The Barbarian is one of the most fun martial classes to play in Baldur's Gate 3 as players can focus almost entirely on offense and allow Rage to take care of the rest. No armor is necessary, just a huge weapon and a ton of enemies.
The enemy quantity actually is somewhat important to the Barbarian as the Rage will run out every time the character doesn't attack or get attacked in a round. With such a focus on action, there are a few races for the class that maximize what the Barbarian brings to Baldur's Gate 3.
Shield Dwarf
- +2 Strength
- +2 Constitution
- Movement: 7.5 meters per turn
- Proficiencies: Battleaxe, Handaxe, Light Hammer, Warhammer, Light Armor, Medium Armor
- Darkvision
- Advantage on Poison Saving Throws
- Resistance to Poison
There are only two races in the game that give a +2 attribute bonus to Strength and, of those, only one other gives a +2 bonus to Constitution. The Shield Dwarf provides hefty bonuses to the two most important attributes for the Barbarian who uses their own body as a shield.
The proficiencies don't mean anything since the Barbarian should be going unarmored and already has proficiency with martial weapons but the two advantages against Poison effects and Darkvision will come in handy. Get some inspiration and get to the frontlines like a Dwarf loves to do. The movement isn't ideal so be sure to have a ranged weapon to attack with each round so the Rage buff doesn't fall off.
Githyanki
- +2 Strength
- +1 Intelligence
- Movement: 9 meters per turn
- Proficiencies: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shortsword, Longsword, Greatsword
- Cantrip: Mage Hand
Getting the maximum bonus to strength is huge. Like the Shield Dwarf, the proficiencies don't add anything of value but that's true of many race and class combos. The Githyanki is faster than the Dwarf which will mean more melee attacks in the long run.
There is an interesting angle with Intelligence and Mage Hand here that allows the Githyanki Barbarian to dip into situations that other races can't. Players who love Barbarians in other games will love this class and race combo.
Human
- +1 to all attributes
- Movement: 9 meters per turn
The Human is admittedly the least exciting of all the races in the game but it fits a Barbarian nicely. No other classes give +2 to Strength besides the Shield Dwarf and Githyanki and this provides a +1 across the board to for a well-rounded character.
The Barbarian, lacking standard magical and equipment defenses, will find themselves rolling saves often. The Human, due to the spread of attributes, has every base covered. Playing with friends can help mitigate the risks of being a Barbarian, but anytime a Human Barbarian succeeds on a roll by a single point, remember that other races wouldn't have been so lucky.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available in Early Access on PC and will be fully released on August 3rd, 2023. The PlayStation 5 version will be available on September 6th, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is still in development.