Hauntings: Restless Dreams

Guide to completing Hauntings: Restless Dreams in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Learn how to find and defeat the boss Nocturnix in Arlathan Forest.

Alright, so you've finished up the first 'Hauntings' quest, 'Deathly Curiosity,' and reported back to Myrna. Good job! She'll hand you the next one in the chain, Hauntings: Restless Dreams, right then and there.

This next haunting takes us to a new area: Arlathan Forest. You'll need to fast travel there first. Once you've arrived, make your way to the Ruins Reach beacon. It's the one just north of the Veil Jumpers camp. From that beacon, head straight north. You're looking for Nocturnix, and you'll find him chilling near a wolf statue. Don't get too excited, it's not one of the active Fen'Harel statues, just a regular old wolf one.

Now, about Nocturnix itself. Unlike some previous enemies that might have felt a bit lacking in the minion department, Nocturnix is never alone. Expect to have at least one Undead Warrior buddying up with it at all times. If you manage to take them down, Nocturnix will just summon more. Because of this, it's usually best to just ignore the lesser undead and focus your attention squarely on Nocturnix. Trying to deal with them will just distract you from the main threat.

Nocturnix plays the role of a more traditional mage enemy. Its direct offensive power is a bit dialed back, which makes sense considering it's got a constant swarm of adds. When it's not busy summoning more undead pals, it'll be slinging necrotic bolts at you. These come in two flavors: the standard auto-fired bolts that hover around it before launching one by one, and more potent blasts that look similar but are cast much less often. Be warned, it can do both of these at the same time! If you get too close, it'll also unleash an Area of Effect (AoE) blast of necrotic energy. So, give it some personal space!

While the Undead Warriors are easy enough to dispatch, Nocturnix itself has some staying power. It's got armor that you'll need to break through before you can start chipping away at its actual health. Like most undead, it's weak to necrotic damage and resistant to cold. If its attacks hit you, they'll almost certainly apply a stack of necrosis, but honestly, Nocturnix just doesn't hit hard enough to be a major threat on its own. Just keep your focus on it, dodge its bolts, and you'll be fine.

Once you finally put Nocturnix down for good, it'll drop a chest. Inside, you'll find some gear – for our mage Rook, it was the Fadelight orb. You'll also net 350 EXP. After that, head back to Myrna. Reporting in will earn you another 400 gold and +250 Mourn Watch Strength. This questline will go quiet for now, but don't worry, more 'Haunting' quests will pop up later, especially after you complete 'The Siege of Weisshaupt'.