Baldur’s Gate 3features a dynamic and complex combat system, chock-full of conditions and status effects players and enemies can be afflicted with. Some, like paralyzed and blinded, are lifted directly fromDungeons & Dragons. Butothers are entirely new, and really shinein the video game format.
Some of these status effects are so powerful that players have made entire builds around triggering them. And with the plethora of items and spells that can inflict these effects, that’s easy to do.These ten status conditions stand out as some of the most powerful thatBaldur’s Gate 3introduced, and players should look to use them for their next character build.
10Wrath Allows Melee Builds To Stack Up Their Weapon Damage
A Perfect Early-Game Build For Barbarians
Wrath is a status buff players can gain access to early on from some powerful equipment. Specifically, thecap of wrath, linebreaker boots, and bloodguzzler garb, which can all be found in act one. Each of these pieces of apparel allows the wearer to gain wrath on their turns, either throughdashing, taking damage, or starting a round with less than half health.
Another piece of equipment, theenraging heart garb, is supposed to provide stacks of wrath as well while the wearer is raging. However, it does not actually do this, despite the description saying it will.
Wrath boosts melee weapon damage by one point per stack, up to seven stacks total. Dealing an extra five to seven damage per hit at early levels is huge,especially for barbariansand fighters who want to get as much raw damage out of each attack as they can. There’s no penalty that comes with wrath, meaning it’s free extra damage as long as the equipment’s conditions are fulfilled. Since wrath is tied to three pieces of early-game gear, it probably won’t be part of an end-game build, but it can make a big difference in act one.
9Mental Fatigue Is Useful For Setting Up Certain Spells
Wear Down The Minds Of Your Opponents
Mental fatigue is a debuff that players can apply to certain enemies, and that certain enemies can apply to players. It often accompanies psychic damage, andlowers the affected creature’s intelligence, wisdom, and charisma saving throwsby one per stack. Like wrath, it can stack up to seven times, going down by one each round. It’s great for forcing enemies to fail spell saving throws, such as those againsthold personor hypnotic pattern.
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Players can use the ring of mental inhibition or thebraindrain glovesto inflict this condition upon foes. It can be used by certain gith in Creche Y’llek, where the ring is acquired, so players should be ready to be on its receiving end. However, it is worth noting thatthis effect does not causes a penalty on repeated checks,meaning enemies won’t be hindered during later saves against the same effect.
8Arcane Synergy Compliments A Spellblade’s Skills
A Simple But Powerful Effect To Combine Magic and Might
Players that combine spells and weaponry will be intrigued by this effect. Arcane synergyboosts one’s damage with weapon attacks by an amount equal to their spellcasting modifier. That’s usually between a three and five point increase, which is substantial, especially if the effect can be triggered each turn. Luckily, the equipment that provides arcane synergy makes that easy.
This ability is best on a dual wielder that can take three or more attacks per turn, potentially getting 15 or even 20 extra damage per round.
The ring anddiadem of arcane synergyboth grant two turns of the effect upon being triggered. The ring requires the wearer to cast a cantrip, whilethe diadem just requires the wearer to inflict a condition on another creature. There are dozens and dozens of conditions in the game that are all easily applicable, some not even requiring action on the player’s part, which makes this item very easy to use reliably. The bit of extra damage per attack is handy, easy to use, and feels very thematic forspellblade builds inBG3.
7Lightning Charges Can Stack Damage Through The Roof
An Easy Strategy For Many Builds
Lightning charges are a known quantity in theBG3fandom, probably because of how accessible they are. There areseven items that can provide lightning charges to the wearer,and six more that benefit from the player having lightning charges. Many of these items are available in the first act, and players first starting out often notice the synergy they provide and equip them all on one character.
Mechanically, lightning charges are an attack and damage boost,granting a +1 to attack and damage rolls while players have any.Unlike many other effects, lightning charges don’t get stronger with multiple stacks. Though, upon getting five stacks, a player’s next attack will deal an extra 1d8 lightning damage and expend all charges.
Lightning charges work well with spellcaster builds that rely onmagic missile, eldritch blast, or scorching ray, since they boost each individual attack. And of course, other items like theprotecty sparkswallbenefit in other ways from having lightning charges. It is worth noting, however, thatthe power of a lightning charge build falls off at higher levels,and players clinging to multiple lightning charge-based items may be impeding their own power.
6Force Conduit Provides Heightened Protection
Heavy Armor Master, Eat Your Heart Out
Force conduit is a defensive buff that players can use to avoid taking damage from certain attacks. Three items can grant stacks of it: theskinburster, rippling force mail, and swire’s sledboard. Each stack of force conduit a character hasreduces incoming physical damage by one,and since the effect can stack up to seven times, it can end up reducing damage monumentally.
Compared to heavy armor master, which lowers incoming physical damage by 3, force conduit can easily outpace its defensiveness. Then again, combining both is possible, which can help make the ultimate tank character.
The effect can also damage enemies, sinceat five or more stacks, all creatures around the wearer take 1d4 force damagewhenever the wearer is hit. This damage may be negligible, and the effect is certainly defense-focused. Still, force conduit is an extremely powerful condition more players need to make use of.
5Reverberation Is A Great Effect For Shutting Enemies Down
Tempest Clerics Will Feel More Powerful Than Ever
Reverberation can be granted by four items in the game, and interacts with many more, since it often works in tandem with thunder damage. Reverberation works somewhat like mental fatigue,inflicting a -1 penalty on affected creature’s strength, dexterity, and constitution saving throws. It’s different, however, in that at five stacks of reverberation, creatures take 1d4 thunder damage and may fall prone.
This is super helpful, since knocking enemies prone cantake away their reaction, cancel their concentration on a spell, and reduce their movement speedon their next turn. Plus, they have a -5 penalty on the saving throw against falling prone from the reverberation itself, meaning it often works. This effect combos marvelously with magic missile, which can inflict five stacks in a single turn, or with something likespirit guardiansthat deals damage each turn.
4Momentum Is Useful For Navigating The Battlefield
Speed Is Time, Time Is Damage, Damage Is Power
Movement is super important inBaldur’s Gate 3, given how much positioning and range plays into combat.The more movement any character has, the better off they are, and momentum provides a straight boost to movement speed. Each stack of momentum provides a five-foot bonus to movement speed per turn, and since the effect stacks up to five times, it can eventually grant a +25 ft. bonus,almost doubling the base movement speed of most characters.
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Momentum’s usefulness is boosted by how early a certain item, thehaste helm, can be acquired in act one. Players can make use of this effect from the start to the end of the game, and it stays good the whole way through. The only downside to momentum is thatall stacks are removed when a character is stunned or knocked prone.
3Radiating Orb Increases The Whole Party’s Defense
Blind Your Enemies With Radiant Light
Radiating orb doubles as a way to increase visibility during a fight anddecrease enemy’s chances of hitting with attacks.This condition inflicts a -1 penalty to attack rolls per stack that’s applied, up to ten stacks. Much like force conduit, this condition is a defensive one; unlike force conduit, it works to protect everyone in the party.
Inflicting any kind of penalty on enemy attack rolls can make even the most threatening opponents whiff, and the items that inflict radiating orb do it well. Thecoruscation ringespecially sets itself up for success, sinceit applies an orb to enemies that take damage while illuminated, and the orbs themselves act as light sources.
2Wet And Chilled Both Synergize With Many Things
Great Set-Ups For A Ton Of Punch Lines
Admittedly, wet and chilled are both a little different from the other conditions on this list, sincethey are more often considered environmental effects. But to omit them would ignore how many players make builds specifically around inflicting these effects on enemies to increase damage output. That’s because chilled enemies take double cold damage, and wet ones take double cold and lightning damage.
Enemies can be made wet with the spellcreate water, throwing barrels or bottles of water, or just by knocking them into wet surfaces. Chilling enemies is done with cold damage from certain spells and equipment.
Both of these effects can be used to set up groups of enemies for huge damage from AOEs likecone of coldand lightning bolt. Butthey can also work togetherto incapacitate enemies.Chilling a wet creature will freeze it,restraining it temporarily and making it vulnerable to even more kinds of damage. The creative potential of these effects is truly impressive.
1Arcane Acuity Is The Perfect Ability For Any Battle Mage
Success Begets Success, Over And Over
Finally, arcane acuity is probably the most powerful effect in the game for player characters to use. Itincreases spell attack and save DC by one for each stack of it,and since it stacks up to ten times, that’s a potential +10 to saving throws against all of one’s spells. This kind of buff can turn abilities ordinarily hard to use, like anoathbreaker’s control undead, into certainties. And it’s generally good for every spellcaster in the game.
Five items grant this effect, including one potion: theelixir of battlemage’s power, which provides a flat three stacks of arcane acuity at the start of each turn. This potion is what makes this effect so good, since it lasts a full day, and is basically justa +3 to all spell attacks and saves until the next long rest. It even sidesteps the usual weakness of arcane acuity: that taking damage reduces one’s stacks. Every mage should make use of this condition inBaldur’s Gate 3, since it’s just too powerful to ignore.
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Baldur’s Gate 3
Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an upcoming role-playing game set to release in August of 2023. Players will create a character to embark on a large-scale journey and can do so solo or cooperatively with a friend. Combat is a turn-based style this time around.
