Baldur’s Gate 3’s Fighter class is rather basic, but multiclassing can significantly improve it. The Fighter class is perhaps the least flashy of Baldur’s Gate 3’s twelve classes, mostly relying on sets of basic and specialized melee attacks to deal damage. However, although it lacks the flair of other classes, simplicity is the Fighter’s strength, and Fighter builds can be greatly augmented through multiclassing.

Dipping into Fighter is actually extremely common, and players will often take a couple of levels to boost builds such as the Monk multiclass build. For many builds, this involves only grabbing the Fighter’s Action Surge ability to gain an extra action and ignoring the rest. However, players shouldn’t overlook the Fighter class, as it can share center stage as part of a spectacular Fighter/Barbarian multiclass build.

How To Create A Fighter Multiclass Character In Baldur’s Gate 3

The best way to create a Fighter/Barbarian build is to start with Fighter in the character creator. The best choice for your character race is Half-Orc due to their unique race features. This includes Savage Attacks, which adds another die of damage when you score critical hits with melee weapons. Relentless Endurance also lets them drop to 1HP rather than being downed once per Long Rest.

Other good race options include Elves and Half-Elves. The best Half-Elf builds can be quite powerful due to their diverse racial features, such as free cantrips, increased movement range, and Darkvision.

You should also aim to synergize the Fighter class by picking the right Background for your character. Fighters rely heavily on Strength and Constitution, so Backgrounds such as Outlander or Soldier are ideal as they have Strength-based skill Proficiencies. At Fighter Level 1, you gain Second Wind, an essential HP restoration ability, and a Fighting Style of your choice.

Great Weapon Fighting is the best for this build, which focuses on two-handed weapons and allows your character to reroll 1s and 2s on damage dies – a small but solid bonus that makes your damage output more consistent overall. It’s generally worth avoiding the Defence attribute since Barbarians benefit from not wearing armor.

How To Level A Fighter Multiclass Character In Baldur’s Gate 3

Leveling a Fighter/Barbarian is simpler than other builds, as Fighter and Barbarian class mechanics tend to be more straightforward. Level up to Fighter Level 3 first to unlock Action Surge for an extra action and your Fighter subclass. All three subclasses are excellent in their own way. The Eldritch Knight subclass even allows Fighters to wield magic, making it an excellent choice for a Fighter build. However, to synergize with Barbarian, the best option is Battle Master.

Battle Master Fighters gain access to Superiority Dice and Maneuvers – special melee attacks with various effects. Champion Fighters gain Improved Critical Hits, but Barbarians already hit very hard. As such, it’s better to pick Battle Master, as it gives your character options to control enemies and direct the flow of combat.

At Level 3, you will be able to pick three maneuvers for your character:

• Feinting Attack allows you to use both your action and bonus action to attack a target, gaining an Advantage and an additional 1d8 damage. This is great for high single-target damage.
• Goading Attack deals an additional 1d8 damage and draws the target’s attention to you. It suffers a Disadvantage on other targets. It’s a great option for controlling the field, forcing enemies to target a tank-like Fighter/Barbarian instead of weaker characters.
• Menacing Attack deals an additional 1d8 damage and may also Frighten the target, giving it a Disadvantage and making it temporarily immobile.

Fighters are highly mobile and capable of drawing attention away from weaker spellcasters. Continue to Fighter Level 6, picking the Great Weapon Master Feat at Level 4. This allows you to attack an enemy again if you land a Critical Hit or kill with a melee weapon. It also grants All In, a perk that can be toggled on to reduce your attack rolls by 5 in favor of a +10 damage bonus. This is one of the best feats for a Fighter and an excellent choice for any Fighter build in Baldur’s Gate 3.

You also gain an Extra Attack at Level 5 and another Feat at Level 6. For this second Feat, pick Savage Attacker. This means you roll damage dice twice and use the highest result when making melee weapon attacks. This improves your damage output and makes it more consistent.

After Level 6, start taking levels in Barbarian and follow a typical Barbarian build in Baldur’s Gate 3. You immediately unlock Rage, which grants you extra damage resistance, melee damage, and Advantage on Strength checks and saving throws. Rage is powered by Rage Charges, a powerful ability you should use as often as possible for the damage boost.

Barbarians also gain Reckless Attack – granting them Advantage on all attack rolls and giving enemies Advantage against them. It’s highly recommended that you use the Reckless Attack ability carefully.

You can pick your subclass at Level 9 (Level 3 Barbarian). Berserker is the best choice, as it upgrades Rage into Frenzy and grants you Frenzied Strike as a bonus action once per turn. The extra damage means Berserker is hard to on, and the random Wild Magic surges of the Wild Magic class tend to be too unreliable for this build. However, Wildheart has some interesting options that can buff your allies and debuff enemies, so it’s worth considering.

At Level 10 (Level 4 Barbarian), pick your final Feat. Sentinel is a good choice since it dramatically enhances your Fighter/Barbarian’s Opportunity Attacks and Reactions, making it more likely that they will damage enemies attempting to escape close combat. The Athlete also works well, as it provides a stat boost and gives you increased jump distance.

At Level 11 (Level 5 Barbarian), you will unlock Fast Movement, increasing your character’s movement range when not wearing armor. Fighters typically wear armor, but in this case, the benefits of not wearing armor are too good to on.

Once you hit Level 12 with a Fighter/Barbarian, you will have a character that’s mastered the battlefield. Battle Master Maneuvers provide a degree of control over enemy positioning and actions. If special attacks aren’t enough, your character can rain down blow after blow, using Frenzy to boost their damage and taking advantage of extra actions and Action Surge to batter an enemy into submission. It’s not the most complex build in Baldur’s Gate 3, but it’s more than capable of matching the damage output of many fancier and more technical builds.