That's incredible - clearly a bug, but I love the idea that you can just declare that your own worst enemy is yourself, and then take it out on everyone around you. Realistic, at least!
This is one of the most self loathing bugs in the game, but it is really all Oath of Vengeance has going for it. The auto-advantage ring or gloves that gives you this bugged Vow of Enmity for free really drain the value right out of Vow of Enmity. Other items in this game can land you around 24-25 STR without a potion of STR, coupled with the Tiefling +2 hit gauntlets, you should have a 95% chance to hit in ACT III, which also makes Oath of Devotion only worthwhile for Charm immunity (and Charm removal), but given the other saving throw buffs you get is almost useless. Oathbreaker is probably the most bang for the buck oath, but... it buffs almost every enemy you run into in ACTS II / III, so Oath of Ancients ends up being the least harmless / most beneficial Oaths. Radiant Retort is the only real threat to a Paladin duel wielding Deva Maces in ACT III this game, enemies without that buff will be bulldozed. All in all, RIP Oath of Vengeance by Act II.
Thanks so much! May it serve you well :D I had wanted to get this out sooner but the patch breaking modding tools delayed it - minthara is ready to rock now though!
Your builds are very straightforward and to the point I used a lot of them and it’s help me. I’m new to this kind of game never played anything like this and I’m enjoying myself. I was just very confused in the beginning but your videos are helping. Thanks.
Yes, yes!!! Was looking for a good Minthara build and this is now the 3rd of yours overall I've used and man have I been impressed with all the results! As one whose revisited D&D through BG3 after so many long years, thanks for making these understandable and logical to follow. Keep up the great work, just fantastic!!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate hearing that :D One of my favorite things about BG3 is how many new and returning players it's gotten to take a look at one of my favorite hobbies
Quick note, twin spell uses a number of sorcery points equal to the spell you're trying to cast, so until you get the 3rd level of sorcerer you can't twin spell Haste. I personally like Paladin6/sorcerer6. I also like using wildmagic sorcerer because chaos is so much fun :)
Your BG3 videos are some of the most well structured and informative I've seen on RU-vid. While others are flashy and over stimulating, yours are to the point and easy to follow. Thank you so much.
Great video as always ! Just a precision: when reaching L11, even if you got the ability to cast Haste, you will still need to wait until 3rd level of Sorcerer to be able to Twin it (as it costs 3 sorcery points to twin a L3 spell and we have only 2 at L11 following this guide).
That's true, but remember you can convert spell slots into sorcery points and can exceed your maximum that way - not always worth doing since we want those slots for smites, but essentially lets you spend a level 1 spell slot casting haste, so it's definitely useful sometimes!
If I was taking the Savage Attacker feat, I'd probably just take the Defense Fighting Style for +1 to AC. Alert is also an alternative to GWM ensureling you get to bring the pain before they get to do anything.
Definitely a strong variant I should have mentioned! I think because Minthara gets to add additional damage dice, GWF is worth it for her still, but may be less so for a Tav paladin. On Minthara it's still worth ~2.5 damage per smite with savage attacker (compared to ~5 without) if my napkin math is (close to) right. That may or may not be worth a point of AC This may be the only video where I don't spend a full minute singing the praises of Alert, so you'll get no argument from me there :D
@@Cephalopocalypsewhat about minthara's dual maces default goblin camp build it's so cool and the hold person and dual wield fked me up on the first time I played
Wake up babe! New Cephalopocalypse BG3 build video just dropped! I got a murderhobo Durge save file that's been chilling for a couple days in Moonrise dungeon awaiting this video. Let the mayhem ensue.
@@Cephalopocalypseyou gonna keep doing these lazy 1-12 builds in the same Demn location every time? How about some gameplay where you showcase your builds as in fighting bosses/ enemies and don’t say it’s not worth it because I have seen people with less views and subscribers who keep doing the build guide’s with actual fights in them. It’s kinda boring watching people like you complaining about not being worth it because no one watches them, really?? No I don’t think so. And to be honest it’s kinda embarrassing ngl.
@@Tobykanobi1lmfao then go watch those RU-vidrs? Clearly they looked at the numbers and the bump in views (if any) doesn’t outweigh the extra time and effort to do a full play through everytime they want to make a build video.
I did this build for my Karlach, running the gloves of dexterity, amulet of greater health, and a cloud giant potion, so I could dump all my constitution dexterity and strength, and have high levels for everything else. I expect this, with the soul coin bonus damage, and her natural searing smite and branding smite to be genuinely insane
I would go for 4 sorcerer and 8 paladin to get all feats. But whatever you do, at some point you should respec and start as a sorcerer. When starting as a sorcerer uou get proficency with constition saving throw, witch you don't get when multi-classing later on
If you intend to Twin Haste then you do need to take the 3rd level of Sorcerer, otherwise you wont have the Sorcery Points required for it to be twinned
thanks for this. tried looking for a minthy build & all of them were focused around act 1/2 equipment to _buy_ from act 1/2 vendors. i’m in act 3 :D just did a trial attack & it took off half health immediately 😅
Minthara is great for a lot of builds involving support also, i have played around with her in bard and cleric classes, but getting 3 levels of rouge for thief to get that extra bonus action as well as gaining sneak attack is a solid choice with most builds, it is an amazing blend of support and moderate damage, not exactly 9 open hand brawler monk, 3 thief rouge level of damage but stil exceptionally strong in its own right.
Note: Savage Attacker does NOT benefit from Great Weapon Fighting (the advantage dice provided from Savage Attacker I've read, do not reroll their 1s and 2s. But your first roll will). Also, especially if they ever fix it, while Polearms are not 2d6, Polearm Master, especially if they fix the damage riders portion of the extra attack, is gonna be a more consistent vehicle for bonus attack smite options, compared to Great Weapon Master. Oddly, the ONLY Damage Rider that's being counted (that I know of) for Polearm Master atm is Improved Divine Smite.
Interesting! I'll need to test that further. It's too bad if that doesn't work because it definitely should - in fact, the slight change in savage attacker to just roll 2 and use the higher from the tabletop version should make it work *better* in BG3. If that's bugged then for the version with savage attacker you definitely want defense style instead, which is already a strong consideration anyways. Polearm Master is great and a very strong consideration as well! It does conflict a little with Minthara because of her native bonus action, but is especially good for a Tav paladin. Great tips!
@@Cephalopocalypse So, my understanding is GWF still rerolls your 1s and 2s on the initial dice roll. So the 2d6 forthe Greatsword, the 2d4 for soulbrad, the 2d8 (or more) for smite. It's only when it rerolls that damage a second time it doesn't apply. And it's still going to take the higher die. So If you roll for example (1,6) on your first weapon attack, it'll reroll the one, get a 3 leaving you with a (3,5) set. Now if it rolls a (1,6) it'll keep the (3,5) because 8 is higher than 7. That's the other thing, it rolls them in the sets. So as you roll more damage die, particularly on things like smite, mauls or greatswords, it will take the higher overall set. I do want to note for anyone else who reads my comment on Polearm Master (disclaimer: I love polearms) While the bonus attack does NOT proc riders (like those from Crusader's Mantle), it does proc divine smite as I said. Furthermore, it will ALSO still give you the option to cast a smite when the attack hits as well.
@@Cephalopocalypse I don't remember where I found it. Savage Attacker is like a 33% damage increase like you said, but with GWF it's still like a 20% damage increase. So it's not like they're bad together, they're just, not QUITE as powerful as each is individually. They're still Good together. But, as you get later in the game and do get savage attacker and/or polearm master (or both), I do think you're better off using a 1her and using a shield for the extra defense/bonuses at that point. Since shields in BG3 have MANY strong options on top of the minimum +2 to AC.
I built my Minthara as a 2 Paladin/10 Swords Bard with Gloves of Dexterity and Yuanti Scale Mail + Rapier/Shield. P damn strong lol. 22 AC with Cloak of Protection and p damn good nova
Monk start with 3 attacks 1d4 + stat mod (best starting melee dps) Paladin has highest potential class dps (endgame) depending on build and their support (sorcerer/warlock and cleric/bard) 4:00 what? Lvl 6 spells (or 3rd lvl) is very confusing. Oh, you will multi-class. Recommendation: Use a support member to do the buffs/healing (hides in Sanctuary) which will free the paladin to do what they are best at... smiting.
Why dont you take pal 7 + sorc 5? You dont loose anything, take haste as sorc, and would have additional 5 lvl spellslot and additional sorc points? Or you can take 6+6, you loose pal7 opportunity attack speed boost, but take sorc 6lvl storm, resist, and additional sorc point.
If oath of enmity only gives you advantage on a single enemy, then I swear by oath of devotion. You can easily get 16 as your strength and charisma. Sacred weapon adds your charisma mod to attacks. That's + 3. With bless, you compensate pretty well with the -5 from great weapon master. I heard that if you click on yourself with enmity you get advantage on all enemies. If that's still a thing then vengeance wins hands down.
Thanks for the guide! One thing I don't get is: what's the point of getting both Bless and Shield of Faith? If I cast SoF on myself, I wouldn't want to immediately break concentration by casting Bless at the start of a fight.
Doesn't Improved Divine Smite effectively turn your level 3 smites into level 4 smites? Would it not be better to just go full Paladin for IDS, which would give you two effective level 4 smites instead of 1?
I wanted to try out this build or the other lock paladin build you came out with, however in regards to the rings/cloak there is overlap with others builds for myself (monk) & companions. Is there any flexibility with the rings/cloak? Does it truly matter? I'm on tactician. Any tips would be great as I will be approaching Act 2 soon & getting Minthara out ASAP.
so given a paladin with sword and board with duelist/defence. and then taking the savage attacks allows you to keep you ac up and really ramp up your damage too
That is the best version honestly. I've played 3 paladins polearm master was the worst great weapon master burns through Smites way too quickly. Sword and board had pretty much no downside great damage high ac less attribute dependence, more spell slots paladin specific weapons in ac 3 are great.
Damm, I played drow vengeance defence pal my first playthrough - this class was absolutely toughest character in my party. I'm total noob in D&D, I played tactitian and built characters from my vague understanding. Enough to say at several boss fights, like Myrkul Apostle or Inquisitor Wargaz this pal stood alone last several turns carving boss with smites while all other party member were long dead )) PS "Difficult to build" - pfff. Heaviest armor, heaviest shield, best stick, all in strength, 24AC, smite everything - there is nothing difficult )) PPS And I didn't knew at that time what "concentration" is or what i s the purpose of "darkness" spell ))
Would this be the closest Minthara build to being lore-friendly? Loving your other ones since I like playing that way but there’s none labeled specifically for Minthara.
oh my gawd dude you built minthara in the begining and i was following and then in the end you completely rebuilt her???? like breh now i gotta do it all over again
I liked the build, but why is this better than going Pally 6 / Warlock 6? I thought that was best for maximizing smites? Open to learn. This build did make me want to do a playthrough with Minara, didn't know she had unique abilities.
Check out my Lockadin guide that just went up this morning! The main appeal of the sorcerer dip is access to Haste and level 4 smites, which warlock doesn't get (You'd need to be warlock 7 to get level 4 smites, and then you give up Aura of Protection from Paladin 6).
Once again, I have to thank you for the very informative guide. But I do have a question. Do you think just going all the way to 12 with Paladin and getting that last feat is viable, particularly for honour mode? That way you could take the defensive fighting style for a bit of extra AC and Great Weapon Master (plus ASI's). Or is not worth it?
Thanks very much! Yes, you can definitely go to paladin 12 and be just fine. Honestly I don't think there's any classes that won't work if you just take 12 levels of them - the game is pretty well-balanced that way!
You should still boost charisma over wis (at least after you hit level 6), because it provides every save thanks to the aura - it's just strictly better than increasing wisdom at that point
Why not pump charisma instead of strength and dip into pact of the blade warlock? It's very easy using items in the game to get a 22 charisma, and you'll have more spell slots for smites. Is there a reason you didn't do this?
That's also a very strong build! I cover one version of it in "The Best Melee Warlock in BG3" and have another lockadin video coming soon :D The main downside of Pal 9/lock 3 is you lose out on level 4 spell slots by not taking a full casting class (warlock levels count separately), but you get better saves and spell DCs for when you actually want to cast spells. With lock 7 you get level 4 slots, but don't get access to Haste or Aura of Protection. All 3 variants are good though!
@@Cephalopocalypsei cannot wait for the new lockadin video! i wanna go for an 'original' dark urge white dragonborn run and lockadin seems like the best option for dragonborn, as you gain armor and weapon proficiencies through paladin and also darkvision through warlock devilsight, which many of the other races get through their racial bonuses. not to forget about cold damage resistance which can get handy when spamming hadar a lot. the only downside compared to the classic (half) wood elf is going to be the basic move distance but i look badass asf which pretty much outweighs it imho haha
@@Cephalopocalypse Yea that's why i go 7 ancient pala 5 bladelock and use the haste provided by bow, get the 2 auras and give up on the 4th lvl slots. I find it more well rounded that way.
wouldn't make sense to respec at level 7 to pick your first class as sorcerer for the CONST proficiency savings? Then you can drop charisma and pick utility spells? Or am I missing some interaction here? :D
You could wield a Deva Mace in Act 3. It adds 4D8 radiant damage ontop of the normal 1D8. My ranger that duel wields these should respec paladin just for the smites and lmunious gear....he us a durg though. I would suggest Astarion has more power, with Gale a close second.
True, definitely a sick item! I personally don't like recommending it since it uses some oddities of the game engine to get it, but once you have it it's certainly best in slot for just about every character Astarion is stronger endgame for sure, but that happens so late in the game I think Minthara is more powerful for longer. Very close between the two of them though!
Needing 5 attributes to be high as a class restriction? Paladins are fairly low AC melee characters?? Barbarians have low AC as melee characters, not paladins. This information is entirely misleading.
@@Cephalopocalypse I don't know what you're smoking to think Paladin's have low AC for melee characters, but I want some lol. Paladins usually wear plate which is base 18 AC to start not counting a shield that many Paladins choose to use. Monks and Barbs have low AC for melee characters typically 14-16 ish not counting if they use a shield, which typically is not used for them. You've got a wild take and passing it off as a norm, that is my contention here. As for Paladin being MAD. As you describe it, every class would be MAD for wanting to have better saving throws from WIS, DEX, INT, CHA, etc. MAD is used to describe a class that requires multiple stats to be competitive. Paladins require really only 2 sometimes 3. STR for armor and CHA for spellcasting/weapon attacks if you dip Hexblade. CON for concentration, but the aura and CHA fill that void so its not needed as much as a full spellcaster. Every class wants for other attributes in search of better-saving throws. Don't tell people its needed as a restriction though lol. That is just misinformation.
Genuine question--what's the point of getting level 4 smites for an extra 1d8 radiant if you lose improved divine smite and miss out on 1d8 radiant applied to every melee attack? Or is this build just for twin-casting haste?
idk man a good ol 2 level fighter rest levels in paladin doing a 4 swing smite per turn boss killer to me seems to work too well in every situation for me bother early and late
hi everyone. so far i really like this build (in theory; still havent reached the point to recruit minthara). one critique: neyt time could you also talk about the other equipment slots, like helmet, chestplate and gloves (for the standard aka non hillgiant potion & dexterity gloves build)? even if they dont matter for the build, it would be nice to have some examples or suggestions by you. for example i dont really understand why you would choose the "Protective Plate"-armor instead of e.g. helldusk or any other armor with better (?) effects. if you have time, maybe you could explain the other equipment choices as a comment? anyways overall a really great build & video. thanks for it and for your answer.
Thanks very much! I try to keep these builds as independent from specific items as possible, since different people will find different ones throughout the game, but for this build you'll want: - Anything that increases your CHA - The highest AC Heavy Armor you can find (you're right that helldusk is better than the plate) - Anything that increases movement speed - Anything that gives you extra damage, particularly damage dice (eg. some gloves add a d4 of fire damage to your weapon attacks, those are perfect here) Hope that helps!
@@Cephalopocalypse thank you very much for your answer. i agree with you about the "independent from specific items"-builds, but some general infromations or "honourable mentions" about the other equipment slots could be useful.
late to the discussion but I have a question: why not warlock? That class has some good synergy with charismam. Is it because it prevents youi from getting high level spells?
Yep basically that. If you wanna trade off spell slots for pact of blades versatility on your character you can always do that. Then you can invest in Str less
Tried out paladin, played for 15mins, accidentally broke my vow didnt know what it means until 10h later and now i want to respec but it costs 1000 gold..
Haha, always a danger! 1000 gold should be easy to come by fairly soon, just make sure you're looting any armor you find on enemies, even nonmagical armor sells for a lot
It definitely would if that were possible! Your 14th and 15th point in an attribute cost 2 points each, and you can't raise them over 15 (except with the +1 and +2 bonus), so you can at maximum have one 17 and one 16. Hope that makes sense!
So in BG3 it doesn't matter if your multiple class levels are two levels apart, so no preferred classes? You mentioned abilities that Minthara specifically gets, so the NPCs are all unique in some way that can't be replicated? I've been pronouncing drow wrong, unless it's the USian accent (like Tara). Like winDOW but with an R, so winDROW.
That's right - they got rid of favored classes entirely as a concept in 5e, and BG3 made it even easier to multiclass, requiring no minimum stats. IMO, an excellent change! Yes, some of the companions have unique abilities to that character only, based on their story or history - they're mostly pretty minor and won't change the build that much, but Minthara's are particularly good. I think drow to rhyme with "cow" is how they say it in the game, but honestly that's just how I've always said it - for made up words, personally I think just go with your gut!
@@Cephalopocalypse Thanks for the info. I hope the game isn't far too easy with all the build flexibility, hopefully there's a hard difficulty setting and I won't regret turning it on.
Agreed that this is the strongest combo. Especialy with Oathbreaker subcalss and Aura of Hate. But to be honest, i bellive Larian just broke d&d balance allowing pact of the blade stuck with multiattack. I actualy would they to fix this, so i can play some another build 🙂
Idk about "obviously best". Theyre both great. Padlock 3 attacks (level 3 spell slots) are nice but capped at level 3. Padlock still wins on DPR even with lower level slots... 3 whacks per action cant be slept on. The problem i found during solo play is that i straight up ran out of spell slots on a few fights. Sorcadin is better for grouped play imo for reasons he mentioned in this video. Twin casting haste is just ridiculous. Sorceres have more and higher level spell slots, sorceres can get counterspell at sorc lvl 5. They are also tankier with shield reaction and up to lvl5 Armor of Agathys from White draconic bloodline.
Abjuration wizard for better defense by blocking some of the damage. I might play around with a 6-6 with that. Or maybe even just go a solo build with just two levels and then the rest with the wizard levels cause all you really need is to upcast a fire or ice shield to build up the wards.
Definitely a good idea! I do a 6/6 split with abjuration wizard in my Eldritch Knight build guide, and it should be pretty much the same idea (even getting better spell access). Also a more wizard-focused version in "The Invincible Tank Wizard" if you're looking for inspiration ;) Sadly though the fire shield isn't an abjuration spell for arcane ward, though I agree it should be!
isn't Astarion the most powerful character in the game because of his bite ability or something like that? he will do the most damage in the game out of everyone, so Astarion as a Paladin would be the best combo?
Astarion basically gets +1 to every d20 roll, which is extremely strong. Minthara gets +2d4+1 to selected attacks, which I think is slightly better for a damage dealer (plus the illithid powers for free). Both are extremely powerful though!
@@Cephalopocalypse astarion is by far the strongest character in the game in the end game. on top of the +1 to all d20 rolls (including attack hit rolls), in act 3 he gets a d10 of necrotic damage without expending his bonus action to all weapon attacks (ranged or melee), although Minthara does get soul branding upon joining in act 2 so she has better weapon damage bonuses earlier on (although a +1 to hit is probably pretty comparable to 3-9 fire damage since it's a pretty middling element)
Not a dumb question at all - you definitely can! Unless I specifically say otherwise, all my builds are designed to work for main characters as well :D
10:50 "great weapon is mandatory because of higher damage" - you can't do any damage if you dead, no matter how big your weapon is. So survival is first ))
Lol. This is my first Baldurs gate game. I love it to death, but god damn its too confusing. Im listening to you talk about D8 or whatever the hell and im just lile bro tell me where to put which spell so i can just hit stuff lmao
For sure, this is a super complicated and confusing game! This build is aimed at optimizing for tactician, so you may not need all of it depending on your difficulty settings - I think if you follow the guide then even as a new player it should get you through tactician though! I'll also have a series aimed at more basic builds for new players coming out soon, so stay tuned!
You can't start the game as her, but she can join your party if you side with her during the quest she gives you in act 1. Be warned this locks off several other companions for that playthrough though, so I don't really recommend it if it's your first time through the game - though obviously you should make the choice you think is most fun and in character :D
There's story reasons! But also BG3 actually makes kind of a weird choice by making all (player character) paladins good - that's very much a holdover from older editions of D&D. In more recent editions including the 5e that bg3 is based on, there can be paladins of all kinds of concepts and gods, including evil ones.
@@Cephalopocalypse oh ok. I don’t know much about her, I can’t bring myself to invade the grove, I always just kill her. I’ve tried being a paladin though. I was a seladine drow and I got a bad roll of the dice and the tieflings that caught Lae’zel in the cage attacked first and my oath still broke . Doesn’t seem fair for the oathbreaker to judge you so harshly when they were being racist and you didn’t even start the fight :( lol To be honest, I don’t think paladin is for me, I’m not sure what exactly breaks the oaths and earning it back is too expensive. And paladins kill vampires but I don’t want to be mean to him lol
@@Lunakitty1234 paladins don’t necessarily need to be good. They’re just warriors that have sworn an oath. So while under the influence of the Absolute she was probably more a paladin of devotion. Also good news is that you don’t need to sacrifice the grove to get her anymore. I just picked her up in the second act and saved the grove.
@@grigoregruesome3606 how is she oath of devotion? Doesn’t devotion mean you can’t lie or kill innocents or something? Wouldn’t she be breaking her oath with all the stuff she does? Nice to know you don’t have to invade the grove to get her. I guess if you want her, you just non-lethal her ass when you fight the goblin camp and you see her later when you get to moonrise. Im probably going to kill her every time though lol I’ve seen videos and I don’t love the way she talks to Astarion . Shes so disrespectful and mean . He deserves better.
Zariel Tiefling definitely isn't a *bad* choice, but the main issue is that their racial smites eat your concentration, which is very important for paladins. Still a solid pick though!