Best Astarion Build In Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3)

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Astarion is one of several companions that you can recruit for your adventure and level up alongside your character as you progress through the story. As Astarion is a Rogue, he has huge potential to bring a lot of value to your party, depending on the build you select for him. If you’re struggling with this decision, then don’t worry; we’ve got all the information you’ll need. Follow along below for everything you’ll need to know about the best Astarion builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 and a complete breakdown of what makes these selections viable.

Baldur’s Gate 3 – Best Build For Astarion, Explained

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Astarion comes equipped with the Rogue Class, which brings a lot of very valuable assets to the party such as Stealth, Sneak Attack, and more. Upon reaching level 3, each character will select a sub-class to further customize and enhance their build, and this is where things start to get interesting. For Rogues, they have three options to pick from – Arcane Trickster, Assassin, and Thief.

Each of the three Subclass options for Astarion has its perks and limitations. After evaluating each option and envisioning how they would scale with the rest of the party to bring value from Astarion’s role as the Rogue, Thief, and Arcane Trickster were both stand-out choices, but for different reasons.

For Astarion, he will naturally progress into the Arcane Trickster Subclass if you choose the default selection upon level-up. This Class has a lot of valuable perks that combine Stealth, Magic, and Melee tactics, but this isn’t always the most viable choice for your overall party.

In the case that you’ve equipped your party with both your own Rogue and Astarion, this can be quite valuable, bringing you double the Sneak Attack opportunities and two Stealth-oriented individuals who can work together to trigger some huge Suprise Round plays. However, it’s important to make sure there’s enough variety between the two builds so that they both bring something unique to the table from one another.

If you need some extra Spell Casting or already have a Rogue as your own character, I’d recommend leaving Astarion in his default Arcane Trickster Class and saving Thief for your personal Rogue (if you have one). The reason for this is that a majority of Rogues prioritize Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma – as the latter can be used to deceive and smooth talk their way out of shady situations or failed Stealth scenarios, and convince others to trust in you, despite your intentions.

However, the Arcane Trickster Class uses Spells with Intelligence as the Modifier. As INT is otherwise considered not to be a priority for Rogues, it’s likely this is one of your weakest stats, unless you’ve planned ahead for Arcane Trickster at the Character Creation stage. Selecting Arcane Trickster when you have a low INT stat will result in your Spells having little damage or much weaker effects, meaning they’re not that viable. However, Astarion naturally has a fairly decent INT stat at 13, which is his third highest following DEX and CON, making him much more suitable for the Arcane Trickster.

Alternatively, if Astarion is the only Rogue in your party, then Thief is by far the most valuable selection you can make. This is due to several aspects, including taking half of any Fall Damage, turning Invisible to trigger Sneak Attack without fail, and the Fast Hands feature, which grants an additional Bonus Action on each turn.

This allows Thieves to make an extra Off-Hand Attack, Dash, Disengage, or any other Bonus Action – which is huge for the Rogue’s playstyle. Plus, the Thief is great for Stealth, Lockpicking, and theft, all of which are the main reasons you’ll want to keep your Rogue around.

Best Thief Astarion Build in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Thief Subclass is perfect for Stealthing around, initiating Sneak Attacks and Surprise Rounds, Pickpocketing, Lockpicking, and anything else of a cunning nature. Here’s a complete breakdown of the best equipment and options you can select on each level progression after selecting the Thief Subclass at Level 3:

Recommended Thief Selections:

• Level 4: Select Dual Wielder as your Feat. With Dual Wielder, Astarion will be able to switch out his two Daggers or Shortswords for a stronger, non-finesse weapon. I’d recommend Dual Wielding two Rapiers, as these Melee weapons have some of the best hit die available, and work perfectly in any Rogue build – especially when you’re able to trigger both Sneak Attack and Offhand Attack with them in a single turn.
• Level 8: Select Ability Improvement as your Feat, and choose +1 Dexterity and +1 Constitution. DEX is Astarion’s most important stat, as it not only determines his AC and Melee Weapon Damage but also his Modifiers for any Stealth or Sleight of Hand rolls. Bringing this up to 18 will enable you to max out your stat when Graceful Cloth is also equipped. CON on the other hand determines Astarion’s HP and boosts his hit rate and damage output with Finesse Weapons, so this should be your next priority.
• Level 10: Select Ability Improvement as your Feat, and choose +2 Constitution. This will buff the stat up to 17, where you’ll start to notice the difference.
• Level 12: Select Alert as your Feat. Now that Astarion’s primary abilities have been uplifted, Alert can help to round out his build by adding +5 to Initiative (meaning he’ll often be able to move first in combat to set up Sneak Attack) and deny him from being Surprised, which can come in very handy.

Recommended Thief Equipment:

• Headgear – Shadow of Menzoberranzan: This hood enables Astarion to use Shrouded in Shadow, which grants Invisibility. This can be huge for initiating Sneak Attack and Surprise Rounds, so will bring immense value to Astarion.
• Armor – Graceful Cloth: This Armor piece not only has a badass appearance but will grant +2 DEX when worn and allow Astarion to take reduced Fall Damage. As this item is available to loot from Lady Esther if you defeat her in battle, you can get your hands on this item before Act 2, and max your DEX out at 20 by level 8.
• Gloves – Gloves of Thievery: These Gloves grant Astarion Advantage with Sleight of Hand Checks. As your designated Rogue, you’ll be turning to Astarion whenever you need to Lockpick or Pickpocket something, and Advantage is invaluable in these situations, giving him a great success rate due to his already high DEX.
• Boots – Linebreaker Boots: While wearing these, if Astarion Dashes or takes a similar action during combat, he will gain Wrath for 2 turns. Wrath gives a stacking +1 damage to Melee Attacks per turn, and Astarion can use his Bonus Cunning Action to Dash in, activating the effect, before using his Offhand Attack to trigger it on the same turn, meaning he gets huge value out of this item as a Thief.
• Melee Weapon – Rapier +1: As mentioned above, Rapiers are the best option for Dual Wielder, so equipping the +1 variant improves the potential for damage output.
• Ranged Weapon – Joltshooter Bow: The Joltshooter can enable Astarion to snipe targets from afar, giving two Lightning Charges when he deals damage with this weapon. After obtaining a charge, he will gain +1 to Attack and Damage rolls, and once five charges are obtained, the next hit with the weapon will deal an additional +1d8 Lightning damage.

Best Arcane Trickster Astarion Build in Baldur’s Gate 3

The Arcane Trickster Subclass is a perfect blend of Stealth, Magic, and Melee, allowing you to use illusions to enhance your ability to sneak around, cast Magic that can give you Advantage for Sneak Attacks, and allow you to change your approach mid-battle. Here’s a complete breakdown of the best equipment and options you can select on each level progression after selecting the Arcane Trickster Subclass at Level 3:

Recommended Arcane Trickster Selections:

• Level 4: Select Ability Improvement as your Feat, and choose +1 Dexterity and +1 Intelligence. DEX is Astarion’s most important stat, so you’ll want to bring this from 17 to 20 as soon as possible. INT determines the power of Astarion’s spells, so increasing it to 14 will make his casting a bit more viable.
• Level 8: Select Dual Wielder as your Feat. With Dual Wielder, Astarion will be able to switch out his two Daggers or Shortswords for a stronger, non-finesse weapon. I’d recommend Dual Wielding two Rapiers, as these Melee weapons have some of the best hit die available, and work perfectly in any Rogue build – especially when you’re able to trigger both Sneak Attack and Offhand Attack with them in a single turn.
• Level 10: Select Ability Improvement as your Feat, and choose +1 Constitution and +1 Intelligence. While Dexterity is Astarion’s most important stat, this is already at an 18 and will be brought up to 20 through the recommended Armor mentioned below. This allows you to instead focus on the next two most important stats for an Arcane Trickster, which are CON (responsible for your HP) and INT (responsible for your Spells). This will result in 15 INT and 16 CON, allowing you to start ironing out the rest of the Arcane Trickster’s strengths.
• Level 12: Select Ability Improvement as your Feat, and choose +1 Constitution and +1 Intelligence. At this point in the game, the extra improvements to these stats will come in handy, bringing these three main stats to a total of DEX 20, CON 17, and INT 16, which is fairly solid. To improve INT and CON even further, you can also keep an eye out for Rings or Amulets that can be worn in addition to the recommended items below.

Recommended Arcane Trickster Spell & Cantrip Selections:

Best Cantrips:

• True Strike: This Cantrip grants you Advantage on your next attack roll, which is necessary for triggering Sneak Attack. With a Rogue, triggering Sneak Attack on every round possible is critical, so having True Strike up your sleeve for moments when you’re unable to grant Astarion Advantage through other methods can be extremely valuable.
• Shocking Grasp: If you find Astarion in close combat and need to get away, but also don’t want to waste your Bonus Cunning Action on Disengage, Shocking Grasp can come in handy, as it prevents your target from taking Reactions, meaning you can walk away freely without being hit by an Opportunity Attack.
• Acid Splash: This is a great Cantrip that can do 1d6 Acid damage to multiple targets, enabling you to pick off more than one low HP enemy located within melee range of each other.
• Poison Spray: This attack deals 1d12 Poison damage to a target, which is the largest hit die of any Cantrip available to the Arcane Trickster.

Best Level 1 Spells:

• Find Familiar: Find Familiar enhances your ability to Stealth around as a Rogue, steal loot, and secure those crucial hits by summoning an animal creature that can aid you in and out of combat. Each creature has a unique ability and remains cast until they’re either killed in combat, dispelled, or another one is summoned in their place.
• Magic Missile: Magic Missile is the perfect Spell to keep in your back pocket. It never misses, and enables you to do three small blasts of damage, making it perfect for getting rid of Mirror Image clones, or killing off multiple low HP targets.
• Burning Hands: Burning Hands is a great Spell, capable of dealing hefty damage to multiple targets within melee range. If you find Astarion surrounded, this can cause problems as Rogues are rather squishy, so Burning Hands helps to fend off multiple foes before they knock him down.
• Shield: Shield is incredibly valuable, using your Reaction to increase your AC by 5. This can cause otherwise fatal blows to miss Astarion and enable him to continue functioning in high-stakes combat scenarios.
• Tasha’s Hideous Laughter: Tasha’s Hideous Laughter enables you to knock an enemy Prone if they fail a Wisdom Save, which can be huge for setting up plays and picking off select targets in coordination with the rest of your party.

Best Level 2 Spells:

• Cloud of Daggers: This Spell deals 4d4 Slashing damage to everyone within the area of effect, making it perfect for crowd control and allowing Astarion and your other party members to reposition and follow up with more damage.
• Mirror Image: Mirror Image casts three illusionary duplicates that distract attackers and increase your AC by 3 for each duplicate that is currently active. Whenever you evade an attack, one of these duplicates disappears. this is great in single-boss fights or 1v1 combat for buying yourself some time to deal extra damage before taking any yourself, drastically improving Astarion’s survivability.
• Scorching Ray: Scorching Ray is another great Spell for targeting multiple enemies at once or focus-firing a single target for a huge burst of damage. This Spell enables you to cast three rays, each dealing 2-12 damage.
• Thunderwave: If you find enemies creeping up and surrounding Astarion, Thunderwave can help to make some space so you can recover and reposition. This Spell will deal 2-16 damage and push all creatures and objects within range, giving the potential to save Astarion from these dire scenarios.

Recommended Arcane Trickster Equipment:

• Headgear – Shadow of Menzoberranzan: This hood enables Astarion to use Shrouded in Shadow, which grants Invisibility. This can be huge for initiating Sneak Attack and Surprise Rounds, so will bring immense value to Astarion.
• Armor – Graceful Cloth: This Armor piece not only has a badass appearance but will grant +2 DEX when worn and allow Astarion to take reduced Fall Damage. As this item is available to loot from Lady Esther if you defeat her in battle, you can get your hands on this item before Act 2, and max your DEX out at 20 by level 5.
• Gloves – Gloves of Archery: This enables Astarion’s ranged weapon attacks to deal an additional +2 damage, which pairs nicely with his ability to perform Ranged Sneak Attacks.
• Boots – Disintegrating Night Walkers: Equipping these boots ensures Astarion can’t be Enwebbed, Entangled, or Ensnared and can’t slip on grease or ice.
• Melee Weapon – Rapier +1: As mentioned above, Rapiers are the best option for Dual Wielder, so equipping the +1 variant improves the potential for damage output.
• Ranged Weapon – Spellthief Bow: This Bow restores a level 1 Spell Slot on a Critical Hit, working in perfect sync with the Arcane Trickster build.

That’s everything you need to know about the best build for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Now that you have a clear idea of how to progress this companion, why not check out our guide covering Astarion’s vampire abilities and if you should let him drink your blood? This is an intriguing part of his kit, so this information will more than likely come in handy if you’re planning to utilize Astarion in your BG3 playthrough.