Applying and exploiting status effects is a key combat mechanic that will make completing some of the more challenging content in Dragon Age The Veilguard much easier. They especially come in handy at higher difficulty levels and status effects come in three specific types of primer and detonators, buffs, and debuffs.
It’s important to have a firm grasp on each status effect and how they work if you are looking to have an easier time in the RPG.
Here is a guide that goes over everything that you need to know about status effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard.
What are status effects and how do they work in Dragon Age The Veilguard?
Status effects can be buffs that you apply on yourself or your allies, or debuffs that you apply on enemies or enemies apply on you. Hence, having a good understanding of how they work will let you come up with different combo strategies, fitting particular situations, and making some boss encounters significantly easier.
However, keep in mind that status effects will only work when you are using active abilities. This is especially true for primer and detonation combos which will let your companions exploit debuffs to instantly burst down mobs or a boss.
This is what makes party formation important before every mission and when picking the best companions make sure to keep their ability synergy in mind. While raw DPS capabilities are great, exploiting status effects is a much more reliable way of making boss encounters more manageable.
So try swapping between your companions every now and then to try out new detonator combos and what goes with your won character’s playstyle.
All status effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard
As mentioned, status effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard can be divided into three primary categories:
- Primer and Detonator
- Buffs
- Debuffs
Here is a list of all the status effects under each category:
1) All Primer and Detonator effects
Primer and detonator status effects are something that you actively apply to your enemies with the help of your and your companion’s abilities. You can stack compatible effects with the help of the Primer ability and then activate it with the Detonator ability which will let you deal a burst of damage,
Here are all the primer and detonator status effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard:
Warriors:
- Apply: Overwhelmed
- Detonate: Weakened
Rogues:
- Apply: Sundered
- Detonate: Overwhelmed
Mages:
- Apply: Weakened
- Detonate: Sundered
To apply and detonate a status effect you will need to choose the corresponding ability from the radial wheel. This will pause the game for some time and your next step will be to look for abilities that are highlighted in gold which will let you know about each of your possible combos.
Now pick the ability that will let you apply the status effect, and then follow it up by picking the ability that will detonate it. After picking them, close the radial dial, and your character and companions will channel the abilities in the correct order.
2) All Buff status effects
Buffs are combat boosts that you apply on your character and companions. These status effects are all about helping your party get the edge during an encounter.
Here is a list of all the buff status effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard:
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Deflect | Target will deflect the next attack and take no damage from it. |
| Enhanced Damage | Target will do more damage. The effect can buff all types of damage or only a specific type. |
| Immovable | Target with the Immovable buff will be immune to physical reactions and interruptions. |
| Invulnerable | An Invulnerable target will be immune to all types of damage |
| Penetration | Target’s attacks will ignore a percentage of an enemy’s defense. It will let them deal more damage to heavily armored enemies. |
| Precision | A character with the Precision buff will have a guaranteed crit on their next Charged or Final attack. |
| Quickened | When a character is quickened, they will have shorter Ability cooldowns allowing them to invest in combo rotations much more frequently. |
| Rallied | Rallied targets will deal increased damage to enemies. |
| Rejuvenation | If a character has the Rejuvenation buff then they will gradually have their health restored over time. |
| Resistant | Will give the target increased resistance to all or particular damage types like Cold, Necrotic, Fire, and more. |
| Revival Chance | If a companion has a Revival Chance on them then they will be able to bring you back to life if you die during an encounter. Revival chance is not granted through base abilities but via special Trinkets that you equip on your companions. |
| Taunt | This is a tank ability that will let the character draw enemy aggro to them as long as the Taunt status effect is active. |
3) All Debuff status effects
Debuffs are status ailments that you can inflict on enemies or enemies can inflict on you and your party. When applied it can make the target weak to a certain type of damage, they can get slowed, or even take damage over time.
Here is a list of all the debuff status effects in Dragon Age The Veilguard:
| Debuff | Status Effect |
|---|---|
| Arcane Mark/Bomb | Arcane Marks are effects that you stack and build up over time on enemies when you deal Light Attacks to them. After dealing enough blows it will turn into an Arcane Bomb which can then be triggered by heavy Attack. |
| Bees! | Deals physical damage to targets over a set period of time. It’s one of the rarer status effects you will come across in the game and is usually triggered by a specific weapon or armor. |
| Bleeding | Target with the Bleeding debuff will take physical damage over time. Can deal additional damage to standard health pools. |
| Blighted | The Blighted status effect is usually applied when a target stands on a Blight Pool. These pools appear when you fight Darkspawn. – If the enemy Dark Spawn is Blighted they have improved damage and resistances. – If you or your companions are Blighted you will do less damage and have reduced defenses. |
| Burning | Target takes fire damage over time. The debuff will deal additional damage to targets who have armor. |
| Chilled | Target takes Cold damage over time. The debuff will also slow their movement and attack speed. |
| Frozen | Freezes the target making them incapable of moving or taking any other action. |
| Knocked Back/Down | – Target is physically knocked back and are interrupted – Target is physically knocked down on the ground and cannot attack or move for a while. |
| Necrosis | The debuff deals Necrotic damage on the target over time. Characters with magical Barriers will take bonus damage. |
| Overwhelmed | Overwhelmed targets will take more stagger damage and get interrupted more often. |
| Quietus | An Emmrich-exclusive debuff. Deals Necrotic damage every second for a set period of time. |
| Shocked | Target will receive Electic and Stagger damage over time. |
| Siphoned | Target will take Necrotic damage and the amount of damage dealt will be siphoned as health for the caster. |
| Staggered | Most attacks are capable of staggering targets. Once an enemy is staggered they cannot attack or move and you can follow it up with an extremely powerful takedown attack. |
| Sundered | Target with the Sundered debuff will take additional damage from all damage types. |
| Vulnerable | This debuff will reduce a target’s resistance to a specific damage type. |
| Weakened | Target with the Weakened effect will deal less damage as long as the effect is active. |
