We are back with a new series of character builds here at Tabletop Builds. For our Baldur’s Gate 3 Honor Mode Build Series, we are publishing a collection of eight very powerful builds that will perform excellently in the highest difficulty, Honor Mode.
Honor Mode Build Series
[Barbarian: Berserker] [Cleric: Light Domain (StormLight)] [Druid: Circle of the Land (LightLand)] [Monk: Way of the Open Hand] [Ranger: Beast Master/Gloom Stalker (LightStalker)] [Sorcerer: Storm Sorcery (TempestStorm)] [Warlock: The Fiend (LightFiend)] [Wizard: School of Conjuration/Evocation (LightConj/LightVoker)]
What is an Honor Mode Build?
Each Honor Mode Build we have built under the assumptions that the game is…
- Played on the “Honor Mode” difficulty. This is the highest difficulty in the game, with some additional mechanics and “rules changes” from Tactician Mode, many of which nerf popular martial strategies. We will not be using Custom Mode to impose additional rules changes like increasing the Camp Supply cost of taking a Long Rest or disabling multiclassing.
- Not played using major glitches. Interestingly, Larian corrected some previously popular bugs used in optimization content, but only fixed it for Honor Mode. Other bugs still exist, but build decisions will not be made because of a suspected bug or glitch, as these may very well be patched out after the publishing of these guides (and they are not necessary to clear Honor Mode with ease).
- Not fully known to the reader. We don’t expect that you have an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and the bg3.wiki in order to play these builds. There will be links within builds to various wiki articles, usually for items so that readers can select for themselves the exposure to external plot elements. Additionally, none of the text within these articles will contain story spoilers for Act 2 and 3. There is a vague mention of an Act 1 moment that has build implications, and (by coincidence, not design) none of the items mentioned directly in the articles are story spoilers, as they have very generic names. Since the reader is not expected to know the game ahead of time, these builds will not be optimized in such a way that they burn all of their resources immediately in the first turn of combat, as efficient use of this strategy and build philosophy needs prior game knowledge.
- Deadly, but manageable. Honor Mode and Tactician before it can definitely introduce combat encounters with the potential to wipe a party. Honor Mode is especially punishing, because in order to truly finish an Honor Mode run you cannot allow your whole party to die. However, with good optimization knowledge and strategy, this challenge can certainly be overcome.
As a result, every Honor Mode Build is…
- Multiclassed. BG3 removes the Ability Score requirements for multiclassing, and changes some subclass mechanics in such a way that different multiclassing options become strong considerations. For example, all 8 of these builds at some point in progression take 1 level in Light Cleric due to the power of Warding Flare as well as the other benefits of the dip.
- Made with party cooperation in mind. These builds can, of course, be used in a single player or co-op playthrough, but there will often be considerations about how to work with the other characters in your party to tackle challenges effectively.
- Built to minimize risk. Even the Barbarian, Monk, and Ranger builds, which are optimized for damage, still take considerations in build choices as well as strategy to reduce the risk of death for your party. Honor Mode doesn’t let you reload saves if your party dies, so playing safe and using the powerful control effects available in the game to minimize enemy actions is important.
To make these builds as useful as possible to you, the reader, they are…
- All in the same format. To make things easier to read, our group of contributors have done their best to adhere to a common format for presentation. Due to the different needs and considerations that Baldur’s Gate 3 builds have, the format will be different from our 5E builds, but will be the same within this series.
- Customizable. Unlike our Flagship Build series, we won’t have variant level progressions, but there will be mentions of alternate build choices where they are notable. It should also be noted that none of the 8 builds within require a specific race or companion to function, but as they do have mechanical differences each notable option will be discussed. This should allow you to experience whatever companion story you wish to in a playthrough, while optimizing your party’s mechanical performance.