Multiclassing is one of the most exciting aspects of D&D 5e and therefore, Baldur’s Gate 3’s character building, too. It has a lot of potential when done right, so I’m here to provide some inspiration. Here are my best multiclass builds in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Top 5 Multiclass Builds to Make in Baldur’s Gate 3
Spore Rager: Barbarian/Circle of Spores Druid
I’ve discovered a neat deviation from the core D&D 5e rules, where the Barbarian’s Rage and Reckless Attack don’t require Strength-based attacks. Only melee attacks are a requirement, so we can make a mean Druid/Barbarian multiclass combo that uses Shillelagh. That means Wisdom will fuel both our attacks and our spells. Constitution and Dexterity are secondary.
The goal here is to mix the Circle of Spores Druid, which grants us tons of temporary hit points and bonus melee necrotic damage with the damage resistance from Rage. Rage essentially doubles the temporary hit points from Symbiotic Entity. Here are some important guidelines:
- Multiclassing: Either start Barbarian up to Level 5 for the subclass and multiattack and then go Druid Circle of Spores, or start Druid 2 for Spores and then Barbarian 5 while maxing out Druid after. Whichever works best for you.
- Feats: Pick up the Polearm Master feat which works with Shillelagh since it’s a Quarterstaff and instal this mod by Machinegod, which fixes the Polearm Master feat so that it properly interacts with our Quarterstaff. Max out Wisdom after that.
- Items: Magic Quarterstaves, Armor Of The Sporekeeper, Amulet Of Greater Health, Staff of the Ram/Markoheshkir.
As for spells, choose the ones that either offer utility out of combat or don’t require concentration since Rage doesn’t allow you to cast or concentrate on spells. I recommend Pass Without Trace, Goodberry, Plant Growth, Freedom of Movement, Conjure Woodland Being, and Animate Dead.
Cast these spells before you Rage and then run in with your temporary hit point meat shield and hard-hitting necrotic-damage fueled Shillelagh with occasional reaction attacks from Polearm Master. This is a powerful and fun Rage Mage-like build that’s nigh unkillable and has an undead spore army behind it with Animate Dead.
I recommend the Berserker or Wild Heart (Bear/Tiger) for your Barbarian subclass for incredible damage. If you opt for the Berserker then switch out Polearm Master for something like Sentinel which also grants a reaction attack.
Eldritch Blast Artillery: Sorcerer/Warlock
If you like Eldritch Blast, then this is the build for you, as you’ll be firing them like a machine gun. It capitalizes on the Metamagic features of the Sorcerer while utilizing the Warlock’s damage boost for Eldritch Invocations. Besides maxing out Charisma, here’s what you should do:
- Multiclassing: Level up to Warlock 2 while grabbing Hex, the Fiend subclass, and the Agonizing Blast and Repelling Blast invocations. Then, go straight Sorcerer for as many Sorcery Points as you can while picking up the Quicken Spell Metamagic.
- Feats: Max out your Charisma and pick up the Spell Sniper feat for additional critical strike chance on Eldritch Blast.
- Items: The Covert Cowl will stack with Spell Sniper to make your EB crit on an 18. Additionally, Markoheshkir is excellent here with the Bolts of Doom.
The game plan is as follows. Around Level 5, we’re able to shoot two Eldritch Blasts with our Action, and then we can use Quicken Spell on Eldritch Blast to shoot an additional two beams. They’ll get a damage bonus from our Charisma thanks to Agonizing Blast, and they’ll push enemies away four time potentially.
Combine this with Hex for an additional 4d6 potential damage on a single target. This build is even crazier at Level 11, where we’re going to shoot three Eldritch Blasts which means six of them per turn. And all of them can be criticals on an 18. Of course, we still shouldn’t ignore powerful AoE spells from Sorcerer like Web, Fireball, Slow, Wall of Fire, etc. But it’s nice to know that we can unload a machine gun of EBs on a single target.
Pact of the Blade: Swords Bard/Warlock or Paladin/Warlock
Both the College of Swords Bard and the Paladin are superb melee combat classes that suffer from being multiple ability scores dependent. Both need one start like Strength or Dexterity for melee effectiveness and Charisma for spell and ability effectiveness.
The Warlock solves that issue with the Pact of the Blade feature that makes it so that both melee and spell combat scale with Charisma. It even grants you an extra attack on Level 5 with the Improved Pact Weapon that stacks with other sources of extra attack. Therefore, our progression should look something like this:
- Multiclassing: Our goal is to reach the Warlock’s multi-attack at Level 5 with the Pact of the Blade and then we can go full Paladin or College of Swords Bard. This will make it so that our attacks and spells all scale with Charisma and give us three attacks per round with our Pact weapon.
- Eldritch Invocations: These don’t impact the build heavily but I’ve found great success with the Devil’s Sight invocation and the Darkness spell on either build.
- Feats: Max out Charisma and then grab either Great Weapon Master/Pole Arm Master or Warcaster.
- Items: Focus on magical Heavy Armors like Dwarven Splitnmail if you’re going Paladin while the Swords Bard should seek out magical Medium Armors like the Armour of Agility.
- Spells: Warlock (Armour of Agathys, Hex, Fireball from the Fiend Patron), Bard (Faerie Fire, Healing Word, Hold Person, Hypnotic Pattern), Paladin (Bless, Aid, Revivify).
A Paladin/Warlock can use their numerous spell slots for Divine Smites, especially if you took the Polearm Master feat allowing for four smites per turn later on. Moreover, your Aura of Protection and healing will safeguard you and your allies.
If you’re a Swords Bard/Warlock, then Warcaster might be better for maintaining concentration on those powerful spells while in melee. Furthermore, your Defensive Flourish will pump your AC past 20 and Slashing Flourish is excellent for an additional attack.
The Sniper: Gloomstalker Ranger/Assassin Rogue
If you want to deal incredible burst damage in the first round then this build is for you. The two key features here are the Gloom Stalker Ranger’s Dread Ambusher and the Assassin Rogue’s Assassinate Ambush. The former gives you an extra empowered attack in the first round while the latter makes it so that all surprised enemies in the first round suffer guaranteed critical hits from you which also multiplies Sneak Attack. Here’s how we should go about this:
- Multiclassing: Begin with Ranger 5 (Gloom Stalker) for that extra attack which is crucial for our damage output. Then, continue with Rogue (Assassin) until the end of the game to increase Sneak Attack damage as much as we can which will be +4d6 at Level 12.
- Fighting Style: Archery.
- Feats: Max out Dexterity and pick up the Sharpshooter feat.
- Items: Start with the Hunting Shortbow which grants a free Hunter’s Mark and finish the game with the Gontr Mael.
- Spells: Hunter’s Mark and Pass Without Trace.
The point of this multiclass build is to increase our Stealth skill as much as possible so that we can surprise foes at the beginning of combat. Pass Without Trace helps with that greatly. Once the round starts, target a key enemy that’s surprised like a Mage, a Healer, or more importantly the Boss.
Get into position so that you’re 18 meters from your target for Ranged Sneak Attack and you’ll have Advantage on surprised targets which will activate it. Activate Sharpshooter and you’ll get two ranged attacks plus another empowered attack from Dread Ambusher.
Not only will these three attacks be devastating with the +10 damage from SS if they hit, they’ll also be critical strikes and they’ll proc Sneak Attack which will be multiplied. I’ve deleted certain mid-game bosses with this build, though it takes a bit of setup to fully deploy.
The Blaster: Fighter/Wizard or Fighter/Sorcerer
We’ve saved the simplest multiclass build for last — yet it’s quite effective. The main idea is that the Fighter’s Action Surge which you get at Level 2 grants us an extra Action we can use to cast another spell. This ignores the rule that you cannot cast two leveled spells per turn. Here’s the basic rundown:
- Multiclassing: Begin with 2 Levels in Fighter for the Heavy Armor Proficiency and Action Surge but make sure you’re investing as many points as you can in Intelligence if you’re going Wizard or Charisma if you’re going Sorcerer. Then, simply invest all your levels after that in your chosen caster class.
- Fighting Style: Defense.
- Feats: Max out Charisma or Intelligence and pick up Warcaster.
- Spells: Look for burst damage spells like Shatter, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Blight.
So anyway, I started blasting. The plan is to start combat with Action Surge active and look for an opportunity where there are a few key enemies grouped up. Once you notice a situation like this, drop down a Fireball or any AoE spell, then Action Surge and do it again. The Evocation School for Wizards or the Draconic Bloodline for Sorcerer can help greatly with this.
Additionally, If you’re a sorcerer you can pick up the Twin Spell Metamagic and Twin a powerful spell like Blight twice in one round for four targets in total. That’s 8d8 necrotic damage four times in one turn. Of course, you can only do this once per combat but that’s usually enough to turn the tides of battle to your advantage. Action Surge comes back on a short rest anyway. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to reach Level 6 spells with this build, but that’s a price I’m willing to pay for a one-turn nuke.
This was my guide on the best multiclass builds in Baldur’s Gate 3. There are many more powerful and fun combinations, but these have been some of my favorites lately. Check out more of our BG3 guides like best Honour mode builds and classes to survive it.
Published: Dec 20, 2023 12:26 pm