Best Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae’zel Build (Playstyle, Skills and More)

One of the companions, Lae’zel, starts out as a tough nut to crack in Baldur’s Gate 3, but she soon mellows out after a couple adventures together. Call her a tsundere if you may, and a precious one at that, but as a Fighter, though, the Githyanki warrior likes to strike first and ask questions later and can be extremely useful if built around her strengths.

In this guide, we’ll be looking into the most powerful build for Lae’zel in Baldur’s Gate 3, turning her into a close-quarter menace. With that said, if you want a melee-focused member in tow, read on!

Lae’zel Introduction and Overview

Lae’zel is one of the earliest companions that you can band up with. A true Githyanki fighter, she’s tough and fiercely loyal to Queen Vlaakith. She’s adept at a range of Simple and Martial Weapons and possesses psionic powers, like her race. Throughout Act One, you’ll hear her harping about a creche that can cure the Tadpole and retrieve a stolen artifact – the Astral Prism.

She is one of the companions you can romance. But because of her deep-rooted hatred for the Mind Flayers, she’ll disapprove of the idea of using the Tadpole’s Power. For those wanting to woo her, bear that in mind and keep it real with her.

Where to Find Lae’zel

Getting right to it, Lae’zel is the first character you encounter on the Nautiloid and joins you for a brief moment. After escaping the Nautiloid, you’ll need to find her once more to the north of the crash site. She’ll be in a cage, caught by two Tieflings.

You can free her using the ensuing dialogue checks to persuade the Tieflings into letting her go or by killing them. Either way, you’ll save her, and she’ll join your party.

Lae’zel Best Subclass: Battle Master, Champion, or Eldritch Knight?

The Fighter gets to pick a subclass at level 3. Considering Lae’zel’s thematics and abilities, the Battle Master and Champion subclasses are the most fitting. Though worth a shot in the dark, the Eldritch Knight introduces a spellcasting dimension that relies on Intelligence, which is not her strong suit.

Here’s a brief rundown so you can have a better idea of how they work in general:

• Battle Master: A well-rounded subclass that controls the flow of battle.
• Champion: The Champion is a straightforward subclass that translates raw physical power into critical hits, proficiencies, and jumps.
• Eldritch Knight: Uses spells and cantrips from the Evocation and Adjudication Schools to augment martial prowess.

Lae’zel is a hard hitter thanks to her high Strength stat and has decent bulk from Constitution. A Dexterity score of 13 provides a much-needed boost to her initiation roll. She’s sharp-witted but pretty unwise because of her indoctrination and relatively young age. That is why Battle Master or Champion suits her best.

Best Lae’zel Build in Baldur’s Gate 3

Battles Masters hone their fighting abilities thanks to the Battle Maneuvers and the Superiority Die, and taking this route will turn Lae’zel into an absolute melee unit capable of holding her own. Here’s what the final build for Lae’zel should look like.

Lae’zel Level Progression (Skills and Feats)

Lae’zel’s level progression for a Battle Master Fighter build should look like this. Similarly, other Fighter builds can follow suit and use our template for leveling up.

Best Fighting Style for Lae’zel

On top of learning Second Wind by default at level 1, which is pretty self-explanatory, you are asked to pick one among the following Fighting Styles.

• Archery: +2 bonus to ranged weapon attacks.
• Defense: +1 bonus to Armor Class while wearing armor.
• Dueling: When wielding a melee weapon that is not Two-Handed or Versatile in one hand and no weapon in the other, deal two additional damage with that weapon.
• Great Weapon Fighting: When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a two-handed melee weapon, that die is rerolled once.
• Protection: When you have a shield, impose a Disadvantage on an attack against your allies when you are within 1.5m. You must be able to see the attacker.
• Two-weapon Fighting: When you attack with your off-hand weapon, you can add your ability Modifer to the attack’s damage.

These determine how Lae’zel approaches combat, adapting her into a particular fighting style. Our top pick for the best BG3 Lae’zel build is the Great Weapon Fighting as we want her to deal maximum damage when handling chonky swords. That’s just the start of making her into a formidable warrior.

Best Battle Maneuvers for Lae’zel

Things get exciting for Lae’zel at level 3 when she chooses the Battle Master subclass, unlocking Superiority Dice to power special abilities known as Maneuvers. These are similar to spell slots but with a twist – they’re not just expanded, but also rolled to enhance skill damage.

You can learn seven Maneuvers: three at level 3, two at level 7, and two more at level 10. Avoid multiclassing in between. These Maneuvers provide Lae’zel with strategic control over her opponents. We recommend choosing in the following order for the Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae’zel build.

• Riposte: You spend a die and retaliate with a powerful attack when an enemy misses. Do note that it’s a reaction that you should always be active and set to ask.
• Disarming Attack: You spend a die to damage an enemy and possibly disarm the target, forcing it to drop their weapon. This can also be used at range with bows.
• Trip Attack: You spend a die to knock a small or medium target prone. You can use this to stun enemies.
• Precision Attack: Imparts the Superiority Die bonus to your next attack. It’s a must-have; you can use it as an opener for boss fights.
• Pushing Attack: You spend a die to deal a melee or ranged hit that can knock back enemies. Very useful if an enemy is stationed near a chasm.
• Distracting Strike: You spend a die to deal damage and possibly distract the target. Your allies then gain an advantage against the same target on the next attack roll.
• Gauding Attack: You spend a die to attack and provoke an enemy into attacking you until the end of your next turn. This defensive Maneuver becomes increasingly helpful in the later parts of the game.

Best Feats and ASI

Lae’zel gets a choice between opting for a Feat or improving an ability score at levels 4, 6, 8, and 12.

• Level 4: We recommend improving Lae’zel’s Strength and Dexterity by one point each. While tiny, this bump will prove valuable at this stage.
• Level 6: Take the Great Weapon Master feat. At this point, you’ll start getting the most out of Lae’zel, as she’ll deliver multiple hits per turn. This feat further enhances her combat abilities, granting her even more melee attacks as Bonus Actions when her melee attack scores a critical hit or defeats an enemy.
• Level 8: Take your Strength all the way to 20 with Ability Score Improvement.
• Level 12: With Gauding Attack already at your disposal, take the Durable feat to turn Lae’zel into an excellent tank. However, you may also weigh the benefits of the Alert feat. Lae’zel’s primary weakness lies in her lack of initiative, but Alert grants a +5 bonus to this. If you choose to have Lae’zel act early in combat, you can swiftly neutralize damage dealers. That said, we won’t hold your hand here, so assess your needs and make adjustments accordingly.

Leveling up this build

Recommended Items for Lae’zel

Lae’zel’s default gear’s enough to sustain her, but once you near the end of Act One, you’ll want to pick some powerful items to scale her damage and armor class. The best part about her race is that she makes use of certain items with race privileges that others can’t.

Here’s a list of the items, including Helmets, Armor, and Weapons, among others, that complement our Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae’zel build.

Helmet

• Grymskull Helmet (early to mid game): Grants immunity to critical hits and bestows fire resistance and the Hunter’s Mark ability to the wearer.
• Helm of Baldurian (end game): Wearer is immune to crits and stuns and heals for +2 at the start of every turn. On top of this, Baldurian’s Favour imparts a bonus to AC and Saving Throws.

Armor

• Adamantine Splint Armor (Early to Mid Game): An excellent pick for builds with proficiency in heavy armor. Reduces all incoming damage by 2, and sends the attacker reeling for 3 turns.
• Helldusk Armour (Late Game): Succeding a Saving Throw against a caster burns them for three rounds. Also grants damage reduction and the Fly spell.

Cape

• Cloak of Protection (Mid to Late Game): +1 bonus to AC and Saving Throws, enhancing Lae’zel’s tanking capabilities.

Gloves

• Gloves of the Growling Underdog (Early Game): You gain an advantage on melee attack rolls when ganked up. Also, it improves your Strength Saving Throws.
• Gauntlets of Surging Accuracy (Mid Game): After using Action Surge, gain a +1d4 bonus to Attack Rolls for the rest of your turn.
• Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength (Late Game): Takes the wearer’s Strength to 23, increasing it beyond the 20 soft cap.

Boots

• Boots of Speed (Early to Mid Game): The wearer can use Click Heels, which is similar to Dash but as a Bonus Action. Double the movement speed on a Bonus Action is a game-changer.
• Helldusk Boots (Late Game): You won’t budge to enemy actions or spells like Shove, and ignore difficult terrains. Also, it lets you use a reaction to succeed a Saving Throw and grants Hellcrawler – a spell you can use to warp to an area with an AoE fire explosion. Really fits the name, to say so.
• Boots of Psionic Movement (Late Game): Another late-game pair of boots that suits Lae’zel, thanks to the free fly spell and extra damage.

Main-Hand Weapon

• Ever Burnblade (Early Game): A surprisingly effective greatsword in the early sections, thanks to the 2d6+3 slashing and extra 1d4 fire damage.
• Soulbreaker Greatsword (Mid Game): Lae’zel as a Ghityanki can use the Souldbreaker Greatsword to a great extent. It deals with 2d6+1 Slashing and 1D4 Psychic (Race Privilege) damage and has an inherent stun ability.
• Silver Sword of the Astral Plane (Late Game): It has similar yet pronounced effects to the Soulbreaker Greatsword. The fact that this also provides an advantage on Saving Throws that Lae’zel sucks at on a large scale – Int, Wis, and Char – speaks of this weapon’s greatness.

Bow and Crossbow

• Giantbreaker (Early Game): Another hard hitter, but from range that can send enemies reeling.
• Fabricated Arbalest (Mid Game to Late Game): We held ourselves from putting Gontr Mael on the list. While it would’ve been deadly in Lae’zel’s hands, a Rogue or Ranger in your party might have better use for it. The Fabricated Arbalest will more than tend to Lae’zel’s ranged needs.

Amulet

• Amulet of Greater Health (Late Game): Amulets are a situational piece of gear, granting specific boons and abilities. You can use any amulet you wish, but near the later areas, you’re going to need the Amulet of Greater Health. This boosts Con score to 23, further reinforcing the idea of playing Lae’zel as a hard hitting tank.

Ring #1

• Crusher Ring (Early to Mid Game): Increases movement speed by 3 meters.
• Killer’s Sweetheart (Late Game): The next hit is a guaranteed crit if you kill an enemy, but this effect can only be used once per long rest.

Ring #2

• Ring of Protection (Early to Mid Game): Effects are identical to the Cloak of Protection.
• Ring Of Regeneration (Late Game): Heals the wearer for 1d4 HP at the start of a turn.

Playstyle

This Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae’zel build is all about staying up close and personal with the enemies and having them in your palms. In the early stages, Lae’zel won’t have much going for her except a trusty greatsword and the formidable Action Surge ability, granting her an extra action per turn – a game-changer in pivotal moments, despite its limited use.

Also, do not shy away from using bows in the early game. As a Fighter, Lae’zel can put any weapon to good use, and these include all sorts of bows and crossbows. This will prove helpful in getting free kills or softening enemies that are out of your immediate reach.

Later down the levels, as seen in the table above, Lae’zel will be armed with an arsenal of Maneuvres, extra attacks, and better Saving Throws. Because of the Ghithyanki race, you’ll also have Misty Step and Enhanced Leap to close distances between Lae’zel and squishy foes or, in case, to retreat if needed.

Lae’zel’s job as a Battle Master Fighter is to jump into the thick of action as soon as the Initiative Rolls. With the slew of mobility abilities from this Lae’zel build, you’ll be covered here. As for her Manuevres, use them cleverly to pin down enemies whenever they try anything funny. What makes her stand out is the capacity to unleash a flurry of attacks each turn, turning her into a serious force in close-quarters combat, especially when she scores critical hits or dispatches foes.

This wraps up the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae’zel build, emphasizing her role as a frontline, close-quarters combatant. Buildcrafting can be a massive undertaking, but we’re dedicated to providing you the best! Of course, you’ll need to pick the Best Beginner Class and craft the Best Build around it to get started in Faerun as a newcomer.