Guide To The Best Weapons
I always strive to get the best gear whatever game I play so I’ve done some
research to see which weapons are the absolute best for every class in Dragon
Age: Inquisition. Here are my findings!
Note: This list has weapons that require paid DLC content. If you want to see
the list for the standalone game, check out this post.
If you played the previous Dragon Age games, you may expect Unique purple
weapons to be the best, but that is not the case. The best weapons in DA: I are
crafted. Although there are plenty of powerful unique items, they pale in
comparison to crafted gear.
Unique weapons are certainly very good, but their relatively low item level and
lack of customization makes crafted weapons superior at higher levels.
Having said that, let’s take a look at the best weapons for each class, and how
you can get them!
Dragon Age: Inquisition Best Rogue Weapons
Best Bow
The best bow is the Elgar’nan Enaste (schematic). It uses 2 less crafting
materials than Hakkon’s Wrath but has a special effect that makes basic attacks
do additional fire damage in a small area around your target.
Keep in mind that to use this bow in the main game (and not just during
Trespasser) you would need to find the schematic and use the Golden Nug to
transfer it for your next playthrough (or alternatively, download a different
person’s save file from [Link] and then use the Golden Nug to make it
available for your characters).
Next Best Thing: Hakkon’s Wrath, crafted via schematic. This schematic can
be found in the Old Temple in Frostback Basin by using a Veilfire torch to
discover several hidden runes, during or after the “Ameridan’s End” quest.
If you don’t have Jaws of Hakkon, you can always go for either the Bow of the
Beresaad or the Grunnsmann’s Bow schematics; they are both sold for 12156
gold from the Black Emporium. As long as you use the best grip upgrade, they
will be just as good.
Grunnsmann’s is usually the better choice though because you can stack a lot of
critical chance or critical damage thanks to the 3 offense slots.
Best Dual-Wield Daggers
For dual-wield rogues, the best dagger is the Stone Stalker Blade. This
schematic requires the Descent DLC and can be found as a random drop in the
Deep Roads.
Next Best Thing: Blade of Red Birth, purchased from the Black Emporium
with a price tag of 8478 gold.
Dragon Age: Inquisition Best Mage Weapons
For mages, the Encore Schematic Staff is the best weapon, because in addition
to decent stats and upgrade slots, it has a chance to cast one of 3 unique buffs
for your entire party: Battle of the Bands, Mark of the Riff, and Sing-Along.
However, this schematic is difficult to obtain. You need to have Trespasser
installed and then obtain the schematic by following a puzzle, and finally use
the Golden Nug so that the schematic will be available during your next
playthrough; otherwise, this staff is only usable during the Trespasser DLC.
Next Best Thing: the Staff of Corruption offers a good combination of high
DPS, ideal slots (all 3 are offense), and the highest number of materials used.
This staff can be purchased from the Black Emporium for 16956 gold.
Dragon Age: Inquisition Best Warrior Weapons
Best Two-handed Weapon
The best two-handed weapon is either the Chromatic Greatsword (schematic) or
the Prismatic Greataxe (schematic).
On paper, the Greatsword is better because it has higher DPS and uses more
crafting materials, but it has a 50% damage cap on basic attacks. I would say the
sword is still better though, especially for Reaver warriors since they rely
completely on skill damage (Dragon Rage and Devour) rather than basic
attacks.
In any case, the axe is much easier to obtain so you’ll be using it until you can
get the sword. In order to use the sword you need to complete the Fireworks
Mini-game in the Trespasser DLC, and use the Golden Nug to make the
schematic available for your next playthrough.
Both the Prismatic/Chromatic axe/sword have a cool visual effect where the
weapon blade doesn’t show until you use it.
Next Best Thing: Axe of the Dragon Hunter (schematic) is the second-best
two-hander. Unlike other high-level schematics, this one allows you to add a
Haft and a Pommel to the crafted weapon, significantly increasing its stats. This
axe can be bought from the Black Emporium for 15356 gold.
Best one-handed (tank) weapon
Greatest Hits is the best tanking weapon in the game, thanks to its unique
defensive buffs. Much like the Encore staff, it gives you a chance on hit to
apply one of three buffs to you and nearby party members. The 3 defensive
buffs are A Little Knight Music, Fast Beat, and Bolstering Ballad. This unique
sword requires the Trespasser DLC.
Just make sure to get a +guard on hit masterwork somewhere else, since you
can’t apply it to the sword.
Next Best Thing: Truncheon of the Master is probably the next best alternative.
The truncheon not only provides you with 31% stagger on attacks (31% chance
to stun when you hit), but also an upgrade haft slot to further boost your stats, in
addition to a special effect that makes your basic attacks briefly stun the target.
This mace also requires Trespasser, and you need to have the new Trials options
turned on to have a chance to obtain this weapon as a Trials reward.
For another option, there is the Valos Atredum sword found in the Deep Roads.
This weapon actually has a built-in +5 guard masterwork. Meanwhile, the best
non-DLC option is the Mortalitasi Firm Club schematic, bought from the Black
Emporium for 6078 gold.
Location of the Valos Atredum unique sword – you have to jump down onto a
hidden ledge and walk around the rock to find it.
Best Shield
The Revered Defender Bulwark (schematic) is a new addition in ‘The
Descent’ DLC and is currently the best available shield. This schematic can be
found as random loot in the Deep Roads.
Next Best Thing: Knight’s Second (schematic), random reward when you have
Trials options turned on (requires Trespasser). After this, the Masterwork Grey
Warden Shield, purchased in Frostback Basin’s Stone-Bear Hold. Finally, for
the standalone game, your best bet is the Shield of the Emperor.
Other Tips
As a final note, acquiring these weapon schematics is only half the story. You
then need to craft them with proper materials to get the best possible result.
There are 3 key tips for crafting your weapons:
Use Tier 4 crafting materials (Dragon Bone, Dragon Scales, etc. )
for the highest stat numbers, ESPECIALLY for the
Damage/Armor slot to get the highest possible DPS/Armor. If you
run out, you can also purchase Tier 4 materials at the Black
Emporium, in the Deep Roads, and some other locations.
Choose the appropriate materials for your particular character. For
example, if you are crafting a two-handed weapon, you will want
to stack stats like + % attack and the appropriate Masterwork.
Extra crafting components like runes and weapon grips also have a
tier system, so try to craft the best possible version to make your
weapon even more powerful. Schematics for these are often sold
by merchants or found in the game world.