At certain pivotal moments in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, certain companions can enter a Hardened state that affects their affinities and abilities, potentially throughout the remainder of the game. The Veilguard is all about relationships with companions; players can complete quests for, grow closer to, and potentially romance their Dragon Age party members. However, it's not all honeyed words and acts of service. It's just as easy to make the wrong decision at a crucial juncture, upsetting a companion and cutting a budding romance short.
Returning from Dragon Age: Inquisition, the Hardened status effect changes a character's role, demeanor, and relationship with Rook, but it's not all bad, either. There are certain benefits to the status effect that, while not absolutely necessary to beating The Veilguard, can be very helpful. Either way, at least some degree of Hardening is inevitable regardless of the player's choices, so it's important to understand what the condition is and how it comes about. Keep in mind, too, that Hardening can always be reversed.
What The Hardened Status Does
DA: Veilguard's Hardened Status, Explained
Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic Becoming Hardened affects both a character's stats in combat and their personality. First and foremost, a Hardened character loses access to certain support abilities in their skill tree. Even if they already have some support abilities equipped, they're likely to disappear from the hotbar. On their skill tree, these locked abilities will be branded with a red X. This will also lock off any section of the skill tree that passes through the disabled support skills - these usually just buff the associated skill, but players should keep this in mind if they've been building towards a special ability.
But becoming Hardened isn't strictly negative. On the contrary, a Hardened character's damage-dealing skills are strengthened, usually receiving simple strength buffs that increase the amount of damage they do. It won't unlock new abilities, but the ones the Hardened character has will be significantly stronger. As a result, the player may actually want to Harden a character whose offensive abilities they often rely on - it's not exactly the kindest decision, but it is practical.
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Hardened characters also have some unique dialogue, and may come off differently in dialogue scenes. It varies from person to person, but for example, a formerly chipper ray of sunshine might start to seem cold and distant, or a quick-witted character might stop cracking jokes.
Finally, Rook's relationship progress with Hardened characters moves much more slowly. They gain affinity at a lesser rate, and major dialogue scenes or personal quests may take longer to appear. It'll take longer to upgrade their skills and unlock new abilities. This isn't exactly a death sentence for their budding romance, but it will make things significantly more difficult. If Rook wants to end up with the Hardened character in the end, they'll need to choose their words carefully, ensuring that they're making the most of each opportunity to leave an impression.
Which Characters Can Become Hardened
And Which Choices Harden Them
Only two companions can become Hardened in Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Neve and Lucanis. There's a single, pivotal decision that causes one of them to become Hardened, and, since Rook only has two possible options, one of them will inevitably become hardened in every playthrough. The following paragraph describes the decision, but be warned - spoilers are ahead.
[Warning: The following paragraph contains spoilers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.]
After recruiting Davrin during the quest "A Warden's Best Friend," Rook and their allies are alerted to two simultaneous dragon attacks: one on Minrathous, and one on Treviso. They'll only be able to help the people of one city, while the other will be left to its own devices. This is further complicated by the fact that Minrathous is Neve's hometown, and Treviso is Lucanis'. Whichever city the player doesn't choose to save will be destroyed, any unfinished quests (including companion quests) there will end automatically, and the associated companion will become Hardened.
The companion related to the option Rook chooses will greatly approve of their decision in this quest.
Frankly, neither Neve nor Lucanis is a particularly good healer. Neve is primarily a DPS mage, specializing in ice-elemental magic that freezes and pierces enemies. Lucanis has one decent healing ability, Soothing Potion, which restores Rook's HP with a Rejuvenation effect - i.e., in gradual increments, not all at once. But he's definitely more of a damage dealer too, with a necrotic focus. Harding also has the same Soothing Potion skill, and when it really comes down to it, Bellara is the better healer by far.
So there's nothing in either companion's skill set that the player can't do without. if they decide to make one or the other Hardened. If they're having trouble making a decision, it's most practical to allow whichever character the player does not want to romance to become Hardened. Both characters are still perfectly viable in combat once they're Hardened - in fact, they'll actually be quite a bit more powerful. The only actual, outright negative impact of becoming Hardened is its effect on relationship progress, which, while it doesn't make romance impossible, will certainly make it more difficult.
How To Reverse Hardened
Can A Hardened Character Be Changed?
Thankfully, the Hardened status effect can always be reversed, but it takes time and concentrated effort. In order to return their Hardened companion to their previous state, Rook will need to choose kind, sympathetic dialogue options with them wherever possible. This should be fairly easy to achieve throughout the game; just make sure to pay special attention to their personal quests, and ensure that Rook is responding thoughtfully when they're talking about their sorrows.
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Once their Hardening is reversed, the companion will start acting like their old self again. Their personality and dialogue will change, and they'll have access to any support skills they lost. The only long-term effect is that Rook's relationship progress with them is likely to be behind. They won't regain all the bond points they missed out on in the interim. However, put them into the party for a few quests, and they should be back to normal before long. Just remember that companion affinity becomes pretty important in The Veilguard's final chapters, so it's not something to be ignored.
While the Hardened status effect seems negative at first, it can always be reversed. It's important to be careful with choices that may Harden a potential romantic interest, though, as they may slow the player's progress down that particular path. Either way, a Hardened character is every bit as useful as a non-Hardened one in Dragon Age: The Veilguard - perhaps even more so with the damage boosts provided.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is the fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise and a sequel to 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition. A classic character, Solas, will return as the new game's antagonist. The game will retain many of the series' staples, such as multiple dialogue options, party choices, romantic options, and more. Dreadwolf will act as the first direct sequel in the Dragon Age franchise.
Released October 31, 2024
Developer(s) BioWare
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Engine Frostbite
ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
OpenCritic Rating Strong
English (US) ·