Revenant

A Revenant is a corpse possessed by a demon of pride or of desire... making it amongst the most powerful possessed opponents that one can face. Many possess spells, but most are armed and armored and prefer the use of their martial talents. They are weak against physical attacks but regenerate quickly, and commonly use telekinesis to pull opponents into melee range should they try to flee. Revenants also have the ability to strike multiple opponents surrounding them. Stay at range if possible and strike quickly--that is the only way to take such a creature down.

Lore (Codex Entry)
"An entire unit of men, all slain by one creature. I didn't believe it at first, your Perfection, but it appears that this is so. We have a survivor, and while at first I thought his rantings pure exaggeration... it appears to be no simple skeleton. The descriptions of the creature's abilities were eerily similar to those our brothers at Marnas Pell encountered almost a century ago: men pulled through the air to skewer themselves on the creature's blade, and attacks so quick that it was able to assault multiple opponents at once. No, your Perfection, what we have here is indeed a revenant and nothing less."

--From a letter to Divine Amara III, 5:71 Exalted.

Involvement
There are 10 Revenants in-game, and there are 3 ways to find them:

1. For the Codex entry about the The Black Vials in the following locations:
 * In order to fight these you need to interact with the Glass Phylacteries.


 * Circle Tower
 * Lower Ruins
 * Werewolf Lair
 * Orzammar Palace
 * Caridin’s Cross
 * Denerim

2. Juggernaut Armor
 * See: Quest: The Mage's Treasure

3. Castle Redcliffe, defending the castle during the Quest: The Attack at Nightfall

Strategy
Revenants have five different skills, and like party members, have conditions for their Combat Tactics;
 * Aura of Weakness
 * Any ~100% chance.
 * Double Strike
 * Surrounded by at least 2 enemies ~50% chance.
 * Surrounded by at least 3 enemies ~75% chance.
 * Surrounded by at least 4 enemies ~100% chance.
 * Mass Pull
 * Most enemies using ranged attack ~100% chance.
 * Most enemies using magic ~100% chance.
 * Pull
 * Between short and medium range ~100% chance.
 * Between medium and long range ~100% chance.
 * Shield Wall
 * Mana or Stamina &lt;= 50% ~50% chance.

They have a lot of Armor, Health, cannot be Stunned or Knocked down, and regenerate very quickly. They can deal damage to all characters engaged in melee and will Mass Pull or Pull to ranged attacks.

They are capable of inflicting some heavy damage as well. Killing a Revenant takes careful planning and a well structured group. Make sure to use a Warrior with Weapon/Shield talents to keep its attention. Depending on the strategy used, the warrior will usually need regular healing, as well as poultices to stay alive. Revenants are demons inhabiting the corpses of the fallen, and as such, share the same strengths and weaknesses as creatures like Devouring Corpses, and Fanged Skeletons. Fire gets a bonus to damage. Lightning, and Spirit spells do regular damage. They are immune to Cold and Nature spells (though it is still possible to freeze them)(Stonefist will do damage as it isn't nature). If using Shale, avoid Nature and Ice Crystal weapons.

Group Construction
If the player character is a Mage, using a group consisting of Alistair, Sten, and Leliana is a good way to go. With 2 mages with cone of cold spell, it is possible to keep the Revenant permanently frozen (alternate which one cast the spell). If the player character is a Warrior then they can substitute Morrigan as a mage and fulfil either the tanking or damage role themselves. Dog makes an excellent substitute for Sten as the main melee damage role. If the player character is a Rogue a couple of options open up. They can either replace Leliana at dealing damage from range with a bow, or they can replace Sten as the melee damage dealer behind the Revenant. A PC rogue also allows the replacement of Leliana with another mage for extra casting (damage, heals, debuffs), or an extra warrior for tanking/damage.

Combat
With the use of just a few key abilities a Revenant becomes a relatively simple encounter. You'll be enjoying the special loot and good experience they offer in short order. Misdirection Hex is a huge boon against Revenants, as well asCurse of Mortality as it negates their regeneration ability. Death Hex seals the deal. Change the party tactics so that the "tank" (Alistair, or the PC if they are a warrior) chugs a minor health poultice whenever their health is 75% or less. And have the other melee damage dealer do the same if their health goes under 50%. The need to use the mage to heal will be rare, and the fight should go very smoothly and quickly. Another strategy you can use against Revenants involves tanking it with a character who is protected by Force Field 90%of the time. Use a tanking character like Alistair to keep the Revenants attention using strong threat generating abilities for brief moments then recast a Force Field. Keep a couple of party members at the maximum possible range so they can still cast and use bows or staffs to slowly take the Revenant down. Avoid using any spells or abilities that deal significant damage as it will pull threat off your tanking character.

You can get help against the revenant in redcliffe castle by opening the gate (pull the lever).

Links

 * See: Codex Entry 23: Revenant


 * See: Codex Entry 241: The Black Vials