Alistair Dual Wield Build - Dragon Age: Origins (DAO)
Contents
Alistair Dual Wield Build
So using one of the most popular companions would usually direct you towards making it a heavy armored tank. However, as Alistair is obtained very early in the game you can make it into almost any other setup. One of the most enjoyable ones was Dual Wielder.
I especially recommend this one to more experienced players, who already had a playthrough with a Tank. The good thing is that this build can still soak a lot of damage. More importantly, enemies will be dying much faster, and it will be a matter of how fast AI can change targets.
The build relies on heavy and massive armor and uses mostly auto-attacks. This is due to high fatigue and multiple sustained abilities. There are various bugs with the build which I will cover in the mechanics section. So check it, especially if you plan on using mods to fix those.
You will need some good control options as the build does not have any by itself. For example, a solid mage, that can put enemies to sleep or apply Waking Nightmare can make the encounters much easier. Moreover, having various buffs like Frost Weapons and Flaming Weapons will make the damage go very high.
Attributes
In this section, I would like to review the recommended attributes for Alistair Dual Wield 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.
There are a few goals that you want to reach first. After that you will be able to concentrate on a single one:
- Dexterity: 36 - unlocks all the talents in the Dual Weapon tree. Moreover, it will help optimize attack values and wear some good daggers.
- Strength: 42 - allows wearing heavier armor and improves weapon damage.
The main caveat is that your highest-tier talents require high dexterity. This in turn delays the gear that you can equip which requires strength. So you will have to fine-tune what you pick.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Strength - +1 every level up, then +3 once you reach 36 dexterity | The main damage attribute allows wearing the best weapons and armor in the game. |
| Dexterity - +2 every level up until 36 | An important attribute that provides bonuses to attack and defense. Moreover, it will unlock the highest-tier talents in the Dual Weapon tree. |
Skills
This section will go through recommended skills to optimize the character. These unlock general utility actions or improve combat capabilities in terms of new talent levels or tactics slots.
| Skill | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Survival | 1 | Improves Nature resistance. |
| Poison-Making | 3 | Allows using coatings to improve damage. To be fair I do not use this much as I usually control the main character. |
| Combat Training | 4 | The most important skill, which improves attack and defense but also unlocks higher tier talents for the Weapon and Shield tree. |
| Combat Tactics | 1 | Unlocks new tactics slots. The build does not need a lot, but having a few more will make it easier to optimize for various combat situations. |
Specializations
| Specialization | Description |
|---|---|
| Templar | This is the main specialization that Alistair starts with. It does come with some passive bonuses, but overall the active talents are very situational and either expensive or difficult to use. |
| Berserker | Improves damage and provides other stat boosts. One of the best picks for warriors optimizing their damage. |
Talents and Spells
In this section, I would like to go through the recommended talents for Alistair Dual Wield Build. They are important in optimizing the various bonuses and what actions are unlocked.
Templar
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Righteous Strike | This ability is obtained automatically and drain's enemy's mana with each hit, if they have it. |
Berserk Tree
Only one talent will be relevant here.
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Berserk | Improves damage and mental resistance. |
| Resilience | Improves health regeneration |
| Constraint | Negates stamina drain while Berserk is active. |
Warrior
Powerful Tree
Overall. this tree is a very low priority. You will not be concentrating on drawing aggro, and bonuses here are average. So prioritize other talents.
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Powerful | Excellent passive talent that reduces fatigue from armor and improves total health pool. |
| Threaten | An optional ability that you can use to slightly improve threat generation if there is no dedicated tank in the group. |
Precise Striking
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Precise Striking | Mainly taken for progression. |
| Taunt | I would recommend using this when there is some Lieutenant foe or boss. Otherwise, normal enemies will be taken care of very fast. |
| Disengage | Mainly for progression |
| Perfect Striking | This can be activated to get a significant boost to attack almost guaranteeing that all of your hits land. |
Dual Weapon
As some of the talents have already been invested into Weapon and Shield, few of these will not be picked. Moreover, the build is more about auto-attacks
Dual-Weapon Training tree
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Dual-Weapon Training | Improves off-hand weapon damage. |
| Dual-Weapon Finesse | Improves both attack and defense, allowing it to be more effective in combat. |
| Dual-Weapon Expert | Does improve damage with bleeding effect. However, the additional critical chance does not bring any benefit as the build uses Dual Striking. |
| Dual-Weapon Mastery | Allows wearing heavier weapons like Waraxes and Longswords in the offhand. This is important because Dual Striking uses the main hand to decide attack speed, so wearing a dagger + longsword will net more damage. |
Dual Striking Tree
Due to the limited amount of talent points, I do not go deeper here.
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Dual Striking | Allows attacking with both weapons at the same time. This disables critical hits, but the build doesn't have any backstabbing and auto attacks, so this choice is perfect. |
| Riposte | This can be used in mid and late-game against bosses. For weaker enemies, I would not use it, as Alistair's auto attacks will kill enemies faster before the stun effect can be utilized. |
Dual-Weapon Sweep Tree
| Spell | Description |
|---|---|
| Dual-Weapon Sweep | Good activate ability for early game, but does lose its purpose once you can reach high attack speeds. |
| Flurry | Good activate ability for early game, but does lose its purpose once you can reach high attack speeds. |
| Momentum | One of the core talents of this build giving a significant attack boost. If, you are playing without the recommended mod list, be sure to check this article on how to maintain the correct attack speed so that Alistair's attacks would not get slowed down, if you have a mage with Haste. |
| Whirlwind | This attack can be useful, later in the game, when enemies might be overwhelming Alistair, but all of them have very low HP. Just a single use of Whirlwind will kill all of them. |
Equipment
The gear you use with Alistair Dual Wield Build will play a crucial role in combat. There are various combos that you can go with. I would recommend going with either Heavy or Massive armor pieces as these will provide a substantial boost to armor.
Below, 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 and the earlier you can get it. So the top ones are the best picks.
Weapons - Daggers
These weapons will go into the main hand, and ensure that you have the highest attack speed with Dual Striking.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 The Rose’s Thorn |
Quite expensive but an excellent dagger all around, boosting critical rate, critical damage, and dexterity – all things that you need |
 The Edge |
Has two rune slots and also provides the largest bonus to damage out of all daggers |
 Duncan’s Dagger |
Large boost to dexterity, great against dragon fights due to bonus damage. |
| Thorn of the Dead Gods |
Tier 2 version can be obtained in Lothering. Great value early in the game |
Weapons - Longswords and Waraxes
These weapons will be used as offhand weapons once you have the Dual-Weapon Mastery. They will ensure that you maximize your damage using Dual Striking talent.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Starfang (longsword) |
This weapon has the highest base damage, making it an excellent choice for Alistair. It also comes with 3 rune slots enabling it to further enhance it. |
 The Veshialle |
This weapon would be the best one if excluding Starfang (longsword). It can surpass it, but this will require a huge strength investment which is not possible with AI companions. |
| Maric’s Blade |
Use this weapon together with Cailan's Shield for the Cailan's Arm set. With the set, stamina regeneration will increase greatly allowing Alistair to use many more active talents. Moreover, it weakens darkspawn and increases damage against them. |
 Keening Blade |
A late-game weapon was obtained from one of the bosses. It is a powerful option, but not as good in my opinion compared to others. |
 Asturian's Might |
A sword that is a good progression between Oathkeeper and the higher Tier 7 swords. |
| Oathkeeper |
A decent early-game sword that you can obtain in Lothering. Also comes with 1 rune slot |
Helm
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Corruption Helm |
Gives a significant boost to Dexterity which will improve hit chance and damage with daggers. The spirit resistance is also big. Sadly, the helmet is obtained very late in the game. |
 Helm of Honnleath |
The only helmet to give direct damage and survivability boost in one. However, it will probably be used by the main character. |
 Cailan's Helm |
Use the helmet together with the Cailan's armor set. The helmet gives bonus armor and mental resistance |
 Bergen's Honor |
I would say these helms are equal. On the one hand, you get some good bonuses to armor and attack. On the other +25 stamina with Executioner’s Helm is a really good boost for additional active ability during an encounter. |
 Executioner’s Helm |
|
 Helm of the Deep |
Boost to the constitution for a bigger HP pool. A great helmet as you earn it for free early in the game |
Armor
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Armor of the Legion |
Legion of the Dead armor set is best in terms of damage potential as it gives a flat boost. The build does not care about fatigue, so wearing massive armor just benefits the build with higher armor values. |
 Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate Armor |
Part of the Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set. This will increase Alistair's stamina and stamina regeneration. Moreover, it will reduce fatigue with the total set. |
 Evon the Great’s Mail |
The Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set is lighter in terms of fatigue stats but has less armor. Still, with Evon the Great’s Mail which can be used instead of Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Armor, you will get additional armor, making it a very close contender, to Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate Armor but this will cost a lot of gold. |
| Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Armor |
|
 Cailan's Breastplate |
Use the armor together with the Cailan's armor set. The chest piece gives additional armor and physical resistance |
 Warden Commander Armor |
This armor can be excellent if obtained early. The negative aspect is that it will have lower-tier materials which will be outclassed later on. Equip together with the Warden Commander armor set. |
Gloves
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Gloves of the Legion |
Part of the Legion of the Dead armor set. |
 Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate Gloves |
Part of the Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set. This will increase Alistair's stamina regeneration. Use it together with the whole set |
 Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Gauntlets |
Part of Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set |
 Cailan's Gauntlets |
Use it together with the Cailan's armor set. |
 Warden Commander Gloves |
Equip together with the Warden Commander armor set. The gloves give a bonus of 10% fire resistance |
Boots
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Boots of the Legion |
Part of the Legion of the Dead armor set. |
 Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate Boots |
Part of the Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set. This will increase Alistair's stamina regeneration. Use it together with the whole set |
 Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale Boots |
Part of Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set |
 Cailan's Greaves |
Use it together with the Cailan's armor set. These boots are an excellent way to reduce the chance for enemies to hit you. I do recommend using it with The Spellward and other items giving bonuses to dodge. |
 Warden Commander Boots |
Equip together with the Warden Commander armor set. The boots give a bonus of 50 stamina |
 The Lion's Paw |
Decent early games shoes that give chance to avoid enemy attacks. |
Accessories
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Andruil’s Blessing |
The best belt available all around. The bonuses to stamina regeneration are great to counteract the sustained abilities. |
 Cinch of Skillful Maneuvering |
You will need to finish Witch Hunt DLC to unlock this accessory. The chance to dodge is excellent for survivability improvement. |
| Dwarven Warrior's Belt |
Improves armor and strength for slightly more damage. |
Amulets
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 The Spellward |
This is considered one of the best amulets, however, it will be a contender for almost all builds. |
 Pearl of the Anointed |
The +1 to all attributes is a significant boost, especially at the start of the game. |
 Mark of Vigilance |
Provides defense and resistance bonuses. |
 Heart of Witherfang |
This can be equipped on Alistair due to a +1 Strength bonus. |
Rings
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Key to the City |
One of the best rings in the game. It will be contested by many builds, so just listing it here as an option. |
 Harvest Festival Ring |
Overall good ring for the Warriors, improving damage, hit chance, and defense. |
 Ring of the Warrior |
Overall good ring for the Warriors, improving damage, hit chance, and defense. |
 Dawn Ring |
Significantly improves strength, which results in higher damage. This is a late-game ring, so it will have minimal impact. |
 The Lucky Stone |
Gives +1 to all attributes. Excellent ring when starting the game. |
 Band of Fire |
Good early-game ring, providing a bonus constitution for higher survivability. |
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. Although this is a companion build it is still crucial to understand how to best utilize it in the party composition.
Dual Wield mechanics and bugs - important!
Okay, so there are some problems with dual wielding and it will depend on whether you can access mods or not to reach extremely high levels of damage. You can use these multiple game fixes to address various bugs left by developers. Here are the fixes with the mods:
- You can stay at 26 Dexterity, as you won't need the last talents from the Dual Wield tree - Dual-Weapon Mastery. What is the problem here? Without the bug fixes, Dual Striking uses main hand to determine attack speed. So to wear a heavier weapon offhand you need Dual-Weapon Mastery. Well, with the fixes, attack speed is the average of both weapons, and the main hand can use the heavier weapon while the offhand lighter one.
- Your damage... will be very high as the main Dual Striking bug is fixed where one of three attacks misses.
Sustained Abilities
For this Dual Wield build, various sustained abilities can be used. The build does not use many activate talents, so you need a minimal amount of them.
Here is what I recommend:
- Momentum - greatly improves the attack speed of dual wielder. It can be bugged if you are playing without recommended mods. So if you have a mage with Haste check the recommended fix on the vanilla game.
- Dual Striking - attack with both of your weapons at the same time. This is a huge damage boost, especially as the build does not care about critical hits.
- Berserk - provides a significant damage boost.
And here are some optional ones, that I might use depending on the situation:
- Threaten - this is an optional talent. It can help to maintain aggro if you do not have a main tank with a weapon and shield. This is especially relevant as the build does not use many active talents.
Maintaining high attack speed
So I already mentioned this a few times, but there are various bugs with dual wielding and in general attack speed. The main one is that if your attack speed reaches above 50% percent you start hitting slowly. This can happen easily:
- Momentum - 30% attack speed
- Haste - 25% attack speed
This can be fixed in two ways - use Precise Striking to reduce the attack speed (by -10%) or install recommended mods that address this issue.
Early Game Tactics
These are the tactics that I would use for the early game, up until levels 10-12. The game up to this point can be very hard, so you might need to do some cheesing. A few things of note:
- Active talents can be quite useful, as your auto attacks will not yet deal ridiculous damage. However, as you progress their importance will degrade
- I recommend starting from the Scrapper preset and updating.
Late Game Tactics
These tactics are aimed towards the late game when you have most of the build talents covered:
- Most of the active talents were removed
- Riposte is still great for stunning bosses
- Perfect Striking will ensure that your attacks land, giving a continuous stream of damage.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading the Alistair Dual Wield Build post for Dragon Age: Origins. This is a perfect choice for those, looking for a different setup with Alistair. The late game optimized setup is very powerful, shredding enemies one after another, making the Dual Wielder a sight to behold.
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