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In the rich tapestry ofBaldur’s Gate 3, Minsc stands out as a beacon of strength and charisma, with his memorable companion Boo, the ‘Miniature Giant Space Hamster’, adding a unique flavor to his character. A stalwart from the series' earlier titles, Minsc joins the fray in Act 3 of the latest installment, offering not just his formidable prowess as a Ranger but also a depth of character that enriches the narrative journey.
Optimizing Minsc for your party involves a strategic pivot to the Gloom Stalker subclass, leveraging his innate Ranger skills for enhanced effectiveness. This guide will delve into making the most out of Minsc’s capabilities, focusing on a build that maximizes his potential as a formidable force in the shadows.
Minsc’s prowess as a Gloom Stalker Ranger offers a mix of advantages and challenges:
Key Features & Mechanics
To harness Minsc’s full potential, it’s crucial to understand the key components of his build:
The optimal build for Minsc as a Gloom Stalker Ranger emphasizes his strengths while mitigating his vulnerabilities. Balancing his role as a damage dealer with strategic use of stealth and mobility can make him a decisive factor in challenging encounters. Remember, the ability to adapt and evolve your strategy with Minsc will be key to fully realizing his potential in your quest through Baldur’s Gate 3.
As with all other companions, we’re going to want to reroll Minsc’s ability scores with Withers as soon as we get the chance. Make sure his stat spread looks like this before we begin:
Constitution
Intelligence
At level 1, Rangers don’t get a whole lot to choose. You only get to pick yourFavoured EnemyandNatural Explorerenvironments at this point. For these, we’ll be takingBounty Hunterfor Ensnaring Strike andBeast Tamer, because Find Familiar justworksfor Minsc.
Minsc gets Ranger spellcasting at level 2, and here we’re going to want to pick these:
We also get to pick his Fighting Style. As we are going to go Gloomstalker, we’re going to want to pickArcheryfor this one.
Minsc will unlock his subclass at this level. As said before, we’re going to pickGloomstalkerfor our purposes, unlocking his Dread Ambusher abilities. These are very important, as they change the way that we’ll be fighting with Minsc going forward. Before we even start combat, we want to use Minsc to setup a deadly first attack scenario - the Gloomstalker excels atbeginning combat by crippling enemy forces even before the initiative roll.
Additionally, you will be able to pick another level 1 spell. I recommendHail of Thorns.
At level 4, Minsc unlocks his firstfeat. For this, we will be takingSharpshooter.This feat is a must-have for any non-magical bow or crossbow build, and works similarly toGreat Weapon Master.
Level 5 Ranger gives Minsc his Extra Attack, as well as another level 1 spell slot and 2 level 2 spell slots. For our spells, we only really to need to make sure we have this:
You can get by with whatever else you choose for your extra spell slots, if you have them. We’re not a very spell-heavy build.
Level 6 gives Minsc anotherFavoured Enemy and Natural Explorerenvironment to choose from. In my opinion, the best options for these areMage Breaker and Wasteland Wanderer(whichever element you like), as this will give Minsc the ability to useTrue Strikeand give him some nice resistances to one of the most common types of damage in the game.
I wouldn’t bother with going for Ranger Knight ever, unless your intent is to take screenshots - the heavy armour looks in Baldur’s Gate 3 are pretty awesome, after all.
At level 7, you’ll obtain an additional level 2 spell slot, though the spells available at this tier may not seem particularly potent. Silence is decent, but it’s not an amazing choice, either. Given our assortment of bad choices, I suggest choosingLesser Restoration- this will be more valuable to us than Protection from Poison and we can use it in more circumstances.
At this level, we also getIron Mind, which is a Gloomstalker Ranger passive feature that increases our defenses against certain mental attacks, giving us proficiency in Wisdom and Intelligence saving throws.
If you decide to do a Dark Urge run, Gloomstalker is a great choice for Durge because of this passive.
At level 8, Minsc will getLand’s Strideand a feat. For your feat, we will of course be pickingAbility Improvementand we will be increasing ourDexterity to 18. As for Land’s Stride, you do not have to pick anything for this, but it is very nice to have and will allow you to cross difficult terrain with ease on Minsc.
Upon reaching level 9, Minsc gains access to two level 3 spells, in addition to a subclass-specific spell, Fear.
At level 9, Minsc’s arsenal expands to include additional buffs, significant melee-range damage, and crowd control capabilities. However, a recurring challenge is the necessity of concentration for many of these skills, limiting you to one active concentration spell at a time. The key is to experiment with each situation, balancing the need for more damage against the need for survivability, to optimize Minsc’s effectiveness in various combat scenarios.
Level 10 gives Minsc the Hide in Plain Sight class action, which allows him to effectively become invisible and gives him a +10 to Stealth Checks once per Long Rest.
He will also be able to pick anotherFavoured EnemyandNatural Explorerenvironment. We will make these choices respectively:Keeper of the VeilandWasteland Wanderer(whichever element you haven’t chosen yet). This gives Minsc the ability to castProtection from Evil and Good.
At level 11, Minsc unlocks another Gloomstalker class feature:
He also gets to pick another spell, and this time we recommend going for this one:
At level 12, Minsc doesn’t get anything crazy - he only gets another feat here. We’ll be going with anotherAbility Improvementhere, bringing our Dexterity up to 20 and finishing off our build.
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