Baldur's Gate 3 is the sequel to the beloved duo of CRPGs from the '90s and promises to be a worthy successor, developed by Larian Studios. It uses the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons for its ruleset and mechanics, adapting them to the virtual tabletop for ease of use.
As is the norm in such games, your choice of class will heavily dictate how you'll act in battle. You can be a mighty warrior or wizened wizard, or even a helpful bard slinging spells and songs in tandem. Here's a description of every playable class in the game.
Baldur's Gate 3 is currently in Early Access. It is possible that more classes will be added in the future, but as of the most recent patch (which added the Paladin class), we have only what is detailed below.
The notable missing classes from Dungeons and Dragons 5e are Monk and Artificer.
Barbarian
Barbarians are warriors who embrace their rage and can turn it into a powerful buff that improves your damage, reduces the damage you take from physical attacks, and even gives you advantage on Strength checks.
Upon reaching level three, Barbarians must choose a subclass. They can be either a Berserker or a Wildheart. The former will give you static upgrades to your Rage ability, unlocking new attacks, while the latter lets you choose between numerous offensive or utility upgrades to your Rage ability. You also get the Speak With Animals spell, which is very useful in a game like BG3.
You will enjoy playing a Barbarian if you:
- Enjoy simple combat with high damage numbers.
- Like the idea of a lightly-armored warrior who survives on Constitution alone.
Important Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution
Bard
Bards are spellcasters who cast magic through the power of song, and their spellbook is a nice balance of offensive, defensive, and utility spells. Notably, they get access to the Healing Word spell, usually restricted to Clerics and Druids.
Bards also have the Bardic Inspiration ability, which will give a bonus to the target's next roll, whether it's an Attack Roll, Saving Throw, or Ability Check. Later levels and even magical artifacts will improve this ability.
At level three, Bards must choose a college - the College of Lore or the College of Valour. The former gives them additional proficiencies and a negative version of Bardic Inspiration to be used on foes, and the latter provides martial buffs, turning the Bard into a better warrior.
You will enjoy playing a Bard if you:
- Like being able to solve issues with diplomacy. There are a lot of Bard-specific dialogue checks in the game that may bypass other, trickier checks.
- Like being a jack of all trades.
- Want to learn all the skills.
Important Stats: Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma
Cleric
Clerics are more versatile than you may think, based on other games featuring this class. Yes, they make for great healers, but they also have a lot of spells that help out in a far more active fashion. They can buff, damage, and even hamper enemies with status ailments.
They are also the most defensible spellcasters, being able to wear Medium Armor and use Shields. Upon character creation, a Cleric must choose a Domain - Life, Light, or Trickery. Your choice of Domain affects some extra spells and abilities that you'll gain. Shadowheart, one of the game's companions, is a Trickery Domain Cleric.
You will enjoy playing a Cleric if you:
- Enjoy the idea of being able to contribute to a battle in myriad ways.
- Like having armored spellcasters.
- Dislike Shadowheart but recognize how useful Clerics can be.
Important Stats: Constitution, Wisdom
Druid
Druids are nature-focused spellcasters with a penchant for utility and defensive spells. Notable is that they can get Jump, Longstrider, and Speak with Animals, turning them into the perfect buffbot out of battle. At higher levels, their spellbook gets even more powerful, with offensive options opening up - such as Heat Metal and Spike Growth, and their defensive options improving with spells like Barkskin.
At level two, Druids can use Wildshape, assuming the form of an animal. They can become Cats, Badgers, Bears, Wolves, Spiders, Ravens, or Rothés. Each form has different powers, and all transformed Druids can speak to animals by default.
You will enjoy playing a Druid if you:
- Love nature and fancy blending that into your character's design.
- Want to turn into an animal.
- Like being able to switch between supportive spellcasting one moment and tearing enemies to shreds as a bear the next.
Important Stats: Constitution, Wisdom
Fighter
Fighters really aren't as basic as they may initially seem. They get access to all weapons and armor options in the game and you can customize their abilities pretty effectively.
Upon character creation, you'll be required to pick a Fighting Style, such as Archery or Two-Weapon Fighting. You'll become better at this, but it's not something you have to stick with - you're a versatile warrior as a Fighter. At level two, you get the powerful Action Surge, which lets you act twice in a turn, and at level three you can customize your Fighter even further with a subclass - one of which lets you cast spells.
You will enjoy playing a Fighter if you:
- Want to be able to experiment will all the magical weapons you'll find, without limitations.
- Like the simplicity of managing only a few skills but still being an effective teammate.
- Dislike Lae'zel, the game's default Fighter.
Important Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution
Paladin
A Paladin's initial loadout looks a little similar to that of a Fighter, but with some added tricks thrown in, but it's much more than that in reality. Paladins are fantastic martial characters with access to some fantastic support-oriented options, and eventually gain access to some divine spellcasting, like Clerics. When making a Paladin, you must choose one of two oaths - the Oath of Devotion makes your Paladin a righteous warrior, sworn to defend the weak, and the Oath of the Ancients makes your Palading a force for nature, swearing to preserve the beauty and sanctity of the natural world.
These oaths will affect not only your powers but also your gameplay. Your actions in-game can cause you to break your oath - this is usually by harming the innocent or stealing. Breaking your oath may cause you to lose your powers temporarily, and you'll either have to repent (via an NPC who hangs out at the campsite if you play a Paladin) or embrace your new way of life and become an Oathbreaker. Oathbreaker is the third Paladin subclass and comes with evil-oriented powers, becoming more offensively geared in combat. That said, Oathbreakers do not have to be evil.
There are lots of ways that the game interacts with your oath, so be on the lookout.
You will enjoy playing a Paladin if you:
- Want to enjoy roleplaying and like it when a game encourages such gameplay.
- Enjoy being the head of the party both in combat and in conversation.
- Enjoy physical attackers who can use a bit of magic.
Important Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma
Ranger
Rangers are hybrid warriors who blend magic with martial in an exercise in hunting their 'favored prey.' Mechanically, this boils down to choosing a Favoured Enemy and an environmental perk. Your choice of Favored Enemy will give you a range of different boons, so read the explanations carefully, and the same is true for Natural Explorer, though with less battlefield-centric perks. You'll gain more choices like these as you level up.
We recommend Wasteland Wanderer: Fire as your Natural Explorer choice. Fire spreads easily in this game and you'll end up taking a lot of fire damage over the course of a playthrough.
The spells that Rangers gain are far more limited than with other spellcasters, but they can be useful all the same. Find Familiar is great for adding another body to the field, even if they'll fall quickly, and higher levels will get you great utility spells like Fog Cloud, Cure Wounds, and the Ranger-specific Hunter's Mark.
You will enjoy playing a Ranger if you:
- Want to dabble in magic but don't want the squishiness of a spellcaster.
- Want to be able to summon an animal companion (once you hit level three).
Important Stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom
Rogue
Rogues are the masters of stealth and trickery. They make for great second-line warriors and rangers that can take advantage of Advantage with their Sneak Attacks. In addition, their ability to Disengage and Dash as a bonus action instead of a regular action makes them great at getting around the battlefield.
A very easy way to set up a Sneak Attack is to make a close-range combatant, such as Lae'zel, threaten an enemy by getting close to it. You'll be able to Sneak Attack it thanks to the Threatened status.
Currently, Rogues have a choice of two subclasses upon reaching level three. Becoming a Thief will improve your stealth and fighting skills, while Arcane Tricksters get access to a bunch of spells and the ability to perform sneaky, thieflike actions with a Mage Hand.
You will enjoy playing a Rogue if you:
- Want to open every locked door and chest that you come across.
- Sneak around encounters instead of fighting or talking your way through them.
Important Stats: Dexterity, Constitution
Sorcerer
Sorcerers seem to be like Wizards at first glance, but there are some key differences that set them apart. While they cannot learn spells from scrolls, they can change and buff their spells using Metamagic, vastly increasing how useful they can be.
Sorcerers must choose a bloodline during character creation. Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers will gain bonus spells and resistances based on the color of the dragon blood inside them, and Wild Magic Sorcerers can trigger random, chaotic effects when in battle, sometimes bending chaos to their advantage.
You will enjoy playing a Sorcerer if you:
- Fancy a more thoughtful, strategic experience than either Wizard or Warlock.
- Want to have cool scales on your face (Draconic Bloodline only).
Important Stats: Constitution, Charisma
Warlock
As spellcasters, Warlocks gain their powers from a pact with a patron, and in BG3 you can choose between two types - Fiend and Great Old One. Currently, they do not differ much - but the Fiend Warlocks get a passive ability that gives them temporary hit points when killing an enemy.
The main way a Warlock grows stronger is by gaining Eldritch Invocations. These are passive abilities that either grant them new powers or improve the powers they already have. Notable are the ones that improve the Eldritch Blast cantrip, which is exclusive to Warlocks and their main method of attacking in the vast majority of cases.
You will enjoy playing a Warlock if you:
- Want spell slots that recharge on a Short Rest instead of a Long Rest.
- Fancy a simpler spellcaster experience than either Sorcerer or Wizard.
Important Stats: Constitution, Charisma
Wizard
Wizards are the OG spellcasters. They have a balanced amount of spell slots, pick schools of spells to get bonuses with, and have the ability to learn spells from scrolls in exchange for gold. This last point is crucial - you'll pick up a ton of scrolls in Baldur's Gate 3, so your spellbook can conceivably have an answer for every problem put before you.
Currently, Wizards can learn spells from scrolls that aren't even on the Wizard spell list, such as Healing Word. It is unknown whether this will change in future patches, but is very useful in the meantime.
Wizards also get Arcane Recovery, allowing them to recover spell slots - but only out of battle.
You will enjoy playing a Wizard if you:
- Want to be able to cast most of the spells in the game.
- Don't fear the cost of copying spells to your spellbook.
- Want a tool for every occasion.
Important Stats: Constitution, Intelligence