Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard build: Race, subclass, spells, more

❘ Published: 2023-11-22T13:21:40

Larian Studios

The Bard is a powerful support class in Baldur’s Gate 3 that can act as the cornerstone of your party, as it excels in almost every area. So, here is the best Bard build for BG3 that includes the race, subclass, spells, and more.

The Bard can be classified as the ideal jack-of-all-trades class in Baldur’s Gate 3. It consists of musicians, but you’ll quickly find out that they’re well-versed in combat and can be useful for any party composition.

When you’re creating your character in Baldur’s Gate 3, you have the option to select from a variety of races, backgrounds, subclasses, spells, and more. This can be a little intimidating in the early stages of the game, and especially so when you’re creating your very first build or experimenting with a new one.

So, here’s the best Bard build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Best race for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Best subclass for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Best background for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Best spells for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3
Best build for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

Best race for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

custom half-elf bard character baldur's gate 3

Bards are a fun role to play but don’t take them lightly.

As with most other classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, there are a few different races you could choose for your Bard. These are:

Asmodeus Tiefling
Drow Half-Elf
Human

Any of these would work well with a Bard build, but the best would be Asmodeus Tiefling. You get fire resistance and the Hellish Rebuke spell, which provides a damage source for counterattacks.

Best subclass for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The College of Valour is the best subclass for a Bard build in Baldur’s Gate 3. You’ll get to choose this when your character reaches level 3.

As you might have guessed from the name, the College of Valour is the more combat-oriented subclass. With this, you get to be a warrior poet in Baldur’s Gate 3, and you get access to combat-based spells and abilities.

Best background for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Entertainer is the best background for a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3. This choice is a no-brainer since this background seems tailor-made for Bards. You get a bonus to Charisma and gain Acrobatics as well, which helps with combat.

The skills you should be looking out to pick for the Bard are:

Deception
Persuasion
Intimidation

custom human bard character baldur's gate 3

A Bard is a poet, a musician, and a warrior.

Best spells for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The most entertaining part of playing a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the spells. This class has access to a unique list of spells that are very different from what mages generally use. Here’s a list of spells you should be acquiring for your Bard build:

Cantrip: Vicious Mockery
Cantrip: Blade Ward
Cantrip: Light
Cantrip: Minor Illusion
Level 1: Healing Word
Level 1: Thunderwave
Level 1: Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
Level 1: Cure Wounds
Level 2: Faerie Fire
Level 3: Heat Metal
Level 4: Crown of Madness
Level 5: Glyph of Warding
Level 6: Stinking Cloud
Level 7: Confusion
Level 8: Dimension Door
Level 9: Mass Cure Wounds
Level 10: Seeming

Best build for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best Bard build in Baldur’s Gate 3 is as follows:

Race: Asmodeus Tiefling
Background: Entertainer
Skills: Deception, Persuasion, Intimidation
Ability Score: STR: 10, DEX: 14, CON: 16, INT: 8, WIS: 10, CHA: 16

LEVEL	FEATURE
1	Cantrips: Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward — Spells: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Cure Wounds
2	Spell: Faerie Fire
3	Subclass: College of Valour — Spell: Heat Metal
4	Ability Improvement: Charisma +2 — Cantrip: Light — Spell: Crown of Madness
5	Spell: Glyph of Warding
6	Spell: Stinking Cloud
7	Spell: Confusion
8	Feat: War Master — Spell: Dimension Door
9	Spell: Mass Cure Wounds
10	Cantrip: Minor Illusion — Spell: Seeming
12	Feat: Charisma +2

So that covers everything you need to know about the best Bard build in Baldur’s Gate 3. We will keep updating this build as more information is revealed. For more guides on the game, check out the links below: