Arcane Warrior Spirit Healer Build - Paladin - Dragon Age: Origins (DAO)

Arcane Warrior Spirit Healer - Paladin Build

So the build has multiple roles that it can fill. This will not make it replace those characters but allow for some more offensive setups. The idea behind merging these specializations is that you can both play as a sturdy frontliner and a support healer.

First, by going with Arcane Warrior, you will gain the ability to wear heavy armor using Magic, instead of strength. So now you can equip those cool-looking, heavy armors, and still utilize spellcasting. To top it off, Shimmering Shield will provide sturdy defenses against any kind of damage if the need arises.

Spirit Healer, will add another aspect - strong support and healing. You will be able to activate Cleansing Aura, to apply non-stop heals on allies. Moreover, Group Heal will further ensure that everyone stays alive in situations where you need an "oh shit" button.

As a mage, you will also have access to the core spell arsenal - Regeneration, Heal, Glyphs, Haste, etc. So you can utilize all of these depending on the combat encounter and the situation you are in.

Character Creation

If you are into optimizing there are a few things that you can do to optimize your build a bit.

Race

There are 2 race options in my opinion:

Class

The choice here is obvious:

Background

Sadly only one choice is possible here:

Attributes

For the start of the game, all points should be invested - +5 Magic. You will want the mage spells to be effective, especially on Nightmare difficulty. Moreover, this stat will play a crucial role in becoming a powerful Arcane Warrior.

Skills

I would recommend getting Coercion, this will help with some early-game dialogues and quest options.

Spells

For the start of the game, I recommend picking:

Quest Priority and Locations

Once you have finished Ostagar and Lothering, the world will open up and you can visit multiple areas. Below I will cover some progression recommendations, to obtain a few core items needed.

If you do not have Specializations unlocked:

1. Soldier's Peak - obtain Warden Commander Armor Set.
2. Return to Ostagar - get swords and shields for Cailan's Arms Set.
3. Brecilian Forest (at least until you unlock Arcane Warrior)
4. Circle Tower - additional attributes for progression. I would make sure to have Mana Clash or be close to getting for this quest.
5. Your preferred quests

For those that have Specializations:

1. Soldier's Peak - obtain Warden Commander Armor Set.
2. Return to Ostagar - get swords and shields for Cailan's Arms Set.
3. Circle Tower - additional attributes for progression. I would make sure to have Mana Clash or be close to getting it, for this quest.
4. Your preferred quests

Full Build Setup

In this section, I will go with in-depth explanations of each important selection for attributes, talents, and skills. This will give you a better understanding of what role each decision will have on your overall build. The explanations can also be used to better decide your picks for optimizations

Attributes

In this section, I would like to go through the recommended attributes for Arcane Warrior Spirit Healer Build. You will be required to pick them every level up, so optimizing and not wasting any of them will prove vital for the build.

Skills

The goal in my opinion is to get Combat Training and Coercion to a maximum. This will cover all the aspects that the main character would need in my opinion.

Specializations

Okay, so the build core is 2 Specializations. When playing the game for the first time you will have access to neither. But there are ways to unlock all of them if you are curious, check the internet for that.

So how I would recommend picking them? I am a fan, of first going with Arcane Warrior. Just using Heavy Armor early in the game, will help to pull away enemies from your tank, so that it would not get overwhelmed.

After that, you can slowly transition to a playstyle with sword + shield and spellcasting. This is mainly because the second specialization becomes accessible at level 14 - Spirit Healer. This is when you can access all of its talents.

Talents and Spells

So this is one of the most important aspects of the builds, as picking good spells will make your combat much easier. Check this list for spells that can be cast without sheathing weapons.

Arcane Warrior Tree

Get all the talents. They will maximize your resistance, damage, and armor.

Spirit Healer Tree

Mage

Primal Tree

Path of Stone Tree

Creation Spells

These spells will play a crucial role in making the build effective at playing a support role.

Healing Tree

I would also think of an option of delaying this tree for Mana Clash if you have or plan to have another healer like Wynne. The instant mage and demon kills are very valuable and make multiple fights easier.

Glyphs Tree

Nature Tree

Heroism Tree

Spirit Spells

Mana Drain Tree

This tree is an expensive investment, and I would debate how early or late you should need it. Once I started using Mana Clash on creatures from the Fade and mages, this made it so easy and addicting. The strongest enemies in the game get either obliterated or heavily damaged.

I would prioritize this or Heroism Tree, depending on your playstyle.

Equipment

This is another important pillar of Arcane Warrior build, as good gear will make or break it. To be fair, due to the nature of the game and various story progression paths, it's hard to recommend a single-gear path.

In this section, you will find the gear that should be used with the build. Generally, the lower the item is in the table the lower its priority

Weapons

Item	Description
Maric’s Blade	The idea of this blade is to use it together with Cailan’s Shield to get Cailan’s Arms set. Will greatly boost mana regeneration. Using it will guarantee that you can maintain the Cleansing Aura.
Spellweaver	Provides a +5 magic bonus. Great for this type of build where you cast magic abilities often
Duncan’s Sword	Provides Medium mana regeneration
The Veshialle	If for some reason you find yourself more doing physical hits than casting magic, get this weapon. It outmatches any other single-handed weapon from 60 magic/strength.

Shield

Item	Description
Cailan’s Shield	Use this shield with Maric’s Blade for an increased stamina/mana regeneration bonus. Get this shield in Return to Ostagar DLC
Fade Wall	Boost to Stamina and mana regeneration one of the best shields for builds using Magic and sword attacks.
Warden Tower Shield	Gives a mana regeneration bonus that you can obtain in Warden’s Keep DLC.
Bulwark of the True King	The shield comes with the Ultimate Edition of the game and can be used early in the game. Provides adequate stats bonuses to armor, willpower, and defense
Eamon's Shield	A decent early shield that you can get in Redcliffe Castle. Boosts both defense and mana pool

Helm

Item	Description
Helm of Honnleath	The best helmet in the Dragon Age Origins game all around. Get it in Stone Prisoner DLC
Executioner’s Helm	Boosting stamina/mana will allow you to have more sustainable abilities active.
Longrunner’s Cap	Generally, it is reserved for rogues, but 0.5 mana regeneration is hard to pass.
The Libertarian's Cowl	Gives defense and bonuses to stamina regeneration.

Armor

Item	Description
Warden Commander Armor	Use it for the Warden Commander Armor set. The stamina boost is substantial and allows you to cast additional 1 or 2 spells.
Evon the Great’s Mail	Counts toward Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set. Provides larger bonuses than base armor
Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Armor	If you cannot afford Evon the Great’s Mail, this is a perfect alternative that you get by crafting from Wade

Gloves

Item	Description
Warden Commander Gloves	Best gloves to use for Warden Commander Armor set.
Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Gauntlets	Use it for Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set.

Boots

Item	Description
Warden Commander Boots	You get these boots in Warden’s Keep DLC. They are the best boots with Warden Commander Armor set.
Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Boots	Use it together with other Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set items.
Cailan's Greaves	Excellent greaves that give a significant boost to hit evasion.
Fade Striders	Excellent boots that you can obtain very early in the game.

Amulets

Item	Description
The Spellward	One of the best amulets as it increases the mana pool for more sustained abilities but adds a chance to dodge and significant spell resistance.
Pearl of the Anointed	+1 to all attributes, great amulet for the start of the game.
Shaper's Amulet	Additional willpower is great to improve the mana pool for more sustained spells.
Par Vollen Willstone
Magister's Shield	Magister's Shield is a better version but is obtained later in the game. Overall, these are similar items with minor differences. Both of them will help to resist spells and improve chances of avoiding attacks.
Mark of Vigilance

Belts

Item	Description
Andruil’s Blessing	The best belt in the game provides a large boost to all stats
Sash of Forbidden Secrets	Only accessible if you finish The Golems of Amgarrak DLC. This is a truly powerful belt for casters and this Arcane Warrior Build.
Cinch of Skillful Maneuvering	A powerful belt that gives a flat 10% chance to dodge enemy attacks.
Destructionist's Belt	Boost spellpower and mana regeneration. A decent alternative until you get Andruil’s blessing

Rings

Item	Description
Lifegiver	Significantly boost survivability
Key to the City	It's one of the best rings in the game. It gives +2 to all attributes. It can be obtained in Orzammar
The Lucky Stone	Improves all attributes resulting in higher spellpower and more mana.
The Wicked Oath	+1 mana regeneration which is amazing early in the game. Still the bonuses to backstabs and criticals are better used for rogues later in the game
Ring of Study	A decent ring that can be used to improve the main stat of the arcane warrior build.
Morrigan's Ring	A boost to willpower for an increased mana pool.

How to use the Build

In this section, I would like to go through some general tips on how to correctly utilize the build.

Main mechanics

In this part, I would like to go through the core mechanics of the build. Using them you can construct your preferred playstyle and utilize everything that the various talent and equipment picks have to offer.

Sustained Spells

So the art of this build is to correctly use Sustained spells to fully utilize your mana pool. As AW Spirit Healer you will have to fine-tune the amount of available mana and what you can use for spellcasting. Let's start with spells that I think are mandatory to run:

1. Combat Magic - well this will ensure that your sword attacks deal sufficient damage.
2. Spell Wisp - a simple and cheap spell that will improve everything for the Arcane Warrior Build.
3. Cleansing Aura - the true healing source for your build, as it will constantly release healing pulses.
4. Haste - later in the game, you can stack this with another mage. However, if you do not have other ones casting it, I would then prioritize this higher.

I try to maintain 50% of free mana so that you could cast a few healing spells if needed. Going above this threshold will require to chug lyrium potions too often. In addition, there are some optional sustained spells, that I might use depending on the situation:

1. Spell Might - increases spellpower and in turn your hit chance, heal amount, etc. I would turn it on after I have used up my mana fully and do not plan on using Lyrium potions.
2. Shimmering Shield - use this for more difficult encounters. Gives huge bonuses to elemental resistances, armor, and physical resistances. However, it will drain mana fast, so be ready to use Lyrium potions.
3. Rock Armor - Improves armor. Overall, you will already have high values of it, so I would not put much emphasis on it.

Maintaining Mana and Sustained Spells

For this build to be effective in prolonged combat, you will have to address mana management. Two sustained abilities will greatly diminish it - Cleansing Aura and Shimmering Shield. Just one of these can be addressed by using mana/stamina regeneration from items:

• Cailan’s Arms set - 5.75 Mana regeneration
• Andruil’s Blessing - 2 Mana regeneration
• Improved Combat Training - 0.5 Mana Regeneration
• Wade's Superior Dragonscale Armor Set - 2 Mana Regeneration
• Duncan's Sword - 2 Mana Regeneration
• Spellweaver - 1 Mana Regeneration
• Fade Wall - 1 Mana Regeneration

If you want to also use spellcasting or both of the mentioned spells together, Lyrium potions are mandatory. Otherwise, when mana reaches 0 the spells are disabled. However, this could be intentional, especially before your allies take care of most of the adds or heavy-hitting foes.

Ensuring high Attack

As an Arcane Warrior with a Sword and Shield, you will be using your sword to hit enemies. This is quite obvious however, it comes with a main problem - low hit chance. This can be addressed by having a high Attack value. Here is how you can increase it:

• Invest into Dexterity - although this is obvious, it does not synergize well with the build, as your main stat is Magic.
• Magic - this is the main stat that improves spellpower and in turn weapon damage, spell damage, heal power, and hit chance.
• Spell Wisp - gives spellpower that increases Attack.
• Spell Might - improves spell power that increases Attack
• Heroic Offense - an excellent spell that can be used at the start of the combat before the weapon is drawn to buff yourself.

Using Control Spells

Most of the game will revolve around you utilizing various control spells at your disposal. Here is what you should be aware of:

• Glyph of Paralysis + Glyph of Repulsion create a huge explosion that can paralyze multiple enemies. It will also hit allies so be careful of that. You can still use those spells by themselves as they can cover choke points or disable key targets.

Enemy Mages

One of the main and most destructive enemies in the game (besides Templars) is Mages. They can cast Fireball, apply Hexes, or freeze you or your allies. For this reason, I recommend taking Mana Clash.

In most cases, it will instantly destroy enemy casters if they have full mana. So use it the moment you see a caster enemy. It also works on enemies that might have mana, like Fade creatures, even though many of them don't use spells.

Sheathed casting or not?

So the main problem with Arcane Warrior is that many spells will force you to sheath your weapon. This is problematic as it slows down you in combat, and can mean life or death. For this reason, most of the spells that I recommend can be cast with weapons drawn.

However, if you are curious and maybe want to land a Fireball or two, you could get it and cast it just when the combat starts. This is when the weapon is not yet drawn, and you can inflict damage, aggro enemies and then use the spells that I recommend.

Healing allies

The last core part of the build is utilizing the wide array of heals available. This is what makes this a true Paladin build. Let's go through how and when you should use them:

• Heal - I would recommend using this in the early game or when Group Heal is on cooldown. Otherwise, you have more cost-efficient choices.
• Group Heal - the main healing option, especially in harder fights. The only downside is it's long cooldown.
• Regeneration - this is an extremely cost-efficient healing option. Use it more or less always, especially on characters that are being targeted by enemies - like tanks or mages.
• Cleansing Aura - the ultimate sustained healing spell, that will release waves of healing. It does become weaker the further your allies are, so be aware of that.

Early Game Combat

For the early game, you will be playing a normal mage, that concentrates on control:

• Glyph of Paralysis + Glyph of Repulsion can be used on a group of enemies. Just be sure that your allies are not standing close to the explosion.
• Glyph of Repulsion is perfect for covering choke points or cast on a caster so that melee enemies coming close would get pushed back.
• Arcane Bolt is an excellent bread-and-butter spell to use whenever it is not on cooldown
• Heroic Offense should be used at the start of the combat to increase weapon hit chance.

Late Game Combat

• Mana Clash is a priority if you see a mage - just destroy it. It also works on creatures from the Fade.
• As you will access Cleansing Aura your mana regeneration will be impaired. Be sure to stock up on Lyrium potions to be used in heavier fights.
• Spell Might can be activated once you use up your Mana and you see the fight just needs to finish a few stragglers. This way you improve your attack chance without much effort.
• Group Heal is a very powerful healing spell, and once you see that a few allies have lost some HP activate it.
• Regeneration can be cast whenever an ally is about to be attacked by enemies, even if HP is still high. The total heal amount is substantial and you want not to waste any ticks.
• Use Heroic Offense at the start of the combat, to ensure you land hits when they are needed to clear enemies. This will also overcome its limitation of being cast with the weapon sheathed as initially it takes a second or two before the weapon draw animation is finished.
• Haste is a very powerful spell. Goog thing is that you can double its effect with another mage also casting it.

Conclusion

This post covered in-depth how to build Arcane Warrior Spirit Healer Build for Dragon Age: Origins. It is a very powerful setup offering a Paladin-like playstyle - strong healing options and respectable frontline capabilities.

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