Baldur's Gate 3: Best Races For A Fighter

The Fighter class in Baldur’s Gate 3 might seem somewhat boring on the surface. They are simple warriors; masters of battle who get the job done with ruthless efficiency, but don't provide much beyond that. However, with abilities like Action Surge in the mix, Fighters can easily rank among the most powerful combatants in the game.

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If you want to experience pure combat bliss, the first thing you’ll need to do is pick a race. The best options for Fighters are the ones that give you bonuses to make you even better at combat, or give you a few extra tricks in your bag. Here are the races you should consider the next time you build a Fighter.

This list looks specifically at which races are best for a single-class Warlock.

7 Strongheart Halfling

Notable Racial Features

Description

Brave

Advantage against being Frightened.

Dwarven Resilience

Advantage against being Poisoned and Resistance to Poison Damage.

Halfling Luck

Single reroll of ones on Ability Checks, Saving Throws, and Attack Rolls.

Strongheart Halflings don’t necessarily have any advantages that benefit Fighters in particular, but their all-around strength isn’t something that should be ignored. Protection against Poison will almost always be good, and Brave makes sure you aren’t running away from your enemies.

Then there’s the star of the show and one of Baldur's Gate 3's best racial abilities, Halfling Luck. This ability is great in a wide variety of non-combat scenarios, and will make it substantially easier to land your attacks, which Fighters attempt quite a few of.

6 Forest Gnome

Notable Racial Features

Description

Darkvision

See in darkness.

Gnome Cunning

Advantage on Intelligence, Charisma, and Wisdom Saving Throws.

Speak With Animals

Gain the ability to speak with animals.

Let’s face it, one of the most fun things about Baldur’s Gate 3 is being able to speak with all the animals. Unfortunately, even the magically inclined Eldritch Knights haven’t figured out that trick.

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So, if you want to live out your Disney Princess dreams and play a Fighter at the same time, you’ll need to be a Forest Gnome. Fortunately, that isn’t the only ability you’re getting; Gnome Cunning is up there as one of the best racial abilities in the game, protecting you from some nasty enemy effects.

5 Gold Dwarf

Notable Racial Features

Description

Darkvision

See in darkness.

Dwarven Resilience

Advantage against being Poisoned and Resistance to Poison Damage.

Dwarven Toughness

Maximum Hit Points increased by one each level.

Some of the best racial bonuses on this list are based around mobility, but if you want to play as a big meatball instead, Gold Dwarves are the race for you. Dwarven Toughness won’t quite let you match Barbarians in terms of raw hit points, but you’ll beat everyone else, and the ability to wear armor gives you an advantage.

On top of that, the similarly named Dwarven Resilience gives you even more protection against Poisons, a fairly common threat. All told, Gold Dwarf Fighters make for some of the best tanks you can find in Baldur’s Gate 3.

4 Duergar

Notable Racial Features

Description

Superior Darkvision

See even further in darkness.

Dwarven Resilience

Advantage against being Poisoned and Resistance to Poison Damage.

Duergar Resilience

Advantage on Saving Throws against Illusions, being Charmed, or Paralyzed.

Duergar Magic

Enlarge, Invisibility.

Another Dwarvish subrace, Duergar are much fancier than their Gold Dwarf cousins, with a combination of offensive and defensive abilities that make them a strong choice for a lot of classes. Duergar Resilience is a nice defensive boost, but the real advantage comes from their extra spells.

Eldritch Knights do get access to both of them, but not until Level 8, and not for free. And these are definitely abilities you’ll want to use often; Enlarge is great for an extra damage boost and makes you even better at Strength checks, and Invisibility lets you take a stealthy approach every once in a while, even as a non-Dexterity-based Fighter.

3 Githyanki

Notable Racial Features

Description

Githyanki Psionics

Mage Hand, Enhanced Leap, and Misty Step.

Astral Knowledge

Gain Proficiency in all skills associated with a given stat until Long Rest.

One of the main advantages to playing a Githyanki fighter are the extra spells they give you. Eldritch Knights already get two of the three spells as part of their subclass features, but Battlemasters and Champions aren’t going to say no to a free Misty Step.

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That’s not even mentioning Astral Knowledge, which is tough to beat as racial abilities go. Fighters are really good at killing things, but tend to struggle in other areas, so the proficiencies Astral Knowledge provides can really help balance them out.

2 Wood Elf

Notable Racial Features

Description

Darkvision

See in darkness.

Fey Ancestry

Advantage against being Charmed and Immunity to Magical Sleep.

Keen Senses

Perception Proficiency.

Mask Of The Wild

Stealth Proficiency.

Fleet Of Foot

Increased base move speed.

Getting some extra movement speed sounds minor, but it turns out that if you can’t catch your enemies you’re going to have a hard time killing them. That’s why you should choose the fastest race in the game, the Wood Elf, whose Fleet of Foot ability makes them natural sprinters.

Technically, Wood Half-Elves have the same speed, but replace Perception proficiency with the ability to use shields, which Fighters already get. On top of their pace, Wood Elves get a grab bag of useful abilities, including Stealth proficiency and the magical protections provided by Fey Ancestry.

1 Half-Orc

Notable Racial Features

Description

Darkvision

See in darkness.

Menacing

Intimidation Proficiency

Savage Attacks

Deal extra damage on melee weapon crits.

Relentless Endurance

Drop to one HP instead of being downed once per Long Rest.

Half-Orcs are the obvious choice for any close-combat Fighter, with abilities entirely focused on frontline fighting. Relentless Endurance is essentially a get out of jail free card, giving Fighters even more survivability while they’re wading into the center of the enemy ranks.

And when you're the one on the offensive, Savage Attacks increases your damage potential, especially if you choose the Champion subclass, which makes it easier for you to land critical hits. Unless you are playing the oft-ignored ranged Fighter, you can’t go wrong with a Half-Orc.

Baldur's Gate 3: Best Races For A Warlock

Warlocks are great, but these races can make them even better.