Weapon Types To Try In Dragon Age The Veilguard Before Dismissing Them

Key Takeaways

• Some niche weapon types in The Veilguard, like Mage Knives and Heaters, offer unique gameplay advantages.
• Rapiers and Axes aren’t as popular but are effective choices for dealing damage or crowd control.
• Longbows and Arcane Staves provide strategic benefits despite being overlooked for faster or more powerful alternatives.

Considering the sheer number of trials and changes that the fourth Dragon Age game went through before its final release, it’s clear that this game is a triumph on BioWare’s part. Among the many areas where the game went above and beyond in terms of content and depth, there is actually quite a large and varied selection of weapon types available for players to utilize. This includes niche weapon types only available to one class, such as shields for Warriors and bows for Rogues.

These many weapon types do mean that some get lost in the cracks, however, and are forgotten about players or else dismissed as being ineffective. However, there are many interesting weapon types in the game that players may not be giving the time they deserve. For those looking to give this excellent game a try with some lesser-known weapon types, here are some weapons that shouldn’t be so quickly dismissed in The Veilguard.

7 Mage Knives

A Unique Fusion Of Arcane And Physical Combat

The iconic item that helps define the spellblade as one of the most unique and powerful specializations in the game, the mage knife is a faster and more efficient version of the spellblade, albeit one that often trades power for speed.

Many mage knives aren’t focused on dealing damage directly, as spell blades are, but instead being a reliable physical backup while mana regenerates, and also augmenting general spell casting for the player.

6 Heaters

Slow But Effective Shields

Shields in The Veilguard tend to take on a more offensive role than defensive, as blocking to mitigate damage is functionally just an improper use of time in this game, and perfect blocks can be reliably achieved with most melee weapons. This makes heaters seem useless, but that is not so.

While heavier than targes without making up too much in the way of damage, heaters, with a few exceptions have vastly more potent rarity effects that can completely redefine what a build is capable of.

5 Rapiers

Surprisingly Lethal For Such A Fast Weapon

Mostly endemic to Treviso and the more assassin-focused classes of The Veilguard, rapiers are often discredited as paired knives are the go-to pick in this game for maximizing damage output in a small time frame.

Rapiers are faster than long swords and stronger than daggers, they’re an excellent pick for a rogue who will be on the frontlines more often and a great choice for anyone focusing on combos with many rapiers modifying the Final Attacks in combos.

4 Longbows

The Slower Fire Rate Is Worthwhile

Similar to the issue listed with weapons here like heaters and rapiers, longbows are often seen as inefficient where Rook’s time is concerned compared to the much lighter shortbows. However, some of the strongest ranged weapons in the game are longbows.

The way Veilguard’s combat works means time spent slowed or stationary is time working against the player, but the small amount of time taken to charge a longbow can result in shattering an enemy’s armor completely or dispelling a spellcaster’s barrier.

3 Axes

Axes Have Some Unique Skills

Axes in this game serve a unique purpose. Unlike other one-handed weapons, the axe is able to, if utilized properly, cleave through entire waves of enemies and deal huge amounts of splash damage.

This makes axes incredibly valuable to Warriors who are often stuck on the front lines of crowd control in battles. While outpaced by swords and often discredited because of it, axes can hit very hard and hit many people at once to make up for their shortcomings.

2 Mauls

Some Of The Strongest Items In The Game

Warriors in this game get access to some fantastic armor that synergizes incredibly well with two-handed, hard-hitting weapons like mauls. Many players utilize greatswords or greataxes instead of mauls, owing to the fact that mauls are not only slow but don’t always have significant damage to offset their speed.

Where mauls shine, however, is stagger production. Many players probably forget about stagger towards the late game as enemies have such high thresholds for it, but mauls can still stagger enemies and leave them open to some truly powerful execution attacks.

1 Arcane Staves

A Nuanced Take On Veilguard Combat

Elemental staves are often prioritized in The Veilguard for pure magic builds because they offer raw, powerful explosions of damage in battle. Channeling raw elemental fury is certainly a boon of the elemental staves.

Arcane staves, however, have some of the most unique and powerful effects in the game. Arcane staves can completely change how a player operates or how they cast spells with effects that change mana values and mana acquisition. Similar to mauls or heaters, Arcane Staves sacrifice initial power for secondary effects that can add a lot more depth and complexity to builds of all stripes.