Dragon Age: The Veilguard is being made with PC in mind

Bioware has pulled back the curtain on the Personal Computing (PC) experience for Dragon Age: The Veilguard in a new blog post, detailing the extensive efforts made to ensure this long-standing franchise feels right at home on its original platform. With the game’s roots firmly planted in the PC space, the company has spared no effort to deliver an optimised experience, dedicating a significant portion of its development and testing resources specifically to the platform.

The numbers are impressive: 40% of all testing hours were on PC, with over 200,000 hours dedicated to performance and compatibility testing alone. Bioware has even gone as far as creating a dedicated PC team to focus solely on this aspect. For the developers, it is not just about making a game that works on PC; it is about crafting an experience worthy of Dragon Age’s legacy.

A Tailored PC Control Experience

Bioware’s commitment extends to controls and inputs, with the developer conducting nearly 10,000 hours of user research to ensure a smooth and responsive interface for both keyboard and mouse, as well as controllers (which is good news for console gamers). Dragon Age: The Veilguard will natively support PS5 DualSense controllers, complete with haptics, alongside the usual Xbox controller and keyboard + mouse options.

Seamless switching between control schemes is possible at any time, even mid-game or in menus. This flexibility is further enhanced by class-specific keybind customisation, allowing players to adjust their controls to best suit their playstyle. For instance, players can set different keybinds for their Rogue compared to their Warrior, making every character feel distinct and personalised.

Display and Graphics Settings for the Discerning Gamer

Bioware has ensured the game caters to PC enthusiasts with a host of visual and performance options. Dragon Age: The Veilguard fully supports 21:9 ultrawide monitors, with a simple setting to remove those pesky black bars from cinematics, allowing players to enjoy every scene in full widescreen glory. A Field of View (FOV) slider and the option to uncap the frame-rate are also available, catering to those looking to push their rigs to the limit. High Dynamic Range (HDR) support is included right out of the box, ensuring a vibrant and visually striking experience.

Real-time adjustments to graphics and display settings are made easier with an innovative cutout in the User Interface (UI), displaying the immediate impact of changes, allowing players to fine-tune their experience without missing a beat. For a comprehensive list of settings, be sure to checkout the full blog post.

Steam Native and Steam Deck Ready

Acknowledging the prominence of Steam within the PC gaming community, Bioware has made Dragon Age: The Veilguard fully Steam native, complete with Cloud Save support. Players can effortlessly switch between PC and Steam Deck without losing progress, and Remote Play functionality means the game can be enjoyed on the big screen with minimal hassle. There is even the option to link with an EA Account, although it remains completely optional (thankfully).

Advanced Features for High-End Setups

For those with high-performance setups, Dragon Age: The Veilguard supports a variety of advanced graphical features, including a suite of Ray Tracing options and an “Ultra RT” mode designed for the most powerful of rigs. Upscaling technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS 3, FSR 2.2 (specially modified for the game), and XeSS are supported, along with NVIDIA Reflex for reduced latency. Bioware promises to reveal even more PC-specific features as the launch date approaches.

Mark Your Calendars

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is set to launch on 31 October 2024. The company promises more details on Combat, Companions, and Exploration in the coming weeks, with hopes of more console specific information being made available too. With such a wealth of options and features, it is clear Bioware is committed to delivering a PC experience honouring the legacy of the Dragon Age series. One can only hope the same level of care will be given to other platforms.