What is the strongest subclass of Baldur’s Gate 3 Bard?

Beard in Baldur’s Gate 3 Can go in two different directions, based on the subclass players choose. They are full spellcasters, and can lean heavily on their charisma-based magical abilities. But they are also quite adept with melee and ranged weapons, and Certain bard builds can be better than martial classes in combat.

Of the three bard subclasses, two aim to improve the bard’s fighting skills, while one improves their magical and communicative abilities. The three options are Valor, Swords, and Loreand each provides abilities at levels three and six. The bard is a good choice for Baldur’s Gate 3 players, because of its versatility with skill checks and fun dialogue options, but some players may wonder if one of the subclasses could be called the strongest.

What does each bard subclass do?

The bard gets less here than other classes

Most classes get three or more features from their subclass: one when they pick it up early on, another in the mid-game, and one more at high levels. The bard becomes noticeably smaller, but the features they get are more important in defining their play style. Each builds off of abilities that bards already have, giving a specialization to the jack of all trades.

Each subclass gets a level-three feature that increases their bardic inspiration or provides a new way to use it. Later, each gets a trait related to their spellcasting or martial strength. Unlike with other classes, where the strength levels of the subclasses are highly interpretable, The bard has some clear winners and losers when comparing power.

The incredible magical power of the Lore Bard

This bard applies the versatility of the class to his spell list

The Lore subclass is the only one that focuses on spellcasting, so it’s good that it provides such powerful boosts. At level three, Lore Bards gain three additional skills, which really improve the character’s utility. But more importantly, They get cutting words, a new way to use their bardic inspiration to affect enemies.

Cutting Words applies a debuff to an enemy attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. The debuff is equal to a roll of very bardic inspiration dice, meaning it gets better at higher levels. This is great for causing enemies to fail instant saves from the bard’s own magic, causing them to miss allies, or failing Athletics checks to push them. Having the choice to use inspiration to help allies or hurt enemies gives the bard more utility in combat.

At level six, the lore bard gains magical secrets, an ability usually reserved for bards at level ten. Essentially, it lets Bards add two spells of a level they cast from any spell list in the game to their list. This is an amazing feature at level ten and even better at level six. There are many spells that bards can’t get that they would benefit greatly from: shield, Misty step

, Counterspell

And so on. Getting two more magical secret spells at an earlier level really helps the lore bard become a master caster.

Swords vs. Valor Bards: A clear victor

One martial subclass is enough for the bard

The Valor and Sword Bards are the martial options available for this class, and while both provide seemingly similar features, there is a clear choice for the better option. At level three, both provide some additional weapon and armor proficiencies. The sword bard gets medium armor and Scimitars

While the brave bard gets medium armor, shields, and all martial weapons. However, the sword bard also gets to choose a fighting style, while the brave bard does not.

The real imbalance comes from the way the subclass lets the bard use their inspiration. The Valor Bard gains combat inspiration, which they can give to themselves or allies, and can use it to add to their AC or weapon damage (in addition to the typical inspiration uses). Meanwhile, the sword bard gains weapon flourishes, improves versions of attacks that use inspiration, deals extra damage, and has several other effects. They can knock enemies back, hit two at once, or raise their own defenses.

The sword bard’s flourish can do more for an attack than the valor bard’s combat inspiration, with the penalty that they can only apply it to themselves. This makes the Bard more self-focused than normal, but that can be a good thing as it makes them adaptable damage dealers in combat. The swords bard also benefits massively from how their flourishes can be used with ranged weapons, mainly Hand crossbows

To make a ton of attacks every turn.

Which is better between swords and lore?

Is the pen really mightier than the sword?

Between these two subclasses, players really can’t go wrong. The bard is already insanely powerful as a class, and both of these options take their features to the next level. Honestly, since Swordsmen and brave bards do not gain extra attack until sixth levelLater than other martials, it might be fair to say that lore bards are better earlier in the game.

Lore bards are also better when it comes to things outside of combat, since the sword bard doesn’t get anything to help with that, and the lore subclass offers additional skills. However, just considering raw damage output, the Swords Bard at higher levels can consistently outperform the Knowledge Bard at Baldur’s Gate 3. It depends on what magical secrets the lore bard picks, but the swords subclass offers consistent and powerful weapon buffs that are hard to beat.