Sell me on Sorcerer, Bard, or Warlock

[alexdoerofthings]

I'd like to hear your best argument for one of the three listed above. I'm conflicted!

[sevensided]

I would suggest Bard (for more utility) or Sorcerer (for more pure damage ability), but either way, I would say take two levels of warlock for enhanced eldritch blast (and hex, dark one's blessing, etc).

[/Uninstall]

You can actually solve the weakness of the sorc if you are willing to play INT instead of CHA. I know that goes against the nature of sorcs but here me out.

1 wiz 11 sorc gets your 11 sorc subclass ability, allowing dragon sorcs to fly. It also gets 11 levels worth of sorcery points and the metamagics that make the sorc worth playing. It ALSO can just take spells that don't have saves or DCs when they level up, and learn every arcane spell in the game from scrolls the way a wiz does.

In summary, 1 wiz 11 sorc is actually 12 wiz 11 sorc. Entire spell list swappable on the fly plus metamagics.

[Majere]

I had great trouble with Wyll in EA and thought he was a bit useless. In the main game though he's become my go-to guy as a 'pure' Warlock. With Pact of the Blade he hits almost as hard in melee as my Barbarians and has as good AC, but at the same time he can still burn down single targets or multiple small mobs at range with Eldritch Blasts. (Bonus prize: There are very few things in the game that resist Force damage, including a certain big annoying mechanical thing when it goes all Final Fantasy on you.)
He can teleport, dash at will, talk to beasts and throw Fireballs or possibly even better late-game, use Counterspell. He gets temp health from kills, his robe (potent robe) and several of his spells, getting him close to the Barbs for HP too.

The TL/DR is that once you get the hang of them Warlocks can fill almost any role in the party whilst also being your high-Charisma 'face', which is a very handy thing to have.

[Xiwang]

get 2 lvls on warlock, get agonizing blast and repelling blast, put the rest of the other 10 lvls in sorcerer. congratulations, your caster is broken.

[hairo]

I'm currently playing as storm sorcerer and my build is so good. I have the right gears too ofc I'm nearing the end of act 3 I think and my storm sorcerer can burst 3 6 level lightning attacks in one round replenish it one round later for additional 4th lightning then bring hell with fireballs, escape enemies by storm sorcerer flight magic that appears when you cast a magic. It is also very versatile I have hold creature for holding bosses for 3 rounds which is a very op spell that I haven't let any boss move after I unlocked it yet. I can also make shield that blocks any kind of attack for 3 rounds I think if needed. Maximize magics are so op too when used correctly. It is squishy but with the right gear you are quite op and evasive sorcerer that deals ultimate damages to enemies from a far.

[Soft Lockpick]

Bards are pretty much the best class in the game so there's that. You can be the face, you can hang in fights, you can increase the power of your physical fighters, you can crowd control, you can heal in a pinch. You won't top the DPS charts but you can cycle in any companions you like because you cover any gaps and you make everything easier.

[Solomon Kane]

Go Sorcerer, geat Fun with Metamagic, and you can shove it into the wizard peoples face that doing magic is easy for you, Magic running through your veins, while they need years to study and learn it, and even then, are not connected with Magic as you are, also, you can fricking choose to have dragon blood in your veins, and bring your dragon heritage into conversations and checks too.

[mordred8346]

Do you hate it when you need a skill your main character doesn't have for a skill check? The College of Lore bard has never experienced this issue. Between jack of all trades, getting to select a huge pile of skills, and expertise; you can finally live with the fact that we aren't able to switch for different characters for skill checks.

[Seswatha]

First, throw out all of the tier lists out of the window. Nobody knows what's good and what's bad in this game yet with how crazy the itemisation is.

I can only comment based on what I've seen so far.

1. Bard - mainly a support class, great at all kinds of skills and passing skill checks or making others pass. Gives your whole party an extra short rest. Good selection of support spells. Lore bards are good with control casters in BG3 since they can decrease enemy saves. Swords bards is the exception to the support role of the class, mostly due to bug/feature where slashing flourish can target the same enemy twice and pact of the blade warlock extra attack stacking. Good both as pure or multi.

Builds:
Bard 12 (any) - quite viable
Cleric of Life 1/Bard of Valour 11 - support build
Swords Bard 6/Pact of the Blade Warlock 5/X (Wizard ?) 1 - 12 - 13 attacks per round, SAD, decent spell support
Lore Bard 6/Divination Wizard 6 (learn higher tier spells from scrolls) - how to ruin enemy saves and polymorph bosses

2. Sorcerer - Mostly good as the "main" class, good because of metamagic allowing to double down on powerful spells, or cast more spells per round. Best nova potential of all casters.

Builds:
Sorcerer 12 (any) - quite viable, though I would go draconic with lightning or cold damage to abuse Wet
Tempest Cleric 2/Sorcerer 10 (Blue/Bronze dragon or Storm) - if you want to maximize lightning spells though imo not worth the lvl 6 spells lost
Warlock 2/Sorcerer 10 - trades part of the spellcasting potential for Eldrich Blast spam (which can be really strong with the right gear and puts most dpr builds to shame)
Warlock 2/Fighter 2/Sorcerer 8 - even less of a caster, but can now spam Eldrich Blasts with action surge
Paladin 7/Sorcerer 5 - if you like smiting a lot
Paladin 6/Sorcerer 4/Fighter 2 - if you like to spend all your spell slots in a turn

3. Warlock - a caster that's less dependant on long rests, but ultimately not a very strong single class, good for multiclassing though.

Pact of the Blade Warlock 5/Paladin 7 - Paladin but better in every way
Warlock 2/Sorcerer 10 - see above
Warlock 2/Fighter 2/Sorcerer 8 - see above
Swords Bard 6/Pact of the Blade Warlock 5/X (Wizard ?) 1 - see above


To give you an idea of how much itemisation matters:

Eldrich Blast + Agonising Blast of Warlocks is normally 1d10+CHA damage, or 1d10+CHA + 1d5 if using Hex.

There are 2 fun items, 1 is a staff that adds lightning charges every time you deal damage with a spell. When you have lightning charges, you deal extra 1 lightning damage and occasionally discharge an extra 1d8.

Then there's a robe that, among other things, lets you add CHA bonus to your cantrips: https://www.gamerguides.com/baldurs-gate-3/database/armor/clothing/potent-robe

Draconic Sorcerers add CHA damage to any spell that does lightning damage.

So now EB should do 1d10 + 2 * CHA force + 1 + CHA lightning + 1d6 necrotic. Or 1d10 + 2 * CHA force + 2 + 2 * CHA lightning + 1d6 necrotic vs a Wet target. Now, currently the game treats the lightning proc as its own separate instance of damage and adds Potent robe/Agonizing Blast on top of it as well, as well as procs hex the second time.

So in reality the damage is 1d10 + 4 * CHA force + 2 + 2 * CHA lightning + 2d6 necrotic vs a Wet target ~= 50.5 average damage per ray with 22 CHA, Making Warlock 2/Sorcerer 10 go up to like 450 dpr at level 11, and Warlock 2/Fighter 2/Sorcerer 8 to 600 dpr.

And this is not even a full build, just 2 items.

There are other crazier things like a hat stacking spell to hit and dc every time you deal fire damage, a staff that automatically heightens all necromancy spells and makes them virtually free to cast and other fun things.

[DaciValt]

Sorcerer go boom
Bard go "heyyyy.... how you doin'?"
Warlock go brrrr laser

[DakimDragco]

Sorcerer multiclass can be realy strong. My main Dark Urge characters was a Paladin 6/Sorcerer 6 multiclass and using the 2 attacks per turn on a smite + bonus action attack (also a smite) i actualy oneshotted Orin in her boss fight on normal mode. Those attacks can become insanely powerfull, and you even still have decent spells to back it up incase your not in melee (you also have one ranged smite like action incase you go with a bow or crossbow) + your wearing heavy armor if you start as either a race that gives that proficiency, start as a paladin and spec into sorcerer, or if you use a feat to select it. Pluss a big HP pool.

Paladins AND Sorcerers are pretty good classes if you build them right

[Merk]

Publicado originalmente por alexdoerofthings:

I'd like to hear your best argument for one of the three listed above. I'm conflicted!

sorc gets haste and quicken spell so 3 actions a turn and with free cast you can spam 3 level 6 spells a turn and decimate most combats in a blink of a eye. nothing is more fun then getting to a boss and turning it to dust on the first turn.

free cast allows you to spend spell slots and resources on them without consuming them so it makes your metamagic free and cost nothing and it makes your spells not consume spell slots when used and you get to use it every other turn.

300 damage a turn single target and even more aoe.

[Gwizzz]

Publicado originalmente por Dragon Master:

Publicado originalmente por alexdoerofthings:

I'd like to hear your best argument for one of the three listed above. I'm conflicted!

I'll go 2 better and give arguments for all three! SNIPPED!

Awesome answer, happy to reward you with points. I may try Sorc next play through thanks to your response.

Someone told me that a Pact of the Blade Warlock can cast Darkness AND gain the ability to see in MAGICAL Darkness. So they can cast Darkness then run into the middle of it and attack with Advantage and everything attacks the Warlock with Disadvantage. Sounds like an interesting mechanic. I believe Pact of the Blade Warlock also get 2 attacks with a pact weapon. So if you make a 2H Greatsword or Battleaxe your pact weapon and go swinging around in the dark that might be fun.

[Shadow The Innkeep]

Publicado originalmente por alexdoerofthings:

I'd like to hear your best argument for one of the three listed above. I'm conflicted!

Channel your inner Scanlan and go Bard :D

[Sentient_Toaster]

The eldritch invocation "Devil's Sight" lets the warlock see in both regular and magical darkness as if it were regular daylight. Amusingly, a strict interpretation of the tabletop rules would not let you treat low light as regular daylight; but I believe BG3 just gives you an improved form of darkvision which helps in low light, too.

Warlocks do get a fair bit of customizability if you care about that. If you went all 12 levels as a warlock, you'd have -

* four cantrips (one of which pretty much has to be Eldritch Blast if you don't want to deliberately handicap yourself)
* 11 known spells of up to level 5
* 6 eldritch invocations
* choice of pact
* choice of patron
* the usual 3 feats/ASIs at 4th/8th/12th