The WHIRLING DEATH - Bg3 Minsc Melee Ranger Honour Build Guide

[@MikeBaia]

Fantastic content! Some of the best if not the best BG3 build guides out there.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks very much! Glad you're enjoying them :D

[@Tcrror]

Nizar GG also has some amazing and unique builds.

[@Anton-GameLifeCoaching]

Great way to build a ranger that isn't ranged based! As always love you narration and commentary

[@FaultyRanger]

I just got Minsc yesterday in my current playthrough, so this is perfect timing. I was debating how to spec him! Thanks!

[@iinfrunamii.]

literally just got him an hour ago 💀

[@Mhill08]

One of the top BG3 youtubers! Thanks for all the content!

[@JG-hj4nx]

This, or something like it, might be the build ive been trying to come up with for a solo void bulb run. Legend

[@eduardoserpa1682]

Cool to see the non-obvious approach to Ranger. It fits Minsc really well, and the class gets just enough spells to mix things up. Also, great job at adjusting the mic, it already sounds much better.

[@mikedickens848]

Nice. Glad I got the most important spell on this build.

[@skywares]

Melee ranger?!?!? I'm HERE 👏👏👏

[@ChristianSamsel]

Thanks for this video. I had respecced minsc in my current run to fighter because I thought ranger is useless in melee. Happy to see that's not the case.

[@MarkSpirals]

AHHHH Melee Ranger! Thanks for showing that Rangers can be as capable in melee as they are at range.

[@R7AWSUM]

I would love to see an adventuring day tutorial/overview. My honor playthroughs have been needing to rest after every other fight.

[@martinmarvinii3139]

I made myself a very capable melee Ranger pretty similar to this build. I also choose the Hunter subclass and had my stats like this by level 12: Strength 18 (2 points from everlasting vigor) Dexterity 18 (Gloves of Dexterity) Constitution 16 Intelligence 10 Wisdom 18 (Use the Diadem of Arcane Synergy) Charisma 8 With heavy armor, a shield, and defense style my AC went up to 26. With a few of the standard damage boosting items my melee damage was around 25 per hit, but with spells like conjure barrage it went to around 40 or more. Range was also only 5 points weaker on average. The following gear was my personal favorite though alternatives are decent as well: Nyrulna + Vicona’s Walking Fortress Darkfire Short Bow Armor of Persistence Boots of Striding Cloak of Protection Gloves of Dexterity Diadem of Arcane Synergy Strange Conduit Ring Ring of Mental Inhibition Fey Semblance Amulet My feats were Sentinel, Heavy Armor Master, and a +2 to wisdom. Together this made me a practically unstoppable force enemies couldn’t disable or hinder all while making me very effective at fight hordes, and containing bosses. Ranger became my favorite class after this.

[@cannyvalley8522]

Find familiar raven from Beast tamer can be a great source of advantage as raven has no save blind, it just needs to hit with attack roll. You can keep pet alive with aid, shield of thralls, mage armor etc.

[@Tarjlta]

Awesome guide, I'm using all the same but I take a different approach to stats and gear I get 8 STR so I can dump the stats on DEX and CON, get the +23 STR gloves, also sacrifice 2 feat stats points to take alert and get 2 extra DEX/CON points from the mirror of loss. For items I'm using Balduran's sword because the x2 bonus on STR and giant form, the Balduran's helm because inmune to stun and crits + heals and salvation and CA bonus, Armor of persistence for the -2 incoming damage and permanent ward of blades and resistance, derivation cloak for the 1d4 healing when poisoning enemies, helldusk boots so I can't be forcefully moved and misty step on steroids (2d8 aoe fire damage on landing), amulet of misty step for extra movement and for rings whatever conditional effect I need

[@ralexy999]

I love your work :) It is a really great inspiration

[@CMiY0]

Wow the Whirlwind animation is so good. It gets tiring playing a martial and seeing the same GW strike animation over and over sometimes.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

It's true - the only downside is you'll be doing it 3-4 times a turn and it takes *forever*

[@CMiY0]

@@Cephalopocalypse haha true. I try to enjoy the journey though so I wouldn’t mind the animation taking time. I’d also try to refrain from using the same attack over and over that’s why I love weapons like Duellist Prerogative and Belm because they have different attack animations for their bonus action.

[@fhmm418]

Been really enjoying the videos, and I am stoked to try this once I get Minsc in my current run. One thing you mentioned, that blinded creatures can't jump, I'm not sure if that's true unless it is one of the rules that exempts player characters, since I'm pretty sure I jumped my characters out of fog cloud in the crypt on the run I just started. My last run with your BarBEARian build (as a duergar durge) wiped early when somehow a fight started even after using dialogue choices that are supposed to avert it, so now I'm trying your sorcadin build on a fresh half ling tav, and it feels quite fun already!

[@Mhill08]

It's kind of sad how constrained by ASI feats are. ASI is 9 times out of 10 the correct feat choice and I wish it weren't that way.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

I agree completely! That's a huge design flaw of 5e in my opinion and one of the oddest changes they made. In earlier editions, stat increases and feats were separate things (in 3.5 you got stats every 4th level and feats every 3rd, which was a more fun and more natural progression I think). At my own tables I just houserule that you get both. The reason is that in early playtests of 5e, there weren't any feats at all, and it's still technically an optional rule - you only got ASIs. Players obviously hated that so they changed it, but the feat system in 5th edition is still very much an afterthought.

[@eduardoserpa1682]

​​@@Cephalopocalypse Yeah, I hope they expand on that in 5.5e, even if it's nowhere near as customizable as 3.5e/Pathfinder.

[@R7AWSUM]

I'm actually curious about this. Isn't a +1 only a 5% boost? It's not nothing, sure, but it also doesn't feel that massive. Especially compared to things like alert or GWM, that would just take its place if it wasn't. Is it really that huge of a deal?

[@Mhill08]

@@R7AWSUM It's a 5% boost, that enables another 5% boost later on when you take ASI again, that applies to every swing of your weapon AND its damage. In addition to ancillary benefits like carry capacity and jump distance. It's a truism in game mechanics that small, consistent increases are often more impactful mathematically than big increases that are less consistent. (See: Spell Sniper feat)

[@R7AWSUM]

@Mhill08 but doesn't the actual difficulty curve of the game dictate ASIs usefulness? A lot of HM builds take alert or one of their weapon feats early because the spike in difficulty overwhelms the 5% boost. Over the course of the game, it gets more and more useful, but the game is also at its most difficult when most classes only have one feat. Would it not be more beneficial to get access to more tools and respec later?

[@timothynavratil437]

Great build looks fun. Curious about a full Illusionist build? Need a different flavor wizard.

[@crimsonbard8929]

Love your content. Did you ever play any of the other Baldur’s Gates?

[@marcosdheleno]

this build made me think of a weird but possibly fun build for laezel. pure eldritch knight. using will's infernal rapier. and just using shocking grasp into attack. for feats, max int, alert and elemental adept lightning.

[@gapplebees9295]

Over 800 hours and i had no idea the Ranger Silence was a ritual spell... that's kinda strong lmao

[@xLochNessie]

Would you be able to do a camp caster guide for honor mode?

[@Twobit-z9n]

He kinda did one with the hirelings. It’s called 3.5 tips with Hirelings or something like that. The same things he does with them you can do with any companion you leave at camp

[@AlyxIsSpelledWeird]

Hey Ceph just wanted to say i love your videos Day 6 of pitching my favorite BG3 creator a new series idea: building a viable honor mode party where all characters have the same Base Class You can do a lot with not only restricting yourself by you trying to use every subclass at least once (except for wizards and clerics lol), but also maybe even having an interesting thematic element for example your four bars could be fitting into the Beatles archetype, and you have to challenge yourself by using a Valor bard when either of the subclasses would probably do better This would also give you an awesome opportunity to talk about what strengths and weaknesses each class brings and how for example some subclasses might be great do better / worse whenever surrounded by other similar team members, finally at the end maybe at the end of each video or after you finish a series you could do a tier list ranking which of them would be the most viable in which of them would be the least viable Thanks for taking the time put of your day to read this, you're a wonderful resource to a lot of people, and I hope you consider this idea as it's one id be super interested in seeing you tackle

[@ghostlore3660]

8:00 the tooltip isn’t wrong, necessarily. Longstrider does require a spell slot if cast in combat, which I won’t fault you for not knowing because nobody has ever cast this spell in combat

[@balintmiklosy9138]

Hunter 11 Wizard 1 is among my favourite builds (gives Haste and Shield, worths a feat slot imo). Haste reused with freecast and spellslot restoration, so you can do it plenty of times per rest. If it's on your PC, you can get max str with Ethel's hair anyway. On weapon: Punch-Drunk Bastard is godly with hunter. Add Reverberation gloves and boots, and Ring of the Absolute (or whaatver it's called) and the radiant damage ring, and every swing goes boom. The other option of course is Nyrulna/Shar's Spear/Unseen Menace with Bhaalist Armour. I normally play hunter as Tiger Heart barbarian up until lvl 11 then change to ranger for the better cleave.

[@kevin1212345]

Love the amount of detail u put in but really would like to see u say what the character should look like at act 1 2 and then all the gear they should have during act 3.

[@elgenkommer1]

I approve of this Minsc build. The old version of Minsc from BG and BG2 had a rage ability, but you lost control of him, when you used it, so you really didn't. For that reason I don't mind too much, that he doesn't get a rage here. However for another Minsc option, that I feel fits the narrative, I feel that Wildheart barb has enough of a ranger-y feel to it, that you could just run him as 12 levels of that. That version encroaches on Karlachs turf, though.

[@azirlincurve2982]

This build would work well as the perfect buddy to your wolf barbarian, wouldn't it ? You could even take great weapon master at lvl 4 since you'd get advantage from the barbarian, and having high AC + multiple defensive options would ensure the barbarian gets attacked more often.

[@dasphoenixable]

Does it work with two scimitars and a panther? Asking for a friend.

[@juvandy]

What about void bulb for grouping enemies? I am always surprised at how such a strong throwable item is available at the very start of the game.

[@darkelf2040]

Levels don't really matter with minsc's character as he joins the party at Max level. Also, from my experience with Minsc in the previous games, he's been on of the best archers in the games. In BG2 his specialization in long ows and 2 handed weapons (yes that works) make him amazing from ranged, not to mention that he can equip lighter armor and be able to skulk about. I'd love to see a Minsc gloomstalker build

[@CarlFischer-j4l]

As a BG1 and 2 player, Minsc is a mace dual wielding monster. Two handed sword was never what he was actually proficient in

[@bentrieschmann]

❤❤

[@spyrochick101]

Wait a second…you can cast Silence as a ritual spell before sneaking/jumping into combat?? Well now I know that one, thank you. I wish the tool tip would tell you if a spell was a ritual spell. That would be extremely helpful.

[@FelipeArthurferpa]

I have a question, if you use a weapon with extra reach do you increase the size of the spin in whirlwind?

[@mitchlacasse361]

you know what I'd love for you to build? Come up with a Drizzt build (two-handed fighter)

[@05kamora]

Yessss

[@coreymcnaught]

I feel like with those martial exertion gloves and that sword the periapt of wound closure would be another fantastic option for the amulet. Thoughts?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Absolutely!

[@RansomMemoryAccess]

So how does this compare with your older The BEST MINSC BUILD in BG3 - Lore Friendly Tactician Guide?

[@e-duh3529]

Lore friendly tact guide is fine and actually quite powerful in tactician(not sure bout honour mode tho cause I haven't played that). I'm guessing this build might be better tho

[@aaronspielman4991]

Would Horde Breaker combine with the Barbarian Tiger's rage attack that targets up to 3 melee targets in a cone? Like would it let you make that attack an extra time (for up to 3 times including extra attack)?

[@Paloma-qs3he]

I want to play a class focused on the wisdom ability since i want to choose all the tadpole choices, but idk what i should play 😢

[@seaurchinayano6140]

"Tadpole choices" require a low roll or even no roll once you've done it enough times, so there's no need to invest much into wisdom. But if you do want to play a wisdom based character, I think light cleric is very fun and strong

[@ginar2339]

It’s too bad there isn’t a kick attack for Minsc to unleash. How is he supposed to kick butt without using his leg?!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

I like to imagine the athletics shove is a kick, it makes way more sense

[@AidenKelleyAltAccount]

Doctor + Bull Please!

[@RenaissanceManchild856]

I thought "oh, how timely! I'm just about to recruit minsc on my honor mode run" - didnt seem to be affected by spirit guardians once I'd knocked him unconcious but as soon as the dialogue started he burst into white flames and jaheira left the party... WELP. maybe next run.

[@gaigeriel]

I really like hunter ranger on paper but its very unfortunate that you aren't getting your best feature until act 3. I hope Larian can eventually attempt to make some kind of NG+

[@benross9174]

I know this is late but its perfect for Minsc specifically since you get him at lv 12. For your Tav there are two other good subclasses

[@flavio6630]

in BG e BG2 Minsc was amazing and is more a Barbarian than a Ranger, its weird to have him in the party without a reset of his abilities. Its the only charater witch i dont care to have him in my party.

[@alex1sandulache]

20:30 I'm annoyed because I don't really know a lot about the game and am listening carefully to understand the builds and how certain systems work and why you make certain choices... and you do stuff like this... Can't you do the troll bit and then give a real recommendation for the people who, like me, enjoy your content and think you're actually very insightful and thorough, but don't enjoy troll crap like this?