Hauntings: Deathly Curiosity

Learn how to start and complete the Hauntings: Deathly Curiosity side quest in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Includes boss fight strategy for Burgeoning Malice.

Alright, let's dive into the Hauntings: Deathly Curiosity side quest in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. First things first, you'll need to have recruited Emmrich by completing the main quest Where Dead Must Go. Once he's in your party, head over to The Lighthouse and chat with him. This will unlock the Unwelcome Guests side quest and, crucially, give you access to the Necropolis Halls as an explorable area.

Now, fast travel to the Necropolis. Make your way to the Hollow Belfry, Lower area, and find Myrna. She's the one who will hand out both the Restless Spirits and our target quest, Hauntings: Deathly Curiosity.

Defeat Burgeoning Malice

Ideally, you'd just head south from the Hollow Belfry to The Spectral Court to face your target. However, that door is sealed from this side. So, your path will be a bit more circuitous. Head northeast towards the Path of Sighs. From there, you'll need to navigate southeast, then southwest, and finally west. Along the way, you'll encounter and need to defeat the first group of Venatori enemies – these are part of the Unwelcome Guests quest. Make sure to tear down their barriers to progress. Keep pushing through, and you'll eventually reach your destination.

Once you arrive at The Spectral Court, you'll find your foe, a skeletal mage named Burgeoning Malice, waiting for you. This enemy acts like a mini-boss, though it's notable for the lack of any additional enemies (adds) supporting it. To compensate for this, Burgeoning Malice unleashes a barrage of magical attacks. It can store and fire up to five blue bolts and three red bolts, and it can even launch these simultaneously. Don't worry too much about the damage from these bolts; they're easily dodged by simply moving sideways. Their main purpose is to keep you on your toes and distract you from its other abilities.

Beyond the bolts, Burgeoning Malice can summon arcane lances that spin on the ground, create a field of red crystals around itself (which is a deterrent for melee attackers), and unleash smaller area-of-effect (AoE) red spikes from a distance. It can also conjure a T-shaped line of spikes on the ground. If these attacks sound familiar, it's because they're similar to those used by elite Venatori mages. This suggests where this spirit's 'burgeoning malice' comes from! Like most undead enemies, Burgeoning Malice has a barrier that needs to be broken, and while it's quite durable, it's not overwhelmingly so. Remember, undead are typically weak to necrotic damage and resistant to cold, so play to those strengths.

After you defeat Burgeoning Malice, it will drop a chest. For our playthrough, it contained a Researcher’s Coat. Upon its defeat, you'll also earn 350 EXP. Once you've dealt with the spectral mage, return to Myrna. She'll reward you with an additional 400 gold and +250 Mourn Watch Strength. She'll then mention another haunting, which kicks off the next quest in the series: Hauntings: Restless Dreams.