Classes

Baldur’s Gate 3 offers twelve classes and 46 subclasses, and the character creation screen makes it look like one decision. It is two, and the game does not tell you when the second one lands. A Cleric, Paladin, Sorcerer or Warlock picks a subclass before the first fight. A Druid or Wizard picks at level 2. The other six let you play three levels, roughly the whole road to the Emerald Grove, before asking. That timing is the spine of this guide, because it decides how much of the game you see before you are locked in.

Locked in is relative. Withers can respec any character from scratch once you find him, and multiclassing lets a level 5 character be one class at 5 or two classes split 2 and 3. But the subclass itself cannot be swapped without a full reset, and the four companions you meet before the Grove are all classes from the level 3 group or a Cleric, which is why so many first parties never learn what a Sorcerer’s points do.

The subclass column adds up to 46 with the Fighter counted at three, which is the total our classes explainer and the best subclass roundup both quote; the Arcane Archer arrived with Patch 8 and sits outside that count. The Hit Die tells you what a level costs in survivability: a Barbarian gains 7 hit points a level plus Constitution, a Cleric or Druid 5, a Sorcerer 4.

Level 1: the four that ask everything at the door

These classes tie the subclass to something the character believes in, a god, an oath, a bloodline or a patron, so the game asks for it before the Nautiloid. If you are unsure, the level 1 choice matters more than the class.

Cleric

The Cleric has seven domains, more than any class but the Wizard, and the deity and domain are picked at creation. Life, Light, Trickery, War, Nature, Knowledge and Tempest each bring their own spells and their own Channel Divinity on top of Turn Undead: Trickery’s Invoke Duplicity creates a controllable illusion you can cast from, Tempest’s Destructive Wrath lets you roll maximum damage on thunder and lightning, War hands out spiritual weapons and Spirit Guardians. Hit points start at 8 plus Constitution and grow by 5 a level. The best races for Cleric pair Gold Dwarf with Tempest for the extra hit point every level and Half-Orc with War for Relentless Endurance. Our best subclass pick is Light, for the heavy armour and Flaming Sphere; our beginner ranking prefers War.

Paladin

The Paladin sits halfway between Cleric and Fighter, with a d10 Hit Die, Lay on Hands, Divine Sense and oath charges from level 1 and a fighting style at level 2. The three oaths are available right off the bat: Vengeance brings Inquisitor’s Might, Ancients brings Healing Radiance, Devotion brings Holy Rebuke, and a hidden fourth, the Oathbreaker, is earned by breaking whichever one you swore. The best races for Paladin are Zariel Tiefling for Searing Smite, Wood Elf, Dragonborn for the breath weapon and Half-Orc for Savage Attacks. Ancients is our best subclass pick for the party healing.

Sorcerer

The Sorcerer is the squishiest class in the table, a d6 that starts at 6 hit points plus Constitution and adds 4 a level, and it is one of the few whose page says outright that the subclass comes at level 1. Wild Magic, Draconic Bloodline and Storm Sorcery share the class feature that matters, Sorcery Points, which recover spell slots up to level 5 without a rest at two points per level 1 slot and pay for Metamagic. There is no fighting style; the feat at level 4 is the trade. The best races for Sorcerer are Human, Asmodeus Tiefling for a Storm build, Dragonborn for Draconic and High Elf. Draconic Bloodline is our best subclass pick for the armour class and health it adds.

Warlock

The Warlock is the Paladin’s opposite: power from a pact rather than an oath, and the pact is the subclass. Wyll’s build picks it on his level 1 screen. The Fiend grants Dark One’s Blessing, temporary hit points on a kill; The Great Old One and The Archfey are the other two. The class has a d8, light armour and simple weapons only, and gets its reach from Eldritch Invocations, passive buffs that change spells without spending a slot. The best races for Warlock are chosen to fix the armour gap: Githyanki, Drow, Half-Elf and Tiefling, with Asmodeus and Mephistopheles Tieflings adding three spells each. The Fiend is our best subclass pick.

Level 2: Druid and Wizard

Two classes ask one level in, which in practice means after the first rest on the beach.

Druid

The Druid chooses its circle at level 2, and its page calls that out as unlike most other classes. All three circles get Wild Shape. Circle of the Land adds Land’s Stride at level 6 for immunity to difficult terrain. Circle of the Moon upgrades the forms and adds Polar Bear, Deep Rothe at level 4 and Owlbear at level 6, with the bear form’s hit points a separate pool from your own. Circle of the Spores trades forms for Halo of Spores, 1d4 necrotic as a reaction, Symbiotic Entity and Fungal Infestation to animate the dead. The best races for Druid assign one per circle: Wood Elf for Land, Gold Dwarf for Moon, Drow for Spores. Spores is our best subclass pick, and Halsin and Jaheira both run Moon.

Wizard

The Wizard has eight schools, chosen at level 2: Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Necromancy, Illusion and Transmutation. It is a d6 with 6 hit points plus Constitution, and its class action is Arcane Recovery, which restores spell slots out of combat up to level 5 and recharges on a long rest. What sets it apart is that it learns from scrolls for gold, so the school mostly decides what is cheap rather than what is possible. Our beginner ranking makes it the number one class for that reason and recommends Evocation; our best subclass pick is Necromancy for Grim Harvest and the undead army. The best races for Wizard are Githyanki, High Elf, Human and Forest Gnome, all chosen to cover the class’s thin health.

Level 3: the six that let you play first

Half the roster waits until level 3, which is why four of the five companions on the road to the Grove, Lae’zel, Astarion, Karlach and Wyll, can be respecced into any of their subclasses without losing anything: you have not chosen yet.

Barbarian

The Barbarian owns the biggest Hit Die, a d12 that starts at 12 plus Constitution and adds 7 a level, and a single class action, Rage, which ends early if you go a turn without attacking or being hit. It has no fighting style and cannot wear heavy armour without losing Rage. At level 3 it becomes a Berserker, with Frenzied Strike and Enraged Throw as bonus actions, Mindless Rage at 6 and Intimidating Presence at 10; a Wildheart, with Bear, Eagle, Elk, Tiger and Wolf hearts that change what Rage does; or Wild Magic, which rolls a surge on every Rage. The best races for Barbarian are Half-Orc for every build, Shield Dwarf, and Zariel Tiefling for Wild Magic. Berserker is our best subclass pick and the beginner ranking agrees.

Bard

The Bard starts with Bardic Inspiration at level 1 and chooses College of Lore, Valor or Swords at level 3; the college changes what the inspiration does. Swords is the only one with fighting styles, Dueling and Two-Weapon Fighting. Saving throws are Charisma and Dexterity on a d8. It is the one class no companion brings, which the beginner ranking uses as its argument for playing one. The best races for Bard are Tiefling, High Half-Elf, High Elf and Drow, all for bonus cantrips or Darkvision. Lore is our best subclass pick for Cutting Words, a reaction that imposes a 1d6 penalty on an enemy roll.

Fighter

The Fighter gets Second Wind at 1, Action Surge at 2, a subclass at 3 and a fourth feat at level 6 that no other class has. Battle Master runs on maneuvers, Champion on a lower critical threshold, Eldritch Knight on Wizard spells, and the Patch 8 Arcane Archer on magical arrows. The best races for Fighter are Half-Orc, Githyanki, Shield or Gold Dwarf and Human. Champion is our best subclass pick, the beginner ranking says Battle Master, and Lae’zel’s current build says Eldritch Knight; the class page explains why all three are defensible.

Monk

The Monk fights with its body, wears no armour, uses simple weapons and shortswords, and spends Ki instead of spell slots. Its saving throws are Strength and Dexterity and its skills come from Athletics, Acrobatics, History, Religion and Insight. Its three subclasses open at level 3: Way of the Open Hand first in our rankings, then Way of Shadow, then Way of the Four Elements. The best races for Monk are Wood Elf, Drow, High Elf, Deep Gnome and Githyanki, all for Wisdom or Dexterity. Open Hand is our best subclass pick, because it spends a Ki point to add damage and control to Flurry of Blows.

Ranger

The Ranger takes a d10, 10 hit points plus Constitution and 6 a level, and makes two choices at level 1 that are not a subclass: a Favored Enemy and a Natural Explorer terrain such as the Wasteland Wanderer picks against fire, poison or cold. Its fighting style includes Defense for +1 armour class, and the subclass comes into play after level 3. Gloom Stalker gets Dread Ambusher, Umbral Sight, Iron Mind and Stalker’s Flurry; Hunter and Beast Master are the other two, and Minsc is a Beast Master by our tier list’s recommendation. The best races for Ranger are Drow, Wood Elf, Lightfoot Halfling and Human. Gloom Stalker is our best subclass pick.

Rogue

The Rogue is the party’s lockpicker and trap-disarmer, a d8 in light armour with Sneak Attack and Cunning Action, choosing four of eleven skills. Thief, Arcane Trickster and Assassin open at level 3, which is when Astarion’s build takes Thief. The best races for Rogue map one race to each subclass: Lightfoot Halfling for Thief, Wood Half-Elf for Arcane Trickster, Duergar for Assassin, with Drow as a bonus. Arcane Trickster is our best subclass pick for Mage Hand Legerdemain and the spell slots it unlocks.

Best race per class

Every class has a best-race page, and most of them tie a race to a specific subclass rather than to the class as a whole. Half-Orc is the most repeated answer, named for Barbarian, Fighter, Cleric and Paladin, always for Savage Attacks or Relentless Endurance. Drow is the second, named for Bard, Druid, Monk, Ranger, Rogue and Warlock, always for Drow Magic, which hands out Dancing Lights first, then Faerie Fire at level 3 and Darkness at level 5. Gold Dwarf wins wherever a caster needs hit points.

The four roundups, and where they disagree

Classes explained is the reference sheet: every class with its primary abilities, weapon and armour proficiencies, saving throws, skill list and subclasses in one table each. Best classes is older, from before multiclassing was in the game, and its tier table puts Fighter and Ranger first, then Rogue, then Cleric, then Warlock and Wizard for players who already know the rules. Best classes for beginners reverses that order almost exactly: Wizard first, then Cleric, Fighter, Barbarian and Bard, on the argument that a Wizard can learn any spell from a scroll and never needs a second caster. Read the two together and the disagreement is about time, not power; the older list assumes you want a class that works without knowledge, the newer one assumes you will read.

Best subclass for each class gives one answer per class: Berserker, College of Lore, Light Domain, Circle of the Spores, Champion, Way of the Open Hand, Oath of the Ancients, Gloom Stalker, Arcane Trickster, Draconic Bloodline, The Fiend and Necromancy. Where it differs from the companion builds, the companion pages are newer and were written for Patch 8. The builds guide has a level-by-level plan for most of the 46, and the spells guide shows which classes share each spell list.

Class questions

What is the best class?

Our two rankings do not agree, and the reason is useful. For a player who wants to survive without reading, Fighter, with Ranger close behind. For a player who will use the scrolls they find, Wizard, because it can learn almost anything and prepare it on the go.

Which class has the most subclasses?

The Wizard with eight schools, then the Cleric with seven domains. Every other class has three, or four in the Paladin’s and Fighter’s cases once the Oathbreaker and the Patch 8 Arcane Archer are counted.

Can you change class later?

Yes, through Withers, who rebuilds a character from level 1 for a fee, and through multiclassing, which adds a second class at any level-up. The subclass of a class you keep cannot be changed except by that full rebuild.

Which class should a first character avoid?

The three d6 and d8 casters that commit at level 1 or 2 without a companion to copy from: Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard sit in the bottom tier of the older ranking for exactly that reason, and the Bard is the only class no companion demonstrates.