Who should you bring with you? - Party Composition and Follower Analysis in Dragon Age Inquisition

Dragon Age Inquisition - Follower guide: Taking a look at the strengths and weaknesses of your teammates and a guide on how to pick your team properly, to survive Nightmare!

[@apoorvlele6027]

To be honest i take people who have best comments about the quests and banter

[@ashm4938]

My usual party is: Rogue (Tempest) Cassandra Solas Vivienne Rogue with fire elixir and hidden blades is an OP combo, with leaping shot as a finisher and moving back into normal rotation. Cassandra is a solid support tank, give her on guard masterworks and she performs just as well as Blackwall with extra dispel and magical utility Solas as rift mage, with primary spells of pull of veil, stone fist, fire mines etc - tonnes of CC and getting enemies all in a crowd Vivienne with Static cage, spirit blade, fire mines and chain lightening - static cage on top of Solas's pull makes sure everything stays in one area, taking a tonne of damage with spiritblade constantly renewed

[@Crimson_Sun2486]

Currently, I'm running a Reaver playthrough, so I'm seeing that the best set of companions will be Vivienne for support, Blackwall for tank, and Verric for crowd control. But I'll definitely be using this vid to figure out party setups for other playthroughs, thx a ton 👍

[@sirkingkai]

I came here In 2022

[@rich8964]

2023

[@slump7882]

@@rich8964 same just got into the game on game pass, i was addicted to the multiplayer when i was in middle school, dunno why i never tried the story.

[@KairoMontano]

I'm from 3145 BC

[@Thuglife2Outlawz]

2025

[@GaleGrim]

Category Explanations 0:00 Scale 1:00 Cassandra 1:10 Sera 1:22 Varric 1:36 Cole 1:50 Iron Bull 2:06 Blackwall 2:20 Dorian 2:34 Solas 2:48 Vivienne 3:01 General Party Composition Tips And Examples 3:15 Other Combinations 8:05 2S 2D "A Learned Child Is A Blessing Upon His Parents And Onto The Maker" 8:07 2T 1S 1D "But The Sacred Pnemoix Protected Them, And They Did Not Burn." 8:32 1T 3D "Blessed Are The Peace Keepers, Champions Of The Just" 8:53 Nightmare Duo Mode Advice 9:13

[@sol9231]

2023 still love the game

[@Luperoi]

Its 2023 and this channel still the best

[@c.cfellton3105]

I'm four years to late but these combinations will not only help me through Inquisition but also in veilguard

[@mrraf5250]

For me , iron bull is to squishy to bring in dragon fight he always dead with One hit Fire Ball from dragon, thats why i alway bring blackwall , Sera or Varric with Long Shot ( Preferred active ) and they will always in the back and not death , for mage i bring Vivianne with KE + Support build she never die because her barrier is infinite or Dorian because of his walking bom is insanely powerful

[@gweegwee3]

I wish you voiced your vids so i can watch them in the background while working cus the content generally seems right up my alley, but cannot read slides and keep busy at the same time :(

[@RKDriver]

I didn't like it at first but pausing on each text frame to absorb what he's saying does help me understand a little more. I was going out on the web to places like reddit and reading opinions on builds etc but that takes more time when I can just get it here from someone who knows what they're doing.

[@Wolferys]

Some things I noticed: You need a mage for all these veilfires and some other things so it's annoying to play without a mage in the party. Iron Bull really sucks when played by the AI, he will just die all the time and waste all your health potions. If you want him in the party don't give him Dragon Rage, he will lose DPS but he'll no longer die much and would be able to tank things The AI also sucks with DW rogues like Cole and they die a lot, it's best to make them archers Varric is also a lot weaker when controlled by the AI, the AI just doesn't know how to control an artificer that well. Though he is still a viable companion with his crossbow, just not overpowered like the artificer inquisitor.

[@AKisHerceg]

Yup, I mostly agree. Iron Bull can have Dragon Rage but with the upgrade that gives it a cooldown and removes the health use. Less useful, but safer. He can be a decent tank with W&S, if you don't have anybody better. Naturally you have to leave out his specialization and you need to focus the W&S abilities along with the Vanguard tree. Actually dual wielders are kinda ok with AI. You just have to use many abilities that confuse or misdirect the enemy. Stealth, Flank Attack, Evade are mandatory to keep them alive with the AI. You can try using Knockout Powder and also the Life Leaching upgrade on Poison Weapons. With high damage, they don't have to keep chugging potions. I made a video some time ago about what skills you should pick for low character level, and there I actually used a dual wield Sera for damage, and on top of being an excellent damager(with an intentionally poor equipment)she did not use a single potion. What is bad with Cole is that if you pick the damage upgrade on Mark of Death, he sometimes messes up the detonation. Varric can be set up nicely, dual wield or archery, of course he will never be as strong as your Artificer, but still, he is definitely a great addition for the party. He took down the Highland Ravager pretty fast with my Necro. The problem with him is that he can be a bit buggy sometimes. His mines and his Leaping Shot, the two best of this abilities, fail regularly.

[@ironmantis25]

For me its map and story dependent since I care about commentary more than having an efficient team. Deep Roads and Darkspawn: Varric and Blackwall Elf ruins: Sera and Solas, occasionally Dorian Chantry and templar related: Cassandra Orlessian: Viv and Cassandra, maybe Sera Qun stuff and dragon fights: Iron Bull Grey Warden related: Blackwall Any quest with Hawke involved: Varric Quests involving spirits: Solas and Cole Tevinter and venatori related: Dorian

[@SomeGuy-xq3kv]

Thank you starlord!

[@ВладиславШаклеин-ч7м]

The thought is good, but quite a few mistakes from that perspective. Why you would bring Varric to Deep Roads for he states multiple times hating it? He's undwarfiest dwarf there is, literally. Varric fits thematically in whenever there is anything Corypheus-related or Red-Lyrium related or anything underhandedly illegal. Same with Sera, anything close to being elven disgusts her. Sera fits better in 'helping the little man in the crossfire' (sharing the theme with Blackwall) and sticking it to nobles. Emerald Graves-esque maps. Plus loading arrows into enemy mages, so anyting Venatori. Bull just needs to be there whenever big or unusual enemies are involved, as well as where a keen inquisitive (pun intended) eye (twice intended) would be of use, such as Winter Palace. For the same reason, it is also fitting to take Solas and/or Cole into the palace, both can gather intelligence for you without attracting attention. Both Vivienne and Dorian also like to take it directly to Corypheus (Dorian more so), but Vivienne also feels like restoring order, so she'd do it by punishing the Red Templar renegades (or Grey Warden ones, on which she and Solas are actually agree on, amusingly) while Dorian would enjoy incinerating Venathori. And Cassandra of course is there to restore order as well, so wherever there any remnants of mage/templar war, Chantry issues, or magic running amok she's your woman.

[@ironmantis25]

@@ВладиславШаклеин-ч7м I bring varric precisely because of his commentary on how much he hates the deep roads and Sera to elven ruins precisely because of how much she said she hates it. I'm just in it for commentary, either if it is good or bad.

[@ВладиславШаклеин-ч7м]

@@ironmantis25 So, just hearing them hate it? Kinda stale. Also, good dialogues are not always obvious on love/hate spectrum alone. I.e. Bull in the Wastes.

[@sidburnsting]

Sera is always in my party, even if my Inquisitor is a Tempest

[@MoonPraiser]

My team for the most time was Varric (he is just the best, charisma and power), Iron Bull and the last spot depends of my Inquisitor, the las time was Cole (my Inquisitor was a Rift Mage). I never had problem with the IA or Iron Bull killing himself, always give them the best gear, Iron Bull and Cole were completes killing machines, taking down dragons like cakes, Varric giving the crit support and control, with my Rift Mages leaving the enemies wide open for the onslaught. I've discover to more or less help the IA to play like I would do, seting as preferred my Skill Combo with each character often give good results, and when I really want to take part in the thrill just take control of Iron Bull. Varric and Cole with the Poison Cloud upgrade never have to fear death, so... Yeah, a very fun team, besides their interactions are just gold (Bull and Varric kinda remind me of Garrus and Wrex from Mass Effect, best companions ever) Thanks again for the cool video, I wold try some new teams composition with a Necromancer Inquisitor (I've never try that class before) have some advice for me?

[@AKisHerceg]

Necromancer can be kinda squishy, so be sure to have a great Tank and Support. Tank can be Blackwall, since he is near unkillable, support can be Vivienne or Solas. Then you can chose another tank(I would recommend Casandra) or a damager(like Sera, Cole or Varric). Necro has Horror, which is a pretty good Crowd Control spell, and Walking Bomb which can be a great single target spell or an aoe explosion(but if you play with Friendly Fire, you need to be careful with it). If you couple this with the Elemental Skills like Fire Mine and Winter's Grasp, the Necro can be a great damager and CC too. So you just have to adjust the team according to your needs: Tank and Support as you can see, are the main characteristics that the Necro lacks, so you need those types of followers. :)

[@Foostini]

Iron Bull may be middle of road in terms of gameplay but he's top of the charts as a character, always a treat bringing him along :V

[@zx35gamer85]

I tried equipping Ironbull with fade-touched storm heart (30% dmg, 300% dmg taken) Fade touched everite (25% damage to Hp recovery), Kitty’s collar and sigil of the giant. With 30%+ heal rate on armor. Not possible for solo but it rocks 4-man (tank, damager rogue and support )

[@AKisHerceg]

Wow! He works that way? Nice! :) This made me think: With that amount of "-" damage resistance he should be constantly resurrected, since he can die from 1 hit basically. With the collar, he only has a 75% chance to come back though... The heal rate is pretty bad in the game in my opinion and it does not heal after death. At least it does not heal for me. I think I would go with Walking Fortress or Guard on hit instead if I would want some defense. But honestly, if my IB would be this squishy, I think I would concentrate on massive damage(basically no defense at all, with Walking Bomb or Enemies explode masterworks) and go with a Life Drain ring(heal after kill). Now THAT will bring your Bull back to life, even after death! :) The ticking damage from WB alone is enough to constantly heal him back after he died and the follow up explosions will put him back to full health. You could also try putting the amulet of Barrier on him, since it can work, if he really has high damage. You would gain Barrier AND health with the same hit. Plus with that, you can instantly remove -100 DR from him, so he will be less squishy! :)

[@J_man_Gaming]

Casandra is always at my side ever since years ago I had a terrible incident with a dragon and she borderline soloed it

[@angrygreek1985]

She's like Lydia from Skyrim. I just can't turn her away.

[@moongamer7295]

Inquisitor: dual wield artificer Tank and buffs: Cassandra Damage: Cole Mage cc/support: Dorian Can I make this combination work?

[@AKisHerceg]

Yup.

[@moongamer7295]

@@AKisHerceg thanks

[@yimeizi2648]

I had a playthrough with the Iron Bull as the tank and Dorian as the support for the entire run, just so that these two can, you know...alas Corypheus is dead now and they still haven’t.

[@AKisHerceg]

Lol!

[@danielvictor9156]

Inquisitor (Rift Mage): Crowd Control Black wall: Tank. Cole (Dual Wield): Damager. Varric: Support. I started my first playthough on nightmare (Trials on but no Friendly fire) Do you think I can beat the game?

[@AKisHerceg]

Definitely. :)

[@danielvictor9156]

@@AKisHerceg great! Thanks

[@tinisnottin]

Luv your videos. They are very insightful. Since, this is about companion. Do you mind make an video of how to setup up AI in DA:I?

[@AKisHerceg]

Thank you! :) Well sadly, in Inquisition there is not much to do in the tactical menu. You have 3 option: 1. Allow the ability to be used 2. Favorite the ability 3. Disable the ability 1. You basically allow the character use the ability if its favorited skill is on cooldown and it has excess stamina or mana. 2. You make the character use this ability always if it has enough stamina and the ability is not on cooldown. 3. You forbid the character to use the ability. This is literally the way they works in Inquisition. There is little room for tactic for your AI sadly. After you picked your build for the AI, you just have to favorite the skills that you want them to use and disable everything else. For "Tanks" you favorite every ability that gives them more damage resistance and pulls aggro away from party members(abilities like Livid, War Cry, Challenge etc), for "Supports" you favorite everything that helps the party stay alive(like Barrier for example) for "Crowd Control" you favorite everything that disorients and knocks down or stunns crowds and single targets(like the Necromancer's Horror or the Rift Mage's Veilstrike and Pull of the Abyss for example). And finally, for "Damagers", you favorite everything that has the highest potential to cause massive damage(Throwing Blades or the Assassin's Mark of Death for example). There are abilities that work poorly with the AI. Iron Bull's Dragon Rage is the best example. Mark of Death with the extra damage upgrade also works badly if you let Cole's AI detonate it. And there are abilities that work amazingly well with the AI like Sera's Lightning Flask or Dorian's Horror. Cassandra and Blackwall use the Shield Wall ability very well too. Tactics also work differently depending on the platform, patches etc. There is no real universal party AI setup, so the best advice I can give you is to just favorite everything you really want them to use and hope that they will use it well. :) One more thing: By favoriting certain skills to your party, you can set up combos. In previous DA games, you were able to set up the tactics so that your other party members were able to execute a combo by giving them specific commands like: use X ability if the target suffers from Y. Or use Stonefist on a target that is Frozen. Which results in the Shatter combo and instant kill. This is no longer possible here, but you can still set up combos with your party if you know what skills you use frequently. For example if you use Shield Bash a lot, then favorite Winter's Grasp on your mage so that you can execute Shatter combo with your Shield Bash. Or use Winter's Grasp with one of your mage and favorite Winter's Grasp on another that has the upgrade that lets Winter's Grasp deal 1000% damage on Chilled target. So one Winter's Grasp will Chill the target and the other will deal massive damage right after. Plus the target will be frozen so you can use Shield Bash to Shatter. Same with the Knockout Bomb ability to put targets to sleep. Order your Assassin to use knockout bomb a lot by favoriting it and you use abilities that are detonators for the combos for Sleeping targets.

[@tinisnottin]

@@AKisHerceg got it,really appreciate your input. keep the insights coming

[@kamm3021]

Nice 👍🏻

[@tlotpwist3417]

I'm having a blast playing a full mage party. Knight Enchanter Adaar with the op frost spells, Vivienne as support KE and Dorian and Solas as dps and dps setter respectively

[@RoryCombs-jy8qb]

How would this work? Inquisitor (Templar Warrior) Cassandra (Damager) Blackwall (Tank) Dorian (Support) I'm trying the typical CC,Tank,Support,Damager Party Comp but i legit don't know how to build Cole with a bow.

[@AKisHerceg]

Cassandra can't be a damager. Crowd damage, yes. But not pure damager. Warriors are just too weak in that regard. It seems you would lack some serious single target damage, so I recommend getting Varric or Sera. Cole is also great, I have a build for him with a bow in my AI build videos. I also have a dual dagger build. :)

[@RoryCombs-jy8qb]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks for the reply and clarification. I'm a noob by all means so this really helped.

[@RoryCombs-jy8qb]

@@AKisHerceg And another question. With your builds should i prioritize getting the passives before upgrades or vice versa. I wanna know because i just go for passives first and skill upgrades later.

[@AKisHerceg]

@@RoryCombs-jy8qb Depends on the skill and its upgrade. For something like Pommel Strike or Mighty Blow, you can wait until you get some passives. But Combat Roll for example, is next to useless without the upgrade(Coming Through), so I always pick it up right after I get the skill. Throwing Blades is the same, the upgrade(Precision Targeting) makes a lot of difference. Or just look at Toxic Cloud. It is at best a mediocre skill, but with the upgrade(Lost in the Mist), it is the best skill for defense by far. So it really comes down to which skills you pick and weather or not they can still work fine without the upgrade. Usually if it is just a simple damage or duration upgrade you can wait until you invest in some passives. But otherwise, I recommend picking up the upgrades first.

[@RoryCombs-jy8qb]

@@AKisHerceg One final question for masterworks are there any specifics i should use/hunt for? For example your divine avenger build what masterworks should i use something defensive like the one that gives guard each hit or offensive like the fade-touched bloodstone? same for ai too should i just overload them all on guard masterworks or specialize masterworks for specific companions? sorry about the long replies and messages i'm simply just a noob with a lot of questions.

[@veralima4034]

How about: Inquisitor (Templar Warrior) Dorian/Vivienne (Support) Cole (Damager) Sera (Damager)

[@AKisHerceg]

Sounds good! :)

[@letsbegin4584]

After lots of tries i think i found the best team for nightmare (+ all trials) 1. Artificer inquisitor. (first Grunnsman Bow later Hakkons wrath, Leaping Shot, Throwing blades, and very rarely elemental mines) 2.Blackwall (s/s) 3.Vivien(Using Blade of tidarion) 4. Cole (2x Blade of Red Birth) or Varric (preferably Cole ) i let my team kill thrash mobs and help them if i want to speed up. Game is too easy now ;D

[@AKisHerceg]

Nice! :)

[@letsbegin4584]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks to your guides :D

[@g2machine368]

I like blackwall as a tank, Vivienne as support, Varric as damage, and a rift mage inquisitor for control. Although I noticed that on nightmare the enemies seem to always target the inquisitor when not taunted or feared. So you can take advantage of that by making your inquisitor a champion tank and running with solas, Vivienne, & Varric. Though, after the end of the game I’d probably swap to running with Vivienne, ironbull, and sera. They work well AND their banter is great.

[@simonpd38]

Best grp setup as two hand warrior? Would it be cool with sera, solas, blackwall and you as reaver or champion 2 hander?

[@AKisHerceg]

Well, in both of those cases(Reaver or Champion) you will lack a bit of crowd control. So I would get Solas(Pull of the Abyss, Veilstrike) or Dorian(Horror). They are capable of giving you decent cc with support(Barrier, Revival). In terms of damage you will be fine, but sure, you can get Sera for even more damage(Lightning Flask and a high quality bow will do the trick). :) If you play as a Champion, there is really no need for Blackwall, pick Cassandra instead since she will give you some nice passives. With a Reaver, you can get Blackwall for tanking. Set him up to Taunt relentlessly(War Cry, Challenge) and while the enemies are focusing on him, rip them apart. You could give him Bodyguard too, so that you would take less damage when he is around you. Useful for a Reaver. :)

[@neel3665]

Love these videos.

[@korbitror]

Love your content! It just goes to show how passionate the fan base is to have people still watching videos and playing 7(?) years later!

[@AKisHerceg]

Thanks! :)

[@aoquagame4200]

Blackwall and vivien. Slot 3 free . Code if fight with boss or cassandra if fight with demons.

[@kadu21]

I take Varric cause he gives me 5% more crit chance and has status effect buffs, vivian cause her barrier are longer and stronger, Cassandra cause of her templar buffs

[@AKisHerceg]

Exactly. Plus Varric's elemental mines can be useful when they don't bug out. That is a great team right there! :)

[@kadu21]

@@AKisHerceg the other team mates are cool, but they dont have team buffs like the artificer templar and knight enchanter

[@AKisHerceg]

@@kadu21 Yup. Still, sometimes your Tank's near invincibility can help you out a lot. Right, Blackwall? :) Or Sera's Lightning Flask that can literally turn her into a machine gun if controlled by the AI and can defeat "Coryphenus" in 5 sec.

[@sauce2514]

How about: Inquisitor (Knight Enchanter) (frost fire build) Cassandra Any mage Varric I feel like I'm doing enough damage while being able to survive as a knight enchanter.

[@AKisHerceg]

Sounds good. :)

[@sauce2514]

@AKisHerceg Yeah, I was following your build. I love your vids, keep posting some fire builds.

[@tw1st3ds0ul9]

I just started a no crafting nightmare playthrough with Cassandra and me as champion. It was interesting to see you did the same

[@Aldor623]

Would very much like to use a team with: Inquisitor (Knight-Enchanter) Cassandra Varric Solas/Iron Bull Got some build recommendations ?

[@AKisHerceg]

Sure! :) This is a fantastic team setup, since everything is basically covered. Varric, is the obvious damager for bosses, with him, boss fights are no problem. You can choose any of the builds I show in my "5 overpowered artificer build" video. Cassandra can be a great tank, or with the build I just put up(Divine Avenger)an amazing crowd control. If you pair her up with Solas, and spec Solas as a frost/Rift mage(similar to my Nature Mage build), I hardly think you will have any problem dealing with crowds. This leaves you and Iron Bull. I would say make Iron Bull as tanky as possible, since he is not that great when it comes to surviving as a Reaver. Give him weapon and shield, favorite Shield Wall and get most of the skills from Vanguard and Weapon and Shield tree. You can set him up to target the targets of Casandra and make him use Grappling Chain to pull every enemy close to him and her, so that Cassandra can keep putting down those crowds with her combos. Your Inquisitor should choose at least 2 elements, in addition to his/her KE abilities. Either Fire/Frost or Lightning/Frost, Lightning/Fire. I recommend the heavy use of Energy Barrage as well. Try to equip all of your party members with either "Walking Bomb" or "Targets explode" masterworks! You will not have an easier time going through the game on nightmare, I can promise you that. :)

[@dadadam789]

Hey! How about this party setup: Rift Mage Inquisitor: crowd control Blackwall: Tank Sera/Varric: Damager Vivvy: support Sera's focus ability is amazing; varric's, not so much

[@AKisHerceg]

Sounds good. :)

[@dadadam789]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks. Btw what's your opinion on the shock+weakened=sleep, then sleep+eldritch=nightmare?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@dadadam789 Perfectly viable. :)

[@Coff33Grind3r]

So I am a little confused. I just started playing, level 8, and am trying to find a good comp. My question is in regards to the NPC's abilities. Am I not supposed to be choosing these myself? Am I supposed to be allowing them to auto level. The reason I ask is that you mention certain abilities for the different NPC's and I am worried that I did not take those abilities. Is there a way to refund their level points and allow them to auto level if that is what I am supposed to be doing?

[@AKisHerceg]

I can play Dragon Age, Mass Effect or any party based game - one thing will always be sure: I will never allow the AI to auto-level. It is the fastest way to make your companions totally useless. Yes, you should level them yourself and set up their abilities according to what works on the AI and what does not(I can recommend my AI related videos if you are interested in building very powerful companions who are capable of sustaining themselves even during the hardest fights). Remember, some skills can be great for you, but the AI might freak out about it(one perfect example is Fade Step). Luckily, In Dragon Age Inquisition you have nothing to fear if you messed up your party's skill(or your own), because you can purchase amulets called "The Tactician's Renewal", which will disappear as soon as you equip it and it will refund all of your spent skill points. You can buy these amulets at Heaven in the shop next to the forge, and you can also buy them at Skyhold in the Undercroft. They will cost about 350 gold each, and the shop holds an infinite amount of amulets. :)

[@dicksoncockburn6832]

Knight Enchanter, all 3 types of rogues and all 3 types of warriors can solo nightmare, bring whoever has the funniest banter with you and have fun. Party only matters in super early game

[@devilvirgil6943]

I'm playing dwarf tank 2H, with Sera as dagger, viviene as CC/supp and varric as archer. I'm still not sure if I should take Rift tree for viviene though, atm she's full CC with no barriers or revival... thinking as I just hit lvl 12 and just killed the first dragon, I like Sera as dagger indeed specially because of her personality and viviene as mage/CC varric as archer for same reasons. But still not sure it's the best combination for my inquisitor.

[@AKisHerceg]

You can check out my AI guides for further party ideas! Or my AI team demonstrations! :) Tons of good info there about the team and you can pick whichever suites you best with a kick ass AI build - meaning, no micro management at all! You can freely kick ass with your 2 hander, while your team does its job. :)

[@devilvirgil6943]

@@AKisHerceg yeah atm I cc everything and take the big hits while sera melts the enemies and viviene and varric controls everything while also dealing decent damage, I won't change this party set up tbh, I've checked your videos ofc and thats why I'm using sera as dagger first time and he's a proper killer, I love her.

[@horsenuggets1018]

My tempest archer got blasted down to the bottom of the stairs during the final fight against Corypheus and by the time I got back up to the arena he was already fucked up by the boys - Iron Bull as Damager, Dorian as Support/Crowd Control and Blackwall as the ABSOLUTE TONK

[@AKisHerceg]

I think my very first playthrough was almost like that, but instead Iron Bull I used Cassandra. I was a Champion. Out team was so badass. :) Me and Blackwall could not die, Cassandra improved our damage and she was thouygh as stone and Dorian kept everybody freaking out with Horror. The only thing that was a bit annoying is that Dorian kept summoning useless corpses that bug out. That is when I learned that summoning from dead is not all that great for the necro.

[@ChimchangaGod]

I really love the build at 7:20 I have watched most of the build videos on YT but this one is the exact one I was thinking of playing. Any tips/tricks you would recommend on how each character is set up? Artificer Varric, Tank Blackwall, Artificer dagger Inquisitor, and Support Solas/Vivienne is what I'm thinking for the full team comp.

[@AKisHerceg]

Yeah, that is a good team! I actually have a video with this exact same team(Varric, Blackwall, Solas). I play as an archer there, but it works just as good with anything(your DW idea for example). We destroyed the Hakkonite temple with the boss Gurd Harofsen(pretty much the hardest mission in the game) without any health damage. You can just copy the team setup, I have everything in the video: skills, tactics etc. The video is called "The most Balanced AI party". It's the third part of my "Perfect party AI matchups" series. :)

[@ChimchangaGod]

@@AKisHerceg Amazing! Thank you for these builds, and this one in particular shows everything in great detail. Keep up the great work!

[@theofficialchannelofjohnso1572]

@@AKisHerceg how do you get guard on other classes and how do you get the sheilds on the them

[@AKisHerceg]

@@theofficialchannelofjohnso1572 Not sure I understand. The only class with shields is the warrior. You can get guard on other classes with Guard on hit masterworks and if you have a warrior in the team with the Horn of Valor skill. :)

[@MrCapoGamers]

very nice video, thanks for your advices. Why do u think a tempest inquisitor is not suited for varric?

[@AKisHerceg]

I think Varric can pretty much be of use for any types of Inquisitors. The best of course is the Artificer, but he is so awesome, he can help out anyone :)

[@angrygreek1985]

how to solo the game from level 1? I was trying to play as an archer which seems relatively viable so far because you can cheese melee enemies by going up on top of rocks and stuff but it gets difficult when you are unable to do that because you'll get wrecked pretty fast. Which class best to solo the game with from level 1? Not even on nightmare difficulty, but in general.

[@AKisHerceg]

I would say the rogues, since they can use Stealth. Stealth is the best friend of anyone who plays solo. You said you play as an archer? Well, Leaping Shot's Shot from the Shadows will put you into permanent Stealth, so you can just avoid enemies all together. This way you can unlock camps, and hunt for treasure undisturbed. Once you have enough money, you can get a nice tier 3 schematics from the Emporium and the game will just turn into easy mode. But generally for archers, the "Parthian tactics" works best: hit the enemy then run away. At the beginning, Explosive Shot with Poisoned Weapons will do the most damage, since both will penetrate armor(which is a huge factor at the beginning since your weapons are crap). A nice aoe poison/fire explosion combined with constant retreating into Stealth will do the trick. :)

[@angrygreek1985]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks this is more or less what I was thinking as well :) I thought I might take Cass along with me since I like having her around anyway, or maybe Sera since she's hilariously chaotic crazy :D I'm just not overly fond of dealing with all 4 characters at once and trying to make sure they aren't doing stupid things.

[@DaSkarekrow]

My problem is i'm very foreign to party style games, and while im okay with my main characters, I just dont know who to bring with me and what to use on their attributes, mind you, i just started 3 days ago... im really afraid im going to fk up my attributes to my allies that are with me since there's so much to pick from

[@AKisHerceg]

Even if you mess up their skill tree, you can always re-spec them with the amulet, which is costly at the beginning, but becomes quite cheap as you progress and gain more money. :) You can check out some of my builds, where I show the skill tree and how to progress with them. Most of my builds are perfectly fine for AI teammates, as long as you favorite the right skills. For example the "5 artificer build" video, or the "5 champion build" video. If you watch it, you can already chose 2 teammates(Varric and Blackwall) for your first playthrough, and have a complete build for them. Blackwall is the best tank in the game and Varric is one of the best support character. On top of this, you can have your character and you already covered the 3 out of the 4 traditional party complexion(Damager, Tank plus what you chose to be). :) Tomorrow I will put up another video about a Templar build that works well with Cassandra's AI, so with that, you can have an amazing Crowd Control character as well to complete the quartet! :)

[@DaSkarekrow]

@@AKisHerceg wow Thanks so much, basically I been doing what some of your videos illustrates, especially that Archer, and i love it, so i will definitely be checking that out!!!! thanks again!!!!

[@AKisHerceg]

@@DaSkarekrow No problem! I'm glad you are having fun! Good luck! :)

[@islandrepublic9166]

AS an Assassin Dual WIELD ROGUE MY PARTY is consist of: BLACK WALL PURE TANK VIVIENNE N DORIAN. The 2 RIFT MAGE set up with RING OF DOUBT is for SURVIVABILITY at NIGHTMARE including DLC.

[@fozzes]

Could you make video like this please, But for higher difficulty, Nightmare + Friendly fire On + All trails On.

[@AKisHerceg]

Yeah, this is good for Nightmare and all trials, but definitely not for friendly fire. I will do a specific video about friendly fire in DAI! :)

[@fozzes]

@@AKisHercegBecause from my personal experience, Friendly fire is the real nightmare.

[@AKisHerceg]

@@fozzes To me, that was never the case. Nightmare is nightmare. Friendly fire or not. The difficulty is there, FF is just an additional option, like the Trials. I think the reason they separated the two is because if you turn friendly fire on, you basically have to leave half of the game abilities out of your gameplay. All of the good aoe spells become useless and your party members can only use single target abilities without crowd control, because of their awful ai. FF is why people did not like nightmare in origins(and that is why they separated it from Nightmare in Inquisition). For example: why can I summon Storm of the Century with two powerful spells, if it does nothing but kills me and my party? Why can I set up my team to use Cone of Cold if I have to take control of the character using it, otherwise it would freeze and kill my own squad? Is it really worth investing in the huge aoe primal spells like Tempest, Inferno, Blizzard when you only get to use it on static bosses(2 times in the entire game)? And I kinda get their reasoning with this. With better party ai I would say yeah, FF is the way to go for nightmare, but not like this. And of course that would still mean that you have to neglect half of your abilities, because most of the time you can't cast them without hitting your squad. And in Inquisition it's actually worse than in Origins. In Origins it's mostly the Mage spells that are a problem, in Inquisition, it's basically every aoe ability. Charging Bull for example is excellent to put it on your tank because the ai uses it well, but it becomes totally useless to put it on a tank with FF, because it will kill the rogue fighting next to them. And allies can avoid enemy attacks, but not friendly attacks. Why is my own team more dangerous to my team than the enemies? The main reason why I do not like FF, is not because it's more challenging, but because you really have to micromanage everything when it comes to your squad. I beat the game many times using it and it made it more boring. So I always ended up setting up my party with single target abilities that can't hurt your squad. So as I said I basically left half of the game out of my gameplay. In fact I hated FF so much, that I ended up soloing the game multiple times, because the squadmates become more of the liability than help. With that said, if you think that FF is the way to go when it comes to Nightmare, that is fine. :) With better party ai, I would agree.

[@drewo8043]

Replaying in 2023

[@bigcooki6676]

Thanks you very much for this video "Askrieg" 😁 its very helpfull for me .

[@AKisHerceg]

You are welcome! :)

[@northnova1358]

This is a great video I usually don’t like text based videos with no commentary! This is some great work, especially the music‼️🇨🇦Cheers

[@mrheart8219]

Hello all welcome to the Kis Herceg tavern!

[@williamsimbajon2649]

Thanks!

[@vmyro3331]

So if my inquisitor is a tank and I wanna run sera,cole and varric. What skills would I run for em? Do I have them all long range or dual wield?

[@AKisHerceg]

Full long-range party can certainly work amazingly. Basically, If you want to keep them safe you go for long-range. If you want them closer to the action, you go for daggers. Ranged combat is always safer than up-close combat for the AI. You have to pull more aggro with the tank for a dual-wield party to work their magic. Check out my Complete AI Guide video. You can find great AI builds for all three of them: long-range and dual wield. :)

[@vmyro3331]

@@AKisHerceg ty 😘

[@xelaern6870]

U make nice vids dude. Wish U luck with a channel

[@AKisHerceg]

Thank you, I appreciate it. :)

[@stonedrat24]

I'm hoping Blackwall and Solas can keep Cole alive. So far so good.

[@TonyOnYourTV]

Idk why I just got the urge to play through this trilogy again . On part 2 right now forgot how fun it is !

[@JokerTSG]

This was actually really helpful definitely going for Iron Bull, Cole and Solas for my Artificer Archer Also does playing on nightmare with a full party take the fun away? I only ask cause I haven’t played on nightmare difficulty yet and was curious about it.

[@AKisHerceg]

It definitely does not take the fun away.:) I never played on any other difficulty than Nightmare and I always have a ton of fun with my team. It is definitely for people who are looking for a challenge, but in my opinion, this only makes it more fun, not less. :)

[@JokerTSG]

@@AKisHerceg Awesome. Currently playing on casual so I can beat the game, get the Golden nug and schematics for my character

[@DamianVattgern]

I Play as a necromancer with electric mage and winter. I have chain lighting, energy barage and static Cage, winter grasp, fade step and all magic from necromancer tree. I often use a static Cage and lighting bomb od horror inside. I Like when oponents run with panic in lighting Cage. Maybe itsnt CC Like Rift mage, but its too good. For team i usualy take a Blackwall/Cass, Solas, Cole/Sera. Sometimes i change Solas for Bull. What do you think about this team and build? I Want to Play as CC Rift mage, but i felt that spell of necromancer tree have a short time cooldown. I dont know why. Maybe its efeect of passive skill.

[@AKisHerceg]

Sounds good to me. :)

[@raisulkhan]

I am a Mage player with damages. Can you please give me the best companion build. I'm confused. I am currently playing with this 1. Me (DAMAGER) 2. Blackwall (TANK) 3. Sera (DAMGER) 4. Vivienne (SUPPORT)

[@AKisHerceg]

This actually sounds like a nice setup. You are missing crowd control, so you might want to switch Vivienne to Solas and get all of his nice Rift mage abilities! They give excellent crowd control and you can still get all the support spells you had with Vivienne, like Barrier or Revive. Blackwall is an amazing tank and Sera is great for single target damage. Since you are a mage damager(not sure what spec you chose but), I assume you destroy everything with your elemental skills(Fire Mine, Winter's Grasp, Chain Lightning etc.), so I would say this way you will be more than fine. :)

[@letsbegin4584]

Change Sera with either Cole or Varric. Dual Wield 2x Red Birth, (full crit damage for Cole, full crit chance for Varric) For masterworks 1x 5 Guard on Hit 1x 5 Hidden Blades 1x Fade on Hit or Walking Fortress. Dont take Throwing Blades (AI dont use it well) use/ favourite olny Flank attack (Skirmish upgrade) , Stealth( Clinging upgrade)and Deathblow (Thrill of Victory Upgrade) toxic Cloud (Lost in the mist ) and poison weapon (leech upgrade) rest skill points for all usefull passive abilities,(like pincushion etc) for Also for Cole Hidden blades and Mark of death (with upgrades) for Varric just take every artificer skill for passive bonuses.

[@dragoncatsage3049]

So I’m going to do reaver two handed with Blackwall as tank who would you suggest to fill out the roster as all of the rogues are kind of damagers and idk what mage goes best with reaver.

[@AKisHerceg]

Well, if you are a damager(Reavers tend to be) and you don't want a rogue damager and you already have a tank with Blackwall, then what you need is one Crowd Control and one Support. Solas is an amazing CC character. Get every skill in his Rift Mage spec and he is gonna throw crowds around like they are nothing. For support you can have both Vivienne(she has good survivability with her passive Fade Shield from her spec) or Dorian(he has better CC than Vivienne with his Horror skill from his spec, but he is more fragile). You can also get Varric. He is a rogue with good damage but he is also great with CC because of his Elemental Mines and his spec's passives give you more Crit Chance and damage, which are very helpful for a Reaver. :)

[@baconbuddy6207]

You vids are really well edited full of useful contents! Just wish the parts with long gameplay advice could stay just a little longer so I don’t have to hit space that often lol. Anyway great job! I’m still playing DAI and trying out new party compositions. Your videos help a lot! Thx

[@AKisHerceg]

No problem! I am glad you enjoy my videos! :)

[@tyrellwashington1252]

tempest inquistor sera dorian blackwall

[@alejandromunoz1056]

Good videos, i would love to see more videos about origins like this one or the most damaging and effective skills or spells in dragon age origins on the hardest difficulty just like you have done on inquisition no one else has done it and you do very good videos.

[@AKisHerceg]

Thank you very much! :) I have a few plans for Origins, but more ideas are always welcome! I will definitely put a video together about the most useful/damaging spells/talents for nightmare Origins! :)

[@williamsimbajon2649]

9:45 thanks

[@IMStillUnbroken7]

Man I really love the soundtrack of your dragon age videos , I'm playing all the series again because of your videos . Thank you

[@AKisHerceg]

Thanks! I’m glad to hear that! :)

[@sololoquy3783]

Wait .. at 1:43 does that mean opportunity knocks stacks, meaning instead of 0.5 sec reduction, it's 1 sec?

[@AKisHerceg]

Yes, OK stacks! And it's amazing! :) That is why I always keep Varric with me when I play as Arti. Spamming the abilities is just too fun!

[@furgix379]

Maybe you will help me guys, so im an archer assisin, with Blackwall as a tank, and here is the problem, I like to play Dorian as crowd control and vivienne as a support, but can you tell me how to make the best out of both mages?

[@AKisHerceg]

I have AI builds for all companions, you can easily couple Dorian with Vivienne if you want to use them. :)

[@DavidSantos-ix1hu]

I give Sara alot of stagger on hit and crit chance upto 50% then just stack all of the crit damage,with her passives I like using her as ranger type,harassing upclose and far away jumps then comes close and pops them in the face with shadow strike.

[@codyking9733]

Just build a archer assasin and solo nightmare with all trials on.

[@AKisHerceg]

Yeah, it can be done. My "Slinger" build is basically designed for just that. In fact, you can solo the game with every class and spec... which I did(except Templar because I haven't made a solo run with that spec yet, but it is more than possible). But in my opinion, the party is half the fun in this game. After all it's a party based rpg. :)

[@GaleGrim]

Knight enchanter inky on tank, Varic on CC, Solas on support with minor CC, cole damage. It would well enough for me. Tho sometimes a story mission comes up and I have to shelf one of them and that can make things drag on a bit in combat...

[@fala5490]

I play reaver warrior. Can i play Templer cassandra, Champion Blackwall und the last idk any ideas?

[@AKisHerceg]

You should get a mage for the last one: I recommend either Vivienne or Solas. :)

[@fala5490]

Thank you :) i try

[@fala5490]

Templer Cassandra 1h+shield or is it 2h?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@fala5490 You already have a Tank with Blackwall, so I would recommend giving Cass a 2h weapon so her combos can be more powerful. Wrath of Heaven + Spell Purge hits much harder with 2h weapons.

[@kranish89]

Gj for your video. I'm playing the game right now for the first time and i think your guides are useful! I'm playing as archer/artificier and i want to build a team but i see that you raccomand to pick vivienne even if there are better support than her. Is she the best? why cassandra over blackwall as tank? thank you!

[@AKisHerceg]

Vivienne is simply the best for support for me, because she is the easiest to keep alive. She generates Barrier by simply causing damage, so she can be pretty durable. Blackwall is better at being a tank than Cassandra. His Champion spec gives him incredible survivability. Cass is also a good tank but she has a bit worse survivability. However, she is great for crowd control as well, unlike Blackwall.

[@kranish89]

@@AKisHerceg thank you so much even just for the answer! I think u made a great tutorial/guide and i'm trying to follow every one. I'm going for Me(archer/artificier) sena( tempest archer) blackwall( the one in your guide and i'll go for vivienne as you suggest but the guide you posted was her as fire dps and i can't find a support one. Should I follow the frost one solas?

[@warboy1997]

4:19 Blackwall can be swited to Cassandra in this comp?

[@AKisHerceg]

Sure. :)

[@chakal6170]

first congratulations for the video, now in your opinion what is the best specialization of the game?

[@AKisHerceg]

Thanks! :) The Artificer, followed by the Champion and after that the Knight Enchanter.

[@joshuahinson7238]

I noticed the necromancy build you use at the very beginning of the video is a lightning build? Is it viable? Do you have a video or build guide for it somewhere?

[@AKisHerceg]

It is viable with a party on Nightmare. :) It is a Lightning/Necromancer build, because it sounded so good to only use Lightning and Necro spells: plus the way Lightning and Spirit immunity works is that if one enemy is immune to one, it will receive a huge weakness to the other. This way, I figured I can max two damage types, while I do not have to worry about immunes. The build is pretty simple: You have to get every single spell from the Lightning and Necromancer tree(plus the passives from the Inferno tree). It was very squishy though, because I decided not to pick up any defensive skills, so I had no Barrier and I had to rely on a support mage to cast it on me. Guardian Spirit was also out of the question, since Simulacrum overwrites it anyway. Plus Fade Step was out too, since I only wanted active Lightning and Necro spells, so I also had no way to quickly escape from danger. Overall, it is a good CC build. Definitely not good in terms of raw damage or survivability, so you have to set up and gear your party accordingly. :)

[@joshuahinson7238]

Awesome! Thank you! Lightning is probably my favorite tree. It tends do get overlooked a lot Imop outside of lightning cage. Loving these builds too! Thanks for all the hard work!

[@AKisHerceg]

​@@joshuahinson7238 Yeah, I like lightning too. Especially because "shocked" enemies take more elemental damage, so even just the basic Lightning Bolt is enough to significantly boost your damage with Fire Mine or Winter's grasp. So that alone makes it worth it to invest in it and to use it on enemies as a debuff basically. Thanks! I am glad you like my videos! :)

[@proudmoore5254]

Love the video as always. What if I want to go as full dmg/crowd control rift mage, without spirit tree ?

[@AKisHerceg]

That is basically what I did with my Necro. It's a rough ride if you solo. You better put Guard on hit and Chance to have Walking Fortress on hit masterworks on your equipment fast, otherwise you have zero survivability. And even then it will be insanely hard to complete the game(and I am not even talking about the Trespasser or the JoH yet). If you do it with a party though... For Support and Tank, you can get Vivienne, since she can replenish her Barrier and can cast barrier for you. Blackwall can survive regardless of barrier, so he should be your main Tank. I would still recommend a rogue for damage, because of the amount of immunes you will encounter(and your RM will only have powerful elemental attacks). Get Cole, give him a bow and set his Mark of Death as a priority, along with Throwing Blades with the Precision Targeting upgrade, Hidden Blades with the additional hits upgrade and Leaping Shot with the Shot from the Shadows upgrade. That should be enough. And if you plan to do a duo with your RM, then Blackwall all the way. :)

[@proudmoore5254]

@@AKisHerceg The problem is that, I like the iron bull the most, he is the best companion so far :d + i romance him. I wonder about Inqusitor rift mage, iron bull, cole with a bow and vivienne. Thanks to your videos i consider playing knight enchanter. I have watched many gameplays but yours are different and so satysfaying. Thats a huuuge step because I always play pure spellcasters xD. I think the knight enchanter class is really broken, because you can fulfill almost every role ( tank, supp, damager). The class is very versatile and works pretty well with every companion. And many thanks for the video, you havent forgotten about me, you are amazing :D

[@AKisHerceg]

@@proudmoore5254 Yes, I know... Iron Bull is mostly kept in the team because of his character and not his combat ability. :) I guess you have no choice then and just do the same thing I did with him. Make him a Tank. Get the strongest possible armor available to you, put +5 guard on hit masterwork on it, with a decent weapon that has the chance to get Walking Fortress for 5 seconds. Get everything in the Weapon and Shield and Vanguard tree that helps build up damage resistance and increases your maximum guard. This way he will stay alive. Yup, KE is awesome! The only problem with it is that when it comes to crowd control, the spec really isn't offer any good spells. And the passives mostly increase your durability and not your Magic(or attack power). So pretty much this mage class will always be the one that causes the least amount of damage with poor crowd control. Oh, you are welcome! I really appreciate it that you enjoy my videos! :)

[@theonlymm3469]

I'm playing as an assassin rogue and I'm not quite sure who to have I'm my team. I've decided I want Blackwall but the other 2 I can't decide. Any opinions?

[@AKisHerceg]

Well, you can choose Vivienne for additional support with Barriers or Solas for Crowd Control. Both Assassins and Champions are pretty weak at Crowd Control, so I would definitely choose at least one mage(as I said Solas, since he is the best CC character). Varric is also good with his Elemental Mines for CC and the passive 5% crit chance and 10% damage he gives to the party is very good for the Assassin. So I think I would go with Varric and Solas. :)

[@theonlymm3469]

@@AKisHerceg legend... glad I found you and your channel 🔥

[@AKisHerceg]

Michael M Thaks! I am glad you did too! :)

[@ralphthemonster]

Great and insightful video as always 😊 I plan on running a dual dagger whirlwind artificer inquisitor with Solas, Dorian, and Iron Bull. Do you have any tips on optimizing this team?

[@fajarnugroho9085]

Any opinion from these 3, which one is better? Sera, cole, varric? I'm a rift mage inquisitor and plan to bring cass as support 😁

[@AKisHerceg]

Depends on your focus: Sera is awesome for damage. Cole is also good for the same, though I prefer Sera over him. Varric with Toxic Cloud can provide incredible support for your team. :)

[@fajarnugroho9085]

@@AKisHerceg thx will try it 💪🏻

[@achilln3]

I absolutely love this video! Is there a way to do this for Origins and 2 or will it be too complicated to do it?

[@AKisHerceg]

Origins is more complex, because there are so many ways to spec your team. But I do have videos on Origins party AI builds.

[@achilln3]

@AKisHerceg I must have missed that video. I'll definitely go and watch it. I take it 2 is just as hard then?

[@marikishtar85]

Am i late to this vidoe?

[@AKisHerceg]

What do you mean? If you mean the info, then no, this is with the latest patch and the Trespasser dlc in stalled. All of my Inquisition videos are with the latest patch and the Trespasser(and all other dlcs), so every single one is up to date. :)

[@devilvirgil6943]

Nah, I'm just starting again this tike as dwarf 2h tank.

[@PersianGamer36]

Really into builds and comps on this game finally returning to finish it

[@Lloyd1913]

Would this party be viable? Inquisitior: tank/cc (battering ram build) Sera: Damage Solas: Support/damage Dorian: Support/damage

[@AKisHerceg]

Yup! :)

[@Lloyd1913]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks for the quick reply! love your videos

[@skytigerhd01]

Hello A Kis Herceg i want to start a knew playtrough but iam not sure if i want to play crusader knight enchanter or whirlwind Artificer what do u think is better if i want to do everything in game, in General i like to be a damage dealer but also a tank thx

[@AKisHerceg]

A Knight Enchanter is pretty easy and fun to do those things with. But the Artificer is also a ton if fun. I would say start it with the KE then if you feel like it, do it with the Arti as well. :)

[@skytigerhd01]

@@AKisHerceg ok thx for answering i will do it that way

[@luisalbertosandovaldumitru4742]

Hello im starting to play as a Knight enchanter but I don't know how can I organize my party, any ideas?

[@ExtraGamesFull]

Im a tempest dual wielding , i want cassandra, iron bull and dorian will it work ?

[@AKisHerceg]

Yup, it would. :)

[@ExtraGamesFull]

@@AKisHerceg what kinda build should i use TOP 9 BEST AI video ? i want a tank cassandra

[@yazan80]

Last 24 hours I’ve watched many vids on your channel, I’ve also read your answers on the comments when ppl asks questions. Without a doubt you’re extremly knowledgable about the game. Impressive man! I however just recently got back to the game to finnish all the dlcs and perhaps do a new playthrough. However Im playing a riftmage as inquisitor. I would love to have IB as tank, Varric as dmg and Dorian as support cause I love those guys. Together they are like charming pirates. I know its not optimal together but since you seem to be so good at the game I would gladly welcome any tips on how to make them work together, like gear etc. Or just point me to a propper vid on ur channel. Thanks for the great uploads!

[@AKisHerceg]

Thanks! I am glad you are watching so many of my videos! :) Considering that a Rift Mage can be many things, damager, suppor or cc, this can be tricky without knowing what is your Inquisitor's focus. But let's say you use Fire Mine, some electricity, some cold spells and the Rift Mage skills. So it's kind of like a damager/cc build. Well, let's see... Iron Bull is a poor tank, poor damager, and even poorer cc. Still, we can make use of him with Varric. I tell you about that later. First, get all the skills in the W&S tree and as many as you can get from the Vanguard tree. Favorite Shield Wall, Payback Strike, Charging Bull, and War Cry. Enable Livid and Shield Bash. This should do the trick. Dorian is good for cc, so that is what we are gonna use him for. Get Horror and favorite it with the Terror upgrade so that he can disable most enemies until they take sufficent damage. You can go for cold or lightning, but I would recommend cold, since it is better for cc. Get Barrier, Revival and favorite them. Get Winter's Grasp and Frost Mine and enable them. Dorian should be okay now. Varric. Well, Varric will step in as a damager, but he will also help the party. Get Toxic Clod with the Lost in the Mist upgrade. This will help the entire party. What this does is that it will build up "elusive" as long as they are in the mist. Elusive will protect them from a single hit. It can build up, up to 3, so that is 3 deflected hit. On top of this, if Varric uses Poisoned Weapons and applies poison on enemies, they will also create a toxic mist after they die(you need the passive Explosive Toxin, but you need to unlock it anyway to use Toxic Cloud), so you will have the entire battlefield covered. This will give Bull much better survivability. Get everything in the archery tree and favorite Long Shot, Exploding Shot and the Spike Trap from the Artificer tree. Varric's AI should be fine now as well. If you plan to take over him sometimes, you can get Elemental Mines and Throwing Blades as well. This would be the setup I would go with if I would use these 3. Let me know how it works for you! :)

[@yazan80]

@@AKisHerceg Amazing! Such an elaborate answer with an elegant solution. I have not watched your Artificer vids which I will watch next to understand better. I guess also give Dorian as much supportive abilities? Thinking of putting chance on hit guard on weapon for IB with chance on fortress buff on armor mastery. Perhaps collar that gives barrier aswell? Also mate whats your opinion for lightning spells for rift mages cause shock cancels weakness?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@yazan80 Masterworks are good, but not the Barrier amulet. That works well on someone who has huge damage(since that is what fills the barrier up). As a tank, Bull will have nowhere near enough damage to keep up a barrier with the amulet. It's yay or nay, depending on what you want. The infinite mana is great, but the sleep combo is also a useful little effect. If you want the mana, go with fire or cold. If you want the sleep go with electricity and apply the shocked effect before weakened. If you switch them(you use shocked effect on enemies already weakened), you also don't have to worry about the sleep effect, since it will not work. :)

[@yazan80]

@@AKisHerceg Had no idea it had to be in a certain order to get the sleep effekt. Thanks 🙏🏽 Also out of curiosity which class/specc is your favourite?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@yazan80 I love all of them but I especially love the Artificer for its flexibility and the Champion for its indestructibility. :)

[@daltonburns9909]

I am a little torn after watching this vid. I am doing the Avenger right now and im unsure if i should rock Cole/Varric/Sera like suggested at one point, or, Viv/Varric/Sera based one having all of the "types" covered. Side note: any thoughts of doing a companion builds video? Showing good builds for each companion.

[@AKisHerceg]

Cole, Sera and Varric? They will kill anything in seconds, you will have nothing to do. :) I think you can pick up Solas for CC and Support next to Sera and Cole(or Varric if you want more CC). Most of the build I put up works on companions too. Only a few that requires constant handling like the Reckless Reaver can't be used on your team. But Cole Can be an excellent Poison Assassin, Varric can be every type of Artificer that I show in my "5 overpowered Artificer build" video. Solas is a nice Nature Mage and Sera can be a great Dual Wield Alchemist(or if you go with a good bow, you really don't need anything special, just Lightning Flask and Poisoned Weapons favorited, Plus Fire Flask and Throwing Blades and that's it, she will be a killing machine). But maybe I can make some specific AI builds for companions later on, like I did in my Champion builds video for Blackwall. :)

[@daltonburns9909]

@@AKisHerceg Sounds good! I dont know why im so worried about having a barrier mage, my first playthrough ever was on nightmare with a reaver iq, blackwall, dorian, and varric using generic builds i found online and i managed to beat it 4 years ago haha. I think ima write down some builds from your vids and see how it goes with 3 dps.

[@AKisHerceg]

@@daltonburns9909 Nice! Good luck with your playthrough! :)

[@kallofkthuluz5922]

My favorite comp is 2 mages and 2 warriors. 1 tank, 2 dps, 1 mage support

[@AKisHerceg]

Yeah, I like that one as well! :)

[@marcelpopa347]

So, its Blackwell, Solas and Varric, the top team you can take with any build that you have as a inquisitor.Tank,cc+support,damage+support

[@AKisHerceg]

Pretty much! Soon I will actually make the AI build demonstration for that exact group! :) I already posted the best AI builds for all of them, so in the demonstration I will be using those builds. It will be pretty wild! :)

[@underrated7789]

Reaver inquisiter Cassandra Cole Solas

[@brad2932]

2023

[@sideaccount6198]

Your scale is confusing 1 should have been best and 5 worst

[@AKisHerceg]

The better you are the more points you get in that category. One is the minimum, five is the maximum. Simple.

[@Swag1ord]

I'm not an expert on which teammates to use since I solo all trials but I believe you should select a follower depending on their abilities to make combos with your own skills, like freezing enemies and shattering them. And after you unlock the 2nd class in Skyhold, the party members you should be taking are Varric (leaping shot will reset all of your cooldowns allowing you to spam the hook and tackle combo indefinitely for obscene damage) and Sera can just use the flask of fire and spam throwing blades and that would be the best way to make damage (there's no other team that can do that sort of damage). Survivability is pointless at this point of the game since you have access to masterwork on your weapon and armor (can put fade-touched material that makes you generate barrier or guard or even both on hit) and also the fact that this team would just kill all the enemies before they have a chance to damage you.

[@AKisHerceg]

What you are saying is mostly true! :) Varric: what you are saying is true, but only if you are an Artificer. Varric's cooldown reduction works only for fellow Artificers. You statement assumes that the player is an archer Artificer. Most players are not. Artificer is a painfully overpowered class(although extremely fun and my favorite by far), not everyone plays as an Archer Artificer. So Varric might not be the ideal choice for everybody. Sera's Throwing Blades is not enough with Flask of Fire. She needs an alternative as well, since Throwing Blades targets multiple enemies when it comes to crowds so it is mostly effective against single targets, like bosses. Throwing Blades also bounces off of shield bearing enemies or enemies that can block attacks. It is best to couple Flask of Fire+Throwing Blades with Lightning Flask and a powerful bow so that Sera can turn into a machine gun while FF and TB is on cooldown. Survivability is never pointless. :) Only one item in the game can grant Barrier on hit: The Amulet of Barrier. There is no masterwork that lets you generate Barrier, only guard and for rogues, the Guard cap is pretty low, considering that they have no way to boost their maximum, only with Guard Belts or the Sigil of the Bronto. Sera, Varric and an Archer Arti can easily be creamed by the enemies like the Jaws of Hakkon's Hakkonite Archers or the Descent dlc's Lyrium Bolters. The Trespasser's Qunari Spearmans can also one shot them. It is really the best if you have a reliable tank if you go with a party. Or as an alternative, you can use Toxic Cloud on Varric and Sera so that you can have Elusive to absorb the damage. Playing solo with all trial is sometimes easier than running with a full party. Especially if you are a rogue who uses Stealth. No concern over keeping the party alive, plus you can avoid a lot of enemies. I have multiple videos about party AI builds and combos in case you want to play with a party on Nightmare, All Trials with something else other than an Artificer. :)

[@Swag1ord]

​@@AKisHerceg I must admit I didnt expect you making a lot of valid points and there's a lot of factors I didnt consider like the mobs that uses a shield or how your party reacts to the enemies, etc. and well as I said I'm not an expert in teams. I always use the belt of barrier so I never bother worrying about survivability in crafting. But I wouldn't say that solo is easier than with a team, from the moment u start the game until Skyhold, the gameplay is quite painful without a party. Also after Skyhold, Stealth is only useful for the assassin to get the additonnal dmg and for the mages with the amulet cuz let's face it they're the weaker class and are squishy even with the barrier against bosses like Calpernia. You definitely know your stuff unlike a lot of players and u deserve my sub.

[@AKisHerceg]

​@@Swag1ord Thanks! :) Of course not. I was talking about a fully decked out endgame Artificer who utilizes Stealth(Stealth lets you avoid 80% of enemies and you can focus on completing plot points to basically speedrun the game - Stealth is always super powerful in Dragon Age). At the beginning is pretty hard and tedious to go solo with a rogue. Stealth is useful for every rogue. Assassins have special use for it because their spec is basically built around it. :)

[@westwood9996]

I didn’t see one for the tempest archer

[@barbaocolosola3573]

What is the best party for a reaver qinari ?

[@AKisHerceg]

You have many options. Best is to bring mages with you. Static Cage is awesome, since it can paralyze enemies and it also gives extra damage. Barrier can keep you safe, and Ice Mine and Winter's Grasp will freeze enemies so they can be easy prey. So Vivienne, Solas and Dorian are all great choices. I also recommend Varric, with Toxic Cloud(Lost in the Mist upgrade) if you really want great survivability. A Reaver with this team is gonna cause insane destruction.

[@barbaocolosola3573]

thanks, the reaver with two-handed weapon or one-handed and shield?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@barbaocolosola3573 I prefer two-handed weapons with it.

[@mayorofmischief6086]

Cullen?

[@AKisHerceg]

Not sure I understand you. What about Cullen? He is not a follower in Inquisition. :)

[@luisalbertosandovaldumitru4742]

This videos was a revelation, I had Bull and cassandra as a tanKs, solas as Support and the inquisitor as a Knight Enchanter

[@IMStillUnbroken7]

Have you ever tried divinity ?

[@AKisHerceg]

Nope. I heard a lot about it but I haven't played it yet.

[@SweepTrainXIII]

I am late to the party, but I got a few questions: Golden knight + Cassandra + Sera + Dorian Elementalist + Blackwall + Cassandra + Sera Are these combinations viable? If so, which of these two would be easier to manage? Sadly I do not have that much time to play games anymore, so I probably cannot try both.

[@AKisHerceg]

Both are viable and easy to manage. If we are talking about slight edges, then I guess I would say the first one. :)

[@lechristine1372]

Origins is the best on this tactics, inquisition deprived it from the game, . . .

[@nathanlane6668]

Im a little late to the party, but what was your build for the Cassandra duo?

[@AKisHerceg]

I was with a Whirlwind Champion. You can find the build in my "5 Champion Build for Nightmare Difficulty" video. :)

[@AKisHerceg]

Or if you want Cass, she was a standard tank, with fully specced W&S and Templar tree with Charging Bull and Livid.

[@nathanlane6668]

@@AKisHerceg im planning to do a duo playthrough with Cass as my tank, and me as a KE Dam/Sup. How would you recommend i go about it?

[@AKisHerceg]

@@nathanlane6668 Cass needs to have the Vanguard tree maxed along with the W&S tree. Get Livid, Charging Bull, War Cry, Payback Strike and Shield Wall favorited. Get everything from the Templar tree, but if you use her as a tank only, then you don’t need WoH. If you want her to keep setting up and detonate the weakness combo, then favorite WoH and Spell Purge. For your KE Inqi, I would go with my Frost/Fire Crusader KE build. :)

[@nathanlane6668]

@@AKisHerceg thank you so much! This is a huge help!

[@Qkay2]

Would this team work and what builds to use ?: Rift mage inquisitor Cassandra Varric Dorian

[@AKisHerceg]

Yup. Use the builds in my Top 9 best AI builds video. :)

[@Qkay2]

@@AKisHerceg Thanks.

[@luanhorn6911]

What do you mean Blackwall has no crowd control? He doesn't have the best CC but he can have up to 4 taunts

[@AKisHerceg]

Blackwall is a Champion, so the only CC skill from that tree is the Line in the Sand and I classify that more like a support or tanking skill. CC skills can come from his other skill trees like: Mighty Blow, Whirlwind or Grappling Chain. When it comes to Taunts, I personally classify them as tanking skills, since they are used to shift focus on the character/build guard so they basically help that character in tanking the damage, therefore protecting the party. What I consider CC skills are skills that can debilitate or disable groups of enemies so that they are unable to attack, not just shift their focus on someone else. But this is just a personal preference, if you want to consider them as CC skill, you can. :)