Sword and Shield - Tank Build - Dragon Age: Origins (DAO)

Sword and Shield - Tank Build

This build is for those who are looking for a vanilla tank setup, and be the main tank of the party. You will be using a one-handed weapon with a shield in the offhand. This will utilize the Weapon and Shield talent tree which will unlock various defensive boosts and control options.

There are a few main goals. The first one is to keep the enemy's attention on you. For this, Threaten and Taunt will play a crucial role as this way the harder-hitting allies - dual wielders, 2-hand warriors, and mages, can freely reign supreme.

Second - control. This might seem strange but by going to Champion specialization you will unlock War Cry that can knock back multiple enemies. After that, talents like Shield Bash and Overpower will further enhance single-target control. So that specific enemies would barely have a chance to do anything.

If this sounds like what you are interested in, let's go more into the build!

Character Creation

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

Race

So, all the races can have warrior classes and have very interesting backstories for that. However, I do think for optimal setup up two of those are better:

Class

The choice here is obvious:

Background

To be fair there are quite a few background choices. Elves and Dwarves get two of each. Here are my recommendations

Attributes

For the start of the game, all points should be invested - +5 Strength. Although you will need some dexterity, it can be delayed. Higher strength will improve damage and allow you to wear some heavier items if you have DLCs earlier.

Skills

I recommend one of the below:

Talents

There are 2 main talents that I would prioritize.

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. I think either Soldier's Peak or Return to Ostagar DLCs are excellent choices for early games. They award good massive armor, that can be worn with mid-strength investment.
2. Circle Tower - the additional attributes are awarded via Fade Quest which will make it easier to reach required thresholds.
3. Redcliffe and Urn of the Sacred Ashes quests, to unlock Champion specialization from Arl Eamon.
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 review the recommended attributes for Sword and Shield 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 should reach to cover all the talents and equipment requirements.

Now, what to do next? There are two options in my opinion:

1. Lean into Strength - +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity. This will continue improving the damage and also give a slight boost to defense as you level up. With a good party setup, most of the monsters will be under various control effects - stun, sleep, freeze, paralysis, and high survivability are not necessary. If you are okay, you could also go with +3 Strength.
2. Leaning into Dexterity - +2 Dexterity, +1 Strength. This will make you better at avoiding enemy hits at the cost of higher damage. It is more of a safe bet, especially if you do not have to some of the items.

Willpower and Constitution are also options, but in terms of "optimal" setup they do not give much, and parts of it can be covered with good item picks.

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.

Specializations

The build uses two specializations which both improve the build:

For the second, option there are two picks in my opinion:

Talents

The build has minimal investment into talents. You will mainly concentrate on specialization and class ones.

Champion Tree

Berserker Tree

Warrior Tree

Powerful Tree

Precise Striking tree

Power of Blood

These talents are obtained automatically if you drink a blood vial in Soldier's Peak.

Weapon and Shield

Shield Bash tree

Shield Defense tree

Shield Block tree

Equipment

The gear you use with the Weapon and Shield Build will play a crucial role in combat. There are various combos that you can go with.

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.

To be fair there are a lot of armor sets to pick from. Here is my recommended progression that I think is perfect to cover various aspects of the game:

1. Warden Commander armor set - pretty easy to obtain and good bonuses for the early game
2. Cailan's armor set - okay set, but does take up a helmet slot. An alternative could be Juggernaut armor set if no access to DLCs.
3. Wade's Superior Heavy Dragonscale armor set or Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set

Weapons

There are plenty of single-hand weapons to choose from. So I would not worry about these.

Item	Description
Starfang (longsword)	The best single-hand weapon in the game with the highest damage. It also has 3 rune slots which can be filled with damage or paralysis runes.
The Veshialle	This weapon would be the best one if excluding Starfang (longsword). It can surpass it, but if you put almost all the points in strength it is hard to achieve with a shield.
The Reaper's Cudgel	A powerful mace with high direct damage and strength improvements. However, it can be sold for a very high amount of gold to vendors.
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 you to use talents without any reservations.
Keening Blade	A late-game weapon that can be 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

Shields

Item	Description
Fade Wall	If you are lucky to obtain this one, it is a very powerful shield to use on the tank character.
Champion's Shield	Can be easily stolen in Orzammar. The +12 Defense boost is significant and the highest in the game. Can be obtained early on.
Cailan's Shield	Use this shield together with Maric’s Blade for the Cailan's Arm set. Will boost stamina regeneration allowing Alistair to use offensive abilities more often.
Duncan's Shield	A well-rounded shield that boosts willpower, stamina regeneration, and defense. Unfortunately, you only obtain it late in the game
Warden Tower Shield	A solid shield with very good stats. However, it is not a guaranteed drop.
Bulwark of the True King	I would say one of the best shields in the early game, but requires a significant investment into strength before equipping it.
Eamon's Shield	An early game shield that can be obtained in Redcliffe Castle. It boosts both defense and stamina, allowing Alistair to use more offensive abilities.

Helm

Item	Description
Corruption Helm	Although this is an extremely good helmet for a tank, you obtain it close to the end of the game. You can use it against the last boss due to the high Spirit Resistance it provides
Helm of Honnleath	One of the best helmets in the game giving +2 to all attributes.
Cailan's Helm	Use the helmet together with the Cailan's armor set. The helmet gives bonus armor and mental resistance
Juggernaut Helm	Equip together with Juggernaut armor set. The helmet provides +1 bonus armor
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
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
Knight Commander's Plate	The high spell resistances will make you a much better tank, able to withstand various magic effects.
Juggernaut Plate Armor	Mid-game armor that comes with significant elemental resistances and some boost to strength and constitution. Part of the Juggernaut armor set.
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
Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate Gloves	Part of the Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set. This will increase 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	Part of Cailan's armor set and gives a big boost to critical hits, which are possible with Overpower.
Juggernaut Plate Gloves	Equip together with Juggernaut armor set. The gloves provide bonus elemental resistance.
Warden Commander Gloves	Equip together with the Warden Commander armor set. The gloves give a bonus of 10% fire resistance

Boots

Item	Description
Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate Boots	Part of the Wade's Superior Dragonbone Plate armor set. This will increase 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	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.
Juggernaut Plate Boots	Equip together with Juggernaut armor set. The boots provide bonus elemental resistance
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	Comes with a +2 to all attributes bonus improving all the stats the build needs.
Cinch of Skillful Maneuvering	You will need to finish Witch Hunt DLC to unlock this accessory. Gives +1 to all attributes, spell resistance, and improved dodge chance.
Dwarven Warrior's Belt	Gives +1 strength and armor, a decent early-game belt.
Buckle of the Winds	+3 defense boost to slightly improve the chance of avoiding enemy attacks.
Ornate Leather Belt	+1 strength, simple and cheap belt to help with strength requirements for early game.

Amulets

Item	Description
The Spellward	Considered one of the best amulets in the game as it gives dodge chances and spell resistance. Still, I am more in favor of offensive stats on amulets for a build using long-range weapons.
Pearl of the Anointed	The +1 to all attributes is a significant boost, especially at the start of the game.
Heart of Witherfang	Comes with a +1 Strength bonus to minimize the gear requirements.
Magister's Shield	Improves defense and spell resistance.
Mark of Vigilance	Provides defense and resistance bonuses.

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.
Lifegiver	Gives a significant boost to health. Overall, I recommend using it on the tank or on Blood Mage in the group to improve survivability.
Harvest Festival Ring	Improves dexterity and strength. The ring is perfect to gain attributes to wear the best armors in the game and save attribute points.
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 the loss to cunning will have minimal impact.
The Lucky Stone	+1 to all attributes that improve all the core stats of the build.
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. Using them you can construct your preferred playstyle and utilize everything that the various talent and equipment picks have to offer.

Sustained Talents

The build does not use many active talents so it's easy to use sustained abilities with minimal impact on the offensive potential of the build.

1. Threaten - one of the core talents that enable good threat generation, especially on single targets. However, for the late game, I would try disabling it and see how it goes. Generally, Taunt ability should be enough most of the time.
2. Shield Defense or Shield Wall - use the former if you are using recommended mods, as this allows it to work without any penalties. If you are not using mods, go with Shield Wall, as it is bugged and there is no penalty for damage.

Here are some optional ones, that you can try. Remember, having more of these active will eat into your stamina pool:

1. Berserk - generally, I would say this is mandatory, but only once you have all the upgrades. Before that, I would not even use it, as it would impede stamina regeneration to some extent.
2. Rally - optional sustained that improves the attack value. I would say this is a very low priority and would only use it if you have something like Dual Wield Cunning rogue, which needs some attack bonuses.
3. Precise Striking - it improves critical chance and attack values. However, I did not use this at all.

A continuous barrage of attacks

What makes Weapon and Shield build good is that it can consistently overwhelm a single enemy. It may not seem much, but when fighting an Elite or a Boss, you can keep it pinned with your talents:

• Overpower
• Shield Pummel
• Shield Bash

Juggling these three will make the enemy constantly stunned or on the ground, unable to do much. Assault is also great, but it does not impose any negative effects. Still, it is a good way to finish off an enemy so that Deathblow would activate.

Maintaining Threat

The main aspect of tank building is to maintain Threat. This means that enemies select you as the main target. On lower difficulties having Massive or Heavy armor already helps with it. However, on Nightmare this effect is negated.

However, there are two important talents to help here:

• Taunt - draws attention from enemies in a large area. I would say this is the best option and effective.
• Threaten - this is a sustained ability that needs to be activated. It is a decent option, and helps with threat generation on a single target, so perfect for bosses or similar strong foes.

High Dodge chance

To increase the build survivability you can stack Dodge Chance from various items. This is a perfect option to overcome low defense and incoming enemy physical attacks.

• The Lion's Paw - +10% Dodge Chance
• The Spellward - +10% Dodge Chance
• Cinch of Skillful Maneuvering - +10% Dodge Chance.
• Cailan's Greaves - +20% dodge chance

So with a 30-40% dodge chance, you can avoid three out of ten attacks. This does not account for any defense-related avoidance, which would further boost the survivability.

Early Game Combat

• For the early game, I would not worry too much about Threat generation and would play more of a frontliner that deals damage.
• Use Shield Bash, and Shield Pummel to shut down enemies. You want key targets like mages (if they are not taken care of by your own mages), and elite foes, to do as little damage and negative debuffs as possible.
• Be Careful of traps!
• Once you reach about levels 7-9, and have access to good armor I would start concentrating on Threat generation and usage of Taunt.

Late Game Combat

• I love using the combo of Taunt + War Cry. So run into a room and activate Taunt. This will make enemies concentrate on you and come closer. Position yourself so that enemies are close in a circular radius and release upgraded War Cry. This will knock back everyone in the room, making them easy pickings for your party members.
• Use all of the active talents like Shield Pummel, Assault, etc. to concentrate on a single enemy and inflict good damage and some control.
• Try to inflict the killing blow as this will activate Death Blow and fuel the stamina for the next attacks.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Best Sword and Shield Tank Build, post for Dragon Age: Origins. So this covers the main idea of the frontliner build with weapon and shield. It has been more enjoyable than I expected mainly due to multiple active talents, that help you to juggle between enemies and pick your next targets. Moreover, being the main character that the party relies on is a satisfying thing in itself.

Feel free to leave feedback below.