Tamar became a Reaver by drinking Dragon Blood. This turned the mighty warrior into a force to be reckoned with. The cultist successfully escaped the Chantry in Haven. She was later captured by members of the Inquisition. In captivity, she was given the opportunity to fight for the Inquisition in exchange for her freedom. Tamar accepted, dying in battle is far more glorious than dying in a cell.
The Reaver has a very unique playstyle in Dragon Age Inquisition multiplayer. While she is capable of doing tremendous damage, to maximize her efficiency you have to play her high risk / high reward. As the term suggests, this is a gamble. Many of Tamar’s abilities do more or do better when her hit points are lower. So as she fight near death, she becomes a whirlwind of death. Yet, when she’s running around at maximized HP and safe, she plays more standard. The ability to steal health from foes opens all sorts of options in builds.
Here are her unique abilities:
Bloodlust:
Tier 1:
Devour – 100% damage, restore 0.2% HP for %1 dealt, 2% damage bonus for every 1% missing HP, 12 secs cooldown, 65 sta, 0.4% HP restored for every 1% missing HP with Ring of Pain up
- -Consume – 25% crit chance
Tier 2:
Fervor – enemy deaths 10 meters near you grant 30% damage boost for 5 secs, +3 Cun
Ring of Pain – toggled, 15 meters, 15% weapon damage per sec, 1% bonus for 1% missing HP, 10 sta per sec
- -Torrent of Pain –4 cooldown, 20% less cost
Warrior’s Resolve – 10% stamina restored for every 10% HP lost, +3 Con
Tier 3:
Bloodbath – Devour and Dragon-Rage have a 20% weaken chance, +3 Con
Blood Frenzy – 5% extra damage per 10% missing HP, +3 Str
Wrathful – +6 Str, +3 Con
Tier 4:
Flow of Battle – Crits reduce cooldowns by 1 sec, +3 Str
War Horn – 8 meter AoE, feared for 6 secs, 25 sec cooldown, 35 sta
- -Break their Spirit – 20% armor reduction, 1,200% damage vs Guard
Scenting Blood – when 10 meters from a foe under 35% HP gain 50% speed and 10% crit bonus, +3 Con
Challenge – Duration 8 secs, Guard amount 10%, Cooldown reduction 16 secs, Cost 20 sta
- -Throw the Gauntlet 15 Sta per sec
Biggest Threat – Threat Increase 25%, Con +3
Tier 5:
Relentless Attack – attacks add 1% crit resetting after crit, +3 Str
Terrifying Fury – Crits cause 25% fear, 10 meters, for 6 secs
Deathblow – Auto crit foes feared or sleeping, +3 Cun
Tier 6:
Dragon-Rage – 150% damage, 1% damage for each 1% missing HP, cost 2% HP, 50% Ring of Pain bonus
- -Ravage – 50% bonus damage, -2 cooldown
Rampage – 10% bonus, speed, and HP for 10 secs, 30 sec cooldown, 65 sta
Assault:
Tier 1:
Mighty Blow – 200% damage, 200% bonus, 16 sec cooldown, 50 sta
- -Easy Target 15 sta, 300% damage bonus
Tier 2:
Block and Slash – 150% damage, 10 sta, 5 sta a sec
- -Flawless Defense – 50% damage bonus, 15% guard
Coup de Grace – 30% damage vs stunned or knocked down, +3 Str
Combat Roll – roll out of danger, 2 sec cooldown, 20 Sta
- -Roll With It – rolling gets out of disabling effects
Tier 3:
It’ll Cost You – 15% damaged returned to attacker, +3 Str
Adamant – 20% armor bonus, +3 Con
Resilience – 5% stun chance for 2 secs, +3 Con
Tier 4:
Crippling Blows – Crits cause 15% damage reduction in target for 10 secs, stacks, +3 Str
Deep Reserves – under 50% sta, gain 50% bonus to sta regen, +3 Str
Hamstring – attacking behind target reduces speed by 50% for 3 secs, +3 str
Tier 5:
Pommel Strike – 300% damage, 3 sec stun, 20 sec cooldown, 35 sta
- -Lighting Jab – -4 sec cooldown, 1 more sec stun
Clear a Path – hitting multiple targets gain 10% sta, +3 str
Earthshaking Strike – 2 Hits, 150% damage, 12 meter AoE, 20 sec cooldown, 50 sta
- -Shattered Ground – 8 sec cooldown, 20% burning damage, burning last 8 secs
Tier 6:
Shield-Breaker – 20% Armor Reduction, 6 secs,Str +3
Bear Mauls the Wolves – can’t be flanked. +3 Con
Guard-Smasher – 100% bonus damage vs guard, +3 Str
The bread and butter of the Reaven is her very first ability, Devour. This melee range attack takes HP away from your target and heals her. The upgrade grants a 25% crit rate. This ability does more less HP you have when you use it. So while you can use this power to top off your HP it’s better saved for when the Reaver is lower. The high chance to crit offers more HP gained since it is a percentage of damage dealt. I strongly recommend keeping this ability for nearly every build.
The two big options for Reaver builds are pure DPS or an annoying hard to kill non tanky tank. For pure gamble DPS, go for the passives that make you just hurt as foes as humanly possible. Ring of Pain (use), Warrior’s Resolve, Dragon-Rage (use), and Clear a Path. The combination of these on use abilities and passives will make your low HP Reaver hit like a truck while gaining stamina back at a rapid rate. You’ll want stamina regen abilities if you plan on having Ring of Pain up often – which you’ll want to do to get full efficiency out of hard hitting abilities.
For the very technical non tanky tank, the Assault tree will be more of your friend. The skills It’ll Cost You, Adamant, Resilience, Bear Mauls the Wolves, and Biggest Threat will be your allies. Depending on just how tanky you want to go, feel free to pick out Challenge. You don’t have a shield but you have life steal. If you’re throwing around Ring of Pain, there is a good chance you’re going to get unwanted attention anyway. You’re a plate user but you don’t have any escapes or aggro drops. Combat Roll isn’t a horrible choice for mobility and survivability.
The Reaver is really about what you want out of the class. These two examples are a bit on the extreme side. A hybrid path or simply choosing the four actives you want accompanied by passives that fit into your play style will ultimately be what is best for you. The Reaver has lots of speed moves if you really want to just be all over the place crushing everything in your path. Just be careful doing this on harder difficulties than routine. Beeeest of luck. Dat dragon blood.
