Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Screenshots
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening was recently announced as the latest expansion for our favorite RPG. I’ve been doing some digging and I wanted to share with everyone the screenshots. There are only 5 official screens so far but all of them look beautiful.
Click any of the frames below to enlarge:
Looks like we’ll be fighting more dragons! Hahaha!
Woohooo! Can’t wait for this one. 
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Expansion Articles
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening Expansion
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening Screenshots
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening Trailer
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Expansion Confirmed
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening is the latest major expansion that a lot of Dragon Age gamers have been eagerly waiting for. According to the teaser, the new expansion’s story will revolve around your task to rebuild the Grey Warden Order as well as investigate why the Dark Spawn still remain despite the defeat of the Arch Demon. A new land will also be introduced – Amaranthine.
Here’s the official description:
For centuries, the Grey Wardens-the ancient order of guardians, sworn to unite and defend the lands-have been battling the darkspawn forces. Legend spoke that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but somehow they remain. You are the Grey Warden Commander and have been entrusted with the duty of rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens and uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to remain. How you choose to rebuild your order, how you resolve the conflict with “The Architect”, and how you determine the fate of the darkspawn will be but some of the many complex choices that await and shape your journey as you venture to the new land of Amaranthine.
A Stunning World Expanded: BioWare’s deepest universe to date just got bigger with an all new area of the world to explore, Amaranthine
- Unlock the secrets of the Darkspawn and their true motivations
- Rebuild the Grey Warden order and establish their base of operations at Vigil’s Keep
- All-new Complex Moral Choices: Embark on an epic story that is completely defined and reactive to your play style
- Shape your entire experience based on the choices you make and how your handle complex situations
- New Ways to Customize your Hero: Experience additional spells, abilities, specializations, and items to further personalize and customize your hero and party
- Import your character from Dragon Age: Origins or start anew as a Grey Warden from the neighboring land of Orlais
- Encounter five all-new party members and an old favorite from Dragon Age: Origins
- Even more Bone-Crushing, Visceral Combat: Battle against a new range of horrific and terrifying creatures
- Put your skills to the test against an evolved, intelligent breed of Darkspawn and other menacing creatures including the Inferno Golem and Spectral Dragon!
Wooooohoooooo! The expansion will cost $40 USD and the content will run for around 15 hours. Not bad if you ask me. Uncharted 2 ran for just 15 hours as well so I think it’s a decent but at $40.
Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Expansion Articles
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening Expansion
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening Screenshots
Dragon Age Origins: Awakening Trailer
Dragon Age: Origins Unlimited Gold Cheat/Bug
I found a Dragon Age: Origins cheat for unlimited gold during my fourth run of the game. Basically you have to unlock Shale first so you will be able to find his weapons and armor (crystals) on merchants. After unlocking him, head on over to Redcliffe for the standard quest line. Convince the bartender, Lloyd, to join the battle to defend the village. This will leave Bella, the waitress, in charge. She’ll give you everything in Lloyd’s stockroom for free. Talk to her and get all the items, go out of the bar, go in again, and the stock that she has will be replenished. Keep on doing this until your sick of it and sell all the stuff to another merchant for instant easy gold.
Let him die and get unlimited gold! Lol.
Bella will be giving you crystals for Shale in varying tiers. The lowest tiers will sell for around 25-50 silver a piece while the highest will get you a little over 1 gold.
Here’s a quick note, you can also keep on doing this until the end of the game. Just make sure Lloyd dies in the battle when you defend the village during the night. This will almost be automatic since when you go down to the village Lloyd will be fighting like 3-4 undead creatures. Just don’t lift a finger to help him. *evil laughter*
Dragon Age: Origins Cheats Unlimited Gold
Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar DLC
Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar is slated for the PC and XBOX release on January 5, 2010. PS3 and MAC versions will come later in the month (which sucks since I’m a PS3 gamer). To those who’ve played Dragon Age: Origins already, Ostagar is the starting place after you finish your origins story. It’s where you meet the king and form a bond with the Grey Wardens, more specifically Duncan. Based on what I’ve read, the new DLC will last you roughly a little more than an hour in game play and it will cost $4.99 (P250).
Here’s the promotional trailer for your viewing pleasure:
Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar DLC Trailer
Of course the thing that grabbed my attention was King Cailan’s golden armor. Man that thing looks hot! Hahaha! I’d love to get my hands on those. It looks like Duncan’s weapons are also up for grabs since the ogre that he impaled with both blades is still standing. Man… is Duncan that weak?
Gimme your armor, yo. xD
Anyway, let’s all just wait for the DLC to come out. It’s definitely worth $4.99. Here’s a screenshot of what the armor would look like on your character:
Win!!! xD
Dragon Age: Origins Threesome & Romancing
Romancing in Dragon Age: Origins is proving to be one of the most popular features in the game. There are so many ways to trigger it and you can have intimate relationships with three characters in your party, namely Morrigan, Leliana, and Zevran. I recently just found out that you can actually have threesomes, even foursomes in Dragon Age: Origins. It’s actually quite simple to pull off.
Here’s what you do:
- Get in romance level with the character you want to get it on with.
- You need to have decent persuasion score (cunning plus the skill)
- For Alistair, you need to finish his sister side quest. For Leliana, you have to finish her Marjoliane side quest. Zev, the spicy antivian elf, is easy game.
- Don’t get too high of an approval rating from the third person or else she will force you to make a choice.
- Talk to Isabella (The Pearl in Denerim). Before she teaches you duelist, she will say that she’d like to play cards against you. Just answer the “are there any other ways…” line and there you go.
That’s it for now. Have fun! 
Here are other guides that you might find useful:
Dragon Age: Origins Romancing & Threesome Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Warrior Tank Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Arcane Warrior Guide
Dragon Age: Origins on PS3
Dragon Age: Origins Gift Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Flemeth
Dragon Age Origins: High Dragon
Dragon Age Origins: Class Specialization Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Blood Mage Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Spell Combos Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Side Quests Guide (Orzammar)
Dragon Age: Origins Paralysis Runes
Dragon Age: Origins – Shale the Golem
Dragon Age: Origins Best Equipment Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Equipment Guide (V1.0)
I’ve finished Dragon Age: Origins three times already and I’ve picked up lots of really good gear in side quests and on shops. I’m compiling some of the best gear I’ve seen and where you can get them so that you can make it a point not to miss ‘em while playing.
Nekkid Alistair FTL!
MAGE EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Spellweaver – A kick ass sword that deals pretty good damage and has a lot of benefits. Can only be equipped by Arcane Warriors. You can get this from the Arcane Warrior Hurlock Emissary in the Sacred Ashes quest.
Staff of the Magister Lords – I think this is by far one of the best staves in the game. Purchased from the Circle of Magi Quartermaster.
Winter’s Breath – This is cool for Morrigan especially if you had her spec up the cold spell talent tree. Winter’s Breath gives +15% Cold damage. If you combine that with the Robes of Possession and the +10% Cold damage ring, Morrigan’s cold spells will really pack a punch! You can buy this staff from the Wonders of Thedas store in Denerim.
Robes of Possession – Just kill Flemeth and get this from the locked chest inside her house. This can only be worn by Morrigan… and yes it gives bonus Cold damage as well.
Reaper’s Vestments – Some consider this to be the best mage robe (apart from the Robes of Possession). This can be purchased in the Wonders of Thedas store in Denerim.
WARRIOR EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Legion of the Dead Armor Set – This is arguably my favorite armor ever in the whole game. There three major reasons why. First, it looks soooooo kick ass. I’ve always been a fan of black armors and this one just takes the cake! Second is the story behind the armor. The fact that this is the armor that an elite squad of warriors use when they fight Dark Spawn everyday in the Deep Roads just brings the value to a whole new level, hahaha! Lastly, the stats aren’t too bad as well. This is the armor I had my main Warrior Berserker wear. Anyway, to get this set, just make sure you do the Legion of the Dead side quest in the Deep Roads. You might want to check my Orzammar side quest guide for more details.
Juggernaut Armor Set – My second favorite armor set. It gives a bunch of elemental resistances which will make tanking easier. You can get this from a side quest in the Brecilian Ruins. Make it a point to do this because it’s fairly easy to complete.
Blood Dragon Armor Set – DLC armor that looks cool and has decent stats.
Commander’s Armor Set – I have no idea where to get the other pieces but you can get the armor from a Merchant in the area outside Orzammar. Looks like one of the best armors for Templars. Gives a massive bonus to Spell Resistance.
Wade’s Armor Sets – Fire resist armor that you can get with Drake and Dragon Scales from Wade in Denerim. Note that you should give gold when he asks for it. There are two tiers of Wade Armors. The Superior versions give better stats.
Summersword – Get this cool 2H sword from Loghain’s General. You can take her on in two scenes. First one is when she apprehends you after you save the Queen. She’ll have tons of reinforcements at that scene though so only try to do this if you have a strong party. I recommend 2 Blood Mages. That would make it a walk in the park (Blood Wound FTW). Second instance is when you meet her before the Landsmeet.
Topsider’s Honor – One of the best 1H swords in the game. It has good stats and it has 3 slots for Runes. You just need to assemble the three pieces and reassemble it in Ortan Thaig in the Deep Roads. For more information, check out the Side Quest guide the I recently published.
Keening Blade – Another kick ass 1H sword. Just complete the Unbound world side quest.
Star Fang – Some people say this is the best 1H sword. You’ll need to get the DLC Warden’s Keep though.
Yusaris – Also known as the “Dragon Slayer”. This 2H sword gives bonus damage against Dragons and it has Fire Resistance. Just do the side quest in the Circle of Magi Tower. The one where you click the statues and a Fade Beast comes out at the bottom level. This makes killing Flemeth much easier.
2H Axes – There are a bunch of 2H axes that you can get. You can loot three powerful ones from the High Dragon, Korgrim, and Denerim General encounters. Just take your pick on which one you prefer to use. There’s also one good axe (Ageless) which you can get from the Dragon Side Quest in the Orzammar Throne room.
Aodh – Pretty neat 1H axe. Just take the quest from Sgt. Kylon in Denerim to clear out the mercenaries in the Pearl. Don’t kill them but drive them out. After that, you’ll get a random encounter in Denerim with them attacking you. Pick up the axe from the corpse of the gang leader.
ROGUE EQUIPMENT GUIDE
The Rose’s Thorn – One of the best daggers in the game. Just get it from a merchant in Orzammar.
Thorn of the Dead Gods – I have this on my rogue but I totally forgot where I got it, haha!
Dragonbone Crow Dagger – Just buy it from Ceasar after completing the side quests from the Crows. It’s a pretty plain dagger but it packs a punch and it really has good stats.
Wade’s Armor – You have the option of using your scales to create Wade’s Dragon Leatherskin Armors. The normal version isn’t too good but if you get the superior version, it gives bonuses to Dexterity as well.
Shadows of the Empire – One of the best leather armors in the game. Just buy it from the Merchant in Orzammar (near the tavern).
I haven’t really paid much attention to bows yet so I won’t put up any info on them right now. Note that this list is not exhaustive so feel free to add information that I missed for everyone’s benefit. Cheers!
Here are other guides that you might find useful:
Dragon Age: Origins Arcane Warrior Guide
Dragon Age: Origins on PS3
Dragon Age: Origins Gift Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Flemeth
Dragon Age Origins: High Dragon
Dragon Age Origins: Class Specialization Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Blood Mage Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Spell Combos Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Side Quests Guide (Orzammar)
Dragon Age: Origins Paralysis Runes
Dragon Age: Origins – Shale the Golem
Dragon Age: Origins Best Equipment Guide
Dragon Age: Origins – Paralysis Runes Rock
Dragon Age: Origins Paralysis Runes make life for melee characters and for the party in general, much easier. In my first run, I pretty much ignored the Rune system since I was more focused on spell combos with my Elf Blood Mage. However I’ve played two other characters since finishing the game. I’ve tried a dual-wielding warrior and I’m now playing a melee rogue.
Initially I was using mostly damage dealing runes however after finding out how powerful the Paralysis runes are, they’re now my top priority. The rune has a chance of paralyzing opponents which helps you take a breather from the damage that the opponent can dish out. It also helps you to deal even more damage, especially if you’re a rogue.
I don’t know if this is a bug, but apparently the rune also works against bosses. I remember making mince meat out of the High Dragon in my third run with my rogue, haha.
Anyway, here are where I found Paralysis Runes:
Grand Master Paralysis Rune: Denerim Store (16 gold)
Expert and Master Paralysis Runes: I’m not 100% sure but I think I found them in the Deep Roads during the Orzammar quest line.
Novice and Journeyman Paralysis Runes: Cultist Dungeon in the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest line. Just make sure to loot all the opponents and chests.
There you go. Enjoy!
Here are other guides that you might find useful:
Dragon Age: Origins Arcane Warrior Guide
Dragon Age: Origins on PS3
Dragon Age: Origins Gift Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Flemeth
Dragon Age Origins: High Dragon
Dragon Age Origins: Class Specialization Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Blood Mage Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Spell Combos Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Side Quests Guide (Orzammar)
Dragon Age: Origins – Shale the Golem
Dragon Age: Origins’ Shale is a downloadable character. I’ve already finished the game twice and I didn’t actually get him on my party because I was too lazy to download, haha. Anyway, I’m currently on my third run and I decided to use characters that I didn’t use in my previous runs, which obviously includes Shale. Anyway, Shale is turning out to be one hell of a strong tank as well as a fun character. He’s literally like Alistair except he’s on steroids (he has a cool sense of humor too). Anyway, here’s a quick write-up of what you can expect from him if ever you decide to bring him along.
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS SHALE
Combat Strategy and Roles
Shale can either be a massive melee damager or a sturdy tank. Other than his unique abilities, you can also get the basic Warrior talents. Right now I’m using him as a Tank and so far he’s doing an amazing job at it. To use his tanking talents, activate Stone Heart. Activating this ability automatically gives Shale defensive bonuses as well as an aura that attracts opponents (combined with Taunt this works really well). Here are other defensive abilities that you can use while in Tank mode:
Bellow: AOE stun and taunt skill. Very useful!
Stone Roar: Shale gets HP regen and automatically gets threat of one targeted opponent.
Regenerating Burst: AOE damage and possible stun. Chance to shatter if enemies are frozen. Increases Shales’ threat and Stamina regeneration.
As mentioned above, Shale can also deal pretty good damage. Just activate Pulverizing Blows and you get access to his offensive melee skills. Activating Pulverizing Blows gives Shale a defense penalty but he gains a lot of bonus melee damage. Here’s a rundown of his other melee skills:
Slam: Single target automatic critical and knockback. After learning this talent, Shale gets a permanent bonus to damage while Pulverizing Blow is active.
Quake: AOE damage that has chance to knockback/stun. While Pulverizing Blow is active, Shale gets increase armor penetration.
Killing Blow: Similar to the Berserker skill. One attack that’s an autocrit but drains the stamina of Shale. Gives bonus constant damage as well when Pulverizing Blows is active.
Shale has other abilities but I’ll discuss them some other time. I’ll spend some more hours trying to use this guy effectively. So far though I’m having a blast. 
PS: I just found out that Shale is actually a “she”. Can anyone confirm?
Here are other guides that you might find useful:
Dragon Age: Origins Arcane Warrior Guide
Dragon Age: Origins on PS3
Dragon Age: Origins Gift Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Flemeth
Dragon Age Origins: High Dragon
Dragon Age Origins: Class Specialization Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Blood Mage Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Spell Combos Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Side Quests Guide (Orzammar)
Dragon Age: Origins Orzammar Side Quests
During my first run of Dragon Age: Origins I missed a bunch of side quests all over the map. Most of the quests I missed though were in Orzammar line. If you’re a min-max junkie, then you’ll probably be interested in doing all of the content available. Doing side quests gives your party more experience, items, and abilities that you can use when you face the harder challenges down the road. Anyway, this short guide won’t be 100%, but I’ll try to tackle the quests that are easy-to-miss, especially the ones in the Deep Roads.
DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS ORZAMMAR SIDE QUEST GUIDE
Caged in Stone
Did you know that you can actually fight a dragon inside the Orzammar throne room? Hahaha! Anyway, to start the quest, just examine the throne at the Royal Palace. After doing so, have your main character stand at the throne and then have two of your characters stand at the arrow plates to the lower left corner of the room. Then have your last party member stand at the big square plate at the main hall (not in the throne room). Switch back to your main and examine the throne again and this will “unleash” a dragon on your party. Don’t worry, it’s not as hard as Flemeth or the High Dragon. It’s actually easy and you can get a really nice 2H sword as your prize. Note that in order to have your characters stand in place, you’ll need to select “HOLD POSITION” in the advanced tab.
The Key to the City
I haven’t tried doing this but I read about it on one of the forums. Basically all you have to do is to collect Orzammar documents scattered all over the city. After you collect all 5, just go to the Assembly and look for the diplomatic cache. You’ll get your reward there. Here are the docs as well as their general locations:
Council Writ (Diamond Quarter, behind the doors leading to Commons), Writ of Censure (Fighter’s area in the Proving Grounds), Commission Report (Hall of Heroes), Assembly Directive (Dust Town), & Document (Commons, bridge to Proving Grounds)
Precious Metals (EASY GOLD QUEST, MUST DO!!!)
This is one of my favorite quests ever. It’s so easy to do and you can earn up to 40+ gold. Basically talk to Rogek in Dust Town and take the Lyrium off his hands. This will cost you 50 gold but you can use Persuasion to bring it down to 40. After that, head over to Godwin in the Circle Tower (they mage who was trapped inside a closet in the second floor), and sell it to him. First price is 40 gold but you can use persuasion to jack it up to 60+. Easy profit!
But wait, there’s more. Head back to Rogek and then collect your finder’s fee. You can get up to additional 20-25 gold if you have high persuasion. If you don’t, then just kill him and get the gold after.
Exotic Methods
I almost missed this quest completely during my second run (missed it the first time). If you picked Bhelen, you’ll have access to the Royal Quarters. Just look for Herbalist Widron who’s attending to some noble who’s poisoned. Just have your herbalist make a potion with 4 elfroots, 2 lifestones, 2 concentrator agents, and a flask. Use the quest on the woman and she’ll get cured. If you didn’t side with Bhelen, you can still do the quest when you finish everything with Harrowmont.
Proving After Dark
Look for the Proving Armsman in the Proving Grounds. You’ll find him in one of the rooms in the Fighters Holding Area. He’ll explain that there are illegal fights going on in the arena during the evening and that you can participate in it. If you win, you get some cash and EXP. You’ll get a nice prize for Blood Mages in the end.
Thief in the House of Learning
Another easy quest, just begin it by talking to Milldrate. Look for Shady Corebit in Dust Town. You’ll have to fight him and then get the proving receipt. After that, head over to the Proving Grounds and look for Fixer Gredin. Ask for the book and you can either sell the book to Jetrin or you can give it back to Milldrate.
An Unlikely Scholar
Dagna is a dwarf who wants to study magic. Just talk to her and agree that you’ll bring this up with the Circle of Mages. Talk to Irving at the tower and he’ll accept Dagna. Head back to Orzammar and deliver the good news to Dagna to end the quest.
Zerlinda’s Woe
Look for the dwarf beggar girl named Zerlinda in Dust Town. She’s been disowned by her father because she had a child outside her caste. If you agree to help her out, talk to her father Ordel. You can find him in the Tapster’s Tavern. You’ll need to pass a persuasion check to be able to get him to agree to take her back in. If you fail, you can be very evil and you can persuade Zerlinda to leave her child in the Deep Roads (lol).
The Chant in the Deeps
Another simple one. Just get the quest from Brother Burkel in the Commons area. He wants to put up a Chantry but he needs the approval of the Shaper. If you agree to help him out, just talk to the Shaper and pass either a Persuasion or an Intimidation check.
DEEP ROADS SIDE QUESTS
The following are quests still in the Orzammar arc but most of the work will be done inside the various locations of the Deep Roads. Some of the quests here have REALLY GOOD rewards but there’s a BIG chance you’ll miss them unless you read the codex that you pick up.
Asunder
Basically all you have to do is pick up three Small Bloody Sacks. You’ll find two of them in Cardin’s Cross and one is in Aeducan Thaig. You’ll get Bag of Limbs, Head in a Bag, and Torso in a Bag. After getting all three, set the pieces at the Altar of Sundering (Ortan Thaig). You’ll summon a gigantic kick ass demon that you can fight for experience or you can just get gold from him and leave.
Legion of the Dead (Forgot the name of the quest)
Gather all pieces of the Legion of the Dead Armor and have someone wear it. After that examine the Legion of the Dead relic in the room beside the area which goes to the Broodmother. This will summon a shade which you can easily kill. Defeating it will end the quest. Note that you can pick up a sigil in a sarcophagus leading up to the Broodmother if you do this first.
Lost to the Memories
Get the quest from Orta in the Shaper’s area. She needs some proof that her family is actually of noble caste. You’ll find the documents needed for this in a chest in Ortan Thaig very near Ruck’s cave. Just give the documents to Orta and then meet her at the Assembly for your prize.
A Mother’s Hope
You’ll find a dwarf mom praying her heart out in the Commons area. Talk to her and you’ll find out that she’s missing her son (who ran away). You’ll find the guy in Ortan Thaig but he’s already insane. Talk to him and just go back up later and tell his mother that he’s already dead. You can also be evil and kill actually KILL Ruck. Lol.
An Admirable Topsider
Another item gathering quest! Just get the Topsider’s Hilt from a Genlock Emissary which you’ll find somewhere in the southern area of Caridin’s Cross. You’ll find Topsider’s Pommel in Ruck’s cave (Ortan Thaig). After that you need to examine a Warrior’s Grave again in Ortan Thaig and you’ll then have to get the last piece from an Ancient Darkspawn in the Dead Trenches. After collecting all three, head back to the grave and examine coffin for one kick ass sword reward (3 slots babeh)!
Wall of Memories
Examine the Wall of Memories in the Shaper room. It’s at the back near the books so make sure you don’t miss it. That begins the quest. Look for three rune stones in the following locations: Mines Commander in the Commons, Dead Trenches, and lower right section of Caridin’s Cross. After checking all three rune stones out, head back to the Wall of Memories and complete the quest.
The Golem Registry
After defeating Caridin or Branka, examine the stone structure near the back of the room. Get a tracing from it and bring it to the Shaper. This is basically a list of all the dwarves who have given up their lives to become golems.
And that’s that. I’ll look for more quests and just update this later on when I find the time to do so. Hope this helps you guys out since I really missed a lot of these quests during my first run.
Here are other guides that you might find useful:
Dragon Age: Origins Arcane Warrior Guide
Dragon Age: Origins on PS3
Dragon Age: Origins Gift Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Flemeth
Dragon Age Origins: High Dragon
Dragon Age Origins: Class Specialization Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Blood Mage Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Spell Combos Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Side Quests Guide (Orzammar)
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
Dragon Age: Origins’ Spirit Healer is one of the most important specializations in the game. It’s critical that you have Wynne in your party because she can literally bring your party to a whole new level with her support abilities. I often found myself constantly tweaking the tactics of Wynne but eventually I just decided to manually control her (shifting from character to character) each time the battle was tough.
Getting Wynne on your party is pretty simple. Just do the Mage Circle quest in the Tower and she’ll join you in your quest to rid the tower of demons. After you complete the quest, she’ll offer to join you permanently. I strongly suggest you accept her offer, hehe.
DRAGON AGE ORIGINS: SPIRIT HEALER GUIDE
This guide is divided into four sections:
1. Becoming a Spirit Healer
2. Spirit Healer Attributes
3. Spirit Healer Abilities/Spells
4. Spirit Healer Spell Builds
5. Combat Tactics
BECOMING A SPIRIT HEALER
Other than Wynne, life will be infinitely easier if you also have one of your mages take up the Spirit Healer spec. To unlock it, all you have to do is to go to Denerim and head on over to the Wonders of Thedas store. Talk to the Tranquil Proprietor and you can buy the Spirit Healer manual from him. You can also get the manual from a vendor in the downloadable content Warden’s Keep after finishing it.
SPIRIT HEALER ATTRIBUTES
MAGIC: This ability affects your spell power score which basically determines how powerful your heals are. This is obviously a very important attribute for healers. However you shouldn’t put everything here. One of the biggest weaknesses of the Spirit Healer is that they run out of mana fast. If you’re not the type that will chug down Lyrium potions like water, then you should invest points in the next attribute.
WILL POWER: Like what I said above, this attribute is also important because it determines how big your mana pool is. If you find yourself running out of mana all the time, then you might want to pump this up a bit. However, I don’t think that you’ll avoid using Lyrium pots especially during big encounters.
CONSTITUTION: Problem with Wynne and most Spirit Healers is that they’re so soft. I’m not saying that you put a lot of points in this attribute, but you may want to put some especially if you’re not the type that can micro manage properly.
SPIRIT HEALER ABILITIES
The Spirit Healer ability tree is by far one of the most useful sets in the game. All four spells can have a major impact in game play (save for the last). What’s better is that the first skill that you get is probably one of the best skills you’ll ever need in Dragon Age: Origins. In my first run, I actually had 3 Spirit Healers in my party just to get Group Heal (my main PC, Morrigan, and Wynne). This also gave me three life wards and revives.
Group Heal
Cost: 40
Upkeep: 0
Fatigue: 0
Range: Yes
Cooldown (sec): 20
Area of Effect (ft): All allies
The caster bathes allies in benevolent energy, instantly healing them by a moderate amount.
Revival
Upkeep:0
Fatigue: 0
Range: Yes
Cooldown (sec):120
Area of Effect (ft): 2
The caster revives a fallen party member, raising them from unconsciousness and restoring some health.
Lifeward
Required Level: 12
Cost: 55
Upkeep: 0
Fatigue: 0
Range: Yes
Cooldown (sec): 30
Area of Effect (ft): 0
The caster places a protective ward on an ally that automatically restores health when the ally falls close to death.
Cleansing Aura
Required Level: 14
Cost: 0
Upkeep: 60
Fatigue: 5
Range: No
Cooldown (sec): 30
Area of Effect (ft): 10
While this mode is active, waves of healing and cleansing energy emanate from the caster, restoring health to all nearby allies every few seconds and curing the injuries of allies very close to the caster. Though the spell description does not say it, this spell constantly drains mana when you are in combat (in addition to the Upkeep that reserves mana from your pool).
SPIRIT HEALER SPELL BUILDS
While the Spirit Healer abilities are cool, you also have to think about what other spells you’ll invest points on. My personal preference for a Spirit Healer is that she/he should really be a full support character. Healing drains a lot of mana so you’ll barely have enough room to have your Spirit Healer also cast offensive spells. The following are some pretty cool spells as well as their applications that you might want to consider in lieu of the usual fireball.
Creation
Heal: Uhm, kinda a no brainer right?
Rejuvenate: Use this on classes that rely heavily on mana/stamina. Cool skill to use especially if you’re trying to cut down on potion usage.
Regenerate: Keep this constantly on your tank or whoever is taking damage.
Mass Rejuvenate: Another very useful and powerful spell that will give additional mana/stamina regen for everyone.
Heroic Offense: Very nice buff to weapon-based DPS classes. Put this on your rogue or berserker and watch waves upon waves of enemies fall down.
Heroic Aura: Combine this with Alistair’s anti-missile shield skills and you have one impenetrable warrior.
Heroic Defense: A good spell to pre-cast prior to heavy battles.
Haste: Another powerful buff skill.
I strongly recommend that you get all the skills I listed above. After that, it boils down to personal preference. If you want your healer to augment offense, maybe you can explore taking up the Glyphs in the Spirit tree. There are some pretty powerful spell combos available there (Paralysis Wave) and there’s also a Glyph that adds buffs. You can also go for the Telekenetic spells. Mind Blast can get you out of trouble quickly and the crowd control Force Field and Crushing Prison brings to the table is just awesome.
COMBAT TACTICS
Pre-casting can make the major difference in battle. This is something that you should practice if you want to make life easier for you (especially if you’re playing on Hard mode). Other than all the buffs I mentioned above, you should also make sure to cast Life Ward regularly. It will save Heal cooldowns since it will automatically heal the target when his/her HP goes low. Very useful spell! In fact in my previous run, I had three life wards always active since I had three Spirit Healers, haha.
If you’re using Wynne, you should spend time fixing her Tactics, especially if you’re not micro managing. The default setting is that Wynne will use Arcane Bolt on opponents which will quickly sap her mana. Take that out and just set her skills to healing allies and maybe using the occasional earth spike on frozen opponents. Like what I also mentioned above, the number 1 opponent of a healer is cooldowns. That’s why it helps if all your mages have Heal and it will even be more cool if you have 2 Spirit Healers in your party. 
Lastly, I urge you to finish Wynne’s personal quest. It will unlock more abilities for her which you can definitely use to your advantage in battle.
That’s it for now, I’ll update this again sometime over the weekend. Cheers!
Here are other guides that you might find useful:
Dragon Age: Origins Arcane Warrior Guide
Dragon Age: Origins on PS3
Dragon Age: Origins Gift Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Flemeth
Dragon Age Origins: High Dragon
Dragon Age Origins: Class Specialization Guide
Dragon Age Origins: Blood Mage Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Spell Combos Guide
Dragon Age: Origins Spirit Healer Guide
