Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Best Skills For A Duelist Rogue

Duelist Rogues might be the most aesthetically pleasing Specialization in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Based on the Antivan Crows, they are death merhcants who challenge their foes to one on one combat and cripple their defences with Necrotic damage. It's the closest style of play to Lucanis, and also one of the best Specializations when it comes to making use of the Skill Tree as they're so built around buffs and blades. Where Saboteurs do a bit of everything and Veil Rangers use a variety of tactics from distance, all Duelists care about is the sword, and the fall.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Best Skills For A Saboteur Rogue

Saboteur Rogues are swashbuckling generalists who fight up close and from a distance with an array of tools.

This means you can sculpt an incredibly deadly Duelist with the right Skills. Our early Skills guide for each Rogue Specialization will get you some of the way there through the basic pathway, as we'll be looking at the best Skills once the Specialization has been locked in at level 20. To make the most effective Duelist possible, you'll also need to use the Sustain tree and Burst tree, although the Control tree is less important as Duelists are focussed and precise, and Control is for wider battlefield Skills.

Damage values are tied to Skills chosen. These were our numbers once we unlocked Rogue Specializations, and they grew over time.

Best Duelist Skills

Skills

Benefit

Murder of Crows

3,088 Necrotic damage, new Ultimate

A Thousand Cuts

1,464 Necrotic damage (Strike, Control)

Death's Blessing

+10% Necrotic damage

Poisoned Blades

Necrosis applied by Strike abilities for each Primer

Shall We Dance

Light attacks apply Stagger, extra damage, and give Adrenaline if shortly after another Light attack

Since this is the Antivan Crow Specialization, it's no surprise that there's a lot of flair involved here. It takes speed and grace to be a Duelist, and one mistake can be deadly. Thanks to a healthy dose of Necrotic attacks, you can bring your foes closer to meeting their end each time they make a mistake, or you force them into one. A highly aggressive Specialization, with bravery and agility a Duelist can win a battle single-handedly.

For that reason, a new Ultimate in the form of Murder of Crows and major Necrotic damage from A Thousand Cuts give Duelists a substantial boost right from the off. Mix in Death's Blessing and Poisoned Blades, and you become the embodiment of death in battle. Finally, Shall We Dance suits the cut and thrust gameplay that a face to face Duelist thrives under.

Best Sustain Skills For A Duelist Rogue

Skill

Benefit

Blood Poisoning

Perfect Defense applies Bleeding, if Necrotic Weapons active applies Necrosis

Overwhelming Tactics

Charged Light attacks apply Bleed, Charged Heavy attacks apply Necrosis if Momentum is over 100

Spill Blood

+1 to Max Bleeding stacks

Leaping Shot

Fires an exploding arrow after backwards dodge

Improved Health

100 extra Health

The Duelist shares the Sustain tree with the Saboteur, but in all honesty, makes far better use of it. The mixture of Bleed and Necrotic abilties on offer here mean a Duelist can make this tree work in their favour to maximum effect, and take the fight to their foes. The Burst tree has some solid additions, but Sustain will get the most use.

Adding in Pilfer from our early Skills suggestions, you get constant Bleed applied to enemies through it, Spill Blood, Blood Poisoning, and Overwhelming Tactics. The latter two there even suit the Necrotic build you're eventually going to have at your disposal. Leaping Shot means retreating (as a Duelist will often need to do when their eyes are bigger than their blade) is still an offense-heavy move, while Improved Health is just an obvious thing to grab to give you better staying power in fights.

Best Burst Skills For A Duelist Rogue

Skills

Benefit

Hurricane of Blades

641 Necrotic damage (Area, Strike)

Momentous Occasion

Final attacks grant 25% more Momentum, or 50% with Adrenaline

Necrotic Fog

Deals 150 Necrotic damage to enemies within 6 meters when Momentum is spent

Staggering Blade

+20% Sword Stagger

Decisive Finale

Add a powerful Heavy Attack after a Light Chain Attack

Despite not being quite as effective as the Sustain tree, the Burst tree is still very useful for the Duelist Rogue, as long as it's used in a different way than a Veil Ranger would. For the most part, it's for showy Skills that add a bit of drama to your approach and offer solutions to different challenges you might face with the front-foot focused Duelist playstyle.

Hurricane of Blades is an easy grab as an early Ability, giving you a taste of the Duelist's power before you get closer to unlocking it for real. Likewise, Necrotic Fog goes with all Necrosis skills and makes a link between Burst and Duelist on the tree, while clearing out crowds you don't want near you. Staggering Blade and Decisive Finale are very helpful with swordfighting combat. Momentous Occasion is an odd one as many Duelist Skills are Cooldown, not Momentum. However, the Adrenaline buff features in Duelist Skills a lot in the late-game picks, so this is not a Skill to grab early, but one that offers major rewards in the long run.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Best Skills For A Veil Ranger Rogue

Veil Ranger Rogues are bow-wielding archers who take out their enemies in precision shots from distance.