00:00I'm Hilary Heidi, a producer at Bioware.
00:09Let's take a closer look at the Mage build we featured at the recent State of Play.
00:15I call this build the Dragon Killer because my gear and skills have been optimized to
00:19take on a powerful boss, this Ice Dragon.
00:23As a Mage, I can switch between two weapon sets, a Staff for ranged attacks, or an Elemental
00:30Orb and Dagger for close-quarters combat.
00:34I'm facing off against an Ice Dragon, which is vulnerable to fire, so I've equipped Earthemial's
00:39Ash as my Elemental Orb.
00:42It reduces enemy damage, makes burning last longer and do more damage, and increases the
00:48cap on burning stacks.
00:51My Dagger, Thorn of Misfortune, gives me access to the physical damage type and synergizes
00:57with my Affliction-based build, increasing the damage of Arcane Bombs, which I build
01:02up with repeated Orb attacks.
01:05I've further powered up my Afflictions by equipping this Death Mask, which will give
01:09me a nice damage boost.
01:12You'll notice my armor set looks a bit different than the icon.
01:15That's because I'm making use of the game's Transmog system to set my appearance to this
01:20Tevinter Mage Robe I purchased in Docktown.
01:24Let's switch over to my character's skill tree, where I've further enhanced my ability
01:27to take on this Ice Dragon.
01:31Elemental Catalyst gives my abilities plus 15% bonus damage, in this case fire damage,
01:37since both my Staff and Orb are fire-based.
01:43Inner Focus generates 25% extra mana from successful light attacks, and that number
01:49is doubled against enemies suffering from an Affliction, like Burning.
01:54So each time I attack my Burning enemies, I'll generate 50% extra mana, allowing me
01:59to cast powerful spells like Meteor more often.
02:03Let's take a look at some additional skills I've unlocked by choosing a specialization
02:07for my Rook, in this case Spellblade, which blends Magic and Melee.
02:12With the Electrical Burns passive, my fire attacks stack even more Afflictions on my
02:17targets, applying the Shocked Affliction whenever I apply Burning, and vice versa.
02:23And finally, my Spellblade ultimate ability, Thunderous End, unleashes a massive amount
02:28of damage, shocking enemies in a wide radius, perfect against a large target like a Dragon.
02:35Let's return to our battle with the Ice Dragon to talk about synergies and combos.
02:41Here I've got the Dragon staggered.
02:42This is my opportunity to deal as much damage as possible while it's down.
02:47Detonations are a great way to do this.
02:49A detonation can be set up with Lucanus's Debilitate ability, which applies the Sundered
02:54status, followed by Rook's Dark Squall, which detonates Sundered targets.
03:01I'll follow this up with Tasha's Fire Breath to apply Burning damage.
03:09Normally I'd have to wait for my companions to cool down before I could use their abilities
03:14for another combo, but I've got a secret weapon up my sleeve.
03:18The Dreadwolf's Lyrium Dagger.
03:20My dagger is equipped with three runes.
03:24I'll toggle to the regroup rune and activate it, instantly refreshing my companion cooldowns.
03:30With my companion's full suite of abilities available, let's finish this thing.
03:35I'll once again use Lucanus's Debilitate to set up a detonation, and this time I'll
03:40trigger it with my Meteor attack, all while Tasha's Fire Breath keeps the Dragon burning.
03:48And I'll finish the job with my powerful ultimate ability, Thunderous End.
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