenaries will ambush them in the Catacomb area.

Killing them will unlock the Vault containing a “smelly” Hidden Hoard, some Mementos, a Random Treasure, and most importantly, a Lore Object that finally triggers the “Desperate In Dock Town” quest. The demonic influence in Dock Town has been a problem ever since the war with the Gods started, and now Rook finally has a lead to its origins. This quest needs to be completed to unlock the next step in the Dock Town series.

7 Desperate In Dock Town

The Last Of A Series Of Quests, Unlocks Powerful Unique Armor

• Location: Dock Town
• Reward: Unique Armor/Random Treasure, Mementos

Following up on “A Hidden Hoard,” players will be able to reach the final section of the Dock Town Catacombs, which will lead to the final confrontation with the Desperation Demon, the one who has been moving the threads behind the curtains, and has been feeding on the suffering of the people.

Descend further down the Catacomb, unlock the caged treasure chest by activating the mechanism, then go down the wall next to the Zipline to find a hole in the wall, with a lore piece nearby. Step into the arena and kill the Desperation Demon and his minions, then claim the loot, a unique Light Armor called Magister’s End.

8 Unwelcome Guests

Important To Unlock One Of The Key Quests For An Achievement

• Location: Navarra – The Great Necropolis
• Reward: Access To Vault Area – Pinnacle Of Its Kind Follow-Up Quest

Once players complete the Emmrich Volkarin intro quest, and unlock the Nevarran Great Necropolis area to explore, they need to return to this place, to the central area, and talk to Myrna. She will send players to “get rid” of Unwelcome Guests: the Venatori, who have been digging around the bones without a care for the dead.

Once Rook kicks out these rude interlopers, they will be able to investigate what was going on with all that digging around. This will lead to a mysterious voice beckoning from the depths of the Vault, the place where the Venatori were trying to access. And then, the “Pinnacle Of Its Kind” quest will pop up, and now players have an important task ahead.

9 Pinnacle Of Its Kind

Will Make The Players Fight An Undead High Dragon, Possessed By A Demon

• Location: Navarra – The Great Necropolis
• Reward: Unique Weapon/Treasure Chests/Bringing The Sky Down Achievement/Trophy

The “Pinnacle Of Its Kind” quest consists of getting rid of three demons that hold the seal for the Vault’s door, one located in Dock Town, another in Hossberg Wetlands, and the final one hidden in Arlathan Forest. Once they break this three-part seal, they will be able to access the Vault and face The Formless One, which is also required for the Bringing The Sky Down Achievement/Trophy.

This quest is important because it also grants a lot of Faction strength with both the Mourn Watch and the Lords of Fortune, and the players will also miss the chance for some Unique Weapons (depending on their class) and lots of Treasure chests, Mementos, and other loot.

10 Something Wicked

Important For The Destiny Of The Gryphons And Grey Wardens

• Location: The Anderfells – Hossberg Wetlands
• Reward: Hidden Chests, Grey Warden Good Ending Trigger Quest

If players follow all the Devrim’s companion quests until the end, they will also notice a series of follow-up quests with Antoine and Evka, the only Grey Wardens who were willing to help Rook from the start. Returning the kindness and helping them deal with the corruption spreading through Hossber Wetlands will not only unlock new areas to explore but also grant access to Chests that were locked behind Blight Corruption.

The series of quests will start with “Something Wicked” and will end with “Something’s Coming,” where Rook will have to defeat a huge mutated Blight Cyst who seems to have gained sentience. Blasting away the ugly amalgam of corruption will give Rook the chance to help Antoine and Evka retire and live happily ever after away from the fight against Darkspawn. But, there is more. If the players choose the “Gyiphons Return to the Wardens” option at the end of Devrim’s quest chain, Antoine will become the new Gryphon master of the order, and players will be able to witness one of the funniest scenes in the entire game.

11 The Heart Of Corruption

Will Allow Players To Unlock The Best Possible Ending

• Location: The Crossroads
• Reward: Unique Weapons, Amulets, Armor/Treasure/Good Ending Unlock Pre-Requisite

The Crossroads is a place that players need to explore fully if they want to understand Solas and also unlock the best possible ending. But to do so, they will need to open up a series of Corrupted Doors protected by Champion Essences, which are obtained throughout the adventure by destroying Blight Cysts and defeating the Darkspawn Champions.

There are several doors to open, but the most important ones are those that lead to the Pillars of Corruption. These hidden bosses not only grant lots of rewards when defeated, but Rook will also break the hold of the Gods over the Fade, which will in turn grant them a purified Essence. Following up after Defeating the Three Pillars, players will be able to face the Revenant Dragon, which is also required for the Bringing The Sky Down Achievement/Trophy, and also earning some juicy rewards.