Best Bard Build in Baldur's Gate 3

The Bard is one of those classes in Baldur's Gate 3 that isn't available in the pool of ready-made characters. To avoid confusion, we've put together a versatile build suitable for absolutely any race. After all, it's better to choose based on preferences.

Note: Bards can be both cool fighters and decent healers. It's important to keep this in mind.

Actually, playing as a Bard is no more difficult than any other class. They are good in both melee and ranged combat, and in general, capable of excellent control and healing. The most important thing, of course, is to properly distribute the characteristic points. Remember that the Bard casts spells from Charisma.

Recommended characteristics are on the screenshot above.

Since the Bard is a class that mainly plays from Dexterity and Charisma, weapons with the Finesse label are what you need. Rapiers, daggers, and the like — all in your hands. And by the way, don't forget about bows and crossbows!

Note: For the off-hand, we recommend taking a dagger — not only for attacking with a bonus action but also for increasing damage on higher levels.

The cantrips to choose at the first level are: Vicious Mockery and Friends.

The list of recommended spells is as follows:

Charm Person is exactly the beginning of that control we talked about. So, we take this spell.

The subclass here is quite obvious — it's College of Swords. It is the one that will allow you to turn your bard into an even more versatile and deadly fighter. The fighting style is Two-Weapon Fighting, because extra damage is never superfluous.

We also take Crown of Madness, as it is a very useful spell in combat.

Minor Illusion, of course, is a situational cantrip, but sometimes it can be useful, as it is considered the most useful of all the options offered.

Shatter — quite a powerful spell for any spellcasting class, so it should not be ignored.

This is where the most interesting part begins. Actor — the best feat for a bard. It not only doubles your Skill Bonus, but also increases your Charisma to 18, which increases the modifier to +4. Moreover, you get the ability to whistle virtuously.

Here it's all about control and, of course, the ability to quickly take to one's heels if necessary. Choose the following spells:

The next spell is Polymorph, which gives you the ability to turn even the most formidable boss into a sheep.

You can never have too much health, so choose the Tough feat.

Take Dominate Person and replace Charm Person with Hold Monster as the former is no longer needed.

At level 10, cantrips are generally of little use, but if approached from the perspective of applicability, Warding Bond might come in handy.

We arranged the skills as shown in the screenshot above, giving preference to Perception and Persuasion.

Magical Secrets are the same spells, just borrowed from other classes. Therefore, we take the very best, namely Fireball and Counterspell.

For a regular spell, we settle on Mass Cure Wounds, since a bard is not just about dealing damage.

Not only is Otto's Irresistible Dance hilarious in-game, but it's also incredibly effective. You can make the boss dance, allowing allies to attack with advantage.

Eyebite is the quintessence of all the control we've discussed before, making it the last spell on our list.

For the last feat, we go with the classic Ability Score Improvement and raise Charisma to 20, to start terrifying not just the enemies around but the very Gates of Baldur's Gate themselves.