Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build

This guide focuses on the best Barbarian build in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Wildheart subclass, and includes all components to create a powerful character.

Table of Contents

[hide]

This build has been updated for the Patch 7 version of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Everything About the Wildheart Barbarian in BG3

In this build, we will be focusing on the Wildheart subclass for the Barbarian class, which gives an added animal spirit. Consequently, this gives you extra ability and passive effects. Unlike the Berserker, we won’t have two additional abilities for bonus actions, but we will supplement that with a feat at level four. This subclass is straightforward with both passive and active benefits. You want to play this build, if you want a simple Barbarian that you can customize with an animal spirit.

Barbarians are the ultimate melee warriors, relying on their raw strength and ferocity to tear through their enemies. They can enter a state of rage, which increases their damage output and durability. Barbarians are also proficient with all weapons and armor, making them versatile combatants.

Barbarian Class Features & Mechanics

Baldur's Gate 3 Frenzy Berserker Barbarian

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

Primary Ability: Strength
Saving Throws: Strength and Constitution
Armour Proficiency: Light and Medium Armour, Shield
Weapon Proficiency: Martial and Simple
Preferred Weapon: Two-handed Greatsword
Preferred Armor: Clothing
Rage: Gain 2 extra damage with melee and have increased damage resistance.
Bestial Heart: Pick an animal heart and unlock additional skills depending on your selection.
Extra Attack: Allows two attacks with one action.

The Wildheart Barbarian is a powerful class that can be a lot of fun to play. The class depends on the understanding of the Rage mechanic. Put simply, activate this mechanic on turn one, and stay aggressive making sure to attack or be hit each turn.

Barbarian Best Subclass – Wildheart

Here are all the Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian subclasses:

Berserker: straightforward, simple, and big damage
Wildheart: added skills and animal skills
Wild Magic: unpredictable and magic-based

The Wildheart subclass is a great subclass for people who want a simple Barbarian that can pick animal influences giving passive and active benefits. At level 3, when picking Wildheart subclass your Rage will activate a different animal ability depending on your selection.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Wildheart Barbarian Features & Progression

The Berserker Barbarian subclass unlocks the following features and spells:

Bestial Heart (Level 3): Allows you to choose between 5 different options, based on animals.
Speak with Animals (Level 3): Gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts.
Animal Aspect (Level 6): Choose an aspect of an animal for passive benefit.
Land’s Stride: Difficult Terrain (Level 8) – You have become an expert at moving through the wilderness. Difficult Terrain no longer slows you down.
Animal Aspect (Level 10) – Choose an aspect of an animal for passive benefit.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds – All Classes and Companions

Character Creation

Recommended Backgrounds Barbarian Wildheart in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best Background for a Wildheart Barbarian is Soldier because it has proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation. Backgrounds in Baldur’s Gate 3 are a way to represent your character’s backstory and give them some starting skills and abilities. Athletics scales in effectiveness with your main class‘s primary statistic, Strength.

Soldier: Proficiency in Athletics (strength) and Intimidation (charisma). You are trained in battlefield tactics and combat, having served in a militia, mercenary company, or officer corps. Soldier companions in BG3 are Jaheira and Lae’zel.
Outlander: Proficiency in Athletics (strength) and Survival (wisdom). You grew up in the wilds, learning to survive far from the comforts of civilization. Outlander companions in BG3 are Halsin and Karlach.
Urchin: Proficiency in Sleight of Hand (dexterity) and Stealth (dexterity). After surviving a poor and bleak childhood, you know how to make the most out of very little.

Race Choice for Baldur’s Gate 3 Wildheart Barbarian Build

Half-Orc is the Best Race Choice for a Wildheart Barbarian because the Relentless Endurance racial feature can also save you from dropping to 0 hit points. The Half-Orc’s savage attack allows for extra damage and Darkvision is vital playing in the Underdark. A secondary option is Zariel Tiefling which offers Hellish Resistance and Rebuke along with Darkvision. This is a great race for filtering with fire and makes a great melee race choice option.

Here is the best race choice for a Wildheart Barbarian build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Half-Orc	Zariel Tiefling
Relentless Endurance	Darkvision (12m)
Menacing	Hellish Resistance
Darkvision	Searing Smite
Savage Attack	Branding Smite

Best Wildheart Barbarian Racial Choice

The Barbarian’s racial choice will not influence ability score, but everyone should get a +2 and +1 to spend regardless. This frees your race choice up to not completely hinder yourself based on ability score, but race features. Each of these races offers unique advantages that can enhance your combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, consider the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you.

Recommended Skills for Barbarian Wildheart Build

Perception and Survival are the best skills for the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build 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.

Here are the best skills for a Wildheart Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Perception: Wisdom skill that spots hidden containers, mechanisms, traps, and creatures.
Survival: Wisdom skill that aids in hunting in the wilderness.

Best Wildheart Barbarian Ability Score

Below is the best ability score to unlock the full potential of the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build:

Ability	Points Goal
Strength	16
Dexterity	14
Constitution	16
Intelligence	8
Wisdom	10
Charisma	10

Best Wildheart Barbarian Ability Score

The Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build Ability Score hits 16 strength, 16 constitution, and 14 Dexterity. Strength will influence your damage, Dexterity will help with Armour Class (AC) and Constitution determines your health pool which is high by default. You can increase your Strength to 20 via feat improvements at levels 8 and 12 and reach 20 by a max level of 12.

You can increase your ability score via a quest in Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3. Make sure to check out our Permanent bonus guide on how you can boost your ability score through quests.

Also Check:- BG3 Interactive Map

Best Companions for Wildheart Barbarian Build

For the Wildheart Build, we do not recommend additional front-line fighters and damage dealers. The idea is, that your character charges in melee range with support, range damage, or even stealth attacks. If you have multiple melee characters, 2-3, it can be troublesome in close-quarters combat.

Shadowheart (Cleric): buffs, healing, and crowd control.
Gale (Wizard): range magic damage, area damage, and crowd control.
Astarion (Rogue): burst damage, lockpicking, and range if needed.

When putting your party together, consider companions for not only their combat prowess but also their outside abilities and skills that can influence storytelling, dialogue, and exploration. A balanced party will fit the traditional RPG ‘holy trinity’: Tank, Healer, and DPS. Ideally, in Baldur’s Gate 3, you are going to want one tank, one healer, one melee DPS, and one range DPS. Some classes/subclasses can cover both roles, so feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you.

Wildheart Barbarian Illithid Powers

Illithid Powers are unlocked later in the game when you learn more about the Mind Flayers and Tadpoles. You can gain jars of Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, and consume them to gain one point. This is essentially another skill tree advancement with some very strong powers.

Here are the best Illithid Powers for the Wildheart Barbarian Build:

Luck of the Far Realms: When you make a successful Attack Roll against a foe, you can change that hit into a Critical Hit. This is a passive feature you can react to once you land your first attack.
Cull of the Weak: When you bring a creature down to fewer hit points than your number of evolved illithid powers, it dies and all nearby creatures take 1-4 Psychic damage. This can provide massive area damage for free and can be toggled off.
Psionic Backlash: When an enemy within 9m casts a spell, you can use your reaction to inflict ld4 Psychic damage to the caster per the spell’s level. This is a passive and hard counter to casters near you.
Ability Drain: Once per turn, when you make an Attack Roll, the attack reduces that target’s corresponding Ability by 1. This is another useful passive that helps debuff enemies and doesn’t require action or bonus actions.
Repulsor: deal 2~12 Damage 1d6 force damage and Force Push anything and anyone back 6m. This is a great aoe knockback and does good damage early in the game.

WIldheart Barbarian Bestial Hearts

BG3 Wildheart Primal Stampede — Primal Stampede

Starting at Level 3 when you unlock the Wildheart Subclass, you will get a choice in a specific Bestial Heart. Below is a list of all the Bestial Hearts in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Bear Heart: Unrelenting Ferocity 1d8 self heal.
Eagle Heart: Diving Strike Leap down unto a foe, knocking them Prone. You won‘t take falling damage. You must be above your target 5m range.
Elk Heart: Primal Stampede Charge forward, attacking all hostile creatures in your way. Deals 1d4+2 Bludgeoning damage and knocks targets Prone.
Tiger Heart: Tiger’s Bloodlust Lash out to attack up to 3 enemies at once and make them Bleed.
Wolf Heart: Inciting Howl Each ally within earshot can move an additional 3m during their next turn.

Wildheart Animal Aspect

At Level 6, the Wildheart Barbarian will get to choose an Aspect of the Beast. Selecting one passive benefit to you and possibly your team. Here’s a list of all the Wildheart Animal Aspects in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Bear – Your carrying capacity is doubled, and you have Advantage on Strength Checks.
Chimpanzee – You gain Resistance to Falling damage and throwing camp supplies Blinds targets.
Crocodile – Your movement speed increases by 3m while standing on water-based surfaces. On slippery surfaces, you also have Advantage on Saving Throws against being knocked Prone.
Eagle – You can see in the dark up to 12m, and gain Advantage on Perception Checks
Elk – You can use Aspect of the Elk (Grant yourself and nearby allies a +1.5m bonus to movement speed)
Honey Badger – If you’re Poisoned, Frightened, or Charmed at the start of your turn, you have a 50% chance to begin Raging without expending a Rage Charge
Stallion – Dashing grants you temporary hit points equal to twice your level.
Tiger – You add Strength Modifier to Attack Rolls against Bleeding or Poisoned targets and gain proficiency in Survival
Wolf – You gain Proficiency in Stealth, and can use Aspect of the Wolf (You and nearby allies add your Dexterity modifier as a bonus to Stealth Checks)
Wolverine – When you attack a Bleeding or Poisoned target, you also Maim it for 1 turn.

Wildheart Barbarian Level Progression

Level 1

Level one follow our character creator to pick all correct background, race, skills, and ability distribution focusing on Strength and Constitution. You will select subclass at level 3. Use the character creation steps above and hit the appropriate ability score and race. You want to either use medium armor or clothing, and a two-handed weapon preferred a Greatsword. You can get a super powerful one in the tutorial called the Everburn Blade.

At Level 1 you will unlock two mechanics as a Barbarian:

Unarmored Defense: While you are not wearing any armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier. You can use a shield and still gain this benefit.
Rage: While raging, you deal 2 extra damage with melee and improvised weapons, and when throwing objects. You also have Resistance to physical damage and Advantage on Strength checks and Saving Throws. Rage ends early if you don’t attack an enemy or take damage each turn. You can’t cast or concentrate on spells while raging.

Unarmored Defense Explained

Unarmored Defense helps if you don’t plan on wearing medium armor. There isn’t a benefit to doing this, you can simply take Lae’zal’s armor and equip it with high dexterity for a higher Armour Class (AC).

Rage is the bread-and-butter component of The Barbarian. In combat you’ll want to use this on your first time with a bonus action and charge in. Make sure to equip a ranged weapon so you can always attack once per turn to keep it active.

Gameplay essentially is using your bonus action on your first turn to go into Rage, charging ahead and attacking either with a bow or melee weapon two-handed Greatsword preferred.

Wildheart Barbarian Gameplay & Priorities

The Wildheart Barbarian is a powerful melee subclass that should equip a Two-Handed Greatsword. First, your primary goal is to find a back-bar ranged weapon at the start of the game. You will have limited mobility, and the Heavy Crossbow or Longbow is great until you reach higher levels and access movement-enhancing armor. Moreover, look to acquire Elixir of Hill Giant Strength, Potion of Speed, and Oil of Accuracy consumables. These three consumables “stack” allowing for massive damage.

Your overall priority with the Wildheart Barbarian build is the following:

Complete Prologue
Recruit Companions
Unlock Withers, respec companions to proper class/ability score
Collect the Necromancy of Thay (important in Act 3)
Reached Hollowed City/Druid Grove
Sell, Stock up, complete quests
Unlock summons, Scratch, Shovel
Progress to level 5
Reach Underdark and Grymforge
Check all Permanent Bonuses in Act 1 and the best Gear
Act 1 Checklist for step-by-step completion

Following these steps ensures a strong foundation, especially if you plan on playing solo or on Honour Mode difficulty.

Level 2

At level two you will unlock Reckless Attack and Dangerous Sense. Here’s what they do:

Reckless Attack: Reckless Attack feature, which allows you to gain Advantage on melee weapon attack rolls in exchange for granting Advantage to enemies attacking you until your next turn. This should be used against an enemy you will either kill or won’t target your next turn.
Dangerous Sense: You have an Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws against traps, spells, and surfaces. This is just passively applied to your character.

Reckless Attack is your main skill for damage. When you gain Advantage, you can expect two dice rolls rather than one giving you a higher chance to land the attack. Be aware, that the enemy will have the same against you too. At this stage of the game, your goal is to simply use Rage as your bonus action on your first turn in charge into combat. Your goal is to get hit or hit someone back to extend the Rage effect. Make sure to equip a bow in case you cannot reach a target on your first turn.

Gameplay with our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build at this level is using Rage as your bonus action first turn and charging into battle. If you are in melee range, hit with Reckless Attack as your main damage dealer. Also, keep moving forward and use ranged attacks if necessary to keep rage active.

Level 3

At level three you will finally get to pick a subclass and we recommend Wildheart. This lets you maintain a simple, durable build with additional animal hearts, which are essential abilities. Here’s what you should do at level 3 with a Barbarian Build:

Wildheart Subclass
Extra Rage Charge
Speak with Animals: Gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts.
Pick 1 Bestial Heart (Subclass Feature): recommended Elk Heart.
- Elk Heart: You obtain barbarian elk rage and Primal Stampede (Action)

Now you unlocked Wildheart and selected a Bestial Heart (Elk Heart), and the gameplay changes a bit. When you activate Rage with a bonus action on your first turn, you will then unlock the Primal Stampede ability.

Primal Stampede: Charge forward, attacking all hostile creatures in your way. Deals 1d4+2 Bludgeoning damage and knocks targets Prone.

This is a great ability that provides mobility, and slight damage but massive crowd control. The benefit of this ability is you can charge up to 9 meters! See the picture below, you can often ram through 2-to 3 enemies knocking them down in prone and crowd control them. This isn’t a meta damage ability, but it serves the purpose of closing the distance, area damage, and a stun.

The gameplay now is Rage on the first turn with a bonus action, then Reckless Attack if in melee range. If you need a stun or are unable to get in range, use Primal Stampede. On your second turn, focus on attacks. You won’t have much of a use for your bonus action besides potions at this level. At level 4 we will take a feat that helps with this and makes the build more action efficient.

Level 4

Baldur's Gate 3 Great Weapon Master Explained

At level 4 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build picks a feat to unlock. We suggest Great Weapon Master at this level, due to the additional bonus attack utility.

Great Weapon Master feat: When a melee attack scores a critical hit or kills a creature, you can make another melee attack as a bonus action. When attacking with Heavy Weapons you are proficient with, attack rolls take a -5 penalty, but their damage increases by 10.

Great Weapon Master Explained

The Great Weapon Master feat does two things for you. One, it has a high risk high reward ability to add 10 damage BUT -5 attack roll penalty. As shown in the picture above, this simply reduces your chance to hit the percentage significantly. You can turn this off in the Passive section on your toolbar, which will give you the normal percentage. The higher your strength goes, the more percentage chance to hit. As you hit 8 and 12 with further Ability Improvements or gear to increase strength expect a higher chance to hit.

Secondly, this feat gives you another chance to hit on a kill or critical hit using a bonus action. This is the real reason the feat is so strong, multiple attacks in a turn, and with this build, you will be getting a lot of critical hits and kills. Combat should therefore be initiated using your action first, saving your bonus action for a Great Weapons Master attack.

Gameplay: look to kill lower health targets to take advantage of Great Weapon Master. Also, look for support classes that have Bless, this will increase your chance of landing. And if the percentage is too low, toggle off Great Weapons Master in your passive section on the toolbar. This will turn off the -5 negative, but lower damage. Turn back on when enemies are around 50% or higher to hit.

Level 5

At level five the Barbarian gains extra attack and Fast Movement.

Gain the Extra Attack feature, allowing you to make two attacks when you take the Attack action on your turn. This significantly boosts your damage potential in combat.
Gain a Class Feature Fast Movement increases your movement speed by +5 while not wearing heavy armor.
You can change your bestial heart selection (Optional)

At level 5 the Barbarian becomes amazing with Extra Attack paired with Great Weapon Master. This will allow you to attack multiple times with your actions and another with a bonus action. You can consume a Potion of Speed for a further effect and do a lot of damage in one turn.

This is where the Barbarian starts to dominate. Your first turn is the standard, bonus action to activate Rage and charge in with Reckless Attack. If you land the attack you get an additional one. Usually, you want to use your secondary weapon-based skill like Lacerate to cause some bleeding damage. On the second turn, you will have a bonus action free, so you can do 2x attacks, the first being Reckless then use a bonus action strike depending on your proc Great Weapon Master with a kill or a critical strike. That’s three attacks per turn. If you are doing a hard fight, use a Potion of Speed and you add another 2 to that!

Level 6

At level 6 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build unlocks an Animal Aspect and an additional Rage Charge. We suggest taking Elk here as well.

Aspect of the Beast: Elk: Grant yourself and nearby allies a +1.5m bonus to movement speed

This movement speed can be activated out of combat and remains on you and or allies near you. With my Haste Helm at level 6, I had a 14m movement speed. At level 7, you get a +3 bonus to Initiative. You then have a high initiative and high movement speed, which allows you to start combat first, second, or third mostly and almost always reach melee range. Very helpful passive benefit that keeps us on target in melee.

Ending Act 1 with a Wildheart Barbarian

Around Level 6 you should be close to completing Act 1. Make sure to visit traders and stock up on camp and alchemy supplies. Moreover, look over the best Act 1 items. There are also permanent bonuses you don’t want to miss in Act 1. Lastly, Grymforge has powerful armor and weapons (Adamantine) that can aid you well into Act 3. Consider taking the time to collect the Mithral, Mould, and Craft items before transitioning to Act 2, where you won’t be able to return them.

Level 7

At level 7 the Wildheart Barbarian can change bestial heart and receives a very powerful passive, Feral Instinct.

Receive Feral Instinct
You can change your bestial heart selection (Optional)

Feral Instinct: You have honed your instincts to the utmost degree. You gain a +3 bonus to Initiative and can’t be surprised.

While this doesn’t seem big, it’s vital to the build. You will have a high Initiative and skip Surprised which eliminates your first turn. This means you are guaranteed to go during the first round of combat and will be one of the first to start. You can then focus on stunning or eliminating the highest priority target and reduce damage for you and your team.

The gameplay remains the same at this point. If you have a Gloom Stalker Ranger or a Rogue Assassin in your group, try to open up the fight with their attack to proc surprise status effect. This will give you a free turn and help melt the team in one or two turns.

Level 8

At level 8 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build gets to pick a feat. We will go with Ability Improvement and add +2 to Strength to reach 18. We can select another one at level 12 to reach a total of 20. This will help us land more attacks and do more damage. The premise of the build is to constantly critical strike or land killing blows to proc Great Weapon Master secondary effect using bonus action for attacks.

Feat – Ability Improvement: +2 Strength
You can change your Bestial Heart selection (Optional)
Land’s Stride: Difficult Terrain: You have become an expert at moving through the wilderness. Difficult Terrain no longer slows you down.

Anything that boosts your chance to land attacks (Bless), gain advantage (True Strike), or increase the likelihood of a kill or critical strike will increase your efficiency. The goal for you is to use two attacks, get a kill, and then Great Weapon Master Bonus action. There will be times when you need to use consumables and defensive bonus action skills. But the overall premise remains, keep it simple, and aggressive and enjoy the randomness of the Wildheart subclass.

Level 9

At level 9 the Barbarian unlocks a class feature Brutal Critical. Brutal Critical: When you land a Critical Hit, you roll an extra damage die as well as the normal additional critical dice. You can change your Bestial Heart selection if you wish, but this is optional and I recommend sticking with Elk Heart.

The gameplay is very simple beyond this level and not much changes besides passive benefits like Brutal Critical. As you can imagine, this gives us even more damage and isn’t something we have to activate, it’s a passive feature. Making the Barbarian ultra-simple and powerful.

Level 10

Baldur's Gate 3 Wildheart Barbarian Animal Aspect Tiger

Baldur's Gate 3 Wildheart Barbarian Using Poisons

At level 10 our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build unlocks another Animal Aspect. I suggest going with the Tiger.

Aspect of the Beast Tiger (subclass feature): You add a Strength Modifier to Attack Rolls against Bleeding or Poisoned targets, and gain Proficiency in Survival. We will mostly be using a Two-Handed Greatsword for the entirety of the game. The Greatsword has the skill Lacerate which can proc the Bleeding status effect, essentially feeding into our damage from this passive feature.

You can also use poison consumables on your weapons. Drow Poison lasts 10 turns, it uses a bonus action and can trigger poisoned and asleep if the enemy fails a saving throw. This gives you a couple of advantages and will allow a lot more damage making the Tiger a great selection.

Level 11

From level 11 to 12 the Barbarian doesn’t get much. I recommend spending the last two levels multi-classing to the Fighter. At level 11 the Barbarian gets Relentless Rage which mimics the Half-Orc passive Relentless Endurance. If you drop to 0 health, you have 1 health instead of being Downed. At level 12 you will miss a feat in which you can take +2 Strength which admittedly is nice. But you can consume Hill Giant potions and reach 21 or 27 strength for a brief time.

The reason I suggest Barbarian multi-classing is purely for Action Surge. A resourceless once-per-short-rest ability that gives you another action in combat. Given the Barbarian already has an extra attack, those extra two attacks combined with Great Weapon Master are worth sacrificing Relentless Rage and +2 Strength. If you do not wish to do that, continue and take the Ability Improvement +2 Strength at level 12 with the Barbarian.

Great Weapon Fighting Style: When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a two-handed melee weapon, that die is rerolled once. This is an amazing benefit only Paladins and Fighters have. You get a reroll low damage die increasing your output potential significantly.

Second Wind: this skill is unlocked at level one Fighter and is a mediocre heal that is useful during the start of the game. You can use a bonus action, though most potions outperform it.

If you multi-class, this level will feel uneventful, but trust me it’ll be worth it.

Level 12

With two levels into Fighter, you get access to the awe-inspiring Action Surge. You get an extra action, but the biggest strength is, that it doesn’t require any resources to use it. Action Surge is a once-per-fight usage, but it allows you to cast and recharge on short rest.

Take your Barbarian with Great Weapon Master feat, Extra Attack, and give it Action Surge for 2x more attacks. You can take this a step further by using either a Potion of Haste or casting Haste on yourself. Then you get another action! If you did the math on that:

Attack one + extra attack = 2
Attack two (via Action Surge) + extra attack = 4
Attack three (via Haste) + extra attack = 6
Great Weapon Master via critical strike or kill = 7 (if you have a bonus action)

With our Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build, the Barbarian at level 12 with this setup has so much firepower it’s remarkable. Again, if you wanted a traditional Barbarian for all 12 levels, take Ability Improvement +2 Strength or the Alert feat which helps with going early. We hope you enjoyed this build and check out the gear section for more!

Best Gear for Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build

In Games like Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll explore the world, loot chests and your enemies’ dead bodies, and complete quests, and all those activities can reward you with useful items, potions, armor, weapons, scrolls, and much more. There are three Acts in BG3, and we’ve updated this guide to include suggested sets and alternatives for Act 1 and Act 3. Look to progress and alternative selections if you don’t have the recommended item.

Armour vs Clothing for Barbarian

In the below sections, way may give alternative suggestions that include armour, not clothing. This may change the entire setup, and or lower or heighten your armour class. Meaning, in Act 1 if you use the Bracers of Defence with Adamantine Scale Mail (medium armour) you won’t receive the benefit of it. Therefore, make sure you understand that either you need to use a setup with zero armour and clothing or mix and match.

In addition, do not use any heavy armour. It will ruin the build and specifically Rage mechanics.

Beginner: Starting the Game

Here’s the best beginner gear for Barbarian Wildheart Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item	Effect
Head	Haste Helm	Increase Movement
Cape	–
Chest	Bloodguzzler Garb	Extra Damage
Gloves	Bracers of Defence	+2 AC
Boots	Linebreaker Boots	Wrath when Dash
Necklace	Amulet of Misty Step	Free Spell
Ring	Crusher’s Ring	Increased Movement
Ring	Caustic Band	Poison Damage
Weapon 1 Main Hand	Everburn Blade	Starter Weapon
Weapon 2 Ranged	Titanstring Bow	Add STR Modifier

Best Beginner Wildheart Barbarian Weapon, Clothing, and Armour in BG3

Below is the best Act 1 Armor, Weapons, and Equipment for Wildheart Barbarian in BG3:

Haste Helm: Chest in the Blighted Village X 32, Y 403 (Alternative Cap of Wrath).
Bloodguzzler Garb: Loot it from Bulette’s body in the Underdark (Alternatives Adamantine Scale Mail)
Bracers of Defence: In the Apothecary’s Cellar beneath the Blighted Village(X: -656 Y: -370 (Alternatives Gloves of Missile Snaring, Reason’s Grasp, Gloves of the Growling Underdog).
Linebreaker Boots: Loot it from Beastmaster Zurk’s body in the Worg Pens (Alternatives Boots of Genial Striding, Boots of Striding , or Disintegrating Night Walkers)
Amulet of Misty Step: Chest behind the ogre Polma in the Defiled Temple within the Goblin Camp (Alternatives Moondrop Pendant, Amulet of Branding, or Amulet of Restoration).
Crusher’s Ring: Can be looted or stolen from Crusher in the Goblin camp in Act 1 (Alternatives Ring of Flinging, or Fetish of Callarduran Smoothhands).
Caustic Band: Merchant Derryth Bonecloak in the Myconid Colony in the Underdark (Alternatives Ring of Absolute Force, or The Sparkswall).
Everburn Blade: Can be looted from Commander Zhalk during the prologue (Alternative Silver Sword of the Astral Plane or Sword of Justice).
Titanstring Bow: Brem in Zhentarim Hideout Act 1 (Alternatives Hunting Shortbow, or Giantbreaker).

Advanced: End-Game

Baldur's Gate 3 Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength

This table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for Wildheart Barbarian Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Gear Slot	Best Gear Item	Effect
Head	Bonespike Helmet	Damage on Rage
Cape	Fleshmelter Cloak	Acid Damage
Chest	Bonespike Garb	Damage Reduction
Gloves	Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength	23 Strength
Boots	Helldusk Boots	Mobility Skill
Necklace	Amulet of Greater Health	23 Constitution
Ring	Killer’s Sweetheart	Automatic Critical
Ring	Ring Of Regeneration	Self-healing
Weapon 1 Main Hand	Balduran’s Giantslayer	Best Greatsword
Weapon 2 Ranged	Darkfire Shortbow	Fire & Cold Resist
Throwable	Nyrulna	Throwable Object

Best Wildheart Barbarian Armour BG3

Below is the best Act 3 Armor, Weapons, and Equipment for Wildheart Barbarian in BG3:

Bonespike Helmet: Obtained from Voiceless Penitent Bareki Merchant in Lower City Sewers. (Alternatives Helldusk Helmet, Mask of Soul Perception, or Helm of Balduran).
Fleshmelter: Found in Chest in House of Healing Morgue (Alternative Cloak of Protection).
Bonespike Garb: Purchased from Exxvikyap at The Rivington General, Act 3 (Alternatives Enraging Heart Garb, The Mighty Cloth or Bhaalist Armour).
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength: Obtained in Archive of the House of Hope (Alternatives Helldusk Gloves, Legacy of the Masters, or Gloves of Soul Catching).
Helldusk Boots: Obtained in a locked chest, Wyrm’s Rock Fortress (Alternatives Bonespike Boots, or Disintegrating Night Walkers).
Amulet of Greater Health: Obtained in Archive of the House of Hope (Alternative Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet).
Killer’s Sweetheart: Obtained from the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar, Act 2 (Alternative Ring of Protection).
Ring Of Regeneration: Sold by Rolan at Sorcerous Sundries (Alternative Ring of Free Action).
Balduran’s Giantslayer: Obtained as a reward for completing the Wyrmway trials (Alternatives Sword of Chao s, or Silver Sword of the Astral Plane).
Darkfire Shortbow: Sold by trader Damon Act 2 Last Light Inn (Alternative Fabricated Arbalest).
Nyrulna: Stole from Akabi in Circus of the Last Days in Rivington Act 3.

Best Barbarian Consumables, Potions, and Items

Baldur's Gate 3 Elixir of Hill Giant Strength tooltip

The following list represents the best individual use consumable items that will aid in the Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build:

Elixir of Hill Giant Strength: Increases Strength ability score to 21 until Long Rest.
Elixir of Bloodlust: Once per turn when you kill a foe, you gain HP 5 temporary hit points and an additional action.
Potion of Speed: Gain extra action, +2 AC, Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, and double movement speed.
Drow Poison: Weapon poison that adds Constitution Saving Throw or becomes Poisoned and falls Asleep.
Potion of Flying: Drink to gain a flying speed of 60ft for one hour.
Elixir of Heroism: Gain 10 temp HP and become Blessed until a long rest.
Potion of Greater Healing: 4d4 + 4 hit points restored.
Oil of Accuracy: Coat Weapon. Bonus of +2 in Attack Rolls.
Elixir of Vigilance: Drink to gain a +5 bonus to Initiative and you can’t be Surprised.
Elixir of Darkvision: (only non-Darkvision race): Drink to gain the ability to see in the dark up to 12m.

Combat, Gameplay Tips, and Tricks in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build uses a combination of aggression, damage, and movement speed to survive and fight. You will need to play aggressively but also use terrain, consumables, and companions to help you in combat.

Here are 10 gameplay tips specifically for playing a Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Use Rage Wisely: Activate this and stay aggressive. You need to either do damage or be damaged so play up close.
Initial Turn: Make sure your initial move either puts you in melee range so you can strike or attack with range to keep Rage active.
Bonus Action: use your bonus action as an attack after you critical strike or kill someone with Great Weapon Master.
Prioritize melee combat: build for higher movement to take advantage of strength-based melee weapons
Crowd Control: use your Primal Stampede to close the distance and stun one or more targets.
Reckless Attack: Use this attack when it’s likely you will not receive a return blow.
Potion of Speed: Use these potions to gain bigger movement and more action in challenging fights.
Bestial Heart: pick bonuses that help with your group, and swap these out if you don’t feel one is useful.
Long Rest: Make sure to rest when your Rage and Frenzy counters are low so you start with many available.
Great Weapon Master: Try to target low-health enemies with a high chance of hit so you can proc a free extra attack if you kill them.

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 Best Wildheart Barbarian!

Wildheart Barbarian Changes in Patch 7 for BG3

Baldur's Gate Patch 7 Notes — Baldur’s Gate Patch 7 (Image via Larian Studios)

The release of Patch 7 for BG3 brought with it no significant combat, gameplay, or build-related change for the Wildheart Barbarian. The main focus of this update was the final narrative additions mostly centered around evil endings, along with official modding tools and adjustments to honour mode.

Furthermore, the game now features a modding toolkit and an in-game mod manager, allowing players to create and install mods directly within the game. It enables players to produce unique content and continue the story in new ways.