Dragon Age: Inquisition - Knight Enchanter Build: Elementalist God

[@grimgaming4672]

Every single time I replay DAI I find myself coming back to these build guides because honestly they remain on a sheer pillar of quality.

[@MercilezTv]

after watching 10+ KE vids, this is absolutely the best build m8!! thanks alot !!

[@BlackXSunlight]

I looked at quite a few builds before finding yours, and I love that you explain in detail why you're getting the skills and passives and what effect they'll have during gameplay, other builds are like "Grab this" and I'm like "... why?" I've also noticed that some builds aren't really useful early/mid-game, so you kind of have to work with a pre-build build. When you have less than 12 skill points at your disposal and still haven't finished Crestwood, the build must be much frugal with skills and passives.

[@leeb9655]

+Blackbyrd This mage build is pretty weak compared what you can do with the new trespasser upgrades. Firemine for example is now instant and brings forth 3 mines instead of just one. Your barrier lasts 5 seconds before it even starts to deplete and by that time you are ready to cast it again ect ect. You can literally run through the game on nightmare with a good knight enchanter build and go down 0 times. Of course you need to get to like level 16 to get your items and perks first, or you're just going to die. So reach level 16 before you do it lol. xD I can solo The Highland Ravager by my self on nightmare at level 16 without even getting scratched.

[@BlackXSunlight]

+Lee B I don't have any of the DLC besides the Black Emporium. This build works fine with me since I customized Dorian and Solas (depends on whose party banter I feel like hearing) so our attacks do constant combos.

[@jcksparrowfan]

Unfortunately, KE blade now inflicts 150% damage and the only way to inflict any damage is if you pool your other spells and then hit with blade. I find immolate and fire mine do wonders, and also trap them in a cage of electricity.

[@SaeybinUnderFire]

Hi Cowboy. I haven't try playing a like enchanter yet but I'm ready to create this build. At the meantime, I'm working on a theory video that speaks about various time spells and you have a perfect clip of Vivienne the freeze bubble. Can I take a copy to use? I'll be happy to put your name on the credit in the description.

[@TheCrimsonCat89]

Another good skill to have, since you're on the front line, is the dash ability from the Winter tree. Maneuverability at it's finest, especially with the upgrade where it damages foes in your path.

[@jellybeaner6396]

If you put cunning and critical chance into your staff, with cunning and critical chance/damage accesories, you do upwards of 1.5k per swing (pretty much everything crits) per enemy. That's not counting enemies with guard or barrier.

[@Jjrmtv]

Outstanding! You explained the build like a pro. Well done.

[@BigKevSexyMan]

Did you know that you can not only dispel, but ATTACK to destroy the rift spots? They only have like 792 health, so it's really easy to take out one or two spots in addition to using dispel and spell purge. Sometimes, you'll even destroy all the spots before anything can spawn. It's awesome.

[@emanuelrasberger947]

It is 2019 and l am still playing this game it is one of the best game of this gen. The knight enchanter is a fenomenal build combined with cassandra,blackwall and veric l am a unkileable machine l just can not die ,normaly playing it on nightmare even ground.

[@unrrear]

"oh no i am so sorry are you guys frozen in my bubble?" LMAO

[@jcksparrowfan]

No rift mage or necromancer? Granted they're not the most ideal. They have their weaknesses, but the skills included can prove rather effective.

[@Axel21]

Cool build, looking forward to using it. Probably a stupid question, but how do you make the enemy health bar and levels appear at the top of the screen like that?

[@codygreyeyes1610]

Why was your knight enchanter taking damage? Even at level 10 i was soloing the game on nightmare.

[@StormsEyeScepter]

Question! What's the schematic you used for the staff you crafted for Vivienne?

[@bearfarhan]

Hey cowboy very nice build always love your walkthrough and builds man! What armor is your inquisitor wearing?

[@StarlightDragon]

I went with Rift Mage as my main, simply because I figured Knight Enchanter would be boring (clearly I was wrong) and OP (which does seem to be the case). What do you think of Rift Mage gameplay?

[@garrettvigil3856]

When I play knight enchanter I loose my barrier like in two hits in lvl 11 is it my build that I'm following or is it my armor defense that causes that?

[@mikeauditore881]

This why I love this Sub-Class, My Current Party: Mike (me): Knight Enchanter Dorian: Support Bull: Tank Cole: Assassin

[@jakelamb5695]

Bull is more of a dps

[@JH-fe2ho]

I heard Bull isnt good as a tank?

[@sir3543]

Medium Joel Any warrior is good as a tank. Though, Blackwall is the best because of his Champion specialization. Reavers are more DPS based but you don't need to spec into the Reaver tree. In fact I don't recommend it because the AI is terrible at managing a Reaver.

[@flashstep07]

Hey anyone knows how to get vivienne to use spirit blade in battle? I have only her knight enchanter skills unlocked but she refuses to use them and keeps doing standard attacks with her staff? I checked tactics and their all on enabled, but she refuses to do any of them.

[@Kicker41387]

Change her preferred skill to spirit blade in tatics

[@flashstep07]

Thank you

[@reddriclioncourt]

Is this the same as Arcane Warrior from da1? I didnt hear about anything about that also i dont see any mages wearing the plate type armor in any vids..

[@favoredsoul85]

I wish it was, Arcane Warrior is so much more powerful, the only way for a mage to wear heavy armor it to craft the armor out of silverite which will remove class restrictions, but it wont remove race restrictions.

[@libertyprime2985]

This is what keeps me away from playing nightmare, i dont like to be on tactical camera every time i get hit by an enemy (sorry if im to casul for some of you). The build is insane and super powerful. Great guide.

[@stefano98]

Liberty Prime just play artificer if you dont want to use the tactical camera

[@emanuelrasberger947]

You do not need a tactical camera if you make a good build for your folowers just need to learn how it takes a little time .

[@music2k73]

good build you just need to learn to use it

[@MrZegend]

I'm using this right now. What a beast.

[@OpTicJoker1337]

To the author or anyone that is experienced, in your opinion what is the best race to use for Mage Knight Enchanter? Any incremental advantage would do, and why? Thank you for your time :)

[@tristanmccray6211]

I haven't tried this build yet but I would think Qunari because of the boast to physical defense

[@pasheg4345]

Ash Knight Human, because they have +1 ability point bonus. The only problem here is 8 active spell limitation (imo, one of the most ridiculous game design choices in RPG history) - so you're basically forced to use your specialization abilities only + little extra, which makes KE extremely boring to play. I mean, even if you have enough spells from the other trees, realistically you won't be able to cast most of them. Still, one more good passive easily outstrips the measly 10% melee defense bonus of Qunari, which is pointless for KE anyway. Ranged defense is more relevant, so Elves should do as well.

[@Platinumstyx]

Hella late reply but Qunari. Because non of the race abilities really matter and Qunari is a neat race.

[@codyparker3211]

does wall of flame count as a barrier for this build?

[@HabringAzre]

Really enjoyed this. is there any chance that we could see your take on a rift mage build, currently keen to give that a go

[@coooldmonday]

Nice series of videos for team build. Just what I need: myself as an assassin, vivienne, sera, and cassandra (I will replace her with bull). I have watched another video for killing Abyssal High Dragon, and the Knight Enchanter in the video did some extremely high damage using spirit blade(critical damage with 3000+1000). Is it just because of the armor penetration, or skills related?

[@coooldmonday]

Never mind, the extremely high damage is because of the bonus damage of Spirit Blade against guard and barrier.

[@xxmadara227xx3]

What's your armor ? :o for vivienne

[@bazan2947]

I can't get all the perks you have because I can't get amulet of power for the Inquisitor (Or is it possible to get more points to spend somehow that I haven't found yet? I've played for 36 hours and level 18 and still haven't found it if it exist).. Which perks should I not take in this case? I just can't decide on which one to not take :S

[@babylonrocker2724]

There are 4 amulets of power for the Inquisitor alone, just Google it (dont want to post spoilers here)

[@bazan2947]

***** I did. I honestly never needed to go to google page 2 to find what I looked for before so I didn't even consider that... Haha.. Embarrassing :P

[@angelorembert8497]

hey cowboy just now started playing dragon age when will I be able to open other trees to build my character

[@waterdog737]

Hey I wonder is there anyway to build a tank mage with Knight Enchanter?

[@draconisdragonheart4248]

Great build. I have to say rogue with guard might be better. Especially if you battle Behemoth who is resistant to fire.

[@kingdomecthulhu8738]

so would defending blade block dragon fire (or other kinds )something to test

[@TheCrimsonCat89]

And the On Hit+3 Guard is ideal for you to be a dragon slayer. Winter stillness helps for you to regain mana.

[@FindlayJoshua]

Dude you used 5 health potions for 1 basic combat. This solo build isn't working out well eh?

[@ralphjenkins1989]

When does the Knight Enchanter tree open up? I’m at level 10 and still have only the original 4 trees available.

[@dcblunt666]

After you get to skyhold

[@NotAPvmer]

Ive recently started playing this game and Im trying to build a good mage. My question is does vivienne have different abilities? I cant seem to find some of the abilities shown in this video on my mage.

[@pasheg4345]

p rodriguez You need to unlock the Knight enchanter specialization though. It's not available at the beginning.

[@TheKroganMaster]

Wow Cowboy i am really surprised you didn't take the KE focus ability....i feel like its one of the most OP out of the bunch...well atleast for Mages.

[@TheKroganMaster]

***** I guess i can see it, i just feel like its too good to pass up, maybe for a PC its alot more useful like more focus abilities.

[@michaelwestmoreland2530]

I don't get the part about the passive GIVING you barrier. It takes half the current barrier to power a spell, but why does it replenish your barrier when Fire Mine goes off? Also, Jesus, I never would have thought Spirit Blade would count as a spell. That makes Clean Burn INSANE. Well done.

[@michaelwestmoreland2530]

***** OHHHHH. SON of a bitch. I never once thought of it working OUTSIDE the KE tree. *slaps head* I thought it only applied to the damn Spirit Blade! I am shamed. I must return to DA and continue digging around until i find a new synergy of my own to retake my place of honor. Thanks. JESUS. I can't BELIEVE I didn't consider that.

[@gpsys]

Good build, but damn you should have put Decloaking Blast as a MUST Have Power. Everytime you use Fade cloak you do insane amounts of damage. If you use it right after casting Fire Mine you can see damage upwards of 10k on some mobs when the mine goes off. Even with just spamming Fade cloak you can have 2k decloaking blast hits frequently. Also Fade Step is super useful for closing the gap between opponents and overall saving time while travelling around the map. Too bad though that there aren't enough points from leveling and amulets (why the heck would cole need all the amulet of power?!?) to put into all the best spells. I am only playing on normal though so take my recommendations with a grain of salt, soloing giants is pretty damn fun with my build at 207 hours into the game.

[@gpsys]

***** Just tried a few more things since posting. I was farming for materials to create a usable Heavy Armor with my mage, fade touched silverite was not dropping for me before now. Used the guard from the fade touched silverite with normal silverite to make the Heavy Armor usable by mages and added a ton of ranged/con/melee defence upgrades. I changed my difficulty to nightmare and teleported to Giant Central in Emerald Graves North (great place for xp/gold farming), spamming Fade Cloak with Decloaking Blast pretty well makes the game laughable with Guard, Barrier, Heavy Armor with upgrades. I wish I had known about the amulet of power (in the cabin) glitch before but oh well, I already feel unstoppable, lol. Even with Nightmare on I was still getting 2k hits with Decloaking Blast and with Fire Mine an 8k hit with a well timed Decloaking Blast on one giant. This game is sooo much fun!! Now if only Capcom would make another Dragons Dogma.

[@bazan2947]

There's something you didn't mention that made me wonder about something. In the previous games, didn't some characters that you find have a unique skill tree that you can't have even when you chose the same class they have? If so, did you forget to mention it? Or am I thinking of a entirely different RPG now? I'm wondering this since you're using a character you find within the game and not the one you made yourself and this worries me a little since I will create a mage of my own. I also want to mention something to continue the question on the other video: A mage can't solo without using almost all the potions then..? If that's the case I probably won't go for mage.. :/

[@bazan2947]

***** Okay nice to know. Thanks for the video and everything, been of great help ^^

[@Phanxify]

BazanGaming Yeah in Dragon Age 2 the companions had their own specialized trees you could invest in (Fenris had Tevinter Fugitive and Anders had Vengeance) I'm not sure about Dragon Age Origins but as far as I know they had their own trees say Alistair for example has Templar and he can teach it to you.

[@Phanxify]

***** How do you feel about a two year reply just to clarify something I typed?

[@TheDynastking]

How do I unlock this, I got to sky hold and she as well as some of the others that are never in my party don't have their main skill tree?

[@angelvasquez3991]

You're suppose to use them in your party outside of skyhold after they reach level 10. Sorry if I'm so late.

[@ilovewendysbaconator5089]

Question how is he solo without his character around u cant solo as Vivienne if ur the inquisitor

[@gandalfwhite4803]

As an elementalist, Rejuvenating Barrier would be more better than Strenght of Spirits. You have too much skills to cast and Combat Clarity not enough alone for casting different spells from Spirit Blade. I think Frost Step is awesome combined with Fade Cloak Upgrade and with Fire Tree's CD. reduction passive you can open cloaks repeatedly. I'm rarely using Spirit Blade, its good for destroying barriers or deflecting Dragon Fire or an arrow. Its really funny to play as a warrior while being a mage but don't forget you are a caster :) And Stasis Lock skill not essential if you are not a support because you have too much defensive skills and Stasis is a defensive skill too. Plus Frost can do 1500% weapon damage if you pass through 5 enemies while dodging something without using mana, and fade cloak can do 1000-4000% damage its about how many enemy you damaged with it. Not only single target damage important. Imho Fade and Frost step is essential for late-game. I played this game a few times to 10-20 lvl now i'm 20 lvl still didn't finished Wicked Hearts and Wicked Eyes this quest is too hard for me at last for now. Is game ending or? Have not much enemies to kill for saving someone or funny quests, only searching good items and quality enemies like dragons -.-.

[@LastTruth23]

i'm about 30hrs in and I still don't know what those ticks next to the abilities mean?

[@Sheketo]

With the new upgrades considering Ice mine and Fire mine.. I bet she'd be great with a Magic Sword 8O

[@isaiahbeeson3220]

How do lock on on console, I've done 3 play throughs without knowing you could

[@Matthew_Y]

Isaiah Beeson there's no manual lock-on. only auto targeting and it doesn't stay locked on the target if they go off screen or if another enemy is near by.

[@nielssmed2388]

Bear in mind that the KE has be nerfed (or down cheesed) since this vid :-)

[@ascentlx4222]

how has it been nerfed? I read a few things about it but didn't understand it. was it needed after an update? if so, then I'll just pass on getting the update.

[@leeb9655]

+Well Hello It's spirit blade damage has been nerfed, but your survivability now makes you 100% immortal. Add it's survivability with the revive ability of the new trespasser upgrade and you have easy mode. Add that to the overwhelming power of fire mine, and well yea... A full power fire mine can oneshot an Ice Dragon on casual.

[@ascentlx4222]

+Lee B so, how does it have higher survivability with the nerf update? does it rely on offensive spells like fire mine? I still have the vanilla version, so it's whatever for now haha

[@leeb9655]

Well Hello There are new items with trespasser, plus as Spirit Blade has been nerfed you are not focused on offence. Get your barrier to the max, get your mana to 200 base and get the amulet that makes it recover faster. To get your barrier to the max just get all perks, get the 30%+ ring and get the sigil that gives you a 50% barrier bonus for 50% of your HP. Your HP is useless, since you're never going to lose any anyways. With all the barrier upgrades you can get via perks, the ring and the new sigil, your barrier will last through anything, and even if it does not, once it's gone so is your HP which automatically puts up another barrier. Trust me, it takes far more than 60 seconds to get that thing down.

[@ascentlx4222]

+Lee B I've been rather torn. I can't update due to internet not working right with my Xbox and having a data limit to my WiFi. (I have Hughes net :l ) i really like the barrier increase, though it makes it harder to fill with spirit blade. I realize this is for the update, which is why I can't use this build :l

[@ye-old-baxter5816]

Knight Enchanter is just too easy though, after I became a KE I left all the companions at Skyhold and completed the rest of the game on my own,

[@beatboxlive7581]

love watching the fights lol! Your commentary is funny af.

[@purepennytv1083]

What race do you use

[@pizzalover1884]

can yu do this for your own character or just vivene

[@seanbrennan7037]

This build kicked dragon ass at level 16.

[@IMe7x]

The absolute best one !!

[@dylanstavena9662]

Where do I get that gain three guard?

[@favoredsoul85]

The gain three guard comes from fade touched obsidian I do believe, But if you can get fade touched silverite it gives you 5 barrier per hit.

[@smokenzadopen666]

i have solo'd all 10 dragons as a champion and man i tell you , the guard NEVER fell past the halfway mark and im playing on nightmare mode. Champions are no joke

[@TheKroganMaster]

Yea, but there damage doesn't compare to KE, they can keep alive and do some great dps but compared to KE who can keep a shield up all the time and do crazy dps.

[@nelsoncaceres6005]

TheKroganMaster yep but the champion uses at least more than 2 abilites

[@TheKroganMaster]

Nelson Cáceres Marca Yea don't get me wrong any specialization is alot more fun theny KE and can still put out great if not amazing DPS. :)

[@michaelalexander8211]

I'm currently playing this game for the PC and the beginner mage skill tree looks nothing like this can someone explain ?

[@geeksy2278]

+Michael Alexander You will get mage spec later in the game!

[@michaelalexander8211]

thanks

[@andristefanus]

where did you get that staff?

[@Ergotful]

He crafted it.

[@devijari1]

quys is there a crack online yet ?

[@Threnan17]

I went down the winter tree more, ignoring the fire tree. I just wish lvl 27 wasn't the cap, cause if I had 3 more points I could get the cooldown reduction on cast buff from the fire tree :P. 27 seems like an odd place to put the level cap.

[@eleninicolaou847]

+Threnan17 technically it isn't, dai has a soft cap and given that you can't get any xp from enemies if they're more than 3 levels bellow you, at level 27 your probably out of enemies that can provide enough of a challenge :)

[@Threnan17]

Eleni Nicolaou The fact that I'm apparently half way through the XP bar begs to differ...

[@Threnan17]

Eleni Nicolaou And I even killed enemies my own level in the descent DLC, and once I hit the middle of that XP bar I stopped gaining any more.

[@hertzTooMuch]

Threnan17 it is so dumb that the level cap is 27, way too low IMO, even with the 4 amulets of power

[@MarvellousMorbing]

Man everybody knows how to do KE build ! ain"t no surprise . For those who wants a non-OP KE route, i have a optimal build for that. Ignore Spirit blades , get Fade cloak & progress all the way down to Stasis field then u specialize in the other trees . This way you only have two KE abilities & you're free to Invest into other Elemental trees

[@TheKroganMaster]

Then you really aren't playing a KE, might aswell run Necro at that point. lol

[@MarvellousMorbing]

TheKroganMaster only good thing about Necro Walking bomb hmmm. Its an underwhelming tree . atm, Just theory-crafting ideas . Ah i have a good one yet untested What u think of Solas Pull of the Abyss >> Dorlan Walking bomb + Stasis field with 2 fire mines underneath it >> Veilstrike(upgraded) weakens the blob further ,finisher with Immolate . Hmmm

[@TheKroganMaster]

Tatsumi Anime Superhero Fan Man if you can get all those spells off in time, Pull of the Abyss Walking bomb and fire mines should be out right enough to kill everything. I agree with you the tree isn't the greatest and even its focus sucks ass, but man Walking bomb and some of the passives are really good and if used right the undead spell helps out when you can get a strong enemy.

[@MarvellousMorbing]

TheKroganMaster They made Haste the group focus when it was the main spell to get for previous two DA games lol. Necromancer didn't felt like the Real Ordeal of Necromancy ,but its 600% explosive + its upgraded, dayummmmmm. Some of the traits are Siphon HP ,quite useful . Sure you get a good spirit, but i doubt it follow you forever,it just linger there & disperse . Finally got pass Haven ,hardest part of Nightmare . Off to experiment now ,can't wait to see how sweet the combo is=)

[@vicariousxiv2436]

Tatsumi Anime Superhero Fan If someone specs into KE it's cause they want never ending barriers that also empower their other abilities. NOT getting those is simply stupid and a waste of a specialization. If you don't want to be ezmode-OP then simply specialize in Necro or Rift, both are still strong and fun but you don't have to completely gimp yourself to avoid being OP. And Necro isn't underwhelming if you play it right. Trying to burst mobs down with mage style AoE as a Necro? You're going to have a bad time. Want to completely rip down massive single targets with insane amounts of DoT damage for this game and have decent survivability? Then you'll have a great time as a Necro. Weaker then KE? Yeah, as long as you're not gimping yourself for no better reason then trying to not be strong.... And Rift mage is meant as a support styled tree, don't expect much more then loads of cc, if you're sad you don't do tons of damage in this tree then you're not paying attention to what each tree is for lol

[@kudurrumaqlu]

And i thought mass effect classes was creative....

[@RVGmetallicasaw]

You know what would destroy... a Reaver-Templar... Drinking some Dragon Blood, then the daily Lyrium... and just crush everything... to bad Bioware didn't want Dual-specs like in Origins...

[@mauroplak9896]

Y no fadestep

[@SoTested]

To bad you have to what so long to get the knight enchanter tree unlocked

[@ace2oo480]

But the pun was intended

[@zarz860]

how u get 12 potions???

[@YungSnupe]

zara gluchy Use your inquisition points for Cullen

[@zero9690]

More builds

[@troyjordan151]

"juked" lmao

[@ljhouse8096]

u totally meant that pun u dawg u

[@fdjw88]

i still like the artificer more.

[@zimzir]

cool shit

[@Ficcator]

Pff OP build? U used so many health potions vs. regular enemies :D

[@7DeadlyJinxs]

Any other build would of probably lost to those regular enemies.