Is shale a good tank, better used as a damage dealer? I have been reluctant to use Shale because you can't use weapons / armor and this makes it less interesting. However, I love shale's dialogue. Would a party of a PC rogue, Allistair, Shale, and Morrigan be effective? How about a PC rogue, Shale, Sten, and Wynne?
Everyone has their own preferences for party make up. That said; I find Shale works best as a Tank when there are not as many alternative Tank options for my opponents to select.
Due to the armor issue (highest armor = greatest threat level all other things being equal) Sten, Oghren and Alistair generallly draw away some attention (since I cant help but use them for wearing/storing/using my higher end armors). As a result they (Sten Oghren and Alistair) often supercede Shale as the greatest threat thus dividing the attention of my foes (leaving them less tightly clustered). To combat this I generally use only light armored Rogues and and clothed Mages in a party with Shale if I want her as "the" Tank. With all this in mind, yes Shale can be a great Tank or damage dealer and these need not be exclusive roles if you have no problem with Sten, Oghren or Alistair competing for agro.http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Shale is a good source for build suggestions/ strategy for Shale. One item I cannot seem to locate is the fact that Shale is immune to certian types of attacks. The best example of this is that Shale cannot be "eatten" by the High Dragon, which can kill most other tanks quickly. Hope all this helps more than it confuses. XxSylphxx 20:57, February 1, 2010 (UTC)
I respectfully disagree. Even with other high armored people in the group Shale is the best tank because she holds aggro better than anyone. The reason she can do this is because her skills are better designed to hold aggro. Even though you won't find it on Shale's wiki page she does have the skill Threaten. Every viable "tank" can have this skill and I personally find it nearly useless in terms of keeping aggro. Regardless, the fact that Shale uses this skill in conjunction with Stone Heart which makes enemies "more likely to target Shale" AND Bellow which "After learning this talent, nearby enemies are even more likely to choose Shale as a target whenever Stoneheart is active." Even with Oghren and Sten wearing massive armor in my party Shale easily kept aggro. When all else fails use Taunt, but really will all his aggro stealing skills you will find yourself rarely using this skill. One last thing, Shale has incredible health regen even during combat which more than makes up for her slightly reduced armor/defense versus your other tank options. 70.100.39.100 17:18, February 11, 2010 (UTC)Valorien
- Just a couple things to keep in mind about Shale if you plan on using her as your groups Main Tank
- Always be aware what small crystals Shale has equipped and what she is fighting. Unlike weapons with runes, if the enemy Shale is attacking is immune to the type of damage the crystal does she will not do any damage. For example attacking an undead with cold immunity while having a small ice crystal equipped will result in zero damage to the enemy.
- Also, make sure you gear and spec someone like Alistair to be a back-up tank before the landsmeet as there is a quest location where Shale cannot accompany you. It also includes a very tough battle, should you chose to try and fight your way out. - Myalzalean
- I updatds the Crystals page with all the various crystal information as it may effect builds for Shale, knowing what you will need in Strength and Constitution for the different quality levels. http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Crystals XxSylphxx 21:52, February 15, 2010 (UTC) Perhaps someone will make it pretty with graphics as many other item pages have received.