Death wears many faces in the Free Marches. Cautious explorers of the wilds expect to glimpse him in bared teeth and flexed talons, but the seasoned traveler knows he is as likely to be met in fine robes. This section reveals the hidden strengths and weaknesses of every enemy type – people, beasts,demons and the damned – and identifies the lethal resources that each can call on to vanquish the unprepared.
Chapter Structure
To help you understand exactly what you’re up against, this chapter will categorize enemies by their group. All enemies within a group share the “group traits” listed up front, such as the weakness to nature that applies to all darkspawn.
Within each group, every monster and enemy in Dragon Age II also belongs to a specific archetype that determines its general behavior – much as the rogue, mage and warrior classes define a player’s character. Archetypes are described in the following section and subsequently identified for each creature. While standard archetypes need no further explanation, the talents of the more powerful “elite” archetypes are examined using individual analysis sheets.
Finally, every enemy has a rank, that can vary, to describe its relative strength compared to others of the very same kind. If you’re lucky, you might find yourself facing a weedy specimen of Hurlock that won’t put up much of a fight. Or it could be a vicious Hurlock veteran, if you and luck aren’t getting along.
As a complete example for using the guide, let’s suppose you encounter a female Dalish Assassin. The Dalish have an innate weakness to electricity as a group, so this applies to all Dalish units. This specialized combatant belongs to the assassin archetype, which reveals more of her behavior and stealth abilities. Finally, she may be a lieutenant in rank – slightly more powerful than weak or normal Dalish units and with a larger health bar. As the Dalish Assassin is an “elite” unit, you will find all of the information about her advanced attributes gathered in a dedicated analysis sheet in the Dalish section.
For each analysis sheet, the icon-based key immediately reveals the elemental immunities (only used in Nightmare difficulty – replaced by neutral affinities in the other difficulty levels) and weaknesses to exploit with your spells or magic weapons. Indeed, it is worth noting that all groups have a weakness, even if it is slight or not always obvious from play.
If you’re unsure of the meaning of a special trait (such as “weak armor” or “high defense”), read the Secondary Attributes section of the Strategy & Analysis chapter.
When a creature is defeated, there is often a chance that it will drop some kind of loot. This can take the form of coins or junk that can be sold. However, it’s also possible for loot drops to contain useful equipment. Enemies are therefore assigned a “loot category” so that the randomly generated treasure they leave is appropriate to them and the context of the encounter. Hunted mages surrender Apostate robes and staves; Kirkwall Guards leave behind their Reacher armor.
Archetypes
Though you will encounter many different enemies and factions, there are combat roles that are common to all groups. Categories called archetypes define those roles, from the humble frontline standard trooper to the inspiring commander, and establish the further advantages assigned to them. Weapons and abilities also determine the tactical behavior of such archetypes.
Trooper
Archetype Traits: None
Archetype Analysis:
The standard warrior archetype picks a target on the battlefield, influenced by the threat generation system, and rushes to engage directly in melee assault. This broad category also covers creatures with natural weapons, such as spiders and the mabari. Crowd control measures can focus them around a companion or hold them in one spot for Area of Effect attacks. Alternatively, Glyphs of Paralysis and single-target stalling attacks like Pinning Shot, Stone Fist and Winter’s Grasp can break up an advancing wave of troopers so that your fighters can deal with each foot-soldier in turn. Finally, your fighters can use Stun, Stagger and Knockback moves to temporarily reduce the number of opponents engaged. These can set up cross-class combo opportunities for other companions.
Trooper – Weapon and Shield
Archetype Traits:
- Medium armor bonus
- Moderate defense bonus
- Weak magic resistance
Archetype Analysis:
Troopers with skills in “sword and board” benefit from increased resistance to physical attacks but they are correspondingly weaker against magic. They adopt the same melee rush tactics as basic Troopers.
Trooper – Two-Handed Weapons
Archetype Traits:
- Medium damage bonus
- Moderate attack bonus
- Weak defense
Archetype Analysis:
This soldier has been designated a damage-dealer, a shock troop who inflicts bigger hits but is less adept at dodging blows. Concentrating your attacks on these soldiers as a priority can eliminate their effectiveness altogether. Slow two-handed weapon strikes can also be avoided simply by moving your character clear.
Trooper – Dual Weapons
Archetype Traits:
- Moderate damage bonus
- Medium attack bonus
- Weak armor
Archetype Analysis:
Dual-wielding troopers increase their damage per second with a rapid flurry of attacks. Only lightly armored for speed, they take more damage from successful hits.
Trooper – Archery
Archetype Traits:
- Moderate damage bonus
- Medium attack bonus
- Weak armor
Archetype Analysis:
This archetype covers all physical ranged attackers and marks a change in tactics to match the weapon. Archers will advance into range and no further, keeping their distance and firing missiles in support of other troopers. They are weak against melee attackers, but heavier projectiles can still pack enough punch (testing against Fortitude) to cause Knockback. Archers will happily identify weak companions as a priority risk when staying beyond range of your tank’s Taunts and threat generation.
Party members can foil ranged attacks by exploiting the environment and avoiding line of sight. Missiles will be blocked by intervening objects. You may also trick archers into moving closer by hiding in cover and forcing them to advance in search of a clear shot.
Otherwise, you may use Ensnare or rogue tactics such as Miasmic Flask to temporarily remove or distract artillery support until your own fighters have a chance to move in. Maintaining distance means that grouped enemy archers are susceptible to Area of Effect spells without the risk of friendly fire, and disoriented enemies are especially weak against Walking Bomb, Spirit Strike and Golem’s Fist.
Trooper – Staff
Archetype Traits:
- Moderate damage bonus
- Moderate magic resistance bonus
- Weak armor
Archetype Analysis:
Mages follow similar rules to archers in their preference for ranged attacks, but not all spells demand clear line of sight and hiding in cover may not protect you from Area of Effect splash damage. Furthermore, their resistance to spells encourages physical retaliation. Employing direct assault to counter those resistances, rogue stealth attacks and battlefield teleportation skills can swiftly disrupt an enemy’s magical rearguard. Mages typically lack Fortitude and can be interrupted or knocked back by a strong archery shot.
Assassin
Archetype Traits:
- Medium attack bonus
- Weak armor
- Weak health
Archetype Analysis:
This specialist can wreak havoc and confusion during even a modest skirmish. Every assassin is capable of invisible movement through stealth and a Disengage ability, which returns them to stealth after knocking their enemies back a short distance. Between those events, they have two special attacks they can deliver from hiding. The announcing Backstab briefly paralyzes the target and inflicts a heavy amount of damage. The second stealth attack inflicts additional damage over time, of a type determined by the group or faction.
To tackle an assassin effectively, they must first be pinned down and exposed to heavy assault. Tagging additional stuns and freezes can prolong the opportunity for damage, though you may need to repeat the process.
Even when unseen, assassins have physical presence and can trigger protective Glyphs or take untargeted damage from Area of Effect magic.
Bruiser
Archetype Traits:
- Very high damage
- Medium attack bonus
- Moderate armor bonus
- Very weak defense
Archetype Analysis:
The bruiser archetype is essentially a sponge for damage. It cannot dodge, with successful hits being easy to score, but high armor reduces even elementally maximized damage taken. While your companions are chipping mere slivers from its mighty health bar, the bruiser is dishing out pain with unwelcome generosity.
Keep the bruiser occupied by one defendable, healable tank character, and use any functional freezing or halting spell to slow its attack rate and grant breathing space. Petrify can halt any enemy, but also acts as further armor on the target.
Settling in for the long haul against any creature with a large health bar, first remove all lesser ranks from the battlefield to prevent interruptions.
Commander
Archetype Traits:
- Immune to Silence
- High armor
- High fortitude
Archetype Analysis:
The commander archetype not only presents a tough fight individually, but also plays a supporting role that greatly increases the peril posed by an opposing force. Commanders extend an aura over the battlefield, healing and conferring specific benefits on their allies. This archetype is also capable of self-defensive abilities and boasts a powerful medium-to-long range debilitation spell or Area of Effect artillery.
A commander’s aura appears as a halo around its supported allies’ ground rings, though it may be lifted temporarily if the commander is stunned or incapacitated. As they can take time to defeat, this is one way to turn off the buffs they provide for their subordinate ranks. Have one character stun the commander and be ready to remove those enemies closest to death.
Devastator
Archetype Traits:
- Very weak health
- Very weak armor
- Immense spellcasting damage
Archetype Analysis:
Devastators are magical artillery units, possessing a strong “nuke” spell that will swiftly explain the archetype’s name unless interrupted. Devastators deploy a ranged Area of Effect spell, a defensive spell and a teleport. The status effects and elemental affinities vary with the devastator’s group or faction.
Such enemies are a top priority for elimination and, despite their weaknesses, they often maintain a stiff challenge for any party seeking speedy removal. Once the devastator has used its teleport (which can take it to a number of pre-determined points on the map), it cannot do so again until the Cooldown period expires.
Boss
Archetype Traits:
- Immune to Knockdown
- Immune to Immobilized
- Immune to Paralyzed
- Immune to Enslavement
- Weak attack
Archetype Analysis:
This archetype offers no special abilities beyond additional toughness, resistance and immunity. Of course, that’s enough to scupper many standard combat tactics.
Critical hits can play a useful role in the later game, with many skills and items ready to enhance them.
Build Anders as a healer and unlock his advanced regenerative powers to create a more resilient party. Otherwise, be prepared to gulp down a few Potions and slap on a few Injury Kits along the way.
Bosses will still be forced to pick a target, and can be led on a merry chase by a mobile tank while their companions unleash ranged attacks.
Archboss
Archetype Traits:
- Immune to Knockback
- Immune to Knockdown
- Immune to Immobile
- Immune to Stun
- Immune to Paralyzed
- Immune to Enslavement
- Immune to Sleep
- Immune to Inevitable Death
- Immune to Explosive Death
Archetype Analysis:
The toughest bosses test your staying power and party management. Consult the individual entries and walkthrough for tactics and contextual information.