The Best Races For Bard Players In Baldur's Gate 3

Summary

Drow makes a unique Bard choice with bonus spells matching the Bard class.
Humans benefit Bards with shield proficiency for extra defense.
Duergar's defensive abilities and unique spells make them a strong choice for Bards.

Choosing the right race for your Bard in can be trickier than you might expect. The class can excel in so many different ways, with two of the three Bard Colleges being focused more around melee combat (those being Valor and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the ever-formidable Swords) w൩hile the other is one of the game's strongest spellcasti🉐ng options (Lore).

Wood Elf, Githyanki, and Drow Ranger in Baldur's Gate 3.

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These Rangers subclasses🐼 add many strong racial features to an already formidable race. Let's check out the best Rangers you can crea♐te.

Posts 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: ꦇ 🐈

That means the question of which race is the best for your Bard will vary dramatically depending on which build you’re aiming for. Some of the races benefit squishier mages, while others exclusively boost melee combatants. This article will help you decide which of them will suit your 🥀combat strategy and overall approach to the game the best.

Updated on November 28, 2024 by Britt Poteet: As Baldur's Gate 3 has received updates since the original article's publication, we reviewed the content to make it as accurate as possible. It now includes a few extra races to make sure you build the best bard for your playthrough.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Multiclassing is another option you can explo✤re while developing your Bard, but this list will only consider the virtues of each race as they are.

9 Drow

Notable Racial Features	Description
Superior Darkvision	See into darkness up to 24 feet.
Fey Ancestry	Resistance to Charmed and Sleep.
Racial Spells	, , and Darkness.

Though not the most common choice, Dro𒁃w’s can make decent bards. This race is great if you want a Melee Magic build, due to their extra spells and proficiency with various weapons.

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Posts 168澳洲幸🧜运5开奖网: ♈

Dancing Lights, Faerie Fire, and Darkness all share the Charisma modifier, matching the spellcasting abilities of the bard class. There’s also more potential for roleplaying with a Drow Bard, as𒅌 they're not commonly seen around Faerun. Choose this race if you want a more unique story with extra spellcasting abilities.

8 Human

Notable Racial Features	Description
Shield Proficiency	Ability to use shields without penalty.
Human Versatility	One skill Proficiency of your choice🏅 and a 25 percent increase in carrying capacity.

Humans aren’t exactly the most unique race in the game, but they do get sღome bonuses that can benefit your Bard. Some extra carrying capacity and a skill proficiency of your choosing are nice, though on their own they aren’t especially compelling.

The real reason to choose a Human is the fact that they get Shield Proficiency, which is usually only available to Valor Bards. Being able to use a shield gives Lore Bards (and Swords Bards that have a free hand) some much-needed defense. Even the most elusiv🌳e characters will find themselves in melee danger on occasion, and this can be hugely helpful as a result.

7 Duergar

Notable Racial Features	Description
Dwarven Resilience	Advantage against being poisone꧋d and resistance to poison damage.
Superior Darkvision	See even further in darkness.
Duergar Resilience	Advanꦺtage on saving throws against illusions and being ch🐎armed or paralyzed.
Duergar Magic	Enlarge and Invisibility.

Duergar get a lot of abil♐ities that are useful for Bards of all types. Dwarven and Duergar Resilience are both strong defensive aౠbilities, and you’ll be very grateful to have them when facing the effects they're designed to protect you from.

Meanwhile, Duergar Magic provides some excellent spells🌠. Bards can already turn invisible, but being able to do so without using a spell slot is still nice. Enlarge, me💙anwhile, can provide a damage boost for any weapon-focused Bards, even if they don’t care all that much about Strength checks. It's a varied skillset that's sure to see use throughout a campaign.

6 ꦿ Asmodeus Tie🙈fling

Notable Racial Features	Description
Darkvision	See into darkness.
Hellish Resistance	Take half damage from fire.
Infernal Legacy	, , and Darkness.

Though the Zariel subrace is a bit better, the Asmodeus tieflings make a decent bard.🍎 The two types of tieflings have a lot of similar advantages, wit𓃲h minor differences. The Asmodeus subrace focuses on wielding fire and darkness, while the Zariel tiefling has Intimidation and Performance advantages.

Tieflings are great spellcasters, and Hellish Rebuke and Darkness are a great addition to your defensive abilities, especi🌟ally if you🉐’re a Valour bard who already benefits from extra attacks.

5 🦄🌊 Zariel Tiefling

Notable Racial Features	Description
Darkvision	See in Darkness.
Hellish Resistance	Take half damage from fire.
Racial Spells	, , and Branding Smite.

Fire Resistance and Darkvision are handy abilities to have for any character, and Bards are no exception🌸. The real reason to play a Zariel Tiefling, however, is for one of the racial spells you get.

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Searing Smite and , unfortunately, aren’t great, and if you’re a Lore Bard there’s a good chance you won’t use them at all. Thaumaturgy, on the ot💙her hand, is exceptional. As a Bard, you’re going to be doing a lot of talking, and Thaumaturgy is a free way to make yourself even better at doing so. There's really no end to the advantages that a clever player cꦓan earn themselves through careful use of this spell.

4 Githyanki

Notable Racial Features	Description
Githyanki Psionics	, Enhance Leap, and Misty Step.
Astral Knowledge	Gain profic🌠iency in all skills associated with 𓆉a given stat until Long Rest.
Light And Medium Armor Proficiency	Ability to wear Light and Medium armor.

A Githyanki is usually an excellent choice regardle🐓ss of character class, thanks to the wide-ranging effects of their skills, but they actually have some anti-synergy with Bards. The class’s Jack of All Trades ability gives half their Proficiency Modifier to skills they aren’t proficient with, which means Astral Knowledge’s effect is🥀n’t as dramatic as usual (though it's still far from useless).

Even so, the other Githyanki abilities remain stro🦂ng. Medium Armor proficiency can help protect Lore Bards, while Enhanced Leap and Misty Step are bo🎶th solid spells that Bards typically have a tricky time accessing. It's often difficult to go wrong with a Githyanki.

3 ꦏ Lightfoot Halfling

Notable Racial Features	Description
Halfling Luck	Single reroll of 𒁏ones on ability checks, saving thr✤ows, and attack rolls.
Brave	Advantage against being frightened.
Naturally Stealthy	Advantage on Stealth checks.

Lightfoot Halflings get a number of bonuses that benefit Bards. Advantage on Stealth checks can come in handy if you like sneaking around, and while protection from being Frightꦦened won’t come into play all the time, it can funꦍdamentally alter the course of a combat encounter when it does.

Gold Dwarf, Half-Orc, and Strongheart Halfling Barbarian Baldur's Gate 3

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Posts 168澳洲幸运5开奖网: 𒀰 🧜

Meanwhile, Halfling Luck’s effectiveness will vary depending on your College; Swords Bards will likely be attacking all the time, while Lore Ba🤪rds might not attack much at all. That said, being able to reroll ones on ability checks and saving throws is more than enough to make this ability worth it. You're always at the whim of the dice at times, after all.

2 Deep 𝐆Gnome 𒁃

Notable Racial Features	Description
Gnome Cunning	Advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving th𓂃rows.
Stone Camouflage	Advantage on Stealth checks.
Superior Darkvision	See even further in darkness.

Gnome Cunning is one of the all-star racial abilities in🍌 Baldur’s Gate 3. Enemy effects that target these particular stats can be very nasty indeed, and getting advantage on saving throws against them can make a massive difference.

While Gnome Cunning is definitely the primary feature, Deep Gnomes get some other 𝔉usef𝓰ul abilities as well. Superior Darkvision can be a big help in certain scenarios, and if you're the kind of player who prefers a sneaky approach, getting advantage on Stealth checks will feel great. Depending on the strategies you favor in battles, this race could be just the ticket.

1 Wood Half-Elf 🧜

Notable Racial Features	Description
Shield Proficiency	Ability to use shields.
Fey Ancestry	Advantage against being charmed and immunity to 🙈Magical Sleep.
Darkvision	See in darkness.
Mask Of The Wild	Stealth proficiency.
Fleet Of Foot	Increased movement speed.

Like Humans, on꧟e of the main reasons Wood Half-Elves make great Bards is one that isn’t useful fo✨r many other classes: Shield Proficiency. Once again, Valor Bards can already use shields, but the other two Colleges (Lore in particular) can really benefit from that extra AC.

On the other hand, the Wood Elves' most iconic ability, their increased movement speed, is dramatically better than the other Human features. It can keep Lore Bards and ranged combatants away from their enemies, and help melee-focused Bards close that gap. It would be easy to under꧙estimate Fleet Of Foot, but it can be considered an indirect damage buff, and a significant one at that.