Rogue is one of three classes inDragon Age: The Veilguard, in the classic triumvirate of tricky little guy, big guy (Warrior), and magic guy (Mage). Since The Veilguard drops Dragon Age’s party’s from four-strong to three-strong, you individual class becomes even more important. If you want to be an effective Rogue early on, these are the skills you need to invest in first.
There are three different Rogue Specialization (Duelist, Saboteur, Veil Ranger), as well as three different Rogue playstyles (Sustain, between Duelist and Saboteur; Control, between Saboteur and Veil Ranger; and Burst, between Veil Ranger and Duelist), but the Skill Tree allows you to build out to each of them in turn. Therefore, the best idea is to take some of the most useful skills in all directions, then start building towards your chosen Specialization.
Where To Find
Exploding Arrow
Lets you stick an explosive arrow to an enemy during a melee attack
Reduces Momentum lost due to damage by 35%
Counterattack after successful Defend
450 Necrotic damage (Area, Control)
First Control Skill
Evasive Maneuvers
Recover from being Knocked Down and adds attack to Extended Dodge
Inner Ring
Regardless of what sort of Rogue you want to be eventually, these skills are going to be necessary tools in any Rogues belt. They give you a range of basic attacking options and complement the central mechanics of being a Rogue (moving quickly and chipping away at health bars) perfectly. No Rogue should be without them.
For obvious reasons, most of the Inner Ring Skills are good when you’re starting out. Endure and Riposte are basic buffs that you’ll need whatever you play as, and Exploding Arrow and Evasive Maneuvers add an extra edge to the relatively basic combat tools you’ll have at your disposal immediately. Rain of Decay meanwhile is a strong Ability you can use from distance, and as a Rogue you will benefit from targetting several enemies at once when you start out.
Precision after successful Defend
Bleeding stacks +1
Next to Pilfer
Medium Armour Mastery
Critical Damage +20%, Sword Damage +20%, Perfect Defense Momentum +50% with Medium Helm and Medium Armor
Light attack damage boost 10%
Burst Path
Making the path to each eventual Specialisation is not linear, but with the early Skills above you’re already a bit of the way there with Staggering Blade. As this Specialisation is based on sword fighting, all of the Skills build on that idea. You’ll want to be quick with a blade and find ways to make melee damage count, which is exactly what you’ll get here.
Since you’re going to be mainly face to face in combat, Powerful Rebuttal lets you drive home powerful attacks while Underestimated raises your ceiling. Pilfer is a great Ability and one of the few early-game Rogue ones that is hyper aggressive - the Potion is obviously a benefit too. Duelists will build up Bleed as they grow stronger, so Spill Blood is a good stepping stone to that, and since you’ll be taking the fight to enemies, you’ll want sturdier Medium Armor.
Gain +2 arrows after defeating enemy
15% damage boost to enemies within 10 meters
Stagger from Abilities +20%
Abilities grant 2 arrows
Sustain Path
Eclectic Armorer
Arrow max +4, Weapon damage +15%, Stagger +25% when wearing different classifications for Helm and Armor
Two Skills into Saboteur after Undending Quiver
Saboteurs are the most mixed specialisation, as they deal in both face to face rapid combat, and ranged area control, so the skills reflect that. As you play, if you find yourself leaning more into ranged combat, you should target more Skills based on arrows, while if you enjoy getting up close and personal, aim for Saboteur’s Abilities like Explosive Trap next.
Saboteurs will eventually control the battlefield both near and far, so the early Skills need to build up both. Close Quarters Combat makes you better at what it says on the tin, while Killer Instinct means you can pick up abilities that suit this front foot style. However, when you look to manipulate the battlefield from the rear, Salvaged Arrows and Undending Quiver mean you’ll rarely have to worry about running out of arrows. This clash of styles is also why Eclectic Armorer, which lets you mix the speed and range boons of Light with the health buffs of Medium is the way to go.
525 Necrotic damage (Area, Strike)
Momentum +50, Weakpoint damage +15%, Charged Bow damage +20%
Projectile Ability damage set to max while Precision is active
Adds an extra charge to bow attack strength
Control Path
Veil Rangers mostly attack from distance, so you want to focus on skills that boost your bow. While some Saboteur skills that generate arrows will be useful, those aiming to be a Veil Ranger should aim for bigger damage outputs from distance early on, as these Skills lead to more effective mid- and late-game Veil Ranger Abilities.
Hurricane of Blades is an interesting Ability, as it mainly helps close quarters combat, which Veil Rangers don’t necessarily do. However, it’s an important part of a longer chain, and is a useful way to distrupt all the enemies around you for a quick getaway. You face Armored enemies a lot, so Shellbreaker is a natural fit to pick them off from afar, while Sniper’s Precision is also a key tool for any Rogue who takes their time and aims, rather than rushing into things head on. Since you’ll be standing to the back, Light Armor offers the best buffs anyway, and Light Armor Mastery also offers the key boon of improving the Charged Bow attack, which Bated Breath makes even more effective.
