Best Solas build - Complete Guide

Best Solas build - Complete Guide - Dragon Age: Inquisition (DAI)

By zanuffas
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In this post, I will be covering how you should build your Solas for best damage and AI support. This will help you better enjoy Dragon Age Inquisition.

Solas is an elf who will join your party early in the game. He prefers to stay in the Veil, and will provide interesting dialogues.

Important! The companion build is compatible with Nightmare difficulty, however, to pull it off correctly, be sure to have a good Inquisitor build

So let us go through Solas build

Solas level 1 - 10

Until level 10 we want Solas to be a good mage all around for a few reasons:

  • Enemies are fairly strong when you play on harder difficulties
  • In case you do not have another mage, Solas should be able to cast all element magic
  • Solas also needs to support your party with Barrier spell
Order Skill Description
1 Barrier iconBarrier + Energetic Defense This is the main ability to save your party members by providing them with barriers
2 winter's grasp iconWinter's Grasp
Although it is expensive ability in terms of MP, it will freeze enemies
3 immolate iconImmolate
Fire spell, that has small AOE and decent damage
4 Flashpoint iconFlashpoint
With this passive talent if you land a critical hit the next spell doesn't have a cooldown
5 Energy barrage iconEnergy Barrage + Energy Bombardment Works well with Flashpoint. Moreover, you can use it to release projectiles of any element that your staff has.
6 peaceful aura iconPeaceful Aura
With this talent enemies will target you less
7 dispel iconDispel
Use it to take out enemy spawning from the Veil tear. Useful spell early in the game
8 conductive current iconConductive Current
The more mana you lose the more damage you will do with your spells

Once you reach level 11, specializations will unlock and you can start working on the full Solas build

Solas Winter Rift Mage build

With this Build, Solas will take a role of a support mage crowd controlling the battlefield. To best utilize it I recommend having another mage in the party (either Inquisitor or Vivienne/Dorian) who could concentrate on dealing large amounts of damage.

Thanks to the skills acquired Solas will have no problems by constantly freezing, weakening, and knocking down enemies.

Remember that you will need to respecialize skills before making this build

Abilities investment - short version

In this section, I will show skill tree images so that the reader could get a fast overview on how Sola's skill points should be allocated

IMPORTANT: Get relevant Amulet of Power for Solas to maximize the number of ability points

Spirit Tree

Sola's main objective is to get Barrier to support party members

Solas Spirit tree build

Storm tree

Storm tree will provide Energy Barrage. With this ability, you can expand Solas elemental damage by using different staves

Solas storm tree

Inferno tree

Fire tree unlocks good passive talents that decrease spell cooldowns

Solas Inferno tree spells

Winter tree

Winter tree will provide spells to crowd control enemies: freeze and chill them

Solas Winter tree build

Rift Mage

Solas main specialization tree gives mana regeneration passive and spells to weaken enemies

Rift Mage Solas spells

Abilities investment - long version

In this section, I will go through all the skills and talents that need to be picked for this Solas build in the Dragon Age Inquisition.

IMPORTANT: Get relevant Amulet of Power for Solas to maximize the number of ability points

Order Skill Description
1 veilstrike iconVeilstrike + Punching Down Although this ability does not deal any damage it knocks down enemies with AOE. Moreover, it applies to a weakened state.
2 restorative veil iconRestorative Veil Dealing damage with Solas to enemies will restore MP
3 stonefist iconStonefist + Shatterstone
Deals 500% of Weapon damage and knocks down enemies. Moreover, with the upgrade, it provides 4 meter AOE effect.
4 encircling veil iconEncircling Veil Status effects will stay longer for 25% against weakened enemies
5 twisting veil iconTwisting Veil Damage Bonus of 15% to Weakened enemies
6 winter's grasp iconWinter's Grasp Although this ability can freeze enemies we take it more for progression reasons. It is not as useful due to high Mana costs.
7 Winter Stillness iconWinter Stillness Mana Regeneration will increase 3 seconds after you sit still
8 ice mine iconIce Mine + Brittle Glyph Extremely strong ability. Although it will not deal damage, it will totally reduce enemy armor. Moreover, it will freeze enemies holding them in place
9 ice armor iconIce Armor Reduces incoming damage
10 blizzard iconBlizzard + Winter Winds Your staple DPS spell. It will create a large storm that will constantly deal damage, chill, and freeze enemies. You will want Solas to use it as often
11 immolate iconImmolate A great spell to have in the arsenal in case enemies are weak to fire. However, the main reason we take it is to unlock the next passive skills
12 Flashpoint iconFlashpoint After a critical hit, Solas' next spell will have no cooldown
13 cleanburn iconClean Burn Each spell cast will reduce your other spell cooldown by 1 second.
14 Barrier iconBarrier + Energetic Defense I suggest having a barrier-generating spell. It is extremely useful to have to strengthen your other group members
15 peaceful aura iconPeaceful Aura Reduces generated threat. This means that Solas will be attacked less
16 Energy barrage iconEnergy Barrage + Energy Bombardment Extremely strong ability. Its element will depend on what staff you have. For this reason, I recommend having non-cold staff.
17 firestorm iconFirestorm Focus ability. I suggest taking it as it is extremely effective against large enemies like dragons or bosses

With this, the core of the build is finished.

Late game skill investments

These abilities are the ones which I think are useful to have to further improve your build:

  • Dispel - to remove summoning of the enemies when Veil Tear appears
  • Pull of The Abyss + Devouring Veil - I think this ability is good, but it requires additional micromanaging to be cast correctly
  • Conductive Current - increase your damage the less mana Solas has

Solas Stats

  • Critical chance - I suggest having 50% - 75%. This way you will ensure that most of your attacks are critical

  • Critical Damage – After you have a high critical rate of at least 50%. Concentrate on critical damage.

  • Dexterity - will boost critical damage. Prioritize this once Solas has a high critical rate of 50%+

  • Willpower - increases attack and gives bonus magic defense

  • Magic - Increases your overall attack

  • Attack - overall increase to attack

  • Armor – a priority for low levels, up to level 10. Mage's are quite squishy and you want Solas to survive

Equipment

In this section, I will go through recommended equipment for Solas

Weapons - obtainable

Generally, the ones with a boost to critical damage should be equipped when Solas has a 50%+ critical chance

Priority Item Description
1 dai hakkons wisdom iconHakkon's Wisdom This staff gives +100% critical damage. It is a good alternative to Isana's Song if you have at least a 50% Critical chance
2 Isana's Song iconIsana's Song This staff can be obtained in The Descent DLC. Provides +41 to magic. In terms of pure damage, it has no equals. It also has a 10% chance to cast Chain Lightning.
3 Earnest reprisal iconEarnest Reprisal I recommend this staff, only if you have a high critical chance of 50% or more. That is hard to pull off on level 18 for Solas.
4 staff of the void iconStaff of the Void The staff is obtained from high dragon Hivernal. Moreover, it provides adequate stats

Weapons - craftable

Generally, I prefer craftable staves if you have good masterwork and other materials

Priority Item Description
1 Encore iconStaff of Corruption Schematic Although this is Tier 4, I would still go for Wrath of Lovias Schematic that provides better slots for the end game.
2 Encore iconEncore Schematic One of the best staves in the game as it gives offensive buffs for all party members
3 Encore iconWrath of Lovias Schematic The stave gives leather slots for increased critical chance or critical damage

Armors - obtainable

Here is a recommended list of obtainable armors that you can wear.

Priority Item Description
1 Vestments of the pure iconVestments of the Pure Similar to craftable version. So choose the one that you prefer. Gives 45 points to willpower
2 Unique robe icon.pngMasterwork Battlemage Armor Reduces the cost of the abilities and spells. Moreover, gives +6 to the magic attribute
3 robes of high keeper iconRobes of the High Keeper The Robe provides decent stats, especially if you use Focus abilities often

Armors - craftable

I think all of the armors listed below are extremely good, choose the one to your liking

Priority Item Description
1 Superior Robe schematic iconSuperior Battlemage Armor Schematic Best craftable Armor. This version has one Cloth and a leather utility slot. Quite powerful and can be bought in Hissing Wastes. Moreover, you can add Arms and Legs upgrades to have an even larger boost to damage
2 suberp antaam saar iconSuperb Antaam-saar Schematic
For this armor, you will need Spoils of the Qunari DLC pack. The schematic gives 3 Utility slots to increase offensive stats. I think it trades blows with Superior Battlemage Armor Schematic, due to the leather slots that it provides
3 Vestments of the Pure schematics iconVestments of the Pure Schematic Top-tier armor schematic. However, it does not have leather utility/offensive slots

Helmets - obtainable

Priority Item Description
1 cowl of the pure iconCowl of the Pure Can be an alternative to the Mask of the Grand Duchess. However, it will only increase attack and not critical stats
2 helm of drasca iconHelm of the Drasca
A mid-tier helmet, I would recommend equipping this if you do not have the Winter Palace masks or Cowl of the Pure
3 unique Mask iconAmbassador's Mask I would still recommend Mask of the Grand Duchess. However, if you have a high critical rate (50%+), this helmet is much better.
4 unique Mask iconMask of the Grand Duchess The best helmet in terms of the boost to critical chance.

Helmets - Craftable

Priority Item Description
1 Superior helm schematic iconSuperior Skirmisher Hat Schematic Great slots for increasing critical stats. best craft
2 battlemage cowl schematic tier 3Battlemage Cowl Schematic Upgraded version of Tier 2 schematic. Provides better utility slots. Similar to other Tier 3 schematics
3 superior seer cowl schematic iconSuperior Seer Cowl Similar to the other options in Tier 3.

Amulets

Priority Item Description
- Amulet of Power Gives Solas a single ability point. It is consumed once you use it.
1 Superb Amulet iconAndraste’s Sacrifice This amulet provides both mana regeneration and a reduced cooldown modifier. However, it can be risky as occasionally enemies will get taunted as a side effect.
2 master cooldown amulet iconMaster Cooldown Amulet Because Solas will have plentiful mana, having faster cooldowns will benefit immensely
3 Superb Amulet of Cunning Use this amulet to increase Solas' critical chance by 5%
4 Superb Amulet of dexterity iconSuperb Amulet of Dexterity Equip this amulet once you reach a high critical chance of about 50% or more
5 amulet of renewal icon daiAmulet of Renewal This amulet will increase the mana regeneration rate

Belts

Priority Item Description
1 Superior Belt of Focus iconSuperior Belt of Focus I suggest equipping this belt if you get Firestorm focus ability and allow Solas to use it
2 enhanced belt of the winter pact iconEnhanced Belt of Winter Pact Although this belt increases the cold spell's power by 125% you will have the HP decreased by 50%
3 Superb Belt of health iconSuperb Belt of Health The belt can be obtained in Emerald Greaves. It gives +200 health.
4 belt of life iconBelt of Life Similar to the above belt provides a large increase in HP.

Rings

Priority Item Description
1 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
2 Superb Ring of Critical Damage Gives +20% critical damage, equip it once you have high enough critical Chance
3 Superb Ring of Critical Chance Gives a +10% critical chance. Great to boost it, if you have less than 50%
4 Superb Ring of Attack Boosts overall attack damage
5 enhanced blizzard ring iconEnhanced Blizzard Ring Once you have Blizzard ability, this ring will boost its damage by 30%

Solas Tactics

Solas will have to use almost all 8 of his skill slots. I think this is possible due to the way Rift mages regenerate mana: dealing constant damage. Here is my tactics setup:

Solas tactic setup dragon age inquisition

All skills should be set to "Active", except these: Winter's Grasp and Firestorm. Here is my reasoning:

  • Firestorm should be used during difficult encounters, however, if you forget to use it then set "Active"
  • Winter's Grasp is quite costly and does not deal a lot of damage. For this reason, I would rather have Solas spending the mana on other spells.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading this guide. I tried to go into great detail about how you should be building Solas in Dragon Age Inquisition. This includes spells, stats, and tactics.

Feel free to leave any feedback down in the comments below

Discussion

I tried this build and tried it with different variations. Also tried my own builds for Solas. Not satisfied. He all the time has no manna and rarely casts spells. Weakened status disappearing fast or even do not apply because of my static cage and other lighting spells(I guess). So his manna regeneration rift mage's skill doesn't work properly.

Hello,

I will not be testing DAI builds anytime soon. However, here are some tips to try:

  • Set Veilstrike to preferred ability. This way enemies will always be weakened before damaging them and mana restoration should kick in.

  • Equip Sigil of the Great Bear, and reduce mana reserve to 10%~

Unfortunately, AI is not really smart to use abilities in correct way :/

Anonymous

I love all of your guides for Dragon Age and have been using them for a while! I appreciate you taking the time to do this!

I'm not sure if you're aware, but someone else is using your guide somewhere else without giving you credit. I'm not sure if you care, but I figured I would bring it to your attention because I feel all the work you did here is great and you should get credit for that work.

https://steamsplay.com/dragon-age-inquisition-nightmare-companions-and-builds/
That's the link, but if you don't click links, then if you search for "Dragon Age Inquisition Nightmare Companions and Builds -- Steamsplay" you should be able to find it that way too.

Thank you again for the hard work you put into all of these guides!

Thank you! Always glad to hear that my guides helped someone :)

Hmm, this is very unfortunate. If you have any tips how I should handle this situation, I would appreciate if you could join me on discord channel: https://discord.gg/FCGdP7T7nd

Anonymous

Why not master belt of focus. Isn't it just a better version?

Well for that one you need to play Jaws of Hakkon which is late game content. Superior version can be obtained much earlier.

Anonymous

should i tweak anything in behavior?

Set him to either follow the tank or himself.

Regarding mana reserve, set it to 50% without Sigil of the Great Bear. If you have it equipped, set a lower value but not 0%

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zanuffas
Gamestegy Founder. I have been writing game guides and builds for 4 years. I like to push myself to create something wonderful for the readers!