The best build for the Trickster in Baldur’s Gate 3: races, leveling, multiclasses and equipment - Gameloid (2024)

Among the fairly large number of 3 game classes available in Baldur's Gate, the Trickster is considered one one of the most useful, versatile and in some ways even irreplaceable choices for a squad. These clever pickpockets are successful in neutralizing and breaking into hard-to-reach treasures, and can help with silent reconnaissance and deception in dialogues. Rogues are considered to be a simple class, but there are quite a few pitfalls in their assembly, which we will talk about in this article.

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Find out from our guide how to choose the best build for the Rogue in BG3: which races, subclasses and equipment to prefer, and also who is more effective to multiclass with. Also, let's not ignore the canonical Trickster build for Astarion.

The best build for the Trickster in Baldur's Gate 3

Introductory information

Anyone who has ever played Baldur's Gate 3 has had to resort to the help of a Rogue more than once – they make the best thieves and scouts, most likely remaining invisible to enemies and getting out of the vast majority of dialogue situations through Deception .

It is worth understanding for what purposes you are choosing this class and how you will cover the lack of combat skills with survivability.

The main advantages of the “Rogue” class:

< li>High chances of theft and lock picking;
• Increased bonus to the conversational option “Deception”;
• Disarming mines and traps;
• Mobility in battle;
• Sneak crit attacks;
• As you level up, you gain evasion skills and a reduction in incoming damage.

Disadvantages of Rogues:

• Low survivability;
• Dependence on weapons, conditions of attack and rather boring rotation in battle;
• Compared to other physical classes, when leveling up they significantly lose in damage;
• In late acts, their attacks are ineffective against most enemies immune to piercing damage.

Main stats

< p>The Trickster’s main skills are based on the “Dexterity parameter”and the skills that come from it. First of all, focus your leveling on it, and only then on “Endurance” and “Intelligence”. The latter gives a bonus to saving throws against magic and is suitable for builds with magical abilities, as it affects their damage and hit chance.

The order of pumping up stats and their importance for the Trickster:

1. Dexterityis the basis for stealth, acrobatics and sleight of hand, affects the accuracy of attacks, initiative and increasing armor class. This parameter helps Rogues to remain stable after enemy attacks, to be resourceful and undetected. If your hero plays from ranged combat, then Agility will allow him to miss the target less;
2. Endurance will increase the survivability that Rogues lack. It will affect both your health and your susceptibility to various debuffs and the environment.

You can also pay attention to “Charisma” if you often use deceptive lines in dialogues. And also “Wisdom” for exploring the world and discovering hidden areas.

Key ability: sneak attacks

The distinctive skill of the Rogue is “Attack” “Sneaky” – deals physical damage at close or long range, but you must have an advantage over the target. To carry out such an attack, the Rogue takes the stance “Hide“, but even so you will not always be able to use the attack.

Here are the cases in which it will work:

• You pass a stealth check and the enemy does not sees, therefore you are in a more advantageous position. If you have a high agility score, you can pass such checks even in the field of view of an enemy (highlighted in red in the game);
• The enemy is under some kind of debuff (poisoned, blinded, etc.);
• The enemy is under some kind of debuff (poisoned, blinded, etc.);
• The enemy is under some kind of debuff (poisoned, blinded, etc.);
• The enemy is under some kind of debuff (poisoned, blinded, etc.);
• One and a half meters from the target, at melee range, is your ally.

Origin

The best pedigree options for the Trickster will be those that bonus the skills of deception, stealth or sleight of hand. These include:

• Charlatan[deception/sleight of hand] – the canonical origin of the vampire companion Astarion;
• Criminal [deception/stealth] – a choice for those who want to make a real villain out of their Trickster;
• Rogue [stealth/sleight of hand] – one who has endured much adversity and learned to make the best of difficult situations.

Skills

The key skills that enhance the combat and tactical aspects of the Rogue are stealth, acrobatics and sleight of hand . In addition to them are deception and survival. For solo play, or a more detailed exploration of the world, you can also add insight and attention here. You can mention them in more detail:

• To the “Dexterity” parameterinclude: stealth, acrobatics, sleight of hand and deception. The first helps to remain undetected, the second helps to be more resistant to incoming damage or attacks that can push or knock you down, and the third helps to carry out successful thefts, hacks and neutralization. With deception for starters, you will get a hero for whom pumping up only one main parameter allows you to become a generalist in combat, communication and interaction with the world of BG3;
• To the “Wisdom” parameterinclude: survival, insight and attention. Increases your observation of the environment and the hidden intentions of your interlocutors.

The best races

Not to say that there is some kind of particularly priority race for the Trickster, unlike the Paladin. And yet, the main rogue companion in BG3 is Astarion, and he is an elf. Take a closer look at the advantages of the following creatures:

• Elves. Higher ones, like Astariaon, are resistant to some debuffs and skillfully control short and long swords + bows of the same length. But Foresters have an increase in speed, which can help with maneuverability on the battlefield;
• Deep gnomes. Granted advantage in stealth tests;
• Drow. They have improved night vision and receive the “Darkness” ability at level 5, which, with the right build, can become the Trickster’s main assistant;
• Half-elves and Tieflings. In the subclasses of both races, you can find advantages such as increased speed or “Darkness”;
• Lightfoot Halflings. Like gnomes, they have an increased chance of successful stealth checks;
• Half-orcs. For those looking for more critical hits and survivability.
• Githyanki. At the first level they receive a skill to choose a bonus to mastery, and later – “Misty Step” additionally. an action that helps evade the enemy at a critical moment.

Subclasses

Rogues have three main subclasses:

• Thief. The best off the battlefield and the most versatile subclass, which, after leveling up, gives resistance to damage, maneuverability and some bonus actions.
• Mystical Trickster. A mixture of mage and rogue, a subclass with spells. Uses charm, illusion and other magical actions. And most importantly, such a Trickster will not be limited only by physical damage.
• Assassin. An excellent choice for solo play, which is used as a basis in many builds. These stealthy assassins are skilled at delivering critical hits to their targets' backs and then disappearing into the shadows.

Below we will take as a basis the Assassin and Thief subclasses for Astarion.

Multi-class

Before we start leveling up, let's decide on a multiclass. Rogues will do well when paired with someone who can add extra attacks or benefits to their enemies' resilience. Don't forget about survivability – some classes will increase the level of armor without allowing you to lose in Dexterity.

For class combinations, give preference to these options:

• Bard. It will be a good option for the Trickster Assassin Archer (at least 6 levels). With the subclass “College of Swords” it acquires various flourishes, among which there are those that significantly enhance ranged combat.
• Monk. With the “Way of the Open Palm” (level up at least 9 levels) it gives a wide range of attacks through vulnerabilities with the additional ability to stun or knock down a target.
• Warrior. Brings an additional action to your skill pool and lowers the threshold for performing a critical attack with the “Champion” subclass (level at least 3 levels). And if you select “Battle Master”, the choice will open up attacking maneuvers that will come in handy after the same sneak attack.
• Sorcerer subclass “Bestia”. An excellent addition to the build for Astarion, which we will talk about below.
• Pathfinder. The Shadowhunter subclass has several passive abilities that increase initiative, speed, and attack damage by 1d8 (minimum 5 levels, which will grant double strike and the ability to take Mist and Traceless Steps – the latter will provide an impressive bonus to stealth checks).< /li>

Pumping up and gameplay of the Trickster

We will create a build with a multiclass, but if you play on “History“(that is, you cannot combine classes with each other) feel free to choose the Thief subclass and focus on the characteristics and additional features from the screenshots above – all of them will be useful to Rogues to one degree or another.

Build for a shooter with crits

The build will be based on the Trickster, Pathfinder and Warrior classes. See their leveling in the table below:

This combined Rogue feels great himself as an additional damage dealer, and his gameplay is aimed at seizing the initiative and then finishing off targets with attacks from an advantageous distance.

Build for Astarion through attacks in the Dark

And secondly, we’ll show you how you can assemble your Astarion so that the hero turns into a canonical Vampire Trickster, possessing plot-based skills and the same type of combat.

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With this build, you can safely start with classic sneak attacks, having previously lived through invisibility and the blade’s contract for improved attacks with the chosen weapon. And when you are discovered, use Darkness around yourself and your enemies, and then attack from it. You can try to attract those who are far from the haze to you using the Thorny Whip skill from the Accurate Caster trait.

What Illithid abilities are suitable for a Trickster

If you want to get an advantage not only due to the main build, but also from alien skills, throw larvae into the following abilities:

• Luck of the Far Reach. A counterattack that converts a successful attack roll into a crit. damage to the target;
• Psionic recoil. Reaction of 1d4 Psychic damage to spells cast by an enemy within a 9m radius;
• Culling the Weak. For those who have already upgraded quite a lot of alien skills: if the target's HP is lower than the number of your Illithid abilities, the attack immediately kills the victim and damages everyone within a 3 m radius by 1d3 Psychic damage;
• Black Hole< /b>. Reduces the speed of enemies caught in it, while sucking them into the center of the direction chosen for the hole;
• Charm. Inflicts a condition in which the target will not attack you for the entire next turn (if it fails a Wisdom check, of course).

Potions and Equipment

Anything that gives bonuses to the hero’s agility, stealth, crits and mobility is suitable for the Trickster’s equipment . In early acts, you can look for the following or similar equipment options:

• [Invisibility Helmet] Shadow of Menzoberranzan. Lying near a drow corpse in a bull-locked pen, myconid colony [X:50, Y:75];
• Drow studded leather armor. A skin for a bonus to stealth, which can be obtained from Lolth's cache, within the Festering Bay [X: 71 Y: -220];
• Archer's gloves for a bonus to bow damage, sold at Grat in the goblin camp;
• [Legs] Collapsing “Night Steps” gives stability on difficult surfaces + “Mist Step”. Can be collected from Nere's corpse in Grimforge;
• Moon Pendant. Lies in the bear cave, inside the Selunite casket [X:86 Y:448];
• Ring of Hrup (+2 to speed) and Caustic Ring(+ 2 units of acid from weapons). The first can be picked up from Hrup in the courtyard of the goblin camp, and the second can be bought from Derrit in the myconid colony;
• [Weapon] Titanium String Bow. After the quest “Find the missing cargo” you can buy from Brem/or bargain with Lann Tarv after checks in the dialogue, Lunar Towers. Hill Giant's Club(raises Strength to 19). In the Underdark, on the roof of the abandoned Wizard's Tower [X:-19 Y:-283] – can be obtained by breaking off the leg of a stool. Hunter's Daggeron sale from Roa, in the sanctuary destroyed by goblins.

For later acts, look for equipment with similar effects:

• [Head for bonus damage to target with ” Hunter's Mark”]Hunter's Hoop. On sale from the drow Arai Oblodra in the Lunar Towers/Act 2, or the gimbal Helmet of Hellish Twilight – vault of the House of Hope [X:-6482 Y:2939]/Act 3;
• < b>Shadow Slayer Cloak. Bargaining with Sticky Dondo in the sewers of the lower city [X:-17 Y:755] /Act 3;
• [Armor for bonus to stealth and initiative, as well as shield bash skill] Elegant leather with spikes. Bank vault No. 9, Lower City/Act 3;
• Hell Boots with a special teleport that damages with fire around the place where we appear. Dragon's Crossing: chest from the roof of the castle on Snake Rock [X: -32 Y: 219]/Act 3;
• Amulet of Surgical Conquestwith a bonus in the form of paralysis from critical hits on the target . On Malus Torm in the House of Healing/Act 2;
• [Rings] A Killer's Love(100% crit after killing the previous target) – Temple of the Shar, on the floor near the shadow clone of your key character [X: -833 Y: -729]/Act 2, andThe Changeable Ring (“Invisibility” and “Blur”). Dropped by Marcus, who attacked the Last Light tavern /Act 2;
• [Weapon] Gontr Mael – a bow dropped after defeating the Steel Guardian Titan in the Foundry; Bloodthirst – a nice dagger that inflicts piercing vulnerability on the target, drops from Orin’s corpse. Rhapsody – another dagger with a bonus to attacks and Bleeding, dropped by the vampire Casadora Zarra/all three are obtained in Act 3.

And finally, the most important consumables, without which the Trickster’s gameplay will become much less effective:

• Potion of Speed;
• Elixir of Bloodlust;
• Potion of Invisibility;
• Drow Poison;
• Arrow of Many Targets.

You can look for additional equipment on the website with mods for Baldur's Gate 3, which we talked about in a separate article.