Templar abilities (Holy Smite vs Cleanse vs Silence)

Keep in mind that Alistar says, "To everyone else, I'm just a guy in a metal suit." From that I might infer that templar abilities have little to no effect on non-mages. With that in mind...


Holy Smite - In both DAO and DA2 (with upgrade), holy smite inflicts spirit damage and stuns. In DAI, that ability is wrath of heaven; the spirit damage was removed, leaving only the stun. It seems to me this is the more logical version of the ability, as I don't think it makes much sense for a templar to be throwing out spirit damage.

You could rework it so that the stun affects only mages, who might also lose mana in addition to being stunned, depending on how strong-willed they are. A stronger mage would lose less than a weak one. In all cases, I think there should be a chance for the mage to resist the smite. Resistance would depend on the experience and skill of the templar, as well as the experience and skill of the mage.

Cleanse - In DAO, this has the possibility to purge everything, from friend and foe alike. In DA2, the focus is only on enemy (hostile) magic. In DAI, it is renamed spell purge and also only affects enemy magic.

I'm inclined to go with the DAO version that purges everything, including possible friendly spells. It seems that a spell like that would be difficult to direct, and I like the idea that the templar would have to cast it strategically, especially if the templar is also working with a mage in their own party.

Silence - DA2 is the only game with this spell. I like that it's something a more experienced templar might know to direct against a specific targeted mage, rather than a whole area cleanse. We see Meredith use this in her intro scene in DA2.

I don't agree with your interpretation.
The description says,

I think stating that "it cuts a mage off from the fade for a time" is good, but I disagree with your damage suggestion. I think a mage might be disoriented for a time at suddenly feeling the loss of that fade connection, but not physically damaged.


It seems to me that the primary benefit of the templar abilities is to disrupt mana and negate spellcasting. Once they do that, then they are able to go in with their traditional weapons and cut the mages down. I dislike the idea of them using spirit magic, and DAI moves away from that. The only ability that does direct damage is wrath of heaven, but that is only to demons. I think this leans a bit too much toward the templar-as-paladin analogue, which I disagree with; there is no righteous holy fire in the Dragon Age universe that is a physical manifestation of faith.