Best BG3 Astarion Build Guide

Welcome to the Ultimate BG3 Astarion Build. For this Astarion companion build, we’ll be using the Thief subclass, which gives an extra Bonus Action each turn along with Resistance to Falling Damage. This BG3 Astarion Build was last updated in October 2025. It works for both PC and Console (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).

Please visit our Best BG3 Builds overview page for more builds. You can also check out our BG3 Rogue Build for a custom player character. If you are interested in more Rogue subclass builds, check our BG3 Rogue Builds category page. To get an overview of all classes please visit the BG3 Classes overview page.

The Rogue is quite a linear class – there are fewer choices to make when creating and levelling up your character compared to most other classes. However, the Rogue can still make a very skilled (and slippery) damage dealer and is also great at non-combat Ability Checks.

Table of Contents for the BG3 Astarion Build:

Introduction to the Astarion Build
Astarion Build Character Creation
Astarion Build Levelling Progression
Astarion Best Equipment
1. Early-Game Astarion Gear
2. Best Astarion Gear (Late-Game)
Astarion Build Extra Info

BG3 Astarion Build Overview

Here we will have a look at the basics of our Astarion build, such as the basics of the Rogue class and Thief subclass, and how to recruit and respec Astarion. If you already know all of that, it’s best to skip this section.

Rogue Class Summary

Rogues are the main “stealth” class in Baldur’s Gate 3. While other classes can stealth, none encourage and reward this playstyle as much as the Rogue.

Skill Expertise – You can choose some Skills that you are Proficient in and become an expert at those Skills, doubling your Proficiency Bonus. This allows you to be extremely good at, for example, Sleight of Hand and Acrobatics (two of the most important Dexterity Skills) right from the start of the game.
Sneak Attacks – If you have Advantage against a target, you can perform a Sneak Attack. This is more likely to hit and deals lots of bonus damage, with the bonus damage increasing as you level up. This allows you to deal crazy damage and even OTK some enemies at the start of combat.
Cunning Actions – You can perform Dash, Disengage and Hide with a Bonus Action instead of a full Action, so you can get a lot more done on your turn.
Uncanny Dodge and Evasion – Unlocked at Levels 5 and 7, respectively, these allow you to negate a large portion of damage from attacks, making the Rogue more durable than you would expect.

Thief Subclass

The Thief is especially adept at sneaking around, and it can use two Bonus Actions per turn. This makes for a perfect synergy with the Rogue’s Cunning Actions, allowing you to make a sneak attack and then retreat into the shadows on the same turn.

Here are the most important features of the Thief:

Fast Hands – You gain an extra Bonus Action.
Second-Story Work – You gain Resistance to falling damage.
Supreme Sneak – Blend into the environment so completely that you become Invisible. You can use this once per Short Rest.

While this doesn’t sound like much, the second Bonus Action is an extremely powerful boost.

How to unlock Astarion in BG3

BG3 Astarion can be recruited very early in the game. Almost immediately after you crash with the Nautiloid ship at the beach. You can find Astarion here on the map. All you really need to do is head north west of where you start on the Ravaged Beach.

When you approach Astarion, you have three options.

Easily. Stand back.
Kill it yourself – you look capable enough.
Leave.

When you select the second or the third option, he will try to ambush you and slit your throat. Don’t worry it won’t come to that. The first option will also lead Astarion to attack you. However, you won’t have to deal with some checks to get his knife away from your throat.

Either way, the tadpole will connect you and clear things up. After all the talking, you can decide to recruit Astarion into your group.

Why (and How to) Respec Astarion in BG3

To follow this build guide precisely, you will need to respec Astarion. It is up to you when you do this, but I recommend getting it done by the time you reach Level 4. Here is a quick tutorial in case you don’t know how to respec characters in BG3:

Recruit a full party, then head to the Refectory Ruins, roughly north of where you washed up on the beach. Enter the ruins either by brute force, stealth or persuading the bandits outside.
Fight your way through and find the Skull Lever to open the secret door to gain access to the Dank Crypt. If you can’t find the Skull Lever, you can instead go back outside and head to the side-entrance mentioned above. You’ll need to Lockpick your way through if you go this way.
Once inside the Dank Crypt, head to the room with the skeletons and open a second secret door. This will cause several skeletons to attack you.
Defeat the skeletons and head into the small room you opened. Interact with the big coffin and you will meet a friendly but mysterious skeleton called Withers.
After you leave the Dank Crypt, Withers will join your camp.
Once he is in your camp, speak to him as Astarion and ask him to change your class. This costs 100 gold.
This will reset Astarion’s stats, allowing you to change anything except his Background and appearance. Choose the Rogue class, then proceed with the per-level guidelines later in the guide.

If you don’t find Withers in the Ruins, he will eventually show up at your camp anyway. But this is the quickest way to recruit him.

BG3 Astarion Build At Level 1

In this section, we will explain the starting situation of the Astarion Build in BG3.

Race Info

Astarion is a High Elf, which gives him access to some extra bonuses:

Proficiency with Longswords, Shortswords, Longbows and Shortbows
Darkvision – Lets you see in the dark, removing combat penalties that would normally apply in dark areas
Fey Ancestry – You have Advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed, and are immune to being put to sleep by magic.
You are Proficient in the Perception skill.
You can choose one Cantrip from the Wizard list to learn, regardless of your class. The Cantrip is cast with Intelligence.
- You can use Fire Bolt for an extra source of early-game damage. However, cantrips that deal damage will have a low hit chance because they use Intelligence, whereas a Rogue like Astarion mainly focuses on having high Dexterity. Therefore, you may want a utility cantrip like Mage Hand instead.

Abilities

As explained above, when recruited to your party as a Companion, Astarion begins with his own ability distribution. To make this build more optimal, I recommend doing a quick respec at some point. You can do this by speaking to Withers with Astarion selected, and then asking to change your class. You don’t actually need to change your class, but doing this will also allow you to change the ability point distribution of Astarion as though he was a new character. Set them to the recommended Abilities and Skills below during the Respec, then continue with the guide as normal for subsequent levels. If you chose Astarion in character creation, you can follow the guide from that point without needing to do a respec.

The only important Abilities for Astarion in BG3 are Dexterity, which is used to improve your Weapon Attacks, Armour Class and Dexterity-based skills (including Stealth which makes hiding easier, and Sleight of Hand which governs things like lockpicking) and Constitution, which improves your HP and should always be at least 14. This leaves us with several spare points to allocate. We decided to put most of them into Charisma to help with dialogue dice rolls, but you can put them elsewhere if you prefer.

10 Strength
16 Dexterity
14 Constitution
10 Intelligence
12 Wisdom
14 Charisma

Bolded Abilities are essential. The others can be adjusted if you want.

Skills

Astarion is locked into the Charlatan Background, which gives automatic Proficiency with the Deception and Sleight of Hand Skills.

However, you can still manually assign his other Skill Proficiencies. You get to choose four Proficiencies (in addition to those from the Background), which will add Astarion’s Proficiency Bonus to the Skill (currently +2, will increase more when you level up). You can also add 2 Expertises, which can only be assigned to Skills you are Proficient with, and will double your Proficiency Bonus for that Skill.

Astarion has good Dexterity, so we’ll mostly want to focus on Skills that use Dexterity, to ensure we are playing to his strengths.

We chose the following Proficiencies:

Acrobatics – Dexterity-based Skill that makes Astarion more resistant to being pushed and shoved around by enemies, and also reduces Falling Damage. There’s no point in choosing both this and Athletics, because it basically does the same thing but is Strength-based, so it will be weaker.
Stealth – Dexterity-based Skill that makes Hiding easier. Whenever an enemy looks at you while you’re sneaking, you must roll a Stealth Check to determine if you are detected. Higher Stealth makes these checks easier to pass.
Intimidation – Charisma-based skill that makes it easier to pass Intimidation checks in dialogue. If you’re not using Astarion for dialogue, change this to Insight.
Persuasion– Charisma-based skill that makes it easier to pass Persuasion checks in dialogue. If you’re not using Astarion for dialogue, change this to Investigation.

We’ll also choose the following Expertise:

Acrobatics – This will make Astarion even more resistant to being pushed around, which can be a lifesaver.
Sleight of Hand – This will make tasks like lockpicking and pickpocketing easier.

Now that we’ve explained the starting point of the BG3 Astarion build, we will move onto a step-by-step levelling guide.

Astarion Build Levelling Guide – BG3

We will now walk you through the process of levelling up Astarion. Note that the Rogue & Thief is a very linear class and subclass combo in terms of how it progresses, so there aren’t many choices to make while levelling up.

Early-Game Levelling Guide (2-4) – BG3 Astarion

In this section, we will summarise what you gain at each level up on the BG3 Astarion Build, as well as any recommendations for choices to make when levelling up. We’ll start with the earlier parts of the game, levels 2-4.

Level 2

At Level 2, we gain three very important new Bonus Actions:

Cunning Action: Dash – Double your Movement Speed this turn.
Cunning Action: Disengage – Focus on retreating safely. Moving won’t provoke Attack of Opportunity.
Cunning Action: Hide – Allows you to Hide using a Bonus Action.

While other classes can perform these abilities, doing so consumes a normal Action rather than a Bonus Action. This effectively means that the Rogue can Dash or Disengage on the same turn that they attack, while other classes cannot.

Level 3

At Level 3, Astarion gains an additional 1d6 for Sneak Attack Bonus Damage, meaning Sneak Attacks will now do between 2 and 12 bonus damage (instead of 1-6), depending on the damage roll.

You also need to choose the subclass. We are using the Thief subclass for this Astarion Build.

The Thief Class gets an extra Bonus Action each turn (which is especially nice in combination with the Cunning Actions above). This lets you safely get in and out of melee range, or in and out of stealth mode, all within the same turn if needed, and without losing out on the opportunity to perform an attack. Alternatively, you can perform your normal attack and then do 2x Offhand Melee Attack, to maximise your Melee damage in a turn.

The Thief also gets a 50% Resistance to Falling Damage, which isn’t especially important but can occasionally be useful.

Level 4

At Level 4, we have to choose a Feat for the BG3 Astarion Build. Feats are strong passive effects that can enable a certain build idea or give a stat buff to increase damage or survivability.

Choose the Ability Improvement Feat and increase your Dexterity to 18. This will improve your weapon attacks and make your Rogue better at most stealth-related actions, including sneaking and lockpicking.

Mid-Game Levelling Guide (5-8) – BG3 Astarion Build

We’ll now look at the mid-game levels for our Astarion Build, covering levels 5-8.

Level 5

When he reaches Level 5, Astarion gains a few extra features to strengthen him.

Firstly, your Proficiency Bonus is increased from +2 to +3, meaning you’ll now get a +3 bonus when rolling for skills that you’re Proficient with.

You also get another Sneak Attack Die, so your Sneak Bonus Damage can now roll up to 18.

Lastly, you get the Uncanny Dodge passive feature. This is a Reaction, meaning it cannot be performed manually. Your character will perform it when they are attacked by an enemy, up to once per round. Uncanny Dodge will cause you to take half damage from the incoming attack.

Level 6

At Level 6, there aren’t many choices to make.

All you need to do is choose two additional Skills to gain Expertise with.

I recommend choosing Stealth and Deception if you don’t already have them. But it is up to you.

Level 7

At Level 7, Astarion will gain an additional sneak attack damage die, meaning your bonus damage potential from stealth will now be 4-24.

You also gain the Evasion passive, which gives you extra resistance to spells and effects that normally deal half damage on a Saving Throw. Now they’ll do no damage if you succeed the Saving Throw, and half damage if you fail it.

Level 8

At Level 8, you’ll get to choose another Feat for your Astarion Build.

Get the Ability Improvement Feat again, and use it to increase your Dexterity to 20.

Late-Game Levelling Guide (9-12) – BG3 Astarion Build

Finally, let’s look at the end-game levelling up, covering levels 9-12. After that, we’ll look into the best Equipment options for this Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion Thief Build.

Level 9

At Level 9, Astarion’s Proficiency Bonus is improved to +4. This means you now have a +4 bonus added to rolls for any skills you are Proficient at (or Attack Rolls using weapons you’re Proficient with). This bonus always applies unless you roll a 1 (Critical Fail/Miss).

You gain another Sneak Attack Die here too, meaning your attacks from stealth will now deal 5-30 bonus damage.

Finally, you gain the Supreme Sneak ability from your Thief subclass, which lets you spend an Action to become Invisible for up to 10 turns.

Level 10

Unlike other classes, the Rogue gets to choose an extra Feat at Level 10.

We recommend choosing the Savage Attacker Feat, which causes you to roll your damage dice twice whenever you make a melee attack and use the highest of the two results. This will considerably improve Astarion’s average damage output with melee attacks.

Level 11

At Level 11, you’ll gain another Sneak Attack Die, giving your attacks from stealth a possible 6-36 bonus damage. If you aren’t already, you should do your best to use the Thief’s extra Bonus Action and Cunning Actions to sneak as much as possible in combat, as the potential damage bonuses from stealth are getting really strong, and if you’re not utilising them, you’re missing out!

You also gain the Reliable Talent passive, which guarantees that rolls with any of your Proficient Skills will be at least 10. If you roll below a 10, the value is increased to 10. This means you can no longer Critically Fail when rolling for skills that you have Proficiency with.

Note that this only applies to Skills, not weapons, so you can still roll below 10 when attacking with a weapon you’re Proficient with.

Level 12

If you’ve reached this point, then you have finished levelling up your BG3 Astarion Build. Congratulations!

At Level 12, you’ll get to choose one more Feat for Astarion.

We got all of the most important Feats already – the last choice is up to you.

Personally, I tend to choose Alert, which boosts your Initiative by +5, making it very likely that you move first in combat.

Another handy option is Mobile, which gives you extra Movement Speed. But if you want to try something else, go for it.

BG3 Astarion Thief Build Equipment

Below is the recommended Equipment setup for this Astarion Thief Build. We have split the equipment into an early-game and late-game section, to ensure you can make use of this build regardless of how far into the game you are.

In each section, there is a table with an overview of the recommended equipment. Below the table, there is more detailed information about each item, including how to obtain it.

Don’t worry if your equipment doesn’t exactly match what is listed here – the build still works fine if some pieces of equipment are different. Don’t be afraid of experimenting and trying different combinations, too.

Early-Game

Early-game equipment can be obtained in Act I and the earlier parts of Act II.

Slot	Item	Effects	Location
Head	Haste Helm	3m extra Movement Speed for the first 3 turns of combat +1 to Dexterity Saving Throws	In a wooden chest next to a cart, by the Blighted Village Waypoint
Cloak	Cloak of Protection	+1 to Armour Class and Saving Throws	Purchased from Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn
Chest	Spidersilk Armour	+1 to Stealth Checks Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws	Dropped by Minthara in the Shattered Sanctum
Gloves	Gloves of Thievery	Advantage on Sleight of Hand checks	Sold by Brem in the Zhentarim Hideout
Boots	Disintegrating Night Walkers	Misty Step spell Immunity to Entangled, Enwebbed and Ensnared Cannot slip on Grease or Ice	Looted from True Soul Nere in the Grymforge
Necklace	Amulet of Misty Step	Cast Misty Step, allowing you to teleport. You can replace this item when you get the Night Walker boots	Found in a chest in the Defiled Temple
Ring 1	Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands	Grants the Invisibility Spell	Loot from the dead deep gnomes being thrown into the water in Grymforge.
Ring 2	Smuggler’s Ring	+2 to Stealth and Sleight of Hand, but -1 to Charisma	Looted from a skeleton hidden in the bush, at Risen road in Act I.
Melee Mainhand	Shortsword of First Blood	Deals up to 8 bonus damage against full health enemies	Looted from an executed Deep Gnome in the Underdark
Melee Offhand	Hunter’s Dagger	Chance to Rupture the enemy for 3 turns Ruptured enemies take damage when moving	Sold by Roah Moonglow in Shattered Sanctum
Ranged	Hand Crossbow +1 (Dual Wield)	A decent ranged weapon that can be dual-wielded If your race gives Proficiency with Longbows, that’s also a good alternative	Sold by Derryth Bonecloak in the Myconid Colony.

Haste Helm

The Haste Helm gives you Momentum for 3 turns at the start of every combat. The Haste Helm is found inside a locked chest near the Blighted Village Waypoint.

Cloak of Protection

The Cloak of Protection increases your Amour Class by 1, and gives a +1 bonus to all of your Saving Throws. This is a good defensive buff that makes Astarion more resistant to damage and enemy effects. It is sold by Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn in Act II.

Spidersilk Armour

The Spidersilk Armour is good early game Light Armour for Astarion. It gives you a +1 bonus to Stealth checks, and Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws. makes it a little easier for you to sneak around, and makes you considerably more resistant to hostile effects that involve a Constitution Save. The armour is dropped by Minthara in the Shattered Sanctum. If you want to leave Minthara alive in your playthrough then you can use any other piece of Light Armour for now.

Gloves of Thievery

The Gloves of Thievery give you Advantage on Sleight of Hand checks, which mainly covers actions such as Lockpicking and Pickpocketing. When you have Advantage on a dice roll, it means you roll two dices and choose the one that rolls the highest, making success considerably more likely. With its high focus on Dexterity (and as its name suggests), Astarion is likely to be the most suited character to Thieving in your party, and these gloves will allow you to make the most of that. They are sold by Brem in the Zhentarim Hideout in Act I.

Disintegrating Nightwalkers

The Disintegrating Nightwalkers are arguably the strongest boots available in Act I of BG3, and they’re a perfect fit for Astarion. They give you access to the Misty Step spell, allowing you to teleport in or out of trouble. They also give you Immunity to Entangled, Ensnared and Enwebbed, and they prevent you from slipping over on Grease and Ice surfaces. All of this helps your mobility quite a lot, and makes you harder for enemies to pin down.

The boots are worn by Nere, found in the Grymforge section of the Underdark. You must use Smokepowder bombs or barrels to clear the rockfall to access the chamber that Nere is trapped in, then loot the boots from him. He may be alive or dead when you find him, depending on how long you take to clear the blockage.

Amulet of Misty Step

The Amulet of Misty Step grants you the Misty Step spell, allowing you to teleport to a visible location within 18 metres. This is great for rapidly closing the gap to distant enemies, escaping from a bad combat situation, or jumping to an area that is otherwise unreachable. The Amulet of Misty Step is found in a chest in the Defiled Temple, near the Ogre called Polma.

You could give this to someone else and replace it with another amulet once you get the Disintegrating Nightwalkers, since they also grant the Misty Step spell.

Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands

The Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands grants you the Invisibility spell, which you can use once per Long Rest. This is great for sneaking around. Invisbility lasts for up to 10 turns, but attacking an enemy will break the effect. Found by looting one of the dead deep gnomes being thrown into the water in Grymforge.

Smuggler’s Ring

Another great item for stealthy characters, the Smuggler’s Ring gives a +2 buff to Stealth and Sleight of Hand, while reducing your Charisma ability by -1. This makes you considerably better at sneaking around, lockpicking and pickpocketing, which is definitely worth losing 1 Charisma for, as we barely use Charisma for anything except the occasional dialogue check. Looted from a skeleton hidden in the bush, on the lower path by the river, at Risen road in Act I.

Shortsword of First Blood

Deals 1d8 extra Piercing Damage to enemies who are still at full health. Dual wield this weapon with the Hunter’s Dagger. The Shortsword of First Blood can be looted from an executed Deep Gnome in the Underdark, near the entrance to the Decrepit Village (the entrance closest to the Myconid Colony)

Hunter’s Dagger

The Hunter’s Dagger allows you to Rupture enemies hit by the dagger. Ruptured enemies take 1d4 Piercing damage when they move. The Condition lasts for 3 turns. Sold by Roah Moonglow in Shattered Sanctum. If the item is not there, try Long Resting to reset the vendor’s wares. You do not need to spend any Camping Supplies on a Long Rest for this purpose.

Hand Crossbow +1

Astarion doesn’t usually have Proficiency with larger ranged weapons such as the Longbow. However, the Rogue can use Hand Crossbows. The Hand Crossbow +1 is a slightly upgraded version of the standard Hand Crossbow, with a +1 bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls. It is usually sold by Derryth Bonecloak in the Myconid Colony. Use a Long Rest to reset the vendor’s wares if it is not there.

Unlike most other ranged weapons in BG3, Hand Crossbows can be dual-wielded. Use another Hand Crossbow alongside it to increase your ranged damage potential.

Late-Game

Late-game equipment is available in Act III and the latter parts of Act II, however sometimes items from the early-game section remain powerful enough to be carried into late-game.

Slot	Item	Effects	Location
Head	Mask of Soul Perception	+2 to Attack Rolls, Initiative Rolls and Perception Checks Cast Detect Thoughts once per Short Rest	In a locked Gilded Chest in Helsik’s room
Cloak	Shade-Slayer Cloak	While Hiding, the number needed to roll a Critical Hit is reduced by 1. Can stack with similar effects	Sold by Sticky Dondo in the Guildhall, Lower City Sewers.
Chest	Bhaalist Armour	+2 to Initiative Enemies within 2m become Vulnerable to Piercing Damage, unless they are Resistant or Immune to it.	Sold by Echo of Abazigal in the Murder Tribunal, if you become an Unholy Assassin
Gloves	Gloves of Thievery	Advantage on Sleight of Hand checks	Sold by Brem in the Zhentarim Hideout
Boots	Helldusk Boots	Hellcrawler Bonus Action – Teleport and deal Fire Damage You cannot be forcibly moved by enemy Spells or Actions You ignore the effects of Difficult Terrain When you fail a Saving Throw, you can use your Reaction to succeed it instead	Found in a locked gilded chest on the top floor of Wyrm’s Rock Fortress.
Necklace	Fey Semblence Amulet	Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma Saving Throws	Complete the Avenge the Hag Survivors quest in Act III.
Ring 1	Ring of Regeneration	Heals you for 1d4 HP at the beginning of each turn	Multiple locations are possible – see below
Ring 2	Killer’s Sweetheart	The first time you kill a creature each Long Rest, your next attack will be a guaranteed Critical Hit.	Found on the top level of the stone structure in the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar, Act II.
Melee Mainhand	Crimson Mischief	Deals 1d4 bonus Necrotic Damage Deals 1d4 bonus Piercing Damage to enemies who are half health or lower Making an attack with Advantage deals 7 bonus Piercing damage (main-hand only) Attacking with your off-hand weapon adds your Ability Modifier to the damage of the attack (off-hand only)	Looted from Orin, during Get Orin’s Netherstone.
Melee Offhand	Bloodthirst	The number needed to roll a Critical Hit is reduced by 1 +1 Armour Class (off-hand only) Bound Weapon – Cannot be knocked out of your hand When an attacker misses you, you may retaliate and gain True Strike (off-hand only) Creatures hit with this weapon get Vulnerability to Piercing Damage (main-hand only)	Looted from Orin, during Get Orin’s Netherstone.
Ranged	Hellfire Hand Crossbow + another Hand Crossbow	Can cast Scorching Ray once per Short Rest You can inflict Burning by attacking while Hiding or Invisible Combine it with any other Hand Crossbow to dual-wield them	Dropped by Yurgir in the Gauntlet of Shar.

Mask of Soul Perception

The Mask of Soul Perception gives a +2 bonus to your Attack Rolls, making your attacks more accurate. You also gain the same bonus to Initiative Rolls, making it more likely that you take your turn before other Creatures. This mask can be found in a locked Gilded Chest in Helsik’s room, upstairs in the Devil’s Fee in Lower City.

Shade-Slayer Cloak

When you are hiding, the Shade-Slayer Cloak reduces the number you need to hit with your Attack Roll to crit by 1. Make sure to attack from stealth when possible to benefit from this bonus, as well as the extra sneak damage that the Rogue gets. Sold by Sticky Dondo in the Guildhall, Lower City Sewers.

Bhaalist Armour

Grants a +2 bonus to Initiative Rolls, which can stack with the bonus from the Mask of Soul Perception. You also give out an aura that causes enemies within 2 metres of you to take 50% more Piercing Damage, which acts as a massive buff to your own attacks. Enemies who are Resistant or Immune to Piercing damage won’t get this effect, however. The Bhaalist Armour is sold by Echo of Abazigal in the Murder Tribunal, after you accept Bhaal and become an Unholy Assassin.

Elegant Studded Leather (Alternative)

An alternative to the Bhaalist Armour. The Elegant Studded Leather still grants the Initiative Bonus, but lacks the Piercing Damage aura. However, you do instead get Advantage on Stealth checks, making it considerably easier to sneak around. The Bhaalist Armour is more powerful than this item, however if you are on a “good” playthrough you might not want to get that item at all, so this is a good alternative for such cases. Found inside High Security Vault Number 9 in the Counting House in the Lower City. A key for the vault can be obtained by completing the Return Rakath’s Gold quest.

Helldusk Boots

The Helldusk Boots prevent you from being forcibly moved against your will, allow you to ignore the effects of Difficult Terrain, and allow you to use your Reaction to succeed a Saving Throw that you otherwise would have failed. You can also use the Hellcrawler action to teleport, dealing fire damage in the location where you land. Found in a locked gilded chest on the top floor of Wyrm’s Rock Fortress.

Fey Semblance Amulet

The Fey Semblance Amulet gives you Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma Saving Throws. Astarion doesn’t usually have much focus on these Abilities, making it difficult to succeed Saving Throws of these types. However, this amulet gives you a much better chance by allowing you to roll twice for each attempt, making you more resistant to a wide variety of hostile effects. This item is a reward for completing the Avenge the Hag Survivors quest in Act III.

Killer’s Sweetheart

When wearing the Killer’s Sweetheart Ring, the first time you kill a creature (per Long Rest), your next attack will be a guaranteed Critical Hit. Found on the top level of the stone structure in the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar, Act II.

Ring of Regeneration

A powerful but simple ring, the Ring of Regeneration heals you by 1d4 HP at the start of every turn. There are three possible ways to obtain it, depending on the status of specific characters in your playthrough:

If Rolan is dead – Sold by Lorroakan’s Projection in Sorcerous Sundries
If Rolan and Lorroakan are both alive – Sold by Rolan in Sorcerous Sundries
If Rolan is alive but Lorroakan is dead – Can be pickpocketed from Rolan in Ramazith’s Tower

Crimson Mischief

A legendary Shortsword, Crimson Mischief makes for the perfect dual-wield pairing with Bloodthirst. You’ll gain all of the following bonuses from Crimson Mischief:

1d4 bonus Necrotic Damage on attacks with this weapon
1d4 bonus Piercing Damage on attack against targets with less than 50% HP remaining.
Attacking with Advantage will add 7 bonus Piercing Damage to the attack, no matter what the reason for the Advantage is.
Your Ability Modifier is added to the weapon’s attack damage, only when wielded in your Off-Hand. With 20 Dexterity, this gives you 5 bonus damage.

Crimson Mischief is also looted from Orin – You should prioritize dealing with Orin as soon as you’re able to, as the weapons she drops will make Astation much more powerful.

Bloodthirst

The strongest dagger in the game, Bloodthirst reduces the Attack Roll needed to crit by 1. This can stack with the effect from the Shade-Slayer Cloak, meaning you only need to roll 18 instead of the usual 20 to crit, when attacking from stealth. Bloodthirst also causes enemies hit with the weapon to be 50% weaker to Piercing Damage (does not stack with the effect from the Bhaalist Armour – you only need one or the other). It’s also classed as a Bound Weapon, which means you cannot be disarmed of the weapon, and if you throw it, it will automatically return to you.

Bloodthirst is looted from Orin, during Get Orin’s Netherstone.

IMPORTANT: The slot that Orin’s weapons are used in changes their functionality. If you are using the Bhaalist Armour, we recommend slotting Crimson Mischief in the main hand and Bloodthirst in the off hand, and keep looking out for ways to make attacks with Advantage to get the 7 bonus damage. If you are not using Bhaalist Armour, slot them the other way around, with Bloodthirst in main-hand, as this will allow you to still make enemies Vulnerable to Piercing Damage, but you’ll need to hit them to activate this. We think the first configuration is strongest overall, but you need to ally with Bhaal to get the armour.

Hellfire Hand Crossbow

Attacking from stealth with the Hellfire Hand Crossbow has a chance to set the target alight. You can also cast Scorching Ray at Level 3 once per Short Rest. Dropped by Yurgir in the Gauntlet of Shar in Act II. You can dual-wield this with any other Hand Crossbow of your choice.

Astarion Build Extra Info

Here is some additional information, tips and tricks to help you get the most out of this BG3 Astarion Build.

Best BG3 Astarion Build Tips & Tricks

While the Rogue Class is among the simplest and easiest to build, it takes a careful hand to get the most out of the class in combat. While positioning is important for all classes, this applies even more to the Rogue.

We get huge amounts of bonus damage from Sneak Attacks, either melee or ranged, so do your best to create scenarios where you can easily disengage and get back into Stealth each turn. Remember to make use of your extra Bonus Action and Cunning Actions when needed.

If sneaking around in close quarters, be very careful about enemy Opportunist Attacks – they will always attempt one if they can see you, you are in melee range and you do not have Disengage active. The Mobile Feat can partially counteract this problem. Rogues like Astarion are tricky to play, but reward players who put in the time and thought to preplan their moves.

Best Party Composition for Astarion

Astarion has a Neutral Evil moral alignment at the start of the game (with a bit of a Chaotic Evil lean in some situations). While you can use any party composition with Astarion, you’ll have an easier time with characters who match up with his alignment. This leaves the following four options as the most obvious choices:

The Dark Urge (Chaotic Evil) – The Dark Urge is only available if chosen as your origin character at the start of the game. Unlike other Origins, Dark Urge is fully customisable. Astarion finds the Dark Urge’s violent outbursts to be morbidly amusing, and the two characters can find common ground regardless of which Dark Urge path you choose to take.
Lae’zel (Lawful Evil) – Lae’zel has some funny interactions with Astarion early in the game, and her violent tendencies fit quite well with Astarion’s evil alignment.
Shadowheart (Neutral Evil or True Neutral) – Shadowheart starts the game with a very neutral alignment, and can be influenced towards a good or evil alignment based on the player’s choices. As such, she can get on quite well with Astarion. Just keep in mind that while Astarion doesn’t care about pointless acts of violence in most cases, Shadowheart is less keen on such displays, especially against defenceless opponents.
Minthara (Lawful Evil) – Minthara can be recruited in Act II if she survives Act I (for this, you need to side with her and attack the Druid Grove, then avoid conflict with her in the aftermath). As a Lolth-Sworn Drow, she has perhaps the most evil inclination of any recruitable character in BG3. However, she isn’t comically evil; she is simply from a culture with a very strict hierarchy where violence and repression of the weak are normal behaviour. Since they both lean towards the evil side, Astarion and Minthara usually get along well.

Strongest Potions for Astarion in BG3

Potion of Speed

The Potion of Speed is arguably the most powerful potion in Baldur’s Gate 3. It doubles your Movement Speed and gives you an extra Action each turn.

One drawback of this potion is that when it expires, your character will be Lethargic for one turn, unable to move or take any Actions. So you should be careful not to have your character stranded in a dangerous position when the potion runs out!

You can craft the Potion of Speed in the alchemy menu by combining Ashes of Hyena Ear with any Salt. Create ashes, salts and other alchemy concentrates by combining three of the same ingredients together – for example, combining three Hyena Ears will create Ashes of Hyena Ear.

Hyena Ears can normally be looted from either Hyenas or Gnolls – you can find a lot of them around the Risen Road in Act I, for a good supply of them, which should last you a while.

Elixir of Bloodlust

You can combine this with the Elixir of Bloodlust. Elixirs and Potions can be stacked with each other, but you can only have one Elixir active at a time. Potions tend to expire after a few turns, whereas Elixirs last until your next Long Rest, unless you drink a different Elixir in the meantime.

The Elixir of Bloodlust grants your character another Action when you kill an enemy. This effect can only trigger once per turn. Combined with the Potion of Speed, this gives you two additional attacks if you defeat an enemy on your turn.

It can be crafted by combining Ashes of Worg Fang with any Salt. Worg Fangs are looted from Worgs, the beasts usually kept by Goblins.

This is an OP alchemy combo that you can use to turbocharge the Rogue’s damage output in tough fights!

Astarion Build Illithid Powers (optional)

Illithid Powers are unlocked later in BG3 when you learn more about Mind Flayers and Tadpoles. By eating Jars of Mind Flayer Parasites, you gain one point. This is another optional skill tree that you can get access to if you want. Here are some of the best Illithid Powers for the BG3 Astarion Build:

Mind Blast: A conal blast of Psychic Damage that can also stun several targets at once. If your party is outnumbered by several advancing enemies, then Mind Blast can help to swing things back in your favour.
Cull the Weak: When you reduce a creature’s hit points below a certain threshold, this power instantly kills it and deals 1-4 Psychic Damage to nearby enemies. This is particularly effective when engaging groups of weaker foes, enabling you to thin their numbers rapidly.
Fly: This can be used to reach hard-to-reach places or change positions in combat.
Mind Sanctuary: This creates an area that allows all within to use Actions and Bonus Actions interchangeably. This typically means you can deal more damage, since you can use your Bonus Action as a normal Action. However, enemies who are inside the area will also enjoy its benefits. Be careful with your placement so that your party gets buffed by the Mind Sanctuary and not the enemies!
Psionic Backlash: This is a top-tier Reaction from the Illithid Powers skill tree in BG3. It allows you to deal Psychic Damage when a nearby enemy casts a spell. This is especially useful if the target is casting a Concentration Spell. The damage from Psionic Backlash can immediately break their Concentration, ending the spell’s effects.

Best BG3 Astarion Build Guide – Maximum Damage!