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Between combat, questing, and dungeon-delving,balancing your partyinBaldur’s Gate 3can take quite a bit of work. You’re bound to come across some challenges that seem to defy all solutions. Sometimes, a dedicated expert will be required to perform a certain task. Other times, it’s best to have more versatile characters.
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Barbarians are extraordinary warriors, both quick on their feet and remarkably durable. But, they aren’t normally known for having the light and delicate fingers required fordismantling locks and traps. This guide disproves that stereotype. Today, we’ll examine the awesome synergy between the Barbarian and Rogue classes — specifically theBerserkerandThiefsubclasses.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on July 21, 2025: This guide has been updated to include more in-text links throughout to help guide readers to relevant and valuable content to enhance their Baldur’s Gate 3 experience.
Best Races For Barbarian / Rogue
The best Berserkers are usually the ones who can hit the hardest. But, mobility and various resistances can also be extremely useful for this build. After all, the Barbarian/Rogue will usually be on the front line in combat, and the Thief’s bonus dash can make you exponentially faster if your movement speed is already high.
Just remember that while usingRage/Frenzy, youcannot cast spells or even cantrips. Non-magical abilities of other kinds should all be available. But thebest racesfor Barb/Rogue are definitely those with passive bonuses that don’t require using any action/bonus action to trigger.
Barbarians get proficiency with all simple and martial Weapons, so choosing between full Elf and Half-Elf is merely cosmetic. Choose the Wood Elf subrace in order to get1.5m extra movement, as well asresistance to being Charmedandimmunity to magical Sleep.
This race is an easy choice for physical builds of all kinds. Havinganother damage die to roll on every critical hitallows Half-Orcs to land extremely powerful blows. They alsoautomatically get back up with 1 HPwhenever they’re downed in combat, once perLong Rest. This makes them an ideal choice for soaking up damage.
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Best Backgrounds For Barbarian / Rogue
Two things to bear in mind when choosing a background are the skills it provides proficiency for and the ways in which you’llgain Inspiration. You may want to pay close attention to the background’s description in order to understand how these characters become inspired, but some can be pretty self-explanatory.
Barbarian/Rogues do not have room for refined abilities or skills. Instead, this multiclass relies entirely on physical prowess in order to accomplish tasks. But Dexterity-based skills are certainly included in that framework:Sleight of Handis particularly essential for breaking locks and traps.
The most classic background for Barbarians, Outlander providesproficiency in Athletics and Survival. Athletics is especially useful for resisting being shoved around by enemy NPCs. Outlander also gives the character Inspiration forsurviving/experiencing unusual things in the wilderness, from interacting with dangerous creatures to unraveling natural mysteries.
The best Barbarian/Rogue build needs to multiclass pretty early to make the most of both skillsets. Choosing this background will give youproficiency with Sleight of Hand and Stealth, which are the two most important skills taken from the typical Rogue build. Inspiration can be gained with this background byusing “street smarts,“and also bylooking after the poor and downtroddensouls of Faerûn in general.
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Best Ability Score & Skill Proficiencies For Barbarian / Rogue
Go ahead anddump all of your Intelligence and Wisdomwhen starting this build, as they’ll only hold you back. Charisma can be left alone, butStrength and Constitution need to be maxed outwith Dexterity not far behind. Ideally, yourAbility Scorewill look something like this:
Constitution
Intelligence
When it comes to skills,Intimidationis the only speech skill that any Barbarian really needs. The second most important skill for this build isAthletics. But, this build differs from theordinary Barbarian buildbecausePerceptionandSleight of Handare extremely important for detecting traps and disarming them. This character will also be the party’s main locksmith.
Best Subclasses For Barbarian / Rogue
Both Barbarians and Rogues unlock their subclass choices at level 3. So, you’ll need to reach at least character level 6 to have both. It’s well worth the effort, though, since this build can take on multiple roles at once. Berserkers have very high DPS potential and can tank as well as any Fighter. And Thieves are by far the best subclass in the game for clearing trap-filled dungeons.
Part one of this build’s synergy starts with specializing as a Berserker. Rage evolves into Frenzy, which unlocks the Frenzied Strike and Enraged Throw bonus actions.Enraged Throw will knock your target proneif it lands, whileFrenzied Strike is simply an extra weapon attack. Each will give you -1 Attack rating until your Frenzy ends, so be sure touse Reckless Attack firstto give yourselfAdvantage on all attack rolls.
Choosing this subclass will give you asecond bonus actionevery turn, as well asresistance to falling damage. Having two bonus actions every turn provides endless tactical options. This is even more useful when considering the Rogue’s dash and disengage bonus actions. And, you canuse Frenzied Strike and Enraged Throw on the same turnthis way, targeting multiple enemies. Resistance to falling damage is also quite useful when navigating vertically rugged battlefields with haste.
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Best Feats For Barbarian / Rogue
This particular build will take your character up to level 8 Barbarian and level 4 Rogue, so you can still choose 3Feats. Many multiclass builds require forgoing one of those in order to get class-specific bonuses. But, for the Barbarian/Rogue multiclass specifically, this level distribution is ideal.
Best Barbarian / Rogue Level Progression
Starting out as a Barbarian is the logical way to go, since that will make combat significantly easier. It’s also good to get in the habit of using Rage/Frenzy followed by Reckless Attack to start things off. But once you get the Berserker subclass, go ahead and start working towards becoming a Thief. For this build, Feats aren’t nearly as important as class-specific actions and bonuses.
Progression
Barbarian: Unarmored Defense, Rage
Barbarian: Danger Sense, Reckless Attack
Barbarian: Additional Rage Charge; Berserker Subclass: Rage turns to Frenzy, Frenzied Strike, Enraged Throw
Rogue: Sneak Attack (Melee or Ranged)
Rogue: Cunning Actions (Hide, Disengage, and Dash as Bonus Actions)
Rogue: Thief Subclass; Fast Hands, Second-Story Work
Barbarian: Athlete Feat
Rogue: Ability Improvements Feat
Barbarian: Extra Attack, Fast Movement
Barbarian: Additional Rage Charge; Mindless Rage
Barbarian: Feral Instinct
Barbarian: Tavern Brawler Feat
Barbarian / Rogue In Combat
This multiclass has several responsibilities during combat, but mostly they just need to be able to deal high melee DPS and take considerable amounts of damage themselves. Additionally, the Barbarian/Rogue is an ideal pathfinder for any party.Feral Instinctwill give a bonus +3 to Initiative rolls as well astotal immunity to being surprised.
Your ability to tank with these specifications should never be underestimated.Rage/Frenzyautomatically givesresistance to all physical damage received.Mindless Rage, unique to the Berserker subclass, even makes youimmune to Charm and Frighten. Plus, Barbarians just have tons and tons of hit points.
Whenever combat begins, take a moment to gauge your enemies. If you think you can finish the fight within 2 rounds, don’t even bother using a Rage charge for it. But, if there are quite a few targets, or some particularly strong foes, go ahead and Hulk out right away. Thenclose the distance, using a bonus action Dash if you have to — just be sure toattack every single turn.
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Barbarian / Rogue Out Of Combat
Combining these two classes provides one of thevery best dungeon-delving characterspossible in Baldur’s Gate 3. The Barbarians’Danger Sensegives themAdvantage on Saving Throws against traps, spells, and surfaces. This is seriously the perfect trait for any would-be burglar.
Then take into consideration theWood Elf and Barbarian movement bonuses. Their total movement of coursecan be tripledor evenquadrupledthanks to the Thief’s extra bonus action and Cunning Action: Dash. While useful in combat, it’s also an incredibly effective strategy for dealing with traps of all kinds. Dash twice and still be able to Jump or Dash a third time, and no dungeon will keep you out.
As far as dialogue goes, this multiclass was never going to be the best choice for nuance. Barbarians in particular are known to have notoriously bad Charisma scores, but that’s okay because they also getAdvantage on most Intimidation checks.Unleash your fury!
Best Companions For Barbarian / Rogue Multiclass
Since this build can fill the varied roles of melee DPS, tanking, and dungeon-delving all at once, you have a lot of freedom for choosing companion characters.A healer will definitely be necessaryto help sustain longer fights. And you’ll want at least one character able to dish out magical DPS, such as a Warlock or Wizard.
Shadowheartis an easy choice for a healing companion, being both a Cleric and available right from the start. But you shouldrespec her as a Life Domain Cleric, as soon as you unlock the NPC who does so. This willmake her heals significantly more powerful.
The best caster companion for this Barbarian/Rogue build is most likelyGale. Being a Wizard will give him access topowerful buffs, in addition to awesome damage spells.Enlarge and Flyare especially over-powering when cast on a Berserker/Thief. To round out the party, you may want to bring along a Fighter likeLae’zel. After all, you’ll want to be able to deal plenty of damage too, and not just tank the whole time.
