Everyone Baldur’s Gate 3 the team needs a face, and that face might as well be a Bard. Bards are charisma spellcasters with an enviable spell list, but they also have access to subclasses that can turn them into powerful melee fighters.
All Baldur’s Gate 3 Classes are elastic, but Bards are one of the best options if, like me, you want your character to do a little bit of everything. Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning on playing a Bard in your next game.
Best Race for Bard
There really isn’t a right or wrong choice for the Bard race. Bards are meant to be versatile characters who can do a little bit of everything (they have a skill called Jack of All Trades, after all), so this choice is up to your personal preference. I’ll shout out Drow as a solid option, though, since the skill proficiencies make good operate of Bard Charisma and grant proficiency with hand crossbows—my favorite Bard weapon.
Best Skill Scores for Bards
The most essential attribute for a Bard is Charisma. Dexterity should be your secondary focus, since you’ll mostly be using ranged or finesse weapons – and who doesn’t like to get into a fight early? Here’s a starting attribute set I’d recommend:
- Resilience: 8
- Skill: 15
- Constitution: 13
- Intelligence: 12
- Wisdom: 10
- Charisma: 17
Best Bard Backgrounds
The best background for your Bard will facilitate you supplement your skills with proficiencies that your race doesn’t grant you. You may want to make the most of your Charisma score by choosing a background with the Persuasion proficiency, such as Nobleman or Guild Artificer. Personally, I prefer to choose the Urchin background to gain the Manual Dexterity and Sneak proficiencies, which combine well with a solid Dexterity modifier.
Best Bard Subclass
Choosing a subclass for your Bard is the most essential character decision you can make. Bards have three options, and while none of them are bad, College of Knowledge AND College of Swords are the best choice.
Bard College of Lore gets Cutting Words as a reaction and 3 more skill proficiencies. They’ll be good at everything and will likely play more of a support role in combat. It’s a frosty subclass, but not as powerful as your other option.
The College of Swords Bard will be aggressive in combat, with the ability to perform an extra attack and operate blooms, while also having access to Bard’s extensive array of powerful spells. For pure combat efficiency, the College of Swords is the best choice.
Best Feats for a Bard
The best feats for Bard depend on whether you decide to multiclass. I will always praise the Ability Score Increase base option, as the Charisma boost will make your spells and saves even more powerful. The Dexterity boost is also a great option, especially if you fight with crossbows or finesse weapons.
There are other good options, though. Bards with the Paladin or Fighter class and the Archery fighting style can make great operate of the Marksman feat. Dual Wielding can be a powerful option for more melee-oriented College of Swords Bards. Last but not least, Alert is good for almost any class, but if you’re playing a Control-style Bard, getting into combat as early as possible is incredibly essential.
Bard’s Best Spells
Bards get automatic access to the best spells in the world Baldur’s Gate 3. There’s no shortage of great spells to take, but here are a few of my personal favorites:
- Friends – Is it good? Not particularly, but it’s my favorite cantrip in the game and leads to some comical moments.
- A Little Illusion – This is extremely valuable when sneaking through heavily patrolled areas.
- Person holding – A control option at the beginning of the game that holds true throughout the game.
- Glyph of the Guard – Huge damage potential with this spell, and it can put enemies to sleep. It’s also a personal favorite of mine, as my tabletop team once used it to kill a dragon.
- Hold the monster – Essentially a terrible follow-up to Hold Person, though it’s a 5th-level spell.
- Command – This can only be used as part of the Magic Secrets skill at Bard level 10, but it’s a phenomenal control spell that doesn’t require concentration.
- Counterspell – This ability is only available through the Magic Secrets feature, but as a defensive option it is incredibly useful.
- Otto’s irresistible dance – Can only be obtained as an 11th level Bard, but it’s one of the best single target control spells in the game.
Best Multiclass for Bard
People will argue about what the best Bard multiclass option is. Reasonable minds may disagree, but generally speaking, there are two different multiclass options that are the most popular. Only one of them has a frosty name.
We present Bardada. The basic Bardadin is a level 10 Bard College of Swords and a level 2 Paladin. The Bard levels give you a good amount of spell slots that you can swap out for Smites, and the two levels of Paladin also give you access to a fighting style – archery is probably the best option. Either way, this Bard is an absolute machine that still gets the benefit of two feats, though it sacrifices access to Otto’s Irresistible Dance.
The other Bard multiclass I would recommend is less straightforward and probably less powerful, but gives you a ton of versatility. That’s six levels in College of Swords Bard, four levels in Thief Rogue, and two levels in Fighter. This build still gives you two feats, an additional bonus action, additional options with that bonus action, plus Action Surge and a fighting style. I’m guilty of always trying to do a little bit of everything with my characters instead of really optimizing them, but I think this build is great.
