If you want to deal significant magic damage in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Wizard class is a great choice. But what is the best Wizard build? You will find out in this guide.
What can the Wizard do? The Wizard is one of the few classes not represented by any of the potential companions in Baldur’s Gate 3 by default. Nevertheless, it is very worthwhile to take a closer look at the class.
As a Wizard, you have the power to cast and even modify powerful spells. You prefer to stay in the back rows and deal a lot of damage from there.
Compared to their mage counterparts, Wizards cannot change their spells at will. Instead, they receive powerful bonuses that vary depending on the subclass, as well as the ability to make their spells even stronger through Metamagic.
This makes the Wizard one of the more complex classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. In contrast, you can find out here which class is particularly beginner-friendly.
Wizard Build – Best Subclass
Even at level 1, you need to choose one of three subclasses as a Wizard.
- Wild Magic
- Draconic Bloodline
- Storm Sorcery
One of the most fun subclasses in the entire game is probably Wild Magic. Its unpredictability can lead to chaotic and hilariously funny situations.
However, if you want a truly reliable damage beast for your team, you should go for the Draconic Bloodline. This gives you the option to specialize in an element. Additionally, you will become significantly more resilient. In this guide, we will therefore delve further into this subclass.
Which element should I choose? As a member of the Draconic Bloodline, you can choose a Dragon Ancestor for your character. This determines which element you specialize in.
To create a powerful fire mage, we will choose Red (Fire) here. This gives you the strong spell Burning Hands right from the start. Starting at level 6, not only will fire damage increase, but your character can also become immune to fire damage. Since this type of damage occurs quite frequently in Baldur’s Gate 3, that’s pretty handy.
Character Creation in the Wizard Build: Which Race?
Just through the initial character creation, you can receive some bonuses that make life as a Wizard easier and should not be underestimated.
The following options are recommended when choosing your race:
- Half-elf
- Darkvision: Helps you stay at a distance even in darkness.
- Fey Ancestry: You have an advantage on saving throws against being charmed and cannot be magically put to sleep.
- Human Militia: You gain proficiency with some weapons, light armor, and shields, making you somewhat more resilient.
- Subrace: Here, either the Half-Orc for the additional cantrip, or the Half-Wood Elf for the increased movement speed is advisable.
- Drow
- Superior Darkvision: Even better darkvision than the Half-Elf.
- Fey Ancestry
- Cantrips: Additional spells that can be helpful in certain situations.
A background that suits your character particularly well:
- Sage: Skills Arcana and History
- Noble: Skills History and Persuasion
Attributes in the Wizard Build: Focus on Charisma and Constitution
The most important attribute for any Wizard is Charisma. You should definitely invest the most points here. A high Constitution score also helps you strengthen your defenses. A good distribution for the start is:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 14
- Constitution: 16
- Intelligence: 10
- Wisdom: 10
- Charisma: 16
For optimal selection, you should generally choose even numbers for point distribution. This is because the respective bonuses are only actually increased every two levels.
Which skills should I choose? In addition to the attribute points, you can choose two skills for your character. You will receive two additional skills based on the background you’ve chosen.
Make sure to possess the skill Persuasion, as it can be particularly useful in many situations.
Additionally, Deception and Intimidation are also good choices, as they are based on your (high) Charisma score.
Wizard Build – The Best Spells at Every Level
In Baldur’s Gate 3, you have a wide array of spells and cantrips available. Which ones you should choose depends on many factors, especially your team composition and personal play style.
Which spells are generally strong in the game can be found here:
As an Elemental Spellcaster, you should certainly place special emphasis on all spells of your chosen element, which in this case is fire. The spell selection across all levels and the choice of Metamagic could look like this:
1. Cantrips
- Level 1: Fire Bolt; Blade Ward; Shocking Grasp; Mage Hand
- If you have already chosen one of these cantrips through the subrace Half-Orc, choose another option like Poison Spray instead.
- Level 4: Minor Illusion
2. Spells
- Level 1: Magic Missile; Chromatic Orb
- Level 2: Thunderwave
- Level 3: Misty Step
- Level 4: Cloud of Daggers
- Level 5: Fireball
- Level 6: Dispel Magic
- Level 7: Wall of Fire
- Level 8: Polymorph
- Level 9: Telekinesis
- Level 10: Cloudkill
- Level 11: Disintegration
- Level 12: Globe of Invulnerability
3. Metamagic
- Level 2: Extended Spell; Twinned Spell
- Level 3: Quickened Spell
- Level 10: Focused Spell
Wizard Build – Talents at Every Level
At levels 4, 8, and 12, you have the opportunity to choose a talent. The following are recommended:
- Level 4: Ability Score Improvement (Charisma +2)
- Level 8: Elemental Adept: Fire
- Level 12: Ability Score Improvement (Charisma + 2)
So by level 12, you should have brought your Charisma score to the maximum of 20.
We hope we could help you with this guide. Have you ever tried the Wizard class? And if so, what were your experiences? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
In this guide, we focused on a pure Wizard build. However, in Baldur’s Gate 3, you also have the option of multiclassing. This allows you to mix multiple classes. For example, if you want to give your Wizard more supportive abilities, you could invest a few levels in Cleric. You can find all the important basics about multiclassing here: Why beginners should refrain from multiclassing in Baldur’s Gate 3 and when it makes sense
