Saboteur Build and Best Skills

The Saboteur 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!

Rogue Guides
Best Builds	Skill Tree & Priority	All Equipment
Duelist Builds	Saboteur Builds	Veil Ranger Builds

The Best Saboteur Build for Dragon Age: Veilguard

Early-Game Saboteur Build

Skills	1. Pilfer 2. Explosive Trap 3. Fortune's Turret 4. Fortune's Fury
Main	Weisshaupt's Wail +10% Weapon Damage
Off-Hand	Barbed Longsword +25% Stagger
Alt. Weapon	Veil's Edge +20% Barrier Damage
Helmet	Defiant Silence +20% Resistance (Any)
Armor	Jumper's Deft Leathers (Rogue) +20% Necrotic Resistance
Belt	Twin Buckle Binding
Amulet	All-Mother's Copse +25% Ultimate Damage
Ring 1	Bleeding Shard +2 Max Arrows
Ring 2	Graven Opal +25% Arrow Generation
Runes	1. Shatter 2. Upend 3. Ravage
Companions	Bellara: Galvanized Tear Time Slow (Bellara) Replenish (Bellara)
	Taash: Dragonfire Strike Spitfire Dragon's Roar

For the early game Saboteur build, we focus on improving weapon damage and stagger since we have limited gear options. Use the best weapons and armor you can find for now.

Endgame Saboteur Build

Skills	1. Explosive Daggers +25% Ability Critical Damage 2. Explosive Trap -25% Cooldown Duration 3. Fortune's Turret -15% Cooldown Duration 4. Concussive Barrage
Main	Keen With A Twist +10% Weapon Damage
Off-Hand	Barbed Longsword +25% Stagger
Alt. Weapon	Azure Bow +20% Hipfire Damage
Helmet	Carastes Double-Hat +10% Ultimate Generation
Armor	Duelist's Coat +15% Affliction Duration
Belt	Crow's Bandolier
Amulet	Magister's Bargain +15% Critical Damage
Ring 1	Bleeding Shard +25% Duration Ability Damage
Ring 2	Twin Palladium +25% Tool Ability Damage
Runes	1. Upend 2. Shatter 3. Dominate
Companions	Harding: Heavy Draw Shred Soothing Potion (Harding)
	Taash: Dragonfire Strike Spitfire Dragon's Roar

In the endgame, we want to build for Critical Damage, Stagger, and Ability Damage to improve the effectiveness of all our Abilities and attacks.

Saboteur Skill Priority

Skill Tree Progression

Order	Skill	Description
1	Evasive Maneuvers (Core)	Use your speed to launch a powerful attack from an Extended Dodge. Also applies to recovering from being Knocked Down.
2	Powerful Rebuttal (Core)	Gain Precision after a successful Defend.
3	Pilfer (Sustain)	Add insult to injury by swiping a Potion when you slice up an enemy. Applies Bleeding on hit. The Potion is automatically consumed after being stolen. Detonates Overwhelmed.
4	Bulwark (Sustain)	Physical Resistance: +10%
5	Unending Quiver (Lord of Fortune)	Activating any Ability grants 2 more Arrows.
6	Ready Shots (Lord of Fortune)	Arrow Regeneration: +20
7	Eclectic Armorer (Lord of Fortune)	While wearing different classifications of Helm and Armor: Arrow maximum: +4 Weapon damage: +15% Stagger: +25%
8	Victory Rush (Lord of Fortune)	Defeating an enemy with a Takedown grants Necrotic Weapons. Your attacks also apply 25% bonus Stagger.
9	Tipped Arrowheads (Lord of Fortune)	Bow damage: +10%
10	Explosive Trap (Lord of Fortune)	Repurpose Antaam explosives for your own use. Throw down an explosive trap that detonates when enemies get too close. Highly likely to disrupt enemies. Detonates Overwhelmed.
11	Sharper Edge (Lord of Fortune)	Penetration: +15%
12	Some Motivation (Lord of Fortune)	Deal 4% more damage per your maximum Arrow count.
13	Tipped Arrowheads (Sustain)	Maximum Arrows: +2
14	Fan of Arrows (Lord of Fortune)	Fire an arc of Arrows, up to your maximum of 5 Arrows. Requires at least 3 Arrows.
15	Desolate Malady (Lord of Fortune)	Affliction damage: +10%
16	Siege Breaker (Lord of Fortune)	Tool Abilities deal 25% more damage vs. Armor and Barrier.
17	Enduring Reach (Lord of Fortune)	Duration Radius or Distance increases, depending on the Ability.
18	Salt in the Wound (Lord of Fortune)	Hitting an enemy with a Duration Ability increases any existing Affliction stacks by 1.
19	Shellbreaker (Lord of Fortune)	Damage vs. Armor: +20%
20	Close Quarters Combat (Lord of Fortune)	Deal 15% more damage to all enemies within 10 meters.
21	Fortune's Fury (Saboteur)	Embrace your fury, equipping a powerful, expendable weapon to bombard enemies. Fire a rapid stream of projectiles and then toss the weapon to deal additional damage. End the attack early by tapping Ultimate.
22	Fortune's Turret (Saboteur)	Throw down a mechanized turret that targets the closest enemy and peppers them with projectiles. When spent, the device explodes, dealing heavy damage likely to disrupt any enemies within range of the blast.
23	Determination (Saboteur)	Physical damage: +10%
24	Quick Fix (Saboteur)	Defeating an enemy with a Tool Ability grants Quickened.
25	Perseverance (Sustain)	While at Low Health, gain Deflect whenever you Perfect Dodge or perform Perfect Defense in response to an attack.
26	Determination (Sustain)	Maximum Momentum: +50
27	Overwhelming Tactics (Antivan Crow)	While your Momentum is 100 or higher: Charged Light attacks apply Bleed if they are not already suffering from it. Charged Heavy attacks apply Necrosis if they are not already suffering from it.
28	Arcane Defiance (Antivan Crow)	Electric Resistance: +10% Necrotic Resistance: +10%
29	Adrenaline (Antivan Crow)	Successfully striking targets 10 times without taking damage grants Adrenaline, causing your attacks to deal bonus damage and be more likely to disrupt enemies. Resets when taking damage or on combat end.
30	Necessary Steps (Antivan Crow)	Primer duration: +20%
31	Sly Strike (Antivan Crow)	Gain 250 health and 10% Ultimate by performing a successful Takedown.
32	Traumatize (Burst)	Takedown damage: +15%
33	Explosive Daggers (Burst)	Unleash a barrage of sticky, explosive daggers. Fires 3 daggers that stick to their targets, then explode after a short time. Applies Sundered.
34	Swift Death (Burst)	Gain Quickened after defeating an enemy with a Critical hit.
35	Lightning Flask (Sustain)	Throw down a flask of bottled lightning that explodes, unleashing a storm of pain on nearby enemies. Deals damage in a large area upon impact, while creating an aura that deals Electric damage and applies Shocked to nearby enemies.
36	Sharper Edge (Saboteur)	Penetration: +15%
37	Precise Malady (Saboteur)	For each equipped Duration Ability, Arrow regeneration increases by 35%.
38	Plague Arrow (Saboteur)	You can now Charge your Arrows beyond the normal Charge level to apply Necrosis in an area around your target.
39	Come Prepared (Saboteur)	Maximum Arrows: +2 Arrow regeneration: +20%
40	Trick Shot (Saboteur)	Every fifth Arrow that strikes a single target splinters into projectiles that may hit nearby enemies.
41	A Messy Death (Saboteur)	Defeating an enemy with a Charged attack from any weapon causes an explosion after a short delay, dealing additional damage to all around them.
42	Deep Cut (Saboteur)	Stagger on Weakpoint hit: +20% Stagger on Critical hit: +20%
43	Inspired Takedowns (Saboteur)	Performing a Takedown now deals 25% bonus damage, grants Rally Party, and reduces your party’s Ability cooldowns by 50%.
44	In the Fray (Saboteur)	Defeating enemies at close range resets the duration of any active Advantages.
45	Salvaged Arrows (Control)	Arrows gained after defeating an enemy: +2
46	Bated Breath (Control)	Your Bow can now be charged up an additional level.
47	Killer Instinct (Control)	Stagger from Abilities: +20%
48	Time Management (Control)	Effects of Duration Abilities are increased by 50%.
49	Wrath (Burst)	Critical damage: +10%
50	Keen Eye (Control)	You generate 2 additional Momentum from Arrow hits. This bonus is doubled when hitting an enemy's Weakpoint.
51	Determination (Control)	Maximum Momentum: +50
52	Marked Target (Control)	Duration Abilities are Critical vs. enemies suffering from Bleeding.
53	Enervation (Control)	Damage vs. Barrier: +20%
54	Debilitating Shocks (Veil Jumper)	Take 15% less damage from enemies who are Shocked.
55	More is Better (Veil Jumper)	Maximum Arrows: +2

Early Game Progression

For the early game skill progression, pathing towards the Saboteur section of the skill tree requires us to take skills that improve our arrow count and regeneration instead of any specific damage bonuses so it'll feel weak early on.

This changes by taking the Greater Passive, Some Motivation, which gives us a damage bonus that scales with our maximum arrow count. This passive is, by far, the best passive skill in the Rogue skill tree to buff damage.

Rogue Class Abilities and Builds

Late Game Progression

Later on, we'd like to grab more skills that upgrade Tool and Duration Abilities as well as bonuses to maximum arrow count and and bow damage. Stagger and takedown improvements also help a great deal since we inflict a lot of stagger on enemies.

Best Saboteur Weapons

	Early Game	Endgame
Main Weapon	Weisshaupt's Wail Enchantments: +10% Weapon Damage	Keen With A Twist Enchantments: +10% Weapon Damage
Off-Hand	Barbed Longsword Enchantments: +25% Stagger	Barbed Longsword Enchantments: +25% Stagger
Alt. Weapon	Veil's Edge Enchantments: +20% Barrier Damage	Azure Bow Enchantments: +20% Hipfire Damage

We want to go for the strongest Swords and Bow we can find for damage early on. Weapons with bonus Stagger and Hipfire damage are also great for Saboteurs.

In the endgame, we should use Keen With A Twist for more Bleeding application and extra Critical Damage per Bleeding enemy while Barbed Longsword is still good for the extra stagger. Azure Bow is the best Shortbow for Saboteurs for increased maximum arrow and Hipfire damage.

Best Saboteur Gear

	Early Game	Endgame
Helmet	Defiant Silence Enchantments: +20% Resistance (Any)	Carastes Double-Hat Enchantments: +10% Ultimate Generation
Armor	Jumper's Deft Leathers (Rogue) Enchantments: +20% Necrotic Resistance	Duelist's Coat Enchantments: +15% Affliction Duration
Belt	Twin Buckle Binding	Crow's Bandolier
Amulet	All-Mother's Copse Enchantments: +25% Ultimate Damage	Magister's Bargain Enchantments: +15% Critical Damage
Ring 1	Bleeding Shard Enchantments: +2 Max Arrows	Bleeding Shard Enchantments: +25% Duration Ability Damage
Ring 2	Graven Opal Enchantments: +25% Arrow Generation	Twin Palladium Enchantments: +25% Tool Ability Damage

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.

In the late game, it would be best to use the Carastes Double-Hat for the increased Ability Damage and the Duelist's Coat for more maximum arrows and hipfire damage.

Best Saboteur Runes

	Rune	Pros & Cons
Early Game
	Shatter	• Shatter allows ranged attacks to break through the enemies' guard when activated. • This rune is great for Saboteurs since it also increases Ranged attack damage by +10% passively.
	Upend	• Gives a passive +5% to all Resistances and turns your existing Resistances into offensive damage bonuses of the same type for 10 seconds when activated. • Activate the rune during extended damage windows to further increase your burst damage.
	Ravage	• Gives you a flat damage boost to the enemy's health bar when activated. • Deals +50% damage when the enemies are reduced to their red health. • Great active effect for finishing off enemies after breaking their armor/barrier.
End Game
	Upend	• Gives a passive +5% to all Resistances and turns your existing Resistances into offensive damage bonuses of the same type for 10 seconds when activated. • Activate the rune during extended damage windows to further increase your burst damage.
	Shatter	• Shatter allows ranged attacks to break through the enemies' guard when activated. • This rune is good for Saboteur specifically since it also increases Ranged attack damage by +10% passively.
	Dominate	• Dominate gives a +10% bonus to Ultimate generation and converts all Momentum generated into Ultimate when activated. • This is useful since Saboteur don't need to use little to no Momentum for their Abilities.

Early on, make use of any rune that can help with your damage/survivability such as Shatter and Upend which also grant passive bonuses.

In the late game, use Upend, Shatter, and Dominate as your runes for damage and utility. With the right equipment, you'll have a lot of Physical resistance by the endgame which can be turned into damage bonuses by using Upend.

Best Saboteur Companions

Early Game Companions

Companion	Build
Bellara	Skills: Galvanized Tear Time Slow (Bellara) Replenish (Bellara) Equipment: Main Weapon: Storm Armor: Utility Dress
Taash	Skills: Dragonfire Strike Spitfire Dragon's Roar Equipment: Main Weapon: Neckbreaker Keepsake: Treasure Armor: Plumed Platemail

In the early game, we can bring Bellara and Taash to get through the early levels. Bellara can group enemies with Galvanized Tear and Taash can apply Overwhelm with Spitfire which you can detonate with your abilities.

Endgame Companions

Companion	Build
Harding	Skills: Heavy Draw Shred Soothing Potion (Harding) Equipment: Main Weapon: Mayhem in Gold Keepsake: Secrets and Memories Armor: The Warden's Peer Trinket: Orlesian Sovereign
Taash	Skills: Dragonfire Strike Spitfire Dragon's Roar Equipment: Main Weapon: Golden Locus Keepsake: Treasure Armor: Trussed Finery Trinket: Numbing Herbs

In the endgame, you can use Harding with the Overpower upgrade for her Heavy Draw which makes the Overwhelmed effect permanent on targets that have been Detonated. This allows your skills to always do Critical damage.

Taash is still really good to bring with the Spreading Weakness upgrade for Spitfire allowing for a passive application of Overwhelmed every 60 seconds.

How to Play the Saboteur

Saboteurs make use of explosions and Physical damage to overwhelm enemies in an instant. They also deploy turrets to attack targets for them while using their own bows to fire a seemingly endless stream of arrows.

• Use Abilities On Cooldown
• Deploy Turret at the Start of Combat
• Detonate Overwhelm for Burst
• Spam Your Arrows
• Freely Switch Between Swords and Bow

Use Abilities On Cooldown

Your Abilities do not require Momentum so use them as much as you can during combat, they will be your main source of damage.

Deploy Turret at the Start of Combat

The Saboteur's Fortune's Turret should be used at the start of combat to maximize its use. It fires at the closest enemy dealing good damage while also exploding when it expires to deal significant damage to enemies.

Detonate Overwhelm for Burst

Two of your abilities detonate Overwhelm which you should aim for to deal huge amounts of damage. Overwhelm can be applied best by Taash and getting the Spitfire ability upgrade, Spreading Weakness. Detonate as much as you can with Explosive Trap and use Pilfer when trap is on cooldown.

Spam Your Arrows

Saboteurs have a lot of arrows in their pocket and are able to regenerate them quickly passively and when using abilities. Shoot arrows as much as you can and make full use of the Fan of Arrows trait to fire multiple at once.

Freely Switch Between Swords and Bow

You should also learn how to use Swords in melee since you'll mostly be in close-quarters combat as a Saboteur. Learn how to dodge and parry attacks to avoid damage and use light attacks with the swords to whittle enemies down.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Related Guides

All Classes, Specializations, and Best Builds

List of Class and Specialization Builds

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