Baldur’s Gate 3 Cleric guide

Last Updated: March 21st, 2022

Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant planes of the gods. As varied as the gods they serve, clerics strive to embody the handiwork of their deities. No ordinary priest, a cleric is imbued with divine magic.

Bestowed the power of your Gods to either heal or harm your foes? That’s what clerics are all about. You devote yourself to one of your Gods and their practices, in return you’re blessed with powers and abilities granted by the divine. Clerics are most notably known for being the ‘party healer’ but they also have access to some of the most damaging spells out there too. As such, there are multiple ways to build your Cleric. That’s what we’ll be covering in this guide, whether you want to be a damaging build or a healing one. You can use this guide for either yourself or for our favorite gloomy dark lady, Shadowheart.

Clerics in Baldur’s Gate 3

The BG3 Clerics are mostly identical to their tabletop counterparts. The only difference is there aren’t as many choices for Gods and if you’re playing a custom game, then you’ll feel like your player-God relationship is a bit lacking. That might only be because it’s still in Early Access, perhaps when the full game is released, each God will have special relations with their player. Here’s to hoping!

Clerics are primarily spellcasters, though they have proficiency in a small assortment of weapons including shields. But they focus on spellcasters and different spells, as such, they need Wisdom as their main stat. With Constitution being their next highest to give them that extra health, can’t be a good healer is the only person you heal the whole game is yourself!

Best Races for Clerics

You need Wisdom as your main stat, with Con as your next top stat.

• Gold Dwarf: +2 Con and +1 Wisdom
• Human: +1 to all stats
• Wood Elf: +2 Dex and +1 Wisdom

For the time being, there are not many Wisdom-based races in BG3 but once it’s out of EA there will be far more races that can focus on Wisdom.

Light, Life or Trickery Domain?

Clerics have the most choice in their sub races, but they’re not huge changes. They each vary in the type of Cleric you want to play. But here’s what makes them different:

Light Domain

“The Light domain is offered by deities of justice, majesty, and primordial flame, providing spells that dispel darkness and harm the undead.”

As a Light Domain cleric, this is the build you want to pick if you want to be a healing-focused cleric. The extra armor will make you more of a tank, able to take a few hits and thus be alive longer to support your allies.

• Heavy Armour Proficiency: Wearing Heavy Armour will not impose disadvantage on your attacks or prevent the casting of Spells.
• Disciple of Life: Your devotion empowers your healing Spells. When casting a healing Spell, the target regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
• Domain Spells: You gain Cure Wounds and Bless. They are always prepared.

Life Domain

”The Life domain is an aspect of many good deities, offering spells that protect and restore the mind, body, and soul.”

As a Life Domain cleric, they are quite similar to the Light domain clerics but border more towards the generic ‘good’ cleric.

• Heavy Armour Proficiency: Wearing Heavy Armour will not impose disadvantage on your attacks or prevent the casting of Spells.
• Disciple of Life: Your devotion empowers your healing Spells. When casting a healing Spell, the target regains additional hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.
• Domain Spells: You gain Cure Wounds and Bless. They are always prepared.

Trickery Domain

“A domain shared by wicked, chaotic, and mischievous deities alike, those who channel Trickery specialize in deception and illusion magic.”

Trickery Domain clerics lean more towards a stealthy approach. Taking each encounter carefully and focusing on surprise attacks.

• Domain Spells: You gain Mirror Image Pass without a Trace. They are always prepared.
• Blessing of the Trickster: Grant another creature advantage on Stealth checks.
• Invoke Duplicity: Summon an illusion to distract your enemies. You and your allies receive advantage on attack rolls against a creature if both are attacker and the illusions are within 3 m of it.

Best Cleric Spells

Because there are two ways to play Clerics, as healers or more damage orientated, we’ll cover which are the best spells for both of these builds and one that’s a mix of the two.

Damage Build

Healing Build

Mixed Build

Final Thoughts

There you have it for the Clerics of Baldur’s Gate 3! They are a powerful class that can sometimes be vital to the party, and thankfully with Shadowheart you’ll have one available right from the get-go! But if you’re planning on making your own, then our pick will always be a Gold Dwarf Life Domain!

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