How to use Savage Attacker Feat in Baldur’s Gate 3

Discover everything you need to know about the Savage Attacker Feat in Baldur’s Gate 3 and how it works with best classes.

How to use Savage Attacker Feat in Baldur’s Gate 3
How to use Savage Attacker Feat in Baldur’s Gate 3 (Source: Larian Studios)

Savage Attacker in Baldur’s Gate 3 grants your melee damage rolls to roll two dice and use the higher of the two rolls. This also applies to certain damage riders like the fire damage from Flawed Hell Dust Gloves. This can make you deal 20 to 40% more damage depending on the range of the damage that you can deal. Sneak attack is a Rogue weapon action that allows you to deal extra damage to a that you have an advantage against. Sneak Attack with the Savage Attacker now rerolling the damage dice. This is the secret buff that can make a Rogue a much more powerful class.

If you’re reliably getting critical hits and very interested in bursting down an enemy, then all the damage dice are doubled. The way the game handles this is that it rolls each dice separately and takes the higher roll every time. If you’ve got a few sources of extra damage dice and you’re critting with reliability, this feat can pretty quickly add up to a lot more consistent damage. In this guide, we’ll discuss how Savage Attacker works in Baldur’s Gate 3 and the best tips and tricks to consider when choosing this feat.

How does Savage Attacker Work in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Savage Attacker feat in Baldur’s Gate 3 allows you to roll damage dice twice for each melee weapon attack, and choose the higher result. This can benefit all weapon damage, smite damage, and elemental damage dice. You can roll the dice and select the higher result if you make a melee weapon attack, instead of rolling your damage dice once. This applies to all damage dice used in a melee weapon attack such as the weapon’s base damage, extra damage from equipment, skills, or spells, and elemental damage from weapons or spells. You can use a smite that adds 2d6 if you have a weapon that deals 1d8 damage.

Savage Attacker will roll each of those dice twice, allowing you to choose the highest result for each roll. This feat works well with the build that heavily depends on weapon damage dice. Savage Attacker also shines for the builds that use smites or have weapons with elemental effects. You roll the weapon’s damage dice twice when making a melee weapon attack, allowing you to deal massive damage in melee combat. For example, you can roll a 3 and a 7 if you roll a 1d8 twice with Savage Attacker. It can be useful for melee characters who depend on weapon damage, such as Paladins, Fighters, and Barbarians. 

Best classes for Savage Attacker in Baldur’s Gate 3

Best Baldurs Gate 3 Tactician Paladin Build Level 12

Here are the best classes to get Savage Attacker in BG3.

  1. Barbarian
  2. Fighter
  3. Paladin

You can acquire the Savage Attacker feat by choosing it as a feat at character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3. This is not a class feature, meaning any character from any class can benefit from it. You can choose feats at levels 4, 8, and 12 in BG3. However, we recommend you don’t take the Savage Attacker at level 4 as its value is higher later on in the game.

Patch 7 made Savage Attacker work for rouges and their sneak attacks which makes it Extremely viable for Rouges. Using it will increase the average damage by approximately 1 per bonus dice as it’s a D6. It will also make the attacks consistent for high damage. The new Path of the Giant barbarian turns every weapon into a throwing weapon. Savage attacker treats any throw using a weapon with the thrown property as “melee”, so it gets the buff from the feat. Savage Attacker does work on melee sneak attack dice as of Patch 7.

For a Shield user, it can certainly be a good way to boost damage since the shield makes up for the armor you should have with an Ability Score Improvement. Dual wielding has a strong argument for this because more attacks mean more dice rolls. This is useful if you have a damage modifier.  If you’re a monk doing this, they don’t benefit from this too much on account of their abilities using unarmed attacks. Crit fishing builds can make use of this ability because getting a critical hit allows you to double all of your damage dice.

Where Does Savage Attacker Work

BG3 Savage Attacker Feat Explained

Savage Attacker feat does work with Sneak Attack as it allows you to reroll the damage dice of both the weapon attack and the Sneak Attack damage. Savage Attacker will reroll all 3 dice (1d6 + 2d6) if you roll a 1d6 for weapon damage and a 2d6 for Sneak Attack. This feat only adds one die of additional damage and doesn’t work with unarmed attacks or Wildshape melee attacks. It also doesn’t work on Honour Mode. When you roll damage for a melee weapon attack with the Savage Attacker feat, you can actually reroll all the weapon’s damage dice and use either total, once per turn. Savage Attacker feat works with spell attacks like Booming Blade because it allows you to reroll the weapon damage dice twice and use the higher roll.

Booming Blade allows you to make a melee weapon attack as part of casting the spell. The spell’s additional damage is triggered when the target moves. Savage Attacker and Great Weapon Fighting can stack in BG3 but they work in specific order. GWF rerolls 1s and 2s first, and then Savage Attacker rerolls all the damage dice. This includes the Great Weapon Fighting rerolls, allowing you to keep the highest result for each die. 

Savage Attacker Tips and Tricks in BG3

Here are the best tips and tricks for the Savage Attacker in Baldur’s Gate 3.

  • This feat works best with 2d6 or 1d12 weapons to maximize high damage.
  • Barbarians, Fighter, and Paladins are the best classes for the Savage Attacker to increase their consistent high damage, increased crit potential, and extra burst damage.
  • Greatswords is the best weapon for this feat as rolling twice gives more potential for higher damage.
  • Choose the weapon that deals additional elemental damage and benefit greatly from this feat.
  • This feat works well with other damage sources like weapon enchantments, skill bonuses, and equipment that adds additional dice rolls.
  • You can also synergize it with features like Great Weapon Fighting, Half-Orc Racial Bonus, or Smite.
  • If you’re using weapons with low dice, then don’t take Savage Attacker.
  • If you depend more on spellcasting or ranged combat, then avoid using this feat.

FAQs about Savage Attacker in Baldur’s Gate 3

Does Savage Attacker stack with Great Weapon Fighting (GWF)?

Yes, Savage Attacker and Great Weapon Fighting can stack in BG3 but they work in specific order. GWF rerolls 1s and 2s first, and then Savage Attacker rerolls all the damage dice.

How does it work with multiple damage dice?

You can reroll the weapon’s damage dice once per turn and use either total with the Savage Attacker feat.

Does it work with spell attacks like Booming Blade?

Yes, the Savage Attacker feat works with spell attacks like Booming Blade because it allows you to reroll the weapon damage dice.

Does it work with Sneak Attack?

Savage Attacker feat does work with Sneak Attack as it allows you to reroll the damage dice of both the weapon attack and the Sneak Attack damage.

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