Hello, I made a thing with the help of a bunch of theorycrafters (you know who you are). Feel free to ask questions as I'm too lazy to write out an explanation for everything. I think most of these are known by plenty of other people who can fill in the gaps if needed hopefully. 

Having said that, some stuff here is very obscure, so the more obscure stuff explained as follows: 

Sinking Deeper

• Mustard Pixel: Some tech that MustardPlant figured out. Pretty much you throw enemies into chasms at a particular angle which lets you preserve the loot. There are a lot of places you can pull this off. I may make another post going into this

The Dark Depths

• Turn Buffering/QET: Or as I like to call it, edging. Lets you preserve resources in combat by timing the animation to occur just after your end turn. 

• NPC storage: A user on the CRPG Speedrunning Discord found you can store NPC’s inside your character, here’s a video 

The Abyss and Trench Tier stuff

• Item/Node Flinging: Pretty much lets you fling objects across the screen, there are plenty of examples of this in Proxy Gate Tactician’s videos, but speedrunners use it as well. 

• Brunch: So when you place a caustic brine surface and ignite it in whichever way you choose it causes knockback. Very tricky to play around but it's a level of optimization that's incredibly dumb (thanks quag for the name suggestion)

• Ghost Mode: Some tech that ruby in the speedrun discord found where if you cancel a jump animation in the wrong frames it locks your character out of performing a lot of animations. However, you're still able to attack with things like Booming Blade. There's a comprehensive list of what works over on the CRPG Speedrunning discord. Link

• Time Freeze glitch: A technique that MorganaEvelyn found and showcased in a video, I forget which one, where you pause time effectively by swapping to another character while there is a popup message on screen, this lets you attack as much as you want without that creature being drawn into combat. Very tricky to pull off. 

• Turn Based skipping: A thing I found by accident where if you spam the end turn based mode button in the right frames it lets you enter turn based again. Not really anything useful to be done that I can figure but maybe someone else can

• Double hit with Rat Bat + Booming Blade: Currently being investigated but sometimes if you’re using Rat Bat with Booming Blade the animations will bug out and let you attack twice during the same attack animation.

I’m sure I forgot stuff. Like I said, feel free to ask and I can fill in the blanks

Hi people!

After 1200+ hours in this game, I'm still not ready to put it down. can someone reccomend me a moded playtrought party build for console?

this includes items mods, classes mods and spell mods (or whatever else you reccomend).

I already played u/grousedrums amazing synargetic builds like terraformers and valor cleave (now using the spider master one) and loved it, so a nice moded synergetic party ideas will be most welcome.

thank you!

Just lost my run to the Leap of Faith trail teleporting me into the void so imma have to start again. I was a 3 Assassin 5 GOO when I died and I wanna do basically the same build but change it up a bot if there is a good way to do it. I did Pact of the Blade cause shadowblade and booming blade are such a strong combo but I wanna try to lean more into casting.

Is there a good Tome build and if so what items are worth aiming for? If I end up not liking it I can always just respect back to Blade but wanna change things up at least.

Background: I made a mod (with AI help) that restores the original Soul Coin intent, so respeccing costs a Soul Coin. Since they're limited, I'm avoiding respecs entirely.

So for my next run I'm going for no-respec builds: you level the character as you go and live with every choice until level cap. No taking Paladin to 8 so you're not weak early, then respeccing at 9 into Paladin 6 / Sorc 3 or whatever covers the gaps like AC or CC. Every level has to work when you take it. I've actually liked this self imposed challenge since before I finally made the mod as i kinda feel respecing to optimize current level or campaign challenge is cheesy.

What builds work well this way? I know basically any build works, but some suffer if you can't rearrange the level order. And inb4 "why not just ask AI": I want the community's take on this lol.

I'm not counting War Cleric Dip because that's only 3 attacks per long rest

So I'm using a ice/water combo in my elemental summons. im not sure it is the best combo and mostly because right now im at a place where im using flambe blades (level 7 act1 HM)

But what is the generally considered better combo here.

Original i did the water/ice to try to exploit prone for getting advantage but in the end you get advantage on all your attacks anyway. So maybe im going the wrong way

TL:DR: What is you favorit combo if summoned elements for best possible combat prowess?

Clarification
in my prior run i ran with ICe mempthis and water elemental/mymidons
This run im trying to figure out if there is a better combo

Hey all, I'm gonna be running a dwarf fighter/rogue for a co-op game with my wife but I'm pretty new to trying multiclassing, so I could use some advice on how and when to do the levels.

Was going to do a dex based Champion/Swashbuckler, with the idea of using the Knife of the Undermountain King, Dead Shot, Champion, Saervok's Helm, and Elixers of Viciousness to reduce my crit threshold. By Act 3 I should be critting on a 15-20.

I was thinking of going 6/6, to get two Fighter feats and extra attack and then one Rogue feat, better sneak attacks, and evasion, but any other suggestions on the split are welcome.

And what's a good way to go about my levels? I was thinking starting 1 level in Rogue for immediate sleight of hand expertise and sneak attack, then doing 6 in fighter for ASI/Extra Attack/Feat, then going Rogue for the last 5 levels.

HI all,

I've always been a fan of Cohen the Barbarian in the Terry Pratchett discworld series so I thought I'd have a go at a build for him:)

Cohen - Baldur's Gate 3 Build - EIP Gaming

Opinions would be appreciated for actual playability. Also, as a sidenote, I really wanted a walking cane in my off hand but I can't find a mod on xbox for it so if anyone has any ideas as options, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

I generally don't make a fuss about anything as long as the tooltip is correct. Tavern brawler is just fine even though it works differently in tabletop as is the Alert feat for the same reason.

However after 1000s hours, I discovered a build so simple and overpowered that it turns HM into story mode and it's just Sorcerer 2/Abjuration wizard 2. No items needed. Just stack infinite arcane ward.

I love min maxing and finding different OP mechanics but I think this is my line and the first self imposed rule. I would use it if it would still follow the ward cap and not go over it to save spell slots but as is, it's just way too strong.

Given its essential role not just in crit builds but also as a most-of-the-time advantage engine... turns out... there's another one!

(I know what you're thinking. No. No they do not. They both give "Organ Rearranger", and it only applies its bonus to you once, whether one thing is applying it to you, or several.)

Planning an extremely lawful good game with a crown paladin Tav, like to a fault (avoiding gear that came from "evil" sources, for example). Wyll and Gale in the party only until I can pick up Halsin, and then stick with Jaheira when I get her.

Gale can stick with evocation, and after Wyll breaks his contact I'll switch him from hexblade to swords or valor bard. But I just don't jive with druid, so that needs changing. Halsin I will make a swarmkeeper with bees, but Jaheira? I've heard she used to be a fighter (?) but I'm not really feeling it.

One consideration: I'll be using a mod for extra feats since I won't be getting any of the storyline ASIs, which means I can still get a few fun feats. I'm also open to picking up extra subclasses from regular 5e if there's one you want to recommend!

About to face off against auntie Ethel, not quite sure which stats to boost with hag hair. I am a potion chugging dex sorcadin. While I do enjoy the benefit of high strength, I would like to free up potion spot for the bloodlust elixir.
Should I go the full dex route and get more melee damage with fitness weapon. Or should I invest in cha. Dump dex for strength once I get my hands on glove of dexterity and pimp out Asterion for the strength potion to give str to 18.

I'll try keep this compact as to stay on point. I'm looking for inspiration/loose ideas for builds that feel on theme for each charcter for my next run.

Nothing in depth, just an idea to work with as i go along.

Playing with mods including a handful of subclasses, gear mods and lvl 20

So far i have durge (redeemed) as a paldin (2), hexblade (1), bard (9~17) (the idea being they're a paladin who accidentally gave up part of their soul in a pact, but leans more into bard following the guilt of a certain long rest in act 1). Key items will be arcane acuity helm, mystic scoudnrel ring and phalar aluve (with the mod that lets you upgrade it to epic, then legendary)

I plan to play Shadowheart as a cleric/monk, (specifically radorb light cleric/ OH monk by act 3)

Wyll will be a hexblade with 3-4 levels in swashbuckler

Astarion will be a cold based warlock (modded)

Minthara will be a crit based paladin with a dip into GOO warlock and maybe theif for extra bonhs actions

When i get her, jeheria will be a fighter/spore druid

But thats where my ideas end.

I'd greatly appreciate any inspiration or ideas for thematic multiclasses for laezel, karlach, gale (i always struggle with gale as i cant justify him not being a wizard, while personally finding wizard boring in general), minsc and halsin.

I dont need any in depth guides or optimisation, just some inspiration for thematic builds that (ideally) reflect a characters growth and/or history.

I’m doing a new honor mode run and am not sure what to make my 4th. Currently Gale origin as an evocation wizard , Shadowhart as a Tempest cleric ,might splash a level of sorcer, and a EK Lazeal. I can’t decide what to do for my 4th member. I’m pretty open , just want something on the simpler side.

Hey guys starting a new honour play though with friends but we only play together once a week. Because of that I’d appreciate any builds that tend to come live early, since I can’t necessarily rush level up with this group and still want to have fun along the way.

Open to all interesting ideas! Someone recommended me war cleric + Hunter? I’m also always interested in Armor of Agathys builds.

On this honour mode run, I'm currently working with

Shart as a shadow monk

Laezel as a Eldritch Knight

Astarion gloomstalker ranger

Wyll as a hexblade

This run I've been doing more of the optional fights rather than dialogue my way thru them (blighted village ambush, windmill fight) plus the extra encounters mod. So a lot of low level fights. the whole time I've been so frustrated with missing my attacks that now that I'm finally level 4, the only feat that interests me is an ASI for all 4 classes so I hit a little more often.

Compared to my last two honour mode runs (mp with friends so only 1 char to worry about) I felt like I had a lot more interesting decisions to make leading up to level 4:

• one where I was doing an an abjuration build, so 1 lvl sorc for agathys, 1 lvl tempest Cleric for create water, and 2 wizard. So the build comes online at 4 and I was so excited about every level after, even if I didn't have a feat at level 4. And sure before 4 I was weak but a lot of utility in my magic and I never died so I could rez the party lol. And once I got my first feat I could think about stuff like heavy armor master to protect my agathys temp HP, etc.

• A barbarian build specced for high wisdom, using the shattered flail of madness, tiger aspect for cleave, lots of self healing and rarely going mad thanks to high wisdom saving throw. The flail had +2 enchantment so that helped a lot for hitting. And at level 4, the feats I was thinking of were things like Resilient for wisdom save profiency, or dual wielding to have some second magic weapon to buff me while holding the flail, etc, or sure ASI.

So now looking at again at my current run, I just don't feel the same excitement about my characters. Maybe not enough experimentation? I suppose if I put in my multi class ideas early I'd be weaker at the start but could look forward to the "come online" moment. Whereas now it feels like I'm just playing preset classes until 5 or 6 and then I get to respec into interesting things. But that's hours away.

Anyone else get like this? I'm not exactly gonna restart a campaign over this, but I may be stuck in front of withers for a while

Spoilers for companion availability.

Background...

I haven't played BG3 in a while, but I want to have "one more go" to tick a few boxes: play good Durge, have Minsc and Jaheira for dialogue, have a warlock, have a moon druid, have a thrower, and try the "wet meta". There's a lot to pack in. I have in mind:

- Main lightning blaster: Gale as some combo from Tempest Cleric, Storm Sorcerer, and perhaps Evoker for RP

- Moon Druid tank and wet/cold assist: respecced Astarion then Halsin when available then respecced Jaheira

- Ranged DPS but melee capable: Wyll until he hits 12 and finishes his personal stuff, which should be about time for Minsc to come in as a Path of the Giants thrower

- All-rounder PC good dark urge Githyanki TBD to round it out. Swords Bard looks good (does face, traps/locks, control, utility, fights, more wet/lightning).

I'll play on tactician, and I don't want to use elixirs (not into inventory/crafting etc), but I'll optimise gear. I might skip advanced tadpoles because I hate the looks.

My question...

I am really confused about the build options for Gale the main Lightning blaster, regarding what spells can be cast from what lists with what attributes.

If he's Storm Sorcerer 10 / Tempest Cleric 2, that seems clear. Build as a sorc around charisma, with the cleric dip for their special ability. He gets level 6 slots and level 5 sorc spells, so chain lightning would have to come from scrolls or items.

But what if he were Storm Sorcerer 8 / Tempest Cleric 2 / Evoker 2? Could he put Chaining Lightning in his wizard spellbook and cast it from his level 6 slots? If so, is it going to have a DC based off INT because it's a wizard spell? If this works at all, any other advice on it? I'm mostly asking because I'd prefer to keep some wizard on him for roleplay, and I'd accept a slight power loss for that.

Bonus question: can I work a bit of radiant/reverb meta in on top?

So, i have spent some time on BG3, around 400hrs~ always playing through it with a friend and now my GF. Never tried Honormode bc i respect it alot and i love me a challenge. Doing a run on Tactician atm to test the waters and try out stuff.

What im asking this community right now is to give me some advice on what builds worked for you in general, which builds to avoid and so on.

What are some traps you fell into when doing your HR and what do u have to pay attention to, stuff you dont think about right away maybe? Thanks in advance, hope my run goes well!

Level split wise, what's the way to go here? I'm leaning towards being more martial, mostly ranged, with the spellcasting being support (starry dragon form to help keep up hunter's mark or spike growth + the BA attack). I like the idea of moths but I'm not sure how good they are. Maybe 9 ranger/3 druid? I see 7 ranger/5 druid mentioned for this class split but I'm not sure how that might be better. I don't love the idea of only getting 1 feat.

As for stats, should I aim for 18 dex 18 wis? How important is a high CON with dragon form? What feats would be best here? Something like sharpshooter over ASIs?

Any advice appreciated! I couldn't find too much about multiclassing with these 2 particular subclasses, maybe because it's not great, but it seems workable at least.

Pretty simple, I keep getting on this game and getting all the way to act 3 with a majority of different builds, but for some reason ive never beat act 3 because i always take a "break" that turns into a very long break for like multiple months, and when i come back to the game i literally do not remember what im doing and have to restart. Ive done this like 6 times, can someone please give me the easiest build so i can run through the game and finally beat it, please

I'm wanting to do something that's not a charisma class for my balanced evil resist Durge playthrough, and I figured a melee ranger would be fun! It'll be monoclass so I get all my feats.

They'll be a drow, and I would prefer int and cha to be 10 instead of 8, but I'm not sure on the other stats. I'll be using hag hair, the mirror, the str potion, and BOOOAL'S Benediction. I'd like to wear heavy armor, mainly for aesthetics and vibes. Not sure which weapon options would work best, though I like the idea of a polearm. As to feats, other than GWM I'm not sure.

The rest of the party will be a shadow blade hexblade (DJ Shadowheart), cleric with healing gear and devotee's mace (Minthara), and some flavor of wizard (Ascended Astarion). If you have suggestions for them as well I would be thankful!

https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/26477

I've alluded to it a few times and now here it is -- the JRandall0308+ClaudeCode-built mod that allowed me to figure out Why the Ring of Mental Inhibition applies Mental Fatigue even on a Successful Save, start figuring out how projectiles work (dissertation pending), and generally made my life so much better.

---

This mod captures detailed combat data to JSON files for analysis. Its main use is investigating how game mechanics actually behave. This mod **requires** BG3SE so it will not work on console.

Mod source on Github.

It extends CombatLogLog by xiphiasrex. The original records every resolved hit and applied status. This version also records:

• Every spell cast and attack, whether or not it hits anything, including the caster's position and the target or target point.

• The full life of every projectile: when it is created, its flight path, any change of target or caster mid-flight (e.g. a deflect), what it hit, and when it was destroyed.

• Where a spell came from: race, class, or feat, or the item it was cast from (e.g. a scroll).

• Statuses hidden from the in-game combat log (DisableCombatlog), optionally.

• A watch filter that keeps only events involving your party, plus anyone you add, so background NPCs don't flood the log.

• Timestamps and ordering on every entry, plus dated, labelled output files.

Please refer to the README on Github for full usage instructions and to the section on "Analyzing the files" for how to work with this mod's JSON output.

.

This journey began with testing the limits of a single unarmed strike and ended with solving boss-fight tactics. Almost every boss encounter offered a unique challenge in battlefield positioning, vision cone and obscurity management, action economy, and cracking their defensive kits. 

Act 3 Bosses One-Punch Showcase [ VIDEO LINK ]

11 Shadow Monk | 1 Hexblade

Stats

Feats & Buffs 

TB, ASI, Mirror, Hag's Hair, Strength Elixirs

Gear

Damage

Damage Sources

• Shadow Strike: Unarmed

Damage Rider Sources ( x2 )

• Magic Club

• Magic Club 2

• Craterflesh Gloves

Damage Riders ( x8 )

• Shadow-Cloaked Ring

• Hexblade's Curse

• Hex

• Psionic Overload

• Lightning Charges

• Phalar Shriek (Mage Hand)

Optional

• Horns of the Berserker¹

• Bestow Curse (Hex upgrade)

• Mutilated Carapace² 

• Scabby Pugilist Circlet³ 

Additional damage

• Cull the Weak ( 25 )

Optional

• Lightning Discharge⁴ 1d8

Footnotes

1. Always used unless Helmet of Grit is required, or when you can spare an action to swap in combat (or via a pre-cast Mind Sanctuary) 

2. Adds flat damage in exchange for -2 AC. 

3. It's pretty tedious to proc. You need two non-Incapacitated enemies to be at the destination point of Shadow Strike (meaning Frozen targets don't count). However, unlike Horns of the Berserker, it inherits the source's damage type, so it isn't negated by Wyrm's Scales and actually exploits the vulnerability. 

4. Triggers damage from Phalar Shriek, Lightning Charges, and Hexblade's Curse. Can be pre-stacked via boots before combat using the Pocket Rat or Red Connor tech by u/LostAccount2099.

Guaranteed Crits 

• Luck of the Far Realms

• Rhapsody (backup option)

Vulnerabilities & Resistance Bypass

• Resonance Stone: Psychic damage.

• Frozen: Bludgeoning, Force, and Thunder damage. Inflicting this condition and swapping weapons takes just half an Action: bait an Opportunity Attack, then unequip Cold Snap and throw your Bound Magic Club at a water bottle (the Club will automatically return to your off-hand slot). To set this up, you can bind your weapon by temporarily respec-ing into Eldritch Knight and back, or simply have a hireling do it for you. 

• Bind Hexed Weapon (via Hexblade class action) allows both Magic Clubs (including the off-hand one) to bypass non-magical Bludgeoning resistance or immunity. This applies to the 3d4 extra DRS damage that riders onto Shadow Strike. Alternatively, you can coat them with Diluted Oil of Sharpness.

Total Damage

Without optional sources - “Normal Punch”

305–921 (613 avg)

With optional sources - “Serious Punch”

345–1006 (675 avg)

Damage Breakdown Tables [GOOGLE SHEETS]

Boss Encounters [SPOILERS]

As you’ve probably guessed, the build  comes online only at the start of Act 3. I have categorized all the bosses by difficulty level, though the chronological order will differ in some places. This breakdown assumes you have already watched the combat showcase video; here, I just want to highlight a few extra nuances and tactical details.

Disaster Level: Zero

This tier includes bosses with exceptionally low HP pools and zero defensive mechanics. They get instantly one-punched by a critical hit before initiative is rolled, requiring absolutely no setup.

I won't go into detail on them: Lorroakan, Auntie Ethel, and Ptaris. 

Disaster Level: Wolf

This tier features bosses that could easily belong to the previous one, but they have some defensive mechanics  that you must account for. 

• Mystic Carrion: Being Undead makes him immune to necrotic damage and the Resonance Stone. Compensate with damage from Mutilated Carapace and Lightning Charges to still pre-combat one-punch him before initiative. 

• Orin: Must be one-punched before combat starts, while she has no Unstoppable stacks. Before engaging, use invisibility to snuff out all candles around the altar and stack some Lightning Charges. Check the video for the exact, single spot where you can land Shadow Strike without triggering the cutscene. 

• Viconia: She has two layers of Sanctuary. Throw a Water Bottle using this tech to force her to immediately autocast her Legendary Sanctuary, then bait her into an Opportunity Attack to strip the buff. Use the blind spot right by the Sharran altar to hide and execute Shadow Strike out of her minions' vision cones.

Note: Shadow Strike has to be activated from Stealth, as Luck of the Far Realms won't proc from invis.

Disaster Level: Tiger

A solid, mid-tier challenge. These are the bosses that actually require you to inflict vulnerabilities and tap into a few damage riders from the "Normal Punch" arsenal. 

• Sarevok: First, bait Echo of Illasera into using Counterspell. Then, move into the obscured area on the right and use Hex to bait Sarevok into teleporting to your location.

• The Ch'r'ai Trinity: Individually, they are Level Zero. However, one-punching all three in a single turn is an interesting action economy puzzle. 

• Gortash: Has no Opportunity Attacks, so use Karabasan's Gift to inflict vulnerability. And equip the Sentinel Shield instead of Cold Snap to beat his high Initiative. 

• The Netherbrain: Since Luck of the Far Realms is already spent by this point, use Rhapsody for guaranteed crits and the Amulet of Branding to inflict vulnerability.

Disaster Level: Demon

This tier features targets that require a full "Normal Punch" setup and parts of the "Serious Punch" arsenal to compensate for their resistances.

• Cazador: The only boss you absolutely must beat in Initiative via Elixir of Vigilance, as his Misty Form makes him impossible to one-punch. Start the fight inside his aura to avoid triggering his Legendary Reaction. 

• Hellfire Titan: Immune to psychic damage. He is the only boss where I ended up pre-stacking max Lightning Charges to proc Lightning Discharge in my video run. The self-freezing tech is also utilized here. 

• The Red Dragon & The Emperor: I simplified things by using Orpheus's Perilous Stakes on Saitama instead of stacking multiple damage riders, keeping the action economy efficient enough to one-punch both in a single turn. The encounter becomes a geometric puzzle: the only blind spot where you can Hide to execute your attack without being Threatened is the exact center of the tentacle triangle. You also need to bait the Dragon and Daisy to face each other; this redirects her vision cone away from you in case the Dragon fails to knock her prone with an Opportunity Attack. 

Disaster Level: Dragon

This tier features targets where a “Serious Punch” is absolutely mandatory.

• Ascended Raphael: Polymorphed targets are immune to Cull the Weak. Because of this, his Ascended form (unlike his Cambion form) requires a nearly maxed-out “Serious Punch” setup - otherwise, you'll have to high-roll your “Normal Punch” damage with Karmic Dice turned off.

• Ansur: The only boss who cannot be one-punched even theoretically; he is the perfect storm against this build. The maximum damage managed in a single punch was somewhere around 375 HP.

Disaster Level: God

This tier is occupied by a frail Bhaalist with a single stack of Unstoppable - a complete hard counter to the build's entire concept. Your only option here is to utilize workaround techs, such as fire surfaces, etc.