As part of Dragon Age: Veilguard’s deep character creator, you need to pick a Faction that determines your avatar’s backstory. As well as informing some of your role-play with your character, their Faction also has gameplay implications, including damage boosts and unique perks.
However, whether you’re a returning fan who’s not wandered the world of Thedas in close to a decade or a new adventurer taking your first steps, there’s an awful lot of assumed knowledge that you need to wade through.
When you first pick up Dragon Age: Veilguard, it’s perfectly reasonable not to know where Tevinter is, who the Venatori are and what an Antivan Crow is – so how are you supposed to know who you want to be?
Here’s a rundown of what all of the Factions in Dragon Age: Veilguard do, as well as how they affect your gameplay.
What’s the best Faction to choose in Dragon Age: Veilguard?
Your Faction will affect your save in Dragon Age: Veilguard in a number of ways:
- You will gain increased reputation with your allied faction of choice, which will make it easier to raise their in-universe power during the main story. Raising a faction’s power lets you buy more items from their faction shop, and will have story consequences in the late-game
- You will gain a bonus when fighting your faction’s sworn enemies
- You will gain unique dialogue options based on your Faction, both in the main story and with members of your faction
- These dialogue options can also influence decisions during the story (including the fate of minor characters)
- Your default casual outfit will change based on your faction (but you can pick up others as you play)
- You gain a unique perk based on your choice
None of the unique perks are a huge bonus that make them a must-pick. And while you probably fight Darkspawn most throughout the game, you fight all of the other enemy types often enough that you’re not missing out by picking one over the other.
Then, I suggest choosing your faction based on three main things:
- Which Faction you simply like the look of (including their casual wear because you’re stuck with it for a while)
- Which Faction you want unique dialogue with
- Which Companion you want unique dialogue with
The Grey Wardens are key players in the world of Thedas and are devoted to fighting the Darkspawn and the Blight wherever they appear – as you do in Dragon Age: Veilguard. Choosing the Grey Wardens will give you more favour with this key faction, give you dialogue with two companions, and allow you to exile wrongdoers to join the Grey Wardens themselves in certain situations.
The Veil Jumpers are explorers and custodians of ancient, powerful Elven artefacts. This makes them arch-tinkerers who’re adept at dealing with anything mechanical or related to engineering. But their experience with unknowable magical objects also lets them interpret mysterious phenomena.
Next, the Shadow Dragons are the resistance fighters in the city of Minrathous in the Tevinter empire – one of the main regions in Thedas. You visit Minrathous often throughout your adventure and complete main story and side quests across its sprawling hub area. The Venatori are an iron-fisted ruling faction of evil mages who the Shadow Dragons oppose and are one of the main antagonists of the game. A key story decision also takes place in the city.
The Lords of Fortune are a mercenary Faction in Veilguard, operating out of the Rivain Coast where there are many secrets and quests to discover. They also run the combat arena where you can take on challenges for XP, reputation and prizes.
The Mourn Watch are a misunderstood Faction of Necromancers from Nevarra who live and work in one of Veilguard’s coolest locations, the Grand Necropolis. The Necropolis is constantly shifting, giving it plenty of side quests and treasure to discover, but it’s also the place you’ll likely visit last as you’re collecting Companions.
Finally, the Antivan Crows are an elite order of assassins who operate out of a casino in the mercantile city of Treviso. Treviso is one of the main hubs in Dragon Age: Veilguard and plays a key role in a major story beat. The Antaam are an imperialist faction of Qunari seeking to overthrow and dominate whatever territory they can occupy. The Antivan Crows lead the resistance.
Which characters belong to which faction?
There are seven companions in Dragon Age: Veilguard, and all of them belong to one of the factions you can choose for your Rook. If you’re specifically interested in any particular companion, you can choose to be in the same faction as them to gain unique dialogue.
While this doesn’t figure in how you romance characters in Dragon Age: Veilguard, it’s still a nice layer of differentiation which makes the world of Thedas feel more reactive. Your companion’s factions are as follows:
- Harding, the Elite Dwarven Scout – Grey Wardens
- Neve, the Minrathous Private Investigator – Shadow Dragons
- Bellara, the Elven Artefact Expert – Veil Jumpers
- Lucanis, the Abominable Assassin – Antivan Crows
- Davrin, the Last Griffon-handler – Grey Wardens
- Taash, the Axe-wielding Qunari Warrior – Lords of Fortune
- Emmerich, the Gentleman Necromancer – The Mourn Watch
Now you’ve picked your Faction, it’s time to pick the best starting class for your character!