Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Class For Archery Builds

Those who want to play as Legolas in Baldur’s Gate 3 have some great options for archery builds, where you can rain arrows down on your enemies from afar. It’s best to do this with at least one meat shield party member or someone who can summon pets, as you’ll need someone to run interference while you use your bow.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will quickly give you access to magical bows, offering you a bonus to attack rolls and damage while often possessing an additional status effect boost. You’ll want to grab one of these as quickly as possible and any magical trick arrows you can find, as these are incredibly useful for setting up environmental hazards or harming specific types of enemies.

Related: Baldur’s Gate 2’s Slayer Form Makes Surprise Return In Baldur’s Gate 3

Fighter/Rogues Are The Best Archers In Baldur’s Gate 3

The Ranger is a fine choice for a solo archer build, but a Fighter & Rogue class mix is the most effective option for ranged weapon users. You should aim to put five levels in Fighter first, then switch over to Rogue until you hit the level cap. By the end of the game, you should be a Level 5 Fighter/Level 7 Rogue mix.

The reason you want to focus on Fighter first is so you can get Longbow and Medium Armor Proficiency straight off the bat. Throughout your Fighter progression, you’ll get great hit points, the Archery Fighting Style, Second Wind (a self-healing power), Action Surge (lets you perform an additional action), a Feat, and most importantly, a second attack. For your Feat, you should select either Sharpshooter or Lucky, with the former making you a better archer, while the latter will make it easier to hit/avoid enemies.

Once you start taking Rogue levels, you’ll add Sneak Attack damage to your attacks, which will add up over long battles. You’ll also get access to many amazing defensive skills, with Cunning Action allowing you to zip around the battlefield without worrying, Uncanny Dodge halving incoming damage, and Evasion reducing the harm from spells.

In terms of subclasses,, the Battle Master is the better choice for the Fighter, as you can use Precision Attack to increase your damage even further, use Evasion Footwork to protect yourself, and Distracting Strike to give allies Advantage on their attacks. For the Rogue, the Assassin is the better choice, as its features are tailored around combat.

Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: What’s The Level Cap?

The Fighter & Rogue selection is one of the best multiclass mixes in Baldur’s Gate 3 and D&D 5E, so it’s only fitting that they make for the best archers in the game. If you want this mix for someone other than your protagonist, then Astarion is a great choice, considering that he starts out as a Rogue, and can easily benefit from a Fighter shift.