How to romance Emmrich in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Find love eternal with Emmrich.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Emmrich romance might seem a bit macabre at a glance, what with all the dead people Emmrich talks to.
However, it's a chance to get to know one of Dragon Age: The Veilguard's most sensitive and thoughtful companions more closely, and even better, his personal quest is rich with Nevarran lore and Thedasian philosophy about life and death. For that alone, it's worth spending time with Emmrich, even if your heart is set on someone else.
This guide explains how to romance Emmrich, but if you're after some general Veilguard relationship tips, head over to our Veilguard romance guide.
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How to unlock Emmrich in Dragon Age The Veilguard
Emmrich is one of the final companions you recruit in the latter half of the first act, about 17 missions into Veilguard's main story. After you meet up with Davrin and deal with the situation in Minrathous or Treviso, you'll have two quests to choose from - The Dragon Slayer and Where the Dead Must Go. You meet Taash in The Dragon Slayer and team up with Emmrich in Where the Dead Must Go.
You can complete either one first, though if you recruit Emmrich early, you can take him with you for The Dragon Slayer and get an extra little bond boost with him.
While you don't have to be a Mourn Watcher to recruit Emmrich, Watchers do get several extra dialogue options during conversations with the necromancer. Those include some that automatically increase Emmrich's approval, even if they aren't tied to a branching choice or responding to something personal Emmrich says. He just appreciates having a fellow, sympathetic Watcher nearby.
How to romance Emmrich in Dragon Age The Veilguard
As with all Veilguard romances, improving your relationship with Emmrich has four main components. The first is just taking him with you on quests. Like with all of Veilguard's companions, Emmrich's bond and approval rating will increase once you complete a side quest or main story quest with him as one of your active companions.
The second part involves speaking with Emmrich and getting to know him better. Emmrich is a devoted necromancer who respects the dead and cherishes the belief that souls who return from death retain elements of themselves. During your conversations with Emmrich, always support his beliefs. Never mock the dead, disrespect necromancy, or show disgust at what he does, and if you're part of the Mourn Watcher faction, choose the Mourn Watch dialogue option every time. These are sometimes only available behind the question mark icon at the bottom of the dialogue wheel, so make sure to check all your choices before committing. Make sure to choose the option with a heart icon whenever it shows up as well.
Emmrich is also a gentle and considerate man who dislikes violence as a problem solving method and appreciates when people show compassion toward one another. Bear that in mind when Emmrich is present while you make certain choices, such as how to deal with the First Warden during the Weishaupt mission.
If you complete Emmrich's quests and show him kindness during conversations, you should have little trouble raising his affection quickly, even if you do make some choices he disapproves of. Should you find that not to be the case, you can tackle Nevarra's faction quests, such as Restless Spirits, with Emmrich as a companion. Completing objectives during these quests also increases Emmrich's approval rating, though it's not required to romance him.
After the House of the Dead in Emmrich's personal questline, you should have an option to start an event conversation with Emmrich in his room. During that dialogue, Emmrich will say 'Especially if he's/she's/they've shown unexpected interest in a new companion.' You have four responses. Three continue the relationship as a potentially romantic one, and the other shuts it down immediately. The three you can pick to continue romancing Emmrich are:
- I like your way with words
- I do find you dashing
- I didn't expect your kindness
Then, during the Arrangements outing, you have a chance to commit yourself to Emmrich.
Where to find Emmrich's gift in Dragon Age The Veilguard
The third part of romancing Emmrich is buying him a gift. You can buy Emmrich's present - the Haunted Statuette - from Vorgoth the merchant in Nevarra's Necropolis Hall. The merchant spirit is in the center of the Necropolis' starting area, where you rang the bell during Where the Dead Must Go, and the statuette costs 60 gold and 10 Flawless Crystals.
Purchasing it automatically starts the quest 'Fit for a Necromancer,' and you only need to speak with Emmrich to hand over the gift and end that quest.
How to complete Emmrich's personal quest in Dragon Age The Veilguard
The fourth part of romance Emmrich is his companion quest. Emmrich's personal quest explores the necromancer's relationship with life and death, his greatest fears, and the fate of his reanimated skeletal servant Manfred. The first part should become available after you complete Where the Dead Must Go and return to the Lighthouse. However, at least two optional conversations with Emmrich become available at the same time. You should take part in those as well, but you'll have to leave the Lighthouse and return to force each event and then the quest to appear.
The first quest is Walking the Graves, an 'outing' mission. It's a quiet, laid-back quest with no combat where you and Emmrich complete simple tasks and get to know each other a little better. It takes a while for his second quest, House of the Dead, to unlock, though. You'll need to complete the first act - which ends with the Siege of Weishaupt - and then either the Cobbled Swan or On Deadly Wings, depending on which city you chose to help earlier in the game. When you return to the Lighthouse after that, you should be able to start House of the Dead, though you may need to leave the Lighthouse and return a few times like before.
Emmrich's quests naturally require you to take him along. If you're playing as a Death Caller, we recommend equipping non-necrotic skills for this one. The Darkspawn that appear have necrotic resistance, so between your skills and Emmrich's, you'll be at a steep disadvantage if you don't diversify. Bring someone such as Davrin or Taash along as your second companion, so they can take advantage of your foes' fire weaknesses. If you're having trouble deciding how to build a non-Death Caller Mage, check out our Mage build guide and Evoker build guide.
After that quest is when the opportunity comes to express romantic interest in Emmrich. Just make sure not to pick 'Let's stay friends.'
Arrangements is Emmrich's next personal outing. It should become available after completing the Fire and Ice main quest - though again, you may need to leave the Lighthouse and return to make the icon appear - and it's an important moment in your relationship. Choose 'Never lonely' when Emmrich says 'What would they have wanted me to be,' and you'll lock yourself into a committed romance with the necromancer. That means you can't romance anyone else for the remainder of the game.
The Sacrifice of Souls is another proper side quest, where you and Emmrich continue seeking Hezenkoss' Lantern after the encounter with the Rogue Necromancer during House of the Dead. The undead enemies in this quest and the final boss are all weak to necrotic spells, so bear that in mind when deciding which skills to equip.
The final part of Emmrich's quest is Will and Testament, and you have an important choice to make during it that determines Emmrich's Veilguard ability. Without getting into spoilers, the choice involves whether Emmrich completes a personal transformation or chooses to save Manfred. If you let Emmrich transform, he learns a skill that makes all his abilities inflict necrosis and increases the damage of every ally's status ailment attacks. If he saves Manfred, he gets an ability that increases how much damage the party deals when Rook is at low health - the state where the screen takes on a red tint.
Enjoy your time with Emmrich!