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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 |
The Harrowing | Apprentice Quarters | Senior Mage Quarters | The Basement |
THE HARROWING
The Grey Warden
The video begins with the introduction movie.
So now of course I have to create Aldarion first. I pumped all my bonus points into Magic and then chose Winter's Grasp and Frost Weapons as my first spells. The point of this of course is to be able to learn Cone of Cold once I hit the 2nd level. I also chose Coercion with my first skill point, as this will open up options during many dialogues throughout the game.
The Harrowing Chamber
This video is a cutscene of Aldarion starting a rite of passage to becoming a Mage, known as the Harrowing.
Mouse
The video begins with Aldarion picking up some Orbs of Shimmering Light from the nearby Healing Vase that can be used to heal a minor amount of Health during combat and then clicking on the Disturbing Statue in order to get the Codex Entry for Demons and Spirits of the Veil.
I then go down the long passageway ahead of me, and deal with what should always be a routine matter zapping any Wisp Wraiths I find with Winter's Grasp. Should that fail to kill outright, an immediate follow up with Arcane Bolt is in order.
As an aside, combat for the other Origins stories is usually simple enough that you can manually use your special talents when needed. For example, a Rogue can start off with Dirty Fighting and then go on the attack. Once the stun is over, Below the Belt can be whipped out, giving you time until Dirty Fighting's cool down has elapsed. Likewise, Warrior talents like Pommel Strike or Shield Bash can be used manually during the early phases of combat.
The latter half of the video involves Aldarion conversing with a former Mage who apparently failed his Harrowing and has been lost in the Fade ever since. He also has the ability to turn into a Mouse, and more or less insists on joining me as a companion.
Spirit of Valor
I continue ahead and kill another Wisp Wraith. To my right will be an area with several burning fires, as well as a Lyrium Vein. This is where I will need to battle a Demon to conclude my Harrowing, but not just yet.
I continue on, and kill another Wisp Wraith. To my right will be another Healing Vase where I can get more Orbs of Shimmering Light. I also click on the Twisted Structure to get 50xp and the Codex Entry for The Black City.
Behind me will be the Spirit of Valor. He has a magical staff that I may be able to acquire from him. I could duel with him to earn a weapon for myself, but it's simpler to make a Willpower check and convince him to give it to me willingly.
Spirit of Sloth
The staff can be useful for firing no-miss shots until the cool downs for either Winter's Grasp or Arcane Bolt have elapsed. This tactical point is demonstrated when I fight Spirit Wolves at the start of this video.
I continue on and then speak to a Spirit of Sloth who appears as a Bereskarn. There is an incentive to pursue this of course, which is so that Mouse can adopt a bear form. One way is to goad Sloth into combat and defeat it, which can be difficult. The other way is to answer 'Map', 'Tongue', and 'Dream' to the Sloth Demon's three riddles, the course I took. Mouse then appears as a Bear and is able to help you out in combat.
Spirit of Rage
Now I start to backtrack. Four Spirit Wolves come at me, three from the front and one from the back. I take out the back one first and foremost, so that Mouse's and my attacks don't get split apart on different foes and so that we fight as a united team. After that, I make sure to always target whichever one Mouse has scored damage on and is attacking. This is really a matter of common sense to bring down my foes as quickly as possible. If either Mouse or myself is getting low on Health, I'll simply use an Orb of Shimmering Light.
The video then shows my confrontation with the Rage Demon. Boss battles often present a certain dilemma. You can end the fight quicker and safer if you go straight for the boss, but this means that you can miss out on the xp for killing its minions. If you want to rack up the xp for killing the minions, it leaves the Boss the time and freedom to go to work. It is always to your long-term benefit to go for the xp whenever you can. In this case, it is tactically justified. Aldarion leaves the Rage Demon well alone and avoids 'aggro' so that Mouse can keep the Rage Demon occupied. It is also justified in that Aldarion can quickly kill off the Wisp Wraiths before the Rage Demon can do any real harm to Mouse. I click on the nearby Lyrium vein when I'm low on Mana, while Mouse uses an Orb of Shimmering Light when he's low on Health. Once the Wisp Wraiths are gone, we can both go all out for the Demon.
Spirit of Pride
It turns out that Mouse is actually a Pride Demon who wants to possess Aldarion and leave the Fade. It's doesn't matter which dialogue options I choose, I'll end up calling the Pride Demon on its deception.
Aldarion wakes up in the Apprentice Quarters.
