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.
Barbarian Class Introduction
Barbarians are the ultimate melee warriors, relying on their raw strength and ferocity to tear through their enemies. They are able to 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.
In this build, we will be focusing on the Wildheart subclass. The Wildheart subclass gives an added animal spirit. 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.
This build has been updated for the latest version of Baldur’s Gate 3
| Pros of Barbarian Build | Cons of Barbarian Build |
|---|---|
| High Damage Output | Lacks Spellcasting |
| Damage Resistance | Weak Range |
| Extra Attacks | Vulnerable to Magic |
Barbarian Class Features & Mechanics
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 that 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.
Recommended Backgrounds Barbarian Wildheart in Baldur’s Gate 3
The best Background for a Barbarian is Soldier because it has proficiency in 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. Feel free to pick an alternative for roleplay if min-maxing a skill isn’t of interest. It won’t limit your builds performance in combat.
- Soldier – Provides proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation, embracing the militia or military officer.
- Outlander – Provides proficiency in Athletics and Survival, reflecting your wilderness expertise and self-reliance.
Race Choice for Baldur’s Gate 3 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 |
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 Wildheart Barbarian 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.
Here are the best skills for a Wildheart Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Perception is a Wisdom skill
- Survival is a Wisdom Skill.
Best Barbarian Ability Score
Below is the best ability score to unlock the full potential of a Wildheart Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3:
| Ability | Points Goal |
|---|---|
| Strength | 16 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Constitution | 16 |
| Intelligence | 8 |
| Wisdom | 12 |
| Charisma | 8 |
The Best Wildheart Barbarian Ability Score hits 16 strength and 16 constitution with 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.
After you choose the class, subclass race, and background, the game will automatically distribute your abilities in the character creation abilities tab. Strength is your most important ability score followed by Constitution. You should be able to use a +2 and +1 stat distribution regardless of race. If your ability does not line up, drop Charisma lower to hit 16, 14, 16.
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 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
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 in 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 an additional 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.
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. 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 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 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.
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 you 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 except two dice rolls rather than one giving you a higher chance to land the attack. Be aware, 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 Rage effect. Make sure to equip a bow in case you cannot reach a target on your first turn.
Gameplay 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
- Learn 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, 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 times ram through 2-3 enemies knocking them down in prone and crowd control them. This isn’t a meta damage ability, but its serves the purpose of closing the distance, area damage, and a stun.
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
At level 4 the Wildheart Barbarian picks a feat to unlock. We suggest Great Weapon Master at this level, due to 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.
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 to land. 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 high 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 addition 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, first being Reckless then use a bonus action strike depending if you 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 the Wildheart Barbarian 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 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.
Level six you should be towards the end of act one depending on how many quests you did. Gameplay remains unchanged, just easier to reach targets.
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 absolutely 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.
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 them 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 the Wildheart Barbarian 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, then Great Weapon Master Bonus action. Obviously, there will be times you need to use consumables and defensive bonus action skills. But the overall premise remains, keep it simple, 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 image, this gives use 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
At level 10 the Wildheart Barbarian unlocks another Animal Aspect. I suggest going with the Tiger.
Aspect of the Beast Tiger (subclass feature): You add an additional 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 last 10 turns, it uses a bonus action and can proc 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 which you can take +2 Strength and 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 extra attack, those extra two attacks combined with Great Weapon Master is 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 your 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, it doesn’t require any resource to use it. Action Surge is a once-per-fight usage, but it allows you to cast and recharges 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)
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 Companions for Barbarian Build
For the Wildheart Build, we do not recommend additional front-line fighters and damage dealers. The idea is, 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.
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.
Beginner: Starting the Game
Here’s the best beginner gear for Barbarian Wildheart Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
| Gear Slot | Best Gear Item |
|---|---|
| Head | Haste Helm |
| Cape | – |
| Chest | Bloodguzzler Garb |
| Gloves | Bracers of Defence |
| Boots | Linebreaker Boots |
| Necklace | Amulet of Misty Step |
| Ring | Crusher’s Ring |
| Ring | Caustic Band |
| Weapon 1 Main Hand | Everburn Blade |
| Weapon 2 Main Hand | Giantbreaker |
- Haste Helm: At the start of combat, the wearer gains 1.5m movement speed for 3 turns. Locked chest near to the Ancient Rune Circle in the Blighted Village X 32, Y 403.
- Alternative: Cap of Wrath gain Wrath when lower than 50% health. Obtained in Gyrmforge dropped by Thudd.
- Bloodguzzler Garb: 10 AC + Dexterity modifier and when an enemy damages the wearer, they gain Wrath for 1 Turn. You can loot it from Bulette’s body in the Underdark.
- Alternative: Adamantine Splint Armour 18 AC, reduce damage by 2. Obtained in Adamantine Forge crafted with Splint Mould and Mithral Ore.
- Bracers of Defence: You gain a +2 bonus to Armour Class as long as you are not wearing armour or holding a shield. In the Apothecary’s Cellar beneath the Blighted Village (X: -656 Y: -370).
- Alternative: Gloves of the Growling Underdog: gain advantage on melee attacks with 2 or more foes nearby. Obtained Found Inside Treasure chest in the Shattered Sanctum X 298 Y 66.
- Linebreaker Boots: When the wearer Dashes or takes a similar action during combat, they gain Wrath for 3 turns. Loot it from Beastmaster Zurk’s body in the Worg Pens.
- Alternative: Disintegrating Night Walkers: wearer cannot be Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and can’t slip on Grease or Ice and gains Misty Step. Obtained in Gyrmforged as part of Free True Soul Nere questline.
- Amulet of Misty Step: Grants Misty Step Level 2 Conjuration Spell. You can find it in the chest behind the ogre Polma in the Defiled Temple within the Goblin Camp.
- Alternative: Moondrop Pendant: 50% or lower don’t provoke attacks of opportunity. Obtained in Selûnite Glided Chest in Owlbear Nest.
- Crusher’s Ring: Movement Speed +3m. Can be looted or stolen from Crusher in the Goblin camp in Act 1.
- Alternative: Ring of Flinging wearer gains 1d4 bonus to throw damage. Bought from Arron in Druid Grove.
- Caustic Band: weapon gains +2 Acid damage. Obtained from merchant Derryth Bonecloak in the Myconid Colony in the Underdark.
- Alternative: Ring of Psionic Protection: Wearer cannot be charmed. Can be a quest reward from Omeluum or you can simply buy it from him, Myconid Colony in the Underdark
- Everburn Blade: 2D6 Slashing + 1D4 Fire. Can be looted from Commander Zhalk during the prologue.
- Alternative: Silver Sword of the Astral Plane – 2d6 + 3 slashing legendary weapon. In Act 1 can be obtained using the Command spell (drop) on Voss before the fight with the Githyanki at the Mountain Pass; use this guide.
- Giantbreaker: 1D10 Piercing damage and heavy hitter passive send targets reeling. Obtained by merchant Brem in Zhentarim Hideout.
- Alternative: Githyanki Crossbow: 1d10 + 1 piercing found during Githyanki fight on the Risen Road.
Advanced: End-Game
The following table presents the best advanced and end-game gear for Wildheart Barbarian Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
| Gear Slot | Best Gear Item |
|---|---|
| Head | Bonespike Helmet |
| Cape | Cindermoth Cloak |
| Chest | Bonespike Garb |
| Gloves | Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength |
| Boots | Helldusk Boots |
| Necklace | Amulet of Greater Health |
| Ring | Killer’s Sweetheart |
| Ring | Ring Of Regeneration |
| Weapon 1 Main Hand | Balduran’s Giantslayer |
| Weapon 2 Ranged | Fabricated Arbalest |
- Bonespike Helmet: When you Rage, do 2-8 Psychic damage in a 3m radius, +2 intimidation, and Menacing Attack. Obtained from Voiceless Penitent Bareki Merchant in Lower City Sewers Baldur’s Gate.
- Alternative: Helm of Balduran: heals beginner of turn, cannot be stunned or critical struck, and +1 AC and saving throws. Obtained in Act 3, Dragon’s Sanctum on an altar X: 636 Y: -964.
- Cindermoth Cloak: A creature that damages the wearer within 2m receives Burning. Looted from Aelis Siryasius in the Lower City Sewers in Act 3.
- Alternative: Fleshmelter when damage with melee, that creature takes 1d4 acid damage. Obtained in Chest in House of Healing Morgue.
- Bonespike Garb 10 AC + Dexterity Modifier, 15 15 temporary hit points whenever you Rage, and reduce all incoming damage by 2. Purchased from Exxvikyap at The Rivington General in Act 3.
- Alternative: Adamantine Splint Armour 18 AC, reduce damage by 2. Obtained in Adamantine Forge crafted with Splint Mould and Mithral Ore.
- Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength: Wearer’s strength increased to 23. Obtained in Archive of the House of Hope.
- Alternative: Bonespike Gloves Your attacks ignore Resistance to Slashing, Piercing, and Bludgeoning damage. Looted from Strangler Luke in the Undercity Ruins during the quest Get Orin’s Netherstone.
- Helldusk Boots: cannot be forcibly moved, use reaction on failed saving throws, gain Hellcrawler teleport ability. Obtained in a locked chest, Wyrm’s Rock Fortess X: -32 Y: 219.
- Alternative: Bonespike Boots: gain +1 AC and saving throw while not wearing armour of a shield and Brutal Leap ability. Looted from a trapped Wooden Chest in a secluded Passageway (X: -233, Y: 84) at the far end of the western trail leading away from the South Span Checkpoint in Act 3.
- Amulet of Greater Health: Increases the wearer’s Constitution score to 23, Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws Checks. Can be found in the House of Hope in Baldur’s Gate City.
- Alternative: Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet: On critical heal, cause Paralyze to target for two turns.
- Killer’s Sweetheart: When you kill a creature, your next Attack Roll will be a Critical Hit. Obtained from the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar in Act 2.
- Alternative: Ring of Protection increase AC and Saving Throws +1. Steal the Sacred Idol quest reward in Act 1.
- Ring Of Regeneration: At the beginning of your turn, heal yourself for 1d4 HP. Sold by Rolan at Sorcerous Sundries.
- Alternative: Ring of Free Action cannot be Paralyzed, restrained and ignore difficult terrain. Bought from Merchant Araj Oblodra in Moonrise Towers Act 2.
- Balduran’s Giantslayer: double the damage from your Strength Modifier, grants you Advantage on Attack Rolls against Large, Huge, or Gargantuan creatures, and Giant Form ability. Obtained as a reward for completing the Wyrmway trials in Act 3.
- Alternative: Sword of Chaos 2d6 + 2 slashing and gain 1-6 HP on hit. Looted from Sarevok during Act 3.
- Fabricated Arbalest: 1d10 + 2 piercing. Gain Illuminating Shot, and Dazzling Ray weapon actions. Looted from Enver Gortash in Wyrm’s Rock Fortress.
- Alternative: Giantbreaker or Githyanki Crossbow
Best Barbarian Consumables, Potions, and Items
The following list represents the best individual use consumable items that will aid in our Barbarian Build:
- Elixir of Hill Giant Strength: Increases Strength ability score to 21 until Long Rest.
- 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 long rest.
- Potion of Supreme Healing: A draught for healing life-threatening injuries, will restore 30-60 HP.
- 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 of 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 actions 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 to 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!
Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian Wildheart Build Guide Summary
Primary Ability: Strength
Subclass: Wildheart
Preferred Armor: Cloth
Preferred Weapon: Greatsword
Background: Soldier
Best Companions
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