0:00 INTRO
03:30 CHARACTER CREATION
I already have a pre-made face from the Tool Set, so this won't take long. First spells are going to be Flame Blast and Heal. Attributes all go on Magic and the skill will be Coercion. Flame Blast is needed because we want to get to Fire Ball as fast as possible. Heal is for supporting the team and ourselves. We can play a bit more aggressively this way, which is what I'm going for here.
04:02 THE GAME BEGINS
6:50 ENTERING THE FADE
Quickly destroying all starter DLC equipment and starting the playthrough. The starter enemies are weak. If we don’t get mobbed up, we will be fine.
13:18 MEETING SLOTH
We pick the option to solve the riddle, not to fight. Solutions for the riddle:
1. Map.
2. Tongue.
3. Dream.
18:18 CONFRONTING THE RAGE DEMONS AND "MOUSE"
This fight is very simple. We let the bear tank, and we destroy the two Wisps on the right first. This will level us up. Now it we get rid of the last Wisp and concentrate on the Demon. The Rage Demon is immune to fire, so we blast it with Arcane Bolt, and heal ourselves if we need to.
THE CIRCLE
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21:46 BACK IN THE CIRCLE
We successfully complete the Harrowing. Now Jowan is nagging us.
23:01 LOOTING THE FLOOR.
To skip the looting click here: 24:20
24:20 TALKING TO IRVING, GREGOIR AND DUNCAN
We meet the trio, thank Irving his congratulation.
27:33 LOOTING, ESCORTING DUNCAN
Skip it here: 27:41
We can talk to Duncan, but we won’t waste time with that now.
27:47 JOWAN REVELS HIS PLANS
He tells us that we need to help him escape. We agree.
31:26 GETTING THE ROD OF FIRE
I decided to use Coercion to get it from the Old Senior mage in the library. This way Leorah will give you supplies when you do the favor for her.
33:41 GOT THE ROD OF FIRE, TALKING TO LEORAH(ANOTHER SENIOR MAGE)
35:23 LILLY AND JOWAN JOINS
Equipping the party, setting up tactics.
36:46 ENTERING THE STORAGE CAVERNS
We could have come here alone, but why? It is much faster if you bring the Lilly and Jowan. They can only come if you have the rod, so you need to convince the mage in the library like I did. The spiders are no match for the team.
36:49 LEVEL 2
We reached it earlier, but I level up now. Everything goes on Magic, and pick Mind Blast.
39:11 CAVERNS ARE CLEAR
She gives a few potions, because we already have the form signed. I prefer to do it this way.
39:53 IN THE BASEMENT
43:04 LEVEL 3
Everything goes on Magic, pick Coercion level 2 for skill and the Force Field spell. Force Field is needed for many Nightmare tactics.
44:57 USEFUL NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS: 1. AGGRO MANAGEMENT
We aggro an entire group with Flame Blast, and Force Field yourself. Your team will take care of them.
45:58 USEFUL NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS: 2. ISOLATION
We are outnumbered. Three guards and a mage who can cast Stonefist and knock us down with serious damage. We Force Field the most dangerous member, in this case the mage, and focus on the rest first.
47:35 WE ARE IN THE VAULT!
Our rod got us in…
47:58 FINAL FIGHT OF THE ORIGIN STORY
We use Flame Blast, then stun with Mind Blast. That will confuse them! We keep Force Field handy because if the big guy uses Shield Pummel, we need to Force Field yourself ASAP before he lands the final hit. Otherwise we are toast.
49:15 BUSTED!
Jowan was clueless. Irving knew everything all along. Now we are in for it!
OSTAGAR & KORCARI WILDS
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54:17 ARRIVING TO OSTAGAR
To skip the royal welcome: 58:16.
We talk to a few people, trade and steal a sword from a naïve elf at 59:31. Just follow the elf, use Coercion and get the sword. It's not a great sword but it's better than what Alistair starts with. You can equip it on him when you get it if you want.
1:01:44 TO SKIP THE CHAT WITH LOGHAIN AND GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU GET YOUR DOG
Yeah, we get a puppy, but we won’t use him.
1:03:01 TRADE WITH THE QUARTERMASTER
Selling our junk. We can't really buy much here, but get a few Lesser Lyrium Potions and the Backpack. We are going to be chugging Lesser Lyrium Potions. With garbage starting equipment, this is the key to have a proper high Magic build.
1:04:29 ALISTAIR
We meet Alistair and we set up his tactics. We will use him the way he is now for a long time. Eventually we will turn him into a double weapon warrior and he will be our main damager.
1:06:41 TALKING TO DUNCAN
We need to get some blood, and some long forgotten treaties. So it’s a Tuesday.
1:08:21 SETTING UP TACTICS FOR DAVETH AND JORY
Daveth will use archery to keep him at a safe distance, and Jory will be our damager for now.
1:09:30 ENTERING THE WILDS
I will not complete the useless Missionary quest, nor the Chasind Signs. I consider them a waste of time, and I want to get to Lothering as fast as possible. I missed the Chasind Flatblade though. That was not intentional, just slipped my mind. Anyway, we won’t need it.
1:09:55 USING NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS NUMBER 1.
1:12:33 WHITE FLOWER WITH RED CENTER
It’s what we need to cure the dog. I always get it from here, but they are all over the wilds.
1:15:23 LEVEL 4
Everything goes on Magic, pick Flaming Weapons. We are one spell away from Fire Ball. Yay! Flaming Weapons is also very potent later on with a high magic build.
1:15:42 THE EMISSARY - USING NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS NUMBER 2.
Dangerous enemy. He has Fire Ball, and he retreats into a trap filled area with archers, who fire from an advantageous position. Let not let him do any of that! We Force Field it and let Alistair and Jory knock him down and kill him.
1:17:50 GAZARATH - THE GAME'S FIRT BOSS ENEMY
This can be difficult if he spams his Flame Blast on your group(if you do this without wanting to use Healing Potions). Don't let it do that. Don't stay grouped together. Let Alistair and Jory knock it down. Alistair can wear its mana down with his passive skill. We blast it with Arcane Bolt.
1:18:53 USEFUL NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS: 3. SOLO FIGHT, SEPARATION
We stop our team, and kill a few enemies from a distance. The area ahead has too many enemies, and they have too much dps. If we charge ahead, one of our party member would likely fall without healing potions, so pick down a few of them from afar to even things out.
1:20:40 MEETING MORRIGAN AND FLEMETH, LEAVING THE WILDS
Swooping is bad…
1:25:08 GIVING THE FLOWER, SAVING THE DOG'S LIFE AND THE JOINING
Now we just have to save his butt from the darkspawn later.
1:32:00 LEVEL 5
The Joining is over and we have 2 talent points to spend. One will be Fire Ball, and the other will be Rock Armor. Fire Ball is insane, it will nuke crowds, and Rock Armor will make us more durable. The attributes are all placed on Magic.
We also sell all of our junk, and buy some Lesser Lyrium Potions.
1:40:06 GETTING THROUGH THE BRIDGE
The battle has started. Even though we are not in combat yet, we should still avoid the Fire Ball effects that can hit us on the bridge. Just watch them as they fly and hug the left side.
1:40:35 TWO TOWER GUARDS JOIN THE PARTY
With Fire Ball, we are good enough to be damagers at this stage. We will use one guard as a tank, the other as a ranged support damager. We make sure that our tank uses Taunt and he is healed. The archer does not need much assistance.
1:42:43 ALISTAIR LEVELS UP
We won’t touch him. He is good the way he is for now.
1:46:32 ENTERING THE TOWER OF ISHAL - THE GENLOCK EMISSARY
We pause our team and advance towards the pillars. There is a grease trap between the pillars, and the Emissary has a scripted Fire Ball throw, so we won’t rush ahead. We run closer to the left pillar, which will trigger the Emissary's Fire Ball. After this, we go to the left pillar and watch the two archers advance. We stay in their line of sight that way they will stop at the end of the barricade. We Fire Ball them, then move behind the pillar and when they reach us, we finish them off with Flame Blast.
We heal up, and stay on the right side of the trap. That way it will not trigger. We Fire Ball the group of archers and stay behind the barricade. Now that the rest of the darkspawn are gone, we let our team rip the Emissary apart, with our help.
1:48:43 WAR MAGE(THIS BUILD) TACTICS NUMBER 1.
This will get more effective and more common as we become more durable. We get into the face of the crowd, and use Mind Blast. Retreat and Fire Ball the helpless foes. We let our team mop them up.
1:53:03 OPSIE!
Our first big mistake. I did not retreat far enough from the archer volley, and almost got killed. Fortunately I got away with it with an ounce of health. Live and learn.
1:54:00 GENLOCK ALPHA
We use the dogs as Alistair suggests. Nuff said. We already won. When we open the door later, enemies will start pouring out. We retreat back to the kennels and the dogs will aggro them. If they kill an enemy, we will still get the xp.
1:56:40 THE TOP OF THE TOWER - THE OGRE BOSS
We are at the top and this big ugly thing is in our way. With this mage, there are two easy ways to get rid of him. I show both during the boss fight. Once is to aggro him and let him follow you. You need to stay close to him, but not too close. Your team can just whack him as he runs after you. I find this to be a bit dull tough, so I did the second. The second is what you see at the second part of the fight. Use the Tank Guard and his Taunt(we already set him up to keep taunting) to aggro the Ogre. He will not pay attention to anyone else, because no one can deal enough damage to break the aggro. We Force Field the Tank Guard and keep healing Alistair as he attacks the Ogre from the back. The Ogre has no aggro on Alistair, but he has a massive attack set up if he is attacked from the back. So we heal Alistair, Force Field the Tank and we keep hurting the Ogre with our spells. Once the beast is defeated, strip the guards from all of their equipment (their stuff will not be placed in our inventory automatically unlike with Jowan, Lilly, Daveth and Jory).
2:08:31 FLEMETH'S HUT - LEVEL 6
Flemeth saved us, and we are in this stinky swamp. Let's set up Morrigan's tactics. She only has four slots, so we need to pick the ones that would help us the most. Damage with Winter's Grasp, disabling Elites with Horror, heal herself when below 90% health, and Mind Blast when surrounded. This will do just fine. Vulnerability Hex is also great, but more on that later on.
We also level up here. Everything goes on Magic, naturally. We pick Mana Drain. Why? Well, just like with Fire Ball, our goal is to get to the good spells fast. So Mana Clash, here we come! We also pick up the Combat Training skill. We are War Mages after all!
2:12:07 GETTING OUR DOG
Smack the group with a Fire Ball and kill the remaining Elite. Child's play.
LOTHERING
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2:14:04 ARRIVING TO LOTHERING
The bandits are in our way. We can intimidate them to leave us alone(level 2 Coercion, remember?). Pick the Grey Warden option, because the Mage option does not let you ask for a donation, which is extra gold for us. Ah, let’s run them off for the extra gold! We focus on the leader. If his health reaches zero, the fight ends, and you have the option to chase them away or continue the fight. I chased them off, because I'm with a good character. This is where I actually failed my challenge of not switching to other party members during combat throughout the whole game. I wanted to show the tactics on how to kill the leader the easiest way. Which is basically using with Morrigan's Vulnerability Hex + Mind Blast the crowd and use elemental spells on him. Once I'm in Lothering, I get the quests from the Chanter's Board and other small quests throughout Lothering.
2:21:15 TAVERN BRAWL AND GETTING LELIANA
Same as the bandits. Focus on the Elite. If his health goes down the fight ends. Mind Blast the crowd to make it even easier. We take in Leliana, and we also start the Blackstone Irregulars quest line.
2:22:17 EQUIPPING AND SETTING UP TACTICS FOR LELIANA
Forget this, we will use Sten. Still, the initial tactics setup is what I would have used for her with a bow.
2:28:50 GETTING STEN
Other than Alistair and Morrigan, Sten will be our third major companion. With Leliana, it's easy to convince the Revered Mother to let him go. With a different dialogue option you can also open his cage with Leliana.
2:36:45 EQUIPPING STEN AND SETTING UP HIS TACTICS
Sten will be my main tank later on, right now he is good for single target damage. Mostly I need him to be in the way and knock people down who attack me.
I set up his tactics at 2:39:11.
2:39:44 KILLING THE BANDIS
Follow the tactics you see. This is the easiest way with this build and team.
2:40:36 USEFUL NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS: 4. BAITING
When our ally, who is ordered to use specific skills when you are targeted, is attacked, attack the enemy who hits them to shift their aggro on you. Sten is set up to knock down anyone who targets me. As you see here, Sten is flanked by a bandit, and I attacked him. The bandit started targeting me, which made Sten use his Pommel Strike on him to knock him down. This not only saves Sten from being flanked, but the bandit also can't reach me. Alistair does the same, as he is set up to use Shield Pummel on anyone who targets me. The bandit has no chance.
2:43:51 USING NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS NUMBER 1 AND 3 - AGGRO MANAGEMENT AND SOLO FIGHT, SEPARATION
2:48:45 USING NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS NUMBER 1
Spiders are extremely nasty when you are with a mage who has no decent armor. They Web the hell out of you and you are basically paralyzed until you are dead. Aggro them with a Fire Ball and hide in a Force Field. Trust me. This is the only safe way to deal with lots of spiders with a mage Warden if you can't switch off of your main character.
2:50:45 LEVEL 7
We pick the Spirit Healer specialization, because it is the most useful spec for our War Mage. We also put our advance towards Mana Clash on hold to get Group Heal from our new specialization. This is going to be our only specialization. We save the other two options for Awakening when we get there.
Then we go to the camp.
AFTER LOTHERING
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Now we are going to focus on gaining experience by completing quests and fighting. Good coin in it too. We also go after our first item on our list for the build: The Reaper's Vestments. We will visit all major places but we won't really start the major quests yet. We complete the DLCs first.
2:55:36 BODAHN AND SANDAL
If this would be my first playthrough, I could buy the Ranger specialization here.(1/12)
2:59:24 DENERIM
2:59:37 MAGE'S COLLECITVE QUESTILNE START
3:01:32 STARTING SERGANT KYLON'S QUESTS
3:03:53 TAVERN QUESTS PICKUP
3:04:39 SER LANDRY
He is insisting on dying. What can I do? Fire Ball knock him down, Mind Blast stuns him and Flame Blast and Arcane Bolt damages him. The key is to stay away from his Shield Bash and Shield Pummel.
3:06:20 THE WONDERS OF THEDAS
If this would be my first playthrough, I could buy the tome for the Spirit Healer Specialization here.(2/12)
3:06:26 ALISTAIR LEVELS UP AGAIN.
We won't touch him. He has a long way to go to be the badass we want him to be.
3:08:10 INTIMIDATING THE WHITE FALCONS
I should have kicked their butt. Then you can order them to empty their pockets. Slipped my mind. We also pick up one of the dead bodies from the tavern quest, and we kill Paedan. We use Fire Ball, Flame Blast then Mind Blast. They might look though, but they fall pretty fast.
3:10:21 MORRIGAN LEVEL 8
We pick Heroic Offense. She will never use it, but we need to get to Haste ASAP. She also can't keep chugging Lesser Lyrium Potions because we can’t switch on her, so we put 2 attributes on Magic and 1 on Willpower.
3:11:11 WHITE FALCON AMBUSH
This can be a tough fight early on, but the falcons are going to be busy fighting the guards first. We use Fire Ball and Flame Blast. Don't bother about the guards, who cares if they catch friendly fire. Sten came pretty close to falling here, I probably should not have put myself into a Force Filed that soon. I should have healed him first. Live and learn. After this, we will clear out the first back alley and go back to the Market where we pick up another dead body and talk to Kylon again.
3:15:56 CRIMSON OARS
We can convince them to leave with level 2 Coercion, but why? We throw one Fire Ball on the right side, then get around them and give them more flames. Mind Blast, Arcane Bolt, and the fight is over. After this we talk to Kylon, get paid and we pick up the last dead body. We dump all of them and get paid.
3:19:36 FIRST RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Aside from the dog of course. The "Have you seen me?" quest for the Collective. The boss level Abomination is actually pretty easy to get rid of. He is weak to everything we have: Horror from Morrigan, knock down from Sten and Alistair. He is also not good at hitting anything.
3:21:07 STEN LEVEL 8
1 point into constitution, 2 on Strength. The skill will be Bravery. After this we will catch the first thief for the Blackstone Irregulars. Sorry Alistair, I really wanted to throw that Fire Ball.
3:24:26 BACK IN THE TOWER...
We won't start the quest yet. We need their infinite supply of Lyrium dust, to make Lesser Lyrium Potions. The Tavern in Denerim has infinite flasks for the cheapest price.
3:28:34 SECOND RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Again, for the Guild. "Careless Accusations". Kill them or intimidate them. The group is not really dangerous, so just kill them and give the ring of the leader to Alistair.
3:31:44 CLEARING THE SECOND ALLEY
We have Fire Ball. Need I say more?
3:33:29 CATHCING THE SECOND THIEF FOR THE IRREGULARS
Sorry Morrigan. You were in the way. After this we clear out the last alley and mark the last Blood Mage's house for the Guild. We also turn in all the completed quests at the Market and find the first and second fired apprentice for the Guild.
3:37:48 VISITING GENETIVI
We won't do the quest yet. We just kick "Weylon's" butt. And read some books. The fake Weylon can be dangerous at this level, because he can throw Fire Ball. Make sure you use Mind Blast on him first.
3:41:09 BUYING OUR FIRST ARCANE TOME
It's Mana Cleanse. We need it to get to Mana Clash, and we will chuck it out from our bar instantly.
3:46:14 THIRD RANDOM ENCOUNTER AND LEVEL UP
Pretty nasty encounter. Tons of traps everywhere, and the mage can have some disgusting spells. We pause the team, and Fire Ball the group. This knocks down everyone, including the mage, which is what we want. He needs to die fast. We use Arcane Bolt and our staff to finish him off. There are melee darkspawn behind us as well, so we watch for them. The archers can be purged with an additional Fire Ball, and Morrigan can disable the Elite Hurlock with Horror. I levelled up here: 3:49:30. Magic, magic, magic. We also have Spellmight now. Great!
STONE PRISONER DLC
---------------------------------
3:51:33 TIME TO GET SHALE
It's not like we are going to use her... But Honnleath is a pretty good place to gain xp when you are low level. The fights are not that dangerous. At least nothing a Fire Ball can't solve anyway.
3:55:11 ALISTAIR LEVELS UP
Hands off!
3:57:01 GENLOCK EMISSARY IN HONNLEATH
This far everything should have been easy. But this is a pretty tricky fight. The Emissary has a lot of ugly spells like Curse of Mortality, which can ruin anyone's day. Especially mine, since I go after not letting anyone fall in battle. We stop our team, run up, Fire Ball the group and lure them down where our team stays. This way the archers above can't hit you while you are finishing off the melee guys. Morrigan will run to the Emissary to cast Horror, so we watch her closely. He cast Curse of Mortality on Morrigan, so naturally we Force Field her ASAP. We let Alistair and Sten handle the rest of the group while we go after the Emissary, who will target Morrigan. This is kind of a reverse TACTIC NUMBER 1. Very useful.
4:04:04 THE PUZZLE
I hate this puzzle. Don't worry I sped the thing up for you. Basically create a path to the other side by moving the arrows the right way.
4:05:18 THE "KITTY" FIGHT + MORRIGAN LEVEL 9
This can be nasty. Lots of fire damage can happen here, because the Rage Demons start throwing Fire Bolt and Flame Blast at us. Well... we throw a Fire Ball! Yes, they are immune to fire(even Kitty), but they still get knocked down from it. We make sure we kill Kitty fast, because her Cursed Dance can prevent healing for melee characters. Morrigan would suffer penalty to resistances, which is also lethal with this much fire damage around. The good thing is that these demons are pretty squishy, so it should not be that hard to kill them. Loot Kitty, and give the helm to Sten. For now. The belt is for the Warden.
Morrigan: 3 points on Magic and get Heroic Aura. We also pick up Expert Herbalism for her.
4:14:04 FOURTH RANDOM ENCOUNTER + STEN LEVEL 9
Blight Wolves and Bereskarn. Not too difficult encounter, but make the wolves Shred ability can add up to a pretty ugly OTD, so make sure you watch Morrigan.
Sten: Everything on Strength, pick Combat Tactics, and Stunning Blows.
RETURN TO OSTAGAR DLC
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4:15:09 WE ARE BACK...
It is very risky to come here early on(especially with the challenges), but we want to get Cailan's nice armor for Sten, and Maric's Sword for Alistair, so we need to be brave! With good tactics, we can prevail. Plus that staff in that chest we left here, is a huge improvement over our current one.
4:15:36 USING NIGHTMARE MAGE TACTICS NUMBER 3.
We solo here a bit. Too many of them and the Emissary is nasty. Get rid of a few with Fire Ball and lure the rest into your team's arms. After the melee guys are done, the Emissary is left with three archers. They all surround him now. Yet another opportunity to use Fire Ball! Once the Emissary is knocked down we send our guys on him. The archers can be dealt with after.
4:17:04 CAILAN'S GREAVES AND THE JOINING CHALICE
We give the boots to Sten, and the chalice to Alistair.
4:17:47 THE OSTAGAR CAMP FIGHT
Way too many darkspawn for us to charge in with our team. There is also the Forgemaster. Back to solo tactics and separation. Fire Ball, as always, is great here. Then we lead them into our team.
4:20:40 OPEN THE MAGE CHEST
Finally we switch out staff. Nice improvement.
4:22:15 DOUBLE GROUP AMBUSH
Tough fight. I admit, it is pure luck that Morrigan did not go down here. I told you I had a few close calls! I was tired and I did not watch her properly. Once you reach a point where the Blight Wolves spawn, a different group with a Hurlock Elite will appear. Blast the dogs with Fire Ball and run back to your team. At this level, this is pretty tough, because you will be outnumbered instantly. And when Morrigan puts Horror on the Elite, she aggroes everyone, so she takes damage and almost falls. The fact that Sten and Alistair left her by herself also did not help. Make sure you put her into a Force Filed sooner than I did. She was at 3 health.
4:23:43 WE HAVE THE SWORD
Alistair Papa's Got A Brand New Brand!
4:27:03 AFTER CAILAN'S BODY
This fight can be extremely dangerous. Not only you are severely outnumbered, but the Skeleton Elite Mage has Paralyze, Fireball and Chain Lightning. Once you get Paralyzed, you are as good as dead. Fire Ball can also wipe out your team, especially if you get knocked down with all the enemies around. So your priority is to take out that mage immediately. Send a Fire Ball at it to knock it down, then order the rest of your team to attack it. Once it is gone, the rest is easier.
4:28:28 DARKSPAWNS, TRAPS AND BALLISTAS AND LEVEL 9
Yet another very dangerous place. Don't even think about getting your team and rush ahead. We use solo tactics, and we thin the herd from afar. The Emissary who comes from the left side and hold Cailan's Gloves, has Curse of Mortality and potentially Crushing Prison. Alistair was on the receiving end this time, so I placed him into a Force Field. With Sten, we managed to kill the mage. Equip the gloves on Sten.
We also level up at 4:32:19. We pick up Mana Clash. This will make encounters with mages much easier. As always, we boost Magic and we also pick Improved Combat training. We can also leave the area here, if we want to restock or if you find the place is too difficult. I finish what I started though, so I go nowhere.
4;38:12 ALISTAIR LEVELS UP AGAIN
We still won't touch him.
4:39:44 THE NUG CRUSHER
Sten's new, and final weapon. It gives 100 stamina. It will stay with Sten until the end.
4:42:32 CORRUPTED SPIDERS
As I said, spiders are the bane of every low level mage with bad equipment. The tactics you see here are okay, but it is actually better to use Force Field after the second group appears. That way even if they Web you, you will not be harmed, unlike I was.
4:44:44 THE FINAL FIGHT
This is actually child's play compared to what we went through this far. Just focus on the Necromancer while your team holds the rest of them off. He resists my Mana Clash here, but take him out ASAP, because if he dies, the rest of the group will die as well. Including the Ogre boss.
We loot Cailan's Helm and Duncan's Weapons. Put the helm on Sten to complete the set, and give the Helm of Honnleath to Alistair. We finished the dlc.
4:48:33 FIFTH RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Old Tegrim. Merchant with some good stuff. We will bump into him quite a few times throughout the playthrough. I will not list him anymore as random encounter.
4:50:54 ARRIVING IN THE DALISH CAMP
We won't do the main quest yet, but we will trade and do some side quests here. I also loot the entire camp, except the locked chests. Skip it here: 4:55:47.
5:01:50 SIXTH RANDOM ENCOUNTER
The hungry bandit... Just leave. I don't kill idiots, especially with a good character.
5:02:10 THE BOUNTY HUNTERS
This is one of the toughest fight in the game according to many. Well, not with this mage. With Mana Clash and Fire Ball this is super easy. Throw a Fire Ball at the crowd and kill the mage with Mana Clash. This time she also threw a Fire Ball at us, but we are tough enough to tank it, especially with Group Heal. Mop up the rest of the enemies.
5:03:55 MORRIGAN LEVEL 10
1 point into Magic, 2 into Willpower. The spell is Heroic Defense. We are one spell away from Haste!
After this, we also catch the third thief from the Irregulars quest.
5:07:55 ENTERING ORZAMMAR
5:10:27 CODEX PICKING AND MINOR TRADING IN ORZAMMAR (TO SKIP ALL OF IT TO THE FIRST COMBAT: 5:29:47)
Here we will do a whole bunch of non-combat related things.
5:11:25 Unbound quest first part. 5:12:42 Dagna. 5:15:07 Unlocking the Shapeshifter spec(3/12), giving the Mirror to Morrigan. You need to ask Morrigan about this before her approval gets high due to a bug. Otherwise she will not teach it to you.
We will also go after the Key to the City by picking up codex entries, entering the Assembly(5:18:50) and talk to Lord Harramont's second(5:21:12). We will side with him. Screw Behlen.
For us to get the Key to the City, we need the Proving doors to be unlocked, so we have to talk to Dulin no matter what. Otherwise we can only get into that part if we finish the first task for either candidate.
We also visit the Shaper: 5:22:42. Talking to Orta: 5:23:22. Catching Nugs: 5:27:37. Dealing with the carta enforcers(the best option is to intimidate them, otherwise the shop will close): 5:26:05.
5:24:29 STEN LEVEL 10
Everything goes on Strength and we pick up Critical Strike. We set it up so he would use it on Elite or higher ranked enemies.
5:29:47 ROBBING ATTEMPT BY THUGS
We also pick up the last notes for the Key to the City and catch the thief who stole from the Shaper.
5:32:17 WE GOT THE KEY TO THE CITY
5:32:26 GETTING THE AGELESS FROM THE HIDDEN DRAGON
Boss level dragon. A good tactic is to let Morrigan Horror him, and then Force Field Morrigan. The dragon will aggro her and you can kill him easily. Sadly, he managed to stun me before I could put the Force Field so Morrigan almost fell.
The dragon has a pretty nasty Rake + Overwhelm combo, and if he uses it on Morrigan, she can die very fast. So do what I did. Force Field her when this happens.
After this Morrigan will just tank the damage and the rest of the team can kill the male dragon. Loot the Ageless. It will be Oghren's weapon.
5:25:59 CONVINCING BAIZYL AND GWIDDON TO FIGHT
Do it the way I did. There is 15 gold in it for you! A bit morally questionable, but hey, we need the gold and as a noble he won't miss it anyway.
5:39:48 STARTING THE PROVING
Seweryn. A joke. Don't let him stun you though.
Myaja and Lucjan. Their tactics are basically this: the girl tanks the damage and stuns you while the guy uses Stealth and gt around you to backstab you. Just don't get stunned, or kill Lucjan before you get stunned. Otherwise it's child's play.
Silent Sister. A bad joke. Just kill her.
Paired combat. I need no second. It is the same as Myaja and Lucjan but they are tougher with better armor. Iwo is the tank and Velanz is the damager. Two Fire Balls will fix them.
Championship fight, Piotin. Now this can get ugly. Piotin is a boss, and has Final Blow which can kill everyone in your team with one hit at this level. Especially Morrigan.
Their team also has an Elite Champion with War Cry boosted by Supremacy to knock everyone down and apply attack penalty. One archer and one more melee guy with dual weapons.
We start with Fire Ball to damage and knock everyone down. Piotin attacks me instantly, which is not good, so I Mind Blast him to get the aggro off. Then I retreat. Sten is a much better target for him.
Once the dual weapon guy is down, Piotin will be locked into a Force Field so he can rest there until we get rid of the rest of the team. The main target is the Champion. Morrigan gets him off of Alistair, but now he targets her.
Morrigan is always gonna be very squishy, so watch for her. If she pulls too much aggro, Mind Blast is a life saver, which is why we set it up for her when she gets attacked by melee.
Piotin is a real killer. He can take down half of even Alistair's health with one Mighty Blow. Not only that, he is a boss, so stun effects will last only for a moment on him, and being a dwarf boss, he has good magic resistance. Once he is the only one left, lock Morrigan into a Force Field(for me it was just in time, because Piotin was executing a Final Blow on her) and heal the rest of your team as they beat him.
5:50:25 BACK TO DULIN
We turn the quest in for the huge xp reward. We level up after we meet Harrowmont at 5:52:40. We pick Stone Fist. Great knock down spell!
5:53:16 KILLING THE THUGS WHO HAVE THE SHAPER'S TOME
I was a bad boy here. I sold it. Well, I need those coins! No one will stop the blight if I don't have my equipment, so it was for a good cause, right?
I also distributed my attribute points here. I picked Willpower this time for all three. We are casters so we can put three here. However, we can also just keep sticking to magic. It's up to you.
5:55:10 STEN GIVES US HIS QUEST
SOLDIER'S PEAK DLC
------------------
5:57:38 START
5:59:23 FIRST FIGHT
The fight is three waves of enemies. Corpses and skeletons. Cold and nature damage is not effective on them, but fire is. Overall, it is a pretty easy fight. Take out the healer mage who spawns with the second wave fast with Mana Clash.
The third wave has an elite skeleton with a unique crossbow. Not a challenge, so just kill it and get its crossbow.
Alistair levels up here. Again, we won't touch him. The Ancient History side quest starts here: 6:01:26. Three more items to be examined to get the secret stash.
6:01:39 ARCANE HORROR AND RAGE DEMONS
Mana Clash. This applies to almost all of the fights here with demons. At 6:02:04 we unlock Alistair's Master Combat training and Combat Tactics skills.
6:03:34 SECOND OBJECT FOR ANCIENT HISTORY
6:06:06 ABOMINATION BOSS FIGHT
Tough fight if done wrong. The Abomination boss keeps getting healed by the corpses, so you need to get rid of them first. However, there will be another group of corpses who will spawn and heals the Abomination again. Later on Rage Demons will appear who will throw nasty fire spells on you.
Both group of corpses can be taken out with a single Fire Ball at this level. The Rage Demons will throw Fire Ball, so be careful and keep Group Heal handy.
Once only the Rage Demons and the boss remains, you can use Mana Clash to deal massive damage to everyone. Killing the boss without its minions will be easy now.
The boss drops Winter's Breath, which is going to be a great staff for Morrigan. It would be good for us too, but I give it to Morrigan because she has Winter's Grasp. She needs a few more points into Magic to equip it though.
6:08:43 THIRD OBJECT FOR ANCIENT HISTORY
After that we talk to Sofia. We will deal with her, because this is the most profitable way to handle things. Of course we will betray her at the end, but still. We are allies for now.
6:11:25 DRINK THE VIAL
Yes, we will drink it. It gives two good spells, so why not?
6:13:11 WE KILL AVERNUS & MORRIGAN LEVEL 11
Let's not waste any time. Mana Clash and Arcane Bolt will get rid of him quickly. If not enough, give a jab with Stonefist, which will knock him out. Permanently.
Morrigan wanted to cast Horror on her so she ran into a magic trap, so I had to make sure she is safe while being paralyzed. The melee corpses don't pose much threat, but the archers can hurt a bit.
When the fight is over, we loot Avernus and get his robes. This is our new robe. 6:14:11 is where the last object is found for the Ancient History quest.
After we leave the tower, Morrigan will pick up Haste. Her attributes will go on Magic and she can equip the new staff now.
6:15:34 THE DEMON GAUNTLET
The first wave is going to be three Rage Demons. Smack them with a Fire Ball! Yes, they are immune to it, but they will still get knocked down! This prevents them to throw their own spells and the team can quickly get rid of them.
The second wave will be four Shades. Just kill them, they are not that dangerous.
Third wave. Two Rage Demons and two Ash Wraiths. Use the Mana Clash we have been saving up for this wave! The Ash Wraiths can be nasty with their Whirlwind skill. I placed myself into a Force Field after Mana Clash aggroed them.
Fourth wave. Desire Demon boss. She has Cone of Cold(freeze), Weakness(-10 defense, -10 attack), Winter's Grasp(cold damage, chance to freeze), Scream(damage+stun) and Cursed Dance(-20 resistances for females and knockdown, no healing, spirit damage and sleep for males).
Honestly, she is not that challenging for a team of four. Mana Clash can get rid of her easily, but she resisted my spell so we did it the hard way.
6:18:58 WE KILL SOFIA
You did not think I will just let "her" go, right? Nah, we take that sweet Warden Commander Armor and that 8 gold from the hidden stash(6:20:38)! Yay! The armor goes on Alistair later on.
We also finish the Ancient History quest at 6:20:46 and claim the rewards.
6:22:52 STEN LEVEL 11
Everything on Strength and we get Shattering Blows.
6:24:30 SIGN OF PASSAGE QUEST
A pain in the butt! I forgot about this quest. I need a low tier bow to complete it because I'm a mage. Sadly there is none, so I had to look everywhere to find one. I found one in Lothering eventually.
We also open every locked chest with Leliana in Lothering for the xp and the loot. I also picked up Trap Making for her since I won't use her in this playthrough, so this lets me complete Alison's quest.
You can skip this search: 6:25:57.
6:28:19 ENTERING THE BERCILLIAN FOREST
Wolves and Werewolves. Quite a few of them. You can fight this the same way the 300 fought with the Persians. The little bridge is a perfect place to group them together, this way they can't outnumber your squad.
6:29:55 MY LITTLE ARROW
We kill the Denerim mercenaries for the tavern quest. The fight is easy. Finding the bow was more difficult...
6:31:30 FIRST DENERIM RANDOM ENCOUNTER
My team will sit this one out. Easy fight with Fire Ball and Flame Blast. The archers are super weak, they melt like butter.
6:33:01 THE BLOOD MAGE DEN
Very dangerous place! I came here because I already know the place inside out and I want my Alistair to reach level 12 already. The enemies are tough, there are lots of traps Elites and of course Blood Mages.
The first area has one Blood Mage who always starts with Winter's Grasp. It has a pretty good chance to freeze you with low physical resistance, which is what happened to me. Once you get out of the freeze, Fire Ball the room and Mana Clash the guy.
6:34:03 LEVEL 11
Everything goes on Magic, obviously. We pick up Earthquake. We won't use it, but we need it to get to Petrify. Petrify will make boss fights a whole lot easier.
6:34:25 THE BIG ROOM
This room has a lot of guards. It's best if we zoom out and smack them with a Fire Ball without entering, then let them pour into the small room we are in.
At 6:35:24, we will lure most of the guards away from the Blood Mage who is upstairs. We definitely won't just rush into the archers’ arrows and the fire trap. Fire Ball is, once again, extremely useful here.
After the guards on the lower level are dealt with, we rush through the fire trap after we place our team into cover.
We Mana Clash the blood mage upstairs and smack the group with a Fire Ball. Then we let our team join in and kill the rest.
6:37:28 CORRIDORS
There is a trap right in front of the door ahead. Let's trigger it and run back to the door. This will cause the enemies to pour out from the room. The two mage gets Mana Clash, the rest will be killed by our team.
6:38:25 TRAP!
Morrigan will trigger it later and I even have to Force Field her. Nice job girl... The three enemies are easy to deal with.
To end the Force Field effect, I start a conversation with Morrigan, and she gives me her quest at 6:39:33.
6:40:27 THE FLOOR IS GREASY
It's a grease trap. The mage can throw Fire Ball, which will result in a combo and a lot of fire damage. Let's avoid that.
Let's smack the group with Fire Ball and let the puppies run after us, while we retreat to our party. I also tried to Mana Clash the mage, but the little bastard resisted it.
After we kill the dogs, let's send another Fire Ball at the archers and that mage. He resists my Fire Ball! Ah well, my second Mana Clash gets him anyway. Then both archers resist my Flame Blast. Ugh.
6:42:37 THE DOOR OF HORRORS
The next room is insane. The hardest part of this quest. Yes, harder than the boss fight! If you plan to keep everyone alive, do as I say, please.
The room has three Elite Blood Mages, positioned far away from each other. So Mana Clash can only get one. There is no option to use Mana Clash from the zoomed out view.
Stay at the last door, where I say. Open the door and pause. At this point we can get one mage with Mana Clash. Let's fall back and put our team into cover from the two other mages. Let the warriors and rogues come to us.
It is very likely that the second mage will advance towards us until we will be in his line of sight. He has Vulnerability Hex and Winter's Grasp, so he can hurt us pretty bad. If we get out of his line of sight, he will advance further, which is what we need. When he reaches the door on the side, we can send our team on him.
Now with only one mage left in the room, we send our team in and quickly get rid of him with Mana Clash. The remaining guards require no further tactics. Just kill them.
6:24:25 THE FINAL ROOM AND THE BLOOD MAGE BOSS FIGHT
Pretty easy. Mana Clash on the boss, this will sap his mana and leaves him with half health. The Elite mage right next to the boss will get instantly killed by the same Mana Clash.
Sten can take care of the rest of the guards, while Morrigan and Alistair can help taking down the remaining health of the boss. Keep knocking him down and stunning him, because he can use Blood Magic and potentially Blood Wound.
6:49:54 THE LAST APPRENTICE FOR THE GUILD QUEST
6:50:55 FIRST FALSE WITNESS(FALSE WITNESSES TAVERN QUEST)
6:51:47 SEVENTH RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Starmetal. I never gave the metal to Levi's brother. I completely forgot about it. Ah, I would have sold the sword anyway. I don't really like Starfang.
6:52:21 SECOND FALSE WITNESS(FALSE WITNESSES TAVERN QUEST)
6:52:53 SCAVENGER
We are progressing in Sten's quest. We also question Faryn at 6:52:59. Without Sten of course! Otherwise we won't get the 3 gold.
6:55:07 THE LAST WITNESS(FALSE WITNESSES TAVERN QUEST)
6:56:02 HARSH DESCISION
We pick up the last tavern quest for "R". This will disable Untraceable, but I don't really care. The reward for it is lame, and finding 10 Garnet is a pain. Let's just kill "K" and get it over with.
6:56:12 SECOND DENERIM RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Not so random. It's part of the Harsh Decision quest. Lots of enemies, but they are weak. Fire Ball, Flame Blast... you know the drill. Don't leave without looting the location of the hideout.
6:57:27 THE HIDEOUT OF "K"
Boss fight. The guy is good. He is an Assassin and he has a lot of health. The second he puts Mark of Death on Morrigan she goes in a Force Field. She is in the biggest danger when it comes to Assassins.
The others in the room are also rogues, so they can backstab. Be careful and don't turn your back on them. Generally it is good to get rid of the minions first, but here, you have to pay close attention to the boss. Otherwise if he targets Morrigan, she will fall in a second.
6:59:53 WE HAVE THE REAPER'S VESTMENTS
We have the money! Now we are not that squishy anymore. We can be more aggressive in combat without the fear of dying in seconds. Our War Mage is getting ready! Yay!
7:00:39 EIGHT RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Wolves. A whole pack. Lots of traps as well. It is best to stay put. Don't advance forward, because you or your team will step on them.
The wolves can Shred(OTD) and Overwhelm(pinned down and continuous damage). Heal the team when needed and use fire to kill the dogs. Mind Blast is great for stunning the pack. They don't have a lot of health, so they are not difficult to take down.
Hug the left side of the road to leave without stepping into a trap.
7:01:45 REFUGEES
Annoying side quest for the Chanter's Board. The refugees are weak and they fall fast, but we want to keep at least a few alive, right?
The Emissary boss is tough and Mana Clash will not finish him off.
First, let's throw a Fire Ball into the crowd ahead of us. Then Mana Clash the Emissary so he can't throw Fire Ball at us. We will also keep him knocked down as much as we can with Stone Fist. I threw another Fire Ball and hid in a Force Field.
Most of the darkspawn are now dead, and I try to heal a refugee, but fail. We kept two alive. Better than nothing I guess.
7:03:41 MORRIGAN LEVEL 12
2 on Magic, 1 on Willpower and Expert Combat Training. At this point I also picked up Rock Armor for her, although I ended up not making her use it.
This is because I wanted her to have a bigger mana pool. A few points in armor won't save her when she is surrounded, but a Mind Blast can.
If you feel like she is too squishy, you can set up Rock Armor for her.
7:04:49 PROVNG ARENA FIGHTS AND STEN LEVELS UP
Ugh. Big mistake. These fights are tough, and I though we are ready for them. I though this way I can level up Alistair. We were not ready. Still I made it through, but... ugh! I'm not proud of this one.
First fight. Nothing special. Other than 3 massive armor having dwarves and a healer mage. All of them are Elites! The mages gets blasted with my Mana Clash, but the rest are tough and they resist spells consistently.
Second fight. I made a mistake. A big one. I started the fight without resting. This is not like the normal Proving, where you get healed and you get all your mana back. I started the fight with the same amount of mana and stamina I had when I finished the first one. Oh God...
Pretty nasty bunch! Two with a shield, one with a crossbow and one with two weapons. One is a Champion with War Cry. The archer has Scattershot. We got both, right after the other. Alistair got thoroughly trounced, but I managed to save him with a Force Field.
Sten gets 3 Strength, Survival and Death Blow.
Third fight. I triggered this fight early as well. Figured you guys would be bored if I would just stand around longer... I did not realize I could speed up the footage later on. I need those eye rolling emojis here.
Well, as the guy said, this will be difficult. One mage, two heavy two-hander and an archer. I tried to nuke the mage with Mana Clash but he casts Anti-Magic Ward faster. Then he Dispels Morrigan's Haste, which slows my warriors down. Great.
Then that unexpected Scattershot almost kills me. Marvelous! No matter, I retaliate with a Fire Ball on that archer, then I lock my Sten into a Force Field. Time to turn this around!
A Group Heal gets us back on our feet and Morrigan kills the archer. After that the heavy gets killed by Alistair, but Sten still smacks him into another dimension with his Mighty Blow.
Fourth fight. Honestly, it is a joke compared to what we went through before. Especially since after those two, I said sod it. I will regenerate no matter how boring it is to look at me waiting around.
Well, this what I call a fight! Mana Clash works like a charm on the mage, the enemies actually focus on my tank, and we kick everyone butt. Well done. Give me that ring! Alistair is still not at level 12 though.
7:13:33 BEHLEN FANATICS
Honestly, after that Proving fight, it is refreshing to fight these fanatics. Yes, they all wear heavy armor, but none of them are Elites. And they burn like marshmallows.
Alistair also gets a taste of my magic. Sorry, future king of Ferelden.
7:14:43 ZERLINDA
At this point, we just hunt for quests so Alistair can reach level 12 already. We complete Zerlinda's Woe and The Chant in the Deeps(7:16:46). We also pick up A Mother's Hope at 7:22:11.
7:23:44 NINTH RANDOM ENCOUNTER
Bandit ambush in the forest. Fire Ball the archers and let your team handle the melee guys. They are not that tough. Don't forget to heal yourself. Fire Ball draws a lot of aggro.
7:25:29 SWIFTRUNNER FIRST ENCOUNTER
WE meet the commander of the Werewolves. Bring his health down to its half. The fight stops after that.
7:27:21 DEYGAN
Bring him back to the camp. Be a good boy. He will give you a gem. Accept it. We need the money.
7:29:02 LEVEL 12
Boost Magic. We pick Expert Combat Training and now we have Petrify. We can start shattering and turning bosses into stone.
7:31:05 RARE IRONBARK LOCATION
7:32:22 SYLVANS
Roots are nasty. Don't trigger more than two Sylvans at once, otherwise you can kiss Morrigan goodbye. They burn like firewood though!
7:34:11 GRAND OAK
I decided to help him and kill the Hermit. The crazy mage has some good stuff on him, gives good xp, plus he is a good challenge! Oh, who am I kidding, I have Mana Clash!
7:36:47 ABANDONED CAMPSITE
This is very simple. As soon as you arrive and you see the first cutscene, try to leave immediately. Let the cutscene play and fight the shade. Get the gift for Zevran from the box and the Dusk Ring.
7:39:28 SYLVAN TRIO
Don't rush, remember you cant trigger three at once. Petrify and Stonefist one. Now you can wake the rest.
7:40:44 FINALLY ALISTAIR REACHES LEVEL 12!
Let's get out of this forest and turn him into a badass damager!
7:41:06 DANYLA
Do what she asks. Kill her. It's the right thing to do. Plus we need the xp.
7:45:10 BEARS!!!
Tough fight. Bears like to spam Slam with their Rage activated. That is a lot of damage. Once again, Morrigan was a bit too close to end up on the floor.
7:48:10 TIME TO LEVEL UP AND EQUIP ALISTAIR
Dual. Weapon. Alistair. Yay! There is no one like him, when it comes to damage.
Put enough points into Dexterity to reach 36(that is 19 at this point). The rest will go on Strength from now on. Get Dual weapon Training, Finesse, Expert and Master. Now he can wield two full-sized weapons. Also, get Dual Striking, Riposte, Cripple, and Punisher. Now he will not only deal insane damage, but he can use stun and knockdown just like before! We give him a few items to boost his Strength temporarily, so he can equip the Warden Commander Armor. We also give him Duncan's Sword so he can dual-wield it with Maric's Blade. We also set up his tactics.
7:50:51 BOOSTING ALISTAIR'S APPROVAL AND UNLOCKING THE TEMPLAR SPECIALIZATION(4/12)
7:54:31 BOOSTING LELIANA'S APPROVAL AND UNLOCKING THE BARD SPECIALIZATION(5/12)
BROKEN CIRCLE
------------------------
8:00:47 ENTERING THE TOWER
First I loot, and gather some of the writings of the apprentices.
8:01:11 WYNNE
We will switch Sten to Wynne for this quest. I could have switched Morrigan, but I decided that we will be better off this way. Wynne and her healing spells are gonna be very handy. Alistair can truly let himself go. We set up her tactics, and start advancing further into the tower. The first enemies are Abominations. They are ripped apart quickly by Alistair and me.
8:06:42 THE FIRST BIG GROUP
See, this is why we wanted Mana Clash. There is really no need for me to comment on any of the following fights with demons and mages, because all I will do is nuke them with Mana Clash basically. You can do the same.
8:07:21 FIRST MYSTICAL PLACE OF POWER(PLACES OF POWER FOR THE GUILD)
8:12:27 THE CHAPEL
Bah! There is a black vial here, which I did not pick up! I figured I will come back for it when I loot the tower with Leliana, after the quest is done. Yet, when I came back, I forgot about it.
8:12:31 IRVING'S ROOM
On the table the Red Jenny box and in the fancy chest, Morrigan's book.
8:12:43 UNDEAD AND ARCANE HORROR
This fight can be tricky, because the Arcane Horror who spawns can surprise you while you are dealing with the corpses. Make sure you blast it with Mana Clash, or if it resists it, use Petrify or Stonefist. It should not be allowed to cast spells.
8:13:54 GETTING YUSARIS
My favorite looking greatsword! The one Cailan had when we first met. The combination is: First statue, last statue, middle statute.
8:14:49 GREAT HALL ABOMINATION BOSS
Not a difficult boss, unless you want to save the three Tranquils. I used Mana Clash but the thing resisted it. So we did this the hard way. Fire Ball the group to knock everyone down. The boss can deal some pretty good damage on Morrigan, but we have more than enough Heal at our disposal. Wynne can paralyze it with her Glyph, and you can also Petrify it if you need to. Let Alistair kill the minions while you and the mages keep the boss busy.
The Abomination turns the tranquils who stand there into Shades, so you can just let it happen to gain more xp. If you want to save them make Alistair focus on the boss. After it's dead, get the gift for Alistair from its corpse.
Also, at 8:16:22, you can see me touching the last statue we need to interact with to get Yusaris.
8:16:47 OBTAINING THE SWORD AND FIGHTING THE RAGE DEMON BOSS
Touch the basement door and the boss will appear. It has the usual Rage Demon spells: Fire Ball, Flame Blast, Fire Aura, and Fire Bolt. Pretty weak overall. Especially with Wynne's paralyzing Glyph. I took more damage from the friendly mages than from the raging boss! What the hell Petra? That is not how you throw a Fire Ball! The key is to NOT hit the allies! And this is the girl we left here with the kids?
8:17:34 ALISTAIR GETS A SKILL
I decided to spend Alistair's unspent skill point. Survival is fine. Little nature resistance. Why not?
8:17:55 DOOR NUMBER
As soon as you open it, the Templars will immediately cast Holy Smite on you, so Force Field time! Alistair can take them down, with Wynne healing him. You can help, one you get out of the Force Field.
Behind these three doors we will collect the papers for the Five Pages, Four Mages.
8:18:46 THE DOOR TO HELL
For a mage anyway. Five Templars, one Elite Desire Demon. Force Filed yourself immediately. The Templars, just like before, will Holy Smite the hell out of you as soon as you touch the door. You can't take it, you will die, since there are five of them. Wynne and Morrigan got pretty bruised up, and they only received the aoe!
Fortunately, the Templars will Cleanse the Force Filed, so you will be back in business pretty fast. That knock down mid heal was unexpected though, Morrigan almost fell again. She used her Life Drain to leech some of it back, and I Group Healed everyone. Mana Clash on the demon and then start taking down the templars one by one.
Alistair will do most of the work, templars have pretty good magic resistance, they will resist most of your spells. Still, try to Petrify them, knock them down with Stone Fist etc. Make it easier for our future king.
There is a gift for Zevran with one of the templars, pick it up.
8:20:41 BEWITCHED TEMPLAR
I decided to get rid of them. Good fight, good xp, good rewards.
The Templar will Holy Smite so Force Field him. One guy with Holy Smite does not warrant a Force Field on us, so just use the ISOLATION tactic. The demon gets Mana Clash and Stone Fist.
The corpses are not a big deal, especially since we isolted the Elite templar. If he gets out, stun him and Petrify him to leave your mages alone.
The cabinet has a gift for Oghren, and the templar has the templar armor.
8:22:45 SUMMONING SCIENCES
Back to a quest I almost forgot. We can complete it even after the Broken Circle, but we are already here, right?
First summon: Spirit Nug. Summoning Font + Tome of Spirit Personages. Touch the first red smoke.
Second summon: Spirit guy. Summoning Font + Rodercoms Uncommon Calling + Magus Gorvish. Touch the second red smoke.
Third summon: Bereskarn. Summoning Font + Elvorn's Grande Bestiary + Common Table Carving Spot + Spiritorum Etherialis + Magus Gorvish + Novice Philactery. Touch the third red smoke.
We kill the bear and get the Charged Mitts. Gloves for Lightning users.
8:24:43 MORRIGAN LEVEL 13
Everything goes on Magic. We pick Glyph of Paralysis for her, so she can also paralyze enemies. She does not have enough tactic slots yet, to use it though.
8:25:23 THE DOOR OF CERTAIN DEATH
At least if you don't do it the way I do here. First, DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! Zoom out and blast the Blood Mage with Mana Clash. Then cast a Fire Ball on the group of templars. Your mage will automatically open the door as he casts the ball. Yes, we can eat some Holy Smite in the process, that is fine, because they will be knocked down.
After the templars are knocked down and we get out of the stun, try to group them together at the door and give them some fire. As always with templars, we need to focus on getting hit too much, since they drain our mana. Petrify and Mind Blast can keep them at bay until we finish them off.
8:26:21 EVERYONE'S FAVORITE DEMON IN THE GAME
Sloth. We are going to sleep. We have done enough. It's time to rest.
PART 2: https://www.strange-and-unusual-pukingking.com/post/dragon-age-origins-war-mage-combat-playthrough-time-stamps-tactics-part-2