How to unlock every specialization

Specializations further customize your character. Also, you can find a more comfortable style of playing, therefore it is necessary to know what's the deal.

Warrior Specializations

BERSERKER
It can be unlocked by having Oghren teach it if his approval rating is high enough. Alternatively, there is a manual available from Gorim Saelac's initial stock in Denerim Market District for 11 sovereigns.
It increases your damage and gives you a boost to health regeneration.



CHAMPION
It can be unlocked by completing The Urn of Sacred Ashes and accepting Arl Eamon Guerrin's offer for a reward, also Loghain can teach you in the Party Camp.
This specialization can make your party unbeatable. War Cry is useful for reducing incoming damage, causing enemies who fail it's check to take penalties to hit. After learning Superiority the attack penalty is augmented by a knockdown, which is useful for crowd control. At the same time the bonus defense from Rally grants extra damage resistance to allies. When Motivate is learned an attack bonus is added to Rally.

REAVER
During The Urn of Sacred Ashes quest, the Warden will meet a man named Kolgrim in the Mountainside Caverns. If he is not provoked he will offer the Warden a vial of blood to pour on Andraste's Ashes. Once the Warden has navigated through the Gauntlet, pour the blood into the urn and speak with Kolgrim outside. He will teach you the Reaver specialization.
It makes your dying harder, since the more your health drops, the stronger you become. However, you need to be in the battle for a while, since it requires a number of corpses for some abilities.

TEMPLAR
The templar specialization can be taught by Alistair if his approval rating is high enough. Bodahn Feddic in the Party Camp also sells a manual that will unlock the specialization for 15 sovereings.
The Templar specialization is useful to any warrior. In many cases, an enemy mage is possibly the biggest threat due to their ranged damage and disables. Templar abilities help you resist these disables with the initial mental resistance bonus, and the "Mental Fortress" ability. A close range warrior is terrible for mages, especially when the "Cleanse Area" ability lets you remove disabling glyphs, and magic related stuns on your party members. When at close range, your passive ability "Righteous Strike" lets you drain mana on each hit. If you can't get within melee range, the final ability "Holy Smite" gives you access to a ranged attack useful for attacking a mage, while depleting their mana, and stunning them, all at once, while you close in.

Mage Specializations

ARCANE WARRIOR
You need to find a phylactery that is located in the Lower Ruins of the Brecilian Ruins. Inside there, according to the map it is in middle right; left section of two outstretching quarters. You need to do what it says and accept its reward.
Tactics differ for this one. You can be the unmovable object or the unstoppable force. Magic now equals strenght, so you'll be able to use armor.The mage can use sustained abilities to get very high levels of defense/armor/spell resistance, but at a heavy mana cost.

BLOOD MAGE
As a mage, you'll have to enter to Fade and reason with the Desire Demon that struck a deal with Connor(at RedCliffe). When she'll ask you what you want, select the "forbidden arts" line.
Through this, you'll drain the life from your enemies and allies(which do you prefer) to sustain your powers; it works as a mana replacer.

SHAPESHIFTER
Morrigan will teach this specialization if her approval of you is neutral; she is not willing to do so once her approval rises above 25. You can also purchase a Shapeshifter Manual from Varathorn in the Dalish Camp at the Brecilian Outskirts for around 12 sovereigns.
You can take different forms:
Spider Shape is the most versatile of the forms, with two ranged attacks as well as the powerful Overwhelm (ability) gained with Master Shapeshifter. The Spider Shape's attributes scale the slowest with increasing Spellpower, however, making it the weakest form for "mage" Shapeshifters.
Bear Shape is the toughest form and does the most Physical damage. Its attacks are much slower than the Spider Shape's, so equipping a staff (for auto-hit and Armor Penetration) before shifting is recommended, especially at lower levels. Bear Shape also scales faster with increasing Spellpower than the Spider Shape, remaining useful throughout the campaign.
Flying Swarm's damage-over-time attack does not harm allies and is capable of doing greater damage (per target) than most damage-over-time spells at the same level of Spellpower. It is the fastest of the forms and the only one that does not alter any of the mage's main attributes. Instead, Flying Swarm improves the mage's base Missile Deflection stat, making it particularly useful for "specialist" Shapeshifters.

SPIRIT HEALER
You can buy Manual: Spirit Healer from the Tranquil Proprietor in Wonders of Thedas shop in Denerim. You can also buy the manual from the vendor in the Warden's Keep after you complete that quest.
This one gives you more effective healing abilities.

Rogue Specializations

ASSASSIN
Zevran will teach you if your approval is high enough.Alternatively, you can obtain the manual from Alarith at his store in the Denerim Alienage after the Landsmeet has begun for 11 sovereigns.
Through its abilities you can exploit the enemies weekneses. More exactly, you show the weak points to every attacker which makes the victim take more damage.


BARD
Leliana can teach you the bard specialization. Once "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" conversation is complete, the dialogue option for learning Bard specialization will be available and she will teach once you ask of it. The Manualis availabe to buy from Alimar at his shop in Dust Town for 14 sovereings.
Its abilites consists on bonuses for alies(and lots of cool glowings)

DUELIST
Duelist can be unlocked by talking to Isabela in The Pearl, a brothel in Denerim. She must be persuaded, seduced or beat in a card game to get her to teach the specialization.
It is for rogues who use blades in combat. Those rogues gain abilities that makes them stronger in fights, things like backstabbing are no longer required since they can take part in the battlefield, giving critical hits.

RANGER
You can purchase the Manual: Ranger from Bodahn Feddic at the Party Camp for 15 sovereigns . Like with all specialization manuals, once you buy it in any playthrough, the specialization will be unlocked for all current and future playthroughs.
You'll be able to summon a wolf, a bear and a spider. Mastering this specializations makes you able to summon superior versions of those animals.

[SnitchyBoi]

Thank you very much for the Guide!

[simeon369]

@Sir_Strazzen yeah I've come to realise this haha... i've done like 10,000 complete games on the 360 version but there are a lot of differences between that version and the steam version. :/

[mindDRIFTER]

@EagleEye007 You can do that and go back to an earlier save. The specialization that are unlocked are tied to your game profile, not your game-save.

[EagleEye007]

so you cant get the reaver spec any other way then doing that lol

[Sir_Strazzen]

Sorry @Simon369 but Oghren is a Drunken Berserker , not a Reaver . And it seems there is a lot of differences between the Old X-box / 360 version of the game and the one that is on Steam . I've noticed little quirks & oddities all over the place.

[simeon369]

can't believe you didn't use every ones favourite Reaver Oghren drunk and in his loincloth...

[Vuyek]

"You can purchase the Manual: Ranger from Bodahn Feddic at the Party Camp for 15 sovereigns"

Midway thru game, and I do not see the ranger manual

[nerdyman14]

When I played on the xbox long ago I swear the mage you get at the tower taught me the spirit healer ability after enough talking with her and high affinity.

[Confused Undead]

runscript setplayerimmortal + runscript killallhostiles = OLD TESTEMENT GOD

[Baron av Noxium]

Arcane Warrior + Spirit Healer = God