Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

View Stats:
Is that possible to build a "melee wizard" in this game?
My wizards have to hide and keep distance as long as possible from enemies so they won't die immediately.
Is that possible to build a "melee wizard" so they don't need to "sneaky attack"?
I am not talking about Eldritch Knight(fighter with magic).
< >
Showing 1-15 of 39 comments
Diablerie Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:34am 
yes, all you do is either pick shield dwarf or githyanki, these races can use medium/heavy armor respectively and wield two handed weapons (axes and battleaxes for dwarf, swords for gith) simply drop your starting intel as low as possible and focus on your strength and con. As soon as possible head to the ruined village overrun by goblins, there will be 3 ogres, if you kill the intelligent one he drops a crown that will set your intellect to 18. There ya ago, melee wizard.
Last edited by Diablerie; Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:35am
Possible with feats for a pure wizard

BUT

would suck in BG3 due to low level, "weighted" rolls and AI focus

If you wanna do a pure melee wizard your best bets are in order:

1-Pathfinder Kingmaker
2-Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire (which is homebrewish pathfinder)
3-Solasta (needs work but works)
qwerty Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:46am 
Considering genius AI of this game(full agro on caster) it will be a tank wizard so make sure you have 16-18 CON.
Last edited by qwerty; Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:46am
Aria Athena Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:50am 
Originally posted by itwillbefuntheysaid:
1-Pathfinder Kingmaker
2-Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire (which is homebrewish pathfinder)
3-Solasta (needs work but works)

You skipped Pillars of Eternity 1.

Dragon Age Origins is also an option, but Pathfinder Kingmaker or Pillars are their best bets indeed.

Originally posted by qwerty:
Considering genius AI of this game(full agro on caster) it will be a tank wizard so make sure you have 16-18 CON.

It's not full aggro on caster in my experience, it's lowest AC. With Mirror Image everyone is around the same and the attacks are distributed equally. It's probably a similar AI to the one from DOS2.
Diablerie Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:52am 
Originally posted by qwerty:
Considering genius AI of this game(full agro on caster) it will be a tank wizard so make sure you have 16-18 CON.

the ai just beelines for whomever has the lowest ac as a priority. I tested this by setting my wizard's dexterity to 30 and put some light armor on which set his ac to like 22 or 23 or some such. Lae'zel had 17 by comparison, ai wailed on her constantly.
Night_Born Nov 20, 2020 @ 4:40am 
I'd say NO due to the fact there is no Greenflame Blade type spells in the game as of yet.
Soft Lockpick Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:00am 
Possible? Sure.

Will it be particularly effective at the fighter part of the job? No. You have low HP and the AI is stupid right now so there's no way to make you the tank effectively. And you don't have ways to boost your physical damage. Weak hits.

You'll also be setting yourself up with multiple ability dependencies for offense. You are weaker as a fighter by default.

Now, as a cheesy way to play armored strength wizards let you do all kinds of stupid game breaking stuff. You can dump int and rely entirely on an item to make you a wizard that functions, a 18 int headband. Some people don't have their fun ruined by doing that kind of cheesy stuff. Maybe you're one of them. Some people really have it ruin their immersion to make a wizard with low int because of metagame knowledge of the headband.

But I will say that if you make a high strength wizard with jump and featherfall and you can exploit the game.

But will you be "good" in the classic "I'm playing the game normally" sense where you want your own stats to be wizardly? Nah.
Last edited by Soft Lockpick; Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:04am
bullse Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:01am 
Solo wizard tank - best build in the game, hands down.
psibot Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:10am 
Originally posted by Feeding Bot:
My wizards have to hide and keep distance as long as possible from enemies so they won't die immediately.
Is that possible to build a "melee wizard" so they don't need to "sneaky attack"?
I am not talking about Eldritch Knight(fighter with magic).

Sure take a dwarf go str 17 int 8 early in game you get an int 18 braclet
At level 4 you take feat heavy armor instead of +2 ability
BAM your a wizard with Str 18 and heavy Armor...

Theres a WIzard that can solo the game
bf1tz.psu Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:25am 
Sounds a lot like people don't know how their spells work...

Also sounds like the AI is smarter than many of the players...
MyLittleJohny Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:37am 
There is a guy running around this discussion with Wizzard STR 18 :D So it is possible :D
Soft Lockpick Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:38am 
Originally posted by bf1tz.psu:
Sounds a lot like people don't know how their spells work...

Also sounds like the AI is smarter than many of the players...

Nah, I think it just depends on the spirit of the question.

When you say melee wizard do you mean a character with all that power built in? Or do you mean you can metagame, use the headband to factor into your chargen, and be totally reliant on items to get the wizard half of your ask.

If you want to have a "real" melee wizard you wouldn't want to dump int for the long term. If you are ok with metagaming for just the right items the answer changes.

I wouldn't call an 8 int wizard using the headband a real melee wizard build. Because you couldn't put it in a campaign without that headband and get the same outcome. Doesn't mean you shouldn't make it and enjoy it if that's your thing, it just isn't in the truest sense a melee wizard.
Last edited by Soft Lockpick; Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:39am
ayrtep Nov 20, 2020 @ 5:50am 
Yes, you should have no problem soloing all the content with a Githyanki or Drow melee wizard.

Githyanki can use medium armour and a greatsword. Ability points something like Str16, Dex14, Con14, Int14, Wis8, Chr8.

Drow can rely on Mage armour and dual-wielding rapiers. Dex16, Con14, Int14 plus six points elsewhere.

If you want to use the troll's band exploit you can drop Int right down and add to wis and chr. Personally I hate this idea.

Dwarves also make decent melee mages. But any other class is fine. If your racist and only play humans go for it. One idea is to start with 17 Dex or Str and take weapon master at level 4.

Just remember one important reason why melee wizards are so strong is the level cap. In D&D5ed Fighter like classes get an extra attack at level 5 which makes a big difference, that never happens in BG3EA.
Last edited by ayrtep; Nov 20, 2020 @ 6:18am
Sliscus Nov 20, 2020 @ 6:29am 
yes, you can build a gish
Dragon Master Nov 20, 2020 @ 6:51am 
Eldritch Knight.
< >
Showing 1-15 of 39 comments
Per page: 1530 50

Date Posted: Nov 20, 2020 @ 3:21am
Posts: 39