Baldur's Gate 3 bard class guide: Best choices & options to build your bard

If you think it's going to be all sing-songs with the bard, then guess again - as our build can hack and thrash at the same time.

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Be sure to check out our general builds guide to make sure the rest of the party picks up any of your slack, so you don't immediately crash and burn after crashing and burning in the Nautiloid ship.

Hopefully, you don't get burned when trying to romance any of your companions, either.

But without further ado, read on to see if our bard guide in Baldur's Gate 3 will strike a chord with you!

Baldur's Gate 3 bard class guide: Best choices & options to build your bard

We know you want to get straight into the action, so below is a very quick overview of the options to go for if you want the best bard build for Baldur’s Gate 3.

• Race – Half-Elf
• Sub-race – Wood Half-Elf
• Class – Bard
• Subclass – College of Valour
• Background – The Entertainer
• Skills – Acrobatics and Performance
• Spells – Healing Word, Heroism, Dissonant Whispers, Thunderwave

This makes sure to not pigeonhole you squarely into either a support or combat role, and instead lets you become a versatile force to be reckoned with during combat and dialogue.

Scant few will resist your charms – fewer your deadly attacks.

Read more on Baldur's Gate 3:

• Baldur's Gate 3 review - our final verdict
• Baldur's Gate 3 builds - create your character
• Baldur's Gate 3 romance - quench your thirst
• Baldur's Gate 3 cast - all voice actors
• Baldur's Gate 3 mods - best hacks and cheats
• Baldur's Gate 3 multiplayer - co-op explained
• Baldur's Gate 3 companions - recruit them all
• Baldur's Gate 3 classes - best class and sub-class
• Baldur's Gate 3 change appearance - can it be done?
• Baldur's Gate 3 early game tips - get an epic sword
• Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox - cheap ways to play
• Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam Deck - D&D on the go
• Baldur's Gate 3 Legendary items - a leg up to end the game

Best Subclass for bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best subclass for the bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 is The College of Valour which makes the bard quite a lot better in combat.

The College of Lore is better suited for Ability Checks during non-combat encounters and places it squarely in support role territory, something much better served by clerics or paladins.

College of Valour will give you access to these features.

• Combat Inspiration – Inspire an ally to add a +ld6 bonus to their next Attack Roll, Ability Check, Saving Throw, weapon damage, or Armour Class.
• Medium Armour Proficiency
• Shield Proficiency
• Martial Weapon Proficiency

Best Spells for bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

Unlike other classes, you cannot prepare spells from your spellbook, and instead have to have set choices which you make during the levelling up screen.

Therefore, it’s important to choose wisely, as you don’t want to get caught out with spells that aren’t optimal for your build - so below is a handy-dandy guide for you to follow as you climb up the XP ladder.

Level 1

• Charm Person

Level 2

• College of Valour
• Crown of Madness

Level 3

• Mage Hand
• Cloud of Daggers
• Actor

Level 4

• Fear

Level 5

• Knock

Level 6

• Phantasmal Force

Level 7

• Polymorph

Level 8

• Dimension Door
• Ability Improvement (charisma)

Level 9

• Mass Cure Wounds

Level 10

• Minor Illusion
• Confusion
• Call Lightning
• Fireball

Level 11

• Otto’s Irresistible Dance
• Feign Death
• Alert

Best Abilities for bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

Strength – 10

Dexterity – 15

Constitution – 14

Intelligence – 10

Wisdom – 10

Charisma – 16

The above means that you’re quite the loveable – yet capable – fellow as you can charm the socks off people during dialogue and pull them off their cold corpses if they cross your path.

Your high Constitution means you can take quite a few hits to keep the tunes going and your Dexterity will grant you favourable odds when doing Combat Rolls.

Being a bard grants you the Class Feature Bardic Inspiration. This spell can’t be cast on yourself but gives allies a +1d6 advantage roll to use during Ability Checks, Saving Throws and Attack Rolls.

This Advantage can be used when they want, so it’s recommended to save it until a critical moment - such as a boss fight or tricky dialogue option.

Best race and sub-race for bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best race and sub-race for the bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Wood Half-Elf. This is mainly due to the +2 Charisma afforded to you and the Ability Improvements which lets you change things about a bit, say if you’d rather allot them to Constitution and Dexterity.

Other features such as Darkvision let you see in the dark, which pairs very nicely with Mask of the Wild which gives the bard proficiency in Stealth.

As the bard isn’t going to be the party tank, Fleet of Foot will see you making it to safety if your bard is in the thick of it.

Best bard background in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best background for the bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 is the Entertainer.

That may come as no surprise given the title, but the Entertainer background enables the bard to be very good when it comes to Charisma, Constitution and Dexterity, meaning that while you have the gift of the gab, you’re no slouch in combat either - with your weapons as sharp as your tongue - and a club to the head won’t leave you dead, though we can’t say how you’ll fare with the critics.

Best instrument for bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best instrument for the Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 is any of them.

They only change the animation for when you enable Bardic Inspiration, so you can choose whichever instrument you like the look of the best.

We’ve opted for the violin as it feels very befitting of the candlelit taverns of the game, but that is purely our preference.

Best equipment for bard in Baldur’s Gate 3

The College of Valour subclass lets you utilise Medium Armour, though you will never be quite as robust as a barbarian or paladin - so it’s not always advisable to be the first to charge into the fray.

One-handed weapons such as a shortsword or mace with a shield, as well as a hand crossbow, are a pretty well-rounded combo to have, letting you do damage up close and from afar depending on the situation you find yourself in.

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