Baldur's Gate 3: Mage Hand - What are the best things you can do with it, and how can you buff it.

[@WPNSTV]

Great video, I've learned quite a few things here. I've done quite a bit of experimenting by myself. I think one thing you forgot to mention is using the Ilithid power "Shield of thralls" to give your mage hand a +10 temporary health. This can not only help your mage hand stay alive, but also can stun nearby enemies when the shield is destroyed. It's also very aesthetically pleasing. This strategy extends to regular mage hands/familiars/weak summons that you can use as suicide stun bombers or simply use them to tank hits. I know you mentioned hill giant, which is easily the most versatile/best potion for mage hand. But I feel the need to note that Barkskin potion is also pretty good for mage hand, especially since there is an abundance of them available and they are worthless in MOST party comps. Mage hand can also drink hags potions, notably "A mother loathing" for a bite action until long rest. It's pretty interesting. You can definitely confuse some people in a multiplayer session with that, and it's probably the best use for that specific hag potion in the entire game (it's still pretty trivial, but still.) Lastly, don't forget you can use coatings on the weapon that mage hand is holding. This is the best way to get bang for your buck, if you are giving away your one time weapons to mage hand.

[@Ianistoocommon]

Some great additional tips! I have pinned your comment so everyone can easily see it. Thank you!

[@Noggintoggin]

dude the elixer of hill giant strenght is complete game changer for me. mage hand is like a portable telekinesis spell whenever you want

[@garyburke6156]

I played this game for 200 hours and barely used the mage hand and i wish i saw this video weeks ago

[@Ianistoocommon]

If it makes you feel better, 9 times out of 10 I forget to do any of this with my mage hand haha

[@SergeantCrwhips]

a very, very useful skill is the closeing and opening doors, _especially_ in the githyanki creche, when you can place youreself next to the doors, closeing it always with the mage hand or 'Shovel' while invisible, this makes ranged enemies waste theire turn, combine this with darkness or hunger of hadar, and the creshe fights are one of the easyest there are (exept the inquisitor)

[@Ianistoocommon]

That is a great spot to use it!

[@DerpBeam]

I played arcane trickster astarion and the invisible mage hand was such a good staple in my arsenal. I never realized you could just have it hover over an enemy to enable disadvantage for sneak attack. Instead I used my invisible mage hand to scout for my party and turn off all torches/candles/light sources before a battle to set up (yes, it took some time, but I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect and really got into the role play) the craziest thing was when I was fighting the Grymforge guardian, I only wanted to send one character to initiate it, but had no one to lure the guardian to the hammer and another to pull the lever. Well, our “handy” invisible companion was able wait patiently by the lever to pull it after a party member successfully baited the guardian to the hammer. Never really utilized its throwing and weapon-holding capabilities; just goes to show how amazing BG3 is with a singular ability that costs only an action point. Such a great ability!

[@Ianistoocommon]

Great use on the Grymforge guardian! I also mostly used the mage hand to turn off light sources and scout a head! I know a lot of people hated it, but I really liked tha mage hand! Also, nice "handy" joke!

[@DerpBeam]

@@Ianistoocommon it's quite funny when no one notices the candles going out one by one...everytime I darkened the room, I knew my enemies would fall. Invisible mage hand has a special place in my heart

[@pandoraeeris7860]

Give this man a Hand.

[@Drew-im7is]

Faaaantastic tips! I love AT, and was disappointed with how MG worked in bg3... but this has redeemed it! I especially love the sneak attack ez AND hill giant for mage hand tossing!!

[@Ianistoocommon]

Thanks! The AT is one of my favourite classes, so I spent alot of time tying to make the mage hand useful again haha!

[@timshaw6592]

Great video. Very interesting uses for Mage Hand. Thanks!

[@Ianistoocommon]

Thanks! glad you liked it.

[@Cleptomancer]

I main gith shadow monk & only thought of half this stuff. Well done!

[@gilanthegrey]

Perfect video for me trying out arcane trickster for the first time

[@Ianistoocommon]

It is a fun build / class, one of my favourite. Not the best damage, but has a wide range of skills, using the mage hand like this adds a bunch of other utility! Hope you have fun with it!

[@metigerstripes]

THANK TIY SOO MUCH!! Really need this!!

[@Ianistoocommon]

You're welcome, glad you liked it!

[@livingmedia9830]

Thanks, very useful information.

[@Ianistoocommon]

You're welcome, glad it was helpful!

[@orshefer1467]

To anyone who wants to practice mage hand - start a new game and try abusing mage hand on the main fight (save before entry so you can do this again). You're not trying to win the fight as always, you're trying to get the mage hand character-level (1) worthy. Your reflexes aren't quick initially, and my first try was a complete disaster. But on the fourth try I had the mage hands maxed out on actions and the whole (successful) encounter took about 10 minutes, and there and then it became a tier A for me instead of tier "When I remember to use it once in never". Also, drag the icon to the main ("common") actions or your custom, when it appears on your Main section, you forget it less. @IAN - great vod as always, I'd resub if I could.

[@Ianistoocommon]

Haha thanks! And great suggestions!

[@Alduin7Worldeater]

Glad i watched this before picking it. Now i know how usefull it is. Thanks alot. Saves me from trying

[@Ianistoocommon]

You're welcome! If you use mods, I saw a few official ones with the new patch that makes the mage hand more useful. I have not tried them out yet.

[@sofiakisteneva2481]

Narrating in Chef John style but for baldurs gate!! Around the outside around the outside around the outside with my freakishly small mage hand

[@SirCharles12357]

Freaking awesome video! I had no idea mage hand could do all that!!! Lol, I currently have 2 characters with it! Armed with knowledge- Fear the Hand!!! Also, I'd love see your Arcane Trickster build as I haven't seen a good one yet.

[@Ianistoocommon]

Thank you! Have fun, the mage hands helped me a lot through my game! Here is a video I did on my build: kzbin.info/www/bejne/poa9m3msptFnodU ... It's by no means a top teir build, but it gave me everything I wanted and got me through the game without too much trouble.

[@Zafire063]

I've been using Arcane Trickster with great success. I don't think it's top tier, but it's fun and pretty strong. Without going into it too much, the biggest thing is to realize you can sneak attack with an offhand weapon if you're dual wielding. So you can sneak attack and cast a spell every turn. Mage Hand lets you get "free" sneak attacks in, since it's invisible and out of combat. You can just make it stand next to whatever you want to hit. I usually end up with 7 Arcane Trickster / 3 Wizard, or 2 Wizard 1 Cleric. This gives you two casts of Fireball at level 10. Then I just mess around with the last two levels. This is probably the only class in the game where True Strike can be good sometimes. If your mage hand dies for whatever reason, and you have no ally close to an enemy because of your high initiative, you can use your action to cast True Strike and force a sneak attack with your offhand. I could probably talk about AT for a long time, it's definitely the most fun class in the game for me.

[@Zafire063]

Arcane Trickster is my favorite class! It's always the one I want to keep coming back to.

[@Ianistoocommon]

Me too! It's just so versatile and fun to play!

[@FeinkinFreky]

Thank you!🙏

[@Ianistoocommon]

You're welcome, glad you liked it!

[@commanderroddi7742]

Mage hand is a HUGE reason to play either a Gyth or an Arcane Trickster. But also pick it for other classes. The only one I found it less useful was on a warlock, but still could be useful.

[@ant3910]

So you can cast invisibility and also invisibility potion on mage hand to give back invisibility? Sold

[@dyrcosis]

Neat! Mage Hand has a lot more versatility than I thought. I forgot to have Astarion summon it at all during Act 2 but will make a point of using it during Act 3. :D

[@Ianistoocommon]

Yes, even knowing I can do all this I am always forgetting to use it!

[@Qulize]

I didn't know that it could use potions. Brb giving my mage hand strength potion so I could shove/throw enemies into chasm

[@isaiah2696]

Your voice is chill and this is very handy

[@Ianistoocommon]

Haha! Thanks!

[@Dagothdaleet]

Watching this in October 2024 is rough because the mage hand can't disarm traps anymore or pick up items

[@aranox]

Honestly just give it torches for melee attacks if you don't need it to be invis They do solid dmg at 21 str

[@Ianistoocommon]

Great tip! There are so many torches in this game!

[@aranox]

@Ianistoocommon if only they give the hand the ability to re-apply invis It would still need to wait out a whole turn in mid combat and can get destroyed And considering how many other busted classes, feats and items are in the game I just don't understand why "balance" is so important with this Fucking sucks But thanks to you I now know how to make it more viable

[@aranox]

Or just make mage hand cast at will for AT

[@ThinkingCap_]

Please do a build + companion build video! 0:16

[@Ianistoocommon]

Sure, I will start working on this and should have it out in a few days.

[@Ianistoocommon]

Finally got a build video done, it was a lot more involved than I expected haha. Sorry it took so long to do!

[@stevenokula5178]

can someone explain 5:25, does my character get sneak attack when the mage hand is in proximity to someone?

[@Ianistoocommon]

Yes! as long as you are not at disadvantage. To get your sneak attack you need to have advantage against a target or an ally within melee range of them. The mage hand counts for this so it will give you sneak attack. It is great because as long as you keep it invisible (dont attack with it) it is not in the turn order so yuo can freely move it around as you like.

[@stevenokula5178]

@@Ianistoocommon thank you for clarifying, i understand it now, the mage hand always has advantage allowing me to a sneak attck

[@dylanmalone14]

Kinda sucks that you can’t pick locks or pockets with mage hand

[@Ianistoocommon]

Yes it does! Maybe someone will be able to make a mod for that!

[@tomlien7268]

What actions can I do that won't break invisibility of the mage hand? It seems like just about everything I do will break it, not just hostile actions. Dragging items, throwing a healing potion, etc

[@Ianistoocommon]

When you are in combat mostly just moving it. But as long as you are not in combat or doing anything hostile you can also move items you own or that you could take without getting in trouble, disarm traps, pull leavers, throw things as long as you don't start combat. I feel like they changed it with a patch early on, I remember doing far more with the mage hand durring combat. Also watch out when casting mage hand, if anyone has see invisibility (such as with a certain eye) it may loose invisibility if it's cast too close to that person. I always had to cast it at the max distance I could.

[@constancegrancharova1565]

Mage hand doesn't work this way for me for some reason. The Lagerdemain text on the spell is in red

[@Ianistoocommon]

Weird! I will have to play around a bit with it to see if I can figure it out?

[@constancegrancharova1565]

@@Ianistoocommon Please do, I'm really confused. I'm a lvl8 Arcane Trickster, I don't see why it doesn't want to work, but everywhere on the net people complain that it never worked.

[@sylphephilippe449]

Picking up items doesn't work for me, it says "no inventory available". Maybe it was patched.

[@Ianistoocommon]

It only works with some weapons and amulets. Most other things uou can't pick up, you can only drag.

[@aranox]

Pot of hill giant strenght is only 10 turns on mage hand That sucks

[@andrewrossello6611]

So I had run into the same problem, thinking it had recently been patched, but per the video you can't throw the elixir, you must drop it on the ground etc... If you throw it, it only lasts 10 turns, but consuming it on the ground will allow it to last until long rest

[@aranox]

@@andrewrossello6611 DONT YOU DARE MAKE ME BOOT UP BG3 AGAIN AND RIPPING ME OUT OF MY CURRENT OBSESSION! good to know though thanks. I've been meaning to do a scroll mage arcane trickster build eventually whenever I get back into bg3

[@Sid90s]

Nice video ideas man. Lot of new stuff to experiment with. I'm subbing to your channel. Hope it keeps growing! 🗿

[@Ianistoocommon]

Thanks, and thanks for subbing I really appreciate it!