Year 7 Champion Guide: Karlach, the Tiefling Barbarian
Last Updated: Initial Post
This is a stand-alone information guide for this Champion that will be updated as necessary for use during Events or when doing a Time Gate.
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#Year 7 Champion - Karlach, the Tiefling Barbarian
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Source: The Baldur's Gate 3 video game
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Arrival Event: Midwinter
You can read their original Champion Spotlight here.
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Slot 4
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Good with: Absolute Adversaries; Everyone
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Affiliation: Absolute Adversaries - Astarion, Karlach, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Wyll
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Eligible for Mirt, Vajra, Zariel
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Time Gate Priority: TBD
| Race | Class | Alignment | Gender | Age | Role(s) | Overwhelm Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiefling | Barbarian | Chaotic Good | Female (She / Her) | 30 | DPS / Support / Tanking | 25 |
| Strength | Dexterity | Constitution | Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 12 |
Bio: Freshly escaped from Hell, Karlach is finally free of the Archdevil Zariel - but not from the infernal engine Zariel planted in her chest. With her first taste of freedom in ten years, Karlach is eager to find a fix for the engine that’s burning hotter and hotter before it burns her out completely. But even more premiere in her mind? Exploring, finding like-minded travelers, falling in love (or lust)... and taking revenge on the man who sold her to Zariel all those years ago.
Basic Attack: Greataxe Cleave - Karlach moves up to the closest enemy and swings her greataxe in a wide arc, dealing 1 hit to everyone in range.
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Base Attack Type: Melee
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Base Attack Speed: 6 seconds
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Base Critical Hit Chance: 2.5%
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Base Critical Hit Damage: 100%
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Self-DPS Buff: 5.97e23%
Ultimate: Soul Coin - Karlach absorbs the energy in the soul coin, which lasts until completing a new boss level or her ultimate cooldown ends. For the duration, Karlach's Rage cap is increased to 100 stacks, and she doesn't lose Rage stacks when switching areas. In addition, she increases the base (pre-stack) amount of Infernal Engine's BUD-based damage by 100%.
- Base Ultimate Cooldown Time: 700 seconds
Health Upgrades: 1.16e05
##Passive Abilities
Champion of Zariel: As a Champion of Zariel, Karlach can be used in any Zariel Patron adventure or variant, even if she would not normally be available to be used due to variant or patron restrictions.
##Interesting Abilities
The Fury of Avernus: Karlach increases the damage of all Champions (including herself) in her column and the column behind her by 100%.
- 1.57e08% after upgrades; Supported by an Item & Feats
Gaar's Note: This is her only support buff, so make sure it's targeting your Primary DPS.
Ceremorphosis: Your formation gains one Ceremorphosis stack due to the mind flayer tadpole in Karlach's brain. Karlach increases the health of all other Champions by 20% of her max health, plus 2% for each Ceremorphosis stack the formation has, stacking additively.
- No upgrades
Gaar's Note: While this is standard Tank health share ability, hers can ramp up nicely with more tadpoles making it great for formation survivability.
Rage: When Karlach attacks or is attacked, she gains a Rage stack, capped at 50 stacks. Karlach increases the effect of The Fury of Avernus by 25% for each Rage stack, stacking multiplicatively. Stacks are reduced by 60% when changing areas.
- No upgrades; Supported by an Item & Feats
Gaar's Note: This ability gets ramped way up when you hit her Ultimate. Enjoy!
Infernal Engine: While Karlach has 20 or more Rage stacks, she ignites on fire dealing 0.1 second of BUD-based damage for each Rage stack to any enemy that attacks her, stacking additively.
- No upgrades
Gaar's Note: You'll only notice this as you get near your wall and start getting hit by things, but it's a beefy hit when it's ramped up with Rage stacks. She's a lot like Farideh in that she wants to get hit so she can do even more damage back.
An Experienced Gladiator: Karlach increases the effect of The Fury of Avernus by 10% for each Zariel Patron variant you have completed, stacking multiplicatively.
- 400% post-stack multiplier after upgrades; Supported by an Item & a Feat
Gaar's Note: This is a huge boost to her support buff when you have lots of stacks (300+). Time to knock out all the easy Zariel variants!
Global DPS Buff: 6.99e06%
##Specializations
Berserker: While Karlach has 20 or more Rage stacks, she increases her damage by 25% for each Rage stack she has, stacking multiplicatively.
Gaar's Note: This is her DPS spec as it boosts self-damage via Rage stacks. This gets really big when her Ultimate is on.
Wildheart: While Karlach has 20 or more Rage stacks, she heals 10% of her max health every second.
Gaar's Note: This is her Survivability Spec as it pumps out a solid heal that can be boosted by other effects like Perks.
Wild Magic: While Karlach has 20 or more Rage stacks, she increases the effect of The Fury of Avernus by 100% for each stack of Ceremorphosis, stacking multiplicatively.
Gaar's Note: This is her Support Spec as it boosts her primary support buff. However, if you don't have at least 2 Ceremorphosis stacks, you might be better off just going with Wildheart for survivability.
##Equipment
| White | Green | Blue | Purple | Gild Priority | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1: Increases the damage of all Champions | 10% | 65% | 120% | 230% | 3 |
| Slot 2: Increases the health of Karlach | 10% | 30% | 50% | 100% | 1 |
| Slot 3: Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 2 |
| Slot 4: Increases the effect of Karlach's Rage ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 2 |
| Slot 5: Increases the effect of Karlach's An Experienced Gladiator ability | 25% | 87.5% | 150% | 275% | 2 |
| Slot 6: Reduces the cooldown on Karlach's Ultimate Attack | s | s | s | 175s | 4 |
##Legendary Effects
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
- Increases the damage of all
Gaar's Note: Find more information on the Legendary system here.
##Feats
Here is the info for when you can unlock each Feat Slot:
| Feat Slot | Unlocked at Level | Rough Cost |
|---|---|---|
| First | 280 | e18 |
| Second | 670 | e38 |
| Third | 1155 | e62 |
| Fourth | 1750 | e90 |
Gaar's Note: Currently, you will need to level this Champion past their current upgrade softcap which will require you changing the blue update indicator from UPG to one of the numbered options.
Here is the info on what Feats are available for this Champion:
| Obtained | Recommended | Name | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Selflessness | Increases the damage of all Champions by 10% | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Inspiring Leader | Increases the damage of all Champions by 25% | |
| Default | Tough | Increases the health of Karlach by 15% | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Survivability | Resilient | Increases the health of Karlach by 30% |
| Default | Tavern Brawler | Increases the damage of Karlach by 30% | |
| 12,500 Gems | DPS | Grappler | Increases the damage of Karlach by 60% |
| Default | Rising Flames | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 20% | |
| 12,500 Gems | Roaring Inferno | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 40% | |
| Default | Fiendish Fury | Increases the effect of Karlach's Rage ability by 20% | |
| 12,500 Gems | Pushing | Demonsbane | Increases the effect of Karlach's Rage ability by 40% |
| Default | Defensive Duelist | Karlach takes 5 more Enemies attacking to get overwhelmed | |
| Regular Gold Chest | Survivability | Calm Under Pressure | Karlach takes 10 more Enemies attacking to get overwhelmed |
| 50,000 Gems | DPS | Taunt | Increases the damage of Karlach by 400%; Karlach's attacks have a 50% chance to taunt enemies |
| Regular Gold Chest | Pushing | Powered by Flames | Increases the effect of Karlach's An Experienced Gladiatory by 40% |
##Level Upgrades
Gaar's Note: Level Cost is the cost to go from your current level to the stated level. It is not a cumulative total. However, since we're dealing with very large numbers, it's in the ballpark.
| Level | Level Cost | Upgrade Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | NA | Champion of Zariel |
| 1 | Add to Formation | |
| 10 | The Fury of Avernus | |
| 20 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 100% | |
| 30 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% | |
| 40 | Ceremorphosis | |
| 50 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 60 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 70 | Rage | |
| 80 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 90 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 100 | Infernal Engine | |
| 110 | Increases the health of Karlach by 105 | |
| 120 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 130 | Berserker | |
| 140 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 150 | Ultimate Ability | |
| 160 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 170 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 180 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 190 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 200 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 230 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 240 | Increases the health of Karlach by 185 | |
| 250 | An Experienced Gladiator | |
| 260 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 270 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 290 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 300 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% | |
| 310 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 340 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 350 | Increases the health of Karlach by 325 | |
| 360 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 370 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 390 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 410 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 200% | |
| 420 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% | |
| 440 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 450 | Increases the health of Karlach by 570 | |
| 460 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 490 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 520 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 200% | |
| 530 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 570 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 580 | Increases the health of Karlach by 1,000 | |
| 600 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 610 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 620 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 680 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 690 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 720 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 730 | Increases the health of Karlach by 1,750 | |
| 750 | Increases the effect of Karlach's An Experienced Gladiator ability by 100% | |
| 760 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 770 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 780 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 790 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 840 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 860 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 870 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 880 | Increases the health of Karlach by 3,000 | |
| 920 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 930 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 940 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 980 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 1020 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1030 | Increases the health of Karlach by 5,300 | |
| 1040 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 1090 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 1100 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1110 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 1170 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 200% | |
| 1180 | Increases the health of Karlach by 9,300 | |
| 1190 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1200 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% | |
| 1240 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 100% | |
| 1250 | Increases the effect of Karlach's An Experienced Gladiator ability by 100% | |
| 1260 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1320 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 200% | |
| 1330 | Increases the health of Karlach by 16,300 | |
| 1340 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1360 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 1430 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1440 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 100% | |
| 1450 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 100% | |
| 1480 | Increases the health of Karlach by 28,500 | |
| 1510 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 100% | |
| 1530 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 100% | |
| 1570 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 1590 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 1600 | Increases the damage of all Champions by 200% | |
| 1610 | Increases the damage of Karlach by 300% | |
| 1620 | Increases the effect of Karlach's The Fury of Avernus ability by 200% | |
| 1630 | Increases the health of Karlach by 50,000 |
Current max upgrade level is 1630
#Formation & Mission Information
Once you complete the first mission, three Variants and a Free Play show up. It uses a formation that holds 10 Champions. It has a Champ-specific format that I've done my best to re-create below.
| Back Column | 5th Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | |||||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 0 | |||||
| 0 | |||||
| 0 |
New Player Formation & Specializations:
While I recommend learning to build your own formations, here's a set of starter formations for brand new players to use while they get the hang of things. Anyone with other options should check that link for how to figure out how to make the best of them. You can also ask for help in the #formations channel in the official Discord.
| Back Column | 5th Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitch - Charismatic | |||||
| NA | Asharra - Dwarves & Elves | Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | |||
| Minsc - Undead | Calliope - College of Valor | Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | |||
| Celeste - War Domain | |||||
| NA | |||||
| Bruenor - Battle Master |
This formation is for the first couple of runs where you're just not going to get enough Gold to get everyone on the field, let alone level people up into their power curves. At this point, Jarlaxle is focusing on being your Primary DPS while everyone else is set up to support him.
The following formation is for once your Hitch starts doing more damage than your Jarlaxle. You can find this out by pulling Asharra out of the formation and swapping Jarlaxle and Hitch around to see whose damage is better. If Hitch is higher, next run change Asharra's Spec to buff Hitch instead.
| Back Column | 5th Column | 4th Column | 3rd Column | 2nd Column | Front Column |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarlaxle - Leader of Bregan D'aerthe | |||||
| Makos - Dark Blessing | Minsc - Undead | Hitch - Charismatic | |||
| Asharra - Dwarves & Elves | Calliope - College of Valor | Tyril - Wild Shape | |||
| Celeste - War Domain | |||||
| Nayeli - Oath of Devotion | |||||
| Bruenor - Battle Master |
This formation should get you through the Event as a new player. If you have other options or think a different DPS is geared better, try it out and see what happens! Swapping DPS around like this can help you figure out what works best for you with your specific items.
These are the rough Favor values you need to reach to make a Variant say Difficulty: Easy. Keep in mind that this is just a generic rating system and some Variants may be harder than others, even with Favor in this range.
| Variant | Favor Level (Normal) | Favor Level (Scientific Notation) |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 20,000 | ~2e04 |
| 125 | 15,000,000 | ~1.5e07 |
| 175 | 150,000,000 | ~1.5e08 |
##Initial Adventure: Deadwinter Day (Karlach)
Cost: 100 Giftboxes
Complete: Level 50
Reward: Karlach + whatever Eldath's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
Gaar's Note: The area 50 boss for this event is The Devourer. Yes, capital T. He's kind of a big deal. He walks onto the screen, winds up, then devours a party member. No saving throws. No getting them back. They're gone. This means you have to beat him before he finishes his wind-up. You can do this through stuns, multi-hits, and Champs that give you bonus credit. He's hit-based, not armor-based, so you only need 1 damage per hit to take off a chunk. If you have Baeloth in your formation, you get a freebie devour. Enjoy!
##First Variant: Let's March!
Cost: 1,000 Giftboxes
Complete: Area 75
Reward: Gold Karlach Chest & whatever Eldath's Favor you earned
Info: Karlach joins the formation. She can't be moved or removed. Only Champions in the front two columns can deal damage.
Gaar's Notes: This is teaching you how her support buff works. Not really a restriction, but it will slow kills down a bit as only 5 Champions will be killing things.
##Second Variant: This Is The Best Day
Cost: 2,500 Giftboxes
Complete: Area 125
Reward: Gold Karlach Chest & whatever Eldath's Favor you earned
Info: Karlach joins the formation. She can't be moved or removed. Karlach starts with The Fury of Avernus and Rage abilities unlocked. An animated Clive also joins the formation. All damage against enemies is reduced to 1 until Karlach has at least 20 Rage stacks. (This includes click damage!) Karlach gains an additional Rage stack whenever any other Champion in the formation attacks.
Gaar's Notes: An adventure with Clive?!? This really IS the best day! You won't be able to damage anything until she builds up some Rage stacks, but thankfully they make that easier with other Champs contributing. The main restriction here is being down a slot in the formation, so just make sure you've got at least e01 more Favor than shown in the chart above and you should be fine.
##Third Variant: Zariel's Champion
Cost: 5,000 Giftboxes
Complete: Area 175
Reward: Gold Karlach Chest & whatever Eldath's Favor you earned
Info: Karlach joins the formation. She can't be moved or removed. Other than Karlach, you may only us Champions with a STR of 10+ and a CHA of 13+.
Gaar's Notes: These are Zariel's Patron restrictions put into an Event variant. If you can't field enough Champions to fully fill your formation, get at least an extra e01 Favor per empty slot or "filler" Champion beyond what is shown in the chart above and you should still be fine.
##Free Play
Cost: 500 - 2500 Giftboxes (Cost scales based on how many you do to a max of 2500)
Complete: Area 50 to earn a random Karlach chest
Reward: See above + whatever Eldath's Favor you earned
Info: No restrictions.
#Achievements
Gaar's Note: All of these achievements can be earned at any time, not just during their Event, except where noted.
Recruit Karlach - 1%
Recruit Karlach, the Tiefling Barbarian
Our Fiery Friend - 1%
Complete all three variants of the "Deadwinter Day (Karlach)" adventure. (This achievement can be earned via Time Gates.)
The Hellion's Heart - 1%
Obtain a piece of gear for each of Karlach's six equipment slots. (Event Champ gear does not come from regular Silver/Gold Chests. You can earn Event Champ gear from their specific Event Chests, Time Gates, qualifying Patron Chests, and other Chests as noted.)
Rothé in a Tea Shop- 1%
Complete area 175 in any "Deadwinter Day" free play. (This achievement can only be earned during the Midwinter Event, but it can be earned in any Champion's free play.)
Stick Close to Mama K - 1%
Defeat 10,000 enemies with Karlach having at least 20 Rage stacks.
Gaar's Note: Your best bet here is to either do it in her variant where you easily build up Rage stacks or park her on a level with some attack speed boosters and let her go to town as your DPS.
Posted Jan 10, 2024, 10:37 PM UTC