BG3: 4 Best Honor Mode Builds [Expert’s Picks]

After starting a new playthrough, every time you reach Act 3, there comes a time when you try your luck at Honor mode. After all, with hundreds of hours spent protecting or destroying the Swords Coast, why shouldn’t you put your skills and wisdom to the test using one of these Best Honor Mode builds in BG3 to try and get the Golden Die?

The Best Honor Mode Builds In BG3

Here is a quick summary of all the best builds for Honor Mode and their playstyles:

1. Gloomstalker Ranger

Even though the Rangers aren’t as mighty as they once were, they are still one of the safest and most lethal classes in BG3. The playstyle focuses on being Stealthy and setting up the perfect ambush or surprise attack on unsuspecting forces, making it one of the best Honor Mode builds in BG3.

The key features of the Gloomstalker Ranger build are listed as follows:

• Race: The optimal race choice is the Wood Half-Elf for stealth and dark vision, with Githyanki as the alternative.
• Subclass: You will opt for Gloomstalker for your subclass for increased stealth and advantage on surprise attacks.
• Background: The background will be Outlander for increased survivability and athletics (can be changed based on your playstyle).
• Skills: The best Skills for a Gloomstalker Ranger are Animal Handling (Wisdom), Nature (Intelligence), and Insight (Wisdom).
• Illithid Powers: In addition to that, you should go for Absorb Intellect, Shield of Thralls, and Repulsor as your Illithid Powers.
• Level 1: You can build Bounty Hunter for more damage or Beast Tamer for more control in combat and exploration.
• Level 4: you should opt for the Sharpshooter feat for better and more consistent damage.

2. Battle Master Fighter

Unlike the Gloomstalker Ranger, the Battle Master fight involves technique and finesse to deal severe damage in closer ranges. As a fighter, you will serve as the formidable frontline and the damage dealer of your party composition with a highly aggressive playstyle.

The key features of the Battle Master Fighter build for Honor Mode are listed as follows:

• Race: The optimal race choice is the Half-Orc for the Relentless Endurance feature with a bonus Savage Attack.
• Subclass: The Battle Master fighter subclass is the best choice because of its adaptable and versatile play style.
• Background: Similarly, you can build the Soldier Background if you want to focus on being the frontline for your party and tank a lot of damage.
• Illithid Powers: If you choose that route, build Psionic Backlash, Ability Drain, and Repulsor.
• Early Build: Start by building Second Wind to sustain you during fights.
• Level 4: At this level, build the Great Weapon Master feat for a more offensive bonus action in fights.
• Level 8: I recommend you build Alert to have a better initiative score whenever you are in combat.

3. Berserker Barbarian

The Berserker Barbarian is one of the most fun builds if you hate planning and love swinging your weapons. However, it is one of the riskier builds to play, as you rely entirely on your equipment and how well-suited your team composition is to support you.

Some key features of the Berserker Barbarian build are listed as follows:

• Race: Similar to the Fighter, the race for your Barbarian should be Half-Orc if you want more turns or Zarial-Tielfing if you want Hellish Resistance over the damage.
• Subclass: As the name suggests, your Barbarian should have the Berserker subclass, which gives the most (predictable) damage.
• Background: Being a Barbarian, you’ll most likely be the frontline for which the Soldier background is perfect as it suits Athletics and Intimidation.
• Illithid Powers: Should you choose to use your Illithid powers, build Psionic Backlash, Repulsor, and Luck of the Far Realms for more critical hits.
• Early Build: While you can build an Unarmored defense for the early game, I recommend sticking to Rage for more damage and attacks.
• Level 8: You should build the Great Weapon Master feat for its additional attack despite the damage roll penalty.
• Level 9: The penalty may seem like a lot, but at level 9, you get Brutal Critical, which adds damage upon landing a critical hit, making it more than worth it in the long run.

4. Storm Sorcerer

The Storm Sorcerer is my favorite build out of any build in BG3. Sorcerers have a typically weak early game, but they are late-game titans that can one-shot multiple enemies in one turn. Efficiently use the sorcery points and your spells at the right time; you’ll get that Golden Die quickly.

These are the key features of the Lightning Sorcerer Build:

• Race: The High Half-Elf race is the optimal choice for a Sorcerer, with Human as a choice.
• Subclass: Since the build focuses on lightning elemental damage, you should build Storm Sorcery over the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.
• Skills: You should build Intimidation and Deception as the Skills for the best synergy with the Sorcerer build.
• Illithid Powers: Should you wish to use tadpole powers, I recommend you use the Freecast, Repulsor, and Shield of Thralls Illithid powers.
• Spells: Build AoE elemental damage spells with some Crowd Control spells to maximize ease in fights.
• Damage: Your first level 5 spell should be Cloudkill, and Disintegrate should be a level 6 spell.

My Tips For Honor Mode

I have spent a fair bit on Honor Mode using all of these builds, which all have a nice feel. Although I am biased towards casters, I love the Storm Sorcerer the most out of the four I discussed. I recommend focusing on completing every quest in Act 1, as the experience and loot go a long way in the following two acts. You can use the BG3 Act 1 checklist to keep up.

Additionally, try using dialogue options to avoid fights unless it’s vital based on your route. Especially in fights against Gerringothe Thorm or even Raphael’s old friend Yurgir, it can be fought purely through dialogue persuasion (it might take a while to reload the save file repeatedly because of failed rolls).

That concludes the Best Honor Mode Build guides for now. I recommend checking out Huzaifah’s review of BG3 to see why Honor mode is as challenging as you may have heard here and there.

Up Next:

• BG3: BEST Amulets
• BG3: Potion Of Everlasting Vigour Location
• BG3: All Adamantine Forge Items