Dragon Age: The Veilguard – How To Beat Despair, Undying (Boss Fight)

Several hidden Achievements for Dragon Age: The Veilguard is associated with side quests in explorable areas and one of the main ones, attached to the Grey Wardens faction and Antoine and Evka’s side quests, is called In Peace. To unlock this Achievement, Rook must face Despair Undying, a Despair Demon boss that can only be found by backtracking to the site of a main story battle while exploring and completing side quests in the region.

Despair Undying is an easy boss to miss, and it is unique among other Despair Demons and bosses in Dragon Age: The Veilguard because it cannot be defeated in combat alone. Rather than fighting, Rook must find a way to restore peace and hope. Here’s how to permanently defeat Despair Undying and unlock the In Peace achievement in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Where To Find Despair Undying

Seek The Site of a Great Battle

Despair, Undying can be found in the Hossberg Wetlands in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. It only appears after the main quest, Fire and Ice, has been completed and can be found in the Blighted Shallows region south of the Hossberg Wetlands.

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In the center of the battlefield where Rook fought during Fire and Ice, and frozen in ice, is the demon Despair Undying. Approaching it will cause it to attack, and it will also summon undead to fight alongside it. It fights like a conventional Despair Demon, though it has some stronger stats as a boss. Rook can fight Despair Undying, and once it is slain, it will speak a cryptic line about Despair’s pervasiveness.

How To Defeat Despair Undying

This Boss Can’t Be Defeated in Combat

As the name and cryptic final words imply, Despair Undying cannot be permanently dispatched in combat. It will constantly reappear in the same spot once Rook leaves the area, no matter how many times it is fought and slain. Rather than repeatedly fighting it, Rook must find a better way to dispel despair for good. This requires them to find and present three azure flowers to the demon’s spirit form to restore hope to the Blighted region.

Rook will naturally come upon the first of these flowers upon completing Antoine and Evka’s side quest, Something’s Coming, in the Hossberg Wetlands. They will need to interact with the flower near the tree in the Sheltered Glade to harvest it. The locations of the remaining two flowers are not marked on the map or denoted by quest markers. Their locations appear below:

• In the Old Crossroads, northeast of the Fast Travel Point and just southeast of the Gate of Parched Hopes in DA: The Veilguard
• Just east of the Gaspin Manor Fast Travel point at Solitude’s Edge, in a small, easily missed cave

After picking all three flowers, Rook should return to the Blighted Shallows and will find Despair Undying, no longer a Despair Demon but now in Spirit form. Approaching the Spirit will not trigger an attack, and Rook can interact with it to Place the three flowers at its feet and ask what it is doing there. It will speak about hope, and it will no longer become hostile and pose a threat in the area.

Rewards For Defeating Despair Undying

Unlock a Hidden Achievement and Collect High-Level Loot

The main reward for defeating Despair Undying is the hidden Dragon Age: The Veilguard Trophy/Achievement, In Peace. However, a chest contains evil loot in each of the three areas, and one of the harvestable flowers is present. The cave near the Old Crossroads holds a chest containing a Unique armor piece or weapon, and the cave at Solitude’s Edge contains a regular chest with a random Rook gear piece.