Charisma can be somewhat of a confusing ability in Baldur’s Gate 3. Charisma seems to only affect your conversational skills. Infront of the bigger, easier to understand abilities like Strength and Dexterity. Other than allowing your player to become a good conversationalist, Charisma ability dictates your spell effectiveness. No matter what spell you have, Charisma will make it stronger. This guide will suggest a powerful and versatile build based on Charisma Ability in BG3.
Starting abilities and skills for Charisma build
Race: Wood Half-Elf
Class: Sorcerer
Background: Charlatan
Subclass: Draconic Bloodline. Draconic Bloodline comes with Draconic Resilience, providing you 13 free armour when you have none equipped. Using this subclass also allows players to specialize in a certain elemental type.
Ability Point Distribution: 8 Strength, 16 Dexterity, 16 Constitution, 8 Intelligence, 10 Wisdom, 17 Charisma
Skills: Stealth, Insight, Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion
The best spells players can pick are the Burning Hands or the Armor of Agathys spells. These both offer high proficiency in either Fire damage, or in Cold damage. It might seem a bit limiting, but being specialized in a certain spell type makes you overpowered as an attacker.
Best Feats
Here are the best feats that we recommend that will best suit out Charisma Build in BG3
Level 4: Ability Improvement – Ability Improvement allows players to allocate 2 extra Ability Points. We recommend that players upgrade their Charisma as much as they can up to 20.
Level 8: Elemental Adept – Choosing this feat allows players to pick one element, such as Acid, Fire or Cold. The feat increases your effectiveness with the chosen element. As we suggested picking rom wither Burning Hands or Armor of Agathys, select the element that you regularly use to increase your damage output.
Level 12: Performer – Performer feat allows players to use Bard abilities without having to multiclass. Using Musical instruments provides extra temporary Charisma to your character, a much-needed buff for our Charisma build.
If you want, players can swap Performer with Spell Sniper. This feat allows players to deal critical attacks easier. Both the feats are used to deal higher damage in the later stages of the game, so pick what you are comfortable with.
Best spells for Charisma build in BG3
The best spells for our Charisma Sorcerer build are as follows:
- Chromatic Orb – Chromatic Orb allows players to use an energy sphere to deal either 3d8 Thunder damage, or 2d8 Fire, Cold, Acid, Poison or Lightning damage.
- Magic Missile – Shoot three magic darts that home in on their target and deal 2-5 force damage.
- Misty Step – Allows your character to teleport to any unoccupied space.
- Hold Person – Paralyze any humanoid enemy. Any attack from a 3m radius is a critical attack.
- Mirror Image – Allows players to create three duplicates of themselves which helps distract enemies. Every duplicate also increases your armor class by 3 points.
Best armor and weapons
Helm: Circlet of Mental Anguish – Regen 1-4 HP when your enemy fails a saving throw against Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom.
Back: Braindrain Cape – If you succeed in a saving throw against any foe’s spell, the enemy gets Mental Fatigue.
Armor: Sorcerer Robe – Provides 10+ Dexterity Modifier
Hands: Cindersnap Gloves – Allows players to use level 2 Abjuration spell.
Amulet: Absolute’s Talisman – This talisman gives players advantage on every lifesaving throw.
Ring: Ring of Color Spray – Allow players to cast an additional level 1 Illusion spell.
Melee weapon: Staff of Crones Quarterstaff – Allows your character to use Ray of Sickness.
BG3 Charisma build leveling progression in BG3
As evident by our feat section, for the first 8 levels you are going to focus on the Sorcerer class and level that up in BG3.
Level 1: Choose Draconic Bloodline – Bronze Dragon. You will gain 4 Cantrips and 2 level one spell slots.
Level 2: You unlock the Sorcery Points feature. These Sorcery Points can be converted to and from Spell Slots to use different types of spells. Also, unlock the Twinned Spell Metamagic feature.
Level 3: Choose between Distant Spells or Subtle Spell metamagic.
Level 4: Unlock the first feat point to gain access to Eldritch Blast through Spell Sniper.
Level 8: Unlock the next feat, Ability Improvement, to increase your Charisma.
Level 9: Multiclass into Fighter. Gain two levels of Fighter class for Action Surge.
