Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Should Neve Bring Hope To Dock Town Or Protect It

Rook is joined in Dragon Age: The Veilguard by a host of new companions, each bringing unique specialties for the benefit of the team. The exciting opening sequence introduces the Minrathous-based detective, Neve Gallus, a wonderful take on a classic film noir trope and Rook's contact for the Shadow Dragons. Neve's personal quest involves tracking down an old adversary who is preying on the vulnerable people of Dock Town and Neve’s own role in the city.[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.]Neve's personal quest is a little different from the other companion's quests in Dragon Age: The Veilguard and leans into the hard-boiled detective angle of Neve's character. As with all the other personal quests, completing Neve's is vital for her to gain Hero of the Veilguard status and guarantee her survival during the final battle. With a choice between hope and fierce protection, Rook's advice to Neve will shape Dock Town and influence her final gear and abilities.

Neve Is Dedicated To The People Of Dock Town

The Cool Collected Detective Always Tries To Serve Justice

Neve's quest suffers from feeling a little disjointed as she slowly investigates missing people in Dock Town before the final reveal that the culprit is linked to an old case. Although linked to the Venatori, one of the main enemy groups of The Veilguard, Neve's quest doesn't quite line up properly with the main quest and Aelia isn’t well-established as a villain. That said, there are some great insights into the underworld of Minrathous, as Neve introduces Rook to contacts on both sides of the law, with Rana and Elek representing the Templar and the shadowy Threads crime syndicate.

In Neve's final quest, "The Returned Cultist", she confronts Aelia deep under the streets of Dock Town, rescuing several characters who have been met along the way. Aelia isn't as impactful as Illario in Lucanis' personal quest or the Gloom Stalker with Davrin, but the final clash between her and Neve still feels satisfying, as Rana and Elek join her and Rook. As Aelia declares that she will 'save' Minrathous, Rook must help Neve choose between protecting people from the shadows or bringing them hope as a hero.

What Happens If You Tell Neve To Protect Dock Town

Neve Takes A Harder Stance Against Crime & Those That Do Harm

The first choice is for Rook to encourage Neve to protect Dock Town from the shadows, doing whatever it takes to keep its people safe. Faced with someone so determined to harm the most vulnerable members of society, Neve can take a hard stance and position herself as a guardian working from the shadows. If Rook didn’t help Minrathous during the dragon attacks and Neve has become Hardened in The Veilguard, then the options will not appear with text on screen explaining Neve’s decision is because Minrathous fell to the Venatori.

If Neve chooses to become Dock Town’s protector, she will gain the Winter's Wraith skill and Threader's Plates armor. This is ideal for a DPS Neve, as it will give her much shorter cooldowns for her abilities, better critical damage, and deal increased damage against enemies who are at low health. However, this comes at the cost of detonations, as now enemies will only be able to be detonated once, significantly limiting the effectiveness of party combos.

By choosing to protect Dock Town, Neve commits to working with the Threads, and Elek will grab Aelia as two figures approach to deal with her. Afterward, Neve, Rook, and Elek will play Wicked Grace before Elek hands over control of the Threads syndicate to Neve and is introduced to the Viper. For a hardened Neve, the scene will play out differently, with Elek arriving at the Lighthouse to hand over control of a more diminished Threads to Neve.

What Happens If You Tell Neve To Bring Hope

Neve Wants Dock Town To See People Standing Up For What Is Right

The other choice available is to encourage Neve to bring hope to the people of Dock Town, acting in the light and being an example of good. As Aelia looks down on the vulnerable as tools for her grand plan, Neve vows to become an inspiration to those around her to fight corruption. She knows that the people in Dock Town are often looked down on by the rest of Minrathous and just need to be given a chance for their lives to improve. The option sees Neve refusing to give into Aelia’s excuse that Minrathous and Tevinter are broken.

If Neve chooses to become Dock Town's inspiration, she will gain the Cold Justice skill and the Investigator's Robes. This is great for a crowd control build for Neve, boosting her core cold damage skills with no downsides or tradeoffs in other areas. This armor and skill focus on Neve's cold damage, reducing enemy resistance to cold damage, freezing detonated enemies, and increasing the duration of the Frozen effect by 100%.

Committing to letting the people of Dock Town see her do what's right, will pair Neve with Rana, who will take custody of Aelia after the fight with Neve insisting that Dock Town should witness her arrest. Neve will also comment that if Aelia escapes justice again, then Neve will keep coming after her. After, Neve and Rook can meet Rana at the Cobbed Swan, where the former Templar will reveal she's now working alongside Neve officially as part of a detective agency. Neve will also introduce Rana to the Viper before Neve is approached by someone in need.

Much like the other companion quests, Neve's Hero of the Veilguard choice can be approached either from a roleplay thinking in terms of world lore and Neve’s personal journey or from a gear and skill perspective. Having Neve open an agency with Rana feels natural and right for her, however the same can be said for a Hardened Neve working with the Threads. There is no right or wrong answer for this Dragon Age: The Veilguard choice, allowing each Rook to approach the situation in a way they feel works for them.