BioWare has surprised Dragon Age: The Veilguard players on PC with a free weapons pack available on Steam.  The "Rook's Weapons Appearance Offer" includes a dagger, bow, shield, sword, and maul, each featuring a distinctive dark, eye-like design.  This limited-time offer is available until April 9th and automatically applies to existing owners and new purchasers of the game.

The release of this free DLC comes after a period of mixed fortunes for Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Despite selling 1.5 million copies by January, the game reportedly underperformed against EA's expectations. This led to layoffs at BioWare, including the entire Dragon Age team, and the cancellation of all post-launch content beyond bug fixes.

While The Veilguard received respectable Metacritic scores in the low to mid-80s for consoles, the PC version fared slightly worse with a score of 76. Many players felt the game lacked the distinct "BioWare magic" that made previous titles like the Mass Effect trilogy and earlier Dragon Age entries so beloved. The game is currently available at a 50% discount on Steam.

This unexpected release of the Rook's Weapons bundle raises questions about other potentially completed content.  Was this bundle finished before post-launch support was cut? Could BioWare release more free content from the cutting room floor?

Interestingly, this free DLC is currently exclusive to PC players on Steam. It remains unclear if it will eventually be available for Xbox and PlayStation users. Given the limited-time nature of the offer and the current lack of discounts on console versions, it's possible it may remain a PC-exclusive bonus.

Steam users interested in experiencing Dragon Age: The Veilguard can take advantage of both the 50% discount and the free weapons pack.  This combined offer is available until March 27th for the game discount and April 9th for the Rook's Weapons bundle.  It presents a compelling opportunity for players to jump into Thedas and explore BioWare's latest fantasy RPG.

Both Avowed and The Elder Scrolls 6 appear to be taking a different approach, potentially offering a deeper connection to the game world, a feature some felt was missing in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.  Time will tell how these highly anticipated RPGs ultimately shape up, but the early signs suggest they may learn from both the successes and shortcomings of BioWare's latest offering.