Weapons (Origins)

Characters in Dragon Age: Origins will have access to a wide variety of weapons. Most weapons receive a bonus to damage based on the character's strength and there are strength requirements for weapons. Some piercing weapons (daggers, bows, etc.) receive a bonus from strength and dexterity. Weapons have a stat called armor penetration, which determines the amount of armor they can ignore. Any character is capable of holding two weapons at a time, but without the dual-wielding talent, they will not be proficient. Additionally, weapons can be upgraded with runes (the runes are not permanent, and can be swapped in-and-out of weapons at will by an NPC from the party camp).

Two-handed Melee Weapons

 * Battleaxes
 * Greatswords
 * Mauls

One-handed Melee Weapons

 * Daggers and Shortswords
 * Waraxes
 * Longswords - these have high damage potential with high damage variance and low AP value
 * Maces - these have moderate damage potential with moderate damage variance and high AP value

Ranged Weapons

 * Longbows
 * Shortbows
 * Crossbows
 * Staves (fire a magical projectile; only usable by mages)

Examples of Weapons

 * Chasind Flatblade - +1% melee critical chance, +1 armor penetration
 * Ash Warrior Axe - +2 to attack

Excluded Weapons
While players may hit an opponent without a weapon, they will cause little damage and there will be no option to specialize in unarmed combat. Spears, polearms and warhammers are not featured in the game.