Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Why It's Progression Might Eclipse Inquisition's

One of the most thrilling features in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the increased level cap, which now allows players to reach level 50. This boost provides significantly more opportunities for players to explore diverse builds and strategies, a vast improvement over Dragon Age: Inquisition, which capped player levels at 27.

With the higher level cap in The Veilguard, players will earn more skill points, opening up access to a greater variety of abilities and passive upgrades. As you progress, Rook’s development will feel more impactful, enabling specialized and intricate playstyles that weren’t feasible in the previous game. By comparison, Inquisition's leveling system felt limited in the late game, where after reaching higher levels, there were fewer meaningful abilities to unlock, leading to slower character progression.

Late-Game Builds in The Veilguard Offer Greater Flexibility

In Dragon Age: Inquisition, hitting the maximum level often led to a stagnation in character progression. Although players earned ability points and passive boosts with each level, by the time they reached level 27, most significant skills had already been unlocked. This caused an inevitable slowdown in growth. Additionally, the lack of enemy scaling, aside from the Even Ground trial, made the later stages of the game less satisfying as enemies posed little threat despite their higher stats. The only remedy came through later DLC, particularly with Inquisition: Trespasser.

With The Veilguard raising the level cap to 50, the endgame promises to feel much more rewarding. It suggests that BioWare has learned from Inquisition's shortcomings and is designing an endgame filled with more engaging challenges. The expanded Constellation Skill Tree and the extra skill points will allow players to fully customize Rook’s abilities, letting them experiment with different combinations without feeling stuck in a static endgame. If done right, players won’t feel overpowered or as though they’ve hit a ceiling as the game nears its conclusion.

More Dynamic Combat with The Veilguard’s Enhanced Leveling

Another area where The Veilguard could outshine Inquisition is in how it handles combat at higher levels. In Inquisition, once most abilities were unlocked, combat could become repetitive. Players were limited to one specialization per class, locking them into a particular progression path. Well before the endgame, the Inquisitor would have already unlocked their entire set of abilities, leaving little room for growth or strategy before facing the final boss.

As Rook levels up to 50 in The Veilguard, new abilities, upgrades, and passives will become available, pushing players to reconsider their combat tactics all the way to the game's finale. What’s even better is the ability to refund skill points at any time without any resource cost, unlike in Inquisition. This added flexibility will encourage players to keep combat fresh and exciting throughout their playthrough.

Equipment Upgrades Add Depth to The Veilguard’s Late-Game Progression

Balancing The Veilguard’s equipment and character progression will be crucial, especially given how BioWare is shaping the late-game experience. Rook will be able to upgrade weapons, armor, and accessories at the Caretaker’s Workshop, enabling players to enhance stats and unlock additional effects. As the Workshop's rank increases, players will uncover more complex enchantments that can be applied to items or abilities, adding a rich layer of customization for late-game builds.

If executed well, this system will address a major flaw in Inquisition, where gear progression became a secondary concern after hitting the level cap. Many players simply equipped the best items available, often using gear found halfway through the game, and ignored anything new that dropped near the end, deeming it inferior. In The Veilguard, BioWare has the opportunity to make equipment upgrades more meaningful, ensuring that players remain invested in their gear throughout the entire journey.

Final Thoughts

Dragon Age: The Veilguard has big shoes to fill, especially after the ten-year gap since the last entry in the series. BioWare’s recent projects, aside from remasters, have struggled to meet the high standards set by their earlier works. However, with the improvements in character progression, combat, and late-game mechanics, The Veilguard seems poised to surpass Inquisition and reignite fans’ love for the franchise.