Bard is a great class to have in any party—they have diverse skills and can boost their party's abilities. If you are like me and enjoy being the funny or silly one at the party, Bard is the perfect choice to bring joy to your group in the form of song and inspiration. But how do you make an effective Bard build? Read on.
Best Stats for Bards in BG3
When building a Bard, you will want to focus on the important ability scores—chief among them Charisma. With that, you should have no problem handling many of the conversations throughout the game. Bards can be very versatile in combat, as your primary ability for spellcasting is Charisma, while a high Dexterity can help with initiative and attack modifiers. Bards should also have decent Constitution to help with saves and increase their health.
Here are the best ability scores for a Bard:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 15
- Constitution: 13
- Intelligence: 10
- Wisdom: 12
- Charisma: 17
Best Bard Subclass in BG3
At Level 3, you will choose a subclass for your Bard. There are three Bard subclasses, and each has different abilities that will allow you to become a better support, do more damage, or have higher defense. If you want to be a pure Bard, the College of Lore subclass is the best choice. However, if you plan on multiclassing for more damage or attacks, College of Swords or College of Valour are amazing to start in.
If you want to build a College of Lore subclass, you will want some great support spells and some that will debuff the enemy. Here are some of the best spells to take as a College of Lore subclass:
| Level | Spells |
| Cantrips | Vicious Mockery, Friends, Dancing Lights |
| 1 | Dissonant Whispers, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Faerie Fire, Healing Word |
| 2 | Hold Person, Blindness, Invisibility |
| 3 | Fear, Bestow Curse, Hypnotic Pattern |
| 4 | Dimension Door, Polymorph |
These spells will also be beneficial for the other subclasses, but if you want to multiclass with the College of Swords or College of Valour, you will lose access to a level or two of spells. Still, I think it will be worth it if you want to do more weapon damage or be more defensive. If you want to build a College of Swords or College of Valour Bard, you can dip into Fighter to get Action Surge and boost your AC with better armor proficiencies and shields.
The College of Swords and College of Valour can also dip two levels into Paladin to unlock the Paladin abilities Lay on Hands, Divine Sense, Divine Smite, and a Fighting Style. You will also want to choose the Vengeance subclass, but the other choices can be very helpful as well.
Best Feats for Bards in BG3
| Feats | Description |
| Lucky | You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws, or to make an enemy reroll their Attack Rolls. |
| Spell Sniper | You learn a cantrip, and the number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can stack. |
| War Caster | You gain Advantage on Saving Throws to maintain Concentration on a spell. You can also use a reaction to cast Shocking Grasp at a target moving out of melee range. |
| Ability Improvement | You increase one Ability by 2, or two Abilities by 1, to a maximum of 20. |
The Ability Improvement is very beneficial because you can increase your Charisma 18 or 19 (or your Dexterity if you want to build a College of Swords or College of Valour Bard).
For more Baldur's Gate builds, check out BG3 Monk Build Guide – Best Stats and Subclass and BG3 Tempest Cleric Sorcerer Build Guide – Best Stats and Spells here on Pro Game Guides.
Published: Aug 10, 2023 02:02 pm