Each of Baldur's Gate 3 Photo Mode Gate 3 's classes offers different abilities and utility to a character in combat, dialog, and exploration. Each class has something different to offer the player and the party, and the Barbarian is no different in that regard.
Updated on April 24th, 2025, by Thomas Hawkins: With the release of Baldur's Gate 3 Path 8, every class has gained access to a new subclass. In the Ranger's case, they can now select Swarmkeeper, commanding swarms of fey spirits in the shape of various creatures to aid them in battle. From legions of Bees, to Clouds of Jellyfish, to Flurries of Moths, the Swarmkeeper excels at using their swarm of choice to damage and weaken their foes. This guide has been updated to explain the Swarmkeeper subclass and provide advice on equipment and multiclassing combos that perform especially well with their abilities.
Rally benefits parties more at low levels as the total amount of HP that the Fighter gives to an ally doesn't improve. Maneuvering Attack, too, can be useful for parties without a way to reliably get squishy allies out of range of opportunity attacks, but it's a bit more situational.
The Sorcerer class is pretty powerful on its own, and the Warlock is the only option that adds meaningful damage to the class' already-powerful toolkit. However, by speccing into the Wizard class, the Sorcerer gains the ability to learn spells from Scroll s, vastly expanding its repertoire of options.
At level 11, the Hunter gains "Volley" and "Whirlwind Attack." Volley allows them to rain attacks on multiple foes with a ranged weapon, while Whirlwind Attack lets them spin and strike all foes around them in melee.
The Conjuration School is arguably better as a multiclassing dip than it is as a standalone class, with Tempest Clerics and Storm Sorcerers both getting a lot of utility out of the ability to create water without spending a spell slot. This is especially true when making use of lightning charge equipment, with The Watersparkers performing exceptionally here. Players should grab The Sparkswall ring too so that the electrified puddles they create can't cause damage to them.
The School of Necromancy grants the Wizard the abilities "Necromancy Savant" and "Grim Harvest," halving the cost of Scribing Necromancy Spells and allowing them to regain HP when they kill a creature with a leveled spell. The HP gained is equal to the spell slot used multiplied by two or multiplied by three if the spell was a Necromancy spell.
The Oath of Vengeance Paladin is a prime choice for multiclassing with either Bard or Warlock, the former to take advantage of The College of Swords and its excellent assortment of Flourishes, and the latter to consolidate weapon attacks and spellcasting under a single stat by using Pact of the Blade and get spell slots that recharge on a short rest for more Divine Smites.
The Wildheart Subclass, likely a reimagining of the Totem Warrior from D&D 5e Tabletop, chooses a Bestial Heart at level three. Each Bestial Heart offers different bonus effects while the Barbarian is raging, along with access to a special action while raging, as the table below shows:
The Battle Master Fighter build is named after the Subclass that players select at Level 3, which grants a powerful new set of skills to the Fighter that rely on a new resource: Superiority Die, used to fuel Battle Maneuvers. At Level 3, Fighters can unlock three Battle Maneuvers from a list of six, most of which have both a ranged and melee version that unlock together.
At level six, Divination Wizards gain the ability "Expert Divination." This gives them a "prophecy" after a short rest, which is a special criterion that will allow them to regain spent Portent Dice when fulfilled. These can include tasks like defeating a certain kind of foe or inflicting a certain type of damage.
At sixth level, Giant Barbarians gain Elemental Cleaver. This allows them to add acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage to their weapon while raging, and also adds the Thrown property to their weapon when used. Additionally, weapons under the effect of Elemental Cleaver will be returned to your hand immediately after being thrown, allowing for greater flexibility in throwing weapon builds. The elemental damage behaves like a damage rider when throwing the weapon, meaning the elemental damage is boosted independently by things like the Rage buff, Tavern Brawler, or the Ring of Flinging. This allows you to achieve much higher damage than expected with weapons enhanced using Elemental Cleaver.
The Beast Master subclass gains the ability "Summon Companion," allowing them to call forth a number of different animal companions to aid them in combat. These animal companions are considerably stronger than those summoned by the "Find Familiar" spell. All Companions have the "Prey's Scent" ability, which causes them to deal 1d6 extra damage to a creature marked by the Beast Master's "Hunter's Mark" spell.
At level seven, "Exceptional Training" lets their Animal Companion dash, disengage, or help allies as a bonus action. At level 8, Animal Companions gain more HP and higher AC again. Finally, level 11 adds "Bestial Fury," giving their Animal Companion an extra attack. This level also comes with a final set of upgrades for each Animal Companion, as shown below:
