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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 |
In Search of Brother Genitivi | Morrigan's Quest | Haven | Ruined Temple | Mountainside Caverns | Mountain Top | The Gauntlet | The Arl of Redcliffe |
MOUNTAINSIDE CAVERNS
The Frostback Mountains
Here is where I begin to explore the caverns above the Ruined Temple. I win the first few fights pretty routinely with familiar tactics.
I eventually begin making my way through a natural tunnel, where Dragonlings will frequently attack me both from the front and behind. They're easy enough to deal with up close. Be warned that there are leghold traps in the tunnel as well. I retreat whenever I feel the need to avoid tripping the traps. This action is not so much because the traps are dangerous in themselves, but because I don't want to miss out on the xp for disarming them.
There will be many Cultists in a large cave to the north. I take out the foremost Mage at a distance with missile fire, and let the foremost Reaver come to me without going forward. It is afterwards that I charge the cavern. Aldarion takes out the other Mage with Mana Clash. He, Alistair, and the Blight Wolf continue to charge forward. I hit a bit of a hitch in that a few Dragonlings approach from the rear and try to gang up on Leliana, who had been firing her Far Song bow. Leliana should be fine, but Wynne puts a Lifeward on her just to be safe. This battle also shows the benefit of scripting the Blight Wolf with a Charge tactic whenever Leliana gets attacked. It allows the Blight Wolf to serve a bodyguard function so that Leliana is not completely unaided. The battle soon becomes a mop up.
A few chests here have random items. There is also a book on a table that provides a Codex entry for "The Frostback Mountains."
Stone Warrior Statuette
I continue north. The next cave has several Cultists that I kill easily enough with routine tactics. I then turn to a tunnel that leads northeast. I find myself in a livestock pen. The reason for the pen becomes apparent almost right away. Three Drakes approach from behind. Drakes can be fairly dangerous in their own right, having all the powers of an adult Dragon (e.g. Rake, Overwhelm, Roar, fire breathing, etc.) except for Wing Buffet. As fire-based creatures they do have a vulnerability to cold, so Aldarion hits them with a double shot of Cone of Cold + Shock. It is then a matter of cutting them down after they've been softened up. Wynne of course keeps a diligent eye on everyone's Health.
I pick up Drake Scales from each of their carcasses, since this will help in having quality armor crafted later on. A pile of filth also has a Stone Warrior Statuette that can be gifted to Alistair.
Spellweaver
I continue northwards, and run into a fight that can pack a little surprise. The Mage is easily taken care of with Mana Clash. A couple of Cultist Assassins sneak up on me. Once I survive their initial backstabs, and you should, they are then easily taken care of.
I come to a fork in the road, so to speak. One tunnel leads north, and the other leads west. I take the north tunnel first.
The north tunnel leads to a very large cavern. There will be a Cult Overseer, who is actually an Arcane Warrior, standing atop a ziggurat at the left. A few other Cultists will be scattered throughout the cavern. I make a point of not rushing headlong into the Cavern. One reason is that there are traps at the base of the stairs leading up to the Overseer. The other reason is that many Dragonlings, as well as a pair of Drakes, will also join the battle if I rush things. Instead, I have Leliana use her Far Song to take out the foremost Cultists. She then uses her bow again to get the attention of the other Cultists on the east side of the Cavern, and lead them on to the party. This strategy robs the Cult Overseer of his support. I then inch forward and have everybody use their missile weapons to bring down the Cult Overseer.
I inch forward again, and take out the Dragonlings in straight physical combat. I move forward a little more and then take down the Drakes. Wynne used a Glyph of Paralysis on the one with more health.
Leliana disarms the traps and goes to the top of the ziggurat. The Cult Overseer left behind a sword called Spellweaver (+5 magic, +2 mana regeneration, +10% spell resistance, +3 electrical damage). Aldarion will use it, but not until he gets a sword & shield combination that will outstrip the Cailan's arms set.
Lifedrinker
I continue on to a cave to the northeast. I run into a Mage, a Cultist Assassin, a Cultist Archer, and a Drake. The fight becomes easy after Aldarion takes out the Mage with a Mana Clash, and then holds the Drake in place with a Cone of Cold.
A book on a nearby table provides a Codex entry for "The First Blight: Chapter 3" and 50xp. A nearby Dragon Egg holds Lifedrinker (+4 spellpower, Blood Mages only). This will be Morrigan's amulet for the balance of the game. I then backtrack to the earlier fork, and this time start heading west.
Kolgrim
The first fight in this video can be a bit tricky or difficult, because there are two traps on either side at the top of the stairs. The called-for strategy is to lure my enemies away from the traps. Leliana goes up and marks the traps, and gets the enemies' attention. Everybody stays at the bottom of the stairs. Leliana regroups with the party and leads the Cultists down the stairs. Aldarion takes out the Cult Mage instantly with a Mana Clash. The rest are soon killed off casually. I then go back up the stairs, have Leliana disarm the traps, and loot the containers for random items.
I follow the tunnel to its end. Next up is the leader of the Cult, Kolgrim, bearing an obvious resemblance to King Leonidas of 300 fame. This fight can be tough. Kolgrim's two-handed axe is slow in the delivery, but he pretty much always hits for huge damage. He also has two other Cult Reavers by his side. The additional sticking point is he also has two Mages who are so widely spaced apart that trying to get both of them at the same time can be challenging. Nonetheless, Aldarion is able to kill both of them with Mana Clash. If you don't have Mana Clash, you'll need two party members so you can get the jump on both of them at the same time. For example, a Crushing Prison on one and a Holy Smite on the other. Aldarion next immediately uses Cone of Cold on Kolgrim and the two Reavers, who are lined up neatly next to each other. This buys the party time to kill off the Reavers almost right away. Kolgrim becomes much easier to kill once he's by himself, because Alistair is able to keep him off his feet through the use of shield talents. Kolgrim leaves behind his Horn, which I'll need if I want to fight the High Dragon, and Faith's Edge (+2 willpower, +5% critical/backstab damage). Sten uses a Greatsword and Oghren will use a Maul, so I never have any use for any of the two-handed Battleaxes.
Now I'm ready to go to the Mountain Top.
