Dragon Age: The Veilguard — The Heart of Corruption Walkthrough Guide
In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the Heart of Corruption is a side quest you’ll get early on when entering the Crossroads. There, you’ll encounter a door with three seals in Beacon Island. It requires three essences to open, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The challenge behind the door is end-game level difficulty. With the quest being one of the longest in the game. Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough on The Heart of Corruption quest.
Table of Contents
The Heart of Corruption Requirements
In the Heart of Corruption, players need to fulfill requirements such as quests and parameters. Since this is an over-arching quest, you can only complete it if you’ve completed the campaign and main story (up until Siege of Weisshaupt).
Aside from completing the campaign, it would be best if you were powerful enough to defeat the bosses in each gate. The weakest is level 32, and the most powerful is level 42. So, players need to be at least mid-game level. Once you’ve met the requirements, you can take on the three Gate side quests to unlock the door for the Heart of Corruption.
Betrayal Of Felassan
The first boss and the weakest one you need to defeat is the level 32, Betrayal of Felassan. This boss can be found by taking “The Gate of Deep Sorrows” side quest. Here are some tips to help you take it down:
- The Betrayal will surround itself in a red bubble, creating an explosion. You can prevent it by using a charged arrow shot.
- The Betrayal’s tower shields protect it from damage head-on. You’ll need to damage them from behind.
- The attack patterns of the Betrayal are highly telegraphed and highly damaging. They can be easily parried, but they can punish you greatly if you fail.
- The Betrayal is vulnerable to Necrotic damage and can resist Cold. You can bring Emmrich and Lucanis to take advantage of its weaknesses.
- The Undead will spawn in periods. Be sure to take them out quickly.
Once you’ve defeated the Betrayal, you can acquire the Revenant Essense off its body. Aside from the essence, a chest is nearby with unique items, and the contents change depending on your class.
Slaughter of The Pillars
The next boss you need to defeat is the Slaughter. The boss can be found in the Gate of Parched Hopes side quest. It’s a level 37 shield and spear wielder with the same attack patterns as the Betrayal of Felassan. Here are some things you need to keep in mind when facing against it:
- The smaller arena is to your disadvantage, as it’ll be difficult for you to avoid and back away from the melee-focused boss.
- However, the smaller arena does mean that you can strike the Slaughter and his Undead summons with one strike. You should bottleneck the enemies when there’s an opportunity.
- The Slaughter can summon a red blight that can push you into the arena’s danger zone, so keep your distance.
- The Slaughter has the same weakness as the Betrayal, so bring the same companions.
Once you’ve defeated the Slaughter of the Pillars, grab the Corrupted Essence off its body. There’ll be a chest with the same properties as the one from the Betrayal. Now, you’ll have two of the three needed essences. Only one more to go.
Fall of The Protector
The next boss you must defeat is the Fall of the Protector, a level 42 boss. You can encounter them in the “Gate of Pale Reflections” side quest. Unlike the other two, this boss fight will be a little different. Here are a few tips:
- Before the boss fight begins, you’ll need to clear the Undead summons to get the Fall’s attention. The summons will constantly spawn in the fight, so equip AOE and battlefield-clearing abilities.
- The Fall focuses on spells, projectiles, AOE attacks, and teleportation. It will keep its distance and hit you with magic attacks.
- A bow and ranged attacks maxed out in Power will help you offensively.
- The Fall is vulnerable to Cold Damage and can resist fire. Bring Neve as your companion for an advantage.
After you kill the Fall of the Protector, you’ll get the Corrupted Revenant Essence. You’ll also find another chest with a unique item in the arena. Now that you have all three essences, you can head back to Beacon Island to unlock the door.
Opening The Beacon Island Door
Once you’ve reached Beacon Island, you can now unlock the door with the three essences you’ve gathered. Place them into the three seals to open the door. Once you’re through the door, you’ll find yourself in an arena. A cutscene will begin, leading to your boss fight against the Revenant Dragon.
Revenant Dragon Boss Fight
The Revenant Dragon is the final challenge in the Heart of Corruption side quest. It’s a level 50 boss and is similar to the dragon fight in Minrathous or Treviso earlier in the campaign. Here are some tips to slay this boss:
- The Revenant Dragon is vulnerable to fire attacks. Bring Davrin and Taash as your companions.
- When the boss’ limbs start glowing purple, hit them for stagger damage.
- The dragon has a few melee moves you can parry or block. So, it’s better to dodge them than to parry.
- Parry the dragon’s breath weapons. Its necrotic skulls can be bounced back at it.
- Attack behind the dragon and avoid its head if you get close to it. This way means that it has fewer attack options, as it takes time for it to turn around.
- When the dragon is staggered, it’ll collapse, and its heart will glow. Use your most powerful attacks on the heart.
Once you’ve defeated the Revenant Dragon, the Heart of Corruption side quest will be completed. You’ll receive a load of rewards and currency. You’ll also be able to get a unique item from a chest on the opposite end of the arena.
