While the Shadow Dragons are now unburdened by dangerous relics being smuggled through the streets, darkspawn now prowl in the depths of Minrathous. Eradicate these monstrosities so the Shadow Dragons can finally turn their attention to procuring intel about the elven gods. This page will provide a walkthrough for the main quest Shadows of Minrathous in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Page Breakdown¶

Starting Shadows of Minrathous¶

Complete the main quest The Smuggled Relic Case after which you’ll be back at The Lighthouse, tasked with a transitional quest Friends in Hidden Places, which basically just tasks you with talking to Neve. Do so and she’ll recommend you return to Minrathous and talk to the Shadow Dragons for more intel. This starts the quest Shadows of Minrathous.

Investigate the Anvallenim¶

Get things moving by fast traveling back to Minrathous, where you’ll appear at the Shadow Dragons Safehouse. Talk to the Viper and during a brief conversation he’ll tell you that there are darkspawn prowling in the bowels of the city, tasking you with clearing them out. Exit the Safehouse (go southwest, then take a left down some stairs, wait for a door to open, then exit The Pawn Shop to the southeast) to reach Glandivalis Square. From here, head southeast, then south and turn down an alley to the west, squeeze past an obstruction and dispatch a Venatori Mage and Venatori Soldier. Probably not a good sign that there are Venatori this close to the safehouse, and Neve echoes this sentiment. Loot a chest on a crate and head downstairs as Neve tells you to secret to finding the tunnel entrance, but you don’t have to get that detailed with it - just search the wall to the north to find some serpent carvings on the wall and interact with them to open the way forward.

Clear the Anvallenim¶

Head downstairs and follow the linear path ahead, as explosions rock the tunnels, hinting at ominous intent ahead. Blight blocks the way to teh right (north) so head through a doorway to the west, pop a blight cyst and loot a chest, the latter of which contained the Magister’s Bloodletter cosmetic when we opened it. Exit the room, turn north and lo’ and behold the blight blocking the passage north is now vulnerable. Clear it and exit north to reach a large canal.

Climb down a ladder and ambush your foes, including a mix of Venatori and darkspawn (only Ghouls, presently). Fight your way into a chamber to the northeast, where more blight cysts await - these will constantly spawn Ghouls as long as they remain intact, so make their destruction a priority, after which you’ll need to defeat a pair of Venatori - a shield-and-spear equipped specimen named Brother Nomad and a mage named Brother Dee. Use charged heavy attacks to break the guard of Brother Nomad so you can punish him, while Brother Dee is a garden variety mage with higher than average durability. Once they’re dead, loot a chest to the south and be sure to search the two named Venatori for any gear they may have dropped - Brother Nomad kindly donated a Bleeding Shard ring to our cause.

Return west to the previou chamber and continue to the northwestern corner of the room to find some blight on the ledge blocking the way up. Prune it, then climb up and through the blight passage you cleared. Once through, turn left and climb up a ladder to find a small chest, then drop back down and proceed southwest to find a ladder you can kick down, to dubious benefit. Enter a tunnel to the north, destroy an obstruction blocking a passage (also to the north) and continue north to find a small chamber housing the Pall of the Unknown Magister memento (+50 Caretaker Power). Follow the linear path ahead and you’ll find yourself sneaking into the Shadow Dragons safehouse via a back entrance.

Approach a closed door, give the all clear, then work your way through the lower level of the Safehouse to report back to the Viper. After a bit of chatter you’ll be referred to a warehouse near the docks, where a lot of cult activity has been observed. Time for the second phase of this quest!

Investigate the Venatori Warehouse¶

You’ll appear outside in Minrathous after your latest chat with the Shadow Dragons, in “Spare Coin Way”, to be precise. Head north to and through the “Central Market” and ride an elevator down to the “Smuggler’s Docks”. This time the lift is operational, so you don’t need to take the roundabout route.

Once at the docks, work your way east, then south, killing Venatori Soldiers and the odd mage as you go - one of the mages is protected by a Venatori crystal, so head up the stairs past him and shatter the crystal to render him vulnerable to damage. This will be a common gimmick used by the Venatori, so be wary. Dispatch your foes and note the large building to the west of the docks - this is the warehouse you seek, but there’s no apparent way inside. Search for a Damp Notice on the ground near some stockpiled goods close to the warehouse (along the eastern edge of the building) and you’ll learn that the Venatori have a nasty habit of leaving the rooftop passage open. Be a damn shame if somebody exploited that…

Circle around to the northern edge of the warehouse, destroy a Venatori crystal creating a barrier in a doorway, then do battle with a unique shield-bearing Venatori - the Bloodhunting Zealot. This is just an extra durable Venatori Centurion with a fancy name, like Brother Nomad earlier, albeit one that can inflict bleeding with its attacks. Chop him down, climb the ladder he was guarding, go upstairs then climb another ladder to reach the roof. The passage you seek is along the southwestern corner of the roof, but a pair of Venatori Mages will spawn to contest your entry.

Climb the ladder to reach the interior of the warehouse, go through a door to the right and down some stairs, then search under the stairs along the northern end of the room to find a small chest. From this chest continue north through a corridor formed by the store wares, destroy an obstacle blocking your way to the east, drop off a ledge, then head downstairs to find both the Venatori, and what they’re up to in this warehouse.

Boss: Bound Hurlock and Flamechained Mages¶

The Venatori just happen to be summoning darkspawn, according to Neve, but their game isn’t wrong yet - the best they’ve managed is a Hurlock, albeit a more powerful than usual specimen wielding a two-handed axe, but still, nothing you haven’t faced before. It’s mostly here to tank and distract you from the mages, who for their part will contribute to the fray by unleashing fire bolts at you. They’re also tethered by fiery bonds, hence the “flamechained” bit, which just means if you touch the flames lashing them together, you’ll take damage - just a persistent and very visible damage effect you’ve got to be wary of. The mages aren’t keen on moving around much unless pressed in melee, so you can lure the Hurlock behind some shelves and enjoy a bit of safety from the ranged attacks of the mages, but these foes are more durable than dangerous.

Isolate and pick off the Hurlock if you can, then use skill combo detonations against the mages to stagger them and dead big damage. Debilitating AoEs like Frost Nova are also surprisingly effective. Crush your foes and loot the chest the last one leaves behind for some gear - our mage Rook found some Quickstart Leathers.

Search the Warehouse for Evidence¶

Now that the darkspawn and Venatori are gone, it’s time to search the place for clues. Some of the clues you can find include:

• The note A Warning on the floor near the shelves in the center of the room (eastern side of the shelves).
• A Ventori Missive on a crate in the southwestern corner of the room, near a large chest. You might as well loot this chest while you’re at it, even though it doesn’t offer up any intel.
• A blight-covered grate on the floor near the western wall.
• Some Ritual Instructions on the floor near some shelves in the northwestern corner of the room.

Once you’ve had a gander at all the evidence, head outside and talk to Viper to fast travel back to the Safehouse, and once there talk to the Viper again to complete this quest. You’ll earn 3,750 EXP for your troubles along with a whopping +400 Shadow Dragons Strength. If you’ve already completed [Sea of Blood], the quest In Peace, Vigilance will also start.