Best Early-Game Armor For Rogues In Dragon Age The Veilguard

Key Takeaways

• Get the Recruit’s Simple Tunic for early-game Rogue armor to deal extra Armor and Heavy Attack damage.
• Jumper’s Deft Leathers are ideal for Ranger Rogues with increased Arrow Regeneration.
• Time-tested Trappings are recommended for Saboteur Rogues to generate Primers and Detonations.

Rogues are excellent at both melee and ranged combat, but to make the most out of this class in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players need to get armor that synergizes perfectly with their build. And there’s a lot of gear to pick from, and that can be confusing. So, it’s worth taking a look at the best early-game armor for Rogues.

This topic has some of the best pieces of equipment players can get early during the adventure, and since some of the loot is randomized and drops from certain containers, it can be tricky to pinpoint their location. Luckily, these armor pieces can be bought from vendors and are guaranteed to drop from certain chests.

1 Recruit’s Simple Tunic (Light Armor)

The Best For Breaking Enemy Armor

• Uncommon: +25% damage vs. Armor
• Rare: +15% Heavy attack damage
• Epic: +20% damage with Charged Heavy attacks
• Legendary: Breaking an enemy’s Armor deals 500 Physical damage to nearby enemies

Found in one of the first chests in the Rogue playthrough during the intro quest, this Light Armor is associated with the Grey Warden’s Faction, and can also be purchased from their vendor at Hossberg Wetlands once “The Siege of Weisshaupt” quest ends. More drops of the same armor improve its quality and perks and can be found as random enemy-chest drops/quest rewards. This armor is ideal for rogues in the early stages of the game since it provides extra Armor and Heavy Attack damage.

Many enemies during the first quests will have lots of Armor and this means players will have to chip it down before they can cause real damage to them. To complicate things even more, Armor prevents Staggering, so as long as this doesn’t drop, the Rogue cannot use its best skills and take advantage of buffs received by Takedowns. So, the Recruit’s Simple Tunic is a smart choice for every low-level Rogue.

2 Jumper’s Deft Leathers (Light Armor)

Empowers Arrow Regeneration

• Uncommon: +50% Arrow Regeneration
• Rare: +15% Weakpoint damage
• Epic: 25% Charged Bow damage
• Legendary: Fully Charged Bow shots are highly likely to disrupt all enemies around the target.

Jumper’s Deft Leathers can be found in Arlathan forest during the “In Entropy’s Grasp” quest, once players find Bellara and activate the first Beacon. A second armor can be purchased from the Veil Jumpers Faction Vendor, which will improve the armor to Uncommon. This is one of the best armors to start a Ranger Rogue build because it provides a lot of Ammo regeneration, crucial for those who want to use the bow.

If combined with Bows that also provide Arrow Regeneration, It will provide a constant supply of arrows no matter how fast players can shoot. The tricky part is finding the right Bow to pair it with, but the Veil’s Edge seems to be the best choice since its first perk provides an extra 50% Arrow Regeneration.

3 Time-Tested Trappings (Medium Armor)

Boosts Companion Combo Moves

• Uncommon: +25% Primer duration
• Rare: +10% Primer effectiveness
• Epic: Hits against Primed enemies generate an additional 1% Ultimate and 2 Momentum
• Legendary: Gain 10% health when applying a Primer

This Medium Armor can be found during the “Shadows of Ancient Arlathan” quest (the first main quest after the intro) in a chest below the bridge near the waterfall by entering the cave and following the path down the river. The second version of this armor can be purchased from Veil Jumpers Faction vendor for 650 Gold.

This is an excellent choice for Rogues building toward the Saboteur Specialization, which can generate a lot of Primers and opportunities for Detonations. Considerably one of the best choices in the first stages of the game, since it will also increase the window of opportunity to take advantage of Primers whenever allies generate them.

4 Orchestrator’s Long Coat (Medium Armor)

Ideal For Duelist Builds

• Uncommon: +15% damage vs. health
• Rare: +15% Light attack damage
• Epic: +25% Final attack damage vs. health
• Legendary: Defeating an enemy deals 150 Physical damage to nearby enemies

Players can purchase this Armor from the Armor vendor Stall in Treviso Canals Market and can purchase one more from the Antivan Crows vendor in the Cantori Diamond. They will also find a third one early on while opening one of the chests in the Treviso Terraces. Once they unlock the second Perk of this piece of armor, it becomes a great advantage to have early on the adventure.

Especially useful for Duelist Rogues, since they specialize in causing damage with combo chains that mix Light and Final attacks in quick succession. The extra Physical damage caused by the Legendary Perk, once unlocked, is as broken as it sounds: clears out an entire battlefield in a matter of seconds.

5 Duelist’s Coat (Medium Armor)

The Best For Maximum Bow Damage

• Uncommon: +4 maximum Arrows
• Rare: +20% Hipfire damage
• Epic: +300 Stagger on every fourth Arrow shot
• Legendary: While you have maximum Momentum, you do not spend Arrows while using Ranged attacks

Contrary to what the name suggests, this Medium Armor is better suited for Rangers and Saboteurs than Duelists. Its great bonuses to the amount of arrows Rook can carry and to Hipfire Damage are quite useful early on.

As new perks are unlocked, this Armor becomes incredibly strong, and players can find one of these in the Treviso Canal Market Stalls, then another in the Antivan Crows vendor, and one more easily accessible during the Lucanis Dellamorte recruiting quest titled “Sea of Blood,” and the fourth one after completing Lucanis second companion quest.

6 Contoured Skirmish Jacket (Medium Armor)

The Best Protection Against Rogue’s Natural Counters

• Uncommon: +25% Resistances vs. Antaam enemies
• Rare: +20 Defense relative to Antivan Crows Allied Strength
• Epic: Immune to Afflictions applied by your faction-sworn enemies
• Legendary: Gain Rally Party vs. Mercenaries and Dragons

Players will be able to purchase this armor in the Treviso Canal Market Stalls, the second is sold in the Antivan Crows Faction vendor, and a third one lies waiting inside a manor found by crossing the Bridge of the Treviso Canals Market. The chest lies behind a wall activated with the Lyrium Knife and players will have to defeat an Elven Automaton to acquire it.

The bonuses offered to the players in return will empower their defense against Antaam enemies and will grant powerful bonuses later on the adventure, especially that boost against High Dragons. So, it’s one of the best Armors to acquire early on so players can upgrade it fast.

7 Defiant Silence (Light Helmet)

For Deadly Critical Builds

• Uncommon: +20% Critical damage
• Rare: +25% Stagger with Critical hits
• Epic: +10% Critical damage relative to Shadow Dragons Allied Strength
• Legendary: You now have a 10% chance to deal Critical damage with any weapon attacks.

Ideal for Critical Damage based builds, especially effective for Duelist and Veil Ranger Rogues, this Light Helmet can be acquired in the Shadow Dragon faction shop, and another one can be looted by completing the “Missing Relic Case” (Neve Gallus’ First Quest).

Once players unlock the extra Critical Damage bonus, they will notice a fair difference each time they land a critical hit (by striking weak points) and this will ensure their capabilities as Rogues are optimized to the fullest.

8 Crow’s Bill (Light Helmet)

Empowers Melee Combos To The Max

• Uncommon:+20% Final attack damage
• Rare: +50% Stagger from Final attacks
• Epic: Every third Final attack deals bonus damage
• Legendary: +100% Final attack damage but -20% Light and Heavy attack damage

Great for Duelists and Saboteur Rogues, this Light Helmet can be purchased in the Antivan Crows Faction vendor, and another one can be found in the Treviso Canals Market. Every final attack on a single combo chain is empowered thanks to this piece of armor, and as players unlock more perks, this damage bonus is greatly increased.

The Epic and Legendary Perks are simply too good to be true, and Rogue players will notice a great difference in total damage output after they unlock these. It’s highly recommended that players purchase each upgrade of this Helmet from vendors, so there’s more chance that they obtain an improved version early on.

9 Forest Guardian’s Veil (Medium Helmet)

Great Against Barrier Enemies

• Uncommon: +15% Weakpoint damage
• Rare: +25% damage vs. Barrier
• Epic: +10% Weakpoint damage relative to Veil Jumpers Allied Strength
• Legendary: Weakpoint hits vs. enemies with Barrier are Critical

Forest Guardian’s Veil is found in the “Shadows of Ancient Arlathan” quest, the second chest players will find contains the common version of the Helmet, and the Veil Jumper vendor sells the uncommon upgrade. As the story progresses, players will find the Rare version in one of Bellara’s quests, the Epic version in the “Slaying the Fangscorcher” Taash quest, and the Legendary version in the “Blood of Arlathan” main quest.

This Helmet’s power increases the more faction strength the players have in their Veil Jumper allies, and it’s ideal for the Veil Ranger specialization since it focuses on providing bonuses to Weakspot Damage.

10 Helm Of Light And Shadow (Medium Helmet)

Good Helmet To Empower Companion Combos

• Uncommon: +25% Detonation damage
• Rare: +25% Stagger applied by Detonations
• Epic: Gain Detonation damage based on your companion relationship
• Legendary: Companion cooldowns are reduced by 50% when they perform a Detonation

Players can acquire this Medium Helmet during the “Missing Relic Case Quest.” Once they take the “detour” to go down to the Docks, Neve will lead them through the Spare A Coin Boulevard. Right across the street, there will be a Chest inside a gate with a Venatori Corpse and a lore object inside. Players can check to the right and spot a scaffold where they can climb on, and jump to access the chest. Then, by activating the lever they can return to the quest.

This Helmet improves Detonation damage by 25% and will synergize with most Duelist and Saboteur abilities, as well as with Lucanis, Hardin, and Neve’s Primer skills. It is one of the best to have early during the adventure. Plus, it has one of the coolest designs.