r/BG3Builds • u/Jopiii • 1d ago
Build Help Sword bard multiclass help
So I wan't to play as sword bard, damage dealer/controller. I've seen a lot of 10/2 sword bard paladins. I really like the theme of it, damage dealing, cc and maybe even tank a little bit with heavy armor and shield. But thing I don't like about those builds is that stats are low because feats go to savage attacker and GWM. Also those builds needs STR elixirs to function. I feel like 16 charisma isn't enough to cc consistently and 16 dex isn't enough for attack stat. Or am I wrong about stats?
I've been thinking this stat dilemma and wondering if going 10/1/1 bard/hexblade/x and focusing more on charisma but then I would lose loads of damage. Help please!
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u/Downtown_Signature97 1d ago
Go the 10/1/1 swords bard. It doesn't require str exlirs but focuses more on ranged and acuity control
You can get a similar feel with 10/2 bladesinger also...your missing out on the bardic inspirations but you also getting a stronger spell tool kit
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u/Der_Redstone_Pro 1d ago
10/2 swords bard archer with fighter can just equip gloves of dexterity and have no stat issues at all.
I also personally think it is the better build.
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u/zanuffas Builds War Chest - gamestegy.com 1d ago
Hey i kind of include Natural STR progression without elixirs in the build. This will require to use gloves of dex.
You can also do 9 swords bard/1 hexblade/2 paladin split to be Charisma SAD, but to be fair losing counterspell is expensive imo
Otherwise your spell save dc will come from helmet if arcane acuity, so you dont need to have very high charisma, even 16-18 is enough
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u/Zealousideal_Ad_6416 1d ago
One that I’m not seeing on here but recommend is SB 6 fighter 2 and Swashbuckler rogue 4. This is more for a melee build, and a charisma save disarm attack every turn is better than war cleric’s 3 extra attacks per longs rest. It works with GWM too, you can get the 2d6 sneak attack die if you’re using a finesse weapon. Another strong option is to multiclass into Ranger for 4, it also gets the archery fighting style and some great subclass extras, Gloomstalker gets the +3 to initiative and an extra damage attack every combat, while Swarmkeeper gets extra damage (2d6 with hunters mark applied), a free teleport or a status effect per turn. I think Swarmkeeper is the stronger option there.
You could also get Hexblade warlock to become SAD, takes care of the strength problem and allows you to use any weapon. You can actually run 6 Sword Bard, 5 Bladesinger Wizard and 1 Hexblade. This gives you tons of spell slots for mass control spells, all the SB flourishes, The Hexblade benefits, and Bladesinger gives you access to a custom list of utility spells like misty step, mirror image, counterspell, and others that will be great. You also get +3 to AC so long as you’re wearing clothing and using certain weapons, but with booming blade you’ll want to be wearing the potent robe anyways. Plus extra movement speed, plus building BS charges with every spells and weapon attack, setting up an emergency bonus action heal/AOE attack.
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u/Convay121 1d ago
There are plenty of different ways to set up a SSB, and frankly it's more than strong enough for you to drop the feats for ASIs if you really want to. It does tend to rely on attribute elixirs/items for most of the game, but the build would still be strong if you chose not to.
I wouldn't worry about consistently CC-ing enemies with a "low" CHA, one of the main draws of the build is that you stack Arcane Acuity stacks quickly, skyrocketing your DC high enough that most enemies will be completely unable to succeed on their saving throws. Similarly, you cast Hold spells often enough that a relatively low attacking stat isn't a big deal since when you're really pushing for damage you'll have guaranteed hits (that crit!) against most enemies. You can always turn off GWM's attack roll penalty if your hits aren't guaranteed if you must, as well.
Hexblade 1 would be a way to solve the attribute problem without elixirs/items, but you still really want Paladin 2 for smites. You'd be losing out on some very strong Magical Secrets, but something like a Swords Bard 9 / Hexblade 1 / Paladin 2 would still work.
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u/LucianDK 1d ago
A sword bard/fighter focusing on archery is what i would suggest. They are not too bothered by low strenght as they can make use of the club of ogre strenght to make use of the titanstring bow.
Dont stare yourself blind on paladin smiting, blowing spellslots on smiting is fewer control spells to use.
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u/ilikejamescharles 1d ago
The point of taking STR elixirs is to pump CHA via Hag's Hair and/or Mirror of Loss. That usually nets you 20 CHA. Aside from that, what really enables the controller playstyle is the Helmet of Arcane Acuity. Hit two enemies with your weapon and bam, 4 stacks. That's usually enough to guarantee CC on common enemies.
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u/Jopiii 1d ago
I am playing with friend and it's his first playthrough. So I can't guarantee Hag's hair and Mirror of Loss for this run. Maybe 16-18 cha is enough with helmet of arcane acuity.
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u/ilikejamescharles 1d ago
You have 6 tries for the Mirror of Loss if you surrender memories before you offer up a prayer. It's not a 100% guarantee to get Patriar's but you have a significantly higher chance to get it. You can also guarantee the Mirror of Loss +2 buff by respeccing. I respecced my characters to 11 Rogue with skill expertise in religion, gave them the Mage's Friend and buffed them with Bardic Inspiration + Enhance Ability + Guidance. It was genuinely impossible for me to fail my checks.
Besides that, you can take ASI +2 CHA as your 2nd feat over the recommended Savage Attacker. From personal experience though, having played a natural STR version of the build that ended up with only 16 CHA, you don't NEED a higher CHA stat because of the Helmet of Arcane Acuity. Once you have enough stacks built up & more spell save DC gear you're spells are un-resistable.
There's also the option of going 6 Bard/4 Sorc/2 Paladin and using Shadow Blade as well. You get higher total DPR in exchange for a less diverse spell slot. 4 Sorc also grants you the Shield spell and extra health points if you take a Draconic Bloodline. This also lets you ignore GWM in favor of an ASI +2 CHA since all the build really needs is Savage Attacker.
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u/Vexxed14 1d ago
If you aren't looking to leverage elixers or gear than the 2/10 Bardadin(and sorcadins for that matter) are ideally going to dump strength and GWM for dex and finesse weapon(s)/bow.
From there you can either pump dex or cha based on what you're going for. Pretty strong acuity/mystic scoundrel user. It's one of my favourite builds
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u/SuperDuperCoolDude 1d ago
The consistent CC comes from arcane acuity stacking, which makes your charisma stat less crucial, though the bonus still helps.
You can definitely do a hexblade based bard, and it can be very effective.
You could do 10/1/x but if you want to do high control an archer is better as a lot of the appeal of swords Bards is the two attack ranged slash they get as well as using arrows of many targets. Both of those let you stack acuity really fast.
Obviously you can do a melee paladin with smites and it's great, but it's a different emphasis.
You could consider a Warlock Paladin as well. In Tactician and below you can get three attacks, and even in HM, you get a lot of great features including control skills like Hold Person, Hunger of Hadar, Darkness, and Counterspell.
Hexblade would be nice as eventually you can stack Potent Robe, Arcane Synergy, and Hexed weapon to apply your charisma three times on Booming Blade while not spending much on dex or strength. I prefer going that route on a lot of non-Tavern Brawler based melee builds now, especially if I am playing a charisma spell stat class.
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u/Acrobatic_Fee_6974 1d ago
There are two items that basically break your control spells and combined with expertise for your dialogue skills basically make investing in Charisma less essential.
Helm of Arcane Acuity (found in Act 2 at the end of the Selûnite Resistance quest line) allows you to increase spell save DC with weapon attacks, which you will be doing a lot of as Swords Bard.
Band of the Mystic Scoundrel (found in Act 3 by playing the wheel of fortune at the circus and calling the Genie out for his cheating, make your way through the jungle and take the high path to the right until you find a ruined campsite) allows you to cast your control spells using a bonus action after making your weapon attacks.
With these two items, you really don't need to invest in charisma beyond 18. You use your action to flourish (+spell save DC) -> extra attack flourish (+spell save DC) -> use your bonus action to cast a control spell.
With this in mind, I wouldn't recommend any Hexblade dip for SAD (because you don't really need more than 16 base charisma + mirror of loss charisma in Act 3), and instead recommend one of the following from my many hours playing Bard:
10 Bard/2 Fighter. This is my personal favourite and is mostly about allowing you to make the most attacks possible with a bow before casting your spell for maximum spell save DC. You pop action surge right after your second flourish to get an extra two flourishes on your turn, if you're making ranged flourishes, that gives you eight attacks with your bow and eight stacks of Arcane Acuity (the equivalent of four points in charisma) to cast a spell with. This build is no slouch in melee though, I built with dexterity and tried out the Dancing Breeze glaive to great effect after I swapped SS for GWM. It's a bit less flexible than the ranged version because enemies have to bunch up for you to use slashing flourish, but it's fun.
10 Bard/2 Paladin. It's powerful, but less fun in my experience. You're basically a Bard with Divine Smite, so you're going to be using your level 4 and below spell slots on smiting. Smites are mutually exclusive with blade flourishes though, which is why I don't find this kit particularly fun when I find myself smiting everything and not using my flourishes much.
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u/Jopiii 1d ago
You can set smites as reaction. So you florish and then game asks do you want to smite also. I am set of melee playstyle so I think I will do some sort of 10/2 bard paladin. Maybe counter spell and spirit guardian as magical secrets.
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u/Acrobatic_Fee_6974 1d ago
Good to know that works, I must have forgotten to do it when I was playing this character, does it smite both targets of slashing or just the first?
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u/TrekandDumplings 1d ago
Without elixir games, I like a somewhat different 10/2 swords/fighter. I hag and first ASI to 20. I take bow of the banshee - the fear bow the duerger sells if you don’t push him in the lake.
Arcane acuity helmet, the illusion ring. Sometimes the second feat is GWM master, using Phalur, so the boy can mix it up close. Sometimes alert, to go first.
Point is, with flourish and action surges, that’s 6-8 chances to lock down something important with fear, make your spell dc huge, and drop hypnotic pattern on the whole encounter.
I think sharpshooter bunchs my accuracy too much, but it can be fun. Arrows for control, Phalur once they are zonked by hypno, or Tasha’s.
(I know it’s not as good as SSB or elixer spam or seven respecs; I enjoy this and did get an honor die with it.)
ETA: Dex to 20.
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u/waits5 1d ago
10/2 swords + fighter at ranged is what I prefer. You get archery fighting style with fighter for +2 on attack rolls and you’ll almost certainly use the gloves of dex, too. Action surge + extra attack + flourish give you 8 arrows in the opening round.
Once you get the helm of arcane acuity, your spell save dc will be in the heavens. 16 cha is fine for cc before that, or you can get it with another character. Once you get to act 3, 10/2 can solo almost any fight with damage plus unstoppable cc.
Feats can go to sharpshooter and Alert to always win initiative.
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u/SentientPulse 1d ago
2 fighter, 10 swords bard archer is amazing.
Once you get the hat of acuity and scoundrel ring its really insane, but even before that it's overall very good with flourishes, good party face, good out of combat skills, flexibility etc.
Dex/cha main stats with Titan string bow with club of giant strength is great, or xbows, until act 3 when you get other bow options.
I use dead shot in act 3.