10 Best Honor Mode Builds for Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 Honor Mode

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Embark on an epic adventure through the Forgotten Realms with the definitive Honor Mode Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. Experience the ultimate challenge as you navigate treachery, combat, and moral choices with the most formidable party composition. This meticulously crafted build empowers you to overcome the most daunting obstacles, leaving an unforgettable mark on your journey through Faerûn.

At the helm of your party stands the valiant Halfling Paladin, whose unwavering devotion to justice grants them unwavering resolve and formidable martial prowess. With blessings from the divine, they inspire their comrades while delivering righteous vengeance upon foes. The cunning High Elf Wizard weaves arcane spells with unparalleled precision, manipulating the battlefield and confounding enemies. Their knowledge of ancient lore provides invaluable aid in navigating the treacherous paths that lie ahead.

Stealth and subterfuge become your allies with the nimble Wood Elf Ranger. Their mastery of the wilderness grants them an unparalleled ability to infiltrate enemy ranks and strike from the shadows. The wise Drow Cleric offers solace and healing to their companions, while their connection to the Shadowfell allows them to harness forbidden powers. Together, this formidable quartet forms an unbreakable bond, their Honor Mode vow guiding their every step as they face the trials and tribulations that await them.

The Sentinel: Unwavering Protection

The Sentinel is an ideal Honor Mode build for players seeking an unparalleled level of protection and survivability. Combining the strengths of the Fighter class with the protective prowess of the Protection fighting style, this build transforms the character into an unyielding guardian on the battlefield.

Sentinel: Unwavering Protection

The Sentinel boasts an impressive array of defensive capabilities. Its mastery of the Protection fighting style grants a substantial +2 bonus to Armor Class, rendering the character exceptionally difficult to hit. This bonus is further enhanced by the proficiency in heavy armor, which provides an additional layer of protection. Moreover, the Sentinel’s access to the Shield spell elevates their resilience to formidable heights, effectively increasing their Armor Class by 5 for an extended duration.

Beyond these defensive buffs, the Sentinel possesses an arsenal of maneuvers designed to shield allies and hinder enemies. The Sentinel feat, from which the build derives its moniker, allows the character to react to an enemy attacking an adjacent ally with a thunderous attack. This feat effectively punishes opponents for targeting vulnerable party members, discouraging melee combat and forcing opponents to reassess their tactics.

Furthermore, the Sentinel’s Shield Master feat grants proficiency in the use of shields as improvised weapons. This versatility enables the character to not only deflect incoming attacks but also to deliver punishing blows in melee combat. The feat’s additional benefit of ignoring the disadvantage on Dexterity ability checks while wielding a shield further enhances the Sentinel’s agility on the battlefield.

Sentinel Build Summary
Class	Fighter
Fighting Style	Protection
Background	Soldier
Stats	Strength, Dexterity, Constitution
Feats	Sentinel, Shield Master
Skills	Athletics, Intimidation, Perception
Weapon	Battleaxe (Versatile)
Armor	Plate

The Great Weapon Master: Unmatched Damage

The Great Weapon Master feat is a powerful option for any character who wants to deal maximum damage with their attacks. It grants a +10 bonus to damage rolls with two-handed weapons, and it also allows you to reroll any attack roll that results in a 1 or a 2. This can significantly increase your chances of hitting your target, and it can also help you to overcome the penalties associated with using heavy weapons.

Strengths of Great Weapon Master


+10 Damage Bonus	A significant increase in damage output, especially with two-handed weapons.
Reroll 1’s and 2’s	Allows for more consistent damage by reducing the chance of rolling low numbers.
Increased Critical Range	With Great Weapon Fighting style, critical hits are more likely to occur.

Considerations

The Great Weapon Master feat also has some drawbacks that should be considered before taking it. First, it imposes a -5 penalty to attack rolls. This can make it difficult to hit your target, especially at higher levels. Second, the feat only works with two-handed weapons. This means that you will not be able to use it with one-handed weapons or ranged weapons.

The Sharpshooter: Precision and Power

The Sharpshooter is a formidable ranged combatant, capable of incredible precision and devastating damage. With their keen eye and steady hand, they excel at downing targets from afar, making them a valuable asset to any party.

Crossbow Prowess

The Sharpshooter’s primary weapon of choice is the crossbow. Their proficiency with this ranged tool allows them to fire with unmatched accuracy, even at distant targets. Moreover, their Sharpshooter feat grants them the ability to ignore the disadvantage normally imposed for attacking far-off enemies.

Observant and Powerful Shots

Beyond their crossbow skills, Sharpshooters are also masters of observation. Their observant nature grants them an exceptional ability to spot hidden targets and weaknesses, making them effective at taking out high-value adversaries like enemy spellcasters.

Sneak Attack

While Sharpshooters are often at a distance from the fray, they are not without their melee capabilities. When enemies close the gap, they can use their Sneak Attack ability, dealing extra damage to unsuspecting targets. This versatility makes them a threat in both ranged and close-quarters combat.

Class	Background	Skills
Ranger	Outlander	Survival, Animal Handling, Stealth
Fighter	Battle Master	Intimidation, Athletics, Acrobatics
Rogue	Assassin	Deception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth

The Eldritch Knight: Arcane Versatility

The Eldritch Knight is a hybrid class that combines the martial prowess of a fighter with the arcane magic of a wizard. This unique combination grants them unparalleled versatility, allowing them to adapt to any combat situation.

Arcane Versatility

The Eldritch Knight’s versatility is rooted in their ability to cast spells while wearing heavy armor. This allows them to unleash powerful magical effects without sacrificing their physical defense. Additionally, they can use their spells to enhance their weapons, making them even more formidable in combat.

Spell Selection

Eldritch Knights have access to a wide range of spells, including:

Spell Level	Spells
1st	Shield, Expeditious Retreat, Burning Hands
2nd	Web, Misty Step, Scorching Ray
3rd	Counterspell, Fireball, Haste

These spells provide Eldritch Knights with a variety of options for controlling the battlefield, dealing damage, and protecting themselves and their allies.

The Battle Master: Tactical Supremacy

The Battle Master is a versatile subclass that grants fighters unparalleled tactical prowess. Through a combination of maneuvers and dice manipulation, they can control the battlefield and dominate their opponents.

Exceptional Dexterity

Dexterity is crucial for Battle Masters, providing initiative bonuses and AC. Aim for a high Dexterity score to maximize your combat effectiveness.

Precision Strikes

Choose the Precision Attack maneuver to add superiority dice to your damage rolls on critical hits. This significantly increases your damage output, especially against strong enemies.

Tactical Insight

Consider the Rally maneuver to grant temporary hit points to an ally within 60 feet as a bonus action. This can keep your party members in the fight and boost their survivability.

Commander’s Strike

The Goading Attack maneuver provokes an opportunity attack from an enemy, forcing them to focus on someone other than you. This is a powerful tool for disrupting enemy tactics and protecting your allies.

Unstoppable Precision

To further enhance your accuracy, invest in the Sharpshooter feat. This allows you to ignore cover penalties and grants advantage on ranged attacks against targets at long range. Additionally, consider the Piercer feat to add a critical hit die to any roll that scores a critical hit. The following table summarizes the key feats and maneuvers for an optimized Battle Master build:

Feats	Maneuvers
Sharpshooter	Precision Attack
Piercer	Rally
	Goading Attack

The Hunter Ranger: Nature’s Fury

Nature’s Hunter

The Hunter Ranger is an expert in tracking prey and using the terrain to their advantage. They are masters of the bow and arrow, and can also use their skills to set traps and ambushes.

Natural Explorer

The Hunter Ranger is a natural explorer, and can move through difficult terrain without making a sound. They can also track creatures with ease, and can even follow their tracks through the most difficult terrain.

Survivalist

The Hunter Ranger is a skilled survivalist, and can live off the land with ease. They can find food and water in even the most barren environments, and can build shelter to protect themselves from the elements.

Animal Companion

The Hunter Ranger can choose to have an animal companion, which can fight alongside them in combat. The animal companion can also be used to track prey, or to carry supplies.

Master Archer

The Hunter Ranger is a master archer, and can hit targets with pinpoint accuracy. They can also use their arrows to perform special attacks, such as knocking an enemy unconscious or tripping them up.

Deft Stalker

The Hunter Ranger is a deft stalker, and can move through the environment without being detected. They can also use their skills to ambush enemies, or to escape from danger.

Level	Feature
3rd	Favored Enemy: Monsters
3rd	Hunter’s Mark
7th	Multiattack (2x with arrows)
11th	Volley (can make 3 attacks with a ranged weapon)
15th	Conjure Barrage (can create a magical arrow that deals 2d8 damage)

The Arcane Trickster: Stealth and Sorcery

Stealth and Versatility

The Arcane Trickster is a roguish archetype that combines the stealth and cunning of a rogue with the arcane power of a wizard. This unique combination grants them exceptional versatility in combat and exploration.

Arcane Strike

At 3rd level, the Arcane Trickster gains the Arcane Strike ability, which allows them to infuse their weapons with enchantment damage. This damage scales with the Arcane Trickster’s spellcasting ability modifier, making their melee attacks more potent.

Mage Hand Legerdemain

This ability allows the Arcane Trickster to use their Mage Hand cantrip to perform subtle manipulations. They can pick locks, steal items, and even disable traps from a distance, making them invaluable for infiltration and reconnaissance.

Silent Image

At 3rd level, the Arcane Trickster gains access to the Silent Image spell, which allows them to create an illusion that distracts, deceives, or shields them. This spell is perfect for setting up ambushes, creating diversions, or simply hiding in plain sight.

Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade

These two cantrips enhance the Arcane Trickster’s combat capabilities, allowing them to deliver elemental damage and additional effects with their melee attacks. Booming Blade punishes enemies who move away, while Green-Flame Blade strikes an additional target, making them ideal for both single-target and multi-target encounters.

Spellbook

As a wizard subclass, the Arcane Trickster gains a spellbook, which contains a variety of spells that they can prepare and cast. These spells range from illusions to utility spells, providing the Arcane Trickster with even more versatility and adaptability.

Master of Shadows

At 9th level, the Arcane Trickster becomes a Master of Shadows, gaining the ability to cast the Darkness spell without requiring components and the Invisibility spell once per long rest. This allows them to become virtually undetectable, making them formidable assassins or infiltrators.

Summary of Arcane Trickster’s Key Features
Stealth: Mage Hand Legerdemain, Silent Image
Versatility: Arcane Strike, Spellbook
Combat: Booming Blade, Green-Flame Blade
Utility: Master of Shadows

The Bard: Inspiration and Support

Bardic Inspiration

The bard’s Bardic Inspiration feature allows them to grant a bonus to a target ally’s attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. This bonus can be a significant boost to the target’s performance, especially in crucial situations.

Cutting Words

Cutting Words is a debuff ability that allows the bard to reduce a target’s attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. This ability can be used to hinder enemies or give the bard’s allies an advantage.

Trance of Intellect

Trance of Intellect is a support spell that grants a target ally bonuses to intelligence-based ability checks. This spell can be particularly useful for characters who rely on their intelligence, such as wizards and rogues.

Suggestion

Suggestion is a powerful enchantment spell that allows the bard to influence the minds of others. This spell can be used to get information, defuse conflicts, or even turn enemies against each other.

Healing Word

Healing Word is a healing spell that allows the bard to restore a target ally’s hit points. This spell can be crucial for keeping the party alive in combat.

Bless

Bless is a buff spell that grants a target ally a bonus to attack rolls and saving throws. This spell can be a significant boost to the target’s combat effectiveness.

Faerie Fire

Faerie Fire is a utility spell that highlights enemies with a bright glow, making them easier to target. This spell can be especially useful in dim or dark environments.

Hideous Laughter

Hideous Laughter is a debuff spell that forces a target to make a wisdom saving throw or become incapacitated by uncontrollable laughter. This spell can be used to disrupt spellcasters or enemy leaders.

Spell	Level	Effect
Bardic Inspiration	2nd	Grants a bonus to an ally’s attack roll, saving throw, or ability check.
Cutting Words	2nd	Reduces a target’s attack roll, saving throw, or ability check.
Trance of Intellect	3rd	Grants a target ally bonuses to intelligence-based ability checks.
Suggestion	4th	Influences the minds of others, giving information, defusing conflicts, or turning enemies against each other.
Healing Word	1st	Restores a target ally’s hit points.
Bless	1st	Grants a target ally a bonus to attack rolls and saving throws.
Faerie Fire	1st	Highlights enemies with a bright glow, making them easier to target.
Hideous Laughter	2nd	Forces a target to make a wisdom saving throw or become incapacitated by uncontrollable laughter.

The Paladin: Divine Justice

Subclass Features

Paladins are holy warriors who fight for justice and righteousness. They are sworn to uphold their oaths and to protect the innocent. Paladins have access to a variety of divine spells and abilities that make them formidable in battle.

Divine Smite

Paladins can infuse their weapons with divine energy to deal extra radiant damage to their enemies. This ability can be used once per turn and lasts for one minute.

Lay on Hands

Paladins can heal their allies or themselves by laying hands on them. This ability can be used once per turn and heals for a number of hit points equal to the paladin’s level.

Aura of Protection

Paladins emit an aura of protection that grants a bonus to saving throws to all allies within 10 feet. This aura can be used once per day and lasts for one hour.

Aura of Courage

Paladins emit an aura of courage that grants a bonus to attack rolls to all allies within 10 feet. This aura can be used once per day and lasts for one hour.

Improved Divine Smite

At 11th level, paladins’ Divine Smite ability improves. They can now deal extra radiant damage to undead and fiends, and the duration of the ability increases to 10 minutes.

Aura of the Ancients

At 18th level, paladins gain the Aura of the Ancients ability. This aura grants a bonus to saving throws against spells and other magical effects to all allies within 30 feet. The aura also makes allies immune to being charmed or frightened. The aura lasts for one hour and can be used once per day.

The Sorcerer: Elemental Supremacy

Among the spellcasting classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Sorcerer stands out as a formidable force, wielding the raw power of the arcane to unleash elemental devastation upon their foes. Their spell repertoire grants them mastery over the four elements—fire, cold, lightning, and poison—allowing them to adapt their attacks to any situation.

Elemental Adept

As a Sorcerer, one of your first choices revolves around selecting your Elemental Affinity. This determines which element your spells will be enhanced by, granting you additional damage and other benefits. Consider the strengths and weaknesses of each element when making your choice.

Metamagic: Twinned Spell

This Metamagic option allows you to cast a spell that targets only one creature and then cast a copy of that spell on a second target of your choice. It’s an incredibly powerful ability that can double the effectiveness of your support spells or deal devastating damage with offensive ones.

Metamagic: Distant Spell

By extending the range of your spells by 5 feet, Distant Spell lets you cast them from greater distances, giving you more tactical flexibility and allowing you to reach enemies that would otherwise be out of range.

Metamagic: Empowered Spell

Adding an additional 50% damage to your next spell’s damage roll, Empowered Spell is an excellent choice for maximizing the impact of your powerful offensive spells and dealing massive damage to your enemies.

Cantrips: Firebolt and Ray of Frost

These two cantrips provide solid damage options for different situations. Firebolt excels against enemies with low fire resistance, while Ray of Frost deals extra damage to creatures with vulnerability to cold.

lvl 1 Spells: Burning Hands and Magic Missile

These spells offer reliable area-of-effect damage and reliable single-target damage, respectively. Burning Hands is great for taking out multiple weak enemies, while Magic Missile is effective against tougher foes.

lvl 2 Spells: Scorching Ray and Web

Scorching Ray unleashes a trio of firebolts, making it a potent single-target spell. Web is a crowd-control option that entangles multiple enemies, making them easier to deal with.

lvl 3 Spells: Fireball and Lightning Bolt

These iconic spells represent the pinnacle of arcane destruction. Fireball inflicts massive fire damage in an area, while Lightning Bolt deals devastating lightning damage along a straight line.

Spell	Damage Type	Effect
Fireball	Fire	Deals massive fire damage in an area
Lightning Bolt	Lightning	Deals devastating lightning damage along a straight line

lvl 4 Spells: Polymorph and Dimension Door

Polymorph allows you to transform an ally into a powerful creature, granting them enhanced abilities. Dimension Door is a versatile teleportation spell that lets you move your party across the battlefield quickly.

lvl 5 Spells: Cone of Cold and Wall of Force

Cone of Cold unleashes a freezing cone of ice, dealing cold damage and creating difficult terrain. Wall of Force creates a magical barrier that can divide the battlefield or block enemy movement.

Best Honor Mode Build for Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Honor Mode is a permadeath mode that challenges players to complete the game without any character deaths. This can be a daunting task, but with the right build, it is possible. The best build for Honor Mode is the following:

Race: Githyanki
Class: Paladin
Background: Outlander
Stats: Strength 16, Dexterity 14, Constitution 14, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 8, Charisma 10
Skills: Athletics, Intimidation, Insight, Perception, Survival
Cantrips: Sacred Flame, Toll the Dead
Spells: Bless, Divine Favor, Lay on Hands, Shield of Faith
Equipment: Chain mail, longsword, shield

This build gives you a strong melee fighter with good survivability. The Githyanki race gives you a bonus to Strength and Intelligence, which are both important for a Paladin. The Paladin class gives you access to powerful abilities like Divine Smite, which can deal extra damage to undead and fiends. The Outlander background gives you proficiency in Athletics and Survival, which are both useful skills for Honor Mode.

Your stats should be focused on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. Strength is your main damage stat, Dexterity gives you AC and initiative, and Constitution gives you hit points and saving throws. Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma are less important for a Paladin.

Your skills should be focused on Athletics, Intimidation, Insight, Perception, and Survival. Athletics is useful for climbing and jumping, Intimidation can be used to scare enemies, Insight can be used to detect lies, Perception can be used to spot traps and hidden objects, and Survival can be used to find food and shelter.

Your cantrips should be Sacred Flame and Toll the Dead. Sacred Flame is a good ranged attack cantrip, and Toll the Dead is a good damage cantrip against enemies with low hit points.

Your spells should be Bless, Divine Favor, Lay on Hands, and Shield of Faith. Bless gives you and your allies a bonus to attack rolls, Divine Favor gives you a bonus to damage rolls, Lay on Hands can heal you or your allies, and Shield of Faith gives you a bonus to AC.

Your equipment should be chain mail, a longsword, and a shield. Chain mail is the best armor you can get at the start of the game, a longsword is a good damage weapon, and a shield gives you a bonus to AC.