As you play through theDragon Age: The Veilguardmission entitled “Sea of Blood,” you’ll encounter a new kind of puzzle characterized by breakable blood crystals. If you chose togo to Treviso before Dock Town, this is the first time you’ll see puzzles of this sort. These crystals effectively function as a magical power source, usually serving to keep an impenetrable wall between nosy interlopers and whatever a blood mage wants to keep secure. Thankfully, the grand majority of them are pretty straightforward - until a certain point in the quest, that is.
During this particular quest, several blood crystals must be broken to create a path to Lucanis. However, it’s an optional area - the High Security room - that provides the hardest iteration of this puzzle. You’ll enter, shortly after freeing Lucanis, to find a series of barriers that scarcely conceal three rooms full of loot, and a very obvious crystal presiding over it all. But try as you might, and the crystal won’t budge;your weapon seems to bounce off it as a translucent shield appears. Thankfully, there’s a simple solution to this conundrum, but it is well hidden.
How To Break The Shielded Crystal
Turn Around, Bright Eyes
Ultimately,the secret to breaking any shielded crystal is to break a different one first - there’s always a sequence that needs to be followed. The trick to discovering the right order in which to break them is to follow the shimmering crimson line emanating from the shielded one. Sometimes, this means shattering several crystals in sequence, each one breaking the shield on the next one in line. It’s not unlikethe Blighted Gates puzzlesthat recur throughout the game.
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For the High Security room in particular, though, that line is difficult to see because of the distance between Rook and the shielded crystal, and the sneaky hiding place of the unshielded one that must be shot at first.The unshielded crystal is located on the exact opposite side of the room from the shielded one, just below the apex of the highest arch in the wall. See the screenshot above for reference; if it’s still too difficult to find, then try to align your targeting reticule with the area shown in the image, and simply fire when it turns red.
Rewards For Breaking The Crystal
What’s In The High Security Room?
Again, breaking this crystal isn’t necessary to complete the quest, butit does unlock three small areas filled with some solid treasurethat’ll be a great help inThe Veilguard’s early game. The following table breaks down what you’ll find in each of the three areas. Note that some of the loot inDragon Age: The Veilguardappears to be variable, determined by your class and those of the companions currently in your party. However, all the following loot can be used by any character, so you’re likely to get the same exact haul.
33 Gold
Currency
Of this loot,the Tincture Kit +1 is the most desirable item. It’s a Healing Belt, which means Rook can equip it to alter the effects and effectiveness of their potions. This particular item ups each potion’s healing power to 790 HP - almost double the starting factor of 400.
Solving this first shielded crystal puzzle is deceptively simple, but the rewards are well worth the effort. That said, there are more (and more difficult) variations of this puzzle yet to come, so getting over this first hurdle is an important early step in yourDragon Age: The Veilguardjourney.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is the fourth entry in the Dragon Age franchise and a sequel to 2014’s Dragon Age: Inquisition. A classic character, Solas, will return as the new game’s antagonist. The game will retain many of the series' staples, such as multiple dialogue options, party choices, romantic options, and more. Dreadwolf will act as the first direct sequel in the Dragon Age franchise.
