How is the nightmare difficulty in this game?

[Kayderim]

I started a playthrough on dual dagger rogue (human) and the prologue was pretty bearable, in the next part, before the meeting i did the 3 quests and roamed around reading every letter i could find, i went to the Hinterlands at level 4.

I want to know if i screwed myself over by creating a melee class for this difficulty, pretty much every guide i found recommended me a ranged.

Also, any advice on what skill tree to pick on the companions?

[Arthel]

It's fun, but in melee idk about it, get yourself a good mage with awesome barrier and a raise spell maybe it'll work out, also take an other tank with you at least and one ranged like sera or varic should do it but it would lack of dps so i would advise to go for two handed on your side so you do the most damages possible at least

[Kayderim]

Originally posted by Arthel:

It's fun, but in melee idk about it, get yourself a good mage with awesome barrier and a raise spell maybe it'll work out, also take an other tank with you at least and one ranged like sera or varic should do it but it would lack of dps so i would advise to go for two handed on your side so you do the most damages possible at least

I'm having a blast, i can only take out on 2 rifts before having to refill my potions, but it feel great to win in this diff.

I'm planing on keeping the standard party, but i noticed that some guides have other skills tree to pick, like Cassandra having templar skills, how do i get access to those?

Also, in dragon age 2, i remember the party members having unique skill trees that you couldn't get anywhere else, like Fenris with that lirium stuff, is this present here?

Also also, is open locks restricted to rogues only like previous dragon ages?

[z3r0t3n™]

Originally posted by Kayderim:

I'm planing on keeping the standard party, but i noticed that some guides have other skills tree to pick, like Cassandra having templar skills, how do i get access to those?

These skilltrees unlock later in the game. Your char can choose from 3 and all other chars are locked into one.

Originally posted by Kayderim:

Also, in dragon age 2, i remember the party members having unique skill trees that you couldn't get anywhere else, like Fenris with that lirium stuff, is this present here?

See above, not absolutely unique, but different rogue chars for example have different specialization.

Originally posted by Kayderim:

Also also, is open locks restricted to rogues only like previous dragon ages?

Yes

[Kayderim]

Thx guys

[barzai]

One other thing to bear in mind: as a rogue, you're not locked into your initial decision to go dual-daggers. You can use a respec amulet to change over if you need or want to.

And regarding that...if you pick your skills from the trees that aren't tied to either bows or daggers, you can swap back and forth so long as you aren't actively engaged in battle.

I could give you my own prefs but I'd imagine you'd prefer to learn this stuff on your own! :-)

[Kayderim]

Originally posted by barzai:

One other thing to bear in mind: as a rogue, you're not locked into your initial decision to go dual-daggers. You can use a respec amulet to change over if you need or want to.

And regarding that...if you pick your skills from the trees that aren't tied to either bows or daggers, you can swap back and forth so long as you aren't actively engaged in battle.

I could give you my own prefs but I'd imagine you'd prefer to learn this stuff on your own! :-)

Nice, thanks. I got a nice dagger and armor from the inquisition chest somehow (i think it was dlc?) and my rogue isn't dying nearly as much as i thought, Solas's AI is doing a great job on landing those barriers, but i'm currently controling Varric atm and i'm having a blast

[UnholyDentist]

If you are doing NG+ (sync with golden nug), then it should be pretty doable. If not, then it will be quite challenging in the beginning. You will need a mage with barrier spec (Solas is good for this) and a tank with loads of guard generation (recommend 2H spec Blackwall or Shield spec Cassandra). You will also need magic resistance unless you want yourself one shot by some mobs, definitely get resistance for high dragons. Start with magic casters, then ranged, and kite melee whilst you deal with them.

[Cuchi]

I'm playing on hard, some fade rifts are kinda hard without potions and the fight with the Duchess Florianne was a completly pain without kiting with your frontline but the rest is kinda normal.

I can't talk for nightmare, but I had the same doubt and I can say if you aren't sure, play on hard.

[pi73r]

I'm playing on nightmare and I'm playing the game for the 1st time. Some fights are hard and you need to level up but generally it ain't that hard. TBH after like 20 hours of playtime the hardest fight was a prologue boss.

[Kayderim]

I changed my rogue from daggers to archer and i'm having 0 trouble with anything my level or slightly higher (level 17 atm), i even already killed 2 dragons with relative ease, i don't know if i got lucky wih a bow i found that has 220 ATK but most of the times i can kill normal enemies with 1 - 2 hits, they will be long dead before they even have a chance hit me.

I just did a 7k damage crit with the regular archer skill, and i still have no specialization on me

[BCFreeman]

Nightmare + some trials like Even Ground is the best. I love the challenge for first playthrough.

[barzai]

Originally posted by BCFreeman:

Nightmare + some trials like Even Ground is the best. I love the challenge for first playthrough.

If you really want a serious challenge, do all that, plus the second challenge option (I think it's called) "Tread Lightly," the one where "Opponents may have unexpected extra powers." That can be pretty rough, especially in the opening phases.

I'm also informed--I've never done this myself--that the "Friendly Fire" option makes life even tougher for you since now all those AoE powers your party throws around with such careless abandon will affect you and your allies as well! :-)

[UnholyDentist]

Another thing I would recommend for nightmare, is to take the half XP trial. Everything scales with your level, and you have to find/craft gear to keep up with your character level. Half XP helps with that.

[SM]

Originally posted by Kayderim:

I started a playthrough on dual dagger rogue (human) and the prologue was pretty bearable, in the next part, before the meeting i did the 3 quests and roamed around reading every letter i could find, i went to the Hinterlands at level 4.

I want to know if i screwed myself over by creating a melee class for this difficulty, pretty much every guide i found recommended me a ranged.

Also, any advice on what skill tree to pick on the companions?

Hi! I definitely wouldn't say that picking a melee class for nightmare is a mistake, it's just that ranged archer is arguably the most OP class to pick. I am currently playing dual dagger rogue myself on nightmare and I think it's a solid choice. If you found the prologue bearable you'll be fine for the rest of the game because the early game is the hardest! Also keep in mind that on nightmare there are parts of the maps you will need to put off and revisit at a higher level (fade rifts in the Hinterlands, areas with Dragons).

For companion skill trees I think that depends on your party composition. If you're a rogue (dmg) then you would want a tank (warrior), healer (mage), and another dps (preferably not another dual wield rogue, you have to babysit them). It's also preferable to have someone from each major class so that you can fix bridges/holes (mage), break down walls (warrior), and pick locks (rogue). And for context each class has 3 skill trees + a special tree (specialization) they unlock later in the story.

Tank Warriors = Cassandra (Templar spec for anti-magic), Blackwall (Champion spec, which i like because it makes him more tanky).

Healer Mage = Solas (Rift mage spec for crowd control).

Note: You can respec any mage to have barrier and such but Solas is the best suited for it. Mages like Dorian are better suited for damage because of his Necromancer spec he gets later works well with the fire tree, etc.

DPS = For nightmare it's preferable to have a ranged DPS, you could pick Dorian (mage), Varric (archer rogue), Sera (archer rogue), etc.

Have fun!

[ginabean]

I've been playing this game off and on since it was released. To me, I find Nightmare on the easy side, however I know the way to build the characters. I find adjusting the abilities they can use in the tactics is really helpful... that way they are focusing on the most valuable skills. Also, AI isn't smart enough for combos. My first play through was so hard for me it was a joke because I didn't understand those things. I actually learned the most from playing MP.

I also play a Knight Enchanter because they are super survivable and do great damage. I usually take Solas (crowd control), Cole equipped with a bow (DPS and opens locks), and Blackwall (Tank/DPS) with me. I also find Cole's banter to be very telling... he reads minds and gives you a lot of information in a very subtle way that is easily missed.