Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard build guide – race, subclass, skills, and spells

Looking for a Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard build guide? The Bard is one of the best classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 thanks to the sheer versatility it offers. Win people over with your charm and best monsters with your support abilities. And if that doesn’t work, the Bard can be a threat in combat directly too.

If you’re just setting foot into the D&D Forgotten Realms game, check out our detailed Baldur’s Gate 3 classes guide. And if creating your character is overwhelming you, read up beforehand with our Baldur’s Gate 3 character creation guide. With that out of the way, read on to learn how to use the Bard effectively across the world of Faerun.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard Best Build

Bards sit in an interesting position in Baldur’s Gate 3. While some may not be a fan of their low health, the right subclass can let them actively participate in combat. And outside of combat, their high Charisma stat means that they should do all the talking. This applies to Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion. These skill checks can be handled with ease, especially in conversations.

Bards are also great at support thanks to Bardic Inspiration. This class feature lets you buff an ally’s attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.

Here are the proficiencies available to the Bard class in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Dexterity Saving Throw Proficiency
• Charisma Saving Throw Proficiency
• Light Armor Proficiency
• Simple Weapon Proficiency
• Hand Crossbow Proficiency
• Longsword Proficiency
• Rapier Proficiency
• Shortsword Proficiency
• Musical Instrument Proficiency

Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard Features

And here are the class features that define a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Starting Instrument – Pick from a Hand Drum, Flute, Lute, Lyre, or Violin. This just changes the music and animations that play while casting spells. You can also perform of your own free will. It’s a great way to make fights more theatrical.
• Bardic Inspiration – You have three charges that enhance an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. It can also be used to perform additional subclass actions.

Best race for a Bard

While most races are a good fit for a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Asmodeus Tiefling and Drow are the best picks. The Asmodeus Tiefling offers nice perks like Hellish Resistance, Hellish Rebuke to damage attackers, and Darkness to shape the battlefield. I picked a High Half-Elf as I wanted a bonus cantrip in addition to the Fey Ancestry and Darkvision that the Drow offered.

Best Background for a Bard

We recommend the Entertainer background for a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3. This is because the Acrobatics and Performance proficiency are a nice touch. Their Inspiration goals (succeed to get dice rerolls) also align with what a Bard is expected to do. I picked a Sage because I wanted proficiency in Arcana and History to balance my offensive build. Here are some other options:

• Entertainer – Proficiency in Acrobatics and Performance.
• Guild Artisan – Proficiency in Insight and Persuasion.
• Soldier – Proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation.

Best Bard Ability Score

Here’s the ability score distribution we recommend for new players to pick as a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

Ability	Value
Strength	8
Dexterity	15
Constitution	13
Intelligence	12
Wisdom	10
Charisma	17

Raising Charisma should be your top priority as a Bard. The rest can go into Constitution to raise your health. Dexterity is also important since you’ll need it for initiative, armour class, and attack rolls.

Best Feats for a Bard

Here are the best feats you can pick as a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Ability Improvement: You gain two points that can be allocated to an ability. Raise your Charisma and Dexterity to improve your odds on those ability checks.
• Magic Initiate: Warlock: Getting a spell slot, two cantrips, and a level 1 spell are solid boosts. This grants your Bard some offensive options thanks to Eldritch Blast and Hex.
• Lucky: You can spend one of the three extra Luck points to roll a d20 when using an attack roll, ability check, or a saving throw. Winning a roll thanks to a Luck point feels incredible.

Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard Subclass

Here are the Bard subclasses you can pick from in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• College of Valour – This subclass is focused towards martial arts. You gain proficiency in Medium Armour, Shield, and Martial Weapons. Consider a College of Valor Bard if you want to play more defensively as you support your party. But I’d still suggest the College of Swords if you want to get hands-on with fights.
• College of Lore – This option cements the Bard as a supporting character who excels in skill checks. Gain proficiency in Arcana, Intimidation, and Sleight of Hand. You also have access to Cutting Words (1d6 penalty to enemy Attack Rolls and Ability Checks). A College of Lore bard is a good pick if you want to double down on assisting the rest of your party.
• College of Swords – This one’s for the Bard that wants to create stories before singing them. While you’re still squishy in combat, you’re a bigger threat to enemies with proficiency in Medium Armour and the Scimitar. You can pick between the Dueling and Two-Weapon Fighting Styles, each with unique attacks.

We recommend the College of Swords Bard as the best Bard subclass in Baldur’s Gate 3. Being able to attack two enemies at once, push them back, or gain a defensive bonus after attacking are sweet perks. You also get access to an Extra Attack later on.

Best Bard equipment

As a Bard, you have Light Armour proficiency. So try wearing one with an added bonus like a +1 to Stealth checks. The College of Swords Bard and College of Valor Bard have access to Medium Armour. As for combat, expect crossbows to be your main weapon of choice. And if enemies get close, you can use a shortsword. The Cap of Curing is a must-have for any Bard. This item lets you heal with Bardic Inspiration for +1d6 HP. It’s found in a gilded chest next to Alfira in the Druid Grove. She’s the Tiefling Bard that sings.

This is where picking the College of Swords will help. You can use a Scimitar to be a real threat. Try keeping potions handy too. While healing ones are important, coating your weapon in poison or tossing an explosive can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard spells

While the Bard’s spells aren’t as insane as a Warlock or Wizard, they have a decent set of magic to pick from. These can be categorized into cantrips and spells. The latter require spell slots of a particular level to use them. Here are the best cantrips for the Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Vicious Mockery – Deals psychic damage and imposes a disadvantage on the enemy’s next attack roll. Great to stop heavy damage enemies.
• Dancing Lights – Creates wisps of light to illuminate an area. If you’re struggling to hit enemies in the dark, consider using this cantrip.
• Blade Ward – Get this at level 4. Protects your allies from most physical attacks that deal Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.

Here are the best level 1 spells for the Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Healing Word – Having a healing spell as a bonus action is great. Can be cast at range too.
• Heroism – Prevents your ally from being frightened and gives +5 temporary HP each turn. It’s a solid defensive spell.
• Thunderwave – Deal thunder damage and push away all targets in a cone. Perfect for pushing enemies off high areas.

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter and Dissonant Whispers are also good options. Level 2 grants you Jack of All Trades (adds half your proficiency bonus to all other ability checks) and Song of Rest (heals as if a Short Rest happened). The latter is great for restoring Warlock spell slots and Fighter Superiority Die. At level 3, you pick your subclass and level 2 spells. Here are the best level 2 spells for the Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Shatter – Deals thunder damage in a small radius; on a save, the targets still take half the damage. Solid damage dealer.
• Phantasmal Force – Deals psychic damage and additional damage per turn. The element/type changes depending on what damaged the enemy before casting the spell.

Level 4 lets you get another cantrip and level 2 spell slot. You can also pick a Feat here. Level 5 grants you Font of Inspiration (restores Bardic Inspiration during short rests and a long rest) and Improved Bardic Inspiration (now a d8). This is when you’ll get access to level 3 spells. This is the level 3 spell we recommend for a Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Hypnotic Pattern – Hypnotizes all creatures in an area. It’s a solid crowd-control option. Only an attack or help from an ally can stir them.
• Glyph of Warding – Inscribe a circle of arcane glyphs on the ground that triggers a magical effect when stepped on by an enemy. It’s versatile thanks to options like Sleep, Detonation, Fire, Thunder, and Cold.

That covers everything you need to know about the best Bard build in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you’re looking for a battlefield wrecker, consider this Baldur’s Gate 3 Barbarian build guide. And if spells are more your fancy, here’s our Baldur’s Gate 3 Sorcerer build guide. The Bard can do more than sing about adventures. They can lead one with the right skills.

What makes Bard strong?

The Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 excels at support and has a flexible skillset for any situation.

Do bards need wisdom or Charisma?

Bards in Baldur’s Gate 3 need Charisma as it is their main stat.