Do you want to destroy your foes while you are completely invisible? School of Illusion Wizard, build in BG3, not only achieves this feat easily but also instills fear into your enemy’s minds. This is hands down the best Wizard build when it comes to agility, attack power, and defense.
In this guide, our focus is the Baldur’s Gate 3 School of Illusion subclass or specialization for the Wizard class. We will be selecting magic spells that belong to the Illusion scrolls category and pair them with other offensive scrolls. To get the best results possible, we recommend that you follow our guide step by step.
Starting abilities and skills for School of Illusion Wizard
This section only deals with attributes and class selection after the character creation screen. Everything in this section can be changed later in the game.
| Class | Wizard | – |
| Sub-Class | School of Illusion | – |
| Race | Drow | The best race selection for the School of Illusion wizard build is Drow. You get additional movement speed for 9m, gain proficiency with Shortswords and Crossbows, can’t be charmed with saving throws, and can see up to 24m in the dark. |
| Subrace | Lolth-Sworn Drow | The best race selection for the School of Illusion wizard build is Drow. You get additional movement speed for 9m, gain proficiency with Shortswords and Crossbows, can’t be charmed with saving throws, and can see up to 24m in the dark. |
| Spells | Longstrider, Mage Armour, Fog Cloud, Chromatic Orb, Sleep, and Magic Missile. | Wizards get 6 free spells as a starter bonus. |
| Cantrips | Fire Bolt, Shocking Grasp, and Mage Hand. | You also get 3 free cantrips as a starter bonus. |
| Ability Points Distribution | STR 10, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 16, WIS 12, CHA 10 | Intelligence is the main ability modifier for the Wizard class. |
| Skills | Deception, Stealth, Arcana, History, and Perception. | – |
| Prepared Spells | Longstrider, Mage Armour, Fog Cloud, and Chromatic Orb. | You can prepare four spells at the start of the game. |
Best background
The best background for our School of Illusion wizard build is Criminal. This background allows our character to hide the truth (deception) just like hiding itself from plain sight. You gain inspiration from all the illegal acts and gain proficiency in stealth.
Best Feats for School of Illusion Wizard build in BG3
Baldur’s Gate 3 allows players’ every 4th character level upgrade to access unique passive skills called Feats. However, you can exchange a feat in favor of gaining two skill points.
| Level | Feat | Description |
| 4 | Ability Improvement | Invest both ability points in Intelligence to increase it to 18. |
| 8 | War Caster | This feat allows you to maintain concentration during spell casting. |
| 12 | Ability Improvement | Increase your Intelligence ability all the way up to 20. |
Best Spells for School of Illusion Wizard build
In this section, we will explain all the magic spells that you will be using with your School of Illusion wizard build in BG3. This section deals with magic spells regarding their levels. Remember, the levels mentioned below are NOT character levels.
Level 1: Our recommended level 1 spells for Illusion wizards are
- Chromatic Orb: This magic spell deals 3d8 thunder damage to enemies.
- Magic Missile: Deals 3d4+3 force damage to enemies in front.
- Feather Fall: This spell grants Immunity against fall damage.
- Tasha’s Hideous Laughter: This spell makes any creature prone, and they can’t get up.
- Fog Cloud: This spell creates a cloud of fog around enemies, making them temporarily blind.
Level 2: For the next level of wizard spells, we will be going with the following ones.
- Blur: This spell puts a disadvantage on enemies’ attack rolls.
- Invisibility: This spell can turn any creature invisible. It gains an advantage in attacks over the enemies.
Level 3: Our recommended magic spells for level 3 illusion wizard build in BG3 are
- Fear: This spell instills so much fear in enemies that they drop their weapons.
- Hypnotic pattern: This spell creates patterns that mesmerize enemies, and they forget to move or attack you.
Level 4: Our favorite level 4 magic spells for illusion wizards are.
- Greater Invisibility: You can turn any creature, including yourself, invisible. Enemies have a disadvantage against you, while you have the advantage.
- Phantasmal Killer: Deals 4d10 psychic damage upon enemies and makes them immobile.
Level 5: The following level 5 spells are our go-to for our School of Illusion wizard build in BG3.
- Seeming: This illusion spell changes the appearance of up to 4 party members.
Level 6: You can’t go wrong with the following spell for level 6 spells.
- Disintegrate: This transmutation spell deals 10d6+40 force damage to surrounding enemies.
Best armor and weapons
Weapon: Staff of Arcane Blessing. This rare bludgeoning weapon (1d8) grants an additional 1d4 roll to all saving throws and attack rolls. Magic attack rolls get a bonus 2d4.
Rings: Ring of Protection and Ring of Combat Regeneration.
Amulet: Amulet of the Unworthy (gives additional protection against slashing damage) and Spell Savant amulet (gains an additional level 2 spell slot).
Armor: Potent Robe increases your Armor class by +1 and grants you as much more HP as your charisma. It allows Cantrips to deal more damage based on your charisma level.
Baldur’s Gate 3 School of Illusion Wizard build level progression
Character level progression in Baldur’s Gate 3 plays an important role as it decides the feats, skills, subclass features, magic slots, or any other you will unlock. We will tackle this section step by step, so you won’t have to worry about anything.
| Level | Unlocks | Description |
| 1 | Race, Background, Spell Selection, and Ability Points Distribution. | Choose from the ones we mentioned above. |
| 2 | Sub-Class selection, Illusion Savant, Minor Illusion cantrip. | Illusion Savant allows you to learn illusion spells from scrolls for half the gold. Minor Illusion creates an illusion that forces nearby enemies to investigate. |
| 3 | The Level 2 spell slot unlocks. | Choose from Blur and Invisibility spells. |
| 4 | Additional level 2 spell slot, the first Feat unlocks, new cantrip Poison spray. | Ability Improvement to increase your Intelligence ability. Poison Spray deals 1-12 poison damage to enemies. |
| 5 | Level 3 spell slot unlocks. | Choose from Feat and Hypnotic Pattern spells. |
| 6 | Additional level 3 spell slot, See Invisibility special feature. | See Invisibility allows you to see Invisible Creature up to 18m. |
| 7 | Level 4 spell slot unlocks. | Choose from Greater Invisibility and Phantasmal Killer spells. |
| 8 | Additional level 4 spell slot, the second Feat unlocks. | War Caster to improve concentration while casting spells. |
| 9 | Level 5 spell slot unlocks. | Choose and prepare the Seeming spell. |
| 10 | Additional Level 5 spell slot, Illusory Self sub-class feature, Dancing Lights bonus cantrip. | Illusory self creates your clone when you are attacked, thus preventing you from taking any damage. |
| 11 | Level 6 spell slot unlocks. | Choose and prepare the Disintegrate spell. |
| 12 | The final Feat unlocks. | Ability Improvement to max your Intelligence ability. |
Is School of Illusion Wizard any good in BG3?
School of Illusion Wizards can create fake images and illusions to distract enemies and sometimes even control them. This sub-class masters creating imaginary scenarios that trick the enemies into hurting themselves. They play an essential role as a support for the whole party.
However, the School of Illusion wizards lack the firepower and hurt their allies with friendly fire. This sub-class has slow mobility and needs a dedicated healer to carry them through the battles.
