In this guide, we will explore the abilities of a special high elf and dive into the possible best build for Astarion, the tricks master. We will focus on a Pure Rogue class build along with melee and ranged playstyles, bringing out hidden monsters in Astarion. Our version of Baldurs Gate 3 Best Astarion Build include:
- Best Pure Rogue Build.
- Best Melee Build
- Best Ranged Build.
Key Takeaways
- Astarion can be built as a ranged or melee character.
- Astarion’s role in the party is usually that of a Perceptionist.
- The Theif subclass is the best for Astarion for a melee playstyle.
- The Assasin subclass is the best for Astarion if you prefer a ranged playstyle.
Astarion’s Features
Usually, the best build for Astarion is focused on targeting abilities that benefit from dexterity to maximize his effectiveness and gain the most use out of it.
As a High Elf, Astarion has the following features
- Darkvision
- Fey Ancestry
- Keen Senses
- Proficiency in Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, and Shortbow
Ability Score
Astorian is racially a High elf and belongs to the Rogue class; below is an overview of the recommended Ability Point distribution.
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Strength | 8 |
| Dexterity | 17 |
| Constitution | 14 |
| Intelligence | 10 |
| Wisdom | 14 |
| Charisma | 12 |
Astarion is usually built as a melee or ranged character; this guide will focus on the best build for Astarion and the respective subclasses, skills, and items that should be used for both playstyles.
In this table, we provide an overview of the subclass, skills, weapons, and armor for both builds for Astarion:
| Playstyle | Recommended Subclass | Weapons | Armor | Skills | Feats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melee | Thief | Shortswords Rapiers | Light Armor | Perception Acrobatics | Dual-Wielder Ability Improvement: Dexterity Lucky Ability Improvement: Dexterity |
| Ranged | Assasin | Shortbows Longbows Heavy-Crossbow | Light Armor | Acrobatics Deception Sleight of Hand Perception | Sharpshooter Ability Improvement: Dexterity Skilled Lucky |
| Either | Thief | As per your playstyle | Light Armor | Perception Acrobatics | Ability Improvement: Dexterity Resilient: Wisdom Lucky Ability Improvement: Dexterity |
Our best astarion build for Baldurs Gate 3 is a Pure Rogue class. Usually, Astarion serves as a very good perception in your party, and this build will maximize his utility in that role. Maintaining that in view, we will provide the best build as a pure Rogue class character. Regardless of your playstyle choice, the table will provide a summarized choice selection for both:
| Level | Class to level | Subclasses,Feats and Skills to choose |
|---|---|---|
| Level 2 | Rogue | Astarion will gain cunning actions providing him with a bonus action which can be used to perform Dash, Disengage or Hide action. |
| Level 3 | Rogue | At this level you get to choose a subclass. Select the Thief subclass if you are playing as a melee Select the Assasin subclass if you are playing as ranged |
| Level 4 | Rogue | Here we get to choose a feat here: For a melee build Improve his Ability Score and increase his Dexterity and Intelligence or choose the Duel Wielder feat For a ranged build: Choose the Sharpshooter feat |
| Level 5 | Rogue | At this level you will gain the Uncanny Dodge feature which will reduce the damage of the incoming attack by 50% improving Astarion's survivability |
| Level 6 | Rogue | At this level you get to add a bonus to skills for these we recommend Deception and Perception, however Deception can be replaced with Acrobatics. |
| Level 7 | Rogue | At this level you gain access to the Evasion feature which allows Astarion to dodge certain skills increasing Astarions survivability |
| Level 8 | Rogue | At this level we get access to another feat, if you have opted perviously for the Sharpshooter feat or Dual Wielder, you can opt to increase the Ability score of Dexterity by 2, In case you have previously chosen to imrpove your Ability score choose Sharshooter for a ranged build or Dual Wielder for a Melee build |
| Level 9 | Rogue | At this level Astarion will gain the Supreme Sneak feature as a result of choosing the thief subclass. In case of having chosen Assasin you will gain Infiltration expertiese |
| Level 10 | Rogue | For Melee build Improve Ability score and maximize your Dexterity For Ranged build Pick the Skilled feat and improve Acrobatics and Sleight of Hand skills Another option for ranged is to go with the Resilient feat and choose Resilient: Wisdom |
| Level 11 | Rogue | At this level you gain the Reliable Talent feature |
| Level 12 | Rogue | Pick the Lucky feat regardless of your build |
Recommended Subclass For Melee Build
At level 3, the player can choose from three subclasses: Thief, Arcane Trickster, and Assasin. Astarion benefits the most from the Thief subclass, which is recommended for him for a melee build.
In the table below, we provide a summary of this subclass:
| Subclass | Features and Action provided | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Thief | Fast Hands Second Story Work Supreme Sneak | Ability to pick locks Disarm traps Move stealthily Gain multiple bonus actions in combat |
- Fast Hands: This will allow Astarion to perform a bonus action, such as an additional offhand attack.
- Second Story Work: Reduces fall damage by half, which can be crucial while exploring.
- Supreme Sneak: This action will make you invisible.
Astarion can greatly benefit from these as the additional action provided by Fast Hands can be used to attack or perform a stealth action such as hiding. Similarly, you can jump from higher areas while taking minimum damage while exploring the map. Last but not least, Supreme Sneak is a beneficial action, and Astarion can perform a stealth attack and then use Supreme Sneak to become invisible, hence avoiding damage.
Skills For Melee Build
Skills represent a character’s abilities and which actions they can perform more effectively. A character’s skills determine their proficiency in performing certain actions. Thus, the character’s playstyle relies on their particular skills. The best skills for Astarion for a melee build, which complement and synergize well with his overall character class, include:
| Skill | Ability Attribute |
|---|---|
| Perception | Wisdom |
| Deception | Charisma |
| Acrobatics | Dexterity |
| Sleight of hand | Dexterity |
| Stealth | Dexterity |
Astarion, being a rogue, has proficiency in many skills, including Stealth, Acrobatics, Sleight of Hand, Perception, Deception, Performance, and Persuasion.
However, the skills that improve with Dexterity are Sleight of Hand, Acrobatics, and Stealth. Increasing your Dexterity will improve your proficiency in these skills if chosen.
Another set of most beneficial skills is Perception and Deception, which scale with Wisdom and Charisma, respectively.
- Perception is a must-have for Asation as it increases awareness of your environment, allowing you to locate traps and secrets effectively, perfectly fitting Astarion.
- Similarly, Acrobatics grants you stability while falling and prevents slipping on surfaces, while Stealth enables you to move past enemies undetected or sneak up opponents to attack
- Sleight of Hand affects your thieving skills, including picking locks, doors, and other similar actions.
- Deception is useful for dialogues; you can avoid Deception altogether if you do not care about excelling in them.
Best Feats
The table below provides the recommended feats you should choose for Baldurs Gate 3 Best Astarion Build if you prefer a melee build playstyle.
| Level | Feat |
|---|---|
| Level 4 | Dual Wielder |
| Level 8 | Improve Ability Score: Dexterity (+2) |
| Level 10 | Improve Ability Score: Dexterity (+2) |
| Level 12 | Lucky |
- The Dual wielder feat is a must as it will allow you to wield two weapons, enabling you to maximize your damage output. This is especially useful when you are multiclassing with the Fighter class.
- Improving the Ability score of Dexterity twice to a maximum of 20 is crucial for damage output, as Astarion’s proficiency lies in weapons that scale best with Dexterity.
- Lastly, the Lucky Feat will allow you to reroll enemy attacks and gain an advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
Best Weapons & Armor
The table below provides the best armor and weapon items for Astarion for a Melee build.
| Slot | Item | Item Skill/Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Haste Helm | Smooth Start: At the start of combat, the wearer gains Momentum for 3 turns. Dexterity Saving Throws +1 |
| Boots | Disintegrating Night Walkers | Night Walker: Prevents from becoming Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and slipping on grease or ice Misty Step: This spell allows you to teleport to an empty location that is visible |
| Chest | Faded Drow Studded Leather Armor / Drow Studded Leather Armor | NA/+1 Stealth |
| Weapon 1 | Rapier | Flourish: Feint an attack to throw enemy off-guard Piercing Strike: Chance to Inflict gaping wounds Weakening Strike: Weak attack with a possibility to inflict weak grip |
| Off-hand weapon | Rapier/Shortsowrd +1 | Flourish Piercing Strike Weakening Strike |
Since Astarion’s Ability score is centered around Dexterity, he must be wielding two Finesse weapons. Finesse’s weapons will enable Astarion to utilize Dexterity as his attack modifier, improving Astarion’s damage and accuracy.
Astarion must have a good weapon equipped in his offhand, as it significantly affects his damage output due to the bonus action available.
It is best to equip Astarion with light armor due to his proficiency in light armor and magic items that improve mobility and stealth.
Let’s discover some features of the ranged build for astarion:
Recommended Subclass For Ranged Build
The best subclass for a ranged build for Astarion is the Assasin subclass. This subclass provides the following three features to Astarion.
| Subclass | Features and Action provided | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Assasin | Assassinate: Initiative Assassinate: Ambush Assassin's Alacrity Infiltration Expertiese | Advantage against enemies who haven't moved Guaranteed critical hits against surprised enemies Restores action and bonus action at the start of turn Can change your appearance |
- Assassinate Initiative gives you an Advantage against enemies who haven’t moved yet on the first turn of combat.
- Assassinate: Ambush guarantees critical hits against surprised enemies.
- Assassin’s Alacrity: immediately restores your action and bonus action at the start of combat., making Astarion the perfect ambusher.
This best Astarion build for Baldurs Gate 3 aims to optimize Astarion for the highest damage output. Furthermore, the Assasin subclass further compliments the build, resulting in critical hits and high damage output. This is especially effective if Astarion starts the fight first.
Recommended Skills
In the table below, we provided the recommended skills for the best-ranged Astarion build:
| Skill | Ability attribute |
|---|---|
| Acrobatics | Dexterity |
| Sleight of Hand | Dexterity |
| Perception | Wisdom |
| Stealth | Dexterity |
You may notice that the best skills for Astarion for both ranged and melee builds are almost the same. This is because of his nature as a Rogue class character. Rogue characters benefit most from Dexterity-based skills; therefore, skills with Dexterity as their primary attribute are the most useful. Perception is the only Wisdom-based skill; however, it has enormous utility, and Astarion can greatly benefit from it.
Recommended Feats
| Level | Feat |
|---|---|
| Level 4 | Sharpshooter |
| Level 8 | Ability Score Improvement: Dexterity |
| Level 10 | Skilled/Weapon Master/Ability Score Improvement: Dexterity |
| Level 12 | Lucky |
Sharpshooter is a must for your ranged build as it removes the high-ground penalty, meaning that attacking from a lower ground will not reduce your attack roll. Attacking with a ranged weapon in which you have proficiency will increase your damage by +10, albeit at the cost of reducing your attack roll by -5.
Choosing Ability Score Improvement to increase Dexterity is also necessary for increasing your damage output, mainly if you use a short bow or longbow.
Since Astarion is proficient in both longbows and short bows, this would result in a direct increase in damage. Choosing the Lucky feat is also crucial as it allows one to reroll enemy attacks and gain an advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
Lastly, there is a choice for you to choose between Skilled, Weapon Master, or Increase Dexterity and maximize it by choosing the Ability score improvement feat. You can choose the Weapon Master to gain proficiency in heavy crossbows, granting you the Piercing Strike skill for that weapon.
Secondly, if you choose the Skilled feat, you can gain additional proficiency in the skills of your choice and can further improve Astarion’s performance by a huge difference.
Best Weapons & Armor
| Slot | Item | Item Skill/Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Shadow of Menzoberranzan | Shrouded in Shadow: Become Invisible for 2 turns |
| Boots | Disintegrating Night Walkers or Acrobat shoes | Night Walker: Prevents from becoming Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and slipping on grease or ice Misty Step: This spell allows you to teleport to an empty location that is visible / Acrobatics +1 Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws Checks. |
| Chest | Torment Drinker Armor or Penumbral Armor or Drow Studded leather armor | Bolstering Critical: The wearer gains +15 temporary hitpoints when scoring a critical hit or killing a hostile creature / Stealthier: The wearer gains +3 bonus to stealth checks while obscured / +1 to Stealth |
| Weapon 1 | The Joltshooter | Electric Blood: When the wielder deals damage using this weapon, they gain 2 Lightning Charges |
| Off-hand weapon | Short-sword +1 | Flourish: Feint an attack to throw enemy off-guard Piercing Strike: Chance to Inflict gaping wounds |
| Gloves | Gloves of Archery | Provides Proficiency in short bow and longbow while also increasing ranged weapon damage by 2 |
For a ranged build, it is best to equip Astarion with your best-ranged weapon; you should prefer a Longbow or a Heavy crossbow. It is also useful to have some melee weapon as a backup; Finesse weapons are optimal in such cases. As for armor, it is best to equip Astarion with light armor since Astarion has proficiency in light armor and will benefit the most from that.
Choosing armor and gear items that provide mobility and stealth is also optimal, as they perfectly suit his playstyle. Speaking of weapons, players can also consider greatswords if they want to stick with the melee-focused build.
Focusing on his strengths, this guide provides the utility of knowing the best choices for both Ranged and Melee playstyles. We aimed to cover the current Baldurs Gate 3 Best Astarion Build, and we hope this proved helpful for you. Don’t forget to enjoy trying these amazing builds on the High-Elf.
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