Minsc is one of the loudest party members in Baldur’s Gate 3. This wild nature seems right at home with the furious barbarian class. However, Misnc is focused on being a skilled hunter hunter. This is due to almost 50 years of Dungeons and Dragons history and reviews. The ranger class was the original wild fighter, predating the barbarian by seven years. The first Baldur’s Gate implemented these rules, becoming the best option for Minsc.
Although ranger is the default Minsc class, you can specify characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 talking to Withers at camp. Now it’s up to the player to choose between turning him into a barbarian or leaving him as a ranger. If the latter holds, adjusting your ability scores could also be helpful. Maximizing his strength allows him to use his iconic BG1 weapon, the Great Sword. Alternatively, Minsc can be transformed into any class, including arcane spellcasters that don’t suit his personality.
Barbarian wasn’t a class in D&D 2e when BG1 came out
Hierarchy of groups, classes and kits
Instead of having a simple class system like the last edition Dungeons and Dragonsthe second edition rules had a greater hierarchy for player characters. The highest rank was Groups, consisting of warrior, rogue, wizard, and priest. The next level was the Classes, which in the case of the warrior only included fighter, ranger and paladin. Players could then choose a Kita kind of early version of subclasses.
The Barbarian existed as a Kit designed for the fighter class, but there were multiple sources with different rules, including the Complete Fighter Guide, Red Steeland Player Options: Skills and Powers. Some were axe-wielding focused fighters, while others forced players to spend all their gold during character creation, leaving them poor. Baldur’s Gate did not include the Kit systemomitting the barbarians entirely. It was later included in Baldur’s Gate 2 and Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Editionhowever.
Misnc was not originally designed to Baldur’s Gate. Instead he was of a pen and paper D&D campaign played by BioWare employees. Cameron Tofer, lead programmer MDK2made Minsc an unstable ranger. He even already carried Boo and preferred to fight the Gith, the shared race of Githyanki and Githzerai.
Campaign GM James Ohlen loved Minsc and incorporated the character into Baldur’s Gate. He focused on the use of greatswords, precursors to the Great Sword. Its racial enemy was the Gnolls and could use animal charm. Additionally, Minsc received a unique Berserk abilitywhich improves his damage and armor class by two, but makes him uncontrollable, and he attacks the nearest creature, even allies.
BG3 continues this tradition with Minsc as Ranger
Larian keeps it classy
In the third act of Baldur’s Gate 3Minsc is found alive after 100 years trapped in stone. After freeing himself, he can be recruited and still have the same ranger class. However, he is not the same unshakable powerhouse as BG1 and BG2. He now focuses on dexterity and wisdom, while strength and constitution are average. This means he is more suited to stealth and archery than straight fighting.
While Minsc plays differently in Baldur’s Gate 3there is a mechanical reason. In Act 3, Karlach, Lae’zel, and Minthara are all competing for melee spots in a four-person party. Turning him into a skirmisher makes Astarion his only competitor, allowing for more group setups. From a lore perspective, it’s possible that being frozen in a statue had a side effect on Minsc’s physical and mental powers. If none of these fit into a player’s preferred gameplay, they can simply be respecified into another class.