Having the best Alistair build in Dragon Age Origins will give you many advantages. Combine aggressiveness with the tactics, while combining the powers of other characters. You can, for example, incorporate the spirit healer as a backup.
In the article below, we will provide a guide on how you can do the Alistair build effectively.
What to Consider In the Alistair Build
You will get a lot of efficiency by making an Alistair build. Until you go to level 14, you have to contend with having the Templar specialization. You have two options when deciding on the build.
- An offensive build requires you to have 26 dexs
- A defensive build requires 42 stats on strength.
You can get additional bonuses with the weaponry you choose. Ring of the Warrior, Shadow of the empire, helm of Honnleath, among other gear, will help you raise your strength. It gives your character sufficient power to wear massive armor.
Unfortunately, the Heavy Armor will impact on the level of stamina. Sparing points for a second wind will help in situations where he needs to disable or taunt enemies.
Note that, you do not have to get to 42 stats on strength. The Tank does not necessarily cause damage. His main aim is to draw agro. Assigning some stats to willpower will ensure he never runs out of stamina.
Assign sufficient stats to dexterity so that he evades hits from the enemies. It increases his ability to survive and significantly reduces the time he takes to heal.
Related: Best Mage Build in Dragon Age Origins
Take note of the following:
- Class – warrior
- Specialization – starts with the Templars and progresses to champion. Templers are excellent for AoE attacks and possess damaging anti-mage abilities.
- Attributes – strength and dexterity. Build on strength early on so that you have access to the best armor. Dexterity will help you dodge your enemies. Picking the right companion, such as a healer, will help you avoid the need for a constitution and willpower.
- Skills – you need combat training and tactics to understand how to react to different situations.
- Talent – weapons and shields
Example of an Alistair Build to Consider
Priorities
Start your Alistair build with power, righteous strikes, shield blocking, and pummeling. As the main Tank, you want your enemies to concentrate on him. You need combat training to be able to pummel, block, cover, and strike.
Maximize with the following:
Tier 1
- 2nd line – shield defense and precise sticking with weapon, shield, and warrior
Tier 2
- Rally with champion
- 1st line – threaten with Warrior
- 2nd line – shield balance and taunt with weapon and shield and warrior
Tier 3
- Motivate with champion
- 1st line -bravery with warrior
- 2nd line – shield balance with weapon and shield
- 3rd line – shield tactics with weapon and shield. You need 20 dexterity points.
Tier 4
- Superiority with Champion
- 1st line – Deathblow with warrior
- Second-line – shield expertise with people and shield
- 3rd line – shield mastery with weapon and shield. You need 26 dexterity points.
When you complete these tiers, you should have reached level 20. You will need master combat training to receive shield mastery.
Related: Best Rogue Build Dragon Age Origins
Tactics
Your Alistair build should have an aggressive character. The role of the Tank is to defend. Once you unlock all the Shield weapon and warrior talents, take advantage of the following:-
- Any self-attacks – threaten
- Melee attacks on self – shield wall
- Ranged attacks on self – shield cover
- Nearest visible enemy or at short range – shield pummel or attack
- Minimum of two enemies surrounding self – taunt
- Minimum of three enemies surrounding self – war cry
- 75 per-cent enemy health – Shield bash or overpower
- Over 90% of enemy health – assault
Other attributes you have at your disposal include:
- Cleanse Aura that you can use in select situations to remove enchantments
- Death blows that gives Alistair stamina anytime he kills a target.
- Motivate that enhances rally to provide +10 bonus for attacks
- Holy smite, which stuns mages due to its anti-magic qualities. It gives the Tank enough time to keep a safe distance between him and the mages.
Avoid switching between shield wall and cover. You will waste stamina and time. Your best bet is to stick with a shield wall unless you have to change. The Shield wall helps mitigate and decrease damage output.
When under attack, do not use the taunt. You get more use out of the taunt when enemies come for weaker party members. Shield pummel and shield bash help with Crowd Control.
Weapons of choice
For your Alistair builds, opt for massive armor. You will need stamina regeneration as well as additional attributes such as resistance, armor, and constitution. Alistair will be able to handle a large amount of damage.
The Tank will also attract more threats. Arm your character with weapons such as longswords, and heavy shields.
Consider armor, weapons, and accessories such as:
- The juggernaut armor set
- Wades Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set
- Accessories such as Lifegiver and the Spellward
- Weapons such as topsiders honor, Maric’s Blade and Dar’Misaan
- Keening blade
- Belt – Swordsman girdle
- First and second ring – Runic worry Token and Ring of the Warrior
- Missile weapon – Antique Warden Crossbow
- Shields such as Fade Wall, Cailan’s Shield, Duncan’s Shield and Howie’s Shield
Related: Best Weapon in Dragon Age Origins
Pros and cons of an Alistair build
Pros
- Toughening-up Alastair makes him more assertive and self-confident
- Heavy or massive armor gives you additional bonuses that add to your overall stats. You benefit from positives like defense, health, armor, and healing.
Cons
- You did not get much use out of some of the attributes. Boosting constitution, for example, does not contribute anything to damage mitigation
- Attributes such as cunning and magic are also unnecessary for a tank
- The Reaver specialization does not provide much functionality, beyond health regeneration due to Blood frenzy and Aura of pain.
The Best Alistair Build in Dragon Age Origins presents some interesting choices in the initial stages. Go on the offensive, so as to draw the enemy’s attention to the Tank. You must also ensure you give your Tank sufficient stamina to recover after a battle.
Take advantage of Templar and champion talents to build your character further.
