In thisBaldur’s Gate 3 Companions Guidewe’re going to take a look atLae’Zelin BG3 Early Access, and whichSpells,Feats, andEquipmentto use, and how to improve your reputation with her. We’ll also discuss which are goodCompanionsto take with her, and what your party might look like depending on which Companions you know for sure you want to use.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access Companions Guide: Lae’Zel
There are fiveCompanionsyou can acquire inBaldur’s Gate 3 Early Access, and you can bring three of them along with you at a time. You can travel back to yourCampat any time and swap them out to your liking, and it’s worth noting that Companions in your Camp gain experience the same as those in your party. Let’s take a look at Lae’Zel. She is likely the fourth Companion you will acquire.
Lae’Zel Abilities & Skills
Lae’Zel has very goodAbility Scoresfor aFightermaking her one of the best Companions in Early Access. Because of herBase Racial Speed, she can move at up to 9 meters per turn. She has excellent Strength and good Constitution, making her particularly suited for melee combat. There are some features that can help further improve herAbilities, which I will now discuss.
At level 4, I highly recommend choosing theAbility Improvements Feat, as this is the best Feat in Early Access. It allows you to allocate at least 1 point to any of your two Abilities so I suggest investing in bothStrengthandDexterity. When her STR becomes 18, you effectively raise herStrength Modifierto +4. This improves herAttack Roll, increasing the chances of hitting your enemies. It also allows her to deal more damage using Melee Weapons. Additionally, when her DEX is raised to 14, she gains an extra +1Dexterity Modifier. This is very important as it enhances Lae’Zel’sArmour Class, which prevents her from easily taking damage. With a higher DEX, her chances of attacking first due toInitiativeare also better, not to mention she will also gain +1 to Attack and Damage Rolls with any Ranged Weapon she has equipped.
Lae’Zel is Proficient inAthletics,Acrobatics,Arcana,SurvivalandIntimidation. Her high Strength accounts for her excellent Athletics Skill. This allows you to traverse hazardous terrain or rough waters by climbing slippery walls or swimming in turbulent currents. She can also jump across longer distances at 8.5 meters.
Lae’Zel’sCharisma Scoreis the lowest among the four other Companions, which translates to a penalty of -1Charisma Modifierregardless of her Intimidation Proficiency. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend letting her to take the lead in conversing with NPCs since she isn’t likely to Intimidate anyone successfully.
At level 3, you may choose between two subclasses for Lae’Zel, namely theBattle MasterorEldritch Knight. It will be up to you if you prefer to constantly fight enemies up close with the Battle Master or if you wish to supplement her combat prowess with someWizard Spellsdepending on your party composition. Either Subclass is perfectly fine in Early Access.
Fighter Actions & Spells
At level 2, Lae’Zel gainsAction Surge, which provides 1 additional action during her turn. This is very powerful because it allows you to use any of Lae’Zel’s Skills twice in one turn. Since Action Surge can only be used once per combat and is recharged after everyShort Rest, it should ideally be utilized at critical moments specifically when you’re trying to eliminate lethal enemies.
Note that the 6Class Passivesof the Fighter become available to her, andTwo-Handed Weaponsare a particularly good choice so with this in mind, theGreat Weapon Fightingpassive would be optimal. Rolling a 1 or 2 on yourDamage Rollallows you to reroll again, and this can save you a good amount of misses through out the course of Early Access, regardless of whether or not she is a Battle Master or Eldritch Knight. However, you may choose Defense if you wish, as this is not a bad choice if you want to be a bit tankier.
Battle Master Actions
At level 3, if Lae’Zel becomes a Battle Master, you gain 3 Class Passives out of 4. I suggest choosingMenacing Attackto deal extra damage while possibly inflictingFrighten.Riposteis also recommended as it deals massive damage when the enemy misses aMelee Attack. Rally is good for a bit of emergency “healing”, as it allows you to add Health to a friendly target as a bubble of sorts.
The beauty of being a versatile Fighter is that you also gain Menacing or Pushing Attack Skills, which you can use as a Melee orRanged Attackdepending on what the situation calls for. Usually, you will aim for close encounters, however, in the event that you’re far away from the enemy, switching to anyBowand using the ranged version of these Skills to finish off a target’s HP is perfectly acceptable.
Eldritch Knight Spells & Actions
On the other hand, if Lae’Zel becomes an Eldritch Knight, remember that she will have a +0Intelligence Modifierat 11 INT. As a result, herSpellcasting Abilitywill be lower so it’s important to choose Spells that do not rely onIntelligence. Should you wish to make more Spells effective for her, you can acquire theWarped Headband of Intellectto set her INT to 18. Since you will unlock 2Cantripsand 3 level 1 Wizard Spells, I recommend the following:
No Warped Headband of Intellect
Dancing Lights
Blade Ward
Magic Missile
Expeditious Retreat
Warped Headband of Intellect
Ray of Frost
Witch Bolt
Burning Hands
For Cantrips, which don’t require Short norLong Restfor reactivation, I suggest choosingDancing Lightsas it illuminates areas of up to 18 meters. This is particularly essential when you fight targets hidden in the dark to increase your hit chances because Lae’Zel does not haveDarkvision. For Dancing Lights,Concentrationis required, which means you should not take damage nor cast another Concentration Spell. Otherwise, the effect will be broken.Blade Wardis also a good option to gain more resistance againstBludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing damage on top of your decent AC. If you equip the Warped Headband of Intellect then it’s a good idea to choose Cantrips that are Ranged Attacks, as this balances well with Lae’Zel’s powerful Melee Attacks depending on the position of her enemies. BothFire BoltandRay of Frostcan inflictFireandColddamage, respectively, at a range of 18 meters each.
For the 1st set of Wizard Spells, I recommend choosingMagic Missile,Witch BoltandBurning Hands. Magic Missile is one of the strongest and most effective Spells in Early Access that doesn’t require Intelligence whatsoever, as it neither affects damage nor accuracy, so you should definitely select this. Witch Bolt allows you to dealLightningdamage for each turn by simply activating it as long as you maintain Concentration. You can also choose Burning Hands, which deals Fire damage but the range is much shorter at 5 meters.
For the 2nd set of Wizard Spells, I suggest selectingExpeditious RetreatwhereDashturns into aBonus Actionallowing you to move faster. You can take advantage of this Spell if you want to rush towards an enemy to finish him or her off or if your HP becomes dangerously low, which is rarely the case with Lae’Zel.
Lae’Zel Equipment
Lae’Zel should maintain theGithyanki Half PlateMedium Armourshe is given by default, as a betterHeavy Armouris not available in Early Access. This allows her +1 Dexterity to her Amour Class, and +2 if you increased her DEX Ability Score at Level 4, thereby increasing her Armour protection in Early Access, not including Spells or a Shield.
When it comes to Weapons, I highly recommend usingMartial Two-Handed Melee Weaponsto yield the highest Melee damage potential in Early Access. Greatswords andBattleaxes, particularly theBlooded Greataxecan be purchased fromDammoninThe Hollowpart of theDruid Grove. This Battleaxe easily cuts through enemies and it has a special perk calledRelentless Revenge, which allows you to deal extra Slashing damage should your HP fall equal to or below 50%. The second option is to use theExterminator’s Axe, which can be obtained from theDecrepit Villagein theUnderdark. This Weapon provides the same Slashing damage as the Blooded Greataxe with a bonus Fire damage against plants, insects and small creatures without any other requirement.
Another Weapon worth considering is theSword of Justicewhich provides the SpellTyr’s Protectionas a bonus. This is a level 1 Wizard Spell in the form of a Bonus Action that increases a target’s AC by 2. Tyr’s Protection is helpful especially if you wish to protect yourself or an ally who is on the brink of death or who has relatively low AC.
ForAccessories, the best item is the Warped Headband of Intellect if you’re an Eldritch Knight because it automatically boosts your Intelligence to 18. As a result, most of the Spells you use such as Witch Bolt and Burning Hands will have higher chances of landing on the target. You can acquire this from the Ogre Mage,Lump the Enlightened, located in theBlighted Village.
The Sapphire Sparkis also fantastic if you’re playing an Eldritch Knight, as it significantly boosts the damage of Magic Missile by around 75%. Once you obtain this you almost always use Magic Missile, except on very rare occasions, since you simply won’t get better bang for your buck with her in Early Access.
If you’re a Battle Master, I suggest equippingCherished Locketif you do not have the Dancing Light Cantrip to see and to hit better in the dark. You can obtain this item after completing theSaving Arabellaquest.
Lae’Zel Approval
In this sections I’ll show you how you may gain approval with Lae’Zel, as well as how you can gain disapproval if you wish. These are not all the ways possible in Early Access, but they are the ones we have accumulated on theWikiso far:
APPROVAL UP:
APPROVAL DOWN:
Final Tips
Lae’Zel is an excellent character if you intend to inflict huge bursts of damage up close and personal because she has some of the best damage potential regardless of her Subclass. Her decent Dexterity Score prevents enemies from easily hitting her, and makes her good enough with a Bow to use it when she needs it. Just remember that her fiery temper and goal-oriented nature can prevent you from peacefully negotiating with others. Furthermore, you should prioritize Lae’Zel’s search for the Githyanki creche as she gets very impatient, which can result in a bloody fight between the two of you.
In terms of positioning, Lae’Zel should be within 2 meters of enemies especially if you plan to useCleavebeforehand. ThisActioncan be gained from a wide variety of Weapons such as Greatswords, Longswords and Battleaxes to name a few. Cleave is a Melee AoE attack, which allows you to hack out multiple targets at once and in some cases, you can even use it as a finisher. This Skill is not limited to the Battle Master subclass so you can also use it as an Eldritch Knight depending on the Weapon she has equipped.
With regard to equipment, I prefer Two-Handed Weapons but you may certainly deal above average damage should you opt for anyOne-Handed Weaponwith aShield. The Shield amplifies your AC making you harder to hit, and unlike some other Companions, Lae’Zel’s Githyanki Half Plate should be worn all throughout Early Access. You may have to change this once the full game is released if there is a better alternative in the form of another Medium or Heavy Armour, but at the moment there is not.
Lastly, you should consider including Lae’Zel in your party especially if you already have Gale orWyllso you may capitalize on her Battle Master subclass. It should also be noted that Lae’Zel and Shadowheart’s personalities tend to clash so it would be better to play these two characters separately. You might end up provoking either of them too much, which may cause retaliation.
Stay tuned for more Baldur’s Gate 3 content as we take a look atCompanionsandBuilds, and be sure to drop by ourTwitch channelif you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Wikiwhich is being worked on night and day!
