Best Baldur’s Gate 3: Lae’zel Companion Build Guide

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Mastering the Way of the Githyanki Warrior

In the vast and intricate world of Baldur’s Gate 3, the companions you choose to fight alongside you can define your entire journey. Among them, Lae’zel of Crèche K’liir stands out as a paragon of martial prowess. Her Githyanki heritage grants her a unique set of abilities and a singular focus on combat efficiency. Building her effectively is not merely a suggestion; it is the key to unlocking one of the most potent frontline forces available to any party. This guide is dedicated to transforming Lae’zel from a capable warrior into an unstoppable engine of destruction, meticulously detailing the optimal choices for her class, abilities, equipment, and tactics to dominate the Forgotten Realms.

The foundation of any powerful Lae’zel build begins with a deep understanding of her racial bonuses and starting class. As a Githyanki, she possesses innate proficiencies that are incredibly valuable, including Astral Knowledge, which can grant her party skill bonuses, and the invaluable ability to wield Greatswords with proficiency without needing a specific class choice. Her starting class as a Fighter provides a solid base, but her true potential is realized through specialization. The path we will explore focuses on maximizing her damage output, survivability, and battlefield mobility, turning her into a character who can single-handedly control the flow of combat.

This build is designed for players who want a reliable, high-damage melee character who can withstand immense punishment while dishing it out in equal measure. We will delve into the specifics of the Battle Master subclass, which offers superior tactical flexibility through its Maneuvers. We will also examine a powerful multiclassing option that synergizes incredibly well with her core abilities. Beyond character sheet choices, we will cover the essential gear to seek out throughout your adventure, from Act 1 to the endgame, and the strategic mindset needed to position and utilize Lae’zel in any encounter.

Core Class Progression and Key Abilities

The most effective path for Lae’zel is to embrace her identity as a pure Fighter, specifically the Battle Master Archetype. This build prioritizes consistent damage, unparalleled accuracy, and tactical control over more complex spellcasting or stealth mechanics. The Fighter class provides a robust framework with multiple Ability Score Improvements (ASIs) and the game-changing Extra Attack feature. Starting with Fighter is non-negotiable, and we will advance it to at least Level 11 to secure a third attack per action, a massive boost to her damage potential.

When assigning her ability scores, two attributes are paramount: Strength and Constitution. Strength is the primary stat for her weapon attacks, directly influencing her chance to hit and the damage she deals with melee weapons. Constitution determines her Hit Points, crucial for a character who will be in the thick of every fight, and also affects her concentration checks if she later gains spells. A secondary but important attribute is Dexterity, which contributes to her Armor Class (AC), Initiative, and Dexterity saving throws.

Recommended Ability Score Spread:

Strength: Maximize this to 17 as soon as possible. This is your top priority for all ASIs. A high Strength ensures your attacks land and hit hard.
Constitution: Aim for 16. This provides a substantial health pool and a solid bonus to your concentration saves, making you durable enough to hold the front line.
Dexterity: A score of 14 is ideal. This gives a +2 modifier to AC when wearing Medium Armor, boosts your Initiative to let you act earlier in combat, and improves common saving throws.
Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma: These can be left at their base values (typically 10 or 8). Lae’zel’s strengths are martial, and other party members can handle skills and interactions related to these mental stats.

The pinnacle of this build is reached at Fighter Level 3 with the selection of the Battle Master subclass. Unlike the Champion, which offers passive critical hit improvements, or the Eldritch Knight, which introduces spellcasting, the Battle Master provides a suite of active abilities called Maneuvers. These maneuvers use Superiority Dice, which are d8s (that grow to d10s and eventually d12s) that you add to certain attacks and effects. They are the core of your tactical gameplay.

Essential Battle Master Maneuvers

Choosing the right Maneuvers is critical to maximizing Lae’zel’s effectiveness. They allow you to control enemies, protect allies, and deal devastating amounts of damage. You start with three maneuvers and can learn more as you level up. The following selections are considered the most powerful and versatile for a frontline damage dealer.

Riposte: This is arguably the best maneuver in the game. When an enemy misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to immediately make a melee weapon attack against them. This effectively gives you extra attacks on enemy turns, dramatically increasing your damage per round.
Precision Attack: When you miss an attack roll by a small margin, you can spend a Superiority Die to add the result to your attack roll. This turns near-misses into guaranteed hits, especially against high-AC foes or when using a powerful -5 to hit/+10 to damage feat like Great Weapon Master.
Trip Attack: On a successful hit, you can spend a die to attempt to knock the target Prone. A prone enemy must use half its movement to stand up, and attack rolls against it have Advantage. This sets up your entire party for devastating follow-up attacks.
Menacing Attack: Upon hitting a target, you can force them to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, they become Frightened of you, preventing them from moving closer and imposing Disadvantage on their attack rolls and ability checks. This is an excellent debuff against powerful single targets.
Pushing Attack: This maneuver allows you to push a creature up to 15 feet away from you on a hit. While situational, it is incredibly useful for environmental kills, such as shoving enemies off cliffs, into chasms, or away from vulnerable allies.

As you acquire more maneuvers, consider adding Maneuvering Attack to help an ally reposition without provoking opportunity attacks, or Disarming Attack to temporarily remove a dangerous weapon from an enemy’s hands. The key is to have a mix of reliable damage boosters (Riposte) and tactical options (Trip, Menacing) for different combat scenarios.

The Power of Multiclassing: A Two-Level Dip

While a pure Fighter is exceptionally powerful, a specific two-level multiclass can elevate Lae’zel’s damage output to astronomical levels. After reaching Fighter Level 6 (for two ASIs) or Fighter Level 8 (for a third ASI), it is highly beneficial to take two levels in the War Domain Cleric. This dip provides three key features that synergize perfectly with the Battle Master’s kit.

First, it grants you access to divine spells. While your Wisdom is low, you don’t need it for the most valuable spells this dip offers: Bless and Divine Favor. Bless is a concentration spell that adds a d4 to attack rolls and saving throws for you and two allies, making your entire party more accurate and resilient. Divine Favor adds 1d4 radiant damage to your weapon attacks for a minute, providing a consistent damage boost.

Second, the War Domain features are what make this dip truly exceptional. At Cleric Level 1, you gain War Priest, which gives you a number of bonus action attacks equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of one) per long rest. This is essentially a limited version of the Fighter’s own bonus action attack, giving you another way to stack damage in a crucial turn.

Most importantly, at Cleric Level 2, you gain the Guided Strike channel divinity option. This allows you to add a +10 bonus to a single attack roll after you see the roll but before you know the outcome. This guarantees a hit for your most powerful attack, such as one enhanced by the Great Weapon Master feat. Combining Guided Strike with Great Weapon Master’s powerful -5 to hit/+10 to damage penalty is a match made in heaven, ensuring your heaviest blows always connect.

Feat Selection for Maximum Impact

Fighters receive more Ability Score Improvements than any other class, providing ample opportunity to select powerful feats. For Lae’zel, feats are not just an enhancement; they are a core component of her build. Your first priority should be to increase your Strength to 20. After that, the following feats are mandatory for an optimized build.

Great Weapon Master (GWM): This is the most critical feat for any two-handed weapon user. It offers two powerful effects. First, on a critical hit or when you reduce a creature to 0 HP, you can make a melee weapon attack as a bonus action. Second, and most importantly, you can take a -5 penalty to your attack roll to gain a +10 bonus to the damage roll. Combined with the accuracy boosts from Precision Attack and Guided Strike, this feat allows you to deal devastating amounts of damage.
Alert: Going first in combat is a massive advantage. The Alert feat gives you a +5 bonus to Initiative and prevents you from being surprised. With this feat, Lae’zel can often act before the enemy, allowing her to charge in and take out a key target or use a controlling maneuver before they can even move.
Savage Attacker: This feat is excellent for maximizing damage consistency. Once per turn when you make a weapon attack, you can reroll the weapon’s damage dice and use either total. For a character wielding a weapon with multiple damage dice (like a Greatsword’s 2d6), this feat significantly increases your average damage output over the course of a long adventure.

The recommended feat progression is to take Great Weapon Master as your first feat, often at Level 4, especially if you can find a permanent Strength-increasing item early on. Use your Level 6 ASI to boost your Strength to 20. At Fighter Level 8, you can then choose between Alert and Savage Attacker based on your preference for consistency or initiative dominance.

Optimal Equipment and Gear

Equipping Lae’zel with the right gear is the final piece of the puzzle. Your goal is to find items that augment her Strength, increase her survivability, and synergize with her feats and fighting style. The following list highlights some of the best-in-slot items to seek out, organized by the stage of the game.

Act 1 Gear:

Greatsword/Everburn Blade: The Everburn Blade, found on the nautiloid ship’s commander, is a fantastic early-game weapon that deals additional fire damage. Alternatively, any +1 Greatsword will serve you well until you find more powerful options.
Adamantine Splint Armor: Crafted in the Grymforge, this heavy armor provides a high AC and the incredible property of making any enemy that hits you with a melee attack receive the Reeling condition, giving them a -1 penalty to their attack rolls. This makes you significantly harder to hit.
Caustic Band: This ring, sold by Derryth Bonecloak in the Underdark, adds a flat +2 damage to all your attack rolls, a simple and effective boost.

Act 2 & 3 Gear:

Balduran’s Giantslayer: This is the ultimate greatsword for this build. Found in the late game, it doubles your Strength modifier on damage rolls and allows you to use a bonus action to become Enlarged, increasing your weapon damage by a further 1d4. It is the perfect weapon for a Strength-based powerhouse.
Helldusk Armor: This superior heavy armor, obtainable in Act 3, provides one of the highest AC values in the game and grants resistance to fire damage, along with other powerful defensive benefits.
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength: These gauntlets permanently set your Strength to 23. This allows you to respec your character and reallocate all those points from Strength into Constitution or other stats, making you even more durable without sacrificing offensive power.

Other notable items include cloaks that provide resistance or defensive buffs, boots that enhance mobility like the Displacing Boots, and helmets that offer perks like the Helm of Balduran for its healing and stun immunity.

Advanced Combat Tactics and Rotation

Knowing how to play Lae’zel is as important as how you build her. Her combat style is aggressive and proactive. Your primary goal is to position her where she can threaten the most dangerous enemies, use her mobility to avoid being surrounded, and unleash a flurry of attacks enhanced by maneuvers and feats.

Your standard “rotation” in a typical combat round should prioritize using the Great Weapon Master power attack. With sources of advantage (like from a Trip Attack or a party member’s spell) and your own accuracy buffs (Precision Attack, Guided Strike), the -5 penalty becomes negligible, and the +10 damage is transformative. Use your Action Surge on the first turn of a major battle to unleash a devastating alpha strike, potentially taking down a key target immediately.

Mobility is a key strength of the Githyanki. Their racial spell Misty Step (gained at Level 5) is invaluable. Use it to bypass frontline enemies, reach high-priority archers or spellcasters, or escape a dangerous situation. The Fighter’s Action Surge can also be used for a Dash action, allowing you to cover vast distances in a single turn to engage a target that thinks it’s safe.

Finally, remember that your reactions are a resource. The Riposte maneuver is your primary reaction, but don’t forget about the standard Opportunity Attack. Positioning Lae’zel to control choke points can punish enemies for trying to move past her to reach your softer backline companions.

Pro Tips for the Ultimate Lae’zel

To truly master this build, consider these expert-level strategies that can give you an edge in the most challenging encounters.

Pre-Buffing: Before initiating a tough fight, use your Cleric spell slots to cast Aid at the highest level possible. This increases the maximum HP of your entire party for the entire day without requiring concentration. Also, cast Death Ward on Lae’zel from another character to give her a crucial second life.
Synergy with Allies: Lae’zel works best with a party that can set her up for success. A spellcaster using Haste on her doubles her number of attacks, making her an unstoppable force. A character who can cast Hold Person or Hold Monster guarantees that all her melee attacks are critical hits.
Resource Management: Your Superiority Dice and Action Surge are per-short-rest resources. Do not be afraid to use them liberally, and make a habit of taking short rests after significant fights to replenish them. The Bard’s Song of Rest can provide an additional short rest per day.
Weapon Coatings: Never underestimate the power of basic consumables. Applying a Drow Poison or Simple Toxin coating to your weapon can inflict the Poisoned or Envenomed condition, severely hampering an enemy’s capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the War Cleric dip absolutely necessary?
No, it is not strictly necessary. A pure Battle Master Fighter Level 12 is an incredibly powerful and self-sufficient character. The two-level Cleric dip is an optimization strategy that provides a guaranteed hit mechanic (Guided Strike) and some useful low-level spells, pushing her damage and utility to the absolute limit. If you prefer simplicity, staying pure Fighter is perfectly viable.

What if I want Lae’zel to use a weapon other than a Greatsword?
This build is centered on the Great Weapon Master feat, which is most effective with heavy, two-handed weapons. While you could use a Greataxe or a Halberd, the Greatsword (2d6) offers the most consistent damage dice. The specific legendary greatswords available in the game also make it the optimal choice.

How do I handle enemies with very high Armor Class?
High-AC enemies are where your accuracy-boosting features shine. Switch from using Great Weapon Master’s power attack to normal attacks, and employ Precision Attack to ensure you hit. Use Trip Attack to knock them prone, granting you Advantage on subsequent attacks, which may allow you to safely re-engage GWM. The Guided Strike channel divinity is your ultimate solution for guaranteeing a single, crucial hit.

When is the best time to take the Cleric levels?
The most common and effective progression is to take your first level in War Cleric immediately after reaching Fighter Level 6. This gives you time to establish your core Fighter features and your first two ASI/Feats (likely GWM and a Strength boost). Take the second Cleric level soon after to get Guided Strike, then return to leveling Fighter for the rest of the game.

Conclusion

Building Lae’zel into the ultimate Githyanki Battle Master is a process that leverages her innate racial strengths and amplifies them with the most powerful class features, feats, and equipment available in Baldur’s Gate 3. By following this comprehensive guide—focusing on the Battle Master subclass, strategically multiclassing into War Cleric, selecting the Great Weapon Master and Alert feats, and equipping her with legendary gear—you will forge a companion who is not just a participant in battle, but the decisive factor in winning it. Her ability to deliver staggering single-target damage, control the battlefield with debilitating maneuvers, and survive against overwhelming odds makes her an invaluable and terrifying asset from the nautiloid crash site all the way to the final confrontation for the fate of Baldur’s Gate.