How to upgrade faction merchants in Dragon Age The Veilguard

Improve the faction vendors you encounter throughout Thedas, unlocking additional gear and items for your travels.

Characters gather around a merchant's table and stacks of wares.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Your gear and weapons not only appear inside the chests you find during your playthrough in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but you can also buy them from merchants. Many merchants side with a particular faction, and working with them can lead to unlocking better items.

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The faction merchants won’t immediately trust you, unfortunately. You have to gain their trust by going out of your way to help them, and seek out specific resources that you can trade to improve them. Upgrading a faction merchant does take a lot of work, and there are a few steps you have to follow to get to the end. Here’s what you need to know about how to upgrade a faction merchant in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

How to upgrade faction merchants fast in Dragon Age The Veilguard

A Veil Jumpers merchant in Dragon Age, a female elf with brown hair.
Speak with any faction vendor after unlocking them to examine their upgrade requirements. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The way you learn about a faction merchant’s upgrade path is by speaking to them at their preferred location. For example, the Veil Jumpers’ merchant is at the Veil Jumper camp in Arlathan Forest, one of the first areas you unlock and can gradually explore after you unlock the Crossroads in The Veilguard. These upgrades come with various material requirements, and you may need to acquire enough faction reputation before the next rank is available.

Easily the most challenging part of upgrading a faction merchant is having enough faction reputation, but you can improve this as you work through your playthrough. The best way to gain faction reputation is by selling valuables to a particular merchant or by completing side quests you can find in their region or close to their headquarters. Some primary missions may also come with faction reputation rewards. The Veil Jumpers have several quests you can complete as you work through the main story, but you must visit Arlathan Forest to track them down.

Selling valuables to faction merchants in The Veilguard
Offering valuables to faction merchants is an effective way to improve your reputation with them, and you get gold. Screenshot by Dot Esports

The quests won’t always be available. You may need to return to the faction regions to see if new ones open up as The Veilguard campaign develops and more things unlock. Selling valuables is an extremely effective way to give you a fast track to unlocking more faction merchant levels, and you also get gold from the exchange, which is a huge benefit.

You won’t be able to grab everything when a region unlocks during your campaign. Returning to these areas after you’ve finished more story missions, especially when you progress side quests with your companions, is better. Speaking to them may unlock opportunities to meet these factions more often. Earning reputation with the faction your Rook started with will always be much faster than the others, as well. You want to keep this in mind when creating your character at the beginning of the game, as your faction cannot be changed after you start.

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Zack Palm
Zack Palm has been writing about video games for the past five years. He spends his free time trying to learn about a new board, reading high-fantasy series, or working on his latest DnD character.