Strategy: Keeping Everyone Alive

Despite the daunting nature of the task, keeping everyone alive through the night has its benefits. If handled well, this can be an easy battle, regardless of difficulty. The following strategy was written from the perspective of a Level 10 party on Nightmare difficulty:

General

1. The only way to heal the NPCs on consoles is with health-regenerating aura effects, namely from Cleansing Aura (which requires the user being Level 14 to access). Heal and Group Heal cannot be used to target NPC allies, however they can still recover health if the enemy is eliminated quickly enough to trigger a "drop out of combat," which leads to a small reprieve to recover health and even save the game while waiting for the next force to advance.

2. On PC, however, it is possible to cast single-target spells on the militia, so keeping them alive is far easier through the use of Heal and Regeneration, along with Cleansing Aura and any spell that can augment their chances, such as Heroic Offense and Force Field. Group Heal still only applies to the active party, however, so it cannot be used to heal NPC's. In a pinch, Lifeward can make the difference between an NPC living or dying should the rest of your healing spells be recharging.

3. Additionally, the player can use Glyph of Paralysis and Glyph of Repulsion to keep the undead away from the militia as necessary, either by blocking off choke points like the fire and the gaps in the barricades, or by casting them directly on an NPC with low health or surrounded by attacking corpses. Paralysis Explosion, as with any other case, is a double-edged sword, as it will paralyze friend and foe alike.

4. Be aware that Revival does not work on NPC's. Once they're gone, they're gone for good.

Preparation

Keeping everyone alive is entirely possible with Level 9-10 Alistair, Morrigan, and Wynne, even on Nightmare difficulty. In this battle, a good offense is the best defense. You'll face down close to 100 corpses total, and killing them as swiftly as possible will create breaks you can use to drop out of combat entirely, thus healing the militia as well.

1. Completing Broken Circle not only gets you Wynne and her healing abilities (which suffice for the Warden's party, not to mention she will also have Stonefist for the occasional knockdown/Shatter), but also Templar Armor, which is ideal for Alistair at early stages of the game. Beyond this, she can't do much without burning up her mana, and it is recommended you give her lyrium potions manually. Have her use Rejuvenate on Alistair when his stamina gets below 25%, so he can use Taunt regularly.

2. On that note, Alistair can learn several useful abilities between the Korcari Wilds and this point, namely Taunt, Shield Bash, Shield Pummel, and Overpower. Taunt is essential for managing threat. The activated talents provide knockdown, stun, and a critical hit respectively. Overpower is not entirely necessary, if you've invested in Shield Defense (which should be disabled since offense is much more important in this fight).

3. Morrigan comes with Winter's Grasp, Horror, Frost Weapons, and, if she joins at Level 7, a single level up away from Cone of Cold. When aimed properly this can give the militia a chance to kill the corpse and regroup, not to mention talents with critical hits will trigger Shattering against normal-ranked corpses. Force Field becomes another useful option, though it will make a corpse immune to damage it will prevent them from fighting, allowing you to cleanup weaker numbers and regroup the militia. Vulnerability Hex, when used on the corpses with the highest health (i.e. Elites), will make them easier to destroy.

4. Flaming Weapons will provide about an extra +9 damage per hit against enemies, +12 on Vulnerability Hex's victim (depending on Morrigan's spellpower), far outstripping Cold Iron runes. Dual-Wielders have twice the advantage by striking twice within the same time-frame as a two-hander or archer, and still faster than W&S. Even if you have to buy a Tome of Arcane Technique or two, this ability is indispensable when paired with Threaten. (If the Warden is a dual-wielder with Momentum, activate it once Lloyd is free of danger to quickly clean up and possibly force a drop out of combat. It's not necessary, but it can save some hair-pulling if the option is there.)

5. Sten with a two-hander setup described below and a decent set of armor will also suffice, although the other three require much less dressing up for the battle.

6. Leliana is not as useful in this battle, since she is likely undeveloped as a rogue early on, and there are plenty of archers in the militia itself. Although Song of Valor will help with stamina regeneration, this is of no use to the militia. With Captivating Song learned (requires Level 12 and all four Bard talents learned), she can easily stun most of the corpses and keep them locked down. She will not be able to fight herself, but at Level 12 an active team of three fighters should be equivalent to four at Level 9-10.

7. Shale's utility is debatable. With Small Fire Crystals set in the arms, the golem can easily deal the most damage, but Stone Aura might be more useful. On at least, there is nothing to suggest it actually heals the militia (health bars remain at present value), although they do appear far more resilient within the aura than without.

Sustainables, with the exception of Rapid Shot, Momentum, and upgraded Powerful Swings, should be avoided, as they eat up too much stamina, and even these should be used only after the talents are used. Learn the talents through Arrow of Slaying for archers, Punisher for dual-wielders, Two-Handed Sweep or Critical Strike for two-handers (preferably both but not half-and-half), and Overpower for weapon-and-shield users, as they can cause stun, knockdown, and critical hits (and therefore Shattering when combined with Cone of Cold). At least one should learn Taunt and apply that at the top of the Tactics list.