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[ZinkBomb]

So... you want to be a Dragon?

 

This is an incredibly powerful and survivable Reaver build for all difficulties. (I play at Nightmare)

 

 

#Priority Skills#

 

These are the base skills that create the Dragon.

 

Reaver Tree

 

Ring of Pain - If you have more than 50% stamina then this skill should be active! This has an activation cost of ~20 stamina in addition to the 10 stamina per sec. The range is slightly larger than the visual effect.

 

Fervor - Great passive that works best when enemies are tightly grouped.

 

Scenting Blood - The speed boost is great, the crit chance is solid, and you can leave the enemy triggering this passive alive to keep your buffs going. Remember, however, the range is only 10 meters!

 

Devour - Very high stamina cost so only use without Charging Bull first in emergency! Be careful as using this too often without Ring of Pain active will lead to you running out of health to attack with.

 

Dragon Rage - The 3rd swipe (the uppercut swipe) hits with both claws dealing double damage! If you have Consume use Devour before your 3rd swipe! *This double hit has been inconsistent in testing. It seems like smaller targets and low health targets don't always trigger the double hit. I will continue to test.

 

Ravage - Because Dragon Rage is the only way to fight!

 

Vanguard Tree

 

Challenge - We take this because it is in the way. Don't taunt bad guys, you aren't the tank.

 

Charging Bull - Low cost, low cooldown, sprint/disable/escape. Many enemies can be hit multiple times triggering extra guard generation!

 

Gore & Trample - Allows us to use our next skill for free after using Charging Bull. Remember the buff only lasts 6 seconds!

 

 

#Gear Notes#

 

*Use a two handed weapon with the Highest Damage per Hit. Disregard the DPS. DPS is irrelevant as you will never use your standard attack.

 

*Focus on Strength and Crit Chance.

 

*Items with 'On Hit: Gain X Guard' are great for this build.

 

*Defensively I tend to lean toward Ranged Defense.

 

*I do not think Heal Bonus gear applies toward Devour... this requires further testing.

 

 

#Playstyle#

 

Allow your tank to initiate fights.

 

Use Charging Bull to knock down and charge thru as many enemies as you can.

 

Position yourself behind your target and activate Ring of Pain.

 

Use Dragon Rage until Charging Bull is available.

 

Use Charging Bull but try to stay inside your Ring of Pain.

 

Use Devour and return to using Dragon Rage until Charging Bull is available.

 

*Avoid initiating on strong targets if your tank does not have aggro.

 

*A quick use of Charging Bull just for the Gore & Trample buff is OK!

 

*Your guard is to protect you from incidental damage (AoE, Cleave, Ranged, etc.) as your health will almost always be dangerously low! Avoid direct damage!

 

*Try to use Ring of Pain + Devour before combat ends to set up your next fight!

 

 

#Your Next Points#

 

The Dragon is flexible and these next points are all based on your preference. I prefer the passives from the Two Handed Weapon Tree. However, Battlemaster offers four passives unlocked by a single active skill. I rarely (almost never) bother to use the active skills listed below as using stamina or Gore & Trample on anything but Ring of Pain and Devour will decrease your damage output over time as well as your survivability.

 

Skills marked with ** are much more valuable during early game before you unlock the Reaver tree.

 

Reaver Tree

 

Blood Frenzy - More damage!

 

Consume - Use Devour between your 2nd & 3rd Dragon Rage to increase the value of this passive!

 

Two Handed Weapon Tree

 

**Block & Slash - A good ability, but I don't often find myself needing it.

 

Flow of Battle - Brings Charging Bull and Devour off cooldown faster!

 

**Pommel Strike - See Block & Slash.

 

Guard-Smasher - Because taking down a Pride Demon's guard in one critical Dragon Rage makes me .

 

**Mighty Blow - See Block & Slash.

 

Shield-Breaker - Less armor means bigger red numbers!

 

Battlemaster Tree

 

**Grappling Chain - When upgraded this skill can be used in melee to knock down some enemies that are immune to the pull, but vulnerable to knockdown. I find this skill underpowered without the upgrade.

 

Crippling Blows - Weaken your enemies!

 

Coup de Grace - You will be knocking a lot of enemies down, take advantage!

 

Horn of Valor - More damage... for everyone!

 

That's the Spirit - Even more damage... for everyone!

 

Hamstring - A decent passive, but primarily taken for access to Deep Reserves.

 

Deep Reserves - Fills your stamina from empty to 50% in ~8 secs... which happens to be the cooldown timer of Charging Bull. Isn't that nifty? More valuable at higher difficulties as the fights will last longer. I've grown very fond of this passive.

 

Vanguard Tree

 

Trust the Steel - Good because you should have an active guard as often as possible. More valuable at higher difficulties.

 

It'll Cost You - Very low priority skill as you should be avoiding damage as much as possible. However, this isn't worthless.

 

 

#Skills to Avoid#

 

Many of these skills are underpowered, made 'useless' by other skills we we take, or simply don't fit the playstyle.

Reaver Tree

Torrent of Pain - The cooldown reduction of Devour is made pointless due to Ravage. The stamina cost reduction of Devour is made pointless due to Gore & Trample. The health cost reduction of Dragon Rage is unnecessary, in my opinion. In addition these 'benefits' are only active while Ring of Pain is active.

Terrifying Fury - The enemies that I want to run away are immune to this.

 

Two Handed Weapon Tree

 

Whirlwind - This skill feels very underpowered to me. I don't even like it for early game. In addition, the animation is akward.

 

Clear a Path - As we don't use our standard attacks this skill gains us nothing. It might be valuable early game, if you didn't have to take Whirlwind to get it.

 

Earthshaking Strike - See Whirlwind.

Vanguard Tree

War Cry - Don't taunt bad guys, you aren't the tank.

Untouchable Defense - This would be better if you didn't have to take War Cry to get it.

Throw the Guantlet - The bonus stamina regeneration doesn't work while Ring of Pain is active. Also, don't taunt bad guys, you aren't the tank.

Cutting Words - If you want this have your tank pick it up. The damage bonus isn't worth the aggro and there are better skills to increase your damage.

Unbowed - The guard generated by this ability (even upgraded) doesn't come close to what you can generate from effective use of Charging Bull. In addition, Charging Bull can be used ~ 4 times between the CD for this ability.

Bodyguard - You aren't the tank.

 

 

#Final Word#

 

I hope you enjoy this build. I will continue to update this thread as I test and gain feedback from the community!

[Bountron]

The fun part is that Reaver has the best synergy with sword & shield. Just think of the defenisve passives that prevent your char from damage spikes. It is a bit underwhelming to take the shield of course but the gameplay becomes smoother I guess.

 

just some thoughts on this

[billpickles]

How can your "First 10 Points" go into talents that you can't possibly have unlocked faster than about level 7 to 10, depending on how efficiently you get to Skyhold and gather all the necessary crap to unlock the specialization?

[teks]

by respeccing after getting reaver.

[billpickles]

Sure...it just reads awkwardly.  See also: calling it 10 points but then only listing 9 and calling the 10th dealer's choice.  Why not just list them all in order of priority.

 

Really just a presentation thing...feel free to disregard.

[JosieJ]

How can your "First 10 Points" go into talents that you can't possibly have unlocked faster than about level 7 to 10, depending on how efficiently you get to Skyhold and gather all the necessary crap to unlock the specialization?

Respec amulets are fairly cheap unless you've been buying everything that's not nailed down. Put the points elsewhere until you get your specialization, then respec. It would have been helpful if the TC had posted an early-game build. I'm not near my game notes but I got a lot of use out of Pommel Strike and Mighty Blow in the early game.

[yankblan]

As a rule of thumb (each PT with a different class), I put points where I want to go, and by level 8-9, just before I start the wheel to get to Skyhold, I respec depending on what I like/dislike or what I need to adjust because I neglected either Offense or Defense.

 

I'm a level 9 2H warrior angling for the Reaver (was so much fun with Iron Bull in dragon fights I had to try it), and sure enough, I spread myself thin across too many skills.

 

I played archer last PT, and now I get what people meant by having to reposition constantly with warriors and DW rogues; a bit annoying to say the least.  You should be able to close in faster.  Charging Bull helps, but still...

[actionhero112]

You're never going to get the kind of offense that you get from a 2 handed stat stick with sword and board. With offensive upgrade slots on the weapon ans well as more materials to put in every slot, 2 handed weapons provide a massive increase in damage over their 1 handed counterparts. 

[Bountron]

You're never going to get the kind of offense that you get from a 2 handed stat stick with sword and board. With offensive upgrade slots on the weapon ans well as more materials to put in every slot, 2 handed weapons provide a massive increase in damage over their 1 handed counterparts. 

Okay that makes sense. End game definitely, but early Skyhold S&B isn't that bad is it? Especially if you run without a tank

[ZinkBomb]

Hey folks! Glad some folks are taking an interest in this build. I realize the post isn't the easiest read. I wrote it on very little sleep at a very late hour. I'll take some time to edit it soon. If you have any questions or would like any specific aspect of the build made more clear please let me know and I'll try to help.

[ZinkBomb]

I've completed the first round of updates to the post. I've added notes to all listed skills as well as made note of skills that are more valuable during the early game. Thanks for the comments as they've helped me to (hopefully) create a better guide. Further constructive feedback will be appreciated and I hope you enjoy the Way of the Dragon!

[billpickles]

I've completed the first round of updates to the post. I've added notes to all listed skills as well as made note of skills that are more valuable during the early game. Thanks for the comments as they've helped me to (hopefully) create a better guide. Further constructive feedback will be appreciated and I hope you enjoy the Way of the Dragon!

 

Definitely reads easier now.  Good job.

 

I really love playing 2-handers in RPGs and have been disappointed with how they're executed in DAI.  Might have to give this a whirl and see how it goes...

[yankblan]

I love whirlwind in the early going, especially against a mob. It's only 75% weapon dmg, but increases the DPS a lot. The AoE seems to be double or sometimes even triple the length of the weapon. I wonder if you can combine it with guard generating upgrades?

[sethroskull79]

They should have made a Berserker or Barbarian specialization instead of Reaver.  Hopefully they will in the future.

[Richardian]

I'd like to contribute a few thoughts to this thread.  I've been playing a 2handed reaver build on nightmare.  I struggled with enjoying the 2hander class Pre-Skyhold, but I love the reaver now.  Pre-Skyhold is definitely the hardest part of the game.  The toughest fight I've had was a grueling Fereldan Frostback fight at level 12 Pre-Skyhold.  In contrast, I just killed Vinsomer, the Storm Coast dragon, with a level 17 party in what I think was the span of a 180 second lightning buff potion with only using the tac cam for wing flapping and drinking potions.  Toward the end of the fight, the dragon could barely move because of what I was doing to the legs.  It was kind of sad, even pitiful-looking, especially when compared with the Frostback battle.

 

Contrary to a lot of what I've seen on this board about reavers, I haven't seen the need to take the W&S passives, even on nightmare.  I just hit level 18 only, so maybe the difficulty will ramp up in the next 6 levels or so?  I doubt it, and I anticipate my party getting even stronger.  I typically run with Cassandra, Solas, and Varric.

 

Sending in the tank first and equipping regen potions was the best way for me to mitigate/heal damage.  I have a 2-guard on hit masterwork on my weapon and a 25% heal after 10 seconds masterwork on my armor.  I don't think the heal masterwork gives that much benefit.  With just 2-guard on hit, I feel borderline OP.  I'm waiting for a 1% heal on hit masterwork.  Here's my build so far:

Reaver tree:  Everything except Rampage and Terrifying Fury: 9 points

2Hander tree: Right side of the tree up to Clear a Path; no upgrades: 4 points - I do it for the passives only.  I don't use any of the skills at all.  I'll eventually go down the other side of the tree for Guard-Smasher.

Vanguard:  Challenge (never used), Charging Bull w/ Gore and Trample (used all the time):  3 points

Battlemaster tree:  Grappling Chain and the 4 passives:  5 points, but I'm thinking of speccing out of Hamstring and Deep Reserves

 

Spam Charging Bull, Ring of Pain, Devour, and Dragon Rage.  Your two other skills are Grappling Chain and Mark of the Rift.  It's not really a hard class.  DR and Devour until you get afraid of dying.  At the rate you're killing things, you will be the main one using potions.  Most of the time, things will die too quickly for your party to worry about using healing potions.

 

Regarding Torrent of Pain, it states that Devour costs less and has a shorter cooldown.  Also, Dragon Rage costs less of your own health.  I haven't tested this definitively, but if it does help with Ring of Pain active, it may be advantageous.

[ZinkBomb]

I appreciate the feedback from everyone.

 

@ yankblan: My dislike of Whirlwind is mostly due to personal preference. I didn't like the animation and preferred to use other abilities.

 

@ Richardian: To address your note about Torrent of Pain; the cooldown reduction from Ravage is better and the stamina reduction is pointless because of Gore & Trample. Torrent of Pain will reduce the health cost of Dragon Rage, but I find this unecessary. In addition, none of these buffs apply while Ring of Pain is inactive.

 

Also, I'm not sure why'd you spec thru Whirlwind into Clear a Path as this passive only affects standard attacks and will not generate stamina while using your active skills like Dragon Rage. Personally, I never use my standard attack and this passive would be a waste for my build.

[zeypher]

They should have made a Berserker or Barbarian specialization instead of Reaver.  Hopefully they will in the future.

I have never been fan of blood mage style playstyle. So berserker would be definitely welcome

.

[Richardian]

Also, I'm not sure why'd you spec thru Whirlwind into Clear a Path as this passive only affects standard attacks and will not generate stamina while using your active skills like Dragon Rage. Personally, I never use my standard attack and this passive would be a waste for my build.

I'll do some testing, but I'm pretty sure that Dragon Rage procs Clear a Path.  I can keep up Ring of Pain a lot longer with it.

 

Edit: I've done a few tests, and it looks like you're right.  I don't see any stamina gains from hitting more than one target with a single Dragon Rage swing.  I'll do some more to be sure. 

[GoodFella146]

I want to like this build, I really do, but I prefer to have The Iron Bull as the tank.

 

Why in the world they chose to make Reaver this bad is beyond me..  This is more like a rogue assassin type playstyle.

 

Anyone seen any tank Reaver builds?  My build for The Iron Bull uses him as the tank, but I mostly just use Reaver for the passives until I can Rampage.

[Reman]

While I do like this build for a reaver with increased survivability, IMO the reaver lives and dies by the saying, "The best offense is the best defense" My first PT was

 

on nightmare as a reaver without guard. I didn't die much, even if the enemies were a couple of levels higher than me. Being a purely offensive and scary DPS

 

reaver is all about gear manipulation and tactics, and while your build is very good at being a reaver who can take hits, I find that builds like this and others ( Kinetic

 

GTR's for example,) do improve some aspects of the reaver while handicapping the more significant ones. Guard isn't needed with a reaver, devour and (maybe)

 

block and slash from 2H. It's all about the timing of these abilities and if you have gear that increases your stamina. I have a superb amulet of stamina and

 

increased stamina from fade-touched great bear hide and I find myself barely using basic attacks to recover stamina. The only time I do is if it is a dragon, and it still

 

isn't that often. As far as defense goes, an enhanced devour can do more wonders than guard can. I use the superb heal bonus belt ( which works on my game ),

 

and that plus RoP is enough to sustain me even if a giant is CC locking me on NM. This is all assuming your tank is out of the picture, so I just don't see the point in

 

 

having guard for extra protection that you don't need and that handicaps your DPS. As per the quote I said above, a faster kill time reaver is an alive reaver.

 

Your best offense is your best defense. That is the motto of the reaver. IMO though, your build stacks up pretty well against other builds like it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

I hope I wasn't too aggressive and I hope this can make you start experimenting with other potential builds. Still, thank you.

[ZinkBomb]

My continued thanks for the ongoing feedback!

 

@ GoodFella146 I find the Reaver to be incredibly powerful, especially in the sustainable DPS department, but I can understand how some simply don't like the Reaver mechanics.

 

@ Reman: The only guard generating skill I recommend is Charging Bull. If you think my build recommends using multiple guard generating abilities or focuses on building guard over dealing damage then you misunderstand the build. Guard with the Dragon build is only used to negate damage that is 'unavoidable' (aoe, ranged, cleave, etc.)

 

While guard isn't the focus of the Reaver it is still very valuable. Guard allows the Reaver to operate at dangerously low levels of health without being in any danger of actually dying.

[GoodFella146]

It's not the mechanics exactly, it's not being the tank.  I mean I guess it is in a roundabout way it is but DPS doesn't matter if your character can't stay on his feet.  Needing to use another warrior to accomplish this is my whole issue in the first place.  I want him to tank not be an assassin type rogue.  Know what I mean?  I want them to charge headfirst into battle not wait for Blackwall or Cassy.

 

Obviously what you're doing is working for you but that's not how I want my warrior to be.  Hence why I was wondering if anyone had seen any tank Reaver builds.

[ZinkBomb]

I've actually been testing some modifications to this build to create a legit nightmare tank Reaver. It would make more use of Block & Slash, but I think the major differences would be the itemization.

 

I, too, prefer to charge headfirst with my warrior and while this build provides incredible damage, it is not designed to be the front line guy.

[Reman]

My continued thanks for the ongoing feedback!

 

@ GoodFella146 I find the Reaver to be incredibly powerful, especially in the sustainable DPS department, but I can understand how some simply don't like the Reaver mechanics.

 

@ Reman: The only guard generating skill I recommend is Charging Bull. If you think my build recommends using multiple guard generating abilities or focuses on building guard over dealing damage then you misunderstand the build. Guard with the Dragon build is only used to negate damage that is 'unavoidable' (aoe, ranged, cleave, etc.)

 

While guard isn't the focus of the Reaver it is still very valuable. Guard allows the Reaver to operate at dangerously low levels of health without being in any danger of actually dying.

I was also trying to say that the unavoidable damage can be endured and recovered with devour even at low health, my bad for not clarifying.While I am not debating if guard is valuable, it does take away points that could've been put to use in the DPS passives and talents that would've helped more instead of passives like It'll cost you and the untouchable defense because, as you said, you are only using one guard generating ability, so it would just go to waste also considering that one swipe by the enemy will destroy whatever guard you have on NM as it isn't your main or even side concern. Still, I like the build.

[ZinkBomb]

@ Reman: In my post I note that It'll Cost You is a 'very low priority skill'. Also, Untouchable Defense as well as most of the Vanguard Tree is listed under my #Skills to Avoid# section.