Dragon Age: The Veilguard – The Sacrifice of Souls Walkthrough

Johanna Hezenkoss is a classic mad scientist, except that she dabbles in necromancy thanks to the fantasy setting of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Setting aside such details, it’s up to Emmrich and the Veilguard to stop Hezenkoss’ evil scheme.

The quest “The Sacrifice of Souls” becomes available towards the end of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. To see this quest, you need to free the Dalish elves kidnapped by the Venatori and elven gods, and you also need to complete every previous Emmrich companion quest. When you’re ready to go, you’ll have to teleport back to Blackthorne Manor using the world map.

How to Reach the Hidden Shrine

Blackthorne Manor is exactly how you left it after the quest “House of the Dead,” so if you didn’t find all the collectibles during your first visit, you have another chance to grab them now. However, you can’t revisit the Fade area from the earlier quest.

If you don’t need to explore the Manor again, you should climb the ladder to the left of the entrance to quickly get where you need to go (assuming you extended the ladder the last time you were here). Head north to the North West Wing area, then run over to the balcony overlooking the ballroom. You won’t see Johanna’s lantern, but you will overhear a necromancer talking about a useful tome.

You should now head east to the Blackthorne library, which is where the Veil tear was in “House of the Dead.” Defeat the undead sentries, then start searching the library for the spectral tome. You have a lot of books to search through, but the correct book is always in the same spot: On the northern table of the north staircase landing.

To continue, head back to the North West Wing, but stay on the first floor this time. You’ll see Manfred by a door on the east wall. Give him the book, then head back up to the balcony to eavesdrop on the necromancer.

Follow Emmrich as he runs back downstairs to the large doors to the north that won’t open. Interact with the locked door, then interact with Manfred, who is standing to the right. You can now enter a new area in Blackthorne. However, keep in mind that you can’t go back after you open the door. This is your last chance to check the South Manor for anything you missed.

How to Solve the Blackthorne Manor Puzzle

Now that you’re in a new area, there are new collectibles to find.

• Go through the east doorway after the cutscene to find three small chests.
• Go through the west doorway and turn left. There’s a small chest on the right wall, and the large chest you couldn’t reach during “House of the Dead” is at the end of this hallway.
• Descend the rotting staircase, then check the central shaft at the bottom. You’ll find a skeleton clutching a Codex item.

The next room has a few undead guards, a secret door, and an optional puzzle. Here’s how to solve the puzzle:

1. Before you do anything else, open the secret door in the northeast corner of the room. You’ll need a wisp you can only find in the next room.
2. There are three symbols on the west wall in the north corner. You must pull the levers below the matching symbols in this room, and you must pull them in the right order.
3. The first lever you must pull is to the right of the symbols.
4. The second lever is behind a locked gate. If you bring the wisp from the next room to this gate, it’ll inhabit the skeleton on the other side and open the gate for you.
5. The third lever is on the south wall of the room, in the southeast corner.

Completing the puzzle opens another secret door. You can find a large chest inside. There are also more collectibles to grab during and after this puzzle:

• On the ramp up to the trapped wisp, you can grab a Codex item from a table, and open a Timelost Hoard chest.
• Take the elevator down, then turn left as soon as you exit. There’s a small chest in the corner past the stairs.
• Go through the right archway and fight some undead to get through. Follow the southeast wall to go behind the stairs and open a small chest. Take the stairs to the higher platform to read Hezenkoss’ revenge list.
• Jump down into the next room. Instead of opening the doors to your left, go through the broken wall straight ahead. You’ll find a small chest on a ledge to the right.

Keep following the path and fighting the undead, and eventually a Deathchill Pride Demon will appear. The “Deathchill” trait means that the demon takes less damage from necrotic sources, and that it can inflict the status ailment Necrosis with its regular attacks. Once the fight ends, wait for Manfred to drop a ladder, then follow the quest marker to jump into the Upper Laboratory area.

How to Beat Johanna Hezenkoss

Johanna Hezenkoss is a mage-type enemy, but she has more than a few unique spells and tricks you’ll need to watch out for as you fight her.

• Hezenkoss is vulnerable to Necrotic damage, but strong against Cold.
• She has a triple beam attack, which features one long homing beam followed by two short sweeping beams.
• She can fire up to two large necrotic projectiles in a row.
• She can cause explosions to radiate out from her position.
• She can teleport across the battlefield, dropping explosions in her wake.
• When Hezenkoss drops to three-quarters of her health bar, she’ll teleport back to her massive creation and stones will randomly drop from the ceiling. Undead reinforcements will also start to run into the arena, and there appears to be no end to them. As such, the only reason to destroy them is to give yourself some breathing room as you focus on Hezenkoss. She’ll repeat this pattern when she hits half health, but not when she’s down to one-quarter.
• After Hezenkoss returns to the battlefield, she can summon a necrotic tornado that travels slowly but targets Rook and can deal incredible amounts of damage.

Once Hezenkoss drops to a tiny amount of health, she’ll teleport off the battlefield, and the fight concludes with a cutscene.

Which Choice Should Emmrich Make?

Following Hezenkoss’ defeat, Emmrich and Rook travel back to the Necropolis to speak to the liches in charge. They present Emmrich with a choice: either let Manfred rest and continue down the path to lichdom, or forsake lichdom and bring Manfred back. You don’t get the benefits of either choice until you complete Emmrich’s next quest, but you must make this decision now.

Bring Manfred Back

• Emmrich gets the legendary armor Graven Vestments. While he’s in the party and Rook has Low Health, Detonations deal 50 percent more damage and grant Rook the Invulnerable condition.
• He gets the Veilguard skill Life’s Embrace. Rook enters the Low Health condition 10 percent earlier, and everyone in the party deals 50 percent more damage while Rook has Low Health.
• Emmrich begins to come to terms with his mortality.
• A more intelligent Manfred is present in the Lighthouse.

Let Manfred Go

• Emmrich gets the legendary armor Lich’s Vestments. Detonations against Sundered enemies also apply Quietus (a more powerful Necrosis), and if Detonated enemies already have Quietus or Necrosis, they take an extra 200 Necrotic damage.
• He gets the Veilguard skill Death’s Caress. All of Emmrich’s damaging skills apply Necrosis, and all afflictions imposed by any party member deal an extra 25 percent damage.
• Emmrich becomes an undead lich, and is visibly undead while in the Lighthouse.
• Manfred is nowhere to be found.

Regardless of your choice, this quest comes with a reward of 3,750 XP, a Keepsake for Emmrich, 600 gold, and +100 Mourn Watch Strength.