Veilguard the First Dragon Age Game Where ‘The Combat’s Actually Fun’, Former Exec Producer Says

Former Dragon Age executive producer and current Veilguard consultant Mark Darrah has said the upcoming game is the first in the series where the combat is legitimately fun.

Speaking to Game Informer, Darrah admitted the combat in previous Dragon Age games wasn’t great, but insisted the combat in Veilguard is up to scratch.

“What I see in Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” Darrah said. “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun, but it does keep that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in your party.”

The combat in Veilguard has been a hot topic of discussion ever since the game’s reveal earlier this month. As IGN said in our Veilguard preview, this is more of an action game than any previous entry in the fantasy RPG series.

“The battle system reduces the party size from four to three and in so doing becomes more action forward than ever,” we said. Combat revolves around dodging, countering, and using risk-reward charge attacks designed to break enemy armor layers.

Much of the strategy comes from the ability wheel, which stops the action either by tapping or holding the shoulder button and lets you issue orders. Companions can be kitted out as support units and healers, too.

“The combat system is an interesting challenge going into the fourth iteration of this game because as you know, every Dragon Age has reinvented combat to some degree,” director Corinne Busche told IGN.

“Of course, pause and play strategy is always the backbone of it. But what that means is that, in addition to fans of all three prior games and welcoming in an entirely new generation of fans, we’ve got a pretty diverse player base to accommodate to.”

Veilguard launches 10 years after the last game in the series, Inquisition, came out, and 15 years after the first game, Origins. Earlier this month BioWare fully revealed Veilguard alongside its new name, with new info on the character creator and an extended look at gameplay. As part of our Summer Game Fest coverage, we were able to learn a lot about how The Veilguard will handle romance and player choice.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is currently slated to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC in fall 2024.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.