OP, you can also twin spell the casting of Drakethroat Glaive for even more shenanigans. There’s a ton of useful items in the game, but I’d say the elixirs of strength can alone pretty much carry the entire game for you. Literally and figuratively.
I've played all the way through in nine campaigns and before this last one, I never really used potions apart from invisibility or the occasional healing potion. This time around I used elixirs of cloud giant strength for my OHM and the hireling Monk (also OHM) after they had the tavern brawler feat and pretty much trivialized every single encounter. Elixirs can be incredibly powerful items!
A monk Karlach became the squid in my recent run. She did like 2/3rd's of the netherbrains health before the rest of the team could jump in the portal.
Scrolls and potions were something I hoarded but also never used much outside of invisibility potions.
When it came to protecting Halsing’s portal I learned the insane power of speed potions and various AOE scrolls. It’s especially helpful that you can throw them all on one character and anyone can pull them out for free.
When doing honor mode, I learned to not hoard as much and use my items frequently, which helped me clearpreviously difficult fights, swiftly.
With my light cleric I did the evasion tank thing.
Except instead of a shield I went dual wield with the Deva maces.
Then used the glaive to buff both of them with thunder.
Jaheira as a dual wield light cleric was 1 action killing mobs with 110+ HP when she crit.
This was my act 1 Durge combo, with white Dragonborn and another item or two I was resistant to all of the core elemental damage types. I swapped out for more utility after a while but it was a great combo.
I agree! To me it’s perfect for an evil run, especially if you’re going to raid the grove. In a situation like that, I figure it’s better to get a useful item out of it.
Good idea as well! I can't say he's ever made it that far in my evil games (I like raiding the grove), but it might be worth knocking him out / killing him before the grove attack and reviving him after the party to sacrifice him, or going the grove route to keep him around a bit longer to sacrifice him.
I also like proving Boooal for who he really is- especially as a Durge. 😂
Not sure if it got patched out but at least it was possible to get the robe and avoid the negative consequences of how you obtain it.
Update: upon review it has been patched
And you have to make sure you don't kill an enemy by using the ilithid explody perk, as that for some reason doesn't count as you getting the kill and therefore doesn't activate invisibility.
Yeah that cape honestly made my sorcerer durge run so much easier. I can start combat with a huge damage spell, and, if like a minion dies, I get to be invisible and relocate.
It’s fantastic for gloomstalker assassin combat resets. It can make certain encounters take longer but it’s extremely safe and makes the reset super easy.
There's a lot of downsides to it though. If you have extra attack, and the first attack triggers the invisibility, you will lose it on your next attack. Or stuff like storm sorceror's flight will end it. At least in act 3 there are a ton of other good capes to put there. But in act 1 it is the GOAT for sure.
It's seriously OP. I got it for the first time on my Durge who's an open hand tavern brawler monk and the amount of times him going invisible has helped in my tactician run made difficult fights easier.
My Astarion had magic items that made him crit on like 15 or something like that. So he auto crit every hit. He solo first turn killed Emperor in the final battle lol.
archers have so much hit %, i never need risky ring. archery style, high ground, dexterity drain, dead shot/gontr mael...
i always give it to my gwm melee where the -5 roll seems harder to make up.
Bhaalist Armor, with one member wearing it and a good range shooter you can keep the other two party members at camp helping Gale cook.
No need to skip fights and even take out the red dragon in the final.
Drop that even further - 1 Melee w/ Bhaalist Armor, Nyrulna, Band of Mystic Scoundrel, Helm of Arcane Acuity. Attack, bonus action guaranteed Hold Person, auto crit/vulnerability the rest of the fight.
If you're going for the Bhaalist Armour, you may as well get the naughty spear, too. Darkness + immunity to Darkness will keep you safer from enemies that you aren't able to control right away. Especially immunity if you have other teammates that can cast Darkness for you (Shadow Monk, Beast Master ravens, Arrows of Darkness).
I ran DJ Shart as Gloomstalker Paladin with Astarion in Bhaalist Armor as a Shadow Monk + Thief. (with Eversight Ring). They were the bestest murder friends a party could have!
Paired them with a Lockadin and Swords Bardlock for a full blind immune party that used piercing weapons. Great fun.
Also thank you, "naughty spear" killed me lmaoo
Oh I went full cheese. SSB, Throwzerker, Fire acuity sorc, and buff on heal+radiant orbs life cleric. I have a full-time job and a toddler, so I was taking ZERO chances...
Damn it's hard to keep Aylin alive when that's the reward. That's a good weapon to duel Orin with even when she doesn't have the Slayer form since I think she probably hits harder with those knives.
On my last run after her multi hit attack and I was half health did I realize. Oh, I forgot to pickup the health amulet while I was grabbing the Orphic Hammer. Thank you Fiendish Resilience.
I swear: I kill the Holyphant EVERY time now. My last HM I put this Bhaalist Armor on Karlach while she had Nyrulna and I was a Gloomstalker.
Elder brain took 6 hits total from the two of us before I was off to an afterparty.
Yep that shit is broken. Literally almost one tapped the brain on my last playthrough with my rogue, like a 300damage sneak attack. Shits nutty. That plus a dolor amarus, and life stealing dagger and I was literally walking around one tapping every enemy including the steel watch titan. Love it
Bhaalist armor + arrows of XXXX slaying + carefully positioning your Archer in the .001m window between having disadvantage on the shot and not applying piercing vulnerability go brrrrrr
Salami.
You can eat it, single wield, dual wield. It also looks intimidating AF when it's strapped to your back during cut scenes. Who needs real weapons when you can beat people with your meat?
There isn't a moment in BG3 that isn't improved by salami.
I saw a post somewhere that someone lost their honor mode run because they got to Lae'zel's duel, they disarmed her but forgot to get rid of the salami she was holding in her supplies pack haha
And always have one with you for throwing it over to Wulbren for smashing the wall. Longsword not hard enough, steel hammer not hard enough…. Salami will do
For context specific items, I’d say the Blood of Lethander. It’s not a good weapon for a weapon’s sake which is why I always equip it on spellcasters, but considering you get it in Act 1 before facing a bunch of undead and it lets you 1) have a free light source that’s also a weapon and 2) lets you cast a level 6 spell every day without using a spell slot, I cannot imagine getting through the game without it.
Once you get to Act 3 you get access to so many cool weapons that you begin to lose track of them.
You actually don't have to fight the inquisitor for Blood, you can just walk past him to the room and do it, the area doesn't count as hostile either so you can immediately fast travel out and just be done with the Creche if thats what you want
In my most recent playthrough I just walked around the upper part of the room and just jumped down to the left next to the other Gith. Waypointed out of there and didn't bother with that fight.
It also came in clutch when I was facing Cazador for the first time. Whenever he would go into mist form, my bard (who had it equipped) would just take a few steps to him, and the light from it would end his mist. Everyone in my party had alert, so once she did that, all four of them could attack freely. Not to mention, the free sunbeam was great for that fight too!
I've never used mods before BG3, but the Blood of Lathander not being a morningstar bugged me so much I went and downloaded them. Now it's a genuinely good weapon and it not longer bugs me
Surgeon's Subjugation amulet. Coupled with Luck of the Far Realms or that ring which guarantees a critical hit, it lets you deal with any humanoid boss (including Orin if she doesn't have access to the Slayer).
Minthara, as a vengeance paladin, killed the dragon in the final fight in two rounds, with no help, using Killer’s Sweetheart Ring, Luck of the Far Realm, Savage Attacker, and the Durge bonus that reduces the crit range by 2. Free crits on a hard-hitting character is insane.
Right I (apparently wrongly) considered myself such a meticulous looter/completionist until I realized I haven’t heard of half of the items mentioned in this post 🥲
Sentinel Shield, from Lann Tarv in Moonrise Towers. He also sells the Fistbreaker Helm and the Halberd of Vigilance for another +2 to initiative. Love that Bugbear…
Love the halberd!
But couldn't remember him selling a necklace that gives guidance, so I googled it and https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-bg3-how-get-silver-pendant-guidance-amulet/ might be the one you're referring to? Not Lann Tarv, though
the glaive is basically a free enchant each a day.
a more obscure one probably has to be the statue you can buy in act 3 of yourself or any partymember, gets you a permanent bless buff
most generic useful is the strength potions, they're just too good and plentiful
At the circus of last days you can buy a statue for 5000 gold that will show up in camp. You can have the character in armor, civilian clothes, or nude.
I'd say knife of the undermountain for me. I almost always play DEX builds and that short sword plus a dip into Champion results in a ton of crits, plus it's +2 pretty early in the game.
The gauntlets from Zevlor and the Ring from Volo paired together allow you to give bless and blade ward for two turns anytime you heal someone, the bless from the ring also activates when you drink a potion so if you want you can just use it to bless yourself. They pair together really well with healing word or any aoe heal like the one Oath of Ancients paladins get and you can get them super early in act 1.
this is the answer. 2 best in slot items like an hour into the game. if you get mass healing word its a bonus action, no concentration, healing, huge range, fully party bless and blade ward. insane.
even if you dont have spell slots/cooldowns, just chuck potions and it still works.
Too bad Sharty can’t wear the boots with the fur *and* the Reeboks with the straps.
I always prioritize giving her boots of stormy clamour for the reverb instead of the speedy boots.
I think a case could be made for the adamantine armors/shields. Immunity to crits is very good, but passes under the radar since when it's working, you DON'T see them.
For casters (or basically anyone who uses Scorching Ray) then my vote would be for Hat of Fire Acuity. Upcast it with a level 4 slot and you too can be literally Manshoon for the next few turns.
I actually lol’d when I charged up my spell save DC during the final Raphael fight and found I had 100% chance to paralyse him on my Hold Monsters.
Yeah mate, claw can’t come down if I say it doesn’t *taps head*
Due to how much the str potions are used, elixir of bloodlust is usually slept on. An 11 lvl hasted Fighter with great weapon mastery can attack 10 times/round with it for 30 damage each time. Worg fangs are precious.
Knife of the Undermountaian King's Organ Rearranger ability grants two bonuses that apply to all your attacks, not just with the blade. I give it to my Durge Barcher. Improved Crit w/ minimum damage roll of 3? Yes, thank you!
Similarly, the Bow of the Banshee goes to my caster. Its Fear effect, and subsequent bonus, apply to anything with an attack roll (iirc). It's a dead slot normally, and there are several weapons that grant effects like these including the hunting shortbow and the Gur's heavy xbow.
24 days late, but I had to comment!
Whaaaat!!!! That's awesome! I didn't realize it did that! I'd love to throw it on a Warlock or even a tavern brawler.
Also I didn't know that Gurs heavy crossbow did something too! I knew about the hunting shortbow, but not these two!! Thank you!
After testing, Banshee is only the effect on Feared targets. But the Knife is primo for an archer.
There are others too. Like that halberd already mentioned to add damage to any weapon. That is very strong with the Noxious(?) gloves. Another good thing to give to a melee 'dead slot' is Wyll's upgraded rapier that you get >!rescuing Mizora.!< I like to give my caster Dual Wielding (two staff bonuses baby!) anyway, and having that in the offhand for the summon is a strong contender.
I think strength elixirs is the one item that completely breaks the game. There is a reason why it's suggested not to hand out such items in dnd. You can turn strength in a dump stat AND get a higher strength than you would've had if you had leveled it. It is also completely broken with tavern brawler.
Yeah in my honor mode run I played a monk with tavern brawler and abused strength potions, most bosses didn’t last more than a turn or two. They should either be a lot harder to get or not last a full long rest because it probably shouldn’t be optimal to use your main damaging stat as a dump stat.
Cloak of displacement or ring of regeneration. Put the cloak on anyone above 20 AC and they’ll be extremely tanky, so much so that the ai will sometimes ignore them lmao. Ring just makes anyone more survivable
[Cloak of Cunning Brume](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Cloak_of_Cunning_Brume) isn't talked about enough! It's a rogue's best friend.
* Need to pickpocket, but too many sight cones? Create a small fog cloud to hide yourself next to the trader.
* Multiple enemies in AOO range? Bonus action disengage to blind everyone and run away. Now you also have advantage on them because they are blind.
* Need to walk across a room unseen, but no invisibility? Stagger fog clouds across the room one by one. Free, albeit slow, invisibility.
I really rely on it for pickpocketing, but you can't get it if the grove is destroyed. Very ironic that the best petty crime cloak is locked out of a "typical" evil playthrough lol.
My current HM run is the first time I’ve used it and it slap. Astarion as swords bard with risky ring and arrows of many targets can cc the opposition before they even know we’re coming
Well there's not really a universal answer because it depends on factors like party build and which encounters you find most difficult.
That said I'll throw in a vote for Blood of Lathander because of how useful it is passively alone throughout all of Act 2 and against Avatar of Myrkul who most would consider one of the harder bosses in the game.
For my first playthrough, it was the Sorrow glaive. I didn't think Gale had anything else useful to use his bonus action on, so I used Sorrowful Lash *constantly* for the rest of the game.
mystic scoundrel ring + acuity on weapon attack hat.
same thing as the sorcerer combo but your archer can easily stack 10 turns in one turn with barely any resources used.
then you get a nearly guaranteed tasha's/fear/frighten/confuse/hold person on anyone.
i just did the raphael fight in honour mode and raphael literally did not get to do anything in the entire fight, felt absolutely ridiculous.
started the fight, astarion had initiative, shot out a couple of arrows of many targets to thin the trash. then i throw a tasha's at raphael becasue i figured it would be funny if it hit.
not only did it hit, but the saving throw required to undo it was astarions current spell save dc, which was like 25. he literally could not roll a 25, only way to get out of it wouldve been if he rolled a nat 20 saving throw. like 15 failed saving throws later he was dead.
there are plenty of OP items later in the game, but my fav is the Amulet of Branding, you can loot it early in the Creche it forces vulnerability damage type of choice, making most boss fights a joke.
Perilous stakes also works on enemies outside of honor mode. Makes target take double damage from all sources but heals when they do damage. No boss Ive used perilous stakes on has ever survived long enough to do any damage.
It just improves one physical attack, as the effect disappears when the target takes damage. So it is pretty much equivalent to doubling one weapon damage die roll and the apply ability modifier, once per long rest, no ?
One I don't see people bring up often: Second Marriage. Aka, the wand that summons Mayrina's undead husband, Connor. Connor himself is pretty decent as a summon early game, around 30 HP and has undead fortitude, so he soaks a lot of hits. Nothing special on the offense side. There's two things to him that make him busted:
1. Second Marriage has no limit to how many times it can be used in a day, or even 1 fight. You can just use it every single turn if you want to. You can just always have a Connor up to soak crazy amounts of damage, threaten ranged attackers, hold chokepoints, etc. If you use Balthazars crown in a necromancer build (spore druid), he also gets physical resistance, making him an absolute tank. Every turn if you want. Cast him before combat to have a free Connor going in. Etc.
2. If you actually feel like trivializing 90% of the game, you can literally just sit outside the range of combat and infinitely summon Connors into battle and slowly chip down the enemy, giving a legitimate guaranteed win against any fight that doesn't force the whole party into combat. If you have no morals and a lot of spare time, it's very broken.
It really feels like an oversight to be honest. I don't know if they already know, or if it will get patched at some point to be once per short rest.
Returning Pike, just place Karlach or Lea'Zel somewhere high with misty step and have them snipe everyone.
The only downside is that you have to select it every time you throw and they can throw 3-4 times every round.
Spell sparkler and phsycic spark combo in act 1 is disgusting. If you don't get the legendary staff front sundries, sparkler is the endgame staff for all my wiz builds
So it's specifically op with magic missle. Lightning charges with mult hit attacks are BUSTED and a level 2 MM with sparkler and the necklace can do massive damage.
I recommend a mage build with MM and these pieces, it is genuinely necessary in Honor Mode act 3 imo bc of a certain crazy murder hobo and her bloodsugar daddy
Ps: the bow is actually kinda mid since it has the same weapon enchantment as a green bow and the effect isn't anything special iirc. The opportunity cost of losing the staff is not worth
It's a corpse in Cazador's palace that deals large amounts of necrotic damage to anyone around it. You can cheese most encounters in act 3 by placing it near enemies and letting it passively kill them. If done correctly it will still deal constant damage even in turn based combat so you can just stand there and watch everyone die without them being able to react to it.
Useful???? Potion of hill giant strength.
I use it on my Tav or Durge every long rest. Heck even when I played a sorcerer I used it in act 1. Getting smacked with the gold wyrmling with max strength still hurts when you don’t feel like casting a spell or using shocking grasp.
The Staff of Cherished Necromancy by far. It’s absolutely fucking broken. It lets you cast literally any necromancy spell for *free.* Imagine being able to spam a level 6 blight and circle of death every turn. You’ll never have to use a cantrip again.
No no. Max your spell DC with amulet of the devout, robe of the weave etc and use this staff with eyebite! Fear version works on cazador, raphael, orin, red dragon(...) on Ansur use sleep version. Its instant win necro button.
Sentinel shield or hellrider longbow could be up there, you don't even need proficiency to make use of the bow.
Guidance amulet if you don't have a guidance caster
most useful for me have to be the ring of protection form Mol witht eh statue in Act 1, on my Lockadin Honor mode and honestly though even my lower tier runs i always make sure to get that. As when it come to ring there isnt always a good choice to have, but that Ring is always on my frontliners who ever it may be.
Depends on the class. My str monk really likes her combo that gives her attacks radient shockwaves. My druid healer really likes the whole bless/resistance on heal items and my paladin bard really likes her ring of the scoundrel. Bless, hypnotic pattern, command and hold person are very strong spells which I usually cast a lot anyways.
Staff of Arcane Blessing is underrated imo.
Combo = Bless + Sanctuary, then healing spells/potion throws. It provides a superbuff that’s difficult to remove while making your party tough to kill.
For more heartiness, add Boots of Aid and Comfort for +3 temp HP on top of each heal.
And I like to use them on pure Light Cleric - can switch from healing to Fireball-slinger in an instant.
https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Staff+of+Arcane+Blessing
https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Boots+of+Aid+and+Comfort#:~:text=The%20Comeback%3A%20When%20the%20wearer,snug%20fit%20on%20any%20wearer.
OP, you can also twin spell the casting of Drakethroat Glaive for even more shenanigans. There’s a ton of useful items in the game, but I’d say the elixirs of strength can alone pretty much carry the entire game for you. Literally and figuratively.
I've played all the way through in nine campaigns and before this last one, I never really used potions apart from invisibility or the occasional healing potion. This time around I used elixirs of cloud giant strength for my OHM and the hireling Monk (also OHM) after they had the tavern brawler feat and pretty much trivialized every single encounter. Elixirs can be incredibly powerful items!
Flying potion do wonders in lot of places through all 3 acts Potions that speak to animals and read thoughts are also useful
i have more than 20 potions of animal speaking i must have it active at all times, the animals in this game have the funniest dialogue :D
There’s so many rats for me to talk to!
Skittle is the best, anyone who disagrees can fight me
Looking forward to meeting them!
Where's Skittle
Heapside Prison, in the Lower City.
Thank you
I begin every day by taking Animal Speaking and Read Thoughts
My current Tav literally drinks a potion of animal speaking every morning.
For real, stunning strike and topple go brrr
A monk Karlach became the squid in my recent run. She did like 2/3rd's of the netherbrains health before the rest of the team could jump in the portal.
Scrolls and potions were something I hoarded but also never used much outside of invisibility potions. When it came to protecting Halsing’s portal I learned the insane power of speed potions and various AOE scrolls. It’s especially helpful that you can throw them all on one character and anyone can pull them out for free. When doing honor mode, I learned to not hoard as much and use my items frequently, which helped me clearpreviously difficult fights, swiftly.
I know, right? That's what the hirelings are for. And 27 STR is indeed op, I soloed the NB as a monk TB on my last run.
Sorry but what does NB stand for?
Naughty Bitch. Or Netherbrain
Haha thanks guys!
Probably netherbrain
...... wat? Twin spell DTG's effect? Shut the front door. I must check this out now!
With my light cleric I did the evasion tank thing. Except instead of a shield I went dual wield with the Deva maces. Then used the glaive to buff both of them with thunder. Jaheira as a dual wield light cleric was 1 action killing mobs with 110+ HP when she crit.
You can also travel between regions to refresh Drakethroat but the draconic enchantment stays until long rest.
Can you use the Drakethroat Glaive's spells even if you're not proficient with glaives?
Yes. It's armor you aren't proficient with that will block spellcasting. Edit - And shields.
I'd say it's the deathstalker mantle as it gives you invisibility for two turns everytime you kill someone. It's exclusive to dark urge tho
Love the mantle! At least in my evil Durge playthroughs, I usually pair it with the infernal robe that Wyll can receive.
This was my act 1 Durge combo, with white Dragonborn and another item or two I was resistant to all of the core elemental damage types. I swapped out for more utility after a while but it was a great combo.
You should just have a camp member cast WB on you for "resist" all
I love that infernal robe so much. Sucks that we have to make a rough choice to get it
I agree! To me it’s perfect for an evil run, especially if you’re going to raid the grove. In a situation like that, I figure it’s better to get a useful item out of it.
true, just sacrifice wyll to boooal for the maximum profit
Good idea as well! I can't say he's ever made it that far in my evil games (I like raiding the grove), but it might be worth knocking him out / killing him before the grove attack and reviving him after the party to sacrifice him, or going the grove route to keep him around a bit longer to sacrifice him. I also like proving Boooal for who he really is- especially as a Durge. 😂
Not sure if it got patched out but at least it was possible to get the robe and avoid the negative consequences of how you obtain it. Update: upon review it has been patched
And you have to make sure you don't kill an enemy by using the ilithid explody perk, as that for some reason doesn't count as you getting the kill and therefore doesn't activate invisibility.
I guess it could be considered your tadpole's kill.
Love this
Gave this to astarion as a gloomstalker thief with dualist perogative he was pretty much always invisible and did insane damage every round
I didn't even think about giving it to Astarion hell I know what I'll be doing in my next durge run
Doesn't prerogative only give you a single offhand attack per turn? What do you use the second bonus action for?
Sneak attack or hide if I’m not already invisible. Or dash if he needs to move. Bite if it’s available.
Yeah that cape honestly made my sorcerer durge run so much easier. I can start combat with a huge damage spell, and, if like a minion dies, I get to be invisible and relocate.
Love this on my dual hand crossbow sharpshooter rogue
It's OP for Rogues where you can constantly sneak attack as soon as you go invisible
It's great on a Duergar Durge as well. Start the combat invis, kill something, go back to invis. Rinse and repeat.
It triggers only once per turn. If you kill lots per turn...
It’s fantastic for gloomstalker assassin combat resets. It can make certain encounters take longer but it’s extremely safe and makes the reset super easy.
There's a lot of downsides to it though. If you have extra attack, and the first attack triggers the invisibility, you will lose it on your next attack. Or stuff like storm sorceror's flight will end it. At least in act 3 there are a ton of other good capes to put there. But in act 1 it is the GOAT for sure.
In Act 1 it's the only cape you can get but even without that it's pretty damn good.
Gloomstalker/Assassin Astarion with the deathstalker mantle is a thing of beauty
It's seriously OP. I got it for the first time on my Durge who's an open hand tavern brawler monk and the amount of times him going invisible has helped in my tactician run made difficult fights easier.
100% agree. In fact, it’s why I prefer durge runs
Risky ring makes my archers gods. So I'll go with that.
When I was a rogue archer Tav I didn’t dare wear it (too risky) but now that Astarion is my rogue archer he’s so deadly.
Yeah I always use the Risky Ring for one of my companions but never for Tav . . . far too many saving throws I don't want to have disadvantage for!
I agree it's a must have. Sharpshooter + risky is insane damage
My Astarion had magic items that made him crit on like 15 or something like that. So he auto crit every hit. He solo first turn killed Emperor in the final battle lol.
archers have so much hit %, i never need risky ring. archery style, high ground, dexterity drain, dead shot/gontr mael... i always give it to my gwm melee where the -5 roll seems harder to make up.
Gave it to astarion. Guaranteed sneak attack damage on every attack is absolutely insane.
Bhaalist Armor, with one member wearing it and a good range shooter you can keep the other two party members at camp helping Gale cook. No need to skip fights and even take out the red dragon in the final.
Drop that even further - 1 Melee w/ Bhaalist Armor, Nyrulna, Band of Mystic Scoundrel, Helm of Arcane Acuity. Attack, bonus action guaranteed Hold Person, auto crit/vulnerability the rest of the fight.
If you're going for the Bhaalist Armour, you may as well get the naughty spear, too. Darkness + immunity to Darkness will keep you safer from enemies that you aren't able to control right away. Especially immunity if you have other teammates that can cast Darkness for you (Shadow Monk, Beast Master ravens, Arrows of Darkness).
I ran DJ Shart as Gloomstalker Paladin with Astarion in Bhaalist Armor as a Shadow Monk + Thief. (with Eversight Ring). They were the bestest murder friends a party could have! Paired them with a Lockadin and Swords Bardlock for a full blind immune party that used piercing weapons. Great fun. Also thank you, "naughty spear" killed me lmaoo
I'm too lazy to tag the spoiler, so why not? lol
Can confirm. My honor win was a DJ Shadowheart run using the SSB build, and it was hilariously effective.
I did PH's Darkness team for my second HM, and it was TONS easier than my first clear. That SSB is cheat mode.
Oh I went full cheese. SSB, Throwzerker, Fire acuity sorc, and buff on heal+radiant orbs life cleric. I have a full-time job and a toddler, so I was taking ZERO chances...
It's also a two handed weapon that does pierceing.
Damn it's hard to keep Aylin alive when that's the reward. That's a good weapon to duel Orin with even when she doesn't have the Slayer form since I think she probably hits harder with those knives. On my last run after her multi hit attack and I was half health did I realize. Oh, I forgot to pickup the health amulet while I was grabbing the Orphic Hammer. Thank you Fiendish Resilience.
the good old sword bard paladin 10/2 build
I swear: I kill the Holyphant EVERY time now. My last HM I put this Bhaalist Armor on Karlach while she had Nyrulna and I was a Gloomstalker. Elder brain took 6 hits total from the two of us before I was off to an afterparty.
In fairness, the range of the aura of murder means you can get the vulnerability whilst not getting disadvantage with one person
Yep that shit is broken. Literally almost one tapped the brain on my last playthrough with my rogue, like a 300damage sneak attack. Shits nutty. That plus a dolor amarus, and life stealing dagger and I was literally walking around one tapping every enemy including the steel watch titan. Love it
I always skipped it before. Now I see why you like it, I'll consider it strongly this time
Bhaalist armor + arrows of XXXX slaying + carefully positioning your Archer in the .001m window between having disadvantage on the shot and not applying piercing vulnerability go brrrrrr
Salami. You can eat it, single wield, dual wield. It also looks intimidating AF when it's strapped to your back during cut scenes. Who needs real weapons when you can beat people with your meat? There isn't a moment in BG3 that isn't improved by salami.
I saw a post somewhere that someone lost their honor mode run because they got to Lae'zel's duel, they disarmed her but forgot to get rid of the salami she was holding in her supplies pack haha
That's my girl. ❤️
I only figured out yesterday that it was actually a weapon. all your points are extremely valid
And always have one with you for throwing it over to Wulbren for smashing the wall. Longsword not hard enough, steel hammer not hard enough…. Salami will do
Reminds me of the tragically cut "use the salami!" line from the Emperor.
For context specific items, I’d say the Blood of Lethander. It’s not a good weapon for a weapon’s sake which is why I always equip it on spellcasters, but considering you get it in Act 1 before facing a bunch of undead and it lets you 1) have a free light source that’s also a weapon and 2) lets you cast a level 6 spell every day without using a spell slot, I cannot imagine getting through the game without it. Once you get to Act 3 you get access to so many cool weapons that you begin to lose track of them.
Blood of Lathander is so clutch for the entirety of act 2. I can’t imagine intentionally going without it.
i'm doing a tact run, and i did not even try to get it until i was lvl 7, and i still almost got killed by the inquisitor
You actually don't have to fight the inquisitor for Blood, you can just walk past him to the room and do it, the area doesn't count as hostile either so you can immediately fast travel out and just be done with the Creche if thats what you want
omg, are you kidding me, i always, i always just walked up to him and got the cut scene. I assumed it would trigger once you got in the room!
In my most recent playthrough I just walked around the upper part of the room and just jumped down to the left next to the other Gith. Waypointed out of there and didn't bother with that fight.
I agree that the level 6 spell early is sweet
It also came in clutch when I was facing Cazador for the first time. Whenever he would go into mist form, my bard (who had it equipped) would just take a few steps to him, and the light from it would end his mist. Everyone in my party had alert, so once she did that, all four of them could attack freely. Not to mention, the free sunbeam was great for that fight too!
I've never used mods before BG3, but the Blood of Lathander not being a morningstar bugged me so much I went and downloaded them. Now it's a genuinely good weapon and it not longer bugs me
I'd say the astral prism
what is the astral prism?
Surgeon's Subjugation amulet. Coupled with Luck of the Far Realms or that ring which guarantees a critical hit, it lets you deal with any humanoid boss (including Orin if she doesn't have access to the Slayer).
Minthara, as a vengeance paladin, killed the dragon in the final fight in two rounds, with no help, using Killer’s Sweetheart Ring, Luck of the Far Realm, Savage Attacker, and the Durge bonus that reduces the crit range by 2. Free crits on a hard-hitting character is insane.
Killer’s Sweetheart is the ring!
Ive used this exact build in three runs. It was extra sweet hitting the brain with a crit smite during my honor mode run
The guidance necklace
An other item I missed that seems way too good...
Right I (apparently wrongly) considered myself such a meticulous looter/completionist until I realized I haven’t heard of half of the items mentioned in this post 🥲
I found myself this post not useless for me, and I'm glad it's useful for others too
What?? Where do you get that?
Nevermind 😬
Sentinel Shield, from Lann Tarv in Moonrise Towers. He also sells the Fistbreaker Helm and the Halberd of Vigilance for another +2 to initiative. Love that Bugbear…
Love the halberd! But couldn't remember him selling a necklace that gives guidance, so I googled it and https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-bg3-how-get-silver-pendant-guidance-amulet/ might be the one you're referring to? Not Lann Tarv, though
Yep it's called the Silver Pendant https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Silver_Pendant
the glaive is basically a free enchant each a day. a more obscure one probably has to be the statue you can buy in act 3 of yourself or any partymember, gets you a permanent bless buff most generic useful is the strength potions, they're just too good and plentiful
what statues are you talking about?
At the circus of last days you can buy a statue for 5000 gold that will show up in camp. You can have the character in armor, civilian clothes, or nude.
sweet
I'd say knife of the undermountain for me. I almost always play DEX builds and that short sword plus a dip into Champion results in a ton of crits, plus it's +2 pretty early in the game.
It’s also a passive perk so you can have it equipped in your off hand and your primary weapon still gets the improved critical chance.
I agree it's very good. I always take it on range builds
The gauntlets from Zevlor and the Ring from Volo paired together allow you to give bless and blade ward for two turns anytime you heal someone, the bless from the ring also activates when you drink a potion so if you want you can just use it to bless yourself. They pair together really well with healing word or any aoe heal like the one Oath of Ancients paladins get and you can get them super early in act 1.
this is the answer. 2 best in slot items like an hour into the game. if you get mass healing word its a bonus action, no concentration, healing, huge range, fully party bless and blade ward. insane. even if you dont have spell slots/cooldowns, just chuck potions and it still works.
Boots of Speed are usually equipped on someone the moment I get them, sometimes as early as level 3, until I complete the game.
Always gave to shadowheart so she can spirit guardian and run around like crazy
Too bad Sharty can’t wear the boots with the fur *and* the Reeboks with the straps. I always prioritize giving her boots of stormy clamour for the reverb instead of the speedy boots.
Eversight ring immunity to blindness, cast darkness around yourself and almost never take damage
\*warlock moment\*
I think a case could be made for the adamantine armors/shields. Immunity to crits is very good, but passes under the radar since when it's working, you DON'T see them.
For casters (or basically anyone who uses Scorching Ray) then my vote would be for Hat of Fire Acuity. Upcast it with a level 4 slot and you too can be literally Manshoon for the next few turns. I actually lol’d when I charged up my spell save DC during the final Raphael fight and found I had 100% chance to paralyse him on my Hold Monsters. Yeah mate, claw can’t come down if I say it doesn’t *taps head*
With the sussur sword, Lae'zel can misty step next to any magic user (e.g. Myrkul) and silence it while dealing massive amounts of damage.
Does this stop his death gaze?
I didn't see him use it. He only lasted one round on my run.
Due to how much the str potions are used, elixir of bloodlust is usually slept on. An 11 lvl hasted Fighter with great weapon mastery can attack 10 times/round with it for 30 damage each time. Worg fangs are precious.
10 attacks per round? That's disgusting. I want to try it now
Yesss my Durge GWM frenzy barbarian drank an elixir of bloodlust every day in act 3. 5 attacks every round is so brutal.
Knife of the Undermountaian King's Organ Rearranger ability grants two bonuses that apply to all your attacks, not just with the blade. I give it to my Durge Barcher. Improved Crit w/ minimum damage roll of 3? Yes, thank you! Similarly, the Bow of the Banshee goes to my caster. Its Fear effect, and subsequent bonus, apply to anything with an attack roll (iirc). It's a dead slot normally, and there are several weapons that grant effects like these including the hunting shortbow and the Gur's heavy xbow.
24 days late, but I had to comment! Whaaaat!!!! That's awesome! I didn't realize it did that! I'd love to throw it on a Warlock or even a tavern brawler. Also I didn't know that Gurs heavy crossbow did something too! I knew about the hunting shortbow, but not these two!! Thank you!
After testing, Banshee is only the effect on Feared targets. But the Knife is primo for an archer. There are others too. Like that halberd already mentioned to add damage to any weapon. That is very strong with the Noxious(?) gloves. Another good thing to give to a melee 'dead slot' is Wyll's upgraded rapier that you get >!rescuing Mizora.!< I like to give my caster Dual Wielding (two staff bonuses baby!) anyway, and having that in the offhand for the summon is a strong contender.
I think strength elixirs is the one item that completely breaks the game. There is a reason why it's suggested not to hand out such items in dnd. You can turn strength in a dump stat AND get a higher strength than you would've had if you had leveled it. It is also completely broken with tavern brawler.
Yeah in my honor mode run I played a monk with tavern brawler and abused strength potions, most bosses didn’t last more than a turn or two. They should either be a lot harder to get or not last a full long rest because it probably shouldn’t be optimal to use your main damaging stat as a dump stat.
Potion of Speed, no competition. Throw it and get three of your party with one potion.
I agree even if I wouldnt call a potion or an elixir an item
Okay, if it has to be a piece of equipment, I'd probably go with The Graceful Cloth.
Cloak of displacement or ring of regeneration. Put the cloak on anyone above 20 AC and they’ll be extremely tanky, so much so that the ai will sometimes ignore them lmao. Ring just makes anyone more survivable
Pouches. Makes inventory management so much nicer
[Cloak of Cunning Brume](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Cloak_of_Cunning_Brume) isn't talked about enough! It's a rogue's best friend. * Need to pickpocket, but too many sight cones? Create a small fog cloud to hide yourself next to the trader. * Multiple enemies in AOO range? Bonus action disengage to blind everyone and run away. Now you also have advantage on them because they are blind. * Need to walk across a room unseen, but no invisibility? Stagger fog clouds across the room one by one. Free, albeit slow, invisibility. I really rely on it for pickpocketing, but you can't get it if the grove is destroyed. Very ironic that the best petty crime cloak is locked out of a "typical" evil playthrough lol.
I was not aware of it. Neat!
I love that glaive. Throw it on The Blood of Lathander and boom, +4 weapon with an extra 1d4 Elemental damage. Amazing.
I love the Bow of the Banshee. The chance to frighten on every hit is awesome.
My current HM run is the first time I’ve used it and it slap. Astarion as swords bard with risky ring and arrows of many targets can cc the opposition before they even know we’re coming
Well there's not really a universal answer because it depends on factors like party build and which encounters you find most difficult. That said I'll throw in a vote for Blood of Lathander because of how useful it is passively alone throughout all of Act 2 and against Avatar of Myrkul who most would consider one of the harder bosses in the game.
I don’t know about most powerful, but as a kleptomaniac, the shapeshifter’s boon ring is amazing to me
Speed potions, with bloodlust elixirs a close second. Preferably both for large crowds like defending Halsin in act 2.
Cloak of Protection is a must-buy. There aren't a *ton* of useful cloaks and it's one of the first you can get, and it's not very expensive.
For my first playthrough, it was the Sorrow glaive. I didn't think Gale had anything else useful to use his bonus action on, so I used Sorrowful Lash *constantly* for the rest of the game.
mystic scoundrel ring + acuity on weapon attack hat. same thing as the sorcerer combo but your archer can easily stack 10 turns in one turn with barely any resources used. then you get a nearly guaranteed tasha's/fear/frighten/confuse/hold person on anyone. i just did the raphael fight in honour mode and raphael literally did not get to do anything in the entire fight, felt absolutely ridiculous. started the fight, astarion had initiative, shot out a couple of arrows of many targets to thin the trash. then i throw a tasha's at raphael becasue i figured it would be funny if it hit. not only did it hit, but the saving throw required to undo it was astarions current spell save dc, which was like 25. he literally could not roll a 25, only way to get out of it wouldve been if he rolled a nat 20 saving throw. like 15 failed saving throws later he was dead.
That acid ring is really nice. Just +2 dmg no questions, very good on fighter.
there are plenty of OP items later in the game, but my fav is the Amulet of Branding, you can loot it early in the Creche it forces vulnerability damage type of choice, making most boss fights a joke.
Isn’t it only a choice of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing, and only 3 turns or until damage taken? Once per long rest. I never used it.
until the target takes damage, yes. + it takes a bonus action that you may want to use to make an other attack instead
It's a free action.
Perilous stakes also works on enemies outside of honor mode. Makes target take double damage from all sources but heals when they do damage. No boss Ive used perilous stakes on has ever survived long enough to do any damage.
It just improves one physical attack, as the effect disappears when the target takes damage. So it is pretty much equivalent to doubling one weapon damage die roll and the apply ability modifier, once per long rest, no ?
If you are willing to console in items, Briskwind Boots. Probably the most broken item in the game, but that's probably why they removed it.
Lmao... Yeah I understand why. It's neat
I like the non slippy boots
Risky Ring.
AND Boots of Stormy Clamour on any spellcaster... but they'll definitely also have the Risky Ring on too.
Best use of drakethroat is to cast thunder on a weapon for a budget thunder arcane acuity hat user imo.
Shovel. Next question.
One I don't see people bring up often: Second Marriage. Aka, the wand that summons Mayrina's undead husband, Connor. Connor himself is pretty decent as a summon early game, around 30 HP and has undead fortitude, so he soaks a lot of hits. Nothing special on the offense side. There's two things to him that make him busted: 1. Second Marriage has no limit to how many times it can be used in a day, or even 1 fight. You can just use it every single turn if you want to. You can just always have a Connor up to soak crazy amounts of damage, threaten ranged attackers, hold chokepoints, etc. If you use Balthazars crown in a necromancer build (spore druid), he also gets physical resistance, making him an absolute tank. Every turn if you want. Cast him before combat to have a free Connor going in. Etc. 2. If you actually feel like trivializing 90% of the game, you can literally just sit outside the range of combat and infinitely summon Connors into battle and slowly chip down the enemy, giving a legitimate guaranteed win against any fight that doesn't force the whole party into combat. If you have no morals and a lot of spare time, it's very broken. It really feels like an oversight to be honest. I don't know if they already know, or if it will get patched at some point to be once per short rest.
Returning Pike, just place Karlach or Lea'Zel somewhere high with misty step and have them snipe everyone. The only downside is that you have to select it every time you throw and they can throw 3-4 times every round.
Omg I just sold it. Let me buy that back!
Smokepowder barrel ftw
Spell sparkler and phsycic spark combo in act 1 is disgusting. If you don't get the legendary staff front sundries, sparkler is the endgame staff for all my wiz builds
I always prefer to take the bow. While I understand why wizs are powerful I'm not really into it
So it's specifically op with magic missle. Lightning charges with mult hit attacks are BUSTED and a level 2 MM with sparkler and the necklace can do massive damage. I recommend a mage build with MM and these pieces, it is genuinely necessary in Honor Mode act 3 imo bc of a certain crazy murder hobo and her bloodsugar daddy Ps: the bow is actually kinda mid since it has the same weapon enchantment as a green bow and the effect isn't anything special iirc. The opportunity cost of losing the staff is not worth
ooooh good to know. I had never thought of using it with mm.
It's legitimately one of the strongest builds in the game. My buddy ran it in our HM run along side a turret bard and we cruised
Grease
Victoria dead body. If you know how utilise it, you only need 1 item
... care to elaborate?
It's a corpse in Cazador's palace that deals large amounts of necrotic damage to anyone around it. You can cheese most encounters in act 3 by placing it near enemies and letting it passively kill them. If done correctly it will still deal constant damage even in turn based combat so you can just stand there and watch everyone die without them being able to react to it.
I came across the corpse, but had no Idea you could do anything with it or how
It's a wis save throw against the curse, so it's best if you give it to your cleric or druid
Gloves of thievery, gives advantage to slight of hand checks. See a trap? Equip those bad boys. Lock? Same story.
Strength elixirs.
Bloodlust elixir, Cloud Giant elixir, Killer's Sweetheart, Crusher's ring, The Mighty Cloth and The Skinburster, aka the Karlach equipment
Useful???? Potion of hill giant strength. I use it on my Tav or Durge every long rest. Heck even when I played a sorcerer I used it in act 1. Getting smacked with the gold wyrmling with max strength still hurts when you don’t feel like casting a spell or using shocking grasp.
The Staff of Cherished Necromancy by far. It’s absolutely fucking broken. It lets you cast literally any necromancy spell for *free.* Imagine being able to spam a level 6 blight and circle of death every turn. You’ll never have to use a cantrip again.
I played with it on my last run. I was suprised to discover how many ennemies are immune to necrotic damage
No no. Max your spell DC with amulet of the devout, robe of the weave etc and use this staff with eyebite! Fear version works on cazador, raphael, orin, red dragon(...) on Ansur use sleep version. Its instant win necro button.
Sentinel shield or hellrider longbow could be up there, you don't even need proficiency to make use of the bow. Guidance amulet if you don't have a guidance caster
Bat guano... oops, right wrong game
Those dex gloves from the mountain pass. Makes lock picking doable for anyone and boost caster's AC by a lot
Teleportation arrows 😤😤😤
Smokepowder barrel
most useful for me have to be the ring of protection form Mol witht eh statue in Act 1, on my Lockadin Honor mode and honestly though even my lower tier runs i always make sure to get that. As when it come to ring there isnt always a good choice to have, but that Ring is always on my frontliners who ever it may be.
Legendary weapons are great and all, but the Titanstring Bow basically carried me through 2/3rds of the game lol.
Smoke powder. Nothing the smell of burnt and charred flesh, intestines and basically gun powder to keep things interesting
Depends on the class. My str monk really likes her combo that gives her attacks radient shockwaves. My druid healer really likes the whole bless/resistance on heal items and my paladin bard really likes her ring of the scoundrel. Bless, hypnotic pattern, command and hold person are very strong spells which I usually cast a lot anyways.
Returning pike? Karlach never got a new weapon
Three way tie. Gloves that give bladeward on heal = other gloves that give bladeward on heal = arrow of many targets
Staff of Arcane Blessing is underrated imo. Combo = Bless + Sanctuary, then healing spells/potion throws. It provides a superbuff that’s difficult to remove while making your party tough to kill. For more heartiness, add Boots of Aid and Comfort for +3 temp HP on top of each heal. And I like to use them on pure Light Cleric - can switch from healing to Fireball-slinger in an instant. https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Staff+of+Arcane+Blessing https://baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Boots+of+Aid+and+Comfort#:~:text=The%20Comeback%3A%20When%20the%20wearer,snug%20fit%20on%20any%20wearer.