Barbarians inBaldur’s Gate 3often fulfill the dual role of tank and damage dealer for the party. Relying on their Constitution for large health pools and Strength to wield massive weapons, Barbarians are formidable enemies to face off against. Whether aiming for maximum damage or keeping squishier party members alive, there are certain feats that will make life much easier for any barbarian.
Feats are a great way to customize a character, allowing even party members of the same class to each bring something different to the table.Barbarians can choose feats at levels four, eight, and 12, and with over 40 to choose from, it’s easy to be spoiled for choice. There are plenty offeats worth getting inBG3, but the best feats for barbarians are ones that help them stay in the fight, control the battlefield, and deal tons of damage each turn.
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10Athlete - Helps With Jump Distances & Being Prone
Makes Getting Up & Moving Around Much Easier
Athlete is a great place to start with barbarians, as it gives a lot more flexibility when it comes to movement in combat. As the barbarian will be engaging in melee combat with the enemy, it’s important to be able to move as freely as possible. As well as allowing either Strength or Dexterity to be increased by one, Athlete allows the barbarian tostand up from prone using significantly less of their movement.
However, the best passive feature of this feat has to be the extra jump distance, as Athleteincreases the distance the barbarian can jump by a whopping 50%. There can be times inBG3where jumping over to an enemy is the better option than running and this increased jump distance will let the barbarian quickly and efficiently maneuver around the battlefield.
How far a character inBG3can jump is calculated using their Strength score, so high Strength classes such as barbarians and fighters can jump much further than a wizard or bard for example.
9Tough - Much Needed Extra Health
Retroactively Gain 24 Hit Points
Tough is a great all-round feat that is suitable for any class for that little extra health boost. However, Tough works especially well for a barbarian, as they are often the party’s tank and need all the extra hit points they can get. With Tough, thehit point maximum is increased at each level by two, which might not sound like a lot, but adds up to an extra 24 hit points overall.
Best of all,the hit points gained by Tough apply retroactively, meaning this is a great feat to take at any level. Given that barbarians tend not to be lacking in health at lower levels, Tough is perfect for the late game. AsBG3’s Act 3enemies tend to hit much harder than those in the previous two acts, Tough is an excellent choice once inside Baldur’s Gate.
8Alert - Great Boost To Initiative
Ensure Barbarians Can Rage As Quickly As Possible
Alert is a brilliant feat for any frontline party member inBG3, allowing them to act fast as soon as combat breaks out. With Alert, the barbariangains plus five to their initiative rolls. This gives them an excellent chance of being one of the first to act in a fight, letting them charge in and engage to protect any spellcasters.
Alert also has the great passive feature of making the barbarianimmune to being surprised. This is perfect for tanks who can’t afford to lose any actions or reactions in combat. But this works especially well for barbarians who rely on their Rage feature for dealing extra damage and reducing incoming damage. Combined with the plus five to initiative, Alert means that any barbarian party members will be Raging long before their opponents even get their turn.
7Savage Attacker - Advantage On Damage
Make Every Hit Count To Take Down Foes
While playing as a barbarian can often be about taking advantage of having a larger health pool to tank the enemies and take damage, it’s always fun to be able to deal it out as well. Savage Attacker is a brilliant feat for any melee character as it lets melee weapons deal out lots more damage.With Savage Attacker, the damage dice are rolled twice, with the higher number used as the result.
This essentially means rolling damage dice with advantage, and this includes critical hits.Savage Attacker pairs very well with Berserker barbarians,who can attack up to three times a round for devastating damage. It also works wonderfully with items that improve the chances of landing a crit, such as theElixir of Viciousness,Knife of the Undermountain King, orSarevok’s Horned Helmet.
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6Charger - Run Full Speed At The Enemy
Make Attacks Of Opportunity A Thing Of The Past
Sometimes, being a barbarian is about being a good tank and taking the hits while the rest of the party deals out damage, picking off the enemies until they achieve victory. And sometimes it’s aboutcharging into the enemy like a battering ram and shoving them around. Charger is a really useful and stupidly fun feat for any barbarian looking to do the latter.
Charger gives the barbarian two options with the first to charge into the enemy and attack them with a weapon for extra damage. There is alsono need to worry about opportunity attackswith this, making it a great way to get free if surrounded. The second option is to use Charger: Shove, which also doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity and can be used to fling enemies off high areas or into chasms.
5Polearm Master - Open Up New Weapon Attack Options
Take Advantage Of All That Extra Reach
Like fighters and rangers,barbarians can use both simple and martial weapons,which include polearms. The Polearm Master feat grants new attack options and extra damage while wielding one of these weapons and, given the extra reach of this weapon type, this can open up new alternatives in combat. This feat grants two new features, with Polearm Master: Bonus Attack and Polearm Master: Opportunity Attack.
With the Polearm Master: Bonus Attack, the barbarian canuse a bonus attack to deal 1d4 bludgeoning damageby attacking with the butt of their weapon. Polearm Master: Opportunity attack allows for a reaction to be used for an opportunity attack when the target comes within range as opposed to them leaving it. This really lets the barbarian take advantage of the polearm weapon’s extra reach for an extra attack.
Despite not being listed in the tooltip for the feat, pikes can be used with Polearm Master along with glaives, halberds, quarterstaffs, and spears.
4Tavern Brawler - Perfect For Berserkers
Throwing Things Has Never Been So Fun
Tavern Brawler is a fun and useful feat that works very well with specific barbarian builds. Firstly, the feat increases the barbarian’s Strength or Constitution score by one to a maximum of 20, which are the two primary stats for the class. But what makes Tavern Brawler fantastic for barbarians is that whenever theymake an unarmed attack, use an improvised weapon, or throw something, their Strength modifier is added to the damage and attack roll twice.
While an unarmed barbarian build is possible, this feat really comes into its ownwhen using thrown weapons or when playing as a Berserker barbarian. Berserkers are able to Frenzy Rage and can use Enraged Throw as a bonus action while raging. This will also deal extra damage, making throwing enemies at each other suddenly a viable battle plan, withThe Lost Noobproviding excellent extra detail about damage.
There are some great thrown weapons to track down inBG3,such as theDwarven Thrower,Nyrulna,Lightning Jabber, and oddly, a pair of Slinging Shoes.
3Sentinel - Perfect For Battlefield Control
Use A Reaction To Keep Enemies In Place
As the party’s tank, it is important for the barbarian to be able to keep the enemy away from the squishier members of their group. Sentinel is perfect for this as it allows the barbarian to use their reactions to better control the battlefield. As well asgaining an advantage on attacks of opportunity, Sentinel also grants two extra features for a barbarian to help their allies and keep enemies in their place.
With Sentinel: Vengeance, when an ally is attacked by an enemy who is within melee range of the barbarian, then the barbarian canuse their reaction to make a weapon attack on that enemy. Sentinel: Snare will then prevent that enemy from moving for the rest of its turn. This will also apply to any targets hit with an attack of opportunity with the Sentinel feat.
To use Sentinel: Vengeance the target ally cannot also have the Sentinel feat, so it is best to space out any party members with this feat in combat.
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2Mage Slayer - Turn The Tables On Spellcasters
Extra Help Resisting Spells
Enemy spellcasters can often be the biggest threat in combat for the party and especially for barbarians, but Mage Slayer can equal the score a little. Firstly, Mage Slayer gives the barbarianadvantage on any saving throw against spells cast within melee rangeof them. This can really come in handy for spells likeHold Personorslowthat require Wisdom saves, which a barbarian might struggle with.
Mage Slayer also allows the barbarian to use their reaction to make an attack against an enemy who has cast any spell within melee range of them. This pairs brilliantly with Mage Slayer’s final feature, whichimposes disadvantage on concentration saving throws on enemies hit at any time by a character with Mage Slayer. All of this adds up to any barbarian becoming a spellcaster’s worst nightmare.
1Great Weapon Master - Extra Attacks & Damage
Toggleable Passive Feature To Help Take Down Enemies
Finally, it’s hard to go wrong with a classic feat for barbarians with Great Weapon Master. Tapping into the imagery of a raging figure wielding a weapon twice their size, Great Weapon Master makes sure that a barbarian can get the most out of theirtwo-handed arsenal inBG3. With the special Bonus Attack feature, the feat allowsan extra attack to be made as a bonus action after landing a critical hit or killing an enemy.
This extra bonus attack doesn’t stack with other features that give a bonus attack, such as Berserker barbarian’s Frenzied Strike.
But the best part of Great Weapon Master feat is the All In toggleable feature, andGamers Heroesdoes a great job of explaining where to find that in the video above. This allows the barbarian totake a minus five to attack rolls but will increase the damage by 10on a successful hit. All In works well with Reckless Attack, which gives advantage on attack rolls, to make any barbarian inBaldur’s Gate 3something to be feared.
