Contents
1. Introduction
2.Explanation: Willpower>Strength Hybrid Berserker
Warrior & Pure Strength Non-Berserker Warrior build
3.
Stat & Abilities allocation (builds)
4.
Explanation & Mechanics: The ‘Unorthodox’
Pure-Willpower Warrior build
5. Party
Setup/Combinations & Tactics
6. Additional info
The purpose of the explanation is to help you understand the concepts behind the 2 main different builds & the mechanics & explanation behind the 'unorthodox' type of Warrior - so you can compare & contrast and decide which one will fit your preferences more - ignore what anyone says, the way to enjoy a game is to play it the way you want to - smartly however.
Hence this post is made, you're welcome.
Introduction
Basically, there are 2 main warrior builds in terms of attribute allocations:
Strength & Willpower berserker, ( I prefer to call it Willpower Hybrid due to the fact that it's a hybrid, and later on in the game your priority switches to the willpower stat - meaning it's the higher stat)
Full strength (100 str) Warrior (then moving onto dex for crit rate) non-berserker
Just a little note: With the Willpower Hybrid you want to stay AWAY from sustainables, yes - might, control, bravery etc. Any type of sustainable that consumes stamina stay away from - it'll caps your stamina bar; stamina influences your base damage and therefore your damage output. Non-Beserkers feel free to use your sustainables, just don't go crazy as you don't have a large stamina pool so if you like your bust damage stick to 2 sustainables. An advantage with the Willpower/Str Hybrid is that you end up with a large stamina pool so you can auto-hit high damage, and use burst damage for really split-second ownage.
Explanation:
The strength-willpower berserker method involves increasing strength to a respectable level (up to 42) in order to get attack-ratings ~100% (against normal enemies) and to be able to equip end-game weapons, then putting the rest of the attributes into willpower. With upgraded berserk, willpower provides more base damage than strength, as long stamina is kept over 66% full.
note: It would help to have items that are +strength it means you can get closer to/attain 42 without actually investing too much of your actual attributes. You also want to know the benefits of using Anders: His Heroic Aura (&upgraded version - Valliant Aura) will give you 15% attack, 10% crit rate and then some so it'll be valuable to you.
The full strength-dex non-berserker method involves increasing strength to 100, then moving to increasing dex to increase crit rate. Although the berserker build has a higher base damage, the non-berserker can achieve a higher crit-chance and crit-damage from sustains. It also has the advantage of not having to worry about stamina levels.
Pre-patch these builds were about equal, but post-patch the berserker build is considerably more powerful.
In both methods it's advantageous to use elemental weapons and equip as much +%elemental damage and +%critical damage/chance as possible. So in both builds it's worth looking out for these weapons and items:
The Anderfel Cleaver, Bloom, The Celebrant, Sundering, Dragon's Breath
The Edge of Night, The Mountain-Father's Haft, Desdemona's Blade, Sataareth, Glandivalis, Baron Arlange's Sword
Smite, Four-fingered Eddie's Lucky Talisman
Ring of the Ferryman, Puzzle ring of the black fox, Etched ring of the twins, The Graven circle
Seven Deadly Cinch, Master Wyvern Hunter's Belt
For berserkers it can be worthwhile investing a few points into magic in order to equip the robes of unblemished cleanliness for the +%elemental damage, however it probably isn't worth investing the magic and willpower needed for a non-berserker.
That's not to say those are the only item-options - the dogs of war and several other physical weapons make very good alternatives to elemental weapons.
As a very specific, muck-around build, it's possible to have a FULL-willpower build. It has the highest possible base damage, however it has horrendous attack-ratings so it's only good with abilities (which auto-hit) or specific weapons with the special property "Enemies cannot dodge attacks" (Baron Arlange's Sword and The Vague Blade). I personally think that this build is more about doing amusing things like one-shotting the Arishok than a proper build.
While it's always nice to do ridiculous amounts of damage, most of the dps from warriors comes from increasing attack-speed (haste, barrage, fervour, primeval lyrium rune), and the spike damage from abilities should already be high enough to kill most elite enemies.
Abilities
I
would advise starting off with S&S – if you’re really into burst damage
that much you will most likely stick with it through to end-game, however if
you’re a fan of 2H then you can always switch, and respec via Makers sigh to
get 2h skills, I only say that because S&S burst damage wise has better
capability. See for yourself.
I
say this because I find that it’s useful to actually get attacking abilities
that do damage at the beginning of your play-through – I find getting damage
boosting skills such as might or cleave help little as it is not multiplying
anything significant – and so your returns will too will be miniscule, rather
than resorting to low damage auto attacks you’d be better off with some burst
damage (even if small) to get rid of enemies quicker.
I
will be working off Arelex’s template:
Hawke - Two-Hander
Level 1: Maker's Sigh (remove Pommel Strike), Save talent
point
Level 2: Save talent point
Level 3: Mighty Blow, Giant's Reach, Might
Level 4: Control
Level 5: Scythe
Level 6: Cleave
Level 7: Berserker Specialization, Destroyer, Sunder (Tome of
Physical Technique)
Level 8: Berserk
Level 9: Barrage
Level 10: Claymore, Adrenaline (Elixir of Technique)
Level 11: Endless Berserk
Level 12: Unrelenting Barrage
Level 13: Savage Berserk
Level 14: Reaver Specialization, Blood Frenzy
Level 15: Death Blow, Massacre (Tome of Technique)
Level 16: Devour
Level 17: Sacrificial Frenzy
Level 18: Aura of Pain, Fervor (Elixir of Heroism)
Level 19: Bolster
Level 20: Second Wind
Level 21: Deep Breath
Level 22: Last Push
Level 23: Deep Reserves
Again
– I’ll point out this is just a template – as you will find out there are
skills that literally are the backbone of you as a warrior; they are of as much
importance as the stats, however this build isn’t mandatory. You can tweak it
here and there to suit your play-style
if you feel to do so.
For
example I didn’t use much of the battle-master tree – dare I say I don’t think
I used it at all. The only reason it’s fresh in my mind is because I had
Aveline & Fenris use the tree for good ol’ rally. Another skill which is fixed – SUNDER &
RALLY aren’t bugged anymore – so be happy. Anyway so that’s 5 ability points there saved –
like I said it’s your choice (btw remember to put a point into Sunder for 10%+
crit chance) feel free to put extra points wherever you feel it will help ONCE
abilities of priority have been ticked off. The same goes for the S&S tree.
I
must also point out that it is wise to start off with the Reaver tree as your
first specialisation – if you do decide to go for strength before putting in
any willpower this would be the wisest choice – otherwise you can simply work
on str and willpower at the same time. I say this because the Berserker
specialisation drains a lot of stamina – and if your stamina pool isn’t high
enough (or you simply don’t kill enough for your Death Blow to be of any use)
then you’re just going to find yourself trouble most of the time, especially in
harder difficulties.
Hawke - Sword & Shield
Level 1: Maker's Sigh (remove Pommel Strike), Save talent
point
Level 2: Save talent point
Level 3: Shield Defense, Might, Control
Level 4: Perception
Level 5: Taunt
Level 6: Cleave
Level 7: Berserker Specialization, Destroyer
Level 8: Berserk
Level 9: Barrage
Level 10: Claymore, Adrenaline (Bonus from Act 1 Tome)
Level 11: Endless Berserk
Level 12: Unrelenting Barrage
Level 13: Savage Berserk
Level 14: Reaver Specialization, Blood Frenzy
Level 15: Death Blow, Massacre (Bonus from Act 2 Tome)
Level 16: Devour
Level 17: Sacrificial Frenzy
Level 18: Aura of Pain, Fervor (Bonus from Black Emporium
Tome)
Level 19: Bolster
Level 20: Second Wind
Level 21: Deep Breath
Level 22: Last Push
Level 23: Deep Reserves
Remember,
if you’re a non-berserker pure Str warrior, by all means make use of your
sustainables (although don’t go crazy) and utilise control/might and their
upgrades. You can be a little smart here and think about investment/returns in
regards to stat-point allocation, abilities and damage. For example invest some
points into willpower; acquire more stamina and therefore you won’t need to
waste a few points in the battle-master tree just to gain more control over your
stamina problems – in doing so you can use those attribute points to put into
the Warmonger tree and invest in the Bravery talent & it’s upgrades: the
more enemies you have surrounding you basically the more powerful you become –
crit rate and damage wise. Hey, in investing those willpower points you indirectly
increased your battle potential; you not only saved some talent points but you
got some more stamina to use another sustainable – that will increase your
damage in certain scenarios.
You
become very study (due to good armour/DLC armour) nearing end-game, nightmare
won’t be a problem should you use
smart tactics and have a good party setup. A little vulnerability never hurt
anyone though, with that Reaver skill you have there: Blood & Sacrificial
Frenzy your damage increases as your health goes down!
For
those non-berserkers feel free to invest into more trees or try out the Templar
tree - smite, silence and the like are not to be underestimated and are
actually very useful I’ve heard. I have used the tree before but have not
actually taken it upon myself to use it as a main tree or study it for that
matter, so I won’t pretend I know, what I do know is that it can be effective
so try it out at least.
Stat
Allocation
Pure Strength Non-Berserker: Pure
strength is just another term for full strength – which is 100, as the
attribute cap is 100 if I’m not mistaken. You then want to put any other
attribute points into dex to increase your critical chance, as well as getting
your hands on critical chance items to further boost your crit chance.
Willpower>Str Hybrid
Berserker: [/b]Was pretty much covered in the explanation. Basically
you want to get as close to 42 strength as you can, if not 42 – with any +str
gear on (we want to save as much points as we can for willpower). After that
point go crazy with willpower, and keep going, don’t look back. You might want to mix it up whilst you’re levelling
up so you have a little more stamina to use berserker first if you do follow
the ability/skill build.
Mechanics and
tips regarding the Full Willpower Berserker Build (Unorthodox)
Here's from his(MrAFK) video:
Link:
"With a fully
upgraded berserk, each point into willpower gives 33% more base damage than
strength (0.75 base damage compared to 0.5)
By putting everything into willpower you can get a base damage more than 33%
higher (due to the base stamina pool). For example I think I had close to 100
willpower which gives 550 stamina (excluding +stamina from items)
(100+90*5=550), or in other words - 82.5 base damage at full stamina.
Additionally, there still is the base damage from strength (mostly from item
modifier's) and the weapon. This is a lot more than a full strength warrior
which has a maximum base damage of 45 + weapon base damage.
The main problem with a full will berserker is horrendous attack-ratings.
However, Baron Arlange's Sword (MotA) has the nifty property of 'Enemies cannot
dodge attacks', which effectively gives you an automatic 100% attack rating.
It has a level dependent electricity base damage (and +%attack speed), bringing
the total base damage close to ~120.5 (82.5+28+~10=120.5); I can't exactly
recall.
==Other Factors==
In order to deal the most damage possible it is essential to increase damage
modifiers as much as possible. Unfortunately, in Act II there is no access to
The Robes of Unblemished Cleanliness or The Ring of the Ferryman (+48%
electricity) so it is necessary to make do just with increasing +%critical
chance/damage and +%damage.
In terms of abilities reaver is good for blood frenzy+ sacrificial frenzy
(which together can give up to +~100% damage) as well as providing useful
attack-speed bonuses and an extra +5% damage from the spec.
Vanguard is also nice with cleave (+75%), however sustains such as might (+10%
damage, +25% critical damage) take up too much stamina (base damage) to be
useful. There is also a +100% damage increase from elemental weakness (desire
demons, revenants, etc)
Items can be used to increase critical chance and critical damage; In terms of accessories
I think I had the puzzlering of the black fox (+10% critical chance), either
the etched ring of the twins or maybe graven circle or something (+critical
damage%), master wyvern hunter's belt (+8% critical chance), and the heart of
many (+4% critical chance). Armour-wise was the item pack gear (~+16% critical
chance).
This meant that although the critical damage% wasn't spectacular (only 60-70%
without might), there was a pretty solid critical chance, especially when you
included a heroic aura and a brand.
In order to deal lots of damage, now combine all that base damage and those
modifiers with an assault CCC. Ideally you would also get the enemy hexed and
branded but it's not always possible"
=======================================================================================
Party
Setup/Combinations & Tactics
Updated soon.
Additional
Info:
Tome & Elixer Locations (taken from Arelex's page) to help you out with getting those much needed attribute points.
Tome/Elixir Locations
Act I
Tome of Technique (+1 Skill)
(Hubert's Fine Goods, Hightown)
Avernus's Experimental Draught (+2 Attribute)
(Dark Epiphany, only if you spared him in Origins DLC)
Act II
Greater Tome of the Mortal
Vessel (+2 Attribute)
(Trinkets Emporium, Lowtown)
Tome of Technique (+1 Skill)
(Ilen's Crafts, Sundermount)
Elixir of Heroism (+1 Bonus
Level)
(Corpse, after meeting with Orsino during Qunari attack)
Act III
Arcane Tome of the Mortal
Vessel (+1 Attribute)
(Korval's Blades, Hightown)
The Black Emporium
Greater Tome of the Mortal Vessel (+2 Attribute)
Greater Elixir of the Mortal Vessel (+2 Attribute)
Elixir of Arcane Technique (+1
Skill, Mage)
Elixir of Physical Technique (+1 Skill, Warrior/Rogue
[b]
Modifié par Legit_Sync, 08 avril 2013 - 02:09 .
Retour en haut
) and I should be able to see some more results. Finally I'm getting somewhere
