Dual Wielding (DA:Origins Strategy)

Dragon Age: Origins

Warrior

Overview

Optimizing Dual-Wielding Warrior performance follows one of 2 distinct philosophies: A talent-focused philosophy, and an auto-attack-based philosophy. Both paths provide their own advantages and disadvantages, and preference for one or the other boils down to personal taste.

A Talent-focused Dual-Wielding warrior emphasizes the liberal use of talents during combat in order to swing the tide of battle in their favor. They are better suited for short fights (which most encounters probably are), where having higher burst damage is an advantage. Their Area-of-Effect talents also make this better suited against large crowds. The use of weapons with higher base damage is preferred.

An Auto-Attack Dual-Wielding Warrior leverages Momentum (and Precise Striking, to get around the attack speed bug), and On-Hit damage effects in order to boost sustained damage instead of burst-potential. They are typically better suited against longer fights - i.e. Bosses, due to the fact that they require zero stamina expenditure to deal massive amounts of damage once all sustained abilities are active. They also better fit the role of a secondary tank during encounters. Weapons with higher attack speed (i.e. Daggers) are preferred to maximize On-hit damage effects.

Talent-Focused

Talent-focused Warriors use Longswords or Waraxes in both hands. They eschew the use of Sustained Abilities for the most part, instead using every point of Stamina to spam Talents. On-Hit damage effects do not apply to Talents, so runes and party-composition reflect that fact. Death Blow is mandatory, to provide more fuel for the Warrior during more prolonged fights.

Stat Build (Including bonuses from The Fade, but not bonuses from equipment)

• Strength - Every spare point goes here
• Dexterity - 36 (for Dual-Weapon Mastery)
• Willpower - 20-25 (less hard points can be put here if equipment has plenty of attribute bonuses)
• Magic - Base
• Cunning - Base or 16 (to access the Master versions of Coercion, Combat Tactics, Stealing and Survival)
• Constitution - Base

Priority Talents

• Death Blow - provides valuable stamina regeneration
• Dual-Weapon Mastery - Allows the use of Main-hand Weapons in the off-hand
• Dual-Weapon Sweep - Low cost and low cooldown, with decent AoE
• Riposte - Stun-on-command, provided target fails a physical resistance check; primarily used for utility
• Whirlwind - Area-of-Effect Talent for dealing with large groups
• Cripple/Punisher - Critical hits-on-command

Notable Equipment

• Preferred Weapons: Starfang, Veshialle, Keening Blade
• +% Backstab/Critical Damage equipment (The Wicked Oath, Warden Commander Armor, etc.)
• Stat-boosting equipment (Priority STR, DEX and WIL, ex. Andruil's Blessing, Harvest Festival Ring, etc.)
• +% Melee Critical Chance (Cadash Stompers, etc.)
• Preferred Runes: Dweomer, Hale, Paralyze, Slow

Specializations

Berserker is practically mandatory for any damage-dealing Warrior, and should be taken as the first specialization. The choice of second specialization for the highest damage output is Reaver; Aura of Pain and Blood Frenzy both provide additional damage output. Templar is also a viable second specialization due to access to Templar armor (Knight Commander's Plate provides a hefty 40% spell resistance and +5 WIL), and a powerful crowd-control ability in Holy Smite. Champion is the utility choice for War Cry, a good defensive AoE de-buff (and crowd-control with Superiority), and Rally.

• Straightforward Damage: Berserker + Reaver
• AoE + Mage-killing: Templar + Berserker/Reaver
• Defense/Utility: Templar + Champion

Auto-Attack-Centric

"Auto-attacker" Warriors value attack speed above all else, to make full use of all On-Hit damage effects like weapon runes and Mage sustained abilities (ex. Frost Weapons). It is for this reason that Daggers are preferred. The signature talent for this build is Momentum, which provides a hefty attack speed boost.

A Note on the Dual Striking Talent

On paper, Dual Striking appears to be all benefit for little drawback for Warriors (since Warriors cannot backstab like Rogues do), and thus losing out on critical hits seems to not matter much, especially with +crit chance gear being rather scarce. However, in reality, there are certain mechanics which hinder the use of the talent:

1. Each weapon wielded will have it's own hit calculation, meaning it is entirely possible for only one of the weapons to actually hit its target, rather than both weapons hitting all the time like the talent's description may suggest
2. A bug exists in which one of the three possible attack animations when using this talent does not perform attack rolls. As such, 1/3 of attacks will never connect at all, making your Hit chance effectively capped at 66.67% while Dual Striking is active, regardless of how high your attack score goes. (This bug can be addressed with the use of an unofficial mod in the PC version)

On the flip-side, however, Dual Striking does NOT take the off-hand weapon into account when determining attack speed - it is solely determined by what is equipped in the Main Hand slot. Instead of attack speeds alternating between main and off-hand, Dual Striking effectively "normalizes" attack speeds, allowing main-hand weapons equipped in the off-hand to attack just as fast as your main-hand (which is most often a Dagger, in this context). Assuming that a player does not suffer from a string of unlucky misses, this translates to a DPS gain, even with the detrimental mechanics taken into account.

What does this all mean for the Talent, then? Basically, Dual Striking is only worth considering if:

• Your game is modded to address the attack animation bug (eg. Console players should avoid the talent for the most part)
• The Warrior has low critical hit chance and/or lacking in +%Backstab/Critical Damage gear (i.e. the early game)
• The Warrior's attack score is high relative to the target's defense
• The Warrior will be using a slower Main-hand Weapon in the off-hand slot instead of dual-daggers

Stat Build Variants

Warriors can choose to invest their attribute points in either STR or DEX, as Dagger damage benefits from both stats (Patch 1.02 onwards). Both variant builds are detailed below:

Variant 1: DEX-based Auto-Attack

DEX-based warriors have higher defense and attack scores than their STR-based counterparts, which makes them good secondary tanks. On the flip side, this means that they have no viable weapon options other than dual-daggers, and they will often compete with other dual-wielders in your party for the best dagger/s in the game (i.e. The Rose's Thorn)

Stat Build

• Strength - 42 (including Fade and Equipment bonuses)
• Dexterity - Every spare point goes here
• Willpower - Base
• Magic - Base
• Cunning - Base or 16 (including Fade bonus; to access the Master versions of Coercion, Combat Tactics, Stealing and Survival)
• Constitution - Base or 20-30 (including Fade and Equipment bonuses)

Variant 2: STR-based Auto-Attack

STR-based warriors sacrifice defensive bonuses for better flexibility in gear options. This is especially valuable when one considers that the Warden's party already comprises of 3 Warriors and 2 Rogues, not counting whatever class the Warden will be. While the ability to wear heavy armor provides some survivability, STR warriors make for less viable tanks (if at all).

Stat Build

• Strength - Every spare point goes here
• Dexterity - 30 or 36 (including Fade bonus)
• Willpower - Base
• Magic - Base
• Cunning - Base or 16 (including Fade bonus; to access the Master versions of Coercion, Combat Tactics, Stealing and Survival)
• Constitution - Base or 20-30 (including Fade and Equipment bonuses)

Priority Talents (both Variants)

• Momentum - Provides a large attack speed bonus (-0.3s). Getting this talent is Priority #1
• Precise Striking - If not using mods, required to get around the Attack Speed bug with Haste. Still worth using for the damage bonus, even when resorting to mods
• Passives that give damage bonuses (Bravery, Dual-Weapon Training, etc.)
• Riposte - Stun-on-command, provided target fails a physical resistance check; primarily used for utility
• Dual-Weapon Sweep - Low cost and low cooldown; Can be feasibly spammed even with heavy use of sustained abilities
• Dual Striking - (See note on Dual Striking above)

Notable Equipment (both variants)

• Preferred Daggers: The Rose's Thorn, The Edge, Thorn of the Dead Gods (Tier 6 Version), Fang (City Elf only), Crow Dagger (Tier 7 Version)
• Preferred Main-Hand Weapons: Starfang, Veshialle, Keening Blade
• +% Backstab/Critical Damage equipment (if not using Dual Striking, ex. Warden Commander Armor)
• Stat-boosting equipment (priority on STR or DEX, ex. Ring of the Warrior)
• Preferred Runes: Flame, Frost or Lightning (for damage), Dweomer or Hale (for tanking), Paralyze or Slow (for crowd-control)

Specializations (both variants)

The choice of specializations will depend on how far the Warrior will lean towards off-tanking.

For pure damage dealing, Berserker and Reaver are the clear choices, as they are the only specializations that directly increase damage output.

The tanking-oriented choice would be Templar and Champion. Templar allows the Warrior to achieve 100% spell immunity with Templar Armor, while Champion provides an AoE debuff and a party-wide Attack and Defense buff.

• Straightforward Damage: Berserker + Reaver
• Mage-Killing: Templar + Any
• Tanking: Templar + Champion

Rogue

Overview

Optimizing Dual-Wielding Rogues requires leaning heavily on the backstab mechanic.  While an argument can be made that having access to the same Dual-Wielding talents as the Warrior makes talent-spamming a viable option, unfortunately, in practice, this is not the case due to the following reasons:

• Rogues do not have access to Death Blow, therefore, spamming talents with a Rogue is not as sustainable.  The closest equivalent, Feast of the Fallen, requires the killing blow to be a backstab in order to replenish Stamina, which is counter-productive to the talent-spam strategy
• Warriors, having access to heavy armor, are durable enough to survive accidentally pulling too much aggro in AoE encounters (arguably, the best argument for favoring talent-spamming)

Given the above, Dual-Wielding Rogues are best suited using backstabs with high attack speed, and using talents sparingly either for utility (i.e. Stuns), or for additional burst damage.

One notable exception to the above would be for evasion-tanking. Getting into backstab position can sometimes take too long, so the use of some talents to build threat would be preferred.

In addition, unlike Warriors who can work around the Haste attack speed bug through the use of Precise Striking, Rogues cannot use Momentum and Haste simultaneously without requiring the game to be modded first.  This emphasizes the need to use 2 daggers instead of main-hand weapons due to their faster base attack speed.

Dual-Wielding Rogues have 2 distinct variations: Dexterity Rogue and Cunning Rogue.

Dexterity Rogue

Dexterity Rogues, as the name implies, focus their attributes on Dexterity to boost dagger damage. This variant boasts a better attack score, as well as more defense than its Cunning-based contemporary. Going this route allows the Rogue to become a potential evasion-tank when combined with the Evasion talent.

The main drawback for Dexterity Rogues is that because they keep their Cunning stat relatively low (usually no more than 30 CUN), their abilities that require the Cunning stat are less effective relative to the Cunning Rogue's.  Also, since Cunning contributes to Armor Penetration, Cunning Rogues have a higher damage potential overall.

Stat Build

• Strength - 20 or 22 (including Fade and Equipment bonuses, depending if Cadash Stompers will be used)
• Dexterity - All spare points go here
• Willpower - Base
• Magic - Base
• Cunning - 30 (16 hard points for access to Mastery skills; 30 total points + 4 skills in Deft Hands tree for lockpicking/disarming traps)
• Constitution - Base

Priority Talents

• Momentum - Increases attack speed.  Note that this should not be used in conjunction with Haste without modding the game first
• Combat Movement - Widens flanking angle, making backstabs easier
• Coup de Grace - Automatically backstab on any hit against a stunned or paralyzed target.  Excellent with talents that stun on command
• Lethality - If the Rogue's CUN is higher than his STR, then CUN will be used as a damage modifier instead of STR. Also comes with +% Critical chance. Even with a Dexterity focus, it's unlikely that the Rogue will have a higher STR score than CUN, so it is recommended to pick up anyway
• Passives that provide a damage bonus (Dual-Weapon Expert, etc.)
• Deft Hands Tree
• Dirty Fighting / Riposte - Stun-on-demand for utility purposes
• Dual-Weapon Sweep - Cheap, spammable talent with a low cooldown.  Useful for moments of quick burst damage

Notable Equipment

• Preferred Daggers: The Rose's Thorn, The Edge, Thorn of the Dead Gods (Tier 6 Version), Fang (City Elf only), Crow Dagger (Tier 7 version)
• +% Backstab/Critical Damage equipment (ex. Red Jenny Seekers, The Wicked Oath, etc.)
• Stat-boosting equipment (priority on DEX; ex. Corruption, etc.)
• + defense equipment (for evasion-tanks)
• The Felon's Coat or Battledress of the Provocateur
• Preferred Runes: Flame, Frost or Lightning (on main-hand weapon), Paralyze (for crowd-control and synergy with Coup de Grace), Dweomer or Hale (for extra survivability)

Specializations

Assassin directly synergizes with the backstab mechanic, and will be the first specialization for damage-dealing Rogues. Bard would not be an optimal choice due to the Dexterity Rogue's low CUN score, but its songs are still quite useful even with low CUN, and would be the ideal choice when running a party with 3 physical attackers. Duelist gives access a hefty +10 attack from Dueling (which is equivalent to the attack gain from 20 points in STR/DEX), +10 defense from Keen Defense, and Pinpoint Strike, which is great for moments when getting into a flanking position is difficult, albeit with a very long cooldown. Ranger is not generally recommended, as it can make maneuvering into backstab position more difficult due to blocking concerns, and is usually better suited for ranged builds. One caveat would be when running with Blood mages in the party, as summons make excellent targets for Blood Sacrifice.

An evasion-tank's first choice of specialization would be Duelist, for the defense bonus from Keen Defense. Bard would be the second choice, despite having relatively low CUN, due to the fact that the other specializations do not really help with tanking.

• Max Damage: Assassin + Bard
• Evasion Tanking: Duelist + Bard
• Zookeeper (for Blood Mage-heavy Party): Ranger + Any

Cunning Rogue

Cunning Rogues sacrifice attack and defense for higher armor penetration, and in turn, higher damage potential. Unlike Dexterity Rogues, who have more flexible specialization options, Cunning Rogues are required to take either Bard or Duelist as one of their specializations in order to make-up the attack score deficit (via Song of Courage or Dueling, respectively).  Cunning also boosts the performance of all Bard sustained abilities, specifically Song of Courage, which further adds to the Cunning Rogue's damage.

The biggest drawbacks to using a Cunning Rogue are, 1) they have less survivability that their Dexterity counterpart, and, 2) that their attacks can miss more often.

Stat Build

• Strength - 20 or 22 (including Fade and Equipment bonuses, depending if Cadash Stompers will be used)
• Dexterity - 30 (including Fade and Equipment bonuses)
• Willpower - Base
• Magic - Base
• Cunning - All spare points go here
• Constitution - Base

Priority Talents

• Lethality - If the Rogue's CUN is higher than his STR, then CUN will be used as a damage modifier instead of STR. Also comes with +% Critical chance. This is the Cunning Rogue's primary damage-boosting talent, and should be taken as early as possible
• Song of Courage (if Bard is taken as a specialization) - Provides bonuses to Attack, Damage and Crit Chance for all party members based on the Rogue's CUN score.  Mitigates some loss of attack due to having lower DEX, and provides a significant damage boost for physical attackers in the party. Synergizes very well with the CUN Rogue build.
• Dueling (if Duelist is taken as a specialization) - Provides a boost to the Rogue's attack score.  Mitigates some loss of attack due to having lower DEX
• Momentum - Increases attack speed.  Note that this should not be used in conjunction with Haste without modding the game first
• Combat Movement - Widens flanking angle, making backstabs easier
• Coup de Grace - Automatically backstab on any hit against a stunned or paralyzed target.  Excellent with talents that stun on command
• Passives that provide a damage bonus (Dual-Weapon Expert, etc.)
• Dirty Fighting / Riposte - Stun-on-demand for utility purposes
• Dual-Weapon Sweep - Cheap, spammable talent with a low cooldown.  Useful for moments of quick burst damage

Notable Equipment

• Preferred Daggers: The Rose's Thorn, The Edge, Thorn of the Dead Gods (Tier 6 Version), Fang (City Elf only), Crow Dagger (Tier 7 Version)
• +% Backstab/Critical Damage equipment (ex. Red Jenny Seekers, etc.)
• Stat-boosting equipment (priority on CUN or DEX; ex. Guildmaster's Belt, Andruil's Blessing, etc.)
• Preferred Runes: Flame, Frost or Lightning (on main-hand weapon), Paralyze (for crowd-control and synergy with Coup de Grace), Dweomer or Hale (for Survivability)

Specializations

Bard is the clear choice for Cunning Rogues, as their Songs synergize with the build's high CUN. This becomes especially favored as long as the party comprises of at least 2 physical attackers. The choice of second specialization is between Assassin and Duelist.

Assassin synergizes with both the backstab mechanic, and the build's high cunning, which makes it the choice for better damage output.

Duelist provides additional attack, and provides access to Pinpoint Strike, a useful talent for tight encounters.

As with the Dexterity Rogue, Ranger is generally not advised except when running Blood mages in the party.

• Max Damage: Bard + Assassin
• Max Attack Score: Bard + Duelist
• Zookeeper (for Blood Mage-heavy party): Ranger + Any

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

Warrior

(Under construction)

Rogue

(Under construction)