What class should you choose in Baldur’s Gate 3?

What class should you choose in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Time Stamp: August 3, 2023 11:01 AM

Baldurs Gate 3 drops you into the character creator after the opening cinematic where you’ll pick your character’s race, background, and class. Your class mostly determines how your character will fight, but with 12 classes — and 46 subclasses total across them all — it’s not really an easy decision. Here’s what to know about choosing a class in Baldur’s Gate 3.

There’s no wrong choice

The classes in Baldur’s Gate 3 — and in pen-and-paper D&D, for that matter — are all fairly well-balanced. No one class is overall better than the others. Instead, it’s really a question of how you want to play — and, more specifically, how you want to fight.

Pick Fighter if you’re overwhelmed

Nothing against Fighters here, but they’re the easiest class to wrap your head around. You’re not going to need to manage spells or Ki Points. Instead, you’ll see a baddie and then you’ll stab said baddie.

Fighters get more complicated when you get to subclasses at level 3 (one subclass does get spells), but it’s the most straightforward class to play when you’re first starting out.

Think beyond combat

Your character’s class is mostly about combat, but the underlying Ability Score that it relies on effects the other skills you’ll use to interact with the world. Baldur’s Gate 3 assigns your Ability Scores automatically (though you can tweak it in the character creator), so each class’s primary ability will be your highest score.

Bards and Sorcerers are both Charisma-based classes, for example. Their high Charisma will also make them good at skills like Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation. Out of combat, those classes will be better at talking their way out of (and into) trouble and lying. Wisdom-based classes like Clerics or Druids will be more insightful and perceptive of their surroundings.

Which class is right for you?

Distinctions like caster vs. puncher or melee vs. ranged don’t really work for Baldur’s Gate 3 (or D&D). There’s a lot of overlap in the classes — especially as you level up. But it’s also a good place to start. Do you want to focus on your weapons or on magic?

I want to focus on weapons and…

  • …hitting really, really hard. Pick a Barbarian.
  • …controlling the battlefield. Pick a Fighter.
  • …quick, nimble attacks. Pick a Monk.
  • …meting out divine justice. Pick a Paladin.
  • …I also want an animal friend. Pick a Ranger.
  • …being both sneaky and stabby. Pick a Rogue.

I want to focus on magic and…

  • …look good doing it. Pick a Bard.
  • …don’t mind being the healer. Pick a Cleric.
  • …also I want to shapeshift into a wolf. Pick a Druid.
  • …I don’t know where it comes from. Pick a Sorcerer.
  • …I don’t care where it comes from. Pick a Warlock.
  • …my Trapper Keeper had color-coded tabs for each subject. Pick a Wizard.

For more information on the classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, consult our overviews on the Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard classes.

Time Stamp:

More from Polygon