Surprising Underdark race praised as Baldur’s Gate 3’s best melee pick

One of the least popular races in Baldur’s Gate 3 is dubbed the best choice for a melee class for those bold enough to play one.

For a game with as much combat as Baldur’s Gate 3, you’d think the fans would be all about power gaming and making the best builds. The opposite is true, as players will pick the conventionally attractive races with bad powers (like the awful humans) over the powerful ones that look funny, like the Githyanki.

When Larian Studios revealed the player choice stats, the dwarf was among the least-picked races in Baldur’s Gate 3, with only the Gnome, Halfling, and Githyanki behind them. This might be due to the Hill Dwarf and Shield Dwarf possessing useful but not particularly interesting static abilities.

However, there is one criminally underlooked Dwarf subrace that is being hailed as the best choice for a melee class in the game. The Duergar race was crowned by users on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit, who cited its spell abilities as the perfect choice for a warrior.

“Enlarge at level 3 once a day with no concentration is nuts for literally any melee class you’re getting a decent boost in damage and it stacks with the colossus elixirs,” the OP wrote, “At level 5 they get invisibility as a f—-g cantrip this is actually better than the overhyped savage attacks that half orc get imo this lets you position yourself in any fight which is ridiculous.”

“A Duergar OH Monk can solo Honour mode. One of the most disgustingly busted race + class combos in the entire game,” one responded, referring to the incredibly powerful Open Hand subclass for the Monk, which can decimate foes with flurries of blows.

Not only are they powerful, but they have an extra benefit for roleplayers. “They have the third most unique dialogue for a race,” one user wrote, “It’s Githyanki, drow, duergar. Someone went through and found the most unique content for every race, subrace, and class.”

The Duergar are often overlooked compared to the other Underdark races, with the beautiful and wicked Drow being beloved by fans, thanks to the Drizzt Do’Urden novels, while the Deep Gnomes have a magical resistance that has often been considered OP, especially in D&D rules.

If you want to attempt a Baldur’s Gate 3 Honour mode run, then don’t overlook the Duergar, as their innate magical prowess, coupled with their physical bulk, make them one of the most terrifying forces in the Forgotten Realms.