The Waiting Stoneis a key quest inHarding’s personal narrativeacrossDragon Age: The Veilguard, and is the closest look you get atthe Deep Roadsthroughout the entire game. Since Harding is by your side from the start, this is likely to be one of the first personal quests you get.
Naturally, it involves Harding. As I just mentioned, it also involves the Deep Roads, which is a unique location only available for this quest (and similar ones in this arc). Sincethe final combat boss is Vulnerable to Necrotic(andResists Electric) we suggesttaking Lucanis or Emmrichalong on this journey of personal discovery too.
Meet Harding’s Contact, Stalgard
When you arrive, you’ll need to make your way deeper into the Deep Roads. You are attacked byDeepstalkers, and while theseResist Necrotic attacksfrom whichever companion ou brought, they’re fairly weak and more of a delaying factor than a damaging one.Fire Abilties cut through them, but even simple Light and Heavy attacks can get rid of them. A bigger concern are theregular explosions of rockyou’ll need tododge when the ground glows red.
Head down to the elevator,pull the lever, and head across the stone section.Fight the few Deepstalkersthat appear, then you’ll meet Stalgard in a cutscene. Follow him through the settlement until theDarkspawn arrive.
Stay on the raised area when you arrive and target theBlighted Boilsto stop the Darkspawn arriving, then continue to stay there and target theorange pustle on the Hurlock Blighter. If the Ghouls rush you and force you to move,use Abilities on the Hurlock Blighterto get rid of them first. Then, like the Deepstalkers, theGhouls can be easily cut down.After this, keep following Stalgard until the Blight blocks your path.
Find The Root Of The Blight
Head up the stairs on the left and follow the platform around to the elevator. If you take asmall detourwith Harding’s Stone Song, you can get aTraveler’s Kit +5 Armor for Harding. Don’t get in the elevator yet, insteaduse Harding’s Stone Song on the rock blocking the shaftthen get in and pull the lever.
Get out of the elevator from the back andfollow the Blighted vein into a passage. This leads to a long corridor, where you cango left or right. You willneed to do both to move on, but we’ll start by goingleft.
Take out theBlighted Boilimmediatelyon your rightas you enter, then take out the Ghouls. Use Harding’sStone Songon the rock near where the Boil was to climb up, thenagain to push the rock into the wall. This lets you aim at the secondBlighted Boil. When it is destroyed,move the wall rock backand use it tojump acrossto the ledge where you can destroy thhe thirdBlighted Boil.
Use Stone Song to reveal the next rock and jump across the wooden platform and chutes to the new area, withmore Darkspawn to fight.This is a cramped, winding area, sododge away from the explosive Darkspawnand usearea Abilities to damageas many as possible. Focus on the orange pustles of the Hurlock Blighters.
When they’re defeated, you’ll noticea central column with three veins leading off it.These reveal the Blighted Boils that need to be destroyed. The one on theright is on the large wall, the one on theleft is on the wooden tower, and the one in the middle (which must be done last) isat the top of the column itself, and that vein leads to the exit.
From here, you’re back in the passage, so now we’llgo right. Defeat the fewGhoulsagain, thendestroy the two Blighted Boilsbehindbreakable woodon theleft and right.You’ll then be able todestroy one right by the entrance,revealing a rock you canclimb up after using Stone Song.
Climb up and go along the wooden beams, jumping to thehanging platform for Mayhem in Gold +5 for Harding. Continue along the path until you see aFrenzied Ogre.
Defeat The Frenzied Ogre
The Frenzied OgreResists Necrotic damageand isVulnerable to Fire damage, but also hasArmor, so you’ll want to use ranged attacks where you can. It’s big and hits hard, but is alsoslowand has no allies with it.Dodge away when it glows redand keep a safe distance whileaiming for the head. As long as you don’t get drawn into taking it on face to face and being swept away, it’s an easier fight than it looks.
Once it’s dealt with, hit theBlighted Boilon the rock wall, theBlighted Boil on the ceiling of the stone building, and thefinal Blighted Boil on thelarge column. This reveals an exit that takes you back to the passage, so leave andtake the elevatorto Stalgard. Destroy the three Boils on the main door, enter, and follow Harding up the steps.
How To Defeat The Iron Construct
TheIron Constructis a hard hitting enemy withArmor, so you’ll want to use ranged attacks to get that down. The issue is it alsolikes to rush you, which makes this impossible. Any area abilties you can use, or Harding’sSeismic Shot to Staggercan help you even as you dodge away from it.
The Iron Construct has three main attacks:
It can alsodamage you by tunnelling. Sometimes the ground around the Iron Construct willglow red in a much bigger circle. This means it is about toburrow down, and this candeal high damageif you’re nearby. It will soon reappear, whichalso causes damage, so keep aware of your surroundings whenever it disappears.
Make use of the whole arena, running up the steps for when you want to deal close quarters damage, and dodging around the lower stone pit when you need to keep your distance
Once you have dropped the Iron Construct’s Armor,Greater Deepstalkerswill appear. These are fairly weak but their numbers can make them annoying, especially as they can distract you from the many different attacks of the Iron Construct. Since Lucanis or Emmrich can deal with the Construct, havingHarding herselftarget these, and attack any that stray into your path.Keep Rook’s Abilities for the Iron Construct, butwhen the Deepstalkers start to swarm,focus your regular attacks on themso they don’t pile up.
What Are The Rewards For The Waiting Stone?
As well asprogressing Harding’s arc, you will getScout’s Compassion +5 for Harding,as well as2 Dragonfire Catalyst and 2,500 XP. Back at the Lighthouse, you canencourage Harding to think of her magic as a blessing, or to be wary of it.This willimpact how she acts later in the story, embracing her magic more through her narrative with your encouragement, or only using it when necessary. Thisdoes not impact her mechanics in combat, but will mean she will bemore likey to choose (or reject) the magic within her throughout her companion story.
