School of Abjuration wizards in BG3 are not only the friendliest and most intelligent ones, but they also know how to keep the party going. Don’t believe us? Just follow this build and see how the magic spells at their disposal can buff their party members against the hordes of enemies. Abjuration wizards don’t stop there. With enough firepower at their disposal, they can also take down some of the toughest enemies with ease.
Our core focus for this guide is on the School of Abjuration wizard subclass in BG3. They are the tankiest wizards in the game, making them suitable for players who want to use magic spells but still want to have a face-to-face fight. We will be covering every single aspect of this build in our guide below.
How good is School of Abjuration Wizard in BG3?
School of Abjuration wizards provide support and buffs to the frontline attackers of their party, unlike the School of Conjuration wizards. They are also well-versed in using ranged offensive spells. With a plethora of defense spells at their disposal, they can take a lot of punishment before going down.
However, unlike School of Evocation wizards, they fail to provide their teammates with any protection against their own spells. They lack bonus actions and have no access to metamagic.
Starting abilities and skills for School of Abjuration Wizard in BG3
As the rest of the wizard subclass builds, you always start the game as a normal wizard. It is on level 2 that you get to decide your subclass. So, like the rest of their peers, School of Abjuration wizards in BG3 have the following starting stats.
| Class | Wizard | – |
| Sub-Class | School of Abjuration | – |
| Race | Human | For this build, we have decided to go with the human race. The reason for selecting the human race for Abjuration wizards is to get our hands on some specific passive perks. Civil Militia increases proficiency with shields, armor, and some weapons. The human race also benefits from increased movement speed and Human Versatility (weight loss reduced by a quarter). |
| Spells | Burning Hands, Mage Armour, Magic Missile, Longstrider, Disguise Self, Feather Fall | The Wizard class gets to choose 6 spells as a gift at the character creation screen. |
| Cantrips | Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp, Minor Illusion | You get 3 cantrips of your choice as a starter gift. |
| Ability Points Distribution | STR 8, DEX 14, CON 14+2, INT 15+1, WIS 10, CHA 10 | Intelligence is our main ability modifier for the wizard class. |
| Skills | Arcana, History, Investigation, Insight, Perception | – |
| Prepared Spells | Magic Missile, Mage Armour, Burning Hands, Longstrider | Start with these spells to gain an upper hand in the early sections of the game. |
Best Background
As School of Abjuration wizard build in BG3 mainly revolves around intelligence and how we can use it to prepare more spells, a background like Sage is the perfect fit. With Arcana and History as their specialty, sages get proficient by gaining older knowledge and history of eldritch gods.
Best Feats for School of Abjuration Wizard build in Baldur’s Gate 3
As soon as you hit the level 4 upgrade screen, you will notice something new called feats. This feature allows you to select one passive perk after every 4-level upgrade (a maximum of three). However, you can skip those perks in favor of ability points. Our favorite feats for the School of Abjuration Wizard in Baldur’s Gate 3 are.
| Level | Feat | Description |
| 4 | Ability improvement | Invest both ability points in Intelligence to make it go up to 18. |
| 8 | Ability Improvement | Crank the Intelligence ability to max by investing both ability points in it. |
| 12 | Ability Improvement | Constitution improves your health and AC, so invest both ability points in it. |
Best Spells for School of Abjuration Wizard build in BG3
Below is a list of Prepared magic spells from each spell tier that you should have at the ready. Don’t mix these with character-level progression. The following spells are our recommendations as they fit this build perfectly.
Spells can only be prepared inside their respective spell slots or the ones above them (upcasting). You can’t put a level 5 spell in level 4 or lower slots (downcasting is prohibited). There are a lot of advantages for upcasting spells in Baldur’s Gate 3, so we recommend that you try a few of your favorite low-level spells with higher-level spell slots.
Level 1: For level 1 spell slots, you should have the following spells
- Shield: This abjuration spell increases your Armor Class by a whooping +5 when you are about to be hit by an enemy.
- Mage Shield: This spell instantly doubles your hit points.
- Magic Missile: This spell creates 3 missiles, each dealing 2-5 force damage on enemies.
- Burning Hands: This evocation spell deals 3d6 fire damage to the enemies.
Level 2: Once you have access to level 2 spell slots, unlock these spells for your School of Abjuration Wizard
- Scorching Ray: This evocation spell hurls three fire rays upon enemies, each dealing 2-12 fire damage.
- Misty Step: This conjuration spell allows players to move into any empty slot within an 18m radius.
Level 3: I would recommend the following level 3 spells to prepare for your build
- Protection from Energy: This abjuration spell grants resistance to you and your party members against all elemental attacks (one person only).
- Fireball: this evocation spell creates a fireball that implodes on impact and hurts surrounding enemies, too. Deals 8d6 fire damage.
- Haste: This transmutation spell increases your or an ally’s speed, making it difficult for enemies to target you.
Level 4: Grab and prepare the following spells to use with your level 4 spell slots
- Stoneskin: This abjuration spell turns the skin of any one person into stone. They take half the damage from all physical attacks.
- Fire Shield: This evocation spell creates a shield around you that protects you from fire and ice damage. It also inflicts 2d8 fire + 2d8 ice damage on enemies who try to attack you with melee weapons.
- Dimension door: This spell conjures a magical door that allows you and one nearby medium ally to transport to any location inside your vision.
Level 5: Your options become limited as you go to tier 5 spells. On top of that, you only have one level 5 spell slot, so best equip this one
- Cone of Cold: This evocation spell fires a cone of ice that deals 8d8 cold damage to enemies.
Level 6: Tier 6 is the highest level of spells you can use in BG3. For School of Abjuration Wizard, I will recommend this spell as a means of last resort as you only get one level 6 spell slot
- Globe of Invulnerability: This abjuration spell creates a barrier that protects you and your allies from all kinds of damage within 3m.
Best armor and weapons
Weapon: Creation’s Echo. This quarterstaff (1d8 bludgeoning) grants protection against the same kind of elemental attacks that you use on your enemies for the next 2 turns and is the best melee weapon for the School of Abjuration wizard in BG3.
Rings: Gold Ring (max constitution) and Emerald Ring (increased speed).
Amulet: Psychic Spark (increase the number of magic missiles to 4).
Armor: Moon Devotion Robe. This robe deals up to 4 damage on enemies trying to use saving throws on you. It grants 1 additional conjuration cantrip (Produce Flame) and 1 abjuration spell (Lunar Bulwark).
Baldur’s Gate 3 Wizard School of Abjuration build level progression
This section is of utmost importance as it covers level-by-level upgrades for the School of Abjuration wizard in BG3. These include special perks, magic slots, cantrips, and health upgrades.
| Level | Unlocks | Description |
| 1 | Race, Background, and Ability Points Distribution. | Choose from the ones mentioned above. |
| 2 | Abjuration Savant sub-class perk, Arcane Ward sub-class perk. | The former allows you to learn abjuration spells from scrolls for half the gold, and the latter creates a protective shield around you after using Abjuration spells. |
| 3 | Level 2 spell slot unlocks. | Choose from Scorching Ray and Misty Step spells. |
| 4 | The first Feat unlocks. | Ability Improvement to increase your Intelligence to 18. |
| 5 | Level 3 spell slot unlocks. | Choose from Protection from Energy, Fireball, and Haste spells. |
| 6 | Projected Ward sub-class feature, Additional Level 3 spell slot. | This allows you to absorb nearby party members’ damage if you have Arcane ward active. |
| 7 | Level 4 spell slot unlocks. | Choose from Stoneskin, Fire Shield, and Dimension Door spells. |
| 8 | The second Feat unlocks, Additional Level 4 spell slot. | Ability Improvement to max Intelligence skill to 20. |
| 9 | Level 5 spell slot unlocks. | Choose and prepare the Cone of Cold evocation spell. |
| 10 | Improved Abjuration sub-class feature, Additional level 5 spell slot. | This passive ability increases the intensity of your Arcane Ward after each short rest to make it match your character level. |
| 11 | Level 6 spell slot unlocks. | Prepare Globe of Invulnerability spell. |
| 12 | The final Feat unlocks. | Ability Improvement to increase your Constitution ability to 18. |
