More stuff about Baldur’s Gate 3
What I didn’t say last time, I’m saying now
I love Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3). And following the article I wrote last issue about it, I still have more to say.
Without spoiling anything, if there’s one thing you need to know about getting into Act Two, it’s that Shadowheart is your friend. I don’t care whether or not you like her as a character, she is going to be your best friend if you want to succeed in combat quickly. I can confirm this, because I’m in the same area of the game as my dad, who I previously mentioned does not keep Shadowheart in his party, and I am whizzing through the combat in comparison to him.
She is going to be your friend because of two great things: the spell Spirit Guardians, and Channel Divinity: Turn Undead. Spirit Guardians is one of the best third level spells in the game, if not in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) altogether. Anything that gets even close to you is going to take damage. I will run around with Spirit Guardians up, not even doing any actions other than Dash, and just kill everything in seconds. Once again, without spoilers, it’s your best friend for Halsin’s mission at the beginning of Act Two.
Last time I talked about what your highest ability score should be based on your class, but I didn’t really talk about the classes which can be picked during character creation. So, here I am to remedy that.
Barbarians hit hard and fast. Their unique thing is the ability to rage. When you’re raging, you do extra damage and you take less damage from your enemies.
Bards are music maestros, typically. They’re masters of the arts. Their bonus is inspiration, which is a godsend if you like to talk your way out of things, versus barbarians who might fight their way out of things. Inspiration starts at giving an ally a 1d6 die for attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. If they’re just so close to reaching the die roll they need, inspiration can get them there. It starts as a d6, but that die will grow as you level up.
Clerics are my bread and butter. I’ve been playing D&D for five years, I’ve played six long-term clerics, and it’s not a surprise that my first BG3 character was indeed a cleric. Clerics are super customizable based on their subclass and they don’t need to be healers. If you want to heal, go with the life domain. If you want to destroy everything the sun touches, go with tempest.
Druids are nature’s best friend. Their big thing is that they can wild shape AKA transform into animals. The best part about that is the pile of extra hit points you get with it. There’s also the Circle of Spores subclass in BG3, which makes you a giant mushroom monster, and I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to be a giant mushroom monster.
Fighters are your best starting class if you don’t want anything complicated. They hit stuff and they hit it really well.
Monks are sick as fuck. They’re real life karate kids. When you’re a monk, you get Ki Points, which you can use on things like extra attacks. You just punch things to death, and they’re my second favorite class after cleric.
Paladins are the jocks of the D&D classes. They’re like clerics, having an oath to uphold as they go about their lives. Personally, I think they’re more healer-based than clerics. You get a big sword, heavy armor, and you’ll feel a little like a frat bro.
Rangers are nature fiends, but not as much as druids. They have a more limited spell list and they’re more about hunting than they are preservation. They get favoured enemies, which can change your cantrips and get you bonuses against fighting those enemies later in the game.
Rogues are sneaky and agile. They have sneak attack damage. If you have advantage against a target, you’ll do extra damage to them, and that damage gets higher as you level up.
Sorcerers are spellcasters, but they get their magic through their blood, and you can be half-dragon.
Warlocks get their magic by making a deal with an otherworldly being. But, warlocks only get two spell slots and that’s it, though they reset with a short rest.
Wizards are nerds. They get their magic from books and they are easy to hit. High risk, high reward type characters. Expect to hang in the backline, hit hard, and avoid getting hit yourself with your armour class of 10.
This should wrap things up for now, so get into the game and get playing!
