Dragon Age: The Veilguard is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It’s the fourth major instalment in the Dragon Age series and is set ten years after the Inquisition, introducing players to new locations in the fictional world of Thedas to explore. The End of the Beginning is the first major quest in Dragon Age Veilguard, covering the entire first chapter of the game. It acts as a prologue that introduces the basic gameplay mechanics. The End of the Beginning” starts right after you leave the character creation screen. This guide will explore the choices and consequences of Varric’s plan to confront Solas in The End of the Beginning – Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
The End of the Beginning
In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the first mission, “The End of the Beginning,” starts after character creation, with Rook searching for Neve Gallus in a bar. Players can choose between combat or diplomacy, but both options lead to the same outcome. As Rook explores the Minrathous Streets, they collect gold and engage in battles against Venatori Cultists. After teaming up with Neve or Harding, Rook continues the quest to find the sorcerer Solas, encountering various enemies and collecting loot along the way. The mission culminates in a boss fight against the Pride Demon, marking a significant challenge in the game.
The Pride Demon
When you encounter the first boss fight of the game, you’ll face the Pride Demon. This boss has two health bars: one blue and one yellow. Remember to prioritize ranged attacks against the boss first. Once the blue health bar is down, switch to heavy attacks to quickly break through its armour. After that, you’ll just need to whittle down the final yellow health bar.
To increase your survivability, there are two green pots on the battlefield that hold health potions. Just be careful not to break them if you’re already at maximum potions, as they won’t help you then, though they’ll stay on the ground for a while in case you need them later. If you use these potions whenever your health gets low, you should be able to take down the Pride Demon fairly easily.
Challenge or support Varric’s plan to confront Solas
Next, you’ll face your first major decision. Varric wants to try talking Solas down from the ritual. You have two options, each with different effects: “This is a mistake,” which leads to Neve disapproving and Harding approving, or “You can do it,” resulting in Neve approving and Harding disapproving. Regardless of your choice, Varric will go to confront Solas, leaving you and your other two party members to fend off a swarm of demons.
Once you fend off the demon swarm, the remaining party members come up with a new plan: to bring down the statue on Solas to disrupt the ritual. You’ll need to choose one of your party members to go with you for this task. “Who will accompany Rook to the statue?”; “Neve, come with me.” Neve is very supportive of this choice, but she’ll get injured and will have to sit out the next mission. “Harding, come with me.” Harding is also very supportive of this choice, but she too will be injured and will need to skip the next mission.
Whichever party member you choose, the next part of the mission will mostly play out the same way. There aren’t any additional collectables in this quest, so just continue heading toward the waypoint until you reach the scaffolding. Once you’re there, use your attacks to take it down. Once you finish that, you’ll watch a few more cutscenes before moving on to the next main quest, Shadows of Ancient Arlathan.
