In thisBaldur’s Gate 3 Companions Guidewe’re going to take a look atAstarionin BG3 Early Access, and whichSpells,Feats, andEquipmentto use, and how to improve your reputation with him. We’ll also discuss which are goodCompanionsto take with him, and what your party might look like depending on which Companions you know for sure you want to use.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access Companions Guide: Astarion
There are fiveCompanionsyou can acquire inBaldur’s Gate 3 Early Access, and you can bring three of them along with you at a time. You can travel back to yourCampat any time and swap them out to your liking, and it’s worth noting that Companions in your Camp gain experience the same as those in your party. Let’s take a look at Astarion. He is probably the second Companion you will acquire.
Astarion Abilities & Skills
Astarion has a very good Ability spread for a Rogue, and his highDexterityhelps him excel atStealthand stealing, as well as deal significant damage in combat withFinesse WeaponslikeShortswords, andRanged WeaponslikeLongbows. I highly recommend taking theAbility Improvement Featat level 4 and increasing his Dexterity to 18, andConstitutionto 14 for some extra hit chance, damage, Skill checks, and HP.
He hasProficiencywithAcrobatics, Stealth,Sleight of Hand,History,Perception,DeceptionandPersuasion. Of these Astarion is going to be best suited to use Acrobatics, Stealth, Sleight of Hand and Perception because of his high Dexterity andWisdom. He has a -1 Modifier with History, and +0 with Deception and Persuasion, so conversation should be left to other Characters when trying to get a desired outcome.
At level 3 you’ll have to decide if you want Astarion to be aThiefor anArcane Trickster, and while there is no denying that Astarion has much better Ability Scores for a Thief than Arcane Trickster, you’re able to actually use either in Early Access just fine. This is because you can selectWizard Spellsthat don’t needIntelligence, likeMagic MissileandSleep. And also because you can useSpellsthat require Intelligence effectively if you wear theWarped Headband of Intellect, which will set your Intelligence to 18 and is acquired near the beginning of Early Access.
Rogue Actions & Spells
At level 2 Astarion will gainCunning Action: Dash. This allows him to use the Dash Action as a Bonus Action instead, meaning he can double his movement for the cost of his Bonus Action, and then still get an attack off in the same turn. This can help him to get behind an enemy for aSneak Attack, or to get up high to gainAdvantagewith a bow shot if he wants.
Thief Actions
At level 3 if Astarion should become a Thief you will gainFast HandsandSecond-Story Work. Fast Hands allows Astarion to take a second Bonus Action every round, which is incredibly powerful because you may use this toShovesomeone to their death, or to get an additionalOffhand Attack Melee. Under the right circumstances Astarion can do a Sneak Attack and two Offhand Attack Melees in the same turn, which is a lot of damage!
Second-Story Work reduces the fall damage you take, allowing you to jump from higher elevation to lower elevation without taking as much damage. You’ll likely get the benefit from this without even realizing it, but it isn’t the strongest feature of the Thief in BG3 Early Access.
Arcane Trickster Spells & Actions
If you made Astarion an Arcane Trickster at level 3 then you will get to choose 2Cantripsand a few select Spells from the Wizard Spell List. Which you choose will likely be decided by whether or not you intend to wear the Warped Headband of Intellect. If you don’t wish to use it then you will want to select Spells that don’t need Intelligence to be effective, but keep in mind you likely won’t use Cantrips all that often because Sneak Attack is much more powerful than they are, even when used with a Bow. Some good Spells are:
No Warped Headband of Intellect
Warped Headband of Intellect
You’ll notice that some of the Spells on my lists are the same regardless of your decision about the Headband. This is not only because you can only select some very specific Spells, but also because Sleep and Magic Missile might be two of the most powerful Spells an Arcane Trickster can use in Early Access.
Sleep is important because you can Sneak AttackSleepingenemies, and you automaticallyCritically Hitthem while they are asleep. Sneak Attacks deal double the main-hand damage and double the extra Sneak Attack Damage when they Critically Hit. Cast Sleep and then Sneak Attack to kill an enemy in one strike.
Magic Missile cannot miss, and it doesn’t increase in damage from Intelligence. This allows you a very strong ranged attack when the odds of you hitting an enemy with a Bow are slim, or when you need to finish off a weak target but still want to deal some damage to your primary target. Magic Missile might just be the strongest Spell in early access, and that’s before you consider theThe Sapphire Sparknecklace, which boosts Magic Missile damage by a further 1-4 Psychic Damage PER MISSILE.
Astarion Equipment
Astarion is going to be usingLight Armor, since that’s the only Proficiency he has, and he will have high Dexterity so he can make good use of it.Studded Leather Armour +1will give him a total of 17Armour Class, which isn’t bad for Early Access for a Rogue, so you should get this when you can. You can purchase this fromBremin theZhentarim Hideouta ways into the Early Access.
You can find the Warped Headband of Intellect on the 3 Ogres in theBlighted Villageif you wish to use this. I’m not sure if you can steal it, but the intelligent Ogre will drop it if killed. You don’t have to use this, but that is its location if you want it.
For Weapons you’re going to want to use two Shortswords so that you can use the Offhand Attack Melee with your Bonus Actions to increase your damage, and have aLongbow +1in your Ranged Weapon slot. TheSteelforged Swordwill give you a Shortsword that has +1, and it can be found in an abandoned house in the Blighted Village.Shortsword of First Bloodis also a good choice for Astarion’s offhand, but last time I tested it appeared to do no extra damage, so I’m hoping this will get fixed in a patch. This can be found inThe Underdark.
For Accessories,Broodmother’s Revengeis an excellent choice of necklace because Astarion will gain theVampire Biteability some ways into Early Access, and this will allow him to buff his damage, heal and deal damage for 1 Bonus Action. It is one of the strongest combinations in Early Access currently. However, if you went Arcane Trickster you might consider using The Sapphire Spark instead for extra Magic Missile damage.
Astarion Approval
In this section I’ll show you how you can gain approval with Astarion, as well as how you can gain disapproval if you wish. These are not all the ways possible in Early Access, but they are the ones we have accumulated on theWikiso far:
APPROVAL UP:
APPROVAL DOWN:
Final Tips
It’s best to bring Astarion along if you are not a Rogue or aRangerwho selected Proficiency withThieves' Tools. He is invaluable at picking locks and disarming traps, and his damage is some of the highest in the game. He works well in any party, but he has a very selfish temperament, so he tends to Disapprove of helping other people.
You want to try to attack with Sneak Attack every round if possible. to get extra Sneak Attack Damage you need to either a) use Sneak Attack Melee from Stealth, b) use Sneak Attack Melee from behind the target, or C) use Sneak Attack Ranged or Sneak Attack Melee on a target that isThreatened.Note that despite the tooltip, your Sneak Attack Damage doubles when you reach Level 3.
If you attack normally while dual wielding you will use an Action and a Bonus Action, which is the reason I advise against this if possible. Not only will Sneak Attack deal more damage on average, but it will not use a Bonus Action.
You can begin combat by sneaking up on a target with Astarion and Sneak Attacking them, often eliminating one enemy before the fight even begins. And, in some cases where the enemy is off on its own, you won’t even trigger combat at all. This can create a scenario where you can pick off a few enemies before actually engaging in a proper battle.
Remember that you can use Vampire Bite instead of Offhand Attack Melee with one of your Bonus Actions in order to heal Astarion while also dealing damage. For best results, wear the Broodmother’s Revenge necklace for increased Poison Damage on your next attack.
Since Astarion is a Rogue he gains Proficiency with Thieves Tools, allowing you to add +2 (in Early Access) to your Lockpicking and Trap Disarming attempts when using him. When added with his Dexterity Modifier, this gives him +5 to his rolls on these and +6 once he has 18 Dexterity. For this reason you’ll want to use him for this when you can, because there is no one better suited in Early Access. And for even better rolls, if you’re aClericor you haveShadowheartin your party, useGuidanceon him before his attempts.
Stay tuned for more Baldur’s Gate 3 content as we take a look atCompanionsandBuilds, and be sure to drop by ourTwitch channelif you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Wikiwhich is being worked on night and day!
