Baldur's Gate 3: Best College Of Glamour Bard Build

Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 8 is a testament to the breadth of different experiences players can have in the game with its' addition of twelve new subclasses. One in particular, the Glamour Bard, is set to be one of the most popular.

This subclass excels at party buffing, enemy debuffing, and getting great prices from merchants. Learn the best way to build a College of Glamour Bard including gear, feats, and spell selection here.

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Introduction To The College Of Glamour Bard

The College of Glamour Bard is a subclass that focuses on party support through healing and charm effects. Their most important feature is Mantle of Inspiration, which grants allies temp HP and causes enemies that hit them to become charmed. In addition to being excellent defensive healers, they retain all the usual utility and flexibility of the bard class. This build focuses on increasing the Glamour Bards' already notable healing abilities in combat, and creating a party face capable of persuading NPCs and getting steep discounts in the shop.

Best Character Creation Choices For The College Of Glamour Bard

Astarion leveling up his Bard class in Baldur's Gate 3

The Bard class is incredibly flexible and can fill almost any niche at a party. To help focus the character's strengths, character creation choices such as background and proficiency are a great foundation.

Race

When choosing a Glamour Bard's race, keep in mind that this character will aim to stay at range and out of harm's way. They will also be making many different skill checks as the party face and skill monkey. As a result, two races outperform the rest:

Drow: The Drow race can bypass many of the fights in Act One due to the Drow reputation. They also have excellent Darkvision, something that comes in useful in the Underdark and Shadowlands, as well as free Perception proficiency. Finally, their free spells are excellent to have on hand, especially Faerie Fire.
Lightfoot Halfling: Lightfoot Halflings lack Darkvision, so players will need to illuminate fight areas. However, their advantage on Stealth Checks makes them an excellent choice for sneaky party comps. In addition, their Lucky feature prevents rolling Nat 1's, guarding the party face against failure in all interactions.

Background & Proficiencies

The Background of a Glamour Bard is the first place players will decide what their focus will be. Choose a background with skill proficiencies that are most important to your play style. Here are two good options for players who aren't sure where to start:

Entertainer: A true Bard classic, this background grants Persuasion and Performance Proficiency, and is great for players that want to be amazing at talking, while earning some extra gold busking.
Urchin: This Background is the fastest way to become a Rogue replacement. It grants the character Proficiency in Sleight of Hand (useful for picking locks and pockets) and Stealth (useful for not getting caught).

Ability Score Arrays

A Bard's highest stat should undoubtedly be Charisma, and Dexterity is useful for Armor Class. However, what comes after that is quite flexible. Players should boost their intelligence if they wish to know things, such as passing the History Check in the Druid Grove to interpret the Murals. Alternatively, Wisdom is a good choice for players who wish to notice any buried treasure and avoid ambushes. Here is a standard Bard stat array:

Strength	8
Dexterity	14
Constitution	14
Intelligence	10
Wisdom	12
Charisma	17

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Best Act One Leveling & Gear Choices For The College Of Glamour Bard (1-6)

In Act One, players will be playing a significant portion of content without their subclass. As a result, the playstyle is identical to other Bard Builds.

Character Level	Class Level	Notable Features
1	Bard 1	Bardic Inspiration:
2	Bard 2	Jack of All Trades: Add half of your Proficiency Bonus (rounded down) to Ability Checks that you are not Proficient in. Song of Rest: You and your allies are revitalized as though you would have taken a Short Rest (once per Long Rest).
3	Bard 3	Mantle of Inspiration: Imbue 2 allies with your vigour and grant them 5 temporary hit points. If they're hit with a melee attack, the attacker becomes Charmed. Choose Expertise - best choices are Persuasion, Intimidation, or Sleight of Hand. 2nd level Spells
4	Bard 4	Feat
5	Bard 5	Improved Bardic Inspiration Font of Inspiration: You regain all your Bardic Inspiration after a Long or Short Rest. 3rd level Spells
6	Bard 6	Mantle of Majesty: Command - Comand a creature to flee, move closer, freeze, drop to the ground or drop its weapon. Targets that are Charmed automatically fail their Saving Throw. ( Recharge: Long rest.) Mantle of Inspiration Bonus increases to 8 temporary HP. Number of targets increases to 3. Countercharm: You and any allies within 9m have Advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed or Frightened for the next three turns.

Best Low Level Bard Spells

The Glamour Bard is designed to focus on party defense and disabling enemies. However, there are a number of powerful low-level Bard spells to keep on hand, including:

While players won't be able to learn every spell on this list, its a good place to start for inexperienced players overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices.

Best Level 4 Feat For College Of Glamour Bard

The best feat to take for the Glamour Bard at level four is the Actor feat. This grants you additional expertise in Performance and Deception as well as bringing the character's Charisma score to an even 18. This will increase the player's chance of hitting with spell attacks, reduce the likelihood that enemies save against the bard's effects, and, of course, make the player more likely to succeed at Charisma checks.

Best Act One Armor For College Of Glamour Bard

The Armor for the Glamour Bard in Act one is very straightforward. First is the Cap Of Curing, found in the chest behind Alfira at the Druid Grove. Second is the clothing Volo gives the group for saving him from the Goblin Camp, the Blazer Of Benevolence. For footwear, players can slot in the Swiresy Shoes for now. Finally, wear the Wonderous Gloves found in Grymforge on one of the Mimics.

Best Act One Weapon For College Of Glamour Bard

While Glamour Bards will typically be spellcasting instead of making weapon attacks, it is still useful to have something on hand should the situation arise. As melee weapons, in a pile of bones in the Worg Pen players can get a pair of Goblinbane Dagger. These are very useful for clearing out the camp. Then, as for a ranged option, the Spellthief bow is a great choice because it comes with the chance of recovering spell slots.

Best Act One Jewelry For College Of Glamour Bard

Jewelry is somewhat lacking for Bards in Act One, so player can put on whatever they find. If planning to steal the Idol of Silvanus, the Ring of Protection given to the party by Mol is always a good choice.

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Best Act Two Leveling & Gear Choices For The College Of Glamour Bard (7-10)

While navigating the game's second Act, players will gain access to a number of powerful spells, and this build's weapon of choice.

Character Level	Class Level	Notable Features
7	Bard 7	4th level Spells
8	Bard 8	Feat
9	Bard 9	5th level Spells
10	Bard 10	Mantle of Inspiration Bonus increases to 11 temporary HP. Number of targets increases to 4. Magical Secrets Expertise - the best choice is Perception or one of the ones listed earlier that the player didn't take

Best Mid-Level Bard Spells

During this section of the game, players will get access to 4th and 5th level spells. Some of the best choices to learn are:

Best Level 8 Feat For College Of Glamour Bard

The Ability Score Improvement to reach Charisma 20 is ideal at level 8. This improves the character's attack hit chance, keeping pace with Act Two's stronger enemies.

Best Act Two Armor For College Of Glamour Bard

In Act Two, the Glamour Bard gets a number of upgrades to their equipment. There are two possible choices for body armor here: the Potent Robe granted by Alfira for rescuing the Tieflings is a great choice for players who use many cantrips. Alternatively, the Elegant Studded Leather in the counting house may be a better choice for players who find themselves getting hit too often, as the Shield spell is an incredibly powerful defensive option.

The hat of choice for this build is Jannath's Hat, which grants advantage on Persuasion and Deception checks. This is crazy in conjuction with the bard's high modifier + expertise. Even better, players can still keep the cap of curing on hand to wear during combat.

Finally, there are two potential choices of footwear in Act Two for this build. The first, the Boots Of Brilliance, allows the player to restore uses of Bardic Inspiration using an action. Pick them up in the Gauntlet of Shar near Yugir. The second, the Evasive Shoes, increases the character's Armor Class by one and grants an additional +1 to acrobatics checks. They can be bought from Mattis at Last Light Inn.

Best Act Two Weapon For College Of Glamour Bard

Act Two is where the weapons of choice for the Bard are found. The melee weapon is the Infernal Rapier, which players can get by rescuing Mizora and choosing the correct dialogue options in the Mind Flayer Colony. The ranged option of choice is the Darkfire Shortbow, which grants damage resistances as well as the ability to cast the Haste Spell. It is sold by Dammon in the Last Light Inn.

Best Act Two Jewelry & Accessories For College Of Glamour Bard

The jewelry in Act Two is largely uninteresting to a Glamour Bard, with the exception of the Ring of Geniality. Players can buy this ring from Barcus in the Last Light Inn.

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Best Act Three Leveling & Gear Choices For The College Of Glamour Bard (11-12)

In Act Three, players can expect to gain access to the most powerful spells in the game fairly early. These 6th level spells are really the highlight of the Glamour Bard's last two levels.

Character Level	Class Level	Notable Features
11	Bard 11	6th level Spells
12	Bard 12	Feat

Best 6th Level Bard Spells

Eyebite and Otto's Irresistible Dance are both excellent late-game spells. Otto's Irresistible Dance is more useful for disabling an enemy while attacking them, as the charmed condition is not automatically broken on taking damage. Eyebite, however, is a better crowd-control spell when the player is planning to leave that enemy untouched for a time, as it has more powerful and varied effects.

Best Level 12 Feat For College Of Glamour Bard

The final Feat that College of Glamour Bards should take is Lucky. This grants the character advantage on a roll three times per long rest and is excellent for avoiding failures on important dialogue rolls and combat attacks.

Best Act Three Armor For College Of Glamour Bard

Act Three has several options for gear that this build could benefit from. Chief among them are the Gemini Gloves and the Robe of Supreme Defense. The Gemini Gloves are purchased in Devil's Fee from Helsik's special stock. They allow cantrips to be twinned, targeting two enemies instead of one. This pairs well with Vicious Mockery, one of the Bard's best attacks. The Robe of Supreme Defense, on the other hand, grants a lower Armor Class than the Elegant Studded Leather from Act 2, is excellent for maintaining concentration - which the Glamour Bard will be utilizing in nearly every combat.

While they may not be available until quite late, the Tyrannical Jackboots looted from Lord Gortash are an excellent addition to any bard's repertoire. These add an additional +1 to all Charisma checks and saves.

Finally, there are two hats that might be of interest to the College of Glamour Bard. The first, Birthright(bought in Sorcerous Sundries), grants the character an additional +2 Charisma, which can go past the normal cap of 20. This means substantial increases in attack power due to the higher hit chance and higher DC. The Hat of the Sharp Caster (bought from Tara) however, is a higher-risk higher-reward option. When a 1 is rolled on damage for one of the wearer's spells, the dice is rerolled. This can potentially mean doing big damage more often - although the attack will need to hit first.

Best Act Three Weapon For College Of Glamour Bard

There are a number of fantastic weapon options for Glamour Bards in Act Three. Which one is best depends on which are available (as some will be blocked off by player choices earlier in the game) and personal preference. Suggestions are listed below:

Best Act Three Jewelry & Accessories For College Of Glamour Bard

In terms of Amulet, Absolute Confidence is by far the best new option in Act Three for Glamour Bards. It is no muss no fuss, granting a bonus to Performance and intimidation. To get this amulet, visit Carm's Garm and walk through Naaber's quest.

Act Three is where most of Baldur's Gate 3's cloaks are found. Two of the best for this build include the Cloak of the Weave from Helsik in Devil's Fee, and the Nymph Cloak lootable off of the Nymph in the Circus of the Last Days. The Cloak of the Weave is usually better from a power gaming standpoint, but if for some reason, Helsik's special stock isn't available, the Nymph Cloak is a fun alternative.

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OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 97%

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Released: August 3, 2023
ESRB: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s): Larian Studios
Publisher(s): Larian Studios
Engine: Divinity 4.0
Multiplayer: Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play: Full cross-platform play.