Great Old One Warlock - GOO Build - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

The Great Old One Build - GOOLock

The idea of this build is to utilize the level 1 Great Old One Warlock passive action - Mortal Reminder​ and Hunter Ranger's level 3 Action Horde Breaker​. Both abilities have very interesting interactions with other items and effects in which they can be "exploited" in more ways than it seems.

Mortal Reminder Wisdom saving throw applies to all enemies within a 3 m (10 ft) radius of the critically hit target which also works with Horde Breaker's  AoE. It also pairs well with Arcane Acuity which we will be gaining from Helmet of Arcane Acuity that will also buff our spell DC and accuracy for spells like: Evard's Black Tentacles​, Telekinesis​, Hold Person and many more.​​

This is a perfect subclass for those who are looking for disabling enemies and dealing a lot of damage. It also works great with big AoE weapons or weapons exploiting "DRS".

Hope you like the idea of the build, and enjoy reading it!

Class Contribution

The build can be made in a few different ways. You could go pure Warlock, take a dip in Sorcerer. In this case I will be going 9 Warlock and 3 Ranger

9 Great Old One Warlock

So this is the core of the build that you will use the most:

• Access to Mortal Reminder which may Frighten our enemies upon a critical strike.​​
• Entropic Ward which upon using a reaction will impose Disadvantage against an attack towards you and if it misses, it will grant you Advantage on your attack roll, good defence tool.
• Access to various control and debuff spells like Hex​, Dissonant Whispers​, Slow, Evard's Black Tentacles and many more​​​.
• Access to a useful cantrip - Eldritch Blast,​ which scales with level and gains damage bonuses throughout the game .
• Warlock Spellslots that reset on short rest which allows you for usage of a vast array of control spells - Darkness, Hunger of Hadar, Hold Monster​, etc.
• Special invocations which give unique features like Devil's Sight, Repelling Blast​, Agonising Blast​, etc.
• Gain extra attack via the Pact of the Blade​ pact.

3 Hunter Ranger

• Minor features, and spin on roleplay via Favoured Enemy and Natural Explorer selections.
• Selection of Fighting styles, mainly Defence in this case.
• Spell slots for casting spells - Hunter's Mark​, Spike Growth, etc. 
• Horde Breaker a very powerful semi extra attack feature which has lots of special hidden mechanics.

There are more choices, but I will leave those in the build variation section at the end of the post.

Build Variations

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

Setup	Description
9 Great Old One Warlock 3 Sorcerer	A split that trades Horde Breaker for Constitution Saving Throw proficiencies for higher Concentration score and Metamagic. You can utilize your Metamagic in many ways like using Metamagic: Extended Spell to make effects like Blade Ward​ last twice as much or Metamagic: Quickened Spell to make your Booming Blade cost a bonus action.​​​​
12 Great Old One Warlock	Mono Great Old One Warlock still offers a good build. You gain 3 feats, more Warlock spells, spell slots, invocations and mystic arcanum.

Build Overview

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

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Level	Class	Selection
1	Warlock 1	Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Booming Blade​
		Subclass: The Great Old One​
		Spells: Hex​​, Dissonant Whispers​
		STR - 8, DEX - 16, CON - 14, INT - 8, WIS - 10, CHA - 17
		Skills: Deception, Intimidation
2	Warlock 2	Spells: Armour of Agathys​
		Eldritch Invocations: Agonising Blast, Repelling Blast
3	Warlock 3	Spells: Cloud of Daggers​ or Hold Person​​
		Pact Boon:  Pact of the Blade​​
4	Warlock 4	Cantrips: Minor Illusion​
		Spells: Darkness
		Feat: Ability Score improvement - Great Weapon Master: All In​ or Savage Attacker ​
5	Warlock 5	Spells: Hunger of Hadar​
		Eldritch Invocations: Devil's Sight​
		Replace Spell: Darkness​​ -> Counterspell
6	Warlock 6	Spells: Fear​​
		Replace spell: If Cloud of Daggers -> Bestow Curse​ or Slow​​
7	Warlock 7	Spells: Evard's Black Tentacles​
		Eldritch Invocations: One with Shadows​
8	Respec Character: Lv 1-3 Ranger Lv 4-8 Warlock	Favoured Enemy: Ranger Knight​
		Natural Explorer: Urban Tracker
		Spells: Longstrider, Enhance Leap​
		Fighting Style: Defence​
		Subclass: Hunter
		Spells: Ensnaring Strike​
		Hunter's Prey: Horde Breaker
9	Warlock 6	Spells: Fear​​
		Replace spell: Cloud of Daggers -> Bestow Curse​ or Slow​​
10	Warlock 7	Spells: Evard's Black Tentacles​
		Eldritch Invocations: One with Shadows​
11	Warlock 8	Spells: ​Hypnotic Pattern​​
		Feat: Savage Attacker or Great Weapon Master: All In​
12	Warlock 9	Spells: Telekinesis​​
		Replace Spell: Hypnotic Pattern​ -> Hold Monster​
		Eldritch Invocations: Any, my personal choice: Beguiling Influence​

Keep in mind that with Bind Hexed Weapon​ you can only bind THE MAIN WEAPON so your off-hand would have to be a stat-stick or a shield​

Level	Class	Selection
1	Warlock 1	Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Booming Blade​
		Subclass: The Great Old One​
		Spells: Hex​​, Dissonant Whispers​
		STR - 8, DEX - 16, CON - 14, INT - 8, WIS - 10, CHA - 17
		Skills: Deception, Intimidation
2	Warlock 2	Spells: Armour of Agathys​
		Eldritch Invocations: Agonising Blast, Repelling Blast
3	Warlock 3	Spells: Shadow Blade​​
		Replace spell: Dissonant Whispers​ -> Cloud of Daggers​ or Hold Person
		Pact Boon:  Pact of the Blade​​
4	Warlock 4	Cantrips: Minor Illusion​
		Spells: Darkness
		Feat: Ability Score improvement -  Savage Attacker ​or Ability Score Improvement +2 Charisma
5	Warlock 5	Spells: Hunger of Hadar​
		Eldritch Invocations: Devil's Sight​
		Replace Spell: Darkness​​ -> Counterspell
6	Warlock 6	Spells: Fear​​
		Replace spell: Cloud of Daggers -> Bestow Curse​ or Slow​​
7	Warlock 7	Spells: Evard's Black Tentacles​
		Eldritch Invocations: One with Shadows​
8	Respec Character: Lv 1-3Ranger Lv 4-8 Warlock	Favoured Enemy: Bounty Hunter or Ranger Knight​
		Natural Explorer: Urban Tracker
		Spells: Longstrider, Enhance Leap​
		Fighting Style: Defence​
		Subclass: Hunter
		Spells: Ensnaring Strike​
		Hunter's Prey: Horde Breaker
9	Warlock 6	Spells: Fear​​
		Replace spell: If Cloud of Daggers -> Bestow Curse​ or Slow​​
10	Warlock 7	Spells: Evard's Black Tentacles​
		Eldritch Invocations: One with Shadows​
11	Warlock 8	Spells: ​Hypnotic Pattern​​
		Feat:  ​Ability Score Improvement +2 Charisma or  Savage Attacker ​
12	Warlock 9	Spells: Telekinesis​​
		Replace Spell: Hypnotic Pattern​ -> Hold Monster​
		Eldritch Invocations: Any, my personal choice: Beguiling Influence​

Synergy with other builds

This section will give a few ideas on how to utilize other builds to maximize the combat potential of the group. There are usually various synergies that make the group play more enjoyable. However, this should not be the main factor. With full game knowledge, any party composition will work freely.

Darkness Setup

Thanks to Devil's Sight​ you have a natural way to see and attack through magical darkness. Here's some builds that can help in your party:

Synergetic Builds	Enabler	Description
Beast Master Ranger (level 11)	Dire Raven Companion	From level 11, when using Fly, the raven will create Darkness fields for free.
Shadow Magic Sorcerer	Eyes of the Dark: Darkness	The Sorcerer has an easy way of creating Darkness fields, and see inside of it thanks to Eyes of the Dark
Sorlock	Devil's Sight Darkness	Sorlock can create and also see inside the Darkness thanks to the Devil's Sight

Playing with Darkness

So Darkness is one of those very powerful spells that can break the enemy AI, and make many encounters a breeze. There are a few sources that you can get it from:

• Darkness or Eyes of the Dark: Darkness spells
• Arrow of Darkness
• Shar's Spear of Evening with it's special Shar's Darkness and Edge of Darkness actions.
• Dire Raven Companion at level 11 from Beast Master Ranger, with its flying mechanic.

The created field is special because it will cancel out most of the arrow projectiles, protecting anyone inside it. Of course, it can be buggy, and enemies can still throw stuff, or used ranged attack if they are elevated. There are a few sources of being able to see in the "Magical" Darkness:

• Devil's Sight
• Eyes of the Dark from Eyes of the Dark: Darkness
• Eversight Ring, Steel Watcher Helmet allow to see through magical darkness

With all of the requirements and conditions in mind, you can now use Darkness to your advantage. My recommendation is to position the Darkness field in two ways:

Cover enemies with the field - this is an excellent strategy when enemies are clumped together, and you are the one starting the combat. Cast Darkness on them, so that they would get Blinded and use the character that can see in it, move together with them. Now you have an easy way on avoiding enemies, they also cannot freely move, or you will hit them with Opportunity Attack.

The second option is to use it as a cover field. This is perfect for those situations where you want to take it slowly, there are no enemies that can see in the dark, and you might be overwhelmed by them otherwise. You can then stay in the Darkness field and once your turn starts, move out, hit enemies with spells or weapons, and go back. The NPCs will have to make a choice - should they go inside and gain disadvatnage or stay outside and skip their turn

Another cool thing is that you can use Darkness strategically, with characters that cannot see inside of it. For example, enemies that are inside the field have Blinded condition. Position your melee characters outside, so that enemies would have to attack with Disadvantage. They might also try to run away, which would allow you to use Opportunity Attack for an additional hit against them.

Controllers

As this build Mortal Reminder ​it comes with a lot of utility in which: this build benefits much more from critical hits. This makes it an excellent candidate for control builds that can guarantee 100% critical chance via Hold Monster​/Hold Person. Here are the relevant builds:

Synergetic Builds	Enabler	Description
Any	Hold Person	Disabling a group or a single foe, allows your allies to hit them with guaranteed critical hits
Lorecerer Lore Bard Hexblade Other warlock variations	Hunger of Hadar	You cast Evard's Black Tentacles​ or other scroll spelsl to create the ultimate crowd control area, where enemies can barely move and constantly receive damage.
Eldritch Knight Archer	Stricken with Eldritch Inertia ​​	Eldritch Strike applies Disadvantage, meaning that it's spells have a high chance of landing. Archer or an ally can follow up with something like Hold Person, to disable specific targets. It also works well with the piercing category

Psychic damage

Synergetic Builds	Enabler	Description
Sorcadin Show Blade Bardadin Bladesinger Hexblade	Resonance Stone Shadow Blade	All of these builds have access to Shadow Blade spell, making this an extremely good synergy with Shadow's Monk Shadow Strike.
Open Hand Monk	Manifestation of Mind	Open Hand Monk also can deal psychic damage, it's not as big as having full Shadow Blade, but still works well for a slight damage boost.

Piercing Damage

Synergetic Builds	Enabler	Description
Bardadin Shadow Monk Two-Handed Eldritch Knight Eldritch Knight Archer Others	Bhaalist Armour for the Aura Of Murder	As a ranged build, you will greatly benefit from other characters that would use Bhaalist Armour in Act 3. This means you are not required to go into close range and risk getting Threatened effect. The Aura Of Murder will double piercing damage, making you extremely powerful.

Starting the Game - Level 1

This section covers the creation screen and what would go into the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for the GOOlock build. Some of these choices are impactful as you cannot respec them.

Races

Picking a race provides various benefits - abilities, dialogue options, looks, etc. Specifically for the GOO build, they will give important armor proficiencies or advantages on stealth checks to better utilize the assassin playstyle.

Race	Features	Description
Drow	Drow Weapon Training​ Superior Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Dancing Lights	All three choices offer you access to a free Darkness spell. This is a really nice bonus that you can utilize to save your resources, especially if the party is leaning on this mechanic.
Asmodeus Tiefling	Darkvision​ Hellish Resistance​
Drow Half-Elf	Fey Ancestry​ Darkvision​ Civil Militia​
High Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry	These picks are relevant mainly for another cantrip you want to have, my personal pick would be the Mage Hand​
High Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry
Deep Gnome	Gnome Cunning​ Superior Darkvision​ Stone Camouflage​	The main attractiveness of Gnomes is that they have Gnome Cunning, which will allow you to negate some of the Resonance Stone effects, thus improving your survivability.
Dwarf Duergar	Dwarven Combat Training​ Superior Darkvision​ Dwarven Resilience​ Duergar Resilience​	One of the best race picks overall. The Invisibility​ action allows you to enter combat with the best possible position and always activate the Surprised round. It also works great with Horde Breaker​
Wood Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.	Comes with a solid movement speed boost that any melee build can utilize well in combat to reach enemies on the initial turn.
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​	A perfect fighter race - can stand up instead of being Downed but most importantly gains additional rolls for critical hits from Savage Attacks​.
Githyanki	Martial Prodigy​	The race comes with all weapon proficiencies and early medium armor proficiency. Moreover, it gets some good actions like Misty Step​ and Astral Knowledge.

Class

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

Cantrips

You can only take two, so here are my recommendations:

Cantrip	Description
Booming Blade​	The new cantrip can be used with a normal attack without any cost. When enemies move while under its effect, they receive thunder damage. In later levels, it gives a direct damage boost. So no reason not to use it every turn.
Eldritch Blast​	The iconic warlock cantrip, which has good scaling with levels, gains unique invocations for further improvements. This is the go-to option for ranged warlock attacks.
Friends​	This is a somewhat optional cantrip. It can be extremely useful in dialogue checks. However, be careful not to cancel it near the affected NPC, as they can start attacking you.

Subclass

Overview
The Great Old One
Features
Mortal Reminder​	When you land a Critical Hit against a creature, that creature and any nearby enemies are Frightened​ until the end of their next turn.

Spells

There are multiple good spell picks, but for now, you can only take 2:

Spell	Description
Hex​	Good damage boosting option especially with your ranged Eldritch Blast. Adds a respectable amount of damage + it's a good surprise starting round tool.​
Dissonant Whispers	Pretty nice control spell dealing a respectable psychic damage and making an enemy Frightened​
Hellish Rebuke​	It allows you to indirectly attack during the enemy's turn, while you have a limited number of attacks. Sadly, it is useful for the first few levels.

Background

Backgrounds are mostly for role-playing, and you can pick whatever you prefer. If you want to optimize, then it would be good to pick backgrounds that are based on your Wisdom ability points.

Abilities

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
• any other

Leveling Progression 2-12

Here is the detailed progression for the GOOlock to get you started. You can use it as a guideline because early games can be daunting and overwhelming. Later on, once you get a feel for the class you can start picking your options

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.

For most of the builds, early levels are pretty simple, as there are minimal spell options and features that you can use. However, there are notable spikes at levels 5-6:

• Extra Attack
• Level 3 spells
• Major class and subclass features

With these, you will feel how the game combat opens up, and with correct preparations, you can start eliminating foes with minimal preparations.

Level 2 - 2 Warlock

Spells

Spells	Description
Armour of Agathys​	It can be used before short rest if you have a free spell slot. It improves survivability and can inflict decent cold damage.

Eldritch Invocations

Invocation	Description
Agonising Blast​	One of the most important invocations to make Eldritch Blast​ more powerful.
Repelling Blast​	If you are interested in improving the Eldritch Blast​ cantrip further, here is my pick. This can be used to push back enemies into chasms or into the Hunger of Hadar.

Level 3 - 3 Warlock

The first level 2 spells are unlocked. You also gain some nice features that will be useful later on.

Spells

Spell	Description
Shadow Blade​	Purely for Dual-Wield setup or until you get a good 2 handed weapon.
Cloud of Daggers​​	This spell can hit multiple targets, and it activates 2 times - on initial cast and the enemy's turn. It can destroy some early game fights when placed correctly.
Hold Person​	This is an easy way to guarantee critical hits combined with stuff that you can get later in the game, for safety I'd use it with ~65% success rate.

Pact Boon

Boon	Description
Pact of the Blade​	It will allow our weapon to use Charisma modifier instead of natural Strength or Dex and you will be able to access Deepened Pact,​ which gives an additional attack at level 5.

Using any melee Weapon - Bind Pact Weapon

What does the Bind Pact Weapon​ from Pact of the Blade​ do? Well, its purpose is revealed at level 5 when you gain Deepened Pact​ for a Deepened Pact: Extra Attack. It also allows your weapon to use fully charisma modifier to attacks instead of strength/dexterity.

Level 4 - 4 Warlock

Level 4 brings the first feat, it will be a huge improvement. Here you can select from a few choices, based on your playstyle and what kind of playthrough you are doing.

Feat	Description
Savage Attacker​​	Allows to re-roll damage dice for melee weapons for a higher result. Very good with Shadow Blade.
Great Weapon Master: All In​	It gives a bonus attack using a bonus action if you kill an enemy or land a critical hit. On top of it, it also adds a flat +10 damage to our strikes at the expense of -5 penalty to attack rolls. I recommend checking the guide on Attack Roll Increase, to get ideas on how to easily overcome this penalty.
Ability Improvement - +2 Charisma	Another option is improving your Charisma, which is beneficial for your attacks, Eldritch Blast​ and some gear properties.

Cantrips

You can pick only one

Cantrip	Description
Minor Illusion​	A pretty good cantrip that you can use to lure enemies to NPCs. Early game even before combat, you can perfectly align foes into one spot and land Cloud of Daggers.

Using Minor Illusion

On the other hand, you can also use something like Minor Illusion​ to pull enemies together, changing their vision cones, and attacking with the same spell but hitting 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 a caster or scrolls, or hitting with wide attacks.

Spells

Spell	Description
Darkness​	This would be a perfect time to pick this spell, at least to try it out. You can now set up dark areas and gain an Advantage in combat

Level 5 - 5 Warlock

Level 5 plays a pivotal role in most of the builds. You will get access to level 3 spells, which are very powerful and start unlocking the class's potential.

Feature	Description
Deepened Pact​	This is the improved Pact of the Blade​ version, which gives extra attack, highly improving your damage potential.

Spells

Spell	Description
Hunger of Hadar​	This is one of the strongest control spells in the game. It covers a large area and makes enemies blind. Moreover, it inflicts damage per turn and slows them down. This is an extremely strong setup that makes multiple encounters a cakewalk.

Eldritch Invocations

Invocation	Description
Devil's Sight​	This is one of the most useful passives in the game. It helps with general dark areas. However, it also plays well with dark environment like from: Darkness​, Hunger of Hadar​, Arrow of Darkness.

Replace Spell

Remove Spell	Add Spell	Description
Darkness​​	Counterspell​	This is an extremely powerful spell that can be used if you see that the enemy is casting a deadly spell. It can outright save your runs. For Darkness​ use Hunger of Hadar​ or Arrow of Darkness.

Darkness with Devil's Sight

Using Darkness​ spells with a Warlock is one of the ways to guarantee success. You will, of course, need Devil's Sight​ Eldritch Invocation. Once you have it, you can stay inside and either attack with Eldritch Blast, cast spells, or wait for enemies to come and bash them with Advantage, while they are blind.

Sadly, this doesn't work perfectly. Some enemies can throw weapons outside of the fog without penalties, easily breaking your concentration. So be mindful of that, and try to force enemies into the Darkness​ so that they would be at a Disadvantage and Blinded.

Preparing Armour of Agathys and other Long Rest spells

So you can do some next-level precasting with Warlock, especially if you are getting ready for a big fight. For example, you can cast Armour of Agathys, Expeditious Retreat, spending your spell slots; then use Short Rest to restore spell slots, and go into a fight with maximum preparation.

Level 6 - Warlock 6

The level unlocks some nice features:

Feature	Description
​Entropic Ward​	Upon using a reaction will impose Disadvantage against an attack towards you and if it misses, it will grant you Advantage on your attack roll, good defence tool.

Spells

Spells	Description
Fear​​	Great control spell which can disarm your enemies on top of making enemies Fearful​.

Optional Spell Replacement

Remove Spell	Add Spell	Description
​​Cloud of Daggers​	Slow​  OR Bestow Curse​​	Slowing an enemy heavily drops their movement and action economy while Bestow Curse​ is a direct upgrade to Hex​ but you have to cast it in melee range.

Levels 7-10

Generally, this covers the Act 2 part of the game. This unlocks items that give a slight boost to a few builds, and you uncover a really interesting part of the story.

Level 7 - Warlock 7

Spells

Spells	Description
Evard's Black Tentacles​​	Your best friend, an absolute BEAST of a spell. Pairing it with your high spell save DC, control and other spells you can cast on your enemies, you will dominate the battlefield.

Eldritch Invocations

Invocations,	Description
One with Shadows​​	Good spell that will work very well with your Darkness​, Arrow of Darkness, Shar's Spear of Evening and many other effects. The invisibility also doesn't break if you use Half-Illithid fly ability.

Level 8 - Respec to 3 Ranger Hunter and 5 GOO Warlock

This is an important part of the build. Go to Withers and Respec so that you start the FIRST level as a Ranger. Why is this important? The main idea is that you want to change your spellcasting modifier from Wisdom - to Charisma, when adding Warlock levels later. It will benefit us with using stuff like Arcane Synergy. 

Go back through levels 1-8 of the build

After the respec and distributing first levels into Ranger, you should now go back through progression and multiclass into the Great Old One Warlock again. Pick the same choices from levels 1-5 Warlock in the progression tab

​Here's a guide how to multiclass:

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.
Ranger Knight​​	​You gain proficiency in Heavy Armor which can be a nice alternative with pieces like Adamantine Splint Armour, Armour of Persistence

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.

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
Defence	Gives a +1 Armour class to help avoid attacks.

Spells

Spell	Description
Enhance Leap​	Triples your jump distance for 10 turns. Useful tool to have while traversing the world or pre-cast it in combat to have bigger mobility.

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 Bow of the Banshee 
• Reverberation from Boots of Stormy Clamour on one of the targets
• Mental Fatigue from Ring of Mental Inhibition
• Most importantly - Mortal Reminder​

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 - Warlock 6

The level unlocks some nice features:

Feature	Description
​Entropic Ward​	Upon using a reaction will impose Disadvantage against an attack towards you and if it misses, it will grant you Advantage on your attack roll, good defence tool.

Spells

Spells	Description
Fear​​	Great control spell which can disarm your enemies on top of making enemies Fearful​

Levels 11-12

This is where you will spend most of the time in Act 3. There will be an immense amount of content, and you can finish your builds and unlock extremely powerful gear.

Level 11 - Warlock 8

The main highlight of this level is the additional feat.

Spells

Here are some relevant spell recommendations:

Spells	Description
Hypnotic Pattern​​	Good control spell that will be quickly replaced later, it can be used for a couple of fights applying. Hypnotised​

Feat

Feat	Description
Savage Attacker​​	Allows to re-roll damage dice for melee weapons for a higher result.
Great Weapon Master: All In	A very powerful feat, that greatly improves combat capabilities. The main problem is the penalty to attack rolls. However, this can be negated by disabling the effect or getting various bonuses. I recommend checking the Attack Roll Guide on how to maximise your hit chance.
Ability Improvement - +2 Charisma	Another option is improving your Charisma, which is beneficial for your attacks, Eldritch Blast​ and some gear properties.

Level 12 - 9 Warlock

Level 5 spell slots are unlocked with some additional invocations:

Spells

Spells	Description
Telekinesis​​​	Very versatile and strong spell being able to dish a great amount of damage or instakilling enemies. It will be especially strong due to our possible Arcane Acuity.

Replace Spell

Spell	Description
Hypnotic Pattern​-> Hold Monster​	We replace the spell due to our already high control and vast array of spells that may prove more useful. Hold Monster​ is also a counterpart to Hold Person​ but as the name suggests - it works on monsters.

Eldritch Invocations

For now, I think the build has everything covered. So feel free to pick anything of interest:

Invocations
Any	At this point of the game you basically have everything you want, but due to own taste you can choose stuff like Armour of Shadows, Fiendish Vigour etc.​​
Beguiling Influence​	Additional proficiencies for charisma dialogue checks, my personal choice.

Equipment Recommendations

Act 1

This covers the earliest part of the game, which generally spans Nautiloid, Wilderness, Underdark and the semi Act 1, or to be precise Act 1.5 - Rosymorn Monastery Trial.

Act 2

The main goal for this act is to obtain the Resonance Stone, Rat Bat or Shar's Spear of Evening so don't be in a hurry and enjoy all the stuff that you can encounter here. You'll encounter one of those one way or another.

Act 3 - Final Build setup

This is where you will unlock the strongest weapons and armors for most of the builds. It is split into two major parts, starting with Rivington and later reaching the huge area - Lower City itself.

Build Mechanics

In this section, I would like to dive deep into how to play the GOOlock. 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 effectively use the build.

Switching between melee and ranged

So Warlock is especially versatile in mid-game, and it's thanks to a few options that you have. First, you get access to Eldritch Blast,​ which is your go-to option for ranged attacks. This cantrip gets significant boosts with eldritch invocations:

• Agonising Blast​
• Repelling Blast

Once you get Horde Breaker​ you can also use Horde Breaker (Ranged) to have 2 attacks instaed of one, as you only have Extra Attack on your bound weapon through Bind Pact Weapon. Harold will be exceptionally great as it can apply Bane​ to a lot of enemies so use it before a fight for free attack or if you plan to cast spells.

Arcane acuity

So the core aspect is being able to build your Arcane Acuity​ both during your turn and outside of it. It will greatly increase your spell potency which is crucial for this build, it also will greatly increase the value of Mortal Reminder.

Quickly stacking Arcane Acuity will make your Evard's Black Tentacles almost inescapable and your other control spells like Hold Monster or Telekinesis almost guaranteed to hit. Battle Acuity also triggers on dealing weapon damage to objects as well as creatures so Helmet of Arcane Acuity is a monstrous combination especially with Horde Breaker.

​Actions and consumables with hidden attack rolls against enemies in the effect radius can trigger Mortal Reminder which also our beloved Horde Breaker may trigger. Your bread and butter will be dealing a lot of damage due to Horde Breaker with quickly stacking Arcane Acuity, followed up with possible easy Frightened AND a control spell to add spice to the mix.

Elemental Infusion Ring

As mentioned in the Act 1.5 Equipment section, Ring of Elemental Infusion works wonky with Booming Blade (BB)​. To properly activate the ring with BB you need the Drakethroat Glaive from Act 2 (map below) or the Elemental Weapon spell. BB isn't properly coded as a Thunder spell so you need to imbue your weapon with any element to activate it without using a dedicated cantrip or a spell. This ring's damage can also apply multiple times as it is a Damage Rider.​

What in the Nine-Hells is Rat Bat ?

As mentioned many times, Rat Bat has a hidden piercing damage bonus. This combined with all the damage riding features like Callous Glow Ring, Horns of the Berserker, Craterflesh Gloves and many more options will result in damage-riding on damage-riding on damage and so on. Using your Main Hand attack, Booming Blade, Great Weapon Master: Bonus Attack​, Horde Breaker will all result with big chunks of damage stacking from mentioned items.​

Act 2 - Githzerai Mind Barrier

To have good resistances for some time against Intelligence checks, you can do a special mechanic late in Act 2 (illithid colony). This requires you to finish a puzzle and find a specific mind. First, go and complete the puzzle:

Once the doors are unlocked, go inside and pick up the Waking Mind:

Now, go back to the interface and place the mind. After that, you will be able to get the Githzerai Mind Barrier effect.

This is a great buff that will improve your saving throws, giving an Advantage on Intelligence. This will be extremely valuable in the upcoming fight. Sadly, it will disappear if you die, so try to avoid that.

Invisibility options

This build also does shine when using Invisibility as you can stack acuity due to Helmet of Arcane Acuity. First, it allows starting with a Surprise round, giving you 1 turn Advantage which you can use to either kill or weaken enemies. Second, there are multiple ways of getting it:

• Potion of Invisibility - I think the most obvious one. If you can pickpocket or have plenty of gold, this option can be cheesy but effective.
• Invisibility​ - can be cast by various casters or activated via items.
• Cloak of Shadows​ - the iconic Shadow Monk feature, that allows one to become invisible at will.
• The Deathstalker Mantle - one of the key items that you obtain during the Dark Origin playthrough. You enter invisibility after each kill.
• Greater Invisibility​ - this is the most lucrative option. However, to use it you will want both proficiency and expertise in stealth, high dexterity, and stealth Advantage. With this effect, you can outright clean enemies without them even understanding what is happening. This requires a high-level caster like Bard, Sorcerer, or Wizard.

Combat Tactics and Rotation

Maximizing the build - Abilities, Illithid, Consumables 

This section I would like to dedicate to various optimizations that you can do to further empower your build. Various things like Illithid Powers, consumables can make the build from powerful to totally overpowered, trivializing the hardest game encounters

Maximizing Ability Scores

Ability Scores play an important role both in terms of how your attacks and spells land. Moreover, these can help to also reach extremely high skill rolls needed for a few checks.

1. Act 1 - Auntie Ethel's Hair - you will want to get +1 Charisma if you pick this choice.
2. Feat - Ability Improvement - +2 Charisma
3. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Charisma, it also has a hidden +1 Charisma that's entirely up to player luck..

This will allow you to reach 22 natural Charisma. If you're lucky enough even without Auntie Ethel's Boon.

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.

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.
Luck of the Far Realms​	Base	Guarantees a critical hit, use it on important targets that you want to make sure are killed.
Psionic Overload​	Base	As this is Psychic damage, you will double it to 2d4 thanks to Resonance Stone.
Psionic Backlash	Base	A decent use for reaction to deal some bonus psychic damage.
Cull the Weak​	Base	Can help to kill an enemy faster if it is left with a few HP.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	Especially helpful since you're a Charisma class, boosting your proficiencie even more.
Psionic Dominance​	Elite	Can be used to save yourself from a deadly spell. This is especially relevant as you will have a Disadvantage on mental saving throws.
Freecast​	Elite	Remove the cost of spell slots or charges.
Psionic Backlash​	Base	With a reaction you can deal chip damage to a caster or be used as an elimination tool to kill lower health targets, it also works great with Cull the Weak​.
Black Hole​	Elite	Thanks to Arcane Acuity​ it will be a tremendous grouping tool which will work perfectly with Horde Breaker​ or your control spell. It's especially great if you have Awakened​.

Useful Buffs

• Auntie Ethel's Hair - Grants you permanent +1 to a stat of your choice. Granted by haggling with Auntie Ethel.
• Volo's Ersatz Eye​ grants you permanent See Invisibility​ effect in exchange for one of your eyes. It's a permanent cosmetic change and it's mutually exclusive with Paid the Price​. It's obtained from Volo.
• Awakened​ - let's you use your Illithid powers as a bonus action. You can obtain it from the Zaith'isk machine.
• Resonance Stone can be found in The Mindflayer Colony effectively boosting your Psychic damage for the prize of debuff on mental Saving Throws but also your vulnerability to Psychic damage.
• Sweet Stone Features - Grants you the Bless​ effect. Pay 5000 gold to Boney in the Circus of The Last Days for Stoney to construct a statue of the player character or another party member​.
• Anointed in Splendour ​ - Grants +2 to all Saving Throws, offer enough gold to one of the deities in Stormshore Tabernacle. Gold needed scales with the difficulty level of the game and your character level.
• Partial Ceremorphosis​ - Allows you to become Half Illithid granting you stronger Tadpole powers in exchange for your looks.
• Mirror of Loss can grant you and your companions +2 to any stat permanently. Can also grant additional +1 to charisma offering it +3 instead of regular +2. I recommend looking into Mirror of Loss guide.

Potions, Elixirs and 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	You can chug this potion before combat, or during combat using a bonus action. It gives another action point that gives an additional attack or one more spell cast. Sadly, its duration is only 3 turns.
Oil of Accuracy	Can be used to enhance your hit chance on a weapon. The +2 bonus is pretty significant, especially when using Great Weapon Master: All In. Best used before combat to save bonus action.
Diluted Oil of Sharpness	Gives a bonus attack roll and damage. It is a good coating if you can apply it before combat to improve hit chances and get a slight damage boost.
Potion of Animal Speaking	Although not something powerful, it is worth stocking up and saving a spell slot.
Potion of Invisibility	Can be used to get a perfect position before the encounter starts. It can also help trigger Surprised rounds.
Terazul	Another buff granting Hastened that also stacks with Potion of Speed although be careful as this one lasts 2 turns BUT it doesn't cost anything to consume.
Potion of Angelic Reprieve	Due to this potion granting the effect of Short Rest it will also reset your used spell slots, very big value.

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 a Bonus Action.

Consumable	Description
Elixir of Bloodlust	As you will be able to easily kill at least the weakest foe, this ensures additional attacks per turn. This is one of the most powerful options that you can use.
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even surprise mechanics.
Elixir of Hill Giant Strength	Sets strength value to 21 until the Long Rest. I recommend this elixir in the early game ONLY to throw/shove small/humanoid enemies to chasms or from high places.

Conclusion and Credits

Thank you for reading the GOOLock - Hunter build for Baldur's Gate 3. I hope you enjoyed it.

Special thanks to Quag, Machina, MrTwinsanity from Larian Studios BG3 discord for backing up the 9/3 split.