BG3 Barbarian Path of Giants Build Guide

Welcome to our Baldur’s Gate 3 Path of Giants Barbarian Build. For this BG3 Barbarian Build we will be making use of the Path of Giants subclass, a powerful melee fighter who can use their Giant’s Rage ability to increase their own size and strength, enjoying increased carrying capacity and the ability to throw objects and enemies further and harder.

Please visit our Best BG3 Builds overview page for more builds. We also have an optimized Barbarian companion BG3 Karlach Build. To get an overview of all classes please visit the BG3 Classes overview page.

Please note that this build is a Work in Progress and will be updated when we have more info about the Path of Giants subclass.

The Barbarian Build works for both PC and Console (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).

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Table of Contents:

• Character Creation (Level 1)
• Level 2
• Level 3 – Subclass Selection
• Level 4
• Level 5
• Level 6
• Level 7
• Level 8
• Level 9
• Level 10
• Level 11
• Level 12
• Equipment
  • Early-Game
  • Late-Game
• Tips & Tricks

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Level 1 – BG3 Path of Giants Barbarian Build Character Creation

In this section, we will go over the basic Character Creation options for our Best BG3 Barbarian Build, namely Background, Race, Skills and Abilities.

Race

Your race now has no bearing on your ability scores, which are the most important factor at play. This gives players more freedom to choose any race and class combination that they wish, without having to worry about being pigeonholed into a “meta” race for their class.

However, there are still some useful passive features sourced from your race and subrace, which may be of advantage when it comes to the Barbarian build. Some interesting options are:

• Wood Elf or Wood Half-Elf – High Movement Speed, allowing you to reach targets more quickly and outrun enemies if needed. Very useful for a mostly melee class like the Barbarian or Fighter.
• Githyanki – Gets Proficiency with Longswords and Greatswords
• Gold Dwarf – Gains Proficiency with axes and hammers, and 1 extra HP per level.
• Half Orc – Rolls three Damage dice on Critical Hits, instead of the usual two.

Class Selection

Here you want to select the Barbarian class for our BG3 Barbarian Build. You get to select your subclass at level 3.

Background

The best Backgrounds to choose for the Barbarian are either Outlander or Soldier, as these both give Proficiency in Athletics, the only Strength-based skill available through the Background selection.

However the Background isn’t hugely important – it has little direct impact on combat situations, so if you want to choose something else then it won’t ruin the build.

Abilities

It’s important for the efficacy of the BG3 Barbarian Build that you have Strength and Constitution as high as possible at Level, and putting 14 points into Dexterity to improve your Armour Class and Initiative. Therefore I recommend putting your +2 bonus in Strength and the +1 bonus in Constitution.

With the remaining points, allocate them based on the Skills you chose to have Proficiency in. For example we chose Animal Handling and Perception, which are both Wisdom skills, so we put the last couple of points into Wisdom to further play into those skills. This is only a minor detail but it makes sense to do this rather than splitting them randomly between the remaining Abilities.

Go for an Ability allocation that looks something like:

• Strength – 17
• Dexterity – 14
• Constitution – 16
• Intelligence – 8
• Wisdom – 10
• Charisma – 8

Skill Proficiencies

For Skills, you should already have Proficiency in Athletics from your Background. None of the other options we can choose are especially important or a perfect fit for the Abilities our Barbarian Build will specialise in. Therefore you can basically choose whatever you want. We went with Animal Handling and Perception, but it’s really up to you what you choose here.

Barbarian Rage Mechanic

Before you get into the game, it’s good to understand how the Barbarian’s Rage mechanic works at this point.

From the beginning of the game, the Barbarian is able to go into a Rage by using a Bonus Action in combat. Rage adds an extra 2 points of damage to your attacks with melee weapons (including weapon throws), 50% Resistance to Physical Damage, and an Advantage on Strength Checks and Saving Throws.

Rage can last for up to 10 turns, but it will end early if you go for a turn without attacking or taking damage. Note that while the Barbarian isn’t a class associated with Spellcasting, it’s still worth mentioning that you cannot cast or concentrate on Spells while Raging.

You start with 2 charges of Rage, which must be replenished by taking a Long Rest.

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Level 2 – Path of Giants Build for Baldur’s Gate 3

At Level 2 your Barbarian gains a couple of new abilities that are great for combat in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Reckless Attack

First of all you unlock a new Action called Reckless Attack. This is a melee attack that will also give you Advantage on all subsequent attacks on the same turn. This isn’t an amazing ability right now, but as you level up and unlock the ability to make multiple attacks per turn, you’re going to get increasingly high value out of it because your hit chance will stay higher for the rest of your turn.

Danger Sense

Danger Sense is a passive ability gained by Level 2 Barbarians. It gives you an Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws against traps, spells and surfaces. Since we put 14 points into Dexterity this will be particularly useful for us. You should find yourself reliably succeeding on Dexterity Saving Throws. Note that Danger Sense will not work if your senses are impaired, i.e. you are Blinded, Deafened or Incapacitated.

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Level 3 for BG3 Path of Giants Barbarian Build

At Level 3 it is time to choose your Barbarian Subclass. As mentioned above, we’ll be going with the Path of Giants for this BG3 Barbarian Build. The Path of Giants further builds upon the Barbarian’s Rage mechanic, allowing your Rage to also make your character larger and stronger.

Rage Charges

At Level 3, your Barbarian unlocks an extra Rage charge, meaning you can now enter a Rage three times before you must replenish the charges with a Long Rest.

Giant’s Rage

The Path of Giants Barbarian replaces Rage with Giant’s Rage, making your character bigger, stronger and allowing you to throw objects and enemies further and harder, dealing more damage when they land.

More info to come.

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Level 4 for the Path of Giants Barbarian Build BG3 for PC/PS5

As with all other classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, at Level 4 it’s time to choose a Feat for the Barbarian Build.

Feats are extra passive buffs for your character, which can help to make your build more defined or simply push up your Ability Stats.

Here we’ll be going with the Ability Improvement Feat, which gives you 2 extra points to distribute between your Abilities. We recommend putting both of the points into Strength. This should give you 19 Strength in total, improving your weapon Attack Rolls.

There’s not much else to say here, the Path of Giants doesn’t gain anything else at Level 4 besides standard stuff like an increase to HP.

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Level 5 – BG3 Path of Giants Barbarian Build

At Level 5 our BG3 Barbarian Build gets another huge step up in terms of how powerful it is. While there aren’t any options to choose from at this level, you do gain a bunch of new abilities that ramp up your power:

Increased Proficiency Bonus

You will now get a +3 bonus to Skills you are Proficient at, rather than +2. Not huge, but a nice all-around buff.

Extra Attack

You can now make an Extra Attack with each Action.

Fast Movement

As another added bonus, you also gain an extra 1.5 metres per turn of Movement Speed. If you chose the Dwarf (or another class with small stature) then you’ll now be able to keep up with taller friends and foes. If you chose the Wood Elf then you can now enjoy running rings around your enemies.

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Level 6

At Level 6 you’ll gain an extra Rage charge, giving you four in total.

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Level 7

Barbarians at Level 7 can no longer be Surprised by enemy ambushes, and will gain a +3 bonus to their Initiative, meaning they’ll get to take their turn before most enemies.

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Level 8

At Level 8 you must select another Feat for your Path of Giants Build.

Here I recommend choosing Resilient: Strength. This will give you 1 more point in Strength, taking your total to 20, and giving you Proficiency in all Strength Saving Throws.

If you already managed to increase your Strength to 20 using another source, then instead get Great Weapon Fighter. This lets you toggle a feature that gives a -5 penalty to your Attack Rolls (decreasing hit chance) but a +10 bonus to your damage, when wielding a Great Weapon (two handed sword, axe, etc). This is great for quickly dispatching weaker enemies, but it’s riskier to use it against enemies with a high Armour Class.

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Level 9

At Level 9 your Proficiency bonus is improved to +4, meaning you’ll now get a +4 bonus to all dice rolls with skills and weapons that you are Proficient with.

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Level 10

At Level 10 your Barbarian will unlock the Intimidating Presence ability.

This lets you spend an Action to intimidate a target within 30 metres of you. They must succeed a Wisdom Saving Throw or they will be Frightened, preventing them from moving and giving them a Disadvantage on their Attack Rolls.

It can sometimes be a bit tricky to get effects like this to land reliably on strong enemies as they tend to have high stats and therefore quite good at Saving Throws. But keep an eye out for good opportunities to use this anyway.

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Level 11

At Level 11 of your BG3 Barbarian Build you’ll unlock the Relentless Rage feature, which makes your Barbarian harder to bring down.

Upon reaching 0 HP, you’ll heal to 1 HP instead of being Downed. This can only happen once per Short Rest.

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Level 12

If you reached this point then you have finished fully leveling up your Path of Giants Barbarian Build. Congratulations!

At Level 12 you’ll need to choose one more Feat for your character.

If you didn’t get Great Weapon Fighter yet then I recommend doing that now.

If you managed to already increase your Strength to 20 and get Great Weapon Fighter, then get the Savage Attacker Feat. This basically works in the same way as the Advantage mechanic, but for Damage Rolls instead. Every time you Attack, all of your Damage dice roll twice, and you’ll use the highest result for all of them. This makes you much less likely to get poor damage rolls and should help ensure that your Barbarian is a consistent damage dealer in the endgame in Baldur’s Gate 3.

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Equipment for the BG3 Path of Giants Barbarian Build

In this section, we will list the best equipment for the build. We have provided both an early-game and a late-game version of the list, so you can begin using the build early in the game instead of having to wait until Act III.

We have also included information about each item below the tables, such as how to obtain the item and any other notable information.

Don’t worry if your set-up is not exactly the same as one of those outlined below – the build will still work fine if you’re missing some of the items. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment with new items if you find something else that you like.

Early Game Equipment

Early-game equipment is found in either Act I or the earlier parts of Act II.

Cap of Wrath

When you start your turn with less than 50% HP remaining, you gain 2 turns of Wrath. Each remaining turn of Wrath increases your weapon damage by 1. Maximum 7 turns. The Cap of Wrath is dropped by Thudd in the Grymforge.

Cloak of Protection

The Cloak of Protection is one of the earliest cloaks available in the game, and provides a modest defensive buff – you gain a +1 bonus to your Armour Class and Saving Throws when wearing it. It can be purchased from Quartermaster Talli in Last Light Inn.

Adamantine Scale Mail

The Adamantine Scale Mail is a powerful piece of medium armour that can be obtained fairly early in the game. It reduces all incoming damage by 1 point, makes you immune to critical hits and inflicts an Attack Roll penalty to any enemies who hit you.

It is crafted in the Adamantine Forge in the Grymforge area of Act I. You need to find the Scale Mail Mould and some Mithral Ore in the vicinity of the forge in order to craft the Adamantine Scale Mail.

Gloves of the Growling Underdog

The Gloves of the Growling Underdog give you Advantage on your Attack Rolls when you are surrounded by 2 or more foes. Advantage means that you will roll 2 dice for your Attack Roll and use the one that rolled with the highest number, considerably improving your chances of a good roll. You also get a +1 bonus to Strength Saving Throws. These gloves can be looted from Dror Ragzlin’s treasure crates in the Shattered Sanctum.

Boots of Genial Striding

The Boots of Genial Striding prevent difficult terrain (such as spikes, mud and grease) from reducing your Movement Speed. However, beware that these boots will not negate any other harmful effects from a surface, such as damage from spikes or the chance to slip over when walking on ice. They can be purchased from Blurg in the Myconid Colony, in the Underdark (Act I).

Amulet of Misty Step

The Amulet of Misty Step grants you access to the Misty Step spell, which allows you to teleport to a visible location within 18 metres, for a Bonus Action. This is great for quickly closing the gap to an enemy so you can get into melee where this build is at its strongest, or for escaping from a bad situation. The Amulet is located in a chest in the Defiled Temple, near the Ogre called Polma.

Crusher’s Ring

Crusher’s Ring simply increases your Movement Speed by 3 metres per turn. This is another useful item for closing the gap to enemies quickly so that you can spend your turns dealing melee damage instead of running between targets. The ring is looted from Crusher in the Goblin Camp.

Ring of Protection

The Ring of Protection has the same effect as the Cloak of Protection – it improves your Armour Class and Saving Throws by +1. It is awarded to you by Mol for completing the quest to steal the Sacred Idol in the Druid’s Grove.

Blooded Greataxe

We recommend the Blooded Greataxe because it is a highly damaging weapon that can be obtained very early in the game. Greataxes in general are excellent DPS weapons since they come with a 1d12 die, the largest damage die in the game for weapons. The Blooded Greataxe grants your melee weapon attacks an extra 1d4 Slashing Damage whenever you are below 50% Health. In the hands of a strong melee class like the Barbarian, this weapon will carry you well into Act II even if you’re a complete beginner at the game.

This weapon can be purchased from either Grat the Trader in the Goblin Camp or Roah Moonglow in Shattered Sanctum. If the weapon does not appear in their wares, try Long Resting which will reshuffle the vendor items. You don’t need to spend any camp supplies on a Long Rest for this purpose.

Late Game Equipment

Late Game equipment can be found in the latter parts of Act II, and Act III. This is the most powerful version of the build, with access to the best items in the game.

Helm of Balduran

The strongest helmet in BG3, the Helm of Balduran prevents enemies from landing Critical Hits on you, prevents you from being Stunned, heals you for 2 HP per turn, and gives a +1 bonus to Armour Class and Saving Throws. Obtaining this item is a multi-stage process – we wrote a detailed guide on how to find it.

Cloak of Elemental Absorption

Once per Short Rest, the Cloak of Elemental Absorption will absorb elemental damage, and infuse your next attack with 1d6 of that damage type. This is a fairly minor effect, but it can still generate a nice damage boost. It can be looted from an Opulent Chest inside Ketheric Thorm’s Chambers in Moonrise Towers.

Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength

The Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength increase your Strength to 23, and give you a +1 bonus to Strength Saving Throws. This will increase your damage and accuracy with Strength-based attacks, most notably your melee weapon. The gloves can be taken from a pedestal in the archive of the House of Hope.

Boots of Persistence

The Boots of Persistence permanently grant the wearer Freedom of Movement and Longstrider, improving your movement speed and preventing you from being slowed by difficult terrain, entangled, paralysed or magically restrained. This reduces the amount of ways that enemies can try to stun or immobilise your Barbarian. These boots can be purchased from Dammon in the Forge of the Nine in the Lower City, Act III.

Amulet of Greater Health

The Amulet of Greater Health sets your Constitution to 23 and gives Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws. A higher Constitution means more HP. Can be taken from a pedestal in the archive of the House of Hope.

Killer’s Sweetheart

With the Killer’s Sweetheart ring equipped, once per Long Rest, you gain a guaranteed Critical Hit on your next attack after killing an enemy. This item would be better if it could be triggered more frequently, but it’s still a useful effect. It is found inside the Self-Same Trial in the Gauntlet of Shar.

Balduran’s Giantslayer

A Legendary Greatsword, Balduran’s Giantslayer is arguably the strongest melee weapon in the game. It doubles the damage bonus from your Strength Modifier when attacking (if you have the Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength, this improves a +6 modifier to +12). It grants you Advantage when attacking large, huge or gargantuan enemies, and once per Short Rest allows you to enlarge yourself, gaining extra damage, Temporary HP and Advantage on Strength checks.

Balduran’s Giantslayer is looted from Ansur in the Dragon’s Sanctum. To find out how to access the Dragon’s Sanctum, follow this guide on How to find the Helm of Balduran – both items are located in the same room.

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Best BG3 Path of Giants Barbarian Build Tips & Tricks

The most important part of playing the Barbarian in Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming up with a mental attack plan at the start of battles – remember that you will lose your Rage/Frenzy if you do not attack or take damage for a turn. With that in mind, think about when you are going to use your Rage ability. If it looks like you’ll need to spend a couple of turns running to a target, then it’s best to hold off activating it.

When using the Enraged Throw ability, make sure you throw fairly heavy objects, such as weapons, pieces of armour, enemies, etc. Throwing lighter objects will do little to no damage. If possible, throw objects from an elevated location for a +2 Attack Roll bonus. Also, throwing weapons will add the weapon’s base Damage value to the final damage value of the throw.

Overall, the Barbarian is similar in many ways to the Fighter class. The Barbarian is a little harder to play, but it’s still not a difficult class either, and you are rewarded with even higher damage potential than the Fighter.

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Other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds

• Druid Build – Circle of the Moon
• Bard Build – College of Lore
• Ranger Build – Hunter
• Monk Build – Way of Shadow
• Monk Build – Way of the Four Elements
• Monk Build – Way of the Open Hand
• Necromancer Build – Necromancy
• Fighter Build – Battle Master
• Warlock Build – Great Old One
• Cleric Build – Light Domain
• Rogue Build – Thief
• Sorcerer Build – Wild Magic
• Wizard Build – Evocation School
• Paladin – Oath of Ancients
• More Baldur’s Gate Guides & Builds

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