True Strike

From Baldur's Gate 3 Wiki
True Strike.webp

True Strike is a cantrip (Divination). The caster gains Advantage on their next Attack Roll against the target.

Description

Gain Advantage Icon.png Advantage on your next Attack roll.

Properties

Cost:
Action
Details:
Range: 18 m / 60 ft
Concentration Concentration

At higher levels

Casting this spell at a higher level grants no additional benefit.

Condition: True Strike

  True Strike
  Duration: 2 turns

How to learn

Classes:

Races:

(Character level is the sum of all class levels for a multi-classed character.)

Feats:

Other ways to learn:

Mage Breaker (Ranger class feature)

Notes

  • This cantrip is also granted to Rangers who pick   Mage Breaker as their Favoured Enemy at level 1.
  • The description of True Strike is among the more confusingly worded, and thus is prone to being misunderstood. To wit:
    • Only the caster of this spell gains   Advantage on their next attack against the affected target, never their allies.
    • Only the first attack roll following the application of the condition gains Advantage. The condition is removed immediately afterward, whether the attack roll is a hit or a miss.
    • The duration is 2 turns, but this includes the turn on which the condition is applied. This is true of many spells, but is especially important for short duration spells.
  • True Strike is rarely considered worth using due to its opportunity cost; a full action must be spent on it to improve the chances of hitting once. Most of the time, if two actions are available (whether on the same turn or not), attacking twice is more effective than attacking once with advantage due to damage bonuses.
  • However, True Strike is not considered aggressive, so the caster could cast it just before combat to gain its benefits without having to spend an action mid-fight. This eliminates the opportunity cost. Note that the duration is only 2 turns (12 seconds while not in turn-based mode).
  • Another niche use case exists for an Arcane Trickster making a   Sneak Attack. If the caster is out of spell slots, and no allies can flank for a sneak attack, and there is no other way to gain advantage for an attack roll, spending a single action on True Strike to enable a single sneak attack can be considered efficient.
    • In such cases, True Strike can be even more useful when using the   ranged version of sneak attack, since this allows the caster to benefit from the range of the cantrip, especially with a High Ground bonus. At such distances, however, it is typically easier to just use a Bonus Action to hide first and obtain Advantage.

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