There are a grand total of seven companions that you can add to your team in Dragon Age: The Veilguard — two Rogues, two Warriors, and three Mages. However, each one of them has different skills and attack styles. We at Windows Central took time to evaluate each companion and ranked them against each other in terms of how helpful they are in combat and how often they are a good choice to pair with other companions.
While a companion's abilities are important on their own, it's also important to consider your team dynamic when choosing which companions to take with you. So, you should consider which companions help bring out the best in your character. After viewing our Dragon Age: The Veilguard companion tier list, continue to the next sections to learn more about each character and the best companions to pair them with.
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Dragon Age: The Veilguard companion tier list
Plan your party around Primers and Detonators
It's easy enough to rank the companions on their own merit. However, an equally, if not more important factor, is how well your party works together. You can have two companions in your party at a time. So, you really want to consider how well they work with your character in regards to Primers and Detonators.
In Dragon Age, a Primer is an ability that can cause additional status effects (sundered, overwhelmed, weakened, etc.) to enemies. Meanwhile, Detonators add to Primers by further affecting enemies who are already feeling status effects. The more you use Primers and Detonators, the faster enemies will get taken down.
Each companion has their own skill tree. Just by going in and looking, you can easily see if an ability Primes or Detonates, and what kind of effects it will have. Remember, you can swap out any companion abilities at any time as long as you aren't currently in battle.
You can learn more about each of the seven companions in the sections below. They are listed in alphabetical order.
Bellara Lutare
Bellara is a delightfully nerdy and creative individual who finds ancient elven objects fascinating.
Race: Elf
Class: Mage
Faction: Veil Jumpers
Voice: Jee Young Han
Since she is a Mage and part of the Veil Jumpers, it's no surprise that she uses her powers to interact with the Fade. In combat, she wields magic to both hamper enemies and boost allies. Electricity is never far from this gal.
I initially thought Bellara would rank higher on our tier list due to her diverse abilities, but when compared against the others, she earns a B rank. She is a Mage who owns a gauntlet that can transition into a bow, so she offers ranged magic and arrow attacks. She's also a bit of a support character, but not nearly as effective as Lace or Emmerich.
Best Companion pairing: Davrin or Lucanis — Bellara isn't the best support character, but having another support character in your party will make the team weak overall. So instead, you need to have a powerful warrior like Davrin or a versatile fighter like Lucanis to best balance your party when Bellara is there.
Abilities: Fade Bolts, Enfeebling Shot, Replenish, Time Slow, Galvanized Tear
Davrin
Like many members of the Grey Wardens, Davrin is a powerful and strong individual both in terms of his battle prowess and personality.
Race: Elf
Class: Warrior
Faction: Grey Wardens, Dalish
Voice: Ike Amadi
As is common to his class, this Warrior is "fiercely loyal" and wields a sword as well as a really cool-looking shield that features an elaborate griffon emblem on the front. This alludes to his feathery battle companion.
This Warrior's powerful attack style places him squarely in our A rank. As with many tanky characters, Darvin can attract enemies to himself (aggro) and take a decent amount of damage. He also has great stunning abilities to help with crowd control and protecting support characters. Something that makes Davrin stand out from the other companions is that a young griffon named Assan fights alongside him in battle, and the two can be quite the effective pair.
Best Companion pairing: Lace, Emmerich, or Lucanis — With Darvin being a strong melee fighter, it will help to have a support character like Lace or Emmerich to heal him, apply buffs/enemy debuffs, and keep him going. Lucanis is also a bit of a support character for those who want a more versatile companion.
Abilities: Battle Cry | Death from Above | Heroic Strike | Assan Strike | In War, Victory
Emmerich Volkarin
Emmerich is a scholarly Mage who loves to learn more about the Fade.
Race: Human
Class: Mage (Necromancer)
Faction: Mourn Watch, Motalitasi
Voice: Nick Boraine
His particular abilities are in the art of necromancy, but even though he is very skilled at raising the spirits of the dead, he wants to protect people from the occult.
While not the highest place on our tier list, Emmerich earns a very respectable A rank. In battle, this Mage uses his necromantic powers to summon the dead. While under his power, these spirits attack or slow down his enemies. He's also good at healing the companions he fights alongside.
Best Companion pairing: Davrin or a levelled up Taash — With Emmerich being a great support character, he pairs really well with hard-hitting Warriors, especially Davrin. Taash can also be good, but only if you upgrade her enough to make her useful.
Abilities: Final Rites, Replenish, Entangling Spirits, The Bell Tolls, Time Slow
Lace Harding
Lace first appeared as a scout in Dragon Age: Inquisition and soon became a fan-favorite NPC.
Race: Dwarf
Class: Rogue
Faction: The Inquisition
Voice: Ali Hillis
Thankfully, in The Veilguard, she's a full-fledged companion. This means she is yet again one of the only romanceable Dwarf women in the series. As a Rogue, Lace uses a bow and arrow to shoot ranged attacks at enemies.
Lace earns a lauded S Rank on our tier list. The reason we ranked Lace so high is that she offers fantastic support, especially as a healer. You'll be able to keep fighting without having to think as much about your health bar with her replenishing your hit points regularly. What's more, she's also good at slowing down enemies with debuffs from afar, so her crowd control skills are also very useful.
Best Companion pairing: Lucanis or Darvin — they'll be able to hit harder and longer with Lace providing support for the three of you. A levelled up Taash can also be good for distracting enemies away from Lace, but you'll need to put the time in for Taash to be a good choice.
Abilities: Seismic Shot, Heavy Draw, Shred, Adrenaline Rush, Soothing Potion
Lucanis Dellamorte
Lucanis is a tortured soul fighting a battle with his own personal demon.
Race: Human
Class: Rogue (Master Assassin)
Faction: Antivan Crows
Voice: Zach Mendez
Considering Lucanis is part of the Antivan Crows (an organization filled with assassins, spies, and thieves), it comes as no surprise that he is a master assassin.
Lucanis gains an S rank on our tier list due to his wide range of skills. With a pair of dual-daggers, this masterful Rogue can unleash necrotic attacks on foes. But he's also mindful of his companions, healing and buffing his party members. Best of all, unlike some others on this list, Lucanis feels powerful from the get-go, so you don't have to put as much time in working on their skill tree to make him a strong ally.
Best Companion pairing: Lace or Davrin — Lace's ranged attacks and affinity for healing works extremely well with Lucanis' fast-kill methods. However, if you're mindful of healing, yourself, Davrin's powerful Warrior melee attacks can help Lucanis dominate battles.
Abilities: Eviscerate, Abominate, Soothing Potion, Debilitate, Adrenaline Rush
Neve Gallus
Neve Gallus is a Mage who used her powers to become the most effective private detective in Minrathous.
Race: Human
Class: Mage
Faction: The Shadow Dragons
Voice: Jessica Clark
As a member of The Shadow Dragons, she poignantly opposes slavery and does all she can to fight against any injustices brought about by corrupt leaders in Tevinter. Despite her own magical prowess she doesn't believe Mages are any better than others.
I personally really like the idea of Neve, but as a battle companion, she earns a B rank. During combat, she specializes in ice spells that can slow enemies down for better crowd control. She can also deal a decent amount of damage if you level her up properly.
Best Companion pairing: Darvin, Lucanis, or Lace — Neve can be a tricky one to pair a companion with. On one hand, since she's already putting out debuffs, a powerful Warrior or Rogue will help balance the team's overall effectiveness. That said, if you yourself are playing as a hard-hitting Warrior, then Lace's healing support can be very effective for you all.
Abilities: Icebreaker, Blizzard, Glacial Pace, Time Slow, Replenish
Taash
Tassh is a Warrior and the only companion you can have who is a Qunari.
Race: Qunari
Class: Warrior
Faction: Lords of Fortune
Voice: Jin Maley
With her towering height and strong horns, Tassh is arguably the most formidable looking of the group. She is a Warrior who is very skilled at hunting dragons, but that's not surprising, given that she is part of The Lords of Fortune, an adventurous group.
We ranked Taash lowest on our tier list (C rank) because she isn't very viable at the beginning. You'll need to get to a late-game upgrade before she really becomes a strong companion, but others are better right from the start. When it comes to combat, Taash's attack style is much like her personality: blunt and hard. She wields dual-axes in melee combat, but can also breathe fire when fighting foes. Most importantly, she's good at drawing aggro from enemies to keep their attacks away from you and your other companion.
Best Companion pairing: Lace or Emmerich — these two can continue to heal Taash while she distracts enemies for you.
Abilities: Fire Breath, Dragon's Roar, Dragonfire Strike, Spitfire, Fortune's Favor
Choose the right companions for each mission
While each of the Dragon Age: the Veilguard companions has their merits and can be useful in battle, they all have very different abilities and attack styles. Figuring out which characters provide the best support to your own play style is important if you want to play this adventure efficiently.
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Since you can have up to two companions with you at a time, you should consider who will work best together and who will provide you with the best perks. Remember, you'll only get the most out of Primer and Detonator status effects if you and your companions have abilities that can be combined or stack together.
If you aren't good at remembering to heal yourself or don't want to bother with thinking about it, then Lace Harding is the ideal healing support companion. Another tactic is to ensure that your party is composed of one of each class, a Mage, a Rogue, and a Warrior. This will balance your team and allow you all to take on a range of enemies together.
