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 in BG3 with ease.
Our core focus for this guide is on 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.
Starting abilities and skills for Wizard School of Abjuration
Like the rest of 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 rest of their peers, School of Abjuration wizards in BG3 have the following starting stats.
Race: Human. For this build, we have decided to go with human race. The reason for selecting human race for Abjuration wizards is to get our hands on some specific passive perks. Civil Militia increases proficiency with shield, armors and some weapons. Human race also benefits from increased movement speed and Human Versality (weight loss reduces by a quarter).
Spells and Cantrips: Like the rest of the wizard builds, School of Abjuration wizards in BG3 get 3 cantrips and 6 spells as a starting bonus. For cantrips go with Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp and Minor Illusion. For the starter magic spells, you must learn Burning Hands, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Longstrider, Disguise Self and Feather Fall.
Ability points distribution: 8 Strength, 14 Dexterity, 14 Constitution with +2 bonus, 15 Intelligence with +1 bonus (primary ability), 10 Wisdom and 10 Charisma.
Skills: Arcana, History, Investigation, Insight and Perception.
Prepared Spells: Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Burning Hands and Longstrider.
Best Background
As School of Abjuration wizard build in BG3mainly 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 speciality, sages get proficient by gaining older knowledge and history of eldritch gods.
Best Feats for Wizard School of Abjuration build
As soon as you hit 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 4: Ability Improvement. You get two more ability points. Invest them both Intelligence skill to make it level 18.
Level 8: Ability Improvement. Use both ability points in Intelligence to max it out (20).
Level 12: Ability Improvement. Both skill points go into Constitution (18) this time around.
Best Spells for Wizard School of Abjuration 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.
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 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 hurt 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 tries 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 next 2 turns and is the best melee weapon for 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 important 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 1: At this level, apart from creating your character, you get 4 slots to ready level one magic spells.
Level 2: As soon as you reach level 2, you will get 1 additional slot for the level one magic spells. You also get to decide the subclass for your Wizard (Abjuration obviously). This unlocks a perk Abjuration Savant which allows you to learn all Abjuration spells for half the cost. The next perk is called Arcane Ward which creates a protective shield around you after using magic spells from Abjuration class.
Level 3: At level 3 of School of Abjuration wizard in BG3, you get 1 slot for level two magic spells.
Level 4: When you reach level 4 with school of abjuration wizard in BG3, you get 1 more level two magic spell slot and the first feat slot unlocks.
Level 5: As you hit level 5, a new tier of magic spells (3) opens with 2 more magic slots.
Level 6: This level introduces a new perk as a subclass feature known as Projected Ward. This allows you to absorb your nearby party members’ damage if you have Arcane Ward enabled. 1 more slot for level three magic spells unlocks.
Level 7: 1 slot for level four magic spells unlock at level 7 of School of Abjuration wizard in BG3.
Level 8: The second feat slot unlocks at level 8 in addition to 1 more level four magic slot.
Level 9: 2 magic slots unlock at level 9. One for level four spells and one for level five spells.
Level 10: At level 10 for the School of Abjuration Wizard in BG3, you get Improved Abjuration perk as a reward. This passive skill increases the intensity of Arcane Ward after each small rest (matches your character level). 1 more slot of level 5 magic unlocks.
Level 11: At the penultimate character level, you get 1 slot for level six magic spells.
Level 12: The final feat slot unlocks at level 12 for your abjuration wizard.
