Best Wildheart Barbarian BG3 Build – Maximum Power!

Welcome to the Best Wildheart Barbarian Build for Baldur’s Gate 3. For this BG3 Barbarian Build we will be making use of the Wildheart subclass, a powerful melee fighter who takes on a “wild heart”, gaining special abilities derived from the animal world.

Please visit our Best BG3 Builds overview page for more builds or check out our Best BG3 Barbarian Build with the Berserker subclass. To get an overview of all classes please visit the BG3 Classes overview page.

The BG3 Wildheart Barbarian Build quickly grows in power as it levels up, and makes for one of the most powerful melee classes in the game. The Barbarian Build works for both PC and Console (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).

Table of Contents:

• Character Creation (Level 1)
• 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
  • Early-Game
  • Late-Game
• Tips & Tricks

Level 1 – Barbarian Build Character Creation in BG3

In this section, we will go over the basic Character Creation options for our Best Barbarian Build in BG3, namely Background, Race, Skills and Abilities.

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.

Race

While in Early Access your race choice was a very important component of your build, this is no longer the case. This is because your race now has no bearing on your ability scores, which are the most important factor at play. This gives players more freedom to choose any race and class combination that they wish, without having to worry about being pigeonholed into a “meta” race for their class.

However, there are still some useful passive features sourced from your race and subrace, which may be of advantage when it comes to the Barbarian build. Some interesting options are:

• Wood Elf or Wood Half-Elf – High Movement Speed, allowing you to reach targets more quickly and outrun enemies if needed. Very useful for a mostly melee class like the Barbarian or Fighter.
• Githyanki – Gets Proficiency with Longswords and Greatswords
• Gold Dwarf – Gains Proficiency with axes and hammers, and 1 extra HP per level.
• Half Orc – Rolls three Damage dice on Critical Hits, instead of the usual two.

Don’t worry if you don’t want to go with any of these races. As mentioned above, your chosen race is of fairly low importance in Baldur’s Gate 3 post release.

Skills

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 specialize in. Therefore you can basically choose whatever you want. We went with Animal Handling and Perception, but it’s really up to you what you choose here.

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

Barbarian Rage

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.

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.

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 Barb Build BG3

At Level 3 it is time to choose your Barbarian Subclass. As mentioned above, we’ll be going with Wildheart for this build. The Wildheart Barbarian gains more variety with its rage mechanic, with a choice of special rage abilities based on an animal. You have the option to change your chosen bestial heart rage each time you level up.

You also gain the ability to Speak with Animals.

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.

Wildheart Rage Explained

When you first choose the Wildheart Barbarian, you must select a Bestial Heart. On all subsequent level ups, you have the option to change your Bestial Heart or keep your current one. The options are:

• Bear Heart – When Raging, you have Resistance to all damage, except Psychic Damage. You may heal yourself once per Rage.
• Eagle Heart – When Raging, enemies have Disadvantage on Opportunity Attacks against you, and you can use Dash as a Bonus Action. You may also use Diving Strike, leaping down from a high position to damage a target and knock them prone.
• Elk Heart – When Raging, your Movement Speed is increased by 4.5m per turn. You can also use Primal Stampede, charging to a target and dealing damage to all enemies along your path.
• Tiger Heart – While Raging, your Jump Distance is increased by 4.5m, and you can use Tiger’s Bloodlust, allowing you to attack multiple nearby enemies at once.
• Wolf Heart – When Raging, your allies have Advantage on Attack Rolls against creatures within 2 metres of you. You can also use Inciting Howl to increase your allies’ Movement Speed.

This build will work fine regardless of which one of these options you choose, however some of them are more suitable than others, depending on how your party is built overall. If your Barbarian is your only melee heavy-hitter, then Bear Heart is generally your best bet. If you have low Movement Speed due to your chosen race, or another reason, then Elk Heart can easily compensate for this. If your party has another melee heavy hitter teaming up with your Barbarian, then Wolf Heart can work very well – try to strategically position your Barbarian to give your allies Advantage when targeting enemies.

Level 4 for the Wildheart 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 19 Strength in total, improving your weapon Attack Rolls.

There’s not much else to say here, the Barbarian doesn’t gain anything else at Level 4 besides standard stuff like an increase to HP.

Level 5 – BG3 Wildheart 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 Action too, meaning you can make three attacks each turn when you are Frenzied, and two when you are not.

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.

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 Half-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.

The Wildheart Barbarian can now choose an Animal Aspect to further improve their combat ability. You may choose from the following options:

• Bear Aspect – Carrying Capacity is doubled, and you have Advantage on Strength checks.
• Chimpanzee Aspect – You gain 50% Resistance to Fall Damage, and can throw Camp Supplies to Blind enemies.
• Crocodile Aspect – Your Movement Speed is increased by 3m while standing in water-based surfaces. On slippery surfaces, you have Advantage on Saving Throws against falling Prone.
• Eagle Aspect – You can see in the dark up to 12m, and gain Advantage on Perception Checks.
• Elk Aspect – Grant yourself and allies within 18m 1.5m of extra Movement Speed.
• Honey Badger Aspect – If you are Poisoned, Frightened or Charmed at the start of your turn, you have a 50% chance of entering a Rage without using a Rage charge.
• Stallion Aspect – Dashing grants you Temporary HP equal to twice your current Barbarian level.
• Tiger Aspect – You add an additional Strength modifier to Attack Rolls against Bleeding or Poisoned targets, and gain Proficiency in Survival.
• Wolf Aspect – You and allies within 18m add your Dexterity Modifier as a bonus to Stealth checks.
• Wolverine Aspect – When you attack a Bleeding or Poisoned target, you inflict Maim on them, reducing their Movement Speed to 0 and causing Disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws.

Again, the choice you should make here depends mainly on your party composition and playstyle. For example if your party has a lot of sources of Bleeding or Poisoned then Tiger or Wolverine Aspects are great options, while Wolf Aspect is good for a stealth-based party. Pretty much all of these options are useful except for Chimpanzee Aspect.

If you still can’t decide which one to choose, then go with Elk Aspect, since the extra Movement Speed boost for your whole party is a really useful boost.

Level 7

At Level 7 your 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.

Here I recommend choosing Resilient: Strength. This will give you 1 more point in Strength, taking your total to 20, and giving you Proficiency in all Strength Saving Throws.

If you already managed to increase your Strength to 20 using another source, then instead get Great Weapon Fighter. This lets you toggle a feature that gives a -5 penalty to your Attack Rolls (decreasing hit chance) but a +10 bonus to your damage, when wielding a Great Weapon (two handed sword, axe, etc). This is a very good combo with Reckless Attack, which we unlocked at Level 2. However, you should still be careful with using this against enemies with a high Armour Class, as they require a higher Attack Roll to land hits.

The Wildheart Barbarian also unlocks Land’s Stride: Difficult Terrain, which prevents Difficult Terrain from slowing you down.

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 you can choose another Animal Aspect from the list above. As mentioned before, try to choose one that suits your party composition and playstyle. If you’re completely unsure which option to choose, then the Bear and Honey Badger Aspects are both useful options – Bear Aspect makes you much more likely to succeed in Strength checks, while Honey Badger gives you a counter to debuffs that can otherwise ruin your Barbarian’s combat ability, namely Poisoned, Frightened and Charmed.

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 fully leveling up your Best Wildheart Barbarian Build. Congratulations!

At Level 12 you’ll need to choose one more Feat for your character.

If you didn’t get Great Weapon Fighter yet then I recommend doing that now.

If you managed to already increase your Strength to 20 and get Great Weapon Fighter, then get the Savage Attacker Feat. This basically works in the same way as the Advantage mechanic, but for Damage Rolls instead. Every time you Attack, all of your Damage dice roll twice, and you’ll use the highest result for all of them. This makes you much less likely to get poor damage rolls and should help ensure that your Barbarian is a consistent damage dealer in the endgame in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Equipment for the Wildheart Barbarian

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.

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.

Any Heavy Crossbow

Our ranged weapon isn’t the focus of this build – you should aim to be in melee as much as possible because this is where the Barbarian excels. Having said that, it still makes sense to have a decent ranged weapon as a backup for those turns when you simply cannot reach an enemy to make melee attacks. You can use any ranged weapon here, but we recommend a Heavy Crossbow since the Fighter class has Proficiency with this weapon, and it’s the best type of ranged weapon in terms of its damage potential.

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.

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 Barbarian Build Tips & Tricks for BG3

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.

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

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