Not all builds in Baldur's Gate 3 have to be about power and efficiency. Interesting concept-based characters can provide a unique and fun experience even if they don't prioritize raw stats and combat prowess.
When creating a Baldur's Gate 3 character, it can be tempting to prioritize optimizing everything, but the most intriguing build paths often prioritize fun first. There are a plethora of approaches to crafting a unique character for Baldur's Gate 3, with some paths being more whimsical and humorous than others. While optimizing a build for maximum power and efficiency is a rewarding pursuit, exploring different paths and embracing unconventional ideas can offer a more enjoyable and memorable experience. Ultimately, the most important thing is to find a balance between fun and functionality that suits your preferences and creates a character that you genuinely enjoy playing.
Baldur's Gate 3 is fantastic for roleplaying, with tons of NPCs and companions to interact with to help bring the story to life. Whether focusing on the roleplaying experience for a first campaign or kicking back after a punishing Honour Mode run, there are plenty of reasons to set aside the idea of getting the highest stats. The builds below are not all optimal or even powerful, but they all offer something a little different and most importantly: they are fun. These builds work great on a custom Tav or even a respecced or changed companion character.
A bard is a character whose presence is not required in order to effectively control a situation, so crowd control spells like Tasha's hideous laughter, hold person, Otto's irresistible dance and silence are crucial. While out of combat, charm person, disguise self or seeming are also valuable skills. It's also incredibly fun to get serious NPCs to dance along to a tune, which can often result in a silly sight.
By far the most fun fighter build in Baldur's Gate 3 is the Battle Master with their Battle Maneuvers. This allows the fighter to engage in combat in a dynamic and exciting manner, disarming enemies, pushing them, and knocking them prone in a way that is more impactful and effective than in tabletop Dungeons & Dragons. This build is highly enjoyable as it enhances combat engagement and allows players to build a powerful character early on in the game.
This would already be a really fun and powerful character, but by adding three levels of rogue and choosing the Thief subclass, the character will get an extra bonus action and become even more entertaining. This is perfect for Flurry of Blows, which with Tavern Brawler will mean tons of damage per turn.When starting a new character, druid should be chosen and leveled up to level two with Circle of the Moon as the subclass. After that, switch to barbarian and level up to level three, choosing Wildheart and Bear Heart for resistance to all damage types except psychic while raging. After this, it is entirely up to personal preference, but a 50/50 split works well to balance the strengths of both classes.After gaining Flurry of Blows, Stunning Strike, and an extra attack, multiclass into rogue. Follow rogue until level three and choose Assassin to gain auto crits on surprised enemies and advantage on attack rolls if the enemy hasn't taken their turn. Then return to monk to fully take advantage of the shadows and sneak attack fun and savor the moments where enemies don't know what hit them until it's too late.The Dark Urge is an interesting option for custom character creation in Baldur's Gate 3, but it is not the right fit for every campaign. This simple build is more roleplay focused with no multiclassing. Here, just make a wizard and choose School of Necromancy. This choice works well thematically with Grim Harvest healing the Dark Urge when they kill with a spell, but is also practical in using animate dead. A Necromancy wizard creates better zombies using the animate dead spell, raising two corpses at a time with more hit points. Just remember to keep some spare corpses back at camp to make sure the Necromancer never runs out of new friends.
Another simple but effective build is the Storm Cleric, a versatile multiclass that combines the classic DnD multiclass combo of Tempest cleric with Storm sorcerer to unleash a flurry of lightning strikes. Begin by choosing a cleric who specializes in Tempest domain to gain access to heavy armor and Destructive Wrath at level two. Then, shift your focus to sorcerer, acquiring Tempestuous Magic, which lets you soar as a bonus action after casting a spell. Invest in Lightning or Thunder spells and level up sorcerer to unlock a plethora of lightning and thunder-based spells, culminating in the devastating lightning bolt. As you progress, don't neglect Shadowheart's allure and repec her into late game for unmatched damage during the final BG3 battle.
Jennifer English discusses playing Shadowheart in Baldur's Gate 3, her love for the role, and how she found the truth behind her character.
However, it is important to remember that since the character's ability to throw items or enemies is based off their Strength score, not their modifier, pumping as many points into Strength as possible is a crucial part of the build. This will also open up more inventory space thanks to an increased carry weight, making it easier to lug around absurd items to throw at foes.
Baldur's Gate 3's Sorcerers draw directly on the arcane to cast spells, but having the best spells is essential for survival on the Sword Coast.
To start, create a Wild Magic sorcerer then switch to barbarian for three levels, then choose the Wild Magic subclass. Switch back to sorcerer and continue to level that for the rest of the game. Now watch the utter mayhem unfold in every fight thanks to a surplus of random rolls with surprising effects granted by using the most ridiculous build for Baldur's Gate 3.