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In the 10 Best Items in Act 1 List, we delve into the best gear choices available to collect in Act 1 for your adventures in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3 can be a challenging time for new players, especially if you’re low on power, spell slots, mobility, AC, and survivability. But don’t worry. There are a few essential items you can get early on to help you overcome these challenges and thrive in the early game. In this guide, we explain the best items to collect in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3. Whether you’re a spellcaster, or damage dealer, and you want an optimal party composition, these are the must-have items in the first chapter of BG3.
What Are the 10 Best Items in Act 1 for Baldur’s Gate 3
The best Act 1 items in Baldur’s Gate 3 are Silver Silver Sword of the Astral Plane, Adamantine Splint Armour, and Disintegrating Night Walkers. These items are the most powerful for increasing damage, survivability, and mobility. Each gives you an edge on the battlefield, especially when playing on the highest difficulty. In this guide, we share our top 10 must-have equipment, armor, weapons, and accessories for every BG3 playthrough.
Here are the best 10 items in Baldur’s Gate 3 for Act 1:
- Silver Sword of the Astral Plane: most damage
- Adamantine Splint Armour: highest AC
- Disintegrating Night Walkers: best mobility
- Adamantine Shield: highest defensive shield
- Bracers of Defence: most AC for cloth wearers
- Titanstring Bow: highest damage for range weapon users
- The Protecty Sparkswall: best clothing for spell casters
- Amulet of Misty Step: easiest to increase mobility
- Melf’s First Staff: best early quarterstaff
- The Whispering Promise: best healer accessory
10 The Whispering Promise
The Whispering Promise features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Ring
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Required Proficiency: Note
- Weight: 0.05 kg
- Value: 40
- Where to Find: Traders like Grat The Trader (Goblin Camp), Volo (Druids Grove), Brem (Zhentarim Hideout), or Roah Moonglow (Shattered Sanctum).
- Special Features: Blessed Mercy
- Recommended Class: Bard, Cleric, Druid
To unlock your party’s healing potential, seek out the Whispering Promise ring in Act 1. Discover it among various traders early on, starting with Volo in Druids Grove. For a modest sum of gold, acquire the most potent healing accessory available in Act 1.
The Whispering Promise boasts a unique feature called Blessed Mercy, granting a +1d4 bonus to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws for 2 turns to any creature healed. This effect functions like a Blessed spell but without the need for concentration. Harness this advantage through spells like Healing Word, usable by Bards, Clerics, and Druids, offering 1d4 healing with no concentration requirement.
The Whispering Promise is one of the top 10 items in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1 because it provides both offensive and defensive benefits for simply doing area healing.
9 Melf’s First Staff
Melf’s First Staff features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Weapon Type: Quarterstaff
- Damage: 1d6+1 Bludgeoning (One-Handed), 1d8 Bludgeoning (Two-Handed)
- Requirements: Simple Weapons Proficiency
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Where to Find: Purchased from Blurg at the Myconid Colony in Underdark, Act 1.
- Weight: 1.8 kg
- Value: 100
- Special Bonuses: Arcane Enchantment and Melf’s Acid Arrow
- Recommended Class: Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard
To gain an early advantage, spellcasters should seek out Melf’s First Staff. This uncommon quarterstaff is available for purchase from Blurg in the Myconid Colony, Underdark, during Act 1. The staff’s power lies in the ability to cast Melf’s Acid Arrow spell for free once per long rest. In the early stages of BG3, where spell slots are limited, having an additional offensive spell can significantly boost your damage output without the need for constant long rests.
Additionally, the staff provides a passive +1 boost to Spell Save DC and Spell Attack Rolls due to its Arcane Enchantment. If your race or class allows proficiency, pair the quarterstaff with a shield. This combination not only enhances the typical squishy spellcaster’s Armor Class (AC) but also helps in avoiding damage. Consider acquiring Melf’s First Staff early in Act 1 to strengthen your spellcasting abilities.
8 Amulet of Misty Step
The Amulet of Misty Step Step features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Armor Type: Amulet
- Proficiency Requirement: None
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Weight: 0.05 kg
- Value: 65
- Where to Find: Chest inside Shattered Sanctum (X: 390 Y: 10), True-Soul Gut Quarters.
- Special Bonus: Gain Misty Step spell per short rest.
- Recommended Class: Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Paladin
Mobility can be tough to increase in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, but the Amulet of Misty Step can significantly improve it by providing a free Misty Step spell per short rest. This lets melee damage classes reach their target on turn one and spellcasters avoid damage by teleporting away.
You can find the Amulet of Misty Step in the Shattered Sanctum. In the True-Soul Gut quarters, look for a chest behind the Ogre Polma. Stealth or kill the Ogre, loot the chest and get one of the best mobility items in Act 1.
7 The Protecty Sparkswall
The Protecty Sparkswall features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Armor Type: Clothing
- Proficiency Requirement: No Requirements
- Armour Class: 10
- Rarity: Rare
- Weight: 1.8 kg / 3.9 lb
- Value: 260 gold
- Where to Find: Misty Step around to find the Chest inside Grymforge X: -645 Y: 360.
- Special Bonus: High Spellcasting, and Sparkswall Armour.
- Recommended Class: Sorcerer, Wizard, Warlock
Spellcasters get The Protecty Sparkswall, the best clothing item in Act 1. This rare clothing item provides two special bonuses: High Spellcasting and Sparkswall Armor. High Spellcasting is a passive bonus that increases your spell save DC by +1. Sparkswall Armor gives you +1 AC and Saving Throws if you have Lightning Charges. To obtain it, Misty Steps around traps in the Grymforge, Underdark.
A powerful combination is to combine this item with the Spellsparkler quarterstaff, one of three possible rewards from the Rescue the Grand Duke quest. With the two combined, anytime you do damage with a spell or cantrip, you gain more AC and Saving Throw.
This combination is a must-have item set and the best combination for spellcasters in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1.
6 Titanstring Bow
Titanstring Bow features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Weapon Type: Longbow, Two-Handed
- Damage: 1d8 +1 Piercing damage
- Range: 18m
- Proficiency Requirement: Martial Weapon Proficiency
- Rarity: Rare
- Weight: 1.1 kg
- Value: 651
- Where to Find: Vendor Brem in the Zhentarim Hideout after completing Find the Missing Shipment.
- Special Bonuses: Titan Weapon
- Recommended Class: Ranger, Rogue
To get the deceptively powerful Titanstring Bow, buy it from Brem in the Zhentarim Hideout after completing the Missing Shipment quest. It requires Martial Weapon Proficiency and has the Titan Weapon special feature, which deals additional damage equal to your Strength Modifier.
Even if Strength isn’t your primary ability score as a Rogue or Ranger, you can get much more damage using the Elixir of Hill Giant Strength potion to increase your Strength to 21 until a long rest, essentially adding 5 damage to your bow attacks. You can take this a step further by combining the bow with Gloves of Archery, which give you Proficiency with Longbows and Shortbows and make your ranged weapon attacks deal an additional 2 damage.
This combination allows additional classes to use the Titanstring Bow and deal more damage. With the potion and the gloves, you’re looking at an additional 7 damage. This damage will add up early on in Act 1, making it the best early-game power in Baldur’s Gate 3.
5 Bracers of Defence
Bracers of Defence features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Armor: Gloves
- Proficiency Requirement: none
- Rarity: Rare
- Weight: 0.5 kg
- Value: 160
- Where to Find: Obtained in Necromancers cellar in Blighted Village
- Special Bonuses: Become the Bulwark
- Recommended Class: Barbarian, Monk, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
To increase the defensive potential for cloth wearers in Act 1, get the Bracers of Defence. You can find these rare gloves underneath an Apothecary’s Cellar in the Blighted Village. To unlock their chest, go to X: -656 Y: -370 and open the special hatch.
The strength of these gloves is the Become the Bulwark special feature, which adds +2 AC while you’re not wearing armor or holding a shield. Classes that rely on Dexterity and Mage Armor can reach 17 AC nearly immediately in Act 1. This means your Sorcerer, Wizard, or Warlock could have more Armor Class than heavy armor wearers at this point!
The limitation of this item is that you can’t equip a shield and gain the bonus. So, if you’re using a Human or High Half-Elf spellcaster, consider not equipping a shield or giving the Bracers of Defence to another party member. Otherwise, these gloves are the best way to increase damage avoidance with classes and builds using clothing.
4 Adamantine Shield
Adamantine Shield features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Weapon Type: Shield
- Armour: +2 AC
- Proficiency Requirement: Shields Proficiency
- Rarity: Rare
- Weight: 2.7 kg / 5.4 lb
- Value: 190 gold
- Where to Find: Crafted with Mithral in Grymforge, Adamantine Forge.
- Special Bonuses: Shield Bash, Critical Hit Immunity, Adamantine Shield
- Recommended Class: Cleric, Fighter, Paladin
To craft the best shield in Act 1, the Adamantine Shield, use Mithral and Shield Mold at the Grymforge Adamantine Forge. You gain +2 Armor Class, immunity to critical hits, the shield bash ability, and the ability to send attackers reeling. The downside is that you have two instances of Mithral in Act 1, so choose wisely.
The Adamantine Shield is ideal for heavily armored melee fighters, such as Life Clerics, who can reach extremely high AC values in Act 1. If you have a Human or Half-Elf spellcaster, they can also equip the shield to increase their AC without needing the Bracers of Defence. Consider this shield a must-have in Act 1 due to its radical increase in AC and survivability.
3 Disintegrating Night Walkers
Disintegrating Night Walkers features in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Armor: Cloth Armor
- Proficiency Requirement: none
- Rarity: Very Rare
- Weight: 0.55 kg
- Value: 360
- Where to Find: Dropped by True Soul Nere at Grymforge, Act 1
- Special Bonuses: Night Walker and Misty Step
- Recommended Class: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin
To get the best Act 1 mobility item, the Disintegrating Night Walkers boots, complete the Free True Soul Nere questline. These very rare boots grant immunity to negative surface effects, Misty Step per short rest, and resistance to necrotic damage. Consider them an enhanced Amulet of Misty Step that prevents Enwebbed, Entangled, Ensared, and slipping on Grease or Ice.
They are not armor and do not require any proficiency, making them ideal for your main character or anyone in your party lacking mobility. You will likely use them all the way until Act 3, when they may be replaced by the Helldusk Boots. The Disintegrating Night Walkers are one of the best items in Act 1 for Baldur’s Gate 3, regardless of your build.
2 Adamantine Splint Armour
Adamantine Splint Armour features in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armour Type: Heavy Armour
- Armour Class: 18 AC
- Requirements: Heavy Armour proficiency
- Rarity: Very Rare
- Weight: 19 kg
- Value: 3,800 gold
- Where to Find: Crafted with Mithral ore and Splint Armour Mould in Adamantine Forge, Grymforge.
- Special Bonuses: Magical Plate, Intense Adamantine Backlash, Critical Immunity
- Recommended Class: Cleric, Fighter, Paladin
For the best armor in Act 1 of Baldur’s Gate 3, forge the Adamantine Splint Armour in the Adamantine Forge. It provides an astounding 18 Armour Class, Critical Immunity, and Backlash when attacked, making it ideal for heavy armor wearers. You’ll likely replace it later in Act 2 or 3, so it’ll protect you for most of the game.
Similarly, to craft the Adamantine Shield, you’ll need the Mold and Mithral ore. Be aware that there are two sources of Mithral ore in the game, so prioritize finding it if you have a heavy armor wearer in your party. The best builds to use this armor and shield on are Clerics (subclass dependent), Fighters, and Paladins.
Consider spending enough time in the Grymforge to obtain and craft the Adamantine Splint Armor and Adamantine Shield. They’re among the best items in Act 1 and will help you throughout the later acts.
1 Silver Sword of the Astral Plane
Silver Sword of the Astral Plane features in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Weapon Type: Greatsword, Two-Handed
- Damage: 2D6 +3 Slashing
- Requirements: Martial Weapon Proficiency
- Weight: 2.7 kg
- Value: 1300 gold
- Rarity: Legendary
- Where to Find: Sharess’ Caress, from Kith’rak Voss in Act 3 or Dropped by Voss in Act 1 (X:-127 Y:561).
- Special Bonuses: Soulbreaker, Githborne Psionic Weapon, Githborn Psionic Resistance
- Recommended Class: Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin
In Act 1, you can secure the impressive +3 Silver Sword of the Astral Plane using a simple trick. Cast the Command spell (drop) to compel the commander to drop their weapon. Survive the encounter with the Githyanki Fighters and retrieve the sword from the ground.
This acquisition will enhance your power, establishing it as the top item in Baldur’s Gate 3 Act 1. While originally crafted for a Githyanki race with Psionic Weapon and Resistance bonuses, any race or build can wield it due to its raw +3 damage and Soulbreaker ability. You will passively have more damage than any weapon in Act 1 or later in Act 2.
If obtaining this item proves challenging, consider the Everburn Blade and Sword of Justice as viable alternatives early in the game. While not legendary, they can still boost your damage effectively.
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