In Baldur’s Gate 3 you can use multiclassing to get even more out of your characters. Today, MeinMMO author Fabienne Kissel introduces you to a strong bard build with which you can do tons of damage and kill many enemies with just one move.
In Baldur’s Gate 3 there is a multiclass build that allows you to defeat even the strongest opponents in one go: the Killer Bard. This unique build combines the Bard, Fighter, and Rogue classes, providing an effective way to dish out tons of damage in a short period of time.
What else makes him so special? With the Killer Bard Build you are also well protected with medium armor and could take a beating. So you are not just a pure Glass Cannon. All in all, the Killer Bard is a lot of fun because you don’t act as a supporter, but rather as an almost unstoppable fighting machine.
One of its special features is the use of the strength of hand crossbows in Baldur’s Gate 3. Unlike the official Dungeons & Dragons rules, in Baldur’s Gate 3 you can wield crossbows with both hands. In D&D you need (which is more logical) a free hand to reload, which prevents the use of two hand crossbows.
But in the game you can use your bonus action with the off-hand (second hand crossbow) to shoot. This allows you to create a bard who does massive damage with hand crossbows.
At the same time, your high charisma means that you can take over all interactions and even receive advantages in many conversations.
The build is also known as the ranged bard and was made famous by the YouTube channel d4: D&D Deep Dive. We would like to introduce you to exactly this Killerbard build from the YouTuber in more detail here.
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Multiclass Killer Bard Build: This is how you level up
Attribute points distribution:
Killer Bard Build – Items
Level 1 – Bard
At level 1, you can give bardic inspiration to one of your party members three times per long rest as a bonus action. The class action ensures that the target then gets a bonus on their next attack roll, their next ability check, or their next saving throw (1d6).
Normally you like to use the action to support your allies, but in this build you need the Bardic Inspiration for yourself to increase your weapon action damage. As a killer bard, you don’t act as a supporter, but as a pure damage machine.
Level 2 – Bard
By singing the rest you get an additional short rest per day, which is particularly popular with warlocks, monks and fighters. Druids also regain their polymorph charges.
Level 3 – Bard
As a subclass, School of Swords, you get practice in medium armor. You also get various melee and ranged attacks to deal damage. For all of these actions, Bardic Inspiration (1d6) is added on top, allowing you to do more damage overall. As a killer bard, you focus on ranged combat actions.
The most important component: sweeping blow
One of these weapon actions is your most important component as a killer bard: Sweeping Slash (Ranged). With this weapon action you can attack up to two enemies at the same time – similar to the later Eldritch Blast from the Warlock, in which you can shoot a total of 3 beams, distributed between 1-3 enemies. You can also direct both attacks at one target instead. Both attacks receive an additional 1d6 damage from bardic inspiration.
With your bonus action you can then carry out one more attack per turn with your off-hand (hand crossbow) – so a total of 3 attacks at level 3. With the fighting style Fighting with two weapons you can increase the damage of your off-hand (hand crossbow). by adding the Dexterity modifier.
Level 4 – Bard
The Sniper talent allows you to get +10 to your ranged weapon attacks, but with a -5 penalty to your hit roll. The whole thing is a passive feature that you can switch on and off.
As a combination with this talent, it is worth having a cleric or paladin who can cast the spell Bless on you. Blessing increases your hit probability by giving you a +1d4 bonus on attack rolls. You also receive the same bonus on your saving throws. The Blessing concentration spell can last up to 10 rounds and is one of the strongest of all.
Level 5 – Bard
Level 5 is one of the most important levels. You get an improvement to your bardic inspiration. Instead of 1d6, 1d8 is now counted.
In addition, you now have four charges of Bardic Inspiration. And through Source of Inspiration you get your charges back from both the long rest and the short rest.
Level 6 – Bard
At level 6 you unlock the subclass trait Extra Attack, which, as the term suggests, gives you an additional attack. If you used an attack as an action (i.e. sweeping blow), you can make another attack in the same action. Combined with your Sweeping Slash action (Hand Crossbow) and your bonus action (Off-Hand Hand Crossbow), you can potentially crank out 5 attacks in one round.
All of them together can then benefit from Sniper, meaning they can each deal an additional 10 damage. Most also come with an additional 1d8 from the bardic inspiration.
If you have a magician or wizard with you, or another class that can use the Haste spell, you can cast this spell on your killer bard. Haste gives the target a +2 bonus to Armor Class, advantage on Dexterity checks, and movement speed is doubled.
But the most important thing is: You get one additional action per turn. As a killer bard, you can make up to 7 attacks by attacking again with a sweeping blow – even at level 6. By the way, you can also get haste through potions. But with a haste potion the effect only lasts 3 rounds, with the spell the effect can last up to 10 rounds.
Level 7 – Fighter
Level up to the Fighter class at level 7. It’s especially worth it because the fighter gives you the archery fighting style. This gives you a +2 bonus to your ranged attacks as a passive trait, which increases your chance of hitting. You also get the class action Take a Breather, which allows you to heal yourself once per short rest (for 2-11 hit points) as a bonus action.
Level 8 – Rogue
Level up to Rogue class at level 8. With Sneak Attack it is possible to deal 1d6 additional damage once per round with a ranged or finesse weapon (in this case: hand crossbow) if you have the advantage against the target. Or even if an ally is virtually next to the opponent (i.e. within 1.5m) and you are not at a disadvantage. So, for example, if your paladin or cleric is at the front of the enemies, you can use sneak attack.
Level 9 – Rogue
All three class actions dash, retreat and hide are practical and depending on the situation you can use them sensibly. You can use all three as a bonus action. For example, Dash to double your movement speed in combat (on the current turn).
Level 10 – Rogue
Nimble Fingers gives you an additional bonus action, meaning you can now use two bonus actions per turn.
Your combo will then look something like this: Sweeping Slash (Action) + Sweeping Slash (Extra Attack) + Bonus Action (Off-Hand Hand Crossbow) + Bonus Action (Off-Hand Hand Crossbow)
If you attack with a sweeping blow, you can land a total of 4 hits with your hand crossbow on a target, for example, with the extra attack. With your two bonus actions you can land another 2 hits with your off-hand (second hand crossbow) – so a total of 6 hits in one round, without any haste.
Your attacks with Sweeping Slash get 1d8 added due to bardic inspiration. And all of your ranged attacks can benefit from Sniper, causing an additional 10 damage per hit.
Level 11 – Fighter
At level 11 you go another level into the fighter (level 2). This unlocks the class action Urge for Action. Through Urge, you get an immediate additional action on your turn once per short rest. This means that in theory you can throw out 10 attacks with the bard in a single round – once per short rest.
Same game again:
Level 12 – Rogue
At level 12 you go one level into the rogue again (there are 4 in total). You choose the talent: Attribute Improvement to increase your dexterity to 18. Note: There are some ways to increase your skill beforehand through the game. If you have already reached level 12 with 20 dexterity, it is advisable to level up another level in Bard instead of Rogue.
To get a deeper look at The Killer Bard build from d4: D&D Deep Dive, you can watch his video on YouTube.
This killer bard build turns you into a real damage machine. With this build, you can easily take down some tough enemies in one move, especially if you have the drive – and you’ll even be able to endure a bit on top of that. By combining the Bard, Fighter and Rogue classes, you gain a range of skills and maximize your damage almost down to the smallest detail.
Of course, if the killer bard build isn’t quite your thing, there are plenty of other multiclass builds to explore. MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß presented the best builds: Baldur’s Gate 3: The best multiclass builds and what makes them so good