Building a party of well-balanced companions in Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the keys to success, and you have a host of potential companions to choose from. This way, no matter what class you pick for your Origin Character, you have options.
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PostsHalsin will require some legwork to recruit, but for many of you out there, he'll be a worthwhile addition to the party. He's a druid, and thus has a versatile and powerful spellbook filled with useful combat options. Of course, you may be stumped for which spells to actually pick or which subclass to select - that's where we come in.
Updated February 27, 2024, by Zoe J. Osik: We've updated this guide's formatting and included the best multiclass option for Halsin so that he can be a more useful party member to you.
Halsin Overview
Halsin
Race
Wood Elf
Starting Class
Druid
Background
Outlander
Proficiencies
Athletics, Stealth, Nature, Animal Handling, Perception, Survival
Ability Scores
Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha
10
14
14
8
17
12
As you might guess from the everything about him, Halsin is well-suited, thematically, to the druid class. He's all about nature and the first time you encounter him in-game, he's in the form of a bear. Druid is a versatile class, able to pull from a wide range of spells rather like a cleric can.
While the druid spell list isn't as wide as the cleric's, it's still a worthy contender. They excel in their ability to be supportive characters and have some decent offensive options to boot. In addition, druids are capable of summoning extra creatures, and this is something that should be used liberally. Summons are incredibly useful for tilting the action economy balance towards your side of the fight.
Druids are also characterised by their ability to shapeshift with wildshape. This gives them a topped-up health pool and extra abilities depending on the form chosen. These can be fantastic panic buttons when your druid is low on health, and may also give a physically weak druid some strong melee options to play with.
Halsin's stat spread is quite suitable, but it can be tweaked further with a respec. We recommend reducing his Charisma by four points and then re-allocating his stats so that his Dexterity is 16 - this will require changing his +1 bonus to Dexterity.
Best Druid Build For Halsin
While druids don't excel at pumping out massive amounts of damage, they are one of the best candidates for taking control of the battlefield in the entire game. This build capitalists on that, giving Halsin spells like Sleet Storm and Plant Growth to cause no ends of problems for your enemies. Once the battlefield is locked down, out comes wildshape, which provides oodles of versatility. Halsin with 12 levels in druid has an option for every battle in the game.
We go with Circle of the Moon for Halsin's subclass. This is the subclass that gives a huge and crucial boost to the wildshape action by turning it into a bonus action. This means that Halsin can fire off a spell, preferably something that creates a large hazard for enemies or a buff to allies, and then instantly assume the form of another creature. This serves not only as the perfect panic button, but gives Halsin a far better action economy.
This build revolves around giving Halsin enough tools so that he can deal with (or at least contribute to) any type of combat encounter. Since Long Rests are rather plentiful in Baldur's Gate 3, it's a very powerful build. While Halsin's contributions won't be as noticeable as a Wyll who destroys bosses with only a few Eldritch Blasts, he'll be a crucial member of the team.
Notably, the elemental Myrmidon wildshape forms that Halsin gets at Level 10 are particularly great for focusing in on enemy vulnerabilities and are bulky to boot, and the Dilophosaurus form unlocked at the same level is a surprisingly strong dinosaur with strong biting attacks and a ranged option.
Building Halsin
Druid Levels
Level
Features
Level 1
2 spell slots, 2 cantrips, Wolf, Spider, Badger, and Cat Wildshapes.
If reclassing, balance Halsin's stats out here, dumping Charisma and boosting Dexterity. Also, choose Poison Spray and Thorn Whip as Halsin's cantrips. Shillelagh isn't as useful.
Level 2
+1 spell slot, bonus action Wildshape.
Choose the Circle of the Moon subclass.
Level 3
+3 spell slots, level 2 spells.
Level 4
+1 spell slot, +1 cantrip, Deep Rothé Wildshape.
Pick Guidance as your new cantrip.
Improve your Wisdom score by 2 points.
Level 5
+2 spell slots, level 3 spells, additional attacks while in Wildshape.
Level 6
+1 spell slot, immunity to difficult terrain, Panther and Owlbear Wildshapes, wildshape form attacks become magical.
Level 7
+1 spell slot, level 4 spells.
Level 8
+1 spell slot, Sabre-Toothed Tiger Wildshape.
Take the War Caster feat to improve your concentration checks.
Level 9
+2 spell slots, level 5 spells.
Level 10
+1 spell slot, +1 cantrip, two additional attacks while Wildshaped, Dilophosaurus and elemental Myrmidon Wildshapes.
Level 11
+1 spell slot, level 6 spells.
Level 12
Improve your Dexterity by 2 points.
As this is the ideal build for Halsin, we will go ahead and assume that you want to boost his Wisdom up to 20. To do this, save the Hag's Hair that you can obtain from Auntie Ethel and use it to boost Halsin's Wisdom by one point. After the Ability Score Improvement, this sets Halsin's Wisdom at 20.
If you do not use the Hag's Hair on Halsin's Wisdom, though, you should take the opportunity at Level 12 to boost it up to 20.
The table below will list the spells that you'll find most useful with this build's playstyle.
Level
Spells
Level 1
Ice Knife, Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Faerie Fire, Entangle
Level 2
Hold Person, Moonbeam, Spike Growth
Level 3
Sleet Storm, Plant Growth
Level 4
Conjure Minor Elemental, Conjure Woodland Being, Ice Storm, Stoneskin, Freedom of Movement
Level 5
Mass Cure Wounds, Conjure Elemental, Insect Plague
Level 6
Sunbeam, Heal, Wall of Thorns
These spells give Halsin a good mix of ranged damage options, battlefield control, ally support, and summons. Thanks to the druid's flexible spellbook, though, you can swap spells out on the fly to fit the situations you find yourself in. For example, when dealing with the Shadow-Cursed Lands or particularly vampiric enemies, you may want to bring Daylight along.
It's important that you don't ignore the summoning spells - adding more bodies to your side of the fight is a fantastic ability to have, and the summons themselves can be incredibly useful.
In terms of equipment, Halsin will want pieces that either boost his spellcasting ability or his wildshape forms:
- Halsin is a good candidate for any particularly powerful magic quarterstaves you find, especially those that grant boons to spellcasting or access to more spells. Good examples include the Incandescent Staff for access to Fireball and Woe, an endgame staff that improves spell-related rolls and comes with some self-sustain.
- Halsin can wear Light Armour and Medium Armour, which improves the range of magic items you can give him. The Armour of Moonbasking is one to look out for, as it severely improves Halsin's survivability while wildshaped.
- The Shapeshifter's Boon Ring and the Ring of Mental Inhibition are particularly great Rings for this playstyle. The former improves Halsin's wildshape, while the latter will make his inhibiting spells even more debilitating. The Spectator's Eyes is a brilliant Amulet to grab, too, as it gives Halsin some more reliable ranged damage options.
Best Barbarian Multiclass Build For Halsin
Multiclassing Halsin into a barbarian allows you to build on his tank-like stature and really turn him into a full unit. Keeping his druid origins allows you to remain true to his nature while also buffing his abilities with more diversity.
Speak to Withers and hand over 100 gold to reclass Halsin and reassign his stats. For this build, you can dump Intelligence and Charisma in favor of adding more points to his Strength. Overall, his stats can be spread out like so:
AbilityPoints
Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha
16
13
13
8
17
8
Here's how you can build Halsin as a barbarian when multiclassing:
Barbarian Levels
Level
Features
Level 1
Rage and Unarmoured Defence.
Level 2
Danger Sense and Reckless Attack.
Level 3
Subclass selection (Wildheart), additional Rage Charge, learn Speak With Animals, and gained a passive (Bestial Heart).
Level 4
Unlock a new feat.
Level 5
Extra Attack and Fast Movement.
Level 6
Additional Rage Charge, Change Besital Heart, Gain Animal Aspect
Level 7
Feral Instinct Class Feature
Level 8
New Feat, Land's Stride: Difficult Terrain
Multiclassing to at least level three in barbarian allows you to choose another subclass for him, which grants even greater rewards.
The two best subclasses for Halsin will be Wildheart or Wild Magic, depending on how you want to play things out. Wild Heart is more inline with his character, as it focuses on attunement with nature and beast, while Wild Magic focuses on the arcane aspect (and can have unpredictable effects).
If you want to keep utilizing Halsin's Wildshape form, Circle of the Moon Druid is best.
The Bestial Heart passives are exceptional boons, though you won't be able to use the actions specifically while using Wildshape. Instead, choosing a Bestial Heart based on passive effects is wise, such as the Eagle Heart or Elk Heart.
At level six, you'll unlock the Animal Aspect, which allows you to gain additional passives. Aspect of the Beast: Bear doubles your carrying capacity and gives you advantage on Strength checks.
You may want to select Aspect of the Beast: Crocodile for the benefits of moving on slippery surfaces if you have casters in the part that utilize spells like Grease.
The Aspect of the Beast: Tiger is best if you plan to inflict effects on enemies, as you'll add another Strength Modifier to Attack Rolls against Bleeding or Poisoned targets.
For flavor, the Bear Heart is more inline with who Halsin is, and it grants him resistance to all types of damage (except Psychic).
Additionally, some of the best feats you can pick for Halsin will increase his strength, helping make him an even more lethal unit in your party.
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