If you've downloaded Trespasser for Dragon Age: Inquisition, you might've noticed some new additions. Do not adjust your screens; they're very real! These changes represent the portion of Trespasser that affects your game before you reach the end. It's a little bonus for players who may pick up Trespasser but haven't yet beat the game, or those considering a replay with Trespasser installed.

Trials

Enjoy a challenge, but not quite ready to take on Nightmare difficulty? Love Nightmare, but find yourself craving an even more grueling experience? You've come to the right place! With feedback from our community in mind, we created trials as way for you to customize your game experience and difficulty beyond the default settings.

Not only will these optional trials allow you to craft a tailor-made experience, you'll also be rewarded for your accomplishments. You can earn new achievements and trophies as well as unlock unique gear unavailable anywhere else in Thedas. The more trials you have active during play, the faster you'll earn the spoils. Once you've earned your loot, collect it in the Special Shipments chest at Skyhold or Haven.

Let's take a look at these new trials and the challenges they bring:

·                     Walk Softly: Be careful where you step, because with this trial activated, common enemies will sometimes spawn as Elites with more strength, more health, and new combat abilities.

·                     Grizzly End: If you thought bears were tough before, just wait till every bear spawns at Elite or Boss level. If it's any consolation, at least they won't have new abilities.

·                     Even Ground: Remember that powerful feeling of being a level 27 Inquisitor fighting a level 12 enemy? That's a thing of the past with this trial activated. Lower-level enemies now become the same level as your party. Have fun with those dragons.

·                     Take It Slow: Leveling up is for wimps, right? Turn this trial on, and you'll earn XP at half the normal rate. Show your enemies that it takes brains, not brawn, to prevail.

·                     Fair-Weather Friends: You can't please all the people all the time, and with this trial, the effect of negative reactions from your followers is doubled. Now when your followers disapprove, they'll super disapprove.

·                     Rub Some Dirt On It: 'Tis only a flesh wound! With this trial turned on, all healing potions and elixirs will heal just 1 health. 

·                     Travel Light: Before a tough battle, it's wise to restock at a supply cache. Well, now they're gone. That's right, supply caches will not appear. Good luck!

·                     Rest Easy: With this trial active, focus is reset to zero each time you fast-travel or rest at camp.

Remember, trials are optional. Activate them through the Options menu or the custom difficulty options when starting a new game.

New Ability Upgrades

With thanks to prominent Thedosian scholars and Shapers, we've implemented a series of gameplay adjustments designed to improve and balance the player experience. These new upgrades are added to existing abilities and change the way upgrades work: once you purchase either upgrade, both unlock, but you can only have one equipped at a time.

You can swap which upgrade applies to each ability at any point out in the field by visiting the Abilities menu. Try them out and see if new strategies for your powers emerge!

·                     Wave of Flame: Wall of Fire now begins at your location and moves away from you over the duration of the spell. This lets you cast it blind, sweeping outward from your character to ignite numerous foes.

·                     Never Strikes Twice: Chain Lightning never strikes the same target more than once, but it deals more damage with each new target it reaches. This damage increases rapidly, so when you face four or more foes, somebody is going to take a huge spike.

·                     Lost in the Mist: Allies in Toxic Cloud can lose their enemies in the vapors, gaining a stack of Elusive every few seconds while in the cloud. A surrounded rogue can poison foes and hold their position, automatically dodging some incoming hits.

·                     Seize the Moment: War Horn no longer has a cooldown. Instead, its effects grow more powerful the longer you wait between uses. The ability will actually do three different things, depending on how long you wait between use. At the upgrade's weakest, enemies are staggered and slowed, but at its strongest, enemies are outright stunned, setting up combos.  The cooldown accumulates between fights, allowing you to start a fight with the strongest effect at the ready.

Let's also take a look at some devastating combos making use of new ability upgrades:

Warrior

·                     Challenge -> Call Them Out: Challenge no longer has a cooldown. Amazing effects result when assigned to an AI-controlled tank, who can immediately target and taunt any foe attacking an ally.

·                     Whirlwind -> Vortex of Steel: Enemies struck by Whirlwind are pulled toward the character. Pull all the enemies into an area and combo with your mage's AoE abilities.

Mage

·                     Fade Step -> Energizing Step: Passing through an enemy with Fade Step restores 25% mana. 

·                     Immolate -> Consuming Fire: Immolate now has no cooldown, but its mana cost increases with rapid use. These two abilities go together quite effectively. If you have a small group of enemies, you can burn your mana down by chain-casting Immolate. Then Fade Step through the enemies to get your mana full again and repeat the chain.

Rogue

·                     Leaping Shot -> Shot from the Shadows: Enter stealth after using Leaping Shot. Giving the effects of the Flank Attack upgrade to an archer is incredibly useful as an escape mechanic.

·                     Poisoned Weapons -> Leeching Poison: Gain health when striking foes while your weapon is poisoned.  When using Leaping Shot with Poisoned Weapons, the character can heal as well.

And there you have it: another content update chock full of Dragon Age goodness. Enjoy!

Note: Adding these content updates to your game requires installing the Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser DLC. Available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.