Dragon Age: The Veilguardhas a plethora of bothmainline and side questsfor players to complete. Bioware’s newest RPG title is filled to the brim with things to do, places to see, and people to meet. As is often the case with large-scale RPG titles,Veilguard’s side quests offer the player unique experiences, plotlines, and rewards away from the main questline.From companion quests that fill players in on their dragon-slaying comrades' lore to regional quests that are only available during certain parts of the game, there aredozens of hours of side quest content to be experienced.
Many lesser RPGs use side quest content as filler, with fetch quests or defend-this-area-until-the-timer-stops quests being copy-pasted across the game’s length to give an illusion of depth or replayabillty. This is not the case withVeilguard. From rare items that can only be acquired through sidequests to the many fascinating and well written plotlines outside of the main quest,a huge part of theVeilguardexperience comes from the side content.As proven by many great fantasy RPGs of the past, side quests are truly where an RPG’s quality and depth can be found.
10The Heart Of Corruption
Uncovering Darkness: The Heart Of Corruption’s Sinister Secrets
Although the Heart of Corruption is unlocked early on in the game,it’s ultimately one of several “endgame” quests, and players will want to level up their character and progress before taking on this challenge. This quest islocated in The Crossroadsand involves several sets of high-level enemy encounters that lead up to a final boss fight.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard Finally Includes The Best DLC Feature From Past Games
Players can update their looks whenever they want for the first time in the Dragon Age series, a major improvement over past entries.
The multi-stage quest takes players across the Crossroads region, fighting three ogres and three subsequent bosses to unlock a final door that hides one of the game’s toughest High Dragons. Some of the rarest unique items can be found along the way during this quest, so overcoming the challenges of The Heart of Corruption is a process that’s well worth players' time.
9Partners In A Dangerous Crime
Unlikely Alliances: Partners In A Dangerous Crime’s Thrilling Consequences
Partners In A Dangerous Crime involves the two warring groups active in Treviso, the Antivan Crows and the Venatori.This quest sees these seemingly opposing forces join together in the shadows, leading to an emotional and espionage-tinged story about a Crow and Venatori exchanging messages in secret. This quest not only boasts one of the game’s best-written side stories, but it also features a difficult and morally intense decision at the end.
This one is especially capable of pulling at heartstrings, so it shouldn’t be missed for those wanting a rich emotional experience.
With all the world-saving going on inVeilguard,it’s refreshing to see a smaller human story that is not directly about the player’s character. This one is especially capable of pulling at heartstrings, so it shouldn’t be missed for those wanting a rich emotional experience.
The Regrets of the Dread Wolf of quests is one of the more crucial in the game in terms of story and its relevance to the main questline and its characters.Ghilan’nain, Solas, and Elgar’nan are all involved in the story here, withSolas' past in particularreceiving plenty of development. The quest involves searching for six statuettes of wolves that are scattered across the map - seemingly a simple premise.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Should You Support Or Disagree With Varric’s Plan To Confront Solas?
Dragon Age: The Veilguard comes with many choices, including whether players should support or disagree with Varric’s plan to confront Solas.
However, there is plenty of crucial information on Solas and the others to be found along the way during this quest, making it a must-play for anyone looking to learn more about the main questline. Solas’s lore development here is actually so relevant to the main questline and the larger plot of the game that it is easy to imagine Regrets of the Dread Wolf could have been intended as a main quest at some point during development. For Solas’s lore alone, Regrets of the Dread Wolf shouldn’t be skipped.
7In Memoriam
Honoring the Fallen: In Memoriam’s Poignant Tribute
In Memoriam islocated in Dock Town, a district of Minrathous.This is one of the darker side quests in the game, centering on a series of murders plaguing the district.If playing detective while slaying demons alongside a benevolent spirit sounds appealing, any sleuth-leaning players should not miss out on this quest. With a good balance of combat, loot, and an intriguing narrative involving a community dealing with homicides, this quest will not disappoint.
Dock Town in general is a fantastic area of the game’s mapand creates a real sense of place. Sidequests such as this one and Desperate in Dock Town immerse the player in a community of actual people who are facing the same terrifying demons and violence that the player has to confront.
6The Demon’s Bargain
A Deal With The Devil: The Demon’s Bargain’s Risky Rewards
The Demon’s Bargain is a companion quest centering on Bellara and the Elves. This quest takes place in the Arlathan Forest and develops both the Elves' lore and Bellara’s, with plenty of critical information being revealed along the way about Elvish history and their motivations and place in theDragon Ageuniverse. With Elves being one of the game’s playable races,this quest represents a fantastic opportunity to delve deeper into the game world’s history— Elves and their lore are a central part ofDragon Agegames.
This quest’s focus on the Arlathan Forest and its history is also unique. Each location inVeilguard’s world has its own lore, but few have side quests dedicated to them and their place in theDragon Ageuniverse like this. There’s also an upgrade for a Bellara armor set provided as a reward, so it’s great for those who want to power her up as a companion.
5"Hauntings" Quests
Beyond the Veil: Unraveling the “Hauntings” Quests' Mysteries
The series of “Hauntings” quests given by Vorgoth and Myrna is for any fan of Gothic or medieval horror stories.These quests are basic in structure, essentially being monster hunts. Seeing and fighting each actual creature, however, is worth doing, with fantastic character design and great combat to be found at each encounter.
The most consistent reward for the Hauntings quests is gold, which is nothing to sneer at, but it’s also possible to get some unique loot. Finishing the final challenge, Deadly Playtime, rewards the party with a Deathrattle helm that provides Precision at low HP.
4Bloodbath
Carnage Unleashed: Bloodbath’s Brutal Consequences
Bloodbath is another quest in the Gothic horror vein. This quest is one of Lucanis’s companion quests and involves plenty of combat and rewards, as is the case for most worthwhile side activities in the game. The twist here, however, is the setting, involving a Venatori hideout in Treviso. The hideout’s basement hides a bathhouse with a final chamber completely filled with blood.
This chamber is the bubbling setting for the final boss fight of the quest.
Veilguardoccasionally dips its toes into true Gothic horror, and this quest does not disappoint on that front. For anyone craving some grotesque and gory fun that almost hearkens back todark games likeBloodborne, look no further than Bloodbath.
3Desperate in Dock Town
Fraying at the Edges: Desperate in Dock Town’s Gritty Realities
Like In Memoriam, Desperate in Dock Town immerses the player in the community of the Dock Town district. This one displays the human cost of the various tragedies plaguingVeilguard’s world, including wide-scale war and demon infestations from the titular Veil. These are lofty and heavy themes, andVeilguardlargely deals with them in broad strokes.
Veilguardtruly shines when it shrinks its focus to an immersive and emotional storyline like this one.
Desperate in Dock Town, however,masterfully reminds the player of the average citizens of the game world’s existence: the player may be saving the world, but the people that inhabit the world being saved need help, too. This is another extremely well-written quest that offers a break from the more epic scale of the main questline.Veilguardtruly shines when it shrinks its focus to an immersive and emotional storyline like this one, and the Magister’s End armor is just a nice bonus.
2Pinnacle of Its Kind
Masterpiece of Malice: Pinnacle of Its Kind’s Sinister Genius
Pinnacle of Its Kind is another “endgame” sidequest available inVeilguard, andthis one is fairly important for completionists, as it contains a dragon boss fight.This quest is similar to The Heart of Corruption in that it requires multiple stages of boss fights in order to gain access to the final foe. Like that questline, it’s also a major challenge that’s designed for higher-level players.
The dragon found at the end of this questline, The Formless One, is a High Dragon and is only accessible through this questline. She is completely unique from any other dragon in the game, asa twist when the player arrives at her boss fight reveals her true origin. This is one of the coolest dragon battles to be found inVeilguard, and defeating The Formless One provides rare dragon materials and additional faction strength.
1Something Wicked
Lurking Shadows: Something Wicked’s Ominous Threats
Something Wicked focuses on the smaller stories ofVeilguard, shying away from the dragon-slaying of the main questline or side quests like Pinnacle of its Kind. This quest involves protecting a small village from the Darkspawn — the player has to join forces with the Grey Wardens to eradicate a demon invasion in Lavendel. This quest in particular is reminiscent of some ofThe Witcher 3’s world-building, with a similar focus on the inhabitants of a small village being terrorized by forces that they can’t deal with.
This quest doesn’t take long to complete, so rewards like gold, XP, and increased companion bonds are well worth the time, to say nothing of faction strength and materials. Smaller-scale questlines like these reveal some ofDragon Age:TheVeilguard’s best writing and add dimension and depth to the game’s world.
