You want to cast spells in Baldur’s Gate 3 but find it too complicated and overwhelming? Then the Warlock is the perfect class. We will tell you why that is.
The choice of class in Baldur’s Gate 3 is important. Especially due to the limited resources of spellcasters, the game is a real challenge when starting as a spellcaster. However, the sheer variety of spells and the associated talents and subclasses can be overwhelming.
However, there is one class that has condensed the chaos of magic into fewer choices: the Warlock.
When I play with a friend and use my Wizard, I feel like that confused guy at McDonald’s who takes forever at the counter figuring out what to order. In every situation, I can choose from countless different spells that all interact somehow and can be further customized through things like Metamagic.
Wizards and Sorcerers in Baldur’s Gate 3 are great – but they take a lot of time. Sorcerers and Wizards simply have such a large repertoire of skills, the possibilities of which increase almost exponentially with each level-up. You have to invest a lot of time into planning both during the actual battles and at level-up.
Time that you might prefer to spend on quests or just cooperative play.
The Warlock is the corrupted, but also noticeably streamlined version of that. He has significantly fewer spells to choose from, but those he has are quite powerful. In direct comparison with spells from other classes, Warlock spells are often somewhat more effective and have attractive bonus effects – but are often not as customizable.
What a Warlock definitely needs in Baldur’s Gate 3
Basically, you can’t go wrong with the Warlock. But if you want to play it safe, you should already decide on “The Great Old One” as your subclass at Level 1.
This brings mainly two important bonuses:
- Horrifying Beam: This level 0 spell (“Cantrip”) can be used infinitely and does solid damage. It can be further improved.
- Passive Ability “Mortal Reminder”: If you score a critical hit, the target and all nearby enemies must make a saving throw or freeze in fear.
At Level 2, you can then choose two more bonuses. Here you should take the enhancements for the Horrifying Beam. These are “Agonizing Blast” and “Repelling Blast”. These two effects ensure that your Horrifying Beam does 3-5 more damage (depending on your Charisma) and that you can push enemies up to 4.5 meters away when they are hit by the beam.
This combination can make the Horrifying Beam deal between 10 and 15 damage – extremely high for a “free” spell so early in the game. Since you can also push enemies with it, you can send many opponents off a cliff or into an abyss, causing them to die immediately or take fall damage and possibly lie defenseless on the ground. Then the rest of your party can easily deal with strong enemies.
At Level 3, the benefits of the Warlock become even more powerful. There you can choose a Pact Bonus, and each of them is powerful:
- Do you want a flying Wisp as a strong melee fighter who can become invisible and poison enemies?
- Do you prefer to summon a magical weapon for yourself that you can definitely wield and that hits hard?
- Do you want a Thorn Whip that pulls enemies closer to you, or to your allies – or even into an abyss?
After that, it almost doesn’t matter what you choose – you will only become more powerful. As a Warlock, it is very hard to “screw up” your build or become overwhelmed by too many choices.
You have fewer abilities than other spell classes – but every single one of them is so damn cool and powerful that you won’t miss that variety at all.
Especially cool: Warlocks regain their spell slots after a short rest. So you don’t have to, like Wizards or Sorcerers, run directly to camp for a rest after each major fight. Instead, just a quick breather is enough, and you’re almost fully ready for action again.
So if you want to play a strong Caster in Baldur’s Gate who can handle just about any situation well – choose the Warlock. The mix of few, but strong spells and solid stamina makes him a perfect all-rounder.
