Fereldan Frostback

The Fereldan Frostback is one of the ten high dragons encountered in Dragon Age: Inquisition. It can be found in Lady Shayna's Valley; the northeast area of the Hinterlands, closest to the Dusklight Camp.

Background

The Ferelden Frostback is a variant of High Dragon that is native to the Frostback Mountains. even compared to other High Dragons, Frostbacks are viciously territorial. They often claim a large swath of territory where their numerous offspring are allowed to roam, under the protection of their mother.^[1]

Stats

Level 12 Boss

90000 HP (Normal) / 105000 HP (Nightmare)

38 Armor

Greater Fire Resistance

Cold Vulnerability

Immunity: All Disabling Effects

Immunity: Slowed

Perceptive

Strategy

The Fereldan Frostback is resistant to fire, but vulnerable to cold. It is immune to all debilitating effects. It is recommended to face this dragon at levels 10 to 13, using a warrior, a rogue wielding double-daggers, and either two mages or one mage and one rogue archer. All party members should have fire-resistant armor and dragon-slaying or frost weapon runes. Equipping fire resistance tonics may also help.

Despite being the first dragon most players encounter, the Fereldan Frostback can be quite difficult even for players who over-level themselves before the fight. This is mostly due to her controlling the terrain of the battle as well as calling dragonlings to aid her, the latter often swarming the players.

There are four stages of the combat:

First Stage. As you enter the initial area close to the camp (Lady Shayna's Valley), the dragon will circle around, destroying the top of the central spire by smashing into it. Upon seeing your party it will start to periodically bombard you with fireballs. The first fireballs will be coming directly above you so try to dodge them and get close to the central spire. The dragon will change her path when you are far enough in. Standing behind the spire will protect you from this new wave of fireballs. You can also put in some hits with a mage or an archer. After a few rounds, she will eventually fly and land in the next area (Blood Cliffs). If somehow you are caught off-guard by a wild fireball, you have time to cast barrier in the time the fireball takes to travel. Be aware that this area contains dragonlings who will also attack you if they notice you.

Note: You can skip this stage altogether by running through Lady Shayna's Valley into the Blood Cliffs.

Second Stage. The dragon lands in the Blood Cliffs area and this is where the real fight begins. Get your warrior in front of the dragon and all ranged members to the sides as far as possible from the dragon. All dragons are immune to taunting, so the only purpose to abilities such as War Cry or Challenge is to generate guard. Rogues with daggers should be at the back to maximize damage. The dragon has multiple targetable parts, with her head taking the most damage^{[confirmation needed]} . Dealing enough damage to any leg will force her to jump to the other leg, e.g. when you hurt the left leg enough it will jump to its right. When it does so, reposition your team as before with only the warrior in front. This positioning ensures that only your warrior will be hit by breath attacks, you won't get pulled in by her maelstrom attack (where she flaps her wings and pulls the party in close while doing heavy damage), and your party won't get stomped on. Though it can't be taunted, it will still attack the party member with the greatest threat generation, in this case your warrior wearing heavy armor. Cast Barrier whenever possible on the warrior or any member who needs it the most.

Third Stage. When you cut its health to 50%, it will take to the skies again. It will throw fireballs and breathe fire down a path. This attack is a little tricky to avoid as it is faster than the fireball and has a wide AoE, so it is a good idea to keep your party on the move. It will land on a ledge and call dragonlings to attack you. Although you can used ranged attacks at this point, you should focus on killing the dragonlings to stop them damaging your party. The dragon will return to the field after killing all the dragonlings and the fight will continue as per the second stage. Taking its health down to 35-40% will make fly to a ledge and summon dragonlings again. During this stage the dragon may use a roar that will stun your entire party for a few seconds.

Final Stage. Upon reaching 20-25% health, it will proceed to the final area. Climb up the hill by following the path. If somehow you can't get to her, your party can. The dragon will face you to the bitter end here, along with her dragonlings, although it will take longer for the dragonlings to reach the area compared to previous stages and it is possible to finish her off before any dragonlings reach your party. This area is smaller than the previous one so you might get caught by the maelstrom attack and/or get KO'd instantly by a wild fire breath attack, so this is when you should attack her all-out. She will also stun your party with her roar, but if you keep the party spread out, you're only likely to lose one member if she follows up with a breath attack after a roar. Once you kill her, loot her remains and claim the landmark.

Bug: If you take too long to climb the hill in the final stage, the Inquisitor will be tossed into the stratosphere and out of combat. Random party conversations may even take place. If you do not act quickly and switch to another character still on the ground, you will die upon reaching the top of the map. Switching to another character returns you to the middle of the map but effectively resets the battle: the High Dragon will return to full HP while you and your party have the same HP and number of potions.

Trespasser: The Trespasser DLC added an achievement for defeating a level 16 Fereldan Frostback with the trial Even Ground turned on. This trial scales enemies so that they match the Inquisitor's level. It does not change any of the dragon's tactics, however, so a well-equipped party should still be able to defeat her using the strategy above. Be aware that the dragonlings will also scale to the Inquisitor's level.

Exploits

The Fereldan Frostback can easily be cheesed to death by a mage standing at the entrance to the Blood Cliffs at maximum engagement distance, using a frost staff along with the storm spell Energy Barrage to attack while she sits too far away to attack you. This exploit is due to staves and spells having essentially unlimited range and perfect accuracy. This will take some time depending on your level and you'll need to adjust your character since energy barrage will move them forward a little bit each time. Due to the distance, however, she won't fight back, and your allies will continually reset back up next to you, preventing them from getting close enough to aggro her.