Shadow Blade Bardadin Build - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

In this post, I will go through the Shadow Blade Bardadin Build for Baldur's Gate 3. This is a variation of a very popular Bardadin build, but now with Shadow Blade​ as the main weapon. This allows utilising the crazy amount of dice rolls for ridiculous psychic and radiant damage.

Shadow Blade Bardadin Build

The main selling point is the Shadow Blade​ that scales with spell slots, and becomes very powerful as the game goes on. The core is similar to Bardadin Build, which uses standard two-handed weapons or dual-wielding.

To obtain the Shadow Blade,​ some concessions are made. The linear progression gets sacrificed, and Sorcerer levels are added. This means that the Paladin features get postponed. Some items also have to be reshuffled, and you do miss out on Magical Secrets. One of the big losses is Counterspell,​ which is a very powerful counter in Honour Mode runs.

Still, the damage numbers that this build gets using Resonance Stone are ridiculous. Shadow Bardadin also has access to metamagic like Metamagic: Extended Spell​ or Metamagic: Quickened Spell,​ which gives more variety as a Spellsword build. Different gear options also become available, compared to the standard two-handed build.

So let's jump into the build!

Class Contribution

The build goes into 3 classes, all of which provide core features necessary to maximize what it can do.

6 Swords Bard

• Access to flourishes - Slashing Flourish (Melee)​, to hit multiple targets and greatly improve damage.
• Bardic Inspiration,​ which can be used for flourishes or helping with various dice rolls.
• Full spellcaster progression, giving access to plenty of spell slots and various spells like Fear​, Glyph of Warding, Healing Word​ and many more.
• Medium Armour Proficiency.
• Countercharm​ has niche uses if you know encounters and can prepare for them. Otherwise, I would not worry about this feature.
• Fighting Style - Duelling​ or Two-Weapon Fighting.
• Extra Attack​ for an additional weapon attack with the main action point.
• Song of Rest​ for an additional short rest, helping to manage resources.
• Font of Inspiration​ enables a short rest Bardic Inspiration​ reset, for better combat potential.
• Jack of All Trades​ with a little boost to skill rolls, where you might be the weakest.
• Access to multiple skill Expertise,​ helping with world exploration and dialogue checks.

4 Sorcerer

I am not set on a single subclass here, Draconic gives a little extra HP and spells, like Armour of Agathys, while Shadow Magic gives Strength of the Grave​ for a little more survivability. You cannot go wrong with any of these.

• Constitution saving throw proficiency for better maintainability of spells during combat
• Defensive spell Shield​ to improve survivability from enemy normal attacks.
• Access to additional cantrips like Friends, Booming Blade, etc.
• Metamagic, which enables improved spellcasting via Metamagic: Extended Spell, Metamagic: Quickened Spell, etc.
• Access to Shadow Blade, the main weapon of this build.

2 Vengeance Paladin

Here you can also go with any of the other subclasses, it's just that the Oath of Vengeance does have the strongest and cheapest feature that you can use during combat.

• Divine Sense​ - an easy advantage in case you fight these specific enemies.
• Lay on Hands​ - a healing action, which I found is best used outside of combat for curing diseases.
• Inquisitor's Might​ for a cheap buff that gives a decent damage boost.
• The iconic Paladin action - Divine Smite. With optimisations and some preparations, this can land very powerful strikes and obliterate enemies.
• Prepared spells like Command,​ which is one of the cheapest and best control options in the game.
• Fighting Style choice, for a small stat boost

Synergy with other builds

For this build, it's hard to recommend a particular synergy. From the showcase video, it can solo single-handedly difficult game encounters. There is anti-synergy with Clerics, specifically with Radiating Orb, which removes the Advantage on Shadow Blade attacks. It can be counteracted with Reverberation​ + Prone​ with the same cleric Revorb setup, which then gives Advantage back.

Besides that, this build can go into almost any composition, especially if it can access the gear it needs. Even without it, thanks to Metamagic: Quickened Spell,​ it can play as a full-on spellsword and cast a wide variety of spells.

Controllers

The main controller that you would want is someone who can cast Hold Monster, as the Shadow Blade Bardadin has Hold Person​ by itself. Another alternative is to use scrolls. Here are the builds that would play well with it:

• Fire Sorcerer - one of the most reliable builds for this type of setup with Hat of Fire Acuity + Scorching Ray​
• Spellsword build - Sorcadin, Bardadin, Swords Bard Archer, these can use the required gear without impeding the Shadow Blade Bardadin.
• Other caster-related builds- Lore Bard or even Arcane Trickster with access to unlimited scrolls. 

Psychic damage

Of course, as the build uses Resonance Stone, any other builds with psychic damage will benefit. Still, there are some enemies which are immune to this damage, and this can lead to some problematic encounters. Here are builds which can deal significant psychic damage:

• Shadow Monk build
• Bladesinger build
• Hexblade - plenty of gear overlap, so I would use the other ones
• Arcane Trickster

I would use one of these in addition to Shadow Blade Bardadin, as using more will either make the game too easy, or you might have too much gear overlap.

Leveling Overview

Here is a concise table with all the main picks during your levelling progression. For more detailed reasoning, I go further in the article. Also, do not forget to check the recommended gear, as it is crucial.

Level	Class	Selection
1	Sorcerer 1	Cantrips: Booming Blade, Friends, Minor Illusion, any
		Spells: Shield, any
		Subclass: Draconic Bloodline or Shadow Magic
		Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16 (15+1), CON - 14, INT - 8, WIS - 10, CHA - 17 (15+2)
		Skills: Intimidation, Persuasion, Athletics
2	Sorcerer 2	Spells: any
		Megamagic: Metamagic: Twinned Spell​, Metamagic: Extended Spell​
3	Sorcerer 3	Spells: Shadow Blade​
		Metamagic: Metamagic: Quickened Spell​
		Replace spell: any utility spell -> Misty Step​
4	Bard 1	Cantrips: any
		Spells: Healing Word, Longstrider, Feather Fall, any
		Abilities: Dexterity or Charisma related.
5	Bard 2	Spells: Thunderwave​
6	Bard 3	Spells: Enhance Ability​
		Subclass: College of Swords
		Fighting Style: Duelling​
		Abilities: any Charisma-related
7	Bard 4	Spells: Hold Person​
		Feat: Savage Attacker​
8	Bard 5	Spells: Glyph of Warding​
		Replace Spell: Thunderwave​ -> Hypnotic Pattern​
9	Bard 6	Spells: Fear​
10	Paladin 1	Subclass: Oath of Vengeance
11	Paladin 2	Fighting Style: Defence​
12	Sorcerer 4	Cantrips: any
		Spells: Mirror Image​
		Feat: Ability Improvement - +2 Charisma

Starting the Game - Level 1

For this build, my start will be somewhat different. The build only starts to function from level 9, as that's when you obtain Shadow Blade. So, before that, I would recommend following one of these builds instead:

• Standard Bardadin build with two-handed swords
• Swords Bard Archer with ranged weapons

Still, I would like to cover one choice that matters later on, and is not changeable

Races

Picking a race provides various benefits - abilities, dialogue options, looks, etc.

Race	Features	Description
Half-Orc	Savage Attacks​ Relentless Endurance​ Darkvision​	The half-orc features are a good addition for this kind of build, where you will engage in frontline combat. The instant resurrection and bonus critical damage.
Wood Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.	With any kind of melee or spellsword build, you will benefit from increased movement speed, to ensure that targets are reached.
Wood Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.
Zariel Tiefling	Darkvision​ Hellish Resistance​ Thaumaturgy​	A great race that offers unique features and a few standout aspects. I recommend Thaumaturgy​ as it helps immensely with dialogue checks without any negative consequences. The additional smites, like Searing Smite,​ can be helpful for a little more damage in the early and mid game to save spell slots.
Gnome	Gnome Cunning​	Any subrace will work. The main selling point is the Gnome Cunning​ feature, which helps counteract the effects of Resonance Stone.

Background

Backgrounds are mostly for role-playing, and you can pick those that fit your backstory. Of course, you can still do slight optimizations here by picking at least one skill that falls under your high ability scores, for example, Intimidation - Charisma, History - Intelligence, and so on. Here is what I recommend for the build:

Leveling Progression - Levels 1-12

Level 1 Sorcerer

The Sorcerer plays a pivotal role in this build:

• Constitution Saving Throw proficiency
• Shadow Blade​ spell with Booming Blade​ cantrip.
• Access to metamagic
• and a few other goodies

Class

Overview
Sorcerer
Features
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.

Cantrips

Cantrips	Description
Booming Blade​​	The most important cantrip from the Sorcerer.
Friends​	If you are the main character and do most of the dialogues, this is also a good choice as it gives an advantage during rolls. Be careful as cancelling it near the target might engage in combat.
Minor Illusion​	You can use this one to move enemies together before combat. This can then be utilized to make some ridiculous combos.
Any	Take any cantrip that you find relevant

Spells

Spells	Description
Shield​	Be sure to get this one, as it will be valuable for maximizing the survivability of the build from normal weapon attacks.
Any	Take any utility spells like Enhance Leap​ or Disguise Self. It will be replaced later on.

Subclass

I leave this up to you, there are two main choices in my opinion:

Subclass	Description
Draconic Bloodline	I would take this choice specifically for one of the ancestries - Draconic Ancestry: White (Cold)​, which gives access to Armour of Agathys. I am not a huge fan of this spell, unless I have someone in the party who can apply Blade Ward​ or Warding Bond, which is usually a cleric.
Shadow Magic	This subclass does get 2 interesting features. The first one is Strength of the Grave,​ which gives instant revive if you get close to dying. Another comes later, which is Eyes of the Dark: Darkness. This looks cool on paper, but it has a steep cost - action point + sorcery point and utilises a concentration slot. Unless you have a darkness-themed party, I would not care about it.

Abilities

Now, let's take a look at the abilities of the Shadow Bardadin build. Correct allocation will allow you to maximize the early gameplay and get good modifier bonuses.

The core mechanic to understand for ability points is that they give "ability modifiers" that apply to various skill checks. For example, Charisma works on Intimidation and persuasion checks. Wisdom on Survival or Animal Handling, and so on.

You get a higher ability modifier on even values - 10, 12, 14, etc. So keeping it on odd may be useless. However, there are various +1/2 modifiers in the game, specifically Auntie Ethel Hair or Feats that help round this up.

Ability	Value	Description
Strength	8	Not that relevant, you can either increase it with Elixir of Hill Giant Strength for the early part of the game. Otherwise, the build can use weapons that rely on Dexterity.
Dexterity	16 (15+1)	One of the core abilities gives Armour Class, Initiative. This will be the main weapon stat if you don't use Elixir of Hill Giant Strength.
Constitution	14	The Constitution will help with maintaining spell concentration and improving the HP pool.
Intelligence	8	This will not be relevant for the build
Wisdom	10	Just enough to remove the negative modifier for Wisdom.
Charisma	17 (15+2)	The main ability that plays a big role in the spellcasting part of the build and dialogue checks.

Skills and Expertise

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your roleplaying and background decisions. However, you would still want those that will give you the best benefits. My recommendations are to pick those at which you have a high ability modifier, and these are Charisma-related.

• Deception
• Intimidation
• Persuasion

Level 2

The second level unlocks a few important features:

Actions	Description
Create Sorcery Points​	Spend Spell Slots to gain Sorcery Points. Once you get some more metamagic options, you could sacrifice spell slots to cast two spells in one turn or increase your range.
Create Spell Slot​	Spend Sorcery Points to unlock a Spell Slot. You could create a higher-tier spell slot to increase the damage over what you can at the current level

Spells

Take any spell, they have minimal impact at this level

Metamagic

Metamagic	Description
Metamagic: Twinned Spell	Spells that only target 1 creature can target an additional creature. Later on, you can use this to apply Haste on two allies or a Command spell to disable two targets.
Metamagic: Extended Spell​	This is especially useful if you will cast spells with short durations like Command. It would extend their effect period.

Level 3

This is where we get the most important spell to make this build work.

Spells

Spells	Description
Shadow Blade​	Once every long rest, cast this spell at either a level 3 or level 5 spell slot. This allows it to scale, resulting in 4d8 damage with the highest tier.

Metamagic

Passives	Description
Metamagic: Quickened Spell	By consuming 3 Sorcery points, a spell can be cast using a bonus action instead of action points. You can cast two damage spells, one after another. Or cast a control spell followed by an offensive one. This opens up a lot of possibilities to combine various spells.

Replace Spell

Remove Spell	Add Spell	Description
The utility spell that you picked at level 1-2	Misty Step​	Gives a significant mobility boost, in case you are not able to reach targets.

Level 4 - Bard Lv 1

It's important that you multiclass into Bard, which is accessible via this button in the level-up screen:

Class

Overview
Bard
Features
Bardic Inspiration​	An iconic bard feature that can improve damage, dialogue dice rolls, and saving throws.
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.

Cantrips

Take any of the cantrips; the core ones were already covered with Sorcerer. Light​ might be useful on some occasions, but otherwise it does not matter much.

Spells

Take mainly utility spells here, as the important ones will be available on higher levels

Spell	Description
Healing Word​	Although you are not a healer, this does give an option to raise a Downed​ ally.
Longstrider​	Will boost the movement speed by 3m. This is a huge bonus and will allow you to get better positions when in combat. You can also activate it on all party members when not in combat, after a long rest!
Feather Fall​	Utility spell, that can be used during exploration.
Any	Again, one more slot that you can use to take something like Speak with Animals​ or Disguise Self.

Starting Instrument

As this is a fun feature, pick the one that you like the best! There are no combat advantages to picking a different one.

Abilities

Take the additional proficiency in either Dexterity or Charisma-related skills:

• Sleight of Hand
• Acrobatics
• Intimidation
• Persuasion
• Performance
• Persuasion

Level 5 - Bard Lv 2

The level-up gives some welcome improvements for your Bard.

Feature	Description
Jack of All Trades​	This will improve your chances of success when doing various dice rolls that you are not proficient in. It's not huge, but it will help out during the game.

We gain a very good utility action to gain additional HP restoration and an action reset:

Action	Description
Song of Rest​	Unique action to Bards. It acts as a third short rest. This is especially useful for Warlocks, as they will gain even more spell slots during the day.

Spells

I have covered most of the important level 1 spells, that the build needs. In case you need help:

Spells	Description
Thunderwave​	It can be used to throw enemies from the ledges.

Replace Spell

Nothing to replace

Level 6 - Bard Lv 3

The build reached a very special moment - subclass. It will give some sweet actions that make the Bard much more powerful.

Spells

Spells	Description
Enhance Ability​	If playing on Honor Mode, this spell is mandatory. It can save your group from many problems and overcome ability checks where you are not proficient. Otherwise, you can do without it, but I would still recommend that someone in your group have it.

Subclass

Overview
College of Swords
Features
Slashing Flourish (Melee)​	Attack up to 2 enemies at once.
Slashing Flourish (Ranged)​	Attack up to 2 enemies at once.
Defensive Flourish (Melee)​	Attack defensively, increasing your Armour Class by 4 if you hit.
Defensive Flourish (Ranged)​	Attack defensively, increasing your Armour Class by 4 if you hit.
Mobile Flourish (Melee)​	Thrust your weapon with enough force to push your target back 6m. Afterward, you can teleport to the target.
Mobile Flourish (Ranged)​	Shoot a target with enough force to push it back 6m. Afterwards, you can teleport to the target.
Medium Armour proficiency	You can now wear medium armors, which offer better protection for the early game

Fighting Style

Fighting Style	Description
Duelling​	This gives additional damage with Shadow Blade and if wearing a Shield. If you dual-wield, the bonus will not persist, but that's a minor problem.

Abilities

You can select 2 skills in which you become an expert. I would recommend something, that you want to ensure the Bardadin cannot fail. For example, due to high Charisma bonuses, dialogue-related ones are great. Choose two out of these:

• Deception
• Intimidation
• Performance
• Persuasion

I would also not forget Sleight of Hand. If you are the only one doing lockpicking, this will ensure some irritating fails and wasted time.

Replace Spell

Nothing to replace

Level 7 - Bard Lv 4

Level 4 brings a new feat, slightly improving the bard's capabilities

Cantrips

Any cantrip, doesn't matter which one you pick

Spells

Spells	Description
Hold Person​	The spell is very useful and will be a very powerful option with Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ or Band of the Mystic Scoundrel.

Feat

So you have a few options now, depending on what weapon you use:

Feat	Description
Savage Attacker​	Gives a huge boost to damage, especially on Shadow Blade and later Divine Smite​ via the dice rerolls.

Level 5

This level is a big one. First, we obtain level 3 spells, which are okay. However, we get awesome class features:

Feature	Description
Font of Inspiration​	Greatly improves your damage output throughout the day as you can use flourishes more often.
Improved Bardic Inspiration​	The bonus gained from Bardic Inspiration increases to +1d8, this will give a higher damage bonus for Flourishes.

Spells

Spell	Description
Glyph of Warding​	Get this spell as soon as possible. It is amazing! You can cast various types of elements, but most importantly, it can put enemies to sleep without HP limitations. So this is the perfect crowd control option.

Replace Spell

Remove Spell	Add Spell	Description
Thunderwave​	Hypnotic Pattern​	The spell is one of the best control options in the game, enabling to disable a wide area of NPCs.

Level 9 - Bard Lv 6

This is a huge improvement to the build.

Feature	Description
Extra Attack​	You can now attack two times and this can be done together with Flourishes. So you can easily hit 4 enemies in one turn, without Haste or Elixir of Bloodlust.

We also get additional action, that can freely be used before combat:

Action	Description
Countercharm​	You and any allies within 9m have an advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed or Frightened. Did not use much during the playthrough.

Spells

Spells	Description
Fear​	Very powerful spell, that makes targets Fearful​ and drops their weapons, making them harmless in most cases.

Replace Spells

Nothing to replace unless you need something.

Optional - Elixir of Hill Giant Strength

There is a trick early in Act 1 after you reach the first settlement - Druid's Grove. There, you can stock up on some really powerful potions for Acts 1 and 2 - Elixir of Hill Giant Strength.

What does it do? It increases the Strength to 21 until a Long rest. More or less, this negates any need to have an investment in Strength ability. This is somewhat gimmicky, however, if you are interested, here is a guide on how to farm Elixir of Hill Giant Strength.

Later, in the game, you have an option to obtain Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength, which will not require you to use elixirs and set strength to 23.

Level 10 - Paladin Lv 1

Now, the multiclass into Paladin

Class

Overview
Paladin
Features
Lay on Hands​	Use your blessed touch to heal a creature or cure it of all diseases and poisons.
Divine Sense​	Gain Advantage on Attack Rolls against celestials, fiends, and undead.
Channel Oath Charges	You gain the ability to channel the power contained in your Paladin Oath, which you can use to fuel certain actions.

Subclass

Here you can pick any of the subclasses. I do think the Vengeance provides the best features for this 2 level dip, followed by Oath of the Crown:

Overview
Oath of Vengeance
Features
Inquisitor's Might​	Gives a radiant boost to damage. This costs only a bonus action, so it is a good choice, for minimal negative impact on Damage per turn.
Oath of Vengeance Tenets​	The oath revolves around revenge, where someone was wronged, and you have to clear the score.

Level 11 - Paladin Lv 2

At Level 2, Paladin gets the most famous feature. Moreover, we obtain 2 level 1 spell slots.

Actions	Description
Divine Smite​	This Paladin-specific feature gives +2d8 Radiant Damage and an additional 1d8 against undead and fiends. it expends a spell slot if hits. Using higher-level spell slots deals more damage.

Fighting Style

Now, with our Bardadin build, you can go with this:

Style	Description
Defence​	Gain +1 to Armour Class, especially valuable if you are dual-wielding, as you cannot wear a shield.

Prepared Spells

Paladin level 1 spells are okay. They do not provide any crazy tactics but can work in some situations. Here are my recommendations for what is good to have in your arsenal

Spell	Description
Command​	Mandatory pick. This spell can ensure that enemies lay on the ground, stay still, or come to you to be attacked via opportunity attacks and your Slashing Flourish (Melee).

To be honest, anything else is optional, and is just there for flavor:

Spell	Description
Thunderous Smite​	A smite alternative that deals Thunder damage and can make the enemy prone. I would use it in case you have a free bonus action that you do not plan on using. Otherwise, use normal Smite.
Shield of Faith​	Gives +2 Armour Class as long as you can maintain concentration. Lasts until a long rest.
Divine Favour​	Although it uses a concentration slot, it can be great for a bit of bonus damage. It only costs a bonus action.
Wrathful Smite​	Another Smite option that can frighten enemies, leaving them stuck in place and with various disadvantages.

Level 12 - Sorcerer Lv 4

The last level of the build

Cantrips

Take any of the cantrips, at this stage it does not matter much

Spells

Spell	Description
Mirror Image​	My recommendation, for improved survivability, when you can precast it before combat.

Feat

So you have a few options now, depending on what weapon you use:

Feat	Description
Ability Improvement - +2 Charisma	My go-to pick for higher spell success chance and improved damage via Arcane Synergy.
Ability Improvement - +2 Dexterity	Another option that would improve the Armour Class and initiative.
Alert​	Improves initiative and avoids the Surprised​ condition.
Sentinel: Vengeance​	Indirectly allows gaining one more attack via reaction, if an ally is close.

That's it, the build is done!

Maximizing Ability Scores

Now, as the build progression is covered, there are a few aspects and important decisions you will have to make throughout the game. These will decide your final score for abilities.

Charisma

This is the main spellcasting ability, but it will also play a role in weapon damage via Arcane Synergy.

1. 17 Charisma - the base for character creation.
2. Act 1 - Auntie Ethel Hair - you will want to get +1 Charisma if you pick this choice.
3. Feat 1 - Ability Improvement - +2 Charisma.
4. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Charisma.
5. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - Patriar's Memory - +1 Charisma if did not take Auntie Ethel Hair.

This results in 22 Charisma, so it is a good modifier of +6.

Potions, Elixirs, and Consumables

Let's take a look at what consumables you can use to further empower the build.

Potions

Consumable	Description
Potion of Speed	This is a very powerful potion. It gives an additional action point which can be used to cast a spell or attack. The activation is generally by drinking using a bonus action. However, you can stack together with party members and make one member Throw​ it on the ground, giving Hastened​ to everyone.
Oil of Accuracy	The attack roll bonus is pretty good, which improves your chances of hitting.
Diluted Oil of Sharpness	Helps with attack and damage rolls.
Potion of Angelic Reprieve	An easy way to restore level 1-2 spell slots. These are mainly used for Divine Smite.
Potion of Angelic Slumber	Fully restores all spell slots, making it a very powerful consumable without needing a long rest.
Potion of Invisibility	It can be used in two ways - the first one is to enter combat with a Surprised​ round, causing enemies to skip their turn. Another option is to leave combat if you see that it is not going in your favour.
Terazul	Gives Hastened​ and stacks with other sources of it. This is a late-game consumable.

Elixirs

Unfortunately, only one Elixir can be active at a time. However, the good thing is that they last until a long rest, making them very useful and economical.

Be sure to activate them before combat, as otherwise, you will need to use Bonus Action.

Consumable	Description
Elixir of Bloodlust	The elixir gives an easy option to get an additional action point - just kill a foe. This can then be used to attack one more time or cast a full spell.
Elixir of Hill Giant Strength	This plays a major role in maximizing your weapon effectiveness until you obtain Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength. The dexterity alone may not be enough if you don't have Advantage on attack rolls consistently. Here is a farming guide for Elixir of Hill Giant Strength.
Superior Elixir of Arcane Cultivation	Gives an additional level 3 spell slot, especially useful when you see that none of them are available for one more encounter before a long rest.
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even Surprised​ mechanics.
Elixir of The Colossus	Provides bonus damage of 1d4 and some other good bonuses.
Elixir of Heroism	Boosts attack rolls by 1d4; this is a good boost to increase the likelihood of landing attacks.

Illithid Powers

This special mechanic in Baldur's Gate 3 allows you to consume tadpoles and unlock special Illithid Powers.

At first, you can only use the base powers. As you move to Act 3, you will be able to unlock the outer ring powers, also called Elite.

Illithid Power	Type	Description
Favourable Beginnings	Base	Beneficial power to take as it does not have any costs, and provides only benefits on the first hits with attack rolls.
Luck of the Far Realms​	Base	It's an easy way to ensure you land critical hits, especially good with Divine Smite.
Cull the Weak​	Base	It can help to kill an enemy faster if it is left with a few HP.
Psionic Backlash​​	Base	Excellent way to deal additional damage with reaction, early and mid game.
Ability Drain​	Base	Decreases enemy ability score.
Shield of Thralls​	Base	Excellent option for bonus temporary HP. It can also apply Stunned on foes after it is destroyed.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	It can be used to maximize the effectiveness of charisma-based skills, especially those relevant to the main character.
Black Hole​	Elite	Potent spell that can be used to pull enemies together. You can then follow up with area-of-effect spells or attacks. In general, it is a very effective action in the hands of any character.
Psionic Dominance​	Elite	It can be used to save yourself from a deadly spell.
Freecast​	Elite	Allows for freely casting a spell without resource limitation.

Equipment Recommendations

Now I would like to go through some gear recommendations to maximize the Shadow Bardadin Build. Items are especially important as they take the build to the next level thanks to their unique effects.

Act 1

As I covered in the earlier part of the build, go for these before level 9:

• Standard Bardadin build with two-handed swords
• Swords Bard Archer with ranged weapons

So no gear recommendations for this Act :)

Act 2 - mid-game

The gear recommendations below are for level 9, once you unlock Shadow Blade.

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Shadow Blade	The obvious core weapon
	Knife of the Undermountain King	A good stat stick that you can use in the off-hand. Before you unlock Paladin, you will not have proficiency in it, so use it as a stat stick.
Shield	Adamantine Shield	Excellent shield with immunity to critical hits and a debuff on enemies via Reeling. You will not be able to wear it before you unlock Paladin.
Ranged	Bow of Awareness	The bonus initiative still plays a major role
	Darkfire Shortbow	Allows casting Haste.
Head	Helmet of Arcane Acuity	The best helmet for this build that allows to quickly build up Arcane Acuity​ using weapon attacks.
	Diadem of Arcane Synergy	Alternative headwear to activate Arcane Synergy​ via Booming Blade​ weapon attack.
Cloak	Cloak of Protection	Improves survivability and Saving Throw success. You want to equip this cloak to maintain that good Armour Class.
Armor	Dark Justiciar Half-Plate	One of the best-looking armours, and great options for maximizing spell concentration. You will obtain either of these depending on the Act 2 major decision regarding Nightsong.
	Dark Justiciar Half-Plate
	Potent Robe	In terms of damage potential, this is the best armour option as it will add more damage to Booming Blade. However, this also greatly reduces your armour class.
	Yuan-ti Scale Mail	Excellent medium armor that has full scaling from Dexterity ability modifier.
Gloves	Flawed Helldusk Gloves	Solid gloves for damage boost.
	Gloves of Battlemage's Power	Alternative to Helmet of Arcane Acuity to stack Arcane Acuity.
Boots	Disintegrating Night Walkers	The best boot choice for moving on any kind of terrain.
	Boots of Striding	Avoids Prone​ effect while you are concentrating on spells.
	Evasive Shoes	Gives +1 Armour Class, which is a significant survivability boost.
	-	Boots from Act 1 are still perfect.
Amulet	Broodmother's Revenge	Continues to be the best amulet in terms of damage boost.
	Amulet of the Harpers	Excellent pick with Shield​ spell, without using your spell slots.
	Periapt of Wound Closure	Excellent amulet that can help in tight situations when you are Downed.
Rings	Ring of Arcane Synergy	The best ring in terms of direct damage improvement. Use Booming Blade​ to activate Arcane Synergy.
	Shadow-Cloaked Ring	These rings serve the same purpose and give a slight damage boost. The main difference is that Strange Conduit Ring requires concentration, which you might not have on the first turn as you build up Arcane Acuity​. On the other hand, Shadow-Cloaked Ring is limited by where you are doing combat, and the enemy has to be at least Lightly Obscured.
	Strange Conduit Ring
	Ring of Protection	Defensive ring for a slight armour class boost.

Act 3 - Final Build setup

Standard setup

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Shadow Blade	The one and only weapon option for this build. Use a level 5 spell slot to summon the highest damage with Shadow Blade.
Melee (Off-Handed)	Rhapsody	One of the best off-hand stat stick weapons, which has Scarlet Remittance​ effect for stacking Spell Save DC and damage.
	Knife of the Undermountain King	Slightly boosts weapon damage, best used as a stat stick.
Shield	Adamantine Shield	A very powerful shield that enables critical attack immunity.
	Viconia's Walking Fortress	Has one of the highest armour class values, and provides useful special actions against attacking enemies.
Ranged	Hellrider Longbow	Easy initiative source, to go early.
Head	Helmet of Arcane Acuity	The straight-up best headwear for stacking Arcane Acuity​ and pumping up that spell save DC.
	Diadem of Arcane Synergy	Alternative headwear, in case the other one is not available. If wearing this, do not use Ring of Arcane Synergy.
Cloak	Cloak of Displacement	Improves chances of avoiding attacks from enemies, in turn activating Holy Lance Helm.
	Thunderskin Cloak	As you will be constantly applying Reverberation, this cloak will make it easy to activate its effect.
Armor	Armour of Agility	In terms of defensive capabilities, this is the best armour pick.
	Bhaalist Armour	If you have an archer, this armour is the best pick to apply Aura Of Murder​ to weaken enemies.
	Potent Robe	In terms of pure damage, this is the best pick, but it greatly diminishes your Armour Class.
Gloves	Gauntlets of Frost Giant Strength	The best gloves pick, which sets strength to 23, making this the main stat for Shadow Blade.
	Legacy of the Masters	Another glove alternative with a solid damage and attack roll boost.
	Gloves of Battlemage's Power	Alternative to Helmet of Arcane Acuity in case you don't have access to it.
Boots	Helldusk Boots	These are the best boot choices in the game, allowing you to safely walk on most of the dangerous surfaces.
	Disintegrating Night Walkers
Amulet	Broodmother's Revenge	Gives a direct damage boost when healed. Just pop a healing potion before combat and enjoy a slight boost.
	Amulet of Greater Health	Boosts health pool and improves concentration on spells.
	Fey Semblance Amulet	Excellent amulet to counteract the Resonance Stone effect.
	-	Previous Acts amulets
Rings	Ring of Arcane Synergy	The best ring in terms of direct damage improvement. Use Booming Blade​ to activate Arcane Synergy.
	Band of the Mystic Scoundrel	Either use this ring or rely on Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ for bonus action casting. If you use this ring, you will lose a little damage with your weapon, but you can then use Metamagic: Extended Spell​ while bonus action casting.
	Strange Conduit Ring	These rings serve the same purpose and give a slight damage boost. The main difference is that Strange Conduit Ring requires concentration, which you might not have on the first turn as you build up Arcane Acuity​. On the other hand, Shadow-Cloaked Ring is limited by where you are doing combat, and the enemy has to be at least Lightly Obscured.
	Shadow-Cloaked Ring

Grit Setup

This option allows for one more attack during the turn with a bonus action. Of course, it requires you to have 50% HP so that Helmet of Grit would be activated.

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Shadow Blade	The one and only weapon option for this build. Use a level 5 spell slot to summon the highest damage with Shadow Blade.
Melee (Off-Handed)	Belm	Gives a Perfectly Balanced Strike,​ which allows to use main hand weapon attack with a bonus action.
Head	Helmet of Grit	Provides additional bonus action, which only appears when you have HP below 50%. Use this together with Amulet of Greater Health to maximize the survivability.
Amulet	Amulet of Greater Health	This amulet is mandatory for the setup to maximize the chances of your survival. You can also do a respec and dump all constitution for other abilities like Wisdom.

Build Mechanics

In this section, I would like to dive deep into how to play the Crow Paladin Build. This will help you utilize it to the fullest and correctly use various actions and spells throughout the game.

Important Mechanics and Combos

Let's go through key mechanics and tips on how to use the build effectively.

Getting Sorcery Points

The build can use Sorcery points for various mechanics, like metamagic and Eyes of the Dark: Darkness​ (if you are a shadow sorcerer). With 4 levels of sorcerer, this is pretty limited. You can work around this by using Create Sorcery Points​ and consuming spell slots.

Spell slots are used to fuel Divine Smite​ and cast spells, so they are quite important. So, using all of them is quite expensive for Sorcery Points. However, there are 2 items in particular which give free spell slots:

• Pearl of Power Amulet - restores up to a level 3 spell slot, so 3 sorcery points
• Spellcrux Amulet - allows restoring up to a level 6 spell slot, but Create Sorcery Points​ only works max on a level 5 spell slot.

So with these, you can get 8 Sorcery points every long rest, which is substantial and can help you use something like Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ multiple times per long rest.

Of course, you can go crazy and use Potion of Angelic Reprieve, which allows you to restore level 1-2 spell slots, where you can end up with 20 or even more sorcery points. However, I think this is overkill and avoid this mechanic.

Using metmagic

One of the core mechanics that sorcerers have and get an edge on other casters is Metamagic. The first actions are obtained at level 2, and you get more and more as you level up. Here are a few that I recommend:

• Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ - allows casting spells with bonus action, which is an extremely powerful option for Nova rounds, or just inflicting damage and control on the same turn. As a spellsword build, you can even skip Band of the Mystic Scoundrel for bonus action casting.
• Metamagic: Extended Spell​ - some control spells like Command​ and Hypnotic Pattern have short durations. By using this option, you can double it, making the control effect linger longer.
• Metamagic: Twinned Spell​ - if the spell is a single target, it can now affect two targets - Haste, Command​ level 1, etc.

The main problem is that these require Sorcer Points, which are limited. As I covered, there are ways to get them via Create Sorcery Points​ mechanic.

Effectively using Divine Smites

The key aspect of any build that involves at least 2 levels of Paladin is Divine Smite. It is one of the coolest actions, punishing your targets with a ray of light. To use it effectively, there are a few tips that I have.

First, update your reactions and make sure the Divine Smite​ has a reaction on critical hit and asks you to use it:

This way, you will not waste your time with unnecessary pop-ups and can use it when needed. For example, using a critical hit Divine Smite​ on a weak foe with a few HP will feel like a waste. However, you still might want to use it on the boss even if it has few HP to finish them off.

If you want to use the normal smite, just activate it from the quick bar by selecting the Divine Smite​ action. Or set it also as a reaction "Ask", but it might get irritating with all the popups. Try playing, and decide based on your experience.

Overall, critical hits are extremely important for these attacks as the large number of dice rolls gets doubled and gets rerolled with Savage Attacker. That is why I recommend Killer's Sweetheart, Luck of the Far Realms,​ and spells like Hold Person.

Another option, if you want, a big nova damage, is to use one of the special smites - Blinding Smite, Thunderous Smite,​ and use Divine Smite​ as a reaction on the same attack. This can deal huge damage, but burns through spell slots very fast. I only recommend this if Great Weapon Master: Bonus Attack​ has not activated.

As I mentioned, other types of smites - Thunderous Smite, Searing Smite, come with unique effects and can apply various effects like Blinded, Frightened, etc. Generally, I do not recommend using them if you have Great Weapon Master: All In, as your bonus action is a very valuable source of damage.

Maximum Psychic Damage

So this build relies on the particular weapon - Shadow Blade, which you summon by casting Shadow Blade​ spell. The cool thing about it is that it starts at 2d8 damage and level 5 spell slot scales to 4d8. This is the biggest damage for any kind of weapon, and this is just a one-hander.

Now it can get even crazier. There is a special item that can double psychic damage - Resonance Stone. The item is found in the late part of Act 2 in the illithid colony - Resonance Stone.

And it can even get more powerful. Generally, critical hits are random, but with spells like Hold Person​/Hold Monster,​ these can be guaranteed. So you can deal 150+ damage per hit without some preparation, making many Act 3 encounters a breeze.

Playing as spellsword

The main playstyle that this build employs is attacking with weapon, while wearing Helmet of Arcane Acuity and expending your action points. This is used to stack Arcane Acuity,​ which improves Spell Save DC, making it more likely that your spells land. Of course, if you are using Gloves of Battlemage's Power, the same also applies.

Next, either with Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ or Band of the Mystic Scoundrel, you can use a bonus action to cast control spells to have a very high chance (in some cases 100%) to disable foes with - Hold Person, Fear, Hypnotic Pattern,​ and many more. This can usually guarantee an auto win as enemies are standing still helplessly for your group to obliterate them.

Late Game Combat

As the build starts from level 9, I will straight jump to late-game combat:

• The first goal is to build up Arcane Acuity. Use Booming Blade​ attack and later follow up with Slashing Flourish (Melee)​ if you see two enemies standing close, this will double total damage.
• Once you have at least 8 stacks of Arcane Acuity,​ you can cast control spells - Hypnotic Pattern, Hold Person, Fear, etc. Be sure to stock up on Scroll of Hold Monster against bosses. Cast them using a bonus action via Metamagic: Quickened Spell​ or later Band of the Mystic Scoundrel.
• Have Resonance Stone equipped for double damage.
• For more damage, land Divine Smite, especially on critical hits.
• Inquisitor's Might​ is an excellent boost for additional damage, especially if you do not plan on using spellcasting during this turn, or can precast it

Build Variations

Here are some variations that work similarly and utilise the same classes at their core.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Shadow Blade Bardadin Build for Baldur's Gate 3. This is a powerful variation of the Swords Bard build that utilises the almighty Shadow Blade for ridiculous amounts of psychic damage. You also enjoy the full spectrum of spellsword features.

Cheers!