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Minthara, the enigmatic drow paladin, offers a unique opportunity for players inBaldur’s Gate 3to explore her complex abilities and dark charisma. As a character who can be both ally and adversary, Minthara’s potential shines when customized with the right build, as any potential paladin would.
Her natural affinity for combat, oath-based abilities, and roleplaying flexibility make her an excellent choice for various playstyles. In this guide, we’ll cover the best builds for Minthara, focusing on her subclass choices, feats, and optimal strategies to make the most of her strengths in and out of combat.
Minthara Overview
Minthara isa drow paladinand one of the first antagonists you’ll meet in Baldur’s Gate 3, at least if you’re doinga regular good-aligned playthrough.She leads the goblins against the Druid Grove,all at the behest of Ketheric Thorm, one of the three chosen of the Absolute.
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As a paladin, her default subclass isthe oath of vengeance. While you canchange her classas you see fit, we will focus onher most lore-friendly version, focusing on her devotion to her oath and conviction to her cause, as well as seeing paladins as entities without a deity.
Regardless of her class,Minthara has the skill Soul Branding, a bonus action thatadds fire damageto her or an ally’s next attack. She also comes withthe Brand of the Absolute, allowing her toreap the benefit of certain itemsobtained mostly during Act 1.
Unlocking Minthara
You can unlock Minthara in Act 2, once you reach the Moonrise Towers, butonly if she survives Act 1.If you are fighting against her during Act 1, then be sure toknock her out instead of killing her. Otherwise, you’ll be locked out of adding her to your roster.
Once you make it to Moonrise Towers, you’ll have tohead to the basementwhere the prisoners are held. Minthara isn’t with the regular prisoners, butin a side room, where her mind is about to be wiped-out;interrupt the ceremony, and you’ll have a chance to free her from the tadpole’s control.
Oath Of Vengeance Paladin Build
Paladins are a class that candeal a lot of damagewith basic attacks, spells, and smites, but they also havea hard time recovering resourcesunless they take a long rest. This is whereMinthara’s Soul Brandingcomes in handy, letting her still keep up the pressure even whenall her spell slots are consumed.
Instead ofsaving her spell slotsand playing suboptimally, you are better offusing every single ability at her disposaland then switching her for a different companion. Even if you didn’t recruiteveryone possibleduring Act 1, you are still likely to havemore characters in reservethan you can take with you, so swap them around every now and again.
We will recommend spells to prepare at certain levels, but you always have access to the entire paladin spell list.
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IgnoreSearing Smitesince Soul Branding does similar fire damage already.
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Minthara gainsFaerie Fire, ideal for invisible enemies or ones you plan to attack from a distance.
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Pick the Ability Score Improvement option, having your Strength raise to 18 and your Charisma to 16.
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Minthara gains Darkness and level 2 spells. IgnoreBranding Smite, sinceFaerie Fireis a better tool for invisible enemies.
Raise Strength to 20.
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Gain access to level 3 spells, Daylight being a stand out for the difficult vampiric fights of Act 3.
Pick the Mage Slayer feat if you plan to take Minthara with you on the final fights.
You might not want to use the tadpoles you find during your adventures, but Minthara already comes witha few Illithid powers unlocked from the get-go: Charm, Concentrated Blast, Favourable Beginnings and Psionic Backlash.Concentrated Blast, in particular, is a great way to stop concentrating on support spells like Bless for added damage.
The Best Equipment For Minthara
Minthara, as a paladin, benefits greatly fromheavy armor and shieldsthat allow her to remain in the front lines. As someone withthe Brand of the Absolute, she can also use the branded items, althoughnot all of them are useful to herif she stays on her Oath of Vengeance path.
While these items would work for many character classes, paladins like Mintharacan make the most out of them. The Adamantine Splint Armour and the Blood of Lathander are from Act 1, but as long asyou don’t finish the Gauntlet of Sharin Act 2, you can go back and get them.
