Let me tell you how figuring out character builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 kicked my butt at first. Seriously, I wasted hours.
My Big Mistake Starting Out
I jumped right in and tried making a Paladin all by myself. Thought “Hey, how hard could it be?” Total disaster. My dude couldn’t hit anything, ran out of smites super fast, and died constantly. Ended up deleting him before even finishing Act 1. Felt stupid.
Next, I rolled a Wizard. Wanted fireballs! But my squishy mage kept getting flattened by goblins before he could cast anything useful. Needed a better plan.
Getting Desperate for Help
Okay, fine. I admitted I needed advice. Typed “best baldurs gate 3 builds” into search. Bad move. Got completely buried in garbage:
- Useless clickbait lists: Like “TOP 10 MUST-HAVE BUILDS!!” with zero actual build details.
- Confusing jargon-filled nonsense: Guides talking about “action economy optimization” and “synergistic multi-class dips.” Made my head spin.
- Suspicious forums: Found some forum posts where everyone argued and nobody actually helped.
Honestly thought about quitting the game right there.
How I Finally Figured It Out
Took a break, brewed some coffee. Decided to be smarter this time. My actual process:
- Stalked Reddit (Safely): Found those BG3 subreddits everyone talks about. Dug DEEP into the discussion. Didn’t click random links, just read what experienced players actually said about builds.
- Looked for Updates: Noticed patches kept changing stuff. Searched specifically for comments mentioning things like “this still works after Patch 5?” Crucial.
- Stuck to my playstyle: Found people asking “Need a simple Fighter build” or “Best solo caster?” – stuff that actually matched how I play (which is kinda lazy).
- Asked the right question: Instead of searching “BEST BUILD EVER,” I started looking for “BG3 Fighter Level Progression Patch 5” or “Rogue Thief basics.” Specifics mattered big time.
The Sweet Spot for Builds
After this mess, I finally got a good handle on it. The best resources I found weren’t fancy tier lists. They were:
- Regular players showing off their ACTUAL characters. Like “My Sorcadin at Level 8.” Seeing the gear, the spells chosen, the ability scores – it clicked.
- Guides focusing on one class at a time. Found a clear “Pure Barbarian Guide” that explained why picking Great Weapon Master early matters. Simple.
- Comments explaining WHY. Someone just saying “War Cleric rocks because Guided Strike fixes your misses” made more sense than a whole complicated article.
So yeah, forget chasing perfect tier lists. Find people talking about playing your class the way you want to play it, who actually explain things clearly. Check the dates. Avoid the hype. Saved my save file.