Best Rogue build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Companions, abilities, weapons & more

The Rogue is the embodiment of combat speed and efficiency in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, slashing their way through hordes of Darkspawn across Thedas.

The Rogue serves as a middle ground between the Warrior’s toughness and the Mage’s glass cannon output. It offers a thrilling way to make your way through the story and sits comfortably on the A-Tier in our ranking of the classes.

It also features several specializations that really do further the class’ prowess, perhaps more than any other. Equally, mastering the playstyle of the Rogue will allow you to squeeze even more damage out of a class that already offers that in spades.

There’s plenty to jump into, so here’s everything you need to know about mastering the Rogue in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Best Rogue build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Though it isn’t quite as squishy as the Mage, the Rogue is still heavily reliant on staying out of the way of damage rather than soaking it all up. As a result, quick strikes and stacking damage over time are the best and most consistent ways to take out your foes.

Necrotic is comfortably the best damage type in the game right now, leaving fire, frost, and even bleeds as clear runners-up. As such, this build prioritizes accessing Necrotic Damage as frequently as possible, while also synergizing with our chosen companions for maximum output.

You’ll generally want to use your daggers as much as possible, particularly as a tool to break down enemy armor with heavy attacks. Don’t be afraid to use the bow when needed though, as many enemies will make it difficult to fight up close when they enter certain phases.

Above all else, you’ll want to keep moving as much as possible. Though it isn’t our primary choice in the table above, abilities like Toxic Dash give you alternate ways to get close to enemies, before dodging away without taking further damage.

Best specialization

• Duelist

As with all classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there are three specializations that become available at Level 20. Duelist is an extension of the standard class archetype, promoting devastating abilities that prioritize speed above all else.

Dexerto/Bioware

The Saboteur is the control spec, using explosives and turrets to choke the battlefield and create safety windows for you to fit your damage rotating within. Veil Ranger is the ranged spec, taking the Rogue’s use of the bow and bringing that to the fore, instead of the dagger-focused play that the other two specs offer.

In this build, the best course of action is to head for the Duelist specialization as quickly as possible. This will give you access to some impressive Necrotic tools by Level 20, which perfectly complement the limited abilities you get at the start of the game.

Best skills and abilities

• Necrotic Abilities – Hurricane of Blades, A Thousand Cuts, Murder of Crows (Ultimate)

The first thing to do as a Rogue when building out your skills is to take all of the nodes in the tree’s core. This gives access to essential traits like Riposte, Exploding Arrow and Evasive Maneuvers, all of which feature heavily in your gameplay loop as a Rogue.

From there, you’ll want to grab the Hurricane of Blades ability as quickly as possible, as it plays a significant role in the Necrotic Damage this build favors. Take the Staggering Blade and Sharper Edge passive effects for +15% Penetration and +20% Sword Stagger, but then you’ll want to stop heading in that direction.

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Moving upwards from the center, take the Pilfer ability and connected passives that increase Bleed effects and Physical Resistance; then it’s a case of heading towards our chosen specialization, Duelist, as quickly as possible.

Make sure to claim the Toxic Dash node for further Necrotic Damage, with the ability also a great way to close the distance and apply the Sundered status effect to enemies.

Once you have reached the Duelist specialization, you’ll unlock access to the Ultimate ability, Murder of Crows and the standard ability, A Thousand Cuts. Both serve as the centerpieces of this build, and you’ll want to use the latter as often as it’s available while saving Murder of Crows for those tough boss enemies or fights where things are getting out of hand.

Best stats and gear

• Necrotic Damage
• Stagger
• Control Ability Damage

Dragon Age: The Veilguard features a ton of gear from various sources, including drops from boss fights and from the merchants found in the Sanctums across Thedas. Unsurprisingly (if you’ve been reading the rest of the build), you’ll want to do everything you can to get gear that directly utilizes Necrotic Damage.

Dexerto/Bioware

Beyond that, Stagger works very well, mainly if your companions are able to add to enemy stagger to enable you to execute a high-damage attack or even kill them outright. Bleeds are also a nice secondary option; you should find plenty of jewelry and trinkets that aid in this area.

Having access to tertiary stats like Control Ability Damage is another nice boon for Rogue players, though this is more suited to those who have built towards the Saboteur specialization. If you’re looking for a great early piece of gear, head to the Halls of Valor and win ten fights, where you’ll be rewarded with a Unique ring that provides a huge buff to Stagger.

Best companions

• Taash
• Neve Gallus/Bellara

As with the Mage, it’s a great idea to take a support character who can heal you when needed. Neve Gallus and Bellara are the best examples of this, offering sustained and regular heals that can help you to progress past the game’s most difficult fights.

Both also offer ranged poke and dovetail nicely with the way the Rogue plays, serving as a safe port of call for when you need to create distance between you and the enemy. Additionally, they also work as the perfect foil for our number-one companion pick – Taash.

Absolutely dominant on the battlefield, Taash has some of the hardest-hitting attacks in the game. She is also able to Detonate enemies and has skills that combine with our Rogue’s active toolkit and Neve Gallus’ Mage spells. Take any combination of those three into battle and you should be on to a winner.

That’s our complete guide to playing the Rogue in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. If you’re looking for a change of scenery, make sure to check out exactly how to play the Mage and the Warrior in our build guides for those classes. We’ve also prepared a tier list, so you know exactly how each is performing in the launch patch.