One of the first locations players will explore in Dragon Age: The Veilguard is the magical realm known as the Crossroads. Since different sections of the Crossroads will open up for players to explore as the story progresses, Rook and company will spend plenty of time exploring this area throughout the entire game. Beyond using it to traverse Thedas, you will also be able to hunt down sources of corruption for unique rewards and even relive moments from Solas’s past during his rebellion against the Evanuris.
To reach the Crossroads, players will need to complete the game’s opening quests until they reach the Lighthouse. After developing a game plan with your companions, you’ll be tasked with a quest called “Into The Crossroads.” Completing it will open the first area within the Crossroads for exploration and give you just a taste of all that the mysterious realm has to offer.
What Is The Crossroads in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
A Magical Meeting Place & Transit Hub
In the Dragon Age universe, the Crossroads is a magical dimension that exists somewhere outside both the waking world of Thedas and the Fade: a place between realms. Lore attributes its creation to the ancient elves of Arlathan, who used it as a magical method of travel and communication prior to their fall. The elves crafted enchanted mirrors, called Eluvians (elvish: seeing glass), and connected them via the Crossroads, forming a magical network that allowed them to instantly travel and communicate over great distances.
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Though many Eluvians have been either destroyed, corrupted, or magically locked, several still function. Through the use of Solas’s eluvian, the Vi’Revas, you can freely travel from the Lighthouse to the Crossroads, and then through any still functioning eluvians found within. Several areas of the Crossroads will unlock during the game, including a small market where various spirits will set up shops selling valuables, gear, and other items. You’ll also be able to easily locate Etheric Remnants in DA; The Veilguard, a special type of currency that can only be found under certain circumstances.
Into The Crossroads Quest Walkthrough
Follow the Caretaker Through The Eluvian
The quest begins in the depths of the Lighthouse, where you’ll find Bellara hard at work fixing the giant Eluvian. As soon as she has the magical mirror back in working condition, a spirit called the Caretaker will appear. Gather your party and follow the Caretaker through the Eluvian to continue the quest and enter the Crossroads.
There is not much you can do in this initial area yet, so head straight down the stairs and unlock the Beacon Island Fast Travel. From there, follow the quest marker to the right. You’ll arrive at what appears to be a graveyard, but it also functions as a docking area for the Caretaker’s boat, which magically appears and docks. Board the boat, and the Caretaker will ferry you to the Crossroads’ first main island section, the Converged City.
You’ll unlock the Converged City Fast Travel beacon when you disembark from the boat. Go straight from there, down the hill towards the large stone gate, and enter the courtyard beyond. There, you’ll encounter Venatori fighting against a few of the guardians protecting the Crossroads. Defeat them, then speak with the Caretaker in front of the large Blight Gate opposite the courtyard from where you first entered.
The Elven gods have used a combination of blight and blood magic to create gates (like the one in front of you) throughout the Crossroads. To open them, you’ll need to track down and defeat various champions and collect their essence, which is a key of sorts. The first champion you’ll hunt down is close by, and its essence will open the path to the nearby Eluvians, allowing you to travel to Treviso and Dock Town.
Defeat The Champion, Claim Its Essence
To find the champion, head to the left of the Caretaker through the nearest arch. Unlock the fast travel beacon and go down the stairs to your left. You’ll find a large chest: open it for some new gear and materials. Now, follow the quest marker back up the path. You’ll be led to a small open area with a large Blight Cyst on the right. Destroy the cyst with regular attacks, and the champion, a Darkspawn Ogre in Dragon Age: The Veilguard named Sirin the Twice-Forged, will emerge (save your skills and class resources for the boss battle).
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Sirin has a full bar of Blight Armor in addition to his health bar. Use your and your party’s heavy attacks and skill detonations to eat through his armor quickly. He has several attacks that he’ll use during the fight that you’ll definitely want to avoid:
- Standard Attack: Sirin will attack with his weapon, which you can dodge, block, or parry, though be careful since they will inflict you with Necrosis if you are hit.
- Charge Attack: Sirin will periodically charge you from a distance. You’ll know when the charge is coming whenever he stomps the ground and begins to glow red.
- Leap Attack: Sirin can also get in close by using a leap attack, starting with him glowing red while getting ready to make a large jump. A red circle will appear on the ground just before the attack lands, so make sure to dodge.
- Slam Attack: When Sirin raises his weapon above his head, he slams it down in front of him, dealing damage in a straight line. He can use this attack multiple times in a row, so be ready to dodge a few times to avoid getting hit.
- Blight Attack: Sirin can create pools of blight, which will deal damage when you are standing in them. Whenever he kneels down and rams his hand into the dirt, he will begin creating these small pools wherever you are standing. Dodge out of the way (a single dodge will do the trick) to avoid taking damage and stacks of Necrosis.
Most Darkspawn I have encountered in the game have a
vulnerability to Fire damage,
including several of the champions you’ll fight during your playthrough. If Rook is a mage, having some fire blast skills will significantly help fight against Darkspawn. Fire-based weapons are also effective if you have any.
Once you have beaten Sirin and collected his essence, there is a chest near where you destroyed the large Blight Cyst to begin the battle. Destroy the small blight node to uncover the chest. Head back out of the area where you fought Sirin and to your left up the path.
Unlock The Barrier And Complete The Quest
As you ascend the path, you’ll see your first Fen’Harel Statue on the left. Interact with the statue, and it will turn to point in the direction of its treasure. Follow ahead to where it points (you’ll have to jump up to a stone ledge), and a spectral wolf will appear, indicating that the treasure, a wolf statue, is there. Picking up the small statue will give you a bonus skill point to spend, so grab this one for a power boost before unlocking the barrier.
Continue back on the path, and you’ll find yourself on a ledge overlooking the courtyard where the Blight Gate is located. To your left will be a small building with metal bars blocking your way to a chest. To lower the bars and get to the chest, you’ll need to activate two malfunctioning devices and direct the energy beams into the corresponding power nodes.
As you face the courtyard below, the first broken device is on your right. Have Bellara fix it with her Tinker ability and direct the energy beam to the power node straight ahead (on the wall, above the Blight Gate). There is one other device to repair on a ledge across the courtyard. You’ll also need to activate this one to open up the way to the chest. There is a ladder next to the device Bellara repaired. Climb down it to the courtyard and insert Sirin’s Essence into the Blight Gate to unlock it. Proceed on to the new area to complete the Into the Crossroads quest and gain access to the Treviso and Dock Town Eluvians.
Before heading on to recruit either the Demon of Vyrantium or investigate the strange relic in Dock Town, I recommend you backtrack and fully explore the area. There are several other Blight Gates to discover, as well as The Labs Below quest, in which you enter a memory from Solas’s past. As you continue to play Dragon Age: The Veilguard, return to this area of the Crossroads, where there will be a lively marketplace with plenty of great items for sale.
- Released
- October 31, 2024
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
