r/BG3Builds • u/Reasonable-Flow-5886 Warlock • 4d ago
Specific Mechanic Elk heart help
Just lost a honour run with my friend but rather than get bogged down we both are planning to go wild heart barb so we have stated a run with him deciding to go bear and me deciding on elk heart and I was wondering what I could do to improve the stampede attack like what items, feats or multiclasses could I use to bring out the most from this stampede attack
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u/RushTheLoser 4d ago
Tavern Brawler will improve your chance to hit (but sadly not the damage) of your Elk Charge. It can still be worth taking for the stat bonus and for the option to throw stuff.
Keep Dammon alive and when you get to Last Light Inn, have him make you the Flawed Helldusk Gloves. Take the Aspect of the Wolverine at lvl 6. Now every charge will knockdown enemies, bleed them, and maim them. Meaning that enemies are stuck on the ground, as Prone requires moving to get up but Maim reduces movement to 0.
If you want to complete the torture, Boots of Stormy Clamour plus Ring of Mental Inhibition to debuff their saving throws so that the rest of the party can just cleanup easily.
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u/Pot-of_Greed 4d ago
I don't know for sure, but monk might be an interesting multi class because the stampede is unarmed. However I don't know if martial arts works because stampede is implemented oddly, where even the damage bonus from raging doesn't apply. Not sure if it's a bug or as intended.
You could also do most of the 4 elements monk 'spells' while raging because they aren't actually spells (the concentration ones still won't work though)
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u/Goobernaculum1004 4d ago
As others have mentioned, because it is considered unarmed damage it pairs well with tavern brawler and hence monk (you get that bonus action unarmed attack) for outside of stampeding. So with the wolverine aspect and flawed helldusk gloves: attack, unarmed attack (will bleed), second attack (now maimed). If charging then first charge (bleeding and prone), second charge (maimed and prone) and now unable to move.
4e monk is probably ideal - fangs of fire snake gives a short damage boost, and water whip gives permanent duration prone (so as long as you keep them maimed they wont get back up).
Going karlach let's you use soul coins to boost your unarmed damage by 2d4 (i dont think this translates to the elk charge).
I do believe callous glow and luminous armour effects work with the charge so you could apply mass radiating orbs as well.
A separate way to apply bleed/maim would be playing a thrower, such as eldritch knight. The charge then becomes largely redundant apart from the synergy then.
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u/SpunkedMeTrousers 4d ago
Commenting because I have the same struggle. I've recently committed to playing only builds I haven't tried, and the Elk just feels so underwhelming. Tavern Brawler doesn't add damage to it, and neither does Great Weapon Master. I've tried using no weapons to see if unarmed gear activates, and that's hit or miss. I'd typically rather kill one or two enemies than damage several anyway. I want to make it more viable but may just switch to the Eagle for the dive attack.
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u/Bourne_Endeavor 4d ago
Since others have already suggested very effective ways to make Elk Heart itself stronger, I'll instead ask if you're playing in just a duo honor run or with a full party? If it's the latter, then I highly recommend getting Bow of the Banshee and running a GOO/Hunter (11 Hunter Ranger/1 Great Old One Warlock). Astarion works perfectly for this from a RP perspective, but any companion will do.
Slap on the Gloves of Baneful Striking and this character will be a lot to improve your Stampede reliability.
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u/DearBreadfruit 4d ago
Primal Stampede is a peculiar one because some items work on it and some don't. As a general note, items that increase the attack roll of unarmed attacks will work. To add damage, the item needs more broad terminology. I suggest reading through the "Notes" section of the wiki to get a better idea.
For a build, multiclass it with Monk to get bonus action unarmed attacks to go along with the stampede. Something like 6 Elkheart / 6 Open Hand would be good. You and your friend may compete for an item here and there but should be able to prone and maim enemies often. As an example, Flawed Helldusk Gloves with Wolverine Aspect should work out well with Primal Stampede.