Dragon Age Veilguard: Chapter 14 The Dread Wolf Rises Dragon Age Veilguard guide, walkthrough
The Dread Wolf Rises is the last main quest in DA Veilguard, which you will encounter in the fourteenth chapter of the game. On this page of the guide we described who to assign to defend the hideout, how to reach the throne room, defeat Elgar'nan and stop Solas.
Last update: 12 November 2024
The Dread Wolf Rises is the final main quest in Dragon Age Veilguard available in chapter 14. This is the last of three major battles you will encounter after the point of no return. On this page of the guide we have described who to assign to defend the hideout, how to reach the throne room, defeat Elgar'nan and stop Solas.
- Who should be assigned to defend the hideout?
- How to get to the throne room?
- How to defeat Elgar'nan?
- How to stop Solas?
Who should be assigned to defend the hideout?
Just before the final battle begins, you will have to make one final choice. One companion must stay behind and help all factions cover the rear while you head to Archon's Palace to slay Elgar'nan. The companion you choose should have experience in frontline combat or sieges. The best choices will therefore be Taash and Davrin. The selected companion will not be able to join you in the final fight. Choose two available team members who will accompany you until the end of the game.
How to get to the throne room?
Elgar'nan waits in the throne room of Archon's Palace. Follow a linear path and fight the Darkspawn - you can make the fights much easier by throwing them off the edge and into the abyss with knockback attacks. The path leads through staircases, roofs and wooden scaffolding.
Just before the throne room, you'll fight the last group of regular enemies in the game, including three ogres. Focus on a single ogre - get rid of him as quickly as possible to thin their ranks. The elite ogre appears first, is the most dangerous and has no armor, so it's worth prioritizing this target. If the ogres group up to attack all at once, use one of your abilities - a few seconds of invulnerability while attacking will allow you to survive their onslaught.
Defeating one of the ogres will make the fight much easier - you should be able to kill the other two without much trouble. After the fight, destroy the last plague barrier and go through the door to reach the throne room. Here you will face Elgar'nan, the final boss of the game.
How to defeat Elgar'nan?
The fight with Elgar'nan consists of three phases. The boss has no barrier or armor, so you can immediately deal damage to him. In the first phase, Elgar'nan uses electrical attacks. He can create a large explosion around himself (you have plenty of time to avoid it) and then summon lots of lightning from the sky - watch out for the red circles on the ground. He also summons aspects, which are specters that shoot lightning directly in front of them - you can destroy them with a single well-aimed attack. Get past them and eliminate the enemies.
Elgar'nan can also cast a series of projectiles, both blockable and unblockable. He can also summon a massive sword, attacking with unblockable thrusts and blockable slashes. Each of the boss's attacks has a long preparation animation during which he is vulnerable. Hit him right after he teleports or when he prepares to attack.
The second phase of the fight is very short and simple. You are alone, and Elgar'nan calls upon his aspects to leap towards you from the darkness. They deal ridiculously low damage though, so you don't have to worry about them. Dodge or block the blows and strike the aspects while they try to recover from the attack. You will move on to the third phase of the fight quite quickly. Solas will kill the Archdemon, and Elgar'nan will become mortal.
In the third phase, Elgar'nan uses fire attacks. He retains all of his attacks from the previous phase (albeit with a changed element), and also gains a few new ones. He can create a circle of fire in the center of the arena and lines of fire on the sides of the arena that reduce your room to maneuver. He can also strike the ground from the sky, creating tremors around him. Aside from the changed element and a few new moves, the fight is no different from the first phase. Attack Elgar'nan right after he teleports or when he is about to attack.
Once you empty the boss's health bar, he will fall to his knees. Run up to Elgar'nan and use Takedown on him to finish off the tyrant.
How to stop Solas?
After slaying Elgar'nan, you will have one final confrontation with Solas, resolved with a single dialogue. No matter what you do, you will succeed in stopping the Dread Wolf. If you were not sufficiently prepared for the previous quests, Rook will die when defeating Solas and you can't avoid it. If you were sufficiently prepared, Rook will always survive. To stop Solas you can:
- Attack him - Rook lunges at Solas and slashes him with his lyrium dagger, binding him to the Veil. Just before he disappears, Solas is furious at the turn of events.
- Fool him - Rook gives Solas a fake dagger. Attempting to use it leaves Solas vulnerable, allowing you to bind him to the Veil. Just before disappearing, Solas expresses respect for Rook, whom he considers a worthy adversary.
- Convince him - this option is only available if you have obtained all of Solas' memories and the Mythal's Essence from the Crossroads. Rook convinces Solas to willingly sacrifice himself and atone for his sins. If you encouraged the Inquisitor to renew her romance with Solas during your last conversation with her, she will go beyond the Veil with him.
Stopping Solas ends the game. Watch the epilogue and ending.