Bloodbath is one of Lucanis' quests in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and has you exploring Treviso before plunging into the heart of a blood-soaked conspiracy. Literally, this quest takes you to a literal bathhouse full of oozing blood, and as it reaches its slippery, sour conclusion Lucanis is one step closer to helping the Crows wrestle back control of the city.

The final battle of this mission is against a level 32 mage, Zara Renata, (so you might want to leave it a while after it unlocks, (which is likely when you're in the late 20s for levelling), and Zara is Vulnerable to Cold damage, so you should bring Neve along too.

Find The Venatori Hideout

Follow the quest marker through the market to the door, but it will be locked. Climb the nearby wall on the right, and keep climbing the boxes and ledges on the back wall until you reach the balcony. Here, jump to the hanging wooden platforms to cross over to the next building.

Here, you'll fight three Venatori, though Neve's Cold damage should make short work of them. Climb the wooden trellis then drop down inside the building to fight two more Venatori.

Inside, interact with the table on the back wall, next to the golden cloth drape. While there are lots of unhelpful Venatori notes in the area, this one progresses the quest.

Exit through the door, climb back up the trellis, and head through the door. Follow the path to the edge of the roof and grab the zipline on the right. Drop down off the roof, over the bridge, and fight two Valotaar in the square. After this, continue through the stone archways, and all the way along the path until the next bridge.

Cross it, then turn right as the building stops. In a tucked in flower bed, climb the trellis, then the ladder at the top of it to reach the roof.

How To Defeat Aquila

Aquila is a level 30 boss, so he can be tough to take down. But he is not too different from a standard Venatori mage. Dodge or deflect his ranged attacks, and use ranged attacks while the energy balls above his head charge up. Hitting his head gives extra Weakpoint damage.

He has a Venatori soldier by his side, but he should be taken out quickly by Neve. Any time be glows red, dodge away as he is about to produce damaging red spikes. You should also get ready to dodge when all five glowing orbs appear.

When he drops to half health, he will teleport downstairs, so leave and drop down to finish him off.

Enter The Chantry

When the fight is over interact with Aquila's body for the Chantry key. Drop out of the building and follow the marker to the door, where you'll be prompted to start the Bloodbath quest - which is weird, because you're already on it. The reason is you didn't actually need Lucanis for this part of the quest as there are no cutscenes, but from now on, you do.

Head up the ladder and out onto the roof, then up the ledge on the right before dropping down to Illario. If you invite Illario with the Thumbs Up response, Lucanis will disapprove. Therefore, you should say Lucanis said no to get his approval. Either way, Lucanis will insist Illario stay behind.

Drop off the roof to the ledge on the left, then down the ladder, and continue to the chantry door. Inside, you will face a few of Zara's underlings before meeting her.

Defeat Zara's Subordinates

First up is Porcia. Use a ranged attack at their head when the fight begins, then focus on thinning out the Venatori with Neve's Cold attacks. Porcia is just a stronger than average Venatori mage, so Weakpoint headshots, crowding them before their Barrier refills, and Cold spells are needed here. They can also summon Undead Warriors, and these are Vulnerable to Lucanis' Necrotic damage.

After Porcia, head through the chantry to the library. In here, interact with the bookshelf to reveal a hidden tunnel, and climb down the ladder. Down here, you'll fight one Venatori soldier then continue to the end, climb up, and head out into the courtyard, where you face Faustus.

Just as Porcia was a stronger than average mage, Faustus is a stronger than average soldier. Deflect his strikes and use Neve's Blizzard before he teleports to keep him in place and strike hard with Charged Heavy attacks or Abilities. There are two Venatori mages who can be taken out with ranged attacks too.

Inside, there are two more Venatori soldiers, and then you'll face two stronger than average Venatori shield fighters, Nonus and Decimus. While these don't call other Venatori to their side, they are very tough and should be dealt with through Charged Heavy attacks and ranged attacks at their head Weakpoints, as well as any area Abilities. After this, continue through the corridors until you meet Zara.

How To Defeat Zara Renata

Zara doesn't have Armor or Barrier, but that's about the only quarter given by her. Her attacks are hard and swift, slashing at you with twin scythes, and she teleports around the arena rapidly, while still attacking from range. She also summons several Venatori to her aid - so how do you deal with her?

One key strategy comes from Neve. Her Blizzard attack will freeze Zara in place, limiting her ability to teleport for a short while. Blizzard should be used in conjunction with any area Abilities your Rook has, as Zara will simply teleport away if they're used at any other time.

When Zara is Frozen by Blizzard is also a perfect time to use ranged attacks on her head for Weakpoint damage. While Blizzard is not the only strategy here (Lucanis' Abilities can strike while she teleports and trigger Detonations), you should mainly focus on the Venatori whenever Zara is not Frozen.

This is because while Zara doesn't have Barrier, she can still get it by drawing on the power of the Venatori. When a blue bar appears over her red health bar, that means she's using their power. You will see a mage with a blood trail floating out of them - attack them to break this bond, and Zara will lose her Barrier. If you aren't fast enough, Zara keeps this Barrier until you remove it with ranged attacks.

Venatori will appear throughout the battle, which is another reason to cut them down quickly.

Without the Venatori around, Zara attacks more slowly, giving you time to chip away at her health bar. She has three main attacks to watch out for:

• Scythes (deflect or dodge when she glows red and swings at you from close quarters)
• Blood missiles (dodge sideways when glowing yellow arrows target you)
• Blood eruption (dodge back quickly when a red circle appears around her)

What Are The Rewards For Bloodbath?

After the battle, a cutscene develops Lucanis' and Spite's relationship, and takes you back to the Lighthouse. Here, you get a Corvid Cloak for Lucanis and 2,250XP, 400 gold, and 100 Antivan Crow strength for yourself.