Duelist Rogue Build and Guide

The Duelist Rogue Build is a build you can create for the specialization in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Learn the best skills to get, the best weapon and armor to use, the best companions to bring, and more!

Duelist Rogue Best Skills Build

Early Game Skills (Level 1 to 20)

Skill enchantments are unlocked with Caretaker Workshop Rank 5. We do not consider Shop Rank 5 to be an early-game facility as the upgrade cost is too much.

In the early game, use Hurricane of Blades as your main damaging ability to deal heavy Necrotic damage in an area around you. This will be useful for dealing with groups of enemies especially after you group them all together using Bellara's Galvanized Tear.

When dealing with a boss-type enemy or a single target, use Toxic Dash first to apply Sundered and increase their damage taken while also applying Necrosis which deals damage-over-time and a bunch of other effects due to your skills.

After becoming a Duelist, you'll learn A Thousand Cuts which will be our best ability for damage and a reliable way to gain Adrenaline. You'll also have a new ultimate, Murder of Crows, which is a much better ultimate that synergizes with our Necrotic damage kit.

Duelist Rogue Skill Tree Progression

Skill Tree Progression

For our early game skill progression, we focus on getting as much Sword and Necrotic bonuses as we can while making our way to the Duelist section of the skill tree.

Duelists heavily rely on Perfect Defense to gain Necrotic Weapons and build up Momentum. This build also likes to apply Necrosis and improving Strike Abilities which is all three of our abilities.

Duelist Rogue Best Weapon Builds

Early Game Weapons (Level 1 to 20)

We want to go for the strongest Swords we can find for damage but also on the lookout for weapons with Necrotic damage bonuses.

Weisshaupt's Wail is a good main-hand weapon which increases our Light attack damage which we will make use of a lot. Duelist's Blade, true to its namesake, is good for Duelists with a bonus +40 Necrotic damage with every hit.

For our bow, the best early on would be the Cryptwood Bow which has the same bonus that deals an added +40 Necrotic damage.

Use Enchantments for Weapon Damage and Stagger early on for general use. You may choose between Barrier Damage which synergizes with Necrosis to melt barriers or Armor Damage to help bring down armor quicker.

Duelist Rogue Best Equipment Builds

Early Game Equipment (Level 1 to 20)

The early game is pretty straightforward for equipment as you will mostly just get them from random chests in the overworld. Make use of equipment with the highest defense stat without thinking about stats too much since they will most likely have their bonuses locked this early.

Rings from Necropolis Halls

If you're able to find both the Precious Decay and Necrotic Jade rings from Necropolis Halls, it'll synergize a lot with your kit.

Precious Decay increases your Necrotic damage and resistance while Necrotic Jade increases Necrosis damage and damage done to enemies afflicted with Necrosis.

Duelist Rogue Best Rune Builds

Early Game Runes (Level 1 to 20)

Besiege, Upend, and Ravage are your best early game Runes for increasing damage throughput.

• Use Besiege and Ravage depending on if the enemy has a barrier or just health respectively.
• Upend can be used to turn your Necrotic resistance into Necrotic damage which you'll have around 40% with the right equipment.

Duelist Rogue Best Companion Builds

We suggest bringing Bellara and Davrin because of their ability to set up enemies and support Rook in combat to deal the most damage. Bellara brings healing and area damage while Davrin can deal heavy armor damage and support Rook with the Invulnerability buff.

Bellara Build

Early Game Equipment Builds

Skills
1	Galvanized Tear
2	Fade Bolts
3	Replenish (Bellara)
Equipment
Main	Storm
Armor	Utility Dress

Galvanized Tear is Bellara's best ability when dealing with multiple enemies to group them all up in one spot allowing for Rook to quickly dispatch them with an ability. Fade Bolts can be used to detonate Sundered while Replenish can be used for emergency healing.

Davrin Build

Early Game Equipment Builds

Skills
1	Death from Above
2	Assan Strike
3	In War, Victory
Equipment
Main	Blight Killer
Off-Hand	Reforged Bulwark
Armor	Monster Leathers

Davrin's support ability, In War, Victory, grants the Invulnerability buff for the Rook which is especially useful for Duelists to avoid losing the Adrenaline buff. Death from Above brings a lot of stagger damage while Assan Strike deals bonus Armor damage and Knocks Down enemies.

How to Play the Duelist

Duelist Rogues specialize on improving their Sword skills in melee to deal mostly Necrotic damage while dodging and executing Perfect Defenses (parries) to build Momentum and overpower enemies.

• Practice Parry Timings for Bonuses
• Light Attacks to Stay Agile
• Keep Up the Adrenaline Buff
• Outlast Enemies with Necrosis
• Use the Bow to Start Fights and Pick Off Enemies at Range

Practice Parry Timings for Bonuses

Duelists rely on Perfect Defenses to gain bonuses like Necrotic Weapons which changes the damage type of your attacks to Necrotic and deal more damage overall. Parrying also builds up Momentum to use Abilities.

Parry vs. Dodge

Not all attacks can be parried, especially attacks from boss-type enemies. In these cases, use Dodge instead to avoid the damage. Attacks which can be parried are indicated by a yellow threat indicator while those that cannot are shown as red.

Light Attacks to Stay Agile

When fighting in melee, make use of Light attacks more so you don't leave yourself wide open and allow quicker reactions to incoming attacks for parries and dodges. As a Duelist, you'll want to be aware of your surroundings during combat.

Keep Up the Adrenaline Buff

One of the main gimmicks of a Duelist is the Adrenaline buff, which increases your damage dealt after striking enemies 10 times without getting hit. This also increases the change your attacks will disrupt enemies.

The Adrenaline buff is lost upon getting hit so you'll have to keep avoiding attacks either by dodging or parrying attacks to maintain it.

Outlast Enemies with Necrosis

Duelists naturally apply Necrosis to enemies with their skills, and also Bleeding to some extent. You can use this to play safely and focus on dodging attacks after applying the Afflictions.

Use the Bow to Start Fights and Pick Off Enemies at Range

Just because Duelists focus on the Sword attacks, doesn't mean Bows won't be useful. You can use Bows at the start of fights to deal heavy damage by aiming for the head.

Prioritize hitting ranged enemies and try to bring them down quick to avoid ranged attacks coming your way as you fight in melee.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Related Guides

List of Class and Specialization Builds

Rogue Class
Duelist	Saboteur	Veil Ranger
Warrior Class
Champion	Reaper	Slayer
Mage Class
Spellblade	Death Caller	Evoker