Summary
Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas been a long time coming, having now arrived 10 years after the last game with an entirely different look and feel to it. While these changes have affectedDragon Age: The Veilguard’s visualsand environments, its combat might have taken the most drastic hit — even sparking a bit of controversy in the process.
Despite any contention surroundingDragon Age: The Veilguard’s combat, it has managed to achieve something with a specific playstyle that no other installment before it was capable of. Specifically,Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s bow is perhaps in the best place it has ever been in the series, thanks to the game’s action-oriented combat and all it entails.
Dragon Age’s Bow Finally Gets Its Due in The Veilguard
Dragon Age’s Bow Has Evolved Only Slightly Over the Years
TheDragon Ageserieshas always featured bows as a viable combat option for players to use, but they didn’t have the most glorious beginnings. InDragon Age: Origins, both Warriors and Rogues could use a bow, but the slower pace of the game’s combat made the weapon a bit less appealing than the more fluid melee and spellcasting playstyles. WithDragon Age 2came faster-paced combat than the first game, which inevitably affected bows by making combat animations more responsive and requiring more involvement from players. Unfortunately,Dragon Age 2’s bows took a hit from the game’s fast-paced combat, as it seemingly exchanged depth for speed by lacking plentiful dedicated skills for the weapon.
Dragon Age: Inquisition’s bows were given more abilities than before, but they were really only more effective than other weapons if they were specced correctly.
Furthermore,Dragon Age: Origins,Dragon Age 2, andDragon Age: Inquisitionall featured a more automated targeting system where players would lock onto targets rather than aim at them freely. While bows have become increasingly powerful with each subsequent installment, they have still been one of the less engaging ways to approach combat throughout the series and have continuously lacked a surprising amount of depth. However,Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas drastically changed the way bows work since they were first introduced inDragon Age: Origins, and has improved them far and above what evenDragon Age: Inquisitionaccomplished.
Players Can Free-Aim the Bow and Access a Multitude of Bow-Related Skills in Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Unlike previousDragon Ageinstallments, players can finally free-aim the bow inDragon Age: The Veilguard, as long as they choose the Rogue class for their Rook. The ability to free-aim a bow in a game may not sound like much, but it marks a major turning point in theDragon Agefranchise and simultaneously emphasizesDragon Age: The Veilguard’s action-oriented combat. The benefit of being able to free-aim the bow inDragon Age: The Veilguardultimately comes into play when hitting enemy weak points (usually their heads) for extra damage.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s bow can also be manually charged for extra damage, and is capable of delivering a Perfect Shot once fully charged.
In addition to being able to free-aim the bow inDragon Age: The Veilguard, Rogueplayers also have access to a novel range of bow-related skills, especially if they go the route of the Rogue Veil Ranger specialization. Scattered throughout the skill tree forDragon Age: The Veilguard’s Rogue are a multitude of skills players can use with their bow, some of which deal high single-target damage and others that prioritize area-of-effect damage. In a sense, players can create a Rogue “sniper” class for the first time inDragon Age, thanks to the free-aiming capabilities of the bow and the deep pool of skills to choose from.
It is clear that BioWare wanted to ensure bows shined inDragon Age: The Veilguard, as players have an unprecedented amount of control over them and can customize their skillset more than ever before. WithDragon Age: The Veilguard’s bow, players can stay mostly out of harm’s way and deliver devastating blows from afar to ensure their enemies are hardly given a chance.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
WHERE TO PLAY
Enter the world of Thedas, a vibrant land of rugged wilderness, treacherous labyrinths, and glittering cities – steeped in conflict and secret magics. Now, a pair of corrupt ancient gods have broken free from centuries of darkness and are hellbent on destroying the world.Thedas needs someone they can count on. Rise as Rook, Dragon Age’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight to stop the gods from blighting the world. But you can’t do this alone – the odds are stacked against you. Lead a team of seven companions, each with their own rich story to discover and shape, and together you will become The Veilguard.
