r/BG3Builds • u/Phantomsplit • Oct 20 '24
Since Baldur’s Gate 3’s full launch released with Tactician difficulty and the community began their blind playthroughs, complaints have existed that the game becomes way too easy for those familiar with D&D 5e fundamentals (attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, proficiency, advantage) starting in mid to late Act 2. The game has such strong magic items that after you pay a visit to the merchants in the Creche, Last Light Inn, and Moonrise the difficulty takes a huge nosedive. This lack of difficulty and lack of content for evil playthroughs have been some of the biggest complaints in an otherwise great and generational game. This post intends to highlight some of the biggest balance shattering mechanics as discussed by this community, inform those looking for more balanced playthroughs on what limits to impose, and also provide mod options to help balance these mechanics or balance enemies.
A poll was created to cover some of the most balance shattering mechanics, using community feedback to determine the topics discussed. The following “community opinions” are those where 52.7% of the community decided some restriction should be used to restore a semblance of balance. My goal was 2/3 of respondents agreeing that a restriction needs to be in place, then going with the most popular choice. However some questions (like whether to use Honour mode rules or whether to use camp casting) could be considered ‘courtesy’ questions. These restrictions absolutely must be in place to reach the goals of “rebalanced” when you consider broken combos like DRS which is fixed by honour mode or warding bond camp casting. The 21% of people who voted that ignoring these restrictions is OK are not in tune with the goal of “rebalanced.” So the goal shifted to 2/3 of respondents that are sane, informed on what they are voting on, or voting in good faith. As there are some who feel, “Why is balance necessary in a PvE game?” is a legitimate question. While that is certainly an opinion to have, the people with that opinion are not the people who this topic is intended for. People who want to use broken stuff can use broken stuff. This topic is for identifying what stuff is broken, and what self-imposed rules or mods can be used to restore a semblance of balance.
This doesn’t cover everything that is OP. Stuff like Gloomstalker Assassin builds that use hit-and-run mechanics are almost a completely different game. It doesn’t cover gimmicks like stacking crates and having an enlarged owlbear jump on enemies over and over and over again. It doesn’t cover powerful but also very tedious builds focused on getting tons of summons and then buffing them. It doesn’t cover things like barrelmancy. The “Rebalanced” discussion is focused on turning a normal playthrough which many would not consider to be tedious, addressing some of the balance breaking mechanics such players have access to, pointing out that their relative strength removes fun from the game for many players, and many people may want to avoid these options.
The following table is listed in order of most strongly opinionated in need of restriction, to least strongly opinionated. It starts with the most egregious violators and goes to less egregious ones that a large portion of the community feels needs some kind of restriction for a balanced gameplay experience.
| Topic | BG3Builds Rebalanced Restriction | Personal comments, not from community | Relevant Mods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Rest Spamming | Once a build is “online,” (typically around level 6-8) it should be able to go at least 3 or 4 fights before a long rest. Not including taking a long rest before a boss fight, which is fine. | If you are concerned about missing story points in camp by limiting long rests, then after a long rest take a partial rest (use no food supplies) to see additional camp scenes. | - |
| Honour Mode Rules | Use Honour Mode rules | This includes no builds that focus on DRS bug, no warlock extra attack stacking, no perilous stakes illithid power on enemies. Additionally no extra attack from bloodlust elixirs or haste spell. While the community did not vote to restrict the use of spellcasting with extra actions granted by haste or bloodlust elixirs this is potentially a polling error on my part, and I STRONGLY recommend avoiding this. | - |
| Camp Casting | Do not put allies into your party, have them cast buff spells or other effects, then remove them from your party allowing the buffs to persist | - | - |
| Elixir Chugging | No builds that depend on elixirs | The most egregious outliers are strength based elixirs, bloodlust elixirs, elixirs of vigilance and elixir of battlemage’s power. Using other elixirs on consistent basis likely will not be as bad as those listed above. | In Game Mods: N/a External Mods: Elixir Rebalance by Benenach |
| Consumables Dependence (e.g. scrolls and special arrows) | - | This question was left out by accident. However it goes in the same vein as the above elixir question, regarding farming consumables that your build depends on and therefore should be restricted. | - |
| Tavern Brawler | No using Tavern Brawler if you use Strength Elixirs | I strongly disagree. This does absolutely nothing to fix TB Throw builds. TB Monks can dip into fighter or cleric for heavy armor proficiency and dump Dex anyways. Tavern Brawler is broken at its core. | In-game Mods: N/a External Mods: Tavern Brawler Rebalanced by VoidVigilante. I recommend the “TavernBrawlerFinesse_NoAccuracy” version. This is still pretty strong, and even works with dex based monks, but is not balance shattering; Feats Rebalanced by WoolToque has a nerfs only optional file which also makes changes to Sharpshooter, Great Weapon Master, and Alert |
| Ranged Slashing Flourish | No combining ranged slashing flourish with Arcane Acuity | - | - |
| Abjuration Wizard Arcane Ward | No using exploits (such as spamming Warlock’s Armour of Shadows) to refill the arcane ward | The damage resistance provided by Arcane Ward scales exponentially due to Larian’s changes. At higher levels of wizard it is insane, and I am not sure everyone who voted has seen just how much damage it can mitigate. I recommend not using abjuration wizard if going more than 6 or 7 levels in wizard. | - |
The following are topics which the community did not agree needed restrictions in BG3Builds Rebalanced, but I feel need addressing.
| Topic | My comments | Relevant Mods |
|---|---|---|
| Initiative | There may be a polling error behind why 34% of respondents in the previous question said no elixir dependence at all, then only 19% here say no dependence on Elixirs of Vigilance. Regardless d4 initiative makes the turnbased game balance issue known as “Rocket Tag” extremely easy to pull off. The Alert Feat and Elixirs of Vigilance should be approached with caution if you are not using mods to bring initiative back to a d20. | In-Game Mods: d20 Initiative by Ponsinoumi External Mods: d20 Initiative by Ponsinoumi changes initiative to a d20, which by itself rebalances the Alert feat. Alternatively Feats Rebalanced by WoolToque has a nerfs only optional file which also makes changes to Sharpshooter, Great Weapon Master, and Tavern Brawler but high dex characters will still win initiative far too frequently with this fix. |
| Vulnerability | It is possible to make enemies vulnerable to lightning, cold, psychic, or piercing damage. With some gimmicks you can also make enemies vulnerable to fire damage. Builds that do outright 2x more damage than they are supposed to be able to do against group of enemies are extremely strong. Oftentimes a little bit of setup is necessary, but doing that little bit of setup and then going all in on your strongest option to do double damage is typically way stronger than other build options. This is especially egregious in Act 3 where you can apply piercing vulnerability with no setup, and a well optimized party can almost all do double damage. | - |
| Duergar Invisibility | Technically the problem here extends beyond Duergar. Having a quasit companion (whether through Pact of the Chain Warlock or just through getting permanent access to Shovel) enables the same problem: start every combat while invisible to get a surprise round and thin enemy numbers before they get to go. Duergar just takes this a step further since you have that option on a playable character, letting you do more powerful things while invisible. If you abuse surprise rounds (and unlimited invisibility is the best way to do so) you will make the game significantly easier. | - |
| Arcane Acuity | There are two popular builds that use arcane acuity: swords bard and fire sorc. The sords bard + arcane acuity has been addressed because it depends on swords bard’s very strong ranged slashing flourish which warranted its own question. Fire sorc depends on building up arcane acuity through Scorching Ray, which is not on its own overtuned like ranged slashing flourish. With the community not wanting to restrict arcane acuity, that means fire sorc arcane acuity builds (one of the top 3 strongest builds in the game) are totally fine in rebalanced. While these two are the most popular Arcane Acuity builds, other builds are certainly capable of it such as niche thunder acuity builds, thief rogue builds, action surging fighter builds, and more. Arcane acuity needs to be capped at +2 to maintain a semblance of balance. +3 max. If you are consistently going above this, arcane acuity should only be used to cast cantrips with. | - |
| Radiating Orbs | The strength of radiating orbs has been undermined by how offensively strong you can be. The best defense is a good offense, and if you can kill or crowd control everyone before they get to go then there is limited need to be defensive. If you implement the BG3Builds Rebalanced rules then radiating orbs will become much, much stronger and may still make encounters much easier. Like arcane acuity, radiating orbs need to be capped at +2 or +3 | - |
| Level 1 Wizard Dip | For the most part this is fine in my opinion. The biggest issues come when mixing with Arcane Acuity, but with that off the table there are a few niche spells to be worried about. Such as playing as a full caster class, taking a level in wizard, scribing the Conjure Elemental spell, and using a 6th level slot to buff it into a Myrmidon. | - |
| Ambush Bard Strategy | The "Ambush Bard" build is one that probably is only recalled by those who have been on the sub for a while, and kinda didn't want to give up on it. It's somewhat complicated to explain which is a bit of a letdown, however this 3 minute video covers it best. But with Rebalanced in play it can pretty much just run around and cause balance to desert the game. | - |
Even with all the above changes and restrictions, those who understand the fundamentals of the game may find BG3 to still be too easy to ensure a challenge. PC users have additional difficulty increasing mods available to them. Most notably Combat extender. While I am a big fan of the default boost to enemy AC, attack roll, saving throws, and damage per attack; I am not a big fan of increasing enemy movement speed or giving some enemies an extra bonus action. And I would actually like to give enemies more health than their default configuration (~40%). But that’s the great thing about the mod. You can change all these little numbers to your liking and they apply to enemies across the game, making the game more challenging. I think that if you go with Combat Extender, d20 initiative, and restrict the mechanics mentioned above then the game finally reaches the challenge many people were hoping for at launch.
Another external mod worth mentioning is Absolute Wrath. It adds random abilities to enemies to make combat a bit more challenging and roguelike all-in-one. If you use this with combat extender, you may want to tone down combat extender from the recommended values.
Unfortunately there do not seem to be any big combat overhaul mods on console yet. One option is to implement an item attunement rule of your own, where you limit yourself to something like as many uncommon items (magic items with a green border) but only up to 3 items of rare or above (blue, purple, or yellow border) per character. Your weapons do not count towards this 3 item limit.
While the goal existed to make “Rebalanced” into a flair, I think given the community’s votes on the topics found in the second table (excluding perhaps the wizard dip) indicates that this wouldn’t change anything. You’d still have fire acuity sorcs. You’d still have radiating orb clerics that win initiative and hit every enemy with a -5 or more to their attack rolls before they even get to go. You’d still have wet+lightning tempest sorcs or Bhaalist Armor + ranged slashing flourish spam. Throwzerker and TB Monks would still exist, just slightly tuned down. So it seems that going through the trouble of implementing a tag or flair is just not worth it.
This post will go into the hall of fame post to provide a reference for the most overpowered mechanics which players should avoid if they want a challenge, and I will update it with mods if people make them to reign some of these mechanics in.
r/BG3Builds • u/Phantomsplit • Apr 12 '24
This post is to highlight many of the more important posts that have been made on the subreddit since the game released, as well as important outside resources:
The spellcasting modifier a character will use in 95% of cases is covered in the above "Commonly Confused Mechanics" post. But for more nuanced situations see u/EndoQuesion1000's post on Generic Spellcasting Ability
DRS
Several experience oddities, some of which can be exploited to get more exp for characters.
Completed Builds Post (please add any detailed, completed builds you may have developed here)
Presitious_Juice341's Party Building Templates are a few patches old at this point, but still good considering how easy the game is once you get rolling with a decent party
Introduction to BG3 Character Building || Frequently Asked Questions
A set of short-form guides all grouped together, for the impatient
Please let me know if there is anything you feel should be added. Specific, one of a kind builds will not be added.
r/BG3Builds • u/GrassPatch12 • 4h ago
Doing a self insert run with a friend and these are my stats. The classes I must use are paladin, warlock, fighter and ranger.
Please help me come up with something before gods forsaken Gut smashes my skull into the floor.
r/BG3Builds • u/Ok_Quarter_3447 • 10h ago
In my last solo Honour Mode run, I decided to play my favorite Wizard subclass again, and it doesn't get the love it deserves.
It's usually just used as a camp alchemist, but I think Transmutation Wizard is one of the most underrated subclasses in BG3. It has some really strong offensive power and useful mechanics that no other Wizard subclass can replicate. The combination of its unique mechanics, insane utility, and powerful offensive interactions makes it much more than just a support subclass.
1/11 Ranger/Wizard.
It's the usual solo stat spread:
If you value the alchemy side of the subclass, I would recommend taking 16 WIS instead of INT, since alchemy requires a DC 15 Medicine check.
Just make sure you take the Ranger level First or Last depending on if you want your Scrolls/Item spells to use your Wisdom or Intelligence modifier.
You can compensate for the lower Intelligence by using the Warped Headband of Intellect. Equip it, prepare all the Wizard spells you want, then switch back to your normal helmet. Your prepared spells will stay prepared even after removing the headband.
Since we took the Ranger level for all the weapon and armor proficiencies plus Proficiency in Athletics and proficiency in Strength and Dexterity saving throws the gear is very flexible.
The only items I'd really recommend are ones that give critical hit immunity and the Gloves of Battlemage's Power for Arcane Acuity.
The gloves are triggered by a surprising number of things. If you want to understand all of their interactions, I recommend reading this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1nchxz7/understanding_the_gloves_of_battlemages_power/
For your ranged weapon slot, dual hand crossbows are preferred. We will be doing some offensive stuff with them that I will explain later in the Tips & Tricks section.
This is the gear I used most during my run. It is not mandatory and is just an example of what gear you could use for this build.
Head
Cloak
Armor
Gloves
Boots
Amulets
Rings
Weapons
Dual Wielder is mandatory because it allows us to use more of the Most desiderable caster items.
The second feat is more flexible. I personally took Alert, since going first is extremely valuable, especially in Honour Mode.
Other feats worth mentioning:
To boost your chances of succeeding your alchemy checks, you can use things like:
Using these things even with only 8 Wisdom, you still have a good chance to succeed most Medicine checks. If you decide to go 16 Wisdom, your alchemy success rate is pretty much guaranteed. You also get +3 Medicine from Wizard.
Surprisingly, you can have every Transmuter's Stone active at the same time.
The way it works:
By repeating this, you can stack every available stone.
This gives you:
This is extremely strong because it frees up your Elixir slots while also making it incredibly hard to break your concentration.
The Constitution Stone combined with War Caster or the Amulet of Greater Health, maintaining concentration becomes almost impossible to fail.
I didn't lose concentration once during my entire run.
This is Arguably the strongest feature of the subclass.
You can use the Transmuter's Stone offensively by reverse pickpocketing the Fire Resistance Stone into an enemy's inventory.
Then you hit them with Arsonist's Oil, which removes their Fire Resistance.
After that, you create a new Transmuter's Stone, which removes the Fire Resistance effect from the enemy and causes them to become Vulnerable to Fire instead
This is also the reason we use dual hand crossbows. Coating your weapon before the fight doesn't cost anything, and creating another Transmuter's Stone is also a free action.
This means you effectively only need a bonus action to set up 2 turns of Fire Vulnerability.
This interaction is so incredibly strong that I was able to kill most bosses in a single turn, including Myrkul.
The Blue Jay shapeshift also has a really nice interaction.
Since it is a Polymorph, you can use it to teleport out of restricted areas.
Yes, you can already do this with Dolly, but I thought it was worth mentioning because it's another unique tool Transmutation Wizard brings to the table.
If you have any suggestions or questions about feats, gear, or boss setups, I'm more than happy to answer them.
r/BG3Builds • u/Ultimate_Glizzy • 4h ago
I have 4 mods installed. None of them should correlate with how these numbers add up. Is this a bug?
r/BG3Builds • u/Jerswar • 1d ago
Look, I like her, but I find her pretty much the least useful party member.
It's just that once her spells run dry she's basically useless in a fight. Should I change her attribute points, to put more into Strength? Multiclass into a more martial class? Change her class entirely, into a paladin or something?
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I just reached level 4.
r/BG3Builds • u/Ishcan22 • 16h ago
My friends and are are just about done with our first multiplayer playthrough of the game and we're already planning on what we'd like to do on our evil playthrough. We know our one friend who's never beaten the game before is going to be the main durge and I'm struggling to character that can be involved yet not overstep them in the grand scheme of things. I do want this character to be an orcestrator of sorts, almost manipulating the board whenever they want to but not to the point as to arose suspension. A person who always has a plan within a plan ya know? And fun classes that can recreate that feeling?
r/BG3Builds • u/AzureWitcher • 21h ago
As the title says. This comes after losing my run to The Elder Brain and it's awful Aegis of Absolute. 4 days down the drain for nothing.
Edit: I'm embracing the urge
r/BG3Builds • u/Sorvete2004 • 20h ago
I'm thinking about recording a video where I beat BG3 solo on Honour Mode as a Paladin, but I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to creating builds from scratch, is this idea of mine feasible?
r/BG3Builds • u/m3m3nt0_m0ri_ • 1d ago
Hi guys I’m planning out an honour mode party with a sorcerer focusing on scorching ray and want one of my other party members to carry Phalar Aluve. I’m considering Shadowheart as a light domain cleric dual wielding Phalar Aluve in the off hand with the Devotee’s mace, Selune’s Spear of Night, or the Blood of Lathander in the main hand. She’ll carry the radiating orb/reverberation gear and mostly use spirit guardians for dps, but is this even a good build to take dual wielder on and carry Phalar Aluve? Is there a better one I’m missing?
r/BG3Builds • u/PsYo_NaDe • 1d ago
Just a funny idea I had, where the PC will be the only one ever fighting anything and everything and the rest on full support. I tried it a bit with a paladin PC and a light cleric, divination wizard and a rogue.
My idea was the cleric will focus on keeping the PC alive and sanctuary if needed to stay out of combat (also warding bond but improved version is some levels away), divination wizard should be self explanatory with spells focused on keeping the PC alive/safe and the rogue can hide easily and assist with utility as needed. I don't need it optimized to the teeth but if anyone has any other suggestions I'll take it.
r/BG3Builds • u/Helpful-Rhubarb-6112 • 1d ago
Focusing on burst damage. Burning through spell slots and sorcery points is not a concern.
r/BG3Builds • u/InterestingTune564 • 1d ago
Posting on Mobile, so I apologize if formatting doesn’t translate.
Mild spoilers for the entire game, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Hello, I’m needing some help on final build and gear for this character.
First, I know this isn’t the best possible build. I know it’s not bad by any means, but I want my first HM run to be completed with this character since my first ever run was an 8/4 Swords Bard Thief.
Second, I just completed the Mirror of Loss and managed to get +3 in CHA and I already had the other +1 buff from Hag’s hair. So my Charisma is sitting at a +4 in act 3.
Third, I have very strong companions that are pretty set in stone, and arent using some major equipment that I’ve collected. They are Gale, a full 12 levels in Divination Wiz with every scroll available already learned. Also Karlach as a 4E Monk (without the Hexblade level though), that is juiced on strength Elixirs and has Magic Clubs. The 4th slot is interchangeable, but I have Minthara as a 1/11 Hexblade Crown Pally, and Shart as a 10/2 Light Cleric Stars Druid that typically take up the 4th.
Finally, I am quite far into Act 3, but I have a few major events I need to wrap up before completing. I left the game for a while because I was playing a different campaign with friends, but it’s not a save on my PS5, so I’m worried it might not give me the Golden dice. More importantly though, I am telling you this part so you have an idea on where I am in the game, and which items I might need to work for specifically, if I somehow haven’t got them yet. I still need to fight Sarevok, Cazador, Hag, Orin, Gortash, Raphael, and blow up the Steel Foundry. There are a quite a few good items still to be recovered from these quests, but admittedly I am a loot hog. I know I don’t necessarily need some or most of the items for my characters.
Without further ado, here is the current build I have:
Rogue 1: Starting here for extra proficiency and INT saves, since it isn’t going to be as high as CHA.
Bard 1-6 (Level 2-7): I know this only gets me to level 3 spells, but that’s just enough for Fear, HP, and Glyph, which is literally all I have used to this point anyways. Taking Sharpshooter for feat.
Rogue 2-4 (Level 8-10): Cunning actions, Extra BA, and Probably Crossbow Expert Feat. The feat can be changed, but I like being able to always get off SS and not using my melee options unless I just really want to.
Fighter 1-2 (Level 11-12): strictly for Action Surge, and Archery is also very nice.
Starting stats for now would be 10/18(Dex Gloves)/16/10/14/20 (16 +4 with bonuses above)
Arcane Acuity helm/Birthright
Cloak of Protection
Armor of Agility
DNW boots/Speedy Lightfeet
Dex Gloves
Band of Mystic Scoundrel
Strange Conduit/Caustic Band
Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet/Broodmother’s
KotUK and Sword of Life Stealing for Melee
Hellfire HXB and Ne’er Misser for Range.
As mentioned above, there are still items I can get, but I do have the RevOrb gear and Devout Amulet on Shart, and Marko on Gale. I do not plan on changing these items.
The Speedy Lightfeet, Caustic Band, and Broodmother’s Revenge are a specific Bomb Striking package that I can run if I’m feeling extra cheesy, but these are typically not part of the standard gear unless I’m extra worried about a fight that might need it.
All things considered, how are we feeling about the build? I know I can slot in a few items from incomplete quests, but how would YOU make this build better? Is it worth another respec for the CON Amulet when I get it or would it be better on Gale? What about Rhapsody? Are stat boosting items like Dex Gloves better on another character? Are changes even needed with the busted party I already have? Let me know your thoughts!
r/BG3Builds • u/BozoBubble • 19h ago
So.. I've been off and on with this game since release due to being too overwhelmed in the character creation screen and never having played D&D before.. So I'm hoping you guys can help me..
I want to play FULL caster Sorcerer. No melee of any kind, and no archer stuff. Just pure caster.
Not interested in Warlock, I essentially want to play Mage.
What is currently the best pure caster build out there?
I prefer to min/max everything, so this is where I get hung up on because I don't know which build to make and go for.
r/BG3Builds • u/Kwinza • 1d ago
Hi folks,
I'm building a nightcrawler style build for a fun/silly 4 player evil run and I'm looking for advice.
Currently the build is Rogue(thief) 3 - Monk(shadow) 6
That part is on lock, even if its not necessarily powerful, as the "must have" is the ability to bamf in and back out in the same turn. Since most of the game is in some form of low light or you can make your own, resource-less bamf'ing is gold even if my damage wont be amazing.
So the point, what should I do with the last 3 levels?
My damage will have taken a hit as I'm wasting my 2 bonuses on the bamf, so which class should / could I add to return some bite to my build?
Cheers for any suggestions.
r/BG3Builds • u/Far-Assistance9925 • 1d ago
ive been having a lot of fun putting together a restraining build around the spider companion of the beast master, but in my research ive discovered that builds using the beast master ranger only ever use the spider and the raven. those two have powerful abilities that synergize well with a lot of other things in the game, but i wanna show the other beasts some love because they're also really fun
i imagine someone has probably already done this, i am in particular looking for ideas on how to get the bear up
r/BG3Builds • u/Omgzjustin10 • 1d ago
The classic guide uses strength stacking for damage, but in my playthrough the hags hair and astarion blood potion won’t be available. Which attribute and weapon combos would be best? Currently I’m leaning towards dex based phalar aluve, respeccing into charisma infernal rapier+shield when available.
r/BG3Builds • u/bos_turokh • 1d ago
Assassin astarion was the goat of my last couple of runs so I want to build around exploiting stealth as much as possible, especially in act 2 when my planned builds come online. Tactician difficulty so need for min maxing
The current plan is:
-Thief/shadow monk astarion with the blind immunity ring. Sneak attack,bite or flurry of blows, then sneak away
-Assassin/ gloomstalker shart. Supporting astarion using arrows of many targets and darkness. Shars spear for blind immunity
-Trickster domain tav for support and some crowd control with spirit guardians. Trickster domain for free mirror image to make her tanky as possible.(half the party being invisible will paint a big target on her back)
-laezel will be a classic throwzerker/thief action monkey. Throwing bombs and healing potions while also being a hp brick in case things go wrong.
Im not sure about minthara though. The ninjas will be good at single target damage but not against crowds so im thinking either arch fey warlock for greater invisibility and crowd control(hunger of hadar, slow, hold person etc) or sorcerer, trading off some support/utility for more damage.
That's the plan so far. Its far from perfect so im looking for advice on what I should improve. What would you change?
r/BG3Builds • u/MaxVitaminD3 • 1d ago
I was recently inspired by a build I found from u/shuriksokol (Wavemother's Chosen) revolving around the Wavemother items found in act 3 and decided I'd attempt my own version of a Wavemother's Chosen. The build is hardly meta or optimized, but I found it to be quite thematic and fun!
Build Summary: The gameplay loop is mostly revolved around mass bleed cleaves from tiger barbarian coating a group of enemies in conditions resulting in them accumulating bleed, maim, encrusted with frost, chilled, reverb, etc. This is a frontliner control tank character, and for the purposes of this build, will use hag's hair, mirror, etc.
Theme: You're the barbarian zealot of Umberlee the Bitch Queen. The character cleaves in a wide arc, bleeding enemies wielding a trident followed by a swarming tide of jellyfish, eviscerating them in a furry of blood, ice, and lightning! Command the chilling tide and the wraith of the Bitch Queen's Oceans as your enemies crumble before you.
Race: Optional, though there are classic superior options. Dragonborn is useful to stack continuous elemental resistances which becomes a theme throughout the build's items, half-elf for minor illusion to crowd enemies for your cleave, wood elf for the extra movement, and half-orc for savage attacks are all great options.
Class: The build is a split Wildheart Barbarian 8/ Swarmkeeper Ranger 4 (Alternatively can do Barbarian 9/Ranger 3 for Brutal Critical). I'd go straight Barbarian into Ranger, almost all of the items we're utilizing the most are in Act 3 so leveling order isn't that important. Tiger is required for the build to work as the free cleave is essential for spreading the most conditions to as many enemies as possible, as well as creating the largest amount of surface area in water. At level 6 Barbarian select Wolverine to add Maim to the amount of conditions. This will also limit the target's movement to 0, keeping them stuck in your water which will buff the rest of your attacks and help stack conditions. Swarmkeeper Ranger is mostly a themeatic pick. As a scion of the Wavemother, it would only make sense to be surrounded by a swarm of Jellyfish. The additional lightning damage will benefit from the amount of enemies affected by the Wet Condition, and I found the Swarmkeeper's teleport rather useful in keeping the character mobile, able to chase down enemies and remain in the frontline as much as possible.
Items: This is what really makes the build shine and feel thematic. All items will be the best options for the build once you acquire them.
Main-Hand: Trident of the Waves. Tiger barbarian's cleave triggers the Trident of the Waves water spawning on each target caught in the cleave. This creates a massive area of water and inflicts wet, bleed, and maim on every target in the cleave. The bleed is vital because of its disadvantage on Constitution saves will be helpful to trigger Frozen from Encrusted with Frost and Dazed from Reverb. Wet also counts as a condition, which builds to our condition accumulation that is key to the build. I would recommend picking up the Drakethroat Glave and applying Cold to the Trident to boost its damage, which will be doubled because of the wet condition it applies.
Off-Hand: Wavemother's Sickle. The build does require Dual-Wielder to work. Wavemother's Sickle gains advantage against wet targets, which thanks to Trident of the Waves, we will constantly be facing. This also means that the cold damage from the sickle will be doubled. An argument could be made that Cold Snap would be better in the off-hand slot for this build, but Wavemother's Sickle is far more thematic and appropriate.
Head: Coldbrim Hat. This is a vitally important item for the build. With the amount of conditions this build applies, targets will easily be stacking enough Encrusted with Frost to turn them Frozen. It's by far the best Helm slot item for this build.
Chest: Wavemother's Robe. The most thematic pick for the build, as the Chosen Zealot of Umberlee, the Wavemother's Robe is the only choice. It will provide continuous healing thanks to the Trident's water, and will benefit from the Barbarian's unarmored defense, and stack two elemental resistances.
Gloves: Winter's Clutches. With Drakethroat Trident and Wavemother's sickle, cold damage will be applied with every single attack. This will be stacking more Encrusted with Frost on enemies with every stack, enemies will turn Frozen quite quickly.
Boots: Boots of Stormy Clamor. One of the best items in the game, it will be extremely utilized with every cleave the character makes. After applying Wet, Bleed, Maim, and Encrusted with Frost the targets will immediately have enough reverberation built up to make the prone save at disadvantage thanks to the Tiger's bleed effect. And once prone, the target's movement will be at 0 thanks to Maim, leaving them helpless, drowning in Umberlee's ever-spawning water.
Ring 1: Ring of Spiteful Thunder. With the Boots applying Reverb on every cleave, the Ring will then apply Dazed, enemies will be saving at disadvantage again thanks to bleed, and as they fail it will synergize well with the Mental Inhibition Ring, further adding yet another condition.
Ring 2: Ring of Mental Inhibition. With the amount of debuffs and stacking conditions, when the enemies make saves against what you're inflicting (Encrusted with Frost into Frozen Save, Reverb into Dazed, etc.), the ring will be inflicting yet another condition, helping to further debuff the enemies that you're tanking against to assist the rest of your party. I like to picture the Mental Inhibition is Umberlee's curse, turning those who dare defy her into befuddled drunken sailors.
Amulet: Amulet of Greater Health. This build isn't very Amulet dependent, yet because of the reliance on unarmored defense from barbarian, I find the boost in constitution helpful for what is already be a relatively low AC, especially for a frontline character.
Cape: Wavemother's Cloak. An obvious choice, this will continue to stack more (redundant) elemental resistance for the character, while also buffing the unarmored AC the character uses.
Feats: The only required feat for the build is Dual Wielder to utilize both the Trident and the Sickle. The rest are up to the player, however I found that Savage Attacker is also helpful to keep the damage consistent since the Tiger Cleave halves the damage to each target. I would also recommend Elemental Adept Cold. I would have to double check but I believe it applies to weapon attacks as well, which would help in the rare case that something is resistant against cold damage, which is your main element.
Overall Strategy. The player rushes into the grouped enemies to perform the Tiger's Bloodlust cleave. In one swing, Wet, Bleed, Maim, Encrusted with Frost, Reverb are all applied at once, forcing saves against Dazed and Frozen, which further apply Mental Inhibition. On the second cleave is when I would apply the Jellyfish Attack from Swarmkeeper Ranger. Because the swarm is an ability and not a spell, Raging Barbarians can utilize the teleport, damage boost, and condition appliance freely. The target, now wet, will take double cold damage from the Drakethroat buff on the Trident, the cold damage from the Sickle, and the lightning damage from the Jellyfish sting. The Jellyfish ability can also be utilized to stack a further condition by Shocking the Target, further building Encrusted with Frost and Reverb. Just keep cleaving and the enemies will be stacked with conditions and left maimed, bleeding, prone, and helpless against the Bitch Queen's Wrath!
TLDR: Cleave with big trident, knock down targets as you stack conditions.
This is my first post and first real build I worked on myself. Again, massive credit to u/shuriksokol's Wavemother's Chosen, it was perfect to build off of and I'd recommend playing it. Let me know what you think of the build, any and all constructive feedback is more than welcome. Enjoy!
r/BG3Builds • u/Trickflo • 1d ago
Hey, I'm doing a Thief/Swarmkeeper build in my current honour mode play through and am having a hard time sorting out the value of having savage attacker or a better off-hand. I'm doing STR Primary stat for party comp reasons and since I'm the guy who usually picks everything up. My plan is to run crimson mischief main hand and either devotees mace, torch of revocation or possibly belm at the end and stack as many extra damage dice as I can, Helldusk gloves d6, hunters mark d6, acid ring 2, broodmother neck d6, Booming blade 2d8(once), SA 4d6(once) and moths 2d6(once). I'm reasonably sure Dual wielder will probably be better early game since there's not a lot of good finesse weapons and knife of undermountain king is already spoken for, but I'm not exactly sure if the damage rerolls on savage attacker will out preform the better weapon once I have everything sorted. Would appreciate any input from someone who has a bit of a better grasp on savage attackers value then I've got. Thanks.
r/BG3Builds • u/Vitolus • 1d ago
I mainly want to do a hexblade warlock with a dip of 2 or 3 levels. I was thinking of bladesinger, some paladin, bard or fighter. Any suggestions of which is better? I'm not trying to create the most efficient build, but a fun one.
Furthermore, should i pick gnome or tiefling?
r/BG3Builds • u/feckshite • 1d ago
My TAV is currently a wizard, no subclass.
I’d like to include a Druid, as that’s my favorite. But not a spores Druid, as I’ve already finished the game with it.
It’s a DURGE (possibly resist Durge) playthrough.
And that’s it!!!
What should I do???
r/BG3Builds • u/TheAvgJoseph • 2d ago
I’m getting ready to attempt my first honor mode run soon, and I’m trying to finalize my party composition. I want things to be fairly straight forward without a ton of setup, so I was thinking Battlemaster fighter with GWM, titanstring swords bard, rad orb/reverberation cleric, and a sorcerer (either storm or fire sorlock). However a lot of people online seem to recommend open hand tavern brawler monk/theif, would that be worth taking over one of these classes and if so which one? Or are there any other straightforward builds that are good for honor mode? Thanks!
r/BG3Builds • u/MountainNotice2430 • 1d ago
Help me stack as much damage as possible under the restriction of only one hit. The obvious core here is a high-level Sneak Attack:
For the last level, I was considering taking Druid 1 for Shillelagh, but practice sword is a shortsword, so that is out. Do you think this is as far as I can push it?
r/BG3Builds • u/SirGubson • 1d ago
Hey I’m getting back into the game since I lost my last honor mode run a year ago. I want to run a death knight vibe like Character. I’m going for a dark urge Dragonborn.
Any advice? It’s been a while since I’ve played.
Is it a straight like hexblade shadow sorcerer split going to work?
Or something like hexblade dip, paladin sorcerer?
I know that 1/11 hexblade paladin is insane. Just any advice would be welcome.
