Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Thrown Weapons

Baldur’s Gate 3 is an incredibly expansive game, with vast amounts of weapons, armor, magic, and more. Some of these items can be easy to miss with how much content is in the game. The numerous classes, and the specializations of the classes, further create vastness in the game.

One of these key areas is the throwing feature, where players are able to launch weapons they have in their inventory at enemies (not the other throwing feature where players can toss characters at adversaries). Most of the time, classes have options for using ranged attacks to deal with enemies. However, some classes such as Fighter or Barbarian don’t always have on-hand ways to utilize ranged attacks and must resort to throwing weapons. A Barbarian throw build is even a viable option, but such builds obviously need the best armaments to deal the most damage.

Updated December 4, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Baldur’s Gate 3’s build variety is one of the game’s strongest points, making it extremely replayable. Eldritch Knight is the best class for a Thrown weapon build, mainly because of the subclass’s ability to bind weapons to a character so that when a weapon is thrown, it automatically returns and doesn’t need to be manually picked up again. This allows Eldritch Knights to spam throwing weapons every turn without worrying about where their weapons end up.

Potential Spoilers Ahead

12 Vision Of The Absolute

Combine the Shaft and Head of a Broken Spear

• One-handed Damage: 1d6
• Two-handed Damage: 1d8

This weapon must be repaired with the Shaft of a Broken Spear as found west of the Druid Grove on Edowin’s body, and the Head of a Broken Spear can be looted in the Owlbear Nest from the Owlbear. Combine these two parts and the Vision Of The Absolute will be repaired, but the decision to kill the Owlbear and leave her cub without a parent can be tough.

The Vision of the Absolute doesn’t possess any special enchantments or extra damage, but instead holds a unique feature that Blinds enemies that fail a Dexterity saving throw, one of many status effects in the game. Be warned, this only activates when wielding the weapon, not when thrown.

The weapon also dishes out 2 – 12 Piercing Damage to any enemies with multiple sets of eyes. Aside from these special properties, the Vision of the Absolute has all the regular features one would expect of a weapon. It can be Dipped, it is in the Versatile class, and has a Strength modifier.

11 Dread Iron Dagger

Unholy Assassins can buy this off of Echo of Abazigal

Stealth can be one of the most overpowered ways to achieve victory in battles in Baldur’s Gate 3. That being said, the Dread Iron Dagger is strong because of stealth, with an inherent property that deals bonus 1d6 Necrotic Damage when the user is hidden, making it great for co-op playthroughs.

On top of this, the Dread Iron Dagger possesses a Dexterity and Strength modifier. The dagger also has an inherent +1 enchantment without using spells, and dishes out Piercing Damage, just one of the many damage types.

10 Cold Snap

Purchased from Ferq Drogher in Rivington

• Damage: 1d4 + 1d4 Cold Damage

A simple enough weapon to find, the Cold Snap is a dagger. It can be wielded one-handed in the off-hand, and on top of its base damage, it deals additional Cold Damage as well.

With the aesthetic of this weapon involving coldness, the dagger also includes the Chilling Counter effect. When an enemy misses the user, the enemy must pass a Constitution saving throw of 13, or they will suffer the Chilled condition. This makes enemies weak to any Cold Damage, but strong against Fire, and they will become Frozen if applied with the Wet condition. This can pair well with the Trident of the Waves weapon, as it applies Wet to targets.

9 The Sparky Points

A reward for completing the Rescue the Grand Duke quest

• One-handed Damage: 1d6
• Two-handed Damage: 1d8

The Sparky Points is a bit more of a complex weapon, with players needing understanding of Lightning Charges to use it effectively. When a user deals damage, they will gain two Lightning Charges. When it comes to Lightning Charges, gaining one will deal additional Lightning Damage and give a +1 to Attack Rolls. Gaining five will deal an additional 1d8 Lightning Damage.

As well as Lightning Charges, this weapon deals 1 – 8 base damage and is Piercing. As is the case with all weapons, becoming proficient with The Sparky Points will allow the use of various Weapon Actions.

8 Bloodthirst

A reward for killing Orin

Bloodthirst is a Legendary Dagger in Baldur’s Gate 3 and can be looted from Orin’s body after killing hsignature ability, Exploit Weakness, er in the Temple of Bhaal during Act 3. In addition to its +2 modifier, what makes Bloodthirst perfect for throwing builds is its innate ability, Bound Weapon, which causes the weapon to automatically return to the character who throws it. This removes the need for speccing into Eldritch Knight in order to get the same effect, allowing other builds to partake.

What prevents Bloodthirst from being higher up the list, however, is the fact that its signature ability, Exploit Weakness, which makes targets vulnerable to Pierce damage, doesn’t work if the weapon is thrown. Still, if there isn’t another party member who wants to use this dagger, it’s an excellent backup option for single-target DPS.

7 The Watcher’s Guide

In the trapped chest in the Dank Crypt

• One-handed Damage: 1d6
• Two-handed Damage: 1d8

The Watcher’s Guide is one of the earliest weapons players can get in Baldur’s Gate 3 with the Thrown attribute, making it the very first option players should go for at the start of a new run. It’s located in the trapped chest found in the Dank Crypt.

The Watcher’s Guide uses the Strength modifier for its damage multiplier, making classes like Fighter and Barbarian the best choices for wielding it. Its special ability, Death’s Promise, makes it so that if the user misses a target once, their next attack with The Watcher’s Guide automatically gains True Strike, excellent for striking against enemies with high AC at higher difficulty settings. Unfortunately, this feature has no bearing on the weapon’s viability as a thrown weapon, since it doesn’t activate in that scenario. It’s the best option for thrown weapon builds in the early game but gets quickly outclassed by the Returning Pike after players get access to it.

6 Orphic Hammer

Found in the House of Hope

• One-handed Damage: 1d8 +3 Bludgeoning Damage
• Two-handed Damage: 1d10 +3 Bludgeoning Damage

Orphic Hammer is a Warhammer central to the main story of Baldur’s Gate 3 about Orpheus, the rogue Githyanki prince imprisoned by Vlaakith in the Astral Plane. Obtaining the Orphic Hammer is a requirement to free Orpheus from this prison (if players decide to stand against the Emperor). It can be found on top of a pedestal inside the House of Hope Archives.

The Orphic Hammer has a +3 enchantment, one of the very few in all of BG3 as well as the ability to increase its damage via dipping. Characters who have this weapon equipped will also gain Spell Resistance, gaining the ability to make all saving throws against spells with advantage.

Orphic Hammer has the Thrown Weapon characteristic by default, which means it deals full damage when thrown. However, unlike the Dwarven Thrower, it does not automatically return after being thrown; players will need to use Eldritch Knight‘s Weapon Bond to make it return. Its innately buffed damage makes it excellent at dealing massive damage to high-health, high-AC single targets.

5 Lightning Jabber

Dropped by the Kuo-Toa Chief following their attempted ambsh near the Grand Mausoleum

• One-handed Damage: 1d6 +1
• Two-handed Damage: 1d8 +1

An uncommon spear, the Lightning Jabber applies extra Lightning Damage on top of its base damage.

It is an enchanted weapon, with a +1 Weapon Enchantment. The Lightning Jabber has a special effect that deals bonus Lightning Damage when thrown, clearly making it valuable for such a playthrough. However, it only grants one Weapon Action when enough proficiency is met. Despite this, the Lightning Jabber possesses the Shocking Sting passive, which can Shock a target, meaning enemies will not be able to utilize Reactions while suffering this effect.

4 Returning Pike

Can be purchased from Grat the Trader

As its name suggests, the Returning Pike holds the Homing property, making it return to the player after it has been thrown. Clearly, a weapon that returns, instead of staying with an enemy, is more valuable.

In addition to its returning nature, the weapon also possesses a +1 enchantment. Those with classes scaling in Strength will be thankful as the weapon’s modifier uses the same stat. As it is a pike, the damage type dealt is Piercing, and gives the user the Extra Reach attribute as well.

3 Dwarven Thrower

Can be purchased from Freq Drogher in Rivington

• One-handed Damage: 1d8 +2
• Two-handed Damage: 1d10 +2

A very rare warhammer, the Dwarven Thrower is a Homing Weapon, allowing for it to return after having been thrown. It deals Bludgeoning Damage with bonus damage if the user is a Dwarf. It also deals extra Bludgeoning Damage against any enemy that is Huge, Large, or Gargantuan.

On top of all this, the Dwarven Thrower is enchanted with a +2 status. As it is a warhammer, the weapon engages with Strength Modifiers, which makes it a good option for those classes that utilize the stat.

2 Shar’s Spear of Evening / Selune’s Spear of Night

Reward for Completing Shadowheart’s Questline

• One-handed Damage: 1d6 +3 Piercing Damage
• Two-handed Damage: 1d8 +3 Piercing Damage

Shar’s Spear of Evening and Selune’s Spear of Night are both rewards for completing Shadowheart’s companion quest in specific ways at the tail end of Act 2. Players will not be able to obtain both of these weapons in a single run, as these are exclusively quest rewards that aren’t stored in the game world.

Luckily, both Spears are nearly identical in terms of damage and usability, with Shar’s Spear coming out slightly ahead in combat effectiveness. As a Thrown weapon, however, both spears are identical and offer a ton of value for taking down single targets at range. Both weapons have an innate +3 Enchantment, allowing them to remain BiS well into the late game.

Unlike Nyrulna, neither of Shadowheart’s Spears offer any Area of Effect damage when thrown. This is a good thing for parties that aren’t built around using Nyrulna, as it allows other melee characters the chance to get close to the target without having to worry about friendly fire.

1 Nyrulna

Can be found in the area the Djinn teleports the player to after they play his spinning wheel game

• One-handed Damage: 1d6 +3 +1d6 Thunder Damage
• Two-handed Damage: 1d8 +3 +1d6 Thunder Damage

When at the Circus of the Last Days in Rivington, the Djinni, Akabi, can be pickpocketed for his ring. Play his game of spinning the wheel in which he will teleport players to another area. Nyrulna can be found in this area towards the exit portal in a chest. Weapons that return after being thrown are obviously more valuable than those that don’t, and Nyrulna is another weapon that has this property, but also comes with other bonus effects.

Nyrulna’s weapon class is a trident and, as a result, deals Piercing Damage. It is the only legendary trident in the game and possesses a +3 enchantment. The kicker is Nyrulna will create an explosion when thrown that deals extra damage. Along with this, the weapon grants a bonus to movement speed, negates fall damage, and has the Light Condition, which illuminates areas.