Let Baldur’s Gate 3 be closer to Final Fantasy with this build. With a massive jump distance and an attack that lets you strike from above, you can turn your character into a Dragoon!
Summary
This is a high damage build, whose focus is on getting above the target, then leaping down on them with a powerful attack. With your high movement and jump distance, you can easily accomplish this against just about any enemy. In situations where this isn’t possible, you will still have powerful melee attacks to deal with opponents more traditionally.
The downside of this build is that it doesn’t fully hit its stride until level 8, when you can have Barbarian at level 3 and Fighter at level 5.
Character Creation
Githyanki is the best race to complement this build, as it will give you access to both Enhance Leap and Misty Step, greatly increasing your mobility. However, this isn’t completely necessary if you would like to create a different race, and you can get these spells through other means.
You can start as either a Barbarian or a Fighter, depending on how you want to play before you reach level 8.
Leveling
As stated earlier, you will not see the full power of this build until level 8. There are two ways you can level in the meantime, each having its own advantages:
- Leveling Barbarian First
- This will involve leveling Barbarian until at least level 5 to gain Extra Attack, then you can level however you wish until reaching level 8
- The biggest draw of leveling this way is that you will have access to Diving Strike much quicker, while still having access to Extra Attack
- Going this way, you will not have access to all of the powerful skills learned through Fighter, such as Action Surge
- Once you reach level 8, you will have to go to Withers to repec yourself
- Leveling Fighter First
- Going this route will give you access to all of the powerful skills from Fighter, allowing you to deal great damage while leveling
- This is also a more straightforward way to go, as after you get Fighter to level 5, you can start leveling as a Barbarian until it reaches level 3
- However, it will take much longer for you to gain access to the build’s main attack, Diving Strike
Once you reach level 5 Fighter and level 3 Barbarian, you can take the rest of your levels in any order you’d like. The goal at the end is to be level 8 on Fighter and level 4 on Barbarian.
Subclasses
Both Classes will get their choice of subclass once they each reach level 3, and these are a huge part of what makes this build work.
For Barbarian, you will want to choose the Wildheart subclass and choose the Eagle Bestial Heart. This will give you access to Diving Strike, which will be your primary attack. It allows you to jump onto an enemy from any height to damage and knock them down, while taking no fall damage yourself. This is what will truly let you feel like a Dragoon.
On the Fighter side, you will want to choose the Battle Master subclass. This will give you access to powerful Manoeuvers that will enhance your fighting prowess for enemies that get in melee range of you (and ones that survive your Diving Strike)
Feats
With this build, you will have access to 4 Feats, and there are plenty of powerful ones to enhance your damage and jumping ability.
- Ability Improvement
- A simple upgrade that will raise your Strength by 2. Combine this with Auntie Ethel’s Hair, and you will have 20 Strength, increasing both damage and jump distance.
- Athlete
- A great improvement for your Dragoon abilities. On top of increasing your Dexterity by 1, it increases your jump distance by an extra 50%.
- Polearm Master
- Since polearm will be your primary weapon, this will help make you more effective with it. It will give you an extra small attack for your Bonus Action, and will allow you to punish any enemy that gets too close.
- Great Weapon Master
- Since all polearms (minus Javelins) can count as Great Weapons, this will give a great improvement to your damage. It will allow you to do an extra attack if you kill or critically hit a target.
- Magic Initiate: Wizard
- Only take this Feat if you did not make your character a Githyanki. It will allow you to learn Enhance Leap, as well as a couple of other helpful spells.
- Sentinel
- An alternate Feat you can take if you want to protect your party members. It will let you step in and attack an enemy trying to melee attack a nearby teammate. This is even more effective with the polearm’s extended range.
Manoeuvers
As a Battle Master Fighter, you will have access to 5 Manoeuvers. It will give you some great options to use against enemies in melee range.
- Disarming Attack
- It can cause the enemy to drop their weapon, making their melee attacks much less effective in most cases.
- Menacing Attack
- Increases the damage of your attack, while also having the potential to Frighten the enemy.
- Riposte
- Gives you access to a counterattack if an enemy misses you.
- Evasive Footwork
- Allows you to have a better chance of avoiding attacks for a turn.
- Sweeping Attack
- Gives you access to a frontal cone attack so you can hit multiple enemies at once.
Equipment
As a Dragoon, you will want your primary weapon to be a polearm. Another thing to keep in mind is that for your Unarmoured Defence to work, you will need to make sure that none of your equipment is considered armour. Other than that, your gear can be pretty flexible. Keep an eye on equipment that can increase your damage or your jump distance.
Here are a few notable pieces that will be great choices by the end of the game:
- Weapon – Nyrulna
- This weapon feels like it was made for this build. On top of being a high-damage weapon, it will increase your movement and jump distance, and make you immune to fall damage. As an added bonus, it gives you a powerful ranged attack that can be considered Baldur’s Gate’s version of the Gungnir attack.
- Gloves – Bonespike Gloves
- A simple but very helpful piece of gear, this will make sure that no enemy will resist your attacks.
- Boots – Bonespike Boots
- This will give you a second jumping attack to use on enemies with Brutal Leap. On top of that, it will increase your jumping distance.
