Mage

Mages channel magical power into spells capable of a wide range of effects, from debilitating opponents to protecting allies to unleashing devastating elemental energy. Those who wield magic are widely feared for their abilities, and their rebellion against Chantry control has left the land in chaos.

Unique Class Skills: Veilfire, Energize, Destroy Magical Barriers

Mage Starting Abilities

Ability	Name	Description
	Chain Lightning	You unleash a blast of lightning that shocks one target and arcs to nearby enemies.
	Flashfire	You ignite an enemy with searing pain and send them fleeing in panic.

Mage Specializations

Specialization	Name	Details
	Knight-Enchanter	Complete Way of the Knight-Enchanter offered by Commander Helaine in Skyhold.
	Necromancer	Complete Way of the Necromancer offered by Viuus Anaxas in Skyhold.
	Rift Mage	Complete Way of the Rift Mage offered by your trainer in Skyhold.

Mage Starting Stats

* Base stats listed. Elves get a 25 percent bonus to ranged defense and Qunari get a 25 percent bonus to melee defense. Dwarves cannot be mages.

Tactical Considerations

Mages remain a formidable threat in Dragon Age: Inquisition, capable of casting a variety of elemental spells. But without the support of a balanced party, mages won’t last long in battle. So make sure your mage is accompanied by at least one warrior—warriors are needed to taunt enemies, preventing your mage from getting overwhelmed by hostile forces.

Armed with elementally charged staves, mages fill a very specialized role on the battlefield, with an emphasis on ranged combat. As with a rogue archer, keep your mage out of harm’s way, picking apart enemies from a safe distance. Of all the classes, mages are the most vulnerable to physical attacks, suffering from low health and minimal armor protection. As a result, take steps to bolster your defensive stats and consider investing in evasive abilities like Fade Step. Barrier is another wise choice, extending a protective barrier around your mage (and allies) for a short time. But before spending your ability points, take into consideration what kind of mage you want to create. A mage with awesome offensive abilities? Or one that fills a more supportive role, protecting, healing, and reviving allies? Study the available abilities and formulate a gameplan early on. Creating a jack-of-all-trades mage can be effective but may prevent you from accessing the more powerful abilities in each discipline’s tree.

Veilfire

During your journeys you’re likely to encounter some unique braziers that can only be lit by a mage. Use a mage to interact with these braziers to create veilfire. Once lit, these blue flames can be toted around on torches (by any class) to reveal ancient runic writing. If there’s a veilfire brazier nearby, chances are there’s some hidden writing on one of the nearby walls. This is one way to acquire rune schematics. Use these to create new runes, enhancing your party’s equipment.

Energize

Mages can also use their magic to energize debris, creating makeshift bridges and ramps necessary to access areas that are otherwise off-limits. An energize icon will appear wherever these repairs can be made. Perform an interaction at these points to energize nearby objects, rearranging them to open a new path.

Magical Barriers

Some passages are walled off by magical barriers powered by elemental magic. Only mages can destroy these barriers, giving the party access to restricted areas, often containing loot. There are three types of magical barriers: fire (red), ice (blue), and spirit (purple). While any mage staff can defeat a magical barrier, use a staff of an opposite elemental magic to drop a barrier faster. For instance, use a fire staff to quickly eliminate an ice barrier, an ice staff to dispel a fire barrier, and an electrical staff to drop a spirit barrier. No other weapons will work against these barriers.

Mage Abilities

Spirit

Description: Masters of this school of magic call upon spirits for protection, as well as the essence of the Fade itself. Their spells disrupt hostile magic, create defensive barriers, and even heal injuries.

Investing in Spirit is a wise move for mages looking to fill a more supportive and defensive role within their party. Barrier, a spell that extends a magical shield around allies, is the cornerstone of this school of magic. This functions much like guard for warriors, serving as a temporary health bar. While all abilities in this tree are beneficial, focus on those that improve Barrier, like Elegant Defense, Transmute Magic, Fortifying Blast, and Strength of Spirits. Dedicated students of this discipline should strive to unlock Revival, capable of raising fallen allies on the battlefield. Also, don’t overlook Dispel. If you cast Dispel on a green-glowing spot near a rift before a demon arrives (usually between the first and second waves of a rift fight), Dispel will prevent a demon from being summoned, essentially taking one enemy out of the rift fight early. This makes Dispel incredibly useful while closing rifts.

Storm

Description: Masters of this school of magic call forth the power of thunder and lightning. Their spells paralyze foes and arc from one enemy to another.

The abilities in this school allow a mage to harness the devastating properties of electricity to shock and paralyze their foes. When shocked, an enemy takes more damage from magic-based attacks. Paralysis simply renders a foe immobile and defenseless for a short time. If you’re looking to dabble in this discipline, Chain Lightning is a good starting point. With continued investment in this tree, work your way to learning Static Cage and Lightning Cage for the ultimate display of Storm’s awesome power.

Inferno

Description: Masters of this school of magic dominate the battlefield with unrelenting fire. Enemies who survive the initial blast are driven mad with terror or burn to death in unquenchable flames.

The allure of conjuring fire and using it as a weapon makes Inferno a very appealing discipline. Beyond the expected burning status effect, which slowly drains an enemy’s health for a time, some of these spells also imbue panic, causing foes to disengage from combat. Even if your mage isn’t intending to become a master of this discipline, having a few of these spells in your arsenal never hurts—Immolate is a great entry-level AoE spell.

Winter

Description: Masters of this school of magic summon cold that bites deeper than the cruelest winter. Their icy spells slow and weaken enemies.

The active abilities within this tree are extremely versatile, with an emphasis on applying frozen and chilled status effects on enemies. When enemies are frozen, they’re encased in ice and unable to defend themselves or attack for a short period of time. Chilled enemies move slower and, thus, attack less frequently. But don’t overlook the passive abilities here too—Winter Stillness, Frost Mastery, and Ice Armor grant permanent stat bonuses when unlocked.

Knight-Enchanter (Specialization)

Description: These rare mages received special dispensation from the Chantry to serve in battle. They summon blades from the Fade and are experts in protection and defense.

Mages seeking greater defensive and supportive abilities should consider choosing Knight-Enchanter as their specialization. Start with Spirit Blade, using it to keep encroaching enemies at bay. Fade Cloak offers the perfect escape, making yourself invulnerable for a brief time. The Resurgence focus ability is the best revival and healing spell available, bringing all party members (including fallen ones) back to full health—this will come in handy during those challenging battles. Or use Disruption Field to slow your enemies, allowing you to retreat to a safe distance.

Necromancer (Specialization)

Description: These mages specialize in binding the spirits that are drawn to death. They can put the fear of death into enemies, bring spirits to fight on their behalf, and even cause devastating explosions when their enemies die.

The Necromancer specialization offers some truly powerful abilities, allowing a mage to coerce Fade spirits into doing their bidding while spreading panic and fear across the battlefield. The Haste focus ability is particularly useful, increasing the speed of the whole party for a short time. If enemies are killed with Spirit Mark, they’ll fight for you for a short time before finally dying. Or curse a foe with Walking Bomb to trigger a powerful explosion. If dabbling with Fade spirits doesn’t creep you out, then Necromancer may be the right choice for you.

Rift Mage (Specialization)

Description: These mages draw upon the force of the Fade, either pulling matter from the Fade to attack or twisting the Veil itself into a weapon to stagger or crush their enemies.

Take your mastery of the Fade to the next level with the powerful abilities in the Rift Mage discipline. Both Veilstrike and Stonefist are powerful offensive abilities, perfect for keeping melee enemies away from you. Or rain down fiery meteors from the sky with the awesome Firestorm focus ability. Consider using Pull of the Abyss to draw multiple enemies to a central location before unleashing Firestorm on their heads. The passive abilities are also effective, applying bonuses when engaging weakened enemies.