Errata: I'm seeing a lot of posts about this so wanted to clarify - turns out that the DC of your magic items is *not* based on the first class you took, but it's also not necessarily based on the *last* class you took. Here's a good explanation I found online: "If your first level is in Sorc then any abilities granted by items or Illithid powers will use Charisma. If you then level into Cleric, all items and Illithid powers will now use Wisdom. If you now level back into Sorc, all items and Illithid powers will still use Wisdom. Items and Illithid power use the spellcasting ability of the last new class you leveled into. So now if this character leveled into Wizard or example, items and Illithid powers will now use Intelligence. If they level back into Sorc and then level back into Cleric afterwards, items and Illithid powers will still use Intelligence since these were both existing classes on that character. But if they level into Monk then the ability used for items and Illithid powers will switch to Wisdom again, since Monk is a new class for this character." (source: www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/185s5kl/determining_what_ability_modifier_casting_stat_is/) Hope that keeps things clear when we're respec'ing!
interesting... so basically if you're multiclassing, just respec and make sure the last class you choose uses the right one. So sorc first for proficiency, then cleric, then bard to ensure Charisma. If you want to add 1 level of wizard, you have to respec again and fit it after sorc, but before bard. If you added 2 levels of fighter or barb last, would it make spells/scrolls use Strength instead, or stay charisma since those aren't caster classes?
One thing I really appreciate about bg3 builds, is that it forces you to build around the wheelhouse of levels in which D&D is predominantly played. Sure, the theoretical aspect of levels 13-20 are nice, and yes we've all had fun in a level 20 one-shot. But the value in fine tuning a character to levels 1-12 cannot be overstated. Thanks for the entertainment Colby, you made my workday a little easier 🎉
I was certain that the ice breaker was the most fun build. I was blissfully surprised when I built this and absolutely wrecked the duergar hunters. I literally giggled the entire encounter. Fantasticly, *brilliant* build, Colby!
As a quick tip for anyone speed running the gear - for the Boots of Stormy Clamor, you do need to get the mushrooms from the Arcane Tower and finish that quest for Omeluum before he will sell them to you.
As an even quicker tip: If you're lucky, Derryth (or potentially Blurg/Omeluum) will sell you the ingredients Omeluum needs. I think I even bought them from Omeluum once.
You can reach the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark before going through the Goblin camp. Get some invisibility, a potion/scroll of feather fall and go into the spider caves below the Blighted Village. Go to the cliffs where he Matriarch is at and you'll see the central, glowing green pit. Pop Feather Fall and jump into the pit, you'll float down into the Underdark right outside the outpost.
@@Ankz0r If you walk to the edge of the cliff from where the ettercaps were, it's range isn't that far. The invis is more to bypass the other spiders and ettercaps.
Also be careful not to lose inviz there. You'll be about to get jumped by a pair of minotaur right nearby where you land, and if you're not level 5 yet it's a hard solo fight
@@BraghDaMan No you're not. The Minotaurs are farther up, and the one that attacks the outpost doesn't come until you're inside the outpost. I've done this like 5x with level 2 characters.
I absolutely love the luminous orb gear in BG3. In every playthrough I’ve had a pure Light Cleric using it, but it’s always been a companion character. Looking forward to seeing an optimized build!
I stumbled onto your channel not that long ago thanks to Baldurs Gate 3, and I also used to play a ton of DnD. Your content is awesome, and your delivery/style is top notch. So glad I found your channel. You have gotten me back into this endless labyrinth of theory crafting, and I am so glad to be re-immersed in it all. I am more of an RP-player, over min-maxxing and optimization, but you still put a lot of emphasis on seeking out "flavor" in these concoctions of yours. I may not follow things to a T all the time, but it always helps to know that I can find some way of getting the vibe of a character that I want to build, and still make it viable/effective mechanically. You do great works here.
Little late to the party but I’ve been trying to decide which build to try/play for my very first honor run and I think I found it :) At first I was excited about cleric because I’ve wanted to play one and then you’re like “now we’re bard” and I was like awww. But bards are so strong I now see why. Keep up the amazing work, Colby! You and your channel are my #1 source of BG3 builds 🤙
Thanks so much for putting out more BG3 builds, Colby! I know you mentioned not getting as many views on them, but as someone who just got access to BG3 recently, I’m loving it. I joined up to support!
Great stuff as always! I would recommend making this a Gith character giving you proficiency in Medium armour without the Cleric Dip as well as a racial Misty Step.
Gith do not get shield proficiency though... I just hit Act 3 using this Radiant build, but I did it as a Gith. The big negative about being a Gith is that NPCs initially seem to not like you. Everyone hates the Gith, even the Gith seem to hate the Gith. But that extra +1 to any section of skills and extra Misty Step is pretty sweet.
I accidentally put together a similar build with Shadowheart during my current play through. I was so confused why no one could hit her and why I kept hearing thunder and then would see people get knocked prone or just flat out dying 😂 Thanks for explaining it all and helping me tweak the people's princess even further.
Hey Colby, thank you for these awesome builds as always. Just wanted to add one thing I found while attempting to recreate this build in-game. The Ilithid power, Stage Fright, targets a group of enemies in a circle and makes it so that enemies in that zone attack you with Disadvantage and if they miss they receive 2-12 psychic damage. Not sure if this counts as a condition yet but if it does WOO boy. Think this might be a candidate for a solo run in the future haha
Love this video! One of my favorite tavs ever was an EB Sorock (also rogue and fighter) who used and abused the reverb/radiating orb synergy similarly.
I've been using this on my 2-man honor run. Running Light Cleric/Paladin. Have a Sorlock compatriot. Gotta say, this hasted is death to any of the large combats we've come across so far. Thank you for all the videos!
I mixed this build with the shadowheart build you made for tempest cleric and it is just so nice. The first time I used all of the abilities together was in grym forge against nere and all those duergar. The gloves of belligerent skies works for tempest cleric nova and for spirit guardians. Shatter and spirit guardians really just works
My Sorlock has almost this exact set of items, the extra radiant damage and radiant explosions on eldritch blast, with repelling blast counting as a condition is pretty hilarious.
Amazing build. Never thought to go the bard route to do this combo, always been a light cleric which works great but I'm definitely switching it up tonight to test it out
Been waiting for exactly this from someone like colby forever. This has been probably my fav "support" character build of all time. Even enough fun i pa play them as main, but mainly have the most fun with them as the most fun support character I've come up with lol
Love this! I actually made a less optimized version of this on my honour mode run with Shadowheart as a light cleric and same gear. I'll respec her to this version, though. For party composition, I actually play her with a sorlock, a TB thrower, and a ranger striker with the eversight ring. I hide everyone in darkness but keep Shadowheart out of it to ensure she's the only target, and she can always retreat to darkness if things get dicey.
Love this build! Started playing it as soon as I saw this vid. One change I made is after getting bard to 6, I took sorcerer to 3. This allows me to get misty step with sorcerer levels freeing up the magical secrets slot for counterspell. More importantly it provides quickened spell to set up spirit guardians + shriek in 1 turn. Also by starting wood elf you get longsword proficiency (and extra movement!) so I took the Light cleric domain for warding flare to mitigate crits as that’s more useful than war cleric. Then bard to 8 for a second feat. This all works only if you plan to stay as a Lore bard rather than changing to swords at level 12. The downside of course is I won’t get level 5 spells, but there was nothing there I needed anyway. An bardic inspiration stays a d8, but I can live with that.
Haven’t watched yet but… *Inhales* LIFE BEFORE DEATH!!! STRENGTH BEFORE WEAKNESS!!! JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION!!! What is the most important step a man can ever take brothers?!
I basically ended up on this exact build on my latest run, going Storm Sorcerer 1 + Tempest Cleric 11 instead, just for a bit more of that Cleric-y support. Was great coming back to this video and comparing it to my notes and realising they were so similar.
I'm loving this build so much! Currently playing it with a couple changes - not multiclassing my War Cleric (for RP purposes). Wyll is a Pact of the Blade Bardlock in this party so I have him using Phalar Aluve as his pact weapon. Tav instead uses the Shining Staver of Skulls for the radiant damage with every hit. It also lets Wyll launch Shriek and Tav set up Spirit Guardians in the same round meaning it comes online faster. Now that I have the Blood of Lathander too, seriously tempted to use two weapons with that and the Staver all through Act 2.
It's really cool to see this video on my feed, today I started playing my honor mode with the same idea of leaning heavily on radiant damage! Always love your content btw :D
I use this Build in honour mode, it working as reliably because enemies are really good in doing bad stuff, but it´s working well enough to bring the group to the end of fight. And honestly, what more can you want. Thank you very much for all your great work here. 😀
Love this build!! Ive used it on several of my play throughs using Sorcadin, and Hunter Ranger with volley!! Will definitely try the addition of cleric!
I play a great old one Sorlock blaster that hunts crits. Using the same gear setup, Eldritch Blast is a potential 3 hits for an automatic reverb knockdown. A crit on top of this fears them, so they can’t move. Combines the Wolverine and bard builds into one while also dealing out great single target damage. Repelling blasts can add fall damage with displace and quickened spell lets us cast it again. Dip 3 levels fighter for action surge as well, plus champion for higher crit chance
This is a cool build and I really like that it comes online so early. I had used the reverberation gear on a Tiger/Wolverine Barbarian using the polearm that deals radian damage. You get the Tiger cleave to hit multiple targets and spread (deep breath) radiating orb, reverberation, bleed, maim, and bane (through weapon oil). It's a very devastating combo with great weapon master and reckless attack. The downside compared to the Knight Radiant is the pole arm isn't available until late in Act 2. But there are mods...
Love your builds Colby, I actually ran this and love it. I think I found a way to make it even more busted, in act 2 there are two rings, 1 applies radiating orb on spell hit, and the other applies 2 radiant damage on every spell hit. With your build plus these rings you can run a bard/warlock, bard for the hard CC, and warlock for agonizing eldritch blasts and hunger of hadar, hadar alone would melt a small army with procking reverb on the slow and blind, plus radiating orbs from radiant damage from the ring.
Little hack I found with callous glow ring, since you are more than likely a bard at this point, cast the light cantrip on your instrument before going into battle so you can always rigger the extra damage.
This quickly became prob my favorite build. I feel it's so much easier to use and is fully online way quicker than arcane ward + armour of agathys shenanigans. A really cool thing to do is get the buff from the zaith'isk. Stuff like Force Tunnell, Stage Fright and Shield of Thralls on a bonus action synergize so well with what you're doing. And get the Cloak of Displacement also, it's nuts for this build. Didn't even know a couple of these items existed before this, thanks for the vid!
The Infamous Radiator build. Nice! Some notes - -In Bg3, spiritual weapon does not require constant bonus action usage. It one bonus action to summon, it behaves as a summon after that. -Warden of Vitality is not available to Clerics. It's a lvl3 Paladin spell, meaning lvl 9 Paladin or lvl 6 Lore Bard is the earliest you can get it. -The Boots of Stormy Clamour i have not found to be bugged. It is probable that the reverberation stacks seem to apply more than they should because the thunder damage from the Gloves of Belligerent Skies/Phalar Aluve Shriek combo also applies reverberation indtantly. -For maximizing effectiveness in any Spirit Guardian based build, Crusher's ring provides 10 feet if extra movement, 20 on a dash. Stack this with Longstrider at the start of the day, and you'll be applying the effects all over the battlefield, if you're willing to move around a lot -Sprllshudder amulet applies reverberation on ranged spell damage. It should be considered, especially if using magic missile. -For solo potential, a dual wielding Paladin2/Light Cleric 10( or 1 Fgtr/2Pal/9Cleric for two weapon fighting style) build is probably the version most suited. I prefer Light cleric for the base build anyway, because of the huge radius of Radiance of Dawn.
@@bradleybarr7572 If you're only taking 2 levels of Paladin, the subclass is not that impactful. Ancients is probably the best because of the healing aura, which can combine with the healing items in the game. Those items can apply buffs on heal, like blade ward and bless.
I am pretty sure the boots apply reverberation to all conditions, even ones you can't see like being "threatened" which the game uses for sneak attacks and for giving disadvantage on ranged attacks in while being threatened....those are some sweet boots!
Completely unrelated, parasocial and nonsensical but maybe a little funny(?): I had a dream where I lived in an apartment next door to yours and I had discovered a secret passage into a labyrinth of sorts. One time I entered it and realized the door got stuck (made more sense back then) because you had entered yours at the same time (guess all nerd apartments come with a labyrinth these days) and we managed to dungeon crawl our way into each other's apartments Okay, now that I wrote it all down, it's more weird than funny but I already wrote it so I'm posting it
Commenting before finishing watching he intro: I heard reverberation and Radiating orb and I immediately smiled. Wide. My first Durge playthrough is a Tiger barbarian dualwielding using those 2 conditions and BOY IS IT DELICIOUS. =D
I just arrived at the beginning of act three and happened upon a fantastic weapon for this build mere hours after watching this video, the Nyrulna! It can be found in the circus, after a bit of drama with the djinn Akabi. (On a side note, I'm loving these build videos. Keep it up!)
Glyph of Warding is also super good with builds like this, especially if you're an elf character as you can just walk into groups of enemies with spirit guardians and then sleep them with your glyph of sleeping
Thanks for the content! Just started a new honour mode run with a gythyanki paladin. Freeing Orpheus and saving the gith! This video is perfect timing love it!
I'm getting the chance to play the Bladesinger Tank in a tabletop game soon, the write up was very useful for building it well. I'm glad I signed up as a member. I'm looking forward to building this for my next playthrough of BG3.
These builds are so good but the day or so between the short teasing the build and the actual build is literally torture!! Why do you do this to us Mr. Critlander?
Hello! Great guide. I realy enjoy your content :). I have same idea of building character around radiating orb and reverbereting conditions. Most of the time im playing solo on thactician difficulty thats why i want to share with you my min/max build: 6 STORM SORCERER / 6 TEMPEST CLERIC Race: tt's good to pick: wood elf(perception, stealth skills and extra movement) or wood half-elf(light armor, shield prof. and extra movement) or githianki medium armor prof., free misty step and jump spell. Stats: 8str(use pots), 14dex, 16con, 8int, 17wis (+Ethel hair and +2 ASI), 10cha. Later on when you will get Amulet of greater health you can dump con and respec to put 16 points in to charisma. In this setup your concentration is great with advantage to rolls thanks to amulet. So your final stats are 8str(use pot for 21 or 27 str), 14dex, 23con, 8int, 20wis, 16cha. Feats on final respec: Alert for extra initiative and 2ASI in wisdom. You can also take war caster if you dont want to use health amulet. What can you get from this build: *Spirit Guardians to build up radiating orbs, *2 destructive wrath channel divinity for extra maximum thunder and lightning dmg from spells like lightning bolt, chromatic orb, glyph of warding, call lightning, shatter, thunderwave. From Markoheskir destructive weave and chain lightning, *Sorcerry metamagic -> extra quickened and twined spell are rly good, *6lvls of tempest cleric push back THUNDERBOLT STRIKE - when you deal Lightning or Thunder damage to a creature that is Large or smaller, you can also push it up to 3m, *6lvls of storm sorrcerer HEART OF THE STORM which cause small local storm. All enemies withing 6m will take 3 lightning and thunder damage, *ofc you can use electrified water for extra status, lightning dmg and push back every time enemy will move to you, *all effects above have insane synergy with reverberation thanks to GLOVES OF BELLIGERENT SKIES and other equipment you mention in your guide, *im also using Hat of Fire Acuity. You can upcast 4rth lvl of Scorching ray on summoned creature or mage hand before the fight to build up Arcane Acuity which gives you insane 10 DC to you spells. Its good idea to use legendary staff Markoheskir and cast thunder version for destructive wave which is hudge radiant and thunder aoe spell. Electric version will give you chain lightning spell which you can twin spell on wet enemies for maximum dmg thanks to tempest cleric destructive wrath channel divinity. Im very happy about this build because it can handle with multiple enemies with insane AOE dmg and multiple debuffs which helps to land those mighty LIGHTNING AND THUNDER spells. Second idea is to create 6storm sorcerer and 6lore bard but still i need to do more tests ;). I would be greateful for your feedback and expertise about my 6SS/6TC build. Thank you in advance and best regards.
This reference is accepted. Especially with the thunder damage as a cherry on top. I'm tempted to say for theming alone the Tempest domain would be best fit for those levels :D
I was just thinking about making a Kaladin build for my next playthrough, as a new fan of yours, and an editor for the Coopermind, this video hits the perfect spot for me. Thanks!
Fantastic idea -- got a playthrough where my guy is a tiefling Bard x with a level of LIfe Cleric to be a proper Cleric of Lathander. Was planning Lore for this build already, but about to absolutely pivot to this build when he gets high enough to get Magical Secrets.
Man, I had most of these items already on shadowheart, but realized I had a few sitting at camp and a few I could go grab before going into the shadowfel, so good timing before I lost the chance to pick a few up. Also, had the thunderskin cloak just sitting in inventory which is a nice little bonus.
Only slightly disappointed the build called "Knight Radiant" is not what I thought it was gonna be (just finished biik 4 of SLA need 5 now!) Great build as always!
Awesome build! I used a similar build in my honor mode run with minor changes (turns out radiating orb is so strong it works with a variety of builds, go figure). One thing i found that made act 1 and 2 a breeze was using luminous armor and radiance of the dawn from light cleric. Since the shockwave comes from your character and not where the damage is dealt, if you stand next to the big bad and cast radiance of the dawn, every creature you hit adds another 2 stacks of radiating orb to whatever you are next to, getting them to max stacks right away. Makes fights like the boss of the githyanki creche super easy right from round 1 since radiance of the dawn has a massive 30 foot range.
Great guide Colby!, ive run this build many times but ive never tought of abusing Misty Step to get to the enemies, it was so obvious but also genius, i keep this build pretty much the same as your guide but i do a final respec at level 12, i go swords bard 10 like you sugggested but i put my other two levels in Paladin, smites are a match in heaven for this build since once you get your spirit guardians going you can keep applying debufs and great damage with your smites, if not using strenght elixirs you can keep using dex weapons. Another tip i have is that this build also pairs well with a warlock in your party, with the spine shudder amulet and the radiant gloves youll have two characters applying radiant orbs and reverberation, it gets pretty crazy.
As someone who knows Colby personally and goes to church with him every week, I can say with about 90% confidence that he is in fact Wit under one of his new aliases
Great build! I can't wait to try it out. I always use radiant damage for Shadowheart but never thought to do it this way. Reverberation stacks have always been confusing to me. Thanks for trying all the hard things and sharing it with us all! I love that you're showing yourself playing! Makes it so much easier to be brave and believe that I can manage playing the build. Also, I wanted to let you know that I only discovered your channel because you played BG3, so I hope you continue to throw us a video once in a while :)
The tadpole psionic power that drains attributes based on how you deal damage to targets is amazing with this, because with a spell it drains 1 from the same ability score used for the spell. So you'll be draining their scores left and right from all the damage instances you're dealing.
This video has inspired me to redo some stuff in my current party that I wasn't having too much fun with. I'm trying out themed playthroughs in the wake of beating Honour Mode, and my latest one just wasn't hitting for the fun factor for me. Thanks!
There was a barbarian wildheart tiger reverb build I wanted to play with when I start my tactician play through, but I like this one more. Maybe I’ll try both but this is one of the favorite builds I’ve seen
I’m gonna use this for SH on my HM run, Tav will be dual crossbow bard, throwzerker Karlach, and Sentinel Laezel to lock down enemies even further while me and Karlach just destroy them from afar 🎉
I just used this in my HR in the house of hope and it destroyed Raphael, he just couldn’t get a turn it was brilliant. Usually this wouldn’t work BUT I saw a tip that they have 1 turn Radiant reflect. You can use the Light of Lathander to hit a group and the mace will stop you from dying and give you a small heal. I preloaded the room with barrels and took elixirs for high initiative. I blew them up and they lost their reflect for some reason. Regardless challenge accepted im taking this build for a solo honor run with a bunch of “do not die” options to hopefully let me survive! Wish me luck 😅
This is amazing, I love builds that come online quick with items in act 1. I wish this worked with necrotic from spirit guardians for a "lore friendly" version for Shadowheart.
This is a great build to augment a party. Soloing in Tact+ difficulties, you have to keep enemies at range (and best stay stealthed) to succeed. This build to do the most damage, you have to get up close and personal with combat. Some fights solo, this can lead to probably death.
Errata: I'm seeing a lot of posts about this so wanted to clarify - turns out that the DC of your magic items is *not* based on the first class you took, but it's also not necessarily based on the *last* class you took. Here's a good explanation I found online:
"If your first level is in Sorc then any abilities granted by items or Illithid powers will use Charisma. If you then level into Cleric, all items and Illithid powers will now use Wisdom. If you now level back into Sorc, all items and Illithid powers will still use Wisdom. Items and Illithid power use the spellcasting ability of the last new class you leveled into. So now if this character leveled into Wizard or example, items and Illithid powers will now use Intelligence. If they level back into Sorc and then level back into Cleric afterwards, items and Illithid powers will still use Intelligence since these were both existing classes on that character. But if they level into Monk then the ability used for items and Illithid powers will switch to Wisdom again, since Monk is a new class for this character." (source: www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/185s5kl/determining_what_ability_modifier_casting_stat_is/)
Hope that keeps things clear when we're respec'ing!
that's a long way to say the last level 1 class you took :)
Indeed. Last class added is the simple way.
One thing to add: this is also how the game determines which ability to use for scrolls.
interesting... so basically if you're multiclassing, just respec and make sure the last class you choose uses the right one. So sorc first for proficiency, then cleric, then bard to ensure Charisma. If you want to add 1 level of wizard, you have to respec again and fit it after sorc, but before bard.
If you added 2 levels of fighter or barb last, would it make spells/scrolls use Strength instead, or stay charisma since those aren't caster classes?
@@jasonm.6442 fighter, barb, rogue all use int as their spellcasting modifier
These words are accepted.
Life before death
Strength before weakness
Journey before destination
I want to like this but don't want to be the one to push you past the current number. Nice...
@@quennedr1 your restraint is admirable
@pederw4900 short lived unfortunately. 71 2 too high lol
Journey before pancakes!
yes your pancakeness
@@joshuaroberts4604
One thing I really appreciate about bg3 builds, is that it forces you to build around the wheelhouse of levels in which D&D is predominantly played. Sure, the theoretical aspect of levels 13-20 are nice, and yes we've all had fun in a level 20 one-shot. But the value in fine tuning a character to levels 1-12 cannot be overstated. Thanks for the entertainment Colby, you made my workday a little easier 🎉
Should've known Colby would be the first to speak the 4th ideal
I was certain that the ice breaker was the most fun build. I was blissfully surprised when I built this and absolutely wrecked the duergar hunters. I literally giggled the entire encounter.
Fantasticly, *brilliant* build, Colby!
Didn't realize "apply a condition" was so generous in its definition - thanks!
As a quick tip for anyone speed running the gear - for the Boots of Stormy Clamor, you do need to get the mushrooms from the Arcane Tower and finish that quest for Omeluum before he will sell them to you.
As an even quicker tip: If you're lucky, Derryth (or potentially Blurg/Omeluum) will sell you the ingredients Omeluum needs. I think I even bought them from Omeluum once.
As an even (more) quicker tip: Steal the boots from Omeluum
@@ВалентинЛагутин-и2т best way to get the best advice online is to post bad advice lol
@@ВалентинЛагутин-и2тto be fair…hard to do in an HM run.
Just steal them… you don’t have to get the mushroom for him to trade with you.
The most important Rolls a man can make
KNIGHTS RADIANT MENTIONED RAHHHH
You can reach the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark before going through the Goblin camp. Get some invisibility, a potion/scroll of feather fall and go into the spider caves below the Blighted Village. Go to the cliffs where he Matriarch is at and you'll see the central, glowing green pit. Pop Feather Fall and jump into the pit, you'll float down into the Underdark right outside the outpost.
Be very careful if you are on Honor Mode. The big spider can see invis.
@@Ankz0r If you walk to the edge of the cliff from where the ettercaps were, it's range isn't that far. The invis is more to bypass the other spiders and ettercaps.
Also be careful not to lose inviz there. You'll be about to get jumped by a pair of minotaur right nearby where you land, and if you're not level 5 yet it's a hard solo fight
@@BraghDaMan No you're not. The Minotaurs are farther up, and the one that attacks the outpost doesn't come until you're inside the outpost. I've done this like 5x with level 2 characters.
You cannot have my pain! But, you can have this sweet build.
Oh man, my favorite moment from Book 4... time to go re-read in preparation for Book 5!
I absolutely love the luminous orb gear in BG3. In every playthrough I’ve had a pure Light Cleric using it, but it’s always been a companion character. Looking forward to seeing an optimized build!
I stumbled onto your channel not that long ago thanks to Baldurs Gate 3, and I also used to play a ton of DnD. Your content is awesome, and your delivery/style is top notch. So glad I found your channel. You have gotten me back into this endless labyrinth of theory crafting, and I am so glad to be re-immersed in it all.
I am more of an RP-player, over min-maxxing and optimization, but you still put a lot of emphasis on seeking out "flavor" in these concoctions of yours. I may not follow things to a T all the time, but it always helps to know that I can find some way of getting the vibe of a character that I want to build, and still make it viable/effective mechanically.
You do great works here.
Saw the first few seconds of the intro and my radiating orb sense immediately started tingling!
Little late to the party but I’ve been trying to decide which build to try/play for my very first honor run and I think I found it :) At first I was excited about cleric because I’ve wanted to play one and then you’re like “now we’re bard” and I was like awww. But bards are so strong I now see why. Keep up the amazing work, Colby! You and your channel are my #1 source of BG3 builds 🤙
Thanks so much for putting out more BG3 builds, Colby! I know you mentioned not getting as many views on them, but as someone who just got access to BG3 recently, I’m loving it. I joined up to support!
Great stuff as always!
I would recommend making this a Gith character giving you proficiency in Medium armour without the Cleric Dip as well as a racial Misty Step.
oooh, interesting thought
Gith do not get shield proficiency though... I just hit Act 3 using this Radiant build, but I did it as a Gith. The big negative about being a Gith is that NPCs initially seem to not like you. Everyone hates the Gith, even the Gith seem to hate the Gith. But that extra +1 to any section of skills and extra Misty Step is pretty sweet.
I accidentally put together a similar build with Shadowheart during my current play through. I was so confused why no one could hit her and why I kept hearing thunder and then would see people get knocked prone or just flat out dying 😂 Thanks for explaining it all and helping me tweak the people's princess even further.
My dear D&D God!
Every time I start my knew adventure, your outstanding new build is right on time!!
I am all for the box being opened! Finally, a chance to use the 300 plus magic items I've hoarded!
the markoheshkir staff also has destructive wave in its thunder setting, which is both htunder AND radiant. And friendly fire.
I really like how you are incorporating items into the builds.
The cloak of displacement would be a perfect addition to this build. Found in act 3 before going into Baldur's gate, at Danthelon's Dancing Axe.
Hey Colby, thank you for these awesome builds as always. Just wanted to add one thing I found while attempting to recreate this build in-game. The Ilithid power, Stage Fright, targets a group of enemies in a circle and makes it so that enemies in that zone attack you with Disadvantage and if they miss they receive 2-12 psychic damage. Not sure if this counts as a condition yet but if it does WOO boy. Think this might be a candidate for a solo run in the future haha
Love this video! One of my favorite tavs ever was an EB Sorock (also rogue and fighter) who used and abused the reverb/radiating orb synergy similarly.
I've been using this on my 2-man honor run. Running Light Cleric/Paladin. Have a Sorlock compatriot. Gotta say, this hasted is death to any of the large combats we've come across so far. Thank you for all the videos!
I mixed this build with the shadowheart build you made for tempest cleric and it is just so nice. The first time I used all of the abilities together was in grym forge against nere and all those duergar. The gloves of belligerent skies works for tempest cleric nova and for spirit guardians. Shatter and spirit guardians really just works
My Sorlock has almost this exact set of items, the extra radiant damage and radiant explosions on eldritch blast, with repelling blast counting as a condition is pretty hilarious.
Amazing build. Never thought to go the bard route to do this combo, always been a light cleric which works great but I'm definitely switching it up tonight to test it out
The radiance of the dawn from light cleric is sick for the orbs using radiant armor and gloves is awsome
Been waiting for exactly this from someone like colby forever. This has been probably my fav "support" character build of all time. Even enough fun i pa play them as main, but mainly have the most fun with them as the most fun support character I've come up with lol
Love this! I actually made a less optimized version of this on my honour mode run with Shadowheart as a light cleric and same gear. I'll respec her to this version, though.
For party composition, I actually play her with a sorlock, a TB thrower, and a ranger striker with the eversight ring. I hide everyone in darkness but keep Shadowheart out of it to ensure she's the only target, and she can always retreat to darkness if things get dicey.
This combination of items is exactly what I put onto my Light Cleric Shadowheart. She carries fights with ease.
Crazy idea. Instead of warcaster for the last feat, take dual wielder and wield *both* Markoeheshkir AND Phalar Aluve.
In favor for Light cleric, Radiance of the dawn is a very nice big aoe of radiant dmg to start things of.
Love this build! Started playing it as soon as I saw this vid. One change I made is after getting bard to 6, I took sorcerer to 3. This allows me to get misty step with sorcerer levels freeing up the magical secrets slot for counterspell. More importantly it provides quickened spell to set up spirit guardians + shriek in 1 turn. Also by starting wood elf you get longsword proficiency (and extra movement!) so I took the Light cleric domain for warding flare to mitigate crits as that’s more useful than war cleric. Then bard to 8 for a second feat. This all works only if you plan to stay as a Lore bard rather than changing to swords at level 12.
The downside of course is I won’t get level 5 spells, but there was nothing there I needed anyway. An bardic inspiration stays a d8, but I can live with that.
Haven’t watched yet but…
*Inhales*
LIFE BEFORE DEATH!!!
STRENGTH BEFORE WEAKNESS!!!
JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION!!!
What is the most important step a man can ever take brothers?!
HIS NEXT 🗣️🗣️🗣️
That Merlin clip just made me so happy, oh my goodness!!!
I basically ended up on this exact build on my latest run, going Storm Sorcerer 1 + Tempest Cleric 11 instead, just for a bit more of that Cleric-y support. Was great coming back to this video and comparing it to my notes and realising they were so similar.
I already have Shadowhart working with both radiating orb and reverberation and it’s sooooo good! Can’t wait to see this build
I found your chanel a few days ago.
Im so happy I did.
I'm loving this build so much! Currently playing it with a couple changes - not multiclassing my War Cleric (for RP purposes). Wyll is a Pact of the Blade Bardlock in this party so I have him using Phalar Aluve as his pact weapon. Tav instead uses the Shining Staver of Skulls for the radiant damage with every hit. It also lets Wyll launch Shriek and Tav set up Spirit Guardians in the same round meaning it comes online faster.
Now that I have the Blood of Lathander too, seriously tempted to use two weapons with that and the Staver all through Act 2.
It's really cool to see this video on my feed, today I started playing my honor mode with the same idea of leaning heavily on radiant damage! Always love your content btw :D
I use this Build in honour mode, it working as reliably because enemies are really good in doing bad stuff, but it´s working well enough to bring the group to the end of fight. And honestly, what more can you want. Thank you very much for all your great work here. 😀
I have an aasimar paladin D&D character that I never got to play, and this build looks incredible for it. Great work as always!
Yessss, love when my two passions clash!!
Rewatched this to write down the build the second time. Looking forward to trying this tomorrow!
Love this build!! Ive used it on several of my play throughs using Sorcadin, and Hunter Ranger with volley!! Will definitely try the addition of cleric!
"no one wants to hear me do that" just goes for it anyway! I love it, happy to be reminded of such a solid track.
I play a great old one Sorlock blaster that hunts crits. Using the same gear setup, Eldritch Blast is a potential 3 hits for an automatic reverb knockdown. A crit on top of this fears them, so they can’t move. Combines the Wolverine and bard builds into one while also dealing out great single target damage. Repelling blasts can add fall damage with displace and quickened spell lets us cast it again. Dip 3 levels fighter for action surge as well, plus champion for higher crit chance
This is a cool build and I really like that it comes online so early. I had used the reverberation gear on a Tiger/Wolverine Barbarian using the polearm that deals radian damage. You get the Tiger cleave to hit multiple targets and spread (deep breath) radiating orb, reverberation, bleed, maim, and bane (through weapon oil). It's a very devastating combo with great weapon master and reckless attack. The downside compared to the Knight Radiant is the pole arm isn't available until late in Act 2. But there are mods...
Love your builds Colby, I actually ran this and love it. I think I found a way to make it even more busted, in act 2 there are two rings, 1 applies radiating orb on spell hit, and the other applies 2 radiant damage on every spell hit. With your build plus these rings you can run a bard/warlock, bard for the hard CC, and warlock for agonizing eldritch blasts and hunger of hadar, hadar alone would melt a small army with procking reverb on the slow and blind, plus radiating orbs from radiant damage from the ring.
Little hack I found with callous glow ring, since you are more than likely a bard at this point, cast the light cantrip on your instrument before going into battle so you can always rigger the extra damage.
This quickly became prob my favorite build. I feel it's so much easier to use and is fully online way quicker than arcane ward + armour of agathys shenanigans.
A really cool thing to do is get the buff from the zaith'isk. Stuff like Force Tunnell, Stage Fright and Shield of Thralls on a bonus action synergize so well with what you're doing. And get the Cloak of Displacement also, it's nuts for this build.
Didn't even know a couple of these items existed before this, thanks for the vid!
Ooh a Merlin clip, haven’t seen that in like ages!
The Infamous Radiator build. Nice!
Some notes -
-In Bg3, spiritual weapon does not require constant bonus action usage. It one bonus action to summon, it behaves as a summon after that.
-Warden of Vitality is not available to Clerics. It's a lvl3 Paladin spell, meaning lvl 9 Paladin or lvl 6 Lore Bard is the earliest you can get it.
-The Boots of Stormy Clamour i have not found to be bugged. It is probable that the reverberation stacks seem to apply more than they should because the thunder damage from the Gloves of Belligerent Skies/Phalar Aluve Shriek combo also applies reverberation indtantly.
-For maximizing effectiveness in any Spirit Guardian based build, Crusher's ring provides 10 feet if extra movement, 20 on a dash. Stack this with Longstrider at the start of the day, and you'll be applying the effects all over the battlefield, if you're willing to move around a lot
-Sprllshudder amulet applies reverberation on ranged spell damage. It should be considered, especially if using magic missile.
-For solo potential, a dual wielding Paladin2/Light Cleric 10( or 1 Fgtr/2Pal/9Cleric for two weapon fighting style) build is probably the version most suited. I prefer Light cleric for the base build anyway, because of the huge radius of Radiance of Dawn.
Which subclass for Paladin would you recommend on this?
@@bradleybarr7572 If you're only taking 2 levels of Paladin, the subclass is not that impactful. Ancients is probably the best because of the healing aura, which can combine with the healing items in the game. Those items can apply buffs on heal, like blade ward and bless.
I was wondering about this as a Paladin build
I am pretty sure the boots apply reverberation to all conditions, even ones you can't see like being "threatened" which the game uses for sneak attacks and for giving disadvantage on ranged attacks in while being threatened....those are some sweet boots!
Completely unrelated, parasocial and nonsensical but maybe a little funny(?):
I had a dream where I lived in an apartment next door to yours and I had discovered a secret passage into a labyrinth of sorts.
One time I entered it and realized the door got stuck (made more sense back then) because you had entered yours at the same time (guess all nerd apartments come with a labyrinth these days) and we managed to dungeon crawl our way into each other's apartments
Okay, now that I wrote it all down, it's more weird than funny but I already wrote it so I'm posting it
🤣
I'm almost as in love with this build as I was with the ice breaker and arachniphobia
I love the singing at the end of your videos, and look forward to it at this point, lol.
Commenting before finishing watching he intro:
I heard reverberation and Radiating orb and I immediately smiled. Wide. My first Durge playthrough is a Tiger barbarian dualwielding using those 2 conditions and BOY IS IT DELICIOUS. =D
I just arrived at the beginning of act three and happened upon a fantastic weapon for this build mere hours after watching this video, the Nyrulna! It can be found in the circus, after a bit of drama with the djinn Akabi.
(On a side note, I'm loving these build videos. Keep it up!)
Glyph of Warding is also super good with builds like this, especially if you're an elf character as you can just walk into groups of enemies with spirit guardians and then sleep them with your glyph of sleeping
Thanks for the content! Just started a new honour mode run with a gythyanki paladin. Freeing Orpheus and saving the gith! This video is perfect timing love it!
I'm getting the chance to play the Bladesinger Tank in a tabletop game soon, the write up was very useful for building it well. I'm glad I signed up as a member. I'm looking forward to building this for my next playthrough of BG3.
Cheers!
These builds are so good but the day or so between the short teasing the build and the actual build is literally torture!! Why do you do this to us Mr. Critlander?
Immediately restarted my Baldurs Gate honor mode run to try out this build. Incredibly excited!
Hello!
Great guide. I realy enjoy your content :).
I have same idea of building character around radiating orb and reverbereting conditions.
Most of the time im playing solo on thactician difficulty thats why i want to share with you my min/max build:
6 STORM SORCERER / 6 TEMPEST CLERIC
Race: tt's good to pick: wood elf(perception, stealth skills and extra movement) or wood half-elf(light armor, shield prof. and extra movement) or githianki medium armor prof., free misty step and jump spell.
Stats: 8str(use pots), 14dex, 16con, 8int, 17wis (+Ethel hair and +2 ASI), 10cha. Later on when you will get Amulet of greater health you can dump con and respec to put 16 points in to charisma. In this setup your concentration is great with advantage to rolls thanks to amulet. So your final stats are 8str(use pot for 21 or 27 str), 14dex, 23con, 8int, 20wis, 16cha.
Feats on final respec: Alert for extra initiative and 2ASI in wisdom. You can also take war caster if you dont want to use health amulet.
What can you get from this build:
*Spirit Guardians to build up radiating orbs,
*2 destructive wrath channel divinity for extra maximum thunder and lightning dmg from spells like lightning bolt, chromatic orb, glyph of warding, call lightning, shatter, thunderwave. From Markoheskir destructive weave and chain lightning,
*Sorcerry metamagic -> extra quickened and twined spell are rly good,
*6lvls of tempest cleric push back THUNDERBOLT STRIKE - when you deal Lightning or Thunder damage to a creature that is Large or smaller, you can also push it up to 3m,
*6lvls of storm sorrcerer HEART OF THE STORM which cause small local storm. All enemies withing 6m will take 3 lightning and thunder damage,
*ofc you can use electrified water for extra status, lightning dmg and push back every time enemy will move to you,
*all effects above have insane synergy with reverberation thanks to GLOVES OF BELLIGERENT SKIES and other equipment you mention in your guide,
*im also using Hat of Fire Acuity. You can upcast 4rth lvl of Scorching ray on summoned creature or mage hand before the fight to build up Arcane Acuity which gives you insane 10 DC to you spells.
Its good idea to use legendary staff Markoheskir and cast thunder version for destructive wave which is hudge radiant and thunder aoe spell. Electric version will give you chain lightning spell which you can twin spell on wet enemies for maximum dmg thanks to tempest cleric destructive wrath channel divinity.
Im very happy about this build because it can handle with multiple enemies with insane AOE dmg and multiple debuffs which helps to land those mighty LIGHTNING AND THUNDER spells.
Second idea is to create 6storm sorcerer and 6lore bard but still i need to do more tests ;).
I would be greateful for your feedback and expertise about my 6SS/6TC build.
Thank you in advance and best regards.
This reference is accepted. Especially with the thunder damage as a cherry on top. I'm tempted to say for theming alone the Tempest domain would be best fit for those levels :D
Love the synergy with this build.
I challenge you to try a build around the Bow of the Banshee. 😁
I was just thinking about making a Kaladin build for my next playthrough, as a new fan of yours, and an editor for the Coopermind, this video hits the perfect spot for me. Thanks!
Damn... in the end, I was really feeling sorry for those poor bastards. Deadly built.
Fantastic idea -- got a playthrough where my guy is a tiefling Bard x with a level of LIfe Cleric to be a proper Cleric of Lathander. Was planning Lore for this build already, but about to absolutely pivot to this build when he gets high enough to get Magical Secrets.
Can confirm this build is hella fun to play
I watch your videos a lot. You are maybe the one with the best knowledge of the game bg3.
Thanks for yet another fun build idea.
Man, I had most of these items already on shadowheart, but realized I had a few sitting at camp and a few I could go grab before going into the shadowfel, so good timing before I lost the chance to pick a few up. Also, had the thunderskin cloak just sitting in inventory which is a nice little bonus.
Absolutely love these item incorporated builds!!
Only slightly disappointed the build called "Knight Radiant" is not what I thought it was gonna be (just finished biik 4 of SLA need 5 now!) Great build as always!
Awesome build! I used a similar build in my honor mode run with minor changes (turns out radiating orb is so strong it works with a variety of builds, go figure). One thing i found that made act 1 and 2 a breeze was using luminous armor and radiance of the dawn from light cleric. Since the shockwave comes from your character and not where the damage is dealt, if you stand next to the big bad and cast radiance of the dawn, every creature you hit adds another 2 stacks of radiating orb to whatever you are next to, getting them to max stacks right away. Makes fights like the boss of the githyanki creche super easy right from round 1 since radiance of the dawn has a massive 30 foot range.
Great guide Colby!, ive run this build many times but ive never tought of abusing Misty Step to get to the enemies, it was so obvious but also genius, i keep this build pretty much the same as your guide but i do a final respec at level 12, i go swords bard 10 like you sugggested but i put my other two levels in Paladin, smites are a match in heaven for this build since once you get your spirit guardians going you can keep applying debufs and great damage with your smites, if not using strenght elixirs you can keep using dex weapons.
Another tip i have is that this build also pairs well with a warlock in your party, with the spine shudder amulet and the radiant gloves youll have two characters applying radiant orbs and reverberation, it gets pretty crazy.
Hey, I missed you from my feed, nice to have you back!
Sounds great and in good time as i'm currently thinking about playing through it again.
Playing this build with an Origin feat feels so good
As someone who knows Colby personally and goes to church with him every week, I can say with about 90% confidence that he is in fact Wit under one of his new aliases
😂😂
Great build! I can't wait to try it out. I always use radiant damage for Shadowheart but never thought to do it this way. Reverberation stacks have always been confusing to me. Thanks for trying all the hard things and sharing it with us all! I love that you're showing yourself playing! Makes it so much easier to be brave and believe that I can manage playing the build. Also, I wanted to let you know that I only discovered your channel because you played BG3, so I hope you continue to throw us a video once in a while :)
The tadpole psionic power that drains attributes based on how you deal damage to targets is amazing with this, because with a spell it drains 1 from the same ability score used for the spell. So you'll be draining their scores left and right from all the damage instances you're dealing.
Tho using this as a cleric with SG instead of beard could be better since it would reduce their save against SG and doubling down on more damage.
Awesome build and really good info! Might make my Shadowheart something like this as I preferred a half caster Tav
Light cleric with these equipments is my favorite for Shadowheart. Radiance of the Dawn is so good with radiating orbs
This video has inspired me to redo some stuff in my current party that I wasn't having too much fun with. I'm trying out themed playthroughs in the wake of beating Honour Mode, and my latest one just wasn't hitting for the fun factor for me. Thanks!
My god you’ve outdone yourself with this one Colby
There was a barbarian wildheart tiger reverb build I wanted to play with when I start my tactician play through, but I like this one more. Maybe I’ll try both but this is one of the favorite builds I’ve seen
you have awakened the middle of the cosmere bg3 ven diagram, congratulations
I’m gonna use this for SH on my HM run, Tav will be dual crossbow bard, throwzerker Karlach, and Sentinel Laezel to lock down enemies even further while me and Karlach just destroy them from afar 🎉
I just used this in my HR in the house of hope and it destroyed Raphael, he just couldn’t get a turn it was brilliant. Usually this wouldn’t work BUT I saw a tip that they have 1 turn Radiant reflect. You can use the Light of Lathander to hit a group and the mace will stop you from dying and give you a small heal.
I preloaded the room with barrels and took elixirs for high initiative. I blew them up and they lost their reflect for some reason.
Regardless challenge accepted im taking this build for a solo honor run with a bunch of “do not die” options to hopefully let me survive! Wish me luck 😅
been using this build for a while it’s nuts
This is amazing, I love builds that come online quick with items in act 1. I wish this worked with necrotic from spirit guardians for a "lore friendly" version for Shadowheart.
This is a great build to augment a party. Soloing in Tact+ difficulties, you have to keep enemies at range (and best stay stealthed) to succeed. This build to do the most damage, you have to get up close and personal with combat. Some fights solo, this can lead to probably death.
Stahp, I already have two custom parties filled with your creations. I'm gonna have to add a third at this rate. ❤