Game Guides
Baldur's Gate 3 · Classes & Builds. Class, subclass, companion and protagonist levelling and build guides. Browse Baldur's Gate 3 Drunken Master Monk Build: Hit-and-Run, Ki & Gear, Baldur's Gate 3 Stars Druid Build: Starry Form Switching, Spells & Gear, Baldur's Gate 3 College of Glamour Bard Build: Control, Mantles & Gear, with requirements, routes and walkthrough steps.
Drunken Master is not Open Hand with a drinking joke painted over it. Its core Patch 8 feature, Drunken Technique, replaces Flurry of Blows with two punches that also grant extra movement and Disengage. Intoxicating Strike can make an enemy Drunk; Life of the Party then improves your AC and attack rolls against Drunk targets; later features reward being missed or cash out the Drunk state for psychic damage.
Pick Stars Druid when you want a full caster that spends Wild Shape on Starry Form, not on becoming an animal. Unlike Moon Druid, you keep casting every turn: Archer adds repeatable Bonus Action radiant damage, Chalice turns a slot-based healing spell into extra healing on another target, and Dragon protects concentration while adding a short-range radiant breath. At level 10, Twinkling Constellations upgrades all three and lets you switch form once per turn for free.
College of Glamour is a party-control Bard, not a weaker Lore Bard with prettier animations. Mantle of Inspiration converts one Bardic Inspiration and a Bonus Action into temporary hit points for multiple allies; melee attackers who hit those protected allies can become Charmed. At level 6, Mantle of Majesty can be activated once per Long Rest and requires Concentration for up to 10 turns.
The throw loop is simple: Giant’s Rage enlarges you and doubles the Rage damage bonus on thrown attacks, Elemental Cleaver turns almost any held weapon into a returning elemental projectile for the rest of that Rage, and Mighty Impel eventually lets you spend a Bonus Action throwing creatures or objects around the battlefield. Path of the Giant is the first Barbarian subclass in BG3 that makes throwing feel like the intended main plan instead of a side trick.
A BG3 build is only good if it solves a job in the party. A 900-damage showcase is useless if it arrives too late, consumes gear three other characters need, or leaves the party without control and skill coverage. After Patch 8, the pool is wider because every class received a new subclass, but the level cap is still 12 and the same action economy rules apply.
Death Domain turns the Cleric into a necrotic pressure caster without deleting the class’s best support tools. Reaper lets a qualifying single-target Necromancy cantrip strike a second nearby target, Touch of Death turns a melee hit into a large Channel Divinity burst, and Inescapable Destruction eventually lets your necrotic damage ignore resistance.
Patch 8 finally gives Fighter a dedicated magical archer without turning the class into a half-caster. The important part is still the Fighter chassis: Archery Fighting Style, Action Surge, four feat opportunities and Improved Extra Attack at level 11. Arcane Archer layers a short-rest pool of Arcane Arrows on top, then asks you to choose the shot whose saving throw and secondary effect fit the target.
The obvious Storm Sorcerer trick is Wet plus Lightning: Wet normally makes a target Vulnerable to Lightning and Cold, so a Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning can hit for double damage. The subclass is better than that one combo. Tempestuous Magic turns every levelled spell into a Bonus Action 9 m flight that does not provoke Opportunity Attacks.
College of Swords looks like a martial Bard at level 3, but its endgame ceiling comes from connecting the two halves of the class. Blade Flourish turns Bardic Inspiration into weapon actions. Extra Attack at Bard 6 makes the bow plan real. Helmet of Arcane Acuity lets weapon hits raise spell attack and spell save DC, and Band of the Mystic Scoundrel later turns eligible Illusion/Enchantment spells into Bonus Actions after a weapon hit.