Dragon Age Inquisition Best Weapons (Standalone Game)

On this page, you’ll find the best weapons in the standalone version of Dragon Age: Inquisition. Keep in mind it only lists the best gear that is available in the standalone game and free DLCs, such as the Black Emporium. For the overall best weapons list, check out this page.

Note: if you’re having trouble finding any of the random drop schematics, try out my schematic farming method, or see if they are sold at the Black Emporium.

Best Rogue Weapons

Bow

For archer rogues, the best weapon is the Masterwork Spiked Longbow, crafted via schematic. This bow has a base DPS of 172 if you use a Tier 4 crafting material like Dragon Bone. And that’s not even including the offense and utility slots, the Masterwork material, and the Rune and bow Grip that you can attach later.

masterwork spike longbow

Schematic Location: Found in the Tomb right next to the Sand Crags camp in The Hissing Wastes.

spikedlocfixt
Map location for the schematic.

I would also recommend that you pick up the unique Longbow of the Griffon from the Temple of Mythal (you can find it after doing the puzzles in the Temple and then talking to the Elves). This bow has a special effect which fires 3 arrows at a time, which is only useful against a large enemy like dragons. So you can switch to this bow whenever you’re fighting dragons.

dragon age inquisition - longbow of the griffon

Dual-Wield

For dual-wield rogues, the best weapon is the Masterwork Dual Curved Blade. Craft two of these with some powerful masterworks like Fade-Touched Plush Fustian Velvet, and you’ve got yourself some serious damage.

Masterwork Dual Curved Blade - Dragon age inquisition

Schematic Location: This schematic is found in the Burial Grounds Tomb in southern Hissing Wastes.

Masterwork Dual Curved Blade Schematic map location
Map location for the schematic.

Best Mage Weapons

For mages, the Masterwork Archon Staff schematic looks good at first, but it wastes stats on a metal utility slot. The best weapon is then a tie between the Seer Staff and the Masterwork Mortalitasi Staff.

The Seer staff has more offense slots which are slightly better than Utility slots for pure damage, but the Mortalitasi staff has a slightly more powerful Utility slot with 8 cloth used instead of 6, so in the end, they are near equal.

Dragon Age Inquisition - Seer Staff

Schematic Location: Both schematics are random drops, although the Mortalitasi staff is definitely a lot more rare.

Best Warrior Weapons

Two-handed Weapon

the best 2-hander in standalone DA: I is the Hossberg Twainer. Although it has the same DPS as several other crafted 2 handed weapons, it has 3 offense slots which makes it the best option. You can stack 3 + % attack materials in the offense slots, giving you the highest possible damage.

Hossberg Twainer best two-handed weapon in dragon age: Inquisition
The Twainer’s 3 offense slots make it the best choice for two-handed warriors, allowing you to stack pure % attack.

Schematic Location: The Hossberg Twainer can be bought from the merchant in Suledin Keep.

Hossberg Twainer Location

The Sulevin Blade unique two-handed sword is a good alternative, but if you use the best crafting materials and stack the + attack stat, the Hossberg is still ahead damage-wise.

One-handed Weapon

For tank warriors that use 1-handers, there are 3 crafted weapon choices: Serpent’s Rage, Griffon Mace, and the Masterwork Tevinter Longsword. They all have the same stats, but I would recommend using the Griffon Mace over the other 2 because it has 2 utility slots instead of 2 offense slots, which will give you slightly better tanking stats instead of damage stats.

Serpent's Rage One-handed Axe

Schematic Location: The Griffon Mace schematic can be purchased from the merchant in Suledin Keep, but only if you have the Short List Perk from the “Connections” Perk tab. Serpent’s Rage is found in the Tomb northeast of the Statue Camp in The Hissing Wastes. The Longsword is a random drop (and is very difficult to find, judging from what people are saying on Bioware’s forums).

Dragon Age Inquisition - The Short List Perk
This perk will allow you to purchase the Griffon Mace in Suledin Keep.

Shield

The Masterwork Sentinel Shield is not that great because it has a utility and an offense slot, neither of which are that great for a tank. Ideally, you want to have a shield with two defense slots so that you can stack up mitigation (magic resistance, melee defense, etc).

This leaves us with 4 choices: Polished Shield, Noble Shield, Formation Shield, and Dwarven Proving Shield. All 4 of these shields have 2 Defense slots, but they vary in the type of material used in these slots.

Generally speaking though, they are about comparable and will give you slightly different kinds of defenses.

Dwarven and Formation Shields sold by merchant in Suledin Keep - Dragon Age Inquisition

Schematic Location: The Dwarven Proving and Formation Shields are sold by the merchant in Suledin Keep. I think that both the Polished and Noble Shields are random drops, seeing how I couldn’t find a location for them anywhere.

Note: If you want to have the best gear possible, be sure to also check out the list of the best armor and accessories.


11 thoughts on “Dragon Age Inquisition Best Weapons (Standalone Game)”

  1. Can somebody help me. I’m on lvl7 and reached skyhold. Where should I get good weapons and armors for me and my team. Cuz I’m the only one who is fully equipped but weak. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
    • Hey man, I usually find red cliff village in the first explorable area. Buy schematics, get the quest from the lady by the fast travel get blackwall and the quest ends up being in the same area. Gives you a decent two handed sword. Start modifying your equipment at the smith undercroft in skyhold beside the throne. Then it’s mostly about getting a tank and three dps. I prefer two warriors two hand weapons, one a tank and th other a aoe damager. Rogue dual wield with focus on stealth is a good kicker. Although barricades with his specialization is my favorite archer. Do his quested to get mods for his crossbow. And a mage is I find kind of a tag along do break barriers, unfortunately.. that is until you unlock their specialization they become phenomenal after that.. I am partial to frost or the first mages specialization is awesome for melee based crew.

      Reply
  2. This was incredibly useful, I’ve never really gone all out to get the MOST powerful weapons in a playthrough but I wanted to this time, and this guide was perfect!

    Reply
  3. What about for Varric I wanted to use him for ages cause i like artifacers passive bonuses so any suggestions on that?

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    • Bianca’s upgrade slots are just as strong as most bows’ material slots. He’s arguably the most powerful character in the game if used correctly.

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        • Definitely, but instead of going all out cunning on utility, I’d use Dragon Scales because it gives 12.5% more stats per use.

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  4. @Case That logic is terrible, because if you actually do some math, you’d realize that no upgrade slots items are better for weapons.

    Reply
  5. I actually think the “Staff of Corruption” schematic is the better staff, as is uses all Offensive slots, and is base 94-125 dps. Might want to look at it.

    Reply

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