Summary
For martial characters inBaldur’s Gate 3, you are constantly looking for the biggest stick to swing. With the hundreds of weapon options, multiple fighting styles, and feat combinations to make the most of your fighter, barbarian, or paladin, it can even take multiple playthroughs before you find the perfect build.
If it’s damage you are looking for, they are almost always found with two-handed or versatile weapons, as they have the highest base damage rolls of any weapon in the game. However, when you introduce enchanted weapons, there are a handful of options you’ll always want to seek first.
10Moonlight Glaive
Moonlight Glaiveis a +2 weapon with a simple effect that benefits your entire party. Its unique weapon attack, Moonlight Strike, gives your target the effects of theFaerie Firespell, making all attacks against it, including from other characters, have advantage.
Other than that, it has a bonus 1d4 radiant damage on attacks and produces a six-meter light source. This can be combined with theCallous Glow Ring, which gives you an additional 2 damage against all illuminated targets, which will always be in effect with this weapon while in melee.
9Phalar Aluve
Phalar Aluveis a rare, +1 longsword that you may get as early as the Underdark and is aperfect weapon for bards, especially those in the college of swords. Besides granting a flat performance bonus, the Phalar Aluve: Melody ability makes it especially strong.
There are two options with the melody skill: granting all nearby enemies 1d4 penalty to saves while taking an additional 1d4 thunder damage from all sources or nearby allies gaining 1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws. While doubling as a support weapon, both the buff and debuff follow you and work with your attacks and spells that hit affected targets.
8Duke Ravengard’s Longsword
Duke Ravengard’s Longswordis a +1 weapon belonging to the Duke himself and comes with a handful of abilities fit for a leader. The main ability, Stirring Execution, grants temporary hit points to nearby allies every time you kill an enemy, which can add a nice buffer to long combats.
To acquire this longsword, you need to defeat Duke Ravengard at Wyrm’s Crossing, or use the Command: Drop spell.
This bonus scales with Charisma, which the sword also grants +2 to, so it isn’t only useful to characters with a naturally high score. It also has a unique attack action that allows you to direct another ally to make an attack on your turn, but unfortunately, it requires an action and bonus action to use.
7Staff Of The Ram
The Staff of the Ram is a +2 quarterstaff, and, as the name implies, this magical weapon packs quite a punch when you make successful attacks. Other than knocking enemies back two meters, you also have the chance to stun them, which gives characters with multiple attacks a chance to make attacks with advantage.
You also get a bonus 1d4 force damage to each attack, which isn’t extraordinarily high but is an addition that makes this staff more deadly than most. The only downside to this staff is that you’re able to’t stun huge monsters or dragons, which won’t come up often regardless, and can only be activated once per turn.
6Halberd Of Vigilance
TheHalberd of Vigilanceis a +2 weapon that deals an additional 1d4 force damage, which is a rare bonus damage type among weapons and deals additional damage to objects. While the advantage to perception checks is a useful exploration ability, the bonus to initiative is great for characters who lack high Dexterity.
The real meat of this weapon, though, is the advantage to attacks made as a reaction, which works with a handful of abilities but mostly for opportunity attacks. To make the most of this halberd, you’re able to takethe sentinel featto introduce more triggers for reaction attacks and buff all of your opportunity attacks a second time.
5Silver Sword Of The Astral Plane
TheSilver Sword of the Astral Planeis a +3 greatsword intended for githyanki, as it only grants the additional benefits to wielders of that species. However, if you don’t want to hand it to Lae’zel, or your character isn’t gith, you may castDisguise Selfto trick it into working for any character.
Assuming now that it works for any wielder, it has a bonus 1d6 psychic damage on all attacks while giving you advantage on saves, resistance to psychic damage, and immunity to charm effects. On top of that, it has a unique attack that forces targets to make a save or become stunned.
4Sword Of Chaos
As a +2 greatsword, theSword of Chaosis a weapon with two changes that make it exceptionally strong. For starters, it adds an additional 1d4 necrotic damage to all attacks made with it, and secondly, it heals the wielder for 1d6 hit points on every successful strike.
For martial characters, this healing could allow you to solo large groups of enemies and even most bosses while being exploitable by combining the effect with magic items.The Whispering Promise, for example, is a ring that casts Bless on all creatures you heal, including yourself, and works on Sword of Chaos attacks.
3Nyrulna
A legendary trident with a +3 enchantment,Nyrulnahas a significantly unique ability that increases both jump and move distance while nullifying all falling damage, even outside of combat. It is also best used as a throwing weapon, by dealing an additional 3d4 thunder damage against the target and all nearby enemies when thrown and automatically teleporting back to your hand.
This trident also comes with two unique weapon attacks, which target multiple enemies and can inflict bleeding, push creatures back, and throw them off balance. The only problem with this weapon is that when it targets specific enemies, it is only as strong as its +3 enchantment and additional 1d4 thunder damage.
2Selune’s Spear Of Night
Selûne’s Spear of Nightis a legendary spear with a +3 enchantment and a slew of abilities worthy of the rarity. As an exploration tool, it grants the wielder dark vision and a permanent advantage on all perception checks and Wisdom saves while it is wielded.
On the combat side, the spear has a unique ability called Moonmote, which has a huge radius and can be placed rather than have to follow the wielder, granting an additional 1d4 radiant damage on all melee attacks against all targets within while also making it difficult terrain. Following the theme of light, it also grants a free casting ofMoonbeam, but unfortunately, it can’t be cast with Moonmote simultaneously.
1Balduran’s Giantslayer
A legendary greatsword with a +3 enchantment,Balduran’s Giantslayerhas some of the highest damage potential while being the bane of all large-sized or larger creatures, giving advantage against all targets of those sizes. Additionally, it has a unique weapon attack that deals additional damage to larger creatures and makes them fall prone.
To acquire this greatsword, you have to defeat Ansur beneath Wyrm’s Crossing.
Even if you are targeting smaller creatures, the sword grants additional damage equal to your strength modifier. It could be up to +6 with theGauntlets of Hill Giant Strength, technically making it a +9 weapon with the enchantment. As a kicker, it also comes with a special action that doubles your size and grants an additional 1d6 damage, 27 temporary hit points, and advantage on Strength checks and saves.
Baldur’s Gate 3
WHERE TO PLAY
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the long-awaited next chapter in the Dungeons & Dragons-based series of RPGs. Developed by Divinity creator Larian Studios, it puts you in the middle of a mind flayer invasion of Faerûn, over a century after the events of its predecessor.
