29 réponses à ce sujet

[Lulupab]

So I thought I should tell you about this after testing for a while. Some people hate to switch controls and like to control their own character most of the time (I'm not one of those people but I perfectly understand, and I think I can help). I will emphasize on companions' unique specs and its effects on their effectiveness.

 

So lets simply start:

 

Warriors:

 

Cassandra: Templar is a support spec and has a lot of passive spells which is good if one doesn't want to switch controls. She is quite smart with spell purge and dispels barriers on her own. She spams blessed blades whenever possible which is not bad at all, it has low stamina cost and its a nice support spell. She is the best tank warrior for people who don't want to switch controls on nightmare.

 

Blackwall: Without a doubt champion is the best tanking spec, but the AI is useless with it. Blackwall will use his spells whenever he wants which is bad and doesn't make much sense. He will use his invulnerability spell when he doesn't need it at all. To the death is also wasted as he almost never targets the right enemy. Blackwall is not recommended for people who don't want to switch controls on nightmare.

 

IronBull: A very bad tank and is only useful if you are a tank yourself and want to have two warriors in the team. He is decent in this scenario, he can take care of himself provided right skills are given to him. Focus on both defense and offense. Ignore self damage skills on Reaver and get self heal asap. make block and slash ability preferred so he always has good amount of guard. Ironbull is only useful as a 2nd warrior on nightmare.

 

Rogues: 

 

Varric: Like Templar, Artificer has good passives and its good for people who don't want to switch controls. He is smart enough with traps and only uses them when enemies get close. But disable retreat plan as he sucks with it.  Varric is best rogue for people who don't want to switch controls.

 

Sera: Very bad, she will use her elixirs at the most useless times as possible without actually helping her in any noticeable way. The passives are not bad but its not enough. Tempest is all about using the elixirs at the right time and AI sucks. Sera is not recommended.

 

Cole: Very high damage potential but he will be in worst places at worst times and most of the time you will find him dead because he was in an unsafe position. Being melee is a big disadvantage even though assassin dagger rogue has highest damage potential on nightmare. Cole is not recommended.

 

Mages:

 

Solas: He is good with using Veilstrike and stone fist on proper targets and later proceeding to cast other spells on weakened enemies. So you can count on him to have unlimited mana. Low cost AoE spells such as chain lightning and immolate are ideal for this, he will use them on weakened targets whenever they are off cooldown and he will gain the mana cost back. Make sure stone fist and veilstrike are preferred so he always casts them first. This way he support AND deal damage without hindering his supporting which is very good considering you are not going to control him at all. Solas is quite ideal.

 

Dorian: He is ideal to become a crowd control monster which is quite useful on nightmare. He is specially good if you are not a mage yourself and using two mages. He teams up will with Soals. Dorian is ideal.

 

Vivienne: What a waste of Knight Enchanter spec. She sometimes randomly uses spirit blade which is not that common most of the time she doesn't use it, she fades whenever she likes and she uses statis field uselessly as well. I just realized Knight-Enchanter is the most useless spec in the game if not directly controlled. Vivienne is not recommended.

 

 

So hope you liked it. Ironically the first three companions we get are the easiest to manage and are just as strong. Good thinking Bioware.

[Jackal19851111]

What we need is just an ability to queue options in tac mode, if Bioware isn't going to allow us to configure the AI tactics

[Zenthar Aseth]

I don't really agree with the list. Iron Bull seems to be the only one that has to be managed, because of his Reaver spec. Cole takes some Tactics-fiddling.

[Elhanan]

I do not care that much about the Specs; the basic Tiers are more important to me. My choices are:

* Cassandra
* Varric
* Solas

[Wompoo]

Mostly agree for Nightmare, but I find myself with Cole a lot for the synergy between him and Solas (banter when it actually fires) or a totally useless pairing of Sera and Blackwall (again banter). The whole problem would be "almost" moot if we had the awesome tactic system from DA:O back and a proper tactical camera. If I'm the tank in my game, it is easy mode no matter the difficulty... normal or nightmare it is now just a pot chugging event with very little challenge.

[actionhero112]

Vivienne is my go to mage on nightmare because shes so easy for the ai to play. Spirit blade pref, barrier pref, fade veil pref, don't give her fade step, cause she'll dash away from spirit blade range. Bam working knight enchanter.
 

Also Necromage is the worst spec in the game hands down. But on the other hand, Dorian is awesome. 

[choebit]

I played SnS reaver on nightmare FF.

Other party member specced to take non FF skill. (or disabled in the tactics menu)

All melee equipped with guard generation on hit. Cole, specifically, given a 1% hp heal on hit.

All mages given winter grasp and barrier.

 

 

With the above criteria, I can bring whatever party member I want.

All melee, all mage, all rogue, everything is OK as long as I can CC with the SnS reaver

[teks]

Ops assessment sounds about right, though i have no experiencee with viv

[lastpawn]

I think these are more or less spot on. That said, with the right gear, even Iron Bull, S&S specced, will make a good enough tank.

 

My favorite group on Nightmare (melee Rogue) was Cassandra, Varric OR Dorian (latter for more difficult fights), and Solas.

[RamonNZ]

I hear that a respecced cole is great with a bow and you don't have to micro-manage him. That's what I use, but I haven't tried the others to compare.

 

I've also heard that Varric's damage gets a bit low by end game.

[zeypher]

As i mentioned earlier, this game gives you the strongest party which works well together right from the start.

 

Varric with t3 masterwork bianca schematics can reach absurd amount of crit chance and still has good damage. For a archer companion varric is the best. While cole can work as a archer assassin, the AI does not really use the assassin properly.

 

Cassandra is the most balanced tank as she not only has good survivability but also decent damage with combos and good party support and her skill last stand is extremely helpful.

 

Solas can keep casting endlessly, while i like dorian i find necromancer as a terrible spec with not many redeeming qualities. Dorian is always mana starved and that means most of the times he is not helping much. while solas with weaken, lightning which makes a target sleep, Cassandra automatically detonates them.

 

Yes one make other team mates work but honestly it takes a lot of effort and specific crafting to do that.

[zeypher]

Problem is since companions have the specializations locked and not all specializations are equal, this automatically leads to favouring certain companions cause they are the most viable. I like bull but reaver is terrible for the ai to handle properly. So if i want to use him i have to use him as a neutered character. This also applies to other party members. 

 

So i just use Cassandra varric and solas now.

[Yuyana]

I agree. My party is: Cass (tank), Dorian (damage) Solas (CC, barrier), mage inquisitor (static cage and damage). I can kill group of enemies four levels above me no problem. Only thing I use to control them is "attack my target" button. (And sometimes I send them away from melee...)

 

I do not use them against dragons.

[Selea]

Actually of the three mages Dorian is the worst if you aren't a Rift Mage yourself. Vivienne is more useful than Dorian in all other circumstances as Fade Shield means she will stay alive easily (one of the most important things in nightmare, as AI mages tend to die very quickly if attacked), even by simply staff attacking and Necro hasn't really anymore CC than KE has (differently from Rift). Then, since the AI many times doesn't like to retreat to range, Spirit Blade is a good way to defend herself in melee (also if I usually disable Spirit Blade on her since she tends to go in melee more often if you don't; I enable it only when she has an high level and she becomes practically immortal - as every KE).

The point that Vivienne used by the AI doesn't know how to use some of the spec skills effectively is completely moot just because she doesn't need to. Actually it is much better to NOT have her use the KE skills but just let her focus on support (as with Solas). However you take the survivability skills from KE so that she practically becomes invulnerable by midgame onwards. By endgame you can even have her go in melee and so be able to play as a KE better if you so like without problems (but I still prefer to have her as a normal support mage), but that's not what make her useful. The high selling point of Vivienne (that's very important especially on nightmare) is that she is by far the most durable mage of the three. What she lacks in comparison to Solas for CC she compensate by never practically dying and being a reliable party member that doesn't need to be micromanaged just because of this. Her barriers then decay much slower and this is extremely useful especially on nightmare.

Dorian is very weak in nightmare and he tends to die very easily (especially since he has not high mana regen capabilities that both Solas and Vivienne have) and Walking Bomb is too situational if not paired up with spell synergies (as Static Cage) a thing the AI is not capable of. If you are a Rift Mage yourself, however, everything changes and Dorian becomes by far the best 2nd mage choice just because WB interacts perfectly with PoTA (and the survivability points become less important).

So, as far as mages AI goes: Solas >= Vivienne (it depends on what you prefer from your mage: if you prefer CC then go Solas, if you prefer survivability then go Vivienne; Vivienne is also the best mage against Dragons by far, given her focus skill and her much higher survivability) >> Dorian if you aren't a Rift Mage yourself, elsewhere: Dorian >> Vivienne > Solas (practically the contrary).

 

For the rest I quite agree with the OP. Blackwall is invincible no matter what but anyway it's true that the AI doesn't know how to use the Champion spec to its best (while the Templar spec is used quite well).

[swk3000]

I plan on using Vivienne in my party, but she'll be playing the part of the Support Mage. Points of interest include:

1. Heavy investment in the Spirit Tree, partly for the bottom left and bottom right passives. I've heard that the bottom left passive doesn't work for the entire party like the tooltip says, but I figure it will help her own mana regen, at least.

2. Chain Lightning and Energy Barrage for damage.

3. Standard path down the Fire tree for Clean Burn

4. Winter's Grasp, Mana Surge, and Winter Stillness

5. Disable Spirit Blade entirely, but take pretty much everything else.

Active skills will be Chain Lightning, Immolate, Winter's Grasp, Energy Barrage, Fade Cloak, Resurgence, Barrier, and probably Dispel for the last one. Still have to actually get far enough to see how this performs, though; at this point it's just a plan, as I don't get to play Inquisition much.

[mutantspicy]

I made a guard on hit silverite 2H axe for Iron Bull and he suddenly became my melee bruiser, but I don't tank him.

[Lulupab]

Actually of the three mages Dorian is the worst if you aren't a Rift Mage yourself. Vivienne is more useful than Dorian in all other circumstances as Fade Shield means she will stay alive easily (one of the most important things in nightmare, as AI mages tend to die very quickly if attacked), even by simply staff attacking and Necro hasn't really anymore CC than KE has (differently from Rift). Then, since the AI many times doesn't like to retreat to range, Spirit Blade is a good way to defend herself in melee (also if I usually disable Spirit Blade on her since she tends to go in melee more often if you don't; I enable it only when she has an high level and she becomes practically immortal - as every KE).

The point that Vivienne used by the AI doesn't know how to use some of the spec skills effectively is completely moot just because she doesn't need to. Actually it is much better to NOT have her use the KE skills but just let her focus on support (as with Solas). However you take the survivability skills from KE so that she practically becomes invulnerable by midgame onwards. By endgame you can even have her go in melee and so be able to play as a KE better if you so like without problems (but I still prefer to have her as a normal support mage), but that's not what make her useful. The high selling point of Vivienne (that's very important especially on nightmare) is that she is by far the most durable mage of the three. What she lacks in comparison to Solas for CC she compensate by never practically dying and being a reliable party member that doesn't need to be micromanaged just because of this. Her barriers then decay much slower and this is extremely useful especially on nightmare.

Dorian is very weak in nightmare and he tends to die very easily (especially since he has not high mana regen capabilities that both Solas and Vivienne have) and Walking Bomb is too situational if not paired up with spell synergies (as Static Cage) a thing the AI is not capable of. If you are a Rift Mage yourself, however, everything changes and Dorian becomes by far the best 2nd mage choice just because WB interacts perfectly with PoTA (and the survivability points become less important).

So, as far as mages AI goes: Solas >= Vivienne (it depends on what you prefer from your mage: if you prefer CC then go Solas, if you prefer survivability then go Vivienne; Vivienne is also the best mage against Dragons by far, given her focus skill and her much higher survivability) >> Dorian if you aren't a Rift Mage yourself, elsewhere: Dorian >> Vivienne > Solas (practically the contrary).

 

For the rest I quite agree with the OP. Blackwall is invincible no matter what but anyway it's true that the AI doesn't know how to use the Champion spec to its best (while the Templar spec is used quite well).

 

I did say Dorian is better in two mage teams. For mana give him winter's stillness as necomancers don't need to move, give him the ability which makes him cast a free spell after the barrier he has cast is destroyed and also left part of the spirit tree which reduces his threat and even grants more mana regen. That's enough mana, he was never mana starved after given these skills.

 

Once those are given, give him all the cc possible. Necromancer terrify, inferno tree terrify, winter's grasp etc... It doesn't work against dragons, sure but its perfect against strong enemies. Apart from giants and dragons nothing is immune to everything. The enemies he terrify whether with necromancer terrify or inferno terrify take 25% more damage from everyone. That's very significant. 

[Nirual86]

I'd say its less about the characters themselves and more about avoiding skills that the AI doesn't use well. Especially anything involving movement, except perhaps Leaping Shot on a ranged rogue since the AI doesn't bother trying to keep at a distance otherwise, plus it deals decent damage too. That includes melee-range abilities for ranged rogues btw (don't take Shadow Strike).

 

Then again I still had to use the tactical camera a lot in some fights to tell the mage to keep his distance.

[Pluvie]

One important thing for me is to set the Mana/Stamina reserve to 80% this way the AI will not spam abilities but will actually use them more cleverly and they will give you time to detonate combos.

 

Cassandra has the best tank AI by far, on that I agree. Not much else to tell on this.

 

Cole, Sera and Varric are all equal given the right choices of tactics.The working ones for me are:

• Cole: set Twin Fangs and Stealth to preferred, this way he will open with this. Set Hidden Blades and Mark of Death as enabled, they will be used mid-fight, probably wasted on lesser mobs but that's not a problem. Set Deathblow as enabled, it will be used appropriately. Everything else disabled.
• Sera: set Flask of Fire, Full Draw and Long Shot as preferred. Flask of Frost, Poisoned Weapons and Stealth as enabled. Everything else disabled.
• Varric: set Elemental Mines, Full Draw and Long Shot as preferred. Spike Trap and Stealth as enabled. Everything else disabled.

 

As for mages, I just want to give an insight on Dorian, who, in my opinion, is the strongest of the group. On the Necromancer three spec him with Horror and Walking Bomb as actives and Death Siphon, Power of the Dead and Simulacrum as passives. Set Walking Bomb as preferred, everything else active. He will be unstoppable (even if killed he will stay alive for another 10 seconds, while invulnerable), won't require healing (since every killed enemy will heal him for 10%) and deal a TON of damage with Walking Bomb.

[Lulupab]

One important thing for me is to set the Mana/Stamina reserve to 80% this way the AI will not spam abilities but will actually use them more cleverly and they will give you time to detonate combos.

 

Cassandra has the best tank AI by far, on that I agree. Not much else to tell on this.

 

Cole, Sera and Varric are all equal given the right choices of tactics.The working ones for me are:

• Cole: set Twin Fangs and Stealth to preferred, this way he will open with this. Set Hidden Blades and Mark of Death as enabled, they will be used mid-fight, probably wasted on lesser mobs but that's not a problem. Set Deathblow as enabled, it will be used appropriately. Everything else disabled.
• Sera: set Flask of Fire, Full Draw and Long Shot as preferred. Flask of Frost, Poisoned Weapons and Stealth as enabled. Everything else disabled.
• Varric: set Elemental Mines, Full Draw and Long Shot as preferred. Spike Trap and Stealth as enabled. Everything else disabled.

 

As for mages, I just want to give an insight on Dorian, who, in my opinion, is the strongest of the group. On the Necromancer three spec him with Horror and Walking Bomb as actives and Death Siphon, Power of the Dead and Simulacrum as passives. Set Walking Bomb as preferred, everything else active. He will be unstoppable (even if killed he will stay alive for another 10 seconds, while invulnerable), won't require healing (since every killed enemy will heal him for 10%) and deal a TON of damage with Walking Bomb.

 

Try Dorian with healing bonus items, its simply amazing. Unless he gets burst down, he will not die.

[zeypher]

One important thing for me is to set the Mana/Stamina reserve to 80% this way the AI will not spam abilities but will actually use them more cleverly and they will give you time to detonate combos.

 

Cassandra has the best tank AI by far, on that I agree. Not much else to tell on this.

 

Cole, Sera and Varric are all equal given the right choices of tactics.The working ones for me are:

• Cole: set Twin Fangs and Stealth to preferred, this way he will open with this. Set Hidden Blades and Mark of Death as enabled, they will be used mid-fight, probably wasted on lesser mobs but that's not a problem. Set Deathblow as enabled, it will be used appropriately. Everything else disabled.
• Sera: set Flask of Fire, Full Draw and Long Shot as preferred. Flask of Frost, Poisoned Weapons and Stealth as enabled. Everything else disabled.
• Varric: set Elemental Mines, Full Draw and Long Shot as preferred. Spike Trap and Stealth as enabled. Everything else disabled.

 

As for mages, I just want to give an insight on Dorian, who, in my opinion, is the strongest of the group. On the Necromancer three spec him with Horror and Walking Bomb as actives and Death Siphon, Power of the Dead and Simulacrum as passives. Set Walking Bomb as preferred, everything else active. He will be unstoppable (even if killed he will stay alive for another 10 seconds, while invulnerable), won't require healing (since every killed enemy will heal him for 10%) and deal a TON of damage with Walking Bomb.

 

If you set their reserves to 80% they will never use any ability PERIOD!!! as that leaves them only 20 mana to use and only dodge abilities cost that much, while all attacks start at 35. So much wrong info in your post. Look we have tried dorian at nightmare and he does not compare to solas. Im sorry but weakening every mobs damage by 30% is a lot. This thread is dedicated to nightmare, its right there in the title. Look necromancer is by far the weakest spec in the game. Dorian himself gets massively mana starved a lot as walking bomb itself takes 75 mana and that means he is not providing any support. You can use him at lower difficulties but at nightmare he is by far the weakest auto pilot mage to have.

[Selea]

I did say Dorian is better in two mage teams. For mana give him winter's stillness as necomancers don't need to move, give him the ability which makes him cast a free spell after the barrier he has cast is destroyed and also left part of the spirit tree which reduces his threat and even grants more mana regen. That's enough mana, he was never mana starved after given these skills. 

 

It is NOT enough mana. You don't notice it simply because you left him alone for the AI to use but if you will ever play a necro yourself you will know perfectly. Dorian is effective only (and only when) paired with a Rift Mage so WB actually works flawlessly and hence his damage/mana ratio works fine. In all the other circumstances the AI is not enough capable to use spell synergies to make the most out of WB and hence a lot of stamina will be wasted for nothing. Necro is a spec that, sadly, has not enough mana regeneration capabilities for the high skill costs so the only way to play the spec effectively is to pick targets of opportunity with other skill synergies (hence the damage/mana ratio works in your favor). The AI simply cannot do this and it needs an help (and PoTA from a PC Rift Mage is that help).

As for survivability, no, Death Syphon is not enough in itself. It is, again, if you get a nuking build (as Rift Mage) to kill weak/moderate enemies fast so that in nightmare the 20 health from deaths will compensate at last straw forms of damage he can get.

In your post you didn't specify that Dorian is good only when paired with a Rift Mage. You did insist that Vivienne is the worst of the three while Dorian is an ideal mage for nightmare in all circumstances. Well, no, he isn't, at all. Even less so in a party where he is the only mage in which case he completely and utterly sucks in comparison to Solas and Vivienne. If you have a party with Dorian as the sole mage in nightmare then you must be sure to have him not set to use more than 4-5 potions or he will completely suck them (similar to as having Cole used by the AI without strong +guard items).

Again, the only instance in which Dorian is better than the other two options is when you, the PC, are a Rift Mage. In which case having Solas becomes redundant and Vivienne, while still good, get overshadowed by the damage potential of WB tied with PoTA. That's the only instance in which Dorian is a good choice as an AI controlled mage and in all the other circumstances (yes, even if you are a KE Vivienne is still better, also if in this case naturally Solas is by far the best option) Dorian is worst than the other two.

In normal you can pick whatever you like depending on RP reasons, but in nightmare (especially if you don't craft for the party members) Dorian is the weakest mage companion in the game, apart on one isolated case. The AI cannot control the skills usage well and he is extremely weak and mana starving (so, since the AI will waste WB on isolated targets, he will stand there auto-attacking for most of the fights).

[Psyfun]

If you set their reserves to 80% they will never use any ability PERIOD!!! 

This is false info, just fyi. They will use abilities no matter the cost, as long as they are ABOVE 80% mana/stamina. If they drop below they wait till 80% before using skills again. That is how the setting works, feel free to test for yourself.

[Gigamantis]

If you don't like switching cameras I'd say you go with whichever allies keep themselves alive most effectively; not whoevery uses their spec the best. 

 

With that in mind I'd say Blackwall is the best Warrior; even a poorly played Champion is still the most durable tank in the game. 

 

Next Vivienne would be the best Mage; even a poorly played Knight Enchanter is FAR more durable than any other Mage spec. 

 

Finally, I'd say all 3 Rogues are equally viable if you spec them as archers with Leaping Shot and maybe upgraded caltrops.  I'd actually say Cole and Sera are better than Varric, though, because you can squeeze more DPS out of their specialization and their weapon than you can with Varric.  Mark of Death is insane even if it's not used optimally, and if priorities are set properly Sera's flask use can be salvageable. 

[teks]

Yeah, but a measure of effectiveness isn't just in how well the companions stay alive. If, say, a companion died after dealing a massive amount of damage to key enemies he would be a better companion then one who lived through the battle while contributing nothing to the outcome.