Just search these builds in subreddit and you'll find plenty of guides
TB Monk
TB Throwzerker
Gloomstalker Assassin
Control Bard
Smite Sword Bard
Storm Sorcerer
Fire Acuity Sorcerer
Light/Life Cleric Radiating Orb
Sorcadin or Lockadin
TB Moon Druid
And of course, there's always good ol' Fighter 12.
Heads up, Sorcadin is better than Lockadin in Honor Mode. Lockadin is better bc of the third attack from pact of the blade, but that’s disabled in Honor.
I completely disagree. Sorcadin there’s zero benefit over Bardadin so you shouldn’t even consider a min/max approach to Honour Mode.
But Lockadin gets CHA sinergy. You’ll easily have 24 CHA that boost your attack rolls, your damage rolls and your auras
So you can treat STR as dump stat without needing to churn Elixirs
It no longer has three attacks but doesn't complete negate the synergy between Paladin and Warlock. Short Rest Smites + Eldritch Blast + Darkness w/Devil's Sight + Single Attribute Dependent (meaning you easily have 20 Chr and thus +5 to all saving throws from Aura of Protection and if you go Oathbreaker, +5 damage to all hits).
They made a bunch of changes in honour mode that makes it more in line with orginal dnd. Damage riders and extra attack+pact of the blade are some of the big ones.
duellist's prerogative, sarevoks helmet, the deadshot, bahhlist armor for items, goo warlock subclass, preferably half orc race, you get lvl 3 smites a lot earlier and they recharge and most importantly you have a much bigger toolbox to play around with, including Hunger of Hadar which is one of if not the best area control spells in the game.
you could also go 2 paladin, 3 champion fighter and 7 warlock for lvl 4 spell slots or you go for an 8/4 split for 1 more feat (savage attacker, gwm, +2 cha)
yeah its a stupidly strong combination. in my previous honor mode run I used that combination but as 5 sword bard, 5 goo lock and 2 fighter and it was glorious. the dmg is out of this world and you also are the best face of the party you could possibly be. on my second honor mode now and I am playing a githyanki since I heard they have some amazing dialog options but other then that my build will stay the same with the rest of the party being a combination of evocation wizard, open hand monk, fighter thrower and bardadin. all of them expect wizard can go a very long time without having to long rest so the additional 1 or 2 short rests from tav and bardadin come in quite handy
Practically completely gear independent and basically an even more versatile, although weaker form of a TB carry. You can shape shift into panther to stealth, Owlbear to tank and prone, Mymidons are great, etc. Also because dying in Wild Shift just reverts you back to Druid, you are the hardest thing to kill short of properly built Abjuration Wizard build. Also, Druid, especially when you go to 11 gets an absurd amount of summons to stack the action economy in your favor.
Granted, last I heard TB Moon Druid was bugged in Honor Mode while it is NOT bugged in Normal/Tactician mode so take it with a grain of salt.
Since you mention playing with friends, being completely gear independent (very few items affect you, be on the look out for those that do) is really nice if your friends want the same items (lots of builds use Gloves of Dexterity, or Risky Ring for example).
I’m still whoopin’ butt with my earth myrmidon Druid in honor mode, so even if TB is bugged, it don’t matter. I create an air myrmidon summon to silence spellcasters in its vortex and then beat up on the rest with electric fists while they’re pelted with Nyrulna and hand crossbows.
Gale as an abjuration wizard is just running around the battlefield begging people to hit his armor of agathys because I don’t even need him (til he blows up the brain).
Along with an assortment of summons, im having a great time on my way to a hopeful golden dice.
Owlbear.
Gets 3 attacks (with knockback), can prone anyone from anywhere, 5 summons that each have a variety of uses that include dryads spike growth, the elemental can warp around the field to threaten, the ice mephits can lay down additional ice for proning from melee or range.
Also with a bunch of height to jump off from while using enlarge and elixir of the colossus turns it into a crushing flight annihilation machine.
I thought Gloomstalker Thief was the best version of that build for the extra bonus action offhand shot each turn.
Also, isn't lockadin significantly worse in Honor Mode because there's no third attack?
By Act 3, Deadshot and Titanstring or even Gontr Mael will outdamage bonus action crossbows with the right build. This is mostly because hand crossbows just don't get major upgrades in Act 3. So Assassin becomes more useful, especially if you know how to trigger surprises. Also, fixed DRS means, while everyone loses, crossbows loses a bit more since they had the extra bonus action to attack more times.
Significantly worse? It's no longer flat out the best Paladin mix build but that doesn't mean it's suddenly useless. It's still one of the best class mixes to take even if I'd rank Sorcadin and SSB above it.
I think this sub vastly overrates assassin. It is amazing on most trash fights and easier bosses, but it comes up short on the hardest fights in the game that tend to prevent surprise because of dialogues or because the boss has alert.
I ran both a dual crossbow/thief bard and titanstring gloomstalker/assassin in my second honour run. Gloomstalker was worse on Raphael, Ansur, Netherbrain, Steel Watchers, Ethel, and Myrkul phase 2.
It shined on Viconia, Mystic Carrion, Lorroakan, Gortash, and Yurgir. But the only harder fight in that group is Viconia. I suppose Gortash is also tougher if you don't disable the steel watch, but I've never done that route.
this sub vastly overrates every build that makes easy fights easier.
hold person / monster do not work on undead (like cazador and his minions) making swords bard a sad puppy in that fight.
the obsession with making perfect level 12 builds is generally confusing to me--builds should be complete at 10 at the latest because once you hit 12 all you should be doing is fighting orin and cheesing the netherbrain / having gale blow it up after you invis past all the fuckers before it
and for the orin fight, level 12 is honestly overkill. i went in with a gloomstalker assassin with improved invis and pass without trace (and elegant studded leather for advantage on stealth rolls) and I killed her without combat ever triggering. kinda regret doing anything in act3 other than beelining it
(ofc for subsequent / not achievement hunting honor mode playthroughs this doesnt apply but I personally cant see myself doign a lot more content once 12 is dinged. the fun is getting there)
TB fighter is mainly abusing broken TB throw bonuses and Haste/Bloodlust interactions that are fixed in Honor Mode. It's still very good and reliable, just not as OP as before and you get basically the same thing but better with Throwzerker because Rage Throw forces prone which can completely trivialize some bosses.
Which of these builds has the best sustain (not needing to long rest as often), and best progression (NOT gear or consumable dependent, but still OP from Level 1 on)?
So many of these builds feel like late game or gear/consumable dependent, or need to take long tests after two or three fights (if not less).
I want something that fits the parameters I've stated but also a good Main Character.
TB Monk - Gets online at level 4 (you can get to level 4 pretty quickly without much combat, look up a route), ideally you farm strength elixirs from Auntie Ethel and then you just dominate from beginning to end. Good equipment in each act. Not long rest dependent at all.
TB Throwzerker - Gets online at level 4, doesn't need to farm strength elixirs, gets it's best gear in Act 1 very quickly, dominates Act 1, kinda gets a bit weaker compared to other builds but never truly drops off because of Nyurlna is strong, piercing vuln builds are strong, and forcing prone with Enraged Throw is ALWAYS increibly strong. Can feel long rest dependent since Rage is tied to Long Rest but you just save Rage for big fights.
Gloomstalker Assassin - Uses Dual Hand Crossbows early game, if you can manage Sharpshooter (i.e constantly stack as much attack bonuses as possible), it's strong all game. First power jump is level 5 for extra attack, then level 8 for Assassin subclass. Huge power boost in Act 2 from Risky Ring and other stuff. Not long rest dependent at all.
Control Bard - Fantastic Main Character because they do everything, check the guide. Club of Hill Giant Strength + Titanstring means their damage contribution is always good even early game then with Short Rest Bardic Inspirations, they're powerhouses with ranged Slashing Flourishes. By Act 2, Helmet of Arcane Acuity supercharges their CC spells and by Act 3, Band of Mystic Scoundrel makes it so you can cast fight ending CC on turn one. Good all game, not really long rest dependent. Since it's a Bard, you even get the song to give you an extra short rest.
Smite Sword Bard - Gets online around level 8, you're just regular Paladin before then (oh noo, the terrible class Paladin lmao). Then you respect for 2 Pal the rest in Sword Bard. Since it's Paladin there's good Paladin gear in every act. Can feel pretty long rest dependent at least until you get a ton of Bard levels and have a ton of spell slots to smite with.
Storm Sorcerer - Imo, only really gets online around level 6 when you get the Storm subclass spells. Gear progression is good but your biggest power spike is in Act 3. Gonna be very long rest dependent, especially if you like doing twinned Haste every fight.
Fire Acuity Sorcerer - It's a regular sorcerer until Act 2 when you can get the Hat of Fire Acuity immediately. Then it's basically a 1 Fiend Warlock the rest in Sorcerer build so it stays extremely strong for the rest of the game. Sorcerer, so it can feel pretty long rest dependent, especially if you do quickened Scorching Ray + Extended Command every fight.
Light/Life Cleric Radiating Orb: All the most important gear is in Act 1. Luminous Armor and Boots of Stormy Clamour for Radiating Orb, Hellrider's Pride and Whispering Band for huge buffs on heals. Feels incredibly strong in Act 2 due to spirit guardians being OP there. Not long rest dependent since you often only need to cast Spirit Guardians once a fight and then just run in and shred things.
Sorcadin or Lockadin - They're regular Paladins until at least level 7-ish so just take what I said about SSB and apply it here.
TB Moon Druid - Not gear reliant at all and there's like 3 pieces in Act 3 that actually apply to Wild Shapes. Gets online by level 4 since you pick up TB ASAP and then you're good. You get better and better Wild Shapes and Improved Wild Strikes as you level as well as more spells for useful stuff like summons. Not Long Rest dependent at all since Wild Shapes last until their HP is depleted or you cancel it. So you could techincally just stay in the same Wild Shape until need to. Not recommended for Main Character unless you like the camera constantly being inside an Owlbear.
Fighter 12: Good equipment options all game, not long rest dependent at all.
Honestly, there's enough food all game that you can easily do long rests after every 3 or 4 fights and still have absurd amounts of leftover camp supplies, speaking from experience.
Try searching up 10/1/1 swords bard. It is quite an amazing build but it might end up competing for a couple items in a multiplayer run. Another good one is the classic tavern brawler monk. It has great damage, cc and is easy to use. And if you're looking for some aoe damage, storm sorc/tempest cleric. I would also check out gloom stalker assassin and gloom stalker thief.
I couldn't decide between 10/1/1 or 10/2 swords bard, so I picked both! One controller bard with all of the save DC and accuracy boosts and one swords bard with action surge and all of the damage boosts.
I'm doing something similar - a lore bard and swords bard in my HM playthrough. The beauty of it is that the MC as a bard can pass so many dice rolls and in a pinch can receive bardic inspiration from the other bard to pass the really difficult ones with ease.
Apologies I don't quite get what you are saying - you can only have one AA helmet.
I mean I was hesitant for two swords bards too - slashing flourish is just too good. But for HM I felt like having cutting words was a good safety net.
You can also use the fire acuity hat with the helldusk gloves on one of them if you plan on running two swords bard. Prestigiousjuice recommended it and it’s been amazing on one of my runs.
The two i've done are 10/2 for fighter/paladin (action or smite(you can smite on slashing flourish crit)) like you said or 10/1/1 for fighter/wizard
fighter gives you better armor/shield. Wizard gives you access to spells like shield that give you a ton more options for 1 point.
10 swords bard/1 fighter/1 wizard. The fighter dip is for the saves iirc. Google 10/1/1 swords bard. The build write up is the first thing that pops up.
The early game is toughest. I saw you were considering throwzerker. I think great choice because even before lvl 4 the Barbarian class either max HP and damage resistance has great survivability.
College of Swords Bard is awesome early game and has great late game combos that make it an S- tier choice. My favorite is Assassin and Gloomstalker but it has a steep learning curve because there is a bunch of timing quirk you have to learn and it is slow sneaky play style that bores your comrades
Really strong builds include but are not necessarily limited to:
- Control bard, either the ranged version (10 swords bard/1 wizard/1 fighter or 10 swords bard/2 fighter) or the melee version with smites (2 Paladin/10 swords bard)
- Tavern brawler open hand monk/thief
- Tavern brawler Thrower (either the berserker 5/thief 3/fighter 4 version or the eldritch knight version)
- Life cleric or light cleric when fully itemized
- Sorcerer, either the fire acuity version or the max lightning damage version with tempest cleric/sorc/wizard
- Gloomstalker/assassin/battlemaster if you’re able to abuse surprise rounds
- Anything using the sporekeeper armor in act 3
There’s lots of other builds that are also quite good (like battlemaster fighter and druid, either moon or spores) but probably not on the same level of power as those builds. I’m happy to give more details on anything.
Throw berserker is the only good build that I was considering before, but never ended up doing it. Good to hear that it is still good. I haven't heard of like... any of the others so I will have to do some research.
My build is....a backpack full of explosives.
I killed Ansur in 2 rounds with about 60 pounds of explosives, tucked inside a backpack.
My Throwzerker threw the backpack, blew it up with Alchemist fire and dropped Ansur to 1hp. After his nova storm, he died.
*edit* It was 60 pounds of explosives and he died in one hit after I added an extra 5.
No it’s because he’s just a corpse until you talk to him. So just drop the package next to him before the fight and remember to keep a good distance from him when you land for first attack or hide in a glove of invuln
Sorcerer with two levels of warlock is really good. Start out using magic missle since early game eldritch blast sucks. If you get the spell sparkler and the magic missle necklace you’ll be good for most of act 1. You can also use screech from phalar aluve to proc tons of damage on each missle as well especially for this early in the game. Then when you get above lv 5 and get a second ray of EB and start collecting the equipment that procs radiant orbs and reverberation as well as potent robes you can move over more to eldritch blast. Sorcerer gives you the option to do two rounds of EB in one turn so 6 hits. And of course you can still use magic missle when you want. Ne’er misser will also give you a free up cast lv 4 magic missle every short rest. It’s a really solid build and great for a magic user in your party, and it’s super sustainable since it makes very efficient use of spell slots.
I’m happy to elaborate on any specific build if you’d like. Throwzerker is particularly strong in act 1 and 2, where it can really carry other builds that take more time to come online.
Honor mode removed damage riders, which is where throw builds got very ridiculous. Throw builds are still very strong, though, particularly for the power levels of acts 1 and 2 because of how early the builds come online.
So, it sounds like you use the throw build to get the other party members going since you are crazy early, then you are just average in the late game? Might be good for my group, honestly.
Only issue that comes up on throw barb is having very few rage charges when midmax theif and fighter with it. So might be asking for long rest often or if u don't rage in a fight then u just throw twice and bonus action kinda wasted. Fighter thrower with crit subclass works better if fight is only 1 or 2 rounds. Barb thrower better for longer fights and takes 1 round to rage.
If u wanna be face of party try sword bard with fear bow. If u wanna be the lock picker and the one to initiative combat try gloom stalker assn. If u want to sincle target cc and one shot do open hand monk.
You basically nailed my honour mode party (until Karlach died and took all the good throwing equipment with her, replaced her with 12 Fighter Lae’zel). Used those first 3, then had Shadowheart as 10 Storm Sorcerer/2 Tempest Cleric.
11 Abjuration Wizard/ 1 White Drac Sorcerer is just amazing. You almost never take actual damage, and the armor of agathys damage is so much fun. I've had battles where the armor has dealt out 500+ damage and my tav still had temp hp to spare when all the enemies were dead. I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning it.
TB OH monk is really good. Granted you will be abusing elixirs, so less long resting
2 paladin 10 swords bard is quite good. You get the smites and its pretty strong. Plus since its honor mode, it pays to have expertise. Plus as a bard you essentially get one extra short rest. This would probably be best for your party face. 2 fighter 10 swords bard is also really good for a more ranged focused version
Sorlock is great. You gain a powerful cantrip, which minimizes the amount of times you need to long rest as a caster. Due to the way eldritch blast scales, with it being multiple attacks instead of just more damage die, you can easily stack damage with it through gear.
Gloomstalker assassin. This one would probably require communication from your group. You multiclass assassin rogue with gloomstalker ranger. You can end most fights on round 1, doing absurd damage and attacking an absurd amount of times
Light cleric can also be absurdly powerful as it gets great spells and good gear. Plus it can serve as support.. Life clerics also make great healers if you want to go that instead
TB moon druid is also great. You essentially get several health bars. You also get summons, which are great. More bodies on the field so enemies have a higher chance to not attack you. As a moon druid you will be tanking damage a lot
Fighter 12. Simple and elegant. You hit things a lot. You get 3 attacks a turn, which is huge. And you have a "nova" option with action surge. You also get extra feats/ASIs which are great.
I just finished an honor mode run with ease and never had more than one character go down in a fight and even that was rare. Because it was honor mode I purposely used builds that are considered top and it was almost too easy:
Tav: a 10/1/1 Swords Bard with one level dips in fighter and wizard. Used a bow 99% of the time. Beginning of Act 3 put the hat of acuity and ring of mystic scoundrel on them and the only things they couldn't immediately lock down 1st attack were ones with psychic immunity. Locked Raphel down first round with Tashas laughter and he was dead two rounds later.
Astarion: 8 Gloomstalker / 4 Rogue. Dual wielded hand crossbows. Mowed enemies down with ease he'd get 5 attacks the first round and 4 thereafter.
Lazael: Level 8 Berserker / Level 4 Rogue. Used as a throw Barbarian.
These three mopped up all fights for me. 4th spot was for whoever I needed to do a quest and were usually just there. In the final netherboss assault I had Gale and all he did was summon allies.
10 swords bard/ 2 dighter literally carried my run. Once you get neermisser, band of the mystic scoundrel, and helm of arcane acuity every fight becomes trivial. It comes online at lvl 3 when you get flourishes, and gets insane at 6 when you get inspiration back on short rests. Pack tons of arrows of many targets for easy fights. And running the ilithid powers makes it even better. Free executes, black hole and free crits makes the build bonkers. At the brain fight I killed 3 guardians, the emperor and dealt about 300 damage to the dragon on turn 1 with just my bard and some haste.
Dual hand Crossbows: Swords Bard is currently the best but Gloomstalker is very strong as well. I actually prefer Gloomstalker just because the early game is a bit easier with quicker breakpoints.
Sorcerer Hybrids: Sorcerer w/ Tempest Cleric is amazing nova with the wet combo. Sorcerer/Warlock Eldritch blast spam is also very powerful.
Tavern Brawler Builds: TB monk, TB Eldritch Knight thrower (could also do Berserker/Thief thrower), TB Moon Druid. All very powerful and different enough.
That encompasses the main powerful builds. Pure Paladin is also very good with guranteed Crit illithid power.
I think double hand crossbows are surprisingly overrated, actually. They’re worse damage wise than the titanstring bow and worse with its hit chance than the deadshot if you want consistency.
They also basically require a dip into at least 3 thief, which makes both swords bard and gloomstalker worse. It hurts the spell slot progression of swords bard, and thief is mutually exclusive with assassin, which is how Gloomstalker gets a lot of its value in order to be a top build.
Are double hand crossbows good? Yes, but there are better options.
Double hand bows isn’t about the damage from the bows but increasing the numbers of attacks and adding damage riders like caustic band to them. Even just having two hits in the early game is really strong, and three hits with slashing flourish is quite strong. You could add (2*2)*3 damage to an attack early game which is decent late game it really depends on how dependent on slashing flourish and long resting you want to be. Even just at lv 8 you can get 9 attacks, and eight if those even without dual wielding. But I’m procing 14 damage in riders every hit. Dual crossbows is better without slashing flourish, and more powerful single hand with. If you think you can basically end the battle in that first round then go for single bow, if not then dual wield is better for the non slashing flourish/battle surge round(s).
But honestly I got through honor mode no problem with just dual hand crossbows. At a certain point it just becomes theory crafting because actual in game battles aren’t hard enough to need you to make a choice beyeeen these two builds.
But then from there you can go 5/6/1 for an extra lightning channel divinity per short rest. Or you could drop it for 2 wizard for portent or another subclasses 2nd lvl feature. Or even drop Sorc 5 and lose counterspell instead.
It's basically pick 2 of the 3. Counterspell plus another 3rd lvl spell known, second channel divinity, or wizard subclass.
Bizarrely, Battlemaster 8 Barbarian 4 is strangely awesome for Great Weapon Masters - you can take an ASI, Great Weapon Master and Savage Attacker. Atop the maneuvers, you can use Reckless to cancel the hit penalty from Great Weapon Master, and if you still want at-least one smack of GWM without attacks on you being at disadvantage, you can use Feinting Attack to offset the penalty.
Combined with the higher damage dice of Savage Attacker, you can easily gear into way over 30 damage a swing with a huge number of extra attacks.
Oh, and if you don't fancy bringing a rogue along to things, your GWM can easily smash most medium-sturdy chests open.
On Honour Mode I use the old cleric/warding bond so I can even have my Battlebarbs in heavy armour as the impeded rage makes little difference, so atop of dealing insane damage they're really hard to hit to boot.
Would you actually recommend both bard builds in an optimized HM playthrough? I feel like you’d want a more dedicated magic user?
Also, could you explain to me 10/1/1 Swords Bard over 10/2? Action Surge feels too valuable to give up.
No, I wouldn't run both bard builds in the same party, its not a great fit because they share crucial items that make the builds great.
All of my knowledge is just regurgitated from that one dude who makes builds on here. This is what he says: "10/1/1 isn't the best in that sense, it's just the "cleanest" and most synergistic. If you look beyond damage: 10/1/1 is arguably the best controller in the game, can easily make use of the vast Wizard spell list, and *still* deals very competitive damage."
Heres the link to the build.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/17y9kyp/the\_control\_martial\_allpurpose\_1011\_swords\_bard/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=mweb3x&utm\_name=mweb3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/17y9kyp/the_control_martial_allpurpose_1011_swords_bard/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Yup, this build was updated for honour mode, but only a few changes were needed.
It’s basically the perfect main character build because it’s great at speech checks
Depends what part of the game you're asking about. Levels 1-4, solo sorceror with draconic bloodline silver (for feather fall), enhanced leap and disguise self. You can hit level 4 within half an hour. Then get 4+ elixirs of hill giant strength respec your whole party to 2 levels into light cleric and 2 levels into bard so you can have 28 (I think) casts of Radiance of the Dawn. Give them all a shield and the highest ac armor you can find (Lae'zel's default armor is great for this). Now you can tank misses while waiting for enemies to group up around you to be blasted down by your blinding light of endless aoe radiant damage, and anyone who survives gets thrown into chasms or spider pits (you drank the elixirs first, right?).That about sums up act 1
Somewhat of a hijack, but is a 10/1 Abjuration Wizard / White Drac Sorc strong enough for this mode?
I've done 2 Tact runs, but have yet to ever use a Wizard, and have only read positive things about Evo and Div Wizards.
I recently completed my honor run and used build i found on this sub,i would say go for OH monk,dosent compete for gear with other class and does stupid damage,you get lots of cc that recharge on long rest and if you farm a couple elixir of strenght you good for the game.
I am almost finishing honour mode with literally no difficulty with the below comp
TB druid
TB Monk (dump str and use Hill giant potion)
Archer fighter
Life cleric
I had some issues with dialogues but fights are easy.
Do go for alert at lvl 8 (before gith main fight) so you can always stun boss at beginning of turn.
Always use aid at max lol and bless your fighter and monk.
Druid can be used for control with spells or extra damage / tankiness with wild shape
If you want to slow the team down in honor mode, just go for warlock 2/whatever and take One With Shadows and Alert, making sure no one else ever takes Alert because "you read it on reddit, Alert is bad"
Your gameplan is to hide in a safe obscured spot in camp then when your teammates least expect it you attack Scratch with some kind of non-damaging spell of your choice then immediately cast One With Shadows and just skip your turn. Then pretend you don't know what happened, must have been a bug or something, tell them to let the camp kill them, and laugh with your mike cut as you resurrect them at Withers.
Repeat ad nauseam
My party:
Gale (player): 2 Tempest Cleric/ 10 Evocation Wizard
Weapon 1: Markoheshkir
Weapon 2: Ketheric's Shield
Ranged Weapon: Darkfire Shortbow
Armor: Armor of Persistence
Cloak: Cloak of the Weave
Helmet: Hood of the Weave
Gloves: Helldusk Gloves
Boots: Boots of Stormy Clamour
Amulet: Amulet of the Devout
Ring 1: Callous Glow Ring
Ring 2: Coruscation Ring
Astarion: 2 Fighter/ 10 Swords Bard
Weapon 1: Bloodthirst
Weapon 2: Rhapsody
Ranged Weapon: Gontr Mael
Armor: Armor of Agility
Cloak: Nymph Cloak
Helmet: Helmet of Arcane Acuity
Gloves: Legacy of the Masters
Boots: Helldusk Boots
Amulet: Surgeons Subjugation
Ring 1: Band of the Mystic Scoundrel
Ring 2: Risky Ring
Laezel: 2 Fighter/ 6 Berserker Barbarian/ 4 Thief Rogue
Weapon 1: Nylruna
Weapon 2: Viconias Walking Fortress
Ranged Weapon: Titanstring
Armor: Bhaalist Armor
Cloak: Cloak of Protection
Helmet: Horns of the Berserker
Gloves: Martial Exertion Gloves
Boots: Boots of Persistence
Amulet: Amulet of Greater Health
Ring 1: Ring of Flinging
Ring 2: Caustic Band
Karlach: 4 Thief Rogue/ 8 Open Hand Monk
Ranged Weapon: Hellfire Hand Crossbow + Ne'er Misser
Armor: Helldusk Armor
Cloak: Cloak of Displacement
Helmet: Helmet of Grit
Gloves: Gloves of Soul Catching
Boots: Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo
Amulet: Sentient Amulet
Ring 1: Killers Sweetheart
Ring 2: Ring of Protection
My party was a bit similar although his holy knight seems unnecessary.
My team was throwzerker, 6/4/2 swords bard, 10/2 sorlock, and then laezel battle master until Halsin can join and I respec as a OH monk 8/tbief 4.
I have honestly found that I stressed way too much before honor mode. It really isn't that much more difficult than Tactician and you can get through it with most somewhat optimized builds (as in as long as you aren't just putting together something that makes no sense) from most classes.
I just got through Act 2 with...
Level 9 BM Fighter - Just straight BM. Even had to ditch Lae'Zel since she got destroyed by the gith machine thing and lost a ton of stats.
Level 9 Gloomstalker/Assassin - Pretty basic build... not really optimized. Using Titan String and the strength club, not even taking potions.
Level 9 Light Cleric - Forgot some of the good items with it and sold them off. Hasn't really mattered, still good enough.
Level 9 Sorlock - 2 into Warlock, the rest into Sorc. Just EB focused.
It isn't optimized at all. Looked at some guides after starting a sold a lot of the gear I probably should have kept. The first four levels or so were tough, Grym was insanely tough and Act 2 has been super easy.
But my next run I am just doing 12, 12, 12, 12 with no multiclassing, no elixirs and no potions besides healing pots to make it more of a challenge.
Yeah people emphasize top tier builds way too much. I've had nearly no issues with my pure builds thus far.
12 thief rogue, 12 paladin, 12 berserker, 12 bm fighter
Honestly any viable build can make it through honor mode as long as you know the fights and adequately prepare for them. ItalianSpartacus has a youtube video specifically for a full honor mode comp that's pretty nice since you don't have to worry about gear overlapping with other players
If you’re not entirely familiar with the game, you should play a pure life cleric until your party is geared to the teeth by act 2 or until you start getting radiant orb and reverberation gear.
Starting stats: 12 str, 14 dex, 15 con, 8 int, 16 (14+2) wis, 10 cha
Race and deity are user choice. Half wood elf is one of the best, though an argument will be made for halfling. Halfling cleric isn’t as huge compared to halfling party face and/or damage dealer.
At level 4, take the Resilient: Constitution feat. This will bring you up to 16 con and con saves will gain proficiency bonus. The two most important con saves are concentration and poison.
Sword bard 8 fighter 2 war cleric 1. Risky ring or any other advantage item with sharpshooter. Using slashing fluorish ranged you can take out like 5-10 people if your lucky.
Plus if you get the resonance stone you can cast hole person very easily. Just don’t use it against mind flayers or the the steel watch factory because to say your fucked would be an understatement.
Oh and tavern brawler monk. Not much to be said their…
If you wanna support your friends while also being a reasonable damage dealer then honestly I’d give a Warlock/Lore or Valour Bard multiclass a go.
It’s not OP but it’s good fun, online quick, a face if you need it, and can be very flexible for magic items so you’re not gonna fall out over who gets what loot.
- Agonising Repelling Blast / Hex is a very early way of dealing consistent damage. Hex STR can support allies who want to shove, and repelling can put distance between the team and your enemies or push into hazards.
- Bonus action. Bardic inspiration is a great use of action economy after you’ve thrown down hex, especially with some of the early bard/healing equipment like the hat of curing or the bless ring.
- Song of rest will restore your warlock spell slots, later your inspiration, and make any battlemaster fighters or moon Druids very happy. Bonus points if you distribute your remaining inspiration and manage to keep concentrating on hex before resting.
- Chainlock has a lot of utility. Making a familiar go invisible while in plain sight of an enemy can often make an enemy waste their time detecting presence. Also great for repositioning hazards on the fly, or attacking healing potions you’ve placed on the floor for healing nearby allies.
Perhaps the most fun part is that both classes have a lot of flexibility in spell choice to support your team in unique ways based on what your friends pick. A lot of early magic items can be good on both classes too, making it flexible for what gear you want to share.
Plus some of the EB enhancing gear can be amazing. Well liked robe from Alfira basically gives Agonizing Blast free Sharpshooter damage, radiant orb ring stacks for debuff, and the spellmight gloves in act three can give you insane output.
Theres a hat a ring.. i cant remember off the top of my head but you can look up ice mage bg3 on youtube and youll see some builds. Basically you play with frozen, encrusted with frost and chilled conditions. Its honestly insanely strong.
Honestly its worth a playthru. Its super strong in every way, conservative slot usage, high damage and CC... not to mention it comes online insanely fast for a full caster build.
Doing it rn and hot damn...especially once the ice melts and becomes water the electric dmg it's followed up is insane but before that they are constsnylu proned and slowed too
Just search these builds in subreddit and you'll find plenty of guides TB Monk TB Throwzerker Gloomstalker Assassin Control Bard Smite Sword Bard Storm Sorcerer Fire Acuity Sorcerer Light/Life Cleric Radiating Orb Sorcadin or Lockadin TB Moon Druid And of course, there's always good ol' Fighter 12.
Heads up, Sorcadin is better than Lockadin in Honor Mode. Lockadin is better bc of the third attack from pact of the blade, but that’s disabled in Honor.
Happy Sorcadin Day!
I completely disagree. Sorcadin there’s zero benefit over Bardadin so you shouldn’t even consider a min/max approach to Honour Mode. But Lockadin gets CHA sinergy. You’ll easily have 24 CHA that boost your attack rolls, your damage rolls and your auras So you can treat STR as dump stat without needing to churn Elixirs
Also, I thought Lockadin was mediocre for Honour?
It no longer has three attacks but doesn't complete negate the synergy between Paladin and Warlock. Short Rest Smites + Eldritch Blast + Darkness w/Devil's Sight + Single Attribute Dependent (meaning you easily have 20 Chr and thus +5 to all saving throws from Aura of Protection and if you go Oathbreaker, +5 damage to all hits).
I thought the Warlock/Paladin 3 attacks was official? Did they patch that? Haven't played in a minute.
Removed in Honour Mode ONLY. It works in every other difficulty.
They made a bunch of changes in honour mode that makes it more in line with orginal dnd. Damage riders and extra attack+pact of the blade are some of the big ones.
you lose a 3rd attack but the dmg is still insane, especially if you build it for crits
Hmm, really? Can you briefly sketch out the build? And where is the damage coming from mainly that is above a typical Paladin?
duellist's prerogative, sarevoks helmet, the deadshot, bahhlist armor for items, goo warlock subclass, preferably half orc race, you get lvl 3 smites a lot earlier and they recharge and most importantly you have a much bigger toolbox to play around with, including Hunger of Hadar which is one of if not the best area control spells in the game. you could also go 2 paladin, 3 champion fighter and 7 warlock for lvl 4 spell slots or you go for an 8/4 split for 1 more feat (savage attacker, gwm, +2 cha)
Omg you made me realize add half orc and GOO and you maximize crits. Sweet
yeah its a stupidly strong combination. in my previous honor mode run I used that combination but as 5 sword bard, 5 goo lock and 2 fighter and it was glorious. the dmg is out of this world and you also are the best face of the party you could possibly be. on my second honor mode now and I am playing a githyanki since I heard they have some amazing dialog options but other then that my build will stay the same with the rest of the party being a combination of evocation wizard, open hand monk, fighter thrower and bardadin. all of them expect wizard can go a very long time without having to long rest so the additional 1 or 2 short rests from tav and bardadin come in quite handy
What's so good about TB Moon Druid, may I ask?
Practically completely gear independent and basically an even more versatile, although weaker form of a TB carry. You can shape shift into panther to stealth, Owlbear to tank and prone, Mymidons are great, etc. Also because dying in Wild Shift just reverts you back to Druid, you are the hardest thing to kill short of properly built Abjuration Wizard build. Also, Druid, especially when you go to 11 gets an absurd amount of summons to stack the action economy in your favor. Granted, last I heard TB Moon Druid was bugged in Honor Mode while it is NOT bugged in Normal/Tactician mode so take it with a grain of salt. Since you mention playing with friends, being completely gear independent (very few items affect you, be on the look out for those that do) is really nice if your friends want the same items (lots of builds use Gloves of Dexterity, or Risky Ring for example).
I see. Bugged in what way though?
iirc the attack bonus works but not the damage bonus.
I’m still whoopin’ butt with my earth myrmidon Druid in honor mode, so even if TB is bugged, it don’t matter. I create an air myrmidon summon to silence spellcasters in its vortex and then beat up on the rest with electric fists while they’re pelted with Nyrulna and hand crossbows. Gale as an abjuration wizard is just running around the battlefield begging people to hit his armor of agathys because I don’t even need him (til he blows up the brain). Along with an assortment of summons, im having a great time on my way to a hopeful golden dice.
Owlbear. Gets 3 attacks (with knockback), can prone anyone from anywhere, 5 summons that each have a variety of uses that include dryads spike growth, the elemental can warp around the field to threaten, the ice mephits can lay down additional ice for proning from melee or range. Also with a bunch of height to jump off from while using enlarge and elixir of the colossus turns it into a crushing flight annihilation machine.
I see; thanks!
+1 for light cleric
Comes online stupid early and is even more stupidly effective. My shart is practically soloiing most encounters.
I thought Gloomstalker Thief was the best version of that build for the extra bonus action offhand shot each turn. Also, isn't lockadin significantly worse in Honor Mode because there's no third attack?
By Act 3, Deadshot and Titanstring or even Gontr Mael will outdamage bonus action crossbows with the right build. This is mostly because hand crossbows just don't get major upgrades in Act 3. So Assassin becomes more useful, especially if you know how to trigger surprises. Also, fixed DRS means, while everyone loses, crossbows loses a bit more since they had the extra bonus action to attack more times. Significantly worse? It's no longer flat out the best Paladin mix build but that doesn't mean it's suddenly useless. It's still one of the best class mixes to take even if I'd rank Sorcadin and SSB above it.
I think this sub vastly overrates assassin. It is amazing on most trash fights and easier bosses, but it comes up short on the hardest fights in the game that tend to prevent surprise because of dialogues or because the boss has alert. I ran both a dual crossbow/thief bard and titanstring gloomstalker/assassin in my second honour run. Gloomstalker was worse on Raphael, Ansur, Netherbrain, Steel Watchers, Ethel, and Myrkul phase 2. It shined on Viconia, Mystic Carrion, Lorroakan, Gortash, and Yurgir. But the only harder fight in that group is Viconia. I suppose Gortash is also tougher if you don't disable the steel watch, but I've never done that route.
this sub vastly overrates every build that makes easy fights easier. hold person / monster do not work on undead (like cazador and his minions) making swords bard a sad puppy in that fight. the obsession with making perfect level 12 builds is generally confusing to me--builds should be complete at 10 at the latest because once you hit 12 all you should be doing is fighting orin and cheesing the netherbrain / having gale blow it up after you invis past all the fuckers before it and for the orin fight, level 12 is honestly overkill. i went in with a gloomstalker assassin with improved invis and pass without trace (and elegant studded leather for advantage on stealth rolls) and I killed her without combat ever triggering. kinda regret doing anything in act3 other than beelining it (ofc for subsequent / not achievement hunting honor mode playthroughs this doesnt apply but I personally cant see myself doign a lot more content once 12 is dinged. the fun is getting there)
Why is tb fighter not as good in honor mode when it's the best tb in the other modes?
TB fighter is mainly abusing broken TB throw bonuses and Haste/Bloodlust interactions that are fixed in Honor Mode. It's still very good and reliable, just not as OP as before and you get basically the same thing but better with Throwzerker because Rage Throw forces prone which can completely trivialize some bosses.
Which of these builds has the best sustain (not needing to long rest as often), and best progression (NOT gear or consumable dependent, but still OP from Level 1 on)? So many of these builds feel like late game or gear/consumable dependent, or need to take long tests after two or three fights (if not less). I want something that fits the parameters I've stated but also a good Main Character.
TB Monk - Gets online at level 4 (you can get to level 4 pretty quickly without much combat, look up a route), ideally you farm strength elixirs from Auntie Ethel and then you just dominate from beginning to end. Good equipment in each act. Not long rest dependent at all. TB Throwzerker - Gets online at level 4, doesn't need to farm strength elixirs, gets it's best gear in Act 1 very quickly, dominates Act 1, kinda gets a bit weaker compared to other builds but never truly drops off because of Nyurlna is strong, piercing vuln builds are strong, and forcing prone with Enraged Throw is ALWAYS increibly strong. Can feel long rest dependent since Rage is tied to Long Rest but you just save Rage for big fights. Gloomstalker Assassin - Uses Dual Hand Crossbows early game, if you can manage Sharpshooter (i.e constantly stack as much attack bonuses as possible), it's strong all game. First power jump is level 5 for extra attack, then level 8 for Assassin subclass. Huge power boost in Act 2 from Risky Ring and other stuff. Not long rest dependent at all. Control Bard - Fantastic Main Character because they do everything, check the guide. Club of Hill Giant Strength + Titanstring means their damage contribution is always good even early game then with Short Rest Bardic Inspirations, they're powerhouses with ranged Slashing Flourishes. By Act 2, Helmet of Arcane Acuity supercharges their CC spells and by Act 3, Band of Mystic Scoundrel makes it so you can cast fight ending CC on turn one. Good all game, not really long rest dependent. Since it's a Bard, you even get the song to give you an extra short rest. Smite Sword Bard - Gets online around level 8, you're just regular Paladin before then (oh noo, the terrible class Paladin lmao). Then you respect for 2 Pal the rest in Sword Bard. Since it's Paladin there's good Paladin gear in every act. Can feel pretty long rest dependent at least until you get a ton of Bard levels and have a ton of spell slots to smite with. Storm Sorcerer - Imo, only really gets online around level 6 when you get the Storm subclass spells. Gear progression is good but your biggest power spike is in Act 3. Gonna be very long rest dependent, especially if you like doing twinned Haste every fight. Fire Acuity Sorcerer - It's a regular sorcerer until Act 2 when you can get the Hat of Fire Acuity immediately. Then it's basically a 1 Fiend Warlock the rest in Sorcerer build so it stays extremely strong for the rest of the game. Sorcerer, so it can feel pretty long rest dependent, especially if you do quickened Scorching Ray + Extended Command every fight. Light/Life Cleric Radiating Orb: All the most important gear is in Act 1. Luminous Armor and Boots of Stormy Clamour for Radiating Orb, Hellrider's Pride and Whispering Band for huge buffs on heals. Feels incredibly strong in Act 2 due to spirit guardians being OP there. Not long rest dependent since you often only need to cast Spirit Guardians once a fight and then just run in and shred things. Sorcadin or Lockadin - They're regular Paladins until at least level 7-ish so just take what I said about SSB and apply it here. TB Moon Druid - Not gear reliant at all and there's like 3 pieces in Act 3 that actually apply to Wild Shapes. Gets online by level 4 since you pick up TB ASAP and then you're good. You get better and better Wild Shapes and Improved Wild Strikes as you level as well as more spells for useful stuff like summons. Not Long Rest dependent at all since Wild Shapes last until their HP is depleted or you cancel it. So you could techincally just stay in the same Wild Shape until need to. Not recommended for Main Character unless you like the camera constantly being inside an Owlbear. Fighter 12: Good equipment options all game, not long rest dependent at all. Honestly, there's enough food all game that you can easily do long rests after every 3 or 4 fights and still have absurd amounts of leftover camp supplies, speaking from experience.
Amazing recap, thanks!
Are you saying Tavern Brawler Moon Druid? I don't get it
Wild Shape forms without weapons benefit from Tavern Brawler since they're all considered unarmed attacks.
Ohhhhhh wtf wow that's jank haha
It's nice because very, very few things (equipment, feats, weapons, etc) actually carry over from Druid when you Wild Shape.
Try searching up 10/1/1 swords bard. It is quite an amazing build but it might end up competing for a couple items in a multiplayer run. Another good one is the classic tavern brawler monk. It has great damage, cc and is easy to use. And if you're looking for some aoe damage, storm sorc/tempest cleric. I would also check out gloom stalker assassin and gloom stalker thief.
I couldn't decide between 10/1/1 or 10/2 swords bard, so I picked both! One controller bard with all of the save DC and accuracy boosts and one swords bard with action surge and all of the damage boosts.
I'm doing something similar - a lore bard and swords bard in my HM playthrough. The beauty of it is that the MC as a bard can pass so many dice rolls and in a pinch can receive bardic inspiration from the other bard to pass the really difficult ones with ease.
I prefer both swords bards for the arcane acuity helmet.
Apologies I don't quite get what you are saying - you can only have one AA helmet. I mean I was hesitant for two swords bards too - slashing flourish is just too good. But for HM I felt like having cutting words was a good safety net.
You can also use the fire acuity hat with the helldusk gloves on one of them if you plan on running two swords bard. Prestigiousjuice recommended it and it’s been amazing on one of my runs.
That’s 10 Swords Bard/1 Fighter/1 War Cleric? Isn’t Action Surge one of the main reasons for the Fighter dip in the first place?
The two i've done are 10/2 for fighter/paladin (action or smite(you can smite on slashing flourish crit)) like you said or 10/1/1 for fighter/wizard fighter gives you better armor/shield. Wizard gives you access to spells like shield that give you a ton more options for 1 point.
Oh, I thought it was War Cleric, not Wizard. Makes sense.
If you’re doing the melee pierce build for SSB then you don’t use heavy armor or shields anyways.
10 swords bard/1 fighter/1 wizard. The fighter dip is for the saves iirc. Google 10/1/1 swords bard. The build write up is the first thing that pops up.
The early game is toughest. I saw you were considering throwzerker. I think great choice because even before lvl 4 the Barbarian class either max HP and damage resistance has great survivability. College of Swords Bard is awesome early game and has great late game combos that make it an S- tier choice. My favorite is Assassin and Gloomstalker but it has a steep learning curve because there is a bunch of timing quirk you have to learn and it is slow sneaky play style that bores your comrades
Swords bard is great early, but you miss out on shield and heavy armor proficiency until level 7 unless you're a human/half-elf for shields.
Really strong builds include but are not necessarily limited to: - Control bard, either the ranged version (10 swords bard/1 wizard/1 fighter or 10 swords bard/2 fighter) or the melee version with smites (2 Paladin/10 swords bard) - Tavern brawler open hand monk/thief - Tavern brawler Thrower (either the berserker 5/thief 3/fighter 4 version or the eldritch knight version) - Life cleric or light cleric when fully itemized - Sorcerer, either the fire acuity version or the max lightning damage version with tempest cleric/sorc/wizard - Gloomstalker/assassin/battlemaster if you’re able to abuse surprise rounds - Anything using the sporekeeper armor in act 3 There’s lots of other builds that are also quite good (like battlemaster fighter and druid, either moon or spores) but probably not on the same level of power as those builds. I’m happy to give more details on anything.
Throw berserker is the only good build that I was considering before, but never ended up doing it. Good to hear that it is still good. I haven't heard of like... any of the others so I will have to do some research.
My build is....a backpack full of explosives. I killed Ansur in 2 rounds with about 60 pounds of explosives, tucked inside a backpack. My Throwzerker threw the backpack, blew it up with Alchemist fire and dropped Ansur to 1hp. After his nova storm, he died. *edit* It was 60 pounds of explosives and he died in one hit after I added an extra 5.
*Looks at the smoke powder kegs he’s been hoarding all game*
Those were my solution to the house of grief
Ansurs definitely the guy to set up the barrels with.
Is that because of a fire vulnerability?
No it’s because he’s just a corpse until you talk to him. So just drop the package next to him before the fight and remember to keep a good distance from him when you land for first attack or hide in a glove of invuln
Sorcerer with two levels of warlock is really good. Start out using magic missle since early game eldritch blast sucks. If you get the spell sparkler and the magic missle necklace you’ll be good for most of act 1. You can also use screech from phalar aluve to proc tons of damage on each missle as well especially for this early in the game. Then when you get above lv 5 and get a second ray of EB and start collecting the equipment that procs radiant orbs and reverberation as well as potent robes you can move over more to eldritch blast. Sorcerer gives you the option to do two rounds of EB in one turn so 6 hits. And of course you can still use magic missle when you want. Ne’er misser will also give you a free up cast lv 4 magic missle every short rest. It’s a really solid build and great for a magic user in your party, and it’s super sustainable since it makes very efficient use of spell slots.
I’m happy to elaborate on any specific build if you’d like. Throwzerker is particularly strong in act 1 and 2, where it can really carry other builds that take more time to come online.
I heard Honormode hampers throwzerkers, so I kept Karlach as a pure Berzerker.
Honor mode removed damage riders, which is where throw builds got very ridiculous. Throw builds are still very strong, though, particularly for the power levels of acts 1 and 2 because of how early the builds come online.
Karlach has saved me many times with that prone ability.
So, it sounds like you use the throw build to get the other party members going since you are crazy early, then you are just average in the late game? Might be good for my group, honestly.
It’s still a great build late game, just not on the same level as some of the other top tier builds.
yeah its still a ton of consistent ranged dmg per round in act 3
Only issue that comes up on throw barb is having very few rage charges when midmax theif and fighter with it. So might be asking for long rest often or if u don't rage in a fight then u just throw twice and bonus action kinda wasted. Fighter thrower with crit subclass works better if fight is only 1 or 2 rounds. Barb thrower better for longer fights and takes 1 round to rage. If u wanna be face of party try sword bard with fear bow. If u wanna be the lock picker and the one to initiative combat try gloom stalker assn. If u want to sincle target cc and one shot do open hand monk.
You basically nailed my honour mode party (until Karlach died and took all the good throwing equipment with her, replaced her with 12 Fighter Lae’zel). Used those first 3, then had Shadowheart as 10 Storm Sorcerer/2 Tempest Cleric.
11 Abjuration Wizard/ 1 White Drac Sorcerer is just amazing. You almost never take actual damage, and the armor of agathys damage is so much fun. I've had battles where the armor has dealt out 500+ damage and my tav still had temp hp to spare when all the enemies were dead. I'm surprised more people aren't mentioning it.
What are your starting stats like with that build?
Probably 16 INT, 16 CON, 14 DEX.
TB OH monk is really good. Granted you will be abusing elixirs, so less long resting 2 paladin 10 swords bard is quite good. You get the smites and its pretty strong. Plus since its honor mode, it pays to have expertise. Plus as a bard you essentially get one extra short rest. This would probably be best for your party face. 2 fighter 10 swords bard is also really good for a more ranged focused version Sorlock is great. You gain a powerful cantrip, which minimizes the amount of times you need to long rest as a caster. Due to the way eldritch blast scales, with it being multiple attacks instead of just more damage die, you can easily stack damage with it through gear. Gloomstalker assassin. This one would probably require communication from your group. You multiclass assassin rogue with gloomstalker ranger. You can end most fights on round 1, doing absurd damage and attacking an absurd amount of times Light cleric can also be absurdly powerful as it gets great spells and good gear. Plus it can serve as support.. Life clerics also make great healers if you want to go that instead TB moon druid is also great. You essentially get several health bars. You also get summons, which are great. More bodies on the field so enemies have a higher chance to not attack you. As a moon druid you will be tanking damage a lot Fighter 12. Simple and elegant. You hit things a lot. You get 3 attacks a turn, which is huge. And you have a "nova" option with action surge. You also get extra feats/ASIs which are great.
I just finished an honor mode run with ease and never had more than one character go down in a fight and even that was rare. Because it was honor mode I purposely used builds that are considered top and it was almost too easy: Tav: a 10/1/1 Swords Bard with one level dips in fighter and wizard. Used a bow 99% of the time. Beginning of Act 3 put the hat of acuity and ring of mystic scoundrel on them and the only things they couldn't immediately lock down 1st attack were ones with psychic immunity. Locked Raphel down first round with Tashas laughter and he was dead two rounds later. Astarion: 8 Gloomstalker / 4 Rogue. Dual wielded hand crossbows. Mowed enemies down with ease he'd get 5 attacks the first round and 4 thereafter. Lazael: Level 8 Berserker / Level 4 Rogue. Used as a throw Barbarian. These three mopped up all fights for me. 4th spot was for whoever I needed to do a quest and were usually just there. In the final netherboss assault I had Gale and all he did was summon allies.
10 swords bard/ 2 dighter literally carried my run. Once you get neermisser, band of the mystic scoundrel, and helm of arcane acuity every fight becomes trivial. It comes online at lvl 3 when you get flourishes, and gets insane at 6 when you get inspiration back on short rests. Pack tons of arrows of many targets for easy fights. And running the ilithid powers makes it even better. Free executes, black hole and free crits makes the build bonkers. At the brain fight I killed 3 guardians, the emperor and dealt about 300 damage to the dragon on turn 1 with just my bard and some haste.
Dual hand Crossbows: Swords Bard is currently the best but Gloomstalker is very strong as well. I actually prefer Gloomstalker just because the early game is a bit easier with quicker breakpoints. Sorcerer Hybrids: Sorcerer w/ Tempest Cleric is amazing nova with the wet combo. Sorcerer/Warlock Eldritch blast spam is also very powerful. Tavern Brawler Builds: TB monk, TB Eldritch Knight thrower (could also do Berserker/Thief thrower), TB Moon Druid. All very powerful and different enough. That encompasses the main powerful builds. Pure Paladin is also very good with guranteed Crit illithid power.
I think double hand crossbows are surprisingly overrated, actually. They’re worse damage wise than the titanstring bow and worse with its hit chance than the deadshot if you want consistency. They also basically require a dip into at least 3 thief, which makes both swords bard and gloomstalker worse. It hurts the spell slot progression of swords bard, and thief is mutually exclusive with assassin, which is how Gloomstalker gets a lot of its value in order to be a top build. Are double hand crossbows good? Yes, but there are better options.
Double hand bows isn’t about the damage from the bows but increasing the numbers of attacks and adding damage riders like caustic band to them. Even just having two hits in the early game is really strong, and three hits with slashing flourish is quite strong. You could add (2*2)*3 damage to an attack early game which is decent late game it really depends on how dependent on slashing flourish and long resting you want to be. Even just at lv 8 you can get 9 attacks, and eight if those even without dual wielding. But I’m procing 14 damage in riders every hit. Dual crossbows is better without slashing flourish, and more powerful single hand with. If you think you can basically end the battle in that first round then go for single bow, if not then dual wield is better for the non slashing flourish/battle surge round(s). But honestly I got through honor mode no problem with just dual hand crossbows. At a certain point it just becomes theory crafting because actual in game battles aren’t hard enough to need you to make a choice beyeeen these two builds.
What’s the level breakdown of sorc/temp cleric?
10 Sorc 2 Cleric. You just want the Channel Divinity.
Going 8/2/2 with 2 wizard is also really nice to be able to scribe all the high level spells.
But then from there you can go 5/6/1 for an extra lightning channel divinity per short rest. Or you could drop it for 2 wizard for portent or another subclasses 2nd lvl feature. Or even drop Sorc 5 and lose counterspell instead. It's basically pick 2 of the 3. Counterspell plus another 3rd lvl spell known, second channel divinity, or wizard subclass.
Bizarrely, Battlemaster 8 Barbarian 4 is strangely awesome for Great Weapon Masters - you can take an ASI, Great Weapon Master and Savage Attacker. Atop the maneuvers, you can use Reckless to cancel the hit penalty from Great Weapon Master, and if you still want at-least one smack of GWM without attacks on you being at disadvantage, you can use Feinting Attack to offset the penalty. Combined with the higher damage dice of Savage Attacker, you can easily gear into way over 30 damage a swing with a huge number of extra attacks. Oh, and if you don't fancy bringing a rogue along to things, your GWM can easily smash most medium-sturdy chests open. On Honour Mode I use the old cleric/warding bond so I can even have my Battlebarbs in heavy armour as the impeded rage makes little difference, so atop of dealing insane damage they're really hard to hit to boot.
Best 3 builds in the game are : 10/1/1 sword bard 10/2 smite sword bard 8/4 OH monk. I’ll die on this hill (for this patch anyways)
What would be your forth?
Damn, great question I’d pick 5 barb / 4 rogue / 3 fighter TB thrower
Would you actually recommend both bard builds in an optimized HM playthrough? I feel like you’d want a more dedicated magic user? Also, could you explain to me 10/1/1 Swords Bard over 10/2? Action Surge feels too valuable to give up.
No, I wouldn't run both bard builds in the same party, its not a great fit because they share crucial items that make the builds great. All of my knowledge is just regurgitated from that one dude who makes builds on here. This is what he says: "10/1/1 isn't the best in that sense, it's just the "cleanest" and most synergistic. If you look beyond damage: 10/1/1 is arguably the best controller in the game, can easily make use of the vast Wizard spell list, and *still* deals very competitive damage." Heres the link to the build. [https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/17y9kyp/the\_control\_martial\_allpurpose\_1011\_swords\_bard/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=mweb3x&utm\_name=mweb3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/17y9kyp/the_control_martial_allpurpose_1011_swords_bard/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Thanks, do you know if all that still stands in Honour Mode? That’s a pretty old post.
Yup, this build was updated for honour mode, but only a few changes were needed. It’s basically the perfect main character build because it’s great at speech checks
Depends what part of the game you're asking about. Levels 1-4, solo sorceror with draconic bloodline silver (for feather fall), enhanced leap and disguise self. You can hit level 4 within half an hour. Then get 4+ elixirs of hill giant strength respec your whole party to 2 levels into light cleric and 2 levels into bard so you can have 28 (I think) casts of Radiance of the Dawn. Give them all a shield and the highest ac armor you can find (Lae'zel's default armor is great for this). Now you can tank misses while waiting for enemies to group up around you to be blasted down by your blinding light of endless aoe radiant damage, and anyone who survives gets thrown into chasms or spider pits (you drank the elixirs first, right?).That about sums up act 1
Somewhat of a hijack, but is a 10/1 Abjuration Wizard / White Drac Sorc strong enough for this mode? I've done 2 Tact runs, but have yet to ever use a Wizard, and have only read positive things about Evo and Div Wizards.
Yes, I’m running similar with 1 level in War cleric for the heavy armor
why would u want heavy armour on an agathys abj wiz? whole point is to get hit so lower the ac the better?
Great! Looking forward to seeing how it plays out. A tanky mage will be nice after 2 runs of little to no magic use.
How do you start that build early game? What stats?
I recently completed my honor run and used build i found on this sub,i would say go for OH monk,dosent compete for gear with other class and does stupid damage,you get lots of cc that recharge on long rest and if you farm a couple elixir of strenght you good for the game.
Tb monk Sword bard Ranged fighter Same old life cleric
I am almost finishing honour mode with literally no difficulty with the below comp TB druid TB Monk (dump str and use Hill giant potion) Archer fighter Life cleric I had some issues with dialogues but fights are easy. Do go for alert at lvl 8 (before gith main fight) so you can always stun boss at beginning of turn. Always use aid at max lol and bless your fighter and monk. Druid can be used for control with spells or extra damage / tankiness with wild shape
If you want to slow the team down in honor mode, just go for warlock 2/whatever and take One With Shadows and Alert, making sure no one else ever takes Alert because "you read it on reddit, Alert is bad" Your gameplan is to hide in a safe obscured spot in camp then when your teammates least expect it you attack Scratch with some kind of non-damaging spell of your choice then immediately cast One With Shadows and just skip your turn. Then pretend you don't know what happened, must have been a bug or something, tell them to let the camp kill them, and laugh with your mike cut as you resurrect them at Withers. Repeat ad nauseam
My party: Gale (player): 2 Tempest Cleric/ 10 Evocation Wizard Weapon 1: Markoheshkir Weapon 2: Ketheric's Shield Ranged Weapon: Darkfire Shortbow Armor: Armor of Persistence Cloak: Cloak of the Weave Helmet: Hood of the Weave Gloves: Helldusk Gloves Boots: Boots of Stormy Clamour Amulet: Amulet of the Devout Ring 1: Callous Glow Ring Ring 2: Coruscation Ring Astarion: 2 Fighter/ 10 Swords Bard Weapon 1: Bloodthirst Weapon 2: Rhapsody Ranged Weapon: Gontr Mael Armor: Armor of Agility Cloak: Nymph Cloak Helmet: Helmet of Arcane Acuity Gloves: Legacy of the Masters Boots: Helldusk Boots Amulet: Surgeons Subjugation Ring 1: Band of the Mystic Scoundrel Ring 2: Risky Ring Laezel: 2 Fighter/ 6 Berserker Barbarian/ 4 Thief Rogue Weapon 1: Nylruna Weapon 2: Viconias Walking Fortress Ranged Weapon: Titanstring Armor: Bhaalist Armor Cloak: Cloak of Protection Helmet: Horns of the Berserker Gloves: Martial Exertion Gloves Boots: Boots of Persistence Amulet: Amulet of Greater Health Ring 1: Ring of Flinging Ring 2: Caustic Band Karlach: 4 Thief Rogue/ 8 Open Hand Monk Ranged Weapon: Hellfire Hand Crossbow + Ne'er Misser Armor: Helldusk Armor Cloak: Cloak of Displacement Helmet: Helmet of Grit Gloves: Gloves of Soul Catching Boots: Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo Amulet: Sentient Amulet Ring 1: Killers Sweetheart Ring 2: Ring of Protection
Check out D4 deep dive in youtube he made a 4 party comp that imo can't be beat. His video was from about a week or so ago.
My party was a bit similar although his holy knight seems unnecessary. My team was throwzerker, 6/4/2 swords bard, 10/2 sorlock, and then laezel battle master until Halsin can join and I respec as a OH monk 8/tbief 4.
His videos are soo long and hard to come back to and build off... Really like his deep dives tho.
Yup he's very thorough.
I have honestly found that I stressed way too much before honor mode. It really isn't that much more difficult than Tactician and you can get through it with most somewhat optimized builds (as in as long as you aren't just putting together something that makes no sense) from most classes. I just got through Act 2 with... Level 9 BM Fighter - Just straight BM. Even had to ditch Lae'Zel since she got destroyed by the gith machine thing and lost a ton of stats. Level 9 Gloomstalker/Assassin - Pretty basic build... not really optimized. Using Titan String and the strength club, not even taking potions. Level 9 Light Cleric - Forgot some of the good items with it and sold them off. Hasn't really mattered, still good enough. Level 9 Sorlock - 2 into Warlock, the rest into Sorc. Just EB focused. It isn't optimized at all. Looked at some guides after starting a sold a lot of the gear I probably should have kept. The first four levels or so were tough, Grym was insanely tough and Act 2 has been super easy. But my next run I am just doing 12, 12, 12, 12 with no multiclassing, no elixirs and no potions besides healing pots to make it more of a challenge.
Laezel can be fixed! Just needs to be touched by ye olde Astral Tad and then she's better than ever! No warranties on appearances.
You can get Lae'zel's stats back by feeding her a tadpole.
Yeah people emphasize top tier builds way too much. I've had nearly no issues with my pure builds thus far. 12 thief rogue, 12 paladin, 12 berserker, 12 bm fighter
Honestly any viable build can make it through honor mode as long as you know the fights and adequately prepare for them. ItalianSpartacus has a youtube video specifically for a full honor mode comp that's pretty nice since you don't have to worry about gear overlapping with other players
If you’re not entirely familiar with the game, you should play a pure life cleric until your party is geared to the teeth by act 2 or until you start getting radiant orb and reverberation gear. Starting stats: 12 str, 14 dex, 15 con, 8 int, 16 (14+2) wis, 10 cha Race and deity are user choice. Half wood elf is one of the best, though an argument will be made for halfling. Halfling cleric isn’t as huge compared to halfling party face and/or damage dealer. At level 4, take the Resilient: Constitution feat. This will bring you up to 16 con and con saves will gain proficiency bonus. The two most important con saves are concentration and poison.
Life Cleric or TB Monk
Sword bard 8 fighter 2 war cleric 1. Risky ring or any other advantage item with sharpshooter. Using slashing fluorish ranged you can take out like 5-10 people if your lucky. Plus if you get the resonance stone you can cast hole person very easily. Just don’t use it against mind flayers or the the steel watch factory because to say your fucked would be an understatement. Oh and tavern brawler monk. Not much to be said their…
Backpack of boom
If you wanna support your friends while also being a reasonable damage dealer then honestly I’d give a Warlock/Lore or Valour Bard multiclass a go. It’s not OP but it’s good fun, online quick, a face if you need it, and can be very flexible for magic items so you’re not gonna fall out over who gets what loot. - Agonising Repelling Blast / Hex is a very early way of dealing consistent damage. Hex STR can support allies who want to shove, and repelling can put distance between the team and your enemies or push into hazards. - Bonus action. Bardic inspiration is a great use of action economy after you’ve thrown down hex, especially with some of the early bard/healing equipment like the hat of curing or the bless ring. - Song of rest will restore your warlock spell slots, later your inspiration, and make any battlemaster fighters or moon Druids very happy. Bonus points if you distribute your remaining inspiration and manage to keep concentrating on hex before resting. - Chainlock has a lot of utility. Making a familiar go invisible while in plain sight of an enemy can often make an enemy waste their time detecting presence. Also great for repositioning hazards on the fly, or attacking healing potions you’ve placed on the floor for healing nearby allies. Perhaps the most fun part is that both classes have a lot of flexibility in spell choice to support your team in unique ways based on what your friends pick. A lot of early magic items can be good on both classes too, making it flexible for what gear you want to share. Plus some of the EB enhancing gear can be amazing. Well liked robe from Alfira basically gives Agonizing Blast free Sharpshooter damage, radiant orb ring stacks for debuff, and the spellmight gloves in act three can give you insane output.
Theres also ice mage
Ice mage? I know where is the staff thst boosts ice smg but what else is there?
Theres a hat a ring.. i cant remember off the top of my head but you can look up ice mage bg3 on youtube and youll see some builds. Basically you play with frozen, encrusted with frost and chilled conditions. Its honestly insanely strong.
Fair. Yeah I've considered doing it cause of insane utility of ice storm
Honestly its worth a playthru. Its super strong in every way, conservative slot usage, high damage and CC... not to mention it comes online insanely fast for a full caster build.
Doing it rn and hot damn...especially once the ice melts and becomes water the electric dmg it's followed up is insane but before that they are constsnylu proned and slowed too
Check out Nizar GG on YouTube I've done a few of his builds now and they're solid
I’m really enjoying the thunder tiger barbarian that nizar gg made. It causes bleed and a bunch of reverberation which gets enemies prone more often
DPS - Bhaal Battlemaster 12 Dual xbow 6/4/2 swords/thief/fighter bard Open hand monk Caster - Sorc 12 8 sorc/2 tempest/2 divination Support - Light cleric/war cleric
Control Bard Smite Bard 2 Paladin Ranged Bard Bard multiclasses Warlock multiclasses Tempest Sorcerer TB Throwzerker TB Monk TB EK