Best Morrigan Controller Build - Umbral Mistress - Dragon Age: Origins (DAO)

Morrigan Controller Build - Umbral Mistress

This controller build utilizes Morrigan's significant investment into the Entropic Tree. With a few more Talent points you will be able to get Sleep and Waking Nightmare which can outright win many of the game fights.

The main downside is that Morrigan has already invested in a few not-so-relevant talents. Still, Winter's Grasp and Lightning will help maintain damage output once the tactics for entropy spells are used.

I also recommend further investment into Spirit Tree. Spells like Crushing Prison and Force Field are excellent at disabling powerful foes like mages or even bosses. On the other hand, if you want to be a full mage killer Mana Clash investment is perfect.

So if you are interested in this entropic build for Morrigan, let's dive deeper.

Attributes

In this section, I would like to review the recommended attributes for Morrigan Controller 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

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.

Specializations

For the second specialization, all of the options have some kind of benefit. So feel free to choose the one most relevant to your playstyle:

What would I pick? I would take Spirit Healer. Morrigan comes with not-so-optimal attribute allocation, and bonus magic helps. The build already is demanding in talent points, and spending anything else would creep on its capabilities. Blood Magic is great, but I want my companions to run on autopilot so that I can concentrate on the main character.

Talents

In this section, I would like to go through the recommended talents for Morrigan Controller Build. They are important in optimizing the various bonuses and what actions are unlocked.

Shapeshifter Tree

Blood Mage Tree (Optional)

If you decide to take the Blood Mage specialization. It is powerful but requires manual intervention.

Primal Tree

Most of these talents come by default, so it's still recommended to make use of them.

Path of Stone

Path of Ice

Path of Storms

Creation Tree

Healing Tree

Nature Tree

Spirit Tree

This skill tree has two main options. I will try to cover their pros and cons and what would I pick.

Option 1 - Mana Drain Tree

This tree is very powerful, especially against enemy mages. If you are playing first time on Nightmare, removing these pesky foes can mean victory or defeat. However, the main talent - Mana Clash requires a 4 talent point investment - which is expensive.

Option 2 - Telekinesis Tree

This pick is much more versatile and each of the talents is usable in a wide variety of ways. For companion builds I would pick this tree. It makes it a more cost-efficient investment due to their limited options.

Entropy Tree

The main tree of the build with large talent investment

Chains of Entropy Tree

Hexes Tree

This tree is excellent for AI companions as it targets single enemies and can improve party situations.

Mental Contamination tree

Entropic Mortality Tree

Equipment

The gear you use with Morrigan Controller Build will play a crucial role in combat. The main concern will be the item availability as many of them will be contenders for your main character.

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

Item	Description
Final Reason	Trades blows with Staff of the Magister Lord. This one is much cheaper and can be accessed earlier for this reason.
Staff of the Magister Lord	The best staff in terms of overall stat boosts, however, it is quite pricey.
Magister's Staff	I would say these staves are the same. So get the ones that are easier to obtain. Sadly, the spirit damage bonus is not as important and you will not use these spells as much.
Corrupted Magister's Staff
Torch of Embers	Gives a spellpower boost which will result in more effective spells. The fire-related bonuses are not so relevant.
Acolyte's Staff	A very early game staff that boosts magic, and comes with physical damage type, perfect for early game.

Helm

Item	Description
Helm of Honnleath	The best helmet if you have the Arcane Warrior specialization with Combat Magic. This way you will not need to meet the 20-strength requirement.
First Enchanter's Cowl	Significantly increases the chance to dodge attacks. This effect stat with other items, can enable you to easily avoid enemy attacks. Still, this is only available very late in the game.
Reinforced Magus Cowl	Comes with +2 Willpower for a slightly higher mana pool.
The Libertarian’s Cowl	Improves mana regeneration and gives a decent boost to defense.
Enchanter's Arming Cap	Gives +1 to willpower which increases the mana pool for spellcasting.

Armor

Item	Description
Vestments of the Seer	The best robes in the game, especially for the build that relies on a lot of mana. I give a large boost to magic, armor, and spell resistance.
Robes of Possession	One of the best robes specifically for Morrigan. In addition to a magic boost, it gives bonus cold damage which helps with occasional Winter's Grasp damage.
Wade's Superior Dragonskin armor	Looking for something more defensive with Arcane Warrior specialization? Part of Wade's Superior Dragonskin armor set. The whole set will make your fatigue value negative, meaning spells will cost even less than what is written in the tooltip.
Tevinter Mage Robes	Gives mana regeneration and a direct increase in spellpower improving Morrigan's spell success chance
First Enchanter Robes	Improves core stats of caster - willpower, and magic.
Senior Enchanter's Robes	Improves core stats of caster - willpower, and magic, albeit with a lower bonus than First Enchanter Robes.
Archon Robes	Decent robes that you can get early in the game if you do the Circle Tower quest.

Gloves

Sadly, there are not many options for gloves that would give a truly strong case for Morrigan controller build.

Item	Description
Ashen Gloves	Boosts cold damage by 20%.
Black Hand Gauntlets	Spells like Horror can inflict spirit damage which would be boosted with these gloves.
Wade's Superior Dragonskin Gloves	Part of Wade's Superior Dragonskin armor set.

Boots

Item	Description
Fade Striders	The only boots giving direct magic attribute improvement for mages.
Wade's Superior Dragonskin Boots	Part of Wade's Superior Dragonskin armor set. Although the boots can be used, that is an unlikely choice as you would utilize the whole set.
The Lion's Paw	Improves chances of avoiding enemy attacks, increasing survivability.
Imperial Weavers	Gives a 10% chance to dodge enemy attacks.
Magus War Boots	Improves defensive values leading to more chances of avoiding attacks.
Bard’s Dancing Shoes	One of the best defensive boots in the game. Gives bonus defense and reduces hostility.

Accessories

Item	Description
Sash of Forbidden Secrets	The best mage belt in the game, with substantial bonuses to willpower and spellpower.
Andruil’s Blessing	Excellent belt, that will likely be in high demand by your main character. Gives +2 to all attributes and improves mana regeneration.
Cinch of Skillful Maneuvering	A defensive belt with bonuses to spell resistance, dodge chance, and a +1 increase on all attributes.
Destructionist's belt	Boosts spellpower and gives a slight boost to mana regeneration.
Belt of Magister Lords	Gives a good spellpower bonus of +3.

Amulets

Item	Description
The Spellward	Very strong amulet which improves dodge chance and mana pool. Sadly, it is a highly contested item by almost any build.
Lifedrinker	Only available if you picked the Blood Mage specialization. The most powerful amulet in the game for mages, improving spellpower.
Pearl of the Anointed	+1 to all attributes which results in improved willpower and magic stats.
Heart of Witherfang	Gives +1 to magic for improved spellpower.
Shaper's Amulet	Both of these amulets give +2 willpower. They are great choices for early game, to slightly improve the total mana pool.
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

Rings

Item	Description
Key to the City	One of the best rings in the game. It gives +2 to all attributes. Sadly, it is highly contested by many builds. It can be obtained in Orzammar
The Lucky Stone	Gives +1 to all attributes, which in turn will improve the magic, willpower - everything that the build uses.
Ring of Study	A great ring at the beginning of the game that you can obtain if you choose Magi origin.
The Wicked Oath	Provides a decent stamina regeneration. However, I would prioritize this ring on Rogue.
Morrigan's Ring	+2 Willpower. It's a decent bonus, especially if you have other casters and gear needs to be shared.

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.

Sustained Abilities

Morrigan build can use a few sustained abilities to improve overall combat performance and help allies. I do not recommend activating too many of them as this cuts into the mana pool and will leave her on auto attacks too soon.

These sustained spells are the ones that I think should be active all the time:

1. Spell Wisp - adds a bonus spellpower, improving all of Morrigan's spells.
2. Rock Armor - adds bonus armor, that improves survivability.

And here are more situational sustained spells:

1. Blood Magic (if you picked Blood Mage) - can be used to activate Blood Wound and expand the mana pool with a health bar.
2. Frost Weapons - excellent sustained talent if you have two melee weapon allies to utilize the bonus cold damage effect.
3. Telekinetic Weapons - alternative to Frost Weapons, use it on enemies that are immune to frost like Revenants or undead.
4. Miasma - a very potent spell, that can help manage enemies that come close to you. This will reduce attack values and their movement speed making them more likely to miss their hits.

Control Spells

So what makes this build powerful is a large array of spells to fully control foes. More or less you can have all the enemies - stunned, sleeping, confused, paralyzed, etc. Just be careful not to consume your HP too fast!

• Sleep - can put to sleep enemies in a wide area. This can then be followed up with other spells or take out enemies one by one.
• Waking Nightmare - has a 100% success chance on sleeping enemies. It stuns foes, makes them attack each other, and creates confusion. I used this spell the most in combat.
• Horror - is also one of the spells that should be used on enemies with Sleep to inflict additional Spirit damage. Otherwise, its effect makes the enemy cower in fear.
• Mind Blast - excellent spell to stun most targets in close range. This will also improve your survivability In case you get overwhelmed.
• Crushing Prison - what makes this powerful is that it has almost no casting animation, so perfect to be used on enemy casters or other powerful creatures.
• Force Field - this is a very tricky spell, that can be used both offensively and defensively. You can disable a single enemy until others are killed. Or cast it on ally to save yourself.

Enemy Mages

One of the scariest enemies in the game is enemy mages. They can inflict a lot of damage with well-placed Fireball or debuff. If you have Mana Clash, make sure that Morrigan uses it the moment the combat starts. Otherwise, if you picked Crushing Prison/Force Field, use one of these to disable the target and take them out.

Blood Magic - if you took the specialization

If you choose the Blood Mage specialization with Morrigan there will be some issues. The main one is that the spells can drain HP too quickly and any incoming healing will have minimal impact. Another aspect is whether Morrigan can deactivate Blood Magic in time and heal. If the combat encounter is crowded this could leave you dead.

Accounting for all of these situations will also require multiple tactics slots and limit her logic with an already wide array of spells. My recommendation? If you plan on controlling her manually to some degree Blood Mage specialization is great, if not, skip it.

Stocking up on Lyrium potions

With level 1 Herbalism investment you can craft Lesser Lyrium potions. Generally, you would think why would you make the weakest ones? Well, with high Spellpower and their dirt-cheap crafting price, you can craft tons of them for a few gold coins.

1. Buy Lyrium Dust in Circle Tower from Quartermaster for 2 Silver 40 Copper each.
2. Purchase Flasks from Bodahn Feddic in camp for 1 Silver and 50 Copper Each

Now with these stocked up, you can craft tons of Lesser Lyrium potions and let AI use them during combat. This will improve the mage combat potential at minimum investment cost, while still being able to buy the best gear in the game.

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:

• Set Behaviour to Ranged.
• Include Winter's Grasp as an offensive spell as it can also freeze enemies.
• Force Field is kind of optional. It can be hit or miss, as sometimes you will want to activate it manually. If you find it irritating switch it with Horror.

Late Game Tactics

These tactics are aimed towards the late game when you have most of the build talents covered:

• There could be other variations of tactics than what I recommend below.
• For example, Horror could be applied only to Elite and Boss enemies.
• There wasn't enough space for Hexes which could be used instead of some of the spells, especially the Misdirection Hex.
• Death Hex would be mandatory if you have characters that can utilize critical attacks.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Morrigan Controller Build post for Dragon Age: Origins. I hope you enjoyed reading this and it will help you to pick the correct attributes, spells, and skills. Together with recommended tactics, Morrigan will be a formidable ally.

Feel free to leave feedback below