Best Dragon Age: The Veilguard Duelist Build

Discover how to create the best Duelist build for Dragon Age the Veilguard, including faction, skills, companions, level progression, and more!

BioWare’s fourth installment of their hit series, Dragon Age the Veilguard, features deep character customization and build options. Players can earn skill points from level 1 to 50, selecting active, passive, traits, and ultimate abilities. Each protagonist, “Rook,” can bring two party members (companions) in exploration and combat, each with their own skills and equipment.

This guide will walk you through the best Duelist builds in Dragon Age: The Veilguard and explain critical choices: factions, specialization, companies, skills, and more.

Note: This guide is a work in progress and will be updated frequently as we level it to 50.

Everything About Duelist Build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The Eternal Edge character build (Duelist Build) is mostly melee but can weave in Bow shots to grant powerful effects and pick off ranged enemies. Working together with Darvin and Harding, you’ll be bursting and blowing up enemies with the necrosis effect, which is a serious damage over time-affliction. This build synergizes with our chosen companions for the highest outcome while also accessing Necrotic Damage.

You will be dealing insanely high melee damage powering enemies and dodging out. This build is especially for those who want to master swords. Look for the Duelist specialization as quickly as possible for the best course of action. If you want to be necrotic-focused, fast, and highly maneuverable and have some of the highest damage output in the game then this build is for you.

Duelist Build Pros	Duelist Build Cons
Highest Burst Damage	Complex Combat
High Movement	Melee Range
Necrotic Debuff	Momentum Starved

Duelist Build Features and Mechanics in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The following list presents all the essential Duelist Build Features and Mechanics in Dragon Age The Veilguard:

• Momentum: Rogue’s resource is generated when hitting targets but diminishes when you take damage.
• Bow: Secondary weapon that doesn’t require a bar swap but activation to use.
• Arrows: Limited resource used to fire your bow that regenerates love time.
• Weak Point: increase damage hitting an enemy at their weakest point, like the head.
• Faction: Veil Jumpers
• Race: Elf
• Active Skills
  • Ability 1: Toxic Dash
  • Ability 2: Hurricane of Blades
  • Ability 3: A Thousand Cuts
    • Flex: Pilfer
• Ultimate: Murder of Crows
• Trait: Evasion Maneuvers
• Specialization: Duelist
• Best Companions: Darvin, Harding
• Runes: Overflow, Regroup, Crystallize

Bow

The Bow is your secondary weapon and, unlike other classes in Dragon Age, doesn’t require a bar swap to activate. Simply hold down your aim button and draw it back, and aim to hit a target. You can manually aim or press the button once to activate a quick shot. The benefit of aiming is that you can shoot the head, triggering weak point damage, which is sustainably more than a normal shot (roughly 4×0. However, that can be difficult than simply pressing the button once at range.

Weak Point

Hitting enemies in their weakest point (headshots) triggers weak point damage with double the size of text and purple. The easiest way to hit a weak point is using the bow via manually aiming at range, specifically for the head. Other enemies will have vulnerable points flashing like a dragon’s legs. Therefore, experiment with different enemy types and aim for weak point damage when you can.

Arrows

The Rogue’s secondary weapon bow uses arrows, which are an automatically replenishing consumable item found in the bottom middle section of your User Interface. By default, players have eight arrows to show, which regenerate quickly. Therefore, watch your arrows and take passives that help with regeneration or max capacity if you use the bow frequently.

Momentum

Momentum is the Rogue’s combat resource that increases when you hit an enemy and decreases when the enemy hits. You need momentum to use skills, and the User Interface pink resource builds over time. Once you reach a threshold of one momentum, a small circle will light up giving you an indication that your attack is able to be used. Additionally, some skills have a cooldown rather than a resource cost, so consider having a balance of momentum skills and cooldown.

Best Faction

Veil Jumpers is the best faction for a Duelist build because of the Keen Eye bonus providing increased critical and weak point damage. This bonus is optimal for high burst damage and fits the Rogue narrative if you prefer to be an explorer of ancient elven ruins.

Shadow Dragons is the secondary faction choice because the Resourceful bonus grants faster resource generation. The Shadow Dragons are also the healthy resistance and may fit an assassin-type character better than Veil Jumpers.

Below are all the bonuses for the Veil Jumpers and Shadow Dragons faction in Dragon Age the Veilguard:

Veil Jumpers Bonuses	Shadow Dragon Bonuses
Close to the Veil: gain reputation with the Veil Jumpers more quickly	Light in the Dark: gain reputation with the Shadow Dragons more quickly
Attuned Strikes: deal increased damage vs. Fade-Touched	Never to Rise: deal increased damage vs. Venatori
Keen Eye: deal slightly increased critical and weakpoint damage	Resourceful: your class-specific resource regenerates slightly faster

In Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd, factions are organizations that give you three bonuses in character creation and reputation when you ally with them as part of the larger conflict. There are six factions to choose from, and this choice cannot be changed once made. Faction reputation is used in the faction-specific stores to buy weapons and armor. Ultimately, players should select the faction of their choice based on story narrative vs. a small bonus in combat.

Best Race

Elf (Elves) is the best race for the Duelist build, traditionally known to have strong connections with the Fade. Select Elves for spellcasting Mages or physically adept Rogues. Your race choice determines the story, dialogue choices, and how the world responds to you. Furthermore, you will not receive a combat bonus or be passive for a race. Therefore, don’t let this selection be purely cosmetic and narrative, so feel free to deviate from our recommendation.

Four playable races are available in Dragon Age: The Veilguard: Elf, Qunari, Human, and Dwarf. Each of these races has a rich history and lore within Thedas. The Rogue class can choose any of the four, so make the selection depending on your ideal character narrative.

Best Skills and Abilities

The best skills for Duelist build are Toxic Dash, Hurricane of Blades, and A Thousand Cuts.

Toxic Dash is a slashing attack that deals necrotic damage and applies Sundered to weaken the target’s defense. Before using any combos or any major ability, use Toxic Dash on your enemies to make your other attacks effective. It dashes towards your target and applies the Necrosis status to the target.

Hurricane of Blades is your area-of-effect ability that is most effective if you trigger it while in the middle of a pack of mobs. Enemies can be hit up to four times, and the final strike does more damage. A Thousand Cuts can deal a lot of single target damage and is great for bosses.

The best trait for Duelist Build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is Evasion Maneuver because it launches a strong attack from an Extended Dodge, or when recovering from being Knocked Down. Use this trait for a counterattack after a long dodge.

The best ultimate for the Duelist build is Murder of Crows because it deals solid damage along with 3,088 necrotic damage. You can be a judge between targets in a large area to cut them.

Below are the recommended skills, abilities, ultimate, and traits for the Duelist build in Dragon Age the Veilguard:

• Abilities
  • Skill 1: Pilfer
  • Skill 2: Toxic Dash
  • Skill 3: A Thousand Cuts
    • Flex: Pilfer
• Ultimate: Murder of Crows
• Trait: Evasive Manuevers

Best Specialization

The Duelist’s Build Unique ability and ultimate:

• A Thousand Cuts: A strike control ability where you strike while stepping forward up to 16 times per high Necrotic damage with the final strike dealing more damage.
• Murder of Crows: This ultimate ability deals with high necrotic damage in a large AOE with the final strike dealing more. Chop enemies that try to challenge an Antivan Crow using advanced agility.

Select one of three specializations from their class honeycomb skill tree starting at level 20. Specializations are similar to “subclasses,” adding one ability, one ultimate, and a variety of other passives to your build and character. The specialization choice will be critical because it determines your character’s overall gameplay in combat. However, you can take part in the character screen at any time to redo your skills and specializations.

Level Progression

Our leveling progression section for the Duelist build is to provide you with a step-by-step leveling guide, which skills to take, and why. However, this section is complex and requires many hours of gameplay. Therefore, this section will be a work in progress and will be updated and advanced more in the game.

In Dragon Age, the Veilguard, level progressions Are gained through experience points (EXP) through different activities such as completing quests and defeating enemies. You reach a higher level at certain levels of EXP, rewarding you with a skill point.  The max level is 50, with 50 skill points to spend.  The skill tree (honeycomb) comes in two main sections: Core class tree and specialization.

Complete a basic puzzle or interact with the altars to gain one skill point as a reward. You will gain 15 skill points by simply tracking down all 15 altars in the game. Unselect the purchased skills to refund individual skill points, which will not cost you anything. Once you reach a max level and get all the Fen’Harel altars, you will get a total of 67 skill points that help you unlock 40-45% of the skill tree.

Each skill point can be spent on a variety of skills (abilities):

• Diamond Nodes: Active abilities, which you can slot three at a time
• Hexagonal: traits or passives.  Traits require a button combination to execute an additional ability, while passives give you a passive bonus.
• Circular Nodes: these are minor passives like small stat points. 

Levels 1 – 10

Here’s a list of skills to select from levels 1 to 10 with the Best Duelist Build in Dragon Age The Veilguard:

Level	Skill	Tree	Type
1	Riposte	Center	Trait
2	Downfall	Center	Greater Passive
3	Hurricane of Blades	Burst	Ability
4	Powerful Rebuttal	Center	Greater Passive
5	Pilfer	Sustain	Ability
6	Staggering Blade	Burst	Passive
7	Necrotic Fog	Antivan Crow	Greater Passive
8	Death’s Blessing	Antivan Crow	Passive
9	Poisoned Reply	Antivan Crow	Greater Passive
10	Wrath	Antivan Crow	Passive

Skills: Static Strikes (applies weakened), Hurricane of Blades, Pilfer (Detonate overwhelmed), Ultimate

Levels 11 – 20

Here’s a list of skills to select from levels 11 to 20 with the Best Duelist Build in Dragon Age The Veilguard:

Level	Skill	Tree	Type
11	Toxic Dash	Antivan Crow	Ability
12	Assassination	Antivan Crow	Greater Passive
13	Insidious	Antivan Crow	Passive
14	Noxious Presence	Antivan Crow	Greater Passive
15	Necessary Steps	Antivan Crow	Passive
16	Adrenaline	Antivan Crow	Trait
17	Arcane Defiance	Antivan Crow	Passive
18	Overwhelming Tactics	Antivan Crow	Greater Passive
19	Save
20	Murder of Crows A Thousand Cuts	Duelist	Ultimate Ability Ability

Skills: Toxic Dash (applies weakened), Hurricane of Blades, A Thousand Cuts (or Pilfer if you need survival), Murder of Crows

Levels 21 – 30

Here’s a list of skills to select from levels 21 to 30 with the Best Duelist Build in Dragon Age The Veilguard:

Level	Skill	Tree	Type
21	Concentration	Duelist	Passive
22	Quick Control	Duelist	Greater Passive
23	Death’s Blessing	Duelist	Passive
24	Sly Strike	Antivan Crow	Greater Passive
25	Decisive Finale	Burst	Trait
26	Underestimated	Burst	Passive
27	Piercing Strike	Burst	Greater Passive
28	Momentous Occasion	Burst	Greater Passive
29	Save
30	Mounting Thrill Shall We Dance	Duelist Duelist	Trait Trait

Skills: Toxic Dash (applies weakened), Hurricane of Blades, A Thousand Cuts (or Pilfer if you need survival), Murder of Crows

Best Companions

Davrin is the best companion for a Duelist build because it keeps the enemies taunted and stunned. Davrin is described as bold and charming. His Valaslin indicates his origin is in one of the Dalish elves’ clans, which he left to become a Grey Warden. Bring him to your party if you’re not playing a Warrior and want support. This companion is a warrior and, more specifically, a sword and board warrior, so if you want someone to tank and absorb damage, then this is your man.

Harding’s combat style is a bow user with abilities that can debuff enemy armor and stagger them at range. As a Rogue, she will have better armor than a Mage, but ideally, you will still want someone in your party to provide strong defense. One of the Harding’s abilities is Shred which deals physical damage on a moderate cooldown. It deals high stagger which is like a stun but simply stops enemies for a short time rather than stopping them outright.

Companion 1: Darvin

• Active Skills and Abilities
  • Ability 1: Battle Cry (Taunt)
  • Ability 2: Death From Above
  • Ability 3: Heroic Strike
    • Flex: In War, Victory
• Primer Ability: Heroic Strike (Overwhelm)
• Detonator Ability: Death From Above (Weakened)

Companion 2: Harding

• Active Skills and Abilities
  • Ability 1: Adrenaline Rush
    • Flex: Seismic Shot
  • Ability 2: Seismic Shot
  • Ability 3: Heavy Draw
• Primer Ability: Shred (Sundered)
• Detonator Ability: Heavy Draw (Overwhelmed)

Best Duelist Equipment, Items, Weapons

This section is a work in progress during the release week of the game.

Gear Slot	Best Item	Best Stats	Best Properties
Main Hand	Enchanted Longblade	20%	Final attack damage + Final attack apply necrosis
Off-Hand	Arainai’s Talon	30%	Necrotic Damage
Alternate Weapon	Cryptwood Bow	20% + 40	Damage vs. enemies suffering from necrosis + Necrotic damage
Helmet	Antivan Parade Helm	25% + 25%	Necrotic Weapons duration + Necrotic Weapons damage
Belt	Jenny’s Belt	500	Healing
Amulet	A Pale Reflection	20%	Damage vs. enemies with low health
Ring 1	Serpent’s Kiss	25%	Strike ability damage
Ring 2	Exacting Shard	25% + 15% + 25%	Necrotic Weapons duration + Necrotic Weapons damage + Necrotic Ability damage

Best Runes

The best Runes for the Duelist build in Dragon Age the Veilguard is Regroup because it refreshes your companion’s ability to cool down instantly. This allows you to either heal or produce multiple combos and detonations quickly. While there are other great Runes, having back-to-back healing, combos, or detonations with a short cooldown makes it the strongest.

Below are the recommended Runes for the Duelist build in DA:V:

• Crystallized: all enemies in 10 meters are frozen.
• Overflow: increases potions by +1.
• Regroup: all companion’s cooldowns are refreshed.

Build Summary – Duelist

FAQs About Duelist Build in Dragon Age The Veilguard

Question 1: What faction should I pick for a Duelist build?

Answer: Veil Jumpers and Shadow Dragons are the best factions to choose for the Duelist build because you can deal critical damage along with the Resourceful bonuses.

Question 2: Does race matter in Dragon Age the Veilguard?

Answer: Race is a part of Rook’s identity as their Dragon Age class or faction, and their ancestry can affect dialogue choices in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The selection of race to play will also determine the story and how the world at large responds to you.

Question 3: Can builds be changed in Dragon Age the Veilguard?

Answer: There are certain things like appearance that you can change. However, you are unable to change the faction after picking up one and you can change the specialization but not the class.

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• Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Backgrounds (Factions) Explained
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard – All Companions and Everything We Know
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard Classes and Specializations
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard – All Playable Races