I summoned the dragon with the gong in Frostback Mountains. My party consists of my assassin rogue, Alistair as the tank, Sten for off-tank/DPS, and Wynne for heals. All characters are around level 11 or 12.
The dragon is wiping the ground with me. The fight usually goes okay for a minute or so and then Alistair gets eaten and we're done.
I know I need to stack a bit more fire resist, but my biggest problem seems to be the dragon's bite. Is there a way to prevent/avoid/mitigate it?
In general, what strategy/approach should I use to beat the dragon? I'm cool with changing up the party if needed.
My options are Alistair, Sten, Morrigan, Wynne, Leliana, Zevran, and the dog, but I can go get others (Shale?) if needed.
Best Answer
I ended up beating the High Dragon with Shale as a main tank because she is immune to the Dragon Bite of Doom (not the official name!), which is a one-hit kill for any other character. I would highly recommend using her because of that. Get her equipped with some fire resistance crystals (Large Brilliant are the best) and she's quite the powerhouse, especially with Stoneheart as a skill.
I was assassin rogue main as well, with Wynne for healing, and I believe I had Morrigan for cold damage, which the dragon is weaker to. Alternatively, you could also use Leliana for additional ranged damage instead of Morrigan. Seeing as you'll be in melee as a rogue with Shale tanking, that will already put a lot of pressure for healing on Wynne, so I'd definitely recommend having your 4th be some kind of ranged character that can hopefully stay out of the way and not steal aggro.
Additionally, you may want to consider grabbing Wade's Drakeskin Armor Set for yourself before you face the dragon, if you don't have it already. You can come back and initiate battle with it any time after the Urn of Sacred Ashes quest is finished. Unfortunately, you cannot make the Superior version until you have the Dragon Scale that you receive from beating the dragon.
Once you've had a chance to stand off against the dragon for longer than a minute, as with any boss, make sure you learn the cues for its attacks. One problem as a rogue is that you'll want to backstab, but the Dragon uses its tail and a kick move in order to ward off flanking. You'll want to stay very mobile. You can still trigger backstab damage if you're standing a little to its side and stabbing the back of its thigh.
Occasionally, it'll fly up into the air and decide to come crashing down somewhere. If I recall correctly, there is a visual cue as to where it's going to land, so make sure your healer isn't standing within range, or else they'll take a ton of physical damage.
Save up Warmth Balms on hand for you and your tank, seeing as you'll be in the closest range and keep them micro'd, as every little bit helps. Even with Wynne healing, I'd still set Shale's tactics to chug Health Poultices because of her large health pool. Hopefully, with Shale holding aggro and you and your ranged character on DPS, you should be able to take the dragon down. Good luck!