Honor Mode Class Build Recommendation

This guide is optimized for Honor Mode post-Patch 6 but is also beneficial for lower difficulties. It exploits no bugs, ensuring reliability in Honor Mode, and is designed for long term battle, allowing characters to engage in over four standard battles before requiring rest.

Main Character

Class:

• 9 Bard(Swords), 1 Cleric(Knowledge), 2 Ranger or
  
• 10 Bard, 1 Cleric, 1 Fighter or
  
• 12 Bard or
  
• 6 Bard, 1 Cleric, 4 Ranger, 1 Wizard

Feat: Alert, Sharpshooter, Ability Improvement
Ability: 8/16/14/10/10/16

Race Recommendation: Opt for Human or Half-Elf for shield proficiency.

Skills

The main character shines in skill checks, vital for honor mode. Bard and Rogue offer extensive proficiency and expertise.

Skill bonuses come from ability modifiers, proficiency, and buffs. Proficiency bonuses scale with levels, and expertise doubles proficiency in selected skills. Proficiency bonuses are 2 at levels 1-4, 3 at 5-8, and 4 at 9-12. Spells like Guidance and Enhance Ability provide extra buffs.

In this build:

• Proficiency is gained from Bard(3), Background(2), Race(0-1) (Perception from Drow or Elf; Thaumaturgy from Zariel Tiefling enhances Intimidation and Performance).
  
• Expertise is achieved through Bard(2) at level 3(Remember to manually choose them).

Multiclassing, while optional, is fervently recommended. A cleric aligned with the Knowledge Domain grants mastery in two skills predicated on Intelligence, alongside the cantrips Guidance and Thaumaturgy. Concurrently, a Ranger confers proficiency in Sleight of Hand as well as two additional skills. In a parallel vein, a Bard attains double expertise at the 10th level.

This configuration embodies essential competencies for dialogue, encompassing Persuasion, Insight, Intimidation, Deception, and Performance. Multiclassing further expands your repertoire, incorporating skills such as Perception, Sleight of Hand, and those predicated on Intelligence.

Combat

• The Helmet of Arcane Acuity[bg3.wiki] is crucial, offering 2 turns of arcane acuity per weapon hit to boost spell save DC. By leveraging extra attack with Slashing Flourish(Can select same target twice), this build can quickly maximize arcane acuity stacks (10), enabling powerful control spells. (Remember to turn off the Sharpshooter before stacking the Arcane Acuity.)
  
  
• The Band of the Mystic Scoundrel[bg3.wiki] allows player to cast control spells with bonus action.

Resource cost involves 2 Bard inspirations, and a spell slot for control spells, enough for multiple combats with short rests in between.

Achieving Level 2 as a Ranger or Level 1 as a Fighter bestows the Archery Fighting Style, which confers a +2 bonus to ranged attack rolls.

Progressing to Level 3 as a Ranger(Gloom Stalker) introduces an additional attack in the initial round of combat, alongside a +3 bonus to initiative, thereby obviating the need for the Alert feat. Conversely, advancing to Level 2 as a Fighter awards one action per short rest. However, electing to multiclass to Level 3 as a Ranger or Level 2 as a Fighter would elevate the Effective Spellcasting Level (ESL)[bg3.wiki] to 10, consequently forfeiting the Level 6 spell slot. Moreover, a Bard level below 9 would relinquish access to coveted Level 5 spells. Given these considerations, my counsel leans towards a distribution of 9-1-2 or 10-1-1.

Other Useful Things

• Gloves of Dexterity[bg3.wiki] allows you to shift your DEX point to other abilities.
  
  
• Favourable Beginnings[bg3.wiki] is useful to ensure weapon hits on the first turn.
  
  
• Warped Headband of Intellect[bg3.wiki] can set INT to 17, useful when passing checks. Include it in your Custom Hotbar.

Spells

Recommended spells:

• 1st: Faerie Fire, Sleep (ensures success, no concentration), Dissonant Whispers (No concentration), Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Healing Word (bonus action)
  
• 2nd: Cloud of Daggers (ensures at least two hits), Hold Person (significantly boosts melee damage, control, upcastable), Blindness (No concentration)
  
• 3rd: Warding Glyph (DEX save), Hypnotic Pattern, Fear (avoid targeting allies)
  
• 4th: Confusion (avoid targeting allies)
  
• 5th: Hold Monster

Speak with Animals, Detect Thoughts, Enhance Ability, Speak with Dead are useful for dialogues. While Speak with Animals and Detect Thoughts can be accessed via potions (but are better learned due to being ritual spells), Enhance Ability can be cast by another character, and Speak with Dead can be learned from a book.

Conditions[bg3.wiki] are grouped, with each inheriting group effects. For example, the Hideous Laughter condition falls under Prone and Unconscious, and all Prone conditions can be removed by Help.

Trading

• Mattis and Dammon appear in all three chapters. Strive to increase their attitude to 100 and always sell items to them. Darryth Bonecloak is noteworthy for buying Cloud Giant Fingers after level 6 but is only present in Acts 1 and 3.
  
• Enhancing a merchant's attitude through gifts before purchases can be beneficial. Refer to the price formula[bg3.wiki] and use this calculator[bg3giftcalc.netlify.app](Made by ME) for gifting decisions.
  
• A merchant's inventory, pricing, and available gold are determined by the player's level initiating the trade, including the cost of gifting.
  
• Upon death, a trader drops their three most valuable items without any gold from trading. However, all their items can be pickpocketed.

Companion1

Class: 12 Fighter(Battle Master)
Feat: Great Weapon Master, Alert, Savage Attacker, Sentinel
Ability: 8/16/16/10/14/10
Skills: Athletics, Survival

Recommended manoeuvres: Goading, Manoeuvring, Precision, Ripsote

• Relys on Giant Elixir.
  
• Simply powerful.
  
• Githyanki would have lots of exclusive fighter equipment effects.

Companion2

Class: 8 Monk(Open Hand), 4 Rogue(Thief) or 12 Monk
Feat: Tavern Brawler(+1 CON), Alert, Abilitiy Improvement
Ability: 8/16/15/8/17/8
Skills: Stealth, Atheletics

Key Equipments: Corellon's Grace[bg3.wiki], Boots of Uninhibited Kushigo[bg3.wiki], Khalid's Gift[bg3.wiki]

Relys on Giant Elixir.

After reaching level 9, multiclass into lv1 Rogue first for additional skill proficiency.

A level 12 Monk can deliver approximately 240 damage per turn, breaking down to 6 attacks, each doing 1d6+8+8+1d4+6+6+1d10+1. At level 6, a Monk with no equipment can already deal about 100 damage per turn with 4 attacks, utilizing the Giant Elixir. This will cost 1 Ki per turn, and one short rest can fully restore them.

The attack roll benefits from a +19 bonus(3+8+8), and using Topple imposes a DC 19 DEX check for Prone.

Monks boast high DC, AC, and movement speed. The primary limitation of this build is obtaining the Alert feat at level 8.

Companion3

Class: 8 Sorcerer(Draconic Bloodline: Silver), 2 Warlock, 2 Cleric(Tempest)
Feat: Alert, Abilitiy Improvement
Ability: 8/16/14/8/10/17(Rely on Auntie Ethel's Hair)
Skills: Arcana, Religion

Race Recommendation: Human or Half-Elf for shield proficiency.

Key Equipments: Potent Robe[bg3.wiki]

Other useful Equipments: Necklace of Elemental Augmentation[bg3.wiki], Mourning Frost[bg3.wiki], Boots of Speed[bg3.wiki]

Recommended Magics: Shield, Magic Missile, Enhance Leap, Sleep, Ice Knife, Enhance Ability, Cloud of Daggers, Misty Step, Haste, Counter Spell, Slow, Fireball, Daylight, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire, Cone of Cold

Physical classes provide consistent high damage, while mages handle special scenarios, offering AoE and burst damage, and support buffs. Cantrips from mages offer continuous damage support.

At level 6, with the Necklace of Elemental Augmentation, this class adds twice the CHA modifier to cold cantrips. Mourning Frost induces cold vulnerability (DC 12 CON save), enabling about 15 damage per turn (60 with Twin Spells and chilled). After acquiring the Potent Robe, a single Frost spell can deal over 30 damage at level 8. With cold vulnerability and Twin Spells, damage can exceed 100 in a turn at low cost.

In Honor Mode, extra actions from Haste or Bloodlust don't allow extra attacks but are beneficial for spellcasters, particularly with cantrips. Casting Haste with Twin Spells, with the other Haste targeting the main character, synergize with a battlemage build that requires weapon attacks before spellcasting.

The loss of concentration is harsh, as ending Haste causes the target to lose a turn. Boots of Speed improve mobility, utilizing the bonus action. Elixir of Peerless Focus aids in maintaining concentration and is readily available.

Reaching level 10, Eldritch Blast can perform three attacks, each dealing 1d10 + CHA modifier x 2, consistently inflicting 40 damage per turn. Repelling Blast could also be useful for manipulating terrain. Opting out of cold cantrips allows for the use of other weapons and necklaces.

Level 2 Cleric can provide create water and Destructive Wrath. With Markoheshkir[bg3.wiki], this build can cast a max damage Chain Lightning every short rest. Consider switching to Blue Dragon Bloodline for more damage.

Other tips

Alert

Alert is a crucial feat, as acting first can significantly impact the effectiveness of control spells. It also offers the advantage of potentially incapacitating enemies before they have a chance to act. An additional, less obvious benefit of having a team with high initiative is that characters are more likely to act in consecutive order. According to combat rules, this allows them to take actions in any sequence among themselves, enabling far more flexible and strategic planning.

• Using a Soap or a Sponge can remove the dirty visual effect from a character.
  
  
• Rouge serves as another powerful choice for main character, offering the ability to succeed in skill checks and proving to be mighty in combat.
  
  
• Inspiration is paramount. Contemplate enlisting teammates whose backgrounds resonate with your playing methodologies to cultivate additional inspiration.

[Fofka]

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