Insanely Strong Dual Wield Build Baldur's Gate 3

[@ricbulow]

I know this is old by now, but for those still looking at this, for the last two levels I suggest Circle of Spores druid, so you always have the necro dmg on your attacks and can choose other gear instead :D

[@edgarabramz]

1 hit and you lose that necro damage

[@Demrezel]

Yes, it's old, now you can get 2 deva maces and this build goes completely insane.

[@skysoldier29]

This should be Swords Bard 6 / Spore Druid 6. It’s better and more even damage. With that you have 24 temp hit points per wild shape charge. You have 3 wild shale charges per short rest. Decent way to achieve more damage.

[@HArryvajonas]

The Battle Master trait Precision, is the key to any melee build. It was glossed over in this video, but you will use it on nearly every attack. Precision increases your chance to hit by roughly 20%. You will want to activate Precision almost every time it is available. In otherwords, it will make playing melee 20% less frustrating ( works on bow attacks as well, maybe even spells?). Any RPG that has a chance to hit attribute, it will be one of if not the most important stat until you hit 100%.

[@andreasosterberg8833]

Intentional or not, I love the fact he says using two crossbows is really good at 4:40 and the gameplay footage will show you this, but proceeds to do a critical miss right after he has said that XD.

[@Swizz12]

A level 6 fighter gets two feats. Then 4 levels of Rogue gets your third feat. Then finishing with 2 fighter levels gets your 4th feat (because 8 levels of fighter in total gets a feat). You get the same total feats as FireSpark's build, but if you take fighter to L6 before changing class (ie 6/4/2), you have two feats by LEVEL 6. However, if you go 5/4/3 you don't get two feats until LEVEL 9. Earlier is better, much better. Also, while you went into detail on melee weapons, you did not say much about hand crossbows. If you wield the the Hellfire hand crossbow in your main hand (can deal burning damage) and the Firestoker hand crossbow in your off hand (does extra damage to burning targets) the two weapons pair very nicely together.

[@momqabt]

Also this build is MAD for using 2 different attack stats. Lv4 DW MAD vs ASI SAD str16 vs dex 18, TWF +2prof+stat mod, 5/6 ac at lv 4 is around 15, so one has 55% to hit, the other has 60, damage dice is d8 vs d6, so d8+3×.55 ~3.8 per attacks so about 7 dpr, d6+4×.6 ~4.5 per attack so 9 dpr. Lv6 both take an ASI, now with extra attack, the % doesn't change as enemy ac scales, d8+4×.55 ~4.675 that's 13.925 vs d6+5×.6 5.1 3 attacks 15.3, and we dumped our str so our con is 16 so we have more hp, and our mental stats can be distributed as preferred. The +1 damage to dice vs +1 damage from stats are overcome with the +5% hit rate, better init, dex save and skills, ability to possibly stealth for advantage on the first hit so you do even more damage, more health... Yeah I just don't get it. Now at the next ASI things WILL change but by that time the +1 damage is overshadowed by the sneakattack 2d6, so 4×.6 is a boost of 2.4, the 1 SA 7×.6 for 4.2 almost douboing the bonus you got from the ASI (however the base damage IS higher, so d8+5×.6 9.5×.6 is 5.7 vs the 5.1 so 4×5.7 is 22.1+2.4 is 24.5, while 4×5.1 is 20.4+4.2 24.6 So by lv 10 the difference is .1, but 10 more HP, and let's say better sneak, better init, higher chance of advantage, and a better mental skill distribution.

[@Desheep]

@@momqabtWrite this again in English instructions, instead of full-blown geeky chain of thought.

[@YueXiong93]

PSA: Precision attack from battle master does not increase damage, it's for attack rolls, as in chance to hit. Also finesse weapons are more fun later imo

[@kalebs6201]

That intro made me check my playback speed

[@anniedarkheart5224]

For the weapons, the weapon properties often matter more for damage than simply having a higher dice. For example, using Sharpshooter is going to make your Crossbows deal significantly more damage than Savage Attacker, which is better suited for really strong single hits like rolling up bigger smites. With Sharpshooter specifically, things like Archery Fighting Style really increase its average DPR (Damage per round). BG3's Elemental Arrows are also super good at making archery style builds really devastating. Something super cool about Hand Crossbows is that the bonus action offhand can be used by casters to pop things like Water and Grease bottles with a bonus action before using an action spell to interact with that environmental effect. Dual Wield Hand Crossbows are busted in BG3 in ways that tabletop rules don't allow. It's glorious.

[@SteamMonkeyPlays]

sharpshooter bug got fixed which had a pretty strong impact on how good dual hand xbows was.

[@anniedarkheart5224]

@@SteamMonkeyPlays Sharpshooter is good even outside of the bug if the -attack/+dmg has the numerical values listed. The math is well known in the DnD community. Another strong impact to how good Dual Hand Crossbows are is not needing a free hand to load the bolt or even to interact with item in BG3. In Tabletop you would have to jump through some hoops in order to fire them for more than 1 round. That's a pretty strong impact. What you get in BG3 for free is basically what you take Crossbow Expert for in Tabletop - that's a pretty strong impact and isn't based on a Sharpshooter bug. Casters getting to just use them as a bonus action the way they are in BG3 would also not be allowed in Tabletop. Again, nothing to do with a Sharpshooter bug. Dual Xbows are just really strong mechanically in BG3 and it is super fun. Especially with how abundant the special arrows are.

[@Quirk1ess]

i think going ranger 5/rogue 4/ fighter 2 is a worthy consideration. ranger 1-5 still gets you TWF, heavy armor (ranger knight), dual wielder, and extra attack. plus hunter’s mark for an additional d6 and the Hunter’s Colossus Slayer for an additional d8 to each hit (if the target is below their hp max) level 6-10 you could either go fighter 2 for defense fighting style & action surge or rogue 3 for sneak attack & Thief’s Fast Hands. Rogue 3/Fighter 2 is probably the more favorable option cause i think having an additional bonus action *all the time* is more valuable than an additional action once per short rest. level 11-12 you can go rogue 4/fighter 3 for another feat and BM maneuvers, *or* you could dip 2 into paladin for divine smite. after your hunter’s mark setup round you go in and attack, extra attack, 2 bonus action attacks, then action surge for another attack and extra attack. if the stars align and everything hits, with base rapiers that’s 12d8 + 8d6 + 30 and that’s gross. if you add smites by taking pally, you’re probably not even gonna get every attack off before your enemy dies edit: colossus slayer only applies once per turn so only 7d8, not 12, but that’s still 7d8

[@zinmeca9754]

wow thank you for this. i'm gonna start new play and try this!

[@Iorenz]

i guess there are too many comments but for anyone who sees this: you can get two deva maces from the stormshore tabernakel cellar by going there twice or taking things out with two characters. so 1d6 + 4d8 x 4 plus your base dmg addition

[@KainZC]

deva mace just absolutely broken😂 feels like they gonna patch this real soon so i agree, enjoy when it lasts

[@Iorenz]

@@KainZC Yup, basically a mace with smite

[@m4rk1n159]

I like to do 4 lvl in rogue 8 lvl in ranger Getting dual wield Savage attack and +2 dex to get to 20 dex, theres a mediun armor wich ranger is progicient you purchase from a merchant that dosent cause disavantage in stealth and gives you full armor fron dex, also it gives 15 ca base, so you get 20 ca, + whatever CA from other acessories, my ranger had 22CA and destroying massive damage consistently There's also the big hit on first turn from being a gloonstalker and you aways attack first, huge.

[@doxorn]

Best in slot weapon for this is 2x Deva Mace. You can get it by killing 2 devas spawned from Castigated by Divinity curse if you steal from Stormshore Tabernackle in Act 3 Lower City (for example Amulet of the Devout). 1d6+StrMod Bludgeoning + 4d8 Radiant damage and it is dippable Get the curse, go to camp, drink a healing potion, 2 devas spawn (except if you are a Cleric with certain deities, see the curse details on BG3 wiki), kill them, long rest, the Deva mace will be in the pouch left by their corpses

[@derekmyers7880]

I only got one to spawn. Tomorrow, I'm going to try and pick up its corpse and take its inventory that way because it's not dissapearing and leaving a pouch

[@freyasfreinds7445]

I dud this last night, breaks the game

[@doxorn]

@@freyasfreinds7445didn't work for me in multiplayer with friends. I guess it is only solo viable

[@freyasfreinds7445]

@@doxorn Have the dead deva in you inventory, then do a weapon swap

[@fyorbane]

Those Deva maces are not even +1 weapons. They do excellent base damage but you sacrifice your chance to hit.

[@MalcolmOSB]

I think you are missing why 2Handers are loved more, it is not that the weapons do more damage, it is the Great Weapon Master feat, +10 damage means your lowest damage is much much higher. Same reason Sharpshooter is in every ranged build.

[@johnryan3622]

Sharpshooter is in every ranged build because it applies to hand crossbows as well- in other words dual wield. DnD has always been more about the added damage rather than the weapon damage. There are tons of items that add per-attack damage in BG3, so dual wield can actually compete with two handers. This is further enhanced by class modifications and items that add bonus actions which offhand attacks take advantage of. I haven’t done the math for melee (just ranged), but my assumption is that it depends on how many rounds combat lasts as to which comes out on top for total damage. Items in BG3 really benefit from taking as many attacks as possible to maximize damage, maybe with the exception of crit-fishing divine smite.

[@88Spint]

it's the other part of great weapon master that makes it good tho. -5 to hit is hard to swallow unless you have advantage.

[@MalcolmOSB]

@@88Spint I have had GWM on since I picked it up at lvl 4 no issues, Balder's gate has so many ways to get increased hit.

[@MalcolmOSB]

@@johnryan3622 still not convinced, a GWF build has maybe two attacks less, usually one, and can use all the same damage plus items, you usually get a extra attack (crit or kill something so get a bonus action attack), but with much higher damage even before you role higher weapon dice.

[@erickogas]

If you use the sword of life stealing it adds 10 necrotic to all damage on crits including sneak attack

[@harliquin76]

4 levels in rogue for only an extra attack, Can't use the sneak damage due to finesse not being used. Seems like a huge waste of levels

[@laszlomaczo1649]

Yes and lost Improve extra attack on fighter 11 level.

[@chivayos]

Why not drop dex to 10and then for initiative bumps use the 18 dex gloves for instance? The easy access to misty step through items or spells/class actions makes up for the lack of having ranged, you could also just use the returning spear, or, even more devastating, the insane returning trident from act 3 for ranged for nice results.

[@Ben-fk9ey]

Couldn't you drop strength and max dex instead? Since most weapons you'll be dual wielding can be dex/strength based like short swords.

[@chivayos]

@@Ben-fk9ey surely you could, but the video creator intended to use non finesse weapons which mostly use Str as a base. For a 'standard' dual wield build id also use dex and dump Str, works like a charm for me. But thats how it is in This game - many ways are possible. You can also have a paladin wield a 2hander and make him attack with charisma as main Stat by multiclassing into warlock. So many things are possible.

[@valor144]

Another option would be 5 Ranger/7 Rogue. You get the double bonus action along with most sneak attack dice and the rogue goodies (Uncanny dodge, Evasion) along with Colossus slayer and Hunter's mark (and extra attack ofc) from Ranger. Although cannot work with STR cause you need finesse to sneak attack so it has to be DEX and you are indeed getting a bit limited in the weapons you can use

[@Whos_007]

Using dex on finesse weapon is optional, so strength still works here

[@valor144]

@@Whos_007True mb, I would still go DEX tho cause you get crazy AC with the medium armor that lets you use full DEX

[@toro_sensei]

similar to what i played in my second play through, dual wielding while it is statistically weaker then 2H builds but still shreds through the game, its a fun play style if your looking for something different and fun to play and not following meta builds for second or third play through's which is whats great about this game is that everything is viable if you build for it sure things are better then others but nothing feels bad to the point of unplayable so for anyone that wants to enjoy the fantasy of DW go for it just ignore people whining about it not being stronger the 2h or monk builds and just have fun thats the point of the game

[@shasvrefirios1536]

Found your videos way back with Valheim and want to thank you. Been great insights, fun videos, and you go over most of my fav games. Awesome channel!

[@Mittens_Gaming]

The flail from the Gnoll fliend gives you crazy sustained health, especially while hasted, in this build.

[@JulixLabs]

The gnoll boss attacking the cave drops a good 1h. Blue quality. Mind you if you don’t use it for a turn you go berserk and attack random targets, it is fun to use

[@joym3357]

5:50 this is exactly why phalar aluve is such a powerful support weapon it gives everyone an extra d4 on everything, hit something in its aoe with a high level cast of magic missle and watch stuff melt

[@xtreme65]

For this build to really work you need to be at least level 5 Fighter and 3 Rogue netting you a regular 2 attacks with main off hand and 2 bonus aactions to attack with off hand, with action surge giving 2 more fore a turn for a possibility of 6 attacks a turn. So you have to be level 8. Then yeah i agree take Fighter to 6 and rogue to 4 for feats. Problem is unless your taking advantage of Sneak Attack the build becomes somewhat irrelavent as soon as level 11 happens as your better off respecing to a pure Fighter as youll get another extra attack with your main hand. This means 3 attacks with main and one with offhand, BUT action surge will give you 3 extra attacks instead of 2, so action surge turns will result in 7 attacks. As well as getting you more HP.

[@almisami]

The real secret to a dual wield build is you can stack weapon effects that increase crit range on a champion warrior for... very silly damage.

[@88Spint]

Having high dex does nothing for heavy armor wearers so if you wanna use heavy armor, keep dex at 10. Max light weapon die is 1d6, otherwise its 1d8. difference is minor. So if you wanna go full dex build you still can. If you gonna go for it, go all the way. Ask yourself, if you made a build for melee dmg, would it be better to spend your time getting in to melee so you can use your build to the fullest, or to stay at ranged? If you wanna fight at ranged, make a character that specialize in ranged. This guy got tons of strength, he could just pick something up and toss it if he can't get into melee this turn. like a great sword, or a javelin. Or an apple. idk. This would allow you to swap 16 dex in to con or wisdom. Wisdom is crazy good. Perception checks, survival checks and a ton of saving throws benefit from having it. Or you can put it all in charisma and be a main character for the party, saves you from always dragging Wyll around. xD Last two levels can easily be in barbarian. Rage + Advantage is always awesome! Still think a 2h build will smoke a DW build, feats and options are just better.. But who knows, if you find the right items they might make up for it. :D

[@Zharina]

10 dex at late game will definitely have your turn always be at last. 😂 By the turn you get to do anything, you're either CC'd, half-hp or worst dying.

[@jaysonburke6839]

The problem with Two Weapon Fighting is that you are using up your Action AND Bonus Action to achieve less damage than a Two Hander with Great Weapon Master who doesn't use their Bonus Action. That free'd up Bonus Action is important for Jump, Rage, Great Weapon Master attack-on-kill, Frenzied Strike, Polearm Master attack, Enraged Throw, Haste Potions, etc.

[@lorsev3840]

It's all depends, if you stack bonus DMG on all you hit you will get more DMG the more hits you lands. Items and weapons can give a lot of extra DMG x hit and some spell too. So more attacks, more procs, more DMG. For this reason tavern brawler monk/thief do more DMG than any 2h fighter/paladin/barb

[@derfanx]

@@lorsev3840 yeah but i can use bonus actions to attack with a 2hand weapon too. so why not just go barb or something else that can use bonus actions for attacks? u will attack the same amount of times but with a 2handed weapon. only monk can beat that

[@lorsev3840]

@@derfanx cause when you use the bonus attack to hit with zerk barbs you also get a penalty on all your next attack rolls. At tactician difficulty where enemies have higher ac is a pretty big debuff.

[@derfanx]

​@@lorsev3840 the bonus attack is always ur last attack. also on barb, u use reckless attacks so there is never a real issue with rolling the attack dice. i am playing with tactician+ mod the its a bit harder to make the attack, but u still have alot of possibilites to get adtvange on the roll. i just cant see a good scenario, where dual wield would ever outperforme a 2handed build. only unarmed attach are able to do that rn.

[@NicoBlackXIV]

This build isn't bad BUT there's a few reason why people don't play duel wielding in BG3. 1. You already mentioned: you can do the same at range with hand crossbows with WAY less investment and delayed growth. It is just the superior way of fighting for ANY dex based character that isn't primarily a monk especially since you'll take Sharpshooter instead of Dual Wielder. 2. Great Weapon Master: which completely demolishes your comparison of Dual Wielding vs Two Handing for typical armoured melee characters. 3. Tavern Brawler: which makes any character built around it have more attacks that also hit harder compared to any Dual Wielding build.

[@Leon-dragneel]

As someone who optimized the build u just showcased, this dude is right the more dice rolling concept becomes invalid with the 2hand feats where u always roll a higher dice anyways so dual wielding is just straight up a loss. Also The build which u have with fighter/rogue can be optimized 10x more by not having rogue as a subclass. An example being lets say having a divine smite pld, sure u lose ur sneak attack and fast hands but u more than make up for by divine smite damage in a fight

[@ruivuusen4067]

I think there is a monk rogue dual wield build as well (shadowmonk) might be worth checking out

[@ruivuusen4067]

The true dual wield that shines comes from a mod that lets you use the offhand attack without consuming a bonus action (as it should be)

[@NicoBlackXIV]

@@Leon-dragneel Exactly, I'm generally a sucker for dual wielding so I've been theorycrafting on it since the game launched but the only build where I can justify taking the talent is a DEX/Finesse Barbarian with the 3 lvls in Thief and 1 optional level in Monk depending on the available weapons. Not even to outdamage a more typical Barbarian/Fighter/Paladin but simply to double dip into DEX and minmax the unarmoured AC.

[@davidcrawford5324]

Sharpshooter isn't as good anymore now that they fixed the bug that didn't give you the -5 to hit penalty. Dual hand crossbows and sharpshooter originally was really busted but now it's on par with GWM

[@rancorusia]

there are 2 finesse longswords in the game, and im still trying wrap my mind around that

[@kekvit_irae]

Both are associated with elves. One is associated with Corellon Larethian, the high god of the elves, and the other is associated with Eilistraee, the good goddess of the drow.

[@Monty2289]

There seems to be no reason to not dual wield Dava Mace. It only adds Radiant damage but in terms of raw damage you are maximizing your damage roll especially with max strength. The 1d6 Radiant you get on top is just nice but when you smack with 2 of these things you're maximizing your damage out put from the gate regardless of additional damage

[@fateric007]

If you want to sneak attack with melee find the singing longsword in the underdark.

[@mikem2403]

OMG Came looking for dual wield builds and of course its a FireSpark video I found. Been following you since the old Conan Exiles days!

[@clementcappe5494]

you can go full dex if you take one lvl of monk that basicaly gives finesse to all weapons (except two handed but... that's not the point here ^^)

[@Noct_Sol]

Considering he said the last 2 levels don't matter either using one of those for monk and going full dex like you said seems like a way better choice.

[@soseboogs]

interesting concept. looking forward to what you cook up next. definitely going to try this out on possibly a laizel playthrough if i decide to not yoink the leggo on the first act xd

[@smilerat8070]

I see what you're going for, is good. I prefer dex rogue/ranger for two weapon builds, as it is less attribute and feat heavy, but this is a lot fun. I would make a point to wear the Grym helmet with this for hunter's mark since you do not have hunter's mark and that will add 4d6 damage a turn and you do not have another spell to take your concentration. I would also take trip attack in place of one of the other maneuvers, you gain advantage on every attack against a prone enemy and disarm attack cannot target an enemy without a weapon, so maybe instead of precise strike? I would rather have that strength bump over savage attacker earlier, taking savage attacker at 12, just for the +1 to hit, hitting 5% more often feels a bit more consistent. Now, with two-handers, the damage on any heavy weapon being used is either 1d12 or 2d6, but it is almost required to take the heavy weapon master feat. This adds a flat 10 to all damage rolls with a two handed weapon and a bonus action attack if you crit or kill an enemy, and you get a -5 penalty to attack rolls while it is active. This is actively what pushes the average damage o a two-hand build over a two-weapon build, with great weapon fighting style making it more consistent with rerolling 1s and 2s on the base 2d6. Crunching numbers using base non-magical weapons, not counting savage attacker or great weapon master boosting the average die roll by 1.2ish: 2-weap (using flails, average d8 die roll is 4.5) - 38 bludgeoning damage across 4 attacks 2-hands (using maul, average 2d6 die roll is 7) - 44 bludgeoning damage across 2 attacks Now the biggest difference is the two is spell and ability triggers, two weapon fighting can be absurd when paired with hex or hunter's mark, or with all the random small items that add a d4 or a flat 2 to damage rolls. Myrkulite flail boosts the average damage by 14, hunter's mark boosts the damage by 14, caustic ring boosts the damage by 8, the ring that gives a d4 psychic damage while concentrating (on hunter's mark) boosts the damage by 10, the flawed hellforged gauntlers boosts the damage by 10, and two handed only gets half the value of those boosts. for a total average damage of... 2-weap - 94 average damage per round 2-hands - 72 average damage per round

[@robertclarke71]

Gloomstalker/Thief makes a very nice blender :D Could take a fighter dip if you like but not essential.

[@smilerat8070]

@@robertclarke71 the only reason t dip fighter is combat surge, but I use a sorcerer twin casting haste so it really isn't necessary. I think I like going the last to take rogue to 7, get evasion and add a bit more to the sneak attack. Shame I cannot be my trolling self I am at the table top and use the haste action to attack and make an off-hand, and then hold the normal action "Until the next creature's turn and cast booming blade" to double dip my sneak attack in a round (the first an last time I played a rogue). As a fun fact, I might need to do some more testing, but I got a sneak attack off with eldritch blast when monkeying around, haven't fully tested it yet.

[@sahoonearthwalker3319]

2 handed Githyanki captain sword does 3d6 damage (minor shapeshift into a githyanki) plus the helldusk gloves means base damage is 4d6 per swing with 3 attacks at level 11 warrior. In addition -5 to hit and + 10 to damage from great weapon master smokes dual wield

[@O-D-X]

While I agree that in general the TH weapon build is stronger your example is garbage. So you get 3 attacks at -5 to hit, meaning you connect 25% less of the time. Your damage if you succeed on all three attacks is 74. So your average damage is 74*(75%)= 56 rounding up. His damage with basically the setup mentioned plus the Helldusk gloves since they aren't exclusive to your build is 4 attacks normal. The average damage would be 53. So you aren't smoking him on damage, and he should hit more consistently. Now his equipment wasn't properly optimized in this build. The Helldusk gloves are more useful to his build than the THer build because gets more hits, pull the gloves out and you are better off making this assumption. W/out the gloves, your average damage becomes 48 and his drops to 39. He gets on average 14 damage from the gloves and you get on average 8, because of the lower hit chance and one less attack. If they fixed polearm master then the difference gets huge ... But he potentially gets 2 ASI that you don't ... Not that they are really necessary in this game unlike the TableTop version.

[@Casualfield]

​@@O-D-X I mean, your example is also garbage. -5 to hit is 25% less with just a single d20 and zero bonuses which is not realistic and you didn't even add GWM to his damage... Let's do an apple to apples comparison in your favor. A Greatsword vs dual wield Rapier because if you are not sneak attacking then your 100% getting smoked. Greatsword at Lv.4 Battle Master Fighter and Dual Finesse Lv.4 Thief Rouge. Dual Finesse= 1d8 x 3(attacks) = 24 + 2d6(Sneak Attack) = 36. Greatsword= 2d6 x 2(attacks) = 24 + 30(Great WM) = 54 + 4d8(Superiority Dice) = 86. 50 Damage difference. Three arguments can be made. First, Fighter is very resource heavy and requires short rests to maintain high dps, which is kinda the point. 2. Rogue is the opposite and can sustain it's dps only requiring sneak attack setups and positioning, which could also be a down side. 3. The accuracy deficient of GWM. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Damage loss due to -5 Accuracy. The average Act 1 AC seems to be 14, a 35% chance to roll 14 or higher with 1d20. Attack Rolls = 1d20 + Ability Score Modifier + Proficiency Bonus. + 3 (Ability Score Modifier) 17 Base stat. + 2 (Proficiency Bonus) Characters Lv. 1-4 - 5 (Great Weapon Master) +0 (Total bonus) So 35% Chance to hit. Remove GWM and you get a +5, a 60% chance to hit, a 25% difference. So like you did, 86 x 0.75 = 64.5. That's still 28.5 more damage than the rogue(On average which is irrelevant if you have Karmic dice on btw). No Superiority Dice is 54 x 0.75 = 40.5. Only 4.5 damage difference, again the whole point to the battle master subclass. So just compare GWM to duel weapons with no subclass benefits and it's clear as day. 54 damage versus 24, that's getting smoked, it's more than twice the damage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Now he clearly states in the intro that this is about doing consistent damage without buffs/debuffs, and that's fine. I'd agree dual wield is more consistent than Great weapon master because, why wouldn't it be? It's literally in the description -5 to your attacks. In order to counter it you need a buff maybe two. If you don't want to buff then don't choose GWM. If you think dual wield isn't getting smoked by GWM damage still because of accuracy then here are some numbers. A 22 Dex build vs a 22 strength build vs a 16 AC enemy has only a 10% accuracy difference and that's only with bless and a good weapon. You can easily get +20 attack bonus with GWM active meaning you reach the max 95% accuracy without advantage, the same percentage duel wield has yet you get the +10 damage. I added more weapon combos below and an actual build to compete. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (ACT 1) Phalar Aluve & Larethian's Wrath = 1d8 + 1 x 3 = 27 + 2d6 = 39. (Amazing Melody ability so your companion could be running GWM and the -5 attack is negated, in act 1...) Silver Sword of the Astral Plane = 3d6 + 3(Enchantment) x3(attacks) = 63 + 30(GWM) = 93. Silver Sword of the Astral Plane + 1d4 Gloves = 4d6 + 3(Enchantment) x3(attacks) = 81 + 30(GWM) = 111. Silver Sword of the Astral Plane = 3d6 + 3(Enchantment) x4(attacks w/GWM) = 84 + 40(GWM) = 124. Silver Sword of the Astral Plane = 3d6 + 3(Enchantment) x4(attacks w/GWM) = 84 + 40(GWM) = 124 + 1d6 x4 (Superiority Die @ Lv.10 Fighter) = 148 Silver Sword of the Astral Plane + 1d4 Gloves = 4d6 + 3(Enchantment) x4(attacks w/GWM) = 108 + 40(GWM) = 148 + 1d10 x 4 (Superiority Die @ Lv.10 Fighter) = 188. Dual Devotee's Mace = 2d6 + 3(Enchantment) + 2d8(Radiant) x4(attacks) = 124. Dual Devotee's Mace = 2d6 + 3(Enchantment) + 2d8(Radiant) x4(attacks) = 124 + 1d8 x 4 (Superiority Die @ Lv.9 Fighter] = 156. Dual Devotee's Mace + 1d4 Gloves = 2d6 + 3(Enchantment) + 2d8(Radiant) x4(attacks) = 140. + 1d8 x4 (Superiority Die @ Lv.9 Fighter] = 156. Bloodthirst 1d4 + 2 x2 = 12 Knife of the Undermountain King 1d6 + 2 x 2 = 16. 28 +5d6(Sneak Att.) = 58 (Add crit gear; The Dead Shot, Covert Cowl, Shade Slayer Cloak, Champion Fighter subclass, Elixir for -7 to crit hit. That's a 60% chance to crit!!)

[@MrMrjaymz]

This is a cool idea. I think there are some ways to potentially optimize the damage a bit more/streamline it. I don't think it's going to compete with 2h weapons in terms of damage though. +10 flat damage added to each attack is just nuts and the -5 penalty is trivial to overcome. Even for a dual wield build, archery + sharpshooter + 2 hand crossbows is probably higher damage potential. Still, I like the idea of ac stacking with dual wielder and certainly items in the game. Plus dw is just fun.

[@AntoinePelissier]

Except finess weapon can deal 1d8 damage with the rapier so it's better than going strength, also you get the cool armor in act 3 to have aura of murder to increase piercing damage so it's better with rapiers

[@GenetheOutlaw404]

Unfortunately since the release of 5th edition a single feat has invalidated duel weilding from a min/max stand point, and that's Great Weapon Master. Thankfully in BG3 the Thief subclass giving you 2 BAs actually allows duel weilding to keep up and I'm looking forward to making a duel weilding Barbarian on my next play through.

[@MechaShredZilla]

You can download a mod that makes duel wielding on par with gwm

[@decadenceflm2367]

The question you have to ask yourself: Will this build do more damage than your standart fighter lvl 11 (with 3 attacks) with 2handed sword and GWM? They answer is most likely - no. Don't forget that fighter with GWM can use his bonus action to make extra attack quite consistently. You gotta come up with some something competetive to the most standard and easy build that is available.

[@Morphologicallyy]

there is nothing better than gwm 2handed fighter. Larian should make dual wielding more appealing. The idea of the build is cool but game is not well balanced atm when it comes to different builds imo

[@tomkrisik8085]

The build gets more attacks than anyone, you optimize it by stacking extra weapon damage, Band +2_Brood 1D4 (lasts 3 turns after heal)_Strange ring 1D4 (When concentrating) Gloves 1D4 Weapon 1D4, (Also 2 paladin buffs + Hex''+2 +1D4 +1D6 if you want to push it )

[@frankhsu3899]

Just play a thief monk, it’s far superior in all aspects, especially the mobility need to dish out all the dmg

[@Dexiefy]

Myrkulite Scourges don't commonly drop in A2. There are exactly 3 mobs that drop it and all of them you will encounter at the very end of A2. One can be killed earlier, but that might cause entire moonrise to turn hostile - can't say for sure, have not tried it. That being said, you can't dual wield Myrkulite Scourges until the very end of A2.

[@shinjiikari4242]

i succesfully picked the two up without aggroing the whole of moonrise recently, just gotta be a bit careful.

[@philneilson8123]

And for the last two levels go warlock. Hex is broken in BG3, every separate instance of damage procs hex, so not just from the weapon but also the 1D4 or 1d6 from the weapon as well

[@Firespark81]

That's not a bad idea

[@smilerat8070]

@@Firespark81 you can also just get the Grym helmet from act 1 that gives you hunter's mark, so you can push Strength to 20. 22, if you have astarion drink the drow's blood for the potion, as the potion gives a +2 strength and pushes the cap up to 22.

[@CTSatyr]

Drizzt Do´Urden appreciates this build. BUT, my fighter level 12 is now getting 3 heavy two handed attacks. With Action Surge 3 more. With Haste double the two Action Attacks, so seven. If I kill someone I also use Heavy Weapon master, getting another attack... 8 Attacks. Using 5 Superiority Dice. Using Baldurs GreatSword +3 and Cloud Giant Potion and Enlarge. This is what I call some nice consistent damage. Kill nearly everybody on one round.

[@darksavior1187]

Yeah dual wield melee cannot compete with sharpshooter or great weapon master. Fully optimized it cannot outperform either ranged or two-handed because of those two feats. And if you do go the route of dual crossbows, you can do better than what's in this video.

[@fyorbane]

Combine your fighter with Paladin and you get smites which do even more damage.

[@crazedmonk8u]

Duel wield crossbow is busted thanks to sharpshooter perk. Melee wise Dual wield falls behind since it lacks a GWM/Sharshooter feat for the +10 damage. Melee weapons rely on weapon synergy that add on hit dice roll effects to make up for missing the perk. Thematically its pretty cool, but i wouldnt say you can outdps someone with GWM all things being equal. i didn't run the DPR numbers but take the same multiclass and give them a 2hander with GWM it would do better. im not saying it would blow it out the water, but there is a reason why GWM/2hander is the meta build and the build comes online at level 5 without any special items. showcasing a build that only is viable with very specific on hit items is not a good look. Using that logic thats like showcasing a build using act 3 items and claiming its OP. yeah, you are almost done with the game and are using end game items

[@mekko1413]

i agree so many of the "OP", "game breaking", or "broken" builds are all based on Act 3 which for me seems to be the shortest act and you can tell that these people making these statements never actually played a TT RPG as when you hit level 10-12 in those you are nuts as you are like the top 0.5% of the top 1% in your chosen class in the world.

[@crazedmonk8u]

@@mekko1413 yeah definitely! Most capains in tabletop don't even hit level 12+. It's a little humorous when people showcase OP builds and they are 8-12. The game maxes out at 12 by that time you're a god far as bg3 is concerned The only good videos I found were not build videos but act 1 item guides and I kinda theorycrafted my own thing based on them since that is going to be far more relevant to someone vs a " put stats here" its hard to mess up stats. But very easy to miss items

[@TheNzFox]

honestly hand crossbows are so strong that I actively have to make myself not use them :P, the only 'normal attack' build that is around the same is a str based monk with tavern brawler (it ends up being a little stronger once you get multiple flurry of blows). The thing is, and its both a pro and con of this game, the power spike around the start of act 2 in this game is not so much a spike as a giant Everest size increase, the items are so powerful that almost anything is 'viable' even on tactician, the only difference is do you want to kill everything in 2 rounds or 3. I hope when the 'enhanced edition' comes out (assuming Larian follows their normal MO) they smooth that power gain a bit so that you still get to feel stronger without the game turning easy mode.

[@crazedmonk8u]

@@TheNzFox if you want a hard experience. I highly recommend mods. Stronger bosses. It also has an optional mod gives all enemies except you an extra attack & Lethal ai are my favorites. Then you have tactician+ to give everyone more stats so they don't die in one smite. I believe there is another mod that gives enemies access to more spells but I haven't used that one

[@TheNzFox]

@@crazedmonk8u yeah i've been messing with some mods, though its not so much i want the game to be 'harder' as much as a more smoothed experience, if that makes sense. ATM im using mods that give an extra +1 ac/to hit and 10% hp per act and it seems to help a bit but its annoying annoying to swap them out all the time

[@beilno2890]

This in not a bad build by any means but there are defiantly faults in the logic. First the Rolling more dice, This is one reason great swords are the preferred 2h Weapon they roll 2d6 instead of 1d12. They will out roll DW and are also have 2 legendary item drops in game one which you can even get in act 1. Also the Flat +10 damage from great weapon master on every attack also put things away a head. This problem also only get worse with HASTE and action surge, Yes it adds 2 attacks for the DW but it also adds 2 more higher damage attack for the 2h user and As also mentioned at 11 the 2H will get a third attack for each action, making them have just as many attacks at a way higher base damage level. BG3 has defiantly managed to close the gap on DW slightly but it still lags behind.

[@hufismissing]

2h weapons are definitely better than dual weild. But the ez access to many different magical weapons def helps out DW. I do wish larian gave DW a bit more of a push though to even it out a bit more

[@crazedmonk8u]

right now the only way duel wield is viable is with a mod that lets you make offhand attacks every time u attack without using bonus action. There is an optional one that lets you only make one free offhand per main attack as well for more balance. Really wished they homebrewed their own version of GWM/sharpshooter for duel wielders since atm it lags behind 2hand its not even a competition. but hey at least its better then dueling

[@Warsign01]

Nice job Spark.

[@HeidenherzLP]

Personally I'm playing it with Ranger 5 (Gloom), Rogue 5 (Thief), Fighter 2. Archery Style, Sharp Shooter and Crossbow Expert, making hand crossbows melee capable and deal insane amounts of damage in ranged and melee, every single turn. While having a big bonus attack every 1st turn in a battle and constantly only getting half damage from attacks.

[@YuriGualeri]

using heavy armor and have 16 dex is a waste of stats

[@swiminater9864]

Initiative in bg3 is a premium tho

[@OgreMascarin]

And Saving throw

[@huntedssack8228]

So in baulders gate 3 and dnd you need dex for your off hand unlike your main hand

[@guccihatluffy7942]

​@@huntedssack8228but didnt the feat he get makes it so his offhand does the same amount of dmg as his mainhand?

[@thefatalsythe]

​@@huntedssack8228actually in BG3, melee weapons scale with strength unless they say finesse, in which case they scale with either dex or strength depending on which one is higher. That goes for off-hand weapons as well.

[@JTVega]

There is also the poison ring that can add poison can kill if they don’t save.

[@landonstandifer1984]

You're reasoning for strength over dex is flawed. Dual dex weapons are literally the same damage die

[@Demonsthere]

True, but then your are limited to a rapier (d8), where going with str and the feat gives you more options to choose from

[@davidcrawford5324]

Not many finesse weapons though in the early game, so it's better to build for Str at first

[@Casualfield]

@@davidcrawford5324 Wrong. Longswords are 1d8 + finesse. Phalar Aluve Act 1, Larethian's Wrath act 1. Both are +1, both have insane utility. Tell me again how str is better excluding deva mace which is 100% not intended.

[@mekko1413]

The only way this build becomes OP is to get a bunch of the cleric divine weapons and have your whole party carry them so you are healing something like 8d4 every full round while doing dmg like this.

[@spottedot]

Hey, have you considered adding in chance to hit into your builds for comparisons to each other? It's a pretty common thing in DnD stuff. There's a few a ways to do it, but typically you just kind of assume an enemy Armor Class, then see how a build would perform against that enemy. It would be a great way to compare your duel wielder build to a glaive build or duel crossbow build to show the average damage.

[@Firespark81]

If you build right your chance to hit with all those builds is about the same. I wanna say this one is base 14 or so and the 2 hander is have set up is about the same. Both 2 hander and dual wield are about the same in every aspect with one big difference and that is your damage curve throughout the battle. The damage from DW is way more consistent in that on average you get more hits for around the same amount. 2h is sharper because when you miss it makes a bigger difference because you are not attacking as much and you are rolling less dice when you do. Imo DW just feels better because of this. The only other thing I have found that feels this smooth is a very broken monk build. But it needs specific gear to be good and doesn't work out of the box like this build.

[@Tokiomy]

Went into a pure battle baster warior,and killed Ansur on tactician in one turn whit the Silver Sword

[@Ptzou]

The best duel wield melee or range build IMO is 6 bard 3 rogue 3 warrior Rogue for thief extra bonus action Warrior for action surge + 2nd fighting style + 1 crit from champion Bard for spells(hold person) and double attacks from sword bard This works much better for a double crossbow build but solid for melee, you will need 2 very important items to make your spells win saving throws but it is god tier once you get them

[@elbirri]

so let's see... starting stas is: STR = 8 DEX = 16 CON = 14 INT = 8 WIS = 12 CAR = 16 so go bard with dual wielding fighting style and then go college of swords and then rogue thief, lvl 6 is you reach before ending ACT 1... now im thinking it as a bard college of swords after lvl 5 you don't get much stuff

[@Ptzou]

@@elbirri lv6 bard for extra attack, with crossbow you can target the same target twice with flourish strike, so that’s different than the melee version. Also with fighter and bard both you can pick up archery and two weapons style. It’s the highest dps build I use, can down dragon in 1 round without using any potion

[@elbirri]

@@Ptzou for me i go melee so is 6 bard, 4 rogue and 2 paladin

[@HippioKass]

Duel wielding is worth just to have a morningstar in the offhand, the tenacity applies to both hands so any miss from either weapons gets chip damage still, but the Heart Stopper from the morningstar is insane, makes an enemy lose all actions, every short rest, opop

[@zero11010]

If your goal is to stack weapon dice (like the D6 of necrotic you were excited about) you may want to consider a champion build. At least for act 3 when they rain down crit chance gear on you. Superiority dice are a big deal. For sure. And, you only get a handful per short rest. And when you multiclass you get even fewer (the benefit of rogue multi class diminishes if you consider 12 levels of fighter with 3 mainhand attacks and still having the offland for the same 4 consistent attacks per turn. The more attacks you have per turn the more valuable increased crit change is. The more dice you roll on your attack the more valuable crit range is. The act 3 djinn trident is especially useful. It does an AOE attack when thrown and each of those AOE attacks will add in your modifiers. It adds up very fast. You would have three of those, plus your offhand. In BG3 you want to generate builds based on gear and level. If you want to maximize that more use a Halfling for the racial reroll ability to increase hit and crit chance. A champion fighter with the right gear and with Halfling ends up with about a 40 crit chance if you stack. With a minimum of 4 attacks per round (7 with a haste). That style begins to lend itself to greatswords and massive 2 handed weapons again (stepping away from Halfling). Once you crit on 16 or 17 (15 is possible, I’m still looking to see if 14 can be done) you’ll be getting so many critical hits it’ll be a little silly. At that point you farm for anything that adds dice to your weapon attacks (even dipping them in fire adds 1D4 which on a crit is an extra 5 average damage).

[@zero11010]

Sword of chaos is pretty dope. +2 greatsword. 2D6 slashing + 1D4 necrotic. On hit heals the wearer for 1-6 hit points (which technically should stack with any other healing gear which includes the act 1 whispering promise ring that would mean each time you hit a person you heal yourself and when you heal yourself you get 2 turns of bless). Halberd of vigilance is good, and works for the polearm master build. +2 halberd. 1D10 slashing + 1D4 force. Minor bonus for initiative and advantage on perception checks. The polearm build gives you two ways to attack as a reaction (3 attacks per attack action, bonus attack with the butt of the weapon, plus two ways to do a reaction attack each round - with one reaction per turn .... haste bumps that up by another 3 attacks). That's 8 attacks per round reasonably reliably and the only resource being spent is a haste. Hellbeard Halberd is also decent. Doesn't mesh with the champion build. +2 Halberd. 1D10 slashing + 6 poison. The average of 1D10 is 5.5. So, a flat +6 to damage is slightly better than adding 1D10 damage to the weapon. Every single attack with it. But, again critical hits don't mesh with this. It's like the great weapon master +10 to damage. Only dice get doubled with a crit. May be worthwhile collecting a list of the ways to add to a crit build. burning from fire is 1D4 Poisons ... 1D4, 1D6, 1D8, 1D10 flawed helldusk gloves are 1D4 fire from weapons (or 1D4 necrotic and also a chance of bleed) The morninglord's radiance bug is still going on for 1D4 radiant I think paladin's can add 1D4 radiant with an aura Makes a single crit from the Vigilance halberd: 4D10+8d4 from what I can see ... with a massive crit chance on 17 (champion makes 19, saverok's helm makes 18, elixir of visciousness makes 17, shade slayer cloak makes 16 while hiding ... cannot add in the bonus from the dagger bloodthirst, and the bonus from the deadshot longbow only counts when that bow is used). That's a 20% crit chance with crit on 17. And, this build is reasonably doing 5 attacks per round (3 main action, 1 reaction, 1 bonus action with the abilty to boost by 3 per turn using haste). So, this will crit roughly once per turn. Those crits are potentially .... 24strength (+7 mod) + 2 weapon + 10 great weapon master + 2 acid ..... 63 damage on average 4d10+8d4+7+2+10+2 edit ... I forgot about the shortbow that grants hunter's mark for anyone once a day. That's another +1D6 per hit or 2D6 per crit. That boosts average crit damage to 70 damage

[@mekko1413]

In BG3 you want to generate builds based on gear and level. - This is if you are playing it as an ARPG and not a CRPG. Too many of these YT's and others are looking at this game as an ARPG while doing so is your perrogative as you bought the game there are many other games out there that fill this role much better.

[@zero11010]

@@mekko1413 If you’re just role playing in the game it doesn’t matter what you do for a build. If you’re at a video like this … you’re already looking for interesting builds for the sake of build exploration. I get where you’re coming from. It’s like going to a butcher convention and then asking …. Yeah but what about vegans?

[@kizunadragon9]

If you want to see how much this build slaps, fight Minthara, shes running a version of it... even though shes a dual weilding Paladin... not sure how thats possible

[@hipbreakingaming4432]

So I have a good idea for this build. It's the generic swords bard/theif rogue but you just stack poison magic items and you should be getting around 22 AC giving everyone gets disadvantage and healing you 5d4 per turn. All by act 2

[@fireye4672]

Pls elaborate further

[@Barzarel]

You wouldn't have a strong built idea for Illithid built, one that could feel lore friendly but also synergize really well with illithid powers for illithid playthrough?

[@zranite2898]

fyi there is a piece of gear purchasable in act 2 that does the exact same as the feat, they don't stack however so you can pick another fighting style after

[@jeremymorales9319]

I go fighter subclass champion. Helps get crits and because I'm duel wielding then that's double the chance to hit a crit :)

[@Alaric1216]

You lose those saucy Superiority Dice tho.

[@Casualfield]

​@@Alaric1216 Champion is such a waste if you don't build into lowering your crit, rolling a 19 vs a 20 is beyond negligible vs the +1d8 (1d10 at lv 10) damage and utility of superiority die. My range crit build needs a 14 to crit and that is extremely noticeable.

[@Alaric1216]

@@Casualfield Savage Attacker scales well with a critical build as well.

[@Casualfield]

@@Alaric1216 Yup, currently just using Dead Shot from a distance but I will go full meme with warlocks shadow monks and rogue in my next story to just spam Darkness Fog and Hunger of Hadar

[@KatanaKamisama]

OR, go full dex, take Sharpshooter instead of savage attacker, and just use the hand crossbows. Then you can still do all the attacks every turn, but you can pump numbers and sneak attack. If you're concerned about being viable in Melee, take crossbow expert. But NO 1 handed weapon options, are going to outperform a 2 hander with Great Weapon Master OR a bow build with Sharpshooter. If you only ever use crossbow, you can slot the club of hill giant strenght, and a shield to swap to when you get crowded by enemies, so you have better AC / carry weight.

[@Azagoreth]

Both of those skills heavily decrease your chance to hit, and every miss is a major decrease in damage per round... Veng paladins get hunters mark, meaning you can go pally/rogue and swing 4 times a round unhasted with better accuracy and more effective damage per swing then a 2HD weapon. with a basic long sword you are still doing 1d8+1d6+STR+weapon stats.. which is more then a 2 hander, and your AC will be higher due to dual weilding and defence fighting styles..you can also take savage attacker so your numbers remain high.

[@Casualfield]

@@Azagoreth If you can't overcome a -5 attack, you're doing it wrong, or at least inefficiently.

[@Gonno0]

If you do this build with coruscant ring you can do all this damage PLUS reducing enemy chance of hitting you back. You just need to cast any light on you first.

[@khkpck]

just dump str and get a monk lvl put the dumped str where ever u want (monk make every onehandet weapon u are proficent with a halffinesse weapon(no sneak attack but hit and dmg works fine)(last lvl rouge the dodge stuff at lvl 5 halfs most dmg u take) if u get get all the bonus stuff u should reach 22dex and in act 2 is a medium armor that doesnt limit ur dex to armor makes ur 21ac just by dex+armor. If u want heavy armor/str i would go for a paladin7(outbreaker) rouge3 fighter1 last lvl barb/fighter/rouge (high charisma very bad at rangedcombat)

[@khkpck]

@@TheOneAndOnlyDerp u can, but than unarmed fighting would be better i think and most unarmed monks go for tavenbrawler(works only for str) + rouge can only wear light armour would need a feat for medium

[@Gewaldrocm]

You dont actively use sneak attack. Its applied everytime you have an advantage over an enemy using a finesseweapon. Using the sneakattackbutton does nothing more than use the jumping shot animation instead

[@betadyne9559]

Instead of precision strike, I'd go evasive footwork which is not only a very strong defensive skill, but also combines very well with riposte.

[@Kelticfury]

I resent that I can't resist clicking on your builds based on the thumbnails 😅😅😅

[@Azg4l0R1]

im using something so diferent than this, 5 lock-5rogue and ill take 2 fighter, and im using bound weapon to get proficiency with my main weapon, damp str and dex and go full charisma, in act 2 there is a pair of gloves that SETs your dex to 18, even if you have 8

[@kristianhawk]

I like using a Drow with 2 rapiers

[@celuiquipeut6527]

I am a drow with dual scimitar. No...i dont think i am drizzt. But there is something cooler with scimitar looks.

[@smilerat8070]

@@celuiquipeut6527 because they look like actual swords instead of long bladed daggers like the short sword. My only real complaint about the weapon designs is how small a shortsword is, it should be more like an arming sword in my opinion.

[@bratttn]

savage attacker is not as potent as it sounds, better to get your STR to 20 to get both better hit and a fixed +1 to damage.

[@88Spint]

So it's better to have a +1 atk and +1 dmg then +4 dmg?

[@bratttn]

how did you come to the +4 conclusion, it's advantage which means the higher result between two rolls of the BASE weapon damage which is either 1-6 or 1-8 for dual wield, however the main bulk of the damage comes from fixed bonuses, not the base roll @@88Spint

[@ollydix]

@@bratttn law of averages

[@bratttn]

I suggest applying median, not average@@ollydix

[@aliAlacarin]

Add Elixir of the Colossus if you have one for additonal 1d4 on each attack until long rest.

[@Firespark81]

Good tip!

[@randallmattoxjr3495]

What would you think dual gith longswords(as a gith of course)

[@spottedot]

4 level rogue dip felt odd to me since you weren't using sneak attack and you could just straight class fighter and have the same number of attacks. It would come online 1 level later, though. In all fairness, fighter doesn't really gain anything useful between leves 7 and 10. Boils down to if you want Cunning Action or an extra ASI. And Cunning Action is remarkably useful.

[@loakee1]

hes taking 4 lvl in rogue to get to the feat what he really wants is the bounce action that theaf gives you attacking with your off hand wep takes a bounce action he'd only have one of those over the 2 attacks limiting himself to 3 attacks with the extra bounce action he now has 4 and as you have gone to lvl 3 might as well take it to 4 to get that extra feat as most classes get feats every 4 lvls

[@spottedot]

@@loakee1 Yeah, I recognize the interaction. Could also just straight class fighter to level 11 and have 4 attacks that way. This way does come online way earlier, though. 5 Fighter / 3 Rogue with 4 attacks per round is pretty strong. But is it stronger than a level 8 fighter with 2 extra ASI's? Not sure.

[@Firespark81]

You miss the part where I said the sneak works with your range still? And we give up the 1 attack for more total damage? We also get bonus action disengage. People get too fixated on one thing because someone said it was good and they lose focus on the bigger picture. There is so much more there in those 4 rogue levels than a melee sneak.

[@IMZAMORAK]

Yeah this build didn't change my mind. Of course if you already have a gwm in your party you probably don't want 2 so a dw melee wouldnt be a bad choice tho

[@frankhsu3899]

I tried my best to make dual wield work, dual wielding two legendary Orin daggers wth vulnerability buff, Astarion ascendant buff etc but given that offhand atk costs a bonus action it’s not worth the investment. After trying monk /thief TB build it is far superior with double the mobility and damage (300+ dmg per turn), one monk bonus action already hits twice + CC. Wish LARIAN will make it so offhand swing don’t cost a BA (even if a feat will need to be invested)

[@casualgamer9075]

I think they suggest dex because you can just use an elixir.

[@RisenPhoenix69]

OK, this is how you do this build correctly for the most dmg . There are ways to increase your dex even higher through gameplay and gear choices. and with gear choices the build will change a lot depending on what you go with. which is the best way to go though. BUT that would take a lot of explaining so i'll keep it as simple as can be. This is mainly for act 1&2 Ranger str 8 dex 16 con 14 int 10 wiz 16 char 10 lvl 2 (Ranger 2) you want to pick 2 weapon fighting lvl 3 (Ranger 3) you want to take Hunter as your sub class w Colossal as your preferred enemy lvl 4 (Ranger 4)take Sharp Shooter Feat lvl 5 (Rogue 1) switch to Rogue lvl 7 (Rogue 3) take Thief sub class lvl 8 (Rogue 4) take Ability Improvement +2 to Dex (18 in total) lvl 12(Rogue 8) take Ability Improvement again with +2 to Dex (20 in total) The main items you want are (2) +1 handbows, and the best daggers you can find. This early in the game there aren't anything crazy OP so i wouldn't worry about it too much. The shock boots and cloak from act 1 are what makes this so good. building shock charges which give +1 to attack and damage rolls for every attack is huge! after this i'd just add anything to gives more +1d4 to attack damage rolls. ea rings. If you guys want, i will break down everything a little more in-depth and/or share my act 3 build and how to do over 200 dmg in 1 round with this build.

[@Bitzell]

I think adding fighter to the mix would be wayyyy better since you can only attack once. Making enemy clearing a pain

[@RisenPhoenix69]

@@Bitzell you get 2 actions and 2 bonus actions. adding fighter to the mix will stop you from getting that 2nd attack every round to only getting (1) 2nd attack every short rest

[@josephs.2003]

Happen to know the earliest you can get those hand xbows?

[@RisenPhoenix69]

@@josephs.2003 you get the one for the off hand in act 1 and the main-hand one from a boss in act 2. wont spoil it but its part of Shadowheart's questline

[@KatanaKamisama]

There's some decent ones available at the Githyanki Creche in act 1.@@josephs.2003

[@Александр-м7у4н]

pure fighter can hit 3 times in a turn with just one action, 6 times with haste, 9 times with a reset (short rest), and +1 time with bonus action if crit or kill an enemy (with talent enabled). All those hits are two-handed. So what we are talking about... dual-wield is meme

[@CalmSmilingMan]

Bro, you forgot elixir of bloodlust. 4 actions casually in 1 turn. I have similar build but with warlock 5.

[@DropArum]

yeah only dual wield mod fixes this

[@CalmSmilingMan]

@@alexferrier5732 fighters get improved extra attack (3 attacks per action) that is different than regular extra attack at level 11. Similar thing can also be achieved by stacking deepened pact weapon (warlock 5) and regular extra attack (fighter/paladin/sword bard 5) . You can read the wiki or maybe get a fighter hireling in game, read all what classes can offer, then reaload.

[@businesscatlimbo]

Nah, I like my Bard/Fighter/Warlock build more for Dex based dual wield builds. It's basically a hexblade build. 2 into Warlock just for Hex and Eldritch blast. 4 into bard for extra feat and college of swords 6 into Fighter for more feats and extra attack For dual wield I prefer Battle Master over Champion just because you dont get any use from the GMW feat and you can get a decent reaction as well from maneuvers. Obviously for feats it would be ability improvement and athlete so I can pump my Dex up to 20 and of course savage attacker.

[@Firespark81]

I miss my bard build. Thinking of swapping back to it

[@alfarabi73]

Why the Warlock dip when you are not using Pact weapons? If you are dipping Warlock just for Eldritch Blasts, then aren't double handbow build more optimum for damage?

[@businesscatlimbo]

@@alfarabi73 you could go Warlock 3/Bard 4/ Fighter 5 if you wanted. I just prefer the extra feat over pact weapons. I dont get disarmed or drop my weapon often so its nbd. The whole idea was centered around using hex then getting multiple attacks in

[@tarheel12325]

16 dex with heavy armor? Better off dropping those points in con.

[@Firespark81]

You don't take the dex for the armor. You take it so you can actually do damage with crossbow. Range gets damage from dex. You also don't get hit that much so the loss of a few points in con doesn't hurt you.

[@shasvrefirios1536]

@@Firespark81 Interesting build, but then why not drop strength completely since you are using finesse weapons?

[@ChickenSoupMusic]

@@Firespark81 You could use the Titan Long Bow that works of STR mod. Adcent option anyways.

[@mechanigw9429]

You could also swap to medium armor rather than heavy if that makes y'all feel better. But do keep in mind, the build is part rogue so you'll be main part of lockpicking and traps and such so you want the dex. If you're upset about the heavy armor part, just finish out with 8 fighter and take medium armor master for the +3 from dex cap on armor to medium armor for the full use of it. Or you can get the dex gloves and respec later on dumping your dex, which is what I'd probably do

[@princeofgreece9054]

@@shasvrefirios1536 because Dex is the most important stat in one of the most OP stats in the game, Initiative. High initiative is insanely powerful in this game.

[@johnwallace5284]

But if you go 11 levels in fighter you get 3 attacks with a 2h weapon, plus you get your bonus action, plus you get the 2h weapon style bonus. You have also burnt 4 levels into rogue for no other reason then to get the extra bonus action to make your build viable. Thats a Loooooonggg wait to just to get the extra bonus action. Basically all of act 2. This build is not worth it imo.

[@Firespark81]

You get 3 attacks per turn as soon as you hit fighter 5 and once again more dice means a better damage average than a 2 hander. And you don't start to get really good weapons until the end of act 1 and into act 2 anyway. I don't understand why people are so set on 2 handed. It's really not any better. Built right they are pretty much the same the difference is DW doesn't feel as bad when ya miss a single attack and has a much smoother damage curve than 2h.

[@smilerat8070]

You can respec later for the bonus action when you have a few levels in. And honestly, that bonus action for a two-weapon fighter is powerful enough that you do not need sneak attack to fluff you average damage up. I would also just go 1 fighter/3 rogue to get that bonus action earlier then extra attack, which it is a lot more versatile and useful than extra attack outside of speed potions and the haste spell. Hit 4 rogue at 5 to get the two weapon feat and trade one light weapon off until I get the myrkulite flails, which will add 2d6 that you are missing from sneak attack.

[@smilerat8070]

@@Firespark81 The reason why people are set on the 2-h style is great weapon master. a GWM Greatsword/Maul weilding level 11 figter is rolling 2d6+STR+10 on damage 3 times, and if they kill or crit they great a free attack with their bonus action making it 4 times. Average damage in a 3 attack turn is 66 if all attacks hit, 88 if they get the bonus action attack. I prefer what you have here, because bonus actions are more versatile with two-weapons, you can choose to down potions, use spells you get from items and still have your bonus actions to make two attacks. if you dip warlock you can make 3 ranged eldritch blasts, have hex available, and then make two weapon attacks with melee or hand cross bow, etc... The main tradeoffs are versatility and raw power between the two.

[@roockiebatleboa7704]

Hello, somebody know if the gauntlet effect of side hand proficient bonus actually stack with the passiv from warrior or ranger ?

[@diegestrandetekokosnuss5865]

OK love dual wield and i watch this vid for a cool build but, the argument that rolling more dice, makes dual wielding better then 2 handed, is just not right. I mean who cares if you do 1d8+1d4 dm with 1 action. If you skill master heavy weapon you simply get +10 dm. Thats almost as much as the hightest possible roll of your 1 hand waepon and its just the bonus dm. In my eyes dual wielding hits more offten, but 2 handed does more dm with one hit, so the dm at the end is round about the same. lol edit thats why I prefer dual wield. ^^

[@Leongon]

Indeed the argument is from the angle of someone who doesn't understand statistics, which is most people since we avoid educating people about it because their spending on lottery and gambling funds a huge amount of every country or state's budget.

[@ROLTPRO]

their argument is that more hits= less uncertainty with dmg output and not more dice= more dmg because if you miss with a huge hit, it is more impactful than missing something like half of the attacks that turn from dual wielding

[@ithomas7788]

​​@@Leongonthere's more to this than statistics. His logic, and build are flawed but his statement may be correct. Dnd, and baldurs gate in turn, are a game of mitigation of bad outcomes. It is easier to reduce bad outcomes with additional dice rolls. There's also the matter of a good crit build will typically favor dex and two handed fighting, so typically they will frequently have higher initiative and have more rounds of combat overall. Yes nova damage go brr. I get that. But over the full playthrough and every encounter your two weapon fighting battle master with knife of the undermountain king and other crit gear is going to attack significantly more times, and probably kill more things in return. They both have a roll in a fight though

[@trimericdust2372]

What are the gloves called that give the plus 2 bludgeoning damage?

[@matthewwilcox5457]

Half orc race, right? I actually am level 4 and doing a similar build. So fun

[@george.l2593]

Actually I use this build but I put 2 in ranger first with archery and took Medium Armour master and make my AC from Dex to +3 and took 10 to str and 17 dex to use fitness weapon and for hand crossbow. My AC is insane and plus my damage is also quite insane XD

[@sebastianahrens2385]

You can EASILY get extreme consistency on two-handed weapon builds as well. 2 Levels into Barbarian for Reckless Attack is all you need. It always grants advantage, even if it misses, and not only for itself, but all Attack Rolls. This means you can profit off of Great Weapon Master's bonus damage for nearly every attack, and sometimes even get another attack in if you either crit or kill an opponent. I'm at level 8 now, went 2 Barbarian and 6 Fighter(Battlemaster) on Karlach. Tutorial Sword is still rock solid and she doles out hits around the 30 mark. So her damage comes in somewhere between 60 to 90 per turn - this is without Action Surge or Haste from my Sorcerer. A good portion of this damage isn't even rolled, it just is there and that's that. Aaand furthermore, Great Weapon Fighting (Fighter lvl 1) makes rolling a 1 or 2 very unlikely. I also want to try out 3 Rogue(Thief) and 5 Fighter(Battlemaster) for a Dual Wield build, there have been some promising tests at level 7. But I honestly don't see that beating the damage a 2 Barb GWM build puts out.

[@BladeBoundSaga]

GWM might "feel" more consistent in your personal playthrough, but statically that the dps curve for dual wield provides more consistent damage. However if you go Half Orc with Great Weapon Master, your crit statistically will do better than either builds. However when it comes to the most consistent damage in BG3 in comparison to DnD 5e though is going to easily be Tavern Brawler Strength 6 Monk/4 Rouge/ 2 Fighter due to all the bonuses you get from the items in game to unarmed strikes and with just how strong Tavern Brawler is. The most consistent 2 turn dps however is going to be 3 Paladin, 9 Tempest Cleric. Where you can do 200-300 damage with a maxed thunderous+divine smite. Since you can guarantee crit with the Luck from the Far Realms turn 1 and Executioner Ring crits again on turn 2. And damage is maxed with Channel Divinity from tempest Cleric

[@johnryan3622]

@@BladeBoundSaga Don’t forget to take into account all the gear that applies per-attack damage. Easy to get another 10 or so per-attack just from gear. Which makes taking two extra attacks EVERY round with an offhand even more appealing than tabletop. I haven’t done the math, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a properly geared dual wielding character (with thief’s extra bonus action) outpaces a gwm build in fights lasting 3 rounds or more.

[@sebastianahrens2385]

@@BladeBoundSaga That's a lot of damage! Thanks for the input :)

[@celuiquipeut6527]

For the last 2 level, pick SPORE DRUID. You will thank me later. You get 1d6 added damage to EACH DAMAGE ROLL. But you need to keep concentration. Replace savage attacker with war caster.

[@Firespark81]

Lol that would be funny and one heck of a mix of classes

[@celuiquipeut6527]

@@Firespark81 I am playing a spore druid in my multiayer campaign, and the character is taking a life of his own. I originally intended him to be a necromancer. But going in for the kill with my fual scimitar is very satisfying!

[@UlissesSampaio]

Druid Spores doesn't require concentration so you CAN combo it with Hex or Hunter's Mark (that you can get from some items btw). But the spoore aura dissipates after yout take some damage. Go for Oathbreaker 7 (or 11) to get consistent extra damage per attack

[@smilerat8070]

problem with spore druid is that you only get the damage while you have the temp hp, which is based off of your druid level. I think it is 10 at level 2 druid, you will only get to use it for 1 round really, and you have to give up an attack for it. It could be worth it! I would rather have the level 7 maneuver die increase and the ASI at 8 fighter.

[@celuiquipeut6527]

@@smilerat8070 Thats a very fair point. This build is front line...and i plat my spore as a mid range caster/necro and only come in for the kill

[@Unknowngnostic]

If you do stay with light finesse weapons and dont need to use a feat to use other weapons, you can do a lot of things. I started as dual crossbow build, but started finding so much good stuff for melee. And instead of building a companion to dual weild, i just started playing around with it. You can take the feat for archery, -5 attack +10 damage (which i had on my build before i switched) But if you use a combo of light finesse like sword of undermountain king and the one that gives bonus poison when you concentrate, the ring that gives damage when you concentrate, the caustic ring, the gloves that give 1d4 fire damage, and i forget everything i have. But each attack does its base, plus modifier, plus 2 from ring, plus 1d4 fire, 1d4 psycic and 1d4 poison Thats each attack, each hand, melee or ranged. (I think the poison only is melee tho) But this is what my tav is right now. Im looking for a better build. But honestly its working very well, i just feel if i picked range or melee i could be better, but i like the versatility. (Also have the helm that lowers crit, the undermtn sword lowers crit and i picked champion so im criting all the time, ranged or melee)

[@Kyrillion1]

As a gloomstalker ranger lvl 6 and 2 in fighter at moonrise towers i took thorm down by myself with 5 attacks in the opening round with a bow on normal difficulty.After that im on two attacks per round ,i could take duel wield crossbows but i like bow and i duel wield with swords .

[@Александр-м7у4н]

Precision strike adds hit rate, not damage

[@zero11010]

This is minor. Just throwing it out there. The singular for dice is die. You roll two dice. You roll one die.

[@charlesbryson7443]

Champion. Higher crit chance with 2 weapons is double chance for extra attacks.

[@Casualfield]

Rolling a 19 vs a 20 compared to +1d8 damage and utility is silly. Just have a caster use hold person 100% crit.

[@Uub141Forever]

Ah yes, the kirito build

[@Tokiomy]

To bad the Silver Sword and Sword of Balduran are 2h weapons

[@Vognar6]

So with that ring and those gloves, you basically go for an "on-hit" build. But then why not going Thief 3/Monk 6 for those 7 attacks per turn?

[@NicoBlackXIV]

If you go Monk there is no point in going Dual Wielder, you'll have more attacks with no weapons and more damage with Tavern Brawler

[@fredrikhedlund]

Why do you go both strength and dexterity? Why not only one?

[@AindriasGames]

3:38 explains it

[@Leongon]

The excuse of having the ranged option is debatable. But I think having high dex is still useful for the increase in AC if you're wearing a heavy armor with an enchantment that allows the dex to help and most importantly for the initiative roll. You need your units to go first and hopefully take down one or two enemies before they can attack your party, otherwise you'll be spending resources on healing every time, the only unit that is fine going last in your party is a dedicated healer, to start working only after the enemy did all their damage so your party is ready to go the next round.

[@Negative1KD]

It says I’m not proficient with heavy armor, is there something I did wrong?

[@emrealtnok3710]

Start as fighter

[@Sprinkl3s]

This just seems like a lot of effort to do like 10% of the damage of an open hand monk

[@bray6754]

like a 20-damage deference

[@randallmattoxjr3495]

That's a monk though... not even in the same category... lol

[@Ficcator]

Nah, just go with max Dex and Wisdom and use gloves or potions for strength.

[@charlesbryson7443]

Dual wield paladin to deal with undead

[@trevorfromthespanishinquis9737]

A lot of the higher end weapons in late game have really high secondary damage if you crit and with a few barb levels as extra you can not only have high crit chance but an added 20-30 damage bonus for crits the base hit chance doesn’t change but you can have rage damage hike and a sorcerer teamate with doubled spell to prock haste on you as well so that’s like a lot of damage

[@tnbudokai9415]

This is what trying to do, I’m a level 5 fighter but when should i start leveling barb?

[@RussianLARP]

I have 2 1hand crossbows with shooter and additional dex (total 20) Pathfinder (tracker) lvl 5 (gives you 1 more shot) and rouge (assasin) lvl 3 for critical strikes I buff my self on start of fight with boost concentration from my wizard (+1 move) In total we have 7 shots 1 crit on normal target (not super duper defendet boss with 1.000.000 abilitys) deals ~49 dmg + i have ring, which gives you 100% critical strike if you already made critical DMG, so in total you have 2 crits on 100 HP in 1st two shots After you still have 5 shots 1st hand dagger and second hand shield (armour from mountain pass trader gives you additional defense from your DEX so in total we will have 22) Best build for my self