Introduction

The Half-Elf attempts to stand in a mechanical space part-way between the Elf or the Drow and the Human, borrowing some of the traits from both. The result is a fine race option on its own, but in nearly every case there’s a race that does whatever you want better, making it hard to justify playing a Half-Elf, at least from an optimization perspective.

The presence of Civil Militia in place of the Elf or the Drow’s other traits is arguably the biggest issue here. Because it provides no benefit for many classes, any of those classes works better with an Elf or a Drow, and switching to either of those will only improve your experience with the game.

Shadowheart, one of the NPC companions, is a High Half-Elf Cleric.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses a color coding scheme to rate individual character options.

  • Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
  • Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
  • Green: Good options. Useful often.
  • Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

RPGBOT is fan content published under Larian’s Fan Content Policy. This is not official content, and RPGBOT has no official relationship with Larian.

Half-Elf Traits

  • Base Racial Speed: You can move 9 m / 30 ft per turn.: Standard.
  • Civil Militia: Two-handed polearms, light armor, and shields. Any class that would actually use the polearms will already get proficiency. Access to armor is good for sorcerers and wizards at low levels, but won’t outpace Mage Armor. Proficiency in shields is the best thing here. Bards, rogues, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards all benefit a great deal from putting a shield into what would otherwise be an empty hand.
  • Darkvision: Helpful during certain parts of the game, but easily replaced by light sources or by camp casting the Darkvision spell.
  • Fey Ancestry: Only situationally useful. Charm effects do exist in the game, but they come almost exclusively from enemy spellcasters.

In addition, you must select a subrace which grants additional traits.

High Half-Elf Traits

  • High Elf Cantrip: A single wizard cantrip can be hugely impactful. It’s easy to go straight for offensive options, but remember that it will be Intelligence-based, so it will only be useful if you’re already an Intelligence-based spellcaster. Instead, strongly consider Friends to help you with social situations.

    Tragically, the Shadowheart is saddled with Fire Bolt, which is borderline useless for them, and you can’t change your race or any race-based decisions when you re-spec.

Wood Half-Elf Traits

  • Fleet of Foot: More speed is always nice, especially in melee, but it’s not massively impactful, and fights usually take place within a fairly small area where being incredibly fast won’t do much for you.
  • Mask of the Wild: Another great skill. Between Perception and Stealth, the Wood Elf is in a great spot to support the Ranger, the Rogue, and other Scout builds.

Drow Half-Elf Traits

  • Drow Magic: Dancing Lights is rarely useful, but Faerie Fire is a great support option, and Darkness can give your party a huge tactical advantage if you’re okay with running in and out of the Darkness effect to attack (or if you have Devil’s Sight).

    Note that Drow Magic uses Charisma as your spellcasting ability. This only matters for Faerie Fire, but if you plan to use Faerie Fire it’s best to choose a class that relies on Charisma so that your save DC will be decent.

Classes

Barbarian

Plan an elf.

Bard

Proficiency in shields without going for College of Valor is great, especially for College of Swords Bards. Any of the subraces work. High half-Elf is tempting, but the cantrip is Intelligence-based, so your options are limited. Woof Half-Elf gets you another skill. Drow Half-Elf ihas Charisma-based spellcasting.

Cleric

The polarm weapon proficiencies from Civil Militia are new, but very few clerics will want to use them and not already get martial weapon proficiencies fromm their domain. In the vast majority of cases, just play an elf.

Druid

The polarm weapon proficiencies from Civil Militia are new, but druids have absolutely no business using Strength-based weapons. With that in mind, there is no reason to play a Half-Elf instead of an Elf.

Fighter

Plan an elf.

Monk

Plan an elf. Sure, the proficiencies from Civil Militia do add to the Monk, but you can’t use any of them without breaking your class features.

Paladin

Plan an elf.

Ranger

Plan an elf.

Rogue

Civil milita’s access to shields is very tempting for the Rogue, but in the vast majority of cases you will want your off hand for two-weapon fighting. There are simply too many awesome daggers and shortswords to rely on a rapier.

Any subclass works here. High Half-Elf fits nicely into the Arcane Trickster. Wood Half-Elf is an easy go-to build. Drow Half-Elf can use Darkness to great effect in combat. In all cases, you’re giving up the Elf and the Drow’s better proficiencies to get proficiency in shields which you might never use.

Sorcerer

Light armor and shields are a great boost to your AC. High half-Elf is tempting, but the cantrip is Intelligence-based. Drow Half-Elf is a better fit thanks to the Charisma-based spellcasting.

Warlock

High half-Elf is tempting, but the cantrip is Intelligence-based. Drow Half-Elf is a better fit thanks to the Charisma-based spellcasting.

Wizard

Light armor and shields are a great boost to your AC, though light armor won’t match Mage Armor and you’ll eventually want to wear magic robes. High Half-Elf for the extra cantrip is your easiest choice.