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[Myalzalean]

Before I dive into the topic I'd like to thank all those who have contributed to the forums with builds, guides, tips, tricks, suggestions, and sarcastic remarks to remind us that this is only a game and the ultimate goal is just to have fun. 

 

The information provided here isn't for you uber players who are looking for another method to conquer Thedas solo on Nightmare difficulty. This is a guide from the perspective of a more casual player who likes running with a full party, with a few trials on, and taking a more completionist approach to the game.

 

This is my attempt to give something back to the community in hopes that it may help someone else who may be just getting started down the path of an Inquisitor.

 

Now on to the main event!

 

Character Creation

 

Unless you've been researching the forums more diligently than a cloistered sister studies the chant of light one of the things that is not readily apparent about Dragon Age Inquisition is that the game actually gets easier the longer you play it. Prior to Skyhold where you finally get all of your shiny specialization superpowers the game is very limiting in terms of the number of abilities you can use and items you can equip.

 

Also, while it has been said many times in numerous excellent guides, it is very important to remember that there are things the AI is really good at and other things that will make you question the programmers’ mental and emotional state when they wrote the code. This, more than anything else, has been the basis for not only what character class/role I play but also how I build my companions.

 

Luckily three of the things the AI is decent at can be accomplished with your starting companions. Cassandra makes a very capable AI tank. Varric, for the most part, can stay at range and provide decent damage and utility. Finally Solas can easily be spec’d as a very good support Mage.

 

If you haven’t already decided on a class I would strongly suggest looking into a DPS build such as a Fire Mage, DPS Archer, Dual Wielding Rogue, or maybe even a 2H Warrior if you really have to have comically big weapons and heavy armor. The one thing that the AI does not do very well is provide strong, consistent DPS without constantly emulating the title character from Weekend at Bernie’s.

 

If you haven’t decided on a race, you can’t really go wrong with any of them. I usually choose Human because of the extra ability point. The earlier I can get to that one spell or ability that can turn the tide against my enemies the better. For me it far outweighs any passive damage reduction and it doesn’t hurt that the majority of the storyline is very Human-centric so it is easy to feel as if your character truly belongs there.

 

If you have the Trespasser DLC one of the options available during character creation is to enable trials. Trials are a good thing. They add a degree of difficulty to the game that makes it a little tougher but compensates you with rewards in the form of weapons and items that are either not normally available or rare to attain. I will include tips throughout the guide for trial rewards.

 

As I’ve mentioned before I am more of a casual gamer but I also have a low self-esteem so making the game more difficult than fun is not my idea of a good time. Even then I run with all trials on except for Take it Slow and Friends with Bene- I mean Fair Weather Friends.

 

Take it slow makes me wait even longer on the spells and abilities I really want so no thanks. Fair weather friends makes me feel like I have to metagame my responses too much to keep those oversensitive pansies from taking off before I am done taking advantage of their usefulness.

 

I also turn off friendly fire because the first rule of Murphy’s Laws of War is friendly fire isn’t.

 

Lastly, in my humble opinion RNG is a cruel and unusual torture mechanic that more often than not likes to “reward” you with crap you either can’t use or don’t want. I typically do not “save scum” chests and drops but I have no issue with save scumming trial rewards and do so regularly. What that means is before I loot the “Special Shipments” chest for my trial reward I save the game. If it isn’t something I want or need I reload the save and loot the chest again. I repeat this process until I get something I can actually use. I figure that by voluntarily enabling trials and making my virtual life more difficult I deserve an actual reward and not just a “chance” at something good. /Rant Off   

 

Next Up – Heralding for Andraste 101

[Myalzalean]

Heralding for Andraste 101

 

So let me get this straight, you didn’t learn your lesson the first time that violently exploding magical energy is bad. So, you took another trip to the still smoldering temple ruins only to almost get blown into oblivion once again. You wake up in a town full of disenfranchised zealots, mages, and Templars who thinks it’s a good idea to start a crusade against some unknown dark force. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also want to make you the face of this new movement by claiming you were personally saved and sent back by the most revered figure in the history of Human religion. Congratulations, you’re the Herald of Andraste!

 

Okay, so maybe life isn’t that bad, but the road ahead looks pretty bleak. Let’s pick up right outside the Chantry. The first thing you should do is go back into the Chantry and start some War Table Operations, particularly the one for Varric’s Amulet of Power and the Teryn of Highever which will reward a better sword for Cassandra.

 

At this point you can finally assign ability points to your companions but not so fast. Go ahead and assign points to your Herald and complete all of the Haven quests and sell off any gear and loot you don’t need.

 

Before you travel to the Hinterlands for the first time you should either be level 3 or 4, but your companions will be Level 3. Level your character in accordance with whatever guide you are following. Recommendations for leveling your companions is as follows:

 

Cassandra – Obviously you are free to assign ability points as you choose but I strongly recommend spending the gold and getting Cass a Tactician’s Renewal amulet. We need her as tanky as can be and that means she needs to taunt and generate guard. While Challenge is a good ability to have, Payback Strike is not a luxury we can afford this early in the game.

 

At level 3 I assign her Challenge, Shield Wall, War Cry, Bear Mauls the Wolves and Shield Bash.

 

For tactics I set Challenge and War Cry to Preferred, Shield Bash to Normal, and disable Shield Wall.

 

Varric – Varric starts with Long Shot and Caltrops. Long shot is decent but Caltrops is not as useful for how we are going to build him. I also strongly recommend sucking it up and buying him a Tactician’s Renewal amulet as well.

 

The plan with Varric is to spec him into the Sabotage tree with the ultimate goal of gaining Toxic Cloud with the Lost in the Mist evolution. Lost in the Mist gives any friendly in toxic cloud up to three stacks of evade. Evade is an excellent buff and can mitigate a good deal of damage.

 

At Level 3 (with his amulet of power point) I assign Varric First Blood, Explosive Shot, Poisoned Weapons, Fighting Dirty and Explosive Toxin. Bypassing Long shot helps us get to both Lost in the Mist and Pincushion/Full Draw a level faster while still providing decent damage with Explosive Shot and Poisoned Weapons.

 

Solas – Don’t worry, Solas’ starting abilities are great, no need to spend any more gold here. Along with Barrier and Winters Grasp I assign Solas Peaceful Aura and Dispel. Set Dispel to Preferred and everything else to Normal and Solas will do the rest.

 

Now I’m ready to head out into the Hinterlands. I have an answer to pretty much anything the game throws at me to do some side quests, close a few rifts, and take back the Crossroads. Counter high guard Templars with Cassandra’s Shield Bash and Spellbinders Barriers and Mines with Solas’ Dispel.

 

 

Trespasser DLC Tip – If you enabled the trials I recommended during character creation you are close to your first reward after the prologue. When you head outside of town for the logging stand kill some rams until you get the Trial Rewards notification. This has the added benefit of getting ram leather which is a decent crafting mat and if you’re lucky you might also get some ram horns to drop. Three of them can be turned in to Minaeve in the Chantry for xp and influence.

 

For your first reward I would recommend either a Sigil of the Great Bear or a weapon such as Tempest’s Center for a mage, Leeches or the Armada Captain Knife schematic for a dual wielder, or the Dancer’s Axe for a 2H Warrior. If you are playing an Archer, hold off on the unique bow because you can’t equip it until level 7.

 

The Sigil of the Great Bear effectively doubles your stamina or mana pool when placed in the sigil slot on your armor. This means double the spells or abilities you can use at the beginning of combat.

 

Next Up – Heralding in the Hinterlands (Levels 4-7)

 

 

[Myalzalean]

Heralding in the Hinterlands (Levels 4-7)

 

By this time you have probably spoken with Mother Giselle and maybe even taken a field trip to Val Royaeux. While it may be tempting to recruit more companions and start inserting them into your party you are probably better off just sticking with the crew you have. With the exception of Blackwall and Vivienne your other non-human mates are likely an ability point behind everyone else because Solas has an amulet of power that is very easy to attain as well.

 

Go ahead and recruit to your hearts content, in fact I encourage it because it will open up more war table operations.

 

Feel free be as creative as you want with your party membership, but I’m going to keep rolling with my original posse’.

 

I spend this next portion of the game focusing on gaining influence and acquiring agents. What I really want is the Deft Hands, Fine Tools Inquisition Perk so that my rogues can open those pesky masterwork locked doors.

 

No matter which class I play my first point goes into Arcane Knowledge. This will give me one point in the Secrets perks and also throws in some bonus experience every time I read something. In fact, I usually wait to do my sweep through Haven’s chests and books until after I get my first perk.

 

The quests I want to complete are Witty Ritts, Praise the Herald of Andraste, and Business Arrangements. With the right dialogue choices I will get three Secrets agents that when combined with Arcane Knowledge will unlock the Deft Hands, Fine Tools perk. If I get enough influence for a second perk first I save the point until I have recruited all three of the agents and then spend the point on Deft Hands, Fine Tools. I’m usually level 5 when I get the perk.

 

Once I have the Deft Hands, Fine Tools perk I usually just work towards the other Knowledge perks in whichever order I feel like.

 

Since I am more of a completionist I end up completing most of the Hinterlands quests before moving onto trying to recruit the Mages or Templars. One of the last things I try to acquire before advancing the main storyline is the Masterwork Vanguard Armor located in the Mercenary Fortress than can be equipped on Cass at level 8.

 

The other benefit to waiting is I will complete my low level party specs for the rest of my companions. The builds are as follows.

 

Cassandra – Challenge, Shield Wall, War Cry, Bear Mauls the Wolves, Shield Bash, Turn the Blade, Untouchable Defense, It’ll Cost You, and Livid

 

As you can see the ability we are aiming for is Livid. I know a lot of people don’t care for Livid but I’ve found it gives excellent damage reduction while increasing her ability to deal damage and seems the perfect ability for her at this stage of the game.

 

Varric – First Blood, Explosive Shot, Poisoned Weapons, Fighting Dirty, Explosive Toxin, Toxic Cloud, Lost in the Mist, Pincushion, Full Draw.

 

After Lost in the Mist for some Evade goodness we put Varric back on the DPS path with Pincushion and Full Draw.

 

Solas – Barrier, Winter’s Grasp, Peaceful Aura, Dispel, Rejuvenating Barrier, Mana Surge, Winter Stillness, Ice Mine, Player Options! Guardian Spirit or Ice Armor, or Revival.

 

Solas is our support Mage. We want him spamming Barrier and Ice Mine. We need him to dispel enemy barriers and mines as well.

 

Ice Mine is the ability we were gunning for but after that his build becomes much more flexible. I would stay away from Energy Barrage though as the mana cost will preclude him from casting a barrier or dispel when we really need it. If you are looking to have Solas use Blizzard then Ice Armor is the choice here, otherwise take Revival for party survival or Guardian Spirit is you think Solas is a bit squishy.

 

Make sure to get the Belt of Winter Pact for Solas near the Templar encampment. The map is close to the Upper Lake Camp.

 

The reason I haven’t taken Elegant Defense is I don’t see it as needed with this party build. The key to the party is synergy. Cassandra taunts and generates barrier for survivability. Varric helps party survivability with evade stacks while dishing out some decent damage. Solas casts barrier on Cass while chilling and freezing enemies in her grill.

 

This is why I play a DPS class as my Quizzy. I have been running a Fire Mine mage with Energy Barrage, Immolate and an occasional Barrier for Oh S**t moments, but any of the DPS classes would work great with this party makeup.

 

This setup allows the AI to do the things it is good at and let me focus on playing my main character.

 

More Trespasser DLC Tips – My first two trial rewards are usually a weapon for my DPS character and a Sigil of the Great Bear. I also put a Sigil of the Great Bear on Solas as soon as practical to increase his mana pool so that he can spam barrier and cc spells.

 

Other useful trial rewards are Enhanced Cooldown Amulet for just about any character, Belt of Inferno Pact for Fire Mages, Amulet of Barrier and Enhanced Stamina Amulets for DW Rogues and 2H warriors, and the grenades belt because Jar of Bees!

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please feel free to leave comments, questions, concerns, ridicule etc. and I will respond accordingly.

[AlanC9]

Should a new casual player actually be activating trials in the first place?

[Myalzalean]

Should a new casual player actually be activating trials in the first place?

 

I've had the game since release but never got to Skyhold before I had to take a long hiatus from the game because life got in the way.

 

I hadn't played the game since before Descent came out so when I came back to the game post-Trespasser so much had changed it was almost like starting over for me.

 

I think everyone agrees Normal difficulty is pretty easy, even for someone brand new to the game, I know as a casual gamer it was pretty easy unless I wandered into an area that wasn't suitable to my level.

 

With the trials I enable the biggest issue is just dealing with the elites that have more guard or barrier and a few new abilities. When you spec your party right and get a feel for the combat it's not that bad.

 

The reason I recommend trials is that Normal might be a bit easy, even for a casual player. Instead of raising the difficulty level of the game try the game with trials because then you at least get to enjoy the trial rewards as well.