This guide focuses on the best Bard build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the College of Valour Build, and includes all the components to build a powerful character.
This build page has been updated for thePatch 8 versionof Baldur’s Gate 3.
Bard Class Guide
Bards are versatile characters who are skilled in a variety of areas, includingmusic,magic, andcombat. They are known for their ability to inspire their allies, debuff their enemies, and their unique ability to playmusical instruments. Think of the Bard as an out-of-combat, fun, different and unique playstyle. Inside of combat, their ability diminishes significantly and is weak compared to other classes.
This build will focus on primarily healing, buffs, and crowd control. The Bard does well with outside-of-combat role play and has some utility in combat. Don’t expect big damage with this build, but the crowd control is very nice especially later.
The Bard makes a great character in Baldur’s Gate 3 if you want to focus on the story aspects of the game and support class. Consider this class weak in raw battlefield potential but unique and fun for storytelling and dialogue options.
Patch 8 Changes to College of Valour Bard Build for BG3
Patch 8 has brought exciting changes to the Bard class in Baldur’s Gate 3, most notably the addition of the College of Glamour subclass and the Booming Blade cantrip. The College of Glamour is perfect for players who want to build a support-focused Bard with strong crowd control abilities, along with a flair for dialogue and persuasion. It’s an ideal choice for those who want to control the flow of battle and engage socially with NPCs.
However, while Bards don’t naturally have access to Booming Blade, you can still unlock this powerful cantrip by multiclassing into Warlock. This opens up the potential for a hybrid playstyle, blending spellcasting and martial prowess. By adding Fighter levels later, you can create an incredibly effective melee character with a unique mix of magic and physical combat. In the Leveling Progression section below, we’ll outline a hybrid build that combines these classes for maximum effectiveness.
Bard Class Features and Mechanics
The following list presents all the essential Bard Mechanics in Baldur’s Gate 3
Bard Spell Mechanics
For the list of the best spells for the Bard, look below in level progression.
Bard Class and Best Subclasses
The College of Valor is the strongest Bard subclass because of its versatility, combat skills, spellcasting, and support. The bard can pick a subclass at level 3. The following are the Bard Subclasses for Baldur’s Gate 3:
Ultimately, the best Bard subclass for you will depend on your playstyle and preferences. The most powerful and versatile spellcaster who can deal a lot of damage is the College of Valour subclass making it the best choice.
Baldur’s Gate 3 College of Valour Bard Features & Progression
The College of Valour subclass unlocks the following features and spells:
Character Creation for Bard College of Valour Build
Recommended Backgrounds
Entertaineris the Bestbackgroundfor the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard College of Valour Build. This choice mostly influences roleplaying and dialogue options aspects and allows you to create unique characters when playing the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard College of Valour Build. Additional choices are:
Best Race Choice Bard Build
Asmodeus Tieflingis the bestRacialChoice for a Valour Bard because they are resistant to fire and have Hellish Rebuke allowing a counterattack damage source.Drowis a secondary choice because they have extra spells, cantrip, and Superior Darkvision.
Theability scoreimprovement will be determined by your class and no longer your race freeing up choices. Each of these races offers unique advantages that can enhance your combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, consider the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you.
Recommended Skills for Bard College of Valour Build
Deception,Intimidation,andPersuasionare the bestskillsfor the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard College of Valour Build because they complement your class abilities and enhance your effectiveness in various situations. In Baldur’s Gate 3, skills represent the abilities and proficiencies of your character that allow them to perform various actions and interact with the game world. Skills are associated with specific attributes and are used to determine the success or effectiveness of certain actions or abilities. They can be edited during character creation or with companions, during respec or reroll screen.
Also Check:-BG3 Interactive Map
Here are the skills for Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Best Bard Ability Scores
Here’s the recommendedability pointdistribution to maximize a College of Valour Bard Build potential in Baldur’s Gate 3:
The best ability score for a College of Valour bard is 16 Charisma for spellcasting, 16 Dexterity for weapon damage, and 14 Constituion for the health pool. After you choose the class, race, and background, the game will automatically distribute your abilities in the character creation abilities tab. You will need to reprioritize the stats for the chart for the Best Bard build. Simply use the plus-minus in the character creator and verify you have the suggested race, or the numbers will be off.
You can increase your ability score via a quest in Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. Make sure to check out ourPermanent bonus guideon how you can boost your ability score through quests.
Bard Spell Slots
Here’s a chart that shows the levels and spell slots unlocked for the Bard class in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Bard Illithid Powers
Illithid Powersare unlocked later in the game when you learn more about theMind Flayersand tadpoles. you may gain jars of Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, and consume them to gain one point. This is essentially another skill tree advancement with some very strong powers. If you decide to advance this skill line, these are the choices we suggest.
Here are the best Illithid Powers for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard College of Valour Build:
Bard Level Progression in BG3
Alternative College of Valour Bard Build
For this alternative Bard build, you’ll begin at Level 1 by choosingWarlockand the Hexblade subclass. This gives you access toEldritch BlastandBooming Blade, two powerful cantrips that form the backbone of your ranged and melee combat abilities. At Level 2, take another level in Warlock to gain Hellish Rebuke, as well as a couple of Eldritch Invocations, which will enhance your versatility in both combat and survivability.
Once you reach Level 3, multiclass into Bard, and at Level 5 (Bard Level 3), select your subclass: College of Swords. This is the ideal choice for a melee-focused Bard, as it improves your combat effectiveness with weapon-based features. To round off the build, take levels in Fighter, choosing the Eldritch Knight subclass. This adds more spellcasting options and significantly increases your melee damage potential, creating a well-rounded character capable of holding its own in both magic and physical combat.
Read More –Top 10 builds for Baldur’s Gate 3
At level 1, you should follow our character creation steps. Select the correct background, race, skills, and ability score focusing on Charisma and Constitution. The level 1 Bard will be able to pick an instrument and have Bardic Inspiration, Cantrips, and Spells. Musical instruments are for roleplay, nothing performance-based. This class doesn’t pick a subclass until level 3, so start off the game by wearing Light Armour and miscellaneous weapons. Starting at level 3, you unlock a subclass, Valour, which gives you access to new weapon proficiencies.
Bard Cantrip and Spell Selections
Bardic Inspiration: 18m range consuming a bonus action ally can add a +1d6 bonus to their next Attack Roll, Ability Check, or Saving Throw. This can be used four times and recover charges by taking a long rest.
Level One Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, and Blade Ward.
Valour Bard Gameplay and Priorities
The gameplay at this level revolves around buff allies with Bardic Inspiration, Blade Ward, Crowd Control with Hideous Laughter, and healing with Healing Word and Cure wounds. You use Thunderwave to knock back enemies and Vicious Mockery for some damage and debuff. From here, the Bard gets more of the same as the levels progress. Mainly in the form of enemy crowd control effects and debuffs. You want your allies to provide most of the damage while you make life miserable for the enemy.
Read More –Baldur’s Gate 3 Shadow Magic Sorcerer Build
During the early phase of BG3, the Valour Bard will be limited with equipment options until level 3. Once you reach level 3, equip a Quarterstaff and a Shield for a dramatic boost in AC. Moreover, look to usemedium armourfor protection rather than light. You can play this build as a melee damage dealer, however, other classes like the Fighter, Barbarian, and Paladin perform better. Thus, we will stick to buffing our party, controlling with stuns, and providing help during dialogue.
Your overall priority with the College of Valour Bard build is the following:
Following these steps ensures a strong foundation for her especially if you plan on playingsoloor onHonour Modedifficulty.
At level 2, Jack of All Trades is unlocked which adds half of your Proficiency Bonus (like persuasion) to Ability checks that you are not Proficient in. This essentially has little impact on performance but helps in story-telling and exploring situations.
Song of Restwill be unlocked at level two as well. This essentially provides an out-of-combat heal, like a short rest. Nothing that will aid you in a fight but can help you from heading back to camp repeatedly to heal up.
At level two, you will unlock more level 1 spell slots. You will also get the chance to unlearn any spells. This is useful if you picked the wrong spell loadout at character creator since you cannot prepare spells like a Wizard. We suggest taking Faerie Fire to this level.
The gameplay remains unchanged here, you just use Song of Rest to help outside of combat recovery.
Bard Level Two Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, and Faerie Fire.
At level three you get to pick a subclass. The obvious choice is the College of Valour because it increases your survivability. You will gain proficiency in Medium Armour Shield, and Martial Weapon. The medium armor and shield help you as a sturdy battle-hardened support class.
You can pick two more skills that you are proficient in. This essentially makes dialogue ability checks highly likely to succeed. Lean into your character’s roleplay, and don’t expect any performance gain. Level three you also get access to level two spells. Take Heat Metal.
Heat Metal: the TLDR on this is a skill, if someone is wearing a metal weapon or armor, they can drop their armor and take damage. This requires concentration and has an 18m range. It’s essentially a must-have skill against hard-hittingFightersandBarbariansand completely shuts them down and does damage.
College of Valour Unlocks
Subclass Features – College of Valour
Combat Inspiration: Inspire an ally to add a +ld6 bonus to their next Attack Roll, Ability Check. Saving Throw, weapon damage, orArmour Class. This uses a bonus action and lasts until a long rest so it doesn’t need to be recast and can be used just after a long rest on your primary target. Usually, this goes to the highest damage dealer in your party.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shield, Medium Armour, and Martial Weapon which allows us to use medium armor and one hand and shield for more Armour Class (AC). AC helps with avoiding attacks and increases survival. This allows us to switch the build to Medium armor with a sword and shield.
Gameplay at this level is all about crowd control and dealing with the most threatening target. Heat Metal won’t always be used, but when you find that difficult fighter, pop it first turn.
Level Three Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, and Heat Metal.
At level four, you can either take afeator an ability improvement, one new spell and another Cantrip.
Feat:Ability Improvement should be taken, reaching 18 Charisma and increasing the effectiveness of your spells. An alternative route for a non-traditional Bard is taking the Feat Magic Initiate:Warlock. This unlocks Eldritch Blast and Hex, giving you a good, ranged damage combination. However, our build is focused on support and even such we have good damage.
Crown of Madness: Instill madness in a humanoid enemy, making them attack the creature closest to them (other than you), even if it’s allied. This spell is 18m and requires concentration useful for manipulating a powerful enemy.
The Bard Level Four Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, and Crown of Madness.
At level five,Bardic Inspirationis enhanced going from a 1d6 to 1d8 benefit on attack rolls. You also gain all Bardic Inspiration on a short rest. Bards get access to level 3 spells at this point, and what you pick will depend on what your group composition needs.
You also get access to level 3 spells, and will pick up Glyph of Warding because up until this point, our Bard has very little area damage.
Depending on if you took a lot of control spells early, you’re able to add more damage with Glyph.
Level Five Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Crown of Madness, Glyph of Warding.
At level 6 we gain Counter Charm, Extra Attack, and another spell. Here are the details at this level:
At this level, the Bard has a lot of crowd control, some of which requires concentration. Pick the most important form of CC when needed.
Level Six Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Crown of Madness, Glyph of Warding, Stinking Cloud.
At level 7 we get access to level 4 spells. We recommend sticking with the theme of the build, control, and support, by taking Confusion.
Confusion: Befuddle a group of creatures, causing them to attack at random, wander around aimlessly, and occasionally skip turns in the stupor.
Confusion is one of the strongest areas of crowd control in the game. The best thing about it is the massive radius affecting multiple enemies, which often attack each other. This one also requires concentration, and you’re able to swap out previously used control spells using the replace spell function if you have too many.
Bard Level 7 Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Crown of Madness, Glyph of Warding, Stinking Cloud, Confusion.
At level 8 we get access to another spell slot and a feat.
War Caster: You gain Advantage on Saving Throws to maintain Concentration on a spell. You can also use a reaction to cast Shocking Grasp at a target moving out of melee range. Reason: War Master helps dramatically maintain concentration which is almost always active for our build. We will use the level 12 feat to push our Charisma to 20, but after testing this was more helpful at level 8.
Dimension Door: Teleport yourself and up to 1 adjacent ally to a place you’re able to see. The ally cannot be larger than medium. This spell is a rescue range spell for you and an ally. The nice thing is, this can be used out of combat as well to reach places jump normally wouldn’t work.
Bard Level 8 Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Crown of Madness, Glyph of Warding, Stinking Cloud, Confusion, Dimension Door.
At level 9 the Bard gets access to level 5 spells. The obvious choice for a support build is Mass Cure Wounds.
Mass Cure Wounds: Up to 6 creatures regain 3d8+Spell Ability modifier. This spell acts as a massive group heal rather than single target. You can select up to 6 allies making it great when your entire team needs a big heal. The radius is generous and the healing is good. You can combine this with bonus action Healing Word and double the heal potential within one turn.
Bard Level 9 Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Crown of Madness, Glyph of Warding, Stinking Cloud, Confusion, Dimension Door, Mass Cure Wounds.
Level 10 you learn a cantrip, one spell, and two class features, along with improved skills.
Minor Illusion Cantrip: Create an illusion that compels nearby creatures to investigate. This is a useful outside-of-combat cantrip for sneaking and stealth.
Seeming: Disguise up to 4 members of your adventuring party. This is another useful non-combat-related spell that allows you to sneak around in areas you shouldn’t be in as a group.
Skill Expertise(class feature): pick two skills to increase even further. We select Intimidation and Persuasion both making them a mind-boggling +12!
Improved Bardic Inspiration(class feature): the bonus gained from Bardic Inspiration increase to +1d10.
Magic Secret Selections
Magical Secrets(class feature): Your versatile knack for the arcane lets you learn magic from every discipline. Choose some additional spells to add to your repertoire. We are going to take Conjure Elemental and Blight.
Conjure Elemental: Bend the barrier between the Planes until they disgorge an elemental ally to follow and fight for you. This will summon one of possibly four different Elemental creatures to fight for you. I prefer the Earth Elemental because it can stun opponents. Whatever you summon will follow you around and fight for you and not require concentration. The amount of damage and pressure these things can handle is staggering and I highly recommend using it. You can pre-cast this before combat after a long rest and keep the elemental the entire time.
Blight: 9m range, dealing 8d8 necrotic damage. This will help with single-target damage and a different elemental type if someone is susceptible to it. Moreover, they still take half damage on save, so consistent damage can spike a single target.
Bard Level 10 Spell Loadout: Healing Word, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Vicious Mockery, Blade Ward, Faerie Fire, Shatter, Heat Metal, Lesser Restoration, Crown of Madness, Glyph of Warding, Stinking Cloud, Confusion, Dimension Door, Mass Cure Wounds, Seeming.
At levels 11 and 12, the Bard’s power significantly drops. At 11, you get access to the final tier level 6 spells. Unlike other classes, the selection is minimal and the options are very weak. Therefore I highly recommendmulti-classingthis for two levels of Fighter. The biggest reason for Fighter is getting Action Surge. This will give the Bard another action and recharge on short rest. One of Bard’s biggest weaknesses is the lack of multiple actions outside of extra attacks. However, Extra Attack is an odd class feature on a spell caster. Thus, this will get us much greater utility than a spell we are highly unlikely to use or be happy with.
Protection Fighting Style: When a creature you’re able to see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield. This gives us more incentives and defense for using swords and shields with this build.
With two levels into Fighter, you get access to the awe-inspiring Action Surge. You get an extra action, but the biggest strength is, that it doesn’t require any resources to use it. Action Surge is a once-per-fight usage, but it allows you to cast another spell, attack, dash, etc. It gives you that extra oomph that most other classes have and the Bard doesn’t. If you disregarded my advice, you should be getting a feat at level 12 Bard. In that case, increase your Charisma by +2 to 20 overall.
If your spell book looks slightly different, realize that various racial features and passive can add or take away spells and cantrips. It should be very similar.
Best Companions for Bard Build
With a Bard build, you need more damage dealers and less support. Your goal is to create a team with one or more frontline fighters, a range build, and you as the main support.
Here’s a list of the best companions for the Bard Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
When putting your party together, considercompanionsfor not only their combat prowess but also their outside abilities and skills that can influence storytelling, dialogue, and exploration. A balanced party will fit the traditional RPG ‘holy trinity’: Tank, Healer, and DPS. Ideally, in Baldur’s Gate 3 you are going to want one tank, one healer, one melee DPS, and one range DPS. Some classes/subclasses can cover both roles, so feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you.
Bard Equipment in BG3 (Best Gear for Bard Build)
Beginner: Act 1
Below is the best beginner gear for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard College of Valour Build:
Below is a list of the best Act 1 gear, equipment, and weapons for the College of Lore Bard:
Advanced: Act 3 End Game
The following table presents the best end-game gear for the best Bard College of Valour Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Below is a list of the best College of Valour Bard gear, equipment, weapons, and armour:
Best Bard Consumables, Potions, and Items
The following list represents the best individual useconsumableitems that will aid the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard College of Valour Build:
Bard Gameplay Tips and Tricks in BG3
The following list is 10 gameplay, combat, tips, and tricks for playing a College of Valour Bard effectively in Baldur’s Gate 3:
Remember, this build guide serves as a foundation, and you can always adapt it to suit your preferences and the needs of your campaign. Enjoy playing as a formidable College of Valour Bard!
Baldur’s Gate 3 College of Valour Bard Build Summary Guide
Q1. What is the best bard creation in BG3?
Ans. While the best Bard build in BG3 depends on your role and preferences, one of the best picks can be College of Lore Bard.
Q2. What is the best class for a bard in BG3?
Ans. The College of Lore and College of Swords are the best bard subclasses in BG3.
Q3. What race makes the best Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Ans. Most bard builds benefit primarily from high Charisma and Dexterity. In these regards, Half-Elf can be your best pick.
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