Looking for the best builds or classes for your Githyanki in Baldur’s Gate 3? Here are the five best choices based on performance.
Githyanki is one of the least understood and utilized races in Baldur’s Gate 3. The Githyanki race uniquely grants Misty Step mobility spell and Greatsword weapon proficiency. Moreover, the developers littered the game with Githyanki-specific item sets and dialogue. Whether you enjoy BG3 for combat or story, the Githyanki is one of the best overall. Below are all the Githaynki racial bonuses:
- Astral Knowledge: Gain Proficiency in all Skills corresponding to a chosen Ability once per long rest.
- Githyanki Psionics: access Mage Hand, Enhanced Leap, and Misty Step spells and cantrip.
- Martial Prodigy: gain proficiency in light, medium armour, as well as shortswords, longswords, and greatswords.
While most players are familiar with the companion Fighter Lae’zel, we will share other build loadouts and gameplay tips. We hope to give you an informed perspective on the Githyanki, how to play it, and why you should try it with our top 5 builds.
Best Builds (Classes) for Githyanki in Baldur’s Gate 3
The Ranger is the best build for the Githyanki race due to extra mobility and Superior Darkvision. The Githyanki’s major weakness is the lack of Darkvision, a disadvantage in attacking creatures in the dark. However, the Gloom Stalker Ranger covers up the race’s major flaw. The Bard is the secondary choice, using the Githyanki’s Greatsword proficiency for a powerful melee build that rivals Barbarian and Paladin. Third, the Fighter is an excellent choice due to the extra mobility of Misty Step.
The 5 top builds (classes) for Githyanki in Baldur’s Gate 3 you should be Using:
- Ranger – blends the best survival, damage, and mobility in one build/race combo
- Bard – a totally unique and powerful way to play the Bard with a Greatsword
- Fighter – powerful, simple, and improved mobility with a Githyanki
- Monk – gain movement spell Misty Step with unarmed damage
- Warlock – hybrid melee and spellcaster with just Charisma focus
5 Warlock
Below are Githyanki Warlock build features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Primary Ability: Charisma
- Saving Throws: Charisma and Wisdom
- Subclass: Fiend, Thief, Battlemaster
- Armor: Light Armor
- Weapons: Quarterstaff
- Background: Charlatan
- Ability Score:
- Strength 8
- Dexterity 16
- Constitution 14
- Intelligence 10
- Wisdom 10
- Charisma 16
- Multiclass: 4 Warlock, 4 Thief, 4 Fighter
The strength and weakness of the Warlock class is its simplicity. The Warlock class wants to play a hybrid melee and spellcaster build, using limited spell slots and spell selections. At level 3, Warlock selects a Pact Boon, and an interesting choice is Pact of the Blade. Pact of the Blade gives an impromptu magical weapon in conjunction with your charisma ability modifier being used for weapon damage. Therefore, you can focus only on increasing one ability score for damage with spells and melee attacks. You can even reach 24 Charisma in Act 3 of BG3 with feats, Mirror of the Loss, and Birthright headgear.
The Githyanki race makes a great choice to aid in melee combat for this specific build. You gain Misty Step for mobility and medium armour proficiency, giving you more Armour Class (AC) than light armour. Moreover, you can equip the Silver Sword of the Astral Planes or Soulbreaker Greatsword for extra Psychic damage to aid in melee combat. While not a meta build, it’s a fun and unique way to play a hybrid Warlock and retain powerful spells and weapon damage.
Build Pros:
- Additional weapons and armour choices
- Hard-hitting melee with spell-casting
- Focuses on increasing Charisma vs. multiple ability scores
Build Cons:
- Other melee builds perform better with Extra Attack
- Vulnerable playing in melee
- Lacks specialized focus
4 Monk
Below are Githyanki Monk build features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Primary Ability: Dexterity
- Saving Throws: Strength and Dexterity
- Ki: resource points to use special Monk attacks.
- Subclass: Way of the Open Hand and Thief
- Armor: Cloth
- Weapons: Unarmed
- Background: Urchin
- Ability Score:
- Strength 8
- Dexterity 16
- Constitution 15
- Intelligence 8
- Wisdom 16
- Charisma 10
- Multiclass: 6 Monk, 4 Rogue, 2 Fighter
The Githyanki solves one issue with the Monk class: mobility. Gaining Misty Step at level 5 is a massive boost to the combat potential of the Monk who wants to reach combatants during turn one. From a role-play perspective, gaining Astral Knowledge helps with skill proficiency in Intelligence. Therefore, your Githyanki can be a well-balanced replacement for a Rogue. Using the Urchin Background and high dexterity, you will be opening locks and stealthing around nearly as well as a Rogue with incredible combat power.
Build Pros:
- Incredible damage with multiple attacks per action and bonus action
- High mobility with Rogue Thief and Githyanki Misty Step
- Good survivability with high Dexterity and Constitution
Build Cons:
- Vulnerable to stuns
- Slow start
- Requires multiclassing
How to Play Githyanki Monk
The best way to play a Githyanki Monk is with Tavern Brawler feat and strength Elixirs (Cloud or Hill Giant). This combo lets you “double dip” into both ability scores for damage calculations. Moreover, you can dump your strength stat to 8 because Elixirs last until a long rest. This will require constant crafting, but without replenishing spell slots, you can use open-hand attacking without frequent long rest.
Additionally, you’ll want to multiclass into a Rogue with Thief subclass after 6 levels of the Monk. The Way of the Open Hand subclass gives you bonus action attacks with Ki Points, while the Rogue and Thief combination grants an additional bonus action per turn. With Extra Attack, the Monk can attack twice with an action and each with a bonus action. The extra attacks of this class build, combined with the Githyanki mobility, make you a monster on the battlefield in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Preferred Gear
Unlike other Baldur’s Gate 3 classes, the Monk will rely on clothing for survivability and gloves for damage. The developers spread tons of Monk-specific gear throughout all three acts. With built-in Misty Step, you can forgo Amulet of Misty Step in Act 1 and look for Helldusk Boots in Act 3. These boots give you an additional teleport ability, Hellcrawler, and prevent forcible movement.
Wear clothing with a Githyanki Monk regardless of whether you have medium or light armor proficiency. The bonuses from Unarmoured Defence will outweigh the small AC difference. The Vest of Soul Rejuvenation is your best clothing chest piece in Act 3, while Armour of Uninhibited Kushigo is best for Act 1. For damage, look to obtain gloves with specific bonuses for unarmed attacks. The Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle in Act 1 and the Legendary Gloves of Soul Catching are the best.
Related:
3 Fighter
Below are Githyanki Fighter build features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Primary Ability: Strength
- Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
- Subclass: Battlemaster
- Armor: Heavy
- Weapons: Greatsword
- Background: Soldier
- Ability Score:
- Strength 16
- Dexterity 14
- Constitution 16
- Intelligence 8
- Wisdom 10
- Charisma 10
- Multiclass: No
The Fighter class has one major weakness, and that’s mobility. The GIthyanki race is perfect to use with a Fighter due to the Misty Step spell unlocked at level 5. The companion Lae’zel has a high Armour Class (AC) Githyanki Half Plate at level 1. While this is medium armor, if you equip it with 14 Dexterity, you will be at 17 AC within minutes of playing the game.
Enhanced Leap is also an incredible race feature with high strength for exploration. Your Githyanki Fighter can reach far places without Fly or Misty Step, which is critical for early-game exploration. Moreover, two specific greatswords add psychic damage for a Githyanki wielder, giving you free damage per turn based on your race.
Build Pros:
- Simplistic, main hand attack build
- Improved extra attack, three attacks per action
- No multiclassing needed
Build Cons:
- Low mobility
- No spellcasting
- Vulnerable to stuns
How to Play Githyanki Fighter
To play a Githyanki Fighter, increase your actions per turn with Action Surge, Elixir of Bloodlust, or Potion of Speed. Since every action produces three attacks, attacking with your main hand is the play. Your bonus action is vital since you only get one per turn. Therefore, save it for Misty Step via the Githyanki race or Great Weapon Master feat proc.
Typically, your issue is reaching enemies within turn one. However, as you advance, you gain access to more utility gear sets and Illithid Powers. The Battle Master subclass for the Fighter is a perfect selection because of the extra utility with battle maneuvers. You can disarm enemies, knock them back, or do area-based attacks. However, for optimal damage, look to take the Precision Attack maneuver. This will increase your damage by 1d10. At level 12, you should have 5 Superiority Dice. Adding them to every attack produces incredible per-turn damage.
Preferred Gear
The Githyanki race is made for a greatsword Fighter build with the Soulbreaker and Silver Sword of the Astral Planes, granting additional Psychic damage to a Githyanki wielder. You can obtain this legendary weapon in Act 1 by using the Command spell on the Githyanki rider and forcing him to drop the weapon. The next critical piece of gear is the Helm of Balduran in Act 3 because it prevents being stunned. This covers the Fighter’s primary weakness, vulnerability to crowd control effects.
The next item is an overpowered pair of gloves in Act 3, Martial Exertion. These gloves allow you to take physical damage and produce one more attack. With the above setup, you can attack 14 times in one turn! Now that’s an overpowered Githyanki build.
2 Bard
Below are Githyanki Bard’s build features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Primary Ability: Strength
- Saving Throws: Dexterity and Charisma
- Subclass: College of Swords, Thief
- Armor: Light
- Weapons: Greatsword
- Background: Soldier
- Ability Score:
- Strength 16
- Dexterity 16
- Constitution 14
- Intelligence 8
- Wisdom 10
- Charisma 10
- Multiclass: 6 Bard, 4 Rogue, 2 Fighter
The second best class to use a Githyanki race with is the Bard due to Greatsword’s proficiency. GIthyanki is the only race that grants Greatsword proficiency and synergizes well with a niche melee Bard build that can rival Barbarians and Paladins. The Bard subclass College of Swords gains a unique usage of their Bardic Inspiration called Blade Flourish. You can pair this with a greatsword, Extra attack, and light or medium armour. You won’t be a spell caster with lower Charisma, but you will deal damage competitively to any other melee build.
Due to the weak Bard spell selection, the greatsword style or a dual-hand crossbow is the best way to play the Bard for pure combat performance. The Bard class doesn’t even obtain Misty Step outside their Magical Secret bonus, but with a Githyanki, you gain mobility and weapon proficiency.
Build Pros:
- Great damage
- Extra Attack with two bonus actions per turn
- Act 3 gear makes you insane powerful
Build Cons:
- Loses Charisma score
- Melee mainly
- Not spellcasting focus
How to Play Githyanki Bard
The best way to play a Bard Githyanki is by using 6 levels of Bard with the College of Swords subclass, 4 Rogue and Thief subclass, and 2 Fighter. With 6 Bard, you gain Extra Attack a Feat (Great Weapon Master) and spells like invisibility, Fear, and Heat Metal. Next, take four levels of Rogue to gain Thief and one feat. You now have an extra bonus action useful for Misty Step and Great Weapon Master procs. Lastly, take two levels into Fighter for Action Surge and great weapon fighting.
With each turn, you can attack twice per action and use Blade Flourish to increase AC, knock enemies back, or attack multiple. If you kill or critically hit an enemy, you’ll gain another attack via Great Weapon Master. Lastly, use Action Surge once per combat to gain another action, increasing your damage potential even further.
Preferred Gear
Use the silver sword of the astral plane greatsword with gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength for the most damage potential possible. Your two feats should be Great Weapon Master and Savage Attacker with Elixir of Bloodlust active. This will get you to 23 strength with additional actions per killing a target. The Boots of the Pscionic Movement are also helpful for Githyanki Bard’s build because they grant Fly. Your next melee attack does psychic damage after you use a bonus action to fly.
The rest of your gear should resemble another melee Fighter build emphasizing damage. While this build seems odd, it’s highly effective and makes the Githyanki Bard build one of the strongest in BG3.
1 Ranger
Below are Githyanki Ranger build features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Primary Ability: Dexterity
- Saving Throws: Strength and Dexterity
- Subclass: Gloom Stalker, Thief, Champion
- Armor: Medium
- Weapons: Longbow
- Background: Urchin
- Ability Score:
- Strength 8
- Dexterity 17
- Constitution 16
- Intelligence 8
- Wisdom 14
- Charisma 10
- Multiclass: 5 Ranger, 4 Rogue, 3 Fighter
In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Gloom Stalker Ranger, build with a Githyanki race, gives you the ultimate mobility, survivability, and damage, making it number one of all classes. The Gloom Stalker and Githyanki races both gain Misty Step at level 5. With two Misty Steps at your disposal, you have some of the highest mobility potential for all builds in BG3. Moreover, you gain Githyanki Psinoic Jump, Mage Hand, and Astral Knowledge.
The Githyanki race has one major weakness: the lack of Darkvision. This means you gain a disadvantage when attacking creatures in the dark. With the Gloom Stalker subclass at level 3, you gain superior dark vision, granting a 24-meter range. These bonuses ensure you’ll have the best accuracy possible at range.
With high Dexterity, the Gloom Stalker Ranger Githyanki will likely go first or trigger the surprise status effect attacking from stealth. This build is made to assassinate any target turn one, regardless of HP, and is the best for honour mode or solo gameplay. Gaining the Dead Ambusher, you can get an extra free attack that’s not action or bonus action-based! And if you get in trouble, you can just stealth out with Umbral Shroud. After playing BG3 for nearly 1,000 hours, this is my favorite build, and I’ll continue to explain why.
Build Pros:
- Unmatched Survivability
- Can wipe the enemy team on turn one
- Insane mobility and easy to play
Build Cons:
- Requires multiclassing
- Lacks out-of-combat benefits like charisma
How to Play Githyanki Ranger
The best way to play a Githyanki Ranger build is to become the Dark Urge to gain Deathstalker Mantle. While your character will be evil, this item grants you invisibility after every kill. Since you will likely go first, you can destroy one enemy and remain stealth during the enemy’s team. This strategy works on solo honour mode, allowing you to solo the hardest fights in the game.
Next, you will want to select the Sharpshooter feat to boost damage overall. This will lower your chance to hit, but you can gain bless permanently bonus in Act 3, countering some of this downside. With your second feat, take +2 to Dexterity. In Act 1, you can consume Auntie Ethel’s hair for a +1 Dexterity bonus. In Act 3, you can gain another +2 Dexterity via Mirror of the Loss. You should be at 22 Dexterity, producing incredible damage and a chance to hit.
For combat performance, consume the tadpole and gain even more powerful bonuses. Cull of the Weak does area damage, which is amazing with a Githyanki Ranger build. Repulsor, Luck of the Far Relm, and Black Hole are our favorites and will likely carry your entire party if you decide to bring one.
Preferred Gear
Regarding gear, look to obtain the Titanstring Bow combined with the Club of Hill Giant Strength and a shield. Titanstring will add your strength modifier to damage, while Hill Giant Club passively boosts your strength to 19. With a shield and Lae’zel medium Githyanki Armor, you’ll be at 17 AC. This setup grants you incredible survivability, and you’ll likely use it until Act 3, where you can replace your bow with Legendary Longbow Gontr Mael.
The next combination is Killer’s Sweetheart ring with Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet. This combination feeds you an automatic critical, which stuns an enemy for free. Lastly, throw on the Helm of Balduran so you cannot be stunned. Overall, this setup is the strongest in Baldur’s Gate 3 combat. However, it doesn’t have the exploration or dialogue benefits of the Paladin. If it weren’t for that, the Githyanki Ranger build and race combo would be the best overall.
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