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Neve’s companion quest inDragon Age: The Veilguardis a winding road littered with plenty of Venatori disruptions. While the tone of Neve’s quests can differ depending on whether youdecide to save or ignore Minrathous early in the game,The Returned Cultist Case boasts several dramatic moments and a climactic final battle that puts Neve in the spotlight.
While each of theother climactic companion questshighlights your friends' autonomy and abilities, The Returned Cultist Case gives Neve a particularly integral part in completing the mission. It’s time to start one last excursion at The Cobbled Swan, where Neve waits for you to help her defeat Aelia.
How To Find Aelia
First, meetNeveatThe Cobbled Swan in Dock Town,as always, and compile your party for this quest.
Lucanis or Harding are good optionsto bring to helpenhance Neve’s damageand make her the focal point of your detonations.
Once the conversation concludes, you’ll be on your way to theThread Market.Follow your marker throughWharf Crossing Southand head north to theShoreline Passage,where you’ll finda red barrier along with a body to investigate.
Follow Neve on her alternative path through a blue barrier, then fight the Venatori (weak toCold,resistFire) here, and clear out their group.
Next, keep following your marker to the Condemned Warehouse and take note of thestatueacross the way: this isyour way in.
Use Neve’s abilityon the mechanism to the upper right of the platform, which willlower the bridgefor you to cross.
Once on the other side,go up the ladder, and pull the leverattached to the wooden beam, revealing asecret entrancebelow the statue.
Climb down into theNocean Corridorand take the zipline up, then follow the path to theleft,shimmying along a wooden beam and up toanother zipline,which takes youto a northern platformwhere moreVenatoriare waiting to ambush you.
There’s aBarraging Venatori Mage(weak toColdas well) you should neutralize immediately, as they represent the greatest threat here.
Keep following the way north along a wooden path that leads through the mountains and intoSanctum Lusacan.
More Venatori will appear in the next room; deal with them and prioritize theRejuvenator Mage.
Destroy the wooden scaffolding here and head through, then jump across the gap, following the path up a ladder and into a room where you’llfight a Bloodhunting Pride Demon(weak toNecrotic,resistsElectricity) and a small group of enemies.
Once the demon is down, follow Neve through the now-deactivated blue barrier andmeet up with Rana and Elek.
Make sure you’re ready for a hectic fight before you open the door ahead.
How To Defeat Aelia
Phase One
Watch the cutscene, then prepare for a war against Aelia’s Venatori protectors as you aim tobreak the red crystals scattered aroundthe room.
Be careful toavoid the periodic smaller crystal explosionsas you approach each shielded crystal; hitting them with a ranged attack is safer.
To finish phase onehit the unshieldedcrystal on the leftside of the arena, then theone in the middle,then theone directly next to Aelia.Doing this willlower the shield for the crystal on the far right.
Destroy the far right crystal, which willmake the second crystaladjacent to Aeliavulnerable.
Once those are done, hit the large redcrystal in the centerand Neve will inflict damage onAelia’s Blood Shield.
Phase Two
During phase two,three similarred crystals will spawnwith shields, along with moreVenatoriandShades.
Thin out the crowd thenhit the two crystals in the center areanear Aelia,unshielding onered crystalon the ground.
Destroy the newly unshielded crystal, thenfollow up by destroying the othersthat are now vulnerable, allowing Neve to take another shot at Aelia.
Phase Three
To begin phase three,Aelia will bring aBlood Forge Prime(weak toCold,resistsFire) to fight you now, as the other Venatori have proven too weak.
Defeat this Blood Forge by exploiting its weakness with Neve, and it will go down quickly,giving Neve a final shot at Aelia’s Blood Shield.
What Rewards Do You Get From The Returned Cultist Case?
After the closing conversation, you’ll earn the following rewards:
Helping Neve cements her as the protector of Dock Town, and is an important distinction that can play a role in conversations to come.
