by theygamesWhat’s the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard build? We’ve got you covered. Our guide takes a look at the College of Valour, as well as the top selections for races, abilities, and spells.
The Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard performs tunes to buff teammates, while also insulting and demoralizing foes. We previously talked about various facets in our Baldur’s Gate 3 classes overview so you can learn all about them in time for the release date, which has been pulled forward by almost a month.
Best Bard build
Subclasses and Spells
The best Bard subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the College of Valour. It has the following perks:
- Combat Inspiration – Applies the default Bardic Inspiration effect to an ally, as well as the option to add +1d6 to the damage of their next weapon attack, or to their Armor Class (AC) for one attack.
- Medium Armour Proficiency
- Shield Proficiency
- Martial Weapon Proficiency
At the time of writing, the Bard has two subclasses: College of Lore and College of Valour. You can choose either of these once you reach level 3.
The proficiencies alone make the Bard more suitable for combat, giving you the option to take the fight to your foes. Comparatively, the College of Lore is mostly if you want to make the Bard succeed in a variety of skill checks. As such, it firmly relegates the class to a pure support role.
Abilities
The best stats for Bard are:
- 8-10 Strength
- 14-16 Dexterity
- 14-15 Constitution
- 8-10 Intelligence
- 10 Wisdom
- 16 Charisma or higher
The Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard relies primarily on charisma for spellcasting. Dexterity is also important for initiative and armor class rating. And, of course, there’s constitution, which increases your HP.
The values can change depending on the race you pick, which we’ll explain thoroughly later.
Race
The best race for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 is:
- Wood Half-Elf
- Asmodeus Tiefling
Without a doubt, the Wood-Half Elf is the best Bard race in Baldur’s Gate 3. This is because of the following:
- +2 Charisma
- Ability Improvements – This lets you add one point each to constitution and dexterity, if you prefer
- Darkvision – Allows you to see in the dark
- Fey Ancestry – Resistance to charm and sleep
- Fleet of Foot – 10.5m movement range
- Mask of the Wild – Stealth proficiency
The Asmodeus Tiefling is also a reasonable option, and comes with the following:
- +2 Charisma
- +1 Intellect
- Darkvision
- Hellish Resistance – Resistance to fire
- Thaumaturgy cantrip – Advantages to Intimidation and Performance checks
- Legacy of Avernus: Searing Smite and Branding Smite – Additional spells that don’t use up a spell slot
Backgrounds and skills
The best background for Bard is the Entertainer. The best skills to focus on for Bard are acrobatics and performance and stealth.
As noted earlier, the Bard has to focus on charisma, dexterity, and constitution. Constitution itself doesn’t have any related skills, whereas you probably won’t have all dexterity-based options. However, due to the Bard’s features, you can have all the skills that rely on charisma.
- Background: Entertainer – By far the best Bard background in Baldur’s Gate 3. This gives you boosts to acrobatics (dexterity) and performance (charisma).
- Skills: Acrobatics and performance (from the Entertainer background); stealth (if you picked the Wood Half-Elf); you can then get deception, persuasion, and intimidation, which are all charisma-based skills.
Class feature – Bardic Inspiration
Bardic Inspiration is available by default, and it’s the feature that makes the Bard quite unique. You can’t cast this spell on yourself, but you can buff your allies. In turn, they can gain a +1d6 bonus to their attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws. Your teammate doesn’t need to use this bonus immediately, so they can save it until it’s actually necessary.
By default, you can only have three Bardic Inspiration charges (during early access). These are fully refreshed whenever you do a long rest in your camp.
Leveling: The best Bard spells
Compared to other classes, the Bard does not prepare spells out of a pool. Instead, you have to select specific spells that will be usable. You won’t be able to access or replace those you’ve chosen until the next time you level up. As such, it’s important to pick those that you’d really need. Below, we’ve listed what we consider to be the best spells for the Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Level 1 Cantrips
The best Cantrips for Bard are:
- Vicious Mockery – Deals psychic damage and imposes a disadvantage on the enemy’s next attack roll
- Dancing Lights – Creates wisps of light to illuminate an area; makes it easier to hit targets that are in the dark.
Level 1 Spells
The best Spells for Bard are:
- Healing Word – Having a healing spell as a bonus action is always a good idea
- Heroism – Prevents your ally from being frightened and gives +5 temporary HP each turn
- Dissonant Whispers – Deals psychic damage and frightens a creature; if the target does a saving throw, it will still take half damage
- Thunderwave – Requires concentration, but it will deal damage and push away all targets in a frontal cone; fall damage might kill them outright
Level 2: Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest, and Additional Spell
At level 2, you can get the following benefits:
- Jack of All Trades – This passive adds half of your proficiency bonus to other ability checks that you’re not proficient in. Basically, this helps you succeed in various checks more often.
- Song of Rest – Your party gets revitalized as though you also took a short rest (i.e., healing and Wizard spell slot refresh).
- Tasha’s Hideous Laughter – Causes the creature to become prone due to laughter; might shake off the effect if it takes damage.
Level 3: Subclass Choice, Skills with Expertise, and Level 2 Spell Slot
This time, you get to choose your subclass. Naturally, we’ll go with the College of Valour. Likewise, you can select two skills that you already have proficiencies in, granting them expertise for an even higher bonus.
Here are the best Level 2 spells for Bard:
- Shatter (best) – Deals thunder damage in a small radius; on a save, the targets still take half the damage
- Phantasmal Force (optional) – Deals psychic damage, and additional damage per turn; the element/type changes depending on what caused the damage
- Calm Emotions (optional) – Makes all humanoids in an area immune to charm or frighten effects
- Cloud of Daggers (optional) – Conjure spinning daggers in an area; lasts 10 turns
Level 4: Extra Cantrip and Level 2 Spell Slot
At level 4, you can select another cantrip. Blade Ward remains the only viable option here, as it gives resistance against weapon attacks. Likewise, you can pick another level 2 spell, so feel free to choose from the suggestions we mentioned above.
Level 5: Font of Inspiration, Improved Bardic Inspiration, and Level 3 Spell Slot
At level 5, you’ll gain the following:
- Font of Inspiration – Bardic Inspiration is fully recharged when you take long rests and short rests.
- Improved Bardic Inspiration – The bonus is now +1d8.
- Level 3 Spell – We recommend Hypnotic Pattern, since it can hypnotize all creatures within a medium-sized area. This prevents them from taking actions or moving, and the effect only ends when they’re attacked or when they get helped.
Equipment
Even if the College of Valour subclass allows the Bard to be more viable in combat situations, you won’t always be in the frontline. As such, you can make do with just a one-handed weapon and a shield, as well as a hand crossbow. Medium armor is also a given, so don’t worry too much about your defenses.
As for other items, you’ll definitely want the Cap of Curing. This grants a boost to your Bardic Inspiration, causing it to also heal your ally for +1d6 HP. It’s found in a gilded chest next to a Tiefling Bard named Alfira in the Druid Grove.
That does it for our Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard build guide. Don’t forget that early access only allows players to reach level 5. The full version of the game increases the level cap to 12. Likewise, there are more races, classes, and spells to choose from. For other tips and strategies, you can visit our BG3 guides hub.