Best Alistair Build in Dragon Age Origins

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.