Baldur's Gate 3 Bard Guide - All Subclasses (Lore, Valour, Swords)

Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard Class Guide - In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard Class Guide, I’m going to be covering the Bard Class, including all 3 Subclasses, and providing you some useful information. I’ll be doing more Build Guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, but for now, let’s just look at how Bard functions and its basics.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard Guide Features
Abilities: Charisma, Dexterity, & Constitution
Subclasses: College of Lore, College of Valour, College of Swords
Unique Features: Bardic Inspiration, Song of Rest, Vicious Mockery
Spells: Support & Buffing, some offensive Spells
Proficiencies: Light Armour & Simple Weapons, Hand Crossbows, Longswords, Rapiers, Shortswords
Hit Die: +8 HP + CON Modifier at level 1 & 5 + CON modifier each level after
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Baldur's Gate 3 Bard Class Guide
00:15 Bard Class Guide
00:58 Bard Character Creation
03:32 Bard Actions
07:30 Bard Equipment
08:14 Bard Subclass
11:25 Bard Multiclass
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[@Fextralife]

Wiki: ​baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Baldur's+Gate+3+Wiki Map: ​baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Interactive+Map Builds: baldursgate3.wiki.fextralife.com/Builds Catch next stream: ​twitch.tv/fextralife 💖 Fextra VIP: fextralife.com/be-a-vip/

[@BebRav3InGam3]

Hey, i want to edit some companion pages! I found some new approvals foor karlach and wyll, but I seem to not have enough permissions. How can i add the comments? I put the edits in the discord under bg3 discussion.

[@Fextralife]

Hi! I can't see your comment, you can message the Fextralife (Fex) admin account on the discord or post to the #wiki-to-do-issues channel But you should be able to edit the wiki, are you using a VPN perhaps? You can also try making an account on Fextra so the editing process may be smoother. Let me know how it goes!

[@jtlee4196]

❤

[@jtlee4196]

❤

[@jtlee4196]

❤

[@xXTheriaultXx]

My buddy said with our group, he wanted all of us to run Bard Dragonborns and name our band Imagine Humans

[@user-bi5zi2yl8c]

Fucking genius

[@niuren]

😂😂 incredible

[@buthercheeks1998]

Fuxking Epic. And everybody playing a different instrument, same song in tandem. We are going to need a video of this asap lol

[@johnpaulalbrecht7305]

tell your buddy he made an Idiot in the Philippines laugh, me. hilarious hahahah

[@bolladragon]

That’s so good 😂

[@erikhendrickson59]

I tried Bard as a half-joke on release night and now I'm 50 hours into the game. The Bard, appropriate to it's class fantasy, has a very creative play-style both in and out of combat.

[@richu2350]

Who are on ur team if you don’t mind me asking thx!

[@AvianEdits]

​@@richu2350probably Shadowheart, Gale and Karlach or Lazel

[@BlackJackZach]

@@AvianEditsthis are the party members I use. Wyll is left out most I would say

[@aerundel]

@@BlackJackZach I also use this combo, and am wondering if I should swap Wyll in and Gale out. I've enjoyed talking to Gale but I'm really interested in seeing how Karlach and Wyll interact now that I've properly reintroduced them.

[@AvianEdits]

@@BlackJackZach understandable

[@vilidious]

One of the greatest things I noticed when testing out a bard is that you can use your "perform" to start playing motivational songs (only for flair) without spending an action or bonus action as long as you do it right at the end of your turn. Your enemies will be fighting a desperate battle for survival, while that one jackass is playing a tavern song with drums in the background and throwing some insults for good measure.

[@rescuecan]

Just a point of clarification - in the current version, selecting Lore as a subclass at level 3 rewards you with proficiency in any 3 new Skills and Expertise in 2 Skills. It is not limited to Arcana, Intimidation, and Sleight of Hand.

[@timothyhicks1365]

Most helpful comment

[@Bieronski1995]

Did you know? The musical instrument in this game has different animations and songs. Moreover, each class has unique animations! You can try casting a same spells or weapon in each class, and they will cast spells and perform attack moves differently. This game is truly awesome; I love this game! For my bard, i choose Flute.

[@bmwd4000]

Further, if you have multiple Bards they can sync up and play a song together (so the tooltip says).

[@peterdemint7195]

i am using a violin but i have a stash of every instrument so i can rotate.

[@flemsha]

It always looks like my bard is about to embark upon an epic guitar solo every time he casts a spell. It’s awesome. Also yes you can play with other bards… I played with one bard that visited my camp. I now have her lute.

[@user-mu8ok5xf8d]

I picked the lyre but I’m starting to regret it. I need to find other instruments

[@bmwd4000]

@@user-mu8ok5xf8d Spoiler (so I added space here); There's an instrument directly on the beach when you start. I believe it's the drums. There's also a Spider Lyre that plays a unique song, but I didn't use it myself. I don't know if it sounds different.

[@wile123456]

The only class in any RPG who is a "jack of all trades, master of all"

[@idoshulman6379]

Lmao

[@muriomoira]

As it should be. Bard supremacy is the only good supremacy

[@Antisocialnerd2]

Geth sorcerer is also a great jack of all trades if set up properly and is a better MC than bard because bards can't inspire themselves.

[@laughingalex7563]

I know another game, mmorpg city of heroes(now in form of homecoming), soldiers of arachnos are exactly that, even buffing through leadership skills. Not the same kinda game as this though for sure.

[@Apsolon]

That implies Bard is better than Paladin, Fighter, Barbarian, and Monk at close range. Better than Warlock, Wizard, and Sorcerer at spell casting. Better than Cleric at healing and Support. Better at utilities Rogue and Ranger. Which also implies, the best team comp is 4 Bard. Honestly Bard just feel like a class you pick last because you wanted your team comp to include certain companion and so you pick Bard to be handle multiple role.

[@Driptor_Swagpyre]

I chose the Bard-Lock for my first playthrough and it was the correct choice for me. So much fun! Very versatile in combat.

[@BobicusRocketus]

You doing a blaster, or melee? I'm trying a melee/control bardlock. Seems pretty fun so far

[@alexcampo5326]

Same here, what was your level breakdown?

[@endeavor375]

Oooo I didn’t think abt college of swords plus pact of the blade that sounds fun!

[@Driptor_Swagpyre]

@@BobicusRocketus Blaster mainly. Its why I chose to multiclass with warlock for eldritch blast. But I did take pact of the blade so I can use whatever weapon I find and still have it be useful should I need to attack something in melee.

[@Driptor_Swagpyre]

@@alexcampo5326 I haven't gotten a character all the way to level 12 yet, but I'm going for lore Bard 8 Fiend Warlock 4.

[@Fidel_Cashflow]

There's an amazing rapier you can get in Act 3 that lets you crit on 19 if you don't have a shield in your off-hand. Feels like it was designed for a College of Swords Bard.

[@scalz311]

Playing Bard (Swords) for my first play through, and I’m pretty deep into Act 3 now. It’s been so much fun. Loving all the dialogue options, the cool aoe spells, and good melee, it’s been a great first choice of a class. I’m big on seeing as much dialogue stuff as possible during my first time throughout a game, then going different routes for other playthroughs.

[@ROFLproductionsCORP]

Bard has some of the most fun dialogue unique to them. Especially with other bards.

[@PeterFraser-hp3rs]

Thanks, Fextralife, for making these guide videos -- I think you and people like you who help players out like this are outstanding. I really appreciate what you're doing for us 🙂

[@prague5419]

YOU....ARE....THE MAN! Just 8 hours ago I was digging for an up to date, concise Bard guide. All I found was half-done out of date material. And just yesterday I was watching your Warlock guide wishing you had more.

[@yourvash8529]

I've finished my 1st playthrough and thought about new one on tactician difficulty and as a bard, and here comes the guide, thank you!

[@tokamnich4709]

There is 1 weapon that is easily missable at end of act 2, the effect allows you to add spellcaster to attack. Making it a pact weapon without needing lvl 3 in warlock which makes a 10bard/2warlock an amazing hexblade build. This weapon contains a big story spoiler so I don't want to say what it is. But you must pass a persuade check by asking for a reward. Just keep this in mind during your hero playthoughs you can miss amazing gear by never asking for the rewards.

[@Tremain]

It's attack only, not attack and damage.

[@elementzero3379]

This is good to know. The last bit in particular is solid advice. I'll keep it in mind.

[@adamleblanc5294]

what's the name of the weapon?

[@tokamnich4709]

@@adamleblanc5294 the name is will give away the story arc. so here is your SPOILER warning. infernal rapier

[@gmanhero]

@@Tremain uses your Spellcasting Modifier for Attack Rolls and Damage Rolls . you can also place a candle down in combat and use a bonus action to dip it and gain an extra 1d4 fire damage. the sword also grants the ability to use a Level 6 Conjuration Spell. to summon a Fiend once per long rest.

[@nyarparablepsis872]

Playing as bard/sorc, and I'm having a blast. The dialogue options are hilarious, and when I'm not dishing out damage vicious mockery and cutting words are THE BEST.

[@brandonjohnson9876]

I did a half-drow lore bard. Level up to 6 to get magical secrets (counterspell and lightning bolt), now working my way to 2 levels of warlock to get eldritch blast and invocations. Then the rest into bard. Super useful in combat with hypnotic pattern, dissonant whispers, cloud of daggers, faerie fire, etc. A ton of fun.

[@1621lionheart]

A Bard persuading your enemies to kill themselves is so funny. Exactly the character i want, sometimes good sometimes a jerk but never evil.

[@Scribbinge]

1 level of war cleric is amazing for swords bards, you can then use your bonus action to do a flourish as well as just your main actions / attacks. You also get guidance and thaumaturgy which are super useful for the party, and level 1 cleric spells are pretty good too.

[@FTForgotten425]

Yeah, I started my bard as a Tempest Cleric to get the heavy armor and martial weapons, plus some solid support spells. I was planning on doing 3 levels of Warlock for pact of the blade so I don't need DEX, and Bard for 8 levels. I am still thinking hard about if I want to keep the cleric or not, because Valor Bard still gets med armor and shields, and I could use that last level to get better Bard spells or to get a feat from lv4 Warlock. So many choices

[@mikestrong3910]

A Bards Tale was one of my favorites as a kid, I’m rocking Bard!! Who’s with me 🎉

[@ZahnGamingx]

Beer beer beer.. a long time ago way back in history...

[@BrandonRalstonUSA]

Been waiting on this class guide the most. Thanks dude!

[@jasonblanke321]

Been having a blast on my Bard! Thanks for all the awesome guides!

[@iPasqualo]

I bought Baldur's gate today and you post the Bard video today! Perfect!!! Thank you!

[@zero11010]

I’m absolutely loving playing through with a bard as my character. Supplemental heals. Enough dexterity to attack with weapons, or a bow. Enough charisma to use spells. Lots of status spells to steal actions from enemies. Some AOE damage for groups. Cutting words and vicious mockery to make enemies miss their attacks or fail saving throws on spells. Plus! With the dexterity and expertise they’re able to do all of my lockpicking and trap disarming. This gives me two companion spots to rotate people through because shadowheart is a tank and main healer as a life cleric. It’s fantastic! Almost forgot about song of rest! A third short rest per day is huge! Especially if you have companions with abilities that recharge on short rest. So, more spells for your warlock, more ki for your monk, more maneuvers for your battlemaster fighter, and more usages of equipment that recharge on short rest. The college of lore grants you more spells from any class. This is based on spell level. So, you can get fireball … a third spell level spell that most casters get at level 5, and you can get word of radiance a third level spell that paladins don’t get until level 12 (one third level spell slot grants you something like healing word as a bonus action and ranged heal that heals for something like 2D6 and lasts 10 rounds … which is basically like 10 second spell slot healing words for a single third level spell slot).

[@hellstocker7707]

What we've all been waiting for!

[@twofacedmgrim]

There's a blade in the underdark that gives a boost to performance checks and is one of the rare finesse longswords called Phalar Aluve.

[@Sk8ManM]

Bard and Monk may be the most fun to play in the game rn. Great video!!!

[@Tearakan]

I thought bard would just be okay to start as. Now it's literally my super weapon of my party with john wick style shooting and melee, crazy spell combos and amazing party support

[@refugex]

Exactly. And bards can easily persuade potential enemies to avoid a fight which is always useful

[@chase15a]

Thanks for the work you've put into this. It shows

[@TheOnlyValken]

These videos are really tiding me over until the PS5 release. So thanks for that 😅

[@MrCrotzer]

Gah! Every time you come out with a build video I rethink my plan! I was going to go with a Devotion Pally and maybe multi with Warlock, but Bard looks like it’s so versatile and I love the idea of jamming with other performers! Man, I can’t wait! I got a new PC on the way and I am giddy with anticipation!

[@geeksworkshop]

I'm playing Swords Bard and really loving it.

[@bluejay5234]

Dipping 1 or 2 into Bard for Dex Martial classes makes all the sense in the world when you take into account the game play aspects of Bard. They seem to have the most conversation options of any class and have numerous ways to impact combat and the story line. I took 1 level of bard at 2nd level for my Ranger and haven't regretted it.

[@Mookduke]

I searched for this last night and only found your one from a year ago which I watched, only to just see you dropped this, guess I'm watching part 2. Thanks for the guides.

[@oreo-sr2pq]

My lovely boyfriend gifted me the game yesterday and I was trying to figure out what to choose. Picked bard out of random because I love music and figured it would be a good support character as I enjoy supporting my team than being the main damage dealer. Such a great pick and this video helps a whole lot on how to make better combos with my bard

[@Trassel242]

Thank you, I decided to go for a School of Valour bard right now as I wasn’t sure what to pick there. I like being a social, charismatic character, it’s fun to get funny dialogue options and being able to talk my way out of a lot of situations. My character is a Drow Half-Elf, which I chose for roleplaying reasons.

[@bmwd4000]

Drow + Bard = Social Cheat Code. There's literally nothing in the game I haven't been able to talk or bulky my way out of. Some of the lines are very cheeky.

[@jaxteller5974]

Combat inspiration at level 5 does not work anymore. It is buggued

[@tonybustamante9942]

Thanks for all the great content.

[@Belti200]

This series is just amazing guys, keep it up :))

[@danieleckstein7118]

Good god, i could listen to you narrate ANYTHING 😂 Great video! 👍

[@dantheman6071]

Your videos are definitely the best! Thank you so much!!!

[@Fextralife]

Thank you! Happy you enjoy them

[@gk4204]

Thank you for all the info.

[@madpanger7257]

I tried machinegun bard with 2 hand crossbows. Now i look like a vampire hunter and im digging it. Im crushing every single skill check in dialogue, support my team and still do the most dmg while having 19-23AC as a ranged character.

[@e.b.farmer4]

Not, gonna’ lie… I might’ve giggled a little bit when I saw this in my feed. I’m having so much fun playing as a Bard in this game! 🎻

[@NoNo-qt4ov]

Great video. I'm excited for the druid class guide

[@oscara8454]

Playing a College of Lore Bard and I'm honestly impressed by how good it is.

[@adamleblanc5294]

Collage of Lord Bard is hands down the best class for a first playthrough. It's the best party face class, plus it's average or better at everything. It provides a lot of versatility in combat. You're a backup healer, you can lock down problematic enemies, deal extra damage to backup your main DPS caster, boost your mele DPS, you have great crowd control. I like having a bard as my PC because they can handle pretty much everything and I don't need to worry about thinking which party member is going to do what thing outside combat. The bard has it. By level 10, I'm regularly able to get 30+ on speech checks as well... such a good class.

[@barcster2003]

Every class has its things.

[@oscara8454]

@@barcster2003 they sure do. My war cleric does a ton of damage and has like 20 AC. My ranger is pretty neat too.

[@Alen725]

@@adamleblanc5294 You keep spamming about how collage of lore bard is the best because its a face of the party but any other bard subclasses also can do it so stop with that nonsense.

[@robjsmiles]

@@Alen725 I think they meant that as a general bard thing, and then the other points specifically college of lore

[@macrome]

Currently running dual hand crossbows and having a blast with it as a lore college bard :)

[@monoglyph]

god I feel so stupid, didn't occur to me that I can dual wield hand crossbows; still learning new things about this game every day

[@TristanPope]

My lore with dual bows instead of swords?

[@sphinxoforion7422]

Started another new character last night, choose bard & decided to go fully into healer bard; Only at Lv5 rn in act 1 but when I heal someone they gain, blade ward, bless, & temporary hit points. Bardic inspiration also heals 1 D6 thanks to the hat by Alfira & I gain temp hit points from the tunic Volo gives you. It’s actually a really fun build so far, I might spec 2 levels into life cleric for the extra healing potency.

[@MegaHighmax]

Thanks!! I was picking up redundant proficiencies with my bard, gonna respec to fix that. Oh, and Lightfoot Halflings are amazing too, they make it easier to pass checks, since your chances of a critical failure are absurdly lower, and with expertise a lot of times even a 2 will pass you in the check

[@Cab8819]

Look forward to your ranger guides my dude :3

[@Taooflu]

Dipping into Warlock to get the improved Eldridge blast and pact of the blade really rounds out the bard offensively.

[@nikolamaksimovic6338]

Bard is really the jack of all trade , i have great time playing 1 lvl hexblade and the rest in college of sword in dnd 5 e campain

[@bloopagaloota3961]

I'll be playing for the first time in a couple days. I've never played any games like this, only rudimentary ones. I chose a hard and have been down a rabbit hole and am liking it more and more lol

[@ICM9]

How was it, I’m still playing through it and it’s been a blast. I’ve been enjoying Monk and Fighter most! My furthest character is a Sorcerer though. So many I want to try in the future too.

[@AIKnowledge2Go]

This game is so good, I absolutely hate it when things end! I'm currently in the midst of Chapter 3 and already embarking on my second playthrough 😂. I'm thinking a bard could be my next class choice. My first playthrough was as a Tiefling Warlock, which was quite an adventure!

[@cole9799]

This is the class i finally settled on , College of Valor Zariel Tiefling Dex/Cha based. I am the healer/lockpicker/support class with some great finesse/ranged weapons to fight with. Thaumaturgy and smite abilities. Also have the necklace of Guidance so i completely cover the Cleric class and the rogue class minus the sneak attacks. at level 3 i have a 19 AC and can cover all conversation rolls with ease. Looking forward to the lvl6 two attacks ability.

[@cole9799]

8 str 16 dex 14 con 10 int 10 wis 16 cha @ level 3 Urchin background with deception persuasion and performance skills.

[@AH_1102]

Bard may not sound fun, but if you value owning conversations, and level up the playing field in battle, Bard is for you.

[@gregoryshinn9805]

Thanks for the video

[@nathanlamberth7631]

I don’t like build guides. I love there class guides. These have just the right amount of information and recommendations without tell exactly what to do. It all feels like informed suggestions.

[@andrewmiddleton3487]

A couple of notes about some slightly outdated information: -Darkvision does not appear to have any function in the current state of the game. Larian has not yet commented whether or not this is intentional, but as it stands, it doesn’t do anything (like it did in EA). -Bardic Inspiration is not based on CHA modifier anymore. It is now just a flat 3 uses at level 1, 4 at level 5, and 5 at level 9. This does mean that more martial-focused bards can completely forgo CHA if they wish. On another point, College of Swords is amazing with a level or two of Fighter and a strength focused build to get Martial weapon proficiency (heavy weapons in particular). Picking up great weapon master is really nice here; you always have a useful action, bonus action, and use for your concentration. You can get both Con saves proficiency and heavy armor proficiency to give you more sticking power in melee. You can use Mobile Flourish (Ranged) to hit a distant enemy with an arrow, then teleport (no action required!) to the enemy and follow up with one of your melee attacks. Defensive flourish is broadly considered the “best” default choice due to how much value a flat +4 bonus to AC is, but if you can get an additional Great Weapon Master attack via Slashing Flourish, then its probably a better use of the inspiration die.

[@Fextralife]

Great tips!

[@JillsRoseToy]

Thanks, this is exactly what I’m going to do. I wanted a fighter but the low charisma changed my mind for my first playthrough. Gonna try to do this

[@pWndConan]

Love it! Would like to see Fighter next :)

[@ninethreefivesix]

The amount of dialogue checks Bard lets you pass is reason enough to make it one of the better 1st playthrough characters.

[@TheRealZiktus]

I'm enjoying my Swords Bard X/Paladin 2 a lot. High defense and mobility options and an abundance of spell slots to Smite with!

[@tanhy7334]

Is it better to go swords bard 10/Paladin 2 or swords bard 8/paladin 4?

[@justanape9149]

@@tanhy7334sword bard 10/paladin 2 is much better since at lvl 10 you get magical secrets (2 powerfull spells) and improved bardic inspiration. All you really want from paladin is the proficiencies and divine smite which you get by level 2.

[@krzysztofkalinowski2998]

@@tanhy7334 like said in video on lvl 10 all bards are getting secrets (spells of your choice) so I think bard 10 is way to go.. Otherwise 6/6 (bard 6 gets extra attack swords/valour)

[@braintrust02]

​@@tanhy7334I have that same question. Not sure what I'm losing going paladin 2 bard 10

[@JarrenBlake]

​​@@braintrust02if not taking PLD to 6/7 it is better to do Bard 10 for secrets. Unless there is a real big feat need.

[@KidsControl.]

Great video👍👍🔥🔥✌✌

[@mcleary9615]

Watching all your vids about classes and guids, got the ps5 version coming out next month

[@brutalusgaming8809]

Bard. Do not need a thief because the bard can unlock and disarm and stealth anything. Want to speak to every animal in the game? Check. Want THREE short rests per long rest? Done. My party runs around with permanent extra movement because longstrider is a ritual! Do not have to fight because the bard can talk his way through anything. Want to go back and fight every single encounter you talked your way past? Easy. Damage? 2 levels in Warlock and the Charisma based cantrip that goes up based on CHARACTER LEVEL not class is wrecking faces. I usually just flat out forget I even have bardic inspiration and performance and even most of the spell slots.

[@barcster2003]

There's stuff other classes can do but yes Bards can be versatile.

[@sinyabun]

Bardic inspiration can also be used out of combat for different rolls, so it helps getting successful conversations!

[@lucasw2578]

What race and subclass did you go with?

[@saratchandramv1886]

LETS GOOO ! I picked the school of lore.

[@selfless727]

Dumb question where did the picture from the thumbnail come from?

[@LemurMaster]

My wife's bard started with a level of Life Cleric, making her Bardic heals more potent, and giving her access to heavy armor and shields. It also means she's got Bless and Guiding Bolt early on, which has been a huge boon. At this point, she is a level 1 cleric/6 bard of swords, and she's rocking a 21 AC!

[@barcster2003]

Yes clerics can have alot of armor.

[@girdl3]

War domain cleric 1lvl then dual sword bard the the rest

[@scottrackley4457]

Forest Gnome College of Lore is a blast.

[@paulf1461]

I made a STR based valor bard. It's been a super fun face character. I picked a hill dwarf as my race to make up for my low CON score because it gets extra HP. Maxed out STR and CHA and set DEX to 14 to get max AC with medium armor. I'm only level 6 right now and just got my extra attack. I am thinking of taking a two lvl dip into fighter for action surge, but i may just go straight 12 lvl valor bard.

[@jarrodbright5231]

The 2 level dip for Action Surge is so very much worth it. The plays you can set up with 2 consecutive actions at the start of combat is crazy.

[@totalvoid6234]

You're WILDLY sleeping on Cutting Words. It lets lore bards apply a penalty to saving throws in reaction to enemies passing their saves, as long as they didn't use a reaction elsewhere. It is INSANELY powerful for forcing crowd control through.

[@jimbeaux89]

I ALWAYS go speech/charisma in my games, and I’ve been a musician for 30 of my 34 years of life. Bard was a no brainer for me, and I was surprised to see it where it was on the list. I’ve been having so much fun with this game

[@bcarmona8868]

I'm playing a mephisotphales tiefling bard in college of lore. No mutliclass, but trust and believe I'm gonna bard-lock on my next run.

[@goobermcboogerballs1420]

Tiefling is also a great choice for college of valor.

[@samihaddad8268]

Amazing videos man. Still waiting patiently for the Sorcerer class guide :D

[@sanzaru1674]

I have pre-ordered the game for PS5, going to recreate my first D&D character - Half-elf Bard!

[@TheBluGmail]

I did one level of Life Cleric and then full bard with a concentration on healing/CC spells. Heavy Armor, Shield, heal bonus from just one level of cleric. Great support and rarely miss a conversation check.

[@choocharoo]

Can i ask what proficiencies you lost multiclassing into Bard vs vice versa. Thanks.

[@juusovuolle8251]

you can also take a feat that allows you to take couple druid spells. goodberry for example scales with the +2 +spell level on it's healing. Which is pretty handy. If you don't mind sacrificing a feat for utility that is.

[@syyndev2161]

​@@666slateran666yes heavy armour bard, Cleric1/Bard. Shadowheart my support and tank.With adamantine shied and Armor she barely gets hit with 22 ac at level 7

[@AnonyMeowr]

@@666slateran666 there's no reason to not go heavy armor on everyone (if you have the proficiency) that doesn't care about stealth checks. Even barbarians can get more AC from a good set of heavy armor than from unarmoured defence

[@TheBluGmail]

@@choocharoo No intimidation or sleight of hand. I prefer deception and suggestion and I use Astarion for harder locks/traps

[@chrismtauer]

Funny how I was thinking of how I should multiclass bard into sorcerer and as I'm thinking about Bard 3 / Sorcerer 9, you say it. I think it's meant to be.

[@mikeclarke3990]

Definitely rolling bard on my 2nd playthrough

[@damo8791]

I don't know if you read these but thanks for the guides man. There's a lot to learn in this game so thanks for the help

[@Fextralife]

I do read the comments, very happy the guides help!

[@TABJJ]

I need a ranger video!!

[@superfuss1984]

Elf Ranger/Lore Bard sounds good. Lots of Weapons/Archery ,Cantrils and Spells. Gloomstalker gets 24m Darkvision, Summon Fiend & Speak with Animals....Also Heavy Armor with Knight Perk! Would make a Awesome Battlemage Stealth Archer🤷‍♀️

[@buschnzarr7980]

Strength bard is just to much fun

[@choocharoo]

Great Vid. Was waiting for the MC section and hoped you had answered my question. It was not so here it goes hoping you see it. I was gonna create Cleric (ability points for bard) to get shield and heavy armor and the cantrips. The plus to healing is nice as life as well. I would then go into bard and take it all the way to 11. My question is what am I losing by going cleric 1st? If I go bard first and then dip cleric for a level at 2 im losing out on heavy armor. I can still get shield from half elf but the fantasy is gone. Thanks in advance.

[@DrumberBoy69]

Great guide! Thank you. I'm new to BG. How does spell casting work if I'm using two weapons as a sword bard? Would I still be able to cast all the same helpful spells? Would I need to use an action to switch a weapon for a free hand? I like the idea of duel wielding as a two weapon sword bard but will choose dueling if it will get in the way of my ability to cast spells. Any clarification would be much appreciated!

[@lepapabarbu]

Bard with magic initiate : warlock or magic initiate : sorcerer for more combat casting cantrip is also a good idea imo.

[@W0NK042]

Right. That settles it. I'm doing a Half-Orc Bard for my “The Dark Urge” playthrough. 😁

[@Walker-eh9hi]

thank God we made it to the bards videos. can’t wait for the build guide to come next

[@shareifaedrawolf8556]

A single level on draconic sorcerer gives you +3 of AC with no armor (so you cna use many of the amazing clothes in the game) some nice damage cantrips ,the shield spell and most importantly (if you chose white dragon) armor of agathys for extra health and returning damage on melee. Starting as a sorcerer then bard until lv 6 (for the extra attack on college of sword or valour) and then a second lv on sorcerer for the metamagic, then untill lv 10 bard is a very effective way to multiclass with bard.

[@anxiousx]

Now i know what class i want to play when the game release on ps5

[@wilssantos2]

Comparing the Magic Secrets spell selection images (available in this video) for College of Lore Bards at level 6 and for other subclass bards at level 10, there are only two spells College of Lore bards can get that other bards cannot: Fireball and Call Lightning. Fireball is very well known (and powerful) but Call Lightning is interesting: not only is it only available to some subclasses of Druid and Sorcerer (Wizards can't get it at all), it also remains "castable" after the first use of the spell slot. I'm not sure whether it's dependent on concentration, but even if it is, saving a spell slot every round for an aoe spell sounds pretty useful. So it's not only a very "selective" spell in terms of availability, it's also unique in how it works. Worth considering if going for College of Lore.

[@tones7mca]

Just for anyone reading, concentration is indeed required to maintain Call Lightning, allowing you to recast it each turn, this is potentially quite powerful since it does good damage and you wont be using a spell slot each turn after the 1st.

[@timschultz8639]

Thanks so much for this video. I've been planning out my first playthrough (ps5) and I wanted to do a bow swords bard. Quite disappointing thw flourishes don't work on ranged.😢

[@MasonLopez]

Good news, the flourishes DO work on ranged. :D

[@DeMause]

Probably should have mentioned that college of lore bards can use their inspiration to reduce enemy saving throws. Makes them by far the best class for big deal single target spells like hold person/hold monster.

[@jaxteller5974]

No you reduce ability check, not saving throw...

[@theunofficialfpsbalancetea5915]

This felt like a personal attack Fextralife, but I will not be deterred! This is part 4 of asking for the sorcerer full class guide 💪🏼😤

[@Fextralife]

It's coming! ... soon ...

[@breakurself82]

Hafling thief/lore bard represent!

[@SveinJohnnyFedje]

I'm playing a multiclass bard now. I started with Wood Elf(Noble) Any Race with a skill proficiency can get all skills with this build. Started as Rogue for skills and Expertise. Then I took 1 level Cleric(Knowledge) for 2 more skills and Expertise. After this I'm going all in on Bard(Lore) with focus on all INT and CHA skills and I will have Expertise in all of them. I picking Slight of Hand for the last one. For my 2 Feats, I got Actor and will get Skilled I'm using the Warped headband of Intellect and the Dex Gloves so my stats are STR 8, DEX 18, CON 14, INT 17, WIS 16, CHA 19(18 with -1 from the Smuggler's ring, but +1 from Hag's hair). So far I'm Level 6 and as Wood Elf(started with 2 skills from Race), I'm only missing 2 skills and I might drop Skilled and get CHA up to 20. Survival and Medicine is not that Important :P Expertise in 10 skills is nice though ^^

[@bcsoniat839]

This was the final piece of the puzzle for my bardlock to reach new heights! Great vid and build guides as always! 🧩

[@UmjaeMJ]

I hate and love that Bard is actually one of the most powerful and versatile class

[@EyUpNortherner]

Gith bard 2/cleric or druid x Gives +4-7 depending on guidance roll to all to all int, wisdom and cha skills, my best skill monkey (12 int 16 wisdom 12 Cha, all cha skills picked) Use wild shape or cantips/spells for damage.

[@ColonelBragg]

Bards have some of the best special dialogue in the game IMO

[@ZorroVulpes]

I think you should have mentioned 1 level dip into Domain of Healing cleric. Heavy armor and shield proficiency, improves your heals, etc.

[@lorenzolupusdei8372]

i think the most delicious thing with bard is when a test in a dialog appears, and you can see +4 +4 +4 +1d4 +1d4, advantage.