So I’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 a ton lately and stumbled upon this Club of Hill Giant Strength everyone’s buzzing about. Found it lying around in some gnoll-infested cave during Act 1 – almost left it behind because honestly, it looks like a rotten tree branch. But the tooltip grabbed me: sets your Strength to 19 no matter what. Wild, right?
First Test Run
Slapped it on my halfling rogue Tav immediately to see what’d happen. Guy normally had like 10 Strength, could barely carry his own gear. Suddenly he’s yeeting heavy crates like they’re pillows. Jump distance doubled! Shoved a hobgoblin clean off a cliff during combat – felt amazing watching that ugly mug tumble.
The Tradeoffs Hit Hard
But then reality check time. Took it into the goblin camp showdown and holy hell the drawbacks showed up:
- Damage output sucked big time – 1d4 plus Strength mod? My old shortsword did 1d6 plus sneak attack
- Swing speed felt slower than molasses – missed attacks left and right
- Zero special abilities or enchantments unlike other Act 1 weapons
Worst part? Locked my rogue out of dual-wielding and ranged attacks completely. Felt like bringing a twig to a sword fight.
Better Uses Emerged
Swapped it over to Shadowheart as a last-ditch experiment. Changed her whole support role suddenly – now she’s out here shoving enemies into Hunger of Hadar clouds like a bouncer turfing drunks. Stacked it with her Bless spell for hilarious grapple/shove combos.
Is This Thing Worth It?
After three playthroughs testing this funky club, my verdict:
- Great temporary stat stick until you find the Hill Giant gloves
- God-tier on non-melee supports for control/battlefield manipulation
- Trash for DPS builds – that damage dice hurts my soul
- Outclassed hard once you hit Act 2 loot
Ended up selling it to Blurg in the Underdark once I scored proper gear. No regrets – had fun making kobolds fly though!
