Baldur’s Gate 3: Honor Mode Class Build Recommendation

Class: 10 Bard(Swords), 2 Fighter or 12 Bard
Feat: Alert, Sharpshooter
Ability: 8/16/14/8/10/17

Race Recommendation: Opt for Human or Half-Elf for shield proficiency.

The main character shines in skill checks, vital for honor mode. Bard and Rogue offer extensive proficiency and expertise.

Skill bonuses come from ability modifiers, proficiency, and buffs. Proficiency bonuses scale with levels, and expertise doubles proficiency in selected skills. Proficiency bonuses are 2 at levels 1-4, 3 at 5-8, and 4 at 9-12. Spells like Guidance and Enhance Ability provide extra buffs.

In this build:

• Proficiency is gained from Bard(3), Background(2), Race(0-1) (Perception from Drow or Elf; Thaumaturgy from Zariel Tiefling enhances Intimidation and Performance), and NPC (Performance).
• Expertise is achieved through Bard(4).

This setup covers essential skills for dialogues: Persuasion, Insight, Perception, Intimidation, Deception, and Performance.

The “Helmet of Arcane Acuity” (found in Act 2) is crucial, offering 2 turns of arcane acuity per weapon hit to boost spell save DC and attack rolls. By leveraging bonus and off-hand attacks, this build can quickly maximize arcane acuity stacks (10), enabling powerful control spells via action surge.

Resource cost involves 2 Bard inspirations, one action surge, and a spell slot for control spells, enough for multiple combats with short rests in between.

A Haste Buff from mage can save the need of action surge.

Recommended spells:

• 1st: Faerie Fire, Sleep (guaranteed success, no concentration), Dissonant Whispers (No concentration), Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Healing Word (bonus action)
• 2nd: Cloud of Daggers (guarantees at least two hits), Hold Person (significantly boosts melee damage and control, upcastable), Blindness (No concentration)
• 3rd: Warding Glyph (DEX save), Fear (avoid targeting allies), Hypnotic Pattern
• 4th: Confusion (avoid targeting allies)
• 5th: Hold Monster

Speak with Animals, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Speak with Dead are useful for dialogues. While Speak with Animals and Detect Thoughts can be accessed via potions (but are better learned due to being ritual spells), Enhance Ability can be cast by another character, and Speak with Dead can be learned from a book.

Conditions are grouped, with each inheriting group effects. For example, the Hideous Laughter condition falls under Prone and Unconscious, and all Prone conditions can be removed by Help.

• Key traders Mattis and Dammon are essential throughout all three chapters. Strive to increase their attitude to 100 and always sell items to them. Darryth Bonecloak is noteworthy for buying Cloud Giant Fingers after level 6 but is only present in Acts 1 and 3.
• Enhancing a merchant’s attitude through gifts before purchases can be beneficial. Refer to the price formula[bg3.wiki] and use this calculator[bg3giftcalc.netlify.app](Made by ME) for gifting decisions.
• A merchant’s inventory, pricing, and available gold are determined by the player’s level initiating the trade, including the cost of gifting.
• Upon death, a trader drops their three most valuable items without any gold from trading. However, all their items can be pickpocketed.

Class: 12 Fighter(Battle Master)
Feat: Great Weapon Master, Alert, Savage Attacker, Sentinel
Ability: 8/16/16/10/14/10
Skills: Athletics, Survival

Recommended manoeuvres: Goading, Manoeuvring, Precision, Ripsote

• Relys on Giant Elixir.
• Simply powerful.
• Githyanki would have lots of exclusive fighter equipment effects.

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Class: 8 Monk(Open Hand), 4 Rogue(Thief) or 12 Monk
Feat: Tavern Brawler(+1 CON), Alert, Abilitiy Improvement
Ability: 8/16/15/8/17/8
Skills: Stealth, Atheletics

Key Equipments: Corellon’s Grace, Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo(Loot when entering Act 3), Khalid’s Gift(+1 WIS, In Jaheira’s basement)

Relys on Giant Elixir.

After lv9, Multiclass into lv1 Rouge first for skill proficiency.

A level 12 Monk can deliver approximately 240 damage per turn, breaking down to 6 attacks, each doing 1d6+8+8+1d4+6+6+1d10+1. At level 6, a Monk with no equipment can already deal over 100 damage per turn with 4 attacks, utilizing the Giant Elixir. This will cost 1 Ki per turn, and one short rest can fully restore them.

The attack roll benefits from a +19 bonus(3+8+8), and using Topple imposes a DC 19 DEX check for Prone.

Monks boast high DC, AC, and movement speed. The primary limitation of this build is obtaining the Alert feat at level 8.

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Class: 8 Sorcerer(Draconic Bloodline: Silver), 2 Warlock, 2 Wizard(Evocation)
Feat: Alert, Abilitiy Improvement
Ability: 8/16/14/12/8/16
Skills: Arcana, History

Race Recommendation: Human or Half-Elf for shield proficiency.

Key Equipments: Potent Robe(Act 2)

Other useful Equipments: Necklace of Elemental Augmentation(Act 1.5), Mourning Frost(Act 1), Boots of Speed(Act 1)

Recommended Magics: Shield, Magic Missile, Enhance Leap, Sleep, Ice Knife, Enhance Ability, Cloud of Daggers, Misty Step, Haste, Counter Spell, Slow, Fireball, Daylight, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire, Cone of Cold

Physical classes provide consistent high damage, while mages handle special scenarios, offering AoE and burst damage, and support buffs. Cantrips from mages offer continuous damage support.

At level 6, with the Necklace of Elemental Augmentation, this class adds twice the CHA modifier to cold cantrips. Mourning Frost induces cold vulnerability (DC 12 CON save), enabling about 15 damage per turn (60 with Twin Spells and chilled). After acquiring the Potent Robe, a single Frost spell can deal over 20 damage at level 8. With cold vulnerability and Twin Spells, damage can exceed 100 in a turn at low cost.

In Honor Mode, extra actions from Haste or Bloodlust don’t allow extra attacks but are beneficial for spellcasters, particularly with cantrips. Casting Haste with Twin Spells, with the other Haste targeting the main character, synergize with a battlemage build that requires weapon attacks before spellcasting.

The loss of concentration is harsh, as ending Haste causes the target to lose a turn. Boots of Speed improve mobility using a bonus action. Elixir of Peerless Focus aids in maintaining concentration and is readily available.

Reaching level 10, Eldritch Blast can perform three attacks, each dealing 1d10 + CHA modifier x 2, consistently inflicting 40 damage per turn. Repelling Blast is useful for manipulating terrain. Opting out of cold cantrips allows for the use of other weapons and necklaces.