The subclass you pick during character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3 will drastically impact how your gameplay is affected. While typically, a class might seem focused on melee damage, the subclass system of BG3 completely flips that on its head, and you could end up with a heavy focus on magic spells within that same class.
With 12 main classes and 46 subclasses to choose from, the decision to pick the right subclass for your chosen class in Baldur’s Gate 3 can be quite overwhelming. Not every subclass will be suited to your playstyle or even be good at all (although that is subjective, and any subclass can work). Since you can’t change your subclass after character creation, the initial choice you make is extremely important.
Lucky for you, we have come up with a list of what we consider the best subclass for each class in Baldur’s Gate 3 and what makes that subclass special that it stands out from the rest.
Berserker Barbarian
Starting with the Barbarian Class, it is primarily a striker class that is also durable. The class defining feature for this class is those reckless attacks that allow it to get an advantage on every attack roll in BG3. In short, the Barbarian Class offense and defense are increased by using Rage and Frenzy. So all of these tanking abilities, along with the overwhelmingly high physical strength, allow them to win their battles.
So, the best subclass for the Barbarian in BG3 will be Berserker. The Berserker Barbarian subclass is pretty decent for a Throw build, and Frenzied Throw is a good ability. Moreover, this particular subclass allows you to exert great damage by capitalizing on your Reckless Rage. This way, you can debuff enemies and take them down easily.
Keep in mind that the Barbarian class is quite strong and produces a lot of DPS. So, choosing the Berserker subclass will make your Barbarian more effective in your battles as well.
College of Lore Bard
Moving onto the Bard Class, you will notice that the Bard struggles when they are alone, but they always have a way out of every situation in BG3. This makes this specific class a Jack of all Trades. So, in terms of social influence, the Bard Class is way above the rest in helping their allies.
Moreover, the effects of Bardic Inspiration enabled the Bard to grant allies better roles. This can change the course of battle in your favor. Since the Bard thrives better with allies, they also give your squad an upper hand in both battle situations and interpersonal interactions in Baldur’s Gate 3.
College of Lore is the ideal subclass for the Bard in Baldur’s Gate 3 because it gives more magical secrets earlier, but the main feature is the Cutting Words. This feature allows you to utilize a controlled debuff variant of the Bard’s Inspiration. This way, based on a reaction, you can debuff enemies in multiple ways, impose a 1d6 penalty on the enemy’s attack rolls, and limit their damage as well.
So choosing the Subclass College of Lore from the Bard Class can work out well for you if you use control spells on your enemies in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Light Domain Cleric
When it comes to selecting the best subclass for Cleric, you should go with the Light Domain Cleric. The reason for choosing this subclass apart from the rest is due to the fact that it sacrifices the damage output in exchange for both powerful buffs and extra healing options.
This way, you will end up getting an increase in your heavy armor proficiency, which will ensure that you last longer in those tough fights in Baldur’s Gate 3. Furthermore, you will also have access to certain spells like the Flaming Sphere, Wall of Fire, etc.
Moreover, you will also find that the Cleric Class is adept at dealing with undead enemies. You will be able to use the unique class ability Turn Undead to make those dead enemies flee in fear. At higher levels, these undead enemies will also receive a massive burst of damage when fleeing.
Circle of the Spores Druid
Druids are probably one of the most versatile casters in Baldur’s Gate 3. They offer a large variety of damage support and crowd control spells that can change the tide of battle in your favor. However, the thing that makes the Druid Class unique is their ability to Wild Shape into a variety of creatures. This ability further expands with the more levels you get, so you can cast spells one second and then turn into a bear and charge into your enemies next.
The best part is that the hit points of this beast form are separate from your own, meaning that if you turn into a Bear, you gain a new pool of hit points for your bear form. So once those hit zero, you end up transforming back into your regular form with all the hit points you had before shape-shifting in BG3.
As for choosing the best Subclass for the Druid, you can easily go with the Circle of the Spores in Baldur’s Gate 3. The main perks of this particular subclass allow you to gain Halo of Spore by using your reaction to deal (1d4) Necrotic Damage in BG3.
Similarly, you will also be able to make use of the ability of Symbiotic Entity. It will benefit your Wild Shape and allow you to land more temporary hit points on your enemies and gain more Halo of Spores as well. Lastly, you will be able to use the Fungal Infestation ability to infest nearby dead enemies and animate them in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Champion Fighter
The Champion subclass is the best option for Fighters in Baldur’s Gate 3. Choosing this specific subclass grants you certain abilities like Improved Critical and Remarkable Athlete. This way, you get an increased critical hit chance, which ensures that you deal a nice chunk of damage on your enemies, and it also counts for spells in BG3.
Apart from this, you can also keep yourself up with the self-heal ability of Second Wind. However, the most devastating ability for the Fighter Class is Action Surge, which allows you to use two actions in the same turn to cast a spell and attack as well.
So, after reaching Level 5, you will be able to perform two attacks at the cost of one action, which means you can unleash four attacks in a single turn. This way, you can inflict a major increase in damage on an enemy and win your battles in BG3.
Way of the Open Hand Monk
The Monks are considered the martial arts experts and are also somewhat of an absolute powerhouse in Baldur’s Gate 3. Like the Rogue Class, the Monk Class is more of a dexterous fighter, but they have access to a unique resource known as Ki instead of spell slots. This allows them to fuel various abilities and then release a flurry of punches for high damage.
Way of the Open Hand is my recommended subclass for the Monk, as it adds more damage and a little bit of CC on your Flurry Blows at the cost of a Ki point. This aspect alone is enough to make the Way of the Open Hand the best Subclass, as it grants you 2 Offhand Dexterity or Strength Attacks.
Oath of the Ancients Paladin
In terms of selecting the best subclass for the Paladin in BG3, you can easily go with the option of Oath of the Ancients. This allows you to gain Healing Radiance, which in turn can be used to support all nearby party members by healing them during your battles. In short, you can play the supporting role along with fighting enemies in Baldur’s Gate 3.
If you are interested in spicing up the front line with some magic, then the Paladin class should be your go-to class in Baldur’s Gate 3. Choosing this specific class allows you to access spells and some claw-specific magical abilities. One of these is Lay on Hands, which is an incredibly useful ability that lets you either heal yourself or an ally or cure them of any poison or disease affecting them.
However, the most iconic ability for the Paladin Class is Divine Smite. This ability lets you imbue your weapon strikes with Holy Light while this expands a spell slot and significantly increases the damage of an attack, even more so if your target is an undead in Baldur’s Gate 3.
You can add a little bit of support with Lay on Hands and spells like Bless, which further contribute to increasing those hit chances from multiple allies at a time.
Gloom Stalker Ranger
The Ranger Class allows you to access ranged martial attacks with bows, crossbows, and melee weapons. Most of the Ranger spells are nature-themed, like Ensnaring Strike and Animal Friendship. You also gain some benefits depending on your favorite target.
As for the best Subclass for the Ranger, you can go with Gloom Stalker in BG3. This gives you both martial and support roles and makes your Ranger an expert in hunting creatures as well.
The Gloom Stalker Magic allows you to learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels. Apart from this, you get abilities such as
- Dread Ambusher: allows you quicker walking speed and grants an additional bonus attack with (1d8) damage onto your enemies.
- Umbral Sight: This allows you to gain Darkvision and also enhances it significantly as you level up in BG3.
- Iron Mind: You can gain proficiency in certain stats namely Wisdom, Charisma, and Intelligence.
- Stalkers Flurry: This allows you to attack your enemies if you missed hitting them in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Arcane Trickster Rogue
In terms of the stealth-based class, selecting the Rogue class allows you to gain benefits from having great Mobility. Moreover, they can also cast cunning actions that allow you to dodge, hide, or engage enemies in BG3. The Rogue’s main trick is Sneak Attack, which deals more damage than a regular attack.
The Arcane Trickster is the best subclass for Rogue in Baldur’s Gate 3. By choosing this subclass, you will gain some casting abilities as the spell slots will be unlocked for you to use.
Apart from that, you will also have access to another ability known as Mage Hand Legerdemain. This will allow you to use an invisible Mage Hand to carry out additional tasks and will be very resourceful in dealing with all kinds of enemies.
Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer
Sorcerers are powerful magic users and are also considered the best strikers, supporters, and controllers in Baldur’s Gate 3. So once you choose this particular class, you will be able to gain sorcery points. These can then be used to modify any spell, e.g., Metamagic: Careful, Distant, Extended, Twinned Spell in your arsenal.
Draconic Bloodline will be the best subclass for Sorcerer in Baldur’s Gate 3. Choosing this specific subclass will increase your chances of surviving those tough fights and grant you added benefits in the form of better armor class and health regeneration.
You will also have the option to choose any type of dragon that is more suited to your gameplay as well. The dragon type that you choose will allow you to access that specific Dragon Ancestry. So, the damage from your spells of that element will be increased as well, making you more dangerous for your enemies in BG3.
Fiend Warlock
The Best Subclass for the Warlord will be The Fiend in Baldur’s Gate 3. The best part about this particular subclass is that the Dark One’s blessing grants temporary health to you during your battles.
Warlocks gain their magical power from striking a deal with a powerful being like a demonic fiend in Baldur’s Gate 3. This class allows you to access Eldritch Invocations, which are a set of passive buffs that you can select. These can also be used to modify existing spells or give you access to completely new ones without the need to spend a spell slot on them.
The best part about the Warlock class is that you can use a spell of choice in any battle and regain your resources as well. Being the most versatile of casters, Warlocks have some unique mechanics to them as well. The best abilities for the Warlock include Ritual Caster, War Caster, etc.
Necromancy Wizard
If you really want to go all out on magic, then you can start off as a Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3. This will allow you to unleash some absolute mayhem with tons of damaging spells. Moreover, you can buff yourself, debuff enemies, and change the tide of the battle easily in your favor.
You also get Arcane Recovery, which is beneficial for your spell slot regeneration and lets you utilize the large pool of spells during different situations. Lastly, the best feats of the Wizard Class include Elemental Adept, Spell Sniper, and Ability Improvement in BG3.
Adding to the versatility of the Wizard, this class has the most available subclasses, with each of them being focused on empowering a specific school of magic. So the best Subclass for the Wizard will be the Necromancy School, as it will allow you to raise an army of the Undead in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Moreover, the Grim Harvest ability lets you steal the health from your enemies and allows you to heal yourself, which is an added bonus as well.
