As players explore the vast open world of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, many will want to know how to recruit Taash, the brash and bold Qunari. This companion can become an invaluable asset to the team thanks to her fighting style and unique set of skills.
Dragon: Age: The Veilguard follows in the footsteps of other entries in the franchise, allowing players to build and customize their exploring and fighting party as per their play style. Many players might benefit from having this character on their team, but not everyone knows how to recruit Taash, and we’ll be breaking down the process step by step!
Who is Taash?
Taash is a Qunari dragon hunter who joins the player on their journey as it aligns with their most important goal: seeking adventure. Taash is very bold and headstrong, ready to take risks as long as they achieve their objective. However, judging their intelligence based on their temperament would be a grave mistake, as Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Taash is deeply knowledgeable on several topics and has connections across the land.
The Qunari fights straightforwardly, wielding dual axes and also breathing fire against their opponents. They are a familiar face for those who have played Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance and are the youngest among all of the companions the player can recruit in The Veilguard. They are said to be interested in sparkling treasure and hitting things with their axe while breathing draconic fury on their foes in a fight.
| Faction | Lords of Fortune |
| Region/Location | Rivain Coast |
| Class | Warrior |
| Race | Qunari |
| Exploration Perk | Dragonheart |
| Quest | The Dragon Slayer |
| Decisions that will stop recruitment | There is no way to not recruit Taash after completing the quest. |
Taash is also available to romance in the game and is described by the developers as having the most intense relationship in the entire game. Now that you are familiar with this character, it’s time to see how to recruit Taash.
How to Recruit Taash?
Taash can be recruited to your Dragon Age: The Veilguard party by completing The Dragon Slayer quest after the events at either Minrathous or Treviso. Taash is attempting to lure a dragon away from its lair so that the Lords of Fortune, their allied faction, can loot the beast’s treasure.
However, an invading faction has different plans, and things quickly start to go awry, requiring the player’s intervention to ensure the plan’s success. Much like changing your appearance in the game, choosing the right party requires you to have choices, and Taash helps increase the selection pool.
Speak with Taash and Begin the Quest
You can find Taash and the start of this quest when you enter the Rivain Coast area, which many players have stated is the most visually appealing location in all of Thedas. Once you enter the area, you will engage Taash in a conversation, following which they will lead you to the beach. On the way you will encounter some Antaam enemies, the ones looking to foil the treasure looting plan, and you must deal with them before progressing to the main part of the fort. Knock down the wall and then slide down the sandy hill.
This new section of the area will bring you face-to-face against some Deepstalkers. At your current level, they shouldn’t be too much of an issue as long as you stay mobile and are aware of when to hit the dodge button to avoid damage. They are not the only foes in the area though, as you will soon come up against a Deepstalker Matriarch. You can take down this enemy with the same strategy as the regular variety.
Tip
The Deepstalker Matriarch is level 17, sports armor, and has a lot more health than the regular variants, so the fight might last longer.
Venture Further into the Fort
With the Matriarch down, you can ascend the waterfall with Taash and reach the horn that you must sound to bring in the dragon. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be enough to summon the beast, and Taash informs us that we must travel deeper into the fort. You will soon come across one of the many puzzles you will encounter when playing Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
You will know you are close to the puzzle when you climb up and see the dragon make a pass by overhead. There will be a closed gate to your left and an archway to your right. Go down the ladder on your right and then hit the wooden items in your path to progress towards a room with three statues, each with a corresponding lever. Use the following combination to solve the puzzle:
- Left Statue: Facing right
- Center Statue: Facing left
- Right Statue: Facing the back
You can now ascend the ladder that just dropped down to collect the treasure and walk through the gate that was previously locked.
Continue to Explore the Fort and Find the Dragon
At the top of the ladder, you will find a zipline you can use to access the next part of the fort and keep following the objective markers until you fight an armored Antaam soldier. After defeating them, go through the door behind the soldier and read all the notes before Taash informs you of putting the dragon to sleep. You must now work your way back, fighting through Antaam soldiers, and reach the location where you fought the Deepstalker Matriarch.
You will find the dragon asleep on the beach, surrounded by Antaam soldiers. The encounter will result in you fighting the Antaam. With all the soldiers defeated, the dragon will regain consciousness and fly away. Taash’s mother will then make an appearance, and you must choose to protect Taash during that conversation.
This will conclude the quest, rewarding you with 100+ Lords of Fortune Strength, an increased bond with your current companion, and recruiting Taash to your party.
What are the Benefits of Recruiting Taash?
Taash’s abilities can come in very handy during fights, as many of them either deal a lot of damage or focus incoming attacks on themselves. With Taash recruited, the player can also pick up the Priceless Ancient Artifact from the Lords of Fortune merchant as a Companion Gift. This costs 90 Gold and 10 Flawless Crystals.
Taash’s exploration ability Dragonheart can be used the moment she joins your party. Just like Davrin’s exploration skill that can open up new routes, this skill uses Taash’s ability to breathe fire to burn down certain barriers in the open world and reveal new paths that could lead to treasure.
The Neckbreaker weapon that can be purchased from the merchant in Grey Hold offers two buffs that increase the entire party’s damage against Antaam enemies by 25%, and Attack My Target applies Burning to Antaam enemies.
Tip
The Treasure Keepsake will increase Taash’s weapon damage by 25%, and their weapon attacks will always deal Critical Damage against Knocked Down enemies.
Taash’s several abilities can also be used strategically in combat to get the upper hand against specific kinds of enemies. Their tank-like build allows them to absorb incoming damage, increasing your party’s survivability.
Dragonfire Strike
| Effect | An overhead strike that results in enemy concussion, confusion, and burning, and applies Burning on hit. |
| Cooldown | 38 seconds |
| Sear | Damage vs. Health: +20% |
| Heatwave | Damage vs. Burning: +25% |
| Firestorm | Shockwave impact deals an additional 200 Fire damage to enemies within 5 meters. |
| Left Path | Stoke the Flames: Off-hand attack deals 50% additional Physical damage added to the damage dealt by the initial strike. Lingering Flame: Stagger: +100% Spill Blood: Targets hit by initial impact suffer Bleeding. |
| Right Path | Focus Fire: Shockwave Impact radius is reduced, but 2 stacks of Burning are applied to affected enemies. Bring the Hurt: Detonator – Detonates a Primed target, causing additional damage and effects. Explosive Timing: Detonations apply Burning. |
Spitfire
| Effect | Shoots a burst of flame that reduces foe morale and deals higher Stagger damage. | |
| Cooldown | 36 seconds | |
| Critical Strike | Critical damage +25% | |
| Flame Splash | Applies Burning on hit. | |
| ALT | Armor Breaker | Damage vs. Armor +50% |
| ALT | Razing Flames | Damage vs. Barrier +50% |
| Spreading Weakness | Spitfire may trigger automatically during combat with an independent cooldown that cannot occur more than once every minute. Auto-fire does not apply cooldown and manual activation remains available. | |
| Accelerant | Cooldown duration: -20% | |
| ALT | Overwhelming Pressure | Overwhelming effectiveness: +10% |
| ALT | Overwhelming Duration | Overwhelmed duration: +50% |
Fortune’s Favor
| Effect | Luck and Lord of Fortune training almost guarantees that the player will emerge from the battle alive as it grants Invulnerable. | |
| Cooldown | 36 seconds | |
| Precise Immunity | Gain Precision when activated. | |
| Forceful Return | Enemies within the vicinity take 150 Fire damage and are knocked back once the effect ends. | |
| ALT | Unstoppable Return | Gain Immovable once the effect ends. |
| ALT | Buckle Down | Ignores impact received for no damage. |
| Fortune’s Favor | Cooldown duration: -20% | |
| Enrichment Gain | 10 Rage for every second Invulnerable. | |
| ALT | Respite | Healed by 20% when the effect ends. |
| ALT | Continued Invulnerability | Duration: +2 seconds |
Fire Breath
| Effect | Breathes out flames to deal damage and also applies Burning to all affected enemies. | |
| Cooldown | 36 seconds | |
| Scorch | Damage vs. Health: +20% | |
| Quick Ignition | Cooldown duration -20% | |
| ALT | Inferno | Burning damage +25% |
| ALT | Cauterize | Duration +100% |
| Deep Burn | Damage +25% | |
| To Ash | Damage increased by 10% per Burning stack on target. | |
| ALT | Overheat | Each instance of Burning damage on target from this Ability reduces Fire Resistance by 5%. |
| ALT | Dragonfire | Breath width is increased by 50%. |
Dragon’s Roar
| Effect | Draconic roar draws enemy attention and taunts enemies in the area to briefly focus all attacks on Taash. (Not applicable to the strongest boss enemies.) | |
| Cooldown | 36 seconds | |
| Quick to Anger | Cooldown -20% | |
| Goad | Taunted enemies take 10% more damage for effect duration. | |
| ALT | Enraged | Duration 50% |
| ALT | Shouting Taunt | Effective radius +100% |
| Inspiring Roar | Replenish 50 Health per second when active. | |
| Flaming Roar | All affected enemies take 300 Fire damage. | |
| ALT | Insult to Injury | Adds 1 stack to any Affliction stack. |
| ALT | Look Out Bellow | Gain Deflection on hit. |
Taash’s companion quest line, which involves their mother, whom you met during The Dragon Slayer quest, will unlock two specific Veilguard Abilities that the player can use in combat. You can acquire only one of the two Abilities, and your selection will be dependent on the choice you make at the end of the quest.
| Qunari Focus | Weapon attack damage is increased by 50% with a 20% cooldown reduction. Burning duration increases by two seconds. This Ability can be acquired by encouraging Taash to embrace their Qunari heritage. |
| Rivaini Flair | Taash’s Critical Damage is increased by 50%, damage vs. High Health increased by 25%. , Burning deals 50% more damage on initial hit and is reduced by 10% on each following hit. Acquire this Ability by having Taash accept Rivaini heritage. |
That’s all there is to know about how to recruit Taash in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and how they can benefit your team! Which among The Veilguard companions are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below and check out our other Dragon Age: The Veilguard guides for more tips and tricks on conquering BioWare’s latest RPG!
