Summary
Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas a lot of loot for players to choose from, but they need to be aware that for certain classes, like the Mage, armoris as important as accessories or weapons. In this list, we will cover thebest Early-Game armor for Mages.
With an RNG loot system, it is not always possible to obtain the best armor, but some of these are sold by Faction Sellers. With that said, let’s take a look at the best armor pieces players can get access to from an early stage of their latest adventure in Thedas, alongside their perks, and the approximate location of randomly generated gear.
Updated Jun 03, 2025 by Lucas Simons:Ever since Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released back in 2024, players have been fiddling around with many possible builds, especially for mages, which seem to be the most popular class in the game. Spellblades, Deathcallers, and Evokers all use their preferred meta picks for armor, and it is quite difficult to get proper choices for dressing their mages in the earlier game.
Helmets are also an important part of their equipment, so, there are two new entries in this list to reflect the best possible choices for mages that are starting their adventure, or for veterans trying to squeeze another playthrough using a different build for their characters.
1Helm Of Light And Shadow (Medium Armor)
One Of The Best Helm Options Players Can Find Early
Players will come across the first Helm of Light and Shadow while completing theThe Missing Relic Case Quest alongside Neve Gallus. This Helmet is located in a locked area near the Spare A Coin Boulevard. Right across the path that leads to the docks. Players need to jump over some fallen columns, and there will be a Chest inside near the corpse of a Venatori soldier.
This Helmet is great for two reasons, it can be quickly upgraded by purchasing another one from the Tailor in the Dock Town Market district. So, improving it early on will not be a problem. Players will immediately have 25% extra Denotation damage, which is a lot. This damage overcomes most shields and helps them take down bosses and difficult enemies such as Ogres and Qunari. As the Helmet is improved in quality later on (by purchasing a third from the Shadow Dragon seller when players reach Rank 3) it will also offer extra Stagger damage when applying Detonation effects.
2Crow’s Bill (Light Helmet)
The Best Light Helmet For Spellblades In The Early Game
This helmet is especiallyuseful for Spellblade Builds, since it offers an extra 20% to Final Attack Damage, and Spellblades use lots of combos that apply that effect and benefit from other buffs unlocked through its Perk tree. Players can find this Light Helmet while perusing through the Treviso Canals Market, in the Armor Seller stall. Since it’s Light Armor, it doesn’t offer too much protection, but it will also offer better resource regeneration than Medium and Heavy armor.
Once players have advanced through some of the Crows of Antiva questlines, they will also find a second and third version of this Helmet, improving it quite fast for a powerful early build that causes even more Stagger damage, and bonus damage with every third Final attack of the combo sequences. This is powerful enough to be considered broken in early and mid stages, more so if players manage to get a decent Orb and Spellblade.
3Battle Robes (Light Armor)
Great Advantage Versus Venatori, Scales With Shadow Dragon Faction
TheBattle Robesare a piece of Light Armor that players can find earlier during the adventure, after completing the Dock Town Quest with Neve Gallus. Players can purchase itfrom the Shadow Dragons Faction Shopfor 350 Gold, and it comes with the Uncommon Perk unlocked.
Throughout the adventure, players will find more drops of the same item to upgrade it until it reaches Legendary Rank, but this is a great piece to start with. It’s particularly useful since it offers a lot of resistance against Venatori enemies, which are the most prolific in the whole game, and a menace for all squishy mages.
4Forest Guardian’s Veil (Medium Helm)
Great Medium Helm For Every Purpose, Powers Up Ranged Staff Attacks
TheForest Guardian’s Veilcan be acquired early in the adventure, during the Arlathan Forest first quest after recruiting Bellara and breaching the first barrier, defeating the Darkspawn in the process. Turn to the small ruins with the portcullis and there will be a chest there with this Medium Helm.
It will not have its first Perk active, but players can later acquire it from the Veil Jumper’s shop by purchasing a duplicate of this item. The extra weakpoint damage is great for Staff users who rely on their weapon’s charge attack. As this helm is improved and unlocks other perks, it will cause even more weak point damagedepending on the player’s Faction Strengthwith the Veil Jumpers, and also more damage to barrier enemies.
5Dalish Wraps (Light Armor)
A Great Choice For Light Armor Mages
TheDalish Wrapsare Light Armor that’s purchasable from the Veil Jumpers shop in Arlathan for 350 gold. It provides a +20% to Mana Regeneration right from the start, since it will be an Uncommon piece of gear. This is ideal for every mage, since Mana Regeneration is hard to come by in the game and is essentially what keeps the skill rotation going during combat.
It also empowers Ranged attacks with the Staff and Orbs, so when this piece of Light Armor evolves into an Epic version, it will significantly reduce the cost of those attacks. The Legendary Perk providesa powerful combat advantagethat allows players to forget about crowd control and cast their spells with absolute freedom.
6Jumper’s Deft Leathers (Light Armor)
Power Ups, Mana Regen, And Maximum Mana
TheJumper’s Deft Leatherscan be randomly obtained by opening chests throughout the Arlathan Forest and Crossroads maps, and provides several great perks for Mages. The first one increases Maximum Mana by 50, while the second provides Mana Generation, which, contrary to Mana Regeneration, provides extra Mana every time the Mage attacks.
The third perk provides defense based on the maximum Mana, which is great for mitigating damage, and we know Mages are extra squishy, and they desperately need some way to become more resistant. Its last perk will be unlocked once the armor reaches Legendary Rank; it is a damage buff activated each time the player casts a Spell, which grants a percentage of the Mana used as Ability Damage.
7Time Tested Trappings (Medium Armor)
Great For Combo Attacks, Recovers Mana And Ultimate
This Medium Armor can be randomly dropped from Chests all around Arlathan Forest and The Crossroads. It enhances ability combos with companions by increasing the window of opportunity after an ally performs a combination attack to take advantage of Primers.
Primers are an important mechanic for mages, since most enemies have a lot of elemental resistance, and the mage’s whole kit is centered around causing damage according to the four elements (Cold, Fire, Electric, and Necrotic). When an enemy is weakened and sundered, it will be Primed for Detonations, andmost spells can take advantage of the Primed stateto cause even more damage. Rook can also generate Primers using certain skills, and the Control Mage/Evoker Skill section specializes in doing so. TheTime Tested Trappingsplay right into this specialization.
