Baldur’s Gate 3: The 5 Best Multiclass Builds

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Human Made

Penned by Justin Moniquette

Justin's foray into gaming started with classic Resident Evil 3 and has only expanded since then. He graduated from RIT in 2021 and aspires to have his name in the credits of a video game one day.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

In this guide, we’ll be going over the best multiclass builds in Baldur’s Gate 3. Power can come from many places across the lands of Faerûn. Years of study. Martial prowess. A deal with a devil. A hero’s path to power is as varied as the enemies they’ll inevitably face. But nothing says that the path has to be a straight line.

Just like in the pen and paper, Baldur’s Gate 3 allows players to multiclass and train their characters in several different vocations. Some of these combinations can be game-breakingly powerful while others can be weaker than a single class on its own. If you have any interest in multiclassing then have no fear. Let’s begin delving into the top 5 multiclass builds in BG3.

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#5 – Rage-Filled Pirate (Barbarian/Rogue)

Starting this guide is the most unlikely of combinations; the Barbarian and Rogue. While the two classes may seem opposed, these two classes synergize well together, regardless of the subclasses chosen. This is mainly because of the relationship between Barbarian’s Reckless Attack and Rogue’s Sneak Attack.

Sneak Attack is granted whenever the player has advantage on an opponent and is wielding a finesse weapon. Reckless Attack, at the cost of giving enemies advantage against you, grants you advantage on your attack. You can probably already see where the synergy comes from. With Reckless Attack you can reliably always get sneak attacks on an enemy. And this combo gets even more deadly the deeper into Rogue you go because of the increasing Sneak Attack.

The Build

With this multiclass, we’re doing an even split between Barbarian and Rogue which means six and six. Our main stats will focus on Strength with Constitution and Dexterity sharing a spot for second place. We’ll be starting as a Barbarian and following that class until level five to give us some decent health as well as two attacks per round. After that, we take six levels in Rogue and our final level in Barbarian.

While we won’t be as tanky as a full Barbarian, the addition of Sneak Attack plus our high strength and rage damage bonus will have us dishing out a lot of damage. How you want to outfit your character is up to you, but I went with dual scimitars since we need a finesse weapon and dual wielding gives us three attacks per round. Four, if you choose the Thief subclass and get the extra Bonus Action. If you’re not starving for feats you can also get the Dual Wielder feat and dual wield rapiers for more damage.

Subclasses

When choosing this multiclass option the only subclass I would avoid is the Arcane Trickster because Barbarians and spell casting don’t mix at all. Other than that you’re free to choose whichever you want. The easy choice for a strong character would be Totem Barbarian and Assassin to maximize round one damage. But like I said earlier, a Thief will get an extra Bonus Action meaning they can attack four times in a round.

#4 – Knife in the Dark (Ranger/Rogue)

The next multiclass combination in this guide is the Ranger and Rogue. Anyone who’s played these classes before can probably see where this is going, but let’s set the scene first. The Ranger provides a lot with just the first five levels taken. A fighting style, spellcasting, favored enemy bonuses, and extra attack are already a lot. Add the excellent features you get from the Rogue and you’re already a pretty powerful force both on and off the battlefield.

The Build

For this multiclass, we’ll be focusing on our Dexterity and Wisdom primarily. You’ll know why once we go over subclasses. For now, just make sure your Dex is as high as it can go and your Wisdom is in the fourteen to sixteen range. We want to take at least five levels in Ranger to get our extra attack, then switch over to Rogue. After three levels in Rogue it’s up to you how you want to proceed, but sticking with Rogue will make you stronger in the long run.

In terms of gear, make sure you have a finesse weapon to utilize sneak attack or a good ranged weapon if you decide to go ranged since we won’t have a ton of health with this multiclass compared to some others.

Subclasses

For this multiclass, we are choosing the Gloom Stalker Ranger and Assassin Rogue. This is so we can have devastating first-round damage and basically ensure we are always the first ones acting in combat. The Gloom Stalker, along with a bunch of useful other things, gives us a bonus to our initiative as well as faster movement speed and an extra d8 of damage in our first round. Combine this with the Assassin’s features that give us advantage on anyone who hasn’t acted in combat yet as well as an automatic critical on a surprised enemy, and we’re doing a lot of damage.

This combination doesn’t need a lot of feats to get working, but taking the Alert feat which gives a plus five to initiative as well as the inability to be surprised will all but ensure you’re the first person acting in any round.

#3 – Martial Savage (Fighter/Barbarian)

The Barbarian and Fighter are two classes that fit together so well that it’s hard not to multiclass them together. Both classes get a lot of their best features in the first couple of levels so no matter which class you take first you are benefitting. Are you a Barbarian who decided to hone their wild fighting style? Or a Fighter who decided to dig deeper into their rage?

The Build

This multiclass can go one of two ways depending on which class you want to focus on more. Either way, Strength is going to be our main stat. After that, we’ll focus on Dexterity and Constitution. If you go primarily Barbarian you might want to put more focus on Con, but getting the two stats at around fourteen should do fine. 

As I said before, each class gets its best stuff very early on so what you do next is dependent on which class features you want more. The main things to focus on are Barbarian’s Reckless Attack for advantage on attacks. We’ll go more in-depth in the subclass section since there’s a lot you can do with this multiclass but let’s go over a nice example level spread. 

You’ll want to take your first five levels in Fighter to get your subclass, feat/ability score increase, and extra attack. The next three levels in Barbarian to get Reckless Attack and a second subclass. The rest of the levels will be taken in Fighter for more bonuses to our ability scores and useful feats to grab.

You’ll be a proper frontline by max level with high health and strength. You’ll be able to dish out some serious punishment and take some in return.

Subclasses

The Fighter/Barbarian multiclass has a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing subclasses since the main benefits come from the basic class features. Honestly, anything except for Eldritch Knight Fighter can be very helpful, and even then it’s not a horrible choice. 

On the Barbarian side, Totem Barbarian gives a lot of useful passives when raging. The strongest is the bear totem that gives you resistance to all damage types except psychic. The other animal totems provide some fun bonuses as well so they shouldn’t be ignored. The Wild Magic Barbarian is also a good option as most of the Wild Surges are beneficial. The Berserker Barbarian is the only subclass that I’d say can be passed on. The Frenzied Strike is redundant if you get Great Weapon Fighting as one of your feats and there’s a good chance you’ll be using your Bonus Action for something else.

On the Fighter side, every subclass can bring something useful to this multiclass. Champion comes with some excellent passives like Improved Critical hit which synergizes well with Reckless Attack. Battlemaster Maneuvers from the Battlemaster Fighter are amazing in any situation and open a lot of tactical options in combat. Even the Eldritch Knight can cast some buff spells that can be useful as long as they’re not concentration-based. This is one of the best multiclass builds for a reason.

#2 – Sorlock (Sorcerer/Warlock)

Next on the list is one of the most powerful multiclass combinations; the Sorlock. Much like the Barbarian and Fighter, these two classes almost seem like they were meant to be together. Who says enhancing your spells with a little eldritch pact was a bad idea?

The Build

The build for the Sorlock is very simple since the Warlock and Sorcerer rely on basically the same stats. You want to get your Charisma as high as possible with Dexterity and Constitution coming up next to ensure a decent Armor Class and Concentration. And that’s it for stats. 

Ideally, you’ll want to take at least two levels in Warlock to get you Eldritch Blast, your Pact, and a couple of useful Invocations. The rest of your levels would go into Sorcerer. While two levels in Warlock may not seem like much, the biggest reason this multiclass is so popular is that you now get your spells back on a short rest because of your Warlock levels. This provides a lot of power to a Sorcerer. Especially when they get their Sorcery Points and Metamagic.

Subclasses

The subclasses for this multiclass are pretty simple because it is entirely up to which class features or spells you prefer. You’ll likely not be going too deep into Warlock for its full complement of class features to matter. For Sorcerers, each option is pretty fun to play. If you want to add a little defense then Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer and Fiend Warlock will give you some bonuses to your defense and some temporary health per kill.

#1 – Witch-Knight (Paladin/Warlock)

Anyone who’s played D&D before could probably have guessed that the Witch-Knight would take the number one spot for best multiclass builds in BG3. Vaunted as one of the strongest multiclass combinations in 5th Edition, the Paladin and Warlock multiclass is one of the strongest builds in Baldur’s Gate 3.

The Build

Just like the Sorlock, the build for the Witch-Knight is pretty simple. You want your Charisma as high as possible with a decent Dexterity and Constitution. Although a decent Dexterity isn’t necessary since you’ll have access to heavy armor. You’ll then take three levels in Warlock until you gain access to Pact Boons and grab Pact of the Blade to get your Charisma to attack and damage. Then you ride the rest of the way in Paladin.

It’s easy to see why this build is so strong. Charisma to attack and damage with a weapon means you don’t need to focus on too many stat when building your character. Since you have Warlock levels your spells come back in short rests which means your Paladin Smites also come back during short rests. Your Paladin levels also give you heavy armor which means you’ll have more defense than any Warlock will usually get. 

Subclass

The subclasses you take for these classes don’t matter because the main power of this multiclass comes from the inherent class features. The only thing you really need is Pact of the Blade which you get at Warlock level three. If you want to optimize though, grab Fiend Warlock for Dark One’s Blessing and go Oath of Vengeance for its excellent spell list.

Join the High Ground

And that’s our guide for the best multiclass builds in Baldur’s Gate 3. Did you learn any new class combinations? Have you tried any of these multiclass builds in the game already? Tell us in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe for more content like this. Happy adventuring!