The Rogue Duelist build can be made high-damaging by focusing on necrosis and maneuverability in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This allows you to pick ranged targets and blow them with necrosis effect, causing strong damage over time affliction.
This build works closely with the companions and synergizes their abilities to get high outcomes. Use both allies to reduce a selected target’s necrotic resistance. After that, pick off a smaller section of enemies within the range with the bow; this builds up momentum to necrotic weapons primed.
The skills and gear chosen for the Rogue Duelist build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard debuffs the enemy’s resistance and boosts your damage output.
Rogue Duelist Build Overview
The Rogue Duelist build focuses on stacking the necrosis effect to get high damage output. The weapons, shield, and gear perfectly complement their integral traits, allowing you to maximize your damage output and utility.
- Faction: Veil Jumpers
- Race: Elf
- Active Skills: Static Strikes, Reeling Bolt, Pilfer, Hurricane of Blades, Toxic Dash, A Thousand Cuts
- Ultimate: Murder of Crows and Murder of Crows
- Trait: Evasive Maneuvers, Bated Breath, Shall We Dance
- Companions: Emmrich and Lucanis
- Gear: Enchanted Longblade +10, Arinai’s Talon, Cryptwood Bow +10, Antivan Parade Helm +10, Striking Misfortune +10, Jenny’s Belt, A Pale Reflection, Serpent’s Kiss, Exacting Shard
- Runes: Scourge, Ascend, Escalate
Best Faction and Race
The best faction for Rogue Duelists in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is Veil Jumpers. This faction grants increased bonuses and weak point damage. High burst damage gives you an optimal bonus that best fits the Rogue class.
This faction increases damage against Fade Touched enemies while boosting critical and weak point damage. As for the race, the elves are known to have a stronger connection with the Fade, making them a perfect choice for this build.
Best Abilities And Level Progression
The Duelist specialization unlocks at level 20 and you will be able to equip active skills and ultimate abilities. We recommend going with the following:
Level 1-10:
At this stage, grab Static Strikes first and foremost. This is your basic peashooter ability, dealing 121 electricity damage with strikes. It also applies Weakened. Next, work towards getting Hurricane of Blades, in which you strike enemies 4 times for 385 Necrotic Damage. Finally, get Reeling Bolt, which doesn’t do much damage on a hit, but you want it for its potential to pull in enemies, shock them, and stagger them.
For Ultimate, go for Concussive Barrage, which has 1,760 damage and staggers enemies. If this hits any already staggered enemies, it extends the duration by 200%. Use this after you fire off a Reeling Bolt.
Level 10-20:
At these levels, swap out Static Strikes for Toxic Dash. As the name suggests, you will dash toward a target and damage it for a total of 220 Necrotic damage. Switch out Reeling Bolt for Pilfer. This control-tool ability damages the enemy and heals you. It applies bleed-on hits, which you can use to detonate Overwhelmed enemies.
At level 20, you will unlock the Duelist specialization and get the Murder of Crows Ultimate by swapping out Concussive Barrage. This one deals 1,760 Necrotic damage, which is the same as Concussive Barrage, but the damage type changes and is faster. It better suits the playstyle we’re going for.
Level 20+:
At this stage, there are no major swaps to make here. The only thing you can swap out is Pilfer for A Thousand Cuts. Pilfer is better suited for survival, but if you don’t need it, go for A Thousand Cuts. You will deal 880 Necrotic damage and strike a target 16 times, with the final blow doing the most damage.
Traits for Rogue Duelist Build
Between levels 1-10, get and use Evasive Maneuvers. This allows you to launch an attack from an extended dodge. After you cross level 10, get Bated Breath, which allows your bow to be charged up an extra level. Finally, after level 20, you may pick Shall We Dance, where performing a Light attack, waiting a short time, then performing another deals bonus damage and Stagger and grants Adrenaline.
Recommended Companions
For the companions, we went with Emmrich and Lucanis for the following reason:
- With Emmrich, you can detonate the sundered effect that both of you can place; he also heals and reduces the enemy’s resistance to necrotic damage.
- Lucanis, on the other hand, can actively and passively buff your damage and reduce necrotic resistance.
Gear Choices
The gear used for the build improves necrotic damage to benefit from necrotic weapons and necrosis.
| Main-Hand Weapon | Enchanted Longblade +10 |
| Off-Hand Weapon / Shield | Arinai’s Talon |
| Shortbow | Cryptwood Bow +10 |
| Helm/Vitaar | Antivan Parade Helm +10 |
| Armor | Striking Misfortune +10 |
| Belt | Jenny’s Belt |
| Amulet | A Pale Reflection |
| Ring Slot 1 | Serpent’s Kiss |
| Ring Slot 2 | Exacting Shard |
Enchanted Longblade +10
This legendary saber offers a 20% increased final attack damage. You will gain necrotic weapons on kills with final attacks, and when these weapons are active, they apply necrosis. The melee attacks leech life from enemies suffering from necrosis.
Arinai’s Talon
This unique longsword inflicts 30% increased necrotic damage with 40% added necrotic damage.
Cryptwood Bow +10
The legendary shortbow stacks 40% necrotic damage and weak point hits apply necrosis. The damage stacks up 20% more from enemies suffering necrosis.
Antivan Parade Helm +10
The Epic Heavy Helm further adds stacks of necrosis effect on enemies and an increased ability damage.
Striking Misfortune +10
The Striking Misfortune light armor further improves necrotic damage and resistance by 15%.
Jenny’s Belt
This belt uses potion applying bees to increase necrotic damage.
A Pale Reflection
A Pale Reflection adds 20% damage to basic enemies at all times.
Serpent’s Kiss
This ring improves charged attacks deals necrotic damage but removes necrotic weapons.
Exacting Shard
It increases necrotic weapon damage and duration.
Runes You Should Choose
For the Rogue Duelist build, we recommend using the following Runes:
- Scourge: This is an important rune for this build as it gives passive bonus damage, and all your weapons deal with necrotic damage for 20 seconds.
- Ascend: gives you increased base damage and necrotic damage. Your momentum is restored for 10 seconds when your health drops.
- Escalate: This rune enables you to gain higher damage.
