Baldurs Gate 3: Best Bard Subclass

Bards are a class that can fill in any role in a party. This guide will enable you to build Baldurs Gate 3: Best Bard Subclass, which will fit according to your playstyle. 

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Key Takeaways

• Bards are a versatile class with both combat and support roles in a party.
• You can choose one of three subclasses at level 3: 
  • College of Lore
  • College of Valour
  • College of Swords
• Subclass greatly depends on Bard’s abilities and the races you choose.  

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Bards are best known for their diverse roles in both offense and defense. You can further choose their subclass according to your needs. These unlock at level three with some features and more at level six. Their subclasses are:

• College of Lore
• College of Valour
• College of Swords

It is essential to understand the primary abilities of Bards since they will be influenced based on the subclass you choose. Their primary set of abilities includes Charisma, Dexterity, and Constitution. 

Bard Abilities 

Charisma is an important attribute that helps determine character interactions and offensive output. It works on the following:

Ability	Description
Spellcasting	Charisma works well for spellcaster classes such as bards, socerers, paladins, determining the effectiveness of the casted spells. This means that the higher the Charisma, the more power of your spells.
Skill based Interactions	Interacting with NPCs is also a factor Charisma affects. This includes Deception, Persuasion, Performance, etc. A high Interaction score means your ability to negotiate and deceive others will be more powerful.
Dialogue based Interactions	Charisma also influences your interactions with NPCs in order to gain certain information.

Dexterity adds various effects to your character. These are:

Ability	Description
Combat Skills	Dexterity increases your chance to ensure a hit on your enemy.
Skills	It affects skills such as stealth, sleight of hand, etc, thus improving your character's overall effectiveness.
Armor Class	AC determines how difficult it is for enemy to successfully hit you.
Initiative rolls	Dexterity influences your order of turns in a fight.

Constitution is another ability that influences your character.

Abilities	Description
Hit Points	Constitution determines you maximum hit points, which is the total damage you can endure in a fight. Constitution modifier will give extra hit points per hero level.
Saving Throws	Synergizes well with spellcasting classes. It improves your spell outcomes in a fight.
Retroactive Benefit	Constitution takes your past into account and increases your overall constitution score later on in the game to increase hit points.

Besides these abilities, Bard’s proficiencies include Light armor and weapons such as Longswords, Shortswords, Crossbows, etc.  

While in character creation, the race you choose will directly influence the subclass you choose. 

Subclass	Race	Benefits
College of Lore	Githyanki	Provides proficiency for not only Light armor but also medium. It also provides proficiency for Longswords and Shortswords to increase the effectiveness of your character. You also gain Misty Step spell at level 5 which will help in position since you are playing as a support role.
	Elf	You will get Crossbow proficiency. Fey Ancestry: Provides advantage to Saving Throws.
	Half Elf	Also provides weapon & armor proficiency, Fey ancestry.
College of Valour	Half Ore	Provides Relentless Endurance which influences your hit points. You also get higher critical damage. Both of these work well if you plan to play Melee Bard.
College of Swords	Human	Provides shield proficiency which they do not have previously. Also provides weapon and armor proficiencies.

College Of Lore  

Abilities	Description
Arcana Proficiency	Arcana is intelligence based skill that allows you to use powerful spells and items.
Sleight of Hand Proficiency	This skills allows you to deceive your opponents using hand movement, allowing you to steal, pick locks, or conceal objects.
Intimidation Proficiency	A Charisma skill, which also allows you to steal or gather information from the enemy.

This subclass is more support role-oriented since it allows multiple spell options at level six. As Bards are very effective as support in a party, this subclass synergizes effectively with their build. 

You get additional Magical Secrets at Level Six, unlike other Bard builds, which gain these at Level Ten. You can select up to two spells from the list. However, they will start from level 3. The availability of a wide variety of spells will make you build a very versatile Bard build, unlike those offered by other subclasses.

Spell	School	Damage/Roll	Description
Heat Metal	Transmutation	2-16 damage 2d8 fire	Causes the weapon to glow red hot and when touched by the enemy, it gives disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks. If the enemy keep touching it, you can deal a consecutive 2d8 roll to deal further fire damage.
Cloud of Daggers	Conjuration	4-16 Damage 4d4 Slashing	Creates a tornado of daggers which deals damage to anyone standing inside it.
Bestow Curse	Necromancy	-	Touching any enemy will be cursed. The curse will give disadvantage on Savings Throws, attacks, simultaneously dealing damage.
Crown of Madness	Enchantment	-	Enchants an enemy to attack another nearby closest creature apart from you.
Mass healing word	Evocation	1d4+3	Causes regeneration of health up to 6 different creatures. It does not affect if the unit is already dead.
Fireball	Evocation	8d6	It will shoot a bright red flame, exploding whoever gets in contact and torching them.
Counterspell	Abjuration	-	Nullifies spells of your enemy unit. The opponent’s spell must be level 3 or lower, otherwise you must succeed a Check in order to nullify the spell.

Combine this with skills such as History, Perception, and Investigation. Ultimately, your role will support gathering information and uncovering hidden puzzles. To synergize these effectively, combine them with spells that provide healing and endurance to your team.

In addition to this, you also gain Cutting Words, which allows a 1d6 penalty to the opponent on the Attack roll. This allows you to debuff the enemy ahead of time.     

Other Subclasses

College Of Valour

Abilities	Description
Medium Armor Proficinecy	Gives advantage to the character wearing medium armor.
Shield Proficiency	Gives advantages to the characters using shields.
Martial Weapon Proficiency	Allows bonus to the characters using martial weapons in attack rolls.

This subclass is more offensive-oriented since it provides more to attack. 

Combat Inspiration allows allies to inspire a +1d6 bonus on their next attack roll, saving throws, weapon damage, and armor class. At level six, you must unlock Extra Attack, allowing you to have a second chance of attacking in a fight. Moreover, you can also cast spells in combination with these attack features. 

College Of Swords

Abilities	Description
Medium Armor Proficiency	Allows advantages to the characters wearing medium armor.
Scimitar Proficiency	Allows advantages to the character while they are using Scimitars, providing bonus on attack rolls.

You also gain two choices of playstyle. You can choose Dueling, which grants an additional two bonuses if you use a melee weapon that is not two-handed. On the other hand, you can choose Two Weapon fighting, in which you can add an ability modifier to your attack’s damage.

Apart from this, you also gain three flourishes. 

Flourish	Description
Slashing	Allows you to attack 2 enemies at one time.
Defensive	+4 bonus to your armor class if you hit on attack.
Mobile	Thrust away your opponent by 6m, and allows you to teleport to it.

You will gain an Extra Attack ability at level six, making this subclass well-oriented for the offense. 

Ultimately, Baldurs Gate 3 Best Bard Subclass will depend on your play style. College of Lore provides the most versatility with its abilities and multiple spell options. 

Up Next:

• Baldurs Gate 3 Best Skills.
• Baldurs Gate 3 Best Multicast Combinations.
• Baldurs Gate 3 Best Race For Each Class.