talyn82
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Post by talyn82 on Dec 19, 2018 14:56:01 GMT
I am going to replay Origins and was gonna play as a dual wield warrior Cousland for the first time ever. Does anyone have any good builds or suggestions on attributes and skills to choose? Also I normally play a tank Cousland. Is the dual wield warrior viable? By that I mean it's survivability.
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boxofscreaming
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Post by boxofscreaming on Dec 19, 2018 22:38:40 GMT
I like a dual wielding warrior - they do a lot of damage but they can take hits too. I'm not sure about an out and out tank though, I've not attempted that.
I found sword and dagger the most enjoyable setup, though whether it's optimal I'm not sure. I like to load up my weapons with runes, get a mage to sustain Flaming Weapons and turn on Momentum to increase my attack speed. I like the Berserker specialisation for the damage boost from Berserk, though it's annoying that it turns off after every fight.
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capn233
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Post by capn233 on Dec 20, 2018 3:42:12 GMT
Yes, DW Warrior is survivable. Two basic ways to build it, either STR to 39 or so for the heaviest armors and everything else Dex, or 24-36 Dex and the rest into STR. The first build should run dual daggers, and has the advantage of very high defense. High defense and high armor rating makes it very hard to kill. The second build will do more damage, and should ideally run a dagger and sword/axe for the best damage. It is still survivable since it has high armor rating and some defense.
Going to go into more detail for the second build. On warrior or rogue, highest dps is achieved with dagger - sword/axe as opposed to dagger - dagger. This is because the full size weapons have better base damage and attribute modifiers, and when you are dual wielding the difference in attack speed between two daggers and dagger - fullsize isn't that great. Especially with Momentum active.
If you move to two fullsize, the attack speed drops a bit more reducing auto attack dps. But the other non-trivial factor is that Rose's Thorn has such good enchantments that it is always one of the best weapons for nearly any dual wield setup with respect to dps.
The highest melee dps in the game is in fact a warrior with the second build and dex at 36 for Dual Weapon Mastery, although it won't be running dual fullsize. Amusingly it uses that talent to equip fullsize (Starfang) in the offhand, but dagger (Rose's Thorn) in the mainhand and runs Dual Striking. In normal dual wielding, attack speed is averaged if the weapons are different. But in Dual Striking mode, only the mainhand's speed is used, so that is why it is a dagger. Dual Striking doesn't allow crits, but since you are performing more attack rolls per time, you come out ahead.
Otherwise with a mostly strength build you would just be deciding between whether or not you want to run two fullsize weapons or not. If so, still pick up DWM after getting 36 dex. If you just want to run dagger-fullsize without DS, you only need 24-26 dex (use +dex items to get to 30 to equip Rose's when you buy it).
Talent wise, the dual wield doesn't really need a lot of actives at all. The best active in the tree is Dual Weapon Sweep. Riposte is ok to stun mages. The rest is take it or leave it as far as I am concerned, but if you want to run dual fullsize then pick up most of them and spam as you like.
The real gem is of course Momentum sustain, which you should try to unlock as soon as possible (level 4). Needs Expert Combat Training, so have to invest your early skill points in Combat Training (Formari Tome helps). Dual Weapon Sweep starts the talent line, and I take it with Dual Weapon Training at creation.
After that, consider the top Warrior line. Powerful and Bravery are nice. The second line isn't as necessary for dps, although if you don't have a fix for Momentum / Haste and attack speed you may need Precise Striking. That skill is also nice for boosting critical chance. Can fill out other DW talents as you go up.
Berserker is the best spec for dual wielding, and you might as well take it as one of your choices since it isn't that great on SnS and especially 2H (so now's your chance to run it). The other spec just depends on what you want. Templar is always a good spec since you can become magic immune, and taking it at 7 also allows you to buy Knight Commander Plate right out of Lothering, which is one of the best armors available that early. Champion is my favorite all around warrior specialization, although dual wield warriors don't really need any attack or defense buffs so it really comes down to an expensive knock-down. Reaver can add even more dps with Aura of Pain.
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talyn82
N5
Games: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
Origin: Talyn82
PSN: Talyn82
Posts: 3,690 Likes: 10,239
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Post by talyn82 on Dec 20, 2018 4:32:55 GMT
I like a dual wielding warrior - they do a lot of damage but they can take hits too. I'm not sure about an out and out tank though, I've not attempted that. I found sword and dagger the most enjoyable setup, though whether it's optimal I'm not sure. I like to load up my weapons with runes, get a mage to sustain Flaming Weapons and turn on Momentum to increase my attack speed. I like the Berserker specialisation for the damage boost from Berserk, though it's annoying that it turns off after every fight. So I should put points into strength and dexterity?
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boxofscreaming
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Post by boxofscreaming on Dec 20, 2018 17:54:37 GMT
I like a dual wielding warrior - they do a lot of damage but they can take hits too. I'm not sure about an out and out tank though, I've not attempted that. I found sword and dagger the most enjoyable setup, though whether it's optimal I'm not sure. I like to load up my weapons with runes, get a mage to sustain Flaming Weapons and turn on Momentum to increase my attack speed. I like the Berserker specialisation for the damage boost from Berserk, though it's annoying that it turns off after every fight. So I should put points into strength and dexterity? You need at least a certain amount of dexterity to get the talents. You can get all the special attacks with 30 dexterity, but you need 36 for Dual Weapon Mastery - you need that if you want to use two full size weapons, but I'm not sure if it's worth it, especially since that extra dexterity won't increase damage from full size weapons, only daggers. I guess you could go dual daggers and pump dexterity really high, but otherwise strength should be your highest stat. I've seen people say it's best to just auto-attack and ignore the special attacks, but personally I find them fun, especially since you get two area-of-effect attacks.
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Post by capn233 on Dec 21, 2018 22:38:06 GMT
Cunning does nearly nothing for a warrior unless you need a point for Coercion (or tactics on party members).
Willpower and Constitution are poor investments nearly universally since there is an abundance of +stamina, +regen, +will or +con gear. And every character gains health and stamina/mana with each level.
Strength and Dexterity is all you need, the ratio dependent on the particular flavor of DW you want.
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Post by Sifr on Dec 24, 2018 18:06:30 GMT
As people have said above, DW Warriors are perfectly viable and survival, even on Nightmare difficulty.
If you want to min-max, then you don't need to touch any stats beyond Strength and Dex.
Human Warriors start with 11 points in Cunning, so they don't need to touch that stat. If you go to the Circle first, you will be able to use the Fade font bonuses to boost it up to 16, allowing you to max out your Coercion skill.
(If by the time you get to the Circle you already have extra skill points available, but can't allocate them in Coercion yet, just keep them saved for a bit until you get those bonus points)
For anyone curious and wanting to play instead as a Dwarf or Elf Warrior, they start with 10 Cunning. So you only need to put 1 additional point into that stat, with the Fade bonuses again boosting you up to 16 Cunning for max Coercion.
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