13 réponses à ce sujet

[IronTate7]

So I've been going through nightmare mode on Dragon Age 2 for a while, and I'll die a lot, but usually I'll be able to get a win after a couple of tries. This is not the case with the Wraith...I've tried plenty of times and can never even get him down past about 80% of his health. I don't want to have to start the deep roads over. I have Hawke, Varric, Merrill and Anders with me. I'll list their stats below. Both Merril and Varric have a single injury and I'm out of injury kids. I have 3 health potions, 5 lyrium potions, 4 stamina droughts, and 3 Maker's Sighs that I brought just in case I had to respec for such on occasion. On Poisons, I have a Fell Poison, 2 Deathroot Toxins, 2 Crow Venoms, and a Debilitating Poison. I will list my team's stats, equipment (I don't feel like listing accessories), and abilities below:

Hawke (Warrior) lvl 12
Strength - 26
Dexterity - 11
Magic - 10
Cunning - 20
Willpower - 15
Constitution - 20

Abilities - All two-handed skills fully upgraded (aside from the final Whirlwind upgrade - Tornado), Pommel Strike, Blood Frenzy, Devour (with Voracious upgrade)

Equipment: Hayder's Razor/Caskhead's Portable Anvil (I have an Enchanted Shield if I need to switch to two-handed, but no two-handed swords in my inventory. I also have Oath-Breaker, but not enough Strength to wield), the complete Armor of the Fallen.

Varric
Strength - 15
Dexterity - 20
Magic - 10
Cunning - 20
Willpower - 16
Constitution - 20

Abilities - Complete Bianca ability set, Rhyming Triplet, Precision.

Equipment - Bianca (with +14 physical dmg rune), also +21 armor in his duster

Merrill
Strength - 10
Dexterity - 11
Magic - 22
Cunning - 20
Willpower - 19
Constitution - 20

Abilities - Complete Primal ability set (excluding Chain Lighting and Temptest upgrades), Arcane Shield, Wrath of the Elven (with Loss of the Dales upgrade), Ensnare.

Equipment - Stone's Breath

Anders
Strength - 10
Dexterity - 10
Magic - 15
Cunning - 20
Willpower - 26
Constitution - 20

Abilities - Death Syphon, Dispel Magic (Upgraded), Mind Blast (Upgraded), Heal (Upgraded), Heroic Aura, Haste, Panacea, Regroup, Aid Allies

Equipment - Chanters' Staff

Please help me soon. I'm stuck just outside the Wraith's area. If I really have to restart the Deep Roads, I will, but I'd rather not...

Modifié par IronTate7, 10 février 2014 - 04:49 .

[caradoc2000]

I take it you have tried the various strategy collections such as the one in the Wiki? There are also strategy threads here at BSN.

Most of all you need to avoid the red explosion ball attack. Select your entire party and move behind the pillars.

For defense, lightning resistance (runes) are valuable for both the ARW and the profanes.

For offense, spirit and/or cold attacks are a must to counter its high damage resistance.

Modifié par caradoc2000, 10 février 2014 - 05:47 .

[IronTate7]

caradoc2000 wrote...

I take it you have tried the various strategy collections such as the one in the Wiki? There are also strategy threads here at BSN.

Most of all you need to avoid the red explosion ball attack. Select your entire party and move behind the pillars.

I have tried various strategies and read the wiki. I try to keep my ranged people in the corner so that they're safe from most things. I've tried kiting the Wraith, but after a little bit he keeps going after my ranged fighters. I can't seem to get the hang of dodging ANY of his attacks (some of his attacks ridiculously manage to hit me even though I'm halfway across the zone). For some reason after a while he starts attacking Anders even though I have Anders set as Passive and make sure he doesn't attack the Wraith to avoid drawing attention.

[Ferretinabun]

When kiting, always split your party up (one in each corner, say). That way, if/when the target goes after one of your ranged characters, you can kite with them for a bit and you still have two firing away.

Kiting is a very good strategy for the ARW, so I'd say you've picked the best team (you can argue that Aveline is a good addition, simply because she can hold the aggro and take a punch or two, but I'd go with Team Ranged all the way). Simply run around in circles with whoever the ARW is going for while the others shoot from afar. You'll want it to be Hawke for as much of the time as possible, so charge in with him and hit as hard as you can if he goes for anyone else. Then it's just a matter of patience.

By the way, I could be wrong, but your stat points seem very evenly spread. (For example, Merrill and Anders have Constitutions and Cunnings of 20 - have you been boosting them?) I might be completely misremembering the starting stats of the characters, but if you have been evenly spreading, then you've been gimping them. Generally, you want each character to channel their points into no more than two stats: Strength and Constitution for warriors, Cunning and Dexterity for rogues, and Willpower and Magic for mages (except if you want to send Merrill down the Blood Mage route, in which case go for Constitution instead of Willpower). 95-100% of a character's XP points should be channelled into these class-relevant stats, or they will be underpowered.

[IronTate7]

Ferretinabun wrote...

When kiting, always split your party up (one in each corner, say). That way, if/when the target goes after one of your ranged characters, you can kite with them for a bit and you still have two firing away.

Kiting is a very good strategy for the ARW, so I'd say you've picked the best team (you can argue that Aveline is a good addition, simply because she can hold the aggro and take a punch or two, but I'd go with Team Ranged all the way). Simply run around in circles with whoever the ARW is going for while the others shoot from afar. You'll want it to be Hawke for as much of the time as possible, so charge in with him and hit as hard as you can if he goes for anyone else. Then it's just a matter of patience.

By the way, I could be wrong, but your stat points seem very evenly spread. (For example, Merrill and Anders have Constitutions and Cunnings of 20 - have you been boosting them?) I might be completely misremembering the starting stats of the characters, but if you have been evenly spreading, then you've been gimping them. Generally, you want each character to channel their points into no more than two stats: Strength and Constitution for warriors, Cunning and Dexterity for rogues, and Willpower and Magic for mages (except if you want to send Merrill down the Blood Mage route, in which case go for Constitution instead of Willpower). 95-100% of a character's XP points should be channelled into these class-relevant stats, or they will be underpowered.

Thanks for the tips. About my stats - I was trying to get them all to a good number except for the downright unnecessary (like strength for mages), and then I was planning to focus on 2 or 3 of the stats only. I just wanted to give them good health and defense in case monsters start targetting my ranged fighters. I don't want to give a lot of magic to Anders because he's just a healer with buffs. I'll probably have him focus on Willpower and Cunning. If you think I could do with changing my stats, please let me know what you think I should change them to. I DO have 3 Maker's Sighs on me right now, so please let me know if I should change them. I'll do anything it takes to make this fight easier.

Modifié par IronTate7, 10 février 2014 - 06:23 .

[Ferretinabun]

Respeccing is a definite 'yes'. I know it sounds reasonable to give everyone fairly decent base stats, but in this game, min/maxing is key.

You're a 2H, so boost Str/Con at a 2:1 ratio. Varric: Cunn/Dex 2:1, Anders: Magic/Will 2:1 (even as a Heal bot, magic still comes in very useful - also I'd upgrade Haste. That baby is a gem!) Merrill: Magic/Will 2:1 (because you haven't given her Blood of the First. If you do, then respec her again to put all that Willpower into Constitution). This will give you a significantly stronger party.

In the long run you can afford to drop the odd point here and there into willpower if you feel a character's stamina is too low, or into constitution if you feel they are too squishy. But it really is the odd point. As a rule, stick to the two-attribute rule.

Modifié par Ferretinabun, 10 février 2014 - 09:02 .

[JosieJ]

It's better to focus on certain stats than to spread out your points.  Merrill only needs her original amount of points in WIL to hold any sustains you want to give her: Rock Armor, Blood of the First, Wrath of the Elvhen, etc (sustains are percentage-based).  Otherwise she needs high health because she's a Blood Mage: it's her health that fuels her magic.  I always get her CON up to at least 225 (and even better, 250) health.  Her other major stat should be MAG--that provides increases to her damage.  Don't bother with CUN or any other stat.

Anders doesn't need as much health as Merrill (I tend to stop at 180-200 for him), but he does need a few more points in CON than most mages since he will not be able to self-heal while under the effects of Vengeance.  If you want him to be mostly a healer, he'll need lots of WIL to cast a lot of healing spells; if you want him to be another damage-mage, he'll need MAG to provide punch to his spells.

Varric should have enough CUN to open chests at your level (20 for Act 1, 30 for Act 2, 40 for Act 3), then the rest should go into DEX.  If he's going down too often, you can put a couple points in CON, but 20 is overkill.  He's got a bunch of strategies to shift aggro to another party member; you should rely on that instead of trying to make him sturdier.  Try giving him Goad and putting in a couple of tactics to use it when he comes under attack, as follows:  

Self: being attacked by melee or ranged attack-->use current condition for next tactic
Hawke: any-->Goad

As for your overall strategy, if you can kite the ARW effectively, as outlined above, that would be the way to go.  Otherwise, you might have to restart that section (lucky you kept a save).  If you do restart, try using chest armor with at least 1 rune slot.  Use a Rune of Fire Warding for the first part of the Deep Roads, to help with the dragon.  Before you continue to the Primeval Thaig, switch it out for a Rune of Lightning Warding (bring one with you--you can change runes but not make them in the Deep Roads).  I think Varric can also get a rune slot in his armor in Act 1, so set him up similarly.  Also, make a bunch of Elfroot Potions and set up a tactic for all party members to use them at 25% health--this way you won't have to rely on health potions dropping.

(Edit: OK, so I type way too slow!   Basically, what Ferretinabun said.)

Modifié par JosieJ, 10 février 2014 - 10:33 .

[IronTate7]

I tried what you guys said, and it's helped out a little. I've managed to get him down to about 30% of his health. There are some major problems, though, that keep hurting it. For one thing, he keeps going after Anders, which baffles me, as Anders is just standing there minding his own freaking business. All I have him doing is constant panacea so that my guys get healed up and occasionally healing others when needed. I put Anders far away from the battle, and then ARW will come rolling towards him, pushing him into a corner. I don't know why this is happening, but it irritates me, as this was the entire reason I fixed Anders' tactics so he WOULDN'T be considered a threat. Also, Varric is being a complete idiot. I have to keep them "holding position" because if I let them move freely Varric walks right up to the freaking ARW and dies within seconds. This wouldn't be an issue if I didn't have to switch to Merrill sometimes to get her away from the ARW, while in the meantime Hawke just stands there (I gave him Bolster when I respec'ed him so at least he's doing SOMETHING to pass the time). Varric is actually normally the first one to die, which hurts me because I need all of my ranged fighters to bring the ARW down fast. I can always use Regroup, but every time I do they'll have even lower health (and sometimes I'll be stupid and use it while the ARW is right by their bodies so he instantly kills them again with an explosion). I'm going to list my stat changes below, along with any new abilities and what I replaced. Equipment is all the same. I'll also go ahead and list any notable accessories they have equipped:

Hawke
Strength 36
Dexterity - 10
Magic - 10
Cunning - 10
Willpower - 15
Constitution - 21

Ability changes - Replaced Pommel Strike with Bolster.

Notable Accessories - Evra's Trophy Belt, Pendant of the Morning Frost, Hawke Family Crest

Varric - I didn't respec him because I only had 3 Maker's Sighs

Notable Accessories - Evra's Might

Merrill
Strength - 10
Dexterity - 11
Magic - 35
Cunning - 11
Willpower - 20
Constitution - 15

Ability changes - Replaced Arcane Shield with Spirit Bolt

Notable Accessories - The Irons, The Deep Green

Anders
Strength - 10
Dexterity - 10
Magic - 20
Willpower 40
Constitution - 10

Ability Changes - Upgraded Haste instead of upgrading Mind Blast

Notable Accessories - Belt of the Chastened, Amulet of Ashes, Air of Confidence

Also, Hawke is now wielding the Oath-Breaker, as his Strength is high enough to wield it.

Modifié par IronTate7, 11 février 2014 - 12:51 .

[Ferretinabun]

Anders drawing aggro is a little confusing. Is Anders even shooting the ARW with his staff? If so, it is possible that he's doing more damage than you realise (the ARW is vulnerable to Spirit Damage, which is what the Chanter's Staff does. Then again, it is also vulnerable to Cold Damage, which is what Stone's Breath does). It might be worth swapping Anders' and Merrill's staffs just to see if that does anything - if he goes for Merrill, it might be something about spirit damage that particularly draws him. It's a guess, but something to try.

Also, there might be something about Panacea that gets his attention (also a guess). Try turning it off unless you specifically want to use Aid Allies or Regroup.

If this doesn't work, then all I can suggest is going back to just before you respecced (if you can?) and respeccing Varric (instead of... probably Merrill, but maybe Hawke). The Scoundrel tree has some good talents for aggro redirection, such as Armistice, Goad and Brand, to keep aggro off Anders and onto Hawke. I'm uncertain whether they are very effective against a boss as powerful as the ARW, but it's certainly worth a try.

As for positioning the group, yes, that is something you have to micromanage to the nth degree. Have them all hold position, and place them yourselves, taking control of whoever has the ARW's attention, but make sure you keep a very close eye on everyone - they all have a bad habit of doing whatever they fancy occasionally. It is a pain, but I pause-and-position virtually every time the ARW does a new attack. It makes the fight tedious and doesn't 'flow' very well, but it does help to keep on top of it.

One final note - do you have any bombs/grenades in your inventory? They're the sort of thing you occasionally pick up and forget about, but if ever there was a time to use them, it's here.

[IronTate7]

Ferretinabun wrote...

Anders drawing aggro is a little confusing. Is Anders even shooting the ARW with his staff? If so, it is possible that he's doing more damage than you realise (the ARW is vulnerable to Spirit Damage, which is what the Chanter's Staff does. Then again, it is also vulnerable to Cold Damage, which is what Stone's Breath does). It might be worth swapping Anders' and Merrill's staffs just to see if that does anything - if he goes for Merrill, it might be something about spirit damage that particularly draws him. It's a guess, but something to try.

Also, there might be something about Panacea that gets his attention (also a guess). Try turning it off unless you specifically want to use Aid Allies or Regroup.

If this doesn't work, then all I can suggest is going back to just before you respecced (if you can?) and respeccing Varric (instead of... probably Merrill, but maybe Hawke). The Scoundrel tree has some good talents for aggro redirection, such as Armistice, Goad and Brand, to keep aggro off Anders and onto Hawke. I'm uncertain whether they are very effective against a boss as powerful as the ARW, but it's certainly worth a try.

As for positioning the group, yes, that is something you have to micromanage to the nth degree. Have them all hold position, and place them yourselves, taking control of whoever has the ARW's attention, but make sure you keep a very close eye on everyone - they all have a bad habit of doing whatever they fancy occasionally. It is a pain, but I pause-and-position virtually every time the ARW does a new attack. It makes the fight tedious and doesn't 'flow' very well, but it does help to keep on top of it.

One final note - do you have any bombs/grenades in your inventory? They're the sort of thing you occasionally pick up and forget about, but if ever there was a time to use them, it's here.

Anders isn't attacking at all. I've turned him to Passive and don't have his tactics set to attack. I only have him attack to occasionally help kill some of the profanes if it's taking too long. I use aid allies and regroup as much as possible in battle, and the health regeneration is somewhat useful after profanes have been assaulting all of my fighters (since they are usually scattered around and the profanes spawn everywhere). I also apologize, but I would like to correct you that Stone's Breath also does spirit damage, doing 4 more than Chanters' staff. As for respeccing Varric, I did save separately in case I should need to go back and do him instead, but I'm not entirely sure it would help. Respeccing Hawke has given me a noticable dmg boost and giving Merrill spirit bolt and higher magic has helped as well. Anders' Haste has helped on some occasions, and his increased willpower is better (I made it really high because Heroic Aura and Panacea combined reserve 60% of his mana). I'm not entirely sure giving Varric aggro redirection skills would work anyways. Before I decided to give Hawke Bolster, I tried giving him Taunt instead to see if that would redirect the ARW's attention to him, but it didn't, as he continued to go after the others. I'm not sure if I was too far away or not, but I don't think that the ARW can be affected by that.
As for the bombs, I have none. Sadly I used all the combustible grenades I got from the market doing the Hightown gangs mission. All I have are the poisons listed in the above post.

(Note: Bolster is awesome! No more chugging Stamina droughts for Hawke!)

Modifié par IronTate7, 11 février 2014 - 12:34 .

[JosieJ]

I'm surprised at the aggro problems, as well. The ARW does seem to target party members at random, whether they're doing a lot of damage or not, but whenever I've had Taunt on my warrior/tank, it seems to lock his attention on them. All I can do is echo Ferretinabun's advice again: micromanage positioning so that you avoid as much damage as you can and just wear him down slowly.

Edit: Varric has a secret death wish in my games, too.  He always seems to run right into danger!

Modifié par JosieJ, 12 février 2014 - 12:36 .

[caradoc2000]

JosieJ wrote...

Edit: Varric has a secret death wish in my games, too.  He always seems to run right into danger!

It is his story after all. He knows he can't die, otherwise he wouldn't be there years later to tell the story to Cassandra.

[JosieJ]

Well, then, he's conveniently not mentioning all the times he's been left bleeding on the floor, in a state convincingly imitating death, because he's rushed headlong into the line of fire!

[gottaloveme]

Ctrl A and hit the thing when closest to you. When it disappears, hide everyone behind the pillar until the vibration, sound wave thing stops. That is the biggest killer. I think it hits twice. Worked on cas, norm and hard.