Combos are powerful mechanics in the Dragon Age franchise which can deal massive damage and inflict status effects on entire groups of enemies. They require a primer or debilitating ability and a detonator ability to be inflicted on the same enemy to activate and can have a wide variety of effects.
Although spells and abilities in the Dragon Age series can be strong by themselves, they pale in comparison to the damage and crowd control offered by combo effects. This means that playing any of the games on harder difficulties will require players to make good use of these combos. So, for those wishing to learn what the strongest ones are and how to cause them, this is the ultimate list.
7 Nightmare - Dragon Age: Origins
One problem players may find in Dragon Age: Origins, especially earlier in the game, is that enemies can be very tanky. They can take a lot of hits to kill, and can quickly take out the whole party while the player's attacks miss. This spell combo is an excellent solution to this problem.
The 'Nightmare' combo occurs when players cast 'Sleep' then 'Horror' on an enemy and deals incredible damage to a single target. This combo is incredibly useful because the 'Sleep' spell can keep entire groups of enemies out of the fight, and because 'Nightmare' deals so much damage, it can instantly kill some enemies.
6 Discharge - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Combos are easier to pull off in Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age: Inquisition because more abilities count as primers and detonators, meaning that they are not restricted to two specific spells. The most visually impressive of these combo effects is 'Discharge'. This is a combination of the paralyze status effect caused by lightning damage and any Impact or Precision Detonator triggered by weapon skills and deals devastating area of effect damage.
The best way to use this combo is to cast a spell such as 'Static Cage' and then an ability such as 'Whirlwind', from the two-handed skill tree. 'Static Cage' will hit all nearby enemies multiple times, inflicting paralysis on each hit and 'Whirlwind' will detonate each one. This causes a chain of 'Discharge' effects, dealing massive damage to everything around the player and covering their screen in arcing blue light.
5 Brittle - Dragon Age 2
The Brittle effect is the easiest and most useful primer in Dragon Age 2. Inflicted by freeze or petrification spells, it increases the critical hit damage dealt to the enemy and causes detonator abilities to deal bonus damage. Freeze spells are useful as they prevent enemies from acting for a short duration, so players should be using them often. Having a way to increase the damage to frozen targets is therefore invaluable, especially on harder difficulties. However, players should note that some enemies, such as certain demons, are resistant to magic and so are harder to freeze.
The best way to take advantage of the Brittle effect is to cast 'Cone of Cold' on a group of enemies and then use the 'Archer's Lance' rogue ability with the 'Punishing Lance' upgrade to hit all the frozen enemies for a ridiculous amount of damage. For single enemies, 'Winter's Grasp' and the upgraded 'Mighty Blow' warrior skill can make quick work of even the toughest foes.
4 Weaken - Dragon Age: Inquisition
'Weaken' in Dragon Age: Inquisition is inflicted by combining a stun effect with an Eldritch Detonator and can make entire combat encounters irrelevant. Many warrior abilities such as 'Pommel Strike' or the upgrade to 'Payback Strike' cause stun and the best spell to use to detonate it is 'Mind Blast' due to its low cooldown time and mana cost. This will deal a good chunk of spirit damage to the affected enemy and leave them weakened, which reduces the damage they deal.
For players who would rather not use any mages on their party or who are attempting a solo playthrough of the game, this combo can be done with just a single Warrior. With the right build, a Warrior can detonate their own stun effects by either using the Templar ability 'Spell Purge' or a masterwork such as 'Fade-Touched Infused Vyrantium Samite' which has a chance to cast 'Mind Blast' on hit.
3 Paralysis Explosion - Dragon Age: Origins
Paralyzing an enemy in Dragon Age: Origins is extremely useful because it can last for over ten seconds, which is more than enough time to cut down a few enemies and make the encounter far easier. It is also one of the most annoying effects to deal with as that character can do nothing but wait. It is unsurprising, then, that 'Paralysis Explosion' is one of the most powerful combos in the franchise.
This combo is caused by casting a 'Glyph of Paralysis' and then a 'Glyph of Repulsion', causing an explosion that paralyzes everyone nearby for around twenty seconds. Although players should be careful of accidentally paralyzing their party members, this combo is more than worth the risk as it can paralyze even the toughest of foes.
2 Nightmare - Dragon Age: Inquisition
Players who want to add some combos to their rogue character's arsenal should look no further than the 'Nightmare' combo effect. This triggers when a sleeping enemy is hit with an Eldritch Detonator and causes spirit damage while inflicting panic. With an ability such as 'Knockout Powder' or an upgraded 'Stunning Shot' and a Mage casting 'Mind Blast' or 'Immolate', the party can quickly inflict the 'Nightmare' effect on groups of enemies.
Although 'Nightmare' is not as flashy as 'Discharge' or as hard-hitting as 'Weaken' it does leave enemies panicked. This makes it one of the most useful effects in the game because panic makes enemies run around and completely ignore the party. Although the enemy may be in terrible fear, it's rather amusing for players.
1 Entropic Death - Dragon Age: Origins
If something just needs to die right now, then Entropic Death is the solution. The culmination of the entropy skill tree, this ungodly combo deals incredible spirit damage to targets and can kill groups and bosses alike in a matter of seconds.
It is caused when an enemy under the effect of a 'Death Hex' is damaged by the 'Death Cloud' spell and instantly deals a massive amount of damage. Although some bosses are immune to the combo, most enemies in the game are completely helpless against it. To make things even more ridiculous, if the player has more multiple mages in the party then they can all cast 'Death Hex'. This can be used to spread out the damage to several enemies or cause the damage to proc multiple times on a single enemy.