Sorcerers in Baldur’s Gate III are spontaneous spellcasters, which means they get only a couple of options of spells to choose from at each level-up screen and are stuck with their selections until the next level-up. This makes choosing the best spells for your sorcerer build in BG3 an important task.
In this guide, we will help you guide through all the spells that you must choose at every level for your Sorcerer build. If a spell needs replacement later on, we will also mention it with its proper replacement.
We also have a detailed summary section at the end that highlights all the spells according to their levels.
Difference Between Spells and Cantrips
Sorcerer class can access both cantrips and spells. Cantrips are low-level spells that don’t require a spell slot to cast. They can be used any time, and you don’t need to prepare them at a long rest or character level-up screen.
On the other hand, spells are extremely powerful and have levels. To cast a spell, you must first prepare it and then cast it by using a spell slot. A spell can only be cast if you use a spell slot of the same level or above (upcast). You can’t use a high-level spell with a low-level spell slot.
Best Spells for Level 1 Sorcerer
If you select the High Elf subrace for the Elf race of your Sorcerer, you will get the following cantrip as a bonus.
Fire Bolt: Deals 1d10 Fire damage to the enemies.
As a sorcerer, you can select 4 cantrips from a selection of 13 cantrips. Our recommendations are.
Bone Chill: Deals 1d8 Necrotic damage and prevents the enemies from healing. The undead enemies have a disadvantage on their attack rolls.
Ray of Frost: Deals 1d8 cold damage to enemies and reduces their movement speed by 3m.
Shocking Grasp: Deals 1d8 Lightning damage to the enemies, and they can’t use reactions.
Friends: Grants you advantage on Charisma checks against non-hostile creatures.
At level 1, you can only pick two spells from a collection of 18. Our recommendations are.
Magic Missile: Deals 3d4 force damage to the enemies.
Sleep: Puts an enemy into slumber. You can pick up multiple targets with a combined HP of 24 or less.
Best Spells for Level 2 Sorcerer
At level 2 with the sorcerer class, you can only select one spell. Our recommendation is.
Shield: Increases your Armor Class by 5 when an attack is about to hit you. You will also become immune to Magic Missile.
Best Spells for Level 3 Sorcerer
Upon reaching level 3, the sorcerer class can access level 2 spells. At this point, you can select one level 2 spell. Our recommendation is.
Cloud of Daggers: Deals 4d6 slashing damage to the enemies standing inside a cloud of daggers.
Best Spells for Level 4 Sorcerer
At level 4, you can choose one more cantrip.
Minor Illusion: Creates an illusion that forces the enemies to investigate.
You can also select one more level 2 spell at this point. Our recommendation is.
Misty Step: Teleport to a location you can see.
Best Spells for Level 5 Sorcerer
At level 5 for Sorcerer class, 14 new level 3 spells are unlocked. However, you can only choose one at this point. Our recommendation is.
Haste: Target yourself or an ally to become hastened. You become faster, difficult to hit, and gain an extra action. However, at the end of 10 turns, you become lethargic.
Also, replace Sleep spell at this point and replace it with Fireball.
Fireball: Deals 8d6 fire damage to all the enemies in the area of its explosion.
Best Spells for Level 6 Sorcerer
At level 6, you can get another Level 3 spell for the sorcerer. Our recommendation is.
Counterspell: Stops a spell from being cast.
Best Spells for Level 7 Sorcerer
Upon reaching level 7 with the Sorcerer class, you can now access level 4 spells. These are some of the most powerful and useful spells that you will come across. You can take only one level 4 spell at this point. Our recommendation is.
Wall of Fire: Summons a wall of fire that deals 5d8 fire damage to any enemy in the vicinity.
Best Spells for Level 8 Sorcerer
At level 8, you can select one more level 4 spell for the sorcerer. Our recommendation is.
Banishment: Banish your enemy to another plane of existence for the next 2 turns. This spell is extremely useful when used with Metamagic Twinned Spells. This way, you can banish two enemies simultaneously instead of one by using sorcery points.
Best Spells for Level 9 Sorcerer
Upon reaching level 9, you can now access the ultra-powerful level 5 spells. At this point, you can only select one Level 5 spell. Our recommendation is.
Hold Monster: Paralyzes a creature that can’t act, react, or move. Any attack on the creature within 3m is always a critical strike.
Best Spells for Level 10 Sorcerer
At level 10, we can select one more level 5 spell. However, we will be going down one level to select another level 4 spell. Our recommendation is.
Greater Invisibility: Turns a creature invisible for the next 10 turns. Any attack against the creature has a disadvantage, and the creature always attacks with an advantage.
Best Spells for Level 11 Sorcerer
Upon reaching level 11, the final and most powerful tier of spells unlocks for the sorcerer class. We can now select one spell from the level 6 spells. Our recommendation is.
Chain of Lightning: Deals 10d8 Lightning damage to an enemy. Three more bolts erupt from the target and hit three more enemies to deal the same amount of damage. Upon a save, enemies still take half the damage.
Best Spells for Level 12 Sorcerer
At the final level of sorcerer, you can now select one more level 6 spell. Our recommendation is.
Eyebite: Inflicts dread, sickness, or sleep upon enemies for the next 100 turns.
All Best Spells and Cantrips for Sorcerer Class
To summarize the selections mentioned above, we have decided to rearrange them with spell levels and cantrips.
Best Cantrips for Sorcerer: The best cantrips for the sorcerer class that we have selected above are.
- Fire Bolt
- Bone Chill
- Ray of Frost
- Shocking Grasp
- Friends
- Minor Illusion
Level 1 Spells: For your sorcerer class, the best Level 1 spells are.
- Magic Missile
- Sleep
- Shield
Level 2 Spells: Best level 2 spells for your Sorcerer in BG3 are.
- Cloud of Daggers
- Misty Step
Level 3 Spells: The Best level 3 spells for the sorcerer class in BG3 are.
- Haste
- Fireball
- Counterspell
Level 4 Spells: The Best level 4 spells for the sorcerer class are.
- Wall of Fire
- Banishment
- Greater Invisibility
Level 5 Spells: The Best level 5 spells for the sorcerer in BG3 are.
- Hold Monster
Level 6 Spells: The Best level 6 Spells for the sorcerer are.
- Chain Lightning
- Eyebite
