As a battle-hardened veteran boasting over 100 hours across multiple playthroughs of Baldur‘s Gate 3‘s early access, I‘ve grown all too familiar with the immense power locked away within Grymforge‘s metalworking forge. Specifically, the rare and wondrous ores of adamantine it processes into equipment unmatched in resilience and lethality.
But crude weapons alone do not an adventure make. You must know how to properly equip yourself. To help you unlock your full potential, I‘ve compiled this comprehensive guide to all things adamantine – from crafting tips to ability combos. Read on for the ultimate edge over the challenges of Faerûn!
About the Author
Allow me to introduce myself before we begin. I‘m Kasrick, a long-time D&D and RPG fanatic with a penchant for extreme theorycrafting and number-crunching. Across 20 years of tabletop and video games, I‘ve cultivated a sixth sense for evaluating gear, abilities, stats – you name it!
These days much of expertise goes towards unpacking the complex mechanics of ambitious early access titles like Baldur‘s Gate 3. I run a small but dedicated Discord community of about 500 members focused on analyzing mechanics, calculating formulas, and brainstorming creative character builds.
When it comes to wringing out every possible ounce of advantage from Grymforge‘s mythical adamantine equipment, I can say with utmost confidence my insights will prove invaluable regardless of your class or playstyle!
Adamantine Basics
But before we tackle adamantine‘s greatest hits, let‘s ground ourselves in some basics. As a unique metal found exclusively in the mines of Grymforge, adamantine possesses innate magical qualities that elevate the weapons and armor created from it to wondrous new heights:
- Unrivaled hardness and durability, impervious to most forms of damage
- Capable of conducting and enhancing all manners of arcane enchantments
- Damaging internal structures of creatures struck by adamantine weapons
- Unlocking the inner fortitude of its wearers when fashioned into armor
Indeed, entire legends have been forged extolling the myths of nigh-invincible heroes draped in full plates of polished adamantine striding unto battle with gleaming swords.
Thankfully unearthing pure ingots of the material requires no such epic undertaking in Baldur‘s Gate 3. A short detour to the goblin mines of Grymforge and a helping hand for the unfortunate duergar trapped there are all that‘s needed to light its coveted forges.
Provided you collect the appropriate mold for the equipment you desire and sufficient fuel crystals known as "mithral ore," the dwarven smiths there eagerly craft a chosen adamantine item in exchange for liberating their stolen home.
Ranking the Best Adamantine Items
Through exhaustive testing across a rotating cast of over 20 custom characters, I‘ve parsed down adamantine‘s bag of goodies to the definitive top 6 weapons, armor, and accessories worthy of your hard-earned crystals. Let‘s count them down!
#6: Adamantine Shield
Kicking things off we have the Adamantine Shield, arguably the most specialized piece of the bunch. But one no self-respecting frontliner or tank should overlook!
This durable tower shield provides a modest +2 AC on its own. However, its true strength lies in a nasty counterattacking maneuver, Shield Bash:
- 75% Chance to automatically knock enemies Prone after hitting your raised shield in melee, unless they succeed on a DC 14 Dex Save
By potentially flooring enemies before they can finish swinging, you enable your team to absolutely dogpile disabled targets – focus firing them down in seconds! It even staggers most bosses if they flub their roll.
The shield also passively anchors your defenses:
- Immunity to Critical Hits
- Forces Attackers Reeling for 2 Turns when they miss
Adventuring alone? The Adamantine Shield still pulls more than its weight, letting you lock down groups with minimal risk courtesy of crit immunity. Factoring in higher base AC values from heavy armor, and you have nigh-impenetrable protection to
#5: Adamantine Scale Mail
If dodging and weaving gracelessly in heavy plates isn‘t your cup of tea, the lighter Adamantine Scale Mail strikes a handy balance of offense with protection.
Forged from interlocking adamantine plates and chainmail links, this cunning medium armor channels agility into its enchantments:
- 16 Base AC leaves room for boosting Dexterity
- Dex CAP of only +2 AC won‘t break the game
- Enemies Reel for 2 Turns when they land a hit
- Crit Immunity maintains safety at close quarters
Rogues and dexterity rangers thrive under Scale Mail, protecting their reliance on finesse and skills. Avoid bulky strength users and mages though, else risk losing this Rare armor‘s edge to compensate for low Dex!
#4: Adamantine Longsword
A balanced blade forged for versatility, the Adamantine Longsword plays nicely into the hands of martial weapons masters.
It packs respectable base damage while retaining finesse in one hand, or hard-hitting brute power when wielded in two:
- 1d8 Slashing + 1 Magic Damage (One-Handed)
- 1d10 Slashing + 1 Magic Damage (Two-Handed)
The Longsword also inflicts some debilitating status effects:
- Pommel Strike (Proficiency): Chance to Daze Foes
- Lacerate (Proficiency): Chance to apply Bleeding
Its middling weight and arcade properties excel when paired with Shield and Heavy Armor proficiency. Paladins and Rangers will extract every ounce of flexibility from the Longsword with specialized Weapon Feats, but even rookies benefit from raw stats alone.
Just stay wary when surrounded since mobility suffers from two-handed grip compared to…
#3 Adamantine Scimitar
If carving through dozens of foes in seconds tops your priority list, then the Adamantine Scimitar beckons your name.
Few weapons so perfectly blend speed, bleeding effects, and crit generation:
- Dexterity Focused: Perfect synergy for high DEX builds
- 1d6 Slashing + 1 Magic Damage (Finesse)
- Lacerate (Proficiency): Bleeding on Hit
- Flourish (Proficiency): Trade Damage to Distract Target
Coupling those qualities with always-on critical hits against objects thanks to Diamondsbane, and the Scimitar becomes a whirlwind of steel, devastating groups and challenges designed to counter raw strength.
The only noticeable downside is slightly reduced damage compared to versitile alternatives, but at a gain of seamless mobility.
#2 Adamantine Splint Armor
But what good are deadly weapons without the resilience to weather lethal counterattacks? Cue the heavyweight Adamantine Splint Armor squeezing into our #2 spot.
As far as protection goes, Splint Armor stands in a tier of its own, offering near-perfect security with remarkably low investment:
- 95% Damage Reduction against Critical Attacks
- Immunity to Critical Effects
- Incoming Strikes reduced by 1 (Minimum 1) Damage
- Attackers Reel for 3 Turns when they land a hit
Shield bearers and damage sponges stacking AC have abused this chestpiece‘s insane durability to effectively nullify multiattack enemies, IOE boss weak points, and debilitating status conditions from Nat 20s.
Splint does trade away dodging capabilities and Dexterity synergy in exchange, making it exclusively viable for slow tanking warriors and clerics. But by the gods does it enable them to fulfill their role to perfection!
#1 Adamantine Mace
Yet for all of Splint Armor‘s protective qualities, one weapon Grymforge produces eclipses all else in capability. None other than the innocuously standard Adamantine Mace.
Let‘s break down what places this humble Rare armament a cut above its siblings:
- Adds Enchantment +1 to Attack and Damage Rolls
- COMPLETELY IGNORES Non-Magical Bludgeoning Resistance
- 1d6 Bludgeoning matches most one-handed martial weapons
- 75% Base Crit Chance to Stun Targets on Natural 20s
By consistently circumventing damage negating armor properties against a tremendously common damage type, the Mace savagely punishes Tanky warriors investing heavily into Resistance.
In fact, early community tests revealed Single-Target DPS potential exceeding all but GWM Great Weapon Fighters when leveraging Concussive Smashes!
More flexible users rejoiced atefficiency even surpassing +1 Magic Weapons of equivalent rarity when factoring in immunity bypassing. And that ignores entirely its permanently active crit bleed potential against structures and objects!
Ultimately no other Adamantine item so reliably accentuates or improves nearly any melee build by covering such an endemic weakness in higher difficulties. It may not appear overwhelmingly powerful atm, but future developments will only widenthe gap. Mark my words!
Recommended Builds
Hopefully those rankings have shown you the Incredible potential lying dormant within Grymforge‘s crafting forge. But simply possessing an Adamantine gains meaning only when put to use!
Here I‘ve compiled complementary combinations utilizing our top contenders to truly maximize your impact potential:
#1 Durable Duelist
- Adamantine Longsword + Shield
- Heavy Armor (Splint/Plate)
- Paladin/Fighter/Ranger
The ever classic build that leverages Greater HP and AC to bully enemies through attrition, while retaining solid damage between rounds. Crit Immunity and constant Prone status enables easy focusing of dangerous targets.
#2 Dervish of Death
- Adamantine Scimitar
- Medium Armor (Studded Leather/Breastplate)
- Rogue/Ranger
Few configurations better weaponize Dexterity. Maintain superior action economy with Cunning Action, leverage high ground for devastating Sneak Attack + Lacerate combos, and effortlessly dance between foes.
#3 Invincible Sorcerer
- Adamantine Splint Armor
- Shield + Absorb Elements
- Any Full Caster
This setup challenges notions that casters belong far from harm. Embrace melee combat via near-perfect protection, comfortably unleashing devastating close-quarters spell combos as you soak hordes of attacks without breaking concentration!
Concluding Thoughts
And there we have it – everything you could possibly need to know about wringing the most power from Baldur‘s Gate 3 through Adamantine equipment. Hopefully now you grasp just how game warping its potential becomes in the right hands.
As closing advice, I suggest carefully choosing Adamantine items that accentuate rather than override your strengths. Their unique effects often excel most when empowering specialized builds compared to directly augmenting raw stats.
Now steel your mind alongside your body, head forth unto adventure confidently, and never hesitate to try creative ability combinations with these gems. The possibilities are endless, after all!
May your weapons strike true champions! This is Kasrick signing off.
