What the Dragon Age: The Veilguard Hardened effect is and how to remove it

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A companion can become Hardened in Dragon Age Veilguard, making them less trusting of Rook

Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened effect after Neve devastated by Minrathous attack
(Image credit: EA)

While the Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened condition can only be applied to a couple of your companions, it does make it more difficult to build up your rapport with whoever is affected and there doesn't appear to be a way to soften them up once it has happened. An ally affected by the Hardened condition has lost their trust in Rook, after feeling betrayed by a certain choice you're forced to make in Dragon Age The Veilguard. This lack of trust makes it more difficult to build your relationship with the companion in question, and while it leads to them refusing to use particular support abilities that will aid you, other abilities can compensate by dealing an increased amount of damage. This condition isn't explained in detail, so to get you up to speed here's everything you need to know about the Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened effect.

Watch out for some Dragon Age Veilguard spoilers below.

How to remove Hardened in Dragon Age Veilguard

Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened effect explained on Neve companion menu

(Image credit: EA)

As far as the GamesRadar+ team is aware, there is no way to remove the Hardened effect from either Neve or Lucanis after making the Dragon Age Veilguard Minrathous or Treviso choice. This means whichever of these companions is affected will be stuck with slower relationship progression, increased combat damage, and the inability to use certain supportive powers for the rest of the game. Obviously, because it is tied to a main quest choice, it is also completely unavoidable.

Much later on, there’s a point where you need to complete a quest to try and set things right with your friend, showing them that you do in fact care and want to help, but this unfortunately does not lead to them trusting you enough to lose the Hardened effect.

Dragon Age Veilguard Hardened effect Neve more trusting of Rook

(Image credit: EA)

As an example, in my playthrough, Neve is my Hardened companion and after completing the relevant quest by helping in Dock Town, even choosing the romantic and supportive dialogue options at the end, she remains Hardened. Another member of the team who has a 100% completed game save confirmed that Lucanis was stuck with the Hardened effect for the entirety of their playthrough too.

The good news is that Lucanis and Neve are the only two Dragon Age Veilguard companions that can be affected by Hardened, as it doesn't come up again after the major Minthrous or Treviso choice. It also doesn’t seem like you’re locked out of a Dragon Age Veilguard romance with whichever companion is Hardened, but the effect does specifically make it harder to get that romantic spark.

If you want to read what we thought about the entire game, be sure to read our Dragon Age The Veilguard review, and you can judge how it stacks up against the best RPGs you can play right now.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Will Sawyer
Will Sawyer
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Will Sawyer is a Guides Editor at GamesRadar+ with over five years of experience in writing online guides, news, and features, and has a BA (Hons) in Journalism. Starting as a freelancer, Will contributed to startmenu and Game Rant before joining the GamesRadar+ team in August 2021. Since then, he has written hundreds of guides about a huge range of games, with shooters and action games being his areas of expertise. Outside of writing about games, Will hops between multiplayer shooters with friends, such as Darktide and Helldivers 2, and delves into whatever has been on his backlog for far too long. He also tries to get through his never-ending Warhammer pile of shame of grey Tyranids, Aeldari, and Chaos Space Marines.

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