Runes are a key part of min-maxing your character as you reach the later stages of the main story missions in Dragon Age The Veilguard. When you equip it to the Lyrium Dagger your character will gain both an Active as well as a Passive bonus which will help you maximize their capabilities during an encounter.
Runes in the RPG are small gemstones that you will find while exploring the map. They will be marked with a rune symbol which signifies their kind and will come in a variety of colors with each color denoting a rune type. For example, the Glaciialite Runs is blue in color and affects the Cold damage that the character does.
The rune system might seem complicated if you are just starting out. So here is a guide that goes over everything that you need to know about them in Dragon Age The Veilguard.
How to equip Runes in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Once you start getting your hands on more runes, you will be able to socket three of them on our Lyrium Dagger. So this means that you will have to at least get done with retrieving Sola’s ritual dagger in Act 1 to be able to start slotting the stones in.
Once you get your hands on the Lyrium Dagger, you will then need to open the character inventory and head to the dagger option which is on the right side of the screen. Now click on any one of the three sockets and your rune inventory will pop up.
Select the rune you want to equip in the slot, and you are good to go.
Rune types in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Throughout your playthrough, you will come across several different types of runes in Dragon Age The Veilguard. Some will increase the power of your status effects while others will boost the elemental damage, resistances, and more.
Every rune type will have two types of effects:
- Active Effect: Activated before or in combat. Will usually last for a small period of time. The active effect is shown as a glow effect on your character.
- Passive Effect: Passive effects are automatically applied to your character as soon as you slot the rune into the dagger. There is no special condition for activating them as their effects are automatically applied.
How to farm Runes in Dragon Age The Veilguard
The best way to find more runes in Dragon Age The Veilguard will be to explore every part of the map when you are out on a mission. While the main mission path will look linear, you will often find hidden pathways and alcoves all over, and once you venture off the beaten path you will find hidden treasure.
You will also find glowing gold chests, jars, and other boxes during exploration and these will sometimes contain runes. Enemy drops also have a slight chance of granting you the item.
Another great way of getting runes will be to purchase them from certain merchants in the market. You will find these items in stock every now and then, so don’t shy away from investing some resources to get them.
All Runes and effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Here are all the runes and their passive and active effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard:
| Rune | Active Effect | Passive Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Besiege | Light and Heavy attacks are no longer penalized vs. Barrier for 20 seconds. | Passive: +10% damage vs. Barrier. |
| Crush | Light and Ranged attacks are no longer penalized vs. Armor for 20 seconds. | +10% damage vs. Armor |
| Crystallize | All enemies within 10 meters are Frozen. | +10% Frozen duration |
| Defy | Take no damage from current target for 10 seconds. | Take 10% less damage while at Low health. |
| Diminish | All enemies within 6 meters are Weakened. | +10% Primer duration |
| Divert | Enemies disengage and attack your enemies for 10 seconds instead. Doesn’t work against bosses. | Health +10% |
| Dominate | All generated Rage is converted to Ultimate for 10 seconds. | +10% Ultimate generation |
| Electrify | All of your weapon attacks deal Electric damage for 20 seconds. | +10% Electricity damage |
| Escalate | Your next Ability is greatly enhanced, dealing much higher damage or increasing efficacy. | +10% Ability damage |
| Fortify | You gain Invulnerable. | +25% Invulnerable duration |
| Glaciate | All of your weapon attacks deal Cold damage for 20 seconds. | +10% Cold damage |
| Hemorrhage | All weapon attacks apply Bleeding for 10 seconds. | +10% Bleeding Duration |
| Hunger | Your weapon attacks leech 25% of their damage for 10 seconds. | +10% Leech Effectiveness |
| Mend | Lose all Rage and heal for an equivalent amount. | +10% incoming healing |
| Overflow | Your current Potion’s additional effects are applied. | +1 maximum Potions |
| Pierce | Your damage gains +100% Penetration for 10 seconds | +10% Penetration |
| Ravage | Deal 50% more damage vs health for 20 seconds. | +10% damage vs health |
| Refresh | Refreshes all your companion’s active abilities. | +10% Advantage duration |
| Regroup | All of your weapon attacks deal Fire damage for 20 seconds. | +10% Fire damage |
| Scorch | All of your weapon attacks deal Fire damage for 20 seconds. | +10% Fire damage |
| Scourge | All of your weapon attacks deal Necrotic damage for 20 seconds. | +10% Necrotic damage |
| Shatter | Ranged attacks break through enemies’ guard for 10 seconds. | +10% Ranged attack damage |
| Upend | All of your defensive Resistances become offensive damage bonuses of the same type for 10 seconds. | +5% all Resistances |
| Vivify (Class-specific rune) | Your Ability cooldowns are refreshed, and your next ability is free. | +10% Momentum Generation |
| Withstand | Gain Immovable | +25% Immovable duration |
