Dragon Age: The Veilguard – How to Recruit and Maximize Harding’s Abilities

Key Takeaways:

1. Harding is a versatile and loyal Dwarven scout, offering powerful long-range and support skills.
2. Recruiting her early provides significant advantages in both combat and exploration.
3. Optimizing her gear and skill tree unlocks her full potential as a Veil Ranger in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

If you’ve played Dragon Age: Inquisition, you’ll recognize Lace Harding, the charming and witty dwarven scout who assisted the Inquisitor. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, she returns as a fully recruitable companion, bringing her expertise in long-range combat and a strong sense of loyalty. Whether you’re looking to romance Harding or maximize her combat skills, this guide provides everything you need to know about recruiting her, enhancing her abilities, and choosing the best equipment for her.

Who is Harding in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Harding is a dwarven rogue hailing from Ferelden, known for her sharp wit, fierce loyalty, and unmatched scouting skills. As one of the first companions to join your party, she’s a Veil Ranger a Rogue specialization focused on dealing high damage from a distance and supporting allies through healing and buffs. Players familiar with her from Inquisition will remember her as a cheerful presence; now, she returns as a fully recruitable companion with a more complex role in combat and storyline interactions.

Character Summary:

• Race: Dwarf
• Gender: Female
• Class: Rogue
• Specialization: Veil Ranger (long-range DPS and support)
• Faction: None (formerly Inquisition)
• Romance Option: Yes

Harding’s class and specialization allow her to control the battlefield, inflict powerful status effects, and support your character (Rook) through targeted damage boosts and healing. Her romance route adds depth, presenting one of the most beloved companion arcs in the game.

How to Recruit Harding in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Harding is the first companion you meet in The Veilguard, joining Rook during the game’s prologue mission, where the two characters team up to thwart the main antagonist, Solas, and interrupt his ritual. Unlike other companions tied to specific factions, Harding remains neutral, making her a versatile ally in any factional storyline.

Recruitment Steps:

1. Prologue Mission: While tracking Solas, you’ll encounter Harding. She’ll offer her support in finding Solas and taking down his followers.
2. Automatic Recruitment: After a brief cutscene during the prologue, Harding officially joins your party and offers her unique expertise.
3. Permanent Companion: Once recruited, Harding remains with your team unless you choose to leave her at the Lighthouse.

Harding’s Abilities in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Harding’s skills as a Veil Ranger make her most effective as a ranged damage-dealer (DPS) with several abilities tailored to controlling enemies and buffing allies. Her skill tree includes offensive shots that stagger enemies, healing potions for Rook, and buffs that enhance the party’s combat capabilities. Below is a breakdown of her key abilities.

Key Abilities:

1. Seismic Shot
   • Effect: Fires an arrow that creates a shockwave, dealing 505 physical damage and staggering nearby enemies.
   • Cooldown: 24 seconds
   • Additional Effect: Distracts enemies, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks.
2. Heavy Draw
   • Effect: A slow, powerful shot that deals 360 physical damage, detonating the “Overwhelmed” status on targets.
   • Cooldown: 38 seconds
   • Additional Effect: Ideal for high-damage, single-target attacks, especially when paired with crowd control abilities.
3. Shred
   • Effect: An armor-piercing shot dealing 217 physical damage, applying “Sundered” status and stagger.
   • Cooldown: 36 seconds
   • Additional Effect: Effective for weakening tough enemies, making them more vulnerable.
4. Adrenaline Rush
   • Effect: Harding shouts, granting enhanced damage to Rook.
   • Cooldown: 24 seconds
   • Additional Effect: Useful in intense combat scenarios for temporary damage boosts.
5. Soothing Potion
   • Effect: Restores 600 health points to Rook instantly.
   • Cooldown: 38 seconds
   • Additional Effect: Provides a clutch heal, adding versatility to Harding’s support role.

Best Equipment for Harding in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

To maximize Harding’s effectiveness in her Veil Ranger role, choosing the right weapons, armor, and accessories is crucial. Below is a recommended setup to enhance her abilities as a long-range damage dealer and support character.

Recommended Weapons:

1. Mayhem
   • Effect: Deals +300% damage on the first use with a chance to disrupt enemies.
   • Best Use: Strong opening shot, perfect for initiating combat.
2. Mayhem in Gold
   • Effect: Adds +50% Stagger on attacks and grants +25% damage on the next ability when an enemy is staggered.
   • Best Use: Ideal for chaining attacks and maximizing burst damage.
3. Secrets and Memories
   • Effect: Increases healing by 18% and boosts critical damage by +20%.
   • Best Use: Useful for critical hit builds and sustained combat.

Recommended Armor:

1. The Warden’s Peer
   • Effect: Expands the detonation radius by +50%, applying vulnerability to enemies when 3 or more are hit.
   • Best Use: Great for area-of-effect attacks and crowd control.
2. Spelunker’s Gear
   • Effect: Extends Sundered status duration by +50% and boosts damage against Sundered enemies.
   • Best Use: Complements Harding’s Shred ability for maximum damage.

Recommended Accessories:

1. Orlesian Sovereign
   • Effect: Grants Precision on first ability use per encounter and +25% penetration on critical hits.
   • Best Use: Enhances burst damage at the start of combat.
2. Bianca’s Bolt
   • Effect: Adds +1 revival charge and reduces cooldowns by 50% when reviving a party member.
   • Best Use: Essential in difficult encounters with frequent revives.

Harding’s Dialog Preferences

In The Veilguard, Harding’s bond with Rook improves through dialogue choices that align with her personality. She appreciates confident responses and dislikes indecisiveness, so aim for dialogue options that show conviction and decisiveness. Light-hearted jokes are also a plus, as she enjoys humour that brings levity to challenging situations. Encouraging her interest in dwarven history can also earn approval points.

Gifting and Bonding with Harding

To further improve Harding’s loyalty, players can gift her the Hinterlands Cloak, which becomes available at the Black Emporium for three Etheric Remnants. This rare item boosts Harding’s bond with Rook, enhancing dialogue options and her overall morale.

Harding’s Skill Tree: Veilguard Path and Ultimate Abilities

Harding’s skill tree provides several branching paths, leading to her ultimate Veilguard skill based on your choices in her companion quest line. Here’s a breakdown of her abilities and potential upgrades.

1. Shred – Armor-piercing shot that staggers and sunders opponents.
   • Upgrades: Razor Point (Damage +50%), Keen Eye, and Critical Damage (+25%).
2. Soothing Potion – Healing potion that instantly restores health.
   • Upgrades: Greater Comfort (Healing duration +25%) and Panacea (removes Afflictions).
3. Heavy Draw – Slow, powerful shot dealing high stagger damage.
   • Upgrades: Blunt Force (Stagger +50%), Fracture, and Song of the Stone.
4. Adrenaline Rush – Grants enhanced damage to Rook.
   • Upgrades: A Few Words, Quick Words, and Confidence Boost.
5. Seismic Shot – Midair shockwave that concusses and disrupts enemies.
   • Upgrades: Onslaught (Damage vs. High Health +25%) and Breaking Munitions.
6. Veilguard Skill
   • The Stone’s Vengeance: Boosts Titan Stones’ damage and applies bleeding.
   • Heart of the Titan: Reduces Soothing Potion cooldown and increases detonation damage.

FAQ

Can Harding be romanced in Dragon Age: The Veilguard? Yes, Harding has a romance path in The Veilguard, adding depth to her character and interactions.

What class is Harding best paired with? Harding’s Veil Ranger class makes her highly effective with tank or melee classes who benefit from her buffs and ranged support.

What is the best way to boost Harding’s bond with Rook? Choose confident, decisive dialogue options, share light-hearted humour, and encourage her interest in dwarven culture.

By optimizing her equipment, focusing on skill upgrades, and making choices that resonate with her personality, you can unlock Harding’s full potential as a Veilguard companion. This Dwarven scout will undoubtedly be an invaluable ally on your journey across Thedas.