Dragon Age: Inquisition – Here Lies the Abyss

Quest Objectives: Speak with the advisors at the war table in Skyhold, secure the gate, find a way to the battlements and find Warden-Commander Clarel

When you reach the war room, select the Orlais area, then choose the marker for Here Lies the Abyss on the left side of the map. After a battle cut-scene, engage the enemies directly ahead. There are only a few demons, so the fight shouldn’t take long. Immediately following the fight, another cut-scene begins.

After the cut-scene, your first task is to find a way to the battlements. Your objective is due west of your current position, but you have to take the long way around. Head through the doorway to the west and up the stairs, then to the left to engage more enemies.

Grab the loot in the northeast corner, then head up the stairs to the west. Take out the two Shades that attack ahead, then open the door at the end of the path. Continue down the stairs to the right to engage a few wardens, then exchange words with them. Tell them to back off to safety, then replenish your supplies in the northwest corner, loot the area and head south through the large door.

Head up the stairs and circle around to the north. Take out the next set of enemies, then check the balcony to the northwest to find more loot. Go up the stairs in the middle of the area and clear the enemies at the top (the battlements).

Once the battlements are clear, head up the ramp to the north to find more loot and another supply cache in the room ahead. Make your way through the eastern door. There are a couple of small enemies beyond the door, alongside a Pride Demon. That’s right, the same Pride Demon your fought as a boss earlier in the game. It has about half the HP to make this fight a bit easier, but it’s immune to sleep, freeze, paralyze and physical effects. Deal with the lesser demons first, then make sure your mages use barrier as you engage the Pride Demon.

Take out the demon, grab the nearby loot (including the loot in the northeast corner), then head past the stairs and continue moving south (remember these stairs, as you’ll be going down them soon). Another Pride Demon waits at the end of the path. Take it down and then scout the area for a decent amount of loot.

Head back to the north and down the stairs you passed before to find some additional loot. Continue through the large door ahead. Attack the enemies just beyond, then circle around to the right and head through the next door. Grab the loot in the next room, then continue through the northern door to trigger a cut-scene. Do not choose the dialogue to fight the wardens.

Quest Objective: Pursue Clarel

A fight with another Pride Demon occurs after the cut-scene. This time the dragon periodically attacks from above. Having two mages for this helps out quite a bit as you can have a barrier spell active at almost all times. If this isn’t possible with your party configuration, use ranged attacks as much as possible. The wardens will assist during the battle which generally keeps the Pride Demon occupied while you attack from a distance. The dragon will also target the wardens more often than not.

Defeat the demon, then head to the stairs in the northwest corner. Take out the enemies at the top, then continue northward. Kill these enemies as quickly as possible because the dragon still attacks from above. Don’t head up the stairs ahead. Instead, make your way to the north by heading right, then down the next hall.

The dragon will attack again, and this time you can target it briefly. Attack it enough to make it move, then continue fighting your way to the end of the hall and up the stairs to the right, then up the second set of stairs to the right. When you reach the top, follow the path to the right and around the corner, then up the stairs at the end to trigger another cut-scene.

Quest Objectives: Find a way to escape the Fade and get to the Divine

Move due south to find a small table and chair. Examine the item on the table, then search the nearby area for more loot to the south. If you don’t find anything, you may have to wait until after the next cut-scene depending on your actions and dialogue choices. Once you have the item, go back to the table to place it, then take the item from the chair.

Head north until you can turn to the southeast toward the next waypoint marker on the map. You can replenish your supplies very close to your spawning point. Head up the stairs to the southeast to trigger another cut-scene. Immediately following the cut-scene, take down the Shade demons, then collect the memories they drop to see another cut-scene.

After the cut-scene, follow the path to the east as you head toward the new waypoint on the map. After each group of enemies attack, make sure to scan the area for loot. In almost every instance there’s loot to be had after a battle. In addition, many of the typical ore supplements you can obtain from the rocks now hold armor and other items, so collect as many as you can.

Continue down the path, stopping at each diamond-shaped waypoint on the map to investigate the location, find the hidden item (using your scanning ability) and place it on the location to receive a lost attribute. At the first fork in the road, head north and investigate the kneeling body. Kill the demon that spawns, then continue to the north and examine the mirror at the end. Fight off the demons that spawn, then examine the mirror a second time to receive your lost attribute.

Pick up the loot behind the mirror, then head back to the fork and continue to the east. Take down the enemies that attack and continue until you see the Divine again. Speak to the Divine if you wish to obtain more answers, then replenish your supplies to the left of her.

Quest Objective: Get to the rift to escape the Fade

Take down the demons to the right, then collect the memories each one drops to see another cut-scene. A horde of small spiders attack immediately following the cut-scene. Use area-based spells and attacks to make quick work of them, hitting multiple enemies at once.

Investigate the nearby cauldron marked by the diamond on the map. Scan the area to the right east of the statue located northeast of the cauldron to find a tarot card, then place the card in the cauldron and take your attribute point.

Continue to the east as you take on more enemies, and be sure to examine the mirrors along the way to obtain more attribute points. When you reach the green portal-like object, more spiders attack. Take them out, then you have a choice between heading up the path to the northeast or taking the lower path due east. Both paths lead to your final destination in this area, and you can loop around to take both paths, which is necessary if you wish to complete the main side quest in this area (Broken Window).

The upper path has fewer enemies (although you face two Pride Demons). It’s best to start with the lower path and defeat the enemies that attack as you make your way toward the diamond waypoint on the map. Examine the table when you arrive at the waypoint, then defeat the enemies that attack to the east. When you reach the next diamond waypoint, scan the graveyard to find a vial of darkspawn blood, then head back to the table to place the blood upon it and receive another attribute point.

Head toward the stairs northeast of the table, defeat the nearby enemies, then examine the mirror just north of the stairs before you head up. At the top of the stairs you face a bevy of demons, including one Pride Demon. Focus on the lesser demons first, then take on the Pride Demon.

Once all of the demons are down, head up the stairs to make your way back to the west (via the upper route). Two Pride Demons await in the area ahead. If you attack the first from as far away as possible (with a mage or rogue), you can kill it before the other one joins the fight. Once both demons are down, examine the bed to the north, then scan the area for the teddy bear to place on the bed and collect your attribute point.

There’s also a strange device to the south. There are five spots you can activate on the device. The objective is to get all five to ignite with flames. To make it easier to decipher, number the activation points from left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The activation order is 4, 1, 3, 5, 2. Once all five are activated, pick up the loot that appears on top of the device.

Make your way back down the stairs to the east and continue east to find more loot, then replenish your supplies just before the stairs at the end. When you head down the stairs it initiates another cut-scene followed by a boss battle against Aspect of the Nightmare.

Boss Battle: Aspect of the Nightmare

HP: 40.479

Stats

• Electricity Vulnerability
• Spirit Vulnerability
• Immunity: Fear, Asleep, Frozen, Physical effects
• Perceptive

At first, the battle against the Nightmare is fairly straightforward. Attack the Nightmare in any way you wish. It is vulnerable to electricity and spirit, so use whatever lightning and spirit-based attacks you have at your disposal for increased damage.

Soon after the fight begins, several additional spiders and Shades spawn. Focus on them before targeting Nightmare again. If you leave the additional enemies, they will interrupt spells and be more of an annoyance than you can afford during this battle. Area spells and attacks work well, as many of the additional enemies will group together, especially if your party members stay close to one another. Mage area spells work best because of their extended range.

When you see areas of the ground begin to glow, use a mage to dispel the area to avoid taking damage from one of Nightmare’s spells. In addition, Nightmare teleports around occasionally, making ranged attacks more effective in many cases. You only need one warrior to taunt Nightmare and get its attention away from the rest of your party. However, if you wish to use more warriors in your party, just be sure they can dish out as much damage as a mage given the vulnerabilities of the boss.

Once the boss has been defeated, either Stroud or Hawke must die, and the choice is yours to make. After another cut-scene you arrive back at Skyhold.

Return to the Dragon Age: Inquisition Walkthrough, or continue to Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts.

Get amazingly detailed maps with all collectables labled plus how to influence character relationships in this 350+ page, 100% complete, official strategy guide.

Plus, the Collector’s Edition guide includes the following 3 digital in-game items – Mount, Ring, and Multiplayer Chest! Get your copy today!