Welcome to the Best BG3 Barbarian Build. For this BG3 Barbarian Build we will be making use of the Berserker subclass, a powerful melee fighter who can go into a Frenzy to deal very high damage to enemies.
Table of Contents for the BG3 Barbarian Build:
- Introduction to the Barbarian Class
- Barbarian Build Leveling Progression
- Barbarian Equipment
- Barbarian Build Extras and Tips & Tricks
Please visit our Best BG3 Builds overview page for more builds. We also have an optimized Barbarian companion BG3 Karlach Build. To get an overview of all classes, please visit the BG3 Classes overview page.
The BG3 Berserker Barbarian Build quickly grows in power as they level up, able to perform three attacks each turn by the time they hit Level 5. This allows them to reliably outperform many other classes in terms of raw damage output. The Barbarian Build works for both PC and Console (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).
Here is a quick overview of the main Strengths and Weaknesses of the Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Barbarian Strengths
Barbarian Weaknesses
BG3 Barbarian Class Guide
The Barbarian is a powerful melee-focused class that focuses on overwhelming enemies with brute force and rage.
The Barbarian plays fairly similarly to the Fighter, but instead has access to the Rage mechanic. Barbarians get Rage Charges which are replenished every Long Rest. Raging Barbarians deal more damage with their attacks, but will be unable to use some Actions while in this state. The Rage lasts for up to 10 turns, but will end if a full turn passes without your Barbarian either dealing or taking damage. You can also choose to end the Rage early.
The default effects of Rage are:
- 50% Resistance to all physical damage
- Extra damage dealt on melee and thrown attacks
- Advantage on Strength checks and Saving Throws
Each Barbarian subclass will add more effects to the Rage, which helps to set them apart from each other.
While they may seem brutish compared to the Fighter class, Barbarians are not to be underestimated, and when set up properly they can cause total carnage, dispatching weaker enemies with ease and ensuring that stronger enemies have their hands full. Barbarians also value their mobility more than the Fighter class, and cannot wear Heavy Armour.
At higher levels, the Barbarian can roll an additional damage dice when they land a Critical Hit, which makes for an especially good combination with the Half-Orc race, which will double up on this effect. They can also avoid death once per Short Rest, restoring 1 HP instead of being Downed when their HP runs out (only works when Raging).
We’ll now take a quick look at the Barbarian subclasses, and explain which one we’re using and why.
BG3 Barbarian Subclass Comparison
The Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian has four subclasses to choose from: Wildheart, Berserker, Wild Magic and Path of Giants (Coming in Patch 8).
Wildheart Barbarian Subclass
Your attunement with nature and its beasts inspires your rage, empowering you with supernatural might.
Wildheart Barbarians are able to speak to animals. They can choose from one of five animal-inspired Rages:
- Bear Heart – Resistance to all damage and can self-heal while Raging
- Eagle Heart – Enemies have Disadvantage on Opportunist attacks, you can Dash as a bonus action, and you can use Diving Strike to jump down and attack an enemy from an elevated position.
- Elk Heart – You have additional Movement Speed. You can use Primal Stampede, allowing you to charge forth and knock over all enemies in your path.
- Tiger Heart – You have increased Jump Distance. You can use Tiger’s Bloodlust to attack multiple nearby enemies at once.
- Wolf Heart – Your allies have Advantage on melee Attack Rolls against foes within 2 metres of you. You can use Inciting Howl to increase your allies’ Movement Speed.
These effects are only active when the Wildheart Barbarian is raging. If you don’t like your chosen animal heart, you can replace it on the next level up (or just see Withers to respec).
At higher levels, Wildheart Barbarians can choose up to two Animal Aspects, getting permanent buffs to their character, and become more resistant to Difficult Terrain and other natural hazards.
Berserker Barbarian Subclass
Violence is both a means and an end. You follow a path of untrammelled fury, slick with blood, as you thrill in the chaos of battle, heedless of your own well-being.
The Berserker is the most aggressive Barbarian subclass, and arguably the most powerful because it can attack more times per turn than the other Barbarians.
When you become a Berserker, your Rage is upgraded to Frenzy, which provides all of the usual benefits plus two special new Bonus Actions:
- Frenzied Strike – Make an additional weapon attack with your Bonus Action. This is great for maximising your damage output, but each use will apply a stack of Frenzied Strain, reducing your Attack Rolls by -1 per stack.
- Enraged Throw – Pick up an object or a creature and throw them. Uses a Bonus Action instead of an Action.
At higher levels, your Frenzy grants you immunity to Charm, Frighten and Calm Emotions, and you can use Intimidating Presence to Frighten an enemy.
Wild Magic Barbarian Subclass
The wild influence of magic has transformed you, suffusing you with an arcane power that churns within you, waiting to be released.
At first glance, you may be fooled into thinking the Wild Magic class gives your Barbarian the ability to use spells, similarly to the Eldritch Knight subclass of the Fighter. However, this isn’t quite true.
Instead, Wild Magic Barbarians have the Wild Magic Surge effect added to their Rage, which cause a randomly selected magical effect to activate for the duration of your Rage. The next time you Rage, a new effect will be chosen. Some of the effects deal bonus damage to enemies, while others will debuff them, or buff your allies, or increase your mobility. All of the potential effects are positive.
At higher levels, you gain a bit more control over your Wild Magic, and can use it to give an Attack Roll buff to an ally, or Restore Spell Slots. Later on you have the option to reroll your Wild Magic effect whenever you take damage or fail a Saving Throw.
Path of Giants Barbarian Subclass
Opt for the Path of Giants, and your newfound giant strength will make it easier for you to yeet friend and foe alike.
Forget chugging potions to pump those muscles, these Barbarians benefit from the Giant’s Rage passive that grants both strength and size – allowing you to deal additional damage with Throw attacks. Pockets weighing you down? Not for you and your increased carry capacity!
Why We’re Using the Berserker Subclass
While it is the simplest Barbarian subclass, we also found the Berserker to be the strongest on average, simply due to its ability to attack more frequently than the other Barbarian subclasses.
Being able to use Frenzied Strike and Enraged Throw to attack with a Bonus Action is already a great boost, and it synergises really well with other effects like Hastened (from the Haste spell or a Potion of Speed) and Bloodlust (from the Elixr of Bloodlust). We’ll explain these more at the end of the guide, but they both allow your Barbarian to attack more often, and using these buffs in tough fights can swing things in your favour.
There’s not much else to explain here – there is no great secret to the Berserker, it’s just more aggressive than the other Barbarian subclasses and turns the primal rage up to 11, and that feels perfect for this class.
Level 1 – BG3 Barbarian Build Character Creation
In this section, we will go over the basic Character Creation options for our Best BG3 Barbarian Build, namely Background, Race, Skills and Abilities.
Best 5 Races for the Barbarian
These are our top 5 Race picks for the Barbarian Build in BG3:
- Half-Orc – Gets Savage Attacks, adding 1 extra damage dice when they score a Critical Hit. This doubles up with the Barbarian’s Brutal Critical (unlocked at Level 9), making for very powerful Critical Hits.
- Duergar – Duergar can see in the dark, have Advantage on Saving Throws against Paralysis, and at level 3 and 5 they unlock the Enlarge and Invisibility Spells. Enlarge is especially useful, increasing their damage output and their Movement Speed, but remember that you must cast it before you activate your Frenzy – casting spells while Frenzied is not allowed. The downside is that Duergar have slightly lower base Movement Speed due to their small stature.
- Wood Elf OR Half Wood Elf – We tend to rank this race high on most of our builds, and the simple reason for this is their high Movement Speed. Getting to where you need to go in less time cannot be understated in BG3, especially on a melee-focused build like this one. They’re also immune to magical Sleep and get Darkvision.
- Githyanki – We quite like the Githyanki for melee builds due to their innate access to Enhance Leap (at Level 3) and Misty Step (at Level 5), letting them jump or teleport to where they need to be with ease.
- Strongheart Halfling – Halflings get to reroll if they roll a 1 (critical miss/fail), making critical misses much less likely to occur. Strongheart Halflings get Resistance to Poison which is also a plus. Since this is a small race, their Movement Speed is a bit lower though.
We should also give an honorable mention to the Zariel Tiefling, with their innate access to Smite spells which buff their melee attacks with Fire or Radiant damage, and their Fire Resistance. The only reason this race didn’t make our list is because we spend most of our time in Frenzy, which means you often can’t use the Smite spells. It’s a bit of an awkward combination in my experience, but if you don’t mind playing around that problem then this race is another great option.
Class Selection
Here you want to select the Barbarian class for our BG3 Barbarian Build. You get to select your subclass at level 3.
Background
The best Backgrounds to choose for the Barbarian are either Outlander or Soldier, as these both give Proficiency in Athletics, the only Strength-based skill available through the Background selection.
However the Background isn’t hugely important – it has little direct impact on combat situations, so if you want to choose something else then it won’t ruin the build.
Abilities
It’s important for the efficacy of the BG3 Barbarian Build that you have Strength and Constitution as high as possible at Level, and putting 14 points into Dexterity to improve your Armour Class and Initiative. Therefore, I recommend putting your +2 bonus in Strength and the +1 bonus in Constitution.
With the remaining points, allocate them based on the Skills you chose to have Proficiency in. For example, we chose Animal Handling and Perception, which are both Wisdom skills, so we put the last couple of points into Wisdom to further play into those skills. This is only a minor detail, but it makes sense to do this rather than splitting them randomly between the remaining Abilities.
Go for an Ability allocation that looks something like:
- Strength – 16
- Dexterity – 14
- Constitution – 16
- Intelligence – 8
- Wisdom – 10
- Charisma – 10
Skill Proficiencies
For Skills, you should already have Proficiency in Athletics from your Background. None of the other options we can choose are especially important or a perfect fit for the Abilities our Barbarian Build will specialise in. Therefore, you can choose whatever you want. We went with Animal Handling and Perception, but it’s really up to you what you choose here.
Barbarian Rage Mechanic
Before you get into the game, it’s good to understand how the Barbarian’s Rage mechanic works at this point.
From the beginning of the game, the Barbarian is able to go into a Rage by using a Bonus Action in combat. Rage adds an extra 2 points of damage to your attacks with melee weapons (including weapon throws), 50% Resistance to Physical Damage, and an Advantage on Strength Checks and Saving Throws.
Rage can last for up to 10 turns, but it will end early if you go for a turn without attacking or taking damage. Note that while the Barbarian isn’t a class associated with Spellcasting, it’s still worth mentioning that you cannot cast or concentrate on Spells while Raging.
You start with 2 charges of Rage, which must be replenished by taking a Long Rest.
Barbarian Early-Game Levelling Guide BG3
Below is the early-game section of the levelling guide for our Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Build. This contains levels 2-4.
Level 2 – Barbarian Build for Baldur’s Gate 3
At Level 2, your Barbarian gains a couple of new abilities that are great for combat in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Reckless Attack
First of all, you unlock a new Action called Reckless Attack. This is a melee attack that will also give you Advantage on all subsequent attacks on the same turn. This isn’t an amazing ability right now, but as you level up and unlock the ability to make multiple attacks per turn, you’re going to get increasingly high value out of it because your hit chance will stay higher for the rest of your turn. However, enemies who attack your Barbarian on the same turn will also have Advantage.
I personally use Reckless Attack pretty much all the time, but it is a risk/reward mechanic and you tend to take more damage when using it. If you’re heavily outnumbered or fighting a very strong enemy then you may need to just use regular attacks so your Barbarian doesn’t get into trouble.
Danger Sense
Danger Sense is a passive ability gained by Level 2 Barbarians. It gives you an Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws against traps, spells and surfaces. Since we put 14 points into Dexterity this will be particularly useful for us. You should find yourself reliably succeeding on Dexterity Saving Throws. Note that Danger Sense will not work if your senses are impaired, i.e. you are Blinded, Deafened or Incapacitated.
Level 3 for BG3 Barbarian Build
At Level 3 it is time to choose your Barbarian Subclass. As mentioned above, we’ll be going with the Berserker for this BG3 Barbarian Build. The Berserker further builds upon the Barbarian’s Rage mechanic, facilitating a highly aggressive playstyle that can cause some serious damage to enemies.
Rage Charges
At Level 3, your Barbarian unlocks an extra Rage charge, meaning you can now enter a Rage three times before you must replenish the charges with a Long Rest.
Frenzy
Frenzy is the Berserker’s version of the Rage mechanic. It basically works in the same way as described above, except that being Frenzied also grants use of two powerful Bonus Actions on subsequent turns (as long as you remain Frenzied).
These bonus actions are:
- Frenzied Strike: As a bonus action, make a melee attack with your equipped weapon, dealing Weapon Damage. Using this applies a stack of Frenzied Strain, subtracting 1 from your Attack Rolls for each stack. I tend to use this every turn and offset the Attack Roll debuff by using Reckless Attack, but this is a greedy and risky playstyle. You can take a more cautious approach if you want.
- Enraged Throw: As a bonus action, pick up an item or creature and throw it at a target, dealing Bludgeoning damage and knocking it Prone. The damage depends on your Strength and the weight of the item. Your Strength also affects how much weight you can throw.
What makes these abilities really strong is the fact that they are Bonus Actions. This means you can now perform two attacks per turn reliably, as long as you maintain your Frenzy. This is pretty crazy for a Level 3 Character – your Barbarian is already becoming quite a force to be reckoned with and we’ve barely got started.
Level 4 for the Barbarian Build BG3 for PC/PS5
As with all other classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, at Level 4, it’s time to choose a Feat for the Barbarian Build.
Feats are extra passive buffs for your character, which can help to make your build more defined or simply push up your Ability Stats.
Here we’ll be going with the Ability Improvement Feat, which gives you 2 extra points to distribute between your Abilities. We recommend putting both of the points into Strength. This should give you 18 Strength in total, improving your weapon Attack Rolls.
There’s not much else to say here, the Berserker doesn’t gain anything else at Level 4 besides standard stuff like an increase to HP.
Mid-Game Barbarian Build Levelling Guide BG3
Here is the mid-game levelling guide for our Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Build. This contains levels 5-8.
Level 5 – BG3 Barbarian Build
At Level 5 our BG3 Barbarian Build gets another huge step up in terms of how powerful it is. While there aren’t any options to choose from at this level, you do gain a bunch of new abilities that ramp up your power:
Increased Proficiency Bonus
You will now get a +3 bonus to Skills you are Proficient at, rather than +2. Not huge, but a nice all-around buff.
Extra Attack
Since Level 3 we were already able to make an extra attack each turn using a Bonus Action, provided we kept our Frenzy going. Well now you get an extra Attack too, meaning each Action gives you two weapon attacks instead of one. In combo with Reckless Attack, this means three attacks per turn without any further buffs.
At this point it’s also worth reminding you of the Reckless Attack that you unlocked at Level 2. You can use it at the start of your turn to get an Advantage on the attacks from your second Action and Bonus Action.
For a Level 5 character the Berserker Barbarian is crazy strong; this class is definitely a contender for the one with the steepest upward curve in overall damage output.
Fast Movement
As another added bonus, you also gain an extra 1.5 metres per turn of Movement Speed. If you chose the Dwarf (or another class with small stature) then you’ll now be able to keep up with taller friends and foes. If you chose the Wood Elf then you can now enjoy running rings around your enemies.
Level 6
At Level 6 you’ll gain an extra Rage charge, giving you four in total.
You’ll also unlock the Mindless Rage feature, which gives you immunity to Charmed, Frightened and Calm Emotions while you are raging.
Frightened is a very common condition in Baldur’s Gate 3 which is particularly problematic for melee characters, as it causes you to be immobile. So being immune to this is very handy.
Level 7
At Level 7 your Berserker Barbarian unlocks Feral Instinct – they are always ready for battle at a second’s notice.
Barbarians at Level 7 can no longer be Surprised by enemy ambushes, and will gain a +3 bonus to their Initiative, meaning they’ll get to take their turn before most enemies.
Level 8
At Level 8 you must select another Feat for your Barbarian Build.
Choose Ability Improvement again and increase your Strength to 20.
Late-Game Barbarian Build Levelling Guide BG3
Here is the late-game section of our Barbarian Build for Baldur’s Gate 3. This contains levels 9-12.
Level 9
At Level 9, your Proficiency bonus is improved to +4, meaning you’ll now get a +4 bonus to all dice rolls with skills and weapons that you are Proficient with.
You’ll also unlock the Brutal Critical feature, which rolls an additional damage die when you land a Critical Hit, on top of the critical die that is rolled by default. This is even more powerful if you choose the Half-Orc race, as you’ll now roll four times whenever you land a Critical Hit.
This will further improve your damage output when you are lucky and roll a Critical hit.
Level 10
At Level 10, your Barbarian will unlock the Intimidating Presence ability.
This lets you spend an Action to intimidate a target within 30 metres of you. They must succeed a Wisdom Saving Throw or they will be Frightened, preventing them from moving and giving them a Disadvantage on their Attack Rolls.
It can sometimes be a bit tricky to get effects like this to land reliably on strong enemies as they tend to have high stats and therefore quite good at Saving Throws. But keep an eye out for good opportunities to use this anyway.
Level 11
At Level 11 of your BG3 Barbarian Build, you’ll unlock the Relentless Rage feature, which makes your Barbarian harder to bring down.
Upon reaching 0 HP, you’ll heal to 1 HP instead of being Downed. This can only happen once per Short Rest.
Level 12
If you reached this point, then you have finished levelling up your Best Berserker Barbarian Build. Congratulations!
At Level 12, you’ll need to choose one more Feat for your character. Get the Savage Attacker Feat, increasing your critical hit chance when attacking with melee weapons.
Equipment for the BG3 Barbarian Build
In this section, we will list the best equipment for the build. We have provided both an early-game and a late-game version of the list, so you can begin using the build early in the game instead of having to wait until Act III.
We have also included information about each item below the tables, such as how to obtain the item and any other notable information.
Don’t worry if your set-up is not exactly the same as one of those outlined below – the build will still work fine if you’re missing some of the items. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment with new items if you find something else that you like.
Early Game Equipment
Early-game equipment is found in either Act I or the earlier parts of Act II.
| Slot | Icon | Item | Effects | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head |  |
Cap of Wrath |
|
Dropped by Thudd in the Grymforge |
| Cloak |  |
Cloak of Protection |
|
Purchased from Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn |
| Chest |  |
Adamantine Scale Mail |
|
Must be crafted at the Adamantine Forge. |
| Gloves |  |
Gloves of the Growling Underdog |
|
Looted from Dror Ragzlin’s treasure crates in the Shattered Sanctum. |
| Boots |  |
Boots of Genial Striding |
|
Purchased from Blurg in the Myconid Colony, in the Underdark |
| Necklace |  |
Amulet of Misty Step |
|
Located in a chest in the Defiled Temple, near the Ogre called Polma. |
| Ring 1 |  |
Ring of Protection |
|
Steal the Sacred Idol in Druid Grove (quest) |
| Ring 2 |  |
Crusher’s Ring |
|
Looted from Crusher in the Goblin Camp. |
| Main Weapon |  |
Blooded Greataxe |
|
Purchased from either Grat the Trader in the Goblin Camp or Roah Moonglow in Shattered Sanctum |
| Second Weapon | Any Ranged Weapon |
|
N/A |
Cap of Wrath
When you start your turn with less than 50% HP remaining, you gain 2 turns of Wrath. Each remaining turn of Wrath increases your weapon damage by 1. Maximum 7 turns. The Cap of Wrath is dropped by Thudd in the Grymforge.
Cloak of Protection
The Cloak of Protection is one of the earliest cloaks available in the game, and provides a modest defensive buff – you gain a +1 bonus to your Armour Class and Saving Throws when wearing it. It can be purchased from Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn.
Adamantine Scale Mail
The Adamantine Scale Mail is a powerful piece of medium armour that can be obtained fairly early in the game. It reduces all incoming damage by 1 point, makes you immune to critical hits and inflicts an Attack Roll penalty to any enemies who hit you.
It is crafted in the Adamantine Forge in the Grymforge area of Act I. You need to find the Scale Mail Mould and some Mithral Ore in the vicinity of the forge in order to craft the Adamantine Scale Mail.
Gloves of the Growling Underdog
The Gloves of the Growling Underdog give you Advantage on your Attack Rolls when you are surrounded by 2 or more foes. Advantage means that you will roll 2 dice for your Attack Roll and use the one that rolled with the highest number, considerably improving your chances of a good roll. You also get a +1 bonus to Strength Saving Throws. These gloves can be looted from Dror Ragzlin’s treasure crates in the Shattered Sanctum.
Boots of Genial Striding
The Boots of Genial Striding prevent difficult terrain (such as spikes, mud and grease) from reducing your Movement Speed. However, beware that these boots will not negate any other harmful effects from a surface, such as damage from spikes or the chance to slip over when walking on ice. They can be purchased from Blurg in the Myconid Colony, in the Underdark (Act I).
Amulet of Misty Step
The Amulet of Misty Step grants you access to the Misty Step spell, which allows you to teleport to a visible location within 18 metres, for a Bonus Action. This is great for quickly closing the gap to an enemy so you can get into melee where this build is at its strongest, or for escaping from a bad situation. The Amulet is located in a chest in the Defiled Temple, near the Ogre called Polma.
Crusher’s Ring
Crusher’s Ring simply increases your Movement Speed by 3 metres per turn. This is another useful item for closing the gap to enemies quickly so that you can spend your turns dealing melee damage instead of running between targets. The ring is looted from Crusher in the Goblin Camp.
Ring of Protection
The Ring of Protection has the same effect as the Cloak of Protection – it improves your Armour Class and Saving Throws by +1. It is awarded to you by Mol for completing the quest to steal the Sacred Idol in the Druid’s Grove.
Blooded Greataxe
We recommend the Blooded Greataxe because it is a highly damaging weapon that can be obtained very early in the game. Greataxes in general are excellent DPS weapons since they come with a 1d12 die, the largest damage die in the game for weapons. The Blooded Greataxe grants your melee weapon attacks an extra 1d4 Slashing Damage whenever you are below 50% Health. In the hands of a strong melee class like the Barbarian, this weapon will carry you well into Act II even if you’re a complete beginner at the game.
This weapon can be purchased from either Grat the Trader in the Goblin Camp or Roah Moonglow in Shattered Sanctum. If the weapon does not appear in their wares, try Long Resting which will reshuffle the vendor items. You don’t need to spend any camp supplies on a Long Rest for this purpose.
Late Game Equipment
Late Game equipment can be found in the latter parts of Act II, and Act III. This is the most powerful version of the build, with access to the best items in the game.
| Slot | Icon | Item | Effects | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head |  |
Helm of Balduran |
|
Defeat Ansur the dragon below Wyrm’s Crossing. See below for more details. |
| Cloak |  |
Cloak of Elemental Absorption |
|
Looted from an Opulent Chest inside Ketheric Thorm’s Chambers |
| Chest | |
Adamantine Scale Mail |
|
Must be crafted at the Adamantine Forge. |
| Gloves |  |
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength |
|
Taken from a pedestal in the archive of the House of Hope. |
| Boots |  |
Boots of Persistence |
|
Buy from Dammon in the Forge of the Nine |
| Necklace |  |
Amulet of Greater Health |
|
Can be taken from a pedestal in the archive of the House of Hope. |
| Ring 1 | |
Ring of Protection |
|
Steal the Sacred Idol in Druid Grove (quest) |
| Ring 2 |  |
Killer’s Sweetheart |
|
Found inside the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar. |
| Main Weapon |  |
Balduran’s Giantslayer |
|
Looted from Ansur in the Dragon’s Sanctum |
| Second Weapon | Any Ranged Weapon |
|
N/A |
Helm of Balduran
The strongest helmet in BG3, the Helm of Balduran prevents enemies from landing Critical Hits on you, prevents you from being Stunned, heals you for 2 HP per turn, and gives a +1 bonus to Armour Class and Saving Throws. Obtaining this item is a multi-stage process – we wrote a detailed guide on how to find it.
Cloak of Elemental Absorption
Once per Short Rest, the Cloak of Elemental Absorption will absorb elemental damage, and infuse your next attack with 1d6 of that damage type. This is a fairly minor effect, but it can still generate a nice damage boost. It can be looted from an Opulent Chest inside Ketheric Thorm’s Chambers in Moonrise Towers.
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength
The Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength increase your Strength to 23, and give you a +1 bonus to Strength Saving Throws. This will increase your damage and accuracy with Strength-based attacks, most notably your melee weapon. The gloves can be taken from a pedestal in the archive of the House of Hope.
Boots of Persistence
The Boots of Persistence permanently grant the wearer Freedom of Movement and Longstrider, improving your movement speed and preventing you from being slowed by difficult terrain, entangled, paralysed or magically restrained. This reduces the amount of ways that enemies can try to stun or immobilise your Barbarian. These boots can be purchased from Dammon in the Forge of the Nine in the Lower City, Act III.
Amulet of Greater Health
The Amulet of Greater Health sets your Constitution to 23 and gives Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws. A higher Constitution means more HP. Can be taken from a pedestal in the archive of the House of Hope.
Killer’s Sweetheart
With the Killer’s Sweetheart ring equipped, once per Long Rest, you gain a guaranteed Critical Hit on your next attack after killing an enemy. This item would be better if it could be triggered more frequently, but it’s still a useful effect. It is found inside the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar.
Balduran’s Giantslayer
A Legendary Greatsword, Balduran’s Giantslayer is arguably the strongest melee weapon in the game. It doubles the damage bonus from your Strength Modifier when attacking (if you have the Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength, this improves a +6 modifier to +12). It grants you Advantage when attacking large, huge or gargantuan enemies, and once per Short Rest allows you to enlarge yourself, gaining extra damage, Temporary HP and Advantage on Strength checks.
Balduran’s Giantslayer is looted from Ansur in the Dragon’s Sanctum. To find out how to access the Dragon’s Sanctum, follow this guide on How to find the Helm of Balduran – both items are located in the same room.
Best BG3 Barbarian Build Tips & Tricks
The most important part of playing the Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming up with a mental attack plan at the start of battles – remember that you will lose your Rage/Frenzy if you do not attack or take damage for a turn. With that in mind, think about when you are going to use your Rage/Frenzy ability. If it looks like you’ll need to spend a couple of turns running to a target, then it’s probably best to hold off activating it. As fun as it is to be an angry berserking warrior smacking and throwing enemies left right and centre, it pays to think through your moves too.
When using the Enraged Throw ability, make sure you throw fairly heavy objects, such as weapons, pieces of armour, enemies, etc. Throwing lighter objects will do little to no damage. If possible, throw objects from an elevated location for a +2 Attack Roll bonus. Also, throwing weapons will add the weapon’s base Damage value to the final damage value of the throw.
Overall, the Barbarian is similar in many ways to the Fighter class. The Barbarian is a little harder to play, but it’s still not a difficult class either, and you are rewarded with even higher damage potential than the Fighter.
Overpowered Potion Combo for BG3 Barbarian Build
The Potion of Speed is arguably the most powerful potion in Baldur’s Gate 3 – it is good on any character, but it is especially valuable on classes like the Barbarian who can make multiple attacks per turn even without the potion.
The Potion of Speed doubles your Movement Speed and gives you an extra Action each turn. This means that a high-level Berserker Barbarian can make 4 attacks from Actions per turn, instead of the usual 2. You can then add your Frenzied Strike for a fifth attack.
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.
Barbarian 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 Barbarian Build with the Berserker subclass:
- Mind Blast: A conal blast of Psychic Damage that can also stun several targets at once. If your Barbarian 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 get to 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. This 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.
Keep in mind that some Illithid Powers won’t work when your Barbarian is Raged!
Other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds
- Druid Build – Circle of the Moon
- Bard Build – College of Lore
- Ranger Build – Hunter
- 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
- 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
