Current Events > Am I doing something wrong in BG3 or is this just how it be early game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My party has a necromancer, an elemental wizard, a beast master ranger and Karlach. We're in act 1, level 4 characters. Just cleared the goblin camp.

Karlach is so much stronger than everyone else that it feels like I've derped my other builds somehow. Like she hits the most times, has the most health, does the most damage. She just goes into berserker frenzy rage time and goes around one-shotting everything. Every turn of hers feels meaningful and powerful.

Meanwhile my wizards be like "pew pew" and a bit of fire puffs out and does 6 damage (although it feels like I miss half the time anyway), and then I can't do anything useful with the bonus action. The most useful thing I've done with a wizard so far was to cast some kind of madness spell on one of the true souls and he basically killed half the goblins for me, that was pretty neat.

The beast master has some semi useful summons, at least. Does so little damage though.

Virtually all the classes get way better once you hit level 5, but your character builds and equipment could also be a factor.

Make sure you're either using equipment that is helping how you're playing the character, or play the character a little different that leans into your equipment bonuses.

Also don't be afraid to use scrolls and potions; are they technically a limited commodity, kinda, but between random pick ups and all the various merchants you can restock all but the super rare ones very easily.

Now that I think about it, every character is using the same gear I've had since level one but Karlach has a blue axe, blue gloves and a green helment and boots. Derp.

Just not come across any good gear for anyone else though.

Spellcasters won't get a lot of mileage out of their cantrips, and the first couple levels of spells won't be dealing huge sums of damage. Once you start unlocking the big AoE spells like Fireball, you'll start seeing their offensive capabilities increase. They'll also get a lot of support, CC, and battlefield control spells. So, even if they're not stacking huge amounts of damage, they will be more than carrying their weight.

pinky0926 posted...

Now that I think about it, every character is using the same gear I've had since level one but Karlach has a blue axe, blue gloves and a green helment and boots. Derp.

Just not come across any good gear for anyone else though.

Are you asking to trade with everyone that has the option? Cause you definitely should be. The best equipment is usually from "dungeon crawling" and beating side quests, but most merchants also frequently have good to great equipment that can help your party. Even if it's not a perfect fit for that characters play style, every stat boost can help a lot/add up.

Barbarians hit their peak early relative to the other characters (level 5). That's why you seem most people multiclass them.

Also if I remember correctly from the other topic, you mentioned missing your attacks quite a bit. Barbarians get advantage when they attack meaning you get two dice rolls for chance of attack. I'd recommend upping your primary stat for your other characters to at least 18, and using things that up accuracy like Bless from Shadowheart.

I didn't play any beastmaster or necromancer, but I can say for Wizard your spell choices matter a lot. It requires a lot more knowledge of the game than barbarian. I recommend picking up the following spells.

Magic missiles-guranteed hit
Command-can do fun stuff like making your opponents grovel or drop their weapon
hold person-takes an enemy off the board and your hits crit
shatter-decent early aoe
glyph of warding or fireball-huge aoe
sleet storm-great crowd control

Cloud of daggers is also a good crowd control AOE spell relatively early on

Magic classes are compared to magikarp for a reason.

Barbarian is a front loaded class.

Rage grants resistance to most damage you'll face in Act 1. Barbarians have the highest base hp. Lvl 2 you get reckless attack for advantage making it much easier to hit enemies since early levels are where it's the hardest to hit enemies. Berserker subclass grants you an extra attack with your bonus action.

Wizards by contrast don't have high spell saves and there isn't a lot of spellcaster gear in Act 1. You have limited slots so you'll be largely using cantrips for damage.

Lastly Beastmaster Ranger's beast companion scales from levels.

Squall28 posted...

Barbarians hit their peak early relative to the other characters (level 5). That's why you seem most people multiclass them.

Also if I remember correctly from the other topic, you mentioned missing your attacks quite a bit. Barbarians get advantage when they attack meaning you get two dice rolls for chance of attack. I'd recommend upping your primary stat for your other characters to at least 18, and using things that up accuracy like Bless from Shadowheart.

I didn't play any beastmaster or necromancer, but I can say for Wizard your spell choices matter a lot. It requires a lot more knowledge of the game than barbarian. I recommend picking up the following spells.

Magic missiles-guranteed hit
Command-can do fun stuff like making your opponents grovel or drop their weapon
hold person-takes an enemy off the board and your hits crit
shatter-decent early aoe
glyph of warding or fireball-huge aoe
sleet storm-great crowd control

Wizards do not get Command.

JKwaffle posted...

Cloud of daggers is also a good crowd control AOE spell relatively early on

Good way to break spell concentration or invisibility on an enemy as well, IIRC.

As mentioned, Barbarians are one of the better early game classes whereas spell casters get a pretty big power spike once they hit level 5, since some of the 3rd level spells are among the best in the game (fireball and lightning bolt/call lightning are very strong spells for your elemental wizard, especially if you can apply wet to enemies for the lightning spells. And youll get access to animate dead for your necromancer so theyll actually start feeling like a necromancer). Not to mention getting more spell slots in general allows them to do more each day and not have to resort to using cantrips as often (although ray of frost can do some good damage to wet enemies).

The beast master ranger however is probably going to be feeling weak for quite a while though, as they dont really get much in the way for themselves compared to other martial classes (they pretty much just get the base ranger stuff, which isnt that good, as all of their unique stuff goes to their pet), and their pets dont really start getting good until they hit level 11 where they get their extra attack along with an additonal powerful ability. Until that point the pets are mainly there for utility and being another body for enemies to target instead of your characters.

Before level 5 you might want to focus your spellcasters on field control. Spells like Sleep, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Command, etc. can really help. Then once level 5 comes around you can respec them into more of an offensive role if you want to.

GATTJT posted...

Before level 5 you might want to focus your spellcasters on field control. Spells like Sleep, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Command, etc. can really help. Then once level 5 comes around you can respec them into more of an offensive role if you want to.

tasha's hideous laughter is good all the way to the end. once you start to get equipment for your spell DC it can get crazy. i was able to lock down an end game boss in act 3 the whole battle with it. only had to cast it 3 times because he eventually saved outta it. granted, i was a bard but i think it should be the same with wizards?

Srk700 posted...

As mentioned, Barbarians are one of the better early game classes whereas spell casters get a pretty big power spike once they hit level 5, since some of the 3rd level spells are among the best in the game. The beast master ranger however is probably going to be feeling weak for quite a while though, as they dont really get much in the way for themselves compared to other martial classes, and their pets dont really start getting good until they hit level 11 where they get their extra attack along with an additonal powerful ability. Until that point the pets are mainly there for utility and being another body for enemies to target instead of your characters.

Beast Master's beast companion will start being effective around lvl 5-7. Don't forget you can feed your beast companion elixirs.

Lvl 5 grants them +3 AC and +3 damage and increased HP.
Lvl 7 grants them bonus action Help alongside Dash and Disengage. Help as a bonus action on a summon is extremely good.

While Lvl 11 is the peak of their power, it's also Act 3. Most characters are doing far more at Lvl 11 with a full build and Act 3 gear than the beast companion can do. The only exception is the Raven whom can create darkness areas which can work very well with a team build around abusing darkness.

Really a Beastmaster Ranger will feel really strong in the mid game and start to fall off in the late game, because gear is far more important.

Also have you tackled the Underdark and/or the bog yet? Those areas both have a lot of good shit for act 1/early act 2, especially The Underdark. If nothing else Underdark quests will get you to level 5 pretty quick

Early game crpgs almost unanimously suck