Baldur's Gate 3Guides
Baldur's Gate 3Guides

All Baldur’s Gate 3 Feats (And Their Differences From D&D 5th Edition)

∙ 14 Min read

The Full List of Baldur’s Gate 3 Feats

Baldur’s Gate 3 Feats are upgrades that happen every four levels which grant new abilities and features to your character.

In this guide, we’ll cover all the Feats in Baldur’s Gate 3, listing their effects and how they compare to their original D&D 5th edition versions.

Although we’ll give some commentary about how good a Feat is and when you’d likely take it, remember to experiment with any whacky ideas you want!

After all, it’s incredibly easy to respec your character at any time.

5th Edition Feats that Are NOT in Baldur’s Gate 3

Note: Only from the Player’s Handbook (PHB):

  • Grappler
  • Healer
  • Inspiring Leader
  • Keen Mind
  • Linguist
  • Mounted Combat
  • Observant
  • Skulker

All Baldur’s Gate 3 Feats

Click on the table of contents below to jump to a Feat:

Ability Improvement

  • You increase one Ability by 2, or two Abilities by 1, to a maximum of 20

It’s a bit boring, but you can’t go wrong with increasing your stats to make sure you max your main stats ASAP.

Actor

  • Your Charisma increases by 1, to a maximum of 20
  • Your proficiency Bonus is also doubled for Deception and Performance Checks

This feat is worse than its 5th edition version where it also gives the ability to mimic the speech of a person or the sounds of a creature. In general, creative deception and trickery are quite nerfed in BG3 in comparison to D&D for understandable reasons.

You likely already have a high CHR Bard, Paladin, Sorcerer, or Warlock in your party so this may be overkill in most cases.

Alert

  • You gain a +5 bonus to Initiative and can’t be Surprised (cannot take actions/reactions)

Alert is a solid choice for any class as improved initiative is incredibly impactful in helping you finish fights faster and more efficiently. The Surprised aspect is kind of negligible since it’ll be a rare occurrence as long as you’re paying attention.

In comparison to 5th edition, it is missing the part where other creatures don’t gain advantage on attack rolls against you as a result of you not seeing them (not a big deal though).

Athlete

  • Your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1, to a maximum of 20
  • When you are Prone, standing up uses significantly less movement. Your Jump distance also increases by 50%

This feat isn’t too appealing unless you want to respec for a specific fight that you expect to get proned in. There are many other ways to get Jump buffs for your party and taking the Ability Score Improvement is a faster way to hit 20 with STR/DEX.

Compared to 5th edition, it’s also missing the aspects related to climbing movement cost and running jumps, which aren’t mechanically included in BG3.

Charger

  • You gain Charger: Weapon Attack and Charger: Shove and Charger: Shove.

This feat is a nice choice if you want more mobility and engage potential in your party comp, mainly for your melees. Keep in mind that it requires both a Dash action and bonus action to use.

Crossbow Expert

  • When you make crossbow attacks within melee range, the Attack Rolls do not have Disadvantage.
  • Your Piercing Shot also inflicts Gaping Wounds for twice as long

Crossbow Expert is lackluster since the melee range perk can be avoided altogether if you have good positioning skills and Gaping Wounds isn’t a debuff worth building around.

Compared to 5th edition, the BG3 version doesn’t allow you to use your bonus action to attack with a crossbow and doesn’t allow you to ignore crossbow bolt loading since that isn’t in BG3.

Defensive Duellist

  • When attacked while wielding a Finessee Weapon you’re Proficient with, you can use a reaction to add your Proficiency Bonus to your Armour Class, possibly causing the attack to miss.

This feat isn’t gamebreaking but a decent supplement if you want to give your Finesse Weapon melees more survivability.

In 5th edition, this would require you having at least 13 DEX, but that is ignored in BG3.

Dual Wielder

  • You can use Two-Weapon Fighting even if your weapons aren’t Light, and you gain a +1 bonus to Armour class while wielding a melee weapon in each hand. You cannot dual-wield Heavy weapons.

Similar to Defensive Duellist, this is a supplement if you have a certain weapon fantasy in mind for your character, giving you more flexibility and perks.

The 5th edition version has an additional perk of letting you draw or sheath your two-handed weapons as fast as a one-handed one, but that speed is standardized across all weapons in BG3.

Dungeon Delver

  • You gain Advantage on Perception Checks made to detect hidden objects and on Saving Throws to avoid or resist traps.
  • You can Resistance to the damage dealt by traps

This is a great choice for the scouts of your group (likely the Ranger, Rogue, or Monk) and can help your party navigate through an otherwise deadly dungeon unscathed. One of the more attractive Feats on the list for sure.

The main differences between its 5th edition version are that the BG3 Dungeon Delver only relies on Perception checks instead of Perception AND Investigation, and it doesn’t have the travel pace component since that doesn’t exist in BG3.

Durable

  • Your Constitution increases by 1, to a maximum of 20
  • You regain full hit points each time you take a Short Rest. Constitution +1

Durable is another quality Feat, and even better than its 5th edition counter part since it regains full hit points rather than just adding a CON bonus to your Hit Dice.

It’s fine on any party member but is especially good for those with high health pools since you’re getting so much value from it.

Elemental Adept

  • Your spells ignore Resistance to a damage type of your choice (Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Thunder)
  • When you cast spells of that type, you cannot roll a 1.

This is Feat is better than its 5th edition counterpart due to BG3’s respec system that lets you adapt on the fly.

For example, you can make the most of a particular fight you know has enemies that are weak to a particular element or have environmental hazards that you can use to your advantage by using an element.

Great Weapon Master

  • When you land a Critical Hit or kill a target with a melee weapon attack, you can make another melee weapon attack as a bonus action that turn.
  • Attacks with Heavy melee weapons you are Proficient with, can deal an additional 10 damage at the cost of a  -5 Attack Roll penalty. (You can toggle this off on and off)

The Great Weapon Master Feat is identical to its 5th edition version and is still just as appealing of a choice for your melee damage dealers, especially those that use Heavy weapons and don’t have a reliable bonus action.

It’s not as good early game since you’ll feel the -5 Attack Roll penalty more, but it scales well as you can mitigate the penalty with buffs and improved stats.

Heavily Armoured

  • You gain Armour Proficiency with Heavy Armour and your Strength increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Besides 5th edition’s medium armor proficiency requirement, this is identical. It’s kind of a weird one as the classes that want to be tanky will likely already have proficiency and many classes will not want the Stealth penalty.

However, it can be handy if you want to make your squishy casters more durable and you aren’t running a stealth-based party.

Heavy Armour Master

  • Requires Proficiency with Heavy Armour
  • Your Strength increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.
  • Incoming damage from non-magical attacks also decreases by 3 while you’re wearing heavy armour.

This Feat helps you really maximize your Heavy Armour tanks, but keep in mind that it’s particularly better in the early game where 3 damage is more significant.

Lightly Armored

  • You gain Armour Proficiency with Light Armour and your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Same as its 5th edition version – usually will be used for squishy casters in party’s where you want to stay stealthy.

Lucky

  • You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws, or to make an enemy reroll their Attack Rolls
  • Luck Points – Replenishable Resource – You have inexplicable luck that seems to kick in at just the right moment. You can use your Luck Points to gain Advantage, or force an enemy to redo their roll. Recharges once per Long Rest.

Basically the same as its 5th edition version, Lucky is one of the best Feats as it’s one of the few that can be a welcomed choice for virtually every class. It’s incredibly versatile, ensures you get the outcomes you want, and helps you avoid disaster.

Mage Slayer

  • When a creature casts a spell within melee range of you, you have Advantage on any Saving Throw against it, and you can use a reaction to immediately make an attack against the caster.
  • Enemies you hit have Disadvantage on Concentration Saving Throws.

This has the same effect as its 5th edition version, but is much better due to the fact that respeccing is easily done in BG3. This means that you can prepare and adapt your builds for mage-heavy fights you know are coming up in your journey.

Obviously you’ll want this on your Barbarians, Fighters, Rogues, and so on that will be looking to take out squishy mages.

Magic Initiate

  • You learn 2 cantrips and a Level 1 spell from a caster spell list.
  • You can cast the Level 1 spell once per Long Rest.
  • Here are the Spellcasting Ability Stats and the spell lists for each Initiate class:

Overall this Feat is a fine choice if you want to expand your spellcasting capabilities, just make sure to ideally pick one that matches your stat allocation.

As with many other Feats, this is stronger in 5E since you can respec easily to adapt to your needs for an upcoming situation or battle.

Bard (CHR)
  • Cantrips
    • Blade Ward, Mage Hand, True Strike, Friends, Dancing Lights, Light, Minor Illusion, Vicious Mockery
  • Level 1 spells
    • Animal Friendship, Bane, Charm Person, Cure Wounds, Disguise Self, Dissonant Whispers, Faerie Fire, Feather Fall, Healing Word, Heroism, Longstrider, Sleep, Speak with Animals, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Thunderwave
Cleric (WIS)
  • Cantrips
    • Thaumaturgy, Light, Blade Ward, Produce Flame
  • Level 1 spells
    • Cure Wounds, Guiding Bolt, Healing Word, Inflict Wounds, Shield of Faith, Bane, Bless, Command, Create or Destroy Water, Protection from Evil and Good, Sanctuary
Druid (WIS)
  • Cantrips
    • Poison Spray, Produce Flame, Shillelagh, Thorn Whip
  • Level 1 spells
    • Ice Knife, Thunderwave, Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Enhance Leap, Speak with Animals, Animal Friendship, Charm Person, Entangle, Fog Cloud, Create or Destroy Water, Longstrider, Faerie Fire, Goodberry
Sorcerer (CHR)
  • Cantrips
    • Blade Ward, Acid Splash, Mage Hand, Poison Spray, True Strike, Friends, Dancing Lights, Fire Bolt, Light, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, Minor Illusion, Bone Chill
  • Level 1 spells
    • Burning Hands, Charm Person, Chromatic Orb, Colour Spray, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, False Life, Feather Fall, Fog Cloud, Ice Knife, Enhance Leap, Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Ray of Sickness, Shield, Sleep, Thunderwave, Witch Bolt
Warlock (CHR)
  • Cantrips
    • Blade Ward, Bone Chill, Eldritch Blast, Friends, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, Poison Spray, True Strike
  • Level 1 spells
    • Armour of Agathys, Arms of Hadar, Charm Person, Expeditious Retreat, Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Protection from Evil and Good, Witch Bolt
Wizard (INT)
  • Cantrips
    • Acid Splash, Bone Chill, Poison Spray, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, Blade Ward, Friends, Dancing Lights, Light, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, True Strike
  • Level 1 spells
    • Burning Hands, Charm Person, Chromatic Orb, Colour Spray, Disguise Self, Expeditious Retreat, False Life, Feather Fall, Find Familiar, Fog Cloud, Grease, Ice Knife, Enhance Leap, Longstrider, Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Protection from Evil and Good, Ray of Sickness, Shield, Sleep, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Thunderwave, Witch Bolt

Martial Adept

  • You learn two manoeuvres from the Battle Master subclass and gain a Superiority Die to fuel them.
  • You regain expended Superiority Dice after a Short or Long Rest.

This is basically the same as the 5th edition version, besides your ability to choose whether a saving throw will be based off your STR or Dex.

Overall, it’s kind of an underwhelming choice since you only get one Superiority Die. The abundance of Camp Supplies also makes it less valuable to regain resources during Short Rests since Long Resting is much easier to do in BG3.

That being said, it is a fun one to choose if you like having more tactical options!

Here’s a list of what you can choose for your manoeuvres:

Commander’s Strike
  • Spend an action and a reaction to direct an ally to strike a foe. The ally immediately uses their reaction to make a weapon attack.
  • Spend a superiority dice to make an attack that deals an additional 1d8 damage and possibly forces the target to drop the weapons they are holding.
Distracting Strike
  • Distract your target, giving your allies Advantage on their next Attack Roll against the target
Evasive Footwork
  • You can evade attacks by imposing Disadvantage on melee attacks against you for a round
Feinting Attack
  • You can use both your action and bonus action on a turn to attack a target with Advantage and deal an additional 1d8 damage
Goading Attack
  • Deal an additional 1d8 and attempt to goad the target into attacking you. Target receives Disadvantage on attacking any other creature
Maneuvering Attack
  • Spend a superiority die to make an attack that deals an additional 1d8 damage. On hit, select which friendly creature will gain half its movement speed. It will not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Menacing Attack
  • Spend a superiority die to make an attack that deals an additional 1d8 damage and possibly Frightens the target.
Precision Attack
  • You can spend a Superiority Dice to add it to the result of an Attack Roll.
Pushing Attack
  • Spend a superiority die to make an attack that deals an additional 1d8 damage and possibly pushes the target back 4.5m
Rally
  • Expend a superiority die to grant an ally 8 temporary hit points, bolstering their resolve
Riposte
  • When a hostile creature misses you with a melee attack, expend a superiority die to retaliate with a powerful strike that deals an additional 1d8 damage.
Sweeping Attack
  • Swing your weapon in a rapid, sweeping arc to attack multiple enemies at once. Roll your superiority die for damage
Trip Attack
  • Spend a Superiority die to make an attack that deals an additional 1d8 damage and possibly knocks the target Prone. The target must be Large or smaller.

Medium Armour Master

  • When you wear Medium Armour, it doesn’t impose Disadvantage on Stealth Checks. The bonus to Armour Class you can gain from your Dexterity Modifier also becomes +3 instead of +2.

This Feat isn’t flashy but is a fine choice if your Medium Armour wielders need more durability and you want to maintain the stealth option.

It does not require a Medium Armor proficiency like its 5th edition version.

Mobile

  • Your movement speed increases, and difficult terrain doesn’t slow you down when you Dash.
  • If you move after a melee attack, you don’t provoke Opportunity Attacks from your target

Mobile’s is identical to its 5th edition version and is a decent choice for mobile melees (like the Rogue or Monk) if you like to move around the battlefield freely.

Note that players have reported that it can be buggy, so make sure to keep an eye out to make sure it works properly in your run.

Moderately Armoured

  • You gain Armour Proficiency with Medium Armour and shields, and your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

Unlike its 5th edition version, this does not require Light Armor proficiency. This is often compared to the Medium Armour Master which also grants Medium Armour proficiency – the trade-off is whether you want a Shield or to play more into stealth/Dex stats.

Performer

  • You gain Musical Instrument Proficiency, and your Charisma increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

This actually wasn’t included in the 5th edition PHB’s Feat list, but rather from Unearthed Arcana. In that version, you could target one humanoid to distract but in BG3, you can distract a pretty decent crowd.

It’s not a crazy good Feat, but it does have its uses if you don’t have Bard in your party. For example, you can distract a crowd while your Rogue steals items in the area. Or, you can use it to supplement your income if you’re really desperate for coins.

Lastly, you can play songs together with your other party members that are proficient with an instrument (obviously this one is just for fun).

Polearm Master

  • When attacking with a glaive, halberd, quarterstaff, or spear, you can use a bonus action to attack with the butt of your weapon.
  • You can also make an Opportunity Attack when a target comes within range.

If you have a character that uses one of the listed weapons and they list consistent Bonus Actions each turn, Polearm is a really strong option.

The bonus action attacks can really add up over a long fight and it really allows you to control space with the improved Opportunity Attack (especially if you pair it with Sentinel!)

Its only difference from its 5th edition version is that it also works for spears in BG3.

Resilient

  • You increase an Ability by 1, to a maximum of 20, and gain Proficiency in that Ability’s Saving Throws

BG3’s Resilient is the same as its 5th edition counterpart, but is much better because of how easily you can respec.

If you do your scouting homework (or just revert a save), you can help bolster the Resilient party member against particular debuffs you’re expecting to face.

Ritual Caster

  • You learn two ritual spells of your choice:
    • Speak with Dead, Find Familiar, Longstrider, Enhance Leap, Speak with Animals

BG3’s Ritual Caster Feat doesn’t have the written form aspect that its 5th Edition counterpart does, and there are less Ritual spells to choose from in BG3 (no Identify etc).

Savage Attacker

  • When making weapon attacks, you roll your damage dice twice and use the highest result

This version of Savage Attack is much better as it’s whenever you make a weapon attack. The 5th edition version only worked once per turn.

Sentinel

  • When an enemy within melee range attacks an ally, you can use a reaction to make a weapon attack against that enemy. Target ally must not have the Sentinel Feat.
  • You gain Advantage on Opportunity Attacks, and when you hit a creature with an Opportunity Attack, it can no longer move for the rest of its turn.

Sentinel is another great combat feat if you want to control the battlefield and its space. It’s particularly good for controlling chokepoints and peeling for your glass cannon damage dealers.

If you pair it with Polearm master, you’ll have ridiculous utility since you have insane Opportunity Attacks with long reach and mobility removal.

Overall, it’s basically the same as its 5th edition version, but the BG3 version doesn’t account for hitting enemies that Disengage.

Sharpshooter

  • Your ranged weapon attacks do not receive penalties from High Ground Rules.
  • Ranged weapon attacks with weapons you are Proficient with have a -5 penalty to their Attack Roll, but deal an additional 10 damage.

This is a great choice for Rangers and other ranged damage dealers since you can mitigate High Ground rules and increase your damage output on low AC targets.

Note that you can toggle passives so the Attack Roll penalty can be avoided against high AC targets.

The major difference from 5th edition is that BG3 doesn’t have mechanics related to half cover/three-quarters cover, in general, if you can see an enemy, you can hit them all the same.

Shield Master

  • You gain a +2 bonus to Dexterity Saving Throws while wielding a shield. If a spell forces you to make a Dexterity Saving Throw, you can use a reaction to shield yourself and diminish the effect’s damage.
  • On a failed Saving Throw, you only take half damage.
  • On a successful Saving Throw, you don’t take any damage.

BG3’s shield master is slightly different in comparison to 5th edition where you had access to more offensive features like being able to use a bonus action to shove with your shield (since Shove is a bonus action by default in BG3).

Instead of your shield’s overall AC bonus in 5th edition, it’s also just standardized to a +2 bonus against Dex saving throws in BG3.

Skilled

  • You gain Proficiency in 3 Skills of your choice

Identical to its 5th edition version, the Skilled feat is quite straightforward. Use it to optimize your skill monkey or cover up Skill gaps in your party comp.

Spell Sniper

  • You learn a cantrip, and the number you need to roll a Critical Hit while attacking is reduced by 1. This effect can stack.

Spell Sniper is quite different in BG3 than its 5th edition counterpart. In 5e, it would double your spell’s range and help you hit enemies behind half/three-quarter cover (like Sharpshooter). But in BG3, it helps you crit more easily with a reduction of 1. The most obvious use of this is with Eldritch Blast.

Unfortunately, it seems that this Feat has been widely reported as bugged, so we would recommend avoiding it for now.

Tavern Brawler

  • When you make an unarmed attack, use an improvised weapon, or throw something, your Strength Modifier is added twice to the damage and Attack Rolls

The BG3 version of Tavern Brawler is completely different than its original effects from 5th edition (STR or CON increase by 1, proficiency with improvised weapons, d4 unarmed strike, or using a bonus action to grapple).

That being said, it is incredibly good with the Barbarian and with a Monk if you build them properly (make sure to switch from DEX to STR, etc).

Thematically, it’s also one of the most fun due to how hilarious it can be.

Tough

  • Your hit point maximum increases by 2 levels for every level you have gained.

If you’re building for high health, this can be an okay late game Feat to pick up but not too appealing in general.

The BG3 version is missing the hit point maximum increase equal to twice your level when you gain the feat that the 5th edition version has.

War Caster

  • You gain Advantage on Saving Throws to maintain Concentration on a spell.
  • You can also use a reaction to cast Shocking Grasp at a target moving out of melee range.

Since maintaining Concentration on a key buff or debuff can really swing a fight in your favor, this is a great choice to help maintain it.

You’ll want to weigh how often your Concentration caster is actually in danger, since you may be able to avoid them getting hit in general with positioning and protection.

However, if you want the Concentration caster to still be participating on the frontlines (like a Cleric), this is a good one to consider.

Compared to its 5th edition version, the BG3 version doesn’t have the somatic component feature (which doesn’t matter in BG3) nor the ability to react with casting a spell at a creature instead of an opportunity attack (which is a decent nerf).

Weapon Master

  • You gain Proficiency with four weapons of your choice, and your Strength or Dexterity increases by 1, to a maximum of 20.

This is identical to its 5th edition version and isn’t that attractive unless you have a specific build fantasy in mind.

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