BioWare talks Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s exploration, photo mode

With Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s October release looming ever closer, developer BioWare continues its slow and steady stream of blog-sized info-nuggets and teases – this time revealing a little about exploration, alongside news of a photo mode.

As detailed in BioWare’s latest blog postThe Veilguard will give players the opportunity to visit and explore places around Thedas that series veterans may have “heard whispers [of] in the past”. These include Arlathan Forest, Hossberg Wetlands, Minrathous, Rivain, and Treviso – and all get their own little video tours in BioWare’s post if you’re curious to see more.

Locations in The Veilguard will, as you might expect, feature people to talk to, things to do, puzzles to solve, and lore to collect in a Codex – and all are accessed from a hub area known as The Crossroads, which includes puzzles and extra missions of its own. The Crossroads (overseen by The Caretaker) also connects to the Lighthouse, which in turn serves as the player’s base of operations during The Veilgaurd – and it’s here they’ll have one-on-one chats with companions, who each have their own rooms to decorate as the story unfolds.

Companions also have specific exploration abilities they’ll use out in the world, giving players new ways to interact with their surroundings. You might, for instance, “come across some ancient Elven artifacts for Bellara to Tinker with while you wander through Arlathan.” And if you don’t have the right companion with you when you make a new discovery, that’s not an issue – players can use the Lyrium Dagger to take advantage of their exploration abilities, even when they’re back at the Lighthouse.

As for The Veilguard’s new photo mode, details of what comes via IGN. It features a free-roaming camera with tilt, focal length, and lens distortion options, as well as the ability to hide player characters, their party, enemies, even NPCs – all to get the perfect shot. Additionally, it comes with depth of field, auto focus, distance, f-stop, vignette, bloom, saturation, brightness, and contrast settings.

And that, then, is your latest blob of Dragon Age: The Veilguard news. Expect the drip-feed to continue as the game’s Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC release on 31st October approaches.