Dragon Age: The Veilguard has multiple factions and affiliated merchants to visit for upgrading party gear. However, it is necessary to first gain their trust through the earning of Faction Strength, and upgrade the merchants themselves.
This Dragon Age: The Veilguard guide is all you need to know about fully upgrading any given faction’s Merchant Rank.
Factions
There are six distinct Factions to choose from:
- The Grey Wardens
- Veil Jumpers
- Shadow Dragons
- Lords of Fortune
- Mourn Watch
- Antivan Crows
These factions all have a home city or region that falls under their sphere of influence.
The initial choice of faction may have some bearing on conversation trees, especially with a companion from it, but will not bar you from interacting with other factions. That choice will, however, speed the gain of Faction Strength with that particular faction over the course of the campaign.
There are also combat perks to be gained by affiliating with each faction, and some cosmetic exclusives.
Faction Questing
While your party may naturally earn Faction Strength for multiple factions over the course of the main questline, the ideal way to target and improve any given faction relationship is by performing their faction-specific quests within their region of influence.
Faction-Affiliated Companion Questing
Your party companions also have personal ties to factions, and their own quests can lead to an increase in Faction Strength.
Trading
Faction Strength is also gained while disposing of items at a given faction’s own merchant. While these increases are relatively small, they add up as you trade away large quantities of junk and loot.
Each faction’s merchant is also on the lookout for particular items for trading, and prioritizing these items for trade is the most efficient use of loot for Faction Strength improvement.
That’s everything about increasing Faction Strength in order to fully upgrade a faction’s Merchant Rank in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.