Ancient Elven Robes? Meh, they weren't as good as what i'd been wearing at the time. Which were ugly as fuck.

 

High Keeper Robes are pretty good, yeah.

Just dinged 20, and halfway through Exalted Plains. I had no idea this was a level 11-15 zone >_>. Well, I'll do better next playthrough.

The War Table really should show the level range of enemies on every area...

 

So which ability trees has everyone gone with? My primary is Knight-Enchanter, with Lightning as a secondary and Winter and Spirit as Tertiary. The passive from lighting where your spells do more damage the less mana you have is powerful as hell, since the KE main attack isn't mana intensive at all. You can just deplete your mana bar with some other spells, and then swat away at the enemies.

Spirit for Barrier is just a necessity an about all I have. Winter is a bit more fun. Zipping over and behin the enemy at the start of battle an then attacking with a blade of magic is just appealing and badass. The passives aren't bad either.

So basically KE/Storm/Winter.

 

My inq is an ArcherAssassin.

Stick death mark on someone, stealth for 100% crit buff, use overkill (hits like 7 or so times at 1k each) then full draw (if fighting a super high health enemy) or long shot before popping the mark...

I've seen it do 9k at it's highest (not counting overkill insane dmg). Massive nuke. I'm still only 16...

I'm super squishy though.

I was running two mages with myself and Cass until recently. I had a thought that the Dragons were doing the AoE pull thing because there weren't enough people in range, so I'm using Blackwall as my tank now with Cass as a 2h Warr.

She's a little squishy too, but I need to get her the 3 guard on hit on her armour. I already have it on Blackwall, as well as the one that heals him 15% of dmg over 10 seconds (I've not seen him below 90% yet...)

Given the tankiness of those two, I opted for a dmg mage and rested Solas. Dorian it's ridiculous with walking bomb. Not sure what to do secondary though, lightning for dmg and aoe, fire for even more CC and dots (and aoe) or frost for the freeze, slow and defense.

I've also never used barrier (Solas had it though). How does it work? Is it targeted? Auto? The AI seems pretty stupid with using complex abilities...

I just got good at not standing in the fire and moving around.

I also don't get Cass's templar abilities. It says they work better on Demons, does that mean they don't work at all on non-Demons?

 

Knight Enchanter with fire, lightning and the ice teleport skill. Fire is insane with KE, with the passive that reduces cooldowns, spammable great damage aoe, and fire mine rapes tough mobs. The passive that uses your barrier to increase fire spell damage is so good too, cause now your fire spell does so much damage, you get full barrier back. And because you're spamming your fade sword all the time, you're getting your spells back faster than half the usual time.

From storm, I go right three points - for the passive that gives you more damage as your mana is low - I'm constantly spamming all spells, so I'm usually around 1/3 mana, or less during a boss battle, so that's very nice. And since I'm at melee range spamming spells 24/7, the passive that does lightning damage and paralyzes mobs attacking me.

From winter, just the teleport/rush spell. Must, for getting there faster and just battlefielt mobility.

I use Solas as rift/spirit/winter mage, so I don't even need the spirit tree for myself. I do so much damage I don't need to cast barrier. If I played on nightmare, that would definitely change.

 

@Hugplx: Barrier is targeted AoE.

@Clerith: Eh, I find Barrier useful to have on both mages because it basically lets me always have my party protected. Despite the fact me and Blackwall could take most thing on our lonesome, I still feel more reassured.

I'm a bit more of a defensive minded player, even when I play as DMG. Especially when I play as DMG.

 

Btw, totally agree about needing enemy level ranges for zones on world map. So frustrating having to zone in and find enemies to discover what it is...

Though I'm loving playing as an Archer, it seems (if you really only like controlling your MC) that Mage is the way to go. A lot of their key spells are ground targeted, which you should probably control yourself. I don't trust the AI to do my rogue nuke either, but, with cooldowns, I could easily have Cole do it at the start of a fight before switching to my inq as it cools down.

I might have to start switching between Dorian and me more. Not that I mind, he looks boss (read: dashing) as fuck with the Velvet mage robes I made him, lol

 

Mages handle themselves surprisingly fine. Barriers get cast well, and Solas' fire mines usually hit. I have no skill use complaints about him.

My archers, on the other hand... are completely retarded. Maybe I should tweak the tactics, but Sera just doesn't use the Tempest flasks, doesn't use any skill well. Whenever I switch into her, she has over 50 stamina (it's set to conserve at 0) and full draw can be used. Most people on various forums say that archer is probably the best for nightmare, since you really need to control one yourself.

Movement, the AI just sucks at. Squishies staying at melee range... staying in dragon breaths... *sigh*

 

I got the Deluxe edition which comes with a bunch of schematics for weapons and gear, the thing that sucks though is that most of the gear is tied to you Inquisitor. Can't use it for others.

How does everyone like the companions so far? I don't think I'm even 1/4th through the game yet but I'm really enjoying the writing that has gone into this.

Cassandra: Kind of a hardass but she's reasonable and does things because it's right. Liked her right away, even when she was interrogating me at the start, haha. And catching her being all flustered with the book and romance path just makes her better.

Varric: I feel like he's not tied very much into the story, I already know him well enough from DA2 and he doesn't have that 'always there' friendship with the Inquisitor like he did with Hawke. On the other hand Hawke is his best friend (Honestly, who was a rival with Varric?) and had years together, you don't have that here. Still it's nice to have him in the game.

Solas: Dude is just nice, he has that mentor feel and is pretty much just pleasant to talk to. The Varric of DAI as it were. I love talking to him about the Fade and Spirits, his party banter with Cole has this comforting air about it and is really interesting to listen to. I was surprised about his hostility to the Qun and his tone with Iron Bull honestly, but it makes him more real.

"The" Iron Bull: If there's one thing I can say about Bull is that he's honest. There's very little hiding with him and he's all up front about things, I really respect that. He's a Father to His Men type of guy and he doesn't let his crews pasts color them. Him being accepting to his crew and that the Qun isn't perfect shows a more personable side to the Qunari thing.

Blackwall: Similar to Cassandra in that doing the right thing is what's important to him, you get the feeling that he's been through alot. He's kind of stoic in a sense but it's nice seeing him give praise to the Inquisition being a force of good in the land. Catching him carving that Griffon kid rocker was funny. So far I haven't seen anything to dislike him.

Cole: He's odd, but once you know that everything he does is to try and help people it's very easy to like him. His little oddities around Skyhold don't make much sense until you walk around and hear what the aftereffects are. His conversations have a guiding feel to it, seeing him trying to help and giving him a chance to try make me feel happy. Which I think is what Cole would want.

Sera: I definitely got a 'lolsorandom' feel from her, but the pants-less guard were funny. I feel like she has a hard time trying to convey what she thinks/feels, like she ADHD which to honest sounds right. But she's all about the little guys and she hates people who abuse others, basically shitty people. Which she responds to with an arrow to the face...or a dick kick, a knee to the face, and beating a face in. Which quite frankly I really agree with. If you don't want to be arrowed, don't be a shitty person. Simple stuff.

Dorain: Very pompous and feels out of place in the Inquisition. But I respect him for it, it cannot be easy to abandon your country for someone who might kill you for being from Teviter just to warn them about an army filled with his countrymen. He wants to redeem his nation into something respectable even though he's a pariah. And his meeting with his father had a very personal feel to it, not to me, but it felt like something you would see here. And he'll know when he's crossed the line with his snark/pomp and he'll apologize.

Vivienne: Out of all the party members Vivienne is the one I don't like. It feels like she didn't join the Inquisition to do good, it's more like a feather in her cap. I also very much disagree with her views on mages, while I believe that mages should be free I also understand what the Templars are for. She seems to treat her fellow mages as beneath her though, which fits her personality. The only time I liked her was when we first met funny enough. The verbal smackdown she gave the guy was entertaining to watch.

 

Some maybe useful copypasta:

Haven - L1-4
Hinterlands - L4-7, L8-11, L12+
Val Royeaux - L4-6
Fallow Mire - L8-10, L12-15
Storm Coast - L7-11, L13-15+
Forbidden Oasis - L8-12, L5-15, L18-20
Skyhold - L10-12
Crestwood - L10-12, L13+
The Western Approach - L10-13, L14+
The Exalted Plains - L10-13, L13-16
Emerald Graves - L14-16, L16-20
Emprise du Lion - L16-19, L19-22
The Hissing Wastes - L19-23

 

It took all my free time this week(60h) but I managed to beat the game. I think I have completed every quest, only the collectibles (mosaics and a few spirit stones I was too lazy too collect) remain open.

I am a bit disappointed at how static most of the world and its characters are - there is absolutely no reason to visit old areas. For example the attack on the keep in Crestwood that they showed in the previews never happened to me. Even the question of mages or Templars has no real consequence, Red Templars seem to happen no matter what I do.

While the ending was okay I had hoped for a bit more information in the epilogue, especially about what happens to the companions or other important NPC`s.

Spoiler

Most interesting part was the Mytal/Flemeth thing... My poor Inquistor, who till the Adamant keep firmly believed to be Andrastes chosen, is now at the beck and call of Flemeth who not only has the soul of an ancient elven goddess but also that of an Archdemon. (Not that it seemed to help her much considering she got eaten/banished by Solas)

 

My biggest issue with AI mages was just that, they'd stand by Cass and get blown up by Dragons. It's why I switched to 2 warriors, less micro managing on my part.

They really needed a range option on tactics though. Seems like a bloody no brainer tbh...

I can see Archers being terrible with AI too now that you mention it, especially considering how nuanced their abilities are (esp tempest).

I really don't like Sera or Viv. Cass is my waifu. I also love Dorian. He gives voice to the less popularised portion of tevinter.

The rest are 'ok'. I do like Solas' party chat. He's very Dumbledore - always very obviously the smartest/ wisest/ most mature one in the room and really cuts through logical fallacies like a hot knife through butter.

Thanks for the zone level ranges btw. I had thought W Approach would have been higher level for some reason.

 

Well, fuck. I think I broke Leliana.

But goddamn, choices I made like forever go coming back to bite me in the ass in unexpected ways? Great job Bioware, It's what we asked for.

 

Finally killed hinterlands Dragon. Was hilariously easy with fire protection pots to protect squishies.

Got an amazing staff (?) off the fecker too:

Grand Enchanter's Staff
Cold dmg
6 crit chance
12 cunning
17 magic
2% for mind blast on hit
Open rune slot.

 

Thanks for reminding me about the fire tonics Hugplx, those helped quite a bit...along with my 30% Fire Resistance belt.

By the way, to those who have killed a dragon, what choice did you guys pick at the War Room after killing a dragon? It's my first time killing a dragon so putting on a party sounds special, but I know there's only so much dragons in the game and I want to have as much materials to work with for building the best gear.

 

I think that's just a generic war table quest? You don't get anything special from it, just generic mission reward and done and forgotten.

I had the nobles gawking at the corpse.

 

I didn't know if giving it to Herren meant armor/weapons/materials or not, still it's my first dragon. At least put out the pomp and flair at least once.

 

Yeah, it doesn´t really matter what option you pick there- it doesn´t affect what you get from killing the dragon at al. I think you get a bit of influence and an amulet.

 

Just want to let you guys know, that if you're missing the Sutherland and Crew operation storyline, why even play Dragon Age Inquisition?

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, give the farmer kid on the second floor of the Herald's Rest a chance to prove his worth. It will not disappoint you.

 

Was that the one where he mentioned...dammit, it's been a while. I think I might have done that one, gave it to Leliana. One more reason to do another playthrough when I finish my first game. Which is ridiculous because I'm in over 80 hours already.