The Barbarian class has the ability to enter a Rage with a bonus action, granting the ability to use an extra attack with a bonus action on subsequent turns – the effect ends if players don't take or deal damage on a turn.
Players could alternatively use the Flawed Helldusk Gloves, sold by Dammon in Act 2, for a larger boost to initial damage dealt. These can be replaced with the Helldusk Gloves during Act 3 for an even bigger boost.
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The Ring of Mental Inhibition is a great addition to your gear as a Swarmkeeper too. It'll apply mental fatigue on your enemy whenever they fail a saving throw, which makes them worse at Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma saving throws until they fail one. Failing deals psychic damage to them and removes all stacks of mental fatigue. By pairing this with the Braindrain Gloves, the Strange Conduit Ring, and either the Sword of Screams or Voss' Silver Sword, you can dish out a decent amount of damage. If you're playing as a Githyanki, you can also make use of the Psionic Ward Armour and Boots of Psionic Movement to further empower this setup. The main downside to this is that there aren't many ways for Rangers to force Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma saving throws, so you'll need to rely on other members of your party to detonate the mental fatigue stacks.
If you are dead set on including a character in your party, simply talk to Withers to respec them to one of the optimal Druid companion classes listed above. This way, you won't miss out on that character's questline, and you won't have to suffer from an improperly balanced party.
The Linebreaker Boots or Boots of Speed work well early on, and you can replace them with the Bonespike Boots, Helldusk Boots, or Disintegrating Night Walkers later on. The Gloves of Hail of Thorns can give you an extra multi-targetting attack early on, though as you continue you'll wanna replace them with the Flawed Helldusk Gloves, and then either the Bonespike Gloves or the Helldusk Gloves after reaching Act 3.
Beyond that, Shadow Magic plays nicely with Bards and Paladins, much like the other Sorcerer subclasses, due to them providing access to better armor and a wider range of weapon and armor proficiencies, which can open up new options in combat. As always, taking two levels in Fighter for Action Surge can be incredibly effective for empowering a spellcaster, especially one who can also take advantage of quicken spell to fire off even more spells in a single t
In terms of Multiclassing, the Arcane Archer plays very well with some Rogue levels for Sneak Attack and Cunning Actions, with the Thief subclass providing an extra bonus action, which is very helpful, while the Assassin subclass offers incredible burst damage at the start of a fight if you get the drop on them. A few levels in Ranger, especially Hunter for the Hunter's Prey bonuses (Horde Breaker is particularly helpful), can also be quite effective.
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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.
In Baldur's Gate 3 , Druid builds can be enhanced further with the use of specific consumables. Certain potions, like the Elixir of Heroism, will grant combat-oriented bonuses for this best Druid build, while others, like the Elixir of Barkskin, will enhance the Druid's defenses, which tend to be low thanks to low-AC equipment that the class can use.