Selune's Silverstar Build - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

Selune's Silverstar Build

At first, the build was aimed to be a Shadowheart companion build. However, I do think this is an immensely fun setup, even if you do not plan on using her but want to utilize to some degree the iconic weapon - Selûne's Spear of Night. Unfortunately, it is inferior to its counterpart Shar's Spear of Evening. Still there are ways in which it can be beneficial.

The goal of this build is to utilize a lot of debuffs - Reverberation, Radiating Orb, Frightened, Mental Fatigue, and others. Although this means you will sacrifice damage, the result will be more than satisfying - enemies that fail most Saving Throw and can barely do anything to offensively damage your party.

The Selune Silverstars, come from the Dungeons and Dragons lore, which are the counterparts to Dark Justiciars of Shar. Generally, they are Rangers or Clerics, which the build will reflect. Of course, I will take a few optimizations and make this a truly powerful build contender.

The build has many options. You could maximize your number of conditions by going with weapons like Bow of the Banshee + Selûne's Spear of Night. Another option, more offensive, is taking something like Bhaalist Armour for double piercing damage. You can even go hands-on with Great Weapon Master: All In + Sharpshooter: All In depending on the situation. So I will leave it for you to decide the setup that you want to use.

The build is inspired by GrouseDrum's Valour Cleave party.

Let's go!

Class Contribution

Here is what the build consists of and how each of these classes contributes:

6 War Cleric

• Additional bonus action weapon attack with War Priest​. These will recharge each long rest.
• Access to support spells like Healing Word, Mass Healing Word, Sanctuary, etc.
• Aid​ to empower the ally's survivability with a solid HP boost each long rest.
• Guidance which is one of the most useful cantrips in the game for various skill checks.
• Guided Strike​ will help you land attacks and War God's Blessing​ works on allies, which uses a reaction.
• Can apply wet status for other casters with Create or Destroy Water, helping to make enemies vulnerable to Lightning and Cold damage.
• Spirit Guardians​ - the ultimate cleric spell, to debuff enemies, making them miss their attacks. To make the most out of it you will need some gear.
• Proficiencies with shields, medium and heavy armor, allowing to improve defensive capabilities further
• Crusader's Mantle and Divine Favour - an alternative to Moonmote from Selûne's Spear of Night, in case you want to buff allies with radiant damage bonuses.

5 Ranger Hunter

• Minor features, and spin on roleplay via Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer selections
• Selection of Fighting styles, mainly Archery​ or Defence
• Spell slots for casting spells - Ensnaring Strike, Spike Growth, etc. Decent spells for progressing through the game.
• Horde Breaker a very powerful semi extra attack feature which has lots of special hidden mechanics.

1 The Great Old One Warlock

• Mortal Reminder which has special interactions with Horde Breaker and can easily apply multiple Frightened conditions
• Access to Booming Blade and Minor Illusion for very powerful cantrips to help in combat.

Build Variations

For this build, there are a lot of options, both from a progression perspective and the level splits

Setup	Description
1 The Great Old One Warlock 4 Cleric 2 Stars Druid 5 Hunter Ranger	A pretty powerful setup, but requires plenty of multiclassing and skips level 3 spells from cleric. However, this is excellent for the condition stacking, having high Concentration and getting standard stuff like Extra Attack.
11 Hunter Ranger 1 Great Old One	Technically a pretty similar setup, that also uses Horde Breaker and later Volley. It does forgo the Cleric part of Spirit Guardians

Build 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.

Leveling

Level	Class	Selection
1	Cleric 1	Cantrips: Produce Flame, Thaumaturgy, Guidance
		Subclass: War Domain
		Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16 (15+1), CON - 14, INT - 8, WIS - 17 (15+2), CHA - 10
		Deity: Selune
		Skills: Medicine, Persuasion, Insight
2	Cleric 2	-
3	Cleric 3	-
4	Cleric 4	Feat: Sharpshooter: All In
5	Cleric 5	-
6	Ranger 1	Favoured Enemy: Bounty Hunter
		Natural Explorer: Urban Tracker
7	Ranger 2	Spells: Longstrider, Ensnaring Strike
		Fighting Style: Archery
8	Ranger 3	Subclass: Hunter
		Hunter's Prey: Horde Breaker
9	Respec: Lv 1 - Warlock Lv 2-6 - Cleric Lv 6-9 Hunter Ranger	Cantrips: Booming Blade, Minor Illusion
		Subclass: The Great Old One
		Spells: Armour of Agathys, any
10	Ranger 4	Feat: Great Weapon Master: All In
11	Ranger 5	Spells: Spike Growth
12	Cleric 6	-

Gear Choices

BG3 Build Equipment Embed
Build ID: 5168
Mode: Paper Doll
Sets: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3

Synergy with other builds

The build really benefits from other combatants that use weapons. The main reason is Moonmote and Crusader's Mantle which buff allies damage. This is 1d4 radiant damage which is not too much, but when you take into account that it affects everyone on each attack, the damage can stack up.

Moreover, there are many items which apply bonus effect from radiant damage like Gloves of Belligerent Skies, Luminous Armour, etc. and they don't necessarily need to be on this character.

Ranged and melee weapon users (especially multihit ones)

So whether you use melee users or ranged builds, these will greatly benefit from the Selune's Silverstar build. First, they can utilize the effects that enemies will receive. Second, radiant damage buffs will help maximize the damage.

• Spellswords are really great as they can use both magic or weapon attacks when needed - Swords Bard Archer, Bladesinger, Bardadin and many more from Spellsword builds.
• Wildheart Barbarian is also an excellent choice with its Tiger's Bloodlust.
• Archers, as they have Arrow of Many Targets - Hunter Ranger (for Volley), Arcane Archer, etc. The multihits will activate the radiant damage riders from Moonmote, Crusader's Mantle, etc.

Lightning/Cold Party

A cleric can easily apply Wet​ on enemies using Create or Destroy Water​ spell. This does impede your own action economy, but opens up your party members for huge damage potential:

• The main highlight would be Land Druid. A very popular variation of it is Thundersnow Herald, which comes with both Cold and Lightning spells for total annihilation.
• Sorcadin with access to Lightning Bolt.
• Many of the Sorcerer and Wizard variations - Storm Sorcerer, Talos Dragonling Build, Cold Sorcerer, Abjuration Wizard, etc.

Level 1 - Character Creation

This section covers the creation screen and what would go into the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for the Selune's Silverstar build. If you have already started playing or using this on your companion, feel free to do a respec at Withers and follow along. This will make it easy not to miss out on anything that the build needs.

Origins and Characters

Here are the Origin and character picks that have a slight advantage with this build:

Origin	Features	Description
Shadowheart	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fear of Wolves	The build can be used to reflect her moving away from Shar

Races

Race	Features	Description
High Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry	Comes with a selection of cantrips. Here are a few good options, especially if you don't get them from class or multiclass: Minor Illusion - can group enemies, even before combat to unleash area of effect spells Booming Blade - almost any melee build can benefit from this, and gives a guarnateed damage rider from level 5 Friends - pretty good on the main character, to get and easy Advantage on dialogue checks. However, be aware that if you cancel it near the NPC, they might attack you.
Wood Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.	Almost any build can benefit from the extra movement speed. I think the same is here, so I definitely recommend this option
Wood Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.
Half-Orc	Darkvision​ Relentless Endurance​ Savage Attacks​	Comes with Relentless Endurance, which is an excellent passive for any combatant that will go into melee range.

Class Choices

This section will cover what class-related choices you should pick for the optimal setup

Class

Overview
Cleric
Clerics are representatives of the gods they worship, wielding potent divine magic for good or ill.
Features
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.
Domain Spells​	Unique spell list accessible based on your cleric subclass.

Cantrips

Cantrips	Description
Produce Flame	Pretty good option for the early game, where this can provide slightly higher chance than using Sacred Flame
Thaumaturgy​	Especially recommended if you are the main character, as it will help with Intimidation checks.
Guidance​	For now, take this with cleric, later on it can be switched out, once you get Druid multiclass.

Subclass

Technically, War Domain is not under Selune. However, the build really wants this subclass for the various benefits it gives. So I will go with this recommendation:

Overview
War Domain
Features
War Priest​	Allows to use War priest charges to attack with bonus action.
Divine Favour​	Gives a bonus of 1d4 radiant damage.
Shield of Faith​	A concentration spell that gives a slight Armour Class boost to improve survivability.

Deity

Deity	Description
Selune	The Lady of Silver presides over the moon, stars, and navigation. Her power over the heavens is constantly challenged by her sister Shar, who seeks to plunge the world into eternal shadow.

Prepare Spells

Clerics get plenty of good level-1 spells. You might not have enough slots to equip them all but don't worry, more will be available as you level up. Choose your preferred ones.

Spells	Description
Guiding Bolt​	The main, long-range damage spell for the cleric in the early game.
Create or Destroy Water	Excellent spell to keep on hand. It can be useful when allies will cast Cold or Lightning spells to double their damage.
Inflict Wounds​	If enemies are close to you, this is the go-to spell, which a strong damage rolls. It can also crit, inflicting even more damage.
Command​	One of the best control spells in the game, if you have a high chance of landing it. What makes it special is that it does not use a Concentration slot.
Sanctuary​	Use this spell to make the ally untouchable, for example, if they have low HP, or you want to divert the enemy's attention.
Healing Word​	The best healing spell, due to its cheap cost and ability to revive downed targets without wasting action points. Moreover, later with The Whispering Promise ring you can buff specific allies.
Bless​	This is an excellent spell, for the very early game, until you obtain The Whispering Promise, which combines well with Healing Word. It loses value later on, so it can be phased out. The boost to attack rolls is significant, making it easier to dispose of enemies.

Background

Background	Skills	Description
Folk Hero	Animal Handling Survival	Both wisdom skills, that cleric can cover well. Fits, the build from a roleplay perspective.
Acolyte	Insight Religion	Insight is a Wisdom skill and Religion although Intelligence fits well with Cleric's theme.
Guild Artisan	Insight Persuasion	Excellent choice for the main character, you get Persuasion skills which help with dialogues.
Noble	History Persuasion	Similar to the above, but gives History skills.
Outlander	Athletics Survival	Mainly relevant for Survival skill which is wisdom-based.

Abilities

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

BG3 Build Ability Points
Build ID: 5168

Skill Proficiencies

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your roleplaying and background decisions. However, you would still want those stats which will give you the best benefits:

• Animal Handling
• Insight
• Medicine
• Perception
• Survival

Act 1 - Levels 2-6~

By this time, you should have landed on the Ravaged beach already and started exploring the initial area. You might need 1 additional encounter if you did not obtain enough XP in the Nautiloid.

Leveling Progression

Level 2

Action	Description
Turn Undead​	Excellent against undead enemies, making them run away.
Guided Strike​	A great way to ensure you land attacks when attacking with a weapon.

Level 3

Spells	Description
Magic Weapon​	This is a reasonably good spell. However, you will have plenty of Concentration spell options, so this will be left unused most likely.
Spiritual Weapon​	Gives a good use for bonus action. The weapon deals okay damage and can act as a distraction.

There are a few good spells to keep in mind and add/remove them when needed:

Spells	Description
Enhance Ability​	Almost a mandatory spell to have by someone in the group. This can help with various ability checks and turn the tables to your side.
Aid	An excellent spell that gives a flat health boost to all party members, even summons, depending on the spell slot level used. In the late game, this can result in hundreds of additional HP applied to all party members.
Warding Bond​	Excellent spell, that you can use to greatly improve the survivability of one of your party members. However, it does overlap with Hellrider's Pride if you use them.
Hold Person​	Can be situationally useful, especially if you have an 80%+ chance to land it. This then opens up an easy way for Advantage and guaranteed critical hits from the 3-meter range.
Blindness	This is an excellent spell as it does not use Concentration while applying Blinded on enemy, greatly reducing their combat potential.
Lesser Restoration​	I recommend being aware that you have this spell, as there are situations where it might be useful. It does not have to be always in the prepared spell list.

Level 4

Cantrips

Cantrip	Description
Light	This is a pretty good cantrip that enables a few items like Callous Glow Ring or Coruscation Ring if they will be used. However, there are also items like Blood of Lathander, and others that also provide this effect.

Here is what I recommend for the feat

Feat	Description
Sharpshooter: All In	This is a pretty non-standard pick for cleric, but is immensely powerful option if you are a bow user. War Domain features like Guided Strike will be essential and will pair well with Bow of the Banshee for high damage, debuffing shots.

Correctly using Sharpshooter

For many people Sharpshooter: All In feat can be a nightmare, especially if you are less experienced. However, it can play a big role in turning the bow user into a full powerhouse with a flat +10 damage boost. However, it comes with a drawback: -5 to attack rolls. This, of course, can be circumvented via various tricks:

• Archery​ fighting style bonuses
• Guided Strike - War Domain channel divinity action.
• Oil of Accuracy and Diluted Oil of Sharpness
• High Ground bonuses

I have a full article on increasing attack rolls. That goes into depth on various mechanics that work especially well in the early game, when the -5 attack roll hurts the most. You can also disable its effect via the Passives tab in hotbar:

You can also move it into your main hotbar, so that it's easier to disable.

Level 5

This level is a huge milestone, and that is why no multiclassing happened before. Access to level 3 spells makes Cleric an extremely powerful build.

Feature	Description
Destroy Undead​	When you use Turn Undead, you will also deal bonus radiant damage. I think this is a good addition, but nothing fancy as it has niche uses.

The War Domain subclass also gains special spells:

Spell	Description
Spirit Guardians​	This is one of the strongest cleric spells, that will be your bread and butter throughout the game. It will be used to weaken enemies using the Radiating Orb status effect.
Crusader's Mantle​	Applies a buff that gives a 1d4 radiant damage bonus. This does use a Concentration slot and greatly limits the cleric's combat potential.

Here are prepared spell recommendations. War Domain gets the core ones without needing to prepare them.

Spell	Description
Remove Curse​	This can be useful throughout the game in case you or a party member gets cursed.
Glyph of Warding​	You can use this Glyph to apply various damage types and effects. For example - fire, cold, lightning, etc. The main highlight is Sleep, which works on multiple enemies and can outright win you an encounter.
Mass Healing Word​	Using this as a bonus action together with The Whispering Promise will buff all allies with the Bless​ effect.

Spirit Guardians, the ultimate cleric spell

Now, at level 5, with access to level 3 spell slots, you can learn Spirit Guardians. This spell is probably the most powerful one in the cleric spell list, enabling you to trivialize many of the game encounters. The main trick is to pair it with a few items:

• Luminous Armour - can apply multiple Radiating Orb via Radiating Shockwave
• Boots of Stormy Clamour - applies Reverberation on each enemy hit. Might activate only one time, as it can be inconsistent.
• Gloves of Belligerent Skies - another gloves that will give more Reverberation stacks
• Other items

So now you can become a "Radiant lawnmower" which inflicts radiating damage, weakens enemies, and makes them harmless. 10 stacks of Radiating Orb is like +10 Armour class. While Reverberation can result in Prone which gives an easy Advantage.

Level 6 - Multiclass into Ranger Lv 1

For this level I suggest to multiclass into Ranger, which will play a major role into truly making Selune's Silverstar playstyle enabled, thanks to the Horde Breaker and later Extra Attack. For now, here are the steps.

So, now in the level-up screen, you can start multiclassing:

Let's go through the Ranger choices now:

Overview
Ranger
Rangers are unrivaled scouts and trackers, honing a deep connection with nature in order to hunt their favoured prey.

Pick the Favoured Enemy:

Passive Feature	Description
Bounty Hunter​	Ensnaring Strike​ is a decent spell, and this gives enemies Disadvantage on the Saving Throw for the effect.

After that, choose Natural Explorer:

Feature	Description
Urban Tracker​	A free Sleight of Hand proficiency, helping to cover more skill options if needed

For Abilities, take anything that your party might need.

Gear Recommendations

BG3 Build Equipment Embed
Build ID: 5168
Mode: Full Equipment
Sets: Act 1

Gameplay and mechanics

In this section, I would like to cover a few tips on how to use the build and add the main combat steps.

The healing items and heals

The main misunderstanding that people have about clerics, is that they should be concentrating on heals and buffs. Sadly, this is a very inefficient approach to one of the best classes in the game. The problems with healing:

• Generally, enemies will deal more damage with single attack, then the amount you heal
• Healing spells use full action point (there are alternatives, which I will cover below)
• The enemies can still attack the next turn, without being stopped

So more or less, by healing you are hiding a problematic approach to combat strategy, that you should try to find - do you lack initiative? Is the damage lacking? Maybe your party is inefficient?

Overall, healing should be limited and, in my opinion, used sparingly. My recommended spells are Healing Word​ and Mass Healing Word. These are cheap to use and cost only a bonus action, which does not interfere with your important spells.

Of course, this does not mean that healing should not be used. The two mentioned spell pair well these items The Whispering Promise and Hellrider's Pride. Both of them apply Bless and damage resistance to the affected targets.

So your main action is free, which you can use for spells, and bonus action buffs allies, all in one turn, without limiting your combat potential

The recommended combat loop

Overall, the combat loop is slightly different from standard cleric, and I want to emphasize the use of Ranged Attack. 

• The main idea of this build is to use your Ranged Attack, and where possible a consumable arrow like Arrow of Lightning, Arrow of Fire, etc. Pair this with Guided Strike to have a high chance of hitting.
• The second step is to get Sharpshooter: All In + Bow of the Banshee. Now your attacks can weaken foes, for your ally spells, and in some cases will obliterate enemies.
• You still have an option of using cantrips like Produce Flame, Sacred Flame, etc. for normal attacks.
• If you can use Bless​ to buff allies before combat. Once you get The Whispering Promise, you can forgo the spell and use Healing Word​ or Mass Healing Word​ instead, to buff your allies and save a spell slot + Concentration slot.
• Create or Destroy Water​ is an excellent spell if you have other casters that use Cold or Lightning spells.
• If you have a high spell success chance Command can be a gamechanger.
• Use Sanctuary for "oh, shit" moments to either protect yourself or allies.
• I recommend precasting Aid after each long rest. This can help improve the total health pool. Same for Warding Bond which can be applied to one or a few characters. However, it does overlap with Hellrider's Pride if you use them.

From level 5:

• Arrow of Many Targets will start appearing at about level 6, this paired with Bow of the Banshee can weaken multiple foes at the same time, while also inflicting respectable damage.
• The best option for casting at this stage is radiating Spirit Guardians​ + Luminous Armour + Boots of Stormy Clamour. This allows for easily debuffing multiple enemies.
• Glyph of Warding​ can be used to put enemies to sleep without a Concentration slot. It is excellent if you see a few of the targets grouped up.
• Crusader's Mantle is another powerful spell option, especially if you want to maximize the whole party's damage.

Act 1.5 - Level 7 - Rosymorn Monastery

I will assume that you will reach level 7 as you explore the Rosymorn Monastery Trail. It has plenty of stuff to explore and some important story bits. The whole map also contains significant gear that you should be on the lookout for. 

Leveling Progression

Level 7 - Ranger Lv 2

A few nice features are unlocked. For the spells, choose 2:

Spells	Description
Longstrider	One of the best cheap spells in the game. Make sure that at least one party member has it, to cast on everyone in the group, for solid movement speed improvement.
Ensnaring Strike	This is a pretty solid spell, especially with Bounty Hunter feature. It can disable an enemy target, and limit their movement.

Now, for the Fighting Style:

Fighting Style	Description
Archery	As this build is archery based, this is one of the best passives that you can pick
Defence	Gives a +1 Armour class to help avoid attacks.

Gear Recommendations

There are a couple of items that I would take a look here; otherwise, the previous Act ones are already enough

BG3 Build Equipment Embed
Build ID: 5168
Mode: Full Equipment
Sets: Act 1.5

Gameplay and mechanics

The recommended combat loop

With the new gear additions, both your ranged attacks and Spirit Guardians will become powerful. There are no major changes in the gameplay

Act 2 - Level 8-10 - Shadow Lands 

Depending on your choices, you might even reach Act 2 at level 7, so check the previous recommendations. In most cases, people will enter Act 2 via Path to Rosymorn Monastery Trail

Leveling Progression

Level 8 - Ranger Lv 3

Spells

Spell	Description
Hail of Thorns	A solid spell option that can hit multiple targets with a single casting and can be upcast.

Subclass

Overview
Hunter

Hunter's Prey

Action	Description
Horde Breaker​	This will be one of the core features for why we are taking Hunter. It will give a semi-extra attack, that also has various intricate interactions via passing conditions.

The importance of Horde Breaker

One of the key aspects that makes this build powerful is Horde Breaker. It works both in melee and ranged, and gives a somewhat simulated Extra Attack. However, there is a catch, and a major one, which makes this ability extremely powerful.

I will go through this in short details, but if you want extensive knowledge, I recommend reading this Horde Breaker guide.

First, let's start with the most important point: you want to target enemies that are clustered together. Of course, to activate Horde Breaker 2 enemies are enough. However, as I will explain later, getting many of them in one place will create a cascading effect of conditions.

As you can guess, the secret is the number of tagged enemies. The more you see "affected," the more conditions will have a chance to transfer to. So instead of affecting one enemy, the Horde Breaker allows to apply conditions on multiple targets. Of course, this doesn't mean that damage will transfer, but still a group of enemies that cannot move is a huge boon.

So, what are these conditions that can be transferred?

• Frightened from Mortal Reminder
• Frightened from Bow of the Banshee 
• Reverberation from Boots of Stormy Clamour on one of the targets
• Mental Fatigue from Ring of Mental Inhibition
• Others

Another cool aspect is that you can attack an enemy with a Horde Breaker (Ranged) and then do the second attack using Horde Breaker Follow-Up (Melee), which enables you to better control your distance and reach enemies that otherwise would not be reached via normal melee attacks.

Level 9 - Respec to Warlock 1

This is an important part of the build. Go to Withers and Respec so that you start the first level as a Warlock. Why is this important? The main idea is that you want to maintain your spellcasting modifier (which is used for spells from items) as Wisdom, and doing the last multiclass as Warlock will turn it into Charisma. So we want to avoid that.

So choose the Class:

Overview
Warlock
Features
Warlock Spell Slots	These spell slots can be used to cast spells and refill each Short Rest.

After that, pick cantrips:

Cantrips	Description
Booming Blade	This is a really powerful cantrip that offers free thunder damage rider, and inflicts even more damage if the enemy moves.
Minor Illusion	Extremely powerful cantrip, that can be used to either distract or pull enemies into one place before Combat. This unlocks very powerful setups for various multi-hit actions.

For Subclass, my recommendation:

Overview
The Great Old One
Features
Mortal Reminder	As the build uses spells with multihits, this ensures that you can easily land critical hits and make enemies Frightened.

For spells:

Spells	Description
Armour of Agathys​	If well used, the spell can inflict large amounts of damage against foes that try to hit you.
Any	Pick any spell, that you might seem relevant or interesting in trying out.

For Abilities, reuse the old ones:

BG3 Build Ability Points
Build ID: 5168

Go back through levels 1-8 of the build

After the respec, you should now go back through progression and pick the same levels and classes as before via multiclassing:

• 5 Cleric
• 3 Hunter Ranger

Nothing else changes.

Minor Illusion to control enemy positioning

On the other hand, you can also use something like Minor Illusion​ to pull enemies together, change their vision cones, and attack with the same spell but hit all of them. This is a very powerful cantrip that can be overlooked.

First, it does not break Invisibility or stealth (unless you get seen). Second, enemies when not in combat will chase it, meaning they will change their vision direction. Third, on most occasions, they will come closer to investigate the illusion.

This creates various opportunities like landing a powerful Area of Effect spell from caster or scrolls, or hitting with wide attacks.

Level 10 - Ranger Lv 4

This level is important as it will give access to a second feat

There are plenty of feats to choose from

Feat	Description
Great Weapon Master: All In	This is my recommended feat if you plan on using Selûne's Spear of Night this, which will enable you to hit with significant damage when dual-wielding the spear.
Dual Wielder	This option is perfect if you want to rely more on ranged attacks, and use Selûne's Spear of Night + other stat stick weapon (for example Knife of the Undermountain King) to get a significant boost.
Ability Improvement - +2 Wisdom	Another option is to empower your main spellcasting stat by getting +2 Wisdom.

Managing Great Weapon Master

The most important aspect of most two-handed builds is correctly utilizing Great Weapon Master: All In​ and its -5 attack roll penalty. By putting effort into minimising the debuff, from level 4, you can get 10 flat damage boosts, making most of the enemies a cakewalk.

• Bless​ from a Cleric, Paladin, or The Whispering Promise ring for a 1d4 bonus.
• Spells like Faerie Fire, and Blindness​ give an Advantage to attackers.
• Oil of Accuracy or Diluted Oil of Sharpness, for a 1 and 2 attack roll bonus.
• Phalar Aluve: Sing​ gives 1d4 to attack rolls.

Now, if you want more in-depth information, I have a guide covering how to increase attack rolls, which lists a lot of options and combinations. You can then pick the bonuses based on your party setup.

Gear Recommendations

BG3 Build Equipment Embed
Build ID: 5168
Mode: Full Equipment
Sets: Act 2

Gameplay and mechanics

This is an important section, as the build gains major changes in how it plays, thanks to various unlocked items.

The recommended combat loop

• The introduction of Horde Breaker drastically opens up your combat approach. More or less you have multiple options of what to use - Spirit Guardians, Horde Breaker, Ranged Attack + Arrow of Many Targets, etc.
• If it's possible and you see an encounter incoming, Minor Illusion is a very powerful option to lure enemies into one place. Following up with Horde Breaker allows applying multiple conditions at the same time
• In general, try to target those enemies that are grouped together so that Horde Breaker is activated
• You can use Booming Blade when you have a free action point
• Ranged attacks are still your bread and butter
• Spirit Guardians is also an excellent spell, especially if you have equipped Gloves of Belligerent Skies.

Act 3 - Level 11-12 - Rivington and Lower City

You are close to reaching the game finale, or so you think. The last part of the game is huge and can be both intimidating and overwhelming.

Here are some recommendations from me:

• You don't need to do all the side quests here; they can take up to 40 hours or more, depending on what you decide to do
• Leave some quests for other runs. As you reach the maximum level, the game might become less satisfying. This will give a new perspective for your next playthroughs, to find novelty and discovery.
• There is a lot of good gear in this Act, but you don't need to get it all. I recommend prioritizing the most important ones for your builds. You can plan this with the Act 3 Checklist.

Leveling Progression

Level 11 - Ranger Lv 5

Feature	Description
Extra Attack	Can make an additional free attack after making a hit with your main action point.

For spells:

Spells	Description
Spike Growth	This would be my pick. It is not a game changer, at this stage in the game, but might be extremely deadly if you use items like Callous Glow Ring to pass the radiant damage rider onto Spike Growth

Level 12 - Cleric Lv 6

This is the last level of the build:

Feature	Description
Channel Divinity: War God's Blessing	An upgrade to Guided Strike which enables giving bonus attack rolls to an ally, not only to yourself.

Gear Recommendations

BG3 Build Equipment Embed
Build ID: 5168
Mode: Full Equipment
Sets: Act 3

Gameplay and mechanics

In general, Act 3 does not bring much in terms of how the gameplay changes. It's just optimisations to your gear and higher-level spell unlocks

The recommended combat loop

• With the Extra Attack unlocked your weapon attacks are even more potent and play a bigger role in both applying conditions and inflicting damage.
• Horde Breaker is still a major feature of the build, and depending on the setup, you can use both ranged and melee interchangeably.
• For bigger encounters, you can use Moonmote or Crusader's Mantle to buff everyone with radiant damage rider. Taking into account that everyone's hits will get 1d4 damage, this can stack easily.
• Moonmote also has a special effect of slowing enemies down. So if you pull them with Minor Illusion before combat, they are very unlikely to run away.
• In case you have lightning casters, Create Water is an extremely potent spell even if it uses up your main action
• Use Booming Blade when not utilizing Horde Breaker to inflict extra thunder damage.
• The main decision is between Ranged weapons and melee weapons. The build can use both at the same time, or you can concentrate just on one.

Maximizing the Build - Abilities, Illithid, Consumables

Maximising 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.

Wisdom

1. Starting - 17 Wisdom
2. Auntie Ethel's Hair (optional) - +1 Wisdom (if you choose this)
3. Act 3 - Khalid's Gift - +1 Wisdom if you did not take Auntie Ethel's Hair
4. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Wisdom, you can also switch this for +2 Dexterity, especially if you are using Bows a lot.

These will allow you to reach 20 natural Wisdom, which is pretty decent.

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	An easy way to ensure you land critical hits, works both with spells and normal attacks.
Cull the Weak​	Base	Can help to kill an enemy faster if it is left with a few HP.
Psionic Backlash​​	Base	A great way to weaponise your reaction, especially if you do not have access to Counterspell
Shield of Thralls​	Base	Excellent option for bonus temporary HP. It can also apply Stunned on foes, after the shielding is destroyed.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	Can be used to maximise the effectiveness of charisma-based skills, especially relevant to the main character.
Black Hole​	Elite	Very powerful 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	Can be used to nullify lower-level spells which are equal to your proficiency bonus.
Freecast​	Elite	Remove the cost of spell slots or charges.
Fracture Psyche​	Elite	Weakens enemies by reducing their Armour Class. Now it's easier to hit them.

Potions, Elixirs and other Consumables

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

Potions

These are general consumables, and most of them are activated for a few turns. Potions are separate from Elixirs and can be active together.

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.
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.
Potion of Animal Speaking	An easy way to get the Speak with Animals​ effect.
Terazul	Gives Hastened​ and stacks with other sources of it. This is a late-game consumable.
Potion of Angelic Reprieve	Restores level 1 and 2 spell slots.
Potion of Angelic Slumber	Acts as a Long Rest, restoring all spell slots.

Coatings

These are applied directly on weapons, and usually have a 10-turn duration:

Consumable	Description
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.

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 Battlemage's Power	Improves Spell Save DC, making it easier to land spells.
Elixir of Peerless Focus	Makes it easier to maintain spell Concentration
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even Surprised​ mechanics.

Arrows

Consumable	Description
Arrow of Many Targets	One of the strongest arrow options in the game. Allows hitting multiple targets; its success depends on the first hit, and it can do powerful things, like activating consumables, while also hitting enemies.

Scrolls

This is one of the most overpowered mechanics in the game. At first, it might seem that you earn those old, boring spells that you can learn yourself. However, as you play more and more, and get higher-level spells, you can see - wait, I can save a spell slot casting this.

Yeah, and this is where their power comes. During the whole playthrough, you will probably collect a lot of these, so I recommend using them whenever you can.

Conclusion and Credits

Thank you for reading Selune's Silverstars Build for Baldur's Gate 3. This is a perfect role play build, utilizing advanced mechanics like Horde Breaker and special radiant gear - Selûne's Spear of Night. This build is perfect for those wanting to do a "good" Shadowheart playthrough.

Cheers!

Big thanks to grousedrum for sharing insights on this build setup

David, for doing a review