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Discover the best Medium Armour in Baldur’s Gate 3, equipping your class with the top eight early and end-game choices. Let’s explore the strongest and optimal options for each proficient class and race.
Medium armour is a great choice for users that don’t have higher than 14 Dexterity ability scores or characters who care about stealth bonuses. Often Medium armor gives a stealth disadvantage, but this isn’t an issue for most classes and builds outside of Ranger. The game starts with most medium armors providing 13 AC, which is +2 over light. AC helps you avoid attacks and keeps you more survivable.
The user will need the Medium Armour proficiency or suffer penalties while wearing the armor. Medium armour provides more protection than Light Armour, but hinders mobility: when wearing medium armour, your Armour Class is equal to the Armour’s base AC plus your Dexterity Modifier. Unlike light armor, the bonus from the Dexterity modifier is limited to +2. Thus, you need a 14 Dexterity score to get +2 and add to your total of medium armor.
Classes with Medium Armour proficiency: Barbarian, Bard (College of Valour & College of Swords), Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger
Races with Medium Armour proficiency: Githyanki, Shield Dwarf (Dwarven Armour Training)
Moderately Armour Feat also gives medium armour and shield proficiency.
What is the Best Medium Armour in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Adamantine Scale Mail is the best medium armor in Baldur’s Gate 3 because it’s easy to obtain, has very high AC, prevents critical hits, and has an Adamantine Backlash feature. This is a one size fits all armor that can be obtained in Act 1 Grymforge through crafting. The Armour Class (AC) of 16, which you can add two more with 14 Dexterity. This would give you 18 Dexterity in medium armour, one of the highest in the game. The Adamantine Backlash property gives a -1 penalty to attack rolls, which means that they will be less accurate and deal less damage for a short time. This armor is the easiest and one of the highest defensive item sets in the game and a must-have for medium armour users.
The Best Medium Armor for each proficient class in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Barbarian: Adamantine Scale Mail
- Bard (College of Valour & College of Swords): Adamantine Scale Mail
- Cleric: Adamantine Scale Mail
- Druid: Adamantine Scale Mail
- Fighter: Githyanki Half Plate (decent starter armor, this class does better in heavy Armor)
- Paladin: Githyanki Half Plate (decent starter armor, this class does better in heavy Armor)
- Ranger: Yuan-ti Scale Mail
6 Githyanki Half Plate
Githyanki Half Plate features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Recommended for Class: Cleric
- Armour Class: 15 AC
- Rarity: Common
- Location: Random Loot form Githyanki, Act 1-3
The easiest way to get a high-powered medium armour set at the start of the game is to use Lae’zel’s armor. She comes with a 15 AC Githyanki Half Plate, and for the first few initial hours, you won’t find anything with a higher AC. You take it from her and equip it with your medium armour proficient character.
The only downside to this gear set is the disadvantage on stealth, which shouldn’t be an issue for most of the medium armour builds. This is my go-to strategy right away, with Shadowheart playing a Cleric. I need her (or any support build) to have high survivability. Giving her this armor set takes her from 13 AC to 15 AC immediately and drastically increases survivability for the game’s first few hours.
5 Hedge Wanderer Armour
Hedge Wanderer Armour features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Recommended for Class: Druid
- Armour Class: 13 AC
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Location: Sold by Arron in the Druid Grove, Act 1
Another simple medium armour set to get in Act 1 is Hedge Wander Armour. This can be obtained from Arron in Emerald Grove. It gives 13 AC + Dexterity Modifier, which isn’t the highest. However, it gives +1 to Nature and a +1 bonus to Dexterity Saving Throws and Checks.
This is a great choice for a Circle of the Moon Druid with 14 Dexterity. The AC bonus isn’t as nice as the Githyanki Half plate, but you can use it in conjunction with that gear set. The +1 Dexterity saving throws will help you avoid some damage, and the added benefit to nature helps in open-world exploration during Act 1.
4 Barkskin Armour
Barkskin Armour features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Recommended for Class: Bard
- Armour Class: 12 AC (16 AC with the Barkskin effect)
- Rarity: Rare
- Location: Sold by Quartermaster Talli, Last Light Inn, Act 2
As you progress through the game, you reach Act 2 armor. The first item set up is Barksin Armour with a low AC of 12. However, this item comes with Forest Aegis, increasing your AC to 16 and providing the Barkskin spell effects. This easy-to-pick-up Armour in Act 2 boosts you over the default 13 AC early in the game and is 1 higher than Githyanki Half-Plate. In addition, it helps with Constitution Saving Throws.
3 Yuan-ti Scale Mail
Yuan-ti Scale Mail features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Recommended for Class: Ranger
- Armour Class: 15 AC
- Rarity: Rare
- Location: Sold by Quartermaster Talli, Last Light Inn, Act 2
The Yuan-Ti Scale Mail should be your target in Act 2 for a super high-powered medium armour set. It uniquely gives you all your Dexterity Modifier rather than capping it at +2 like other medium armour sets. This is perfect for a Ranger running 18-20 Dexterity later in the game. With 20 Dexterity and 15 AC by default, you are looking at 20 AC! This will keep your Ranger very survivable throughout the entirety of the game.
You also won’t face any penalties on stealth, which helps the Gloom Stalker Ranger subclass. You also get a +2 bonus to initiative rolls, which is vital for starting combat early. The best part of this armour is buying it from the Quartermaster in Last Light Inn early in Act 2 and then using it for many hours during your playthrough.
2 Flame Enamelled Armour
Yuan-ti Scale Mail features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Recommended for Class: Cleric
- Armour Class: 16 AC
- Rarity: Very Rare
- Location: Southeast Cellar in Wyrm’s Rock Fortress, Act 3
Progressing to the final Act in the game, we’ve reached our Very Rare armor. The Flame Enamelled armor gives you a +2 initiative roll, double the Yuan-Ti Scale mail. You also get 16 AC with another +2 if you have 14 Dexterity or more. The armor set comes with Fire Shield: Warm a level 4 Evocation spell which you can use without consuming a spell slot on long rest. Additionally, you get fire resistance as well. The Fire Shield: Warm gives you cold resistance when active, and paired together, this gives you strong elemental resistance.
This item set makes a great choice for Clerics without heavy armor proficiency. The Cleric is typically last in the attack order due to a lower Dexterity ability score, which dictates initiative. After almost an entire round of combat, you can expect your Cleric to be crowd controlled, out of position, or need to heal your entire team. This limits their own damage and crowd control ability. Going first or higher in the queue is the difference between having to play defensive the entire match or using some high-pressure offensive spells. Moreover, you can cast the fire shield on yourself for extra protection when expecting damage and keep your Cleric damage focus rather than reactionary gameplay.
1 Adamantine Scale Mail
Yuan-ti Scale Mail features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Recommended for Class: Druid, Cleric, Bard, Barbarian
- Armour Class: 16 AC
- Rarity: Very Rare
- Location: Forged in The Adamantine Forge, Grymforge, Act 1. Requirement: the Scale Mail Mould and one Mithral Ore.
The strongest overall medium armour set comes from Act 1 and is the Adamantine Scale Mail. The fact that you can get this in Act 1 with 16 AC, damage reduction, debuffing attackers, and prevention of critical hits makes this a strong choice. The Adamantine Backlash gives the Reeling status effect to attackers for two turns. This gives a -1 penalty to attack rolls and helps with reducing damage for a couple of turns. The Magical Plate reducing all damage by 1 is a massive benefit that requires no activation but is passively given to you.
The downsides of the item set are the disadvantage on stealth rolls and the AC bonus is limited to +2. However, spell casters like the Druid and Cleric with 14 AC can boost their overall to 18 and increase survivability drastically. The only legendary chest piece comes in the form of heavy armor, so purple quality is the best medium item we have. The blend of damage reduction, accessibility, and debuff makes it the strongest in the game overall and the number one target for any medium armor user in Act 1!
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