Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3hosts a myriad of differentmelee weapons, each with their own special abilities and damage outputs that canturn the tide of battle for players. However, there are also some weapons that leave something to be desired, and aren’t worth considering when planning for an encounter.
It is not just damage output where weapons can be unsatisfactory. Some weapons are hard to find, others are a chore to make, and even more can simply be an underwhelming prize for a difficult fight. All these reasons can make a player wonder why they obtained a particular melee weapon in the first place.
10Vision Of The Absolute
Not Worth Killing An Owlbear
TheVision Of The Absoluteis a spear that players can obtain once combining both the Shaft and the Head of a Broken Spear. The shaft is found on Edowin, a True Soul who is mortally wounded by an Owlbear. Once players collect one half of the spear, they must then face the Owlbear, along with her son, in their nest. Only the mother needs to be killed, and the Owlbear Cub can be spared lest the playermake a big mistake.
When crafted, the spear has the ability to potentially Blind targets and deal additional piercing damage to targets with multiple eyes. The Blind spell save DC is quite low at 8, and the secondary extra damage hardly ever comes up, making the weapon a relatively underwhelming prize for defeating the infamous Owlbear.
9Sickle Of BOOOAL
Missable And Can Be Rendered Useless
Many players maymiss the opportunityto obtain theSickle Of Boooal,as its location in The Festering Cove is tucked away in one of the corners of the Underdark. The player will come across a redcap worshiped by Kuo-toa, who believe him to be the God of Murder. Depending on the outcome of the interaction, the player can either loot, pickpocket, or purchase from Pooldripp the Zealous, or be given the sickle by BOOOAL himself.
The unique ability of BOOAL’s Blessing grants advantage against bleeding creatures as long as there are Kuo-toa who worship BOOOAL. This means that if the player has killed BOOOAL and the Kuo-toa who worship him, the extra effect is worthless, making the whole endeavor to obtain the weapon pointless, on top of it being easily missable in the first place.
8Sparky Points
Not Viable Without Other Gear
Sparky Pointsis a trident that can be given as a reward when rescuing Counselor Florrick at Waukeen’s Rest. Players will need to be quick on their feet to save the Counselor, or else she may perish in the flames. The player is then given the choice betweenThe Sparky Points,The Joltshooter, orThe Spellsparkler. Tridents are one of the least useful weapon types in the game due to their classification as a martial weapon, meaning only select classes are proficient with them.
The Electric Blood ability, which gives the wearer lightning charges whenever they deal damage with the weapon, is only viable when used in conjunction with other lightning charge gear, meaning players will need to find more related gear just to make this Trident viable. In isolation, it is a regular Trident, which is not universally proficient for every class, and it has a secondary ability which is only useful with lightning charge gear. The whole thing just isn’t worth the effort of making it work.
7Adamantine Weapons
Multiple Steps Become A Chore
There is some distinction between the different melee weapons a player can craft at the Adamantine Forge, though the Longsword, Mace, and Scimitar are all +1 weapons with the same abilities, Diamondsbane and Lethal Weapon. Diamondsbane gives automatic critical hits on objects, while Lethal Weapon ignores resistance to the type of damage the weapon deals.
Players must first find the molds of the weapon they want around the Grymforge before fighting Grym itself, a tough battle which could leave the player in trouble if they don’t figure out a way to defeat the boss. Once the players have found the mold they want and defeated Grym, they must also then find Mithral Ore to make use of the Forge. With the multiple steps and the boss fight all being essential in making these weapons, players may decide it is not worth the effort, or decide tocreate Adamantine armor instead.
6Foebreaker
Very Rare, Very Lackluster
Found in the Sorcerous Vault inside Sorcerous Sundries, players may have found themselves missing the opportunity to pick upFoebreakersince the chest it resides in is invisible. Players will need to unlock Karsus' vault door by navigating through the door puzzle that blocks their entrance, them before casting See Invisibility orFaerie Fireto reveal the hidden chest. Unless players are using a guide to help them, unlocking Karsus' section of the Sorcerous Vault could lead to frustration, and the Maul that awaits them may not be worth the effort.
Foebreaker is a +2 weapon with the Lethal Weapon ability, which ignores resistance to Bludgeoning damage in this case. As a pure damage-dealing weapon, it can be useful, though with the hard puzzle and the invisible chest, most players will have missed it orfound other weaponswith more utility and distinctive abilities.
5Cruel Sting
Only For Drow
TheCruel Stingcan be found when defeating Kar’niss the Drider in the Shadow-Cursed Lands during the questline “Seek Protection from the Shadow Curse”. Kar’niss is a formidable foe, and could prove a tough fight for players, especially for those who struggle to keep a light source around to stave off the Shadow Curse.
Cruel Sting’s ability, Sting The Helpless, can only be used when the wielder is a Drow, and deals an additional 1d4 poison damage to restrained targets. Ensnaring Strands can help to restrain targets, but the ability becomes useless on most playthroughs unless Minthara, one of the mostdifficult companions to romance, is with the player, or the player is a Drow. With an uninspiring rarity, players will find that they use the weapon even less often when other, much better melee weapons exist.
4Shadow Lantern
Unobtainable Without Gale
Players will need to find Balthazar’s hidden room in Moonrise Towers, along with having Gale in their party, to craft theShadow Lantern. Gale can interact with the ritual circle inside and, when combining a Broken Moonlantern and a Dead Pixie, the Shadow Lantern is created, slong with some unique dialogue about Mystra. Players can have another character attempt to craft the Shadow Lantern, but they must succeed a DC 30 Arcana check and convince Gale they would be a better fit than him.
The weapon does an underwhelming 1d4 or 1d6 damage when wielded by one or two hands, and comes with the spell Conjure Shadow Lantern Wraith, the only way to get this unique spell. The summon is not worth the high DC check, though, and if Gale has somehow perished or left the party before this point, players are unable to procure it at all.
3Hamarhraft
Hard To Find In The Flames
Hamarhraftis a maul which can be found in a gilded chest in one of the rooms at Waukeen’s Rest. The difficulty here comes with the fact that the first time the player arrives at Waukeen’s Rest, the place is engulfed in flames. Players will need to navigate the burning corridors and watch for the doors that explode when opened. When finding the chest, a character will need to succeed on a DC 20 Sleight of Hand lockpicking check to open it.
The Shockwave ability deals 1d4 Thunder damage in a 10ft radius upon landing after a jump. This ability doesn’t scale well at later levels, and deals friendly fire as well. It is worth noting that if the player takes a long rest after reaching Waukeen’s Rest, the fire will go out, making the journey much easier, though it will lock the player out of timed events in the area.
2Justiciar Scimitar
Easy To Miss
This weapon can very easily be missed, and ties into the “Break Yurgir’s Contract” quest, though it is not needed to find the weapon. Regardless of whether players follow the questline or not, they will need to talk to or attack rats around the Gaunlet of Shar, eventually arriving at the base of the statue of Shar. Once having read the “One Becomes Many” book and denying the deal from the rat thereafter, players will need to finally defeat Lyrthindor and loot theJusticiar Scimitarfrom his corpse.
The weapon’s Shadow-Blinding andShadowsoaked Blowabilities can Blind targets players have advantage against, or do extra Psychic damage, respectively, but do not make up for the wild rat chase the player is required to embark on to obtain the weapon.
1Ketheric’s Warhammer
Underwhelming For A Boss
Ketheric’s Warhammercan be looted from Ketheric Thorm after he is defeated at the end of Act 2. Every player must face Ketheric Thorm, though that doesn’t mean the fight is easy, with multiple phases that could cause new players some trouble. Despite the game presenting Ketheric as one of the Chosen of the Absoltue and Myrkul, Ketheric’s Warhammer is very plain in comparison. With a simple +1 enhancement, its mechanical viability comes from its extra 1d4 Psychic damage.
For the task of felling one of thebig bosses of the game, the reward of a martial weapon only certain classes are proficient in with no unique features is severely underwhelming. It’s not an unusuable weapon, but considering the man who supposedly wielded it, it’s not very exciting either.
