Talents (Dragon Age II)

Talents are unique selectable abilities that warriors and  rogues can use. Mages do not use talents and have access to spells instead. Talents have special animations that distinguish them from standard attacks.

Activated
The character executes a special attack or action (e.g. bashing your shield into the opponent, sending them flying).

Passive
A permanent bonus, change in game mechanics, or upgrade to an existing ability (e.g. adding a chance of stun to all two-handed attacks).

Sustained
While activated, the character gains some bonuses or some game mechanics will change (e.g. using your shield to increase your cover vs. missiles).