Resistances (Dragon Age II)

This page lists resistances for various enemy types in Dragon Age II. Note that elemental immunity is only applied on the Nightmare difficulty; on other modes, it is set to normal. 
Type 	Fire 	Cold 	Nature	Spirit	Electricity
Abomination 	normal	normal	normal	normal	normal
Arcane Horror 	normal	 	 	 	normal
Apostate Mage (not faction-affiliated) 	normal	normal	normal	 	normal
Blood Mage 	normal	normal	normal	 	normal
Bloodrager Thrall ("Bloodrager" = Blood Mage)	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Carta (incl. Undercut Thrifters) 	normal	 	normal	normal	normal
Coterie 	normal	normal	normal	 	normal
Elf 	normal	normal	 	normal	
Darkspawn
(incl. Emissary, Ogre, Corypheus) 	normal	normal	 	 	normal
Deepstalker 	 	 	 	normal	normal
Desire Demon 	normal	normal	 	 	
Dragon 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Elven Fanatic 	normal	 	 	normal	
Gate Guardian 	normal	 	normal	 	
Ghast (Velghastrial same as Apostate Mage) 	normal	normal	 	 	normal
Golem
(not in Legacy) 	normal	 	 	normal	
Guardsman Pretender 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Invisible Sister 	normal	normal	 	normal	
Kirkwaller / Tevinter 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Lyrium Smuggler 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Mabari 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Mercenary 	normal	 	 	normal	normal
Orsino 	normal	normal	 	 	
Pride Demon Fire 	 	 	 	normal	normal
Pride Demon Poison (incl. Hybris) 	 	normal	 	normal	
Profane
(incl. Rock Wraith) 	normal	 	normal	 	
Qunari
(incl. Arishok) 	 	 	 	normal	
Rage Demon 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Raider 	normal	normal	 	normal	
Revenant 	normal	 	 	 	
Shade 	normal	normal	 	 	
Sharps Highwaymen 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Sky Horror 	normal	 	 	 	normal
Sky Priest 	normal	normal	normal	 	normal
Sky Warrior 	normal	normal	 	 	
Sky Cultist (incl. Archers and Assassin) 	normal	normal	normal	 	normal
Slaver 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Spider
(not Varterral) 	normal	normal	 	normal	
Street Thug 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Templar
(incl. Meredith) 	normal	 	normal	 	normal
Tevinter Hunter 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Undead
(including Corpses, Skeletons, Shadow)	normal	normal	 	 	
Varterral 	 	 	normal	normal	normal
Wyvern 	normal	normal	normal	normal	normal
== Totals ==
*The above table counts 44 distinct enemy types in total.
Totals	Fire	Frost	Nature	Spirit	Electricity
Normal	28 	19 	23 	26 	28
Immune	 	 	 	 	
Weak 	 	 	 	 	
== Notes ==
The preceding totals only reflect differences in group types as determined by naming schemes. Beyond this, many "unique" groups are simply carbon copies of more generic enemies and hold similar stats and resistances, thus would overlap with each other. The totals also do not take into consideration the amount of encounters each enemy type occupies (including optional and avoidable fights) and how many of each enemy type is fought over the course of each Act if not the entire game (which would be a tremendous undertaking). Thus, these findings alone should not be used to determine the ultimate value of an element:
*Fire has the fewest outright weaknesses, but the highest number of "normal" damage recipients, making it a consistently reliable and "neutral" element. All of the few types that resist it are greatly vulnerable to cold. Wielding it in equal measure with Frost allows for a backup plan of attack, which should come naturally to Elemental mages.
*Frost is more polarized, having the highest number of outright weaknesses and a very high number of resistances. However, its most notable weaknesses are Qunari, Dragons, Templars, and Profanes, making it great to wield in the end-of-Act boss battles and the most challenging fights in the game. Wielding it in equal measure with Fire allows for a backup plan of attack, which should come naturally to Elemental mages.
*Nature can only be unleashed with a few of Merrill's spells and through basic attacks via staves or weapon runes. It also faces many immunities from common enemy types, namely Undead and Raiders. However, it deals reliable damage against demons of all varieties, as well as the very common "Mercenary" enemy type, so it is still quite valuable to use throughout the game. It should be paired with Electricity and Spirit, as all Nature immunities confer Electricity weakness.
*Spirit is unique among elements in that damage and magic resistance are immediately half as effective against its damage, and many enemy types suffer at least normal damage from it. However, only a handful of enemy types are outright weak to it, not to mention that most mages, as well as shades, Arcane Horrors, and Desire Demons are outright immune to it on Nightmare difficulty, bypassing the "half-effectiveness" perk entirely. The abundance of mages and shades throughout the game further reduces the element's overall utility, thus it should be complemented with Nature and/or Electricity.
*Electricity has the fewest enemy type resistances in the game, the exceptions being Profanes, Qunari, and the Gate Guardians, either encountered in or representing the final boss fights of each Act. While Qunari appear throughout the game, Profanes and Gate Guardians are only encountered in their respective Act final quests, making Electricity a consistently reliable and "neutral" element to use when out and about in the unknown. Beyond this, it is a great countermeasure for any Nature resistance encountered, as all Nature immunities confer Electricity weakness.
Humanoid enemies can be reliably discerned from one another based on their armor: 
*Mercenaries and Bandits tend to wear medium scale-and-banding, dark-colored with red and blue trims and cloth facial covers, most of whom resist frost and are vulnerable to nature. 
*Street Thugs tend to wear leather armor resembling animal skins, with arms and legs exposed, and tend to be weak to frost and resist fire. 
*Raiders tend to wear medium to heavy armor with metal helmets and pauldrons. They resist nature and are vulnerable to electricity. 
*Slavers tend to wear splintmail armor, resist cold, and are vulnerable to fire. Many are accompanied by "Slaver Mages" that share their typing rather than the more typical spirit immunity of Apostates and Blood Mages, but there are exceptions.
*Coterie show up in later Acts and might be mistaken for Mercenaries at first glance. However, they wear green scale-and-banding and tan head cloths. They resist no elements and are especially vulnerable to spirit damage. Occasionally you'll encounter a group supported by "Coterie Alchemists," who serve as the faction's mage enemy. Like the Slaver Mage, they share their faction's typing rather than the spirit immunity of more generic mages.
*Even though many enemy groups, namely Gangs and those tied to quests, have unique naming schemes that prevent them from being identified at a glance, the armor they wear should indicate which is the best element to use. There are exceptions, in that some groups will mix different enemy types together e.g. Lyrium Smugglers, while others will have different armor types but follow the same enemy type e.g. Invisible Sisters, and others still will have one enemy typing for one class within the group and a different typing for a different class e.g. Dog Lords. However, the exceptions are isolated incidents compared to the entirety of the game's combat.
Category:Dragon Age II gameplay
Category:Game mechanics