Best Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion Companion Build Guide

In this guide, we will explain the best Astarion Companion Build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Thief subclass, and the optimal setup.

This build has been updated for the patch 3 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Astarion Companion Introduction

Astarion is Baldur’s Gate 3 charming vampire companion, cursed with an eternal existence and a thirst for blood. Despite his dark nature, he possesses a charm and cunning that make him an asset in the chaotic world of Baldur’s Gate. As a character with a secretive past and uncertain loyalties, Astarion’s journey will be filled with twists and surprises, keeping you on your toes as you unravel the mysteries that surround him.

This build will use the Rogue class and Thief Subclass because it gets an extra bonus action and extra skill proficiency. This allows you to have great damage and utility outside of combat. Having a character in your party that can scout ahead, disarm traps and lockpick is essential. The Rogue Thief does it better than any other build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 are a group of non-player characters (NPCs) who join the player’s party and accompany them throughout their journey in the game. These companions are essential characters that offer various benefits, such as providing additional combat support, contributing to the story, and offering different perspectives on the events unfolding in the game world. 

Companions can be avoided entirely, die, be romanced, and have their own sprawling background. In this build guide for Astarion, we will explore his character and how to make a powerful Rogue build using this original character. 

Astarion Pros	Astarion Cons
High Damage	Lacks Spellcasting
Outside Combat Utility	Weak Durability
Unique Story	Easily Killed in Intro

Astarion Companion Features & Mechanics

The following list presents all the essential Astarion Companion Class Mechanics and Features in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Class: Rogue
• Race: High Elf
• Background: Noble
• Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Deception, History, Perception, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
• Origin Character: Yes
• Romance: Yes
• Location: Southwest of Roadside Cliffs here

Your companion can be respecced or rerolled early in the game. This means you can change their class, subclass, ability score, and more. The only feature that cannot be adjusted is their race and story. We suggest using Withers at Camp after he’s unlocked in order to optimize the build.

Where to find Astarion and How to Recruit Him?

Astarion can be found on Ravaged Beach, to the west of where you land after the Nautiloid ship crash. He will be calling for help from a nearby cave, but this is a trap. When you approach, he will attempt to kill you, however, the mind flayer parasites that are connected to both of your brains will prevent him from doing so. This will startle Astarion and he will let you go. During the dialogue, agree and he will join your party. While Astarion will be on your side, he will still be wary of you. It will take time and effort to gain his trust and friendship. However, if you are successful, you will have a powerful ally in your quest to survive in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Recommended Subclass

The Best Subclass for Astarion build is Thief, because it provides additional bonus actions, can pick locks, disarm traps, and has high movement. The Thief subclass can be unlocked at level 3 and is great in combat and outside to provide your team with high damage and great group utility.

Here are all the Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Subclasses:

• Thief: Thieves can pick locks, disarm traps, and move quickly and quietly. They also get several bonus actions that they can use to gain an edge in combat. Thieves are perfect for players who want to be able to sneak around and take out enemies from behind.
• Arcane Trickster: Arcane Tricksters can cast spells, use magic items, and even sneak attack while invisible. They are versatile and powerful, making them a good choice for players who want to be able to do a little bit of everything.
• Assassin: The Assassin is a rogue subclass that focuses on stealth, surprise attacks, and dealing devastating blows to unsuspecting foes.

For the Best Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion Companion Build, we recommend taking the Thief Subclass at level 3. You gain two features: Fast Hands: Gain an additional bonus action and Second-Story Work: Gain resistance to falling damage.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Thief Features & Progression

The Rogue Thief subclass unlocks the following features and spells:

• Fast Hands (Level 3): Gain an additional Bonus Action.
• Second-Story Work (Level 3): You’ve mastered the art of falling and gain Resistance to Falling damage.
• Supreme Sneak (Level 9): Blend into the environment so completely that you become Invisible.

Astarion Race

Astarion by default is a High-Elf race.  As a High-Elf, you find yourself at the crossroads of human and elven heritage, allowing for a versatile and charismatic character that can excel in various roles. In this guide, we’ll explore how the High-Elf race works in Baldur’s Gate 3 and discuss some effective builds to make the most of your character.

High-Elf in Baldur’s Gate 3 shares the physical traits typical of elves, including tall, slender frames, pointed ears, and graceful movements. They have a natural lifespan of several centuries, granting them a longer perspective on the world compared to shorter-lived races. High Elves are renowned for their keen intellect and quick reflexes, making them well-suited for roles such as wizards, sorcerers, or rogues.

High-Elf Racial Features

• Fey Ancestry
• Darkvision
• Keen Senses
• Proficiency in Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, and Shortbow

High-Elf isn’t the ideal race for a Rogue, but it’s what Astarion comes equipped with.

Recommended Skills for Astarion Build

Stealth, Perception, Deception, Acrobatics, and Sleight of Hand are the best skills for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3 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.

Here are the best skills for Rogue in Baldur’s Gate 3:

1. Acrobatics is a Dexterity Skill.
2. Stealth is a Dexterity Skill.
3. Perception is a Wisdom Skill.
4. Sleight of Hand is a Dexterity Skill.
5. Deception is a Charisma Skill.

In Baldur’s Gate 3 each skill is related to a specific ability score and it’s effectiveness scales with the level of that score. You want to choose skills for your character that they already have a high ability score in. For example, if you want to have high Persuasion (which is used to influence dialogue choices), you need to have correspondingly high Charisma. Ideally, you want a party composition which includes a variety of high ability scores which can give you success in different skills.

For example, a primary Dexterity companion like Astarion can be the primary one to open locks with his Sleight of Hand ability. A primary Intelligence companion such as Gale can be used to investigate cursed objects or can take the lead in dialogue with Intelligence checks.The ideal configuration is to have one member with primary Dexterity, one primary Intelligence, one primary Charisma, and one primary Wisdom. This may not always work out, and may not be 100% necessary, depending on your own personal roleplay style, your preferred companions and how you like to play the game.

Astarion Ability Score

Here’s the best ability score for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3: Astarion Companion Build:

Ability	Score
Strength	9
Dexterity	16
Constitution	14
Intelligence	8
Wisdom	14
Charisma	14

Astarion Level Progression

Level 1

At level one, your companion will be already equipped with their basic skills, class, etc. Unique to Astarion is the Vampire Bite skill. We suggest speaking with WIthers NPC and respecing the ability score for this companion. He will likely not have optimal numbers, and you’ll need to follow the recommendations of the table above.

Vampire Bite: 2d4 Hit Points 2d4 Piercing You suck the blood from a living creature and regain 2d4 hit points. The target takes 2d4 Piercing damage, unless it is unconscious, or you are Hiding. Biting a creature does not break stealth. This is very useful early on as a heal and a bonus action ability. Keep in mind, you will need to long rest to use it again, so don’t expend it unless you really need it.

Class Feature and Mechanics

• Sneak Attack (Ranged & Melee): Deal an additional to an enemy you have Advantage against. Attack/Save: Ranged Attack Recharge: Once per turn. When using this keep in mind that in order to gain Advantage, you need to be hiding or that enemy to be engaged with another in 1.5 meters.

At level one, your main goal is to get into stealth, prior to a fight or during and use sneak attack. The advantage mechanic can be tricky to understand. In essence, you need to attack targets engaged with others or use hide to get in stealth. You will have more options and easier use of this when you can use a bonus action to hide. For now, engage with a bow or melee and seek high ground and targets with advantage. I suggest playing this build at range, it’s just much easier and sneaking, gaining advantage is much simpler.

Level 2

At level two, you will unlock the Cunning Action class feature, more health and one more level until subclass choice.

Rogue Class Features

• Cunning Action Hide: Hide from enemies by succeeding Stealth checks. Stick to the dark and avoid enemy sightlines. Attacking or casting a spell will reveal your location.
• Cunning Action Dash: Cover more distance this turn: double your Movement Speed.
• Cunning Action Disengage: Retreat safely: moving won’t provoke Opportunity Attacks.

This gives you the ability to use Dash, Hide, and Disengage as a bonus action. Bonus actions are the theme of the build, using attacks and Cunning Actions to free up your action for Sneak Attack. Dash is useful to create space or close the distance, while disengage allows you to flee a fight without an opportunity attack. Use these to either move in and out of fights and the hide bonus action at the end of the turn to go into stealth.

Gameplay you want to now use your bonus action hide to get in stealth and gain an advantage and use sneak attack. That’s essentially the gameplay loop to open up for simple big damage. You also want to do your best to start encounters FROM stealth. Obviously, you will not be able to dictate the terms of every fight. But even during dialogue, you can select the character to select screen and move the non-talking party members to your ideal area. Buff up, get in stealth and get ready to open for a big stealth attack.

Level 3

At level three, you can pick your subclass and we recommend the Thief. 

Here’s what you can expect from the Thief Subclass until max level 12 in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Fast Hands (Level 3): Gain an additional bonus action.
• Second-Story Work (Level 3): You’ve mastered the art of falling and gain Resistance to Falling damage.
• Supreme Sneak (Level 9): Blend into the environment so completely that you become Invisible.

The double bonus action is very handy. You most likely use one bonus action to hide and get Advantage. The second one is usually for dash, potion, poison on the weapon, etc. Your goal, 100% of each turn is to get into stealth, and range sneak attack at least once. When I play this build, usually I use one bonus action to hide, use my action to do a sneak attack and then use another bonus action to go back into stealth. That way, the following turn I can use two bonus actions if I need. And that’s the essence of the gameplay combat loop. We will get additional feats that amplify this effect and make it easier for us to do range damage and so forth.

Level 4

At level four you get an important decision, between a feat or ability improvement.  We recommend forgoing the ability improvement to select the Sharpshoot feat. 

• Sharpshooter: Your ranged weapon attacks do not receive penalties from High Ground Rules. Ranged weapon attacks with weapons you are Proficient with have a -5 penalty to their Attack Roll, but deal an additional 10 damage.
  • Usage: This makes you hit much harder and ignore high-ground rules, so you don’t receive a penalty when not at a height advantage. You will lower you chance to hit, and this can be troubling in the early part of the game with lower ability score and gear. You can click your passives on tool bar and toggle this off but still get the high-groud rule. I always left this on and had great luck with a range build on my rogue.

Alternatively, you can use Dual Wielder feat here and play a double Rapier dual-wield build. I personally played that until level 8, but found my damage was the same as a range build, and my survivability was significantly diminished. The premise behind the dual-wield build is using your off-hand attack with a bonus action for multiple attacks. And yes, in theory, this works. But in reality, your bonus action often goes for hiding to get a sneak attack, which you can do at range. It’s MUCH easier to hide behind a bush, bonus action hide, and snipe with a sneak attack at range than playing melee and trying to time it all. Your choice, but I saw drastic improvements in my survivability using a bow at range.

Level 5

At level five, you gain access to Gain Uncanny Dodge when an attack hits you, you only take half the usual damage.  This will help with your survival and sneak attack damage will be increased to 3d6. 

Gameplay remains unchanged at this point. Look for gear, potions, arrows and poison to amplify damage.

Level 6

Level 6 you get to add expertise into two skills.  Deception and Acrobatics are good choices. This simply helps you in overland, dialogue, and exploration rather than combat generally. Soon, we will get another feat which will help with damage.

Level 7

At level 7 the Rogue gains access to Evasion: Your agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain spells. When a spell or effect would deal half damage on a successful Dexterity Saving Throw, it deals no damage if you succeed, and only half damage if you fail. This class feature helps with avoiding damage but gameplay remains unchanged.

Level 8

At level 8, you get access to another feat. This time you’ll want to take the Ability Improvement, and put +2 into Dexterity. This should get you to 18, allowing for huge damage with sneak attacks at range. Eventually we will get a couple more feats and Lucky along with another Ability Improvement which will give us even more damage and control over Advantage.

Level 9

At level 9, the Rogue Thief gets a new subclass feature, Supreme Sneak.

• Supreme Sneak (Level 9): Blend into the environment so completely that you become Invisible. This essentially gives you the ability to become invisible that can be used every short rest. The downside is it cost an action, so it’s not as useful in combat considering you want to attack with your action. But, out of combat it’s a great way to sneak around and avoid detection and punishment.

Gameplay: remains unchanged at this level, use Invisibility after you use disengage and run away from attackers and heal up with bonus action.

Level 10

At level 10 we get to choose an ability improvement or a feat. We will choose the Lucky feat.

• Lucky: You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws, or to make an enemy reroll their Attack Rolls. So, Lucky gives you a replenishable resource that helps gain Advantage which we need for our max damage setup. You can also use it for ability checks and saving throws so it comes in handy when you need to land big damage you can choose via reaction.

You will need to long rest in order to replenish your Luck points, but use them in critical situation where you need an extra d20, which will take the higher of the two.

Level 11

At level 11, not much happens with the Rogue Thief build. We are one level from another feat which is helpful. You gain access to another non-combat related skill Reliable Talent.

Reliable Talent: When you make an Ability Check with a Skill you are Proficient with it, the lowest result you can roll on the die is 10.

Level 12

And now you can reach level 20 in your primary ability Dexterity with another +2 to via Ability Improvement. This build excels at simple ranged combat, and is amazing outside of combat utility.

Recommended Weapons and Armor

Beginner: Act 1

Here’s the best beginner gear for Astarion Rogue Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item
Head	Shadow of Menzoberranzan
Cape	–
Chest	Drow Studded Leather Armour
Gloves	Gloves of Archery
Boots	Disintegrating Night Walkers
Necklace	Amulet of Selûne’s Chosen
Ring	Crusher’s Ring
Ring	Caustic Band
Weapon 1	The Joltshooter
Weapon 2 Main Hand	Shortsword +1
Weapon 2 Off-Hand	Shortsword +1

• Shadow of Menzoberranzan: Gives Shrouded in Shadow
  • Looted from the Pale Corpse in the Myconid Colony, Underdark (X:50, Y:75).
• Drow Studded Leather Armour: Stealth +1
  • Inside a Heavy Chest at Lolth’s Cultist’s cache (X:71 Y:-220) in Underdark.
• Gloves of Archery: You gain Proficiency with longbows and shortbows. In addition, your ranged weapon attacks deal an additional 2 damage.
  • Bought from Grat the Merchant in the Goblin Camp.
• Disintegrating Night Walkers: Can’t be Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and can’t slip on grease or ice. Grants Misty Step
  • Can be looted from True Soul Nere in Grymforgehttps://deltiasgaming.com/how-to-get-to-grymforge-in-baldurs-gate-3/
• Amulet of Selûne’s Chosen: Selûne’s Dream: 1d8-1 hit points. A creature you touch regains 1d8-1 hit points but potentially falls into a slumber.
  • Found in Dror Ragzlin’s treasure pile in the Shattered Sanctum (X:296, Y:71)
• Crusher’s Ring: Movement Speed +3m
  • Dropped by Novice Crusher in the Goblin Camp in Act 1
• Caustic Band: Your weapon attacks also deal 2 Acid damage.
  • You can buy it from Derryth in Myconid colony, Underdark
• The Joltshooter: When the wielder deals damage using this weapon, they gain 2 Lightning Charges.
  • Reward for completion of Rescue the Grand Duke Quest
• Shortsword +1:
  • Can be looted from various enemies in Acts 1-3

Advanced: Acts 2 & 3

Here’s the best advanced gear for Astarion Rogue Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item
Head	Mask of Soul Perception
Cape	Shade-Slayer Cloak
Chest	Drow Studded Leather Armour
Gloves	Gloves of Dexterity
Boots	Disintegrating Night Walkers
Necklace	Amulet of Greater Health
Ring	Killer’s Sweatheart
Ring	Shifting Corpus Ring
Weapon 1 (Bow)	Gontr Mael
Weapon 2 Main Hand	Bloodthirst
Weapon 2 Off-Hand	Rhapsody

• Mask of Soul Perception: Gain a +2 bonus to Attack Roll, Initiative Rolls, and Perception Checks.
  • Found inside the Devil’s Fee, Helsik’s Room upstairs locked inside a chest.
• Shade-Slayer Cloak: While hiding, the number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can stack.
  • Can be purchased at the Thieves Guild in Act 3
• Drow Studded Leather Armour: Stealth +1
  • Inside a Heavy Chest at Lolth’s Cultist’s cache (X:71 Y:-220), climbing up a high spot near the entrance of The Festering Cove
• Gloves of Dexterity: Increases the wearer’s Dexterity score to 18; Attack +1
  • Sold by A’jak’nir Jeera at Crèche Y’llek.
• Disintegration Night Walkers: Can’t be Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and can’t slip on grease or ice. Grants Misty Step
  • Can be looted from True Soul Nere in Grymforge
• Amulet of Greater Health: Increases the wearer’s Constitution score to 23; Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws Checks
  • Can be taken from the Archive in the House of Hope
• Killer’s Sweatheart: When you kill a creature, your next Attack Roll will be a critical hit. Once spent, this effect refreshes after a Long Rest.
  • Can be found laying on the ground at the top of the stone structure in the Self-Same Trial inside the Gauntlet of Shar ( X: -833 Y: -729).
• Shifting Corpus Ring: Gain access to the Invisibility and Blur spells
  • Drop by Fist Marcus at the Last Light Inn
• Gontr Mael: On a hit, possibly inflict Guiding Bolt upon the target; This object shines with a glowing light in a radius of 6m; Cast Celestial Haste once per Long Rest.
  • Can be looted from the Steel Watcher Titan in Steel Watch Foundry
• Bloodthirst: The number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can stack; Creatures hit with this weapon receive Vulnerability to Piercing damage.
  • Reward for defeating Orin in Act 3.
• Rhapsody: Provides Scarlet Remittance: Gain a +1 bonus to Attack Rolls, damage, and Spell Save DC for every foe you slay, up to a maximum of +3; and Sweet Bloodletting: Possibly inflict Bleeding when hitting a creature with this weapon while Hiding or Invisible.
  • Dropped by Cazador Szarr.

Best Consumable Items 

Consumables are items that can be used once and then destroyed. They are typically used to restore health or other resources. Some common types of consumables include potions, scrolls, food, drinks, and arrows.

The following list represents the best individual use consumable items that will aid in our Astarion Companion Build:

• Potion of Speed: Gain extra action, +2 Armor Class, Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, and double movement speed making it the best consumable in the game.
• Smokepowder Bomb: Throw bomb 18m with a 4m radius dealing 3d4+9 Force damage dealing a massive amount of area damage.
• Arrow of Fire:  Deals +1D4 fire damage and creates a fire surface for extra area damage.
• Greater Healing Potion:Use a bonus action to self-heal for 4D4+ 4 HP.
• Basic Poison: Use a bonus action to coat a weapon with poison.
• Feather Fall Scroll: Become immune to falling damage which helps to enter Underdark.
• Alchemist Fire: Throwable single target dealing 1d4 Fire damage per turn to a creature hit

Astarion Combat, Gameplay Tips, and Tricks

Here are 10 gameplay tips and tricks for playing an Astarion Companion in Baldur’s Gate 3:

1. Stealth: Always try to end or start combat stealth by using the Hide bonus action before your turn ends.
2. Advantage: Remember to attack targets that are engaged with melee allies for easy advantage, usually this is easy with a melee aggressor on your team.
3. High Ground: Use elevation when melee isn’t impossible to improve damage with range weapon.
4. Consumables: Consume a potion of speed or shot a fire arrow at range for increased combat effectiveness.
5. Prepare: Always get in sneak with Control + C prior to combat.
6. Sneak Attack: Use your action primarily for a sneak attack and double off-hand for three attacks in one turn.
7. Movement: Use the cunning dash to close the distance while still allowing an action
8. Disengage: You can move to the flank or back of the opposition while in an engagement without taking an opportunity to attack.
9. Vampire Bite: When in desperate need of healing, use Vampire Bite to do damage and return some health.
10. Grouping: You can ungroup as an Astarion Rogue, then break away from your group and set up a high-ground potion when the first starts.

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 The BestAstarion Companion Build!

Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion Companion Build Summary Guide

If you followed the guide, this is how your Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion with all Build components should look:

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