Baldur’s Gate 3 Berserker Barbarian Build Guide
Dec. 22, 2022Baldur’s Gate 3 Berserker Barbarian Build Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3 Berserker Barbarian Build Guide– In thisBaldur’s Gate 3 Berserker Barbarian Build Guide, I’m going to cover myBarbarian Build, and show you what I’ve found to work best. I’ll be doing moreBuild GuidesforBaldur’s Gate 3, but for now, let’s look at how you can use aBerserker Barbarianeffectively.
The Berserker Barbarian is a very strongSubclasssince they deal damage that’s sustainable, thanks toFrenzyat Level 3, andExtra Attackat Level 5. Because of this, they essentially consume 2Actionsand 1Bonus Action, all in one turn. What’s more, is that they don’t have drawbacks besides the usualShortorLong Resthere and there.
Berserker Barbarians are highly skilled warriors whom you’ll want in your party to deal absolute carnage in close and mid-range distances. They’re proficient in wieldingSimpleandMartial WeaponsandShieldsbut they can’t donHeavy Armor, unlikeFighters. However, it shouldn’t be an issue given how durable they are thanks to their highConstitutionand decentAC.
In this section, we’ll take a look at how to set up your Barbarian duringCharacter Creationfor the best results.
ForBackground, choosing one that provides you with theAthleticsStrengthSkillshould be acceptable, especially since Constitution doesn’t have Skills related to it anyway. You can then choose a Background that boostsDexterityandWisdom SkillslikeFolk Hero,Outlander, andUrchinto improveSleight of HandandSurvival.
The firstRacethat works well for this Build is theGold Dwarf. Gold Dwarves haveDwarven Resilience, Darkvision, andDwarven Toughness. Dwarven Resilience makes it so that they gainSaving ThrowAdvantageagainst Poison and have resistance to Poison Damage so they’ll only receive half the damage. And then they have Darkvision to help them see and attack more accurately in the dark together with Dwarven Toughness that raises their Max HP by 1 every time they level up.
An alternative to this Race is theWood Half-Elf. On top of Darkvision, you gainFleet of Foot, enhancing your Movement Speed, thereby allowing you to cover more ground as a Barbarian. You also haveMask of the Wild, letting you gainProficiencyinStealth.
Regardless of the Race you choose, you won’t have issues with Weapon Proficiencies since the Barbarian has access to each and every one of them.
Skills aren’t super important but given that you’ll have decent Dexterity and average Wisdom relative toCharismaandIntelligence, it’s better to select those that fall under both Abilities. As such, you can also go withStealth,Animal Handling, andPerception.
Your primary Ability as a Barbarian is Strength to successfully hit targets and to effectively damage them using Melee and Thrown Weapons especially whenRageis active. It also affects your jump distance in addition to your carry weight capacity. For this reason, you’ll want at least 16 in this Ability during Character Creation and likely 18 later on.
Next, you should focus on Constitution for improved survivability. Although you’ll have 17 Strength and 17 Constitution to start with, by the time you reach Level 4, you’ll be able to allocate 1 point each to eitherAbilitythanks to theAbility Improvement Feat. Doing so will yield a high combination at 18 points for Strength and Constitution.
It’s also worth noting that you won’t be making use of the Barbarian’sUnarmoured Defense. Instead, you’ll benefit more from equippingMedium Armor, which accounts for a maximum of +2 Dexterity Modifier for yourAC. You can then add points into Dexterity to enhance your AC followed by Wisdom but the latter won’t matter much since it won’t influence your damage. However, it’s worth considering that Wisdom will affect the outcome of corresponding Skill Checks. Your Ability Spread should look something like this:
Barbarians are known for their Bonus Action, which is Rage that they immediately have access to at Level 1. What this does inCombatis it allows you to deal extra +2 damage with theWeaponsyou’re wielding, may it be melee or the objects you’ll throw at enemies.
You also gainanAdvantageon Strength Checks andSaving Throws, letting you traverse areas such as climbing or jumping with less difficulty. Remember that it’s crucial to attack a target or be attacked in return in succeeding rounds after you enter Rage, otherwise, this feature will end earlier than 10 turns. To recharge it, you need to take a Long Rest.
At Level 2, your Barbarian gainsReckless Attack, giving you an Advantage on yourAttack Rollwhile dealing massive Slashing Damage if you’re wielding theEverburn Blade. The caveat is enemies also gain the same Advantage against you. This shouldn’t be an issue given your high HP and improved AC thanks to your Medium Armor. You’ll be able to survive hits since Rage grants resistance to Slashing, Bludgeoning, and Piercing Damage so you only take half the damage.
Note, however, that Reckless Attack is only applicable to melee attacks, which means you can’t use this if you plan on throwing a creature or an object at your target.
Additionally, you gain a passive known asDanger Sense. What this does is make you more attuned to your surroundings. So you’ll likely improve the chances of avoiding damage from traps, surfaces, and evenSpellssince you gain an Advantage onDexterity Saving Throws. Keep in mind that it’s only applicable if you’re not incapacitated or blinded.
At Level 3, your Barbarian gains one additional Rage charge to enter Rage more often. Here, you’ll be selecting the Berserker Subclass where your Rage transforms into Frenzy. Frenzy treatsImprovised Melee Weaponas a Bonus Action rather than anAction. You even gain access to other Bonus Actions likeFrenzied StrikeandEnraged Throw. Frenzied Strike deals additional Weapon Slashing Damage while Enraged Throw enhancesThrowsince the damage you inflict now accounts for the object’s weight plus the Damage Roll. The Damage Roll includes the +2 Rage Damage, Strength Modifiers, and base damage of the hurled item.
You’re better off throwing heavy objects like another enemy or Medium Armor because of their 1d4 Bludgeoning Damage compared to light objects such as books, which aren’t guaranteed to deal damage in the first place. But the best ones to use for Enraged Throw are Thrown Weapons like theHandaxe,Spear, orJavelin. This is due to their base Weapon Damage and double Strength Modifiers. Enraged Throw is especially essential if you play as a Shield Dwarf since the distance you travel won’t be as good at lower levels.
In general, you deal higher damage while knocking enemies down, and you’re not susceptible to Exhaustion unlike in D&D 5E after Frenzy ends. So you won’t gain a Disadvantage on Ability Checks nor will your Movement Speed be cut in half.
At Level 4, you can choose aFeat, and here you’ll be taking Ability Improvement to place 1 point into Strength and Constitution, amounting to 18 each if you’ve chosen the Shield Dwarf Race. Doing so will not only boost your Attack and Damage Rolls due to the +4 Strength Modifier but also bring your max HP by up to 45, which is huge!
At Level 5, you gain the much-anticipated Extra Attack, which lets you make another attack using your Melee Weapon, allowing you to obliterate powerful enemies. As such, you can perform 2 Reckless Attacks and then an Enraged Throw or Frenzied Attack in a single turn. When using Reckless Attack, just make sure that you’re not surrounded by targets since they also gain Attack Roll Advantage against you.
Additionally, your Movement Speed increases by 5 with Fast Movement as long as you’re not wearing Heavy Armor so gone are the days of helplessly chasing after your enemies!
At Level 6, the Berserker Barbarian gains access to Mindless Rage. This prevents you from gettingCharmedorFrightenedwhile Rage is active, which is often the case. So it’ll be harder for enemies to deal with you.
At Level 7, the Barbarian learns Feral Instinct, which gives them an Advantage on every Initiative roll they make. As such, they’ll have a higher chance of attacking first in combat. Not only this but if you and your party get ambushed, and therefore, Surprised, as long as you enter Rage right away, you’ll be able to perform an Action normally on the first turn rather than skipping it entirely.
At Level 8, I highly recommend taking you can consider taking theGreat Weapon Master Feat. The -5 penalty to Attack Rolls for this isn’t going to be as significant due to the Advantage you gain from Reckless Attack. Not only will your hits land but your overall damage will be boosted by +10, which is huge!
At Level 9, the Barbarian gains access to the Brutal Critical Feat. This makes it so that every time you land a Critical Hit on a Melee Attack, you’ll be given the option to make an additional Weapon Damage Roll, which will then serve as the extra damage you deal. This is huge because of the chance to further increase your damage if you’re lucky and happen to roll well.
At Level 10, you’re given the ability to Frighten an enemy as a form of Action due to Intimidating Presence, thereby preventing them from making a move in combat on top of imposing a Disadvantage on their Attack Rolls. Note that you can target anyone within 30 feet of you and whoever you choose must fail their Wisdom Saving Throw to fall under your spell. Moreover, the Barbarian can keep making use of Intimidating Presence in succeeding turns by spending another Action.
At Level 11, you gain Relentless Rage, which makes it so that should your HP drop to 0, you’ll need to make a Constitution Saving Throw in order to remain alive. Succeeding here will give you 1 HP instead of facing death. Just remember that Rage has to be active to make use of this benefit.
And lastly, at Level 12, I recommend fully investing in Strength to hit 20, improving the outcome of both your Attack and Damage Rolls.
When it comes to the Berserker Barbarian’sEquipment, I prefer wieldingTwo-Handed Weaponsbecause of their massive damage like the Everburn Blade, which you get by killingCommander Zhalkof theNautiloid. In addition to the Slashing Damage, the blade inflicts Fire Damage and can set the surrounding on fire when combined with barrels of oil orGrease. Remember that you’re not limited to Reckless Attack since you have several Weapon Actions like Cleave and Lacerate to attack multiple targets and to inflictBleed, respectively. Additionally, make sure to have Thrown Weapons in your inventory because they’ll more often than not come in handy.
In terms ofArmor, you’ll be sticking with Medium Armor in Early Access so eitherLae’Zel’sGithyanki Half PlateorScale Mail +1should give you 17 AC. If you go for a One-Handed Weapon and Shield setup, you’ll further boost your AC to 19. This is going to be better than not equipping Armor at all because Unarmoured Defense only grants 16 AC while wielding a Two-Handed Weapon.
ForAccessories, you’ll want to equip theHaste Helm,Broodmother’s Revenge,Silver Pendant, andReason’s Grasp. Haste Helm from theBlighted Villageis especially useful for a Shield Dwarf to improve Movement Speed at the start of combat while gaining a +1 Dexterity Saving Throw bonus. Broodmother’s Revenge, which is obtained after defeatingKagha,is useful when you get healed since your Weapon will be doused with Poison. Doing so allows you to deal Poison Damage instead of Fire Damage since these two elements won’t stack. You can then swap this necklace for the Silver Pendant when traveling to make use of theGuidance Cantripfor Ability Checks.
Lastly, there’s Reason’s Grasp fromThe Risen Roadgives you the option to gain temporary HP if you choose to end Rage early or after every combat encounter.
For Thrown Weapons, the Damage Roll formula for Enraged Throw is as follows:
Weapon’s Base Melee Damage + Double Your Strength Modifier + 2 Damage from Rage
What’s great about this Weapon type is you can keep reusing them after every fight considering that there’s no durability to worry about in Early Access. At times, there’s even Crushing Damage on top of the formula but the triggers seem to be random. Additionally, you’re better off using Enraged Throw over Improved Melee Weapon since with Improved Melee Weapon, your options are limited and your Strength Modifier is only added to your Attack Roll, not your Damage Roll.
Another good choice for your Two-Handed Weapon is theSword of JusticefromAndersif you’re not able to acquire the Everburn Blade but it’s not because ofTyr’s Protection. Tyr’s Protection requires Concentration. This can’t be maintained after activating Frenzy, which will happen all the time with the Berserker Barbarian Build. Like the Everburn Blade, Sword of Justice also has Cleave and Lacerate.
Lastly, try to throw Weapons or objects from a higher elevation than your target in order to gain the +2 bonus on your Attack Roll.
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Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
