The world of Baldur’s Gate 3 is full of challenging battles and dangerous quests. As you embark on your journey, having a powerful cleric by your side can make all the difference. In this guide, we will focus on creating the best cleric character, specifically the Light Domain subclass, to ensure that you have a strong and versatile ally in your party.
Cleric Class and Best Subclasses Guide for Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric Build
Clerics in Baldur’s Gate 3 excel at healing spells but can also perform well in range and melee build combinations. One of the companions you may already be familiar with, Shadowheart, is a Trickery Domain subclass cleric. What sets clerics apart is their devotion to the gods they worship, and their magic and combat skills reflect that connection.
The Light Domain subclass is particularly versatile, allowing you to access powerful support spells, bonuses, and extremely high-damage spells and weapon options. With healing spells at your disposal, your character is likely to be the last one standing on the battlefield.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Cleric Build Guide:
Cleric Features & Mechanics
To fully understand the capabilities of the Light Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the key features and class mechanics:
- Primary Ability: Wisdom
- Subclass: Light Domain
- Weapon Proficiency: Simple Weapons
- Armour Proficiency: Light, Medium, and Shield
- Radiance of the Dawn: The sun’s divine power dispels any magical darkness.
- Potent Spellcasting: Your god grants you even more intense power. You can add your Wisdom Modifier to the damage you deal with cantrips.
All Subclasses Explained – Recommended Subclass
While all cleric subclasses have their unique strengths, the Light Domain subclass strikes a good balance between damage and healing. It is a favorite choice among many players, as it allows you to deal damage comparable to sorcerers or wizards early in the game.
As you progress, the Light Domain Cleric becomes even more powerful, making it one of the best options for mid to late-game combat. Although you can choose any subclass, we highly recommend the Light Domain for optimal results.
Here are all the cleric class subclasses to consider:
- Knowledge Domain: Dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and skilled in history, religion, and the arcana.
- Life Domain: Skilled in the use of healing spells and can restore hit points to allies using divine power.
- Light Domain: Skilled in radiant damage and considered a more offensive cleric subclass.
- Nature Domain: Skilled in the use of nature’s spells and can control the weather and animals with divine power.
- Tempest Domain: Skilled in the use of lightning and thunder damage spells and can create powerful storms.
- Trickery Domain: Skilled in illusion and enchantment spells and can create illusions and disguise themselves.
- War Domain: Skilled in the use of weapons and armor and can enhance martial prowess with divine power.
Race Choice for Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric Light Domain Build
Choosing the right race can greatly enhance your Light Domain Cleric Build in Baldur’s Gate 3. The top race choices for this build are Asmodeus Tiefling and High Elf, depending on your preferred playstyle.
Both races offer significant benefits for spellcasters, allowing you to deal maximum damage. High Elf provides an extra Cantrip, Fey Ancestry, and Darkvision, while Asmodeus Tiefling possesses Hellish Rebuke, Resistance to Fire, Darkness spell, Produce Flame spell, and Darkvision. These racial abilities and combinations are incredibly powerful.
When selecting a race for your cleric, consider the racial traits that improve your main ability score. Each race offers unique advantages that can enhance your combat prowess, survivability, or utility. Additionally, think about the roleplaying opportunities and character concepts that resonate with you.
Please note that the cleric’s racial choice will not influence their ability score, as everyone should receive a +2 and +1 to distribute. This allows you to choose a race based on its unique features rather than the ability score.
Recommended Backgrounds for Light Domain Cleric
Backgrounds in Baldur’s Gate 3 primarily influence roleplaying aspects and help you create unique characters. However, if you want to maximize your build’s potential, we recommend choosing a background that provides proficiencies suitable for clerics. Animal Handling, Perception, Insight, Medicine, and Survival are all excellent choices as they boost your Wisdom, which is the primary attribute for clerics. For increased survivability, investing in a Dexterity bonus can also be beneficial.
In this guide, we suggest using the Folk Hero background for the Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric build. Other viable choices include:
- Folk Hero – Best for the Cleric
- Urchin – Secondary choice for Light Cleric build
- Outlander – Third choice for Light Cleric build
Deities
Choosing a deity in Baldur’s Gate 3 is primarily a roleplaying aspect, so pick whichever one suits your character. For example, selecting Selune as your worshiped god grants access to a special hidden dialogue option with Shadowheart.
Recommended Skills
Having the right skills for your cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3 can significantly enhance your effectiveness in various situations. The best skills for the cleric build are Animal Handling and Insight, as they complement your class abilities and allow for better decision-making and understanding of others.
Skills in Baldur’s Gate 3 represent the abilities and proficiencies of your character, enabling them to perform different actions and interact with the game world. The selection of skills should align with your intended playstyle, complement your party composition, and reflect the narrative and roleplaying aspects of your character.
Here are the recommended skills for the Cleric build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Acrobatics: Dexterity skill, a possible option for Range Clerics
- Animal Handling: Wisdom skill, suitable for all Clerics
- Insight: Wisdom skill, suitable for all Clerics
- Medicine: Wisdom skill, suitable for all Clerics
- Perception: Wisdom skill, suitable for all Clerics
Remember to consider your character concept and the specific challenges you may face in Baldur’s Gate 3 when selecting skills. The aim is to create a well-rounded character that excels in their chosen role.
Abilities Distribution for Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric Light Domain Build
After selecting your class, subclass, race, and background, the game will automatically distribute your abilities in the character creation abilities tab. However, it’s crucial to focus on the statistics that provide more damage and health for your character, namely Wisdom, Constitution, and Dexterity.
Investing points to even numbers and aiming for at least 16 Wisdom will optimize your setup and damage output. In Baldur’s Gate 3, ability scores are the six core stats that determine a character’s capabilities. If necessary, you can change your class and ability scores by rerolling with Withers in your Camp.
Abilities distribution goals for Light Domain Cleric Build in Baldur’s Gate 3:
- Wisdom: Cleric’s primary ability score, influences offensive spells, especially on higher character levels.
- Dexterity: Enhances agility and the ability to avoid being hit.
- Constitution: Provides more Health points (HP) and concentration, influencing survivability and sustained spellcasting.
Cleric Illithid Powers
In Baldur’s Gate 3, Illithid Powers are a skill tree unlocked later in the game as you learn more about the Mind Flayers and tadpoles. These powers offer exceptional strength and are worth exploring. By collecting jars of Mind Flayer Parasite Specimens, you can consume them to gain powerful abilities.
Here are the best Illithid Powers for the Cleric Build:
- Charm: Channel the dark allure of the tadpole to Charm an enemy that attacks you, preventing them from attacking you until their next turn. This power allows you to redirect enemy attacks.
- Psionic Backlash: Inflict psychic damage to an enemy that casts a spell within 9m of you. This passive power is a hard counter to casters.
- Repulsor: Deal force damage and push back anything and anyone within 6m. This power is excellent for area knockback and early-game damage.
- Concentrated Blast: Cast this spell while concentrating on another spell. If the target was also concentrating, you will heal as much as the damage dealt to it. Consider using this situationally to maximize its effectiveness.
- Freecast: Remove spell slots, charges, and similar resource costs for your next action or spell. This feature refreshes after a short or long rest and is a must-have for later stages of the game.
Cleric Spell Slots
As a cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3, your spell slots progress as you level up. Here is a list of the Cleric’s Spell Slots:
Spells, Prepared Spells, and Cantrips
To master the Cleric Light Domain Build in Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s essential to understand spellcasting mechanics. Here are the key aspects:
- Cantrips are spells that can be cast infinitely and do not consume spell slots.
- Prepared Spells require spell slots and must be prepared during a long rest, which consumes resources.
- Light Domain subclass and cleric class spells, such as Faerie Fire and Burning Hands, are always available and offer powerful options.
- Concentration is a vital spell mechanic in Baldur’s Gate 3. Several cleric spells and cantrips require concentration, such as Guidance, Resistance, Bless, Bane, or Faerie Fire. You can only concentrate on one spell at a time, making Constitution an important attribute. Remember to make Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration when taking damage.
1st Level Prepared Spells and Cantrips – Character Creation
During character creation, you can prepare your first set of spells. The spells you choose at this stage will significantly impact your early gameplay. It’s important to select spells that align with your playstyle and complement your party composition.
Note that the number of prepared spells and cantrips will increase as you level up. Consider the tactical options each spell offers and how it integrates with your desired playstyle.
Remember, the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric Build relies on a combination of careful spell selection, appropriate abilities distribution, and mastery of cleric mechanics. By utilizing the Light Domain subclass and following the recommended race, background, and skills, you can create a powerful cleric capable of supporting and protecting your party.
So, gather your companions and embark on an unforgettable adventure as you establish yourself as the best cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3!
