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Dragon Age: Origins Nightmare Guide by David Milward


INTRO & ABOUT  |  CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES  |  EQUIPPING CHARACTERS  |  COMBAT GUIDELINES  |  CHARACTERS
Areas in Order of Appearance:  
Origins  |  Ostagar  |  Lothering  |  Circle Tower  |  Warden's Keep (DLC)  |  Return to Ostagar (DLC)  |  Stone Prisoner (DLC)  |  Brecilian Forest  |  Redcliffe  |  The Urn of Sacred Ashes  |  Orzammar  |  Deep Roads  |  Denerim  |  Final Onslaught  
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The Circle Tower: 
Lake Calenhad  |  Shopping Around  |  Apprentice Quarters  |  Senior Mage Quarters  
Great Hall  |  Templar Quarters  |  The Fade  |  Return to the Circle Tower  
Random Encounters  

Return to the Circle Tower

Litany of Adralla

I speak with Niall some more after defeating the Sloth Demon. He is apparently dying from having spent too long in the Fade. I then return to where I first encountered the Sloth Abomination. Niall lies dead, and I obtain the Litany of Adralla from his body. I keep it ready for use from my quick-item slots below.

The Libertarian's Cowl

I leave to my right, and find the Libertarian's Cowl (+12 defense, +0.5 mana regeneration), which will be Wynne's hat for the rest of the game.

I continue on, and soon fight a pack of Dragonlings. Aldarion gets two of them with Cone of Cold. This is soon followed by Shattering both of them, one with a Crushing Prison, and the other with a Stone Fist.

A nearby chest has a Beef Bone which can be gifted to the Mabari Hound, a Mabari War Harness (+2 armor penetration, +8 armor), and the Kaddis of the Lady of the Skies (+30 physical resistance).

Promises of Pride, Libertarian Rhonus

At about 2:36 are more Abominations to fight, which should be old hat by now. One of them leaves behind a Promises of Pride note left behind by a Libertarian Rhonus. One of the chests in the adjoining room has the Beastman's Dagger (+10% backstab/critical damage), which will make for a decent interim weapon for Leliana once I've had a chance to transfer runes over to it.

Further on is a fight that can be quite tough, involving a Greater Rage Demon and several Shades. Note that I single out the Greater Rage Demon first and foremost as the most dangerous enemy. After it falls, it's a matter of wearing the rest down while Wynne uses her healing powers to keep everyone healthy.

Templar Cullen

And here is me speaking to a rather hysterical Templar Cullen.

Uldred

Now the first part of the video is my verbal confrontation with Uldred. Uldred will turn into a Pride Demon that can dish out sweeping attacks with its forearms, fire attacks, cold attacks (which can freeze you in place), as well as a Mana Wave which is pretty much identical to a Templar's Cleanse Aura. The Mana Wave can drain Mana as well. The Pride Demon hits hard and takes a lot of damage itself before going down. It will also occasionally use Crushing Prison, something you need to keep an eye out for. Alistair can, if the need arises, get rid of a Crushing Prison with his Cleanse Aura.

My first priority is to take out the Abominations. Aldarion hits two of them with Cone of Cold while Alistair and Leliana fan out. Wynne then Shatters one of them with a Stone Fist.

After that, the party goes after Uldred. The key here is for Wynne to continuously use Heal, Lifeward, and Group Heal in order to keep everybody on their feet. Sometimes though, party members' health will still be pretty down before the cooldowns for Wynne's spells have elapsed. Therefore do not hold back on Health Poultices. Also, Wynne does not hold back on Lyrium Potions in order to keep her mana up. This is why I commented earlier that I endeavour to try and save up as many as I can before starting this quest. Aldarion of course chips in with Cone of Cold as needed.

The Litany of Adralla also has an important role. It can score significant damage and stun the Abominations, although I didn't need to use it this way at the start. It's key use is that sometimes a circle of energy will appear over First Enchanter Irving. This means that Uldred is going to try and turn one of the remaining Circle Mages into an Abomination that will join the fight. Aldarion uses the Litany from his quick-select bar to prevent this whenever Uldred tries it. Note that if you allow Irving and all the other Mages to die, Templar Cullen will speak to you instead of Irving, and this means you'll get Templars instead of Mages during the final battles. You'll also get Greagoir instead of Irving in the last fight against the Archdemon.

With persistence, the Pride Demon goes down. I loot the Cinderful Gauntlets (+20% fire damage) from its body. This will augment Wynne's use of spells like Flame Blast, Fireball, and Inferno considerably.

The Circle is Saved

And now the Circle of Magi joins the Grey Wardens against the Blight.

Sten's Approval

I return to camp. Sten tries to take my measure. I gain approval with him, ironically, by downplaying the importance of his approval to me. I then advance him and the Hound a couple of levels each. Note also that artistic paintings can be gifted to Sten for significant boosts in approval.

The video concludes with me setting runes into newly acquired weapons, which include the Yusaris for Sten, and the Beastman's Dagger for Leliana's off-hand.

Now it's time for me to do a bunch of Random Encounters over the world map.



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