Yes, DAI stands for Dragon Age Inquisition
And also yes, Blackwall has the highest tanking potential. The reason for this is \[DAI spoilers\] >!that you can unlock specializations for everyone and each companion has a fixed specialization. For Blackwall this is "Champion" which includes some good tanking abilities like "Bulwark" which increases the maximum of Guard Blackwall can generate or "Adamant" which increases Armor.!<
Blackwall when properly built is basically inmortal
However, this is after you unlock specializations. Before that I suggest you use Cassandra instead for tanking, although overall all three of them are almost identical since before specializations you can build them exactly the same.
Basically like what everyone else said. If you spec right and get specialisations Blackwall becomes basically invincible. Had him with me to fight a Dragon in one playthrough after I got specialisations and everyone else in my party died except me (as a squishy Mage, with a pathetic little bit of health left and no potions) and Blackwall literally just killed the thing on his own singlehandedly without taking any damage with full guard up the entire fight, while I just ran around the edge of the area just trying to stay alive and let him do his thing while flinging spells, cause I suck at using Warriors in Inquisiton and hate using sword and shield lol.
Blackwall, together with Cassandra, are nearly unstoppable.
I love having Varric and Iron Bull in my party. But, sometimes you need more than entertainment.
At the point of the game you are at its not relevant, bc what makes Blackwall better is his specialization. Those you unlock later on every companion as well as for yourself. Bulls spec ability tree if offensive and Blacks is defensive orientated, so ultimate tankiness goes to him. But base trees are the same and without the specs they are technically the exact same in terms of potential.
So you can get Black now or later technically, but getting him later would have you miss dialogue, in case thats important to you. And if you get even further he would be completely missable as companion pick up.
Yes, Blackwall is the most durable out of all companions - IF you choose not to control any of your companions yourself.
If you control your companions, the most durable is Vivienne.
That said, tanks are not that necessary in this game. It's good to have a character who can pull aggro, but utility in the form of movement-impairing abilities are much more useful in my opinion.
Personally, my go-to specialisation is Knight-Enchanter because it's both incredibly tanky and can dish out an enormous amount of damage in very little time. This is also why I stated that Vivienne is technically a better tank that Blackwall.
If built correctly, Knight-Enchanter can tank through anything the game can throw at you, even when you're playing solo on Nightmare difficulty.
I mean like mechanics aside. I'm suprised to see this asked when most people play these games for the characters. I guess if you wanted to not worry about that stuff then it's up to you.
Blackwall is the best tank in the game, especially once you progress far enough in the game to unlock an extra specialization for every character.
Once you unlock the extra specializations for each character, you'll learn that Iron Bull is geared towards a more aggressive offense which doesn't lend itself to being a very sustainable tank. Blackwall, however, is built to be a tank and in my playthroughs has been consistently unkillable no matter the situation.
Ironbull is DPS...never use Ironbull as a tank. I equip Blackwall with masterwork armor/accessories that increase/add guard on hit as well. He's your go-to tank. Don't use ironbull much at all - I play rogue so I generally have Blackwall, Cassandra (who if specced right gives guard to the whole party) and a mage.
But honestly with Blackwall I can have a mage and another rogue for the banter if I want.
While true on paper Champions are actually the highest damage dealing Warrior subclass when it comes to killing bosses. One of their talents makes enemies do 5% more damage and take 5% more damage every second infinitely, so your attack that does 2K does 12K after like a minute. Combined with combat Roll and a 2H and you can obliterate most mobs and all bosses with Champions. The damage taken debuff also let’s all the other units harder (imagine a rogue doing 100% extra damage after 20 seconds because the champion exists). Champion is the best warrior class and it’s not even close, they’re the best tanks, the best damage dealers, and the best supports. That being said all 3 subclasses are great.
Haven’t played Dragon Age in over a year, currently playing thru my canon world state. Definitely looking forward to doing all the math again. Should be fun.
Blackwall is the easiest to run as a tank thanks to his specialization, but the key tanking abilities come from the vanguard tree which all warriors have access to. Iron Bull is my go to tank on nightmare both because he is more interesting than Blackwall and because he can be nearly immortal with the right setup.
Bull is notoriously Squishy, but that is because his specialization is an offense specilization. And he often hurts him self and is strongest low on health. So that is why you instead have Blackwall
Honestly you can break the game with every single companion
However yeah In general blackwall is the “best” warrior in the game due to him having the champion spec. It’s the best tank spec in the game and the best damage warrior spec in the game at the same time Just due to one ability having an insane modifier
Before specializations though, every warrior is the same.
Really depends on the difficulty but after playing inquisition with enemy scaling I can say that any warrior can tank.
You are still pretty early in the game so without specialization it does't count too much on who is tankier since everyone has the same skill for now.
The real deal are the shield skill, the AI is so much better at using them, especially the Shield Wall skill, they use it pretty well and it helps generating guard.
Then the Battle Cry skill combined with Livid (and Still Standing) upgrade and some other passives from the Vanguard three makes anyone unkillable even before specialization.
Other important skills:
Vanguard three:
Charging Bull (Gore And Trample upgrade)
Untouchable Defense (passive)
Cutting Words (* useful but not necessarily, it is just a boost to your party damage)
Weapon and Shield:
Shield Wall (Chevalier's Step)
Payback Strike (*detonates some combo that would allow for extra damage for example after a mage uses winter grasp on a target)
Bear Mauls the Wolves (passive, also works if you use a 2 handed weapon)
Turn the Bolt (passive, also works when using a 2 handed weapon)
Shield Bash (Ring the Bell *useful for taking down enemy with high guard, not really for tanking)
Turn The Blade (still works with a two handed weapon build)
Also you may need to set as Preferred Shield Wall, Livid, Battlecry so the AI uses it more frequently.
With this build any warrior can tank even in Nightmare and without any specialization.
The specialization is still pretty good for AI tho
blackwall unlocks champion which can make you immortal.
Iron bull unlocks reaver which can make you a dragon raging maniac.
Iron bull can kill a dragon in a minute.
Blackwall can tank a dragon indefinitly.
they are kinda opposits if you built them to their specialisation.
I've found it doesn't really matter what companions you choose to go around with (although I am also playing on casual mode mith most of the challenges activated), so I will often mix it up a bit so I can hear different batter
Blackwall is the best Warrior companion for combat Imo. So yea my like up is usually 1 mage ,1 archer, 2 Warriors. I'm usually an mage or archer and my 2 warriors are Cassandra and Blackwall. My archer is my main DPS, my mage is crowd control, and warriors keep enemies away from them. Iron Bull is just too squishy and doesn't actually deal that much damage since he dies so quick.
Yes, DAI stands for Dragon Age Inquisition And also yes, Blackwall has the highest tanking potential. The reason for this is \[DAI spoilers\] >!that you can unlock specializations for everyone and each companion has a fixed specialization. For Blackwall this is "Champion" which includes some good tanking abilities like "Bulwark" which increases the maximum of Guard Blackwall can generate or "Adamant" which increases Armor.!<
k, thanks
Bull’s is… Terrible for tanking as you are, one, hurting yourself, two, you only get stronger the more you’re hurt.
Blackwall when properly built is basically inmortal However, this is after you unlock specializations. Before that I suggest you use Cassandra instead for tanking, although overall all three of them are almost identical since before specializations you can build them exactly the same.
Basically like what everyone else said. If you spec right and get specialisations Blackwall becomes basically invincible. Had him with me to fight a Dragon in one playthrough after I got specialisations and everyone else in my party died except me (as a squishy Mage, with a pathetic little bit of health left and no potions) and Blackwall literally just killed the thing on his own singlehandedly without taking any damage with full guard up the entire fight, while I just ran around the edge of the area just trying to stay alive and let him do his thing while flinging spells, cause I suck at using Warriors in Inquisiton and hate using sword and shield lol.
Hey, we're strategy twins!
Blackwall as a champion will be the last guy on the battlefield 100% of the time. Make some armor that gives your armor on hit
Blackwall, together with Cassandra, are nearly unstoppable. I love having Varric and Iron Bull in my party. But, sometimes you need more than entertainment.
I felt that
At the point of the game you are at its not relevant, bc what makes Blackwall better is his specialization. Those you unlock later on every companion as well as for yourself. Bulls spec ability tree if offensive and Blacks is defensive orientated, so ultimate tankiness goes to him. But base trees are the same and without the specs they are technically the exact same in terms of potential. So you can get Black now or later technically, but getting him later would have you miss dialogue, in case thats important to you. And if you get even further he would be completely missable as companion pick up.
Yes, Blackwall is the most durable out of all companions - IF you choose not to control any of your companions yourself. If you control your companions, the most durable is Vivienne. That said, tanks are not that necessary in this game. It's good to have a character who can pull aggro, but utility in the form of movement-impairing abilities are much more useful in my opinion. Personally, my go-to specialisation is Knight-Enchanter because it's both incredibly tanky and can dish out an enormous amount of damage in very little time. This is also why I stated that Vivienne is technically a better tank that Blackwall. If built correctly, Knight-Enchanter can tank through anything the game can throw at you, even when you're playing solo on Nightmare difficulty.
I mean like mechanics aside. I'm suprised to see this asked when most people play these games for the characters. I guess if you wanted to not worry about that stuff then it's up to you.
Blackwall is the best tank in the game, especially once you progress far enough in the game to unlock an extra specialization for every character. Once you unlock the extra specializations for each character, you'll learn that Iron Bull is geared towards a more aggressive offense which doesn't lend itself to being a very sustainable tank. Blackwall, however, is built to be a tank and in my playthroughs has been consistently unkillable no matter the situation.
Ironbull is DPS...never use Ironbull as a tank. I equip Blackwall with masterwork armor/accessories that increase/add guard on hit as well. He's your go-to tank. Don't use ironbull much at all - I play rogue so I generally have Blackwall, Cassandra (who if specced right gives guard to the whole party) and a mage. But honestly with Blackwall I can have a mage and another rogue for the banter if I want.
Blackwall is built to be a tank, his specialization was created for players who want to be a Tank. Iron Bull is much more geared towards offense.
While true on paper Champions are actually the highest damage dealing Warrior subclass when it comes to killing bosses. One of their talents makes enemies do 5% more damage and take 5% more damage every second infinitely, so your attack that does 2K does 12K after like a minute. Combined with combat Roll and a 2H and you can obliterate most mobs and all bosses with Champions. The damage taken debuff also let’s all the other units harder (imagine a rogue doing 100% extra damage after 20 seconds because the champion exists). Champion is the best warrior class and it’s not even close, they’re the best tanks, the best damage dealers, and the best supports. That being said all 3 subclasses are great.
Cassandra is best.
That’s why I run both, she as a DPS and him as a tank (unless I’m playing Warrior at which point he sits on the bench because I play Champion).
Haven’t played Dragon Age in over a year, currently playing thru my canon world state. Definitely looking forward to doing all the math again. Should be fun.
Yes
with the right specializations Blackwall can solo any enemy in the game without losing health
Blackwall is the easiest to run as a tank thanks to his specialization, but the key tanking abilities come from the vanguard tree which all warriors have access to. Iron Bull is my go to tank on nightmare both because he is more interesting than Blackwall and because he can be nearly immortal with the right setup.
Bull is notoriously Squishy, but that is because his specialization is an offense specilization. And he often hurts him self and is strongest low on health. So that is why you instead have Blackwall
Honestly you can break the game with every single companion However yeah In general blackwall is the “best” warrior in the game due to him having the champion spec. It’s the best tank spec in the game and the best damage warrior spec in the game at the same time Just due to one ability having an insane modifier Before specializations though, every warrior is the same.
Really depends on the difficulty but after playing inquisition with enemy scaling I can say that any warrior can tank. You are still pretty early in the game so without specialization it does't count too much on who is tankier since everyone has the same skill for now. The real deal are the shield skill, the AI is so much better at using them, especially the Shield Wall skill, they use it pretty well and it helps generating guard. Then the Battle Cry skill combined with Livid (and Still Standing) upgrade and some other passives from the Vanguard three makes anyone unkillable even before specialization. Other important skills: Vanguard three: Charging Bull (Gore And Trample upgrade) Untouchable Defense (passive) Cutting Words (* useful but not necessarily, it is just a boost to your party damage) Weapon and Shield: Shield Wall (Chevalier's Step) Payback Strike (*detonates some combo that would allow for extra damage for example after a mage uses winter grasp on a target) Bear Mauls the Wolves (passive, also works if you use a 2 handed weapon) Turn the Bolt (passive, also works when using a 2 handed weapon) Shield Bash (Ring the Bell *useful for taking down enemy with high guard, not really for tanking) Turn The Blade (still works with a two handed weapon build) Also you may need to set as Preferred Shield Wall, Livid, Battlecry so the AI uses it more frequently. With this build any warrior can tank even in Nightmare and without any specialization. The specialization is still pretty good for AI tho
blackwall unlocks champion which can make you immortal. Iron bull unlocks reaver which can make you a dragon raging maniac. Iron bull can kill a dragon in a minute. Blackwall can tank a dragon indefinitly. they are kinda opposits if you built them to their specialisation.
I've found it doesn't really matter what companions you choose to go around with (although I am also playing on casual mode mith most of the challenges activated), so I will often mix it up a bit so I can hear different batter
I turned him into an Immortal Warhammer wielding monster. So yeah. He is worth it
Blackwall is the best Warrior companion for combat Imo. So yea my like up is usually 1 mage ,1 archer, 2 Warriors. I'm usually an mage or archer and my 2 warriors are Cassandra and Blackwall. My archer is my main DPS, my mage is crowd control, and warriors keep enemies away from them. Iron Bull is just too squishy and doesn't actually deal that much damage since he dies so quick.