Giant spiders tend to appear in old ruins and other places where the Veil has become thin because of magical disturbances or a great number of deaths. In such places, spirits and demons pass into the world of the living and attempt to take control over living beings, spiders among them. Not all scholars accept this explanation for the presence of these beasts, however. Some claim that the thinning Veil allows magic to "leak" from the Fade, tainting such creatures as these spiders to transform into larger and more potent creatures then they ever would become naturally. While such spiders are known to possess powerful poisons and the ability to fling their webs at opponents in combat, studies of them have been few and the full range of their abilities are unknown.
—From Codex entry: Giant SpiderGiant spiders typically appear in small numbers, but have been known to gather into larger groups for ambushes. Their primary ability allows them to throw their webbing, causing the victim to become encased and immobilized unless they pass a resistance check. Spiders can also use the Overwhelm ability, wherewith the spider tackles its victim, repeatedly inflicting physical damage and stunning the target for the remainder of the attack.
Note: Both their Web and Overwhelm abilities are quite hard to resist, particularly the latter which keeps the target knocked down and taking serious damage for a few seconds (while additionally vulnerable to damage from other sources). Although Spiders use their abilities relatively rarely and chaotically, they sometimes happen to spontaneously chain them in a nasty way. Two inconspicuous Spiders chaining two Overwhelms in a row with a Web in between can even kill a lower-level warrior in the lower levels, whilst not giving him a split second to do anything at all. Quicksave your game before going against these creepy-crawlies.
Abilities
- For the dog talent, see Overwhelm.
- For the Spider/Bear Shape talent, see Overwhelm (ability).
- For the bear (monster) ability, see Overwhelm (bear).
- For the deepstalker ability, see Overwhelm (deepstalker).
- For the dragon ability, see Overwhelm (dragon).
- For the shriek ability, see Overwhelm (shriek).
- For the spider (monster) ability, see Overwhelm (spider).
Information
A werewolf leader using Overwhelm
- This talent generates an auto-hit.
- The target is incapacitated and hit several times, each for normal attack damage from the attacker.
- It is generally activated by the AI when the target dips to 50% or less health, as this is the default tactic for creatures with Overwhelm of any type. In Awakening, enemies would use this ability even when the target is at full health.
- Can be interrupted by effects that have higher animation priority, including knockdown, paralyze, root (Pinning Shot), draining (Crushing Prison), "heavy impact" (Mighty Blow), and fear.
Used by
- Bears: Great Bear and Bereskarn
- Deepstalkers: Deepstalker leader and Deepstalker matriarch
- Children: All variations
- Dragons: Dragons and Drakes
- Dogs: Dogs and Alpha Dogs
- Sand stalkers: Sand stalker leader
- Spiders: All variations, except Spiderlings and Giant spiderlings
- Werewolves: All variations, including Swiftrunner and Gatekeeper
- Wolves: All variations, including Witherfang
- Shrieks: All variations, including Shriek (thrall)
Notes
A deepstalker leader using Overwhelm
- This ability can fail to execute properly in some cases due to obstructed line of sight.
- Overwhelm only affects humans, elves, dwarves, Qunari, hurlocks, and genlocks. All classes with Overwhelm are immune to its effect. A shapeshifted mage, Shale, and Dog are immune to Overwhelm.
- Several enemies in a group can easily chain-Overwhelm against a solo character, which may be lethal for units with little armor, and very annoying and time consuming for highly armored characters, as openings to counterattack are few, short-lived, and far between. This threat is greatest when facing a large group of Shadow werewolves, as they can Overwhelm a defenseless party member from Stealth, evading countermeasures.
- This attack cannot be countered or mitigated by Misdirection Hex, as it does not need to confirm attack result.
- Some abilities grant a target the "damage ward" effect which makes the target immune to damage. This effect completely negates Overwhelm. These abilities include Force Field, Strength of Stone, and Carapace after being upgraded by Bulwark of the Ages.
- Some modal abilities apply on the character a special effect which has higher animation priority than Overwhelm. This means the character cannot be interrupted by Overwhelm when any of these abilities is active. These abilities include Captivating Song, Unending Flurry, and Reaving Storm.
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