Baldur's Gate 3 has focused much of the attention of gamers on itself in recent months. There is little to protest: Larian's game is a masterpiece, undoubtedly among the best RPGs ever created, and capable of engaging like very few other titles can; that it was a huge success is only good and right.
That said, the work of Swen Vincke and her team is not exactly among the most accessible around: after all, it is structured around a modified version of the Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition rules, and every action revolves around an entire manual of rules and data that cannot be learned overnight. Add to all this that the game doesn't waste away too much detail in explanations and offers a huge level of interactivity compared to the vast majority of its competitors, and you get a rather difficult experience for a large number of users.
For this reason today we come to your aid once again with a cheerful guide, not dedicated to the basic mechanics (which we have already extensively outlined), but to the classes, and more precisely to the most devastating combinations at your disposal to dominate the campaign. And yes, we are talking about skill mixes so exaggerated that many battles become trivial even when facing the fearsome maximum difficulty. You are obviously not obliged to use them, but we still recommend you take a look, because some of the synergies described here could help you improve even simple and undemanding builds. Prepare the d20 and let's begin.
Paladins and variants, for those who love sacred blows
Let's start with the sacred elephant in the blessed room: the paladin, notoriously among the most devastating classes in D&D (especially at not too high levels). Even played "pure", the paladin is a fearsome martial class, equipped with very useful powers, healing, skills in practically all weapons and types of armor, and capable of doing gigantic damage by dint of divine punishments (also known as "smite"). Not only that, being a class that works with charisma, it is also particularly suitable for the protagonist, given that it has quite a few advantages during conversations. Yet there are multiclasses that make this champion of good even more unstoppable than he is and Larian, by modifying some mechanics, has created real monsters, which we can't wait to reveal to you.
The most absurd? The palalock obviously, that is, the powerful one fusion between paladin and warlock. Always a very strong multiclass in Dungeons & Dragons - due to the existence of a subclass known as Hexblade - in this game it was feared it would not be as effective, precisely because Larian had not included it among the options. Instead, the developers significantly modified the Warlock's "blade pact" to make it more powerful and effective, and in the process gave the original combination some devastating tools. The first is the ability to perform well three main attacks, resulting from the fact that the one obtained at level 5 with the blade pact (choose the one by leveling, obviously) is added to the second attack of any martial class. Yes, in simple terms, a palalock with 5 levels in paladin and 5 in warlock makes 3 attacks, obviously not counting the bonus ones linked to the talents obtained. Furthermore, the pact of the blade allows a palalock to use its charisma bonus to calculate both the extra damage and attack rolls of the bonded weapon; the result? You can create a character with fewer key statistics, entirely focused only on charisma, constitution, and a few healthy wisdom points to overcome mental tests. The Warlock then regenerates his slots with each short rest - thus ensuring that he has some smite available for at least three fights before a long rest - offers very useful spells, allows him to see in the magical darkness with one of his patron's gifts ( a very strong combination in certain battles, because it blinds groups of enemies without affecting you), and guarantees that you can also abuse the inevitable occult explosion, undoubtedly the best cantrip in the game. It's seriously a senseless combination, but we recommend starting with the paladin when you decide to respec, to have the heavy armor proficiency and an extra passive ability. Ah, if you want to make everything even crazier, end with two warrior levels once you reach level 12: action surge will allow you to reset your actions at every short rest, so as to have even more attacks available (even if at a cost of some magic slot)
Another extremely strong option is the palabardo. The presence among the secondary classes of the "school of swords" allows you to obtain a second attack once you reach the sixth bard level, and therefore to add only two paladin levels to an almost pure bard (to obtain divine punishments). The result is a martial class with a myriad of magic slots that can be used for both smites and very useful support spells, enormous advantages in saving throws and conversations, and the possibility of using additional inspiration dice to activate "virtuosity". The latter are particularly important, because they allow an already highly armored paladin to obtain four extra armor points by hitting the opponent, to attack multiple enemies at the same time or to obtain positioning advantages: use them expertly and you will have an almost untouchable tank on your hands , capable of dismantling any enemy by dint of divine punishments. The combination is flexible even with levels: a palabard with four paladin levels gains a feat while losing very little, while a palabard divided equally at six levels per class loses a few slots and magic but earn the very useful aura of protection. Whatever your choice, you will hardly be in difficulty once you opt for this mix of classes.
Last mix with excellent effectiveness (although in our opinion slightly inferior to the others)? The palasorcio, also known as palasorcio. Combine paladin and sorcerer is obviously once again very useful - given that both classes gain from a high charisma score - and here too you can opt for only two paladin levels, as long as you sacrifice the second attack. What you get by doing this, however, is a very strong class at any distance, which can use the metamagia to instantly unleash the paladin's elemental smites, or hurl powerful spells instantly (like a fireball, for example) and then follow up immediately afterwards with a nice blow to the face with smite attached. However, a 6/6 combination for the aura of protection, the second attack and the metamagic in a single tasty minestrone seems generally more suitable and solid. In all respects you will have a perfected paladin in your hands, with more punishments and more flexibility; hard to go wrong. In fact you can take mostly any mix of subclasses, although personally we recommend draconic for the sorcerer and oathbreaker for the paladin.
Gatling builds: a thousand bullets, no mercy
For those who don't want to get dirty up close, however, there is no shortage of builds capable of doing so maximize ranged damage with bows and crossbows. Particularly with the latter, there are a couple of truly absurd options in terms of number of attacks and damage potential. Both of these builds, let it be clear, make use of multiclasses with a hint of the thief class, for reasons that we will explain shortly; also the use of light crossbows it's a practical must, given that to maximize the number of attacks two are used at the same time.
The first is also called la boss killer, and is a combination of three specific classes: 5 levels of monster hunter ranger (gloom stalker), 5 levels of assassin rogue, and two levels of fighter. It is one of the most devastating builds at the beginning of combat, capable of launching an astonishing number of arrows in the first turn with the right preparation, and particularly strong if it manages to take enemies by surprise (which is actually quite easy to do in Baldur's Gate 3 ). In practice, the gloom stalker is useful here due to its ability to launch a free extra attack on the first round of combat, in addition to the fact that like all martial classes it gains an additional attack at level five; at this point you start to level the killer for a very simple reason: if he surprises the enemy at the start of the fight he can launch a surprise attack (with enhanced damage, a fundamental skill of the thief classes) and immediately recover all his actions. Finally they are enough two warrior levels for resetting with action surge and that's it... with this class and some healthy enhancements (the speed spell first of all, but also blessing for attack bonuses) you will be able to launch more than ten attacks and eliminate almost any boss in one turn, especially if use special arrows or cast hunter's mark on the enemy. The class maintains a good number of attacks and a fair amount of potential even in subsequent turns, but clearly its effectiveness is maximized in the first turn; it is basically a sort of monster that consumes all its resources immediately, and must take at least a short rest for the next battle. Ah, The talent of a sharpshooter is indispensable for this combination, in addition to the specialization in crossbows: the bonus to the damage of each arrow is very important to do serious damage, and you will still recover the penalty to accuracy with the right buffs and good equipment.
Another build very dependent on the same talent (sniper, of course), is the powerful mix between sword bard and rogue thief. Always using two light crossbows, three levels of thief allow you to obtain an extra bonus action, which can be used to shoot another arrow during combat in addition to normal attacks (or even more). In our opinion the best mixes are bard 8 and thief 4 for an extra talent or 9/3 for an extra magic slot. This is an extraordinarily useful class, which can focus on charisma, dexterity, and constitution, and get through any dialogue without any problems (as well as lockpicking pretty much everything with ease). The reason for its effectiveness, however, always lies in the virtuosity of the bard: the offensive virtuosity from distance, in fact, should only work on multiple enemies, but can instead be used twice on the same enemy instead of a normal attack. The result? As long as you have inspiration dice you can double each of your attacks and, if boosted by the haste spell, this translates into a hail of arrows when combined with the extra bonus attacks. We believe it is the build with the most ranged attacks in the game, especially if enhanced with the usual two warrior levels instead of a couple of bard levels (but we don't believe they are necessary). A 6 bard/3 rogue and 3 champion combo can wreak havoc of its own, especially with that fighter subclass's improved criticals.
The last "gatling" build that we propose is magical and is the inevitable one sorlock, Or the fusion between warlock and sorcerer. Here the synergies are evident: both classes use charisma for their magic, and the sorcerer's metamagic abilities match well with the occult explosion of the warlock. To tell the truth, the combination is so powerful that you can practically only use that one. In fact, only two warlock levels are needed to obtain agonizing and repelling explosion from the gifts of one's patron; at that point you can only level as a sorcerer and gain a mass of magic slots, which can be used as points to activate the various metamagic options. The only truly indispensable one is "quick spells", which allows you to fire certain spells as bonus actions: this will guarantee you (provided you have used some slots to have enough points) to launch the explosion twice, which will also start to have multiple projectiles as you level up. How you can imagine, a build capable of firing a barrage of very precise and charisma-enhanced linear spells at zero cost is already very strong, however keep in mind that sorcerers' spells are not barred to you, and a well-placed fireball is always useful, without counting the higher level spells. If during the campaign, however, you obtain the "powerful robes" - are recovered in act two, as long as the bard is kept alive Alfira and to complete a certain quest - you will be able to add the charisma modifier twice to the damage of each explosion. Ah, if you have problems keeping Alfira alive with the "Dark Drive" origin, don't worry, just stun her with non-lethal damage in the druids' emerald grove (you will have to deal twenty non-lethal damage to her and activate them from passive skills) for her to be replaced by a another bard during the scene that decrees her demise; a trick that is worth doing if you want to use this very powerful combination of classes.
Ken, it's you, our leader
We didn't think we'd ever say it, but we sincerely believe that the strongest class in Baldur's Gate 3 is... the monk. Yes, the most mistreated class of the fifth edition here is the finger of god on the Forgotten Realms, a sort of incarnation of Ken of the Hokuto school in a fantasy world, and all because of a simple yet poorly calculated talent. Let's talk about tavern brawler: tavern bruiser whatever you want to say, which in this game adds twice your strength bonus both to attack rolls and to the damage of unarmed attacks and attacks with thrown weapons. Put two and two together: a monk already has enhanced fists which at level six bypass resistances and can add extra damage from an element of your choice, if we also add the multiple attacks of the flurry of blows skill, and the damage bonuses of the talent mentioned above, it is possible to disintegrate any enemy in just a few turns with punches, and with such precision that you practically never miss the target. Just focus on strength instead of dexterity: you will maintain defense by wearing medium armor (the sacrifice to mobility is well worth the candle, and there are practically no other penalties). The best combinations to further enhance this already exaggerated class are two: open hand monk 9 and rogue thief 3, or open hand monk 6, rogue rogue 3 and champion fighter 3. The first combination allows you to get a sort of explosion at chain on enemies hit at the ninth level that does terrifying area damage, while the second is stronger on single targets due to action surge and the critical bonus of the warrior subclass. However, it is an absurd class, which erases bosses from the universe with clearly exaggerated effectiveness. It wouldn't surprise us if Larian scales back the tavern brawler talent in the future.
Tavern Slugger not only positively affects monks, but also a specific barbarian subclass: a barbaro berserker he can in fact become a fearsome object thrower and be devastating from long range thanks to this talent. The berserker has an extra boosted cast available during Frenzy, making it suitable for multiple casts in battle. In act three you can come into possession of weapons that immediately return to the character's hand when thrown, and during the campaign there is no shortage of rings and gloves that further increase the damage of thrown weapons. Result? A pure berserker kills bosses in a couple of turns simply by throwing teleporting tridents in their faces... great fun. Even in this case, doing only berserker levels is not that convenient: a 9/3 or 8/4 mix with the champion once again allows you to use the very useful action surge ability and makes critical attacks easier; always a great option for multiclassing.
A barbarian can multiclass decently, listen, even with a class that normally doesn't gain much from merging with others, i.e. the druid. If you follow the path of nature and choose the bear totem (which grants resistance to various types of damage), you can go into a rage, and then transform with the shapeshifting abilities of the circle of earth druid, maintaining the bonuses. Unfortunately, it is not possible to go into a rage during the transformation in the game (things may change in the future), however if you maintain the offensive you will not lose the status, obtaining a tank class that is very difficult to kill. It's not as strong a class as the others, but it's still a very charismatic defensive combination with great flexibility. In our opinion a 3 barbarian/9 druid mix is more than functional. Let it be clear, however, that we still consider a pure build of the spore druid much more efficient, due to its usefulness and the summonable zombies. And if you need corpses, just collect them and send them to the camp for later use during the various acts (you'll find plenty of them).
The secret of magic
There are obviously several other strong combos, but the other classes in the game don't necessarily gain much from multiclassing. The rogue, as seen above, is great if you use it for 3 or 4 levels more often than not, due to the assassin bonuses in stealth multiclasses or the extra rogue action; the warrior is fantastic even for just two levels thanks to action surge; the cleric is generally very strong even if left pure (we recommend him for life, due to his healing which makes it practically impossible to kill the party even on maximum difficulty) and the same thing goes for the wizard, who rarely gains from multiclassing by climbing with intelligence.
The magician However, he has a crazy feature in Baldur's Gate 3, which allows him to be abused in an unexpected way: if he has high enough intelligence, he can multiclass with other casters and keep any magic memorized by the scrolls even just investing in a single level. You can therefore make a mixed sorcerer/cleric with a single wizard level and still cast some of the most powerful spells of the class. To do this, just use the diadem of intellect obtainable in act 1 (sets intelligence to 17), so as not to have to spend points on that characteristic during the respec; but you could also just focus on utilitarian spells that don't scale intelligently to add to the rest. The most powerful combination for magic magic remains in our opinion however storm cleric 6, storm sorcerer 5 and wizard 1, or cleric 6, sorcerer 4 wizard 2 (invoker or divination, depending on your preference). The fact of being able to memorize spells and use them intelligently, with the right investment, allows you to abuse chain lightning without problems and enhance it not only with the bonuses of the storm cleric, but also with the elemental modifier on wet enemies. Just cast the spell create water of the cleric on enemies instantly with the sorcerer's quick metamagic to get multiplied electrical damage (already boosted by the build), the rest are just charred enemies.
Our favorite builds are these and we don't deny that they are all a little exaggerated, but this is precisely the beauty of a complex RPG like Baldur's Gate 3: it also allows minmaxing fanatics to abuse the system and obtain very fun and almost unbeatable combinations. We hope, as usual, that our advice has been useful to you, especially if you got stuck during some challenging battles. Until next time!
