BioWare Explains Why Dragon Age: The Veilguard Won’t Give You Much Control Over Companions In Combat

The Fall 2024 launch of BioWare’s long-awaited fantasy RPG, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, is only a few months away, and the game is bringing a number of changes to the Dragon Age formula–including a reduction in the level of control players have over companions in combat. In a recent interview with GamesRadar, BioWare explained the reasoning behind its decision to rework The Veilguard’s companion combat system.

“[The Veilguard] is a much higher actions-per-minute game,” game director Corinne Busche explained. “It is more technically demanding on the player. So when we tried allowing you full control of your companions as well, what we’ve found is it wasn’t actually adding to the experience. In fact, in some ways it was detrimental, given the demanding nature of just controlling your own character.”

But the reasons behind the decision to limit player control of companions goes deeper than technical logistics. BioWare felt that letting players have full control of companions in combat was problematic from a role-playing perspective as well.

“On the experiential side, we wanted you to feel like you are Rook,” Busche said, referring to the player-character by the nickname BioWare has given them. “You’re in this world, you’re really focused on your actions. We wanted the companions to feel like they, as fully realized characters, are in control of their own actions. They make their own decisions.”

Players will still be able to control some of their companions’ behavior in combat via an ability selection tool BioWare refers to as the “action wheel,” but Busche acknowledges that this deviation from the way combat worked in previous titles may feel a bit strange for returning players.

“I will admit that, on paper, if you just read that you have no ability to control your companions, that might feel like something was taken away,” she said of the game’s combat changes. “But in our testing and validating with players, what we find is they’re more engaged than ever.”

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is currently set for a Fall 2024 launch, though BioWare has yet to announce an official release date. For more information on the latest entry in the Dragon Age franchise, check out everything we know about Dragon Age: The Veilguard.