Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion How important is Jaheira and how best to use her?

Hi everyone. I've just wrapped up Act 2 and have recruited Jaheira. I'm only a beginner/intermediate when it comes to D&D, spells, tactics and lore. But I have a feeling she's going to be quite important in Act 3 and I don't want to miss anything so I'll take her along even though I don't really know what to do with her.

I don't really know what to do with her druid spells and I don't need her cleric spells since I can't imagine going anywhere without Baby, and she sucks in melee as well. She can't even use a bow.

So I figured I'd give her a level of either ranger or fighter so she can at least use a bow and medium armor and do my best to learn her spells. I'm not sure which though. If I remember right in BG 2 she was druid/fighter. But ranger seems more in line with her character. Lore and role play is important to me.

But before I commit myself to all that, without going into too much spoiler territory can someone tell me if she's worth having?

Cheers everyone.

As a character? Absolutely, Jaheira is awesome and I do really enjoy her quest. Personal opinion of course. Team Mom is great to have around.

Although I agree that Ranger suits her more I think a couple of levels of Fighter could be more convenient. You can also check out some druid builds and see if there's something that can suit your playthrough.

Her quest is good! You get to meet some interesting people

While not necessary to finish the game, she has a lot of content in Act III. She's definitely worth having in that regard.

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Personally, I've yet to find a Jaheira build I like.

a Druid is a bit of every thing but great at nothing... personally pure Druid spells or tank

Owlbear!!!

She is awesome and honestly one of the best characters in the game.
Circle of the Land is pretty versatile as a druid class. They get some useful spells like Haste and Misty Step.

As cute as Jaheira is, she should be in the game in similar capacity to Vlaakit.
Or Fighter 5/Druid 7(15).

I thought the 2 lvl dip in Tempest Cleric was the most fun, unless you're already doing that with Shadowheart. Otherwise War Cleric is also fun. For her Druid spells she's basically a summons machine if you focus on that. For other spells you can prioritize things that boost those summons in the buffs, and then use your thunder and lightning damage or crowd control spells. Wildshape as a fallback HP sponge, if the gameplay there isn't as entertaining for you to lead with Wildshape. I think she's more fun as a caster, but one who can wear the heavy armor and use big shield, with her weapon for style points mostly hehe. I don't think I ever wild shaped Jaheira a single time in BG1, which is why it's a little tricky to have her always turning into the Owlbear as like her main thing for me.

I sometimes just go Panther/Tiger form even though it's mechanically not as useful generally, cause it kinda vibes like the druid Jaguar stone she could get in BG2, even though that was also a summon. In the Earlier game the Woodland Being and Woodwoad did the heavy lifting for me, then Elementals cause they can warp. She does feel like she's competing with Shadowheart to me, since they're both priests, but storywise they work pretty nicely together. It's harder to run Jaheira as a melee heavy character from fighter cause although Action surge is pretty big deal, it ends up applying better to spell actions anyway, and going up to lvl5 is rough in Fighter for the extra attack on account of the higher lvl Druid spells you'd miss out on.

War Cleric just gets the extra attack, plus sanctuary and the Deity selection, but you can also use a bow that way. I think it fits her background pretty well from BG1/2. She's a Harper, but the way bards are handled in BG3 is very much the musician archetype, which didn't really seem to fit. I think you can get something similar from the priest angle. Drums are kinda cool though, and cutting words are always entertaining, but again you get the weird split for the Druid spell list if trying to take her far enough in Bard for that to seem worthwhile. If dipping into Bard you don't really get any of the convo benefits that you would on your main, so always feels a little bit like leaving something on the table there compared to a Tav dip into Bard. I tried to make her a Ranger too, but it felt a little off, cause there were so many other Rangers in BG1/2 I remembered like stepping on toes.

To run her as Druid first thing to do when you wake up in the morning is summon the Woodland Being, Woad, Elemental, then cast Longstrider on everyone in the active party. That move alone has Jaheira already pulling her weight in every combat encounter.

Then you can use your elemental direct damage and control spells for everything else, or fallback on Wildshape with a concentration spell which is usually pretty straightforward. The 2 lvl dip into Cleric is pretty fun, because then she can Turn undead, which seems thematic for a Harper Druid to me, even though it's not usually part of their spell ability package. I think pureclass druid is easier to work with though, depending on what level you recruited her. The Big power spikes for druid hit at off levels, but feats are so useful, like I always want the feat at lvl 8 cause it's a big boost, and the main Druid power spike hits at lvl 10. As soon as you have an Elemental who can warp, that's basically Jaheira's bow right there. I think Druid combat can start to feel a bit formulaic in the endgame, but it's also where Jaheira sorta shines the most, especially if she's all super electric. I think Air Myrmidon and electric flails are are just very satisfying when they connect, which is more often than not. BG1 was pretty much Woodland being and Summon Lightning all day, so I guess it fits. Not having a proficiency with a sling feels like a bit of a miss to me, cause that was obviously a go to back in the day, but just having her hurl lightning bolts and iceknives instead is going to be better in the long run probably.

She's totally worth bringing along I think. Made the game for me compared to EA just having her along for the ride again hehe

Have fun out there!

From the lore Fighter seems the best for her, in my opinion. I cannot really see her as a Druid, especially when I compare her attitude to the unnerving eco-mumbling of such guys like Halsin. She seems to prefer melee combat, judging from the silly two sabers she is carrying, and Rangers for me are more ranged. In my Honour mode run in the end I made her a Paladin, I needed one and she seemed to be the most respected and devoted person around.

Currently I have the problem that she inevitably dies in turn 2 or 3 of the Z'rell fight which I btw could not win in three trials till now, sigh. Her death would be a pity because her quest is nice and I like her personality. Maybe I should recruit her before the fight and let her in the camp, if possible.

I feel she is very suicidal if you don't take control over her during the attack on Moonrise - in case this is what you mean with the Z'rell fight. You can't properly recruit her before facing Ketheric (at least I couldn't) but you can at least control her enough to keep her alive.

Just make sure to find her house Totally worth it

She has been very useful in my game playing a 'redeemed' Dark Urge ***hole. Especially her owlbear form. She is also a very decent caster as a land druid. And yes, she delivered the final blow on Ketheric, stealing the kill from my sorcerer-bard and Minthara.

I was considering bringing her to the final boss fight but then my character is sightly pissed she singlehandedly saved Ravenguard. (some rp drama).

In the original games she was a Fighter/Druid, if that helps at all.

When I'm trying to figure out how to build her, I'm not really looking at mechanics and effectiveness. I've played the game so much by this point that I feel like I'm past that.

I'm more looking for what fits her. I don't even necessarily mean the lore of her previous builds.

My question is this: Who is Jaheira? Why is she a druid? What is her role in life, and how does she feel about her role? I get that she's a legend now, but what is she when you dig deeper?

For instance, I get the feeling that she's almost a spy. It's the whole Harper thing. Does that make her part rogue?

Now that she's older, I look at those scimitars and wonder: can she still use them effectively?

Again, who is Jaheira, and how is that best represented?

hmm. I guess I go Fighter/Druid most often with her. She's been a druid since she was a child and taken in by them after her folks (noble family) were killed and a multi class fighter since the first game. Her backstory is fairly well known so if you're going lore/canon it doesn't really leave much leeway. I think she was originally a druid and then met her husband who was a Harper, and the two travelled together so she kinda became a Harper by default and stayed with them after he died. I think the Harpers gave her life structure and meaning after his death even if she didn't always agree with them. She's one of several elected High Harpers that kinda operate as a governing council but the Harpers in general are a very loose heirarchy and I never get the feeling with Jaheira that she would appreciate a rigid and formal structure cos she values free will and expression. Several times in game she mentions she has left the Harpers and come back and although I have to guess at why she left as its not mentioned I would imagine it was orders she didn't agree with or a route the Harpers at the time were going down that didn't sit well with her or possibly simple exasperation that things were taking too long. As to the Bard side of things, I think it would work somewhere in the mix, Harpers have a belief that knowing history is a necessity to understand the world and the politics of their times and in Dnd that's primarily Bardic but conversely there's no reason she couldn't just be highly interested and done a lot of reading to have History as a skill set rather than being a Bard multi class - same thing with rogue skills, which are normally the first things I give her cos stealth for the win right
Personally I don't think her age is a drawback, she's not so old that she can't fight. Reading her opponent and understanding the battlefield, being able to spot weaknesses in who she is fighting - all stuff that age and experience would aid in would likely make up for any slowing down caused by her age, plus she's a half elf, age is less of an issue in the first place as she's not elderly in the sense we would think of it. For some reason BG3 has her as partially suicidal in set battles where you aren't controlling her but that's just bad ai. Personality wise I go with loyalty to friends and very pragmatic, whatever gets the job done with the least losses is her preferred result. She has realistic expectations of people and the world due to experience.

Elves and Half-Elves are naturally Chaotic.
As to lore and fitness - she is about 150, still middle age for her race, hence her knowledge may be vast (compared to a human), and she a fit granny .

With all the other characters, I can point out their flaws and conflicts. Those things are such big parts of their characters.

Gale, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Wyll, Astarion, even Karlach. Same with Minthara and--to a much lesser extent--even Halsin.

But not Jaheira. She's treated as if she's harsh and distant, but essentially good. That harshness doesn't necessarily come across as a flaw. Rather it seems as if it's representing what a "strong" woman Jaheira. The sense that she has that right as a legend, and besides, everyone knows she's good at heart and trust in her core intent. Distant with her children, but bonded with them all the same. Adopted children, no less, further pointing out her essential goodness.

The more I think about it, the more I start to think that all the other characters are... better. Better written. More fleshed out, deeper with more dimension.

Jaheira stands out to me more as a symbol than a character.

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All of that said, maybe I'm just missing something about her.

Thanks very much for all the replies. Super helpful.

My first experience with her in battle at Moonrise Tower she was super unhelpful. I was planning to chuck a backpack nuke right in the midst of the enemy, but then she just charges right into them. Not content with that, she then cast ice storm on her own position and killed herself.

But I'll definitely take her when I get to the city. I think I'll just bump her Dex, give her a long bow and make her a healer. A healer with ice storm.

Thanks again everyone.

I'm playing a modded game with a difficulty far beyond Honour mode, so it does not make sense to talk about details, but ... you can take control over Jaheira during the fights in Moonrise Towers? Never thought that's possible. How do you do this?