About the gith weapong: you can pick disguise self as a wizard. Disguise yourself as a gith. Equip the weapon. And you'll get the bonus. Not only that, the bonus will remain even if you dispell the disguise. AAAAAND best part: it will remain even after long rest. It will only be "dispeled" if you unequip the weapon. But you can do the same process again.
Thanks for this. I was finally able to replicate the bug. Note, once you use Disguise Self and then dispel it, if you change any equipment, it will remove the buffs. That’s why I couldn’t do this before using the Disguise Helmet from the Deluxe edition.
I think this combo (5 levels of warlock+meele class) works better for paladin/warlock: Either OoAncients or Vengence 7/Fiend5 or Paladin 5 Archfey 7(Greater Invisibility), personally I went Ancients7/Fiend5, it is very tanky, for spell selection I recommend to avoid damage (you are melee after all) and take stuff like misty step and big boi counterspell, for feats depends on your weapon but if you go 2H, then great weapon master is a must
@adamnowicki1425 go hard with oathbreaker7/blade GOO lock 5. Aura of hate adds cha to damage again, my last playthrough with hellbeard Halberd, helldusk gloves GWM risky ring caustic band I was doing like 28-49 dmg per attack I think, then adding smites, I did over half of Raphael's hp in one turn, I think I did like 400 dmg (I did crit twice but)
Of all the BG3 info videos out there, you have my favorite format. The TDLR, the presentation, etc. top notch. I hope your sub ratio improves, good luck!
@@italianspartacusI have time agree as well. When I get suggested one I havnt seen and am interested in genuinely, I get kind giddy because I know I'm in good hands with the information I'm looking for with direct and concise explanations. I'm running my first dull playthrough on my channel atm and my main is running 2 lock, 1 wizard af of now with 2 bard, im going full utility with her as I wanna free up all the other 3 for carnage. I switch karlach to a barb/pally/cleric, gale into a spore doorid(which I'm kind of jealous I didn't do for my main, but I'm gonna stick out the decision I layed down) and astarion is always the Rouge ranger with tadpoles for me. But I very felt like, the bar is simply missing something. I classed into the high elf to use civil milita proficiencies .and man, I wanna put that to use. So hoping I find something in the video that nudges that creative theory craft. Appreciate the video, already subbed a bit ago, many love and hope we can change that metric.
I made a 7 EK for War magic and 5 tempest cleric for call lightning build. Since call lightning is considered a cantrip after the first cast, you can cast Call lightning and make a weapon attack with the war magic from EK 7 using a bonus action. Not the most powerful build, but pretty solid and fun for a "Thor" playthrough
Or just take two weapon fighting at level 1 on your fighter and make a full damage off hand attack without the need for 7 fighter levels. Take shocking grasp as a sorc at level 2, and then just sorc all the way or take a 3 level detour to thief rogue so you can call lightning and smash out two weapon attacks per turn, or call lightning, attack, and dash. Or whatever else. Its like having permanent haste
That's a pyre damage build. You'll have less ac, lose access to some good shields, have to take the dual wielding feat if you don't wanna limit your weapon choices, and may not suit someone's build.
@loveyourself3246the way I did it was using hill giant potions to dump my strength and buff my con and wisdom, and dex with dexterity gloves so I had high iniative
I love a class that’s prepared for whatever niche situation it might find itself in and if there are no right tools for the situation they will make it work
I have a different take on Eldritch knights. Take Ranger instead of warrior but build it as a melee character (focus on strength and int) pick ranger knight, any of the element resistance, titan slayer and all ritual spells. Now you also have access to 5th spell slot and an additional 4th spell slot, good spells such as hunters mark, longstrider, speak with animals, silence from ranger and also access to 5th tier wizard spells. Ranger have proficiency with all weapons and ranger knight gives you heavy armor. Only downside is not having action surge but upsides heavily outweighs downsides.
Best part about this is you can easily mix ranger with any caster. I am currently playing a ranger warlock that can attack 3 times per turn and with titan slayer and hunters mark/hex, you do so much damage and pact of the blade lets you dump all points in charisma and still do max damage with any weapon while also having access to eldritch blast and hunger of hader.
@@yari4046 Yeah, because they had to make it a third caster, because you only get your spell slots at third level. Kind of stupid i you ask me, especially with known spells being limited to abjuration and evocation, but it is what it is.
@@texteel If you think having just 1 more feat is better than having more spell slots + broken 5th tier spells like hold monster & artistry of war plus all the extra benefits of ranger class then you do you my dude. If you allocate your points efficiently and get hags hair/use strength elixir/use stat items like amulet of greater health and gauntlet of hill giants strength, you can easily get everything you want with 2 feats.
Hey there Spartacus. I watched all your class guides and they are very informative and indepth. But it would be cool if you showed off some combat with that class/build at the end of the video, like you did in this one. Talking about spells and feas is good, but showing them all off is even better. TY for making good educational content!
I would LOVE see more videos like this, so much detail on a class build + multi class. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to build my party to make them as optimal as possible for my playthrough
I think straight eldritch knight for 12 levels is underrated. Fighter is so good on its own it's kind of a hame to miss out on fighter levels, with the third attack and extra feats. You just have to look at it as a fighter that ALSO gets Shield, Blur, misty step and stuff like Hold person. If you combine it with arcane acuity, which is really easy to stack with all those attacks and something like encrusted with frost you'll be hitting all the CC without even needing to invest into int. Also, something that isn't mentioned is that eldritch strike, a level 10 feature that gives enemies disadvantage on saving throws after you hit them, also works with on-hit effects, not just stuff you cast. That means that with arcane acuity + eldritch strike you'll be able to cc even bosses easily. Plus, you're almost unkillable due to blur, mirror image, shield and heavy armor. I made Lae'zel into an EK and she can basically solo the game on tactician. Neat combo - winters's clutches gloves and cold enchant ok your weapon from drakethroat glaive with arcane acuity helmet. You'll freeze bosses in one round :)
Yeah fighter is busted in this game, regardless of subclass. It’s funny that in tabletop casters are king, but in BG3 martials are often stronger. I think it’s largely due to the insane amount of powerful equipment/armor/weapons that is thrown at us. A single character could be equipped with multiple legendary items and everything else they have is ‘just’ very rare. Basically any class is OP if you equip them well - but fighter benefits because if you have the-mythical-sword-of-bonking…. You wanna be able to bonk more times, and that’s exactly what fighter does. If instead the best weapon we got was some generic +2, then melee attacks just wouldn’t scale as well as higher level spells. Despite that I like going 6/6 fighter/sorcerer. This way I can take battlemaster for the superiority die and still have spell slots. Sorcerer is also super flexible, I can just consume all my slots, make a few extra level 3 slots, and boom, I can quicken fast haste on myself for every fight - I now do 4 attacks per standard turn instead of only 3 from a pure fighter build. My charisma could be 8 for all I care.
Yeah, went 11 ek and 1 war priest. Got that thor hammer from act 2 and I do fine. 3 atks, I enlarge to go giant and I got that ring that does more damage if concentrating on spell. Hits like a truck.
Wow, I am trying to build an Eldritch Knight for my newest playthrough, and I really want some wizard levels for flavor but wasn't sure how to go about it. Your timing is impeccable! Thank you!
@@Tomiisomaa I am just now in Act 3 on that playthrough, am going 6/6 EK/WIZ, and so far it's pretty bonkers. She's 6/4 I think now. She uses 2 arcane acuity items and an item that adds INT modifier to all your attacks if you use an elemental cantrip. She dual weilds the EK lightning hammer and phalar aluve. It's not OP, but taking advantage of the wet condition pushes it into OP territory. She mostly casts buffs and the occasional fireball, but can land any control spell when needed thanks to arcane acuity.
After playing a run as an Eldritch Knight here is my two cents: > If this build is for your Tav I would consider dumping INT and picking up the warped headband of intellect, those ability points will likely serve you better invested into CHA for face-of-the-party stuff, and/or CON, particularly if you are using concentration spells i.e blur/darkness > The Helldusk Gloves are another great option for a combined spellcaster/melee; adding a +1 bonus to Spell Attack Rolls and Spell Save DC, and 1d6 fire damage to all weapon attacks
Hey paisano! I'm totally taking the great advice from this video to play with friends. I went Red Dragonborn for the drip and I'm doing the EK/Wiz split! Bringing my first ever D&D character to life from years has been awesome so far!
@italianspartacus I know im just another Sub out of 221k, My health has left me bed ridden for a few years now and your vids have been keeping me in good spirits as of late. Thank you for doing what you do !
Aw man that's the best comment. Thank you so much dude. I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm very happy to hear that my videos in some way help!! Is there any subject you'd like me to cover?? I can make a special video for ya!
@italianspartacus how about a video about duelist vs dual wield vs 2 hand, pros and cons with feats/class discussion? there is actually very little forum/reddit discussion about it !
I am playing a Duergar Eldritch Knight/Divination Wizard in my Tactitian co-op run with two of my friends (Monk+Rogue / Warlock+Bard). There definitely has been an identity crisis with my character lol. In the beginning, I went Fighter 1/ Wizard 1, then gunning for Eldritch Knight Fighter 6 and Abjuration Wizard after that. Game plan was to be the more support role with spells and being able to combat at any range since I had the close range Monk and spell sniping Warlock in my party. Dumped Intelligence and Strength, using the Headband of Intelligence and Potions of Hill/Cloud Giant Strength to pick up the slack (at least until the Ogre Strength gloves in Act 3). Sharpshooter appealed to me, but I quickly learned BG3 doesn't apply it to throwing weapons :'). And when I finally picked up Abjuration's Arcane Ward, I noticed it wasn't really worth. Arcane Ward blocked maybe 4-5 damage per Long rest. With my high AC, the Shield spell, and my Monk rushing in, I barely got hit by weapons, really only getting hurt by splash damage or saving throw spells. But a point was made in this video; Arcane Ward, Heavy Armor Master, and say Armor of Persistance is freaking tanky, but really is a late game combo. In Act 2, I tried the throwing build but quickly respec'd to Fighter 1/Divination Wizard X. Improved Portent Die is SO fun, especially when I am using spells. Really gives me that support feel. However, my DPS fell off, but I was fine with that as my other two friend's DPS only got stronger with each level. And if I wanted, I just used scrolls to pretend to be a competent caster. Only thing of note is my Charisma. I had to invest to 14 CHA as I am the host and some cutscenes default to me, mostly after transitioning areas between cutscenes. We are currently in Wyrm's Crossing in Act 3 at level 10. Notable gear that is probably going to the end build I currently use are Headband of Intelligence, Ketheric's Shield, Undermountain King Shortsword/Blood of Lathander/Infernal Rapier for the occasion, Titanstring Bow (since I'm boosting Strength and have good Dex, damage range is decent), Magic Missle amulet (monk player has dibs on Constitution Amulet), Risky Ring, and Band of the Mystic Scoundrel. The Mystic Scoundrel plus Magic Initiate: Bard for Bonus Action Vicious Mockery with the monk carrying the resonance stone item from the end of Act 2 to give disadvantage to mental saves AND vulnerability to Psychic damage?? I absolutely don't need Extra Attack when I can stab them then insult them for 6-24 psychic damage. Or shoot an arrow and Bonus Action upcast Hold Person the most notable threats. I plan to respec again at level 11 to go Eldritch Knight Fighter 3/Divination Wizard X, primarily to set my support spells (Blade Ward, Friends, Longstrider, Mage Armor for Warlock, Featherfall, Shield, Magic Missle, etc) as my Eldritch Knight spells, freeing up my prepped Wizard spells. Currently debating if I want EK 3/DW 9 or EK 4/DW 8, only real difference is having two Level 5 spell slots vs one Level 5 spell slot plus third Feat. Overall, from my experience playing one, I'd say going Eldritch Knight is good for either a throwing build or for getting CON proficiency, Heavy Armor, Martial Weapons, extra cantrips and support spells then dipping over to Wizard after level 3 or 4 (if you don't mind sacrificing the level 6 spell slot). Highly recommend the Band of Mystic Scoundrel to get those Bonus Action spells after weapon attacking. Probably better on Paladin 2/Sorcerer X as you still get level 6 spells, but still fun here.
I went more for a lich knight. Investing most ability points into intelligence and went for necromancer the first 6 lvl for better zombis and lvl 4 Spellslot. Since Zombis are immune to poison u can cast deathcloud onto the enemies and let ur zombis run wild. *spoiler warning* with ethels hair and the first feat i went for 20 intelligence and switched to duelling fighter. Act I at the mountain pass u buy gauntlets that push ur dexterity to 18. U can either use Rapiers from there or use Phalar Aluve( Longsword, Underdark, Act I). its flexible so u can use ur dexterity for melee attacks and it fits the theme to have a screaming sword^^ Since ur not wearing real armor u can still use mage armor and with dex 18 and a shield u can push ur base AC up to 19. Act II u get a rapier that uses ur spellcasting modifier for attacks, a headpiece that gives ur undead resistance to physic dmg and kethrics shield that improves spellcasting. With the Act I necromancer book u can get 4 additional ghoul summons in Act III. Alternativly u can use any weapon, armor u want and simply always have a elixier of strengh in ur inventory
I love your content, you have the best guides for BG3! Always enjoyable, keep up the good work. I'd love to see a video about multiclassing in general, more specifically, how far you generally recommend leveling each class when multiclassing to get the most bang for your buck. I know this is definitely dependent on the specific multi-class build as well, as well as playstyle/an individuals preferences, but I think general recommendations would be a cool video. Example: Making a Paladin/Storm Sorcerer build and wondering how far to take each to get the most out of feats and subclass features.
Hmm that's a real interesting subject, I'm sure I could whip something up fun on that notion :) Like How many levels of a melee character is worth it before it's NOT worth it type of thing
Just chiming in the reinforce the notion. I'd find that useful, and if you did a bit highlighting specific levels for different classes, that would be a video I could come back to multiple times for many builds.
HELPFUL TIPS! Im doing this exact build in my game. 6EK/6WIZ and currently lvl 7... a great thing to do is to learn wizard spells earlier than you would picking them during level up through scrolls... For example: Since I did 6 lvls EK then 1 lvl of Wizard, I can now learn Blur a lvl 2 spell at lvl 7 instead of lvl 9 like he shows in the video by using scrolls! This works with all wizard spells like learning Fire Ball at lvl 9 instead of lvl 11 when the game is almost over etc... -Recommendation: using Blur as your main concentration spell is Fn Amazing!!! It really makes you like the best Tank Character in the game! Im using Defense Fighting Style, Blood of Lathander plus a shield, using gear to get the highest AC possible, and im literally untouchable! -Starting ability stat spread was 17 Str, 10 Dex, 16 Con, 8 Int, 14 Wis, 8 Cha. -Casters are your only weakness. So to counter that a bit, I put dex at 10 and Wis to 14. Since we dont need Dex with heavy armor. I deceided to wear the Int Headband to bring my 8 Int to 17 so I could focus my ability points elsewhere. -My First feat i took at lvl 4 was ATHLETE (+1Str and +50% jump distance) giving us 18 Str, and if you havent tried a jump build yet Its Awesome! Literally jump accross the entire battlefield. You can also prebuff enhanced leap to make it even better since it is a ritual spell not taking a spell slot out of battle! -2nd feat I chose at lvl 6 was ALERT for better Initiative since we dumped Dex. But can choose something different if Initiative isnt important to you...
@GamerPro9495 Dude, this build is awesome! Obviously you could get more damage going with a 2 handed great sword, but its meant to be your front line tank. This build is so fun and you are literally untouchable except by casters. The 6 last lvls in wizard are for extra spell slots and should only be used on the shield spell and blur! I did switch out the alert feat and took War Caster instead at lvl 6 to hold concentration better on Blur. Then took Alert as my 3rd feat. So have 17 str starting stat, at level 4 take Athlete so now you up to 18 str, then in Act 2 there is a vendor in moonrise towers that if astarion bites she gives you a permanent +2 to str, so youll be up to 20 str in act 2. There is this AWESOME weapon I found too. It's called the Charge Bound Hammer. Extra damage for Eldritch Knight on it, and when you cast tge drakethroat Glaive's ability on it to, it becomes godly. There is a ring that give extra dmg while concentrating on a spell and also the 2 acid dmg ring. You can really stack so many damage types on it! Remember not to get you AC too high tho, because you WANT the enemies to swing at you and not your squishy range characters! Good luck brother!
This is my Arcane Warrior from DA:O come to BG3. Thank you for this build. Using the disguise self spell to be able to equip Gith goodies, I can play as a High Elf, works with Dragon Age lore, and works, for me in my mind, with BG3.
My only thoughts, less tanky sure, but having a fighter that can center aoe spells on himself sounds like a good reason to take evocation subclass. It's another option, and sounds like fun 😝
One of the things that I did was dump my intelligence in place of starting with a 17 strength and constitution, as well as keeping something else like wisdom from being low, since perception runs off of wisdom, and grabbed the headband of intellect off of the ogres to raise my intelligence to 17, and just used any of the feats that I needed, or wanted for ASI’s, or things to help with specific kinds of combat styles. I’ve also seen strength be made into a dump stat as well, and using a bunch of the elixirs of hill giant strength as a substitute to maintain a 21 strength until long rest, until getting the scalp, potion of vigor, and the gauntlets that grant a 23 strength to make room for other attributes like intelligence and constitution.
Thanks so much for watching today my bros! let me know any other fun builds you'd like to see and I'll WHIP EM UP! Spell Slots ► fexlabs.com/5eslots/ Follow me on Twitch! ► www.twitch.tv/italianspartacus More Class Guides ► ruclips.net/p/PLDLBnN-W_m2n6nk1Y5-snG4PpOuj9b-7g&si=j1T4BfjqOcSClZFS Become Part of the Community ► discord.gg/UuPSgYDKSy CREDIT TO ARTEM KURENKOV FOR THE AMAZING DRAWING IN THE THUMBNAIL: www.artstation.com/artwork/w8K4OL
Great thing about eldrich knight you can multicass it with any full spell caster, not wizards necessarily. Just PYF and ignore Intelligence if it's not a wizard
I am running a wizard/fighter with no int, purely concentration based fighter with haste on demand along with all the other helpful party spells. You can actually also build a summoning/buffing caster this way, you don´t need points in your main stat for powerful summons as a druid.
it was a weird choice keeping the Sword Coast Adventurer Guide content out of a game set in the Sword Coast. SCAG spells and subclasses would have been easy to implement.
*I actually think vanilla Eldritch Knight with no multi-classing is lowkey top-tier, if we imagined a PVP system between characters or solo runs. Hear me out:* The way I think Eldritch Knight comes across to most players is "so close yet so far." For example, they do not get level 3 spells, and there's a LOT of great spells that get unlocked at that specific spellcasting level, and they miss out. HOWEVER... I think this is lowkey counteracted by the fact Eldritch Knights are "so close yet so far" *in multiple categories.* We view this as a disappointment, and that's understandable, but in this specific case, it makes them a jack-of-all-trades that's actually really potent, rather than being sub-par in all of them. So what makes a pure Eldritch Knight good? *1) The gear in-game supports this.* You can freely dump all your stats into Dex, INT and Wisdom (for Wisdom checks) and pick up items to increase both your Constitution and Strength to 23. This means it's possible to "cap" all their stats they used whilst still having some left over to give to Wisdom. There is likewise an endgame bow that grants self-casting Haste, which again diminishes the need to multiclass at all. *2) Good defensive abilities.* First is Indomitable, a fighter ability at level 9 (why you don't multiclass) that lets you reroll failed saving throws. Rerolling and advantage aren't quite the same, so for example if you take Shield Master, you NEGATE the damage of a lot of high level dex-based ability checks (basically anything lightning and the upper most frost spells, so no combining lightning or frost with wet status for bonus damage) and have advantage on these checks. Not only do you have advantage, but should you somehow fail the advantage rolls, Indomitable lets you reroll your advantage. An Eldritch Knight with Shield Master will roll 4 dice against most magic-based damage spells and abilities, meaning spellcasters struggle to damage them. *EDIT:* Was mistaken; Shield Master is +2 to Dex throws, meaning you can get up to a +8, but not advantage. Here the reroll simulates advantage. However, a Gnome Eldritch Knight for example would indeed roll 4 dice against Wisdom saving throws. Blur mentioned below might also suit this purpose. Add onto this, remember how I said you're free to dump points into Dex? Grab the Armor of Agility for 17 AC + no dex cap. Depending on how you build yourself, it is feasible to get up to 23 AC using this armor with possible dex values for your character (22 demands a specific stat boost be used on dex, but honestly with STR and Constitution being artificially boosted to 23 and the only competitor being Intelligence, Dex is probably the best pick) before including anything else. After this, there's a shield that provides +3 for 26, a helm that adds +1 with immunity to stun abilities as well for 27, and if you want, a cape and ring with +1 that can bring you up to 29. On top of all of those, you still have access to shield, blur, and mirror image. Shield means anyone that happens to land a 29 can simply be negated via a spell cast. Or alternatively - or both - you demand they hit that 29 *with disadvantage* by putting Blur on yourself. You could also take Defensive Duelist to have a makeshift "Shield" for when you're out of spell slots, though this is optional and build-based, as this ability requires you use a Finesse weapon. You might alternatively prefer Tavern Brawler, since Eldritch Knight can also bind weapons and throw things for better offense. Either way, you are effectively forcing Spellcasters to use non-optimal "all or nothing" constitution checks against your 23 constitution + Indomitable, whilst melee users struggle to hit you. *3) Good offensive abilities:* To start us off: *"But wait, why Armor of Agility?! There's another set I like that halves all incoming physical damage for one less AC!"* And it's perfectly viable too. However: War Magic. War Magic allows Eldritch Knights to cast a cantrip instead of one of their 3 attacks per turn, but the Cantrip must be casted first. Sounds kinda lame, right? Pick up Bon Chill, True Strike and Blade Ward. *Are you facing a physical-based opponent who hits like a truck?* Every 2nd turn, sacrifice one of your three attacks per turn (improved extra attack at level 11) to bolster your defense and get the best of both worlds. *Are you facing an opponent that's particularly difficult to hit?* Use True Strike to counteract this. Cast it, attack, and if needed, cast it again to set up the target for your next turn. *Are you facing an opponent that spams self-heals?* Sacrifice one of your attacks to Bone Chill the opponent and block heals, then continue with 2 normal attacks. *Another nice little boost is Eldritch Strike.* After you hit an opponent with a weapon attack, your spells checks have advantage. This means if you swing your sword and then cast Hold Person, you're casting Hold Person with advantage. Another spell you can use is Dominate Person via the Nymph Cloak if wearing it, a level 5 spell you usually wouldn't have access to, and now you cast it with advantage. "But wait, am I ALLOWED to cast it immediately after, or do I have to wait until the next turn?!" *4) wut rings u got bihtc?* *Ring of Mystic Binding:* "After hitting a creature with a weapon attack, you can cast illusion or enchantment spells as a bonus action." Turns out, pretty much ALL the control spells available to Eldritch Knights without multicasting are illusion and enchantment. This means you can hit someone with your sword with the first attack, use a bonus action to cast Hold Person with Advantage, THEN use your two extra attacks *in the same turn and before the opponent even has a chance to do another saving throw.* Attacks on an entity with Hold Person automatically crit, so this is free damage. *Eversight Ring:* The wearer cannot be blinded. Know what this means...? That's right, we exploiting Darkness. Cast Darkness, sit in that thing, and much like a Warlock who sits inside it and casts Eldritch Blast, you are now sitting inside it and using your endgame bow to attack three times per turn. Except not only do enemies have Disadvantage when trying to hit you, you have waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more AC than a standard Warlock would, and you can even use Shield to cancel out the few attack attempts that would go through. And if you did go with a Tavern Brawler build, you are doing buttloads of damage as you throw your bound weapon the the enemy with your 23 Strength + Strength modifier twice. (guarantee 18 damage *minimum* as long as the attack connects) *TL;DR* I think all of us initially look at Eldritch Knight and favor Battlemaster for it's flexibility, or we understandably think "why not Battlemaster + Wizard?" We also lack knowledge of what the game's endgame gear looks like while starting out. It is 100% understandable why people look at Eldritch Knight and think "this class is garbage." In practice though...? It excels both offensively and defensively, and there's looooooooooads of gear that synergizes stupidly good with Eldritch Knights. It is not "sub-par" in each category, it is excellent in each whilst other classes choose to be phenomenal in only one. Don't get me wrong, Battlemaster is still great too, but having tried both now, my summary would be: Battlemaster to provide more accessible CC and aid the team more, Eldritch Knight if you want one juggernaut who doesn't go down never ever ever because no one can hit the damned guy. The Battlemaster will aid the team more, the Eldritch Knight will solo the fight better. (and screw Champion lol it's garbage) And no, I don't think multiclassing is actually better. I think Eldritch Knight finds a way to make full-classing it just BARELY worth it. You might say "yeah barely," but this isn't a 60% D- where you're disappointed with the result. No, this is "pass" or "did not pass," and Eldritch Knight passes and justifies full-classing it.
@@user-mu8dm4rk7g To try and simplify it for any newcomers, breaking this down by section: *On AC:* Armor class determines how hard you are to hit. For example, in a vacuum, someone with 20 AC demands their opponent rolls a 20 in order to hit them, aka the max roll possible. This is also influenced by your opponent's attack roll modifier. By endgame, attack rolls can benefit from the attacking stat and a proficiency bonus, which automatically levels with your character. For example, a level 12 Barbarian that attacks rolls a D20, then if we imagine the Barb with 23 Strength, they get +6 Strength modifier (+1 per two levels above 10) and + 4 proficiency bonus. (just how it's set. Same for all characters) This means the barb effectively has a +10 to his roll and would meet a AC 20 character as though he just needs to roll a 10 or higher. ....And this is why the ~27+ AC I was talking about with Battlemaster is absolutely disgusting. The Barb with a whopping 23 Strength and level 12 would still need to roll a 17 or higher to land a hit. And if that isn't enough, Eldritch Knight can cast Shield, which gives +5 AC for that turn. Anything above 30 AC is effectively impossible to hit without a nat 20, and Eldritch Knight can temporarily reach this. This means that should the Barb finally manage to hit an attack, you can use a reaction to say "NOPE, he missed." Eldritch Knights arguably have access to the highest AC values in the game for this reason. *On Dex saves against spells:* Spells work a bit different. Basically, they go against your stat Saving Throw. If a spell does NOT mention any form of save, it works normally vs. AC. Spells that go against saving throws use Difficulty class (DC) instead of attack rolls, which is basically just their casting stat modifier. As a simplification, if we imagine a Rogue with 22 Dex and a Wizard with 22 Int (his attack stat), then both have a +6 to their saving throw and difficulty class respectively, meaning BOTH "cancel each other out" and just roll D20s to see who rolls higher. This means endgame, spells are actually harder to avoid. Thing is, most lategame damage spells use Dex saving Throws: the person being casted on rolls a D20 + their Dexterity modifier, and if they succeed in rolling higher than your Spell DC roll, they take half damage. If they fail, they take full damage from the spell. Shield Master changes this. The defender gains a +2 to their Dex roll, and if they succeed, they take ZERO damage, and if they fail, they take half damage instead. This means Shield Master is a monster for cutting down on spell damage. Most spells that do loads of damage demand dex saves, so even if a Wizard were to purposefully go with a constitution save or the like, they're *already* cutting down on their DPS by going that route. To make it better for Eldritch Knights: Fighters get to reroll if they fail a saving throw. This means they effectively roll twice on any attacking spell and use the best result. And to make it even better for Eldritch Knights: They can buff themselves with Blur, which induces disadvantage on attackers. *The end result?* A Wizard casting Chain Lightning on an Eldritch Knight with Shield Master and Blur currently on would roll twice, and then the Wizard MUST use his worst roll of the two due to disadvantage. The Eldritch Knight rolls, and even IF he fails the roll, both he and the Wizard roll again (with Wizard again using his worst roll), which effectively means the Eldritch Knight must fail the roll twice in a row to take any damage at all. Even IF he fails, he only takes half damage. *And briefly, on gear:* The gear in this game has the potential to make an Eldritch Knight have the maximum possible saving rolls to Strength, Constitution and Dex, an AC of 27 to 29 (depends on your setup), and immunity to Stun. (I'm not clear on what qualifies as "stun," but I think Hold Person is a good example) You can then pick a race like Elf, Halfling or Gnome, and the result is either that you're also immune to Sleep with advantage against charm, that you have advantage vs. Fear + can reroll any 1s you roll, or you have Advantage on Wisdom saving throws. (the most common spellcaster saving throw) Alternatively to Gnomes and to the above tactic of casting Blur against spellcasters, the same shield that gives +3 to your AC (aka the best one) also gives you advantage against spell attacks whilst giving the opponent disadvantage on their spell roll. *I legitimately cannot name a class with better defense capacity than Eldritch Knight.* It seems to be in a league of it's own if we're looking at defense, and multiclassing it actually ruins this. You need level 9 for Indomitable, and at that point, why not pick up level 11 to gain 3 attacks in one turn. A lot of people hype up Battle Master instead, and that's 100% deserved, but Battle Master is more about easier usage of offensive tools. They regain offensive tactics every short rest whilst Eldritch Knight needs a long rest to refresh a smaller selection of offensive tools. (primarily defensive) Both have value, but if people want a defensive juggernaut, this is it.
@loveyourself3246 Yep, I realized later I derped while writing. Still, I like the variety. You can cantrip > attack, attack > attack > attack, and if you include a specific ring, you can even attack > cast Hold Person as Bonus action > attack > attack. Very diverse in what kind of attack sequence you can do.
My BG 1 and 2 favourite was always fighter/mage multi class so I've been looking for a decent build like that for Lae'zel, blur, mirror image and just tear ppl up
@20:30 You mentioned War Magic let's you cast cantrip, then attack with bonus action. With extra attack on the bonus action. I believe this is incorrect. Bonus/offhand attacks don't get extra attack. Eldritch Knight would actually slay, if this was the case.
You are correct. Cantrip plus a single weapon attack is generally garbage. You MAY be able to make a situation where the target is wearing metal and you use shocking grasp on a wet target … advantage and 6D8 damage plus a single weapon attack. But, two, three, or even four weapon attacks are just way too good. Even with a single one handed weapon and a shield. A 3D8 shocking grasp (Avg: 13.5) or 3D10 firebolt (avg: 15.5) is ok. But weapon attacks are HUGE in the game and get so many modifiers. Gloves and rings can add damage. Sometimes boots and helms. Plus the weapon itself can add dice and also flat modifiers. A moderate polearm is 1D10+5 great weapon fighting bumps that slightly by rerolling damage. Great weapon master bumps that with the +10 damage. Is it a +2 weapon? That’s 2 more damage. What other gear do you have that adds damage? Instead of one single attack per turn all of that could be used on 3-4 attacks per turn (plus action surge, plus haste, plus bloodlust elixir). Cantrips just don’t keep up with weapon attacks.
following this guide and is my most fun run so far. My EK 6/Abj Wiz 6 hits hard and simply refuses to take damage. Usually my party is wiped and he remains.
Doing research for my Witcher build. Being inexperienced with D&D it’s pretty hard to create a ranger swordsman with alchemy and casting. I also want charisma; I wouldn’t call Geralt charismatic but his authority, wittiness, swag and professionalism often gets him what he wants in dialogue options.
Thank you for this video! I’m about to jump into this game. Late to the party but I was about to just do the pure EK because something feels off about going hybrid. But after watching this video man I know I would have much more fun going this route
I started new game where I am only level 6 so far, as a joke I made throwing EK build... and it's stronger than I expected: From druid grove trader next to the entrance get ring with +d4 throw damage In Underdark in Myconid colony dwarf gives you quest to save her husband from fungal mine field, you get gloves with another d4 bonus throw damage as reward In gobo camp goblin vendor has Returning Pike for sale, it is not that required actually since you get returning quality from EK bound weapon thing, still it's nice Finally you take Tavern Brawler feat, so you add Strength bonus to hit and damage twice when throwing For spells I take stuff like longstrider, better jumps, misty step etc, avoid damage, and remember, positioning is the king Fighting in 3d and having high ground is really important, I need to test it more but it looks like if you are on elevation high enough, you deal your throwing damage AND damage from item dropping from above, I easily do 20-25 damage per attack with hit chance 20% better (or 30% if on high ground) than in actual melee but that's just level 6 with green items
A counter to this concept - You’re building into defense HEAVILY. That’s the reason you’re taking wizard and abjuration and also the reason you’re taking that heavy armor feat to ignore damage (more so act 2 damage before virtually anyone with a weapon has a magic weapon). Pure fighter eldritch knight. Wear the self healing gear. Mostly an act 3 build. * Helm that gives +2hp every round * Ring that gives +1D4 every round * Chaos sword for 1D6 per attack (3 attacks per attack action is 3D6 healing each round … plus bloodlust elixir, haste, action surge, bonus attacks and reaction attacks from sentinel or mage slayer or whatever else) That’s 7D6+1D4+2 in most rounds with a single elixir that lasts a LONG time because you’re not having to burn through spell sots. This is in addition to damage reduction from armor … or even that feat …. But not the feat because there are better uses for a feat.
@@zkf5448 nothing. It’s just a build concept. Works fine for battlemaster or champion or eldritch knight. I feel like that’s a benefit. The original build was pretty much all defensive in nature and it was giving up a lot of damage potential. The gear suggestion I have feels like it would negate that original build idea to a large degree.
@zero11010 his build doesn't need everything you think your improving it with and isn't losing that much in damage potential simply because it is negating so much incoming damage asto make damage potential largely irrelevant or even allow allies to better use theirs. You also fail to mention your healing math isn't guaranteed but a best case scenario. Relying on things like haste and even potentially feats to function at that capacity. Even then it's only about 25 points of healing on average. Even with only wizard 6 the abjuration wizard can block that much over a couple of attacks basically and still do more. It's also proactively blocking damage rather than reactively repairing it. But the reality is that with a strong enough defense you can beat your enemy to death with a toothpick if you like, much as you can with good CC.
@@Quandry1 I think three attacks per attack action is a pretty big deal. I think there are a TON of examples of phenomenal fighter builds that generally work with any of the subclasses. Didn’t fail to mention it. I’m assuming anyone reading this understand how to game works. A thing that triggers on hit may not trigger. Yeah … pretty basic. If you think it’s a good idea to waste a couple short rests to stack a bunch of damage reduction for ONE character … you go right ahead. I think most of the time this character would be walking around with WAY fewer stacks. Still useful … but way fewer. I use those to recharge item and class abilities and to get a bunch of free healing. I’m not going to rest for the sole purpose of getting damage reduction. Late in the game a fighter is going to have roughly 150 hit points. Regaining anywhere near 20 each round is absolutely huge. Unless you’re talking about hugging sentinels while they explode there just aren’t many things that hit very hard. With high AC you don’t get hit a ton. With constant self healing that requires zero resources and zero effort … it feels pretty unstoppable.
@@zero11010 First. I didn't say that three attacks wasn't good. I'm a proponent of it. However, You are way off base on the rest. You don't have to short rest twice to stack the Abjuration Ward. Even if you were going to short rest to do it you would only do it once. They get half of it when they wake up. They also don't have to do that. Just casting a couple of abjuration spells will build it up. Such as casting Shield in Combat as further defense. Short resting is just a way that people come up with for minmaxing that particular buff and you are treating as the only way to do it. Spells that an EK is likely going to be using anyway much of the time. Not to mention that it charges off of casting the spells through items as well. So it's not super hard to build up. it's only potential downfall in bg3 is how bg3 handles instances of damage. There are things that should all be one instance of damage that are instead potentially multiple instances of damage, not only for the pc but for some of the enemies as well. As for HP values. I'd have to go and double check, and there may be equipment that improves it (one amulet would change the numbers for example and is good for an EK) but the typical HP for an EK should not be 150. it should be more like somewhere between 100 to a bit over 120 or maybe 130 depending on your level. A seemingly small but not insignificant difference. And that's assuming that they have a con of +5... Plenty of them won't. Particularly an EK. Which means that if you want that kind of HP on your EK you have to give it something like said amulet for example. Because your EK is probably more likely rocking a +2 or +3 in Con because many are going to prioritize strength and other feats they desire for their builds over ASI's into Con itself. Does this make 20 health look even better? Certainly, But it also makes outright blocking 20 or 30 health of damage look even better as well. The heavy armor issue is kind of moot because it works in neither builds favor. This is because both have access to it and are benefitting from it. Also, your initial complaint was about damage not being enough. But you are wanting to use items dedicated to healing to do the same thing as the abjuration ward... Why not just use some or all of those slots to put on items that are going to boost your damage instead? Instead of putting on that 1d4 healing ring... put on the ring of acid and do 6 more damage with those basic weapon attacks instead. 12 if you action surge or haste or the like. Though let's keep the Helm of Balduran, not for the healing which is a drop in the bucket really, but because it blocks crits, makes you immune to stun, and gives you +1 AC and Saving Throws, which is all Heavily Defensive as you put it but also makes the Abjuration Wizard that much harder to hit on top of doing things like using Shield spells to boost their AC against some attacks as well as boosting their Abjuration ward to remove points of damage and bring it's total back higher, and etc. The sword of chaos. It's a nice pick for a weapon in general. But don't take it for the healing. that's almost incidental because of the synergies from it being a great sword that you can put into your build and things like that on top of it being a +2 and doing some extra necrotic damage. So it's just a strong weapon. But it's not always necessarily the best pick. You might well replace it with a +3 weapon instead for example. Or you might go 1 handed weapon and shield for almost as much damage (about a 3 point difference on average) and take a shield which further raises your AC and makes you harder to hit and thus reduces your damage more. Particularly when there is a shield with an additional +1 in the game you could take, Or a few "normal" shields with some nice added benefits.
i love tanky caster, in my team i have a pally/sorc and an eldrich knight / necro, it might not be optimal, but it's fun and i don't play on honor mode, just tactician so quite manageable
The problem with Eldritch Knight just does not mix and cohesively make the two classes together the way they look like they should at first glance. They aren't blended well and the abilities that do try to blend them tend to be too little and late coming. This has long been a problem in 5e and it's always been hype more than reality that's pushed any popularity. From everything that i've seen. BG3 mostly does nothing to fix that problem. it's still heavily the 5e design of not meshing as much as they seem like they should at a glance when you actually use it.
Ironically, Paladin/Sorcerer works out better in every way. Warlock/Sorcerer also works out better. In the case of the second, you end up with a single stat to determine hit chance and accuracy, long range and melee options, more spell slots, better action economy, and better out of combat utility
In bg3 I came up with an elder itch knight build that kinda fire 6 eldritch knight 6 wizard your ability scores should be 17 int 16 str and 14 con, get the hag hair increase int to 18 and with lvl 4 feat increase it to 20, and at level 6 of eldritch knight you can get another feat which will be str +2 and with the potion you can get in early act 2 you would have 20 str, so with 20str and 20 int, and with the hat that adds your spellcasting modifier to your attacks you are looking at +10 damage from your stats alone and if you add great weapon fighting that would be +20 with every attack, and with the wizard levels and some spell save dc gear you can literally deal with everything, you hate gortash? Just cast hold person and action surge and he is dead and with potions of speed and bloodlust elixirs it’s probably the strongest build I have ever played by far
@@zkf5448 in the balanced difficulty virtually every boss is done in 1-3 rounds. Not really much difference between various “good” builds in that regard. How is that different from any fighter’s ability to burst with action surge and haste? Right? Are you really using your 20 INT and your 20 STR equally? Sounds like a lot of ability points that could have improved your constitution or given you more saving throw for all the wisdom saves in the game. You have so few spell slots. How often are you having to rest if you’re using those spell slots to maximize the 20 INT you have? And, if you’re not using a ton of those spell slots so you don’t have to long rest every 4-5 combats … Do you need it? Would you have been better with a strength focus and 22 STR or maybe a dexterity build which can give you both amazing ranged damage and also great melee damage? Glad you’re enjoying your build. The game is a lot of fun!
@@zero11010 I soloed the game with this character in tactician difficulty, I can honestly say this is better than a regular str fighter,and it’s also better than a full wizard the survivability is pretty good,fighters usually don’t have any good way to deal aoe damage but this way you have all the dog aoe spells like lightning bolt and fire ball and the ice storm,and there is a ring that lets you use enchantment spells after attacking as a bonus action, I am really tuning this to be really powerful build
hey man! I religiously watch your bg3 content, it has immensely helped me to get on line in this game, and I cannot overstate how cool this is. I do have a question, though: is there like any sort of beef going on between you and fextralife? I've noticed that in vids before you mentioned that you didn't wanna give their wiki press, and now the eldritch knight video timing lines up extremely well too
Oh no not at all! There's a general sentiment against his practices but that's not really my place to say. People are very opinionated about it so it's better for me to opt out of linking to it than dealing with the situation. I prefer to link to the BG3 Wiki because it's an entirely community run wiki and I like the format far more. It's also constantly being updated. Fextras wiki usually stops being updated after a game launches it feels like
this is surprisingly very close to my EK build that i'm playing with a bunch of friends. i went the tanky route with a shield. one difference was i went 8 EK and 4 Evoc wizard for the extra feat the 4th lvl spell is nice but outside of haste there wasn't a spell that granted as much of a power spike at the 4th lvl (ice storm is nice tho + evoc makes sure i or allies don't get hit even in the middle of a horde) i mainly differ in the gear section. basically i "need" the arcane synergy ring, the cantrip augmentation ring, the arcane acuity helmet, the cape that gives temp hp when you cast a spell next to an enemy(which is always) and the constitution necklace from act 3 so i can keep concentration (advantage+fighter con prof). the rest (weapon, shield, chest, arms and leggings) can be whatever else (notable picks are the burnishing shield, gauntlets of strength the legendary circus spear, helldusk armor, and the leggings that give AC and acrobatics). with points you save you could even use med armor or place them into wis/char for more resistances. with everything your stats would essentially look like a boss' stats rather than a player. you'd have all the all the versatility as most wizard utility spells are below 4th lvl spells with above average aoe with glyph of warding/ice storm. you'd also have all the tankiness of fighter (with an AC so high i've had bosses try to leave me to attack the rest only to be held in place with sentinel) with higher offensive capabilities, due to haste and upkeeping arcane synergy and acuity (acuity btw gives you +7 to atk/spell rolls as well as DC save provided you hit with your weapon 4 times and synergy adding your spellcasting modif to atk dmg) that's the best one i've come up with. as strong as it may seem it's definitely a late game build. only really coming online toward the end of act 2 but its late game feels unmatched, you'll feel like you're 2-3 lvls above anything else even at lvl 12.
I wouldn't recommend Boots of very fast Blinking. If you read the description you leave all your clothes behind when you misty step lol. The boots Nere drop in Grymforge have Misty Step though as an alternative.
On the contrary, the boots are amazing to have for exploration lol, especially if you aren't a scroll hoarder and don't wanna use the illithid powers to fly. Free misty step and all you gotta do is take off your armor and re-equip it after.
EK with dwarves thrower can easily do 100+ dmg per action point. Its the most powerful single target range build. I run through tactician with 3 fighters + a life cleric. Probably the most easy run. Tried spell caster class, they rely too much on burst dmg such as chain lighting which can only be cast 5 times per long rest. Its not as fun as fighters
Learned the hard way, the boots of very fast blinking (the ones that give misty step) will drop all of your clothes on the ground if you ever use misty step.
Just a few things, 1) War Magic does not proc your extra attack off of your cantrip/attack, you would use this maybe if you have an enemy near you that won't benefit from multiple attacks, and an enemy further away that is low and maybe finishable. It's nitch and kinda sucks, but it's better than nothing. 2) The 6th level abjuration ability from Wizard is fine, and probably more useful than War Magic so a 6/6 split is probably better than a 7/5, but it's kinda meh. You essentially are projecting your ward onto an ally to reduce damage taken for them. I'd say way more valuable than War Magic on average, but it's still not great. You might be better served to pick up a 1-level dip in maybe War Cleric to utilize your bonus action as a third attack a few times during a big fight, though keep in mind this is still bugged so you'd want to take your 1 level cleric dip into War Cleric AFTER you take your fighter levels, so you'd do something like a 1 fighter, 2 wizard, 5 fighter, 1 cleric, 3 wizard build in terms of your leveling path. 3. You can hit 22 STR without any feats, and 20 by the very beginning of Act 2, so the melee possibilities are quite outrageous early on. I'd say take Great Weapon Master + the Charge Bound Warhammer you get from Dammon in Act 2 and go to town, though if you are into cheese you can just go pick up the Silver Sword from the Gith in Act 1 right at LV1. 4. For RP purposes as a gith, the best-looking armor(in my opinion) is the Cerebral Citadel Armour. It's essentially anti-illithid armor... and it shares the exact same design style as gith armor. Paired with the circlet of psionic revenge, and the gith boots are quite the RP flex. This setup isn't the best in terms of stats, so if you're wanting to min max... don't take this, but if you're only concerned about swag this is top tier. This also will give you +2 into int/wis/char saving throws, fear immunity, 1-4 psionic damage back to the enemy when succeeding a saving throw, and 1-4 dps after flying via the gith boots, so it's not gutter trash. For reference though so you don't have to test this yourself, the fly spell off the boots, and the LV3 fly spell activates the DPS from the boots(flying attack). Flying from the illithid power & sorcerer power however do not activate this, why, I have no idea.
Ok so I watched your wizard build and this one. You seem to know your wizard stuff lol. I'd love to see what you can do with Arcane Trickster, as you said, it's a tricky one😅
I turned halsin into a straight eldrich knight 12th lvl but I did him dual weild with 2 maces that add 1d6 poison with 1 piece of gear that has if you poison an enemy you heal 1d4 then a piece of gear if you heal someone you get bless so he just keeps heald up and blessed during the entire combat poisoning everything lol its bo t super strong but i got all attack cantrips and spells only and one item I have let's me do a weapon attack as a bonus action after attacking with a cantrip and with eldrich strike giving disadvantage on a spell save after a weapon attack its kinda cool to use weapon cantrip weapon cantrip or vise versa. I'm sure I an missing some combe type stuff that I haven't looked into yet .
I played similar build in my first tatician run. But I dipped 1 level to white dragon sorcerer for Armor of Agathys which happen to be an adjuration spell that last until long rest and concentration free. So, I'm free to cast something like haste.
I got an idea, why not change the helmet with the warped headband of intellect so you can relocate that points you invest in intellect to other attributes like dexterity, constitution or charisma ? it can help your character to be more tanky or more agile .. also i would personally suggest level 7 to eldrich knight since we will get 1 more attack with weapons if we use cantrip / spells to get more potential in attack, but the trade off is less defense and less spell slots. But what do you think of this ?
Just found this video a little tip to anyone else finding this video the boots of speedy light feet (you get in act 1 at the windmill) give you 2 arcane ward charge's every time you equip them so just unequip and re equip to keep charges active
Im doing 3 levels of EK, and the rest as a Beserker Barbarian. This was before i realized there were weapons with returning in the game, so it definitely could be bettwr optimized i bet lol It still is super fun though. I use the beserker throw ability to throw my weapon 3 times in a turn, and the EK spells are spells like thunderwave to aid my character if he does happen to get surrounded. Plus, throwing enemies as weapons NEVER gets old 🤣🤣🤣
While this looks like (and probably is) a fun build to try out, it's definitely not efficient, much less "the best one" from a practical standpoint, because it's just not synergistic. The reality is you'll never need 80% of the spells on that skill bar, because they directly compete with your weapon attacks, which are always a stronger move. An Eldritch Knight is a fighter class, and your magic is there to complement your weapon combat in a way that lets you handle unique situations that a typical fighter cannot. It's not meant to be used independently, because then you're just a weaker wizard. The moment you start prioritizing spellcasting over weapon combat, you might as well just switch to a different class entirely, because you're shooting yourself in the foot that way and sacrificing what actually makes a fighter strong. If you want to be really strong and effective as an Eldritch Knight, you'd want to go up to at least level 11 for Improved Extra Attack. 3 weapon attacks in one turn will always outdamage any single spell you can use by a long shot, which is what makes spellcasting a situational move, rather than the focus of your class. By that token, you only want to look at spells with some kind of utility in mind - "Is there any situation where I'd get more value from this spell than just doing 2-3 hits in that turn?" If the answer is yes, then you can consider getting that spell, otherwise it's just a waste of space. Spells like Misty Step and Expeditious Retreat are always excellent choices because they're bonus actions that give you hyper mobility without sacrificing attacks, and ritual spells like Longstrider, Enhance Leap and Feather Fall are great if you want more out of combat utility or party buffs. Shield is another must-have in my book, since it's a reaction that makes you virtually impossible to hit without even having to use an actual shield, thus leaving you free to run a two-handed weapon and not worry about defense. Blur is essentially an advanced version of that for when you're under a lot of pressure, and your concentration will likely hold if you have decent constitution (which you should). Magic Missiles is one of the few offensive spells worth picking up, since it doesn't miss and can also hit enemies outside of your line of sight, which makes it a good option for hitting enemies in strange positions or for breaking enemy concentration. Scorching Ray is probably the only spell with damage comparable to that of your weapon (if you have the Diadem of Intellect, which is fairly easy to get), so using it to nuke an enemy from afar is worth it if you can't get to them physically or your weapon is ineffective for some reason. However, a cantrip attack + bow strike (if you're at least level 7) is also an option in that situation, so you should always think twice about expending a spell slot just for a bit of extra damage! Of course, there are other decent spells to use as an EK too, but those are some of the ones that are really worth considering in my opinion, and ones that you probably won't go wrong with. Scrolls are also always useful to have in hand, just in case you want to cover for a spell that's missing in your bar, but may see yourself using occasionally. If you're the talker of the group, you can also run the Friends cantrip and even Detect Thoughts (also a ritual spell) to be automatically good at conversation checks without putting any points in Charisma, which makes for an overall very versatile character! Having said that, the main reason I don't consider multiclassing with wizard (or any other class really) to be worth it as an Eldritch Knight is that, while you do get the ability to learn spells from scrolls, you can only do so with level 1 and 2 spells, and pretty much all the useful ones for an EK are already in your own spell list to begin with. On the other hand, if you put more than 1 level into wizard just to get access to level 3 and 4 spellcasting, you lose out on important fighter benefits such as Improved Basic Attack and Indomitable, which makes for an overall weaker character, albeit one with a bigger spellbook. For anyone looking to multiclass a fighter subclass with a spellcaster while prioritizing the spellcasting component, I'd suggest looking into Champion instead, as it's a solid "base class" with many passive benefits to cover for a spellcaster's weaknesses without the useless fluff. ^^
Currently playing a half-drow wild magic sorcerer and planning on romancing Gale, so I wanna keep him in my party as often as I can, but having 50% of my party be full casters feels way too squishy, so I'm gonna use this to turn Gale into a tank lol
The Psionic Ward Armor can be obtained in Act 2. After you have pissed off the Gith at the Creshe and Vlaakith sends hunters after you. It's the same commander that gives you the bracers as well.
Been thinking of making this sort of combo. Would there be any downside to doing a respec and dropping int to 8 once you get that headband that increases int to 17?
My Karlach is an Eldritch Knight as well :) 4 lvl Eldrich Knight only to bind a weapon and get a feat (ability improvement), 3 lvl Thief for the extra bonus action and 5 lvl Berserker for extra attack, a feat (tavern brawler) as well as the rage throw action to chuck' her Great sword. Ever been 'sneak attacked' by a 6 feet tall Sword through your chest?!
Try just going all fighter for a couple hours. Three attacks per attack action is staggering. Bloodlust the fighter. You’ll regularly kill a thing and get 3 additional attacks. Lasts until long rest … and if you’re not burning resources that ONE elixir can last half an act. Your fighter still has options for haste for 3 more attacks. Potion of speed makes this easier with how plentiful those are. Now you’re often at 9 attacks in a single round. It doesn’t even really matter what kind of fighter you make. A bow? Sword and shield? The polearm build is fun with a ton of extra chances to get reaction attacks. The legendary rapier is scary good. And of course the greatswords are fantastic. Imagine the simple act 3 chaos sword. +1D6 self heals per hit on the enemy. With 6-7 attacks per round regularly! (Bump another 3 with any form of haste plus another 3 with action surge) Just try it. See what it’s like to play without having to spend rages or action surge. If you try the rapier build give an ally the Bloodthirst dagger so your fighter does double damage on all those attacks (potentially 16 attacks in a single round, I think which makes crit farming with champion fighter and crit gear pretty awesome). It’s fun to melt through enemies without having to spend resources where you only get a couple per long rest (like rage or action surge).
Thanks so much for this! Any plans to make more build recommendations? I just finished my first play through and have been brainstorming fun builds to "RP" as but sometimes its fun to take a build and roleplay along with it :)
@@italianspartacus i dont know if there's videos about it, but scorching rays machine gun sounds cool, trying to get as many rays as possible. Not an expert on the game but i find the idea funny.
with the ability point distribution couldnt I as a main character Gith face of party put those points into wisdom and use astral knowledge to gain proficiency in the charisma stats? would that be viable?
How about Paladin6/Abjuration Wiz 6, you lose a feat, but get an extra 4th and a 5th level spell, and a neat aura that makes you tankier.. You do get very MAD tho :P
to me the biggest problem with eldritch knight is that is called ELDRITCH but uses INTELIGENCE. the biggest fix they could do is allow him to pick either inteligence or charisma for his spells stat.
I had the same idea in 5e. Just EK multiclass with a War wizard and you bassicaly have a better EK. 12 EK/8 War Wizard i would say. Sad that the war wizard subclass is not in BG3.
Feels like great weapon fighting is a bad direction to take this build. If you’re doing great weapon fighting you’re going to want 11 levels in fighter for 3 attacks with that focused great weapon per turn (6 with bloodlust, 9 with haste), plus bonus action attacks and reaction attacks (sentinel and mage slayer plus opportunity attacks). If I build to maximize that great weapon I’m not going to want to … just do a single 3D10 firebolt instead of all of those weapon attacks. And the build has so few spell slots … you’re not going to be using spell slots each round unless you do a long rest after 10 rounds of combat each day.
The right items can make a build for real. My pure EK is absolutely busted. I'm just now at Moonrise with an unboosted AC of 21 without a shield. Gloves of Dex and the bow that adds my strength modifier to damage. Gloves and ring that add fire and poison damage. My spells just exist to buff and protect me. Always have longstrider and haste on. I'm attacking 3 times in a row and there's no one on the field who is safe from me. The rest of my party is there for moral support.
I bought the game, but I have only played D&D once in my life, so I honestly have almost no idea what I'm doing. An Eldritch Knight just sounds cool, though.
Great weapon fighting style gives you the bonus for weapons that can be wielded in one hand such as longswords as well as two handed weapons such as great swords. You cannot be using a shield though. So, the longsword is being used in both hands.
Eldritch Knight without Eldritch Blast isn't Eldritch enough however Eldritch Knight with Eldritch Blast then that's an Eldritch Knight Edit: how do you even get to the 9th on the chart??
I am going to try going for 11 EK/1 Wizard and just use scrolls with the 17 int headpiece (then later, go 18 int and use elixir of cloud giant strength)
I recently respec from 12 EK to 6EK 6Abdj. It's been a lot of fun. But it's making kinda hope they add expansions to increase the level cap. But that would be years in the future.
I’m running something similar but I lean into shadow blade as my main spell and weapon. There’s a ring that grants it but…if you grab the 5e spells mod you can learn the spell and upcast it with a lvl 4 spell slot that’ll increase it to 4d8 psychic damage as weapon damage while still using a shield. There’s another ring that adds an additional 1d4 psychic while concentrating. As long as you’re in dim or darkness, you get advantage. With mirror image, the shield spell, and just high AC from armor and the abjuration damage reduction synergies, it’s incredibly rare that concentration on shadow blade is broke.
About the gith weapong: you can pick disguise self as a wizard. Disguise yourself as a gith. Equip the weapon. And you'll get the bonus. Not only that, the bonus will remain even if you dispell the disguise. AAAAAND best part: it will remain even after long rest. It will only be "dispeled" if you unequip the weapon. But you can do the same process again.
Dude that's fucking pro gamer level. I had no idea thank you so much for sharing
Oh but the huge downside is that you gotta look like a beef jerky...
Thanks for this. I was finally able to replicate the bug. Note, once you use Disguise Self and then dispel it, if you change any equipment, it will remove the buffs. That’s why I couldn’t do this before using the Disguise Helmet from the Deluxe edition.
@@JohnSmith-bs9ym not, you can dispel the disguise after you equip the weapon, so you can look like yourself again
Heh heh heh... stupid weapon 🙃
I multiclassed my EK with 5 levels of warlock. Dumped str, maxed charisma for pact of the blade It's super fun.
Very great shout here I like that a lot
I think this combo (5 levels of warlock+meele class) works better for paladin/warlock: Either OoAncients or Vengence 7/Fiend5 or Paladin 5 Archfey 7(Greater Invisibility), personally I went Ancients7/Fiend5, it is very tanky, for spell selection I recommend to avoid damage (you are melee after all) and take stuff like misty step and big boi counterspell, for feats depends on your weapon but if you go 2H, then great weapon master is a must
@@adamnowicki1425 You're not wrong, I just wanted to try out the war magic subclass ability and live out my witcher fantasies :D
@@adamnowicki1425 No one asked, no one cares. See he used the word fun? He didnt ask for what build is the best. God you people are annoying.
@adamnowicki1425 go hard with oathbreaker7/blade GOO lock 5. Aura of hate adds cha to damage again, my last playthrough with hellbeard Halberd, helldusk gloves GWM risky ring caustic band I was doing like 28-49 dmg per attack I think, then adding smites, I did over half of Raphael's hp in one turn, I think I did like 400 dmg (I did crit twice but)
Of all the BG3 info videos out there, you have my favorite format. The TDLR, the presentation, etc. top notch. I hope your sub ratio improves, good luck!
Thanks so much man, that's so kind of you!!
@@italianspartacusI have time agree as well. When I get suggested one I havnt seen and am interested in genuinely, I get kind giddy because I know I'm in good hands with the information I'm looking for with direct and concise explanations. I'm running my first dull playthrough on my channel atm and my main is running 2 lock, 1 wizard af of now with 2 bard, im going full utility with her as I wanna free up all the other 3 for carnage. I switch karlach to a barb/pally/cleric, gale into a spore doorid(which I'm kind of jealous I didn't do for my main, but I'm gonna stick out the decision I layed down) and astarion is always the Rouge ranger with tadpoles for me. But I very felt like, the bar is simply missing something. I classed into the high elf to use civil milita proficiencies .and man, I wanna put that to use. So hoping I find something in the video that nudges that creative theory craft.
Appreciate the video, already subbed a bit ago, many love and hope we can change that metric.
I made a 7 EK for War magic and 5 tempest cleric for call lightning build.
Since call lightning is considered a cantrip after the first cast, you can cast Call lightning and make a weapon attack with the war magic from EK 7 using a bonus action. Not the most powerful build, but pretty solid and fun for a "Thor" playthrough
@loveyourself3246well i imagine you need strength because duh fighter but wisdom dump is a must
Or just take two weapon fighting at level 1 on your fighter and make a full damage off hand attack without the need for 7 fighter levels. Take shocking grasp as a sorc at level 2, and then just sorc all the way or take a 3 level detour to thief rogue so you can call lightning and smash out two weapon attacks per turn, or call lightning, attack, and dash. Or whatever else. Its like having permanent haste
That's a pyre damage build. You'll have less ac, lose access to some good shields, have to take the dual wielding feat if you don't wanna limit your weapon choices, and may not suit someone's build.
@@Local_commentor if you dump wis the call lightning will do nothing though
@loveyourself3246the way I did it was using hill giant potions to dump my strength and buff my con and wisdom, and dex with dexterity gloves so I had high iniative
I love a class that’s prepared for whatever niche situation it might find itself in and if there are no right tools for the situation they will make it work
finally Eldritch Knight video that actually has Eldritch Knight
I have a different take on Eldritch knights. Take Ranger instead of warrior but build it as a melee character (focus on strength and int) pick ranger knight, any of the element resistance, titan slayer and all ritual spells. Now you also have access to 5th spell slot and an additional 4th spell slot, good spells such as hunters mark, longstrider, speak with animals, silence from ranger and also access to 5th tier wizard spells. Ranger have proficiency with all weapons and ranger knight gives you heavy armor. Only downside is not having action surge but upsides heavily outweighs downsides.
Best part about this is you can easily mix ranger with any caster. I am currently playing a ranger warlock that can attack 3 times per turn and with titan slayer and hunters mark/hex, you do so much damage and pact of the blade lets you dump all points in charisma and still do max damage with any weapon while also having access to eldritch blast and hunger of hader.
yeah the problem is that eldritch knight has barely any spell progression
@@yari4046 Yeah, because they had to make it a third caster, because you only get your spell slots at third level. Kind of stupid i you ask me, especially with known spells being limited to abjuration and evocation, but it is what it is.
Sure, but you are also losing a feat. At that point it's a question of which one is more valuable to you.
@@texteel If you think having just 1 more feat is better than having more spell slots + broken 5th tier spells like hold monster & artistry of war plus all the extra benefits of ranger class then you do you my dude.
If you allocate your points efficiently and get hags hair/use strength elixir/use stat items like amulet of greater health and gauntlet of hill giants strength, you can easily get everything you want with 2 feats.
Hey there Spartacus. I watched all your class guides and they are very informative and indepth. But it would be cool if you showed off some combat with that class/build at the end of the video, like you did in this one. Talking about spells and feas is good, but showing them all off is even better.
TY for making good educational content!
my pleasure man thank you so much for watching! i'll definitely look into that next time :D
I would LOVE see more videos like this, so much detail on a class build + multi class. I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to build my party to make them as optimal as possible for my playthrough
I think straight eldritch knight for 12 levels is underrated. Fighter is so good on its own it's kind of a hame to miss out on fighter levels, with the third attack and extra feats.
You just have to look at it as a fighter that ALSO gets Shield, Blur, misty step and stuff like Hold person. If you combine it with arcane acuity, which is really easy to stack with all those attacks and something like encrusted with frost you'll be hitting all the CC without even needing to invest into int. Also, something that isn't mentioned is that eldritch strike, a level 10 feature that gives enemies disadvantage on saving throws after you hit them, also works with on-hit effects, not just stuff you cast. That means that with arcane acuity + eldritch strike you'll be able to cc even bosses easily. Plus, you're almost unkillable due to blur, mirror image, shield and heavy armor. I made Lae'zel into an EK and she can basically solo the game on tactician.
Neat combo - winters's clutches gloves and cold enchant ok your weapon from drakethroat glaive with arcane acuity helmet. You'll freeze bosses in one round :)
Yeah fighter is busted in this game, regardless of subclass. It’s funny that in tabletop casters are king, but in BG3 martials are often stronger. I think it’s largely due to the insane amount of powerful equipment/armor/weapons that is thrown at us. A single character could be equipped with multiple legendary items and everything else they have is ‘just’ very rare. Basically any class is OP if you equip them well - but fighter benefits because if you have the-mythical-sword-of-bonking…. You wanna be able to bonk more times, and that’s exactly what fighter does. If instead the best weapon we got was some generic +2, then melee attacks just wouldn’t scale as well as higher level spells.
Despite that I like going 6/6 fighter/sorcerer. This way I can take battlemaster for the superiority die and still have spell slots. Sorcerer is also super flexible, I can just consume all my slots, make a few extra level 3 slots, and boom, I can quicken fast haste on myself for every fight - I now do 4 attacks per standard turn instead of only 3 from a pure fighter build. My charisma could be 8 for all I care.
Yeah, went 11 ek and 1 war priest. Got that thor hammer from act 2 and I do fine. 3 atks, I enlarge to go giant and I got that ring that does more damage if concentrating on spell. Hits like a truck.
Wow, I am trying to build an Eldritch Knight for my newest playthrough, and I really want some wizard levels for flavor but wasn't sure how to go about it. Your timing is impeccable! Thank you!
how did your playthrough go? based on this video, your eldritch knight got carried through the adventure like a sack of potatoes.
@@Tomiisomaa I am just now in Act 3 on that playthrough, am going 6/6 EK/WIZ, and so far it's pretty bonkers. She's 6/4 I think now. She uses 2 arcane acuity items and an item that adds INT modifier to all your attacks if you use an elemental cantrip. She dual weilds the EK lightning hammer and phalar aluve. It's not OP, but taking advantage of the wet condition pushes it into OP territory. She mostly casts buffs and the occasional fireball, but can land any control spell when needed thanks to arcane acuity.
After playing a run as an Eldritch Knight here is my two cents:
> If this build is for your Tav I would consider dumping INT and picking up the warped headband of intellect, those ability points will likely serve you better invested into CHA for face-of-the-party stuff, and/or CON, particularly if you are using concentration spells i.e blur/darkness
> The Helldusk Gloves are another great option for a combined spellcaster/melee; adding a +1 bonus to Spell Attack Rolls and Spell Save DC, and 1d6 fire damage to all weapon attacks
Personally id dump INT at the beginning for that headband, and respec to dump STR in act 3 once you get Gauntlets of Giant Strength
Hey paisano! I'm totally taking the great advice from this video to play with friends. I went Red Dragonborn for the drip and I'm doing the EK/Wiz split!
Bringing my first ever D&D character to life from years has been awesome so far!
@italianspartacus I know im just another Sub out of 221k, My health has left me bed ridden for a few years now and your vids have been keeping me in good spirits as of late. Thank you for doing what you do !
Aw man that's the best comment. Thank you so much dude. I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm very happy to hear that my videos in some way help!! Is there any subject you'd like me to cover?? I can make a special video for ya!
@italianspartacus how about a video about duelist vs dual wield vs 2 hand, pros and cons with feats/class discussion? there is actually very little forum/reddit discussion about it !
Dude the way the structure your videos is so nice thank you
I am playing a Duergar Eldritch Knight/Divination Wizard in my Tactitian co-op run with two of my friends (Monk+Rogue / Warlock+Bard). There definitely has been an identity crisis with my character lol.
In the beginning, I went Fighter 1/ Wizard 1, then gunning for Eldritch Knight Fighter 6 and Abjuration Wizard after that. Game plan was to be the more support role with spells and being able to combat at any range since I had the close range Monk and spell sniping Warlock in my party. Dumped Intelligence and Strength, using the Headband of Intelligence and Potions of Hill/Cloud Giant Strength to pick up the slack (at least until the Ogre Strength gloves in Act 3). Sharpshooter appealed to me, but I quickly learned BG3 doesn't apply it to throwing weapons :'). And when I finally picked up Abjuration's Arcane Ward, I noticed it wasn't really worth. Arcane Ward blocked maybe 4-5 damage per Long rest. With my high AC, the Shield spell, and my Monk rushing in, I barely got hit by weapons, really only getting hurt by splash damage or saving throw spells. But a point was made in this video; Arcane Ward, Heavy Armor Master, and say Armor of Persistance is freaking tanky, but really is a late game combo.
In Act 2, I tried the throwing build but quickly respec'd to Fighter 1/Divination Wizard X. Improved Portent Die is SO fun, especially when I am using spells. Really gives me that support feel. However, my DPS fell off, but I was fine with that as my other two friend's DPS only got stronger with each level. And if I wanted, I just used scrolls to pretend to be a competent caster. Only thing of note is my Charisma. I had to invest to 14 CHA as I am the host and some cutscenes default to me, mostly after transitioning areas between cutscenes.
We are currently in Wyrm's Crossing in Act 3 at level 10. Notable gear that is probably going to the end build I currently use are Headband of Intelligence, Ketheric's Shield, Undermountain King Shortsword/Blood of Lathander/Infernal Rapier for the occasion, Titanstring Bow (since I'm boosting Strength and have good Dex, damage range is decent), Magic Missle amulet (monk player has dibs on Constitution Amulet), Risky Ring, and Band of the Mystic Scoundrel. The Mystic Scoundrel plus Magic Initiate: Bard for Bonus Action Vicious Mockery with the monk carrying the resonance stone item from the end of Act 2 to give disadvantage to mental saves AND vulnerability to Psychic damage?? I absolutely don't need Extra Attack when I can stab them then insult them for 6-24 psychic damage. Or shoot an arrow and Bonus Action upcast Hold Person the most notable threats.
I plan to respec again at level 11 to go Eldritch Knight Fighter 3/Divination Wizard X, primarily to set my support spells (Blade Ward, Friends, Longstrider, Mage Armor for Warlock, Featherfall, Shield, Magic Missle, etc) as my Eldritch Knight spells, freeing up my prepped Wizard spells. Currently debating if I want EK 3/DW 9 or EK 4/DW 8, only real difference is having two Level 5 spell slots vs one Level 5 spell slot plus third Feat.
Overall, from my experience playing one, I'd say going Eldritch Knight is good for either a throwing build or for getting CON proficiency, Heavy Armor, Martial Weapons, extra cantrips and support spells then dipping over to Wizard after level 3 or 4 (if you don't mind sacrificing the level 6 spell slot). Highly recommend the Band of Mystic Scoundrel to get those Bonus Action spells after weapon attacking. Probably better on Paladin 2/Sorcerer X as you still get level 6 spells, but still fun here.
I went more for a lich knight. Investing most ability points into intelligence and went for necromancer the first 6 lvl for better zombis and lvl 4 Spellslot. Since Zombis are immune to poison u can cast deathcloud onto the enemies and let ur zombis run wild. *spoiler warning* with ethels hair and the first feat i went for 20 intelligence and switched to duelling fighter. Act I at the mountain pass u buy gauntlets that push ur dexterity to 18. U can either use Rapiers from there or use Phalar Aluve( Longsword, Underdark, Act I). its flexible so u can use ur dexterity for melee attacks and it fits the theme to have a screaming sword^^ Since ur not wearing real armor u can still use mage armor and with dex 18 and a shield u can push ur base AC up to 19. Act II u get a rapier that uses ur spellcasting modifier for attacks, a headpiece that gives ur undead resistance to physic dmg and kethrics shield that improves spellcasting. With the Act I necromancer book u can get 4 additional ghoul summons in Act III. Alternativly u can use any weapon, armor u want and simply always have a elixier of strengh in ur inventory
11:55 "that'll do pig" great "Babe" reference there.
I love your content, you have the best guides for BG3! Always enjoyable, keep up the good work. I'd love to see a video about multiclassing in general, more specifically, how far you generally recommend leveling each class when multiclassing to get the most bang for your buck. I know this is definitely dependent on the specific multi-class build as well, as well as playstyle/an individuals preferences, but I think general recommendations would be a cool video. Example: Making a Paladin/Storm Sorcerer build and wondering how far to take each to get the most out of feats and subclass features.
Hmm that's a real interesting subject, I'm sure I could whip something up fun on that notion :) Like How many levels of a melee character is worth it before it's NOT worth it type of thing
Just chiming in the reinforce the notion. I'd find that useful, and if you did a bit highlighting specific levels for different classes, that would be a video I could come back to multiple times for many builds.
Ahh yes, been waiting for your take on this. I have been on the fence about wether or not turn Gale into this or just keep him a wizard. Thanks man!
HELPFUL TIPS! Im doing this exact build in my game. 6EK/6WIZ and currently lvl 7... a great thing to do is to learn wizard spells earlier than you would picking them during level up through scrolls... For example: Since I did 6 lvls EK then 1 lvl of Wizard, I can now learn Blur a lvl 2 spell at lvl 7 instead of lvl 9 like he shows in the video by using scrolls! This works with all wizard spells like learning Fire Ball at lvl 9 instead of lvl 11 when the game is almost over etc...
-Recommendation: using Blur as your main concentration spell is Fn Amazing!!! It really makes you like the best Tank Character in the game! Im using Defense Fighting Style, Blood of Lathander plus a shield, using gear to get the highest AC possible, and im literally untouchable!
-Starting ability stat spread was 17 Str, 10 Dex, 16 Con, 8 Int, 14 Wis, 8 Cha.
-Casters are your only weakness. So to counter that a bit, I put dex at 10 and Wis to 14. Since we dont need Dex with heavy armor. I deceided to wear the Int Headband to bring my 8 Int to 17 so I could focus my ability points elsewhere.
-My First feat i took at lvl 4 was ATHLETE (+1Str and +50% jump distance) giving us 18 Str, and if you havent tried a jump build yet Its Awesome! Literally jump accross the entire battlefield. You can also prebuff enhanced leap to make it even better since it is a ritual spell not taking a spell slot out of battle!
-2nd feat I chose at lvl 6 was ALERT for better Initiative since we dumped Dex. But can choose something different if Initiative isnt important to you...
How did this strat go?
@GamerPro9495 Dude, this build is awesome! Obviously you could get more damage going with a 2 handed great sword, but its meant to be your front line tank. This build is so fun and you are literally untouchable except by casters. The 6 last lvls in wizard are for extra spell slots and should only be used on the shield spell and blur! I did switch out the alert feat and took War Caster instead at lvl 6 to hold concentration better on Blur. Then took Alert as my 3rd feat. So have 17 str starting stat, at level 4 take Athlete so now you up to 18 str, then in Act 2 there is a vendor in moonrise towers that if astarion bites she gives you a permanent +2 to str, so youll be up to 20 str in act 2. There is this AWESOME weapon I found too. It's called the Charge Bound Hammer. Extra damage for Eldritch Knight on it, and when you cast tge drakethroat Glaive's ability on it to, it becomes godly. There is a ring that give extra dmg while concentrating on a spell and also the 2 acid dmg ring. You can really stack so many damage types on it! Remember not to get you AC too high tho, because you WANT the enemies to swing at you and not your squishy range characters! Good luck brother!
This is my Arcane Warrior from DA:O come to BG3. Thank you for this build. Using the disguise self spell to be able to equip Gith goodies, I can play as a High Elf, works with Dragon Age lore, and works, for me in my mind, with BG3.
My only thoughts, less tanky sure, but having a fighter that can center aoe spells on himself sounds like a good reason to take evocation subclass. It's another option, and sounds like fun 😝
One of the things that I did was dump my intelligence in place of starting with a 17 strength and constitution, as well as keeping something else like wisdom from being low, since perception runs off of wisdom, and grabbed the headband of intellect off of the ogres to raise my intelligence to 17, and just used any of the feats that I needed, or wanted for ASI’s, or things to help with specific kinds of combat styles. I’ve also seen strength be made into a dump stat as well, and using a bunch of the elixirs of hill giant strength as a substitute to maintain a 21 strength until long rest, until getting the scalp, potion of vigor, and the gauntlets that grant a 23 strength to make room for other attributes like intelligence and constitution.
Lol @ 12 minutes in he says "that'll do pig ".... A reference from the movie babe😂😂🎉
Thanks so much for watching today my bros! let me know any other fun builds you'd like to see and I'll WHIP EM UP!
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I was deciding between a fighter/warlock hybrid or this, and you have convinced me. I’m not going to do that thrown weapon silliness either.
Great thing about eldrich knight you can multicass it with any full spell caster, not wizards necessarily. Just PYF and ignore Intelligence if it's not a wizard
I am running a wizard/fighter with no int, purely concentration based fighter with haste on demand along with all the other helpful party spells. You can actually also build a summoning/buffing caster this way, you don´t need points in your main stat for powerful summons as a druid.
Its pointless unless you take it to 11.
it was a weird choice keeping the Sword Coast Adventurer Guide content out of a game set in the Sword Coast. SCAG spells and subclasses would have been easy to implement.
*I actually think vanilla Eldritch Knight with no multi-classing is lowkey top-tier, if we imagined a PVP system between characters or solo runs. Hear me out:*
The way I think Eldritch Knight comes across to most players is "so close yet so far." For example, they do not get level 3 spells, and there's a LOT of great spells that get unlocked at that specific spellcasting level, and they miss out.
HOWEVER...
I think this is lowkey counteracted by the fact Eldritch Knights are "so close yet so far" *in multiple categories.* We view this as a disappointment, and that's understandable, but in this specific case, it makes them a jack-of-all-trades that's actually really potent, rather than being sub-par in all of them.
So what makes a pure Eldritch Knight good?
*1) The gear in-game supports this.* You can freely dump all your stats into Dex, INT and Wisdom (for Wisdom checks) and pick up items to increase both your Constitution and Strength to 23. This means it's possible to "cap" all their stats they used whilst still having some left over to give to Wisdom. There is likewise an endgame bow that grants self-casting Haste, which again diminishes the need to multiclass at all.
*2) Good defensive abilities.* First is Indomitable, a fighter ability at level 9 (why you don't multiclass) that lets you reroll failed saving throws. Rerolling and advantage aren't quite the same, so for example if you take Shield Master, you NEGATE the damage of a lot of high level dex-based ability checks (basically anything lightning and the upper most frost spells, so no combining lightning or frost with wet status for bonus damage) and have advantage on these checks. Not only do you have advantage, but should you somehow fail the advantage rolls, Indomitable lets you reroll your advantage. An Eldritch Knight with Shield Master will roll 4 dice against most magic-based damage spells and abilities, meaning spellcasters struggle to damage them.
*EDIT:* Was mistaken; Shield Master is +2 to Dex throws, meaning you can get up to a +8, but not advantage. Here the reroll simulates advantage. However, a Gnome Eldritch Knight for example would indeed roll 4 dice against Wisdom saving throws. Blur mentioned below might also suit this purpose.
Add onto this, remember how I said you're free to dump points into Dex? Grab the Armor of Agility for 17 AC + no dex cap. Depending on how you build yourself, it is feasible to get up to 23 AC using this armor with possible dex values for your character (22 demands a specific stat boost be used on dex, but honestly with STR and Constitution being artificially boosted to 23 and the only competitor being Intelligence, Dex is probably the best pick) before including anything else. After this, there's a shield that provides +3 for 26, a helm that adds +1 with immunity to stun abilities as well for 27, and if you want, a cape and ring with +1 that can bring you up to 29.
On top of all of those, you still have access to shield, blur, and mirror image. Shield means anyone that happens to land a 29 can simply be negated via a spell cast. Or alternatively - or both - you demand they hit that 29 *with disadvantage* by putting Blur on yourself.
You could also take Defensive Duelist to have a makeshift "Shield" for when you're out of spell slots, though this is optional and build-based, as this ability requires you use a Finesse weapon. You might alternatively prefer Tavern Brawler, since Eldritch Knight can also bind weapons and throw things for better offense.
Either way, you are effectively forcing Spellcasters to use non-optimal "all or nothing" constitution checks against your 23 constitution + Indomitable, whilst melee users struggle to hit you.
*3) Good offensive abilities:*
To start us off:
*"But wait, why Armor of Agility?! There's another set I like that halves all incoming physical damage for one less AC!"*
And it's perfectly viable too. However: War Magic.
War Magic allows Eldritch Knights to cast a cantrip instead of one of their 3 attacks per turn, but the Cantrip must be casted first. Sounds kinda lame, right?
Pick up Bon Chill, True Strike and Blade Ward.
*Are you facing a physical-based opponent who hits like a truck?* Every 2nd turn, sacrifice one of your three attacks per turn (improved extra attack at level 11) to bolster your defense and get the best of both worlds.
*Are you facing an opponent that's particularly difficult to hit?* Use True Strike to counteract this. Cast it, attack, and if needed, cast it again to set up the target for your next turn.
*Are you facing an opponent that spams self-heals?* Sacrifice one of your attacks to Bone Chill the opponent and block heals, then continue with 2 normal attacks.
*Another nice little boost is Eldritch Strike.* After you hit an opponent with a weapon attack, your spells checks have advantage. This means if you swing your sword and then cast Hold Person, you're casting Hold Person with advantage. Another spell you can use is Dominate Person via the Nymph Cloak if wearing it, a level 5 spell you usually wouldn't have access to, and now you cast it with advantage.
"But wait, am I ALLOWED to cast it immediately after, or do I have to wait until the next turn?!"
*4) wut rings u got bihtc?*
*Ring of Mystic Binding:* "After hitting a creature with a weapon attack, you can cast illusion or enchantment spells as a bonus action." Turns out, pretty much ALL the control spells available to Eldritch Knights without multicasting are illusion and enchantment. This means you can hit someone with your sword with the first attack, use a bonus action to cast Hold Person with Advantage, THEN use your two extra attacks *in the same turn and before the opponent even has a chance to do another saving throw.* Attacks on an entity with Hold Person automatically crit, so this is free damage.
*Eversight Ring:* The wearer cannot be blinded. Know what this means...? That's right, we exploiting Darkness. Cast Darkness, sit in that thing, and much like a Warlock who sits inside it and casts Eldritch Blast, you are now sitting inside it and using your endgame bow to attack three times per turn. Except not only do enemies have Disadvantage when trying to hit you, you have waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more AC than a standard Warlock would, and you can even use Shield to cancel out the few attack attempts that would go through. And if you did go with a Tavern Brawler build, you are doing buttloads of damage as you throw your bound weapon the the enemy with your 23 Strength + Strength modifier twice. (guarantee 18 damage *minimum* as long as the attack connects)
*TL;DR* I think all of us initially look at Eldritch Knight and favor Battlemaster for it's flexibility, or we understandably think "why not Battlemaster + Wizard?" We also lack knowledge of what the game's endgame gear looks like while starting out. It is 100% understandable why people look at Eldritch Knight and think "this class is garbage."
In practice though...? It excels both offensively and defensively, and there's looooooooooads of gear that synergizes stupidly good with Eldritch Knights. It is not "sub-par" in each category, it is excellent in each whilst other classes choose to be phenomenal in only one.
Don't get me wrong, Battlemaster is still great too, but having tried both now, my summary would be: Battlemaster to provide more accessible CC and aid the team more, Eldritch Knight if you want one juggernaut who doesn't go down never ever ever because no one can hit the damned guy. The Battlemaster will aid the team more, the Eldritch Knight will solo the fight better. (and screw Champion lol it's garbage)
And no, I don't think multiclassing is actually better. I think Eldritch Knight finds a way to make full-classing it just BARELY worth it. You might say "yeah barely," but this isn't a 60% D- where you're disappointed with the result. No, this is "pass" or "did not pass," and Eldritch Knight passes and justifies full-classing it.
Damn, bro. Looks like you did your research, I wish I understood half of what was written here as a newbie.
@@user-mu8dm4rk7g To try and simplify it for any newcomers, breaking this down by section:
*On AC:* Armor class determines how hard you are to hit. For example, in a vacuum, someone with 20 AC demands their opponent rolls a 20 in order to hit them, aka the max roll possible. This is also influenced by your opponent's attack roll modifier.
By endgame, attack rolls can benefit from the attacking stat and a proficiency bonus, which automatically levels with your character. For example, a level 12 Barbarian that attacks rolls a D20, then if we imagine the Barb with 23 Strength, they get +6 Strength modifier (+1 per two levels above 10) and + 4 proficiency bonus. (just how it's set. Same for all characters) This means the barb effectively has a +10 to his roll and would meet a AC 20 character as though he just needs to roll a 10 or higher.
....And this is why the ~27+ AC I was talking about with Battlemaster is absolutely disgusting. The Barb with a whopping 23 Strength and level 12 would still need to roll a 17 or higher to land a hit.
And if that isn't enough, Eldritch Knight can cast Shield, which gives +5 AC for that turn. Anything above 30 AC is effectively impossible to hit without a nat 20, and Eldritch Knight can temporarily reach this. This means that should the Barb finally manage to hit an attack, you can use a reaction to say "NOPE, he missed." Eldritch Knights arguably have access to the highest AC values in the game for this reason.
*On Dex saves against spells:*
Spells work a bit different. Basically, they go against your stat Saving Throw. If a spell does NOT mention any form of save, it works normally vs. AC. Spells that go against saving throws use Difficulty class (DC) instead of attack rolls, which is basically just their casting stat modifier. As a simplification, if we imagine a Rogue with 22 Dex and a Wizard with 22 Int (his attack stat), then both have a +6 to their saving throw and difficulty class respectively, meaning BOTH "cancel each other out" and just roll D20s to see who rolls higher. This means endgame, spells are actually harder to avoid.
Thing is, most lategame damage spells use Dex saving Throws: the person being casted on rolls a D20 + their Dexterity modifier, and if they succeed in rolling higher than your Spell DC roll, they take half damage. If they fail, they take full damage from the spell.
Shield Master changes this. The defender gains a +2 to their Dex roll, and if they succeed, they take ZERO damage, and if they fail, they take half damage instead. This means Shield Master is a monster for cutting down on spell damage. Most spells that do loads of damage demand dex saves, so even if a Wizard were to purposefully go with a constitution save or the like, they're *already* cutting down on their DPS by going that route.
To make it better for Eldritch Knights: Fighters get to reroll if they fail a saving throw. This means they effectively roll twice on any attacking spell and use the best result.
And to make it even better for Eldritch Knights: They can buff themselves with Blur, which induces disadvantage on attackers.
*The end result?* A Wizard casting Chain Lightning on an Eldritch Knight with Shield Master and Blur currently on would roll twice, and then the Wizard MUST use his worst roll of the two due to disadvantage. The Eldritch Knight rolls, and even IF he fails the roll, both he and the Wizard roll again (with Wizard again using his worst roll), which effectively means the Eldritch Knight must fail the roll twice in a row to take any damage at all. Even IF he fails, he only takes half damage.
*And briefly, on gear:*
The gear in this game has the potential to make an Eldritch Knight have the maximum possible saving rolls to Strength, Constitution and Dex, an AC of 27 to 29 (depends on your setup), and immunity to Stun. (I'm not clear on what qualifies as "stun," but I think Hold Person is a good example) You can then pick a race like Elf, Halfling or Gnome, and the result is either that you're also immune to Sleep with advantage against charm, that you have advantage vs. Fear + can reroll any 1s you roll, or you have Advantage on Wisdom saving throws. (the most common spellcaster saving throw)
Alternatively to Gnomes and to the above tactic of casting Blur against spellcasters, the same shield that gives +3 to your AC (aka the best one) also gives you advantage against spell attacks whilst giving the opponent disadvantage on their spell roll.
*I legitimately cannot name a class with better defense capacity than Eldritch Knight.* It seems to be in a league of it's own if we're looking at defense, and multiclassing it actually ruins this. You need level 9 for Indomitable, and at that point, why not pick up level 11 to gain 3 attacks in one turn.
A lot of people hype up Battle Master instead, and that's 100% deserved, but Battle Master is more about easier usage of offensive tools. They regain offensive tactics every short rest whilst Eldritch Knight needs a long rest to refresh a smaller selection of offensive tools. (primarily defensive) Both have value, but if people want a defensive juggernaut, this is it.
@loveyourself3246 Yep, I realized later I derped while writing.
Still, I like the variety. You can cantrip > attack, attack > attack > attack, and if you include a specific ring, you can even attack > cast Hold Person as Bonus action > attack > attack.
Very diverse in what kind of attack sequence you can do.
well now how about that, i was just thinking how i'd like to do an Eldritch Knight and this pops up in my feed. Good timing!
My BG 1 and 2 favourite was always fighter/mage multi class so I've been looking for a decent build like that for Lae'zel, blur, mirror image and just tear ppl up
@20:30 You mentioned War Magic let's you cast cantrip, then attack with bonus action. With extra attack on the bonus action.
I believe this is incorrect. Bonus/offhand attacks don't get extra attack. Eldritch Knight would actually slay, if this was the case.
You are correct. Cantrip plus a single weapon attack is generally garbage.
You MAY be able to make a situation where the target is wearing metal and you use shocking grasp on a wet target … advantage and 6D8 damage plus a single weapon attack.
But, two, three, or even four weapon attacks are just way too good. Even with a single one handed weapon and a shield.
A 3D8 shocking grasp (Avg: 13.5) or 3D10 firebolt (avg: 15.5) is ok. But weapon attacks are HUGE in the game and get so many modifiers. Gloves and rings can add damage. Sometimes boots and helms. Plus the weapon itself can add dice and also flat modifiers.
A moderate polearm is 1D10+5 great weapon fighting bumps that slightly by rerolling damage. Great weapon master bumps that with the +10 damage. Is it a +2 weapon? That’s 2 more damage. What other gear do you have that adds damage?
Instead of one single attack per turn all of that could be used on 3-4 attacks per turn (plus action surge, plus haste, plus bloodlust elixir).
Cantrips just don’t keep up with weapon attacks.
following this guide and is my most fun run so far. My EK 6/Abj Wiz 6 hits hard and simply refuses to take damage. Usually my party is wiped and he remains.
Honestly. I watched the video and loved it.
But never played it.
And im just keep coming back to this video for the Spellslot Calculator. 😂
Hahahaha
Doing research for my Witcher build. Being inexperienced with D&D it’s pretty hard to create a ranger swordsman with alchemy and casting. I also want charisma; I wouldn’t call Geralt charismatic but his authority, wittiness, swag and professionalism often gets him what he wants in dialogue options.
Hmm that's a cool concept though. Let me think on how I could make that work!!
@@italianspartacus would love to see it
Thank you for this video! I’m about to jump into this game. Late to the party but I was about to just do the pure EK because something feels off about going hybrid. But after watching this video man I know I would have much more fun going this route
Okay, I was looking for something like for one of my characters. This will do quite well I think.
32:03 ...level 6 with extra dip, a level 7, two level 5s, one with cheese, and a large soda.
I started new game where I am only level 6 so far, as a joke I made throwing EK build... and it's stronger than I expected:
From druid grove trader next to the entrance get ring with +d4 throw damage
In Underdark in Myconid colony dwarf gives you quest to save her husband from fungal mine field, you get gloves with another d4 bonus throw damage as reward
In gobo camp goblin vendor has Returning Pike for sale, it is not that required actually since you get returning quality from EK bound weapon thing, still it's nice
Finally you take Tavern Brawler feat, so you add Strength bonus to hit and damage twice when throwing
For spells I take stuff like longstrider, better jumps, misty step etc, avoid damage, and remember, positioning is the king
Fighting in 3d and having high ground is really important, I need to test it more but it looks like if you are on elevation high enough, you deal your throwing damage AND damage from item dropping from above, I easily do 20-25 damage per attack with hit chance 20% better (or 30% if on high ground) than in actual melee but that's just level 6 with green items
A counter to this concept -
You’re building into defense HEAVILY. That’s the reason you’re taking wizard and abjuration and also the reason you’re taking that heavy armor feat to ignore damage (more so act 2 damage before virtually anyone with a weapon has a magic weapon).
Pure fighter eldritch knight. Wear the self healing gear. Mostly an act 3 build.
* Helm that gives +2hp every round
* Ring that gives +1D4 every round
* Chaos sword for 1D6 per attack (3 attacks per attack action is 3D6 healing each round … plus bloodlust elixir, haste, action surge, bonus attacks and reaction attacks from sentinel or mage slayer or whatever else)
That’s 7D6+1D4+2 in most rounds with a single elixir that lasts a LONG time because you’re not having to burn through spell sots.
This is in addition to damage reduction from armor … or even that feat …. But not the feat because there are better uses for a feat.
But what about this makes it work for eldritch knight better than for example battle master
@@zkf5448 nothing. It’s just a build concept. Works fine for battlemaster or champion or eldritch knight. I feel like that’s a benefit.
The original build was pretty much all defensive in nature and it was giving up a lot of damage potential.
The gear suggestion I have feels like it would negate that original build idea to a large degree.
@zero11010 his build doesn't need everything you think your improving it with and isn't losing that much in damage potential simply because it is negating so much incoming damage asto make damage potential largely irrelevant or even allow allies to better use theirs.
You also fail to mention your healing math isn't guaranteed but a best case scenario. Relying on things like haste and even potentially feats to function at that capacity. Even then it's only about 25 points of healing on average. Even with only wizard 6 the abjuration wizard can block that much over a couple of attacks basically and still do more. It's also proactively blocking damage rather than reactively repairing it.
But the reality is that with a strong enough defense you can beat your enemy to death with a toothpick if you like, much as you can with good CC.
@@Quandry1 I think three attacks per attack action is a pretty big deal. I think there are a TON of examples of phenomenal fighter builds that generally work with any of the subclasses.
Didn’t fail to mention it. I’m assuming anyone reading this understand how to game works. A thing that triggers on hit may not trigger. Yeah … pretty basic.
If you think it’s a good idea to waste a couple short rests to stack a bunch of damage reduction for ONE character … you go right ahead.
I think most of the time this character would be walking around with WAY fewer stacks. Still useful … but way fewer.
I use those to recharge item and class abilities and to get a bunch of free healing. I’m not going to rest for the sole purpose of getting damage reduction.
Late in the game a fighter is going to have roughly 150 hit points. Regaining anywhere near 20 each round is absolutely huge.
Unless you’re talking about hugging sentinels while they explode there just aren’t many things that hit very hard. With high AC you don’t get hit a ton. With constant self healing that requires zero resources and zero effort … it feels pretty unstoppable.
@@zero11010 First. I didn't say that three attacks wasn't good. I'm a proponent of it. However, You are way off base on the rest.
You don't have to short rest twice to stack the Abjuration Ward. Even if you were going to short rest to do it you would only do it once. They get half of it when they wake up. They also don't have to do that. Just casting a couple of abjuration spells will build it up. Such as casting Shield in Combat as further defense. Short resting is just a way that people come up with for minmaxing that particular buff and you are treating as the only way to do it. Spells that an EK is likely going to be using anyway much of the time. Not to mention that it charges off of casting the spells through items as well. So it's not super hard to build up. it's only potential downfall in bg3 is how bg3 handles instances of damage. There are things that should all be one instance of damage that are instead potentially multiple instances of damage, not only for the pc but for some of the enemies as well.
As for HP values. I'd have to go and double check, and there may be equipment that improves it (one amulet would change the numbers for example and is good for an EK) but the typical HP for an EK should not be 150. it should be more like somewhere between 100 to a bit over 120 or maybe 130 depending on your level. A seemingly small but not insignificant difference. And that's assuming that they have a con of +5... Plenty of them won't. Particularly an EK. Which means that if you want that kind of HP on your EK you have to give it something like said amulet for example. Because your EK is probably more likely rocking a +2 or +3 in Con because many are going to prioritize strength and other feats they desire for their builds over ASI's into Con itself. Does this make 20 health look even better? Certainly, But it also makes outright blocking 20 or 30 health of damage look even better as well. The heavy armor issue is kind of moot because it works in neither builds favor. This is because both have access to it and are benefitting from it.
Also, your initial complaint was about damage not being enough. But you are wanting to use items dedicated to healing to do the same thing as the abjuration ward... Why not just use some or all of those slots to put on items that are going to boost your damage instead? Instead of putting on that 1d4 healing ring... put on the ring of acid and do 6 more damage with those basic weapon attacks instead. 12 if you action surge or haste or the like. Though let's keep the Helm of Balduran, not for the healing which is a drop in the bucket really, but because it blocks crits, makes you immune to stun, and gives you +1 AC and Saving Throws, which is all Heavily Defensive as you put it but also makes the Abjuration Wizard that much harder to hit on top of doing things like using Shield spells to boost their AC against some attacks as well as boosting their Abjuration ward to remove points of damage and bring it's total back higher, and etc.
The sword of chaos. It's a nice pick for a weapon in general. But don't take it for the healing. that's almost incidental because of the synergies from it being a great sword that you can put into your build and things like that on top of it being a +2 and doing some extra necrotic damage. So it's just a strong weapon. But it's not always necessarily the best pick. You might well replace it with a +3 weapon instead for example. Or you might go 1 handed weapon and shield for almost as much damage (about a 3 point difference on average) and take a shield which further raises your AC and makes you harder to hit and thus reduces your damage more. Particularly when there is a shield with an additional +1 in the game you could take, Or a few "normal" shields with some nice added benefits.
i love tanky caster, in my team i have a pally/sorc and an eldrich knight / necro, it might not be optimal, but it's fun and i don't play on honor mode, just tactician so quite manageable
The problem with Eldritch Knight just does not mix and cohesively make the two classes together the way they look like they should at first glance. They aren't blended well and the abilities that do try to blend them tend to be too little and late coming. This has long been a problem in 5e and it's always been hype more than reality that's pushed any popularity. From everything that i've seen. BG3 mostly does nothing to fix that problem. it's still heavily the 5e design of not meshing as much as they seem like they should at a glance when you actually use it.
It was definitely better in the 4E system with less attribute confusion.
Ironically, Paladin/Sorcerer works out better in every way.
Warlock/Sorcerer also works out better.
In the case of the second, you end up with a single stat to determine hit chance and accuracy, long range and melee options, more spell slots, better action economy, and better out of combat utility
In bg3 I came up with an elder itch knight build that kinda fire 6 eldritch knight 6 wizard your ability scores should be 17 int 16 str and 14 con, get the hag hair increase int to 18 and with lvl 4 feat increase it to 20, and at level 6 of eldritch knight you can get another feat which will be str +2 and with the potion you can get in early act 2 you would have 20 str, so with 20str and 20 int, and with the hat that adds your spellcasting modifier to your attacks you are looking at +10 damage from your stats alone and if you add great weapon fighting that would be +20 with every attack, and with the wizard levels and some spell save dc gear you can literally deal with everything, you hate gortash? Just cast hold person and action surge and he is dead and with potions of speed and bloodlust elixirs it’s probably the strongest build I have ever played by far
@@zkf5448 in the balanced difficulty virtually every boss is done in 1-3 rounds. Not really much difference between various “good” builds in that regard.
How is that different from any fighter’s ability to burst with action surge and haste? Right?
Are you really using your 20 INT and your 20 STR equally? Sounds like a lot of ability points that could have improved your constitution or given you more saving throw for all the wisdom saves in the game.
You have so few spell slots. How often are you having to rest if you’re using those spell slots to maximize the 20 INT you have? And, if you’re not using a ton of those spell slots so you don’t have to long rest every 4-5 combats … Do you need it? Would you have been better with a strength focus and 22 STR or maybe a dexterity build which can give you both amazing ranged damage and also great melee damage?
Glad you’re enjoying your build. The game is a lot of fun!
@@zero11010 I soloed the game with this character in tactician difficulty, I can honestly say this is better than a regular str fighter,and it’s also better than a full wizard the survivability is pretty good,fighters usually don’t have any good way to deal aoe damage but this way you have all the dog aoe spells like lightning bolt and fire ball and the ice storm,and there is a ring that lets you use enchantment spells after attacking as a bonus action, I am really tuning this to be really powerful build
I went with eight INT and got the Warped Headband of Intellect that sets it to seventeen early on in Act I.
Haha same here
hey man! I religiously watch your bg3 content, it has immensely helped me to get on line in this game, and I cannot overstate how cool this is.
I do have a question, though: is there like any sort of beef going on between you and fextralife? I've noticed that in vids before you mentioned that you didn't wanna give their wiki press, and now the eldritch knight video timing lines up extremely well too
Oh no not at all! There's a general sentiment against his practices but that's not really my place to say. People are very opinionated about it so it's better for me to opt out of linking to it than dealing with the situation. I prefer to link to the BG3 Wiki because it's an entirely community run wiki and I like the format far more. It's also constantly being updated. Fextras wiki usually stops being updated after a game launches it feels like
this is surprisingly very close to my EK build that i'm playing with a bunch of friends. i went the tanky route with a shield. one difference was i went 8 EK and 4 Evoc wizard for the extra feat the 4th lvl spell is nice but outside of haste there wasn't a spell that granted as much of a power spike at the 4th lvl (ice storm is nice tho + evoc makes sure i or allies don't get hit even in the middle of a horde) i mainly differ in the gear section. basically i "need" the arcane synergy ring, the cantrip augmentation ring, the arcane acuity helmet, the cape that gives temp hp when you cast a spell next to an enemy(which is always) and the constitution necklace from act 3 so i can keep concentration (advantage+fighter con prof). the rest (weapon, shield, chest, arms and leggings) can be whatever else (notable picks are the burnishing shield, gauntlets of strength the legendary circus spear, helldusk armor, and the leggings that give AC and acrobatics). with points you save you could even use med armor or place them into wis/char for more resistances. with everything your stats would essentially look like a boss' stats rather than a player. you'd have all the all the versatility as most wizard utility spells are below 4th lvl spells with above average aoe with glyph of warding/ice storm. you'd also have all the tankiness of fighter (with an AC so high i've had bosses try to leave me to attack the rest only to be held in place with sentinel) with higher offensive capabilities, due to haste and upkeeping arcane synergy and acuity (acuity btw gives you +7 to atk/spell rolls as well as DC save provided you hit with your weapon 4 times and synergy adding your spellcasting modif to atk dmg)
that's the best one i've come up with. as strong as it may seem it's definitely a late game build. only really coming online toward the end of act 2 but its late game feels unmatched, you'll feel like you're 2-3 lvls above anything else even at lvl 12.
I wouldn't recommend Boots of very fast Blinking. If you read the description you leave all your clothes behind when you misty step lol. The boots Nere drop in Grymforge have Misty Step though as an alternative.
On the contrary, the boots are amazing to have for exploration lol, especially if you aren't a scroll hoarder and don't wanna use the illithid powers to fly. Free misty step and all you gotta do is take off your armor and re-equip it after.
There are some gloves of dexterity, you can buy in act 1 that sets your dex to 18. Really good for an EK
EK with dwarves thrower can easily do 100+ dmg per action point. Its the most powerful single target range build. I run through tactician with 3 fighters + a life cleric. Probably the most easy run. Tried spell caster class, they rely too much on burst dmg such as chain lighting which can only be cast 5 times per long rest. Its not as fun as fighters
Interesting!
Eldritch Knight 12.
Tavern Brawler.
Shield spell.
Your choice of throwable weapon.
Enjoy.
Learned the hard way, the boots of very fast blinking (the ones that give misty step) will drop all of your clothes on the ground if you ever use misty step.
Dammon in Baldur’s Gate sells a heavy armor that has blade ward as a passive all the time. Totally OP.
yes he does. Be sure to give him a lot of free things in act 1/2 and he will give you loads of gold while trading and not make you spend 10k on armor.
Ok that's a creative build respect
Multiclasss abjuration wizard with warrior looks amazing
Was my first play thru heavy armor 10 wizard 2 fighter the added wards made it nice and tanky
Perfect build, now i have to brake my head if to give it to Laezel or Gale .TY so much
Just a few things,
1) War Magic does not proc your extra attack off of your cantrip/attack, you would use this maybe if you have an enemy near you that won't benefit from multiple attacks, and an enemy further away that is low and maybe finishable. It's nitch and kinda sucks, but it's better than nothing.
2) The 6th level abjuration ability from Wizard is fine, and probably more useful than War Magic so a 6/6 split is probably better than a 7/5, but it's kinda meh. You essentially are projecting your ward onto an ally to reduce damage taken for them. I'd say way more valuable than War Magic on average, but it's still not great. You might be better served to pick up a 1-level dip in maybe War Cleric to utilize your bonus action as a third attack a few times during a big fight, though keep in mind this is still bugged so you'd want to take your 1 level cleric dip into War Cleric AFTER you take your fighter levels, so you'd do something like a 1 fighter, 2 wizard, 5 fighter, 1 cleric, 3 wizard build in terms of your leveling path.
3. You can hit 22 STR without any feats, and 20 by the very beginning of Act 2, so the melee possibilities are quite outrageous early on. I'd say take Great Weapon Master + the Charge Bound Warhammer you get from Dammon in Act 2 and go to town, though if you are into cheese you can just go pick up the Silver Sword from the Gith in Act 1 right at LV1.
4. For RP purposes as a gith, the best-looking armor(in my opinion) is the Cerebral Citadel Armour. It's essentially anti-illithid armor... and it shares the exact same design style as gith armor. Paired with the circlet of psionic revenge, and the gith boots are quite the RP flex. This setup isn't the best in terms of stats, so if you're wanting to min max... don't take this, but if you're only concerned about swag this is top tier. This also will give you +2 into int/wis/char saving throws, fear immunity, 1-4 psionic damage back to the enemy when succeeding a saving throw, and 1-4 dps after flying via the gith boots, so it's not gutter trash. For reference though so you don't have to test this yourself, the fly spell off the boots, and the LV3 fly spell activates the DPS from the boots(flying attack). Flying from the illithid power & sorcerer power however do not activate this, why, I have no idea.
Ok so I watched your wizard build and this one. You seem to know your wizard stuff lol. I'd love to see what you can do with Arcane Trickster, as you said, it's a tricky one😅
originally came for TWWH3 stayed for the knowledge bombs, great work!
I turned halsin into a straight eldrich knight 12th lvl but I did him dual weild with 2 maces that add 1d6 poison with 1 piece of gear that has if you poison an enemy you heal 1d4 then a piece of gear if you heal someone you get bless so he just keeps heald up and blessed during the entire combat poisoning everything lol its bo t super strong but i got all attack cantrips and spells only and one item I have let's me do a weapon attack as a bonus action after attacking with a cantrip and with eldrich strike giving disadvantage on a spell save after a weapon attack its kinda cool to use weapon cantrip weapon cantrip or vise versa. I'm sure I an missing some combe type stuff that I haven't looked into yet .
I played similar build in my first tatician run. But I dipped 1 level to white dragon sorcerer for Armor of Agathys which happen to be an adjuration spell that last until long rest and concentration free. So, I'm free to cast something like haste.
Boots of Very Fast Blinking is not a item that can be gotten till act 3 correct? so its not an early game piece of gear
I got an idea, why not change the helmet with the warped headband of intellect so you can relocate that points you invest in intellect to other attributes like dexterity, constitution or charisma ? it can help your character to be more tanky or more agile .. also i would personally suggest level 7 to eldrich knight since we will get 1 more attack with weapons if we use cantrip / spells to get more potential in attack, but the trade off is less defense and less spell slots. But what do you think of this ?
This is the perfect video, thanks
You're welcome!
Just found this video a little tip to anyone else finding this video the boots of speedy light feet (you get in act 1 at the windmill) give you 2 arcane ward charge's every time you equip them so just unequip and re equip to keep charges active
Glyph of warding is good abjuration spell that has utility. Level three spell that’s aoe and can pick the damage type even being able to sleep.
Im doing 3 levels of EK, and the rest as a Beserker Barbarian. This was before i realized there were weapons with returning in the game, so it definitely could be bettwr optimized i bet lol It still is super fun though. I use the beserker throw ability to throw my weapon 3 times in a turn, and the EK spells are spells like thunderwave to aid my character if he does happen to get surrounded. Plus, throwing enemies as weapons NEVER gets old 🤣🤣🤣
While this looks like (and probably is) a fun build to try out, it's definitely not efficient, much less "the best one" from a practical standpoint, because it's just not synergistic. The reality is you'll never need 80% of the spells on that skill bar, because they directly compete with your weapon attacks, which are always a stronger move. An Eldritch Knight is a fighter class, and your magic is there to complement your weapon combat in a way that lets you handle unique situations that a typical fighter cannot. It's not meant to be used independently, because then you're just a weaker wizard. The moment you start prioritizing spellcasting over weapon combat, you might as well just switch to a different class entirely, because you're shooting yourself in the foot that way and sacrificing what actually makes a fighter strong.
If you want to be really strong and effective as an Eldritch Knight, you'd want to go up to at least level 11 for Improved Extra Attack. 3 weapon attacks in one turn will always outdamage any single spell you can use by a long shot, which is what makes spellcasting a situational move, rather than the focus of your class. By that token, you only want to look at spells with some kind of utility in mind - "Is there any situation where I'd get more value from this spell than just doing 2-3 hits in that turn?" If the answer is yes, then you can consider getting that spell, otherwise it's just a waste of space.
Spells like Misty Step and Expeditious Retreat are always excellent choices because they're bonus actions that give you hyper mobility without sacrificing attacks, and ritual spells like Longstrider, Enhance Leap and Feather Fall are great if you want more out of combat utility or party buffs.
Shield is another must-have in my book, since it's a reaction that makes you virtually impossible to hit without even having to use an actual shield, thus leaving you free to run a two-handed weapon and not worry about defense.
Blur is essentially an advanced version of that for when you're under a lot of pressure, and your concentration will likely hold if you have decent constitution (which you should).
Magic Missiles is one of the few offensive spells worth picking up, since it doesn't miss and can also hit enemies outside of your line of sight, which makes it a good option for hitting enemies in strange positions or for breaking enemy concentration.
Scorching Ray is probably the only spell with damage comparable to that of your weapon (if you have the Diadem of Intellect, which is fairly easy to get), so using it to nuke an enemy from afar is worth it if you can't get to them physically or your weapon is ineffective for some reason. However, a cantrip attack + bow strike (if you're at least level 7) is also an option in that situation, so you should always think twice about expending a spell slot just for a bit of extra damage!
Of course, there are other decent spells to use as an EK too, but those are some of the ones that are really worth considering in my opinion, and ones that you probably won't go wrong with. Scrolls are also always useful to have in hand, just in case you want to cover for a spell that's missing in your bar, but may see yourself using occasionally. If you're the talker of the group, you can also run the Friends cantrip and even Detect Thoughts (also a ritual spell) to be automatically good at conversation checks without putting any points in Charisma, which makes for an overall very versatile character!
Having said that, the main reason I don't consider multiclassing with wizard (or any other class really) to be worth it as an Eldritch Knight is that, while you do get the ability to learn spells from scrolls, you can only do so with level 1 and 2 spells, and pretty much all the useful ones for an EK are already in your own spell list to begin with. On the other hand, if you put more than 1 level into wizard just to get access to level 3 and 4 spellcasting, you lose out on important fighter benefits such as Improved Basic Attack and Indomitable, which makes for an overall weaker character, albeit one with a bigger spellbook. For anyone looking to multiclass a fighter subclass with a spellcaster while prioritizing the spellcasting component, I'd suggest looking into Champion instead, as it's a solid "base class" with many passive benefits to cover for a spellcaster's weaknesses without the useless fluff. ^^
Currently playing a half-drow wild magic sorcerer and planning on romancing Gale, so I wanna keep him in my party as often as I can, but having 50% of my party be full casters feels way too squishy, so I'm gonna use this to turn Gale into a tank lol
The Psionic Ward Armor can be obtained in Act 2. After you have pissed off the Gith at the Creshe and Vlaakith sends hunters after you. It's the same commander that gives you the bracers as well.
Thanks for this I think I might actually build something similar for an arcane trickster specializing in enchantment and illusion spells
Been thinking of making this sort of combo. Would there be any downside to doing a respec and dropping int to 8 once you get that headband that increases int to 17?
My Karlach is an Eldritch Knight as well :) 4 lvl Eldrich Knight only to bind a weapon and get a feat (ability improvement), 3 lvl Thief for the extra bonus action and 5 lvl Berserker for extra attack, a feat (tavern brawler) as well as the rage throw action to chuck' her Great sword. Ever been 'sneak attacked' by a 6 feet tall Sword through your chest?!
Try just going all fighter for a couple hours. Three attacks per attack action is staggering.
Bloodlust the fighter. You’ll regularly kill a thing and get 3 additional attacks. Lasts until long rest … and if you’re not burning resources that ONE elixir can last half an act.
Your fighter still has options for haste for 3 more attacks. Potion of speed makes this easier with how plentiful those are. Now you’re often at 9 attacks in a single round.
It doesn’t even really matter what kind of fighter you make. A bow? Sword and shield? The polearm build is fun with a ton of extra chances to get reaction attacks. The legendary rapier is scary good. And of course the greatswords are fantastic.
Imagine the simple act 3 chaos sword. +1D6 self heals per hit on the enemy. With 6-7 attacks per round regularly! (Bump another 3 with any form of haste plus another 3 with action surge)
Just try it. See what it’s like to play without having to spend rages or action surge.
If you try the rapier build give an ally the Bloodthirst dagger so your fighter does double damage on all those attacks (potentially 16 attacks in a single round, I think which makes crit farming with champion fighter and crit gear pretty awesome).
It’s fun to melt through enemies without having to spend resources where you only get a couple per long rest (like rage or action surge).
Thanks so much for this! Any plans to make more build recommendations? I just finished my first play through and have been brainstorming fun builds to "RP" as but sometimes its fun to take a build and roleplay along with it :)
Any you'd like to see!?
@@italianspartacus i dont know if there's videos about it, but scorching rays machine gun sounds cool, trying to get as many rays as possible. Not an expert on the game but i find the idea funny.
I'm not super well versed in the DnD universe, but some kind of shadow/dark caster would be fun!@@italianspartacus
I prefer to multiclass with Cleric, to create a bishop tank class.
with the ability point distribution couldnt I as a main character Gith face of party put those points into wisdom and use astral knowledge to gain proficiency in the charisma stats? would that be viable?
How about Paladin6/Abjuration Wiz 6, you lose a feat, but get an extra 4th and a 5th level spell, and a neat aura that makes you tankier.. You do get very MAD tho :P
to me the biggest problem with eldritch knight is that is called ELDRITCH but uses INTELIGENCE.
the biggest fix they could do is allow him to pick either inteligence or charisma for his spells stat.
I like two-weapon fighting a lot with my eldritch knight but he's pure fighter
I had the same idea in 5e. Just EK multiclass with a War wizard and you bassicaly have a better EK.
12 EK/8 War Wizard i would say. Sad that the war wizard subclass is not in BG3.
Don't waste points in strength. Elixir of hill giant is easily available in the game. Puts your strength at 21
I like the intro, well said sir
Feels like great weapon fighting is a bad direction to take this build. If you’re doing great weapon fighting you’re going to want 11 levels in fighter for 3 attacks with that focused great weapon per turn (6 with bloodlust, 9 with haste), plus bonus action attacks and reaction attacks (sentinel and mage slayer plus opportunity attacks).
If I build to maximize that great weapon I’m not going to want to … just do a single 3D10 firebolt instead of all of those weapon attacks.
And the build has so few spell slots … you’re not going to be using spell slots each round unless you do a long rest after 10 rounds of combat each day.
And if using a great weapon is THAT much better than using your action to regularly cast a cantrip … what are we really doing here?
I don't think you get extra attack using war magic
The right items can make a build for real. My pure EK is absolutely busted. I'm just now at Moonrise with an unboosted AC of 21 without a shield. Gloves of Dex and the bow that adds my strength modifier to damage. Gloves and ring that add fire and poison damage. My spells just exist to buff and protect me. Always have longstrider and haste on. I'm attacking 3 times in a row and there's no one on the field who is safe from me. The rest of my party is there for moral support.
I bought the game, but I have only played D&D once in my life, so I honestly have almost no idea what I'm doing. An Eldritch Knight just sounds cool, though.
This guide will getcha through it brother!! :)
Great weapon fighting style gives you the bonus for weapons that can be wielded in one hand such as longswords as well as two handed weapons such as great swords. You cannot be using a shield though. So, the longsword is being used in both hands.
The arcane archer is great. Bow supremecy
I just pick Fighter for 2 levels for Heavy Armor and Action Surge, then go the rest in Wiz and call it a day.
Eldritch Knight without Eldritch Blast isn't Eldritch enough however Eldritch Knight with Eldritch Blast then that's an Eldritch Knight
Edit: how do you even get to the 9th on the chart??
>Edit: how do you even get to the 9th on the chart??
By being a level 17+ pure caster.
Don't forget, Gith get extra proficiencies through Astral Knowledge
I just love that I can put a hail storm on people and then just run in there and wreck em 😭
the thumbnail looks fucking sick
Credit to the artist is in thr description :)
I am going to try going for 11 EK/1 Wizard and just use scrolls with the 17 int headpiece (then later, go 18 int and use elixir of cloud giant strength)
Very nice guide!
I'd been debating the level split, but I'm only an overall level 8 right now, so this is timely for my Gith.
Stick with fighter levels.
I recently respec from 12 EK to 6EK 6Abdj. It's been a lot of fun. But it's making kinda hope they add expansions to increase the level cap. But that would be years in the future.
I think somebody all ready made a mod for that :)
I’m running something similar but I lean into shadow blade as my main spell and weapon. There’s a ring that grants it but…if you grab the 5e spells mod you can learn the spell and upcast it with a lvl 4 spell slot that’ll increase it to 4d8 psychic damage as weapon damage while still using a shield. There’s another ring that adds an additional 1d4 psychic while concentrating. As long as you’re in dim or darkness, you get advantage. With mirror image, the shield spell, and just high AC from armor and the abjuration damage reduction synergies, it’s incredibly rare that concentration on shadow blade is broke.
Thanks for the video
Wait... War magic activates extra attack? That's awesome!
Ok just tested it out. When you attack as a bonus action with war magic you don't get your extra attack. Huge bummer.
Ye sadly without spells like Booming blade or green fire blade the EK is pretty meh, hoping they add the spells later as patch or dlc
@@jonijuuso7296 you can get it as a mod called 5e spells
a perfect build for ur 5th character slot