Arishok

"Fixing your mess is not a demand of the Qun, and you should all be grateful!"

The Arishok is one of the three leaders of the qunari. He became stranded in Kirkwall after a storm destroyed his ships. He resides in the Qunari Compound.

Background
One of the three leaders of the qunari people of the Triumvirate, the name "Arishok" denotes his title and not his name. Much like Sten from Dragon Age: Origins gave "Sten" as his name, it was really his rank. Sten mentions an Arishok that ordered him to Ferelden to seek answers to the Blight.

Dueling
{{SpoilerDA2| When dueling the Arishok, it is best to move constantly. He attacks slowly, but hits very hard. It is best to move in front of him, and as soon as he starts to attack, quickly move 45 degrees from his front. His attack will miss and allow for a few attacks free from damage. When he bows, move fully out of his way for the charge. When he starts to spin his weapons, move fully back. They are impossible to avoid at close range and will deal a huge amount of damage.

The Arishok's magical resistances are quite poor when compared with his titanic defense and armor rating. Warriors may have a harder time defeating him in head-on combat, while rogues may have an easier time if they make use of Evade efficiently. Generally speaking as a warrior it is easiest to be constantly moving around the Arishok in a circle. When he begins an attack continue to sidestep and pause the game as quickly as possible. once the game is paused you should be able to tell if he is going to use one of his two standard attacks or the spinning weapon attack. the two standard attacks hit only in his front arc so if your warrior is completely clear of his front arc feel free to attack, if not get behind him and attack. If the timing on this is perfect it is possible to get three swings off before the Arishok completes his attack if you were not completely clear and had to keep moving it is ill advised to go for more than two hits. if he is spinning his weapons you must run away as quickly as possible as this will deal massive damage (possibly killing you outright). From time to time he will also perform an attack that will impale you on his sword dealing heavy damage, it is nearly impossible to avoid this and once the attack is done you must flee and heal immediately (if you are a reaver a stun from upgraded devour is recommended) as he will often follow up with his spinning weapons attack. The Best specialization for fighting him as a warrior is far and away the reaver if for nothing more than the devour ability which can heal you if your health potions are down and if upgraded can stun the Arishok allowing you to get a few skill hits off on him. It is worth noting that the Arishok appears to only be vulnerable to stuns at the beginning and end of the fight. after he has healed three times and falls to around half health the stun from devour will most likely fail to work until the Arishok's health is is around 20%. Rogues without Evade may find it easier to switch to a bow, even if they have no archery abilities. Another tactic for rogues is to rely on Backstab, which effectively puts your character behind Arishok, hence avoiding his frontal attacks. If you have the archery skills the Arishok is vulnerable to pinning shot for a good portion of the fight which, combined with stealth and evade makes the fight significantly easier. If you have the decoy ability from the shadow specialization it is even easier to keep him off of you and all of these are extremely potent when combined with high damage skills such as assassinate (assassin specialization) and archer's lance, with this skill set it is possible to defeat the Arishok without him healing the full three times as burning all your stamina into him when he is pinned, stunned or has charged past you can deal devastating damage this strategy requires a decent stock of stamina potions. He is also susceptible to miasmic flask. Mages may simply keep at a distance, getting out of his attack range when he prepares to strike and casting Elemental spells. Winter's Grasp and Cone of Cold are particularly effective. There are chances that casting Glyph of Paralysis will also Paralyze the Arishok, allowing for some close-range spells.

If you are having a difficult time with this battle as a melee character, using a potion of stone armor and fell poison can make all the difference in the world.

Resistances & Abilities
Elemental Resistances:
 * Frost: very weak
 * Nature: very weak
 * Primal: Immune
 * Fire: Immune
 * Spirit: Normal

Notable Abilities:
 * Impale
 * Rush
 * Slice

Special Traits:
 * Immune to Flanking
 * Immune to Knockdowns
 * Immune to Immobile
 * Immune to Paralyzed
 * Immune to Enslavement
 * Very high defense
 * High health & fortitude
 * Medium bonus to damage
 * Weak attack }}

A Worthy Rival
This achievement is gained by earning the respect of the Arishok. Gaining his respect requires an honest approach when dealing with him:

Act 1


 * Bringing Fenris to your first meeting unlocks extra (and humorous) dialogue at the end of the main quest Blackpowder Promise (*note: does not raise respect with Arishok)
 * Selecting "Future profits" at that same meeting
 * Informing him of the deaths of his Qunari after the main quest Shepherding Wolves

Act 2


 * During the main quest Offered and Lost, before talking to the corrupt guard at The Hanged Man, inform the Arishok about his envoy being missing
 * At the end of that quest, select "Do not hide"
 * After the mission, inform the Arishok about their deaths of his envoys
 * If you did the mission To Catch a Thief, inform him about Isabela's involvement when meeting him alongside Aveline during the main quest Following the Qun (If you completed the above three for this act this one is not required for the Worthy Rival Achievement)

Doing the steps above unlocks extra dialogue when later confronting him at the keep

Quotes

 * (to Fenris) "I have a growing lack of disgust for you."
 * "We will return." (Just before Hawke delivers the killing blow)
 * (to Hawke) "You alone are Basalit-an" (to nobles)'' "This is what respect looks like bas!. Some of you will never earn it!"
 * (to Hawke) "Then all of you will die. The demand of the Qun is clear. Ataash varin kata. In the end lies glory."


 * Arishok  "Kill me and the duty that binds me is ended. The others will return to Par Vollen."
 * Hawke  "And if you kill me?"
 * Arishok "Then you are dead."

Bugs

 * Decoy will leave the Arishok in a state unable to use any other abilities than health potions and spinning his weapons. Using a health potion will break this state and the Arishok will continue fighting as normal. The rogue ability "Throw the Gauntlet" will also break this state.

This can be used to the advantage of rogues, who can backstab while still remaining safely out of reach
 * When the Arishok stabs Hawke through the chest and suspends him in the air, if positioned too close to the side walls Hawke may be teleported up onto the raised platforms and be unable to get back down.

Trivia

 * The achievement "A Worthy Rival" is granted for "earning his respect". One requirement for earning it is choosing only the honest responses when dealing with the Arishok, including admitting that it was Isabela who stole the tome.


 * The achievement "King Of The Hill" requires the player to defeat the Arishok.