Source:
r/Prestigious_Juice341
Build Overview
Following the changes made in Honor mode, TB Throw, which used to be easily a top 5 build in the game... is now a top 5 Martial in the game.
Despite the changes made to Haste, and more importantly DRS mechanics, TB Throw is still an exceptionally powerful build, which:
comes online at level 4
has excellent progression all the way until level 12
has the highest chance-to-hit of any martial
deals really high sustained damage
has great itemization
And, just as it was pre-patch 5, TB Throw is still going to completely dominate sustained damage throughout acts 1 and 2 - nothing, including TB Monk, will compare.
Considering act 1 and 2 are the hardest parts of the game, the true value of this build is how hard it carries your late game builds until they finally come online.
If you are wiping constantly in the early game, and having to restart your Honor mode run, this is the perfect build for you.
Before you read ahead, I highly recommend watching What exactly makes Tavern Brawler so OP?
If you are curious about DRS mechanics, and why non-Honor mode TB Throw is built around them, watch "DRS" mechanics explained
Leveling, Stat Distribution and Feats
Guidelines
The end goal of this build is to reach 5 Berserker Barbarian / 4 Thief Rogue / 3 Fighter; the Fighter subclass will either be EK or Champion depending on your chosen weapon.
Barb/Rogue "Thiefzerker" is a stronger thrower than 11 Fighter in Honor mode, including during leveling. I compare both variants in detail at the bottom of the guide.
You do not need to respec for this build at all - you can level in the exact class order I listed above, and simply get natural STR (instead of using elixirs).
However, one respec at level 8, and 2 more in the late game are ideal, and is what I recommend. When you do your late game respec, you should take 4 fighter / 3 rogue. Slight HP gain at no cost.
Your best stat throughout the entire game is STR. You will want to have a lot of CON late game.
For race, Dwarves of any kind are good, since they can make use of Dwarven Thrower. Halflings are also good, as they prevent a critical fail, which from act 2 onward, is going to be the only way you miss attacks.
However, in general, race is irrelevant to TB Throw. Any origin character/race is going to be perfectly fine. Karlach is thematically my favorite.
Class Contribution
For those confused on the exact reasoning behind this multiclass split:
5 Berserker Barbarian
Barbarian gets access to Rage, which adds 2 extra damage to melee and thrown weapon attacks, and gives you blanket resistance to all Physical damage.
5 levels in Barbarian gives you your Extra Attack.
Berserker Barbarians get access to Frenzy, a far more powerful version of Rage.
While you are Frenzied, you get access to the star ability of this entire build, Enraged Throw. This allows you to Throw using bonus actions.
Enraged Throw is an even more powerful version of Throw, because it will add your STR modifier to each throw again. Where as you normally would add your STR modifier once, this will add it twice.
Enraged Throw also doubles as a control ability, because enemies hit will be forced to go prone, without a save.
4 Thief Rogue
Thief Rogue gives you the passive Fast Hands, which grants you an additional bonus action. This feeds Enraged Throw.
You go to level 4 to get the Dual Wielding feat at level 9.
You also get Sneak Attack, but it's mostly irrelevant to your overall damage.
3 Fighter (EK or Champion)
Fighter subclass is picked based on weapon choice, which is covered later on in the guide.
You get Action Surge and Defense fighting style.
If you go the EK route, you get access to Weapon Bond, allowing you to make use of some really powerful spears as throwing weapons.
If you go the Champion route, you get -1 to your Critical Hit range.
Leveling
Open Barbarian. Take 17 STR and 16 CON. The rest is up to you, but I recommend high DEX. You'll be leveling as pure Barbarian until you hit level 8.
At level 3, take the Berserker subclass.
At level 4 feat, take Tavern Brawler with +1 STR. Congratulations, your build is online. You'll only be throwing from this point onward.
At level 5, you get your Extra Attack. Note, Haste and Bloodlust do not benefit from Extra Attacks. Only your original action, and action surge does.
Once you hit level 8, go respec.
Open Barbarian again, take the same stats. Follow the same steps as above, but this time, stop at level 5.
Then open Rogue, and level it to 3. Take the Thief subclass. After your respec, you should be at 5 Barb/3 Rogue.
At level 9, put another level in Rogue to get your second Feat, and take Dual Wielder.
At level 10, open Fighter. For fighting style, take Defense.
You'll put your last two levels in Fighter, and pick a subclass at level 3. I'll discuss which subclass to pick later in the guide.
Late game stats
The main stat you care about is STR. You can reach 22 (+6 modifier) naturally, and can reach 27 (+8 modifier) via elixir. Using STR elixirs is by far your best option late game.
As soon as you reach act 3, you can get 27 STR elixirs, and will want to completely drop STR in favor of DEX and CON. You are going to want to have high CON late game anyway, more on why later.
If you really hate STR elixirs, here is how you reach a natural 22 STR:
17 base STR and 1 from TB gives you 18.
You can get +2 from the Potion of Everlasting Vigour in act 2. You can get another +2 from the Mirror of Loss in act 3.
It's worth noting that, without save-scumming, failing the Mirror of Loss check is really easy. This is another major reason to go for 27 STR elixirs, you may not even be able to get 22 naturally.
Gearing/Itemization Progression
TB Throw has the potential to deal crazy damage as early as level 4. You are not going to find any other build in the game that comes online this early, and that's even after it got nerfed in patch 5.
Part of the reason it comes online so early, is that many of this build's core items are in act 1 & early act 2. This build is not going to be ideal for existing runs, at least those past act 2; always start a fresh run if you plan to run a thrower.
Late game, you are going to itemize around maximizing Piercing damage. I will elaborate on why later, but for now, keep that in mind.
Important Note: At level 9, you will be able to Dual Wield. Once you start dual wielding, you should generally throw from off hand. Your Dual Wield weapon of choice goes in your main hand.
If you are using a spear that requires Weapon Bond from an EK, just swap it to main hand, apply the bond, and then swap it back to off hand.
Act 1
As soon as you reach the Druid Grove, visit Arron and Dammon:
Buy or steal +1 Medium Armour from Dammon. You'll be wearing exclusively Medium Armor for the entire game, never wear Heavy Armor.
Ring of Flinging is your first damage rider, and is one of your best in slot rings. Buy it, and never take this ring off.
At the Blighted Village, you can grab the Haste Helm. Your helmet slot will otherwise be empty for a while.
Next, head to the Goblin camp. Find Grat, and buy the Returning Pike. You'll use this weapon until you are at least level 9.
Make sure to get +1 Medium Armor while here if you have not already.
Later on, when you are in the Underdark, go to the Myconid Colony, get Boots of Genial Striding and Caustic Band. The boots could be replaced later on, but is not a highly contested slot anyway.
Note: Caustic Band is seriously expensive, make sure to save gold for this item - you will be using it again in act 3.
After that, you need to go and save Baelen Bonecloak. You really don't want to miss or fail this, because you will lose access to Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo, which are your best in slot gloves.
Adamantine Scale Mail is available at the end of the Underdark - you will probably wear this until act 3. There are better medium options out there, but you cannot make use of them due to low DEX. Scale Mail is going to be more than sufficient until act 3.
Knife of the Undermountain King will be available from the vendor in the Creche, and is used for a while in act 3. You can't quite use it yet, so for now, buy this, and just hold onto it. Be warned, this item is going to cost you.
Act 2
Go to Moonrise Towers ASAP, and find Araj Oblodra. Get the Potion of Everlasting Vigour from her.
If you have another build in your party that wants natural STR, give it to them. If not, you should use this, despite it being useless as soon as you reach act 3. There are virtually no builds besides EK TB Throw that take natural STR, so you should be fine to use it.
Also, note that this is going to cause some "relationship issues" with Astarion. If you are romancing him, just skip this all together.
Risky Ring wasn't TB Throw's best ring option pre-patch 5, despite many claiming it to be. However, for Honor Mode, consistency is absolutely key - and this ring is what allows TB Throw to comfortably carry your party through act 2.
Combined with Tavern Brawler, Risky Ring going to reduce your chance to miss to (1/20)^2 or 1/400 for the majority of enemies. If you're a halfling, it's going to be 1/8000. It is going to be a statistical anomaly to miss while wearing it.
Also, this item is going to contribute heavily to landing more critical hits, which will add a little extra damage while in act 2. Barbarian also has way less failed saves to care about than most other Risky Ring users, so you can mostly ignore the downsides of it.
Note: Once you get your 27 STR elixirs, this item loses most of it's value for you(16 + 3 base attack roll bonus); it is almost universally going to better on a different late game build, that should be coming online now. Take it off, and wear Caustic Band instead.
Yuan-Ti Scale Mail could be used in act 3 when you drop all STR (for elixirs), if and only if the other 2 exotic plate options are unavailable/contested. I would recommend buying and holding onto this item just in case.
If Cloak of Protection is uncontested, buy it and use it.
At the house of healing, you could get the Surgeon's Subjugation Amulet; it's a good amulet option from act 2, considering nothing else helps TB Throw drastically until mid-act 3.
Next, you need to go to the Grand Mausoleum.
Nearby it, fight the Kuo-Toa, and get the Lightning Jabber. This stupid looking lobster claw is a contender for your best in slot throwing weapon, but like Knife of the Undermountain King, just hold onto it for now.
Deep inside the Mausoleum, you can find the Dark Justiciar Helmet. You don't truly care about crit range, but for now it is your best option.
The final item(s) of interest in act 2 are the two legendary spears:
Selûne's Spear of Night
Shar's Spear of Evening
You can only get one of these at a time. These weapons were largely overlooked for throwers because of DRS, but now, are substantially more appealing.
Shar's spear is (probably) contested by really powerful melee builds, but if you plan to go the "good" route, you should highly consider using Selûne's Spear as your end-game throwing weapon. More on why later.
Act 3 - Part 1
As soon as you arrive in Rivington, you can get a few more key thrower items.
Dwarven Thrower is sold by Ferg Drogher, and is the reason you want to go Dwarf. In a total vacuum this item is an amazing throwing weapon, and it might be your best in slot throwing weapon.
Nyrulna is one of the most unique weapons in the game. Not only is it a piercing damage, +3, throwing, returning two-hander, but the potential AOE damage of this weapon makes is seriously high.
But - the weapon also has considerable downsides, and will rarely be your best in slot. See the "Weapon Selection & Fighter Subclass" section for more info.
If Cloak of Displacement is uncontested, you should buy and use it. This further offsets the downsides of sitting at 50% HP.
The Deadshot is your best in slot bow. Increases your crit range, simple as that. There is nothing that you will find more use from. It's usually worse than Titanstring for actual archers, so feel free to take it for yourself.
Boots of Persistence are a nice upgrade to Genial Striding boots at late game. If you can grab these from Dammon, you should.
Armour of Agility is your best in slot if you are using STR elixirs, but might be contested by a true DEX user like 10/1/1 Swords Bard.
If you have a true DEX user, go with Unwanted Masterwork Scalemail or Yuan-Ti instead.
Act 3 - Part 2
Once you are level 12, you can start clearing major encounters, and getting your final build components.
Your first stop should always be Szarr Palace.
Helmet of Grit is by far your best in slot helmet, but requires you to always remain at half HP or lower. This requires some micro-management, which I will explain in build mechanics. It gives you an extra bonus action when under 50% HP, which is an extra Enraged Throw.
The second stop is the House of Hope.
Amulet of Greater Health is what you care about. Steal this and make sure you are wearing it for the fight against Raphael. This item is your "safety net" to help deal with Helmet of Grit. Combined with Heroes' Feast and Aid, you can reach approx. 200 base HP with this item. Meaning, you can sit around 90-100 HP, and benefit from Helmet of Grit.
Respec sometime after you get it. Drop all STR and CON, and pick up DEX and WIS. You should have 27 STR from elixir and 23 CON from this.
If you do The Murder Tribunal, you will get Sarevok's Horned Helmet, which is an okay replacement for Helmet of Grit. If you don't/can't manage your health well, use this instead.
Your final stop is going to be The Bhaal Temple. This is extremely late in the game, but is going to give you your final best in slot item, which is going to bring your whole build together in a beautifully synergistic way.
Bloodthirst is your best in slot main-hand, and is one of the most powerful weapons in the entire game. Why? Well, it's finesse, so it scales with STR and it increases crit range.
But what we really care about is this weapon's passive, Exploit Weakness. See "Bloodthirst" in build mechanics to understand how to use this weapon.
Consumables
Early game, you could consider using Elixir of Hill Giant Strength for 21 STR. You'll be at 18 STR anyway, so I really don't see the point, the benefit is tiny. But if you want to min-max, you totally could.
Elixir of Bloodlust is your best option in the mid-game. Once act 3 rolls around, you can keep using these, but I would transition to 27 STR elixirs.
Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength is your best option for all of act 3. 27 Strength (vs 20/22) is worth considerably more than one extra attack. The wiki(link) contains a great list of vendors that carry this.
As soon as you can buy these, respec, and drop all STR in favor of DEX. TB +1 can go to CON for now.
Elixir of Universal Resistance is excellent for durability on major encounters. You'll be at ~90 HP, which does put you in kill range of some bosses legendary actions, especially casters. I really recommend keeping these for the harder fights in act 3.
End game best in slot
This is assuming you can get every item you want. I will include your main alternatives for contested slots.
Slot Item
Off Hand (*) see Weapon Selection section below (*)
Main Hand Bloodthirst
Ranged Weapon The Deadshot
Helmet Helmet of Grit
Armor Armour of Agility
Gloves Gloves of Uninhibited Kushigo
Boots Boots of Persistence
Cloak Cloak of Displacement
Amulet Amulet of Greater Health
Ring 1 Caustic Band (swap back to this in a3)
Ring 2 Ring of Flinging
Elixir Elixir of Cloud Giant Strength
Alternative items
Slot Item
Main Hand Knife of the Undermountain King
Armor Unwanted Masterwork Scalemail or Yuan-Ti
Helmet Sarevok's Horned Helmet
Ring Risky Ring (swap off this in a3)
Cloak Cloak of Protection
Weapon Selection & Fighter Subclass
The case for hirelings
Weapon Bond does not need to be applied by you in order to work. What I mean is:
Remove any party member
Add a 3 EK hireling to your party
Trade them your throwing weapon
Have them cast Weapon Bond on it
Trade it back to yourself
Remove them from the party
Bring your original party member back in
Results in you having a bound weapon, without you actually being an EK.
This does 2 things. First of all, you can always take the Champion subclass for extra crit range, but more importantly, you can replace Returning Pike at level 9, which is when you will get Dual Wielder.
This coincidentally is exactly when you will get access to your best in slot spears in act 2, right before the final fights of the act. If you bind them like this, you can use them right away (you absolutely should).
If you hate hirelings, or just don't want to do this, you are stuck with Returning Pike until act 3. Not the end of the world though, that item is still great.
Weapon Selection
- Returning Pike - (r)
This is your weapon of choice until at least level 9.
- Dwarven Thrower - (r)
If you are a Dwarf, and don't want to lean into Piercing Damage, this is your best in slot.
- Nyrulna - (r)
This weapon is leagues ahead of every other option on multi-target fights. However, its damage will hit allies as well, and at 6-8 throws per turn, can easily kill/disable your allies.
Therefore, it's basically only viable on 4-ranged comps. If you are running a purely ranged comp, then absolutely run this weapon. If you have frontliners of any kind, do not run this.
- Lightning Jabber -
This is your backup plan if the legendary spears, especially Selûne's Spear, are needed elsewhere or unavailable. It is still piercing, versatile, and therefore is perfectly serviceable.
- Selûne's Spear of Night -
This weapon is mostly identical to Lightning Jabber in damage, but is generally far better at everything else:
+3 instead of +1 to Attack Rolls throwing does not benefit from this as of now, despite a common combat log bug. Bug report was made. It does however benefit from proficiency.
Advantage on Wisdom Saves
-0.5 damage without Piercing Vuln, +1.5 damage with Piercing Vuln (compared to Jabber)
Darkvision
It actually looks cool (by far the most important)
Overall, this weapon is your best option, if it is available. Shar's Spear is even better than this, but is so highly contested by 2H melee builds, it's probably not an option for you.
Of course, if you do end up running Shar's Spear - it is your actual best in slot weapon.
Fighter Subclass
If you are running any of the piercing damage spears - they are not returning, and require a Weapon Bond to be viable. This means you either need to take the EK subclass at 12, or get an EK hireling.
That being said, using an EK Hireling is just better IMO.
Yes, it's kind of annoying; but it's so worth it. Hireling buffs are amazing regardless, this is just one of them. Nonetheless, you can always just go EK.
If the weapon is bound/returning (marked with a (r) in the above list), or you have an EK hireling, go Champion.
Build Mechanics
Gameplay loop
Thiefzerker is incredibly simple to pilot:
Enrage(Frenzy) right away
Use Action Surge if you have it
Spend all actions on Throw
Spend all bonus actions on Enraged Throw
And that's basically all there is to it.
Late game, you will need to manage applying Piercing Vulnerability (via Bloodthirst). That will be explained soon.
Helmet of Grit
Helmet of Grit requires you to remain at 50% (or less) of your max HP to get an extra bonus action. It sounds scary, especially in Honor mode, but I actually found it extremely easy to manage, and extremely safe.
To prepare for this, bring your health to approximately 45% after long resting by having a party member hit you. Try to be precise, i.e. if you have 200 total HP, bring the total close to 90. As for managing it in combat:
First things first - avoid running a Life Cleric. Preserve Life (and other big AOE healing) is going to inevitably make managing Grit far harder; instead, use a Light Cleric support, or potion throwing healer. You can still run DI mace, or some other 1d4 healing ability/item to maintain Blade Ward and Bless on the group, but keep the healing low, and bring your health lower to account for the healing.
Second, remember you have ~20 AC, and natural resistance to all physical damage. You can add an Universal Resistance Elixir on top of it all if you are facing strong casters.
If you do end up losing lots of health, do not drink potions with your bonus actions. Throw a potion that heals for an appropriate amount in-front of yourself (with an action) and step into it. You can also use a single target heal like Healing Word from a support.
You should be selecting a potion that brings your current HP to 40-50% of your Max HP.
Superior potions heal for 28 on average
Supreme potions heal for 45 on average
If you are using single target healing spells, follow the same logic. Be very careful to not overheal, it's easier to gain health than lose it.
Damage type "inheritance"
Consider this example:
Our early game damage, which consists of:
Returning Pike + STR Modifier
TB STR Modifier
Ring of Flinging
Kushigo Gloves
Barbarian Rage
Enraged Throw STR Modifier
...all count as piercing damage, despite only Returning Pike explicitly stating its damage type as Piercing. It's an easy detail to miss.
This is happening because the other damage instances are Physical Damage Riders. This is different, to for example Caustic Band, which is Acid, and is a damage type; "Physical" is not actually a damage type.
In order to assign those Riders a damage type, they will "inherit" the damage type of the Damage Source that they ride on/came from.
So, in our case, throwing Returning Pike is the Damage Source, and is Piercing, so all Physical damage that rides on it will also be Piercing.
Notably, this means that late game, every single one of our damage instances will be Piercing. Keep reading to see why this is relevant.
Bloodthirst
Exploit Weakness will force-inflict Vulnerability to piercing damage to any target you hit, and ideally, all of your damage is going to be piercing at this point in the game.
The correct way to use this weapon is to equip and swing it from your main hand, because your bonus actions do more damage than your actions, and you want to use them on throwing.
Attack an enemy with it just once (make sure to disable the two weapon option, so you don't accidentally swing your spear also).
If an enemy has over ~100 HP, it's generally always worth applying Vulnerability before Throwing. The key here is to maintain a healthy balance between applying and throwing.
I like the rule of always applying to enemies that have Piercing Resistance(all bosses, watchers, etc). Past that, apply at most once per turn. Remember, movement plays a huge part in limiting applications per turn.
You can have another party member run Bhaalist Armour to help with applying Vuln.
Once it is applied, feel free to just Throw from melee range. Your flat bonus to attack roll will be ~20 at this point - you won't miss unless you roll a nat 1.
Note that you need to actually walk up the target and hit it with the weapon to inflict the Vulnerability, throwing Bloodthirst does not work.
Damage calculations by milestone
With DRS now being gone, your average damage is really easy to calculate. These are some of the milestones I used in-game, and your average damage at them:
- End of Act 1-
Assumed Buffs: Haste
Flat bonus to Attack Rolls: 9
Crit Range: 20 - 5%
Per Throw Per Enraged Throw First Turn Sustained
1d10 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2d4 + (4 + 4) 1d10 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2d4 + (4 + 4 + 4) 3(23.5) 3(23.5) + 25.5
23.5 27.5 70.5 96
- End of Act 2-
Assumed Buffs: Haste, Bloodlust
Flat bonus to Attack Rolls: 11 (ADV)
Crit Range: 18 (ADV) - 27.5%
Per Throw Per Enraged Throw First Turn Sustained
1d6 + 3 + 2 + 2d4 + (5 + 5) 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 2d4 + (5 + 5 + 5) 4(23.5) + 28.5 4(23.5) + 2(28.5)
23.5 28.5 122.5 151
- Full Build -
Assumed Buffs: Haste, Action Surge (used on first turn)
Flat bonus to Attack Rolls: 20
Crit Range: 17 - 20%
Per Throw Per Enraged Throw First Turn Sustained
1d6 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 2d4 + (8 + 8) 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 2d4 + (8 + 8 + 8) 5(31.5) + 2(39.5) 3(31.5) + 3(39.5)
31.5 39.5 236.5 213
- Full Build w/ Vuln Application -
First Turn, applied Vuln Sustained, Apply Vuln w/ Action Sustained, Vuln
16.5 + 2(4(31.5) + 2(39.5)) - 12 16.5 + 2(2(31.5) + 3(39.5)) - 10 2(3(31.5) + 3(39.5)) - 12
414.5 369.5 414
I am not accounting for Illithid Powers, such as Psionic Overload. Sneak attack is not factored in, but will add 2d6 per turn as well.
I have heard that Enraged Throw inconsistently adds +STR. Please report it in the comments if you experience it.
Thiefzerker vs 11 EK
There are basically two core variations of TB Throw, 11 EK Fighter, or 5/4/3 Thiefzerker.
Before I get into the key differences, It's important to recognize that both variants will roll through the early-to-mid game of BG3; which is the primary purpose of TB Throw anyway. Both builds get the job done, and it is completely fine to just pick the one that you like the look/playstyle of more.
Okay. With that being said, lets examine the core differences, and why I find Thiefzerker better for Honor mode:
- 11 EK Fighter -
Starts the game with Heavy Armour and Shield, offering ~22-23 effective AC in act 1
Has better NOVA damage throughout most of the game
Gets sweet combat utility like Misty Step
Has no control
Gets Dual Wielding at level 6, and does not need hirelings for Weapon Bond
Can use concentration spells such as Hunter's Mark early on
Can make use of Moonmote (spear utility)
This list is nothing to scoff at. 11 EK has a lot going for it. Here's the problem: it cannot weaponize bonus actions into throws like Barbarian can, which costs it a huge amount of damage... unless we factor in War Magic.
War Magic, in combination with Spell Sniper (feat), allows EK to make use of it's bonus action by weaving in EB casts between their throws. This actually brings EK much, much closer to the level of Thiefzerker, especially during levels 10-12.
Despite that, there are some problems associated with going this route:
EK will have to wear Potent Robe to make casting EB worthwhile, crippling their AC and durability
EK will need to stat CHA to at least 16, which means you won't be getting much extra AC from DEX, and/or will have low CON
EB is going to miss a lot. You will not have any gear or consumables until act 3 that can boost your spell attack rolls, so need to rely on Bless and +3 from CHA
EB will not benefit from piercing vulnerability late game
- 5/4/3 Thiefzerker -
Starts the game with Medium Armour, offering at ~15-16 effective AC in act 1
Starts the game with blanket Physical Resistance due to Rage (this is worth way more than AC)
Has zero combat utility
Has excellent crowd control with Enraged Throw forcing Prone (there is no save for this)
Rapidly outpaces EK damage after the NOVA turn due to Enraged Throw
Scales much harder than EK due to adding STR an extra time on 3x bonus actions
Is generally* more consistent, as it does not rely on EB hitting to deal damage
So, the primary benefits of Thiefzerker are its sustained damage, unique form of control from forced Prone, better durability early on AND later on, and generally better consistency.
Conclusion
Thiefzerker, to me, is the obvious choice:
It's far more durable early on because it will cut all Physical damage in half, and because EK will need to wear Potent Robe, it will be more durable later on as well.
Until level 11, it will have worse Nova Damage, but it has better sustained damage. At full build, it's going to leave EK in the dust due to it's actions/bonus actions all benefiting from Piercing damage Vuln.
Finally, forced Prone with no save is a really powerful form of control, allowing you to disable enemies completely by doing your normal damage ability. Specifically in Honor mode, forcing prone on demand is game-changing; you can outright prevent legendary actions with this, and more generally control any strong enemy in the game indefinitely.
On a final note, EK Throw without Potent Robe and EB weaving is so far behind Thiefzerker, I won't even factor it into the discussion.
It's still fun and viable, but will be basically a full tier below Thiefzerker, so it does not belong in a discussion about optimal throwers.
Credits
u/RyanoftheDay has been the source of many great ideas related to modern TB Throw, including weaponizing EB with Potent Robes to keep EK Throw relevant. Huge credit to him and his work, I'm a big fan.
I also got ideas or inspiration from: u/prauxim, u/Dw0pple u/ErgonomicCat u/Jenos ; thank you all.
Finally, thanks to JL935 for help with proofreading.
FAQ
What if I have other builds that really want STR elixirs?
Sustaining two characters is doable(I just did it in my run), but you need to be really on top of it. You cannot miss a vendor trip after long rests, and need to loot everything you can.
So ideally, keep things to 1 STR elixir user, 2 max.
That, or just run EK Throw instead (EK uses Bloodlust Elixirs).
What if I want to give Bloodthirst to someone else?
Sure.
You can use Knife as your mainhand instead, or even Rhapsody (though Rhapsody is among the most contested items in the game, and not that great on TB Throw in honor mode).
TB Throw can easily apply it despite being ranged since you have around 20 flat bonus to attack rolls late game, meaning you can easily throw from melee range after applying; but anyone that can spare the action can do it as well.
What if I overhealed and need to lose HP?
Go into melee range and trigger attacks of opportunity.
