Best feats for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) – Destructoid
Astarion is one of the most popular companions in Baldur’s Gate 3. You’ll likely meet him early in your adventure, a Rogue whose tongue is as fast as his sword. One thing’s for sure: you want to keep Astarion around.
Astarion has one distinct advantage as a Rogue over other Baldur’s Gate 3 characters. Whether you’re playing as him or bringing him along as a companion, Astarion can choose up to four feats as he levels up, while others only get three. These feats come at Levels 4, 8, 10, and 12 for Rogues.
But which ones should you be taking for your playthrough? We’re going to take a look at the best feats for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, to make sure you get your Rogue build just right.
Best feats for Rogue Astarion in BG3
When looking at the best feats for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, we’ll highlight the four you should take throughout your playthrough. There are so many BG3 feats that these four aren’t the only ones you can take, so we’ll also include some honorable mentions that also work pretty well for an Astarion run.
Here’s a quick summary of the four feats we recommend taking for Astarion that focus on maximizing his damage as a stealthy sharpshooting rogue:
- Ability Improvement (Dexterity)
- Sharpshooter
- Dual Wielder
- Mobile
The priority with these feats is to create a ranged Astarion BG3 build. In the late game, this can result in some pretty crazy damage with the right feats in place.
Ability Improvement feat for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
| Feat | Description |
|---|---|
| Ability Improvement | You increase one Ability by 2, or two Abilities by 1, to a maximum of 20. |
With four feats to choose from, you should always be taking Ability Improvement. Usually, for a Rogue, you’d dump the extra two points here into Dexterity, allowing you to take advantage of Stealth skills and giving you a bonus for abilities such as Sleight of Hand. Once you combine this with various items later in your playthrough, you’ll start having noticeably high Initiative and success with stealth kills.
We’d recommend taking Ability Improvement for your Level 4 feat in Baldur’s Gate 3. Astarion will reap the benefits if you take this one as early as you possibly can. Ability Improvement is one of those skills that will almost always help you, particularly in the early game when you have limited access to build-defining equipment.
Sharpshooter feat for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
| Feat | Description |
|---|---|
| Sharpshooter | Your ranged weapon attacks do not receive penalties from High Ground Rules. Ranged weapon attacks with weapons you are Proficient with have a -5 penalty to their Attack Roll, but deal an additional 10 damage. (You can toggle this on or off.) |
Any Astarion build in BG3 isn’t complete without taking the Sharpshooter feat. It makes him an absolute menace from range, and removing penalties from low ground is just overpowered. Make no mistake – if you choose Sharpshooter as one of your feats for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, you should switch primarily to ranged attacks.
You should take Sharpshooter as your Level 8 feat for Astarion. The -5 penalty to Attack Roles can be negated by high Dexterity if you took Ability Improvement earlier, and the extra 10 damage is an enormous buff in exchange.
Dual Wielder feat for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
| Feat | Description |
|---|---|
| Dual Wielder | You can use Two-Weapon Fighting even if your weapons aren’t Light, and you gain a +1 bonus to Armour Class while wielding a melee weapon in each hand. You cannot dual-wield Heavy weapons. |
When you’re really starting to hone your Astarion build in Baldur’s Gate 3, we’d definitely recommend Dual Wielder. This feat will allow you to dual-wield crossbows, which, when combined with your previous two feats, makes Astarion a damage-dealing machine. The +1 bonus to Armour Class isn’t too shabby, either.
Dual Wielder is a Baldur’s Gate 3 feat you should take for Astarion at Level 10. The previous two are so beneficial early that you’ll see more rewards from taking them first. Dual Wielder is great, but it’s quite a specialist feat.
Dual Wielding is also helpful if you pick up rare or legendary weapons later in your playthrough. Throughout BG3, particularly in Act Three, you’ll have numerous opportunities to pick up valuable items that synergize will with each other. Being able to dual-wield these will eliminate the struggle of choosing while enabling these synergies. As a bonus, it’s a fun option if you want to turn Astarion into a cool-looking Gloomstalker Rogue or a stealthy thief.
Mobile feat for Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3
| Feat | Description |
|---|---|
| Mobile | Your movement speed increases, and difficult terrain doesn’t slow you down when you Dash. If you move after making a melee attack, you don’t provoke Opportunity Attacks from your target. |
The Mobile feat is one of the best for players who enjoy the stealthy aspects of a Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion playthrough. It’s commonly used alongside Dash to avoid Opportunity Attacks as you maneuver around the battlefield, then Cunning Action: Hide to go into Stealth mode.
Regardless of Astarion’s subclass and build, Mobile gives you a way to go in and out of combat with minimal risk. While it’s usually best to stick to the backlines and fire away at your enemies, they’ll often Misty Step next to you unexpectedly. Having a way to quickly run away and slip back into the shadows can help in a sticky situation. Similarly, if you need to step up to the frontline for an attack, you can dash back into the backline without disengaging.
When using Mobile as part of that combination, Astarion can pop in and out of stealth during combat, dealing massive damage before slipping away into the night. Even for ranged characters, Mobile is great for simply repositioning quickly without taking tons of damage. Grab this feat at Level 12 – it shouldn’t be an early priority, but it’s worth having.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Astarion feats – honorable mentions
The four feats above aren’t the only viable ones for an Astarion playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. Here are some honorable mentions you can use, even if you’re not embracing the range-heavy build we recommended above.
| Feat | Description |
|---|---|
| Alert | You gain a +5 bonus to Initiative and can’t be Surprised. |
| Crossbow Expert | When you make crossbow attacks within melee range, the Attack Rolls do not have Disadvantage. Your Piercing Shot also inflicts Gaping Wounds for twice as long. |
| Lucky | You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws, or to make an enemy reroll their Attack Rolls. |
| Savage Attacker | When making a melee weapon attack, you roll your damage dice twice and use the highest result. |
| Tough | Your hit point maximum increases by 2 for every level you have gained. |
Although these feats are primarily used in specific builds or in niche situations, they still have their uses even in more popular Astarion Rogue builds. Let’s talk about each feat in more detail.
Alert feat benefits
When playing Astarion as an Assassin Rogue, Alert is a fantastic skill for gaining Initiative and avoiding surprise. By default, his Initiative is already high with his Dexterity, but Alert gives you that extra edge that almost guarantees he goes first. Considering an Assassin Rogue’s purpose is to get quick kills on surprised opponents, this feat works perfectly with it.
Crossbow Expert feat benefits
Remember when I mentioned dual-wielding crossbows earlier? Rather than taking Sharpshooter to remove High Ground penalties, grabbing Crossbow Expert can provide just as many, if not more, benefits. Any time you attack with a crossbow in melee range, you’ll no longer have Disadvantage, making you much more likely to land your shots. The feat also buffs Gaping Wounds, causing your enemy to take additional Piercing damage.
Lucky feat benefits
Another risky but interesting choice is Lucky. Every time you Long Rest, you’ll gain three charges of Luck Points, which you can spend to gain Advantage on Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws. If you’re having a tough time in combat, you can also use it to make an enemy reroll their Attack Rolls.
Ideally, if you have a strong build for Astarion using other feats, you won’t be in too many situations where you have to reroll your dice. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have another shot at increasing your damage or potentially saving yourself from certain death. If you often fall victim to low rolls like I do, having that little luck boost can be handy, especially if you accidentally fumble a sneak attack or need to save an Honour Mode run.
Savage Attacker feat benefits
Savage Attacker is for anyone who prefers Astarion as a melee, dagger-wielding assassin who lurks in the shadows. If you have a weak frontline and need additional support from someone who can slip in and out of combat, Savage Attacker on Astarion lets you roll twice for every melee attack he initiates. Although a ranged build is generally safer for most Rogue builds, melee can do some wild damage with the right weapons and feats.
Tough feat benefits
Last but not least is Tough, a feat that gives you more health per level. This one is the simplest of the bunch: Astarion will gain HP every time he levels up, making him slightly harder to kill. Typically, Astarion focuses on stealthy combat and maneuvering in the world, making him less likely to receive damage than your frontline or anyone that can taunt a crowd.
However, this one is slightly more effective in a melee Rogue build, especially if you pick up feats like Savage Attacker and Dual Wielder. If you’re going full Assassin Astarion and want to prioritize sneak attacking, other feats that complement this build will help you more.
Astarion’s role in combat
As a Rogue, Astarion has two primary purposes depending on his role: stay in the backline and snipe down foes from afar, or sneak behind enemy lines and quietly eliminate their backline. Whether you go a ranged or melee build will significantly influence this.
Generally speaking, ranged is the way to go, especially if you’re focusing on an Assassin Astarion build. Using feat benefits from Sharpshooter and wielding two ranged (or melee) weapons using Dual Wielder will help you one-shot most enemies, especially as you advance later in Baldur’s Gate 3 and improve your Dexterity. Astarion also has high Initiative to start, allowing you to act much earlier than most enemies. You can hop in, snipe someone, and then hide in the shadows without anyone knowing where you are.
Swapping to a melee build changes this dynamic slightly. Nonetheless, it’s still viable, with your main purpose being to slip into their backline and defeat any spellcasters that can weaken or one-shot your party. Your frontline can absorb most of the damage, while Astarion focuses on getting quick kills and disengaging when the enemy notices his presence. This strategy is much riskier but can make for a unique and uncommon playstyle.
Tips for maximizing Astarion’s stealth abilities
Since Astarion is all about stealth, your playstyle, feats, and subclass will reflect that. If you want to focus solely on dealing as much damage as possible without getting pulled into the middle of the action, you’ll want to change Astarion to an Assassin subclass starting at level three.
Selecting this subclass gives you Advantage against enemies who haven’t taken a turn yet, and you’ll always deal Critical Hits to Surprised opponents if your attack roll is successful. You’ll also restore your action and bonus action when combat begins, pairing especially well with feats like Alert and Ability Improvement to raise your Dexterity early on.
Alternatively, swapping to Thief or Arcane Trickster is also viable if you want to focus more on utility. While you’ll deal less damage overall with these two subclasses, it gives you options both within and outside of combat that Assassin’s all-in approach doesn’t tackle. In the case of Arcane Trickster, you can easily set up illusions to help you and your team, while Thief’s main purpose comes from the out-of-combat benefits of sneaking around the map more easily.
It’s worth experimenting with your Astarion feats in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you think you’ve made the wrong choice for your playthrough, you can respec your class via Withers and choose your feats all over again. This will set you back 100 gold each time, which isn’t much at all when you get into the latter stages of Baldur’s Gate 3.
