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Emmrich is one of the last companions you acquire inDragon Age: The Veilguard, and there is a reason why the game saves him for last. Due to his ability to apply Necrosis, a status that damages barriers over time, he has the potential to be a valuable asset to a party lineup.
How valuable Emmrich becomes in combat depends on various factors regarding his build. It’s essential to pick the right skills, equipment, and partner to make Emmrich truly shine on the battlefield.
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Luckily, we have everything laid out for you in this guide, as it will describe how to make the best Emmrich build in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Emmrich Companion Overview
Emmrich is a necromancer and member of theNevarra’s Mourn Watch faction, a group of guardians ofthe Grand Necropolisand the dead that reside within. Even though Emmrich has a love for the dead, he is actually terrified of dying and vows to protect the living from the dangers of the occult.
During companion quests with Emmrich, you’ll learn about necromancy, the study of the dead and the absurdity of it all. You’ll also get to know his skeleton assistant, Manfred, who is by Emmrich’s side throughout the game.
How to Unlock Emmrich
Like all companions in the game,Emmrich becomes available automatically by progressing the main quest.He will join the party officially after completing theChapter 7 quest, “Where the Dead Must Go.”
While the quest is pretty straightforward, it does require you to battle waves of enemies. I recommend equipping either Davrin orBellarafor the Where the Dead Must Go quest due to their ability to deal AOE damage, which is crucial for missions with large groups of enemies and requires crowd control.
Once you complete the Where the Dead Must Go quest, Emmrich will return to the lighthouse and agree to join the cause to save the world from the evil gods.
Best Abilities for Emmrich
Emmrich’s best abilities areThe Bell Tolls,Entangling Spirits, andTime Slow. You’ll instantly notice that these three pair together perfectly to allow Emmrich to deal Necrosis damage quickly while also giving Rook an advantage over hordes. Below you can find the effects of each skill.
Not only is The Bell Tolls one of Emmrichs best abilities, but it’s also one of the best in the entire game. Each time you use this skill,Quietus is applied to the target, which increases the damage outputfor everyone in the party, making it easier to defeat anything in your path.
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On the other hand, Entangling Spirits isperfect against brute enemies, as it traps them for a short duration, preventing them from moving. This opens up an opportunity to unleash as many attacks as possible on the entangled enemy without worrying about dodging.
Lastly, Time Slow is a nice touch since itslows the movement of all enemies, while Rook remains the same speed. In other words, you’re able to attack more when this is active.
Best Upgrade Path for Emmrich
Now that you understand which skills you should focus on for Emmrich, it’s time to learn the best upgrade path. As you level up companion level with Emmrich, follow along with the chart below. Remember, you earn two skill points each time you level a companion.
No abilities in this guide are acquired at this level
Entangling Spirits, Time Slow, and The Bell Tolls are unlocked automatically
Rapid Onset: The Bell Tolls cooldown duration decreases by 20%
Transient Spirits: Entangling Spirits deals an increase of 25% damage towards Armor and Barriers
Essence Leech: While Quietus is active, gain 5 mana every second
Seize the Moment: While Time Slow is active, you deal 25% more damge
Critical Shot: Entangling Spirits deals an additional 25% critical damage
Lingering Pall: Quietus duration increases 20%
Windfall: When Time Slow ends, you gain 50 Mana.
Sepulchral Ire: On a Critical Hit with Entangling Spirits, applies Chilled
Pestilence: If an enemy dies while Quietus is active, the effect spreads to another nearby enemy
Morbid Whispers: When Time Slow ends, all affected enemies take 150 Necrotic Damage
Death Knell: Damave vs Low Health increases 30% with The Bell Tolls
Relentless: Entangling Spirits cooldown decreases by 20%
Contagion: Quietus now spreads to multiple enemies after the initial target’s death
Hasten: While Time Slow is active, your next Ability use does not have a Mana cost
Time Leak: Time Slow cooldown duration decreases by 20%
Unfinished Business: During combat, Entangling Spirits may trigger automatically
Enervate: Weakened effectiveness increases by 10% when using Entangling Spirits
Chrono Control: Companions can use Abilities during Time Slow, and active cooldowns are reduced by 25%
Best Equipment and Gear for Emmrich
When choosing the best equipment for Emmrich, he must have ahigh Necrotic Damage Staveand gear that helps with cooldowns for himself and his companions. We have a few solid options for Emmrich listed below.
The Hermetic Pendulum has ahigh base Necrotic damageas well as a decent stagger rate. Additionally, it comes equipped with a buff that applies Vulnerability to Necrotic damage, leading to greater damage overall.
The Metal-Plated Focus is a good choice here as it focuses onlowering Emmrich and companions' cooldowns.For example, it comes with a buff that decreases the time it takes for Emmrich’s ability to become available by 10 seconds. Also, it lowers all companion’s cooldowns by 10 seconds when Emmrich defeats an enemy.
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Lastly, Funeral Finery Armor and Chittering Signethelp with Emmrich’s ability damage.The former increases ability damage by 108% when at the Rare level; meanwhile, the Trinket makes enemies vulnerable to Necrotic damage when applying Weakened. Since Entangling Spirits applies weakened, this is a huge plus.
Best Companion to Pair With Emmrich
Considering the skill we chose for Emmrich applies Weakened (Entangling Spirits),pairing him with a companionwho can detonate this status effect is necessary.The absolute best choice here is to pair Emmrich with Davrin.
It’s also important to make sureDavrin comes equipped with the Death From Above skillsince that’s what detonates Weakened. Entangling Spirits combined with Death From Above will create a powerful explosion, easily taking out the most brutal enemies.
Since Emmrich’s equipment includes buffs that help with cooldowns for himself and his companions, you’re able to execute more detonation attacks between these two party members.
How to Raise Emmrich’s Bond Level
A companion is only as good as their bond level, so you need to focus on that as you progress through the game. There are a few ways to raise Emmrich’s bond level, which follows the same principles as all other companions.
Make sure to always speak to Emmrich when he has an exclamation mark above his head at the Lighthouse. This is a solid indicator that acompanion quest is availableto raise his Bond Level.
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