The Slayer is one of the three specialization branches available to the Warrior class in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This specialization focuses on dealing damage at close range, highlighting abilities that stagger opponents, break guards, and maximize the damage output of two-handed weapons.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the ideal build for the Warrior Slayer, including the optimal faction and race to start, recommended skills, ultimate abilities, gear, and additional tips.
Warrior Slayer Build Overview
This build capitalizes on the Slayer’s capabilities, allowing you to absorb damage while delivering substantial hits in close combat and staggering your enemies efficiently. It emphasizes generating rage, the key resource for the Warrior class, which enhances your ability to use special skills and your ultimate more frequently in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
- Faction: Grey Wardens
- Race: Dwarf
- Active Skills: Titan Stomp, Whirlwind, Heroic Leap, Flashing Fist, Driving Kick, Fury of the Forge
- Ultimate: Flashing Fist and For Gold and Glory
- Trait: Shield Toss, Explosive Toss, and Arc of Destruction
- Companions: Bellara and Lucanis
- Gear: Woodsong Cleaver, Bandit’s Bulwark, Elven Rockbreaker, Carastes Double-Hat, Orchestrator’s Long Coat, Tincture Kit, A Pale Reflection, Call of the Hall, and Twin Palladium
- Runes: Upend, Diminish, and Fortify
Best Faction and Race
For the Warrior Slayer build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the Grey Wardens are the optimal faction choice. This faction provides boosts in damage output and defense, which align perfectly with the Slayer’s playstyle.
Additionally, being part of this faction increases your damage dealt against Darkspawn and enhances your ability to earn faction strength. Although races do not provide significant bonuses, choosing Dwarf synergizes well with the tank-oriented gameplay of this class.
Best Abilities and Level Progression
You can begin specializing as a Slayer once you reach level 20 in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. This level unlocks new skills and enhances your ultimate attack options. Here’s a guide for your leveling journey:
Levels 1-10
Initially, your primary focus should be on acquiring Spectral Bulwark, your core ability. This skill envelops you in necrotic energy, dealing 377 damage to nearby enemies. At this point, you can also obtain Driving Kick, which provides some crowd control by pushing foes back when you’re surrounded.
Next, aim to unlock Titan Stomp, which inflicts 312 area damage and causes massive staggering to enemies in its vicinity. Don’t forget to eventually learn the Flashing Fist ultimate, delivering 2,336 physical damage in four shockwaves.
Levels 10-20
Continue using Spectral Bulwark, but replace Driving Kick with Whirlwind, an ability that creates a damaging cyclone of steel, finishing with a powerful blow.
Substitute Titan Stomp for Heroic Leap, a skill available when you achieve level 20. This move propels you forward, dealing substantial damage and exploding upon impacting weakened foes.
Lastly, switch your ultimate for For Gold and Glory, an ability that not only inflicts significant damage but also staggers enemies.
Level 20+
As you progress beyond level 20, most of your abilities will remain the same. The primary change here is the option to replace Spectral Bulwark with Fury of the Forge. This ability deals 366 fire damage and results in burning, making it advantageous against Darkspawn. However, Spectral Bulwark provides more utility overall, so if you prefer that, it’s a solid choice as well.
Best Traits
Choosing a trait allows you to perform special moves. For the Warrior Slayer, we recommend picking Shield Volley when reaching levels 1-10. This ability lets you perform a shield toss that bounces up to three times between enemies, dealing damage with each impact.
From levels 10-20, opt for Explosive Toss, causing your charged shield throw to explode upon hitting a target. At level 20 and beyond, select Arc of Destruction, enabling you to leap into battle with a devastating attack combo unlocked through the Slayer specialization.
Recommended Companions
For the Warrior Slayer build, the ideal companions are Lucanis and Bellara. They complement the specialization well, addressing its weaknesses.
- Lucanis: His Abominate skill allows him to quickly strip enemies of their shields, which opens them up for you to deal heavy damage without the concern of their armor. His Adrenaline Rush skill also boosts damage for a short duration.
- Bellara: Bellara’s Galvanized Tear and Time Slow are crucial for this build. The former pulls enemies to a single point, while the latter slows time. Using these skills in conjunction with Whirlwind can unleash devastating damage combos.
Top Gear Choices
In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you have nine gear slots to fill. Here are the recommended items for the Warrior Slayer build:
| Main-Hand Weapon | Woodsong Cleaver |
| Off-Hand Weapon / Shield | Bandit’s Bulwark |
| Two-Handed Weapon | Elven Rockbreaker |
| Helm/Vitaar | Carastes Double-Hat |
| Armor | Orchestrator’s Long Coat |
| Belt | Tincture Kit |
| Amulet | A Pale Reflection |
| Ring Slot 1 | Call of the Hall |
| Ring Slot 2 | Twin Palladium |
Woodsong Cleaver: This weapon not only boasts high damage output but also enhances your rage generation significantly, with +15% from the start and an additional +100% rage regeneration when you take damage. This weapon pairs exceptionally well with the Whirlwind skill.
Bandit’s Bulwark: An outstanding shield for this build, Bandit’s Bulwark provides a +20% bonus to heavy attack damage and +25% against armored foes. It also grants you the immovable effect when breaking an enemy’s armor, which works seamlessly with Lucanis’s Abominate skill.
Elven Rockbreaker: Similar to the Woodsong Cleaver, this two-handed weapon increases rage generation by +15%. It additionally provides +8 rage per kill and boosts your maximum rage by +50. Each time you use three bars of rage in quick succession, your damage output soars for a short time.
Carastes Double-Hat: This piece of headgear gives you a +25% increase in staggering damage with every skill used, which can significantly enhance the effectiveness of Whirlwind and For Gold and Glory.
Orchestrator’s Long Coat: This armor piece boosts light attack damage by +15% and final attack damage by +25%. Moreover, defeating one enemy will inflict 150 physical damage to all nearby opponents, making it highly effective due to your close combat playstyle.
Tincture Kit: The Tincture Kit belt enhances healing by +20% and grants an extra revival charge. It especially excels in reducing companion healing cooldowns by -30%, ensuring your party stays in fighting shape longer.
A Pale Reflection: This amulet provides a +20% damage increase against low-health enemies. Once upgraded, this bonus applies to all foes, greatly boosting your overall damage potential. Defeating enemies also replenishes 5% of your ultimate ability.
Call of the Hall: This ring amplifies your staggering damage by +50% and increases takedown damage by the same amount.
Twin Palladium: The final gear piece for this setup, Twin Palladium, offers an additional +15% rage generation and grants +4 rage for each enemy you eliminate.
Best Runes
Runes enhance your abilities and builds in various ways. You can equip up to three at a time. For the Warrior Slayer Build, we suggest the following:
- Upend: This rune converts your defensive attributes into offensive boosts for 10 seconds, allowing you to increase your damage output significantly during crucial moments.
- Diminish: This rune weakens enemies within a 6-meter radius, making them more vulnerable to your attacks.
- Fortify: The Fortify rune grants you invulnerability for a short time, allowing you to absorb damage without worry.
