Early Access showed a slew of classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, but it really looks like the best is yet to come.
Along with revealing the final full launch class, the Monk, Larian’s final preview of Baldur’s Gate 3 sketched out the remaining subclasses to be added to the game, as well as what to expect from the pre-existing subclasses afterward. early access. 5 level ceiling.
Like Divinity: Original Sin 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 looks like a game that will celebrate lateral thinking and odd choices, playstyles perhaps more fun than optimal. To that end, we’ve put together our list of the six subclasses we’re most looking forward to trying out in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Bard of the College of Swords
What is this? A jack-of-all-trades/melee damage caster, also known as “Blade”
Choose this class if you want: Expanded dialogue and non-combat options, and for holding out in melee
Fans of the Baldur’s Gate series might recognize this Fighter/Mage alt, a Fighter/Mage with a septum piercing if you will, from his appearance in Baldur’s Gate 2 as a player option and companion chosen class Haer’Dalis. The Blade Bard in BG3 appears to have an overall similar kit to the Valor Bard available in Early Access, but the Blade is a bit less tanky and support focused, with more ability to deal its own damage with dual rapiers or similar.
There’s a distinct swashbuckling flair to the flashy combat focused on blade dexterity. They gain certain martial bonuses like combat style (I would go with dual wielding as they lack shield mastery) and extra attack alongside the bard’s spell casting and support kit, as well as the unique ability ” Blade Flourish”. The latter is a special attack that deals additional damage and can either increase your own AC, damage a second enemy, or knock an enemy back. All together, I imagine the fun and versatility of a Bard with more serious front-line damage abilities, and it seems like a good time.
Most types of Powergamey D&D forums aren’t big on Blades, but that seems like a more than viable playstyle to me at most difficulty settings. One thing that would really take the blade from “you can have fun with it” to a “you can really kick ass with it” is if Larian upped the tabletop class’s “Master’s Flourish” ability from level 14 to level 12. of BG3 -level range. This ability decouples the College of Swords bards’ flourish ability from their limited uses of bardic inspiration, allowing you to use your inspirations as they were meant to while still flourishing throughout the day.
Circle of Spore Druid
What is this? Stinky Mushroom Man
Choose this class if you want: To enact the will of the spore gods
The stinky boys stand up. This druid subclass is permanently surrounded by a “Halo of Spores” like the fucking Pigpen in Peanuts. Your spores can defend you when approached in battle, give you temporary hit points, or even infest your weapons. Eventually, Spore Druids can use their Fungal Friends to breed Zombies into battle, and their Stink Guy abilities all come on top of the standard Druid Support and Damage spell spread.
I’m less familiar with Druids and their arsenal, but nothing in the Circle of Spore repertoire resembles an OP mode choice, home run beast (applying necrotic damage to your weapons seems pretty sick though). I think you choose this class more for the flavor: the flavor of mushrooms and rotting flesh. In the spirit of low intelligence Fallout characters or Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines Malkavians, sometimes you just want to play as a weird, smelly monster that no one likes and that’s fine.
Path of the Shadow Monk
What is this? A stealthy ninja martial artist.
Choose this class if you want: To move quickly on this battlefield, strike enemies from the shadows
Besides the various martial arts abilities typical of a monk, shadow monks focus more on hit-and-run tactics and stealth. One of their most exciting abilities to me is Shadow Step, a limited “dim light or dark” teleportation ability. I’m curious how this will be handled in the full game, but positioning abilities are always a winner in Larian’s generally restrictive turn-based action economies.
I seriously considered the Shadow Monk’s multiclass abilities with Gloom Stalker Rangers or Assassin Rogues (or even both, if you want to get weird), but Baldur’s Gate 3’s level cap of 12 seems a bit restrictive for this, especially considering the Monk’s reliance on their who pool to trigger special abilities.
Darkstalker Prowler
What is this? An edgelord focused on shadows and darkness
Choose this class if you want: To ambush enemies stealthily whenever possible.
Ranger definitely felt like one of the weaker classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access, but that might change with the Gloom Stalker. Their big advantage comes from their level three ability to choose the class: Dread Embusher. Gloom Stalkers gain bonus movement speed, extra attack, And bonus damage on their first turn in combat. Basically, you want to start every battle by stealthily exploding with an incredibly powerful ambush.
Gloom Stalker also seems like a strong multi-class contender with the Rogue’s Assassin subclass, gaining advantage, sneak attack, and auto-crit against opponents who haven’t yet taken a turn in combat, all on top of Dread Ambusher. The Gloom Stalker doesn’t seem to lose much after level 9 other than a potential increase in feats/attributes at the end of the game, so a Gloom Stalker 9/Assassin 3 seems to me like a really tempting choice for all DPS nerdlingers/ stealth game there. A character designed to take out as much opposition as possible early in a battle, definitely focusing on dexterity and opting for dual finesse weapons or a bow.
Oathbreaker Paladin
What is this? A Paladin subclass unlocked by breaking Paladin Law.
Choose this class if you want: To be a real sad bag, pissed off guy with nothing to lose.
Oathbreaker is weird, and it’s really cool to see how Larian implemented it. Instead of the classic D&D Lawful Good alignment restriction, 5E paladins now have an “oath” they can break based on their in-game actions (and the specific limits of your oath depend on the subclass you you choose). If you break your oath by behaving in a way unbecoming a paladin, you become an oath breaker, gaining different abilities as a result.
The Oathbreaker reminds me a lot of the Blackguards from previous editions, though the Oathbreakers seem like they could be interpreted as anything from a reluctant, haunted former paladin to a villain in their own right. Oathbreakers are more explicitly focused on debuffs/damage, losing healing and support abilities from other Paladins. Additionally, Oathbreakers’ emphasis on charisma, much like normal paladins, leaves them ready to solve quests via dialogue options in addition to strength.
Pair Paladin’s Oaths originally Dark Urge, which gives you a bizarre serial killer that lives inside your head, all alongside a tiny Cthulhu worm that Also lives in your head, and there’s some fun role-playing opportunities here for a seriously internal-conflict Dudley Do-Right type of holy warrior.
wild magic barbarian
What is this? A barbarian who loves magic, but isn’t the best at controlling it
Choose this class if you want: To surprise enemies and yourself
The path of wild magic gives D&D 5e barbarians the ability to add spells to their rage-induced slicing and hammering, without the finesse of a typical warlock or warlock. The standout feature is Wild Surge. Starting at 3rd level, you cast a spell each time you enter a rage, but you cannot determine which spell. A d8 roll determines whether you’ll tear your enemies apart with necrotic damage, teleport to a new random location, or perhaps summon explosive spirits. These Barbarians can also detect nearby magic spells and items, and at higher levels can magically buff allies.
This subclass is not available in the early access version of Baldur’s Gate 3, so we don’t know exactly how it is implemented. Larian could have created his own special spell table for Wild Surge, for example. I’m not sure Wild Magic Barbarians is necessarily a powerful class, if you max out, but they could be fun, especially if Larian finds ways to make their out-of-control magic set off disastrous chain reactions from time to time.