Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Best Skills for Saboteur

Discover the Best Skills for Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilguard including the best skills for Control and Lords of Fortune skills.

Dragon Age The Veilguard Arlathan Forest Location
Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Best Skills for Saboteur (Source: BioWare)

Saboteur is a controversial pick as many consider this to be one of the weaker specializations in the game, and to an extent, we agree. But the Saboteur offers one of the most unique combat experiences in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Instead of picking fights from a safe distance or just bum-rushing the enemy, the Saboteur runs along the field, setting traps and using bombs to lure enemies into an ambush.

Explosive Daggers, Pilfer, and Fortune’s Turret are the best skills for a Saboteur to dominate every combat you take part in. Make a combo of your unique ability with the Companions Primer or detonator ability to create an explosion for a special effect. Saboteur’s Passives, Greater Passive, and Traits are no less than other buffs due to their capability to make your character stronger in combat.  

Everything About Saboteur Build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Sabotuer build

The Saboteur Rogue Build is all about dealing Necrotic damage with trusty blades. You will overwhelm the enemies with powerful finishing strikes and constant slashes and also weave through your enemy’s attacks. Look for fast-acting abilities that deal Necrotic damage for this Saboteur build to lock down your foes in a barrier of attacks.

This is one of the most tactful and agile Rogue builds in the game. It relies on blanket coverage and total domination of the entire battlefield. Playing traps, bombs, and later on turrets for a more AOE approach utilizes abilities. If you want a scrappy Rogue that’s constantly Critting, throws out screen-filling bombs to send enemies flying off cliffs, or want a turret that rips through enemies, then this build is for you. However, this build offers lower damage output than other builds and the poor ultimate.

Best Saboteur Skills and Abilities in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Explosive Daggers is the best skill to choose from because it applies the Sundered effect on the target and also deals physical damage. Pilfer is the second-best ability to use because it detonates the Overwhelmed effect and applies bleeding. Fortune’s Turret is the third in line because it stuns the enemies with projectiles and deals physical damage.

Here are all the best Saboteur Skills and Abilities in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

  • Control: Precise Power: Grant enhanced damage by defeating the enemy by hitting their weakpoint.
  • Lords of Fortune: Ready Shots: Enhance arrow Regeneration by 20%.
  • Passive: Salvaged Arrows: Grants 2 by defeating an enemy.
  • Greater Passive: Keen Eye: Generates 2 additional Momentum by performing Arrow hits.
  • Trait: Fan of Arrows: Fires an arc of Arrows, up to a maximum of 5 Arrows.
  • Ability Upgrade: Marked Target: Turns Duration Abilities into Critical when used against Bleeding enemies.
  • Ability: Explosive Trap: Deals 264 physical damage and also detonates Overwhelmed effect.

Explosive Daggers

Dragon Age Veilguard Rogue ability Explosive Daggers

Explosive Daggers is a projectile duration type ability that costs one momentum pip and applies Sundered by unleashing a barrage of three explosive daggers that stick to the target and then explode for physical damage.

Pair it with the Pilfer that deals damage to the target, steals a potion from it in the process, and then immediately consumes it as well as applying a guaranteed bleed effect on the enemy. This can be quite useful since you’re limited to the number of Potions you have, so essentially it means even more survivability in combat.

It’s also a combo detonator which makes it a great way to set up synergies. This combo can deal additional damage and can drain the enemy’s health bar in no time. Add Crystallize Rune in this combo to freeze enemies within a range extending freeze duration. Freeze the enemy and then use Explosive Dagger and Pilfer to kill that beast in a short time.

Pilfer

Dragon Age Veilguard Rogue ability Pilfer

A control tool type ability on a 6-second cooldown. You slice an enemy then steal a potion from them healing yourself in the process. It also detonates the overwhelmed effect and applies bleeding. The combo of Pilfer with Taash’s Spitfire is the second most effective combo that one can utilize if looking for an Overwhelmed effect. Pilfer is a control tool type ability on a 6-second cooldown that can slice an enemy and then steal a potion from them healing yourself in the process. It also detonates the overwhelmed effect and applies bleeding. Taash’s Spitfire can apply the Overwhelm status effect on the enemy.

Utilize this combo to apply Overwhelm through Spitfire and then use Pilfer to detonate the Overwhelm effect. Once this combo is finished, you can use the Lightning Flask to deal additional damage. Lightning Flask is a duration control ability that throws down a flask of bottled lightning dealing electric damage in an AOE around you and applying the shocked status to enemies. This combo can dominate any enemy coming in their path.

If you’re fighting a boss in combat then after all the above abilities that we recommend, you can also use the concussive Barrage to drain the enemy’s health bar in no time. The concussive Barrage is an absolutely AOE ability that lets you smash a flask of lightning that explodes at your feet unleashing a shock wave of electricity that continues to trigger a few more times every couple of seconds. This one is great at applying the shock debuff on all targets which is a great way to just reduce their overall resistance to fire, ice, and electricity.

Fortune’s Turret

Dragon Age Veilguard Rogue class specialization Saboteur ability Fortune's Turret

Fortune’s Turret is a duration-type ability that allows you to ace down a mechanized turret that targets the closest enemy and stuns them with projectiles for physical damage. When the ammo runs out, it explodes. Once you use this ability, activate the Electrify Rune. All of your weapon attacks have Electric damage temporarily and also enhance the Electricity damage.

You can also use the Reeling Bolt ability after using the Fortune’s Turret on the target. Reeling Bolt is a projectile tool-type ability that has a 60-second cooldown instead of spending momentum. It deals electric damage and applies the weakened effect by firing out a special arrow. The best way to use the Fortune’s Turret is to make a combo with your other abilities or your Companion’s abilities.

Best Specialization

Saboteur Specialization, located in the Northeast of the skill tree, focuses on using tricks and contraptions, such as turrets, to defeat enemies. It is between Sustain and Control that lends Credence. A true swashbuckler, the Lords of Fortune Saboteur specializes in using explosives and other gadgets to weaken enemies, control the battlefield, and handle the most critical situations.

While this can be effective in choke points, it’s an odd playstyle that is geared towards slow and methodic combat and remains unenjoyable. Turrets are super valuable because you can sort of set and forget them like you can place them down and sprinkle enemies where you can follow up with melee and ranged attacks. Combine it with skills like Explosive Trap to plant your own traps in the game or with Pilfer which allows you to get those potions back and apply the bleeding effect.

  • Class: Rogue
  • Resource: Momentum
  • Best Faction: Veil Jumper or Shadow Dragons
  • Best Companion: Davrin, Neve
  • Amor Type: Medium
  • Weapon Type: Arsenal of traps
  • Ultimate: Fortune’s Fury
  • Ability: Fortune’s Turret
  • Fortune: Lord of Fortune

Best Control Skills for Saboteur

Traumatize (Passive), Precise Power (Greater Passive), Bated Breath (Trait), A Timely Defense (Ability Upgrade and Rain of Decay (Ability) are the best skills for Saobtuer. Below are the best Control skills for the Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Traumatize (Passive)- Increases Takedown by 15%.

Amperage (Passive)- Electric damage increases by 10%.

Precise Power (Greater Passive)- Defeat an enemy by hitting their weakpoint to gain enhanced damage.

Pounce (Greater Passive)- Perform a successful Takedown to gain 50 Momentum and regain 25% of your Arrows.

Bated Breath (Trait)- Allot the bow to have an additional charge level.

A Messy Death (Trait)- Creates an explosion after a short delay, dealing additional damage after defeating an enemy with a Charged attack.

A Timely Defense (Ability Upgrade)- Grants Resistant status effect by activating a Duration Ability.

Collateral Damage (Ability Upgrade)- Increases damage for each enemy hit by 10% when hitting multiple enemies with a single Area Ability.

Rain of Decay (Ability)- Deals 330 necrotic damage each second to all enemies in the area.

Reeling Bolt (Ability)- It deals 88 electricity damage and also applies a Weakened status of effect on the enemy. Make a combo with any companion to detonate the Weakened effect for the explosion and to deal additional damage.

Best Lords of Fortune Skill for Saboteur

Ready Shots (Passive), Eclectic Armorer (Greater Passive), Fan of Arrows (Trait), Quick Fix (Ability Upgrade), and Pilfer (Ability) are the best skills to use in combat. Below are the best Lords of Fortune skills for the Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Ready Shots (Passive)- Increases Arrow Regeneration by 20%.

Shellbreaker (Passive)- Increases damage against Armor by 20%.

Eclectic Armorer (Greater Passive)- Increases various stats such as Shield Toss bounces and Ranged Attack damage.

Victory Rush (Greater Passive)- Grants Necrotic Weapons by defeating an Enemy with a Takedown.

Fan of Arrows (Trait)- Fires an arc of 3-5 Arrows toward enemies.

Plague Arrow (Trait)- Grants the players the capability to modify arrows beyond the normal Charge level to apply Necrosis around the enemy.

Quick Fix (Ability Upgrade)- Grants the player Quickened after defeating an enemy with a Tool Ability.

Precise Malady (Ability Upgrade)- Increases Arrow regeneration by 35% for each Duration Ability equipped.

Pilfer (Ability)- A control tool type ability on a 6-second cooldown. You slice an enemy then steal a potion from them healing yourself in the process. It also detonates the overwhelmed effect and applies bleeding.

Explosive Trap (Ability)- It places an explosive trap that detonates when an enemy gets too close. It deals physical damage and is highly likely to disrupt enemies. Only mini-bosses and bosses will have a chance not to be.

Best Saboteur Passives

Salvaged arrows

Salvaged Arrows (Control) is the best Passive to use because it grants 2 by defeating an enemy. Burst of Speed (Control) is the second-best Passive because it increases Momentum generation by 10%. The third in the line is Sharper Edge (Saboteur) because it increases Penetration by 15%.

Best Saboteur Greater Passives

Keen eye

Keen Eye (Control) is the best Greater Passive to use because it generates 2 additional Momentum by performing Arrow hits. It also grants 2 additional by performing an Arrow hit on an enemy’s Weakpoint. The second-best Passive is In The Fray (Saboteur) because it resets the duration of active Advantages after defeating the enemy at close range. The third in line is Unending Quiver (Lords of Fortune) because it grants 2 more arrows by activating any ability.

Best Saboteur Traits

Fan of Arrows (Lords of Fortune) is the best Trait to use because it fires an arc of Arrows, up to a maximum of 5 Arrows. Bated Breath (Control) is the second-best Trait to use because it lets your bow be charged up an additional level. A Messy Death (Saboteur) is the third choice for Trait because it causes an explosion after defeating an enemy with a Charged attack.

Best Saboteur Ability Upgrades

Marked Target (Control) is the best Ability Upgrade to use because it turns Duration Abilities into Critical when used against Bleeding enemies. The second-best Ability Upgrade is Enduring Reach (Lords of Fortune) because it increases the duration radius or distance depending on the Ability. Salt in the Wound (Lords of Fortune) is the third-best Ability Upgrade because it adds 1 stack to all active Afflictions on the target. However, this is only done by hitting enemies with a Duration Ability.

Best Saboteur Abilities

Dragon Age Veilguard Rogue ability Explosive Trap

Explosive Trap (Lords of Fortune) is the best Ability to use because it deals 264 physical damage and also detonate Overwhelmed effect. Lightning Flask (Sustain) is the second-best Ability because it deals electric damage and applies Shocked to nearby enemies. Static Strike (Rogue Core) is the third choice because it infuses twin lightning bolts on your attack, shocking enemies that are hit. The Static Strike also applies the Weakened effect.

How to Play Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Bow - Dragon Age the Veilguard

The Saboteur uses a Bow as the secondary weapon and doesn’t require a bar swap to activate. Simply hold down your aim button, draw it back, and aim to hit a target. You can manually aim or press the button once to activate a quick shot. 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.

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. 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.

Pair your abilities with the Davrin and Neve for some additional damage and for the explosion that causes a specific effect, it can either be Sundered, Overwhelmed, or Weakened based on your selection of the abilities. Once the combo is finished, you can either activate a Rune for additional buffs or use other abilities to drain out the health bar of the enemies.

Conclusion

The saboteur expects enemies to walk into pitfalls for damage. Fortune’s Fury is the ultimate ability of this Specialization and is the first in line. Further along the line is Fortune’s Turret (Ability). It’s a duration tool-type ability that has a 60-second cooldown. Explosive Daggers, Pilfer, and Fortune’s Turret are the best abilities to use in combat. Pair these abilities with the Davrin’s and Neve’s abilities for the additional damage. Ready Shots (Passive), Eclectic Armorer (Greater Passive), Bated Breath (Trait), and A Timely Defense (Ability Upgrade) are the best skills to use when fighting a boss.

FAQs About the Saboteur Skills in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Q1: Which are the best abilities for the Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd?

Explosive Daggers, Pilfer, and Fortune’s Turret are the best skills to use while playing as a Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Q2: What do you get when you pick a specialization?

You will get access to multiple unique abilities, Passes, and traits when you pick a Specialization by consuming a skill point.

Which Companions work with the Saboteur in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Davrin and Neve are the two best Companions that work well with the Saboteur due to their unique abilities to apply or detonate the special effect on the target.


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