Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Minsc Build Guide

As the only BG3 companion that can join your camp in Act 3, Minsc is a late-game addition to your Baldur's Gate 3 party, which can make building him a challenge. That doesn't mean he isn't worth trying out, though. As a Ranger, he is unique among the companions, and his strongest build can be a massive asset in taking down the Absolute.

What is the best build for Minsc in BG3?

While both Gloom Stalker and Beast Master are great choices for Minsc, I recommend Beast Master all the way. This choice allows you to call an extra companion into battle, like a wolf or hamster, to help clean up some of the enemies. Having an extra set of hands—or in this case, paws—during a fight can mean the difference between a win and a loss.

Related: BG3 – How to save the Tieflings & Wulbren in Baldur’s Gate 3

Subclasses for Minsc are chosen at Level 3, so players won't have to respec this companion when he comes to their team. He'll start at level one when he first joins your camp, but can be leveled up to match your party.

Building Minsc as Beast Master in Baldur's Gate 3

I like to head to Withers in order to change Minsc's Level 1. It only costs 100 gold, which should not be a burden at this point in the game. This allows you to choose the Favored Enemy type along with Minsc's stats. Favored Enemy is a passive that allows you to choose the type of enemy that Minsc will be strongest against.

• Bounty Hunter (Best): You gain Proficiency in Investigation. Creatures you hit with Ensnaring Strike have Disadvantage on their Saving Throw. I like this one the best because of the bonus it gives to Ensnaring Strike.
• Keeper of the Veil: You specialize in hunting creatures from other planes of existence. You gain Proficiency in Arcana, and you gain the BG3 spell Protection From Good and Evil.
• Mage Breaker (Default): You have a history of battling spellcasters. You have Proficiency in Arcana and can cast True Strike.
• Ranger Knight: You have sworn to serve a crown or nation and seek to bring its foes to ruin. Gain Skill Proficiency in History and Armor Proficiency with Heavy Armor.
• Sanctified Stalker: You swore to hunt enemies of a holy or druidic order. You gain Proficiency in Religion and can cast Sacred Flame.

Next up is Natural Explorer, which has five options for Minsc to choose from. The default, called Beast Master, is the best choice; it grants Minsc the use of Find Familiar. I mean, would Minsc even be Minsc without the ability to summon his miniature giant space hamster, Boo? The other four choices give Minsc a bonus to Sleight of Hand, cold resistance, fire resistance, or poison resistance. While these are all somewhat helpful, Find Familiar is the best choice here. After picking these two, you will have to choose Minsc's base stats. The defaults for these are:

• Strength: 13
• Dexterity: 17
• Constitution: 13
• Intelligence: 8
• Wisdom: 14
• Charisma: 10

I changed this up a little since, with my party's layout, Minsc didn't need any Charisma. Intelligence and Charisma therefore made for great dump stats for everyone's favorite Ranger. Here is how I laid out his starting base stats:

• Strength: 14 (With +1 bonus)
• Dexterity: 17 (With +2 bonus)
• Constitution: 14
• Intelligence: 8
• Wisdom: 13
• Charisma: 9

Level 2

Level 2 has a couple more choices to make for Minsc's loadout. In order to get the most out of choosing Favoured Enemy: Bounty Hunter for Level 1, you'll want to make sure to choose Ensnaring Strike for Minsc's first spell slot. I also like Hunter's Mark here. The extra damage that Hunter's Mark grants can be the difference between success and a loss. The next choice, Fighting Style, will depend a lot on what sort of team composition you are already running when Minsc is added.

• Archery: Get a +2 bonus to ranged weapon attacks. This one pairs especially well with Gontr Mael.
• Defense: Gain one extra AC.
• Dueling: If you are wielding a non-versatile, single-handed weapon and have no weapon in your other hand, each blow with it deals an additional 2 damage.
• Two-Handed Fighting: Add your Ability Modifier to damage dealt with your off-hand weapon.

Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) Enemy of Justice, Explained

Personally, I like having two ranged attackers and two melee in my party at all times, so I would either choose Dueling and give him a sword and shield, or I would choose Archery, depending on whether or not he would be ranged. I prefer him as a ranged character, so we'll go with that for the rest of the build.

Level 3 to 12

• Level 3: Choose Beast Master for Minsc's subclass, and Longstrider as the spell choice; you can always use the extra movement speed here. As a ranged character, I like to have a little extra pep in my step to get out of the way of enemies.
• Level 4: As a first feat, I almost always choose Lucky. Lucky gives that character three extra luck points that can be spent to force an enemy to reroll their attack dice. You can also use it to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws. This is an effective failsafe for those Critical Fails in the middle of a scary fight.
• Level 5: This level only comes with a single spell, and I like Silence here. This is a great way to cripple magic opponents.
• Level 6: Level 6 gives us another choice for both Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer. I like Cold Resistance and Ranger Knight to give Minsc access to heavy armor.
• Level 7: Spike Growth is a great tool for slowing enemies down, but this late in the game, you might want to go with Hail of Thorns instead. It's a damage spell that still hits enemies even when they Save.
• Level 8: We get to choose yet another Feat; I like Sharpshooter for those who picked Archery, or Savage Attacker for melee.
• Level 9: You can choose yet another spell for Minsc; pick something that fits your current party makeup. If you need more healing, you can choose Cure Wounds, Conjure Barrage for another damage spell, or even Talk with Animals if you don't have it for any other character.
• Level 10: At 10, we get to pick another Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer. I like Mage Striker for True Strike and Poison Resistance.
• Level 11: Pick one of the spells you didn't get to pick at level 9.
• Level 12: Our last level allows Minsc to get one more Feat. I like Ability Improvement; it gives you a couple of points to put onto your core stats. Add them both to Dexterity, or one to Dexterity and one to Constitution.

Best Multi-Class Spec for Minsc in BG3

If you're playing BG3 on Balanced or Tactician, you can multi-class all your characters, including Minsc. While the best thematic combination would probably be Barbarian and Ranger mixed together, I like Ranger and Rogue dual specing. This gives him the power of Sneak Attack (Ranged) and Sneak Attack (Melee). These spells can be absolutely devastating when coupled with Ranger's Archery and Bounty Hunter-enhanced Ensnaring Strike. Grab three levels from Rogue in order to get the bonus Dash at level 2 and the subclass Assassin for Assassin's Alacrity.

For more Baldur's Gate 3, check out BG3 – How to Cure the Shadow Curse on Pro Game Guides.