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[General TSAR]

What race/class combo would you recommend for a Nightmare run? I hear Rift Mage, Knight Enchanter, and Archer Artificer make the game easier, but I don't know about race.  

[The Baconer]

Most combinations will work (expect for Dwaves and any mage class obviously), but the most critical part of a nightmare run, in my opinion, is clearing the Templar or Mage quest and then In Your Heart Shall Burn, which means that specs don't really apply.

[Lulupab]

Go with 2 mages, 1 rogue and 1 warrior and you'll be fine. Their specs doesn't matter as long as the warrior is tank.

 

The hardest part will be In Your Heart Shall Burn.

[NextGenCowboy]

Personally, I recommend human. Yes, their bonus is eventually outdone by the other races, but as was mentioned In Your Heart is the hardest part, and the early game is harder than the late game.

 

I generally advise people to go Archer Assassin. Knight Enchanter is easier to work with, post-spec, but the hardest battles are pre-spec, and mages are slightly harder to work with than a ranged offensive unit with knockdown. Artificer is better than Assassin if played well, the issue is, playing an Artificer well is demanding. It's one of the most difficult classes to work with, and the difference between slaughtering everything, and getting caught off guard and killed as soon as you use Hook and Tackle is generally how good you are at understanding enemy patterns, tells, and mechanics.

 

Assassin offers you enough burst damage, especially with a good party, to get through everything in the game. My general party is a basic Tank, Archer, Varric, Mage, though you can easily fill Varric's slot with any other class you want. This will allow your tank to tank, and 3 people to sit back, pick off priority targets, and then focus fire.

 

You could easily go mage, have another mage, a tank and a Rogue, or even 2 tanks. You do want to spread out range, and non-range. The first boss battle can be very tricky, you'll likely die, don't get discouraged. Eventually things will click, especially if you get schematics early and craft some stuff. Once you beat In Your Heart, the rest of the game can be powerleved through, out-crafted, or broken with Varric, Solas, tanks, or KE/Rift Mage, or Assassin, Artificer, or Tempest.

[General TSAR]

Thanks for the answers, sounds like Your Heart Will Burn is going to be a nightmare(no pun indeed).

 

I'm gonna go with Qunari Archer Assassin and my party composition will be Varric, Cassandra, and Blackwall. 

[Lulupab]

Human is really good at early game, but I think an elf mage is still better.

 

Archers in nighrmare are your literal nightmare as a mage. One arrow will take 50% of your health. The 25% ranged defense racial is VERY GOOD. Trust me on this. you will clearly notice it when Templar archers and those green ranged demons hit you.

 

But for warrior and rogue human can good.

[Lulupab]

Thanks for the answers, sounds like Your Heart Will Burn is going to be a nightmare(no pun indeed).

 

I'm gonna go with Qunari Archer Assassin and my party composition will be Varric, Cassandra, and Blackwall. 

 

Bad idea on party composition. You NEED barrier in nightmare, so you need at least one mage.

[General TSAR]

Alright, default party composition.

 

Solas, Varric, and Cassandra.

[Lulupab]

Yeah the default one really works in terms of balance, even in nightmare. Varric might fall off later in the game, but you can make it up with his crit chance and crit damage which is always higher than all rogues to compensate for Bianca's low base damage in late game.

[General TSAR]

Cool, how's the auto spec?

[The Baconer]

Cool, how's the auto spec?

 

As in, auto-level up for party members? Don't do that. You will be miserable later.

[General TSAR]

As in, auto-level up for party members? Don't do that. You will be miserable later.

I've always auto-level up my characters and experienced no problems, is it really that bad to auto-level on nightmare?

[The Baconer]

I've always auto-level up my characters and experienced no problems, is it really that bad to auto-level on nightmare?

 

Nightmare will take more micromanagement, and I know some people will even use respec multiple times just for using optimal builds for specific missions. Auto-level will be suboptimal at best, but depending on the party member it can create something really screwy. Varric, for example, will get Hook and Tackle and can even get dagger abilities even though he should have a ranged focus.

[andy6915]

Thanks for the answers, sounds like Your Heart Will Burn is going to be a nightmare(no pun indeed).

 

I'm gonna go with Qunari Archer Assassin and my party composition will be Varric, Cassandra, and Blackwall. 

 

I'm... Not so sure of that choice. Artificer is amazing for an archer, and allows you to do some really crazy combos that let you do some of the highest damage per second in the game. And it's safe too, put a bunch of traps between you and the enemy and just snipe from afar and you'll be about as safe as you can be on nightmare as long as the rest of your party isn't on the ground.

 

Do some research yourself. Assassin archer works, but I think artificer would do you better. Look at both, in depth, and then decide. I think it would do you a disservice to at least not bring up artificer as an option, you should at least know that assassin isn't the end-all-be-all for handling nightmare as a rogue archer.

 

And for f*ck sakes, don't auto level. Ever. Period. You are just making the game harder for yourself, the game is mentally retar-disordered when it comes to what it thinks your best off leveling. I can't even imagine actually letting the game handle that, it would be like expecting your dog to handle making dinner for you.

[General TSAR]

Don't auto-level, gotcha.

[NextGenCowboy]

I advocate Artificer for someone who wants to break the game. I advocate Assassin for someone who just wants to get through NM with as little trouble as possible. Artificer's the better class in terms of DPS, the issue is, Assassin is good right out of the gate. Even with Artificer's 5% increase to crit chance, you still need to pump Cunning or Crit Chance via gear to get it high enough to take full advantage of Opportunity Knocks. In addition, using the basic setup (Hooke and Tackle + Leaping Shot) makes spacing an issue.

 

Elemental Mines can proc cooldowns, and can proc Looked Like it Hurt. The thing is, if you're slipping in and out of stealth with an Assassin (Stealth + Full Draw will take out most archers or mages in the main game, meaning one less enemy right off the bat, and you can re-stealth) then you're also taking advantage of Looked Like it Hurt due to Blade in the Shadow's auto-crits. Also, stealth drops aggro, which means someone who's not into micromanagement (the person who just wants to beat NM for the trophy) is less likely to be targeted, and killed.

 

In short, Artificer's the better class for DPS, especially in the higher levels. Archer Assassin can beat the game at level 18 without issue. Artificer doesn't really hit its stride until level 15, unless your take a minor DPS drop by using a Sniper Bow, farm chest or materials, or really know how to optimize your parts for crits (via a Flashpoint mage or something similar).

 

Wanna kill dragons, solo, in 10 seconds? Artificer. Wanna just get through NM with as little fuss as possible? I'd probably go Assassin Archer, or Knight Enchanter.

Edit: As was said, don't auto-level, especially Varric. His first priority should be to get Explosive Shot, then he should pick up stealth, and round out the right side of the Archery tree. Afterwards, try and grab Looked like it Hurt, then start giving him poison weapons. Once he specs, things are going to get hectic. Left side of Artificer, right side of archery, and Looked Like it Hurt. Then start rounding out Archery, Poison Weapons, and Stealth + Easy to Miss.

 

My Varric generally looks like this:

 

Longshot (preferred)

Explosive Shot (Preferred)

Full Draw

Leaping Shot

 

Elemental Mines (disabled)

Stealth

Hail of Arrows

Poison Weapons (preferred)

 

That same setup can work for an assassin, although you'll likely replace an Archery skill with Mark of Death, and Elemental Mines with Hidden Blades. I get away with skipping Poison Weapons on an Archer (freeing up a space for Explosive Shot/Longshot), but if you like it, roll with it.

 

Another thing to note. Always disable Varric's traps (caltraps and Spike trap), he can use Elemental Mines with the AI (it tosses them in an arc) but he's not likely to hit much (I still leave them on, but you'll have to see if it works for you or not).

[Dai Grepher]

Artificer sucks. Go with Tempest for the electricity and fire flasks.

[tat2teel]

During my NM run I ran as a Sword and Board Champion, which got a little tedious but I alternated between my party members frequently. I solo'd most of the dragons using, a combination of taunt, warcry, charging bull, walking fortress, and auto attacks. May not have been glamorous and may have taken forever but it worked. My party was usually Varric, Sera, and Solas/Vivienne. I know it's not a min/max party but it got the job done.

[NextGenCowboy]

Artificer sucks. Go with Tempest for the electricity and fire flasks.

 

Artificer can, under optimal circumstances, outdamage a Tempest using Thousand Cuts*2, which isn't even available anymore. I think that's all that really has to be said on the situation. Leaping Shot + Hail of Arrows allows for the same effect as Fire Flask, except without cooldowns on the flask, and that lasts for 42 seconds (more than 3 times the amount of time it takes to solo the highest level dragon in the core game). More hits means more Hidden Blade procs, means more crits, means more cooldown and stamina regen. In short, it's a perpetual motion machine of destruction.

[andy6915]

My Varric generally looks like this:

 

Longshot (preferred)

Explosive Shot (Preferred)

Full Draw

Leaping Shot

 

Elemental Mines (disabled)

Stealth

Hail of Arrows

Poison Weapons (preferred)

 

Really? I try to make party members separate, so Sera is the one who gets the archer abilities in my game. Sera is archer-tempest, Varric is the entire left side of the poison tree and maxing artificer, and giving him at least 3 stealth skills so he can survive. He basically has no archery skills, and Sera has all of them. You think that's a bad setup?

[Lulupab]

The first three abilities on right side of sabotage (poison tree) are a must for Varric. It gives him stamina when he crits and armor penetration when he crits. (his crit chance and crit damage bonus is always higher than everyone else due to bianca, provided you use crit chance materials)

[NextGenCowboy]

His crit chance is also higher due to "And Take Them Down" giving the whole party 5% increased crits. Also, one can skip "Cheap Shot", meaning you only need 2 points in Sabotage, outside of Poison stuff, because "Looked Like it Hurt" is the first passive on the right side. You'll note I brought that up, twice.

 

The reason you want archery skill with Varric is because Explosive Shot (every enemy it hits), Longshot (Archer's Lance's piercing) and Leaping Shot all proc Oppertunity Knocks (0.5 second cooldown per crit) that, plus Looked Like it Hurt (10 stamina per crit) is the whole basis of Artificer. It works with Dual Wielding too, but DW artificer is probably the most difficult class to play in the game effectively. When it's on, it's an ideal NM Solo class (and one of the few classes I run Berserk on, because if you're hit, you're dead anyway), but that's not something someone just trying to get through NM should do.

 

Varric, with the above (Archer) setup, and the aforementioned Looked Like it Hurt can take care of himself. His issue is survivability, but, and this is a big but, he can lock enemies down with repeated Explosive Shots, and he'll always have more than one skill off cooldown (and can spam skills with Hail of Arrows, which you can lock enemies in place with Pull of the Abyss/Mark of the Rift, and then you can Mark of Death them, that's enough, especially with Hidden Blades, to kill even dragons in seconds).

 

One can use Elemental Mines, but it's not as effective at range, it's a defensive move when used by the AI (at least for me) meant to watch his flank from charging enemies and the aggro he draws. If you set Elemental Mines to preferred, he'll toss them down to start every battle. Advantage, they'll detonate if he's charged. Disadvantage, he'll start with less stamina, meaning he'll need to use auto attacks before the ball gets rolling, and he can start skill spamming. I'd change it up on a case by case basis (in areas with lots of melee enemies set it to preferred, when facing archers turn it off).

 

If anyone's curious about an Artificer's dragon setup (I and others use Varric, so Inquis is slightly better, because Varric loses one mastercrat slot on Bianca). It's stacking Hidden Blades 3 hits and 4 hits, or 4 and 5 (same abilities in different amounts stack). Then using Leaping Shot + Hail or Arrows (36 hits, 24 need to crit for Leaping Shot to have no cooldown time, Looked like it hurt gives you back 240 stamina), and spamming that. Once your timing is good, you'll known when to use Hook and Tackle before you get back out of range, then you can Leaping Shot on your kickoff. You can also use Hook and Tackle + Fallback Plan simultaneously, meaning you can actually reset your position behind an enemy, which will give you flanking bonus damage, plus Leaping Shot's rolling Draw bonus damage. 42 seconds is more than enough to kill anything that can't fly away.  We're talking 20000% weapon damage over the course of Hail of Arrows, without taking into account the bonus crit rate, dex bonuses, or Hidden Blades procs (36 chances every leaping shot).

 

All that said, I still wouldn't suggest someone just trying to beat NM to use an Artificer. Too much effort, too much micromanagement. You have to understand enemy priority, timing, you generally have to be good with Fallback Plan, and you'll draw aggro like no one's buisness. I suggest taking Varric and Solas because they synergize so well together (Tricks of trade works on both Elemental Mines, and Solas' weakening abilities), and you can always switch to Varric after you mark and enemy and get off Hidden Blades if you need extra damage before Mark of Death ends, or if something survives your initial Mark of Death. Assassin is one of the best out of the box classes. it needs only 5 points in assassin to be at full effectiveness for taking down large enemies. By level 12, the whole build's basically done, and everything else is icing on the cake. Artificer really needs at least 6 points (for Hail or Arrows, whole right side and first left side passive), and Tempest needs 6 points (7 if using Thousand Cuts).

 

Edit: Sera's also an effective teamate if you're switching to her. She can use Lightning Flask, and Thousand Cuts (with a good bow) will do the most damage of anything in you arsenal most likely (again, Artificer has higher DPS but that requires min-maxing to achieve).

[General TSAR]

Just started the run as Human Archer (need that extra point) and the Pride Demon was kicking my ass. It took me four tries, but I finally beat him and got to the Hinterlands.

 

This is gonna be brutal.

[andy6915]

Just started the run as Human Archer (need that extra point) and the Pride Demon was kicking my ass. It took me four tries, but I finally beat him and got to the Hinterlands.

This is gonna be brutal.

It's really not. Just don't be afraid to use the dupe exploit if you need money to craft the best possible equipment you need. And have at least one mage with an upgraded static cage... Trust me. That spell alone improves party damage by 50%, so long as the enemy is hurt by lightning. And don't be afraid of using cheap tactics, there is NO concept of playing fair on nightmare.

Oh, and put a guard on hit masterwork on your equipment if you have it. That can make a rogue several times more able to survive than they are without it. Cole used to get his ass kicked all the time before I gave him that.

[NextGenCowboy]

Just started the run as Human Archer (need that extra point) and the Pride Demon was kicking my ass. It took me four tries, but I finally beat him and got to the Hinterlands.

 

This is gonna be brutal.

Honestly, you're going to be fine. That first battle is one of the most difficult, if you handled that, then the only really crazy parts left to complete are In Your Heart Shall Burn, and Crestwood's story Rifts (4 waves). Most everything else can be beaten with a little luck, some basic strategy, and once you spec, by outleveling the content or crafting amazing gear.

 

Guard on Hit, as was said, Walking Fortress on Hit are both excellent defensive options, whereas Hidden Blades on Hit (very easy to find in Exalted Plains, Fallow Mire, or anywhere with lots of undead) for offense. Chain Lightning, and Immolate can both increase offensive output as well. You can buy a Tier 2 bow from Val Royeux very early in the game, or the Black Emporium, that will increase your offensive output a lot. Stack HP with defensive metal slots on your Arms and Legs until the better stuff opens up later.

 

My personal setup for a defensive archer involves Guard on Hit (3 or 5), Walking Fortress on Hit, and Hidden Blades. If you're looking for more offense you can put another Hidden Blade, or Chain Lightning. Abilities won't stack if they're the exact same ability, so, Hidden Blades 4 hits on Hit, won't stack with another Hidden Blades 4 hits on Hit. But the same abilities in different amounts will stack, so hidden blades 4 will stack with Hidden Blades 5 or 3. Guard on Hit 3 will stack with Guard on Hit 5.