In combat, you’ll be able to switch between two weapons, giving you more options to defeat your opponent in BioWare’s game. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the cover story of Game Informer, and the publication has a lot to tell us.

There will be real-time combat, and BioWare has even taken care of the animations so you can back away from attacks.Each character type has both light and heavy attacks, but there are already differences in secondary attacks and defensive moves.The Warrior can defend, parry, and throw shields (the latter when upgraded to the Champion specialization) at will after Captain America.The Rogue can also parry, has more time to activate it, and can attack with a bow for a longer range.The Mage doesn’t have the ability to parry, but can throw up a shield to negate attacks against him as long as he has mana.He can also use his magic to attack further than normal spells. It can also target an opponent with three arcane magics that transform into an arcane bomb with a heavy attack. Each character type can switch between two loadouts during combat. For example, a mage can charge up the staff’s heavy attack, then use the down arrow on the D-pad to switch to the magical dagger for a few light attacks, then use the staff for the heavy attack. Sprinting and jumping away from attacks can also be used, and healing potions are placed on the right D-pad arrow by default.

Our pets can also heal us. When we level up our relationship with them, they receive one skill point to spend on their skill tree. They can have up to five skills active, but can only use up to three in combat. The most strategic players can stop that by giving them combo instructions on the ability wheel. BioWare says they’ll be useful companions in their own right, and will even evolve over time. Combos can also be “bookmarked” with a quick sprint: sprint away from trouble, then sprint back, and you can resume the combo.

Your character’s skill tree will be much larger. We can also unlock passive abilities, such as jumping attacks or critical damage in certain circumstances. There are also active abilities (Warrior: Spartan Kick, Mage: Wall of Fire). Each specialization has a unique ultimate ability, and BioWare says the goal is to create a completely different play style, not just improve your character’s stats.

“I think the first thing to keep in mind is that combat in the franchise is an evolution. Every single entry reimagines what combat looks like, and I would say our goal was to make sure that we had a system that allowed players to feel like they were actually stepping into the world of Thedas.They’re not a player watching from a distance, they’re in that world.Because it’s this authentic world that’s being brought to life, the combat system has to support that, so you’re in control of every single action, every block, every dodge, every swing of your sword,” said Corinne Busche, one of the directors.”What I see in Veilguard is a game that finally bridges that gap. Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games fell into the ‘combat wasn’t that bad’ realm. In this game, the combat is actually fun, but it keeps that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but you still have that control and character that comes into the combat experience from the other people in your party,” added Mark Darrah, who is working on the game as a consultant after returning to BioWare last year; he previously worked on the previous three Dragon Age games before leaving BioWare in 2020.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC this fall.

Source: WCCFTech, Game Informer