Best Combat Items In Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 will stand the test of time as a turning point in what video games can be, look like, and feel like. With more than 17,000 permutations, every playthrough is promised to be unique and distinct (provided players make different choices each time). This, too, means that various combat strategies come into play regarding playstyles, character builds, and more.

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Enter: combat consumable items. Of course, the standard Healing Potion is a feature in the game, but there are so many other types of combat items in Baldur's Gate 3 that players can exploit. This doesn't refer to equipment such as jewelry, weapons, or armor. It also does not include story items, even if they are consumables like the Tadpole Elixir, Iron Flask, or Scrolls as they function as spells in combat as opposed to items with unique effects. Just what are the best combat items in Baldur's Gate 3?

This article contains spoilers for various aspects of the game Baldur's Gate 3 including late-game boss fights and character reveals.

1 Buff Grenades Like Haste Spore Flask

Turn The Tide Of A Few Battles

• Avoids Lethargic debuff of Potion of Speed
• Can affect anyone who steps into the spore cloud

This one sits at the bottom of the list for two main reasons: there aren't that many of this kind of item and the ones players do get or can craft aren't numerous either. There's really only one kind and it all comes back to the Myconids. Haste Spores provide the same benefits that the Potion of Speed does: a character can take extra actions in the same turn, gain increased movement speed, gain advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and gain +2 AC.

However, the cloud of spores provides doubled movement speed and players can avoid the Lethargic debuff entirely. If they stay in the spores or re-enter them, they regain the Haste status. Use the grenade or flask, but remember that the Grenade effects do not last as long as the Flasks.

2 Arrows Of Slaying

Great For Specific Enemies

• Available throughout the game, but not commonly sold or found
• Ideal for specific boss fights and enemies

Many players may not feel that the various "Arrows of X Slaying" are worth the trouble to use or gold to pick them up. But they can prove very useful at higher difficulties and against specific enemies. These arrows double damage done to whatever enemy type they favor such as Beast or Aberration.

For instance, the difficulty of the Ansur fight can be mitigated by using Arrows of Dragon Slaying. Fighting the Steel Watch gets a bit easier by using the Arrows of Construct Slaying. The game hands out different kinds throughout the campaign and players can buy them from merchants as well.

3 Damage Grenades

Deal AoE Damage Or Set Up A Spell Wombo Combo

• Great for setting up future turns or damaging large groups of foes
• Some can create surfaces that can damage the player's party, too

Dealing damage with consumable items like grenades is not a foreign concept to most gamers. But BG3 has the added effects of things like surfaces and how players can leverage their spells, weapon coatings, or enemy attacks with those surfaces. Grenades such as Alchemist's Fire or Holy Water both do damage and create surfaces.

That said, most players won't find themselves reaching for a grenade all too often as the damage output is not nearly as useful in the mid-to-late game. However, players who sell their blood to Araj Oblodra can purchase a powerful combat item called the Sanguine Explosive in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate (multiple times!).

4 Utility Grenades

Effective For Fights With Lots Of Enemies

• Ideal for groups of spellcasters or ranged damage dealers
• Keeps enemies unable to attack or unlikely to land a hit

Leveraging negative status effects like movement speed reduction or confusion becomes increasingly important throughout BG3. One of the first fights where crowd control feels mandatory is when/if the player and party attack the Goblin Camp in Act I. The hoards of half-drunk gobbos running toward the player can be slowed easily with crowd control.

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There are plenty of spells for just this effect, but not everyone likes to rely on spellcasting or maintain spell slots for battle. Using crowd-control grenades like the easy-to-come-by Grease Bottle is a no-brainer in any battle. More specialized items such as the Hearthlight Bomb or Flashblinder come in handy against specific enemy types, as well. Keep some of these in character inventories just in case of an emergency.

5 Weapon Coatings

Especially Useful Early-Mid Game

• Best for melee fighters like dual-wielding Rogues and Fighters
• Come in lots of varieties to suit many battles

Though many enemies have high resistances in the late game of BG3, early to mid-game enemies can be thwarted quickly by exploiting various weapon coatings. Though the early items focus on poison, other options include things like Oil of Bane that can inflict Bane on a target when attacked with a weapon coated in the item.

Many veteran players opt to use the Purple Worm Toxin for the most effectiveness as others such as Thisobald's Brewed-Up Bellyglummer take rare resources to create. Karabasan's Poison, a powerful paralytic, is available all over Act III, so try it out in the next playthrough.

6 Arrows That Do Something Special/Specific

A Game Changer For Many Areas And Fights

• Function like a "cheat code" in certain instances
• Extremely helpful for ranged healing, quick movement, and Concentration interruption

Who else didn't enjoy the Temple of Bhaal entrance fight? Here's a new strategy to try: just have every character use Arrows of Transposition to bypass most of the fighting and get to the exit instead. The Arrow of Salving also lets players heal other characters without having to touch them, as the case usually is with many healing spells.

But the Arrow of Arcane Interference comes especially in handy as players get into the late game of BG3. They can use it to break the Concentration of an enemy whether they are targeting the player's party or buffing an enemy character instead.

7 Utility Potions That Provide Or Enhance Abilities

Gotta Go Fast...And Fly...And...Sleep?

• Vast applications across the game to add different variables to battles
• Many are readily available at various merchants and/or can be crafted

Sleeping during combat sounds like the worst idea imaginable, but the Potions of Angelic Reprieve and Slumber provide the effects of a Short Rest and Long Rest, respectively. For spell slot-hungry casters like Gale, these potions can be total game changers. The Potion of Speed provides Haste, which is highly exploitable in late-game fights, too. But not all of these potion types are created equally.

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For instance, the Remedial Potion and Basilisk Oil both remove negative status effects, but they aren't as useful in combat as something like a Potion of Flying. The table below ranks the potions based on their inherent combat usefulness.

8 Multi-Enemy Or Elemental Damage Arrows

Beware Of Friendly Fires And Enemy Resistances

• Best for ranged non-magical damage dealers, but also great for anyone with a bow
• Can be used in tandem with spells to proc effects such as Encrusted with Frost

Any player opting for a ranged, non-spellcasting build will want to keep elemental damage arrows in stock. Not only do these add elemental damage to normal weapon attacks, but they often create surfaces as well or do area-of-effect damage. The best part is that, technically, anyone can use them -- even on extra attacks as with Rogues, Warriors, some Bard builds, and Barbarians.

It's extremely easy to come by elemental damage arrows as loot from enemies or the surroundings and, of course, from merchants throughout the game. Just keep in mind that using an elemental damage arrow on an enemy that has resistance to that element may not work out as well as with other enemies.

9 Elixirs Of Resistance

Invest Early And Exploit Late Game

• Players can leverage these late game to mitigate damage from high-level enemies
• Readily available from many merchants and/or can be crafted

Especially in higher difficulties of combat, resistances to certain damage types such as Necrotic and Psychic become paramount. Elixirs of Resistance do exactly what their name suggests: provide boosted damage resistance against a specific damage type. All but the Universal Resistance Elixir lasts until the player takes a Long Rest, but this item is still very much worth having in the inventory.

Players can craft or buy the Elixir of Universal Resistance, too (which they should) even though it only lasts for 10 turns in battle. Think of the late-game fights where characters can take three or more types of elemental damage in a single turn. Every action counts and so does every Hit Point.

10 Healing Potions

The Old Standard No One Should Overlook

• Just buy all of them every time they're available
• Distribute them among the party as needed

Not much needs to be said about Healing Potions other than hoard all of them. Unlike Divinity Original Sin 2, players cannot merge smaller potions into bigger potions. They'll just have to use up the lesser potions outside of combat when the amount healed is less important.

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When it comes to battle, be sure to provide characters with the types of Healing Potion that best suits them. Lae'zel or Karlach might need the Supreme Healing Potions since they probably have more health than someone like Astarion or Gale. In the base difficulty of the game, merchants regularly restock with Healing Potions, too, so players should not have issues keeping them around.