Summary
Like all previous titles,Dragon Age: The Veilguardplayers can choose between three classes to define their character’s fighting style, as well as specializations for each class to allow players to personalize their builds further.
Unlike previousDragon Agegames, this is the first to combine all the skills into one interesting web that players can experiment with by deciding their own path toward the abilities, passives, and other skills they wish to use, instead ofhaving separate skill trees. Players will gradually earn skill points through leveling and exploring inDragon Age: The Veilguard,but those who have decided to play as a Mage may first wish to work towards these skills to give themselves a better chance at survival.
Updated Jul 11, 2025, by Megan Smith:Although Dragon Age:The Veilguard has been out for a couple of months now, with the RPG title from the incredibly popular Dragon Age franchise being one of the three monthly games available for March on PlayStation Plus, this is a great chance for many more players to enjoy the RPG and try out the Mage class. Players who are intrigued about building a strong character may be interested in knowing what the Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s best skills are. Especially when considering the Dragon Age: The Veilguard Mage skill tree. Since there are so many traits, passives, and abilities to search between on an ever-branching web, these are the best Mage skills in Veilguard.
11Reclamation
Gain Mana With Every Kill
A simple skill players should quickly work toward inDragon Age: The Veilguardis the Reclamation Greater Passive. While players may think some of the best skills to work towards in this web of wonders, Reclamation is a must for any mage due to many of their abilities as well as their ranged attack requiring them to use Mana.
Players can quicken the amount of Mana they can gain through the passive Reclamation, as every kill will reward the player with a boost to their mana. This also means players will likely be refunded some of the mana used to kill a foe.
10Frost Nova
Freeze Surrounding Enemies In Place
Although to truly make an impressive build, a player should invest in various passives at the start, it’s still important to pick up certain abilities, such as Frost Nova. While the damage of this ability may not seem that great, it freezes all enemies that surround the player.
This makes it great for a mage that has been surrounded, as they can quickly escape after freezing all enemies, or allow the player to stop multiple foes in place to combo it with another ability. What makes this ability such a good idea no matter the elements players have decided to focus on is that it doesn’t require any mana to be used. Instead, Frost Nova has a 60-second cooldown so that the mana can be used elsewhere.
9Bulwark
It’s Important To Be Resistant To Physical Damage
Many players that select the class of Mage inDragon Age: The Veilguardfind themselvesusing mostly light armorthat has the lowest defense out of the options available. Thankfully, there is an assortment of passive skills to be found in the skill tree that give players all sorts of resistance, with one of the most useful being resistance to physical damage that players will want to grab early.
Players who favor the staff will likely be keeping a distance, which means Bulwark may not be as useful. However, those that have instead been using the mage-knife and orb will enjoy passives like Bulwark due to it allowing them to take more hits during combat while up close.
8Tempest
An Ability That Can Stagger Multiple Enemies
There is an assortment of abilities for players to purchase depending on the sort of build they are planning to create for their Mage in Veilguard. While this article may not include many abilities, this allows players to further explore the elements they think will fit their build. Although abilities that apply status effects like Weakened are the best. Therefore, Tempest is a great option for any Mage.
This spell is perfect when dealing with a large group of enemies, as casting down the Tempest will electrocute everyone around the player for a small amount of time. This strike ability that lasts for a duration also hasthe chance to stagger enemies, which allows players to perform their epic takedowns, which is fun to see even for a Mage.
7Fade Conduit
Increase The Maximum Mana
One of the most important things a player should unlock first on the skill page for the Mage is a way to increase their total mana. This is what is used by the player to use their various abilities and, by having more available, a player is likely to be able to use more of their abilities during a battle and a lot quicker too.
Fade Conduit is one of many passive skills that increases the player’stotal mana by 50. Players may wish to look for other passives in the skill web to increase this maximum further, or possibly use different armors to boost it too.
6Fade Strike
Hit Harder After Dodging
While some traits on the skill page ofDragon Age: The Veilguardare specific to a certain weapon being used, traits like Fade Strike are not only something players will likely unlock instantly during their playthrough, but are also incredibly useful.
When dodging around the map using their Fade Step dodge ability, a player with the Fade Strike trait can deal a large amount of damage when they dash toward an enemy and then use a light or heavy attack. Since this can be purchased so early, it is a must for any player, no matter the build they are planning to work towards, and opens up combat to plenty more combos than just using status effects.
5Pressure Point
Make Abilities Cool Down Faster
As seen, the abilities inDragon Age: The Veilguardare categorized by different types, such assome abilitiesbeing considered blast while others are strike. There is an assortment of ability upgrades to be found within the skill page’s web that increase certain types of abilities, with Pressure Point being great for those that favor strike spells.
Pressure Point goes a step further than increasing damage, as using a strike ability that achieves a critical hit will give the player the effect of Quickened. This decreases the cooldown of abilities to let the player use them more often.
4Fade Reflex
Slow Time With The Right Dodge
Returning to the usefulness of dodging inVeilguard, a Mage is far more likely to avoid the hits of foes by Fade Stepping away instead of parrying their attacks. Fade Reflex is a perfect trait for any player that favors dodging most of all, as performing a perfect dodge will slow time while keeping the player at normal speed to allow them to fluster an enemy with a flurry of attacks.
Players who are struggling to hit enemies will want to work towards this trait as soon as possible to give themselves a better fighting chance in the combat ofVeilguard. This trait also works well with many of the abilities, with it giving the player an opening.
3Downfall
Jump Attacks Will Always Crit
Alongside mashing light and heavy attacks against foes, players can spice up their combat by using jump attacks. While these are available from the start of the game anyway, players can also improve them with greater passives, like Downfall, which is another skill players can unlock early into their playthrough.
When using a jump attack on a foe that has been knocked down by a different attack, the player will alwaysstrike with a critical hitthat is sure to do far more damage. This can make dealing with foes a lot easier, especially in the early game ofVeilguard.
2Return Fire
Counter Enemies When Dodging Perfectly
Dodging continues to be a mechanic that Mages will likely be using often due to them being the squishiest class inDragon Age: The Veilguard. However, dodging away from an enemy doesn’t mean missing out on attacks, as the Trait Return Fire allows a Mage to continue to be a threat on the battlefield.
Getting this trait quickly will allow players to hit back against foes that have attempted to attack them with either a light or heavy attack as long as they have completed a perfect dodge. Combining this with other-mentioned skills such as Fade Reflex can make the player incredibly powerful as they slow time to counterattack and then continue to hit them.
