What are the best talent build, skills, specializations, and gear to make Alistair the best sword-and-board tank?
Force of nature mods. Note: I am playing the Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition. So I have all the DLC and Awakening.
Brett White
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SgtOJSgtOJ
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2 Answers
I'm playing through Dragon Age: Origins again with this specific goal in mind, so I'll outline what I've done:
Overview
I've found letting Alistair run on auto-pilot works really well. The aggressive behavior, combined with the tactics loadout described below, makes the AI pretty smart and hands-off. However, you really need to make sure you have a good Spirit Healer (like Wynne) backing him up.
So I've built him around me not having to do anything with him: prioritizing his tactics load-out and passive skills.
Build
Obviously, Alistair is going to be a warrior. You're locked in with the relatively useless Templar specialization, but once you reach 14 and can choose a second, definitely pick Champion.
Leveling Priority
Alistair starts with:
I then chose the following as I leveled:
This should take you to level 20-ish. Note you don't need Master Combat Training until you get Shield Mastery, so spend your skill points on Combat Tactics to make sure you can use your abilities.
Tactics
As mentioned above, I didn't want to micromanage Alistair, so I used the following to handle pretty much every encounter. Note because of my reliance on a dedicated healer, Alistair does not use any sustainability/survival abilities.
Equipment
Equipment choice is not particularly difficult, and I've found you don't need to worry about min/maxing to make him effective, so I'm not going to bother with a mostly unnecessary list of exact gear you need to have. Generally:
Final Thoughts
It's really hard to unintentionally mess up building Alistair: there are so few 'tanking' choices in the game that you'll eventually get everything you need by level 15-ish anyway.
Ultimately, it comes either micromanaging Alistair as your de-facto main (which takes practice), or a decent tactics load out (specified above) if that's not your thing.
Finally, I can't stress enough how much a sword and board tank like Alistair needs a good healer. If you're not interested in giving up a slot for a dedicated healer, it's going to be very difficult to keep Alistair effective.
Acknowledgements
The above is an amalgamation of various different guides I've found, notably:
I've confirmed the viability and effectiveness of this advice by using it myself.
user3389
I know this is an old question but I came across user3389's advice above and, while it's good, there are a couple of issues worth pointing out to anyone who stumbles across it:
Don't bother putting strength past 42 (enough to equip the best gear) for a tank. A tank is not a damage dealer; he's there to draw aggro and be unkillable. You might also want a few points in willpower so he doesn't run out of stamina - the right gear can do this too - but otherwise everything else should go into dexterity. This makes the tank harder to hit, which is the best way to boost survivability and ensure that he needs less healing.
Spare a point for the 'second wind' talent. With massive armour and a couple of sustains on, your tank's stamina will drop quickly. Keep second wind up your sleeve for when you need your tank to taunt or disable enemies to save your squishier buddies.
Don't set auto tactics to switch between shield wall and shield cover. It's a waste of stamina and casting time. Anyway, shield cover is rubbish compared to shield wall and even shield defense. Stick with shield wall all the time UNLESS you want to keep both threaten and rally up and you find you're running out of stamina too quickly. In that case I would still prioritise shield defense over shield cover if you can afford it. Note that the shield wall damage penalty apparently doesn't work, making it even better.
In addition, don't set your tank to taunt when enemies are attacking him. That's the whole purpose of taunt. Set him to use it when enemies are attacking weaker party members. Finally, save a tactics slot for using a health poultice if his health drops below 25%.
Otherwise, the advice above is sound.
JamesHJamesH
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Other Classes and NPCs / Detailed Information on Equipment used and how to get it.
Everyone’s playing style differs. I can’t swear this is going to work for everyone, but I decided to make some posts sharing my class building experiences.
Please note: Playing DA:O on the PC and on the PS3 / XBOX can be a totally different experience. PC players are able to pause in the middle of combat, swing the camera around for new views, select targets, and order the characters to do something when you unpause the game. PS3 players must rely more on their combat tactics because they don’t have that option for the most part. You can somewhat pause by using the shoulder button and the radial menu on the PS3 but it wasn’t the same by any stretch when I played. I don’t know anyone who plays this on XBOX so I can’t speak for them. I’m guessing it’s more like PS3. These tactics may not work at all for a console player.
I tend to play on Easy (okay … I’m a wimp… but that’s important to know. When I get bored with Easy and advance I’ll make other posts. Strategy and tactics will be different on harder modes.)
Although any race can be effective, your highest stats for this character will come from a Dwarf or a Human.
Dwarves get +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +2 Constitution and 10% Chance to resist hostile magic.
Humans get +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Magic, +1 Cunning
Elves: +2 Willpower, +2 Magic
(Source Dragon Age: Origins manual.)
This is probably my least favorite of the builds, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad one. I like to be really interactive by constantly throwing spells or using the Skills / Talents. This build doesn’t have as many options for good offensive attacks so it’s never been my favorite. It is great for someone who doesn’t want to deal with a lot of extra clicking and wants to just go out and kill stuff, however, and there is some strategy to using it.
While Dexterity is said to keep you from being hit, I haven’t noticed that it makes all that much difference in my “tanks.” I may be completely wrong about this, but like I mentioned, I’m sharing my experiences.
I put most of my points into Strength to use the best single handed weapons as well as any armor I choose.
At level 25, my Warden had:
Base strength: 66
Base Dexterity: 29 Base Constitution: 29
I only put enough into Cunning to get the Survival and nothing into Willpower or Magic. All of these had bonuses and boosts for going through the fade and doing the various quests. Equipment also helps, naturally! Never go adventuring in your underwear unless you’re really just that good.
Talents:
Shields: Obviously you’ll want these, as that’s what makes this Warrior different from the 2 handed version.
Warrior: I took those, but I seldom find myself using them. Perhaps if I play on harder difficulties someday they’ll be more useful. I tried some of the skills which help with damage, as well as drawing enemies toward my Warden. Either the enemies ignored him or it didn’t seem to matter much. They might work much better for other people, but in spite of the load screen which says you can control the battlefield with them, I didn’t find them very useful. If you’d like to read more about strategy, the WIKI has an interesting article.
Beserker: I didn’t use this much, either, but did find it more useful than the Warrior talents overall. Some of these are also passive, and you can deal out a lot of damage if you use them.
Reaver: I generally only take this for the base +5 Physical Resistance and +1 Constitution. These are just as useful as the next tree in their way, just be careful with Blood Frenzy. It hampers healing as well as giving you a bonus.
You can also look into Templar, which I’ve also used on my two handed warrior build.
Power of the Blood: This can only be unlocked by using Avernus’ research in the DLC Soldier’s Peak. Much like Blood Magic, I wasn’t fond of it because it constantly decreases health which cannot easily be regained for what it gives. Some people may find this more useful than I do, but it didn’t do much for my playing. I wanted to try it out because I approach DA as an RPG and do what I think my characters would do. This one was one of the few who was willing to use Avernus’ research. Most of mine are too moral for their own good and often end up dead at the end of the game. ?
Archery: You can use this if you want to not be in the center of the action and back off. Personally, I leave that to my Rogues. I needed somewhere to put the points, so that’s where they ended up.
Skills:
5 in Combat Tactics – always a must for my characters no matter who they are so their attacks aren’t interrupted.
5 Persuasion – What can I say, he liked getting his own way. This helps you pay less, convinces (or bullies) people into helping you, and can keep you out of some trouble with your party members. Some quests are only possible with Persuasion, too. I normally put 2 blocks into it to begin with, focus on finishing Combat Tactics, and come back to Persuasion to finish it.
Survival – This is the “I have nowhere else that’s useful to put points” line. For PS3 or XboX players you may want to drop this for Combat Tactics. PC players may find that more useful too, but I normally pause and manually tell my party what to do as often as let the AI run them. You do need 1 or 2 blocks to do the quest about the sick Halla in the Dalish camp, but that’s a really, really minor side quest. Persuasion can finish it, as well, although you only get the full story with Survival. It’s not an important one, so if you need the points elsewhere, definitely use them.
Stealing? – Yes, one in stealing so Slim’s quests in Denerim will trigger. Because this isn’t a Rogue, you’ll need your Persuasion to finish one of them. If you don’t care about those side quests, you won’t need this. The second point was at the very end of the game and I was tired of seeing the + sign next to him. I’d planned on using either a Mod or the books in the vanilla game to respec him in Awakenings, anyway because they have some new things I wanted to put my wasted points into.
Building: I started with strength for armor / weapons and the shield tree. I also started getting his dexterity up to finish the shield talents. Once that was done, I focused on Warrior, Beserker, and whatever else.
I usually get Persuasion up to 2 then focus on getting Combat Tactics up to 5. After that I finish Persuasion, add a Stealing, and finish with Survival.
Tactics: The best attack you have is Assault from your Shield tree. This is an aggressive / rapid attack. Overpower and Shield Bash are also both useful, although didn’t seem to do the damage of Assault. Shield Bash can be very useful for getting monsters using Overwhelm off your party members. Shield Bash them and they often are knocked off the pinned party member.
I used Shield Wall most of the time to keep from being knocked over by fireballs (used by my mage or the enemy) and enemy attacks which normally bowl the Warden over.
Favorite Equipment:
Sword: Starfang. You can get this through the Easter Egg “Superman quest” if you have the Downloaded Content Warden’s Keep. (Read about it the WIKI for more information.) I had it crafted into a 1 handed broadsword. The Keening Blade (dropped in the side quest Unbound), Topsider’s Honor (a side quest in Orzamarr), and Blightblood (from the Darkspawn Chronicles) have all served me well, too.
Favorite Armor: Blood Dragon Armor. If you don’t have that, any heavy armor which protects well is helpful. I had his strength high, and didn’t seem to have much trouble with fatigue, even with the really heavy sets.
I sent him to Awakening wearing Wade’s Dragonbone set and the helmet Rock Knocker (gives a +25 Physical Resistance.)
Other sets I use are the Juggernaut set (found in the Brecillian Forest and the Werewolf ruins), the Warden Commander set from the Soldier’s Peak DLC. I wait until I’ve leveled some so that it’s heavier. According to the Wiki you can upgrade it by putting it in the chest outside, going to camp, returning then getting it back out. I’ve never tried this, however.
Shield – The best shield in the game is dropped by Gygax in the side quest Unbound. However, due to a bug, it’s not nearly as helpful as it could be. The healing is bugged out unless you get the unofficial mod (which I’ll be trying myself, today.) This shield is not always easy to get. I’ve had Gaxkang drop it the first time I’ve killed him, but I’ve also killed him over and over for 45 minutes trying to get him to drop it and had no luck. It’s random and occasionally frustrating. Most any shield will work. Use one you find along the way or buy in a shop if you don’t want the hassle or it’s too early in the game to get Fade Wall.
Amulets / belts: I usually go with something which helps boost resistance to elements. Spellward is a favorite (bought from the dwarf merchant in camp) but has a hefty price on it. I’ve also used Anerin’s Token (gift to the party when you complete Wynne’s personal quest) and a belt with 10% fire resistance when being toasted by dragons.
Rings: Life Giver and Ring of Ages. Both can be bought in shops for the vanilla (non modded) game. Note that sometime I’ll put those rings on my party members if they can help them more, and I’ll use something which gives extra damage. Again, there’s a glitch on the healing effects similar to above, but I still like them.
The Team:
I normally run with a Rogue, Mage, Sword / Shield Warden, and either Sten, Shale, or Oghren. Having 2 Shield Warriors in my group has worked when I played a Rogue with Ser Gilmore and Alistair in the party, but I normally pack one mage for healing and spells, one rogue for getting open locks.
Because this particular Warden was one of my more evil ones, I ran with Morrigan, Zevran, and Shale. They tended to be more accepting of his choices. Had I been playing more of a “Boy Scout” I’d have taken Leliana and Wynne because they tend to approve more of those kinds of actions.
Zevran is pretty neutral except in a few areas, although he’s more useful if you use the Respec Mod and trigger him earlier. (There’s links on my Mod’s page if you need them.) If you consider these cheating or are on the console, then I use Leliana until I get Zev and build him up for lock picking when I’ve got a Warden that everything out of his/her mouth gets me “Leliana disapproves -X”.
If they’re a nicer Warden or romancing Leliana, then Zevran gets to spend most of his time at Camp.
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A Hard Knock LifeDragon Age’s classes are set up around the same basic three-class system which most RPGs have been using for years. Rogues are there for utility powers and high damage, mages are there for ranged damaged-doing and crowd control, and warriors are there to take huge amounts of damage while giving back as good as they give.
Warriors are particularly important in Dragon Age due to the game’s reliance on tactical combat. Letting your party be surrounded is a bad idea, and having good warriors capable of keeping an opponent at bay is critical. This guide is focused on the creation of a warrior as the player character, but the advice here is also applicable to the NPC warriors you can recruit in the game.
Statistically speaking…All new characters have 5 points to spend in attributes at character creation time and then they gain three points for attributes for every level gained. Where you want to place those points depends on what kind of warrior you’re trying to create. Strength and Willpower are the most important stats for warriors who are looking to be a wrecking ball on the battlefield. The main reason to boost strength is to boost weapon damage with melee weapons, but strength also makes it more likely an opponent will fail a physical resistance check against one of your attacks. Willpower should not be overly boosted, but it can be important because it increases the warrior’s stamina pool. Dragon Age Origins 2h Warrior Build NightmareDefensive warriors will want to be most concerned with Dexterity and Constitution. Dexterity is known to have some effect on chance to hit and physical resistance checks, but the main bonus for a warrior is the increase in the warrior’s defense rating. Constitution increases the hitpoints of the warrior by 5 for every point of constitution added. Note that some degree of balance is likely to be desired. For example, a two-handed warrior shouldn’t completely forget about constitution and place all points into strength. SubclassesWarriors, like all classes, can specialize into sub-classes later in the game. Note that NPC warriors usually come with their subclasses already picked. Dragon Age Origins Warrior StatsThe berserker subclass is focused entirely on damage. Entering this subclass gives a bonus of two strength and ten resilience and access to four subclass specific talents. Two of these talents increase damage at cost of stamina, and the other two help reduce the stamina penalties incurred by the first two talents. Templars are mage-killers. They gain a +2 to magic and +3 to magic resistance upon entering the subclass. The Templar’s four talents are focused towards draining mana from opponents and beefing up the party’s defenses against magical attacks. Champions are warriors who rise to be leaders in combat. They gain a subclass bonus of +2 to willpower and +1 to cunning. All of the Champion’s four subclass talents are area of effect buffs or debuffs. Reavers are warriors with a mean streak. They gain a subclass bonus of +1 to constitution and +5 to physical resistance. Two of the Reaver’s subclass talents allow the Reaver to do increased damage in trade for a penalty to health. Reavers also can heal themselves using corpses of fallen opponents and force enemies to cower in fear. TalentsThe warrior talents are divided into four main sections. The first section is the general warrior tree which works no matter what the warrior is armed with. These talents are not as exciting as some of the weapon-specific talents, but they are still very useful and some, like Threaten (which taunts enemies) are basically required. The first weapon specific talent section is the Dual Weapon category. The talents in the Dual Weapon category are focused on allowing a character to use two weapons more accurately and on special attacks which allow the warrior to attack with numerous strike in a small period of time. Dual Weapon warriors can be very deadly, but don’t have a lot of control over the battle due to a low number of crowd control talents and no real defense talents. Sword and Shield, the second tree, focuses on the traditional sword-and-board warrior. It has one offensive line and two defensive lines. The most useful trait of the Sword and Shield talents is that a warrior who specs heavily into these talents will be able to take talents that make him or her entirely immune to flanking attacks and extremely resistant to incoming arrows. The Two Handed section focusing mainly on doing a large amount of damage in one big hit and also focuses on debuffing enemy armor and knocking enemies prone. Like Dual Weapon warriors, Two Handed warriors don’t have much when it comes to defensive bonuses. However, they do have a very effective low-level knock down, Pommel Strike, and Stunning Blows. This makes them somewhat more tactical when compared to the sheer offensive fury of a Dual Weapon warrior. This post is part of the series: Dragon Age Origins Warrior Class Guides
Read this collection of guides to maximize your play as a warrior in Dragon Age Origins.
One of the first companions you gain in 'Dragon Age: Origins,' Morrigan has access to several powerful elemental trees as a mage. Depending on your class, there are two primary ways you can take her: the damage route or the healer route. Like any other mage, Morrigan lacks the essentials needed to withstand direct attacks, so it's not possible to bulk her up as a tank. Global unique identifier network address.
Morrigan's Primary StatsDragon Age Origins Warrior Build Sword Shield
As a mage, Morrigan primarily focuses on two main attributes: magic and willpower. Depending on how you want to build this party member, the attribute you'll focus on will vary. Magic bulks up spellpower and mental resistance, but spells that use heavy amounts of mana demand a bigger pool; that's where willpower comes in. Each point of willpower increases Morrigan's maximum mana, letting her pull off more attacks before running out.
Spirit Healer
Rather than have Wynne act as the party's healer, you can learn the art from a tome from the Wonders of Thedas store in Denerim, opening the option for Morrigan. As a spirit healer, Morrigan gets a boost to magic and access to new abilities. Unlocking the Revival ability is essential; this lets a fallen party member get back up in the middle of combat, giving you a second chance to end the battle. With Group Heal, Morrigan helps heal some of the wounds of the group. If coupled with the Blood Mage specialization, be sure she stays on the outskirts of battle; the constant toying with her health bars leaves her far too vulnerable to be near enemies.
Elemental Fighter
It's not necessary to focus on specializations; Morrigan can wreak plenty of havoc with the Primal tree. Be sure to unlock the high-level fire and ice spells; having a mixture of Inferno and Blizzard creates devastating conditions for any enemy who dares cross your path. Just make sure to pay attention to positioning if you play with friendly fire enabled; otherwise the elemental damage won't discriminate on the battlefield. For added damage, unlocking Chain Lightning helps with group settings, giving Morrigan an aggressively powerful build.
Blood Mage-Shapeshifter Hybrid
Often a result of tweaking for Nightmare difficulty, hybrid trees can create powerful combinations with incredible results. In Morrigan's case, her natural shapeshifting ability and the Blood Mage tree can give her a major advantage. Using the abilities in the Blood Mage tree destroys enemies but draws health as a resource instead. When she runs low, have Morrigan shift into a Flying Swarm. You must unlock the Master Shapeshifter ability to access this. When you do, she'll regain the health needed to unleash her blood magic once again.
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