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I’ve always been obsessed with rolling and re-rolling RPG characters, and Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a beautiful catastrophe for me, letting me channel that energy into too many Tactician and Honour runs, as well as our guide to the best builds in the game.
With Patch 8’s 12 new subclasses on the way, I’ve been at it again, digging through 5th edition rules and scribbling character ideas in my little notebook. Now that the Patch 8 stress test is live and we’re starting to get an idea of how these new subclasses will work in-game, I’ve compiled the character builds I’m most excited to try. As a note, there’s still the possibility some of Patch 8’s mechanics will change when things go live, particularly with the powerful (and build-enabling) new cantrip, Booming Blade. For info on the items and abilities namedropped below, the Baldur’s Gate 3 Wiki is a great resource.
Legolas Perfected
Arcane Archer 11 / War Cleric 1 đč
Key abilities: Seeking Arrow, Grasping Arrow, Piercing Arrow, Sharpshooter, War Priest
Key items: Titanstring Bow, Club of Hill Giant Strength, Gloves of Archery, Gontr Mael
Starting stats:
- Str: 8
- Dex: 17
- Con: 16
- Wis: 14
- Int: 10
- Cha: 8
This is more or less BG3 buildsmith Sin Tee’s Fighter / War Cleric, but subbing in the Arcane Archer for Battlemaster/Champion. I love the Arcane Archer class fantasyâ âit’s an old favorite from 3E D&D, Neverwinter Nights, and Pillars of Eternityâ âand I think its enchanted arrows will beat out or at least match Battlemaster Maneuvers. Plus, they’re just more fun. Toss in the War Cleric level right at the end for its Channel Divinity ability to make a weapon attack as a bonus action three times per long rest, all on top of the three attacks per round you get as an 11th level Fighter.
In the early game, Titanstring Bow (+Strength bonus to ranged attacks) plus Club of Hill Giant Strength (set Strength to 19) plus Sharpshooter (+10 damage, -5 to hit) can absolutely melt enemies, provided you can hit them through the Sharpshooter penalty. That’s something that makes Arrow of Seeking stand out to me: It’s a self-sufficient way to guarantee Advantage on enemies in Act 1. Arrow of Grasping offers great single target damage and crowd control, while the jury’s still kind of out on Piercing Arrow. No matter what, it will be a great source of early-game AoE damage. Early reports are that it and Arrow of Seeking do not receive the Sharpshooter bonus to damageâ âif that changes in the full release, it will be a game changer.
Leveling guide:
- Fighter 1, Archery Fighting Style
- Fighter 2, Action Surge
- Arcane Archer 3, Seeking, Grasping, Piercing Arrow
- Arcane Archer 4, Sharpshooter
- Arcane Archer 5, Extra Attack
- Arcane Archer 6, +2 Dexterity
- Arcane Archer 7
- Arcane Archer 8, Alert
- Arcane Archer 9, Indomitable
- Arcane Archer 10
- Arcane Archer 11, Improved Extra Attack
- War Cleric 1, War Priest
Balduran’s Giant Giantslayer
Giant Barbarian 10 / Fighter 2 đȘ
Key abilities: Giant’s Rage, Boot of the Giants, Elemental Cleaver, Tavern Brawler, Mighty Impel
Key items: Returning Pike, Ring of Flinging, Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo, Balduran’s Giantslayer
Starting Stats:
- Str: 17
- Dex: 14
- Con: 16
- Wis: 10
- Int: 8
- Cha: 8
A throwmancer Barbarian whose superiority to a Berserker/Thief remains to be seen, but they certainly seem more fun. The Elemental Cleaver ability opens up the potential arsenal for this Barb, with any weapon of their choosing becoming a throwing and returning one. What I want to know is, will this make the already-formidable Tavern Brawler feat stack with a thrown Balduran’s Giantslayer, resulting in triple your Strength bonus on a hit? Even if not, the extended melee reach, souped up throws, and Sparta kick will make for a fun time.
Leveling guide:
- Barbarian 1
- Barbarian 2
- Giant 3
- Giant 4, Tavern Brawler Str +1
- Giant 5, Extra Attack, Boot of the Giants
- Giant 6, Elemental Cleaver
- Giant 7
- Giant 8, +2 Str
- Giant 9
- Giant 10, Mighty Impel
- Fighter 1, Two Hand Weapon Style
- Fighter 2, Action Surge
Hexblade Sorcadin Edgelord
Hexblade 1 / Vengeance Paladin 2 / Shadow Sorcerer 9 đ§
Key Abilities: Bind Hexed Weapon, Divine Smite, Quicken Spell, Booming Blade, Shadow Blade
Key Items: Knife of the Undermountain King, Potent Robe, Diadem of Arcane Synergy, Bloodthirst
Starting Stats:
- Str: 8
- Dex: 14
- Con: 16
- Wis: 10
- Int: 8
- Cha: 17
The Sorcadin classic, finally here with the arrival of D&D 5E’s “blade” cantripsâ âwell, just one of them, Booming Blade, but it’s more than enough. It gives bonus damage straight up, can also be a vector for the Paladin’s Divine Smite, and a Sorcerer can use Quicken Spell to cast it as a bonus action, enabling multiple attacks (and thus smites) per round without nabbing the proper Extra Attack ability. Pairing Paladin smites with full caster spell slots has been strong in BG3 since launch, but thanks to the new Hexblade subclass, we only need one Warlock level to enable full rizz-based attackingâusing Charisma for our melee accuracy and damage instead of Strength or Dexterity.
Plus, we’ll still have full Sorcerer spellcasting up to fifth circle adding to this build’s versatility. Specific Sorcerer subclasses have never added a ton to the Sorcadin, but the new Shadow Magic specialization has some new utility and tankiness I quite like.
You might consider using two-handed weapons with this build, but I think you’d be more effective over the full game (and have more fun) dual wielding a crit-boosting weapon like Knife of the Undermountain King in your offhand with the newly revamped Shadow Blade from the level two spell of the same name as your main. The offhand attack will give more versatility when you don’t want to spend Sorcery points, while an upcasted Shadow Blade’s ceiling of 4d8 Psychic damage, plus multiple Charisma bonuses from the Potent Robe and Diadem of Arcane Synergy will have an insane combo with the Psychic damage vulnerability-inducing Resonance Stone. Critical hit Divine Smites from stacked sources of improved Critical Chance are just the cherry on top.
- Hexblade 1
- Oath of Vengeance 1
- Oath of Vengeance 2, Divine Smite
- Sorcerer 1
- Sorcerer 2
- Sorcerer 3, Quicken Spell, (Shadow Blade unlock)
- Sorcerer 4, Savage Attacker
- Sorcerer 5
- Sorcerer 6, Hound of Ill Omen
- Sorcerer 7
- Sorcerer 8, ASI +2 Charisma
- Sorcerer 9
Hexbuckler
Hexblade 1 / Swashbuckler 11 đ€ș
Key Abilities: Bind Hexed Weapon, Sneak Attack, Fancy Footwork, Rakish Audacity, Booming Blade
Key Items: Knife of the Undermountain King, Shadow Blade Ring, Potent Robe, Diadem of Arcane Synergy, Duellist’s Prerogative, Bhaalist Armour
Starting Stats:
- Str: 8
- Dex: 16
- Con: 14
- Wis: 10
- Int: 8
- Cha: 17
Swashbuckler felt like an odd one to me as a front-line fighter with no Extra Attack, but it’s got a few things really going for it. Decoupling Sneak Attack from having Advantage (you can just use it whenever as long as you’re in melee and not Disadvantaged) makes it a much more consistent bonus throughout the game, and going the distance with Rogue means it will do a beefy +6d6 damage every single turn in the endgame.
Throw in that one level Hexblade dip for rizz-based damage, and we’ve got an impressive party face and skill monkey who can take full advantage of the Swashbuckler’s late game, persuasion-based Panache ability while potentially doing some serious damage outside the usual bounds of Baldur’s Gate 3 power gaming. With the Hexblade dip, we’ll also get access to everybody’s favorite new spell, Booming Blade, which will further help make up for the absence of Extra Attack on this build: Just Booming Blade all the time, with your Sneak Attack as a reaction added on.
In the early to midgame, we’ll want to dual wield to help make up for the Swashbuckler’s lack of a second attack per roundâthe Shadow Blade Ring wouldn’t be a bad choice as an offhand to the Knife of the Undermountain King, the reverse setup to our Sorcadin build. In Act 3, the Duellist’s Prerogative rapier’s bonus action attack will accomplish that for us while also helping nail the piratical class fantasy. The Potent Robe’s addition of our Charisma bonus an extra time to every Booming Blade attack could see you through the whole game, but the Bhaalist Armour will be better in the endgame if you don’t mind killing a little angel elephant.
Leveling guide:
- Hexblade 1
- Rogue 1, Sneak Attack +1d6
- Rogue 2, Cunning Action
- Swashbuckler 3, Sneak Attack +2d6, Fancy Footwork, Rakish Audacity
- Swashbuckler 4, +2 Cha, Dirty Trick
- Swashbuckler 5, Sneak Attack +3d6, Uncanny Dodge
- Swashbuckler 6
- Swashbuckler 7, Sneak Attack +4d6
- Swashbuckler 8, Savage Attacker
- Swashbuckler 9 Sneak Attack +5d6, Panache
- Swashbuckler 10, Alert
- Swashbuckler 11, Sneak Attack +6d6, Reliable Talent
Bonus Round
Here are some extra builds that are either a little uncertain given the incomplete nature of Patch 8, are only slight variations on the ones above, or I didn’t think they were complex enough to warrant a full breakdown:
- Hexblade 1 / Eldritch Knight 11: Reports from the stress test indicate that Booming Blade can be used twice in a round with Extra Attack, up to three times with Improved Extra Attack. Couple this with an Eldritch Knight’s War Caster ability, and that means they can cast it and benefit from its bonus damage three times in a round, then get another regular attack as a bonus action, all without expending any resources. This has to get nerfed in some way before Patch 8’s full launch, but if not? Eldritch Knight will be the single best subclass in the game with zero competition.
- Hexblade 1 / Bladesinger 9 / Vengeance Paladin 2: Depending on how Larian handles that aforementioned Booming Blade-Extra Attack situation, Bladesinger could be a class to watch. In tabletop, Bladesingers are supposed to be able to make an attack, then cast a cantrip instead of their Extra Attack. If Larian implements that while nerfing the general free use of Booming Blade, then Bladesingerdin would outclass Sorcadin by my reckoning. Just substitute Bladesinging in the build aboveâmaybe take it to level six before touching Paladinâand don’t worry about Intelligence, we won’t need it with all the buffs and smites.
- Light Domain Cleric 10 / Circle of Stars Druid 2: Take advantage of Dragon form’s concentration bonus to never drop Spirit Guardians. Add War Caster and Resilient: Constitution on top for even more security.
- Circle of Stars Druid 11 / Wizard 1: Learn whatever Wizard spells you want from scrolls and cast them with Druid spell slots. Follow up every single spell with a bonus action Starry Form Luminous Arrow.
- Hexblade 1 / Oathbreaker 11: All our beloved Hexblade-Sorcadin, bonuses, minus full caster spell slots, but plus Aura of Hatred Charisma bonus to damage, Extra Attack, and Improved Divine Smite for lower peaks, but more consistency throughout the game.
- Hexblade 5 / Swashbuckler 7: Lose 2d6 Sneak Attack damage and Panache in favor of Extra Attack, the Darkness + Devil Sight combo, and level 3 spells like upcasted Shadow Blade. Potentially less transformative than it seems if Booming Blade Extra Attacks are nerfed.
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Kurt Indovina
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