Baldur's Gate 3 · Classes & Builds. Class, subclass, companion and protagonist levelling and build guides. Browse Best Shadowheart Build in Baldur's Gate 3: Light Cleric 12 After Patch 8, Baldur's Gate 3 Moon Druid Build: Owlbear, Myrmidons, Wild Shape & Gear, Baldur's Gate 3 Evocation Wizard Build: Fireball, Magic Missile & Spellbook, with requirements, routes and walkthrough steps.
Shadowheart joins as a High Half-Elf Trickery Domain Cleric. Trickery is playable and fits her story, but for a general combat companion the easiest improvement is a Withers respec into Light Cleric 12. The build keeps the full Cleric spell ladder, gets Warding Flare, Radiance of the Dawn, always-prepared Fireball and Wall of Fire, Improved Warding Flare, Potent Spellcasting and Destructive Wave.
Circle of the Moon is not a caster that occasionally turns into a bear. Combat Wild Shape costs a Bonus Action, comes back twice per Short Rest, and gives the Druid a second pool of hit points with its own Strength, Dexterity and Constitution. When the form reaches 0 HP you return to Druid form, with excess damage carrying over.
The reason to choose Evocation is not “Fire spells do more damage.” At Wizard 2, Sculpt Spells lets allies automatically succeed saving throws against your Evocation area spells and take no damage from those spells. That changes targeting: Fireball, Lightning Bolt and other eligible Evocations can be placed aggressively around melee allies instead of waiting for the room to become tidy.
A pure Fiend Warlock has fewer spell slots than a Wizard, but the slots come back on a Short Rest and automatically scale to the highest Pact Magic level you have. That changes how the class should be played. Hunger of Hadar, Fireball, Counterspell and Wall of Fire are not “save for the final boss” resources when two Short Rests — and a Bard's Song of Rest if present — can reload the core kit.
The obvious Storm Sorcerer trick is Wet plus Lightning: Wet normally makes a target Vulnerable to Lightning and Cold, so a Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning can hit for double damage. The subclass is better than that one combo. Tempestuous Magic turns every levelled spell into a Bonus Action 9 m flight that does not provoke Opportunity Attacks.
Battle Master is the Fighter for players who want a simple weapon build without simple decisions. A Champion mostly improves passive numbers; Battle Master gets a short-rest pool of Superiority Dice that can turn a miss into a hit, put a dangerous enemy Prone before the rest of the party attacks, frighten a melee threat, punish a miss with Riposte or push something off the map.
Gloom Stalker 3 gives +3 Initiative, +3 m movement on turn one and a separate Dread Ambusher attack with +1d8 damage. Ranger 5 adds Extra Attack. Assassin 3 rewards acting before enemies and can turn attacks on Surprised targets into critical hits, while Assassin’s Alacrity can restore the Action/Bonus Action used to initiate combat. Fighter 2 supplies Action Surge, and War Cleric 1 adds a limited Bonus Action weapon attack through War Priest.
Tempest Domain is still a full Cleric. Healing Word, Aid, Spirit Guardians, Sleet Storm, Freedom of Movement and late Cleric support remain part of the job. What the domain adds is a reliable burst rule: Destructive Wrath can spend Channel Divinity to maximise a Thunder or Lightning damage roll. When the party applies Wet, Lightning damage is doubled against a vulnerable target.
Open Hand Monk is strong because its normal turn is unusually dense. Extra Attack supplies two Action attacks, Flurry of Blows turns one Bonus Action and one Ki into two more attacks, and a Thief dip adds a second Bonus Action. Open Hand then improves those attacks with Topple/Stagger/Push, Manifestations at Monk 6 and Ki Resonation at Monk 9. Tavern Brawler makes Strength matter twice on unarmed attack rolls and damage, which is why Strength-based versions are so reliable.
College of Swords looks like a martial Bard at level 3, but its endgame ceiling comes from connecting the two halves of the class. Blade Flourish turns Bardic Inspiration into weapon actions. Extra Attack at Bard 6 makes the bow plan real. Helmet of Arcane Acuity lets weapon hits raise spell attack and spell save DC, and Band of the Mystic Scoundrel later turns eligible Illusion/Enchantment spells into Bonus Actions after a weapon hit.
Oath of the Ancients is the Paladin for players who want Divine Smite without turning every spell slot into damage. Healing Radiance gives the subclass a short-rest, bonus-action party heal; Aura of Protection makes Charisma a defensive stat at Paladin 6; and Aura of Warding at Paladin 7 gives the Paladin and nearby allies resistance to damage from spells. That creates a compact frontline formation that can survive enemy spell turns while still carrying Great Weapon Master and burst Smites.
Patch 8 Swashbuckler is the Rogue for players who want to stand in front of one enemy instead of hiding behind a box every round. Rakish Audacity improves initiative and enables Rakish Sneak Attack in close-quarters situations without needing the usual Advantage setup when its conditions are met. Fancy Footwork prevents a creature you attacked in melee from making an Opportunity Attack against you that turn.
