In this post, I will go through in great detail how you should best build Cassandra for Dragon Age Inquisition. I will cover: which skills to pick, tactics and gear options.
Cassandra is the first companion in Dragon Age Inquisition. I think she is quite rejective of the Inquisitor at first. However, during the game, Cassandra opens up and it is interesting to hear her background.
Important! The companion builds are compatible with Nightmare difficulty, however, to pull it off correctly, be sure to have a good Inquisitor build
So let us go through the Cassandra Builds
Contents
- Cassandra level 1 - 10
- Cassandra Two-Handed templar
build
- Abilities investment - long version
- Abilities investment - short version
- Cassandra Stats
- Best Equipment
- Tactics
- Cassandra Tank build
- Abilities investment - long version
- Abilities investment - short version
- Cassandra Tank Stats
- Cassandra suggested equipment
- Tactics
- Conclusion
Cassandra level 1 - 10
I will assume that Cassandra will be your main tank at the beginning of the game. Even though Blackwall may be better, for some players it may take a while to get him. So we will first build Cassandra as a tank.
| Cassandra gets it by default | |
| You get this ability by default, not impressive, but enough for the start of the game. | |
| Taunts the enemy and generates 10% Guard. With the upgrade, it has no cost. | |
| AOE Taunt. I would suggest trying out both of the upgrades. Call to Arms may be better for newer players | |
| Gives a stamina boost for lost hp. Good ability especially in the early game | |
| Gives a 20% armor bonus | |
| Cannot be flanked by enemies |
Once you reach level 11, specializations will unlock and you can start working on the full Cassandra build
Cassandra Two-Handed templar build
This build mainly concentrates on supporting your party members and dealing damage. Unfortunately, it is mediocre for using Cassandra as a tank.
Remember that you will need to respecialize skills before making this build
Abilities investment - detailed progression
IMPORTANT: Get relevant Amulet of Power for Cassandra to maximize the number of ability points
In this section, I will go through all the skills and talents that need to be picked for this Cassandra Templar build in Dragon Age Inquisition.
| Use it to dispel enemy magic. Moreover, you can use it on Veil Tears before enemy spawns to cancel the summoning. Moreover, it can be used with Wrath of Heaven for a combo but AI may not be able to pull it off. | |
| We take this mainly for progression | |
| There is a 5% chance that your attacks will weaken the enemies | |
| Boots resistance by 10% to elemental and spirit damage | |
| Your signature ability. Deals 1000% of weapon damage, and also stuns enemies in AOE. | |
| We take this ability for progression | |
| Weakens enemies with each critical hit | |
| Extremely useful and funny ability. Even though AI does not use it perfectly, it has a low stamina cost and deals AOE damage of 500% | |
| Deals more damage against stunned and knocked down enemies | |
| This ability will boost your group damage, armor, and guard generation. | |
| We take it only for progression | |
| Each critical hit will reduce your cooldowns by 1 second | |
| Strongest two-handed weapon offensive ability. It deals a large amount of damage, has low stamina cost, and knockdowns enemies. | |
| We take it to unlock other abilities | |
| Boosts stamina regeneration when your stamina is low |
With this, the core of the build is finished.
Late game skill investments
These abilities are the ones which I think are useful to have to further improve your build
| We take it to unlock other abilities | |
| Reduces enemy armor when you hit an enemy with a critical hit | |
| We take it to unlock other abilities | |
| Restores 10% stamina with each extra hit during your normal attacks. |
Abilities investment - short version
This section is a short version of what abilities you should take for Cassandra.
Two-Handed Weapon skill tree
We want to get Pommel Strike and if possible Clear a Path once we are 20+ level
Battlemaster ability tree
We want to have Horn of Valor, Deep Reserves, and Combat Roll from this tree.
Templar Skill tree
The main aim is to get Wrath of Heaven ability. This is the build's signature ability.
Cassandra Stats
In this section, I will cover the best stats that should be prioritized when choosing what equipment to equip. This will ensure that you build the best two-handed Cassandra
Raw damage - for this take the best weapon that you can find. Most of your offensive abilities scale of your weapon damage. Due to this, it is important to get the one with the highest raw stats
Critical chance – this should be a priority after you get Flow of Battle. Get it to at least 50%
Critical Damage – once you have a 50% critical chance this stat is the main one that you should concentrate on
Attack – this stat increases all damage that you do
Cunning - gives a critical chance boost
Dexterity - gives a critical damage bonus
Strength - boosts attack indirectly
Best Equipment
In this section, I will go through some decent equipment that you can equip or craft.
It is important to note, generally crafted equipment is better. However, for this you need good Tier 4 or Tier 3 materials.
Weapons - obtainable
Here is a list of great weapons that you can obtain at different levels for Cassandra. Check what you prefer the most, I have listed weapons that have both a high bonus to attack and also a bonus to critical chance or damage.
So for example in the late game if Cassandra has a high critical chance, give her two-handed weapons with a big boost to critical damage. If low, then give items with a large attack boost.
| 1 | Available during the Trespasser DLC. It is quite a powerful axe. I suggest trying it out and see, how Cassandra performs with it. | |
| 2 | Extremely powerful Maul, that makes enemies explode after they are killed. I personally prefer this one compared to the others. | |
| 3 | Similar to Prismatic Greataxe, you will randomly deal elemental damage together with physical damage. This weapon can last you until the end of the game. However, have other weapons on hand if you encounter enemies with high elemental resistances | |
| 4 | The sword gives a +36% Attack boost, this equates to an almost 72 strength bonus. This can be an alternative to the Chromatic Greatsword if you don't prefer its looks | |
| 5 | Due to the weapons mechanics, this weapon deals a bonus of 100% elemental damage. So with a skill like Pommel Strike, you will deal 600% elemental damage and 600% physical damage. |
Weapons - craftable
Schematics are usually better than obtainable counterparts. However, you need good materials for that.
| 1 | One of the more overpowered weapons that deal additional elemental damage together with Physical damage. Expect Casandra skills to deal double damage | |
| 2 | One of the more overpowered weapons. However, the schematic can only be obtained in Trespasser DLC. Similar to Prismatic Greataxe Schematic | |
| 3 | Has large Leather offensive slots, and can be easily obtained in Black Emporium |
Armors - obtainable
Unfortunately, there are not many options for obtainable armors that provide offensive bonuses
| 1 | Obtainable only in the Trespasser DLC. Boosts Critical Damage, Critical Chance, and Attack. | |
| 3 | Abilities cost 10% less stamina with this armor. | |
| 4 | Gives bonus stamina, which allows using more abilities | |
| 5 | Abilities cost 7.5% less stamina. Moreover, gives bonus defensive stats. |
Armors - craftable
Sadly there are not too many armors that you can craft to give a lot of offensive options. Your main priority is to either get Leather or Metal utility slots
| 1 | The Skin That Strikes Schematic | This medium armor can be worn by anyone and it has leather utility slots. This means it can boost either critical chance or critical damage. |
| 2 | Revered Defender Armor Schematic | A decent schematic that gives a large metal utility slot. However, you will need some luck to get it in The Descent DLC |
| 3 | Templar Armor Schematic | This is the only heavy armor that gives a leather utility slot. This will allow you to either boost Critical Chance or Critical Damage |
| 5 | Battlemaster Armor Schematic | Great tier 3 schematic that you can get in Hissing Wastes. It also comes with Upgrade slots. |
Helmets - obtainable
| 1 | One of the best helmets in the game. Gives a decent boost to dexterity and cunning stats. | |
| 2 | The helmet provides fewer offensive stats than the Winter Palace masks, however, it has a much higher armor rating. | |
| 3 | This Winter Palace mask provides an 8% boost to critical damage. Equip it if you have a high critical chance of 50%. It can be used until you feel that your armor values are getting low | |
| 4 | This Winter Palace mask provides a 12% boost to critical chance. It can be used until you feel that your armor values are getting low | |
| 5 | Unfortunately not as good a helmet as the Winter Palace masks, but it is a decent alternative if you did not get those. |
Helmets - craftable
| 1 | This helmet gives Leather utility slots that you can use to increase the critical chance and critical damage. This is the best helmet in terms of DPS and damage and is easy to buy. | |
| 2 | Provides a large number of metal utility slots, good for increasing pure attack damage | |
| 3 | This schematic allows crafting a helmet with 11 metal utility slots. However, it is quite demanding to obtain the schematic as you will need first to finis the Jaws of Hakkon DLC. | |
| 4 | The helmet can be purchased early in the game if you have The Short List perk. It gives 10 Utility metal slots. |
Amulets
The amulets are listed by Tier. Usually, the Best tier can be obtained late in the game, but it provides maximum bonuses.
| - | Gives Cassandra a single ability point. It is consumed once you use it. | |
| 1 | This amulet will give stamina and hp regeneration after each enemy that dies nearby. So Cassandra can spam abilities more often. | |
| 2 | This amulet will increase stamina regeneration allowing the skills to be used more often | |
| 3 | Master Stamina Amulet or Superb Stamina Amulet | This amulet will boost Cassandra's overall stamina. She will be able to use more abilities initially when the fight starts |
| 4 | When Cassandra has a comfortable 50% critical chance. Use this amulet to boost her Critical damage | |
| 5 | Use this amulet to increase Cassandra's Critical Damage and critical rate in the late game | |
| 6 | Use this amulet if Cassandra has less than a 50% critical chance. |
Belts
| 1 | Top tier Belt, unfortunately only available in Trespasser DLC. Boosts Critical Chance by 10% | |
| 2 | The belt will give a higher chance to temporarily stun enemies with normal attacks | |
| 3 | The belt will give a higher chance to weaken the enemy's armor |
Rings
| 1 | You only obtain this ring in Trespasser DLC. However, it gives a +20% Critical Damage bonus | |
| 2 | The rings boost critical damage by 10% and critical chance by 5%. It is one of the best rings for this build | |
| 3 | Superb Ring of Critical Damage | Gives +20% critical damage, equip it once you have high enough critical rate |
| 4 | Superb Ring of Critical Chance | Gives a +10% critical chance. Great to boost it, if you have less than 40% |
| 5 | Superb Ring of Attack | Boosts overall attack damage |
Tactics
In this section, I will go what strategy and tactics you should use to fully utilize Cassandra
- Combat Roll - set to preferred. We want that Cassandra to use this ability as often as possible as it is extremely cheap and powerful
- Wrath of Heaven - you can set it to Preferred. I suggest first try it out.
- Pommel Strike - stuns and deals a lot of damage.
- Horn of Valor - set Preferred. We want the Cassandra AI to buff the party constantly
- Spell Purge - set to Active. We do not want AI to constantly use it.
Overall this build should be self-sufficient and you should not micromanage Cassandra too often. however, if you see that she uses some abilities too often, when it is not necessary, feel free to either lower them to Active or Disable.
Cassandra Tank build
This build is for those that want to have Cassandra as their main tank in the group. Although she may be a bit weaker than Blackwall, she can definitely do the same job.
Remember that you will need to respecialize skills before making this build
Abilities investment - long version
In this section, I will go through all the skills and talents that need to be picked for this Cassandra Tank build in Dragon Age Inquisition. Feel free to adjust your abilities based on preference. This is just a recommendation
IMPORTANT: Get relevant Amulet of Power for Cassandra to maximize the number of ability points
Important note: I personally recommend using a Two-Handed sword for a tank build. Even though you would think sword and shield is more "logical", the two-hander has better crowd control skills, and some of the talents from Weapon and Shield tree work without a shield equipped.
However, you are free to use Sword and Shield if you prefer, just do not invest anything into Two-Handed weapons and swap those skill points for Weapon and Shield tree abilities.
| Even though this one is not mandatory it allows you to clear spawning monsters from Veil Tears | |
| We take this ability for progression | |
| There is a 5% chance that your attacks will weaken the enemies | |
| Boots resistance by 10% to elemental and spirit damage | |
| Your signature ability. Deals 1000% of weapon damage, and also stuns enemies in AOE. | |
| With the upgrade, your tank can constantly taunt any enemy that is attacking your mages or rogues without any stamina cost | |
| Will Taunt enemies in AOE, it is a decent ability, but this build already has a free Taunt so we do not take the upgrade | |
| Increases armor by 20% when you have active Guard | |
| We take this ability to unlock the next ones | |
| Enemies are weakened with each critical hit you do | |
| We take it only for progression, but still increase your damage against stunned enemies | |
| Cassandra is a weaker tank compared to Blackwall. For this reason, we take Horn of Valor to increase Guard generation for her and other group members | |
| We take it to unlock other abilities | |
| Each critical hit reduces cooldowns, we mainly take this for progression | |
| This ability is extremely strong and also cheap to use. There is no way to not recommend it. | |
| We take this for progression | |
| This passive skill will reduce damage taken from the flanks | |
| In this late stage of the game increasing the maximum guard will be beneficial | |
| Returns 50% of damage to the enemies | |
| Reduces damage taken and increases your damage for each enemy near you. |
With these abilities, the core of the build is done, and you should have no problems finishing the game.
However, you can still get these skills if you have free skill points:
- Still Standing - livid upgrade, boosts Guard amount
- Hamstring + Deep Reserves - increases stamina regeneration when it is low
- Warrior's resolve - gain additional stamina every time you lose HP
Abilities investment - short version
This section will shortly cover what abilities should be picked in what tree for Cassandra Tank build.
Templar tree
Our goal is to have Wrath of Heaven, to stun groups of enemies.
Vanguard Tree
We want to have both Taunting abilities and late in the game Livid
Battlemaster tree
Getting Horn of Valor will ensure that Cassandra and party members constantly have Guard on themselves.
Two-Handed Weapon
Getting Pommel Strike ensures that we have cheap offensive skill to knock out enemies.
Weapon and Shield
Only get the passive ability to increase survivability of Cassandra
Cassandra Tank Stats
These are the stats that I recommend prioritizing when choosing the equipment
Constitution – increases base health and melee defense
Willpower – increases the damage and provides magic defense
On hit gain * guard – you will get more Guard on each hit. You can obtain this stat from Masterwork materials when they are used in crafting.
Ranged defense – bigger defense from ranged attacks
Magic defense – overall more magic defense, better than specific element defense
Melee Defense – more defense from melee attacks
Attack – overall increase to damage
Strength – provides damage boost and some Guard damage boost
With these stats high enough Cassandra should have no problem taking groups of enemies on herself. Moreover, as long as she generates enough Guard she can keep aggro on bosses.
Cassandra suggested equipment
In this section, I will go through some decent equipment that you can equip or craft.
Weapons - obtainable
| 1 | This is the best defensive sword. It gives constitution, bonus armor rating, and chance to taunt enemies | |
| 2 | This Maul gives +19 Constitution and provides the effect of exploding bodies when an enemy is killed. | |
| 3 | Not only it gives a large boost to damage but also raises elemental resistances | |
| 4 | The weapon gives a large boost to damage and +15% elemental resistances. |
Weapons - craftable
Schematics are usually better than obtainable counterparts. However, you need good materials for that.
| 1 | Due to a large number of metal utility slots, this Maul is perfect for a tank. | |
| 2 | This blade provides both offensive and utility metal slots. So you can equip it if you decide that Cassandra can deal a bit more damage. | |
| 3 | The schematic comes both with offensive and defensive slots. Moreover, the weapon effect doubles the damage dealt. Use it if you wish to deal increased damage | |
| 4 | The schematic comes both with offensive and defensive slots. Moreover, the weapon effect doubles the damage dealt. Use it if you wish to deal increased damage |
Armors - obtainable
| 1 | Extremely strong armor if Cassandra was elected as a Divine during the Trespasser DLC. Grants guard on hit and bonus willpower | |
| 2 | This armor trades blow with The Divine. Personally, I prefer this one due to the decreased stamina consumption. | |
| 3 | Increases base stamina and provides decent defensive stats bonus |
Armors - craftable
| 1 | Revered Defender Armor Schematic | This schematic has the most metal utility slots in the game. Makes a perfect armor for Tank Cassandra |
| 2 | Superior Battlemaster Armor Schematic | More expensive alternative to Battlemaster Armor Schematic. Although it has worse slots, the armor value is higher. Moreover, comes with upgrade slots. |
| 3 | Battlemaster Armor Schematic | Has the most utility slots if includes the upgrades. Perfect for maximising Cassandra's defensive options and constitution |
Helmets - obtainable
| 1 | Cassandra gets this helmet in The Trespasser DLC if she has become the Divine. Has optimal defensive stats boost | |
| 2 | The Helmet can be obtained in The Descent DLC. Provides very good defensive bonuses: constitution, melee defense, etc. | |
| 3 | A decent helmet that gives a bonus +8 Strength and +8% Melee Defense |
Helmets - craftable
| 1 | Gives very good utility slots that you can use to increase constitution or strength | |
| 2 | Provides 11 utility metal slots to increase constitution. | |
| 3 | The schematic is quite cheap and provides 10 metal utility slots. |
Amulets
The amulets are listed by Tier. Usually, the Best tier can be obtained late in the game, but it provides maximum bonuses.
| - | Gives Cassandra a single ability point. It is consumed once you use it. | |
| 1 | Reduces the cooldown for skills. This way Cassandra can better handle aggro throughout the combat | |
| 2 | Master Stamina Amulet or Superb Stamina Amulet | Increases the pool of stamina. Great for using abilities early in the fight |
| 3 | Increases Consitution that results in higher melee defense and HP pool |
Belts
| 1 | Increases the Maximum Guard for Cassandra. This way she can take more damage before HP will be affected. | |
| 2 | Increases Health pool, allowing to soak more damage | |
| 3 | Increases Health pool, allowing to soak more damage |
Rings
If you see that Cassandra can handle enemies well: maintains guard, does not die or use potions, feel free to use rings from the offensive build
| 1 | Superb Ring of Life-Drain | This ring will drain HP from dying enemies. However, look for other options if Cassandra always has her get Guard full. |
| 2 | Superb Ring of Staggering | Increases the chance to interrupt enemy attacks and stagger them |
| 3 | Boosts your main supporting ability by extending its duration. Especially valuable early to mid-game. |
Tactics
Here is what tactics I recommend to use with Cassandra:
- Challenge - Active, we do not want Cassandra to always spam it. Just enough to keep aggro
- Warcry - Active. similar to Challenge this ability should be used occasionally to get enemy attention on the initial encounter
- Horn of Valor - Preferred. This ability should be active at all times. it ensures both your and party members' survivability and increases in damage.
- Wrath of Heaven - Active. For best usage, I recommend using it manually at the start of the combat to stun groups of enemies.
- Livid - Active. Let Cassandra AI decide when this should be used
- Pommel Strike - we want Cassandra to use this ability, it can easily stun enemies
All other abilities should be disabled. Important note: use Spellpurge manually when enemies are spawning from the Veil Tears. This way you will lower the number of demons spawned.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this guide. I hope it will help you to fully understand how to best build Cassandra in Dragon Age Inquisition. The post goes into great detail on her skills and tactics that should be used
if I have missed anything, feel free to leave a comment below