30 réponses à ce sujet

[sch1986]

So I've started my nightmare playthrough. I have to admit, it isn't nearly bad as I thought it would be. However I have found that there is a large difference in difficulty between the actual story missions and wandering around doing side quests. I struggled with the Mage quest. So much so that I flat out ran past some of the rifts.

I am currently level 10. I have allied with the mages. Recruited all companions except Cole. Completed all side quests currently available to me.

I would like to either: get to level 12 before starting "in your heart shall burn" or find some decent schematics that I can send my party in with. None of my schematics so far have masterwork slots. They are all T1 or T2.

Seeing as getting to level 12 at this point is going to be a complete grind- is it possible to get T3 schematics before in your heart shall burn? I have found a couple orange color schematics but none have masterwork slots. Are you locked out of masterwork items before getting to Skyhold? Pretty sick of the Hinterlands at this point and really just want to move on.

[arkngt]

Seeing as getting to level 12 at this point is going to be a complete grind- is it possible to get T3 schematics before in your heart shall burn? I have found a couple orange color schematics but none have masterwork slots. Are you locked out of masterwork items before getting to Skyhold? 

 

You can rather easily access T3 schematics in the Hissing Wastes (as well as Volcanic Aurum, for example), without even having to fight high level enemies. Most enemies are easy to bypass - and if you solo it with a Rogue you can stealth pass them. 

[Arvaarad]

If I recall correctly, you can't use masterwork slots until after you get Dagna at Skyhold. And I know for certain that T3 schematics don't appear pre-Skyhold (in my second playthrough, I specifically looked for them).

T2s with T2 materials will be plenty better than anything you can loot before Skyhold, though. They made a huge difference at the trebuchets, I had a much easier time on my second playthrough with full T2s (and that was despite the fact that Denam is supposedly harder than Fiona).

[teks]

the inquisitor perk for masterwork tier 2 should be all you need. Masterwork slots are dagna's bizz. Non-masterwork schematics have masterwork slots.

[Molohk]

Just keep in mind that story missions scale with your level. So doing them at level 12 won't necessarily be easier than doing them at level 10. On my second NM play through i did "In your heart shall burn" at level 7, with some T2 gear and it seemed easier than level 10 with full T2.

 

That being said, full T2 at level 10 is surely enough. If you equip Jar of Bees, even easier.

[Arvaarad]

Just keep in mind that story missions scale with your level. So doing them at level 12 won't necessarily be easier than doing them at level 10. On my second NM play through i did "In your heart shall burn" at level 7, with some T2 gear and it seemed easier than level 10 with full T2.

That being said, full T2 at level 10 is surely enough. If you equip Jar of Bees, even easier.

+1 to jar of bees, forgot about that. It does amazing damage early-game and usually applies fear pretty quickly (it's a % chance every second). If you chuck it at a squishy, you can pretty much ignore them until they fall over dead.

[shazza53]

the inquisitor perk for masterwork tier 2 should be all you need. Masterwork slots are dagna's bizz. Non-masterwork schematics have masterwork slots.

I'm not sure what you are referring to. There are perks for focus Tier 2 and Tier 3. These are only available after Skyhold once you get your special Inquisitor Skill.

As mentioned earlier, you cannot do Masterwork Crafting until you get to Skyhold and do a war table mission. In fact, you will find that all of your armor and weapon schematics (but not upgrades) now have a masterwork slot.

You can get Tier 2 schematics in Val Royeaux at one of the merchants if you have gold. You may also have some luck in the Valammar Dungeons.

[sch1986]

If I recall correctly, you can't use masterwork slots until after you get Dagna at Skyhold. And I know for certain that T3 schematics don't appear pre-Skyhold (in my second playthrough, I specifically looked for them).
T2s with T2 materials will be plenty better than anything you can loot before Skyhold, though. They made a huge difference at the trebuchets, I had a much easier time on my second playthrough with full T2s (and that was despite the fact that Denam is supposedly harder than Fiona).

Thank you for this. You have saved me a lot of time. You would think on my third playthrough I would know but I didn't pay much attention to crafting until after skyhold on my first two PTs (normal then hard) since you swap gear out so often at lower levels.

I don't know for sure that knight captain denham is harder- it just felt that way to me. And I did him on normal, but I might have been a much lower level. Did Fiona on 12 (but on hard) so that might have been the difference.

Thank you to everyone else as well. Might try picking up the schematics perk and seeing what I get. Hadn't even thought of it before so that will be helpful!

[sch1986]

I'm not sure what you are referring to. There are perks for focus Tier 2 and Tier 3. These are only available after Skyhold once you get your special Inquisitor Skill.
As mentioned earlier, you cannot do Masterwork Crafting until you get to Skyhold and do a war table mission. In fact, you will find that all of your armor and weapon schematics (but not upgrades) now have a masterwork slot.
You can get Tier 2 schematics in Val Royeaux at one of the merchants if you have gold. You may also have some luck in the Valammar Dungeons.

I think they were referring to the class schematics you can get from Josephine's perk list. I always skipped them before because it felt like a wasted perk but this early in the game it might be worth it.

What about party builds? I have all warriors spec'd to S&S. I'm playing a Mage.

I'm thinking Varric- he seems the hardiest between him and Sera. Obviously me as a Mage- and I know this is usually not recommended but I'm thinking another tank.

Right now a single tank isn't doing much to keep enemies from coming after me. I'm think with 2 tanks and two ranged I'll have an easier go of it. But they might just end up downing all my potions...

[VilniusNastavnik]

In your heart shall burn is easy at level 11. Respect into the electricity tree, most of the Reds are weak to electricity.. Bring some fire spells for the Behemoth but that is really all you will need. Ice staff with Energy barrage just in case you need a frost spell. 

Bring dorian/solar/vivianne with the same build but with barrier and dispel. Do not worry about bringing them on yourself.. use yourself for DPS. 
Bring Blackwall or Cassandra.. they both make a very good tank. Pump out Vanguard and SnSh trees.. focus on getting the passives first.
Bring Sera You will need a shadow archer. Varric is substantially weaker due to bianca at early levels and cole will drop. 

 

the inquisitor perk for masterwork tier 2 should be all you need. Masterwork slots are dagna's bizz. Non-masterwork schematics have masterwork slots.

You do love that perk don't you? You can get Superior T2 armor by farming chests to the point where you do not actually need the perks. 

Save perks for more important gear. I picked up a superior enchanter mail in the hinterlands within minutes of arriving. 

[sch1986]

In your heart shall burn is easy at level 11. Respect into the electricity tree, most of the Reds are weak to electricity.. Bring some fire spells for the Behemoth but that is really all you will need. Ice staff with Energy barrage just in case you need a frost spell.
Bring dorian/solar/vivianne with the same build but with barrier and dispel. Do not worry about bringing them on yourself.. use yourself for DPS.
Bring Blackwall or Cassandra.. they both make a very good tank. Pump out Vanguard and SnSh trees.. focus on getting the passives first.
Bring Sera You will need a shadow archer. Varric is substantially weaker due to bianca at early levels and cole will drop.
You do love that perk don't you? You can get Superior T2 armor by farming chests to the point where you do not actually need the perks.
Save perks for more important gear. I picked up a superior enchanter mail in the hinterlands within minutes of arriving.

Can't get ice staff with energy barrage because I don't have masterwork slots available yet. (Unless you just meant bring ice staff- spec energy barrage?) Varric isn't weak at all- Bianca might be but Varric is usually last man standing. (Plus I sort of did some Varric amulet of power farming in Valamar....sue me.)

I'm not worried about the Behemoth. I'm worried about the ninja red Templars with the Eddie scissor hands that one shot you in the back. Ergh. Just thinking about those guys is enough to make me wish I'd worked up the nerve to fight that damn envy demon on nightmare.

Anyway. As you can probably tell- I don't normally play on harder difficulties. I found normal and hard a breeze so I figured why not try nightmare? So I'm not exactly given to strategy and tact. And screw that damn tactical cam. It sucks. Just to clarify- I've been pretty much fine roaming around. It's harder but not unsurvivable. I just know how hard this particular fight sucked on my first PT.

EDIT: where is a good place to farm schematics in the Hinterlands? Or Storm coast/fallow mire? Or should I just buy them from Val Royeaux? I just assumed there wasn't a place to farm these in the hinterlands. Most people talk about farming in HW, EDL and WA.

[Gaz83]

You know the part where you have to clear out a templar camp? When you first head up the hill, there are two templars and a long chest. Kill those guys and stand in front of that chest. Hit save. If you don't find anything good, re-load. I got tier two schematics on almost every go. Once you actually beat the camp leader, it reverts to a normal chest with crappy loot. But during that mission? Amazing. 

 

(The only thing I couldn't get was a tier two weapon for a two hander... and you can probably guess what my main character was. Doh!)

[Arvaarad]

I'm not worried about the Behemoth. I'm worried about the ninja red Templars with the Eddie scissor hands that one shot you in the back. Ergh. Just thinking about those guys is enough to make me wish I'd worked up the nerve to fight that damn envy demon on nightmare.

I find that it helps to have someone with ice wall. Then, when red templars or Venatori are swarming all over the trebuchets, the party can barricade themselves into the little alcove near the trebuchet and let 1 or 2 enemies in at a time.

The shadows actually aren't too much of a problem (I'm not sure they even show up in IYHSB - maybe it depends on your level), it's those lyrium bullet abominations. Constant ranged spirit damage will do you in very quickly on Nightmare. So even if you don't barricade yourself in, it's nice to have the ice wall as improvised cover.

Alternately, just fling bees at the abominations until they run away and die. They're very weak to bees if the fear procs before they get their barrier up.

[perylousdemon]

If I recall correctly, you can't use masterwork slots until after you get Dagna at Skyhold. And I know for certain that T3 schematics don't appear pre-Skyhold (in my second playthrough, I specifically looked for them).

There is one container in the vault in Valammar that you can farm for tier 3 schematics if you have the patience for it.

[tself55]

Tier 2 schematics with tier 2 materials (paragons luster the easiest to get) are more than good enough for nightmare. I beat it solo with a mage, doing IYHSB (mage quest picked) at level 9(->10 right before the boss).

[Gaz83]

You know the part where you have to clear out a templar camp? When you first head up the hill, there are two templars and a long chest. Kill those guys and stand in front of that chest. Hit save. If you don't find anything good, re-load. I got tier two schematics on almost every go. Once you actually beat the camp leader, it reverts to a normal chest with crappy loot. But during that mission? Amazing. 

 

(The only thing I couldn't get was a tier two weapon for a two hander... and you can probably guess what my main character was. Doh!)

 

Doing this now on my new character. I thought I might be mistaken - just dumb luck first time around - as I didn't get anything of note on my first six reloads. But now I've hit a hot streak. In the past five minutes I've got Enchanter Arms, a Guarded Longbow Grip, a Notched Two Handed Grip, a Magister's Staff, a Kirkwall Mace and a Firm Dual Blade Grip.  All tier two, with my character just turned level four (I literally came here straight from Haven).  I've also got a bucket load of blue weapons, but they're all too high a level for me to use right now (lvl 7/8). 

 

I don't know if this spot is well known online or if I have happened across a hidden gem, but it's well worth checking out either way. Just don't kill the Templar Chief. For some reason, that turns this boss chest into a mundane one. 

 

 

On edit - Jackpot! Shame that I'm a mage... and the computer sucks at using daggers. 

 

[VilniusNastavnik]

Can't get ice staff with energy barrage because I don't have masterwork slots available yet. (Unless you just meant bring ice staff- spec energy barrage?) Varric isn't weak at all- Bianca might be but Varric is usually last man standing. (Plus I sort of did some Varric amulet of power farming in Valamar....sue me.)

I'm not worried about the Behemoth. I'm worried about the ninja red Templars with the Eddie scissor hands that one shot you in the back. Ergh. Just thinking about those guys is enough to make me wish I'd worked up the nerve to fight that damn envy demon on nightmare.

Anyway. As you can probably tell- I don't normally play on harder difficulties. I found normal and hard a breeze so I figured why not try nightmare? So I'm not exactly given to strategy and tact. And screw that damn tactical cam. It sucks. Just to clarify- I've been pretty much fine roaming around. It's harder but not unsurvivable. I just know how hard this particular fight sucked on my first PT.

EDIT: where is a good place to farm schematics in the Hinterlands? Or Storm coast/fallow mire? Or should I just buy them from Val Royeaux? I just assumed there wasn't a place to farm these in the hinterlands. Most people talk about farming in HW, EDL and WA.

Yep, ice staff w. the Energy barrage spell. You cannot get EB as a MW item. 

Didn't say he was weak.. just substantially weaker when compared to sera [without power amulet farming]. 

The stalkers were not actually a problem for me. They not once got near me when I did my playthrough. In fact.. no one got past blackwall.. I used the tac cam to have sera turn the wheel then positioned myself dorian and BW.. if the stalker approaches, swap to the tank, it should have challenge. challenge the stalker.. You can target him whilst he is cloaked.. an auto attack them will knock him out of the shadows. You can also see him whilst he is cloaked. Immolate him and that will also knock him out of the shadows. This will remove his critical stealth bonus.. also means the rest of the party can target him and kill him instantly. 

When I play as an archer.. Stalker is right behind me cloaked.. leaping shot over his head followed through by the knock down hit.. his hit misses and he falls on his face. 
When I play as a SnSh.. payback strike.. or what ever the ability that hits all around you.. knocks them on their ass before they hit.
When I play as a 2Her.. start spinning on the spot.. knocks him backwards and out of the shadows..
When I play as a mage.. immolate.. 

There are various ways you can take them down easily before they can gank you on NM.

Every chest in hinterlands can be farmed by the save reload method. Stand next to the chest.. save.. open the chest.. take what you want but LEAVE one item in the chest. Save.. load.. rinse and repeat. There are a couple spots in hinterlands where you can farm T2 items. You can also farm the chests in haven where the troops are sparing using the same method for T2 schematics. 

 

[shazza53]

Vilnius brought up the point I was going to make - the 3 chests by the sparring area at Haven will drop Tier 2 schematics. And are very easy to farm because they are near where you return to Haven. There are also a few chests by the Chantry, one in the side yard, one by the tents across from the door, a pot inside the Chantry Hall to the right. And don't forget to visit the basement / prison. The problem is, these have usually already been opened and cleared by the time you think of farming.

Also, the wooden box at the blacksmith's in Haven has 16 Druffalo Hides, 16 Cotton, and 10 Onyx. Just leave one each time, and you can get lots of Tier 1 raw materials early on to tide you over until you get Tier 2 materials.

[Alan Drifter13]

Go ahead and play "In your heart shall burn" anyway. Keep in mind that the fight next to the trebuchet is pretty much the last really challenging combat you'll get for the remaining of the game. Later on you'll miss a challenge like that one (even in nightmare).

[sch1986]

Vilnius brought up the point I was going to make - the 3 chests by the sparring area at Haven will drop Tier 2 schematics. And are very easy to farm because they are near where you return to Haven. There are also a few chests by the Chantry, one in the side yard, one by the tents across from the door, a pot inside the Chantry Hall to the right. And don't forget to visit the basement / prison. The problem is, these have usually already been opened and cleared by the time you think of farming.
Also, the wooden box at the blacksmith's in Haven has 16 Druffalo Hides, 16 Cotton, and 10 Onyx. Just leave one each time, and you can get lots of Tier 1 raw materials early on to tide you over until you get Tier 2 materials.

This! Once I heard about the farming I tried it on any chests (or area) I found with decent schematics. Some of them are fine, and it works. While other chests seem to have set content and will only restock with the same things minus the schematics you already picked up.

I'll have to recheck my chantry and Haven chests. I've been leaving most of the basic grey items behind because I justo only want to sort through inventory that much on this PT. But I'm sure at this point at least half are empty. And it really sucks about the Templar encampment because I definitely already cleared that out. Didn't realize some chests were dependent on bosses.

I might go back to Valamar and see if the chest with the schematic is still salvageable. I know I left all grey items behind there because I knew those chests have decent drops.

[Arvaarad]

I'm not sure why everyone is suggesting to farm for t2s, you can just buy the schematics in Val Royeaux. Do a few of the shard quests and you'll have terrifying amounts of money (spirit door may be a good choice to start with, since red templar abominations deal spirit damage).

Not to mention, it's good to do a sweep of the Oasis pre-Skyhold, before the Venatori show up there. Makes resource-gathering/shard collection much easier. Lots of rare herbs and t2 metal to be found there.

[sch1986]

I'm not sure why everyone is suggesting to farm for t2s, you can just buy the schematics in Val Royeaux. Do a few of the shard quests and you'll have terrifying amounts of money (spirit door may be a good choice to start with, since red templar abominations deal spirit damage).
Not to mention, it's good to do a sweep of the Oasis pre-Skyhold, before the Venatori show up there. Makes resource-gathering/shard collection much easier. Lots of rare herbs and t2 metal to be found there.

Not a bad idea about the shards. Pretty much resigned myself to leaving them behind after my completionist PT. Some of them are incredibly difficult to reach. But the benefit there might be 2 fold- boost to defenses and the money/loot. Can those be fought at level 10? I know I ran into some lvl 12 spiders out there and they petty much wiped my team out the first time trying to fight them. Went in better prepared the second time and beat them but still annoying.

[Arvaarad]

Not a bad idea about the shards. Pretty much resigned myself to leaving them behind after my completionist PT. Some of them are incredibly difficult to reach. But the benefit there might be 2 fold- boost to defenses and the money/loot. Can those be fought at level 10? I know I ran into some lvl 12 spiders out there and they petty much wiped my team out the first time trying to fight them. Went in better prepared the second time and beat them but still annoying.

Yeah, you'll probably want to avoid the spiders. Luckily neither the giant nor the Venatori appear there pre-Skyhold. If you beeline to the temple you won't meet any hostile mobs.

In the Solasan temple, the corpses behind the first set of doors aren't too bad, worse comes to worse you can chuck AoE into the room while staying out of line of sight of the archers. Alternately you can just bring a DW rogue along and sneak them into the room, and the corpses will just stand there while the rogue ransacks the place.

[teks]

In your heart shall burn is easy at level 11. Respect into the electricity tree, most of the Reds are weak to electricity.. Bring some fire spells for the Behemoth but that is really all you will need. Ice staff with Energy barrage just in case you need a frost spell.

Bring dorian/solar/vivianne with the same build but with barrier and dispel. Do not worry about bringing them on yourself.. use yourself for DPS.
Bring Blackwall or Cassandra.. they both make a very good tank. Pump out Vanguard and SnSh trees.. focus on getting the passives first.
Bring Sera You will need a shadow archer. Varric is substantially weaker due to bianca at early levels and cole will drop.


You do love that perk don't you? You can get Superior T2 armor by farming chests to the point where you do not actually need the perks.

Save perks for more important gear. I picked up a superior enchanter mail in the hinterlands within minutes of arriving.

Let me think about that. Spending one inquisitor perk vs. Farming chests....yeah. ill spend the perk. They arent nearly as valuable as you make them out to be. Most people have better things to do then pray the rng gods give them everything they need in the hinterlands.
These arent post skyhold. They arent in the secrets tree. Advanced schematics in the forces tree. It gives you all the masterwork weapons and armor you need, it doesnt require abusing an exploit, and its faster too.

[sch1986]

Just wanted to thank everyone for your help. I ended up going to Val Royeaux and buying the schematics. No perks and didn't feel like grinding up another level.

T2 schematics with T2 materials for the entire party is definitely enough. Left half the supply caches behind. Keep thinking it must be harder and then checking the options screen to make sure it's still on nightmare. Almost wish I'd just started on nightmare.

Much happier now that I'm at Skyhold.