Amazing guide as per usual. Always helpful to watch these even if I’m not focused on Gale/whoever you’re covering, because it helps think about builds/options/trade-offs in general
This is virtually the exact same build I used for Gale, except I took a feat that allowed him to use Medium armor instead of Alert, which ultimately was the worse decision since I barely took advantage of it. Counterspell, Magic Missile and Misty Step are my picks for absolutely vital spells all the way through the final battle.
I don’t know why but on PS5 Gale starts with 3 Skills that can’t be removed and not 2 as you said and are: Arcana, History and Persuasion. Therefore we will have to choose between 2 of those recommended by you: Nature, Religion, Investigation. I don’t know, maybe it’s a bug..
I like to get spell sniper as a feat instead of alert. It gives you eldrichblast as a cantrip which hit twice. With the SPINESHUDDER AMULET and other items shown in this guide, using a single cast of this cantrip, you can put one enemy immediately to 5 stacks of reverberation if it is not already illuminated or TWO enemies with 5 stacks of reverberation if they are already illuminated. It is super OP.
Spnineshudder amulet =2 Callous glow ring(this requires the enemy been illuminated already, if not, the first blast will make the orb so it will be satisfied for the second blast)+ gloves of belligerent skies=2 Coruscation ring + boots of stormy clamour = 2 If some how you have a lightning charge, there will be even more stacks 😂because of the gloves.
Would be good if gale could use the jolt bow. I wasn't using any mages at the time to take the staff but I wish I had. But I'm using the frost one now Been trying to find a way to get the bow on gale but I don't want to lose a wiz level yet to multi class. I'm level 6 and just got potent cantrip which is doubling my ray of frost with my set up. But I'm using the chest piece that gives +1 to spell save and something else if I have lightning charges.
For gales cantrips I would get firebolt, friends, and minor illusion (for grouping enemies up) and then light later level cantrip choice. All of the dmg cantrips can learned through scrolls early on, but ones like friends, illusion, and light aren't found on scrolls.
My only suggestion, would be to move one of the rings you use onto another character, so that with his high spell save DC + Arcane Acutity, you can use the ring that gives Mental Fatigue. It's a 2 turn debuff anytime they FAIL a save against one of Gale's spells. And in return, it lowers their Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma saving throws. So you can have Gale throwing AOE nukes to make people fail spells, then have bard, cleric, paladin or someone else follow up with an easier to land hold person on the baddie or another target to remove someone from combat (or using hold person, just allow them to be nuked out of combat). Ring of Mental Inhibition is available in act 2 (which gives 2 turns of the condition on a failed save) and there are gloves in the end of act 2 which apply that condition whenever the wearer deals psychic damage to them.
I like how Gale is just casting a bunch of spells on himself, and the guards are just standing there like the castle guards in Monty Python's Holy Grail.
This somehow missed the single most potent item for an Evocation Wizard: *the Spellmight Gloves.* Evocation Wizard can add their Intelligence modifier to their damage, which is honestly a fairly lackluster bonus on it's own. The average player will only get a +5 to +6 damage modifier from this, (based off 20 to 22 Intelligence) which isn't great. However, this applies to *every single projectile* for multiple projectile attacks such as Magic Missile and Scorching Ray. This means that while it's a humble +6 damage that makes Fireball deal up to 54 damage instead of 48, an equally humble Magic Missile can suddenly do a whopping 33 damage instead of it's former max roll of 15. This increases exponentially with upcasts that add more projectiles, as each additional projectile is up to +11 damage. And in come the Spellmight gloves: this adds an additional 1d8 to your spell damage *per projectile* at the cost of -5 accuracy to the attack roll. But that's the thing: Magic Missile *doesn't* have an attack roll; it automatically hits. This means that that same level 1 Magic Missile is now getting up to +14 damage per projectile on an Evocation missile, meaning the spell that once capped at 15 damage can now deal up to 57 damage over it's 3 projectiles. For a level 1 spell. You have three main options with this: 1) Magic Missile. The damage remains *relatively* humble, but you can spam this for days since it's a level 1 spell and never have to worry about missing. 2) Scorching Ray. This is a minor boost to damage over Magic Missile, but at the risk of missing. Something to note is Draconic Sorcerers can also build around Scorching Ray thanks to fire affinity sorcerers adding their charisma modifier to each beam, and potentially mixing in the Spellmight Gloves too for the same effect. They can even choose a feat or multiclass dip into Warlock to grab Hex for another 1d6 on each projectile that hits the Hex'ed target. 3) Artistry of War is a Level 5 spell that *must* be learned from a scroll, so only Wizard has access to it. This is basically an upgraded Magic Missile that does significantly more damage with 6 projectiles and does not miss. This means you are adding up to 84 damage (6 + 1d8 per projectile) to a spell that can already deal up to 108 damage on it's own without the Spellmight gloves or the Evocation Wizard bonus damage. And again, you suffer no accuracy penalty here because this spell never misses. I'm unsure if Shield (the spell) can block it like it does Magic Missile, but not many enemies have Shield anyways. The only caveat worth mentioning is this may qualify as a bug. As of writing this, it works, but the description implies the Spellmight gloves shouldn't apply to non-attack roll spells. It would remain potent for Eldritch Blast/Scorching Ray if this fix came in, but would force the -5 attack roll since you can no longer use the Magic Missile spells. Also wanted to mention that Firebolt, Shocking Grasp, Bone Chill and Ray of Frost can all be found as scrolls (I tend to find them in the Druid grove), meaning a Wizard doesn't NEED to waste Cantrip levels learning those and can instead learn those via scrolls whilst picking other useful ones (Light, Minor Illusion, Blade Ward etc) during level ups.
Ice knife is also one of the few spells you can use while silenced so it's great to have on hand. Also I love getting people wet and doing extra cold and lightning damage
When I was playing a Wizard and also had Gale in my party, I equipped the Watersparkers to him for shoes and the ring that makes him immune to Shocked. I would have my wizard use an ice spell, have Gale go stand on it, and then either use a fire spell or wait a turn for it to melt and electrocute all those enemies. It was a fun combo 😄
😂 Lul sleep is broken sure hp cap means you can't use it at start but mid fight after a large aoe just upcast sleep everyone then let the martials finish them off. 😂 Tbh warlock is indeed up there fewer slots but you recover it in short rest I realize also no healer is best party composition healer should be at camp one of those hirelings from withers and pick up all the good support spells on that character.
@@datuputi777 I hadnt (seriously) considered using sleep on low hp enemies because I always go for damage instead, but that’s a great idea because there’s no save for sleep!
@VERY_TALL_MAN was it 3 targets? for level 1 spell slot. yea you could just chromatic orb them if their clustered but if their scattered like rats it's sleep time if there's like 6 of them below 24 hp.
Another gale build idea I’ve been thinking about but haven’t used: 16/17 int, 12 wisdom, put the rest into constitution and some dexterity One level of life cleric of Mystra for sanctuary and healing word Eleven levels of abjuration wizard Basically play defensive support, optionally wearing heavy armor If you play with the level 20 mod, pick up another 2 levels of cleric for preserve life and the aid spell, 3 levels of white draconic bloodline sorcerer for twinned haste and armor of agathys, and 3 levels of thief for casting sanctuary and healing word in the same round You can start the day with max arcane ward by upcasting aid (for your party, armor of Agathys (for yourself) and mage armor (if you aren’t wearing heavy armor). You can keep it up with spells like shield, counterspell, sanctuary, and maybe globe of invulnerability (if you aren’t using haste) Also, in act 3 a certain necklace can set your constitution to 23, allowing you to respec those points into dexterity for more initiative if you want
As much as I would love to try out different sets of gear with Gale, I always find myself reverting back to my "classic" lightning-charge based kit for him until I'm well into Act III. He basically uses the same gear from mid/late Act I until the party finishes the whole Sorcerous Sundries quest-line in Act III, which yields some excellent, late game wizard gear. I'd say the central piece of my GaleGear (tm) is the Protecty Sparkswall, because it'll give him a +1 boost to AC and saving throws when he's charged and +1 to spell save DC. The Spellsparkler staff is the second must-have piece to make this build work. I find that with all these charge-buffs in game, the best pieces of equipment are the ones that'll charge your characters "on their own", without you having to think about it. Which is what the staff does, because it'll simply charge him every time he deals spell- or cantrip-damage. Additionally, I like to put the Watersparkler boots on him - those really work best however with the Sparkswall ring. The boots will electrify water when he stands on it in combat (and give him more charges), which would normally electrocute him, but the ring makes him immune to that. Plus, perhaps, an item to make use of lightning charges - my favorite is probably the Sparky Sparkswall - because Gale needs a shield anyway and its lightning-based aura effect can come in handy. Just don't forget that if you burn all your charges with such an item, Gale will lose his +1 AC bonus until he regains lightning charges. I usually don't even use that effect and instead try to keep Gale charged up in combat all the time. Personally, I prefer lightning charges over the heat/fire alternative - simply because lightning charges won't damage your character like heat charges do. Plus there are quite a few enemies throughout the game who are resistant or immune to fire-damage. Cold seems a bit less "developed": There are no cold charges and while you get a nice staff for a cold-based build pretty early on (the three piece one from the Underdark), there doesn't seem to be a cold-based robe that gives the same sort of benefits as the Sparkswall.
You're right, players struggle with spell slots and rests management, and you didn't address it at all, which I think is actually the most important aspect when playing mages and what turns off a lot of people. Since I use him in a party, and I have a general idea of when my next Long Rest will be, I pace myself and save spell slots for the toughest fights only, but you seem to use all spell slots with no regard to your next fight, which definitely makes him a god in the fights shown
I usually try to learn the damage spells from scrolls. As evo wizard the evo spells are cheaper to learn (and can be found/bought very often). So I take spells from other schools when I level up. Alert is a good feat, but I don´t take it. I push Int first and use gear for better initiative (there are several bows and they don´t require proficiency for the Initiative bonus). I stay with 15 Con and take resilient (Con) as feat.
I'm using my Gale as a Divination wizard, which is awesome because of the Portent dies, but I'm actually having a bit of a second thought, and considering whether I should respecc him as an Evocation wizard. In Act 3, it feels like I'm mostly fighting hordes after hordes of enemies, and many of them can hit very very hard. I feel like the best counter is to just defeat them as soon as possible by piling damages on top of them. So I end up using more and more of the damage spells, especially the AoE ones, while using less of the non-damage spells. Heck, both my Ice Sorceress MC and Gale just throw Ice Storm everywhere, just to get it over with ASAP. As such, I'm starting to think that the Evocation school might have been better for him. However, the Portent dies are still too awesome and I don't feel like giving them up. I never have enough of them though, since I often go through them like popcorns during fights, and then wanting more. Maybe I'm just getting too many bad dice rolls that force my hand to use them up too fast, but I guess RNG does what RNG does, lol.
Another advantage of Divination Wizard is you do not need more than 6 levels in it. You can level the rest as Cleric for support spells or Sorcerer for Metamagic while learning high level Wizard spells with scroll scribing.
I'm still on my first playthrough, just hit level 5. I'm playing as the dark urge so I cut the mysterious hand off in the beginning. Turns out it was Gale. Looks like I need a new wizard for my party
I find that if you already have a 16 in Dex, Alert is unnecessary as a feat. You're almost always going to win initiative anyway except in rare circumstances. Those rare circumstances aren't enough to justify spending a feat on it. A better feat is Warcaster so that you don't lose concentration on spells and have a better opportunity attack option unless you're saving the reaction for Shield or Counterspell. Spell Sniper is another option for Eldritch Blast but without invocations, it is not the best option. You can make up for Agonizing Blast at levels 6 / 10 or with a neck piece but I still think keeping concentration is more important.
warcaster is useless since there are plenty of items that give you advantage or bonuses to con saves and you're basically never gonna be using opportunity attacks on your wizard. dual wield or ASI is the way to go imo.
@@common_undeadI'd be interested to know what magic item(s) you found that give you Advantage on Constitution saving throws and where they're located. I never found such an item.
You mean Minthara's armor. Forgot about that. Trying to get her as a companion this run using sheepthara method so I don't have the armor. The problem is that late game, there are much better Robes Gale can wear that increase Spell DC and spell attack rolls so Warcaster still is useful. If there's any other such items like rings, boots, or necklace please bring them to my attention.
@@fortunatus1 Just from what I remember, the following items either give you advantage on con saves, or greatly helps them in some way: 1) Amulet of greater health (requires no prof. but could probably see better use on a frontliner) 2) Spidersilk armor (not worth it for wizards in general) 3) Barkskin armor (requires med. armor prof., but you should be multiclassing your evoker wizard after level 10 regardless unless you really need a third feat for some reason). 4) Both versions of Dark Justiciar half plate armor (requires med. armor prof.) 5) Steelwatcher helmet (requires med. armor prof. has the added benefit of making the character immune to blindness, i.e. devil sight) 6) Moon devotion robe (no prof. also deals retaliation damage whenever you make a successful saving throw. Also gives a flat +1 to all saving throws). 7) Armor of landfall (pretty good especially if you don't have a druid who might see better use with this) 8) Special mention to robe of supreme defenses (adds your spellcasting modifier to all saving throws when you are concentrating on a spell and gives a +1 bonus to AC. At 20 int, with a +5 to all saving throws is way better than war caster's bonus would be on average). The best robe for a spell caster damage wise is just robe of the weave which gives +1 to spell save dc and spell attack rolls, a measly 1d6 health when you succeed a saving throw against a spell, and an inherent +2 bonus to AC. Consider instead that you could pick dual wielder as a feat and dual wield the legendary Markoheshkir and the Rhapsody dagger. The staff gives a +1 bonus to spell save DC and spell attack rolls, arcane battery and Kareshka's favor, while rhapsody's scarlet remittance gives you a +3 to all attack rolls, spell save DC and damage. Statistically, you never need warcaster. By end game, taking resilient con is better for concentration saves than warcaster, and it also applies to all con saves (not just conc. saves) and gives you +1 con as well.
I gave him the phalar aluve sword which does an extra d4 thunder damage on top of his other damage, the sparks necklace from the hobgoblin merchant with the myconids colony which gives him a free magic missile lvl 1, the quick spell gloves which will give his spells to do a bonus action and be able to do it again with his action so he can do two level 6 magic missiles in a single turn (Although the gloves and sword can do it only on a short rest each time so be wary)
yea think a lot of people forgot that sclupt spells also means that YOU dont take damage from evocation spells so u could use a big aoe spell right on top of ya if ya get swarmed by mobs etc
Not mentioning spell sniper to pick up eldritch blast and increase crit rate with attack roll spells is criminal. It gets the evocation int modifier at level 10.
Waiting for evocation powerup at level 10 costs you essentially more than half the playthrough for a power up. Get the boots of arcane bolstering in moonrise towers. It will add proficiency to your attacks. It uses bonus action and youre a wizard. Get an expeditious retreat to dash as a bonus action. It will double the damage of your magic missile very early.
Wouldn’t Gale need to be threatened, i.e. engaged in melee, for the proficiency to apply? I mean, you could run Gale up close and personal to enemies, but you would certainly need to combine the boots of arcane bolstering with the daredevil gloves
@@CheesyPoofs32 The description of that item is very misleading. The items seems to indicate that you need to be threatened to get the proficiency bonus to apply. In practice, the enemy needs to be "threatened" for the extra damage to apply. And not necessarily threatened by you. So your paladin can stand next to a boss and you get to do extra damage. The only downside of the boots is that they give you arcane charge for 2 turns when you dash, which normally uses up an action. So you'd have to spec 2 levels into rogue to get cunning action dash to be able to use this without eating into your action economy.
Given that you've made builds for Wyll and now Gale, I assume you'll be making builds for the rest of the characters, would love to see what Karlach could look like, she's my favourite character so far.
Well, people didn't keep him because they mostly had sucky builds for him. I used this same build and Gale was a mainstay till the end. After the 1st time other party members take friendly fire from his spells, Evocation jumped out as the clear choice IMO.
If you go Wizard 10/Cleric 2 you can get destructive wrath once per short rest. This with Markoheskir lets you get off 3 max damage chain lightning's per long rest which is pretty nuts
@@common_undead psychic spark is better for the additional missile since its a magic missiles build. And the once per short rest aspect of destructive wrath isn't a downside since I only use it on a once per short rest ability anyways.
Great video as always. Can't wait for the Lae'zel build and the next endgame character build. Will you be making alternative builds for some companions as well?
What do you want to know about it? His condition is part of his story that will get unraveled as you continue playing, so discussing that isn't really a discussion of gameplay or mechanics and doesn't need a guide imo? As far as the gameplay is concerned, the net cost of his condition is just 3 magic items in act 1, sometimes less if you rush things.
I have been looking at switching Shadowheart from Life to Light domain. I am currently also running Gale as an Evo Wiz. Unfortunately, this video seems to show equipment that would work well for both character builds. Decisions Decisions.
Evocation "is an extremely new player friendly school"... Looks at the AD&D 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, copyright 1989, and seeing Evocation Specialist Wizard subclass, Invoker, the long time D&D player then scratches his head.
Dam coulda used timestamps on each level, this also was a rushed video & now I just chose whatever for level 6, didn't even show it, just skipped over it, I subbed cause the detailed video's...
When other people do something that is extremely shocking then understand that their abilities came from a general wisdom and that there are signs of yours you have that should be illuminated. Also you don’t want others to overwhelm you and they don’t want to overwhelm you but are both scientifically manipulating space and time. One wants to stay focused about the task and these points help really get abjuration is important and helps one navigate when maybe seeking or dimensionally visiting for gathering things to transmute for spell. The permanent hurts in these games need to be gotten rid of.
you sshould put up a screen of all the used equipment so i dont have to re watch a hundred times, scrolling through and writing down the gear he uses to see if its compatible with my other part members
I used that same staff until act 3 where I replaced it with the legendary staff you can find in Ramazith's tower for it's abilities (Kereska's favour and Arcane Battery). Didn't know when i equipped the staff, but after using Kereska's favour, the user also gains two additional spells based on the favour. One of them is chain lightening coincidentally.
What is the point of glove of luminosity when you are not dealing radiant damage. What am I missing? Gale has no spells dealing that damage. I think I must be crazy no?
I love this build but then you got to the equipment and you named all of the equipment that I already have on my storm sorcerer and Shadowheart as a light cleric 😹
How are you getting nature to +5? I’m making this build exactly like you and it’s not allowing me over +3 with all other proficiency’s met. Have +2 on dex +1 on intelligence
Does it even need Alert? With 16 Dex and buffs he gets like 20 armor and goes resanably fast. I saw people advocating for double weapon feat, for 2 stuffs. Is it a good advice?
Scroll scribing makes more than 10 levels of Evocation Wizard pointless. For remaining 2 levels I suggest 2 levels of Tempest Cleric or 1 level of Life Cleric and 1 level of Fighter.
You can't chose a subclass for wizard until level 2. A level 1 wizard dip only lets you learn wizard spells from scrolls (which you'll have to use int to cast).
i always wondered: would it be good to put a penalty on stats that he doesn't use like wisdom and charisma for him in order to start with a high level inteligence ?
The are situations where you need your non casting attributes. Some spells have Wisdom saves, there are even fewer char saves. If you dont use him as party face, drop them to 8 or 10 if you dont want the -1 to rolls
17 is the highest you can start with a stat in character creation. Stats only gain increasing benefits at every even number above 10. So unless there’s a specific int boosting half feat or stat booster you really want to take, starting with 16 gives the same benefits as starting at 17.
I wonder ... How about swaping Alert with Dual Wield ... to hold two staves? I mean ... yes, you start a little later and loose one AC ... But otherwise, it seems pretty strong. O_o
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Have you seen flashback 2? I wonder if it will be good,i want a nice cyberpunk background
Leaving my algorithm comment so Fextralife prioritizes bg3 vids
😂 plus one!
Agreed
I concur
Me too man 🤣🤣🤣
Gale would approve!
STR:8
DEX:16
CON:14
INT:16
WIS:10
CHA:10
SKILLS: INVESTIGATION, NATURE, RELIGION
LEVELS
1 - WIZARD (CANTRIPS: FIREBOLT, SHOCKING GRASP, RAY OF FROST) (SPELLS: MAGE ARMOUR, SHIELD, FALSE LIFE, MAGIC MISSILE, THUNDER WAVE, ICE KNIFE
2 - WIZARD - EVOCATION (S: CHROMATIC ORB, BURING HANDS)
3 - WIZARD (S: BLUR, MISTY STEP, SCORCHING RAY, MELF ACID ARROW
4 - WIZARD (F: ALERT) (C: ACID SPLASH)
5 - WIZARD (S: FIREBALL, LIGHTING BOLT)
6 - WIZARD
7 -WIZARD (ICE STORM, LIGHT)
8 - WIZARD (F: AI INT+2)
9 - WIZARD (S: CONE OF COLD, CONJURE ELEMENTAL)
10 - WIZARD (C: BONE CHILL OR POISON SPRAY)
11 - WIZARD (S: OTILUKES FREEZING SPHERE OR CHAIN LIGHTING, SUNBEAM, DISINTEGRATION)
12 - WIZARD (F: AI INT+2)
I love u for this been using it heaps
Question, how do you get Nature proficiency on Gale? I know it's by using his Human racial bonus but I can't find a way to change it in Respec.
@@BuddyLogicsame i couldn’t replicate it from the vid either
7 - *Blight
Thanks for making the video comprehensible.
Very helpful. I'm level 6 and I'm really starting to feel inadequate with my 'try this game out' build. Time to respec; this seems perfect.
Amazing guide as per usual. Always helpful to watch these even if I’m not focused on Gale/whoever you’re covering, because it helps think about builds/options/trade-offs in general
BG3 vids are why I keep coming back!
This is virtually the exact same build I used for Gale, except I took a feat that allowed him to use Medium armor instead of Alert, which ultimately was the worse decision since I barely took advantage of it. Counterspell, Magic Missile and Misty Step are my picks for absolutely vital spells all the way through the final battle.
This was especially helpful as I am under-utilizing Gale. Liked and Subscribed! Keep up the BG3 content! Thanks!
I don’t know why but on PS5 Gale starts with 3 Skills that can’t be removed and not 2 as you said and are: Arcana, History and Persuasion. Therefore we will have to choose between 2 of those recommended by you: Nature, Religion, Investigation.
I don’t know, maybe it’s a bug..
I like to get spell sniper as a feat instead of alert. It gives you eldrichblast as a cantrip which hit twice. With the SPINESHUDDER AMULET and other items shown in this guide, using a single cast of this cantrip, you can put one enemy immediately to 5 stacks of reverberation if it is not already illuminated or TWO enemies with 5 stacks of reverberation if they are already illuminated. It is super OP.
Spnineshudder amulet =2
Callous glow ring(this requires the enemy been illuminated already, if not, the first blast will make the orb so it will be satisfied for the second blast)+ gloves of belligerent skies=2
Coruscation ring + boots of stormy clamour = 2
If some how you have a lightning charge, there will be even more stacks 😂because of the gloves.
Would be good if gale could use the jolt bow. I wasn't using any mages at the time to take the staff but I wish I had. But I'm using the frost one now
Been trying to find a way to get the bow on gale but I don't want to lose a wiz level yet to multi class. I'm level 6 and just got potent cantrip which is doubling my ray of frost with my set up. But I'm using the chest piece that gives +1 to spell save and something else if I have lightning charges.
Downloading this right now and studying up, great timing vid.
First CRPG so ready to rip my hair out
Exact Guide I needed right now.
I love the BG3 builds! Keep them coming!
great timing! was just searching for an evocation gale build!
I love these companion builds more please!
This is seriously a really great video, I've had so many problems trying to figure out the game but this makes it so much more simpler
For gales cantrips I would get firebolt, friends, and minor illusion (for grouping enemies up) and then light later level cantrip choice. All of the dmg cantrips can learned through scrolls early on, but ones like friends, illusion, and light aren't found on scrolls.
Good tip to know, thanks 👍
Me with minor illusion: oh yeah I’m gonna group these guys so good
Me planning every engagement: I feel like I’m forgetting something…
@@AndrewThoesen Also Me: Well, if I forgot it, it probably wasn't very important in the first place
THANK YOU! My Gale sucks, he always gets killed first and only 1-2 of his spells actually do damage on enemies.
I've been watching your other companions videos, and found this. Great job!
Please do build guide for every companions, thanks
My only suggestion, would be to move one of the rings you use onto another character, so that with his high spell save DC + Arcane Acutity, you can use the ring that gives Mental Fatigue. It's a 2 turn debuff anytime they FAIL a save against one of Gale's spells. And in return, it lowers their Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma saving throws. So you can have Gale throwing AOE nukes to make people fail spells, then have bard, cleric, paladin or someone else follow up with an easier to land hold person on the baddie or another target to remove someone from combat (or using hold person, just allow them to be nuked out of combat).
Ring of Mental Inhibition is available in act 2 (which gives 2 turns of the condition on a failed save) and there are gloves in the end of act 2 which apply that condition whenever the wearer deals psychic damage to them.
Really hope you comtinue doing BG3 builds. Im still obsessed with the game.
I like how Gale is just casting a bunch of spells on himself, and the guards are just standing there like the castle guards in Monty Python's Holy Grail.
Love the Baulders gate content man. It helped get me into it as a person who’s new to dnd as a whole 🙏🙏
This somehow missed the single most potent item for an Evocation Wizard: *the Spellmight Gloves.*
Evocation Wizard can add their Intelligence modifier to their damage, which is honestly a fairly lackluster bonus on it's own. The average player will only get a +5 to +6 damage modifier from this, (based off 20 to 22 Intelligence) which isn't great.
However, this applies to *every single projectile* for multiple projectile attacks such as Magic Missile and Scorching Ray. This means that while it's a humble +6 damage that makes Fireball deal up to 54 damage instead of 48, an equally humble Magic Missile can suddenly do a whopping 33 damage instead of it's former max roll of 15. This increases exponentially with upcasts that add more projectiles, as each additional projectile is up to +11 damage.
And in come the Spellmight gloves: this adds an additional 1d8 to your spell damage *per projectile* at the cost of -5 accuracy to the attack roll. But that's the thing: Magic Missile *doesn't* have an attack roll; it automatically hits. This means that that same level 1 Magic Missile is now getting up to +14 damage per projectile on an Evocation missile, meaning the spell that once capped at 15 damage can now deal up to 57 damage over it's 3 projectiles. For a level 1 spell.
You have three main options with this:
1) Magic Missile. The damage remains *relatively* humble, but you can spam this for days since it's a level 1 spell and never have to worry about missing.
2) Scorching Ray. This is a minor boost to damage over Magic Missile, but at the risk of missing. Something to note is Draconic Sorcerers can also build around Scorching Ray thanks to fire affinity sorcerers adding their charisma modifier to each beam, and potentially mixing in the Spellmight Gloves too for the same effect. They can even choose a feat or multiclass dip into Warlock to grab Hex for another 1d6 on each projectile that hits the Hex'ed target.
3) Artistry of War is a Level 5 spell that *must* be learned from a scroll, so only Wizard has access to it. This is basically an upgraded Magic Missile that does significantly more damage with 6 projectiles and does not miss. This means you are adding up to 84 damage (6 + 1d8 per projectile) to a spell that can already deal up to 108 damage on it's own without the Spellmight gloves or the Evocation Wizard bonus damage. And again, you suffer no accuracy penalty here because this spell never misses. I'm unsure if Shield (the spell) can block it like it does Magic Missile, but not many enemies have Shield anyways.
The only caveat worth mentioning is this may qualify as a bug. As of writing this, it works, but the description implies the Spellmight gloves shouldn't apply to non-attack roll spells. It would remain potent for Eldritch Blast/Scorching Ray if this fix came in, but would force the -5 attack roll since you can no longer use the Magic Missile spells.
Also wanted to mention that Firebolt, Shocking Grasp, Bone Chill and Ray of Frost can all be found as scrolls (I tend to find them in the Druid grove), meaning a Wizard doesn't NEED to waste Cantrip levels learning those and can instead learn those via scrolls whilst picking other useful ones (Light, Minor Illusion, Blade Ward etc) during level ups.
You were right, this was just patched. Now the spell requires a roll for d8 to apply for the spellmight gloves.
I don't need this one in specific, but I appreciate that you're still putting out build guides 👍
This is so helpful, always feel like my poor lovely Gale isnt nearly as powerful as the Archmage from the City of Splendors should be.
cant wait for the laezel guide!
Working on it next!
I just reached the end of act one with my Gale run, so this is just in time!
My current run I’m a sorcerer with Laezel, Shadow, and Astarion, but I want Gale, Wyll, and Karlach next so this is much appreciated
Appreciate the content 😊
Ice knife is also one of the few spells you can use while silenced so it's great to have on hand. Also I love getting people wet and doing extra cold and lightning damage
This was very helpful. Thanks!
When I was playing a Wizard and also had Gale in my party, I equipped the Watersparkers to him for shoes and the ring that makes him immune to Shocked. I would have my wizard use an ice spell, have Gale go stand on it, and then either use a fire spell or wait a turn for it to melt and electrocute all those enemies. It was a fun combo 😄
Hell yeah! More guides please!
This whole guide overlooks the massive weakness of having to interact with Gale.
LOL!
I tried to be friendly to the guy and he's immediately DTF lol... Bruh my gf is Shadowheart can't you tell?
Going into act 2, I would HIGHLY recommend learning or taking Hypnotic Pattarn, it can be an absolute game changer for those larger combats :)
😂 Lul sleep is broken sure hp cap means you can't use it at start but mid fight after a large aoe just upcast sleep everyone then let the martials finish them off. 😂
Tbh warlock is indeed up there fewer slots but you recover it in short rest I realize also no healer is best party composition healer should be at camp one of those hirelings from withers and pick up all the good support spells on that character.
@@datuputi777 I hadnt (seriously) considered using sleep on low hp enemies because I always go for damage instead, but that’s a great idea because there’s no save for sleep!
@VERY_TALL_MAN
was it 3 targets? for level 1 spell slot. yea you could just chromatic orb them if their clustered but if their scattered like rats it's sleep time if there's like 6 of them below 24 hp.
Another gale build idea I’ve been thinking about but haven’t used:
16/17 int, 12 wisdom, put the rest into constitution and some dexterity
One level of life cleric of Mystra for sanctuary and healing word
Eleven levels of abjuration wizard
Basically play defensive support, optionally wearing heavy armor
If you play with the level 20 mod, pick up another 2 levels of cleric for preserve life and the aid spell, 3 levels of white draconic bloodline sorcerer for twinned haste and armor of agathys, and 3 levels of thief for casting sanctuary and healing word in the same round
You can start the day with max arcane ward by upcasting aid (for your party, armor of Agathys (for yourself) and mage armor (if you aren’t wearing heavy armor). You can keep it up with spells like shield, counterspell, sanctuary, and maybe globe of invulnerability (if you aren’t using haste)
Also, in act 3 a certain necklace can set your constitution to 23, allowing you to respec those points into dexterity for more initiative if you want
As much as I would love to try out different sets of gear with Gale, I always find myself reverting back to my "classic" lightning-charge based kit for him until I'm well into Act III. He basically uses the same gear from mid/late Act I until the party finishes the whole Sorcerous Sundries quest-line in Act III, which yields some excellent, late game wizard gear.
I'd say the central piece of my GaleGear (tm) is the Protecty Sparkswall, because it'll give him a +1 boost to AC and saving throws when he's charged and +1 to spell save DC.
The Spellsparkler staff is the second must-have piece to make this build work. I find that with all these charge-buffs in game, the best pieces of equipment are the ones that'll charge your characters "on their own", without you having to think about it. Which is what the staff does, because it'll simply charge him every time he deals spell- or cantrip-damage.
Additionally, I like to put the Watersparkler boots on him - those really work best however with the Sparkswall ring. The boots will electrify water when he stands on it in combat (and give him more charges), which would normally electrocute him, but the ring makes him immune to that.
Plus, perhaps, an item to make use of lightning charges - my favorite is probably the Sparky Sparkswall - because Gale needs a shield anyway and its lightning-based aura effect can come in handy. Just don't forget that if you burn all your charges with such an item, Gale will lose his +1 AC bonus until he regains lightning charges. I usually don't even use that effect and instead try to keep Gale charged up in combat all the time.
Personally, I prefer lightning charges over the heat/fire alternative - simply because lightning charges won't damage your character like heat charges do. Plus there are quite a few enemies throughout the game who are resistant or immune to fire-damage. Cold seems a bit less "developed": There are no cold charges and while you get a nice staff for a cold-based build pretty early on (the three piece one from the Underdark), there doesn't seem to be a cold-based robe that gives the same sort of benefits as the Sparkswall.
You're right, players struggle with spell slots and rests management, and you didn't address it at all, which I think is actually the most important aspect when playing mages and what turns off a lot of people. Since I use him in a party, and I have a general idea of when my next Long Rest will be, I pace myself and save spell slots for the toughest fights only, but you seem to use all spell slots with no regard to your next fight, which definitely makes him a god in the fights shown
Keep them bg3 guided coming
I usually try to learn the damage spells from scrolls. As evo wizard the evo spells are cheaper to learn (and can be found/bought very often). So I take spells from other schools when I level up.
Alert is a good feat, but I don´t take it. I push Int first and use gear for better initiative (there are several bows and they don´t require proficiency for the Initiative bonus). I stay with 15 Con and take resilient (Con) as feat.
My only comment is that it makes more sense to have him learn non-evocation spells as he levels up since he can scribe those at a discount
Great one, thanks!
Spells go so hard in baldurs gate 3
I'm using my Gale as a Divination wizard, which is awesome because of the Portent dies, but I'm actually having a bit of a second thought, and considering whether I should respecc him as an Evocation wizard.
In Act 3, it feels like I'm mostly fighting hordes after hordes of enemies, and many of them can hit very very hard. I feel like the best counter is to just defeat them as soon as possible by piling damages on top of them. So I end up using more and more of the damage spells, especially the AoE ones, while using less of the non-damage spells. Heck, both my Ice Sorceress MC and Gale just throw Ice Storm everywhere, just to get it over with ASAP. As such, I'm starting to think that the Evocation school might have been better for him.
However, the Portent dies are still too awesome and I don't feel like giving them up. I never have enough of them though, since I often go through them like popcorns during fights, and then wanting more. Maybe I'm just getting too many bad dice rolls that force my hand to use them up too fast, but I guess RNG does what RNG does, lol.
Another advantage of Divination Wizard is you do not need more than 6 levels in it. You can level the rest as Cleric for support spells or Sorcerer for Metamagic while learning high level Wizard spells with scroll scribing.
I'm still on my first playthrough, just hit level 5. I'm playing as the dark urge so I cut the mysterious hand off in the beginning. Turns out it was Gale.
Looks like I need a new wizard for my party
I find that if you already have a 16 in Dex, Alert is unnecessary as a feat. You're almost always going to win initiative anyway except in rare circumstances. Those rare circumstances aren't enough to justify spending a feat on it. A better feat is Warcaster so that you don't lose concentration on spells and have a better opportunity attack option unless you're saving the reaction for Shield or Counterspell. Spell Sniper is another option for Eldritch Blast but without invocations, it is not the best option. You can make up for Agonizing Blast at levels 6 / 10 or with a neck piece but I still think keeping concentration is more important.
warcaster is useless since there are plenty of items that give you advantage or bonuses to con saves and you're basically never gonna be using opportunity attacks on your wizard.
dual wield or ASI is the way to go imo.
@@common_undeadI'd be interested to know what magic item(s) you found that give you Advantage on Constitution saving throws and where they're located. I never found such an item.
You mean Minthara's armor. Forgot about that. Trying to get her as a companion this run using sheepthara method so I don't have the armor. The problem is that late game, there are much better Robes Gale can wear that increase Spell DC and spell attack rolls so Warcaster still is useful. If there's any other such items like rings, boots, or necklace please bring them to my attention.
@@fortunatus1 Just from what I remember, the following items either give you advantage on con saves, or greatly helps them in some way:
1) Amulet of greater health (requires no prof. but could probably see better use on a frontliner)
2) Spidersilk armor (not worth it for wizards in general)
3) Barkskin armor (requires med. armor prof., but you should be multiclassing your evoker wizard after level 10 regardless unless you really need a third feat for some reason).
4) Both versions of Dark Justiciar half plate armor (requires med. armor prof.)
5) Steelwatcher helmet (requires med. armor prof. has the added benefit of making the character immune to blindness, i.e. devil sight)
6) Moon devotion robe (no prof. also deals retaliation damage whenever you make a successful saving throw. Also gives a flat +1 to all saving throws).
7) Armor of landfall (pretty good especially if you don't have a druid who might see better use with this)
8) Special mention to robe of supreme defenses (adds your spellcasting modifier to all saving throws when you are concentrating on a spell and gives a +1 bonus to AC. At 20 int, with a +5 to all saving throws is way better than war caster's bonus would be on average).
The best robe for a spell caster damage wise is just robe of the weave which gives +1 to spell save dc and spell attack rolls, a measly 1d6 health when you succeed a saving throw against a spell, and an inherent +2 bonus to AC. Consider instead that you could pick dual wielder as a feat and dual wield the legendary Markoheshkir and the Rhapsody dagger. The staff gives a +1 bonus to spell save DC and spell attack rolls, arcane battery and Kareshka's favor, while rhapsody's scarlet remittance gives you a +3 to all attack rolls, spell save DC and damage.
Statistically, you never need warcaster. By end game, taking resilient con is better for concentration saves than warcaster, and it also applies to all con saves (not just conc. saves) and gives you +1 con as well.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Gale Build Guide Summary
Ability Score Distribution:
- Strength (STR): 8
- Dexterity (DEX): 13
- Constitution (CON): 15
- Intelligence (INT): 17
- Wisdom (WIS): 10
- Charisma (CHA): 12
---
Skills Chosen:
Gale starts with proficiency in Arcana and History. Additional skills recommended:
- Investigation
- Nature
- Religion
This setup ensures Gale is proficient in all five Intelligence-based skills.
---
Level-by-Level Choices:
Level 1 (0:28): Wizard
- Cantrips: Firebolt, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, (Optional later) Acid Splash
- Spells: Mage Armor (defensive boost), Shield (reaction for survivability), False Life (temporary HP for tough fights), Magic Missile (reliable damage, cannot miss), Thunderwave (thunder damage with knockback), Ice Knife (dual piercing and cold damage)
- Class Feature: Arcane Recovery: Regain a spell slot without resting.
Level 2 (3:28): Wizard Subclass - Evocation
- Subclass Feature: Sculpt Spells: Evocation area spells do not harm allies.
- Spells: Burning Hands (short-range AOE damage), Chromatic Orb (versatile elemental damage).
Level 3 (3:51): Wizard
- Spells (Level 2): Blur (disadvantage on attacks against Gale; concentration spell), Misty Step (bonus action teleportation), Scorching Ray (multi-target fire damage), Melf’s Acid Arrow (reliable acid damage)
Level 4 (4:52): Wizard
- New Cantrip: Acid Splash (if not chosen earlier)
- Feat: Alert (increases initiative for earlier action in combat).
Level 5 (5:15): Wizard
- Spells (Level 3): Fireball (massive AOE fire damage), Lightning Bolt (linear AOE lightning damage), Counterspell (reaction to negate enemy spells).
Level 6 (5:42): Wizard Subclass Feature
- Subclass Feature: Potent Cantrip: Minimum half damage from evocation cantrips (e.g, Acid Splash).
Level 7 (5:56): Wizard
- Spells (Level 4): Ice Storm (large AOE with cold and bludgeoning damage, creates slippery terrain), Blight (large necrotic damage to a single target), Conjure Minor Elementals (summons additional allies without concentration).
Level 8 (6:28): Wizard
- Feat: Ability Score Improvement: Increase Intelligence.
Level 9 (6:44): Wizard
- Spells (Level 5): Cone of Cold (high-damage AOE cold spell), Conjure Elemental (summons a powerful ally without concentration).
Level 10 (7:06): Wizard Subclass Feature
- Subclass Feature: Empowered Evocation: Adds Intelligence modifier to evocation spell damage.
- New Cantrip: Bone Chill or Poison Spray (depending on playstyle).
Level 11 (7:34): Wizard
- Spells (Level 6): Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere (massive AOE cold damage), Chain Lightning (multi-target lightning damage), Sunbeam (radiant AOE with concentration).
Level 12 (8:00): Wizard
- Feat: Ability Score Improvement: Increase Intelligence to 20.
---
Final Tips:
1. Buffs: Always cast Mage Armor after each long rest, Use False Life before challenging encounters.
2. Combat Strategy: Start fights with AOE spells to build Arcane Acuity stacks, Use Misty Step for repositioning if surrounded, Blur can provide excellent defense if expecting direct attacks.
3. Equipment: Prioritize gear that enhances spell save DCs and damage (e.g, Spell Sparkler, Cloak of Protection), Use gloves like Gloves of Belligerent Skies or Luminous Gloves to apply debuffs or radiant orbs, Combine rings (e.g, Coration Ring) to maximize damage and debuff potential.
I gave him the phalar aluve sword which does an extra d4 thunder damage on top of his other damage, the sparks necklace from the hobgoblin merchant with the myconids colony which gives him a free magic missile lvl 1, the quick spell gloves which will give his spells to do a bonus action and be able to do it again with his action so he can do two level 6 magic missiles in a single turn (Although the gloves and sword can do it only on a short rest each time so be wary)
Great guide! Do you think a physical shield is worthwhile though as it mitigates damage?
Awesome video
Great guide
love all the guides. Are you going to make one for LAE'ZEL?
Yes it's the next guide I'm making but right now working on some Remnant 2 builds because the DLC just launched. I'll get it done eventually!
yea think a lot of people forgot that sclupt spells also means that YOU dont take damage from evocation spells
so u could use a big aoe spell right on top of ya if ya get swarmed by mobs etc
Nice build
Gale build guide: take 12 levels in wizard. Blow stuff up. Win.
Not mentioning spell sniper to pick up eldritch blast and increase crit rate with attack roll spells is criminal. It gets the evocation int modifier at level 10.
Waiting for evocation powerup at level 10 costs you essentially more than half the playthrough for a power up. Get the boots of arcane bolstering in moonrise towers. It will add proficiency to your attacks. It uses bonus action and youre a wizard. Get an expeditious retreat to dash as a bonus action. It will double the damage of your magic missile very early.
Wouldn’t Gale need to be threatened, i.e. engaged in melee, for the proficiency to apply? I mean, you could run Gale up close and personal to enemies, but you would certainly need to combine the boots of arcane bolstering with the daredevil gloves
@@CheesyPoofs32 The description of that item is very misleading. The items seems to indicate that you need to be threatened to get the proficiency bonus to apply. In practice, the enemy needs to be "threatened" for the extra damage to apply. And not necessarily threatened by you. So your paladin can stand next to a boss and you get to do extra damage. The only downside of the boots is that they give you arcane charge for 2 turns when you dash, which normally uses up an action. So you'd have to spec 2 levels into rogue to get cunning action dash to be able to use this without eating into your action economy.
It’d be nice if you showed what rotation of spells to have prepared as you level. Most of us watching can’t shoot straight up to level 12
Given that you've made builds for Wyll and now Gale, I assume you'll be making builds for the rest of the characters, would love to see what Karlach could look like, she's my favourite character so far.
Fextra has already done a Karlach build. Sub the channel and check out the build friend!
Yes we have a Karlach Build: th-cam.com/video/C-eE78SDrz8/w-d-xo.html
@@Fextralifelae'zel next please! Love my girl.
I like how he gives us gale second even tho nobody actually keep him in their party 😭 great build tho! Keep it up
Well, people didn't keep him because they mostly had sucky builds for him. I used this same build and Gale was a mainstay till the end. After the 1st time other party members take friendly fire from his spells, Evocation jumped out as the clear choice IMO.
@@CouchCitI second this
If you go Wizard 10/Cleric 2 you can get destructive wrath once per short rest. This with Markoheskir lets you get off 3 max damage chain lightning's per long rest which is pretty nuts
Use the amulet of the devout on him if you aren't using it on a dedicated cleric to double this and give you another +2 to spell save DC.
@@common_undead psychic spark is better for the additional missile since its a magic missiles build. And the once per short rest aspect of destructive wrath isn't a downside since I only use it on a once per short rest ability anyways.
Gale is best left in the crocks! Lae’Zel is my best wizard.
Great video as always. Can't wait for the Lae'zel build and the next endgame character build. Will you be making alternative builds for some companions as well?
Yes I'll be doing alternative builds for companions as well.
Someone needs to make a video/guide to Gale's condition. It's kind of crazy no one has a one out that isn't a 2 minute TLDR about it
What do you want to know about it? His condition is part of his story that will get unraveled as you continue playing, so discussing that isn't really a discussion of gameplay or mechanics and doesn't need a guide imo?
As far as the gameplay is concerned, the net cost of his condition is just 3 magic items in act 1, sometimes less if you rush things.
I have been looking at switching Shadowheart from Life to Light domain. I am currently also running Gale as an Evo Wiz. Unfortunately, this video seems to show equipment that would work well for both character builds. Decisions Decisions.
Evocation "is an extremely new player friendly school"...
Looks at the AD&D 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, copyright 1989, and seeing Evocation Specialist Wizard subclass, Invoker, the long time D&D player then scratches his head.
Dam coulda used timestamps on each level, this also was a rushed video & now I just chose whatever for level 6, didn't even show it, just skipped over it, I subbed cause the detailed video's...
More bg3 please
how do gale deal radiant damage? i am level 8 i dont have any spell that deal radiant damage
Thanks!
I like this video!
When other people do something that is extremely shocking then understand that their abilities came from a general wisdom and that there are signs of yours you have that should be illuminated. Also you don’t want others to overwhelm you and they don’t want to overwhelm you but are both scientifically manipulating space and time. One wants to stay focused about the task and these points help really get abjuration is important and helps one navigate when maybe seeking or dimensionally visiting for gathering things to transmute for spell. The permanent hurts in these games need to be gotten rid of.
Gale fits as a bard for me personally
What are the two spells I should choose for the 6th level?
Nice!
I’m completely new so I’m having a little trouble tryna figure out the wizard bec it’s like a glass cannon sadly
you sshould put up a screen of all the used equipment so i dont have to re watch a hundred times, scrolling through and writing down the gear he uses to see if its compatible with my other part members
Is the 10 charisma points any usefull ? or can you drop it to 8 ?
My Light Cleric is already using Coruscation Ring. Any suggestions for a replacement ring?
I used that same staff until act 3 where I replaced it with the legendary staff you can find in Ramazith's tower for it's abilities (Kereska's favour and Arcane Battery). Didn't know when i equipped the staff, but after using Kereska's favour, the user also gains two additional spells based on the favour. One of them is chain lightening coincidentally.
It is a blast to dual wield both staffs!
@@sticky2784 Not as fun as Two fireballs from Gale and two more from Tav (warlock) and both of them ignore fire resistance.
What is the point of glove of luminosity when you are not dealing radiant damage. What am I missing? Gale has no spells dealing that damage.
I think I must be crazy no?
Any recommendations on gear if I have all the radiating orb stuff on ShadowHeart?
I love this build but then you got to the equipment and you named all of the equipment that I already have on my storm sorcerer and Shadowheart as a light cleric 😹
How are you getting nature to +5? I’m making this build exactly like you and it’s not allowing me over +3 with all other proficiency’s met. Have +2 on dex +1 on intelligence
I don't see boots recommendation on this set-up. Thoughts?
Does it even need Alert? With 16 Dex and buffs he gets like 20 armor and goes resanably fast.
I saw people advocating for double weapon feat, for 2 stuffs. Is it a good advice?
I like this
so what spells do i pick for lvl 4 ....
When is the Lae’zel video?
Scroll scribing makes more than 10 levels of Evocation Wizard pointless. For remaining 2 levels I suggest 2 levels of Tempest Cleric or 1 level of Life Cleric and 1 level of Fighter.
What spells should I take at level six?
Thanks
Thinking 9 storm sorcerer, 2 tempest cleric, and 1 evocation wizard for a dragonborn build.
You can't chose a subclass for wizard until level 2. A level 1 wizard dip only lets you learn wizard spells from scrolls (which you'll have to use int to cast).
What would you say the ideal stats for taking fighter would be bg3
Why do you prefer Alert over Warcaster?
i always wondered: would it be good to put a penalty on stats that he doesn't use like wisdom and charisma for him in order to start with a high level inteligence ?
The are situations where you need your non casting attributes.
Some spells have Wisdom saves, there are even fewer char saves.
If you dont use him as party face, drop them to 8 or 10 if you dont want the -1 to rolls
17 is the highest you can start with a stat in character creation. Stats only gain increasing benefits at every even number above 10. So unless there’s a specific int boosting half feat or stat booster you really want to take, starting with 16 gives the same benefits as starting at 17.
Awesome
I wonder ...
How about swaping Alert with Dual Wield ... to hold two staves?
I mean ... yes, you start a little later and loose one AC ...
But otherwise, it seems pretty strong. O_o
Ok hear me out
Potent cantrip + Eldritch blast (from spell sniper)