Reaver (Dragon Age II)

Reaver is one of the specializations available to the warrior class in Dragon Age II.
Demonic spirits teach more than blood magic. Reavers terrorize their enemies, feast upon the souls of their slain opponents to heal their own flesh, and can unleash a blood frenzy that makes them more powerful as they come nearer to their own deaths.
== Background ==
Life is power. Blood Mages know this, but they are not the only ones. Warriors can also command the energy that flows through blood and bone, but it is not an easy path. The Reaver specialization trades pain for strength in a constant balance of selfish sacrifice. At first it seems that Reavers are doing the work of their enemies, damaging themselves in gruesome fashion. But Reavers can transform their own living essence into raw damage, and then replenish that health by stealing the life from their foes. It's a dangerous gamble that counts on added strength to destroy enemies before incoming attacks or the Reavers' own abilities kill them. At its best, the Reaver specialization results in a brutal harmony. The closer they are to their own deaths, the more efficient they are at inflicting the same on others."Warrior Class". Retrieved 02-09-2011.
== Talent tree ==
== Talents ==
== Tactics ==
This Reaver might not be as powerful as it seems. Most talents of the Vanguard tree are at least equally powerful, but are way more reliable. The combined damage boost of Might and Cleave might be higher than the bonus granted by Blood Frenzy and Sacrificial Frenzy. The regular area damage of Aura of Pain might be less impactful than Assail plus Besiege.
So the easiest way to play a Reaver is to simply combine the Reaver and Vanguard talents for a maximum damage output. You'll be able to dish out tons of damage just with basic attacks alone. Activating Cleave right before you use Devour might be enough to fully recover your hitpoints and the deathblows caused by Massacre will trigger Fervor faster and more frequently. 
Alternatively, a Reaver can be played as a sort of tank. Aura of Pain not only deals regular damage, it also generates threat automatically. Using other threat-increasing talents like Taunt, Bravery or Battle Synergy, will ensure that most enemies engage the player. 
Due to the fact that Devour recovers three times the amount of hitpoints should the player hit a disoriented foe, it's highly recommended to bring a rogue along. A Fatiguing Fog (plus the Overpowering Fog upgrade) not only helps to trigger the additional life-stealing effect, the 50% loss attack speed also helps to avoid taking too much damage. 
Last but not least: Always try to use a Hex of Torment (plus the Death Hex upgrade) right before you use Devour. 
== Notes ==
* As with Blood Mage mechanics, the Reaver's health loss due to skills can be mitigated using 'damage transfer' and 'damage reduction' talents, most notably Bodyguard, Battle Synergy and Aveline's Serve and Protect. These damage transfers combined with Aveline's own damage reduction talents can make the damage taken by Hawke trivial at best.
== Bugs ==
* The game treats -20 hp from Sacrificial Frenzy and the -5%hp from Aura of Pain as melee damage received by Hawke and FROM Hawke, making the "100% of basic attack damage vs. enemies that attack in melee" modifier on certain accessories or shields bug and causes extra life loss. This bug has been fixed in patch 1.03.
* Upgrades of devour talent (Voracious and Insatiable) are not compatible with each-other thus gaining both upgrades result in no extra health gain from DISORIENTED enemies!
== References ==
Category:Dragon Age II specializations
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