Barbarian is a Class in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). The Barbarian's primary ability is their Strength, and their saving throw proficiencies are Strength and Constitution, with a Hit Dice of 1d12. They use their brute strength and primal rage to take over the battlefield and defeat their enemies. Barbarians are proficient in using Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons, and can utilize Light Armor, Medium Armor, and Shields.

Barbarians in Dungeons & Dragons and Baldur's Gate 3 represent fierce and primal warriors. They harness their inner rage and unleash it upon their foes in battle. Barbarisn are known for their physical prowess, endurance, and ability to withstand punishing blows.

The defining feature of Barbarians is their ability to use Rage in combat — gaining physical damage resistance, dealing extra damage, and advantage on Strength checks and saving throws. 

 

The strong embrace the wild that hides inside - keen instincts, primal physicality, and most of all, an unbridled, unquenchable rage.

 

 
 

 

BG 3 Barbarian Class Features

HIT POINTS

  • Hit Points at 1st level: 12 + Constitution Modifier
  • Hit Points at Higher Levels: 7 + Constitution Modifier

PROFICIENCIES

EQUIPMENT

Unique Class Feature

  • Unarmoured Defense: Your body is as resilient as any armour. While not wearing armour, you add your Constitution Modifier to your Armour Class. Wearing Heavy Armour impedes all positive effects of your Rage.
  • Rage: Deal 2 extra damage with melee and improvised weapons, and throwing. You have Resistance to physical damage, and Advantage on Strength Checks and Saving Throws.

 

BG 3 Barbarian Class Progression

Level

Proficiency Bonus

Level Up Features

ico classres rage h 25xRage Charges

ico classres rage h 25xRage Damage

1 +2 barbarian rage bg3 wiki guide 150xRageunarmored defense iconUnarmoured Defence 2 +2
2 +2 barbarian reckless attack actions baldur's gate wiki guide 150xReckless Attackdanger sense feature bg3 wiki guide 150pxDanger Sense 2 +2
3 +2 Pick subclass 3 +2
4 +2 Feat 3 +2
5 +3 extra attack passive feature bg3 wiki guide 150pxExtra Attackfast movement feature bg3 wiki guide 150pxFast Movement 3 +2
6 +3 Subclass feature 4 +2
7 +3 feral instinct feature bg3 wiki guide 150pxFeral Instinct 4 +2
8 +3 Feat 4 +2
9 +4 brutal critical features baldursgate3 wiki guide 150pxBrutal Critical 4 +3
10 +4 Subclass feature 4 +3
11 +4 relentless rage feature bg3 wiki guide 150pxRelentless Rage 4 +3
12 +4 Feat 5 +3

 

 

 

BG 3 Barbarian Subclass Feature

 

BG 3 Barbarian Tips & Builds

  • NEW SUBCLASS, Path of the Giant, will be added in Patch 8.
  • For beginners, the Berserker subclass offers straightforward mechanics and strength, making you more powerful. Alternatively, the Wildheart subclass can provide more dynamic options like Wolf Heart, which grants advantage to melee allies against enemies you're adjacent to.
  • Activate Rage to deal more damage and gain Resistance to various types of damage, enhancing your combat endurance.
  • At level 1, Barbarians gain the Unarmored Defense feature, increasing their Armor Class by their Constitution modifier when not wearing armor. If you're playing an unarmored Barbarian, focus on boosting both Constitution and Dexterity stats to enhance your Armor Class. 
  • Using a two-handed weapon is generally more advantageous for Barbarians, providing greater damage potential. Consider picking up the Great Weapon Master feat at level 4 for added damage and a bonus action on kills or critical hits.
  • Use Reckless Attack to gain an advantage on attacks, but be aware that enemies also gain an advantage against you.

 

Classes
Arcane Trickster  ♦  Archfey  ♦  Assassin  ♦  Bard  ♦  Battle Master  ♦  Beast Master  ♦  Berserker  ♦  Circle of Spores  ♦  Circle of the Land  ♦  Circle of the Moon  ♦  Circle of the Spores  ♦  Cleric  ♦  College of Lore  ♦  College of Swords  ♦  College of Valour  ♦  Conjuration School  ♦  Divination School  ♦  Draconic Bloodline  ♦  Druid  ♦  Eldritch Knight  ♦  Enchantment School  ♦  Fighter  ♦  Gloom Stalker  ♦  Hunter  ♦  Illusion School  ♦  Knowledge Domain  ♦  Life Domain  ♦  Light Domain  ♦  Monk  ♦  Nature Domain  ♦  Necromancy School  ♦  Oath of the Ancients  ♦  Oath of Vengeance  ♦  Oathbreaker  ♦  Paladin  ♦  Path of the Giant  ♦  Ranger  ♦  Rogue  ♦  Sorcerer  ♦  Storm Sorcery  ♦  Tempest Domain  ♦  The Fiend  ♦  The Great Old One  ♦  Thief  ♦  Transmutation School  ♦  Trickery Domain  ♦  War Domain  ♦  Warlock  ♦  Way of Shadow  ♦  Wild Magic  ♦  Wild Magic (Barbarian)  ♦  Wizard



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    • Remember the barbarian only ends when you stop believing in him.

      Let go of your doubts, clutch your axe in your hands, rush into the crowd of enemies and shout NOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

      • Anonymous

        sorry guys but barbarian end at level 5! :/
        brutal critical not worth it if you are not half-orc, multi rogue and fighter-champion also use great axes cause great swords give you only +1d6 while axes 1d12...
        +1 damage from rage also not worth it
        feral instict is actually good but not necessary mostly not for the barbarian
        relentless rage sound good but actually garbage... except if you are half-orc again!
        +2 rage charge not bad but not deserve the full level!

        what you really need is reckless attack, extra attack, fast movement so yeah barbs very good at early levels but at late levels are sucks!
        okey some subclass not bad like wildheart and the animal aspect at lvl 6 but only with a special build! what prone bleed and maim the enemy

        for multi you can choose fighter, rogue, and ranger but even paladin (divine smite work when you raging)
        thief hunter and champion especially very good

        • Anonymous

          brutal critical is very bad! :/ it is not worth for level 9... give only 1 additional weapon damage which mean even if you use greatsword you get +1d6 and nit +2d6! + it also not give any extra damage from the wEAPON!!! like everburn give 1d4 fire and in critical it is become 2d4 but with brutal critical it not give any extra!!! so just easly go multi class after level 5.... :/

          • Anonymous

            Rage's bonus damage and Reckless Attack's Advantage only work with Strength attacks? Is Dex Barabarian viable with Finesse weapons?

            • Anonymous

              Barbarians also have a hidden feature: Larian Diplomacy - You get a ton of easy dialogue options that you get to roll with advantage, and are thus one of the most effective faces in the game, even with relatively low charisma.

              • Anonymous

                The last 3 levels of Barbarian seem a but unnecessary. Get to 9 for brutal critical, then go with fighter 3 and get a fighting style, second wind, action surge, and improved critical from champion. You won't miss the first feat or +2 ability with all this and end of game items.

                • Anonymous

                  Bard: I will persuade this magic door to open with music!

                  Wizard: I will use arcana and magical scrying to bypass this magic door!

                  Fighter: Some boring option.

                  Barbarian: SMASH THE ****ING DOOR WITH A ROCK!

                  I love Barbarian dialog options.

                  • Anonymous

                    Now that barbarians' offensive abilities aren't tied to using strength-based attacks, is there any reason a dexterity-based barbarian monk wouldn't work? Seems like the bonus rage damage would be really good with all those extra attacks.

                    • Anonymous

                      Been very impressed rolling with Karlach, through the Underdark and all of Act 1 (except the Mountain Pass so far).

                      But, in the fight with the Githyanki patrol she got taken out in the first turn, before I could even Frenzy. This makes me wonder if I need to up her AC, or if she should use a shield specifically when dealing with Githyanki.

                      Still clapped the fight easy, but when your Barbarian gets taken out like that, and does nothing but act as damage sponge in a fight, it makes you wonder. I guess ultimately a victory without using ANY elixir, potion, scroll, haste, or element of surprise, is a good victory.

                      • Anonymous

                        (Bad english incoming)

                        I enjoy the fact that you don't need any armor to have a great AC. I studie every way to improve it in the early game (LVL 5 max and Act 1) without armor and that's my conclustions :

                        Draconic bloodline, monk unarmoured defence, mage armor spell and barbarian unarmoured defence give respectively a basic AC armor. It mean you can't cumulate 2 of them, or more, obviously. You have to chose one, and one alone.

                        DEX +3 is necessary in any way (so put 16 in Dex at character crea) to maximise the AC bonus even if you don't use any armor ( less than 10 in dex mean you are in negativ, so you loose AC ). Don't forget your abilites realy increase every +2 points. If you have 10 in constitution and want more hp, you'll need to put 2 points more and reach to 12 to have those hp. Same for every others abilities.

                        Mage armor & draconic are bad if you wanna have the higher AC cuz they don't scale. Your maximum AC is 16 (10 base + 3 dex + 3 from the bonus)

                        Unarmoured defenses are better because of the scaling. You gain +1 AC every 2 points in your ability with those bonus (wisdom for monk or constitution for barbarian). So the maximum is +5 AC if you reach 20 in your ability.

                        You have multiple ways to improve your abilities , like feats, stuff or quests (no spoil here but if you know, you know). So, at level 1, I can get a 16 AC with both unarmoured passive, if you put a 16 / 16 in dex & wisdom or constitution.

                        But if you know how yo improve quickly your abilities, place a 17 instead of 16 into your wis or cons ability at character creation to reach the +18 fast and gain +1 AC. Here, my naked barbarian level 4 have a 17 AC with 16 dex and 18 cons (10 basic + 3 dex + 4 cons).

                        I choose barbarian for the unique reason that cons give you hp, so this is better to make a naked tank. 1 level in barbarian for the bonus and go multiclass focus dex finess or range character is good. You are good at tank and carry.

                        BUT (again), I can up this to 20 in the same time of leveling. I tell you in reply so you guys don't being spoil.


                        • Anonymous

                          can you use the wild surge(magic) weapon force infusion effect with dual wield?
                          let me explain:
                          so that weapon infusion magic surge make your weapon light and throw (+ force dmg and return suddenly into your hand if you throw it)
                          so use a 2 handed weapon and even the wild magic make it light so can you add an another weapon in your hand? (like a shortsword or longsword)???
                          and then use dual wield attack?

                          • Anonymous

                            Barbarians get a lot of extra dialogue options, to solve things in a bit angrier fashion.
                            Many of them (at least early on) are based on intimidation though, so while you get advantage, and (should) have proficiency, your charisma might be low.
                            BardBarian might be a fun face to play.

                            • Anonymous

                              Frenzy and enraged throw are a great combo for Berserkers. You keep your frenzy going with the throw damage and can reach out and smack anything in range for nearly full or possibly bonus damage which also can force a concentration check on an enemy. Throwing enemies at other enemies for two attacks with one action is also great fun.

                              • Anonymous

                                guys the subclass rages give you also the + damage or just the new effects and resistances/saving throws?

                                • Maybe I'm missing something, but why does description of each class not show skill proficiencies available? I'm pretty sure Barbarian couldn't be proficient with Arcana, unless something changed in 5E.

                                  • Anonymous

                                    Quick note: Barbarians are not in the game right now and there is no timeline for when they might be added.

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