Often seen as charismatic clowns, bards inBaldur’s Gate 3are a brilliant, versatile class who are capable of fulfilling multiple party roles in and out of combat. Able to provide some of the best support in the game, crowd control on the battlefield, and deal out plenty of damage, bards are a great class to play. With that in mind, some feats will bring out the best in any bard and help them perform in any situation.
As the bard is such a flexible class, picking feats for them can be a little harder. Although it will depend largely on which bardic college is chosen for a subclass, the best feats to focus on are ones thataid bards with their spell casting and give them the upper hand both in and out of a fight. Bards can choose a feat at levels four, eight, and 12; the ones here are the best place to start whenbuilding a bard inBG3.
10 Best Feats For Sorcerers In Baldur’s Gate 3
Sorcerers are some among the most powerful spellcasters in Baldur’s Gate 3, and with these feats they have the potential to be even better.
10Alert - Boost To Initiative
Ensure The Bard Controls The Fight From The Beginning
Bards make great support party members, offering buffs and bardic inspiration to help their teammates. Alert is a remarkable feat that works well with any class, but especially for support characters, as one of its key features.Alert gives the bard a plus five to the initiative,and given that Dexterity is often the secondary stat for many bards, this can lead to a significant boost.
A character cannot be surprised with Alert, preventing them from missing a turn due to enemies sneaking up on them. This can be crucial for crowd control or healing to turn the fight in the party’s favor until everyone is able to take their turn. Plus, having a bard going early in the turn order can make all the difference in tough fights with a well-placedBaneorHold Person.
9Actor - Charisma & Expertise
Help With Dialogue & Skills
Actor is the perfect choice for a bit of help out of combat and a boost to the bard’s primary stat. With Actor, the bard’s Charisma score is increased by one, which will assist with spell save DCs and attack rolls. However, the best part of acting is that it allows the bard tobecome an expert in deception and performance, which doubles the proficiency bonuswhen making checks.
This boost really comes in handy during dialogue checks and busking for gold on the streets byplaying an instrument. The actor alsoworks well with the bard’s level three expertise feature,which allows them to become experts in two skills they are proficient in. With the Actor providing expertise in Deception and Performance, it will enable other skills to be chosen, such as Persuasion, Perception, or Arcana.
It’s best to plan ahead if taking this feat and not taking proficiencies in deception or performance as an actor will boost them instead. It’s also advised to leave Charisma on an odd number at character creation, so the plus one will have more benefit.
8Lucky - Gain Advantage & Force Enemies To Reroll
Useful In Combat & Dialogue
Just like Alert, Lucky is an incredible all-around feat for any class, whatever role they fulfill in the party. With Lucky,the bard gains three Luck Points, which can be used to manipulate dice rolls and recharge on a long rest. However, Lucky is useful because it can be used in two ways, both of which can turn events in the bard’s favor to control the situation.
Firstly, Lucky can be used tomake any attack roll, ability check, or saving throw with an advantage, which is very helpful in combat and dialogue. But Lucky also allows the bard to force enemies to reroll their attack rolls, making it a brilliant way to avoid critical hits.ABCDavehas a great Luck Bard build, which is tons of fun, and an excellent support party member.
7Skilled - 3 New Skill Proficiencies
Perfect For Exploration & Dialogue Checks
Skilled is a perfect way to increase any character’s usefulness out of combat. With Skilled, the bard canchoose three skills to become proficient in. It is generally great to expand the number of skills the character’s proficiency bonus applies to, as it will mean more successes than failures when it comes to skill checks in dialogue and when exploring.
With Charisma being the bard’s main stat, the Skilled feat can boost skills based on that ability, such as Intimidation or Persuasion. However,this feat is often best used to help improve other ability score skills,such as Intelligence or Wisdom that may be lower. Insight, Perception, and Investigation are excellent choices for Skilled as they are often used inBG3but might not necessarily be the first choice when creating a bard.
10 Best Feats For Rogues In Baldur’s Gate 3
Rogues can deal incredible damage in Baldur’s Gate 3 making them essential in the party and these feats will help them reach their full potential.
6Mobile - Extra Movement
Not Slowed By Difficult Terrain & Prevent Opportunity Attacks
While a bard can fulfill the role of support or damage dealer, they are often one of the squishier party members when it comes to hit points. This can make positioning in a fight critical, to stay out of danger while still being in range for their spells. Mobile is a great way to ensure that any bard has the movement it needs byincreasing movement speed by three meters/10 feet.
Mobile also stops rugged terrain from slowing them down when using the dash action. However, the best aspect of Mobile for a bard is the passive Evade Opportunity Attack feature, which lets themmove away from an enemy without provoking attacks of opportunity. To do this, the bard must first have made a melee attack on the enemy to prevent them from making opportunity attacks, and best of all, this still triggers even if the attack misses.
5Magic Initiate - Extra Spells From Other Classes
A Chance To Get Access To Spells A Bard Wouldn’t Have
Magic Initiate is a group of six feats covering each spellcasting class inBG3. While a bard’s spell list has some great spells to choose from, more is always better, and these feats allow for an expanded repertoire. With Magic Initiate, a character canlearn two cantrips and one first-level spellfrom the spell list of the chosen spellcasting class.
The chosen spell can be cast once per long rest and is a great way to access spells a bard wouldn’t normally have like Ice Knife orMagic Missile. Spells from Magic Initiate use the ability score of the original class for attack rolls and spell DCs such as Intelligence for wizard and Wisdom for druid. To make the most out of the spells chosen,it’s best for a bard to pick either warlock or sorcerer, as they both use Charisma as their spellcasting.
10 Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Low Level Spells & Cantrips
Some cantrips and level 1 spells in Baldur’s Gate 3 are some of the most useful in the entire game, and players should keep an eye out for.
4Spell Sniper - Extra Cantrip & Crits
Learn A New Spell & Increase The Odds Of Critical Hits
Spell Sniper is an excellent feat for spellcasting classes, by letting them learn an extra cantrip and helping with damage dealing. The bard has the option tolearn one of six cantrips that require an attack roll, such asShocking Grasp,Thorn Whip, orFire Bolt. Unlike Magic Initiate, the cantrip learned with Spell Sniper will use the bard’s spellcasting ability, which in this case is Charisma.
But what makes Spell Sniper such as good spellcaster feat is that itreduces the number needed for a critical hit by one for spells that require attack rolls. Best of all, this effect stacks with other items or abilities that also reduce this number. Two weapons with this critical threshold reduction are theDuellist’s PrerogativeandKnife of the Undermountain King, both great weapon choices for bards.
The illithid power Fierce Perilous Stakes reduces the critical threshold the most, as it reduces it by five, but with the trade-off of making the targeted ally vulnerable to all damage.
3Ritual Caster - More Spells Is Better
Expand The Bard’s Spell List Without Using Spell Slots
Another awesome feat that expands a bard’s spell repertoire is Ritual Caster. As the name suggests, this feat allows the bard to learn two new spells from those with the ritual tag. Thisallows the spells to be cast without using a vital spell slot, so long as the caster is out of combat and is perfect for buffs orutility spellsto aid the party.
In their video,quill18does a great job of explaining just how useful and powerful using ritual spells can be.There are six spells to choose fromwith Ritual Caster:Disguise Self, Enhance Leap,Find Familiar,Longstrider,Speak with Animals, andSpeak with Dead. Bards already have access to four of those spells, so it may be more beneficial to choose tofind familiarandenhance leapfor that reason.
2Defensive Duellist - Boost To AC
Extra AC When Attack When Wielding Finesse Weapon
There are going to be times when the bards will need to hold their own in combat without relying on spells, and Defensive Duellist will help with that. This featallows the bard to use a Reaction when attacked, so long as they wield a finesse weapon. There are plenty of greatfinesse weapons inBG3, many of which are perfect for a bard to use.
When triggered, this reactionadds the bard’s proficiency bonus to their AC,and this can be triggered at each turn. As bards are limited to light armor, this small boost can make a big difference, especially at higher levels when enemies hit harder, but the character’s proficiency bonus will be higher, too. The only limitation for the Defensive Duellist feat is that it requires a character to have a Dexterity of 13 or higher to select it.
1War Caster - Help With Concentration Spells
Extra Assistance For Any Spellcaster
Finally, one of the best feats for a bard is War Caster. Like any other spellcasting class, bards have plenty of spells that require concentration, and War Caster makes it a little easier to keep them going in a fight. With War Caster,any Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration on a spell are made at an advantage.
War Caster doesn’t allowshocking graspto be used at will and can only be used as an attack of opportunity unless the character gains it by other means, such as spell selection.
As many concentration spells in a bard’s arsenal are geared towards crowd control, this can make a significant difference later inBaldur’s Gate 3,whenOtto’s Irresistible DanceorDominate Personcan change the course of a fight. War Caster alsoallows the bard to use theshocking graspcantrip as a reactionwhen a target moves out of melee range. AsShocking Graspalso prevents targets from taking their reactions, War Caster is a must for any control-focused bard.
