While the Cleric class in BG3 generally won’t be pushing for high damage numbers compared to the dedicated DPS classes, Baldur’s Gate 3 Light Domain Clerics bridge the gap better than the other subclasses by providing a decent mix of radiant damage and supporting capabilities from the backline.
If you are opting to go for a tanky while decent damaging class, the Light Domain subclass for Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a great pick, especially after the build we have made for you.
Starting Abilities and Skills for Cleric Light Domain
Race: Human. You primarily want to pick this for the racial benefit i.e. pick an additional skill proficiency. You can also go for Wood Elf, primarily because their Longbow proficiency supports your goal of keeping your distance from enemy attacks due to its spectacular range.
Ability Point Distribution: CON 13(+1), WIS 14 (+2). Rest are default.
Wisdom and dexterity are your main stats. Even though you’ll be hanging in the back primarily, a bit of constitution is recommended not only to give yourself a bit of a safety margin with hit points but also because it contributes to your concentration, reducing interruption when taking a stray hit while casting a spell.
Skills: Medicine, Persuasion, Insight, Religion, Perception (via ‘Human Versatility’ race skill)
Best Background
For the Cleric Light Domain subclass in BG3, your priority ought to be given to Wisdom-enhancing backgrounds. As such, Folk Hero is the best background for our build. The background gets you Survival and Animal Handling skills, both of which benefit from Wisdom. Through these skills, you can interact with various animals and beasts in the world like the Owlbeast.
Best Feats for Cleric Light Domain build
Since we are going with a single class build, the Light Domain Cleric build in BG3 will get the full advantage of 3 feat points. Below are our recommendations for the best feats to pick for Light Domain subclass
Level 4: Ability Improvement (WIS). The goal is to hit the level 20 WIS cap by endgame as it truly benefits a majority of your spells.
Level 8: War Caster or Spell Sniper. Concentration is an important stat and even as a cleric primarily in the backline, some of your supporting abilities in particular are susceptible to interrupts from stray hits. The War Caster skill allows you to mitigate these interruption risks for maximum DPS or Support uptime.
Alternatively, while ‘Spell Sniper’ has a bug prevalent as of now, assuming it will be patched later, you can consider this as an alternative if interruptions are not a big deal in your experience. We purposefully ignored the level 3 domain spell ‘Scorching Ray’ because the cantrip Eldritch blast fulfills a similar role but with more benefits, especially as you level the skill up, without taking up any spell slots. Spell Sniper would help to improve spell damage in this case.
Level 12: Ability Improvement. Invest another feat point to reach 20 Wisdom.
Best Spells for BG3 Cleric Light Domain build
The spells we will be using for Light Domain Cleric in BG3 can be divided into two sections. We will be covering both of them separately. At each level, you have the option of unlocking general spells as well as those that are exclusively available to the Light Domain subclass.
Domain-specific spells
Level 1: Pick Faerie Fire to prevent invisibility and make a foe more susceptible to damage.
Level 3: Pick Flaming Sphere. Summons are nice and the flaming sphere comes with illumination benefits, acts as a shield to soak up hits as well, potentially wasting enemy turns.
Level 5: Pick Fireball as a staple damage dealer.
Level 7: Pick Guardian of Faith. Much like Flaming Sphere, the guardian can also soak up damage for you but can also punish enemies for every attack made against party members provided both are in a circle it created.
Level 9: Pick Flamestrike. The mix of radiant on top of fire damage helps keep it relevant for AoE damage, especially for fire-resistant foes, while also being less risky in nature compared to the alternative, ‘Destructive Wave.’
General Spells
You can start picking these from level 1, the idea is to strike the balance in your offensive and supportive spell repertoire. Cantrips you’ll want to include are primarily offensive ones such as Sacred Flame.
Level 1: Guiding Bolt for main damage, Cure wounds for healing
Level 2: Command for crowd control.
Level 3: You could consider ‘Blindness as it can reduce enemy accuracy, making them susceptible to miss attacks.
Level 4: Prayer of Healing. Good utility out of combat.
Level 5: Mass Healing Word. AoE healing and takes a bonus action instead of action.
Level 6: Protection from Energy. A nice spell to increase a resistance of your choice.
Level 7: Banishment for temporary crowd control.
Level 9: Contagion is a solid debuff spell to turn the tide of battle.
Level 10: Create Undead is a solid choice for an additional meat shield.
Level 11: Planar Ally. You have a choice between 3 summons i.e. cambion, deva, djinn. Whichever you choose, they act as crucial allies for dangerous encounters.
Best armor and weapons
Helm: Wapira’s Crown – Restore health for yourself after healing an ally.
Back: Cloak of the Weave – +1 point to spell save DC and Spell attack rolls while also stacking damage on your next cast after absorbing a weakened enemy spell per short rest.
Armor: Slippery Chain Shirt – Automatic disengagement when you heal a creature.
Hands: Hellrider’s Pride – Healing an ally will grant them improved resistance to various types of weapon damage.
Amulet: Amulet of Restoration – Gain access to Healing Word and Mass Healing Word, very useful spells.
Melee weapon: The Blood of Lathander – A great mace with the sunbeam spell tacked on, dealing damage and blinding foes. Lathander’s Light is a nice benefit too, acting as a light source to overcome impaired vision during darkness.
Offhand: Shield of Devotion – The extra spell slot can come in handy.
Rings: The Whispering Promise and Ring of Salving
Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric Light Domain build level progression
Level 1: Choice of 2 Domain Spells. I recommended Faerie Fire in the previous section. Besides that, you will also unlock the ‘Warding Flare’ Subclass feature and the ‘Light’ Cantrip. Beyond that, you’re given 3 cantrips and two level 1 spell slots.
Level 2: Unlock the ‘Radiance of the Dawn’ action. It Consumes a channeled Divinity Charge and 1 action to deal Radiant Damage. You also get one more level 1 spell slot.
Level 3: Choice between 2 Domain spells again. I recommended Flaming Sphere here previously. You also unlock two level 2 spell slots and one more level 1 spell slot.
Level 4: You unlock one more cantrip and one more level 2 spell slot. You also unlock 1 ‘Feat’, mentioned prior.
Level 5: You unlock two level 3 spell slots. You also get a choice between 2 Domain spells again. I recommended Fireball as a reliable addition to your DPS arsenal.
Level 6: Unlock the Improved Warding Flare subclass feature. When an ally is attacked, this allows you to use your reaction to impose a disadvantage on an enemy’s attack roll, potentially causing them to miss. Also, one additional level 3 spell slot.
Level 7: Choice between 2 Domain spells again. Guardian of Faith was recommended previously to act as a damage sponge and to potentially damage opponents who take turns attacking allies. You also unlock one level 4 spell slot.
Level 8: Unlock the ‘Potent Spellcasting’ Subclass feature which adds your WIS modifier to damage you deal from any Cleric Cantrips. You also unlock one additional level 4 spell slot and one ‘Feat’, as explained before.
Level 9: Choice between 2 Domain spells again. Recommended Flamestrike for the mixed radiant and fire damage in the best spells section. You also unlock one additional level 4 spell slot and one level 5 spell slot.
Level 10: You unlock 1 more cantrip and one more level 5 spell slot.
Level 11: You unlock one level 6 spell slot.
Level 12: You unlock 1 ‘Feat’, explained earlier.
