22 réponses à ce sujet

[1G86]

Has anyone tried doing a Reaver Specialization while using Weapon & Shield - which basically trades off Damage for more Defense.

 

It's just that I figured that all companions have all available Specializations already, and the only way you can have some sort of uniqueness from them is when you mix some other skill trees to the usual build. One clear example would be the thing I'm asking about here. I'm really rearing to go with Reaver now. My first choice would have been Knight Enchanter but everyone's saying that it's too OP or they nerf it or whatever.

 

With Rogues it's the same thing. You can go Double Dagger Tempest to differ from Sera, or go Archer Assassin to differ from Cole. I don't know about Artificer though, I think that pretty much is designed optimally for long range combat in my opinion and Varric has that covered well. (Besides, I've played Rogues in the earlier games, and I want to try something out. Got disappointed with the Mage in DA2, so I want to go either with a Mage again or a Warrior for the first time.)

 

For Mages, I think it's just the way you pick out certain spells out of multiple trees. But I'm only interested in playing as a Knight Enchanter. I could probably tolerate Vivienne's elitist attitude to bring her along so I get to play the class though. 

 

If anyone has a good like for a W&S Reaver, do let me know. 

[TevinterMagister]

Starting the game as 1h + Shield is not a bad idea, you will want the passives from that tree anyway when you become a Reaver, you can mix it up by taking the role of Tank yourself having the skills for it already and bring Iron Bull for pure Reaver action or bring Blackwall/Cass and you take the Reaver slot. All you have to do is swap abilites out depending on your role, and equip a 2 hander for more weapon damage when you slot Reaver abilites.

[1G86]

Starting the game as 1h + Shield is not a bad idea, you will want the passives from that tree anyway when you become a Reaver, you can mix it up by taking the role of Tank yourself having the skills for it already and bring Iron Bull for pure Reaver action or bring Blackwall/Cass and you take the Reaver slot. All you have to do is swap abilites out depending on your role, and equip a 2 hander for more weapon damage when you slot Reaver abilites.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that there wouldn't be too much adjustments. I was thinking of being the off-tank. The idea of dropping your health to a strand and still having guard makes for an interesting experiment. I don't know though if having Guard up most of the time affects the damage bonus of the Reaver Passive Skills. You can easily drain your life down considerably if you keep using Dragon Rage. I just really don't know the relationship of Guard to the Reaver Bonuses. I'm not much for testing stuff in detail but maybe somebody crazy enough has done it already.

[Angloassassin]

While I do use it as A 2-Handed character, I do have many of the passives one would take while tanking to make me a tankier character.

I have Iron Bull slotted as my W&S Character, via Respec potion, and Second those with the actual blocking ability, I have the most survivability and damage.

 

 

Bull Can put out some surprising DPS for a (new) W&S character, and things like Ring of Pain and Devour seem to synergise well with being a Tank, as it puts constant damage on opponents and also gives him a Self Heal. I've neglected to give him Dragon Rage yet, because I don't want him using it as filler and killing himself.

 

Edit: Timing your "Rampage" with Dragon Rage pretty much negates the health cost, and if you use it while in Ring Of Pain - might as well sign GG and go home, I can even use that combo to battle Dragons on "Hard". 

[1G86]

While I do use it as A 2-Handed character, I do have many of the passives one would take while tanking to make me a tankier character.

I have Iron Bull slotted as my W&S Character, via Respec potion, and Second those with the actual blocking ability, I have the most survivability and damage.

 

 

Bull Can put out some surprising DPS for a (new) W&S character, and things like Ring of Pain and Devour seem to synergise well with being a Tank, as it puts constant damage on opponents and also gives him a Self Heal. I've neglected to give him Dragon Rage yet, because I don't want him using it as filler and killing himself.

 

Edit: Timing your "Rampage" with Dragon Rage pretty much negates the health cost, and if you use it while in Ring Of Pain - might as well sign GG and go home, I can even use that combo to battle Dragons on "Hard". 

 

 

So it's possible! Can you share your build for Bull, please? I want to try it out for my own Inquisitor. I've always been a hybrid kind of player so I think this is worth a try. Thanks in Advance! 

[Angloassassin]

Edit: And I realise someone may swoop in here and tell me my build is Sup-par or not as useful. But given my team Composition and playstyle, it works perfectly for me.

Iron Bull - to start with, we do this.

 

Sw&SH abilities: Shield Wall+Upgrade (Chevaliers Step). Payback Strike. Bear Mauls Wolves. Turn the Bolt. Turn the Blade. Shield Bash+Upgrade (Ring the Bell).

 

Vanguard Abilities: War Cry+Upgrade (Call To arms). Challenge. Trust the Steel. Untouchable Defense. It'll Cost you.

 

Reaver Abilities: Ring of Pain+ Upgrade (Torrent of Pain). Blood Frenzy. Terrifying Fury. Fervor. Scenting Blood. Rampage. Devour.

 

He and I are level 23, and use similar builds. Except I dumped Trust the Steel, Untouchable Defense. And picked up Charging Bull+Gore and Trample.  And I didn't pick up any of the upgrades for the Shield Wall abilities so I could max out my Reaver Tree.

You might get more out of it than he is, since the AI prioritizes most things like Blocking with the last bit of their stamina rather than blowing up the low-healthed minion.

 

He's using a Custom weapon I made for him - got the Schematic from Cullen's Perks. And Magehunter (The Shield), you buy it from Bonny Simms in Skyhold.

[Drab on Age Exquisitor]

I beat the game the first time with sword and shield plus reaver specialization. 

 

I found this very durable while also dealing good amount of damage. 

[1G86]

@Angloassassin: Thanks for sharing man - looks like I'm parking my mage playthrough first. This is awesome.

 

 

I beat the game the first time with sword and shield plus reaver specialization. 

 

I found this very durable while also dealing good amount of damage. 

 

Mind sharing your build, bro? Thanks!

[TevinterMagister]

Just remember to get Charging Bull + upgrade, this is key because it makes your next ability cost 0 stamina and builds Guard, next skill you use will be the expensive Devour which will be free after upgraded Charging Bull. Reaver play boils down to this: Activate Ring of Pain, Dragon Rage until you get low on HP, apply a touch of Charging Bull followed by Devour then back to Dragon Rage until Devour is off cooldown.

[1G86]

Just remember to get Charging Bull + upgrade, this is key because it makes your next ability cost 0 stamina and builds Guard, next skill you use will be the expensive Devour which will be free after upgraded Charging Bull. Reaver play boils down to this: Activate Ring of Pain, Dragon Rage until you get low on HP, apply a touch of Charging Bull followed by Devour then back to Dragon Rage until Devour is off cooldown.

 

The Charging Bull with Gore and Trample, seems to be a standard for the Off-Tank Warrior. Anything that generates Guard with minimal Threat generation is something very important for the Reaver. 

 

And yes the cycle is basically that. So I want to explore doing that with more ways off generating Guard through Weapon & Shield. I will share with you what I come up with once I get down some hours of play. 

 

I'm actually still playing DA2, for the Story. Never got the chance to play it when it came out ages ago. I only got it during Origin's Mega sale. (Which is still damn pricy.)

[TevinterMagister]

The Charging Bull with Gore and Trample, seems to be a standard for the Off-Tank Warrior. Anything that generates Guard with minimal Threat generation is something very important for the Reaver. 

 

And yes the cycle is basically that. So I want to explore doing that with more ways off generating Guard through Weapon & Shield. I will share with you what I come up with once I get down some hours of play. 

 

I'm actually still playing DA2, for the Story. Never got the chance to play it when it came out ages ago. I only got it during Origin's Mega sale. (Which is still damn pricy.)

Through weapon and shield? Then I assume the use of those skills which leaves only one option, Shield Wall. Unbowed would be a better supplement to Charging Bull and doesn't drain your stamina which you will need but requires more points. Personally I don't mind the taunt from War Cry and it's available alot sooner.

[Angloassassin]

Through weapon and shield? Then I assume the use of those skills which leaves only one option, Shield Wall. Unbowed would be a better supplement to Charging Bull and doesn't drain your stamina which you will need but requires more points. Personally I don't mind the taunt from War Cry and it's available alot sooner.

 

Warcry+Upgrade gets you a full guard meter with enough enemies, and 200% armor for a short time. So it's very handy, and a Must-have if you're playing Tank. If Off-tank, Charging bull does decent damage (I can typically get 6-800 damage non-crit), and a small CC when knocking things off their feet. But Warcry may be better to get aggro from the team.

[SomeoneStoleMyName]

Craft tier damage actually places 2H and 1H about equal in damage. 1H has less AOE, some abilities gives an edge to 2H. 2H = higher base damage.
However, with crafting, the increase in survival going 1H+S is exponentially higher than the damage penalty of going 1H vs 2H.

 

Educated guess = maximum 20% dps loss while gaining maybe 300% survival efficiency. 
1H+S mitigation is actually really strong for reaver, as you can stay in low health bonuses longer. This might actually increase your overall dps in a long fight, while lowering burst damage. 

So, to everyone thinking you sacrifice a ton of damage going 1H+S reaver vs 2H, I am certain this is a myth.

 

[flemethlol]

There is only one downside, to a Weapon and Shield Reaver, might have already been stated, That and i cant seem to use 'Rampage' the focus ability with Sword and Shield. Only 2h Weapons. Its acctually really good if your in a pinch.

[Xhaiden]

I really just use Iron Bull as a 2H off tank. Heck, not even that really. I keep all the aggro piled on Cassandra so Bull can just be the glorious meat blender he was meant to be. I basically treat him like a rogue that can take a few extra punches. 

[Maverick827]

You can tank fine with no specialization, so there's no reason why you can't tank fine with a Reaver.

[Drab on Age Exquisitor]

Here's my final build on normal difficulty.

I'm sure it's not the best but it worked like a charm for me. 

 

*GEAR:

http://i.imgur.com/c9Euh0L.png

http://i.imgur.com/srkUHuf.png

http://i.imgur.com/mMqqDTW.png

http://i.imgur.com/fJjqifn.png

http://i.imgur.com/pRoDS9T.png

http://i.imgur.com/3fBvH5Y.png

http://i.imgur.com/jMuZjqT.png

 

*ABILITIES:

http://i.imgur.com/KTOLfAE.png

http://i.imgur.com/7ZtPwCt.png

http://i.imgur.com/bTDrFvJ.png

http://i.imgur.com/vUj6GtV.png

http://i.imgur.com/QkTyZ7t.png

http://i.imgur.com/F6ep9PG.png

 

*GAMEPLAY:

I basically use the upgraded CHARGING BULL to close the gap then follow it with shield bash which costs 0 stamina. 

Then I pop TORRENT OF PAIN and spam BLOOD FRENZY. 

I save enough stamina to use DEVOUR last to recover a portion of health lost.

The upgraded GRAPPLING CHAIN is for enemies that our out melee range, especially casters and archers when CHARGING BULL is on cooldown.

I found myself always near if not at full health after fights due to heal on kill and heal bonus from gear. 

Didn't bother with the reaver's focus ability because I like the default one which does AOE damage.

[Angloassassin]

 

*Snipped for Page length appreciation*

 

 

While I agree with everything said here (Minus the Focus ability, It negates Dragon Rage health loss)

 

Grappling chain is a gambit, as half the time my character sticks it into the person right next to them, even if I have an archer/mage target in the distance selected. But It is *so* worth having if you're not range-centric with your party selection.

[1G86]

Thanks for all the input guys! I will have a read through later. Awesome awesome. This is very encouraging.

[lastpawn]

I like the mobility and combo detonation potential of Shield and Sword.

 

Actually, my favorite "unorthodox" approaches in the game are 2H Templar and S&S Reaver. Both work fine and fit my playstyle better than the "standard" versions.

 

In the end, DA:I lets you play whatever you want, even on Nightmare difficulty (with sufficient skill... and perhaps crafting).

[1G86]

I like the mobility and combo detonation potential of Shield and Sword.

 

Actually, my favorite "unorthodox" approaches in the game are 2H Templar and S&S Reaver. Both work fine and fit my playstyle better than the "standard" versions.

 

In the end, DA:I lets you play whatever you want, even on Nightmare difficulty (with sufficient skill... and perhaps crafting).

 

Do share your build if you have the time! Thanks. 

[pyre]

A bit off topic, but if you have 2 reavers in your party would the benefits of Ring of Pain for Devour & Dragon Rage stack 2x assuming your target was sitting in two Rings of Pain?

[1G86]

A bit off topic, but if you have 2 reavers in your party would the benefits of Ring of Pain for Devour & Dragon Rage stack 2x assuming your target was sitting in two Rings of Pain?

I'm betting it won't affect the cooldowns and health or stamina costs for the other Reaver. What's sure is that the DOT will double, quickening the enemy's health drain, triggering all of the Reaver's passive skills which will affect both Reavers. But as far as the synergy with Devour/ Dragon Rage is concerned, I think that's a personal buff.