Best BG3 Minsc Build Guide – Companion

Welcome to the Best BG3 Minsc Build. In this guide, we will explain how to create a powerful setup for the Minsc companion in Baldur’s Gate 3. We’ll be sticking with Minsc’s default subclass and class, the Hunter Ranger.

The Ranger excels at using ranged weapons to deal high damage to enemies before they can get close and also has some fairly limited Spellcasting abilities. Hunters are more focused on dealing high single-target damage than other Ranger subclasses, making them especially effective against monsters and bosses.

• Ranger Class Guide
• Minsc Starting Point (Level 1)
• Leveling Progression
  • Level 2
  • Level 3 Subclass Selection
  • Level 4
  • Level 5
  • Level 6
  • Level 7
  • Level 8
  • Level 9
  • Level 10
  • Level 11
  • Level 12
• Equipment
• Minsc Tips & Tricks
• Dual-Wield Crossbows

You can also find more Ranger builds on this website:

• Gloom Stalker Subclass Ranger Build for BG3
• Beast Master Subclass Ranger Build for BG3

BG3 Minsc Ranger Class Guide

Rangers are a damage-focused class but they also have access to good utility features. The Ranger class can be played ranged but also as a melee setup. For BG3 Ranger Build we will of course go with the ranged option, as that is the more popular choice by most power users. Ranges also have access to some spells, though be it only a very limited amount. But these spells can still improve your build tremendously if used correctly.

The Ranger’s unique class features are the Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer perks. You get to select them at level 1, level 6, and level 10. Favored Enemy studies the tactics of certain creatures and grants you a set of abilities that are useful in a variety of situations. Further down in the guide you will see that we are going with the Bounty Hunter passive first, at later levels we get to select more. The Bounty Hunter passive gives us Proficiency in Investigation.

Additionally, enemies hit by Ensnaring Stike have Disadvantage on their Saving Throw. The Natural Explorer perk lets your years of traveling experience in the wild have an impact on your build. You are attuned to beasts or adept at surviving in certain environments. For our BG3 Ranger Build we are using the Urban Tracker passive, this gives us Proficiency in Sleight of Hand, thus increasing our chances to successfully pickpocket items or open locked doors and treasure chests. More on these Ranger unique class features in the level 1 section of the build. You will be able to select additional perks while leveling up your Ranger in Baldur’s Gate 3.

At higher levels you will also become considerably more powerful. At level 5 for example you get a passive that allows you to attack twice per turn.

Hunter Subclasses

The Ranger class gets to select a subclass at level 3. You have three options. Beast Master, Gloom Stalker or the Hunter. For our build, we are going to select the Hunter subclass at level 3. Hunters seek the most dangerous prey in Faerun, from ancient dragons to massive hordes of undead and excel at slaying them all.

The Ranger’s Hunter subclass also grants us the Hunter’s Prey passive in Baldur’s Gate 3. This allows us to select three passives that specialize in defeating certain threats. Colossus Slayer deals 1-8 extra damage once per turn, Giant Killer allows us to react to large or bigger creatures than you if they attack you within 1.5m and Horde Breaker allows you to attack two targets that are close to each other. For our setup, we will select the Colossus Slayer at level 3. This boosts our dps tremendously once per turn.

At level 7 you will also get access to the Defensive Tactics perk that allows you to select Escape the Horde, Steel Will or Multiattack Defense. Multiattack Defense is the passive we are going to select for out Hunter Ranger Build. Enemies will suffer -4 penalty to additional Attack Rolls against you until the start of the next turn. This is a great defensive passive feature.

At level 11 we will get the Hunter subclass specific class actions called Volley and Whirlwind Attack. Volley lets you fire a cascade of arrows upon enemies within a range of 15 metres. This only costs an Action, and with the Extra Attack passive this becomes very useful as a second action to run after you have cast a spell. The Whirlwind Attack is also nice but we are playing a ranged class, therefore this will only have limited use for our playstyle.

We hope this gives you a good idea what to expect from the Hunter subclass. Now let’s move on to the actual character creation and leveling process of the BG3 Ranger Build.

How to Recruit Minsc in BG3

Before you can use this Minsc Build for BG3, you need to recruit him to your party. If you already know how to do this, feel free to skip to the next section where we begin the build itself. Otherwise, follow the instructions below to unlock Minsc in BG3.

Note that in order to recruit Minsc, you need to meet Jaheira at Last Light Inn, then follow the steps below (Plot spoilers!):

• Ensure that Jaheira survives the attack on Last Light Inn. This will be much easier if you keep Isobel safe from capture during the fight.
• Recruit Jaheira into your fight against the Absolute, and meet her outside Moonrise Towers when the time comes.
• Ensure that Jaheira survives the battle for Moonrise Towers.
• After defeating Ketheric, meet Jaheira outside and recruit her to your camp.
• Follow Jaheira’s quest, The High Harper, until you reach the Counting House in Act III.
• Find Minsc, then follow him when he runs off with the doppelganger Jaheira. They’ll head into the sewers, in an area called the Abandoned Cistern.
• It is highly recommended to bring Jaheira with you, as when you find Minsc you’ll otherwise need to pass a dice roll to recruit him.

Starting Point (Level 1) for the BG3 Minsc Build

In this section, we’ll go over the ideal starting point for the Minsc Build for BG3, and point out the most important features of his race and class that you should know about. While Minsc cannot be recruited until Act III, meaning he’ll start at high level, you can still edit his basic level 1 abilities and make them match up with our recommendations below.

Important: After recruiting Minsc, we highly recommend that you visit Withers in your camp with Minsc selected, use the “I want to change my class” option, and respec his Level 1 abilities to those outlined in this section. You will then have several level-ups to complete in a row, so you can follow the guide until you reach the end of the process. Then, refer to the guide in any remaining level-ups when you reach them, until Level 12 (max level). This is the only way to exactly replicate the build, as it allows you to override Minsc’s default starting stats which are a little bit suboptimal.

Race

Minsc is a Human, which gives him access to the following bonuses at all times:

• Proficiency with Pikes, Spears, Halberds, Glaives, Light Armour and Shields.
• Proficiency with one additional Skill of your choice.
• Carrying Capacity increased by 25%.

Abilities

We also need to allocate Minsc’s starting abilities. These are what will govern how we perform in combat situations. For the Ranger, the following stats are most important:

• Dexterity – Will determine how good we are at attacking with our ranged weapon
• Wisdom – Determines how good we are at Spellcasting
• Constitution – Dictates our Hitpoints and how likely we are to succeed at Concentration checks (if the effects of a Concentration Spell we cast will be retained when we take damage)

As such, we recommend pushing DEX and WIS as high as possible, and making sure CON is at least 14. With the remaining points make sure your Strength score is at least 10 – this helps make Minsc a little sturdier.

We recommend using the following ability distribution for Minsc in BG3:

• 10 Strength
• 17 Dexterity
• 14 Constitution
• 8 Intelligence
• 16 Wisdom
• 8 Charisma

Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer

At Level 1, you’ll need to select two Ranger-specific options in the Class menu. These are Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer.

For Favored Enemy, we recommend going with Bounty Hunter. This doesn’t immediately do anything useful for us, but it will come in handy later on after we’ve developed our spellcasting options.

For Natural Explorer, only two of the options are actually useful. If you want your character to be good at lockpicking, then choose Urban Tracker, which gives Sleight of Hand proficiency. But if you plan to have Lockpicking covered by someone else in the party (or just want to avoid Lockpicking altogether) then choose Beast Tamer, which lets you cast the Find Familiar spell for free, summoning animal companions to help you.

Leveling Progression for the BG3 Minsc Build

Now that you’ve created the foundation of your Minsc build, it’s time to begin levelling up. Since Minsc isn’t available until Act III, you’re probably going to have at least eight level-ups to do immediately. Below is a step-by-step guide giving advice for each level. It is recommended to follow this as closely as possible, but you can make small adjustments to make the build suit your playstyle if you want.

Level 2 – Fighting Style & Spells

When you reach Level 2 with Minsc, you’ll need to select a Fighting Style and choose 2 Spells to learn.

Your Fighting Style lets you become especially skilled with a particular type of weapon. For this Minsc Build we are using the Archery Fighting Style. This is very important, as it will give us an extra +2 to our Ranged Attack Rolls. This makes Rangers like Minsc better at shooting with Bows and Crossbows than any other class.

As for Spells, the following two are the best options at this stage, so we recommend choosing them:

• Ensnaring Strike – This is a Concentration spell that lasts for up to 10 turns. While active, your weapon attacks will summon vines that deal extra Piercing Damage and potentially ensnare your target. This is great for pinning down dangerous enemies, and it also synergises with the Bounty Hunter option we chose earlier, causing enemies hit by the spell to have Disadvantage on their Saving Throw.
• Hunter’s Mark – Mark an enemy, causing your attacks to deal extra damage to them. If the target dies before the spell ends, you can reapply Hunter’s Mark to a new creature without spending another Spell Slot.

Level 3 – Subclass and Spell – BG3 Minsc Build PC/PS5

This is the point where you get to choose your subclass for Minsc in BG3. For this build we’ll be using the Hunter subclass.

Choosing the Hunter subclass requires us to immediately choose an option for Hunter’s Prey. We’ll be choosing Colossus Slayer, which causes our weapon attacks to deal up to 8 extra damage to enemies who are not at full HP. This is good for quickly damaging enemies, especially bosses and monsters with high Hitpoint totals.

Before proceeding, we also need to choose an extra Spell for our Ranger Build at this point. if you feel like your party needs some extra healing ability, then choose Cure Wounds, a solid healing spell that can help you out in a pinch. Otherwise, go with Speak with Animals.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 4 – Feat

At Level 4, we’ll need to choose a Feat for our BG3 Minsc Build. Feats are strong passive buffs for your character that can help to define your build.

Get Ability Improvement and increase your Dexterity to 19. This will improve your Ranged Attack Rolls and Armour Class by +1 and apply a +1 bonus to all Dexterity-based rolls.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 5

AAt this level Minsc gets the passive ability to attack twice per turn with his weapon.

We also gain the option to access some Second Level Spells for the first time. There are two options that are most viable here, depending on your circumstances:

• Darkvision – This is an optional spell that allows you to see in the dark over long distances. You’re going to struggle to shoot enemies in the dark without a way to either see in the dark or illuminate the way, so unless your party already has another way of dealing with this, we recommend getting Darkvision.
• Spike Growth – Spike Growth lets you cover a 12 metre wide area in Spikes, halving the movement speed of all within and causing them to take 2-8 Piercing Damage for every 1.5 Metres they walk on the spikes. Be wary that this is a Concentration Spell, so you cannot have this and Ensnaring Strike active at the same time. Ensnaring Strike is better for pinning down single dangerous enemies, whereas Spike Growth is good for slowing down groups of enemies in a larger area.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 6

At Level 6, you’ll need to make an additional choice for both Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer.

Your Favoured Enemy pick is not especially important. Mage Breaker gives you the True Strike Cantrip, which can occasionally be useful for targeting enemies with high defenses. But you can choose a different option if you prefer.

For Natural Explorer, go with either Beast Tamer or Urban Tracker, whichever you didn’t choose at Level 1. If you’re using someone else in your party for Sleight of Hand (Lockpicking, etc) or your character already has this Proficiency from another source, then go with any of the Wasteland Wanderer (Cold, Fire, Poison) options instead. In my experience, Poison Damage seems to be the most commonly used by enemies, so going with Wasteland Wanderer: Poison will help you out with a 50% Resistance to Poison.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 7

At Level 7, Minsc gains access to improved spellcasting.

You’ll now have three Second Level Spell Slots, and can choose one more spell to learn. If you find yourself using stealth often with your Ranger, then the Pass Without Trace spell will help you out with this. Otherwise, grab the Silence spell, which can be used to shut down enemy spellcasters.

Finally, you’ll unlock Defensive Tactics, which lets you choose one of three extra features for your character:

• Escape the Horde – Opportunity Attacks against you have Disadvantage.
• Steel Will – Advantage on Saving Throws against being Frightened.
• Multiattack Defense – When an enemy attacks you, they suffer -4 penalty to additional Attack Rolls against you until start of their next turn.

Of these three options, I highly recommend going with Multiattack Defence. Minsc isn’t a particularly tanky character (it’s possible to make him tanky, but this will significantly reduce his archery ability), and you’re starting to reach the point of the game where you’ll encounter enemies who can attack two, three, even four times on the same turn. No matter how careful you are, sometimes your Ranger is going to get caught in melee, and this perk will really help them to stay alive if a strong enemy is going after them.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 8

At Level 8 for your Minsc Build, you’ll gain a couple of extra features.

First, you need to choose another Feat for your character. I recommend getting Resilient and using it to increase your Dexterity to 20. This will also give you Advantage in Dexterity Saving Throws, making them highly likely to succeed.

You’ll also unlock the Land Stride perk, which prevents difficult terrain from slowing your character down. It won’t remove other negative effects though, such as the chance of slipping on grease or the damage from walking on spikes.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 9

At Level 9, your BG3 Minsc Build will unlock the following:

• Two Third Level Spell Slots, and the ability to use spells of this tier.
• Choose one more Spell to learn.

For the spell we recommend selecting the Conjure Barrage spell, it deals great AoE damage in a 9m radius. It allows you to shoot arrows in a cone from your character’s location, each one doing 2-16 Slashing Damage.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 10

At Level 10 the Ranger class unlocks the Hide in Plain Sight feature, which lets you turn invisible and gain a +10 bonus to Stealth Checks as long as you are standing still. This is great for sneaking around and dealing bonus stealth damage.

You’ll also be able to choose another Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer option. We already picked up all of the important ones, so at this point you can choose whichever ones you like the most. For example, in the Favoured Enemy option we went with Sanctified Stalker which gives us Proficiency in Religion and unlocks the Sacred Flame Cantrip that deals high damage to undead. With Natural Explorer we selected Wasteland Wanderer: Cold to reduce incoming cold damage.

BG3 Minsc Build Level 11

At Level 11, you’ll unlock the following new features for your BG3 Minsc Build:

• Another Third Level Spell Slot, giving you three in total.
• Choose one more spell to unlock. We recommend going with Lightning Arrow, which allows you to shoot a Lightning Arrow that deals 4-32 damage on impact, and sends out sparks in multiple directions that deal 2-16 to anyone hit by them. Good for shooting into tightly packed groups of enemies. Or enemies that are in water surfaces.
• New Class Actions
  • Volley – Fire a cascade of arrows upon nearby enemies.
  • Whirlwind Attack – Whirl your body around, striking all nearby foes.

These new abilities give you several new ways of dealing with enemy encounters. Be sure to give them a try and see how you like them. Both Volley and Whirlwind Attack are very strong class actions but they force you into melee, therefore be careful when you use those. At level 11 we have enough health and are more robust compared to lower levels, so melee is a more viable option with the Ranger Hunter subclass in BG3.

Level 12 – Max Level Minsc Build for BG3

If you reached this point, then you have completed leveling up Minsc to the max level in Baldur’s Gate 3. Congratulations!

You can now select one more Feat for your character. We recommend choosing the Sharpshooter Feat.

Sharpshooter exempts your character from Low Ground penalties, but you’ll still gain a bonus from High Ground. You’ll also be able to toggle a new ability called Sharpshooter: All In. When turned on, you’ll receive a -5 penalty to your Attack Rolls, but get +10 bonus damage on your attacks. This is great for quickly dispatching enemies who you have a very high chance of hitting. It doesn’t tend to work as well against bosses and enemies with high Armour Class, at least not without significant buffs and debuffs working in your favour.

BG3 Minsc Build Equipment

Now let us take a look at some of the BG3 Minsc Build equipment that you should try to get. You don’t need to exactly replicate everything – don’t worry if you missed some items and don’t be afraid to experiment. This is just a guideline to point you in the right direction of some of the best gear in the game for Rangers like Minsc.

Normally we have an early and late-game section for equipment in our builds, but since Minsc isn’t available until Act III we’ll be skipping the early-game gear this time.

Minsc Recommended Equipment List & Guide

If you manage to ger all of the items below, Minsc will be extremely powerful. Especially the Gontr Mael Longbow, Helm of Balduran and Helldusk Armour are gems to be on the lookout for. However, don’t worry if you miss a couple of these items. Also, you might want to spread out a couple of them to other characters if they feel too squishy (such as the Helm of Balduran or Helldusk Armour).

Now let us take a look at where you can find the gear for the Minsc Build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Helm of Balduran

The Helm of Balduran is a legendary item that is one of the most powerful items in Baldur’s Gate 3. It gives you the following perks:

Shade-Slayer Cloak

The Shade-Slayer Cloak is a very rare item that can be obtained by buying it from Sticky Dondo in the Criminal Guilds Hall in Act 3. You can enter the Guilds Hall through a hatch in the Lower City. The Shade-Slayer Cloak applies the Stealthy Critical perk. While hiding, the number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can stack.

You can find more cloak options on the BG3 Cloak Items Overview Page.

Helldusk Armour

By far the best armour in the game is the legendary Helldusk Armour. Yes, this is a heavy armour item. However, the great thing about Helldusk is that you are proficient with heavy armour while wearing the Helldusk Armour. That means you get the protection of it, but won’t gain any penalties to stealth or other things. When you succeed a Saving Throw, the enemy will be lit on fire and burns for 3 turns. Additionally, you get resistance to fire and cannot burn. And you take 3 less damage from all sources.

And even better, the Helldusk Armour also gives you the Fly spell. This allows you to position yourself to your advantage against enemies. You sort of can play cat and mouse with enemies now because you can use Fly and Misty Step.

The only downside to the armour is that it is a tough cookie to get it. You will have to defeat the devil himself, Raphael. The location is called the House of Hope and you reach it through a portal to hell inside the Devil’s Fee house. You have to speak to Helsik to get instructions on how to open the portal to hell. Once you are inside the House of Hope explore everything. Once you are trying to return to the real world Raphael will confront you, this is a tough fight so come prepared.

You can also read our in-depth guide on How to get the Helldusk Armour in BG3.

If it feels like overkill to have both this and the Helm of Balduran on the same character, then you can always swap one of them to another party member.

Bonespike Gloves

The Bonespike Gloves are a very rare item and perfect for our BG3 Hunter Ranger Build. It allows us to ignore enemy resistance to Piercing damage. So no matter what, we will go through enemy resistance like butter and deal full damage. You can find the Bonespike Gloves in the Undercity Ruins. It must be looted from Strangler Luke during the Ambush that will appear when you are on the Get Orin’s Netherstone quest. You need to loot the gloves from him during the fight. Because he will immediately despawn after the fight is over and take the gloves with him.

Disintegrating Night Walkers

For Boots, you can get the Disintegrating Night Walkers in Act 1, looted from True Soul Nere in the Grymforge. They will give you the Misty Step spell, as well as immunity to the Enwebbed, Entangled and Ensnared conditions and prevent you from slipping on ice or grease. These are a great counter to effects that can otherwise pin down your Ranger and leave them vulnerable.

Amulet of Greater Health

The Amulet of Greater Health is a very rare item that will boost your Consitution score up to 23. The amulet gives you a huge bump to your health points. The Amulet of Greater Health can also be picked up on a display in the House of Hope like the Helldusk Armour.

If you want something more interesting you could also get the Corvids Token Amulet that allows you to transform into a Dire Raven for movement. Or simply use the Amulet of Misty Step.

Killer’s Sweetheart

The Killer’s Sweetheart is a very rare ring. It allows you to get a guaranteed critical hit after you have defeated an enemy once per long rest. The Killer’s Sweetheart can be found in Act 2 inside the Gauntlet of Shar. It drops inside the Self-Same Trial.

Ring of Free Action

As a secondary ring we recommend the Ring of Free Action. You can buy the Ring of Free Action from Araj Oblodra inside the Moonrise Tower in late Act 2. The ring allows you to ignore the effects of Difficult Terrain, and cannot be Paralysed or Restrained.

Gontr Mael Legendary Longbow

In late Act 3 you can get the Gontr Mael, a Legendary Longbow. It drops from the Steel Watcher Titan in the Steel Watcher Foundry. This Longbow comes with a +3 enchantment, the Celestial Haste spell, and a chance to also fire Guiding Bolt at an enemy you hit with one of your shots. Gontr Mael is the strongest Longbow you can get in the game.

Sword of Life Stealing

Your secondary weapon isn’t really important. Just make sure to pick one you are Proficient with. The Sword of Life Stealing is a good option. On a Critical Hit, the target takes an extra 10 Necrotic damage as long as it isn’t a construct or an undead. You also gain 10 temporary hit points. It also has a +2 Enchantment, increasing its accuracy and damage. You can get this pretty early at the start of Act 2. Buy it from Dammon at the Last Lights Inn.

Best Minsc Build Tips & Tricks

When playing this BG3 Minsc Build, remember to use the spells at your disposal to pin down enemies, especially dangerous ones. Ensnaring Strike is your go-to for this in most situations.

Remember that whenever you are hit, you risk losing Concentration on Ensnaring Strike and other spells like it, and when in melee range you also get Disadvantage on your Ranged Attack Rolls. Therefore it’s important to use movement to stay away from melee enemies. Running or Jumping away from melee enemies who are already close to you is likely to incur an opportunist attack, so if possible you should not allow them to get close to you to begin with, rather than running away when they’re already next to you. You can use the Disengage action to safely escape, but this will prevent you from using most attacks and spells on the same turn unless you are Hastened by a spell, Potion of Speed, Haste Spores or another similar effect.

Don’t be afraid to use AOE spells like Hail of Thorns against a single target if you just need some extra damage quickly. While this isn’t optimal, sometimes beggars can’t be choosers.

Dual Wield Hand crossbows with the Minsc Build in BG3

This is a feature that is often overlooked, you can actually dual-wield Hand crossbows in Baldur’s Gate 3. It looks pretty cool plus if you have some juicy Hand crossbows for your BG3 Minsc Build then it is definitely worth considering.

You could combine the Hellfire Hand Crossbow with the Ne’er Misser Hand Crossbow. Of course our standard setup for the Ranger class is still with any of the Heavy Crossbows, but you can give this dual-wielding option a try if you feel like it.

Other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds

• Druid Build – Circle of the Moon
• Bard Build – College of Lore
• Monk Build – Way of Shadow
• Monk Build – Way of the Four Elements
• Monk Build – Way of the Open Hand
• Necromancer Build – Necromancy
• Fighter Build – Battle Master
• Barbarian Build – Berserker
• Warlock Build – Great Old One
• Cleric Build – Light Domain
• Rogue Build – Thief
• Sorcerer Build – Wild Magic
• Wizard Build – Evocation School
• Paladin – Oath of Ancients
• More Baldur’s Gate Guides & Builds

If you want to check out the map of Baldur’s Gate 3, please visit the Baldur’s Gate 3 Interactive Map.