What is the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian build? Our guide has got that covered. We focus on the two subclasses, Berserker and Wildheart, as well as ideal selections when it comes to races, abilities, and backgrounds.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian utilizes Rage to boost offense and defense. The Barbarian could turn out to be one of the strongest Baldur’s Gate 3 classes when the release date comes around, so read on for our advice on how to make the strongest Barb possible.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian build guide
Subclass and spells
The best subclass for Barbarian is Berserker or Wildheart.
The Barbarian has two subclasses: Berserker and Wildheart. You can only select either of these once you reach level 3.
When talking about the best Barbarian subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3, we feel that both are equally viable. Berserker goes for all-out damage, thanks to Frenzy. It lets you use the following actions:
- Frenzied Strike – Make a melee attack with your weapon; this is essentially an extra attack.
- Enraged Throw – Pick up an item or creature and throw them; the target will be knocked prone if successfully hit.
Because of these, you can chain two or more attacks in a single turn fairly early in the game, whereas other classes and subclasses might only get this feature a few levels later.
The Wildheart subclass, meanwhile, offers survivability and utility. It has five aspects, but only two are viable options: Bear Heart and Eagle Heart. Don’t forget that you can still change your aspect each time you level up.
Bear Heart
- Rage: Bear Heart – Lets you use Unrelenting Ferocity; resistance against all types of damage except psychic.
- Unrelenting Ferocity – Spend some stamina to heal yourself.
Eagle Heart
- Rage: Eagle Heart – Lets you use Diving Strike; enemies have a disadvantage on opportunity attacks made against you; Dash can be used as a bonus action.
- Diving Strike – Leap from the high ground and hit your target to knock them prone for two turns; you are immune to fall damage.
Bear Heart is for those who seek more tankiness and an additional healing option with Unrelenting Ferocity. Eagle Heart, however, requires a bit of positioning since you need to be at least 1.5m above a target before you can use Diving Strike. At the very least, you can weave around hostiles without triggering attacks of opportunity.
Abilities
Here are the best stats for Barbarian:
- 16-17 Strength
- 12-14 Dexterity
- 14-17 Constitution
- 8 Intelligence
- 8-10 Wisdom
- 8 Charisma
The Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian primarily focuses on two attributes: strength and constitution. The former improves the effectiveness of weapons, while the latter increases health and improves survivability. These are both integral for melee combat.
Dexterity is also viable as a third ability for the extra initiative and armor class rating. Depending on the race that you pick, you’ll want to have stats that look like the following:
Best races
Here are the best races for the Barbarian:
- Shield Dwarf – The best Barbarian race in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the Shield Dwarf. Apart from multiple weapon proficiencies, it grants +2 strength and +2 constitution, the two most important attributes for the class. Darkvision allows you to see in dimly lit areas, which is important when you need to hit your targets with a melee weapon. There’s also Dwarven Resilience, which makes you resist poison damage. The only problem here is that the Shield Dwarf has a very low movement range.
- Wood Half-Elf – The Wood Half-Elf presents a more well-rounded option. It provides +2 charisma, Darkvision, Fey Ancestry (resistance to charm and sleep), Fleet of Foot (10.5m. movement range), and Mask of the Wild (Stealth proficiency). The best feature, though, is Ability Improvement, since you can allocate points to strength, dexterity, or constitution.
Best Backgrounds and Skills
As noted earlier, the Barbarian has to focus on strength and constitution, as well as a bit of dexterity.
Here are the best background and skills for the Barbarian:
- Background: Soldier – This is easily the best Barbarian background in Baldur’s Gate 3 since it gives bonuses to Athletics and Intimidation.
- Skills: Athletics and Intimidation (from Soldier background); Animal Wisdom, Nature, Perception, or Survival.
Barbarian Rage and Leveling
This section discusses the actions/features that the Barbarian gains as you level up. You’ll have access to these regardless of your chosen subclass.
Level 1: Rage
Once you start the Baldur’s Gate 3 campaign as a Barbarian, you’ll notice the Rage mechanic. This is a bonus action that has two charges per long rest. Once activated, you’ll gain +2 damage with melee weapons and thrown objects, as well as resistance to physical damage and advantage on strength checks/saving throws. Basically, you’ll be tankier and you’ll deal more DPS.
However, the Rage state requires you to either attack a target or take damage during a turn. If a round ends and neither of these has happened, the Rage state will end prematurely. As such, the goal is to beeline for opponents and stay in the thick of the fray if you want to retain these buffs.
Level 2: Danger Sense and Reckless Attack
Danger Sense is a passive that gives you an advantage on saving throws against traps, spells, and surfaces, but you can’t be blinded or incapacitated at that very moment.
Reckless Attack, meanwhile, is an amazing action that gives you an advantage to your attack rolls. However, enemies will also have a similar advantage to attack rolls made against you. Making use of this is akin to going for broke, but it does provide massive damage.
Level 3: Choose Your Subclass
Feel free to choose between Berserker and Wildheart. Again, consider how the former is purely offensive in nature, whereas the latter has utility and survivability boons.
Level 4: Choose feat – Ability Improvement or Great Weapon Master
Ability Improvement gives you +2 points that you can allocate. That means gaining +2 STR, naturally, since it’s the most important stat for the Barbarian.
However, an even better option is Great Weapon Master. It has the following effects:
- +10 melee damage when using two-handed/heavy weapons; -5 attack roll bonus (this is offset by Reckless Attack).
- Chance to make another melee attack as a bonus action if you land a critical strike or kill a creature.
Level 5: Extra Attack and Fast Movement
Extra Attack, as the term implies, allows you to do another free attack during your turn. Fast Movement, meanwhile, gives you +5m movement range as long as you’re not wearing heavy armour.
Equipment
The best weapons for the Barbarian are the greataxe or any two-handed weapon with high damage such as the Everburn Blade.
Your best bet as a Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian is to use a greataxe weapon or any two-hander with high damage coefficients. One particular armament that you can get early in the game is the Everburn Blade. This requires you to kill both Commander Zhalk and the Mindflayer while aboard the Nautiloid.
As for armor pieces, you can either wear medium armor or stay unarmored since you have a class feature at grants AC. Just don’t equip heavy armor since that’ll impede your Rage gains.
That does it for our Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian build guide. Don’t forget that early access only allows players to reach level 5. The full version of the game increases the level cap to 12. Likewise, there are more races, subclasses, and spells to choose from.
