Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Classes for Beginners 

Not all classes in Baldur's Gate 3 are created equal. Let us help you settle on the best one.

Baldur’s Gate 3 offers a whopping 12 classes to choose from at the character creation screen, and it is not easy to choose the best one for beginners. While each class has unique strengths and weaknesses, not all classes are beginner-friendly, which can confuse many newbies, especially those new to the genre.

While we recommend going with your gut, some classes are easy to handle in Baldur’s Gate 3. These classes will allow you to survive challenging fighting situations and overcome tricky dialogue choices. With Withers’ help, you can always change your class later.

Below is a list of the best classes for beginners in Baldur’s Gate 3. We will discuss their strengths and what you need to do to maximize your build’s potential.

5. Bard

Exploring the game’s early sections will let you recruit companions with a unique class. The one class that is sadly missing from the companions is Bard. This class is a mix of support and offense. The Bards have access to healing magic that can come in handy to save your party.

Bards can also perform melee attacks, which increase their efficiency during combat scenarios. Bard class has three sub-classes to choose from once you level up.

For beginners, we recommend the College of Lore, as it grants access to more spell slots. You can customize your gameplay to add more offensive or defensive spells, depending on your preference.

4. Barbarian

The mighty Barbarian has the highest HP in the game and is a complete master of melee attacks. This class is the right choice for those who want to jump right into the fight without worrying about their health. Barbarians greatly damage opponents and gain extra attacks as they level up.

FYI

You can find and recruit a barbarian, Karlach, early in the game. Baldur’s Gate 3 allows you to progress your companions and change their attributes according to your needs.

The first two levels of barbarians offer Rage, which increases damage, and Reckless Attack, which deals 5-16 slashing damage during your attack roll. At level 3, you can choose between three subclasses.

While the Wildheart allows you to transform into multiple animals using its abilities and Wild Magic allows you to cast spells as a barbarian, we recommend the Berserker subclass. The Berserker Barbian has multiple abilities, such as increased damage and multiple turns during an attack, making it one of the best classes for beginners in Baldur’s Gate 3.

3. Fighter

Fighters are the most versatile class in handling weapons and armor. Their builds are best for offense and enduring damage. With the second-highest HP in the game, Fighters can withstand an onslaught and still destroy enemy lines with their Extra attack ability.

FYI

You can recruit Lae’zel early, and she is a fighter by class.

The fighter class also gets Rally and Second Wind class features with upgrades. Rally forces a party member to focus and grant them temporary hit points. Second Wind allows you to heal yourself as an action during combat. The fighter class has three subclasses to choose from.

While the Champion subclass allows you to deal with precise critical attacks and Eldritch Knight allows you to cast spells as a Fighter, our recommendation is Battlemaster. The BattleMaster subclass is one of the best classes for beginners in the Fighter category because of its Superiority Die mechanic and the ability to choose different maneuvers during a fight in BG3. 

2. Cleric

Clerics give support to their companions and deal radiant damage to enemies. As amazing spellcasters, they have access to many healing spells and radiant attacks. They can also buff their allies with magic armor and debuff enemies to take more damage.

FYI

Shadowheart, a cleric by class, can be recruited as soon as you wake up on the Ravaged Beach.

Each cleric can select a deity at the character creation screen, which heavily influences their gameplay. They learn their spells automatically as you level up and can select from the following sub-classes.

While each subclass offers unique spells, healing for life, animal handling for nature, and controlling enemies for knowledge, our pick for the best cleric subclass for beginners is War in Baldur’s Gate 3. The War Subclass is famous for its high damage output and increased armor, enabling newcomers to stay in the fight longer and kill opponents more easily.

1. Wizard

The Wizard class is our favorite pick for beginners in Baldur’s Gate 3. While you can recruit the party’s resident wizard, Gale, from the ravaged beach, there is no such thing as enough wizards on your team.

The most efficient spellcasters who can learn the spells from scrolls and prepare spells on the go, the wizard class gives you infinite freedom. While some class features can get a bit tricky, once you gain enough knowledge, there is no stopping you.

From supporting their party members with healing and buffing to solving environmental puzzles, there is nothing a wizard can’t do. Want to decimate the enemies? Here is a fireball spell. Want to pass through crevices and holes? Why not turn into gaseous form? The Wizard class is so complete that we don’t recommend multiclassing it.

Wizard class has a whooping eight sub-classes to choose from. They are.

While each subclass has unique spells, you can easily learn these spells with another subclass. All you need to do is find a scroll and pay the cash. Our favorite pick for beginners is Scholl of the Evocation Wizard class, which focuses on high damage output and amazing survival skills.

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Usman is an Associate Editor at Segmentnext who is obsessed with retro gaming. His love for video games begins all the way back in 91 with Final Fight on arcades and is still going strong ...