191 réponses à ce sujet

[xnarcosysx]

 

@xnarcosyx

These are my go-to builds for all companions, yeah! The only thing I avoid is using a DW rogue, Knight Enchanter or Reaver partymembers. Simply because how the AI works. Otherwise it's all good!

 

I hear Knight Enchanters, when set up properly are used pretty well by the AI.  Some people were saying Vivienne was nearly unkillable.  Would you then suggest going Solas Rift Mage or Dorian Necromancy for the mage party member.  Whoever it is will have barrier and have points in electric if available once specialization is unlocked.

[Duelist]

So I thought I would post my original pre-Skyhold build for everyone to critique on my melee rogue:

1. Poisoned Weapons
2. Ripping Fangs
3. Flank Attack
4. Skirmisher
5. First Blood
6. Dance of Death
7. Easy To Miss
8. Knockout Powder
9. Evasion
10. Evade

A few personal observations:
- I re-specced to go down the Evade side for the Envy Demon.

- Poisoned Weapons finished off my target for me on more than one occasion. Very useful for me.

- The value of First Blood was pretty dubious.

- Flanking Damage was more important for me than any other stat when it came to crafting.

Critique away everyone!

[Matth85]

I hear Knight Enchanters, when set up properly are used pretty well by the AI.  Some people were saying Vivienne was nearly unkillable.  Would you then suggest going Solas Rift Mage or Dorian Necromancy for the mage party member.  Whoever it is will have barrier and have points in electric if available once specialization is unlocked.

 

Solas. Rift Mage means control, weakness and more mana regen. That means less damage and more spells. It doesn't alter playstyle, which is why I do not recommend KE; The AI simply does not utilize the melee aspect with ranged spells. It's subpar.

 

@Duelist_76

1. Poisoned Weapons
2. Ripping Fangs
3. Flank Attack
4. Skirmisher
5. First Blood
6. Dance of Death
7. Easy To Miss
8. Knockout Powder
9. Evasion
10. Evade

 

 

There seem to be a lack of damage here. No Twin Fangs? No Deathblow or Shadowstrike?

Poison Weapon is OK, but not optimal. It's weak early game, and don't really benefit a rogue unless it's a spinning blade (Dual blade tree, left side) rogue. The poison does not stack, and you are not going to change target a lot. The extra damage is hardly noticeable. 

 

I would suggest either 1 of 2 builds for a dw rogue: Mercy Killing build, or the one I got. The first builds on capitalizing on party combos and CC, the latter focus on raw damage in burst. Both works fine. The only issue is deathblow, which can feel sluggish despite its power. 

 

Ranking the most important abilities, in my opinion:

1) Stealth and Flank Attack. Aggro dump, positioning, more damage and more crit with passives? Yeah! Who needs defense with double stealth?!

2) Twin Fangs. High damage, low CD, low cost and it can be used from a little range! I hit for 500 non-crit at level 1. Yeah! 

3) Evade. Moving towards enemies, moving away from bad stuff, evading missile attacks and otherwise looking awesome.

4) Deathblow and Shadow Strike. High damage with benefit! Both got a little minus to them though. Deathblow leaves you staminaless and Shadow Strike is a ****** to hit with.

5) Knockout Powder and Poisoned Weapons. Decent, but situational and not worth a whole lot by itself. Poisoned weapons only shine when you can AoE with it, and the upgrade only benefits fast attacks with low damage multiplier such as Spinning Blade. Knockout Powder is a good CC, but feels redundant unless built around. Stamina is a rogues biggest issue, and we got mages for CC! (Chain Lightning, Winter's grasp, Wall of Fire, Frost Mine, etc). 

 

That said, Nightmare is not that difficult. You can run whatever build you want. If it works, it works!

[zeypher]

K next character is a 2handed templar, dammit i really like 2 handed warriors but this game has gimped em. 

[zeypher]

Is earth shattering strike good? Ive never tried it.

[Duelist]

Solas. Rift Mage means control, weakness and more regen. That means less damage and more spells. It doesn't alter playstyle, which is why I do not recommend KE; The AI simply does not utilize the melee aspect with ranged spells. It's subpar.

@Duelist_76

There seem to be a lack of damage here. No Twin Fangs? No Deathblow or Shadowstrike?
Poison Weapon is OK, but not optimal. It's weak early game, and don't really benefit a rogue unless it's a spinning blade (Dual blade tree, left side) rogue. The poison does not stack, and you are not going to change target a lot. The extra damage is hardly noticeable.

I would suggest either 1 of 2 builds for a dw rogue: Mercy Killing build, or the one I got. The first builds on capitalizing on party combos and CC, the latter focus on raw damage in burst. Both works fine. The only issue is deathblow, which can feel sluggish despite its power.

Ranking the most important abilities, in my opinion:
1) Stealth and Flank Attack. Aggro dump, positioning, more damage and more crit with passives? Yeah! Who needs defense with double stealth?!
2) Twin Fangs. High damage, low CD, low cost and it can be used from a little range! I hit for 500 non-crit at level 1. Yeah!
3) Evade. Moving towards enemies, moving away from bad stuff, evading missile attacks and otherwise looking awesome.
4) Deathblow and Shadow Strike. High damage with benefit! Both got a little minus to them though. Deathblow leaves you staminaless and Shadow Strike is a ****** to hit with.
5) Knockout Powder and Poisoned Weapons. Decent, but situational and not worth a whole lot by itself. Poisoned weapons only shine when you can AoE with it, and the upgrade only benefits fast attacks with low damage multiplier such as Spinning Blade. Knockout Powder is a good CC, but feels redundant unless built around. Stamina is a rogues biggest issue, and we got mages for CC! (Chain Lightning, Winter's grasp, Wall of Fire, Frost Mine, etc).

That said, Nightmare is not that difficult. You can ruin whatever build you want. If it works, it works!

I listed the abilities I took at each level not the most important for me but I should've made that clear.

- Knockout Powder was to previously me whiffing on Twin Fangs or to subdue an enemy long enough that get back to Stealth.
- Poisoned Weapons served it's purpose early on but after Skyhold I find it worthless.
- Deathblow's bug has left me in a precarious position more than once, so I was too wary to take it.
- Shadow Strike I whiffed on one too many times for my liking.
- Evade was just because the Envy Demon was kicking my ass. Twin Fangs and Evade carried the day during that fight.

I agree with your points and, having come across you in other threads, respect your opinion since they're always well thought out.

Thanks for the critique.

[AC4HeavyWeapon]

Matth85 I read earlier about you posting videos on these characters on YouTube and I was wondering what is the channel name

[arkngt]

Does Evasion work with AI off? And, if so, is it worth it? 5% doesn't seem like it should make much difference. But of course, +3 Dexterity is nice.

[zeypher]

Yea not a fan of earth shattering strike, why is my warrior causing wall of fire? The entire skill stands out and does not belong.

[Matth85]

Matth85 I read earlier about you posting videos on these characters on YouTube and I was wondering what is the channel name

It's a WIP! I got a full pre-skyhold-with-Dragon Kill-mage playthrough recorded, and my rogue playthrough is about half done. Though I got so much other things to do at the moment that I don't got the time to record and edit. I'll get them up eventually!

 

 

Does Evasion work with AI off? And, if so, is it worth it? 5% doesn't seem like it should make much difference. But of course, +3 Dexterity is nice.

Evasion is a passive, so it works. 5% is rather bad though. I never pay much attention to it; Evade is the ability I am after!

 

-----------------------

 

And for those asking: I have never tried Earth Shattering. Outside of Mighty Blow and Pommel Strike the 2 handed tree is... well... not the best. It serves its purpose, but it doesn't give what you need; Damage.

[arkngt]

Evasion is a passive, so it works. 5% is rather bad though. I never pay much attention to it; Evade is the ability I am after!

 

Right. Thanks! My DW Rogue had Evade during my last playthrough and she almost never used it. I'll go for the Sabotage passives instead - at least for now.

[Pocket Freye]

What do you think about a Fire + Frost build instead of the usual Fire + Storm? I quite like the defense and Blizzard is a really nice ability in the frost tree, but you do lose out on the god like combos that Static Cage gives.

 

Edit: This is for pre Skyhold AND endgame stuff.

[Matth85]

What do you think about a Fire + Frost build instead of the usual Fire + Storm? I quite like the defense and Blizzard is a really nice ability in the frost tree, but you do lose out on the god like combos that Static Cage gives.

 

Edit: This is for pre Skyhold AND endgame stuff.

 

The top half of the Winter tree is pretty good, but the lower part is "meh" at best. I did a little write-up on how I see it! 

 

From my own testing. One may disagree, but this is how I see it:

 

Winter's Grasp -- Solid CC. High Cost. Average cooldown. Freezes for Shatter Combo. 7/10 - Good all around!

         Winter's Chill -- AoE chill + damage. 1/10 - WG is not for damage!

 

Mana Surge -- Freeze when barrier breaks. 5/10 - Decent, but you should not get hit. 

 

Fade Step -- Movement with 2 seconds of invulnerability. Average cooldown. 10/10 - best mobility ability in-game!

          Frost Step -- 300% weapon damage and an 8 second chill added to Fade Step. 8/10 - No mana cost damage ability? Yay!

 

Frost Mastery -- Freeze and chill duration. 3/10 -  Not worth it unless you get spare points! 25% of 4 is 1, 25% of 8 is 2. er...

 

Winter Stllness - Not moving gives you 30% cd reduction and 50% mana regen. 8/10 - Your only effective mana-regen early/mid game. Fire Mine and Energy Barrage breaks it, which is why it doesn't get 10/10. 

 

Wall of Ice -- Raises a wall of ice. half your mana bar and a long cooldown. 4/10 - Can be used to manipulate enemies to go where you want it. 

          Glacial Strength -- Bigger and a huge cd reduction. 5/10 - Makes Wall of Ice go from "Useless" to "Eh". 

 

Ice Mine -- AoE freeze mine. Low cost, average-long CD. 4/10 for non-shatter teams, 7/10 for shatter teams - A DW rogue can utilize a frost mine for some solid damage. A tempest rouge can utilize it even more. As a CC it is decent as well.

          Brittle Glyph -- All armor lost within a frost mine freeze. 6/10 for non-shatter setups. 10/10 for shatter setup.

 

Ice Armor -- 50% Damage Reduction when frozen or chilled enemies are near. 4/10 party, 6/10 solo - damage(After armor) is cut in half. You are not supposed to get hit in a party , making it redundant. Solo it is better, but being in melee range is not optimal!

 

Blizzard -- Low damage, long CD, 5 mana per second on use. 5/10 - Useful with Ice Armor, but it takes important mana.

 

Conclusion: There are a few things I would pick up for any mage build.

Fade step + upgrade and Winter's Stillness. With an Archer or DW rogue Id also have Winter's Grasp. (Otherwise Chain Lightning in Storm is better!)  Everything else is mediocre at best and heavy investment(The only decent point is upgraded ice mine. That costs 4 points to reach. Yeouch!)

 

 

----------------------------

 

Overall I'd take Fire mine over Static Cage early to mid game. It's super cheap damage per mana! From my calculations on a level 21 Solas with decent gear, I required 90 attacks within a Static Cage to trump Fire mine in pure damage. Here is the post:

 

 

Example: Weapon Damage, electricity 66. 81 magic, 19 willpower, 46% attack

 

Average auto attack: 100 damage. 

 

Average Energy Barrage shot: 100 

Average Static Cage damage: 40

 

Average Fire Mine direct Damage: 2000

Average Fire Mine DoT Damage: 200

 

So. In terms of cost, Fire mine gives me 102 damage per mana and can be done every 27 second, whilst a combo of Static Cage + Energy Barrage gives me 14 damage per mana and can be done every 32 second. 

 

So, Fire Mine did a total of 3600 damage, with a total time of 11 seconds (3 second to arm the mine and 8 second dot). For Static Cage to hit 3600 damage I need 90 attacks during the duration of Satic Cage. To reach that we'd need Sera using Flask of Lightning and Longbow of the Griffon, Mage Inquisitor and Solas using Energy Barrage and a rogue attacking. Effective on dragons -- otherwise Fire Mine is superior. 

[BlazingSpeed]

I don't see it. At level 3 we got 4 points, at level 6 we got 7 points. Before level 6 War Cry is a 1-way-road to suicide on Nightmare. With only 7 points, wasting seem bad. Here is why I do not like it early on:

 

Upgraded Charging Bull costs 3 point and you get 1 useless ability on the way (War Cry).

- The guard generation is useless at this stage. Your guard is down in 2 hits anyways.

- The movement is nice.

- The free hit is useless. You are not limited by stamina this early.

- The knockdown is nice, but chaotic.

 

Instead of having an mediocre Chargin Bull + War Cry + Mighty Blow at level 4, giving you no damage and some CC, you can get 2 CCs + massive damage. However, I realize some people swear on Charging Bull. I don't get it, but if you do; Just grab it and get everything else later. It's no biggie! 

 

*For me, Charging Bull doesn't become powerful unless I am a Reaver (65 stamina Devour for 10 stamina Charging Bull? Thank you!), or I got enough abilities to exhaust my stamina (Not happening unless I get one of the horns in Battlemaster). *

 

 

 

It's simple, really. The left side of the archery tree only got a single mediocre passive, and a situation "selfish" get-away which is worse than Evade. Here is my thought processes and rundown of them(And yes. 3 archers down so far. I have tested the left side as well )

 

Right Side:

 

First Blood - 15% more damage on enemies above 80%. that's 15% more damage on a full draw. If you snipe off lower-armored target, this is gold. A single full draw crits for 3.3k at level 9, and a longshot crits for 1.2k. An extra 15% on that isn't bad! Of course, on boss fights it's rather useless. 

Explosive shot - It hits quick. It knocks down AoE. It applies poison to everything. Archer hitting Solas? Explosive Shot. Tank getting murdered? Explosive shot. 

Pincushion - As a counter to First Blood only working at the start of a fight, this gem becomes amazing on a long-drawn fight. It's amazing on dragons/Bosses!

 

Left Side:

 

Death From Above - 25% damage at an elevation. A worthy talent, but too situational. If you are in a bad position, you won't get any benefit. Obviously, this is a point I get mid game. 

Leaping Shot - It hits 12 times. You are probably never going to hit with them all (Unless it's a big enemy...). You jump backwards, inferior to evade in every way. At best, you hit 12 times for good damage. At worst you hit once. You need to aim it. It doesn't help anybody but you. I don't find it useful unless in one of these 2 situations:

A) I am fighting a dragon. Reliable 12 shots? nice

B  I am an artificer. 12 crits? 6 second off CDs? Nice.

Strafing Shots - It gives nothing of important. You move near walking speed while auto attacking? When is that useful? The bulk of your damage is from Long shot. The only time this is decent is if an enemy just rounded a corner. Otherwise it's a minor, minor, auto attack dps increase. Only place I found this useful was Varric, as he likes to go into melee. However, Varric is an idiot when it comes to Leaping Shot!

 

It stands between 1 mediocre passive + 1 amazing passive + 1 amazing ability, versus 1 terrible passive + 1 good passive + 1 mediocre ability. I opt for the former! that said, I do tend to get the left side (At least Leaping Shot) at mid game, as I get down into Artificer.

 

 

 

Yes and no. Archer are not burst-focuses (Well, outside of Full Draw!). They are sustained with a reliable rain of Long shot. My reasoning for Poisoned Weapons is simple: Early game things live long enough for the poison to apply its full effect, and you are not limited by 8 abilities. On boss fights the damage over time can chuck of a good portion of the fight time, and on AoE situation it works seamlessly with Explosive Shot. 6 enemies bashing my tank? Suddenly they are all knocked down and take ticks of 100 damage. More damage than any other ability I got would do collectively!

 

The upgrade is useless though. Since it only applies before modifiers, and not after. Meaning your auto attacks increase by a theoretically 25% (It was closer to 18% in my tests), but skills relying on damage modifier gets a much lower increase! (Long Shot got a 7% increase, and full Draw a 3.5%)

I would recommend getting Dance of death instead of Poisoned Weapons + upgrade, but I have problems making it work. Half of my abilities don't work with Dance of Death -- only auto attacks. It's.. unreliable.

 

My reasoning for not taking Full Draw Upgrade is that I find it unnecessary. By going for priority targets (Wraith/Archers/Mages), Full Draw + Long Shot will kill them outright most of the time. A sleep wouldn't benefit too much. Explosive shot and Winter's Grasp on my mage is enough CC to survive any challenge.

 

 

Wow, good point on the Charging Bull thing (I do like using it...) I'm gonna have to respec my current 2 hander and the combat roll on a Sword and Board? I was wondering about that to because of Links play style from the older Legend of Zelda games. 

 

As for the War Cry yeah when I use it at the start of a battle my 2 hander gets beaten on or dry humped by terrors but I usually use War Cry (on three opponents...) at the end of one fight so I can have plenty of guard for the next battle but you Mighty Blow knockdown build sounds a lot better.

 

Same for the archery side the video that Rynas posted was hilarious Varric also like back flipping into canyons so yeah respec time.

 

Great topic!

 

[agentofatlas7]

Is earth shattering strike good? Ive never tried it.

 

Tried it today on my 2h templar and I gotta say I like it alot for the simple fact its probably the fastest way to kill those arcane horrors for me.

[zeypher]

Can i ask for some suggestions for masterworks for a 2h templar.

[Exalus]

There are additional reasons to use varric over sera and solas over dorian/viv: namely varric gets three amulets of power early on as well as a tier 3-ish arms for bianca in valammar making him a decent pick over sera even with a t2 bow. Solas gets a single amulet early on as well making him basically equivalent to dorian/viv in terms of skill points but also with a very useful 25% ranged defense. 

 

You can also get an enhanced amulet of magic from a relatively easy quest in the hinterlands. +5 magic early on is very useful. 

 

As a sidenote, I had heard shatter combos do not work properly for 2handed skills, is this the case?

[zeypher]

Yup 2 handed detonators IE whirlwind and mighty blow are bugged with shatter and rupture combos.

[Exalus]

Yup 2 handed detonators IE whirlwind and mighty blow are bugged with shatter and rupture combos.

Sigh, as if 2handed builds werent already underused as it is. One of the best parts of playing rogue was getting off massive shatter combos with twin fangs and DB.

[BlakJak70]

Thanks for sharing these! They've really helped me set up my team while playing on Nightmare.

[Matth85]

Thanks for sharing these! They've really helped me set up my team while playing on Nightmare.

Thanks!
Best of luck!

[Matth85]

I'm pretty done with Dragon Age Inquisition until DLCs keep coming. Hence I won't update this. 

 

It's up to you now, community!

[zeypher]

I'm pretty done with Dragon Age Inquisition until DLCs keep coming. Hence I won't update this. 

 

It's up to you now, community!

Still thanks for all you have done so far. It is immensely helpful.

[tuchaka]

Same here done until dlc but thx for all the info you posted

[Matth85]

Bump for glory?

Can't have this thread disappear from the first page! Otherwise it won't be helpful