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Origins | Ostagar | Lothering | Circle Tower | Warden's Keep (DLC) | Return to Ostagar (DLC) | Stone Prisoner (DLC) | Brecilian Forest | Redcliffe | The Urn of Sacred Ashes | Orzammar | Deep Roads | Denerim | Final Onslaught |
Aldarion | Alistair | Leliana | Mabari War Hound | Morrigan | Oghren | Shale | Sten | Wynne | Zevran | |
STEN, QUNARI WARRIOR / REAVER
Strength 28 Dexterity 15 Will 15 Magic 12 Cunning 10 Constitution 13
Talent Selection
Starting Talents at 7th level
8th level
Bravery - An awesome passive talent that increases combat prowess depending on how numerous your foes are.
9th level
Stunning Blows - Another nifty passive ability that gives Sten a chance to stun his opponent with any blow that lands.
10th level
Two-Handed Strength - A passive ability that lessens the penalties from Powerful Swings.
11th level
Two-Handed Sweep - A nice ability that combines offense and defense. If Sten gets surrounded, I script him to unleash this so that it hits all of his foes around him and knocks them back as well.
12th level
Death Blow - Sten is a heavy hitter so Death Blow can be triggered quite often, recouping Sten's stamina whenever he kills his target.
13th level
Critical Strike - I have Sten scripted to use this on any enemy that can't move. This often leads to pulling off the Shatter combo for frozen targets.
14th level
Shattering Blows - A passive talent that increases Sten's power against Golems and such.
15th level
Sunder Armor - An activated talent that, if it hits, will reduce the target's armor by 20. Not cumulative. Sten will be scripted to use it against heavily armored targets.
16th level
Destroyer - Whereas Sunder Armor is an activated talent, Destroyer is a passive talent that always has the latent ability on a given blow to give its target a -5 penalty to armor. Again, it is not cumulative.
17th level
Devour - An occasionally useful ability whereby Sten recoups health from the dead bodies of any fallen enemies. I script him to use this when his health is less than 50%.
18th level
Frightening Appearance - This can be quite devastating in Sten's hands. His high Strength greatly reduces the odds of its target being able to resist it. Once it kicks in, the target becomes a sitting duck for Sten's sword swings. If you're inclined towards developing your Grey Warden as a two-handed weapon Warrior, a good build is actually to combine Berserker and Reaver together. Berserker should be developed first to provide static damage output. Reaver can then be developed to provide Devour and Frightening Appearance as utility powers. You'll need Death Blow as this build can really make a tear through stamina. Also, don't rely on this as your sole tank. Instead, include a shield-wielding warrior like Alistair as your primary tank and let your Grey Warden hit from the flank.
19th level
Aura of Pain - Pretty useless, but at this point Sten pretty much has all of what can meaningfully improve his effectiveness. I'm pretty much choosing fillers for Sten.
20th level
Blood Frenzy - If anything justifies taking the Reaver specialization, it's Devour and Frightening Appearance. Certainly not Aura of Pain, and certainly not Blood Frenzy either. One extra point of damage for each 10% of health you've lost is a terrible return for a sustained ability that demands a 60 stamina upkeep. This and the rest of the talent selections are just fillers for Sten.
21st level
Disengage - I script Sten to use this if he gets surrounded again after using Two-Handed Sweep.
22th level
Perfect Striking - More of a filler than anything else.
23rd level
Melee Archer - Another filler.
24th level
Rapid Aim - Now I'm improving the rate at which Sten can fire his crossbow, which is admittedly occasional at best.
Skill Selection
Starting
9th level
Combat Tactics - Sten has a mixture of sustained talents that I always want him to keep active, and plenty of activated talents that I want him to use according to the situation. I thus want him to have as many tactics slots as possible.
12th level
Improved Combat Tactics - Same thing.
15th level
Expert Combat Tactics - Same thing.
18th level
Master Combat Tactics - Rounding the skill tree out. Everything else is just filler afterwards.
Script
Self: Any - Indomitable
Self: Any - Precise Striking
Self: Any - Powerful Swings
Self Health < 50% - Devour
Self Surrounded by at least 3 Enemies - Two-Handed Sweep
Self Surrounded by at least 3 Enemies - Disengage
Enemy within Short Range - Frightening Appearance
Enemy Can't Attack - Critical Strike
Enemy Attacking Sten - Pommel Strike
Enemy Health > 50% - Mighty Blow
Enemy using Melee Attack - Sunder Arms
Enemy Target of Sten - Attack
The attack bonus from Precise Striking offsets the attack penalty for Powerful Swings, allowing Sten to increase his damage. Sten's activated talents are scripted according to very specific situations, allowing him to defend himself, set up his target for the most damage, strike them while they're vulnerable, and reduce their ability to fight.
Inventory
Main Weapon: Starfang (2H) (Grandmaster Frost Rune, Grandmaster Lightning Rune, Master Silverite Rune)
Missile Weapon: Precision-Geared Recurve
Armor: Juggernaut Armor set
Amulet: Apprentice's Amulet
Belt: Sword Belt
1st Ring: Lloyd's Magic Ring
2nd Ring: Golden Ring
The two-handed version of Starfang, the Juggernaut Armor set, the Sword Belt, and Lloyd's Magic Ring all help Sten do what he does best, crank out massive damage with each two-handed swing of his sword.
Ability Increases
The first priority for Sten is to increase his Strength so that he can use the two-handed version of Starfang. After that, I go with +2 Strength and +1 Willpower on each level up. Another thing to keep in mind is that I will add Cunning if I need it for a skill like Improved or Expert Combat Tactics.
As I get towards the upper levels I add something like Disengage or the odd archery-based talent, so I will add a little bit to Dexterity if it's needed to acquire such a talent.
