Mostmelee weaponsinBaldur’s Gate 3scale off ofStrengthalone. While certainclasseshave options to change this scaling from Strength to something else, like Wisdom (Shillelagh forDruids) orCharisma(Pact of the Blade forWarlocks), most don’t.
Finesse Weapons are unique in that they can scale both off of Strength and Dexterity, making them useful for multiple martial classes, but especially so for Dexterity-focused ones. Players can find these weapons from the very start of the game but might not realize what being a Finesse Weapon means.
Baldur’s Gate 3
How Do Finesse Weapons Work
Finesse Weapons are weapons that use one of two stats, Strength or Dexterity, as the primary modifier they scale off of, depending on which of the two stats is higheron the character wielding the weapon. If a character with ahigher Strength attributepicks up a Finesse weapon, itbecomes a Strength weaponfor as long as they are the ones carrying it and their Strength remains higher than their Dexterity. And when a Dexterity-focused character is wielding the same weapon, itadds their Dexterity score as the modifier when calculating damage dealtusing the Finesse weapon.
On top of their dual scaling,Finesse weapons are a requirement forRogueswanting to use Sneak Attack (Melee)to deal damage. A Rogue wielding a Strength-scaling Greatsword, no matter how quiet his footsteps are, cannot sneak attack with the Greatsword; it just doesn’t make sense. But swap that with a Finesse weapon like a Dagger, and it just works.
There are onlyfour types of Finesse Weaponsin the game:
Their special nature makes Finesse Weapons incredibly versatile tools that should beprioritized for Dexterity-focused classesfirst because of the limited weapon selection available to them. While these weapons work just as well for Strength melee classes, there are plenty of more powerful, Strength scaling weapons in the game that are better suited for classes likeBarbariansandFighters.
Some unique weapons, like thePhalar Aluve Greatsword, have the Finesse Attribute despite not falling under one of the four categories of weapons that Finesse is typically limited to, making them extra useful in certain situations.
Baldur’s Gate 3: 25 Best Wizard Spells, Ranked
From Invisibility to Magic Missile, here are some of the best Wizard Spells in Baldur’s Gate 3.
