Being a Mage is one of three core ways to playDragon Age: The Veilguard, but for many people, it’s the only way to play Dragon Age. Bashing things with hammers or shooting them with arrows is the work of mere thugs - the true artisans of Thedas slay their enemies with magic and intelligence.
If that’s you, you’ll want to start building out your skill tree quickly. Here, we’ll take a look at which Skills are best for any Mage to have in their arsenal, as well as the first Skills you want to grab if you have eyes on becoming an Evoker, a Death Caller, or a Spellblade when you take your Specialization.
Powerful attack after dodging forward
Mana regen starts 25% faster
Sustain Ranged attacks for up to three seconds
Staff Energy constantly regenerates out of combat
Send shockwave while defending
Inner Ring
Unsurprisingly, most of the early Skills you want to grab are easily available right at the start. Whatever sort of Mage you want to be, these should be in your arsenal. These are the basic tools you’ll be relying on a lot.
For example, some arenas are so cramped you’ll need to be in the thick of it, so Faded Strike is a key move there, while Mortal Concentration helps you strip away Barrier in larger combat situations. Quick Recovery and Charging Spirit are unsung heroes for Mages since they keep the basics topped up, and Mind Blast means the best offense is a good defense.
Adds jump attacks, guarantees Critical if enemy is Knocked Down
Creates a wall of fire (Duration, Control)
+10% Physical resistace
Perfect dodge slows down time
Control Tree, next to Charging Spirit
Death Caller Mage blend Sustain and Control Skills to build themselves into a lord of death. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of early Skills that let you live out this fantasy early on, so you’ll want to instead make a more well-rounded Mage to take advantage of those Skills when they arrive.
Since Frost Nova is a required Ability to progress in Control Skills, Deathfrost (which boosts Necrotic when Cold damage is applied) is one to keep an eye on when Necrotic attacks become available, but not to grab too early.
Prolong and Bulwark naturally help with making you more robust, while Wall of Fire offers a new Ability to use until you unlock Necrotic ones. Downfall gets you off the mark and adds a new form of attack, and Fade Reflex means you can get away from situations where you’re outnumbered in a hurry, while everyone else slows down.
Freezes area and enemies around you (Area, Control)
+15% damage versus Frozen
Enemies that attack you are Chilled
+50% extra Charged attack damage if released at perfect time
Burst Tree, next to Fade Conduit
Evoker Mages have the best time of things early on. Combining Burst and Control Skills, they get a a lot of options that help the Cold-damage heavy build they need. Bulwark and Fade Reflex from the Death Caller selections also make sense to give you more generalist options.
However, it’s hard to overlook what’s on offer here for Evokers. Most of the early Skills like Frost Bite and Frost Shield, plus the early Ability Frost Nova, all work together to build an idea Cold Mage. Then Fade Conduit will help you cast more regularly, and Perfect Cast is an easy way to add damage in battle.
Fires a four-way lightning bolt for Electricity damage (Strike, Projectile)
+20% Sagger from weapon attacks
250 Health and 20 Ultimate from Takedowns
Sustain tree, next to Velocity
Spellblade Mages are the most melee-heavy class, but they’re also built around massive Electricity damage, which is where these early skills come in. The most explosive Mage Specialization available, building towards a Spellblade Mage is building towards complete combat dominance by the late-game.
Chain Lightning is a great Ability for Spellblades, while much as they were with Evoker Mages, Perfect Cast and Fade Conduit just make you a better all-round Mage. Velocity and Essence Easter suit the melee gameplay of a Spellblade - while not listed here, Downfall is needed for the Sustain path, so you may want to choose that over the Mortal Concentration Skill early, although you will want both before long.
