The Best Feats Overall, Ranked

As is the case with almost every RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3 features a system in which players level up and improve their characters via different skills. Feats are offered at levels four, eight, and twelve, which gives players options to try out different unique abilities for various builds.

As is also the case with games in general, not just RPGs, there are better options for players to choose for specific builds over others. However, there are feats that are seen as being generally better than the rest, proving valuable for different builds due to their usefulness or how powerful they are.

Updated November 6, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Build customization in Baldur’s Gate 3 is alive and well a full year after the game’s initial release in 2023, and it’s all thanks to the sheer wealth of options available within. From multiclassing to spell variety to subclass choices, building a party composition to suit a certain playstyle in BG3 is one of the most rewarding experiences in gaming. One of the core elements of any build is feats, which are special bonuses players can choose for each of their characters at levels 4, 8, and 12, with certain exceptions. Since choosing a feat is a major build decision, picking one without forethought is inadvisable, especially at higher difficulties. The list has been updated with two additional feats that are crucial to making certain builds work.

12 Mobile

More Movement Is Always A Plus

• Useful for builds that require more movement to get the most out of their kit, or to place themselves at a safe space.

Movement is crucial in Baldur’s Gate 3, and getting more of it can be a bonus in battle. Running out of movement just before reaching an enemy will happen less with Mobile, which increases movement speed, doesn’t slow down players via difficult terrain when they dash, and players won’t gauge opportunity attacks out of enemies if they run away after a melee attack.

With this feat, the most notable class to use it with would be a Rogue. With Mobile, Rogues will be able to get out of an enemy’s line of sight to conduct a stealth attack. It also allows them to retreat to a safe space after melee attacking, setting them up for stealth attacks in the next round.

11 Tough

A Good Feat For Tanks

• Useful for enduring encounters, and for newer players looking to survive more easily.

While tanking isn’t an immediate role as say, MMOs, it is still a viable build to create. Without respeccing, characters like Karlach, Minthara, or Lae’zel are the obvious choices, and Tough helps with this.

The feat increases the health of the given character by two for every level achieved. On Karlach, who already has a large amount of base health, this feat can work wonders. Of course, this can also work with characters with lesser health if they are dying often.

10 Resilient

Ability Increase And Saving Throw Proficiency

• Useful for increasing survivability, especially at higher difficulties.

Combat encounters in Baldur’s Gate 3 don’t allow party members to tank for their allies in the heat of battle. Movement abilities are very common, and there is no stopping an enemy from targeting the squishy backline characters like Wizards, except in rare circumstances. The AI targeting becomes even smarter at higher difficulties, meaning investing in something to increase defenses, even if it’s not a direct AC bonus, is worth it nine times out of ten.

The Resilient Feat allows the character who picks it to add a point to one ability score of choice and gain proficiency in that ability’s saving throws. It is especially useful for non-tank classes who tend to have inherently lower defenses. The only caveat to it is that the proficiency gain doesn’t stack with already existing ones, meaning getting Resilient (Intelligence) as a Wizard would be a mistake, as other than the single point in INT, nothing would be gained. Instead, opting for Resilient (Constitution) would be the way to go in this instance because Wizards don’t naturally have proficiency here and would benefit massively.

9 Sentinel

A Feat To Prove Reactions Are Powerful

• Useful for melee builds to deal more damage, and crowd control enemies.

Reactions are some of the best abilities in Baldur’s Gate 3, and Sentinel is no different. When an enemy is within melee range and they attack another companion, the user can attack the enemy via a reaction.

Obviously paired best with melee classes such as Fighter, Sentinel will also snare the enemy, ceasing their movement for their turn. On top of all that, Sentinel also grants advantage on opportunity attacks to its user, making it incredibly strong.

8 Actor

A Feat To Increase Charisma And Sweet Talking Skills

• Useful for charisma-based classes at all levels.

Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Paladin all benefit from taking Actor as one of their feats, especially in the early game at level 4. When chosen, Actor directly increases the Charisma of the character by 1. However, its true value lies in the fact that it directly doubles the proficiency bonus for all Performance and Deception checks going forward.

While it may not seem like much, Actor basically makes it so the dice rolls for all Performance and Deception dialogue checks are heavily in the player’s favor. Since nearly all important dialogue choices allow for the charismatic approach, the player is much more likely to succeed in dialogue rolls. And if the unlikely happens and the RNG isn’t in favor, there is always inspiration to fall back on.

7 War Caster

A Helpful Feat For Classes Requiring Concentration

• Useful for spellcasters that need to maintain concentration.

Concentration isn’t important for every class, but the classes that utilize it desperately need ways to maintain it. In comes War Caster, granting advantage on saving throws to continue concentrating on a spell. Classes such as Light Domain Clerics are dependent of concentration, making this a worthwhile feat.

It also gives a bonus ability; users can cast Shocking Grasp as an opportunity attack. Companions such as Gale and Shadowheart are the obvious ones to put this feat on, given they both have spells to require concentration, and don’t have much proficiency in melee attacks, especially compared to other members of the party.

6 Sharpshooter

A Must-Have For Ranged Classes

• Useful for ranged builds that want to deal more damage, and deal it more consistently.

There might not be as many companions that have their playstyle revolve around ranged weapons, but the ones that do will want Sharpshooter. The feat removes disadvantage when making an attack against an enemy on higher ground, clearly useful for Minsc and Astarion.

In addition, it also functions as the Great Weapon Master feat, but for ranged weapons. Any ranged weapons the user has proficiency with can take a reduced attack roll in order to deal an extra ten damage.

5 Great Weapon Master

A Way To Deal More Melee Damage

• Useful for melee builds to keep them dishing out damage.

Melee-focused classes are able to attack the most in Baldur’s Gate 3, and so of course, giving them another opportunity to deal damage is absolutely completely fair. Great Weapon Master allows users to make an attack via a bonus action after they’ve killed an enemy or landed a critical hit.

Lae’zel is able to output even more attacks with this feat than she already could. However, the feat also allows users to receive a penalty to their attack rolls in exchange to deal extra damage.

4 Savage Attacker

Maximizing Melee Attack Damage

• Useful for melee builds reliant on weapon attacks.

With all the systems and abilities in Baldur’s Gate 3, it can be a little overwhelming, especially for new players. Savage Attacker is a very simple feat, as it rolls the damage of a melee attack twice and uses the highest result.

Savage Attackers is extremely strong for Lae’zel and Minthara, both being melee classes with highly damaging attacks. Lae’zel is one of the strongest attackers in general, so this feat will only improve her. As Minthara is a Paladin, Divine Smite works perfectly with Savage Attackers.

3 Alert

Ensuring Players Start First

• Useful for any builds the player wants to go first in battle.

Without much knowledge of combat, Alert might seem like a good feat, but one that would only be a quality-of-life improvement. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 changed initiative rolls, making it a d4 instead of a d20, making Alert a godsend.

The feat gifts users with a +5 to initiative, and also makes them immune to being surprised. Getting to be first in combat is extremely powerful, and will decide how the battle plays out. There aren’t many times when players will get surprised, but they will be thankful for Alert the few times it does happen. However, Barbarians gain a +3 to initiative and surprise immunity at level seven, so Alert isn’t as useful for the class.

2 Tavern Brawler

The Gateway To Extreme Damage

• Useful for strength builds reliant on making attacks without normal use of weapons.

The Tavern Brawler feat might be the most well-known of the lot in Baldur’s Gate 3. Its use has mainly been seen in Monk and Thrower builds, where its demonstrates how much damage it can pull off.

The feat adds the user’s strength modifier to damage and attack rolls twice. The trade-off is that it only works on unarmed attacks, throw attacks, and improvised weapon attacks. Paired with certain Monk and/or Thrower builds, that already have strong damage, this feat can carry players through the game.

1 Ability Improvement

The Classic Way Of Improving Builds

• Useful for any and all builds due to its ability to upgrade stats.

Ability Improvement might not be as flashy or fun as some other feats and their related builds, but it is a crucial way to progress through the game. Improving abilties enhance the effectiveness a stats, such as strength for melee-orientated classes, dexterity for Rogues, or intelligence for Wizards.

Investing in Ability Improvement upgrades certain skills tied to the stat, not just attacks rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws. Improving intelligence will upgrade arcana, and enhancing dexterity will boost acrobatics, making the feat a worthwhile investment.