Time Weaver

Overview

The Tempest Archer is the bow build that turns Rogue from “plink from the back” into a boss-melting machine. By chaining Tempest flasks with Throwing Blades, you create long windows of zero-cooldown, zero-stamina burst where targets simply evaporate. It’s also one of the safest Nightmare builds: you dictate distance, vanish whenever needed, and can make yourself practically unkillable on demand. If you like high APM bursts, precise windows, and obscene single-target damage with enough tools to survive anything, this is the Archer to run.

The beauty of this setup is flexibility. If you decide to swap to Dual Wield mid-run, most of the core Tempest engine (flasks, poison, Pin Cushion) carries over with minimal respec. But as a bow build, it shines hardest: Elgar’nan’s explosive arrows feed Pin Cushion, Throwing Blades scales absurdly during Flask of Fire, and Flask of Lightning hands you five seconds of risk-free setup whenever you want it.

Dragon Age Veilguard Rain of Fire Spellsword skill tree – Arcane Shot, Storm Surge, Meteor, Energy Burst, Spirit Blade, Void Blade

Early Game

Rogue’s first ten levels can feel underpowered on Nightmare. You won’t yet have the stats, gear, or Tempest engine to burst. Your job is to stay wide, pick priority targets, and lean on simple, high-value archery skills.

Core early kit:

  • Long Shot — Your primary opener and early nuke. The farther you are, the harder it hits; try to operate beyond 25m whenever possible and snipe enemy mages/archers instead of tunneling tanks.
  • Explosive Shot — Your AOE button and a setup for Pin Cushion later. Use when enemies clump or to knock troublesome targets off balance.
  • Leaping Shot — A lifesaver versus melee. Treat it like a shotgun/escape hybrid: blast at close range to chunk health and create space.
  • Throwing Blades — The late-game star already does great single-target work. Use sparingly early so it’s ready when it matters.
  • Stealth — Your panic button. Drop threat, reposition, or wait out cooldowns; this is a huge part of why the build feels safe on Nightmare.

Early Gear Priorities

Crafting beats most early drops. Since range plus Stealth already keep you safe, lean offensive: crit chance, crit damage, Dexterity, and Cunning. Don’t overbuild defense—you’ll get far more value by deleting threats quickly.

Optional Early Respec

Once you unlock Tempest, consider an Amulet of Respec: drop Long Shot and Stealth if you like the pure flask-blade cadence. It’s not required, but it tightens the rotation and “refunds” you a couple levels’ worth of points.

Early Levels

Level

Spell/Passive

2

First Blood

3

Death from Above

4

Leaping Shot

5

Explosive Shot

6

Caltrops

7

Looked Like It Hurt

8

Cheap Shot

9

Throwing Blades

10

Precision Targeting

Equipment

Item

Details

Primary Weapon

Elgar’nan Enaste

Location

Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects

Helmet

Superior Skirmisher Hat

Location

More then doubles your damage at the cost of additional mana

Armor

Superior Prowler Armor

Location

Additional fire damage and mana resource

Ring 1

The Hand that Cuts

Location

Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact

Ring 2

Ring of Slicing

Location

The best armor piece in The Veilguard, provides longer advantage duration, +10% damage for EVERY advantage (you will typically always have 3+), makes the advantages more effective and most importantly heals you for +5% when gaining an advantage which will offset the self damage of Maw of the Black City

Amulet

Malikas Guard

Location

Makes your abilities a guaranteed critical hit at the cost of our health, this issue is completely negated by Garb of Kinship & Twin Buckle Binding

Belt

The Bind that Guides

Location

Extra Fire Damage

Equipment Overview

This build scales brutally with the right bow and crafted offense.

Armor:

  • Superior Skirmisher Hat + Superior Prowler Armor for the best offensive/utility slot spread.
  • Slot crit chance to ~40%, then push crit damage and Attack. Dexterity/Cunning fill nicely.

Bow:

  • Elgar’nan’s Recurve is best-in-slot thanks to explosive arrows. Each explosion contributes extra hits to Pin Cushion, turbo-charging Throwing Blades windows.
  • Can’t get it for a while? Use Grunmund’s Bow from the Black Emporium as an excellent interim option.

Accessories:

  • Prioritize rings/amulets/belts that add crit chance, crit damage, and ability damage.
  • Stamina sustain is far less critical here because Flask of Fire removes costs during burst; mobility/defense trinkets are optional comfort picks.

Runes & crafting notes:

On armor, consider materials that add on-hit procs or raw Attack; on weapons, lean into materials that scale per-hit since Throwing Blades and Elgar’nan both multiply hit counts.

A High damage rune (choice by enemy type/area) pushes boss melt.

How to Play Late Game

Specialization: Tempest

Tempest converts you from good archer to controlled demolition.

Flask of Fire (upgrade): The core of the engine. For five seconds, your abilities cost no stamina and have no cooldown; with Ride the Storm, chaining flasks extends uptime by three seconds. Pair this with Throwing Blades and you’ll unload a blizzard of knives at machine-gun speed.

Flask of Lightning: The time-dilation tool. Everyone else slows; you remain full speed for five seconds. Use it to walk into Throwing Blades range without danger, to finish a target, or to set up clean burst windows.

Flask of Frost: Your insurance policy. ~85% damage reduction for five seconds and a chill/freezing punish for enemies who tag you. Whenever positioning gets scuffed, tap Frost and calmly reset.

Key passives:

  • Ride the Storm — Use a different flask before the current one ends to add +3 seconds. It’s how you chain Lightning → Fire for long, bloodless burst phases.
  • Pin Cushion (Archery) — More damage per hit on the same target; Throwing Blades plus Elgar’nan’s explosions ramp this frighteningly fast.
  • Poisoned Weapons — A simple, big multiplier that stacks beautifully during Fire windows.

Focus: Thousand Cuts. Extremely high single-target focus that deletes bosses or elite threats on command. It’s one of the few focus abilities that consistently outperforms “doing your rotation better.”The Tempest Archer revolves around creating safe time and spending it with Throwing Blades.

  1. Open with Flask of Lightning → Poisoned Weapons.
    You have five seconds where enemies practically don’t touch you. Use this to walk forward into Throwing Blades range while firing basic shots and tagging your target.
  2. Swap to Flask of Fire (chained).
    Because you changed flasks before Lightning ended, Ride the Storm extends the window. Now unload: spam Throwing Blades. With no cooldowns and no stamina costs, you can delete high-health targets in seconds. Pin Cushion stacks rapidly from constant hits (and from Elgar’nan’s explosive arrows later), while poison ticks push damage even higher.
  3. If anything’s left, Leaping Shot disengage.
    Use Leaping Shot to burst and create distance; take its upgrade that grants stealth on use. This instantly drops aggro, lets you breathe, and buys a moment for flasks to roll back. If enemies are still standing, pick off stragglers with Throwing Blades once Fire is back, or simply repeat the Lightning → Fire chain.
  4. Emergency button: Flask of Frost.
    If something unexpected presses you—shock troops, boss phase change, getting cornered—Flask of Frost turns disaster into a shrug. Step out, reposition, and resume the loop.

Two crucial discipline rules:

  • Don’t desync Throwing Blades. The ability feels terrible if it’s on cooldown during Flask of Fire. Save Blades so it is always ready at the start of Fire.
  • Use Lightning to earn distance, not damage. It’s a safety/positioning flask; Fire is the damage flask. Resist the urge to “do everything” inside Lightning—set the table, then feast in Fire.

Boss flow: Lightning for free approach → Fire + Blades for the main burn → Leaping Shot stealth if needed → Thousand Cuts when focus is available. Very few bosses survive a clean Fire window plus a Thousand Cuts follow-up.

Final Levels

Level

Spell/Passive

11

Pincushion

12

Flask of Fire

13

Unquenchable Flames

14

Fury of the Storm

15

Killers Alchemy

16

Flask of Lightning

17

Shot from the Shadows (Leaping Shot)

18

Poisoned Weapons

19

Thousand Cuts

20

Stormrage

21

Flask of Frost

22

Flaskmaster

23

Ride the Storm

24

Infected Wounds

25

Fighting Dirty

Build Snapshot

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