BG3 Race Tier List

[@songbird6414]

Dragonborn are so funny in this game. You’re automatically bigger than everyone else in the game and characters complimenting you and flirting instantly becomes a comedy. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes…” *cuts to a massive lizard man who hasn’t had a thought since 1983*

[@OG_G4m3r]

The only one I ran into my Tav slaughtered at camp

[@project-mk-ultra]

I agree - I can't stop smiling or laughing when my dragonborn tries to be reasonable or kiss someone. Best race just because absurdity and pure lulz.

[@akaroth7542]

This. Saw video of a guy w a gnome that looked like play-dough being emo-ed at by Shart. I can't take gnomes or dragon folk seriously

[@tomtoo7860]

@@OG_G4m3r🤓☝️well actually you weren’t playing as Tav you were playing as darkurge

[@avocadothecat]

I romanced Gale with my (female) Durge White Dragonborn... I was always in a state between "Awwww" and "AHAHAHAHAHA"

[@isaacabernathy6874]

I became a dragonborn so Lae'zel could become a dragon rider, It's about the small sacrifices.

[@gamingweasel4633]

Nice. :D

[@nogum9763]

fucking legend

[@prometheus5405]

Red, right?

[@isaacabernathy6874]

@@prometheus5405 obviously

[@lucipizzimenti]

omg ure amazing

[@valerius88]

Isn't it kind of ironic that Shield Dwarves don't get proficiency with shields?

[@SolarFlareAmerica]

that NEEDS to be patched

[@effigy4541]

This was my first thought when I read the race info.

[@Local_commentor]

​​@@SolarFlareAmericalike oblivion axes are blunt weapons 0 logic

[@lydiasteinebendiksen4269]

No, but actually yes. Dhield dwarves are named metaphorically for their role, rather than for some incidental benefit. But also, it's dumb, at least one kind of dearf should get shields and who else?

[@PandaBearWithMic]

@@lydiasteinebendiksen4269 humans apparently...

[@dunmeroverlord]

Dragonborn are my #1 fav simply due to the unbeatable swag factor

[@SharkyMcSnarkface]

It's pretty high praise when Dagoth Ur compliments lizards.

[@pokeman5000]

My number 1 because when they go in for the smooch during cutscenes they JAM that snout in for the sweet sweet sugar. Simply because the games collision is a bit wonky. It really makes them appear they're TAKING whats THEIRS. Very dragon like. Scalefriends being the Dark Urge default was a brilliant choice.

[@PaulRGauthier]

They are hideous monstrosities.

[@JudgeNicodemus]

Dagoth Ur praising lizards? What is this? Am I on Punk'd?

[@solredqueen]

YES

[@spicyreyes]

I love playing Drow because the goblins in act 1 are terrified of you and will literally just let you walk into the blighted village without bothering you at all lol

[@yuriarmal6330]

I love half elf Drow over full drow solely because I can put a beard on them lol

[@lred1383]

@@yuriarmal6330 my PC is old and can't handle graphics above medium settings, and on medium the facial hair looks like you're a radiation poisoning victim

[@JannPoo]

The problem is that if it's really the only thing going in favor of them, you could just get a character with alter self and then you can get the best interaction in every possible situation. Goblins and other drows? Just disguise as a female drow. Creche? Disguise as a Githyanky, and so on.

[@janisir4529]

I didn't spend so much time on my character just to never see it. And being discriminated against is part of the fun. ​@@JannPoo

[@aaronhumphrey2009]

Drow get a poor initial greeting at the Grove from the Druids.. But the goblins are afraid of you and wave you into thier camp..and if you take over the torture session, the goblins leave, saying " we ain't got the stomach to watch that..🤢"

[@gregorylipsey7507]

The thing about dragonborn, if you are running a strength character, is the cutscenes (which are a lot). You tower over everyone. It is very satisfying being that huge as a tavern-brawler monk or something.

[@thezerowulf2046]

Its all about them sweet asthetics

[@sangun123]

draghon born barbarian that threatens everyone was my first character lmao

[@portpebble]

dragonborn paladin towering over everybody like a disappointed mom

[@bennet2347]

Which is exactly why I find bard Dragonborn so funny! Something about this massive lizard dude that looks like he could bench press karlach in the skin tight bard cloths with all the bells! 🤣

[@stratigangames508]

My first character was a Red Dragonborn Vengeance Paladin. The drip was eternal.

[@thebabycow]

I'm playing a drow and I have to say it is very useful in any area filled with absolute. You can skip so many persuasion checks and sometimes just completely solve a problem just be being a drow.

[@mizushirokanon9174]

And also for evil playtrough, there so many awesome lolth sword row unique dialog options. Like, they are so fun

[@thebabycow]

@@mizushirokanon9174 I'm doing a good/neutral run and there's STILL quite a lot of lolth sworn options. They're generally less useful than the drow options but they're still cool from a role playing standpoint

[@mizushirokanon9174]

@@thebabycow oh, you still get them even as non lolth sworn? Good to know! Also as a human you get close to non, for example

[@DustdeviIs]

drow player cope, you get disguise self for free for owning the game

[@thebabycow]

@@DustdeviIs like I'm gonna disguise for every dialogue interaction. I want to see my actual avatar.

[@robertheimbach419]

One interesting thing i can say about dancing lights for drow is it is considered an otem with mass. This means you can use it to trip weight triggered traps from a distance AND to block off poison vents. It is a spell that is much more useful than originally apparent

[@lingth]

Yes I noticed it when a gamer thought that casting dancing lights to light up an area would make detecting traps easier but when he cast dancing lightss ahead of him it set off all the traps ahead . Lol I didn't know it blocks poison vents..hmm Auntie Ethel's house comes to mind.

[@lingth]

I figured. Usually I use feather fall to drop down in that area .though carrying lots of crates to block poison vents and move ahead is another idea to explore

[@Geese_boi777]

Great tech, I had no idea it could be legit useful

[@Dodovacer]

@@Geese_boi777 very creative ideas... you can also just do "the normal thing" and wear a mask with protection from evil spell (scroll) cast on by all the individual chars. ;)

[@lydiasteinebendiksen4269]

Omg, thanks! I would never have guessed

[@Helikite]

I feel bad for dragonborns. They don't even get dark vision 😭

[@thatoneguy2288]

I understand they are bad in tabletop too but i wish larian would buff them

[@JohnSmith-qe6fb]

@@thatoneguy2288 The great thing about D and D is that your DM can give them things like darkvision, resistance to hold effects, or weapon proficiencies to make them more comparable to other races. The rules are flexible. I give them a few select abilities like proficiency with certain weapons or a more powerful breath weapon at level 5 to make them more viable.

[@thatoneguy2288]

@@JohnSmith-qe6fb fair but in bg3 thats not exactly an option. On pc yeah there mods but on console we are stuck with weak dragonborns

[@Helikite]

@@thatoneguy2288 well it's not like they are not viable. I will probably never play on tactician bcuz I don't actually want to try to role play AND sweat about my character build.

[@thatoneguy2288]

@@Helikite i wont be playing the hardest mode either. But i can still say that they are definitely the weakest race to play as in bg3.

[@Pakinov]

Half orc savage attacks also adds +1d6 to sneak attack dmg on a crit btw (tested). So if you have 3d6 sneak attack, on a normal crit it's 6d6, but half-orc is 7d6

[@LordEcks]

This is something that goes under the radar for a lot of players. This being the major difference between a Greatsword and a Greataxe. Greatsword is 2d6(12) and Axe being 1d12(12). The damage cap is the same, but the Axe does less minimum damage. However with Savage Attacks, you're only adding 1 more dice, not double. So the Greatsword does 3d6 (only adds 1 more d6) (18 dmg) whereas the Axe will do 2d12 (24 dmg) because its adding a single 1d12 dice to it.

[@alcaras]

wondering if there's a crit-fishing build using battle axes and taking advantage of the half-orc crit racial (giving an extra die, which for 2 battle axes would be an extra 1d8 each -- which I think is more damage than a single 1d12 from a 2h battle axe)@@LordEcks

[@smolgobbo3826]

@@alcarasProbably a champion 3/barbarian 9 for brutal critical, rechkless and crits on a 19

[@alexmeduna641]

@@LordEcks Are you sure about that, for Greatsword? Because that's not what the PH says, it says "Roll all of the attack's damage dice twice". It surprises me that they would change such a core rule. I've never checked it, though.

[@jorgef005]

​@@alexmeduna641for a critical hit, you roll 2d6 but for the Orc thing you roll one additional 1d6

[@rm2569]

It's a real shame larian didn't crib the fizbans dragonborn for theirs. Having breath weapons be prof bonus/short rest and scale damage and let them trigger extra attack actually makes them occasionally worth using.

[@KazumiKiguma]

Extra attack is pushing it hard. EA has always been for attacks, not spells, and breath attacks are baseically spells.

[@rm2569]

@@KazumiKiguma That isn't always the case (see the Bladesinger and cantrips), and most importantly it's a racial option rather than a prepared spell. This is official 5e rules, Fizbans dragonborn is a actual decent race option. the breath weapon is 1d10 base, scaling 1 die until it's 4d10 at 17th level, in eitheir a cone or a line. It's not like it's overpowered, even with extra attack. It's only one of them, and a 2d10 cone attack with a half damage save is hardly game breaking, even if you're also swinging a greatsword, that will certainly do more damage. Fizbans dragonborn also have new features to actually differentiate between chromatics/metallic/gem dragonborn, getting 1 min per long rest immunity to your element, using breath weapon to push/incapacitate enemies, or getting fly as ability respectively.

[@borgshadow13]

it's larian studios. if the community raises the point enought, there is a real chance this will be updated in the future ... unless wotc pulls le stupid

[@InvisibleBoot]

I know there is a mod on Nexus that adds a bunch (nearly all) of the official race options and variations. Now while this is a mod, I would not be surprised if it was later implemented officially. With DOS2 many of the gift bags were basically mods that became so popular that they became recognized and made into official free DLC.

[@biggiecheese2004]

@@InvisibleBootregardless it’s just retarded that they not only gave them the dogshit version of breath weapon, but literally made it even WORSE than TT. And how the fuck did they make humans just a bad version of half elves????? The game they made is amazing but there’s SO many wtf moments from the devs

[@Bayonet1809]

One thing that was not mentioned in this video are the items that have particular effects only for certain races, there are lots of such items for Githyanki, and some for Drow that I have noticed.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Technically any race can get those with disguise self, but yes, you're right.

[@elwourmo993]

will admit the moment I saw the one special dwarf Item they included, I had a build idea instantly XD

[@alexmeduna641]

​@@Aestus_RPG Just want to say, that is SO weird. As per 5e, the spell is supposed to be disguise/illusion, not you literally become that race. I was amazed that "pretending to be short" actually even made able to crawl through small holes.

[@mohamedmaatougui2469]

​@@Aestus_RPGit's bugged and you can't use reactions apparently while disguised

[@teethpilled3894]

@@elwourmo993wait what is it?

[@Mali8029]

Quick note about Half-Orc relentless endurance: If an enemy gets you in a debuff like hold person and kills you, the debuff disappears and you can now avoid the next incoming attacks with your AC etc. It is a really strong race for martial classes especially if you can force advantage like the Barbarian or The combat master.

[@gaberobison680]

Hard disagree! You should never be playing with tactics that encourage death. I also argue passive abilities are much worse than active ones because this is a video game so you cant count on the game giving you useful situations. Its by no means bad but races that have highly limited use features take a penalty for me

[@joshuakim5240]

@@gaberobison680 Half-Orc passives uniquely enable what might be the most insane, near-death glass cannon build in the game: half-hp hyper mode berserker. Use all of the super niche half-hp-activation items of absurdly huge damage and mobility boosts, get the barbarian 1 hp survival (it stacks with the half-Orc one), and just kill things before they can kill you in a ridiculous DPS race. It's a lot like hyper mode in Souls games: you get clapped by anything that you don't instantly kill, but you can instantly kill most things plus you get 2 layers of safety nets just in case RNGesus decides to be extra dickish with crit misses.

[@joedatius]

@@gaberobison680 I really wouldn't consider having a get out of death free card as a highly limited use feature. not to mention the inherent boon of stronger crits. that alone makes orcs incredibly good since there are alot of ways to fish for crits

[@dr.calibrations7984]

And then there's me playing a half orc Druid. I've always liked Orcs since I started playing The Elder Scrolls, and Druids are cool.

[@thezerowulf2046]

Literally saved me in the tollhouse when i got hit for 6k damage and lived

[@ApothecaryAlyth]

I'm glad you're so high on Halflings (from a technical perspective -- I'm with you on aesthetics). Way too many people in the buildcrafting scene for BG3 seem to sleep on Lucky. Any build where you can get reliably to 95% chance to succeed/hit, you're effectively getting free Advantage on EVERY attack roll AND skill check.

[@KazumiKiguma]

Male halflings look bad, females look fine honestly

[@broomhilder]

@@KazumiKigumaI’ll say there is at least ONE good looking male halfling but you’ve got to custom tailor him a bit depending on your preference

[@Zennethe]

cause lucky is boring meta gaming. as a 5e TTRPG player, i find lucky and halflings luck to be... boring as a feature.

[@colton9016]

I've had a blast playing a halfling bard.

[@MayHugger]

Because why would I take a race to do something I can do on every race just by pressing f8? Now on the new Honor Mode, their racial feature is actually huge and I consider them a must have for any character that plans on stealing.

[@torinsmith9867]

Wake up babe, competive racism just dropped.

[@kalebs6201]

I asume Drow are separated from elves beca of all the race based dialogue options they get so they wanted players to be aware in a way that they were very distinct

[@KazumiKiguma]

Duergar also have some unique dialogue so I'm not too sure about that. It's more likely because of the fact you can be pro or con Lolth as a Drow which has a few unique dialogues rather than just drow in general.

[@sofiemcliesh9531]

In the official BG3 wiki Drow is its own race. I think it’s because it has sub races in itself

[@WesternXC]

Drow are the asshole race in BG3. They even have asshole dialogue in the game.

[@shadowdroid776]

​@@sofiemcliesh9531Yeah I think this is why. It would look kind of cluttered picking a subrace and having that subrace have more subraces in it, so it makes sense having Drow as its own race and the Seldarine/Lolth types being subraces.

[@kotzpenner]

"Stealth is the most important check in the game". Meanwhile me: almost never stealths.

[@chrisstanton70]

Zariel Tiefling is S tier for a paladin imo. you get two extra and free smites

[@lagg1e]

Only flavor advantage. Fighter and Blade Warlock and maybe even Cleric could use those smites just as well.

[@TeoReviews]

also pretty rad for monk so far

[@waterierStone]

@@lagg1e There's some gear that gives you a bonus to your smites.

[@bauarhussen2241]

my first playthrough of bg3 i had 0 idea what the classes were so i picked whichever class that made my female character look the hottest. That ended up being a tiefling and then i chose paladdin since i thought they were cool lmao

[@TeoReviews]

sucked for monk. asmodeous tiefling for monk all day long.

[@nenad0003]

For the high elf cantrips, some of them don't care about the casting modifier. Such as Friends, Blade Ward, Light, Minor illusion and Mage hand. So I wouldn't dismiss the free cantrip entirely.

[@Chad_Maximus]

Friends on a Charlatan background is great, especially on a non caster like rogue.

[@Nr4747]

The extra cantrip is also incredibly useful for Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knights because it allows you to take more "niche" damage cantrips like Shocking Grasp or Bone Chill - or to "double up" on main damage cantrips like Firebolt, Ray of Frost or Poison Spray.

[@brianfox340]

I made the mistake of taking fire bolt on my Sorcerer, which uses Int, so it's garbage.

[@KazumiKiguma]

Note: He said the rule is tactician difficulty, and Friends makes NPCs angry or aggressive with you afterwards. If the point is to avoid a fight then it's no good.

[@iknorn9494]

Because drow get 2 whole spells, more dialogue, arguably better weapon proficiencies, and 12 meters more darkvision, while wood elves are incredibly versatile and can work with any class there are 2 better elf options

[@vyris2663]

I've restarted 3 times and Githyanki is awesome. Fun abilities, flexible, and shockingly TONS of dialogue options. A Gith main and guardian feel like natural protags to BG3's story, but I'm only mid Act 2 so maybe that changes.

[@emilholck87]

Without spoiling too much, there are a lot of items that provide additional benefits to gith as well

[@Tiller13915]

@@emilholck87man said he’s in act 2 he would have found at least 3 by now if he looked good enough. there’s 3 items In Act 1 that synergize with gyth then more in act 2

[@paullucas9536]

Yeah but ugly (at least the males)

[@adamskeans2515]

@@emilholck87using disguise self will proc these as well

[@t2av159]

They are pretty much Jedi

[@diablo595]

Got to love zariel tieflings for paladins. Those extra smites are really nice to have in your back pocket.

[@MayHugger]

Same goes for Pact of the Blade Warlocks. And wouldn’t you know it, doing both on the same character works really well!

[@buildawall5803]

​@@MayHuggeri love half orc with pact of the blade those crits with 20 charisma in act 1 at level 4 1 shot the spectator and bullete

[@buildawall5803]

​@@MayHuggeri love half orc with pact of the blade those crits with 20 charisma in act 1 at level 4 1 shot the spectator and bullete

[@JoshuaKirtley]

I really wish they would've split the Gith into both of their two subraces. I really like the Githzerai.

[@Thatguy223-vc4wb]

That would make the game very different, as the Githyanki would just attack you without hesitation.

[@stratigangames508]

​@@Thatguy223-vc4wb I mean, without Lae'zel, they do that anyway.

[@mojojojo01.]

@@Thatguy223-vc4wb that seems like it would be an added level of interest.. do you choose to just attack the githyanki right away at the creche? do you disguise yourself as something else? etc.. it wouldn't hurt the game experience, and actually it could add a lot of interesting dynamics and story.

[@franciscofracaro3648]

As a very-close-to-pathological hoarder and tidy inventory maniac (these 2 traits don't complement each other well at all 😂) I can confidently say that the 1/4 carry capacity increase that humans get is better than halfling's lucky, since you cannot rage save scam a full inventory. S++++ for humans in my book :)

[@pencilbender]

I collect everything as well. I put barrels in my camp stash with one item next to it to indicate whats in there. Also when i have a box of headgear for example, i have another box on the right with magic headgear

[@jaedevon]

facts, I definitely agree.

[@brianfox340]

Perfect example of playing optimally for your OWN play style and not for the average person.

[@InternetStudiesGuy]

May I recommend a wildheart barbarian who gets the option to double his carrying capacity at level 6?

[@ape8572]

that makes 0 sense, if you are a tidy inventory maniac, you send every item back to camp and sort it there, making carry space completely useless

[@moss9851]

i really like how you made sure to specify that rp is a perfectly valid reason to play a sub optimal race :)

[@justsomeeggsinapot1784]

Cut to big lizard man singing the Skyrim theme while cutting down goblins

[@GiantBat]

On a RP perspective the Deep Gnome is the only Underdark race that’s actually good aligned. FYI

[@KazumiKiguma]

Alignments are basically stereotypes, you've never had to be evil as a drow or duergar, the only thing that ever forced that were bad DMs and Paladin requiring lawful good in previous editions

[@lilbirdmuse8938]

@@KazumiKigumastereotypes sure, but it’s a good baseline in my opinion. Being outside of that alignment should be fairly rare. After all, why would someone of a race raised doing evil things suddenly change perspective without some type of interference/intervention? That’s where Rp comes in! XD I’ve always loved Deep Gnomes for being sorta the last bastion between the monstrosities of the Underdark and the surface.

[@baylee9879]

And Seldarine Drow, no?

[@cadesummers5866]

Disagree on tieflings- using an extra action in combat to set yourself as wet compared to the outright resistance is underrated and the hellish rebuke on asmodeus while you want to spam it on melee users, the extra free damage on a caster or ranged user, who probably will get hit at least once per long rest does come in handy for a free damage boost

[@DemonLordSparda]

It's wild he suggests using a spell slot to make yourself wet... which also makes you vulnerable to lightning and cold damage. Even worse, that wet patch can become electrified.

[@spellandshield]

I was just thinking of something; the robe "The Graceful Cloth" grants you permanent Cat's Grace which is also permanent Stealh Advantage and you can get that robe pretty early so especially on a monk or rogue, the inherent racial bonuses are in part vitiated by that robe.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Yeah, its a good piece of armor.

[@lankyfranki3]

I wore it my whole monk play through it’s goated

[@ZZNESSA77]

it's a bit sad that there is no tier list in this tier list video. it makes me tearing up a bit. Good thing you added it in later videos. ^^

[@729060]

As a High Elf you want to take the Light cantrip as your choice if you have low INT. When cast on an allies weapon out of combat it causes their weapon to shed light until the next long rest and it is not a concentration spell like dancing lights making it one of the most impactful spells early/mid game as your melee character can now be a living torch for Gale/any ranged human to target enemies from afar.

[@spellandshield]

On my current run with a Moon Druid I am playing a duergar; invisibility works in shifted form too! Definitely S tier!

[@d7LS]

Great video. I don’t love how some subraces are penalized because there is a better option, though. If a base racial feature is great (eg gnome cunning), I feel like all subraces should be high tier as a result. We pick from all available subclasses in character creation

[@Aestus_RPG]

Thanks! It just doesn't seem real to me if I don't factor in opportunity cost, but I try to explain my reasoning as clear as I can so no one gets the wrong idea.

[@bencegergohocz5988]

​@@Aestus_RPGthat is not how oportunity cost works... my making one kind of Gnome, you aren't juwt giving up the oportunuty to make another type of Gnome, you are aslo giving up the oportunity to make anything else.

[@Aestus_RPG]

@@bencegergohocz5988 I don't think you understood me.

[@fafimba]

minor ilusión is actually a good choice for elf cantrip, helps to set the battle before it starts. And invisible mage hand can be use to trigger sneak attack by placing it next the enemies while staying out of combat to move freely

[@Elegiast]

Hilariously, it will make enemies face it even in combat. Now unlike Divinity there is no backstab mechanic, but there are vision cones. I often have Astarion use it in turn-based mode or while the rest of the team is in combat to redirect enemy vision cones and sneak by easier.

[@buildawall5803]

​@@Elegiastminor illusion+ quickened spell on a fire dragon lineage sorcerer= discount barrelmancy

[@Tommy_The_Gun]

As far as I am aware, in tabletop D&D Dragonborn Barbarian can use breath weapon even when raging, as it is not considered "a spell", but rather "spell-like" ability, so when considering a class / race - Dragonborn barb may actually be decent. Also, just like in DOS & DOS2, BG3 has this "interactions" when it comes to environment - you can blow up oil barrels with fire, electrify water with shock breath weapon etc, so there is that. But I would rather look at what is the most common dmg type (fire & poison ?) and pick Dragonborn with one of those.

[@HotSauceForTheSoul]

I think certain races gain value in co-op where you can't swap characters to solve out of combat puzzles. For example, if no one in the group has natural access to Speak with Animals from their class, forest gnome fills the gap.

[@DustdeviIs]

yeah, so RP tier

[@roxannebednar9163]

Eh, there are potions of animal speaking and the amulet of speak with dead. I'd agree that the mage hand is a great racial for out of combat but it goes on the githyanki who are awesome for many other reasons

[@MayHugger]

Imagine picking a race to do something one of the most common potions can do.

[@DrDarkheart]

There are so many ways to get speak to animals

[@HotSauceForTheSoul]

@@DrDarkheart I was using Forest Gnome as an example. There are other niche racials this can apply to, but for instance let's say you're in a co-op and you want Gnome for the top tier saving throw passive but you're not the main character, so History checks might not be that useful from Rock Gnome and you won't make use of the stealth from Deep Gnome. Forest Gnome will get you more use than the other two, especially in the chaos of co-op where you might not plan which long rest you're gonna pop which potion. Same reason you might pick Asmodeus Tiefling for Thaumaturgy cantrip if you were the main character in a co-op for the few intimidation checks. In BG3, there are objectively great races for min-maxing combat for most classes (Duergar for Invis/Enlarge, Gith (for everything), Wood Elf/Half Wood Elf for movement range, etc, etc. But if you've played a 4 player co-op--it's anarchic chaos where any downtime can derail it. Plus, playing for fun exists.

[@WolfHreda]

I don't think the Dexterity bonus being added to offhand Hand Crossbows is a bug. Ranged weapons always add your Dexterity mod. It's just that in 5e D&D, the rules for offhand Hand Crossbows were poorly written/integrated, so the only way to gain the benefit of a Bonus Action attack with them was to have it in your main hand and nothing else. Edit: It's also worth noting that in D&D 5e rules, the Two-Weapon Fighting style only affects melee weapons. Again, no caveat or inclusion made for ranged weapons.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Maybe not, buts it's bad design imo.

[@Nerazmus]

It should be a feature you get from Crossbow Expert.

[@alexg5189]

After loving dual hand crossbows in BG3 I went back to 5e to see if they were viable.. and holy crap, the rules are mind-boggling. The only way to make them remotely viable is with crossbow expert to ignore the loading property. Unfortunately they still have the ammunition property, requiring a free hand to load ammunition. So you'll never get more than 2 attacks in a turn even with multiattack. Even after wasting a feat a longbow is just better. Shame they added such a cool weapon combo only to have it be nearly useless.

[@Nerazmus]

@@alexg5189 Homebrew for the win.

[@OutlookJonas]

I mean it makes no sense being able to fire 2 hand crossbows more than once and not having a free hand to reload. Also hand crossbows are considered the best ranged weapon in 5e because of crossbow expert and Sharpshooter. Weapon damage die doesn't really matter that much, it's usually the extra added damage that matters more. Also you get a free bonus action hand crossbow attack which you don't get with any other ranged attack.

[@RoyalJester17]

Duergar gloom stalker/assassin is my favourite run ive made. free invisibility is just insane in this game

[@FutureOverYou]

What's your split on this level wise? And have you considered a 2 level dip in fighter to Action Surge that crazy first round nova?

[@RoyalJester17]

@@FutureOverYou I did 6 gloom, 4 assassin and 2 fighter. Uncanny dodge is unnecessary imo, I just went to 4 for the feet.

[@Gaaylord69]

I don’t care how kinda bad Dragonborns are, I love them to no end. Both in tabletop, and BG3. Especially in BG3 though. Unmatched lizard swag ftw

[@worldman3218]

Half wood elves are so versatile, Dark vision? Increased movement? Light armor, Shield and spear proficiency? They basically got it all.

[@Xenobears]

I almost always respec Lae’zel into a Pact Blade warlock. The armor proficiency and great sword proficiency combined with specialized Gith gear is great for Act 2.

[@OutlookJonas]

Kind of unnecessary since pact of the blade can gain proficiency in any weapon that they bond with. Don't need the racial ability.

[@Xenobears]

@@OutlookJonas The Gith gear offers specific benefits for githyanki who equip it. While you can use disguise self to get the bonuses on a non-gith, it’s extra setup to do it every long rest. For example, a githyanki great sword might deal an additional 1d4 psychic damage when wielded by a Gith. Also, not all races give you immediate proficiency with medium armor regardless of class. Gith do.

[@1MarmadukeFan]

I'm bumbling my way through my first play through so I appreciate the work you put into this.

[@Orhan6125]

Appreciate your guides. It really helped me back when I first got in to the game in early access! I don't need to rely on them anymore but they're still fun to watch!

[@JoshSweetvale]

24:50 For the Elven Cantrip you can pick Minor Illusion or one of the others that don't target enemies.

[@danwaters4139]

Playing as a Githyanki is really cool. You get lots of different dialog options and it feels like you have more of a connection to the main story. It does make certain choices pretty much a must though. Like freeing Orpheus. Some decisions just wouldn’t feel right.

[@kooyking]

Exactly, that alone makes it an S-tier race to me. Currently starting my 2nd playthrough as Durge and I don't think I can justify choosing any other race.

[@talesofacrookedmouth]

@@kooyking well for durge obv keeping scaly exotism, because it just looks better lol + you can get the superior evil play style of shapeshifting into those you DESPISE and GENOCIDE and amplify racism against them by commiting tomfooleries in populated places, that's what you get for being a SCALELESS CROAKING WASTE OF MEAT

[@TSE_WOODY]

I just can’t make a cool gith. They are so fuckin ugly and my shakespeare looking bard just amuses me too much

[@aldoushuxley5953]

Deep Gnome supremacy!!!

[@b1ackm4gic]

Playing one a Rogue one right now where the whole game plan is to have Advantage on every saving throw (and stealth) lol, then the bless aura from Phalar Aluve, plus real Bless, plus maybe Wild Magic support? We'll see lol

[@iknorn9494]

You know this one funny spell called greater invisibility if you're a deep gnome with even decent stealth you can chain hit kills like nobody's business

[@aymanelkadouri8235]

Proceeds to walk to the deep gnome pick him up and throw him

[@defaultthedude]

That’s not what the ones in Menzobarrenzan say.

[@stubbington08]

Forest Gnome: 3Rogue/ 9Bard. Everybody dies.

[@contagious_noob3651]

I have found that with the breath ability it is really good at clearing out summons. Especially in the cazador fight it was a big help

[@DamnSpiders666]

Great video, halflings getting the love they deserve. It will be really hard to play the game without lucky after my current halfling bard build. Would have been an idea to add a little remark to each race/sub-race what the best class(es) picks for that race would be

[@jamesc7894]

I feel handlings always come up short.

[@deang8017]

Not gonna lie, when "Race Tier List" popped up on my feed I thought KZbin was trying to send me down an extremist rabbit hole.

[@Aestus_RPG]

I'm kind of an extremist CRPG fanatic so... I want to radicalize all of you to loving this genre of game more.

[@chillrendbeats]

⁠@@Aestus_RPGI’m subscribing for that response 😂

[@Tetragramix]

When isn't KZbin trying to do that?

[@RyanPassek]

The thing about the halfling lucky feat is that if you pick them as a rogue with expertise in slight of hand, you essentially cannot be stopped by a lock at all.

[@codeine69]

im playing a half-drow rogue thief and i roll over 30 almost every single time i pick a lock

[@RyanPassek]

@@codeine69 yeah but you still have a chance of failing, as 1 is an auto-fail, so 95% chance of success. Lucky however, gives you essentially advantage if you roll a 1, and it stacks with normal advantage. With just lucky you have a 99% chance of success, and with lucky and advantage you are practically at 100%. To add to this, this also works extremely well for ranged rogues. The strongest build I've used so far is halfling assassin 7/gloomstalker 5. 3 attacks on first round, almost guaranteed first in initiative, auto Crit on surprised enemies, wide range of proficiencies, archery+sharpshooter. You have built in invis, bonus to hit an enemy for the first time, advantage when attacking from hidden, and lucky just in case. You can dish out about 200 damage on first round if the conditions are perfect, especially with luck of the far realms and the executioner ring.

[@codeine69]

@@RyanPassek thats exactly how my character is but im more focused melee, sword of life-steal dual wielded with The Ambusher (and regeneration ring + vicacious coat) combined with high crit rate means my rogue never needs to waste an action to heal bc i can stay topped off with temp HP, 2 bonus actions combined with basically owning the spot for first turn bc of initiative means i can use two cunning sprints or mist step and get practically anywhere during a battle, i hoard bloodlust potions so almost every ingame day i'm killing two enemies on my first turn bc my melee sneak attack is a near instant kill for almost any enemy around 50 health, , Disintegrating Night Walkers so nothing can stop me, Supreme Sneak and Shadow of Menzoberranzan ensure im invisible for like most of every single fight. This is my first playthrough and i feel grossly overpowered

[@RyanPassek]

@@codeine69 I, instead, use pass without trace for +10 to sneak, the invis/blur ring, shade slayer, and the executioner ring for the ultimate initial turn. Pass without trace into full party sneak, then sneak attack on an enemy which is a guaranteed Crit. Then first turn the enemy is surprised so you get another guaranteed Crit and advantage so you don't have to use sneak, you can use like hunters mark instead. You then get 2 extra attacks because of gloomstalker 5 for the first turn, so if your first shot killed (which it will on almost anything except bosses) you can executioner next shot on a different target, and finally use the special action gloomstalker attack either on the same, or preferably different target with luck of the far realms. If they are all on advantage, plus lucky, plus brace, plus hunters mark, plus sharpshooter, you deal up to 250 DMG on round 1, and have a better chance at those big 60+ DMG Crits on subsequent turns, all from a nice safe 18m.

[@FernandoHernandez-jw4yy]

41:00 Savage Attacks: No, it doesn't work on "any weapon striker". It only works in melee. It does nothing for ranged weapons or spells.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Ty, I didn't realize.

[@AlegIronFist]

I broke a hole in the wall after my halfling had a critical miss, then rolled a 1 on a dialogue check right after

[@otakon17]

14:34 you forgot to mention that Enlarge Self can *stack* with an Enlarge Self Elixir and can boost your damage by up to two dice classes. Combine it with something like Tavern Brawler and Wild Throw and you''re slinging 500lbs. chests at people like they were shotput balls.

[@lukel8594]

instantly in love with this video because of the vghs reference. if you reference something near and dear to my heart and slightly obscure like vghs, youve won my love. 10/10.

[@SvenDzahov]

I play Githyanki bard with levels in wizard and cleric every time. You’re proficient in everything, you have amazing skill checks, your dialogue options are phenomenal, great stealth and lock picking, and you can get literally every spell in the game. On top of that you will be a very martial character

[@theblackspark2644]

I've been playing something similar with a Githyanki Wizard, Bard, Warlock.

[@teddyspaghetti2858]

Really liked the video. Something to note about the Githyanki is that there's gear in the game that gives you bonuses when playing as them, and the gear is good enough that if yoy are playing Githyanki its more or less a must have, at least from a min/max standpoint, if you're playing the class that uses it anyway.

[@danhill99]

Drow with 2 crossbows firing outwards from a zone of darkness is pretty mad

[@backonlazer791]

They REALLY should show you what you get at later levels when making the character, imo. This goes for classes as well.

[@benjaminjam666]

Great video dude. LOVE HALFLINGS. They are so underrated, in EA I made a Dex-based Barbarian who was a fish flinging master of death. I fully intend to recreate that deadly little Muppet at some point. Before that I’ll do a Halfling Bard/Assassin, though. Been planning this one out for awhile. Probably (still not 100% certain) 4 lvls in Bard and 8 in Assassin. There’s a world where that’s a triple Multiclass in Gloomstalker or diss the Bard but I take such joy in luring unsuspecting victims into an side room and entering slayer mode. The one thing I’ll say is that, while under-powered, I absolutely love my Dragonborn Fighter/Bard and his breath weapon (boring old red) since he’s a jolly soul with a pole arm in his grip and a tune on his lips. He’s a zone control master (Battlemaster w/Sweep Attack, Goading Attack and Riposte), I still drop my fiery breath and have even used it to blow myself and others up w/oil and fire wine. The resistance usually means I come up on top. Is it strategic? Ehhhh… Is it fun? Why yes, yes it is. So, while I love min/maxing and all the tactical excellence the game offers, I also like doing silly things like dropping a Firewine barrel and going full Godzilla. It’s supposed to be fun folks, so go have some!

[@peterstedman6140]

One of the biggest sadnesses in 5e is the weakness of fighters compared to 4e/pathfinder 2e

[@KlasikosM]

without the "BG3" in the title, it could be the title of a 1939 German book title

[@poochyenajones1362]

Role play reason is always the most valid way. It's the role playing game, afterall. From my experience min-maxing is mostly negligible compared to just getting good at the game, even those that rely on stats.

[@morgan3392]

I like to imagine this video being made in-universe by the Emperor talking about his guardians.

[@morgan3392]

Err, I mean his dream visitors

[@googleslides8305]

I will forever be a human and Dragonborn main.

[@IanShelton004]

clicked on this cuz I wanted to make the joke "can't wait till you drop the IRL race tier list" but you beat me to it in like the first seconds of the vid

[@zombie9865]

You see the thing you forgot to mention is that humans are made in gods image and the rest aren't.

[@smitty215able]

Foh, dragonborn are clearly born in Tiamat's image

[@tardarsauce1842]

I can't wait for: *"Earth Race Tier List"*

[@davidallan2244]

I was considering starting a new run in order to play a storm sorcerer with a different race instead of my half-orc, but due to your points about how valuable the Relentless Endurance passive is I might just respecialise my orc. Thanks for the video!

[@KazumiKiguma]

Combine it with storm cleric to get use out of the melee criticals too 👍

[@blackosprey2219]

Dragonborn are aesthetically irresistible. Devs did a fantastic job with their overall appearance as well as making them highly expressive.

[@Apoque]

My main comment about the High-elf cantrip's value proposition is that it can be useful to grab one of the non-damaging cantrips like Minor Illusion, Mage Hand, or Friends. I know this is about tactician, but having Friends on lower difficulty is _really_ nice outside of combat.

[@KDHeron]

I appreciate the helpful knowledge, but every time you said "one die eight" instead of "one d eight" I died a little inside.

[@Aestus_RPG]

It bothers you that I speak differently than you?

[@Tiltigo]

Dragonborn are carried completely by looks, which is kind of a shame. There are a lot of neat bonuses to gameplay you miss by playing them. Honestly think that the breath attack should either scale with your class primary ability, or not have any cooldown only costing an action. Or maybe both?

[@avalanche4815]

Holy shit that intro brought back memories. Video Game Highschool is such a good indie show. Also a great video.

[@waterierStone]

Being able to get the friends spell on any class with high elf is pretty impactful imo. It means you can play basically any class and dump cha without auto failing every single dialogue check. Light is pretty useful for act 2 as well. Even in tactician there are some dialogues that failing would result in a fight, so being able to delay that by ~9 turns could let you run away and hide to still avoid the fight. Also, stealth is a pretty nothing skill for anyone other than rouges. Like you can see where the enemies are looking, so just don't go there and they'll never see your heavy armor coming. the other thing about stealth is that you can just cast pass without a trace, and anyone without disadvantage might have only a 5-10% chance of failing their roll. But then you walk into the light which you can't see and they instantly spot you. You would have been better off walking around their cone of vision. Also giving dragonborn anything other than RP tier is pretty silly. Like you explained their two features are out scaled, and replaced by potions. Even the two best resistances you could pick, fire and poison, are already resisted by other races. Like tieflings are the same as red, gold and brass but better. poison resistance is really easy to get, and acid has one spell in the whole game. The only one you would want is electric and cold, but then they're all just worse than picking a dragon born sorcerer.

[@dgriffin3113]

Never thought I'd see a Video Game High school clip as an intro in a Baldurs Gate 3 video. But I love it

[@richardweems4517]

Interesting video, suggestions to make it more practical: You need place the rankings of each race at the end of the section but most importantly at the end of the video. As it stands, the viewer must write down your individual race assessment. A legend would also assist with context.

[@Henry-iz7iv]

That “BG3” in the title is putting in work

[@freezingpng18]

Thanks for the guide! It can't be easy ranking races in these modern times 😂

[@Aestus_RPG]

You just ruined my entire career.

[@jag-hw7wd]

The VGHS clip at the beginning had me crying from both nostalgia and laughter 😂

[@doublecrossedswine112]

That intro was hilarious. On a different note, species would be a better word. Never understood why race is used instead. My 2 favorite races have been Wood Elf and Githyanki. Half Orc is good if you use a big 1d10 or 1d12 weapon. You make a good case for the little people. I honestly never even looked at them because I'm a bad person deep down and dismissed them subconsciously. Didn't know I was doing that, now I do. I'm not a fan of myself right now.

[@ThomasRichardson-lj1ig]

The races can and often do interbreed (see half-elf, etc), so they are not really different species as it's generally defined biologically (although even species as a concept might be fuzzy around the edges)

[@doublecrossedswine112]

@@ThomasRichardson-lj1ig True. If it was biologically accurate these would be species because the dna is too different for reproduction. Since biology isn't accurate they are indeed the same species because they can breed. Also true that in real life species can get fuzzy with ring species.

[@ThomasRichardson-lj1ig]

@@doublecrossedswine112 Although I remember Lae'zel mentioning that the Githyanki have asexual reproduction, so clearly they should be considered a different species? This game is my first experience with the D&D/BG lore, so don't trust me on the details

[@Shadeius]

We can't probably thank Tolkien for that as he used 'race' to denominate his species which then other fantasy writers,D&D among them, adopted.

[@carcosacommune]

idk, wolves and dogs can interbreed and they are different species. I've made this argument about changing the names, it's just awkward and has baggage. @@doublecrossedswine112

[@matthewmiracky2291]

High elf cantrip is better than you think because of the non damaging spells. For example having free friends allows a sorcerer to use their charisma cantrips on something else or giving blade ward to any melee character regardless of if they’re a caster.

[@kuronanestimare]

As someone who plays a Dragonborn Warlock... they're RP Tier. They are *MAYBE* a C if you have a class that runs into Melee constantly (in which case, why aren't you a Half-Orc?) as a Ranged class, you'll almost never use your Breath Weapon. I'd argue Humans Proficiencies and Increased Carry Weight would play a much bigger part of my build than the breath I almost never get to use and the resistance that's almost never relevant. If you don't care about achievements, there are mods that make Dragonborn stronger. If you are hunting achievements though, don't even look at them.

[@TheAngelRaven]

My favorite race is Tiefling because: 1) Horned Waifus. 2) haha Zariel Tiefling Pact of the Blade with the ability to see through magical darkness go smash

[@FernandoHernandez-jw4yy]

20:23 Fey Ancestry: The only time an enemy used the sleep spell on me was in the Overgrown ruins. And even then it had very little impact. It only lasts two turns and if enemies attack you, it ends immediately. It's not very strong to begin with. It also only affects creatures with 24 hitpoint max at caster level one + 8 for any additional level of upcast. That's not very much. It's entirely uselss against builds with a lot of HP (particularly high con barbarians but also other martial classes). Sure, Glyph of Warning is a different matter but still pretty situational.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Nah, I know what I'm talking about on this one.

[@FatherAntithetical]

Yeah I'm with you. Nothing says "get fucked" like the second to last stage of the act 3 boss and having your wizard suddenly taking a nap while a few particularly angry copycats close in. @@Aestus_RPG

[@It9LpBFS37]

My man! As a numbers cruncher, I went straight in to see your thoughts on Halflings, and my good sir, you know your deed well!

[@youtubeuser4221]

Human really needed to be 5E Variant Human which starts with a Feat.

[@tammyboy2084]

I know it’s just a flavour thing, but rock gnomes always start with a music box. I know some people like to collect those, plus it’s a it of extra money if you don’t.

[@spacechannelfiver]

Humans are good, although maybe not for min-maxing combat specifically. The ability to use a shield is nice for any classes that don't have access naturally; so Bard, Warlock, Sorc, Wizard get some benefit here. Carrying an extra 25% is a solid quality of life feature.

[@christopherjones7191]

I think his issue was that half wood elves get that and fey ancestry, so humans are just less powerful versions.

[@spacechannelfiver]

@@christopherjones7191 Yeah he was clear upfront about his criteria, I don't disagree with him about putting them in RP tier purely in context of combat. The game isn't only about combat tho, so that extra carrying capacity and skill of your choice balance them out.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Thr game isn't only about combat, but my videos are.

[@spacechannelfiver]

@@Aestus_RPG i'll have to do a video from the opposite perspective. The door is firmly closed but you seduce it and in a wooden moment it coquettuesly shows you an inch. As a bard you have saving throws vs splinters and complete the seduction of the door.

[@minatonamikaze6400]

My tier list : anything S tier, except short races cause I don't want to be short. And the -1.5m hurts me too much

[@ChristianEphraimson]

That's a grudge 📖

[@spacewhalemilk]

You will suffer during the gnome uprising.

[@nyckgs]

that intro won the whole vid

[@sc3k]

I'm playing a drow sorcerer rn and I'm just convinced this is the best race/class combo in the game if you're doing a chaotic neutral playthrough. at least through acts 1 and 2. SO good for rp AND gameplay

[@NewtBeGaming]

D&D race tier list: 😎👍🏽 Human race tier list: 😨

[@Yabbamann]

Note: Half-Orc is not QUITE triple damage. A Greatsword and Maul only adds 1d6, rather than 2d6. Technically, Half-Orcs are best suited for Polearms like the Pike, Halberd, and Glaive (except Polearm Master is broken for offhand attack) and Greataxes. Half-Orc Barbarians are a classic trope and it's because of Brutal Critical + Savage Attacks. Consider taking Half-Orcs even on a Ranged build like the Gloomstalker + Assassin multiclass since you will roll an additional d8 for EVERY bow shot you make on a Surprised enemy. It's a VERY strong nova round race to take and is also well-suited for Paladins because of the crit synergy with all the crit equipment available during the game.

[@sinosleep007]

Drow in addition to all of their combat perks, get an absolute crap ton of social perks. With those taken into account I'd say Drow are an easy S tier, bonus they look nice to boot :)

[@Sorenzo]

I immediately picked shield dwarf and rogue as my first character, then thought "what can I do with medium armour proficiency?" and decided to get medium armour mastery for my first feat, so now my rogue is sneaking around in half-plate and it's VERY cool. I was a bit disappointed when I realized you can ONLY sneak attack with Finesse weapons, because I wanted to use hand axes and light hammers 😒

[@Gamfluent]

So we ranking races now huh

[@tylertilur4218]

You forgot to mention that dragonborn start with the best camp clothes in the game, tsk tsk

[@brasswirebrush]

So Rock Gnome which get Expertise in History, which you even say is purely for flavor, gets B-tier. But Forest Gnome gets RP-tier because it's spell can be duplicated if you have enough potions. I demand a recount.

[@Aestus_RPG]

I said "mostly flavor"

[@KazumiKiguma]

It's not just potions, there are so many ways to get speak with animals that there shouldn't be a run without it...

[@jae4ze]

Folks, why does it sound so wrong to me that he says "die twenty roll" I'm still vibing with the video but I'm making wisdom saving throws every time he mentions the dice.

[@mbrown7325]

Seeing my tieflings in C tier hurts my soul

[@Aestus_RPG]

Sorry...

[@Wraggle3000]

Ive gotta say movement might be easily achieved but having a super high base speed with wood elf and the mobility feat made me feel unstoppable

[@Wraggle3000]

I can smite a guy and walk to his house to tell his wife and kids all in the same turn

[@theblackspark2644]

Could also add longstrider

[@lawrencefosterjenkins8216]

Now I’m imagining a party comprised of all the races you ranked s-tier. Three short races and their gargantuan half-Orc friend

[@unhingedmanchild]

Enjoyable video! Need more discussions like this. I agree with most of what you said, my primary disagreements: -Halfling Lucky is, IMO, not S+ and not as powerful as you say it is. I'd say halfling is A tier. Lucky is pretty good, but not meta defining or anything. -Githyanki ought to be S IMO. Along with the free martial goods, the skill monkey shit, AND the insane race spells (mage hand, jump, misty step) they have access to the legendary silver sword in act 1 (use disarm/command on Voss at the gith patrol spot, and have an invis character pick it up.) That sword gives advantage on wis + int + cha saving throws, prevents charm, gives resistance to psychic damage, deals additional psychic damage, and has a busted af stun feature. You can get this sword in the first 30-120 mins of the game (guess it depends how sweaty you really are to get it) and never have to swap from it for the entire game - it is entirely build/race defining. For this alone, githyanki is top tier IMO, especially for a build that isn't using a shield. -I feel that you overrate stealth. You aren't terribly off the mark, it's definitely useful to have 1-2 characters good at stealth, but it kinda feels like you put any stealth bonuses in auto A or S tier, when IMO stealth is really only saught after by a select number of classes (the med/heavy armor types especially don't care about stealth.) To reiterate points I felt worth doubling up on: -Duergar seem borked af, I almost did my tactician solo with that race, but I picked durge origin, and since I had access to the invis cloak (which never left the cloak slot since the moment I got it) I felt much less need for duergar invis. -Agree that high elf kinda sucks with the int based cantrip. Any other elf seems generally better. -Darkvision is generally easy to get, superior darkvision not so much, and 100% agree that ranged attackers/spellcasters should try to get superior darkvision. Luckily, the superior darkvision races are all pretty good IMO.

[@Aestus_RPG]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply!

[@Sheislipsyncing]

they patched the legendary sword cheese. Now Voss holds a githyaki crossbow at the Act 1 patrol

[@unhingedmanchild]

@@Sheislipsyncing Ooo that's no good. Well, I haven't taken any patches yet, and probably won't for a good 6 months, so no worries on my end lol.

[@Aestus_RPG]

@@Sheislipsyncing Finally! So tired of hearing about it in every comment.

[@KazumiKiguma]

@@Aestus_RPGAh thats why it wasn't in your weapons vid. Probably should have mentioned it.