Mages are highly valued in a balanced party, but they are also the most fragile of all party members. Marksmen can snipe mages from across a hall, possibly killing them outright. Terrible foes like the red templar shadow can slip past a mage’s party members in stealth and murder them before they even have a chance to react. They rely on warriors and rogues to prevent the enemy from attacking them. Without the use of the Barrier ability, mages will die in short order.
Despite these seemingly crippling weaknesses, a mage is one of the most valuable party members on a squad. Able to readily exploit the elemental weaknesses of a foe with a stave or spell, enhance the defenses of comrades, or assist in controlling or corralling the enemy into choke points, a mage on a team can mean the difference between success or death.
Keeper
A proud elven apprentice who wields Dalish magic to protect or destroy
The Ralaferin clan is renowned throughout Thedas for former Keeper Gisharel’s willingness to share Dalish lore with non-elven scholars. Neria was born into the Ralaferin clan and was chosen as Keeper Elindra’s apprentice. Trained from youth to defend and serve her people, she takes great pride in her magic and her role as Elindra’s First. Now with the Inquisition as a Dalish emissary, Neria does all she can to see that the interests of the Dalish elves are not forgotten amidst the chaos.
Ability Trees: Protection and Primal Spirit
The Keeper is the first, and possibly the most important, mage to have on a squad. Her Barrier ability is available from the outset, and among all mages in multiplayer, her Barrier ability is the strongest. That alone should make her a vital member of any starting group, but her utility extends far into the higher difficulties, where her barriers may be all that stand between the group and a swift death. Her Protection ability tree is worth heavy investment if you intend to focus on being strong support for the team, but her Primal Spirit tree allows you to bring some hefty lightning-based offense to the fight.
Elementalist
An explosive personality who controls primal forces
Rion was one of the first mages in the Ostwick Tower to take up the flag of rebellion. Horrified by abuses he saw in Kirkwall, Rion embraced the cause with fervent idealism...and very little sense of its practical costs. His ardor dampened as he saw the rebellion’s price measured in lives lost, mage and non-mage alike. Now supporting the call for peace, he went to Haven to await the Divine Conclave’s outcome; when the temple was destroyed, his hope for a resolution was lost. Rion signed up with the Inquisition, seeing it as the mages’ last chance for peace.
Ability Trees: Destruction and Control
The Elementalist is geared heavily toward offense, as his ability trees show right away. Destruction favors fire, while Control contains many ice- and lightning-based spells, with defensive staples such as Barrier located so far down the Control tree that you would sacrifice much to reach it early on, and even then it is not anywhere close to as powerful as the Keeper’s Barrier. Thus, most users of the Elementalist will find themselves standing and delivering from afar, attempting to live up to the old adage: The best defense is to light them on fire, freeze them, or electrocute them before they can get close enough to hurt you.
Necromancer
A cold mistress of magic with terrifying power
Raised in secret in Nevarra by a Mortalitasi mage, Sidony was brought up to revel in her magical abilities. She feels no kinship with mages who do not share her pride and has little but disdain for most other people. Sidony’s only goal is to uncover her full potential as a mage, so she hungers for magical knowledge. When news of the Breach reached her, she headed directly to see it for herself, hoping that whatever secrets it held would be the key to her own advancement.
Ability Trees: Gravelord and Permafrost
The Necromancer specializes in spirit- and frost-dealing spells, and she has absolutely no spells that provide special protection to her allies, as befits her personality. Her Gravelord tree contains passive and active abilities that enhance the effects of horror on the enemy, opening them up to extra damage from the rest of the party. Her Permafrost tree contains valuable spells, including a powerful and useful AoE spell, Blizzard. The Necromancer is highly focused on the destruction of the enemy, so parties taking her along for the ride should be prepared to handle the fact that she does not cast Barrier.
Arcane Warrior
A mage with blades dedicated to an ancient elven art
Like Neria, Cillian was born to the Ralaferin clan. In his youth, he lived apart from his people in order to resurrect a lost elven art: that of the Arcane Warrior. Although he was originally driven by the need to seek glory for his people, Cillian’s years of meditation and solitude gave him wisdom and respect for all life. When the Breach opened, he knew his duty was to stand against it, fighting to save all he knows and loves.
Ability Trees: Mentalism and Elemental
The Arcane Warrior is an interesting type of mage, starting off with the powerful Spirit Blade ability, meant to rip through enemy defenses like hot butter. When upgraded it can even deflect ranged attacks! Many of his passive abilities are meant to allow the Arcane Warrior to fight and survive through close combat with the enemy, while dealing heavy damage with the Spirit Blade or the upgraded Fade Cloak. Although he’s incapable of casting protective barriers on his allies, one of the Arcane Warrior’s Elemental passive abilities, Rejuvenating Barrier, allows any party members with an active barrier to regenerate mana or stamina 35 percent faster! This makes the Arcane Warrior an excellent second mage to bring to the fight alongside the Keeper.