Optimizing Every Companion for Baldur's Gate 3 (Part 2)

if you're looking for fun powerful  and thematically appropriate builds   for your companions in Baldur's Gate 3. then  you've come to the right place welcome to D4 [Music]   hi everybody so here at D4 each week we take a  deep dive into character builds for our favorite   role-playing games I like to crunch numbers about  them and Theory craft about them not so that I can   tell you the right way or the best way to play a  particular character but to explore one potential   way to build something that you're thinking about  playing with the hopes of creating a character   that's both really fun but also really powerful  to play so if you enjoy creating characters for   role-playing games almost as much as you enjoy  playing the game itself or if you're just looking   for tips or ideas on how to build something that  you're thinking about playing then welcome home   this is where you belong and I'm so glad you're  here so thanks for watching my name is Colby   really quick if you'd be interested in getting a  written step-by-step guide to the builds that I do   today all the builds that I do on this channel  I'd appreciate it if you'd consider joining as   a member there's a little button down there for  two dollars a month you get access to the library   of write-ups that I make for each one of these  builds so you don't have to go back and re-watch   the video or take notes and it's just a nice way  to support the channel and help me create more and   better content so humongous shout out and thank  you to all of my channel members you guys are   amazing and everybody else you guys are amazing to  watching liking subscribing commenting clicking on   the notifications Bell these are also great ways  to support the channel so you don't have to become   a member just being here and doing these things is  also super supportive so thank you all right today   we are doing part two of my optimized build for  each companion in Baldur's Gate 3 Series if you   missed part one it's right up here so feel free to  go and check that out that said you don't have to   watch that first maybe just if you're looking for  builds for shadow heart Carlock and will which are   the ones that we covered in that video I explain  there that my goal with these videos is to create   not just a powerful build for each companion  using like their starting class as their main   class but also to try to do something that feels  thematically appropriate for the character as   well something that doesn't diverge too far from  from like who they are right their story their   personality so no light cleric for shadow heart  kind of thing at least not a first as a reminder   since we're talking a little bit about personality  and story if I ever start to feel like I'm going   to discuss something that might even be considered  a mild spoiler for the game I'll switch myself   to black and white like this and put the word  spoiler in floating text like this so you can know   when to mute and unmute up today we've got Gail  Lazelle and finally asterian ready to go alright   Baldur's Gate 3 episode number six optimizing  the companions part two but before we jump into   the builds this week I'm super excited to tell you  guys more about one of my favorite sponsors of all   time hit point press and their amazing animated  decks of many things Illusions conditions spells   and Tarot cards so I have shown you guys some of  these cards before but in case you missed it hit   point press has created these really incredible  Decks that that lets your DM Hand cards out to   players when say they suffer a condition to  remind them that they are incapacitated for   example or that players can pull out when they  cast an illusion let's say maybe they make the   illusion a fire giant right and so this will give  a nice like visual animated representation of what   that illusion might look like for that matter in  game you might get an actual deck of many things   and now when 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but also because well he's kind of the easiest  and most straightforward of the three I think   today I guess I would actually offer three solid  options for a thematically appropriate mostly   wizard Gale the first two I've already done the  wizard tank build from my bg3 builds number four   video right there I think that build is maybe  the one that's the most fun to play as a mostly   wizard character but it might feel a wee bit  off for him conceptually if you recall I wanted   to start that build with a single level of War  cleric for heavy armor proficiency among other   things and I mean when we first meet Gail he's not  in plate mail right he's absolutely a robe wearing   staff wielding stand in the back and sling spells  kind of wizard I think at least that's the vibe I   get and his demeanor isn't exactly an in your face  put me in the front lines and challenge my enemies   to attack me kind of demeanor so sure maybe War  cleric is a bit off for Gail but what if we went   with like Tempest cleric that's pretty magic and  Blaster focused and would let us keep our heavy   armor proficiency or maybe better yet knowledge  because minor spoilers I think a knowledge cleric   would absolutely be one who would potentially  be a worshiper of mistra and arguably nobody   worships mystra and is more devoted to her than  Gail right so if you wanted to go that route   maybe you start off with your first two levels  of wizard then pick up a level of cleric for   some medium armor proficiency at least if not  heavy that's going to reduce our survivability   somewhat if we went knowledge cleric but if you  saw in that build you'll recall that survival   ability was almost too good on that character  and we kind of wanted to reduce our Armor class   so that we could get hit more often maybe we'd be  better off with medium armor and then instead of   using a martial weapon we just used shocking grasp  when we were in melee or a save based spell for   damage right that feels to me like a great way to  keep Gail in line with like his concept and who he   is at his core while still being able to enjoy an  incredibly fun and powerful wizard build that can   be both a tank and a stellar controller on the  battlefield option number two was the control   freak that was from the bg3 builds number three  video I believe it's mostly an enchanter Wizard   and it would work great for Gail I think without  really needing to change much of anything to still   fit with his feel thematically so if you wanted to  focus on control that would be a great option but   if you weren't interested in going either of those  routes with Gail and you wanted to make him more   of a traditional backline Caster than you should  especially I think if you don't know really have   anyone else in your party that's focused on being  an AOE area of effect damage dealer because here's   the thing about DND and especially I think about  Baldur's Gate you really want to have at least one   person in your party who can be an AOE specialist  there is a lot of combat in bg3 Happily and there   are a ton of fights where your party is heavily  outnumbered by the enemy I'd maybe say that   it's more often that way than not a lot of the  time those enemies can be relatively weak but   the challenge is in the action economy battle  right where they just have so many more turns   than you for that reason having at least one party  member who specializes in doing damage to multiple   enemies at a time is just sound tactics I think  and to that end my recommendation for Gail if you   don't want to go wizard tank or control freak  would honestly just be to stick with evocation   for most if not all of his career there's a reason  that outside of Blade singers anyway mostly wizard   builds are among the least frequent builds that I  do on my channel for DND characters it's because   there's not a lot of puzzle to put together with  Wizards it's not that they aren't really powerful   and fun to play it's that it's not particularly  difficult or challenging or fun to figure out   how to build a good wizard it's like step one be a  wizard step two step three profit because yes not   only is it important to have a solid AOE damage  dealer in your party but Wizards notoriously have   the biggest and best spell list in the game and  having access to all of those spells means that   you kind of have a solution for every problem  lots of enemies Fireball or lightning bolt or   Cloud kill or chain lightning Etc still lots of  enemies slower fear half of them or put half of   them behind a wall of stone Etc hard to reach area  fly dimension door powerful enemy spellcasters   counterspell Wizards are just infinitely versatile  and Powerful thanks to that big huge amazing spell   list the only deviation I would consider from  just going straight wizard all the way in this   instance then is going to be to take two levels  of fighter so that you can get Constitution saving   throw proficiency armor proficiency and best of  all action surge because being able to get two   full actions once per short rest is just really  really strong it could mean say two Fireballs on   your turn or a big control spell and a fireball  or a big buff spell and a control spell you get   the the idea and that just might outweigh slowing  down your spell progression enough to justify the   fighter detour of course on the other hand you  might just opt instead to use haste for your   concentration cast it on yourself and thereafter  enjoy the ability to cast two spells on every   single turn instead of just once per short rest  with action surge right Honestly though I think   that might be overkill on a wizard if you're  using two spell slots every single turn then   you're gonna burn through your spell slots way too  quickly and if you're instead Hasting yourself and   then casting like a spell slotted spell and then  using that second action for like a fire bolt   or something you're better off putting haste on  your strongest melee damage dealer or maybe your   Eldritch blast Focus warlock so okay that was a  long Preamble I get it this is quickly how I would   do a mostly wizard Blaster Caster Gale level one  starting class wizard of course for ability scores   I would respect him once I found Withers Just to  get those ability scores in the right place so   we want a 16 intelligence a 16 Constitution and a  14 dexterity for equipment we're going to be just   equipping the best robes and the staffs that we  can find for now anyway and then Wizards at level   one get Arcane recovery letting us recover some  spell slots and then we get spells there's lots   of great spells to choose from there are every  single time we get new spells Firebolt or Ray of   frost for range damage magehand is useful both to  soak up enemy damage and to shove bad guys around   in Baldur's Gate anyways shocking grasp or poison  spray I think for when we're in melee and we don't   want to suffer the disadvantage to hit penalty  with our ranged cantrips and maybe even acid   Splash if you want to do a little damage to two  enemies with a cantrip that's a lot of cantrips   I know there's lots of good ones for first level  spells too many to choose from burning hands is a   decent little AOE damage dealer Shield is one of  the best defensive spells in game Mage Armor is   worth taking early on anyway for an armor-class  bump until we get armor proficiency at least   Greece is a great control spell in this game it  slows and potentially knocks enemies prone but   then it can also be lit on fire for some area  damage or turned into a sheet of ice for a more   permanent snare field Tasha's hideous laughter is  fantastic for single Target control and finally   magic Missile is just a nice kind of I need to  ensure that this enemy or maybe multiple enemies   take at least a little bit of damage here at level  2 Wizards get their subclass and I think I really   would just stick with evocation personally because  I like to blow stuff up and evocation lets us do   that better than any other subclass even keeping  our allies safe from our area of effect damage   spells for the most part and that usually means we  can hit more enemies with them that said I think   divination is a very worthy alternate to consider  here primarily because of their portent feature   which they would get right here at level two this  tells us that after each long rest the game rolls   two d20s for you and whatever number they land  on those are your important dice for the day that   you can then use to substitute for any attack  roll or any saving throw that happens within 60   feet of you this can mean helping an ally make an  import and save or land an important attack if the   important number is high or make an enemy miss an  important attack especially a critical hit or an   important save like say against your control  spell if the portent die roll is low it's a   super powerful ability and if you feel comfortable  with your ability to do AOE damage without hurting   your allies too much or you just don't care if  you hurt them I guess then that is the route I   would go and I don't think doing so would feel out  of place for Gail at all thematically I'll assume   that we went evocation though and that means  at this level we get sculpt spells this ensures   that our allies take no damage from our evocation  spells like burning hands Fireball lightning bolt   Etc at level 3 we get second level spells and I'm  gonna want Misty step for teleportation so useful   especially in bg3 with larion enjoying to play  around with the verticality on the battlefield   like they do cloud of daggers give some really  nice guaranteed small area of effect damage that   will affect enemies at least twice if you cast it  on them right once on your turn once on theirs and   of course then you can shove enemies into it  and forced enemy movement is pretty prevalent   in this game web is a great multi-target area  control spell and hold person is a fantastic   potential single Target paralyzer at level 4 we  get our first feat and we are no question bumping   intelligence here to make our spells hit more  regularly and be harder to resist at level 5 we   get third level spells and there are so many good  ones that I want third level spells are among my   favorite in-game I'm almost assuredly grabbing  Fireball though there's an argument to be made   for taking lightning bolt instead I don't think at  this level we want to prepare both we just don't   have room but with the reduced area of Fireball in  bg3 compared to DND it might really be easier to   get more enemies in a long line with lightning  bolt than in a small sphere with Fireball play   around with it and decide for yourself but then  I feel like you almost have to take haste and   use it for your concentration with as strong as  that spell is in game giving the person that you   cast it on two full actions every single turn but  slow is worth considering as well since it's such   a great debuff it really might do more to help  your party win a combat encounter than putting   haste on one target it reduces the move speed  Armor class and ability to take both an action   and a bonus action every turn on up to six enemies  that's just so good plus potions of speed exist   in this game to replicate that haste spell if you  really want so yeah depending on the fight I would   probably use one or the other for concentration  but having fear in our back pocket for some really   strong multi-target hard control is also great  counterspell is really strong against enemy Mages   it's going to be hard to pick from so many great  options but at level six yeah now that we've got   third level spells I think I'm gonna take a  couple of fighter levels and at this point   honestly I would respect to be a fighter at first  level than a wizard the rest of the way okay we   just get so much for doing this the power of heavy  armor proficiency and Constitution saving throw   proficiency just can't be overstated really on a  Caster who cares so much about well not dying and   not losing concentration and we only get both of  those things if we start as a fighter one now you   might think that fighter levels are gonna kind of  go against Gale thematically Gale in plate armor   with a shield I don't know we're several levels in  here I don't know why he can't have learned from   like Lazelle how to use armor and benefit from a  shield there's surely plenty of downtime in Camp   right if you'd rather not go this route that's  fine but it doesn't feel too jarring to me as   a fighter one then we get second wind so that we  can heal ourselves once per short rest for a d10   plus our fighter level and then we get a fighting  style and I would pick defense here we don't care   too much about weapons we're not here to protect  our allies so much outside of Maybe by controlling   our enemies so take defense raise your AC by one  at level seven though we would be a fighter 2 and   that means yeah yes we get action surge so that  you can just really get the odds of the fight   going in your favor early on by throwing out a  couple of powerful spells to start the encounter   off or of course waiting a round or two until  the enemies have bunched up nicely around your   Barbarian and then just double Fireball the whole  pack but with action surge under our belt yeah at   level eight I'm going back to wizard so he'd be a  wizard six this means that as an evocation wizard   we get potent cantrip and this tells us that when  a creature succeeds on their saving throw against   one of our canned trips only it still takes half  damage on it this might not seem like a big deal   but without going into the details or the math  too much it's actually huge guaranteed damage   is always a great thing and it takes a cantrip  like acid Splash or poison spray from pretty meh   to pretty decent it would be even better if told  the dead existed in this game but I'll take what   I can get from this point on in the build then  I'm just gonna say stick with wizard the rest   of the way it lets us get fourth and fifth level  spells cap our intelligence with our next feat and   even get the pretty nice evocation level 10 like  Capstone feature empowered evocation which will   add our intelligence modifier to any evocation  spell in damage which is actually again pretty   nice with a 20 intelligence it's like adding a  d10 of damage on top of whatever damage the spell   already does right and yeah if it's a spell that  does AOE damage to multiple enemies every enemy   that gets hit by it is going to take that extra  damage one drawback here of course is that with   those two levels of fighter we miss out on six  level spells so sure feel free to Respec once   you get to level 12 to drop one fighter level keep  that first one for defensive purposes and then go   wizard 11 if you really want to we're giving up  action surge sure but those six level spells are   arguably worth it okay that's it for Gail on to  our favorite prickly get Yankee Lazelle I'm again   actually going to lay out three options for lays  out here and I think all of them would be true   to her character and her mostly fighter herself  first up and easiest just stay fighter most of   the way with her Battle Master is great make sure  you grab trip attack for one of the Maneuvers get   great weapon master and pole arm Master assuming  they fix the feet so that the bonus action attack   it gives you with the blunt end of your pole arm  actually adds damage from other sources like great   weapon master and then yeah you just open up on an  enemy with trip attack to knock them prone so that   you have advantage on subsequent attacks after  Fighter 5 an extra attack I'd probably take at   least two levels of paladin on her to get Divine  Smite so that you can pile on big burst damage   once in a while against a prone enemy especially  and I do think a Pally dip totally works on   Lazelle she is a bit of a religious zealot for  vlakath after all I'd also frankly probably pick   up two levels of Barbarian as well so that I can  get not just rage but more importantly Reckless   attack and now I have easy advantage on all of  my attacks that said once I hit level 11 I'd just   res back back to straight fighter fighters get a  third attack with each attack action at level 11   and that's unique to all classes and it just  is really really strong especially if you can   get hasted use action Surge and you're doing  a plus 10 damage on every one of your attacks   right that's the Wrecking Ball version of LaSalle  alternatively you could build her like I did my   non-bear tank build from that second bg3 video I  tweak it slightly there to do more fighter levels   than Paladin levels but otherwise I think it would  work great and make her there in your party more   to take a hit and keep enemies focused on her  protecting you and your other allies instead   of just dealing a ton of damage but you know  what I think there's a third option that might   be my favorite of all for Lazelle and it's more  of a battlefield Commander character I've done   a few support characters for bg3 on this channel  so far A Healer a controller but they've always   been spellcasters what if we made Lazelle like  a martial support character a strong leader in   the fight rallying her allies whipping them into  shape commanding her platoon strategically I love   the concept and I think it could work for her  thematically sure at first especially she might   be a bit Gruff charismatic might not be the first  word that comes to mind when you think about her   personality but being a good leader in the heat  of a battle doesn't necessarily mean that you   need to be likable right Lazelle is more of like  an in-your-face drill sergeant kind of leader you   better do what I tell you there will be hell to  pay kind of vibe and in that light yeah I think   the idea of making her more of a martial support  character so that your own PC your Tav can be more   the star of the show in combat which let's be  honest is probably what most of us want anyways   right we can't have Lazelle killing everybody and  hogging the spotlight anyways under that Paradigm   this is how I built her level one starting class  fighter ability scores we're gonna respect to a   16 strength a 16 Charisma and a 14 Constitution I  think that's fairly self-explanatory except maybe   the Charisma I'll explain about that later for  equipment again I'm not thinking of Lazelle here   as a big damage dealer but more of a support now  that might mean buffing or enabling allies but it   also might mean protecting them being a bit of a  tank so I'm not as concerned about her damage here   as I am about her ability to get into the middle  of the fight and take a beating sometimes taking   a beating for her allies so yes I want heavy  arm I want a shield and a favorite d8 weapon   we're going sword and board as a fighter one then  leizel would get second wind yes letting her heal   for a little bit once per short rest and then  a fighting style and so yeah along the lines of   being a protector support I think protection is a  really great choice for her fighting style here it   lets her use her reaction to impose disadvantage  on an attack against one of her allies if she's   within five feet of them it's a nice way to help  keep them safe even if she acts like she's doing   it begrudgingly that said I do hope to be using my  reaction semi-frequently here potentially anyway   for opportunity attacks so you might want to  spec out of protection into probably defense   or maybe dueling if you find that you have too  many demands on your reaction at level 2 we get   action surge it's not going to do a ton for our  damage with this build but it's still going to   be useful in pretty much every fight regardless  at level 3 fighters get their subclass and I say   we just keep her with her default here Battlement  faster it is such a great and useful subclass not   only offensively there are a ton of utility and  support focused Maneuvers that you can use with   Battle Master and those are the ones that we're  going to be using for Lazelle so we get to choose   three Maneuvers and then we get four superiority  dice which are d8s to spend on those Maneuvers   every short rest meaning every fight for most of  us or nearly so and the problem really is there   are too many good Maneuvers to choose from for  our purposes especially here are my favorites   Commander strike lets you give up one of your own  attacks to allow an ally to use their reaction to   immediately make an attack this is a great option  for your heaviest hitter and keep in mind since   this is happening on your turn if you use this on  a rogue Ally the Starion let's say they should be   able to apply sneak attack for a second time in  the same round for that reaction attack right so   that's going to do a lot more damage than lizelle  would be doing it's worth giving up one of your   own attacks for it distracting strike gives your  allies advantage on their next attack against the   target for a turn nice way to ensure everyone  else is hitting them goading attack is one of   the only taunt-like features in the game giving  the enemy that you hit with it a debuff so that   they have disadvantage if they attack anyone else  but you for a turn that's going to help keep your   allies safe there's maneuvering attack which lets  you make an attack against an enemy for a bit of   extra damage but then lets you give an ally half  of their move speed which they can then use to   move immediately and that movement doesn't provoke  opportunity attacks so you can be like directing   traffic on the battlefield right either getting  your squishy Ally to safety or moving your melee   Ally into position for a continued offensive and  then finally there's rally this just straight up   gives an ally eight temporary hit points helping  them stay in the fight a little bit longer I think   the three I would take here would be Commander  strike maneuvering attack and goading attack   personally but feel free to go another route if  you feel strongly at level 4 we we get our first   feed and there aren't a lot of great like support  focused Feats in Baldur's Gate unfortunately while   you could definitely increase strength to make  sure that your attacks and Maneuvers succeeded or   increase your survivability via increasing your  Constitution or maybe taking heavy armor Master   maybe even Shield master I think the first thing  that I would do for this Lazelle build would be to   take Sentinel it is a really fantastic feat first  off when an enemy near you attacks an ally instead   of you you can use your reaction to make an attack  against them it's sort of a nice way of punishing   them for attacking someone other than you better  yet the feat tells us that we have advantage on   opportunity attacks and when we successfully Land  one it reduces the enemy's move speed to zero   that's another great way to keep your enemies  from leaving your side and chasing after your   squishier companions right it's a pretty great  support martial focused feat at level 5 we get   extra attack for a little more damage and and more  chances to get our maneuver to land but then also   yes if we're using Commander's strike now we could  make an attack ourselves and then give that second   attack to our harder hitting Ally so that's nice  at level 6 Fighters unique among all classes get   another feat and that is just so wonderful I'm  kind of of two minds here on the one hand again   I really want to bump strength on the other if you  took Sentinel last time pole arm Master just looks   really juicy it tells us that when we're using a  pole arm we can make a bonus action attack with   the blunt end of the weapon I've already talked  about this right so that's a little extra damage   sure but more importantly for this build when an  enemy leaves our reach or first enters our reach   and we have a pull arm equipped then we can make  an opportunity attack against them and yeah we've   got a 10 foot reach with a glaive or a halberd  anyway and so with this feat and Sentinel anyone   who tries to leave our side or even just skirt  around us is going to be stopped dead in their   tracks now and that's just a fantastic interaction  that I really love on this character especially at   level 7 I see this version of Lazelle going one  of two ways you could go Barbarian it doesn't   feel too off for Lazelle I don't think she's  just giving into that anger that's always just   simmering right under the surface anyways right  you would get damage resistance via rage plus a   little more damage Reckless attack to make  up for our rather lackluster hit chance if   we haven't been bumping our strength and then as  a subclass you could go wild heart Barbarian and   then choose the wolf heart option this gives other  melee allies advantage on attacks against enemies   within seven feet of us and so depending on your  team's makeup that could be huge and would be a   nice way to augment what your team is doing that  said I think I prefer to go a route that feels a   little more leadery and a little less ragey  barred say what Bard Lazelle now hear me out   bards don't necessarily have to be like wafey  dandelions who seduce everything and worry about   keeping their loot from getting smashed how about  a scald a warrior who tramps into battle blowing   their war horn and bragging about the Deeds  of their ancestors to inspire their allies   and then mocking or threatening their foes with  impending doom that feels pretty lazellish to me   and is definitely one interpretation of a Bard  that we could make work here I think so that's   the route that I'm going that means we get bardic  inspiration first off which three times prolonged   rest lets us use our bonus action to give our Ally  a D6 that they can add in the next 10 minutes to   an ability check attack roll or saving throw of  their choice further enhancing the way that we   are making everyone around us more effective and  helping to keep them safe bards also get spells   here of course and now this might start to feel  like we're getting further away from what Lazelle   is supposed to feel like but I don't know she  is githyanki she automatically comes with a few   spells via gethianki psionics so it's not a huge  stretch here to let her expand her powers as she   levels up I don't think but no worries if you're  someone who kind of box at giving lizelle a bunch   of spells just focus on stuff that's thematically  appropriate fairy fire is a great spell to give   advantage to your allies against enemies who fail  their save against it sure but maybe that feels a   little too woo-woo glittery for our scald of a  battlefield Commander instead go with vicious   mockery to shout insults at your foes and make  them Miss more often or heroism to bolster the   resolve of an ally giving them temporary hit  points every round I would take healing word   as well for the sheer power of it but feel free to  flavor it in your mind if you need to like you're   conducting Battlefield triage support right at  level 8 we'd be at barred two and that means we   get song of rest this lets us give everyone an  extra short rest once per day every good leader   knows when to give their troops a breather after  all and then we get Jack of all trades to make us   a bit of an expert in every field of study letting  us add half our proficiency bonus to skill checks   that we are not otherwise proficient in at level  9 we get barred three and this gives us expertise   letting us double our proficiency bonus in two  skills I'd probably go perception and Athletics   for Lazelle personally but pick your favorites  but then we get our Bard College our subclass   and we are totally going with Valor Bard here  no question Valor bards get combat inspiration   and this just gives our allies a couple more ways  to use the inspiration that we give them now they   can also add that D6 to their damage it's not a  great idea unless the enemy is like this close   to dying and you think you need that extra little  bit to push them over the edge but much better is   that they can also now add that D6 to their Armor  class against an attack which is going to do great   things to help keep them safe at Bart 3 we also  get second level spells and there are a lot of   great options but not a ton of them feel super  Battlefield commandery to me though maybe calm   emotions though that doesn't feel super Lazelle  like it definitely could have a you better put   that weapon down before you do something you'll  regret kind of feel to it enhanceability could be   a useful buff as you're shouting encouragement to  your allies go ahead and pick your favorites here   from this point on in the build I'd probably keep  going barred until Bard five that would get us a   feat which I would probably use to bump strength  if I hadn't yet it would get us third level   spells and like fear especially doesn't feel too  far-fetched of a spell to be using here scaring   the bajeebies out of your enemies with your Battle  Cry but then best of all part 5 would really   increase our Bardock inspiration right it would  get us four per rest instead of three it would   raise the die for those Inspirations to a d8 from  a D6 and then best of all would let us get those   Inspirations back on a short rest at that point I  would Finish the build with fighter 7 so that we   could get another superiority die per short rest  giving us five of those now and then letting us   learn two more Maneuvers as well and this would  mean that we would have five superiority Dice and   four Inspirations every single short rest so just  about every fight you're gonna be hard-pressed to   even use all of those every single encounter we  will be bolstering our allies protecting them   inspiring them directing them and encouraging them  all while demoralizing our foes just like the best   Battlefield commanders always do alright finally  for today the one most of you have been waiting   for I'm sure our favorite trampy Vamp asterian  I think to really lean into everything that is a   Starion we've got to keep those Rogue levels sure  but we've got to add some gloomstalker Ranger it's   just too good to pass up he's a vampire what does  he do if not stalk in the Gloom it almost makes   more sense to have him as a gloomstalker than it  does to have him as a rogue I think and actually   I feel so strongly about this that I think  it's the one time I'm just gonna break my own   rule here that I set for myself at the beginning  of last video where I said I'm never going to have   more levels in any other class than I do in their  starting class and yeah I think we make a Starion   mostly a gloomstalker at least up until mid game  so here's how I would build him at level one he   starts off as a rogue yes and I would keep him  at Rogue one you get more skill proficiencies   that way when you start as Rogue and a Starion  will be really good at roguing even if he's   mostly a ranger for a while for ability scores I'm  definitely respecting those to be a 16 dexterity a   16 Constitution and a 14 wisdom at least for now  and people ask why I go with my tertiary skill as   wisdom when I maybe don't necessarily need it  for the character and it's because perceptions   based on wisdom and wisdom saving throws tend to  be a lot more important than say intelligence or   Charisma so that's the main reason but also  Ranger spells benefit from wisdom too so as   for equipment we want the best armor that we can  get and two short swords or symmeters we are going   to be dual wielding on a Starion meaning that  we'll want to have two weapons that have both   the light and finesse properties so that we can  use our dexterity modifier for our attacks but   the build will be a fair bit different than the  blender dual wielder build that I did back for   Baldur's Gate builds episode 2. now at level one  Rogues get expertise so yeah we can double our   proficiency bonus for two of our skills I always  like to do perception and sleight of hand on my   Rogues to make us better at both seeing traps and  hidden doors and then disarming those traps or   picking those locks and then we get sneak attack  which tells us that if we hit an enemy with a   finesse or ranged weapon and we have advantage on  the attack or they're standing next to one of our   allies we can add a D6 of damage once on a turn  and not necessarily just on our turn on a turn so   yes if we're making attacks with our reaction on  somebody else's turn sneak attack should still be   able to be applied but you might have to talk it  on in that case but then yeah right at level two   I would start taking Ranger levels here so that we  can get to extra attack and gloomstalker goodness   as soon as possible at Ranger one we get favored  enemy and natural Explorer and these basically   give us like some additional scope efficiencies  and or a spell and or resistance to an elemental   damage type I'm just gonna say pick your favorite  for both of these features though Bounty Hunter   and Beast Tamer might be my favorite the latter  gives you fine familiar man if only one of the   familiar options were a bat anyway at level 3 we  would be a Ranger 2 and that means first up we get   a fighting style and we're definitely taking  two weapon fighting it tells us that when we   are too weapon fighting then we get to add our  ability modifier to the damage of our offhand   attack which we otherwise don't get to do when  two weapon fighting it's a decent little damage   bump we also get Ranger spells here at this level  and I'd grab Hunter's Mark though it does require   a bonus action to cast and then to transfer once  our initial Target's dead and that's kind of a   bummer it would keep us from making that offhand  attack right but there will be times when the   extra D6 of damage per attack that it grants us  will be worth spending the bonus action to apply   it especially once we get extra attack and like  if we were hasted for example I'd probably just   grabbed your wounds here as a spell as well for  an emergency heel and then a long Strider to bump   move speed by 10 feet if no one else in your party  has it anyways remember this is a ritual spell   and it lasts all day meaning you could cast it on  everyone in your party at the beginning of the day   and it wouldn't take up any spell slots at level  4 we would be a ranger 3 and that means we get our   Ranger subclass and yes we're going gloomstalker  that means we get a whole host of arguably   overpowered goodies first up Superior dark vision  this lets us see in the dark up to 80 feet away or   24 meters so far and then dread ambusher this  gives us a plus three to our initiative roles   it increases our move speed by 10ft on the first  round of combat and lets us make one additional   attack that round that does an extra d8 of damage  if it hits it's so nice we also get umbral shroud   this lets us use an action to go invisible once  per short rest for 10 minutes no concentration   required but it does break if we do basically  anything so yeah this is much weaker than   umbral site as it called in DND that's okay that's  overpowered anyways also we get the disguise self   spell for free here okay and we get the ability to  hide as a bonus action sure Rogues can do that at   Rogue too but we're not going to be there for  a while so that's nice at level five we would   be a Ranger four and that means we get our first  feat and we are 100 increasing our dexterity here   as it improves everything that we're trying to do  from utility to damage to survivability initiative   everything at level six we would be a ranger 5 and  that means we get extra attack so now we will be   making three attacks on our turn if we include  our bonus action and four on the first round of   combat Thanks To Tread ambusher we also get second  level Ranger spells here and gloomstalkers par for   the course get one of the best second level  spells in game for free Misty step for some   nice teleportation beyond that I'm gonna say pick  your favorites here pass without Trace is a really   great way to ensure that everyone succeeds on  stealth checks if you really need to sneak past   some enemies who aren't turning around but there's  not really a lot of standouts to me otherwise at   level 7 though now that we've got extra attack  it's time to get back to Rogue for some more   sneak attack damage and our subclass so that means  we'd be a rogue two and we get cunning action so   now we can yes not only hide as a bonus action but  also Dash or disengage always useful at level 8   we would be a rogue three and that means we get  our subclass and we are going no not Thief but   you guessed it assassin so here's the deal with  assassin they get this feature called assassinate   right it tells us that we have advantage on attack  rolls if the enemy hasn't gone in combat yet   that's especially awesome for gloomstalkers like  us who get an extra attack on that first round of   combat but the strongest part of assassinate is  that we're also told if an enemy is surprised our   attacks are automatic Critical Hits and for those  of us with sneak attack which doubles on a crit   and an extra deity of damage on that first round  which doubles on a crit and are probably making   four attacks against a surprised enemy that's  a ton of damage so let's find a way to do more   because at level 9 some of you are gonna balk  at this choice but I'm making it I want Paladin   levels you might think this is too off course  for a Starion but keep in mind paladins in DND   don't have to be religious they can simply swear  themselves to like an ideal or a code what would   asterians be Vengeance of course Vengeance against  minor spoiler here the one who turned him into a   vampire in the first place right right now you of  course do not have to go this route if you don't   want to if it feels off for you to the concept of  the character just go back to Rogue keep scaling   that sneak attack damage among other things maybe  consider a two level fighter dip for Action surge   so that you're getting more automatic Critical  Hits on that opening round of combat right but   for me yeah I want Paladin levels here because  I mean first of all if I'm being honest mixing   Ranger and Paladin is just not something you can  really do in D and d5e in case you didn't know in   that game to multi-class you need to meet minimum  ability score requirements for both whatever class   you're multi-classing into and out of right so  Rangers need a 13 in both dexterity and wisdom and   paladins need a 13 in both strength and Charisma  that would leave us with almost no points to put   into any ability score and so we'd be left with  like just kind of mediocre across the board scores   but in bg3 no ability score requirements from old  classing so I get to fulfill this dream of being   a paladin Ranger okay fine I actually did do this  one time I think it was just one time on a build   for for DND a very early build in my YouTube  career uh unfortunately named the assasserer   it did end up being a pretty potent burst damage  build actually and had a lot of similarities to   what I'm making here come to think of it but  anyways the real reason that we want Paladin   levels of course is because on that opening round  all of our attacks are critical hits and you know   what that means we want Divine Smite but it's  gonna take us a couple levels to get there   so first off at Pali one yes in bg3 we get our  subclass and we are going oath of Vengeance for   sure on a Starion at this level that's going to  give us inquisitors might telling us that with a   bonus action and a use of our Channel oath charge  basically the same thing as Channel Divinity for   clerics right resetting on a short rest we can  cause our weapon attacks or an allies to do extra   damage for two turns equal to our Charisma  modifier so we might want to respect at this   level to give ourselves a little Charisma bump  but then we also get lay on hands here for some   nice healing and divine sense to give us advantage  on attacks against celestials undeads and fiends   for a couple of rounds at the cost of our bonus  action at level 10 we would be a paladin 2 and   that means we get a second fighting style and I  think I'd probably just take defense here for a   little extra AC bump we don't really need anything  else that paladins offer and we've already got two   up and fighting from Ranger so yeah might as well  increase our survivability we also get spells here   and I think I probably take Thundurus Smite above  anything for this build sure you could go bless   if no one else is but thunderous Smite requires  our concentration and a bonus action to cast but   we'll then do an extra 2d6 of damage on our next  weapon attack and there's no real reason why we   couldn't cast it before sneaking in to Jump our  enemies right and thereby give that first attack   some extra oomph especially since it's gonna crit  but yes the real reason that we're here like I've   said is for divine Smite which we also get at  this level which adds 2d8 radiant damage to our   weapon attacks plus one d8 more for each spell  slot higher than first that we spend on it and   yes for those of us getting critical hits that  radiant damage is going to be doubled and that   is just a ton of damage especially because with  five levels of Ranger and two levels of Paladin   we now have three second level spell slots and  four first level spell slots and to put this in   perspective at this level not accounting for any  bonuses that we might be getting from gear if we   were to successfully surprise our enemy assuming  that we spent as many spell slots as we needed to   for both thunderous Smite and then Divine Smite on  four attacks right on that opening round we would   do 16 D6 plus 24 d8 plus 16 damage to our Target  over four attacks for a total of 180 damage on   average that's a lot holy cow screw a Starion I'm  respecting my main PC to this build later tonight   so for levels 11 and 12 as for where to end the  build I think you've got a few choices at level   11 you could respect so that you're a paladin 5  Ranger 3 Rogue three we might as well get extra   attack from Paladin as opposed to Ranger in my  opinion since that would let us grab Paladin 6   and Aura of protection when we hit Level 12 right  but again maybe that doesn't feel particularly a   Starion like to you in that case I'd either just  go back to Rogue for those last two levels to   scale sneak attack a little bit and get us uncanny  Dodge or if you really wanted to get crazy grab   two levels in Bard or sorcerer because since those  classes are both full spellcasters it would let us   get more and better spell slots among other things  for bigger and better smites from the editing room   um I had to insert this really quick and maybe  it just goes without saying at this point on   my builds especially but yeah of course sure  you could finish the build with two levels   of fighter that would get you action Surge and  two more attacks during that opening round that   automatically crit we do have the spell slots  barely to apply Divine Smite to those two more   attacks as well so that's actually probably the  best route to go if you wanted to just blow all   of your resources and do as much damage as you  possibly could in that first round but it would   definitely leave you fairly resourceless after  just a single combat encounter right so sorcerer   Bard might be the better route to go if you  want to be able to kind of do that at least   a couple of times between long rests so that  is my gloomstalker Avenger assassin build for   a Starion and that wraps both today's video  and this series on optimizing the companions   I hope you guys had fun with it I hope you get  to test them out I have and they are awesome I   hope you know that I love you thank you so much  for all that you do I hope you have a fantastic   day and a great week and if you don't don't  give up you got this but I hope that you will   stay safe and that you will be kind and that  I see you again very soon until then take care [Music] foreign no you guys are not getting  a song today in the outtakes   I can only do one song a day it's when I'm  setting up my lights and I already sang it   sorry so for those of you who always get a little  uncomfy every time you see me singing maybe you   get kind of a funny feeling in your tummy and  you have to Evert your eyes you can relax today people standing outside my office and talking  loudly scaring the bajeebies out of your allies   scaring the bajeebies out of your enemies  so yeah this is much weaker than the DND   than the D and D then the ability  then then um then umbral site is it   called in DND oh I have been recording  this video since I was 11 years old

Channel: d4: D&D Deep Dive

Views: 191,283

Keywords: bg3, baldur's gate, D&D, dnd, dungeons & dragons, companions, origin, character, build, concept, guide, how to, min max, optimize, gale, lae'zel, astarion, tips, tricks, gloomstalker, assassin, evocation, spell, battle master, fighter

Id: sHp-AeBuu0k

Length: 48min 32sec (2912 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 26 2023