33 réponses à ce sujet

[The Great Avatar]

Whats up? I'm bored and want to try somthing new. Bilding an arcane warrior seems like a very new type of play style and I'm just about at ostagar right now so nows a better time than any to start shapeing the Arcane beast. What skills and talents should I focus on? Is there any types of magic that will help my cause? Please I'll consider any sugestions (about the Acane guy of couse)

PS: Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I'm not feeling to well.

[Xyrus7]

Creation spells is definitely useful. Its best to select skills and talents to put up you def, str and will. For build it depends, party build(fighter-mage) str/will/mag, solo build str/mag/con and a little bit of will. You can find a lot of gear that can put up willpower. As for armor medium or higher. Weapon of choice is 1h and shield, for second weapon slot staff.

Modifié par Xyrus7, 16 janvier 2010 - 05:48 .

[Hahren]

You don't need strength as an arcane warrior. You'll want a high magic stat as a primary ability. You may want to raise dex to about 20, and willpower to about 20-30 depending on your second specialization. Mostly go with magic though.



As for skills max coercion, and even maxing out the combat training tree will give you a bit more accuracy/armor by rank 4. As for spells go for whatever you want. Arcane warrior can easily trivialize the game.

[Caozen]

If you're truly wanting to get the most out of your character, I'd advise taking a look at this chart:



http://dragonage.wik...or_Spellcasting



The problem with Arcane Warriors and Spells is that for many of them, you'd have to sheathe your weapon before casting. Doing this repeatedly in the middle of a fight isn't advised, so it'd be a good idea to concentrate on grabbing those spells with which you can cast with a melee weapon out for maximum efficiency. Luckily for you, most of the spells that fit this category are fairly useful.



If you're wanting to tank with your Arcane Warrior, you're going to want to concentrate on your Magic and Willpower alone. Dexterity's nice, but if you're not going the dual-wielding route, there's no need to put any more in than what you get from the Fade. The same goes for Cunning (Coercion). Making sure you can cast and maintain your sustainables is of far more importance, since that's your defense. This is a matter of opinion, but dodging is for Warrior tanks in my mind.



For your tank, I'd recommend Spirit Healer as a secondary, although Blood Magic might help with it's CC.



If you're wanting to do some damage, I'd recommend you pick the Blood Mage as your secondary specialization choice. The utility it provides will make you more useful to your party than being just another auto-attacking brick wall. You'll have to build yourself into a rather deep niche if you want to dual-wield, meaning a sacrifice of another stat to build up your dexterity a little (Preferably Willpower. You'd only need enough to grant you your sustainables. The rest of your magic can be channeled through Blood Magic.) Since there's no passive talent available for Arcane Warrior to use a main-hand weapon in the off-hand, your only choice is to use daggers.



The best daggers can be used at a dexterity level of 30, I believe, which is all the better since you're not going to want to miss many attacks either way. Whether or not you decide to take your dexterity that far at the detriment of your other stats is up to you. This is a necessary sacrifice if you're feeling the need to do more than sub-par damage, unless you think using Two-Handers is a good idea. I've never tried it myself, but you wouldn't need as much in Dexterity.



For equipment, regardless of your playstyle, you must-must-must obtain the Spellweaver. This sword is one of the best you can obtain for an Arcane Warrior, and will last you for an exceptionally long time. If you're interested, here's a link:

http://dragonage.wik...iki/Spellweaver



I'm starting to wonder if I've missed anything. I most certainly didn't expect this post to be this long, since I'm using Quick Reply. I guess the only other bit of advice I can give you is to use Medium Armor or something as a damage-dealer. Less Fatigue is a good thing.

[Vae_Victis]

I'm starting to wonder if I've missed anything. I most certainly didn't expect this post to be this long, since I'm using Quick Reply. I guess the only other bit of advice I can give you is to use Medium Armor or something as a damage-dealer. Less Fatigue is a good thing.

Heavy armor is best. Usually Evon the Great's chest with Wade's Superior Dragonscale boots and gloves. The +Stamina regen counts as +Mana and is worth the little bit of extra fatique. Spellward for neck, Andruil's Blessing for belt, Lifegiver and Key to the City/Ring of Ages/Wicked Oath for rings.

The Blood-Gorged Amulet can be awesome if your Blood Mage as well since you don't care about the -3 strength.

Also if your on PC there are several mods the make all spells not sheath your weapon.

[exeter33]

am i the only one who made an arcane warrior who whiffed constantly? great damage when he landed, but he whiffed more than my archer. is it possible that magic affects my ability to equip and damage in place of strength, but not my hit rating?

[Caozen]

Whiffing is annoying, yes. And you're correct about Magic, which is why Dexterity seems like such a necessary attribute.



This is why I personally feel this specialization just isn't up to snuff with the others. It has the potential to be excruciatingly game-breaking in that you're practically the Juggernaut, but concerning damage, and synergizing well with that role, there's too much of an attribute spread.



Using Blood Magic would require a lot of Constitution, which means a sacrifice in Willpower or Magic, which would mean less damage overall and/or less of a magic-pool to draw from for sustainables. Added onto this is if you're dual-wielding, or would like to be able to actually hit something for a change, which means a further split of the attribute spread for Dexterity.



...Hybrids are frustrating.

[Xyrus7]

Hahren wrote...

You don't need strength as an arcane warrior. You'll want a high magic stat as a primary ability. You may want to raise dex to about 20, and willpower to about 20-30 depending on your second specialization. Mostly go with magic though.

As for skills max coercion, and even maxing out the combat training tree will give you a bit more accuracy/armor by rank 4. As for spells go for whatever you want. Arcane warrior can easily trivialize the game.

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

[Joseph Silver]

Each point of Strength and Dexterity increases your attack score by 0.5. For an Arcane Warrior, each point of Magic only increases attack by 0.2. This may make you think that Arcane Warriors are underpowered, but they're not; they're heavily SAD (Single Ability Dependency), and can get away with never pumping any stat but Magic.



By focusing on Magic to the exclusion of other stats, your spells are more powerful, your sword deals more damage, and you can wear the best armor much sooner than the warrior who has to balance Strength and Dexterity. You don't need Dexterity for defense since your defensive buffs (Arcane Shield, Combat Magic, etc.) make your virtually impossible to hit. Seriously, 25% evasion at level 16, on top of everything else, Bioware?

[Hahren]

Xyrus7 wrote..

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

That note doesn't help to fix the fact that adding strength for an arcane mage is still pointless.

[Xyrus7]

Hahren wrote...

Xyrus7 wrote..

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

That note doesn't help to fix the fact that adding strength for an arcane mage is still pointless.

I still don't know how to put it in simpler terms for you (might want to read next sentence slowly ) . I (quote) am telling him a build for a MAGE THAT GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ENEMIES [NOT RANGED] USING A ONE HAND SOWRD AND SHIELD (quote). Its just another way of hitting harder with physical hits. Unless you can just tell or explain however much your mage hits. Also don't hold back tell your highest hit too.

P.S. Adding strength also allows you to wear medium and higher armor, think i stated that in the first post if you read it thoroughly.

Modifié par Xyrus7, 17 janvier 2010 - 03:49 .

[Xyrus7]

Caozen wrote...

If you're truly wanting to get the most out of your character, I'd advise taking a look at this chart:

http://dragonage.wik...or_Spellcasting

The problem with Arcane Warriors and Spells is that for many of them, you'd have to sheathe your weapon before casting. Doing this repeatedly in the middle of a fight isn't advised, so it'd be a good idea to concentrate on grabbing those spells with which you can cast with a melee weapon out for maximum efficiency. Luckily for you, most of the spells that fit this category are fairly useful.

As for the sheathe your weapon problem, just go to this link http://social.bioware.com/project/683/ it cancels that problem out. Its a real life safer

[Ygolnac]

I am playing an AW, sword and shield, and every lvl i spend 1 point in willpower and 2 points in magic. Never gave a single point in dex or cun (only fade points)

I find it VERY OVERPOWERED, so much overpowered i had to installe the nightmare plus mod or i just run through every enemy i met.

You want to have the following spells all actvated at once:



-Arcane Shield (boosts def)

-Flaming weapons (if you have flame runes the flaming spell adds dmg to yor weapon aanyway)

-Frost weapons (same as above)

-Rock Armor (boosts armor)

-Haste (increases attack speed)

-Telekinetic weapons (adds armor penetration)

-Spell wisp (increases spellpower, and so also attack value for an AW)

-Miasma (decreases enemy def and atk)

-Death Magic (aoutomatically drain life points from dead bodies on the ground)



You will also have access to a large number of other usefull spells, like life drain for example, and use them only on certain situation.



Also you can

1-equip a staff and a normal mage vest

2-pull the enemies with an undead you previously summoned in a strategical place

3-cast quake/greese ON YOUR PET, then start with AoE

4-when you get attention from enemies, pause the game, equip a MASSIVE armor, enable all the spells i've mentioned before and wait for your enemies.



Doing so you can solo run the entire game in nightmare difficulty, 100% guaranteed.

You can tank way better than ANY warrior if you like to have a party

If you want to be a DD spend some point in dex, dual wield dagger with haste and flaming/frost weapons and you are a killing machine



Actually AW is so flexible i think it's the most powerfull class in ferelden, the ones that say AW is not powerfull simply don't know how to use it.

[dkjestrup]

Xyrus7 wrote...

Hahren wrote...

Xyrus7 wrote..

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

That note doesn't help to fix the fact that adding strength for an arcane mage is still pointless.

I still don't know how to put it in simpler terms for you (might want to read next sentence slowly ) . I (quote) am telling him a build for a MAGE THAT GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ENEMIES [NOT RANGED] USING A ONE HAND SOWRD AND SHIELD (quote). Its just another way of hitting harder with physical hits. Unless you can just tell or explain however much your mage hits. Also don't hold back tell your highest hit too.

P.S. Adding strength also allows you to wear medium and higher armor, think i stated that in the first post if you read it thoroughly.

What? With Combat Magic you can use your magic score instead of your strength score to equip armor or weapons. Magic also adds to damage. 

[Mr_Raider]

There is NO argument to add a single point in strength. I adds nothing to an aw. You are better off pumping magic or dex. Dex will give more defence and a better hit rate, magic will give a smaller increase in attack but more damage.

[Ygolnac]

Xyrus7 wrote...

Hahren wrote...

Xyrus7 wrote..

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

That note doesn't help to fix the fact that adding strength for an arcane mage is still pointless.

I still don't know how to put it in simpler terms for you (might want to read next sentence slowly ) . I (quote) am telling him a build for a MAGE THAT GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ENEMIES [NOT RANGED] USING A ONE HAND SOWRD AND SHIELD (quote). Its just another way of hitting harder with physical hits. Unless you can just tell or explain however much your mage hits. Also don't hold back tell your highest hit too.

P.S. Adding strength also allows you to wear medium and higher armor, think i stated that in the first post if you read it thoroughly.

If there is any doubt on the matter: adding strength to AW is ABSOLUTELY USELESS in any way you want to use your AW.
This should be carved in the pillars of heavens.

For DEX it's debated, but even if i never tried myself, bringing dex to 30 and equip dual daggers with haste on is reported to be REALLY effective if you want to just melee with your AW.
By the way, if you want to use Sword & Shield you can melee pretty well without needing to spend points in DEX, but go to the fade ASAP becouse, yes, DEX help AWs.

2Handed is without doubt the less powerfull DPS wise, and you need DEX there again 'cos you cant miss the few times you swing. But for RP pourposes it completely doable and enjoyable, and you don't need STR also in this case.

Modifié par Ygolnac, 17 janvier 2010 - 04:23 .

[Jono564]

The only caution regarding an Arcane warrior is they can't use a lot of activated spells. I have 2 arcane warrior/Spiritual healer mages. One of them for example has 27 willpower (including items) and this allows me to run Cleansing Aura, Shimmering Shield, Combat magic, Rock Armor, Flaming Weapons & Arcane shield. The other mage has a bit more willpower and runs Miasma.

The point though is after you get all your sustainables cast there is nothing to do but auto-attack. They don't put out insane damage but they are durable and simply don't die. On nightmare setting I can run a single arcane warrior into a pack of 4-5 monsters and solo them without using potions. (not talking about Elites or Bosses, just your typical enemy you encounter). I love having one or even two in the party but enjoy controlling other specs/classes more because they require you to press more buttons.

Modifié par Jono564, 17 janvier 2010 - 07:18 .

[Mr_Raider]

Jono564 wrote...

The only caution regarding an Arcane warrior is they can't use a lot of activated spells. I have 2 arcane warrior/Spiritual healer mages. One of them for example has 27 willpower (including items) and this allows me to run Cleansing Aura, Shimmering Shield, Combat magic, Rock Armor, Flaming Weapons & Arcane shield. The other mage has a bit more willpower and runs Miasma.

I assume you have a pre-patch game? Shimmering shield now drops out when your mana is drained.

[Hahren]

Xyrus7 wrote...

Hahren wrote...

Xyrus7 wrote..

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

That note doesn't help to fix the fact that adding strength for an arcane mage is still pointless.

I still don't know how to put it in simpler terms for you (might want to read next sentence slowly ) . I (quote) am telling him a build for a MAGE THAT GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ENEMIES [NOT RANGED] USING A ONE HAND SOWRD AND SHIELD (quote). Its just another way of hitting harder with physical hits. Unless you can just tell or explain however much your mage hits. Also don't hold back tell your highest hit too.

P.S. Adding strength also allows you to wear medium and higher armor, think i stated that in the first post if you read it thoroughly.

I'm not the one with a reading comprehension problem here. As others have stated in response to your comment here... strength is replaced by magic. You do not need to put a single point into strength to wear armor *if* you are going with the arcane warrior specialization. The very first talent "Combat Magic" changes all equipment from a strength requirement to magic. Maybe you should load up one of your games and try reading the descriptions of the abilities. Dragon age wiki also has the information listed.

[warmaster1300]

Ygolnac wrote...

Xyrus7 wrote...

Hahren wrote...

Xyrus7 wrote..

NOTE: In parentheses (fighter-mage)

That note doesn't help to fix the fact that adding strength for an arcane mage is still pointless.

I still don't know how to put it in simpler terms for you (might want to read next sentence slowly ) . I (quote) am telling him a build for a MAGE THAT GETS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ENEMIES [NOT RANGED] USING A ONE HAND SOWRD AND SHIELD (quote). Its just another way of hitting harder with physical hits. Unless you can just tell or explain however much your mage hits. Also don't hold back tell your highest hit too.

P.S. Adding strength also allows you to wear medium and higher armor, think i stated that in the first post if you read it thoroughly.

If there is any doubt on the matter: adding strength to AW is ABSOLUTELY USELESS in any way you want to use your AW.
This should be carved in the pillars of heavens.

For DEX it's debated, but even if i never tried myself, bringing dex to 30 and equip dual daggers with haste on is reported to be REALLY effective if you want to just melee with your AW.
By the way, if you want to use Sword & Shield you can melee pretty well without needing to spend points in DEX, but go to the fade ASAP becouse, yes, DEX help AWs.

2Handed is without doubt the less powerfull DPS wise, and you need DEX there again 'cos you cant miss the few times you swing. But for RP pourposes it completely doable and enjoyable, and you don't need STR also in this case.

So you would recommend a sword and shield over dual wielding? Would you say Spirit healer or Blood Mage is better as a second specialization? I made mine AW/BM with sword and shield using spellweaver with grandmaster slow rune and grandmaster paralyze rune. That worked well but I dont think I distributed my stats well and my mage wasnt as good as I hoped.

[Mr_Raider]

Sword and shield is more defensive and allows you more slots for stat boosts. Dual wielding is more offensive, and requires a thinner stat spread since you have to split point between dex and magic. It will be a less powerful caster than the sword and board you just dumps everything in magic.



BM vs SH is a good debate. If you go BM, you get access to the best crowd control spell in the game. It also requires 3 talent investments. However you have to micromanage your hp better.



SH gives an excellent passive bonus, and even if you only take the first level talent, you will have extracted the best this class has to offer. If you go SH, I suggest you get your corwd control spells elsewhere, from the entropy or frost line.

[DJ0000]

exeter33 wrote...

am i the only one who made an arcane warrior who whiffed constantly? great damage when he landed, but he whiffed more than my archer. is it possible that magic affects my ability to equip and damage in place of strength, but not my hit rating?

Did you have combat magic active, that seems to up your hit rate from about 2% to 90% (in my experience anyway).

P.S. blood magic + AW= what is essentially a god

[Fanghorne]

I do put some points in dex once my magic hits 50 unbuffed and item free. I find that even with combat magic on, arcane shield etc etc...i do miss alot.

[DJ0000]

I only put about four or five points on dex and that was after level 16/17. Does me playing on PS3 increase my hit rate? All I know is combat magic makes me hit enemies much more.