5 overpowered Rift Mage build for Dragon Age Inquisition!

[@elanmorin3005]

Ah, the answer to which specialization Im picking for the final Inquisition playthrough before Veilguard. Your videos are the gold standard of Dragon Age content and Im really excited to see what you cook up in the future

[@EdSouzaL2]

HI!, I am also excitedto se what he is going to cook for us! And since DA:O my first gameplay is always rogue dual wielder. Counting days here and replaying DA:I.

[@XRay2x]

How did you know I started a new playthrough with a mage today after watching several of your videos to remind myself of things holy moly the timing my dude haha

[@lindalobstadefenda]

I am glad you started speaking in your videos, it makes them easier to follow. And as always, fantastic stuffs.

[@lordmarwolaeth4570]

Woah! Happy to see a new build from Inquisition! Can't wait to see what you'll come up with in Veilguard!

[@Maanair]

Oh my, I've been watching you for so long ago, and then I fell out of time, and now I've found your video, and here your voice is, and it's soooo calm.

[@ProfessorBalth]

This is perfectly timed as I will soon be playing through Inquisition and this was the subclass I was planning on using.

[@ProfessorBalth]

Also it'll be nice to play a Mage that actually uses a Staff for once. Most of the time I just go Knight-Enchanter and that usually wants the Blade of Tidarion.

[@sergel02]

lol perfect timing as I’m about to start a new mage play through before Veilguard.

[@jordanwill7233]

So happy to see all the DAI content making a little come back in anticipation for veilguard! Had some thoughts on your builds here! Slumber storm Shock/sleep is such a fun cc combo! This and the mana regen I feel are at the heart of what initially appealed to me with RM builds! I wish there were more ways to prime enemies like that, it was such a fun feature, but I’m pretty sure you have to be rift mage or have at least one Templar in your party to weaken, and at that point you probably have a rogue who can sleep anyway. Hybernator Very clean cc. Perhaps not as flashy as the rest, but very controlled so long as most enemies are vulnerable to cold & freeze! Firestorm I think you may have meant immolate (firestorm is rm focus ability). Personally I tend towards doing basic combos with immolate bc the combo hit deals fire damage too which can benefit from the inferno pact belt dealing as much or even more than the nightmare combo hit-though if the focus is CC above damage, then the nightmare panic is helpful. Elemental detonator Definitely a strong cc/dps hybrid & reminds me of the spell lineup in my Rift warlock video but with more damage. A little misleading perhaps since it’s not actually detonating any combos, but it does set up nicely for both a shatter combo followed immediately by a nightmare combo on anything that survives. Cataclysmic vortexer PotA is such a great grouping tool, I only wish it had a shorter cooldown! I do like this one for its ability to stay at range. I imagine it would compliment a revive/desperation party build really well being able to CC from a distance and have a great view of your zombie party tearing mobs apart! Great build vid! Glad to see the DA hype is alive & well still!

[@AKisHerceg]

Hah! I completely missed that Firestorm mistake! I gave the idea about the builds to chat gpt and I let it come up with 10 build names(and I just picked one). Firestorm sounded cool and it encapsulates what it's about so I picked that. Then along the way, it seems like I started using "Firestorm" instead of the actual name of the ability "Immolate". lol. The ED is meant to refer to detonating the crowds with Fire Mine, not specifically detonating combos. But I can see why that could be confusing. Anyway, nice to see you're still into the game. Lots of people have a renewed interest now that Veilguard is about to drop. How about you? Are you gonna try it out? :)

[@jordanwill7233]

I’m cautiously optimistic for veilguard. I really hope it’s good considering how much joy DAI brought me, but it sounds like a messy production process and BioWare hasn’t been on top of things lately. I’m planning to wait for the first sale just to go a little easier on the wallet if possible. If reviews are praising it as goty worthy and I like what I see from let’s plays & stuff, I’ll rethink getting it before a sale tho for sure.

[@AgentZ46]

Such amazing timing with this. I love Rift Mage and I recently started an Inquisiton playthrough. AOE casters are just always the best playstyle for me.

[@Massinissathefirst]

That's impressive! (Love it that I can HEAR you now!)

[@kamm3021]

*Update:* You can get an extra +10% crit damage by making *Battlemage staff blade* upgrade instead, u need 6 Dragon Webbing and 3 Avvar cotton With old blade crit damage is 141% New battlemage blade crit damage is 151% Ps: i already made the full build and i'm having a blast with it thanks for making the video

[@lilbluemozoti9181]

Welp you did it again... Now I have to boot up the game and figure out which build I wanna use. They all look like fun. I have always loved the Rift Mage Specialization and now you made it even more epic. Thanks for sharing and showing your favorite builds. :D

[@jay11481]

O wow yea I've had trouble deciding how to build and play Rift mage...this video definitely helps now the next step is making a decision of which one

[@VE4HOCTb]

Я очень рад что вы вернулись к этой замечательеой игре, а это означает что нас ждет очень много познавательного контента. Могли бы вы записать ролик с билдами для пати из 4х магов. Маги в Инквизиции мой самый любимый класс и особенно мне нравится играть пати состоящей из 4х магов с отключенным командным уроном, чтобы использовать все возможности магов по максимуму с их масс скиллами. Это крутая анимация, крутой экшн, крутой контроль и нагиб.

[@Knight1029]

I am definitely not the kind of guy who understands how to make builds but these are pretty awesome! I love rift mage so much because it allows you to get off huge AoEs. Which is why I love Force Mage in DA2 so much to. Great video by the way!

[@AKisHerceg]

Totally agree! CC is so much fun! :)

[@Knight1029]

@@AKisHerceg in DAO AoE is a lot harder to use with the whole friendly fire business. The later games felt like they allows for much more and better use of AoE and CC.

[@AKisHerceg]

@@Knight1029 DA2 also has mandatory FF for NM. Which is why I unintentionally burn, freeze and mop the floor with Aveline with my Elementalist. Luckily she is a tough gal, so she can take it. :)

[@Knight1029]

@@AKisHerceg that's suggestive. But also correct!

[@VenusAsAFormerBoy]

WOAH my brain short circuited hearing your voice for the first time I'm so used to reading lol. It's a nice change :)

[@dadadam789]

I've noticed that the evoker spec in veil guard is quite similar to rift mage

[@highiqwarrior]

Always knew the rift mage was a sleeper build! Arcane warrior in multiplayer has some abilities of rift mage and knight enchanter, sleep and AOE is great CC in multiplayer.

[@lolmosse7276]

Imagine fighting Solas in DAV and bro pulls one of these builds on you

[@EdSouzaL2]

HI there, I used all your videos as guide to my own builds and you are amazing! I got a question, what is the most OP build in DA:I for you? Cheers

[@AKisHerceg]

Thanks! Most op build in DAI? Hard to say. If I would really have to pick, I would say it's either my Golden Knight or my Hybrid Artificer. :)

[@EdSouzaL2]

@@AKisHerceg I see. I always loved my assassin build, but after see your Sera build melee or ranged I noticed how tempest is a monster in DA:I. Thanks for the answer.

[@lorgren4002]

@AKisHerceg little off topic but could you....write small comparison of these two? I'm starting my final da:I before da4 and can't decide between hybrid artificer and golden knight

[@brother_able4592]

Not gonna lie. This is the 1st video where I've heard you talk. Had to double check I was watching the right channel haha

[@AKisHerceg]

Hmm... all I heard was "I'm not watching you regularly". Ouch. :)

[@brother_able4592]

@@AKisHerceg I'm used to you not talking from your older videos. so I always have the video with no sound on 🤣🤣🤣.

[@csongorpetho5986]

Nagyon köszi, hogy beszélsz a videó alatt! Sokkal jobb így és a kiejtésed is jó! Congrats :) Amúgy azt honnan tudod, hogy a Shock+weak-->sleep A sleep meg továbbmehet rupture/nightmare-be? Ezt konkrétan úgy kell elképzelni, hogy lesokkolom, majd kombózok egyet rift spellel hogy sleep-et kapjon, majd amíg sleepbe van, továbbtudom vinni a kombót Nightmare/Rupture-ba? Ilyeneket honnan lehet megtudni xD?

[@AKisHerceg]

Koszi! :) Igen, pontosan. Shocked+Weakened=Sleep amit ujra tudsz detonalni. Amennyire en tudom ez az egyetlen specko combo ami gyujtosba detonal. A sleep az meg mindig gyujtos hiaba durran a shocked abbba ha weakenedet hozol ra, mivel gyujtos igy uja be tudod detonalni Rupturba vagy Nightmarebe. Van egy tablazat a combo oldanon a wikin amibol latod hogy mi mit detonal. Ott is emlitik a specko sleep kombot. De van egy videom is a temarol ha erdekel. Csak keress ra a kombokra a csatonamon. :)

[@Wolferys]

I wonder what a pure elemental mage be like where you take the speclization just for passives. Maybe KE that can spam fire mine+ice mine+ static cage?

[@AKisHerceg]

That sounds good. Also a Necro with either the Simulacrum passive or the Death Syphon.

[@bioticninja2170]

Yeah I’ll admit I’ve never beaten Inquisition, and I was leaning towards playing as a rift mage because… I mean… it’s thematically on point

[@SuchMuch-C]

Great video as always! I do have to ask though, in a previous video you mentioned you don't like using flaming array with Pull of the Abyss as "it tends to turn the enemies away from you, so the flaming array upgrade often only deals one damage" but in this video you seem to go for it regardless of this bugged interaction. Did something change?

[@AKisHerceg]

Well, it's kind of like a double edged sword. Sometimes they work well together, sometime they don't. Searing Glyph takes too long to detonate, so in some cases you just have to go for Flaming Array. However, you have to remember to give the enemies enough time to turn back towards you. So it's effective, as long as you time it right.

[@Dovahkiin520]

The mage combat in Vielguard is satisfying but I kinda miss the stop and go combat for mages/archers.

[@spartandud3]

At the risk of sounding stupid how do you get around resistances/imunities with the first 3 builds that focus heavily on a single element?

[@AKisHerceg]

With the team. :)

[@jrvazbakerboy]

Have you tried a no specialization build/builds in inquisition yet?

[@AKisHerceg]

I have. Specializations make the game more fun though, in my opinion. :) Even if you would not use the active skills, the passives can also improve any build.

[@jrvazbakerboy]

Im doing one right now. Its a blast maxing out the elemental trees as a mage. Just run into problems when the enemy is lightning resistant or when i forget to do a little reconnaissance with the walking softly trial and the enemy is resistant to both elemental staffs on my mages

[@Herrorr1]

I watched some of your videos and I started to wonder if you ever played as a dwarf in inquisition. I saw your comment from two years ago that you never played a qunari and that got me thinking. ;-) Anyway, I like your content and especially the hardcore playthrough!

[@AKisHerceg]

Nope. I only created humans and elves in Inquisition. I just hate passing up the extra skill at the beginning. :)

[@ThreeDog28]

Ive been doing a 2h Reaver playthrough on nightmare. Do you happen to have anything in the works on Reaver? These guides are wonderfully put together.

[@AKisHerceg]

I have 2 major Reaver builds. One is the Deathbringer, which is a Trilogy Build and the other is the Reckless Reaver which is for Inquisition. Type "reaver" in the search box on my channel! :)

[@ThreeDog28]

@@AKisHerceg Ty king

[@bioticninja2170]

So for the sleep mage, what are you to do if an enemy (or boss) is immune to sleep? What are potential options?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@bioticninja2170 Well, you still have the great cc spells from the Rift Mage speck and some very good lighting spells. You can knock down and Discharge with Stonefist, and multiply damage with Static Cage. Chain Lightning can also knock back and damage enemies. Pull of the Abyss and Veilstrike can also rag-doll the whole group. These builds are not really for bosses though, they are for cc.

[@Preboo0]

Is this viable with Trials on or will many of the enemies be immune to the pull and other cc?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@Preboo0 Even enemies who are usually immune to physical effects will be pulled(except bosses). As long as you get the Shaken Veil. At least that is my experience.

[@domathiccc198]

Im having trouble picking one, the storm one seems average and safe but fire seems cooler, except the things immune to fire

[@AKisHerceg]

You can have multiple elements. Fire deals the most damage, but there are a lot of immunes. Ice is great cc with good damage, but again, lots of immunes. Storm has the smallest damage, but not many immunes.

[@yichangwang8569]

How come you can cast pull of abyss, ice mine, and static cage in a row without having to use basic attacks to restore focus, and I notice these spells cost you smaller focus bars? You have focus boost gears or something?

[@AKisHerceg]

You mean Mana bar right? Yes, I have the Sigil of the Great Bear which doubles your mana from 100 to 200. :)

[@kamm3021]

Hey dude which Rune do u recommend for fire and cold staff ?

[@AKisHerceg]

I recommend Demon Slaying or Corrupting, since you mostly fight demons and living enemies.

[@kamm3021]

Alright thanks 👍🏻

[@ramon5344]

is there a reason u take the wrath of lovias over the encore design? I usually go for encore since on hit damage boosts are amazing but of the wrath of lovias is better I might try this one

[@AKisHerceg]

I don't use the Golden Nug. Other than that, not really. It gives awesome crit chance/damage, but the Encore is a great choice as well. :)

[@ramon5344]

@@AKisHerceg ohhh okay that makes sense but yeah so many great schematics in trespasser like the bow with explosive damage or that shield im still a little sad that the actual unique gear can only be used there

[@SneakyBastard-oi4eb]

Amazing builds, but if I remember correctly, your Elementalist was a Rift Mage. Couldn't you have made a mention to him? Is there a friendly fire on alternative to spells such as Ice Mine (I know it does no damage, but freezing allies as well is a little... bad) and Fire Mine?

[@AKisHerceg]

Nope. Sadly FF is a pain in the butt, no matter what spells you use. Winter's Grasp with the aoe upgrade is similar to Ice Mine, sadly, it also deals FF.

[@SneakyBastard-oi4eb]

@@AKisHerceg ah. I'll have to be a little creative, then. Thanks for the answer

[@SneakyBastard-oi4eb]

@@AKisHerceg reporting back to tell you that I found out Fire Wall... doesn't deal Friendly Fire Damage!.. somehow. So I ended up with: - Barrier (any upgrade) - Winter's Grasp (Winter's Ruin, great with Mana Surge and with the next one) - Fade Step (Frost Step) - Veilstrike (Punching Down) - Stone Fist (upgrade is pretty irrelevant, but I'll get Unlockable Force when able) - Pull of the Abyss (Shaken Veil, sadly pulls allies as well, but otherwise I'd have to uss Shatterstone, and that would actually damage the party) - Wall of Fire (I don't know yet, but since I can control the fields, Lasting Flames seems better) - Mark of the Rift (I like having it)

[@Gyorffykee69420]

Hey, this may be a strange question, but are you Hungarian? I recently got more into the Dragon Age games and I really like your videos but I find your name a bit strange because 'A Kis Herceg' is the Hungarian name of the famous book The Little Prince, but in your 'bio' it says you live in the Philippines. No offense if it means something else, I only speak Hungarian and English :/

[@AKisHerceg]

Yes, I'm Hungarian. I live on the Philippines. :)

[@michaborciuch9172]

Hi, may I ask, how long does it take for you to finish DAI from start to finish, for example to check some build? Do you do all sidequests?

[@AKisHerceg]

It takes around 40 hours. And this is with masterwork farming. I don't do all the side quests, they are a waste of time. Especially since you get so much xp from the dlcs. I might make a video about how I go through the game in order to level up fast. :)

[@VE4HOCTb]

​@@AKisHercegочень хотелось бы посмотреть полное прохождение игры в вашем исполнении. Желательно за мага.

[@zifnabdr]

@@AKisHerceg This would be great as we all need a refresher before the new game in a month! Real curious to see what builds you might come up with. Since that game seems to have different approaches to classes. Been debating between your golden knight and a mage! i think i did a warrior 10 years ago, but i dont remember much about the game anymore.

[@AKisHerceg]

@@zifnabdr Golden Knight is more straightforward than a mage. Perfect for replaying the game after a long break. :)

[@zifnabdr]

@@AKisHerceg You sold me! Might have to go female elven so i can romance Solas so i can see if i hate him in the new game. Legit i dont remember anything other then "Leave the hinterlands" from 10 years ago.. Love the videos. I keep up on them through out the years.

[@td1964]

In your opinion which is better Fade-Touched Nevarrite (Explode) or Fade-Touched Lustrous Cotton (Walking Bomb)if you can only choose 1?

[@AKisHerceg]

Walking Bomb is better. It blows up the target upon death, just like Targets Explode, but it also deals ability based spirit damage when applied.

[@td1964]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks using your Frost/Fire Crusader build

[@alaingamache3908]

Sorry to ask. New player. Is there a list of abilities to get in order for each build ?

[@lorgren4002]

@AKisHerceg great video! :) little off topic but could you....write small comparison of these two? I'm starting my final da:I before da4 and can't decide between hybrid artificer and golden knight

[@AKisHerceg]

One is a tank who can still deal some respectable single target damage and with the masterwork it can also deal excellent crowd damage. The other is a single target/crowd damage build. It can take down crowds and single targets in seconds.

[@lorgren4002]

So I have to decide between immortal tank and a killing machine, great XD which one of these would you recommend for someone new/less familiar with da:I mechanics? Played this game once as a ke mage but that was like, 5+ years XD

[@AKisHerceg]

@@lorgren4002 Go with the Champion. :)

[@lorgren4002]

Thanks :)

[@lorgren4002]

It's kinda fitting actually, re-played da:o and DA2 as a warrior, might as well continue in inq. (Used DW warrior in origins and your recent reaver/berserk in da2)

[@Pipo_Gaming]

omg i just started a new dragon age inqu run and was watching ur old videos lol did they ever patch the mage passives from lighting tree no working? also would u consider making new build content with ur voice over now makes it easier to understand and just nice.

[@AKisHerceg]

From what I know, the only passive that doesn't work is the Gathering Storm from the Strom tree. Not sure. We'll see. :)

[@HadrorexHun]

Nem is értem eddig miért nem beszéltél, kellemes a hangod és tisztán elmagyarázol mindent. Nem egyszer vettem inspirációt a videóidból!

[@AKisHerceg]

Koszi, orulok neki hogy inspiralnak! :) Sajnos nehez felvetelt csinalni amikor non-stop ricsaj van korulotted. Most jutottam el odaig, hogy neha van idom bezarni ajtot ablakot es elkesziteni egy normalis hangfelvetelt. :)

[@MrSimonwara]

Hey! When is next upload of the rouge playthrough for DAO? And, just wondering, are you gonna play veilguard?

[@AKisHerceg]

I'm doing the commentary for the next episode. :) Yes, I will try Veilguard.

[@kamm3021]

Cataclysmic Vortexer is definitely the one for me Thanks fir your efforts Why don't u get unlimited amulet of power using dupe glitch and max all trres ? or u can use cheat engine to add extra ability points if u don't have amulet of power

[@AKisHerceg]

@@kamm3021 I don’t really like those kinds of exploits. :)

[@kamm3021]

Understandable Waiting for your Veilguard content 😃

[@larrycarter2364]

Out of the 5 which one you think is the best I’m thinking about starting a new game and try it

[@AKisHerceg]

I can't really tell which one is the best. It all depends on what you are looking for. :)

[@larrycarter2364]

@@AKisHercegI went with the ice Hybernater one I really enjoying it so far thanks for the build

[@alaingamache3908]

@@larrycarter2364I want to try that, but struggling to sequence which hability to get first.

[@larrycarter2364]

@@alaingamache3908 it’s pretty nice I like it way better than the knight enchanter I’m using the frost one because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of using all of them I mean they’re all good I got solas using the fire one then again if you can’t decide wait til sky hold and reset your skills

[@jay11481]

I guess in addition to my original comment is trying to figure out the build order as you continue leveling

[@pihwht]

Artistry

[@mauricewilks1974]

I personally don't think Veilguard will be anywhere near as good as this game. But I hope I'm proven wrong.

[@clevergoblin1714]

Oh no you were proven right ..

[@sauce2514]

Oh, look at that. An excuse to start a new game.

[@Bubble955]

👍

[@Gemmasis]

Amazing builds as usual. Though I do have a question. Are you excited about the new game? In all honesty, I’m very disappointed in basically everything I’ve seen of Dragon Age Veilguard. As a result I will not be buying it, which is hard as I’ve loved all the previous games until now. It pains me to say, but despite the hype this is getting, it will never reach the heights of Origins imo.

[@AKisHerceg]

Excited? More like interested. I see a lot of potential fun from the trailers, especially since it's basically DAI meets ME. I like both of those games, so I have no problem with the mechanics. I will definitely give it a shot. Honestly, after Dragon Age II and Inquisition, I did not have a single ounce of hope that the series would return to its roots as a CRPG again with Veilguard. I like CRPGs, but the game mechanics were not what made me fall in love with Dragon Age. It was the story, the characters, and then the gameplay. So if the story is good(from what I see, it's gonna be good), the characters are interesting(not sure about them yet), and the gameplay is fun(it looks like it will be), I will play it.

[@Gemmasis]

@@AKisHerceg well at least someone can appreciate it I suppose. I was the same in loving the characters and great storytelling, but every time I see Veilguard, the more I actually dislike everything about it. From the poor choices of graphics, the main character does nothing for me, the companions are all bland and uninteresting and the plot imo is nothing special to me at all. I don’t know why BioWare made a Dragon Age game like Mass Effect? I loved both games as they were diverse from one another yet still held that charm both thrived in. Now it’s just a very disappointing mess of both. The only reason I MAY get this in the future is if they fix quite a lot of the games mechanics and graphics, though I doubt very much either will get done. And the fact I wanted to see my Trevelyan again and how he was after Trespasser, though now I most likely won’t.

[@AKisHerceg]

@@Gemmasis "From the poor choices of graphics" I assume you mean the new monster design? They are indeed wired, and I also dislike them. However the engine is the same as Inquisition, so I see no problem with the graphics in that regard. "the main character does nothing for me" Well, every trailer I saw, the main character was always picking the most boring choices in terms of dialogue. The "get to the point" choice, so I would say, that we have not seen too much. To be honest, the Inquisitor was also kinda bland compared to the Warden(Hawke too). That is the curse of a voiced protagonist. Although Shepard was awesome, none of the heroes in DA can come close in terms of personality to the Warden, because of the amount of choices you had with the Hero of Ferelden. "the companions are all bland and uninteresting" I haven't heard too much dialogue from them aside from Harding. They don't really look interesting, but I said the same thing about Sera, Blackwall, Cole and Vivienne when I first started Inquisition. In fact I was very annoyed that Cassandra was a party member, because I couldn't stand her in DA2. I was wrong, She turned out to be amazing in DAI. "the plot imo is nothing special to me at all" Ancient Elven Gods controlling the Blight, waking Archdemons and attacking the world is nothing special? Dono. Sounds interesting to me. :)

[@lorgren4002]

For the companions, MC and the story it's too soon to tell if it's good or not. Graphics are not bad but the monsters look kinda goofy

[@Gemmasis]

@@lorgren4002 well my instinct is telling me this is going to be bad. The moment I saw the trailer for DAI almost ten years ago, I was instantly hooked. When I saw the trailer for Veilguard I just sat there in utter dismay! The graphics are very cartoonish imo and I really don’t like the way they’re handling the romance part either by allowing you to romance any party member. I just feel betrayed by BioWare for reaching out to the so called (Modern Audiences) rather than be faithful towards the ones who helped make the franchise into the success it became.

[@Cebola666]

why you not pick Chaotic Focus?

[@AKisHerceg]

Well, first off, Chaotic Focus straight up doesn't work with the Flaming Array upgrade of Fire Mine, so it's useless there. Second, even when I pick the normal Fire Mine, I still wouldn't want to strip 50% of my barrier most of the time for a little damage boost. Sometimes it can work great, especially when you have a great tank and you attack from range, but most of you what see in the video works totally fine as solo build, where unfortunately the last thing I want is to take away a huge chunk of my Barrier. :)