Highlights
- New players to Baldur's Gate 3 should avoid multiclassing for their first playthrough, as each class can play a dedicated role very well.
- The Barbarian/Fighter multiclass allows for maximizing the benefits of rage and increasing damage output with action surge and second wind.
- The Rogue/Bard multiclass provides a wide range of skill coverage and expertise, making it one of the widest coverage of skills and roles possible.
A lot of RPGs have various ways to approach and build a character. Some will give you a guided path of progression with various choices, and others will have a very open model where you can keep allocating points while not being locked behind anything.
How the tabletop system of Dungeons & Dragons handles things is that each class has a very set goal in mind, and subclasses create branching variations based on these classes. However, you can also take levels in other classes to create full-blown hybrids. New players to Baldur’s Gate 3 should avoid multiclassing for their first playthrough, as each class can play a dedicated role very well. For their second, it can be a really fun and creative experience to delve into the very rich world of multiclassing.
10 Savage Gladiator (Barbarian/Fighter)
Both a Barbarian and a Fighter share a primary focus in the Strength Ability, what's more, the Fighter’s kit allows Barbarians to really push the limits of their Rage. It is worth noting that wearing heavy armor will hamper the benefits of rage, so this Multiclass is more about building on a Barbarian to maximize the benefits and not building towards the best possible Fighter.
Action Surge can grant you that one final push to really pour on some extra damage and Second Wind allows the Barbarian to heal themselves if they find trouble.
9 The Expert (Rogue/Bard)
The Rogue lets you take proficiency in 4 skills, multiclassing into a College of Lore Bard will give you proficiency in any 3 other skills. Throw on the two skill proficiencies from one’s Background, and they now have proficiency in 9 Skills.
Couple that with both the Rogue’s and the Bard’s Expertise that now means you double your proficiency for 6 of those skills. The Bard’s Jack of All Trades feature means you can add half your proficiency bonus to any of the remaining skills. This gives you one of the widest coverage of skills and roles possible.
8 Ambusher (Fighter/Rogue)
Unlike the Barbarian Fighter multiclass, this one provides a lot of synergy between using both classes. You have a wide range of skill coverage thanks to the Rogue, but if something gets in the Rogue's face, they will be proficient in a wider array of Armor options thanks to their Fighter proficiency in Medium Armor.
Heavy Armor should still be avoided due to its limitations, such as having Disadvantage on Stealth checks. Having access to shields however will make it harder for enemies to hit the rogue, and taking an Action Surge after a surprise attack lets you pour on even more damage in the same turn.
7 Choir Master (Paladin/Bard)
Paladins and Bards both use Charisma as their spell-casting modifier. This means a synergy between the two works wonders. By going with the College of Swords, the paladin will be able to expend Bardic Inspiration dice to give themselves bonuses to their attacks thanks to Blade Flourish.
Even with only 1 level in Bard, their range of spells will also vastly increase making them far more useful in more situations, and get a handful of Inspiration Dice to help others on their Ability Checks, Attack Rolls, and Saving Throws.
6 Switch Hitter (Paladin/Warlock)
A Paladin walks the path of their Oath and has pledged themselves to uphold that values without question. However, this subclass doesn’t put all its eggs in one basket and has made a deal with another powerful entity.
This gives them access to all the spells in the Warlock Spell List and access to their Eldritch Blast. This also means you can be a Warlock with Heavy Armor proficiency to add a lot of extra survivability in combat. Both of these classes will use their Charisma to cast spells from their combined spell lists.
5 Coffeelock (Sorcerer/Warlock)
One of the most alluring elements of being a Sorcerer is the sheer number of spells they can cast thanks to their Sorcery Points. These points let you turn them into a spell slot, or turn a spell slot into more points.
A Sorcerer only regains their spell slots after a long rest. However, a Warlock regains all of their spell slots after a long rest. This means a sorcerer will have an overwhelming number of spells before taking a long rest and making them a far more powerful spell caster than the rules ever intended them to be.
4 Barbearian (Druid/Barbarian)
When you are building a Druid into this multiclass, you will be offered a circle when you hit level 2. If you take Circle of the Moon, you will be granted access to many combat-viable wild shape options. While in these mighty animal forms, you will not be able to cast spells. However, you will be able to use non-spell-based features such as a Fighter’s Action Surge, or the even more devastatingly powerful barBEARian rage.
When you use Rage while wild shaped into something such as a bear, you will have Advantage on all of your Strength checks and Strength Saving Throws. You will also gain +2 to dealing damage and have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing attacks. This makes your wild shapes much harder to take down and allows them to pour on plenty of extra damage while they are in effect. All from just 1 level dip into Barbarian.
3 Magic Tank (Fighter/Wizard)
This might seem weird at first glance to a lot of readers, especially since one of the Fighter subclasses is an Eldritch Knight. In the tabletop version of Dungeons and Dragons, you are limited to casting 1 spell per turn. However, in Baldur's Gate 3, you are able to cast multiple spells in a turn. This means having 2 levels in Fighter will let you take another turn Action to cast another spell in the same turn. However, doing so will lock you out of getting your 6h Level Spell Slot. It is best to just take 1 level of fighter.
This will give you a ton of melee combat proficiencies such as Martial Weapons and Heavy Armor, along with a lot more Hit Points. After this, just pour points into Wizard to get all the way to a 6th Spell Slot. Eldritch Knights only get up to 2nd level spell slots, even at the game’s maximum level. If you find yourself in trouble, you will have access to Second Wind as a Bonus Action when in an emergency.
2 Sniper (Ranger/Rogue)
This multiclass will allow you to get in a ton of damage in the very first turn of combat. You will be combining the Ranger’s Gloom Stalker subclass with the Rogue’s Assassin subclass. The Gloom Stalker gets an extra attack with an additional 1D8.
Rogue will grant Sneak Attack, while its Assassin Subclass will grant Assassinate. This means you will be getting off 3 attacks on an unsuspecting target, all of which will have Advantage to hit thanks to Gloom Stalker’s Dread Ambusher, and every hit will be critical.
1 Hitman (Rogue/Ranger/Fighter)
This multiclass takes the Sniper one as seen above and throws 2 dips of fighter into it. More Accurately, you will be taking a Rogue up to level 3 for Assassin, and then building a Gloom Stalker up to level 5 for the Extra Attack. Once that is done, you will take 2 levels in Fighter and then the rest into Rogue.
When you factor in Action Surge, that is 7 attacks on turn 1, all with Advantage and all hits being criticals. Being able to take out a target before a fight even breaks out can tank an enemy group's chances of success. There is more than one way to build around this multiclass, each with their pros and cons.