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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 |
Caridin's Cross | Ortan Thaig | Dead Trenches | Anvil of the Void | Cadash Thaig | Oghren's Quest | |
DEAD TRENCHES
To the Dead Trenches
Here I travel to the Dead Trenches, and witness the Archdemon leading the Darkspawn horde to the surface.
The Legion of the Dead
I proceed ahead, and find many Darkspawn and Dwarven Legionnaires of the dead locked in battle with each other. Wynne gets in an early Fireball while she still can. I then simply dive right in with little risk, and help the Legionnaires clean house on the Darkspawn. A nearby Statue yields 50xp, and a Codex entry for "History of Orzammar: Chapter 2". The video concludes with me speaking to their leader, Kardol, for background information.
Gates of Bownammar
Now I begin to fight my way through several groups of Darkspawn as I cross a bridge. The bridge is long but quite narrow, so this often affords Aldarion opportunities to unleash a Cone of Cold to maximum effect. The occasional Shriek ambush is also to be expected.
On the other side of the bridge will be two lines of Genlock Archers, one on the left and one on the right. There will also be an Ogre in between the two lines. Leliana goes on ahead, and lures the Ogre forward and away from the Genlocks. I then kill it by itself well back from the Genlock Archers. I now demonstrate another tactical theme. The Virulent Walking Bomb spell is powerful, but also risky since the explosion can damage party members if the initial victim explodes too close to the party. I do not recommend using it on enemies with melee attacks unless you can insure they remain stuck in a crowd-control zone. It is, however, perfectly safe in this situation since the Genlock Archers will attack from a distance and never come forward. Repeated use of the spell, combined with missile fire, assures a very quick death for them.
I across the bridge completely, and the Legion of the Dead advance their line as well. The video concludes with me clicking on a Runestone to get 50xp and a Codex entry relevant for "Stalata Negat".
Boots of the Legion
I continue north and follow the tunnel. I run into a small group of Darkspawn. The Genlock Archers will, if given the opportunity, lead the party onwards into having to fight more Darkspawn. Don't take the bait. Simply kill them at a distance, even after they beat a partial retreat. In my case, I managed to kill them off right away with a combination of Fireball from Wynne and Virulent Walking Bomb from Aldarion.
I continue to the end of the tunnel, and find myself in a large central chamber. I go through the door to the north, whereupon I kill several Darkspawn with routine physical force. I then search the sarcophagi. One of them has the Boots of the Legion, which will be part of the Armor of the Legion set that Oghren will wear. The video concludes with me clicking on a Runestone in the room and getting another Codex entry for "Stalata Negat".
The Shaper's Life
Here I show the complete solution for a side quest known as "The Shaper's Life". It begins when I click on a Wall of Memories in the northwest corner of the Shaperate.
From there, I need to click on three Runestones to obtain additional Codex entries on the Shaper's Life. The first Runestone is near the entrance to the Deep Roads, as well as another Runestone that provides a Codex entry on "Kal Sharok". The second Runestone is in the northeast caves of Caridin's Cross.
I then travel back to the Dead Trenches. I then head to the large central chamber, and go south a bit. There will be two Hurlocks and a Genlock Emissary on the other side of the Gates of Bownammar. Aldarion takes out the Emissary instantly with a Mana Clash spell.
I continue south, and there will be a door leading west. I open the door, and even as the door is only part way open I have Aldarion cast Mana Clash. The reason for this is that there is a Genlock Emissary on the other side who can hit me with Crushing Prison, so I want to make sure I get in the first blow. Wynne then sets up an Inferno-based Grease Fire. There will be plenty of sarcophagi with random items in the room, as well as the third Runestone I need to complete the quest.
I then return to the Shaperate, and click on the Wall of Memories again. This sequence is supposed to give me three items, all of them named The Shaperate's Blessing, as follows:
Gloves of the Legion
I continue on to the room that is directly south of where I had found the Boots of the Legion. I have Leliana disarm a trap as soon as she opens the door. There are plenty more Darkspawn to kill here. Physical force, plus a Fireball when Wynne can catch several bunched together, suffices to ensure victory. Leliana also disarms another trap.
There are plenty of sarcophagi here. One of them has the Gloves of the Legion (+4 attack), which Oghren will wear as part of the set for the rest of the game.
An Admirable Topsider
I begin this video by buying back the Ring of Study (+1 Magic) and having Wynne equip it. She then hands the Seal of Rat Red (+10 physical resistance, +10 mental resistance) over to Oghren.
I now begin a rather extended quest that involving piecing together a sword. The quest begins by travelling to the Ortan Thaig, and then finding the Warrior's Grave, which is around the southeast corner of the Thaig.
I then find the Topsider's Pommel in a vase near Ruck.
After that, I travel to Caridin's Cross. I find a Genlock Emissary and a couple of other Darkspawn in the southwest tunnels of the Cross. I kill the Emissary instantly with Mana Clash, whereupon it leaves behind the Topsider's Hilt.
I next return to the Dead Trenches. I head down the tunnel that heads south from where I earlier found the Gloves of the Legion. I continue to fight Darkspawn and Corrupted Spiders along the way, using routine tactics. The tunnel turns eastward, whereupon I encounter an Ancient Darkspawn that packs a very large Battle Axe. Note that the Ancient Darkspawn won't appear unless I have clicked on the Warrior's Grave beforehand. I initially tried to have Aldarion zap him with Crushing Prison, but the spell got resisted. Wynne, however, manages to hold him place with a Glyph of Paralysis. The Blight Wolf takes it down a few more notches with Overwhelm, ensuring that the Ancient Darkspawn is killed very quickly. It leaves behind the Topsider's Blade.
The video concludes with me taking all three pieces back to the Ortan Thaig and clicking on the Warrior's Grave again. I now get 100xp, and a longsword called Topsider's Honor (+20% spirit resistance, +6 damage vs. undead). It is a Dragonbone sword, so it can hold three runes. But I already have better for both Aldarion and Alistair.
Alarm Tripwire
There's a doorway just north of where I killed the Ancient Darkspawn. The room on the other side has a tripwire that can't be disarmed, but it doesn't do anything more than sound an alarm. I have little trouble killing the Darkspawn in any event.
I continue eastwards. There's another small room ahead with a few sarcophagi that have random items in them.
Genlock Forgemaster
There is a boss monster in the alcove to the south, the Genlock Forgemaster. It can score plenty of damage at a distance with its bow, or up close with its maul. It also has quite a bit of help. Fortunately, the help is spread out enough that Leliana can take them out with her bow in a process of attrition, either by killing them off outright or leading them back to the party. It is only when a few of the helper Darkspawn are left that I charge the Forgemaster. Aldarion nails most of the helpers with a Cone of Cold to expedite things. I then start ganging up on the Forgemaster. He is able to get off a Scattershot, but Wynne simply follows up with a Group Heal.
The Forgemaster leaves behind the Forgemaster's Hammer (+25% fire resistance, +6 attack) and a bow called the Spear-Thrower (+2.5 armor penetration, rapid aim), but I already have better.
Armor of the Legion
Now I continue north. I come across a bridge, where a few Shrieks are waiting straight ahead. Aldarion rushes on and hits them with a Cone of Cold to get a head start. There are, however, many Shrieks who will attack from both sides, so Leliana activates her Captivating Song to keep them locked down. This is necessary, since a multiplicity of Shrieks, and thus a multiplicity of high damaging attacks and stunning screams, can be quite dangerous.
I press on northwards. There is a Hurlock Emissary who will summon a LOT of undead, and try to cast spells at a distance while hiding behind a smaller wall. Aldarion rushes forward in order to get the Emissary right away with Mana Clash. This approach has the consequence of letting the party get surrounded by many undead, but Leliana whips out Captivating Song for the occasion.
A sarcophagus in the room has the Armor of the Legion (+3 Willpower), which Oghren will wear for the rest of the game. He now has the completed Legion of the Dead armor set, which provides +3 damage and +3 Constitution set bonuses. Now he only needs a helm.
Hespith
I continue through the tunnels to the east. I periodically hear ominous whisperings from a feminine voice. A cave towards the northeast corner has two Genlock Emissaries and a few Corrupted Spiders. Aldarion takes out both Emissaries instantly with Mana Clash, and then uses Cone of Cold on two of the incoming Spiders. It becomes easy after that.
The tunnels turn southwards, and I soon find myself in a rather large room filled with dead and rotting flesh. A Dwarven woman named Hespith is present, and she is apparently infected with the Darkspawn taint and undergoing a gradual transformation. She speaks rather cryptically of misdeeds on the part of Branka.
Helm of the Legion
I then leave through the door to the west. There will be a wide open chamber with two Ogres, one to the south and another a bit to the south and to the east. I am able to deal with them one at a time though. I let the first one to the south come forward. Leliana and Wynne egg it on by drilling it with missile fire. The warriors charge and quickly kill it once it gets close enough. The second one soon shows up and attempts an early boulder Hurl. I easily get out of the way, and kill it quickly as well.
There will be a smaller room, the door to which is towards the southeast corner of the chamber. At the far end of the room is an altar that has the Helm of the Legion and the Legionnaire Key. Grabbing these items causes the Dwarven Spirits to go hostile. Wynne gets in an early Fireball, and then matters naturally progress to physical combat.
The Gangue Shade
In order to make the next monster appear, I need to have a character decked out in the full Legion of the Dead armor set (plus the Helm of the Legion) when I click on the Relic in the middle of the room. The monster that appears is the Gangue Shade, which I easily gang up on and kill.
The Dead Caste
I leave the room, and find an Ominous Door just a little north and east. It requires the Legionnaire Key to open. I continue east and click on another Runestone to get another Codex entry for "Stalata Negat". Further east still will be a sarcophagus that has the Dead Caste Insignia.
Completing the side quest called "The Dead Caste" requires finding all four pieces of the Legion of the Dead armor set, obtaining the Dead Caste Insignia, and then clicking on the Memories on the right-hand side of the Shaperate. This earns me 200xp.
*NOTE* One of the benefits of doing either Switching Allegiances or Betraying from Within is that you can double dip for two xp bonuses. I can get an xp bonus for reporting the Carta's destruction and the quest to find Branka from Prince Bhelen as well. I can do this any time before I enter the last part of the Deep Roads called the Anvil of the Void. It is while I happen to be back in town for the moment that I decide to do this.
Broodmother
Next up is a boss monster, the Broodmother. It has the following capabilities:
Sometimes more Darkspawn or Tentacles will appear. It is a good idea to put off attacking the Broodmother in order to take out the Darkspawn and Tentacles, as long as you can get it done fast enough, before resuming an assault on the Broodmother. And indeed, my sustainables help me get the job done with a minimum of time and fuss. It is only a matter of time before I wear her down. Hespith then arrives and suggests that Branka may have encouraged the creation of the Broodmother. The Broodmother itself will leave behind a few random items, plus:
Now it's on to the Anvil of the Void.
