Baldur’s Gate 3: [EN] The Blade Master – An all purpose, high damage, classy martial build

Like usual, it all started from a small idea – multiclassing a 6 Swords Bard into a 6 Bladelock to get three attacks per action, all while benefiting from Flourishes, Bard’s utility and Warlock’s spells. “Wyll on steroids” was the name – although as you’re about to discover, the main variant of this build has changed quite a bit.

The class contribution we’re going to go for is 7 Battlemaster / 5 Swords bard. This is a full martial variation. There are plenty of other, perfectly viable alternatives that I will try to showcase as well. In particular, there is an excellent control martial variation with 6 Swords bard / 4 Battlemaster / 2 Paladin that I will cover extensively as well. For more alternatives, please refer to Alternative approaches.

If you’re confused as to why these particular class contributions:

7 Battlemaster

• Access to 2 feats which gets us 3 total, where most multiclassings get only 2.
• Access to 5 Manœuvres for extra damage and control.
• If necessary, can grant you proficiency with any weapon.
• Action surge.
• Access to an extra fighting style.

5 Swords bard

• Bardic inspiration recharged on short rest.
• Access to bard utility actions and spells (extra short rest, Longstrider, Enhance ability).
• Access to excellent control spells.
• Access to bard martial actions such as Slashing Flourish or Defensive Flourish for high AC.
• Access to an extra fighting style.

In comparison, the 6 Swords bard / 4 Battlemaster / 2 Paladin loses on a feat, some manœuvres, but gains the following:

2 Paladin

• Access to Command which is one of the best control spells of the game.
• If necessary, can grant you proficiency with any weapon just like fighter (this is important because the warrior dip comes last with this variant).
• Access to Smites. Need I say more?
• Access to a third fighting style.

I have used the Full martial variant in Honor Mode, and the Control Martial in Tactician, with great success in both cases.

• High damage.
• High utility, with lockpicking abilities and spells like feather fall, longstrider etc.
• Replenishes most resources on short rest and you will get 3 of them a day.
• Can vary weapons and playstyles – you don’t have to hard commit into any weapon style.
• Can be a party face.
• High AC.
• Excellent itemization with a lot of alternatives if some items are contested, which makes this build very easy to fit in any party composition.
• Can branch into a full martial or a control martial, based on what you can, want and need to do. This decision is only required in early mid Act 2, which gives you time to feel the build and think about what you’d like to do in later levels.
• Completely resourceless. The only resource you could need to stockpile is STR Elixir and that’s only if you’re switching from Finesse to non Finesse weapons often (you shouldn’t, but it’s technically doable). More on that later.

• Comes fully online somewhat late, especially as far as control options are concerned.
• Less spells and spell slots than a dedicated full caster.
• Doesn’t actually tank much damage despite the high AC (unavoidable damage can and will be a problem).

Start by opening Bard. Take 14 CON, 17 DEX and 16 CHA. Taking 17 DEX only matters if you intend to get Hag’s hair for DEX – this build is a great candidate for it. Otherwise, take 17 CHA and 16 DEX instead. If you do not know, that is fine – you can respec and decide later. If you want to play non Finesse weapons (using STR), scroll to “What if I don’t want to play finesse weapons?”

Take thieving proficiencies, either via Bard or background. Cantrips are personal preference, but Friends is great for a party face and Mage Hand is great utility so I went with that.

For spells, I tend to prefer utility with spells like Feather Fall, Speak with Animals and Faerie Fire. Sleep and Tasha’s are good too. You should absolutely grab Longstrider.

Note: it is not necessary to start as Fighter or Paladin, unless want to play a 2 handed weapon the Swords bard isn’t proficient with, such as Halberds or Greatwords. This is the only reason (you don’t need heavy armor). You may have noticed that I just mentioned non Finesse weapons. More on that later. Another option is to start as Human or Half-elf (see Species below).

Regardless, you should probably always open bard for the better proficiencies and respec later if you want to transition into a Fighter weapon, but you do you.

Starting as a Human or Half-elf will give you proficiency with more weapons (namely Pikes, Spears, Halberds and Glaives, as well as Shields). That makes them an excellent option for this build. Half-orc is also good for the bettered critical and Githyanki are always great. That is minor optimization however, you can play whatever you wish.

You’re going to level up as pure bard until level 7. If you already know you want to play the Control martial variant, you can actually level up bard until level 6 only. For more details, see the Control martial variant below.

Note: for spells, check Spell Selection.

At level 2, choose whatever fighting style fits your desires.

At level 3, take the College of Swords subclass. This gives you access to the three bardic “Flourish” actions, which are all amazing in their own rights. More on that later. You also get Medium armor proficiency at this point, so it’s a good idea to grab one.

Level 4 perk choice depends on how you’ve been fighting until now. If you’re playing a finesse melee weapon, take Savage attacker. If you’ve been mostly playing with double +1 Hand crossbows, take Sharpshooter instead. It’s okay to play with crossbows for the first 4-5 levels, but you’re going to want to transition out of it sooner or later.

Level 5 will give you better bardic inspirations, and level 6 will give you your extra attack.

When you reach level 8 (that would be early-mid Act 2), it’s time to decide whether you want to play a full or a control martial. Both versions are extremely good at what they do and it’s up to you to decide. If you are unsatisfied with your initial choice, no worries, you can always respec, so long as you hold on to both variants’ key items.

The full martial variant gets more Manœuvres, an extra feat, complete freedom when it comes to which weapon to pick, and unsurprisingly, more weapon damage. The control martial version doesn’t get this, but has slightly more spell slots, will be able to cast next-to-completely irresistible Command and Hold Person spells on a bunch of enemies as a bonus action, has less weapon damage but gets access to Smites to mitigate this.

If we’re playing a full martial, our next step is to get the Battlemaster subclass to get access to Manœuvres. Go ahead and respec. Open Bard with the same characteristics and proficiencies as before. Then, immediately open fighter. Take whatever second fighting style you wish. If you’re not going to vary weapon types, Defence is good.

At Fighter level 3 , take Battlemaster. See Manœuvres selection for which abilities to pick. At Fighter level 4, take Savage Attacker. Fighter level 5 will give you your extra attack back. After that, get back into bard for two more levels. You should end at Swords Bard 3 / Battlemaster 5. You absolutely have to end your respec with a bard level (see Full martial key items).

Your priority is to get your improved bardic inspiration back. At Bard level 4, take Ability Score Improvement for +2 DEX. If you started with 17 DEX but didn’t get Hag’s Hair, take +1 DEX +1 CHA instead.

Note: regardless of which class you opened with, the optimal play would be to respec at level 9 and get 3 Battlemaster / 6 Swords bard, then respec again at level 10 to get 5 Battlemaster / 5 Swords bard. The reason for this is to get the Improved Bardic Inpisration right at level 9, while maintaining extra attack. But it is kind of a pain, and you can just accept to get Improved Bardic Inpisration a bit later.

Wrap up your build by taking your two last levels in fighter. At Fighter level 6, take Ability Score Improvement for +2 DEX again, or Dual Wielder if you want to dual wield medium weapons. At level 7, you get two extra Manœuvres (see Manœuvres selection again).

Note: this variant gets an extra level 3 spell slot, and a level 4 spell slot as well.

Note: if you’ve taken a Bard level at level 7, just respec and repeat the very same choices up to level 6 included. Make sure you get Hold person from Bard.

At level 7, open Paladin. Take whatever Oath you want. It’s worth noting that Oath of Vengeance is probably the hardest Oath to break.

Take two Paladin levels to get Smites. Make sure you get Command. Fighting style is up to you, but avoid Protection. You’re free to use a shield if you want, Protection just isn’t worth the reaction slot imho. Again, if you don’t know what to pick, Defence is always good.

Your last 4 levels will be in Fighter. Fighting style choice is up to personal preference at this point. At Fighter level 3, take the Battlemaster subclass. At Fighter level 4, take either Dual Wielder or Ability Score Improvement with +2 DEX if you don’t need Dual Wielder.

Fortunately, you have a bigger grimoire than what you need.

Longstrider is a must have. You can cast it for free on everyone in your party at the beginning of each day and enjoy. The rest is up to you.

When you get access to Level 2 spells, make sure you grab Enhance Ability. Getting advantage at will on any dialogue check is super useful. Heat Metal is an excellent control spell that you should get as well (you can get it on level up by replacing one of your offensive level 1 spells, such as Tasha’s or Sleep).

Once you get access to level 3 spells, grab Fear fore more control, and make sure you get Glyph of Warding. You can also get Hypnotic Pattern if you want to.

Get the three special smites and Command. Last spell is up to you.

Riposte is an amazing manœuvre and even more so on this build. You’re going to rock 25+ AC, so anyone attacking you in melee has good chances of being punished.

Trip attack and Disarming strike are excellent all game long. The first one gives you a good source of advantage, the second is yet another good control tool for you.

In my opinion, these are the three absolute must have of this build.

If you get more (Full martial version), Menacing attack is great. Goading attack is a much better Compelled Duel. You can get others if you like. Just avoid Pushing attack and Sweeping attack – you already have these effects with Slashing Flourish and Mobile Flourish. Note: you could decide you actually want to double down on these effects and are not interested in others. That is fine.

This build can do well with almost any weapon. I’m going to list a few options for each category/fighting style, but feel free to experiment.

NOTE: because of Steam’s ridiculous character limitations, I had to split this section in two.

Your first priority is getting a +1 weapon at Dammon’s. Rapier, shortsword, 2 * hand crossbow – you can play anything you like with this build. If you intend to play STR weapons, start stacking STR Elixirs at Ethel’s. You will need them until at least late Act 1.

The Gloves of the Growling Underdog[bg3.wiki] are accessible early and are a great item for this build, especially coupled with Slashing Flourish.

You can either get a Hide Armour +2[bg3.wiki] around the same time, or deeper in the act, an Adamantine Armor (medium[bg3.wiki], or heavy[bg3.wiki] if you started fighter).

The first good rapier you can get is the Sword of Screams[bg3.wiki]. Phalar Aluve[bg3.wiki] is a finesse weapon that works great on this build, although you might want it to give it to a support instead.

Grab the Caustic Band[bg3.wiki] while in the Underdark.

Club of Hill Giant Strength[bg3.wiki] is a hilarious way of increasing your STR and works as a dual wield weapon. It’s often better given to an archer with Titanstring however.

Towards the end of the act, you can get the Knife of the Undermountain King[bg3.wiki] which is a great weapon for dual wielders.

The Strange Conduit Ring[bg3.wiki] is a decent way of increasing your damage, so long as you concentrate on something. You can wear it now and swap it out later.

If you want to play STR weapons without having to use an elixir of STR, make sure you also get the Gloves of Dexterity[bg3.wiki] from the same vendor. You can then respec, dump all DEX, invest in STR and wear these gloves.

Yuan-Ti Scale Mail[bg3.wiki] can be bought within 30 minutes of Act 2 and is your second best armor. Make sure you buy it ASAP, you will wear it for all of Act 2. If it is contested, you can keep your Act 1 armor. Evasive Shoes[bg3.wiki] are your best boots and can be acquired at the same time. You can also get Cloak of Protection[bg3.wiki].

You’ll want to head to Moonrise Towers quickly as there are a lot of good items for you to get there. You can grab the Shadow-Cloaked Ring[bg3.wiki] on the way.

If you want to play a two handed weapon, the Halberd of Vigilance[bg3.wiki] is a fantastic weapon that you can keep until Act 3. You will need to use STR elixirs or to respec to be able to use it.

If you want to play one handed, you can wear the Sentinel Shield[bg3.wiki] for extra AC, initiative and advantage on perception checks. Make sure you pick up the Gloves of The Duellist[bg3.wiki] as well – if not now, you’ll want to use them in Act 3.

Make sure you grab Risky Ring[bg3.wiki] as well.

Finally, for dual wielders, there is two swords to grab for you – Slicing Shortsword[bg3.wiki] and Render of Mind and Body[bg3.wiki]. These two combine extremely well with Risky Ring and are light, so you don’t even need the Dual Wielder feat to wear them.

Dark Justiciar Gauntlets[bg3.wiki] and Flawed Helldusk Gloves[bg3.wiki] are both good ways to increase your weapon damage.

The Surgeon Subjugation Amulet[bg3.wiki] is a great amulet for you. Amulet of the Harpers[bg3.wiki] is also a good option, but you don’t really need more defence.

Later in the act, you can grab the Callous Glow Ring[bg3.wiki]. You can give Caustic Band to someone else after that. Do not wear it with Shadow-Cloaked Ring, obviously.

The Armour of Agility[bg3.wiki] is your best defensive armor. If somebody needs it more than you do, you can wear the Unwanted Masterwork Scalemail[bg3.wiki] or just stick to Yuan-Ti. For evil playthroughs, you can also consider the Bhaalist Armour[bg3.wiki].

Helldusk Gloves[bg3.wiki] are a great gloves option for both variants. You can also consider Legacy of the Masters[bg3.wiki] and, if you’re using STR weapons, Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength[bg3.wiki].

Speaking of Helldusk Gloves, the Helmet[bg3.wiki] is another good option for this build as it protects you from blindness and critical hits. It should only be considered if your key headpiece is contested however (see specific variants’ key items below).

Cloak of Displacement[bg3.wiki] is your best cloak, unless you have access to The Deathstalker Mantle[bg3.wiki].

If you’ve been dying for a dueling weapon, the Duellist’s Prerogative[bg3.wiki] is the best rapier in the game by far. You will need to keep your off-hand empty to make the most of it, however. If you don’t like that but still want to play a rapier, the Pelorsun Blade[bg3.wiki] is a fantastic alternative.

For Dual Wielders, you’ll want to couple Bloodthirst[bg3.wiki] (main hand) with Rhapsody[bg3.wiki]. The first one will force inflict vulnerability to Piercing damage on enemies you hit, and the second will boost just about everything (it’s also a key item for the control martial variant).

For two-handed weapon users, I absolutely have to mention The Dancing Breeze[bg3.wiki] which is the only Finesse Heavy weapon in the game. It is quite unique, and perfect for this build.

On the ranged side, Hellrider Longbow[bg3.wiki] and The Dead Shot[bg3.wiki] are both good options for their passives. Gontr Mael[bg3.wiki] is also great for Celestial Haste.

You can get the Diadem of Arcane Synergy[bg3.wiki] in late Act 1. It is your best headpiece and shouldn’t ever been taken off. Remember it will scale off the spellcasting ability of the last class you took. You can. This has been accounted for in the leveling process.

Gauntlets of the War Master[bg3.wiki] (Act 3) are an excellent option for your gloves, and unlikely to be contested by other party members. Your manœuvres (and weapon actions, i.e. actions unlocked by proficiency in the weapon you’re wielding) will have a much higher chance of triggering their effects.

The Helmet of Arcane Acuity[bg3.wiki] (Act 2) is a must-have for any control martial, and is broken beyond belief. Get two hits with your weapons (and more if you’re Hastened or use Action Surge), and you get double that amount as a bonus to your spell save DC. This item is key because it helps you casting irresistible control spells, such as Command and Hold person.

If the helmet is contested, worry not – the Gloves of Battlemage’s Power[bg3.wiki] (Act 3) have a very similar effect. “Inflicting a condition” is actually a very broad criterion and you shouldn’t have too much trouble fulfilling it.

The other absolute key item of the control variant can be acquired within 15 mins of Act 3. It is the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel[bg3.wiki], which will allow you to cast Command and Hold person as a bonus action, and thus make the most out of your Arcane Acuity. Remember, taking damage makes you lose Arcane Acuity charges.

If you’ve followed me thus far, congratulations – you’ve made it to the easiest part. Because, quite frankly, this build is not hard to play. Just get within melee range, and start hitting. Feel free to use your special Battlemaster actions as your Superiority Die recharge on a short rest (and once you get level 2 Bard, you get 3 short rests a day). The same can be said for Bardic Inspiration once you reach bard level 5.

A neat combo is to end your turn in melee range of an enemy and use Defensive Flourish on your last attack of the turn. You’ll get +4 AC if you hit, priming you for a Riposte (with a smite option if you’re playing the control version) when they try to strike back. Defensive Flourish also has a good combo with Goading Attack : the enemy either attacks your big boi AC, or someone else… with disadvantage. Pick your poison.

If you successfully land a Disarming Strike on an enemy, remember to pick up their weapon just after. It doesn’t consume an action and prevents the enemy from gearing back up. If you can’t, they still have to spend an action to equip their weapon again, so it’s not too big of a deal.

Trip attack is an excellent source of Advantage, and should be used as a first strike on an enemy (hit them with Trip attack before you hit them with anything or anyone else).

If you’re playing the control variant, don’t forget to do all your attack actions of the turn before casting a Command or Hold Person spell as a bonus action. Do not go Attack – Cast – Attack, there’s usually no real reason to.

Good news: you don’t have to. This guide is somewhat oriented towards one handed, Finesse weapons, but you can play two-handed weapons, heavy or not, finesse or not, and you can also play with dual wield. You don’t even need to respec too much if you want to experiment, as you get access to two fighting styles, three with the control martial variant. However, you should keep the following points in mind:

• Do not ever take Great Weapon Fighting as a fighting style. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but it’s completely irrelevant for this build since we’re going to use Savage Attacker which is universally better (works for all weapons and gives you advantage on damage roll rather than a situational re-roll).
• You can not invest in both STR and DEX, and you still want some DEX, at least for your AC. You can either invest in DEX (high starting score, Ability Score Improvement and optional Hag’s Hair) and have high STR with STR elixirs, or invest in STR (the same way you’d invest in DEX) and have a fixed 18 DEX with Gauntlets of Dexterity (see Loot to use).

The first option is obviously better since you’ll get higher DEX and higher STR than the second version will give you. The second option should only be considered if you absolutely can’t or won’t play with STR elixirs (which 100% fine especially if you want to free up your elixir slot for something else).

In my opinion however, you should stick to finesse weapons with this build. Not only are there great finesse weapons for every fighting style (Dueling, Two weapon and even Two handed), it also frees up your elixir slot for something else such as Elixir of Bloodlust. Using finesse weapons plays much more into the strengths of this build. But I will do my best do give you a lot of alternatives (see Loot to use) so you can experiment however you wish.

Sure you can. Both your Bardic inspiration and Manœuvre abilities have ranged variants and you have at least two fighting styles, so you might as well get one for your melee weapon of choice and another for ranged damage. If you have high STR (through Elixirs or direct investment), you can even play Titanstring Bow which is the best ranged weapon in the game.

Just don’t expect to be better than a dedicated archer build at what they do.

Note: if you don’t know what 10/1/1 is, check out this excellent guide.

It is unquestionably better when it comes to control. You have a better Spell Save DC and more control spells. Typically, my variant misses out on Confusion which is an incredible control tool.

But 6/4/2 isn’t just a control martial build – it remains, at its core, what the Blade Master aims to offer: a classy, highly customizable melee build. At the end of the day, both builds are good at what they do.

This is another approach of the Control Martial version. At level 6 lore bard, you get access to Magical Secrets, which can get you Command without a Paladin dip, but also Counterspell, which is an incredible control option. Unfortunately, you only get to cast it at level 3.

In my opinion, it is less powerful than 6 Swords Bard / 4 Fighter / 2 Paladin, but still perfectly viable.

This is the original idea, and probably best played with the Duellist’s Prerogative. You can get up to 4 attacks a turn (3 per action + 1 bonus action). You also get access to Eldritch Blast, Hex, Counterspell, and five level 3 spell slots, two of which can be recharged on a short rest, thrice a day. It’s a slightly messier, but crazy fun version of the build. Your best stat will be CHA once you get Pact of the Blade, so make sure to respec accordingly.

If something isn’t clear to you, or if you feel like I missed something, let me know in the comments below. I read every single comment I get, and will do my best to answer yours.

Thanks for reading the guide and I hope you have fun with the build!