Top Karlach Build Strategies for Baldur’s Gate 3

Overview

Karlach emerges as a formidable Barbarian character from Act 1, offering players a rich narrative experience.
Optimal builds for Karlach can enhance her skills significantly, emphasizing her Barbarian subclass and advantageous feats.
Exploring a Barbarian-Fighter-Rogue multiclass can yield a highly adaptable and effective combat character.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has made a significant impact in 2023, captivating players not only with its engaging gameplay and stunning graphics but also with its impressive and unforgettable characters. Among these, Karlach, the fiery Barbarian demon-slayer, stands out for her compelling narrative and strength.

Players encounter Karlach within the early stages of Act 1. As an Origin character, she offers an individual storyline that players can choose to explore, or they can recruit her as a companion throughout their adventure. With multiple possibilities for character builds, enhancing Karlach’s already impressive abilities can lead to exciting gameplay experiences.

Updated by Rei Penber on December 16, 2024: Karlach continues to capture the hearts of players as one of the most efficient combat companions available, thanks to her exceptional abilities. While she is introduced slightly later in Act 1, her recruitment provides immense benefits. This guide will explore how to fully utilize Karlach’s strengths and the potential for her multiclassing.

Who Is Karlach?

The Tiefling Barbarian and Her Fiery Origins

Karlach can be encountered in Act I, either by lucky chance in the wild or as part of Wyll’s Companion quest.

Karlach is designated as one of the origin characters in Baldur’s Gate 3, which means players have the option to step into her shoes as their main character or recruit her into their party. To find Karlach during Act 1, players should venture to Risen Road, situated beyond the Broken Bridge in the Blighted Village.

She can be spotted at the end of the forested path on Risen Road. To recruit her, dialogue choices are crucial; if Wyll is in the party, players must persuade him against an attack, as he mistakenly perceives her to be a devil in service to Zariel, a prominent figure in the Nine Hells.

Default Karlach

Created as a Companion or Origin Character

Karlach starts as a Barbarian who has yet to finalize her subclass when first encountered by Tav.

“Karlach has escaped ten years of servitude in the Hells with nothing but the axe on her back – and the infernal blazing furiously where her heart used to be.”

As a member of the Tiefling race, specifically a Zariel Tiefling, Karlach embodies the stereotypical barbarian with her fiery spirit and physical prowess. Her Barbarian classification aligns perfectly with her high strength and provides her with advantageous saving throws in Strength and Constitution, as well as the critical abilities of Unarmored Defense and Rage right from the beginning of the game.

With an Outlander background, Karlach possesses proficiencies in Athletics and Survival, along with skills in Perception and Intimidation, which can be particularly impactful during dialogue interactions.

Her highest starting statistic is Strength, followed by Constitution and Dexterity, which adheres to the traditional Barbarian framework.

STATISTIC	SCORE
Strength	17
Dexterity	13
Constitution	15
Intelligence	8
Wisdom	12
Charisma	10

Optimal Karlach Build

Detailed Stats and Level Progression

To maximize the build for Karlach, maintaining her status as a Barbarian is paramount, given that this class amplifies her strengths effectively.

Upon first meeting Karlach, she has yet to choose a subclass and wields basic weaponry. Players have the option to either refine her current build or implement their own modifications from the start.

At Level 1, players gain access to Unarmored Defense and Rage.
Level 2 unlocks Dark Sense, providing advantages on dexterity saving throws against various challenges. Additionally, Reckless Attack grants both Karlach and her enemies advantage on attack rolls.
Level 3 marks a pivotal point where players must select Karlach’s Barbarian subclass from three options: Wildheart, Berserker, and Wild Magic.

The Wildheart option allows players to select a Bestial heart, promoting variety and experimentation. Conversely, the Berserker subclass is more straightforward yet imparts formidable abilities like Frenzy and Mindless Rage. Wild Magic offers unique features, including Rage: Wild Magic and Bolstering Magic; nevertheless, the Berserker subclass stands out for raw power.

Players will choose Feats at Levels 4, 8, and 12 to further enhance Karlach’s capabilities.
Level 5 introduces Extra Attack, increasing her offensive potential. Additionally, Fast Movement boosts her mobility by 3 meters each turn.
At Level 6, she acquires Mindless Rage, making her immune to charm, fear, and calm emotions while raging, along with an additional Rage charge.
Level 8 involves another Feat selection.
At Level 9, the Brutal Critical feature allows for additional damage dice upon landing critical hits.
Level 10 grants access to Intimidating Presence as a class action, instilling fear in her targets.
The Relentless Rage ability at Level 11 allows Karlach to regain 1 HP instead of being downed when her health hits 0 while enraged.
At Level 12, she receives her final additional Rage charge and selects her last Feat.

Relevant feats to consider for her build include Athlete, enhancing her strength or dexterity significantly. Investing in Durable will bolster her constitution, essential for frontline encounters, allowing recovery of full HP post-short rest. Furthermore, Martial Adept would enable her to learn two maneuvers from the Battle Master subclass, adding options such as Disarming Attack, Goading Attack, and Sweeping Attack.

Ideal Multiclass for Karlach

An image of Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3

While Karlach naturally begins as a Barbarian, players can experiment with multiclassing to create unique builds that combine her strengths. One recommended approach is to transition between the Barbarian, Fighter, and Rogue classes for an engaging, versatile character.

Starting at level 1 as a Barbarian grants her Unarmored Defense, allowing damage mitigation without armor and access to Rage, enhancing her strength and granting resistance.

Upon reaching level 2, her Barbarian class will offer Danger Sense, granting an advantage on dexterity saving throws. She retains Reckless Attack, maintaining the advantage dynamic for attack rolls.

At level 3, she can select her subclass, with the Berserker being an optimal choice due to features like Frenzed Attack and Enraged Throw, boosting her offensive capabilities.

Advancing to level 4 permits a Feat selection. For this build, she could benefit from Martial Adept, accessing two Battle Master maneuvers, namely Sweeping Attack and Disarming Attack.

By level 5, she gains Extra Attack—typical for a Barbarian—and Fast Movement, which further enhances her mobility.

Transitioning to the Fighter class at level 1 enriches her capabilities, allowing the choice of Great Weapon Fighting as a fighting style and providing Second Wind for self-healing when necessary.

By level 2 as a Fighter, Action Surge grants the capacity for an extra action, crucial for delivering additional damage or executing tactical maneuvers.

Next, Karlach should switch to the Rogue class. At level 1 as a Rogue, she unlocks Sneak Attack, enabling her to maximize damage when ambushing foes. Choosing expertise in skills such as Acrobatics and Sleight of Hand enhances her proficiency further.

At level 2, Cunning Action provides invaluable tactical choices, allowing her to Hide, Dash, or Disengage rapidly, adapting to combat dynamics seamlessly.

Reaching level 3 as a Rogue allows her to pick a subclass. The Assassin is a fitting choice, immediately granting access to Assassinate skills that amplify her combat effectiveness while increasing her Sneak Attack damage dice to 2d6.

At level 4, another Feat can be selected. Options like Tavern Brawler or Savage Attacker further augment her combat prowess.

Finally, at level 5 of the Rogue class, Uncanny Dodge allows her to minimize damage from incoming attacks, while her Sneak Attack damage rises again to 3d6, enhancing her lethality in combat.