Since Karlach can make great use of any magic weapon, I wanted to take a look at other gear that makes her more powerful. This includes amulets, armor, and trinkets that synergize with the Barbarian playstyle. Here’s my best gear for Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Best Karlach Gear in BG3
Potion of Everlasting Vigour
A quick +2 Strength boost you can get for Karlach is in Act 2 from Araj Oblodra at the Moonrise Tower. She gives you the Potion of Everlasting Vigour (+2 Strength) if you convince Astarion to drink her blood. I highly recommend you get this potion if you don’t plan on romancing Astarion. Otherwise, your Approval with him goes down.
Horns of the Berserker
For a lot of these Karlach gear pieces, I’m assuming you’re using Great Weapon Master which is the best feat in the game for Barbarians. Horns of the Berserker greatly offsets the -5 attack roll penalty from GWM by giving you +2 to attacks. You take 1d4 damage on a turn where you don’t deal any damage but this is almost never going to happen. I bought the Horns from Danthelon at Danthelon’s Dancing Axe in Wyrm’s Crossing.
Legacy of the Masters
Legacy of the Masters is the second attack roll-boosting item that almost negates the GWM penalty when combined with the Horns. This pair of gloves gives you a straight +2 to attack rolls and damage. Simple and effective on Barbarians. I bought them from Dammon at the Forge of the Nine in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Bonespike Garb
Karlach doesn’t like wearing armor since Barbarians get their Constitution bonus to AC anyway. Therefore, clothing items that have synergistic abilities with Barbarians work wonders. While Mighty Cloth is a great early-game option, the Bonespike Garb is superior in Act 3. When you Rage, you’ll get 15 temporary HP, which is essentially 30 with the damage resistance from Rage. Furthermore, all damage you take is reduced by 2, and melee attackers take your Constitution modifier in damage. I bought this from Exxvikyap at Rivington General.
Bonespike Boots
Bonespike Boots mix defense, movement, and utility, which Karlach drastically needs. First, you get +1 to AC, and Saving Throws when Karlach isn’t wearing armor, and it’s great that Bonespike Garb doesn’t count as armor. Second, your Jump distance increases by 5 feet. Lastly, you can know Brutal Leap as a Bonus Action to possibly knock enemies prone where you land. I highly recommend you start fights like this since you get Advantage on Prone enemies making GWM feat attacks more likely to hit. I got this from the beach cave below Rivington.
Darkfire Shortbow or Gontr Mael
Granted, Karlach isn’t the best with ranged weapons, but I don’t use these two bows as weapons. Instead, we just want them for the free Haste, which gives us extra AC, movement, and more attacks. It’s perfect for when you’re out of Rages since you can’t concentrate on Haste during Rage. Start them off on your other characters, and then switch them to Karlach once she’s used up all her Rages. I bought Darkfire from Dammon and got Gontr Mael from the Steel Titan boss at the end of Disable the Steel Watch quest.
Ring of Regeneration
Karlach will be taking the brunt of the damage while ripping and tearing in the frontline. A great way to keep her healthy is the Ring of Regeneration which restores 1d4 hit points every turn in combat. With Rage, you’re essentially restoring 2d4 since physical damage (or all damage with the Bear Totem subclass) is halved. I bought it at Sorcerous Sundries in Baldur’s Gate.
Amulet of Greater Health
For Karlach, the Amulet of Greater Health does a bit more than for other melee characters. By default, it sets your Constitution at 23 thus increasing your HP. Then, it also gives you Advantage on Constitution saving throws. The increased HP works much better on a Barbarian like Karlach due to the Rage damage reduction since you’re getting double the HP.
Furthermore, the increased Constituion means more AC due to Unarmored Defense. You can loot it from the pedestal at the end of the House of Hope, just be ready to run since this aggros Raphael.
True Love’s Caress and Embrace
A wildcard item that I really like on Karlach is the Ring of True Love’s Caress. It allows you to cast Warding Bond on an ally wearing True Love’s Embrace, transferring half of the damage they take to you. This is the best way to tank and help out squishy allies like Gale. Spreading out damage like this is the most optimal way to play the game since you can throw Healing Potions on the ground to heal multiple grouped allies out of combat. I found these two rings in the House of Healing graveyard.
That’s it for my best gear for Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3. For more Baldur’s Gate 3 guides, check out my Druid/Barbarian Spore Rager build and more great Barbarian gear.
