Dual-wielding warrior: power variant
Part One. Duelist in Dragon Age: Origins.
In the dark times of the Dragon Age, a warrior can choose one of four paths for their development: sword and shield, two-handed sword, ranged, or dual-wielding weapons. The hero who opts for the latter is referred to as a dualist for simplicity and is the most effective fighter among their class peers. Below, we will describe their skills, development options, and various tips.
1) Attributes
Strength - the primary characteristic that should be raised as high as possible;
Dexterity - raised to 32 points, with an additional 4 available in the Mage Tower. A total of 36 points is just enough;
Willpower - can be raised a little, but don’t get too carried away;
Magic - don’t invest any points;
Cunning - starts at 10-11 points, with 5 more acquired from mages. It’s not worth raising above 16, as this is sufficient for Influence;
Constitution - raised to 20 points (remember that 2 is gained in Shadows).
The feature of attribute progression: at the beginning, dexterity should be the main characteristic - only after raising it to 32 points and completing the quest "The Broken Circle" can you focus on the rest.
2) Skills
Influence - must be maxed out. The Savior of Ferelden should be not only a great warrior but also a cunning diplomat.
Stealing - better left for Leliana.
Survival - early detection of enemies, slight resistance to the forces of nature, bonus to physical resilience. However, all these joys will only be available after full development. Necessary for completing some quests.
Trap-making - again, better left to Leliana.
Poison-making - you can invest one point to be able to use these poisons. Zeveran is the master of such making, so it makes sense to keep him alive and in the party.
Herbalism - an indispensable skill, but better developed by mages. Morrigan already has it halfway developed from the start.
Combat Training - no comments needed. Maximize this as quickly as possible.
Tactics - the hero better not touch this at all, as they will be under the player's control most of the time.
3) Specializations
Berserker
The main specialization of the dualist that should be taken first. Only they can maximize its potential, gaining not +8 damage from speed and attacks with two hands, but effectively +16. The first three abilities should be acquired as soon as possible; the Final Blow should never be used anywhere as it disables all maintained abilities, and should only be taken if skill points can’t be invested anywhere else.
Templar
The only specialization that’s universal and useful for everyone. A bonus of +10 to attack and defense, as well as the ability to knock enemies away in a decent radius will be useful to us.
Rogue
The most controversial specialization. Devouring allows for health restoration from near death to maximum in a heated battle without distracting on potions, but generally only once. A fearsome appearance with a high strength value can incapacitate any regular enemy or yellow boss for a time, as well as a significant portion of orange bosses. The Aura of Pain, dealing 20 spirit magic damage to all nearby enemies every 4 seconds and reducing the hero's health regeneration by 5 points, looks rather dreary - especially with a maintenance cost of 60 points of stamina. Finally, Blood Frenzy adds +1 damage to each hero's attack (i.e., +2 for the dualist) for every 10% of health lost and again reduces health regeneration by 5. An ability for those who love to take risks - the closer the hero is to death, the more damage they will deal.
Guardian
The most useless specialization. It should only be taken in order to wear armor with high resistance to magic. All Templar skills mainly depend on willpower, which the dualist usually cannot boast about.
The only mandatory specialization to use is Berserker. The second one is chosen according to personal preference.
*The Grey Wardens do not retreat or surrender.*
4) Abilities
Heroic-Intimidation-Courage-Death Rush
You must level up the entire line, use Intimidation only if the hero is the only warrior in the team.
Calculated Strike-Provocation-Withdrawal-Perfect Strike
The most useful ability is the last one (+100 to attack for 15 sec.). But this branch should be leveled at the end. The dualist should not use Calculated Strike (with the exception of one situation to be discussed below); going without the second and third is completely fine.
Weapon Mastery in Each Hand
Must be leveled to the maximum and as quickly as possible. As a result, the warrior learns to deal equal damage with both hands, gets a +5 bonus to attack and defense, and the ability to inflict bleeding wounds.
Double Strike-Response Strike-Maiming Strike-Punisher
The first ability is one of the essentials and should always be activated. The hero will strike simultaneously with both hands but without the ability to deal critical hits (which rogues cannot do without, but warriors can do perfectly fine). The second is stunning. If it lands, the second strike will be critical. A good tactic, useful at all times. The third is merely a critical hit with slight bonuses. The fourth deals a lot of damage at a high cost. Three strikes, the last one is dealt with both hands and is critical.
Sweep with Two Hands-Pour-Fury-Whirlwind
The first ability is one of the best for the dualist overall. All enemies on the front take damage with increased damage. The second - on the contrary, is the most dreary of all. Just three quick strikes with normal damage. The third - one of the core abilities of the dualist, increasing attack speed by 30%. It should always be activated. The fourth - an attack that strikes all nearby enemies with normal damage. Nobody is left out.
Fury must never be used together with the spell Acceleration (+25% attack and group movement speed). The reason is a bug - a character whose attack speed bonus is over 50% will move slower instead. The only solution is to activate the dualist's Calculated Strike, which gives a -10% penalty to attack speed. Thus, due to Fury, Calculated Strike, and Acceleration, the attack speed bonus will equal +45%.
*The battle ends. A two-handed sword stands no chance against dual weapons.*
5) Armor and Weapons
For weapons, choose any combination of swords and axes, as they have the same attack speed modifier. Maces have a higher modifier, so their attack speed will be lower. A dagger is needed only in the first half of the game - after that, it should be replaced with a full-sized weapon. One of the best sets (also free) is obtained closer to the end of the game - the sword Cutting Edge and axe Legacy.
You should take the heaviest armor available and, if possible, with a bonus to stamina or its regeneration. A great choice would be dragon scale armor from master Wade (of course, paid for). As an interim option, the armor of Diligence, which can be gathered up by level 13-14, will be suitable.
Dirty alley, old door... And one of the most formidable opponents in the entire game, second only to the Archdemon.
6) Conclusion
Pros:
- Higher attack speed;
- Two area strikes;
- Good defense;
- The highest damage per unit of time;
Cons:
- No ability to deliver critical hits through auto-attack;
- No skills granting immunity to being knocked down;
- No skills against well-armored opponents;
Part Two. Duelist in Dragon Age: Awakening.
1) Attributes
Strength - still one of the main characteristics, but it’s no longer worth developing to astronomical heights in the expansion.
Dexterity - raised to 50 points for the skills.
Willpower - the second main characteristic in the expansion, into which no less than 30 points should be invested.
Magic - do not touch.
Cunning - the same 16 points.
Constitution - also not touched, left at 20 points.
Strength is no longer as important, as there is a specialization that allows ignoring enemy armor, thus inflicting high damage even with average characteristic values. Willpower, on the other hand, gains high priority because the same specialization literally consumes stamina, imposing a significant penalty to its regeneration.
2) Skills
Rune-making - a very useful and necessary skill, which we shouldn’t take. Better left for Nathaniel or Sigrun.
Toughness - 25 health points for each skill level. Fully upgrade.
Clarity - 25 stamina points for each level. Definitely upgrade - in the expansion, the bonus to stamina is valued even more than health bonuses.
3) Specializations
Spirit Warrior
The best warrior specialization around. The first ability is essential. When used, it constantly depletes stamina (minus 10 to regeneration), but allows the hero to avoid a significant portion of physical attacks. The second ability enhances the previous skill, adding a chance to evade spells. Furthermore, all warrior attacks ignore armor and deal spirit magic damage. The third ability - Shadow Explosion. Deals spirit magic damage to all beings around. The ability depends on willpower - the higher its value, the greater the damage. The fourth - enhances the first skill, increases the chance to resist spells, and provides a bonus to attack speed (+20%) and movement.
Sentinel
The first ability - Guardian's Shield, applied to one party member, absorbing limited damage. The amount of absorbed damage depends on the sentinel's constitution. Strengthening Presence, when activated, increases the entire squad's armor for a duration. Depends on the sentinel's constitution (maximum effect - 15 points of armor for 30 seconds at constitution 81). Master Sentinel enhances previous skills (for maximum effect of Strengthening Presence, only 27 points of constitution is enough). Finally, the Aura of Unflinching Defender attracts enemies to the warrior, who failed the physical resistance check, in exchange for consuming stamina.
Spirit Warrior is a mandatory choice for all warriors. Sentinel should only be taken at will.
Deathly combat on the streets of a doomed city...
4) Abilities
Second Wind-Bitter Fate of the Nameless-Dirt Curse-Slaughter
No useless abilities here. The first restores 80% of the hero's stamina immediately, but recharges in 2 minutes. The second kills any regular enemy, deals double critical damage to yellow bosses and normal damage to orange bosses. The third, according to the description, was supposed to act similarly to Intimidation. However, in reality, an unknown force grabs all enemies in a decent radius and throws them right at the warrior's feet. The fourth eliminates all regular enemies at a level below the hero, and deals critical damage to yellow bosses and ordinary damage to orange bosses in a decent radius. It is perfect against crowds of small foes.
Double Strike-Find Vital Points-Upward Strike-Endless Torrent
The first ability delivers two critical hits in a row. The second increases the chance of a critical hit, the damage done, and enhances the previous move. The third is area damage, reducing the movement speed of all enemies in a large radius. If the target was previously hit by a Double Strike, they will fall. The last ability attacks one opponent without pauses. Stamina is consumed with each hit. If the enemy was injured by the Double Strike beforehand, each attack will deal critical damage.
5) Armor and Weapons
There are not many good enchanting weapons in the expansion. Even fewer suitable for the dualist. Strictly speaking, weapons from the original should only be replaced with the sword Vigilance (everyone can choose their bonuses according to their taste) and the dagger Voice of Velvet (there is no worthy full-sized pair for Wade's master blade).
With armor, the situation is slightly better. An excellent temporary armor set will be the heavy armor set of Stormbreaker - it can be gathered soon after the game starts. In its place, you should take one of two sets of plates - either the Cal-Hirola set (obtained in the first third of the game) or the First Guard set (available only in the last third of the game - if you are trying to minimize encounters with bugs, of course).
6) Conclusion
Pros:
- Maximum possible attack speed;
- Quite decent values for attack and defense;
- The highest damage per unit of time;
Cons:
- No ability to deliver critical hits in auto-attacks;
- Still lacks skills granting immunity to being knocked down.