Hunter Subclass Guide and Build

The Hunter is a Ranger subclass in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). Check out our guide for how to unlock the Hunter subclass, its features, as well as its best build.

Ranger Subclasses Ranger Class Guide
Beast Master	Gloom Stalker	Hunter

Hunter Subclass Overview

Hunter Basic Information

Subclass Overview
	Hunter Hunters seek the most dangerous prey in Faerun, from ancient dragons to massive hordes of undead, and excel at slaying them all.
Main Class	Ranger
How to Unlock	Reach Ranger Level 3.
Spellcasting Ability	Wisdom
Starting Subclass Features
・Grants the Hunter's Prey Subclass Feature. ・All Ranger Class Features.

Hunters are amazingly versatile fighter-spellcasters, often boasting a full set of Ranger passives when entering battle. At higher levels, Hunters thrive when surrounded by enemies since they finally get a lot of AoE attacks that pair well with the Ranger's Extra Attack passive.

How to Unlock the Hunter Subclass

Available Once Your Ranger Reaches Level 3

The Hunter subclass will become available once your Ranger reaches Level 3. In order to earn EXP and level up in Baldur's Gate 3, players will need to complete quests, discover new areas, or defeat enemies they find in the world.

Hunter Subclass Features

Hunter's Prey

Once you become a Hunter at Level 3, you will be asked to choose your Hunter's Prey. Pick one from the list below to get an offensive passive for your Hunter:

• Colossus Slayer (Passive): Once per turn, your weapon attack deals an extra 1d8 damage if the target is below its hit point (HP) maximum.
• Giant Killer (Reaction): If a Large or bigger creature attacks you, you can use your reaction to make a melee attack. You must be able to see the creature and it must be within 1.5m of you.
• Horde Breaker (Class Action): Grants the Horde Breaker class action which targets two creatures standing close to each other, attacking them in quick succession. Can be used as a melee or ranged action.

At a glance, Colossus Slayer will probably be the passive that gets the most mileage simply because it is guaranteed damage for the rest of the fight. So long as your target is not at their max HP, you will get to deal an extra 1d8 damage to them per turn.

Defensive Tactics

Once your Hunter reaches Level 7, they will be able to learn Defensive Tactics. Pick one from the list below to get a defensive passive for your Hunter.

• Escape the Horde (Passive): Opportunity Attacks against you have Disadvantage.
• Steel Will (Passive): Grants you Advantage on Saving Throws against being Frightened.
• Multiattack Defence (Passive): When an enemy attacks you, they have a -4 penalty to additional Attack Rolls against you until the start of their next turn.

Of the three, Multiattack Defence will probably be the best option simply because a lot of enemies will start getting Extra Attack post-level 5. This works towards being able to dodge these follow-up attacks when your Hunter is cornered by an enemy with Extra Attacks.

Whirlwind Attack

At Level 11, you get a very powerful melee action called Whirlwind Attack. When mobbed by 3-4 enemies, this action allows you to hit all of them provided they're within melee distance of you.

The best part is, Whirlwind Attack only costs an action and it works with your Extra Attack feature. In combat, this allows you make quick work of mobs looking to box your Hunter within a single turn.

Volley

The ranged counterpart of Whirlwind Attack is Volley which also unlocks at Level 11. When used, Volley allows you to fire a small rain of arrows that hit any enemy caught in its AoE.

Again, despite AoE spells being much better damage dealers, Volley still does benefit from the Extra Attack feature. The biggest drawback is that it requires enemies to be tightly packed together to pay off.

Hunter Level Progression

Best Hunter Build

Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides

Ranger Class Guide

All Ranger Subclasses

All Ranger Subclasses
Beast Master	Gloom Stalker	Hunter