In Baldur's Gate 3, The Dark Urge is a unique option among Origin characters in the game, allowing you to fully customize your appearance and class while having a massive connection to the overall plot and complex choices that happen while you embrace or fight your urge to kill. What class fits this story arc, though?
RelatedBaldur’s Gate 3: Who Is The Dark Urge?
Who exactly is the Dark Urge in Baldur's Gate 3? Where do their murderous impulses come from?
PostsIt's important to note that every class in the game is available for the 'Durge.' Our goal here is to suggest fitting classes, whether thematically, mechanically, or in terms of possible party compositions that may happen depending on how good or evil you are.
Updated on September 27, 2024, by Lucas Olah: Whether you want to resist or embrace the urges, 'Durge' continues their reign as one of, if not the best way to play this game from a narrative standpoint. With that in mind, we decided to take a look back at our suggestions and give you a few extra tips for each class in order to help you decide which of the many classes is the best fit for your interpretation of the Dark Urge. Be true to yourself.
8 Sorcerer
Naturally Gifted
Pros
- High charisma for conversations.
- Best DPS option among spellcasters.
- Easy to fill the spellcaster role for evil parties.
Cons
- Low survivability by themselves (there's an important 1v1 in this narrative).
- Relies on two types of limited resources (metamagic and spell slots).
Subclass Recommendation
Draconic Bloodline
Race Recommendation
Half-Elf, Drow, Tiefling
There's no better place to start than the canonical version of the Dark Urge. A sorcerer is a magnificent choice here, especially if you intend to embrace the urge. At first, any spellcaster would be a good choice for evil playthroughs because, of all neutral or evil companions who are willing to follow you, none of them are dedicated spellcasters. Sure, you can respec them, but you can just as easily fill this role yourself.
Having a patron isn't an excellent narrative fit for reasons we would rather not explain due to spoilers, leaving sorcerers and wizards. Though they both fit well, sorcerer also has the advantage of a high charisma score, allowing you to deceive and intimidate people more easily. The Urge even has Intimidation proficiency by default, which is perfect for both killing and getting away with your murders.
7 Barbarian
Destroy Everything
Pros
- High survivability by themselves.
- Good thematic fit for embrace playthroughs.
- Consistent damage without relying on limited resources.
Cons
- Lack of AoE attacks.
- Can't perform bursts of damage (unless they roll critical hits).
Subclass Recommendation
Wildheart
Race Recommendation
Githyanki, Half-Orc, Dwarf
Speaking of thematic combinations, no class screams 'brutality' like a Barbarian. They're a perfect fit for someone who embraces their killing urges, and there are a few mechanical benefits from the barbarian.
Despite you probably not having good charisma, barbarians often get unique dialogue options when intimidating, which gives them an advantage on the roll, which stacks with the aforementioned proficiency.
Many feats can work for barbarians, such as Tough, Great Weapon Master, Sentinel, or Polearm Master. Since the game offers other ways to increase your strength, you can easily reach a strength of 22 while getting two feats, or get a single feat and still reach a strength score of 24.
Now, we'll be vague to avoid spoilers, but a downside of embracing the urge and causing many casualties is that you may not have as many allies during important fights, making the game more challenging.
Not for a barbarian, though, as you can do quite a lot by yourself by simply having your Rage on and the Great Weapon Master feat. You can take care of a group of enemies while the rest of your party takes care of another group.
6 Rogue
Destroy Everything Quietly
Pros
- Absurd damage spikes from Sneak Attack (great for deleting one minion at a time).
- Highly useful outside combat, from conversations to picking locks.
- Another good thematic fit when embracing the urge.
Cons
- Low survivability by themselves.
- One attack per turn.
- Lacks AoE attacks.
Subclass Recommendation
Assassin
Race Recommendation
Any Elf, Half-Elf, Githyanki, Halfling
Rogues are often the edgy class of Dungeons & Dragons, making them a good match for the Dark Urge, too. Though high dexterity won't be relevant often in the narrative, you can get Expertise in charisma-based skills to perform a deceptive or intimidating character similar to the sorcerer. Plus, ranged is a much safer option in general.
RelatedBaldur's Gate 3: 8 Best Multiclass Pairs
If you're trying your hand at multiclassing in Baldur's Gate 3, you'll want to use these pairings.
PostsFrom a mechanical perspective, rogues can take advantage of Sneak Attack and Stealth to deal vast chunks of damage and possibly get enemies by surprise, dealing a lot of damage before the enemies even have a chance to do anything. Alternatively, you could try a ranger, who can be sneaky and have a good wisdom score (which is helpful to resist your urges), or even multiclass both options.
5 Bard
Danse Macabre
Pros
- Great at social interactions.
- Can deal damage and heal effectively.
- Can get spells from other classes.
Cons
- Very low survivability by themselves.
Subclass Recommendation
College of Lore
Race Recommendation
Drow, Tiefling, Halfling, Elf
We admit the bard is here mainly for gags, but the contradiction of a lighthearted musician being a monster in disguise is a fun character concept. You also get a powerful spellcaster who can dip in both high damage and support, filling a good role in the party - your character can be both funny and deadly.
Similar to the sorcerer, your best ability score will be charisma, too, giving you all the lying perks we've mentioned before. You can also be extra evil and use Alfira's lute throughout your adventure, in case you didn't save her.
4 Monk
Control Yourself
Pros
- Great thematic choice for a resist playthrough.
- Wisdom will help in actually resisting the urges.
- Has one of the most broken builds in the game.
Cons
- Low survivability by themselves.
- Takes some time and gear to shine.
Subclass Recommendation
Way of the Open Hand
Race Recommendation
Wood Elf, Dragonborn, Half-Orc, Gold Dwarf
Just because you're playing as the Dark Urge doesn't mean you need to embrace it. In fact, playing as a good Dark Urge who tries to resist this temptation toward evil is one of the best playthroughs. However, that means difficult saving throws to resist the urge may pop up.
One thing these saving throws have in common is that they rely on wisdom, meaning classes that need a high wisdom score to function will perform better. Monks even have unique lines about balance and harmony, which gives a fun juxtaposition of ideals for your roleplay. It's like having a dark and a light urge inside you.
If you want your character to do well in conversations but can't invest in the skills, the githyanki are a great option thanks to their Astral Knowledge.
3 Druid
Embrace Nature Instead
Pros
- Fits well in both good and evil runs.
- Wisdom helps against the urges.
- Powerful with spells and melee combat.
Cons
- Two companions are already druids.
Subclass Recommendation
Circle of the Moon
Race Recommendation
Half-Orc, Wood Elf, Gnome
Druids are here mainly for the same reason as the monks; They require a high wisdom score to function well - even higher than monks - which makes them perfect candidates to resist the urges inside your head.
A Circle of Spores is a particularly good fit for a Dark Urge druid with its necrotic damage and undead control.
Being an evil druid who turns into animals to kill their prey is also interesting, especially considering that both druid companions are good, so maybe being the third good druid doesn't sound as interesting. Alternatively, you could also try a cleric for the same reason, but they don't fit as well thematically.
2 Paladin
The Divine Punisher
Pros
- Smite (damage spikes, basically).
- Urges you can't control won't affect your oath.
- Fits both good and evil runs.
- Can work reasonably well in social interactions.
- High survivability by themselves.
Cons
- Needs to get close to targets to work properly.
- Too many spells require concentration.
Subclass Recommendation
Oath of Vengeance
Race Recommendation
Dragonborn, Half-Orc, Elf, Drow, Tiefling, Githyanki
The beauty of mixing paladins and Dark Urges is that the juxtaposition between the urges to kill the innocent and follow the oath to protect good makes the character quite interesting. So much so that paladins were considered to be the default class for the urge before Larian settled with the sorcerer.
RelatedBaldur's Gate 3: How To Become An Oathbreaker Paladin
Looking for darker abilities?
PostsOr, if you want to surrender to the urge - or be extra edgy - nothing stops you from completely forsaking your oath and becoming a mighty Oathbreaker Paladin who embraces the urge. It's pretty fitting considering the story behind the urge, too, but again, we won't spoil these details here.
1 Fighter
The Old Reliable
Pros
- Can be either the best melee character or the best ranged character.
- Consistent damage without relying on a lot of resources (if at all).
- Short rests can keep them going for a while.
- High survivability by themselves.
Cons
- Takes some time and gear to shine.
- No damage spikes.
- No AoE attacks.
Subclass Recommendation
Battle Master
Race Recommendation
Half-Orc, Githyanki, Halfling, Wood Elf
Fighters are here because they're the perfect joker class. They don't need a backstory; it's just someone who learned how to fight and does it well. Whether you embrace or resist the urge, you'll have a solid character for your narrative, party composition, and overall character build.
Though the same feats mentioned for the Barbarian work here, Fighters have an extra opportunity to get a feat or ability score increase, giving you even more flexibility for your build.
They're also easy to adapt, as you can wield any weapon and armor in the game, favor either melee or ranged combat, and not worry about morality as much as the likes of a Paladin. It's a blank slate, perfect for ultimate good. Or evil.
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Like Follow FollowedBaldur's Gate 3
RPG Systems 5.0/5 26 9.4/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 96/100 Critics Rec: 98% Released August 3, 2023 ESRB M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence Developer(s) Larian Studios Publisher(s) Larian Studios Engine Divinity 4.0WHERE TO PLAY
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