From the same Ralaferian Clan as Neria, Cillian followed the arcane arts. He separated himself from the elf clan and sought solitude and meditation. What started as a journey of personal glory, Cillian instead found solitude and wisdom of respect for all life. Once the breach opened, he knew he had protect the world’s life.
If you can’t decide who to main in Dragon Age Inquisition’s multiplayer, you may want to consider the Arcane Warrior. This cat can really do it all. Depending on how you build him he can do ranged DPS, melee DPS, and even tank. If you like self-barriers on barriers, he’s definitely your man. The Arcane Warrior also excels at weakening his opponents and capitalizing on it.
Here are this jack of all trades abilities:
Mentalism:
Tier 1:
Combat Clarity – when 5 meters from enemies mana regens 50% faster, +3 Con
Spirit Blade – 400% damage, 200% vs barrier, 400% vs guard, cost 10 mana per attack
- -Defending Blade – you can deflect projectiles with Spirit Blade
Force of Will – 20% armor bonus, +3 Con
Tier 2:
Guardian Spirit – 100% barrier when near death, 60 sec cooldown, +3 Con
Fade Shield – 30% barrier of damage dealt, +3 Magic
Psychic Backlash – attackers have a 5% chance to be stunned for 2 secs, +3 Con
Tier 3:
Spell Sword – 10% armor bonus for 6 secs after hitting with Spirit Blade, +3 Magic
Gathering Storm – attacks reduce cooldowns by 0.5 secs, +3 Willpower
Composed – +2 Magic, +5 Willpower, +2 Con
Tier 4:
Mind Blast – staggers and foes less likely to attack you, 5 meter AoE, 8 sec cooldown, cost 20 mana
- -Fortifying Blast – 10% Barrier
Mind over Matter – immune to flanking, less chance of being staggered, +3 Con
Dispel – remove hostile magic, 5 meters, 8 sec cooldown, cost 35 mana
- -Transmute Magic – barrier 50%, 25% damage bonus, duration 10 secs
Tier 5:
Phasing – 5% dodge chance, +3 Magic
Strength of Spirits – 50% stronger barrier
Peaceful Aura – 50% threat reduction, +3 Willpower
Tier 6:
Conductive Current – 5% bonus damage per 10% missing mana, +3 Magic
Flashfire – 300% damage, 8 sec fear, 20 sec cooldown, cost 65 mana
- -Blistering Pain – 8 secs more fear
Blinding Terror – panicked foes take 15% more damage, +3 Magic
Elemental:
Tier 1:
Chain Lightning – 5 meters, 4 hits, 2505 damage, shocked for 8 secs, 8 secs cooldown, 50 mana
- -Arcing Surge – +4 meter distance, 2 more hits
Tier 2:
Fade Step – forward teleport for 2 seconds, 12 secs cooldown
- -Frost Step – adds 300% damage, 8 secs of chill
Rejuvenating Barrier – active barriers cause 35% mana regeneration, +3 Con
Fade Cloak – become untargetable and pass through foes for 2 secs, 12 secs cooldown, 20 mana
- -Decloaking Blast – rematerialize inside enemy for 1000% weapon damage as spirit damage
Tier 3:
Smothering Veil – weakened foes deal 30% less damage, +3 Willpower
Disturbance of Spirit – spells have 5% chance to weaken foes for 6 secs, +3 Willpower
Twisting Veil – 15% more damage vs weakend foes, +3 Magic
Tier 4:
Veilstrike –fist knocks foes to ground in 5 meters, 24 secs cooldown, 35 mana
- -Punching Down – weakens foes for 10 secs, 15 less mana
Encircling Veil – status effects last 25% longer on weakened foes, +3 Magic
Stonefist – summon boulder that does 500% damage, 8 sec cooldown, cost 50 mana
- -Shatterstone – 4 meter AoE, weakens for 10 secs
Tier 5:
Stormbringer – random lightning bolt does 300% damage, 25 meter radius, 15 sec cooldown, +3 magic
Restorative Veil – 10% mana recovery from weakened foes, +3 Magic
Static Charge – deal 100% damage to attacking foes, shocked for 6 secs, +3 Con
Tier 6:
Pull of the Abyss – 6 meter AoE, 12 sec duration, 32 sec cooldown, cost 65 mana
Besides the hybrid option, the two main directions you’re going to want to take your Arcane Warrior are either tanky or weakened DPS. Cillian has a very unique ability to just gain barrier though attacking and being in proximity with enemies. This is nearly perfect for a tank. Since he does so much damage, he can keep the barrier up while being the absolute thick of it. Spirit Blade is your bread and butter and main source of DPS. Grab passives like Force of Will, Guardian Spirit, Fade Shield, Spell Blade, Mind over Matter, and Strength of Spirit. These abilities will make your barriers strong and readily available. I like to take Fade Cloak for immunity and survivability, especially vs. the Demon Commander.
If you’re looking at the Arcane Warrior’s passives, you’ll notice he has a whole lot of options to weaken foes and then to do more damage to weakened foes. This build concept capitalizes on all of these. Not only are you dealing more damage but your enemies are dealing less. This keeps you alive, helps your DPS, and even your party takes less damage. Take passives like Smothering Veil, Disturbance of Spirit, Twisting Veil, Encircling Veil, and Restorative Veil. Keep your Spirit Blade, but also grab Veilstrike and Stonefist since they will increase weakened damage and create more weakened situations.
A hybrid tanky build would include taking some weakened abilities to get the most out of Smothering Veil and your survivability. There are other builds you can make; ones that even revolve around ranged attacks. Make your Arcane Warrior anyway you like, these are just some suggestions.
