Avoid missing your Attacks, increase Attack Rolls! - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

Attack Rolls and what they do?

Okay, so I would like to cover a very important mechanic that is simple but overlooked by many players - Attack Rolls. It is pretty straightforward. You roll a dice, add various bonuses and you get your total attack roll. If it is equal or higher than the opponent's Armour Class you hit.

Looks simple, right? And it is, but it can be easily overlooked and negatively impact your party damage output.

For example, if you are using Sharpshooter: All In​ or Great Weapon Master: All In​ you get a -5 penalty, which greatly reduces your hit chance, which makes you deal less damage per turn. However, these perks are very strong and in the early game can make you very overpowered. These two feats are the most important in my opinion and I will try to address them

Early Game Attack Roll increases

So I think the most important part is to be effective at increasing your attack rolls in the early game, specifically Act 1, and early Act 2. This is the hardest part of the game before you obtain some really powerful items.

With the tips below, you can reach 90%+ hit chance in one of early game combats using Great Weapon Master: All In​. Of course, stronger enemies, like bosses will have higher AC. Still hit chance above 80% is what you are aiming for!

General Attack Roll increases

These options work for both melee, ranged, and some of them even on spells with attack rolls:

• Weapon Enchantment. This is the most important and obvious one but can be missed easily. You can see in the item description "Weapon Enchantment +1" This means that your damage and attack rolls get +1. For example items like these - Greataxe +1, Blooded Greataxe. These items are much better than something without enchantment and just random damage rider.
• The Whispering Promise + Hellrider's Pride/The Reviving Hands + Mass Healing Word​/Healing Word​ - gives Bless​ to multiple allies at the cost of a bonus action and spell slot.
• Casting Bless​ by itself, if you can do that before combat either with Cleric or Bard (Magical Secrets level 6)
• Precision Attack​ on Fighter Battlemaster is a good pick early in the game.
• Vampire Bite​ - Astarion action that makes it very easy to improve attack rolls.
• Favourable Beginnings​ - increases attack rolls based on your proficiency bonus.
• Oil of Accuracy - +2 bonus, works only for 10 turns, so best use it before combat.
• Diluted Oil of Sharpness - +1 bonus, works only for 10 turns, so best use it before combat.
• Lightning Charges - applies to all attack rolls, but generally used as a bonus from The Spellsparkler for spells.
• Elixir of Heroism - 1d4 boost, this lasts for the whole day until a long rest.
• Gloves of Dexterity - +1 bonus. It's a highly contested item but can be used by various builds depending on the setup. They also set Dexterity to 18.
• Magic Weapon​ - a great spell that a Wizard, Paladin, or War Cleric can cast. The higher spell level gives a bigger bonus.

Melee specific - relevant for Great Weapon Master

• Increase Strength or Dexterity (depending on which is your main ability).
• Unseen Menace - a two-handed weapon that gives an Attack roll advantage you get it in late  Act 1.
• Svartlebee's Woundseeker - a contender for the best weapon in Act 1, as it gives 1d4 bonus attack rolls on enemies that have taken damage.
• Gloves of the Growling Underdog - an easy advantage for martials that fight in melee range.
• Elixir of Hill Giant Strength - sets strength to 21, a very high value for the early game. You can easily farm the elixirs in Act 1.
• Vow of Enmity​ - Oath of Vengeance Paladin. Gives advantage. You can also exploit it - cast on yourself and get an advantage against everything!
• Sacred Weapon​ - add bonus attack roll modifier based on your spellcasting modifier. Can only be used by Oath of Devotion Paladin.

Ranged Specific - relevant for Sharpshooter feat

• Archery​ - +2 attack rolls on ranged attacks, makes this fighting style necessary for any bow build.
• Increase Dexterity to get the bonus attack rolls from ranged weapons.
• High Ground - +2 attack rolls. The easiest way to get it is to carry two boxes, and drop them one on top of the other. Climb on them and viola!

Unarmed attack roll increases

• Tavern Brawler​ - strength modifier for any kind of unarmed Monk or Throwing Build. This is one of the strongest feats in the game.
• The Sparkle Hands - this relates to the Lightning Charges bonus, but with these gloves, you gain them on unarmed attack.
• Corellon's Grace - works on unarmed attacks, so good for Monks with Flurry of Blows​ attacks. However, I would only use it before obtaining Tavern Brawler.

Conditions from spells and actions

• Prone - gives an advantage to the attacker. This condition can be applied in a variety of ways. Although it may not seem as impactful as Paralyze or Sleep, it does bring a few benefits. For example, falling prone on your turn, makes you skip a turn. Prone can be applied by foes that fall on Ice surfaces, Reverbation stacks, Trip Attack (Melee),​ and many more.
• Daze - although not a direct increase, it decreases enemy armor class by removing the dexterity bonus. This can be applied with Inquisitor's Might​ or Pommel Strike.
• Sleep - Sleep, Glyph of Warding. Although you get an advantage on attack rolls, enemies wake up after that. For this reason, I recommend only doing this when you are ready to either kill the enemy or follow up with other control actions/spells.
• Enwebbed - enemies cannot move and attack rolls against them get an advantage. This can be applied by either spell Web​ or Beast Master companion Wolf Spider.
• Paralyze - gives Advantage on attack rolls. The effect includes spells like Hold Person and Hold Monster. These two spells are the most widely used.
• Blind - gives advantage. There are multiple sources on how you can apply Blind, the most popular are - Darkness, Blindness, and Hunger of Hadar. There are others but usually, these are most widely used.
• Faerie Fire - gives Advantage. It can be activated by a Faerie Fire​ spell. It can be learned by Bards, and Druid and also comes as a Race spell for Drows.

More options throughout the game

Here I would like to cover some other options, that may not be accessible in the early game (like items) or are just not worthwhile as they could be used somewhere else.

Bonus dice rolls

• Bardic Inspiration​ - this can give 1d6, 1d8, and 1d10 at later Bard levels. Generally, it is expensive to use this as early in the game you are limited by amount and later you have better uses like Flourishes or Cutting Words.
• Bend Luck​ - Wild Magic sorcerer feature, it gives a 1d4 bonus, but consumes 2 Sorcery Points.
• Bolstering Magic: Boon​ - 1d4 attack roll bonus with Wild Magic barbarian effect.

Fixed Attack Roll increases

These options are better as they guarantee an increase, making it easier to predict your benefits:

• Aspect of the Beast: Tiger​ - Strength Modifier. This requires the enemy to be bleeding or Poisoned.
• Guided Strike​ - +10 attack roll for Cleric which later becomes War God's Blessing​ allowing to give this bonus to allies. Generally, its not a very popular action as War Clerics are mostly used as a dip.

Increases from items

These items are something that you obtain in Acts 2 and 3. They give additional boosts for attack rolls, but by this stage of the game, you will already get plenty of bonuses from proficiency and weapon enchantment.

Act 2:

• Gloves of the Automaton - gives the advantage that is easily accessible, if you can activate it before combat.
• Risky Ring - gives an advantage for attack rolls. One of the best items that is in demand for various builds that rely on these rolls. The main downside is the disadvantage.
• Marksmanship Hat - gives for ranged attacks like spells and arrow shots.

Act 3:

• Rhapsody - attack roll bonuses 1-3. This is a very strong weapon and is in demand by multiple builds, due to its bonuses applying from normal attacks to spells.
• Mask of Soul Perception - +2 attack rolls. Act 3 item, which also gives bonus initiative.
• Legacy of the Masters - +2 attack rolls. It is a highly in-demand martial gloves that also give bonus damage.
• Horns of the Berserker - easy +2 attack rolls, if an enemy has taken some damage.
• Bhaalist Gloves - flat +1 to attack rolls.
• Blackguard's Gauntlets - +1 to attack rolls. I would say the item is somewhat underwhelming, compared to other glove choices you get in the game at that time.
• Gauntlets of the Warmaster - +1 attack roll boost. These gloves are best used on Fighter Battlemaster if other items are contested.