Warriors

You can’t survive these missions without a proper warrior leading the team, making first contact with enemies, and holding their attention while the cloth- and leather-wearers ply their trade safe from aggression. Warriors must make themselves the loudest, most obvious threats the enemy sees, even if in reality they are the distraction. Without a warrior’s ability to tank, a party will find itself in serious jeopardy.

There are two kinds of warrior you can play as in multiplayer: sword-and-shield warriors and two-handed weapon warriors. The former rely heavily on a shield to mitigate the worst the enemy throws at them, allowing them to withstand the hate of the enemy and return as much of it as they receive. Two-handed weapon warriors rely heavily on the support of mages to keep them protected, in turn allowing the warriors to tear through the hordes with their massive weapons, keeping their attention with pure violence.

Legionnaire

A walking fortress of dwarven steel

The Legion of the Dead is Orzammar’s most famous and dedicated troop of warriors. These dwarves declare themselves dead and venture into the Deep Roads to join the endless fight against the darkspawn pushing toward the gates of their city. Korbin is one of them. A highly decorated warrior from Orzammar, he volunteered for the Legion. As a result of an alliance between the dwarven king and the Inquisition, Korbin now fights on the surface against Thedas’s greatest threat.

Ability Trees: Guardian and Combined Arms

The Legionnaire is the warrior you start multiplayer with, and this is where players will either learn how to tank or die trying to learn. The Legionnaire is a sword-and-shield warrior, sturdy and strong, but not particularly agile unless you purchase Combat Roll. He begins with a powerful damage-dealing ability, Payback Strike, but that requires him to have taken or have successfully blocked some form of damage with Shield Wall. Build guard with Shield Wall, hold your ground, and make sure enemies must first get past you before they can reach the others. Early on, you lack the ability to taunt enemies off your allies, so it is imperative that once you have the attention of the enemy, you are the first thing they can see and harm.

Templar

A soldier of faith who will step between allies and the strongest magic and demons

Belinda is a noble from Starkhaven and a recent initiate into the templars, taking her vows just months before the Order split from the Chantry. Horrified to see the Order she loved turn against the Chantry she believed in, she left the templars and remained loyal to the Divine. When Justinia was killed, Belinda remained with the newly formed Inquisition, hoping to make things right.

Ability Trees: Divine and Sentinel

The Templar differs from the Legionnaire right out of the gate by starting with a group buff, as opposed to a powerful attack. This should clue you into what the Templar is: a supporter. She starts out able to constantly buff the group’s damage with Blessed Blades, which means that everyone on the front line of a fight will be able to kill that much faster. Many of the Templar’s unique passive and active abilities are built around improving the damage output or survivability of the group in one way or another. A party with the Templar and the Keeper working together can theoretically be extremely hard to break, but unfortunately the Templar herself isn’t quite the damage dealer found in other warrior classes.

Katari

A Qunari giant who brings death and destruction

“Katari” means “one who brings death” in Qunlat. The Katari is a Tal-Vashoth mercenary who left the Qun to forge his own path. However, choosing one’s own way after being raised to follow orders is difficult. For the moment, the Katari makes his living as a sellsword, paid to fight for the Inquisition. His name is a description of what he does—though he has left the Qun, certain habits are hard to break.

Ability Trees: Onslaught and Tactics

Of the two-handed weapon warriors, Katari is weaker in terms of sheer potential damage output. Unlike the Reaver, the Katari’s strength does not have to come at the same grievous cost. The Katari can be set up to reward a finesse player. He’s able to set up improvements to his defenses, including guard increases, sooner than the Reaver, while still being more than capable of meting out heavy damage to groups of foes. Earthshaking Strike is one of the Katari’s most devastating abilities; it can ruin large groups of foes trying to push past a chokepoint.

Reaver

A formidable warrior who draws strength from a dark ritual

Tamar is a fearsome warrior who developed her abilities by consuming dragon blood. One of the cultists who lived in Haven during the Fifth Blight, she escaped the Chantry by fleeing into the mountains. Tamar was later captured by Inquisition agents and given the choice to serve or die. Execution in captivity would have been shameful; Tamar wishes to die in battle, the blood of her enemies on her sword and a war cry on her lips.

Ability Trees: Bloodlust and Assault

The Reaver is almost less of a tank and more of a somewhat-better-protected rogue who carries a big two-handed weapon. Correctly specced, the Reaver can help a team quickly devastate groups of enemies surrounding her, and with a good weapon and the right abilities she can hit so hard that she should rarely have difficulty grabbing attention. Tamar is at her best when she’s nearly dead: Ring of Pain combined with Devour is more powerful when she’s hurting. Getting to that state, particularly on higher difficulties, is risky. Her best friend is an attentive Keeper constantly providing help via the Barrier ability.