Hi, everyone!
So, I'm doing a "Captain Jack Sparrow" build, where I go Swashbuckler rogue with rapiers. I want to JUST use a rapier and nothing on the off-hand (because looks cool) but so far, I can only find advantages on using a shield (not just for AC but for the effects of some shields).
My question: Is there any way that I can have some advantage in Just having a rapier and nothing else?
I've noticed some character's being called or referencing classes or subclasses they are not like Minsc being a Berserker, Wyll switching to Ranger after losing his warlock powers, or Gortash calling Durge an Assasin. I'm curious if there are any other instances of a character being referred to as or expressing interest in a certain class or subclass. Most lore friendly multiclass discussions online are based of vibes rather than specific dialogue or meta knowledge like Jahiera being a fighter in the other games or Durge originally being an Oath of Vengeance Paladin.
If you guys are familiar with Knight Paladin Gelebor from Skyrim, I'm looking for something like that. Frost magic is usually either only associated with wizardry or necromancy/death. A paladin of the raven queen or maybe a cleric of selune would fit the vibe? But does anyone have a good build plan? It seems like sorcadin, maybe, is the ideal path, but I'm open to any ideas!
Hi!
My Gale has been climaxing his way through the game as a Bladesinger wizard with Phalar Aluve and I'm loving it so far!
There's just one problem...I just got the ring of shadow blade from Arabella and I thought (huh.... Double shadow blade???)
So now I'm conflicted between wielding 2 shadow blades (the one from the ring is capped as a lvl2 spell (2d8 damage) but I'll upscale the one on the main hand), which makes Gale nuclear bomb, and keep using Phalar Aluve with deals much less damage but thematically it's awesome... It's literally a singing blade!!
I can't decide between maxing damage or honoring the theme..
So help me decide pls!!
Hey!
So I'm starting a new honor mode run (my second) and I'm making a party with strong builds and a bit of everything (control, some wet and lightning stuff and an archer based on consumables). I really want a caster, an archer and some close combatants for variety. These 3 builds Iv'e mostly settled on:
A Smite Swords Bard for my Durge (close combat/mid-late game carry)
An OH monk (close combat/early game carry)
Storm Sorcerer (wet and strong lightning aoe. Situational control with ice.)
That leaves the archer. I really want an archer with guidance and an extra source of create water.
In terms of the strongest archer builds that Iv'e found that leaves the 11/1 volley hunter (usually good with fire stuff which would be counter productive in my comp) and and 11/1 EK knight archer with war cleric dip but without band of the mystical scoundrel since I have it on my Durge. Also no Bhaals armor in comp). Which would be the best out of these two in my comp?? (Will take a cleric dip fairly early for guidence).
I'm planning my first honour mode run right now and hope you guys can give me some input If my party/class selection is a good idea:
Tav:
Either as a Sword bard (drow)
or 5 Hexblade 7 Paladin (Gith)
Shadowheart:
Tempest cleric
Gale:
Evocation Wizard
Astarion:
Gloomstalker Assassin
The Idea behind the Gith is that there is so much good gith specific equipment that can be used without coming into overlaps with other builds.
I’m well aware about being able to get the silver sword of the astral plane in act 1 if done correctly, if I do this, am I still able to get the voss sword as well? I don’t want to wait until act 3 but also know you can command drop it when he visits your camp. Question is, can I do both? Or does getting one locks you from the other
The Resonant Four
Hello there — new players and old-timers alike.
This is a progression-focused Shadow Blade party built to be played from Act 1 through Act 3 without respecs, consumable dependency, or level-12-only theorycrafting.
The idea is simple: Combine Shadow Blade, Booming Blade and terrain punishment in one neat package with Arcane Acuity control lategame.
Most Shadow Blade setups only become relevant late. This one ramps steadily and is already functional in Act 1 – and follows a very satisfying ‘progression’ feel, where you actually play the build throughout the game instead of respec at level 12.
In Patch 8 it ranks among the Extremely Powerful builds in u/Prestigious_Juice341's BG3 Party Building Templates
The builds are based on the best of the best from the legendary author C4b-bg3, but with a focus on a casual, vanilla-friendly playstyle (and with their blessing).
Lets get into it, shall we?
What this guide contains
Party overview
The party
The party is built around six things:
The important part is that Resonance Stone does not create the party.
It amplifies something that is already working.
That is why the party feels good to play before Act 3.
Core gameplay identity
The basic loop is:
Early on, this means Cloud of Daggers, chokepoints, basic control, and good positioning.
Build sources and credits
The builds are based on work by u/c4b-Bg3 , with personal adjustments to fit this specific party progression, item routing, and campaign flow.
Later in the guide there is full level and item cheat-sheets for reference.
Original build references:
The goal of this guide is not to replace those builds.
It is to show how they can be played together as a no-respec campaign party with a clear progression curve. The Hexblade is pretty straight forward and just added by myself.
Power curve
The party scales unusually evenly.
The rough feel of the run was:
| Stage | Party feel |
|---|---|
| Early Act 1 | Functional - like most parties at this stage |
| Late Act 1 | Clear identity forming and a few Shadow Blades already appearing. |
| Act 2 | The first real powerspike can be felt at level 6-7 |
| Myrkul | Party feels ahead of curve already at level 8 |
| Act 3 - Raphael | Full control/damage engine online somewhere around level 9-10 and Raphael can be challenged at this stage. |
Milestone progression
Milestone I — Apprentice
Dror Ragzlin
At this stage the party is not broken, and I would not present it as broken. The party already has useful tools, but you still have to play BG3 properly. Positioning matters and poorly chosen battles can still punish you.
Dror Ragzlin is a good first checkpoint because the fight rewards the party’s early identity:
This is where the party starts teaching you how it wants to play in mini-format.
Milestone II — Discovery
Inquisitor / Creche
The Inquisitor fight was the first point where Shadow Blade really shined (via the Hexblade).
Adding the powerspike from Bladesinger and Swords Bard hitting level 6, and you really start to enjoy the synergies popping up.
Milestone III — Resonance
Myrkul
Example of Myrkul kill video:
This is the real turning point of the guide.
Myrkul was the first encounter where the party felt clearly ahead of the campaign curve - and importantly: Resonance Stone does not affect undead.
Taking Myrkul down that easy, and then afterwards running around with Resonant Stone to the song of double damage in act 3 is one of the greatest power spike experiences in BG3.
Milestone IV — Apotheosis
Raphael
Example of Raphael kill video:
By Act 3, the full system is online.
At this point:
At this stage the party stops feeling like four optimized characters and starts feeling like one resonant machine.
Build cheat sheet
| Name | Smite Shadow Singer | The Waterdeep Brat | The Storm Bard | Hexblade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level order | Wizard6->Paladin2->Wizard10 | Figther8->Warlock1->Figther 11 | Bard6->Sorcerer6 | Warlock 12 |
| Stats | 10 STR / 16 DEX / 14 CON / 16 INT / 10 WIS / 8 CHA | 8 STR / 16 DEX / 14 CON / 8 INT / 12 WIS / 16 CHA | 8 STR / 17 DEX / 14 CON / 8 INT / 10 WIS / 16 CHA | 10 STR / 16 DEX / 14 CON / 8 INT / 10 WIS / 16 CHA |
| Feats | ASI(INT), ASI(INT) | Savage attacker, ASI(Char), ASI(Char) | Moderately armoured (+1Dex), ASI(Dex) | ASI(Char), ASI(Char), Savage Attacker |
| Key choices | Bladesinger, Oath of the Crown, Fighting Style: Defense | Eldritch Knight, Hexblade, Fighting Style: Defense | Swordbard, Storm sorcerer, Metamagic: Twinned, Extended, Quickened | Hexblade, Pact of the Blade, Lifedrinker |
| Key spells | Shadow blade, Mage armour, Booming Blade, Shield, Hold person, Hypnotic Pattern, Hold Monster, Counterspell | Shadow blade, Booming Blade , Shield, Misty Step | Shadow blade, Booming Blade, Shield, Cloud of Daggers, Enhance Ability, Counterspell, Chromatic Orb, Shocking Grasp, Lightning bolt | Booming Blade, Shadow blade, Cloud of daggers, Counterspell, Elemental Weapon |
| Story/items | Resonance stone |
Item cheat sheet
* Marks best in slot/Important items.
| Character | Smite Shadow Singer | The Waterdeep Brat | The Storm Bard | Hexblade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head | Haste helm -> Helmet of Arcane Acuity* | Headband of intellect* -> Birthright | Mask of Soul Perception | Diadem of arcane synergy* |
| Shoulders | Cloak of the Weave | Cloak of Protection | Cloak of Displacement | Vivacious Cloak |
| Torso | Graceful Cloth -> Armour of Landfall | Adamantine Splint Armour -> Armour of Persistence | Luminous Armour -> Armour of Agility | Adamantine Scale mail -> Helldusk Armour |
| Hands | Bracers of defence -> Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength* | Gloves of Dexterity* -> Legacy of the Masters | Gloves of Battlemage's Power* | Flawed Helldusk Gloves -> Helldusk Gloves |
| Feet | Disintegrating Night Walkers | Boots of Persistence | Watersparkers | Boots of striding |
| Main hand | Shadow Blade* | Phalar Aluve -> Shadow Blade* | Club of Hill Giant Strenght -> Shadow Blade* | Shadow Blade* |
| Off hand | Rhapsody | Sentinel Shield | Ketherics Shield | Belm |
| Ranged | Bow of Awareness | Vicious Shortbow | Titan String or Bow of the Banshee -> Hellrider Longbow | Dead shot |
| Neck | Amulet of the Devout | Periapt of Wound Closure | Amulet of Greater Health* | Broodmothers revenge |
| Finger #1 | Band of the Mystic Scoundrel* | Ring of Free Action | Callous Glow Ring | Strange Conduit Ring* |
| Finger #2 | Ring of Protection | Ring of Arcane Synergy* | The Sparkswall | Shadow-cloaked ring |
Pre-buff cheat sheet
| Character | Buffs |
|---|---|
| Hexblade | Shadow Blade, Magic Weapon, Bind Hex Weapon |
| Smite Shadow Singer | Shadow Blade, Mage Armour (until lategame), Longstrider on team |
| Storm Bard | Shadow Blade |
| Waterdeep Brat | Shadow Blade if available, Bind Hex Weapon, Optional Arcane Elixir route for earlier access |
The party does not need a ten-minute ritual before every fight to function.
Why play this party?
Play this party if you like:
Do not play this party if you want:
Final party
We all know Booming blade and Shadow-blade are strong. Resonant stone only amplifies that. If you also add nearly full spellcasting abilities and arcane acuity, you are nearing the ultimate party, that the game has to offer. This is literally it.
Bringing the epic builds from C4b-bg3 together in one imbalanced party, that is frictionless to play AND level have been a huge blast. If I ever was to replay the game from scratch 10 years form now, I would not hesitate to use this party again.
I hope you have enjoyed the guide, and maybe have been inspired to once again journey into the world of BG3 :)
/Crown
These are the classes I'm planning to use:
Here's the flow I am thinking of:
What I need help with is the leveling path. What I currently have is:
My problem is, is that Warlock comes really late. Any ideas on getting Warlock earlier?
I assume everyone is familiar with the 1/11 Fiend Warlock / Draconic Fire Sorcerer build (https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/196mpii/honor\_mode\_111\_fire\_sorlock\_complete\_build\_guide/ ) that uses a bunch of gear riders to make Scorching Ray really strong and stacks arcane acuity for extended command and stuff. Are there any improvements for the build that use the gear in Fade's Equipment Distribution? While modded difficulty is part of it, I'm more so looking for gear that will enhance the build. Thank you
So there are plenty of threads and posts about 'OP multiclass' builds and parties involved. But I want to see if this community can come up with a template I use for my own party crafting.
Here's the rules I set for myself before the template:
No multiclassing. Just pure Level 12 subclasses all the way.
Don't make them with any Ability Score improving stuff like the Hag's Hair, the Everlasting Vigour Potion, and the Mirror of Loss. Equipment like the Club of Hill Giant Strength is fair game though.
No Camp Clerics/Rogues. Everything in this template must in the kit of the four party members.
Now for the actual template:
A Charisma class to act as the face.
Someone on the Party with Sleight of Hand for all the lockpicking.
All the following spells: Longstrider, Counterspell (as early as Act 1), Aid, Heroes' Feast, and Speak with Animals.
At least one high Strength party member, mainly if your Tav or Durge is a short folk that needs to be tossed over to something and to carry the party loot.
One or two Martial/Frontline classes, because a squishy party ain't really a fun party.
No overlapping gear. These builds need to be made with a party composistion in mind.
For an example of the kind of party:
Let's see what you guys can come up with!
I want to make Wyll a Hexblade Warlock, however, whenever I search for a Hexblade build, people use Shadow Blade and shield or dual wield Shadow Blade + something.
I'm trying to avoid that, probably by using two-handed weapons, like a regular Bladelock. Would that be possible? How viable would it be compared to the standard Hexblade + Shadow Blade build?
This is probably my least original idea for a build, but I am considering making an 11 Druid/1 Nature Cleric character. My trouble is I do t necessarily want to overlap with both Halsin and Jaheria, and I’m not concerned about this being a spore Druid. So with all of that being said, how good would circle of stars be when paired with a nature cleric, or am I really just better off doing either moon or land?
Also, with Stars Druid, if I use those forms instead of the standard Druid Wild shifts, do I still need to prioritize Dex? I heard high Dex is needed to keep AC up when using Wild shift but it seemed counterintuitive to me a bit since Druids don’t use anything else weapon wise that benefits from high Dex.
Hi,
Planning to make a radiating orb build using spirit guardians, trying REALLY hard to make a variation of it dual wielding Phalar Aluve and Blood of Lathander but cant seem to make it click.
Currently only level 7 (Act 2) with 5 war cleric 2 bard just because 5 WC is the earliest i can get spirit guardians, i am aware the offhand attack and extra attack dont stack sadly. Gear is pretty much bis tho, arcane acuity helm, luminous armor, etc. Went dual wielder feat so I can actually hold both in my hands, wanna use shriek + illumination from lathander and maybe attack with them from my 2nd turn onwards. Issue is, im REALLY struggling to make it work. I thought that the two-weapon fighting would be really cool!
Anyone have any advice for a dual wielding build using spirit guardians, more specifically levelling order? At max i plan to go something like 10 bard 2 paladin, or 10 bard 2 storm sorc for flying.
[Act 2 spoilers]
So guys, last week i decided to buy the game because it was 25% off and i already got almost 40 hours in it, I’m loving it and it is probably one of the best experience i ever had playing a videogame. The problem is that i have never played a crpg or dnd so i have 0 knowledge on how to build a character. I decided to play a sorcerer cause i find it cool and even thought i love how useful it is in environmental puzzle and things like that i feel like i deal way less damage than i should be, my party is composed of: My OC a wild magic sorcerer, Shadowheart full healing cleric, berserk Karlach and thief Astarion. I like the team and i dont think the game is too hard but its pretty sad to see how Karlach and Astarion carty every fight while my OC deal like half of their damage while also having to use spellpoint. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to make my character stronger or things like that?
I am almost at level 9 and i explored basically the whole shadowlands, im at the point where i have to go to the tower
edit: added a photo of the team and spells, also i dont like the idea of changing a character original class, or at least not for my first time playthrough. The team is also based more on how much i like a character than how useful he actually is, shadowheart is the pg im going to romance so its out of question that i remove her, karlach i find funny and astarion im not to fond of but i already am a sorcerer so even thought i would have liked gale better i didnt put him and just left astarion cause i straight up hate Lae Zael
It’s been a while since I’ve played so I forgot a lot of stuff. I wanna start some more playthroughs, but I need to remember some of the items
Trying to put together a squad after my current play through finishes. The idea is for three well-meaning dipshits who wander around causing problems, to consistently and accidentally leave things far better than they were before they got there. They accomplish this through the overwhelming power of being really quite lucky, quite a lot of the time. And Gale.
I'm really trying to maximize the feeling of "ridiculous bullshit keeps happening whenever these assholes show up, but it always seems to go in their favor." WM Sorc Tav and WM Barb Karlach will be the mainstays. Gale will spec Divination to keep his dumb friends from blowing themselves up when Tav tries to William Tell a firebolt at the barrel of smokepowder Karlach is balancing on her head.
I haven't attempted Tactician difficulty yet and might consider using this crew for that, if it seems strong enough. That's not the priority, though, fun/RP is. The only things I won't change are:
-Tav: Halfling (for the luck trait/it'll be extra funny romancing Karlach) Wild Magic Sorc, lucky feat at 4
-Karlach: Wild Magic Barb, Lucky feat at 4
-Gale: Divination Wizard, lucky feat at 4
Not sure who a good fourth would be. I'd like to >!respec Minsc as a drunken master monk, but he isn't available until act 3!< . Monk and Bard seem like they could potentially fit the theme, but I've never played either so I'm not familiar with how they work or their subclasses. A 1-2 level dip for any of them would be fine, especially if it gives more opportunities for WM to trigger.
I've only really started learning DnD 5e systems/terms in the last couple of years or so, so I'm not very knowledgeable about a lot of the mechanics yet. Any ideas would be appreciated: who/what class the fourth could be, other feats (Sentinel Gale desperately swatting at goblins trying to keep his little idiots alive), and gear especially.
So this is my first genuine attempt at Honor Mode, and I think I have a good plan laid out for my build. I've compiled the party builds on EIP in the links below, but here's a brief summary:
Karlach to Face Tank as Oath of the Crown Paladin
Redeemed Shadowheart to be right behind applying afflictions, control and radiant damage as a Light Cleric/Stars Druid
Resisting Durge as Shadow Sorcerer with high spell DC and spell attack rolling for casting damage.
Astarion as an Arcane Archer built with high crit chance and for pumping out ranged damage from inside darkness (Shadow Sorcerer)
Any feedback on shortcomings or improvements I could make would be greatly appreciated!
EIP Links with full build details:
https://eip.gg/bg3/builds/crown-paladin-karlach/
https://eip.gg/bg3/builds/starry-radiance-shadowheart/
I feel like people talk about 2 major things when they say that Vengeance Paladin is one of the best subclasses in the game, one being Vow of Enmity and the other being Haste. I'm not completely sold however
* Vow of Enmity: assuming it's bugged and you're not supposed to be able to cast it on yourself, the ability is great for killing bosses but rather meh in most encounters and barely worth the bonus action + channel oath charge.
* Haste: This one is more understandeable but could lead to some devastating consequenses if you drop the concentration. Noteworthy is that it will be very hard to lose that concentration since you get access to heavy armor, Aura of Protection (+3 to 7 on saving throws depending on the build) and +2 AC from the Haste. Still, if you get unlucky on honour mode and drop the concentration on your first turn you are in a lot of trouble. Being a melee character you will sometimes be in positions where the enemy will hit you. I guess the counter argument to that would be "kill everything before it kills you" but I don't think that logic applies to every single fight in the game.
Now what I do think works for Vengeance Paladin and the reason I'd use it is as a supportive Paladin with Inquisitor's might. If you buff a Gloomstalker/ Thief archer and have +7 Charisma, your archer would get +35 damage on its first turn (I won't even mention buffing a Swords Bard archer since they're already game breaking). Being able to use Vow of Enmity vs bosses and Inquisitor's might in other fights also make the class very flexible which speaks for it
With all that being said, what am I missing with the Vengeance Paladin? Except the name of the subclass being bad ass of course
Whenever someone asks for a Hexblade build on here, I frequently see people recommending Swashbuckler, Paladin, or Sorc dips. Lets go over what you're actually missing out on.
Dip 1 level - You lose Lifedrinker, a CHA to damage DRS and one of the best DRS sources in the game (in non-honor modes).
Dip 2 levels - You lose an extra spell slot and access to the (albeit not super great) mystic arcanum.
Dip 3 levels - You lose on Armour of Hexes, not a big deal.
Dip 4 levels - You're losing out on Level 5 spells, and Minions of Chaos, a huge power spike for a solo player.
You lose out on everything outlined above for what, a conditional bonus attack disarming strike? That's not even getting into how every level you dip is just delaying the next Hexblade level's power spike, with how loaded with features its 1-9 is can be pretty significant.
I can understand throwing in a level of hexblade on another build for the Hex weapon, but if you're gonna play majorly as a hexblade, I don't understand why you would dilute yourself.
TDLR: Hexblade is one of the best classes in the game pure, and you're diluting it significantly by taking dips.
