Building a Barbarian: Mastering Strength & Fury in Baldur's Gate 3

"The strong embrace the wild that hides inside - keen instincts, primal physicality, and most of all, an unbridled, unquenchable rage."

Need to know more about the Barbarian class? Then you've come to the right place!

*Not all information was available in Early Access - we will update as soon as we can!*

Roleplaying as a Barbarian

Your muscles tense as your legs surge forward, a powerful leap to close the distance between you and the bandit. A shower of blood sprays your face as your axe comes swinging down, but this only makes you laugh. A sudden, sharp pain in your shoulder draws your attention: it seems the remaining bandit shot you with an arrow. This does not make you laugh. It annoys you. Angers you. Enrages you. A mighty howl escapes your lips, as you bring your weapon to bear. In just a few moments, the town will be safe from the brigands... for good.

If this sounds interesting to you, consider a Barbarian. With a ferocious Rage and the highest Hit Point total in the game, this class is an unstoppable force.

Note: The Origin character/Companion Karlach is a Barbarian.

Class Features at 1st Level

• Starting Hit Points: 12 + your Constitution modifier
• Proficiencies:
  • Light and Medium armor, Shields, Simple and Martial weapons.
  • Strength and Constitution Saving Throws
  • Two skills from the following list: Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, Nature, Perception, and/or Survival
• Barbarians have the ability to Rage, becoming stronger and more durable.
  • You deal 2 extra damage with melee attacks, improvised weapons, and thrown objects.
  • You gain resistance to Physical damage, and Advantage on Strength checks and Saving Throws.
  • Rage ends immediately if you have not attacked or been damaged since your previous turn.
  • You cannot cast spells or concentrate on any you have ongoing while raging.
  • While wearing Heavy armor, you cannot Rage.
• While not wearing armor, you may add your Constitution modifier to your Armor Class.
  • You are allowed to use a shield.

Class Features at Higher Levels

• Hit Points at Later Levels: 7 + your Constitution modifier
• At level 2, a Barbarian gains Danger Sense, giving Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws provided you are not Blinded or Incapacitated.
• Also at level 2, a Barbarian may perform a Reckless Attack.
  • You gain Advantage on Attack rolls, but enemies gain Advantage on Attack rolls against you.
• At level 3, Barbarians gain an additional charge of Rage.
• Also at level 3, a Barbarian chooses their Primal Path, determining their subclass.
• At levels 4, 8 and 12, you can increase one of your Ability scores by 2, two Ability scores by 1, or choose a Feat, which can provide you bonuses to Ability scores and skills simultaneously.
• At level 5, Barbarians gain an Extra Attack in combat.
• Also at level 5, a Barbarian gains additional movement rate if they are not wearing Heavy armor.
• At level 6, you gain an additional use of Rage per long rest.
• *Not revealed yet.*

Subclasses

While all Barbarians experience a heightened anger, that doesn't mean it all stems from the same place. The source of their Rage determines the Path they walk down, of which there are three: the Berserker, the Wildheart, and Wild Magic.

• Berserkers choose violence. They don't care about their well-being; only the thrill of battle.
  • At level 3, your Rage becomes a Frenzy, granting you new attacks.
    
    • Frenzied Strike allows you to use a bonus action to attack with a melee weapon.
    • Enraged Throw allows you to pick up an item (or person) and launch it at a target.
  • *Not revealed yet.*
• Wildhearts are guided by a spirit animal, one that fills them with supernatural strength.
  • At level 3, Wildhearts gain the spell Speak with Animals.
  • Also at level 3, you must choose a Bestial Heart, each associated with a different animal and providing various benefits and abilities. You may swap to a different animal when you level up. 
    • Bear Heart: Your Rage makes you resistant to all damage except Psychic, and you have Unrelenting Ferocity to heal.
    • Eagle Heart: Your Rage places Disadvantage on Attacks of Opportunity against you, you may use Dash as a bonus action, and can Diving Strike onto enemies from above.
    • Elk Heart: Your Rage makes you extraordinarily fast, increasing your movement rate by 4.5 meters. Allows you to Primal Stampede, charging through enemies and damaging them.
    • Tiger Heart: Your Rage heightens your leaping ability, increasing your jump distance by 4.5 meters. Grants you Tiger's Bloodlust, which attacks up to 3 nearby enemies and inflicts Bleed.
    • Wolf Heart: Your Rage empowers your allies, granting Advantage to them if they attack enemies near you. Your Inciting Howl increases the movement rate of your allies by 3 meters during their next turn.
  • At level 6, you must choose an Animal Aspect, gaining an additional bonus.
    • Bear: Double carrying capacity and Advantage on Strength checks.
    • Chimpanzee: Resistance to falling damage and the ability to throw camp supplies to Blind enemies.
    • Crocodile: Movement speed is increased by 3 meters in water surfaces, and Advantage against falling on slippery surfaces.
    • Eagle: Darkvision up to 12 meters, and Advantage on Perception checks.
    • Elk: Can use Aspect of the Elk to increase the movement speed of allies and yourself by 1.5 meters.
    • Honey Badger: Passive 50% chance to start a free Rage when poisoned, frightened, or charmed.
    • Stallion: Using a Dash gives you temporary Hit Points equal to twice your level.
    • Tiger: Gain a bonus equal to your Strength modifier to Attack rolls against Bleeding or Poisoned enemies, plus Proficiency in Survival checks.
    • Wolf: Proficiency with Stealth checks, and an ability to add the party's Dexterity modifiers to their Stealth checks.
    • Wolverine: Attacking a Bleeding or Poisoned enemy will Maim it for 1 turn, making it unable to move.
• Wild Magic can affect beings that feel their emotions deeply; a Barbarian may be especially susceptible.
  • *Not revealed yet.*

Preferred Ability Scores

Barbarians want to hit stuff, and shrug off any attempts to hit them back. As such, Strength and Constitution are their go-to Abilities. Dexterity comes next for their Armor Class, as not all Barbarians wear armor - they might have the most Hit Points in the game, but there's no need to take damage if they can help it. Wisdom is nice to have for Perception checks, but not strictly necessary. Intelligence is ignored, and Charisma most likely ignored as well.

Multiclassing Suggestions

Barbarians don't necessarily need to Multiclass, as they get just about everything they might want naturally over time. "Hit things and absorb blows" is a straight-forward concept, and pure Barbarians get better and better at doing those two things. That said, there are options to consider if you want to add some flavor to your Raging.

Barbarian & Druid

Lets you cast some buffs or use healing before the fight begins, then activate Rage and Wild Shape together to really pulverize your enemies. If you want to become a ferocious animal of unparalleled savagery, this is the combination to do it.

Barbarian & Fighter or Paladin

Gives you access to more damage for little investment. Two levels of Fighter provide you Action Surge for an extra action, while two levels in Paladin come with Divine Smite and some healing magic. Either one will also grant you a Fighting Style.

Barbarian & Rogue

Is a strange pairing from a narrative perspective - your Rage shouting probably doesn't help your sneaking around. From a pure gameplay sense, the Barbarian has multiple ways to gain Advantage in melee combat, which lends itself well to activating Sneak Attacks.

More Baldur's Gate 3 Class Guides

Considering a different class? Choose one of the options below!

Baldur's Gate 3 Character Creation Guides

When you're ready to continue, head to one of the other sections of this guide; Background would be next!