+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
v1.1
===================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
===================
0. QUICK QUIDE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ATTRIBUTES
3. ABILITIES
3a. ARCHERY
3b. SPECIALIST
3c. SCOUNDREL
4. SLAYER BUILD
5. NINJA BUILD
6. EQUIPMENT
7. COMPANIONS
8. COMBAT HINTS
9. GENERAL TIPS & TRICKS
10. CLOSING WORDS
11. REVISION HISTORY
To jump to a section: search for "X." For example if you want to jump to the
Slayer build, press Ctrl + F then type in "4." ie. the number and the dot.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
================
0. QUICK GUIDE
================
For the lazy people out there, here's the executive summary of this guide.
Let me go right out and say it: choosing Rogue is a rather challenging
option. They're not uber-powerhouses in this game, especially in the harder
difficulty levels. For a powerhouse class, go with Two Handed Warrior.
Attributes: raise Dex and Cun in equal measure
===========================
Slayer Build (All-out DPS):
===========================
Level Ability
----- -------
1 Miasmic Flask (compulsory) -> Evade (Maker's Sigh/Tome)
2 Backstab
3 Unforgiving Chain
4 Explosive Strike
5 -save-
6 -save-
7 (Asn) Mark of Death
8 Bloodlust + Merciless Strike + Twin Fangs
9 Pinpoint Strikes
10 Assassinate
11 Chameleon's Breath
12 Devious Harm
13 Mark of Doom
14(Sdw) Inconspicuous
15 Annihilate
16 Overkill
17 Pinpoint Precision
18 Disorienting Criticals
19 Blindside
20 Back to Back
21 Follow Through
22 Speed
=============================
Ninja Build (Phantom killer):
=============================
This is probably the better build for harder difficulty levels.
Level Ability
----- -------
1 Miasmic Flask (compulsory)
2 Stealth
3 Backstab
4 Unforgiving Chain
5 Explosive Strike
6 -save-
7 (Sdw) Pinpoint Precision
8 Merciless Strike + Twin Fangs
9 Inconspicuous
10 Decoy
11 Shadow Veil
12 Disorienting Criticals
13 Blindside
14(Asn) Mark of Death
15 Bloodlust
16 Pinpoint Strikes
17 Devious Harm
18 Assassinate
19 Annihilate
20 Overkill
21 Mark of Doom
22 Enduring Mark
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
=================
1. INTRODUCTION
=================
Hello and welcome to Dragon Age 2! BioWare has followed up on the successes
of Dragon Age: Origins with this stunning new game. I played the Rogue intro
first up and man! The visuals were just dazzling! I was hooked from that first
backstab, the explosion of blood, and the dynamic, verocious combat animation.
Yes, the Dual Weapon Rogue is back and is a greater DPS monster than ever.
This guide is for Dual Weapon Rogue builds. It's in the same vein as my Dual
Weapon Rogue guides for Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening. I am presenting two
builds here:
a. the Slayer (an all-out damage dealing machine) - this build concentrates on
simply doing as much damage as quickly as possible. It uses many striking
talents. The downside is that it's rather vulnerable.
b. the Ninja (a tricky and hard-to-catch phantom killer) - this build relies
on stealth and evasiveness to keep the Rogue safe so that they can continue
to kill enemies. However, the DPS is nowhere near as explosive as Slayer.
The following is a list of what these builds DO NOT attempt to excel in:
# Tanking (drawing aggro and taking damage)
# Area of effect and crowd control abilities
# Healing, support, party-buffing
# Debilitating the enemy
The gameplay of Dragon Age 2 (DA2) seems at first glance much simpler than
Dragon Age Origins (DAO). There is no racial choice to make, "skills" such as
Herbalism have been removed and NPCs are more streamlined. The ability trees,
however, have been expanded and are more complex now. Where in DAO you had
simple talent progressions, the ability trees now have more requirements and
prerequisites. The abilities themselves have been overhauled almost completely.
The overall game difficulty levels also feel a lot harder, Hard and Nightmare
modes are more challenging now.
Take note that there is pretty much an NPC for every job: 2-Hand Warrior,
Shield Tank Warrior, Archer Rogue, Dagger Rogue, and a couple of mages. This
time, however, NPCs are less customizable. Their "specialization" is unique
and their preferred weapon style cannot be changed (ie. you cannot train the
Archer Rogue to wield Daggers).
Also note that there are now more synergy tactics involved, especially with
the advent of cross-class comboes. For example, Warriors can STAGGER foes and
several Rogue and Mage abilities deal far more damage against those foes. There
are also many other less obvious combos (eg. ones involving Obscurement).
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============
2. ATTRIBUTES
===============
# Attributes have a base value of 10 (ie. no bonuses when attribute = 10).
# On each level up, you gain 3 attribute points (down from the 5/lvl in DAO).
# Note that you DO NOT gain other stats like Health and Stamina on level up.
This is what each attribute gives you:
Strength (Str): For Warriors only - Attack rating (nonlinear)
For Warriors only - Damage rating (1 dmg per 2 Str)
For everyone - Fortitude (+1 point per 1 Str)
Dexterity (Dex): For Rogues only - Attack rating (nonlinear)
For Rogues only - Damage rating (1 dmg per 2 Dex)
For everyone - Critical chance (+1% per 1 Dex)
Willpower (Wil): For everyone - Mana/Stamina (5 points per 1 Wil)
Magic (Mag): For Mages only - Attack rating (nonlinear)
For Mages only - Damage rating (1 dmg per 2 Mag)
For everyone - Magic Resistance (+1% per 1 Mag)
Cunning (Cun): For everyone - Defense (nonlinear)
For everyone - Critical damage (+1% per 1 Cun)
Rogue lockpick (20 standard, 30 complex, 40 master)
Rogue disarm traps (20 standard, 30 complex, 40 master)
Constitution (Con): For everyone - Health (5 points per 1 Con)
Rogue armour pieces have both Dex and Cun requirements and they're generally
equal in value. Therefore you will need to raise both attributes pretty much in
concert. They complement each other VERY nicely.
Compared to the other classes, Rogues get a pretty good deal because you get
important DPS-related derived stats of Atk, Dmg, Crit chance and Crit damage.
You also get the added bonus of Def and the very relevant lockpicking and trap
disarming skills. HOWEVER, you will sorely lack toughness in the form of Health
and Fortitude.
A small amount of Wil may be needed just to cover your combos. Just invest
in it as needed.
You do NOT want to put any more points in any of the other attributes as
this will gimp your character.
Your starting stats as a Rogue are not customizable; they look like this:
Strength (Str): 10
Dexterity (Dex): 13
Willpower (Wil): 11
Magic (Mag): 10
Cunning (Cun): 12
Constitution (Con): 10
Another note: against Elite or higher enemies, your stats get penalized.
Elite enemy Boss enemy
Attack -15% -30%
Defense -20% -40%
Armor -10% -20%
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
==============
3. ABILITIES
==============
As mentioned, the ability trees are more complex in DA2 compared to DAO.
The Rogue abilities are divided into 6 trees. The ability trees are:
Dual Weapon · Sabotage · Specialist · Scoundrel · Subterfuge · Archery
On top of this, you can choose one specialization at level 7 and another
at level 14, just like in DAO. The specializations are:
Assassin · Shadow · Duelist
For full descriptions of each tree and ability, I suggest you look at the
description in-game where it's pictorial and easier to see the whole tree and
the branches, or go to the Dragon Age wiki site:
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Rogue_(Dragon_Age_II)
Let's take a look at each tree in more detail. I'm going to start from the
least relevant ones.
Legend:
[X] indicates a base ability
+ an upgrade to the base ability (doesn't add a separate ability)
note: you DO NOT need the first upgrade to get the second one
X-> requires X as a prerequisite
X+Y-> requires both X and Y as prerequisites
(2) you must have at least 2 points already invested in this tree
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
=============
3a. Archery
=============
We are dual-wielders. This tree is no use for us at all.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
================
3b. SPECIALIST
================
SUMMARY: this tree has 3 mutually exclusive branches of Sustained modes. You
can only have 1 active at a time. Annoyingly, you need to invest in other modes
to get upgrades to your preferred mode. The result: lots of Ability Points
invested for modest returns.
[A] Speed + Lightning Speed (3) + Energizing Speed (5)
# Adds 10-15% attack speed and reduces cooldowns at the whopping cost of 20%
stamina sustained. Look at that, you need to invest in 3 points to get your
first upgrade, ie. you MUST pick the other modes! Since the modes cannot be
used together, this is a big waste. HOWEVER, investing in one point just for
Speed can be justified.
[B] Precision + Precise Attack (2) + Precise Criticals (3)
# Increases Attack and Crit chance. The requirements are lower for this mode,
but Atk and Crit% are your natural strong suits and may not need the boost.
[C] Power + Slashing Power (3) + Stunning Power (5)
# Adds a small (3%) stun chance, then damage, then another 3% stun. 3% is WAY
too little to count, and the requirements for the upgrades are ridiculous.
Probably the worst of the 3 modes.
A+B+C-> Harmony (3)
# Adds a little bit of the other 2 modes into whatever mode you have active.
again, this tree suffers from the hefty ability requirements.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============
3c. Scoundrel
===============
This is the "support" side of Rogue gameplay, mostly with ally dependent
abilities. With the exception of Blindside, you should not spend any points in
this talent tree.
[A] Back to Back + Invisible Friend
A-> Brand
A-> Follow Through (2)
# BTB and IF are ally-aiding skills. In a real pinch though, you can use BTB
as an escape mechanism from being surrounded. You don't really need these.
# Brand increases the crit chance of warrior/mage allies. This isn't great due
to the inherently low crit damage of those builds.
# FT recovers 1% stamina with each attack, which can add up nicely especially
given your relatively high attack speed. Is it worth investing in the fairly
useless BTB though? You've got stamina draughts anyway.
[B] Armistice + Truce
B-> Goad + Corral
# These are not actually bad, but they are all threat-redirection skills, not
useful to our DPS mindset.
[C] Blindside
C-> Twist the Knife (2)
# Blindside gives +20% damage if your target is engaging someone else. This is
rather unreliable as targets tend to engage you once you hit them a bit.
With some good management, however, Blindside practically equals an almost
guaranteed +20% damage, which is very good.
# Twist the Knife sounds ok at first, but isn't that reliable once again since
enemies need to be stunned. Stuns are harder to achieve in DA2. Your crit
chance will be naturally high anyway, and there are other, better methods of
increasing crit chance.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
==============
3d. SABOTAGE
==============
Various debilitating effects, some of which are quite nice. Since they don't
add to your DPS, however, it's best you leave it to NPC companions.
[A] Miasmic Flask + Improved Formula
A-> Confusion (2) + Chaos (6)
# Flask is the default choice for 1st level skill for all Rogues. It can be
useful to help counter a large crowd, so I guess it's not all bad.
# Confusion/Chaos seem quite good at a glance, but the tiny radius means that
it doesn't really help at all. Chaos also needs 6 (!) invested talents.
[B] Rush + Charge + Blitz (2)
# This is pretty much the only AOE damage ability that Rogues have. In the
intro it looked freaking awesome, but in reality the damage is sub-par.
A+B-> Fatiguing Fog (3) + Impenetrable Fog + Overpowering Fog (5)
# Pretty straightforward debilitation again. The Impenetrable upgrade sets up
obscure combos while the Overpowering upgrade sets up DISORIENT cross-class
combos. Not a bad choice for an NPC.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
================
3e. SUBTERFUGE
================
This tree is full of evasive, stealth and other covert abilities. It heavily
features in the Ninja build and is a good way of keeping your Rogue somewhat
out of harm's way.
[A] Evade + Tactical Withdrawal
# A panic button of sorts, the upgrade being a guaranteed escape mechanism
when swarmed. You rarely can afford the talent point to get the upgrade while
Evade itself is mostly taken as a prerequisite.
A-> Subtlety (2)
# Looks good at first glance to get enemies off your back, but note that there
is a much better skill under the Shadow specialization. Get that instead.
A-> Chameleon's Breath + Chameleon's Cloud (2)
# One of the few skills that offers obscurement. Other than the defensive boon
it also combos well with several other talents exploited in the Ninja build.
As you can see, Cloud improves it only a little.
[B] Stealth + Silent Running (2) + Camouflage (3)
# A straightforward escape that again starts combos very well while protecting
your Rogue. The upgrades are tempting but ultimately unnecessary, there are
many other, far more important talents to get.
B-> Ambush (2)
B-> Lingering Shroud (2)
# These are obvious "upgrades" to Stealth. Not much else to say there except
that these and some other talents combo well together.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
=================
3f. DUAL WEAPON
=================
Straightforward damage-dealing skills, forming the basis of the Slayer build.
It enables you to quickly and explosively kill the enemies (often literally).
[A] Backstab + Perforate + Murder (3)
# Very cool way to engage the enemy. It is also great for positioning and can
be used to escape when surrounded. The upgrades are again very tempting. Too
bad that there are other, more important talents to get.
A-> Lacerate (2) + Maim (4)
# Too iffy for my liking. 10% chance for rather paltry damage bonus is not too
enticing, while it ties up 10% of your stamina which you can otherwise employ
for devastating activated abilities.
[B] Unforgiving Chain
# A nice, passive improvement to your normal attacks and a prerequisite.
B-> Explosive Strike + Merciless Strike (3)
# A nifty way to complement the Unforgiving Chain. Merciless Strike is more
important than Murder, simply because Explosive Strike builds up to much
higher damage than Backstab. You need the upgrade to meet the requirements
for Twin Fangs (4 points in Dual Weapon).
A+B-> Twin Fangs (4) + Reversed Grip
# Speaking of "devastating activated abilities", here's one! A superb move
that deals 11x normal damage WITH guaranteed critical! This is your big Coup
de gras, so upgrading it with Reverse Grip is perfectly justified. Usage
improves from 2 a minute to 3 a minute.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
=============
3g. DUELIST
=============
Training as a Duelist gives you +5% Crit chance.
This is by far my least favourite specialization. Defensively it's quite
interesting, but it doesn't help your DPS much. The main reason is that Attack
and Critical chance are stats that you naturally get close to max anyway, so
bonuses in these stats (which are abundant in the Duelist tree) are dubious.
Furthermore, Vendetta is inferior to other available burst damage talents.
[A] Throw the Gauntlet + To the Death (2) + Cutting Barbs (4)
# Sure, turn your Rogue into a tank, that's a good idea.
A-> Sure Strikes (2)
# Seems good on paper, but you're not exactly lacking in Attack to need this.
[B] Parry + Riposte (2) + En Guarde (2)
# Meant to work with [A] for a drawn out fight where the Rogue will hopefully
emerge victorious. I'd personally prefer to burst damage them into oblivion.
Remember also that Bosses and Elite Bosses will smash you one on one. You
are much better off allowing a Tank character to absorb damage while you
dish it out.
B-> Evasive Maneuvers (3)
# A rather large dodge bonus (20%). It's good, but doesn't help your DPS any.
A+B-> Vendetta (2) + Blood Feud (4)
# Finally a burst damage move! Note, however, that Assassinate and even Twin
Fangs deal more damage and are guaranteed criticals. Even with the armor-
bypass upgrade this does not compare to the other two burst damage talents,
and the buildup is rather poor too.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
============
3h. SHADOW
============
Embracing the Shadows gives you 3% chance of going into Stealth whenever you
take damage. A rather unique ability! No, you don't need to learn the Stealth
move from the Subterfuge tree.
The Shadow talents mostly involve skulking undetected, tricking enemies and
dealing more damage from, well, the shadows. It has a little of everything for
a Rogue, notably some very good passives. This tree is core for the Ninja build.
[A] Pinpoint Precision
# Very straightforward +25% Critical damage. One of the best passives around.
A->[C] Disorienting Criticals
# Less straightforward +25% Critical damage (only when you're Obscured). The
Obscured status can be gained from Shadow Veil, Chameleon's Breath, upgraded
Fatiguing Fog and Smoking Arrows. Also, obscured criticals now DISORIENT
enemies (-50% Defense). Not bad as long as you can gain obscurement, which
likely must come from companions as you have few talent points to afford
getting the above abilities.
[B] Inconspicuous + Indiscernable (2) + Imperceptible (4)
# Basically gives you free reign to chop up enemies without them noticing you.
If you go with the mentality "as long as I'm alive, I can deal damage" then
this indirectly improves your DPS. However, I generaly prefer actual DPS.
C-> Predator (5)
# Guaranteed flanking criticals. Nice with Inconspicuous, Blindside, etc. Note
again though that your crit chance will already be pretty close to 100%.
Keeping that in mind, this talent no longer seems important.
A+B->[D] Decoy (2) + Sturdy Decoy + Rigged Decoy
# A way to escape in style! Note that the upgrades are not great. You don't
have that much health that the Rigged Decoy will deal that much damage, and
making the Decoy last longer isn't that great.
C+D-> Shadow Veil (3)
# Oh man that is a lot of pre-reqs. Shadow Veil is very tricky; it obscures
you whenever you go into Stealth. That is: using the talent "Stealth", or
Decoy, or Invisible Friend, or on the 3% chance of Stealth when damaged.
Obviously works great with your other obscured-related talents.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
==============
3i. ASSASSIN
==============
Becoming an Assassin gives you +10% Critical damage.
As you would expect, Assassins focus on targeting and eliminating single
enemies as quickly as possible. Almost all the talents here are damage related
and it's no surprise that it forms the core of the Slayer build.
[A] Mark of Death + Enduring Mark + Mark of Doom
# Best used on a tough Elite or higher level foe. -50% damage resistance is
no joke, allowing you to dispose of that dangerous adversary twice as fast.
[B} Bloodlust
# The one Assassin talent that doesn't improve damage. We basically only take
it as a prerequisite, although the stamina recovery is far from useless.
A+B->C Pinpoint Strikes + Relentless Strikes (3)
# As previously mentioned, bonuses to Crit chance are not worth very much to
you. Early game, however, before you get your naturally high Crit chance,
this will help. Unlike other talents, this is an unconditional guarantee
albeit for only 10 seconds. Mostly it's just a pre-req. The upgrade isn't
really worth getting because (a) other talents are more important (b) by
the time you can spare the talent point, your Crit chance would be high.
C-> Devious Harm
# This is MASSIVE. Think those other Critical damage boosters are great? This
is about 2x better. One of the strongest reasons to pick Assassin.
C-> Assassinate + Annihilate + Overkill
# The giant killer. The boss destroyer. Spectacular damage with guaranteed
critical to boot! Get this and the upgrades ASAP.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
=================
4. SLAYER BUILD
=================
And now, what we've been waiting for: the all powerful Slayer build.
Level Ability
----- -------
1 Miasmic Flask (compulsory) -> Evade (Maker's Sigh/Tome)
2 Backstab
3 Unforgiving Chain
4 Explosive Strike
5 -save-
6 -save-
7 (Asn) Mark of Death
8 Bloodlust + Merciless Strike + Twin Fangs
9 Pinpoint Strikes
10 Assassinate
11 Chameleon's Breath
12 Devious Harm
13 Mark of Doom
14(Sdw) Inconspicuous
15 Annihilate
16 Overkill
17 Pinpoint Precision
18 Disorienting Criticals
19 Blindside
20 Back to Back
21 Follow Through
22 Speed
PRO: + Huge burst damage potential
+ Kills enemy lieutenants quickly
+ Decent auto-attack
CON: - Dependent on activated skills and therefore stamina
- A bit pedestrian against crowds whilst your big moves are in cooldown
- Rather fragile
Justification:
-------------
The build is based on two gargantuan talents: Twin Fangs and Assassinate.
These two abilities are just such good burst-damage moves. Most Elites will not
survive the two-hit combo (plus Mark of Death). What more could you ask for?
Many talents were chosen just as pre-requisite for these although they are still
not good in their own right). Other talents are chosen for damage boosting.
1 Miasmic Flask You start off with this talent already learned.
You can not really afford to keep this. If you
have Black Emporium, re-spec ASAP. If not, get
a Tome of Technique ASAP. Get Evade.
1 -> Evade A quick escape button when surrounded. Even if
enemies chase, it'll give you some breathing
room. Pre-requisite for Chameleon's Breath.
2 Backstab Decent damage, can be used to escape (sort of).
Pre-requisite to Twin Fangs.
3 Unforgiving Chain Improves your auto-attack.
Pre-req to Twin Fangs.
4 Explosive Strike Unleash your Chain with a huge explosion! This
is a great burst damage move in its own right,
just needs a build-up that's all.
Pre-req to Twin Fangs.
5 -save- Unfortunately you'll need to save a couple of
6 -save- points so that you can get Twin Fangs ASAP.
7 (Asn) Mark of Death Pretty good damage booster.
Pre-req to Assassinate.
8 Bloodlust Pre-req and helps stamina management.
8 Merciless Strike Better than investing in Lacerate.
Need the point for Twin Fangs.
8 Twin Fangs Massive burst damage, auto-critical. Core.
9 Pinpoint Strikes This is good to have during the early game.
Pre-req to Assassinate.
10 Assassinate Massive burst damage, auto-critical. Core.
11 Chameleon's Breath Throw this into a crowd to vastly increase your
survival chance. Enemies will miss you more
often. This also sets up Disorienting Criticals.
12 Devious Harm Fantastic improvement to your critical hits.
Note that this includes auto-criticals such
as your good friends Twin Fangs and Assassinate.
13 Mark of Doom Double strength Mark of Death.
More important than Enduring Mark because you
can easily get your Twin Fangs - Assassinate
combo within the given 10 seconds.
14(Sdw) Inconspicuous I overlooked this previously. In Normal mode it
is permissible to skip this and go straight for
more DPS. In Hard or Nightmare, you will get
slammed. It's very important to be able to deal
your damage without getting targeted.
15 Annihilate *Absolutely* necessary for those enemies who
are otherwise immune to critical Assassinate.
16 Overkill Improve Assassinate further! Get ASAP.
17 Pinpoint Precision Great improvement to your critical hits.
18 Disorienting Criticals Even more improvement to your critical hits.
You can set up the Obscure using Chameleon's
Breath.
19 Blindside Potentially a +20% damage passive ability.
Also needed for Follow Through's requirements.
20 Back to Back Can be used to aid a friend in need, or escape
when surrounded by a mob.
Mostly just a pre-req for Follow Through.
21 Follow Through All those activated abilities use up a lot of
stamina. This ensures you have enough stamina
for all your moves. Just using draughts isn't
enough sometimes. Why not get it earlier? Well
without getting the activated abilities first
you'll be stuck with leftover stamina.
22 Speed Great synergy with Follow Through. Yes it ties
up your stamina, but you will also gain it back
faster now. Let's not forget it improves your
auto-attack significantly, including faster
build-up of Unforgiving Chain.
If you have spare points, from getting rid of Miasmic Flask or from Tome of
Technique or reaching higher than level 22 or whatever, the TOP PRIORITY of
course is to pick the talents from further down the list.
Eg. You get Black Emporium at level 11 and reassign your talents, delete
Miasmic Flask and grab Enduring Mark. At level 14 you buy a tome, use it to get
get Pinpoint Precision. And so forth.
Once you have learnt all the core abilities, get these:
# Enduring Mark
For tough bosses, you want a longer period of lowered damage resistance.
# Inconspicuous upgrades
Your damage output is plenty high now. Pick these so that you can worry less
about drawing aggro and possibly getting swarmed and dying.
# Perforate
Pretty simple, you get to use Backstab more often. It's not as good as Twin
Fangs, Explosive Strike or Assassinate, but it's still something.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
================
5. NINJA BUILD
================
Level Ability
----- -------
1 Miasmic Flask (compulsory) -> Evade (Maker's Sigh/Tome)
2 Stealth
3 Backstab
4 Unforgiving Chain
5 Explosive Strike
6 -save-
7 (Sdw) Pinpoint Precision
8 Merciless Strike + Twin Fangs
9 Inconspicuous
10 Decoy
11 Shadow Veil
12 Disorienting Criticals
13 Chameleon's Breath
14(Asn) Mark of Death
15 Bloodlust
16 Pinpoint Strikes
17 Devious Harm
18 Assassinate
19 Annihilate
20 Overkill
21 Mark of Doom
22 Blindside (if you get extra Tomes/talent points, get earlier before 14)
This build emphasises survivability first. Getting Inconspicuous early will
let you Beatdown with more impunity. You also get the added fallback of Stealth
and better use of Obscure thanks to Shadow Veil.
The downside is your explosive Assassin talents will be delayed a little.
There is also no room for Follow Through or Speed, so more stamina draughts may
be needed.
Extra talent points go into what's missing from the Slayer Build.
# Follow Through & Speed
# Enduring Mark
# Inconspicuous upgrades
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
==============
6. EQUIPMENT
==============
Unfortunately there's not much to discuss here. This is especially true when
your NPCs don't share much of the same equipment you do. You just have to use
the best equipment you have available.
Do not buy items at all until Act III because you know a better one will be
available soon. Money is better spent on Tomes and NPC armor upgrades.
Do experiment with poisons. They're fairly cheap and lasts a decently long
while. Grenades on the other hand are single use; they're less economical.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
===============
7. COMPANIONS
===============
Since you're already a Rogue, there is no need to bring another NPC Rogue
with you. In fact I do not recommend it because it emphasises the weakness
in your party (lack of AOE and fragility).
Your AOE capability is horrible. You need NPCs that can clear mobs easily.
Furthermore you need a tank to absorb some damage.
Fenris is your best friend in this game. He hits hard in an AOE, damaging
mobs while keeping up a good level of threat to keep them off your back. With
Lyrium Ghost, he becomes quite durable too.
Some will argue that Aveline is a better tank. She's certainly tougher than
Fenris and can withstand a lot of punishment. However, she lacks AOE damage
power. Her DPS is also much lower and she doesn't generate that much threat.
I think Fenris is the better choice.
My suggestion would be to bring 2 mages to complete your party. Their AOE
power is unrivaled, two Firestorms cast in the same area will decimate most
enemy mobs. They can also help survivability with Heal and Barrier if you like.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
=================
8. COMBAT HINTS
=================
# DO NOT GET FOCUSED! Let your tank lead into the battle first.
# You can deal a lot of damage, but you cannot take it too well. If multiple
archers are focus firing you, you'll get shaken by the arrow hits and cannot
attack. Same goes with getting surrounded, foes will knock you around until
you die.
# This role requires expert positioning. Use strategy. Don't just rush into a
room knowing that you'll be swarmed, bait them to a narrow corridor where
foes can't surround you.
# Don't be afraid to use potions.
# Generally, your mages will take care of mobs. Focus on finishing off near
dead targets first to reduce the danger level, then go for the elites.
# Never assume the battle is over until it really is. Enemies come in waves in
this game, oftentimes from nowhere. Being unprepared can get you killed.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
==========================
9. GENERAL TIPS & TRICKS
==========================
# You hear this all the time, but SAVE. YOUR. GAME. OFTEN!! Make a new save
(not quicksave) at the beginning of each quest in case you stuff up.
# Don't buy any equipment until Act III. Much of the equipment available in
the early stages become obsolete; even random drops in later stages are
better. Furthermore the resale values are so ridiculously low.
# Explore every nook and cranny for loot. Oftentimes you'll get nothing but
junk, but occasionally you'll find rare unique loot.
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10. CLOSING WORDS
===================
Hope this guide was useful for you! Tell your friends if you like it. The
more people read my work the happier I get.
Don't plagiarize! Respect copyright. Blah-blah-blah.
Comments? Criticism? Compliments? zeusodinra at yahoo dot com
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11. REVISION HISTORY
======================
v1.0 25 Mar 2011 Just finished the main part of the guide up to Slayer
v1.1 5 Apr 2011 Completed unfinished sections.
Changed builds to be "safer" as this is required in
harder difficulty levels.
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