The UNSTOPPABLE RAGE WIZARD - BG3 Gale / Wizard / Barbarian Honour Build Guide

[@PropofolSlinger]

Cephalo the only person who can talk about “high quality races” and have no one question it

[@Cephalopocalypse]

haha yikes - genuinely I try to avoid phrases like that but it's tough to always manage it given the terminology in the game. Modern systems are moving to using "ancestry" or "heritage" which are way better terms for the concept; both less loaded and also can include the character's cultural background

[@edwardtherhea6818]

Bro is the only one allowed to make race tier lists LOL

[@Amaan_OW]

@@edwardtherhea6818I’m so ready for one…

[@chinaman1]

If people are getting angry over words used in a video related to a video game, then they need to relook into their life's priorities...

[@ScarlettFire]

@@Cephalopocalypse I think the 5.5e is using the term species, which just makes sense tbh.

[@bruceflyingsolo3977]

Thanks!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the support - it really means a lot!

[@lightfallonthehead3842]

i did not realize a shield doesnot count as armor for unarmored defense... my brain is exploding

[@Thoth728]

it does for monk but doesnt for barbarian. yes shielded barb no shielded monk, kinda weird but its how it be.

[@eduardo9a1]

​@@Thoth728 nah it makes sense. Pretty sure I've seen Ragnar using a shield but Aang? Never.

[@O_RLY]

Unarmored defense doesn't even do anything because he has draconic bloodline fixing his base ac to 13 already, which doesn't stack with unarmored def nor mage armor.

[@Henbot]

Only for monk

[@annelyle5474]

All this, plus if you do use it on Gale, you get to enjoy Tim Downie's rage roar - can't wait to try it!

[@erikhanson1162]

This gives all new meaning to the concept of a "mad scientist."

[@sergxi1748]

So actually, counterspell DOES give you arcane ward stacks, but shield does NOT. Apparently this was a bug that they fixed back in patch 4, but then broke again in a later patch so who know if/when this will get fixed. PS I love your vids and I want to thank you for the hard work you put in to teach players (like me) about game mechanics, or about D&D mechanics in general! I’m a fellow build maker, so it’s so fun seeing all the different combinations you can do while still playing optimally PPS there’s an overpowered exploit with 2 lvls of sorcerer and using extended spell meta magic on arcane lock that will double the amount of arcane ward stacks that you’re supposed to get (because arcane ward is coded as a condition, and extended spell doubles conditions). So instead of 20 arcane ward at wizard lvl 10, you can have 40. It’s also important to note that if you cast another abjuration spell while over-capped on arcane ward, the game will correct the stack count and set you back down to normal stack cap

[@sinner5452]

Was inspired by "🐎🐎💜GIDDY UP GALE 💜🐎🐎" it seems xD Great job man, looking for trying it out!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Exactly!

[@bonfiregaming1747]

Missed opportunity to call it the Rage Mage

[@OakandIV]

And I thought Tempest Cleric / Abjuration Wizard / White Dragon Blood Sorcerer was tanky! Well done.

[@ZeppFan1975]

This class is so fun to play and is up there with open hand monk as my favorites. Thanks for playing mad scientist!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Glad you liked it!

[@chrisdubay7478]

Ceph you really blew me away with this build I never thought in this direction at all you have become my go to Creator. Great Work Love your work, bro keep it up and best of fortune to you❤

[@chadnelson8143]

Somehow even more entertaining than your usual builds, and that's saying quite a lot! Kudos, man!!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks very much!

[@ProbeAway]

This might be my new favourite build. I’m going to RP this as Gale having an identity crisis after being dumped by Mystra. The piercings will be a nice touch. Also, there is something really funky going on with the level up screen when it’s telling you what spells you already have from other classes. Not only does the shield spell show as not having been taken when you first level up as a wizard, but when you picked sorc at level 2 (your first caster level) it was showing that you already had bone chill and a bunch of 1st level spells

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks! Those already known spells are just the ones he'd learned from wizard scrolls in this save - it's annoying though that it shows those but not the ones we had learned from sorcerer

[@ProbeAway]

@@Cephalopocalypse ah okay, that makes sense. The bug must just be with the shield spell. I’ve seen it a few times now

[@sazuru5708]

Cool build, get a lot of milage out of doing something similar with hellrider's pride and shattered flail instead of the 3 barbarian levels, lose spell resistance but you can counter the dangerous ones and you get a bigger ward for being more wizard faster. Just smack something with low ac for blade ward, you can also take dual wielder and use hill giants club for an accuracy buff if you like. If you're worried about hitting you can just use an action to cast blade ward before running around and provoking. Also there are some items throughout the game that you can get that let you cast abjuration spells without using spell slots to stack your ward at the start of each day (tyr's protection, talisman aid, prot good and evil, e.t.c)

[@giantmonkee1199]

I am thinking you could probably flip this a little and make it a Karlach Build. It is a more aggressive take. Start off as a Bear Barb for 3 levels with the typical 16st/14dex/16con. Level 4 Sorc and level 5-12 Wizard. Use the Int headband from Act 1 initially to get your Int as you build Wizard levels. Respec if you need more int. Give Karlach a big sword or axe. Fights starts, run into the fight, smash with big weapon, step away for armor of agythyss opportunity attack, repeat. Add soul coin flames for flavor.

[@isaiah2696]

I have something like this for her! but it's 6 Wild Magic Barbarian levels, 6 Wild Magic sorcerer levels xD My lore is that Gale is teaching her magic and it's going poorly but they're in love and she's doing her best 💕

[@2009worstyearever]

i like this idea quite a lot!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

For sure! You can definitely do more melee-focused versions of this as well, getting barb 5 for Extra Attack if you want to do more damage, and then either avoiding spells with save DCs or just using elixirs for strength

[@Princess_Salami]

Something I found that helps raise the Arcane Ward without spending spell slots are the Amulet and Shield that give access to aid. So even if the Abjuration Wizard isn't going to be using the Absolute's Talisman during the day, casting Aid from it will still increase your Ward by 2, even if you take it off right after. The same thing works with the Shield of Devotion, but even better because that one is a 3rd level variant of the spell. You just need to remember to do this before using a Cleric to cast Aid on the Entire party, because new casts of Aid overwrite old ones, even if the initial cast was at 6th level and the new one is at 2nd level. Also, having Astarion inflict Bloodless on this or another character, and having the Wizard use the Amulet of Sylvanus to cast Lesser Restoration will give another 2 Wards. And this version of Lesser Restoration comes back on a Short Rest. I am not 100% certain if, should you take a short rest without equipping the Amulet 1st, it will recharge just by being in your inventory.

[@sergxi1748]

Yeah there are a ton of items that give you free casts of abjuration spells and you can recast them on short rest. I’ve got like 9 items right now at the end of act 2 that gives me free casts of lvl 1/2/3 abjuration spells for free stacks

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Very true! Definitely a way to get more longevity out of the adventuring day

[@chrisdubay7478]

Thanks, bro. I wasn’t even thinking in that direction either you’re right there are a lot of items that can help your abjuration level

[@nerishustas9265]

Warlock eldrich invocation Armour of Shadows lets you cast Mage Armour for free. That is abjuration spell and if you unequip/equip your armor, it resets and you can spam Mage Armour for your ward stacks. Plus you get Agathys and other warlock goodies this way

[@Jabberwokee]

This is the way I find Fighter 1 / Warlock 3 / Wizard 9 to work well Gets heavy armour proficiency which, in act 1, mean Adamantine Heavy armor - in act 3 it means permanent Blade Ward heavy armor from Damon

[@NoradNoxtus]

300+ hours in this game and I still haven't paired Barb with a mainly caster build lol Gonna use this on my new honor mode run. Thanks! :D

[@benross9174]

Barb with Warlock is also pretty good if you only use the two spell slots on Armour of Agathys and Fire Shield pre combat. Temp HP is twice as good ob barbarians so its good synergy. You can even go full charisma if you want

[@invictus7736]

This is about the only occasion it makes sense on since you cannot cast spells while raging

[@tinycatfriend]

oh man, this is so helpful for a challenge run i'm doing right now! i'm disabled and i thought it'd be fun to find a way to viably build a caster while having 8 str/dex/con (because irl mine would be those, if not lower). i've been struggling to say the least, so these defensive combos are super helpful! if anyone wants to suggest anything, here's more info: -i chose forest gnome for advantage on int/wis/cha saves, willing to start over if anything else is WAY better. *but it has to be a small race* -i'm avoiding armour, though i'll take light armour if necessary (shields too) -debating whether i'll use spell modifier weapons, but feel free to suggest anything like that -no items or feats to increase str/dex/con, the point is this character is disabled in ways magic can't fix! may take bonuses/advantage for saving throws though, like irl my dexterity is terrible but i love to draw, so i think it works haha -i need high charisma for obvious reasons -i'm on tactician because i am stupid

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Sounds like a very cool idea I love these characters inspired by real life - it's one of the awesome things about D&D I think. This build might struggle at early levels with 8 CON - until you have very high ward, that's going to make your effective HP pretty low. 8 dex is also pretty rough, since that will mostly guarantee you take at least one round of attacks before you can activate rage, since you'll always lose initiative. I think you might be better off with a more tradtional abjuration build of just sorc 1 / wiz 11, to get higher ward earlier on (see "The Invincible Tank Wizard" for my build guide!). That version needs the actual HP less, gets dialogue skills built in thanks to starting with sorcerer, and cares less about losing initiative since you don't need to activate rage. You can still use Blade Ward for resistance against physical damage, and if you're facing elemental damage there are elixirs or Resistance to Energy spells that will work there. The first few levels might still be tough, but around level 5 you should have enough ward to tank most incoming damage. Hope that helps!

[@tinycatfriend]

@@Cephalopocalypse thank you!! i respecced to 1 sorc / 3 wiz with armour of agathys and arcane ward. already its leagues easier, even without having alert yet. i'm using your tanky rogue guide for astarion as well, so this run will be fun!

[@HugoSarrotte]

Hooo that's an artistic build I would say. Thanks

[@Ketooey]

Well, well, a big, muscle-bound nerd.

[@Akira-ss6cm]

"The geek shall inherit the Earth." -Gale, probably

[@Lamentationsofapoory]

Read the title as "Rage Rizzard!" And thought this was a Charisma Based barbarian wizard and got EXTREMELY confused

[@upside9485]

It’s such a crazy build. Building to be hit is scary for honour mode, but seeing how these things interact is awesome. Going to request an item video again here! I think it’s the most paralyzing part of my play through now is deciding what to give each party member. Would love to see your input and creativity on the subject. Even if it’s just a tier list with explanations!

[@Zephir26]

@Cephalopocalypse Greetings there, huge fan here. Discovered your channel several months ago, and didn't missed any upload since. I'm used to run this sort of build for my solo honor runs, and i'd like to bring my 20 cents/tips to point you out some things you might have missed , and i sincely hope you'll notice: -Any armor increases is a potential damage loss for this build, even not primarily focused on it. To solve your initiative problems, i'd recommend spending a feat on alert instead of wearing a shield. After all you DO want to be hit. -Pretty surprised you didn't mentioning dual wielding with the staff or even 2h Trident of the Waves to apply wet conditions on hit and spreading pools of water on melee while constantly triggering opportunity attacks. Since you want to come close combat anyways, might as well use this way. You could also use the Drakethroat Glaive to increase your cold/electric damage on hits. -Risky Ring looks a far superior addition than creating ice surfaces, helping you hit AND be hit while avoiding slipping on ice yourself, especially if you use this build in combination with Conjure elemental Water myrmidon which is a fantastic addition to this build, very high damage from your wet condition with cold long range multi attacks, fantastic combo with the water pool heal helping allies out or even able to damage enemies if the elemental is poisoned, or if you are yourself in the said water pools you are extending with each melee attacks with the Trident and/or wearing The Watersparkers, creating huge electric pools. You are already immune to electric status and damage with the other ring slot, might as well use this especially since damage are doubled. - Carrying an empty chest on this character helps you stack with arcane lock between long rests. That been said, i'd like your outtake on something. Have you tried to use Warding Bond on allies with this build on allies/summons? Would you then be able to return the damage with Armor of Aegathis / Fire shield : Cold on opponents damaging them? It could be worth running Magic Initiate: Cleric if working as intended. I sincerely love your work. I'm amazed by your own improval on the quality of contents you are bringing to us, and i'm definitively looking forward for what's next to come (Builds/tier lists/suggestions) and any feedback on this post. I'm definitively considering a donation. Thank you for making this masterpiece of a game even more enjoyable. Sincerely your,

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks very much! Great tips! We don't really need risky ring for this character - you have reckless attack which does the same thing.

[@Henbot]

I randomly tried this out with Gale minus sorcerer dip and was surprised by how much the unarmoured thing worked great. Had 18-20 AC in a robe as a wizard. Like tried it out in a fight and he took ages to get hit

[@jakeparkinson8929]

to maximize spell slot progression and martial, I'd recommend 3/2/7 berseker/sporedruid/abjuration wizard, mainly since halo of spores can replace alot of which a bonus action does. And berserker means two full weapon attacks per round, raging resets empty arcane ward stacks, and it means 5th level spells.

[@Karina-winsmore]

The prophecy forerold of this build guide.

[@dusty3186]

Wait, you could've just used Warding Bond and skip 3 levels of Barb. I've tested it myself that you don't really need Bear Barb damage reduction. My Shadowheart never ran out of Arcane Charges or Armor of Arghtys even without the Barb levels. Her build is 1 Cold Sorc + 5 Cleric (Any subclass) + 6 Abjuration Wizard. This way she gets: 1. Spirit Guardian 2. 12 Arcane Charges 3. Armor of Argthys 4. Create Water 5. full caster progression and 6th level spell (wizard) 6. Heavy Armor Master (honestly don't need it ) I have her as the Radiant Orb carrier. Meaning if the enemies attack her, they take damage, if they don't attack her, they still take damage from Spirit Guardian, and they are steadly building up the Radiant Orb so she also increases teammates survivability.

[@jakeparkinson8929]

You can use symbiotic entity while keeping armor of agathys active, This means a free 1d6 necrotic on all weapon attacks.

[@theStonerKid69]

I think this build would also be fairly good without the Barbarian stuff. So taking 1 level in Sorcerer and then the rest in Wizard. The passive from the dragon bloodline sorcerer actually provides you with as much AC as the barbarian unarmoured defense does. You do miss out on the resistance from the rages, however you get the benefit of getting a level 6 spell slot to either upcast Armor of Agathys or to just keep it for any, "OH CRAP," moments to cast an extremely powerful level 6 spell to save your butt. You also mentioned how you can have someone cast Warding Bond on you, which does still provide resistances for your character. Finally, doing this would give you the level 10 Abjuration passive that allows you to recharge half of your maximum Arcane Ward charges, which at max level would be 11 charges, every time you short rest. As Cephalopocalypse said, there are still certain bull crap spells that can allow enemies to just flat out down or kill you regardless of damage reduction. So being able to get back half of your ward charges from short rest would give your character more longevity during a day of adventuring.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Yep! It's also very strong - I cover that version under "The Invincible Tank Wizard"

[@virusj216]

Love the vids. Currently attempting my first honor mode run with some of these

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks - good luck!

[@nottieru]

I was thinking about this build after getting to act 3 with my Abjuration Gale / Bearheart Karlach party. I noticed a raging Karlach with projected ward from Gale and a Force Conduit halberd is almost invincible. I was thinking about Barb 5/ Sorc 1/Wiz 6 though, for the extra attack, to actually do something in combat rather that just walking around collecting attacks of opportunity, which becomes boring quite fast.

[@kiramcdonalds7321]

If you dont want to pick barbarian just have a hireling (preferably the half orc one) cast warding bond on you and leave him on camp If you want to sweat it further, give him a adamantine splint armor and any weapons that grant damage resistance + the shield that gives you temp hit points when at low health (get it from the goblin camp), but that may be too much, my hireling doesnt even take any damage since i can take 0 damage most of the time

[@ssap620]

lol a brainy sorcerer with anger management issues

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Exactly!

[@geronuis2295]

my first Honor run was just the normal 8 Sorc 4 wizard split of the build and it still trivialized act 3. Orin and Sarevok specifically just offed themselves, your new version def seems even more ridiculous

[@RangerErnsy]

The perfect amount of return damage. That's what she said.

[@jackywaiiplo2476]

I have been thinking about this since the Tier list video, one thing I would note is that, since you are not going to use spells, mostly, intelligence isn't really that useful. I think putting points into Strength or use the elixir would let this character still be able to output, even when it is not its main thing.

[@cannyvalley8522]

That handy man will surely do most sleight of hand checks in my next playthrough, no matter how much he complains about it :P

[@cannyvalley8522]

Don't mind me, seeing sleight of hand on him reminds me of how he hates making theese checks, just messing with Gale x)

[@miked2232]

When I tried this build I went full caster and just had Shadowheart cast Wardin Bond for the resistance. She never took damage because Tav never took damage.

[@cobyvanderwall7490]

I absolutely love this guy

[@thomasmatherly6109]

Im glad i found your account awesome vids

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks very much!

[@jameskelsea6048]

looks fun. if you cast warding bond on this character does it stack with bear heart resistance? If not, could you just eliminate the barbarian levels and maybe replace with sorc for metamagic as long as you have warding bond applied?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

It does stack! It applies after the other damage calculations though, so only if they actually break through. Still a big boost to your survivability!

[@alexsamurai1230]

Seem to remember Bonespike wipes Agathys, can be counter-synergistic unless you are careful with when you rage

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Interesting! That didn't happen when I tested it, but I imagine it might in some circumstances - maybe if your armor is under 15 hp?

[@alexsamurai1230]

Just testing now and you appear to be correct, it's not overriding it, even with just 1 point of Agathys left. Rather odd as I distinctly remember taking the armour off my Karlach because it was overriding. Could be a weird scripting bug or more than likely I'm just losing my mind. Keep up the great work dude!@@Cephalopocalypse

[@GentleBreeze-72]

Wiz barb, if built well is one of the strongest shit I've ever seen.

[@WiiSportsTwo]

I would have liked to see your companions attacking you to demonstrate the dmg reduction and return dmg

[@timothynavratil437]

Excellent build-What Ilithid powers????

[@Valeras-i4f]

Hi what do you think is better ... your invincible tank wizard or this unstoppable rage wizard ?

[@soorian6493]

I don't know if saving throw proficiency works the same way in bg3 as it sits in 5e, but if it does wouldn't we want to take sorcerer first for better concentration?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

It does, but barbarians also get con save proficiency

[@Thanosdidnothingwrong.]

I myself must admit that i was a true strike hater. However, in my current playthrough im playing as an eldritch cultist and true strike + concentrated blast with the awakened buff and the Resonance stone has been carrying.

[@SlyMagma]

Could you just wear icebite robe instead of having one level in Sorcerer, to have another level in wizard instead?

[@Snipergoat1]

There is a version of this that instead of taking 3 barb levels you take 6 bard. you lose no spell power and have your flourishes. A lot more options and spell power but not as indestructible.

[@ShivTheGamer]

Genuine question about the repeated quip that you can "just click end turn" & let the enemy kill themselves by attacking you - doesn't maintaining Rage require that you attack an enemy every turn? Does AoA damage to an enemy count as an attack?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

That's correct - I mention it in the video but you can't literally just end turn, you have to attack to maintain rage

[@ShivTheGamer]

@@Cephalopocalypse Gotcha - poetic license. I figure anyone who tries the build would figure this out pretty fast anyway ;-)

[@rinkitorirataki7488]

if the last level will determinants the stat for spell casting roll can you take socc as the last level and put every point in to christma ?

[@richardspencer4999]

Is this build still viable in 4.1.1?

[@doloresabernathy9809]

I thought you still had subclasses to post in your tier list? But in this video you said that was done. Is there more?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Yes! I'll be doing a subclasses tier list next, but the base classes tier list is finished, though I might do a summary video just to put all the info in one place

[@Ale_ssandro]

HUGE SPOILER: . . . . . . How do you deal with the very, very final enemy if you go solo with this character? I'm thinking spamming disintegration, but you have got like 3 turns to kill it before the arena is gone.

[@antoniohristov8729]

This build is great for skin burster

[@IlRe720]

I mean you can literally beat the whole game using true strike with reverb item… takes a long ass time and you gotta be out of enemy reach pretty much always but you can do it… so having true strike on a caster who your most likely gunna have wear that reverb item anyway isn’t really a bad choice…

[@MiiaBestLamia]

I find it annoying that you don't show the build in combat, would like to see how it performs, I believe you used to do that.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

hope you feel better soon!

[@AM-ok4mu]

True strike for life

[@hahahomer]

What camp is this?

[@roberteager107]

Not gonna show us the build in action was waiting for that the whole video and it just ends.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

well spotted!

[@nickp.215]

Cool Build! I think it would be nice to actually see it in action, rather than just hear the theory. Go out there, kick some ass! Or in this case, have the opponents kick their own ass by attacking Gale. Heh

[@jotarokujo3603]

Can't believe this guy chose true strike. 😂

[@anonymous99632]

"It comes online around level 7" Me with Fast XP mod: Heheh Boii

[@nicholasbaxter8547]

COMMENTING FOR THE ALGORITHM!!!!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Cheers!

[@Twisttheawesome]

Gale is ABSOLUTELY jacked. Way too much for a wizard imo.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

No kidding - They needed to make him hot obviously but I don't really believe my boy is hitting the gym as often as it seems

[@miked2232]

Never stop making the True Strike joke.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

no fear!

[@lightfallonthehead3842]

TOO MULTI ATTRIBUTE DEPENDENT TO DIE!

[@diskuslars7527]

Nice but No Gale has to stay as the Buffbot and Provide Warding Bond and Aid 😁😁

[@Boradan01]

Please use a hireling for doing builds. Stops learned scrolls from screwing up your build video...

[@borrow4654]

Very easy to adjust even if your character has learned no spells whatsoever

[@Jeremy-d7i]

Obligatory algorithm comment

[@alexmashkin863]

So basically we're now making builds for those other people who make mistakes? Hard to make mistakes when the only thing you do is hit end turn :-) I'm sure those other people will manage though...

[@verybrownsalmon]

Lmao at thumbnail

[@alexsamurai1230]

What are you taking true strike for, its useless!!!!! Have you completely lost the plot?!?!

[@borrow4654]

God damn it, true strike again ! Just kidding I always love that joke

[@dead4419]

respect to u for still playing this boring fkn game

[@derek123wil0]

It's a video game. Your screen pixels are not superior.

[@GeneElder.R027]

Is there any way to contact you to discuss a shadowheart War Cleric/Fighter build im working on that isnt quiet coming together? Please let me know.

[@ZeppFan1975]

Thanks!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks so much for the support! I really appreciate it :D