Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Fighter Subclasses

Though many classes have a lot of leveling choices, as a melee class, this BG3 Fighter build doesn't have a lot of choices to make while leveling. In fact, at Level 2, Level 5, and Level 9, you won't have a major choice to make at all. However, Fighters can get more Feats than most other classes, and your Battle Maneuvers grant this best BG3 Fighter Build impactful abilities without a spellbook.

It's a good idea to have one or two melee-focused party members, a perfect slot for the Fighter Class to fill in. The best Fighter build in BG3 is one that takes the class' melee prowess and turns it into a close-quarters devastator via the Battle Master subclass.

The Champion subclass allows the Fighter to get a handful of simple abilities that make them better at fighting and feats of strength. This begins with "Improved Critical Hit" at level three. This reduces the number a fighter must roll on their attack roll to land a critical hit by 1. In essence, landing critical hits becomes easier. This can stack with other effects that reduce the target number for critical hits, potentially enabling the Champion to become a critical hit monster.

For the Battle Master build, which is a close-range melee build, these two abilities let the character persist through death and absolutely pile damage onto opponents with critical hits – just be sure to pick up abilities and gear that reduces the Critical Hit threshold.

But aside from useful racial spells, Githyanki give another important benefit to Wizards: armor proficiencies. As a Githyanki Wizard, players can equip Light and Medium armor, a huge AC boost over robes and clothing. The Astral Knowlegde ability can be incredibly useful for Dialogue checks and dice rolls, too.

These allow the Berserker to perform an additional attack or Throw a nearby object/creature, respectively, and each only uses a Bonus Action. This allows the Berserker to dish out extra damage on every turn while raging, making them an excellent choice for players who want to prioritize damage output.

The Fighter class does not normally start with this ability, meaning that players must invest two levels into it – and lose out on Level 6 Wizard spells. However, the ability to take two actions in one turn is remarkably strong for casters, and the added armor proficiencies granted by the Fighter class are just the cherry on top.

Elemental Damage sets are also quite effective on a Giant Barbarian due to their Elemental Cleaver ability, with the Gloves of Belligerent Skies and/or Boots of Stormy Clamour being a particularly valuable option if you favor thunder or lightning damage. You could also equip Winter's Clutches, the Snowburst Ring, and/or the Coldbrim Hat to freeze your foes solid. Another option is to utilize the Thermoarcanic Gloves, Cinder Shoes, and Ring of Self Immolation in a heat setup, and throw on the Cindermoth Cloak to burn enemies that damage you.

Updated on the 25th of April, 2024, by Thomas Hawkins: With the release of Baldur's Gate 3 Tips Gate 3's long-awaited Patch 8, every class has gained a new subclass. In the case of the Barbarian class, they may now choose the Path of Giants subclass, allowing them to channel the elemental strength of giants to grow in size and throw their enemies around in various ways. They may also empower their weapons with elemental damage and the thrown property, allowing them to easily hurl greatswords and other two-handed weapons. This guide has been updated to discuss the new subclass, multiclassing options that pair well with it, and equipment that works particularly well with this subclass.
Wizards who choose the School of Abjuration get "Abjuration Savant" and "Arcane Ward" at second level. The former allows them to scribe Abjuration Spells into their spellbook for 25gp per spell level instead of 50gp per spell level, while the latter gives the Wizard a shield whenever they cast an abjuration spell of level 1 or higher. The Ward gains charges equal to half the spell's level, rounded up, and can hold charges equal to twice the Wizard's level. At level 3, this means the Wizard can have six charges at once. When the Wizard takes damage with a Ward active, the damage is reduced by the number of charges, and then the Ward loses one charge. The ward resets to a number of charges equal to the Wizard's level on each long rest.

The Knowledge Domain grants Clerics a variety of abilities fitting for one who serves a God who values Knowledge. Starting at level one, the Cleric gets two additional skill proficiencies chosen from the following four options: History, Arcana, Religion, or Nature. They also get "Command" and "Sleep" as domain spells, allowing them to plant a command in a target's mind or lull targets to sleep.

At level six, Transmutation Wizards gain the ability "Transmuter's Stone." This lets them create a stone imbued with a magical effect, which it will grant to whoever is holding the stone. They can choose from the following effects and must cast a level 1 or higher Transmutation Spell before they can create another stone: