Errata: I'm seeing a lot of posts about this so wanted to clarify - turns out that the DC of your magic items is *not* based on the first class you took, but it's also not necessarily based on the *last* class you took. Here's a good explanation I found online: "If your first level is in Sorc then any abilities granted by items or Illithid powers will use Charisma. If you then level into Cleric, all items and Illithid powers will now use Wisdom. If you now level back into Sorc, all items and Illithid powers will still use Wisdom. Items and Illithid power use the spellcasting ability of the last new class you leveled into. So now if this character leveled into Wizard or example, items and Illithid powers will now use Intelligence. If they level back into Sorc and then level back into Cleric afterwards, items and Illithid powers will still use Intelligence since these were both existing classes on that character. But if they level into Monk then the ability used for items and Illithid powers will switch to Wisdom again, since Monk is a new class for this character." (source: www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/185s5kl/determining_what_ability_modifier_casting_stat_is/) Hope that keeps things clear when we're respec'ing!

@braxis9703

4 ай бұрын

that's a long way to say the last level 1 class you took :)

@user-wv8yk3xu4h

4 ай бұрын

Indeed. Last class added is the simple way.

@depthchargex

4 ай бұрын

One thing to add: this is also how the game determines which ability to use for scrolls.

@jasonm.6442

4 ай бұрын

interesting... so basically if you're multiclassing, just respec and make sure the last class you choose uses the right one. So sorc first for proficiency, then cleric, then bard to ensure Charisma. If you want to add 1 level of wizard, you have to respec again and fit it after sorc, but before bard. If you added 2 levels of fighter or barb last, would it make spells/scrolls use Strength instead, or stay charisma since those aren't caster classes?

@depthchargex

4 ай бұрын

@@jasonm.6442 fighter, barb, rogue all use int as their spellcasting modifier

These words are accepted.

Life before death Strength before weakness Journey before destination

@quennedr1

4 ай бұрын

I want to like this but don't want to be the one to push you past the current number. Nice...

@pederw4900

4 ай бұрын

@@quennedr1 your restraint is admirable

@quennedr1

4 ай бұрын

@pederw4900 short lived unfortunately. 71 2 too high lol

@joshuaroberts4604

4 ай бұрын

Journey before pancakes!

@Ellamental21

3 ай бұрын

yes your pancakeness @@joshuaroberts4604

Should've known Colby would be the first to speak the 4th ideal

KNIGHTS RADIANT MENTIONED RAHHHH

As a quick tip for anyone speed running the gear - for the Boots of Stormy Clamor, you do need to get the mushrooms from the Arcane Tower and finish that quest for Omeluum before he will sell them to you.

@LeoTheDarkAngel

4 ай бұрын

As an even quicker tip: If you're lucky, Derryth (or potentially Blurg/Omeluum) will sell you the ingredients Omeluum needs. I think I even bought them from Omeluum once.

@user-xx2ec6bj1i

4 ай бұрын

As an even (more) quicker tip: Steal the boots from Omeluum

@KyleHead

4 ай бұрын

@@user-xx2ec6bj1i best way to get the best advice online is to post bad advice lol

@michaelgallery2978

4 ай бұрын

@@user-xx2ec6bj1ito be fair…hard to do in an HM run.

@Bruno-lr9lm

4 ай бұрын

Just steal them… you don’t have to get the mushroom for him to trade with you.

I was certain that the ice breaker was the most fun build. I was blissfully surprised when I built this and absolutely wrecked the duergar hunters. I literally giggled the entire encounter. Fantasticly, *brilliant* build, Colby!

The most important Rolls a man can make

One thing I really appreciate about bg3 builds, is that it forces you to build around the wheelhouse of levels in which D&D is predominantly played. Sure, the theoretical aspect of levels 13-20 are nice, and yes we've all had fun in a level 20 one-shot. But the value in fine tuning a character to levels 1-12 cannot be overstated. Thanks for the entertainment Colby, you made my workday a little easier 🎉

You cannot have my pain! But, you can have this sweet build.

@DnDDeepDive

4 ай бұрын

Oh man, my favorite moment from Book 4... time to go re-read in preparation for Book 5!

Didn't realize "apply a condition" was so generous in its definition - thanks!

You can reach the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark before going through the Goblin camp. Get some invisibility, a potion/scroll of feather fall and go into the spider caves below the Blighted Village. Go to the cliffs where he Matriarch is at and you'll see the central, glowing green pit. Pop Feather Fall and jump into the pit, you'll float down into the Underdark right outside the outpost.

@Ankz0r

4 ай бұрын

Be very careful if you are on Honor Mode. The big spider can see invis.

@DariusSayers

4 ай бұрын

@@Ankz0r If you walk to the edge of the cliff from where the ettercaps were, it's range isn't that far. The invis is more to bypass the other spiders and ettercaps.

@BraghDaMan

4 ай бұрын

Also be careful not to lose inviz there. You'll be about to get jumped by a pair of minotaur right nearby where you land, and if you're not level 5 yet it's a hard solo fight

@DariusSayers

4 ай бұрын

@@BraghDaMan No you're not. The Minotaurs are farther up, and the one that attacks the outpost doesn't come until you're inside the outpost. I've done this like 5x with level 2 characters.

The Infamous Radiator build. Nice! Some notes - -In Bg3, spiritual weapon does not require constant bonus action usage. It one bonus action to summon, it behaves as a summon after that. -Warden of Vitality is not available to Clerics. It's a lvl3 Paladin spell, meaning lvl 9 Paladin or lvl 6 Lore Bard is the earliest you can get it. -The Boots of Stormy Clamour i have not found to be bugged. It is probable that the reverberation stacks seem to apply more than they should because the thunder damage from the Gloves of Belligerent Skies/Phalar Aluve Shriek combo also applies reverberation indtantly. -For maximizing effectiveness in any Spirit Guardian based build, Crusher's ring provides 10 feet if extra movement, 20 on a dash. Stack this with Longstrider at the start of the day, and you'll be applying the effects all over the battlefield, if you're willing to move around a lot -Sprllshudder amulet applies reverberation on ranged spell damage. It should be considered, especially if using magic missile. -For solo potential, a dual wielding Paladin2/Light Cleric 10( or 1 Fgtr/2Pal/9Cleric for two weapon fighting style) build is probably the version most suited. I prefer Light cleric for the base build anyway, because of the huge radius of Radiance of Dawn.

@bradleybarr7572

4 ай бұрын

Which subclass for Paladin would you recommend on this?

@user-wv8yk3xu4h

4 ай бұрын

​@@bradleybarr7572 If you're only taking 2 levels of Paladin, the subclass is not that impactful. Ancients is probably the best because of the healing aura, which can combine with the healing items in the game. Those items can apply buffs on heal, like blade ward and bless.

@Swinhoegaming

3 ай бұрын

I was wondering about this as a Paladin build

Great stuff as always! I would recommend making this a Gith character giving you proficiency in Medium armour without the Cleric Dip as well as a racial Misty Step.

@KennethLines

4 ай бұрын

oooh, interesting thought

@keithforrest1543

4 ай бұрын

Gith do not get shield proficiency though... I just hit Act 3 using this Radiant build, but I did it as a Gith. The big negative about being a Gith is that NPCs initially seem to not like you. Everyone hates the Gith, even the Gith seem to hate the Gith. But that extra +1 to any section of skills and extra Misty Step is pretty sweet.

Haven’t watched yet but… *Inhales* LIFE BEFORE DEATH!!! STRENGTH BEFORE WEAKNESS!!! JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION!!! What is the most important step a man can ever take brothers?!

@shadow-faye

2 ай бұрын

HIS NEXT 🗣️🗣️🗣️

Little late to the party but I’ve been trying to decide which build to try/play for my very first honor run and I think I found it :) At first I was excited about cleric because I’ve wanted to play one and then you’re like “now we’re bard” and I was like awww. But bards are so strong I now see why. Keep up the amazing work, Colby! You and your channel are my #1 source of BG3 builds 🤙

In favor for Light cleric, Radiance of the dawn is a very nice big aoe of radiant dmg to start things of.

the markoheshkir staff also has destructive wave in its thunder setting, which is both htunder AND radiant. And friendly fire.

I am all for the box being opened! Finally, a chance to use the 300 plus magic items I've hoarded!

Crazy idea. Instead of warcaster for the last feat, take dual wielder and wield *both* Markoeheshkir AND Phalar Aluve.

Saw the first few seconds of the intro and my radiating orb sense immediately started tingling!

I absolutely love the luminous orb gear in BG3. In every playthrough I’ve had a pure Light Cleric using it, but it’s always been a companion character. Looking forward to seeing an optimized build!

I accidentally put together a similar build with Shadowheart during my current play through. I was so confused why no one could hit her and why I kept hearing thunder and then would see people get knocked prone or just flat out dying 😂 Thanks for explaining it all and helping me tweak the people's princess even further.

Sounds like this might be a good build for a solo play threw. Thanks for the continued BG3 support.

@DnDDeepDive

4 ай бұрын

I’ve been soloing with this build and just finished act 2 last night. Will probably need to respec if I go to the house of hope and I’m not sure about the brain fight either - it really shines vs multiple enemies but struggles a bit vs single bosses.

I stumbled onto your channel not that long ago thanks to Baldurs Gate 3, and I also used to play a ton of DnD. Your content is awesome, and your delivery/style is top notch. So glad I found your channel. You have gotten me back into this endless labyrinth of theory crafting, and I am so glad to be re-immersed in it all. I am more of an RP-player, over min-maxxing and optimization, but you still put a lot of emphasis on seeking out "flavor" in these concoctions of yours. I may not follow things to a T all the time, but it always helps to know that I can find some way of getting the vibe of a character that I want to build, and still make it viable/effective mechanically. You do great works here.

This combination of items is exactly what I put onto my Light Cleric Shadowheart. She carries fights with ease.

My dear D&D God! Every time I start my knew adventure, your outstanding new build is right on time!!

Completely unrelated, parasocial and nonsensical but maybe a little funny(?): I had a dream where I lived in an apartment next door to yours and I had discovered a secret passage into a labyrinth of sorts. One time I entered it and realized the door got stuck (made more sense back then) because you had entered yours at the same time (guess all nerd apartments come with a labyrinth these days) and we managed to dungeon crawl our way into each other's apartments Okay, now that I wrote it all down, it's more weird than funny but I already wrote it so I'm posting it

@DnDDeepDive

4 ай бұрын

🤣

Thanks so much for putting out more BG3 builds, Colby! I know you mentioned not getting as many views on them, but as someone who just got access to BG3 recently, I’m loving it. I joined up to support!

Hey Colby, thank you for these awesome builds as always. Just wanted to add one thing I found while attempting to recreate this build in-game. The Ilithid power, Stage Fright, targets a group of enemies in a circle and makes it so that enemies in that zone attack you with Disadvantage and if they miss they receive 2-12 psychic damage. Not sure if this counts as a condition yet but if it does WOO boy. Think this might be a candidate for a solo run in the future haha

I'm loving this build so much! Currently playing it with a couple changes - not multiclassing my War Cleric (for RP purposes). Wyll is a Pact of the Blade Bardlock in this party so I have him using Phalar Aluve as his pact weapon. Tav instead uses the Shining Staver of Skulls for the radiant damage with every hit. It also lets Wyll launch Shriek and Tav set up Spirit Guardians in the same round meaning it comes online faster. Now that I have the Blood of Lathander too, seriously tempted to use two weapons with that and the Staver all through Act 2.

Phalar Aluve is a shard blade. HEADCANON ENGAGED.

The cloak of displacement would be a perfect addition to this build. Found in act 3 before going into Baldur's gate, at Danthelon's Dancing Axe.

The radiance of the dawn from light cleric is sick for the orbs using radiant armor and gloves is awsome

I really like how you are incorporating items into the builds.

My Sorlock has almost this exact set of items, the extra radiant damage and radiant explosions on eldritch blast, with repelling blast counting as a condition is pretty hilarious.

It's really cool to see this video on my feed, today I started playing my honor mode with the same idea of leaning heavily on radiant damage! Always love your content btw :D

THE GREATEST STEP A MAN CAN TAKE IS THE NEXT STEP

I basically ended up on this exact build on my latest run, going Storm Sorcerer 1 + Tempest Cleric 11 instead, just for a bit more of that Cleric-y support. Was great coming back to this video and comparing it to my notes and realising they were so similar.

Yessss, love when my two passions clash!!

I use this Build in honour mode, it working as reliably because enemies are really good in doing bad stuff, but it´s working well enough to bring the group to the end of fight. And honestly, what more can you want. Thank you very much for all your great work here. 😀

Rewatched this to write down the build the second time. Looking forward to trying this tomorrow!

Absolutely love these item incorporated builds!!

Amazing build. Never thought to go the bard route to do this combo, always been a light cleric which works great but I'm definitely switching it up tonight to test it out

Been waiting for exactly this from someone like colby forever. This has been probably my fav "support" character build of all time. Even enough fun i pa play them as main, but mainly have the most fun with them as the most fun support character I've come up with lol

I play a great old one Sorlock blaster that hunts crits. Using the same gear setup, Eldritch Blast is a potential 3 hits for an automatic reverb knockdown. A crit on top of this fears them, so they can’t move. Combines the Wolverine and bard builds into one while also dealing out great single target damage. Repelling blasts can add fall damage with displace and quickened spell lets us cast it again. Dip 3 levels fighter for action surge as well, plus champion for higher crit chance

I already have Shadowhart working with both radiating orb and reverberation and it’s sooooo good! Can’t wait to see this build

Thanks for the content! Just started a new honour mode run with a gythyanki paladin. Freeing Orpheus and saving the gith! This video is perfect timing love it!

Great build! I can't wait to try it out. I always use radiant damage for Shadowheart but never thought to do it this way. Reverberation stacks have always been confusing to me. Thanks for trying all the hard things and sharing it with us all! I love that you're showing yourself playing! Makes it so much easier to be brave and believe that I can manage playing the build. Also, I wanted to let you know that I only discovered your channel because you played BG3, so I hope you continue to throw us a video once in a while :)

I've been using this on my 2-man honor run. Running Light Cleric/Paladin. Have a Sorlock compatriot. Gotta say, this hasted is death to any of the large combats we've come across so far. Thank you for all the videos!

Love this video! One of my favorite tavs ever was an EB Sorock (also rogue and fighter) who used and abused the reverb/radiating orb synergy similarly.

“I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.”

"no one wants to hear me do that" just goes for it anyway! I love it, happy to be reminded of such a solid track.

Thanks for yet another fun build idea.

This quickly became prob my favorite build. I feel it's so much easier to use and is fully online way quicker than arcane ward + armour of agathys shenanigans. A really cool thing to do is get the buff from the zaith'isk. Stuff like Force Tunnell, Stage Fright and Shield of Thralls on a bonus action synergize so well with what you're doing. And get the Cloak of Displacement also, it's nuts for this build. Didn't even know a couple of these items existed before this, thanks for the vid!

Glyph of Warding is also super good with builds like this, especially if you're an elf character as you can just walk into groups of enemies with spirit guardians and then sleep them with your glyph of sleeping

Love this build!! Ive used it on several of my play throughs using Sorcadin, and Hunter Ranger with volley!! Will definitely try the addition of cleric!

That Merlin clip just made me so happy, oh my goodness!!!

I found your chanel a few days ago. Im so happy I did.

I just happened upon one of your videos recently (because of BG3). I have been watching all of them now, subscribed, and became a member. Your videos, while a little long for my taste, are awesome. You've got a great sense of humor, amazing knowledge, and just keep me entertained. P.S. Forget the haters, keep singing in the outtakes! 😂

Sounds great and in good time as i'm currently thinking about playing through it again.

I just arrived at the beginning of act three and happened upon a fantastic weapon for this build mere hours after watching this video, the Nyrulna! It can be found in the circus, after a bit of drama with the djinn Akabi. (On a side note, I'm loving these build videos. Keep it up!)

Another banger of a build!

Excited for this one after seeing your short this week

Hi , love the build & edits . Thanks for the video

Immediately restarted my Baldurs Gate honor mode run to try out this build. Incredibly excited!

Love this build! Started playing it as soon as I saw this vid. One change I made is after getting bard to 6, I took sorcerer to 3. This allows me to get misty step with sorcerer levels freeing up the magical secrets slot for counterspell. More importantly it provides quickened spell to set up spirit guardians + shriek in 1 turn. Also by starting wood elf you get longsword proficiency (and extra movement!) so I took the Light cleric domain for warding flare to mitigate crits as that’s more useful than war cleric. Then bard to 8 for a second feat. This all works only if you plan to stay as a Lore bard rather than changing to swords at level 12. The downside of course is I won’t get level 5 spells, but there was nothing there I needed anyway. An bardic inspiration stays a d8, but I can live with that.

I love the singing at the end of your videos, and look forward to it at this point, lol.

been using this build for a while it’s nuts

Can confirm this build is hella fun to play

Love this! I actually made a less optimized version of this on my honour mode run with Shadowheart as a light cleric and same gear. I'll respec her to this version, though. For party composition, I actually play her with a sorlock, a TB thrower, and a ranger striker with the eversight ring. I hide everyone in darkness but keep Shadowheart out of it to ensure she's the only target, and she can always retreat to darkness if things get dicey.

These builds are so good but the day or so between the short teasing the build and the actual build is literally torture!! Why do you do this to us Mr. Critlander?

I was just thinking about making a Kaladin build for my next playthrough, as a new fan of yours, and an editor for the Coopermind, this video hits the perfect spot for me. Thanks!

This build is insane! Can’t wait to try it out on my honor mode run.

Another awesome video!

Just going to add my personal modification of this build if anyone else is interested and so I can come back and consult this in the future. I used this build on Shadowheart too so I didn’t need a lot of the party face options you get from Lore Bard. I like Tempest Cleric far more than War cleric both because of channel divinity options and always prepared spells. In addition to those you don’t have to give up martial weapon and heavy armor proficiency (even though we are using medium armor here). As such I tweaked this build to incorporate that (and nuking things with lightning+wet when applicable). So Tempest cleric to five to get Spirit guardians. Take the same equipment. Phalar Aluve being a finesse weapon really saves us here as it means we can dump our strength once we get it. Strength and Charisma go down to 8 set Int to 16, Wis to 16, Dex to 14, and Con to 12. Con is a little low in this setup but I prefer the increased combat versatility and it’s so hard for enemies to hit us anyway. The Gloves synergize really well with the thunder and lighting damage features of tempest cleric and with a few levels in Wizard we can pick up Lightning Bolt from a scroll without slowing down our spell slot progression. I personally went for a 4Wiz 8Cleric split to ensure I still get three feats as we are a little bit MAD in this build. Two ASI and war caster for advantage on concentration checks plus a nice opportunity attack option that synergizes with tempest cleric and glove features. Resilient Constitution is also viable here if you play around with the ability scores if you would rather have proficiency over advantage. Dealers choice here honestly. Took Create/Destroy Water and lighting bolt to max out damage with Tempest Cleric while also getting a lot of the value Colby illustrates in this vid. Obviously the downside is this setup sucks as a party face, but fits pretty nicely for Shadowheart. Even fits thematically for her imo as it shares a lot with the build he did for her in the optimizing companions series. Really happy with this setup tbh as it kind of allows you to have your cake and eat it too. Hope this helps anyone who isn’t jazzed on War cleric.

Ooh a Merlin clip, haven’t seen that in like ages!

I started following you since i started Bg3, I love making build in rpg videogames more than anything so i feel at hone here❤. Then you inserted a clip of Merlin and now we are also best friends ahahhaa

Great guide Colby!, ive run this build many times but ive never tought of abusing Misty Step to get to the enemies, it was so obvious but also genius, i keep this build pretty much the same as your guide but i do a final respec at level 12, i go swords bard 10 like you sugggested but i put my other two levels in Paladin, smites are a match in heaven for this build since once you get your spirit guardians going you can keep applying debufs and great damage with your smites, if not using strenght elixirs you can keep using dex weapons. Another tip i have is that this build also pairs well with a warlock in your party, with the spine shudder amulet and the radiant gloves youll have two characters applying radiant orbs and reverberation, it gets pretty crazy.

Love the synergy with this build. I challenge you to try a build around the Bow of the Banshee. 😁

This is a cool build and I really like that it comes online so early. I had used the reverberation gear on a Tiger/Wolverine Barbarian using the polearm that deals radian damage. You get the Tiger cleave to hit multiple targets and spread (deep breath) radiating orb, reverberation, bleed, maim, and bane (through weapon oil). It's a very devastating combo with great weapon master and reckless attack. The downside compared to the Knight Radiant is the pole arm isn't available until late in Act 2. But there are mods...

Thank you for this.

Hey, I missed you from my feed, nice to have you back!

Love your builds Colby, I actually ran this and love it. I think I found a way to make it even more busted, in act 2 there are two rings, 1 applies radiating orb on spell hit, and the other applies 2 radiant damage on every spell hit. With your build plus these rings you can run a bard/warlock, bard for the hard CC, and warlock for agonizing eldritch blasts and hunger of hadar, hadar alone would melt a small army with procking reverb on the slow and blind, plus radiating orbs from radiant damage from the ring.

Awesome build! I used a similar build in my honor mode run with minor changes (turns out radiating orb is so strong it works with a variety of builds, go figure). One thing i found that made act 1 and 2 a breeze was using luminous armor and radiance of the dawn from light cleric. Since the shockwave comes from your character and not where the damage is dealt, if you stand next to the big bad and cast radiance of the dawn, every creature you hit adds another 2 stacks of radiating orb to whatever you are next to, getting them to max stacks right away. Makes fights like the boss of the githyanki creche super easy right from round 1 since radiance of the dawn has a massive 30 foot range.

I am pretty sure the boots apply reverberation to all conditions, even ones you can't see like being "threatened" which the game uses for sneak attacks and for giving disadvantage on ranged attacks in while being threatened....those are some sweet boots!

I'm almost as in love with this build as I was with the ice breaker and arachniphobia

fun fact, you can proc multiple instances of damage from Spirit Guardians by walking back & forth from your target, essentially weaving them in and out of the AoE, provided you have enough movement.

I watch your videos a lot. You are maybe the one with the best knowledge of the game bg3.

Thanks Colby

As someone who knows Colby personally and goes to church with him every week, I can say with about 90% confidence that he is in fact Wit under one of his new aliases

@DnDDeepDive

4 ай бұрын

😂😂

lovin this stuff, and now, started a new honour run with a Radiating Knight lol

Been waiting for this one.

You just became my new internet best friend at the OG Red Dawn reference 😂👍🏻 Great build btw/also, though admittedly, I don’t like doing the respec multiple time aspect, so I might try a cleaner straight line way to build this Keep up the great vids!

I mixed this build with the shadowheart build you made for tempest cleric and it is just so nice. The first time I used all of the abilities together was in grym forge against nere and all those duergar. The gloves of belligerent skies works for tempest cleric nova and for spirit guardians. Shatter and spirit guardians really just works

Man, I had most of these items already on shadowheart, but realized I had a few sitting at camp and a few I could go grab before going into the shadowfel, so good timing before I lost the chance to pick a few up. Also, had the thunderskin cloak just sitting in inventory which is a nice little bonus.

Fantastic idea -- got a playthrough where my guy is a tiefling Bard x with a level of LIfe Cleric to be a proper Cleric of Lathander. Was planning Lore for this build already, but about to absolutely pivot to this build when he gets high enough to get Magical Secrets.

Awesome build and really good info! Might make my Shadowheart something like this as I preferred a half caster Tav

My god you’ve outdone yourself with this one Colby

Commenting before finishing watching he intro: I heard reverberation and Radiating orb and I immediately smiled. Wide. My first Durge playthrough is a Tiger barbarian dualwielding using those 2 conditions and BOY IS IT DELICIOUS. =D