User:IN

Talent Mechanics
Until now, virtually no firm numerical data concerning Shale's talents could be found. I have conducted some thorough tests to fill this gap. The results are as follows (refer to specific talent pages for more details):

Rock Mastery Tree
With Rock Mastery tree maxed out, the following modifiers are applied to Shale and the party members: Shale:, hostility reduced, , , ,. Party:,.

Stone Aura Tree
With Stone Aura tree maxed out, the following modifiers are applied to Shale and the party members: Shale:, , ,. Party:, , , (both melee and ranged), ,  and. There are also significant health regeneration and spell resistance party bonuses, but, unfortunately, their exact numerical values are currently unknown. The aura also debuffs all enemies within its range, imposing penalties to movement speed, attack and defense. Again, the precise values are yet to be discovered.

Methodology
Most of the tests were quite test-consuming, but relatively simple in nature: basically, I was adding necessary talents one by one with runscript addtalent console command and writing down the results. That said, three instances deserve closer examination:


 * Hurl Rock and Rock Barrage damage formulae were calculated by using runscript dbg_setattrib 1 X. I've tried to hit the same enemies with Hurl Rock/Rock Barrage using Shale with 0 strength, with 50 strength, and with 100 strength points, respectively. The results were consistent. While I'm aware the actual in-game damage calculation formulae for these talents differ from my approximations, I believe a reasonably reliable approximation is much better than no formula at all.


 * Ranged fire rate was calculated by using a level 16 PC rogue with a plain Tier 6 longbow, Aim sustainable active (to slow down the fire rate intentionally). The fire rate was tested first without Shale's maxed out Rock Mastery aura, than with it. The results were consistent: 3 seconds vs. 1.5 seconds per shot.


 * Shale's spell resistance in maxed out Stone Aura mode was tested vs. Genlock Emissary. The Emissary had cast a total of 100 spells (yes, it took half a dozen attempts and some heavy abuse of runscript healplayer to get the job done). Shale made this calculation simple by resisting exactly 25 of them. Not even 24 or 26 :)

Shale's Party Role
A lot of people on BioWare Social Network forums complain about Shale being a poor tank and, at best, a mediocre damage-dealer. While these statements could use some rephrasing ('a poor end-game tank' and 'a mediocre end-game damage-dealer' would be more to the point, I trust), they are essentially true. But why do people stick with those Pulverizing Blows and/or Stoneheart talents, if they see they begin to suck worse than Dracula after a certain point in the game? I believe there are two main factors to it, one of which was, hopefully, addressed to a certain degree by my humble research: (a) the visuals: admittedly, Shale looks incredibly big and tough, so the common sense is telling us: "Wow! This golem probably has a sky-high armor and defense, half a billion hit points and can easily dish out damage equivalent to three adult dragons combined!"; now, granted, the empirical experience totally disagrees, but common sense is such a stubborn guy, you know; (b) a total lack of precise information concerning Shale's more 'sophisticated' talent trees (Rock Mastery and Stone Aura): it is only logical people are reluctant to invest in talents with such vague descriptions; at least, I was not buying these 'greatly increases X' and 'bestows significant bonus to Y' on my first playthrough (which eventually led to dumping Stoneheart-oriented Shale in Oghren's, and later, Loghain's favor): one man's 'significant bonus' may be another man's 'total waste of time'. Now, that factor (b) is partially dealt with, let the numbers speak for themselves.

I'd like to share some thoughts on proper Shale party role on Nightmare. Assuming you are an experienced player, and, as such, go to Honnleath immediately after Lothering to get Helm of Honnleath and Harvest Festival Ring, you can have Shale in your party circa level 8. The game auto-levels Shale putting some heavy emphasis on the Pulverizing Blows tree and investing evenly in strength and constitution. Actually, these are sound choices. Until level 12 or so, Shale will serve you best as a damage-dealer/secondary tank. Quake is an extremely good mass-damage skill early in the game. Slam has its uses as well. By level 12-13, your primary warrior character begins to outclass Shale both as a tank and as a damage-dealer. By then, hopefully, you will have Rock Mastery tree maxed out, as a major role switch is due. From now on, Shale's primary objectives are: (a) to stay close to the archer(s); (b) to use Rock Barrage in conjunction with Wynne's Earthquake to trivialize a lot of otherwise difficult fights against overwhelming odds; (c) to assist the ranged characters with carefully aimed Hurl Rock; (d) to provide a great control tool by using Earthen Grasp: I prefer to save it for emergencies (e. g. multiple enemies going after your archer and mage), but feel free to experiment; (e) to use Taunt in case the enemies refuse to leave your ranged characters alone (after all, Shale is much more durable than any mage or archer). I prefer to invest in Stone Aura tree only after I maximize the Rock Mastery talents: the bonuses provided by the former are better suited for end-game situations and are more mage-oriented than anything, if you ask me. A typical simplified end-game combat chart flow with a party consisting of tank, archer, mage and Shale should be: Rock Mastery -> Rock Barrage -> Hurl Rock -> Earthen Grasp -> etc. -> out of stamina -> Stone Aura.

Stat distribution and optimal gearing: enough constitution to wear the best Large Fire Crystal (see Large Crystals) available with the constitution bonus provided by the best Small Nature Crystal (see Small Crystals) available, the rest into strength (as it's the only stat affecting Shale's Rock Mastery talents damage; please note: the damage from talents is not converted to elemental damage as dictated by Small Crystal type). I suggest getting a Small Flawless Nature Crystal as early as you can by stealing from Piotin Aeducan in Orzammar Proving Grounds or an equivalently ranked target.

Serendipities
During my Shale talents research, I have occasionally stumbled upon several interesting pieces of addenda/corrigenda:


 * Paralysis Explosion (see: Spell Combinations) area of effect is definitely 7.5 m (=Fireball AoE), not 5 m.
 * Aura of Pain has a radius of 5 m, not of 4 ft (?!), as stated in the description. Also, a Reaver with full spell immunity (100% spell resistance) will still take full self-inflicted spirit damage from Aura of Pain.
 * A mage casting Drain Life on a spell immune target will still benefit from 'drained health', though the target takes no damage from the spell.

Shale Pulverizing Blows and Stoneheart Tree Talents Testing
I have decided to complete my little study in Shale talent mechanics. Again, all damage formulae are approximations. They work all right for Shale with strength attribute in 0-100 range, but will get progressively farther off the mark for Shale with strength 100+. Luckily, Shale with strength 100+ is a purely theoretical entity.

Pulverizing Blows Tree
With Pulverizing Blows tree maxed out, the following modifiers are applied to Shale's stats:, ,.

Stoneheart Tree
With Stoneheart tree maxed out, Shale gains the following benefits:, , a significant bonus to health and stamina regeneration rate (precise values currently unknown), increased hostility.

A Note on Shale Party Role
As I have already suggested, Shale's real forte is her ability to fit into a quite unique party buffer/ranged support niche. It doesn't mean she cannot fare reasonably well as a main tank or a melee damage-dealer. It's just by later mid-game (circa level 14+, when other characters gain their second specialization and the party is doing either A Paragon of Her Kind or The Urn of Sacred Ashes), any warrior companion outshines her both as a tank and as a melee damage-dealer. She sucks on a comparative, not on an absolute scale, so to say :)

Power of Blood Talents Testing
My undocumented DLC talents testing continued. This time, the designers apparently forgot to mention cooldown times in the descriptions. Otherwise, the tests was not overtly hard to conduct, as most of the Power of Blood abilities are pretty much straightforward. A couple of problems remain unsolved: for instance, the exact value of a passive bonus granted by Dark Passage or an exact amount of mana regenerated by Dark Sustenance. Then again, incomplete data is surely better than no data at all.

A Guide to Successful Tanking
In DA:O, there are three essential, and, might I add, somewhat counter-intuitive, criteria defining whether a character is fit for a tank role. Curiously enough, a whole bunch of superficially attractive parameters, like constitution, armor, defense, physical, mental and elemental resistances, flanking immunity or missile deflection play little to no role in successful tanking. The criteria mentioned above are: (a) spell immunity; (b) stun/knockdown immunity; (c) threat management. Each criterion is covered in detail in its own separate sub-section below.

Spell Immunity
Mages are an overpowered class. That's a fact. The corollary of this principle is, however, that enemy mages are no pushovers, either, to say the least. While it's true there exists an extremely cheesy possibility of eliminating enemy mages by abusing the infamous game-breaking Mana Clash spell, it should be taken into account this spell is not readily available (and, moreover, is not worth its talent point investment until, roughly, the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest line). Therefore, up to later mid-game, at least, enemy spellcasters pose the greatest threat of all to the Mana Clash-less party. Stacking spell resistance on your party tank is an adequate answer to this threat. Of course, you should aim for 100% spell resistance (no one can guarantee the very first Curse of Mortality that is going to be cast on your 96% spell resistant tank will not fall into those remaining 4%). It is attainable with any NPC warrior in the game, and even more so, with a PC warrior. If you plan to achieve spell immunity, two key gear pieces are mandatory:

The good news is these items are available from the very start from Faryn in Frostback Mountain Pass and from Bodahn at the party camp, respectively. The bad news is you will have to pay a whopping total of ~159 for them. Taking this, as well as the sad fact only Templars can wear Knight Commander's Plate, into account brings us to some inevitable conclusions about the warrior PC Origin and first specialization. You must be Dwarf Noble if you intend to get these expensive pieces of gear as soon. Dwarf Noble can finish Lothering with ~85 due to the 30  he can easily make during his Origin story (note: don't forget to have your Guildmaster's Belt equipped whenever appropriate). Assuming you have the DLC gear available, head to Gorim in Denerim as soon as you are finished in Lothering and sell your Blood Dragon Plate and everything else of value, DLC or not, that you probably won't use during your playthrough. Gorim will buy items from you for a significantly higher price than any other merchant (namely, 50% of item value). That will get you to ~100. Then, head to Sulcher's Pass->Honnleath to get a bit more sellable loot, Helm of Honnleath, Harvest Festival Ring and Shale (in case you don't solo the game). With Shale in your party, you can brave the Frostback Mountain Pass initial skirmish with the mercenaries on Nightmare as early as level 8 (I recommend using Dog, Shale and Morrigan for this relatively tough battle: Force Field, Web, Dread Howl and Quake are crucial). Buy the Knight Commander's Plate. Proceed to Orzammar gates. If you play as a warrior and are around level 8, you should have enough strength by now to successfully intimidate Loghain's emissary Imrek. Otherwise, you will have to fight his party. It's not an easy fight that early in the game, but it's not any more difficult than the mercenaries. After you open yourself the access to Orzammar, take Leliana into the active party. Level her up, focusing on Stealing skills and, obviously, cunning. Go to Dust Town and pickpocket Rogek for 20. Then talk to him to start the most rewarding quest in the game (about 56 net profit upon its completion, with high enough Coercion). Side with Harrowmont and get a 15 reward from Baizyl Harrowmont in the Proving Grounds. Try to steal some rune or crystal of value from Piotin Aeducan. By all means, talk to Dagna to start An Unlikely Scholar quest: you'll need that Master Dweomer Rune she rewards you with. Don't forget to do the Key to the City quest. Go to the party camp and buy The Spellward. Go to the Wonders of Thedas in Denerim and buy a Master Dweomer Rune. Insert it in whatever two-handed weapon you are most comfortable with (see the next sub-section). By this point, you should have: 40% (Knight Commander's Plate) + 30% (The Spellward) + 4% (Key to the City) + 8% (Master Dweomer Rune) + 10% (inherent dwarven ability) = 92% spell resistance. Now you are ready to face the dangers of the Broken Circle quest line. After Broken Circle, you'll get a Master Dweomer Rune from Dagna, thus attaining spell immunity. Overall, warrior-compatible spell resistance gear relevant for this build (no shields included, see the next sub-section for details) includes, in order of acquisition: 40% (Faryn) 30% (Bodahn) 4% (Orzammar) 8% (Wonders of Thedas) 8% (Dagna) 4% (Haven+Zevran) 10% (Master Ignacio+Cesar) 4% (Ruined Temple) The grand total is 108%. With dwarven inherent resistance:. So you will have some maneuvering space by mid-game, even if we don't count the Ancient Elven Gloves, which will probably be acquired a bit later.

Stun/Knockdown Immunity
One of the worst things that can happen to your tank on Nightmare is knockdown. AI tends to switch aggro upon successful knockdown, and that's one thing you don't want to see happening. Incapacitation of any kind (first and foremost, stun), admittedly, won't make the AI target other party members, but it will render your threat managing talents (Threaten and Taunt) unusable, and thus, should be avoided at any cost. Now, the most intuitively appealing solution is to stack a bunch of gear/runes on your Weapon and Shield Talents-oriented warrior having his Shield Wall mode on. Unfortunately, it's impossible without sacrificing a significant part of your tank's previously discussed spell resistance gear. A much better alternative is resorting to Two-Handed Talents, and relying entirely on the best warrior sustainable in the game (well, that's not a huge compliment) - Indomitable. This second tier talent makes you immune to any sort of knockdown or stun, except Overwhelm (Monster). Then again, nothing protects against Overwhelm (Monster), so learn to live with it. Investing in Two-Handed Talents has several benefits, apart from Indomitable. It's the most early game-friendly tree to go with: the best talents are, in fact, first and second tier. Sunder Arms, Pommel Strike and Indomitable is all you need until late mid-game (throw in Shattering Blows in case you prefer to finish A Paragon of Her Kind prior to other quest lines), so you can devote yourself fully to warrior aggro talents and your specialization, instead of investing frantically in Two-Handed Talents (that's exactly what you are forced to do if you go with Weapon and Shield Talents). The question of two-handed weapon choice naturally arises. Your ultimate tanking weapon should be:

It's actually not that hard to acquire. I prefer to double-cross Lord Pyral Harrowmont after gaining his trust (see Betrayed from Within), siding with Prince Bhelen only to gain early access to the dragon (see Ageless description) and the ambassador (see The Trial of Crows). After you get the sword, sell it to Gorim, then leave Denerim Market District, come back and re-purchase it. Now, it will have 2 rune slots, as dictated by its material tier. Save these for your Dweomer runes, apparently. A decent, but still inferior, alternative to Ageless is:

It is ridiculously easy to get very early in the game for such a powerful weapon, assuming you have the Warden's Keep DLC installed. Just travel religiously between Honnleath and Flemeth's Hut, and The Crater event will trigger. Complete the Warden's Keep quest (it's actually quite short and very rewarding), then bring the Meteor Metal Ore to Mikhael Dryden, and here you go. Despite better base statistics and 3 rune slots, Starfang (Greatsword) is inferior to Ageless as a tanking weapon, since it has no mod (refer to the next section for details). It's easier to get, though, so the choice is really up to you. As far as very early game is concerned: first, just take that greatsword from Ser Jory (thanks to Duncan, he won't need it any soon, poor soul), then get the Chasind Flatblade in the Korcari Wilds. If you opt to go for Warden's Keep early, that's all you really need until you get your Starfang (Greatsword). If you prefer to do Broken Circle first: Yusaris is a very good two-hander, that will get the job done just fine (although you will have to finish the Broken Circle quest to insert Dweomer runes into its slots).

Work in Progress
Adding data to the talent/spell/consumable item mechanics sections in the respective articles:
 * Dog Talents
 * Poisons
 * Potions
 * Traps

Future Projects

 * Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir - starting stats and talents, plot skills, gear optimization, possible strategies.
 * Wynne - the heaviest DPS output mage character in the game by far, the Warden included: gear optimization, talent development, maximized Morrigan/Wynne/Elf Mage PC comparison.
 * Duelist/bard cunning-based archer practical optimization/maximization guide, featuring maximized Leliana/Dwarf Rogue PC comparison.

My Contributions

 * User contributions