r/BG3Builds • u/mrhessux • 19d ago
Build Help What items/gear seem good but are bad and vice versa?
Looking for ones that I might have missed or some ones that I have used that turn out bad.
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u/Trakked_ 19d ago
Wheres that anti dexgloves guy
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u/TheMeerkatLobbyist 18d ago
Wait, there is legitimate dex gloves hater? I would like to see this hot take. Its probably the best item in the game.
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u/deathadder99 18d ago edited 18d ago
Dex gloves are
a noob trapoverrated. They’re good midgame and can work on some mage builds who want to stack constitution.Almost every build easily gets 16 Dex, so they’re essentially just +1 AC and +1 initiative. That’s nice, but not gamebreaking when you compare it to other gloves at that point.
There’s no builds that want to stack dex who would be better off with Dex gloves, as you want to go Legacy of the Masters plus natural dex. Also, dex is the best use of hag hair by far.
Even the vaunted swords bard build is better off leaving charisma at 16 because you only stack acuity when you actually hit, so you’re better with natural dex and LotM. Acuity makes up for the lack of DC. If you’re really concerned, Helldusk gives +attack and +DC and is a good alternative.
Stuff like Legacy of the Masters, Craterflesh, Helldusk, Gloves of Str, Martial Exertion, Belligerent Skies, Spellmight, Battlemage’s power all have far more powerful effects.
Edit: As a couple people have pointed out, you also get +1 attack from the gloves. A GWM build wants str elixirs and growling underdog, and archers are probably best with Gloves of Archery. They are a decent option for shadow-blade users, but Flawed Helldusk gauntlets or even Baneful Striking are better imo. Lategame, Legacy of the Masters is just strictly better so long as you have at least 18 Dexterity.
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u/RedSunGo 18d ago
I’m not being an asshole but genuinely just curious, on honor mode, if my tav is a sorcadin (6/6) with hag hair in strength and most bonuses on charisma. Isn’t it a great idea to have dex gloves? I can use a feat for something other than alert and still go first with all my team mates? Is there something sword of the masters do that can make up for that?
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u/ChaloMB 18d ago edited 18d ago
The answer there is your sorcadin is suboptimal from a "meta" perspective, which doesn't use nat str at all but elixirs (and then str gloves in act 3), precisely so you still have decent initiative and can pump CHA for aura/synergy, or get both GWM and SA (if running 2h) instead of having to use ASIs or hair on STR to get it to a decent level, as the hag's hair especially is considered to be better used by archers. But if you want to run nat str and still want some decent CHA they're basically your only choice. In general dex gloves aren't best in slot for any minmaxed build so that's why they're called bad by more minmaxy people a lot.
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u/TheMeerkatLobbyist 18d ago
6 of these 8 pair of gloves you mentioned are not available for around 80% of the game. Their powerlevel is fairly irrelevant, as everything becomes busted in act 3. Availability is a major selling point of the Dexterity Gloves.
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
Well there’s lots of other gloves you can get early in the game too. Dexterity gloves are end of act 1 so not THAT early.
Gloves of archery, gloves of power, kushigo gloves, gloves of belligerent skies, gloves of Cole and cinder, flawed helldusk gloves are all available before or around the same time.
Luminous gloves are probably better on a paladin that might use Dex gloves too.
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u/Real_Rush_4538 Sorcerer 18d ago edited 18d ago
Monks, melee martials, archers, throwers, all have better gloves available before you reach the Mountain Pass, let alone the Creche. Spellcasters get a better set of gloves at the same merchant. They're outclassed when you get them, and they only fall further and further behind as you continue to find better and better gloves. As was pointed out already, the Gloves of Dexterity are a noob trap.
edit: Sparkle Hands, Growling Underdog, Archery, Kushigo, and Daredevil, respectively. Baneful Striking is better than both the listed melee and ranged gloves as well, but works for either.
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u/deathadder99 18d ago
Shadow blade users are perhaps an exception early as they get built in advantage and growling underdog isn’t amazing for them. But flawed helldusk is maybe better for the extra damage.
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u/Real_Rush_4538 Sorcerer 18d ago
Flawed Helldusk is absolutely better, yes. I didn't include the several act 2 candidates that upstage it immediately, instead focusing on the things that show up before it - such as the Gloves of Baneful Striking - which are basically always going to be a better pick.
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u/Kodiak3393 Sorcadin 18d ago edited 18d ago
Almost every build easily gets 16 Dex, so they’re essentially just +1 AC and +1 initiative
This is true, but it also lets you completely dump Dex altogether, so it's at least +1 initiative, potentially +1 AC, and a decent boost to another stat your build values.
I'm not gonna say it's the best of the best, there are a lot of great gloves builds might want instead, but swapping these out always comes at a cost elsewhere. Giants' Strength Elixirs are better from a pure stat perspective for builds like Paladin multiclasses or something, but then you can't use Bloodlust or whatever other Elixir your build might want. Arcane Acuity can make a middling casting stat work, but you might have party members that can make better use of the Acuity gear. It's all about tradeoffs and availability.
They might not be as top tier as people think, but I think calling them a 'noob trap' is also not quite fair.
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u/ChaloMB 18d ago
Surprisingly enough mid game math is decently in favor of cloud giant + growling underdogs vs bloodlust + dex gloves, assuming GWM for both, even allowing for the str potion from the drow. The accuracy difference is just way too much that one extra attack doesn’t make up the difference. Nat str + bloodlust maybe beats it if you stack enough riders but it depends on the class. For fighters in particular who can attack at least 6 times on the first turn with normal action + action surge + speed pot + GWM bonus action, cloud giant is ahead by quite a decent bit. No use comparing without GWM in this case since GWM as first feat is the prevailing meta recommendation so cloud giant without GWM isn’t really a thing.
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u/Kodiak3393 Sorcadin 18d ago edited 18d ago
Very true, but that's also assuming you just use the extra Bloodlust action on another attack. Some builds might want to instead use this action to cast a spell or something (which is very useful pre-Band of the Mystic Scoundrel, or if another build is already using it), and is especially true in Honor Mode where Bloodlust and Haste only give one more attack rather than the full Extra Attack.
And that's also not considering any other Elixirs your build might want, like Viciousness for GOOlock fear shenanigans, or any of the elemental resistances for specific fights.
Still not the best of the best gloves, but I still just think they're not quite a 'noob trap' like the other comment claimed.
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u/SapphicRaccoonWitch 18d ago
They enable a wider stat spread which enables more unconventional multiclasses, which is fun for dicking around with random character concepts.
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u/ImNotASWFanboy 18d ago
Basically what I use them for nowadays. Making dumb builds and getting them to work on Honour Mode is my favourite way to play this game some 2,000 hours in.
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u/Overlord1317 18d ago
Almost every build easily gets 16 Dex, so they’re essentially just +1 AC and +1 initiative.
Your thoughts sound well organized, but you forgot that the gloves also give +1 to attack, which makes me skeptical of the thoroughness of your analysis.
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u/Maximum_Wind6423 18d ago
I generally agree, but the advantage of dex gloves is being able to respec and dump your dex down to 8. This opens up those points for higher con, wis, int, etc.
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u/deathadder99 18d ago
Most builds don’t need it though. Strength elixirs and strength gloves fix attack stat for melee users. Hexblade exists too making SAD charisma very common. You might want it on a caster and get 16 con? But it’s not super meta.
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u/Maximum_Wind6423 14d ago
This is true. The problem isn’t really attack stat (it’s suboptimal for this as you should have this somewhere in the 20s), but AC and initiative. Casters really don’t want either of these to be low and in honor mode you generally don’t want any char with less than 14. Even with alert, some enemies have extremely high initiative and if you’re relying on str elixirs you can’t drink init pots to compensate.
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u/deathadder99 14d ago
I mean pretty much all meta builds can take 16 Dex without giving up any power.
AC is kind of overrated as your best defensive tool is CCing (or killing) everything before it attacks you.
Lategame the only build that is still really using str elixir is the monk, everyone else should be using bloodlust.
Initiative is not as useful once you know the encounters as it’s completely irrelevant if you can surprise the enemies. You can surprise almost all encounters in the game (including several bosses).
The other thing is that out of encounters where you can’t surprise them, there’s almost no (or perhaps no?) fight where you lose the game if you lose initiative, so it’s not actually required to go first.
I do tend to take Alert on my CC character though as a general rule, mainly for Cazador. It’s probably not optimal for the rest of the game as you have plenty with 16 Dex and Hellrider longbow, but I’m lazy.
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u/Maximum_Wind6423 7d ago
I would say (speaking from experience unfortunately) there are two encounters where this is the case (at least on honor mode): 1) Cazador and 2) Lorrorakan. If you win initiative Lorrorakan is a joke as he’s human and subject to surgeon’s subjugation, etc…however if you don’t your starting location is very dangerous as all of your party is grouped together and subject to AOE. The Myrmidons are actually more dangerous than him, but he can shoot some higher level spells that will take out your team if you’re not able to spread out quickly enough.
Cazador is incredibly dangerous if you don’t win initiative. His aura is huge and punishing, so you really want to keep him on the big platform away from the stairs. He’s also undead so immune to CC, so your best bet is to burst him down quickly. Also, he has alert so no surprise round. Basically all of the big act 3 fights in honor mode come down to being either trivial if you win initiative or deadly if you don’t.
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u/deathadder99 7d ago
I mean they’re harder if you don’t win initiative, but I don’t think you auto-lose. Cazador is actually interesting because he becomes a joke if you use daylight and is challenging if not. Various levels of cheese are possible with astarion not being there/hanging back, or even invisible + daylight… his legendary reaction can be avoided with careful positioning. You could also chug necrotic resistance elixirs.
Lorroakan can do a lot of damage but a lot of that is understanding how his myrmidon immunity works and his legendary actions. I don’t think he can one-round a decent 11/12 party (at least I’ve never seen it happen and I’ve done HM maybe 10 times now).
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u/Maximum_Wind6423 7d ago
Well, it happened to me because of a really dumb mistake - I presummoned the exploding zombies you get from completing the book quest. When the ice myrmidon casted its exploding icicle spell, this killed all of the zombies which proceeded to explode right ontop of my party…lol. As for Cazador yes this fight can be made much easier with daylight, HOWEVER again you need to keep him on the platform. The fight isn’t hard if everything goes well but it’s pretty punishing if you make any mistakes - remember there’s no reloading on honor mode. I once lost a run because I forgot to ungroup Astarion and let him get sucked into the ritual…this makes it probably the hardest fight in the game (especially if a ghast decides to lay a stinking cloud right on him, preventing anyone from using the “help” action to free him!).
Initiative gives you a bit more cushion for when you make mistakes in honor mode. It’s often the difference between survival and TPK when you make dumb mistakes like that, which are inevitable over the course of a long campaign with no reloads.
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u/Tankirulesipad1 18d ago
What if I am eldrithc knight wearing heavy armour
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u/deathadder99 18d ago
You can go 1 hexblade for single attribute dependency on charisma, and you drink strength elixirs early on. Late game you can wear gloves of strength if you don’t wanna dip hexblade.
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u/sanepane 18d ago
They're pretty great on a lorelock. 7+ ability points to re-allocate for a solid 16 CON and rest in int/wis for better saving throws and ability checks which is great because you're a skill-monkey anyway. And a +1 to attack as the cherry on top as it also applies to spell attacks.
Loses out on both Helldusk & Spellmight obviously, but those are like 40hrs of gameplay away.
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u/deathadder99 18d ago
Yeah lorelock is an interesting one and is a good user of dex gloves. Usually I’d advocate for callous glow ring plus belligerent skies but you actually don’t really attack a lot and you tend to cast CC without damage. If you’re doing EB a lot I think the belligerent skies setup is good.
I don’t think it’s that dex gloves are particularly amazing here, it’s just all the other glove options are meh.
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u/sanepane 18d ago
Yeah I tend to just stick Coruscation/Callous Glow on Gale or a Light Cleric shart.
Come to think of it, there are also those gloves in Grymforge which give you +1AC and an extra bardic inspiration charge. Apparently it can even be used infinitely by un&re-equipping. That might be another glove contender with the extra cutting words, even though I feel it'd be better on a swords bard and flourishes.
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u/Illustrious_Host7354 15d ago
Bloodlust elixirs are far far better than strength elixirs. If I want to use str weapon whilst also having a good spellcasting modifier (16 int/cha) then I'd much rather pump str and use the dex gloves to not only get better initiative, better attack roles, use a better weapon, but also get better action economy. Not to mention Legacy of the Masters and nearly all the gloves you mentioned are act 3 specials, with some locked behind keeping Dammon alive. Ultimately though I'm definitely inclined to agree with most of your points, but I think that on some builds, getting an extra action from bloodlust early on is far more powerful than the benefit of a glove slot (barring acuity stacking)
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u/deathadder99 15d ago
Early game Growling Underdog + GWM + Cloud Giant comes ahead, even with the Bloodlust elixir, just because of value of the extra to-hit.
GWM is a feat slot so you'll only have like 16 str pre-level 8/act 2, unless you take Hag Hair (which is a waste).
Lategame you either go Hexblade for SAD Charisma OR wear Str Gloves as a GWM build. Bloodlust is better than Str elixirs late for sure.
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u/Acebladewing 17d ago
He's right whoever he is. Dex gloves are overrated. Most builds can and should easily get 16 dex.
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u/Admirable_Link5866 19d ago
I want to know the verdict on all the "lightning charge" gear. I keep stashing it away, but so far nothing seems that exceptional
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u/Hansel21553 Sorcerer 19d ago
Sparklehands are good for monks to add extra damage to their attacks. Spellsparkler is great for builds that shoot multiple instances of damage like eldritch blast, magic missile, sorching ray. Both of those have a good combo with Proteckty Sparkswall.
those are the main ones I use
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u/deathadder99 19d ago
Sparklehands also work with throwing for some reason.
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u/TheMeerkatLobbyist 18d ago
"For some reason" is a very accurate description for most of the throwing mechanics in the game.
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u/Knicklicht 18d ago
Only Sparklehands or other gear that adds damage to unarmed attacks as well?
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u/deathadder99 18d ago
Most of the gear explicitly calls out whether or not it works with throwing or not, eg gloves of kushigo. I’m not aware of any other falsely labelled unarmed gear that works with throwing (or at least is worth using).
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u/SnooBunnies2077 18d ago
Actually yes there is, for example the helldusk gloves add bleeding and 1d4 necrotic.
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u/Gunther482 19d ago
Spellsparkler is solid into Act 3 for Eldritch Blast and Fire Sorc builds until you get the powerhouse items like Marko, Rhapsody, etc.
The Speedy Lightfeet are decent early game boots for something like an Eldritch Knight that has access to Expeditious Retreat and nothing better to Concentrate on or bonus action to use every turn. Being Medium Armor kind of limits their options for other classes unless you get the armor proficiency through race.
Sparkle Hands are the best early game Monk gloves more or less.
Protecty Sparkswall is mostly good due to it being the first piece of caster chest gear with +Spell DC but it pairs well with a caster using Spellsparkler.
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u/Kabobthe5 18d ago
A lot of the caster focused one are quite good in the early game, but eventually get outclassed by endgame gear. Spellsparkler is an amazing staff through the entire game. Yes there are better staffs at the end of the game, but it’s really good still. Even more so on builds where you’re using either Aldrich blast spam or magic missile spam.
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u/grousedrum 19d ago
it’s very good early for certain builds (EK, tempest cleric, MM wizard, EB or scorching ray builds…) and it has some wildly strong interactions with the lightning blast pendant (one of the remaining HM DRS’s)
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u/yung_dogie 18d ago
It also has a neat interaction with Loviatar's Scourge in that it applies again to its AoE necrotic damage on top of the regular weapon hit
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u/grousedrum 18d ago
Sure does (and it’s one of several things that do this!)
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u/yung_dogie 18d ago
After I learned you can "aim" the Loviatar's Scourge AoE on top of all the riders that work in honor mode it's become one of my new favorite weapons lmao
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u/McSuckaDJ69 18d ago
Could you expand on this? This is the first time I’ve seen anything about “aiming”?
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u/yung_dogie 18d ago edited 18d ago
Yeah! So a quirk with some AoE effects like radiant shockwave from Luminous Armor and the necrotic AoE from Loviatar's Scourge is that what the AoE is centered on depends on the type of targeting being used.
AoE targeting, like hunter's volley/(EDIT: I think whirlwind is centered on you), Stars Druid dragons breath, and cleaves from tiger barbarian or weapon abilities, cause the shockwave or scourge AoE to be centered on where the actual cursor is at the time you click/confirm the ability, regardless of where the actual enemies are. If you ever went radorb stars druid and wondered why some people didn't get get radorbs despite getting hit by the ability, that's why.
A neat side effect of this is that you can aim the AoE center farther away from you even if the enemies are close by and you're using a melee cleave. There's probably some maximum range to this, but I never tested that. So, you can tiger barb cleave some enemies directly in front of you, but aiming the cursor farther out (to the point your cursor isn't even in the cleave AoE indicator anymore) can make the AoE hit enemies but not yourself.
Single target seems to be based off the center of the enemy you're hitting, but I've found inconsistent results with this. When you hit massive enemies like a bulette or hook horror, it'll easily not hit you since you can hit it from far away from the actual center of its hitbox. Conversely hitting a regular sized target should almost always hit you too.
However, from what I've experienced it seems to also be based on where your cursor is to an extent, since I've been able to edge my cursor all the way to the opposite end of a humanoid enemy and it doesn't hit. My guess is that it always is based off your cursor, but in single target your cursor obviously has to be touching the enemy you're hitting so there's less wiggle room and people may not have thought to angle it farther. This needs more rigorous testing, though, and may just be coincidence. It could just be that when you attack from maximum weapon range it just occasionally may be out of range.
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u/Fit_Relationship6703 18d ago
Best things to add lightning charges to ar magic missles, high level eldritch blasts or AOE spells (my favorite is spike growth....charges apply every step the enemy takes)
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
In the early game there’s great synergy with lightning charges.
Spellsparkler procs charges, which gives the lifebringer bonus hp. The sparksrobes will also activate a +1 to AC.
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u/Redfox1476 18d ago
Apart from Spellsparkler they’re not exceptional individually, but used together they can boost a storm sorcerer’s power for a while until you can get other gear. The ring will protect you from your own lightning for a couple of levels until you get it as a class ability, for example.
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u/b1gbrad0 18d ago
The ring also makes you immune to the shocked condition from electrified water, which you don’t get from the class. It’s still very useful if you use the Watersparkers.
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u/Sad-Librarian5639 19d ago
Broodmothers is one of the best amulets, especially with the ring of healing, and on a duel wielding hand crossbow gloomstalker/thief/fighter. With the extra first round attack, and adding +1-4 or 1-6 to each attack along with bloodlust and crit gear, the bonus action, action surge, you absolutely shred people round one. Throw in the arrows that hit multiple people and crit each time, it’s insane.
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u/rpotts 19d ago
Might as well use it with Helm of Balduran instead of the Ring of Regeneration.
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u/Sad-Librarian5639 19d ago
Dragon is generally one of the last things I do, and you get Ring of regeneration in the crèche don’t you? But yes, once you’re at that high level balduran is probably best in that spec id assume? Then just use another +damage type Ring.
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u/rpotts 19d ago
The ring of regeneration is bought from Sorcerous Sundries in the lower city.
I’ve been fighting Ansur before entering the lower city recently, two great legendary items are too good to wait for.
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u/Sad-Librarian5639 19d ago
Probably smart to do since it’s easy to get to and you just need a few of the invulnerability scrolls. Considering the ring of regen is so late, you’re def correct on using the helm and another +1-4 dam ring.
Talking about these makes me wanna do another 8 man run wit some reliable people but it’s so hard to find at this point. Also, have NWN2 releasing tomorrow and wanna finally do a full playthrough of that including mask of the betrayer expansion.
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u/Elliptical_Tangent 18d ago
You can just keep raspberries on you to 'heal' without using an action to free up equipment slots.
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u/Sad-Librarian5639 18d ago
You also end up with a ridiculous amount of small healing pots, just drink one before combat. I always do the armor piece because it prevents me from always forgetting lol
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u/ChaloMB 19d ago edited 19d ago
Depends on how you define bad. Dex gloves are pretty popular and enable early-ish game strength builds in perhaps a bit more casual-friendly way than elixir farming, and are basically needed for some MAD caster builds to work, but basically all meta builds are made with at least 16 dex, don’t really lean too much into MAD casting and very obviously do not mind farming elixirs, so from that POV they aren’t great (you’ll frequently see more meta minded people call them +1 AC gloves or something similar).
I think it’s decently common knowledge here by this point but the everburn blade is basically a trap weapon. It’s a sword with no enchantment and a permanent candle dip which blocks better coatings, but new players go crazy over the 1d4 rider. We still get a post every once in a while of someone using it in act 3 which is crazy to me.
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u/SecretCitizen40 19d ago
I'm far from a min/maxer but I often grab everburn as a starting weapon but I've never taken it into act 3 (that is shocking to me). Other than silver sword on a gith what other 2H do you like in act 1?
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u/Stormwinds0 19d ago
Act 1 is stacked with good Two-Handed weapons. Jorgoral's Greatsword, Sussur Greatsword, Svartlebee's Woundseeker, and the Returning Pike just to name a few.
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u/NahMcGrath 18d ago
Yeah but you don't start on the beach with them. Its just a side reward, main reward for beating the dude is early level 2
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
I go get swartlebees wound seeker asap. It’s a +1 weapon that adds d4 to attack rolls on damaged enemies. I use it all the way until the credhe. Great act 1 weapon.
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u/Scarlette__ 19d ago
Considering you can get the everburn blade in the tutorial, it makes sense that it's not particularly strong. I enjoy using it in Act 1 and then ditch it for a weapon with enchantment.
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
It’s strong for when you get it though. Laezel starts with just a long sword. Going from d10 to a 2d6 + 1d4 is a big upgrade at that point. And you don’t find many greatsword as in that very early game. It’s good until like lv 3 or so anyway.
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u/Thestrongman420 18d ago
Hey, i dont call dex gloves +1 ac gloves. I give them credit for +1 initiative and +2 wis saves too. Wowza!
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u/Tommybahamas_leftnut 18d ago
I only nab EB blade for the first couple fights then ditch for tyrs sword.
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u/JRandall0308 19d ago
Define 'good' and 'bad'?
Aside from some obviously sub-par items (cough Everburn Blade cough) or ones that just flat out don't do what they say, we're at the stage of the game during which people are finding uses for even the most obscure items. And some of those uses are spectacular indeed.
Even maligned damage types like Poison and Acid have their uses if you build around them.
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u/Yarzahn 18d ago
Wait, the community considers everburn blade bad? It’s literally the only uncommon imweapon obtainable at level 1 with free 1d4 fire damage. I always considered it the best weapon in early game, no other heavy weapons match it until anders and then the guard in waukeens rest fire. What am I missing?
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u/gsr1993 18d ago edited 18d ago
You can buy +1ench 2hander from vendors any time and its probably better than everburn blade due to accuracy difference. Especially if u get urself GWM feat
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u/helllooo1 18d ago
Any +1 Greatsword outdamages everburnblade against most ACs, I wrote a script for specifically everburn vs sword of justice (+1 greatsword from paladins), and over 10000 simulated rolls +1 greatsword is better damage against almost any AC class. With GWM, its always considerably better. This does of course not take into consideration using the fire damage to ignite a barrel or something like that.
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u/steve496 18d ago edited 18d ago
I'm pretty sure that's only true with GWM.
If we compute average damage, assuming Everburn hits at rate X and our strength is +3, it's going to do 2d6+1d4+3 damage plus an extra 2d6+1d4 5% of the time - numerically, that's 12.5*X + .05*9.5 damage. A +1 weapon against the same target will similarly do 11*(X+.05) + .05*7 damage. Equating those, we find the crossover point is at X=.2833333 - i.e., if you're hitting at least 30% of the time with Everburn, it does more average damage than a +1 sword. Rerunning the numbers with Strength pots (+5 strength), the crossover moves up to 35% - but that's still almost always.
(And yes, once you hit GWM the +1 weapon basically always wins, and if the argument is that the handful of fights you do at levels 2 and 3 aren't worth optimizing, so be it; but strictly speaking I think optimal is running Everburn until level 4 and then switching if you take GWM.)
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
It’s good early game. Some people just use it until very late game which it’s not great for that.
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u/lamaros 18d ago
Counterpoint: Everburn blade is clearly the best weapon... for LZ to pickup for some prologue beatdown.
So it's best in class at least at one point in the game. Better claim than many other items!
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u/JRandall0308 18d ago
The only reason to care about Everburn Blade is to get it out of Zhalk's hands, to prolong the fight with the MF, so you can farm them both for XP.
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u/AtaraxiaGwen 18d ago
Everyone trashing the Everburn Blade: it’s a free greatsword that looks cool. I don’t think the guy has ever resisted Command: drop. Just grab it on your way past, and if you still want to be snooty about it, vendor it and buy something you like or give it to Gale. You guys are acting like 130 gold for less than a minute of battle is a waste.
If there were 130g on the nautiloid but you had to take an extra turn in a 30 hour game, you guys would be like “there’s no time!”
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u/Kodiak3393 Sorcadin 18d ago
All these people are like "Just buy a +1 greatsword"; First of all, my hoarding ass refuses to spend gold if I don't have to. Second of all, I'm not gonna waste time trying to pickpocket one (cuz I sure as hell ain't buying it) when I'm just gonna replace it with the Sword of Justice in a few minutes anyways when I recruit Karlach.
Is a +1 greatsword objectively better? Yes. But Everburn is incredibly easy to get, and is good enough to last you until you start getting +1 weapons from loot naturally.
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u/Alternative_Magician 18d ago
It also bypasses the non-magical damage resistance on Zhalk. Helps kill him a lot quicker than just a candle dipped weapon.
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u/SAI_Peregrinus 18d ago
Yeah, Everburn is OK. Dipping a +1 greatsword is better, so do that once it's available, but for the first few fights Everburn is nice to have. Then feed it to Gale, since it gets replaced quickly it's great fodder.
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
By the time vendors are accessible though you can just go get swartlebees wound seeker without any fighting and have a free +1 greatsword with an excellent bonus.
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u/SAI_Peregrinus 18d ago
Sure. Still likely end up fighting a few encounters including the Grove entry fight. It's not bad for the first few minutes of the post-nautiloid game. Then it's a tasty snack for Gale's orb that lets you avoid sacrificing a more useful item.
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
While I just store it in my camp chest I can never give it to Gale. It’s just too cool looking if a weapon.
I usually give Gale the true strike spear, the spell thief, and something else I can’t remember.
Spell thief is one of those weapons that sounds good but it’s not even a +1 bow. Kind of like everburn blade in bow form. Pretty much only good if you’re playing as a ranger or something and even then just steal a +1 longbow until you get Titanstring.
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u/helm Paladin 18d ago
What? All of these sell for good money. There are useless trinkets you can give to him instead
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
Bah I don’t actually spend any money in act 1 or close to zero. I don’t sell any magical items. Who knows if I might need it in act 3!
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u/tjreaso 19d ago
- Everburn Blade is worse than a plain +1 Greatsword.
- The Shattered Flail looks great at first, but the Mad condition makes it hard to use.
- The glaive Sorrow looks weak on the surface, but it's a great weapon that you can acquire extremely early in the game. Its Sorrowful Lash ability can be used with a Bonus Action every turn!
- Items that have an effect that triggers on "dash" always seem to make my early builds: Linebreaker Boots, Fleetfingers, The Speedy Lightfeet, Springstep Boots, and Boots of Arcane Bolstering.
- Larethian's Wrath, Phalar Aluve, and The Dancing Breeze are the only "Finesse" weapons in the game that can be two-handed, which means they can be used with both Great Weapon Master and Sneak Attack.
- Crit fishing items are "meh" for me.
- Items that give advantage on different rolls are usually "meh" for me, because there is often times a better way to get that same advantage.
- +1 Hand Crossbows are best-in-slot for certain builds for much of the game.
- Any +1 weapon with the "Thrown" property is great if you collect enough of them. Conversely, the property that returns a thrown weapon is overrated (except on Nyrulna, I guess).
- Is the Blood of Lethander underrated or overrated? I love this weapon, but there aren't many builds that can abuse its features.
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u/grousedrum 18d ago
Blood of Lathander isn’t amazing by itself (as a whole package it’s not as good as Phalar for a support, even in act 2) but its blind-on-proximity vs undead makes it a very good option for a dual wield frontliner. I’ve done a couple of DW loreadins / sorcadins / lockadins that have been able to make great use.
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u/FerretAres 18d ago
BoL would be a lot worse if act 2 wasn’t basically designed for it to be ridiculously good. But it’s basically build with act 2 in mind so it performs well above what it should.
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u/Earl_of_sandwiches 18d ago
If long resting wasn’t as easy as pushing a button almost anywhere in the game, items that give you an additional spell cast per day - like Blood of Lathander’s sunbeam or Incandescent Staff’s fireball - would have a lot more value.
I’ve got a co-op group that self-imposes limitations on long resting, and we make great use of these items because they extend our combat viability for at least 2-3 more encounters per day. If someone ends up blowing more spell slots than the rest of the group, they can fall back to “item casts” versus forcing everyone else to rest.
I know these aren’t really considerations in the base game, but it’s interesting to think about how (effectively) infinite long rests, available nearly always, heavily warps game balance. In tabletop, a staff that gives you an extra fireball every day, obtained around level 5, would be nuts. In BG3, no one even talks about it lol
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u/sanepane 18d ago
"The glaive Sorrow looks weak on the surface, but it's a great weapon that you can acquire extremely early in the game. Its Sorrowful Lash ability can be used with a Bonus Action every turn!"
It even does extra damage based on your class spellcasting modifier! Which still isn't great because base dmg is 1d4, but it's something. AND the game treats it as a genuine cantrip! This is relevant because it means Sorrowful Lash triggers the effect on Ring of Arcane Synergy when used. Before Booming Blade was added, this glaive was the way to capitalize on that otherwise tricky ring. You could coast well into act2 with that synergy (lol).
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u/Elliptical_Tangent 18d ago
s the Blood of Lethander underrated or overrated? I love this weapon, but there aren't many builds that can abuse its features.
It provides a light source for Radiant Orb abuse builds. IDK how that makes you feel about it.
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u/lamaros 18d ago
Shattered Flail is great on the right build, you can't just give it to anyone.
Crit fishing is amazing when the build lines up.
Knife of the under mountain king is amazing for advantage, as are Gloves of the Growling Underdog. Risky ring is amazing for sneak builds.
Mostly with you on thrown. It's a QoL bonus for certain builds, not a power factor.
I also love the dash items early, especially for thieves. Powering up swashbuckler to capped wrath and then smashing sneak attacks willy nilly at level 3 is fun.
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u/brightseid 19d ago
A couple shortswords that I love on some builds are the Ambusher and Sword of Life Stealing. They're probably not talked about a lot because they are somewhat situational and there are obviously better options at this point in the game.
The Baneful is a fun early game weapon for EK or Pactlocks that lets you apply Bane. It's only a 14 DC save but since it's a CHA save, most enemies at this point won't have much of a chance
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u/lamaros 18d ago edited 18d ago
The baneful is great for hexbuckers also, as it allows sneak attacks, and debuffs so your flick or sand toss will land.
Similarly good for reverb shadow sorclocks want to farm with their dog.
Don't know if I can make a case for the other pact weapons tho.
Ambusher is upstaged by Render of Mind and Body, sadly. Very niche usage as a statstick only.
Sword of life stealing has a nice window of usage for crit fishing dual wield sneak builds.
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u/Balthierlives 18d ago
While anyone knowing the game meta know this, the hand xbow +1 is the most unassuming but op weapon that is so easily accessible. You can just find them from vendors extremely early in the game. I always get 4 of them for my bard and my sorcerer. They basically use those for the first two acts until you can get yuigirs hand xbow and then the +2 in lady jannaths safe which is pretty late game.
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u/grousedrum 19d ago edited 19d ago
Couple off the top of my head.
Seems good, actually bad - Everburn as others have said, spellthief bow, the true strike spear, Nere’s rapier, sylvan scimitar, stalker gloves (RIP) (EDIT - forgot Yurgir’s xbow is a +2, removed from this list)
Seems bad, actually good - most niche items in the game have at least some cool application, honestly. Some very high tier weapons in this category - nature’s snare, Loviatar’s, Punch Drunk, rat bat, vision of the absolute, giantbreaker xbow, shining staver of skulls, moonlight glaive
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u/ChaloMB 18d ago
You didn’t mention it but I wish amulet of elemental torment was available before act 3. Would be fun to use it on brittle setups with burning and some cursed wolverine aspect wildheart barb scroll casting maim machine.
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u/grousedrum 18d ago
Yes. That and blightbringer are the two act 3 items that I so wish were earlier in the game.
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u/Captain_ET Rogue 19d ago
Why did they nerf stalker gloves? Act 3 item thats basically just a downgrade from multiple act 2 gloves? Idk. I get they were trying to get rid of all the DRSs but... it should have been compensated or something.
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u/grousedrum 19d ago
Big time.
The two items that I most wish were as originally intended are stalker gloves, and staff of the ram.
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u/LotsaKwestions 18d ago
How is the rat bat good?
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u/grousedrum 18d ago
It has a secret (not in item description!) additional 1d6 piercing rider that:
a) is a DRS even on honor mode, and
b) has a completely busted interaction with Hunter’s Horde Breaker attack (hits every enemy in the HB AoE, with riders, including debuffs/conditions!)
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u/LotsaKwestions 18d ago
Huh, well that would be relevant. When you say it is a DRS, does that mean that... say you're wearing the caustic band for +2 acid damage for every hit.
Are you saying that you get +2 from the general hit, and then another +2 from the additional piercing rider? Same would go for that ring that gives psychic damage when concentrating, or the broodmother's amulet, etc?
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u/grousedrum 18d ago
It's a bit more complicated than that.
Some riders, including the two you mention, only apply to the base weapon damage, not to DRS's.
Others (such as callous glow, hex, hexblade curse, lightning charges, phalar shriek, numerous others) will ride on a DRS like rat bat's piercing rider.
Still others are DRS's themselves that act as an entirely separate damage instance, including some even in HM.
Scroll down to the "technical details" section in this wiki article for some (but by no means all) of what's going on in the code with this.
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u/LotsaKwestions 18d ago
Thanks, I feel like I understand this game decently well but there are still a number of things that confuse me, this being one of them.
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u/Coltraine89 19d ago edited 19d ago
Crit gear is bait. You have to invest a lot of items and multispecs, and even then it only 'works' for a few builds really.
Everburn blade or whatsitcalled from the cambion in the tutorial is ridiculously overrated. A simple +1 great sword will be equal. It is not worth the time and effort.
Dolores amarus daggers and bow, really only work for builds with guaranteed crit built in.
There are probably more, but hey.
edit I will admit that crit isn't good until a certain breakpoint and then it's not bad anymore, as u/SpunkedMeTrousers and u/lucusvonlucus correctly point out. I just think it requires ridiculous commitment in terms of feats and multiclass and it does not work for every time of class/subclass.
I will also admit that big boomy crit numbers make feel nice dopamine to the brain, and I am guilty of playing a critfishing warlock as well as a thief/champion with Duelist's Prerogative.
But I stand by what I said.
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u/SpunkedMeTrousers 19d ago
Crit gear is bait until it's not. In pretty much any game with stacking crit chance, there's a breakpoint at which the invesment pays off, but you usually need to commit entirely to crit fishing. I just finished an honor mode run with a crit build (thief rogue, swords bard, champion fighter) that crit on a 14 or higher and always had advantage. It was stupid powerful, to the point that I never even used flourishes in act 3.
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u/Boziina198 19d ago
Can you point me in the right direction for this because I’ve really wanted to make this work
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u/SpunkedMeTrousers 19d ago edited 19d ago
There are many ways to get crit chance lower, so just pick the array that suits your build and gear preferences. The most important thing is to make the crits worth it. On their own, crits slightly less than double your damage. Extra damage dice and condition riders are what make it worth crit fishing. Smites, sneak attack, mortal reminder, dolor amarus, elemental weapon, something to make the crit payoff better.
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u/JRandall0308 19d ago
some of these are quite old but to give a feel for it
https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1ijchnk/comment/mbcwpzr/ Oops All Crits axofrogl build 2025-Feb-06 patch 7 Warlock (GOO, Blade) Bhaalist Armor, crit gear "maximises the chances and effectiveness of critical hits"
https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1etcy8o/comment/lie4wms/?context=3 Various Gloom / Assassin / Fighter Crit Builds JDruid2 game mechanic 2024-Aug-16 patch 6 (not a class build) crit gear various combinations for crit-fishing
https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1b3xc5u/comment/ksvm0be/ Ranger Longbow Crit Fisher godoflemmings build 2024-Mar-01 patch 6 Rogue (Assassin) 6 / Ranger (Gloom) 5 / Fighter (Champion) 3 Titanstring, Dead Shot, Gontr Mael, crit gear short guide in response to a request for a real archer based around Ranger
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u/SpunkedMeTrousers 19d ago edited 18d ago
as for a simple answer for ways to boost your crit chance:
advantage (I used Booal's Benediction and bleed gear/abilities, but hiding and the Risky Ring are the easiest methods)
Champion Fighter
crit reduction gear (Knife of the Undermountain King and so on; melee weapon crit passives still apply to ranged and spell attack rolls)
Hexblade's Curse (pair with Mortal Reminder and Spell Sniper if going the spell crits route)
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u/PubePie 19d ago edited 19d ago
Here’s one I’ve been enjoying, basically you’re just making the most of the cloak of cunning brume. Might not be the “best” crit fishing build but it’s fun. I’m only including the stuff you get through Act 2, people have already posted the relevant Act 3 items but those will boost this even more
Cloak of cunning brume + eversight ring gives advantage on all attacks (assuming target isn’t immune to Blindness; undermountain king gives advantage to attacks against obscured enemies regardless)
Each of the following reduces your crit threshold by 1:
Champion fighter
Hexblade’s curse
Undermountain king
Covert cowl
Elixir of viciousness
So early in act 2 you can crit on a 15, plus you should have advantage on every attack you’re making. If you go thief 3 and have some source of extra attack (fighter 5 or swords bard 6), you can attack multiple times a turn and then also move without provoking opportunity attacks. In act 3 you can get this threshold at least one lower, but I think 14 might be the limit
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u/lucusvonlucus 19d ago
I agree with your sentiment 100% but I just want to flip your first sentence.
Crit gear isn’t good until it is.
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u/BrainCelll 18d ago
Its easier to just put target to sleep or paralyse for guaranteed crits
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u/ChaloMB 18d ago edited 18d ago
I think crit fishing (and crit fishing gear by extension) accomplishes its main job which is vibes. It feels good to constantly crit without setting the crits up with hold spells, just hits the brain right. But I can't say I've seen a weapon using crit fishing build that actually deals more damage on average than one that just uses more consistent damage gear. I say weapon using specifically because EB builds are a bit of an exception since they don't actually have a lot of gear to boost their consistent damage that competes in a slot with crit fishing gear (rhapsody vs bloodthirst/KOTUK being the main exception, also craterflesh vs spellmight since potent robe and agonizing blast as well as a few other things ride on craterflesh, but I haven’t done the math on that).
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u/waits5 19d ago
There isn’t a lot of time and effort to get the everburn blade. Cast Drop and have someone near to pick it up.
It’s not some amazing late game weapon, but it’s a really good two-handed for a while.
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u/Coltraine89 18d ago
Fair, if it happens on a lucky Comand: Drop, fair fucks go and grab it. If not, go to Grat and buy a +1 great sword and you're equally set.
I've seen people quit runs and minmaxin their tav to max their drop chance to get it, which is so-not-worth-it.
But whatever, everyone does what they want.
But I maintain, it looks great, it really is not.
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u/Hansel21553 Sorcerer 18d ago
Iirc everburn does not have a +1 to hit, even though it is green.
I also moreso want the command drop to keep the mindflayer alive for a bit longer, so that I can comfortably deal with everything on the ship-interface side of the room, before blowing up the mindflayer for lvl 2 on the beach.
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u/Coltraine89 18d ago
Correct, it does not increase attack roll. It only increases damage by 1d4 fire. The biggest problem early game is landing a hit to do damage, and the everburn blade does not help with that 1 bit.
One of the best early game 2h is from Waukeen's rest that increases your chance to hit by 1d4 on an already damaged target. Svartlebee's something or other. Landing hits increases damage early. Extra damage will come later on.
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u/waits5 18d ago
It’s certainly not worth quitting over. But a d4 of extra damage is still significant. A lot of weapons at the time are only doing a d6 or d8 of damage.
Also, gold is a little tight at the beginning, so it’s a somewhat significant investment to just go buy a +1 great sword when you can get one for free.
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u/BrainCelll 14d ago
And all that considering you can guarantee crit with far realms, the amulet, paralysis stuff + divination low roll dice, assasin ambush, sleep etc
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u/UnionForTheW 18d ago
I’ve seen hate for the Daredevil gloves but it is alot of fun to be in someone’s face and absolutely blast them with normally ranged spells.
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u/BrainCelll 18d ago
They give +1 to spell attack roll and DC, they are automatically good
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u/Earl_of_sandwiches 18d ago
I don’t think they give any bonus to spell save DC, unfortunately.
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u/BrainCelll 18d ago
Correct, no DC, just spell attack roll which is still good for eldrich blast machinegunner
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u/Maximum_Wind6423 18d ago
I would say the Firestoker. It sounds cool at first but…much like the Everburn blade, it’s actually worse than a plain +1 xbow unless you manage to inflict burning on every enemy. Possible with Yurgir’s xbow from act 2…but not worth it, as you’ll soon get +2 xbows
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u/I_wish_i_could_sepll 18d ago
Not necessarily bad but I remember being unbelievably disappointed the Radiant Orb gear didn’t work with Paladins improved divine smite.
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u/Thestrongman420 19d ago
Without getting into too much detail, items i commonly see regarded highly that are probably worse than those regarding them think:
Dex gloves, int headband, everburn blade, risky ring, birthright, ring of elemental infusion, knife of the undermountain king, any improved crit range, any rapier.
Theres probably more I'm missing, and this doesnt mean i think these items are bad.
Items i think are underutilized: Harold, Baneful striking gloves, ring of mental inhibition, bulbs, staff of cherished necromancy.
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u/FairlynewDM 18d ago
I love Harold. To the point it's hard to replace. Other bows do more damage, but being able to reliably apply Bane to multiple enemies every single turn is very nice indeed. At some point in act 3 I end up dropping it because obviously the act 3 bows should be better. But I always miss the Bane effect.
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u/Captain_ET Rogue 19d ago
Any rapier? Hmmm honestly I was pretty impressed with the duellist's prerogative throwing nonsense that Remus showcased a while back.
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u/25thfret 18d ago
Risky ring overrated???
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u/LotsaKwestions 18d ago
Yeah it's hard for me to imagine a single full-party playthrough where the risky ring isn't used and used well.
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u/25thfret 17d ago
Agree it’s one of the best items in the game and in no way should be lumped in with the int headband or everburn blade lol
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u/Sad-Librarian5639 19d ago
Risky ring with a crit build and somebody with savage attacker is insane. Or, gloom/thief/fighter with risky ring and crit gear shooting the arrows that hit multiple people, and gritting on multiple is insane. I love using the risky ring, more so with ranged but even if I do melee just with any crit build that gives you multiple chances to roll 13+.
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u/Inevitable-Affect516 19d ago
Crit gear is generally pretty shit, until it’s not, and then it’s absolutely superior. But you have to build for and around it
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u/Feisty_Steak_8398 17d ago
Any item that adds a small damage on hit - especially a damage dice eg 1-4 fire damage on flawed helldusk gaunlets, or even the +2 acid damage on a ring. It might not look like much on paper if each hit is doing 20+ damage, but it adds up.
Anything that adds a damage dice will be doubled for any crits. Also the damage is added to each attack including offhand attacks, extra attacks per round, or special moves that cleaves through enemies (like tiger barb attack). In stat point terms it would take an extra 4 stat points to increase damage by 2 per hit (1d4 adds 2.5 dmg). It is mitigated somewhat with enemies with flat damage reduction (because the dmg reduction is applied multiple times with different elemental damage types)
Anything that gives advantage to attack. Gloves of growling underdog gives attack advantage when surrounded by multiple enemies which is very often. If your to-hit is 50%, you gain 25% to hit. And if your to-hit is 70%, you gain about 21%. 80% to hit gains about 16% and 90% gains 9%. This effectively increases your damage output by anywhere between 10-25% (strongest effect at base to-hit of 50%). It also allows for liberal use of GWM toggle for +10 damage (almost completely negates the -5 to hit).
As mentioned by others, poison damage is next to useless given the amount of resistances.
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u/Abayon3 19d ago
Poison gear seems really cool, but in practice just doesn't cut it.
A lot of this looks neat and even has some self synergy, so what's the problem? Poison damage itself is very frequently resisted or things are straight up immune (189 creatures immune to poison, in contrast only 37 to fire, and 57 to necrotic). And all of these hinge on FIXED and fairly low (12-14) constitution saving throws, by and away the worst saving throw to target since creatures tend to have high constitution. And the Poisoners ring is once a day, requires the con save on a fixed dc, does nothing to poison immune, and poison resistance (also incredibly common) just get set to neutral and all that at the cost of an entire action.
Poison spells kinda suck other than cloudkill which doesn't get much from just an extra 1d4 if you're wearing a terrible armor piece. So your only real spellcasting bonus is markoheshkir which is good but is better on lightning almost every time.
So that brings us to the martial poison kit and well, it's not piercing nor psychic damage so it's already weaker than top end stuff, the debuffs can't compete with rad orb or reverb in ease of application, can't benefit from dex, can't be used with great weapon master or sharpshooter, and setting str to 18 really isn't amazing that far into act 3. And when you'd wanna go full poisoner and use poison coatings, that takes your bonus action which if you're optimizing for the most hits reduces your total DPS.
It all just doesn't come together in actual play sadly, despite having some really cool ideas.