Templar Build - Complete Guide - Dragon Age: Inquisition (DAI)

In this post, I will go through the Dragon Age Inquisition Templar build. They are warriors who use Lyrium to empower themselves, mainly to control mages and banish demons. Not only that, Templars can empower their companions by providing buffs.

You will have great support skills and also decent damage dealing capabilities especially against demons

Early game abilities, Level 1 - 10

Order	Skill	Description
1	Mighty Blow + Stay Down	Great crowd control skill to knock down enemies + deal damage. With the upgrade, knockdowns last longer
2	Grappling Chain	A great skill to close the distance and grapple archers or mages
3	Crippling Blows	We mainly take this for progression
4	Coup de Grace	Will synergize well with Mighty Blow upgrade.
5	Horn of Valor + Fortifying Blast	The main buff skill which you will boost allies, by allowing them to add Guard after each hit. Tremendous ability.
6	Combat Roll + Coming Through	A monstrous ability. In reality, it deals 500% of weapon damage. Costs 20 stamina and has 2 seconds cooldown. Moreover, it deals with AOE damage where you roll. Use this skill between cooldowns
7	Block and Slash	We mainly take this for progression
8	Flow of Battle	a great skill to reduce cooldowns on critical hits, as the game progresses you will do them more and more due to higher critical rate

At about level 10~ you should reach Skyhold where you will be able to start working on the Templar build

Two-handed Templar build

You will now get specialization of Templar. Your first move should be to do a respec of abilities. This is important as it enables you to use one of the strongest crowd control abilities in the middle of the game

As you can guess this is a Two-handed build. This means that you will mostly concentrate on causing lots of damage. However, once you reach level 15+ you can make a variation of the Tank build that is described below. however, it can be hard to pull off on Nightmare.

Abilities progression

Order	Skill	Description
1	Blessed Blades	A decent buff, mostly as progression ability
2	Maker’s Will	A good passive ability that will benefit your whole party
3	There is no Darkness	A great passive as Maker’s Will, it decreases damage received
4	Wrath of Heaven + Embrace the Light	Templar build signature ability, deals great damage, and also stuns enemies around you. The upgrade makes the stuns last longer
5	Grappling Chain	We mainly take this for progression. But you can use it if you find appropriate situations
6	Crippling Blows	At higher levels, the Templar will have a higher critical chance making this much more effective
7	Coup de Grace	Deal more damage to knocked down or stunned enemies.
8	Horn of Valor + Fortifying Blast	An important ability that will allow this templar build to buff allies and enables guard generation
9	Combat Roll + Coming Through	A monstrous ability. In reality, it deals 500% of weapon damage. Costs 20 stamina and has 2 seconds cooldown. Moreover, it deals AOE damage where you roll. Use this skill between cooldowns
10	Mighty Blow + Stay Down	Strong Crowd control ability allows Templar to knock out enemies
11	Block and Slash	We mainly take this for progression
12	Flow of Battle	Reduces cooldowns on abilities for each critical hit by 1 second. Start investing more to critical rate when crafting equipment
13	Hamstring	We mainly take this for progression
14	Deep Reserves	Increases stamina regeneration when it is below 50%. Templar will need all the stamina that it can get for multiple two-handed abilities

After about level 15 you have options for different Templar variations that I recommend. Of course, you can get both of those variations if you reach a high enough level.

Two-Handed menace

This variation will rely on your Two-handed weapon to deal more damage and knock enemies out of their feet

Order	Skill	Description
15	Pommel Strike + Lightning Jab	700% weapon damage, instant activation, cheap cost, and short cooldowns. A very powerful ability for your two-handed weapon to take out enemies
16	Mighty Blow + Easy Target	Another decent ability that will take out enemies knocking them out. You can also use this on Incapticated targets to deal Impact Detonator combo.

Holy Warrior

Although the name sounds silly, I think it fits the idea of what this variation concentrates on. You will further polish Templar abilities to create Eldritch Detonator combos for large AOE spirit damage.

Order	Skill	Description
15	Spell Purge + any upgrade	This is an important ability that Templar will use after Wrath of heavens to activate the Eldritch Detonator combo. This will cause large amounts of damage. Moreover, it will also purge Fade Rift spawning locations
16	Charging Bull + Gore and Trample	Use this ability to get into a group of enemies and then use Wrath of Heaven for free. The next step is to use Spell Purge, for massive spirit damage :)

I think this is the most powerful variation and the most fun if you play as Inquisitor.

Stats and attributes

For equipment you should prioritize these stats:

• Raw damage - will increase overall damage on all abilities that Templar uses.

• Critical Chance – this should be a priority after you get Flow of Battle. I recommend trying to reach 50% and keeping it there

• Critical Damage – prioritize this stat from level 15 or even later - 18

• Attack – increases all damage, terrific stat

• Willpower - similar to strength but also gives bonus magic defense

• Strength - increases the damage and gives bonus guard damage

Equipment selection

In this section I will cover the best equipment for the Dragon Age: Inquisition Templar build

Weapons - obtainable

Priority	Item	Description
1	Single Incarnation	Available during the Trespasser DLC. It is quite a powerful axe. I suggest trying it out and seeing, as it has unique abilities
2	Demon's Advocate	Extremely powerful Maul, that makes enemies explode after they are killed. I prefer this one compared to the others.
3	Chromatic Greatsword	Similar to Prismatic Greataxe, you will randomly deal elemental damage together with physical damage. This weapon can last you until the end of the game. However, have other weapons on hand if you encounter enemies with high elemental resistances
4	Certainty	The sword gives a +36% Attack boost, this equates to an almost 72 strength bonus. This can be an alternative to the Chromatic Greatsword if you don't prefer its looks
5	Prismatic Greataxe	Due to the weapons mechanics, this weapon deals a bonus of 100% elemental damage. So with a skill like Pommel Strike, you will deal 600% elemental damage and 600% physical damage.

Weapons - craftable

Schematics are usually better than obtainable counterparts. However, you need good materials for that.

Priority	Item	Description
1	Prismatic Greataxe Schematic	One of the more overpowered weapons that deal additional elemental damage together with Physical damage. Expect Casandra skills to deal double damage
2	Chromatic Greatsword Schematic	One of the more overpowered weapons. However, the schematic can only be obtained in Trespasser DLC. Similar to Prismatic Greataxe Schematic
3	Axe of the Dragon Hunter Schematic	Has large Leather offensive slots, and can be easily obtained in Black Emporium

Armors - obtainable

Unfortunately, there are not many options for obtainable armors that provide offensive bonuses

Priority	Item	Description
1	The Skin That Stalks	Obtainable only in the Trespasser DLC. Boosts Critical Damage, Critical Chance, and Attack.
3	Revered Defender Armor	Abilities cost 10% less stamina with this armor. Moreover, it is perfect if you want the Templar to have high armor
4	Masterwork Battlemaster Armor	Gives bonus stamina, which allows using more abilities
5	Armor of the Knights-Divine	Abilities cost 7.5% less stamina. Moreover, gives bonus defensive stats.

Armors - craftable

Sadly there are not too many armors that you can craft to give a lot of offensive options. Your main priority is to either get Leather or Metal utility slots

Priority	Item	Description
1	The Skin That Strikes Schematic	This medium armor can be worn by anyone and it has leather utility slots. This means it can boost either critical chance or critical damage.
2	Revered Defender Armor Schematic	A decent schematic that gives a large metal utility slot. However, you will need some luck to get it in The Descent DLC. This should be picked if you wish to have a higher armor value.
3	Templar Armor Schematic	This is the only heavy armor that gives a leather utility slot. This will allow you to either boost Critical Chance or Critical Damage
4	Battlemaster Armor Schematic	Great tier 3 schematic that you can get in Hissing Wastes. It also comes with Upgrade slots.

Helmets - obtainable

Priority	Item	Description
1	Stone Stalker Mask	One of the best helmets in the game. Gives a decent boost to dexterity and cunning stats.
2	Helm of the Drasca	The helmet provides fewer offensive stats than the Winter Palace masks, however, it has a much higher armor rating.
3	Ambassador's Mask	This Winter Palace mask provides an 8% boost to critical damage. Equip it if you have a high critical chance of 50%. It can be used until you feel that your armor values are getting low
4	Mask of the Grand Duchess	This Winter Palace mask provides a 12% boost to critical chance. It can be used until you feel that your armor values are getting low

Helmets - craftable

Priority	Item	Description
1	Superior Skirmisher Hat Schematic	This helmet gives Leather utility slots that you can use to increase the critical chance and critical damage. This is the best helmet in terms of DPS and damage and is easy to buy.
2	Revered Defender Helm Schematic	Provides a large number of metal utility slots, good for increasing pure attack damage
3	Duke's Mane Schematic	This schematic allows crafting a helmet with 11 metal utility slots. However, it is quite demanding to obtain the schematic as you will need first to finis the Jaws of Hakkon DLC.
4	Superior Venatori Helmet Schematic	The helmet can be purchased early in the game if you have The Short List perk. It gives 10 Utility metal slots.

Amulets

The amulets are listed by Tier. Usually, the Best tier can be obtained late in the game, but it provides maximum bonuses.

Priority	Item	Description
1	Amulet of Death Syphon	This amulet will give stamina and hp regeneration after each enemy that dies nearby. Quite good as you will be in the front lines and constantly use abilities
2	Amulet of Renewal	This amulet will increase stamina regeneration allowing the skills to be used more often
3	Superb Amulet of Dexterity	When the templar has a comfortable 50% critical chance. Use the amulet to boost critical damage by 20%
4	Amulet of the Rogue	Use this amulet to increase Templar's Critical Damage and critical rate in the late game
5	Superb Amulet of Cunning	This amulet should be worn if you have a critical chance of less than 50%

Belts

Priority	Item	Description
1	The Bind That Guides	Top tier Belt, unfortunately only available in Trespasser DLC. Boosts Critical Chance by 10%
2	Superb Belt of Staggering	The belt will give a higher chance to temporarily stun enemies with normal attacks
3	Superb Belt of Sunder	The belt will give a higher chance to weaken the enemy's armor

Rings

Priority	Item	Description
1	The Hand That Cuts	You only obtain this ring in Trespasser DLC. However, it gives a +20% Critical Damage bonus
2	Ring of Slicing	The rings boost critical damage by 10% and critical chance by 5%. It is one of the best rings for this build
3	Superb Ring of Critical Damage	Gives +20% critical damage, equip it once you have high enough critical rate
4	Superb Ring of Critical Chance	Gives a +10% critical chance. Great to boost it, if you have less than 40%
5	Superb Ring of Attack	Boosts overall attack damage. Templar build will still benefit from it greatly as this will affect all damage, but with a smaller value of 10%

Conclusion

The build is and its Templar variations are interesting giving fairly unique strategies to utilize. Try to play around with the skills and respect at will if you see that something does not play out.

Thank you for reading this Dragon Age Inquisition Templar build and feel free to leave any feedback below!