Glad to see a build that is more item-oriented. I agree with you that the fixed nature and intersting features available on many magic items in BG3 is just ripe for fun/powerful/interesting builds.
Definitely, this is an appreciated updated just for BG3. I only dislike videos when they include items that aren’t available early. I’d say the cutoff is early, no fights required act 3…. like Nyrulna.
@carlosh9476 I feel like high level items should be used in builds when they just add to it, not if the build works at level 11 when you get the item.
@@UltimateGamer-dc9vfI don't mind if someone is making a high level build, provided they state that it is a high level build. Very annoying if someone posts something like "highest damage bg3 build I've ever seen" then you find out that it only works in late act 3 with certain magic items
Fun part of this build to make it even more gishy, the diadem of arcane synergy. When you inflict a condition such as wet or chilled, you gain arcane synergy which will add your spellcasting mod of the last casting class you recently leveled into to your weapon attacks
Came into BG3 with absolutely no prior DnD knowledge and I must say, your builds and videos have not only been entertaining but have also been so informative in blooding me into this crazy and wonderful world; cheers for being accessible and positive, mate.
I changed my Shadowheart to Tempest and discovered that you can use the Tempest Cleric's Channel Divinity to do max lightning damage with scrolls. So... yeah... stack those Chain Lightning and Lightning Bolt scrolls when you find them.
6:07 I feel that! All I do when I’m at work is think about Baldurs gate 3. When I go home, all I do is play BG3. My wife hasn’t been too happy for a couple months.
18:40 create water can also be used infinitely as a ritual by picking the third option when you cast it so you don't actually need the rain dancer staff at all
When you released your Abjuration build, there was nothing more satisfying than running toward a bunch of melee enemies and forcing them to attack by running past them dealing damage with just movement and then re-casting armor of agathys.
I never thought I would love to replay a game over and over with different characters but this game blows me away. Your videos help me out so much. I'm also a first-time DnD player.
Some of this is D&D, some of it is Larian’s twist. I loved the hell out of BG and BGII, but DOS and DOSII are some of the most replayable games ever made. The different origin stories, different build possibilities, impact of every choice… it’s as much Larian as D&D. I’m STILL not done with my first playthrough of BG3, but I’m already excited about my next!
To hear you reflect on why you choose a particular feat based on wich items you already have and how you acquire specific proficiencys has deepened my understanding of the game and multiclassing so significantly. Thank you Coby ❤
If you go the bard route, and pick up the gauntlets of giant strength then i suggest picking up in act 1 the diadem of arcane synergy to be consistently adding be your spellcasting modifier to melee weapon damage.
I have used you companion builds and whoa are they insane. My party has everything it needs and Asterion in particular is unstoppable on sleight of hand skill checks. So glad I've stumbled onto your channel
I was literally thinking the other day, "I wish Colby would make BG3 builds that discuss the magic items in the game, things like the extra missile per Magic Missile cast item are cool!", and here you are!! I remember you having 4k subs, so glad your channel has reached this size. The quality of your builds is unlike anything else on the platform. Keep it up!!!
The amulet + Spellsparkler for saving Florrick in Waukeen's rest, replaced by Markoheskir late game. Gloves of belligerent skies from the Inqisitor's room in the Creche. Stormy clamour boots from Omeluum. The basic build is set up by level 3, can be any spellcasting build that you can put magic missile on. It's not dependent on your spellcasting stat, just make sure your spell level progression is unbroken. Follow up with the Ring of absolute force from the Grymforge duergar, Ring of spiteful thunder and the Ne'er misser from Roah in Moonrise, replace absolute force with Callous glow from the vault near Balthazaar's room in the Gauntlet. The Thunderskin cloak from Araj is thematic but doesn't do much, it's okay as long as you don't get anything better. Dual wielding Phalar aluve and using shriek (preferably before combat, because it's an action) or having it another character in the party adds an extra level of depth to the character. You might want to have quickened spell and a few sorcery points to power it for nova capability. Perfectly viable on an agathis/arcane ward build, in that case you might want to add the Lifebringer from Blurg. You have your cloak, helmet, armour and ranged slots free to expand to your taste. If you are running a radiating orb build parallel with this, the enemies get so many debuffs that they just can't hit anyone. These were two of my honour run party.
@@ZoneZero253 I don’t use Astarion at all but you’re right. They can make the game (especially honor mode) way easier. I’ve got 3 hirelings : one cleric and 2 transmutation wizards (1 with some druid levels also) so after each long rest I can cast warding bond, 2 transmuters stone, longstrider, darkvision and protection from poison on all the group, 16 goodberries, freedom of movement and death ward, heal for free between fights, and crafting the potions twice
I've used a similar strat with Gale (re-spec'ed into cleric) that worked just as well. I haven't tested it with the other companions, but Gale just won't die no matter how much damage I take.
In the other hand, agathys+ward IS soooo damaging that I usually do far more damage using my action to dash (and bonus action to activate the gnome boots of running) and provoking 2 or 3 more oportunity attacks, than with tridente and flail
Indeed - I mention this in a short recap I'll release Thursday but more and more I'm finding it to be more important to intentionally provoke opportunity attacks than just about anything else I can do - especially if they're wet. Haste is fantastic for this (I just wish it didn't increase my AC in this case :). And of course if you get knocked prone it's a real bummer, but often worth the risk).
Yes, I’m so excited to see this! Most guides that mention items mention the same handful of generic optimal ones (don’t get me wrong I love those items they’re good for a reason) But seeing you take a more unique magic item you like and really going in on it is so fun. Really appreciate your videos always!!
Love seeing an item oriented build! Items are so strong in this game I think it's legitimately better to have no feats with perfect gear than a perfect build with average items. Would definitely love to see more build videos like this
It also creates ice around the enemy that hits you in melee range because of Agathys, which means ice under your own feet. Only use this combo with NightWalkers or Hoarfrost boots, unless you like falling prone all the time.
My current Durge character started out as a Bard but after a certain moment early on, I decided to spec into the Oath of Devotion subclass of Paladin and it worked so well for the character I had in mind that I committed to it completely, so far I haven't broken the Oath (yet).
This is definitely one of the most interesting builds in the game I've seen. And I'm constantly scouring the subreddit for good ideas. So now I have another build of yours to add to the list thanks Colby!
Hey love your videos. I use your Karlach throw barbarian build, then I use enraged throw and have carafe/bottle of water as the weapon. This does damage, knocks your opponent prone, AND makes them wet. You then get double damage from loghtning/cold and advantage (str/dex saves) to hit cos of the prone condition.
This is an absolutely wild build! I had a fun time trying to guess which items and class levels you were going to pick throughout. Since you're open to doing item-oriented builds, I'd love to see something based on radiating orb and reverberation - two conditions which dovetail quite snugly together. Luminous armor + phalar aluve + spirit guardians is a fantastic package right from level 5, and gets even better when you add the boots of stormy clamor and gloves of belligerent skies to start knocking enemies prone left and right. As well as for a cleric, it's a great build for lore bards with dissonant whispers, since frightened + prone is effectively the same as stunned.
I'm running the alternate version of this on Gale (mostly a Wizard with a 1 level dip in Sorcerer but taking some levels in Tempest Cleric instead of Bard), and I'm absolutely loving it. Gale is a real powerhouse.
The Snowburst ring creates an ice surface below a target whenever you deal cold damage. This can prone enemies which would give you advantage on your melee attacks and keep them locked down close to you which can help you stick to ranged targets that are trying to get distance from you. I would grab a set of boots that prevent you from slipping on ice surfaces so you don't slip yourself.
the bonespike garb (clothing) from early act 3 decreases damage taken by 2 and retaliates with 3 piercing damage. seems like a perfect match for this build.
Fiend Warlock-2, Abjurer Wizard-10 using create water and Armor of Agathys was my first build at launch once I saw the wet condition. I laughed so hard as I tanked my own AC so bosses would melt to it 😂
Wait a minute. I know how to insert custom enemies into BG3 via mods (or better said, where to learn it). Give me some ideas where to place them and I try to write a "d4 - Fallen legends of Faerun" mod :D If Colby is fine about name/using his builds of course. Thing is, not 100% that they will use the builds perfectly right away. There maybe someone with experience on Larians AI has to help out.
as a small addition to this build, afaik the spell of the flail targets the weapon in the main hand! so you could cast the spell on lets say the staff from act 1 and just equip the trident afterwards. you loose a few points to hit but get more cold damage d4. and the staff would also be bludgeoning! Also the same "weapon swap trick" can be used to get essentially more lvl6 spellslots. there are a lot of staffs and amulets that either let you refill a spellslot or to let a cast not consume a slot, this works great with armour of agathis being cast out of combat most of the time.
And the Dragonthroat Glaive from Moonrise also let's you enhance a weapon on the ground with an extra 1d4 Elemental damage (and Thunder too) So you could have both Cold and Thunder on that Flail to get *both* x2 Bludgeoning and x2 Thunder. Though we would want to test to see how things proc and if the vulnerability is cleared/broken immediately after being hit by something or if it stays applied for any other length of time.
A good tip is to have multiple hirelings that you respec to clerics in camp and have them throw warding bonds on your party members. We have only 3 hirelings at the same time, so respeccing one of your companions that you never or almost never use into a cleric as well for this use is smart. Making them cast aid and different resist spells is also very good. If you have Shadowheart much or all the time in your party as I often do, then you save using her spell slots by having hirelings and one camping companion doing all this for you. All can make it to easy for many, but it can be a great help for hard fights or for beginners. I still do it when playing harder modes or when playing solo. Or when I try some rather far from top builds. When you play solo, then it is plenty enough to use Shadowheart for this. Make sure to have you clerics in camp to have max constitution to keep them alive. Gale is self healing when taking damage left in camp, so it can be great to respec him into a cleric and let him be you cleric warding bond camp tank if you don't use him much or at all.
I made a sorcadin, with armor of agathys trough draconic sorcere. And also playing an asmodeus tiefling to have a blue flame on my right hand, i also changed the skin to blue, took the absolutes protector to get another chill fire, and also the drow sword that does thunder dmg, which deals more dmg if the target is frozen, makes them vulnerable to thunder
Alternatively you could try: 1 Sorcerer, 1 War Cleric, 4 Wizard, 6 Bard. You loose out on 2 stacks of Arcane Ward, but get access to heavy armour, martial weapons, and 3 bonus action attacks per long rest. Wear heavy armour with Magical Plate and take the Heavy Armour Master feat. This will give you a flat -5 to incoming damage and increase your strength by 1. You'll have a total of -13 to incoming damage vs -10 (lv 5 Wizard), and a constant -5 when arcane ward runs out. Plus you can still take the Dual Wielder feat!
Another amazing thing with arcane ward is the damage from the illithid power "transfer life" is also reduced. Combined with the perma-buff from githyanki camp that let's you use those powers as bonus action... At end game - When Karlach got nuked on the verge of death my character only took 7 points of damage and Karlach regained over 40 hit points.... on a raging barbarian ... amazing
I was just finishing my HM playthrough when this build video came out but I needed 4 more achievements -- 3 were evil durge achievements. This build was fun throughout but really shined at 12. The Wavemother's Robe was a great accompaniment. My hits with the flail and trident didn't hit enough to make much of a difference, it really was all about getting people wet and then get them to hit me with opportunity attacks. I was running with 14 or 15 AC. Early in the game I was using Winter's Clutches gloves and the Cold Brim (?) hat. The fight with Orin was hilarious. She just killed herself on my Armor of Agathys. Almost instantly :D.
Tried an eldritch knight build that used Mourning Frost as its main weapon to encrust enemies with frost and create ice surfaces at their feet to control them. It was an amazing all around build and disturbingly potent for a quarter staff wielding fighter
The key for vault 4 is in the temple of Umberlee (water monster god in lower city) in the bedroom/office of the high priestess on the top floor of the temple
Fun Fact: Some classes (Cleric, Druid, and Storm Sorc) that get Create/Destroy Water get the ability to cast a variant of it when they get 2nd lvl spells. They can cast it for free like a cantrip but the wet condition from it only lasts 2 rounds instead of 3 and half the Radius from 4 meters to 2 meters. Still, an AoE way to give enemies the Wet condition with no save or needing to hit is very valuable. I had a very similar Idea for my Honor Mode run which was 1 lvl of White Dragon Sorc/1 lvl of Light Cleric/10 lvls of Abjuration Wizard to maximize Ward and keep full spellcasting progression
For anyone who laughed along with Colby at the very end to his rendition of 'Ice Ice Baby', and then laughed again just from pure nostalgia...... *must* , absolutely MUST watch "Fear of a Black Hat" (1994) It's a satirical documentary style film like "Spinal Tap" Where a sociologist/film student follows the meteoric rise & fall of a rap band called N.W.H. Super funny on its own, but is utterly hilarious when you start to recognise all the irl incidents, controversies & rumours from back then. (obviously NWA & Public Enemy are the main inspiration for the band itself, but it is sooooo worth a watch for those interested. Even a Vanilla Ice follows them around.
Combining this with bleed maim barb with mobility feat on your team, to force enemies to stand still with wizard as the only target to attack seems really fun, will definitely be a part of my next bg3 honor run (especially strong with boaal buff if u can manage to survive till act 3)
I just did a similar build last week in my co op campaign and I did sorcerer 1, tempest cleric 1, and 10 in wizard. The cleric dip give the reaction to zap lightning damage and ability to free cast create water at level two. I pretty much don't attack anything just get things wet, cast sanctuary on teammates and blade ward on myself so I'm focused and I just stand there.
You could also have another character add the Draconic Elemental Weapon buff from the Drakethroat Glaive, it would add a +1 enchantment to your weapons and +1d4 cold damage to your Tav. In case you need more damage.
Just thinking this build would be even crazier if you added 2 Paladin and 1 War Cleric. So changing it to 8 Wizard/1 Sorc/1 War Cleric/2 Paladin. Using Haste you'd get extra attack action and you'd also get 3 bonus attacks each long rest with War Cleric and also create water doubling all cold damage. You lose the 6 level spell slot but you get smites on your weapon attacks and so makes your weapon attacks much more damaging. You'd get two feats and so maybe savage attacks and dual wielder. If you used the ring of mystic scoundrel you could hit first attack (with smite), create water bonus action, attack extra bonus action, hasted attack action. That's some decent damage on your turn and then the enemies you hit with create water are wet for double when they hit you
That's a rlly cool idea for a build. Can even use Summon Undead together with the Thay's book for that Death Knight Vibe. Using 5e Spells, the list of usable Ice Magic gets even better.
They must've nerfed the Trident of Waves in patch 6, bc I too was really excited to make an enemy wet without a spell slot, but alas all it does now is create a water surface under the enemy :/ womp womp. I guess they could still slip and fall prone or be electrocuted, but not really what we're going for...
grab mahoksir(?) and staff of power for your inventory to give you free max level spell slots. Even if you just use it for your first AOA or summons. then just swap them out.
One of the best outtakes ever you shouldn't be at all ashamed. I was thinking at the start there should def be some Vanilla Ice in the outtakes glad I wasn't disappointed. 😂
My honor run build is similar to this, but a pure caster. They took a cleric dip to keep spell casting progression and gain heavy armor. I’m currently at the Orin fight, and this build is a big reason I was so survivable
A 2-person (or more) tandem of applying the frozen dot and then a Sorlock with lightning damage items to use Eldritch Blast force damage to shatter boss fights seems like a fun combo
Also, if you can stomach it, if you kill Karlach in Act 1 to fulfill Mizora's mission for Wyll, you get a Robe with resistance to Fire damage and a free cast of Chill Shield. Could be a really good early game piece, at a high cost
I did something similar a while ago. The game doesn't seem to properly apply arcane ward stacks when you cast shield or counterspell, but it's easy enough to maintain nontheless. Alternatively one could do something like Fighter 1/Thief 3/Abjuration 8 (You'd use a feat on Agathys) if you'd like to trade some spell slots for more melee attacks and gear versatility. It never feels bad to have two off-hand attacks on a caster.
I'd love to see more BG3 builds centered on certain items or item effects. With a lot of concepts that just don't exist in tabletop, such as lightning charges, there are probably synergies that are interesting and unexplored.
In my current game, I built Gale in exactly the same style of mixing Arcane Ward with Armor of Agathys to have a frontline spellcaster, while also making them still primarily a spellcaster and maximizing Wizard levels to get extra stacks of Arcane Ward so you don't have to rely on a Warding Bond cleric back at camp. Here's how I set him up: As soon as I can, I respec Gale with the starting stats: STR 8, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 17, WIS 12, CHA 14 I then take the first level in Warlock, taking Eldritch Blast and Blade Ward as my cantrips and Armor of Agathys and Hex as my spells. By process of elimination, I took Great Old One as the patron, as you won't benefit from Fiend since you can only have one source of temporary HP at a time (and on this build that's AoA), and the Archfey buff takes your action to use and we'll have much better things to do with our action a majority of the time. So Great Old One is going to provide the biggest benefit. The thing to note with this build is that proficiency or Advantage in Constitution saves for Concentration checks doesn't really matter, since you actually have to take damage to trigger a Concentration check. If your Arcane Ward (after damage reduction) reduces the damage to zero or less, you don't even have to make the save. Then I take another level in Warlock and for Invocations I pick up the Armor of Shadows and Repelling Blast. For spell I took Hellish Rebuke, so I have something to throw back at ranged enemies early game. Repelling Blast is likewise handy for some early game battlefield control in a pinch. The real pickup is the Armor of Shadows Invocation. What this does is allow you to cast Mage Armor at will without using spell slots. As Mage Armor is a 1st-level Abjuration spell, it gives us a stack of Arcane Ward. You can then cancel Mage Armor by putting on any suit of light armor, switch back to your robe or other clothing, and recast Mage Armor for another stack of ward. This allows you to top off your Arcane Ward between fights charges and start each combat with a full stack of Arcane Ward. Then at level 3 I took a level in Cleric for the Tempest Domain, for two reasons. The first was as you mentioned: synergy with Wrath of the Storm lightning damage. For cantrips I picked Guidance, Produce Flame, and Light, and the 12 Wisdom lets you prepare two Cleric spells, and I picked Create Water and Sanctuary. This lets me use Gale as his own rainmaker and have a last resort emergency 1st-level Bonus action spell to avoid a dangerous situation if he gets surrounded and all his defenses suddenly go down, and give him free rounds in combat to recast what he needs. At this point his function in combat is primarily to start the fight with Create Water on a given enemy, then on his next turn cast Blade Ward for the damage reduction and run around intentionally provoking attacks of opportunity to make the wet enemies kill themselves. At level 4, I took the first level in Wizard, and for cantrips I took Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, Bone Chill. For Wizard spells, my picks were Shield, Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Find Familiar, Enhanced Leap and Ice Knife. At this early stage, I had pretty good crowd control using a Warlock slot on Hex to give Disadvantage on DEX saves, followed by Chromatic Orb or Ice Knife to create an ice patch under an enemy which almost guarantees a knockdown. Later on after getting Mourning Frost you can swap to Hexing CON saves instead, making it much more likely you'll apply Chilled to enemies. From here on out I levled only in Wizard: Level 5- Abjuration specialist to pick up Arcane Ward. I start each day by upcasting Armor of Agathys in my highest Wizard slot available, and then use Arcane Recovery to regain that slot for regular use. I then top off my Ward stacks with the Armor of Shadows method mentioned above. There aren't many great spell picks due to the delay from other levels so I took Longstrider and False Life. At this point I also respec'd his stats to move the Charisma points into Dexterity to increase initiative, but this probably isn't necessary. Leve 6 (Wizard 3)- here I took Cloud of Daggers for great sustained AoE damage and Flaming Sphere. The sphere doesn't really fit the theme, but at these early levels it's a decent source of damage and it can tank for you so it's a decent pickup. Level 7 (Wizard 4)- Again, not many great spell picks so I took Mage Hand for the cantrip, and Blindness and Gust of Wind. Blindness is an amazing debuff that is a great way to neuter both spellcasters and ranged attackers that would otherwise get around your AoA damag. It lasts for 10 turns and doesn't take your Concentration. The real pickup at this level is the feat at Wizard 4 and I took Dual Wielder. This is an astounding gain for spellcasters as you get a +1 AC and you benefit from two staves at once. I used Mourning Frost and The Spellsparkler for the Lightning damage synergy with Wetness. Level 8- Glyph of Warding, which you covered, and I also took Counterspell since you start to run into a lot of annoying casters from here on out and it's great to be able to shut them down. Level 9- I grabbed Haste which is a great use for your Concentration, as you can now open with Create Water and then fire off Ice Storm or Glyph of Warding (Ice) in the same round. The extra movement also allows you more enemies to reach and provoke Opportunity Attacks from. Level 10- Ice Storm and Fire Shield, which again you already covered. Level 11- I nabbed Stoneskin, which is another incredible use for your Concentration slot and is a great alternative to using Blade Ward for Opportunity Attack farming. There isn't much else of interest so whatever other spell you want is fine. For the feat I took Ability Improvement to bump Intelligence twice, getting up to 20 if you can snag the Hag Hair. Level 12- Finally able to pick up Cone of Cold which is just an absolute cold damage shotgun with the Wet condition. As far as gear goes, here is what I used roughly in the order in which you can earliest acquire them: -The Spellsparkler staff is great early game with this build for extra bonus damage from Lightning Charges. -Winter's Clutches for gloves. These can replace the need to use Hex as they inflict two stacks of Encrusted with Frost debuff which gives Disadvantage on DEX saves. -Necklace of Elemental Augmentation. Ray of Frost and Shocking Grasp are going to be big sources of damage and this adds your Intelligence modifier to it. -Hoarfrost Boots. You are going to make a lot of icy surfaces with this build, and these are a handy way to make you immune to your own condition. -The Protecty Sparkswall. I wore this robe for a long time. Very handy bonus to Spell Save DC, and synergizes well with Spellsparkler for a bump to saves with Lightning Charges. -Snowburst Ring. An incredible pickup early in Act 2 that essentially allows you to use Ray of Frost to do the same crowd control as Ice Knife and Chromatic Orb. You can almost replace those spells entirely with a cantrip now. -Coldbrim Hat. Once per turn this allows you to inflict 2 more stacks of Encrusted with Frost any time you apply any other condition to an enemy. Along with the gloves this means the first time you deal Cold damage each turn you'll apply 4 stacks of Encrusted with Frost. Once an enemy has 7 or more stacks, they have to make a DC 12 CON save or be Frozen, just as if you were to apply Wet to a Chilled enemy. So on the first round, you can wet the targets and use Glyph, Orb, or Ice Knife for 4 stacks on a group of enemies, and then on the next round repeat this for an additional 4 stacks forcing a CON save on the whole group. -Other gear at this point is optional, but I rounded things out with the Fleshmelter Cloak which synergizes with the rest of the build by retaliating with Acid damage when you get hit, and the Bonespike Garb in act 3 which both reduces incoming damage and also retaliates with even more damage via your CON modifier in piercing damage on each hit. I also went with the Callous Glow ring in the other slot which is just a little extra damage on my outgoing spells. I also replace The Spellsparkler with Markoheshkir for extra spell save DC, Arcane Battery for a free fully-upcasted Armor of Agathys each day, and the Frost of Dark Winter buff from Kereska's Favor ability. This buff gets even more cold damage on all spells, cold resistance (for emergencies where you need to include yourself in your own area of effect), yet another stack of Encrusted with Frost, and a free casting of Cone of Cold and Ice storm each short rest, which are both excellent damage for the build. That's about it. Let me know what you think.
There's a condition in this game called force Conduit that reduces damage by a flat amount and there's a Halbert in act 1 that applies it. I've been using that plus heavy armour master plus the adamantine splint armour to just reduce damage by a bunch. 1 lvl sorc plus 2 levels tempest domain cleric plus 9 levels abjuration wizard.
Don't forget create water can be cast as a cantrip (Works on clerics, didn't seem to work for druids). I believe the description over the action describes it as a spell, but when you cast create water in this way it does not consume a spell slot. It makes a puddle about the size that throwing a water pot would be, and it is not permanent water like spell version. It only lasts 2 turns or so.
could also add the drakethroat glaive to this build, a sorcerer can twincast it's ability to add more cold damage to both your weapons (you can just unequip it after casting, and lasts until long rest)
Definitely slotting this in my honor mod list after my oops all monks which will use Alternate Monk - Complete Class and Subclass Rework mod for a lot of variety
I worked something like this around level 8 specing as a Sorcerer draconic lightning. Dip intoTempest cleric. Two level dip into warlock for the free arcane ward Eldritch invocation. . . Then wizard all the way out. This can change end game build for sure
The synergy between the two weapons is really cool. Never thought of that. A fun addition could be the "Bonespike Garb" with the "Amulet of Greater Health" for 6 more piercing dmg when you get hit + 2 flat dmg reduction. Alternativly one could grab "The Skinburster" for "Forced Conduit" charges to get a more defensive oriented variant. Classic - Cleric 1 / Sorc 1 / Wizard 10 for 20 arcane ward charges and war cleric and/or polearm master + cleave from the weapon to get forced conduit up fast, throw in "Heavy Armour Master" for the fun of it and you won't take dmg anytime soon. Only build that felt nearly as unkillable as that was a tiger barb or battle master (3 attacks + cleave) with the "Sword of Chaos" + "Periapt of Wound Closure". At least for me. Anyhow, great vid. Enjoy your week!
Methinks Colby needs to rethink this around the Encrusted with Frost debuff. It can happily also use Chilled + Wet as well, but Encrusted just requires you to stack up the debuff for frozen.
I watch. I like. I subscribe. I am a cheap patron. And I still feel guilty when I listen when I absolutely positively have to fall asleep. But Colby is the best sandman I know. Thank you Sandman and goodnigh…
It's wild that I built a White Dragon Sorc 1 / War Cleric 1 / Abjuration Wizard 10 to make a gish that capitalizes on this combo but I prioritized Int and it ended up being the most powerful Wizard possible due to the scroll/spell slot synergy. Absolutely unkillable and can cast any spell or bop the enemy for mad damage
getting enemies wet that have resistance removes the resistance. There's no point in taking the elemental adept feat if the strategy is to get them wet first. If you were trying to get hit, you could do 8 Dex, 14 Str for staff hit and damage with Alert for initiative.
Excited to see an item Focused build from you! In the future, if you do this again could you make a section of the video simply going through all recommended items? There are a few great cold focused items that would fit this build and we'd appreciate hearing how you'd optimize them on this build
26:45 killer bard you say, I know where you are going with this: Sword Bard 6 Thief 3 Champion 3 and a bunch of Improved Critical magical items to destroy almost everything: and yes, I'm not ashemed of it.
I think instead of the intelligence head I'd get the one that gives Arcane Synergy since it would be activiated every time you apply wet/chilled/frozen conditions. It would increase our damage by a decent amount if we had a high Charisma and respecced so our last taken level was Bard.
As someone who has been using the gamertag sapphire sorceress for the past year, thank you for the rather blue oriented sorcerer build to bring it to life. Will be my next honor mode pc!
Love this build, should definitely bring up mage hand though, was the goat in act one of my solo run throwing water bottles for me freeing up my action economy
The trident doesn't seem to freeze enemies anymore, it still seems to create the water surface and even freeze it at times but not the enemy itself, bummer. Edit: nevermind, i was using the woe weapon instead of the flail since i could transfer the elemental age but didn't realize that the chill effect was from elements of the epoch which is not transferrable lol.
I've been playing a wizard/fighter/rogue that basically doesn't have extra attack but gets 3 bonus actions via thief and a helmet that is in Elminster's quarters to bonus action attack and if you go dex (it's less powerful) then you can use the hand crossbows and still cast and slash. I like the rings and amulet from creche that will add some spellcasting mod to attack and d4 dmg of the spell used. It's not necessarily insanely powerful but it's definitely a different and fun take on the spells word concept or bow singer concept
talking about magic weapons... about the skill of element reinforcement... I dont know about the flail... but I've tested with the glaive you can buy from the bugbear at moontowers (Drakethroat glaive) and there is also the legendary staff at the Ramazith's tower (Despair of Athkatla)... the skill can be twined... so if you have a sorcerer companion, he can twin spell the skill so it can work on him and select you as a secondary target, working on both... sadly it work only for the main hand... it may sound like cheating... but its in the game...
I changed my current build to use some of these features but I went tempest cleric instead of Bard. While I'm sacrificing extra attack I get better ranged options with their spells, (cleric is my favourite class) and I have the adamantine splint further reducing the damage taken by 2. The cleric proficiency with martial weapons means I didn't need the weapons master feat and I get the wrath of the storm lightning which is also doubled when they are wet adding to the retribution damage. I am currently 1 sorcerer, 2 wizard, 3 cleric. Its so much fun and is making my honor mode run a cake walk (so far... I'm still in act 1)
Colby! Nice video. I think adding special items and their effects are awesome because that increases build diversity and creativity. I have been thinking about a barbarian rogue tank with Adamantine shield and cloak of displacement. If you could get your AC high enough, I think you’d likely never be hit!
Thank you, your build inspired me create abjuration wiz 10/1 tempost cleric (heavy armor and lightning reflect) 1 dragon blood sorcerer (Armour of Agathys). Funniest solo honor mod
Apparently you can make your Warding Bond caster be Abjuration Wizard too and they won't suffer as much damage if you Warding Bond all other party members. I haven't tried this yet but am looking forward to. Also my new version of this build is a halfling rogue for a current playthrough with friends. Works well even though I can only use daggers. Get in there dual wielding, melee opportunity attacks to everyone (especially me). There is a great version of this build with monk too.
Hey Colby. I've been working more on what I think is the ideal BG3 honour mode party. First we have the talker. I know you're all about minmaxing combat, but with no savescumming we want someone who can minmax dialogue. The core for this is Githyanki Acolyte, first level rogue, second level Knowledge cleric, and 3 levels of bard for proficiency in 9 skills and Expertise in six, all by level 5. The first go around we get expertise in Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception, Arcana, History, and Insight, with proficiency in Investigation, Performance, and Religion; a respec at the start of Act 3 adds Religion, Stealth and Investigation Expertise along with proficiency in Nature and Sleight of Hand. Because this character will be using both the Warped Headband and the Gloves of Dexterity, they'll have great ability scores for all of these skills (respecing to 10 Str, 14 Con, 16 Wis, 17 Cha). That's just the first 5 levels of the main character. To round out the build, we'll end up Rogue 1/Cleric 1/Swords Bard 8/Fighter 2, with +2 Cha ASI, +1 Cha hair, +2 Cha mirror, and Sharpshooter at the very end of the build. Our damage combo is the Sorrow glaive and the Ring of Arcane Synergy, both in Act 1. Sorrow uniquely provides a bonus action cantrip every turn that we can use to get Arcane Synergy without having to switch our helmet for the Diadem. Near the end we gain Greater Invisibility, and we have the Stealth Expertise to use it. Our best armour is the Elegant Studded Leather for +2 Initiative, advantage on Stealth, and Shield per short rest. Lastly for our bow we want to focus on the Initiative bonus; Hellrider Longbow is best. Our second character is like the first, but strictly combat. Astarian with 16 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Wis. Swords Bard 8/Champion Fighter 4. Expertise in Sleight of Hand and Stealth (respec to Religion expertise for mirror). Alert feat, then Sharpshooter, then +2 Dex ASI. +2 Str elixir. Primary weapon is Titanstring Bow. Our bonus action itemization combo is Wapira's Crown helm, Whispering Promise ring, and Broodmother's Revenge amulet, turning Healing Word on an ally into Bless on them and Bless +1d6 poison on us. Best armour is Graceful Cloth. All of the above is available in Act 1. For the rest of his itemization just focus on things that add dice of damage, not flat damage. You're going to be using the Brace weapon action plenty. And obviously focus on spells without saving throws. Next we need someone with Perception (and Athletics) expertise. Shadowheart (Darkvision, shield proficiency) with 16 Dex, 15 Con, 17 Wis. First level in Rogue, then 1 in Monk, then 3 more in Rogue for Fast Hands and Tavern Brawler, then five more levels in Open Hand Monk, picking up a +2 Wis ASI (+2 Wis mirror as well). Club of Hill Giant Strength or a finesse weapon, dependent upon whether drinking a Strength elixir or not; best is Rhapsody. Shield and helm should prioritize Perception checks and Initiative (Sentinel Shield and Mask of Soul Perception best), armour should prioritize initiative (Bhaalist Armour best). Boots of Kushigo and Khalid's Gift. Gets Bow of Awareness when main character is done with it. Lastly we need someone who can cast Pass Without Trace by level 10. Karlach with 16 Dex, 14 Con, 16 Int, 12 Wis. Start Gold Sorcerer 1, then Wizard 1, then Sorcerer to 4 for Alert, then Tempest Cleric 2, then Land Druid 4 for +2 Int, then last level Wizard for Divination. Fistbreaker Helm is best helm, armour and gloves should prioritize Initiative (Yuan-Ti Scale Mail and Stalker Gloves are best). All other gear should prioritize spell save DC. Needs scrolls of Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.
Glad to see a build that is more item-oriented. I agree with you that the fixed nature and intersting features available on many magic items in BG3 is just ripe for fun/powerful/interesting builds.
Definitely, this is an appreciated updated just for BG3. I only dislike videos when they include items that aren’t available early. I’d say the cutoff is early, no fights required act 3…. like Nyrulna.
@carlosh9476 I feel like high level items should be used in builds when they just add to it, not if the build works at level 11 when you get the item.
@@UltimateGamer-dc9vfI don't mind if someone is making a high level build, provided they state that it is a high level build. Very annoying if someone posts something like "highest damage bg3 build I've ever seen" then you find out that it only works in late act 3 with certain magic items
@@carlosh9476nothing about Nayrulna would make or break a build. Plenty of substitutes until you reach it.
@@Kirk9019 I saw a "highest AC" build on Reddit that required a shield that literally drops in the final fight lol.
Thing is...when Colby says "Welcome home." I do feel at home. Thank you Colby!
Fun part of this build to make it even more gishy, the diadem of arcane synergy. When you inflict a condition such as wet or chilled, you gain arcane synergy which will add your spellcasting mod of the last casting class you recently leveled into to your weapon attacks
Came into BG3 with absolutely no prior DnD knowledge and I must say, your builds and videos have not only been entertaining but have also been so informative in blooding me into this crazy and wonderful world; cheers for being accessible and positive, mate.
I changed my Shadowheart to Tempest and discovered that you can use the Tempest Cleric's Channel Divinity to do max lightning damage with scrolls. So... yeah... stack those Chain Lightning and Lightning Bolt scrolls when you find them.
6:07 I feel that! All I do when I’m at work is think about Baldurs gate 3. When I go home, all I do is play BG3. My wife hasn’t been too happy for a couple months.
I'm glad I'm not alone I feel your pain lmao
My wife plays BG3 almost as much as me 😂
18:40 create water can also be used infinitely as a ritual by picking the third option when you cast it so you don't actually need the rain dancer staff at all
When you released your Abjuration build, there was nothing more satisfying than running toward a bunch of melee enemies and forcing them to attack by running past them dealing damage with just movement and then re-casting armor of agathys.
I never thought I would love to replay a game over and over with different characters but this game blows me away. Your videos help me out so much. I'm also a first-time DnD player.
You never played Baldur's Gate 2, did you?
Some of this is D&D, some of it is Larian’s twist. I loved the hell out of BG and BGII, but DOS and DOSII are some of the most replayable games ever made. The different origin stories, different build possibilities, impact of every choice… it’s as much Larian as D&D. I’m STILL not done with my first playthrough of BG3, but I’m already excited about my next!
To hear you reflect on why you choose a particular feat based on wich items you already have and how you acquire specific proficiencys has deepened my understanding of the game and multiclassing so significantly.
Thank you Coby ❤
If you go the bard route, and pick up the gauntlets of giant strength then i suggest picking up in act 1 the diadem of arcane synergy to be consistently adding be your spellcasting modifier to melee weapon damage.
I have used you companion builds and whoa are they insane. My party has everything it needs and Asterion in particular is unstoppable on sleight of hand skill checks. So glad I've stumbled onto your channel
I was literally thinking the other day, "I wish Colby would make BG3 builds that discuss the magic items in the game, things like the extra missile per Magic Missile cast item are cool!", and here you are!! I remember you having 4k subs, so glad your channel has reached this size. The quality of your builds is unlike anything else on the platform. Keep it up!!!
Crafting builds around magic items could be a very popular playlist for Colby.
The amulet + Spellsparkler for saving Florrick in Waukeen's rest, replaced by Markoheskir late game. Gloves of belligerent skies from the Inqisitor's room in the Creche. Stormy clamour boots from Omeluum. The basic build is set up by level 3, can be any spellcasting build that you can put magic missile on. It's not dependent on your spellcasting stat, just make sure your spell level progression is unbroken. Follow up with the Ring of absolute force from the Grymforge duergar, Ring of spiteful thunder and the Ne'er misser from Roah in Moonrise, replace absolute force with Callous glow from the vault near Balthazaar's room in the Gauntlet. The Thunderskin cloak from Araj is thematic but doesn't do much, it's okay as long as you don't get anything better. Dual wielding Phalar aluve and using shriek (preferably before combat, because it's an action) or having it another character in the party adds an extra level of depth to the character. You might want to have quickened spell and a few sorcery points to power it for nova capability. Perfectly viable on an agathis/arcane ward build, in that case you might want to add the Lifebringer from Blurg. You have your cloak, helmet, armour and ranged slots free to expand to your taste. If you are running a radiating orb build parallel with this, the enemies get so many debuffs that they just can't hit anyone. These were two of my honour run party.
i would reccomend grapping the gloves of missile snaring, it mostly fixes your ranged enemy issue
19:40 you can also create a hireling with Withers which will stay at the camp but who will cast Warding Bond on your character
Can also bite the hireling with Astarion as well.
@@ZoneZero253 I don’t use Astarion at all but you’re right.
They can make the game (especially honor mode) way easier.
I’ve got 3 hirelings : one cleric and 2 transmutation wizards (1 with some druid levels also) so after each long rest I can cast warding bond, 2 transmuters stone, longstrider, darkvision and protection from poison on all the group, 16 goodberries, freedom of movement and death ward, heal for free between fights, and crafting the potions twice
I've used a similar strat with Gale (re-spec'ed into cleric) that worked just as well. I haven't tested it with the other companions, but Gale just won't die no matter how much damage I take.
@@scottcombs3882 i don’t get how it’s similar with the hireling strat
@@Juzam777 Lol my bad. That's because I totally forgot to mention that you leave Gale in camp and just pre buff at the start of each day.
In the other hand, agathys+ward IS soooo damaging that I usually do far more damage using my action to dash (and bonus action to activate the gnome boots of running) and provoking 2 or 3 more oportunity attacks, than with tridente and flail
Indeed - I mention this in a short recap I'll release Thursday but more and more I'm finding it to be more important to intentionally provoke opportunity attacks than just about anything else I can do - especially if they're wet. Haste is fantastic for this (I just wish it didn't increase my AC in this case :). And of course if you get knocked prone it's a real bummer, but often worth the risk).
Fun build. I’d love to see a “quick” summary of your favorite party at end level including items.
More of these please, this will be a good series. This came just in time because I decided to replay the other day with durge
2:41 I appreciate this part of your content! I’ve even used your older builds for 5e to brainstorm and get inspiration for cool BG3 builds.
Yes, I’m so excited to see this! Most guides that mention items mention the same handful of generic optimal ones (don’t get me wrong I love those items they’re good for a reason) But seeing you take a more unique magic item you like and really going in on it is so fun. Really appreciate your videos always!!
Love seeing an item oriented build! Items are so strong in this game I think it's legitimately better to have no feats with perfect gear than a perfect build with average items. Would definitely love to see more build videos like this
Hey Colby
Just wanted to say i really appreciate your intro. Makes me feel welcome every time i watch a video of yours
I actually showed it to my brother just as an example that genuine, honest sincerity is possible on YT!
I love this approach. Magic items can completely change a BG3 build.
Would love to see a build incorporating illithid powers!
Critlander is already there
I swear this guy is psychic, I've been looking for ice build all day yesterday and then BLOP here it is
Thanks!
Hey thanks!
You could also get the snow burst ring in the floorboards of the inn in act 2 if you pass a perception check. It creates ice around the targets.
It also creates ice around the enemy that hits you in melee range because of Agathys, which means ice under your own feet. Only use this combo with NightWalkers or Hoarfrost boots, unless you like falling prone all the time.
My current Durge character started out as a Bard but after a certain moment early on, I decided to spec into the Oath of Devotion subclass of Paladin and it worked so well for the character I had in mind that I committed to it completely, so far I haven't broken the Oath (yet).
This is definitely one of the most interesting builds in the game I've seen. And I'm constantly scouring the subreddit for good ideas. So now I have another build of yours to add to the list thanks Colby!
Hey love your videos. I use your Karlach throw barbarian build, then I use enraged throw and have carafe/bottle of water as the weapon.
This does damage, knocks your opponent prone, AND makes them wet. You then get double damage from loghtning/cold and advantage (str/dex saves) to hit cos of the prone condition.
This is an absolutely wild build! I had a fun time trying to guess which items and class levels you were going to pick throughout. Since you're open to doing item-oriented builds, I'd love to see something based on radiating orb and reverberation - two conditions which dovetail quite snugly together. Luminous armor + phalar aluve + spirit guardians is a fantastic package right from level 5, and gets even better when you add the boots of stormy clamor and gloves of belligerent skies to start knocking enemies prone left and right. As well as for a cleric, it's a great build for lore bards with dissonant whispers, since frightened + prone is effectively the same as stunned.
Level 1 wizard spell fog cloud would help deal with ranged and casters and isnt save dependent. upcasting also covers a larger area
I'm running the alternate version of this on Gale (mostly a Wizard with a 1 level dip in Sorcerer but taking some levels in Tempest Cleric instead of Bard), and I'm absolutely loving it. Gale is a real powerhouse.
The Snowburst ring creates an ice surface below a target whenever you deal cold damage. This can prone enemies which would give you advantage on your melee attacks and keep them locked down close to you which can help you stick to ranged targets that are trying to get distance from you. I would grab a set of boots that prevent you from slipping on ice surfaces so you don't slip yourself.
what a fantastic video! you've just got such wonderful screen presence, and it's a lot of fun watching you nerd out.
the bonespike garb (clothing) from early act 3 decreases damage taken by 2 and retaliates with 3 piercing damage. seems like a perfect match for this build.
Fiend Warlock-2, Abjurer Wizard-10 using create water and Armor of Agathys was my first build at launch once I saw the wet condition. I laughed so hard as I tanked my own AC so bosses would melt to it 😂
I prefer the cold draconic sorc 1, war Cleric 1, Abjuration Wizard 10
War cleric for the Channel Divinity? I'm considering this idea for my Gale.
I hope Larian watches all of these build videos and release them in a DLC...
AS ENEMIES
Don’t give the any ideas
I agree, let some of the fans make some bosses
Wait a minute. I know how to insert custom enemies into BG3 via mods (or better said, where to learn it). Give me some ideas where to place them and I try to write a "d4 - Fallen legends of Faerun" mod :D If Colby is fine about name/using his builds of course.
Thing is, not 100% that they will use the builds perfectly right away. There maybe someone with experience on Larians AI has to help out.
Yeah, no. They should START by making the game they promised. Can fun be had? Sure. DESPITE such a trash game.
@@gethriellmfao, you’re ridiculous but good bait
as a small addition to this build, afaik the spell of the flail targets the weapon in the main hand! so you could cast the spell on lets say the staff from act 1 and just equip the trident afterwards. you loose a few points to hit but get more cold damage d4. and the staff would also be bludgeoning!
Also the same "weapon swap trick" can be used to get essentially more lvl6 spellslots. there are a lot of staffs and amulets that either let you refill a spellslot or to let a cast not consume a slot, this works great with armour of agathis being cast out of combat most of the time.
I didn’t know this… thanks for the tip!
And the Dragonthroat Glaive from Moonrise also let's you enhance a weapon on the ground with an extra 1d4 Elemental damage (and Thunder too)
So you could have both Cold and Thunder on that Flail to get *both* x2 Bludgeoning and x2 Thunder.
Though we would want to test to see how things proc and if the vulnerability is cleared/broken immediately after being hit by something or if it stays applied for any other length of time.
A good tip is to have multiple hirelings that you respec to clerics in camp and have them throw warding bonds on your party members.
We have only 3 hirelings at the same time, so respeccing one of your companions that you never or almost never use into a cleric as well for this use is smart.
Making them cast aid and different resist spells is also very good.
If you have Shadowheart much or all the time in your party as I often do, then you save using her spell slots by having hirelings and one camping companion doing all this for you.
All can make it to easy for many, but it can be a great help for hard fights or for beginners.
I still do it when playing harder modes or when playing solo.
Or when I try some rather far from top builds.
When you play solo, then it is plenty enough to use Shadowheart for this.
Make sure to have you clerics in camp to have max constitution to keep them alive.
Gale is self healing when taking damage left in camp, so it can be great to respec him into a cleric and let him be you cleric warding bond camp tank if you don't use him much or at all.
If you take a race that gets light armor proficiency, you can grab Mintharas(sp.) armor which gives you advantage on concentration checks.
You could Always Use water Elementals to help boost Ice in the Area, plus imps Explode so you could use them As Ice Bombs
I made a sorcadin, with armor of agathys trough draconic sorcere. And also playing an asmodeus tiefling to have a blue flame on my right hand, i also changed the skin to blue, took the absolutes protector to get another chill fire, and also the drow sword that does thunder dmg, which deals more dmg if the target is frozen, makes them vulnerable to thunder
Alternatively you could try: 1 Sorcerer, 1 War Cleric, 4 Wizard, 6 Bard. You loose out on 2 stacks of Arcane Ward, but get access to heavy armour, martial weapons, and 3 bonus action attacks per long rest. Wear heavy armour with Magical Plate and take the Heavy Armour Master feat. This will give you a flat -5 to incoming damage and increase your strength by 1. You'll have a total of -13 to incoming damage vs -10 (lv 5 Wizard), and a constant -5 when arcane ward runs out. Plus you can still take the Dual Wielder feat!
My favorite has actually been playing a Battle Smith 5 but... that requires mods ;)
Another amazing thing with arcane ward is the damage from the illithid power "transfer life" is also reduced. Combined with the perma-buff from githyanki camp that let's you use those powers as bonus action...
At end game - When Karlach got nuked on the verge of death my character only took 7 points of damage and Karlach regained over 40 hit points.... on a raging barbarian ... amazing
i just made a white dragonborn sorcerer yesterday, this video came at the PERFECT time!
I see what you did there Durge.
I was just finishing my HM playthrough when this build video came out but I needed 4 more achievements -- 3 were evil durge achievements. This build was fun throughout but really shined at 12. The Wavemother's Robe was a great accompaniment. My hits with the flail and trident didn't hit enough to make much of a difference, it really was all about getting people wet and then get them to hit me with opportunity attacks. I was running with 14 or 15 AC. Early in the game I was using Winter's Clutches gloves and the Cold Brim (?) hat.
The fight with Orin was hilarious. She just killed herself on my Armor of Agathys. Almost instantly :D.
Tried an eldritch knight build that used Mourning Frost as its main weapon to encrust enemies with frost and create ice surfaces at their feet to control them. It was an amazing all around build and disturbingly potent for a quarter staff wielding fighter
The key for vault 4 is in the temple of Umberlee (water monster god in lower city) in the bedroom/office of the high priestess on the top floor of the temple
Fun Fact: Some classes (Cleric, Druid, and Storm Sorc) that get Create/Destroy Water get the ability to cast a variant of it when they get 2nd lvl spells. They can cast it for free like a cantrip but the wet condition from it only lasts 2 rounds instead of 3 and half the Radius from 4 meters to 2 meters. Still, an AoE way to give enemies the Wet condition with no save or needing to hit is very valuable. I had a very similar Idea for my Honor Mode run which was 1 lvl of White Dragon Sorc/1 lvl of Light Cleric/10 lvls of Abjuration Wizard to maximize Ward and keep full spellcasting progression
The can trip version was a bug and it’s been fixed sadly
For anyone who laughed along with Colby at the very end to his rendition of 'Ice Ice Baby', and then laughed again just from pure nostalgia...... *must* , absolutely MUST watch "Fear of a Black Hat" (1994)
It's a satirical documentary style film like "Spinal Tap"
Where a sociologist/film student follows the meteoric rise & fall of a rap band called N.W.H.
Super funny on its own, but is utterly hilarious when you start to recognise all the irl incidents, controversies & rumours from back then.
(obviously NWA & Public Enemy are the main inspiration for the band itself, but it is sooooo worth a watch for those interested. Even a Vanilla Ice follows them around.
You can get Armour of Shadows eldritch invocation to cast Mage Armour repeatedly by swappimg armors, then pre buff your Armor of Any.
Combining this with bleed maim barb with mobility feat on your team, to force enemies to stand still with wizard as the only target to attack seems really fun, will definitely be a part of my next bg3 honor run (especially strong with boaal buff if u can manage to survive till act 3)
I just did a similar build last week in my co op campaign and I did sorcerer 1, tempest cleric 1, and 10 in wizard. The cleric dip give the reaction to zap lightning damage and ability to free cast create water at level two. I pretty much don't attack anything just get things wet, cast sanctuary on teammates and blade ward on myself so I'm focused and I just stand there.
By level 4 the build is working great
You could also have another character add the Draconic Elemental Weapon buff from the Drakethroat Glaive, it would add a +1 enchantment to your weapons and +1d4 cold damage to your Tav. In case you need more damage.
Love the videos as always. Always stay to the end to watch the outtakes! Priceless! Keep up the great work.
Just thinking this build would be even crazier if you added 2 Paladin and 1 War Cleric. So changing it to 8 Wizard/1 Sorc/1 War Cleric/2 Paladin. Using Haste you'd get extra attack action and you'd also get 3 bonus attacks each long rest with War Cleric and also create water doubling all cold damage. You lose the 6 level spell slot but you get smites on your weapon attacks and so makes your weapon attacks much more damaging. You'd get two feats and so maybe savage attacks and dual wielder. If you used the ring of mystic scoundrel you could hit first attack (with smite), create water bonus action, attack extra bonus action, hasted attack action. That's some decent damage on your turn and then the enemies you hit with create water are wet for double when they hit you
I love armor of resistance with this build style because it has so much damage reduction built in.
That's a rlly cool idea for a build. Can even use Summon Undead together with the Thay's book for that Death Knight Vibe. Using 5e Spells, the list of usable Ice Magic gets even better.
They must've nerfed the Trident of Waves in patch 6, bc I too was really excited to make an enemy wet without a spell slot, but alas all it does now is create a water surface under the enemy :/ womp womp. I guess they could still slip and fall prone or be electrocuted, but not really what we're going for...
grab mahoksir(?) and staff of power for your inventory to give you free max level spell slots. Even if you just use it for your first AOA or summons. then just swap them out.
One of the best outtakes ever you shouldn't be at all ashamed. I was thinking at the start there should def be some Vanilla Ice in the outtakes glad I wasn't disappointed. 😂
My honor run build is similar to this, but a pure caster. They took a cleric dip to keep spell casting progression and gain heavy armor. I’m currently at the Orin fight, and this build is a big reason I was so survivable
A 2-person (or more) tandem of applying the frozen dot and then a Sorlock with lightning damage items to use Eldritch Blast force damage to shatter boss fights seems like a fun combo
Also, if you can stomach it, if you kill Karlach in Act 1 to fulfill Mizora's mission for Wyll, you get a Robe with resistance to Fire damage and a free cast of Chill Shield. Could be a really good early game piece, at a high cost
I did something similar a while ago. The game doesn't seem to properly apply arcane ward stacks when you cast shield or counterspell, but it's easy enough to maintain nontheless.
Alternatively one could do something like Fighter 1/Thief 3/Abjuration 8 (You'd use a feat on Agathys) if you'd like to trade some spell slots for more melee attacks and gear versatility. It never feels bad to have two off-hand attacks on a caster.
I'd love to see more BG3 builds centered on certain items or item effects. With a lot of concepts that just don't exist in tabletop, such as lightning charges, there are probably synergies that are interesting and unexplored.
Once you freeze the target you could have another character use disintegrate since it's now force damage
I was also thinking about his ultimate blaster build; Sorlock doing 9 beams of eldritch blast per round on a frozen target!
In my current game, I built Gale in exactly the same style of mixing Arcane Ward with Armor of Agathys to have a frontline spellcaster, while also making them still primarily a spellcaster and maximizing Wizard levels to get extra stacks of Arcane Ward so you don't have to rely on a Warding Bond cleric back at camp. Here's how I set him up:
As soon as I can, I respec Gale with the starting stats: STR 8, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 17, WIS 12, CHA 14
I then take the first level in Warlock, taking Eldritch Blast and Blade Ward as my cantrips and Armor of Agathys and Hex as my spells. By process of elimination, I took Great Old One as the patron, as you won't benefit from Fiend since you can only have one source of temporary HP at a time (and on this build that's AoA), and the Archfey buff takes your action to use and we'll have much better things to do with our action a majority of the time. So Great Old One is going to provide the biggest benefit.
The thing to note with this build is that proficiency or Advantage in Constitution saves for Concentration checks doesn't really matter, since you actually have to take damage to trigger a Concentration check. If your Arcane Ward (after damage reduction) reduces the damage to zero or less, you don't even have to make the save.
Then I take another level in Warlock and for Invocations I pick up the Armor of Shadows and Repelling Blast. For spell I took Hellish Rebuke, so I have something to throw back at ranged enemies early game. Repelling Blast is likewise handy for some early game battlefield control in a pinch.
The real pickup is the Armor of Shadows Invocation. What this does is allow you to cast Mage Armor at will without using spell slots. As Mage Armor is a 1st-level Abjuration spell, it gives us a stack of Arcane Ward. You can then cancel Mage Armor by putting on any suit of light armor, switch back to your robe or other clothing, and recast Mage Armor for another stack of ward. This allows you to top off your Arcane Ward between fights charges and start each combat with a full stack of Arcane Ward.
Then at level 3 I took a level in Cleric for the Tempest Domain, for two reasons. The first was as you mentioned: synergy with Wrath of the Storm lightning damage. For cantrips I picked Guidance, Produce Flame, and Light, and the 12 Wisdom lets you prepare two Cleric spells, and I picked Create Water and Sanctuary. This lets me use Gale as his own rainmaker and have a last resort emergency 1st-level Bonus action spell to avoid a dangerous situation if he gets surrounded and all his defenses suddenly go down, and give him free rounds in combat to recast what he needs. At this point his function in combat is primarily to start the fight with Create Water on a given enemy, then on his next turn cast Blade Ward for the damage reduction and run around intentionally provoking attacks of opportunity to make the wet enemies kill themselves.
At level 4, I took the first level in Wizard, and for cantrips I took Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, Bone Chill. For Wizard spells, my picks were Shield, Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Find Familiar, Enhanced Leap and Ice Knife. At this early stage, I had pretty good crowd control using a Warlock slot on Hex to give Disadvantage on DEX saves, followed by Chromatic Orb or Ice Knife to create an ice patch under an enemy which almost guarantees a knockdown. Later on after getting Mourning Frost you can swap to Hexing CON saves instead, making it much more likely you'll apply Chilled to enemies.
From here on out I levled only in Wizard:
Level 5- Abjuration specialist to pick up Arcane Ward. I start each day by upcasting Armor of Agathys in my highest Wizard slot available, and then use Arcane Recovery to regain that slot for regular use. I then top off my Ward stacks with the Armor of Shadows method mentioned above. There aren't many great spell picks due to the delay from other levels so I took Longstrider and False Life. At this point I also respec'd his stats to move the Charisma points into Dexterity to increase initiative, but this probably isn't necessary.
Leve 6 (Wizard 3)- here I took Cloud of Daggers for great sustained AoE damage and Flaming Sphere. The sphere doesn't really fit the theme, but at these early levels it's a decent source of damage and it can tank for you so it's a decent pickup.
Level 7 (Wizard 4)- Again, not many great spell picks so I took Mage Hand for the cantrip, and Blindness and Gust of Wind. Blindness is an amazing debuff that is a great way to neuter both spellcasters and ranged attackers that would otherwise get around your AoA damag. It lasts for 10 turns and doesn't take your Concentration. The real pickup at this level is the feat at Wizard 4 and I took Dual Wielder. This is an astounding gain for spellcasters as you get a +1 AC and you benefit from two staves at once. I used Mourning Frost and The Spellsparkler for the Lightning damage synergy with Wetness.
Level 8- Glyph of Warding, which you covered, and I also took Counterspell since you start to run into a lot of annoying casters from here on out and it's great to be able to shut them down.
Level 9- I grabbed Haste which is a great use for your Concentration, as you can now open with Create Water and then fire off Ice Storm or Glyph of Warding (Ice) in the same round. The extra movement also allows you more enemies to reach and provoke Opportunity Attacks from.
Level 10- Ice Storm and Fire Shield, which again you already covered.
Level 11- I nabbed Stoneskin, which is another incredible use for your Concentration slot and is a great alternative to using Blade Ward for Opportunity Attack farming. There isn't much else of interest so whatever other spell you want is fine. For the feat I took Ability Improvement to bump Intelligence twice, getting up to 20 if you can snag the Hag Hair.
Level 12- Finally able to pick up Cone of Cold which is just an absolute cold damage shotgun with the Wet condition.
As far as gear goes, here is what I used roughly in the order in which you can earliest acquire them:
-The Spellsparkler staff is great early game with this build for extra bonus damage from Lightning Charges.
-Winter's Clutches for gloves. These can replace the need to use Hex as they inflict two stacks of Encrusted with Frost debuff which gives Disadvantage on DEX saves.
-Necklace of Elemental Augmentation. Ray of Frost and Shocking Grasp are going to be big sources of damage and this adds your Intelligence modifier to it.
-Hoarfrost Boots. You are going to make a lot of icy surfaces with this build, and these are a handy way to make you immune to your own condition.
-The Protecty Sparkswall. I wore this robe for a long time. Very handy bonus to Spell Save DC, and synergizes well with Spellsparkler for a bump to saves with Lightning Charges.
-Snowburst Ring. An incredible pickup early in Act 2 that essentially allows you to use Ray of Frost to do the same crowd control as Ice Knife and Chromatic Orb. You can almost replace those spells entirely with a cantrip now.
-Coldbrim Hat. Once per turn this allows you to inflict 2 more stacks of Encrusted with Frost any time you apply any other condition to an enemy. Along with the gloves this means the first time you deal Cold damage each turn you'll apply 4 stacks of Encrusted with Frost. Once an enemy has 7 or more stacks, they have to make a DC 12 CON save or be Frozen, just as if you were to apply Wet to a Chilled enemy. So on the first round, you can wet the targets and use Glyph, Orb, or Ice Knife for 4 stacks on a group of enemies, and then on the next round repeat this for an additional 4 stacks forcing a CON save on the whole group.
-Other gear at this point is optional, but I rounded things out with the Fleshmelter Cloak which synergizes with the rest of the build by retaliating with Acid damage when you get hit, and the Bonespike Garb in act 3 which both reduces incoming damage and also retaliates with even more damage via your CON modifier in piercing damage on each hit. I also went with the Callous Glow ring in the other slot which is just a little extra damage on my outgoing spells. I also replace The Spellsparkler with Markoheshkir for extra spell save DC, Arcane Battery for a free fully-upcasted Armor of Agathys each day, and the Frost of Dark Winter buff from Kereska's Favor ability. This buff gets even more cold damage on all spells, cold resistance (for emergencies where you need to include yourself in your own area of effect), yet another stack of Encrusted with Frost, and a free casting of Cone of Cold and Ice storm each short rest, which are both excellent damage for the build.
That's about it. Let me know what you think.
There's a condition in this game called force Conduit that reduces damage by a flat amount and there's a Halbert in act 1 that applies it. I've been using that plus heavy armour master plus the adamantine splint armour to just reduce damage by a bunch. 1 lvl sorc plus 2 levels tempest domain cleric plus 9 levels abjuration wizard.
Don't forget create water can be cast as a cantrip (Works on clerics, didn't seem to work for druids). I believe the description over the action describes it as a spell, but when you cast create water in this way it does not consume a spell slot. It makes a puddle about the size that throwing a water pot would be, and it is not permanent water like spell version. It only lasts 2 turns or so.
could also add the drakethroat glaive to this build, a sorcerer can twincast it's ability to add more cold damage to both your weapons (you can just unequip it after casting, and lasts until long rest)
Definitely slotting this in my honor mod list after my oops all monks which will use Alternate Monk - Complete Class and Subclass Rework mod for a lot of variety
I worked something like this around level 8 specing as a Sorcerer draconic lightning.
Dip intoTempest cleric.
Two level dip into warlock for the free arcane ward Eldritch invocation. . .
Then wizard all the way out.
This can change end game build for sure
The best out takes!! Great video, I felt so happy living vicariously through your build! Thanks Colby
The synergy between the two weapons is really cool. Never thought of that. A fun addition could be the "Bonespike Garb" with the "Amulet of Greater Health" for 6 more piercing dmg when you get hit + 2 flat dmg reduction.
Alternativly one could grab "The Skinburster" for "Forced Conduit" charges to get a more defensive oriented variant.
Classic - Cleric 1 / Sorc 1 / Wizard 10 for 20 arcane ward charges and war cleric and/or polearm master + cleave from the weapon to get forced conduit up fast, throw in "Heavy Armour Master" for the fun of it and you won't take dmg anytime soon.
Only build that felt nearly as unkillable as that was a tiger barb or battle master (3 attacks + cleave) with the "Sword of Chaos" + "Periapt of Wound Closure". At least for me.
Anyhow, great vid. Enjoy your week!
Methinks Colby needs to rethink this around the Encrusted with Frost debuff. It can happily also use Chilled + Wet as well, but Encrusted just requires you to stack up the debuff for frozen.
You could still use hand crossbows to deal some nice ranged damage in tandem wirh everything else.
Ooh, excited to see what BG3 shenanigans you are getting up to this time. Just in time to completely overhaul my honour mode party :D
The flail of ages is something your character in BG2 assembles.
I watch. I like. I subscribe. I am a cheap patron. And I still feel guilty when I listen when I absolutely positively have to fall asleep. But Colby is the best sandman I know. Thank you Sandman and goodnigh…
It's wild that I built a White Dragon Sorc 1 / War Cleric 1 / Abjuration Wizard 10 to make a gish that capitalizes on this combo but I prioritized Int and it ended up being the most powerful Wizard possible due to the scroll/spell slot synergy. Absolutely unkillable and can cast any spell or bop the enemy for mad damage
getting enemies wet that have resistance removes the resistance. There's no point in taking the elemental adept feat if the strategy is to get them wet first. If you were trying to get hit, you could do 8 Dex, 14 Str for staff hit and damage with Alert for initiative.
Excited to see an item Focused build from you! In the future, if you do this again could you make a section of the video simply going through all recommended items? There are a few great cold focused items that would fit this build and we'd appreciate hearing how you'd optimize them on this build
If you want to go with clothing you can use Icebite Robe and it gives you Armour of Agathys spell as well
26:45 killer bard you say, I know where you are going with this: Sword Bard 6 Thief 3 Champion 3 and a bunch of Improved Critical magical items to destroy almost everything: and yes, I'm not ashemed of it.
I think instead of the intelligence head I'd get the one that gives Arcane Synergy since it would be activiated every time you apply wet/chilled/frozen conditions. It would increase our damage by a decent amount if we had a high Charisma and respecced so our last taken level was Bard.
As someone who has been using the gamertag sapphire sorceress for the past year, thank you for the rather blue oriented sorcerer build to bring it to life. Will be my next honor mode pc!
Love this build, should definitely bring up mage hand though, was the goat in act one of my solo run throwing water bottles for me freeing up my action economy
The trident doesn't seem to freeze enemies anymore, it still seems to create the water surface and even freeze it at times but not the enemy itself, bummer.
Edit: nevermind, i was using the woe weapon instead of the flail since i could transfer the elemental age but didn't realize that the chill effect was from elements of the epoch which is not transferrable lol.
I've been playing a wizard/fighter/rogue that basically doesn't have extra attack but gets 3 bonus actions via thief and a helmet that is in Elminster's quarters to bonus action attack and if you go dex (it's less powerful) then you can use the hand crossbows and still cast and slash. I like the rings and amulet from creche that will add some spellcasting mod to attack and d4 dmg of the spell used. It's not necessarily insanely powerful but it's definitely a different and fun take on the spells word concept or bow singer concept
talking about magic weapons... about the skill of element reinforcement... I dont know about the flail... but I've tested with the glaive you can buy from the bugbear at moontowers (Drakethroat glaive) and there is also the legendary staff at the Ramazith's tower (Despair of Athkatla)... the skill can be twined... so if you have a sorcerer companion, he can twin spell the skill so it can work on him and select you as a secondary target, working on both... sadly it work only for the main hand...
it may sound like cheating... but its in the game...
I changed my current build to use some of these features but I went tempest cleric instead of Bard. While I'm sacrificing extra attack I get better ranged options with their spells, (cleric is my favourite class) and I have the adamantine splint further reducing the damage taken by 2. The cleric proficiency with martial weapons means I didn't need the weapons master feat and I get the wrath of the storm lightning which is also doubled when they are wet adding to the retribution damage. I am currently 1 sorcerer, 2 wizard, 3 cleric. Its so much fun and is making my honor mode run a cake walk (so far... I'm still in act 1)
Colby! Nice video. I think adding special items and their effects are awesome because that increases build diversity and creativity.
I have been thinking about a barbarian rogue tank with Adamantine shield and cloak of displacement. If you could get your AC high enough, I think you’d likely never be hit!
I really like this structure for BG3 builds! Really good job
Thank you, your build inspired me create abjuration wiz 10/1 tempost cleric (heavy armor and lightning reflect) 1 dragon blood sorcerer (Armour of Agathys). Funniest solo honor mod
Okay, this build is nuts. Super creative.
Apparently you can make your Warding Bond caster be Abjuration Wizard too and they won't suffer as much damage if you Warding Bond all other party members. I haven't tried this yet but am looking forward to. Also my new version of this build is a halfling rogue for a current playthrough with friends. Works well even though I can only use daggers. Get in there dual wielding, melee opportunity attacks to everyone (especially me).
There is a great version of this build with monk too.
Hey Colby. I've been working more on what I think is the ideal BG3 honour mode party.
First we have the talker. I know you're all about minmaxing combat, but with no savescumming we want someone who can minmax dialogue. The core for this is Githyanki Acolyte, first level rogue, second level Knowledge cleric, and 3 levels of bard for proficiency in 9 skills and Expertise in six, all by level 5. The first go around we get expertise in Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception, Arcana, History, and Insight, with proficiency in Investigation, Performance, and Religion; a respec at the start of Act 3 adds Religion, Stealth and Investigation Expertise along with proficiency in Nature and Sleight of Hand. Because this character will be using both the Warped Headband and the Gloves of Dexterity, they'll have great ability scores for all of these skills (respecing to 10 Str, 14 Con, 16 Wis, 17 Cha).
That's just the first 5 levels of the main character. To round out the build, we'll end up Rogue 1/Cleric 1/Swords Bard 8/Fighter 2, with +2 Cha ASI, +1 Cha hair, +2 Cha mirror, and Sharpshooter at the very end of the build. Our damage combo is the Sorrow glaive and the Ring of Arcane Synergy, both in Act 1. Sorrow uniquely provides a bonus action cantrip every turn that we can use to get Arcane Synergy without having to switch our helmet for the Diadem. Near the end we gain Greater Invisibility, and we have the Stealth Expertise to use it. Our best armour is the Elegant Studded Leather for +2 Initiative, advantage on Stealth, and Shield per short rest. Lastly for our bow we want to focus on the Initiative bonus; Hellrider Longbow is best.
Our second character is like the first, but strictly combat. Astarian with 16 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Wis. Swords Bard 8/Champion Fighter 4. Expertise in Sleight of Hand and Stealth (respec to Religion expertise for mirror). Alert feat, then Sharpshooter, then +2 Dex ASI. +2 Str elixir. Primary weapon is Titanstring Bow. Our bonus action itemization combo is Wapira's Crown helm, Whispering Promise ring, and Broodmother's Revenge amulet, turning Healing Word on an ally into Bless on them and Bless +1d6 poison on us. Best armour is Graceful Cloth. All of the above is available in Act 1. For the rest of his itemization just focus on things that add dice of damage, not flat damage. You're going to be using the Brace weapon action plenty. And obviously focus on spells without saving throws.
Next we need someone with Perception (and Athletics) expertise. Shadowheart (Darkvision, shield proficiency) with 16 Dex, 15 Con, 17 Wis. First level in Rogue, then 1 in Monk, then 3 more in Rogue for Fast Hands and Tavern Brawler, then five more levels in Open Hand Monk, picking up a +2 Wis ASI (+2 Wis mirror as well). Club of Hill Giant Strength or a finesse weapon, dependent upon whether drinking a Strength elixir or not; best is Rhapsody. Shield and helm should prioritize Perception checks and Initiative (Sentinel Shield and Mask of Soul Perception best), armour should prioritize initiative (Bhaalist Armour best). Boots of Kushigo and Khalid's Gift. Gets Bow of Awareness when main character is done with it.
Lastly we need someone who can cast Pass Without Trace by level 10. Karlach with 16 Dex, 14 Con, 16 Int, 12 Wis. Start Gold Sorcerer 1, then Wizard 1, then Sorcerer to 4 for Alert, then Tempest Cleric 2, then Land Druid 4 for +2 Int, then last level Wizard for Divination. Fistbreaker Helm is best helm, armour and gloves should prioritize Initiative (Yuan-Ti Scale Mail and Stalker Gloves are best). All other gear should prioritize spell save DC. Needs scrolls of Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.