Best Swords Bard Archer Build In Baldur's Gate 3

In Baldur's Gate 3, the Swords Bard Archer is a dynamic multiclass that blends the deadly precision of an archer with the superior crowd control prowess of a bard. The Swords Bard Archer relies on Dexterity for ranged attacks and Charisma for spellcasting, making it not only a strong martial character but also an ideal party face.

The Swords Bard Archer gains a massive power spike when they learn Blade Flourish—a class feature that allows them to expend Bardic Inspiration points to unleash flashy, special attacks. What follows is a comprehensive guide to crafting a powerful and versatile Swords Bard Archer in Baldur's Gate 3 that excels in every combat encounter, even on Honour Mode.

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Best Race For Swords Bard Archer

The ideal races for the Swords Bard Archer are Gnomes, who gain advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws, or Halflings, for their ability to re-roll the dice when scoring a critical failure and use the new result.

The Brave trait grants Halflings advantage against being Frightened, and the Lightfoot Halfling subrace also enjoys advantage on Stealth checks, making them a strong choice for the Swords Bard Archer.

However, Halflings and Gnomes don’t naturally gain proficiency in longbows and martial weapons, but multiclassing into the Fighter class will grant them this proficiency. So, you can make your early-game adventure easier by starting with a Fighter class and respeccing into a Swords Bard multiclass upon reaching level 6.

Best Ability Score Distribution For Swords Bard Archer

Baldur's Gate 3 - Bard Starting Ability Point Distribution

As a Swords Bard Archer, you'll want to prioritize investing ability points into Dexterity (for accuracy, damage, armor class, and initiative) and Charisma (for spellcasting). You can take two paths to achieve this goal: assign points manually during character creation or respec later once you have stat-boosting gear.

Here's the recommended ability point distribution for the early game:

Ability	Score
Strength	8
Dexterity	16
Constitution	14
Intelligence	8
Wisdom	12
Charisma	16

Upon reaching the Githyanki Creche, you can purchase the Gloves of Dexterity from the Githyanki trader to set your Dexterity to 18. This is the right time to respec your bard to dump Dexterity to 8 and reallocate ability points into Constitution, Wisdom, Strength, and Charisma. Your new ability point distribution at level 6 should look like this:

Ability	Score
Strength	10
Dexterity	8
Constitution	16
Intelligence	8
Wisdom	14
Charisma	17

You should also consider acquiring the Hag's Hair once you defeat Auntie Ethel and consume it to raise your Charisma to 18.

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Best Leveling Guide & Feat Selection For Swords Bard Archer

The Swords Bard Archer is a multiclass that combines 10 levels of College of Swords Bard and 2 levels of Fighter. The following is a complete leveling guide for the Swords Bard Archer, including the recommended feats that further enhance the build:

Level	Choices
Level 1 (Bard)	Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Deception, Sleight of Hand Cantrips: Friends, Blade Ward Spells: Disguise Self, Dissonant Whispers, Faerie Fire, Tasha's Hideous Laughter
Level 2 (Bard)	Spell: Speak with Animals
Level 3 (Bard)	Subclass: College of Swords Skill Expertise: Persuasion, Intimidation Spell: Cloud of Daggers Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting
Level 4 (Bard)	Cantrip: Vicious Mockery Spells: Hold Person Feat: Sharpshooter
Level 5 (Fighter)	Fighting Style: Archery
Level 6 (Fighter)	Action Surge
Level 7 (Bard)	Spell: Hypnotic Pattern
Level 8 (Bard)	Spells: Fear
Level 9 (Bard)	Spell: Confusion
Level 10 (Bard)	Spell: Freedom of Movement Feat: Alert
Level 11 (Bard)	Spell: Hold Monster
Level 12 (Bard)	Magical Secrets: Counterspell, Command Cantrip: Minor Illusion Spell: Glyph of Warding Expertise: Sleight of Hand, Stealth

Recommended Early-Game Gear For Swords Bard Archer (Level 1– 6)

Gloves of Dexterity, Boots of Speed, and The Graceful Cloth from Baldur's Gate 3

The right equipment selection can transform your Swords Bard from a squishy performer to a lethal combatant in the early game. Focus on acquiring the following equipment until you reach level 6 to maximize damage and survivability:

Gear	Item Name
Helmet	Fistbreaker Helm, Haste Helm
Armor	Hide Armour +2, The Graceful Cloth, or Adamantine Scale Mail
Arm Wear	Gloves of Dexterity
Boots	Boots Of Speed
Amulet	Broodmother's Revenge or Amulet Of Misty Step
Ring 1	Caustic Band
Ring 2	Shapeshifter's Boon Ring
Main Hand Weapon	Club Of Hill Giant Strength
Off-Hand Weapon	Knife of the Undermountain King or any shield
Ranged Weapon	Titanstring Bow

Baldur's Gate 3 Best Fighter Battle Maneuvers Karlach Crossbow BG3

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Recommended Mid-Game Gear For Swords Bard Archer (Level 7–9)

Adamantine Scale Mail, Killer's Sweetheart, and Helmet of Arcane Acuity from Baldur's Gate 3

By this stage, your Swords Bard Archer should transition from basic martial fighting to specialized dominance of the battlefield. The following selection of items will increase your archer's defenses while empowering their spellcasting abilities:

Gear	Item Name
Helmet	Helmet of Arcane Acuity
Armor	Yuan-Ti Scale Mail or Adamantine Scale Mail
Arm Wear	Gloves of Dexterity
Boots	Boots Of Speed or Disintegrating Night Walkers
Amulet	Broodmother's Revenge or Surgeon's Subjugation Amulet
Ring 1	Killer's Sweetheart
Ring 2	Shapeshifter's Boon Ring
Main Hand Weapon	Club Of Hill Giant Strength
Off-Hand Weapon	Knife of the Undermountain King or any shield
Ranged Weapon	Titanstring Bow

Recommended End-Game Gear For Swords Bard Archer (Level 10–12)

Armour of Agility, Bloothirst, and the Dead Shot from Baldur's Gate 3

This is the stage where your Swords Bard Archer achieves devastating synergy between martial precision and magical prowess. These final gear upgrades maximize your spellcasting prowess and burst damage potential:

Gear	Item Name
Helmet	Helmet of Arcane Acuity
Armor	Armour of Agility or Elegant Studded Leather
Arm Wear	Gloves of Dexterity or Helldusk Gloves
Boots	Helldusk Boots
Amulet	Surgeon's Subjugation Amulet
Ring 1	Killer's Sweetheart
Ring 2	Band of the Mystic Scoundrel
Main Hand Weapon	Bloodthirst
Off-Hand Weapon	Rhapsody or Dolor Amarus
Ranged Weapon	The Dead Shot

Additional Recommendations To Boost Stats

Characters at the Mirror of Loss in Baldur's Gate 3

In Act 3, you'll have the opportunity to interact with the Mirror of Loss at the House of Grief, with a chance to earn a permanent +1 buff to Charisma and +2 buff to any other ability score. It's highly recommended to max out your bard's Charisma to improve their spell save DC.

If you happen to find yourself relying on martial combat instead of spells, it might be worthwhile to switch up your gear with the following items to improve your critical hit chance:

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Potion of Speed, Elixir of Hill Giant Strength, and Elixir of Bloodlust from Baldur's Gate 3

Even the most skilled archer benefits from tactical preparations. These consumables will enhance your damage output by either lowering the critical hit chance, granting additional actions, or enhancing spell save DCs.

Key Consumables:

Elixir of Bloodlust: Grants additional action per turn upon killing an enemy, in addition to 5 temporary hit points per kill.
Potion of Speed: Provides Haste for three turns (+1 action per turn, +2 AC, and doubled movement speed).
Elixir of Visciousness: Reduces the number you need to roll to score a critical hit. Stacks with other gear like Knife of the Undermountain King, Duellist's Prerogative, or Sarevok's Horned Helm.
Elixir of Battlemage's Power: Grants 3 stacks of Arcane Acuity (until long rest), improving the chances of landing crowd control spells after weapon attacks.
Elixir of Hill Giant Strength: Essential consumable for players using the Titanstring Bow, as its damage scales with both Strength and Dexterity.

Beyond elixirs and potions, you should also consider stockpiling special arrows that deal double damage to specific types of enemies. Some important arrow types you should actively stockpile include Arrow of Fiend Slaying, Arrow of Humanoid Slaying, Arrow of Monstrosity Slaying, Arrow of Aberration Slaying, and Arrow of Dragon Slaying.

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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.